"So, Inu-yasha, we meet again. I thought I felt you earl.." Kikyo looked around at the room that contained two people neither of whom was the suspected Inu-yasha. 'But I felt..' her eyes trailed over to settle upon Ranma and stared at him intensely.
"Kikyo," stated Kaede in welcome, "it seems we have a new guest from the time of Kagome." she offered in explanation.
Understanding filled the eyes of the phantom priestess. "So you are to Inu-yasha what that Kagome girl is to me. I see.." she trailed off into her private thoughts.
Ranma looked confused and slightly put out, "Look, lady, I don't know this Inu-yasha guy an' its starting ta bug me how everyone keeps saying that."
Kaede interrupts to try and sooth Ranma's spirit, "We mean thee no harm, child, there is much we must tell thee."
"Then tell me already," Ranma demanded, "Who's this Kagome chick ya talkin' about an' why do people keep calling me this 'Inu-yasha'?" he said forgetting for a moment that he had planned to be polite in order to be allowed to stay in the village.
Kaede sighed softly before began to explain, "As thee know, thee aren't the first to have travelled through the bone-eaters well. Kagome was the name of the girl who first displayed that ability. Kagome is a nice girl and I wish thee could have met her but she is out with Inu-yasha and the others collecting the shards of a powerful crystal shard that empowers demons."
"Yeah, ya mentioned the demons before. So this 'Inu-yasha' must be some kind of a fighter, huh? He'd hafta be if he is going up against demons all th' time."
"Thee is right, Inu-yasha is a great demon fighter. It is because of his heritage being a half-demon himself."
"A half-demon? But wouldn't that make him evil too?"
"Oh my, no. There are lots of good demons in this world just as there are bad. Shippo for instance is a kitsune but is always travelling with Kagome and Inu-yasha in their quest for the jewel shards."
"So I guess its a good thing then that this Inu-yasha guy is half-demon if it gives him th' strength ta fight th' bad demons.." Ranma said half-heartedly. He was trying to show support but it was very difficult as the only demons he had ever seen were the ones that fought over in Juban all the time and the few times Happosai had released one. None of the demons he had ever met had ever seemed to possess any good to them.
"Yes, child, although his heritage was painful for Inu-yasha. It is a powerful curse to the soul to find thee cannot fit in anywhere. Being only half human made him the target of the ridicule of the other children and even though he has tried to fit in with the demons since his human peers rejected him so harshly he finds he cannot fit in there either."
Ranma winced. 'Yeah, I know what its like not to fit in because you're only half of something..' "So if Inu-yasha is a demon an' that 'Shippo' is one does that mean that girl ya were talking about earlier is one too?"
Kaede laughed softly in response, "Kagome? No, she is as human as thee. More so in fact as she was not trained to fight off demons."
Ranma blinked in shock. "She can't even fight? Why th' hell do they let her get exposed to th' danger?"
Kikyo interrupted sounding to still be within her own thoughts, "I am.. was a priestess of this village 50 years ago. Upon my death I begged my sister to conceal a shard of the shikon jewel within my body so that it could never be used by a demon again. Kagome was born in your time with that same jewel shard within her own body. You see.. she is my reincarnation given flesh. She has the power to purify the shikon jewel and seal demons with her arrows like I myself possessed in life."
Ranma looked at the young priestess warily, "Ya look pretty alive ta me."
Kikyo looked sadly at Ranma, "I was given a second chance at life by a demon who thought to control me."
Ranma looked thoughtful, "So this Kagome is your reincarnation an' both of ya are alive an' walking around at th' same time? Weird.." he stopped for a moment before asking suspiciously, "Wait a second.. ya said I was like Kagome..?"
Kaede replied, "Aye, child, thee are to Inu-yasha as Kagome is to Kikyo. Thee are the reincarnation of Inu-yasha returned to this time."
Ranma looked back at her angrily, "So you're saying I'm some kind of demon or sumthin'? No way, lady, I ain't no demon. If ya didn't want me around all ya had ta do was say so. I'm out of here." then angrily stormed out of both the building and then the village.
Kaede looked in the direction of the departing martial artist with interest. "It is ironic that in this life Inu-yasha is proud of his demon blood and ashame of his human origins while in the next the very oppossite will be true, isn't it Kikyo, my sister.." she trailed off as she noticed she was alone once again.
Ranma was grumbling as he stalked through the forest away from the village. He had been looking forward to spending the night indoors and being around people who weren't after him for something. But there was no way he was just going to put up with someone trying to say he was nothing more than a no-good demon of all things.
Suddenly Ranma flipped around and enterred into a defensive stance.
"Relax, Ranma was it? It is only I." stated the priestess as she emerged from the shadows between two trees.
Ranma relaxed but not because of her words. There was just something about her that seemed so familiar and comforting. Shrugging his shoulders Ranma resumed his walk with no real destination in mind so long as it was away from the village he was leaving behind.
Kikyo stared at him thoughtfully before following after him. Perhaps Inu-yasha wasn't the only one who now had a second chance.
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(Posted Fri, 18 Apr 2003 06:27)
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