InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Walk of Destiny ❯ Turn Down the Music ( Chapter 6 )

~ I've said it before, I'll say it again. I don't own Inuyasha and I don't plan to own Inuyasha, but I do own Choice of Destiny and Walk of Destiny (along with anything else with my penname!) ~

Walk of Destiny

By angelwings1

Edited by Kelli G

Chapter 6 ~ Turn Down the Music

Her eyes snapped open without request.

Lifting herself up, Kagome scanned her surroundings. The musky fragrance of incense filled her nostrils and she had to blink several times before she could see past the haze. Through the whispering smoke, she noticed she was lying in a small room, several small visitor mats surrounding her bed, and smoking pots on narrow iron stands. The time traveler recognized Kaede's scroll hanging on the wall. Rich, black symbols jumped from the white parchment, giving life to the prayer scroll.

'They must have found me earlier. I wonder how long I've been unconscious.'

Instinctively, she turned her head and immediately found the lone window. The sky was a calm glitter outside.

'Night. I was out at least for several hours.'

Muffled words floated to her ears and her eyes fell on the rice paper door. A soft yellow glow peeked beneath the rectangular entrance.

The words swept together in a gentle pace. Syllables struck louder along with the haunting rhythm.'A chant?'

The miko immediately tucked her feet under her and rose from her bed. Her side bit down in protest, not happy with her decision to move. Glancing down, Kagome recognized her red and white attire.

"The uniform of a priestess," she mumbledunhappily. Her fingers carefully pulled up the shirt, exposing the bandaged wound. The fabric was a sick pink, churning her stomach.

Kagome scowled as she stubbornly covered the sizzling gash and walked towards the song. The miko brushed past the door and stumbled inside. Kneeling in the center of the room and sorting through a pile of herbs sat her mentor and caretaker.

The elder lifted her head, her good eye suddenly consuming Kagome's mind. "Ye have finally awakened."

The flames of the hut's fire crackled faintly. Still focused on her mentor, the miko gave a slight nod.

Kaede watched her, silently debating what to say next. She bowed back to the plants, after several frozen minutes, and began to shift them into a large bowl.

"Please, sit down, Kagome," the priestess requested quietly.

The time traveler hesitated. Her side was already burning from the short walk to the door. There was an empty spot across from Kaede, but it was at least ten feet away. Kagome thought it was twenty miles away.

Taking a deep breath, the miko dragged her foot forward.

A sharp flare crushed her waist.

She grimaced, but she was determined to ignore it.

Kagome lifted up her other foot and stumbled painfully to her grandmother. When she was two feet from her destination, Kagome's knees finally buckled under the strain.

"Kagome!" The elder woman lurched forward.

The girl's jaw locked close, muffling her whimper. Automatically her teacher grabbed her arms, but the young woman pushed aside her wrinkled hands and insisted, "I'm fine. I promise. Just weak."

Kaede drew back bit by bit, not convinced by her student's tired words. Her experienced gaze easily noticed the child's pale face and heavy breathing.

She needed to be in bed.

Yet, her student had the stubborn attitude of a certain hanyou.

"So where are the others?"

She was not in the mood to go to bed, again.

"They have each been given assignments," the village leader replied while turning back to her piles. "I have sent each of them after a special herb needed for your medicine. I was hoping they would arrive before nightfall. It has been three days since they left."

"Three days?!" Kagome balked, leaning forward. "I've been unconscious for that long?"

"Aye," the woman nodded, crumbling a leaf in her hand. "We have been most concerned for ye. It was Sango that foundye first. The moment she did she began to scream. We, along with a few villagers, flew from our huts and went to ye both. Ye sent us all into quite a scare, I must say. Ye were unconscious, covered in bruises and blood, with the well left as ash."

The girl watched soundlessly as the elder priestess ground a red twig into dust. Kaede glanced momentarily at her student before continuing."Inuyasha has been very quiet since we found ye. He's feeling guilty."

With a tight heart, the miko bitterly mumbled, "He has nothing to feel guilty about."

Her guilt mounted with the minutes. She didn't want him to suffer. She had always wanted his happiness, and now she had made things worse. Maybe she couldn't have changed the battle against Sesshoumaru, but the tiny memory of giving up at the last moment stung.

She had never considered herself a quitter, yet she had given up on him.

Suddenly noticing no response from her teacher, Kagome realized she was being watched. Her brown eyes slid upwards and saw her grandmother's scrutinizing face.

"What happened Kagome?"

