Hi all, ^_^

This is my brand new fic, so I'd really appreciate any and all C&C to
help me get this polished.  Show no mercy -- I can take it.  :)

Krista


-- Listar MIME Decryption --------------
-- Name   : VIGIL.TXT

The characters of the Inuyasha universe are the creation and
possession of the brilliant Rumiko Takahashi.

Author's note: This story takes place in Feudal Japan, starting
before, and then overlapping the manga story line.  It takes
place in the same continuity as my other ongoing Inuyasha fic,
"Half-Breed."  



~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

     I remember Kikyo. 

     How could I *not* remember her?  As her younger sister, I 
shadowed her every step until the day she died. She filled nearly 
every waking moment of my life.  And then, even when she was 
gone, she filled a good deal of my thoughts afterwards.

     I am old, now.  I have lived through three score turns of
the seasons.  Memories and experiences fill my head and push my
youth far from me until it seems as intangible as mist.

     But there are times... times like now, as I stare into the
sacred flame and hear the old spirits whispering secrets of ages
past, present and future to my soul...  These are the times when
I remember it all like it was yesterday.

     The spirits whisper, the flame dances before my eyes... and
I see Kikyo as she was back then, nine years my elder, towering
over me in strength, power and beauty.

     Like the rest of the villagers, I was in awe of her.  At
seventeen years of age, Kikyo was a legend.  She was Priestess,
Protector, Youkai Slayer, and Guardian of the Shikon Jewel. 
Power such as hers hadn't been seen in our village, or even the
entire West Lands, for generations.

     And I... I was oh, so proud of her.  Kikyo.  Onee-sama -- my
honored older sister.

     The flame dances before my eyes, and I remember her.

     And the demon who loved her...


~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 
Vigil 
An Inuyasha Tale 
by Krista Perry 
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~


     The air, still warm from the last of traces of a fading
summer, smelled of pine needles and wild flowers.  The forest was
lush and green, and the mid-morning sky, tufted with high-flying
clouds, shone brilliant blue. 

     "Onee-sama!"

     Kikyo looked up from where she knelt on the grass, carefully
spreading out sheets of stiff parchment on a smooth spot of
ground, and smiled at me as I ran towards her.

     "Kaede-chan, you are so quick," she said, reaching out to
greet me, smoothing my wind-tousled hair with one gentle hand and
patting my cheek.  I was warm and flushed from running so fast
from the village, and her hand was cool against my skin.  "Do you
have everything?"

     I nodded, gulping air into my lungs as I held up the basket
that contained the ink stone, the ink pot, and the two
calligraphy brushes that I had retrieved from her belongings. 
"Will you... show me... how to make... the wards now?"  I gasped.

     She laughed.  "I told you I would.  Now catch your breath
while I fetch water from the stream."  She picked up the ink pot
and went over to the small brook that ran down the forested hill
towards the village.  Ever the picture of unconscious grace, she
didn't just plunge the pot into the stream, but rather measured
the clear water in her cupped hand, filling the pot with just the
right amount so that the powder she ground from the ink stone
would create ink of perfect fluid consistency.

     She could have trained me in the village, I suppose, within
the protective incense-choked walls of the shrine.  But Kikyo
loved the forest, with all its vibrancy and life.  She often said
she felt more in tune with her power sitting in the shade of a
tree on a sun-lit day, than in the confines of four walls, sacred
or not.

     When she returned, I was ready, kneeling anxiously before
the piles of parchment.  Though I was no longer flushed, I was
near breathless with excitement.  I had waited so long for this. 
I knew all the prayers and holy words by heart.  Kikyo had helped
me learn them long ago, but finally, *finally,* on my eighth
birthday, she was going to show me how to put *real* power into
the sacred kanji.  Power to help and to heal.  Power that could
bring better health and harvest for our village.  Power that
could drive away the most evil spirit, or the fiercest youkai.

     For, like Kikyo, I had the Gift, the Sense for such things. 
Though my Gift was stronger than the average shaman's, and thus
nothing to be taken lightly, it was weak, nearly trivial in
comparison to Kikyo's power.  After all, I could see the aura of
light that radiated from my older sister.  I could *feel* her
power, and I knew all too well that it dwarfed my own.

