Author-chan's notes: Chapter fifteen!!! YIPPEE!!! I'm very sorry that I took so long in updating. I hope everyone will forgive this unworthy one.

A Clean Slate

(Chapter Fifteen: Possibilities)

Back in the village with Masato, Aki, Kikyo, and the other boys

"Here we are, lady priestess," a boy announced when they got to the village.

"It's beautiful," Kikyo said politely, "It reminds me of home."

"And where is home, if you don't mind me asking?" Masato said coldly.

"Far away," was the miko's answer. Masato snorted, then walked away.

"I apologize for Masato," Aki told Kikyo, "He can be a bit rude sometimes."

"Well, he's not as bad as some people I know," Kikyo murmured thoughtfully, looking into the distance.

"May I offer the lady priestess lodgings in my humble home?" Aki asked, politeness in his voice.

"You may," Kikyo said with a small smile.

"Um, it might be a little cramped because I already have two guests in my home," Aki admitted, "But even so, my hut should have enough room for you."

"I hope I'm not intruding," Kikyo murmured.

"Oh, you're not!" Aki said honestly, "Shiro-chan is really small –you can share a room with him. Besides, it's the least I can do for the one who help us all back there."

"It was no trouble," the miko said.

"May I show you to where you're going to be staying?" the magician offered.

"Of course."

Aki lead the woman to his hut, not truly knowing the trouble he was bringing to his home. Meanwhile, all the other boys went back home.

"Welcome to my humble house," Aki said with a bow, opening the door for Kikyo. As soon as the two entered the hut, Kimiko appeared.

"Onii-san! There you are! Where's Miho-san?" Kimiko demanded.

"M-Miho-san?!" Aki sputtered. He had forgotten about Miho-san! Kimiko sweat dropped.

"Why do I have such a baka for a brother?" Kimiko sighed.

"I'll go out and find Miho-san," Aki vowed.

"And don't forget about Kumo-san, Yumeko-san, and Shiro-chan," Kimiko added.

"Why do I need to be looking for them?" Aki asked, "I thought that they were still here."

"Actually, they're not," Kimiko said. Aki sweat dropped like there was no tomorrow.

"The last couple of days, I have spent looking for people lost in the woods," Aki hissed dangerously, "And what do I get in return? I get paired up with my biggest rival and get attacked by evil bunny demons! AND I STILL DON'T FIND THE PEOPLE I'M LOOKING FOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Kimiko sighed, while Kikyo raised an eyebrow. Aki began to stomp out of the hut to find everyone, but Kikyo caught his arm.

"Don't," she cautioned, "I'm sure that your –friends –will find their way back here. And there aren't any dangerous youkai in the forest."

"B-But what about the bunny youkai?" Aki asked.

"Rabbit youkai don't attack unless you provoke them," Kikyo answered smoothly. (AN: Don't be fooled by the bunnies! They're dangerous!)

"Baka Masato and his comment on bunny stew," Aki muttered darkly.

***

Back in the cave with Yumeko, Miho, Kumo and Shiro/Inuyasha

Miho and Kumo had returned from their little romantic moment just in time to help Yumeko and Shiro fix up the cave. After they had cleared the area of all signs of their presence, they left the cave for the village. Near the edge of the forest, Kumo turned to face the others.

"Miho-san, Shiro-chan," Kumo began and took a deep breath, "I don't want you to start telling everyone about Yumeko and my little secret."

"What? That you're blind at night?" Inuyasha asked. Kumo smacked him lightly across the head.

"NO! Don't tell anyone that we're youkai!" Kumo yelled. Shiro glared at the taller male.

"With the way you were yelling I would say that the whole village now knows you little 'secret'," the young boy said. Kumo sweat dropped.

"Don't worry Kumo-san, yours and Yumeko's secret is safe with us, right Shiro-chan?" Miho chirped.

"Whatever," Inuyasha said with a shrug, "I don't know why you're hiding it, though. It's not a big deal."

"Shiro-chan, if out village doesn't see many human strangers, how will the villagers react when they discover there are two non-human strangers in their midst?" Miho pointed out.

