Author's Note: This story is based mainly on the anime series, InuYasha, and the movies based on that series, written by Rumiko Takahashi. All the original characters are hers. I claim no rights to their use or exploitation in this or any other story at this time. Thank you.
Chapter 1: RevelationsIt was evening in the wilds of feudal Japan. Behind her, as Kikyo walked, the sky was brilliant with gradually descending color, much like a watercolor painting done in startling shades of violet, red and gold. The tall, simply dressed priestess took no notice, continuing to walk as if it were still day. Had she been alive, she imagined that she would probably be preparing to make some sort of camp right about now, but the body her spirit wore was not truly flesh. It was animated clay. When touched by the living, it gave the complete semblance of flesh, save only for a lack of warmth. This made passing through the villages of the living much more convenient. Otherwise, it did not really matter. Strictly speaking, she was not really alive.
Fifty years ago, due to the machinations of someone called Naraku, she had died, the victim of, so she had been led to believe, betrayal by the one person to whom she had dared to give some portion of her heart. Naraku! The name brought out the fiercest kind of hatred in Kikyo's soul. Hatred she had once reserved solely for the one she had believed to be her betrayer. Hatred she had to lock away tightly in order to be able to function from day to day. Now, here she was, no longer a living woman, but a revenant in a clay body with a heart of bones and burial soil. As such, she no longer required the so-called necessities of human life; namely food, water and sleep. She could partake of such, of course, when called upon to do so, but her true nourishment, the fuel that kept the clay body mobile and functioning in the life-like manner it did were the souls of dead and dying women.
It was for this purpose that a small cloud of soul-collectors, known to some as shinidamachu or "dead soul insects", floated along in Kikyo's wake like a group of long, white snakes married to water skippers and given the power of flight. They had been her companions since the day of her resurrection, providing her, from time to time, with sustenance in the form of stolen souls.
When she was alive, things were different, though not profoundly so. Though she had still wandered, it had not been quite so often. When she was not wandering, she had lived in a village not far from a time tree that the villagers believed to be sacred, calling it "the God Tree." Not far from that, built with its wood, there stood a dry well that had been there for some time. Kikyo was aware the thing had been originally dug for the purposes of getting water. Now, dry as dust, the well served to keep the bones of dead demons in a safe place. Eventually, the bones would disappear, so the place had been given the name, "Bone-Eaters Well." That was the name it had possessed when Kikyo was still very young. Later, as the village priestess, living only with her ten-year-old sister, Kaede, war having claimed both father and mother, she would often visit both tree and well, if for no other reason than that beneficial plants and herbs grew in a field nearby, and run her fingers over the rough aging wood, wondering idly to herself about the other eras both fixtures supposedly existed in.
Often, in her capacity as priestess, she had been called upon to make use of her holy powers to dispatch some demon or other intent upon terrorizing the people. Demons rarely cared about the lives of the humans they hurt. To many of them, humans were nothing, much like cattle or chickens. This being the case, in order to deal with them, she'd found it necessary to gather up all her emotions and lock them behind a steel door in her mind, concealing the key deep in her heart. This enabled her to be brutal, to kill without hesitation or mercy, taking no harm to her own soul in the process. It was during that time in her life that Tsubaki, a corrupt shrine maiden who, for some reason, felt the need to be better than Kikyo, had placed a curse upon her. Should she ever allow herself to fall in love, she would lose her holy powers, resulting in her untimely death. At the time, Kikyo had thought nothing of it. She? Fall in love? Foolishness. Then the Shikon Jewel had come into her life and, after that, Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha," the word escaped her like the sighing of the breeze in the branches above her. Just the thought of his name caused her soul to burn with phantom pain. Normally, she would push such feelings aside, locking them, along with the rest of her emotions, firmly behind the steel door in her mind and then daring herself to throw the key away forever. It never worked, however. For one thing, she could never quite bring herself to dispose of the non-existent key. For another, thoughts and feelings about Inuyasha tended to escape their confinement when she wasn't busy with other things. Times like now.
This time, she made no attempt at pushing the thoughts away. Instead, she drew them close, handling them with the same care as she might touch a timeworn doll made of old silk.
