Normal by MomoDesu
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Scandalous Words
Kikyo lay in her pallet, not too far from where her younger sister lay. She was
waiting on the child to go to sleep, she had something that she wanted to do. As she
listened for Kaede's breathing to even out she collected her thoughts. More plainly
she thought about the stubborn hanyou while she fiddled with the gift she held
tightly in her hand.
Why she couldn't kill him like she had any other demon she did not know. It wasn't
pity. He had accused her of letting him live out of pity more times than she could
count. That wasn't quite it. She couldn't exactly place her finger on it, but pity
definitely wasn't it.
Then she thought about how he treated her. As time went on he treated her not as a
priestess but as a normal woman, and that made her happier than anyone would ever
know. From the moment she learned to walk she was trained by the elder priestess of
the village. Now that the other woman was gone, she stepped into the role and the
people of the village seemed to put her on a pedestal.
She hated it.
She sat up and looked over at the small girl next to her. She had finally fallen
asleep, snoring even. Kikyo decided it was safe and silently slipped out of the
blankets. Guided by the light from the dying fire she made her way to their small
table and lit a candle.
The table was mostly bare, save for the few personal items that she and her sister
owned. Reaching over to the other end of the table she picked up her favorite item;
their mother's hand mirror. They had few things left of their parents so she
cherished each and every reminder.
Pulling the mirror up, she stared at her reflection. Even though she spent extensive
time outdoors her skin was still pale. There was a bit of color in her cheeks, but
not as much as she would have liked. She knew what would remedy that. Opening the
seashell she lay it on the table, thinking about how she acquired it.
She stared at him like he had grown another set of ears.
"Take it, I don't need it." He held his hand out to her and waited for her to take
the gift he tried to disguise as a handout.
Carefully she took the small trinket and opened it.
"It belonged to my mother."
She looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you, Inuyasha."
Taking one look back at the sleeping girl to make sure she was still slumbering,
Kikyo turned back to her mirror. With a slightly quivering finger she dabbed at the
cream in the shell enough to collect a small amount of the makeup. She lightly
rubbed her finger onto her lips, delighting at the red color that was appearing. As
a last thought she dabbed her finger into the cream again, then blending it on her
cheeks like she had seen her mother do many times before.
She smiled brightly at the woman that now stared back at her in the mirror. She felt
beautiful, like the normal woman she longed to be. Many time she had wanted to give
up the life of a priestess, the life she was born to lead. She wanted to be just
like any other woman living in the village with a happy husband and a gaggle of
happy plump children to care for. She didn't want to have the weight of the shikon
jewel on her shoulders.
It was a thing she had discussed with Inuyasha many times. Of course the
conversation never went beyond the two of them, but she wanted to use the jewel to
make him human so they could live a happy life together. She sighed, knowing that
their relationship would not be accepted very well by the people of the village
because he was a hanyou. But he made her happy.
The rustling of the blankets behind her mad her put down her mirror and turn sharply.
"Sister?" the sleepy voice from within the cocoon mumbled.
"Yes, Kaede?" Her voice quivered, knowing that she had been busted.
"Are you coming to bed?"
Kikyo nodded. "I'll be there soon."
She turned back around to snuff the candle.
"Sister?"
"I'm coming." She stood from her position in front of the table and made her way
back to the pallet and lay down next to her sister. "You need to sleep, you are a
growing girl."
"Mmkay..." she said, already half asleep. "Kikyo?"
"What is it?"
"You look pretty." Kaede rolled over and sank back into the blankets, warm and
comfortable with her sister next to her.
Kikyo smiled. The compliment, being one she rarely received in her position, warmed
her. The smile still on her face, she curled up under the blankets next to her
sister and drifted off into a blissful slumber.
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