InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ This Modern Love ❯ Wish Me Back Alive: Kagome And Kikyo ( Chapter 1 )

Welcome to my new story. I know that with school, my other two stories, and being on the bridge of a breakdown, I shouldn't be starting another story. Although, I think I know a way to make easier on me.

 

Sadly, this means I might not reply to reviews. At the end of each chapter, I will answer every question you ask, but I won't give you a direct response. So sorry. If you really want me to give you a response, then give me your E-mail address, and I will E-mail you the response.

 

This also means that updates will only once a week, with the exceptions of Holiday breaks where they will come more than one a week, and vacations, which means that I might not be here to update for you.

 

The good side is that with a week to prepare, you get a more thought-out chapter, a longer one, and that might be enough to tie you over. If not, then read my other stories.

 

I will have a quote from some of my favorite songs at the beginning of each chapter.

 

 

 

This Modern Love

 

Chapter One: Wish Me Back Alive: Kagome and Kikyo

 

By: Cat

 

"What are you holding out for?

What always in the way?

Why so damn absent minded?

Why so scared of romance?

 

This Modern Love breaks me

This Modern Love wastes me"

 

This Modern Love, By Bloc Party

 

 

'All you have to do is notch an arrow and fire away. If it hits, that's great. If it misses, well, that sucks. You have to try, though, or for the rest of your life, you will always wonder. Wonder about that if you had actually fired, what could it do? Wonder that if you had hit the target, could everything have changed? Could everything have been alright?

 

So notch the arrow, already. They're waiting for you to. You can destroy it! Everyone and everything is depending on you, it's all in your hands, now! Come on, get it over with. Don't just stand back, shoot! Shoot!

 

Take the arrow out of the quiver and notch it in the bow. Pull back, take aim, and let go! See the pure, blue light around the arrow, swirling around it? That's all your energy twisting around it, making sure that it can pierce any barrier or demon hide. With that energy, you can do anything!

 

You're the girl that travels through Ancient Japan on a pink bicycle. The one that adopted a kitsune kit, even though it's a demon, and you're a miko. You are the girl that fights demons, the protector of the innocent! The only one who can safely travel back in time, and come back with such tales to tell! The girl that everyone loves. You are the guardian of the Shikon No Tama!

 

Look at the arrow, watch it flying through the air. Soaring closer and closer towards its target, almost there! Closer and closer, and it… goes right past it. Damn. Well, hurry up! Notch another one and fire away while you still have the freedom to do so!

 

What, do you think you can do this in the future? No way! Here, you're free to fire as many purification powered enhanced arrows as you want! Not that you'd want to fire that many, but otherwise… You get the point. You can't do this at home! There is the thrill of fighting demons here! Who would give all that up for a boring life like you used to have?

 

You wouldn't anymore, would you. No, of course not. Once someone has experienced this much adventure, you can't stop wanting the action. The adrenaline! The fear! The hanyou-is-kicking-but cheering! You know you love to cheer him on when he kicks evil demon a--Woops, can't say that word.

 

What am I doing taking up all your time with idle chat? Come on! Notch, pull, aim, shoot! Wait, that takes too long, just put an arrow and shoot! No time to aim, they're all depending on you! And you will probably hit the demon, anyways, or the one next to it…

 

Ah crap, forget the forbidden language, there's a three ton demon headed your way at eight o' clock! Duck, roll, and scream! Goddamnit, girl, run away! Get it through your head that you can't defeat everything! Now run!

Oh, nice one. You nearly killed yourself! Nice roll, by the way. Now stand and fight again! Do I really praise you that much that you believe you can defeat the world if you have to? I'm gonna have to lay off the pep talks, you're getting so overconfident.

 

Last piece of advice, don't get in the way! Idiot. You almost got killed again.'

 

That voice had been speaking to Kagome two weeks. They were even on a first name basis. The good part was that it gave great advice. The bad part was that it would not shut up.

 

Kagome learned to block it out, over time, and so nowadays it only showed up when her guard was down, which was usually in battles. She used a small amount of power to activate a silencing spell, which shut the voice up, and fired the arrow she had been holding. It pierced four demons through and through, purifying them all on.

 

InuYasha was busy fighting a whole army of demons while she fired away at anything that got in her way. Sango and Miroku were fighting off Kanna and her army of demons, while Kouga was off battling with Kagura. His wolf clan backed him up the whole way, but it still looked like he could fall down any minute now. Sesshomaru—who, by luck, held his own slight grudge against Naraku—was actually helping InuYasha. Not directly, but he too was fighting off the army of demons.