"I think the people of your village needs to get out some more," Shiro said.

"It's your village too, isn't it Shiro-chan?" Yumeko asked.

"I don't have a village," Inuyasha said flatly.

"That's right," Kumo said nodded, "Aki-san found you and made you his brother. So you have no family?"

"I-I think so," Shiro murmured, "Last night I dreamed about this girl. I think her name is Kagome. There was this other girl too. They looked like sisters, but Kikyo –the other girl –was messed up."

"'Messed up'?" Miho repeated, "How so?"

"I'm not quite sure," Shiro admitted, "Everything is fuzzy."

"But you're remembering you past. That's good," Miho pointed out.

"Yeah, maybe," Inuyasha murmured, then looked away.

"So who do you think those two girls were?" Yumeko asked.

"I don't know, maybe my sisters?" Shiro shrugged.

"If that's true," Miho began slowly, "Then that means you have some family out there!"

"I guess so," the boy murmured, "Um, you guys don't mind going on without me, do you? I want some time alone to think things over."

"You actually think that we're going to let you go off by yourself?" Kumo snorted, "That's dangerous!"

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT I CAN AND CANNOT DO!!!" Inuyasha yelled at the top of his lungs. The three adults in the group blinked at him.

"O-Okay, Shiro-chan," Miho murmured.

"B-But!" Kumo sputtered. Yumeko sighed grabbed his arm, and pulled the spider demon away.

"Come on, spider-boy," the dream youkai ordered, "Leave him be."

When the three adults were far enough away from Shiro, Yumeko whispered to Kumo, "Alright, spider, I'll follow him."

"I should be the one to follow him!" Kumo protested.

"No," the female youkai shook her head, "Shiro won't be happy when he discovers that you followed him. He won't mind as much if I was the one doing the following. Besides, I can read his thoughts and get more information that you can."

"But!" Kumo began to protest.

"I'll tell you everything that happens, alright?" Yumeko sighed. Kumo nodded reluctantly and let Yumeko take off. Then he and Miho proceeded towards the village.

"You worry about Shiro-chan too much," Miho commented, "It reminds me of Aki-san."

"Maybe," the spider youkai murmured.

***

Back in the village with Kikyo, Kimiko, and Aki

"So this herb can help wounds heal faster, Kikyo-sama?" Kimiko asked, holding up the fragile plant.

"That's right," the miko nodded. For the last few hours, Kikyo had been teaching Kimiko all the different herbs and their uses. Aki, in the meantime, had been pacing around the hut like a caged animal, anxious for the return of Miho, Yumeko, Kumo, and/or Shiro.

"You should sit down," Kikyo suggested, "You'll only wear yourself down pacing around like that."

"Who asked you?" Aki snapped, glaring at the priestess.

"I always heard magicians had a temper, but I didn't know it was true," Kikyo commented. Aki froze.

"How did you –" Aki began.

"Your aura," Kikyo said simply, "It's too strong to be a normal human's, too gentle to be a warrior's, too dark to be a holy man's, and too light to be a demon's. So the only option is that you're a magician."

"Impressive," Aki murmured, "I barely have the amount of raw power it takes to sense a person's aura, let alone be able to classify it. You must be a strong miko."

"I had to be," Kikyo murmured.

"Aki-san!" a voice cried as the door burst open.

"Miho-san?!" Aki gasped in amazement. The young man ran over to Miho and hugged her fiercely. Kumo glared at the magician for a brief moment.

"Where is Yumeko-san and Shiro-chan?" Aki asked.

"They're still in the woods," Kumo answered, coming up to stand beside Miho, "They'll be back soon."

"I take it this some of the friends you were worried about, am I right magician?" Kikyo asked, looking at the newcomers.

"'Magician'?" Miho and Kumo echoed. Aki sweat dropped.

"Ah, um, Miho-san, Kumo-san?" Aki said, quickly changing the subject and blushing, "May I introduce you to the lady priestess Kikyo?"

"WHAT?!" Miho and Kumo cried.

"I said –" Aki began.

"No, we heard what you said," Kumo snapped, "But, she is called Kikyo?"