     I might have blamed my power's comparative weakness on my
youth, had I not been told over and over again by the villagers
that when Kikyo was my age, she was already creating wards
powerful enough to drive away some of the more dangerous youkai
that skulked the surrounding lands.

     But I didn't care that my Gift wasn't as great.  I didn't
*want* to fight youkai.  The thought of youkai filled me with
terror, for I had seen them from afar, with their burning eyes,
their evil black auras, and their malicious thirst for human
misery.  It was well known that an unprotected human who fell
into the hands of a youkai was as good as dead -- or worse.

     I knew.  I had seen the recovered, shredded remains of those
unfortunate enough to fall into the merciless hands of those hell
spawn.

     Yes, I was more than happy to let Kikyo deal with the
youkai.  She was strong and courageous.  Her skill with the bow
was unequaled, and her sacred arrows always flew true to their
mark.  The youkai knew of her power, and they feared her.  They
feared her even more than they lusted after the Shikon Jewel that
she always wore around her neck; the Jewel she was sworn to
protect.  And, for the most part, the youkai stayed away.  As for
those that didn't stay away, Kikyo destroyed them, utterly.

     She knelt beside me and put her hand on my shoulder,
stirring me from my grim thoughts.  Self-consciously, I carefully
dipped my brush into the ink pot.

     "You know the brush strokes," she said softly.  "Now, as you
put the brush to the parchment, focus on the prayer.  Let its
meaning fill your heart.  You will feel the power stir within
you.  Let the power of the prayer flow through you, into your
hands, into the ink..."

     I closed my eyes, brush held ready over the parchment, and
obeyed.  The prayer was a simple one, for the health and safety
of a newborn child.  As the words flowed through my mind, I
reached inside myself for the familiar thrum of energy and
felt...

     ...nothing.

     I blinked, frustrated.  "I can't feel it," I said.

     "You're too tense," Kikyo said gently.  "Relax.  Don't try
to force it.  You know what it feels like.  Just focus on
combining the prayer with your..."

     She trailed off abruptly.  I opened my eyes to look at her,
and saw that she was staring off into the distance.  Her head was
cocked to one side, as if she was listening to something far
away.  Her hands reached for her bow, and the quiver of sacred
arrows at her back.

     "What is it?" I asked, a sudden feeling of dread filling my
insides.

     "A youkai," she said, frowning.

     Every muscle in my body tensed in fear.  "Where?"

     "Close."  Kikyo's brow creased with concentration for a
moment... and then she relaxed.  "It's Inuyasha."

     I felt my skin go cold.

     Inuyasha.  I had heard of this youkai.  This creature was
powerful.  Dangerous.  A savage humanish demon with yellow eyes,
sharp claws and fangs, and the ears of a wild dog.  Rumor said
its claws could cleave through the hardest stone or the finest
tempered steel.

     And Inuyasha, like nearly every other youkai on earth,
lusted after the power of the Shikon Jewel that my sister wore
around her neck.

     I stared at Kikyo in shock.  "Is it coming after the Jewel
again?" I asked.  She nodded absently, still staring off into the
distance, and I swallowed hard.  "Why haven't you destroyed it
yet?" I demanded.  Her actions made no sense.  Youkai were
vicious and deadly, with no regard for human life.  I glanced
around nervously.  "It keeps coming back.  It's not giving up. 
What if it kills someone?"

     Kikyo turned and gave me a sharp look.  "Inuyasha has never
taken a human life," she said firmly. 

     I was surprised at both her words and her tone, and it
showed in my face.  Her own expression had changed from her usual
calm, to an anxious defensiveness.

     A sudden impossible thought blossomed in my mind.  "You...
you don't want to kill it," I said incredulously.

     "Kaede-chan."  Kikyo looked at me, her eyes pleading with me
to understand something beyond my comprehension.  "There is a
good reason.  Inuyasha..."  She paused and seemed to grope for
the right words.  "He... isn't like other youkai."

     "What do you mean?"  The thought of a youkai being near
terrified me to the core, and now my priestess sister was acting
strange.  Why would she let such a creature wander so close to
the village?  I had seen what a youkai could do to an unprotected
human.  I had seen the... the blood, the carnage, the death...