 

Naraku was cackling with evil laughter in the background. It was just a playground to him, where you had to fight for survival against the others. The evil being just laughed as warriors on each side were struck down by the others, and never got back up again.

 

She fired her arrow at the oncoming horde of demons, not watching it hit as she strung another arrow and fired it at another horde. No reason to get distracted, though. Every arrow hit its target straight on, and no arrows had gone astray. It wasn't luck that every arrow hit, though. No, nowadays, Kagome could hit her target without even looking at it, or aiming.

 

There it was. The thing she had been waiting for and trying to make happen herself. She was just lucky that InuYasha had used the Wind Scar and created it for her. A clear path was straight in front of her, Naraku at the end. He hadn't noticed yet; Kagome had a clear path to shoot.

 

Following the advice of the voice, she notched an arrow, and took aim. Even though the young miko of sixteen didn't need to, the girl wanted to make sure that she didn't miss, and that it would hit, and destroy, Naraku. She let it fly.

 

The girl had put all of her energy into the one arrow, the pure blue light surrounding the arrow in an aura even larger than Kikyo's could. Maybe even larger than Midoriko's, we do not know. The power was so great that the arrow was almost burnt to an ash. Kagome was lucky that she had dipped each arrow in a special liquid that prevented them from disintegrating under the large amount of energy.

 

The arrow went soaring through the air. Past InuYasha and Sesshomaru fighting the army. Past Sango and Miroku fighting Kanna and Souta. Past Kouga, Ayame, and the wolf tribe fighting Kagura. Right towards Naraku. He didn't notice, but kept on laughing his maniacal laughter hysterically.

 

The evil demon did not look until it was too late; until the arrow was inches from him. There had been no time to throw another demon in the way, or move or disappear. It hit Naraku straight in the head, and everything went quiet. He screamed with pain and burning that the arrow inflicted.

 

Kagura and Kanna stopped, instead of taking advantage of the distraction, and watched their leader become purified. Naraku screamed with more and more induced pain as the arrow began to purify through him. The demon army was beginning to disperse, running at the sight of 'the great one' burning.

 

And then, suddenly, he stopped. Stopped screaming, stopped moving, stopped breathing. It was like time had been frozen to everyone except Kagome. She slowly reached out and took the shards from his skin, so that there was no possible way he could survive. None at all.

 

Time unfroze, and the screaming and yelling started up again, as well as the turmoil. After a few more seconds of staring, Naraku seemed to become more and more pieces, like he was breaking apart. Soon, all that was left was the baby, and Kagura's heart. Which she immediately took, and ran away with Kanna in tow. InuYasha sliced the baby with The Tetsusaiga before anything else could happen.

 

It was then that, from the loss of energy, that Kagome blacked out.

 

0o0o0o0o0

 

'When is she going to wake up? It has been two weeks already!' InuYasha thought to himself as he smashed another boulder with his bare hands.

 

That was what he had been doing a lot of, lately. Running off into the forest at random times. This time, though, it wasn't to go and see Kikyo. It was to take out his anger on something, like an innocent tree, boulder, and any worthless demon he could find. The half demon had been returning back with more and more cuts every day, meaning he was finding higher opponents.

 

One bystander tree had all the leaves taken off of it when InuYasha thought that they were laughing at him. Every leaf in every tree whispered in the wind, and it sounded like they were whispering about him, behind his back. Everywhere he turned everything was laughing at him.

 

Blaming him for what had happened to Kagome.

 

He hadn't been there to help her defeat Naraku, and so she had had to do it all by herself, and ended up wasting all of her energy. So much energy, in fact, that she had fallen unconscious. That there was none left to heal herself with, and if it hadn't been for the special herbs a traveling witch had provided, she would have died from her injuries.

 

Sango and Miroku had solved the problem with the monk's wandering hands, which were now kazana-free, by getting married. And having a child, which currently resided inside Sango's stomach, until eight and a half months, when it would be born. And by the already swelling size of her stomach, InuYasha guessed it would be twins. Both girls.

 

Shippou waited patiently at the side of the sleeping mat where Kagome rested, never leaving the girl's side. They all knew it was the kit that had been affected most by Kagome's sudden coma. When her wounds were infected and she gained a high fever, it was Shippou that fed her spoonfuls of honey and cooled her down with a cold clothe on her forehead.

 

It was the kit that had demanded to learn how to bandage wounds from Keade one day. From then on, he bandaged Kagome's wounds using such care and skill that you could have thought him an actual doctor.

