A/N: Hey, everybody! Kiwiaboo speaking! I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read my story! This is the first time ever publishing a fanfiction and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! This specific story line has been in the making for who knows how long, and I've only recently built up the courage to share it with everybody! Sorry if you're a bit confused at this point! It'll make sense eventually! I'm always looking for reviews! That's how I improve my writing! For now, though, enjoy! Also! The first portion will be "following" the line of Inuyasha for a bit, with a small twist of course! So, sorry if it's slightly boring!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the amazing characters from the series of Inuyasha! All I have done is applied the story line with my own personal touch! And for the future, I do not own any of the character belonging to Pokemon!
Update: Due to the restrictions on using asterisks, I will be using a horizontal bar to show scene breaks. Hopefully this solution will make the story easier to read in the future. I apologize for those who may have read the chapter before this update and got a little lost! Let me know if the horizontal bars help! Thanks!
"You say that this child may be the one from the legends?" A woman asked. She was Kaede, a forty-three year old priestess that watched over the village by the river.
"Yes, the marking is on the child's left arm and it was found in the cattails along the river." Daniel's grandfather reassured.
"If you say so, then take me to see this child, Nioku." Kaede demanded.
"As you wish, Kaede." Nioku led Kaede out of her hut in the village, guiding her back to the levy.
As the two were standing at the top of the incline, a loud cry resounded through the air. "Daniel!" Nioku shouted, spotting the young boy hugging the basket with a large, serpent-like demon looming above him.
"Give me that infant, you impudent child!" The overgrown snake hissed.
Daniel yelled something incoherent, pulling the baby's basket even closer to him. Nioku and Kaede stood helpless, too far away to save the two children from the attacking demon. They watched, fearing what the fate of the two small lives would be within the next few moments. As the demon prepared to strike, the basket glowed with a soft, pink light.
This light grew brighter and brighter, soon enveloping Daniel and the serpent. It spread and glowed bright enough to momentarily blind Kaede and Nioku. A loud shriek pierced through the atmosphere before ending abruptly. The light eventually faded, showing an unharmed Daniel and baby, the demon gone without a trace. "Do you still wish to see the child?" Nioku asked Kaede.
"Of course, but I now know that this is the child of prophecy." Kaede replied, heading down the hill.
Daniel's head perked up when he heard people walking towards him and his new, baby friend. Recognizing the visitors as his grandpa and the village priestess, he went back to tickling the small child inside the woven basket. Kaede came and knelt down beside Daniel and examined the baby. "You seem to have taken a liking to this baby, huh, Daniel?" The old maid smiled at the young boy.
Daniel looked at the elder and grinned a large grin before remembering something that he'd found while his grandfather was gone. "'Is was in duh basket." He said, holding up a small piece of paper.
Kaede took the note and unfolded it, reading aloud:
To whomever this may concern:
We must thank you for finding our child. There has been trouble in our area and we found it safest for her if we sent her away. We do hope you understand that this child is our pride and joy; we only wanted what was best for her. The only thing we ask of you is that you take care for her and love her as we would do if she were able to stay with us.
Her name is Mami-Mei-Ki Shina, the princess of not only our lives, but our village here. She is bubbly and rather happy for one that is only two weeks old. Please keep her that way. Mami-Mei-Ki has been born with a special fate and destiny, as shown by the special marking on her left arm. She is unique in every way possible, and must be kept safe until fate takes its toll.
Again, we thank you for the help you will provide for us.
"Mameki!" Daniel cheered after Kaede finished reading the note.
Nioku and Kaede smiled, looking at each other for a silent question. "You already have to watch over Daniel, Nioku. I will make sure Mami-Mei-Ki is kept safe for the time being." Kaede said, answering the still unasked question.
Nioku nodded in approval to his friend's choice, turning to Daniel. "Well, Danny-Boy, I'd say it's about time we head home." Nioku stated, picking his grandchild up.
"But I wanna play with Mameki!" Daniel pouted, looking over his grandfather's shoulder back at the baby in the basket.
