#fcq32020

But it was the training with Miroku that was really draining her.  He was trying to train her to use spiritual energy that three months ago she hadn’t even known she had.  And patience was not something she was entirely known for.  Sesshomaru led the training sessions, demonstrating physical attacks to be practiced and drilled under Inuyasha. He had turned into an extremely strict task master, drilling yokai and humans alike

And then there was Inuyasha. Their first date had been special, magical.  For the past three weeks he would do little things to make her feel special.  He walked her to and from her from classes, often bringing her a Mocha Latte on her longer class days, hold her a little longer than was needed during training, or steal a kiss when he thought no one was looking.  If she had to study for class, he would bring dinner over and sit with her in her room as she studied.  She smiled, one evening she had turned to ask him a question and found him curled up on her bed, dead to the world asleep.  The moment she had touched his shoulder to wake him up his arm had reached out to pull her close to him, his nose buried in her hair as he fell back into sleep.  It was the first and so far, only night she had spent in his arms.

He was slowly driving her insane. He made her feel like she was the most precious object in the world to him yet backed away when things got too heated. He was content to hold her in his arms, to kiss her, but would go no further.  A part of her appreciated the respect that it showed, the reverence, but at the same time…

Her boyfriend was fucking hot. And watching him on the training mat, demonstrating a hold, a throw, how to hold a sword… she wasn’t the only one who appreciated his form as she had seen more than a few admiring glances from some of the women… and a few of the men, who were with them for training. She had found out that this was one of seven training areas across Japan, and each facility could train up to 100 at a time.  

Inuyasha and Sesshomaru had taken over leading the trainings as if they had been born for it, and in a way, she guessed they had been.  They had certainly changed the focus of the trainings from what she had overheard others say, but it only made sense.  Inuyasha, Toga and Sesshomaru were the ones most familiar with Ryukotsusei and his tactics, Koga had only gone against him a few times in the past.

Kagome was quickly learning the downside of having your boyfriend as one of your trainers.  She couldn’t keep up with him.  One moment his eyes were so heated on her that she felt her bones would melt, and the next he would snap out an order or a correction for the umpteenth time, and she would hear the obvious frustration in his voice.  When a training session ended, and they were walking back to her apartment building he held her to him as if he wanted to protect her forever.  In training though, when it didn’t go well, she couldn’t help but feel he was disappointed in her.

He never said anything, but she heard it in his tone, see the flash in his eyes that he would quickly ide.

That had been happening a lot in all her training sessions.  She watched Kikyo excel in creating barriers and manifesting her spiritual powers into her hands, while Kagome could maybe, just maybe, get her skin to glow.  Kikyo kept telling her she should not feel bad, Kikyo had been training ever since her spiritual powers had manifested and had been practicing for thirteen years, while Kagome’s had only appeared three months ago. Kagome heard the logic of that, but emotionally could not help feeling that she was disappointing her cousin and Miroku, who spent hours every week walking her through meditation and channeling just to watch her crumble.  

Inuyasha watched Kagome going through the drills for the day’s session, they were working on how to roll the body out of a toss to reduce physical injuries.  He had paired Kagome with Jaken, he knew they would both need to train with more advanced partners, but they needed to wait until they had mastered the moves.  He winced and had to force himself to stay still and not run to Kagome every time she landed wrong, even though every muscle in his body was fighting to scoop her up and run from the room.  

Kagome moved to toss Jaken, but her hand placement was wrong, instead of grabbing his arm and using her shoulder to force his momentum forward, she placed both hands on his chest, stopping his movement.  Before she could try and correct it Jaken had used her own inertia against her and she went flying, landing flat on her back with a loud “oof.”

“ENOUGH.” He roared.  He couldn’t watch any more.  He didn’t want to indirectly be the cause of her pain and bruising, but he knew it was necessary.

He had been speaking with Sesshomaru and Toga, they had no clue when the actual fighting would begin, and that concerned him.  But the thought that Kagome wouldn’t be ready, that she could be vulnerable? That fucking terrified him.  He wasn’t sure when she had become so important to him, he had gone from wanting to spend time around her and get to know her to wanting to hold her in his arms and protect her from any possible danger, but he knew that he couldn’t.  

