Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

This is the edited version of the story True Self.

Great thanks to 'debookworm01', my beta for helping me out over here.

Also, a special Thank You to JALU for pointing out my mistakes in this chapter!

I hope you enjoy this chapter…

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Once upon a time, there were no skyscrapers to tower in the sky, cars to zoom down the roads, technologies to provide the luxuries of time or any other things which now lay before us as a proof of advancement and wealth. In that time…there stood a world full of fresh air, lavish forests and lush green grass.

It was a world all on its own, the very creation of the Gods.

Human beings were peaceful, working day and night to attain their food by farming or fishing. They lived their lives to the fullest of each and every moment. The world was peaceful on its own. But as the saying goes, 'there is no light without darkness'. So in the light of the nature lurked the creatures of darkness.

Creatures they were, of all shapes and sizes. Most common were the hideous, shapeless, dirty and filthy, called the lower level demons. These demons were inclined towards their primal, animalistic nature. They were all power and no sense.

Then there were those powerful enough to take on humanoid shapes. These demons were far more powerful than the shapeless ones. Tai-youkai was the name given to such demons. They considered themselves far above others, believing none could defeat them. They hardly interfered with the matters of others, but if provoked, they were a force to be reckoned with.

The demons of both these levels had various types of appendages, symbolizing them as a different entity from humans. Claws, tails, talons, fangs, wings, pointed ears and markings littered their bodies. Depending on the species they were derived from, or how powerful they were, each demon had their own unique feature.

At first in this world, all was very peaceful. Both of the species; humans and demons, kept their distance from each other. It was as if in this one world there was room for both of them, as if, in this world, there existed two worlds; worlds which did not interact with each other.

However, soon…the times changed.

Humans started fearing the demons. The lower level demons considered humans weak and started feasting on them. In this fear for their lives soon a clan was formed called the demon slayers. These slayers trained day and night, winter and spring, perfecting their skills, to hone themselves into weapons against the feared demons. They vowed to protect their kin from such demons, and so they did.

At first they only killed the ones, who were evil, but soon their fear drove them to the point where in their eyes, every demon was malicious. This clan was the very root of the thought thateverydemon was an enemy to the humans.

No demon was shown mercy.

The slayers killed each and every demon they encountered, whether peaceful or evil. The slayers, in their arrogant behaviour started provoking the tai-youkai.

The tai-youkai thought of this as an insult to their kind – to their honour. They fought back. None were spared. Neither demon had any mercy for the humans nor did any human have any mercy for the demons. And so a rift was formed between these two kinds.

Wars waged amongst humans and demons for centuries, all for foolish egoism, arrogance and pride. These wars resulted in gore and death to the extremes. There was no field on the once peaceful earth which wasn't covered with blood.

Soon these wars took a turn…for worse.

Feelings of hatred were seeded amongst the coming generation. Thousands of humans and demons died per day. Both refused to surrender. Now this was not a question for anyone's pride or honour. This was a question of survival!

The humans and demons alike became cruel, heartless and aggressive towards each other. Like it is said, 'nothing is ideal within this world', so rare were the ones who were generous towards the opposing kind, but that did not deter the rift between these two kinds. It was far too wide to be patched up with the deeds of few humans or demons.

No matter how skilled these slayers were; demons were still far more powerful than humans – so much so that humans were driven towards the edge of extinction. Gods thought of both humans and demons as their children, and what parent would be happy to see their children fight?

Hence they chose some of their children, humans to be exact. Humans were specially chosen by the Gods because humans were said to be generous and kind-hearted. These humans were blessed from the Gods, resulting in giving the chosen humans some powers. Powers with which these humans could aid demons, making themselves belong beside them while still dwelling within the human kind.

The original motive of these blessings was to close off the rift between the two kinds.

But it didn't go the way Gods had planned, as Fate had something else in mind.

The humans used these chosen ones against the demons as a weapon. For the powers blessed to the chosen ones were not only meant to aid the demons, but to eradicate the malicious ones as well. The women were called priestesses and the men were called monks. Monks took up a staff as the form of their defence and priestesses took up the bow and arrow.

The very seed of hatred was inbred within these chosen ones, so instead of following the path set to them by the Gods, they chose to follow the path set to them by the humans – the path of hatred towards a kind which they were supposed to aid. Thus, because of these aspects wars waged on, and the rift instead of being riveted by these chosen ones became even more jagged and wide.

These chosen ones were said to be pure-hearted and kind to their own kin, but hatred and disgust was inbred into their hearts towards the demons, who in turn hated them.

