Christmas Hope

A/N: Skyblue Half-Demon here! Christmas Hope is part of my new Advent one-shot series which will (hopefully) be completely released by Christmas Day. Advent is the season of waiting Christians like me go through starting the four Sundays before Christmas. We are anticipating the birth of Jesus Christ. It'd be more correct to release one story each Sunday, but it's kind of late for that now.

Traditionally, the Candle of Hope is lit first, so this will be the first one-shot I release. Please keep your eye out for more!

Even if you're not Christian and you don't celebrate Christmas, you may find something a little inspiring about this story. Please read and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or aspects of it. I do not make money off my stories.

The sun set over a peaceful town. Mothers began to call their children to come in before the clouds above released their frozen wrath on those below. While some of the little ones came sprinting in from their games and the village square, most came from a meadow slightly north of the village. Not one left before bidding the woman who stood with them good-bye.

"Can we help you pick more herbs tomorrow, Lady Kikyo?" asked Riko, a young girl aged about seven.

Kikyo smiled gently at the girl. "We shall see," she responded softly.

"I hope so!" Riko squealed. "Bye, Lady Kikyo!" Riko grinned at the priestess before running towards her mother.

"Good-bye, Riko," Kikyo whispered softly as her smile faded from her face. Once the last of the children were gone, Kikyo turned to leave. "Lady Kikyo!" a woman cried and Kikyo stopped short. "Won't you stay with us for dinner? There's a snowstorm coming!"

Kikyo looked over her shoulder and shook her head. "Thank you for your concern but I'll be fine," she reassured the woman.

The woman hesitated, but then agreed. "All right," she said.

Kikyo gave the woman a cheerful, fake smile before heading off. It had been her last day in that village, though no one but her had known it. The monk who had traveled through the village that day suspected her of not being completely human. He had decided to stay the night there in an attempt to watch her for any signs of her being a demon. The last thing Kikyo needed was trouble, so she reluctantly decided it was time to make her leave.

It would always be this way. Even if she managed to defeat Naraku, she would always be a fugitive, running from one village to the next. And she would always be living on the souls of the dearly departed. Kikyo was often visited by nightmares about how the souls of these people would get revenge on her in the Netherworld. The twisted dreams seemed to consume her being and had driven her to the brink of insanity.

And then there was the thought that pained her most of all. She knew she could never have Inuyasha. He was in love with Kagome, and may the gods strike her with lightning if she ever tried to take away the only person who had ever truly made him happy.

Yes, Inuyasha had been in love with her once. But it was merely powerful infatuation. And she had been the only person who had ever even spoken with him. It was only natural that he would develop an attachment to her. But now he had Kagome. And he was truly in love with her. He only returned to Kikyo out of guilt. He wanted to set things right. But there was nothing he could do. Kikyo had believed she could tear them apart at first, but now she knew it was impossible.

And that brought Kikyo to the following question: Why was she still alive? What was the point? Her beloved had fallen for someone else, it was impossible for her to find a place to live, and she could only remain animated by the dead souls inside her body. She began to wonder if she even still possessed her own soul.

A flake of snow fell on Kikyo's nose as a flicker of orange caught her eye. A fire. Kikyo hesitated a moment. Perhaps whoever started the fire was friendly and wouldn't mind if she sat there awhile. She'd been walking for a while so her legs were beginning to feel like jelly and her fingers had grown numb from the cold. As Kikyo drew near to the fire she noticed other little lights around an evergreen tree. At first, she took them to be fireflies, but with every step closer she took, Kikyo realized she had no idea what the twinkling little lights were.

Kikyo took a swift look at the fire's occupant and her heart stopped. She felt like turning away and running…except that the being sitting there was already staring back at her with large, curious eyes.

Of course, who else would be there but Kagome?

"Hello, Kikyo," Kagome said as cheerfully as she could manage, but Kikyo could detect the strain in her voice. "Would you like to sit down?" she asked, gesturing to the log she was sitting on. Kikyo nodded once and sat next to her rival on the battlefield of love. Speaking of which, Kikyo thought while looking around, where is Inuyasha?

"Inuyasha's not here," Kagome muttered as if reading Kikyo's thoughts. "Nor is anyone else. They all left looking for some sign of Naraku. I had to stay behind because I've got a pretty bad fever."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kikyo mumbled, unsure of what else to say.

