||\ The Second Scroll / ||
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The Revival
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This fanfic does majorly interfere with the goings on of the actual series and...sadly portrays one of my most favorite made-up characters as a Mary-Sue. But...that's okay. For now. Please enjoy! Disclaimer applies.
---
Inu-Yasha was sitting on a limb that was halfway up a tree, as he usually did. His eyes were staring across the land as if he was watching for something, maybe someone. The wind blew through his long white tresses and caused them to whip in every direction as he stared across at the forest. His eyes seemed cold, like ice, but somehow managed to glow with life.
Kaede and Kagome were sitting together, thinking to themselves in the peaceful silence of the village, a peace that now seemed threatened. What would they do? What if the demon had been revived? Would there be any point in fighting? How could they fight an enemy that they didn't know?
Kagome stared at the flowers that were dancing outside, then sighed deeply and looked up at Inu-Yasha who was still in the same position, sitting in the tree. A sigh escaped her lips, almost sad, "He is kind of cute...when he isn't yelling. . ."
Kaede looked at Kagome, "Eh?"
"Huh!?" Kagome's eyes widened as she realized that she had spoken her thoughts. She covered her mouth and tried not to blush. "I...I didn't say anything! Really!"
Kaede chuckled a bit.
Cr. . .cr. . .crack. . .cr crack . . .CRACK CRAAAAAAAAACK!
The sound was loud and not lost on Kaede's ears, or Kagome's.
"What was that?" Kagome gasped.
Kaede's eyes flashed as she stood from her place. "The cage!"
The rabbit was glowing and the cage had been completely destroyed. Wood was scattered all over the ground around the creature, whose closed eyes seemed to be extremely high upon its little head and...almost angry. When it noticed the two, the creature suddenly sprinted at high speed, running directly out of the village despite the villagers' efforts to capture it.
Kagome and Kaede gave chase, but had to stop to catch their breath. It was then that Inu-Yasha descended from his perch.
"What's going on?" The inu hanyou asked. His spunk had certainly returned and Kagome regretted it.
Kagome glared at him. "Whaddya think?"
Before Inu-Yasha could reply, Shippo answered the question for them. "Look there!"
A figure was off in the distance, walking towards the village at a steady pace that seemed almost eerie. The flowers were dancing to the right as the figure began to walk, seeming very strange due to the shifting trees and flowers that were behind. Nevertheless, it struck everyone as strange..
Kagome's eyes flashed. "Wh...wha...?"
"It. . .can't be..." said Inu-Yasha slowly, looking as though he had just seen a ghost of some kind. His golden eyes were wide, but not afraid. No, no fear was there at all.
Kaede's eyes were wide and as terrified as a priestess's eyes could be. The source of so much grief and bloodshed in years past had returned. One of the few nightmares that could shake her old bones and make them rattle had returned. "The demon..."
There was a girl coming from the forest and, if all monsters had looked like her, then narcissists would loathe rather than love themselves. The leaves that fell from the trees were spinning about her in a very eerie manner.
She had long, silver hair that glistened and danced, whipping here and there in the wind. Her bangs whipped at her face and slightly covered the glowing blue-brown eyes, more like sapphires in that light, but still retaining the brown of the woods and forest. She had a very light complexion that was quite astonishing and matched her perfectly, but gave her a unique spectral image. Her clothes were rather boyish. She wore black hakama with an upper shirt that was a deep brown color and had baggy sleeves that were short, allowing her short inner sleeves to show at the end that her hands came through. A tight dark red was around her waist that contained a bow in the middle at the back.
She had one peculiar feature about her that made her seem just strange. A black rose was at the center of her forehead and it seemed to shimmer a silver color as it came into view. Her ears were much like Inu-Yasha's, but they were black. Aside from this, she had looked like a normal girl, even had a normal nose. She was no more than sixteen in appearance, but there was something much older about her. At her side was the small gumdrop-shaped rabbit, glaring furiously at the on-lookers.
The black-eared hanyou stopped at a distance from the group, seemingly not noticing the villagers who had begun to gather outside and whisper, keeping their distance. The expressionless face suddenly changed as the sharp sapphire-like eyes narrowed.
