AR: Yay! I'm finally writing again!

IY: Yeah, what's your excuse this time...you broke a fingernail?

AR: Shut up, InuYasha. No, that's not the reason. School started and I haven't had time to start anything until now. -sticks her tongue out-

Y: I swear, the both of you are so childish.

AR: Yukana! You're supposed to be on my side!

Y: I'm neutral. Both of you owe me money.

IY: No, I don't.

AR: Neither do I!

Ka: They do? I can see that from Doodle, but does AR owe you money too?

Se: This is all very amusing, but we have a reason to be here. Personally, I would rather get it over with so I can get back to the life that I still have.

K: -laughs-

AR: I hate all of you...except you, Sesshy-sama, you're my hero. Well...it's a three-way tie between you, Rambo, and Blade, but still.

Disclaimer: Do I honestly have to go through with this every chapter? You get it, I'm to lazy to type it again.

A/N: If any of you have a myspace, add me. Its myspace dot com slash monstersinmylivingroom. Make sure I know that you're from ff.n, though, ok?

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Stupid Cupid, you're a real mean guy.

I'd like to clip your wings so you can't fly.

I am in love and it's a crying shame.

And I know that you're the one to blame.

Hey, hey, set me free.

Stupid Cupid, stop picking on me.

(Stupid Cupid: Mandy Moore -remake-)

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Chapter Twenty-One Recap:

"No?"

"No. You need to get things done, and I need to sleep. Oyasumi, I will see you in the morning."

Don't Fall Away

Chapter Twenty-Two: Kaori Doesn't Have a Sleep Button

Kaori came in and woke Kagome up at sunrise, just as Sesshomaru had said that she would. Kagome mumbled something and rolled over, which resulted in Kaori giving her a whack on the back of her head. Kagome jumped up and swatted her away.

"What was that for?!" she asked, angry that she was being woken up so early. Kaori rolled her eyes.

"Sesshomaru told me to get you up for training, remember?" she said, starting to get a little frustrated when Kagome laid back down. "Now get up so you can get ready. That uniform Sango gave you is on the vanity and your bathing supplies are sitting on the floor right next to it. Now, get up before you get me into trouble!"

Kagome groaned and reluctantly rolled out of the bed, muttering something about the effects of sleep deprivation. She stood up and walked out of the room, down the hall, and into the spring.

She stripped and lowered herself into the hot water, sighing as her muscles relaxed again and made her want to go back to sleep. She resisted, however, and poured some shampoo in her hand, lathering it and rinsing it off. She did the same with her conditioner before she got out and dried off.

Kagome struggled a little bit with the uniform Sango gave her. Since her skin was still relatively damp, it stuck to her and ended up being more trouble than it was worth, taking her about ten minutes to get it on comfortably. Afterward, she walked back into her room, pulled her hair into a ponytail, and grabbed Rekuiemu from beside her bed before allowing Kaori to lead her away.

"I will never know why I have to get up so early. It's stupid." Kagome announced blatantly. Kaori rolled her eyes at her and sighed.

"Kagome, that's just the way things are done. If we let you sleep in all the time, then there would be almost no time in the day for anything else." she explained irritably. "Besides, you've gotten out of it long enough. You were supposed to start at least two days after you got here, yet how long has it been?"

"Um...a long time." Kagome said thoughtfully, earning a look from Kaori. "Hey, I'm not actually keeping count, here."

"I figured."

"Hey, Kaori, can you do me a favor?"

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Sesshomaru had been waiting for Kagome for around ten minutes when he finally sensed her coming, along with Kaori. He walked to the door and looked out, suddenly finding himself unable to supress a small smile.

Kagome had managed to convince Kaori to give her a piggy-back ride, the latter not seeming to enjoy herself too much, while the former basked in the glow of not having to walk to the dojo.

"Kami, Kagome, what have you been eating?" Kaori complained jokingly.

"Very funny, Kaori."

"Yeah, I know." she said, grinning. "Alright, it's time for you to get off my back, I have things that need to be done before everyone wakes up."

"But, we aren't even there yet!" Kagome complained. "There's still, like, seven meters left!"

"Get off or I'm going to drop you on your rear." Kaori threatened. Kagome sighed and hopped off, mumbling inaudibly.

"Do you want to tell me anything before I die, Kaori?" Kagome asked. Kaori shrugged.

"Good luck, and the piggy-back ride was a one-time thing. You won't get one tomorrow, although you might just get another whack in the head if you don't wake up." She walked off after that, leaving Kagome glaring at her retreating form.

"Procrastination seems to be your specialty, Kagome." Sesshomaru commented, resulting in Kagome turning to glare at him instead.

"One of many, Sesshomaru." she said airily, brushing past him with her nose in the air. He followed her in and closed the door.

"Let me see your sword." Sesshomaru ordered. Kagome pulled it out of it's sheath and handed it to him. The taiyoukai examined it closely, testing the weight and balance while silently admiring the craftsmanship.

"Sesshomaru, if you look at it any closer, you're going to end up poking your eye out." Kagome said impatiently. Sesshomaru ignored her.

