InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hidden Past, Hidden Self ❯ Training ( Chapter 3 )

I don't own any of the InuYasha characters in this fanfic. However, the original character(s) are off limits.

Chapter 3: Training

One morning, around dawn, Kane woke to birds singing in the trees. Though she'd only been in the Feudal Era for about a week, she was already feeling at home. The villagers were treating her with kindness and welcoming her into the village. InuYasha was training her in skills for battle and survival and showing her the ropes for other things she'd need now that she was living in what she called `a primitive time'.

Yeah, she could definitely get used to this. It was beautiful here; the trees were a lush green, there were always birds to wake her early in the morning, and there was fresh air like you find in the countryside in Japan. The only thing she didn't want to get used to was the fact that there was nowhere to wash up but the local river. What she wanted most was a hot shower or a luxurious bath in a deep bathtub. Oh, and a toilet couldn't hurt either; peeing outside wasn't what she called fun.

Thanks to Kagome, she had shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. But hot water was only available if she wanted to bathe in the hut, where anybody could come bursting in while she was washing herself. That was never a possibility for her.

She stretched lazily as the morning sun greeted her. Maybe sleeping on a hard floor wasn't so bad. While it wasn't comfortable, she woke up feeling better than when she slept in a bed. It might have been that InuYasha's rigorous training program exhausted her everyday, but still. She sighed as she loosened a kink in her neck.

Shivering slightly, she stepped into the early morning air to bathe. The village was just waking, and many men were beginning their harvest for the day. It was fall, so the air was taking on a slight chill in the mornings. But for some reason, it didn't seem to bother Kane anymore. She adjusted well to any kind of weather, never taking sick when she bathed in the cold river.

Kane stripped from her new kimono. InuYasha had it made special, saying that it was made of the fur of the fire rat. He'd given it a more feminine touch than his (thank Kami) and had even had golden designs embroidered into the sleeves and by the chest. Black outlined the opening, which had a slit going down the middle that stopped just above her bust line, and the obi matched the outlining. She liked it, except for the fact that she had to wear simple sandals with it. She'd never liked plain shoes and she had always bought flashy heels and sneakers. But now she was stuck with these plain things. It was the only thing that she wished were different.

Grabbing her soaps, she slowly stepped into the water and set them on the water's edge. She held her breath and dove into the cool liquid and quickly resurfaced. `The water's especially cold this morning. I should hurry anyway since I'm late for my training.' She grabbed the shampoo and lathered her hair, scratching her scalp with her claws. Those were beginning to be a problem. They always got in her way when she was washing her hair and her ears. On the first day she'd started washing her hair with her new ears and talons, she'd practically ripped one of the fuzzy appendages right off. She dove under water again to rinse her hair and resurfaced once again.

A noise caught her attention. She stopped washing her body with the sweet smelling lavender soap and swiveled her ears to listen. The snap of a twig had been to her right, and she wasn't taking any chances on a man seeing her naked. She knelt into the water and grabbed a stone large enough to fill her palm. Then she pretended to not notice the sound and continued to wash herself. She heard another snap, turned, and threw the stone into a bush.

“OOWEE!!” A little monkey went running from the bush, scurrying up a tree out of harms way. She sighed, grateful that the `peeping tom' had been an animal, not a human male. It wasn't until she heard, “What was that?” Coming from that same direction that she panicked. A man was nearby and he was coming over to see what the commotion was all about. She dashed for her towel, but she was too late.

A man in black and purple monks clothing appeared behind the bush. He had black hair tied back in a small ponytail at the nape of his neck and he carried a staff by his side with jingling rings on the top. He was quite handsome, but not enough for her to forgive him for peeping on her. She'd almost gotten the towel around her when she spotted him staring at her. Feeling confident and not influenced by her evil glare, he approached with a smile. “Hello, and who may you be?”

She hugged the towel to her body. “What's it to you?” She said quietly.

