「桔梗」

‘You mean to say you won’t follow?’ Unusual, for someone trying to keep her alive, even though she wasn’t part of the living. Had he finally come to that realization? ‘I must. If I don’t, there’s no telling what will happen to them.’

Why did she care so much about that lot? She wasn’t that concerned about anyone other than Inuyasha, and they both knew it. An unspoken fact… as it was her shared affection for the hanyou’s brother, though that bit remained in secret. Another unspoken fact between the two, for one needed not a known language to convey those feelings, as they lurked in the shadows of much smaller deeds, not words.

‘If I don’t return…’ Though brief, she caught the shift in his expression, silencing her. Gaze lowered as though the bite of his glare served well as a soundless scolding, and her hand tightened its grip around her bow, lips ajar. ‘I don’t know how long I’ll be gone for.’

For a moment, it felt as though the world beneath his feet had suddenly jumped above his head.  Inu-Yasha’s breath hitched at her suggestion.

“Human?”  He repeated slowly as if the word had never been spoken before.  The hanyou had spent his entire life trying his best to banish that part of him; the part that made him weak and vulnerable.  Before he could even continue with his questioning, Kikyou noticed the extreme trepidation in his amber eyes and continued with her thought.  And that left him really topsy turvy.

“With you…” Momentarily, Inu-Yasha’s eyes narrowed in her direction.  “Kikyou, I don’t get what you’re getting at.  You want me to be a human and stay with you?”  The words were loaded and he swallowed thickly.

“Why?”

‘Fate is a cruel mistress, Inuyasha... while those of your kin live out their days for many, many years, us humans are forced to part from this world a good few lifetimes before it is your turn to go.’ She paused, but not for a breather, as she did not lack air. Kikyou merely gave the half-demon time for all that to sink in. Meanwhile, her digits toyed idly with the leaves of the cluster of lavender she was bearing hold of. ‘Were you to remain either full-youkai or half, you’d have to watch many of your loved ones pass... it is painful. Truly, deeply... this is not a fate I wish upon you. But I can merely offer you my advise, for you are the one who chooses what path to take.’

The wind chilled their faces, kissed-red by the cold, carrying off the scent of autumn with it-- dead leaves and moistened earth. Though animals aplenty already succumbing to their nests for a long-lasting winter, the birds still chirped, ever the merry flock, be it the season of dead leaves or flowers, they’d always greet the sun with their song.

  Sesshomaru felt the gentle embrace of the woman, her arms wrapped around his waist ever so lightly, her weight pressed soft against his back.  It was both comforting and somber, the loneliness that Kikyo felt was tangible, something he couldn’t just ignore.  Placing a claw atop her fair hands, he bowed his head, his argent tresses spilling over his shoulders, almost apologetically. 

“It was something… unexpected,” he spoke, his tone even and unwavering.  “I should have told you.” 

  He trusted her, knowing full well how strong she was, he was no fool.  Still, deeply embedded within him, he wanted to keep her safe.  It was not something he would admit out loud, but the thought of her being in harms way struck his heart with such force, making his hairs stand on end.  His hand gripped around her’s tighter, as if she would disappear if he let her go. 

Though at first she seemed a little surprised about the suddenness of his embrace, Kikyou didn’t fight it. In fact, it almost seemed as though she fit in his arms just right. And it was nothing short of pleasant to be enveloped in his warmth, for even though her body had been forged out of clay, burial soil and ashes, Kikyou could still feel the caress of his heat. Surely, Inuyasha wouldn’t be too happy about her letting another someone touch her that way, but what could she do? Sesshomaru was there when all seemed lost... and while even his touch differed from that of the hanyou, it was his uniqueness of character that Kikyou found herself enthralled by. His silent acceptance of her without so much as an ounce of disgust as to her undead nature.

