Inu Yasha sighed as he walked down the dusty road. The rumours of a shard had turned out to be nothing, despite the presence of an old, powerful water youkai they'd had to defeat, and he, Sango, Miroku, and Shippou were all worn out. Then his nose caught a scent... but that couldn't be...

"Oi, Sango," He said, trying to sound as bored as possible. "What time did Kagome say she would be back?"

Sango shrugged. "Tomorrow, I think it was. Why? Don't you remember?"

"'Course I do," The hanyou replied, frowning a little. "But it's weird. I smell her now, and the scent's real recent. Plus it smells like an oni... and..." He sniffed the air. "And like blood... Kagome's blood."

Everyone digested that for a second or so. Miroku put two and two together first. "Oh shit."

No one noticed his regression to delinquent mode, because Shippou had burst out in agitated tears and Sango was looking panicky. Inu Yasha narrowed his eyes. "Sango! Miroku! You stay here, I'm going after her!" He didn't give anyone any time to protest this, just leapt off into the forest.

He ran at full speed, jumping occasionally. Before long he had reached a spot very near the well. And then he saw it: Kagome's backpack, and a hole through the thick trees that could only have been caused by a very large oni.

Instantly, Inu Yasha set off towards where Kagome's scent-trail intersected with the oni's. He didn't go far before he smelled her blood, and found a frighteningly large patch of the crimson liquid, dried by now, staining the ground. A nearby tree lay collapsed, clear marks of claws in it.

Kagome - He started to run, following the trail of dried blood and slashed-through trees. There's so much blood - what the hell fuckin' happened to my Kagome?

He didn't even stop to berate himself for the 'my', just kept on speeding through the trees. Then his sensitive nose caught another two scents: the stink of decaying ogre, and an almost-fragrance, almost-stench - the smell, to him, of memories and emotional agony. Kikyo's scent.

He burst into a clearing, to find blood - Kagome's blood - splattered all over the clearing, and the body of a very large ogre. It looked like its head had been melted away. Did Kagome do that? Or did Kikyo?

"Kuso," He snarled, fear eating at his stomach. "What the fuck happened here?"

Kagome's blood had pooled at the base of a tree, and it was there that her scent came together with Kikyo's. Then the smells of the two miko, one living and one dead, headed off together through the woods.

Without even stopping to think, Inu Yasha followed the trail.

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Kikyo sat inside her tiny house, sedately mending a torn haori. Kagome lay on a futon, still sleeping - the dead priestess had brought her inside after she'd returned.

Her mind, however, wasn't on her sewing. Nor was it on anything in particular. In fact, Kikyo was almost asleep, though she was long past the need for such things. She was drifting in a dream-world made up of both memories and fantasies, despite the fact that she kept on stitching up the hole in the garment with neat, even strokes.

Perhaps that was why she didn't notice the youki until the shouts erupted from outside, familiar though the aura was.

"A demon!" "Kyaah!"

"Somebody fetch Kikyo-sama, hayaku!"

"What the hell are ya bastards gettin' so fuckin' worked up for?" An all-too-familiar voice snarled. "I just wanna get Kagome! She's okay, right? She better be or I'll - I'll - I'll fuckin' tear the village apart!"

Kikyo sighed and walked outside, grabbing her bow just in case. "Inu Yasha."

Just as she'd expected, the hanyou was glaring at a cluster of the village men, who were looking rather fearfully back at him, brandishing spears and bows. The village women were all staring from the safety of the houses.

Inu Yasha seemed to calm down a bit at the sight of the dead priestess. "Kikyo. Where's Kagome? I can smell her."

"She's in my house." Despite herself, she added. "She's fine. She's sleeping now, but I suppose you could take her now if you wanted."

"K-Kikyo-sama," One of the villagers looked anxiously at first her, then at the hanyou. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing that is any of your concern. Inu Yasha, come with me."

"Yeah." Shooting another murderous glare at the villagers, the young half-demon added, "And if any of ya bastards eavesdrop or anything, I swear I'll fuckin' tear you apart."

