Blue moon and Red Fire

Chapter 16: Teach me

Inuyasha pushed his head up through the top of the well, his eyes scanning the area with suspicion in his gaze. It was dark here to, though somewhat earlier in the night then it had been back in the era ahead. The moon was directly above in the sky, and the stars shined brightly against a blanket of deep blue, completely different from the light purple with an almost orangish brown hue to it that was there in the future where the lights drowned out the stars with their own radiance.

Souta climbed up his back from below and wrapped his arms tightly around Inuyasha's neck, "Wow it's dark here..." He said, clearly uneasy at the lack of light. The trees of the forest surrounding them were little more then shady imprints against the sky, he could only see a black mass, anything in between the great trees were lost to his eyes.

"Heh, getting scared?" Inuyasha asked, amusement present in his voice. He jumped out of the well and landed gracefully on the soft, thick grass wavering with the push of night time breezes.

Souta let go of the Hanyou's neck and let himself drop to the ground behind him, "No, I'm not." Souta told him, but still stood closer to Inuyasha then he needed to, and his voice quaked lightly with nervous anxiousness. Ok, maybe he was just a little afraid. "I'm still not going back."

The sounds of strained grunts radiated up from the well as the wheel of Houjo's bike peeked up on the surface, and slowly but surly the whole structure was forced out of the well, landing on the ground with a soft clatter. Houjo climbed up after it, his face glowing with the purple light of his jewel shard radiating around his neck under his shirt. He clearly didn't expect to see what he came up to, looking around with amazement growing heavily on his face as he climbed over the edge. "Wow! Wow!" He looked around at the forest and wide open planes shrouded in night, and he wouldn't have believed it if he didn't see it with his own eyes.

Houjo knelt down and slipped his fingers through the grass, digging his fingers into the dirt, it was real, this was all real! The boy stood up and looked back, leaning halfway into the dark well, he couldn't describe the trip down here, it was like flying through the northern lights. And the fall, it wasn't a free fall as it would seem, it was more like a sinking through water at a really fast pace.
The Shikon Jewel shard around his neck finally stopped glowing and he was shrouded in shadow just as Inuyasha and Souta were, the jewel's power was easily able to pull him through.

Kouga climbed up the well after words, and with one leap he jumped out of the well and landed on his feet beside the excited Houjo who seemed to be busy touching things. "Houjo...are you alright?"

"This place is amazing..." Houjo forced his attention to Kouga, but he still couldn't keep his mind from racing, furiously recanting the trip here and the new world he found himself in. What was this place? How was this possible? Was it all an illusion, maybe he was still home, just in a different spot of the city...No... *No*, how could he fall and just suddenly start climbing like that? And the lights, and the feel of it all, and the reaction by the jewel shard? This place...he really was in a different place, just looking at Inuyasha and Kouga he knew.

Inuyasha's eyes continued to study the area scrutinizingly, his vision piercing the darkness beyond human bounds. There didn't seem to be anything here, he couldn't hear anything besides themselves and what typically lurked in a forest, no scents of demons, it was safe. "Let's go." He called back, setting off at a normal place, he wasn't in a hurry, there was no need to be if Souta and Houjo were here with him. They had to keep up.

Souta trailed behind him, walking down the the familiar path where he'd been attacked before, making sure to keep his guard up as much as possible...But it wasn't easy, since he woke up in the middle of the night after a rather hard day to cast off on this trip, and he was dead tired.

Houjo lagged behind slightly with Kouga, walking his bike with them, from the looks of this place he'd been using it more then he thought he would. "So this is were you came from?"

"My den is a long ways off from here." Kouga told him, letting his arms rest lazily behind his head as he moved beside the boy at a comfortable pace.

Houjo kept his eyes on Kouga, careful not to wonder off the path in the darkness."Den?" This time Houjo finally picked up on the word *den*, and put it together with the fact that Kouga was a wolf, a demon wolf, but a wolf none the less. And wolves were very social creatures. "Any one else live with you?"

"My pack...use to at lest." Kouga said, his voice dropping a subtile hint as he spoke, not to much though, it was barely notable. His expression didn't change much, it only grew a thoughtfulness to it.

"Use to?" Houjo took a quick look around, to take in his surroundings, though there wasn't much to take in from the darkness, before his eyes resettled on Kouga. "What do you mean use to? Did they all move?"