『 Why didn’t you? 』She asked softly in a whisper, shifting up her stare and cradling his jaw while in his hold still. 『 Sesshomaru, I told you I’d fight alongside you. So why... why didn’t you tell me you were leaving? 』 

「巫女」:: Too many now, as far as she was concerned…but there wasn’t much she could do about that, especially now. Though she still rather not think about it…

                    She gazed at the scarlet miko as she questioned about a name…She pressed her lips together and knelt to lift the baby up into her arms, looking at him and running a finger along his lip as he cooed up at her. A small smirk graced her lips, before she looked back at Kikyou.::

                                     “His name is– Zuzhou…Would you like to hold him…? Since-I’m guessing you’ll be having one of your own–very soon…”

                    ::The green miko offered the baby to the elder miko. She knew well enough that Kikyou had held babies before–and even helped deliver them–but she should be looking at them in a new light now that she seemed like she was going to have her own. Though she did question who the father of the scarlet miko’s bun was–but she did not ask. Just like her own tale, she was sure the shameness would tell her in her own time….::

‘I’m no stranger to raising children... or did you forget it was I who raised Kaede from birth?’ Perhaps the from birth bit was something Kagome hadn’t known... that Kaede herself’s never met her parents, and Kikyou was not only her sister, but also a mother to the girl. ‘Though I suppose that raising a child of my own is unfamiliar to me.’

Still, she dared not mention the father’s name. Did it matter? It wasn’t as though Kagome had asked, and she might have been certain it hadn’t been Inuyasha, if only because the hanyou didn’t change his attitude while he was with the woman. Well, at least not to her knowledge... but she didn’t exactly keep track.

‘Zuzhou? He looks... young.’ A couple months old or so, perhaps. Not yet a year.

It was while she was seated with the bundle in her arms, cradled, that Kikyou felt something which caused her head to whip. Somewhere out in the skies was a man... his hair silver, but he didn’t look old. Behind him there stretched a massive fluff as he cruised through the skies all on his lonesome, and for a second, Kikyou could have sworn they’d locked stares.

With her lips closing, the young woman shifted her gaze back to the child, who had most likely caught the unfamiliar scent and started to cry. Slowly did she lull the baby into calm, humming a lullaby to pat down its little heckles.

Canine ears perked slightly when he heard the words that now hung heavily between them.  For a moment, his heart thudded within his throat as he tried to think of what Kikyou could possibly mean.  Perhaps he’d won her trust?

Inu-Yasha didn’t want to think that way.  He didn’t want her to feel like she was just some consolation prize along with the Shikon no Tama.  It may have started out like that but now… The annoying tickle in the bottom of his stomach said otherwise.

“What do you mean?”  His voice was smooth, though his eyes were prying.

‘Let’s call it... an alternate way to make the Jewel yours, but without losing your mind.’ 

She had given his situation a thought, and even if Inuyasha was to stick around, surely, some day, Kikyou would be gone first. Such was the way of all humans, and such would be her fate as well. Yet there was one thing... a solution, so to speak, that Kikyou could think of. Something that she try to get him to do as to save Inuyasha from the grief of losing yet another loved one. 

Going to answer immediately, the hanyou backed down for a moment.  Taking his eyes off of her to mull over her question, Inu-Yasha found a patch of dirt much more interesting than he normally would have.  The question burned in his ears and caused a bit of discomfort in his chest, as though her words ignited something there as lightning to a deadened tree.

Kikyou had never seemed so distant from him than in that moment, even when she was physically far.  Inu-Yasha looked up to ensure that she really was in front of him and hadn’t left… There was something etched across her features that he’d seen many times in his own.

Loneliness.

“It should.”  He mentioned lamely, his words falling short and making the silence even heavier between them.  It felt like a hot summer day after a rain storm, the air thick and tangible and Inu-Yasha shifted his weight from one hip to the other.  “I mean, it probably should, right?”

Voice low, lacking its somewhat gravelly tone, the boy felt a light breeze pulling at the ends of his silken hair.  He sighed and shook his head suddenly, intense golden gaze falling back upon the miko.

“I don’t think it will, though.”  Inu-Yasha passed finally, feeling the weight of each word as they rolled off his tongue.

His words were sincere, falling from lips most honest, almost like those of a child... and the undeniable truth in his voice was what stole her voice for a fraction of second. It was what robbed Kikyou of words and left her agape. Clearly, that didn’t seem like something that had ever crossed his mind, hence the brooding and the furled brow. But it didn’t take him long to reach the light of his resolve, and for a moment Kikyou was glad she had the tree to support her standing still, because her knees were prone to give way.

『 What do you mean? 』 The words left her before she could even think them through, nails digging into the bark of a trunk.

Inuyasha was certain to notice the small changes in her breath, now shuddery, and her lips, trembling. She was on the verge of tears, but not a single droplet dared to fall... Wasn’t the Jewel his goal? His reason for being here? Then why... why didn’t he think it would?

