This isn't real. It's not real. He's not here. He died.

Ren sighed. 'It's real, Kii-chan.'

I gasped. 'How can you hear what I'm thinking!?'

'Because we're already in your mind. Nothing is a secret here.'

'Oh, really. Then what am I thinking right now.' Cheese, cheese, cheese.

'Cheese,' said Ren.

Muffins, muffins, muffins.

'Muffins.'

'Oh my gosh, you can really hear me!' I yelled. I thought I saw a hint of a smile on Ren's face. I glanced around and saw that we were just kind of floating in a white light, not really going anywhere. 'Where are we going?'

'We're going to meet Chi,' replied Ren. 'And then we're gonna figure out what to do with you.'

His tone alarmed me. 'What do you mean?'

'I mean that we have to make a decision. If we send you back into the real world, then you could die from overexposure to Hyako. But if we keep you here, then you'll be safe, but Hyako is gonna keep destroying things.'

That's right..I released Hyako..Ugh I'm such an idiot..After everything that Ren did, I just let it go without even a second thought..

Ren cleared his throat. 'It's not your fault.'

I had forgotten that he knew what I was thinking. 'No, it is. I'm stupid for letting her go. And..'

A thought came into my mind that made my heart sink far down into my body. Tears came to my eyes as I looked into Ren's. 'Have I hurt anyone?'

He looked away. I already knew the answer. My voice was shaking now. 'Who..who was it..?'

'I won't tell you right now. You'll find out soon enough. We're almost there.'

We drifted on in silence for a couple of moments. 'Um..Ren-san?' I asked slowly.

He looked at me. 'What?'

I was hesitant in asking the question. 'Are you..are you really here? Or is this made out of my mind?'

Ren floated around so that he was facing me. 'I'm really here, Kikyo. I may have died, but that doesn't mean that my spirit ever left you. On the day of the meeting, who do you think it was that made Sasuke's attention drift to you? I didn't want you to be alone when you went to work. So I sent you friends. Looks like I made the right decision. Especially with Naruto.'

I managed to smile weakly, although there were tears quickly filling my eyes, and my throat was constricting with grief. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I burst into tears and fell into Ren's arms, gasping when I realized that he actually was there. He smelled just like I remembered, and his touch felt familiar and welcoming. 'I'm sorry, Ren-san! I'm so sorry! I made you die because I couldn't hold the stupid demon, and now other people are gonna die because of my mistake!'

It felt like we stopped floating for a moment. Ren hugged me tight. 'We're gonna make sure that not alot of people die this time, don't worry.'

I nodded and seperated from him, tears still flowing down my face. 'Okay..' I said quietly.

He turned away again. But he hesitated. 'And, Kikyo?'

I looked up.

'Don't call me Ren-san. I'm still your best friend. Ren will do just fine.'

We floated into a dark hole, which kept Ren from seeing that I was smiling for real for the first time since he had died. Then I felt a strange fatigue taking control of my body, and I fell into unconsciousness once more.

--xx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x--x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

'Geez, Ren. Did you have to knock her out?'

'Yeah, actually I did. She was flipping out!'

'Well, we gotta wake her up before she flips out in the real world some more!'

Voices..

'She's waking up. Well at least her mind is..'

I forgot..They can hear me..Wait. They? There's someone else with Ren..

I opened my eyes. I was in another circular chamber, almost like Hyako's, except this one was filled with light coming from the windows that made up the ceiling. A girl stepped forward and I flinched. She looked exactly like Hyako, exactly like me. The only difference was that her hair was a shimmery silver, and her eyes were a deep black. It was like her looks were the direct opposite of mine. 'Hey,' she said. Even her voice sounded like mine.

Then I remembered something. I remembered where I had heard that voice before. 'OHMYGOSH! YOU! YOU'RE THE CHICK IN MY HEAD WHO'S ALWAYS MAKING FUN OF ME AND MAKING ME CRASH INTO POLES!!'

Ren shot a suspicious glance at the girl. 'Crash into poles?'

