Well, this was supposed to be a short, little, one-shot story...but I kept thinking about extending it into a trilogy of sorts; first a view from Inuyasha, then Kikyou's thoughts, and Kagome's feelings...and that's exactly what I'm going to do right now! ...Right after this disclaimer! hmm...I wonder how long it'll take me to write this part...*glances at clock* okay. it's 7:16 PM right now. Let's see how long it takes!

Disclaimer: Of course, Inuyasha and everyone in the IY world doesn't belong to me, but to the extremely artistic Rumiko Takahashi. Kudos goes to her for creating Inuyasha!

BTW: ...what can I say? The only explanation I can give to this 'fic is that I've been reading Romeo and Juliet a tad bit too much in English...

………

Inuyasha and Kikyou…Star-crossed Lovers

Rating: PG-13

By: Akiko

………

I hate love. Yet love hate.

Not exactly, but love is what caused me to hate, and hate is what caused me to live again.

Love is such a bittersweet thing; it can bring the sweetest joys to the soul-bound lovers, or shatter a heart effortlessly, and completely. I know that this much is true. Love is what caused me to be what I am.

It's been fifty years since I've walked this Earth, bathing in its warm rays of sunshine, breathing in its clean sweet air. It's been fifty years since I fell in love...it's been fifty years since I died.

Back then, I lived, yet I was not alive; all I was was a miko. A miko was bound to her duty, and I was no exception. Protect the village, help the children, kill the demons...keep the Shikon no Tama safe. That was all I knew in the eighteen years of my life. It slowly suffocated me and dragged the life out of me; the only reason I had to live was because I was needed.

If I weren't needed...

If no one needed me...I could have been free to do whatever I wanted...I could have been free to fall in love...I could have lived. I wouldn't have been a puppet; I would have been a woman. I truly would have been Kikyou.

But, alas, it was not my destiny. It was my destiny to protect the Shikon no Tama from all demons. And I did...and in spite of that, I was more than willing to hand it over to a certain white-haired hanyou...just so he would live with me...and so we could have the happy ending that all girls dreamt of.

He was a hanyou; half-human, half-demon. Stuck between two worlds, feared by one, scorned by another. A misfit everywhere. We may have had very little in common, but I still felt his pain. I knew what it was like to have to fight humanity...I had to fight back my own, so I wouldn't run off and leave my village to fend for itself.

Inuyasha was his name...and he was quite an ambitious half-demon. Like all the other youkai that tried to come after the jewel, I defeated him. Again and again...over and over. He seemed to be a very powerful demon as he was, I really didn't see why he needed the jewel to become more powerful, but then again, every demon craved to become stronger.

As many times as I defeated him, he returned for more. He never gave up, and I never hurt him. I couldn't hurt him...I couldn't kill him. There would be days when I could feel his insolent golden eyes watching me, waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack, and I wouldn't do a single thing about it. I just couldn't do it....

Then, one fateful day, he approached me, and sat next to me. No words were exchanged for a long while, and yet, I felt like I could understand him. So I tried talking to him...I tried to get him to lower that wall he's built around himself, even for a minute. But, since he was Inuyasha, he didn't...I smile slightly at the thought...of COURSE he would throw it all back into my face...there probably hadn't been one person who was kind to him his entire life...just because he was a hanyou...

And I couldn't fall in love...just because I was a miko.

We're like night and day, light and dark, and yet we still loved each other with all our souls. We loved each other truly with all our hearts, but it's quite amusing that we didn't even trust each other. Lovers that don't trust. Ha. That's funny.

Our love brought us together, our love tore us apart.

No. That's not right.

WE tore ourselves apart. If we had trusted each other enough...maybe we'd still be together...living in pure bliss and harmony as a man and a woman, and nothing more. But there's nothing we can do about that now. There's nothing I can do about it now...

Even if he denies it to the very end, Inuyasha has already given his heart to another...

He already loves someone else...

Inuyasha loves...Kagome.

I guess it's only natural that he would, seeing as that girl is my reincarnation in the future, nevertheless I despise that girl for being the one to be with him. And yet, I know I shouldn't, seeing as I shouldn't even be here right now.

Compared to myself, she is a completely different person. Kagome is always so bright and happy, always so full of life. She voices her emotions, she doesn't hold back...Is that what draws Inuyasha to her? Does he love her because she's not like me...?

Hmph. Fate is cruel. As well is Love.

I had to be the one to die,

I had to be the one sent Above.

And yet, it would be a lie...

If I said that I hate seeing Inuyasha happy...I wish I could thank this girl for making Inuyasha into the person he is now...even without the Shikon no Tama. It makes me think that she is more powerful than I ever could have been, for she is breaking down his barriers faster than I could ever hope to. She trusts him completely, leaving her life in his hands, and he trusts her completely, believing in her to the very end...Something that I didn't do...

-----------------

A beautiful, raven-haired priestess watched on as a happy schoolgirl dragged along a scowling hanyou, well-hidden by her magical abilities. A thoughtful look spread across her face, making her look even more serious than usual.

The pair stopped walking for a moment, almost sensing that the miko was watching them from the branches of a tree, but they just turned to each other and smiled, continuing to walk on to their little gathering.

'I love him...but...' Kikyou thought, a soft smile spreading across her features, making her look relaxed and content. Making her look at peace with the world.

'But...I want him to be happy...'

And with that last thought, she realeased the bit of her soul she had been holding it in, all her anger and vengefulness gone from her mind. Kikyou was happy now, now that she truly reflected about her life and memories. She wasn't the one to melt his heart now...now....

'Now...Kagome....I want you to make him happy...'

---------------
*3 weeks later*
Finished! I was going to stretch it into a trilogy thing with an epilogue...but I like it this way better! Hope you enjoyed this little 'mini' fic!