Twice Lost, Once Found
An Inu-yasha fanfic
A story of a special someone who did not exist in their lives long enough to mention.
Chapter Five: Reincarnation
Kaede almost fainted with fright when she saw the young woman walking with Inu-yasha, Kagome and the others. The villagers had been telling the truth. This was her sister, not simply a fake body and fragments of a broken soul, returned to her after all these years.
Koemi stopped a few yards from her youngest sister, her smile great, but sad. "Sister Kaede. I missed your whole life, didn't I?"
Kaede was at a loss for words. She was a little bit skeptical since Koemi's priestess outfit had more red and she had confused others for her sister before, but this was pretty undeniably her sister. "K-Kikyo? Is it really-"
Koemi's smile only grew brighter instead of becoming more painful. "No, dear sister. I am not Kikyo."
Kaede had no idea how to respond. Even when Kikyo's body was brought back, Kikyo had not called her sister.
Koemi approached Kaede. "I'm not surprised that you have forgotten me. You are right not remember me. You could not yet stand when I abandoned you and Kikyo."
Koemi placed the basket she had been carrying down and kneeled on one knee before the elderly Kaede. "I've come here to beg your forgiveness for having wronged you and our sister and I wish you to witness my vow that I will never do it again."
The old and hardened Kaede looked down at the down cast head of one that looked so much like the sister she had always adored and who had been stolen from her too soon.
The villagers were all waiting in anticipation for what Kaede would do. Kaede, herself, was waiting for what she'd do. She looked up at Inu-yasha and Kagome. Kagome smiled and nodded, but Inu-yasha crossed his arms, looking cross himself, and shouted. "She's telling the truth, you old bag."
A sweat dropped appeared on Kagome's forehead as Inu-yasha shattered the beauty of the moment like always. "She had a very convincing story," she added.
Kaede looked at Kagome and then down to the woman kneeling before her. Kaede sighed a little and placed a hand on Koemi's head. "I shall let you explain yourself first, I suppose."
She could hear Koemi's slight laugh as the young woman looked up at her. "Of course. I'd expect no less."
They were all sitting in a circle, many others watching from a distance, as questions were answered and Koemi explained all of her story. It was an interesting one. Many parts of her story explained things about Kikyo.
When the demon had attacked their village, Koemi saw the demon kill her parents, and would've done something about it, but Kikyo was close behind her. Koemi had wrapped her arms around her sister and told her to put all of it behind her, the she was going to avenge their parents, and she did.
The original demon was killed within the first few years of it being sealed. It had been slain by another demon, seeking out demon's to devour to increase its own strength. Koemi's vow had been fulfilled, but she knew she couldn't willingly release this demon, so she sealed it away. The longer she remained there the stronger the demons became. If the one she sealed defeated its opponent, it grew stronger. If the opponent defeated the sealed one, then she sealed away the stronger being.
When asked why she didn't just kill the demon, Koemi laughed. Apparently she had never raised a hand against anything in her life. She merely had to will something to be pure to purifying it, her power approaching the strength of the Legendary Priestess Midoriko. Koemi could not kill. Kikyo had always been the one who had to do that for her. Since Koemi barely wished to harm the plants when she picked them, let alone demons, Kikyo had to be her bow. Since a very young age, Kikyo could purify objects through her hands, which allowed her to use things like sacred arrows. This meant, everyone assumed, that Koemi had been stronger than even Kikyo. Kikyo, most of the time, had to focus her energy into something for it to have an effect, where Koemi could simply will it. She admitted she was slightly out of practice, however.
"I wish-" Koemi started as the circle was beginning to shrink and there was only Lady Koemi, Lady Kaede and Inu-yasha left. "I wish I had been there for you two. Perhaps then Kikyo might've been happier."
Kaede sighed and Inu-yasha looked at Koemi with a tinge of anger. "Kikyo was happy. Sure life was hard, but it was hard for everyone and she was happy for what she had."
Kaede was happy for Inu-yasha support. "Kikyo always did her best so that the village could live peacefully. When the times were the worst, our happiness was her happiness and we were grateful for that."