     "Kaede-chan, listen to me."  Kikyo grasped my shoulders
gently and looked me in the eyes.  "I understand that you are
afraid, but you have to trust me.  Inuyasha is not a full youkai. 
His father was a demon, but his mother... his mother was
*human.*"

     I blinked, stunned.  My blood felt like ice in my veins. 
"Human," I breathed.  I was young, but I was far from ignorant. 
As the younger sister of the village Shamaness, I had learned
more of the world and its many faces of evil than some people
twice my age.  I knew enough to understand what her words
implied.  Inuyasha was half-youkai.  Which meant that a youkai
and a human woman...

     Oh gods.  The poor woman.  She couldn't have willingly...

     I found myself trembling.

     But Kikyo didn't seem to be thinking about the fate of the
woman who had been forced to bear a monster child. 

     "He is half human, Kaede-chan," she said, her voice dropping
into an intense whisper.  "He has a *conscience.*  But he... he
is confused.  He is fighting a war within himself, torn between
his two natures.  At times he is as violent and terrible as the
worst youkai... but I can't destroy him... I *won't* destroy him
unless I know--"

     She broke off, and raised her head abruptly, staring into
the trees that lined the hillside behind me.  Then she met my
gaze and gave me a firm look; a look that came from the
Priestess, and not my sister.  "He is coming," she said.  "Hurry,
run back to the village.  I will handle this."

     She stood and gave me a gentle shove, but I didn't move,
still reeling from fear and the confusion her words had stirred
in me. 

     Something rustled in the foliage at the edge of the
clearing.

     "Go," Kikyo commanded. 

     I moved.  Turning, I  fled swiftly down the hill through the
thick trees.  I ran through shrubs, through branches and pine
needles and thorns that tore at my skin and drew blood, but I
kept running...

     And then I stopped.

     Kikyo was alone.  A powerful youkai was coming -- a youkai
for whom my sister felt a strange incomprehensible compassion.

     She didn't want to kill it.  Not yet, at least.  What if the
demon deceived her?  What if it lured her, with its cunning
treachery, into lowering her defenses?  It would kill her.  My
dear, sweet sister.  She would offer it misguided kindness, and
it would murder her and steal the Jewel; it would absorb the
Jewel's power...

     Kikyo would be angry with me if I didn't return to the
village where it was safe.  But I couldn't leave her alone.  Not
when she herself was torn between compassion and duty...

     Shaking, swallowing the fear that thickened my throat, I
turned and crept back up the hillside, through the thick foliage,
as silently as possible.  A deep, primal part of me was screaming
that I was being foolish; that I was only putting myself in
danger.  What could I possibly do to help her if the youkai
should attack?


     I would do something.  Anything.

     As I drew closer to where I had left Kikyo, I heard voices. 
My sister's gentle murmur.  And a male voice, shouting angrily.

     "...don't want to hear it!  So shut up already, you stupid
bitch!"

     "Don't want to hear what?  That I can feel that your heart
is human?"

     At Kikyo's soft-spoken words, a terrible bestial snarl rent
the air, leaving me trembling where I lay, face down, in my
hiding place amongst the thick foliage.  I prayed fervently to
the gods to protect my foolish sister.

     "I said SHUT UP, OR I'LL TEAR YOUR THROAT OUT!"

     "I've known you a long time, Inuyasha."  My sister's voice
was insanely calm.  "You can't fool me with your empty threats."

     Another snarl.  "Empty, are they?"

     There was a horrible moment of silence, when I couldn't hear
what was happening, and I didn't dare move or raise my head for
fear of being discovered.

     The silence was broken by the hiss of an arrow piercing the
air, followed by a solid *thunk*.  The first arrow was quickly
followed by several others, each arrow thudding loudly in its
target.

     I blinked.  Had she..?

     "Arghhhh!  Dammit!  You bitch..."

     No.  It was still alive.  But then, even with my fear at
hearing the youkai's voice, at being discovered, I raised my head
to see what had happened, knowing that my sister must have done
*something*...

     And, through my cover of leaves, I saw Inuyasha for the
first time.

     Kikyo had artfully pinned him by his scarlet robes to the
trunk of a large tree, and he was furiously, if ineffectively,
trying to pull free of the sacred arrows.

     But that wasn't what left me with my mouth hanging open in
shock.

