InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Unexpected Circumstances ❯ Training: A Necessary Evil ( Chapter 11 )

For what it was worth, Kagome was really trying; really, really trying. Megumi had been relentless for the past week about Kagome's breathing and posture when trying to get her into a lotus position for meditation. However, it is really hard to concentrate on a simple thing such as breathing when you have an old woman with one of her hands up against your stomach and her other hand pressing your back. To the onlooker it seemed to be the most awkward hug ever.

 

This was the routine for the last two weeks or so, it just did not start getting annoying until earlier this week. At first, Kagome did not think there was much to learning how to meditate; how hard could it be: close your eyes, keep your back straight, and breathe. Right? Wrong. Apparently, there are books upon books dedicated to the art of meditation, and Kagome, under the faithful teaching of Megumi, had to read those books. There are also many different types of meditation depending on what you are meditating for. So with all of these important things to take into consideration, is the way her back was angled really something that needed to be fixed now?

 

“Fix your posture girl!” Apparently, yes. “I'm not doing this *sniff* for my health ya know!” Megumi squealed with yet another slap on Kagome's wrists.

 

Kagome straightened out her back even more so than she had been. Okay, now it was uncomfortable and that was definitely not a good popping sound. One would think that after two weeks of back straightening that Kagome would have this down by now. Not to worry, soon enough she would be one with her mind and body.

 

Megumi continued to rant about how long it was taking for her to find the right sitting style. Her back ached from never having had the best posture seated or standing. Now she was practically being forced into year's worth of spinal adjustment; her chiropractor would be proud. Regardless of her pain, Kagome held her back straight in hopes of ending this torture.

 

“Is all of this really necessary? I mean, I know posture is important, but shouldn't I be `cleansing my mind' or something?” Kagome asked.

 

“Nonsense girl! Posture is *sniff* probably the most important part of meditation! You *sniff* don't have posture, you don't have anything!” she directed. “Now then, since your posture has most *sniff* definitely improved we will move on. Keep your head slightly *sniff* bent, teeth not quite together, and tongue against the roof *sniff* of your mouth.”

 

Kagome did as directed and also instinctively shut her eyes. The sunlight was peeking through the tree that she was currently sitting under. There was a slight breeze that danced across her face and she took in her surroundings mentally. In the background she could hear birds chirping and the faint sound of shovels and hoes clinking away at the ground. She could hear the village children laughing and playfully screaming while they played. The village seemed almost normal with her eyes closed; at least she didn't have to see people staring at her.

 

Kagome rolled her head forward and around to loosen up the tight muscles in her neck. It seemed as if that back popping technique loosened her up a bit as she found it less difficult to drop back into her perfect lotus position. She placed her hands, palm up, against her thighs and took deep breaths as Megumi instructed.

 

“Before you get too comfortable *sniff* I want you to focus on your breathing. By doing so *sniff* you will keep your mind off of other unimportant things. Now, I'll *sniff* be back here in a few moments time, I *sniff* have some villagers that need my attention. If I come back and find that *sniff* you have moved, you will be punished.”

 

Kagome nodded which earned her one last smack on the wrist before Megumi left her to her self. As much as the older woman unnerved her, she had to admit, this was the most relaxed she had felt in a while. During her travels she had learned not to completely lose consciousness of her surroundings even when asleep, and so she kept this habit now. Kagome did not dare move, in fear of what Megumi's punishment just might be; she involuntarily shivered at the thought.

 

 

****

 

 

Sesshoumaru had found his way back towards the village just outside of `Inuyasha's forest'. He was still a couple of days away from the village itself, but he had scented his brother and the monk, demon slayer, the young kit, and fire cat not far from him. Not surprisingly, he was not able to pick up on the scent of his brother's wench. `Wasting no time I see…good.'

 

The demon lord strategically let loose some of his scent and aura that he had been keeping so well masked; perhaps now his dear brother would be able to sense him near.

 

Not one to disappoint, as soon as he let loose his scent and aura Sesshoumaru could hear the sound of Inuyasha's blade as it left its sheath and he also heard his name being pass loathingly across Inuyasha's lips. Smirking to himself, he walked calmly into the camp and watched as the small band of warriors all readied themselves for what they thought was to be a battle.

 

“I dare say, little brother, this is indeed a gracious welcome,” Sesshoumaru goaded.

 

“Shut the hell up! What do you want Sesshoumaru?” Inuyasha snapped back.

 

“Well which is it? You either want me to quiet myself or answer your question; you cannot have it both ways.”

 

Inuyasha nearly dropped his sword when he heard that come out of Sesshoumaru's mouth. Was he mocking him? Sesshoumaru doesn't have a sense of humor; what the hell was going on?!

