Author's Corner

Hey Guys. Miss me? (lol). Well I'm still in my own country; looks like I might get delayed in my plans to go abroad.

Anyways, don't worry. I will not abandon this fic. Some of you guys are worried, so don't be. I might take a little longer in-between updates, but I will definitely finish the story. Rest assured.

As to what happened to Kikyo: well you can find out in this chapter. How many of you can guess? (lol) Astute readers should have been able to make an educated guess…

Oh, and did you guys see Sesshoumaru's mom in the last chapter of the Inuyasha manga? She has the CRESCENT MOON on her forehead. No more doubts as to whom Sesshoumaru got it from. Like I was telling Venttianne, I can't wait for the next weeks issue. This opens a whole new world of possibilities and ideas.

But enough of my ramblimg; go on ahead to the chapter…

……


Sesshoumaru - 'The Path to Destiny'

Chapter 44 : Gathering Darkness…

Sesshoumaru stood still, on a small inclination of green earth with few large trees surrounding him, somewhere in the middle of Inuyasha's forest. The forest parted in front of him, giving him a clear view of the swirling storm clouds in the distance and the lightning that flashed intermittently. With the wind blowing over his face, trying in vain to tangle his long gold hued hair as it flowed past him, he assessed that the storm would reach Inuyasha's forest nearing sunset.

He brought his eyelids closer together as he looked up at the soft rays of sunlight falling into this part of the forest. The golden rays of light had none of their usual bite and intensity. They were peaceful and seemed to light everything around him for the sole purpose of making the earth look more beautiful. But Sesshoumaru knew the truth and the real reason for their eventual change. They were scared. They were scared of the approaching storm and the thick dark clouds that would block the sun and cut them off. Their mellow behavior was in hopes that they could convince the storm clouds to dissipate and leave them alone to give the day its light.

But their struggles were of no concern to him. Even though he too secretly hoped that the storm would calm; he enjoyed the color of the sky and the gentle glow of the earth before a storm. It was a perfect medium, he thought. All the creatures respected this time, and it gave them the incentive to work harder and redouble their efforts in whatever they needed to do, before the great rains came and washed it all away. The creatures who did not heed this time, between the calm and the storm, sometimes not only lost the fruits of their hard work, but also had to watch sullenly, incapable of doing anything, as their hopes and dreams were washed along with it. And sometimes they paid the highest price; their very lives…

His father had died on a day like this. The great Inu No Taisho, had fallen because he had not heeded the warnings, and then the inevitable storm had come, and then the rain fell. The skies had poured that day. Many of the demons in the Western lands had told their young that the skies were crying because one of the Greatest Taiyoukai Demon Lords to be born in their lands had died. The ruling power that had made the Western Lands the strongest and most respected of all, had been claimed by the afterlife…

Hn! Fools and their foolish stories, Sesshoumaru growled inwardly. Nobody in the kingdom seemed to remember the fact that that his father died trying to save a human and their hanyou pup. No, they all forgot that part. It was all… 'He fought the great Dragon demon Ryuukotsusei and fell in battle, sealing the demon in the process.'

Sesshoumaru couldn't help the narrowing of his eyes as the thoughts played through, especially the next few, as he wondered how weak his father had become in the last few days before he died, and more importantly… if his half breed brother had been able to destroy the Dragon, then why couldn't his all powerful father?

There was a simple answer to that question. It was because of that human woman who eventually birthed Inuyasha. She was what made him weak. She was what made him sacrifice…

Sesshoumaru was suddenly distracted by the sound of the wind being sliced through by a rotating blade. Drawing out Tenseiga as late as possible he slashed forward and deflected the curved spinning blade, and watched it head once again into the forest. He growled in annoyance when his keen eyesight recognized the blade as it made a second attempt to slice through him. This time he sliced his sword downwards, embedding the blade into the ground a few feet in front of him, preventing it from returning to its hidden wielder.

"Have I not told you before that I do not like your particular type of greeting, Juru?" Sesshoumaru calmly stated, though the person he was speaking to could clearly tell that he was annoyed.

