Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Inuyasha.

Author's Note: I know this is a strange triangle, but I've always felt that Kikyou's encounter with Bankotsu needed to be explored a bit more. Please review!

The sounds of a battle and the sense of Inuyasha compelled Kikyou to go farther up the Pure Mountain. The sight she met there astonished her.

"Take this, hanyou!" The young mercenary was there again. He was going after Inuyasha with a large sword.

Containing three Shikon Shards. Kikyou stayed hidden, noticing that Kagome and the other Inuyasha-tachi were involved in the fray.

Inuyasha fought back confidently- arrogantly, as was his style. "You'll never defeat me with that lousy sword, you walking corpse!"

Kikyou winced. Does he think of me that way as well?

As if reading her mind, Bankotsu was to shock the miko with his next words. "Watch your mouth, hanyou! Don't you have a lady friend that's a corpse as well?"

Inuyasha hesitated, surprised. But he quickly recovered, delivering swing after swing of his sword.

"Did I shock you, hanyou?"

"Quit saying that!" Inuyasha tried to use Kaze No Kizu, but Bankotsu easily dodged it. He's very powerful, thought Kikyou.

"I've met your lover, and she's very beautiful," the warrior continued in a mocking tone. Kikyou looked away, flustered.

"Shut your filthy mouth about her!" Inuyasha charged towards the warrior in anger. The sword Bankotsu called Banryuu glowed with the evil shards, and Inuyasha was getting cuts and scratches all over him.

Kikyou wanted to shout to Inuyasha to get out of the battle. Things were about to get serious, and the miko was surprised that she hadn't already pulled out her bow and arrows to protect the dog-eared demon from afar.

And still, she did not reach for them. What's wrong with me? She quickly shook her head and readied an arrow. At that moment, the fighting ceased. Bankotsu looked over in her direction. Kikyou gasped and ducked out of sight.

"Need reinforcements that badly?" Bankotsu told the bleeding half-demon.

"What are you talking about, asshole?" Inuyasha spat.

Bankotsu looked over again, but the miko was already gone. He knew she had been there; he could feel her presence. . . Her power. It intrigued him. But for now. . .

He focused his thoughts on the arrogant hanyou in front of him. I'll teach him a lesson later. "Since you're obviously distracted today, I'll save your death for another time. I need to catch up to someone." With that, he retreated quickly. "Till we meet again, hanyou."

"Wait, come back and fight, you coward!" The demon called, but Bankotsu had other ideas.

"Where are you, Kikyou-sama?" The mercenary called out respectfully. What are you up to now? Bankotsu just couldn't trust the priestess. I really should kill her, before she gets in the way, he reasoned to himself. But parts of his body that he had forgotten existed wanted to keep her alive.

She was beautiful.

She was intelligent.

She was Inuyasha's. And that made her all the more desirable to him. It presented a challenge, of course, but that was part of the fun. He would have her begging to kill Inuyasha by the end of it. And most important was the fact that she was dead.

Like him. And they both had unfinished business to tend to, didn't they?

Bankotsu couldn't rely on his fellow mercenaries. The only one he could trust was Jakotsu, and that wasn't saying much. They would all probably betray him in the end; either that or be killed.

"Come out and see me, lady. I know you were here just a minute ago."

"I'm here." The miko stepped out from behind a tree. She was good.

He hadn't even noticed she was so close.

"I have a question to ask you."

She nodded.

"Why haven't you killed me yet, witch?"

The miko had an odd smile on her face. Her fingers played with the string of her bow. "You remind me of someone."

Bankotsu's face broke into a twisted smile. "You mean that hanyou back there? Is he really that important to you?"

"That's none of your business. If that's all, I'll be going." She turned to walk away.

"Are you jealous of that other witch, the one called Kagome?" He asked maddeningly.

Kikyou froze. Then she looked at him spitefully. "Worry about yourself. Isn't that what you told me earlier? Why don't you heed your own advice?"

I'll let her go for now. After all, I need her to make that hanyou suffer. But as he watched her go, Bankotsu admitted that his desire to see her live had very little to do with Inuyasha.

"Is it true that there could be a chance of happiness in this cursed second-life?" He called out softly to no one in particular.

"Wipe that stupid grin off your face," he commanded himself. "You don't have time for love affairs. Not anymore."

The conversation that Kikyou had just had with Bankotsu left her feeling worse than the first one did. The similarities between the mercenary and Inuyasha were too close to ignore.

Why haven't you killed me yet, witch? Because he reminded her of a past love.

And that was precisely why she wouldn't kill him.

I must follow this man, she decided.

For the next few days, Kikyou roamed around the Pure Mountain, looking for signs of the mercenary. One by one, his band of brothers had dwindled down to just him. He seemed to be growing restless, and Kikyou had noticed that Inuyasha was close to confronting him. She dreaded this meeting, because it might mean that she would have to kill one of them.

One of them??? It would obviously be Bankotsu that would die, after all.

"Take that, you bastard!" Echoed throughout the ravine.

Kikyou glided down the hill. It had begun.

Inuyasha was once again fighting with Tetsusgia, and Bankotsu's Banryuu was giving him quite a challenge.

