Chapter 17:

Nerves of Steel

"As a blacksmith uses heat to temper steel, so should a trial by fire strengthen one's mettle."
― Jeffrey Fry

Becoming familiar with Ryura against her back didn't take as long as the Dragon thought it would. Kagome's shots were clean and precise once again, and it was a good thing he was behind her, else he was pretty sure her reiki would have tried to burn his face off.

Perhaps "familiar" was the wrong term to use. It was more like Kagome had managed to steel herself enough to not pay attention to how nervous she was at having Ryura's armored chest against her back. As soon as she had dropped into a comfortable rhythm, Ryura moved his hands from his hips to hers. Kagome immediately stiffened under his touch.

Her arrow was shot into the ground at her feet.

Back and forth this would continue with Kagome shooting like a novice until she pushed her nervousness aside, then Ryura would change how he was touching her. Every now and then Kagome would get a break with Ryura hopping around the ruined clearing scooping up wayward arrows to refill her quiver. When he was finished he would resume his position behind her and awkwardly wrap around her.

Kaede found them and she felt herself blush as if she were a young woman again. Seeing Kagome and Ryura as close as they were to each other came as a shock.

The Lord had his left arm wrapped around Kagome's lower torso with his hand splayed out across her stomach. His other arm was wrapped around his shoulders and the claws of his right hand were trailing lightly in random patterns across the side of Kagome's face. Ryura held a goofy grin on his face as he rested his chin atop her head.

Wondering what exactly it was they were doing, Kaede decided to keep her presence hidden. Her one good eye widened dramatically as she watched Kagome fire an arrow and have it land not three feet away from where Kaede herself was standing. Her shots were horrible! Kaede had heard Inuyasha griping about Kagome's shooting but never would she have thought it was this bad. How was the girl still alive!? Sheer luck!?

Instead of going over and immediately correcting Kagome's stance and beating Ryura away from her, Kaede continued to watch. Within a few short minutes, Kagome's shots were smooth and centered. Her mind flew back to the time the younger Miko told her of her issues in battle, and suddenly everything became clear.

Ryura was ridding Kagome of her habits when she became nervous in battle, by making her nervous as he possibly could, and that was, at the moment, wrapped so close around her he looked as if he was melding together with her.

Kaede cleared her throat, making the two jump apart. Ryura jumped the furthest, at least four feet away. With a blush on his cheeks, he bowed his head. "Greetings Kaede-sama. I pray your day has been well?"

Kagome waved at the elder woman and gave her a smile, "Hello, Kaede!"

Well, it seemed Kagome was carrying out her lessons very well. Kaede could tell she was nervous, but Kagome was trying not to allow it to affect her to the point she became a blubbering goofball.

"My day has indeed been fine. Our village has a new member," Kaede chuckled and moved to join the two, "How would it be for ye if we were to hold thy lessons here, Kagome?"

"Outside? I wouldn't mind it, if you're sure you'll be fine," Kagome smiled softly at her grandmother-figure. "You did just help a woman give birth, after all."

"I will be fine, child. Now, sit." Kaede instructed.

Kagome did as Kaede bid without question and sat seiza on the grass. Ryura gave them a bit more space until he was closer to a thin tree, then sat down himself. He'd never seen a Miko learn to control their reiki since it was usually done when they were very small children. Well, he'd never seen a Miko train ever, to be honest.

He rested back against the tree, making himself comfortable. He was assuming since he was technically Kagome's Lord, Kaede was allowing him to view the lesson.

Kaede first had Kagome fall into a meditative like state, and when she didn't react to Kaede suddenly snapping her fingers directly next to Kagome's ear, the elder Miko nodded, satisfied. She gently instructed Kagome to only focus on the sound of her voice and asked her to nod if she heard her. Kaede was making sure Kagome didn't go into a full meditative trance. She only wanted her floating between the two states.

Ryura's attention was stolen away by Tsuyoshi landing with a soft thump on the grass beside him.

The water Dragon wore an outfit consisting of close fitting black hakama, an equally and close fitting black haori with the House of Storm's crest on his right shoulder – the same place Kagome wore hers denoting both of them as servants of the House – and across his chest he wore a dark steel breast plate that covered the area of his heart. His left arm was covered in armor that spread down the length of his arm as if it were a dragon, as that was the way it was designed - to look like a dragon's body with the maw of the dragon opening on his wrist. Resting around his shoulders and over his breast plate was a silver-white vest that fell to his mid thighs and wrapping around his waist was a navy blue sash that kept the vest he was wearing close to his body. His feet were clad in boots much like Sesshoumaru wore. Tsuyoshi's white-blue hair as pulled back into a high tail and kept in place by a ribbon that matched the color of his sash.

His chosen weapon was a spear tipped with what appeared to be a Dragon's fang, for that's what it was. It was forged from his own fang and the tip of said fang was used for the blade of his spear. Around the black shaft of the spear, close to the head where the blade rest, a long and thin ribbon was tied. The color, yet again, matched his sash and faded red markings could be seen, as if blood had been washed from the silk in the past.

"Well, don't you look fancy," Ryura said with a smirk. "Be careful, else Kagome or Sango-san might fall for you."

Tsuyoshi rolled his eyes as he crouched down to sit beside his Lord. He rested the spear against his shoulder and draped his unarmored arm over it, his eyes now focused on the lesson Kaede was giving Kagome. The water Dragon watched for a few moments, the cast his gaze around the field, spotting the few sporadically placed arrows.

"Should I be worried for Lady Kagome's future as an archer?" Tsuyoshi asked with a brow raised.

Ryura chuckled and waved a hand. "No, she's a perfectly good archer – a damn good archer, actually. She only loses sight of what she can and should be doing if she becomes nervous, which apparently happens often in battle unless one of her friends are directly in danger."

