The Isle of Virote

Chapter Two

Himitsu

It was not hard to hide the soreness that racked her body the following morning. The rutting on the balcony had just been the beginning of a long night that would leave her sated for several moons. These encounters had been routine for the past five years and the following morning's soreness was something that she even embraced.

Kikyou eyed the list of potential candidates from her late father's court as the carriage jolted down the hidden path. The cushions and silks that covered the interior of the carriage served as a buffer.

Today she was going to see her sister.

If Sesshoumaru and the other members of the Circle were suspicious of just where she went on her weekly travels or who she met up with Kikyou wasn't aware. She sincerely doubted that they even cared. After all they had gone out of their way to make reclaiming her throne quite a challenge. For all they knew she had not a friend in the world.

They weren't that far off.

Her late night visitor certainly didn't count.

Her sister was all she had. That said Kikyou never felt quite comfortable around her younger sibling. It wasn't that she didn't love her. She loved the girl with all her heart. She had so many fond memories of when they were children together. Her little sister looked like her in so many ways, only a little rougher around the edges. She was blessed with the same fair skin and ebony locks, but they never gave her the classic beauty. She had been a prankster and always founds ways of making Kikyou smile no matter what sort of rumors court intrigue always managed to dwell up. Her sister and her rare innocence had always been something that would make her smile. Whatever jealously the younger sister held for Kikyou in matters of suitors it was always well hidden and never lasted long.

All of this was in days long past.

The carriage slowed to a stop and Kikyou rose from the cushions to descend down the steps.

Her sister had never been the same since the accident.

Kikyou had been the one to discover them. Naraku had been there, looming (there was no other word for it) over the prone form of her little sister. Even the memory of the scene caused her heart to clench. There had been something so wrong with the situation. Something that caused uneasiness to gnaw at her constantly, even now.


"Naraku!" The desire that has presence normally aroused in her didn't even have time to rise when she saw the prone body that lay near him. Hiking up her skirts, the princess made for the two of them. "What happened?"

Naraku turned to face Kikyou and the princess was surprised at the concern she saw in those eyes. He waited until she had knelt beside the bruised form of her sister before speaking.

"I don't know. I was on my way up to the Court when I heard shouting. I saw those men running away."

Kikyou raised her head, her grey eyes brimming with tears, and she followed the direction that Naraku was pointing at. What she saw made her stomach clench and a sour taste rose in the back of her throat.

Two bodies lay, mutilated, in blood stained grass. There arms, legs, and necks were bent at unnatural angles. Their bellies had been split open and the contents had spilled onto the ground. It was then that she noticed that the saber Naraku always wore was unsheathed and dripped of blood. Only then did the metallic stench reach her nose. She looked down at the way her sister's clothing was ripped, at the blood that trickled out of the corner of her mouth, and the bruises that colored her skin. She was unable to hold it in any longer. She turned away from her sister and emptied the contents of her stomach into the grass next to her. When Naraku handed her his kerchief she accepted and it was only when she cleaned what remained on her mouth that she realized that she was crying.

"Was it them?" Her voice was surprisingly even.

Naraku nodded.

"Did you kill them?"

Another nod.

"Good." Her gray eyes flashed with a rare hateful emotion as she surveyed the corpses, no longer with disgust.

They should have known better then to touch her.

The Jewel of Hishell, Shikon.


Somehow Kikyou had been unable to bring her sister back to the palace. Her parents would be shamed if they knew. Most likely they would have killed her. It was unforgivable in Hishell if a woman was unable to protect her own virtue.

She and Naraku had saved her.

"Kikyou-san!"

Kikyou had to force herself smile at the women, only three years younger then herself that bounded towards her in a fashion that was defiantly un-ladylike. She raised an eyebrow. The girl blushed quickly realizing her mistake.

"Gomen nasai, I forgot!" She stopped to catch her breathe. When her breathing had finally slowed to normal she grinned up at Kikyou. "Nee-san."

It broke Kikyou's heart to see her sister like this. She knew she should have been used to it by now, but it was so hard. The attack against her had not only robbed her of her chastity but her memory of well. Losing the memory of the attack was a blessing, but to not know her own sister?

"Naraku-kun said you would be coming today." She grasped the older woman's hand and started pulling forward. "Come on! I have something to show you!"

"Kagome-chan." Kikyou gasped at the rough tugging. "This is most unladylike!"

Kagome pouted but then smiled again. She released the hand of the sister she did not remember and contented herself to walk at a slower pace.

She no longer wore the royal finery she once had, but Naraku and Kikyou made sure that she still wore suitable clothing. It was peasant-style, covering her body in a toga-like fashion, but made of silk. The place she called home was one of the few grassy areas on the Isle, and was tended to by their old nurse maid. She was the only other person who knew the truth of what had happened to the former crown princess and would never tell. Kagome had always been Kaede's favorite charge and she would never let any harm befall her.

The work was light. All she was required to do was to bind the paper that was harvested from the cypress. Even the hands that worked in the fields, far away from the cottage, went about their labors at a leisurely pace.

"Kagome-chan."

She looked over at the girl who claimed she was her older sister. The girl who was now hiking up her own gauzy skirts in the same manner Kagome had earlier. She wore a rare, goofy smile on her face.

"I'll race you." With that she took off.

"Nee-san! That's not fair!" She cried as she chased after the other woman.

Kikyou laughed loudly as her feet pounded the ground, rushing towards the cottage.

Despite everything, it was times like this that made everything seem alright.


Wow, two chapters for the same story in one shot. Actually, that's only because I decided to split Chapters 1 & 2. I'm being very strict with keep the chapters at four to five pages. I hope everyone's enjoying this so far. Be prepared to jump three years into the future next chapter!