Disclaimer: Inuyasha and his friends do not belong to me or anyone related to me. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi. Thanks for listening.
Behind the Lies
By Petty Insanity
A black hair miko sat on a large, moss covered rock with her beautiful pets encircling her. Kikyou's soul-stealers deposited glowing puffs of the souls of women all over feudal japan. In her mind, she said a silent prayer of forgiveness to all the souls that she had to absorb to keep living.
When the ritual was over, Kikyou stood, a blank and unblinking expression that erased all traces of regret and hatred. The undead priestess thought back to her one and only love, Inuyasha and a single tear rolled down her porcelin face like a jewel. But she wiped it roughly away, hating the Inu-hanyou, hating her incarnate, Kagome, but mostly, she hated herself.
Hating because there was nothing else to feel.
A flurry of movement errupted behind her and a deep voice resonated deep within her heart. She didn't have to turn to know that the dark hanyou, Naraku stood there. Or rather, a puppet of his creation.
"Greetings once again, fair miko," he said, voice neutral in all aspects.
"Nice of you to drop by," Kikyou responded sarcastically. When she first returned to the land of the living, she had found that sarcasm flowed as freely from her lips as hurtful words. It was a strange sensation at first, as she had spent most of her living life a kind and gentle woman that loved all and never made fun of anyone else's stupidity.
But that was then, this is now.
The golem was silent for a long while when it suddenly said, "You were crying again, weren't you Kikyou?"
"I was once human," Kikyou replied, "Aren't I allowed to be sentimental?"
"By all means, fair miko."
Kikyou fingered her bow, but her blank look never wavered. "Was there something you wanted, or were you just dropping by for a chat?" Kikyou sneered, her usually passive face twisting into a scowl that could freeze any man, demon, hanyou or human, "Because that is so normal for you."
"I came to remind you of our pact."
Kikyou's free hand unconciously went to her heart, feeling the jewel shard there, trying to find solace in it's pure and comforting state.
"It wasn't a pact Onigumo," she said, her passivness setting in once more, "It was an agreement."
"A yes, an Agreement," it was the puppet's turn to sneer, this meeting wasn't going as planned, "I don't kill your precious dog and you wont kill me."
Kikyou surpressed the urge to roll her eyes. Stringing, an arrow she pointed the tip toward the baboon clad golem.
"Any last words?" She asked him, but didn't wait for an answer. The arrow embedded itself into the puppet's body, shredding the wooden figure to a million splinters.
With a nod of contentment, Kikyou turned and walked away from the ashes of the puppet.
Miles away, Naraku sat on a window sill, smiling gently as his pet was destroyed.
>
Inuyasha was sitting in the God tree, grunting unhappily about his sore back when Kagome made her routine visit back to her family. He could've very well brought her back, but that would just be condeming himself to another beating.
Cursing mildly, Inuyasha stiffened when he saw a farmiliar glint in the canopy of his forest, all traces of childishness gone from his body. He squinted in the harsh sunset before making his way from tree to tree towards what he knew was his love.
In the back of his mind, he realised that if Kagome where here, this visit would completely and utterly destroy her. But he shoved the little voice of reason away with his mouth set in a grim line of determination.
>
Kikyou was walking in the cool shade of Inuyasha's Forest when she came across a poor child with her foot caught in a rabbit trap. As she met the girl's frightened and pain-filled eyes, Kikyou knew she couldn't resist helping the child.
The child beamed up at the priestess happily when her foot was finally free. "Thank you holy priestess," she chirped, "What can I do to repay you?"
"Do you come from the village near the bone-eater's well?" Kikyou asked, putting on a soft face for the child.
She nodded.
"Then can you tell Lady Kaede that Kikyou send's her greetings?"
The little girl smiled and nodded before making her way back toward her village as fast as she possible could.
Kikyou's face broke out into a small smile, but she hadn't felt contentment for months and months, it was but the shadow of an echo of a memory. The smile disappeared as soon as a certain dog-demon's aura clashed with her own.
