Author's Notes-

The presence Kagome feels in this chapter is indeed, Youki. However, because it is never described in the series beyond "I sense Youki!" I had to make some deductions and try to figure out what Youki would "feel like."

Note- All chapters revised 4/21/06

Chapter One

Goshinboku's Secret

Kelly O'Connor

Kagome swung her arms, glancing around the streets of Tokyo and smiling when she spotted the familiar Pet Store she was heading towards. Her cat Buyo was nearly out of food, and Mama had given her some money the night before to pick up some for him at the nearest pet store after school. As she crossed the street to reach the shop, her mind wandered once again to the mysterious visitor she had encountered at the shrine that morning.

Off and on the entire day Kagome had found her thoughts on the silver haired man. He sure left quickly, really quickly, Kagome swung open the door to the store.

Greeting an employee, she made her way over the area where the cat food was kept and paused once she had picked a bag up.

All day I've wondered, Jiichan has a lot of strange people come to the shrine, but there was definitely something really odd about this one. He... felt different. Kagome dismissed the thought, and headed to the cash register, That's silly, she paused, But it was almost as if there was some kind of presence there.

Kagome pressed her hands to her forehead, "Oi I didn't get enough sleep. Of course there was a presence, he was standing right there."

The cashier gave her a confused look, and she grinned sheepishly, realizing she had said that last part out loud. Quickly handing him the money and then saying her thank yous, Kagome left the store, slightly embarrassed.

As she walked, the schoolgirl diverted her thoughts from the visitor by instead thinking on what she did have to do that night, namely an essay and some serious geometry homework. However, as she finished heading up the steps to her shrine home, she couldn't resist the urge to pause at the Goshinboku and wonder again about the man.

Setting down her backpack, she raised her eyes to the many branches shading the ground below and then to the bizarre formation of roots that wound around it. Approaching the tree, Kagome placed her hands on the bark in roughly the same place the visitor had that morning. Moments after, her eyes widened and she gasped.

"What!" She exclaimed and turned around. "Who is..." Kagome paused, and found herself staring at an empty yard, "...there."

Shuddering, she turned around to face the tree again, her brow creased in confusion. I felt someone, they were here. That strange feeling, it's still here. Kagome realized.

"Maybe I'm just tired," she said aloud, "Jiichan would probably think it was some kind of spirit stalking me," Kagome laughed, but in spite of that laughter, the uncomfortable feeling was not eased.

Jiichan is silly, but he's not insane. It's not like every single thing he has ever said has been untrue...maybe." She shook her head in disbelief. The man had silver hair, but looked young. The whole time he was here I felt strange, not like any feeling I've felt before. Like I was being watched from all directions... like I feel now. She walked over to the steps that led down from her shrine home to the streets below, and her eyes grew wide.

I'm so used to these stairs that I sometimes fail to realize that they're quite long, and that man... was down and out of sight within seconds. Kagome's mind wandered to a part of the brief conversation between them

"Then… what are you doing here?" She asked. He ignored her demand and reached his hand out lightly to stroke the roots snaking up Goshinboku.

"I am simply here to check on my foolish half brother."

His... brother? Kagome put her fingers back on the tree, and shivered, the feeling was especially strong when she did that. As if he's even closer. Why would he come to the shrine to check on his brother? Jiichan says there are a lot of legends surrounding the tree, but I never paused to think that much of anyone might have an actual connection to it. Did something happen to his brother here?

Part of her wanted to ask her grandpa, but a greater part thought that may not be the best idea. So instead she contemplated what else she could do. After a few moments, she grinned.

"The shrine does have some records."

Kagome knew that Jiichan and her previous relatives that had run the Higurashi shrine had kept written records of some of the going ons at the shrine. Off and on, and probably most of the events that had occurred at the shrine weren't recorded, but perhaps she might be able to find something there. She'd never bothered to read the records, assuming that all of them would be as eccentric as Jiichan's, and never really having much interest in them anyway.

I guess it's worth a try though. Kagome shrugged. I've heard that strange physical attributes are often connected to spirits, she contemplated, considering the man's silver hair, and if something regarding his brother is keeping him here...then maybe... The schoolgirl cut her thoughts off, "Then maybe I should just go check the shrine records now, this is just too weird..."

With that the teenage girl headed to the part of the shrine house she knew the records were kept in, completely forgetting the stack of homework she needed to complete.

The shrine was empty that day. Jiichan was visiting an old friend of his, and Mama and Souta were at one of his soccer practices. Kagome found this to be a relief. She really didn't want to explain why now; of all times she had decided to explore the written records of the Higurashi shrine.