"We'll come visit again tomorrow, you can keep her company then."
"Hurry up, Miamei! Let's go play by the river!" Daniel yelled.
The eight-year old boy's brown hair bounced up and down as we ran through the village. Kaede-san and Nioku-sama had given us permission to play on the banks of the river that ran down the middle of the town. It had been a while since Daniel and I received that opportunity, especially with what had happened our previous time there.
I followed the older child as we progressed towards our destination. My eyes cautiously looked around for other children once Daniel and I arrived at the river. "What are you looking so worried about, Miamei?" Daniel asked, turning around to face me.
"Nothing." I replied softly.
"If you're scared that some kids are going to pick on you again, don't be. I'll make sure they don't come near you."
"Thanks, Daniel." I smiled at my friend.
We continued a little way down the river before finding ourselves amongst the reeds. The sun shone brightly down on us while we played some kind of game where we pretended to be warriors fighting an army of evil demons. Daniel and I were always sure that they were evil demons because good demons like me didn't deserve to be picked on. At least, that's what Daniel had always told me.
Eventually, the sun sat in the middle of the sky and we climbed out of our spot in the reeds. "Stay right here, Miamei. I'm going to go get us something to eat." Daniel said before running up the hill towards the market.
I was obedient and took a seat on the bank. The grass felt so nice against my skin. A sudden burst of laughter came from up the river, some village kids - two boys and a girl - were sitting down having lunch. My heart sped up. What if they noticed me? Thinking fast, I tried to sneak over to the reeds. Unfortunately, my foot caught on a rock and I lost my balance, only to end up landing with a loud SPLASH! in the shallow part of the river.
"Did you hear that?" One of the kids asked.
"Yeah, it sounded like it came from over here." Another said.
Grass crunched as footsteps came closer to where I was partially hidden in the reeds. I knew that if the kids got close enough, they would notice me sitting in the water. Through the thin stalks of the water plants, I was able to see the three pairs of feet that belonged to the children. They just stood around.
For a moment, I believed I was safe, but then two hands reached in and parted the plants. "Oh, look what we have here!" One of the boys said. "It's the yowamushi!"
Yowamushi - weakling - that's what they called me. None of the village kids thought I was the Chosen Being from the legends, they all thought I was 'too weak'. It didn't help that I believed them. I'd never experienced the 'powers' that were said to be possessed by the legendary being. There was no possible way that I could be the hero spoken of in prophecies.
"You should just leave, Yowamushi," the girl spoke, looking menacingly at me. "Nobody in this village needs you, let alone wants you here. My mom even told me so!"
"Are you sure you heard her correctly? I think your mom was saying that she didn't want you anymore." A familiar voice came from behind the trio of kids.
Daniel walked up to the group, our own lunch held in his hands. "It's no surprise your parents want to get rid of spoiled brats like you three, you don't even know how to show respect to the person who will one day save all of your lives." He stated calmly.
The trio didn't know how to react. They must not have expected Daniel to show up to save me. "Pfft! Why should we show respect to someone who's so weak?" A boy asked, unamused with Daniel's statement.
"Miamei is not a yowamushi. The only yowamushi I see here are you three." Daniel replied.
"What was that?"
"You heard me," Daniel said curtly before shoving his way through the group to reach a hand out to me. "Come on, Miamei. Let's go eat these bentos that Lady Kaede made for us."
I carefully grabbed my friend's hand and he helped me out of the river. Daniel sent a glare at the trio of kids as we walked by them; the kids backed away.
Together, Daniel and I made our way up the hill to go find a spot to eat. Eventually, we decided on sitting beneath the mako tree. My friend kindly handed me my lunch - a bento - before opening his. "Miharu, the lady in charge of the fruit stand, actually prepared these especially for us; she's so kind." Daniel said as he popped a dumpling into his mouth.
"Mmhmm!" I replied, already munching happily on some teriyaki.
"Miamei?"
"Yeah?"
"Is it okay if we stay friends forever?"