The time traveler jerked, rethinking the memory of the other day. She could see his face of disbelief, the potent expression of betrayal. Then the image flew to herlyingin the grass,silently surrendering.

"Who did this to you?"

Kagome gave a relieved smirk. 'Oh, that?'

Before the youth could answer loud footsteps interrupted their conversation. The two priestesses turned towards the front door just in time to see Sango, Kilala, and Kohaku step inside."Kaede, we finally found the-"

The huntress's eyes froze on the time traveler."Kagome?!"

Sango's shocked face was too amusing to ignore. Smiling broadly, the woman waved in return. "Hi."

Immediately, the fighter broke from her brother and took the miko's bandaged hands in hers. Kagome, in that split second, blinked in surprise at the whiteness wrapped around her fingers.

'What happened to my hands?'

"Are you feeling better?" Sango anxiously hung forward. Kilala meowed softly, offering her own concern for the miko.

Warmth filled her body at her family's behavior. "Quite well, considering I've been unconscious for three days."

The warrior became somber. "Yes, you gave us all a scare. We had gone out in search of you a few hours after you fled the village."

The girl bowed her head shamefully. 'I forgot about that.'

Still mixing herbs, Kaede glanced through the corner of her eye at her student.

"We were lucky to see the smoke from the well, or we might not have found you so quickly," Sango mused.

Kagome caught the hard stare coming from her teacher and immediately searched for another subject to talk about. Her sight stopped on the young boy hiding in the doorway. "Kohaku, please don't stand aside like some stranger. Come, sit."

The boy jerked awake from whatever dream world he had previously been floating through and awkwardly settled beside his two sisters. With downcast eyes, he mumbled a bashful, "Thank you."

The world involuntarily pulled away as the boy stole Kagome's focus. The way his fingers nervously rubbed the pink-leafed herbsshowed his loss of confidence. From the things Sango said about her brother, Kagome knew Kohaku was very close to his sister, yet he was acting like a complete stranger.

The time traveler stared at the two blood siblings. 'He's still adjusting. His memories, though returned to him at Naraku's death, have caged him. He doesn't blame Naraku like we have done. He takes full responsibility for the murder of the demon hunters.'

Though it had been Naraku pulling the strings, the blood was still on his hands.

"Kagome?"

"Y-Yes?" she responded swiftly.

Sango scowled. "Are you alright?"

She nervously brushed loose hair behind her ear. "Yes. I'm fine, just thinking."

The huntress and elder priestess peeked at each other, the same thought brushing their mind. Kagome was staring towards the door, her own mind far away. "Did you see the others?"

'Did you see Inuyasha?'

"No," Kohaku responded softly. "We were heading on a different path from Miroku and Shippo, and Inuyasha went in the complete opposite direction."

Kagome faced the floor, studying the grain.'Please, come back to me. I'm sorry.'

"Let's change your bandages while the men are gone," Kaede spoke up, crawling closer. "Kohaku, please hand me the mela branch and go outside to keep the others from walking in."

Already on his feet, he nodded feverishly and escaped outside. Kagome watched the paper door swish quietly.

Volunteering to help, Sango gently peeled the shirt off of her sister as Kaede mixed the herb into a paste. Kagome noticed someone had exchanged her bra for bindings. Seeing that her bandages went from her belly to as high as her left breast, she guessed the bra had given some problems to whoever had dressed her. Angry red appeared as the final pink and white strip fell from the miko's waist. The peach colored paste was applied and clung to the knit wound, warming on contact with her flesh.

Her side suddenly spiked with hot pressure and Kagome bit the inside of her cheek, to keep from whimpering.

"Don't worry. It will pass," Kaede instinctively soothed."This mixture will heal the wound."

Her body began to quake, but the girl attempted to ignore the pain. "So why did you send Miroku, Shippo, and Inuyasha out for other herbs if all you needed was that branch?"

"The herbs they are retrieving for me are the ones that will stop the pain," Kaede replied, her practiced hands wrapping new bandages over the injury.

Kagome nodded, giving the door another long stare.

Next, Sango slowly unraveled the bands enveloping her sister's hands. The miko's palms were a bright pink bubbling with broken blisters. Pulling the pair closer to her face, Kagome intently studied her hands.

'How did this happen?'

Sango gently pulled the sore hands away from her friend and brought them into her lap. Kagome closed her eyes when Kaede leaned over with more paste. Again there was silent endurance as her grandmother massaged her palms and fingers.

