AN: Hey y'all. This is the last chapter of this mini fic.
Ch 6
Forget My Fate
Their meetings went much like that for a while. They would meet for lunch under the tree in the forest. After some time of just eating in silence, Inu-yasha would tell her parts of his life. That his father was a phantom beast of the western lands, and that his older brother hated him for being a half breed. He would not speak of his mother, or her family. So Kikyo spoke of her family, of her parents, and sister. About Sonoa and her early years at the shrine.
In time, as Kikyo patrolled the village boarders, Inu-yasha would go with her. They would slay demons that tried to take the Jewel together. As she got to see the gentleness behind his growls and snarls, Kikyo began to fall in love with Inu-yasha. The only thing that held her back was…and this made her ashamed of herself…was his demon blood. So she never spoke of her feelings to him. Never said how she felt.
One day, near mid summer, she was on her way to meet inu-yasha for lunch, and Keade was nearby, when they saw smoke in the distance.
"Sister, what-?"
"It could be bandits," Kikyo said. "Get the priests, now! I must get my medicines."
"But what about your friend?" the child asked.
"He will understand!" Kikyo said as she rushed in the shrine to get her medicines. When she and the priests arrived, they saw a family huddled outside a hut. They were coughing, and the children were crying. The woman saw the approaching priests and priestess, and ran to them.
"We were attacked by bandits!" she cried. "One is still inside! His companions fled when they set the fire!"
"Let him rot!" yelled the eldest boy.
Kikyo got off her horse and covered her head with a scarf as she ran inside the hut, the others shouting for her to stop. As she burst through the door, she used her sleeve to cover her mouth, until she saw the man on the floor. He was unconscious, and obviously badly burned. She went to him, held her breath, and put one of his burned arms over her shoulder. Then, dodging flames and falling lumber she managed to drag him out of the house. The other monks surrounded her as she dropped the man on the ground. He was barely breathing, but he still lived.
"We must treat his wounds now, Lady Kikyo."
"Is there any place we can take him?" Kikyo asked the family.
"There is a cave, over in the clearing," the mother said as she clutched her children. "But why save him? He would have killed us!"
"I will not let a man die because of his poorly chosen way of life," Kikyo told her. She and the monks carried him to the cave, and went to and from a nearby stream with wet bandages to cool him down. Kikyo applied many salves and ointments to the bandit, and gave him herbs mixed with tea and broth. After many hours, he lay breathing normally again. As Kikyo sat above him, applying more bandages to his burned head and face, his eyes opened. She looked down into his dark eyes. She tired harder not to be sickened by the smell of burnt flesh and hair.
As the eyes looked up at her, his burned lips cracked open, and he breathed in deed before he croaked out, "Who…are…you?"
"I am Kikyo the Priestess," she replied.
"You…saved me from…the flames…"
"Yes." she said, as she put the left over bandages away.
"I…I am…Onigumo…" his cracked voice said.
"Lie still and do not strain your voice," Kikyo told Onigumo. "And drink more of this," she said holding another cup of medicinal tea to his lips.
She and the priests stayed there, to see if he would live through the night. He did. Kikyo would have stayed to care for him, but the priests made her return to the shrine to get some rest and change into new robes, for hers were burned in places and had blood, medicine, and other stains on them. When she returned, her sister greeted her with many questions about what had happened, and if she was alright. Kikyo told her about the burned man, and that she needed to go back and care for him.
"Let me help you, sister," Keade said.
"You are not ready, Keade. You may find the sight disturbing."
"I am not afraid, sister. I will go." the child said.
"Alright, but only to help bring more cool bandages," Kikyo said. Later, when she had changed, she was leaving for the cave when Inu-yasha jumped down from the roof.
"Where were you?" he asked her angrily. "I waited all day for you, then I came here. All the brat told me was that you were investigating a fire somewhere."
"A family was attacked by bandits," Kikyo said. "I still have business there. It will be at least another day before I can return again, Inu-yasha."
"Fine then, go off. See if I care." he said, turning to go.