The thought of her being hurt was bad enough, but the thought of her fucking dying?  Of not being able to see her, smell her, hold her in his arms ever again? Kami, he had woken up in a cold sweat several nights at the thought. He closed his eyes, holding back a groan.  He had seen the flash of hurt in her eyes when he had snapped before, but he could not coddle her, as much as he wanted to.

Toga stood at the edge of the training room next to Totosai and just watched his youngest son with a look of concern.  Something was troubling him, and Toga had started to see signs of instability in his son’s yokai.  That needed to be addressed sooner rather than later.  He knew what was causing it, he had been the same when he met Izayoi.

Kagome was a puzzle to him. He had caught flashes of power from her, and if she had been able to break their seals she had to be very powerful, but it was untrained, and she did not know how to call it out.  The brief flashes he had felt seemed… familiar… to him, he had felt that power for almost a thousand years, and if it was what he thought… no, he wouldn’t consider that without more than just an inkling of an idea.

Sesshomaru walked away from the floor to join Toga and Totosai.

“What do you think?” Toga asked.

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at his father. “I think if we had more yokai to train, it would be much better.”

Toga saw Inuyasha finally move towards Kagome, reaching out a hand to help her up from the floor. Inuyasha tugged a little longer than he knew he needed to, just enough to throw Kagome off balance towards him, and his arms quickly closed around her, holding her tightly to him.  Kagome stiffened for a moment before wrapping her hands around his waist with a sigh, nuzzling her cheek against his chest.  

Toga watched the exchange, a haunted expression in his eyes.

“Kagome.” Inuyasha’s voice had deepened as he held her, sending shivers down her spine.  “I … I have something I need to show you something tonight.”

“Tonight?”  He nodded slightly.

“It... it has to be tonight Kagome, just… just come meet me here just before sundown.”

Kagome was surprised, he seemed almost nervous.  When she nodded, she watched his face visibly relax.  She reached up to touch his cheek, a soft smile forming when he nuzzled her hand before placing a kiss into her palm.  

She felt the tension that had formed around her heart ease a little.  

“How about I cook dinner for us?” She asked.  “You’ve been bringing dinner to me, how about I make you one of my favorite dishes?” He had left his glamor ring off that morning, and she giggled as his ears perked straight up and started twitching with excitement.  Her hand left his cheek to slide up and stroke the soft fur of his ear. He twitched it away from her hand as he pulled her closer.

“Not here woman.” He growled against her hair.  

And just like that, all was right in her world.  At least for a moment.

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Later that day Kagome stepped out of the elevator to Inuyasha’s level to find him pacing anxiously.  As soon as he saw her, he darted forward to take the bags she carried from her and grabbed her hand.  

“Inu?” His behavior was confusing her.  

“Keh.” Was the only response as he pulled her away from the elevator and towards the kitchen area, he seemed anxious to get away from an open area and towards the living quarters.  She could feel the tension growing around him as they moved, even in trainings she had never seen him quite so agitated.

“Inuyasha stop.” She pulled back on her hand, forcing him to turn and look at her.  “What is going on?”

He sighed.  “I wan… gah… well, you are about to see anyway but I wanted to… keh.”  

He let go of her hand and pulled away, standing in front of her.  He looked at the clock on the wall then looked her square in the eye.  

“I don’t understand Inuyasha, what is…oh… oh my…”  As she watched Inuyasha’s hair began to darken, first to gray then deepening into black.  His eyes began to swirl, a blend of gold and deep purple and his puppy ears seemed to shrink as human ears appeared.  His eyes never left hers as he stood before her completely human, a look of worry in his now purple eyes.

Kagome stepped closer to him, her hand reaching out to trace the lobe of one ear. Inuyasha stilled, as if waiting for … something.  She ran her hand through his raven locks before standing on her toes to press a soft kiss to the underside of his chin.  With a release of his breath he grabbed her against him with arm not carrying a bag, holding her to him in a crushing grip.  She pulled back slightly and pushed back his banges.  

