A New Heart

Summery: Finally away from that bothersome Kagura, Hakudoshi has some time to himself. Upon traveling he meets a girl from a nearby village. She visits him every day until her village is attacked by none other then Naraku. Will Hakudoshi fight for her?

"Hakudoshi, Naraku has instructed I take care of Inuyasha and his lackeys. You are to stay here, don't go wandering off again!" Kagura snapped, plucking a feather from her hair.

"Yeah, yeah. Listen, just because you're my guardian doesn't mean you're my mother. If I want to go some where, I will." Hakudoshi said. Kagura just shrugged and took off, leaving Hakudoshi to fix his wind struck hair. He sat in the hut, looking around and being completely bored out of his mind. He looked down the cliff face, then searched the sky. ' No sign of Kagura, so off I go!' He thought, jumping over the fence-like thing and to the ground. He walked along the path. ' I wonder what moron built a hut on the side of cliff for anyway...' He thought.

"Hey girly, give up whatever's in the pack!" A rough voice called out from the forest. A high-pitched cry sounded after a loud smack. Hakudoshi walked in thedirection of the voices. He soon stumbled upon a clearing where an ugly man stood over a sobbing girl, beating her with a stick.

"Hey ugly, stop it." Hakudoshi said, taking a step forward. The man turned around, and laughed.

"What are you joking? Go back to whatever demon bitch you came from boy." He said, and returned to beating the girl.

"You look like you fell off an ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down." The bandit turned around, his ugly face scowling.

"What did you say boy?" He said, unsheathing his sword. The girl gasped in fright, but Hakudoshi just laughed.

"It's going to take more then that to beat me!" He said, running at the bandit, unsheathing a dagger. He struck the man down before the man could raise his sword. Hakudoshi laughed, and looked at the girl.

"Are you going to kill me?" The girl asked, sobbing. Hakudoshi held out his hand to help the girl up.

"No, you haven't done anything to me." Both Hakudoshi and the girl were stunned by his words. But the girl's shock quickly dissolved into happiness.

"Thank you! You saved me!" She said, throwing her arms around him. Hakudoshi stood in a shocked silence. He should've killed this girl for touching him, much less talking to him! So... Why didn't he? He looked at the girl as she pulled away from the hug. In full light, she looked like the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. She had ebony hair, fair skin, and the most bautiful waterfall-blue eyes. He shook his head, he had been couped up in that hut for too long!

"You're- you're welcome..." He said hesitantly. She stuck out her hand.

"My name's Cherushii. What's yours?" She asked, smiling. Hakudoshi couldn't help but smirk back.

"Um, Hakudoshi..." He said, taking her hand and shaking it. Cherushii's smile widened.

"Are you hungry?" Cherushii asked. Hakudoshi slowly nodded his head. He hadn't eaten since he was split in half, and he had never tried human food. He followed her to a nearby waterfall, and they sat down. Cherushii began making the food, chatting about her life in a nearby village. Hakudoshi wasn't really listening though, he was thinking about the bandit. Why had he killed the bandit, but not the girl? Usually it would have made no difference, death was death. He had killed countless people, it hadn't mattered if they were grown men or infants, all humans deserved to die. He hated humans. But then why...? Why hadn't he killed the girl? Why was it that he felt to happy when she smiled? How could he be feeling anything? He had no heart. And-

"Are you even listening to me?" Hakudoshi came out of his trance to see Cherushii's hand being waved in front of his eyes.

"What? Oh yeah, I am." Hakudoshi said, shaking himself. Cherushii looked at him skeptically.

"Yeah right. What was the last thing I just said?" Cherushii stood up, her hands on her hips.

"Um... uh- Okay, okay, I wasn't listening." Hakudoshi shrugged.Cherushii smiled and started taking off the outer layer of her yukata. Hakudoshi's eyes widened.

"What- what are you doing?" Hakudoshi exclaimed, wide eyed at her bare skin. Cherushii laughed and shoved him into the pool of water. She jumped in after him.

"Going swimming!" Cherushii said as Hakudoshi resurfaced. She laughed again and splashed him with the cold water. He sputtered, standing up in the chest deep water.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!" Hakudoshi yelled. Cherushii laughed some more.