"It's been a while, eh...Kaede?" The demon's eyes were filled with anger, perhaps even hate.
Kaede was quick to recover herself and reply in a strong voice, but not one that might provoke anger. "So, you remember me."
"How...could I forget either wench that imprisoned me in that accursed cave?" asked the black-eared hanyou. Her eyes grew even furious.
"Huh?" Kagome's eyes moved to Kaede. "Kaede...you sealed her?"
"Yes. . .I helped to seal her." The old woman replied.
The demon girl smirked, "Come now, Kaede, you remember my name, don't you? We use to play together in this very village. You were just a whelp when I first met you."
"How could I forget your name? Kuro Aki..." Kaede said the name with as much hate as the scornful look upon her face indicated.
"It's good to be remembered," The black-eared hanyou took a deep breath and looked up at the blue sky, "but the time has come for you to pay the price. . .for imprisoning me, for turning Mizu-chan into a rat, for betraying me, and for being a false friend! I trusted you, Kaede. . .but it seems you ningen are all the same!" Kuro-Aki sneered as her fingernails extended into claws.
Kaede was speechless. Though she tried to speak she couldn't.
Inu-Yasha hadn't closed his mouth yet. He was still gaping at Kuro-Aki and why? Only he knew...only he knew...
Kagome looked at Inu-Yasha and a depressed sort of look came over her, but then again she was a bit curious about what he was thinking. Why was he looking at that black-eared hanyou girl that way? What was wrong with him? Hadn't he ever seen his own reflection? She wasn't that pretty...right?
Kuro-Aki took a few steps forward, "This is between the wench and myself, so stay out of it. I can't stand the thought of weaklings interfering." she sneered.
Inu-Yasha snapped out of it his trance, "Who are you calling a weakling?"
"Don't you know when you are being spoken to, whelp?" Kuro-Aki spat in a dark and serious tone, "Or are you just too stupid to understand?"
Inu-Yasha growled. Kuro-Aki growled back.
"Feh. . ." said Inu-Yasha at length, not having anything else to say for once in his life.
"At least I don't have to wear stupid prayer beads." Kuro-Aki smirked again as she drew back, "You probably don't even know how to get them off!"
"Oh, and I suppose you do?" he asked.
"Well, actually, I do." replied Kuro-Aki in a matter-of-factly voice.
Inu-Yasha shut his mouth. For once, he couldn't find anything to say to continue an argument and that was just sad, sad and unheard of!
Shippo blinked, having magically appeared at Kagome's side. "Is it just me, or do these two act like they know each other or something?"
"Kuro-Aki, you came for revenge, didn't you? Well, get it over with then!" Kaede took a step forward.
"W...what did you say?" Kuro-Aki stared at the old woman, eyes seemingly void of hate for just a few seconds.
"Go on. Get it over with. Kill me!" Kaede repeated herself and continued to walk forward towards the hanyou girl, despite Kagome's cries and the words of the villagers.
"Are you mad?" Inu-Yasha cried. "You're more of an idiot than I thought!"
"What? No! Don't, Kaede!"
"How very noble of you." said Kuro-Aki extending her claws from their normal length. They were at least six inches long, or so they appeared.
Kuro-Aki charged at the old miko, jumping into the air at high speed with grace. A bell-like sound could be heard from the bells of the anklet that the dark-eared hanyou wore. Her speed was intense and her fierceness was horrifying. To look at such a being and live would be amazing enough, but seeing her in action was too much. As she came down, her claws descended on the old woman.
-R. . .RIPPPPPPPPPPPP!-
Everyone had closed their eyes or looked away. Kagome couldn't bear to watch...and had coincidentally covered Shippo's eyes. But the sound of blood splattering in every direction, of skin and flesh ripping, was never heard.
Kuro-Aki landed five feet behind the old woman. Her claws were just an inch above the ground as if she had attached, but there was no blood on her hands. The priestess was still standing and didn't appear to be harmed in the least. The sound of flesh tearing did come, but it was very little and so quick that it was almost inaudible. A long gash, somewhat deep, was planted on the left side of Kaede's cheek.