When was the first time she'd met Inuyasha? It had been at the tail end of a very strenuous battle with a series of particularly vicious demons late on a rainy night with no moon, when she had felt herself being watched. By that time, her senses had been honed to their very peak, which was certainly a good thing, considering the number of demons she was having to deal with on a daily basis by then. In any case, she'd felt him watching her and sensed demon energy in his direction, though it had faded with the sunset.
Her first assumption was that, like all the rest who met her in the wild lands beyond the village, he was after the Shikon Jewel. Rather than attack, however, he had hidden. Shortly after that, due mainly to exhaustion and loss of blood, she had collapsed, believing that her unknown opponent would, in her moment of weakness, slay her and take the jewel then. But he'd surprised her again, jumping down from where ever he was hiding to check on her and then running away when the villagers, led by Kaede, had come looking for her.
Later, of course, he'd come back demanding it and she supposed, looking back, that she could very possibly have killed him there and then. Very likely, considering Tsubaki's barely veiled curse, she probably should have. Looking at him, however, he had given the impression of a very young man, slightly younger than her own eighteen years. In any event, he was probably much older than she was physically, by reason of his demon blood, though he was probably just a little less so mentally and emotionally. Eventually, she had gotten him to tell his name and before long he was following her around like the puppy he resembled, though he would probably have become upset if she had even so much as implied such a thing in his presence.
After only a few days, she had begun to see beyond the gruff exterior Inuyasha used as a defense. Beyond it was a strange innocence that she'd never expected to see there. That, among only a few other things was what prevented her from giving him the Beads of Subjugation, a rosary that, interestingly enough, he now wore, likely by Kaede's contrivance. Shortly after that, she had begun including him in her missions. His powers and presence had both been useful and he had saved her life more than a few times.
Still, though she had tried to distance herself from him, that hidden innocence had found its way into her heart, unearthing the rarely used key hidden there. Without either of them realizing it, fate had twisted its red thread around their fingers. She'd found herself enjoying his company, even longing for it at times when he wasn't with her. Of course, she'd never trusted him fully, in part due to his insistence that the only reason he was with her so often was so that he could get the Shikon Jewel from her, not to mention the intimidatingly cold quality of his gaze on her, but that never seemed to stop her from wanting to spend time with him.
In time, she'd begun to notice her powers beginning to dwindle. In point of fact, one such instance had cost her younger sister her right eye. However, even that had not stopped Kikyo from wanting to be with Inuyasha. She longed for a normal life, filled with love and understanding in the arms of a man who cared for her. Longed for it with a passion that was hard to describe. As for Inuyasha, she knew he said he wanted the Jewel to transform him into a full-blooded demon. But after only a few weeks, she knew the reason for that was a fundamental need for acceptance. Until he met Kikyo, Inuyasha had thought acceptance meant respect and the only way he'd get that was through a show of strength. Unfortunately, the stronger he became the more he tended to chase people away; the ultimate consequence of that had been… loneliness. Therefore, with the Jewel in his possession, he would have complete access to his only desire, to belong.
Temporarily forgetting Tsubaki's curse, Kikyo had offered a simple solution to both problems. She would give Inuyasha the Jewel if he would use it to become human. Such a pure and decent wish would likely purify the Jewel completely, causing it to disappear, its purpose fulfilled. Then, with the Jewel gone, Kikyo could, in good conscience, cease to be a priestess, freeing her for her longed for normal life and simultaneously providing Inuyasha with the love and acceptance he craved. After much thought, he agreed.
Even then, she had to admit she hadn't trusted him completely. She realized that now. She supposed, looking back, her lack of trust had probably been her downfall. Had she completely trusted Inuyasha and the shy, vulnerable, child-like innocence hiding behind the gruff mask he habitually wore, she'd never have believed him capable of the kind of brutality Naraku had portrayed him as possessing when he'd appeared wearing Inuyasha's semblance and raked the gaping holes in her chest and right shoulder that had been responsible for her death.
