Thanks to all three of you who reviewed... I always appreciate insightful feedback!

Gea -Thanks for the first review!

Sarcasm Girl8 -I try to write as often as I can, but I'm pretty notorious for my sporadical updating of Hojo Through The Well, my other story. Thanks for reviewing, I appreciate it.

Aiffe- Thank you so much for your review. I totally understand what you mean about Kaede's whole "ye" thing... I don't like it much, but I did want to keep her as "in character" as possible... I've gotten bad reviews for not keeping people IC. (Also, I just read your story about Kaede... Kinda similar in the essence of the theme, eh? I loved it!)

Thanks!

-Me(A)ga(i)n.


"Fifty years ago, back when you were older than me..."

Fifty years ago, back when Inuyasha was older than Kaede, it was the year of the Killing Moon. The Killing Moon only occurred every ten years, and lasted for one year. Somehow, in the years of Killing Moon, the moon's cycle had increased twofold, and so there were two full moons, and two new moons, every month. It was a time when demons did not run rampant very often, but when they did, they often went about destructing small villages just for the sake of proving their power.

However, there was one village that held a peculiar trait. There had been, in general, nothing very special about this village, other than it was often unusually peaceful. The village was right on the outskirts of a beautiful forest, which contained many strange and beautiful things. Within the village was a young priestess of great strength and skill. Her name was Kikyo.

Kikyo had been born to a retired warrior and the village's head priestess, Kaena. She had a very docile and normal childhood, being trained here and there to become a miko one day, perhaps succeeding her mother after she passed on. Kikyo showed great promise in many things, including her skills as a resident priestess-in-training, but most of all in archery. By the time she was six, she was practicing on sacks of flour, hitting each in their centers.

When she was nine, her mother had once again become pregnant. Kikyo, who was a very bright and happy child, marveled at the idea of having a small infant around to take care of. Upon the week that Kikyo's sibling was to be born, her father was called away to consult for a war, and he would not return for a long while. At hearing the news of her husband's journey, Kikyo's mother fell ill. Kikyo felt inclined at once to heal her mother and went out in search of an herb to calm the fever.

When she returned from the forest, one of the village women immediately ran to her, and warned her not to go into her mother's birthing hut, because a demon had possessed her mother's aura. Kikyo absolutely refused to stay away from the hut, and ran away before the woman could grab her. She was small and fast, and had a keen sense of her surroundings. Upon reaching the hut, she didn't even hesitate to enter.

Her mother lay on a mat, her father nowhere in sight. Her mother was groaning a great deal, but Kikyo knew she had to make her presence known. "M-mother... I'm here. I brought an herb to help you with your fever. Mother?"

Kikyo approached her mother, who was facing the wall. She crouched down apprehensively and looked upon her mother's face. Kaena's skin had turned a sallow, yellow color, much different from her normally pink and happy face. Her eyes were almost rolled entirely back in their sockets. Her hair had turned from a healthy blue-black sheen to entirely wispy and white. Her face had a look of calm, but it was not reassuring to see. Kikyo thought that her mother wouldn't speak, and placed her hand on her stomach, and felt the baby kick.

Much to Kikyo's surprise, her mother's eyes rolled back into place, and her look of evil calm was replaced by one of harried fear. "Kik-Kikyo... My daughter... I'm dy-"

Kikyo knew what her mother was saying, and wouldn't believe it. "NO! NO, YOU'RE NOT! Mother I brought this herb! It'll help you!"

Kaena ignored her daughter's yelling and fought the demon inside her, trying to invade her soul. "Kikyo. My soul is being taken over by an evil force. You must- you must shoot me with your arrow before I become truly evil. But first you must help me give birth to your sister."

Kikyo felt her eyes welling up with tears, but swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. "A sister?" Her mother nodded. "Mother... if you really are dying, what will become of the village?"

Her mother coughed, and spat blood on the ground beside her. Kikyo tried hard not to look at her mother's pain, but it was becoming more and more difficult to not cry. "Kikyo," She began, looking at her daughter. "You are young, but you are strong. You are a wonderful nurse... my everything. It is up to you to take the burden of village priestess upon your soul. Here is what you must do.

"As soon as I am finished talking, you must take up your arrow and shoot my heart. Then, cut me- cut me open with your dagger, and remove your sister. Kaede." Kikyo's eyes spilled over with tears, but her mother continued. "Then, you must go and bless her in the creek. Then, hand her to one of the village women once she has been purified... Then- then go to the temple. Seek Nobunashi... he has something to- he has something for you.

"Kikyo... My daughter. I love you with all of my heart. And now, I ask you to please kill me."

Kikyo didn't want to do it. The tears came silently, but in streams. She stood up and drew an arrow. She watched her mother submit to the evil curse inside her, as her eyes rolled back into their sockets. As she let go of the arrow, she whispered, "I love you."

The arrow flew crisply into her mother's bare skin, right above her breast, blood blossoming like a spring lotus. As soon as her mother was dead, she worked rapidly and diligently to cut open her mother's belly, careful not to cut the baby inside of her. She retched at the sight of her mother's insides, but knew she must continue. The first thing she saw was a pair of legs. She grabbed them, and eased the slimy infant out of her mother, severing the cord that connected the evil of her mother's soul from the purity of Kaede's.

