A/N: Just to answer the questions some of you had. Nope, it isn't Japan. It isn't Great Brian either.


2.


The forest was dense, full of ancient trees. The undergrowth was thick, fallen trunks decaying where they fell, leaves and fallen branches crunching underfoot. The air practically sang with fresh, wild scents of forest flowers, rich dirt and lush vegetation. It was hot and tasted of sunlight. Birds sang overhead and a herd of roe deers with a few fawns grazed in the middle of a small glen near a bubbling stream. Green and golden light seemed to drip down from the canopy of branches above like honey.

Branches swayed and flowers bowed their colorful heads as she ran past them. Her hair whipped on the wind as she leaped over the fallen logs and rocks on her way, switching between racing on the ground and leaping between sturdy, rough branches of the trees. The terrain wasn't flat, which made the whole experience even more exhilarating. She was free, she was fast, she was strong. Nothing could stop her, nothing dared to challenge her right to run, to laugh, to be herself, to dwell in the forest-covered hills. She was free to sing, to dance in the moonlight, to play the sunlight beams as if they were strings of a harp. Her heart beat fast, her blood rushing through hr veins, she let her bare feet carry her. Her loose-fitting robes not restraining her in the slightest as she dashed through the land. Her aura spread around her like a windblown mantle of power, like a tail of a comet.

She realized that she was headed towards a certain destination. Her nostrils flared as she caught the scent. She felt her lips smiling, she wanted to be where the scent originated from. She wanted to climb the smooth, ageless branches, she wanted to nap in the highest branches.

Noodle, the farm dog, barked outside of the window, waking Kagome before she could reach the destination she was running towards. She sat p with a sigh, it was the third night she had this dream, the third night she was living at her grandfather's shrine. The sun was up, it was time to get up herself.

She pulled on a plain green dress and made her bed, before she walked to where the corner housing her small washing area was. She splashed some water in her face and quickly tied her hair in a loose tail. It was a familiar routine by now. After that she went to open her window and let in fresh, summer air. Her window faced the orchard and she stood there for a moment, admiring the various shades of green, gleaming in the sunlight.

Suzaku, Hojo's wife and the maid at the house, was probably already starting the fire in the kitchen fireplace. The young couple lived in a small hut near the Higurashi house, which gave them privacy, but Kagome guessed that during winter was tiresome, since they had to come over really early to work - Hojo to tend to the animals, Suzaku to start working on the breakfast.

Kagome smiled before she went to go help the maid. Today, while Suzaku and Mrs Higurashi were going to go to the town and visit with some of the ladies Kagome's mom knew from the time she'd visited the shrine. Mrs Higurashi had exchanged letters with at least two of them over the years and now was eager to see them and rekindle their close bonds from the past. Since Kagome's mom was going to act as the mistress of the house, at least until Souta took a wife, it was important for her to not only attend the weekly market, but also meet the farmers selling their products. Kagome was also glad that her mother had some old friends here, the middle-aged woman was a very social person and would want to meet the ladies of the town as soon as possible. It was just a matter of time her mother joined at least one circle or ladies meeting for tea, sewing and some healthy dose of gossip.

Kagome hoped to join Souta for his first lesson as a priest - it was going to occur around midday. Last night, during the supper, grandpa had declared that Souta had had enough running around and exploring the grounds, it was the time for him to start his studies. Kagome smiled, remembering the boy's pout. Souta wasn't too keen on the learning, but it was inevitable. Kagome guessed it was best to start training young, so he had enough time to get good at that. Actually, Kagome was a bit envious of him, since he was going to be the next priest of the shrine.

She also hoped she could learn alongside him, so she could become a priestess. Priestesses were much rarer than priests in the times of peace, but it was a way of life that enticed Kagome. She knew she could become a good priestess, help others and try to make the world a better place. She could work at a bigger shrine, helping the main shrine keeper, or move to a tiny village shrine, where she could work to support herself and help others.