 

He was also the one that made sure no harm came to Kagome. When a demon came, Shippou would fight as hard as he possibly could, using his foxfire or his illusions to delude them and lead them far away from Kagome. They always came after the Shikon No Tama, which Kagome had on a chain around her neck.

 

It was up to InuYasha to protect Kagome during the darkness of the night, though. Even though Shippou had never actually experienced it, InuYasha was always there when the kit feel asleep on the end of Kagome's sleeping mat, tired from a day of caring for the girl.

 

It came as no surprise that one day, as InuYasha had already left at dawn to chop up some more innocent trees and boulders, Shippou lay asleep on the end of Kagome's sleeping mat. The kit often slept in on his duties, but no one blamed him. He had taken the position to heart by himself, and had not been asked to take care of her. He had stayed up late the last night to cool down the fever that came with an infection Kagome had gotten from a wound in her arm.

 

The skies were a clear blue, only a few white, puffy clouds causing shadows on the lands below. The sun shone brightly, as it did every day on Feudal Japan. The air was clear, as clear as it would always be, as the inhabitants of this time thought. Little did they know that it would one day be overcome by pollution and Global Warming, and such universal problems.

 

Off in the distance, looking over the forest, once in a while you could see a patch of leaves disappear, marking where InuYasha had just murdered a tree. Softly, a far away clang of metal hitting rock was heard, too, and marked that InuYasha had just chopped up another boulder.

 

The calmness in the air brought a feeling of serenity to all who were in the distance, no matter who they were or what they were doing. Although, dark skies forecasting rainstorms hung over the head of an undead priestess. She had been traveling from a place far away, and was happy to see no reception party when she reached the village. Her visit was to be a secret. Until she was far away from the village, that is.

 

She entered the hut that Kagome, InuYasha, and Shippou all shared, only to find the serene aura of the fine day instantly dim. An aura of sickness hung around the room, so thick that even a normal human could feel it. On the bed lay a prone figure, and a Kitsune kit at its feet, sleeping deeply. The chest of the lone figure rose and fell as it inhaled and exhaled, but it was slower than normal.

 

One could tell from the pale composure of the figure, and the paleness of the skin that this one was sick. Very sick, too. The thoughts that ran through Kikyo's mind were endless, but were all based upon the idea that Kagome should be put out of her misery, and soon. And, while doing this good deed, why shouldn't she happen to acquire the Shikon No Tama, as well?

 

The undead priestess pull an arrow out of the quiver on her back. The sharp point of the arrowhead glinted and reflected the sun outside. Kikyo used the tip to carve a small, almost invisible pinprick of blood to appear on Kagome's neck; a marking point. She raised the arrow a few feet above the mark, and held it in one hand.

 

Kagome's eyes fluttered open, and she saw for the first time in two weeks. She saw sunshine, she saw the bright fluffy clouds and green grass outside of the open doorway. She saw the sleeping kit at her feet resting peacefully. She saw Kikyo standing above her, bringing an arrow down. Kagome screamed as the arrow pierced through her neck, pinning her to the bed.

 

The scream was heard all throughout the village, the forest, and the land. A second scream did not come though, since the one who had produced it was already dead, arrow through the throat. There was barely any blood seeping out since the arrow had made a clean whole through her throat, and it had not been removed yet. Yet.

 

Shippou stared at his make shift mother in horror. He had awoken to the terrified scream of hers, only to see a flash of red and white disappear through the doorway. A long stick-like thing was stuck through Kagome's neck, but there was no blood. It only took one minute for Sango, Miroku, and Keade to arrive, and Two for InuYasha.

 

InuYasha had been coaxing out a demon when he had heard the scream. The half demon had heard it so much in the past that it was embedded into his mind as well as his own name was. He had given up on the demon and ran towards the village to see Kagome. The forest was only a blur to him as he ran at top speed towards her, but only to find her scent dimmer than it was before.

 

Sango and Miroku had been in the middle of -activities- when they had heard Kagome's scream. They too had known immediately who the scream was from, having experienced the same scream from lots of battles. And when they had arrived as the scene, it is truthfully said that they were shocked beyond belief until it was checked that Kagome had no breathe left in her.

 

Her first breathe of air while being awake was cut short.

 

InuYasha growled and looked around. "Who sis this?" He said, anger blocking out his common senses as his eyes bled red.

 

"I-I di-didn't see!" Shippou cried, while hugging Kagome's limp hand to his body.

 

"InuYasha, calm yourself, we can obviously find—" Miroku reasoned, but his thoughts were cut short as InuYasha swung a clawed hand in his direction.

 

"Someone murdered her! Someone murdered Kagome!" He shouted, and then stopped. The half demon checked Kagome's dead body's neck, and grew even angrier.

