InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ What If? ❯ Let the Flames Begin ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi

This chapter won't be much, fluff-wise. This is essential, basic, plot progression, basically.

I don't know if I already warned y'all, or if that was some of my other stories, but I really, really suck a fluff. Any ideas for just little moments of fluff or silliness or even seriousness are always appreciated. Just leave 'em in your comments if you have any.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------
W hat a shame we all became
Such fragile, broken things
Our memory remains just a tiny spark
I gave it all my oxygen
So let the flames begin
Let the flames begin

"Let the Flames Begin," Paramore
-------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----
Chapter Six: Let the Flames Begin

Kagome hurt everywhere.

She hurt in places she hadn't even known existed.

She collapsed at the base of a nearby tree and just laid there, panting and sweating, trying to understand why the hell she'd wanted this.

Then again, when her father had told her that Susanowo would train her, she'd thought he meant train her—how was she supposed to put it?—immortal abilities or something. But instead, Susanowo had taken one look at her and decided that strong body meant strong will, which in turn meant more powerful goddess.

She was now being viciously trained in swordcraft and, above all, stamina. She would be made to run for an hour, train with the sword for two, run again for another hour, break for a meal, swim (of all things) for an hour, and then martial arts training for three hours. After that, she was "free" to spar in any style of combat with Susanowo or Sesshoumaru for a while—which surprised her greatly; she hadn't expected Sesshoumaru to grant her his help so easily.

What surprised her more, though, was that it wasn't running that was the hardest part of her training. It wasn't even swordcraft, both of which she thought would break her before she even got started. No, it was the martial arts.

She hadn't realized that practitioners of 'the Art,' as they called it, did so much in the way of training and keeping in shape. Hand-to-hand combat, aerial/balance, tactical skills, diplomatic/critical thinking skills, speed, strength, precision—the list went on and on.

And she had to learn it all. Before she was even allowed to start mastering her immortal talents.

I'm so done.

"You done pouting yet?" Susanowo called from across the small meadow where they were training.

"I'm not pouting!" Kagome shouted back indignantly—or tried to. Her exhaustion lowered her voice to no more than a hiss. They had been at this intense training for two days now. On top of that, she didn't even have the end of the week to look forward to: Susanowo was returning with her!

"Then what are you doing, flopped over like a dead fish? Break time's over, little girl!"

Kagome had never been so tempted to hate a man in all her life.

Susanowo was arrogant, he was cocky, he was demanding, and he was just plain mean. If Kagome was hit because she dropped her sword, he would complain that she was a worthless fighter and should just hide behind Inu no Taisho when war came. If she fell off her horse when riding, he would snap that she was scaring the animal with her ineptitude and that she should just walk beside it. If she ever lost her balance when training in the martial arts, Susanowo would claim that she was the worst student he'd ever had the misfortune of training and that she would never be of use to anybody.

Sesshoumaru, however, liked Susanowo. He admired the god's methods of training. It isn't his job to like you, he'd informed Kagome when she'd complained to him of her treatment. He's supposed to train you to become stronger. And you have, aided all the more by your intense desire to prove him wrong, yes?

And though she ached to deny it, she knew he was right. Under the intense oppression that was Susanowo, Kagome was blossoming into her full power so much faster than anyone could have had a right to expect. And it wasn't because he was that great a teacher. No. It was because he, unlike any other tutor Kagome had ever had, made her feel inferior, put her down, and repeatedly stamped on any ego that came from even the slightest progress. And that, more than anything, made her want to do better. It made her want to smack that smug smirk off his face with her amazing skills.

...Well, the skills I will have once I'm done with this stupid training.

They'd already been at this for four days. Sesshoumaru, she knew, was itching to leave. It made him uncomfortable to leave his home for long periods of time, but not for reasons she would have thought. She'd asked him if he missed his parents or homeland and received a scoff. She'd asked if his haste was due to his eagerness to have his pedestal of power returned to him. He admitted that he liked putting others in their place like that, but it was not the reason he so badly desired to leave.

He wouldn't tell her what his real reason was, no matter how often she asked. He only repeated again and again how they were taking so long here.

She gave up asking after a while. Let him have his secrets, she would think, it's not like he knows everything about me, either. It's not fair to ask him such personal things, anyway.

That night, seated in the large dining hall that was Ryuujin's favorite room for the space it provided, Kagome was assailed yet again by her tutor and father. This time, however, she wasn't given complaints and jabs, but compliments and encouragements.

Both she and Sesshoumaru listened in, well in her case stunned, silence while they spoke of her progress.

"You're coming along quite nicely, Kagome," her father began, shooting her a brief, proud smile. "Much faster than anyone thought."

"But she still has a long way to go," Susanowo pointed out. "She has yet to begin her real training. She's taken to the mortal physical trials, but can she withstand the immortal ones?"