It was much better than becoming a housewife, at least to her. She was a decent cook and liked to clean, but she liked the idea of being independent. Sometimes she daydreamed about being a boy instead of a girl and going to a university like her father, becoming a medic and healing people. Boys had much more options for what to do than girls, sadly. Still, she was living at a shrine now, with a real priest who was her grandfather. She was positive that he'd not mind her learning alongside Souta, especially if she was a good, obedient student.

Quietly, Kagome walked down the corridor, not wanting to wake anyone who might be still sleeping. Grandpa seemed to have a habit of not leaving his bedroom before the call for breakfast, Souta loved to sleep as long as he could and her mother liked to sew in the fresh morning light. Which left Kagome to go and help the maid before they all came down. Kagome didn't mind much, since this way she could enjoy the first tea of the day while helping the woman that was just a few years older than herself and five months pregnant. She guessed that when the time came for the young mother, Kagome would take over the morning meal preparing duty to relieve her at least a bit. She wasn't too skilled of a cook, but she could make eggs and bacon decent enough.

Besides, the maid was a pleasant person to talk to. She liked to tend to the vegetable garden and to flowers, finding pride in how tidy and pretty they were. She was usually quiet and shy, but Kagome had high hopes to have a friend in hr.

They were putting the plates and silverware on the dinning table in the living room, when Kagome spoke suddenly.

"I had the same dream again," she said with a smile as she looked at Suzaku. "The one where I run through a forest."

"I think it's because of all the forest around here, Miss Kagome," the maid, a tiny, dark-haired woman with round face and kind eyes, smiled. "I think it will go away when you go for a stroll in the forest. Just not too far, there are wild animals there."

"I will go for a walk there when I have a free while," Kagome nodded. "Bu I hope I will still have this dream, it was very pleasant."

"Maybe the land kami greets you or sends you a message? They say that some of your ancestors could receive messages in their sleep," the woman said, her eyes wide and curious. "I mean, you are not a priestess, but you might be one day, right?"

"I hope so," Kagome smiled. "And if it's from the kami, I am really grateful for the dream."

Soon after the rest of Kagome's family came down for the meal, Hojo came in to join them, smelling of hay, his hands freshly washed after his morning work. Souta stood next to Kagome beside the table when their mother and grandfather took their places. The priest lifted his hands and spoke a short prayer over the food waiting on the table. They all bowed their heads and prayed for a moment, thanking the deity for the food. At the sign from the aged man, they all sat down and started to eat. The meal was a quiet, rather short affair, Kagome spent it planning how to finish her chores as soon as possible, so she could join her brother.

The stew for lunch was already done and all it needed was to be heated when they wanted to eat. Since it was very unlikely that Mrs. Higurashi and the maid would be back for lunch, it was going to be her task to serve the meal. She also had to feed the chickens and collect the eggs - it was one of the things she was doing daily. There were also other things to do, like sweeping the yard and the area surrounding the shrine, making sure both looked neat and tidy. She'd promised Suzaku to water the flowers and the vegetable garden.

As soon as the dishes were done, Mrs. Higurashi put on her hat with a tiny lavender branch sticking out from under a pale violet ribbon and climbed up onto the cart with Suzaku. Kagome saw them off, the horse neighing as he pulled the cart out of the yard. Noodle lazily looked after the vehicle, but didn't move from where he rested near to the house steps. Kagome quickly closed the gate and went to her work.

Kagome worked hard the entire morning, keeping in the faster she was done the faster she could go join Souta.. Happiness and eagerness filled her heart as she carried the buckets of water from the well to the garden and swept the yard with enough energy to cause small dust clouds.

Finally done, she washed herself at the well, made sure that she looked tidy and ran back inside the house and to the study to join Souta. She was going to be a priestess, just like her ancestors had been, she was going to be able to help people, purify bad energies and defend helpless humans against the dark entities that lurked in the night. As she entered the study, Kagome blinked, finding only her brother there, seated at a table under the window.

"Where is grandpa?" she asked as she walked inside the dark room. Only where Souta sat the daylight illuminated the area near the table, the rest of the room was shadowy and cool, especially to Kagome who had spent the whole morning outside in the warm sunlight. The boy sitting at the table looked up from a huge book he was reading. His dark brown eyes lit up when he saw his sister.

