Kikyou walked out of the hut at sunrise the to see that spring was soon to begin. The sight of this made her heart feel light and she would soon be unnoticed by the busy villagers. She would not have to be asked about her blizzard accident nor about Inuyasha, the half-demon that had saved her life for a mysterious reason. With a smile, she looked into the hut to see Kaede roll over beneath her covers.
"She is well, that is good. I know not what I would do should I lose little Kaede." She said to herself as she closed the door to the hut then proceeded to the shrine on the hill to check on the Shikon no Tama.
"Good morning, Lady Kikyou. I'm pleased to see you're well." A man said as Kikyou passed.
Kikyou bowed to him and continued on, going up the steps to the shrine. When she made it to the shrine and she stood before the Shikon no Tama and its eerie glow, an unfamiliar voice came into her head. The jewel should not be here, no one can watch the jewel if it remains here. There is an extra room in the hut; perhaps the jewel could go there.
"No…this shrine is the best place for this. I am immune to your dark power, jewel of four souls."
With that, she left the shrine and returned to the hut to see Kaede awake and drinking tea merrily. Kaede gave Kikyou a big smile and a bow over her teacup and Kikyou shook her head in reply.
"Sister Kikyou, you work too hard. If you are not careful, you shall fall ill." Kaede complained.
"I have very little to do today, Kaede." She smiled at her sister who crossed her arms in disbelief. "My only chore today is to take care of the traveler in the cave and any villager that calls for me. If I am not called for, I am free for the day."
Kaede slacked up and rested her arms to her sides and Kikyou walked out. Kikyou picked up her things on the step and made her way to the forest thinking about the little white lie she had told Kaede. Yes, she did only have to treat Onigumo and any villager that called her but she also wished to find Inuyasha and find out about why he had saved her and if he knew what had killed Shin.
Onigumo's treatment went as they normally do. Kikyou fed him, changed his bandages, added more herbs to his wounds, and started a fire for him to keep warm by. Onigumo did ask what had happened but Kikyou stated that there was nothing for him to worry about and that he should focus on healing. With a sigh, she left the cave and walked into the woods. She gazed up into the trees and in as many directions as the dense forest would allow.
"What are you doing here?" Inuyasha's familiar voice came from behind a tree to her left.
"Why did you save me, Inuyasha?" Kikyou asked plainly.
"I didn't want your body stinking up my forest." He said grumpily.
Kikyou bowed in his direction.
"Do you know what happened to a small boy named Shin?"
"Shin? Never heard of him."
Kikyou took this defiant tone as a hint that, even if he did know, he would never tell. She sighed in frustration then walked back to the village. Perhaps he did that to himself out of sadness or some other strong emotion. She shook her head and ran into the village, desperate to clear her head.
Inuyasha stepped from behind the tree and stared in the direction she had ran.
"Kikyou…" He closed his eyes.
Inuyasha walked along the trail and watched as Kikyou walked up the stone steps and vanished behind a set of houses. Something in him felt as though it had been ripped out with the force of his Iron Reaver attack. In utter frustration, he slammed his hand into a tree to his right and caused it to lean sideways.
"What is wrong with me?"
Kikyou continued her work as the clouds rolled in and marked the beginning of a soggy spring. Kikyou spent the evening with Kaede only to wake up the next day to see that Kaede caught a small chill over night; this kept Kikyou busier than she had liked for a few days. Due to the unexpected rains, most of the men that had to work in the fields were falling ill as well. With their feet in water all the time, they started to place wood planks along the rows as an aide, but it did very little.
Kikyou moved from house to house, consecutively returning to her hut at the shrine steps for supplies as well as to check on Kaede. Fortunately for Kikyou, she was in the village where the water level was low in the streets so she managed to walk carefully through, treating, with little worry of falling ill. With a heavy sack over her shoulder filled with herbs, water, rags, and several mixing bowls and grinding stones-as well as a few cups-Kikyou continued her job.
"Take that warm and two times each day and rest. You have earned time off." Kikyou said sweetly to a man and she walked out into the rain, her woven hat drenched and drooping. "What a day this has become."
