Alrighty! Thanks to the two of you who reviewed, hopefully more people will read it soon. :)
This chapter's really long, and we haven't exactly gotten to any real interaction with Inuyasha yet, but it'll get there. I swear.-scoutsdream aka Me(A)ga(i)n
Kagome sat outside the hut in awe. Kikyo, I had no idea... she began to think, but couldn't finish the sentence trailing off in her head. I had no idea that you had such a messed-up childhood? Kagome sat in thought for a moment before realizing that Kaede had stopped telling the story.
"Kaede, I have somewhere to be in about a week. Do you think you could shorten this up?" drawled Inuyasha, feigning disinterest. He's faking it, thought Kagome from outside. He ate up every last bit of that story!
"Ah, but Inuyasha, was it not ye who asked for the story of Kikyo in the first place?" Kaede asked, as she rose from her seat.
"Well, yeah, but... I wanted to hear the part about me."
Kaede laughed as she stirred the fire again. "So ye don't want to hear about her toils with the jewel, and the village? And how she dealt with me?"
"Was she mean to you?"
"Let's say that Kikyo loved me the same way a lion loves a tiger. They are of the same lineage, but very different in their attitudes. A lion is proud, while a tiger is wild and feisty. They can fight and fight all the day, but will always share a bond, and that is what saves them."
Inuyasha had a puzzled look on his face. "So... she's the lion?"
"Yes."
Kagome wanted to laugh at the silliness of the conversation, but remembered that she was supposed to be incognito.
"Inuyasha, have ye heard any of this story before? The story that came before yours?" asked Kaede, standing for a moment's time.
"N-no... why should I have?"
Kaede walked over to a rug on the ground, and Kagome heard her walking toward the door, the very one she was crouched next to, listening. She moved slightly out of the way so as not to be seen by Kaede as she beat the dirt out of the rug.
Kagome nearly sneezed at all the flecks of dust that flew everywhere, but she was very skilled at stifling her sneezes. She placed her index finger into the spot between her upper lip and nose, and applied pressure. As soon as the sneezing feeling made itself absent, she removed her finger, breathing a quiet sigh of relief. I don't know what I would do if Inuyasha found out I was listening... He'd kill me, she thought.
Kaede continued speaking to Inuyasha, who still laid in the middle of the room in his normal 'I'm bored' pose. "Inuyasha, haven't ye ever wondered how it is that Kikyo came upon the task of guarding the sacred jewel? Or why she never gave mention of her parents?"
"Well... sometimes. I mean, I figured she had you to look after, so she... I don't know! What's with the interrogation here? Are you going to get on with the story or not? Besides, how exactly is it that you know all of this if you were only a baby?"
"I have no reason to doubt the merit of my sister's story. She never told me a lie. If I wanted to know something she didn't want to tell me, she would merely tell me to mind my own business!"
"I've been there for sure," said Inuyasha, nodding.
Kaede laughed her old laugh and sat back down on the ground. "Let me begin again."
Kaede smiled and settled herself back in. Kagome automatically leaned her head toward the doorway to listen.
"By the time I was almost ten, Kikyo was nineteen and she was already a skilled priestess..."
By the time Kaede was almost ten, Kikyo was nineteen and she was already a skilled priestess. She could mix medicine with the best of them, and was also quite good at blessing the newborns of the village. Over the ten years that Kikyo had been village priestess, the invasion of demons had become more and more frequent, but Kikyo's skills in archery allowed her to shoot a demon at any distance or turbulence. Her arrows always managed to make their ways into the black hearts of demons.
Soon after Nobunashi had taken in her and Kaede, she got word from a messenger that her father went missing in the battle upstream, and he was presumed dead. Kikyo did absolutely nothing except vow to herself to heal the warriors who had stayed in the land of the living, to make sure they themselves did not become lost like her father.
Kaede had grown into a bright young girl, greeting the world around her every morning with wide eyes, never ceasing to be amazed at the beauty the world held. She proved herself to be a great assistant to Kikyo, gathering and identifying herbs for antidotes for wounds. Although she had lost her eye weeks before in a battle, on this one day, she seemed particularly carefree, running around the village like a wild beast.