Sliding open the shouji that led to the closet the records were kept in, she sneezed. The room was dusty, and she swore the only person who had been in it the past twenty years was her grandfather. But she knew that he didn't even keep his shrine records in that particular closet. Those were on display for shrine visitors to view if they so wished.

Shrugging off the idea of looking through Jiichan's records, she immediately skipped to the previous maintainer of the shrine, her great grandfather, Higurashi Kouhi.

The records started in the year 1922 and concluded in the late 1960's, presumably around the time her great grandfather had passed away and the shrine had been passed down to Jiichan. Kagome began to skim through the writings rather quickly. Her mouth quirked in a smile when she came to a part regarding her grandfather's birth, but most of them just seemed to be goings on regarding shrine festivals, how many visitors they'd had that year, and other events insignificant to her search.

Continuing to thumb through the records, Kagome stopped when she came to one topped with "A strange occurrence."

As of yet, the shrine records had been very ordinary. Kouhi seemed to lack a lot of the eccentricities that Jiichan had, and as a result the records were straight forward and lacking the same kind of oddness that would likely be sprinkled throughout Jiichan's writings in abundance.

The record was dated July 1929, and the dark haired girl began to skim it-- not expecting to find anything, but scraping for information in any way possible. Her eyes widened as they looked over it, three phrases stuck out before she had even really begun to read.

At the Goshinboku today, silver haired young man, mentioned a brother...

Kagome gasped, and shook her head in disbelief, "But... this is 1929!" She argued out loud, rubbed her hands over her eyes, and started from the beginning again.

I happened upon a strange occurrence this morning when I was cleaning up the shrine for visitors that day. I noticed a tall, silver haired young man standing in front of the Goshinboku. Upon asking him what he was doing; he mentioned something about a brother and promptly left.

Back when I was younger, my father spoke to me about mononoke, spirits, and youkai. I've always been a bit more skeptical of believing such things than he was. Although there's no doubt they exist. This man really made me wonder if he was something along those lines.

The silver haired man gave me a strange feeling, and I honestly can't put my finger on what it was. I know I've never felt anything like it before, although I'm sure my father would have a name for it right away. I began to look through the records of the shrine for any mention of the brother he spoke of, and I didn't find any. I did however find two mentions of similar occurrences surrounding a white haired stranger in the past, as well as a legend that could be connected to this man.

One took place thirty-five years ago and one took place one hundred and two years ago, shortly after the opening of the Higurashi shrine.

In one I found mention of him speaking of the brother while looking to the Goshinboku itself. That was one hundred and two years ago, and that person specifically identified the man as a youkai, and the feeling from his presence as youki.

The other, from my father, did not mention much more than I have written here, and did not bring up the brother issue at all, just the fact that he was peculiar.

Kagome slapped the record shut and immediately went to look for the first record of the Higurashi shrine, begun some one hundred and seventy years ago. The name was Higurashi Shodai, and Kagome knew she had heard Jiichan ramble of the shrine's founder several times.

This particular record, Kagome found, was full of more eccentricities than Kouhi's rather normal one. He also seemed to write down a lot of the legends related to certain happenings at the shrine. She noticed that they seemed to have been re-written by another ancestor, in order to preserve them when the paper from the original had aged.

If a shrine festival occurred, she observed that he would write down a version of a legend the festival may be connected with. Doing a bit of math in her head, Kagome flipped to the part of the book that detailed the events of 1827.

After skimming through the year's festivals she came to the entry she was looking for.

The description of the event was similar to Kouhi's, albeit a bit more vivid and eccentric seeming. However, the speculation after it was completely different. Kagome wiped a bit of dust off the pages and read.

The legend connected with the brother by Shodai told the tale of an innocent and kindly Miko whose love for a scheming Hanyou, who was after a sacred jewel she protected, doomed her in the end.

Kagome thought parts of the legend somewhat similar but shrugged it off that Jiichan had told her it as a child. The two names in the tale, the pure hearted Miko- Kikyou, and the wicked hearted Hanyou, InuYasha, were names Kagome knew she had never heard though. She continued forward, reading to the end of the tale.

On the promised day, Kikyou approached InuYasha with a smile on her face. She had told an elder of the village their plans. InuYasha had agreed to Kikyou to use the Shikon no Tama to wish himself human, ridding the world of the jewel, and making it so InuYasha and Kikyou could live a peaceful and ordinary life together. Or so, that's what the Miko thought. In reality though, InuYasha planned to kill her and take the jewel for himself.

With a wicked smile, he raked his claws across her shoulder, inflicting a fatal injury upon her. Running off to the village, InuYasha ransacked and set fire to the innocent town, injuring many.