Kikyou walked back to the hut, the rain not ceasing, and gathered her things. Kaede turned her head weakly in Kikyou's direction and opened her mouth to speak but, instead of words, a series of coughs came. Kikyou turned around quickly and went to Kaede's side with some water and some hops herb to help with her cough.
"Sister…Kikyou…" Kaede coughed.
Kikyou placed one hand beneath Kaede and raised her slightly and encouraged her to drink up. Kaede tried but had difficulty breathing. Kikyou took the cup away and began work on extracting oils from horseradish.
"Sister Kik…you…" Kaede heaved, "Ah yu leaving be?"
Kikyou turned to her sister and smiled.
"No, little sister, I am not. I must go in a while to see that man and treat him. So you will be alone for a little while."
Kaede rested her head back on her pillow and watched as Kikyou began to pour fluid from the small pot into a vial. Kikyou did this several times before coming to Kaede with one of the vials. She wasted no time in sliding Kaede's covers and opening part of her sister's gi. Pouring some of the oil into her hand, she rubbed it on her sister's chest in hopes that it would aide her sister in breathing.
"There you are…let us hope that it shall aide you." Kikyou said with a smile, placing a cork on the vial and setting it to the side.
She rose to her feet and finished packing the supplies and went to the door. With one last smile to her little sister, Kikyou tipped her woven hat and walked into the downpour. Through the village, down the steps, past the fields that was now empty of life, and onto the forest path. The water levels in the forest varied due to the somewhat hilly ground that it rested upon. Kikyou found herself jumping over large puddles and small waterways that could have been mistaken for small ponds and rivers.
She hurried along the path as fast as she could without falling into a puddle and, just as she was nearing the end, Inuyasha dropped down in her path. She stopped quickly, slipping slightly on the grassy path, and stared at him.
Inuyasha scanned her carefully with his golden eyes. He looked at her pack for a few moments and sniffed, detecting the herbs with ease over the rain. Kikyou sighed, cleared her throat, and opened her mouth to speak, but Inuyasha beat her.
"Where do you think you're going, priestess?"
Kikyou closed her mouth and began again.
"Inuyasha, I have business to take care of and you are in my way. Please allow me to pass or I will be forced to," Kikyou was struck by a horrific realization. In her haste to help those who had fallen ill, she had left her bow and quiver of arrows in the hut. She, for the first time, had no weapon to force Inuyasha away.
"You'll be forced to what?" He said smugly as a small smirk crossed his lips as he sensed her sudden, but short, burst of fear.
"I will be forced to push my way through." Kikyou replied, regained dignity and courage in her voice.
"Well aren't we a big, strong priestess…" He said with an annoyed expression.
Kikyou walked forward and Inuyasha stepped to the side. She stopped in front of him and looked him in the face. He gazed at her for only a few moments before turning his head with a 'hmph!' as his only remark. She gave him a skeptical look and continued on toward the cave.
"Onigumo…are you well?" She spoke as she entered the mouth of the cave, removing her soaked hat and poncho.
A small groan was her reply and she went to work with a small fire and his treatment. The routine had become a lot easier since Onigumo had started trusting her and it took roughly thirty minutes before she was finished. She wished him well, placing more wood on the fire before leaving. Her sodden hat drooping slightly as she walked back out into the rain toward the village and to her hut to see Kaede.
"Sister…I feel better…could I get up?" Kaede wheezed.
Kikyou gave her a smile and shook her head. She sat the heavy sack of supplies down and began to take off her woven poncho when a man burst in the door, soaked and out of breath.
"Miko Kikyou!" He shouted forcing Kaede to cover her ears to prevent her head from throbbing.
"How may I assist you?" Kikyou said quickly, stopping what she was doing.
"My wife! It's my wife! She's having a baby!"
Kikyou's stomach lurched at the sound of this and quickly retied her poncho. She grabbed her bag of supplies and heaved a weary sigh. The man rushed out of the hut and Kikyou followed, splashing water with each step.
Meanwhile, deep in the woods, Inuyasha sat upon a branch beneath a set of branches that he had tied together to act as a shelter. His ears twitched as water dripped onto them. He shook his head and stared off into the distance.
"Something doesn't feel right." He said to himself, turning his head toward where Kikyou had wanted to go. "I can feel it…something is stirring."