"Sister Kikyo! I'm a wild beast of the forest! Shoot me, shoot me now!" She screamed as she raced past Kikyo, who was re-stringing her bow.
Kikyo was trying to ignore her little brat of a sister, but couldn't help but smirk into her lap. As soon as she was done fixing her weapon, she slung the bow and arrows over her shoulder, and got up from her sitting place.
"Kaede, come. We have business to attend to in the forest."
Kaede came to a running halt right in front of her sister, who towered over her small figure. "What business? I thought we got all the herbs yesterday?"
Kikyo raised her eyebrows. "Well, we did, but now has come the time to use them," she said, as she drew an arrow and laced it through the bow with the ease of a water mosquito slicing through the creek. She pivoted on her heel and let the arrow go, and Kaede heard an awful screech. There, pinned to the wall of the Shrine house, was a huge worm demon that had camouflaged himself against the wall.
Kikyo turned back on her heel to her sister. "Shall we go, then?" she asked, cool as ever. She sauntered over to the forest, leaving Kaede no choice but to follow after her. She threw back a furtive glance to the demon stuck to the wall, as his legs at last stopped twitching before venturing after her sister.
Over the past ten years, Kikyo had been honing her skill of being as one with the Shikon jewel. During the nights, she would wake up with a cold sweat, and leave her and Kaede's shared hut to go shoot down any demon that she had sensed in her sleep. Never had a demon set one foot into the shrine without Kikyo knowing about it, and going out to destroy them.
Kaede thought of her sister's gift as she walked a few yards behind Kikyo, who had a basket of herbs perched in the crook of her arm. She's so quiet, thought Kaede, who had grown up to be a boisterous and comical child, always trying to crack jokes in order to make Kikyo laugh, which was a rare occurrence. She ran up to her sister's side, and tugged on her sleeve. "Kikyo, please tell me where we are headed."
Kikyo continued to look ahead, being unusually cold this afternoon. "You'll know when we get there," she said, with no emotion in her voice.
"Kikyo? Have you been possessed?" she asked, sneering at her sister's cold demeanor. Usually, her sister was a little warmer than she had been acting today. Kaede knew that she was the only one Kikyo loved and cared for, but she wished that she were a little more affectionate in showing her love.
Kikyo let a little smile touch her lips, as she reached out a hand to place on Kaede's shoulder. "I have been possessed, but not in the way you think. I- I've had the sudden urge to go and help people outside our village... Kaede, I will tell you where we are going, but only if you promise not to ask any more questions about it until we get there, promise?"
Kaede mulled it over, and found the promise to be legitimate. "Deal."
Kikyo still had a faint smile on her lips, and her eyes became shiny as she walked on. "We are going to the nearest battlefield, where two groups have been fighting for many months now. The wounds are particularly nasty... or so I hear," she quickly added, turning her face away.
Kaede wanted to say something about her sister's behavior, but she couldn't ask any other questions, so she analyzed the situation in the confines of her brain. I think she's already been to this battle place before, from the way she talks, thought Kaede as she looked at her sister's peaceful expression.
Just then, an echo of a boom was heard, a sound Kaede identified as a tree being cut down. She knew then that they were nearing the battlefield. She looked up at Kikyo with fearful eyes, for she had not known that a battle had been happening so close to home. Kikyo squeezed her sister's shoulder in reassurance, as they neared the battle site.
They came upon hundreds of men on the edge of the forest, several wounded, several more sharpening their swords. Far off in the distance, Kaede could see the many warriors battling, but Kikyo was steering her to the right. Kaede looked behind her as she watched all the wounded disappearing from her sight.
"Sister Kikyo," she began confusedly. "I- I thought we were tending to the wounded!"
"We are, Kaede. There is one such soldier who needs such special care that I have taken the liberty of putting him in a cave near the mountains."
Kaede let out a little laugh. "I knew that you'd been here before. I could just tell, sister. Who could be so important as to attract so much attention from such a woman as Kikyo?"
