Warnings: None

Note: This isn't Keiko's POV. Yay for variety.

Daughters of Destiny

Chapter 02:

"The God-Tree"

Keiko didn't appear at the bottom of the Well right away, but I had faith she wouldn't leave me in the lurch all alone. I sat down crisscross applesauce—the way I'd made my kindergarteners sit in my past life—and waited for my friend amidst scattered bones and gnarled cobwebs.

I waited.

And waited.

And waited, dammit.

Keiko took her sweet fuckin' time, that's for sure.

When she finally appeared next to me in a disheveled heap, I wondered if bringing her along had been such a good idea. That glare of hers had teeth.

"Hi!" I said.

Keiko glared some more. "I am angry with you, and I suggest you do as I say from here on out, or so help me—"

"Oh, pshaw!" I flapped my hand in her scowling face. "Admit it. You wanted to come along. You're too much of a scientist to leave a stone unturned. You were curious about—wait, what the hell are you wearing?"

She glowered. "Well, we can't go traipsing about the Feudal Era in blue jeans, can we? Not if we expect to maintain a low profile." From under her harm she pulled a bundle of cloth. "Here. Put this on."

Keiko wore a simple robe made of off-white cloth, belted at the waist, and flat wooden sandals—traditional clothing my Jii-chan made me and Mom wear whenever we helped around the Shrine. Keiko wore Mom's robe and had brought mine along, too. Leave it to Miss Smarty-Pants to think about dressing for the period. I pulled my shirt over my head with a gleeful hoot. Keiko called me an exhibitionist pervert, but I ignored her and got dressed. I mean, we were at the bottom of a well and we were both girls (even if Keiko was a little gay). What was the harm?

"What did Jii-chan say when you asked to use these?" I said as I kicked out of my pants.

Keiko shrugged. "Not much. Told him we wanted to get into character for that book we're supposedly writing. He thought it was a good idea."

"He's glad we're showing interest in old stuff, probably," I said. "That's my Jii-chan!"

Keiko helped me tie my belt, then clambered up and over the side of the Well and helped me climb out, too. She took deep breaths once the sun hit our faces, eyes closing while she stared up at the sky. I watched with a grin as she turned in a slow circle to observe the trees, bushes, and boulders scattered about the edges of the Well's clearing, looking at each one like something important might be hiding under it.

Gosh, Keiko was funny. I'd jumped in the air and screamed and hollered with triumph when I came through the Well the first time, but here she was trying to memorize the friggin' place.

I let her have her fun (if you can call it that) for a minute before pointing over her shoulder. "See that big treetop? It's the God Tree."

She turned and squinted toward the sky. Over the edge of the treeline rose a huge puffy cloud of leaves, taller than anything else for miles. The Goshinboku—the God Tree. Hard to miss, especially when you had eagle eyes like Keiko.

"OK. So it's to the north," Keiko muttered. She gestured toward it and said, "Well, Tigger. This is your story. Wanna lead the way?"

"Yup!" I darted past her and plunged into the forest. "Follow me!"

Even if the God Tree hadn't been visible from our spot by the Well, I could've found it. I knew where it stood in relation to the Well. Had been looking at them both my whole (second) life, after all. This was like coming home. Almost nostalgic, really. Keiko grumbled and cursed as we picked our way through the woods, wooden sandals catching on rocks and roots, but the trip over to the Tree didn't take too long. I reflexively giggled every time I saw its crown above the forest—because this felt exciting! Getting to see Inuyasha while he slept, getting to see a preview of the world I'd soon be spending a lot of time in…that was awesome. Keiko said this would be dangerous, but Keiko worried too much. We'd be careful, and it'd be fine. She'd see!

We were together, after all. There wasn't nothin' in this world we couldn't handle if we put our heads together, and that's a fact.

We made it to the Tree is short order, occasional detours around thick brush and random boulders only slowing us a little. Soon the trees thinned, giving way to a sunny clearing. I called back at Eeyore when I saw the trunk of the God Tree peeking between the foliage, but before I could run headlong into it, Keiko grabbed my shoulder. Leaves stuck in her hair like she'd gone to a rave with forest nymphs.

"You probably shouldn't go right up to Inuyasha if he's there," she said. "Didn't he wake up when Kagome touched him in the anime?"

I wanted to argue—because I wanted to touch his ears. Like, badly. Some parts of the real Kagome's personality I couldn't shake, it seemed. Too bad Keiko's determined stare froze the words in my mouth. Ugh. I hated it when she was right! What a spoilsport.

"Fine," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "I won't touch him." I opened my eyes as wide as they could possibly go and jutted my lower lip. "But can I see him? Please, Eeyore-chan? Please?"

Despite giving her my very best puppy-face, Keiko remained unmoved. With deadpan sarcasm she said, "Did you forget I know how old you really are?"

"Aw, shit. I forgot."

"Clearly." She narrowed her eyes in the direction of the God Tree. "How about I go first, and you follow? Don't get near him, but seeing him…I can't imagine that would hurt, right?"

