InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Every Heart ❯ Chapter 9
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: LuxKen27 
Keys are discovered; homes are revisited.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Action / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 04.19.2008 | Updated On: 04.19.2008 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.2K | Visits: 738 | Status: Work In Progress
Keys are discovered; homes are revisited.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Action / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 04.19.2008 | Updated On: 04.19.2008 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.2K | Visits: 738 | Status: Work In Progress
Author’s Note: I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to leave a review for this story. You have no idea how much I appreciate and value your thoughts on my work! This is approximately the 1/3 mark of the total story, and I just wanted to take a moment and say, thanks for sticking with it this far, and I hope you’ll continue along for the rest of the ride :)
Disclaimer: The Inuyasha concept, story, and characters are copyright Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media.
All modern-day characters are original to this story.
This is merely one girl’s dream of life after “The End.”
The village of the demon-slayers had long been abandoned. At least, that was how it appeared to the boy who finally stumbled upon it, and rather by accident.
“No wonder I had a hard time finding it,” he breathed, surveying his surroundings. The village was isolated among the trees, like a secret enclave. There was no sign of life; no scent of fresh burning fires or food, no recently turned earth to indicate a garden. The buildings were long in disrepair, except for one, which was filled with bones and preserved organs of demons. The boy shuddered as he closed the door on that hut; it wasn’t exactly the kind of clarification he’d been hoping for.
He walked back to the village center. Off to the side, near the north wall, were rows and rows of graves, each marked with a small arrangement of flowers. “So much for that idea,” he mused, twisting his hands nervously around his small bundle of items. It didn’t appear anyone had so much as passed through the village in years.
The sun was beginning to set, and the boy could feel exhaustion from his travels settle into his bones. He’d not only been hoping to find people in this place, but a hot meal and a clean bed as well.
He eyed the largest of the huts, set off to one side near the village square. If it was abandoned, what was the harm in staying for the night? There might even be a blanket or – hope against hope – a futon…
He entered the building, quickly depositing his things in the large front room before searching for bedding. He wandered through the space, examining the items on display. It was obvious this was the headman’s house: the finely crafted furniture, the delicate pottery and utensils, the wall-hangings. There was a second, separate sleeping area at the back, which opened up to a wraparound veranda.
The boy was thrilled to see a futon on the floor in this room, with piles of blankets to one side. The sight made him forget the grumbling of his stomach. He spread one blanket over the mattress and lay down, covering himself with another. This is luxury, he thought, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Oh, it wasn’t the fact that she left. Even through the filter of childhood innocence, Shippo could see the toll life with the jewel had taken on her. No, it was the selfish way Inuyasha handled the situation. He stole Kagome away from them, not returning until after she was gone for good.
He didn’t get to say good-bye, and he laid that entirely at Inuyasha’s feet.
“You have a problem with me?” Inuyasha growled, returning Shippo’s increasingly hostile glare.
Shippo said nothing, merely crossing his arms over his chest. He’d tried and tried, but he couldn’t forget that little injustice. These feelings had been building up in him since that fateful day when Inuyasha returned to the village alone, and it was becoming too much for him to handle.
Inuyasha continued to stare him down, his annoyance growing. It was hard enough dealing with his own emotions in the wake of Kagome’s absence; he certainly didn’t need the cold shoulder from the rest of them. He wanted nothing more than to reach across the table and slap the little fox kit upside the head, but somehow, his heart wasn’t in it.
“I don’t need this,” he snarled, shoving himself to his feet and exiting the hut.
“Shippo, stop it! You’re not being fair to Master Inuyasha,” Rin said, jabbing the stubborn fox with her elbow.
“He wasn’t being fair to us, keeping Kagome away like that! Now she’s gone, and I blame him,” Shippo muttered, his stance growing defensive.
Rin was equally resolute. “He’s hurting about it too, you know. We should support him. He probably misses her the most.”
Shippo closed his eyes and shook his head. “He probably doesn’t care at all.”