"Yes," the miko answered, "Is there a problem with that youkai?" Kumo looked at her sharply.

"Wait a second," Aki ordered, "You are a youkai?"

"Yes," Kumo answered, not looking away from Kikyo.

"But he's not a bad youkai," Miho said in her friend's defense.

"Is there something you want from me, youkai?" Kikyo asked coldly.

"Last night," Kumo began slowly, "Shiro-chan had a dream about a girl named Kikyo. He thought maybe she might be his sister."

"I don't know anyone named Shiro, and my only sibling is my sister Kaede," Kikyo said, a hard look in her eyes, "Your friend might have been dreaming about someone else."

"Shiro isn't Shiro-chan's real name anyway," Miho said, "So you might know Shiro, even if he isn't related to you." The miko was silent for a moment.

"What's his real name?" Kikyo asked finally.

"We don't know," Kimiko put in, "When Onii-san found him, Shiro-chan had no memories of his past."

"Then what does he look like?" Kikyo asked.

"Well, he's small, like I told you earlier. He looks like he's about five years old, but he acts older. Um, he has long black hair that goes down to his waist and violet eyes," Aki supplied.

"'Violet eyes'?" Kikyo repeated, "That doesn't sound like anyone I know. I would remember someone with that eye color." (AN: I'm guessing that Kikyo has never seen Inuyasha in his human form, 'cause remember how when Kagome and Shippo first found out about Inuyasha's new moon transformation Inu-chan said that he trusted no one with his secret? I'm guessing that included Kikyo.)

"Last night Yumeko said his eyes were golden," Kumo murmured idly. Kikyo gave the youkai a hard look.

"Wait," Kikyo ordered, "You said he had golden eyes?"

"That's what Yumeko said," Kumo shrugged.

"That's interesting," Aki murmured, "When Kimi-chan and I first found Shiro-chan he started talking about someone with golden eyes. Who would have thought he was talking about himself?"

"Is something the matter, Kikyo-sama?" Kimiko asked when she noticed that the miko had clenched her fists.

"Golden eyes," the priestess murmured, "It's impossible, but the only one I know with golden eyes is…"

"KIKYO-SAN!!!" Aki cried as the miko rushed out the door, pushing aside Miho and Kumo as she did so.

"That was rude," Kumo murmured as he watched Kikyo run towards the forest.

***

Back with Inuyasha/Shiro and Yumeko

'I wonder why he came here,' Yumeko thought as she watched Shiro lean against a tree. The dream youkai was sitting on a tree branch, high above the boy's head so that she couldn't be seen by him. After following him for a few minutes, Shiro had led Yumeko to the place where she had first found his blood on the ground the night before. And –although she didn't know it –he had led her to the place where he had hit the tree. Shiro/Inuyasha sighed and rubbed his wounded hand that Miho had bandaged last night. Yumeko began to read Shiro's thoughts.

'I wonder what happened to me last night,' Shiro thought, completely unaware that Yumeko was listening in, 'All I remember is hitting this tree and then the next thing that I know is being by that pond being held by Kumo! (AN: Yes, the evil silver bracelet erased his memories again! I got to get rid of that thing, it's starting to get annoying!) How did I get to that pond in the first place? Kumo said he was following my blood trail, so that means that I walked and he followed. KUSO! My memory already has enough holes in it! And to top it all off, I had that dream about those girls, Kagome and Kikyo. If they aren't part of my past, then I'm a cat! I want, I want…'

'WHAT DO YOU WANT?!!!' Yumeko screamed silently in her mind, impatient to find out about Shiro. Instead, the boy broke off his thought and looked at his hand. Yumeko almost snarled in frustration. Shiro hadn't given her any new information except the fact that he didn't remember how he got to the pond. She wished she could look deeper into his mind, but to do that he had to be fast asleep and unconscious.

'Why didn't I look into his mind last night when he was asleep?!' Yumeko thought angrily. Suddenly her eyes caught Shiro unwrapping the bandage on his hand.

"What in the seven hells?!" Shiro whispered, his eyes wide. Yumeko also gasped. Wound on Shiro's hand was completely healed! There wasn't even a scar!

