Walk With Me

It started so… simply. Which was fine. He was a simple guy. He had settled into a nice forest, close enough to a human village that if he really wanted, he could snatch a few niceties. That he never really dared to try such activity meant… nothing. Nothing at all; He was a simple guy, remember?

The forest was his home, or so he felt. He defended it from various intruders with fang and claw and fist. After a while, intruders would rarely brave the quiet paths, wary and afraid. He would pace them with bare feet, cold and untrusting gold eyes flashing through the leaves. Youkai would take the bait, brave those fangs, and claws, and fists, and end up as fertilizer for the trees.

The trees in his forest were always well fed.

It had become his forest very quickly. Humans who glimpsed him would yell his name like a mantra of fear. They did not know why they feared him, they just did.

He knew though. He understood. Each high pitched, wailing utterance of his name lanced into his all too human soul, and no amount of time would dull that pain.

One day he smelled someone new… a human girl. Only her scent was different, human yet more. An extra something, like the cold of winters chill, mixed with the flush of youth. It piqued his curiosity enough to seek her out, see what brought a girl to his forest.

His first glimpse of his destiny was a little confusing: a blur of red white and black through green leaves, the breeze blowing that strange enticing scent to him. The colors resolving into a human shape, a miko, red hakima, white hakuri and sode-kukuri, ebony hair… then she turned around, a breeze catching her long tresses. He had heard of a powerful priestess in the area, that she was young and lovely; this must be that priestess. She was armed with bow and arrows, and a tanto up her left sleeve. He settled in the crotch of a tree and watched as she knelt and picked a flower from the field of grass. Her face was solemn, her aura tight to her skin. She had a decent aura too. She should be careful, some of the idiot youkai endlessly trying to invade his territory would sniff her out and…

The breeze caught her hair in a sharp snap, the ribbon holding her sleek locks in place flying away. She tsked and swiveled, bow in hand. So fast even his eyes barely caught it, she drew an arrow and fired, pinning the errant ribbon to the tree he sat in. He jerked in shock; very few humans were that good with a bow. Most he had seen with such skills were samurai, cold eyed men, not sad eyed girls.

She rose and headed to the nearby village, hair flying about her in a dazzling display. He paced her to the edge of the forest, nose twitching. That cold crisp smell of hers…


Live your way, and pound the shit out of anyone in your way. If you can’t beat them, make them know they dealt with you. Retreat only if you have to, but never give up.

Never… Give… Up…

One hundred fifty three years. That’s how old he was when he first heard of it. One hundred fifty three years and almost, sort of ready to give up after all.

Salvation? More like… sanctuary, an end to a misbegotten life he had never asked for.

Youkai had started to gather in ever greater numbers in his forest. He relished the fights with them, glad he could vent the ever-present spleen that boiled within him. Now and then he heard commotions in the nearby village. These fights, probably with the pretty miko, were as short as his own. Only, each of the miko’s fights were accompanied with processions to a particular, odd place in his forest.

The Bone-Eaters Well was far too shallow to have ever been a well. It was an odd place that he did not like being close to. Especially now, because the miko and her human entourage were cutting up the youkai she defeated with her bow into small chunks and dumping them into the “well.” The fact of this dumping was not his problem; it was that within a day, those chunks of flesh were evaporated, leaving bones behind. It gave him an eerie feeling in his belly.

Then a youkai with enough human form to speak properly finally came to his forest. It was a slightly frustrating fight since this Jerk had some decent skill, but all was worth it when the Jerk started taunting him.

“What is wrong with you, hanyou? Why have you not killed that Miko and taken it? Are you too weak to kill humans because of your weak human parent?”

“Why would I kill her, what a bother. You wanna kill her, go ahead!” He snapped, too annoyed to ponder why the Jerk was concerned about a miko anyway.

“Well, once I kill you I will, and I will take it for myself!” It? What it?

“You don’t even know what’s under your filthy dog-nose!? The Shikon no Tama!” The Jerk saw the blank look this elicited, and since bullies are braggarts, he spilled the whole of his knowledge of this object.

A jewel that increased demonic power, and could grant wishes? And the Jerk here was after it…

There was no way he could allow anyone else to have it. He needed this thing, and he would kill anyone in his way!

Even a pretty miko with sad eyes.

Moments after the Jerk imparted his information, he was fertilizing another tree.


He found her walking completely at ease at the edge of the forest, enjoying a moment of peace and quiet. Now the more and more frequent noises of battle in the village made sense, as well as the invasion of youkai sneaking about his forest. These were the signs of power hungry idiots seeking this Shikon no Tama… Jewel of Four Souls, huh? Well, she should be pleased to be rid of the thing, stop the incessant attacks on her village. She could give it to him and…

The high hissing whine of air being sliced open by something incredibly fast intruded on his reverie. Something snagged his left sleeve so fast and hard that it pulled him backwards into a tree. The first whine was followed by three more, and he found he was pressed fast against smooth bark. He couldn’t move his arms, because four arrows were pinning his haroi to the damned tree!

“Leave or next time I will kill you, youkai.” He glared at the girl as she stepped closer, her own eyes narrowed…

“Shut up, just give me the damned Shikon thing and you won’t have to worry about it or the attacks from other youkai!” she froze at that, blinking as if she had just heard the most ridiculous thing ever uttered. She stared at him so long like that, he began to feel silly. He squirmed a little under her gaze, and jumped when she spoke.