When her hands were freshly wrapped, Kagome exhaled a shuddering breath. 'I hope the others get back with those herbs. I don't want to go through another treatment without something to relieve the pain. Guess I should have brought more aspirin when I last left home.'

The bowl was put away and the three ladies resettled in their seats, not caring that they were all exhausted and it was already late into the night.

"I think it's time to answer a few questions about what happened," Kaede gently began, looking intently at Kagome.

The younger miko glanced at the door for a third time that night. "Maybe we should wait for the others before we start."

Sango's face dropped. "Would you mind telling us, Kagome? We've been in the dark the last few days. I don't think I can handle waiting any more."

Her eyes were desperate. Sango had been watching over her for only a few days, but Kagome could imagine how long and stressful they had been. If any of them had been unconscious for days, she would have started pulling out her hair.

"It happened so fast," she began quietly. "Inuyasha and I . . . we got into an argument,and I went to the well . . . to think . . then Sesshoumaru showed up and attacked me."

The two listeners shared a confused look. Kagome shook her head to the unsaid question. "No, he didn't want anything from me. He just began attacking and barely gave me a moment to think. He was out for blood."

Sango frowned."Why would Sesshoumaru have any reason to attack you? He's never attacked you unless you got in his way."

"Do you think he was using Kagome to hurt Inuyasha?" Kaede suggested.

The time traveler shook her head. "No, I don't think so. He said someone called me a threat. The only reason I'm alive is because he didn't believewhatever'she' said. He didn't see a reason to kill me."

Kaede's good eye narrowed."She?"

Her student shrugged. "He never said a name. He only said she."

"Do you think he was following an order?" Sango questioned out loud. "I don't see Sesshoumaru taking orders from anyone. He's always been a lone wolf, as it were. After all, he is the Lord of the West."

"Lord of the West?" Kagome mumbled. "I've never heard that title before."

Being the expert on demons, Sango was the one to volunteer an answer: "It's a title only the demons respect. To explain it, you have to go back in history. Demons, as far as we know, have always been obsessed with their strength. During the Early Years several demons began to kill other demons just to prove their strength. The more kills, the stronger you were. After a few years of slaughtering hundreds, a dog demon declared himself a lord over demons, and went through the west looking for challengers. When no one defeated him, he officially claimed he was a demon above all others, and even went so far as to say his blood was pure strength. I suspect that he was the ancestor of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru."

Kagome nodded in awe, and Sango continued: "After a few short months, three more demons claimed the title ofBlood Demons. There was a dragon in the south, a jackal in the north, and a sort of hybrid cat demon in the east.

"Once the four demons were heard of, each of the Blood Four became greedy and wanted to take the title as the strongest. However, the Blood Four were not stupid. They each knew that a two-on-two battle would be long and hard. Once a victor could be decided amongst two of them, they knew the victor would be, in its weakened state, vulnerable. None wanted to place themselves into a situation where the other two of the Blood Four could come and take advantage of their defenseless condition.

"So, the Blood Four selfishly began to recruit demons in their areas, some out of loyalty, others out of forced obedience. Several centuries went by where the Blood Four devised plots against each other, using their soldiers as scapegoats.

"It was a long time before finally one of the four died, but when that Blood Demon passed away the child of the deceased demon stepped forward and took the title their parent once held. This event not only showed the Blood Four that to have the ultimate title they had to defeat the other three Blood Demons, but it showed them that they also had to defeat the three blood lines following their competitors.

"That's when it got ugly," Sango said quietly. "One of the Blood Four decided it was time to speed up the long war. To this day no one knows which of the Four had it done, but four assassins were sent to kill each of the oldest offspring of the Blood Demons."

Kagome muffled her gasp with a hand. "They killed their own children just so they could claim a title?"

The demon huntress nodded gravely. "The plan worked. The Blood Four went into a rage, and immediately there was a slaughter. A trail went into four different directions in an insane search for the mastermind. After about twenty years of blood, the number of demons had dwindled just below the number of humans.

"Now all during this time, demons and humans acted like we do now. Both believed they were the superiors. When the demons started to grow scarce Man took it as a hope to overthrow the demon world,while the Demons took it as a warning. The Blood Four lost followers automatically. Demons no longer cared about the battle for strongest. It was every demon for himself. It came down to survival.

" Before long, the Blood Four were lost in the shuffle, but not forgotten. Every now and again the four houses of demons will have friction and minor feuds, but nothing compared to centuries ago in the Early Years. There's a lot of history we don't know about in the demon world. Several generations have passed by while we were too busy having our own civil wars.