“Oh, don't be frightened. I am not here to harm you. I was merely admiring your body from a far and a question came over me that I could not resist asking you.” He took her hand and looked into her golden eyes with his blue ones. “Will you…bear my child?”

She smacked his face with her open palm. “You lech! I'm not interested in bearing anybody's child, especially yours.” She removed her hand from his and walked away. “Now go, I need to…” Apparently she hadn't walked far away enough. His left hand was stroking her bottom in small circular movements. She tensed and then turned to face him. “What part of leave do you not understand?!” She picked him up and threw him into the water.

He came back up, spitting out water. “I couldn't help it; I have a cursed hand.”

“The hell you have a cursed hand! Keep your filthy hands to yourself!” She stomped away from him, heading for the village.

She dressed in Kaeda's hut and waited for InuYasha to come and get her for training. As she did, that same man entered the hut, without knocking, and sat by the fire pit. While she'd taken immediate notice of him, he apparently didn't see that she was sitting there. It wasn't until he felt holes being bored into him that he finally turned his head and saw...a very angry woman. “Oh, it's you again.” He gulped mentally. “So, what brings you here?”

“Nothing really; I'm just waiting for my brother to come and get me for training but he's running late today.” She huffed and turned away from him. “And you're here because?”

“Your brother wouldn't happen to be InuYasha, would it?”

She nodded.

“I see. Well, you two look almost nothing alike. Had I known better, I wouldn't have asked you that question earlier.” He came up to her ear and whispered, “You're not going to tell him about this morning, are you?”

“What about this morning?” A gruff voice said behind the monk.

He stiffly turned around to look at the pissed hanyou. “Oh, InuYasha...good morning.”

“Answer my question, Miroku; what happened between you and my younger sister this morning?”

He flinched. “Nothing happened; we just met each other a couple minutes ago.”

But he wasn't satisfied with that answer. “Kane, what happened?”

“Well,” She began, knowing this guy deserved no mercy for being a lech. “I was bathing in the river when he came up to me, saw me naked, and asked me to bear him a child. After I slapped him, he came back and started to rub my ass with his `cursed' hand.”

Miroku sighed deeply. “You could've left out some of the details.” He stood. “There you go InuYasha, that's the truth. Now if you'll excuse me...” He started to leave, but InuYasha grabbed him by his collar.

“Come with me Miroku; I think you have some explaining to do.” He dragged the man called `Miroku' out of the hut and looked back at Kane. “And you, go out to our usual field for training. Sango's there to help.”

She watched as InuYasha started his torment by giving Miroku to the count of ten to run. On ten, he sprinted after the monk. For reasons she couldn't explain, she felt sorry for him.

***

“Hiraikotsu!” The young youkai exterminator yelled out, throwing her large weapon: a giant boomerang made of demon bone. It flew right at Kane, but she managed to dodge it by leaping away from it to the left. She almost laughed in glee, thinking she'd finally gotten past Sango's barrier, until the boomerang came back and hit Kane from behind. She flew forward, hitting the ground with a loud thud and losing her breath in the process. When she started getting up, Sango was already there; her sword was drawn and aimed at her.

“Okay Sango, thanks.” InuYasha stated as he started to walk over to his sister, who was coughing to regain her breath. “Now Kane, what went wrong?”

“I underestimated her again?”

“No,” He sighed. “We're not only training you to fight, but to be aware of your surroundings. You keep dodging in the same direction that the wind will carry Hiraikotsu back. Whether you go left or right, you have to be aware of what's going on around you.”

“And how do you expect me to do that? I'm learning battle skills along with senses training. I'm not used to that.” Kane stood, brushing herself off. “For Kami's sake, give me a break. I haven't had a day to myself for a week and everyday I've been training!”

“You need to get your training done!” InuYasha brushed her complaining like a grain of sand on his shoulder. “After you master basic battle skills, you'll need to learn how to fight with a sword.”