“Want to tell me about this while I make dinner?”  He let out a choked laugh before releasing his hold on her waist to capture her hand in his and lead her to the kitchen.  He watched as she rinsed vegetables and set them on the counter.  He watched as she chopped ginger and garlic before adding them to a pot on the stove.  As she stirred the mixture, she gave him a pointed look, smiling as he dodged her gaze.

“Sooooo.   Is this what you wanted to show me?” She teased.  

“Keh.” His soft grunt was answer enough.    He watched her pour a mixture of chicken broth, mirin, and soy sauce into the pot before she lowered the temperature.  

“How about you chop these for me and tell me about it?”  She handed him a bunch of scallions, showing him how she wanted him to chop them before handing him the knife and pushing the cutting board towards him.  As he chopped, she took out another pan and began to cook pieces of chicken.

“Well, I’m a half yokai, half human.  So, one night a month, on the night of the new moon like tonight, I lose all my yokai and turn into a human.”

“Why is that?” She asked as she flipped the chicken over.  Even with his dulled senses the combination of the cooking broth and chicken smelled amazing.  He walked up behind her at the stove and wrapped his arms around her waist as he rested his chin on her shoulder and watched her movements.

“You would have to ask dad on that, I’m not quite sure.  I am pretty sure it was a shock to him and mom the first time it happened, I don’t really like my human night now, I can’t even imagine how bad it must have been when I was a baby.”  

He reluctantly loosened his hold when Kagome pushed back with a shoulder before taking the skillet of the chicken off the stove to it to the oven that she had pre-heated before adding a container of dried mushrooms and added it to the broth.

When she stopped adding spices to the broth, he gently pulled her into his embrace again, holding her against his chest, her head tucked under his chin.  He told her stories of his human nights growing up, playing hide and seek with his mother and the other children when there were no features to distinguish him. One hand absentmindedly caressed her back as he told her about the first time he had disobeyed his parents and snuck out of the village on the night of a new moon, his terror when he realized he couldn’t fight back against a yokai that had stalked him.  His hold on her tightened as he told her how Toga and Sesshomaru had found him backed against a rock formation, a snake yokai about to strike and how his father had physically shielded him with his body as Sesshomaru had removed the head of the snake mid strike.  

Inuyasha was pulled out of his thoughts by Kagome’s thumb stroking his cheek.

“You are ok Yash.” She whispered. “You are safe.”

He looked down at her, his eyes intense.

“But you aren’t.”  His voice trembled as he said it.

Inuyasha abruptly loosened his embrace and stepped away from her, his hands running though his hair before he turned and stalked away and towards the fridge.  Kagome watched as he pulled out a bottle of water and drank half of it, never turning back around.  A sizzling sound behind her pulled her attention to the stove, and she quickly added blocks of dried noodles to the broth and pulled the chicken out of the oven to cool.

“Yash.” She said softly, waiting for him to turn to her before she continued. “Do you want to help me get the food together?”  

Inuyasha let out a shuddering breath before he nodded and moved to join her.  Soon they were seated next to each other at the counter with steaming bowls of homemade ramen.  The scent of the dish was amazing, even to his human senses, and he could only imagine how much better it would be on any other night.  He tentatively took the first bite but knew that no matter what it would be amazing because Kagome had made it for him.

The first bite made his mouth sing.

“This is quite possibly the best thing I have ever tasted in my life!” Kagome’s cheeks flushed with pleasure at his words and she nudged him with her leg softly.  

Inuyasha felt like he was in food heaven.  The flavor of the chicken had seeped into the noodles with a salty broth that made him want to lick the bowl clean.  Kagome giggled at his obvious enjoyment of the dish.  She brought him a second helping and watched with a smile as he devoured that as well.

When he realized his bowl was empty a second time he looked to the stove and realized that there was no more available, he released a slight whimper.  Kagome leaned over to nuzzle his shoulder and slid the rest of her bowl to him.

