InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Centre ❯ Healing Hands ( Chapter 2 )

I just wanted to say a quick “Thank you!” to Palmtree, Kawaiibabe14, InuGoddess, and The Hot Blonde for taking the time to review my little fic here. I'm not asking much people, just one or two lines telling me what you think! ^_^ Ah well, I tried - on with the fic!

 

Disclaimer: …You all know what I'm going to say - do you really have to rub it in?

 

Chapter Two: Healing Hands

 

 

~Now is not the time for this, wench.~

 

Inuyasha's voice sounded strained, as if he was in pain, and Kagome felt a pang of guilt at bothering him again. She brushed the feeling away as she had many times before, concentrating on forming the words in her head and sending them telepathically to the hanyou.

 

~You don't sound very happy to hear from me.~

 

Inuyasha's answer came back quicker than she expected, and its vehemence startled her. ~Why the hell would I be happy to hear from you?! I'm lying on my face in the dirt, about to get my fucking ass kicked by Kouga! I don't need any distractions!~

 

Kagome bit her lip, the guilt returning with a vengeance. He sounded really angry. Had she distracted him and caused him to get hurt? ~…Sorry.~

 

The thought-spoken word was so soft that Kagome thought it would be lost in the air currents. When no answer was forthcoming, she sighed and severed the link between her and Inuyasha's minds. It's not like I have nothing better to do than annoy him, she told herself defiantly. It's just funny how he gets so mad-

 

“That was a very immature thing to do, Kagome.”

 

The dark-haired girl jumped, sitting up straighter on her meditation mat when she saw who had spoken. “I- I don't know what you mean, Kikyo.” She left out the honourific, knowing that the miko cared little for formalities.

 

“You know exactly what I mean,” her instructor said, regarding her expressionlessly with dark brown eyes. “I believe my instructions were to empty your mind of all thoughts, not fill them with childish ones.”

 

Kagome frowned slightly, irritated that Kikyo had been prying into her mind. She had been told many times that the older miko and her could have been twins, but to Kagome the comparison didn't even come close. It was like saying that the sun and moon looked alike - sure, they were both round and circled the heavens, but the similarities ended there.

 

Kikyo eyed Kagome calmly for a few moments before saying, “This is the third time I have had to speak to you this week, Kagome. You continuously try my patience. Next time you allow your mind to wander from the task at hand, you will be sent to see the Headmaster.”

 

The girl swallowed, trying to work moisture back into a mouth that had suddenly gone dry. “Yes, Kikyo,” she said, glad that her voice didn't betray her sudden nervousness.

 

The older miko nodded slightly before turning to glide back to her own mat at the front of the room. Her bare feet made almost no sound on the polished wooden floor and her black hair, instead of shining in the sunlight pouring through the large windows, seemed to dull the light until she appeared to be walking in a patch of shadow.

 

Kagome shivered. Kikyo, despite being the most powerful miko at the Centre and a talented—if strict—teacher, gave her the creeps.

 

Sighing a little, Kagome shifted into a more comfortable sitting position and tried to will time to go faster. “Empty your mind, Kagome. Obey me, Kagome. Stop being such a child, Kagome,” the girl mimicked to herself, glaring out of one half-opened eye at Kikyo. Even she has to realize that there are only so many hours of meditation a person can stand! Meditation was her first class of the day, and also her least favourite.

 

The miko instructor's eyes, closed in meditation only milliseconds before, suddenly flew open, fixing Kagome with an unmistakeable look. The dark-haired teen gave a muffled “Eep!” and quickly went back to her lesson. As much as Kikyo irritated her, the thought of being sent to the Headmaster scared Kagome far more.

 

Naraku… She shuddered inwardly. No last name—the trademark of a demon.

 

Not many of the students had ever seen the founder and Headmaster of the Centre before, but his name and his reputation were enough to frighten any of them. Instructors often threatened to send misbehaving students to Naraku, though this seldom occurred since even the most out of control demon or miko would generally smarten up fast. Those that did get sent to the Headmaster were never quite the same afterwards. There were never any physical marks on them, but they became silent and withdrawn, focusing on their studies and nothing else.

