At zero years old, Midoriko didn't know that her life was going to be full of unexpected turns and trials. All she knew were the loud wailing sounds (conveniently forgetting, in her first few seconds of life, that she was making them) and bright lights around her. She didn't know that her soul would give birth to a prized jewel that granted powers to both demons and humans.
She didn't know that her mother would soon decide that her daughter would be living with her aunt, because she would die. She didn't know that her aunt was a respectable priestess with a demon lover on the side. She didn't know that her uncle was a man of magic, for he continued to appear and disappear in Midoriko's life and her aunt's bed.
In fact, at zero years old, Midoriko didn't know anything.
At six years old, Midoriko realized that being a priestess wasn't as interesting as she thought it might be. She realized that she wasn't like the other girls. She didn't learn how to clean the house, the animals, or clothes. She didn't cook with her mother (and Midoriko couldn't do that even if she tried, with her mother six feet deep in dirt and rotting). She practiced with swords and arrows, and learned how to control her powers and destroy demons.
Midoriko also noted that she didn't wear clothes like the other girls. She had seen many girls at her village wearing long kimonos with flowers, or butterflies, printed on them. She wore pants, red ones, and this bothered her.
"Auntie," she asked one day, watching her aunt sharpening a sword, "can't I wear a kimono? A girl's kimono?" Her aunt eyed her wearily and shook her head. Midoriko didn't ask again till the next day, knowing that her aunt wouldn't feel better until she visited her 'special friend'. Midoriko had never met him, and her aunt never spoke of him often, so she didn't either.
"You don't wear kimonos because you're going to be a priestess," her aunt said evenly. "Priestesses don't wear kimonos because they are the equivalent to monks. Priestesses are like men. Men in a woman's body, that's all."
And Midoriko never asked that question again.
Fearing she'd be less of a man if she did.
At twelve years old, Midoriko began bleeding. She was worried at first. She hadn't done anything to injure herself that particular day. She found the blood in the bottom of her pants (these were green and pretty, like the grass, which also could be green and ugly, like her name), like a red, wet, patch. Midoriko knew better then to go to her aunt. Her aunt would just tell her that it was nothing to worry about and to go on with the day.
But Midoriko did worry, so she sneaked into her aunt's room and pulled out a tanto. She quickly slashed at her sleeves and picked up the ripped pieces. Rushing out of her aunt's room and the hut all together, she entered the forest and placed the cloth pieces in her pants, to catch the blood. It worked well, and she was happy. She continued to bleed for the better part of twenty days and she soon grew bored with the whole idea of 'bleeding without being wounded'.
It was quite pointless, really.
At eighteen years old, Midoriko watched her uncle kill her aunt, who was, in turn, killed by her aunt's demon lover. Midoriko never really cared much for her aunt and uncle, and had never met the demon lover, so she left her hometown village and found a new one. She was accepted easily, either because the village lacked a priestess or because the village elder favored her looks, she didn't care.
Let him look at me, let them all look at me, she'd think and smile cruelly, they won't find anything.
They never did.
At twenty-four years old, Midoriko no longer wore the normal priestess garb. She began wearing armor and white, with a sword at her hip. She looked like a warrior, and was. Most women thought she looked like a gender confused man.
"Maybe your just gender confused women," Midoriko would say.
And she meant it.
At thirty years old, Midoriko realized she aged. She never thought about it before, like most young people. But there was just something about reaching the age of thirty that changes you. It didn't change Midoriko as much as the next person, but her sense of time and death began to interlock with each other. She learned that it took time for someone or something to die, and that death comes with time.
Proof that you learn when you get older.
At thirty-six years old, Midoriko met him. She was in the forest, drying herself after a bath (she didn't bathe with the other women in the bathhouse because they would laugh and poke fun at the 'man'). She was partially naked when she saw him, walking by without looking at her. He had long silver hair, longer then her own, and golden eyes. He was a demon, and by appearance, younger then her, but not in the mind.
Midoriko moved quickly and got her sword and challenged him
"Fight demon," she yelled viciously, "fight!" He had turned and looked at her, now fully naked and scrutinized her.