“Shippo!” Rin cried, surprised at his sheer gall in saying such a thing.
“If he cared, why would he let her leave like that, without a fight? There’s no guarantee she’s coming back, and none of us got to say good-bye!” Shippo fought the tears that welled up behind his eyes.
Rin put her arms around him, but he resisted her hug. “If she didn’t say good-bye, that means she’s coming back,” she informed him. “Lady Kagome couldn’t leave you or the rest of your friends so easily, and you know that.”
Shippo sniffled. “I suppose,” he relented. “I just miss her so much.”
“We all do,” Rin replied, patting him softly on the back. “That’s why we have to have faith that she’ll return.”
They ate the rest of their meal in silence. When Inuyasha didn’t return, Rin decided to go out looking for him. She didn’t want him to think they were all banding against him for something that wasn’t his fault. She could plainly see how upset he was, even if Shippo and the others couldn’t.
She wandered through the village and into the forest, concentrating on the power of his youki. After three years with Lord Sesshoumaru and Master Jaken, she was confident in her ability to detect friendly demonic aura. Her divining didn’t lead her astray; she stopped at the base of a particularly large and imposing tree and looked up. The leaves were turning colors and falling, so he couldn’t hide from her prying eyes.
“If you’ve come to defend that little twerp, I don’t want to hear it,” he grumbled.
Rin didn’t reply; she began to climb the tree with surprising agility, reaching his branch before he expected she would. She swung her legs onto the limb and sat with her back to the trunk. For a long moment, she only stared at him.
Inuyasha eyed her with suspicion. He had anticipated her coming in search of him; after all, she’d been glued to his side practically the whole time she’d been in the village. It was an extra reason he was glad to be alone with Kagome that fateful day; he’d grown weary of Rin’s attachment. Frankly, he had no idea how his brother could stand it.
Finally, she spoke. “I know how you feel, Master Inuyasha.”
“What do you mean, kid?” Inuyasha narrowed his gaze at her, suddenly hoping he really had been alone when he said those things to Kagome.
“You miss Lady Kagome because you love her,” Rin replied simply. When Inuyasha looked away, she laughed. “It’s obvious how you feel about her. You can’t hide it. Anyway, I’m positive she’ll come back, no matter what the others think.”
He mumbled something under his breath, but she cheerfully ignored it. “You want to know how I can be so sure?” she asked him.
He cut his eyes back. “How?”
She smiled. “I have the same faith in Lord Sesshoumaru.” Her gaze drifted off to the distance as she lovingly mentioned his brother’s name. “We aren’t so very different, Master Inuyasha. We’ve both been abandoned in the past. My parents and brothers were killed by bandits when I was very young, and I was left to fend for myself.” The look in her eyes was troubled as the memory passed through her mind. “Not until I met Lord Sesshoumaru did I have any hope of finding someone to love again, someone who would take care of me.”
Inuyasha looked at his companion with new eyes. Even though she was still so young, the cast of her expression and the troubled note in her voice beget years of maturity. He didn’t know her entire back story, but now maybe he understood part of her bond with his brother. He could certainly see the parallels between her chance meeting with him and his encountering Kagome. After all the strain and misery Kikyo had put him through, Kagome’s willingness to stay with him spoke volumes. She had slowly brought him out of his shell, taught him what it meant to trust again. It was why he was certain he couldn’t live without her.
“We have to believe in them, Master Inuyasha,” Rin said again, new conviction in her voice. “We’ve seen it, we’ve lived it. We know the agony of desperation and loneliness. We have to believe in our bond, because if we don’t, there’s nothing left for us.” She paused, taking a deep breath and suddenly looking well older than her years. “You know Lady Kagome, the workings of her mind and heart. I haven’t known her for as long, but even I know she’d never leave without the promise of a return.”
Inuyasha sighed. “I just wish I could be with her,” he said. “I want to know what she’s doing, what her plan is for the jewel.” He looked down at his hands. “I want to help her.”
