Sterile - an Inuyasha Fanfiction

Earning a Sword

Sweat glistened on Kagome's forehead in the summer sun. Her hair was tied back to free her face from its sweltering confines. The comforting weight of her quiver against her back made her feel confident. She reached back and felt the feathers on the butt of her arrows. With a small breath, she picked one from the bushel and quickly lined it up against her bow. Slowly, she pulled the taut string back, feeling her muscles move in the familiar pattern. She steadied herself and aimed at the distant target.

"Hit the mark." She exhaled and released the arrow. It zipped through the air in a deadly pink streak before colliding with the bullseye. A quick grin spread across her face, but she squashed the pride that was rising within her chest. Now was not the time to be feeling prideful, not when she still had so much to learn. She lowered her large, wooden bow to absently glance at her hands.

Only three days ago her hands had been weapons.

... Three days ago, her hands had killed someone...

She shuddered at the memory and reached back to fumble for another arrow. When her fingers refused to find purchase on the thin rods, she sighed in frustration and spun around to see how the others were fairing.

Training had begun.

She had never seen anything quite like it, not even when they were fighting Naraku and his nearly endless stream of minions and incarnations. Everyone was training. The toad demons stayed by the edge of the ocean, far away from everyone else. They were very aware of the enhanced stench that they were giving off, but they promised that their slime would truly be to everyone's advantage.

The wolf demons had taken up sanctuary in the woods. They continually practiced hand-to-hand combat, with Koga and his eldest son, Koki, leading them. Koki was naturally charismatic, just like his father, and a born warrior. He had a playful spirit, but that joyful attitude would vanish the instant that he slid into his fighting stance. Gone was the jokes. Instead, his face was laced with a level of seriousness that was eerily reminiscent of Sesshomaru's death glare. Kagome smirked. Koki must have gotten that from Ayame. She had a feeling that the wolf demoness had a fiery spirit inside of her. Most of the guests stayed with the wolf demons to practice and learn. The few experienced individuals took control of the newbies and tried their best to guide them along.

Fear gripped Kagome's heart as she watched one of Koga's children, Ryoto, try and fail at a leg kick. He was still so young; only a century old according to what Koki had told her. Yet, here he was, trying to quickly learn how to fight to protect his family. Koga watched his red-haired pup with a mixture of concern and pride. He wasn't going to stop him from fighting. Yet, as Kagome watched the young one learn, she couldn't help but wish that his father would bar him from the fight.

Something bad could happen.

As she looked around at all of the demons in the clearing a new type of fear sizzled in her mind. There was no way that they would all make it out alive. They knew that, yet here they were, training for a battle that could claim their lives.

She sucked in a shaky breath and was glad when her eyes landed upon Daichi. His body had a nice sheen to it as he swung an obsidian sword in a wide arc. It glowed a yellow color similar to Daichi's eyes. It was a thin blade, yet the darkness of it oddly reminded her of the Meido. Chokichi watched his son's training with a sharp eye, his hand never leaving the hilt of his own sword. Daichi froze, then turned sharply to catch her looking. She blushed and he smirked knowingly. He lowered his fighting stance and sheathed his sword. With a quick word to his father, he turned and darted over to her side. Before she could even acknowledge that he had moved, he was already standing patiently beside her, as if he had been waiting there for hours.