However, upon running into the nearest forest, he found his own death was inevitable. An arrow through the heart pinned him to a great tree, ending his life, and sealing him there for all eternity. The archer was none other than Kikyou, who used the last of her holy powers to end his life.

Kikyou perished soon after. The kindly Miko had the Shikon no Tama burned with her body, so it could never fall into evil hands again.

InuYasha, as the years passed on, continued there frozen in time, yet not alive, until the roots began snaking around his sinister form-- hiding him from view to those who wished to gaze upon the tree he was pinned to- Goshinboku.

This is one of the most prevalent legends regarding the ancient tree, and stories of the Shikon no Tama have been passed down through my family for years. Youkai live very long lives.

Could the visitor perhaps have been this InuYasha's half-brother, a full youkai, instead of half like the imprisoned Hanyou? I do not even wish to think how evil such a being could possibly be. Due to this event, I took the time to surround the shrine with many more holy wards, in hopes to keep this possible monster away.

Kagome's mouth quirked up in a small grin at the last statement. It sounded all too much like Jiichan. However, she then proceeded to bit her lip as she thought over the rest of the material.

"That's just too strange… I mean a guy pinned to our tree?" Her mind wandered as she envisioned the roots snaking about the great tree. "I know the roots are weird, but…"

Quickly she put the book away, and stood up, brushing off the dust on her school uniform. She stretched her arms and walked out of the closet, surprised once she saw how dark it had gotten. The sun was setting behind the treetops, and although it was still fairly light, Kagome definitely didn't think she had been reading the records that long.

Walking outside, she glanced at the Goshinboku and scratched her head, "I don't know what to think of all this…"

The schoolgirl sighed to herself. Turning back towards the ancient tree, she once again began fingering the roots near the bottom. The feeling was still there. Kagome shuddered lightly, but continued stroking the bark. I wouldn't say it feels evil… just kind of creepy.

A loud mrow whipped Kagome out of her reverie, and she looked down to see her obese cat Buyo staring at her with his jellybean shaped eyes.

"Buyo what's up?" Kagome asked as she reached down to scratch behind the feline's ears.

The chubby cat gave off a loud purr before pulling away and sashaying towards the house. Kagome caught on; realizing that Buyo was probably hungry.

Being a bit preoccupied with all the things on her mind, Kagome didn't notice the sounds of movement as she entered the house. It was only when she was in the kitchen that she realized that something was very out of place, and began to wonder if Buyo was hungry, or trying to warn her.

Kagome shuddered. The thought that the visitor from that morning had returned with a more sinister agenda flitted across her mind, but none of the feeling the records had dubbed "youki" was present at all.

She froze with her hand on the cabinet door to where the food for Buyo was kept. She had left her school bag and the food she had purchased in the shrine on accident, but there was enough food left for the feline in the cabinet to last a bit.

However, feeding Buyo was not Kagome's concern at the moment. Sounds continued from the living room, unmistakable- the moving of furniture, the sound of footsteps. It was a larger man by her guess, and she knew no one who fit that description.

Frozen in fear, the black haired girl slowly dropped her hands to her side. She knew that he would notice her presence if she moved anywhere else, or bolted to the phone to call the police.

She couldn't move. Apparently he wasn't fazed by her entrance, thinking it to be only the cat again, or still not realizing someone had entered the home.

Kagome clenched her fists at her side and breathed deeply as sweat began to trickle down her brow. However, that deep breath, which Kagome had unknowingly taken, was what finally caught the intruder's attention. The teenager closed her eyes in terror as she heard the footsteps advancing towards the kitchen, and she did the only thing she could think of at the moment--- she ran.

Hearing the slight gasp, the man tensed and drew out a knife he had tucked in his belt. Seeing the young girl flee, he knew he had to stop her before she got to the police or a phone. Kagome thought she was far enough ahead of him, but found herself stumbling right in front of the same tree that had been occupying her thoughts as of late. He caught up easily, and grabbed her sleeve, the knife glinting in the light as he held it above her.

"Girl," the man sneered, poison in his voice, his beady eyes focusing on Kagome, "If you open your mouth or tell a single soul I'll…"

"Let me go!" Kagome yelled. Her mind couldn't process what else to do, but she found herself trying to push him away.

Her eyes closed as her hands went straight against his chest, but when she opened them, she found the knife lying on the ground beside her and the burglar giving her a truly horrified look.

Stunned, Kagome looked to her hands. They tingled and seemed to be emanating a light pink glow that quickly died off. She then surveyed the man in front of her. His clothes appeared to be burned off in his chest area, and he was breathing heavily, as if he had just been shot with something electrically powerful.