“You are helping her. You let her go when she had to leave,” Rin replied. “Now you must trust that she will return.”
Oh, the envy.
A trio of instructors stood at the head of the crowd. One of them clapped her hands to quiet them. “Welcome, everyone, to Advanced Archery! I am Ms. Sugiyama, and this is Mr. Morigami.” The younger of the two men standing with her nodded his head. “I hope you realize what the name of this class implies, that you have considerable skill with a bow and arrow.” She looked around the room, a smile warming her words. “I see some of you brought your own equipment. If you didn’t, that’s okay; we have extra bows up here.” She gestured to her right.
“Sensei Hitoma is our head instructor,” she continued, indicating the older gentleman of the trio. “He will be leading the class after he sees a demonstration of your abilities. We will be forming small groups of like-skilled teams for the first part of the semester. There will be a test at mid-term, and then the groups will be reassembled.” She paused as a murmur rose among the group of students. “Sensei Hitoma, along with Mr. Morigami and myself, will evaluate you on your shooting technique and classify you into the initial groups. Any questions?”
Eyes met eyes, but no hands were raised.
“Good.” Ms. Sugiyama looked pleased. “Form a line against the far wall, and we will begin.”
Kagome, one of the few who didn’t make a rush for the pile of bows, was near the front of the line. She gripped the Shikon Jewel, in place around her neck, in an attempt to calm her nerves. She’d never shot a target for a technique evaluation before; in fact, that was part of the reason she’d decided to audit this class. After attempting to teach Rin, she found out just how woeful and peculiar her style really was. Near the end, Kaede was correcting her form so much, she let the older priestess take over the training completely.
Well, I might as well get the ego-crushing over with, she told herself as she shuffled forward in the line. This is for Inuyasha, after all. It had taken her the better part of a week to get out of the house, but the seed of the idea had been planted in her head long before that. She felt instinctively that ultimate control of the jewel would come with improving her archery skills. The faster and better she got, the sooner she could return to him and the rest of her friends.
“Next!”
The sharp command broke Kagome away from her thoughts. She nodded to Ms. Sugiyama and stepped up to the line. She raised her bow and nocked an arrow, but the instructor interrupted her.
“What is your name?” Ms. Sugiyama asked, approaching her.
“Higurashi Kagome,” she replied, lowering her arms.
The instructor gave a long look to her bow. “Where did you get this longbow?” she asked, reaching out as if she was about to touch an antique.
“Family heirloom,” Kagome choked out. She eyed her bow as well. It was a plain black longbow, simply made, with a reinforced grip. She saw nothing particularly special about it, though she knew of its magical powers. In fact, it was the mystical bow from Mt. Asuza Kikyo had given her upon her death. Could her instructor somehow know this as well?
Ms. Sugiyama shook her head in amazement. “This bow is incredibly well-preserved, Ms. Higurashi! Did you learn to shoot with it?”
Kagome was puzzled. Why is she asking me all this? “Well, no, I learned to shoot with a short bow, but I eventually graduated to this one.”
“Very interesting,” the instructor said, stepping away from the line. “Please, fire.”
Kagome shook her head to gather her wits about her. She was nervous enough about showing an expert her rather odd form, but with the third degree for a warm up, she was feeling even worse. Nevertheless, she managed to compose herself in rapid time. She set her posture, raised the bow, nocked an arrow, and shot. Her arrow hit the far target with precision.
Ms. Sugiyama was still nodding. “Very impressive, Ms. Higurashi. I’d like to speak with you after class.”
“Right,” Kagome said, moving away from the line of students. She slipped back to her spot on the bleachers, feeling confused and embarrassed. First the questions about her equipment, now this? Was she overconfident in thinking she was ready for advanced archery? Surely three years of battle experience was worth a few beginners’ classes!
With approximately forty students in the class, it took the entire time period for the initial evaluation. Kagome felt better when she witnessed others being questioned as she had been, but found she was the only one asked to stay after class. Reluctantly, she approached the trio of instructors as the other students filed out of the gym.