"This is exactly what could be expected of Totosai." he commented, giving it back to her.

"Yeah, it's really nice." Kagome replied. "I like the dragon."

"Of course you do. Now, tell me what you already know."

"Um...what do you mean? Like, what I know the do's and don'ts or the weapons I can use?" Kagome asked.

"Both."

"Alright. First of all, don't be like InuYasha as in attack first and ask questions later." Kagome said thoughfully, earning a nod from Sesshomaru. "I think I can only use a bow and my miko powers."

"We'll start with something to that effect then. We will get to your sword in a few moments, but, first, you need something should you become disarmed." Sesshomaru announced, walking over toward the wall of weapons. He stopped in front of the daggars that Kagome had been admiring the night before and lifted both from their stand before returning to Kagome and handing them to her.

"What am I going to do with these? And where would I put them?"

"Were you not just listening to me?" Sesshomaru asked, trying not to get mad. "I said that you should have them just in case you are disarmed, and you are wearing a taijiya outfit, you can find a place to put them."

"Well, do they at least come with some sort of cover? I don't want to lose a body part by just carrying these things around."

"You're not going to lose a body part, but, if you absolutely must have something to put them in, there are a two right here." Sesshomaru handed the covers to Kagome and she stuck them in before tucking both blades into the ribbon that criss-crossed over her back.

"Alright, I'm ready."

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Three hours later, Kagome had progressed substantially, fighting as if she had been doing it for years. She had actually come close to beating Sesshomaru a couple of times, but somehow got distracted by a small movement elsewhere and let her guard down.

"Focus!" Sesshomaru barked after the third time of this happening. "You are tapping into the power of your previous incarnations, but it will do nothing if you lose your focus."

"I'm trying! I really am! We've been at this for hours and I haven't eaten yet, nor have I had anything to drink since last night." Kagome said through gritted teeth, blocking a strike to the back of her head and to the front in rapid succession. She studied his movements, looking for an open area or something less guarded than anything else. She saw it, and she was going to take her chance.

Kagome aimed a blow to his midsection and jumped over his head, following with her landing down to the ground and sweeping his feet out from under him as he was turning around. That was when Yukana walked in, clapping and grinning like an idiot.

"Very nice, very nice indeed." she commented, walking foreward calmly. Kagome sheathed Rekuiemu as Sesshomaru returned to his feet.

"To what do we owe the pleasure of your company, dear cousin?" Sesshomaru asked sarcastically, earning himself a light tap on the arm from Kagome.

"Oh, I just wanted to see how things were turning out." Yukana said airily. "Either you're a very good teacher, Sesshomaru, or Kagome somehow cheated and drew from past life expierience."

"Maybe it's both." Kagome suggested brightly. Yukana rolled her eyes.

"Well, anyway, I really came down here to tell the both of you that InuYasha and Kaori are going at it in the entrance hall."

"Who started it?"

"Do I look like I know?" Yukana snapped. "Somebody had better take care of it though, 'cause Kaori is getting pissed and she's not very pleasent when she is." Yukana turned around to walk out, but then added as an afterthought, "Oh, yeah, and there was a message about a little while ago from that Ozai guy. He said he's coming up tomorrow to discuss a treaty...lying bastard." She left after that.

Sesshomaru turned to Kagome and told her she was allowed to leave to deal with the situation with InuYasha and Kaori. Kagome nodded happily and pranced out of the dojo, feeling as if she accomplished the most impossible task in the world.

She entered the castle from the back and made her way to the entrance hall from there. If she was right, it must have been InuYasha who had started whatever fight was going on, but she knew it wasn't right to assume something like that, either. Kagome sighed, suddenly wondering when she became the peace keeper.

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"You sent it out?" Naraku asked Kanna. Kanna nodded.

"Your wish has been taken care of."

"Good. Where has Kurayami gotten off to?"

"She is with Kagura in the lower levels." Kanna said. Naraku leaned back and thought for a moment. He then looked over at Ozai, a plan forming in his twisted mind.

"Summon them both, Kanna." he ordered. Seeing Ozai smirk out of the corner of his eye, he added, "I have an assignment for them."

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AR: Well...that took longer than I thought it would...and it's not even a long update...oh, well!

IY: What do you mean "oh, well"? You had them wait this long for this? I'm not even in it!

AR: InuYasha, you're not even the main character of the story. You're lucky that you get a part at all, much less one as big as you have right now.

Ka: Somehow, that doesn't sound to me like it's very comforting, AR.

Y: I agree. At least I lightened up in this chapter, though.

Se: Indeed.

K: Is it time for a vacation yet?

AR: A vacation? You get enough time in between chapters! Suck it up, Kagome, and get with the program!

K: Hey! I was just asking!

AR: Whatever. Anyway, I'm out. Review and I'll be happy. I might even update faster. Also, if you're a Pirates of the Caribbean fan, check out my new story, co-written with Moonlight Shadow Guardian. It's not as good as this one, but its still a story, ne?