He sat there for a moment when a scream caught his ears. He turned to the village and dashed down the tree and along the path to the village. The fields were empty and the rain showed no sign of letting up. Inuyasha dove up the stairs and onto a roof and moved roof to roof in search of the sound when he heard the distinct coughing noise of a small child. He stopped quickly, slipping on the straw roof covering, and listened.
The woman's cries were softer as whatever torture she was being put through was slowly passing but the child coughed again and again. With each cough, the child heaved for breath and strained yet another series of coughs. He jumped onto the roof of a hut at the base of the shrine steps to listen when something pulsed through him.
~The jewel…get the jewel…Inuyasha…~ A voice echoed in his head.
Inuyasha turned to the stairs and gazed up them. The jewel was up there and he could easily take it without too much of a skirmish. His eyes narrowed and he took a step toward the steps when the child coughed again, snapping him out of his trance.
He shook his head and hung off of the roof, carefully dropping down to the wet ground and slipping through the door. With a soft thud, he slid the door closed and looked for the sick child. There, lying beneath a heavy layer of covers was a girl with black hair and pale skin. He walked to her side and knelt, moving the covers down from her nose with one cold hand.
He rested his hand on her forehead gently to see that she was burning with fever. He looked around the room for a rag of some sort but his eyes caught sight of a white sash. He moved quickly and picked it up, catching the scent of Kikyou and ducking for safety but heard no one coming. It was then that he realized exactly where he was. He was inside Kikyou's hut. But the girl, he thought, walking back to the door and soaking the sash with the drippings from the house.
He rested the sash on her forehead and looked as the child heaved for breath.
"Where is Kikyou?" He whispered, glancing outside at the darkening day.
Kikyou wiped her brow and gathered her things giving several bows to the man and woman as she was constantly thanked. She had been on her feet all day and was in need of food as well as rest. She stepped outside of the warm house and felt a chill go up her spine as the wind found its way up her sleeve from beneath her poncho.
She walked along the soggy streets and back to her hut, her body aching from fatigue. As she placed her hand on the door, a strange feeling came over her. Her body wanted to have the bow with it. It was her home, why would she have a sudden urge to battle, she asked herself. Something was not right. She took her hand from the door and put her sack down quietly.
She looked around and her eyes gazed upon a strange set of puddles that were by the step. She looked at them carefully and identified them as someone else's footprints and not her own. Kikyou pressed her back to the wall and placed her right hand on the door, ready to open it quickly. With a silent but deep breath, she pushed on the door, sliding it open with a loud thud. There was a sound of quick movement but when she entered, only Kaede remained, a wet sash resting neatly on her forehead.
Kikyou dashed to her bow and quiver and stood ready, moving back to Kaede to defend her. She turned around, looking in all directions for whoever had entered. Her back to the door, a thud and the sound of someone moving caught her attention and she spun around and fired, only to knick the doorway.
Kaede opened her eyes to see Kikyou walking to the door, bow clutched in her hands.
"Sister?"
Kikyou spun around and looked at her sister without a smile, but a serious expression that would send chills up a man's spine. Determination burned in her eyes, someone had entered the hut without being invited and she did not take too kindly to the thought that someone could have harmed her sister.
"Stay in bed, Kaede. This is a request from me as your older sister." She stated quickly. Kaede nodded and Kikyou gave a small smile before dashing out the door and toward the forest. Only one person could move that quickly without stirring attention and that was Inuyasha.
Inuyasha walked along the path, assured that he had not been seen nor suspected and he stretched his arms. He thought back to that strange voice he had heard and that stopped him in his tracks. Someone was telling him to steal the jewel in broad daylight.
"No," He quickly stated to himself, "I was telling myself to steal the jewel in broad daylight."
The sound of someone running came from behind and he turned to see Kikyou, a few feet away with an arrow held against the string of her lowered bow. He looked at her and saw it in her eyes. She knew he had been in her hut.
"Why?" She said, her tone stern yet, somewhat, soft. "Why did you help my sister?"
He looked at her with his normal annoyed expression and cocked his head to the side.
"What are you babbling about, priestess?"
She stared at him and dropped the arrow.
