Chapter 39

Even though one could hardly count the kind of childhood he had as being properly socialized to humans, Inuyasha was pretty sure what he was doing right now would count as lurking.

Still, he kept the bulk of his form hidden behind the trunk and peered carefully through the shifting gaps in the leaves. With his keen eyesight, he could make out the small shapes in the clearing much further away. White, fluffy ears standing at full alert was poised to capture as much of the conversation as possible.

They were barely within hearing distance.

And he hoped that he was out of sensing range. Though he didn't really have a good grasp of how far Kikyou's powers reached.

A dull thud traveled through to air, followed shortly by a familiar, frustrated huff.

Inuyasha could picture the pout pulling down the corner of her lips whenever she made such a sound. Kagome seldom shied away from making her displeasure known.

He frowned.

From the sound of it, the arrow hit true. So what was the problem?

Over on that hillside was a small area of hollowed tree stumps that'd been hit by lightning. The two women have been heading there frequently these days for target practice.

After a longer pause than expected, Kikyou's tranquil tone commented.

"You have exceptionally good aim, Kagome."

"Thanks," Kagome's short little laugh held a tinge of sheepishness, before vague annoyance creeped in. "But that's not really what we're working on though."

From what she told him, Kikyou had been trying to teach her how to channel a hama-no-ya. Somehow, after the sole critical circumstance-driven one she'd launched at the youkai that attacked the village, Kagome had only been firing normal arrows.

Not that she'd had any time to tell him much more in detail. With these additional training sessions taking up the bulk of her free time in the afternoons, they'd had hardly seen each other for more than a few snippets of rushed conversation since returning from their trip.

"Still," Kikyou continued, gently encouraging. "Skill with a bow and arrow is much more time consuming to master—which you clearly seem to have already put in your share of. Am I correct in this assumption?"

"Um, yeah." The underbrush rustled as Kagome walked to retrieve her arrow. "Where I come from, all children go to school for a long time. Along with reading and writing, we also learn different things—" She paused, likely considering that the humans here generally were consumed by work just to stay alive. "For fun I suppose."

"Archery for… fun?"

"Umm, yeah. Where I come from, there's very little danger or use for archery in the practical sense. Meat's usually already hunted and prepared."

"I see."

Kagome coughed awkwardly. "Yeah, so I did archery club because I really enjoy it. And I also entered some competitions in the last couple of years. You can win some money, but mostly just for fun."

"The value system in your world is quite intriguing. Instead of shooting your kills directly, you shoot unmoving targets against other humans in exchange for tokens to then exchange for goods." Kikyou hummed. "However, this certainly explains your skill."

Kagome sighed heavily. "But Kikyou-sama, it's useless if I can't get any of my power to come out again. That wasn't just a one-time fluke, right?"

"Spiritual channels can sometimes simply be akin to a dam. The water is held stagnant, but if that block is released, it shall flow."

Inuyasha chewed on his lip, mulling over what Kagome just divulged. She'd never told him any of that before. That's why he'd made a proper fool of himself hovering over her when she'd been perfectly capable of defending herself all along if only she'd been properly equipped.

He felt like an idiot all over again. Just like the day everything lit up in glaring blue with her reiki and he could taste the charred flesh of the youkai in the air.

During the nights she stayed out late in the forest with him and he was lulled by the sound of her voice, all her stories were about the mundane things in her life. About her brother being a little shit and hiding her things just to make her angry. Or how worried she was about getting into the right 'school' thing.

But there were nice stories too. How she would race her little brother up the stairs at the shrine her family cared for. How her mother would make something called oden and her family would sit and eat, listening to her grandpa's tales.

They were very different stories than the one Kagome just told Kikyou.

The sound of the bowstring drawn tight made him blink, then he strained forward from the bough he was perched in an effort to peer between the trees again.

Another thud and this time, Kagome let out a loud groan.

"Perhaps we have been attempting the incorrect approach," Kikyou supplied after a moment. "The issue appears to be you are struggling to feel your reiki. Is this so?"

"I…" Kagome mumbled. "I'm not so sure what I'm supposed to be feeling to be honest, actually."

"Ah, no matter. Let us stop here today." By the sound of it, she was gathering their belongings. "Next session, we shall try a different approach. There is no need to bring your bow."

"Oh, o-okay."

More rustling ensued as Kagome clambered to follow after Kikyou as she swiftly made to head back to the village. Inuyasha took the opportunity to bound up to a closer grove of cedars. He could just make out glimpses of Kikyou's red hakama and the wild mane of Kagome's hair.

Said girl suddenly paused her rapid steps, hesitating for a fraction of a second before whipping her head back. Inuyasha caught a flash of her grey eyes scanning quizzingly in his direction just as he threw himself behind a trunk.

There was no way Kagome, with her shitty human vision, could spot him from this distance. So he didn't know why his dumbass reacted so excessively.

He peeked through a spray of needles to catch her shake her head a little, then ran off after the priestess.

Cursing, he leaned back against the trunk.

All of this was so stupid.

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Hama no ya: arrow imbued with spiritual power for purification

A/N: Ahhhh forgive me! Stress is so shit for my creativity. I just barely made Inuvember. I didn't include any specific theme, but 'InuKag' counts right?

I say this every time, but I read all your comments, and they give me joy. My slow ass will continue to reply a snail's pace -_-

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. However, this plot, the exact sequence of words and any original characters described therein, I reserve all rights to.