“Higurashi!” Ms. Sugiyama greeted her. “We have been talking about you. Sensei Hitoma would like a word with you.”
Kagome tried to swallow past the lump in her throat as she turned to face the old man. He looked a little like her grandfather in his kimono and hakama. “Sensei,” she acknowledged.
“Higurashi,” he replied. “You have impressed my instructor with your abilities.”
“I have?” Kagome said, surprised.
“Indeed. And with such an ancient bow, no less.” Sensei Hitoma paused. “How long have you practiced archery?”
“About three years,” Kagome replied. “I’m pretty good with moving targets, too.”
Sensei Hitoma nodded. “That is evident. You have some odd habits, but nothing that cannot be changed. I would ask you two things, Higurashi. First of all, would you be interested in a supplemental class on Olympic-level competitive archery?”
Kagome’s jaw dropped. “You think I’m good enough for the Olympics?” she fairly screeched.
Sensei Hitoma only smiled. “You have the potential, yes.”
“Wow!” she breathed. This was hardly the news she was expecting! Her smile was so wide she thought her jaw might crack.
“Another thing I’d ask you to consider is kyûdô,” he continued. “You seem to have the natural characteristics of form for that sport, and it would help strengthen your mind and body for competition.” He laughed as he looked into her still-shocked face. “Please, these are only suggestions. If you are interested in my extra class, let me know. I could recommend you to a kyûdô instructor, as well.”
“Yes, Sensei,” she blurted. “I’ll let you know!” She walked out of the gym, her head spinning with ideas and possibilities. Of course! Why hadn’t she thought about kyûdô before? Her grandfather had even been badgering Sota into taking lessons of late, claiming it was his duty as the heir to the shrine.
Kikyo practiced kyûdô as part of her shrine duties, she thought, excitement growing in her stomach. It’s got to be the key to the jewel! Her leisurely stroll home quickened into a full-bore run, as the need to speak with her grandfather suddenly became overwhelming in importance.
Disclaimer: The Inuyasha concept, story, and characters are copyright Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media.
All modern-day characters are original to this story.
This is merely one girl’s dream of life after “The End.”
The village of the demon-slayers had long been abandoned. At least, that was how it appeared to the boy who finally stumbled upon it, and rather by accident.
“No wonder I had a hard time finding it,” he breathed, surveying his surroundings. The village was isolated among the trees, like a secret enclave. There was no sign of life; no scent of fresh burning fires or food, no recently turned earth to indicate a garden. The buildings were long in disrepair, except for one, which was filled with bones and preserved organs of demons. The boy shuddered as he closed the door on that hut; it wasn’t exactly the kind of clarification he’d been hoping for.
He walked back to the village center. Off to the side, near the north wall, were rows and rows of graves, each marked with a small arrangement of flowers. “So much for that idea,” he mused, twisting his hands nervously around his small bundle of items. It didn’t appear anyone had so much as passed through the village in years.
The sun was beginning to set, and the boy could feel exhaustion from his travels settle into his bones. He’d not only been hoping to find people in this place, but a hot meal and a clean bed as well.
He eyed the largest of the huts, set off to one side near the village square. If it was abandoned, what was the harm in staying for the night? There might even be a blanket or – hope against hope – a futon…
He entered the building, quickly depositing his things in the large front room before searching for bedding. He wandered through the space, examining the items on display. It was obvious this was the headman’s house: the finely crafted furniture, the delicate pottery and utensils, the wall-hangings. There was a second, separate sleeping area at the back, which opened up to a wraparound veranda.
The boy was thrilled to see a futon on the floor in this room, with piles of blankets to one side. The sight made him forget the grumbling of his stomach. He spread one blanket over the mattress and lay down, covering himself with another. This is luxury, he thought, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
~*~
Shippo sat in his place at Kaede’s table and looked around at his dinner companions. He gazed at Inuyasha was an especially critical eye; he still hadn’t forgiven the hanyou for letting Kagome leave.Oh, it wasn’t the fact that she left. Even through the filter of childhood innocence, Shippo could see the toll life with the jewel had taken on her. No, it was the selfish way Inuyasha handled the situation. He stole Kagome away from them, not returning until after she was gone for good.