"Tch, move. They're dead."

Houjo immediately grew a remorseful quiet, his head lowering a bit. Inuyasha just folded his arms and kept his eyes steady ahead, though notably showing a somewhat respectful quietness at the topic. Houjo rubbed his head slightly and apologetically, "I'm sorry."

"Why, you didn't kill them." Kouga snorted.

"So...are you the only one left?"

"No." Kouga told him, his eyes narrowing slightly either from annoyment of the subject he didn't feel like talking about or something Houjo wasn't aware off that he wast thinking of.

Houjo quickly dropped the subject, he didn't speak anymore after that, looking around absentmindly at the forest they passed through.

Kouga glanced over at Houjo, noticing the normally intuitive and inquisitive boy wasn't asking any questions. He was sure the boy would have so many now that they were here that he wouldn't be able to ask them all. The wolf scratched the back of his head slight and sighed. "Houjo, I'm sorry, I-"

"No, it's ok. I wouldn't want to talk about some thing like that either." Houjo reassured him.

Inuyasha simply continued to look froward, charting out his next step in his mind while he listened to the conversation transpiring behind him. He could see a small lake just ahead of them, the water blue water sparkling with the bright light of the moon shining over it in the sky, he could see the silver light clearly from here, he could smell the scent of the clean moisture hanging faintly in the air.

His ears perked slightly when he heard Souta yawn behind him 'It...is pretty late...' he noted, Inuyasha stopped and turned around, looking over the three. "Why don't we stop for the night, it's pretty late." He announced, his eyes fixed on Souta.

Kouga would have usually said no, but when he saw Souta, he was compelled to agree without argument.

! - ! - !

Inuyasha sat down beside the still waters of the lake, folding his arms, the sheathed Tetsusaiga resting fatefully at his side. He was more tired then he realized, a small grogginess swept over him as soon as he got off his feet. Souta was nearby, laying on his back near the water's edge with his head resting on the back pack, staring with half-lidded eyes at the stars, barely awake enough to noticed them

Houjo rested on his knees, digging through his backpack while Kouga stood watching nearby, leaning against a tree beside Houjo's bike which leaned against the structure with his arms still resting behind his head. "Ah, here it is." Houjo shoved his hand a little farther in to the pack and with drew a large blue sleeping bag. Unraveling the rolled up fabric and laying it out on the ground.

"What's that?" Kouga peaked over Houjo's shoulder questioningly, watching with slight interest as the boy unzipped that sleeping bag.

"Oh, it's a sleeping bag, you sleep in it." Houjo explained.

"How are you suppose to sleep in that thing?"

"Like this." Houjo slipped into the unzipped bag and pulled the rest of it over himself so he was completely covered, leaving everything below the shoulders concealed.

"Hmm..." Interesting, Kouga wondered why no one had thought of all these things. With a light shrug, Kouga slipped into the sleeping bag beside Houjo and lay comfortably beside him, though there wasn't enough room to lay side by side. So the Youkai wrapped his arms around Houjo and buried his face into the boy's neck, inhaling the scent of the human that practically surrounded him. "Mmm...warm." He could see the usefulness of this, his was warm, comfortable.

Houjo couldn't help but laugh softly.

"What?"

Houjo closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Kouga's neck, gently tucking Kouga's head under his chin. "Nothing."

Inuyasha felt himself coming closer and and closer to sleep, drifting towards it more and more with each passing second. His body started to falter and sway slightly, not holding the consciousness to support itself . "..." With a small yawn, Inuyasha fell on to his back and closed his eyes, his mind racing towards sleep... One sleepy golden eye peeked open when he felt something land into his lap, which was Souta, crawling over to him from where he had been laying. Inuyasha closed his eye again, letting his hand drift on to Souta's head as they both faded out of awareness.

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The orange rays of sunrise shined on to the still waters, once more causing it to shimmer brightly, casting a watery shadow of light and darkness over the trees surrounding the small lake.

The bright reflection like glistening diamonds shined on Inuyasha and Souta directly, making it hard to remain asleep with the irritation. "Uh....uhaa..." Inuyasha's golden eyes slipped open, met with the soft light from the half dark sky and half risen sun. He sat up with, stretching his arms above his head with a deep yawn, then scratched his neck softly. Souta stirred in his lap, slowly coming to awareness himself as he pushed himself up out of Inuyasha's lap and on to his knees.

