AN: So sorry it took this long to update, I've had the chapter done for awhile, but I've been to busy to post it. Yeah, I know, excuses, excuses...Anywho, Cross Country will officialy be over tomorrow (we're going to state!) so I should have more time to update. Well here's the chapter that took so long to finish, hope ya'll like it.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha is not mine...too bad though, I bet we could have some real fun together.

Heritage

Chapter 2

No Such Thing As Youkai

Kagome sighed as she sunk down into the warm water of the hot spring. She and Kaede had arrived in Kaede's village early that morning. The sun had just begun to peek over the horizon and yet people had already been up and about, tending to the day's chores. There had even been a few children up and helping their parents with chores and such. The villagers had greeted Kaede with reverence, but Kagome could see them sneaking looks at her from their bowed heads and hear them whispering to one another once the cart had passed. She was not entirely welcome here in the village.

It had taken just over two days of traveling to reach Kaede's village and Kagome had never thought she would be so happy to see the shabby little village as she had been. They had set out from the ocean side port as soon as they had gotten help loading Kagome's trunk into the back of the nibasha Kaede had brought with her (Hojo had been more than happy to help, much to Kagome's dismay). She looked forward to sleeping on the futon on the floor of Kaede's small hut, instead of the hard ground she had been forced to sleep on last night.

The village was small, with a little more than two dozen hut. Kaede's own hut was situated at the bottom of a long and steep set of stairs that led up to the village's shrine. Kagome fully intended to explore the shrine and surrounding forest.

The forest itself was huge and surrounded the shrine and village as far as the eye could see. Kaede had explained that the forest was called Inuyasha's Forest and that the woods belonged to an inu youkai. This same youkai protected the village and its inhabitants from other youkai. Kagome had to fight back the urge to laugh when Kaede had told her this. She hadn't thought that Kaede would believe in such ridiculous things such as youkai. Youkai didn't exist and nobody in civilized society believed in them, well besides her grandfather, but he didn't count, he was insane.

Kagome closed her eyes as she leaned back against a large rock. The warm water felt so good on her sore muscles. She was very grateful towards Kaede for showing her this hot spring and she planned on taking advantage of it as much as possible.

Her eyes snapped open and she froze at the sound of a twig snapping in the woods to her left. Sinking farther into the water Kagome stared out into the woods. Was someone out there? She thought franticly. She narrowed her eyes trying to see into the surrounding darkness. Giving her head a quick shake she let out a nervous laugh. She was getting as paranoid as her grandfather, nobody was out there watching her. The sound of another twig breaking quickly proved her wrong. Her heartbeat increased as her back once again stiffened.

"Who's there?" She called out.

Probably just an animal, She thought searching the woods for any sign of movement. That thought didn't help to settle her nerves at all. Who knew what type of animals lived out in these woods and whether or not they were friendly.

Kagome let out a nearly inaudible gasp as she saw a flash of red through the branches of the tree line. Or not. Time to get back to the village, Kagome thought as she cautiously made her way out of the hot spring. She quickly slipped on a kimono that Kaede had let her borrow. Gathering her belongings she took one last look at the tree where she had seen the flash of colors before she hurried back to the village.

When she arrived at Kaede's hut Kagome found that the old miko had already gone to sleep. She quickly changed into her night gown and made her way to the futon in the back of the room.

It was just my imagination, She thought as she curled up under the covers of her futon, Nothing was watching. I'm just overly tired from the ship ride over and then the nibasha ride to the village. There's no such thing as youkai.

The next morning Kagome was awoken by the sound of someone moving around inside the hut. Opening her eyes she saw Kaede gathering some herbs and wrapping them into a bundle. Confused, she sat up and attempted to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"Kaede-san?" Kagome said still rubbing her left eye with the back of her hand.

"Hai, child?" the old miko replied as she tucked the bundle into her haori.

"What are you doing?" She asked still watching the old woman from her position on the futon.

"A villager is sick and it is my duty as a miko to tend the sick," Kaede explained as she watched Kagome stretch, "I am sorry to leave you alone on your first day here, child."

"That's all right. I'll just do some exploring while you're gone," Kagome said while giving Kaede a warm smile.

"Be careful, child. We would not want you to be eaten by a youkai on your first full day at this village," Kaede cautioned as a slight frown adorned her face.

Once more Kagome fought the urge to roll her eyes, but instead assured the miko that she would be careful. Kagome watched as Kaede finished gathering everything she would need and then leave the small hut.

Stretching one last time Kagome looked around the now empty room. Not really sure she wanted to wonder through the village alone, and she definitely knew she did not want to go into the woods alone, Kagome decided that this would be the perfect time to go and explore the shrine that was located at the top of all those stairs.

