Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.
Yuzuki had left that morning, her merry band of men following drearily behind her after a mere week of training. Kagome had woken at the crack of dawn to see them off along with Sesshomaru and Sango. Both InuYasha and Miroku remained curled up in their beds.
Once the rising sun made it to difficult to see their outlines, servants lead them to eat breakfast. The food was piled high and the extravagant plates and glasses made it seem like a small party rather then a quick meal.
Kagome smiled happily when InuYasha shuffled in and squatted at the end of the table; the seat across from his brother who had taken the head of the table. His lips just tilted up in response to her grin. The table still remained quiet and Kagome snuck a few glances at Sesshomaru. His eyes kept glancing at the door, like he was expecting a messenger to inform him his daughter had failed. Her mouth opened without her content.
"She will be fine." Her eyes widened and she instantly looked down at her bowl and shoveled food into her mouth. He just nodded and took a few tentative bites before standing and excusing himself. She silently cursed herself. "Oh Sesshomaru, wait!"
She raced after him and caught him about to enter his study. His body tightened and he didn't look back at her, only tilting his head slightly to the side to let her know he was listening.
"If I'm stuck here, I want to be able to help people. To do that, I need to better myself with my bow. Could I use your range?" She asked, crossing her fingers behind her back and rocking back and forth on her heels. She had seen the targets when they had first arrived and noticed the lack of use and the new equipment.
"All the equipment is at your use." He said loudly before entering and shutting the door firmly. She jumped a bit when the wood clashed but nodded and went to finish her breakfast in peace.
TUH
"Come on men! Woman!" Yuzuki yelled, waving a hand to get them to speed up considering all but one had lagged behind. The fox twins, Hiraku and Hiroaki, gasped for breath and clutched at their shirts which had become drenched in sweat. The only one in the group who seemed ok was Cho, the small girl with the large spear.
Kazuki and his dog demon companion Takeshi made steady progress at the back of the group and never wavered unlike Katsuo. The blond man heaved and sweated and started to gradually fall back.
"Miss, if we might...slow down?" He pleaded, pushing his sweaty locks out of his eyes and folding his hands together in prayer. She sighed and stopped, her group yelping happily before throwing themselves down onto the ground.
"My father really expects me to lead you?" She demanded and she felt the cold curl of regret when she caught their down turned eyes. She quickly revised her sentences. "I could have gotten worse."
"Yeah! I know this man that was in my battalion, he couldn't hold a sword because he had so many muscles." Cho provided, her clipped hair flaring out when she spun her head around and waited for someone else to add a comment. She was unprepared when it was her supervisor.
"Sounds like my first mating offer." She provided and Hiraku and Hiroaki laughed. Her eyes squinted at the setting sun and she nodded at their progress. "You ran farther than I had planned. We are ahead of schedule."
"That's good right?" Kazuki asked, fixing his haphazard shawl and grabbing his cane from his belt. He smiled when she did, sensing her slight change in attitude. "So to become a fluid and well-working unit, we need to know things about each other. Who would like to start?"
"Don't all go at once." Takeshi joked before piling sticks into a tepee and igniting them with a match. The group gathered close to ward off the cold creeping in at the suns retreat across the sky.
"I guess I will have to be the biggest person." Yuzuki muttered, wiping her hands on her pants to reduce the sweat that had started to build there. "When I was a pup, I was known to find the best places to hind and would stay there for hours. Once, I was lost for six hours because I had fallen asleep. My mother about tore me to shreds for that."
The group laughed but the underlying question was on the tip of everyone's lips. Just who was this mysterious woman so beloved in the future and yet unknown in is time.
"My mother started crying when she saw I was placed into the Heir's personal regiment." Cho shared, her pale cheeks flushing prettily and complimenting her pink eyes. She lowered her head and Yuzuki laughed. "She was so proud."
"I hope I can live up to her expectations." She sighed and poked at the glowing flames. She watched the fire lick its way up the wood and devours it, reading only white powder in its wake. She snapped out of her trace when Katsuo spoke.
"My father expects greatness. You should have seen his face when he saw how completely useless I was with a sword." She watched his face with a keen eye and noted the tightness of his shoulders and the slight glaze to his eyes. She refused to explain to a confused Cho that his father was abusive.
"I guess our sob story is next." Hiraku hummed, placing a hand on his chin as he though about where to start. "My brother and I are both very troublesome-"
"Completely useless really."
"-So our parents sent us to become men." Hiraku finished while his brother made exaggerated measures meant to look masculine. After a few flexes, they settled down to munch on their packed jerky. They all looked expectantly at the owl and the dog sitting off to the side.
"I never agreed to tell you anything." Takeshi growled, his hand still resting on his sword as if he expected a surprise attack. Kazuki consoled him quietly before laughing it off.
"We travel together and though it might be nice to settle down somewhere." No one commented on their situation but instead finished their meals and readied their tents and bedrolls.
The team stayed quiet as the sun sunk below the horizon and remained silent until one by one the slipped into sleep. Yuzuki was the last to shut her eyes, much to busy planning how she was going to pull this off.
While she was a brilliant diplomat, she was nowhere as good as her mother nor did she have the leverage her father had. Her wits could only go so far. She interlocked her fingers and prayed to any gods listening to let her pass this.
TUH
The bow was pulled taunt and her eyes looked steadily at the straw man over two hundred yards away. She had hit a target farther but she thought to take it slow and build up the calluses on her finger tips.
Her shoulders set back and her stomach clenched. Her arm was drawn back and the horse hair brushed her lip. The arrow was released and embedded itself the targets's gut with surprising accuracy. Her fist was thrown up into the air and her happy dance was interrupted by a throat clearing.
InuYasha had watched her from a distance and approached only after he was sure she wouldn't accidentally shoot him. He held up his hands in surrender and was happy to see her smile again. She hadn't been her normal cheerful self since the well had closed and she had lost her family.
"Oh, InuYasha, I didn't know you were here." Her cheeks stained pink and her hands hid themselves behind her hips, taking the bow with them. Her eyes squinted and she leaned forward a bit before covering her forehead with a hand to get a better look behind him into the darkness. "Looks like you've got a shadow."
His brows knitted together and he glanced over his shoulder, surprised to she a bright head of hair duck behind a rock. He sighed and turned back to face her.
"Quit smiling like that, she's just taken a likening to me." He disregarded and planted his hands on his hips to stop the blush climbing up his neck. She just laughed and plucked an arrow from her quiver.
He watched with warm eyes as she drew it back, knocked the arrow into position, and let it fly; the fletching making the arrow wiz through the air until it skimmed the wood off her previous shot.
"You've improved." He laughed and glanced over at her, surprised to see her gazing, confused, at the hill. He swiveled his head and caught the backlash of his brothers hair as the slight breeze carried it. "What did he want?"
She blinked owlishly a few times before shaking her head as if trying to physically shake off his brothers eyes. When he asked her again she remained quiet before letting another arrow imbed itself into the targets head. He had a feeling The Lord of the West was who she imagined when letting the arrow fly.
"What, you and the bastard fighting or something? I didn't even know you two got along all that well..." He squatted down onto the grass and leaned back, taking a few blades in his hand and letting the wind carry me away.
"He has a way with words." Her whisper was barely heard and he raised a single eyebrow but she didn't chose to explain. They stayed side by side for the rest of the night, two friends talking about their glory days.
I love writing InuYasha and Kagome friendship scenes.