 

It was as if they had lost their souls, or their identity. Lost who they were.

 

Stop that, Kagome told herself firmly. You're getting worked up over nothing. Consulting the mental clock that was part of a miko's birthright, she concluded that she still had at least another hour of meditation left. Kagome forced her tense muscles to relax, smoothed out the small frown that marred her face, and released her breath slowly in a soft whoosh. One last thought surfaced in her mind before sinking into the quiet darkness of meditation.

 

With any luck, I'll fall asleep…

 

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“Come on, Mutt-face, I know you can do better than this,” Kouga goaded, blocking Inuyasha's attempts to land a hit with infuriating ease. “I'm almost embarrassed to call myself your instructor.”

 

Inuyasha growled low in his throat, the desire to rip that smug expression right off Kouga's face almost overwhelming. Even worse, he knew that he was letting the wolf youkai get to him, knew that that was what Kouga wanted.

 

~Don't try to punch through his guard—go under it.~

 

The message floating into his mind made Inuyasha start and half turn his head towards the courtyard archway. His instructor, taking advantage his momentary lack of attention, delivered a brutal spinning kick to the hanyou's ribs. Inuyasha grunted in pain, feeling bone crack as his wind left him a rush of breath.

 

Fast as lightning, Kouga swept Inuyasha's feet out from under him, resting one of his own clawed feet on his pupil's chest. “Concentration, mutt,” the wolf demon said, panting slightly as he regained his breath. “You've got the strength but you lack the discipline and focus to go with it. I must not be training you hard enough.”

 

Inuyasha glared up at him from his back, suppressing the wince that threatened to cross his face. It felt like his broken ribs were pressed against his lungs - breathing cost him more effort than it should have. I'm going to kill Kagome, he promised himself. Very slowly and very painfully. Who does she think she is, telling me how to fight? The hanyou wasn't exactly sure that it had been Kagome who had tried to give him advice, but at the moment he didn't particularly care who had done it. Bloody mikos…

 

A gong sounded, the noise reverberating around the wide courtyard and halting the other sparring pairs. Kouga gave Inuyasha a broad, mocking grin before removing his foot and letting the younger half demon get up.

 

“Alright, ladies, the lesson's over,” he called, kneading his left shoulder with the knuckles of his right hand. Inuyasha let himself smirk at that—at least he had managed to land one solid hit on that infuriating wolf.

 

“I'll see you all back here bright and early tomorrow morning,” Kouga continued as the young demons started for the archway leading out of the courtyard. That statement brought everyone's head around, their faces showing varying degrees of confusion.

 

“But, sensei, we don't have lessons during weekends,” one of the female demons said. She was tall and slender, with long blue-black hair pulled into a braid and eyes like dark sapphires. She had rolled the sleeves of her gi up, and jagged black-and-silver lightning bolts wound around her forearms.

 

“You mean you usually don't have lessons on weekends,” Kouga said, eyes glinting with some unidentifiable emotion. “However, Nari, Inuyasha has proven to me that this particular group of demons has not been trained nearly hard enough. At this rate, you'll never be ready for your Bonding ceremony. All of you will meet me in this courtyard tomorrow morning as you would on any other day. Am I clear?”

 

Nari's eyes narrowed dangerously but she nodded stiffly with the rest of the demons.

 

This seemed to satisfy Kouga. Waving one hand, he said, “Good. You're dismissed.”

 

The youkai filed slowly out of the courtyard, muttering and shooting angry glances at Inuyasha. The hanyou did his best to return their looks levelly, but the pain in his ribs made maintaining a cool expression difficult. Damn you, Kouga. Damn you, Kagome. I didn't do anything to deserve this!

 

“You should see a healer about those injuries.”

 

Inuyasha almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of a female voice so close to him. He hadn't even heard anyone approaching. Pressing a hand against his chest as if hiding his pain from the owner of the voice, he turned to look furiously into the large hazel eyes of his tormentor.