“What do I need these skills for anyway?” Kane huffed, walking over to a nearby tree. “Why not teach me how to leap into trees like you do? I think that might be more useful.”

Sango cleaned off her boomerang bone and offered, “Actually, that's a good idea. You should teach her agility before battle so she's responsive and alert during a battle.”

“Here's my question to you: what do I need battle training for?” Kane asked.

“It's much more dangerous around here. One of these days, I won't be around to protect you from…whatever may try to kill you.”

“Oh, so you plan on dying after I'm done being trained?” Kane giggled.

Her brother just rolled his eyes. “No, but I may not be with you. Like when I go off with Kagome to…or when I go off to…”

Her giggling erupted into laughter. “You have no social life?! Oh, that's rich!” She held her gut as the laughter split her sides. “Poor Kagome, she must be really bored with you!”

“Stay!” InuYasha yelled and Kane's laughter was immediately cut off by her falling to the hard ground. “Anyway, Sango has a point. We should work on your agility. As soon as the spell wears off, come with me.”

“Asshole…” She swore as she stood, following with a dirty and angry face.

In the woods, InuYasha stood below a tree branch. “Watch carefully.” He bent his knees, the muscles loading like a spring, and then he jumped into the branch almost ten feet in the air. He landed gracefully, standing on the thin branch like it was solid ground. When he'd gained his balance, which was very quick, he leapt from that branch to another, then another, and then another, until he hopped from the last branch onto the ground. He turned to look at his sister. “Okay, your turn.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“It's easy. Just concentrate on the branch and jump up to it. When you gain your balance, leap to the next one, and then jump back down.” He crossed his arms. “Master this and your battle skills will improve by eighty percent, I swear.”

She gulped. “Okay, I'll try.” Looking up at the branch, she took in a deep breath and prayed that she'd land on the branch. She jumped up, and felt the ground disappear from under her. Joy coursed through her veins as she realized she was really doing it! The limb was coming closer and when she landed on it…she fell right off and onto her butt.

Her brother sighed. “Well, you almost got it. You were very accurate on how far to jump, but your balance sucks.”

She rubbed her sore butt and stood. “Of course I understand the accuracy on jumping; I take geometry and basic physics in school. A little extra trig training and there you go; perfect accuracy on shooting and jumping from branch to branch.”

“What's `geometry' and `basic physics'?” He was very confused; such big words. “And `trig'? I've never heard of a trig.”

“Never mind.” She looked up at that branch again and decided to give it another try. Hey, it couldn't hurt that bad, could it?

***

Sunset…

“I told you to stop an hour ago, but no; you just insisted that you keep right on going.” InuYasha carried his sister on his back as she groaned with fatigue and soreness.

“Oh my aching back and ass.” She moaned. “Please tell me there's a hot spring somewhere around here.”

“Afraid not; only the local river.” He heaved her up further onto his back. “The nearest one is at least a three hour hike.”

“Even with you running?”

“If I ran, we'd be there in an hour.” He sighed when he saw the edge of the village. “Come on, I'll have Kaeda heat some water up for you. And when that's done, we'll leave the hut and let you bathe in peace.”

She shook her head weakly. “I don't think I'll be able to keep my eyes open long enough. I'm too tired.”

“Don't fall asleep on me; you might drool all over me.” He complained loudly. “Besides, we need to eat yet.” His nose picked up the alluring aroma of ramen noodles that almost had him sprinting for the hut. Ramen not only meant good food, but it meant that Kagome was back.

As he thought, the raven haired girl was sitting by the fire, tending to it while Kaeda was out attending patients in the village. When he entered, she smiled up at him. “Hey InuYasha; hey Kane.” She helped him set his sister down on the floor. “How'd training go today?”

Kane answered for him. “Horrible.” She groaned again and gladly accepted a steaming bowl of ramen noodles. “My back and butt hurt like hell.”

Kagome smiled. “He's working you hard; that's good. This way you'll get stronger faster. There are a lot of things going on here that could kill you if you don't know how to fight properly.”