"You weren't listening, so I figured I'd get your attention." She said shrugging. Hakudoshi felt something rising in his chest. 'Yes, here comes the anger, the rage!' He thought. It rose into his throat. And-

He laughed. And he laughed again. And again. Until he fell into a fit of laughter, Cherushii with him all the way.

Everyone's POV:

"Hey, Hakudoshi!" Cherushii walked towards the cliff face, waving. It had been a few days since she had met Hakudoshi, when he had saved her from the bandit. They had become the best of friends, always enjoying each others company. She waved harder as she saw Hakudoshi emerge from his hut. He jumped down to join her.

"Hey Cherushii! How's it going?" Hakudoshi asked. Cherushii shrugged and started running to where they always talked and played. She ran into the waterfall clearing only to see Hakudoshi there already. No matter how fast she ran, he always seemed to beat her. He smirked at her.

"Show off!" Cherushii shouted before sitting next to him on the rock. She snuggled up next to him, resting her head on his chest. He placed an arm around her shoulders. 'Ever since I met Hakudoshi, things have been great...' She thought, before snuggling deeper and drifting to sleep.

Hakudoshi's POV:

'Is she-?' Hakudoshi looked down at the girl resting against his chest. Her eyes were lightly closed, and she was breathing deeply. 'Yep, she's asleep.' He sighed. Dammit, falling asleep just made her more beautiful... And he was already arguing with himself over his feelings for her...'What the hell is wrong with me? I've never- never felt this way before... I can't... I don't have a heart...' He thought sadly. Hours passed, and soon Hakudoshi fell asleep as well, leaning against the rock for support.

Cherushi's POV:

Cherushii felt the cool mist of the waterfall drift over her face. She shivered and sat up, suddenly aware she was on Hakudoshi's lap. She looked up at his sleeping face. He eyes were moving under his lids, signifying he was havinga dream. She wondered what he was dreaming about. She looked up at him, feeling the same love for him that she had the day she had met him. His light hair and pale skin was what made him demon-like, besides his eyes. But she didn't care, she'd shout it out to the whole village. But she couldn't shout it out to him. What did he think of her? Probably a pitiful mortal that he was only playing with... Her eyes filled up with tears at the thought...

Everyone's POV:

Hakudoshi bolted to a sitting position as soon as he smelt tears. He looked over to Cherushii sitting in his lap still, sobbing quietly.

"Are you alright?" Hakudoshi asked, concern filling his voice. She looked up at him in surprise. She wiped away the tears hastily.

"Yes... I'm- I'm fine." Cherushii stuttered. She gasped as Hakudoshi pulled her into his arms for a tight hug. He loosened the embrace to look into her eyes. They still had a few stray tears in them.

"Then why were you crying?" He asked, confusion and concern glowing from his light eyes. She lifted herself off of his lap, to his disappointment, and stood up.

"Never mind... I should probably head back to the village now..." She said, avoiding his eyes. He looked up at her sadly. She waved good-bye and started to walk out of the clearing. He stood up, and bolted after her, grabbing her hand. She looked back at him, and was surprised to see his eyes full of compassion.

"I want to know... What you think of me." He stated, looking up at her expectantly. She gasped, looking down at him... Seeing him so vulnerable... She had never seen him so emotional before.

"I- I-" She stuttered, and pulled her hand from his grasp, eyes filling up with tears. She ran down the path, only looking back once to see Hakudoshi on his knees, looking down at the ground and shaking.

Cherushii's POV:

She walked slowly back to the village, sobbing quietly to herself. 'Why didn't I tell him? Why didn't I tell him I loved him? Was I afraid?' She sobbed again, tears pouring down her face. She heard the sky rumble and it started to rain. She started to run again, but no matter how she tried, the vision of Hakudoshi on the ground haunted her mind. She tripped, falling face first into the forming mud, bringing her out of her thoughts. She picked herself up, trying to wipe most of the dirt off. She walked on, peering through the rain. She saw a light in the distance... She glared through the now heavy rain, trying to see the flickering light better. She gasped in realization. Her village was on fire. And only now did she realize she could hear screams. She started bolting towards the village, running faster then she ever had before.

