AN: This chapter is literally just an excuse to pass time in the story, plus, I know how annoying it can be to get hooked on the first chapter and there's nothing else yet. It's a shorter chapter, again, because it's to pass time. I'll update again soon, hopefully sometime this week! Also, I want to drive the point that this is not an Inuyasha/Kikyo story. I rather hate Kikyo, just hang tight.

Terms you should know for this chapter; The Unmei no Akai Ito, （運命の赤い糸） or the "red string of fate". In Chinese and Japanese folklore it is believe that when we are born the gods tie a red strong around our ankle (Chinese) or our smallest finger (Japanese) and the person we are tied to we are destined to be with, no matter what.. This string may become tangled or knotted but never cut, so we can never avoid those we are tied to. This is the theme this story is going to be most heavily based on.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha nor do I make profit from it. Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takehashi.

Chapter 2: Threads of fate

"Everything is connected, like a delicate web. Ever growing, ever changing. New silvery strands come together every day, and once the strand is formed, no matter what superficial circumstances may sometimes keep you apart, it is never broken. You will meet again, perhaps in another lifetime. The connection is unbreakable, lying dormant in your subconscious."
― Chelsie Shakespeare, The Pull

A few days later, Inuyasha returned to the Higurashi shrine to investigate. Kikyo's aura - sure enough - was still gone.

Hearing an assaulting wail scrape against his sensitive ears like sandpaper, he gingerly made his way to the back of the shrine where a small house had been built. Concealed in the blanket of darkness that night provided for him, he stepped up to a window on the lower level of the home. He peered inside to see the Higurashi family rushing about and fussing over a crying baby girl. Despite the young parents best efforts, the crying only continued. Keh, this better not continue throughout the night Inuyasha thought to himself, wanting to actually get some sleep.

Suddenly, as if by magic or some kami's intervention, the screeching child finally stopped. Inuyasha's heart jumped when he noticed that her small brown eyes were staring directly at him.

Cursing, Inuyasha quickly ducked his head away from view. Almost immediately, the child resumed her relentless cries. Annoyed, the hanyou raised his head again to peer in through the window. The crying stopped and the child started to giggle in amusement. Inuyasha's ear twitched in agitation; just what the hell does this kid find so damn funny about him anyways?

Inuyasha was so engrossed by the small life that he nearly forgot to keep a watch out for the parents who were now watching him too. Their eyes were wide, mouths agape. The wife looked as if she might scream.

That was Inuyasha's queue to get the hell away.

Receding into the trees of the shrine, he stayed on alert. As dawn broke he counted his blessings as they family hadn't called police or an exorcist on him. From that day on though, Inuyasha stayed a safe distance away from the family who would now undoubtedly be on alert. He left the shrine, only returning so often to pay his respects to Kikyo.

Years passed by nearly without incident. Often times, even as Inuyasha hid away behind the treeline, he could hear a small voice and tiny clumsy footsteps approach him before being ushered away by one of the Higurashi adults. Of course, that didn't last long as soon the toddler became old enough to play outside alone and a very pregnant Mrs. Higurashi simply couldn't keep up with her anyways.

It was during this time that Inuyasha was lounging in a tree behind the shrine when he heard the small raven haired girl pass beneath him. Watching the child through uninterested lidded eyes, he simply readjusted on his branch to be more comfortable. Surely he was too high up to be noticed.

"Mr Doggy Man!"

Inuyasha nearly fell from his perch. How in kami's name had she seen him? I mean, sure, the bright red from his garb wasn't the best camouflage against the green canopy of leaves, but in all his years human's had never really developed the simple skill of "looking up".

"Mr Doggy!" The young girl was right beneath him, looking up with a stupid grin on her face, her brown eyes filled his excitement.

Inuyasha simply ran. She may have only been a human child, but stories of a "dog eared man" resting in the tree tops would call for some kind of investigation, and Inuyasha simply just didn't want to have to deal with that.