I could feel my heart skip a beat in my chest. Daniel was the only friend I'd ever had while living in the village; he was so special to me. A bright smile came across my face. "Yes!" I exclaimed, "Let's stay together forever!"
My eyes opened and I found myself lying on my futon in Lady Kaede's hut. Morning sunlight shone through the window and warmed up the surrounding area. Another dream… Or should I call that a memory? I pondered as I crawled out of the bedding.
As I rolled up my bedding, I continued to wonder about the dream I'd just experience. That happened so long ago… At least eight years… It must have been right before Daniel left with his grandfather.
"So much for staying together forever, huh." I grumbled aloud.
"Don't start your morning off grumbling, Miamei, else the rest of your day will follow after." Lady Kaede suddenly said as she entered the hut. "Besides, what is there to be grumbling about so early in the day? You've just woken up and surely you aren't complaining about rolling up your futon; this is only your hundredth time putting it away."
"Good morning to you, too, Lady Kaede." I replied to the elderly woman. "I didn't mean to grumble. The dream I just awoke from reminded me of something."
My guardian responded with a hum before turning to her work at the medicinal rack. I hurriedly finished gathering up my bedding before tossing it into the corner and moving to sit beside Lady Kaede. "There's already an ill villager to attend to this morn?" I asked her.
"I'm afraid so…" Kaede mumbled in thought, "Unfortunately, we're low in supply for the herb that they'll need."
"There's enough, though, right?"
"Fortunately, yes, but we will need to restock."
The room's atmosphere suddenly went icy. "I could tend to the ill villager." I stated stonely.
"Or you could just as well gather some more herbs." Kaede replied firmly.
We glared at each other with ice cold eyes as the tension grew between us. "Saisho…" I began, knowing exactly how to handle the situation.
"Wa guu…" Kaede continued, a fire ablaze in her eyes.
"Jan…"
"Ken…"
"Pon!" We both exclaimed, throwing our hands out between us.
I looked down to see who had won. "No!" I cried, seeing that I'd lost.
Kaede cackled happily before turning back to the medicine shelf. "Choki beats Paa." She sang. I frowned at my elder's back before grabbing the bag that we used to gather herbs. "Be safe while in the forest! Remember you can find a plethora of those herbs in the meadow of the Goshinboku."
"Hai!" I replied as I walked out of the hut and into the sunshine for the first time that day.
Not very many of the villagers paid me any mind as I strolled down the road towards the forest. They never did really care much about me, neither of them believed that I was the 'one who would someday save the world from the Spider'. Even the evidential birthmark that wrapped around my left forearm and wrist didn't convince them. The birthmark, a light pink marking in the shape of a mythical demon called a Shinyo, was supposedly the one indication that I was the being of some legend that the villagers believed in. According to this legend, I am the 'Master' - the most powerful being to ever exist in this world. I'm part of a branch of special beings known as H.D.P.s or Human-Demon-Priests and Priestesses that have the emotions of humans, powers of demons, and spiritual abilities of priests and priestesses; only two have been known to exist at a time. Further into the legend, I'm supposed to be 'all-powerful' and 'more glorious than the sun and the moon', but I wasn't that. In fact, I was far from it. Seeing this, the villagers lost their faith in me, along with their respect. Since then, I'd been treated as an outcast ever since.
After spending some time walking through the village, I found myself standing at the edge of the forest. Somewhere among the many trees stood a tall, mystical beauty called the Goshinboku - a tree held in holiness to the villagers. This tree, supposedly touched by the gods, sits half a mile into the forest, right in the center of a lush meadow.
Five decades ago, the Goshinboku became the site where the evil half-demon Inuyasha was pinned and put under a sacred spell by the Mistress Kikyo - Lady Kaede's elder sister and previous village priestess. Though much time has passed since the event, Inuyasha is still held under Kikyo's spell; he hasn't aged or grown one bit according to Kaede. The other villagers still lived in fear that the spell would eventually break and the half-demon would yet again attack our home, but I've always held a fascination with the silver-haired being.