 

"And they took the Shikon No Tama." InuYasha growled again, but this time it frightened everyone in the room. He was going to turn to his demon side before they knew it.

 

"But who—" Miroku was cut off again, as InuYasha left the hut. "Would do that to Kagome? And with an arrow, no less…"This time, Miroku cut himself off to retire into his own thoughts.

 

"Kikyo…" Keade said, malice laced into her voice. Kikyo might have been her sister, but the one that currently walked the Earth was not the sister from fifty years ago. No, the one that walked the Earth now was an imitation created out of hatred, and nothing else.

 

The clay pot that walked the Earth may be able to fool many who think her reborn, but the real Kikyo was long dead. And the real Kikyo would never be brought back to life completely, since she had already lived her own life, no matter how short it had been.

 

InuYasha ran and ran and ran until his lungs no longer allowed him to do so. He had left the hut and ran away into the forest, disappearing into the deep, green foliage. Once again the surrounding trees passed in a blur as he ran at top speed to wherever he was going. InuYasha didn't even know himself where he was going. Maybe it was his demon side taking over his instincts to take him somewhere where the pain off loss wouldn't matter. Maybe not.

 

He ended up in a large clearing, with only a small, roughly built shack occupying it. The walls were made of straw and sticks, while the roof was thatched from leaves and branches of trees. Behind the small ramshackle hut was a large mountain, or volcano, which was smoking slightly at the top. Even though, it looked like it had been that way for years, and wouldn't erupt anytime soon.

 

A small old woman sat outside the hut, seemingly carving something out of wood. She didn't look up when InuYasha approached, apparently unaware of him. Although he was a demon—well, a half demon—and was as stealthy as one could get, InuYasha had long ago left the stealth behind for the option of making sure she was aware of his presence.

 

"Who are ye to walk upon these grounds?" She cackled in a light, raspy voice. The old woman did not look up from her carvings.

 

"Keh. I'll go where I want, old hag." InuYasha replied, and resorted into his all-famous stance, his arms crossed over his chest and chin jutting out.

 

"Oh, Disgraceful young thing, aren't you! I like you." She said, her grey shoulder length Hair flowing in the wind as a breeze rushed through the clearing.

 

"Feh." Was his only reply. She looked up at him, and he almost gasped. Her eyes were as plain as vanilla ice cream. They were only blank sheets of white, a small shade darker where her pupils had once showed darker. He knew instantly that she was blind.

 

"Ah… Such pain shows in your eyes." She said. He gasped, it was impossible for her to see his eyes when she was blind.

 

"But… How? You're blind… You couldn't possibly—" InuYasha stopped when he realized that he couldn't find the words to describe it.

 

"Yes, dear. Ye see that I am blind to the natural sight, but that does not mean that I am blind in total. I can see the energy and emotion as the shape of your body." She said, laughing slightly as he gaped.

 

"Feh…" Was what he replied, although rather softly. His eyes had widened considerably as he gazed down at the woman. She continued to carve.

 

"You don't know why you are here." She said, and carved a deep niche in the carving she was working on. "Your instincts led you here, because your demon nature had heard of me. Every demon has heard of me, and they know where to come." She declared.

 

"By why? Who are you?" InuYasha asked her, his stance relaxing so that his arms were no longer crossing over his chest. His eyes were wide with interest at the thought of something about his demon side.

 

"My name is of no concern, but you can call me Amane. And your instincts led you to me." She said airily, as if it were of no concern. And to her, it really wasn't.

 

"What can you do?" InuYasha questioned, slightly nervous. The death of Kagome was still fresh on his mind, and if any new information about his demon side was bad enough, then he might actually go into demon rage, which would not be good. Not good at all.

 

"I can the trouble away ye." She said, but looked back down at her carving, which she finished, and blew the wood shavings off of. Holding in front of her face, Amane examined her work with a critical eye. Adding a small cut into one part, she sighed, finished with her project.

 

"All you have to do is hang onto this figure, while staying inside the volcano." Amane said, holding the figure out for him to see. InuYasha gasped.

 

It was a mini figure… of two people. Of him an Kagome. It was about the size his hand, and they were standing next to each other. Both figures were wearing the normal outfits they always wore when in the Feudal era, InuYasha's fire rat clothing, and Kagome's school uniform. In the figure, Kagome's right hand was holding on tightly to InuYasha's left, looking as if she would never let go. They were both smiling.

 

"B-but how?" He stammered. How could this witch have known how Kagome and he looked when she couldn't see?