Yet, since she'd sealed Inuyasha to the sacred time tree and then died fifty years ago, the red thread of fate, once tied to their fingers in such a way that it had been beautiful in its simplicity, was now hopelessly tangled. Many had been the times since her resurrection that she'd tried to repair it. She still wanted to believe that things between herself and Inuyasha could be repaired. She knew, though, somehow, that her former lack of trust in him, not to mention his in her and her actions toward him since her resurrection, had irreparably marred things between them
Kikyo had once asked Inuyasha to descend with her to hell and he had seemed willing at the time. Now, however, she was no longer certain he was willing to fulfill that promise, even if she was still sure she wanted him to sacrifice everything on the basis of his long borne guilt just to keep her from being alone. She had seen the way he looked at the girl, Kagome, who carried the majority of Kikyo's soul in her young body and was living the normal life Kikyo still yearned for albeit in another time. Kikyo had watched Inuyasha leap into harms way for Kagome's sake. Likewise, she had seen the way Kagome would throw caution to the four winds for Inuyasha, not to mention the girl's determination to stay by Inuyasha's side even though he still tended to leave her for long periods of time at the first mention of the name "Kikyo." It had become obvious, to Kikyo at least, that Inuyasha and Kagome had come to trust each other more deeply than she had ever been allowed to achieve with the dog-hanyō during her own lifetime. A consequence of this trust was that the hurts Kikyo had seen in Inuyasha's heart had begun to heal, a thing the priestess had hoped to achieve herself.
Suddenly, a low, pain-filled moan from somewhere near her feet tore her from her thoughts. Gently, Kikyo folded the thoughts up like an old kimono, storing them away for future perusal as she bent to find the source of the sound. Lying in the scrub, not more than a foot or two away, a female figure lay on her face dressed in the torn and bloody remains of what must have been a truly beautiful blue and white silk kimono, the white undergarment beneath was also badly torn and blood soaked. Her unusually pale hair was matted and stained with new blood. Just by a cursory look, Kikyo guessed the woman had been beaten, stoned and, more than likely, stabbed with some sort of farm implement, probably a pitchfork.
"Kocho," Kikyo commanded, kneeling at the injured girl's side, "I need warm water, fresh clothing and clean rags. Asuka, go and prepare a fire and some food." Immediately, the two shikigami girls that had been following her departed, floating up into the air like smoke or shadows in their brightly colored kimonos.
Carefully, Kikyo slid a hand under the woman's shoulder, gently turning her onto her side and bending to listen to her breathing, which was ragged and shallow. The skin beneath Kikyo's hand was slightly warm to the touch, showing no signs of fever. Hideous bruises decorated the delicate, pale skin that was exposed at the hems and through the tears of the flimsy garment she wore. Tenderly, Kikyo turned the woman over onto her back and was surprised to note that the ear exposed by doing so was shaped like a kind of miniature wing, complete with tiny, white feathers all along the edge. She was a hanyō, then, the often-unaccepted product of a union between a human and a demon.
'Inuyasha,' Kikyo thought, the name leaping unbidden into her mind again. Looking at the female before her, the priestess noticed that, even though the long hair was as pale as moonlight, the features of the injured girl held many of the rounded, innocent qualities of childhood, but also several of the long and graceful traits of oncoming maturity. In fact, looking at her, she seemed to be not much older than the dog-hanyō in Kikyo's thoughts. Deftly, the priestess shoved Inuyasha into the back of her mind again, carefully opening the torn kimono to examine the bleeding wounds hidden beneath the cloth.
"Lady Kikyo," Azuka said, landing before her on the right, "the fire and food are ready, as you requested."
"Lady Kikyo," Kocho added, landing next to her sister on the left, "here are the things you asked for."
"Take the clothing to our camp, Kocho," Kikyo instructed, quietly taking the water and rags. Immediately, the girl in question turned and walked away carrying the remaining bundle. Laying the warm bowl on the ground next to her, Kikyo selected the smallest of the rags and began to carefully clean the oozing wounds, a few of which were very deep. As she wiped the numerous wounds, the tall priestess gently undressed the girl, carefully binding each of the wounded girl's hurts with the remaining cloths.
