DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling,
various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner
Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The story told in the
"fairy tale" is copyrighted by Takahashi Rumiko, various publishers including anf not limited to Shogakukan,
Sunrise, YTV Ltd, Viz Communications, Dynamic Italia, Star Comics. The story is told only to give the Harry Potter
readers the possibility to understand the Fanfiction. I DO NOT make money on this fic, and no copyright infrignment is
intended.
Author notes:
Beta-read by: Sneeky Witch, Remus's Nymph, Silver Angel and Claire.
Special thanks: I would like to thank Igenlode, who helped me by pointing out word by word how I should write in
literary English
The old man's grey eyes fell on the young girl coughing on her makeshift bed. Her parents were sleeping close to the fire, propped up with their backs resting against a tree. Their faces were drawn with exhaustion.
They were dirty - God only knew how long it had been since they had last washed themselves - and their clothes were so grubby that they should long since have been thrown away. It was the middle of June, but the little girl couldn't help coughing. The clearing in the woods must have made a very uncomfortable shelter for them; but the family was so glad to have found the fire that they cared nothing for comfort.
They'd told him that they were running away because the father was drowning in debt and their house had been destroyed by fire. If they could live for a while in the forest, they thought, people might forget about them.
"Time heals the worst wounds, they say..." the father said, somewhat uncertainly. It was as if he was trying to convince himself of the truth of his own words.
The old man sighed. What a confounded nuisance. To find yourself together with a Muggle family in the middle of your own quest - now there was a real problem for you!
But he hadn't the heart to tell the girl to stay away from his fire. He was a Death Eater. She was a Muggle. But when he looked at her he couldn't help but feel a strange warmth inside him. She was so innocent.
"What's up, child? Can't you sleep?" he asked, his eyes taking on a gentle expression they'd never, ever shown.
The girl shook her head for 'no', and then rolled over and scrambled to her feet, staring at him with hopeful eyes. "Can you tell me a story?" she asked, hugging her teddy bear with her free hand. The wizard sighed again.
"Child, I'm not the type of person to tell stories to children. I've never had one and I don't know any fairy tales." He got up as he spoke and walked closer to her. The hem of the long black cloak he wore brushed across the moss, until a stronger gust of wind caused it to billow around him. He sat down, cross-legged, next to the child.
"I dun care 'bout what type of story, just a story. Mum's sleeping and I can't..." The pleading in the girl's blue eyes was too much to resist.
"All right - all right. I'll tell you... this stone's story." Sighing, the wizard groped inside his robes, and took out a strange-looking necklace that bore a piece of pink stone.
The girl stared at it, eyes widening. "What's the story?"
"It's a very ancient story that happened on the other side of the world. But you must promise that when I'll finish you'll go to sleep." He smiled, looking at the child's serious face as she nodded.
"So... how do fairy tales start? Let's see if I can remember... Once upon a time, in a very distant land - the land is named Japan, you know, and it really is distant -
"Once upon a time, then, in a very distant land, there lived a very beautiful girl. She was the priestess of a shrine. She had long, raven hair, beautiful dark eyes, and she dressed in white and red. This girl's name was Kikyo, and she was chosen to be the keeper of a very powerful jewel, the Shikon no Tama, or Jewel of Four Souls.
"The number four was an unlucky number, and the Jewel was cursed. Within it, the souls of three evil demons and one human woman were at war; such a concentration of evil could give great power to the wicked... but there was also a deep remaining force for good in the Jewel. Every use that was made of its powers helped to tilt the balance in the struggle within. If it was used to aid evil desires, the evil inside it gained in strength. If ever it was asked to grant a pure wish, then the demon souls would be finally overcome.
"Kikyo took her duty as priestess very seriously. She was very powerful and no demon could ever defeat her. She had to protect the Jewel from those who would use it for evil purposes, and, at the same time, use her powers to help slowly purify it.
"But for all that, this great and lovely priestess was only a woman. One day, she met a very handsome boy - well, perhaps not truly the most handsome person in the world, but he seemed that way to her. He had long, silver hair, beautiful golden eyes, a red outfit that he always wore as if it was armour, and the sweetest little pair of dog ears, one on either side of his head - here, and here. He was a half-demon, the son of a demon and a human woman. His name was Inuyasha. Kikyo fell in love with Inuyasha immediately, and he loved her too, with all his heart."
