InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fear of Love ❯ Meeting You ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

A/N: These characters depicted in this story are not my own, but property of Rumiko Takahashi. Except Ashana… The present situations are half my own. But mostly hers…
A/N(aka E/N): Hello! Thank you all for reading this! I'm her editor and the person who posts Mariah's fanfics since she's too lazy to do it herself. *throws out popcorn in random places* Enjoy!
Kikyou. K-i-k-y-o-u. That was how you spelled her name. The hanyou wrote it over and over in the dirt, contemplating how. How, and why. First of all, 'how' did he come so close to being caught to know this woman's name? And 'why' did he risk getting killed for it?
Never again would he near that village. He didn't want to see her face again, anyhow. That sullen smile of hers disgusted him, as did any other mortal. She disgusted him, as a matter of fact. Acting so strong and bold when she was merely a miko, nothing but another woman to him. Another woman with a title.He sighed and looked at his misshapen letters and sketchy handwriting in the fine dirt, which he had destroyed. He found himself wondering subconsciously, 'what does her handwriting look like?' He shook the thought out of his head immediately and rose from where he was crouching, still staring at his own work. Fury began to boil within him. He dropped to his knees and slammed his fist down on the dirt, pounding it again and again until nothing remained but some hand imprints. He let out his breath, which he now realized he had been holding.
"Dumb woman." He muttered, breathing silent and shallow. Speaking of silence, all was. The wind rustled here and there, but it was summer. The wind didn't blow much then. His ears turned behind him, hearing someone approach. Probably one of the villagers out to shoo him away from the premise. "I ain't leavin'." He said clearly, not turning around to see the woman standing behind him.
"I was not for asking you to, sir." He wondered who could be standing behind him and not want him to leave? It was absurd, the fact that someone could patiently stare at him, without wanting to run away in his presence. Their stare was burning holes in the back of his neck. He snorted, rising and turning ever so slightly to see who stared at him like that.
A woman stood, a satchel on her back, filled to the brim with arrows and a bow in her left hand, right hanging down at the side. Her hair was black as the night sky, so as though he was surprised no stars shone in it. It glistened in the afternoon sun, and was tied up in a ponytail neatly with evidently some care. Her outfit consisted of a priestess uniform, which consisted of a white wrap-around simple kimono and a pair of red hakama, much like his own. A few seconds after taking in the figure that stood before him, he realized who it was. It was the miko. Kikyou. He took a step back. Why had she come to see him when he did not long human companionship?
"…" She merely stared at him more, apparently intrigued by his reaction to her being there. "Why do you cower at my sight, good sir?""'Sir'?" He said curtly, taking a step outward, talking to her for the first time.
"Yes." She answered, still wearing the placid _expression. Was her mission in life to drive him insane by never having but one emotion? Then, her face changed and it shaped into that sullen smile that also drove him insane. "Do you take offense to high regard?"
"N-no…" He backed up one step further, glaring at the miko intently, focusing in on her face like radar, and contemplating that sad smile. Did she pity him? For her sake, she better have not. He straightened up a bit and made his voice louder. "Why are you in my line of sight, woman?" He growled, hoping that at least might scare her away. It did not. She remained rooted to her spot, not moving an inch. How she stayed so still, he would never know. Her mere presence was overpowering, even when she was smiling like that.
"That, I believe, correct me if I am wrong, good sir, is the first full sentence you have spoke, is it not?" Her smile widened and a bit more optimism shone in the wideness. "I have not come to rid you of my sight, as were your intentions of my doings, I have come to greet you." She turned and made a place for her bow in the satchel-like bag she wore on her back, on one side, where not many arrows resided. It seemed she considered him no threat to her life. That made him furious, that this mortal was not afraid of him, as any self-respecting, or life-respecting person would be. He growled louder.
"Draw your bow, filthy human." He spat out, snorting. "Don't take me lightly."
"I do not." She answered simply. "You are mistaken. I am indeed cautious around such a force, but am not heartless enough to run away from you." She sighed, and it sounded much like the wind, with nothing around to strengthen it. Forlorn and longing. He shook the thought out of his head. Her smile faded into an emotionless face again.
He stared at her for the longest time, time just seeming to stop in its tracks. Why? Why does she care to come and greet him when he had snuck around the corners of her village, just to find out her name? Was that such a great triumph? "Hmph." He said, regaining almost all of his composure quickly, but still a bit dazed. "What are you waiting for, woman?"
"I have not been waiting for anything." She bowed with her hands folded neatly in her lap. She bowed low and full, the kind of gesture you would give to someone of high standards. Her hair fell over her shoulder gracefully, shining ever more with the bright sun gleaming proudly over-head. Her bangs covered her eyes; making her, on top of beautiful, look mysterious. "I am glad to meet you." She said as she rose, it seemed she had plastered that odd smile on her face while her head had hung to the ground. "I am Kikyou, priestess of the village."
