Beginnings
I posted this on ff.net as well but surprise! It gave me trouble. So I'm posting it here too. Maybe I'll find a group to submit it to later.
Disclaimer: InuYasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. (Silver bows low to genius)
I decided to do a writing exercise with the beginning of the series. I started playing with my version of events and came up with this and liked it enough to post it. Enjoy!
________________________________________
Beginnings
The wind swept through the tall grass, rustling and bringing the scent of a miko to the hanyou. The miko paused and looked around, expecting to see her companion... her senses dulled by her love for a half-demon. A chill down her neck announced the presence of someone she knew well; a hanyou, but her mission of love and faith blinded her to the differences. A swift rustle through the grass announced his coming, then swift sharp pain announced his betrayal. She fell to the ground.
“Keh. Fool, did you really think I’d become human?”
The red of fire rat’s fur came into her vision. A bare foot crushed her hand, adding insult to injury. Claws scooped up the jewel and silver hair sped away. The pure clear feeling of immense hatred stained the miko’s heart with darkness, forever tarnishing her power with its tang as she cursed him with all the anguish in her heart.
“Ah, there Kikyo. How will you nourish that feeling? What will you wish? After all, the Shikon only grows more beautiful when tainted.”
A shimmer of light blazed in the woods and a miko walked back to the hut and hung the jewel in its proper place.
“One is betrayed, now the other. What will you do, Inuyasha? You trusted a mortal and fell in love. You even promised to become human."
A sly grin parted the imposter's face.
"I know what Kikyo’s wish will be... revenge. How beautiful the Shikon no Tama will be and I will finally have the miko for myself in all her stained glory.”
In the woods, Inuyasha paused before going into the clearing. Hearing his name called he turned and was almost hit by three arrows.
“What the hell?”
He jumped out of the way and heard “Die, Inuyasha!”
She stood there in the dappled light of the forest, bow in hand and hatred in her eyes. He should have known, had known it all his life. No human was worth trusting. No one was worth trusting. Still his heart cracked as he raced away. Shit, no fucking way was he going to be human now. He sensed the Shikon no Tama in the hut and went for it. No mercy, he wasn’t going to show anyone mercy now. Forget about mercy, forget about love, he would go beyond the reach of any human emotion. A demon has no need for feelings. He crashed through the building and caught a whiff of the incense. ‘Ha, as if that will stop me.’ He grabbed the jewel and jumped.
“How could he? I thought, I thought he loved me.”
The miko lay in the clearing, her mind wandering to the past. The first time she saw him, she could see the loneliness of his existence. The same feeling she felt herself. She couldn’t bring herself to kill him, so she just pinned him to the tree as a warning. Even as he persisted, she couldn’t bring herself to kill him. She felt so cold inside. When he finally asked her why she didn’t kill him, she told him the truth.
“I have to live up to the expectations of everyone around me. I can’t be the same as others or show the same feelings. I felt that your life was the same way.”
After that, they became closer. Two alone in their shells of a life, coming together. She finally found true emotion, something she had distanced herself from since her short childhood. And when she stumbled out of the boat, his embrace warmed her like nothing else had. She found herself convincing him to become human. If he would only become human, she could be an ordinary woman. She could find out what really living was like. The Shikon would vanish and she could give up being a miko. She could start a family with him. If he would become human... so could she. Kikyo pushed herself up with a gasp. It would never happen now. The gods had ruled, she could never embrace true happiness. Her only happiness could come from her duty. She had to stop him. He couldn’t be allowed to live. Not when he had killed her. The blood kept flowing and dropping to the ground but she pushed the pain aside. He betrayed me. He betrayed me. He must die.
Inuyasha flew through the air.
“With this I can become a full demon!”
He gave another leap. He got a whiff of blood just before hearing his name. Then pain like no other ripped through his heart. He looked and Kikyo was standing there, bow string twanging still. He felt the arrow...
“Kik... Kikyo, you...”
The final betrayal left him hanging there as the world dissolved into nothingness.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“Onee-sama, onee-sama!”
Kaede and the villagers surrounded her. Kikyo thought for a moment of using the jewel to save her own life, but then thought of a life without Inuyasha, a life of dealing with his betrayal, a life of nothingness like the one she had lived so far... but with the burning hatred she felt now that her memories of being loved were false. She couldn’t, and being the miko she was she couldn’t leave the jewel to ruin other lives.
“Kaede, listen to me. It is too late for me, so you must burn the jewel with my body.”
And with the fading of her life her eyes saw for a moment the truth, but she died without understanding.
The demon Naraku narrowed his eyes in displeasure.
“She died rather than use the jewel. How very disappointing. And now she wants the jewel burned with her.”
He thought for a moment, then slipped away through the trees.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Five hundred years later a baby cries. Her unusual blue eyes cause comment. This child is special. This blue-eyed child of the shrine is special.
Fifteen years later the circle completes itself but this time the soul has learned. This time a mother reminds herself daily, “My child is special. My child is of the shrine. She is special.” And she is proved right.