From my hands… Shaking her head, Kagome grabbed the knife next to her, and gave him a small triumphant grin. She had no idea what she had just done, but she was too preoccupied to worry about that at the moment. Whatever it was, it had thwarted her attacker.

"Leave now, or I'll call the police," Kagome threatened, steel in her voice. Of course she would be calling the police anyway, but the threat seemed to be enough to startle him more so. He scooted back a bit. "And whatever I just did to you with my hands… I'll do it again."

She felt her hands throb with an unfamiliar power as she said this, and stared at them momentarily, then back to the terrified burglar. After a few moments, the man scrambled up, and gave her a frightened glare.

"What the fuck are you?" He asked rhetorically and began running down the shrine steps as quick as his now weakened feet would carry him.

Kagome on the other hand, just continued to stare at her hands, and in exhaustion slid down to a sitting position in front of the Goshinboku. Whatever she had done, it had tired her out.

"I-I need to go in and call the police now," the startled teenager said to herself as she braced her hands on the roots of the tree.

About to stand up to head inside, Kagome paused when she noticed something strange about the roots under her fingers. They were crumbling. She shook her head in disbelief and experimentally touched another root directly behind her. It happened again. The formation of roots that snaked around the ancient tree crumbled at her touch. Not only that but that same pink light she had seen from her hands moments before accompanied her actions. Why is it doing this? She asked as curiosity got the best of her and she began dissolving more of the roots away with her hands. Should I be doing this? Kagome questioned. You need to go in and call the police now, she told herself, but cut her thoughts off as one very large and very tall root crumbled under her touch. Raising her eyes up, she saw something extraordinary, and perhaps… someone?

Never one to take legends very seriously, even after reading the manuscript from her ancestor, Kagome was very unsure that a tale of a Hanyou pinned to the tree in her front yard could possibly be true. But then how do I explain what I'm seeing… Kagome glanced up to what she could clearly identify as a bare foot, with what looked like red hakama-pants tied at the ankle.

"There's no way," She stared in shock for a few moments and then quickly began to climb the remaining roots, much like she had as a young child.

She stopped once she had reached an area of the tree that was on the level of her discovery and that had a root that protruded enough to where she could sturdily stand. Looking down, she could tell that she was at least two meters up.

Without much more thought, Kagome began to dissolve the roots surrounding the imprisoned Hanyou, first revealing his legs, then his torso, his arms, and his hands which seemed to be tipped with some unusually sharp nails.

There was one root Kagome couldn't dissolve, and that root had an arrow piercing straight through it.

Into his heart… just like the legend.

Shaking her head, the teenage girl continued her exploration, removing a few roots around his neck, and then reaching for the ones that covered his head.

Kagome's breath caught as she pulled the last root away. In all her ideas she had never expected him to look like this. The last root had revealed his face, and the inquisitive girl found it to be nothing like the monster she had envisioned upon reading the tale of InuYasha and Kikyou.

He looked peaceful in his everlasting sleep and young. Kagome couldn't imagine that the Hanyou she'd heard of could appear this youthful and innocent, like just a boy. Then again if he was trying to fool Kikyou, she shook her head, if this is even him. I mean he's perfectly preserved for five hundred years clothes and all, that couldn't happen.

Grimacing, she shook her head, "Who am I kidding, it has to be him, it's not like there are lots of guys pinned to trees."

She quickly noted that his long thick hair was similar in color to the mysterious visitor from that morning, confirming her suspicions. Kagome squeaked out a breath when her eyes made their way to the top of his head. Brushing a small piece of bark away, she noticed something significant she hadn't noticed before.

"Are those his… ears?" She questioned as she took in the fuzzy white triangles that had previously blended in with his equally pale hair. "They're… cute."

Giving into a sudden urge, she reached up and took the tips in between her fingers smiling lightly at the feel of the soft fur under her fingertips. After a moment, she pulled away, a bit embarrassed, although it wasn't as if anyone was there to see that particular display.

Kagome bit her lip and continued staring at the sealed boy. "What do I do?" She asked as she glanced at the arrow that protruded from where his heart was. "It isn't as if I can just leave him on display… could I cover him back up? I-I guess some things were made to remain hidden."

Her balance wavered a bit and she caught it quickly, "Phew, wouldn't want to fall."

Glancing down to the ground below, she realized once again that she was quite high up among the roots. Giving a small eeep, she turned back to face the boy, but nearly lost her balance once again when she heard a light crackle among the roots.

Looking towards the tree, Kagome gasped as her gaze met with a pair of fierce amber eyes. "I--InuYasha?"

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