The moment Inu Yasha saw Kagome sleeping peacefully on her futon, he half-ran to her side. Kikyo suppressed any sign of her conflicting emotions as the hanyou clasped the schoolgirl tightly in his arms.

"You'll reopen her wounds if you hold her that tight, Inu Yasha." She felt obliged to say, after a minute or so had passed and he hadn't let go.

"Yeah," He said, but only lowered the sleeping girl a little, not relinquishing his hold on her. "Kikyo, how bad was she hurt?"

"She got a scrape on her scalp, a moderately serious wound on her shoulder, and a rather nasty one on her side, not to mention assorted scratches and bruises. She lost quite a lot of blood, so try not to let her strain herself for the next few days."

He nodded, then pulled back the haori Kagome wore to reveal her bandaged shoulder, revealing quite a lot of smooth white neck and bust. Kikyo noticed he was blushing a little, and was quite surprised when he leaned forwards to smell the wound. To anyone else, it would have looked like a very incriminating position. After a sniff or two, he sighed, pulling up the shirt and laying the girl back down onto the futon. "She'll be okay, right?"

"Hopefully."

"Kikyo, you..." Inu Yasha turned to look at the miko. "Thanks for taking care of her."

"It was my duty," She replied, almost coldly. The way Inu Yasha had thanked her... it had been like a man simply thanking a doctor for taking care of his wife. I'm overreacting.

"Yeah. Err... Kikyo, how're ya doin', anyway?" The hanyou left Kagome's side to walk over to the miko. He had a familiar expression of unsurety and nervousness, like any normal teenage boy caught between two girls. "I mean, you okay an' all?"

She looked at him, smiling a little. He was still hers, almost... "I'm fine, Inu Yasha. Did you find that shard you were looking for?"

"No... uh, how'd ya find out about that?"

"Kagome told me." She did smile now. "She's quite a nice girl, really."

"Yeah, ain't she? She's really great, when she's not havin' one of her fuckin' temper tantrums," He looked over at the sleeping girl. "I mean, all I gotta do is try to protect her from that yase ookami and she gets all agitated an' all."

"Yase ookami?" Kikyo frowned. "I don't believe I know him."

"Kouga, ya know." The hanyou looked rather annoyed to even think of the person in question. "Stupid bastard, always goin' after Kagome."

"You mean... he's in love with her?" Her envy of Kagome went up another notch. Two boys in love with her? Of course, Kikyo had two of them, too, but one of them was Naraku, who didn't count for anything.

"Yeah," Then he realized he was treading on thin ice here. "I mean, yeah. She... keh. I just don't like it when he tries to hold her hands an' all. She's... she's..."

"She's yours?" Kikyo couldn't keep the sharp edge from her voice.

He stared at her, and blinked once or twice. "Umm... well, I dunno... we are sorta in a... ya know, relationship and all... but all we ever do is hug. And yeah... I mean, she is sorta mine, but I dunno... you're mine too, Kikyo."

She was rather touched at this, and rather shocked and hurt as well. "Two-timer. You're a two-timer. Has anyone ever told you that?"

He glared at the wooden floor, sulkily. "Only a hundred times, dammit."

The conversation was getting rather dangerous, so Kikyo decided to change the topic. "I'll be leaving this village soon. I've been here too long already. In any case, have you heard any rumours of Naraku?"

"No," He snarled. "It's like that bastard just fuckin' dropped off the face of the Earth. An' Kouga doesn't know where he is, and neither does Sesshoumaru, and nobody can get a single fuckin' clue. It just drives me insane, dammit."

"That's too bad. Well, he'll turn up. You should leave now, anyway. Your friends will be worrying."

"Oh. Yeah." He looked at Kagome again, an almost soft expression on his handsome face. "They don't even know that she's still alive... anyhow, I'll get going. See ya later, Kikyo."

"Mata aou ne, Inu Yasha," Kikyo said, and couldn't restrain a hurried, "And don't forget! Your life belongs to me."

"Aa," He had gently picked up Kagome in his arms, and was facing away from the dead priestess. "Wasurenee zo, Kikyo."

He walked out the door. Kikyo opened the flap just in time to see him jump up into the forest, cradling the sleeping girl against his chest. She closed her eyes against the sight.