With that decided Kagome quickly changed into a simple light blue dress she had brought from home and pulled her hair into a loose ponytail at the base of her neck. After eating a quick breakfast, Kagome slipped on a pair of zouri and out of the hut.

The village was already wide awake. Women tended to their homes and children ran through the streets, while the men tended to the fields. As she stepped fully out of the hut and into the bright sunshine, a few of the women looked up from their chores and stared at her. A child bumped into her as he darted away from his mother. Kagome turned and gave him a small smile, the boy quickly turned away and ran back to hide behind his mother's legs. Looking to the mother with an apologetic smile, it was quickly wiped from her face as the woman gave her a hard look and herded her child away. Kagome looked over to a group of women who were mending clothes in time to see them give her a weary look before herding there children away as well. With a determined smile on her face Kagome made her way to the base of the stairs that led up to the village shrine. She would not let these people ruin her day. It was her first in a new place and she intended to make the best of it. The smile quickly disappeared as she stared up at the sheer amount of steps. With a weary sigh Kagome started the long trek up the stairs.

Sixty-nine…seventy…seventy-one…seventy-two, why are there so many stairs? Kagome thought exhausted, Kaede must be the most in shape old person in all of Japan.

When she finally reached the top of the stairs Kagome was tempted to sit down right then and there and never get up again, but as she looked back in the direction of the stairs that thought was quickly cast out of her mind. Beyond the stairs, the village lay sprawled at the edge of the forest. From this height Kagome could see that the village was larger than she had first suspected. It wasn't that there were more hut, but that the village was spread out to cover a larger distance and the fields only helped to enlarge the overall view. While the village was a sight to behold, it wasn't what had captured Kagome's attention.

Beyond the village the forest, Inuyasha's Forest, spread out as far as the eye could see. It seemed as though there was no end in sight. Amidst the foliage one tree stood high above the rest. Even from this distance Kagome was astounded by the mere size of the giant tree and all the surrounding trees seemed dwarfed by its height. Kagome made a mental note to herself that she would have to make time to go and look at the tree at a closer distance later.

After a few moments passed Kagome turned her eyes to the shrine. The shrine that stood before her was surrounded in an aura of peace and tranquility. Everything about the shrine exuded the Japanese culture, from the sweeping roof with its gentle curves to the intricate carvings above the door and on every pillar. Kagome stood once again in awe, while the shrine was not large by any standards it could not be called small either. To the left of the shrine stood a small sotoba marking a grave.

Curious, Kagome ventured closer and stood before the grave. The sotoba came up to about her waste and was covered in intricate engravings. Reaching out a hand, she gently placed her hand upon the wood of the sotoba. Her heart suddenly felt heavy and a feeling of great sorrow overcame her. Reverently she traced the kanji engraved into the wood. It wasn't until she pulled her hand away from the sotoba that she realized that she was shaking. Trying to calm her self down she took in a deep breath and held it, then let it out as she stepped away from the grave. Who's buried here? She thought somberly. Shaking her head in an attempt to dispel the dreary thoughts from her head, she turned away from the grave and made her way towards the shrine.

Spying a broom lying to the side of the entrance, Kagome headed over and picked it up. Kaede would most likely be busy dealing with sick villager for a while, so Kagome decided to busy herself with tidying up the small shrine. It shouldn't take too long, she reasoned.

The sun shone brightly overhead, bearing down on the raven-haired girl who stood at the bottom of a steep set of steps. The girl smiled triumphantly as she finished sweeping the last step and placed her free hand on her hip while the other clutched the broom.

Finished, Kagome thought as her smile turned into a satisfied grin. It had taken her the better part of three hours to sweep the shrine, its surrounding grounds, and lastly (and the most evil of all in Kagome's opinion) the stairs from hell themselves.

"Higurashi-san," a voice called from behind her.

Still grinning with self-satisfaction, Kagome turned to see Kaede standing in front of her hut with a basket in her arms.

"Go put that broom away and we can eat a quick lunch," Kaede ordered with a slight nod in the direction of the steps.

"Hai, Kaede-san," Kagome answered still grinning, but that grin quickly disappeared as she spied the steps that she would have to trudge up once more. With a slight grimace Kagome began the long ascent of the stairs she had officially labeled as The Stairway From Hell. As she climbed the stairs, she missed the small smile that was sent in her direction before it disappeared into the old woman's hut.

Placing the broom back in front of the shrine entrance she sent a quick glance in the direction of the sotoba. Her breath caught in throat as she saw a flash of red disappearing into the woods. She unconsciously took a step back and nearly screamed as her back came in contact with the wooden wall of the shrine. The small jolt of adrenaline was enough to set her body in motion and in no time she was racing across the shrine grounds and practically flying down the stairs.