"I have no doubt," Ryuujin said, completely serious for once. "I only wish I could be there to witness her progress first-hand. But, I suppose, seeing the finished product will more than account for the loss. She will, no doubt, be one of the most famous of goddesses to date—for a talent, of course, we have yet to discover. Any ideas yet, brother?"

"Not a one." Kagome was surprised to note that her uncle sounded slightly disappointed by this truth. "Still, as I said, we haven't begun her true training yet. It would have been a real shock to all if she had revealed any raw affinity at this time."

"And you plan on leaving when?" Ryuujin turned to Sesshoumaru.

"The sooner, the better," Sesshoumaru said, his voice loud and clear in the still room. "I was hoping to depart as soon as tomorrow."

"Well, tomorrow is certainly out of the question," Kagome's father brushed aside. "However, I do see why you would want to leave so quickly." At Sesshoumaru's surprised look, the god smiled and informed him, "Your father is one of my dearest old friends. Of course I have heard of his doings, and I can see why they would trouble you so."

Hesitantly, as though unsure, Sesshoumaru nodded. But he wasn't unsure, of course, Kagome thought, just cautious. But what were these 'doings' he mentioned? Why would they bother Sesshoumaru? As far as she knew, nothing bothered the dog prince. She'd have to discuss this with him sometime.

"And why can we not depart on the morrow?" Susanowo asked, cocking a lazily indolent brow at his brother. "I travel with them, remember. It makes no difference where we are, so long as every moment is used wisely. When we stop to sleep for the night, I can train Kagome no matter the terrain. In fact, it would make the lessons that much more useful to her."

Ryuujin looked around the table flatly, but there was a hint of desperation in his glance that Kagome caught. She hadn't known him for very long, but of every day she had known him she'd spent almost all of them with him. They had grown rather close in that time, as close as an estranged father can be to his daughter in five days' time, but she knew he would feel the loss of her presence keenly. She was his youngest child now, as Kun-Loon had been the last woman he'd taken for a lover. All her supposed half-brothers and -sisters were either keeping to themselves in his undersea palace or around the world, honing their own talents and skills.

She was, in essence, still his 'baby.'

"After the war, I will visit you as often as possible," Kagome promised, adding, for effect, "Father."

It had the desired effect on the god, but he was nothing if not practical.

"And who is to say you will survive this war? Skilled though you may be, there is no defense against carelessness. Even a moment's hesitation or distraction and I would never see you again."

Kagome bit her bottom lip and nodded, acknowledging the truth of this statement. Slowly, thinking through her words, she responded, "But I have friends now; friends that will protect me in battle as fervently as I'll protect them. Sesshoumaru, for one." She sent a teasing glance to his impassive face and said, "Old crank though he is, he's still one of my closest friends. One of my only friends. I know that, despite what he says, he'll look after me."

Taking her completely by surprise, Sesshoumaru nodded in his usual slow, self-assured manner and added, "I gave an oath to my father that I would protect her with my life. No time limits were laid out. It would seem that my protection of her will be a lifelong endeavor."

Ryuujin nodded as well, accepting that, and said sincerely, "And the protection of Inu no Taisho's son is no small thing." He hesitated, then said, "However, it does not completely assuage my fears. I strike a bargain with you: Kagome must fight a duel." At Sesshoumaru and Kagome's sharp glances, he elaborated, "Not to the death, of course. The duel will stop when she or her opponent completes a strike that would have caused death. If Kagome wins the duel, I will acknowledge that her mortal training has been all but mastered. She will still practice the same exercises with Susanowo, but they will merely be that: exercises; no lessons on that anymore. She would then begin her immortal training—and she would be allowed to leave tomorrow morning. If she loses, she will go through three more days of mortal training before being allowed to leave."

Kagome looked to Sesshoumaru, who nodded almost imperceptibly. It sounded like it was the best offer they would get from the god.

Sighing a little in apprehension, Kagome turned back to her father and said, "I accept the challenge."

"Who will she be fighting?" Sesshoumaru asked, almost before the words were completely out of her mouth. Kagome gasped. She hadn't even thought of that! What if it was someone really tough? There was no way she could beat anyone other than a weakling!

At this, Ryuujin smiled to him. It wasn't quite sinister, but it wasn't quite benign either. Kagome shivered, expecting the worst.

"Well," Ryuujin finally said in a blithe, uncaring tone, "I can't exactly trust a person to guard something precious to me without first judging their own skills."

This time, when Kagome gasped, she thought she heard a little indrawn breath from the daiyoukai to her right as well. Certainly his eyes were wider than normal.

"Kagome's opponent shall be you, Sesshoumaru."

Converting /tmp/phpGBpzck to /dev/stdout