 

Unable to retort in any way, Inuyasha opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to figure out what his next line would be.

 

“Really Inuyasha, you should close your mouth, you do look much like a fish,” came the stoic reply.

 

Sango looked toward Miroku in hopes that he may have some kind of idea of what was going on. Since when did Sesshoumaru joke? Hoping to shed some light on things, Miroku worked up his courage and stepped forward.

 

“Lord Sesshoumaru, to what do we owe this unexpected visit?” Ah the monk, always willing to step in and help the less fortunate.

 

“I merely seek Naraku; you will tell me what information you have.” That was not a question.

 

“Keh! Like we'd tell you; go get your own information!” There, that'll show him.

 

Sesshoumaru raised an elegant eyebrow at Inuyasha. “Always doing things the hard way half-breed.” The demon lord reached for the hilt of Tokijin. However, before he was able to draw his sword Sango spoke up on behalf of their group.

 

“We haven't seen or heard of anything pertaining to Naraku.”

 

“Sango?! What the hell?!”

 

“Quiet Inuyasha; there is no need to start unnecessary fights. Any enemy of our enemy is an ally,”came the wise words of the monk.

 

“Traitors,” Inuyasha half mumbles, half growled.

 

“That is all I needed to know.” Sesshoumaru said as he quickly took his leave of his half-brother's group.

 

He was actually hoping that they would have some information on Naraku's whereabouts. However, it seemed as if they were having no better luck than he. The one person that was able to sense the shards of the Shikon jewel was currently absent so the small group was left wandering Japan's country side with the chance that they may come across something useful.

 

Perhaps it was time to see how the small priestess was doing. After all, he still had plans for her against Naraku, might as well see how she was coming along.

 

 

****

 

 

For the past three weeks Kagome had been steadily coming into her own powers under the direction of Megumi. She was still meditating, at least fifteen minutes daily, and Megumi had started instructing her on the use of medicinal herbs since meditation was now a natural part of Kagome's day. Kagome was having a fairly easy time with learning the medicinal properties of herbs around the village. While she trained every now and then with Kaede, she had learned much in the ways of healing herbs, so the training now was going quicker with Megumi.

 

Kagome learned a few things within the first day of her practices with the herbs. One major thing was that she was allergic to mint. Every time she caught a small whiff of it she sneezed ever so slightly, and after Megumi found out about it, she made sure to include that in the long list of `ways to torture or make fun of Kagome'. Kagome also learned that the flower peony could be used to make a nice soup that aided women with cramps and dizziness during their “cycles”. That was definitely something she was going to remember.

 

Megumi and Kagome spent their mornings making rounds throughout the village, checking up on the residents and evaluating some of their illnesses. Afterwards, they would set out to the forest surrounding the village and Megumi would watch as Kagome went in search of, and collected, any herbs that would be needed for treatment. At first Megumi set Kagome out on her own to collect the plants, but after Kagome came back with a rather nasty rash due to some poison bush, she decided that she would accompany and quiz her on all of the herbs they came across.

 

In the late afternoon, the two priestesses spent their time grounding the herbs and making different types of concoctions for a variety of ailments that the village residents complained about. However, Megumi did give the young miko a slight reprieve in the day. Two hours before sunset were given to Kagome to do what she pleased, although usually Kagome spent that time practicing with her bow and arrows.

 

She was becoming steadily better with her weapon of choice, although it was still not anywhere near where she thought she should be. Everyday she traversed a small Kagome-made path to a tree behind her hut. She had chosen this particular tree because it was far enough away from the village to not bother anybody, but close enough where she could keep an eye and ear on the small community.

 

Many people were still weary of Kagome, even after being here for nearly a month. Although the small town seemed normal enough, it always gave her a weird vibe. She often found herself looking over her shoulder because she got the feeling that someone or something was always watching her. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, but as quickly as the feeling would come, it would be gone again.

 

The men in the town would not give her much of a passing glance, but Kagome would catch the women whispering and pointing in her direction from time to time. Of course, the women were not exactly secretive about their whispers; if they saw her looking, they would just narrow their eyes in suspicion and continue with their activities.

 

Kagome huffed as she drew another arrow and notched it into her bow. Her tree was taking on the form of one particular woman that had today “accidentally” tripped her while she was carrying the ever abhorrent buckets of water.

 

Kagome snorted when she thought of that moment. “ `I'm sorry', she said, `you should be more careful' she said. Please, she wouldn't know how to fake lie if it bit her in the-” Instead of finishing that sentence verbally, Kagome decided to take her shot at the tree.