"Aww… come on Sesshoumaru!" a voice slightly less deep than Sesshoumaru's own, grumbled from somewhere in the forest, his voice echoing smoothly through the trees. "Did you really have to end it so soon? We were just about to start having some fun. Well… at least I was. Hah! Hah! Ha!"

"Hm! Indeed…" Sesshoumaru didn't bother hiding his annoyance this time.

A shadow, erupted from the very tops of the forest before effortlessly leaping across a cluster of trees and landing in front of him, next to the rooted blade- in a crouched position, revealing itself… to be none other than Jurunetsu, the eldest son of the Lord of the South.

Imagining that he was surrounded by hundreds of beautiful demonessess, all fawning over him, he plucked his blade from the ground and spun it stylishly before locking it into his sword held across his back and pushing it down till only one curved edge was visible. Juru, as he was called by the many that knew him well, was a very good looking Sea Dragon Demon. His eyes were a dark shiny blue that glinted seductively in the sunlight. His long flowing hair that reached up to his lower back was a bright golden yellow with several sharp locks standing up like spikes on the front of the right side of his head while long locks flowed down the left side till they reached below his eye to stop just above his lower jaw.

He was of the same stature as Sesshoumaru, but his shoulders and arms were slightly more buff and his legs were built like steel –since in his true demon form he stood on his hind legs more often than not. He had a thick dark blue line that made three curves to form an image of a wave, on each side of his cheek with a clawed hand of a blue dragon cutting across it in a downwards motion. On the left side of his neck was another birthmark in the image of a head of a dragon, also blue in color, with two silver horns atop its head, as it gazed on in silent contemplation. This particular marking, had an instant effect on the ladies, and was something that Juru was very proud of. It gave off the impression of silent- commanding- power, which women admired, and for this he was grateful, because even though he was powerful, his jaunty attitude and inability to remain silent for more than a short while, did not give him a very commanding presence and greatly reduced that air of mystery about him.

He was dressed in a light blue haori that had a spiraling yellow dragon at the back and two silver claws at the front, and wore pants of a darker shade of blue tucked into his almost knee length black boots. A white sash, with its ends trialing down his right side -from the knot at his waist up to near mid thigh, was painted with small sunflowers in the middle. He wore no armor, complaining that it ruined his good looks and cramped his style.

After the overly dramatic scene on the forest floor, he stood up to his full height, which was about an inch shorter than Sesshoumaru, and turned his sparkling blue eyes to regard the Lord of the West, his longtime friend (though he never says it out loud because of the death glares that Sesshoumaru would give him). They had known each other from the time the two learnt to walk, and even though Sesshoumaru changed, he remained the mischievous, don't forget- good looking, demon, that he was since he was a hatchling.

Juru felt many things for Sesshoumaru, out of which one was fear –though he would die before he admitted it, and another was jealousy. There was only one demon that Juru thought he had competition with in getting the ladies, and that demon was Sesshoumaru. 'Silent and Mysterious?' Check! 'Devilishly handsome?' Check! 'Powerful?' Check! 'Commanding presence?' Double check!

Juru thought it was fortunate that demonessess were sometimes too scared of Sesshoumaru to get close enough to flirt with him. All the more for him, he thought with smug satisfaction. But of course, of all these things that he was jealous about, there was one thing that stood out.

It was that damn hair of Sesshoumaru's!

Oh, how he wished he had that silvery white hair that changed from pure white to pure silver, and everything in between, depending on the light that Sesshoumaru was standing under. This was so unfair! If he had that silvery white hair then there would be no doubt as to who the best looking demon in all the lands would be. And even in his true demon form, a mane of dangerous silver hair flowing behind him, was much better than a bright yellow, which when he thought about it, made him look funny instead of intimidating and deadly.

And thus, every time they met, he would attempt to chop off some of Sesshoumaru's hair with his blade, in false pretense of attacking him for the heck of it. He doubted Sesshoumaru would look as good, if his hair fell no longer than his neck. And it really was irksome to know that since all Inu Youkai allow their hair to grow, Sesshoumaru himself would not look to cut it any time soon. Oh well! The next time, he promised himself, he would definitely cut Sesshoumaru's hair by at least half. There was the possibility that Sesshoumaru, even though his friend …would kill him for it, but… if it meant that he could die more handsome than Sesshoumaru… then it was worth it!