He didn’t get to say good-bye, and he laid that entirely at Inuyasha’s feet.
“You have a problem with me?” Inuyasha growled, returning Shippo’s increasingly hostile glare.
Shippo said nothing, merely crossing his arms over his chest. He’d tried and tried, but he couldn’t forget that little injustice. These feelings had been building up in him since that fateful day when Inuyasha returned to the village alone, and it was becoming too much for him to handle.
Inuyasha continued to stare him down, his annoyance growing. It was hard enough dealing with his own emotions in the wake of Kagome’s absence; he certainly didn’t need the cold shoulder from the rest of them. He wanted nothing more than to reach across the table and slap the little fox kit upside the head, but somehow, his heart wasn’t in it.
“I don’t need this,” he snarled, shoving himself to his feet and exiting the hut.
“Shippo, stop it! You’re not being fair to Master Inuyasha,” Rin said, jabbing the stubborn fox with her elbow.
“He wasn’t being fair to us, keeping Kagome away like that! Now she’s gone, and I blame him,” Shippo muttered, his stance growing defensive.
Rin was equally resolute. “He’s hurting about it too, you know. We should support him. He probably misses her the most.”
Shippo closed his eyes and shook his head. “He probably doesn’t care at all.”
“Shippo!” Rin cried, surprised at his sheer gall in saying such a thing.
“If he cared, why would he let her leave like that, without a fight? There’s no guarantee she’s coming back, and none of us got to say good-bye!” Shippo fought the tears that welled up behind his eyes.
Rin put her arms around him, but he resisted her hug. “If she didn’t say good-bye, that means she’s coming back,” she informed him. “Lady Kagome couldn’t leave you or the rest of your friends so easily, and you know that.”
Shippo sniffled. “I suppose,” he relented. “I just miss her so much.”
“We all do,” Rin replied, patting him softly on the back. “That’s why we have to have faith that she’ll return.”
They ate the rest of their meal in silence. When Inuyasha didn’t return, Rin decided to go out looking for him. She didn’t want him to think they were all banding against him for something that wasn’t his fault. She could plainly see how upset he was, even if Shippo and the others couldn’t.
She wandered through the village and into the forest, concentrating on the power of his youki. After three years with Lord Sesshoumaru and Master Jaken, she was confident in her ability to detect friendly demonic aura. Her divining didn’t lead her astray; she stopped at the base of a particularly large and imposing tree and looked up. The leaves were turning colors and falling, so he couldn’t hide from her prying eyes.
“If you’ve come to defend that little twerp, I don’t want to hear it,” he grumbled.
Rin didn’t reply; she began to climb the tree with surprising agility, reaching his branch before he expected she would. She swung her legs onto the limb and sat with her back to the trunk. For a long moment, she only stared at him.
Inuyasha eyed her with suspicion. He had anticipated her coming in search of him; after all, she’d been glued to his side practically the whole time she’d been in the village. It was an extra reason he was glad to be alone with Kagome that fateful day; he’d grown weary of Rin’s attachment. Frankly, he had no idea how his brother could stand it.
Finally, she spoke. “I know how you feel, Master Inuyasha.”
“What do you mean, kid?” Inuyasha narrowed his gaze at her, suddenly hoping he really had been alone when he said those things to Kagome.
“You miss Lady Kagome because you love her,” Rin replied simply. When Inuyasha looked away, she laughed. “It’s obvious how you feel about her. You can’t hide it. Anyway, I’m positive she’ll come back, no matter what the others think.”
He mumbled something under his breath, but she cheerfully ignored it. “You want to know how I can be so sure?” she asked him.
He cut his eyes back. “How?”
