Chapter 7

I don't own Inuyasha

"S...Sesshoumaru?"

There was no doubt about it. Inuyasha was protecting and holding onto a mortal, only a second ago. 'Inuyasha...?' Sesshoumaru took a step closer and with that step, he became angry, more angry than befuddled. Inuyasha had been alone with this mortal for a little over a week. Sesshoumaru told himself not to think of his little brother, since he could take care of himself. Sesshoumaru didn't even really realize that he had been missing a week for only doing a simple job. He followed a panther demon scent and it just happened to lead him to his little brother. Sesshoumaru actually hurried, thinking his little brother might have been ambushed, although he would never admit that part aloud. He now felt betrayed, seeing him with that woman, that mortal woman.

With another step, he calmed down within a mere second, with as much effort as the step itself. With another step, his mind was completely cleared. Yes he was still angry, but he would control his actions. Sesshoumaru was a demon, but he never was a savaged beast. He did nothing without reason. "Well Inuyasha, are you going to explain yourself?"

Inuyasha stepped away from Kikyou, not giving her a second look or else he would have been truly caught. "There's nothing to explain!"

Sesshoumaru's patience was wearing thin. "Oh, and that woman by your side means nothing as well?" Inuyasha hesitated for a second, enough time for Sesshoumaru's suspicions to rise. "I trusted that you wouldn't make the same mistake of our father, Inuyasha, but you were always so unusual. The girl almost suits you." He was so disgusted. How could Inuyasha do this?

"This isn't what it looks like! I knew the panther tribe would attack her! In order to defeat you, they need the jewel."

"If that's the case, then perhaps you should have taken it yourself Inuyasha. It would have been better protected."

Ziah glanced over to Sesshoumaru with a pleased smile on her face, but once she saw how angry and disappointed he was, she regretted that she angered him so. 'Sesshoumaru isn't buying into Inuyasha's lies. It's all over for him.' Her smile faded. 'I can only imagine how terribly disappointed Lord Sesshoumaru must be.'

"Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha said almost desperately, "if I would have had the jewel, they would have only suspected that I'd give it to you. If that was the case, they'd flee and try to find some other means of destroying you."

"An interesting fib, little brother. I almost believed that one."

"But it's not a fib! Why else would I protect this mortal? Why else would I protect any mortal, especially after what they did to me and my mother?"

It was the first time in many years since Inuyasha referred to his mother. Sesshoumaru was not pleased that Inuyasha mentioned her, but he did have a point. "I don't entirely believe you, Inuyasha. But whatever the case, I have a war to win. I can still smell Karan and I am going after her right at this moment. Choose your place, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha's heart stopped as his brother jumped in the air. He thought it would be all over for him, but his brother's body turned into a white ball of light and he left in pursuit of the panther demons. Inuyasha decided to rest easy. "Get lost!" Inuyasha told Ziah, who was still left observing him.

"Poor Inuyasha thinks he's fooled his brother." She sighed. "You don't understand how he felt once his father fell in love with a mortal. To him, it was a rather large disappointment, but even greater once your father perished. It caused a great hatred within our tribe, Inuyasha, a great hatred for humans. That is why Lord Sesshoumaru will never care for their meaningless existence and that is why he could never forgive you if you did such a thing. It would be betrayal." She left right after that and Inuyasha was alone with the villagers.

"Thank goodness," said Kaede. "The demons are gone."

"Inuyasha..." Kikyou began to say, "thank you for-"

"Don't," he told her. "You don't know anything of my world, so don't pretend that you do, woman." Inuyasha left as well, not wanting to be drawn closer to her. Still, after that day, he couldn't just leave her regardless of his loyalties to his brother. He watched her from afar the day after and a few after that, but Kikyou wouldn't have it last forever.

"Inuyasha, come join me," she told him one day while the two of them were in the forest. He didn't want to be caught, but he did want to join her.

'Sesshoumaru isn't in the area. I haven't smelt his scent in days. I suppose I should be fine.' Inuyasha jumped down from his tree and sat next to her, but glared suspiciously. "What do you want?"

"You said I didn't understand your world. I was wondering if you'd help me understand it, Inuyasha."

"What?" he asked. "I don't understand what you're yapping about!"

"What did they do..." she asked quietly "what did they do to you and your mother?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you!" The way she looked at him, made him want to say. He opened his mouth, but closed it.

"I wouldn't tell anyone else, Inuyasha. It would simply be between the two of us."

'Maybe she should know...maybe she should know how horrible they are!' "They tried to kill me, but she protected me and they slaughtered her right in front of me because they were afraid of my power!"

Inuyasha was expecting something from her. He wasn't expecting her to feel sorry for him, because he didn't want her pity. He was expecting her to realize that her life was a lie and the humans were so horrible. Instead, she surprised him. "Your mother must have been a very brave woman."

