InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Longest Journey ❯ Intensity ( Chapter 7 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 7: Intensity

Kagome was still blushing an hour later as Sugimi lead her into the dojo, but her embarrassment quickly faded as she became curious as to why he'd brought her here. Looking around, she noted that the room had been prepared for a training session - one with weapons, and she frowned, catching his eye.

'Uhh - is there a reason..." she trailed off, gesturing at the rather large selection of light katana's laid out in a row.

Sugimi nodded. "Tell me, my dear... why did you choose a bow as your weapon?" He had a theory about it, but wanted to see if he was right.

She frowned. "I didn't, not really. It was kind of chosen for me." At his inquiring look, she elaborated. "Since they all seemed to think I was Kikyou's reincarnation, and she was a master at archery, that was the weapon I was handed. Everyone just expected me to be able to use it perfectly - immediately."

"And now that you know that you are not, in fact her reincarnation? Tell me, how difficult was it to master the bow?"

"Well, it wasn't easy, but not as hard as I thought, either." Shooting him a suspicious look, she asked, "Why? Where are you going with this?"

He smiled. "Surely you can guess, love. The reason you didn't find the bow to be familiar, so to speak, is because your true pre-incarnation, Midoriko, used a sword as her primary weapon. Oh, make no mistake, she was a warrior, first and foremost, and had mastered many weapons, including the bow, however, she was most familiar, and comfortable with, a sword."

Brow furrowed, Kagome shook her head. "Are you trying to tell me you think I'd be better able to use a sword? Just because I'm her reincarnation? I don't have any memories of her life, so its not like I can remember lessons in swordwork."

"Of course you do not have her memories - you don't have her mind. What you do have, however, is her soul - it is a small part of you. What that gives you is an instinctual understanding of the things that she learned in her life." He motioned for her to move to the front near the line of swords.

"That is what all the lessons in meditation have been for, Kagome. For two weeks all we did was meditate - deeply. Now, I want you to close your eyes, and reach within, just like you are in a light trance. When you have done so, turn your awareness outward - towards the swords. You will know what to do at that time all on your own."

She eyed him doubtfully, but then shrugged and did as he asked, closing her eyes and quickly falling into trance. The moment she turned her inner eye outward, she gasped, and understood what it was he was after.

Some of the swords glowed slightly, some brighter, and some didn't at all. But there was one... for some reason, the color it glowed attracted her strongly, and along with that, it thrummed at her - almost like it was speaking to her. Moving forward confidently, she crouched before it, and reaching out, grasped the hilt.

As soon as she did that, she felt the air move, just slightly, and rolling quickly backward, brought the sword up, blocking the downward swing of Sugimi's weapon.

She had done all of that without thinking, while still in a trance.

He stood over her, sword still flush against hers, with her on her back and glaring at him, and then pulled away, grinning. Dropping the blade, he reached out a hand for her to grab, then pulled her to her feet.

"And that, my dear, is what we are aiming for."

She frowned, looking down at the sword in her hand. "What is this sword, Sugimi? It felt like it... called to me? I'm not sure..." she trailed off, unsure of how to describe it.

Once again, the whistling of the air behind the sword was her only warning, and again, instinctively, she blocked, then, angered slightly at his attacks, began a complicated series of moves that eventually lead to her dis-arming him. She wasn't a fool, she knew he was not using his full strength, nor his knowledge of swordplay - he could easily have killed her immediately. He was simply reacting and letting her find the knowledge of what to do with as little force as necessary.

Breathing a bit heavier than normal, she moved the sword from his throat where she'd been holding it, blinking owlishly as he grinned again.

Crossing the room, he picked up his sword, and looking it over carefully, flicked a claw along the blade, then sheathed it. Motioning for her to lay hers aside for the moment, he grabbed her hand and sat her down, then sat in front of her.

"Remind me when we leave here, before we chase down my sons, to make a stop at Totosai's... I need a new sword. These here are not of sufficient quality - or are ningen blades. Or," he nodded at her sword, "as in the case of that one, miko blades. I need one of my own, one that can handle being a channel for my youki."

She nodded. "Okay. I'll remind you. Now," she gave him a sideways glance, before looking down at the sword again, "would you kindly explain everything that just happened?"

"Gladly, my dear one. Instinct happened."

He laughed at her irritated growl, it was just about the cutest thing he'd ever heard, and he reached out a claw and ran it softly along her cheek, ignoring her glare.

"Very well, Kagome. Do not become angry, I will explain." Settling back, he began.