"However, we do know that the Blood Four are respected as the strongest in the demon world, but they are not obeyed. There are a few scant followers, but no armies to back them up.

"So the Blood Four don't have much power anymore?" Kagome asked.

The huntress shook her head. "Nope, but they still consider themselves to be of special blood. Nobles as it were."

A small light blinked on.

Kagome was suddenly far away.'So you have the blood of nobles and lower humans, Inuyasha.'

Kaede scowled thoughtfully. "This does not help us, however, with our situation. We still don't know anything about what happened to Kagome, other than it was Sesshoumaru who attacked you."

The two girls nodded.

The aged priestess shifted the kindle, stoking the fire. "I suppose in time things will clear up, and we'll find out what's going on."

The sisters looked at their elder expectantly as she turned towards them. "I think it's time to discuss what we were talking about the day you were attacked, Kagome."

The young woman bowed her head, remembering how rude she had been. "Yes, I believe we should, too-"

"I'm sorry I offended you."

Kagome's head snapped up. "You have nothing to apologize for, Kaede. I just . . . needed a moment to think."

The village leader lifted her gray head and eyed her granddaughter silently. "It sounds as if you have thought a lot about this already."

Sango's eyes darted between them, confused.

'Guess she didn't tell anyone about we talked about.'

Part of Kagome stepped backwards. 'You don't have to do this. You can refuse.'

The time traveler stared at her mentor. 'She wants me to take her place when she dies. She has no family. She is asking me to take a position a daughter would take.'

'But what about what you want?'

'Do I want this? To be in charge? To be a priestess?'

'Of course not!'

'I don't know . . .'

"I'm not ready to make a decision yet," Kagome whispered. "I need a little more time."

The fire crackled beside them, singing an old lullaby.

"I can understand ye are having some difficult days lately," Kaede nodded. "Take the time you need. No hurry."

Kagome's heart became cold as she bowed solemnly on bent knees. "Thank you."

A gentle hand touched her crown. "I have faith that you will make a wise decision, no matter what you choose."

___________________________________________________

Sesshoumaru didn't flinch as another flat palm struck his other cheek.

"You should know by now that I demand obedience!" she shrieked, ignoring his unresponsive expression. "I told you to kill her!"

He was silent.

He had already given his reasoning, that there was no point.

She pulled away from his knelt form."I don't care what you thought about her! When I give an order you follow it! I am law!"

Her eyes of churning amber glared at him, waiting. "Will you say no more to me?"

He closed his eyes, an answer to the question.

Her fists flew backwards and her fangs became visible as she let out a frustrated roar. The familiar howl ripped through the hall, shaking the dust from the ceiling.

Sesshoumaru never budged from his spot as the layers of dirt covered his body.

After a few more powerful bursts, the demon mistress's voice faded. The walls and banners fluttered still, again, as she rolled her head forward. Her thin lips were in a slight slope, a single fang sticking out.

It was all a show.

Slowly her clawed hand cupped his cheek, pushing past his long white hair. He was dead to her motherly touch.

"Why did you do it?" she whispered, a tranquil edge to her voice. "You say there was no point, but what else was it? Did you value this woman? Did you love her?"

Sesshoumaru rose sharply and stared stonily at his dame. She stared right back, unfazed. He was as tall as she and perhaps just as strong, but she was older, wiser. She was his mother. He would never strike her.

"You do love her," she hissed violently. A blinding redness consumed her sight. "Like father, like son."

Sesshoumaru's lips twitched into a frown. "You see betrayal everywhere, even in your own son."

"I see only truth," she snapped, her long hair beginning to float on her demonic energy.

"Then you need your eyes checked." He spoke calmly. "I don't care for that weak human. The only times I've had dealings with her was when, on a few occasions, she got in the way."

The one-armed demon turned around, walking towards the exit. "But she has never been a threat."

His icy words broke through the scarlet haze, and slowly her demonic energy evaporated. Her eyes snapped and the red was gone.

"She was to Naraku," Sakura pointed out. "She can be to us given enough time. She needs to be taken care of now, before we are cornered."

"The time is not now," he replied over his shoulder, confidently.

Her eyebrows slid together. "They're moving towards her village. In less than two weeks, they'll be there. That is where it will start, and that will be when the threat will come."

His footsteps stopped and slowly he rotated his head to look at her.

They were two unyielding statues. She lifted her chin slightly higher than his. "You may be the rightful heir to this house, but you are still my son. Do not think you surpass or equal me just because you are also a lord."