 

“Ha!” she exclaimed when her arrow hit her makeshift bull's-eye.

 

“You should shoot *sniff* like that more often, girl,” came the voice of Megumi behind her.

 

Without looking back, Kagome answered, “Yeah, well, I find that I shoot better when I'm upset, or if I'm feeling really strong feelings.”

 

“Humph! That's a poor excuse! You *sniff* should learn to shoot well all the time. Your *sniff* enemies aren't going to wait for you to get into *sniff* one of your moods,” Megumi criticized. “I must say though, that you *sniff* are improving…a bit.”

 

“I'll take that as a compliment,” Kagome said dryly. She rolled her shoulders back a bit and grabbed for another arrow. Taking aim, she readies herself to shoot, until Megumi's shrill voice cuts through her concentration.

 

“You're not pulling back *sniff* far enough and I can clearly see from even way back here that your *sniff* aim is off.”

 

Megumi took up a position behind Kagome and fixed her stance as well as help her draw her arm back further. This was the first time that Megumi had ever come out to help Kagome with her bow and arrows. At first the elder priestess left Kagome to her own devices because she felt that the young girl needed some time to herself. However, after she watched a couple of her night practices, she decided to step in and give her expertise on the activity.

 

Megumi let go of Kagome's hand and watched as she immediately lost her grip on it again. This earned Kagome a nice smack on the wrist. She narrowed her eyes at the older woman and then set back to try again. She knocked her arrow back tight and looked over to Megumi who in turn gave her a slight nod of the head, letting her know that she could fire. Kagome did so and watched as her arrow streaked to the tree and hit only mere centimeters from the bull's-eye. She mentally patted herself on the back for that one; she didn't even have to be mad this time for the arrow to hit the target.

 

Kagome looked back to see if Megumi approved, but when she did she saw that the elder miko was already half-way back to the village. Kagome shook her head and went back to her target practice. `Might as well make use of the rest of the sunlight,' she thought to herself as she grabbed another arrow.

 

 

*

 

There were days when Kagome wouldn't practice during her two hours before sunset. On those days she didn't practice, Kagome spent her time with Takahiro. While she was on her way to practice after her long day of priestess training, Takahiro had caught up with her before she left the village and invited her to have dinner with him. At first she was reluctant, seeing as how no one had really taken the time to approach her, but seeing the pleading and sincere look in his eyes she relented.

 

She was glad she did.

 

After that initial night they spent many of their evening with each other, often engaging in conversation over dinner. Takahiro insisted that he be the one to prepare dinner, since he knew that Kagome worked extremely hard during the day. When they first started having dinner together, he took each and every moment he could to learn something about her; she was, after all, extremely fascinating.

 

On this night, two weeks since their initial dinner, she decided she was tired about talking about herself and turned the tables.

 

“So Takahiro, tell me about your family,” Kagome nudged.

 

“Well, my father used to be a samurai for the southern army, but he was killed while protecting one of his men during battle. Rouge demons had descended on their camp, it was an ambush, and they all but slaughtered everyone there. The man my father saved and one other man were the only two alive after the attack.”

 

“That's horrible! I'm so sorry. How old were you?”

 

“I was about twelve at the time. My mother was devastated, and my two younger sisters were still quite young, so I found myself having to grow up quite quickly,” he continued. “Before my father had died, he had showed me many fighting techniques and some sword play. It helped a lot; it turned out my father had quite a bit of enemies. It has been years since I have fought or wielded a sword, although I could probably still hold my own.”

 

Kagome smiled and nodded. She loved to learn about other people; everyone was always asking about her and she would rather not talk about herself.

 

“So do you have any family here?” Kagome asked.

 

He shook his head while answering, “No,” he sighed heavy, “I do not. My mother never recovered from my father's death and shortly followed after him. My two sisters married years later and moved away, I haven't seen them in about five years.”

 

“What about a wife or kids?” she questioned.

 

Takahiro took on a far away look and smirked. “I was once married. We met at the market going for the same bottle of sake,” he laughed. “When I looked into her eyes, I thought that the world had stopped. She turned me down the first time I offered to court her, but I was relentless; I just wouldn't take no for an answer.”

 

“About two months later I saw her yet again, this time at the shrine grounds. She was bent over a gravesite of who I later found out to be her younger brother. We started talking and one thing lead to another; she and I were wed a week later.”

 

“That's such a romantic story. What happened, where is she now?”

 

“She died shortly before our third year together; there was an attack on our village and she fell victim. Bandits from the east ransacked the village and completely destroyed it. I came to this village shortly after her death.”

 

“I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-”

 

“No, no my dear, it's quite alright,” Takahiro said as he waved his hand in front of him. “It was many years ago, it took some time, but I've made my peace. She is in a better place.”

