Unbroken

We reached the village where we were greeted by a short elderly woman who, strangely, had an iron sword guard over her right eye. She wears a white kimono top and red pants with a bow in one hand and arrows in a quiver on her back. She was a priestess. I recognized the clothing from a few priestesses I saw at a temple on my way to school.

"Angel, this is Kaede. Kaede, I'd like you to meet my best friend."

"Pleased to meet ye, child."

I bowed my head to her out of respect. "The pleasure is mine, Priestess."

The woman seemed shocked I knew she was a priestess but ignored it. She turned her attention to Kagome.

"I have received news from a village not too far from here. It appears that the demon attacking the village is linked to Naraku. They say the demon is accompanied by giant wasps."

Inuyasha appears behind us. "What are we waiting for?"

"Um, Kagome?" My voice was strangely quiet. Kagome turned to look at me so I continued. "I'm not going to be any help in a battle... "

"Ye can stay with me, child. We have some things we need to discuss." Kaede spoke softly.

"She would cause nothing but problems anyway." Inuyasha snickered causing Kagome to glower at him.

Shippo spoke up, "You don't have to be so mean ya know!"

I watched Kagoma and the others quickly disappear into the woods, Sango and Miroku on an enlarged Kilala, and Kagome and Shippo on Inuyasha back.

After they disappeared, Kaede spoke, "Come with me, child."

I obediently followed the woman into the village and we entered a small hut with a wood floor and a small fire pit in the middle.

"Now, child, I need to discuss something with ye." Kaede looked at me with such seriousness that I stared transfixed into her eyes.

"When Kagome came to this land I knew she be my sisters reincarnation. Since then she has proven me true. Ye, Angel, are also a reincarnation of a priestess, though I sense your powers are diluted." She began making some sort of soup after lighting the fire in the pit and continued speaking. "Before the great priestess Midoriko's death, there was a woman named Haruki. She was a very powerful priestess, even more so than my own sister, Kikyo. Legend has it that Haruki was murdered by the great demon that Midoriko destroyed not long after and that she was with child. After Haruki's death, her spirit was saddened at the loss of her child and she drifted, not able to move on until she could be reincarnated and seek some sort of vengeance. Ye, I believe, are Haruki's reincarnation. I feel that the powers that ye possess have to grow on their own and in their own time, unlike Kagome whose powers shown instantly." She handed me a bowl of soup.

"How do you know I’m the reincarnation of Haruki?" I asked as I took the warm bowl.

Kaede smiled, "When ye walked beside Kagome, ye seemed to draw her energy to ye. The life force within ye has grown the longer ye are here. And I sense a great power within ye that seems familiar with legend. Unfortunately, there are no surviving images of Haruki known to exist to compare ye to. Memory was all I needed to know Kagome was my sisters reincarnation."

I sat in silence, completely baffled. 'I’m the Incarnation of a priestess who lived eons ago?' I was completely confused but something felt right about the woman's words. The feeling in my gut told me that her words rang truer that what I wanted. I sipped the soup in silence then when I finished , I yawned.

"Come child, rest. Ye seem tired." Kaede laid out bedding for me to rest on.

I took the swords from my back and laid down, not sure what to think. 'Miko, Hanyo, and Yokai, oh my!' With that last thought, I quickly drifted off into a restless sleep.

My dream was nothing less than bizarre. There were no sounds, no voices.

I was searching for my cat, my little brother, scared, stood at the top of the steps to the well house. There was scratching on the inside of the wooden doors that covered the well. Buyo ran around my legs and I quickly picked him up, turning to face my brother. I felt hands on my arms as I went falling back into the well. There was a giant centipede with the torso and head of a woman. She kept attacking me and I threw my hand up. A brilliant light came from my hand and the centipede’s arm came off. I finally drifted to the bottom of the well and looked up to a clear sky. Climbing out of the well, I ran towards the sacred tree that stood tall at the shrine. What I saw there was a man pinned to a tree by an arrow, roots growing up around him. He wore bright red and had white hair. I inched closer until I stood on the roots right in front of the man. I reached out and touched what appeared to be dog ears on his head.

The whole dream shifted.