Her lips twitched in a sadistic smile. "I am your mother, after all."

________________________________________________________

The mirror shattered as the rock plunged through its glassy surface. Ripples wavered and slowly the water became smooth again. The reeds swayed soothingly as Kagome's reflection slid into place. A lonely June bug skimmed the wet surface.

'Is it wrong of me to be upset?'

Identical eyes beneath the watery mirror stared back, empty. 'Am I just being the whiny child I feel like I am?'

The velvet night sparkled in the shallow stream, barely outlining her dark crown in the water. The miko unconsciously dragged her chin over her knees. 'I don't feel like I deserve it. I might be over twenty years old, but I still feel like a fifteen year old school girl.'

Her bare feet idly ran along the edge of the wooden bridge's lip. She clenched another pebble. 'I'm not meant for this.'

Flicking her wrist, she sent another stone to its home at the bottom of the stream. 'Am I?'

Kagome slowly overlooked the village. 'It has been my home. Why shouldn't I become a priestess for the village?'

Creak.

Kagome jumped as the footbridge flexed beneath her. Standing on the edge of the shadows was the one person who held all the answers to her life. The very sight of him sent shivers down her spine. "I-Inuyasha."

His black eyes were traveling over her body, stopping on her hands. She only half-noticed his gaze because she was too busy staring at his black crown.

'I really need to keep up with when his night is. I could have sworn it wasn't for a few more nights. Oh wait. I was out those days.'

"How are you feeling?"

His whisper immediately caused her/both of their eyes to glance away.

"I'm doing alright," she mumbled. Kagome focused on his wavering reflection.

'I'm such a coward. I can't even look him in the eyes.'

He shifted to his other foot. "You were looking kind of rough. Are you sure?"

Inwardly she chuckled. 'I think I would know.'

"I'm doing a lot better," she said a little louder. "Thanks to all of you."

His reflection nodded slightly with a turn of the head. In seconds, their eyes connected in the watery mirror.

No words were said, but an understanding passed between them during the long wait of staring into each other's reflections; neither wanted to talk about it.

He was the first to look away-directly at her.

"I'm sorry."

Kagome's heart skipped.

"I should have been there to protect you," he growled angrily.

Her shoulders dropped. 'I should give up. He'll never apologize first.'

Kagome's eyes slipped and watched the hand at his side clench. Gradually her face looked upwards, directly into his guilt-filled eyes. Her heart thumped painfully upon the sight.

"You can't always be there, Inuyasha," she replied firmly. "I can handle myself."

'Nice lie, Kagome. He can tell you handled yourself the other day.'

For once, he didn't argue about how weak she was; instead, he sat down next to her and dangled his feet over the stream. Surprised, she stared at his dark profile, following the length of his shining black hair with her eyes.

'He's so handsome in his human form. If he had been a boy at my school, he definitely would have been popular with the girls.'

"I should have been there," he insisted, his jaw tense. "I'm supposed to watch out for you."

The failure was too much for him. He had let her get hurt, and by his brother no less. He was responsible.

Her hand squeezed his shoulder, but he didn't look at her. With a sad smile, she whispered, "You didn't fail me. I failed you."

His startled brown eyes looked up. There were no words to speak even though he opened his mouth to talk.

His gaze was too intense so she stared again at his reflection. "I shouldn't have said what I said earlier. I should have trusted you enough to tell you what was bothering me."

Thankfully, with her bangs in the way, he couldn't see her shamed expression. "It's not that I don't trust you, Inuyasha. I trust you more than anyone I know. Y-You're my best friend."

He flinched.

But she didn't stop. "I know you and I argue. There are times you frustrate me so much that I wish I could pound you into the ground."

Her eyes danced back into view and twinkled at his shocked, and slightly hurt, expression. "But even after all that, I still don't know what I'd do without you."

He blinked several times, unable to react. The starlight glanced off her face, softening her pale skin in a mystical glow. She was beautiful.

Trying to hide his bashfulness, he smirked. "How could you live without this face?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. 'Smooth.'

Together they laughed, as a new bookmark was placed in their relationship. It was another one of their rare and precious times together. When they could laugh and feel the comfortable friendship that they had. She always knew during those moments that everything would turn out right.

Of course, moments don't last long.

"So, what was bothering you?"

His words were like a grenade going off two feet from her. Kagome's body snapped straight. He hadn't meant to spoil the moment, but it had been on his mind for the last few days. He just couldn't evade the thorn digging at his side.