"How'd you sleep?" Inuyasha asked, he stood up and stretched his arms out at his side, before kneeling down to pick up his Tetsusaiga and reseat it at his waist. He wasn't sure how comfortable it would be sleeping across his lap.

"Really good." Souta yawned softly, feeling a bit of tiredness that usually was on him when he got up this early. Though it wasn't nearly as bad as it usually was when he woke up in the morning for school, the kind that made you want to crawl back in bed and sleep for another hour. There was something different about sleeping in the warm air outside, the some what settling scents of fresh water mingling with that of Inuyasha's pheromones, the warmth of the hanyou's heat induced body.

Inuyasha's hand settled on his softly rumbling stomach, "Any objections to starting a fire out here?" he asked half sarcastically.

"Oh, sorry about that. I just didn't want you guys burning my house down." Souta sat back and looked up at Inuyasha apologetically.

"Yeah." Inuyasha turned around and headed towards the sleeping bag laying peacefully behind him. Houjo could cook, he'd wake the boy up, he was sure Kouga wouldn't mind, and if he did, too bad.

The two were sleeping rather blissfully in the blue plastic like fabric, Houjo's arms had sunken to a much lower spot around Kouga's waist, the Youkai's head still tucked underneath the taller boy's chin. Kouga face was pushed away in between Houjo's neck and shoulder, his mouth gently pressed against the boy's collar bone, every so often giving a soft, sloppy lick. That was Kouga, outspokenly blunt with out even speaking, or even being conscious.

"?" Inuyasha paused halfway there, his ears twitching anxiously.

"What?" Souta noticed Inuyasha's stalling, and the ears, always a sign of something off. "What is it?"

Inuyasha quickly turned back, drawing his Tetsusaiga. "Souta! Get over here now!"

"What?!" Souta quickly sprang to his feet at Inuyasha's command with out hesitation though he didn't know why, though he didn't make it in time before the water erupted in a earth shaking splash and before he could move away he was swamped with a wave that crushed him to the the ground. From the depths of the lake a large fish, more of a shark really, with six oddly green eyes burst forth on to land and seemed to slide across the grass like a snake. It bolted towards a half drowned Souta with a garbled roar and jaws wide.

"Back off!" Inuyasha jumped down from above, his sword drawn above his head and that he thrust down on the water demon as he landed. The powerful blade sliced through the overgrown shark's head, so simply.

Souta climbed to his knees and coughed a series of pitiful, hard, air deprived coughed, expelling the water from his lungs. "Inuyasha!" Souta flinched when he saw how close he'd come to being eaten. When he saw Inuyasha's mouth queued into a question, he quickly stood up. "I'm fine, I'm fine."

"Damn thing." Inuyasha snorted. He withdrew the sword from and sent a rough kick into the half severed body, throwing it back into the water.

"When did that get there?" Kouga's voice echoed from behind, clearly awakened during the brief altercation. "It's a small lake, a big demon like that shouldn't be there."

"I know that." Inuyasha resheathed the blade in a flash of light as it returned to it's normal form, watching Souta shake his hair dry. He had to admit, the boy was doing well to hide how freaked out he was at the close call, and he was sure the boy would fake it until the feeling passed. Which Inuyasha also noticed was becoming quicker and quicker every time, he seemed to be adjusting. "Where's Houjo?"

"Right here." Houjo, seeing that little event was over, knelt down by his sleeping bag and began rolling it tightly. He already knew what Inuyasha wanted, the same thing Kouga wanted, it was Kouga's stomach that had woken him up, surprisingly just before that small attack. He thought about things with a quiet reflection, did this happen all the time here? This really was a different place... "Should we move?" Houjo was hoping he'd say yes.

"Nah, over that little thing?" Kouga waved it off dismissatively.

"Alright then." Shoving the sleeping bag back into his backpack, Houjo removed the pot Kouga had put into his bag and started digging out food while Kouga worked on a fire. He really didn't want to stay here now, what was that!

After deciding Souta was fine, Inuyasha headed over to join them, hoping maybe his presence would speed up the process. Noting Inuyasha's action, Souta continued to stare at the waters as he rung out his shirt, looking as if something else might come out. 'Stuff like that probably happens here all the time, If Kagome can handle it, I can.' Souta nodded to himself, watching the peaceful waters. 'I wonder what Houjo's gonna make.' With his thoughts also drifting to his hunger, Souta glanced back at the fire which had already been started, and Houjo. He'd been attacked by demons before, he could handle this.