"Help me carry her over to the fire, please, Azuka," Kikyo directed, draping the remains of the stained and ragged kimono over the body of its newly bandaged owner. Obediently, the remaining shikigami girl walked around to the head of the wounded hanyō. Reaching her hand out, Azuka lightly touched the center of the wounded forehead. Instantly, the unconscious hanyō rose from the ground until she was about level with Azuka's shoulders. Azuka then turned and walked toward the distant fire, her charge trailing along behind like a kind of low-flying kite. Kikyo followed, eventually reaching the hastily assembled camp, the requested fire and packet of food had been placed about three paces from the shore of a swiftly flowing stream. Without being asked, Kocho had pulled down a number of low-hanging branches and leaves, placing them near enough to the fire that they resembled a kind of bed. Stepping lightly across this natural pallet, Azuka gently lowered the floating hanyō onto it. Kocho finished by lightly removing the ragged kimono and recovering the unconscious girl with the newer one.
Carefully seating herself within arms reach, Kikyo wondered briefly how long the group of them would be there. As an after thought, the priestess erected a spirit barrier, ensuring that no one could interrupt her except perhaps the girl, Kagome. That done, Kikyo settled herself into a lotus position, ready for a long wait.
Her patience was rewarded when, an hour later, the girl's eyes fluttered open. However, as Kikyo watched, rather than turning her head or moving her eyes to discover her location and surroundings, there was movement beneath the spread kimono. Soon, a delicate hand armed with a set of sharp-looking claws patted its way out from under the covering, feeling the ground beneath, stopping only when they touched Kikyo's leg.
"Is someone there?" the injured hanyō asked hesitantly, her hand slipping quickly beneath the concealment of the kimono.
"Yes," Kikyo answered kindly, noting that many of the bruises she had noticed before were already beginning to fade, as if they were days rather than hours old.
"Who are you?" the girl asked, turning her gaze in Kikyo's direction, but failing to meet the older woman's eyes.
"I'm called Kikyo," the priestess replied, gently brushing a vagrant strand of white hair from the face of her patient, "and you?"
"Tenkei," the girl replied tiredly, her eyes closing. As Kikyo watched, the other hand snaked out from under the cover of the kimono, patting the nearby ground before slipping back again.
"May I have my staff back, please," she added warily.
Kikyo flicked a glance toward the two waiting shikigami before responding, "I did not see it when I found you. I have sent people to search for it." Kikyo glanced discreetly after Kocho and Azuka as they ran back to the place where Tenkei had been found. "Rest now," Kikyo added, readjusting the now slightly rumpled kimono covering the girl, "at the rate you are healing, you should be completely whole by tomorrow morning." Kikyo watched her young charge drift reluctantly back to sleep. A few moments later, Kocho and Azuka returned bearing a six-foot staff the entire length of which was covered with intricate carvings. Kikyo gently took the staff from the two girls and placed it carefully between herself and the sleeping Tenkei, absently noting the small amount of power she sensed in it as she did so.
The night passed uneventfully. By this time, Kikyo's barrier was strong enough to keep out any unwanted company, even if there had been any. So, shortly after sunrise, Tenkei began to stir again. As before, her first action was to search the ground with her hands. In no time, her right came into contact with the carved staff. Seizing it, she hugged it close.
"You are still there, are you not?" Tenkei asked, staring uncertainly at the brightening sky, "Kikyo?"
"I am here," Kikyo smiled, "Good morning to you."
"Good morning," Tenkei returned, pulling herself stiffly into a sitting position.
"Are you hungry?" Kikyo asked pleasantly, "I have had some food brought for you."
"Your actions are very kind," Tenkei replied, her eyes narrowing in suspicion, "What do you want? Do not tell me you want nothing. Humans do not help those of demon blood for no reason."
"Perhaps," Kikyo answered, "I helped you because you remind me of a friend of mine."
"A friend?" said Tenkei in confusion, "Like me? Truly?"
"Yes," Kikyo smiled, "but you must be cold. Let me check your wounds and then I will help you into your new kimono. Your old one was badly torn. Afterward, you may eat, if you wish." Gingerly, Kikyo checked each bandage while Tenkei sat there patiently staring off into space. Finally, each injury had been checked, all of which had healed so completely during the night it was as if they had never been there to begin with. Soon the hanyō girl was clean and dressed in the new kimono.
"This is nice, " Tenkei smiled timidly, stroking the fabric clasped around her body, "What color is it?"
"It is blue," Kikyo responded, hiding her amusement as she handed her a bowl of rice and pickles, "with pink hyacinths."
"Truly?" Tenkei replied, her smile broadening, "Blue is a nice color."
