Author's Note: Written for the 'Gift' prompt at iy_wiltedrose [First place]
Beautiful darkness.
Then… light.
What is happening to me?
Kikyou moved her fingers experimentally, bringing them up to caress her face. Clay grated on clay.
Feels so familiar. My face… my body.
Dimly, she became aware of sound.
"You see!" shrieked a voice. "The soul has been absorbed into the body!"
My soul?
Mixed sounds. A child's voice calling, now an old woman's.
I live again.
Anger flared in the miko's heart.
Who has forced me out of my peace?
"I, Urasue, am your creator!"
Kikyou staggered forward on new legs towards the sound of the voice.
Urasue…
Her hands seized the demon and she released a burst of spiritual energy, purifying the creature into pieces. Kikyou felt the head thud softly to the ground at her bare feet.
"Not me…" it whispered. "I am your creator… I gave you life…"
The gift of life?
"That is no gift," hissed Kikyou under her breath. "To live again: that is a curse."
Because of him. Inuyasha. Her lover. Her betrayer.