"A half-demon?" The child looked at the old man; terror could be read in her eyes. "He wasn't handsome at all! He was ugly! And evil!"
The wizard chuckled at her words.
"No, my dear. The demons that live in that distant country are not ugly and evil like the ones that live here. They're beautiful creatures and have wonderful powers. Some of them are evil, but not because they have no choice.
"Inuyasha was not evil - just a lonely boy. His Mama died when he was a child... a child like you, my dear. He was so young, but nobody wanted to take care of him. Both demons and humans rejected him and drove him away for not being one of them. Kikyo was the very first person who approached him, the first one who considered him worthy to be spoken to. She was the first person to accept him as an equal. That's why he fell in love with her.
"But she couldn't marry him. She couldn't follow her heart. She was a priestess. Her duty was to fight against demons, and she couldn't fall in love with one. She was the Jewel's keeper. She had to maintain her heart pure and beware any passion or love.
"It was at this same time that Kikyo found a man who had been set on fire and then shut into a casket and thrown from a high cliff. This young man, Onigumo, was so hurt he could barely move, and would never truly heal. He was on the point of death; but he was a thief, a bandit and a murderer. He deserved what had happened to him. But since she was so kind-hearted, Kikyo decided to help him, and she hid him, trying to heal both the hurts of his body and the darkness in his heart.
"Onigumo, however, was filled with desire to possess this lovely woman, and as she tended him, his lust for her only grew. Kikyo didn't see it. She was completely absorbed in the love she felt for Inuyasha, and as she ceased to give thought to her duties, her powers waned.
"But a group of demons came to Onigumo and made an agreement with him. He would let them devour his body and his soul, and they would give him the powers of a demon, their immortality and their magic - for Onigumo wanted not only to possess Kikyo, but to tarnish her soul and steal the Jewel whose purity she was guarding, the Jewel of Four Souls. He wanted her to befoul it with resentment and hate.
"Meanwhile the young priestess and the half-demon had come to their own agreement. Kikyo wanted to love Inuyasha, but before that could come to pass she must cease to be the priestess, keeper of the powerful Gem, and become instead no more than an ordinary woman. In his turn, he had to become a normal boy, and not a half-demon. So she asked him to use the jewel to make himself human.
"The Shikon no Tama could grant any type of wish. Those who used it to grant an impious or selfish wish would make it more powerful and evil. But if it was used to grant a pure and noble wish, then the jewel would be purified and her task would be ended.
"What Inuyasha really desired was to use the Jewel to become a true demon; but his love for Kikyo was so strong that he agreed instead to do as she wanted. They decided to meet the next morning in the forest, where Inuyasha would ask the Jewel to make him human.
"But neither of them was to arrive at that meeting safely. The monster who had once been Onigumo saw deep inside their souls. There he found love, but in place of confidence he saw only guilt and doubt.
"Kikyo did love Inuyasha. But she was also scared that in loving him she was betraying her villagers and the people who trusted her. On the other hand, Inuyasha loved Kikyo. But he had always lived alone, and he couldn't yet bring himself entirely to trust even the woman he loved. He knew all too well what hate was, but he had never before known what it was to love.
"The monster observed their weakness. Reading their hearts, he found doubt there and decided to use that flaw to his advantage. He fed on betrayal, guilt, sorrow and hate. He wanted to divide the two lovers, and he wanted at the same time to find and steal the Jewel of Four Souls.
"Having many demons merged inside a human body meant the monster could take on the appearance of anybody he wanted to. He took the appearance of Inuyasha that morning, and approached Kikyo before she arrived at the meeting place. There, he came upon her from behind and mortally wounded her with one blow from his demon-clawed hand. He stole the Jewel, saying scornfully that he had never truly wanted to become human.
"This removed all the doubt from Kikyo's heart. The love that she felt for Inuyasha swiftly became hatred. She railed at the young demon and blamed herself for having put her own happiness before the safety of her people. But the monster went away to carry out the remainder of his plan.
"Taking on Kikyo's appearance, he went back to the village and put the Jewel back in its place. Then he returned to the place where the two lovers were to meet, and found Inuyasha. He shot Inuyasha with an arrow from Kikyo's bow, and screamed at him in her voice that he had to die.
"This broke Inuyasha's heart into a hundred pieces. He thought he had been betrayed and that she had wanted to kill him from the start. He believed that she had toyed with him. He decided to steal the Jewel and use it to become a full demon. Maybe in this way he would no longer feel the pain of her betrayal.