"She's...she's so..." Shippo trailed off, having managed to lift one of Kagome's hands to see what had happened.
'But didn't Kaede say she was only a half demon?' Kagome had opened her eyes. She had seen the attack. Inu-Yasha wasn't even that fast, was he?
Inu-Yasha said nothing at all, though his hand was already placed on Tetsusaiga. He was ready to draw the demon blade if need be.
Kaede was baffled, though she and the dark-eared hanyou were the only ones who knew why. "Why...why didn't you..?"
Kuro-Aki rose to her feet and performed a light back flip so that she and the old woman were back-to-back. "Kaede, as much as you would like to believe the legends that have been told of my actions, there are things that even a priestess knows nothing of."
The old priestess said nothing, but stared forward, ignoring the blood streaming down her cheek. She felt it, the wound caused by the hanyou. She should have attacked the creature...so why hadn't she?
"That gash...shall form into a scar..and every time that you see your reflection, you will remember all of the suffering you have injustly caused Mizu and I. That scar shall not leave you, even in the next life." The hanyou's words were grave.
Kaede lifted an old, wrinkled hand up to touch the gash as she turned and stared at Kuro-Aki's back. A memory returned to her.
--
~* Flashback *~
Kaede stood holding onto the creature's back for dear life, screaming as loud as her little lungs would allow. She was only a small child and it was only shortly after Inu-Yasha's disappearance. Her right eye had not yet recovered, for it had been damaged when Inu-Yasha had attacked that village on that fateful day.
"HELP! SOMEONE, HELP ME!" The little girl was crying as she held on as the giant bore-like demon tried to throw her off.
Then she saw her. Another girl had ran up, seemingly about her age. The girl was staring at the monster as it stopped and looked down at her.
Kaede cried only louder. There were two youkai! TWO! Just what she needed! Not only could she not remember any helpful 'spells', but she had dropped her bow and arrows when the overgrown pig demon had first chased her.
"Hey!!! Oogly! You know better than to scare kids, now put her down!" yelled the other girl.
"RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" was the youkai's reply.
The little girl's eyes narrowed as her claws extended two inches from her original nails. A shadow fell over her face as she spoke, "I said...PUT. HER. DOWN." The girl jumped into the air towards the bore youkai and brought her claws down on it, cutting it in half before her claws went two inches deep.
Both children fell to the ground. The giant bore youkai was dead.
Kaede lay there on the ground for some time, almost afraid to move. Would the girl treat her as she had the giant bore? Surely Kikyou would save her! Then came the reminder, so grim, that Kikyou was no longer there to save her. At long last, Kaede slowly stood up and looked at the child that had saved her. "You're a hanyou, aren't you? Why..why did you save me?"
"A...are you okay???" The other girl asked, a slightly annoyed look on her face.
"I am fine." Kaede replied, amazed that a youkai would ask such a question. She looked down for a minute before looking back at the other girl and giving a nod. Appearance didn't matter. This youkai was not Inu-Yasha. "We should get you to the villiage and tend your wounds!"
*At the Villiage. . .*
"Thanks. . ." said the child, looking at her the white bandages rather thoughtfully, "I don't heal fast now because I'm so young. I'm Kuro-Aki. What's your name?"
"I'm Kaede." Kaede gave her a little smile. "Thanks for saving me...I might have died back there if not for your assistance. I thank ye."
"No problem!" Kuro-Aki glanced at the roof of the hut and then frowned, "Are you scared of me?"
Kaede paused a second as she handed Kuro-Aki a bowl of rice with chopsticks, then sat down by her and put on a smile. "Why would I be scared of you?"
"Because. . .well. . .I'm a..y'know..." Kuro-Aki trailed off as she began to stick large mouthfuls of rice into her mouth as though she hadn't eaten in months.
"Well...someone taught me that not all youkai are bad....but,yes.I was afraid of you at first. . .but now, I'm not. I see you have a good heart. I would like it if we were to become friends." said Kaede as the friendly, inexperienced part of her miko-to-be self overruled her better judgment.