"What..." He couldn't believe it. He couldn't understand why she looked at that instead of how horrible the humans were.

"People can be good or bad. Those who killed your mother were tainted with their intentions and did something truly evil. Your mother however, was pure and protected her child, the thing that she loved."

Inuyasha was at a loss of words. "So what are you saying?"

"People are much like the Sacred Shikon Jewel. It can be tainted and it can be pure. If someone with a dark heart possesses it, it will become tainted, so it was given to me, in order to keep it pure. Since it is my duty to maintain the jewel, I cannot have a normal life and cannot live like an ordinary woman. I am an outsider and that is why I could not kill you Inuyasha. I saw that we are both different."

"Is that what you wanted?" He asked her. "You just wanted to complain to me?" Inuyasha stood to his feet. "We've all got our cross to bear, so quit complaining!"

Just as he was leaving, he heard her voice. "You're right, I shouldn't complain."

Once Inuyasha turned to see her sad expression, he felt guilty. "Kikyou..." He had never felt such mixed emotions before and now, he couldn't get her out of his mind. "I've...got a war to fight." Fighting would help. He would be able to forget about her.

"Inuyasha, you wish to be different. You do not want to be a half demon, because you are not accepted, because of your human blood. You want to fit in." Inuyasha couldn't leave once she spoke those words. They were so true. "I know, because I wish to be an ordinary woman. If only I didn't have the jewel..." She had it hidden under her clothes. "This jewel...if it made you a full demon, then it would be tainted, but if it made you into a human-"

"A human?" Inuyasha almost wanted to laugh. "Why would I want to be a weak human?"

She tucked it back inside her clothing. "Then the powers of the jewel would be nullified and it wouldn't exist anymore. I could be an ordinary woman and live freely." The idea of it honestly didn't appeal to Inuyasha, so she let it go. "I should return to the village."

'Kikyou...' Inuyasha jumped up into the trees and fled from her, before he got himself into an even bigger mess.

Unfortunately for Inuyasha, he discovered that he wasn't very bright. The next day, he went spying on her again. This time, it was a good thing that he did. She was merely walking, minding her own business and then he heard and smelt another human in the area. He jumped onto a cliff and saw a human, a bandit, who had just shot an arrow at Kikyou. Inuyasha luckily caught it. "How dare you try to hurt Kikyou!" Inuyasha slashed him with his claws and it was over. He didn't even have time to scream. "Like he could ever kill Kikyou..." Inuyasha jumped down, but Kikyou realized that he was there and saw the blood on his hand.

"Inuyasha..." She was disappointed with him and she walked away.

"Kikyou..." He jumped in front of her, in order to stop her escape. "What's your problem? I just saved your life!" He wiped his hand against the grass, trying to get the blood off his hand, which he did. There wasn't much.

"Inuyasha, that man-"

"What? Do you think he deserved mercy? He tried to kill you, Kikyou, and I just saved you! Some people deserve mercy and some deserved to be killed. To think otherwise is stupid!"

"Everyone deserves mercy, Inuyasha, at least a second chance."

"I'm a demon, and to me, there is nothing but kill, or be killed world. There's no time for foolish things like mercy!"

"And what of love?" she asked, just above a whisper. "Do you demons know how to love?"

"I suppose...some of us do, but my brother taught me that there's nothing more important than my own ambition."

"Becoming a demon? What will become of you then?"

"Well I..." What would become of Inuyasha? He hadn't given that much thought. "Kikyou...I..."

She placed the jewel in his hands. "If I were to give you this jewel and if you became a full demon, what would you do with it? Would you be happy Inuyasha? The jewel would still be in my hands and I'd still be unordinary. You'd be a full demon, strong and powerful. I'm sure your brother would be proud. We could go our separate ways, but would you be happy? I wouldn't be happy without you, Inuyasha. I wouldn't."

"Kikyou..."

"I don't mind you this way, Inuyasha. I just...I just wouldn't be able to be with you. I'd have to protect the jewel. Just know that I love you for who you are, Inuyasha. My heart belongs to you and you alone." She stepped closer to him "Take it, Inuyasha, and come to me when you've reached your decision.

Inuyasha couldn't hold it in any longer and he kissed her lips and held her tightly. He had never kissed a woman in that way before, but he hadn't realized how desperately he wanted to kiss her until that moment. She was so warm and he had never felt so alive until then. He hadn't felt such kindness in a woman's embrace since his mother last hugged him. He had forgotten that human's could be kind. "Kikyou, I can't live as a human. I can't betray my brother!"

"I'm not asking you to, Inuyasha. Just please, go and return to me and tell me how you wish to be, and when you've reached that decision, we'll face it, together."

