I OWN NOTHING BUT THE STORY LINE AND THE CHARACTERS THAT YOU DON'T KNOW FROM THE ANIME/MANGA!

Chapter Nine

Things are Changing

"Miyuki, where are you going?"

The woman paused at her sister's voice. "I'm going to go see Onigumo. Is there something that you need?"

"No, I just…can…can I go with you?"

Miyuki did a double-take. She would be lying if she said she hadn't noticed something strange about Emiko the last few months. The usually loud and obnoxious girl had done a 360 and was now quiet and meek. She didn't even make her usual comments about Naraku when she saw the spider on her sister's shoulder. Miyuki thought she was just going through a face because Kikyo had gone off on one of her missions but for Emiko to ask to come along to see Onigumo…Miyuki started to think that there might be something else going on here.

"Sure. I have no doubt he would love to meet a new face!"

Onigumo had been confined to that cave for almost a year now. His burns were very close to being completely healed, though scars were clearly visible all over. Miyuki was so happy but at the same time she wished she could do something more. The man was physically paralyzed neck down. He would never move on his own again. He would always have to rely on someone to help him survive. That thought made Miyuki's heart ache. Onigumo may have been a bandit, she had recently found that out, but that didn't change the need she felt to help him.

Whatever had happened to him during his childhood had changed him but Miyuki was able to see past his vulgar and crude personality and see that he was scared and alone. She had vowed to change that. There was no doubt that she had made some progress with the man; and she was the only one.

Lately, Kikyo had been too busy with what she called her 'priestess duties' to help take care of the poor man. Kaede always complained about it so Miyuki had just told them to leave Onigumo to her. She didn't have anything better to do, anyway. The simple village life was dull to her. She would have left Emiko here with Kikyo if only Onigumo hadn't arrived when he had. In a way, she was glad that he did. She liked the man, she could see that he was good deep down, that he was just crude and mean from what had happened to him. Or maybe it was because his life was now in her hands. She was his only means of survival and that…was it mean or weird to say that thrilled her? The thought of someone depending on her that much made her feel important. Was this the way that Takara felt when she had been raising her and her sister? Or even Inuyasha?

The thought of this brought her mind to her spider friend. Naraku had yet to reveal to Miyuki his big secret but she had no doubt that it had something to do with the change in his personality. Once a frail and timid creature that hid from everything now confronted it all head on and had a snide comeback to everything that was said to him; and some of them were quite dark. She loved Naraku, she had admitted that to herself a while ago, but she wasn't going to lie. His new changes thrilled her. She didn't know why but whenever he was around now there was this…ominous feeling about him now and there was no doubt that he was becoming stronger.

She just wondered how. What was he doing? Was what he was doing the reason behind his attitude change? It had to be. She wanted to know what he had been doing. She wanted to know why he was doing it. And she wanted to know why she liked it so much.

"Miyuki?" The woman couldn't help but smile as Onigumo's voice called to her from the back of the cave. He always knew it was her…or did he call out her name too when it was just Kikyo coming that day?

"Good morning," She smiled. "Did you sleep well?"

"Considering that that's all I can do," He snorted. He glanced at her. "Who's with you?"

"My sister decided to come with me today," Miyuki moved further in and motioned at Emiko. "Come now, don't be shy."

"I'm not shy," Her sister replied, moving closer.

"Ah, so this is the brat, huh?"

Miyuki was waiting for Emiko to give back a sharp reply but all she gave was a weak laugh. "Yeah, I suppose so…" She gave a frown. Something was troubling her sister; deeply.

She set to making the fire. "I brought you something special today, Oni," She smiled. "It's a chicken broth with vegetables."

"Chicken broth?" He repeated. "Never heard of it."

"Of course not; I created it just for you. You know what today is, right?"

"Should I?"

"Yes! We met a year ago! Well, technically it'll be a year tomorrow but I just couldn't wait." Placing the soup by the fire like normal, she leaned over the man's face with a smile. "So, happy anniversary…or something like that."

"Happy anniversary? To what? Being this burn, useless husk that has to make you take care of me?" He growled.

"No, silly," She poked him in the forehead. "For being my friend." Onigumo went silent and glanced away, not sure what to say.

"Don't argue with her," Emiko decided to tell him from the seat she had taken next to the fire. "Her personality is boundless."

"So I've seen," He glanced at her. "Why did you come? Why not go gallivanting after the Half-breed and the Priestess like usual.

Emiko glanced at her sister. Of course she would talk to him. The poor guy didn't have anything anymore. "I…wanted to spend time with my sister, that's all. She's down here with you most of the day so I joined in."

"Heh," He glanced away from her.

"Hey, I was thinking," Miyuki turned back to the man before her. Like she had said, most of his burns had been healing well but there were still a few that were pretty bad. She had created a special ointment for him and it seemed to be doing the trick, though. "If I could convince Inuyasha to carry you, would you like to go outside tomorrow?"

"What?" Both voices sounded, Onigumo and Emiko staring at the woman.

"Well, I just thought that you would like a day out of this cave. Maybe see the sunrise and get some fresh air or something, you know? If I can't get Inuyasha to do it, I'm sure that Ikkaku would help, or maybe even some of Takara's wolf friends. Would you like to?"

Onigumo glanced away, fighting the tears he could feel coming. This woman...she was truly something else. She had a purity that even the priestess didn't have. Her kind heart. Her lovable personality. Why, oh why, couldn't he have met her under different circumstances?