"You really want to be my friend!?It's hard for me to make friends...human children are scared of me. . .but all I want to do is make friends and play. I'm only a hanyou, Kaede...but I still wanna be friends. I don't want to hate people just yet." asked Kuro-Aki slowly as she looked at the other girl. "..You kinda smell like a priestess. Are you sure you want to be my friend?"
"I'm sure!" said Kaede smiling. "I'm sure the others would like to know ye as well!"
"I'm glad I met you, Kaede." replied Kuro-Aki smiling slightly. "Maybe not all ningen are bad after all...er..no offense."
~* End Flashback *~
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As Kuro-Aki turned around, Kaede snapped back into reality. "Kaede, I thought that I could trust you. Even as children, we were friends. . .what happened? What happened?" she asked slowly, perhaps herself more than Kaede.
"You changed Kuro-Aki. Or was it me?. . .Yes, I have changed." said Kaede.
Inu-Yasha stood there for a moment, still thinking about whatever he was puzzling over. 'Could it be the same girl?'
Kagome stared at Kuro-Aki for a moment, then drew an arrow and took aim. Enough was enough. This youkai was a danger to the village. If Inu-Yasha and Kaede weren't going to do anything, someone had to!
Kuro-Aki looked at the girl for a moment, then to Kaede and briefly at the other hanyou. After that, she jumped upwards and grabbed onto a tree branch, avoiding Kagome's arrow. She quickly pulled herself all the way up and began to jump off at a quick pace. Mizu followed her swiftly.
Inu-Yasha watched after her until she had vanished beyond the trees.
The village was buzzing. Kagome was tending to Kaede's wound whilst Inu-Yasha sat outside.
Inu-Yasha shifted from his position and sighed, standing and beginning to head to the outside of the village. There was something familiar about that girl, so familiar in fact. . .it brought back memories that he now tried to block out. He walked towards the area where the girl hanyou had last been seen...and he abruptly stopped. That scent...
Looking down, Inu-Yasha saw a puddle of blood. There were a few tracks on the trees that were very recent. "Huh? ...She's hurt . . .!"
His eyes slowly widened as the wind lifted the scent of the blood to him again. "Is...is it really...?"
---
(To be continued. . .)
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The Revival
========
---
This fanfic does majorly interfere with the goings on of the actual series and...sadly portrays one of my most favorite made-up characters as a Mary-Sue. But...that's okay. For now. Please enjoy! Disclaimer applies.
---
Inu-Yasha was sitting on a limb that was halfway up a tree, as he usually did. His eyes were staring across the land as if he was watching for something, maybe someone. The wind blew through his long white tresses and caused them to whip in every direction as he stared across at the forest. His eyes seemed cold, like ice, but somehow managed to glow with life.
Kaede and Kagome were sitting together, thinking to themselves in the peaceful silence of the village, a peace that now seemed threatened. What would they do? What if the demon had been revived? Would there be any point in fighting? How could they fight an enemy that they didn't know?
Kagome stared at the flowers that were dancing outside, then sighed deeply and looked up at Inu-Yasha who was still in the same position, sitting in the tree. A sigh escaped her lips, almost sad, "He is kind of cute...when he isn't yelling. . ."
Kaede looked at Kagome, "Eh?"
"Huh!?" Kagome's eyes widened as she realized that she had spoken her thoughts. She covered her mouth and tried not to blush. "I...I didn't say anything! Really!"
Kaede chuckled a bit.
Cr. . .cr. . .crack. . .cr crack . . .CRACK CRAAAAAAAAACK!
The sound was loud and not lost on Kaede's ears, or Kagome's.
"What was that?" Kagome gasped.
Kaede's eyes flashed as she stood from her place. "The cage!"
The rabbit was glowing and the cage had been completely destroyed. Wood was scattered all over the ground around the creature, whose closed eyes seemed to be extremely high upon its little head and...almost angry. When it noticed the two, the creature suddenly sprinted at high speed, running directly out of the village despite the villagers' efforts to capture it.
Kagome and Kaede gave chase, but had to stop to catch their breath. It was then that Inu-Yasha descended from his perch.
"What's going on?" The inu hanyou asked. His spunk had certainly returned and Kagome regretted it.
Kagome glared at him. "Whaddya think?"