Time passed. And the wars raged on, bloody and brutal. Then there came a woman, one who realised that demons were not inherently evil. She, Midoriko, thrived to fill this gap between the humans and demons, unconsciously carrying the original task of the Gods.

The Gods were pleased by her work and blessed her with more of their powers, making her far more powerful than others. In need to control her blessed powers, she trained not only in the ways of a priestess, but also of a warrior. She became a battle warrior priestess.

Along with being powerful she also held beauty, which any woman upon seeing her envied and wished to possess.

Many lusted after her power and beauty, and so once a group of three youkai, thinking they could defeat her, cornered her into her own cave where she rested. All three of them merged with each other, forming a large disfigured demon. And then they, as one, attacked her.

She fought straight for seven days and seven nights with neither rest nor food. But in the end she knew she won't last longer, as her body was tired beyond exhaustion. She was becoming weaker by the second. Seeing this as his chance to finally kill her, the merged demon lunged at her, trapping her effectively in his jaw. The priestess knew she won't live for long. As a last attempt to kill the demon, she unleashed each and every drop of her powers.

But it didn't go as it was planned, for she had underestimated the well of her powers.

Instead of killing the demon, her soul, being the source of her powers, burst forth from her heart and entrapped itself, as well as the souls of the merged demon, within the sphere of her power, forming a large, pink, and pearl like… jewel.

This epic battle, which was to be remembered for days to go on, left something of a proof behind… a jewel which was neither evil nor good. Midoriko, being blessed specially from the Gods, had held incredible power. The demons that were able to almost defeat the will of such a priestess were of no less account. The jewel formed from the entrapment of these powerful souls was also not some ordinary one; it was the most powerful artifact to ever exist on the face of the earth.

This mere jewel held so much power that it could grant anyone's wish, but it had a balance of light and darkness within it. So powerful was it that everything seemed possible in its aspect, but every wish had its own consequences.

If a wish were to be made on the jewel, then it would have had its own results, whether they being good or bad remaining unknown. The jewel had a balance within, so no matter the wish, if the desire was in itself selfish the balance within could tilt towards the evil, and cause much chaos. It was rumoured that only a selfless desire – a selfless wish on the jewel could make it disappear from the face of the earth.

But a wish in itself is a desire. So no one – even the wisest of humans or demons, could find a wish to eradicate the world from the clutches of the accursed jewel's endless temptation…

Only the slayers clan was thought worthy to protect it from the ascendancy of the evil demons, so it was bequeathed to them for protection. For 200 years they protected the jewel with their lives and wisdom, but soon it became too much of a burden for them.

The jewel could not remain in its purified form, as only the purest of souls could purify it. The slayers, though powerful, were mere humans – humans who had desires and wishes to fulfil. This affected the jewel. No more was the jewel in its pure form, for it had turned into a black pearl.

This black pearl was so tainted that no demon could resist its call – a call that killed and wasted many, whether they were human or demon. The elders of the slayers clan thought it best to entrust it to a worthy protector – a protector who was pure enough to ignore the call of its evil wishes.

Hence a group was formed, which consisted of shrewd, powerful slayers. They travelled in search of the purest being in the warring states era, wanting to be free of the burden they had carried for 200 years. Days turned into months as their search continued…

Everyone thought it to be impossible. The search was proving fruitless, but then suddenly a ray of light appeared in the form of a rumour, of a powerful priestess named Kikyo living in the village of Edo. She was sought out for the task. The priestess agreed for the good of humanity, for she had no other choice. Soon, the jewel came into her possession. Being a powerful priestess, she killed off each and every demon that came after the jewel. She protected it with her life.

Along with being powerful, she too, like the priestess Midoriko, was a sight to behold. Many lusted after her, but none sought her out, for she killed off every one of them. Same was the case for the humans. Many wished but never did they approach her, for back then to approach a priestess of her status was a crime – a crime which could lead them to their death.

The burden of protecting the jewel took its toll on her mind. She wanted to be a normal woman – to marry and to have children. But being a priestess with the burden of the jewel she could not be one. For the priestesses were said to lose their gift from the Gods if they were to have any intimate relation with a man, or for the matter to think about a man in such a way was a crime in itself.

The priestesses were said, no, made, to think equally of everyone, and have no selfish desires for themselves, for their life within them. These banishments forced on her due to her status, made her life miserable. Her heart always sought to be a normal woman, and sought every chance it could get.

One day when a hanyou,a half demon, came after the jewel, she let him live, merely on a whim. The half-breed, thinking that the priestess was actually weak and that all the rumours were false, attacked her again for the jewel. Curiously enough she again let him live. Soon their encounters increased in numbers. He would come after the jewel; she would defeat him, and then let him go instead of killing him.