'That's impossible!' Yumeko thought, sweat trickling off her brow, 'No human could heal that fast without any magical help! Could it be possible that Shiro is not human?!'

Author-chan's notes: As you all can see, Yumeko has figured out a piece of the puzzle! (It's about time someone figured out something about Shiro/Inuyasha, ne?) If you're confused in how Shiro's hand healed so fast it's because after he hit that tree and cut his hand, he was able to unlock a tiny itty bitty barely visible portion of his demon blood, allowing him to heal faster and have brief flashes of memories. And if you're getting your hopes up, don't. The evil bracelet already sealed his memories and his powers back up again. (I really need to get rid of the evil bracelet don't I? It's driving everyone insane! Including me!) Well, back to the story!

***

In the forest with Kikyo

'Inuyasha!' the miko hissed in her mind, 'That boy, he must be Inuyasha! But how did he change into a child? And what of that girl that is always with him, my reincarnate, Kagome? Where is she?'

Kikyo ran through the forest, hoping to find Inuyasha quickly.

'Soon, Inuyasha, I shall have my revenge!'

***

Back with Shiro/Inuyasha and Yumeko

Shiro stared in awe at his healed hand. Flexing it, he discovered that it wasn't stiff at all. No pain, no blood, no scab, no scar, nothing revealed that his hand was cut yesterday. It was almost as if he had never gotten hurt! But the old blood on the bandages that he had taken off told him otherwise.

"How?" Shiro murmured. Suddenly a rustle in the bushes alerted Inuyasha of someone else's presence.

"Kumo?" Shiro croaked, "Aki? Yumeko, Miho, Kimiko? Is that you? Masato, you idiot, it better not be you! Come out now!" The bushes parted and someone appeared in front of him. Shiro's eyes grew wide.

"You're -you're Kikyo!" the boy whispered. Looking down at him was the fierce-eyed miko from his dreams. Like in his dreams she held a bow notched with an arrow. And like his dreams, the shaft was pointed strait at him. Without warning, the miko turned sharply and shot her arrow into the trees. The arrow -strengthened with miko powers -sliced off a tree branch causing it and the person whom was sitting on it to fall to the ground.

"Uh…" Yumeko moaned, knocked unconscious by the fall.

"Yumeko!" Shiro cried.

"Meddling youkai," Kikyo hissed, notching another arrow to her bow and aiming it at Inuyasha/Shiro again.

"I know it's you, Inuyasha, so drop the disguise!" Kikyo ordered harshly.

"W-What do you mean?" Shiro sputtered. Kikyo laughed coldly.

"I recognize your fire-rat kimono," she said, "You never go anywhere without wearing that fire-rat fur. And your sword -the aura around it is unmistakable."

"Look, you baka miko," Shiro snarled, glaring at the woman, "I don't know what the hell you're talking about!"

"Fine, I'll pretend for a moment that you're not Inuyasha," Kikyo said, but she didn't lower her bow, "So tell me, Shiro, how do you know my name and face?"

"I-I saw you in a dream," the boy admitted, "With this other girl -Kagome. I don't know how I know your name. I-It just came to me."

"You lie!" Kikyo screamed, letting lose her arrow. Shiro tried to move, but he was too slow.

"AHHH!!!" Shiro cried in shock as the arrow entered his shoulder. Placing his hand around the arrow, Shiro looked at Kikyo with wide eyes.

'T-This is like my dream!' Shiro thought, as blood ran down his shoulder, 'Except the arrow didn't go into my chest. Damn, if that happened I would be dead! It's a good thing a stepped out of the way.'

"One more time," Kikyo murmured, placing another arrow into her bow. Even if Shiro escaped from the next arrow it wouldn't be long before Kikyo placed an arrow into his chest. He growled in frustration.

'If only this stupid bracelet wasn't on me!' a voice snarled in Shiro's head. Little did the boy know, it was his older self, Inuyasha.

'What?!' Shiro thought frantically, 'What would you do?'

'Tetsusaiga,' Inuyasha thought to his younger self, just before the connection was broken.