She smiled. “I have the same faith in Lord Sesshoumaru.” Her gaze drifted off to the distance as she lovingly mentioned his brother’s name. “We aren’t so very different, Master Inuyasha. We’ve both been abandoned in the past. My parents and brothers were killed by bandits when I was very young, and I was left to fend for myself.” The look in her eyes was troubled as the memory passed through her mind. “Not until I met Lord Sesshoumaru did I have any hope of finding someone to love again, someone who would take care of me.”
Inuyasha looked at his companion with new eyes. Even though she was still so young, the cast of her expression and the troubled note in her voice beget years of maturity. He didn’t know her entire back story, but now maybe he understood part of her bond with his brother. He could certainly see the parallels between her chance meeting with him and his encountering Kagome. After all the strain and misery Kikyo had put him through, Kagome’s willingness to stay with him spoke volumes. She had slowly brought him out of his shell, taught him what it meant to trust again. It was why he was certain he couldn’t live without her.
“We have to believe in them, Master Inuyasha,” Rin said again, new conviction in her voice. “We’ve seen it, we’ve lived it. We know the agony of desperation and loneliness. We have to believe in our bond, because if we don’t, there’s nothing left for us.” She paused, taking a deep breath and suddenly looking well older than her years. “You know Lady Kagome, the workings of her mind and heart. I haven’t known her for as long, but even I know she’d never leave without the promise of a return.”
Inuyasha sighed. “I just wish I could be with her,” he said. “I want to know what she’s doing, what her plan is for the jewel.” He looked down at his hands. “I want to help her.”
“You are helping her. You let her go when she had to leave,” Rin replied. “Now you must trust that she will return.”
~*~
This probably wasn’t what Mom had in mind when she badgered me to enroll in university, Kagome thought as she took her place among the students milling around the gymnasium. She gathered her bow and bag and sat down on the bleachers, idly listening to the passing conversations among her classmates. She felt a twinge of envy towards them; she tried to remember the last time she felt so carefree and light-hearted as they seemed to be. As if she didn’t have a care in the world; as if history didn’t depend on her actions.Oh, the envy.
A trio of instructors stood at the head of the crowd. One of them clapped her hands to quiet them. “Welcome, everyone, to Advanced Archery! I am Ms. Sugiyama, and this is Mr. Morigami.” The younger of the two men standing with her nodded his head. “I hope you realize what the name of this class implies, that you have considerable skill with a bow and arrow.” She looked around the room, a smile warming her words. “I see some of you brought your own equipment. If you didn’t, that’s okay; we have extra bows up here.” She gestured to her right.
“Sensei Hitoma is our head instructor,” she continued, indicating the older gentleman of the trio. “He will be leading the class after he sees a demonstration of your abilities. We will be forming small groups of like-skilled teams for the first part of the semester. There will be a test at mid-term, and then the groups will be reassembled.” She paused as a murmur rose among the group of students. “Sensei Hitoma, along with Mr. Morigami and myself, will evaluate you on your shooting technique and classify you into the initial groups. Any questions?”
Eyes met eyes, but no hands were raised.
“Good.” Ms. Sugiyama looked pleased. “Form a line against the far wall, and we will begin.”
Kagome, one of the few who didn’t make a rush for the pile of bows, was near the front of the line. She gripped the Shikon Jewel, in place around her neck, in an attempt to calm her nerves. She’d never shot a target for a technique evaluation before; in fact, that was part of the reason she’d decided to audit this class. After attempting to teach Rin, she found out just how woeful and peculiar her style really was. Near the end, Kaede was correcting her form so much, she let the older priestess take over the training completely.
Well, I might as well get the ego-crushing over with, she told herself as she shuffled forward in the line. This is for Inuyasha, after all. It had taken her the better part of a week to get out of the house, but the seed of the idea had been planted in her head long before that. She felt instinctively that ultimate control of the jewel would come with improving her archery skills. The faster and better she got, the sooner she could return to him and the rest of her friends.
“Next!”