!!

The ground shook lightly under his feet once, his only warning, and whatever dormant instincts Souta had screamed at him to move. And just as he took his first step backwards, the ground erupted in front of him in an eruption of dirt and grass. And just inches from the boy's flinching body, the same shark with the Tetsusaiga split head burst up with divided mouth wide open, intending to swallow the boy whole. It was amazing it could do anything in that state. "Whaaa!!!" Through the up rising of flying mud and dirt he could barely see the large form crashing towards him like a falling tree. "!!" Being faster, Souta immediately dived to the right as the water demon landed on to it's stomach and darted after Souta in that slithering movement.

Souta landed on his back much too near to the water's edge, by the time he sat up, a pair of open, split, bloody jaws were right in his face. "AAAAHHHH!!" Souta flinched, clinching his eyes shut.

"Leave him alone!" Seeming out of nowhere Inuyasha came charging, with his left arm drawn back he took one hard swipe at the demon and ripped through it's head, sending pieces of it flying all over. Souta's eyes shot open and watched as the Hanyou stook one last ripping swipe at the water demon's body and roughly knocked the body back into the water in rough, bloody pieces. What was left of it floated at the surface before sinking a few seconds later in a spray of blood. "It's dead now..." Inuyasha said surely, quickly turning his attention back to Souta.

The boy just nodded again. "Yeah...I'm fine." His voice was distracted, and his eyes still wide, as if he couldn't believe what had just happened.

"You sure kid?" Inuyasha scratched his head unsurely, this didn't look like someone who was alright.

Souta rubbed the back of his head with a nervous smile and quickly stood to his feet, dusting the new found dirt off of his already wet clothing. "Yeah, Yeah."

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It was much brighter in the day time, the difference was so dramatic because back in Houjo's time even the night time was somewhat bright, so the day wasn't nearly as much of a change as it was here. The pace was different to day, Souta was riding on Inuyasha's back, Kouga slightly behind the hanyou going at a completely slower pace then usual. And Houjo got the first time to use his bike and was keeping up well.

Even with his complete perplextion over this place, and if what happened earlier was any indication, it was a dangerous one. He still managed to keep his mind focused on the surroundings of the sunlit woods around them. The trees surrounding them blocked out most of the sun, except for the abundance of rays that pored through the leaves in golden streaks of light like rain, making every partial in the air visible and giving the area a hazy look . Houjo looked around at the awe inspiring sight of the large, old, strong trees, and couldn't help but feel somewhat jealous of Souta. His mind was always inquiring, trying to figure things out, find out why, to find logic, to explain what he didn't understand. Souta's, however, wasn't. In a child like simplicity he took in what was around him and accepted it, his questions weren't nearly as deep as Houjo's were, and neither was his confusion.

Houjo shifted the book bag around on his back and slowed to stop as the forest came to it's edge and a downward sloping hill started. He put his foot down to keep balance and looked over the also halted Kouga's shoulder. He could see a flat stretch of land with an abundance of houses and other structures below. "Hey, a village." Houjo said, looking over it curiously. Immediately he was filled with an excitement that made him want to rush down there and check out every inch. "Is that where we're going?"

Inuyasha shrugged, they were here, why not? Besides, maybe he could find out something about this demon they were after. "Might as well stop." With that decided upon, the hanyou leapt froward, jumping off of the hill and landing gracefully at the bottom with Souta still intact. Going along with it, Kouga followed, and Houjo trailed after him.

! - ! - !

Houjo looked around with his usual awe, he looked like an excited child, walking along side Kouga and Inuyasha with his bike in hand. There were so many people, so much activity going on, and again he just had to wonder, where was he? He had to be in another world, that was it...he just wondered how big this world was.

Souta walked beside Inuyasha, looking around with the same astonished curiosity as Houjo. "This place is so big." He said, a small smile forming on his face. "Are their a lot of those monsters around here?"

"Not *here*." Inuyasha told him.

"But their are a lot of them right?"

"I guess so." Inuyasha looked down at him suspiciously, "Why?"

"So..." Souta looked up at Inuyasha carefully, speaking either hopefully or disorientedly, it was hard to tell. "We're gonna be attacked a lot right?"

