Disclaimer: This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied.
First Lesson
The silence was grim and heavy, as young Kaede led the way to the sacred tree. The white hair and red clothing of the pinioned hanyo was bright in the shade provided by the tall tree. Kaede stopped a good two lengths from the tree, and nodded at the hanyo, her hands consciously down at her side.
"That's Inuyasha."
Suriya stepped forward, her naginata at guard position. She slowly walked around the tree, murmuring to herself, shifting the weapon's position from time to time. Twice, Kaede saw a momentary flash of pink surrounding the hanyo, as Suriya tested the spell. "The only person who could break this spell is Kikyo herself," the miko commented. "And she cast this while dying, herself? Amazing."
Kaede bit back the temptation to make a comparison between Kikyo and her one-time rival. She was in trouble enough already: there wasn't an adult in the village who wouldn't consider such a comparison as rude, and completely out of bounds.
Suriya bent a little, to get a better look at the hanyo's face. "He'd be a handsome boy, if it weren't for the ears and the hair," she said, straightening.
He was handsome with the ears and the hair, in Kaede's unspoken opinion.
"Most stories about hanyo; they're ugly: mis-shaped, warped in body as well as mind. And, you say that Kikyo was friends with this hanyo?"
Kaede clenched her hands as Suriya looked at her. "Yes," she said shortly.
Black eyes studied her. "How did they ever manage to become friends?" the young woman wondered. "From what I thought I knew of Kikyo, I would never have guessed she'd let anything with youkai blood get within arrow-shot of her. But, I was obviously wrong."
Kaede remained silent, feeling sullen and stubborn. It wasn't any of Suriya's business!
"And I'm not going to get my curiosity satisfied by you," the miko said after a considerable silence. Kaede looked away, but still refused to answer. When she did look back, Suriya was once more circling the tree. As she passed near Inuyasha, Kaede saw Suriya start to raise her hand, hesitate, and then shake her head.
"Well, I don't think we have to worry about him," she said, leaning the bladed staff against her shoulder. "Thank-you for showing me the way, Kaede-chan."
Kaede nodded, but said nothing.
"So, is there a good place we could sit and talk? I'm not minded to return to the village, just yet."
Trying not to show her apprehension, the girl thought a moment, resisting the temptation to suggest this exact spot. She didn't want to explain why she couldn't seem to hate Inuyasha for killing her sister: why a little part of her even doubted that he had killed her. "Has anyone shown you the Bone-Eater's Well?"
"The 'Bone-Eater's Well'?" the miko echoed. "That sounds rather macabre."
"It's a weird well," said Kaede. "It's dry, and if you toss youkai remains down, after a little bit, they vanish."
"Youkai remains generally disintegrate faster than mortal remains," noted Suriya.
"Not always, 'specially the bones." Kaede gave Suriya a mulish look.
After a moment, Suriya nodded. "All right, I'll take a look at this well. Lead the way, Kaede-chan."
Couldn't she just keep it to 'Kaede'?
... ... ...
Suriya examined the well, listened to Kaede's fuller explanation, and then shook her head. "You want to talk here?" she said dubiously. "It's neither reiki nor youki, yet there is something emanating from the well."
Kaede shrugged, secretly pleased that she had made the new miko uncomfortable. She wasn't going to admit that the well made her skin want to itch, or that it occasionally made her think of really weird things. Just to show how unbothered she was, she leaned her bow against the well, and seated herself on a corner, dangling her feet above the well itself. Suriya gave her a look, then turned a circle. Wearing an expression of distaste, she eventually lay her naginata across the opposite corner of the well, and took a turn around the well. By the time she faced Kaede again, she had regained control over her expression; yet it was clear to Kaede, that the young woman was not comfortable.
She did not seat herself. Instead, standing in the shade provided by the trees in the early morning, arms crossed, Suriya gave Kaede a very long look.
"You have said that you want to be a miko, and I have agreed to teach you. I've repaired the damage and wear to the village wards, done my best to ensure the village's safety: now I have time to teach. You haven't changed your mind?"
Kaede shook her head, brightening. Finally!