"You were basically using the knowledge carried within your soul to defend yourself against attack. By doing so, you bypassed your mind completely. Anyone with good training in the use of the sword, indeed, in any type of fighting skill, will tell you that in order to do well, you do not use your mind at all. You train, day in and day out, until the movements become habit - in other words, instinct. Act, and react."

She nodded thoughtfully, gaze downcast. "I understand that. But how was I able to do what I did - I've never trained a day in my life."

"No, but Midoriko did. When you slipped into the trance, you opened yourself to the knowledge that is carried within the remnants of her soul that you carry. Without thinking, you gained that which she held. It allowed you to bypass all the years of training that she herself went through - and as long as you continue to react without allowing your mind to interfere, you will be able to use that knowledge without fail."

She flicked him a suspicious glance. "So your telling me that as long as I don't use my head, I'll be fine?" She rolled her eyes in complete disgust. "That's just great. All those years wasted in school with them telling me to use my head, and now I find out that I shouldn't be using it... what a waste."

Sugimi frowned lightly. "What is this 'school'?"

"Tutoring, basically," she answered without even looking at him.

"You've had tutoring in your era?"

She caught his eye. "Yes. In my time, every child, rich or poor, male or female, is tutored. It is mandatory from age five to eighteen. After that, if you so choose, you can continue your education."

"I had noticed that you could read, but what other skills do you have?"

"Well, I can write, read, do math, I have a strong base in history, science and have studied philosophy as well."

He tilted his head, frowning. "What is sc-i-ence? And math?"

She giggled at his confused expression. With his head tilted like that, he looked like a baffled puppy. "Math is like... hm, sums, you know, figuring." She nodded at his enlightened expression. "And science - well, science is the study of the world around us and how it works."

"Like?"

She stared off into the distance consideringly, trying to figure out something to use as an example. She sighed. "Well, most of the time, natural processes are explained by myth and superstition in this era, but in my time we have learned what really causes these things. That's the study of science. Like earthquakes. Most people now believe that they happen because the kami are angered, or even a powerful youkai is causing it. But we know the shape of the earth, underneath the surface - all the way to the core, and so we know that the surface of the earth is not all one piece. When those pieces move, it causes earthquakes."

Sugimi looked fascinated. "Could you teach me of these things?"

She smiled up at him. "Of course. It will be a good test for me - we'll see how much of all that knowledge I actually remember." Clapping her hands together, she nodded briskly. "But that's for later. Right now, you are teaching me. So what's next?"

"Very well, my dear, on with the lesson. I want you to begin meditating again - only this time, go deeper. I want you to be as deep as possible, while still maintaining your awareness of the world around you. Once you have achieved that, the lessons will continue."

Kagome closed her eyes and cleared her mind, easily sinking her awareness into a deep trance, until she was only peripherally aware of things around her. When she had reached that state, she opened her eyes and looked at Sugimi, and he nodded.

Standing, he gestured to the open floor of the dojo, and when she'd joined him on the mats with her sword, he once again unsheathed his, and said, "Attack me."

Without thought, she immediately stepped forward, holding her sword confidently, she simply watched him for a few moments, looking for an opening, and as soon as she spotted one, she stepped in and joined blades with him. The clashing of swords thundered through the building, and soon, there was a small audience watching the daiyoukai and his intended fight.

Kagome was quick to realize that she could not hope to match his strength, and he could easily overwhelm her if she tried to match him straight out. Her best assets would be speed, and strategy. Leaping back after a particularly brutal flurry of blows, she kept her sword point up and her elbows loose as she watched him for another opening.

Sugimi was pleased. She had found knowledge of her weaknesses in a battle with him, and was instead utilizing her strengths. Deliberately, he left a tiny opening on his left side, lowering his sword point just slightly, and was actually caught off-guard with the speed that she attacked at. If he were anyone else, she probably would have been able to kill him, right there. She was in and out within seconds, and he'd barely been able to get his sword back up in time to block her.

Standing back after that attack, he finally took the offensive again, and began trying to corner her. He found that she was very flexible, and was able to keep him from backing her into a corner. Pressing forward, he managed to cross swords with her, and thinking that he'd only have to use his superior strength to wear her down quickly, he was instead shocked when she allowed his blade to slide along hers, till he was almost locked at the bladeguard - and then, with a roll of her wrist and shoulder that pushed his sword just enough to the side, disengaged it and dropped to her knees, running the sword completely under his guard till the tip was firmly planted against his belly.

Surprised, Sugimi stepped back, and looked at the woman that was still on her knees before him. She was obviously shocked, meaning she'd let go of her trance state, and she stared at the sword in her hand as though it were a live snake, then up at him.