She smiled nervously. 'Once or twice, maybe.' Then she turned to me. 'Yeah, I'm your inner self. You can call me Chi, instead of that chick in my head.'

'Oh, okay..Chi..' I said slowly. 'Where am I?'

Chi looked around. 'This is my place. Nice, huh? This is where I make sure you don't do anything stupid, even though you ignore me half the time.'

'As sarcastic as ever..' I mumbled.

'Yeah, yeah. Keep your opinions to yourself. Right now you gotta make your decision. You wanna stay here and be safe? Or you wanna go back and save the day, even though you're probably gonna die?'

I glared at her. 'First you have to tell me who I hurt.'

Ren grabbed my hand. 'Kikyo..'

'No. Tell me.'

'Calm down,' said Chi. 'It was that girl Maki. When Hyako took over, Maki was the first one in her line of sight, making her the first one to be attacked. And your grudge against Maki automatically became Hyako's grudge.'

I still remembered everything so vividly from the day that I decided to hate Maki. We had been gone on my first mission as an official Konoha ninja. Our group had consisted of me, Maki, Sasuke, and a few other rookies who were coming along for observation. Our group had to travel to the Land of Waves to take care of some Sound ninja problems. It seems that they were trying to pressure the locals into joining forces with Orochimaru, and the daimyou of the country just wasn't having that. On our way there, we stopped to sleep during the night, and we decided that Maki would take the first watch. Big mistake. It turns out that Maki decided that she was too good for watching our camp, so she found a tree and slept in one of the high branches.

If Sasuke hadn't heard the Sound ninja approaching, things would have been so much worse. They attacked our camp right after they captured Maki from her tree. One of the rookies tried to save her. He freed her from the Sound ninja, but they took him hostage and killed him right in front of us. After we managed to drive them away, I ordered Maki to go back to the village, because she had caused the death of another ninja. She shrugged and scoffed at the body of the rookie who had saved her life. 'The idiot should have defended himself. It's not my fault these stupid rookies can't take care of anything.'

Yes, that was the day. The day that I decided Maki really didn't deserve to live. I blinked and looked at Chi. 'Is she dead?'

'No, but right now she's taking quite a beating from Hyako.'

I thought for a moment, and then I made up my mind. 'Send me back. Right now, send me back.'

Ren was shocked. 'Kikyo, you won't be safe.'

'I don't care!' I yelled, my eyes filled with anger. 'I don't care! I'm going back to stop Hyako!'

'But this isn't about stopping Hyako! You want to kill Maki, don't you!'

I glared at him. 'Thanks for saving me from Hyako. Now send me back.'

Chi sighed. 'Fine, but..be careful, okay? Don't make the wrong decision.'

Then she pressed her hand against the white floor, and a circle of light opened up. I stepped into it immediately, not bothering to look at Ren. I could tell that there were tears in my eyes, and I didn't want him to see them. Before I knew it, I was hearing screams. 'What are you doing?! I'll kill you!'

--xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x--x-xx

I could feel another presence in my mind, which was probably Hyako. 'Back, are we?'

Shut up, Hyako. I'm coming to stop you.

'But you can't. I'm here for good.'

I glanced around. There was fire everywhere. It barely resembled my hospital room anymore. I looked down and saw Maki on the floor, trying to lift herself up. Her eyes met mine, and she spat at me. 'I'll kill you before you can even touch me again!'

'You're in partial control. Are you gonna kill her?'

No. But watch.

I grabbed Maki by her collar and lifted her to my eye level. 'Is Sasuke dead?'

'N-no.'

'Good. Are you sorry for the death of that rookie who saved you on our first mission?'

Her eyes became filled with tears. 'Y-yes. I r-regretted it everyday when I w-woke up. I d-didn't mean for anyone to d-die.'

'Whatever. I don't care about your sob story. I'll let you live. But you're gonna leave the village and never come back. Got it?'

'Y-yes.'

I released her and she fell to the ground. Then she scrambled up and jumped from the burning hospital, landing awkwardly on the ground and dashing as fast as she could towards the gates of the village. There we go.

'Very clever, Kikyo. But now I have to take control again.'