Kikyo smiled, watching as her charge began to eat the proffered food, then offering freshly roasted fish when the rice was gone.
"Thank you," Tenkei said bowing, when the fish, too, was gone, "I am in your debt."
"It is nothing," Kikyo responded, still smiling.
"Please, you must understand," the hanyō objected, setting the remains of the fish on the ground before her. "Just before my mother died, she told me there was only one debt of honor I should not immediately attempt to repay. You have fed and clothed me, tended my injuries and treated me kindly. Since the death of my mother, no person, human or otherwise, has done any such thing to me. Thus, I owe you a debt of honor. It must be paid." So saying, she reached across and laid her delicate fingers on Kikyo's hand. Suddenly, Tenkei's eyes blazed, glowing with a bright blue light that illuminated the shady little clearing with a kind of phantom radiance.
"Oh," Tenkei gasped, her voice taking on a peculiar unearthly quality, "You're dead. The years stretch behind you like a veil. You were recently reborn to a new life in a strange land I don't recognize. You still exist there and yet you are here. A resurrection. Her presence alone makes reading you possible."
Kikyo pulled away in shock to be read so easily.
"I see a pale-haired man with dog-like ears," Tenkei continued, unhindered by lack of contact, "Your heart longs for him; for a normal life, a life torn from you. You seek revenge on the creature responsible. He is a creature of many faces but, behind it all, I see a small malevolent presence. Each day he exists, his power grows. Yet, of all people, he fears and hates you. It is for this reason that he slew you so long ago.
"Hear me, Lady
Kikyo. In repayment for your services to me, I offer you this knowledge. You must rejoin with yourself in a body of living flesh. Only then will you know success in either goal."
With this, she sighed, her visage and voice returning to normal.
"That is impossible," Kikyo declared dispassionately, all traces of emotion abruptly leaving her face, "I refuse to return until I have completed my task."
"Perhaps, I should explain," Tenkei offered, her outstretched hand returning to her lap, "Have you heard of a blade called the Naginata of Kenkon?"
Kikyo nodded.
"This weapon is reputedly very powerful," continued Tenkei, "So powerful, in fact, that it was split into two pieces and hidden, to prevent it being used for evil purposes. You and your alternate are like unto it. Like the naginata, you each have great qualities on your own and are each, in your own right, very dangerous. But, however deadly each half may be, neither has the power of the completed weapon. Legend tells that the rejoined blade would be deadly if wielded by the right hands, but neither will have the full power of the whole so long as they continue to be separate. Further, there are things the completed blade could accomplish that would be impossible for the two pieces. So it is with you and your alternate.
"There is a way that you might affect such a reunion of your soul with the remainder contained in the living body of your alternate without losing the knowledge and effectiveness your long years of experience in fighting the many-faced demon have brought you, not to mention the complete use of the powers you share. Furthermore, if you rejoin with yourself, you will then have the guarantee that the dog-eared one will remember you until his dying day and his memory of you will be pleasant to him.
"Understand, however, that if you choose to remain separate, not only will you never have the power you need to defeat the many-faced demon once and for all, you will eventually lose the heart of the dog-eared one. He will only remember you as one might remember an old nightmare."
"What did you say?" Kikyo asked, the calmness in her voice effectively hiding her anger, "I will…lose?"
"This is the meaning of the vision, Lady Kikyo," Tenkei explained, serenely, "Should you remain separate from yourself, you will never have the power you need to achieve your purpose. As for the dog-eared one, he lives continually in the presence of your alternate. If you truly wish to succeed, you must rejoin yourself within the living body of your alternate, as I told you." With that, Tenkei set the end of her staff on the ground, using it to push herself to her feet. "I must go now, Lady Kikyo," she said sadly, "My debt to you is paid. I regret that I have left you with questions rather than answers. You now have a decision to make. I advise you to make it quickly. Dead or not, I am afraid you will find that time is not on your side." With that, Tenkei bowed low, then turned herself and began to walk, using her staff to feel the ground in front of her.
Far above, several strange-looking bees hovered, then followed in the hanyō's wake.
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"Hakudoshi," Naraku commented, gazing coolly into Kanna's mirror, which showed the figure of a woman dressed in blue, feeling her way along an unknown road with a tall staff. "I have felt the barrier of the woman, Kikyo, not far from here. She was helping another hanyō: this woman. She possesses the ability to see the future. Go to her and gaze into her thoughts, my extension. Find out form her the places Kikyo will visit that you may destroy her once and for all. Take Kagura with you."