 

“I wouldn't need to see a healer if you'd just leave me alone!” he growled, trying to frighten the girl with his fangs.

 

Kagome wasn't fazed by this display, although she did shift guiltily at his words. “Look, I'm… I'm sorry about before. It was childish of me—” Kagome ground her teeth at repeating the phrase Kikyo had used, but ploughed on. “—it was childish and I shouldn't have bothered you while you were fighting.”

 

“Or tried to give me advice on how to beat Kouga,” the hanyou muttered, slightly off-balance due to her apology.

 

“But I didn't!” Kagome protested, looking surprised. “I was just passing through the courtyard on my way to my next lesson.” Her eyes strayed to his ribs, noting the way he clutched at the white cloth of his gi. “Here, let me look at that,” she said, stepping closer.

 

Inuyasha gave her a suspicious look, but stiffened his back before his feet could carry him away from her. He would be damned if he gave her the satisfaction of knowing how much she unsettled him. “I'm fine. I don't need a healer.”

 

Kagome loosened the ties holding his shirt and shifted the material aside, despite his strangled protests. Her fingers gently probed the dark, bruised swelling on his side. “Instructors shouldn't be allowed to do this,” she murmured angrily, her black hair falling into her eyes as she bent to examine the wound more closely.

 

Inuyasha tried to relax his tense muscles, ears twitching wildly as he eyed the dark head next to his chest. Her proximity was making him jumpy but his pride wouldn't let him back away. Why is she doing this? he wondered, flinching as her fingertips brushed the fracture in his bones. Does she think this somehow makes up for bugging me earlier? He scowled. Well, if she does she'd better think again. Stupid girl.

 

He gasped in shock as his body was suddenly infused with ice. Kagome's face held a look of concentration, her hands flat against his injury, and she glowed with a soft, dusky blue light. He could feel muscle and bone rearranging inside him, but he couldn't seem to pull away. Then, as soon as the coldness had come it disappeared, taking his pain and fatigue with it.

 

Inuyasha jerked away from the young miko, ears flat against his head. “What did you do to me?” he half-yelled.

 

“I healed you, idiot. You were bleeding internally. Did a good job of it, too.” Kagome nodded, glancing at the spot where Kouga's kick had connected. She smiled in a self-congratulatory way. “A very good job.”

 

“I told you I didn't need a healer!” the hanyou snapped, shaken. The idea of someone reaching inside of him with their magic and moving parts of his body around frightened him more than he'd ever admit.

 

“Not even a `thank you',” the dark-haired girl muttered. She moved to tie his shirt back up but he knocked her hands away and did it himself. Kagome sighed and let him do what he wanted.

 

Pulling the completed knot tight, Inuyasha suddenly realized that they were alone in the courtyard - even Kouga had disappeared. Shit! I'm late! Judging by Kagome's expression, she had just realized this too.

 

“Kaede's going to kill me,” she groaned. “This is the fourth time I've been late this week.” She hesitated, before giving Inuyasha an uncertain smile. “I'll… see you later, Inuyasha.”

 

“Keh. Don't count on it, wench.” The hanyou gave her one last glance before setting off at a dead run. Stupid girl, making him late for his armed combat lesson. Still, she did heal you, a small voice he vaguely recognized as his conscience quipped. His real conscience, that is, not some annoying voice Kagome planted in his head. You wouldn't even be able to run to class with those broken ribs.

 

Inuyasha ignored it with a practiced ease, lengthening his strides to cover more ground. He wished he didn't feel a little guilty when he thought of the hurt that had flashed across her face at his rough parting words. Ah well, he thought, shrugging his shoulders as if to lift the guilt right off. A little armed combat should be enough to take his mind off that girl and her unnerving habit of popping up either physically or mentally.

 

And right now, he really needed to blow off some steam.

 

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Well, there's chapter two. Don't worry if you think things are kinda dull right now—I've got some pretty good ideas for later on (I hope). Anyways, R&R, okay? It'll make me happy!

 

~SilverMyste~