Nearly ten minutes after entering the woods, I came across a clearing among the trees. The clearing glowed with a mystical, yellow light. Blades of healthy, green grass covered every inch of the circular meadow. Thick bushes lined the edges, seemingly protecting the clearing from the possible harms that could come from the surrounding forest. Patches of flowers and herbs grew randomly throughout the clearing; each shone and gave off their bright colors in the peaceful lighting. At the very center of the beautiful meadow stood the steadfast, towering Goshinboku.
The Goshinboku stood a few feet taller than the trees around it. Its branches began halfway up the trunk before spreading out into leafy appendages. The canopy covered the majority of the clearing, leaving about a four foot wide ring of light around the circle. Sunlight filtered through the leaves of the Goshinboku, filling the meadow with the enchanting green light.
Towards the base of the thick trunk was Inuyasha. Just as Kaede had said, he hadn't changed one bit. The still-sleeping hanyou was pinned to the trunk by a sacred arrow that pierced his chest. He continued to hang from the tree, exactly as he has been for the last half century.
I kept my eyes trained on the unconscious Inuyasha as I crossed the meadow to the patch of herbs I needed to collect. Carefully, I gathered the medicinal plants and set them in my bag before standing up to leave. When I began walking across the grass in the direction of the village, a small whisper drifted amongst a breeze that came through the clearing.
The air became thick and heavy all of a sudden; my body was alert and on edge, as if something big was about to happen. I frantically scanned the line of trees that circled about the clearing, but nothing was there. At this point, my heart was racing in my chest. Another whisper sounded in the air; I pinpointed its origin at the Goshinboku.
Slowly, I stepped towards the sacred tree to investigate. There was nothing suspicious or out of the ordinary as far as I could tell; Inuyasha was still in his peaceful slumber. The intensity in the atmosphere did down and I turned around to leave once again. Before I could take a single step, though, a perfectly clear voice spoke into my ear.
"Miamei…" It said, "It's time to wake up."
My heart practically leapt out of my chest and I spun to face the sacred tree once again. This time, the bark of the Goshinboku shone with a bright light that gave off a rainbow of colors.
"Wh-who's there?" I asked loudly, making sure my voice carried throughout the entire meadow.
The light emanating from the bark grew brighter. Within the bright energy source, I could make-out the outline of the figure of a man; he was walking towards me as if there was a corridor of some sort within the Goshinboku.
"We have met before, Miamei, a long time ago, but you would not remember, for you were but a tiny, suckling infant. The two of us hold a connection different than any other pair in existence." The man explained, "You have a unique destiny to fulfill, yet, you have not started your journey for you have slept for too long."
"What do you mean?"
"You are an HDP, Miamei. You are the Master, but you still live as if you were born a mere human." The man said, "The part of your soul that contains the power you need in order to become what you need to has been sealed away into the depths of your heart and laid to rest."
"So, you're saying we need to unseal part of my heart? How do we do that?" I questioned, a sudden eagerness and curiosity burned inside me.
"I, being the one that put it there, can break the seal. Unfortunately, that can only be done if you truly desire it."
A seal on my heart and soul, huh? He claims that this seal is the reason I haven't displayed any power. Breaking this tie means changing my life forever, though. Would I have to leave the village? Leave Kaede? I can't do that, not right now. "I'm sorry, but I'm not ready for such a burden, right now."
"I was afraid you would say that… The fate of this land lies on you, Miamei, are you sure you are going to wait?"
I hesitated for a second. "Yes…" I replied, still a little unsure of my answer.
"Very well then. The time will come when you are prepared to awaken. When that time comes, I will be there to wake you up." The voice said as it faded away.
The light emanating from the tree dimmed before completely disappearing. I felt the heat of the sun on my skin as the meadow returned to normal. My destiny is standing directly on the other side of the walls I've built up… Should I let it in, or wait for it to break through before allowing it to swallow me whole? I wondered.
Pushing the questions to the back of my thoughts, I turned to leave the clearing. It never crossed my mind that the walls I'd built up would come crashing down during my next visit to the Goshinboku.