Nars: You know I had to do it to 'em.

Word Count: 694

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners—Rumiko Takahashi and One.

Three thousand stairs later, she reached the summit. The dojo was somehow even more pristine than it appeared in the photo, but even then, it seemed desolate and empty. Probably because of those ridiculous stairs, she thought wryly.

Kagome flexed her aching legs and approached the frontal sliding door. There were no sounds coming from inside, none at all, which led her to believe that Bang might not even be home, which in turn felt detrimental to her entire being since she'd willfully climbed all of those stairs.

She pulled experimentally on the door, not expecting for it to be open and stepped inside, mumbling a mild 'Excuse me'. To both her surprise and relief, Bang was seated at the front of the room, legs crossed and in a meditative state, and there was another younger man across him.

Kagome suddenly realized she might have been intruding on some important training but it wasn't like she could come back later–not if those stairs had anything to say about it. Her moment of hesitation drew a pair of curious eyes from the younger man with the wild and untamed locks.

"Kagome." said Bang diplomatically, never opening his eyes from his zen-like state. "Come and meditate."

"Er, I kind of wanted to ask for your help." She began, "A meteor piece sort of fell on my house an—" It wasn't technically the house that it had fallen on, just an extension of it.

"Hey!" The wild-haired man hissed, "Adhere to Master Bang when he—!"

"Charanko, meditate." snapped Bang, the same time Kagome sent the man a harsh glare. Who did he think he was... yelling at her?

She reluctantly obeyed though, just because it seemed like the better option now, and took off her shoes, placing her quiver down beside her as she sat down on the mats. Meditation wasn't a new concept for her. While InuYasha didn't like to meditate, Miroku had often insisted that it would help maintain the flow of the body's spiritual energy. At some point she learned to get the hang of it.

Kagome slipped into a familiar tranquility and acutely hoped that Bang was almost through with his session. The sooner she obtained his help, the better.

The dojo was silent aside from Charanko–if that was really that annoying guy's name–and his erratic breathing. He seemed as impatient as InuYasha, itching to get to the training. She guessed her interruption was not helping his case.

"Very good, Kagome." murmured Bang. "Charanko, follow Kagome's lead and allow your ki to distribute itself through your veins."

"I–Yes, Master Bang." He replied solemnly. She had to hand it to him, at least he seemed to have great respect for Bang, even though he probably loathed her for showing him up. She had a very strong feeling nagging at her to be smug about it, yet she was committed to being the mature one here.

"I could come to your shrine right away." Bang said. "However, I am sure you know of the saying 'Give a man fish and he shall eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he shall eat for a lifetime', yes?"

Kagome knew exactly where this was going. "Yes." She answered.

"Instead of removing the meteor, I shall endeavour to teach you to do so yourself." He said. "It will be a useful skill in your future, should you encounter a mysterious being."

It'd also be helpful in the feudal era if something went horribly wrong with her primary source of attack (her arrows). "Okay." She replied. There was nothing to lose but something to gain.

She had a few days before InuYasha was scheduled to come back and get her. She didn't know how much she could learn in such a short time frame but it was worth a try. Besides... She wasn't looking forward to going back down those stairs at all.

"What do we do first?" She opened her eyes hesitantly, finding that he had already done so. Beside her, his disciple was gaping outwardly at Bang's declaration to take her on as another student, stammering words of protest but never getting anywhere far.

"First." He said, "We spar."