 

"Hush, now. All you need to do is go inside the volcano. And sit there until ye feel all of the sadness transfer out of ye and into the figure." Amane pointed to a small crack in the volcano where he was apparently supposed to go into the volcano. InuYasha took the figure and walked through the entrance and into the volcano.

 

A long, narrow, stone hallway led him around corners and bends, sharply turning every so often. Each step he took, it got hotter and hotter inside the volcano until finally he reached the burning center. A narrow strip of path led to a small center place, where a large cushion had been placed. A pool of molten lava bubbled and burst below. He followed the path to the small center circle, and sat down, holding the figurine tightly in his clawed hand.

 

He was supposed to sit there as long as it took to get over the death of Kagome. To get rid of all the pain, and transfer it into the figure that he held in his hand right now. The lava bubbled around InuYasha as the heat rose from below and scorched his face and ears. No matter how much the heat hurt him, he would stay until his pain was gone.

 

It didn't matter how long it took, even if it took the whole day. The whole week.

 

Little did he know that it would take three hundred and sixty-five days, to be exact.

 

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 o0o0

 

Sango, Miroku, Shippou, and Keade were beginning to get scared when InuYasha hadn't returned for a week. He had run away, before they had had a chance to tell him who had killed Kagome. They had seen this arrow before, Keade especially. And they all smelled the stench of death, long before Kagome had started to decompose.

And so they had had no other choice but to bury Kagome without InuYasha there to do the honors. And so they had Kagome cremated, to keep the evil spirits from inhabiting the dead body and bringing it back to life. The jar they put her ashes in was exquisite. For a jar, of course. It was white, and had blue spirals and patterns covering it. The jar glimmered in the sun as they carried it out.

 

Shippou was the one who did the honors of carrying his makeshift mother's ashes and the jar. For such a small kit, he was careful to watch where he was going, as to not trip and spill the ashes. He would never be able to live with himself if he had done that to his own adopted mother.

 

Miroku led the way to where they were to bury the ashes. Even though his cool composure made it seem as if he didn't care, and he was just leading the way to the burial sight, Kagome was like a sister. He had given up all lecherous thoughts of her once he realized that she was his sister. Not by birth. Not by blood. But by friendship, companionship, and the sibling-like bond they shared. He was as distraught as InuYasha was over her death, although he didn't show it.

 

Sango was most likely the worst off out of the group. Sure, she had known Kagome the least longest, and maybe wasn't her best friend like InuYasha was, but they were as close as it could get. Without disturbing InuYasha's place, that it. Kagome was the sister that Sango never had, the one that had comforted her most about Kohaku. She would miss her sister dearly, and cried each and every second, streams of tears flowing down her face.

 

She carried up the end of the train of mourners, not wanting anyone to see her disgraced state. Sure, it wasn't bad to cry over her friend. No, she had every right to. It was just that she was supposed to be strong. Her father had told her that before he had passed away, and so had Kohaku.

 

~Flashback~

 

"Sango… go help them with Kagome." Kohaku whispered, his voice burning at the edges of his sore throat.

 

"No! Kohaku, I can't leave you!" Sango shouted, tears in her eyes. She hugged her younger brother to her body, cradling his battered head with her arms.

 

"No, Sango. I have to go." He said, and started to close his eyes.

 

"Kohaku!" She shouted, the tears pouring out of her eyes and onto the young boy's face and body.

 

"Please, Sango. Go, I don't want you to see." Kohaku said, trying to push his sister away, only succeeding in having her tighten her grasp around himself.

 

"No, I can't live without you here, Kohaku!." Sango cried, trying to keep her brother from leaving her. She couldn't deal with that pain, not after going through so much time without him. It had hurt to see her younger brother controlled by Naraku, but now that Naraku was dead, Kohaku had to die, as well.

 

"Sango…" Kohaku stammered, his voice dry. "Please. Live on, happily. Don't forget me, but live happily. AS long as you live on, I will live on through you." He said, and closed his eyes. The last wisp of breath disappeared from his lungs as the chocolate brown eyes disappeared under his eyelids.

 

"I promise to live on, brother. I will live on, so you can live on, too." She whispered, and stood up to go help Miroku and InuYasha carry Kagome to Keade's hut, where she could recover.

 

~End Flashback~

 

Two days later the small procession reached the sight where they would bury Kagome's remains. It was a large clearing, with trees on either side of it. A path led up to it, but stopped when you reached the clearing. At the back was a large source of water that could've been the ocean. The smooth waves rocked back and forth, in and out, while the sand of the small beach near the edge of the water swirled.