He nodded and left her, with the jewel that he had wanted for so long within his possession, but he did not know what to do with it. He needed some time to think. "Should I return to my brother?" he asked himself aloud. "I can't think around here! I'm leaving!" Inuyasha did just that. He had every intention of returning, but staying near Kikyou would only lead him to a conclusion that would put him against his brother, and that was foolish. No one had the strength to match Sesshoumaru. Besides, Inuyasha owed his brother everything. 'The battle!'

He suddenly remembered about the panther demons. Sesshoumaru was expecting that Inuyasha would fight against the panther demons, beside him. Sesshoumaru didn't need anyone, but Inuyasha was still expected to fight. 'If I stay away any longer, then he'll know about me and Kikyou with no doubts at all!' Inuyasha fled as fast as he could, trying to find his brother. Instead, he found Ziah.

"Little Inuyasha…" Ziah had actually spotted him before he spotted her. She spotted him from a hill top and once she saw him, she jumped down below to converse. "Are you ready, Inuyasha? Have you given up on that woman yet?"

"What do you care? You know that I don't care about her, yet you keep trying to get me involved with her. What's your problem?"

"I'm only looking out for you, Inuyasha. If your brother found out-"

"If he found out what? Even if I did love her, it wouldn't matter to you! You're just pissed off that Sesshoumaru doesn't have any intention on being with you!"

Her eyes grew fiery and she glared so evilly. "Inuyasha, you don't know anything about me or your brother!"

"I know compared to what he wants, which is conquering everything, you're nothing, not even a thought in the back of his mind. Even when he can hold the world in his hand, you'll still be nothing, and he'll never want you. That's why you pick with me. If you can't have his affection, then no one can, not even his younger brother."

She lost it there. She punched Inuyasha in the face and knocked him down, full of rage. She knew not to kill Inuyasha though. Sesshoumaru was protective of his brother. "Inuyasha, you are right about Sesshoumaru and his ambitions. He'll do whatever he can, including destroying everything in his way. That includes any priestess, especially someone as powerful as your little girl friend. She'll be the first to go, after we destroy the panther demons." To see the look of panic in Inuyasha's eyes was enough to make her smirk. She had won their little squabble, so she let the boy be.

Once again, Inuyasha was alone with the jewel tucked under his clothes. He was thankful that she didn't smell the jewel, but other demons would start to come for it. It would be best to use it before he lost it. What to do with the jewel was the question. 'I still need some time to think...'

Two days he roamed along the country side, killing countless of demons and trying to avoid his brother. He needed to protect the jewel, but the more he protected it, the more he thought of Kikyou and how she sadly had to live protecting it. If he was a human, she wouldn't have to live with that anymore. As Inuyasha passed human villages he watched them and saw how they acted and how they lived. Some of them looked happy and they managed fine without demonic power. 'I know what it's like to be human. My brother taught me how to manage, but...could I actually...live with Kikyou as a human?' He still hated them, and that much would never change, but still...'The both of us...we could be free. I wouldn't be persecuted and she wouldn't have to protect the jewel. We could be ordinary and I'd still do anything in my power to protect her, even without my demon power.'

Though it did not please him, he knew what he had to do. "I'm going to become a human and live with Kikyou." He rushed to find her. He went back to the village as fast as he could with his beloved in his heart. "Kikyou!" On his way though, he picked up the scent of smoke and blood. It wasn't soon until he saw the smoke rising from the village. "Kikyou?"

He ran until his legs burned, but it didn't matter. His heart was racing, and he had to do all that he could in order to make sure that she was alright. He'd do anything for her, anything! "Kikyou! Kikyou! Kikyou!" When he entered the village, he saw bodies of men laid all about. The women were cut, crying, and broken spirited. The children tried to comfort their mothers, but they had suffered too greatly. Still, he did not see her. "Kikyou!"

"Inuyasha!" Kaede cried from right outside her home. Inuyasha ran to her with a panic on his face. "Where is Kikyou?"

Kaede busted into tears and fell on the ground. She did her best to cover her face so Inuyasha wouldn't see her pain. "Don't go in there, Inuyasha!"

Of course Inuyasha didn't listen. His woman was in there. He walked past Kaede and entered, but once he did, his heart fainted and wept, but his mind could not at first grasp on to what happened. Though his spirit wept, his eyes could not. He didn't understand why her body was lying there with only a blanket covering her pale and fragile body. It was cut and bruised and her face was stained with tears. "Ki...Kikyou..."

Inuyasha dropped to his knees and held her in his arms. "Kikyou..." He held her close and kissed her head and cursed himself. "Why wasn't I there? Why wasn't I there for you, Kikyou? I should have...I should have been here to protect you." Demons would slaughter the village, but the women, including Kikyou, were raped as well. Bandits must have passed by.

