AN: Chapter Two has been revised! Yay! Although I'm not sure how good it is. Towards the end it seemed to kind of…spiral downwards. But that's okay! I hope you enjoy it! Merry Christmas!

Used to Love You

Chapter Two

Sesshoumaru was sitting by a stream, watching the water run its course. He didn't feel bad. At all. That girl meant nothing to him and to kill her was just an ordinary task. He didn't even see why Inuyasha felt bad about it. The girl would've died eventually, and had Sesshoumaru not succeeded in killing Inuyasha by then, he would've been left alive. There was just no point in befriending or caring about humans.

The idea was ludicrous. When his father had married that human, he couldn't believe it. Why would a great warrior such as him stoop down so low to a weak mortal? He snorted in disdain at the mere thought of Inuyasha's mother. In a matter of seconds, he had stood up, only to feel a presence behind him. With a raised brow, he turned behind him to see who would even bother to come near him. All the youkai knew he was a force to be reckoned with so they didn't bother to step foot near him. At least most of them didn't. Those that did usually ended up being piles of flesh.

However, when he turned around, he spotted a woman with long black hair with a glow surrounding her. Hakumei. He knew of this woman—the guardian of the crossroads. Most didn't believe of her or even know of her, however his mother had told him many fairytales and legends of her as a small child. Although he now dismissed any of those stories told him. They were all simply made up fables to preoccupy the minds of children.

"Sesshoumaru," her gentle voice rang out, loud enough that it reached his sensitive ears, yet quiet enough that even a rabbit would have to strain to hear her.

He made no move to respond, simply staring at her. Why she was here was beyond him, though he suspected it was because of that human girl he had disposed of. Though he had killed many a human before.

"You are the one who killed the girl Kagome. The miko who currently is guarding the Shikon no Tama," she began, her soft eyes never leaving his hard, unfeeling ones. "You must pay for what you have done, though you see you have no wrong. And while it may be true that she was a human, she was not just another one to kill. She is an extraordinary miko, not only because of her powers, but because of her heart. She is pure and kind, loving and gentle, powerful yet she does not boast.

"As her killer, the one who took her away from this world, you shall now be the one to keep her in this world. You are her protector. And until you can realize the error of your ways, until you can see what she is worth, you are forever bound to her."

Sesshoumaru stood there, not moving at all. He was mildly shocked, though it didn't show on his face or in his posture. He didn't bother to protest, to fight against guardian's words. There was no point. No matter how powerful he was, she was just that much stronger. And while the woman's eyes were soft, they held a look of warning in them, daring him to go against everything she had said.

"And how," he responded, "do you plan to keep me bound to this girl?"

Hakumei smiled a knowing one. "I knew you would ask of this. Should you fail to protect this girl, should she die because of your ignorance, you will pay the price with your own life. I advise you not to fail…For I would hate to take away the life of such a divine being as you."

--

Kagome's eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the bright light of the flames before her face. Feeling the hard wood beneath her body, she realized she was in Kaede's hut. It must've been nighttime due to the fact that everybody was in slumber of sorts. Not even Inuyasha who was usually so alert stirred when her weight pressed against the creaky wooden boards as she moved towards the opening of the hut.

She hadn't bothered to wake any of the others up, for she could sense an unusual presence near the nut. Curiously, she moved the flap aside, peering outside to see who or what it was that had come to the village in the middle of the night.

"Sesshoumaru…" She breathed, stepping out of the hut cautiously not before picking up her quiver full of arrows and her bow. Luckily they had been left in the hut, untouched.

Hesitantly, afraid any sudden motions would set him off, she pulled one of her arrows out of the quiver and strung the bow with it. However, she kept the bow in a downward position, the tip of the arrow facing the ground. Sesshoumaru smirked slightly at the girl's actions, deciding she was foolish to even try and attack him again. His smirk faded though when he realized he had come here without any intention of killing her. A low growl emanated from his throat at the thought which Kagome mistook as a signal to hoist the bow up and aim for him, her arrow pointing straight at him.

"Put the weapon down, insolent girl." He ordered.

Kagome's brows furrowed together, and she felt her hands shake at the soft yet commanding tone of his voice. But the grip on her bow only tightened. She clenched her teeth together in deep concentration. Right now, she was trying to focus on her miko powers so that she could fuse them with the arrow.

"I'm warning you, girl," Sesshoumaru hissed, becoming agitated with the girl's stubbornness.