Before Inu-Yasha could reply, Shippo answered the question for them. "Look there!"
A figure was off in the distance, walking towards the village at a steady pace that seemed almost eerie. The flowers were dancing to the right as the figure began to walk, seeming very strange due to the shifting trees and flowers that were behind. Nevertheless, it struck everyone as strange..
Kagome's eyes flashed. "Wh...wha...?"
"It. . .can't be..." said Inu-Yasha slowly, looking as though he had just seen a ghost of some kind. His golden eyes were wide, but not afraid. No, no fear was there at all.
Kaede's eyes were wide and as terrified as a priestess's eyes could be. The source of so much grief and bloodshed in years past had returned. One of the few nightmares that could shake her old bones and make them rattle had returned. "The demon..."
There was a girl coming from the forest and, if all monsters had looked like her, then narcissists would loathe rather than love themselves. The leaves that fell from the trees were spinning about her in a very eerie manner.
She had long, silver hair that glistened and danced, whipping here and there in the wind. Her bangs whipped at her face and slightly covered the glowing blue-brown eyes, more like sapphires in that light, but still retaining the brown of the woods and forest. She had a very light complexion that was quite astonishing and matched her perfectly, but gave her a unique spectral image. Her clothes were rather boyish. She wore black hakama with an upper shirt that was a deep brown color and had baggy sleeves that were short, allowing her short inner sleeves to show at the end that her hands came through. A tight dark red was around her waist that contained a bow in the middle at the back.
She had one peculiar feature about her that made her seem just strange. A black rose was at the center of her forehead and it seemed to shimmer a silver color as it came into view. Her ears were much like Inu-Yasha's, but they were black. Aside from this, she had looked like a normal girl, even had a normal nose. She was no more than sixteen in appearance, but there was something much older about her. At her side was the small gumdrop-shaped rabbit, glaring furiously at the on-lookers.
The black-eared hanyou stopped at a distance from the group, seemingly not noticing the villagers who had begun to gather outside and whisper, keeping their distance. The expressionless face suddenly changed as the sharp sapphire-like eyes narrowed.
"It's been a while, eh...Kaede?" The demon's eyes were filled with anger, perhaps even hate.
Kaede was quick to recover herself and reply in a strong voice, but not one that might provoke anger. "So, you remember me."
"How...could I forget either wench that imprisoned me in that accursed cave?" asked the black-eared hanyou. Her eyes grew even furious.
"Huh?" Kagome's eyes moved to Kaede. "Kaede...you sealed her?"
"Yes. . .I helped to seal her." The old woman replied.
The demon girl smirked, "Come now, Kaede, you remember my name, don't you? We use to play together in this very village. You were just a whelp when I first met you."
"How could I forget your name? Kuro Aki..." Kaede said the name with as much hate as the scornful look upon her face indicated.
"It's good to be remembered," The black-eared hanyou took a deep breath and looked up at the blue sky, "but the time has come for you to pay the price. . .for imprisoning me, for turning Mizu-chan into a rat, for betraying me, and for being a false friend! I trusted you, Kaede. . .but it seems you ningen are all the same!" Kuro-Aki sneered as her fingernails extended into claws.
Kaede was speechless. Though she tried to speak she couldn't.
Inu-Yasha hadn't closed his mouth yet. He was still gaping at Kuro-Aki and why? Only he knew...only he knew...
Kagome looked at Inu-Yasha and a depressed sort of look came over her, but then again she was a bit curious about what he was thinking. Why was he looking at that black-eared hanyou girl that way? What was wrong with him? Hadn't he ever seen his own reflection? She wasn't that pretty...right?
Kuro-Aki took a few steps forward, "This is between the wench and myself, so stay out of it. I can't stand the thought of weaklings interfering." she sneered.
Inu-Yasha snapped out of it his trance, "Who are you calling a weakling?"
"Don't you know when you are being spoken to, whelp?" Kuro-Aki spat in a dark and serious tone, "Or are you just too stupid to understand?"
Inu-Yasha growled. Kuro-Aki growled back.
"Feh. . ." said Inu-Yasha at length, not having anything else to say for once in his life.