Of course they would, Houjo had a jewel shard, Kouga had two, and Inuyasha had one that he'd collected from a snake demon he first rescued Souta from, not to mention that one demon... A lot maybe an understatement. "I guess so? Why?" Inuyasha asked with even more suspicion, what was Souta getting at? "Look, if your scared I can take you back."

Souta stiffened lightly, take him back? No way! He'd been thinking about this for months, what it would be like to actually go on an adventure with Inuyasha, what this world he was from was like. And the last thing he wanted Inuyasha to do was leave him. "No." Souta abruptly steeped in front of Inuyasha and turned to face the Hanyou. "Inuyasha...can you..."

"Huh? What?" Inuyasha stopped, folding his arms and looking down at the boy with annoyance. "Spit it out already."

Souta swallowed hard and nodded. "Inuyasha, can you teach me how to fight?"

Inuyasha's eyebrows quirked slightly, that wasn't what he was expecting to hear. "What?"

"I want to get stronger." The boy said simply. "I don't want to just sit around and do nothing, I want to be able to help."

Kouga and Houjo glanced at each other, Kouga wasn't sure what brought this on, but Houjo was completely aware. The older boy just stood and watched, it wasn't as if he could do anything to stop it, and if this would help Souta's confidence then what was the harm.

Inuyasha couldn't help but smirk proudly when he saw the boy's determination, Souta was terrified of...well, *everything*. But he still wanted to fight, he wanted to help. Inuyasha was sure Souta didn't know what he was getting into by saying he wanted to help, since most of the demons were at the very lest, 10 times his size and countless times more powerful. But he was making an effort, that was what mattered. Inuyasha rested his hands on his waist and lent down a little closer to the boy."Are you sure about this? Because I will protect you."

"I.." Souta held his head down, listening to the bustling activity of the village, the sounds of people passing by. "I don't want to be protected all the time. I want to get stronger."

"Heh." Inuyasha stood up strait again, his smirk growing wider. "Alright then."

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The ground here was uneven, rolling hills that met the edge of a another deeper forest. Inuyasha and Souta stood in the valley of one of the larger hill, a wide open space fill of short grass that stretched widely, almost endlessly. Kouga and Houjo sat at the top of the hill, watching passively.

Houjo laid back on the soft grass, inhaling deeply the scent of the foliage that swept to the side in waves with another warm breeze. He rested his arms behind his head with another deep breath stared up at the sky, closing his eyes as another warm breeze swept across his body, ruffling his hair and clothing a bit.

Kouga sat beside him, his arms hugging his knees close to his chest and his tail shifting around on the soft grass. He looked down at Houjo questioningly. "Thinking about something?"

"Yeah..." Houjo opened his eyes and gazed up to the sky again, watching the white clouds drift through a sea of endless blue on the wind.It was so quiet and peaceful. A spot he could only hope to find back home. And as he laid there with Kouga beside him, his mind became as clear as the air. No fears of where he was, would he be able to get back, of what would happen to him in a place such as this. Only a simple question resided, nothing complex. Did he want to do this, to be here in this place, this world, or not.

This place was dangerous, if what had come out of the well and attacked him numerous times could be taken as an example. But also this world may have also been places like this one, he liked this spot, and this moment, sitting here with Kouga beside him, was perfect. If he could have more of these, then it was worth whatever unknown danger was to come. So...he wanted to keep going, he wanted to this, even if he was lost, and somewhat afraid at the prospect, this moment clarity was enough to gather his will and give him the resolve to go forward through hell if need be. Just to be close to Kouga.

This moment of clarity, it was just like he gained when he held Kouga's sword and the Youkai was in danger, or Souta, or Inuyasha, and he knew what he had to do. That was the only other time things were simple.

"Kouga." Houjo pressed his hands against the ground behind him and sat up, looking at the wolf fully. "Your sword, will you be using it?"

Kouga lifted his head, "No, why?"

"May I borrow it while I'm here?" Houjo asked.

Kouga looked down at the sword on his waist, then back at Houjo, "Hn." Kouga drew the weapon from his waist and handed it to the boy, sheath and all. "Alright, but it's a lot more dangerous here then it is back down that well."

Houjo stood to his feet, holding the sheath with one hand while the other grasped the hilt of the sword and with drew the blade from it's casing. "That's why I want to learn how to use it."

! - ! - !