Kikyo shook her head at her sister's remark, but continued on. "Kaede, the human you are about to witness is... well, I can't even be sure he's human. I know that he is not a demon... for I can not sense it. Although, I wouldn't put it past him to..."
Kikyo trailed off as she neared the myriad of caves at the base of the mountain. They walked for a moment until Kikyo stopped in front of a very inconspicuous cave, and walked inside. Kaede made a move to follow her sister, but Kikyo held out a hand to block her from entering."N-not yet, Kaede. Maybe in a minute... let me just see..." Kikyo seemed almost on the verge of a breakdown, something that Kaede had never seen in her sister before. Kaede trembled at the thought of losing her heart strong and icy sister to someone, something she had never seen before.
"Kikyo... don't do it, please. Don't go in there, sister. There's something wrong, and I-"
Just then, Kaede heard some coughing inside the cave. The cough was very violent, and it sounded like someone was dying. She thought Kikyo had read her mind when she said "I think he's dying. I- I can't be sure. For now, just... let me... see him..." she trailed off again as she disappeared into the darkness of the cave. Kaede almost wanted to call out, but knew better.
Within a minute, a light glow filled the cave, and Kaede peered in to see Kikyo hovering over a small fire, adding kindling. In the corner of the cave, Kaede could scarcely make out a heavily bandaged figure. The bandaged man murmured something in a deep and scary voice, one that made Kaede's skin crawl. Kikyo waited a moment before saying something back to him, throwing a slight glance over at Kaede as she said it. Kaede could barely make out what was being said, so she began to inch her way into the cave.
Kikyo looked back to see her sister standing, stock still, five feet away from her. The man almost whispered something in a quiet, skin-crawling voice, to which Kikyo said to him, not breaking eye contact with Kaede, "My sister. It is my sister."
The man in bandages moved an inch from the ground to try and get a look at Kaede. The thought of the man who must be so horribly disfigured looking at her shocked her. Her heart beat very fast as she neared closer to the fire. She wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. She had a very bad feeling in her stomach. Leave it to Kikyo to find the loser, she thought.
"Well, Kikyo, aren't you going to properly introduce me to your sister?" croaked the man. Kikyo looked down at him and frowned.
"Kaede, this is Onigumo. Onigumo, my sister Kaede."
Onigumo let out an evil laugh, which shook the cave with a deadly force.
"Nice to meet you, Onigumo," said Kaede, even though it wasn't nice at all.
"I don't blame you for being afraid of me," he spat. Even though he was laying on his back, she could feel his eyes looking over to her. "I know I'm not pleasant to look at. But your sister has been helping me recover, and for that, I am ever in her debt." Kaede sensed a tone of irony in his voice, as if he thought it all to be one big joke.
"Kaede, will you please get that basket of herbs, please? Under the herbs you will find a pile of bandages. Please bring them here so you can help me bandage Onigumo."
There is nothing I wouldn't rather do, thought Kaede sarcastically as she pulled the basket over closer to her sister. Kikyo gingerly lifted Onigumo's head and instructed Kaede to unwind the soiled bandage. Kaede picked one point to stare at while she did the daunting task, but found it very hard not to look upon the gnarled and scabbed face of Onigumo. She looked into his eyes, burning black with evil. This is not a man before me, thought Kaede, though said nothing at the time. She began to sing a small song in her head so that Onigumo would not read her thoughts.
Once his face was re-wrapped in bandaged, Kikyo looked up at Kaede and sighed. "Kaede, if you would, please help me with the bandage around his chest. I haven't changed that one in a while... I'll lift him from the front, and I would appreciate it if you could bandage him from behind. Also, please clean his back wound and apply the herbs."
Kikyo handed a damp cloth to Kaede, and gently but strongly pulled Onigumo's torso from the ground by linking her arms under his shoulders, as Kaede began to unwrap the gauze tied in back. She unraveled it to find barely a trace of blood on the bandage, but realized why it was on immediately. On Onigumo's back was a huge scar, with smaller scars shooting out from the center. Kaede caught her breath as the bandage fell completely away. She was hesitant to clean it, but knew that she must act quickly, as Kikyo was losing her grip on Onigumo.