The sharp command broke Kagome away from her thoughts. She nodded to Ms. Sugiyama and stepped up to the line. She raised her bow and nocked an arrow, but the instructor interrupted her.
“What is your name?” Ms. Sugiyama asked, approaching her.
“Higurashi Kagome,” she replied, lowering her arms.
The instructor gave a long look to her bow. “Where did you get this longbow?” she asked, reaching out as if she was about to touch an antique.
“Family heirloom,” Kagome choked out. She eyed her bow as well. It was a plain black longbow, simply made, with a reinforced grip. She saw nothing particularly special about it, though she knew of its magical powers. In fact, it was the mystical bow from Mt. Asuza Kikyo had given her upon her death. Could her instructor somehow know this as well?
Ms. Sugiyama shook her head in amazement. “This bow is incredibly well-preserved, Ms. Higurashi! Did you learn to shoot with it?”
Kagome was puzzled. Why is she asking me all this? “Well, no, I learned to shoot with a short bow, but I eventually graduated to this one.”
“Very interesting,” the instructor said, stepping away from the line. “Please, fire.”
Kagome shook her head to gather her wits about her. She was nervous enough about showing an expert her rather odd form, but with the third degree for a warm up, she was feeling even worse. Nevertheless, she managed to compose herself in rapid time. She set her posture, raised the bow, nocked an arrow, and shot. Her arrow hit the far target with precision.
Ms. Sugiyama was still nodding. “Very impressive, Ms. Higurashi. I’d like to speak with you after class.”
“Right,” Kagome said, moving away from the line of students. She slipped back to her spot on the bleachers, feeling confused and embarrassed. First the questions about her equipment, now this? Was she overconfident in thinking she was ready for advanced archery? Surely three years of battle experience was worth a few beginners’ classes!
With approximately forty students in the class, it took the entire time period for the initial evaluation. Kagome felt better when she witnessed others being questioned as she had been, but found she was the only one asked to stay after class. Reluctantly, she approached the trio of instructors as the other students filed out of the gym.
“Higurashi!” Ms. Sugiyama greeted her. “We have been talking about you. Sensei Hitoma would like a word with you.”
Kagome tried to swallow past the lump in her throat as she turned to face the old man. He looked a little like her grandfather in his kimono and hakama. “Sensei,” she acknowledged.
“Higurashi,” he replied. “You have impressed my instructor with your abilities.”
“I have?” Kagome said, surprised.
“Indeed. And with such an ancient bow, no less.” Sensei Hitoma paused. “How long have you practiced archery?”
“About three years,” Kagome replied. “I’m pretty good with moving targets, too.”
Sensei Hitoma nodded. “That is evident. You have some odd habits, but nothing that cannot be changed. I would ask you two things, Higurashi. First of all, would you be interested in a supplemental class on Olympic-level competitive archery?”
Kagome’s jaw dropped. “You think I’m good enough for the Olympics?” she fairly screeched.
Sensei Hitoma only smiled. “You have the potential, yes.”
“Wow!” she breathed. This was hardly the news she was expecting! Her smile was so wide she thought her jaw might crack.
“Another thing I’d ask you to consider is kyûdô,” he continued. “You seem to have the natural characteristics of form for that sport, and it would help strengthen your mind and body for competition.” He laughed as he looked into her still-shocked face. “Please, these are only suggestions. If you are interested in my extra class, let me know. I could recommend you to a kyûdô instructor, as well.”
“Yes, Sensei,” she blurted. “I’ll let you know!” She walked out of the gym, her head spinning with ideas and possibilities. Of course! Why hadn’t she thought about kyûdô before? Her grandfather had even been badgering Sota into taking lessons of late, claiming it was his duty as the heir to the shrine.
Kikyo practiced kyûdô as part of her shrine duties, she thought, excitement growing in her stomach. It’s got to be the key to the jewel! Her leisurely stroll home quickened into a full-bore run, as the need to speak with her grandfather suddenly became overwhelming in importance.