"I can't believe I arrived this late," Kikyou blamed her distraction on her stupid mortal emotions. They didn't serve her a purpose when she was alive, and she certainly didn't need them to interfere now.

Both men were bruised and scratched. Inuyasha's friends were nowhere nearby. Most likely they were battling Kagura and her demons, which had been roaming in hordes around the mountain.

"Your reinforcements have arrived, hanyou!" Taunted Bankotsu.

This young warrior, how did he know?

"Huh? Kagome?" Inuyasha looked around.

"Thinking about that young witch again?" Bankotsu chided, swinging his blade towards Inuyasha.

"Shut your fucking mouth!" The dog-demon blocked Banryuu with his sheath.

"If I were you," the mercenary spoke in a playful tone, "I'd be more interested in that other miko friend of yours."

Inuyasha looked shocked, and then quickly gathered his composure to dodge another blow. "Why are you so interested in the company I keep?" He challenged aggressively.

"I'm not – I'm merely interested in Kikyou."

"If you say her name again, I'll cut your tongue out!" The silver-haired hanyou shouted. "You're not worthy enough to speak of her! Besides," he said arrogantly, "She can't come up here."

"I'll bet I can get her to come out and prove to you that she's here." Bankotsu said.

"I told you to shut up with your nonsense," said Inuyasha through gritted teeth. He charged towards Bankotsu.

With a swift move of his sword, the mercenary knocked Inuyasha on the ground and prepared to deal a fatal blow. As he expected, an arrow came from behind him and knocked Banryuu out of his hand, where it landed a few feet away.

"Kikyou!" Inuyasha shouted with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Kikyou didn't know what to say. She looked at the half-demon, then at the young warrior.

"Kikyou, move out of the way! I'm about to kill this bastard!" Inuyasha started to thrust Tetsusgia towards his enemy, but another arrow pierced it, and the transformation was reversed. "Huh?" The hanyou looked at his useless sword. "What did you do that for, Kikyou?"

Kikyou looked straight ahead. I don't know.

"She can't kill me, baka," taunted Bankotsu. "Because I remind her of you, her lover."

Inuyasha flushed darkly as he sat back on his haunches. He wasn't sure whether or not to make a move in this situation. What was Kikyou going to do? "What's he talking about Kikyou?" He demanded.

"You don't know, do you?" The mercenary laughed. "This is the third time I've met your beautiful lover."

"Don't say such things," Kikyou finally spoke.

"He's lying, isn't he, Kikyou?" Snarled Inuyasha.

"No," she replied quietly. "We have met, as a coincidence. Nothing more."

This seemed to upset Inuyasha anyways. "Why didn't you tell me?" Then he looked at Bankotsu, who was staring at Kikyou with a strange look on his face. "Don't you look at her that way, you bastard!" He yelled, enraged. He flexed his fingers.

"Don't make me laugh, hanyou."

Inuyasha jumped up and charged at the warrior. Before he knew it, two of Kikyou's arrows had pierced his clothing and he was up against a tree.

"You two stop this fighting," she stated plainly. "You both really want to destroy Naraku, don't you?"

Bankotsu looked at her in wonder. How did she figure that out?

"You have the same objectives," she continued. "Either work together, or stay out of each other's way." Then she turned to leave.

"Wait, miko," Bankotsu rushed towards her and grabbed her arm roughly.

"Get your filthy hands off of her!" Inuyasha struggled against his bonds. "Don't let him near you, Kikyou!"

Kikyou looked at the hand on her harm. She stood still.

"Perhaps after I defeat all of my enemies, I'll take you as a wife, Kikyou." Bankotsu spoke with confidence, but his eyes met hers searchingly.

The miko shook loose from his grasp. "I will never love again."

"Kikyou," Inuyasha breathed.

"See what you've done, you stupid fool?" Bankotsu gestured towards Kikyou. "You've broken her heart, chasing around other women, neglecting her. Where do your loyalties lie, hanyou?"

Inuyasha growled.

"Only I can understand you now," Bankotsu whispered to Kikyou. "Don't forget that. We have the same motivations on this earth. We complement each other." Then, he said to Inuyasha, "Until we meet again, I will slowly take what is yours, until I finally take your life!" He laughed loudly, and then pulled Kikyou towards him.

"Oh!" She stumbled against his strong body.

And he kissed her.

Kikyou's eyes opened wide with shock.

His mouth tasted of strong alcohol and sweat, but his lips were warm against hers. He still has all his soul, and is not clay, she remembered.

"Kikyou!" Yelled Inuyasha. "You'll pay for this, you bastard Bankotsu!"

The young warrior clasped one of Kikyou's hands as he explored her cold mouth, wanting to bring warmth to it with his wet tongue. He seductively pressed against her, as he did in his earlier days with the women he met in the villages.

Out of all the women he had been with in his time, he'd never experienced such a need to love. If that is what this is.

Kikyou finally gave in to the building passion she felt, a stranger to her after all the years. She closed her eyes and massaged his lips with her tongue, giving deeper and deeper from inside herself until she felt almost delirious.

Although it only lasted about a minute, it felt like much longer.

Finally, Bankotsu pushed her away from him, still holding her hand. "Until we meet again, both of you," he said with a look towards the struggling hanyou.