『 I... I need to tell you something. 』And so, her words hung in the air like  an omen, but only for a moment. 『 It’s about the Jewel... about you. 』 Alas, she wasn’t certain of it, but Kikyou had a theory... one that just might spare Inuyasha from having to live out his days watching his loved ones die. 

  The scent of earth and distant rain was pungent within the light breezes that brought forth the message of a Summer solace.  The sun was waning, casting the countryside of Japan within a golden hue, painting the sky in the utmost vibrant orange and reds.  Indeed, the scenery was a sight to behold, except for the heavy burden that would fall upon the shoulders of the demon lord. 

“Why?” he inquired, his tone somber and demanding, though no malice pushed behind his words.  “Why do you insist on staying by my side, Kikyo?”

  Golden orbs met those deep brown hues, determination etched across elegant features as he felt her hand tighten ever so slightly upon his remaining hand.  She did not fear him, she never had, and stood beside him despite knowing what he was fully capable of.  There was a kindness in her eyes, but beyond that kindness was a deep sadness, a tragedy waiting to unfold. 

This woman was already dead.

“If he kills you,” he spoke, pausing as he noted his sword did not pulse.  “I cannot bring you back.  You are aware of this, are you not?”

  Then why did she insist?  She was not ignorant, that he was certain of.  She was absolutely brave, and perhaps that was to a fault, but even now that was not what drove her.  Did she fear for him?  A priestess, a mortal enemy of demons and heroine of mankind, would care so deeply for a demon she would risk her life.  There were many a reason as to why Kikyo would choose to remain by his side, just as Rin and Jaken had;  however, the mortality of his comrades had become an increasing concern upon his mind, especially after loosing Kagura. 

“I will say this,” he spoke, once more breaking eye contact with the woman, his argent tresses dancing against his armored frame and bustling in the soft winds that pushed past him.  “I have no intention of letting that despicable half-breed kill me.”

  That was all he could do.

Why, he asked? Perhaps due to the same reason she wished for Inuyasha’s safety... It wasn’t easy to explain, harder still as the demon didn’t seem to deny her approaches. It was an exchange of favors that had brought them together, but what exactly ushered them to keep things that way? Something beyond both their understanding, or maybe the mutual sense of loneliness, of having to let go of too much for the sake of love.

『 Experience. 』 She replied without wavering. 『 The last time I let someone dear go, they never fully returned... I simply wish to see that this doesn’t happen again. 』

Such was the best way she could possibly explain him how she felt, or what she felt. Clearly, the thought of her risking her life for his sake angered him perhaps just about as much as the thought of him gone saddened her. Did he not wish to fight by her side? Did Sesshomaru not trust her skills? Or could it have been something else that kept him from accepting her aid?

『 Whether I like it or not, I’m dying, Sesshomaru. You’ve noticed it too... haven’t you? His scent on me. 』 There was no fooling a daiyoukai of his caliber’s sense of smell-- he was prone to have caught on her scent from a mile or two away. The stench of one who had been afflicted by Naraku’s poison... and it was slowly that the miasma ate away at her life’s thread, chipped it off like plaster to wall paint. 『 I don’t know why you seem so eager to postpone the inevitable, but... I do wish to fight by your side. So, please... take me with you. 』

             ( サンゴ ) —- It was like looking into a dark mirror, Sango decided — the priestess was the epitome of everything she was not, and never could be. Delicate, but soul moving; gracefully lethal and hushed, like the petals of sakura blossoms, edged in silver and gold. Beholding the woman as she was now, Sango could only imagine how she must’ve glowed with a heartbeat and the thrum of life. The steady warmth of skin and the smell of sunlight in her hair, Sango longed to see it, but it seemed frozen now. Faded.  Captured in a single moment, the essence of spring, to live perpetually in a macabre winter.   It broke her heart. “How cruelly I have misjudged you at times…” The confession slipped past her lips, unabashed but severely humble and apologetic. The words themselves seemed to cut on the way out, she noticed. But she accepted that embarrassment. The time she had spent in the miko’s presence had proved to be enlightening, to a degree.

                          Sango turned from Kikyo, dark eyes lifting to the heavens as a cloud passed above, casting shade onto the women below. Closing her eyes as a breeze swept through, Sango inhaled deeply; taking in the rich scent of earth, dew and sunlight. She felt the warmth on her skin; the heat of the day in her hair — but it couldn’t warm her inside. She still felt cold, and lost in the dark. That’s what it was to be human, right?                          To feel, to love and live…                          Her eyes opened slowly — to suffer.