"DIE!" Kikyo screamed, letting lose an arrow for the third time.

"GAK!" Shiro cried, moving to one side again. This time he was lucky and the arrow only grazed his side.

"I have to say, Inuyasha, even in that puny little form you're very fast for a human," Kikyo said, grabbing another arrow.

"I'M NOT PUNY!!!" Shiro yelled. Suddenly the bracelet on his wrist started to glow and spark.

'HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!' the voice of Inuyasha laughed madly in Shiro's head, 'That's it! Just get angry and desperate enough then the stupid bracelet weakens! It's all about the strength of wills! Perfect!'

'Huh?' Shiro thought, confused.

'Just leave it to me, brat,' Inuyasha told his younger self, 'Let's see if I can get us out of this mess you got us into. We'll be having some of Kagome's ramen by tonight!'

'Who ya calling a brat?!' Shiro demanded. Inuyasha laughed again then began to focus. Meanwhile, Kikyo released her next arrow.

"TETSUSAIGA!"

'What?!' Kikyo thought in shock. Her arrow had been cut in two before it had gotten to its mark. And not only that, but her bow was now in two pieces in her hands!

"Damn, it's good to be back!" a familiar voice crowed. Shiro stood before her, an arrow still in his shoulder and a cut in his side. But something had changed. He was still a human child, but his once violet eyes were now a fiery gold and there was a streak of white in his hair. Also, he had aged slightly making him look like ten years old rather than five. In his hands was the Tetsusaiga, fully transformed. One would wonder how on earth could someone of Shiro's size hold such a large weapon, let alone swing it. (AN: But as we all know Inuyasha isn't your average boy. ^_^)

"So Inuyasha, you decided to stop hiding?" Kikyo asked, throwing her broken bow to one side.

"I was never hiding!" Inuyasha protested. Kikyo suddenly realized that when she was talking to Shiro before, his voice was high pitched like a child's. But now, his voice had changed to the familiar deeper teenaged voice of Inuyasha's hanyou form.

"So do you wish to kill me again, Inuyasha?" Kikyo laughed bitterly. The look in the boy's golden eyes seemed pained somehow. Sheathing the demon sword in his hands, Inuyasha sat down, sweat running down his brow.

'I-It's hard fighting that baka bracelet's powers,' he thought breathing heavily, 'I can't think properly. And I didn't even transform all the way back into my hanyou form! At least I unsealed enough demon blood for me to use the Tetsusaiga. Damn, I don't know how long I have until the bracelet turns me back. This could be the end of me!'

"Inuyasha?" Kikyo asked, much more gently when she noticed he didn't answer. He looked at her, his golden eyes already starting to change back to violet. His eyes were glazed over and he was slightly delirious from the pain in his shoulder and side, the loss of blood, and the lack of energy because of what it took to fight the bracelet's powers.

"K-Kagome?" Inuyasha/Shiro murmured, his vision blurred, "I-I never told you. I-I love -I love you." Suddenly, his eyes turned completely violet, he became younger, and the white streak in his dark hair disappeared. Then the boy toppled over, unconscious and exhausted.

"So, Inuyasha," Kikyo murmured, looking at the sleeping boy, "The girl means that much to you? You would waste your dying words on her?!" He moaned slightly in his sleep, as if he was answering Kikyo's question.

"Damn you Inuyasha," Kikyo hissed. Then she turned her back on him and walked away.

***

Back in the village with Aki, Miho, Kimiko, and Kumo

"That miko has been gone for awhile," Kumo murmured, "Do you think we should go after her?"

"That would be a good idea," Aki agreed.

"Hold it!" Miho ordered. Both males froze in their tracks.

"We know why you want to go out there," Kimiko began.

"And it's not to check up on Kikyo-san," Miho added, "You two just want to find Shiro and drag him back here!"

"Can you blame us?" Aki asked, "Shiro's just a little boy! He could get killed out there!"

"By what?" Kimiko asked.

"Youkai," both men chorused together.