Kikyo had barely touched the wound when Onigumo let out a growl and planted both of his hands on the ground behind him, holding himself up. Kikyo let go of him, panting, and Kaede screamed from shock. Kikyo quickly put her hand over Kaede's mouth and sent her out of the cave.
Kaede could still hear Kikyo and Onigumo arguing. "Onigumo, please... you aren't strong enough to be moving. Allow me to hold you up while Kaede cleans your wound."
"Kikyo, how do you expect I find the strength to eat? How do you think I've managed to empty my insides of waste? Not by magic, nor by help from anyone else. I'm much stronger than you think I am, you know," he said, in an acidly friendly tone.
"I understand that, but... you aren't fully recovered and you must reserve your strength for more important things."
"This is true. But for now, please, finish the job yourself. It appears I have scared your sister out of ever coming back here, which is too bad. I find her fear to be charming."
Kaede walked a few feet away from the cave and spat on the ground. That man disgusts me, she thought. I can't seem to find an exact reason, but... I think I hate him.
She promised herself that she would tell Kikyo that she didn't like the evil Onigumo, in hopes that they would never have to go back to the place again. To pass time, she sat on a rock and listened to the sounds of the battle, not far off. She wondered what exactly happened to Onigumo to make him so bitter and injured, and began to wonder if it was really even the battle that had scarred him at all.
By the time Kikyo emerged from the cave a quarter of an hour later, Kaede grabbed her hand, and almost dragged her all the way back to the village. When they got to the other side of their forest, near to their village, Kaede stopped and looked up at Kikyo, who seemed frazzled at her sister's behavior.
"Sister Kikyo, how long have you been tending to Onigumo?"
Kikyo blinked and shook her head. "Why must you know this, Kaede? I am tired."
"I want to know because you're the one who dragged me to that awful cave in the first place. I need to know," she persisted almost whiningly.
"I have been tending to Onigumo for nearly two months now. "
"And in all this time he hasn't healed?" asked an outraged Kaede. "Don't you find that a little suspicious, sister?"
Kikyo looked down, biting her lip. "I- I don't care." She took up her sister's hand, and they walked out of the forest edge over to the meadow next to the village. The sun was setting, and cast an orange glow on the water and the trees in the distance. Both girls sat down on the grass, and Kikyo pulled Kaede into a surprising hug.
"Kaede, I know that something is wrong with Onigumo, something bad. But that is why I am still caring for him. I feel that I may be the one to turn him to purity again."
Kaede shook her head. "Kikyo, he seemed almost demonic in manner. I can't help but think- that he is deceiving you in some way."
"It's almost time for the year of the Killing Moon again, you know," said Kikyo, trying very hard to change the subject, and failing. She sighed as she pulled her sister in closer. "Kaede, you know I'll be all right. I am very able to care for you, and everyone else in the village."
"Yes, but... can you care for yourself?"
Kikyo looked up, shocked at this statement, but had no time to respond. Just at that moment, one of the village men burst through the bushes and ran over to Kikyo, panting. He dropped down to his knees, finally catching his breath.
"Lady Kikyo! Lady, I am so glad you have returned to us, but we must not waste any more time!"
"What has happened?"
"While you were gone- while you were gone, a demon tried to break into the shrine to steal the jewel!"
Kikyo looked alarmed at this. "But- surely I would have sensed if a demon had entered the proximity of the shrine!"
The old man shook his head. "This- this was a half demon. In human form, that is. So you mustn't have been able to sense him because of his human blood.
"Kikyo, you must go and shoot him down. He's been dodging around for an hour, and we've managed to hold him off from entering, but we can't do it for much longer! He's incredibly strong, and-"
"Lead me to him," stated Kikyo, with a kind of glint in her eyes. Never before had this challenge presented itself to her, and she felt ready to take it on.
The village man bowed, and ran toward the yells of the village, Kikyo and Kaede following quickly in his wake.