Koemi remembered this. She would never forget it. Perhaps one day she would accept this answer, but for now the best she could give was a wounded smile for she still felt regret. She would not let go of this regret, just as Kikyo would not let go of her anger, for a long time to come. "Then I will have to take up what had I forced our sister to leave behind. I shall be the peoples' hope again as she was."
She smiled brightly at her elderly sister and her deceased sister's lover. "If that's all right with you."
They smiled the way stubborn people smiled. "We'd expect nothing less."
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Epilogue
"Kagome? May I ask you something?"
"Oh, yes, of course. What is it, Koemi?"
Koemi fingered over the lantern plants, shifting her weight on her knees in her kneeling position in the field. "How do you look so much like Kikyo?"
Kagome could've frozen up, almost dropping the herbs she had picked. It seemed like a reasonable question. She was actually surprised Koemi had not asked it before. "Well, I think I'm Kikyo's reincarnation."
"Reincarnation?" Koemi gasped in slight surprise. "Reincarnated so soon? That's interesting."
"Well..." Kagome rubbed the back of her head, not sure how much of what was going on she should explain. "Well, ya see, I came from a long line of priests and we've watched this shrine for generations. I had the Shikon Jewel inside my body, ya see, and one day a demon dragged me down the Bone Eaters Well."
"The Bone Eaters Well?" Koemi pondered this for a moment. "You mean that dry well in the woods back there? You came through that? From where?"
Kagome laughed to herself, not sure how to put this. "From here."
"From here? How could you have watched this shrine for generations when you're here now?"
"Well..." Kagome paused and decided to just come out with it. "I'm from about 500 years in the future."
Koemi just looked at her for a minute, neither of them saying anything until Koemi put a hand on Kagome's forehead and took Kagome's wrist in her other hand to check her pulse.
"No, no, really. I'm from the future. Ask Inu-yasha. He'll tell you all about it. He comes to get me most of the time."
"Alright then." Koemi shook her hair out, then tied the two separate hair ties back in as she pondered (her hair's long enough to require two ties). Koemi's face actually began to light up as she thought upon this new information. She plucked the Lantern plant and started giggling as she placed it in her basket and started to stand.
"What is it?" Kagome asked, standing as well and following her.
"Let me get this straight. You're from the future and you've come from a long line of priests that have watch this shrine of yours that's in this same location for generations."
"Yes. In fact that tree over there is in my yard."
Koemi nodded, fitting the pieces together in her head. "And you are Kikyo's reincarnation?"
"Yes. That's what they say."
"Which means that you're related to her somehow, right?"
"Y- uhh..." Kagome wasn't sure what to say to that. "Ma- maybe... I don't know."
"Well if Kikyo crossed the river (a.k.a. if Kikyo died) before she had kids and Kaede never had any kids, who you think you're the descendent of, then?"
Kagome stopped, thinking. She didn't have to think very long because Koemi turned to grin at her, smiling with a girlish charm.
Kagome paused, collecting her emotions, and then burst out into joyful smiling. "Wow! You really think you could be my ancestor?"
Koemi smirked the way an adolescent would. "I guess I'll have to be real careful about choosing your forefather, won't I?"
Kagome giggled and as they headed back to the village, Koemi looked up at the sky and thought to herself: I wonder if Inu-yasha has a brother.
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Aha! Don't worry; Koemi and Sesshoumaru don't get together for all of you who are worried. It was a joke that set itself up nicely.
Look! See! See what I did? Now Kaede's village has a nice, young priestess who can help them, Kagome's got an ancestor, if Kagome goes away in the end Koemi can raise Shippo, and perhaps Koemi will marry someone of wealth and bring happiness to the village. YEAH! I just explained the different aspects of Kikyo's personality too. I wish I could draw this instead of write it. It works so much better in the pictures in my head.
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Inu-yasha's not mine, but it doesn't matter 'cause the story's done anyway!
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Damki⦠thank you for reading my chapters and putting effort into it. You are super cool. I'd say more, but I've been praising you since chapter 1.
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Thank you for taking part in Koemi's adventure with me. I'm happy you could be a part of it.