It was when Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at him that he focused his thoughts away from his next brilliant plot to rid Sesshoumaru of his hair, and focused instead on the surroundings.

"Hey!" Juru exclaimed. "Isn't this little Inuyasha's Forest!"

Sesshoumaru inwardly groaned at the sight of the demon looking around the forest. This was not the first time that Juru went somewhere and didn't realize where he was until later on. That is not to say that Juru got lost frequently, but it was just that he usually didn't give much attention to where he landed himself. It was one of the things about Juru that his father, the Lord of the Southern Lands, was trying desperately to vanquish. And clearly, it appeared that he wasn't having much success.

"What are you doing here and how did you find me Juru?"

Juru turned around to face Sesshoumaru with a smile. "Oh, I saw your transport orb and followed. Hey, how's the little munchkin? I haven't seen the little one in ages."

Juru got a faraway look and Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to sigh.

"You saw Rin just last winter," Sesshoumaru supplied calmly. "Now answer my first question."

"Hm?" Juru scratched his head absently. "What was that question again?"

This time Sesshoumaru did growl openly.

"Oh yeah! Yeah! What I'm doing here…" Juru crossed his arms across his chest, a sure sign that he was trying to hide his nervousness.

Sesshoumaru immediately narrowed his eyes, knowing that he wasn't going to like the answer.

"Well Sesshoumaru… Actually, the thing is… You know this…"

"Spit it out Juru!" Sesshoumaru directed a glare at the son of the Lord of the South.

"Fine! Fine!" Juru muttered in a huff. "You don't have to get all antsy about it!"

Juru sighed before turning to face the distant dark clouds. "Father and the other Lords have heard about this Bakarryuu character and his hunt for the Seven Orbs or something. They say it's serious. Very serious! And they want to know why you haven't told them anything about it?"

Sesshoumaru kept his steady gaze on the distant horizon as Juru turned to face him.

"The orbs, most if not all, are said to be hidden in my lands," Sesshoumaru explained, though inwardly he thought he didn't need to. But since Juru was more than likely sent in place of the Lord of the South himself, to question him, hoping that he wouldn't see it as a sign of disrespect, he would grace them with an explanation. "It is of no concern to the other Lords and I will handle this myself."

"Don't give me that crap Sesshoumaru!" Juru voiced angrily. "You said the same thing about that Naraku fiend. You were almost obsessed about killing the vile thing yourself, saying that he insulted you and therefore should die by your hands and that you didn't want any of the other Lords to interfere. They respected that and gave you what you wanted. But damn you Sesshoumaru, this is much more serious! If what my father and the court elders say is correct, these orb thingies have more than enough power to bring all the lands to their knees."

Sesshoumaru glared at Juru, but Juru wasn't about to let up.

"This is more important than one of your personal Conquests Sesshoumaru," Juru continued heatedly. "We are all at risk here! So you damn well better let us in on what's going on, since you seem to know so much!"

Sesshoumaru returned to staring at the stormy horizon and Juru was just about to start shouting again, when Sesshoumaru spoke. He explained all what was going on; about Shirinousai, the legend, Bakarryuu, importantly the human miko and her powers and lastly his part in all of this. Juru listened intently, never once interrupting except to let out an occasional sound of awe when there was mention of the extent of the powers involved in all of this, or a miserable sigh at some bad news.

"Well… sounds like it's more serious than we thought," Juru said, as he looked down at the ground with narrowed eyes.

"Tell your father and the other Lords this, Juru," Sesshoumaru spoke sternly. "They are allowed to interfere, only if it involves an incident in their lands. They are not to get involved in any confrontation with Bakarryuu's forces if it is in the Western Lands unless I so specifically request it."