"What do you want, woman," he said simply, his voice soft, but deep. He was handsome, Midoriko had to admit, with the navy blue crescent moon on his forehead and twin magenta stripes on his cheeks. But he had insulted her, and now he would pay. She launched at him and he moved away, a clawed hand flying up and nicking her on her shoulder. Midoriko hit the ground hard, never expecting a hit in the shoulder. He looked down at her and her anger grew.
Like something you see, she thought. Midoriko launched herself from the ground, and reached for her sword. Holding it out in front of her, she eyed him dangerously. He looked back at her stoically, not really caring. Straightening out, not caring that she was fully naked, Midoriko lowered her sword.
"What are you doing here, demon?"
"...I am traveling, priestess." He said no more and left her, standing naked and cold and wet in the forest by herself. Scoffing, it took her more then a couple of weeks to realize that there was something similar between the two of them.
He didn't care.
At forty-two years old, Midoriko learned that the demon's name was Sesshomaru and that he was the only son of a dog demon lord of the west. She met him several times, but chose not to fight with him. They didn't always talk to each other when they met; sometimes they just sat down by each other for hours until Sesshomaru decided he would leave. Otherwise, they would have short conversations going no where, with thoughts never ending.
"How old are you? By appearance, I mean." This was a random question asked by a random woman, and Midoriko was surprised he answered.
"By appearance, seventeen." She hadn't responded, but he had. Seventeen year olds, by appearance and or mind, were always wild, pompous, arrogant, pushy and he pushed into her, her back in the dirt, her hands in his hair as his fangs ran down her throat. It hurt, a little bit, but she accepted it like she accepted a lot of things.
He wasn't done with her though, and Midoriko wasn't done with him. She became pushy herself, her body pushing back, gaining dominance briefing before he took it away.
At this point in time, Midoriko's thoughts of interlocking time and death drifted away as his hands drifted over her body. Time didn't come with age, time came with days.
At day thirty-three, Midoriko found out that she did care, a little. He was moving slowly today, holding back his instinct. That meant that he had had a good day. Her legs wrapped around his slim hips, pulling him closer.
"Your mother... where is she?" Sesshomaru growled and she pulled him closer, liking the way his lips felt on her neck.
"Dead. She's dead." Midoriko hissed and he pushed a little harder. She didn't respond, and wondered briefly if his mother and her mother had a lot to talk about among the worms.
Why hello! I just happen to be the mother of your son's lover! How are you?
I'm dead, how would I feel?
You'd feel dead, I suppose. I wouldn't know.
Why wouldn't you know? You're dead too.
True, but you can't really feel when you're dead, now can you?
Touché, mademoiselle. Touché.
At day fifty, Midoriko was worried she was pregnant. It would be very unbecoming if a priestess were pregnant with a demon's child. The village would most likely kick her out if they found out, not like she cared. But what would Sesshomaru say?
Really... Deal with it, priestess. It's not my problem.
That sounded more like her then it did him.
At day sixty-seven, Midoriko thought that it was time to end the affair. It had been fun, but it was time for it to end. Everything fun usually did end anyway, so she'd just be helping it along. But that day she didn't find him, so she couldn't end it as quickly as she thought. And maybe she didn't want to end it.
With his hands on her breasts and lips on her own, Midoriko felt something.
She felt wanted.
Maybe she wouldn't end the affair after all.
At day eighty-four, Midoriko caught herself a cat. It was a cream colored feline with twin tails and a black diamond shape on her forehead. She liked the cat, so she kept it and showed it to Sesshomaru. He looked at the cat slowly, and shrugged.
"A nekomata... but only in appearance."
"Everything's only in appearance, Sesshomaru."
"Touché."
Midoriko named the cat Kirara.
At day one hundred one, Midoriko had to leave the village and attack an army of demons. Many villagers watched her go, but none gave her encouragement. Sesshomaru was there too, but in the forest so the villagers wouldn't see him. She walked by him and smiled.
"Where are you going," he asked softly, walking with her.
"I'm going off... off to die."
"Can I come along?"
"Don't you have anything better to do?"
"Not really."
They both went off to die.