"Onii-san," Kimiko sighed, "Don't you remember what Kikyo-sama said? She told us that there weren't any dangerous youkai in the forest and that the bunny youkai only attack when provoked."

"So?" Kumo snorted, "Kikyo is a miko. You can't trust priestesses."

"He's got a point," Aki nodded, "There's still that spider youkai that kidnapped Miho-san." Kumo sweat dropped.

"Actually, Aki-san," Kumo said with a cough, "That spider youkai was me."

"WHAT?!" Aki and Kimiko yelled. The demon blushed.

"It was a misunderstanding!" Kumo cried, "It's not my fault."

"I think Shiro-chan will be fine," Miho said, changing the subject, "That plus Yumeko-san is following him. If he runs into any trouble, she can take care of it."

"But she's a dream youkai!" Kumo protested, "They got to be the weakest youkai existing! They can't even eat human flesh! Even baby spider youkai eat human flesh!"

"WHAT?!" Aki, Kimiko, and Miho cried. Kumo sweat dropped and walked towards the door.

"Hahahaha," Kumo laughed with a blush, trying not to notice the humans glaring at his back, "Forget I said that. Let's get going! We got a stubborn kid to bring home!"

***

In the dreamscape with Inuyasha and Shiro

"Damn bracelet," Inuyasha muttered.

"You can say that again," Shiro sighed. Both were leaning against the trunk of the God-Tree, exhausted even in the world of dreams. The silver bracelets that were around their wrists were sparking and glowing. Both boys could feel the bracelet sealing up more of their memories.

"Well at least we know that we can use Tetsusaiga," Shiro murmured. Inuyasha snorted.

"Not without becoming tired and even more helpless than before," the hanyou grunted, "Damn! I wonder when Kikyo is going to kill us."

"Maybe she won't," Shiro suggested.

"In case you've forgotten again," Inuyasha said sarcastically, "The first thing on Kikyo's to-do-list is to kill me!"

"I wish she would understand what happened with Naraku tricking us and pitting us against her," Shiro murmured. Inuyasha's eyes softened for a brief moment.

"Me too."

"I wonder what Kikyo's arrow is going to do to us," Shiro mused, "Last time it put us to sleep for fifty years."

"Who knows?" Inuyasha shrugged, "But I ain't waiting another fifty years for Kagome to find us and pull the arrow out."

"Yeah, I know," Shiro nodded, "You want to have pups with her as soon as possible, right?"

"I swear, if you say another word on pups again, I'll kill you myself!" Inuyasha snarled, glaring at his younger self.

"If you have a daughter you should call her Akari," Shiro suggested with a grin.

"WHY YOU!!!!"

***

Back in the real world

"SHIRO?! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Aki called.

"Shiro-chan?" Miho said, looking behind a couple of bushes.

"He could be anywhere," Kumo muttered. Aki, Miho, Kumo, and Kimiko had spent the last couple of minutes looking for the boy without any luck, and it was getting very frustrating.

"Any bright ideas on how to find Shiro?" Kumo asked the others in the group. The two girls shook their heads.

"I-I have an idea," Aki began. Kumo looked him sharply.

"Well?" Kumo said impatiently, "What is it?" Aki looked away from the demon's gaze.

"Miho-san," Aki began, "Has it ever occurred to you that I was hiding something? Something big?"

"Everyone has secrets, Aki-san," Miho said calmly. Aki looked at the ground, then suddenly snapped his head up to look Kumo in the eye. Kumo's ruby red eyes widened. Aki's normal black eyes flecked with gold had changed. They were now fully golden and pupil-less.

"Youkai," Kumo hissed. Aki shook his head.

"Magician," he corrected. Kumo crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"I thought your kind was extinct," the demon said. Aki crossed his arms, copying Kumo's gesture.

"Not yet," Aki smirked. Kumo laughed.

"Well, Magician," Kumo said, "You said you had a plan. Care to share?" Aki uncrossed his arms and looked sheepishly at Miho.

"Miho-san," he began, "I -"

"Don't," Miho interrupted, then she smiled at him, "Everyone has secrets, Aki-san. Thank you for sharing yours." Aki blushed and nodded.

