Disclaimer: I am not Takahashi Rumiko and I do not own any of his characters nor his world. This is strictly a story written by a fan of the show so please do not sue me.

((Author's Note:Due to a request by my friends, I've decided to continue this story and put it back on FanFiction.net. Hope you enjoy.))

Chapter One

It was midsummer in Feudal Japan. The sun beat down upon the land with unforgiving force with only a slight breeze, which was warm, to cool all who were beneath the sun's harsh rays. A young woman, around eighteen years of age, wearing a red hanako and white gi-not very cool for this season- made her way slowly down the empty dirt road that ran close to a village. Small beads of sweat dripped down the sides of her face from beneath her thick black hair and it did not take long before the full effect of the heat had hit her.

She was tired, having walked an unknown distance with a full quiver of arrows and a sturdy long bow on her back. Just ahead of her, she saw a shady tree that was very inviting. Taking her time so not to exhaust herself too much more, she made her way to the tree and gently lay her bow and quiver to one side of the tree before sitting down. The shade made the breeze seem much cooler, the sound of birds was soothing and soon, she felt her eyes slowly become heavier until, finally, she closed them, drifting into a sweet slumber.

Time drifted by without wavering, she slept peacefully beneath the tree when a familiar voice rose from above her.

"Kikyou...Kikyou, are you okay?" He said softly. Kikyou looked up, her vision slightly blurry. She noticed the familiar red gi and hanako, beautiful silver hair, and shimmering golden eyes of a young half demon.

"Inuyasha?"

"Kikyou...you had me worried. Your sister has been pestering me all day." He groaned.

Kikyou laughed and rose to her feet. She grabbed her quiver and bow and readied herself to leave when Inuyasha held out his hand. She looked at his hand to see the string of the Shikon no Tama dangling from it.

"The jewel. Why do you have it?" She heard herself say.

He scratched his head.

"I thought it was wiser to take it with me rather than leave it in the village for someone to take...since..." He stopped himself from saying any more and quickly placed the jewel in Kikyou's hands, closing her fingers tightly around the jewel as if holding it for a moment longer would drive him mad.

Thoroughly confused but not bothering to give it any more thought, Kikyou smiled gently at Inuyasha's slightly blushing face and stood before him.

"Thank you, Inuyasha." She placed a hand softly on his cheek. Inuyasha's eyes widened for a moment then returned to normal.

"We need to get you back to the village. The villagers will have cows if you aren't back by nightfall." He said with a grin. Kikyou nodded in agreement to his statement and turned toward the path that she knew was home. "Uh...Kikyou..."

"Yes?" She turned around to face him to see he held a strange expression in his eyes.

"We need to hurry...hop onto my back."

Kikyou felt a jolt shoot through her. Inuyasha wanted her to be on his back. It had been a while since she had done this and she was a little nervous. She knew he would not drop her but she was still nervous. Her heart rate increased slightly, she would be close to Inuyasha, something she could only do in the solitude of the forest, and they would be seen. She was, to her surprise, excited by this idea and quickly placed the Shikon no Tama around her neck and allowed Inuyasha to help her onto his back.

"All right, Inuyasha. Let us hurry." She said quickly as Inuyasha stood up.

"Right. Here we go!" He said in a cocky tone as he dashed down the path and leapt high into the air. The sun was setting and the sky was a warm pink. Kikyou looked at the scenery in awe of the beauty that it held. The land was a painting in itself. Colors mixed and blended in harmony and the lake in the distance reflected the dusk sky, giving the appearance of another world was beneath its waters. She heard herself whisper 'Oh, Inuyasha" under her breath and gasped, praying to the gods and goddesses that he had not heard her.

Inuyasha landed then took to the air once more, covering amazing distance. Kikyou could smell his sweet scent on the breeze and nuzzled her head against his back. Inuyasha smiled to himself, he knew, deep down inside himself, that he wanted to be with her but he did not know how. She was a priestess, a miko of the shrine in the village, and he was nothing more than a lowly half-demon. There was no real chance.

Within minutes, Inuyasha landed just a few feet away from the village entrance and smiled to himself about, not only the time he made in getting Kikyou to the village, but also that he had held Kikyou for a small moment. Inuyasha knelt down, allowing Kikyou to get down, all though part of him desired that she stay.

"You have my thanks, Inuyasha." Kikyou said in a gentle voice as Inuyasha stood up.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak when the voice of a small girl rose from down the street.

"Sister Kikyou!!" Shouted a young girl with dark hair wearing a yellow kimono with black leaf patters on it as she ran toward the two of them, her eyes flaming with anger.

"Kaede?" Kikyou heard herself say, catching Inuyasha's attention.

"Yeah, she's the one that pestered me to death...you do remember, right?" He asked, concern in his voice.

Kikyou turned to him with a confused expression on her face.

"Of course I know my own little sister. Why would I not?"

Inuyasha looked away.