"I…you have my thanks…"She turned away and put her arm between the bow and the string and began to walk off.
"Yeah…well…whatever! Just remember, I will…" Inuyasha stopped himself and turned away.
"You will…?" Kikyou looked back at him.
"I'll…just leave me alone!"
He jumped into the trees and vanished from sight. Kikyou walked back home and worked on Kaede all night long, passing out as the dark sky grew light. The clouds had not left but the rain had stopped and the men were back to work. Kaede had recovered from her fever and was held only by her cough. She looked to see her sister lying against the wall, sleeping soundly.
"Thank you, big sister…" She whispered before getting up and changing.
The day was filled with occasional showers and, as the days went on, the sky cleared and spring began anew. Birds sang loudly and flowers began to blossom. The sun had pierced through the clouds by midday and Kikyou found that, the sound of children playing, cheered her up. Sunset cast an orange, red glow onto the land and Kikyou sat in the meadow watching the trees sway. A noise came from the forest behind her and she smiled.
"Would you care to join me? Or do you prefer to hide from me, Inuyasha?" She stated and Inuyasha hopped down to her side, keeping a few feet away for safety.
Kikyou had set her bow and quiver to her right, opposite of Inuyasha, in an attempt to not be a threat. He looked her over carefully, a skeptical, suspecting look on his face.
"What are you up to?" He said smugly.
"I merely desired to speak with you. Is that wrong of me?" She asked gently.
"You're up to something…I know it."
There was a moment of silence. Inuyasha stared at her and she looked at him and gave a small smile.
"Please, Inuyasha, will you not relax?"
He gave an annoyed groan and sat Indian style with his hands in his gi.
"What do you want, priestess?" He asked with an annoyed tone. "Why haven't you killed me yet?"
"You…interest me, Inuyasha." She said softly, looking ahead.
He passed her a disbelieving glance.
"You're how old?"
"I have seventeen years behind me…eighteen come summer." She smiled. "And you, Inuyasha?"
He went silent and avoided the question.
"Why do I 'interest' you?"
She looked up to the sky for a moment.
"Because…you are so different from the other demons that I have encountered. You are unique and I suppose that since I too am different, I found hope in you." He stared at her then looked down at the grass. Kikyou looked at him gently. "What about you, Inuyasha? Why have you been so nice to me these past months?"
"I don't know." He said bluntly making Kikyou smile. "Maybe for the same reasons as you. I've always been treated as dirt because of…my blood." Kikyou listened seriously. "My mother, she was human, was very nice and generous and she would defend me whenever the villagers would be mean. I just wish I hadn't been such a burden." He looked to her seriously and his eyes met Kikyou's. "That is why I want the jewel. To become a full demon and teach them a lesson."
"Is that so, Inuyasha? Do you think that would be wise?" She said softly.
"Huh?"
"Inuyasha, would you like to hear what I believe?" She asked.
He looked at her.
"I guess..." He replied, his mind stating 'like I have a choice?'
"I do not believe that your mother would be pleased with you killing people because of her." She stated, Inuyasha looked at her like she was crazy.
"Uh…priestess…my mother is dead."
"Her body may be but her soul lives on, Inuyasha. She is with you everywhere you go. Killing for her will do nothing."
Inuyasha sat in silence. Kikyou sighed to relieve the building nervousness that was within her.
"So…I have nothing better to live for…"
"Have you ever looked?" She said quickly, her heart leaping from the shock of her outburst.
Inuyasha looked at her. His eyes took in her every detail and he began to blush. She turned her head to him and asked what ailed him and he jumped, turning his head to the sky with a 'nothing'.
"I hope to see more of you…" She said as she rose to her feet.
Inuyasha looked up at her then stood up.
"Does this mean you invite me into the village?"
She smiled and picked up her bow and quiver, watching to see if he went defensive.
"Yes…I invite you into our village. You are welcome as long as you do not harm the people…or try to steal the jewel." She quickly added and walked off.
Inuyasha watched her leave and something inside him felt warm. A smile found its way to his lips and he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Maybe…there is a chance that I'm not just a half-breed after all." He said with a grin and dove into the brush that was his forest home, Kikyou's words echoing in his head.