"At least I don't have to wear stupid prayer beads." Kuro-Aki smirked again as she drew back, "You probably don't even know how to get them off!"
"Oh, and I suppose you do?" he asked.
"Well, actually, I do." replied Kuro-Aki in a matter-of-factly voice.
Inu-Yasha shut his mouth. For once, he couldn't find anything to say to continue an argument and that was just sad, sad and unheard of!
Shippo blinked, having magically appeared at Kagome's side. "Is it just me, or do these two act like they know each other or something?"
"Kuro-Aki, you came for revenge, didn't you? Well, get it over with then!" Kaede took a step forward.
"W...what did you say?" Kuro-Aki stared at the old woman, eyes seemingly void of hate for just a few seconds.
"Go on. Get it over with. Kill me!" Kaede repeated herself and continued to walk forward towards the hanyou girl, despite Kagome's cries and the words of the villagers.
"Are you mad?" Inu-Yasha cried. "You're more of an idiot than I thought!"
"What? No! Don't, Kaede!"
"How very noble of you." said Kuro-Aki extending her claws from their normal length. They were at least six inches long, or so they appeared.
Kuro-Aki charged at the old miko, jumping into the air at high speed with grace. A bell-like sound could be heard from the bells of the anklet that the dark-eared hanyou wore. Her speed was intense and her fierceness was horrifying. To look at such a being and live would be amazing enough, but seeing her in action was too much. As she came down, her claws descended on the old woman.
-R. . .RIPPPPPPPPPPPP!-
Everyone had closed their eyes or looked away. Kagome couldn't bear to watch...and had coincidentally covered Shippo's eyes. But the sound of blood splattering in every direction, of skin and flesh ripping, was never heard.
Kuro-Aki landed five feet behind the old woman. Her claws were just an inch above the ground as if she had attached, but there was no blood on her hands. The priestess was still standing and didn't appear to be harmed in the least. The sound of flesh tearing did come, but it was very little and so quick that it was almost inaudible. A long gash, somewhat deep, was planted on the left side of Kaede's cheek.
"She's...she's so..." Shippo trailed off, having managed to lift one of Kagome's hands to see what had happened.
'But didn't Kaede say she was only a half demon?' Kagome had opened her eyes. She had seen the attack. Inu-Yasha wasn't even that fast, was he?
Inu-Yasha said nothing at all, though his hand was already placed on Tetsusaiga. He was ready to draw the demon blade if need be.
Kaede was baffled, though she and the dark-eared hanyou were the only ones who knew why. "Why...why didn't you..?"
Kuro-Aki rose to her feet and performed a light back flip so that she and the old woman were back-to-back. "Kaede, as much as you would like to believe the legends that have been told of my actions, there are things that even a priestess knows nothing of."
The old priestess said nothing, but stared forward, ignoring the blood streaming down her cheek. She felt it, the wound caused by the hanyou. She should have attacked the creature...so why hadn't she?
"That gash...shall form into a scar..and every time that you see your reflection, you will remember all of the suffering you have injustly caused Mizu and I. That scar shall not leave you, even in the next life." The hanyou's words were grave.
Kaede lifted an old, wrinkled hand up to touch the gash as she turned and stared at Kuro-Aki's back. A memory returned to her.
--
~* Flashback *~
Kaede stood holding onto the creature's back for dear life, screaming as loud as her little lungs would allow. She was only a small child and it was only shortly after Inu-Yasha's disappearance. Her right eye had not yet recovered, for it had been damaged when Inu-Yasha had attacked that village on that fateful day.
"HELP! SOMEONE, HELP ME!" The little girl was crying as she held on as the giant bore-like demon tried to throw her off.
Then she saw her. Another girl had ran up, seemingly about her age. The girl was staring at the monster as it stopped and looked down at her.
Kaede cried only louder. There were two youkai! TWO! Just what she needed! Not only could she not remember any helpful 'spells', but she had dropped her bow and arrows when the overgrown pig demon had first chased her.
"Hey!!! Oogly! You know better than to scare kids, now put her down!" yelled the other girl.
"RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" was the youkai's reply.