I was suddenly standing with my bow and arrow poised, my sister was standing near me as well as a few villagers. I let loose the arrow and pinned Inuyasha to a tree. I grew weaker as I fell to my knees, losing too much blood from the wound on my right shoulder. I would die, and I knew it. I stayed strong until blackness filled my vision.

The dream shifted again.

I was in a fierce battle, my sword drawn. Many demons stood before me, trying to devour me. I was exhausted, for seven days this battle raged and yet no ground was made in either direction. During the night I could sense that something bigger was approaching as I continued to slay the lesser demons battling me. A large demon, fused out of many other demons, came at me with lightning speed and pierced my armor, just below my chest. The pain was excruciating. It had human blood on its jowls. I knew that if I did not purify this demon that it would wreak havoc on the entire country, destroying even more human lives in its path. Knowing that I was near death, I pulled the spirit of the great demon into my body, merging it with my own to purify it. I closed my eyes in concentration. I formed them into a ball, merging everything I had into the purification of the demon spirit. I felt no more pain, no more exhaustion.

Then the dream shifted for a final time. This one seemed clearer, as if I was actually there. This time, I actually heard noises and voices.

I sat across from Midoriko, rubbing my stomach. I hadn’t told her yet, that I was with child. How could I? I had fallen in love with a demon, the very thing we set out to destroy. How could I tell her that I was to bare his child? I watched her as she ate some bread that we had obtained at the previous village.

“Why do you watch me eat, Sister?” Midoriko had her eyes closed as she spoke. “Do you have something you wish to tell me?”

She caught me off guard. I had to come up with something quick. “This demon that you sense, its presence is larger than the others?” At least this was a true concern of mine.

“Aye.” She said and looked off into the forest. “We are getting closer. I fear that we will be met with heavy resistance. But if we do not destroy this demon while we have the chance, it will destroy every human in this country.”

My sister, ever the hero. She loved protecting others. She could purify a demons soul and send it safely to the afterlife. Me, I could create shields and extend my aura to protect those around me from demonic influences.

“Sister, when I battle this demon, I wish for you to return to the village. There you will be safe.” Midoriko looked at me, pleading with her eyes.

“I…Why do you not want me to fight by your side?” I was in shock. Never before had we allowed ourselves to go into battle alone.

She rubbed the cat demons ears that was sitting on her lap. The yellow and black feline purred. “I know you have been hiding something from me, Sister. I do not want harm to come to you or yours.” She nodded towards me.

She knew…. But how?

She continued, “I would fight better knowing that you are safe.”

I knew there was no arguing with her. She simply smiled at me. I looked down at my belly, I was barely showing. I was no more than six months along.

“Where is the father of that child?” Midoriko asked casually.

“He died shortly after the child was conceived.” I remembered seeing the battle. It had been a blood bath. A battle over land, no less. We had made love for the first and only time the night before the battle. I still ached over his passing.

Midoriko didn’t say anything, she simply took a bite of her bread.

I began to wonder what future this half demon inside of me may have. The child of a great demon lord and a powerful priestess.

Midoriko stared off into the fire. “Please return to the village, Sister.”

“Tonight?” I asked in disbelief.

“Yes. Tomorrow will be the day the battle begins. It’s a long trek back home, but I know you are powerful enough to protect yourself from the lesser demons of this forest. Please, so the child can be safe as well as my own sister.”

She was pleading with me. Fear was in her voice as spoke those words. Fear for me and for the child I carried. I simply nodded and stood up.

“Take Kilala. She will aid you should the need arise.” Kilala grew into a large demon, standing proud beside Midoriko who ran her hand down the feline’s side.

“Midoriko…” I paused, searching for the words. “Please come home safely.” I walked over to her and hugged her. I loved my sister so much.

“Haruki, be safe.” She paused and kneeled in front of me. She placed her hands on my belly, one on each side. “I give my blessings to this child. May the good outweigh the bad, may her energy be pure, may her life force be strong, may her heart be unbroken, and may her mind be strong.”

Her?

“Sister, thank you.” I had tears in my eyes. She knew I was having a girl. She also knew that the child would be a hanyo. I could tell by her wording.