"I'll tell you later...after she is asleep. Come find me in the forest." He said softly as Kaede neared, then took off, leaping on top of houses as he made his way to the forest.

Kikyou fell deep into thought, forgetting about Kaede's charge. It was not long before she was quickly brought back into reality as a heavy force thrust into her stomach, knocking her off balance. Kikyou wobbled for a moment, then lost it, falling to the dirt with Kaede latched to her waist.

"Kaede, what is the matter with you?" She asked, catching her breath.

Kaede looked up at Kikyou.

"Why did you go away!? You left me all alone without telling me or anyone where you were going!" She wined and removed herself from Kikyou and onto her knees. "I was worried...you said you would never leave me alone."

Kikyou smiled at Kaede as she sat up and placed a hand on Kaede's cheek.

"I promise you, Kaede, I shall not leave you alone...never."

Kaede smiled and hopped to her feet.

"Hurry, big sister! I made dinner for us." She ran off ahead a few steps then looked back to see Kikyou dusting herself off. Kaede wrinkled her face and ran back, going behind Kikyou and began to push lightly against her. "Hurry..."

Kikyou laughed a little as Kaede ushered her home. She was pleased to see that, her wandering had not affected the village too much.

"Good evening, Lady Kikyou. Nice to see you up and about." A villager said, bowing to her. Kaede grabbed Kikyou's hand and pulled her along, not allowing Kikyou time to reply to the man.

"Kaede, is it truly of high importance that we return home?"

"Yes!" Kaede exclaimed, stopping outside their hut. "I made it special!"

Kikyou nodded and allowed Kaede to lead her inside where, upon the table, lay a spread for a group of, at least, four people. Kikyou's eyes were wide at the dinner spread and she glanced down to Kaede, whose face was beaming with pride.

"You did all of this by yourself, Kaede?" Kikyou asked, suspecting that Kaede had not.

"Yes, but Miare's mother helped me fix some of it."

Kikyou smiled and hugged Kaede tightly. "You need not worry about such things as making dinner. It is my duty."

"But I want to be like you, Sister Kikyou."

"You shall, one day, Kaede. Do not hasten time. You shall grow up one day. For now, play and rest."

Kaede gave Kikyou a strange look, shook her head, then ran to the table, motioning for Kikyou to come and eat. Kikyou smiled gently and did as Kaede instructed. Fortunately, Kaede had noticeably worn herself out and, before long, a full stomach and Kikyou's presence had lulled her into a peaceful slumber. Unfortunately, she had fallen asleep in Kikyou's arms and Kikyou had to meet Inuyasha in the forest.

Kikyou gazed outside of the window at the nearly full moon that beamed over the village. Her heart began to beat quickly as the seconds passed her by. She gazed down at Kaede's sleeping form then back out into the night. She knew that she had to see Inuyasha in order to clear the confusion filling her head. She inhaled deeply and as silently as possible and began to lift Kaede up, into her arms, and began to slowly carry her to her mat.

"Rest well, Kaede..." Kikyou darted her attention back outside then back down to the sleeping Kaede, "please...do not wake before I return."

Kikyou grabbed her bow and quiver of arrows, securing them over her shoulder, then rushed quickly and quietly out the door and into the dark streets of the village. She took a few steps toward the fields when the sound of two men was heard. Kikyou's heart leapt into her throat and she ducked between her hut and another. She covered her mouth with her right hand, her left hand holding her bow steady, and began to calm herself down, slowing her breathing just so that she could not be noticed with ease.

"I'm glad to have the priestess, Kikyou, back in the village." One man said as he changed the hand gripping his spear.

"Yeah," replied the other male holding onto his hilt, "my wife says that with Kikyou back, everything will be perfect." The man stopped and looked around, just missing Kikyou's hidden form.

"Hey, you see something?" The other man asked, readying his spear.

The swordsman shook his head.

"Nah. Just an animal." The two continued on. "Did anyone say what happened to Kikyou to make her..."

Kikyou strained to listen but the men had moved out of range and she had no time to follow. She darted back into the streets and took off toward the fields. She had to find Inuyasha, but where did he say he would be? Kikyou strained her head to think, trying hard to remember. What was wrong with her? She was unable to remember much of anything. Did he even specify?

Kikyou dashed down the stairs and along the path through the fields and into the forest. Her heart was beating inside her head causing a slight pain to rise. The warmth of the summer's night was not of any help. She could feel her legs wanting to buckle beneath her, wanting to send her to the ground. Her head was growing light; the world began to spin into blurs of green, blue, and black. She stopped running and held onto her head, praying to the gods that it would stop.

Peaking through the whirling mass that was the forest, she could tell she was in a clearing but where, she did not know. Images, broken and quick rushed past her mind's eye, creating further confusion. What was going on? Where was she? She tried to cry out for help, but no noise came from her throat. A red blur zipped passed and Kikyou felt slight hope fill her as her legs gave.

She opened her mouth to shout but only a meager whisper emerged.

"Inu...ya...sha..."