Juru glared at Sesshoumaru, but when the Inu Youkai's gaze hardened, he decided not to push it anymore. There was nothing more dangerous than a dog hell bound on protecting its territory on its own. And unless it was as a result of a successful attempt on Sesshoumaru's hair, he did not want anything else to be the cause of his death by the hands of a pissed off Inu Taiyoukai just because he didn't know when to back off. He had a long life ahead of him after all and plenty of women to romance, and it would be a shame to give all that up just because he tried to tell Sesshoumaru that he was acting like a stubborn, well… dog!

"Fine… fine! I'll tell father and the other Lords that you wanted your space," Juru said with an off handed shrug. "So where is this all powerful miko anyway? And what are you doing in little Inuyasha's forest? I thought you couldn't stand to be near him?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes darkened at the memory of the miko falling after the surprise attack. "The miko has been injured, and the humans in the village are attempting to help her."

Juru scowled. "That still doesn't explain why you'd come all the way here to little Inuyasha's…"

Sesshoumaru refused to sigh in misery when Juru had trailed off with a knowing surprised look on his face; realizing that the Sea Dragon Demon had recollected a piece of information regarding the miko and…

"It's the same miko that sealed little Inuyasha to the tree isn't it!" the Southern Lord's son exclaimed in shock and wonder. "I heard about that story. She bound him to a tree for fifty years or something. Huh! I can't believe I didn't realize up until now that she was the same one that was involved with the whole Jewel of Four Souls and Naraku."

Sesshoumaru ignored Juru and the comments he made to himself.

"So… little Inuyasha is helping her now…?" Juru furrowed an eyebrow in slight confusion.

Sesshoumaru looked up at the clear skies right above him, "He and some of his human friends are… trying to."

…ooo…

Kaede looked down at Kikyo from where she was standing more than a few feet away, worry etched in her face, "I don't think I can help her."

Miroku, who was kneeling next to Kikyo as she lay unconscious and shivering on the blankets that had been laid down at the center of the hut, nodded his head in understanding. For the past half an hour or so Kaede had tried unsuccessfully to get near Kikyo. Every time Kaede got too close to her, Kikyo would shiver violently and tighten her eyes in pain, even in her unconscious state, and Kaede's own miko powers would start reacting unnaturally. Both he and Kaede had come to the agreement that a foreign entity had infected Kikyo in a manner that neither of them could understand nor solve. But it was clear that whatever it was, it was affecting Kikyo's miko Powers and somehow weakening it, and thus whenever an outside body that had miko power got too close or touched her, Kikyo's failing miko power would try to absorb it to counteract whatever it was that was causing the disruption on the inside. However, when this happened, her body would start to burn up and she would go rigid with pain. With the exception of Kaede and Kagome, everyone else seemed to be able to get near her, even Shipphou and Kirara who were both full demons.

"Miroku! What's going on in there?" Inuyasha, who was forced outside the hut by Kaede, shouted out. "Is she okay?"

Kaede sighed. "I shall go and calm Inuyasha," she said as she began walking towards the entrance to the hut. "See what you can do. You may be her… last hope for surviving this."

"I will try my best," Miroku assured with a nod of his head, as he watched Kaede mask her worry and concern before stepping out of the hut. He then turned back to check on Kikyo's pulse, 'But… I don't think I can do anything either…'

Pushing aside all negative thoughts, Miroku let his hands -palms facing downwards, hover back and forth over Kikyo's body, trying to establish a particular point where the dark jaki was strongest.

He failed miserably in his attempts.

Wiping the sweat off his brows with his sleeve, he leaned against the wall of the hut and heaved out a tired sigh. He drowned out the noises of Kagome, Sango and Kaede trying to calm Inuyasha and stop him from barging into the hut.

He was just about to close his eyes in frustration when he heard Kikyo whimpering. He quickly scooted towards her and listened intently to see if she was saying something. And after a short while, he did hear her whimper out something, but it was definitely the last thing he expected her to utter, in her state of unconsciousness no less!

"…Se… Sessh… Sesshoumaru………"

Miroku blinked.

"…Sesshoumaru!"

This time he was sure that that was what she said. Things got quiet outside as Inuyasha must have undoubtedly heard her utterance too.

'Why would she call Sesshoumaru of all people?' Miroku wondered. It could be assumed that Sesshoumaru knew more about her situation, or at least the state of her powers because he was there when she was able to use it.