 

The bright, green grass of the clearing was long and thin, each blade waved in the breeze. In the center of the clearing, a Wide circle was set up, its border defined by the stones that were placed around it. It was wide enough to hold many jars of ashes for a burial sight.

 

Miroku broke the silence as they stood around the burial sight. "This was the place where my mother was buried. And her mother, and so on." He said, and Sango looked at him, pity apparent in her soft, chocolate-brown eyes.

 

"Houshi, you never told us you're mother died… Or where she was buried." Sango said, and Miroku turned to look at her. Shippou stood below, observing the burial sight where his adoptive mother's ashes were to be buried.

 

"I never though that you would care…" He stated simply, and knelt down to the ground.

 

They began to dig a narrow, deep whole in the soft earth of the burial sight, the two adults digging while Shippou watched and held the ashes in the jar. Soon enough, the whole was deep enough and wide enough that the jar could fit, and Shippou gently put it in the whole. Miroku carefully covered it with more earth, and Sango placed grass seeds atop it, so the grass would one day grow again.

 

As a monk, Miroku was the one to say the farewell, and the prayer that Kagome would have a happy afterlife. Sango put in that her sister should be well taken care of, since Kagome had taken care and loved the world like no person before had, or could have. Then, the older two stepped back and let Shippou pay his regrets to her.

 

"Momma…" He started off, falling down on his hands—paws and knees. "Please, Momma, don't leave. It is not fair!" He cried, his small fists pounding the soft earth. "I was supposed to protect you, to keep you safe! And I failed! It's all my fault, Momma! I was supposed to protect you from her… from Kikyo." Shippou cried then, and stood up slowly, tears running down his face.

 

"Let's go." Miroku said, not wanting to hang around the place, just in case the spirits at rest awoke to welcome their new friend—Kagome. She was in a good place, now. Kagome was buried with Miroku's ancestors, the people that had once been close to him.

 

It should have taken another two days to get back to the village, but seeing as the three were all as depressed as they were, it took them an extra two. It wasn't that they didn't want to be far away from Kagome, because even though they didn't, it wasn't the main reason. They just didn't want to go home to the village, where they had their own huts, and live life on as they were, pretending like nothing had happened.

 

It was because something had happened. Kikyo had killed Kagome, so now they were equal, except for the fact that Kikyo was undead, and Kagome was, well… still dead. And would stay that way, forever. Soon enough, Kagome's family would realize that she wasn't coming home, and then they would be depressed. None of them wanted to be the ones to tell her family. None of them possibly could.

 

Kagome would stay dead forever, and Kikyo would have the entire soul back. Yet, it seemed, as Miroku had sensed it, Kagome's soul was still hanging around. Or, what was left of it. A lot of had been stolen, no doubt by Kikyo, but a small bit was still hanging around the place of death as newly dead souls usually do. She was still dead, though, and would always stay that way.

 

Or so they thought, until exactly one year later.

 

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 o0o0

 

InuYasha's golden eyes snapped open. Looking around, he did not recognize where he was. Molten lava bubble around him, and the burning heat brought sweat and color to his face. He was sitting cross-legged on a large, puffy cushion, but his legs and back was stiff, as if he had been sitting forever.

 

More like one whole year.

 

Standing up, InuYasha slowly made his way down the small path, and out of the boiling area, walking on shaky legs. It tool a while for his eyes to readjust to the burning light of the sun when he got outside of the now identified volcano. A small ramshackle hut stood near the entrance/exit to the volcano, a small lady sitting outside on a chair.

 

Memories flooded back to him as he remembered Amane, Kagome, and his Love's death. InuYasha's looked at his right hand, only to see the knuckles white with clenching onto the object so hard. Unclenching his hand slowly, he saw the figures in his hand.

 

It was one large figure, created of two characters. One was him, and the other was Kagome, and they were both in their normal garb. They were both holding the other's hand, and a small smile played on both their faces. The only main difference between the carvings was the fact that InuYasha's had color.

 

While Kagome's was just plain and dull in color, as a normal woodcarving should be, InuYasha's figure was bright and vibrant with colors. His red outfit was shining, and it actually had shadows on it. His long silver-white hair glistened in the morning sun, almost looking as if it were waving in the wind. His face was touched with the normal colors, but not enough to make it seem as if it were a doll. His golden eyes shone out from underneath his bangs. Overall, it looked exactly like InuYasha.

 

"What… Amane, what is this?" He asked, his voice harsh and cracked from not eating, drinking, or exercising itself. Amane looked up at him with plain, obviously blind eyes.

 

"Yes, the emotions. The pain that ye had gained when realizing about her." She said, and looked back down to the scarf she was currently knitting.