“Here, have the rest of mine.”

Inuyasha reached out to place his hand over hers, but she continued to offer him the bowl.  Her eyes turned puzzled as he grabbed a piece of chicken out of the bowl and held it out to her.  

“Keh, did you think I hadn’t noticed that you didn’t eat much today Kagome?” He gave her a soft smile as she opened her mouth and accepted the food.  He seemed to get as much enjoyment out of feeding her the ramen as he had eating it, and who was she to tell him no.  She knew he was right; she hadn’t been eating much lately, but she hadn’t realized he had noticed.

Inuyasha helped her clean the kitchen and place the dishes in the dishwasher after they had finished.  Well, helped wasn’t exactly accurate as he was more distracting than helpful Kagome found.  He seemed to find every reason to touch her hand, to kiss her head, to nuzzle her cheek.  She didn’t mind, not in the slightest, but it made it harder to focus on cleaning when all she wanted to do was kiss him.   It was strange, he looked so different, but his actions were purely her Inuyasha.  It was one more layer to the hanyou she was quickly beginning to…

She shook her head; it was way too early to think that.  ‘Wasn’t it?’

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Kagome looked at the limited selection of movies in the living room, noting that clearly Miroku had been lacking in providing decent entertainment options.   They were usually at her and Sango’s apartment, so she hadn’t realized just how few options they had.  She finally settled on Robin Hood Men in Tights, one of her favorite comedy films.  When she went to sit on the couch Inuyasha promptly snuck his arms around her and cuddled her close.  

“Inuyasha?” Kagome asked softly halfway through the movie.  “Why did you want to meet here instead of at my apartment tonight?”

He leaned his cheek against her head and thought for a minute before answering.

“I’m vulnerable on these nights.  After the snake yokai I never left our house on my human night.  So now it’s… I guess you would call it a safety measure.  I don’t heal on these nights until the sun comes back up, so I stay home and don’t let myself sleep until the sun comes back up.”

He leaned down to place a soft kiss on her lips.

“Other than dad and Sesshomaru, you are the only other to know about this.”

Her eyes went wide at the confession before filling with tears.

“Then… wh… why tell me?”

A single finger titled her face upwards towards his.

“You know why.” He said softly before he touched his lips to hers.  He drew back and amethyst eyes met chocolate.

“Y..Yash.” she whispered as she raised her hand to his hair.  She gently took a lock and pulled him back down towards her. His lips brushed hers softly once, twice.  As he moved to place a third soft kiss, she captured his lower lip with her teeth and tugged it playfully.  She giggled as she saw him raise an eyebrow in exacerbation as she waited for the smirk she knew was coming.  She crinkled her nose at him before burrowing her face against his neck.  His arms pulled her close as he lay back on the couch, Kagome tucked onto his chest above him.      

“I... Wou…” She began, unsure how to ask. “Would you want me to keep you company tonight?”

He kissed her forehead as she looked up at him.

“I was hoping you would.”

Inuyasha held her close for the remainder of the night, as he told her stories of his childhood, pranks he had played on Sesshomaru, and how he felt when his mother passed.   One of his hands stroked her hair as she snuggled against him, a loving smile teasing his lips as he watched her struggle to keep her eyes open.  A quick glance at the clock told him there were still a few hours until dawn, she had surprised him, he had been positive she would have fallen asleep before then given how hard she had been training that day.

Kagome felt the comforting feeling of his hand on her hair luring her into sleep, she tried to fight it, but it was a losing battle.  His arms felt like home, the sound of his voice, slightly softer than she was used to hearing, soothed her.  

“It’s ok to sleep baby.” He whispered to her.

“Nnnn… I wanta stay up with you.” She murmured back. She could feel his chuckle before she heard it, and she shifted her head so she could hear his heartbeat.

“I get to hold you Kagome, that’s enough.”

She felt him place a series of kisses on her forehead as she drifted off.  In the moment before she slid into slumber, she thought she heard a softly spoken vow.

“I promise I will protect you with my life.”