Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Kikyou.

Once Was Enough

The broken, battered miko limped away from the battlefield, as far as she could get from them. Their hateful words rang in her ears, chiding her endlessly. They called her a fake, called her weak, they kept telling her she was not of this world. She remembered the look on his face. That look of utter despair. That face appeared in her mind, calming her a bit. One person in this world still loved her, but he also loved another, which wasn't fair.

She thought she didn't need anyone, thought she was fine on her own, but how wrong she was. Many people thought she wasn't the same miko she used to be. But, deep down she was. She was the miko that needed her hanyou. Only, this time, her hanyou wasn't coming to save her. He wasn't going to rescue her from her turmoil she had thrown herself into. He wouldn't be there to pick her up and brush her off this time and tell her she was alright. He never would be able to again.

He had a new person that needed saving, a new person that warmed his heart. That person wasn't her, but to make it worse in a weird sense it was her. It was her reincarnation, that hateful Kagome. She had come from the future and had to shine her light for all to see, especially my Inuyasha. I love him with all of my heart, but I can't go near him anymore, it wouldn't be right. Even if I find myself despising that girl more and more each day, I don't want to hurt her, despite what everyone thought.

All I want is my hanyou back. I just want to be able to love him again. I want to take away this facade and show him that I'm still me. I want to show him the old miko in me still exists. But, I can't. It would be wrong. I won't do that them, I won't do that to her. I feel my souls leaving me. Curse that Naraku. Curse him. I feel myself falling to the ground. I feel the wretched dirt in my mouth and I spit it out. My bow and arrows have fallen to my side, getting drenched in the newly pouring rain.

Suits my mood just right. I feel the rain beating on my cheeks and I feel tears slip my eyelids, blending in with the rain. What a disgrace I have become. I have fallen and can find it nowhere within myself to bring myself back up. I then feel my souls still leaving me, leaving me here to die, just like everyone it seems. Just as I am about to let my eyes close, I hear a voice, a voice I thought was never going to hear again.

"Inuyasha," I whisper, my tears falling even more. I turn my head weakly, hearing him approach. I can hear his feet sinking into the muddy ground and immediately coming out, sinking in again, coming out. The cycle continues for a while and I hear more footsteps. His friends, his friends that hated her guts. All because Kagome had filled their heads with her nonsense notions.

I finally see him enter the clearing and he stops in his tracks. I manage to look up, my face covered in mud, rain, and tear stains. I let my face fall to the ground again, not wanting to look in his eyes. I don't want him to see the reaction on his face at my state of brokenness. I wish he would leave. I wish he would stop coming back to me, reminding me of all the memories, memories of us all those fifty years ago, and I wish he would stop mocking me. Mocking me at my present state as to that of fifty years ago the first time we met and the last time when we had 'betrayed' eachother.

I finally hear his friends enter the area, all of them gasping. I hear their voices in my head, those cruel words replaying over and over again in my head. Why can't they leave me be? Why can't they let me die in peace? Why must they remind me of the failure I've become? More tears fall down my cheeks. I don't want to cry, but I can't help it. My eyes are hurting and my body is starting to go numb.

I suddenly feel hands, warm hands, lift me up. I see red, I know who it is, Inuyasha. "Why do this Inuyasha?" I question him weakly. "There is no point. Leave me to die," I tell him.

I feel him hug me to his chest. "No Kikyou, I can't do that," he responds, his voice cracking. "I won't leave you alone Kikyou. I promised you. I am not going to leave you here," he says, holding me closer.

I feel curiosity arise within me. "Why, Inuyasha? Why save me when you could just let me die?" I asked him, wanting to hear him say what I had been waiting for fifty years to hear him say.

I could feel him tense up. Would he say it. I heard footsteps and turned my head meekly to see Kagome standing above Inuyasha and I. "Inuyasha," she hisses in a warning.

"Back off Kagome," Inuyasha snaps at her, making her retreat instantly. She looks at him, confusion written on her face. What a fool she is. He turns his head back to me. "Kikyou, please, I love you. Please, don't let yourself die Kikyou," he pleaded. "Kikyou, I'll take you with us and you can heal," he declares and lifts me into the air.

Inside, I smile to myself. Thank you Inuyasha. Thank you, I think I can heal now. "Thank you Inuyasha," I manage out. "I love you too," I croak out with all of my strength, I have to tell him. If it's the last thing I say, then so be it.

He hugs me closer than I ever thought possible. "Don't worry Kikyou," he whispers to me. "I'll never leave you again. You'll always be by my side. Please, say you'll stay with me," he begs.

"I will Inuyasha," I whisper, finally letting my eyes close. As I plunge into the darkness, I can once again hear his friends' voices, teasing me, taunting me, and mocking me. I hear them loud and clear and begin to weaken once again. But, then, I hear his soft voice enter my thoughts. Before all I had had was his face. That face hadn't been enough. His words were. Those three simple words he said to me drowned out the other voices, making them fade away. Before I completely let myself surrender to the darkness and go into a state of unconsciousness, I know one thing. Hearing him say those words meant the world to me. No matter how many times I wanted to hear them repeated in my ear, I knew that, once was enough. Enough to know that he would forever love me, and I him.

Hello again! I know that many of you people love the Kagome and Inuyasha relationship and I respect that. Kagome is ok, but I love Kikyou. I find her and Inuyasha's relationship the most touching one in the story. While I may prefer Inuyasha and Kikyou to Inuyasha and Kagome I respect the opinions of those who like Inuyasha and Kagome. So please don't flame me saying how much you hate Inuyasha and Kikyou together and say how stupid or awful I am. I respect your opinion, so please respect mine. To those who have reviewed my stories so far, thank you for respecting my opinions. You rock! I just wanted to say this because I know how people out there hate Kikyou. Thanks again! Please, review!