The baby, blue with suffocation, made no noise. Kikyo had no idea what she should to, but patted the baby's back like she had seen her mother do countless times.

"Kaede, wake up, please... tiny child, please scream."

As if Kikyo's wish was answered, Kaede let out a few tiny coughs and began to howl. Kikyo sighed with relief, numb with fear. She trembled as she walked out of the hut of her dead mother, and stumbled toward the holy creek. After giving the child a bath and saying a prayer of purity, Kaede fell into a sleep. Kikyo stood next to the creek, the clean, wet infant in her arms, looked at the little face and hands, feet, and small bit of dark brown hair on top of the child's head.

"Kaede... my baby sister," she crooned, for it was the only thing she could think to say. She held Kaede close to get her warm, and felt her eyes welling up once more. She then remembered her promise to go to the temple, and swallowed the lump in her throat for the last time that day. She convinced one of the village women to watch over Kaede for the time being, and traipsed over to the other side of the village, to the temple.

She entered the temple, the largest and most elaborate building in the Village. For a moment, she stared at the rice-paper screens, behind which were various altars for people to pray to. She had been in every shrine room, except one. The door to the main altar was open, and light streamed in from the window. Nobunashi stood in front of the doorway framed with light, towering above Kikyo's shivering form. He looked cold for a moment, but his face softened as he beckoned her to the side screen, to the room Kikyo had been warned never to enter.

The room scared her, and she remembered the story that her mother told her of the ceremony all people of the village had upon reaching their eighteenth birthday. On the eve of their eighteenth birthday, the young adults of the village were invited into the room to pray to some sort of idol, wishing for luck. And now, Kikyo, eight years old, was being ushered in by the Elder of the village.

"Kikyo, be not frightened. There only lies your duty in the room beyond," he said softly.

"You know what happened to mother?" asked Kikyo, apprehensive to enter.

"She warned me of this... she foresaw it, two moons ago."

Kikyo felt the tears again, and let one slide down her cheek. Be strong, she thought to herself, for mother. Do it for mother.

"Kikyo, cry not, child, for you have a great task in front of you. And it is not a matter of whether you choose to accept it, or no. This is your blessing, this is your burden. In this room," he began, gesturing into the forbidden room.

Kikyo's eyes widened as she observed a rose glow coming from beyond the Elder Priest's arm. The pink hue seemed to dance on the wall, and she was drawn to it. She took slow steps forward, until the was at the edge of the screen. She peered in, and saw something so beautiful, so terrible, the fortune of her future.

The room was not elaborately furnished; instead there was one simple stand, and on it, hung a necklace of jade pieces. On the center of the string, amidst all the jade pieces, hung a small crystal orb of a soft color. It sparkled like the eye of the universe, and Kikyo couldn't fathom its complexity, or its simplicity. Her heart was beating slowly, and she could barely breathe.

"This? This is my burden, this beautiful necklace?" She asked, moving nearer to it. "What is it? I mean to say, what does it do?"

Nobunashi had a smile upon his wise face. "This is the Shikon No Tama... your mother was the guardian until she passed, and now it is in your possession." He observed her peaceful and confused expression, and continued on. "The Shikon is what keeps the village free of demonic attacks... for the most part. It is something many demons desire. Your job, young Kikyo, is to keep the demons at bay."

Kikyo nodded, and dared to touch it. Upon touching it, she expected to feel warm, or forgiven for her sins, but instead, she felt nothing. She swallowed, and turned to Nobunashi. "Where will I live?"

Nobunashi took in a deep breath. He held out his hand to her, and she went to him and took it. He rolled the door closed behind them, and walked her out of the temple.

"I do believe you shall live with me and Satsuma in our humble shack... there is room enough. But at night, you must keep guard over the Shikon."

Kikyo nodded, even though she didn't know how she would guard the Shikon without being awake at all hours of the night and day. But the question of her baby sister beared heavy on her mind. "What will become of Kaede?" she asked, almost afraid for the answer.

"She will live with us as well, naturally," replied Nobunashi. "Did you think that we would simply leave her to wither away?"

Kikyo shook her head no. Nobunashi stopped her, and crouched down to her level. "Child, something in you has changed. I blame you not, for you have had an extremely trying day. It seems that your soul's flow of happiness and gaiety has ceased to exist... for now, let's hope that is a temporary effect."

"Of course," said Kikyo, but she knew that she would never be the same. She would never play with the girls of the village again with the same cheerfulness she had before. She wouldn't go running through the forest with no destination in mind. She couldn't even put her beloved sister first. The jewel comes first, thought Kikyo, as she entered Nobunashi's warm hut, to a pleasantly plump Satsuma, who was making a delicious smelling broth of some sort. Kikyo was almost pleased to find Kaede strapped to Satsuma's chest, sleeping peacefully, just as Kikyo had left her.

As she laid on her mat in the corner that night, she thought of what had happened. This is my new life, she thought. Kaede... and this burden that I know nothing about. She got up and went outside, to look at the moon. She threw back her head, and finally released the sobs that had been aching at her heart all day long. They came long and ragged, and her tears flowed freely as the stream. When she finished crying, she vowed to always remain serious and strong, so Kaede would never face the pain that she had. With that, she went back into the hut and slept, the rest of the night.