Kikyo's Journey
By: Ice
~ The Birth of a Great Priestess ~
Let's start from the beginning…
I was born into a pretty normal family. My father was your average farmer; he had some land, and the gods have been good to him. Every year, the harvest has been plentiful. My father had grown up in a small village near the coast, which was where his parents had abandoned him. When he was younger, my father had been a great warrior, known for his excellent aim with the bow and arrow. People praised him wherever he went.
After the war was over, my father fell in love with my mother, a priestess at the village shrine. No one would wonder why he fell in love with the miko. She was the epitome of gracefulness. She greeted everyone with a smile, whether friend or foe. But what attracted people the most was that she was beautiful. She had the perfect skin, no blemishes whatsoever. Her eyes sparkled like precious jewels. All the women praised her beauty; all the men loved her charm and good looks. Anyways, my father tried to court her, but she thought he was the most annoying person in the world and continued to ignore him.
Then, one day, a storm came. (No da.) It destroyed most of the homes in the tiny village, including the shrine. When my father reached the ruined shrine, he found my mother crying for help. My grandfather had been squashed (well, more like crushed) by a wooden pillar. With my father's help, they were able to get my grandfather out of the rubble and treat his wounds. My mother thanked my father, and once again he asked her to marry him. She said no. However, my grandfather, overhearing his proposal, immediately ordered them to be wed, after all, that man had helped save his life! So that was how my parents got together.
At first, my mother hated her predicament. She did her best to avoid my father, but it never worked. My father did his best to please her by giving her beautiful jewels, bracelets, kimonos, and other expensive gifts even though he was just a farmer. Eventually, my mother gave in, or I believed she did, otherwise, how did I come into existence? When I was younger, I would ask if my mother loved my father. She would always reply with a smile and answer "yes." Then I would ask how she came to love him. Her response always puzzled me for the longest time, until now. This is what she said: "He has proven to me that he loves me with all his heart." Strange, so simple a statement, yet I could not understand it. Honestly, I didn't get it.
After about one year after their marriage, my brother was born. My father and mother held a feast, a celebration. It lasted for days, even though my father was not wealthy; he was overjoyed over his first child, a male child. My older brother was named Renjiro, meaning, "clean, upright, and honest." My parents wished for him to grow up to be a righteous man, a man able to be trusted. He need not be strong, he must be trustworthy. Renjiro grew up to be a great man in our village. Not only was he strong, he was also very wise, and accumulated much knowledge through reading and observing others.
When Renjiro was five years old, my mother gave birth to me. She named me "Kikyo" meaning "bellflower", for on that day, Renjiro had brought back fresh bellflowers from who-knows-where. Anyhow, my brother immediately rushed outside and told his friends that he was a big brother now. Again, my parents held a great party for my birth. It was not as extravagant as my brother's, but it was still a great celebration that lasted several days. On the last day of the celebration, my mother took me to the local shrine to present me to my grandfather, a priest. My grandfather told her that I would become a great priestess that would bring much happiness and sorrow. He told my mother to protect me, for I would become an important character in the future.
Because of my grandfather's words, my mother had always treasured me, and whenever I fell or got a small scratch, she would frantically pick me up and rush me into the house, not letting me set foot outside for a few days. As a result of the love and overprotection, I was isolated from the rest of the children of the village. This really hurt me one day when I was about four years old. I saw some children outside; they were playing tag. I came up to them and asked if I could play. Immediately, all the children walked away from me, whispering to each other, "Who is that?" "Where is she from?" "Mommy says there are children spies from the other side." "So she must be one of them." "Look at her, she's so pale!" "She must be a ghost…" At that I froze where I was standing, and I started to cry.
I will never forget what happened next. A little girl about my age ran up to me and handed me a handkerchief. She said to me, "Don't cry. I'll be your friend." I looked up at her with a teary face. She smiled back at me and told me that her name was Yuki and the other children were her brothers and sisters. (Yuki was the sixth out of the seven children in her family.) Her other siblings came up to me, and each of them introduced themselves. The oldest was Ichiro. He was nine years old, just like Renjiro. Next was Hana, who was eight. Then came Takeshi, who I would never forget. He took off one of the two bracelets on his hand and gave it to me, saying, "Here's a gift for you." I looked at the bracelet. It was crudely made of braided brown threads with two red beads two ends. Although it wasn't too pretty, I loved it and thanked him for his gift. At that time Takeshi was seven years old. Yuki then introduced her other two sisters, who were twins. One was named Kiku, and the other, Nana. Kiku had long hair, but Nana had cut hers short. Both of them were six years old.
That day I met six other children, who became my childhood friends: Ichiro, Hana, Takeshi, Kiku, Nana, and Yuki. When I was five years old, my mother brought me to the temple to begin my training as a priestess.
Next chapter:
A mysterious creature people called "inu".
