Ch. 4
A Heavy Burden
They started coming almost immediately. The night after the slayers had gone, the first of the monsters had tried to sneak into Kikyo's own room. It was a serpent that tried to strangle her as she slept. But her sixth sense had awakened her in time to grab her dagger and stab it. It tried to slither away, but he took an arrow from her quiver and stabbed it again, slicing it in two. She never wore the Jewel after that. The following morning, she spoke with the elder monk, and they had a special shrine bult to house the Jewel, a stand in the center of the room held the Jewel, and many of the archer priests surrounded the building. And Kikyo moved her meager belongings to rooms that were much closer to the miniature shrine, that she might also guard it closely.
When she was not guarding the Jewel's shrine, she was going about the village, patrolling the boarders of the village or attending the sick and injured. As she walked about, many who she had known would stare. Men mostly, for they found her desirable. More men, young and old, came seeking her favor during that first year of protecting the Jewel. Most nobles and warriors only did so to try and take the Jewel, but she was too intelligent to fall for their hollow flattery. They cared not for her…only the Shikon no Tama…and they felt not love, but lust.
The women of the village, however, were somewhat divided. Some remembered her as the kind, sweet Kikyo they had known or that they remembered with her mother and father, who were kind and respectable people. Other women envied her, saying she was too beautiful, and spread rumors about her that she was a witch and used spells to make herself beautiful, that she hungered for men and that was why she lived in the shrine with so many of them, that she herself wanted the Jewel to use it for her own purposes. And others still simply feared her and never spoke to her.
Then, there were the children. The children alone were not afraid of her. They did not run when she drew near, nor did they say hurtful things about her. They all knew she was a kind woman, and often asked if they could help her in things like gathering herbs or keeping Keade safe while she was patrolling. These children were her sister's friends, and Kikyo found them a joy. But it also reminded her of what she could not have as the keeper of The Sacred Jewel. She could not have her own children, to love and watch grow. She looked about at her old childhood companions and saw them either getting married and having children. She would sometimes wish to throw off the shackles of the Shikon Jewel.
But she herself had chosen this life.
Two years passed. One day, Kikyo was chasing a kappa away from the village. She ran after the wretched creature, using her powers to keep up with it's speed. She stopped when she was in the forest, near the bone eaters well. Perfect. She got her bow, took an arrow, and aimed. She lined it up…just right. She released it! It flew through the trees, chasing it's prey. She heard the 'thwonk' of the arrow hitting the kappa in the back. As she went to retrieve the arrow and collect the bones to throw into the dry well, she looked over to the largest tree in the forest. A tree she knew well, for when she was a child she would seek it and sit under it's boughs in summer. What she saw now, at first glance, appeared to be a young man, around her own age. He was asleep, and wore a red kimono. But then she had a closer look. He had white hair and…the ears of a dog. His hands, which lay on his stomach as he slumbered, were clawed. A dog demon. No, a true creature would have taken total human form. This one was obviously a half breed. And more than likely after the Jewel, to make complete it's power. She got another arrow and prepared to kill it, but then, as she aimed, she looked at his face. So peaceful…so…handsome. She felt so strange. He was an evil thing, and would take the Jewel if she let it live. She had to do her duty. But she found she could not. She could not kill this sleeping boy. She lowered her bow and arrow. She turned, gathered up the bones of the kappa, and proceeded to the well.
"You are fortunate, half breed," she said quietly. "But if you venture into my village, you will not be."
A Heavy Burden
They started coming almost immediately. The night after the slayers had gone, the first of the monsters had tried to sneak into Kikyo's own room. It was a serpent that tried to strangle her as she slept. But her sixth sense had awakened her in time to grab her dagger and stab it. It tried to slither away, but he took an arrow from her quiver and stabbed it again, slicing it in two. She never wore the Jewel after that. The following morning, she spoke with the elder monk, and they had a special shrine bult to house the Jewel, a stand in the center of the room held the Jewel, and many of the archer priests surrounded the building. And Kikyo moved her meager belongings to rooms that were much closer to the miniature shrine, that she might also guard it closely.
When she was not guarding the Jewel's shrine, she was going about the village, patrolling the boarders of the village or attending the sick and injured. As she walked about, many who she had known would stare. Men mostly, for they found her desirable. More men, young and old, came seeking her favor during that first year of protecting the Jewel. Most nobles and warriors only did so to try and take the Jewel, but she was too intelligent to fall for their hollow flattery. They cared not for her…only the Shikon no Tama…and they felt not love, but lust.
The women of the village, however, were somewhat divided. Some remembered her as the kind, sweet Kikyo they had known or that they remembered with her mother and father, who were kind and respectable people. Other women envied her, saying she was too beautiful, and spread rumors about her that she was a witch and used spells to make herself beautiful, that she hungered for men and that was why she lived in the shrine with so many of them, that she herself wanted the Jewel to use it for her own purposes. And others still simply feared her and never spoke to her.
Then, there were the children. The children alone were not afraid of her. They did not run when she drew near, nor did they say hurtful things about her. They all knew she was a kind woman, and often asked if they could help her in things like gathering herbs or keeping Keade safe while she was patrolling. These children were her sister's friends, and Kikyo found them a joy. But it also reminded her of what she could not have as the keeper of The Sacred Jewel. She could not have her own children, to love and watch grow. She looked about at her old childhood companions and saw them either getting married and having children. She would sometimes wish to throw off the shackles of the Shikon Jewel.
But she herself had chosen this life.
Two years passed. One day, Kikyo was chasing a kappa away from the village. She ran after the wretched creature, using her powers to keep up with it's speed. She stopped when she was in the forest, near the bone eaters well. Perfect. She got her bow, took an arrow, and aimed. She lined it up…just right. She released it! It flew through the trees, chasing it's prey. She heard the 'thwonk' of the arrow hitting the kappa in the back. As she went to retrieve the arrow and collect the bones to throw into the dry well, she looked over to the largest tree in the forest. A tree she knew well, for when she was a child she would seek it and sit under it's boughs in summer. What she saw now, at first glance, appeared to be a young man, around her own age. He was asleep, and wore a red kimono. But then she had a closer look. He had white hair and…the ears of a dog. His hands, which lay on his stomach as he slumbered, were clawed. A dog demon. No, a true creature would have taken total human form. This one was obviously a half breed. And more than likely after the Jewel, to make complete it's power. She got another arrow and prepared to kill it, but then, as she aimed, she looked at his face. So peaceful…so…handsome. She felt so strange. He was an evil thing, and would take the Jewel if she let it live. She had to do her duty. But she found she could not. She could not kill this sleeping boy. She lowered her bow and arrow. She turned, gathered up the bones of the kappa, and proceeded to the well.
"You are fortunate, half breed," she said quietly. "But if you venture into my village, you will not be."