"Kikyo Sama, do you want me to bring Sesshoumaru Sama here?" Miroku placed his hands on her shoulders to stop her from writhing.

"…Sessh..oumaru…" Kikyo whimpered in pain as tears escaped her tightly clenched eyes and trailed down the sides of her face.

Miroku needed no more convincing, though… he wasn't sure what Sesshoumaru could possibly do to help her.

…o…

"Did I just hear what I think I heard?" Sango asked curiously.

"I… I think so, because I heard it too," Kagome decided to answer. "She just called for, 'Sesshoumaru'."

Inuyasha growled. "She must be delirious. She has no idea what she is saying. She's unconscious for crying out loud!"

"Inuyasha," Miroku walked out of the hut. "I need you to go and get Sesshoumaru."

"What!" Inuyasha looked ready to clobber the monk.

"Inuyasha, perhaps Sesshoumaru maybe able to help Kikyo Sama," Miroku said in attempts to placate the hanyou who had his ears twitching in aggravation.

"What makes you think that bastard can help her?" Inuyasha advanced on Miroku and Kagome had to hold him back.

Miroku got a serious look to his face after which he placed his hands within his sleeves and crossed them across his chest. "There is apparently nothing that neither I nor Kaede Sama can do for her. And I don't think that Kikyo Sama can hold on for much longer. But Sesshoumaru might know of a way to help her. It's either that or nothing, Inuyasha. Your choice."

"Sesshoumaru's sword!" Kagome suddenly exclaimed, making everyone look at her. "The sword… it can bring her back to life, if… if she… you know…"

Miroku shook his head, having already considered what the famed Tenseiga could do, or in this case… probably could not. "Kikyo Sama does not have an ordinary soul anymore, Kagome," he explained. "Her soul was given to her by the Shikon No Tama. I doubt that the Tenseiga, as powerful as it is, would be able to save such a soul. Her soul is simply not natural…"

"Oh…" Kagome looked down, trying her best to hide her disappointment.

"Like I said Inuyasha," Miroku once again turned a hard gaze to Inuyasha. "Your choice…"

Inuyasha crossed his own arms across his chest defiantly but reluctantly gave the matter some thought. The way things looked, Kikyo was in a very serious situation. Casting a glance at his mate, he resolved that though he might have failed Kikyo once, he was not about to let that happen a second time. And if it meant that his arrogant brother might be able to help her, then he would… go ask him for help. It would be the first time, and he hoped it would be the last.

Kagome seemed to understand his thoughts and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "For Kikyo," she urged him.

Inuyasha sighed before nodding his head. "I don't know whether that bastard will help or not, or whether he'll come at all since he refuses to step foot in this human village. But, I'll try."

Miroku, Kagome, Sango and Kaede, watched with apprehension as Inuyasha bounded off in search of his brother …about to put his pride down for the sake of the woman he once loved

…ooo…

"Well speaking of the little guy…" Juru looked to the forest behind Sesshoumaru. "Looks like little Inuyasha is coming in search of you."

Sesshoumaru's already narrowed eyes slipped to the extreme right, "Indeed."

"Do you think he'll remember me?" Juru asked, scratching the back of his head.

Sesshoumaru's eyes focused on the blonde headed demon in front of him. "I doubt it," he answered. "He was too small to remember you."

"Hmm!" Juru thoughtfully rubbed his chin. "So are you going to let me say hello to him?"

All Juru got for an answer was a low growl and a glare.

Juru sighed dejectedly. "Fine… fine! I'll hide in the trees till he's gone," Juru muttered under his breath, complaining about dogs and their personal issues, as he leapt up into the roof of the forest to conceal himself.

"Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha's voice bellowed before he tore out through the thickness of the forest. Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to cringe from having his ears exposed to the loud and grating noise that was Inuyasha's gruff voice.

"What do you want half breed?" Sesshoumaru gave Inuyasha a side ways glance and nothing more. He resisted the urge to smirk when Inuyasha's eyes seemed to burn in anger. 'So he is here to ask for help. This should be most interesting.'

