Nars: I was on vacation in the US until recently! I didn't give this up, I promise :)

Word Count: 850

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

"—Okay!" Kagome declared, falling to the mats after a swift defeat. For an old guy, Bang could really move, but it wasn't like she had any intention of seriously fighting him. "I concede but I'm not good at close combat to begin with, I'm more of a–"

"Long-range fighter; I can tell." said Bang, motioning to her quiver on the floor. "I was not attempting to gauge your strength, contrary to your belief. I was monitoring your ki."

"Oh." She did sense a bit of pure energy radiating off of him at some point. It felt a bit like Kaede and the untainted force she expelled. Kagome inhaled and thought over her choice of words carefully. "What did you see, then? In my ki?"

"A tremendous amount. No doubt this is due to being raised in a shrine." said Bang, pacing with his hands behind his back. "You also have remarkable control over your ki. Do you meditate often?"

She nodded mutely. Telling him that she actually shared her soul with a woman of whom she was reincarnated from didn't seem like a wise idea. That lion-haired guy in the corner had been silent but she figured he'd probably laugh at her and right now she was the better student. Kagome tugged on the sleeve of her borrowed gi. The dojo had a whole storage full of them and Bang had been more than happy to loan her one.

"Kagome, we will focus on strengthening your ki to the best of its ability." He stated.

She frowned. "Will that give me the strength to break that meteor fragment apart?" Kagome had thought ki was more of a utility for destroying threats like the worm-monster from before.

"Once your ki is harnessed, you will be able to shatter meteors like dust." Bang told her. "Your training begins now.

She nodded and clenched a fist in determination. Getting to train with someone who was a hero was not an ordinary occurrence (most likely). Bang obviously had very renowned abilities, considering the fact that her brother adored him as much as he did to the way it had taken him a matter of a few seconds to defeat her during their first spar. This would enable her to hold her own during a battle against Naraku, just in case her arrows ran out or something went wrong. Though she certainly was not dead weight to her team, it still helped to further her strength.

Kagome held onto Bang's every instruction with utmost respect and admiration, answering when prompted to and throwing herself into a new training regimen when ordered to do so. Things were going to change. She was going to learn how to use all of her priestess abilities completely.

"You're not bad."

She glanced up from her much-deserved break, staring suspiciously as the man from earlier, Charanko approached. "Thanks, I guess." She said hesitantly.

"Master Bang hasn't taken many students as of late." He continued. "Not after the incident."

That was way too dramatic a sentence to leave hanging. She took a sip of her water and frowned. "Oh, yeah? What happened?"

"One of Master's most talented students went on a crazed rampage and crippled everyone so bad they're in the hospital. I'm the only one left." He said. "That makes you the second."

Whoever that was, they sounded like bad news. She doubted that she'd run into them while here, but if there was ever a chance... Well, her arrows were ready and waiting to impale them–for self-defence purposes of course.

"Actually, Kagome, you have met them." said Bang, shuffling into the hallway. "When you were a child."

"Did I?" She frowned, unable to rack her brain for this instance. "I can't remember."

Bang tapped a finger against one of photographs that lined the walls. She peered closer and squinted. In the image, there were a few younger students and Bang right in the middle of it all. While the disciples pictured varied in size, the one closest to Bang with the upright light-coloured hair and triumphant expression did seem very familiar but she couldn't figure out why.

"M-Master, why do you still have that photograph hanging?!" gaped Charanko.

"Other students are in this picture." He said gruffly. "If I took it down as well, there would be too much empty room."

Kagome rose a brow. She'd been wondering why there were so many weird and abrupt spaces on the walls. The disciple must have been in too many pictures to count. Still, she couldn't place her finger on what was recognizable about the boy. She shrugged and took another sip of water. "I'm ready to get back to training."

"Excellent." said Bang. "Let's be off."

She followed him obediently to the training room and smoothed the collar of her gi. It was time to learn.

Nars: More coming soon.