Without stopping she burst forward into Kaede's hut and nearly caused the poor woman to have a heart attack. The spoon that had been in Kaede's hand dropped to the ground with a clatter as spun around to face the intruder.

"Child, what on earth has gotten into you?" Kaede asked breathlessly. Upon seeing the terrified girl trembling were she stood Kaede let the spoon lay forgotten and turned her attention to Kagome, "What is wrong, child?"

"There…ther-I…" Kagome stuttered nervously. Would she believe me? Kagome thought nervously, That should be obvious, idiot. Of course she'll believe me, she believes in youkai and that kind of stuff, but do I believe me? Maybe I didn't really see that, maybe I was just tired from sweeping all those stairs, maybe the sun got to me, maybe…

"Child, are you alright? Perhaps you should sit down," Kaede's firm voice cut through Kagome's thoughts, forcing the girl to refocus on her.

"I-I…I saw…" Kagome almost whispered. She paused for a moment to close her eyes and strengthen her resolve, "Nothing. It was nothing, Kaede-san"

Kaede frowned at the girl's answer. She was obviously terrified, but it was also obvious that she did not want to tell her what she saw, or perhaps she did not want to believe what she saw? Shaking her head, Kaede glanced back at the girl standing just before her doorway. Kagome stood nervously in front of her, her hands were wringing that poor dress of hers into a wrinkled mess and if she bit any harder she would most likely pierce through her bottom lip. She would not force the girl to tell her what she saw, it would be revealed to them in due time.

"None the less, you should sit down. You look positively petrified and the soup is almost ready as well," Kaede's request came out more as an order and Kagome found herself seating herself across from the old woman.

With no further comment, Kaede began spooning the soup out of the pot and into two small bowls. Handing one to Kagome and keeping the other to herself, Kaede leaned back to observe the still rattled girl in front of her.

"What were you doing at the shrine?" Kaede asked as she watched the girl simply drag her spoon through the soup.

"I was sweeping. I thought you wouldn't have time to tend to the shrine, since you were tending to the sick villager, so I thought that I could help out a little, and…um…I'll just be quiet now," Kagome responded, still flustered from earlier. Way to go Higurashi, now she probably thinks you're slow or something, She thought as an embarrassed blush crept up her cheeks.

"That was very kind of you," Kaede said, attempting to hold back the smile that had started to creep across her face.

Kagome's face darkened with the compliment, and she dedicated all of her focus on eating her soup, it was actually pretty good, unlike that sorry excuse of soup back on the rust-bucket. A somewhat comfortable silence settled over the two as they finished their small meal. After she had finished her soup, Kagome glanced up at Kaede to find the woman staring at her.

"Kaede-san?" Kagome asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Hai, child?" Kaede responded looking Kagome straight in the eyes.

"Ther-there was a grave…up at the shrine," Kagome said averting her eyes and still speaking that overly quiet voice.

"Hai, child, there is a grave near the shrine," Kaede responded still looking at Kagome, prompting the girl to ask the question she knew was coming.

"Who is buried there?" Kagome asked turning her head to meet Kaede's gaze.

Making sure she held the girl's gaze, Kaede responded, "That grave belongs to my sister."

"Gomen nasai," Kagome whispered, once more averting her gaze. Great, now I've probably gone and brought up bad memories and she probably hates me, now, for being so nosy and…

"She was this village's miko before myself. The elders respected her for her wisdom, the men revered her for her power, the women envied her for her beauty, and the children loved her for her kind hear," Kaede said staring off into the flames of the dieing fire, "She always felt so alone, and expected it to always be that way. In her heart she believed that in order to be a good miko she must separate herself from the rest of the world, but in her soul she longed to be an average girl and lead a normal life. She never expected to find love, but she did.

"A young man came into her life and my sister believed to have found herself a kindred soul, someone as lonely as she had been. After a time, I truly believe that my sister did fall for the young man, and he returned her sentiments. However, it was not meant to be. The young man turned on her, attempted to take something very close to my sister and failed, but he did not fail in taking her life."

"How tragic," Kagome whispered. To have her life taken away by the one she loved, the thought sent shivers running up and down her spine.

"Hai, that it is." Kaede responded in the same hushed tone.

"What was her name?" Kagome asked turning to face the miko.

Kaede's eyes met her own as she answered, "Kikyou."

Vocab:

Nibasha - wagon, cart

Inu - dog

Zouri - Japanese sandals

Sotoba- wooden grave tablet

Gomen nasai- I'm sorry

AN: Well, there ya go. Until next time -A.H.