 

"What… I know what I have to do." InuYasha said suddenly.

 

"Ye should know." Amane said, not looking up. Finishing her work on the scarf, she held it up to reveal and study her work.

 

"What's this? Another one of your objects to take away my pain?" InuYasha said snidely, his annoyed and obnoxious tone back.

 

"This? No. This is my scarf. For winter. It's coming soon, you know." She said, making it sound as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. And to everyone besides InuYasha, it should have been.

 

"Well then, hurry along. Ye can make it back to the village before sunset tomorrow if ye hurry." Amane exclaimed, and waived him off.

 

"Thanks, you old hag!" He said, and started to walk away before she could scream at his impoliteness.

 

"Why ye! I ought to—eh hem. Well. Once the figure of Kagome is full of color, it will show that she is entirely at peace with you!" Amane called after him as he ran away into the forest, thinking about his mission.

 

Right on the dot, an hour before sunset, InuYasha reached the village. His entrance was a grand one, dust swirling around him like he had came in so fast, that he had brought a whirlwind of dirt and dust with him. In fact, he had. The villagers looked up from their jobs, and stared it him, surprised. Miroku and Sango stepped out of their hut, Sango carrying a tiny baby in her arms.

 

"InuYasha…" Miroku said slowly, as if not believing his eyes.

 

"What's wrong Miroku? You look like you've seen a ghos—"Shippou started as he exited the small hut across the dirt road from Sango and Miroku's. His eyes widened considerably when his gaze fell on InuYasha.

 

"Yeah, what's with the surprise?" InuYasha asked when no one had said anything after a while. The villagers hurriedly turned back to their work, knowing that this was a private conversation to be held between old friends.

 

"InuYasha, come inside…" Sango said hesitantly after a moment. Miroku nodded, and Shippou walked sullenly over to the couple's hut. They were all sitting comfortably around a small fire when InuYasha entered the room. He chose to sit across from them, instead of right next to his friends, for means of seeing them.

 

"What brings you here, InuYasha?" Miroku slightly demanding, his voice laced with malice. InuYasha blinked.

 

"I just want to get the jewel." He said, his face blank.

 

"InuYasha, you can't expect us to give you the jewel after you were gone so long, especially when you were with Kikyo—" Sango started, rocking her baby slightly and glaring at the half demon.

 

"Woah, woah, woah. Slow down. Gone so long? What? And I wasn't with Kikyo!" He shouted, interrupting Sango's explanation.

 

"It's good to hear you weren't with Kikyo. And I am sorry we suspected you of such, but you ran off and didn't return for so long, we couldn't help it…" Miroku apologized in a cool, masked voice.

 

"But—wait, how long was I gone for?" InuYasha asked, thoroughly confused beyond all hell.

 

"A whole year, InuYasha. Today is the anniversary of Kagome's… death." Shippou said quietly, speaking up for the first time since they had sat down in the hut.

 

"A WHOLE YEAR?!" InuYasha shouted, rather louder than usual. They all flinched. The half demon had jumped up to his feet, and was currently shaking his fists, one special figure inside his right fist.

 

The feeling of the figure made him feel safe, whole; as if his troubles could all be as easily washed away. It reminded him of the old times, when once every rare moment came, he and Kagome could actually enjoy each other's presence. It wasn't that they never enjoyed being around each other, they just liked these special moments better. The only bad thing was that he was full of color, and she was not.

 

That made him feel as if it was all hid fault that Kagome was dead, but not anymore. He had been at peace with Kagome's death, just until now. Until he got an answer for his first demand.

 

"I'm sorry InuYasha, but it's true." Sango stated, hugging her whimpering baby to her chest. "And besides, we don't have the jewel. Kikyo stole it off Kagome the day she killed her." InuYasha froze. Shippou covered his sensitive ears.

 

"Kikyo… she took the jewel?" InuYasha asked softly, his eyes wavering. A look of pain washed over his face as he looked down at Sango. Everyone in the room nodded, and Shippou looked away from the half demon's soul-piercing gaze, tears forming in his eyes.

 

Without a word, InuYasha disappeared from the hut in a flash of red and white, running away from the unsurprised threesome. It had shocked them that InuYasha had not run away to Kikyo; they felt ashamed for assuming something so ill of him. Though, they knew that once one of them had given him the news that Kikyo had killed their dear Kagome, he would go to her.

 

What they had not known was whether or not the meeting between ex-lovers would be joyous, or not.

