Chapter Six: Training

InuYasha lay watching a perfect peach dawn break through the bedroom window. It was always more beautiful after a storm, with the air filtered by the rain and the slight electricity still tantalising the senses. The utter serenity as the city paused, letting the birds rise in chorus as they had in the distant past was something that he had learnt to treasure. A deep inhale from the woman ensconced in his arms alerted him to her waking, and he looked down, instantly becoming entranced by the deep cocoa pools that drew him in, pulling at his soul until he no longer cared if he drowned. The moment swelled, drawing him in as her eyes closed languidly, thin arms reaching catlike above her head as her rosebud mouth opened, fangs bared in a bone-shaking yawn. He chuckled softly, drawing the awareness of an onna lost in golden fog.

"Bit better now 'Gome?" She nodded, a small, sorrowful smile casting her frailty into sharp focus. The nightmares... InuYasha shuddered slightly. The storm had lasted for days, as Kagome slept little and fretfully, waking to a throat hoarse from screaming and an increasingly fraught protector. InuYasha nudged her slightly with his nose, rejoicing in the tiny giggle that surfaced.

"Oi, we better get up. Pops wants us moved into the main house today... well, as soon as you're up to it. You better prepare to be fussed over, Okaa's bin wantin' a girl in the house since forever... Rin don't really count, she's as serious as aniki 'cept for the flowers." Kagome nodded slightly, although her body gave the lie to her agreement, curling closer to his welcome warmth, hands tightly clasping the chest of his pajamas.

"Do we have to?"

"Yeah. We got some time though, it's early yet." She hesitated then, fingers plucking at his top fretfully, as she cast a nervous glance up at him. She made as if to speak, but shut her mouth quickly, one dainty fang worrying at her lip. Without thinking, InuYasha raised his hand, pulling her lip from the abuse -Kami! So soft...- before giving her a reprimanding glance.

"Oi 'Gome spit it out. You should know you can say anythin' to me by now." She looked up, more confident even as a sheepish smile played over her lips.

"Inu... I was wondering. I know I can trust you to protect me, and I'm so grateful for that... You will never know how much, honestly... but could you teach me? How to fight, I mean. I...I'd just feel... happier, I guess." At that he grinned broadly, relieved that she had pre-empted what he feared would be a difficult conversation.

"Just as well you asked, onna. Me 'n pops already agreed you should learn at least summat. Sessh... well he hates weakness, so he'd insist on it if he were in charge...bastard. O' course, we gotta ask your alpha, but since he's a pushover when it comes to pops and me... well he won't put up a fight. Not that he would. Only thing is, who's gonna do it? I'm not so sure I could... I couldn't hurt you, even lightly to prove a point. I know that down to my soul." Kagome nodded softly.

"I don't think I could defend myself against you Inu... I couldn't risk hurting you. Who then? Because I'm sure that Tougaou-san and Mafuyu-san would find it difficult as well." InuYasha snorted.

"'S gonna havta be the bastard. Believe it or not, he's a really good teacher. Comes of bein' good with words I guess. He won't go easy, mind. An' you're gonna havta learn from scratch, cos trust me, to work within your clan, you're gonna need to fight and hunt the same way as the rest." A sudden thought struck him: "'Gome, can you read an' write?" A shamed shake of the head was all the confirmation he needed.

"Hmph, well, you're gonna be busy. It's a pain, but kinda useful, trust me." A blindingly beautiful smile lit her face as a golden sun finally rose over the rooftops.

"Always."

InuYasha winced as a particularly livid bruise appeared on Kagome's neck. It was gone in moments, but still... he was fighting hard to keep his Youki in check as his brother painstakingly schooled her in the basics of unarmed combat. Her speed was incredible, as was her flexibility. She consistently avoided strikes which he was sure would have landed on him... and yet she had not once even attempted to attack. He was interrupted by a firm blow to the head. He turned to face a smirking Mafuyu.

"Lad, if I can keep my focus whilst she fights Sesshoumaru, so can you. After all... It's not as if she's your lover..." He let his voice trail off, deliberately inciting InuYasha's famous temper. InuYasha growled fiercely, stripping his shirt off as he resolved to deal with the embarrassment the only way he knew... because really, Mafuyu was right. He was acting as if she was his mate, and that was just wrong, because... he stumbled slightly, his mind suddenly overloading on reasons why it was not only not wrong, but so, so right that she should be his mate. His Youki prodded insistently at him, reinforcing the point that he did, indeed, think of her that way... and was not likely to change his mind. Stunned, he felt his legs collapse underneath him, completely blindsided by the new ideas storming him, testing his control. He was vaguely aware that he was still automatically fending off blows, and that Mafuyu had seemed to sense his distraction, letting up the crucial fraction that allowed him to maintain his dignity. It was a softly whispered sentence during one attack that brought him back to earth as if he had been stabbed:

"So tell her already. Trust me, it's mutual." Stunned gold met amused blue for a second, before InuYasha grinned ferally, finally acceding to his Youki's demand to show off a little. Within moments, the two Inu were soaked to the skin, only peripherally aware that Sesshoumaru and Kagome had halted, and now stood, her eyes fixated on the duelling pair... or at least, on one of them. Time had no meaning in such careful combat. It could have been seconds or hours later that the pair broke for air, breathing heavily. As the focus relaxed, InuYasha became aware of an intoxicating scent, and turning, he saw the onna that had captured his Youki watching him, her eyes slightly unfocused. He took another deep breath of her scent, and smiled at her... and the moment was suddenly broken, as she turned pale, then a deep crimson, before fleeing the room. InuYasha scented the air, puzzled... then blushed as he realised. Arousal, sweat, exhilaration... and overlayed with utter mortification. He smiled slightly. She was so innocent... virgin in mind as well as body. So much his better... but he would persue her anyway. There was simply no way he could deny the wild attraction he had felt. His Youki surged in fierce joy as he accepted it – he was hers. There could never be another.

A/N: I forgot to A/N the last chapter so, in retrospect: If this is too dark for the rating, tell me and I will up it. Also... posting this on Christmas day? My timing could be better. In truth, I wrote this a few days before, but had no internet access... so yeah. Ah well, merry christmas, and don't have nightmares!

As regards this chapter... things are moving a lot faster than planned. I originally intended Kagome and InuYasha to be oblivious to each others feelings... as in the anime/manga... but yeah, with superior Inu senses, that was never going to happen. Don't fret, Kagome will remain innocent at least a little while longer... she's so much more fun to write that way.

As regards plot twists... yes, Shippou was the orphan kit... It almost tore my heart out, writing that... but if Kagome had not been there... he would have died. As for Kikyou... to become Kagome, she must have been redeemed – learned to disregard race and species. Without Naraku, she would have had the time to learn that in InuYasha's company. I see their relationship as more that of two outcasts finding friendship... and clinging to it with all they have. It was a much older Kikyou who wished on the jewel, having learnt the lessons she needed to to become Kagome. This also rather neatly explains all the major differences in my altiverse... from the survival of Youkai and Hanyou, to the disappearance of the Shikon Jewel... to the reason behind Gekidoku escaping detection for so long. Convenient, ne?

Uh... yeah. Long A/N. Sorry.