Midoriko smiled as she stood. “I love you, Haruki. Now please, go home.”

“I love you too, Sister.” I hugged her one last time and climbed on Kilala’s back. ‘Good luck, Midoriko.’

Kilala flew off into the air as my sister swept dirt over the fire. She watched me get farther away and I watched her walk off into the forest toward the demons hoard that awaited her.

I didn’t get far before I felt the ominous presence of a large demon quickly closing the distance on me. Kilala tried to outrun it but couldn’t. I heard a massive roar and trees being snapped in two. The large demon that Midoriko was off to fight was coming after me.

A large claw swiped at us. Kilala dodged but she couldn’t recover enough to dodge the second one. The two of us went crashing to the ground where I was flung off of Kilala’s back. I hit my head on the stump of a tree and my vision blurred. I couldn’t concentrate. I could feel blood oozing from the wound on my head as darkness began to cloud my vision. I saw Kilala unconscious on the ground not too far from me.

I focused on making a shield around the two of us but I knew immediately that my barrier was weak and probably couldn’t even shield from the weak demons.

The large demon broke through my barrier with ease and pierced my chest with its spiky arms. The pain was tremendous. I heard a chuckle come from the demon as he removed the spike from my chest. I coughed and I could taste blood on my tongue. I was going to die here and my child would never be able to fulfill my sisters blessing. I began to cry, not for the loss of my life but for my child’s. I looked to Kilala. She was breathing but still unconscious.

“The line ends with you!” growled the demon.

I quickly closed my eyes and put a blessing on my own child. ‘Someday, you will walk these lands. It may not be now, but one day you will. You will avenge my sister and I by holding true to our beliefs. You will be reincarnated to protect those around you, to show that love between a human and a demon isn’t bad but that it should be rejoiced. Live by my sisters blessings. But most of all, Live.’

I kept my eyes closed, my hands on my stomach as the child within me stirred. I couldn’t protect my child now with this gaping hole in my chest.

The demon leaned close to me, its many eyes baring into my own. Its many claws tearing at my clothing and flesh. I felt a deep slash on my stomach and screamed. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Kilala stir but not wake up. Another deep slash went across my neck. My scream quickly turning into a gurgle. Blackness surrounded me. The only thing I could do was save Kilala. I extended what was left of my aura to the feline and encased her with my protective powers, making her invisible to the demon. I felt hundreds of teeth on my legs as the demon bit down on me, eating me alive.

‘Please, my child. Live!’

That was my last thought as the darkness of death took me.

I woke with a start. My heart pounding and my body covered in sweat. My muscles ached and my head began to hurt as I recalled the dream. It wasn’t just any dream though. Deep down in my soul I knew that those events were true. I had seen Kagome, Kikyo, Midoriko, and Haruki.

I looked around, taking in my surroundings. I was still in the hut but Lady Kaede was nowhere in sight. I stood, grabbed my swords from beside me, and fashioned them on my back. I exited the little hut, grateful for the cool morning air. I couldn't believe that I had slept literally all day and all night. The sun was being to peek above the horizon but the kiss of night still blessed the breeze with a tranquil cool feel.

Making up my mind, I slowly made my way out of the village to the rice fields that I had passed earlier with Kagome. I dropped to my knees beside the waters and dunked my face in. The chill instantly woke me up but it didn’t get rid of the blood bath of a dream I had. I could remember every detail with such clarity that it was spooky.

Visions from the dream flashed through my mind. I recalled every detail and as a realization hit me, I spoke aloud. “I am not the incarnation of Haruki. I am the incarnation of her unborn child.” Her child was the combination of a powerful demon lord and a powerful priestess. 'What does that mean for me?'

My mind was running a million miles a minute. My heart was fluttering with the realization and my mind was going in circles so fast that when I stood, I became dizzy.

In my heart, I felt a pull that I couldn’t refuse. I had a journey ahead of me. Where I went and who I would meet would be a mystery, but that didn’t matter now. The only thing I could really concentrate on besides the dream was this strange urge to… move. I let my heart be my guide as I set out on a journey that I’m sure I would never forget.