Their voices were low as they spoke, not wishing to interrupt Kaede as she walked Kagome through the steps of controlling her reiki.

"Ho? And how ever are you going to manage to correct that without putting her in danger of being killed?" Tsuyoshi gave Ryura a sidelong glance at that. A faint grin appeared on his face when he saw Ryura blush.

"Don't wanna talk about it. Let's just leave it at if she can make it through what happened, she can look Naraku in the face in a one on one battle and come out of it alive," Ryura muttered.

They fell into silence, watching Kagome go about her lesson. They saw the pink of her reiki flow around her, Kaede quietly speaking to her the entire time. The high tail Kagome's hair as in flowed about her form, dancing together with her power. Her eyes were closed and she looked as if she were at peace and enjoying feeling her reiki swim against her.

Kaede looked over to them after a few moments and motioned for them to move further back. The two Daiyoukai gave each other curious glances before rising to their feet and stepping backwards until Kaede gave a single to stop with a nod of her head.

"Let it go, child." Kaede said softly.

Kagome immediately responded by letting go of the mental reigns she had on her reiki. It burst from her body like an explosion and swept through the clearing, reaching as far as Tsuyoshi and Ryura had been sitting. The two were even forced to step further back once the pink reiki began to lick at their boots.

Raising their arms to shield their eyes, whatever loose clothing or hair they had began to billow behind them, and Ryura felt himself at a loss for words.

"This is..." he sputtered.

Tsuyoshi stole a glance at his Lord. "Incredible. I have heard from Miroku-sama that this is not even her true power, either. It was sealed away when she was a child. You may not have seen it, my Lord, but reiki is naturally blue, yet Lady Kagome's is pink. What else do you know of that is pink?" he asked.

"The Shikon no Tama when it's pure." Ryura said as he lowered his arm since his eyes had adjusted.

Tsuyoshi followed suit and ended up leaning lazily against his spear, watching the two Miko in front of him. "Correct. My best guess is that the Shikon no Tama did not wish its Guardian to be completely helpless and it attempted to give Lady Kagome some amount of power to protect herself with."

"That does make sense, but this much? If she knew how to use this power properly, I wouldn't of had the chance to come back. Ever. You know what happens to us if we are purified!" Flabbergasted, Ryura looked at his Steward as if the man was crazy.

"Ah, yes. You fought against Lady Kagome on Horai Island." Tsuyoshi nodded once. "Either way, if this is only a fraction of her true power, does it not make more sense for the Shikon no Tama to make up what has been sealed away, even if only by a small amount – a small amount compared to what she is supposed to have?"

Ryura speculatively glanced at Tsuyoshi. He didn't respond however, not knowing how to respond. The Shikon no Tama was a powerful and cursed artifact. Who was Ryura to say what it could do and what it couldn't?

With a rush of air leaving her, Kagome's power receded back into her body as if it had never been allowed out that much to begin with. Her eyes fluttered open and she gave Kaede a tired smile.

"Well done, child! I have not seen one who can control their reiki that well on their first try when all of it has been released, and in such great amount!" Kaede praised the younger Miko with a proud smile.

"Thanks..." Kagome breathed.

Kaede made a move to stand, and Kagome quickly helped the elder to her feet, despite how tired and drained she was.

"Now, ye may feel tired but it is perfectly natural. Ye have not used such a vast amount of reiki in thy life. The first time is always draining, but they more ye train and do as I have taught ye, the less and less ye will become tired," Kaede said, giving Kagome a pat on the arm.

"Building up my stamina, huh?" Kagome gave a lopsided grin, and Kaede nodded, saying, "Exactly."

She looked around for Ryura then. "Ryura? I think you might have to carry me if we want to make it to Inuyasha on..." the words died on her lips when her eyes found Ryura and the male standing next to him. "Who is... Is that Tsuyoshi?" she asked in a whisper to the elder woman next to her.

Kaede followed Kagome's gaze to the two youkai walking towards them.

"I believe it is, aye," Kaede replied in the same tone Kagome had used.

"Huh. I have to say he looks a lot different like that, doesn't he?" Kagome asked.

She shouldered her bow and kept a firm grip on it to keep herself awake. Feeling something real beneath her hand gave her something to concentrate on. To Kagome it felt like she could fall over at any moment.

Kaede nodded slowly. "Indeed he does. If I were forty years younger..."

"Kaede!" Kagome said with a gasp.

The elder Miko simply laughed and turned, hobbling away back towards the village.

"Take care, child. I will see ye when ye return," she said over her shoulder.

Kagome couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her. Raising her free arm, she waved after Kaede. "I'll miss you while we're gone! Thank you, and see you later, Kaede!"

Smiling now, Kagome turned to greet the men as they neared her. Ryura wore a proud smile on his face while Tsuyoshi dipped his head in a respectful bow, a small smile to his lips. Their calm, peaceful auras washed over her once they were close enough, and Kagome suddenly found it hard to stand. It felt like she was wrapped in warm blankets that were trying to lull her to sleep.

They must have been doing it on purpose, considering Ryura held out his hand for Kagome to take before she began to fall to her knees. She shakily took his hand and found herself soon after being lifted into his arms. Her eyes began to droop once she found a comfortable position with her head resting against the cool surface of Ryura's armor. Tsuyoshi carefully took one of the two cloak-like sashes Ryura wore over his shoulders and laid it across Kagome as if it were a blanket.

"The nights are becoming colder," the water Dragon said with a shrug when he spotted Ryura's confused look.

"Ah, they are?" He asked.

"Where we will be heading they are, at least. And it cannot hurt, either way. I assume we will be flying?" Tsuyoshi leaned against his spear and looked up to the sky.

Ryura didn't have to answer. The grin on his face was enough for Tsuyoshi.