She didn't need to turn to know that Inuyasha was there, watching her with despairing eyes.
"Kikyou," he whispered, taking a tentative step toward her, his arm reached out in longing.
"Why do you do this to yourself?" She asked him, her voice barely audible, but to this demon, it sounded like a scream, "You mope for days after you see me and you hate it, why do you even bother?"
Inuyasha was at a loss for words, just content enough to bask in her aura and her musical voice.
She turned, bringing the full bearing of her stare into his pupils, burning the image of herself standing defiant onto his retina. "Why are you here?"
The hanyou finally found his voice, trying to strenghten it but failing miserably at it, "I could ask you the same thing."
"Foolish boy," Kikyou scowled, lashing out at him, "Have you forgotten that I like taking walks in the shadows of these trees? Do I mean that little to you?"
"Of course I remember," Inuyasha said wistfully, even as he shrank back at the malice in her voice, "I remember everything about you. The smell of your hair after you washed it, you laugh, your determination, your love of dandelions, your smile. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
Kikyou sighed, and turned to leave, her soul-snatchers following her silhouette off into the distance, regret showing through every movement of her clay body.
"Wait," Inuyasha whispered before continuing in a louder tone, "WAIT!"
Crimson regret.
Kikyou stopped and looked back, her face illuminated by the eerie glow of her pets.
"Where are you going?" Inuyasha whined, taking another step and another until he was right infront of her, so close, he could touch her.
"My incarnate has returned," Kikyou said in a monotone voice, longing to be held by her former love, but fearing total break down if she did. She might've feinted indifference to the subject, but the thought of her incarnate galabanting about Feudal Japan with Inuyasha was devestating to what was left of her soul.
Despite popular opinion, Kikyou had taken more than just part of Kagome's hatred when she was brought back from death by the witch. She'd also taken part of the remorse that had infused her soul when she died.
And greed.
That remorse shined through now. Kikyou was sad, lonely and wanted more than anything to pass on. She no longer belonged in this realm, but she wouldn't give up Inuyasha without a fight.
Inuyasha was most indecisive. He could feel Kagome climb sullenly out of the well but Kikyou, Kikyou, was standing in front of him, waiting for something.
Without warning, Inuyasha's arms encircled her, pulling her into a deep embrace, and they stood there for what seemed like years, just hugging, nothing else. Letting go, Inuyasha turned and bound off, without a backward glance.
Kikyou watched him go, trying to piece together something that resembled love or contentment. Nothing came.
She hated again.
With another sigh, she turned, realising that her grief was taking its toll, and walked off into the darkness.
BEHIND THE SCENES:
Kikyou stomped around waving a little red flag with the number one on it saying in a sing-song voice, "I am a star of my own little one shot!! My life has just taken a better turn."
Inuyasha smirked happily because he didn't get sat in this one-shot.
Kagome scowled an uncharacteristic scowl at the injustice of it all and yelled, "Sit!"
Inuyasha unhappily crashed to the ground, his smirk whipped away by one humiliating word.
Shippo laughed at Inuyasha's pain and twiddled a bag of fairy floss in his fingers.
Kirara yawned as she sat on Sango's head while Sango was trying to force Kohaku to wash off the pen tattoos with a bristly brush and a pot of hot soapy water.
"I feel that I can relate to Kikyou's problems," said Miroku, waiting for a glimps of Sango's clevage.
Kikyou beamed at the monk and said, "Thank you priest, please accept this as a gift." She handed him Kohaku's pen.
Naraku scowl matched Kagome's as he watched the ruckus and leaned over to Sesshoumaru.
"Are you sure you can't kill them? Even a little?"
Sesshoumaru shook his head and tugged once more at the band around his neck.
Rin was covering a disgruntled Jaken with pretty daisies and chocolate wrappers.
Kanna was polishing her mirror with Naraku's pant leg with an indifferent expression and Kagura was staring intently at the t.v.