"But when he finally stole the object he desired, he found the real Kikyo waiting for him. When she saw him destroying her village with the Jewel in hand, the last doubts that had passed through her mind left her. Channelling all her remaining strength into a single seal of never-ending sleep, she took aim at the young demon. Her arrow struck him, pinning him to a tree, and she died, her heart filled with hate.
"Inuyasha did not die as Kikyo had done. Instead, he fell asleep pinned to that tree, thinking that the woman he loved had betrayed him." The old wizard stopped when he saw the hot tears on the child's cheeks.
"Poor Kikyo and Inuyasha! Why did that monster have to be so cruel? Why was he still alive? In fairy tales, the villain isn't supposed to win... what happened next?"
"Well, it's true that the monster did survive. His trick had worked - but he didn't get what he wanted. Kikyo's final actions had not gone as he'd expected. He'd counted on her asking the Jewel to heal her wounds and restore her to health. This would have tarnished the Jewel with hatred and selfishness, making it more powerful than ever, so that he could have used it to achieve his goal. But when she decided to die together with her beloved half-demon, she asked the villagers to burn the Jewel with her body, so that it would never fall into evil hands again. And so the monster's aims had failed."
"Hurrah for Kikyo!" the child said with satisfaction. "But... everybody's dead, is the story finished already?"
"No, my child. The evil demon is not yet dead. He lost the Jewel, but he didn't lose his immortality. He decided to wait until something happened. He was sure that somehow the Jewel would be back. And he was right.
"Many years after that tragic day, a girl came from the future - from our own time, child - and brought the Jewel back. She fell into an ancient magical well and arrived in the village fifty years after Kikyo's death. The girl, whose name was Kagome, was the reincarnation of the dead priestess. She was as beautiful as Kikyo had been, and she had the Jewel inside her own body. When a centipede's demon bit her on the wrist, the Jewel came out of the wound.
"Kagome fled in terror. She awakened and freed Inuyasha from the never-ending seal that kept him asleep, to try to save her own life with his help. He helped her and then he tried to kill her. He had not forgotten that the woman who was so like her had betrayed him, and he hated her still. But Kagome was able to use a charmed necklace to calm him, and he was forced to treat her with respect."
"How could she make a demon respect her? Was she as powerful as Kikyo was?" the child asked, yawning a little.
"Well, she was powerful, yes; but she didn't know how to use her power... In any case, however, there was an old priestess in the village, Kikyo's younger sister Kaede. She put a magic necklace on Inuyasha's neck with a spell, and asked Kagome to 'say the word that would calm him down'.
"Since the boy was a dog demon, Kagome said 'Sit'. And Inuyasha crashed to the ground. Every time she said 'Sit' the dog-boy crashed to the ground - so he had to respect her... if he didn't want to injure his back." The wizard smiled at the child's laugher.
"But then Kagome made a terrible mistake. A big raven-demon attacked and ate the Jewel of Four Souls, gaining power until it became the greatest and most evil raven-demon ever. In order to destroy it, she shot the creature with an enchanted arrow. The monster was destroyed... but the Jewel was broken too, shattered into hundreds of fragments, each of which had the same powers as the complete stone. If any of them were to fall into evil hands, or into the possession of a demon, it would be a tragedy for the whole world.
"That was why Kagome and Inuyasha had to join forces and start a quest in search of all the shards of the Gem. Slowly, Kagome's kindness and sweet nature began to heal the wound in the young demon's heart. Slowly, he fell in love with her and she began to feel the same, although he did his best to insult her and yell vulgar words at her.
"But after the first few times, Kagome came to understand that Inuyasha only behaved in such a way in order to shield himself from being hurt. He had been alone all his life and unable to trust anybody, not even his own shadow. He had to mask his true feelings or he would have been killed a long time ago. Inuyasha had no place he could call home, and gradually, wherever Kagome was became home to him.
"But unfortunately, in a story like this something always seems to go wrong. An ogre witch who happened to know the spell used magic to resurrect Kikyo from the ashes of her tomb. Yes, Kikyo - that same priestess of whom Kagome was the reincarnation, the woman who Inuyasha used to love and now he hated...
"And so Kikyo was reborn as a doll filled with hatred. After having killed the witch who gave birth to her, she decided that she would hunt Inuyasha down once and for all.