                          Lowering her gaze, Sango glanced back at Kikyo only once, her hands curling into fists at her sides. The leather of her arm guards squeaked under the pressure. “Everything that bastard has done…” Her voice didn’t waver; thick and heavy with indignation and repulsion, but the tear that slipped down her cheek caught and glinted in the sunlight. 

                           “Forigve me, Kikyo-sama — and thank you, for saving Kohaku’s life, I am forever in your debt.” Turning, Sango bowed deeply, with little droplets softly pelting the dirt between her feet.

Back when she had first died, she reckoned her sister saying something that concerned fireflies flocking around her grave, as though to shed some light in the darkness of her heart. It had been hatred that led her straight to hell... but she didn’t recall much other than the abysmal cold and eternal nights spent in that place. She wasn’t human anymore, but a wandering wisp of glow, and luminescence didn’t exactly have feelings. Yet, given she’s reincarnated a good four to five hundred years later, Kikyou could only reckon her soul had only come to terms with the events close to half-a-millennium after its demise.

...though that also meant her time was coming, creeping ever nearer as did the spider on a web, crawling closer to its prey.

『 It’s not over yet. 』 She reminded the young woman, unable to bring herself to deny having helped Kohaku... if Kikyou were to choose between keeping the lad alive or killing Naraku for good, she’d pick the former. And perhaps, like crystal clear water, that much was plain to see. 『 You must love him a lot... Kohaku, I mean. 』  

And Kohaku, the boy who had nearly lost himself, loved her right back. It had been one such feeling that kept him strong, that fueled the flickering flame of his desire to live, overwhelming the guilt of his sins. 

「巫女」:: That would be a story to tell…The story of the reason she was here-why she’d exiled herself…But the scarlet miko was right…for now…she was beating around it. Avoiding it-as it were…She’d tell the other woman, probably-all in good time. 

                    Her answer was suspect, because the midori miko did know that Kikyou was very sparse on her eating habits,,,No matter how unhealthy that was in the long run…So the girl found she wasn’t buying the reason she’d cooked up for it…Well-possibly the fainting spells. That would make sense-but the rest of it-She chewed her lips a little and frowned somewhat.:: 

                                 “…If–I didn’t know any better…I’d give a guess that you were–with child…”

                       ::she mumbled, mostly to herself…but partially to the other miko as she peered over the infant that was swaddled beside her.::

                                   “Though-if that were the case…I’d know for certain how to help with it…”

                        ::She added, before glancing over at the elder miko as she played with the baby. The green miko tilted her head and watched Kikyou and the infant for a long few moments. She’d be a great mother herself…She had all the makings of a good mother. The younger girl smiled some as she watched Kikyou play-and absent mindedly answered the question the lady uttered next.::

                                      “He’s a boy…”

Of course Kagome would have hit the nail on the head. Just how many times had she been pregnant, after all? Truth be told, the child wasn’t planned... though when those nights of intimacy had turned into less of an occurrence and more of a habit, Kikyou knew it was too late to do anything about it. 

Surely, when she decided to part ways, the daiyoukai’s inquisitive stare didn’t go unnoticed. Perhaps he, too, had realized it had been a while ever since her last monthly, but decided against saying a word on the matter. It was often that Kikyou felt his presence around still, lingering, sometimes a bit farther, sometimes nearer. This one habit the elder male had, that of following her around from a distance, well reminded her of Inuyasha’s own prior to her first death. In fact, it was possible to feel it now... he was somewhere, most likely due to having caught the scent of Inuyasha on someone nearby. 

「巫女」:: A lonely life that didn’t have to be…Though for her own reasons–the green miko had cast herself out too…Run away from everything–unable to cope with her own shame…Even if it had come about not by her choice, but still having to live with it-because she couldn’t just abandon it. It wasn’t in her nature. And although she had faar from overcome the feelings-she still tried to get by.

                     The girl blinked when Kikyou told her she’d been having fainting spells-and she lifted her hand up to feel the other miko’s forehead-searching for signs of fever, though there were none. She chewed her lip.::

                               “Has to be more than fainting spells–for you to be looking like someone smashed into you in the road and left you in the mud…Though there’s no mud…granted. What else has happened? And don’t try to dodge.”

