A village has been barely been surviving with numbers always dwindling and people found death of friends and loved ones is a daily thing. In the village having a family was a blessing that you had survived and were able to have a family, but also a curse knowing the odds are one day they will be taken from you. The village was a remote village that had good fertile soil and was once known for pottery and fur trading, they hardly gotten people to travel to the village to trade and give the merchants news on life in the bigger villages and bringing new things to the village in exchange for their well-known pottery and fur.

All travelers to came to or from the mountain village were all killed by the forest and mountain demons. Village was soon only home to a three families and they were on their death bed facing the extinction of their village, however in there last moments a white angel saved them.

Their savor was no angel and they had a choice to take their chances again and pay their savor with their fur and pottery or give their savor a human tribute every year, sometimes two tributes if they had a big enough population. However this would not start until the village was back to its prior size, it was still a small village with its prior population number back. The village was now home to thirty people and their savor now demands their agreement be taken into action from now and forever.

The villagers had no idea how to choose who would be offered to the savor who they later realized was a very powerful and most fearsome demon. First the most beautiful woman she was never heard from again.

Villagers hoped to receive word from their love ones they offered up to the demon, like a letter or note. However after about ten years people soon realized that there were no notes or letters ever going to come, and a servant who worked for the demon came to give them the news that their demon ruler now expected two tributes a man as well as a woman. The villagers questioned the demon servant and found out that the reason they never got letters was because their love ones were dying from mysterious reasons.

People in the village had though it was a honor to send their beautiful women to the demon thinking they became their ruler's wife or were well taken care of in the palace only to find out they were all dead. The villagers no longer offered their children willingly and soon began to fight among each other and even started going as far as moving away or kidnapping each others loved ones to offer them up behind their family's back.

This soon made a civil war happen in the village making their numbers dwindle again, the elder of the village came up with a plan that would make it fair and up to fate to decide who's loves one would be sacrificed. The Village elder came up with cards at the age of five all the children have to draw cards, the cards are faced down and the child must choose.

Each child has five out of twenty two chance to become a Merchant, or a Farmer, or a warrior, the village allowed women to have the same jobs as the men. The children also had the more rarer chances like one out of twenty two chance to become village chief, being chief was not passed down through the blood lines but by the fate of the cards. The village children also had two out of twenty two chance that a child may become a monk or a priestess, in that case they were shipped to the closest village where a shrine or temple were located. Then the two cards for the whole meaning of this even the two tribute cards, one male tribute card and one female tribute card, a female tribute card was often called a princess card.

The villagers called the female tribute card a princess card because they would raise the woman to be proper like a princess hoping the better they did the more of a chance that they could please their ruler and try to change the agreement so someday they will no longer have to give up their love ones to their ruler's palace where they later died mysteriously.

The chances of being a tribute was two out of twenty two…

One day a priestess who visited the growing village of Taikonaru was a normal looking village on the outside and soon started getting its visitors coming back like long ago. Merchants came to and from the village, and the warriors guarded the village well keeping all at peace and safe. The village now was home to around sixty villagers, and people were still saddened by the tradition of drawing a card of fate. However the children were not told of the meaning behind it so not to frighten them.

The village had a single inn, nearly twenty four huts and several mountain sides and valleys full of crops, and cold clean mountain rivers and amazing hot springs. Outsiders saw the village as normal and the villagers never let the fate of cards reach the travel's ears afraid it would drive them away.

Seventy years came and went leaving all the villagers who formed the original pact with the demon ruler dead but a child who had been one of the first who took the first draw of the cards of fate. The child was now an old man who was the age or eighty and close to death. He needed someone to past the burden of the card holder, he knew he would his great granddaughter. His great great grand-daughter Sango,the old mad would have choose his grandson or his great grandson if they had not been so old, he wish to pass it on to the youngest and yet most capable of his family members so she would learn at a young age and carry the burden for a long time before having to feel the pain of giving the burden to another like he was experiencing now.

Later that night the old elder passed onto the next world. The grand-daughter known as Sango had to conduct her first fate reading and she was only thirteen when she had to say goodbye to girl she often thought of as her little sister, a girl named Keade. She and Keade played and when they were playing with weapons Sango accidently poked Keade's eye out something she thought of as a huge misfortune or a huge case of bad luck, only to have to send her friend to her death when her friend aged to sixteen.

Sango had to experience the pain of letting her friend being sacrificed…

That day though there was a rare kind of traveler a woman who was a priestess and a baby strapped to her back. She entered the village her eyes glaring everywhere and the men and women spoke that day soon the news reached the village leader Sango's father.

The beautiful priestess didn't speak to anyone she just looked around as if this place was filled with evil, Sango peeked through the gate of her home and watched her father approach the beautiful woman. He stood proud and tall and spoke low voice he always had "Hello, welcome to Taikonaru. What are you here for? We have a small market just down the road, and at the edge of the east part of our village is where the Inn is and the hot springs, also we ha-."