 

“What was her name?”

 

“Her name was Atsuko.”

 

“That is a very nice name; I bet she was very beautiful.”

 

“She was indeed. The two of you would have probably gotten along very nicely; you remind me a lot of her.”

 

Kagome smiled and gave him a small nod and they continued their meal. Takahiro was such an interesting character. She had never seen him get mad, he was always talking and laughing with any and every one, and he was the only one to actually take the time and get to know her while she had been here.

 

At first glance he seemed so shy and reserved, but upon starting a conversation with him he dispelled all of her first impressions of him. He knew how to joke and knew how to take a joke. He would always break an awkward silence with a anecdote or two, yet another reason Kagome liked to be around him; he was very easy going.

 

“What of you? Do you have other relatives?” he questioned.

 

She smiled. Her family was always something that she could happily discuss. “I do; I live with my mom and grandfather, and I have a younger brother named Souta.”

 

“That's wonderful,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “Do you see them often?”

 

“Not really anymore. I've been doing a lot of traveling, and it's been getting harder and harder to make my way back to them. My friends and I are on a quest of sorts, and it keeps us away for long periods of time,” Kagome explained.

 

“Family is very important, Kagome,” Takahiro said. “I do hope you do not take them for granted. Know that you will more than likely always have a place with them, no matter how tough the times get.”

 

She smiled yet again, only this time it was a sad smile. Takahiro must be very lonely; to have lost your spouse so early in the relationship…Kagome could not even think about how much that would hurt. Of course, her mother had gone through something similar, but she still had grandpa, plus Souta and herself to keep her company.

 

She didn't voice her opinion; nothing like pouring salt on an open wound. Instead she chose to refill his bowl with the stew she had prepared and then showed him all that she had learned that day.

 

Having Takahiro around had made this endeavor bearable. Whenever she needed anything he was always there, and he was always willing to help her practice with her priestess training. Since she had started learning about different herbs and ways of mending and bandaging minor wounds, he had volunteered to be her practice patient. With him helping her, she was able to retain more of the knowledge that was bestowed upon her from Megumi. After all, practice makes perfect, ne?

 

She looked over at him and got a wicked gleam in her eyes. He knew that look; he was in for a long hour of fake symptoms and imaginary injuries. Takahiro laughed wholeheartedly and prepared himself for Kagome's medical treatment. Kagome rubbed her hands together conspiringly as she dug through the first aid kit that she and Megumi had put together. Her search in her first aid kit lasted for a while, making Takahiro a bit edgy. When she finally re-emerged she held in her hands a cup of some strange smelling balm and cloth wraps.

 

“Um, Kagome, what are you gonna do with that?” Takahiro asked as he eyed the bandages ominously.

 

“Just trust me Takahiro…trust me.”

 

 

**

 

 

A couple of hours, and a practically mummified Takahiro, later Kagome took her leave of his hut and made her way to her own. It was already well into the night and the moon and stars were shining brightly in the night sky. There were only a couple of people wandering the streets, finishing up any last minute tasks, but everyone else in the village had already gone to bed. Everything was quiet and peaceful as she walked to her hut on the other side of the small town.

 

Kagome looked up into the sky at the moon shone bright above. It was glowing so bright that it threatened to block out the light of the stars beyond it. Kagome always loved the night. At night, the world seemed to be a completely different place. It became a place to hide imperfections and allowed people to think clearly. The warmth of the day was seeping away as the night's cool breeze enveloped the valley.

 

The seasons were starting to change and the nights were becoming cooler, giving everyone a much needed break from the heat. It was times like these that she missed her friends the most; how they would all gather around a warm fire and make small talk trying to forget about the most recent of trials. The warm fire giving everyone an unearthly yellow glow that made even an irate Inuyasha seem approachable.

 

She smiled at the memories and closed her eyes. She came to a stop just outside of her hut and let the small breeze hit her face. Being here, even just under a month, has helped her gain a feel of independence that she was greatly appreciating. Kagome was sure that once she returned to her family and friends she would no longer be looked upon as a burden; although that little voice in the back of her mind reminded her that her friends and family did not see her as such in the first place. No matter, she was no longer going to sit idly by and let everyone else do the work; she was going to contribute.

 

With one last glance up at the dazzling moon she turned and walked into her temporary home. Tonight however, instead of coming into an empty hut, she was met with a pair of frightening amber eyes that seemed to have a glow all of their own in the darkness of the room. Of course, being a normal, everyday girl in feudal Japan that came across demons and other scary creatures on a daily basis, she did only what any sane person would do in a situation such as this. She screamed.