She sounded unsure of herself. She did that a lot, poor thing. So smart, but she needed validation like she needed air. Anxiety was no joke, but I knew how to help. I touched her arm and beamed my most infectious smile. This always worked with Keiko. Act like I wasn't worried and she'd calm down in a jiffy.

"I think it's fine!" I said, watching with satisfaction as the doubt in her eyes cleared. "Now it's your turn to lead the way." With a dramatic point toward the Tree I said, "As the Doctor would say, 'Geronimo'!"

Keiko laughed, flipping her hair out of her face as she pasted on a tough-as-nails, don't-fuck-with-me expression. Girl could be super scary-cool when she got focused. She walked with purpose out of the woods and onto the flat grass beyond, gesturing for me to follow only after she looked around and didn't see anybody threatening. I hopped out of the woods at her back and danced my way into her shadow—and then I froze. I fisted my hand in the back of her robe, peering with wide eyes around the side of her hip. Keiko looked over her shoulder and chuckled.

"Where'd your Tigger-like enthusiasm go, huh?" she muttered.

"Oh, it's still in here," I whispered back. "I just need a minute to process, that's all."

Inuyasha's red clothing gleamed like the skin of a polished apple against the tree's pale bark. When a zephyr curled its way into the clearing, his hair rippled in a cascade of silken silver pretty enough to weave into a dress. The God Tree's roots curled around his body like hands at a rock concert, holding him aloft and against the Tree in a vegetative cradle. Almost didn't notice the arrow spearing his chest; it didn't look large enough to pin him in place, but I knew the magic inside it gave it power I couldn't yet understand. With his eyes closed, body relaxed and held in place by those roots, I could almost forget Inuyasha would turn into a demon whose words bit as sharp as his pointed teeth. One yank on that arrow, and he'd be free.

But today wasn't the right day for that.

Naraku hadn't returned yet. Kikyo hadn't been resurrected. The Shikon Jewel—clearly active inside my body since I'd been able to use the Well—hadn't been pulled free by the teeth of a greedy centipede demon. And most worrisome of all, I hadn't yet met Kaede, who would tame the ferocious Inuyasha with the help of a magical necklace. Inuyasha would probably rip me to pieces the second he saw me if I woke him up today.

He'd never seen Kikyo as a little girl, after all.

He probably wouldn't see the likeness between us, if I woke him up so soon.

For some reason I couldn't name, that realization made me sad.

Keiko and I stared at him for what felt like an hour. Eventually she shifted so she could look at me, hand resting warm and gentle on my shoulder.

"You OK?" she asked.

By the look on her face, that was a loaded question. It always was with her. And truth be told, I deserved a loaded question just then. I'd just stared my destiny in the face, after all—and I'd just glimpsed the face that, per whim of the anime, I was supposed to love. Because he loved the woman I'd been reincarnated from…only, I wasn't that woman, was I? I was from another world entirely. I wasn't Kikyo reborn, like the real Kagome had been. I was someone else.

…right?

Questions cluttered my mind like trash on a beach: What if I could never love Inuyasha? Who—or what—was I? What would happen to this world, and the future Keiko lived in, if I didn't act just like Kagome was supposed to? What would happen if—?

Oh, shut up, brain! Who the hell asked you for your input?!

Keiko had wrestled with these thoughts and questions. She was farther along in her plot than me, though, and maybe I didn't have to think about it until I was as far along as her. I didn't like the idea of stressing myself out by waxing needlessly philosophical (not when I had Keiko around to do that for me).

With a deep breath of warm summer air, I banished my questions and all that they implied. I smiled as brightly as the blue sky overhead and tossed my thick black hair.

"I'm fine—just peachy," I said with a cheerful wink. "Now go touch on the dog-boy's ears for me, eh? I expect a detailed report of their softness and elasticity!"

Keiko snorted. "No freakin' way, Tigger. I'll let you have that honor when it's time."

"Aww, but Eeyore! I'm impatient!" I grabbed her around the waist and sagged, putting my whole weight on her. Her knees buckled; she grunted, quipping that my ass must be as dense as my head as I damn near dragged her to the ground. "Please? Pleeease? Just one little rub-a-dub? One little scritchy-scratch?"

"Not on your life!" She fought to drag me off of her before collapsing to the grass with a helpless giggle. "That's your shtick, not mine!"

We bickered over whether or not giving Inuyasha an ear scratching was a good idea for a few minutes—long enough for me to forget my questions. For the time being, at least. Something told me they'd be back soon.

I'm not as anxious as Eeyore, but even my sunny disposition has its cloudy days.

NOTES:

Keeping chapters short so I can release them quickly. Wrote this today on my lunch break!

Next chapter: plot.

WOWZA, guys. STUNNED by the reaction to this. A number of you had asked for more about Kagome, but I didn't realize this many people were interested! Many thanks to all the followers and favers, but extra special gratitude to those who left a review: Britney case 3, Freaky Shannon-igans, EmmieSauce, Guest, HikariYamino, Counting Sinful Stars, Yinrii, ahyeon, xenocanaan, rya-fire1, Reebajee, buzzk97, sousie, JollyLoser, Nameless Angel 00.