Inuyasha huffed and closed his eyes with a tilt of his head. Damn it all! Why did he have to come and ask Sesshoumaru for help? The stuck up bastard was definitely going to rub this in. And even if he did go ahead and ask Sesshoumaru for help, there was a very good chance that it would all be for nothing because he might just plain refuse to do anything.

"It's Kikyo," Inuyasha finally replied, in a voice that he was trying hard to keep rough and uninterested. "Miroku says that you might be able to help her because you know more about her powers than we do."

Sesshoumaru allowed a miniscule smile to form upon his face, "Are you asking for my help, Inuyasha?"

"Don't go there Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha roared before stomping right up to Sesshoumaru and standing face to face with him. It would have been even slightly more intimidating if Inuyasha was as tall as Sesshoumaru was. "You are supposed to protect her and see to her safety. So just… go and see what you can do!"

A gust of wind later, Inuyasha was being methodically lifted off the ground as Sesshoumaru's fingers had wrapped around his neck, and elevated him higher and higher into the air.

"You are the one who failed to protect her you pitiful hanyou!" Sesshoumaru's low voice rose into the sky in a chilling dance and made its way up to Inuyasha's ears, as he struggled to break free. "I should have known better than to trust you to see to the miko's protection while I kept the demons at bay. You shame the blood of our father by having fallen for such a simple demon trick. But what else is to be expected from a hanyou like you?"

Sesshoumaru's aura expanded around him when he sensed that Juru was about to come to the rescue of Inuyasha, warning him to stay out of this. His eyes focusing once again on his half brother, he released his grip and let him fall to the ground on his butt.

"However, it is my responsibility to see to her well being, for the time at least," Sesshoumaru continued, staring down at his brother, who was rubbing his neck and scowling up at him. At least the half breed knew when to keep his mouth shut, Sesshoumaru noticed with an inward smirk. "Unfortunately… there is nothing that I can do for the miko. I could not sense any of the dark jaki that the monk mentioned, nor could I feel anything abnormal –except for the irregular pulses in her aura, which seems to be crumbling in on itself."

"Ha!" Inuyasha looked up at him confusedly. Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to slaughter Inuyasha for his stupidity, where he sat on the ground.

"It simply means that I do not know what is wrong with her and therefore… I can do nothing to help her."

Inuyasha kept silent for a while as he stood and contemplated over what Sesshoumaru had said. "So you're not even going to try!" Inuyasha finally shouted, scaring the birds out of the trees and making a certain demon hidden among the tops of the trees, cringe in pain and cover his hears.

Sesshoumaru ignored the outburst, "There is no point in doing so. Even though the miko has inhuman powers, she still has the body of a human and I do not know nearly as enough about them to find a cure or the source of her ailment."

Inuyasha huffed and began pacing around in front of him. Sesshoumaru watched impassively, and thought of how Juru must now surely be complaining to himself about the risks of his hair being tangled up in the branches of the trees.

"You know…" Inuyasha paused and looked Sesshoumaru full in the eye. "…she keeps calling your name, even though she's unconscious."

That got Sesshoumaru's attention, as well as Juru's, and while Sesshoumaru thought it odd, Juru was thinking it to be very, VERY interesting.

"And I don't know why she would," Inuyasha cocked his head to a side. "But you could at least go see her."

"Hm!" Sesshoumaru smirked uninterestedly. "Why would I want to do that?"

"BECAUSE SHE IS GOING TO DIE IF SOMEBODY DOESN"T DO SOMETHING TO HELP HER!" Inuyasha roared out, his voice half full of fury and the other half… full of hurt.

…:…:…

In the place where darkness ruled, deep within Sesshoumaru, giant crimson eyes snapped open at hearing those words. The voice of the creature that had been locked up since the moment it came to be, let out a low growl that rumbled like thunder, as it narrowed its eyes in clear agitation.

The demon beast that lay asleep in its holding place far below, rested peacefully through the thunderous sounds of its greater form, ignoring whatever it was that the locked up creature was displeased about.