"I...I didn't..." she panted, unable to articulate her thoughts as her mind was occupied with trying to process what had just happened.

"That is what I was talking about, Kagome. You've unlocked your instincts." He sighed, and walking towards her, he held out his hand, waiting till she took it, then pulled her up into his embrace. He just let her hold on for a few minutes, watching over her shoulder as everyone vacated the room, aware that the Lady needed some space.

"It is okay, migoto. What just happened is good. Now, you have two weapons to work with, one long-distance, and one close quarters." Pulling back, he lifted her face and smiled at the shaken young woman. "Tomorrow, I will teach you a simple kata, for form, and you can spend some time practicing that, okay?"

She nodded up at him, still shaken. It was a bit scary to come out of a trance and realize that you'd just been doing something that you'd never been taught. On top of that, she'd had a sword to his abdomen - while she was quite happy to get close to his body, that's not exactly the way she'd imagined doing so. She shuddered. Definitely not.

Stepping away from her, he sheathed his sword again, and taking her hand, led her from the dojo. Leading her to the weaponsmaster's quarters, he requested the sheath that belonged to her new sword, and once he had it he promptly took the sword from her and sheathed it, then slid into her obi.

Kagome stared at the sword now lying against her hip. It felt oddly comfortable there - as though she had done this before. Shrugging tiredly after a moment, she looked up at Sugimi. "I don't think I was really ready for that... but then again, I don't know if I ever would be ready. That was... intense, for lack of a better word."

He nodded as he took her arm and began escorting her back towards her rooms, and more importantly, the bathing room. She would benefit from the hot water.

"Tapping your previous incarnation's memories can be very disconcerting, after all, there is a reason that the kami decreed that you would hold no actual memories of a previous life once you've moved on to the next one. But they cannot erase the lessons that life taught you from your soul - or the whole exercise would be moot. All those lessons are there, almost encoded into your very being, only on a subconscious level."

Kagome frowned, a distant memory of something similar she had heard in school coming back then. "You know, science in my time has a similar theory about things like that... only they call it 'ancestral memory'." At his intrigued look, she continued. "Basically, the idea is that certain things are genetically encoded into our very DNA, including certain types of memories. Of course, it's still a theory but..." she trailed off thoughtfully.

"What is DNA?"

"Umm, well, it's sorta, you know, inherited characteristics." She shook her head, trying to come up with a way to explain that wouldn't dig her in deeper. Her mind was already fried, she didn't need it getting any worse.

"I know! Okay, I've noticed that you, Inuyasha, and Sesshoumaru all have silver hair and golden eyes. That's DNA, or genetics. It's traits passed down from ancestors to their descendants, get it?"

He nodded, clearly fascinated with the things she was telling him. "This, I understand. Familial traits. So, you are telling me that these traits can be traced, and understood by the people in your time?"

"Yes. You know, I remember reading an article a year or so ago, about the body of a man, from about ten thousand years ago, being found frozen in an ice field somewhere in Europe. They took his body to study it, to a college in England, I think it was." She closed her eyes in thought, then opened them again with a nod. "Yeah, it was England. Anyway, once they had him there, they started studying his DNA, and found out that his direct descendant was a female professor that actually taught there at that same college! Can you imagine? Finding an ancestor from ten thousand years before your time? How awesome is that?"

Sugimi's eyes were wide. Every time she opened her mouth, he found more fascinating things to ask her about. Coming to a stop outside her door, he asked, "What is a college? And a professor? And... England?"

"Oh! A college is a place where people go in my time for a higher education - err, intensive tutoring, kinda. And a professor is a tutor. England is a country in Europe."

He nodded. "I see." Deep in thought, he slid open her door, and pushed her gently inside. "Go take a hot bath, my dear," he said, distractedly. "The hot water will ease your soreness. When you're done, join me in the garden, and I will escort you to dinner. We can talk more about these things then," he grinned at her.

Kagome sighed. Sliding the door closed, she moved into the room, intent on soaking for a good long while.

Just great. Now I'm gonna have to spend the rest of the night having what's left of my brain picked by an insatiably curious inu.

She groaned. How do I get myself into these messes?

Oh, yeah, right. Big mouth. Kami knows I've been told often enough that I talk too much.

Guess I just proved them all right. I do talk too much.

---zZz---

A/N: The above was only a very basic description of ancestral memory, and the portion about the male body found in Europe and transported to England to a University there, where a DNA trace found a direct female descendent actually employed by the University is actually true. I read about that a couple years ago and threw it in here, although it isn't strictly correct in the story - I'm not sure how far back the male was dated to, I just used a rounded figure. Anyway, enjoy!

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