MC: Yeah, yeah, long time, no see! Sorry guys, life sorta got in the way again. But I think we're okay now. I had a death in the family, and another in the hospital, so yeah, it's been a trying two months. Anyway, here's chapter 11 of TTYH! Enjoy!

Chapter Eleven

It was during after breakfast workouts when the news came.

"Captain! Captain!" A squeaky voice called out amongst the groaning of the soldiers as they stretched their tired limbs. Kagome lifted her head slightly to watch as Jaken stumbled across the grass, a worn-out piece of paper in his hand. "Sesshoumaru-sama!"

"Stop that insistent yelling, Jaken." Sesshoumaru growled, his golden eyes narrowed and dangerous as Jaken skidded to a stop in front of him.

"It's…-huff- urgent message –cough- from the General!"

"A message from Father?" Sesshoumaru's face sudden blanked, but Kagome didn't miss the slight widening of his eyes. He snatched the paper away from Jaken, his eyes widening even more as a puzzled expression crossed his features. "Miroku, get everyone into my tent. Now."

"Okay." Miroku answered slowly, watching as Sesshoumaru stalked off towards the tents. "Umm…I guess you all have the morning off."

Receiving odd looks from the soldiers, Miroku rolled his eyes. "You know, have the morning off? As is, no workouts, or training, or anything?"

"Sesshoumaru-sama has never given these imbeciles a morning off!" Jaken huffed, ignoring Miroku's scoff. "Come on, Sess isn't that heartless!"

"That's Sesshoumaru-sama to you! And a good soldier never skips a training session!"

"Yeah yeah, being strong and honor for your family, whatever." Miroku waved a hand at Jaken before turning to the wide-eyed soldiers. "Go on, have fun. Swim, fight, sleep, whatever. Just be alert and ready."

"What do you think is going on?" Kagome whispered to Myoga, who shrugged as he poked his head out from her hair. "No clue, but we had better go get packed. It's best to be prepared for anything."

"Sesshoumaru, what is going on?" Miroku sighed, rolling his eyes at Sango as she glared at him. "Hush, Miroku, don't rush him! He'll tell us when he's ready!"

"We're wasting time just sitting around."

"Have some patience, will you?"

"Both of you, quiet." Sesshoumaru barked, his eyes narrowing at them before looking back down at the letter. "Father has requested back up."

"What?" Both Sango and Miroku asked in unison as they sat up in their chairs. Sesshoumaru just sighed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "What I don't understand is why he sent you here, then requests back up right after. It just doesn't seem like him."

"When I left, we had stopped at the village in the mountains." Miroku said thoughtfully, rubbing the back of his head. "It seemed like it was too peaceful, so he sent out a bunch of scouts, but every single one of them came back empty handed."

"That sounds a little strange." Sango murmured, looking from Miroku to Sesshoumaru. "What are your orders, sir?"

Sesshoumaru propped his elbow on the arm of his chair before placing his cheek on his fist. After a few moments, he blinked, tapping the letter in front of him. "Continue to train tonight. Whether they're ready or not, we have no choice but to head to the mountains."

"Down, up, front slash, roll, jab - no, no, no! Roll, jab! Come on Kagome, we have until tomorrow to get this right!"

Kagome wiped the sweat from her forehead as she bent over, bracing her hands on her knees as she tried to control her breathing. Myoga was sitting on Buyo's saddle as he grazed, all six arms crossed as he stared her down. "Myoga, can I not take a break? We've been at this for two hours now, and you're starting to confuse me with all these different patterns!"

"Come on, Kagome, don't quit now!" Myoga urged, but straightened suddenly, his attention towards the trees. "Someone's coming."

He disappeared as the tall, imposing figure of Sesshoumaru stepped out of the trees. Kagome blushed fiercely as he glanced around the clearing before coming to rest on her questioningly. "Who were you talking to?"

"Umm...myself?"

Sesshoumaru just lifted an eyebrow in answer, giving Kagome a chance to study him. He was dressed in a simple white outfit, his hakama tied with a black belt. "Hn." He suddenly eyed the sword in her hands, and she gulped at the intensity. "Where did you get that sword?"

"Umm..." she hesitated, then mentally slapped herself. Get a grip girl, this is your general! Stop acting like a lovesick school girl and answer him! "It was my father's."

"May I?"