"Alright kid." Inuyasha rested his hand on his wrist and sized the boy standing in front of him up. "Show me what you got."

Souta looked down at himself, then up at Inuyasha. "What do you mean?"

"Come at me." Inuyasha waved him on promptingly. "Just hit me as hard as you can."

Souta clinched his hands into tight fist and looked down at them, then up at Inuyasha.

"Oh for goodness sake, damnit of your not gonna-"

"Alright, alright." Souta took a deep breath, gathered his nerve and then ran towards Inuyasha as fast as he could. He felt strange doing this, trying to hit Inuyasha, but he just pushed passed the sinking feeling in his stomach and the rising nervousness. His feet treaded over the field, kicking up stray strands of grass in his wake. He drew his fist back and threw a punch at Inuyasha as hard as he could, his fist crashed into the hardness of the Hanyou's stomach and all of those feelings faded when he realized Inuyasha was not fazed in the slightest. "Huh?"

Inuyasha scratched his head slightly, he wasn't sure what he was expecting from Souta, but he knew that was far below it. 'Geez...' He watched as the boy dropped his hands to his side and stepped back slowly, he was obviously disappointed with himself too, he wouldn't bother trying again.

"Oh man...maybe this is useless." Souta sighed, looking down at himself.

"Don't tell me your gonna get discouraged because of that, you just try harder." Inuyasha said... He had a lot of work ahead of him, as much as he wasn't sure if this attempt at training Souta was futile or not, he was looking froward to it, to working with the boy.

Souta shook his head, looking up at Inuyasha firmly."I'm not, just tell me what I have to do."

He was determined, Inuyasha liked that. He lifted his hand to his chin and looked over the boy thoughtfully, tilting his head to the side slightly, "Your pretty weak."

Souta held his head down slightly, staring at the ground. "I know that."

"So what we're going have to work on is speed, your going to have to learn to dodge."

Souta shook his head, his growing a desperateness in the firmness. "I don't want to learn how to run, I want to learn how to fight!"

Inuyasha scratched his head again, his ears twitching from the slight irritation. "I know that, but your still a kid, it's not gonna happen just like that. That's why you have to learn this first."

Souta was silent for a moment, before he just nodded obediently, but he was visibly disappointed. "Ok."

And just looking at him, he knew he had to find some way to let him fight, let him help, let him defend his self, even if just a little. "Alright then, I want you to run." Inuyasha pointed to the left where the wide field stretched as far as his eyes could see. "200 yards out and back."

Souta nodded again and turned in the direction indicated, giving on last look at Inuyasha before he began running, slipping past the hanyou and dashing out over the short grass.

Inuyasha had to admit, he was faster then he expected. 'He's never gonna be able to do anything on his own, he's gonna need weapon.'

! - ! - !

Kouga merely watched a good distance away as Houjo practiced, sitting in a tree branch at the edge of the forest. High enough in the great plant to see clearly to the top of a rather cliff like hill where Houjo resided by himself, and the valley where Souta did. He could see Inuyasha was gone, wordlessly entrusting his charge to the wolf until he returned which would no doubt be as soon as possible. Kouga silently accepted the responsibility, though he'd have to give Inuyasha a hard pounding for leaving like this...he'd do it when Inuyasha was finished with Souta.

The blue eyes drifted with slight admiration of Houjo, focused on the boy. Houjo stood with his legs spread slightly, holding the sword firmly in front of him with both hands. A while back he stopped to take off the black shirt to his school uniform, tossing it aside nearby. The boy's chest held a light sheen in the sunlight, showing the beginnings of sweat and light fatigue, he lifted the sword above his head and slashed it down with a swift strike. Then with cumbersome practice he lifted the sword above his head again and thrust it down just as before, and he would continue to until the motion was as natural as breathing and his form wouldn't waver in battle.

'He's so smart.' Kouga smiled slight and continued to watch the boy, Houjo seemed like a natural with that sword, like he was meant to wield it. 'He's much better the dog face, swinging that big thing around like an idiot.'

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Souta's pace slowed to a crawl, his breathing heavy gasps as he made his way back from the 200 yard run outward and return to the starting point about 3 times. He nearly fell as he took the last few steps to his goal, managing to bend over and plant his hands on his knees to support himself instead of falling over. This time when he returned to where he first began, He found Inuyasha standing there waiting for him.