                     ::Looked like the midori miko was going to concern herself with the akai miko’s well-being anyway~Also in her nature and something she was unable to ignore..Though in her telling Kikyou not to dodge-she was kind of dodging herself…Because although Kikyou didn’t wish to strip her of ‘family’, she herself had managed to do just that…Though she hadn’t exactly…told anyone. Family included.::

                                  “Actually-you’re not close to any village…Or-at least not one you know of…But do tell me what else has been happening?”

Good thing to know it wasn’t her memory playing tricks on her, for Kikyou had committed to mind every nook and cranny of her homeland... every hollow and every ridge. She knew the smell of pure water and moist earth the wind carried off with it. The chinese bellflowers, typical of the region, from which her birth name stemmed. Yet, her brows furled in concern-- what was Kagome doing so far from home all on her lonesome, save for the child she carried? Though Kikyou felt tempted to ask, she knew the other woman to be avoiding the subject, so she decided against pressing the matter for the time being.

『 It’s not pleasant. Fainting spells, vomiting... 』 She trailed off, sitting herself down beside the young one and angling her head to steal another gander at him... or her? Kikyou wasn’t certain. 『 Like I said, it must have been something I ate. 』 

Though if Kagome was any acquainted with the arch-priestess’ ways, she would also know Kikyou only ever had a meal a day-- and that was in the morning. Nothing that wouldn’t sit well with her stomach either, except, perhaps, for wild berries gone too long under the sun’s mighty glare. Reaching out, her digits spread the fabric a little and let the pup seize hold of one in a makeshift game where she’d gently try to wriggle her finger out of the child’s gentle grasp, only to let them clasp it again.

At first, her distress flew way over his head and he only became aware of it once they were out of the flames. The smoke wasn’t bothering him as much as it did her, so it had been a little difficult for him to realize how suffocating it might’ve been for a human being. “Crap. I’m sorry, I should’ve picked you up back there, I didn’t realize you were struggling so much.” However, he did hurry by her side. “Are you going to be okay?” Akira did transpire some worry.

“I can bring your further away if you like.”

He blinked- so this was indeed Japan. But Nobunaga Oda? He had to think about the name if he rung any bell- he was certain he heard this name before. Then he remembered hearing the Daimyo’s story in history class… “Oh no…”

He was in shock.

The creature looked like he’d seen a ghost-- to think folk would take him for the ghost, though the only mirror in sight was the water’s reflection and he wasn’t exactly looking at it.

『 I’m fine now. 』 A lie, but if she hadn’t gotten help when at her worst, why would she accept it now that she could breathe just fine? 『 The fire doesn’t cross rivers, believe me... 』 In fact, She wondered if the arsonist was found already, or if it had been some youkai’s doing. Not that it mattered now that the whole forest would turn to coal and soot...

Inu-Yasha examined her for a moment longer than necessary before crossing his arms.  Amber hues scanned their way upwards to the fruit Kikyou was referring to, breathing out through flared nostrils.  He had not missed the hint of  something less than her normal tone, though he did not think it any fault of his own.  Taking a moment, he leapt with ease, snatching the top of the vines off with a quick hand.

Once again landing on his feet as though he’d just simply taken a step forward, the hanyou held out pieces of the vines, the fruit dangling from his finger tips by the twisted stems.

“Gonna break your neck for these?”  He asked with a bit of suspicion in his voice, though the motion of her fingers in her hair was not lost on him.  He looked back to her eyes, a feeling of shyness coming over him instantly, though he did not stop staring.  Something was wrong.

“What’re you so mopey for?”  Inu-Yasha didn’t mean it to come out harshly, though that was his default tone it seemed.  He saw nothing wrong with it, but it could easily be misread.  Staring her down a bit longer, he waited for the explanation.

The branch looked steady enough. It wasn’t as though Kikyou had expected it to be rotten to the point it would give way when under a bit of pressure, though had she been more mindful, she could have avoided that. What if Inuyasha hadn’t been there and she did fall? It would have been quite a tumble. Definitely not enough to break her neck, as he put it, but perhaps to twist an ankle or render an arm useless for some time. 

At the sound of the half-demon leaping, the priestess lifted her gaze only to find him back within a second, and with a stemful of little grapes attached to it. At first, she hesitated, but took them and held them close to her chest, lowering her eyes again.

『 The Jewel. 』 She started, digits idly toying with the round fruits in her hold. 『 If the Jewel ever ceased to exist some day, so would your purpose here... Wouldn’t it? 』