"He has a visitor to the shrine. He told me to read until he's back," Souta winced and cast a glance to the window through which they could see the garden. There was a twinkle of longing in his gaze.

"If you want, I can read with you," she smiled and went to sit down in a chair next to him. The chair, as he rest of the furniture, was made from dark, heavy wood that made the room look luxurious and somber. The boy pushed the book towards her with a happy smile.

Back in their old home she used to read to him since she could do it. It was one of the things the siblings enjoyed doing, especially during rainy or snowy afternoons. Souta sat more comfortably as she started to read in a quiet voice. Kagome's fingertips slid over the edges of the pages as she read, Souta observing his sister leaning over the huge tome.

The book was about history of the Isle. It started with the story of how the Isle rose from the sea, how the kami chose the first high king of the new kingdom, how over the uncounted years princes and heroes defended the land from all kinds of enemies, how priests warred the dark entities and defended the folk from the fae that ruled in the wild forests and tall mountains.

In each story it was the kami who led the chosen warrior or prince to right the wrongs, to defeat a foe, to free the oppressed. And often fae would try and stop the chosen one, or put his resolve, wits and strength to the test. In many a tale it was a fae who was the evil that had to be slain or driven away, since the wild creatures were often violent, blood thirsty and malicious.

The kami were like the sun, blessing humans with warmth and light, while fae were unpredictable like the wind. While the kami were beings of goodness, protection and order, the fae brought chaos and often hated humans. It was best to avoid them, since one could never know if they were going to kill them, merely trick them or offer assistance - which often required a great price to pay. They could gift the hero with a magical sword. but they also preyed on the travelers, brought bad luck and were vengeful. One who outsmarted a fae was likely to be a target of a major curse. The artifacts given to heroes often failed them in the time of need. The artifacts bestowed on the faithful by the kami never failed them, the blessings never had hidden traps in them.

Luckily, it was rare for a human to meet a fae. They rarely came out from the wild to torment the citizens of the Isle kingdom. There was a saying that their magic couldn't withstand the sound of shrine bells and that one chased by fae should seek refuge at a shrine and pray to the kami for protection. There were also other ways to avoid being targeted by fae, like wearing one's clothes turned inside out. Children were also wearing tiny red threads sewn to their clothing to deflect fae's curses and prevent abduction - the spirits of the wild often changed human infants for clay dolls. No one knew what happened to real children kidnapped by fae. Kagome was thankful that such instances were rare in this age, no parent should lose their child like

She read through the history of the Isle, some of the tales they already knew, like the story about the evil duke, who killed the king and was punished by the kami to be changed into a crying sword, which was gifted to the mourning prince, who then slew a dragon with it, freeing a village from the beast.

But there were stories Kagome and Souta didn't know, like the one where fox fae led a hero through a swamp to test his resolve, before giving him a flaming sword witch which he could battle and rescue his fiancee from a terrible ogre. The siblings paused and talked each such new story over, trying to imagine themselves in the place of the heroes. It was fun and helped Kagome to keep Souta focused as the time passed.

"I'd not follow the blue fire at night,,no matter how pretty it was," Souta declared. "I don't want to get led into a swamp by a fox."

Kagome chuckled and nodded, brushing her fingertips over an image of a fox standing on a patch of grass in the middle of a swamp, a dirty man reaching towards the animal, who had a small eerie blue light burning on the tip of its tail.

"Yes, it's better to rather pray to the kami for guidance." Kagome agreed. "No magic sword is worth swimming through the stale water and having frogs and other animals in your hair." she shook her head.

"Frogs are fine, but if you get a flaming sword like Hiro No Beard, you will get your magnificent beard burned during a fight!" Souta pointed out with a giggle. "I bet the fae was envious of the beard and made sure he'd burn it away with the sword!"

"He should've given the sword to a priest to get the malice purified out of it before he used it." Kagome laughed with her brother.

It was so good to laugh together, even in this rather grim room. Kagome knew many girls didn't have a close bond with their brothers, but Souta and she were always together, playing and studying. And now they were going to learn to be servants of the kami together.