Hakudoshi nodded. "Kagura," he smiled, turning to her, "Let's go."
Grumbling, though not outwardly, Kagura removed a single feather from her hair and tossed it negligently out a window, leaping onto its suddenly enlarged width and floating away with the white-haired boy behind her. It was sunset before they saw the woman in question. Wearing a long cloak she had obtained somewhere, the woman had managed to convince a farming family to provide her with shelter for the night.
"Set us down in that field, Kagura," Hakudoshi murmured.
"Fine," replied Kagura, obeying. Immediately, the gigantic feather returned to its former size. Catching it out of the air, Kagura carefully tucked it back into place. "What now?" she added, leaning indifferently against the trunk of a nearby tree.
"We wait," Hakudoshi told her mildly, settling himself on the ground near her.
"Fine," Kagura repeated, toying disinterestedly with her steel fan.
Two hours later, Hakudoshi rose. "Wait here," he commanded, walking toward the house. Silently, the white-haired boy found the door the hanyō had used, pushing the bamboo curtain aside just enough for him to slip past it. Within, using her kimono as a blanket, lay the woman Naraku had shown him in Kanna's mirror. Stealthily, the boy crept over to the bed and lay down next to the sleeping hanyō, lightly placing his head on her chest. In this position, Hakudoshi could complete his assignment easily and, considering Naraku's direct connection with his mind, the information he gathered would go directly to the one desiring it. Gently, the boy began to delve into the sleeping thoughts of the young woman. Just as he began to think he would reach the information he sought, the thoughts he was searching leapt into alertness. A second later, there was a flash of light and he was thrown into the wall.
"Naraku," the girl seethed, her eyes seeming not to look so much at Hakudoshi as though him, "How dare you send your minion to rifle through my mind as if it were some kind of clothing chest. You could not have troubled yourself to come to me in person and ask, could you? From this moment, you will wish you had. I now place upon you the most powerful curse known to man or demon: the Hand of Fate!" There was a second flash of light, and Hakudoshi felt an inexplicable chill run through his body. "Until now, Naraku," the girl continued furiously, "fate smiled upon you. Now, the wheel of fate has turned again. From this time forth success will flee you. Karma has now come to roost."
As Hakudoshi watched, the girl began to change. Her eyes began to glow with an unholy blue light, casting strange shadows all around the small room. Meanwhile, the top section of her white hair, beginning at her forehead, changed slowly to crimson as the woman's demon blood asserted itself. Short claws on the tips of the girl's fingers were soon talons.
"Know the depths of your folly, Naraku," the hanyō declared, her voice taking on an otherworldly quality, "You will never see the woman known as Kikyo again unless she decides to face you herself. Should she do so, you will find yourself unable to harm her. I know that you will soon achieve your goal and hold the completed Shikon Jewel in your hand. You will live to see for yourself its beauty as it shines with all its dark and corrupted malice. However, you will never be able to use it for the purpose you have planned. It will be taken from you by the most unlikely of hands and purified before your very eyes until it glows with a heavenly light such as no living being has yet beheld. At that time, your life will be forfeit to the blade of the greatest sword on earth combined with the arrows you fear the most.
"There is only one way you can escape this doom, Naraku," the woman whispered, pacing toward Hakudoshi with impossible grace, "You must give the part of the jewel you now possess into the hands of its guardian. You must abase yourself to her in earnest apology, Naraku, and then foreswear the jewel forever, on your life's blood. Only then will the curse on you be turned away.
"One last thing, Naraku," the girl smiled coldly, seizing the astounded Hakudoshi by his hitoe, "Do not send this minion against me again. If you do, I will make certain you regret it."
"Now," she growled, yanking Hakudoshi up so that his eyes met hers, "beg me for forgiveness." So saying, she threw the astonished boy through the door, causing the bamboo curtain to flap wildly as he passed through it.
Enraged, Hakudoshi stalked back to where Kagura was waiting for him.
"So?" Kagura asked, secretly amused by the look on the boy's face.
"Destroy it!" Hakudoshi commanded.
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