Chapter Two: Well House

" Souta!', I hollered into the night, " You had better come out from wherever you are hiding! I told you to wait for me! Mom's gonna flip bananas when I tell her about this!"

No response. Nothing. Not even a stifled giggle. Where could he possibly be?

I grabbed a stick and began to poke all of the bushes surrounding the well house. Maybe Souta's gotten good at hiding, and this is my punishment for taking so long with the candles. He wasn't in any of the bushes and there wasn't many places he could hide. Unless...No I didn't want to think about it. He couldn't have gone in the well house, could he? I had the candles now. One quick peek to be sure he wasn't in there wouldn't hurt. So, I gathered up all the courage I could muster, braced my shoulders, lit a candle, and walked through the open door into the great unknown.

" Souta!", I called as I slowly tiptoed down the large set of stairs right inside the door. Then I lifted the candle high. Above me was a tangled mass of huge cobwebs. Some stretching it seemed for fifty feet! To my left and right sat large wooden cartons on the dirt floor, and in front of me was the well.

It was enormous. The opening itself must have been at least twenty feet wide. It was old , dark, creepy, and made of grey stone. Some how I found the nerve to peer over the edge inside the well. It stretched farther than my eyes could see. Needless to say there was no sign of a bottom, or of my brother either. Perhaps he was hiding in one of the wooden crates. Wordlessly, I began to open them up one by one, while keeping an eye out for Souta leaving his hiding place. In the last crate, I found something. It wasn't my brother, but rather an ornately designed book. Maybe I was wrong about the previous owners.

I sat on one of the upturned crates I already opened, and began to read:

Property of Kikyou, Village Miko

Read at thine own risk

"What in the world?", I whispered aloud. It was a personal manuscript of some sort. One that the owner did not want anyone to see. The language even seemed out of date, therefore it couldn't be from the last owners. They were a young couple for crying out loud! They only moved to be closer to the wife's parents who were going to watch their baby while they were at work, or at least that's what they told Mom. But a Village Miko? Japan didn't have villages anymore. They had all become cities, even the oldest ones dating back to the feudal era. Did the young couple find this? They didn't live here long. Could this diary be the real reason they left?

My curiosity got the better of me. I had to see what was written in the pages . If it was really from feudal Japan, than surely the information this Kikyou wanted to keep hidden could be revealed? I turned the filmy thin page :

Harvest Moon A.D 1489

This day is one of great importance. My Grandmother, our village Miko, has passed leaving her vacant responsibilities to me. With such comes sacrifice, for now I am the guardian of the Shikon Jewel. Guarding it with my life comes before all other tasks. I have grown these past five seasons under her wise tutelage preparing for this inevitable day to come. My mother and sire passed to the hereafter shortly after my younger sister, Kaede, arrived, leaving I, as the eldest, Grandmother's sole successor. Demons great and small will come to our gates. Their wish to possess the great jewel will never cease as long as the jewel exists. Should one manage to break our defenses the consequences will be disastrous. This is why I must not show weakness, and never give quarter as long as I live. Little Kaede is far too young to realize that if I should fail this too shall become her fate if I have no children to carry on the task. How can I if my duty prevents me from trusting anyone? Even some of my fellow humans are after this prize.

Summer Solstice A.D 1491

Almost two seasons have passed since I last put this quill to paper. I have spent all of my waking hours training my village to be on guard, rearing my younger sister, and most importantly training myself for the path ahead. This war is unending. The Demons attack night and day. Two seasons into a life of service and already I am wary of it all. I, at eighteen seasons, have seen so much death and destruction that at times even I, the Great Miko, must escape. Today I traveled through the woods surrounding my village to an old abandoned well that lies there. All of my village comrades say that it is dry, so I went to see this marvel. It was truly foolish of I to go off alone, for I was not the only body visiting the well. Today I had met my first demon. Upon sight he recognized I as the Shikon guardian and rushed me for the jewel. I as no fool. The jewel remained behind in its hiding place. So I shot, pinning the culprit to a tree. Nay, I did not slay him. I wanted information first. So I ask this demon what he is called. Stunned as he is he managed to find a voice. " Inu-Yasha" , he spat out , " What is it to you, Miko?"

I asked then why he attacked. His face twisted in a wide grin. " For the Shikon Jewel so that I may become a full demon, you stupid wench." That is when I laughed at him. I asked him if he thought I was fool enough to carry the Shikon on my person. My young hanyou did not have an answer to that. I have not a clue what allowed me to do it, but I loosed Inu-Yasha from the tree, and warned him to stop hunting for the Jewel. After all of my hard training these past two seasons, is it so that I have gone soft?

Suddenly I heard footsteps echoing through the well house. I slammed the diary shut, bolted up off of the crate, and looked around me.

"Souta?"

" Eat dust, Kikyou!"

All I had time to do was scream as I was knocked to the floor.

Now this is getting interesting! No sign of Souta yet, but who just tackled Kagome? Next Chappy will be posted shortly so don't you go anywhere! Remember to R&R!!!!

-Rayne