"Inu-..." Souta paused to catch his breath, before forcing himself to stand up strait and faced the Hanyou. "Inuyasha."

"Here." Inuyasha handed Souta a sword, much like Kouga's, similar in almost every way.

"What?"

"A sword, try and use it." Inuyasha told him, he landed the weapon to Souta, who took it almost unsurely.

"Where did you get this?"

"I don't know, some guy." Inuyasha shrugged, the man wouldn't miss it, if he knew what was good for him. "Go ahead, take it."

Inuyasha laid the weapon in his hands and the boy accepted it, looking over it scrutinizingly, "It's kinda heavy." He said, he hadn't expect it to hold the weight that it did, as much as he'd seen Houjo use Kouga's sword like it was nothing, he'd thought it would be easier.

'Great, the last thing he needs is something weighing him down.' Inuyasha took a step back and watched as the boy held out a sword that was half his size, lifting it above his head and then thrust it down. His movements were slow, slow and bulky. It was too heavy for him.

"I don't think I can use this." Souta looked down at the weapon in his hands with disapproval and then held it out towards Inuyasha.

Who took it back disappointedly. "Damn..." Inuyasha looked over the sword remorsefully, it looked like he had to return it after all. "Alright, Keep running till I get back." Inuyasha instructed, giving a silent look up in Kouga's direction before turning and running off.

"Oh man..." Souta glanced back at the familiar path he'd been running ominously, he barely caught his breath from the last one. The boy took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes determinedly, no one said this would be easy, but if it was what he had to do then he'd do it. So with a quick swallow, he turned towards the open expanses of the small valley and took off running.

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The sky was like a river over head, clouds drifting in a current of blue, from where he stood the tree tops almost seemed like river banks, containing the great body of water. Houjo stared upward, a forlorn expression coming to his face as studied the atmosphere over head, his arm drifted slightly into his vision as he wiped the sweat from his forehead and felt another small breeze sweeping through the short grass.

He couldn't believe how clear everything was to him now, for once he honestly didn't care. He wasn't sure how long this state of mind would last, probably until he saw something new.

He let the sword fall from his hands and plant itself blade first half way into the ground and his arms drop to his side. He'd done that single motion so much he felt like that was the only thing his arms could do anymore. Though he still felt like he wasn't quite ready to move on, he felt like that motion wasn't at it's best, it wasn't fast enough, it didn't utilized his full strength, he wasn't fluid enough for him to move on quickly to something else.

So he would practice until it was just right, until it was second nature. He didn't mind the repetitiousness of it, school was repetitious, study by nature was repetitious. And if he could cram for a geometry class at the last minute, right after he finished studying for a geology test that would happen the period right after it. He could learn how to use a sword.

'Hmm...' On second thought you couldn't study swordsmen ship like you studied other things, it was like Gym class, there's no studying, you have to train your body for it instead.

Maybe it was just him, but this was much easier then studying for a test. He didn't have to remember a lot of things, his body would remember them for him.

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It didn't take as long for Inuyasha to return this time, Souta only had to span the 200 yard distance and come back twice before he found the red clad Hanyou waiting for him. But Souta was just as tired, though he'd ran less, adding this in with the previous times, he had considerably less energy. The boy stumbled to a stop, gasping in more deep breaths of the air lightly scented with foliage from the nearby forest. "Inu...yasha."

'He's trying, I'll give him that.' Inuyasha reached into the fire rat coat and with drew a full sized bow, and six arrows. "Ok, the sword didn't work, try this." Inuyasha dumped the bow in to the boy's arms, still holding on to the arrows.

Souta looked down at the knew object, rotating it softly in his arms until his eyes rolled over every inch of it. "It's kinda big."

"Just try it."

Souta took one last unsure look at the weapon before he ignored his doubts and obeyed. He grabbed on to the center of the wooden base, his other arms stretched awkwardly back to take hold of the string. "I'll try, I guess."

Inuyasha took clear notice of the doubt the boy had in his voice, the same doubt his voice held with every other weapon his tried, and since they started. He had to work on that. How could Souta do something he himself didn't believe he could do? "Here." Inuyasha handed the boy an arrow and watched as he aligned it perfectly, despite the awkward angle of his short arms. "Have you...ever used one of those before?" Inuyasha asked.

Souta clinched the tail of the arrow between two finger and drew it and the wire back as far as his arm's length would allow him to. "No."