Kagome blinked as he took a few steps forward, his arm outstretched and palm facing upward. Sighing quietly to calm her nerves, she slowly stepped forward, making sure to place the sword hilt-first into his waiting hand. After taking a few steps back, she watched as he tested the sword, slicing through the air a few times before performing a complicated move that caused Kagome to become dumbstruck. Wow, he's awesome!

"He was a good man, your father."

Kagome jumped, her eyes meeting his before looking back at the sword. "Yeah, I suppose. I don't remember much about him, he was gone for most of my life."

Sesshoumaru didn't answer, instead choosing to twirl the sword before performing another move. Kagome just watched, her thoughts whirrling at his comment. "Did you know my father well?"

He stopped, his eyes on the sword as he held it thoughtfully. "Yes, I did. He taught me many skills in the art of sword fighting."

"Lucky." Kagome muttered, causing Sesshoumaru to smirk. "I could teach you."

Kagome felt a smile spread across her face as Sesshoumaru handed her back her sword, reaching for his own tied at his hip. "That would help me tremendously. Thank you."

"Hn. Just copy me."

Later that night, Kagome was soaking in the lake on the shore, her hair spread out behind her as she stared up at the moon. She was propped up on her elbows, deep in thought, which is how Sango found her. "Aren't you afraid someone is going to catch you like that?" She teased, how own towel in place as she joined her.

Kagome just sighed, a soft smile on her face as she glanced at her companion. "Nah. I waited for everyone to get done first. Which, I think they found a river or something, but it wouldn't be as warm."

"Yeah, you're right." Sango smiled back at her, and both turned their attention back to the sky. The cresent moon shone brightly, blacking out the stars around it. Sango glanced down, her eyes widening when she caught sight of a large bruise on Kagome's thigh. "Whoa, what happened?"

Kagome blinked out of her reverie, glancing down at the mark before blushing slightly. "Oh, I was sword training with Sesshoumaru-sama earlier and -"

"You did what with who?"

Slightly taken aback at her friend's outburst, Kagome sat up, her brows furrowing. "What, was that a bad thing?"

"Kagome...Sesshoumaru-sama hasn't trained with anyone since your father died."

"Should I be worried?"

Sango didn't answer right away, choosing to bite her lip, which caused Kagome to huff. "Sango, really, should I be honored, or worried, or what? Is it a bad thing?"

"I just...I don't know...are you sure he doesn't know about...you know..."

That thought stopped Kagome. "Ya know...I honestly don't know. You think he trained with me to confirm his suspicions or something?"

Shrugging, Sango sat up too, scooting closer into the water. "I mean, when you first got here, everyone was spreading rumors about you being a girl in disguise because of how puny you were, but I wouldn't worry." She finished hurriedly, seeing how pale Kagome's face had gotten. "Kagome, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, no, it's okay." Kagome sighed, scooting down next to her. "I just...it was a thought that crossed my mind too, but I figured that if he knew I was a girl, he would've figured it out already."

"Yeah...but you must have done something he approved of, noone ever gets to have a one-on-one practice with the Captain."

Kagome sighed, her thoughts whirrling. What if he seriously suspects something? I've taken any and every precaution to make sure I don't look like a girl, save for cutting my hair, but...I don't know. I guess I'll just have to see.

Touga snarled viciously as another swipe was made at him, swinging his own sword around to behead the offender. "Damnit, Naraku, you son of a bitch! I'll kill you!"

"General!"

Touga spun towards the voice, his eyes widening slightly as his first-in-command skid to a stop before him. "What is it, Kouga?"

"We've gotten the women and children safely from here, but Naraku's men are pouring from the forrest."

Sighing heavily, Touga looked towards the mountain pass, a quick thought coming to mind. "Kouga, did you send the villagers through the mountains, or the valley?"

"The valley, sir. The children wouldn't survive through the cold."

"Did any of Naraku's men follow?"

"No sir. We adverted them back in through the forrest, but we're honestly not sure how long that's going to last."

"Tell the troops to create a decoy, get some willing men to cover up in rags and robes, and get everyone to start heading up through the mountains." Kouga bowed, racing off as a sly smile began to spread across Touga's face. "You want to fight dirty, you filty insect? Oh, we'll fight dirty."

MC: There, another chapter! I know this one is a little short, but there was some Kagome and Sesshoumaru interaction! Anyway, until next time!

OH, and I've got another story up called In The Shadow of Your Heart (huh, I sure do have something with hearts, lol) and it's completely original. It's only the prologue, and it's a little weird, but the whole story isn't going to be in first person (I'm not very good at it, but you'll see). So if you don't get it at first, I promise it will solve itself in the end.