 

Finding Kikyo was easy enough, with his advanced sense of smell and speed, he pinpointed her graveyard smell within the hour. And, with all that rage and adrenaline running through his veins, it took faster than usual, since she was so far away. It would have taken a normal human one whole day, add or take an hour, to reach the spot she was.

 

"Kikyo…" InuYasha whispered softly as he saw her, sitting on the ground with her back against a tree. She was wearing the normal miko garb as her clothes, and had a small smirk on her face.

 

"Ahh… InuYasha. Nice of you to visit." She said in a snide voice, and opened her dull, brown eyes.

 

"Kikyo… Can I please… give me the jewel." InuYasha spoke softly, to convince her that he was not angry at her for killing Kagome. Everything inside of him, including his demonic instincts, told him that he should dive for her, and kill her, ripping her to pieces with his own claws this very minute. For his plan to work, though, he would have to pretend for a little while longer.

 

"Oh yes, InuYasha, here is the jewel for you to wish me back alive!" Kikyo spoke wistfully and excited, a smile lighting up her features. She handed InuYasha the jewel as he said nothing, not dignifying it with an answer.

 

"Alright. I summon Midoriko, and the jewel of the four souls to grant my wish!" He summoned them, calling out through the woods.

 

Suddenly, a bright flash of light appeared, temporarily blinding them until the light subsided. Standing there next to the pair was now four figures. One was Midoriko, and there were three others that were so far unknown to them.

 

The first one was a male, and a short one, at that. He looked only to be in his late thirties, early forties. Shoulder length hair was tied back in a small ponytail, and had long robes similar to Miroku's, except they were a deep red in color. Atop his head sat a small crown-like thing, except it didn't hold jewels; all that was there was a small golden figure of a raging stallion. He was obviously the oldest of all of the four souls.

 

The second was another man, although he was much, much taller than all of the others. He looked to be the youngest, too, maybe in his late teens. Fiery red hair that reached down to his knees clashed with the bright, cerulean blue haori and hakamas that he wore, a paler blue as his armor. Bright blue eyes were young and excited was the only accessory, if you could call it that.

 

The last was a female, who was almost just as tall as the man with the fiery hair. She seemed to be the same age as Midoriko, in her middle to late twenties. She had long black hair that reached down to her feet, although it was tied up in three tight ponytails atop her head, real, thick golden bands keeping it there. She wore an outfit similar to Midoriko's, except for it was mainly only green and yellows, that made her beautiful, pale greenish-yellow eyes stand out against her pale skin.

 

"What is it that you want, young InuYasha?" Midoriko spoke in a calm, collective voice. The four souls of the jewel could sense his tension, even if Kikyo could not. A smile that seemed to be more of a smirk played on Kikyo's lips, her heart soaring at the thought of being brought back to life.

 

"I-I want to wish something." He stuttered, his eyes anywhere but on the undead miko sitting by the tree.

 

"Then go ahead InuYasha." Midoriko said, and smiled softly, her stormy blue-grey eyes exactly as Kagome's had been.

 

"I wish… That Kagome was strong enough to survive through her death…" InuYasha said quickly.

 

The smirk fell off Kikyo's face as the four souls smiled, and another bright light erupted around them. The undead miko screamed; not from fear or pain, but of anger that InuYasha had not brought herself back to life. Something tore at Kikyo's chest, pulling from the inside, and wanting to get out. The soul…

 

 

0o0o0o0o0

 

 

 

Yes! All done with this amazingly long chapter! I hope you liked it…

 

 

Well, this is my new story! And I am seriously sorry, but it will not be InuYasha and Kagome pairing. I repeat, it will NOT be. Sorry, but it is absolute that Kagome will be paired with Kurama, since I already have the first six chapters of the story planned out. Not written out yet, but definitely planned out.

 

 

 

 

Next Chapter:

 

"I'll be watching over you, I promise." InuYasha said softly as he disappeared into the jewel completely, his voice whispering as quietly as the wind.

 

 

 

Well, there's your clip for next time! Oh, and the only way I'm updating next Monday is if I get over fourteen reviews by Monday. Sorry, but if you want this story to be updated, then you'll have to get me reviews! I know that this story may not get that many in the beginning, so I might lower it to ten or eleven.

 

This story's updating schedule solely depends on reviews. If I don't get as many as I asked for, then you will either just have to wait, or I will give you a chapter, but it will be a short one! So, please review, because if I get over twenty reviews for one chapter, I will update before the scheduled time!

 

Yes, and by chapter three, I plan on about thirty reviews, and this comes from FF and MM.

 

 

Well, I hoped you enjoyed the first chapter, there will be MANY more to come! So review as much as you can, and keep reading!

 

 

Love, Cat.