To Kikyo's surprise, Kagome beamed at her. "Thanks!" she exclaimed happily. "It's nice to know you care!"

Kikyo mentally shook her head. Kagome's perkiness never failed to astound her.

"So," Kagome said more quietly, "how are things for you?"

To both girls' shock, silver tears began to flow down Kikyo's cheeks. Kikyo had no idea what came over her, but she had to tell someone. She had to tell someone that she'd realized her "life" had no purpose.

She just had to tell someone she wanted to die.

And right now, Kagome was the only person she could tell.

"There's no point!" Kikyo sobbed. She buried her head in her hands.

"No point in what?" Kagome asked. She was completely lost.

"…My… life," Kikyo finally managed to force out. "I'll never be anything! I'll always be a wanderer, traveling from village to village. I'll never have a life, or friends, or family… Everyone loathes me…"

"That's not true," Kagome interrupted softly. "Inuyasha…"

Kikyo shook her head. "He doesn't love me."

There was a long awkward silence between the two priestesses. "I don't think that's true," Kagome said in a voice so soft it was almost a whisper. "But even if it is, there's no way he loathes you."

Kikyo said nothing.

"And even if in the most bizarre universe Inuyasha did loathe you, I don't loathe you."

Kikyo looked up out of her hands slightly and cocked her head toward Kagome. "But… I…"

"I may be jealous of you," Kagome began. "After all, you are Inuyasha's first love and you're a much better priestess than I am. Sometimes, I did feel a little frustrated or aggravated because of you. But I never loathed you, Kikyo. As a matter of fact, if we had met under different circumstances, I think we would've been pretty good friends." Kagome gave Kikyo a genuine smile.

Both Kikyo and Kagome sat in silence for a while, but unlike the last period of quiet, it was comfortable, almost warm. Kagome gazed up at the stars and sang quietly.

Silent night, holy night

All calm, all is bright

'Round yon virgin, mother and child

Holy infant, so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace

"That was very pretty," Kikyo said quietly.

Kagome nodded. "Thank you. My father taught it to me."

More silence.

"Do you like the lights I put on the tree?" Kagome asked suddenly.

Kikyo looked up at the tree. She realized that Kagome was talking about the lights she'd seen earlier.

Even though she now had a better look at them, Kikyo still had no idea what they were.

"They run on batteries," Kagome explained.

Kikyo just looked at her like she was crazy.

"It's complicated," Kagome said quickly. "Any way, my father was Christian. It means he believed in only one God. Every year he'd celebrate a Christian holiday called Christmas, or the birth of Christ, God's only son. Even today, Jesus Christ is a symbol for hope everywhere. To celebrate Christmas, my father would put lights on a tree just like this one."

"Where's your father now?"

Kagome hesitated. "With God."

"Oh," Kikyo whispered softly. Still more silence. "Why is Christ a symbol of hope?"

Kagome smiled to herself. "He shows the God loves everyone in the world so much, he sent his only son to save us."

Kagome turned to Kikyo. "And He loves you too, Kikyo. Even if you feel like no one else does, He will. And he has a lot in store for you Kikyo. You just have to keep living."

One final tear cascaded down Kikyo's face. "Thank you, Kagome," Kikyo whispered. "You have no idea how much I needed to hear that." And for the first time, Kikyo genuinely smiled.

"Kagome!" cried Inuyasha's voice. "Are you still here?"

Kikyo turned to Kagome. "I think God has a lot in store for you too, Kagome." She rose to her feet.

"Aren't you going to stay?" Kagome asked. "You're more than welcome to-"

"Thanks, Kagome" Kikyo interrupted, "but I have to go and see what God has planned for me."

Kagome beamed at her friend. "You do that," she said.

With those words, Kikyo walked off into the snow.

"Merry Christmas, Kikyo!" Kagome called.

Kikyo laughed. "Merry Christmas!" she responded.

A/N: What do you think? I know there are quite a few Christian messages in here, but I still find it inspiring.

My next Advent piece will be called Christmas Love, but I don't know if it will be Inuyasha themed or not. Just check my profile and it will (hopefully) be up by tomorrow.

Please give me the Christmas present of reviews!

Merry Christmas!