It was a wasted effort though because Kagome wasn't going to listen to Sesshoumaru of all people. Especially with the fact that he was her murderer. In a sudden moment added with a flash of blue setting off from Kagome's bow, the arrow was speeding towards Sesshoumaru, a small whistling noise erupting from the force of it pushing against the wind. Sesshoumaru quickly stepped to the side, dodging it, and quickly sped towards Kagome who stood clutching her bow with a somewhat frightened look on her face.

Within a matter of seconds, Sesshoumaru had hauled Kagome over his shoulders, moving at a speed that seemed almost faster than light. Kagome, all of a sudden furious, pounded on his back yelling at him to let her go. Sesshoumaru growled in annoyance at the girl's shrill voice which was right beside his ear.

When he deemed them far enough from the village, he set Kagome down but didn't give her any time to relax, for he had slammed her up against the tree, his clawed fingers around her small neck. His normally golden eyes seemed to be filled with rage and Kagome could've sworn they were about to turn red. In a desperate attempt to make him lose grip of her, she wrapped her hands around his wrist, trying to pry his hands off of her neck.

"Do not test my patience, girl." He ground out, fighting back the urge to melt her worthless body with his poison.

At the sound of his angered voice, Kagome stopped trying to fight off his grip, however she didn't move her hands away. Her sapphire eyes were filled with fear and a hint of rage at the way he was treating her. He had already killed her once before! Wasn't that enough?

When Sesshoumaru felt calm enough, he released Kagome, letting her drop rather harshly to the ground. Kagome rubbed her backside, a little ticked that she was being dropped left and right.

"Why are you here?" She asked, her voice wavering a little. Knowing Sesshoumaru, she figured he was a ticking time bomb.

"It's a matter concerning your death and the guardian of the crossroads," he replied in a curt tone.

"H-H-Hakumei…" Kagome stuttered, looking up at Sesshoumaru with a curious look etched on her features. "What did she want?"

Sesshoumaru raised a brow, looking down at the girl who spoke to him in such a rude manner. "Girl, I advise you to talk to me properly or else you'll be finding yourself with one less a body part. Concerning that woman, your life is now mine to protect. So I'd start respecting me if I were you." He threatened the last part, still annoyed with the fact that he had to deal with this girl for god knows how long.

Just as Kagome was about to get up off the ground, she fell back down, the color from her face draining. Had she heard him correctly? Did he really say she was his to protect? Kagome could feel herself losing consciousness, but she fought it.

"You're…You're kidding me…" She whispered, more to herself than him.

"Get up, miko. And no, I am not simply making this up. If anything, I'd enjoy nothing more than to rip you apart, limb from limb."

Kagome looked up at him for a second, a disgusted look on her face. How could she feel safe when here her so-called "protector" was, threatening her like there was no tomorrow? And all of a sudden, she snapped. And only heaven knows that when a miko is angry, she is angry.

Sesshoumaru didn't even flinch when Kagome's miko powers began swirling around her, the light blue hue taking on a dangerous edge. He certainly didn't flinch when she got up to her feet, looking him straight in the eye. And he didn't bother to flinch throughout her screaming, though the sound was once again killing his ears.

"Are you done?"

He looked down at the girl, shaking while drawing in deep breaths of air. Finally, her spiritual energy calmed down so that it was only small flames, licking at the air in front of it. Kagome only glared back at him before turning on her heel and heading back towards the village.

"I'm going back to Inuyasha and the others."

Sesshoumaru only stood there, a little irked by Kagome's rudeness. He decided in the near future, he'd have to work on controlling his temper around that miko. She really knew how to push his buttons and get him angry. And that put him in a bad position. Should he try to attack her, and in the end, kill her, his life would be gone. For Sesshoumaru, dying because of a human was the worst way to go.

However, he let her go. There would be another time when he'd deal with her. After all, Hakumei never stated that he had to be by the girl at all times. And though Inuyasha did a poor job of protecting the girl, he thought, at least somebody was there to keep an eye on her. She was surrounded by people. With a soft grumble, he turned and began to walk away, the stars lighting his path.

--

"Kagome!" Inuyasha exclaimed when she was just a few feet away from the hut. His amber eyes were lit up in shock mixed with happiness. She was alive! Just when he had given up all hope, she was walking towards him, well and whole. There were no scars or cuts…She was perfect. Her eyes were a sparkling sapphire and her skin was pale, yet there was a healthy flush to her cheeks.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called back, just as happy to see him. She sprinted towards him, arms wide. Inuyasha embraced her as she jumped into his welcoming arms. He just couldn't believe it…She was here, with him. "Inuyasha, I'm so glad…" Kagome whispered, hugging him tighter than ever.

