Her butt hurts.
Her brain was hyper aware of the two juts of pelvic bone digging straight through her bum cheeks and into the solid rock slab below.
Also it was cold.
And her nose was itchy because there's a piece of stray hair just poking her in the face every time the wind stirred.
All of the above thoughts were thoughts she definitely wasn't supposed to be having.
What she was supposed to be doing was immersing herself in the surroundings. Listen to the rustle of the leaves as the wind blows through, follow the bubbling sounds of the brook and sink her consciousness into the flow of life around her.
With that, the natural progression would lead her to feel the wellspring of her spiritual power...or something like that.
Well, that wasn't exactly what Kikyou said—she may have zoned out a tiny bit during that part of the afternoon's teachings.
Cautiously, she squinted one eye open to spy on her companions.
On the opposite bank, perched similarly on some other equally uncomfortable looking rock, was Kaede.
The girl was hunched over and sported a half frown, half grimace on her face. Her eyes were shut tight out of sheer willpower, stubbornly trying to stay meditating.
Kagome bit down on her cheek to suppress the rising giggle at the sight.
A little to the left of her sat Kikyou, back straight and shoulders open, a hand resting gently on each knee. Her face was peaceful, and the perfect example of what meditation should look like.
Kagome resisted a big loud sigh at how hopeless she was in comparison.
She made another valiant attempt to center on her breath like she was taught, straining a little to pick up anything that might stand out from the normal sensations of the forest around her.
Hmmm, wonder what Inuyasha's doing?
Well, there goes her concentration.
Since returning from their outing, they'd hardly spent much time together. It was honestly a bit jarring to go from spending all day with the dog-boy, every day for over a week to suddenly not even laying eyes on him for days.
Kikyou wasn't kidding when she'd asked Kagome to anticipate some intensified training when she returned to the village. The idle afternoons, when she used to sneak away and troll through the forest with Inuyasha were now all taken up with lessons.
It wasn't like Kagome was ungrateful, quite the contrary actually. She really wanted to figure out how to recreate that burst of spiritual power she'd instinctively unleashed before. It'd be nice to have a way of defending herself if need be.
But the lack of progress has been frustrating.
And... she missed Inuyasha. Kinda more than she'd anticipated. Definitely more than she'd let on.
Although she doubted he would mind her pestering him less.
With her focus slipping, Kagome accidentally sighed out loud.
Crap!
"Kagome?" Kikyou's soft call punctuated the sounds of flowing water. "Is something amiss?"
Wincing, she opened her eyes sheepishly to find the older girl studying her with a steady expression.
"Sorry, Kikyou-sama." Kagome bowed her head guiltily. "I just got distracted."
Kikyou shook her head lightly to dismiss her unnecessary apologies. "It's only natural that meditation would be difficult for someone new at it. Unless you have grown up with the practice? You did mention your family are caretakers of a shrine, I recall."
"Uh yes," Kagome scratched the side of her head sheepishly. "We are. But we didn't really have that practice growing up."
She refrained from explaining that though one would assume her family would be quite traditional, they were in fact, not. They carried out all the duties seriously, and of course all the key celebrations and rites. But otherwise, she and Souta were raised quite liberally, with mom and grandpa giving them lots of space to explore and experience new things.
At the sound of conversation, Kaede also popped open her eyes curiously. Her older sister, noticing this, turned her gaze toward the younger girl.
"Kaede, on the other hand, is not a beginner at this."
"No, no, it was my fault for talking first." Kagome rushed to defend her young friend before realizing that there was no real hint of reproach in the miko's words.
Kikyou favoured both of them with a faint smile.
"So, were either of you able to feel any energy of the youkai scattered in the woods around us?"
Kagome winced and shook her head.
"Onee-sama," Kaede piped up. "It feels like a really quiet hum. I'm not even sure if I'm imagining it."
"Ah, well, most of the youkai that live around us are minor. As in they are rather similar to animals, so their youki should not be obtrusive. It's only higher order youkai that would have distinct auras."
"I felt something like a pull, but bad, like being sucked in against my will... when the centipede youkai attacked the village. Like a warning beacon almost."
"Oh, is it kinda like how Inuyasha's bright?" Kagome blurted out thoughtlessly before slapping a hand over her mouth.
For some reason, she'd never felt like it was entirely okay to mention her spidey-senses honed on Inuyasha in particular.
Kikyou's gaze sharpened to study her thoughtfully, almost like Kagome was some interesting bug on the side of the road. It made her want to squirm.
"Kagome, please do elaborate. I am curious that you may actually be sensing youki, but because you've always noticed it, you don't realize your perception is not actually the norm for most."
"Um..." Twisting her fingers in lap, she stalled.
Suddenly, she felt reluctant to go into detail—she had no idea why she even wanted to keep this a secret. It's not like Kikyou herself can't sense Inuyasha, right?
"Well, I... just seem to know where he is. Like if I go into the woods looking for him, I kinda just know which direction to go. It only works if I don't focus too hard on it though…I think."
The memory of the time she'd run through the forest looking for Inuyasha and then almost got lost in the dark if it wasn't for a kind stranger's help played back in her mind. It'd seemed that concentrating extra hard was counterproductive that night.
Her eyes darted to Kaede, who was returning her gaze with wide eyes. Embarrassed, she glanced at the priestess who, oddly, had a small crease between her brows. If Kagome didn't know better, she'd have thought that Kikyou looked almost slightly taken aback.
"Kaede, how about you?" Kagome prompted, desperately trying to divert the spotlight off of herself.
"No, it's not quite like that for me. I guess when I see Inuyasha, the energy around him is more in focus. If that makes sense..."
It didn't but Kagome nodded anyway.
She really didn't want to be made to keep explaining her initial statement. Inuyasha wasn't 'bright' in the sense like she's looking at a light bulb, but that was the best adjective she could come up with to describe it. Like a certain grove of trees would be look highlighted almost and that brightness always led her to Inuyasha if she followed it.
After a few more moments of somewhat awkward silence, Kikyou eventually hummed.
"Perhaps next time you notice these sensations, do try to focus on it, in contrast to what you've been doing. You may find that your spiritual sense will sharpen if you firmly acknowledge it instead of dismissing it as a strange hunch."
Kagome nodded again, maybe a bit over eager.
"Also, Kaede," The priestess shifted slightly to address her sister. "What you described would be jyaki, if it feels instinctively bad or dark or dangerous."
"I understand, onee-sama."
"Very good." The older girl folded her hands together decisively. "We shall spend a few more moments in meditation before we conclude today's lesson."
Kagome let her eyes fall closed in defeat and wiggled her backside uncomfortably before resigning herself to yet more sitting still.
She really missed the afternoons of lazing around with Inuyasha.
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A/N: Soooo you may notice that the latest ones and the next handful of chapters might be a bit short/oddly paced for those that are so patiently following me as I write this in real time.
It will probably make more sense flow/tone wise when IWFA exists as a complete entity in the future (or past this arc even).
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.