Everyone's POV:

By the time Cherushii got to village, most everyone was dead. A man stood hovering above them all, looking down in disgust at them. His greasy black-ish brown hair and blood red eyes made him disgusting, not to mention the blood that soaked his demon tailed body. Cherushii sensed the same aura emitting off of this man that had come off of Hakudoshi. Was this man his father? Cherushii flinched as he struck down her next door neighbor's wife and child. No, Hakudoshi had never killed in his life. He was to kind hearted. She had seen him take care of baby birds and he had saved her from the bandit! There was no way they were related... His blood red eyes focused on her.

"Yes. It is you I have been searching for! The reincarnation of Midoriko!" He said, smirking. Cherushii saw the bloodlust in his eyes and decided that now would be a good time to run... She bolted off in the direction she had come, into the forest and down the path towards the waterfall. 'Please let Hakudoshi be there...' She thought, praying.

"HAKUDOSHI! HAKUDOSHI! PLEASE, HAKUDOSHI!" Cherushii screamed into the growing darkness. Hakudoshi was startled from his sleep by Cherushii's frantic calls. He sat up so quickly he almost fell out of the tree he was in. He heard a some-what familiar but evil voice tell Cherushii,

"There's no point in screaming for him my girl, he won't come to save you." 'Naraku!' Hakudoshi thought in alarm. Naraku was chasing Cherushii! But why would he-? Then he remebered what the Saimyoushou had said to him the night before.

Flashback:

"Naraku is close to finding the new Midoriko... You'll only have to stay here a little bit longer." It had whispered.

"Go away you pesky bug." Hakudoshi had said, before obliderating it.

End Flashback

"Cherushii? Cherushii's the reincarnation of Midoriko? But how?" Hakudoshi felt torn. Torn between his master and his... Dare he say it?... Love. He called upon Akago for assistence.

"What is it you want, brother?" Akago asked, looking at Hakudoshi with emotionless purple eyes. But inside Akago was confused. His brother's soul, had changed, some how. Looking closer he saw a-a heart? Yes, there was a heart, almost completely formed, underneath Hakudoshi's rib cage, where a human's was. The girl, the girl Hakudoshi had been telling him about, she had made this happen.

"We have been planning against Naraku for a while, yes?" Hakudoshi asked, smirking.

"Yes, what of it?" Akago asked, but already knew the answer.

"We should just kill him now, before he gets stronger by absorbing Midoriko's reincarnation." Hakudoshi said. Akago scowled.

"You want to save that girl." Hakudoshi nodded, knowing he couldn't lie to his brother.

"Yes, but she could come in handy, don't you think? She could use her purifying powers on him, making him weaker." Hakudoshi said.

"I suppose we could execute our plan now, we could kill him..." Akago faded, thinking of what they could use as a distraction. Hakudoshi heard another scream, but farther away this time.

"Akago, if we're going to act, we must act now! He's getting closer to the girl!" Hakudoshi yelled, ready to run in by himself if he had to. Akago's eyes widened in surprise. Hakudoshi's hair, had just become blonde. Before his very eyes, Hakudoshi was becoming more of a demon then the spawn of a demon. Akago nodded, and both he and Hakudoshi sprinted towards the screams and evil laughter.

Cherushii screamed again, but her voice was becoming hoarse. The man had picked her up already, and just as she had thought she was going to die and had shut her eyes tightly, something had burned him and he had let go. Looking around to see what had burned him so badly, she was surprised and sad that Hakudoshi was no where to be found. She started running again. The man was right, Hakudoshi isnt coming for me... Cherushii sobbed, and dodged another tentacle. She looked behind her to see a blur racing after Naraku and herself.

"What is that?" She whispered, and regretted the waste of breath. Next thingCherushii knew, she was falling down to the ground. Waiting again with her eyes closed tightly to die, she was surprised to feel strong arms catch her. She looked up to see a blonde demon carrying her away from the evil man. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw the blonde boy was Hakudoshi, she would recognize his light purple eyes any where.

"HAKUDOSHI!" Cherushii cried, hugging him tightly. Hakudoshi smiled down at her, sighing in relief that she wasn't hurt.

"Hakudoshi? What the hell do you think you're doing?" Naraku exclaimed, blood red eyes wide.

"Naraku, it's about time you died." Hakudoshi said angrily, putting Cherushii down behind him. Naraku was too shocked to speak. What had happened to his evil little Hakudoshi? Hakudoshi was protecting the girl? But why? Then Naraku saw it. The slight beat of Hakudoshi's new heart. The girl had given him a new heart!