     My sister was right.  He *wasn't* like other youkai.  His
aura was unlike anything I'd ever seen; a swirl of stormy gray,
scarlet and gold.  Certainly different from the evil-permeated
midnight black auras of other youkai I'd seen. 

     My next impression was of how young he seemed, which was
strange considering that he was obviously at least several years
older than I was.  He looked to be about the same age as Kikyo,
if not a little younger.  His face was boyish and smooth, and he
appeared almost human, but for his long sweeping mane of
ghost-white hair, the gold gleam of his slitted-pupil eyes, and
the white-furred canine ears atop his head.  His fangs were bared
in frustration as he struggled futilely to free himself from
Kikyo's impromptu prison.  I had heard tales of his legendary
strength, but the sacred arrows had rendered him helpless.

     He stopped struggling after a moment, and looked at my
sister, his golden eyes heavy with resentment and anger.  Then,
sullenly, he dropped his gaze.  "Dammit, Kikyo," he said.  "Why
don't you just kill me and get it over with?"

     A fleeting, tight expression crossed my sister's face.  
Then, slowly, she straightened, turned away from her captive...
and began to walk away.

     Inuyasha's ears twitched at the soft sound of her bare
footsteps on the grass, and his gaze snapped up.

     I've seen youkai eyes before.  Their eyes burn with a
maliciousness and a hatred of all things human, even when they
are smiling.  *Especially* when they are smiling.

     Inuyasha was not smiling, and his eyes were filled with...
something else.  Anger, most certainly.  But there was also...
confusion.  And...

     And pain?

     I blinked in surprise.

     "Don't come around again, Inuyasha."  My sister's voice was
weary and sad as she walked down the hill.  "It's a waste of my
arrows."

     Inuyasha said nothing.  He just stared with impotent
bitterness at my sister's back until she disappeared amidst the
trees.

     Disappeared...

     Oh gods.  Kikyo was gone.  An icy sweat broke out along my
spine as I lay nearly face down in the dirt.  She was returning
to the village, and I was alone, hiding in the shrubbery, less
than five body lengths from a youkai.

     I held perfectly still.  Not a difficult task, since my
limbs were rigid with terror.  I wanted to close my eyes and bury
my head in my arms, but for some reason - fear, fascination, or
both - I couldn't tear my eyes away from the trapped youkai-boy
in front of me.

     Inuyasha clenched his teeth as he twisted his left arm
backwards, trying to reach the arrow that pinned his sleeve.  He
was agile enough, and his robes were loose enough that, after a
moment of maneuvering, it was well within his reach.

     Then he paused, his clawed fingers hovering just over the
surface of the smooth wooden shaft.  A flicker of hesitation
flashed across his face.

     His eyes narrowed.  Taking a deep breath, he reached out and
grasped the arrow tightly in his fist.  Tendrils of smoke rose
from his fingers, and a hiss of pain escaped through his teeth as
the youkai warding seared his demon flesh, but he held on.  With
a tremendous yank, he pulled the arrow from the tree.  With one
arm free, it was only moments before he had quickly, if
painfully, removed the rest of the arrows that held him prisoner. 
Dropping lightly to the ground, he examined his burned hands with
disgust and clenched his fists.

     Then he raised his head... and looked right at me.

     I was so petrified with terror that, even if I'd had the
time to react, I couldn't have done a thing.  He was next to me
in a single swift leap, and before I knew what was happening, he
plunged his hand into my leafy hiding place, snagged me by the
back of my kimono, and pulled me none-too-gently from the
shrubbery.

     As I felt myself torn from my hiding place, I opened my
mouth to scream, but all the moisture had evaporated from my
throat, and all I managed was a gasp.  I looked into the youkai's
face and felt my blood gel in my veins, fully expecting to die
violently in the next moment.

     "Huh," he grunted, holding me up to his face and
scrutinizing me with his feral golden eyes.  "You're just a kid!" 
He seemed genuinely surprised.  Then he sneered, his lip curling
back to expose one fang.  "Who do you think you're hiding from?"
he asked derisively.  "I could smell your human stench from a
hell of a lot farther than that tree.  In fact..."  His eyes
narrowed slightly, and he raised an eyebrow.  "You smell a lot
like Kikyo.  You look like her too."  Then, realization lit his
features.  "Hey, I bet you're that kid-sister she's always
talking about, right?"

