Disclaimer: You know the drill.
Sorry about the wait, folks, but between quitting my job, getting back into college, and dealing with writer's block, I've been busy! Here's a (short) little chapter to hold you guys over until I can figure out how I want the next part to go. And I can't believe no one noticed my blatant screwup last chapter! I called Shiori a moth hanyou! She's a bat hanyou! Bah! Anyways, here ya go.
Silver Rain Drops: You are an absolute lifesaver. I'll love you forever now. I hope you don't mind. :) Yeah, had to knock Kouga down a notch or two. I have nothing against him as a person, but he does get a bit annoying at times. And Cali is a kitty, but she's tough. Thanks again!
Cold Kikyo: To the point as always. Thanks for reading!
Frozen Miko: Cute is good! But of course you realise, Inuyasha didn't sleep in the bed. He's a good little puppy. Yeah, that little tangle was a spur of the moment throw in. It started off with her just yelling at them, but we needed some quality humor, even if it wasn't completely probable. I'll update as quick as I can. Thanks for reading!
blaise91: Probably not better, due to their health and strength differences, but it's quite possible that she'll be on par with Kikyo. Thanks for reading!
darkpriestressofhell: Thankie kindly, ma'am. Keep reading! ;)
Yeet: Heh, you know Vash, king of pure intentions...yeah right. :) Anyways, I'll not ruin anything for you. Hehe. Thanks for reading, and I'll keep ya guessing!
Chapter Ten – The In-between Times
The rest of the weeks passed well, starting each day with combat. Kagome felt her arms growing in strength, and, blessedly, she didn't have another episode with her illness, at least during her archery training.
Master Alphonse, they found out, was actually Ed's younger brother. The entire class had been stupefied by this, since Alphonse was huge in comparison to his older brother. Those questions were answered – and more were asked – when Al removed the helmet of his armor to reveal the emptiness inside. With the help of Ed, Al explained the troubles they went through, and how Al had his soul transmuted into the empty suit of armor through alchemy. Needless to say, the rest of those classes went very well.
Madam Kagura's class had been by far Kagome's favorite, because she, along with all those who brought their own instruments, had been allowed the chance to play them before their classmates. Caligo, unsurprisingly, was very adept at the guitar, though Kagura cut her display short. Many of the boys expressed their interest in the louder instruments, like percussion and brass, but it took a couple of periods to get everyone situated with an instrument. After that, Kagura had begun teaching them ballroom dancing, saying she had been disgusted by the lack of skill at the opening ball.
Master Jet had the kind of voice that you could listen to forever, which came in handy, since he certainly loved to talk. He had begun teaching them chess, stating that it was "the best combat training you can get"! Very few of them agreed with this opinion, but he made them learn anyways. One of Kagome's episodes occurred during Jet's class on Wednesday, rendering her arms useless. She gave over her seat opposite Inuyasha to Caligo, who had been playing Jet, and sat with her head on Inuyasha's shoulder for the rest of the class, giving him pointers every now and then. They actually almost beat her….
Sesshoumaru turned out to be an excellent teacher. Everyone had to pay attention in his class, because there was no room for fun and games. Sesshoumaru was just that intimidating. He taught them of the great demon battles, their outcomes, and what occurred as a result. Rin was often running around the room, grabbing a relic here or a scroll there from Sesshoumaru's vast array of historical nick-knacks. He only spoke as much as was necessary, then set them to reading old scrolls or writing their opinions of the battles he had described for them.
Hakudoushi had begun teaching them tracking and how to outfit their horses with battle armor. Ayame turned out to be the best tracker of them, finding Lynx within half an hour of searching.
Kaede was teaching them the uses of different herbs and how to find them. She often pulled Kagome aside and asked her about her symptoms, hoping to jog Kagome's memory about what had happened before and after some of her more severe episodes. She had even suggested putting the girl into a trance to force her to remember, but so far, Kagome had refused.
The first new moon had given her and Cali quite a scare. They had come in from their free time playing with Sango's twin-tailed fire cat to find a black haired, purple eyed stranger sitting on Inuyasha's bed. Kagome had screamed, but Cali quickly covered her mouth and sniffed the air, breaking into a grin afterwards. Everything was explained about the silver haired hanyou turning human on moonless nights, and they spent most of the night up playing poker. Kagome had won nearly every round.
Time seemed to be flying by for Kagome. Learning and strengthening herself took up all her class time, and her free time was usually spent in the small courtyard in the center of the main building, talking and practicing with Inuyasha, Caligo, and Kouga, while others played with their pets or practiced themselves. Ayame was more often seen with Ryfen and Lynx than she was with Kouga, since said wolf had long ago made clear his want to be around Kagome as much as possible. Many of the other couples had grown closer, though Sango seemed more apt to whack Miroku upside the head with her Hiraikotsu than speak with him, and Kikyo outright ignored Bankotsu's very existence.
And thus, the happiest four months of Kagome's life sailed by.