(FYI, yes, I am changing the story a little bit but don't worry, it'll come out all the same. :))

"Yes."

"Hmm?"

"I said yes," Onigumo glanced at her again. "I would love too." To see the sunrise again...

"I know, I'll ask Ikkaku first. If he agrees then we can invite Takara and we'll make it a family thing!" She glanced at her twin. "If only someone would forgive and forget."

Emiko ignored her sister's comment and glanced at the man on the floor. "Stop making him cry, Miyuki."

She turned back to the man laid out before her. Her sister was right. "Aww, why are you crying?"

"Why?" was his reply. "Why do you continue to subjugate yourself helping me? There are a million other things someone like you could be doing right now."

"Because I made a promise,"

"A promise?"

"Uh-huh. A long time ago, I made a promise to myself to always do what I can for those I care about. You've become one of those people, Onigumo. I know that there's really not that much I can actually do for you, but I am going to try my hardest to make sure you stay as happy as you can. So please, please don't cry."

~They're not sad tears,~ He wanted to tell her, but he couldn't get his mouth to move. Again, he found himself longing to have met Miyuki in another place to where he could show her just how much he appreciated what she was doing for him.

Emiko stayed silent, giving a few comments here and there as she watched her sister care for the burnt man. It just made her feel worse. Miyuki truly was nicer than she was. It was crazy how she hadn't captured a man's heart already and started her own family. She could tell by the look in his eyes that Onigumo truly cared about the woman before him. She wished that someone would look at her like that...

In truth, Emiko was jealous of her sister. Of both of them. Takara, though she no longer spoke to her, had gone off on her own and acquired a man. The said man and she had parted but from what she heard Ikkaku and Miyuki say, Sesshomaru still cared for her sister and watched over her; especially during the monthly ceremonies they performed. Even she had spotted him at the last one, standing a little ways off from them in the trees.

And Miyuki. Good lord she was either oblivious to all the single men in their village or she ignored them on purpose because she was the catch they all wanted. The only reason she wasn't approached too often was because she was a half-breed.

She and Miyuki may have looked a lot alike but there were huge differences and she knew that her personality was...stronger than her sisters. She had noticed it a while ago, too. She had talked to Ikkaku about it.

'Don't worry. It just means you're strong. You'll find a man that can match you step for step one day and then you'll have nothing to worry about.'

She had kept those words close for years and when Inuyasha had arrived she thought they had finally come true, but it seemed like someone had other plans for her.

Kikyo and Inuyasha had become...something. She didn't like to think about it but it was true. Kikyo had Inuyasha wrapped around her finger now...and she hated it.

"So, are you going to tell me what's troubling you?"

That evening, after saying their goodbyes to Onigumo, the sisters had gone for a walk to the lake. Miyuki was currently soaking her feet in the water but Emiko had curled herself up into a ball and was just staring at the water.

Emiko gave a sigh and glanced at her sister. "Where's Naraku?" She had been expecting to see the little spider. Surprisingly, now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen him in a long while.

"Oh, he's around here somewhere, I'm sure. He's not stuck on that mountain anymore now so he's venturing off and exploring, I'm sure."

"So, you were left behind too, huh? It seems that all our family is fated for that, aren't we?"

Miyuki wanted to argue but her sister's words surprised her. "What are you talking about?"

"I...I know that it's wrong of me, that I shouldn't be mad, but I just can't help thinking that...that it's not fair. Kikyo is my best friend, she means a lot to me, and I feel really bad that Ikkaku...rejected her like that but she...she came and took Inuyasha from me. Now every time that I see them together, no, even when I see either of them, I feel this rage just building inside me. I...I don't know what to do anymore. I don't want to stay here anymore. I...I want to go back to the mountains. I want things to go back to the way they were before...before our first Ceremony!"

Miyuki was speechless. She hadn't realized that Emiko had all these feelings bottled up like this. She also hadn't known that she had feelings for Inuyasha. She had been so busy taking care of Onigumo that she hadn't realized...

"If you want to go back to the mountains, then let's go," Emiko looked at her. She was smiling. "The next ceremony is in two weeks. We can go home with Ikkaku after that. Do you think you can wait that long? Or do you want to go now?"

"No, I can wait, but...what about Onigumo?"

Miyuki continued to smile. "I'll bring him with us. I'm sure Ikkaku won't mind."

"And...and what if he doesn't want to leave?"

"Well...then I'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Until then, get ready. If you're unhappy here, then I refuse to make you stay."

Emiko stared at Miyuki in awe. "You...you would come with me?"

"Of course. I never really liked it here anyway. Humans are...so indecisive sometimes. It was entertaining for a little while there but now it's just dull."

Emiko gave a laugh as she stood up. "I'm going to go get some rest. I've done enough brooding for one day." She gave a stretch and began to walk away, clearly in a better mood now. "Don't stay out too late now, Miyuki."

Miyuki watched after her. She really wanted to go back, didn't she? Did seeing Inuyasha and Kikyo together hurt that much?

"What's troubling her?"

Naraku's voice announced that the spider had arrived for the night.

She glanced at Emiko's retreating form again. "Love," She answered simply. "Love is what troubles her."

~Just like it does me...~

Oohhh! The good stuff is about to hit! Oh, I can't wait!

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