     When I didn't respond, he scowled and shook me a little. 
"What's the matter with you, brat?  Don't you know how to talk?"

     My mind was numb; I couldn't comprehend what he was saying. 
Even so, I finally found a vestige of my voice.  "P-please..." I
whimpered hoarsely.  "D-don't kill me..."

     Inuyasha blinked.  "Wha--?"  His expression twisted
strangely, as if he wasn't sure whether to laugh, or fly into a
snarling rage.  He finally settled on a mid-point of looking
extremely annoyed.

     "Look, brat," he said.  "You're Kikyo's sister.  Even if I
wanted to, I'd be a fool to kill you." 

     I blinked, tears of relief abruptly pooling in my eyes.  Of
course he wouldn't kill me.  If he did, Onee-sama would avenge my
death.  If he killed me, he would be signing his own death
warrant.  My body trembled with vestiges of terror, relief and
amazement.  My sister had saved me, and she wasn't even present.

     My intense relief that Inuyasha was going to let me live,
however, was quickly squashed with his next words.  He paused,
and gave me an appraising look.  "Naw, I can't kill you."  A
wicked smile quirked at the edges of his lips.  "Not when I can
exchange you for the Shikon Jewel instead."

     I froze.  He lifted me by the back of my kimono until I hung
in front of his face, staring into his glinting, golden eyes. 
"Whaddya think, kid?  Is your life worth enough to your sister
that she'd give me the Jewel to get you back?"

     My eyes widened in horror.  "No," I whispered, as I suddenly
understood what he was planning.  "Please...  She *can't* give
you the Jewel... not even for my life."

     He barked a short laugh.  "Yeah, right.  Kikyo's always been
a sucker for mushy crap, like... family and stuff."  Inuyasha
rolled his eyes in derision, and yet... he seemed suddenly
uncomfortable.  In that moment I thought I saw that strange look
of distant, haunted pain in his eyes again.

     But the look faded quickly as he held me up in front of his
face again.  "Kikyo risks her life to protect total strangers,"
he said, "so hell, she'd probably do *anything* to protect her
own sister."  He smirked.  "This is perfect!  I don't know why I
didn't think of this sooner.  With you, I'll have the Jewel in no
time."

     A spark of anger flared within me as I listened to him plot
to use me as a pawn against Onee-sama.  The spark burned through 
my paralyzing fear for the first time since I'd laid eyes on this
demon.  It also, unfortunately, loosened my tongue.

     "I'm not the one who's underestimating my sister, *you*
are," I snapped.  "She's the greatest priestess around!  Her duty
to protect the Jewel comes above all else, even family!  She'd
sacrifice *anything* to keep it out of your hands!"  I glared at
him with as much ferocity as I could muster.  "And so would I," I
added.

     Inuyasha stared at me, his golden eyes wide with shock at my
outburst.

     As soon as the words left my mouth, my brief spark of
courage fled from me, and I was abruptly, acutely aware of the
feel of Inuyasha's claws, razor sharp, gripping the back of my
kimono.  *I can't believe I said that,* I thought, my fear
returning with such intensity that I could suddenly feel my heart
beating swiftly in my throat.  Still, the words were true.  And,
in spite of my fierce desire for self-preservation that made me
want to suddenly cry, to plead and grovel for my life, I wasn't
about to take them back.

     Inuyasha looked at me silently for a long moment.  "Are you
telling me," he asked softly, "that you'd rather die than let me
have the Jewel?" 

     I swallowed hard.  Trembling, I nodded, even knowing that
the truth might get me killed.

     "Why?"

     "Because," I said hoarsely.  "You're a monster."

     He blinked.  

     Then, slowly, his countenance darkened, his surprise melting
to a fierce scowl.  

     Without another word, he flipped me around and tucked me
under one arm like a sack of grain, causing me to shriek in
sudden terror.  The next moment, Inuyasha leaped in to the air
and rushed into the thick of the forest with inhuman speed,
leaving behind the village, my sister, and all my hopes of
salvation.  The wind roared in my ears at our passage, and the
scenery flashed by so fast that I clenched my eyes shut in fear.

     "Monster, huh?" I heard Inuyasha murmur angrily.  "Not yet,
I'm not.

     "But just you wait until I get that Jewel."

 ~*~ ~*~ ~*~


Next time:  Hostage