It's the rewrite! I think it's better, it's a little more interesting (in my opinion), and it flows better. Not quite so random. What do the rest of you think??
By the way, this is going to be a three-shot. Just so you know.
Disclamer: I don't own Inuyasha or Ranma ½. I'm not Rumiko Takahashi, no matter how cool that would be.
I wanted to run. But I am not allowed to do so. I would give anything to have it as easy as she does, to live a normal life, to be able to run away from her problems. I am the powerful miko Kikyou. I am not allowed to act in any such manner unbefitting to my status. I would say my heart is broken, but that is not possible. I am no longer alive. I have no heart. I am a mere part of a soul, trapped in a body forged from clay. I have no heart to break. She stole Inuyasha's heart from me. That reincarnation of mine, whose soul I live off a part of, a small, dark, part of her soul. Even with all of the pure soul she contained, she had no hesitations in taking him away from me. I believe I love him far more than she ever will. Inuyasha and I, we share a bond through loneliness. We were both alone, everyone deserted him, and I was not able to share my feelings, and lonely in that respect, that I had no one to trust. No one truly knew me. Kagome never knew loneliness. She grew up in a happy family and she has many close friends in her era. She cannot understand him truly, the way I do.
I kept walking. What other choice did I have? To go back there and demand that she give him back? Maybe if I was someone else. If she really means that much to him, I am left without a choice. I do not want to hurt him. I do not want to cause him grief. I only desire to see him happy, to see him smile once again. My grip on my bow tightened, seeking some comfort that could not be obtained. For the dead, like myself, there is no comfort to be had. There is no room for us in the world of the living. No one wishes for us to remain. Not even those who we were close with in life. Our existence is simply a burden. My burden on the world is my need to consume the souls of maidens. Although I was to be someone who did good deeds, who saved people, I now take in souls, not allowing them to pass on the afterlife. This is the irony of my fate.
While I remain on this plain, I still have a duty. The one who is responsible for my death lives on. He has attempted to destroy both Inuyasha and me numerous times. He wishes to use the jewel of four souls for his own evil gain. I cannot allow this, as I was the keeper of the jewel in my life. I will destroy him and the jewel. Then the reason for my existence will be fulfilled. I cannot lose. Not to him.
A noise came from behind me. I knocked an arrow, pointing it in the direction of the sound. "Who goes?" My voice echoed in the darkness, getting no reply. I saw nothing. It has simply been all my imagination. I began to turn around when I heard the familiar dark chuckle. Naraku.
"Well, well. If it isn't the miko. All alone, I see. Without your weak hanyou boy. Not that he would be any aid to you anyway. He hasn't been able to save you at all, has he?" I turned to face Naraku, the one I had sworn to kill. The one who it was my duty to kill. I felt no fear at the sight of his face. I did not have to worry about holding my proud, strong façade.
"Have you gotten braver since we last met, Naraku? You rarely have the courage to show your own face to me, merely sending a golem in your place." Naraku again laughed darkly.
"Does it bother you that I wish to talk you in person, Lady Kikyou? Onigumo would die for the chance to do something like this. He gave up his own soul because of his foolish desires. Had he suppressed his desires, he might have lived on his own again. He and Inuyasha are very alike. Unable to control their desires, which lead to their downfalls." I ignored Naraku's jibe. He was merely trying to rouse my emotions, to disturb my logic. He took my silence as a reply, and unfortunately kept speaking. "You surprise me, Lady Kikyou. You have not once defended Inuyasha, even when I compared him to that fool Onigumo (1)."
My hand shook not. My calm mask stayed intact. I was proud of my control, gained over years of miko training. I had complete faith in it. However, I had no such faith in Naraku. Somehow, he seemed to know more than he should, he seemed to know exactly how that casual comment would bother me. "I have no problem with seeing you personally, there is no more risk to me than if you had sent one of your golems. My powers are not so weak that I could not defeat a mere hanyou." I stressed the last word in an attempt to get him to give over to his emotions. Demons on instinct alone were painfully simple to defeat.
Naraku's eye's flashed in anger, as I had expected. He was just as predictable as Inuyasha. This weakness would be simple to use to my advantage. "Do not take me lightly, miko. Soon, I will complete the jewel of four souls. When I do, I will gain absolute power. I will destroy everyone who opposes me, even you, Lady Kikyou."
I laughed softly, surprising myself. Sometimes I found myself the least predictable. Perhaps Naraku was especially easy to predict. Or did I know him far better than myself? "Is it so wise, Naraku, to boast like that? What would happen if it is Inuyasha and his friends who collect the jewel? What will all this come to then?"
"That will not occur. My powers far outreach theirs. And I have many stronger allies on my side. All in all, Kikyou, you could not harm me. There is a part of you that wishes for you not to do so. It possibly wishes to aid me, even." It was my turn for anger to consume me. My eyes narrowed in fury.
"I, Kikyou, will never lower myself to assist the likes of you!" I yelled, pulling my bow taunt and sending the arrow flying toward him. Too late I realized that, in my haste, I had not put any power into my arrow. It was simply an arrow, something too easy for Naraku to defeat. Two long fingers reached up and grabbed the arrow, before he gripped it with both hands and snapped it like a twig.
Before I could reach for my quiver to draw another arrow, Naraku had come up behind me, wrapping one arm around my neck, and the other around my waist. I struggled, which was pointless in his strong grip. "There is no escape for you this time, Kikyou. You cannot simply walk away, as you did when I was too weak to move. You cannot die as simply as you did then, and evade my clutches that way. You cannot fight me to keep me away, as you have ever since you were reborn. You're mine now." I increased my struggles, and he finally let me go. I sank to the ground, clutching my throat where he had gripped it.
"Don't forget, Kikyou. You're mine." Without another word, his form disappeared into the darkness. I stayed where I was, unable to move, watching where he had last been. What had he meant, that I was his? I belonged to no one. But there was something in his tone…something I needed to know more about. I stood up with the help of my bow, and continued along my path. I would see him again, I was sure of it. Now I just had to wait.
(1) …that fool Saotome…that fool Saotome…THAT FOOL SAOTOME!! Ranma ½ reference…sorry, it had to be said. Sorry if you bothered to scroll down here to see what it was right away. –sweatdrop- Anyway…
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