At day one hundred eighteen, Midoriko found out that she was five and a half months pregnant. It surprised her slightly. Her stomach bulged a little bit, but not too much. She couldn't hide it from Sesshomaru, and he really didn't comment on it.
"Your pregnant... It would happen sooner or later."
"You don't care?! I'm a priestess, we don't have demon children!"
"...It won't be a demon child... it will be a half demon child..."
"...Oh... Well... that changes everything, doesn't it...?"
"It does."
"Well... that's just peachy isn't it? Don't know if I could've survived giving birth to a demon child."
"You couldn't."
"Thank you."
"Your welcome."
At day one hundred thirty-five, Midoriko thought that Sesshomaru should come live with her. She asked him, and he shrugged slowly, not caring either way. So, Midoriko brought him to her village and was quite happy to see the shocked looks on the villagers' faces. They murmured to each other with scowls and dropped mouths.
Some pointed at him and others tried to ward him off. But, since the priestess was with him, they thought that nothing really bad would happen. They watched her take him up away from the village's center and to her hut.
"Won't your father worry about you," she asked as the entered her home.
"No, he doesn't worry about me often." Midoriko smiled at that and led her young lover to her room.
In the morning, the villagers forsake Midoriko.
At day one hundred fifty-two, Midoriko began thinking of names for her child. She and Sesshomaru were lounging on the porch of her house, watching everything go by them.
"Junko."
"What," Sesshomaru said, and looked at her quizzically. Midoriko nodded her head.
"'Junko'. For the baby." Sesshomaru raised his eyebrows and moved behind her, his hands resting on her swollen belly. She leaned back and smiled up at him.
"Why 'Junko'?" Midoriko shrugged.
"It doesn't have to be 'Junko'. It could be... 'Hotaru'..."
"What if the child's a boy?"
"Spoil sport. What about 'Fuyu'? Or 'Rourin'?"
"No imagination, dear priestess. I'm disappointed."
"Haven't hear a word from you, dear demon."
"... 'Kori', if it is a girl... 'Tetsu', if it's a boy."
"I hate you."
"Why?"
"... You have a better imagination then I do. Hell, I would've called the kid 'Sesshriko' or 'Midormaru' given the chance."
"Really?"
"Really."
"... Hmm... glad I was here."
"Me too."
At day one hundred sixty-nine, Midoriko gave birth prematurely and the child died. It was a girl with snow-white hair and small dog-ears. When they pulled back her eyelids they saw that she had soft brown eyes. Sesshomaru buried her in the backyard and placed a stone over the fresh dirt.
"What should we put on it?"
"Nothing, she didn't live long enough to make an impression on my life. Leave it blank."
"... We should give her a name..."
"Why…? She's dead."
"Even dead things have names..."
"So, what's a dead tree?"
"A tree."
"That's not much of a name..."
"But it's a name nonetheless."
They wrote 'Junko' on the stone.
At day one hundred eighty-six, Midoriko asked Sesshomaru a tough question. She had pushed her body next to his during the night and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Is this love?"
"I wouldn't know. I thought you would."
"Why?"
"... You're human."
"So?"
"Humans know what love is..."
"Who told you this?"
"A human."
"They were lying... Is this true love, then?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"We wouldn't know true love if it hit us in the face."
"Oh... Then we'd know if we were in love, right?"
"No... We've known each other only for a short period... too short for it to have hit our faces."
"True."
At day two hundred three, Midoriko left the village to go fight demons at the outskirts of town. They had taken refuge in a cave and had begun to bother the villagers. As she was dressing, Sesshomaru watched her idly before walking towards the door.
"Going off to die again, priestess."
"Why don't you call me by my name?"
"There's no need. You don't call me by mine."
"... Fine. Sesshomaru, where are you going?"
"Out. You still haven't answered my first question."
"Yes, I'm going out to die."
"Oh... well then, have fun... Midoriko."
"I assure, I will."
At forty-three years old, Midoriko died.
At seventeen years old, Sesshomaru began to feel nothing.
At twelve years old, Kirara left to find herself.
At twenty-seven years old, Inu no Taisho found a hellish sword.
At sixteen years old, Izayoi was pregnant with a demon's child.
At zero years old, InuYasha didn't know anything.
Not like anyone did.