"Inu-yasha, do not act like a child!" she said angrily. "I'm not abandoning you!"
"That ain't how it felt yesterday!" he shouted.
"You know I would never do that, Inu-yasha," Kikyo shouted back.
"Oh really? Why's that?"
"Because I love you, you fool!" she shouted. Then, she closed her mouth, and realized what she had said. Then, she realized that she spoke the truth.
Inu-yasha stared at her for too long before he spoke. "You…You love me?" he asked, shocked.
"I…" Kikyo was afraid of his answer. She had never feared much, not after she was given the Sacred Jewel. So she said, "I must go," and rushed off for her horse. She left him standing there, his mouth open in surprised and disbelief at her words.
Kikyo avoided Inu-yasha for a month. She managed this by going everyday to treat Onigumo's wounds. Sometimes, Keade would come, but only when Kikyo said she desperately needed the assistance, for Keade said that he made her feel strange. Not frightened, and yet still apprehensive. She did not like or trust him.
"He is harmless," Kikyo would tell her, but she felt the same as Keade. Though, she was still kind to him. What made her distrust him was that he would aske her questions about her life, and the Jewel. And he would look at her in a strange way. A way the made her blood run cold.
So it was a relief one day when Inu-yasha appeared at the shrine again. She was in the gardens when he came to her.
"I need to talk to you," he said. He took her hand, and led her to a raft-boat on the river. They got in, and started to talk.
"Why have you been avoiding me?" he asked her as he used the plank to push the boat up stream.
"I…I was afraid." she replied meekly.
"Afraid of what? You know I wouldn't hurt you." he said
"I…I was afraid of what you would say…about what I…" she didn't know how to say what she wanted to say. In her heart, she longed to know how he felt for her…What his intentions were… She gulped down her fears. "Have you been coming to me only…Only for the Jewel?" she asked him.
"What? Why would you think that?" he asked her.
"You sought it to become all demon," she said.
"That was- That was before I- Kikyo," he said, flustered, "Kikyo, I love you!"
She could not believe her ears. Had he said-? Did he really-?
"I've loved you for a long time," Inu-yasha confessed. "But I thought that you wouldn't have me. Then, when you said you loved me…I was…I hoped you were telling the truth. Then, when I didn't see you…" he stopped talking and led the boat to shore. "Is there anyway that you would…take me as your husband?" he asked her.
"There is," she said. She got up from the boat, and walked towards him on the shore. "The Jewel can be used to make you all Human…If you are willing. If you-" but then she tripped on a log in the raft-boat, but she didn't fall. She looked up, and saw Inu-yasha's face. He had caught her in his arms. They both blushed before he answered her.
"Yes," he said. "Yes, I will become a human for you." She was crying as he said these words, for she knew they were true. She leaned up and kissed his lips. Then, he held her closer, and kissed her back. Nothing could express their joy. They pulled away moments later, and walked hand in hand back to the shrine.
"When…When do you want to meet?" he asked her. "For the transformation?"
"In a fortnight," she said. "I must prepare to become an ordinary woman, and take care of a few things first. Will you wait, my love?"
"I'd wait a lifetime for you," he said, brushing a stray strand from her face. This was more happiness than Kikyo had ever known. She was near tears with the wonderfulness of it.
They arrived at the shrine late in the day. He kissed her once more, briefly, before he went off into the forest. As she watched her dearest, her beloved Inu-yasha go, she touched her lips, still feeling the kiss from before.
"My heart has known sorrow for too long," she said to herself as she pushed back the tears of joy. "Perhaps now I will know peace…Perhaps now…I will know true happiness."
AN: I will not go on now. Since everyone knows Kikyo's fate after this. I would rather keep her here, feeling the joy of love, anyway. I ask only that those who hate Kikyo would read this, and understand her better. In both the show and my fic, she has known much sorrow, so she has no choice but to feel like she must carry it with her always.
P.S. I know she really didn't meet Onigumo this way, but they never said how her got burned, or the specifics about how she came to heal him, so I decided this was not only more heroic and noble on Kikyo's part, but meaner and crueler on Onigumo/Naraku's part.