"When I first meet Shiro," Aki began, "I got this strong feeling from him -I can't explain it. Even when I'm far away from him, I can still sense that feeling from him. Anyway, whenever he faints, that strong feeling I get from him fades a bit. A few minutes ago that strong feeling weakened -a lot. That's why I wanted to check up on him."

'That makes sense,' Kumo thought to himself, 'I got a strong feeling from him when we first met also. I suppose that's why I feel so protective over him.'

"My plan is that I can use my magic to trace down that feeling strait to its source -strait to Shiro-chan," Aki finished.

"Well then what are you waiting for?!" Kumo asked, glaring, "DO IT!!!"

Aki nodded. He closed his eyes and began to chant. The others had to shield their eyes as the young magician suddenly started to glow with a bright light. Then, as quickly as it began, the light faded away. In its place a tiny flame hovered right in front of Aki. Then, it zoomed away from the group.

"Quick, follow it!" Aki commanded, opening his eyes that were now back to being black with gold flecks, "It will lead us to Shiro-chan." The group rushed after the small flame.

"Nice," Kumo commented to Aki as they ran, "Elemental Master?"

"No," Aki replied, "I'm just a Fire and Wind Master. Water and Earth don't like me."

"Strange," Kumo said, "I thought Fire and Earth complimented each other while Water and Wind were always together. You have a strange combination."

"I know," Aki sighed, then he pointed to the flame they were following, "Look! It's starting to slow down. We must be close." The little flame made a sharp left turn, then stopped to hover over a small red bundle.

"SHIRO!" Kumo and Aki cried when they saw the boy.

"Dear Kami," Miho whispered, her eyes wide. Shiro was lying in a small puddle of his own blood, an arrow stuck in his shoulder. A few feet away from him was the crumpled form of Yumeko. Kumo rushed over to the boy's side and gently picked him up. Then, in one quick movement, Kumo pulled out the arrow that was lodged in Shiro's shoulder. Kumo felt dread settle into his stomach when the boy didn't react.

"Who did this?!" the spider youkai hissed through clenched teeth.

"You shouldn't have pulled the arrow out," Miho said, "You could have caused more damage." Kumo didn't say anything. Miho sighed and began tearing strips of cloth from her kimono to bandage up Shiro's wounds. Aki went over to check on Yumeko.

"She seems to be fine," the magician announced, "Just unconscious."

"Here Miho-san," Kimiko said, handing the older girl an herb, "Kikyo-sama said that this plant helps wounds heal faster."

"Thank you," Miho murmured, taking the plant and adding it to the bandaging she was putting on Shiro's wounds.

"I just had a thought," Kumo said, "Don't most priestesses use bows and arrows as their weapons of choice?"

"That's right," Kimiko nodded, "Kikyo-sama had gray feathers at the end of all her arrows."

"Gray feather's?!" Kumo repeated, looking at the young girl with shock in his red eyes. Then he tossed the arrow that he had pulled out of Shiro's shoulder at Kimiko's feet. The young girl picked up the blood stained shaft gingerly. The feathers on the arrow were gray.

"K-Kikyo-sama?!" Kimiko gasped, her face pale.

"I knew there was something wrong with that miko!" Kumo snarled.

"But why would she do such a thing?" Aki asked, walking over to them with Yumeko sleeping in his arms.

"It probably has something to do with her reaction when Kumo talked about the golden eyes," Miho said.

"Good thing I didn't try any magic while she was in the hut," Aki murmured.

"If I ever get my hands on that miko!" Kumo threatened, his eyes blazing. Shiro groaned in his sleep, turning the attention of everyone to him.

"We better get back to the village," Aki murmured, "It won't do either Shiro or Yumeko-san any good to stay out here." The others nodded in agreement. The group started walking back, the sun high in the sky above them.

Author-chan's notes: Finished! Kikyo made a rather unexpected entrance and exit, hmm? She'll still come around in the next chapter, but after that she's going bye-bye! I hate writing Kikyo. She doesn't have a set personality really. Oh, and maybe, just maybe, I'll bring in Fluffy-sama into this whole mess by next chapter.