Leaping from tree to tree, he could hear the girl giving chase. Keh, He'd outrun her. A child compared to a hanyou? No contest. It didn't take long until she was out of sight but his ears swiveled around his head as he could still hear her running through the forest, calling out for him. God's, doesn't she give up?

Before Inuyasha could finish his thoughts on just how long this damn kid was going to follow him around, his ears jerked at the sound of a splash of water followed by a blood chilling scream.

"Shit!" Inuyasha cursed out loud, bounding off in the direction of splashing water and child's screaming. She must have fallen into one of the ponds or streams within the wooded area. Inuyasha ran as fast as his legs would take him. But when the screams stopped, so did his heart. He may have been a hanyou, but simply allowing a child to die when he could have prevented it put a sour taste in his mouth.

After what seemed like an eternity to him - but in reality was only about a minute - of silence he arrived at (what he hoped) was the body of water the child had fallen into. From the surface, he couldn't make out a human form but the ripples of water that were still dancing about was enough evidence to know what had taken place here. Inuyasha cursed again and scanned the water more intently for the child. His heart was pounding in his ears, his mind was going a thousand thoughts per second. It baffled Inuyasha, why was he having such a strong reaction to the unknown child?

Suddenly, his eye caught the bright pink of the dress the girl was wearing in the steadying pool of water. Not hesitating, he jumped into the water. It came up to about his chest. He grabbed the girl and carefully holding her against him, set her down on dry land. His heart stopped when he couldn't hear her breathing, but regained it's uneven beats when he could still hear her faint one. Inuyasha wasn't a doctor, but he had seen enough small children fall into water in his time to know what to do.

Carefully placing his clawed hands on her chest, he began steady presses, careful not to press too hard and break all her ribs. Don't die on me brat was the only thought racing through the inu-hanyous mind.

Finally, the child jerked and vomited water, coughing a few times before falling back unconscious. Her breathing was slowly becoming more and more steady and her heart was getting stronger with each breath. Inuyasha let out his own breath which he hadn't even realized he was holding in and gently picked up the child, careful not to wake her.

Inuyasha slowly made his way back to the shrine, watching the sleeping child in his arms and listening to her steady shallow breaths. He had saved her, that was all that mattered to him. He would return her to the shrine and leave. As much as he didn't want to admit it, it was his fault she had nearly drowned in the first place. If he hadn't been so damn sentimental about Kikyo he would have left the shrine days ago and none of this would have happened.

Inuyasha walked through the treeline out into the open. He could feel the eyes of the few shrine goers piercing into his back. He even heard a few scream and run away. He didn't care, he wouldn't be around long enough for anyone to show up and cause trouble. He walked up to the house behind the shrine and rapped on the door loudly. He heard scurrying inside and soon the click of the doorknob turning.

An older woman answered the door and just stared at him. He could see the fear in her eyes and smelled it off of her.

"Here" he said, presenting the sleeping girl in his arms to her, "I found her out back."

All fear in the woman's eyes disappeared as she finally noticed her daughter. "Kagome?" she muttered under her breath. "Why is she wet?"

"She fell into a pond, I heard it and thankfully got there in time." The young mother gingerly reached out her hand and brushed a wet strand of hair out of her daughters face. Kagome stirred under her touch, making a small sound. The woman stepped back and gestured for Inuyasha to come inside. "Here, come inside, help me set her down."

Inuyasha wasn't sure what he had expected just showing up at a humans door, but it certainly wasn't this. He very cautiously stepped inside and was led into a large room. He carefully set the child down on the couch as instructed. He moved to leave, not wanting to stay with a human any longer than he needed to. Kagome's mother leaned down next to her, fussing over her sleeping daughter. Just as Inuyasha's foot stepped through the door, she thanked him.

Inuyasha just wordlessly left, running far away from the shrine.

Forgive me Kikyo, but I won't be back this time.