Ch 6
Forget My Fate
Their meetings went much like that for a while. They would meet for lunch under the tree in the forest. After some time of just eating in silence, Inu-yasha would tell her parts of his life. That his father was a phantom beast of the western lands, and that his older brother hated him for being a half breed. He would not speak of his mother, or her family. So Kikyo spoke of her family, of her parents, and sister. About Sonoa and her early years at the shrine.
In time, as Kikyo patrolled the village boarders, Inu-yasha would go with her. They would slay demons that tried to take the Jewel together. As she got to see the gentleness behind his growls and snarls, Kikyo began to fall in love with Inu-yasha. The only thing that held her back was…and this made her ashamed of herself…was his demon blood. So she never spoke of her feelings to him. Never said how she felt.
One day, near mid summer, she was on her way to meet inu-yasha for lunch, and Keade was nearby, when they saw smoke in the distance.
"Sister, what-?"
"It could be bandits," Kikyo said. "Get the priests, now! I must get my medicines."
"But what about your friend?" the child asked.
"He will understand!" Kikyo said as she rushed in the shrine to get her medicines. When she and the priests arrived, they saw a family huddled outside a hut. They were coughing, and the children were crying. The woman saw the approaching priests and priestess, and ran to them.
"We were attacked by bandits!" she cried. "One is still inside! His companions fled when they set the fire!"
"Let him rot!" yelled the eldest boy.
Kikyo got off her horse and covered her head with a scarf as she ran inside the hut, the others shouting for her to stop. As she burst through the door, she used her sleeve to cover her mouth, until she saw the man on the floor. He was unconscious, and obviously badly burned. She went to him, held her breath, and put one of his burned arms over her shoulder. Then, dodging flames and falling lumber she managed to drag him out of the house. The other monks surrounded her as she dropped the man on the ground. He was barely breathing, but he still lived.
"We must treat his wounds now, Lady Kikyo."
"Is there any place we can take him?" Kikyo asked the family.
"There is a cave, over in the clearing," the mother said as she clutched her children. "But why save him? He would have killed us!"
"I will not let a man die because of his poorly chosen way of life," Kikyo told her. She and the monks carried him to the cave, and went to and from a nearby stream with wet bandages to cool him down. Kikyo applied many salves and ointments to the bandit, and gave him herbs mixed with tea and broth. After many hours, he lay breathing normally again. As Kikyo sat above him, applying more bandages to his burned head and face, his eyes opened. She looked down into his dark eyes. She tired harder not to be sickened by the smell of burnt flesh and hair.
As the eyes looked up at her, his burned lips cracked open, and he breathed in deed before he croaked out, "Who…are…you?"
"I am Kikyo the Priestess," she replied.
"You…saved me from…the flames…"
"Yes." she said, as she put the left over bandages away.
"I…I am…Onigumo…" his cracked voice said.
"Lie still and do not strain your voice," Kikyo told Onigumo. "And drink more of this," she said holding another cup of medicinal tea to his lips.
She and the priests stayed there, to see if he would live through the night. He did. Kikyo would have stayed to care for him, but the priests made her return to the shrine to get some rest and change into new robes, for hers were burned in places and had blood, medicine, and other stains on them. When she returned, her sister greeted her with many questions about what had happened, and if she was alright. Kikyo told her about the burned man, and that she needed to go back and care for him.
"Let me help you, sister," Keade said.
"You are not ready, Keade. You may find the sight disturbing."
"I am not afraid, sister. I will go." the child said.
"Alright, but only to help bring more cool bandages," Kikyo said. Later, when she had changed, she was leaving for the cave when Inu-yasha jumped down from the roof.
"Where were you?" he asked her angrily. "I waited all day for you, then I came here. All the brat told me was that you were investigating a fire somewhere."
"A family was attacked by bandits," Kikyo said. "I still have business there. It will be at least another day before I can return again, Inu-yasha."
"Fine then, go off. See if I care." he said, turning to go.
"Inu-yasha, do not act like a child!" she said angrily. "I'm not abandoning you!"
