It was a beautiful sunshiny day and Kagome, as the reincarnation of the great priestess Kikyo, was now a Miko-in-training for her village; and was going to gather herbs. Kaede had shown her a few spots to pick some of the harder to find ones before but they seemed so far away. They lived next to a large forest where they were sure to grow in abundance, but it was said to be haunted. Kaede said she had tried to clear out the poor restless spirits but her reiki wasn't powerful enough. She hoped Kagome once she had fully recognized her power would be able to lay them to rest finally.
Kagome had been practising exorcising spirits already, and Kaede had taken her to another village just a few weeks ago to finally try it on her own. She had succeeded easily enough. Kaede told her if she had tried she would have been exhausted due to the amount of reiki it actually required, so she had Kagome practising the same exorcism rites everyday to be able to focus her reiki and perhaps finally free her village from the spirits that plagued the nearby area.
She debated for several minutes until she finally decided she might as well try, it's not as if the spirits would be strong enough to hurt her with her reiki as a defense, and perhaps she could surprise Kaede and the rest of the village. She had a reputation to live up to and they expected her to be Kikyo. If this was something Kikyo couldn't do, then maybe if she could she would come into her own and finally be Kagome and not Kikyo reincarnated.
She wanders aimlessly into the forest with a basket on her arm still gathering the herbs she needs while keeping a wary eye out for anything dangerous. She can feel a youki but it doesn't feel like the ghost she exorcised before. She doesn't feel any jyaki or negativity in it, but it is definitely a strong youkai. How did Kaede not recognize the difference? She never left home without her bow and arrows so she was prepared to defend herself from anything, and she decided she might as well investigate. She had been practising hiding her reiki so that she would not be easily found and put up a basic barrier making her spiritually invisible.
As she approached she found a clearing and she saw a hunched figure in red, with bright silver hair. She strengthens the barrier to keep herself hidden and steps a little closer, moving as silently as she can. As she gets closer she realizes he is gently stroking a stone with a name carved in it. She can't quite make out the name with where he is standing so she waits for a moment to see if he will turn around. She doesn't want to startle him, especially while he is paying his respects to someone who has passed, but she doesn't want him to be angry that she was spying on him so she still prepares her bow but doesn't pull the arrow taut.
Then as she takes a step paying more attention to the figure than her steps, she puts her weight down on a small branch and its crack echoes through the silence. His head whips around and she is struck by his beautiful golden eyes, even if they are wide in fear and shock, then her eyes drift up and she sees two adorable ears that resemble her childhood Shiba Inu's, and she can't stop the grin that spreads across her cheeks.
Unfortunately the grin is short lived when she hears a deep visceral growl erupt from the man. She takes a deep breath and decides she is the one intruding she shouldn't show up with an arrow drawn. She gently relaxes the arrow the rest of the way, even though he is clearly angry and frightened she still can't feel any jyaki from him. He clearly doesn't want to hurt her. She smiles a small gentle smile, "Hi, I'm sorry I startled you. My name is Kagome and I came to gather herbs. I didn't mean to intrude on your solitude.-" before she can continue his gruff and angry voice interrupts, "Then get the fuck out! No one wants you here!" She is taken aback for a moment, then her smile disappears.
She just nods slowly, "Yeah, I can see that." Her meek attitude betrays her emotions, and she fights it for a moment, it's not like she is wanted anywhere, as Kagome. Her own village just wants her to be Kikyo. She keeps trying to do her best so that she can protect everyone, but all she ever wanted is to just be accepted as Kagome. With her emotions coming too close to the surface, she struggles to fight them back down, but it seems her concentration needs to be the next thing she practises because her barrier drops and the man can now feel her reiki.
His eyes go wide again, and he lunges at her. In immediate reaction she pulls the bow up and forces her reiki into the wood. As he comes too close he is stopped in his tracks as her blast of reiki explodes from the part of the bow he comes in contact with. Suddenly his silver hair turns black, and his once golden eyes are now a deep brown. She only sees his brown eyes for an instant before he is blasted back from the blow and is lying unconscious on the ground.
She didn't mean to hurt him, but she wasn't going to let him hurt her either. She still rushes over to his side to see if he is badly wounded. As she begins investigating to see if there are any physical wounds, his eyes flutter open and his words cut her to the quick, "Kikyo?" Her heart drops into her stomach, and her head falls until her chin is against her chest. After a deep breath she stands up and begins to walk away. His voice is hurt, and the pain clear in his voice is the only thing that stops her, "Kikyo, please don't leave me again." She stops but won't turn back to look at him.
Her voice is soft and sad, "I'm not Kikyo. I'm sorry if that's who you were hoping for, but it's not possible. She's no longer with the realm of the living." She is staring into the trees, and a tear slides down her cheek unbidden. She clears her throat and swallows the lump that has arisen there, "Are you the supposed ghost of the forest, that we are to fear? Did Kikyo start that rumor to protect you?" His voice comes out as a whisper, "What do you mean, she's no longer with the living? Kikyo who the fuck are you trying to fool? There's no way you aren't Kikyo, you can't fool my nose."
At this her temper finally snaps and she spins around viciously, "Then you'd better check again, dog boy. Because I am not Kikyo, I am Kagome. I'm sorry if I wasn't the one you were hoping for. But believe me, I am beyond used to that. Now, unfortunately if you are the so-called ghost of this forest, then you need to leave. The village is now under my protection, and I will not leave them to be in danger."
He sits up, with a growl, "Well Bitch, I don't think you have the strength to make me leave, so I guess you might have to rethink that. You used your main attack and all it did was temporarily take away my powers, You are still no match for me." Before he can finish that statement however she has her arrow pulled taut and is aiming it point blank at him as he is still sitting upon the ground. His eyes lock on the bow and he knows without his demonic speed he won't be able to move fast enough to dodge it, and the girl is smart, she has made sure that she is out of his reach so he can't just knock it out of her hands. Now he has to think of something else.