I felt myself being pushed out of control. I tried to resist Hyako, but I couldn't. She was stronger. I felt the sudden need to kill, and my own mind was no longer in control on my body. I leapt out of the window, dashing through the dark streets towards the Hokage's office. What are you doing?!

'What does it look like I am doing? I am going to kill Tsunade and take control of the village. We will rule the Fire Country.'

No! Stop!

'Too late, Kikyo. You should've stopped me when you had the chance.'

She was going to kill Tsunade. And there was nothing I could do but watch. This was too much like last time, and I hated it. It was like re-living what happened. I reached the Hokage's office and jumped directly to the top, crashing through a window. Tsunade jumped from her chair, a sword at the ready. 'Kikyo?! What're you doi-'

Then she realized what was happening. 'Oh no, the demon. Let her go!' she cried.

Hyako laughed with my voice. 'No, no, Tsunade. This is the end of you. I will rule the Fire Country, and eventually, all of the ninja villages will bow to me.' I moved to quickly that Tsunade never saw me. The sword was knocked from her hand, and I pinned her against the wall, raising a kunai high above my head.

I was bringing down the kunai when someone tackled me to the floor. I wanted to scream, but Hyako was still in control. 'No!'

I looked up into the bright blue eyes. 'You idiot, get off of me!'

'No!' yelled Naruto. 'Let Kikyo go!'

'Idiot! She rightfully belongs to me! She chose to release me! Now get off of me before I kill you also!'

Naruto picked me up and threw me across the room with a surprising force. As I hit the wall, I wondered if this could be the power of the Kyuubi. I felt the pressure in my mind lift a little bit, and I struggled to regain power in my body. Hyako was quicker. She recovered and I stood up, completely unfazed by Naruto's attack.

I moved across the room. Hyako was angry. I could feel it. I moved towards Naruto, dodging every single thing that he threw at me. Finally, he had nowhere to run to. I had him up against a wall, and I raised a knife to his throat. 'Any final words, fox demon?'

His eyes grew wide and filled with tears. 'Kikyo..I know you're there..I love you..Please..'

That was when I knew that I would have to overpower Hyako. I struggled harder than I ever had before. I was not going to let her kill Naruto. No fricking way. Hyako must have felt the resistance, because my body gasped and fell backwards, twitching on the floor.

The door to the office flew open. 'Binding Technique!'

I couldn't move. Which meant that Hyako couldn't move. But she was finding another way to harm me. 'If I can't have your body, then no one can!'

She began to cut off the circulation to my heart. I began to get dizzy, feeling the sharp pain in my chest. I can't breathe..I..can't..

Hyako was destroying me from the inside. My eyes fluttered open momentarily, long enough for me to see Neji kneeling on the floor, making hand signs. I had seen those hand signs before.

'N-n-no! Y-you'll die!' I managed to yell. 'N-neji, leave m-me! D-don't seal her! You'll be like..Ren..'

I was losing consciousness fast, and Hyako tightened her grip on my heart. It felt like it would burst, and the pain was nearly unbearable. Neji made the hand signs faster. 'Kikyo, I'm a demon hunter. It's my destiny to protect you from Hyako, even if it means giving my life. Who do you think taught Ren the sealing technique? He wanted to protect you. Now it's my turn.'

He began to glow, and Hyako began hacking away at my other organs. 'If I have to find another vessel and wait a few more years to conquer this village, so be it! But I will NOT allow you to destroy me!'

Everything hurt. She was cutting my arteries, damaging my liver, stomach, heart, brain. There was no way I would survive. There was too much damage. I was done. I faintly heard Neji's voice in my semiconsciousness. 'I release you in the name of the elements, Earth, Wind, Fire, Water. I banish the demon into wence it came, never to return again. I release you, Kikyo, from the bindings of this evil, that you may live.'

Hyako screamed inside of me. She was losing, but then again, so was I. I felt her presence becoming fainter, but I was having my life sucked away. Then, the pain was gone. Everything was dark, and I heard Hyako scream one last time. My mind sank into the dark, and I lay still upon the floor.


daimyou - feudal lord.