Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: Who else thinks Walmart will one day be a scary monopoly? Hm, that's a weird word. Broken down by it's roots (mono/poly) it's (one/many). *ponders* Many under one.

I have been a tad inconsistent. For any mistakes or holes left by my fanfic (i.e. references to later parts of the series while leaving out others that are just as far), I really do apologize.

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At that moment, he hated them with a loathing deeper than any normal person could have thought possible. But he was not any normal person, he was the one great evil of his time. Many had come to try and slay him, all ending in their pathetic, miserable deaths. Others had succumbed to his power and control, as many mortals natrually would, and also been destroyed. This strange band of warriors, though, were different.

It was strange enough that a miko, a hanyou, a monk, and a taijiya came together despite all his hard work. The neko youkai Sango brought along with her was powerful, too. Only the kitsune and flea did not pose much of a problem. Provided the right motivation, both would flee in terror. Nonetheless, they were strong for a group of weaklings. Time and time again had they foiled his plans or come close to killing him. It was growing ever harder for them now, he was stronger. He would be grateful for the day when he would kill them all. It was to the point that he'd do it himself if he had to.

He hated them that much.

"..who never sullies his own hands." 'Well, miko, you really want me? I shall grant your wish.'

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Kagura did the only thing that she could think to do: she ran. She was going to run far away from here. Death, perhaps, would be all that awaited her, but it didn't matter. She was a mortal woman now, there was nothing for her here. No doubt Naraku would be pissed, that he would come after her. Or was she being arrogant in thinking she was even worth his time now?

Perhaps. She could hope. Finding she had no other fears than Naraku's wrath, she felt a tad better. No more battling with their group and no more Hakudoshi. But those did not change that she had become something she despised. 'Damn you, Kagome.' She couldn't do anything about it now, though, because taking on Kagome in her new form would be a bad idea. It was apparent to everyone now that Kagome would live up, if not surpass, her incarnate.

She blindly stumbled onto a stream, close by a village. The chatter and laughter of happy humans mingled with the sound of the stream's gurgling and birds singing merrily. Curse it all, it was like a slap in the face. Why must others delight in life so when all she had was pain? Mumbling a stream of swears under her breath, she dropped her body down, letting her feet soak in the water. They hurt from running. 'A hanyou could have handled so much more..' she thought bitterly. Sighing heavily, she stared up into the sky.

What next?

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"You're only pushing to make his love for you stronger," snapped a feminine voice from outside Kaede's hut. Kagome looked up tiredly from dressing Kouga's wounds to the entrance. There stood the fiery, determined, strong Ayame.

"Ayame." The entire contents of the hut, that could manage, said her name. Kouga merely stared, his jaw slightly agape. He was irritated, of course, that his time spent with Kagome was interrupted by his supposed potential mate.

'No, not supposed. You remember. You just don't want to remember.' Kouga snorted, further aggravated, and pushed his lousy concience aside.

"I'm only caring for him, Ayame, because Miroku and Inuyasha are too macho to do it and Sango's injured." She waved her hand around the room to the people in it. Kaede looked up from Sango's wounds and smiled lightly.

"Why not the old woman?" she demanded, catching the only loophole.

"Sango's wounds turned out to be much worse, and Kaede is far more skilled than I am." Kagome's cool response masked the nervousness that lay beneath. Why did there have to be so many complications in their relationships? Why couldn't Ayame just have Kouga like she wanted, and Kagome have Inuyasha...

'No! I can't think like that, Inuyasha could never love me...' Blood rushed to her cheeks, and Kagome found herself blushing slightly.

"Ka-Kagome?" Shippou asked. Kagome looked up to face everyone else in the room staring at her strangely. The blush deepened.

"Yeah?" she asked sweetly, her voice noticeably was noticeably more high pitched than it usually was.

"You okay?" The kitsune cocked his head to the side. He was so adorable when he was confused.

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine!" She smiled brightly, waving her hand as though brushing away the embarassing situation. The pressure began behind her face, the start of a headache. She pressed her fingers to her head, vainly attempting to will it away. This combination of odd actions earned her a few more strange looks, but they were silent.

Kagome resumed her actions, only to be interrupted immediatley. Ayame placed her hands on her hips, glaring at Kagome, and clearing her voice once. Kagome sighed. She did not feeling like dealing with this.

"Ayame, please," Kaede sighed, too. "She is a priestess and knows what she is doing. Ye are too inexperienced. For our sake, let this one go." Ayame huffed in indignation and went outside. Stupid Kagome, stupid Kouga, stupid miko powers...

Finishing her task, Kagome went outside and fetched the young wolf demon. "He's all yours, Ayame," she muttered irritably. Ayame cast her a suspicious glance before going inside.

"Kaede! I'm going for a walk, I'll be back for supper!" she called walked out into the open air. It was going to be dark within the hour, she noted, so she shouldn't be out for long. Naraku would surely be close by, watching and waiting for his time to strike. She shuddered with the thought, and was too preoccupied with it to notice the hanyou silently following behind her from the treetops.

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Author's Note: I tried to go on, but found it difficult to do. I've been going back to this over and over today, seeing as I did not have to go to school. A mild case of writer's block I hope doesn't get any worse. Thanks to everyone who's read, those who have reviewed (*squeals with delight*), everyone. You guys are the absolute best!