"Good." Suriya gave her another look. "So. Let's discuss the first lesson."
"What is it?" asked Kaede, eagerly.
A thin smile was a warning. "The first lesson is about not being rude."
Kaede jerked in surprise, grabbing the wood to keep her balance. The next moment, she reddened in embarrassment. "He started it!" she blurted.
"A miko serves her people," said Suriya. "She must be pure in heart, pure in body, pure in tongue and action. Only then, will the kami bless her activities." She paused. "I'm sure you must have heard that quote at least once.
Kaede ducked her head. "Master Masayoshi," she muttered. The elderly head of the temple where Kikyo had trained, and where Kaede had lived for almost two years, had had a distinct liking for voicing little homilies for every little problem: and that had been one of his favorites. "It's not fair," she added sullenly. "Nobody can be that pure. Not even Kikyo-ane-sama."
"That's very true, Kaede," said Suriya. "But, does that mean we should not pursue perfection, just because we know we'll fail? When I wanted to follow the way of the samurai, I knew I couldn't be perfect: when my lord required that I give up that path, and use my inborn gifts as a miko, the honor of my family, to me, demanded that I must make the same effort to reach a miko's ideal."
"It's still not fair."
"What does 'fair' have to do with it?" asked Suriya. "You want to be a miko, you say: doesn't your honor, your pride, demand that you strive to be the best miko you can be? To come as close to the ideal as possible? Would Kikyo have approved of your behavior this morning?"
Kaede shrank away, fingers digging into the wood, her eyes abruptly stinging and her breath caught in her throat. No fair, no fair, no fair! wailed a sulky voice within, and yet even as it wailed, she knew the question was fair, because it was deserved. Because she knew the answer, and it wasn't 'yes.'
"No," she finally managed to whisper, feeling shamed, feeling hurt, wanting nothing more than to have Kikyo standing there, ready to comfort her and forgive her.
Cloth rustled, as Suriya seated herself on the well. "Kaede, I can't imagine how much you must still hurt, at losing your sister, losing all of your family. Satsuki-san has told me how hard you worked at taking your sister's place, how brave and determined you were. Perhaps the temper you've been showing is just all the emotion you must have kept tamped down, until now, when it's safe to be a little girl again."
She felt Suriya leaning in, and looked away, but a calloused hand gently touched her jaw and made her look up; red face, stinging eyes, and all. "Kaede, if you still need time to mourn Kikyo, I understand. But, you can't let your pain turn to anger and rudeness. It doesn't respect her memory, it doesn't respect what she would want for you, from you. If you want to cry, in the hut, or out here, away from the village, feel free. If you want to talk about Kikyo, with me, with anyone you feel you can trust, do so. If there's no one you can trust, go talk to Kikyo's spirit at her grave marker. All right?"
Kaede stared at Suriya, aching and helpless, resentful and angry, wanting to scream and run away, wanting to throw herself down on the grass and howl. Kikyo would be so ashamed of her! But, she wasn't here: would never be here, no lovely smile, just for her, no secret hugs in the night, no laughing eyes in private: gone, burned to ash, buried: gone.
"It ... hurts..."
The hand left her face. Through blurring vision, she saw Suriya nod, saw her hands, outstretched, offering.
"Let me help?"
She didn't want it. She didn't want to give in to this woman whom she remembered as Kikyo's rival. But, she hurt so much. She needed her sister so badly. And no one else had offered. No one else had thought to offer. She was so lonely, so hurting...
Kaede pulled her legs out of the well, half intending to get up and run away. She didn't want-
But need betrayed her. She couldn't look away from Suriya's now-compassionate expression and open arms, and an offer perhaps no heart-lost child could resist.
She lunged into Suriya's arms, felt them wrap firmly and warmly about her, and broke into sobs.
Author's Note: Yes, Kaede finally gives into Suriya's approaches. (stubborn kid-wasn't sure she was going to do it this time, either). This chapter was written for the Inuyasha FanFiction Contest community on LiveJournal, for the prompt, "Out of Order." It was originally posted on October 10, 2011. It won first place. (10/23/2011).