He did not relinquish his piercing glare fixed upon the woman, but instead nodded. Didn't bow, he wouldn't give anything more than a nod to someone he did not know. Probably not anyone he knew. And he did not know many people.
Her smile widened and she looked like she was trying not to laugh at the situation. Or at him. Probably at him, he thought. "Aren't you going to introduce yourself?""No." He answered shortly. "I don't tell my name to anyone."
"Odd. You must not know many people, then. How do you get around?" She took a few steps forward, nearing him. He immediately backed away and growled at her.
"G-get away from me. I'm warning you, woman!" He shouted. She was taken aback, but did not show much of it. She merely stared at him with the smile fading ever so slowly, it was painful. Her stare turned steely, as that of his.
"Very well, then. I shall." She turned around slowly, but looked over her shoulder to him. "I have told you my name, and you choose not to accept my presence about you. I have done all I can to make you talk, but I shall not force you anymore. Goodbye, sir. It was nice to see you." She walked off as slowly as the smile had gone, not as fast as it had arrived, but to him it did seem so. He couldn't stand to be called 'sir' anymore.
"Wait." He said, reaching out his hand as if that would stop her. She stopped, but did not face him.
"Do you wish to say something, sir?" There it was again. Why was she talking to him like this? Definatly she was mocking him or something or another. He wouldn't stand for it anymore.
"InuYasha." He said tersely, looking down at the dirt and patches of grass. She turned to look at him.
"Lovely to meet you, InuYasha." She smiled, but it still held that odd sadness that made him wonder. "Have a good–" She looked up above her and smiled broader as a cherry blossom fell on her shoulder, standing out amongst the pale of her skin and the black of her hair. "My favorite tree. You can always expect it to bloom and fall late. I've never figured out why, though."
"Hm…" InuYasha found himself staring up also. A single blossom landed on his nose. He flicked it off, annoyed. Kikyou chuckled.
"It's beautiful, summer. Once you get past all the heat and humid rain." She let the smile fade again. "Well, I suppose I should be leaving. The little ones want me to read to them."
"You're…married?" InuYasha sounded disappointed, but Kikyou didn't figure it out.
"Oh, no. I also teach the children." She giggled a little and looked back up to the cherry blossoms now falling all around them. She reached up and caught one, looking at it, being careful not to crunch its gentle state. She smiled again and held out the hand with the cherry blossom in it. "Take it."
"Huh? F-for what?" InuYasha stared at it and her hand like a foreign object.
"To keep, what else? Chances are, I will probably not see you again any time soon. I will be quite busy. You probably didn't know, but there's a ceremony going on at the village in about two days." She withdrew her hand and stared at the cherry blossom. It blew in the wind, but did not leave the sanctuary of her palm."For what?" InuYasha somehow, deep inside, didn't like the fact of never talking to her again. At least for a while.
"I'm being assigned to protect the Shikon no Tama. I figured you wouldn't know." She sighed. "It's going to be very long. I’m not allowed to leave practically anywhere except the temple." She sighed again. "But that's alright, I suppose. At least I'll be able to protect the people of the village." She smiled, but this time, it held more sadness than before. So much that it physically hurt her.
"It's so fake…" InuYasha whispered, looking at her.
"Hm?" Kikyou looked up and her _expression changed. She was curious. "Is something the matter?" She folded her hands again, but kept the blossom hidden in her right palm, close enough to keep it from falling to the ground, but not tight enough to crush it.
"No." InuYasha said sharply, turning away from her. The two were left with their backs facing each other. Kikyou looked back over her shoulder, to see him, an air of: 'I could care less' about him. She sighed and opened up her hand, holding it up to the sky as if an offering for something or someone.
"Travel free." She whispered. InuYasha's ears turned toward her, but she did not notice. The cherry blossom hovered about Kikyou's head for a few seconds then blew left, then right, doing spirals in the air and flying gracefully around and around. She started to walk away, not looking back at all. If he didn't care about her, so be it. She reached the outskirts, and was about to enter the village, but did look back, staring at the white-haired hanyou once more. "Goodbye." She whispered, but he did not hear. She stepped in, and "Lady Kikyou, you're back!" Could be heard. The excited squeals of children could be heard also as well as, "Lady Kikyou, where did you run off to?"
InuYasha turned around, and watched the cherry blossom float around him, and then lost it with the hundreds of others that blew across the field. All of them seemed to be running away. Would he be like this forever? The miko had shown some companionship, but she had given up on him. Maybe he was destined to be alone, after all. Just maybe…