"Care to tell me why the fuck you're so touchy anyways? I don't think I did anything in particular to you, nor have I hurt any of your pathetic villagers. What gives you the right to throw me out of my home?"
Her eyes meet his and if looks could kill, he would definitely be dead. "I'm pretty sure you realized I was a miko, after I had already apologized and was more than willing to leave, and you lunged to attack me,"at this statement his face drops in shame for a minute. "So you did do something to me, and you also proved that you are indeed too dangerous for me to allow you to stay here. I can not trust you not to hurt someone if they wandered into the forest. I originally had every intention of letting you be, but you purposely waited until you thought I couldn't defend myself and then tried to attack. Now you can leave by choice, or you can die where you sit, and I will dispose of the bones in the bone eater's well."
His huff is loud and frustrated, "I wasn't fucking attacking you! I can see how you would think that, but it was a misunderstanding. Kikyo is the only person I've seen or spoken to in as long as I can remember. When I smelled you, for some reason you smell so much like her, it tricked me. I didn't know she had died. I just thought she left. I wasn't gonna hurt you. Quite the opposite. If you were her, I was gonna- I was gonna… You know what it's none of your damn business what I would've done if you were Kikyo. You're not her. And I don't think I want to know why you're so mad that I mistook you for someone else, Kikyo was beautiful and kind. You could be compared to someone much worse." His head is still drooped and he wouldn't meet her eyes.
Her voice is soft and has a hint of guilt, she has acted far too rashly, he never struck her, and she still hasn't sensed any jyaki coming from him. She erects her barrier, and lowers her bow and arrow, "You know what, I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm going home. I'll continue to keep people out of the forest, but I will be coming in to get my herbs. I'm not stupid enough to walk 2 hours to get the same herbs from a different forest. If you ever hurt one of the people under my protection though, you'll answer to me Dog boy." As she starts walking away she has a realization, "If you want to come pay your respects to Kikyo's resting place like you do for whoever that is I can arrange that. I understand wanting to say goodbye to those we've lost. Just come out near dark so the people don't see you and think you're there to hurt them." And then she walks away as if to leave this painful memory behind.
She's never killed anything that wasn't attacking her or one of her people and she wasn't going to start today on an injured half demon. She picked up her basket by the edge of the clearing and before she was halfway back she felt his youki return. "Kikyo, Kikyo, Kikyo… It seems no matter where I go I will be trapped in your shadow. Is it possible you were trapped in someone's shadow too, before you were fully trained? It may be selfish, but I kind of hope so, because at least that means there's hope for me to eventually become Kagome." She stops talking to herself as she feels his youki approaching and she strengthens her barrier just in case he was mad.
"You'd really let me come say goodbye? You're gonna let a youkai come into your village and put everyone in danger? Why"
She gives a little shake of her head, but doesn't stop walking "I already told you, everyone deserves to say goodbye. Besides I don't think you were trying to hurt me, and to be honest I've already proven I can hold my own against you, so I doubt you'll try to attack the helpless little miko in training." SHe hasn't looked at him, but she feels his youki stop following her for a minute.
"You're only a miko in training?! How the fuck were you able to purify me so easily?!" He snaps in angry retort.
She can't help but sigh, she's so tired of this explanation. She knows it's the truth but it just makes her more invisible than she was before if that's even possible. "I am Kikyo's reincarnation. Her soul has come back in me, but generally for reiki users in each incarnation the soul gets stronger so long as the previous life was lived in an honorable way. Since she was such a good and strong miko our soul has gained a great deal of strength." She takes a small breath and adds beneath her exhale, "That's why you like everyone else looks at me and sees Kikyo."
Finally he leaps and lands in front of her, and she is forced to come to a stop so her barrier doesn't hit him. His hair is a silver white, and his ears are perked forward intently. His eyes are back to the iridescent gold and focused on her and only her. When they meet the stormy blue of hers, she is a little taken aback by the look he's giving her. It almost seems sad, and guilty, but there's something else behind it. "When did she die?"
"Oh, it's been I think almost 50 years. Do you want to know how?" At this he just nods, still not looking away from her eyes. She takes a deep breath, "there was an evil man. He was badly injured and she was nursing him back to health. Apparently he began having unclean thought of his 'nursemaid'. He regained enough strength to move and thought to take her. She was able to fight him off, but the injuries she suffered were beyond help. She survived a day or so, and then she left this world. He died that very evening, she was apparently a very strong fighter in addition to being a very powerful miko." Finally his eyes leave hers and he stares blankly at the forest floor. "I take it you two were rather close?"
"She is the only person who had spoken to me in over a century. She even brought me flowers for my mother's grave."
A small, sad smile spreads across her cheeks. "That's something I'd be happy to continue doing for her. That is if you'd like."
"You don't- no. That's ok. Can I come tonight to see her?" His eyes are locked on with hers again and she struggles to calm her pounding heart. Her voice seems to have vanished for a minute and she nods dumbly. After she swallows an unusual lump in her throat she finally stammers out "I will light a lamp and hang it after dark at the shrine, and that's when you can come. I will give you as much time as you need."
He doesn't actually answer her this time, he leaps straight up and lands on a branch. She heads home and prepares for her visitor tonight, by gathering incense, flowers and preparing a pot of tea in the shrine. After nightfall she lights the lantern and within moments he shows up. She hands him a hot cup of tea and begins lighting the incense and gives him the flowers. She steps outside while he pays his respects to his unknown lost friend.
Perhaps she did lay a soul to rest, if not the one she was intending to. Sure the forest will still be "haunted" but at least she brought peace to his heart.