"Kikyo-sama!" The villagers ran up in a frightened mass. "Kikyo-sama, the hanyou took Kagome-sama!"

"I know," She sighed. "Their place is with each other, after all. At least for now..."

"But, Kikyo-sama, what's going on?" Someone asked. "Why are you letting a demon take your younger sister?"

"Because he will protect her, and because they have duties to perform. Now, please do not concern yourselves with this. It is simply a matter between the three of us, and another."

"But Kikyo-sama - " Another person objected. "Surely, you can - "

"No buts, please," She replied firmly. "Now, I'm sure you all must finish with the fields now." It was a polite but strong hint that the discussion was over.

With much grumbling, the crowd complied. Kikyo smiled a little as she went back into her tiny house. Inu Yasha... you have such an effect on normal people. They're absolutely terrified of you.

Oh, Inu Yasha. Recalling their conversation, her mood turned dark. You love her... don't you? And she most certainly loves you.

"I dunno... you're mine too, Kikyo."

He had seemed quite sincere... And you just may love me, as well. Heh. What a two-timer. What an absolute two-timer.

And yet... I don't mind so much as I should. Kagome does deserve him, after all...

She sighed. I'll leave this village tomorrow. Go somewhere else. Maybe I'll get lucky and find Naraku, scare the bastard a little.

And maybe I'll see you again, Inu Yasha. That's something to hope for, for me at least.

I don't know... do you hope to see me? Because I hope that you hope to see me.

She snorted at the thought, then sighed. I love you, Inu Yasha. Always and forever ...

Even if you will never be mine again.

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Japanese Terminology:

Youki: Youkai's ki, or spiritual energy. Youki can be either an aura that you sense, like a kehai, or a sort of energy weapon, like Inu Yasha has to cut to use Bakuryuuha.

Youkai: New, aren't you? A demon or miscellaneous non-human with mystical powers, usually evil though not always.

Oni: An ogre. Characterized by the horns.

Nihon: Japan.

Jaki: An evil aura, different from a youki in that a youki isn't necessarily evil and a jaki isn't a weapon, ever.

Shikon no kakera: Really new, aren't you? A piece of the Shikon no Tama, the Jewel of Four Souls.

Samurai: Warriors owing allegiance to a particular lord. If they don't have a lord, they're ronin.

Miko: In real life they're the assistants to Shinto priests, but in IY they're the priestesses, guardians of the populace, and healers. Kikyo, Kaede, and the red and blue girls are all miko. Tsubaki is a kuro miko, or dark miko, which means she's corrupted. Kagome is technically a miko in that she has enormous spiritual power, but she doesn't have the training or wear the clothes. Basically, if you're a girl with spiritual powers, you're probably a miko.

Sou ka: I see.

Naraku o ou mono: Those who pursue Naraku. Sesshoumaru-tachi, Kouga-tachi, Kikyo, and, of course, Inu Yasha-tachi.

Hanyou: Half-demon, for those of you who don't read fanfiction that often. Inu Yasha is the hanyou, but Shiori, Naraku, and Jinenji all are too.

Kitsune: A fox demon or spirit; they tend to be mischievous rather than malevolent like most youkai. Shippou is a case in point.

Shibito: Literally a "dead person", sort of more means someone who has been brought back to life. A zombie. There are a bunch of them in IY, though Kikyo was the first: Kohaku and the Shichinintai are also shibito.

Kei-kun no baka: Stupid Kei-kun! for those of you who don't watch Ranma.

Imouto: Younger sister.

Houshi: Low-ranking Buddist priest or monk. Miroku is a case in point, though they're usually a little moreŠ virtuousŠ than he is.

Haori: A sort of shirt-like thing they used to wear in ancient and feudal Japan, like what Inu Yasha and Kikyo wear.

Futon: A mattress and bedding, what Japanese people traditionally sleep on.

Hayaku: Quickly.

Mata aou ne: Literally, we'll meet again.

Aa: A masculine way to say yes or yeah.

Wasurenee zo: 'I won't forget!' Inu Yasha style. In other words, quite roughly and somewhat rudely.