"That ain't how it felt yesterday!" he shouted.
"You know I would never do that, Inu-yasha," Kikyo shouted back.
"Oh really? Why's that?"
"Because I love you, you fool!" she shouted. Then, she closed her mouth, and realized what she had said. Then, she realized that she spoke the truth.
Inu-yasha stared at her for too long before he spoke. "You…You love me?" he asked, shocked.
"I…" Kikyo was afraid of his answer. She had never feared much, not after she was given the Sacred Jewel. So she said, "I must go," and rushed off for her horse. She left him standing there, his mouth open in surprised and disbelief at her words.
Kikyo avoided Inu-yasha for a month. She managed this by going everyday to treat Onigumo's wounds. Sometimes, Keade would come, but only when Kikyo said she desperately needed the assistance, for Keade said that he made her feel strange. Not frightened, and yet still apprehensive. She did not like or trust him.
"He is harmless," Kikyo would tell her, but she felt the same as Keade. Though, she was still kind to him. What made her distrust him was that he would aske her questions about her life, and the Jewel. And he would look at her in a strange way. A way the made her blood run cold.
So it was a relief one day when Inu-yasha appeared at the shrine again. She was in the gardens when he came to her.
"I need to talk to you," he said. He took her hand, and led her to a raft-boat on the river. They got in, and started to talk.
"Why have you been avoiding me?" he asked her as he used the plank to push the boat up stream.
"I…I was afraid." she replied meekly.
"Afraid of what? You know I wouldn't hurt you." he said
"I…I was afraid of what you would say…about what I…" she didn't know how to say what she wanted to say. In her heart, she longed to know how he felt for her…What his intentions were… She gulped down her fears. "Have you been coming to me only…Only for the Jewel?" she asked him.
"What? Why would you think that?" he asked her.
"You sought it to become all demon," she said.
"That was- That was before I- Kikyo," he said, flustered, "Kikyo, I love you!"
She could not believe her ears. Had he said-? Did he really-?
"I've loved you for a long time," Inu-yasha confessed. "But I thought that you wouldn't have me. Then, when you said you loved me…I was…I hoped you were telling the truth. Then, when I didn't see you…" he stopped talking and led the boat to shore. "Is there anyway that you would…take me as your husband?" he asked her.
"There is," she said. She got up from the boat, and walked towards him on the shore. "The Jewel can be used to make you all Human…If you are willing. If you-" but then she tripped on a log in the raft-boat, but she didn't fall. She looked up, and saw Inu-yasha's face. He had caught her in his arms. They both blushed before he answered her.
"Yes," he said. "Yes, I will become a human for you." She was crying as he said these words, for she knew they were true. She leaned up and kissed his lips. Then, he held her closer, and kissed her back. Nothing could express their joy. They pulled away moments later, and walked hand in hand back to the shrine.
"When…When do you want to meet?" he asked her. "For the transformation?"
"In a fortnight," she said. "I must prepare to become an ordinary woman, and take care of a few things first. Will you wait, my love?"
"I'd wait a lifetime for you," he said, brushing a stray strand from her face. This was more happiness than Kikyo had ever known. She was near tears with the wonderfulness of it.
They arrived at the shrine late in the day. He kissed her once more, briefly, before he went off into the forest. As she watched her dearest, her beloved Inu-yasha go, she touched her lips, still feeling the kiss from before.
"My heart has known sorrow for too long," she said to herself as she pushed back the tears of joy. "Perhaps now I will know peace…Perhaps now…I will know true happiness."
AN: I will not go on now. Since everyone knows Kikyo's fate after this. I would rather keep her here, feeling the joy of love, anyway. I ask only that those who hate Kikyo would read this, and understand her better. In both the show and my fic, she has known much sorrow, so she has no choice but to feel like she must carry it with her always.
P.S. I know she really didn't meet Onigumo this way, but they never said how her got burned, or the specifics about how she came to heal him, so I decided this was not only more heroic and noble on Kikyo's part, but meaner and crueler on Onigumo/Naraku's part.