The woman looked at him and spoke with a beautiful voice like no other we have heard before "I came because I heard you have some priestesses you wish to send to my family's shrine?" The leader of the village nodded with a smile "Yes, are you here to pick them up?" With a simple nod from her he smiled and took her to the houses where the two girls who drew the priestess card lived.

The traveling priestess looked at the two girls and sensed a strong power in one girl and smiled looking down at the girl, she had black raven colored hair it was glossy and very beautiful for her pale skin and chocolate brown eyes. The small girl looked up in amazement at the beautiful woman, the little girl was smiling "You are very pretty, are you my new teacher?"

"Yes, and what is your name?"

"Kagome Higurashi." The adorable young girl smiled happily and blinked at he beautiful woman who would be her teacher "You name pretty teacher lady?"

"I am the priestess known as Kikyo." The little girl stared up and smiled grabbing her hand "I'm ready to go, mommy and daddy said I don't need anything. So I have nothing packed." Kikyo nodded and smiled down at the little girl "That's right all you need is at the temple. Please take me to the other girl."

The village head master did just that and smiled walking a little ways into the village "She and her parents like to live out a ways but it's not too far just behind this row of trees." This made the priestess curious and she stared at the man "Why do they live out here the village doesn't seem loud or too bothersome."

"People sometimes have their reasons my lady Kikyo." She nodded as they continued to walk she looked down at the hut she reached for her bow and arrow feeling evil around the area, she turned around to the village leader and spoke aloud "Please take Kagome here and the child on my back to the village. Something isn't right here." She was alert as felt the village leader lift the baby from the carrier on her back "I will be fine here, just take care of the children."

She waited for the man to obey her, he did so without a lingering thought about her safety which in a way made her annoyed how the man didn't even pretend to care if she came back. Kikyo returned to walking and saw a girl on the ground and the hut destroyed she sighed understanding that this is probably the girl and her family is dead as well. There was a strong force around she wasn't able to pin point where demon came out of nowhere surprising her and she lost her stance and was attacked… She was able to put a small barrier around herself and expel the demon as she started to bleed out.

But Sango had asked her father were the beautiful woman was and her curiosity made her leave the safety of the village and to go the hut outside of the village where the priestess was lying looking asleep, until she turned her head and smiled " Is my daughter safe?"

"Y-Your daughter?"

"The child I was carrying on my back is my daughter Rin… please keep her safe for me. Tell her that her mother always loved her…" Sango looked at the woman with tears in her eyes "Why do I need to do that you can, I just have to get you back to the village we have a few healers you'll be fine. Please hang on."

The woman smiled and closed her eyes saying nothing…

"Miss priestess? Kikyo? No! You have to be fine!"

That night the daughter of Kikyo was adopted out into a family who lived deep inside the village, the child would grow up well taken care of and loved…

It's been five years it was April next month the village card holder would test all children who are age five during may, this would include Rin and Kohaku. Rin smiled and looked at her mother smiling she loved watching her mother do chores "Mommy can Rin help?" The woman with light brown hair and green eyes smiled down at the little girl "Yes, can you get me some water?" Rin's face turned into a happy one with a big white smile in knowing she could help "Yay! I Rin gets to help! Rin gets to get water!"

The young mother heard her name "Hana," looked at the beaming five year old girl and smiled 'Wonder who is calling me?' Hana walked outside and looked around to see a neighbor come over and smile "Want to go do laundry together down at the river?" They she was afraid to tell Rin of the truth, that she wasn't her real mother. She wasn't very much older than Rin she was only ten years older, Rin was given to a young married couple. The couple accepted Rin they had wanted a child, but Hana hadn't had her first bleed yet.

So she couldn't have a child yet, but still wanted a child and convinced her husband to take Rin in. She never regretted it even when Rin was difficult.

Rin smiled as she carried a bucket and skipping with each step as she made her way to the village well, she waved and greeted everyone she saw on her way. She saw her father who was all geared up in armor and a spear was in his hand she smiled and ran at him, running into the back of his knees and giggling as she hugged him.

"Daddy!"

He turned around to see his daughter with a big smile on her face he was twenty and one of the best warriors, his friends whom he had been talking with looked at him and smiled "Looks like Byakuya needs to be on his toes more."

Rin's father smiled and picked her up having her sit on his shoulder and smiled looking at his friends with a cocky grin "Why is that?" The friends smiled and chuckled among each other and looked at the little girl who had dropped her bucket at her father's feet. A friend spoke up among the rest of the men "Because,you were just attacked by your daughter." The group of warriors chuckled as they conversed, Rin looked at the men not thinking about what they were talking about.

"Daddy why does Sango look at me and when she does she looks sad."

"Honey she doesn't. You're being silly."

"Oh… Hey daddy what is this about cards?"

The men in the group quit laughing and teasing and just were quiet, Goru sighed and spoke in a different tone a lowly tone "Rin, you know why I'm a warrior?" She looked up at the sky with her mouth open trying to find a though to speak out and just smiled and chimed "Cuz you are the bravest and kindest person ever!"