“Sure, I've only been told that ten thousand times today.” She sighed heavily, feeling sleepy. “Man, if my mom and dad knew about my training, they'd probably freak out. And my boyfriend; InuYasha, he'd give you a good work out for making me do all that agility stuff.” The thought of her parents and her boyfriend made her feel depressed all over again. “I wonder how they're doing without me.”

The miko put on a reassuring smile. “Don't worry; they're fine. They're worried about you, but they're getting along okay?”

“What did you tell them about me?”

“Not the truth. At first, we were going to tell them about you being kidnapped, but then I figured that they'd go berserk. So, I came up with an alternate version of the truth. My family told them that I'd introduced you to your real family and that they were the ones who accidentally dropped you down the well.”

Kane frowned. “And they believed you without asking who they were?” She felt her heart breaking in two. `Kaske…'

“They did believe me, but they weren't happy. Your mom was crying, thinking she'd never hear from you. And your boyfriend, he seemed kind of heart broken. I'm not sure what they're going to do about this whole thing, but we need to make sure that they never see you again.”

“But why?!” Kane asked fearfully. “I grew up knowing that my parents loved me and that they cared for me! I can't just abandon them!”

“Kane, I'm sorry.” Kagome said slowly and quietly. “But they can't know who you really are. Nobody in my time can.”

Tears were making their way back into the back of her eyes again. “But…what will they think of me?”

“They'll have to get over it; you have your real family here now, your only living relative.” She gestured to InuYasha. “While your family will miss you, they'll learn to move on.”

A tear plopped on Kane's kimono. “I-I know that. But why does it hurt so much?”

“Because you still miss them.” Kagome offered her some comfort by rubbing her sore back. “I'm sorry this had to happen, but this is where you belong. If we find a way, maybe you can go back to the future and see them again.”

That little bit of information made Kane perk up some. “Okay, that sounds fair.” She wiped away her tears with the back of a dirty hand and yawned.

Not even ten minutes later did she fall asleep. Kagome whispered to InuYasha that they should let her sleep and slipped out of the hut. Once they were outside, InuYasha wrapped his arms around Kagome's waist and held her close. “Kagome, are you sure that her parents are okay with this?”

She watched a shooting star go sailing by in the dark velvet sky and smiled as it faded. “Yeah, I'm sure. And Kane will be fine too. Just give her some time to adjust.” Laying her head against his shoulder, Kagome sighed. “You've become gentler with her around.”

“Is that bad?” The hanyou asked, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair. “Because I could be rude and arrogant again if that's what you want.”

“No, I like you being you. If you revert to being a prick again, I'll still hang around you.”

“Thanks Kagome,” he said as another shooting star went gliding by in the sky. “It means the world to me that you'd still be here with me.”

***

The next morning, it was a perfect cool morning for some early practicing. Kane stretched in the dawn with fog swirling around her feet. “Won't InuYasha be surprised when he finds out that I can jump in and out of trees with more grace than him?” She smiled as she walked out of the village and into the woods.

She found a low tree branch that went just over her head and thought it was a good start. She coiled her legs and sprung into the tree. To her surprise, she landed on the branch and stayed on it. Delighted, she jumped down from the branch and did it again. She nailed it perfectly once more. She squealed with joy, deciding to take it to the next level: jump from that branch to another branch only five feet away. She concentrated on that branch, prepared to leap, and jumped. This time she miscalculated her bound for the limb and flew right over it. She landed on the ground with a hard thud on her back.

Lying on the ground and catching her breath, she closed her eyes and smirked. “Well, landing on the branch is better than nothing.”

“Keh! Can't even leap from branch to branch! How pathetic!” Kane's eyes flew open when she heard that smug tone from above her. She sat up, listening for where exactly the sound had come from.

“Who's there?!” She stood and called out.

“Nobody of importance,” the deep feminine voice said. “Just someone you're only going to know for maybe five seconds.”

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