“The Shikon no Tama is my responsibility. I will guard it with my life, at the expense of yours.” She turned her back and stalked off, ignoring his snarling tirade and futile struggles to get free of her pinning arrows.


The next day he tried sneaking up on her; when he wished to be he could be silent as a wraith.

Sadly, miko’s seemed to be trained in hearing wraiths.

The day after that, he tried to rush her, swooping out of the sky.

Miko’s also seemed to be trained to hear swooping Shikon thieves.

The day after that he stormed through his forest, angrily seeking and killing a dozen or so Shikon seeking youkai. He then ran all the way around his self proclaimed territory, slashing the trees with his claws so they bore an unmistakable mark that made the area his. It would only slow but not stop the influx of youkai, but that should help keep the village from being attacked so much, which in turn would make the miko lower her guard a little. Then he would have a far better chance of catching her unawares and snatching the jewel.

Playing dirty was a requirement of winning, sometimes.

The next day he spent following the girl during her life with some extra cautious sneaking. It was incredibly boring work in his mind. She was sickeningly kind to everyone. The village children hung off her, sometimes literally. The village girls begged her for love charms, and fertility potions, and blessings for their smelly babes. The men begged for help with charms for their precious crops and eyed her pretty face, but the admiration was tempered by fear; fear of her powers, fear of her difference. That fear was all too familiar to him. It made him watch her more closely.

So, her daily activities did educate him about her, but not in the way he had wished to be educated about her. He did not like feeling glimpses of sympathy for anyone, much less someone he would probably have to kill. He did not like to think about how sad and alone she was; how she flinched slightly at every wary glance and pitying smile. She had her duty and nothing more.

Well, that was not entirely true

She had the shining pink jewel she sometimes slid free from its hiding place in her hakuri. She stared at it often actually, her expression inscrutable.

When she stared, he stared too, but his expression was surely less inscrutable.

He tried one last time to snatch the thing, and yet again, she pinned him to a tree. She really overdid it this time, using a ridiculously high count of eight arrows to pin him in place. She stared at him with that same why are you so stupid expression for a long time. He just hated it; couldn’t she look mad, or scared or… just frustrated?!

“Hey, why don’t you ever finish me off!? You’re mocking me!” He snapped angrily. She simply sighed and started to turn away. He cursed and struggled, wanting to wipe that weary look of her face, the one that said he was beneath caring about. Her head snapped back to stare at him, eyes narrowed with an almost motherly annoyance.

“Please stop this. I do not wish to waste any more arrows.” She said and finally left.

It took him a while to get free of her mocking pin-up job. He got loose and instead of sulking in one of his favorite trees, he stomped to the village and watched her again, telling himself he was waiting for another chance to take that damned Shikon no Tama. But even though opportunities did arise, he did not try again. He just watched her. She acted as if she did not notice, but certain things indicated to him that she did know.

At first she was a little worried. Tension in her neck and around her eyes told him that.

Then she was curious. She glanced in his direction so often that he did not even bother to hide some of the time. She knew he was there anyway, why even bother…

Finally she relaxed, as if accepting his presence. She sat in the open, alone and smiling. She would walk the forest paths that no other human would dare to take. And despite his resentment of her disregard of his powers (not that he had made a very good show of them yet) he found himself protecting her from the occasional youkai attack.

Late in the summer, as the trees readied to turn color, she sat in one of her favorite spots, a hilltop that looked over the wide vale the village lay in. He crouched in a tree, watching her, making up scenarios where he was able to take the jewel and finally gain the power and respect he craved. Sadly they were incredibly silly scenarios, not one actually plausible. Still it killed time…

“Inuyasha? Inuyasha, I know you’re there; you’re always there. Come and sit beside me.” She said with a remarkably friendly voice.

It was the same voice she used with her beloved brats in the village. So far, he had not seen her pin any of them to a tree. So, he took a chance and crept up to her, out of reach but close enough to grab her bow should she try to shoot him.

She was silent.

He was growling ever so softly.

She sighed softly. “This is the first time we’ve ever really spoken.”

… Duh. She usually mocked him when she spoke, so he cursed at her and…

“Inuyasha… I wanted to ask you a question. Do I seem normal to you?”

He eyed her warily. He had heard fleetingly of the verbal traps of women. Were miko’s also trained to trap men? Wait, he was not a man, so it should be safe…

“Normal?”

Yes, yes, brilliant repartee.

“I mean… do I seem like a woman? I… I feel so different. I have to hold myself apart, be strong and responsible… I can never let my guard down. I feel like I’ve let my femininity wither and die…”

“Wow, I never thought I’d hear you whine about your life… It doesn’t seem like you.” He said, blunt as was his want. He tensed a little, ready to leap away when she tried to shoot him after all. She did not take offense however.

She smiled…

His human soul lurched. It lurched hard. It threatened to make him weep for the first time in over one hundred years. He barely heard her next words over the squeezing struggling youkai heart in his chest.

“You’re right of course. It really is not like me, and I… don’t have any right to complain about my lot in life. I apologize…”

Time slowed…. Slowed then held its breath for them both. His lurching soul fluttered, his heart pounded against its cage of bone and blood. He gazed at her as if he had never seen her, or anything else for that matter, before.

He did not feel his face soften, or the equally sad smile that curved his lips for her eyes only. They gazed at each other like newborns until time gasped for breath again.

Kikyo rose and started down the hill.

And Inuyasha followed her from then on.

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