Kaede entered, still crying.

"Who did this?" Inuyasha's voice shook with such a rage. He was going to rip those bandits apart.

"It was a man named Onigumo. He led the assault. They wanted the jewel and he wanted my sister." She started crying again. "He ravaged her and then he had what he wanted, since the jewel was gone. He killed her. He killed her..."

Inuyasha gently placed her body on the ground and brushed the hair off her face so he could clearly see the face of his beloved maiden, the woman he should have protected. "Once I'm done with the jewel, burn it with her body so no one may have it." He kissed her cold lips a final time and let her body be. He had someone to kill.

'Humans...she lived her life helping them and they do this to her!' They didn't deserve to live. None of them did.


"The jewel," the bandit Onigumo said while around a camp fire with his men, "it was not in the village, so the half breed Inuyasha must have it."

"The same half demon that killed Rasetsu? We'll get him and the jewel next time, boss!" The rest of the bandits laughed and began to drink rice wine whole heartedly. They didn't care what they had done.

Onigumo especially didn't care. He told himself that Kikyou was beautiful and for a moment, he swore that he loved her, but once he had her, once he had a chance to embrace her fully like he had longed to, it was like ash in his hands. Once he had ravaged her body like he desired, it meant nothing anymore. She was nothing, so he killed her. She was just another woman. "I'll have the jewel soon though."

"You want the jewel?" asked Inuyasha's voice from a distance. "Then you can have it in Hell, because that's where I'm sending it, right after I destroy all of you!"

The bandits were afraid of Inuyasha, hearing how menacing his voice was. All of them were afraid except for Onigumo. "You're just a half demon!"

"And you're nothing but a disgusting human!" His voice was just as evil as the dark night itself. It was enough to send one chill down Onigumo's back.

"Are you here to take revenge for Kikyou?" Onigumo smirked. "I ravaged her myself Inuyasha. It must hurt, seeing that the two of you were lovers and with all that demonic power, you still weren't able to protect her!" He began laughing, but before he could blink again, Inuyasha appeared and slashed him in half with only a thrust of his hand.

"I don't see what's so funny." When Inuyasha looked at the rest of the bandits, they all screamed once they saw his eyes glow red. They were horrified and began screaming and begging for their miserable lives to be spared, but Inuyasha had no mercy. He killed every single last one of them and when it was all over, he still wished that he could kill them all once more, except for Onigumo. He wished he could kill him a thousand times over. Once would never be enough.

"I'm sorry, Kikyou. Avenging your death was all that I could do..." Inuyasha swore to never love another woman again. He didn't have time to waste protecting someone. Besides, Kikyou lived in his heart and would pain it for quite some time. "Kikyou..."


"Today's their last stand," Sesshoumaru told Ziah as the two of them stood side by side, waiting for the battle with the Panther demons to reach its climax. "This is where the story ends."

"You're very right, my Lord. This will be another glorious victory for..." Ziah caught a whiff of demon blood, dog demon blood, but she could have sworn that it was Inuyasha's. "That can't be who I think it is..."

"It couldn't be," Jaken told Ziah. "Inuyasha is only a half demon. This is the scent of a full demon's blood. It smells like Lord Sesshoumaru's more than Inuyasha's."

"And yet," Sesshoumaru interrupted, "it is." He turned along with Ziah and Jaken to see Inuyasha, but he was not as he remembered. His doggy ears were gone, replaced with ears that resembled Sesshoumaru's. He looked so much like Sesshoumaru now. He had the markings of a full dog demon on his face. The only thing different from Sesshoumaru was the crescent moon and the fact that Inuyasha's face was still a little rounder.

"Are you going to stand there with that stupid look on your face or are you going to say something?"

"Inuyasha..." Ziah was speechless. "You're..."

"Just like you guys," he stated. "I'm a real demon now." Sesshoumaru didn't say anything, but Inuyasha kept on talking. "I told you when I was little that if it was possible, I'd find a way."

"And you have, little brother." Sesshoumaru's expression actually lightened up. He actually smiled, a small smile, but it was a smile and it freaked Jaken, Ziah, and even Inuyasha out. "Well done, little brother. You've actually done something right. It only took you 150 years."

"I've never seen you happy before my Lord." Jaken was really freaked out!

Sesshoumaru's small smile was short lived though. "I don't have to deal with the disgusting human stench anymore."

"Believe me," Inuyasha said to his brother, in all seriousness "no one is happier to get rid of that foul human stench than me. They're truly pathetic creatures and I'm glad to say I'm not longer one of them." 'Only two were ever worth anything and they were killed by their own kind and by their own intention.' Inuyasha actually wasn't sad, thinking about the two of them. His life was certainly going to be different. He would only live for his own ambitions. "Let's finish this."

To be continued...