She felt her father chuckle by him shaking her as she sat on his shoulders playing with his hair "Well I am all those things-" Before he could finish his friends started thowing in their own thoughts and opinios about Goru.

"Rin don't forget your daddy is cocky."

"No, I drew a card."

She smiled and petted her father's head "Oh like a game! Can I play?! Please!" This tugged at Goru's heart strings normal villages didn't do this it was only theirs and it was a game… A game of death no of sacrifice, it wasn't a game that anyone would want to play let alone a child. He sighed put his daughter down on the ground "You will next month, this game tells you your future. Like what you'll do for a living."

"Oh…"

"What do you want to be Rin?"

"Rin wants to be a priestess!"

The everyone in the village knew who Rin really was and they kept their mouths shut. The Chief told them to let Goru and Hana decide if or when to tell Rin, Goru spoke softly "Why is that?" Rin smiled and shrugged picking up her bucket "Rin likes the outfit! Rin wants to know who to fire a bow too! And be brave like daddy! Oh and pretty like mommy!"

He nodded and huffed looked at his daughter "Rin go about what you were doing before you saw me." She smiled and swung her bucket around as she waved to her father and then skipped back to path to the well. She smiled and looked at the well but then frowned no being able to reach it. She sat her bucket on the edge and put her foot on a stone that popped out a bit before climbing to the edge as she pulled herself up, she sat on the edge and bent down to fill her bucket.

She smiled after filling the bucket and took a big breathe before grabbing hard on the bucket keeping a good hold and began to pull with all her might. She wasn't the strongest kid and she tried her best to be helpful around the house and she didn't want to let her mom down by coming back and telling her she didn't get the water like she was told.

Fear began to well up inside her as she looked at the deep dark well 'How am I going to do this? I'm not strong and I don't want to fall in!' She sighed and then felt a hand on her shoulder "Ah!" Then a splash was sounded followed by a scream "Mommy! Daddy!"

"Rin!" She was struggling she hadn't been taught to swim and this was very deep water, it was a well after all. Rin felt her hand being grabbed and the water around her disappear she opened her eyes and coughed as water left her stomach on the solid dirt ground, she began to look around and saw Kohaku.

"Sorry Rin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you I just wanted to say hi." She began to smile a big white smile "Hi! Can you get Rin some water?" He stood up and smirked as he laughed "Oh come on Rin you can't tell me that you're still thirsty? Not after having a whole well!"

"Baka."

"Chores?"

She nodded and glared at him and then looked down at her yukata it was a solid plain pink with a yellow obi and she sighed "You almost drowned Rin!" He sighed and did as she had asked he got her bucket that was floating and filled it with water "Jeez let's get you into some dry clothes."

Rin pouted and stood up before letting out a sneeze, the villagers who had crowded the well began to leave and go about their business seeing all was fine. Rin's father was running to the well and saw his daughter holding hands with her friend Kohaku and he held her bucket.

"Rin what happened?! I heard you fell in the well!"

She smiled and nodded while Kohaku looked down at his feet in shame "Rin did, but Kohaku saved Rin." Goru let out a big breath and sighed looking at Kohaku "Thank you, but I will escourt Rin home." Kohaku frowned and handed over the bucket and let go of Rin's hand "See you later Rin." She smiled and ran over to her father with dirt on her feet and she smiled "Daddy are you staying with Rin and mommy today?"

"Only for a little while, I am going to make sure you are okay. Then I will talk with your mother about this whole thing, why wasn't she watching you?" Goru felt his heart stop when he heard what happened to his daughter, and now he was angry that her mother hadn't been watching her. Yes, Rin should do chores like the other children. However not when it threatens her life, he sighed and held his daughter's hand.

"I'm just glad that you're okay."

Rin smiled and started singing a song "I love mommy I love daddy I love… um daddy why do we hate demons?!" He sighed and looked at her frowned "Demons hate human and humans hate demons, that's just how it works. Just remember that, no matter what."

She nodded and thought about it 'Demons? What is a demon?! Rin hasn't seen one before, I bet they are scary looking. Daddy is right…But Rin likes everyone, why shouldn't Rin like demons?! Okay Rin likes demons, yay now Rin likes everyone!'

Rin smiled seeing her house come into view and ripped her hand from her father's and ran full speed to the house. Later Rin's mother told her that falling into the well that she would probably get a cold, and the next day poor little Rin had gotten a cold. She laid in her bed hearing her parents fight about how her mother wasn't smart and how Rin had nearly died and that Hana was a bad mother.

The little sick daughter they had forgotten during their fight over heard it and cried silently 'Rin made mommy and daddy fight?' She pushed herself out of bed and sniffled before walking into the other room where her parents were "Rin is sorry she made mommy and daddy mad." Goru walked out of the house uttering something about Hana under his breath as Hana had tears in her eyes as she fell to her knees and hugged her daughter.

"Rin you didn't make us mad, we love you and don't worry honey."