That was when their grandfather came back. The siblings fell silent as the old man looked at them sternly from the doorway. He wore a simple, gray robe of a priest, as was his usual way of dressing. He looked first at Souta, then at Kagome..

"Kagome, you shouldn't distract your brother from his studies," he said gruffly. "Kami know he's an active child, who loses his focus easily."

"I didn't lose my focus, grandfather!" Souta pouted, a light blush on his face at the remark. "We were reading the book you told me to read! Kagome reads much better than I do."

The boy pointed to the book still lying on the table in front of Kagome, who was biting her bottom lip, feeling a wave of anxiety.

"Even more reason for you to train your skills, young mam. A priest should read flawlessly," the old priest said sternly and Souta lowered his head. With a heavy sigh the boy pulled the book back to where it had been before, in front of himself.

"Yes, grandfather," he said in a resigned tone of voice, gluing his eyes to the paragraph where Kagome had stopped reading. From time to time his mouth twitched as he tried to piece together harder words.

Kagome looked at the old man, who was still staring at her expectantly from beside the open door. The silence stretched for a while. Her grandfather didn't like to talk much outside of his priestly lectures to the people. Since their arrival he'd spoken to her just a few times, but she knew he wasn't shy about voicing his opinions. It felt more like now he expected her to do something without him saying anything, willing her to just figure out what he wanted.

Nervously, the girl clenched her fists in the fabric of her dress over her lap, trying to figure out how to word her wish and convince the old priest to allow her to learn alongside Souta. Whenever she'd tried to speak about it before, the discussion somehow had went towards a different subject.

It was quite frustrating, to be honest.

But now there was no way the conversation could go another way. Kagome took a deep breath and straightened her back, looking up as she opened her mouth to speak.

"You are free now, Kagome," her grandpa's voice cut across the speech she had on the end of her tongue. "I am here to watch over Souta's studies. You can go do some sewing or patchwork if you are done with your chores."

Sewing? She wasn't very good at that, she didn't have the patience to make her stitches even.

"Um..." Kagome started and faltered as she looked at the wrinkled face of her grandfather. "Actually... I hoped to..."

"Oh, well, it's such a lovely day." the old man smiled with his thin lips. "You can go have a walk, as long as you don't stray too far into the forest. You could collect some wild flowers for the dinning table."

She was planning to go for a walk in the near future, but not right now. And she wouldn't pick up pretty flowers just to have them slowly die in a pot on the table.

"I hoped I could learn along with Souta," she blurted out, causing the old priest to frown a little. "I always wanted to be a priestess. And I promise to be a dutiful student. I won't be any trouble, I swear."

Well, it wasn't as pretty as she wanted it to be, but it was sincere and had to do. She looked pleadingly at the aged man, biting her bottom lip. She finally got to make her wish, now it was up to him to decide.

"Yes, grandpa, allow Kagome to learn with me," Souta chimed in. "She's pretty smart, for an older sister. She can write and read very well and she isn't as annoying as girls can get."

Kagome felt a wave of warmth at her brother's words. The boy was sometimes a pain in the posterior, but he was a good kid. And it was obvious grandfather favored him, so having him on her side wouldn't hurt.

"Women don't become priestesses in the time of peace and prosperity," the old man stated after a moment. "Only when men are busy defending the Isle, are priestesses needed. Or when they can't find suitable husbands to wed. There is no need for you to dedicate your life to the faith and abandon your womanly right."

His voice and face were calm and kind, as if he was enlightening her on the benefits of wearing a hood over one's head when it rains. Still, it was a 'no' and Kagome clenched her firsts more, trying to find a way to make him change his mind.

"But I want to help others," she objected, her voice a bit louder. as she pleaded hen cause. "I don't care for marriage and kids. I don't mind working to support myself."

"You say it now, but give it a few years and you'll change your mind," the priest shook his head. "I won't subject my granddaughter to a life of regret. I have decided, Kagome. You are not going to be a priestess."