From the bonds of hatred, a love was blossomed. Her mind told her to banish this relationship and bury the love, but her heart yearned for it. In the end her heart won. She dreamt of having a family with the silver dog-eared hanyou, Inuyasha.

For the love she yearned for, she made a plan to escape her destiny of an eternal protector, and to complete her duties towards the jewel. Both the priestess and the hanyoudiscussed it for days, and then finally, Kikyo suggested a wish that would free her of the jewel's burden so she could live a normal life.

The wish was to turn the hanyou, Inuyasha, into a full human. The wish seemed selfless, for losing one's heritage was not selfish. Moreover, no questions would arise on their relationship, which they feared, as a hanyou and a priestess would not be allowed to marry, but if both were human they could.

During the time their love bloomed silent and strong Kikyo, being a priestess, took care of a burned thief who lusted after her. He was a malicious man, but she was unknown to his evil thoughts. She told him everything, considering him as her best friend – her only friend, besides her baby sister. Her baby sister could not understand the depth of what she had to go through; the wishes she held. So she told it all – told it to the bandit.

The bandit Onigumu came to know of her love towards the hanyou, and their plan as a family. He became jealous, but being unable to do anything for he was immobile. Being burned to a crisp from head to toe except for his one right eye, he merely listened to her talk, but every time she spoke of her love for the hanyou and of her dreams, he became jealous beyond recognition and sense.

The day before the wish was to be made he summoned evil demons and offered them his soul. In return he only asked for power, power through which he could kill the hanyouand gain his love, his Kikyo. The demons devoured his soul, and merged with his body, turning him into a spider hanyounamed Naraku, a shape shifter. Since Naraku was the merging result of so many demons, it earned him the trait of a 'shape shifter'.

While Kikyo was headed towards her hanyou to give him the jewel so he could make the wish, Naraku, in his jealousy, turned into the form of Inuyasha, and attacked her, giving her a mortal wound above her heart. He did not take the jewel, but merely abused her verbally, saying that he did not love her, whilst still being in the form of Inuyasha.

As Kikyo lay there wounded in the meadow she thought of what he had said. Inuyasha's betrayal hurt her, but it also made anger swell in her heart. She quickly stood up and went back to the village. She put the jewel back in its resting place, which was in the shrine. Then she stood, determined to kill the inu-hanyou who had oh so selfishly – betrayed her.

Whereas on the other hand; Naraku turned himself into the form of Kikyo. He did nothing to Inuyasha, but merely verbally abused him just like he had abused Kikyo, and said that she did not love him. At last he in the form of the priestess gave the inu-hanyou a warning, a warning that if she ever met him again then, she would kill him.

Hurt by the fake Kikyo's betrayal, Inuyasha thought of revenge, and attacked village of Edo. He stole the jewel kept within the shrine walls while completely destroying the village in the agony of fire. Whereas on the other hand the real Kikyo, bleeding from her wound, looked for Inuyasha, so she could give him the fruit of his betrayal.

As Inuyasha was passing from the famed god tree, their rendezvous for the wish, an arrow caught him in his chest, pinning him to the tree. The jewel fell limply from his hand and onto the cold forest ground. As he looked at the arrow imbedded in his chest, he then turned to see the one who had done this, to see the face of his attacker, the bleeding Kikyo.

The arrow, though filled with purification powers, did not kill him. For the tree he was pinned to was magical; it was the Tree of Ages. The tree of ages was said to belong everywhere at every point of time. So instead of being purified, the arrow merely sealed him to the tree, putting him in the eternal sleep.

Kikyo, still bleeding from her wound, knew she wouldn't live long due to the fatal wound and blood loss. As her baby sister of eight years took hold of her swaying form she said in a whisper – her last wish, her last words:

"Burn the jewel with me."

Onto Kikyo's pyre the jewel was burned with her body. Many came to search for the jewel as her ashes cooled down, but it was found nowhere. Thus, the belief the jewel had vanished was spread out. Time passed away as the days turned into months which further tuned into years and soon 50 years passed to this day.

After a time, a strange girl appeared out of nowhere through an old well named: 'The Bone Eaters Well'. She was the identical image of the priestess Kikyo herself but somewhat younger. She had same angular face but soft features. Dark coloured hairs with an unusual blue sheen in it reached till her waist. Though the clothing she wore was different to what Kikyo had worn. Her clothes seemed otherworldly for the matter; none had even seen them before. The girl was known as Kagome Higurashi.

She was the reincarnation of the priestess Kikyo, who astounded all with her beliefs and doings.

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