He smiled against her head and whispered the same back.

The others came out of the hut to see what all the commotion was about. When they saw Kagome alive and well, smiles erupted onto their faces, truly happy to see the girl alive. Shippou darted to Kagome, perching himself on her shoulder. Kagome laughed at the kitsune's antics before giving him a hug.

"Kagome!" Sango exclaimed, hugging Kagome. She had missed the girl so much in just that short amount of time. During the course of their journey, they had become like sisters, and when she heard of Kagome's death, she was heartbroken. But now…Now she was back, her laughter real.

Miroku simply smiled at her, welcoming her back to the world of the living. Kagome was somewhat glad he didn't hug her…For she knew what would happen next, should his hands begin to wander…

Kaede stood at the entrance of the hut, a small smile on her withered face. She knew Kagome would come back…A girl so spirited and strong…

"Come, come! It's late," she called, drawing their attention. "We must let Kagome rest."

The next morning, the group was getting ready to leave the village, spirits high once more with the return of their miko. Kagome was extremely cheerful and even Inuyasha was somewhat happier, though he did try to hide it. Kagome could only roll her eyes at the hanyou's attitude. But it was normal…And right now, she was begging for a sense of normalcy in her world.

During their journey, it was then that Kagome remembered last night…Sesshoumaru and everything. She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to believe it. But it was real. Though Kagome hated the idea of trusting Sesshoumaru, she knew he was right on this one. There was no way he would want to protect her, so Hakumei must've been the one. She hadn't told Inuyasha or the others…And she was pretty scared to do so. Inuyasha wouldn't take the news well, and she didn't want to ruin his good mood.

Things were going fine for a while though. They had covered a lot of ground and even gathered some rumors saying that a dark presence was in the northeast, flushing many of the lesser youkai away, but causing more problems itself. Several villages had been destroyed by it, and Kagome had a good hunch that it was Naraku's doing. Either that or one of his underlings sent to do the job.

"We should set camp here," Miroku said as the sun was setting. Inuyasha didn't bother to argue with him so the others agreed with Miroku and began to prepare some food. Kagome was glad she had taken up her mother's offer of the ramen, for when Sango and Shippou returned, they didn't find very much food, save for some berries.

As night was settling and the group was getting ready to sleep, Kagome quickly set up in her sleeping bag. Her eyes were wide in alarm as she sensed the power of not one jewel shard, but possibly four. She quickly got up and grabbed her weapons and when she looked back to warn Inuyasha, she saw him already looking out into the distance, his eyes alert.

Sango and Miroku had gotten into their battle positions, Kirara standing in her huge, wildcat form beside Sango and Shippou perched on Miroku's shoulder.

"How many shards do you sense, Lady Kagome?" Miroku asked, not moving from his position.

"I…I don't know. It seems like four. Either way, it's a massive amount of energy. We have to be prepared."

All of a sudden, a piercing scream was heard, and a giant swarm of youkai covered the starry sky. Their bodies writhed while their screams melted together as one. Saimyoushou flew beside the group of youkai, their wings creating the sound of a propeller when flapped all at once.

"Naraku…" Inuyasha whispered, his fists clenching around Tetsusaiga's hilt.

"I'll take care of these worthless bugs," Sango said while hopping onto Kirara's back and taking to the skies, with her boomerang bone in hand.

The swarm howled in pain as they were ripped apart by Sango and Kirara. Kagome erected a barrier around her, Miroku, and Shippou while Inuyasha readied himself for another opponent who was causing the ground to rumble beneath their feet.

A massive ant youkai approached, its antennae moving rapidly as it sensed the group before it. It let out a screech before charging towards them. Inuyasha quickly performed the wind scar though it barely had no effect on it.

Kagome notched three arrows, a determined look on her face as she concentrated her powers into the arrows. This had to take careful concentration. Kagome's barrier seemed to be weakening, as she could feel all the power she had going into this shot. She paid it no mind however, praying that her attack would sever the ant's legs.

"Kagome!" Sango yelled from high above. "Behind you!"

Kagome quickly looked behind her to see one of Naraku's lesser snake youkai's head flying towards her, jaws open, ready to strike her square in the throat. Her concentration had been erased and she let the arrows fly, towards the ant youkai who only got one leg cut off.

"Lady Kagome!" Miroku yelled, trying to get to her in time before the snake could make its attack successful.

However, Kagome never felt it. Instead, she heard the piercing scream of the snake. She opened her eyes slowly.

Standing before her was Sesshoumaru.