By: Ice
~ The Birth of a Great Priestess ~
Let's start from the beginning…
I was born into a pretty normal family. My father was your average farmer; he had some land, and the gods have been good to him. Every year, the harvest has been plentiful. My father had grown up in a small village near the coast, which was where his parents had abandoned him. When he was younger, my father had been a great warrior, known for his excellent aim with the bow and arrow. People praised him wherever he went.
After the war was over, my father fell in love with my mother, a priestess at the village shrine. No one would wonder why he fell in love with the miko. She was the epitome of gracefulness. She greeted everyone with a smile, whether friend or foe. But what attracted people the most was that she was beautiful. She had the perfect skin, no blemishes whatsoever. Her eyes sparkled like precious jewels. All the women praised her beauty; all the men loved her charm and good looks. Anyways, my father tried to court her, but she thought he was the most annoying person in the world and continued to ignore him.
Then, one day, a storm came. (No da.) It destroyed most of the homes in the tiny village, including the shrine. When my father reached the ruined shrine, he found my mother crying for help. My grandfather had been squashed (well, more like crushed) by a wooden pillar. With my father's help, they were able to get my grandfather out of the rubble and treat his wounds. My mother thanked my father, and once again he asked her to marry him. She said no. However, my grandfather, overhearing his proposal, immediately ordered them to be wed, after all, that man had helped save his life! So that was how my parents got together.
At first, my mother hated her predicament. She did her best to avoid my father, but it never worked. My father did his best to please her by giving her beautiful jewels, bracelets, kimonos, and other expensive gifts even though he was just a farmer. Eventually, my mother gave in, or I believed she did, otherwise, how did I come into existence? When I was younger, I would ask if my mother loved my father. She would always reply with a smile and answer "yes." Then I would ask how she came to love him. Her response always puzzled me for the longest time, until now. This is what she said: "He has proven to me that he loves me with all his heart." Strange, so simple a statement, yet I could not understand it. Honestly, I didn't get it.
After about one year after their marriage, my brother was born. My father and mother held a feast, a celebration. It lasted for days, even though my father was not wealthy; he was overjoyed over his first child, a male child. My older brother was named Renjiro, meaning, "clean, upright, and honest." My parents wished for him to grow up to be a righteous man, a man able to be trusted. He need not be strong, he must be trustworthy. Renjiro grew up to be a great man in our village. Not only was he strong, he was also very wise, and accumulated much knowledge through reading and observing others.
When Renjiro was five years old, my mother gave birth to me. She named me "Kikyo" meaning "bellflower", for on that day, Renjiro had brought back fresh bellflowers from who-knows-where. Anyhow, my brother immediately rushed outside and told his friends that he was a big brother now. Again, my parents held a great party for my birth. It was not as extravagant as my brother's, but it was still a great celebration that lasted several days. On the last day of the celebration, my mother took me to the local shrine to present me to my grandfather, a priest. My grandfather told her that I would become a great priestess that would bring much happiness and sorrow. He told my mother to protect me, for I would become an important character in the future.
Because of my grandfather's words, my mother had always treasured me, and whenever I fell or got a small scratch, she would frantically pick me up and rush me into the house, not letting me set foot outside for a few days. As a result of the love and overprotection, I was isolated from the rest of the children of the village. This really hurt me one day when I was about four years old. I saw some children outside; they were playing tag. I came up to them and asked if I could play. Immediately, all the children walked away from me, whispering to each other, "Who is that?" "Where is she from?" "Mommy says there are children spies from the other side." "So she must be one of them." "Look at her, she's so pale!" "She must be a ghost…" At that I froze where I was standing, and I started to cry.
I will never forget what happened next. A little girl about my age ran up to me and handed me a handkerchief. She said to me, "Don't cry. I'll be your friend." I looked up at her with a teary face. She smiled back at me and told me that her name was Yuki and the other children were her brothers and sisters. (Yuki was the sixth out of the seven children in her family.) Her other siblings came up to me, and each of them introduced themselves. The oldest was Ichiro. He was nine years old, just like Renjiro. Next was Hana, who was eight. Then came Takeshi, who I would never forget. He took off one of the two bracelets on his hand and gave it to me, saying, "Here's a gift for you." I looked at the bracelet. It was crudely made of braided brown threads with two red beads two ends. Although it wasn't too pretty, I loved it and thanked him for his gift. At that time Takeshi was seven years old. Yuki then introduced her other two sisters, who were twins. One was named Kiku, and the other, Nana. Kiku had long hair, but Nana had cut hers short. Both of them were six years old.
That day I met six other children, who became my childhood friends: Ichiro, Hana, Takeshi, Kiku, Nana, and Yuki. When I was five years old, my mother brought me to the temple to begin my training as a priestess.
Next chapter:
A mysterious creature people called "inu".