Disclaimer: InuYasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. (Silver bows low to genius)
I decided to do a writing exercise with the beginning of the series. I started playing with my version of events and came up with this and liked it enough to post it. Enjoy!
________________________________________
Beginnings
The wind swept through the tall grass, rustling and bringing the scent of a miko to the hanyou. The miko paused and looked around, expecting to see her companion... her senses dulled by her love for a half-demon. A chill down her neck announced the presence of someone she knew well; a hanyou, but her mission of love and faith blinded her to the differences. A swift rustle through the grass announced his coming, then swift sharp pain announced his betrayal. She fell to the ground.
“Keh. Fool, did you really think I’d become human?”
The red of fire rat’s fur came into her vision. A bare foot crushed her hand, adding insult to injury. Claws scooped up the jewel and silver hair sped away. The pure clear feeling of immense hatred stained the miko’s heart with darkness, forever tarnishing her power with its tang as she cursed him with all the anguish in her heart.
“Ah, there Kikyo. How will you nourish that feeling? What will you wish? After all, the Shikon only grows more beautiful when tainted.”
A shimmer of light blazed in the woods and a miko walked back to the hut and hung the jewel in its proper place.
“One is betrayed, now the other. What will you do, Inuyasha? You trusted a mortal and fell in love. You even promised to become human."
A sly grin parted the imposter's face.
"I know what Kikyo’s wish will be... revenge. How beautiful the Shikon no Tama will be and I will finally have the miko for myself in all her stained glory.”
In the woods, Inuyasha paused before going into the clearing. Hearing his name called he turned and was almost hit by three arrows.
“What the hell?”
He jumped out of the way and heard “Die, Inuyasha!”
She stood there in the dappled light of the forest, bow in hand and hatred in her eyes. He should have known, had known it all his life. No human was worth trusting. No one was worth trusting. Still his heart cracked as he raced away. Shit, no fucking way was he going to be human now. He sensed the Shikon no Tama in the hut and went for it. No mercy, he wasn’t going to show anyone mercy now. Forget about mercy, forget about love, he would go beyond the reach of any human emotion. A demon has no need for feelings. He crashed through the building and caught a whiff of the incense. ‘Ha, as if that will stop me.’ He grabbed the jewel and jumped.
“How could he? I thought, I thought he loved me.”
The miko lay in the clearing, her mind wandering to the past. The first time she saw him, she could see the loneliness of his existence. The same feeling she felt herself. She couldn’t bring herself to kill him, so she just pinned him to the tree as a warning. Even as he persisted, she couldn’t bring herself to kill him. She felt so cold inside. When he finally asked her why she didn’t kill him, she told him the truth.
“I have to live up to the expectations of everyone around me. I can’t be the same as others or show the same feelings. I felt that your life was the same way.”
After that, they became closer. Two alone in their shells of a life, coming together. She finally found true emotion, something she had distanced herself from since her short childhood. And when she stumbled out of the boat, his embrace warmed her like nothing else had. She found herself convincing him to become human. If he would only become human, she could be an ordinary woman. She could find out what really living was like. The Shikon would vanish and she could give up being a miko. She could start a family with him. If he would become human... so could she. Kikyo pushed herself up with a gasp. It would never happen now. The gods had ruled, she could never embrace true happiness. Her only happiness could come from her duty. She had to stop him. He couldn’t be allowed to live. Not when he had killed her. The blood kept flowing and dropping to the ground but she pushed the pain aside. He betrayed me. He betrayed me. He must die.
Inuyasha flew through the air.
“With this I can become a full demon!”
He gave another leap. He got a whiff of blood just before hearing his name. Then pain like no other ripped through his heart. He looked and Kikyo was standing there, bow string twanging still. He felt the arrow...
“Kik... Kikyo, you...”
The final betrayal left him hanging there as the world dissolved into nothingness.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“Onee-sama, onee-sama!”
Kaede and the villagers surrounded her. Kikyo thought for a moment of using the jewel to save her own life, but then thought of a life without Inuyasha, a life of dealing with his betrayal, a life of nothingness like the one she had lived so far... but with the burning hatred she felt now that her memories of being loved were false. She couldn’t, and being the miko she was she couldn’t leave the jewel to ruin other lives.
“Kaede, listen to me. It is too late for me, so you must burn the jewel with my body.”
And with the fading of her life her eyes saw for a moment the truth, but she died without understanding.
The demon Naraku narrowed his eyes in displeasure.
“She died rather than use the jewel. How very disappointing. And now she wants the jewel burned with her.”
He thought for a moment, then slipped away through the trees.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Five hundred years later a baby cries. Her unusual blue eyes cause comment. This child is special. This blue-eyed child of the shrine is special.
Fifteen years later the circle completes itself but this time the soul has learned. This time a mother reminds herself daily, “My child is special. My child is of the shrine. She is special.” And she is proved right.