"When the half-demon saw her again, he understood at last that there was something wrong. She accused him of betraying her - but he'd thought that she was the one to have betrayed him! Someone must have deceived them both in an attempt to make them hate each other; but he had no idea who. He tried to find out. But Kikyo wanted him dead, and she put constant obstacles in his way.
"One day, however, she too discovered the truth. She learned that it had not been Inuyasha who had killed her. They had both fallen victim to the evil schemes of a monster.
"Love for him woke again in her heart; but her spirit was locked into the hatred that had consumed her at the moment of death. She could not forgive him for living while she had died. She sought to kill first him and then herself, so that they could be reunited at last.
"Besides, she was driven by her duties as priestess to ensure that she was the one who would kill the monster who had cheated them. So, she went looking for the monster by herself, sometimes crossing Inuyasha and Kagome's path, but never staying with them.
"Slowly, others came to join the group with the half-demon and the girl. They were all people who had dealt with this evil monster - Naraku, as he now called himself.
"They had to face thousands of dangers, adventures and fights; and all the while the monster Naraku was gaining ever more power as he collected the Shikon shards himself. Soon, he was even able to form new demons from the substance of his own body and send these 'children' of his against Inuyasha and his group. But they destroyed all of them, save for the two most powerful, Kagura and Kanna.
"Kagura was the demon who ruled the wind with a mortal dance. Beautiful and cruel, she had fans on her hands that could send dangerous wind sickles - sickles that could kill you. She could create tornadoes that could destroy even the most powerful demon. And she could animate the dead bodies of those she killed and use the corpses as tools.
"Kanna, on the other hand, had the appearance of an innocent child. Pale, dressed completely in white, with white hair, she carried a magic mirror, named 'The mirror of Nihility'. It could reflect any events of past or present, and those whose souls were sucked into the glass became puppets under her control.
"These two demons tried to dispose of Inuyasha and his friends. Kagura was a little rebellious, while Kanna was always obedient, but between them they were a great problem. They were for ever trying to steal the Shikon shards that Kagome was keeping, and whenever they succeeded they would take them to their master.
"Slowly, despite everything Inuyasha and Kagome could do and all their adventures, all the Jewel's shards fell into Naraku's possession. All of them except one..."
"This one?" the girl asked. She was getting more and more tired, and kept yawning.
"Exactly." The old man smiled at her.
"So... what happened to Inuyasha and Kagome? Did Kikyo die in the end, and even Naraku? Did they live happily ever after?" The girl yawned again.
"I don't know, child. I only know that Naraku tried to separate them at any cost. He's a dangerous demon. He feeds on the joy and the happiness of others. He reads inside people's hearts, and insinuates doubt, torment and hatred there, and the feeling that those they love have betrayed them, and those who love them are just using them.
"He controls reality, dreams, visions... he can drive you mad for as long as it suits his needs. His helpers and his symbol are a group of venomous wasps that are always with him.
"With the aim of corrupting the Jewel of Four Souls and making it more powerful, he turned brother against sister, and lover against lover. With one spell, he created a cursed hole in the hand of a monk that would suck in everything that surrounded him and finally devour its owner. He has enough power to insinuate doubt and hate inside the heart of the most good and pure person alive, if ever he, or she, should have the misfortune to cross his path."
The old wizard smiled, noticing that the teddy-bear was slipping from the child's sleepy grasp as he finishing talking. A few moments later, the girl's breathing had grown soft and regular. She was finally asleep.
The wizard stood up and spent some time staring at the child. He knew that he shouldn't, but he couldn't help but love her. He set her blankets in order and took some more time looking at her. The innocent face was relaxed in a child's confident sleep. Her blonde hair looked like a halo on her pillow. The man smiled. It was funny how a smile could light up his old face, making it appear almost beautiful.
But that smile didn't last long. Almost immediately, his usual worried frown returned and he began checking the dark forest nervously. Then, as if called by something, he walked away, putting some distance between himself and the sleeping family. He went into the forest and, when he thought he was far away enough from the fire, stopped. He held up one arm and whistled lightly.
Suddenly, a grey owl approached him and landed on his arm, digging in its claws. The man had started to caress the owl's feathers, when he heard a noise in the bushes behind him. A very different expression had come into his eyes.
"I knew that Rusty would find you, Lord Voldemort. I welcome you to the Dark Forest," he muttered softly. Then he closed his eyes and smiled. The moonlight shone on the person who was approaching from behind, revealing him as the One who Must Not Be Named.