The little girl's eyes narrowed as her claws extended two inches from her original nails. A shadow fell over her face as she spoke, "I said...PUT. HER. DOWN." The girl jumped into the air towards the bore youkai and brought her claws down on it, cutting it in half before her claws went two inches deep.
Both children fell to the ground. The giant bore youkai was dead.
Kaede lay there on the ground for some time, almost afraid to move. Would the girl treat her as she had the giant bore? Surely Kikyou would save her! Then came the reminder, so grim, that Kikyou was no longer there to save her. At long last, Kaede slowly stood up and looked at the child that had saved her. "You're a hanyou, aren't you? Why..why did you save me?"
"A...are you okay???" The other girl asked, a slightly annoyed look on her face.
"I am fine." Kaede replied, amazed that a youkai would ask such a question. She looked down for a minute before looking back at the other girl and giving a nod. Appearance didn't matter. This youkai was not Inu-Yasha. "We should get you to the villiage and tend your wounds!"
*At the Villiage. . .*
"Thanks. . ." said the child, looking at her the white bandages rather thoughtfully, "I don't heal fast now because I'm so young. I'm Kuro-Aki. What's your name?"
"I'm Kaede." Kaede gave her a little smile. "Thanks for saving me...I might have died back there if not for your assistance. I thank ye."
"No problem!" Kuro-Aki glanced at the roof of the hut and then frowned, "Are you scared of me?"
Kaede paused a second as she handed Kuro-Aki a bowl of rice with chopsticks, then sat down by her and put on a smile. "Why would I be scared of you?"
"Because. . .well. . .I'm a..y'know..." Kuro-Aki trailed off as she began to stick large mouthfuls of rice into her mouth as though she hadn't eaten in months.
"Well...someone taught me that not all youkai are bad....but,yes.I was afraid of you at first. . .but now, I'm not. I see you have a good heart. I would like it if we were to become friends." said Kaede as the friendly, inexperienced part of her miko-to-be self overruled her better judgment.
"You really want to be my friend!?It's hard for me to make friends...human children are scared of me. . .but all I want to do is make friends and play. I'm only a hanyou, Kaede...but I still wanna be friends. I don't want to hate people just yet." asked Kuro-Aki slowly as she looked at the other girl. "..You kinda smell like a priestess. Are you sure you want to be my friend?"
"I'm sure!" said Kaede smiling. "I'm sure the others would like to know ye as well!"
"I'm glad I met you, Kaede." replied Kuro-Aki smiling slightly. "Maybe not all ningen are bad after all...er..no offense."
~* End Flashback *~
-----------
As Kuro-Aki turned around, Kaede snapped back into reality. "Kaede, I thought that I could trust you. Even as children, we were friends. . .what happened? What happened?" she asked slowly, perhaps herself more than Kaede.
"You changed Kuro-Aki. Or was it me?. . .Yes, I have changed." said Kaede.
Inu-Yasha stood there for a moment, still thinking about whatever he was puzzling over. 'Could it be the same girl?'
Kagome stared at Kuro-Aki for a moment, then drew an arrow and took aim. Enough was enough. This youkai was a danger to the village. If Inu-Yasha and Kaede weren't going to do anything, someone had to!
Kuro-Aki looked at the girl for a moment, then to Kaede and briefly at the other hanyou. After that, she jumped upwards and grabbed onto a tree branch, avoiding Kagome's arrow. She quickly pulled herself all the way up and began to jump off at a quick pace. Mizu followed her swiftly.
Inu-Yasha watched after her until she had vanished beyond the trees.
The village was buzzing. Kagome was tending to Kaede's wound whilst Inu-Yasha sat outside.
Inu-Yasha shifted from his position and sighed, standing and beginning to head to the outside of the village. There was something familiar about that girl, so familiar in fact. . .it brought back memories that he now tried to block out. He walked towards the area where the girl hanyou had last been seen...and he abruptly stopped. That scent...
Looking down, Inu-Yasha saw a puddle of blood. There were a few tracks on the trees that were very recent. "Huh? ...She's hurt . . .!"
His eyes slowly widened as the wind lifted the scent of the blood to him again. "Is...is it really...?"
---
(To be continued. . .)