The Demon Blood Beast, failed to move an inch of its essence. The chains that were holding it down, preventing the creature from even standing, trembled, but didn't give due to Sesshoumaru's centuries of training and his powerful mind and will power. Knowing the effort was futile, for now, the powerful creature unwillingly resigned to watching the events that were taking place outside.

…:…:…

…ooo…

Miroku wiped Kikyo's forehead with a wet cloth in hopes of cooling her off, even a little. 'It looks as if Sesshoumaru is not about to come Kikyo Sama,' Miroku thought with a sigh as he watched the miko whimper and tremble in her sleep. 'He probably does not want to enter a human village. Either that or… he knows he can't help you either.'

…:v:…

Deep within Kikyo, a dark power tries to corrupt her and destroy her from the inside out. But even though this struggle is inside her, the battle takes place within an almost unreachable plane of existence. The demon power and the power of Purity fight in the realm of the souls. They war against each other in the realm… of Kikyo's soul…

This place was, since of recent, full of light with the bright pink sphere; Kikyo's soul, reveling in its completion and its peace. But then, when the demon made contact with her and the dark jaki exploded… the powerful soul that was hiding in the demon body, transferred itself into her. And now, having made its way into the plane of existence of her soul, it was seeking to destroy her…

…Where there was once light, now what looked like dark storm clouds floated like a churning sea of black. Where there was nothing, now a jagged surface resembling a rocky terrain, served as the place where the two souls would fight. What was once the bright pink sphere, had taken the form of a faceless image of a maiden…

The dark soul, once it entered this realm and assumed the shape of a gargantuan black dragon with polluted purple eyes, towered over the figure of the glowing maiden.

The dragon stood on its hind legs while its clawed hands were clenched at its sides. Rearing its head back, it spread its giant wings and breathed out a stream of dark jaki.

The glowing maiden avoided the burst of dark power and stretched out her hands, upon which rays of purification power sped out of them and seared through the non existent air to hit the dragon full on.

The dragon however bought forward one of its giant wings, and covered half of its body, successfully rendering the pure souls' attack, useless.

The pure soul was so much more powerful than this, but recent events; the appearance of Inuyasha, then learning that he was mated, had weakened her mind and will power considerably, just as a certain demon Lord had predicted;

Flashback (Reader); Chapter 41 : Memories under a Night Sky

Kikyo remained silent for a while, before saying, "I can never forget him Sesshoumaru."

Sesshoumaru looked up into the skies, an image of his glorious father passing across his mind. "Understandable," he said in a slightly less cold tone. "…You only have to forget what he meant to you."

"I don't think I can do that." her fingers tightened around his arm that held her around her middle, as she remembered the white haired hanyou, and the times they spent together.

"Then for as long as you don't, you will be weak, and presumably… will keep growing weaker."

End Flashback

But not even he would have assumed such to be the consequences of that weakness; Kikyo was about to have her soul crushed…

The dragon charged at the image of the maiden and made a swipe at her. The faceless figure pulled back, but the dragon opened its mouth wide and released an entire storm of dark power; dark power that only a dark soul of a minion from the second power orb, could have.

The glowing maiden was thrown back before her giant figure crashed into the side of a jagged mountain –another of the dark soul's creations. The pure soul could not last much longer. Its physical body was already weak and heated up, and it was only a matter of time before it could no longer keep up with this strain and either blow up because of the colliding energies or just shut down completely.

…:v:…

Miroku fell back on his behind when the dark jaki that had only remained within Kikyo's body up until now, shot out of her and crackled around her skin in dark shades of purple. Not many moments passed before her skin started to glow a faint pink; an obvious attempt of her miko powers to battle the dark power, though it was not nearly effective.

'It's getting worse!' Miroku realized in alarm, though he had been expecting this for sometime now. He fisted his hands in frustration. 'If I only knew what was happening to her…!'

……


Author's Bottom Corner

This chapter kind sets the scene. Kinda Sucked apples? I'll try to make the next chapter more interesting. Thanks for the reviews (including the ones for 'Goodbye my Sweet Kikyo'). Looking forward to any reviews for this one too. Till next time then… :) (Off to deal with embassy paperwork (sigh) )