Okay! I DON'T own InuYasha and co. (men in black suits slink quietly away) Yeah! and don't come back! NYAH! Okay! This is my first story here, so PLEASE! don't hate me! And I do accept flames! So... go ahead! flame away! But I do prefer nice reviews... come to think of it... I can't think of anyone who really enjoys flames...can you?

Who are you really? That was a question she dealt with daily. It was always the same. Who are you really? Never, Arigatoo, or would you please accept our humble thanks, always, Who are you really. She'd always tell them, with a smile and a playful glint. " If I told you that… I'd have to kill you. Now wouldn't I? They always knew she was joking, but it still puzzled them. Who was this girl? Where did she come from? What's her purpose? Why is she here? None of them ever found out. For it was a time, when all warriors were needed in the realm. Evil demons ran amok. Spirits ran, unchained. Immortals that were both evil and good plagued the world with disease and sickness. There were some legendary fighters. Kikyo, Sango, InuYasha, Sesshomaru, Miroku, Rin, Koga, Ayame, and Hiten. None of them knew her real name, so they always referred to her as the mystery girl, or, Mistress of shadows, for she always slipped in and out like a shadow. She was also legendary. But since no one knew her real name, they could not properly record her as one of them. Her weapons of choice were, a longbow and arrow, broadsword, katana, and surprisingly, a glaive. The glaive is like a staff, except it has 18 pounds of sharp solid steal on the end. She could also enchant her enemies with the sound of her voice, flute, or piccolo. She claimed she had another instrument, but it had been lost when the immortals and spirits were first released. You never really knew when she would turn up, what weapon she would use, or if she would finally reveal her true identity. The legendary warriors had vowed to bring her into their circle. Give her the proper credit she deserved, but first, they were going to have to be at the same place she was, at the same time, and try and figure out who she was. The last one as virtually impossible. The only part of her face you could see, were her lips and chin. A hood obscured the rest. They would have a very hard time figuring out who she was, as the only person who even had an inkling, was suffering blood loss, and her friends could not save her, for they were all pinned to trees with arrows, from dark priestesses.

" Let my friends go!" Kikyo shouted. " Let them go! InuYasha! WAKE UP!" but it was no use. They were under the spell of the arrows. The beast attacking Kikyo, took on the form of one of her friends. Attacked, then transformed again. Soon, there was only one person who it hadn't changed into. The red hair that had been there moments ago, now turned black. It grew in length. It was no longer in pigtails. The eyes changed from green, to gold. The fangs stayed, but the rest of the face, went from feminine, to masculine. Little white dog-ears appeared on its head. It grew in height, toning, and losing its feminine appearance. The beast stood before her. Got ready to deliver the final blow, but was tackled to the ground by a figure in a cloak. Soon the struggle was over. The thing was on the ground in its normal appearance. The figure ran over to the dying woman.

" Y-you are t-the Miss-stress of Sh-shadows? A-are you n-not?" she gasped. The figure nodded. " P-please. Save m-my friends." The Mistress of shadows lowered her hood to the dying woman. " I-it was y-you all a-along?" and with that, she was gone. The Mistress sighed, pulled her hood back up, and dug the valiant woman a proper grave. She then wandered over to the people pinned to the trees. She grasped the arrow of the red head, and pulled.

When everyone, save for the man with dog-ears was released, she slowly walked up to the tree he was pinned to. He was gorgeous. His hair was jet black. He was tall, and well built. His ears… were that of a dog. But unlike his hair, they were white. She looked up at him. Had you been there, you would have been able to see glints of silver coming from under the Mistresses hood. A small smile tugged at her lips. It was the man the

Shape-shifting bastard had turned into last. So she assumed the man's eyes were gold, but could not be sure. She studied his face once more, before grasping the arrow. Unlike the others, the arrow burst in her grasp. She stumbled back her mouth open in shock. Would one have been able to see her eyes, one could see they were wide with shock. The man slumped to the ground. She dragged the unconscious man over to where his friends were. She bandaged his wounds, along with the others, started a fire, wrote a note to him, and left.

When InuYasha woke up, the faces of his friends were all looking down at him. One was missing though. He struggled to a sitting position, and managed to gasp out,

" Where's Kikyo?" his friends frowned uncomfortably. InuYasha looked around. He saw a grave marker that hadn't been there before. " No. No. It can't be." InuYasha struggled over to the marker. On it, these words were carved.

Here lies the legendary warrior, Kikyo.

She fought bravely in battle, but was defeated.

She, the only bearer of my true identity, died to save those of her friends

She is a true warrior. Should any one disturb this grave

I will deal with them personally.

She deserves respect. She obtained it, and was never pigheaded about it

I may only hope that this valiant woman, passes on peacefully.

May you rest in peace Kikyo

InuYasha felt tears come to his eyes. Arigatoo, Mistress of shadows. May I hope to thank you personally one day. InuYasha gave a prayer for Kikyo, and with tears running down his face, walked back to the others.

Ookee! There ya have it! Chapter two will be up soon!