The tone of his voice indicated that he had no doubts about it and there was no room for discussion. Kagome's lower lip trembled as she looked into the face that resembled her kind, loving father. There was no hate, only firmness in the old priest's expression, which was even worse. He denied her wish because he thought it was for the better. His decision was one made out of concern, even if his reasons were wrong.

"But, grandfather..." she uttered, feeling tears threatening to fill her eyes.

"Can't she join us for now?" Souta asked, obviously trying to help his sister. "I mean she won't distract me and she can learn until..."

."Souta," their grandfather sighed heavily. "It's not acceptable. Kagome is a daughter of a well-respected and wealthy family. There is much she has to learn in order to assume and perform her duties as a wife in the future, she can't spend her time lingering around dusty books and learning things she won't need."

"Besides," he continued as he looked sternly at them both. "I cannot limit my time schooling you, I am old and weary, I won't be able to perform as a priest for much longer. You have to learn and perfect your skills fast."

"But... I could..." Kagome started, but the priest lifted a hand.

"Silence. It's final Do not bring up this foolish daydream again. It might have some allure to wear robes of a priestess, but it is a hard work to battle darkness and lead the community according to the will of the kami," Mr. Higurashi declared firmly. "It is not a task a feeble female can perform correctly. And the town will soon be in a need of a good priest when I retire. Stop your foolishness, you two."

Tears filled her eyes and Kagome fought not to allow them to fall. She clutched the fabric of her dress in her hands so hard that her knuckles were white. She could see Souta's sympathetic expression from where he sat beside her, his own head lowered.

"Now, stop stalling," the priest said. "Souta, continue your reading. Kagome, go to your room."

Kagome lifted her eyes to her grandfather again and saw the glint in his eye, one she remembered her father had had when he'd went to heal people that were in a really bad shape, just to bring them back to health. It was the stubborn, steel-hard determination of Higurashis.

She stood mechanically and pushed the chair back close to the table, a sense of defeat and finality filling her heavy heart. She wasn't going to sit here any time soon. She touched Souta's back as she walked behind him and around the table, trying to silently tell him that she was going to be fine.

Her grandfather smiled at her when she walked towards the door.

"Don't be sad, child. It was just a fantasy that many a girl have at some point in life. Soon you'll see it this way as well. Don't worry, I will make sure you will get a good husband when your time for marriage comes, a young, wealthy and handsome one, a respectable man who will take care of you."

Kagome felt an urge to shout, but knew it wouldn't help, it'd just make her grandfather think she was childish. Instead, she stopped in the door and looked back at her grandfather sitting down in his favorite chair. She wanted to tell him she didn't want to marry and that even if she wanted there would be no man that would appreciate her personality anyway. But she knew he'd think her over dramatic.

It was all stupid. She was a girl, so what? She could be a priestess if she put her mind to it. She could be as good as any priest. She certainly wasn't going to silently let her grandfather choose a husband for her. She was a Higurashi too, which meant she was as stubborn and determined as her grandpa, that she wasn't going to relinquish her dream only because he said 'no'.

So, instead of saying anything, she bowed her head properly and left the room, making sure her steps were as silent as usual as she climbed up the stairs to her room.

It was when she was in her room, behind the closed door, when she let her tears of frustration and disappointment fall. She fell onto the bed and hit the pillow with her fist, sobbing at the injustice in the world.

"It's so stupid!" Men could be independent and support themselves, and follow their dreams. She, a girl, wasn't even allowed to try.

Which only made her want to prove them wrong more.

It was after a few minutes of crying that she realized that she could hear music.

Holding her breath and tensing, Kagome listened to the silent melody, a strange instrument she'd never heard before. With a frown she sat up and looked around, confused and disoriented for a moment. The tune was so otherworldly, nothing like Kagome knew. It was making her feel better, somehow. It made her want to leave all her worries behind and just follow the rhythm of the music that seemed to come from nearby, but there was no one who could play - she was in the house alone with Souta and her grandfather, who were certainly not in possession of any kind of a flute - or what she supposed had to be a strange flute.

Besides, the sound was coming from behind the wardrobe.