'There's no running this time. If I'm not ready to confide in him now, how will I ever be ready later?'

Kagome stared out over the water. "Kaede asked me to become the priestess under her. She wants me to take over once s-she's gone."

She was only half-surprised when he responded in his usual rude, sarcastic way. "That's why you were crying?"

Beginning to fume, she crossed her arms. "You make it sound so easy."

"Isn't it?" he grumbled. "What else would you do? Where else would you go?"

'I don't know!'

"D-Don't you want to be here . . . with us?" he breathed.

She flipped her hair aside and stared at him incredulously. "Of course I want to be here!"

"I didn't mean what I said days ago." He turned his face away, ignoring her. Time stopped and all she could hear were his next words.

"Y-You belong here."

She could hear the hesitance in his voice and the swell of fear pounding in his heart. Unaware, tears slid down her cheeks. 'You actually apologized for once. Inuyasha, I'm so proud of you.'

Automatically she hid the tears with a blink. 'You're trying so hard. I guess I was wrong about you . . . again.'

Her guilt was covered with a warm smile. "I know you all care about me, and now with the well sealed it makes since I stay here, but . . ."

Her hands clenched the wooden bridge. "It's not that simple, Inuyasha. It's an important position with lots of responsibilities. I don't believe I can handle such a load."

He snorted, turning his back to her slightly. "You don't give yourself enough credit."

Kagome knew he was desperately trying to close himself off again. He was obviously embarrassed by his last words.

'You never give me any credit, yet now you think I rate myself too low?'

"You handled the situation with Naraku," he said loudly. "Handling a village should be easy."

She shook her head frantically. "Beating Naraku was different. We'd been dealing with him for years, and though I've been staying at the village for just as long, I've only actually been in the village a small fraction of that time."

"Kagome, you have time to learn," he whispered calmly. "It's not like the old bat is going to die anytime soon. She might be old, but she's strong. She's got a few more years in her before she leaves us."

The miko looked up at the lone house atop the hill. 'I have time. I always seem to have time.'

Nonetheless, there was still one more reason to say 'no.'

"What about Kikyo?" she said weakly. "I don't want to do this if you still are going to mistake me for Kikyo. I don't want you to look at me and see her."

Kagome's eyes pinched shut, suddenly embarrassed by her secret confession. He already knew she hated it when he confused her with Kikyo, but she had never told him it was a fear.

Maybe she had confessed because it was the new moon. Whenever he was in human form, he was more sensitive and understanding. It was during this one night of the month that she could tell him anything and trust his response. The dark moon always brought out their vulnerable sides.

Like right now.

"Well, I don't know what you're talking about." He shrugged.

She nearly choked on the air she was inhaling. 'What?!'

She glared at him. Her temper was reaching a level she didn't know she had.

He grinned at her. "I don't see her now, and I'm looking straight at you."

Immediately her anger took a dive. Kagome was forced to shake her head to think straight. "W-What?"

The hanyou exhaled deeply and let out a nervous cough. "A year after we started looking for the shards, I no longer saw her in your face. Now, I can't even see her anymore."

Kagome's heartbeat sped up several notches. "What do you mean?"

"Before, it was so easy to mistake the two of you, considering you're nearly identical. As time went by, it became harder and harder to look at you and see her.

"You're both different," he persisted, glaring at the stream. " You both have similar qualities, but you are definitely not Kikyo."

'That's sounds close to an insult.'

"You're not as good with a bow, but you're better with people," he continued, totally unaware of her distress. "You are less in control of your miko powers, but Naraku was never able to trick you into his control. You always won in the end."

He studied her, staring not exactly at her, but at some distant star in her eye. "You're smile is warm and inviting where hers was a bitter cold. I see hope and life in you where I always saw lost despair in her."

He threw up his arms abruptly, shaking his head in frustration. "I can't explain it, but when I'm around you I-I f-feel different."

A spark flashed in her chest.

"Different?" She scowled, afraid to hope.

His open palms went to pull at his hair, then forcefully went to clench his knees. "When I first knew, her I could easily relate to her. She was lost and alone, just like me. Yet, she could move on with life. I finally was understood."

His clawless hand swept through his silky ebony locks. "When I'm with you, I don't feel as lonely as I did when I was with her. Even now, I don't f-feel complete, but I am content. Because there's hope for me to be happy."

Her heart constricted. 'Oh, Inuyasha.'

Tears were wiped away with her palm. 'I thought I would make you happy.'