Inuyasha pointed to a tree to he left of them where the forest started, grabbing the boy by the shoulders and turning him towards it. Souta nodded lightly and closed one eye, pausing for a single breath before he released the wire and the projectiles tail and let the arrow fly.... Unfortunately it didn't go very far, darting strait ahead for the first few feet, then arching downward and diving to the ground shortly afterwords, halfway between himself and the tree. "See." The boy let the seemingly oversized bow drop to his side and his head slumped slightly, his eyes fixed on the ground out of view.

That was, well, disappointing, but it did get Inuyasha's mind working. Souta was weak, and short, and his arms weren't nearly long enough to use that weapon effectively. But from the way he held it, and the precision of the first few feet Souta's strength would cary it, he seemed somewhat proficient with it. He was a natural at it, just like Kagome, that was a potent bloodline. And if he were only stronger... "Hey wait a minute!" Inuyasha's face illuminated with the spark of realization, he knew the perfect weapon for Souta!

"What?"

Inuyasha took the bowl from him and dropped the arrows into his hands instead, a small smile crossing his lips as he turned and darted off in the opposite direction towards the village for the third and hopefully the last time.

"Does this mean I have to run again?"

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Souta stood before Inuyasha again, tired from more running,. He looked up at Inuyasha hopefully, feeling as if he'd pass out for sure if he didn't get a break. "Inu...Inuyasha?" Souta called out, speaking through more hard breaths.

Inuyasha's smirk turned into a prideful grin as held out his third attempt before Souta. "It's a crossbow." He said, dropping the mostly wood forged weapon into Souta's hands.

Souta twisted it around, studying it carefully. '...' There was no doubt in his voice this time, only the same hopefulness he held when he saw Inuyasha had returned.

And that was what Inuyasha had been waiting for. "Go ahead, try it out. " he encouraged. "With this thing it doesn't matter how strong you are." Souta gave a half nod and knelt down, picking up one of the arrows Inuyasha had left with him. "Have you used one of *these* before?" Inuyasha asked.

"Nope." Souta slipped the arrow in front of the drawn back wire with more confident movements of any weapon before it, doing so as if he'd done it many times before. Then he turned it towards the tree Inuyasha had pointed out before, lifting the weapon to eye level with a slight pause. The boy closed one eye and finally pulled the trigger. The arrow lunched from it's place, streaking just past the tree's side, close enough to strip the bark and leave a defined line.

"That was pretty good for your first time." Inuyasha said approvingly.

Souta lowered the weapon slightly and looked back at Inuyasha. "Really?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah."

Souta smiled a little, quickly picking up another arrow, drawing back the wire to it's set place and setting the projectile on to the track. Just as before he lifted it to eye level, shutting the right one and peering steadily down the track, past the tip of the arrow. This time he noticed himself, his hands shook subtilely when he tried to hold them steady, making the weapon tremble and dip and rise past his targeting. "...Come on..." He clinched the crossbow tighter, trying to correct the problem, but it only seemed to get worse.

Finally he opened both eyes and took his best shot, pulling the trigger and listening to the arrow sliced through the air and the sound of it embedding itself into the tree's trunk. "Hey, I hit it!"

Inuyasha rested his hand on Souta's head and ruffled his hair lightly, the proud smile still showing brightly on his face, and the content shining in his golden eyes. "See, I knew you could do it." It looked like his work in progress had more potential then he realized. "Now, give me a 100 push ups."

"A...A h-hundred?!"

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Kouga leapt down from some place unseen, landing softly atop the cliff like hill a good distance behind Houjo. The Youkai crouched down and simply watched the boy who was unknowing of his presence. He could smell the human's scent in droves, and he could clearly see the sweat on his body with every motion the half exerted muscles made. His ears twitched when he heard a slight grunt from the other male as he lifted the sword above his head and the distinct sound of the blade cutting through air when he thrust it down.

It was one of the more pleasing sights he'd seen in his life time, watching the boy clad in nothing more then black pants, his bare feet spread to about shoulder's length, arms outstretched with the blade upright in a stance that could be easily mistaken for with a person's who held years of experience. The half dampened torso glowed with all the rays of the sun overhead, the wind ruffling his hair in ripples like the grass under his feet. Kouga simply observed the image in silence, wondering what the human would make of himself.

This one, this one was special, he was like no one else.

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