"So, Hakudoshi, you love the girl, ay?" Naraku asked, his evil smirk returning. Cherushii gasped. He loved her?

"What does it matter to you, Naraku?" Hakudoshi asked, enraged at Naraku.

"So Naraku, you've noticed his new heart too, yes?" Cherushii looked in confusion to a baby that looked like Hakudoshi hover out of the shadows.

"Akago?" Naraku asked, glaring at the baby.

"Yes." The baby nodded and smirked at Naraku.

"So you're both in this together. I should've known." Naraku said, fighting to regain his composure.

"You dumb bastard, you couldn't have known. We can comunicate telepathically, so unlike Kagura and Kanna, you can't monitor us." Hakudoshi said, smirking.

"You little-" Naraku began, but stopped when he saw a dagger be placed onto the newMidoriko's neck. Cherushii gasped in fright, and looked up in horror at Hakudoshi. So he was going to kill her after all.

"Watch your tongue, Naraku. The reincarnation is no good to you dead." Akago smirked smugly at Naraku. Hakudoshi looked down at Cherushii with sad eyes, and saw her horror filled ones looking up at him. His new heart was already braking... He brought Cherushii's ear closer to his mouth.

"Don't worry Cherushii, I'll never let anything happen to you. I-I love you Cherushii..." Hakudoshi smiled down at her sadly. Cherushii was too shocked to speak. 'Hakudoshi, tell the girl to run. She'll only get in the way when we kill Naraku.' Akago said to Hakudoshi telepathically. Hakudoshi nodded.

"Cherushii, run and hide some where, Akago and I don't want you getting hurt." Cherushii nodded and fled, leaving Naraku and the brothers to fight it out. ButCherushii didn't run far. She hid behind a tree, panting, and slowly sat down, careful not to make a sound. From here she could watch the battle from a safe distance. She watched the battle comence. After a time, Naraku was looking paler then usual, while Akago and Hakudoshi barely had a scratch. Just when the boys thought they were going to win, Naraku shot out a tentacle and brought Akago down. Hakudoshi screamed in a pain as well as his brother, because of the grueling pain transmitting from Akago's mind into Hakudoshi's. Seeing they were in trouble, Cherushii started running. She didn't care what happened to her, she was better off dead any way, but Hakudoshi could be killed, and she couldn't live with herself if that happened. She watched, almost as if in slow motion, as a tentacle sprang forth from the man named Naraku, aimed at Hakudoshi.

"HAKUDOSHI!" Cherushii screamed, and flung herself in front of Hakudoshi and the tentacle. She grunted in shock and pain as the tentacle pierced throught her stomach. Hakudoshi stood behind the girl, his brother's pain forgotten.

"Cherushii...?" He whispered, unable to believe his eyes. The girl fell to the ground in front of him, eyes closed, but smiling. Hakudoshi collapsed to his knees beside her, tears welling in his eyes.

"Cherushii. Why? Why did you do that Cherushii!" He asked, lifting her gently and hugging her lightly. Cherushii's eyes fluttered open.

"Because... B-because I love you too, Hakudoshi..." Cherushii shuddered in pain, tears pouring down her face. Hakudoshi leaned over her, looking into her dazzling blue eyes. Naraku stood there, afraid he had taken the girl's life. When he heard her speak, he smirked evilly.

"As much as I love to watch young love die, I need Cherushii. So hand her over!" Naraku yelled, laughing madly. He started running towards the couple.

"Hakudoshi, I cannot allow Naraku to have whatever power I posess. Please, do me one last favor..." Cherushii coughed, blood trickling over her lips.

"What Cherushii? Anything!" Hakudoshi said, picking the girl up and getting ready to run.

"Please- please kill me..." Cherushii whispered. Hakudoshi couldn't stop the cry of anguish escape from his lips.

"Why?" Hakudoshi looked into her loving eyes, and understood. He unsheathed his dagger once more, and sliced the maiden's neck, hugging her corpse to his chest tightly.

There ends the story of Cherushii and Hakudoshi, young lovers torn apart by Naraku, just like Kikyo and Inuyasha. I cried a little as I wrote the end... pretty weird huh?