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Chapter Eight

Inu Yasha was sitting on Kagome's shoulder, preening her hair. She had tripped over him this morning when they had been eating breakfast. He hadn't acted mad, or at least he hadn't tried to bite her again, instead he'd just eaten a few bugs and then practiced flying. The half demon's avian skills were beginning to improve.

All and all, today wasn't so bad. In fact, one could call it down right peachy. The group finally knew where they were headed. Last night they had found a witch, though she couldn't lift the spell, had at least told them were to go. The one who could remove the curse was in a large, trading village in the west at the mouth of a vast river.

Kagome was begging to get concerned though. They'd been walking for an hour and a half and Inu Yasha still hadn't changed back. What was really puzzling her was how he didn't seem concerned.

The girl was right too; he wasn't bothered. Inu Yasha had figured out that when he was about to revert to his natural self that he got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach and if he wanted to prevent it all he had to do was brush against Sango or Kagome. At the moment Inu Yasha liked the raven form. He could rub his face in Kagome's soft, nice smelling hair or be close to her without any one getting nosey. The half demon had also learned that ravens were strong and he didn't need Miroku to lag behind with his clothes. All he had to do was wrap his talons in them and take off, no need to have the monk crack jokes at his expense in the process.

Inu Yasha jumped off of Kagome's shoulder to go attack a fat beetle. Without warning his stomach fluttered and before he could touch any of the girls there was a Pop! and he was back to normal with the bug partially in his mouth. Seizing it's opportunity, the beetle pinched the half demon's tongue with its pincers and then took flight, it's wings flapping out a victory buzz.

"OW!" Inu Yasha howled. It didn't matter how many times he'd been stabbed in the stomach and merely walked it off, that had still hurt. A snicker brought him back to reality and he realized he was crouching on the side of a dirt road with no clothes. At least Kagome and Sango had had the decency to turn around.

"If you're all done with lunch, perhaps you'd like to put your clothes back on?" Miroku taunted him, dangling his things in the air. Inu Yasha took them and bolted.

The witch was lying in the largest gallery of the cave on a smooth, flat stone. She couldn't get up, the pain was too great. It felt as her if her veins had betrayed her and began to pump all the blood back to her heart. She was merely waiting for the organ to explode so the sensation would finally go away. In the end, she blacked out and remembered bittersweet times with him.

The first time she'd seen him, she'd nearly ran into something. He was just so handsome she couldn't focus on anything else. He looked up, their eyes met, and he smiled. She was head over heels after that.

At first their meetings had been "accidents." After a while they became less and less chance, each wanting to be with the other. Every time he looked her in the eyes she melted. She'd never been a believer in love at first sight until now. When she was with him, she felt complete.

Two years passed, each day better then the last. She was happy with him and was sure that he didn't just like her for her foreign looks. Everyone always described her as exotic with her autumn colored hair and cat-green eyes and she had received a lot of unwanted attention.

They'd grown so close, intertwined like the weavings of a tapestry. Or that's what she liked to have thought. Something was bothering her though. He never once embraced her. They held hands and exchanged kisses, but he never moved to wrap his arms around her and she always felt forebodingness when she tried. The whole thing made her feel unsettled and she began to doubt his affections, thinking he saw her as a fling. Try as she may, she couldn't banish the thoughts.

One day she finally worked up the nerve to do it. She was going to sneak up behind him and throw her arms around him, just as so many other lovers did.

She waited for him to come, knowing that he'd stroll right to their normal meeting place, the largest tree in the largest field. When he saw that she wasn't there, he began to alternate between pacing and shifting his weight from foot to foot. She watched him for a few minutes before rushing out of the darkness and embracing him.

She felt the release of magic and suddenly she wasn't holding anyone. An animal fled into the twilight.

He found her the next day and with a calm smile he said, "I guess you know it's over now, right?"

She couldn't believe it. "Because of that? You know I have the skill; I could try to help. I'll always love you, no matter what form you take."

He shook his head and a chuckle escaped from his mouth, "Love? Isn't that a bit...well...excessive?"

She could hear the sound of her heart breaking. "'Excessive?'" Her vision began to blur. "Then what has the last two years been to you?"

"Practice. Practice for both of us. It never would have worked between us; I have an arranged marriage. I just thought you were nice looking with your strange hair and eyes and pale skin. I figured we could both have some fun at the least." He sounded like he had been doing her a favor and he chuckled again.

A dull roar of rage was building in her ears. She had been this two-timing bastard's toy. Without warning she slapped him so hard her hand hurt and her tears flowed freely. He held his hand to his cheek and looked at her in surprise. He raised his other hand and smacked her back, the blow making her reel.

She gathered her thoughts and changed. She became smaller, lighter. Wings sprouted from her back and talons from her feet. She pushed off from the ground and into the sky. Circling above him, aiming. She folded herself in close and dived and let her nails dig sharp grooves into his face. He'd be forever marked.

She sought refuge in the sky and her hawk's cry of anguish split it.

She woke up. The pain was still there, strong as ever. She willed her hand to move, and touched it to her chest. There was something warm and wet there. With all her effort she lifted her hand again to see. There was blood from the area right over her heart. "Bleeding from where he broke it," she whispered and was filled with a new sense of vengeance. The two sensations, pain and revenge, consumed her and then were gone. She sat up and felt something nuzzle into her chest, finally accepted.

A/N: I hope you guys are happy. I put off doing my homework for this. Oh well, I probably wouldn't have done it, and probably won't do it, any way. I've just noticed how long my notes are, so I'm going to try to cut back. As always, please review.

I had to be a horizontal rule between the two different sections because it wouldn't let be just put a few extra spaces between the two. Yeah...