Author's Note:

Updating again for no reason. You see…if the 'community' gave back to me as much as I gave to 'them', I'd have more than 1200 reviews.

But life isn't fair.

And nothing balances out.

Note; I've reread my story, and found that the chapter where I describe the Shikon no Tama before was written very childishly….I apologize and hope it doesn't turn anyone away.

Don't be confused until you read the whole thing.

And please, ignore the little French phrase in the middle.

A Different Reason

Chapter Six: Vengeance Against What May Not Be

The miko named 'Kikyo' swayed ahead of them, graceful even in her rush. It was indeed evident that this was no leisurely walk, but a search with a purpose.

'Seek and destroy…' Souta thought in a flash of amusement, caught by how interesting the situation was. He and his sister had arrived in a new, more primitive world after a bloodbath in their own world. They had tried to settle in for what they thought would be a glum future, but had been found by a look-alike of Kagome. Were things going to look up or start going downhill?

They soon arrived at a village. Souta's previous guess was correct; there was human habilitation nearby. It was fairly small, with no more than fifteen little huts. Small children ran around, as they must do, while older ones stayed inside and helped with the work. Some of the oldest playing between the houses were just a little younger than Souta. He blushed from all the attention he was getting. One girl with hair tied messily with a ribbon ran up to him, and started poking his stomach.

"Whoa, what the f-" he changed the word when he noticed Kagome looking at him – "fructose syrup do you want?" He finished lamely, taking her hand and 'setting' it aside.

"Why you think? Rin wanna see if you have harder stomach than Rin's brother." She said, grinning happily. "Shippo proud of stomach."

"Uh…" Souta decided just to wave and move on. Despite the situation, Kagome still found time to torment him.

"First girlfriend? I'm soooo jealous."

"Heh…shut up. Even if she was, I'd have beaten you by like, 5 years?"

"…"

"I win." Totally.

Kikyo heard the siblings chatting behind her, but made the conscious choice not to turn around. She missed when she and Kaede could have bantered like that. It had all changed, as was inevitable. Having no parents stole away a childhood like a knife could steal a life.

She finally reached the house she shared with Kaede, and was surprised to find Onigumo waiting there.

"This is not a good time."

"Au contraire, it is the perfect time. I see you've brought them?" He replied, gesturing stiffly to the Higurashis. "They look just like I thought they would look."

"What are you talking about? You shouldn't know them, and you shouldn't be walking around yet." Kikyo answered, looking a little bewildered. She had tried covering up her unease with a healer's advice.

"But I do. I'll be seeing you later." Onigumo said calmly, and began hobbling back to his cave.

Kikyo shook his head in puzzlement, and gestured them into her residence. Kaede was not inside when they entered, which relieved Kikyo. She wasn't sure that she wanted to face her yet.

"So, why do you need us?" Kagome asked cautiously, taking a seat near the door. Souta sat a few feet away from her, near the unlit fire pit.

"I hope you are comfortable, as I don't intent letting you 'go' until I finish explaining." Kikyo said, a hint of kindness tempering the coldness of the words.

""I guess so."

"I will assume that you are not familiar with the story of the sacred jewel, the Shikon no Tama."

Kagome interrupted, "Actually, our grandfather once told us a story about it." Kikyo raised an eyebrow, a little skeptical.

"That is strange. I had not known of any who knew the story of Midoriko outside of my own family."

Kagome shut her mouth immediately, knowing she had slipped up. Fortunately, Kikyo didn't seem interested in pursuing the subject, merely in completing her story.

"In any case, I shall continue.

"One of my ancestors was Midoriko. She was powerful, without equal. Demons plagued the land, and she purified and destroyed them. None could defeat her alone. One day, Midoriko's luck ran out. The more intelligent demons had gathered and combined their strength.

"However, she knew that it would happen. She waited carefully, just for the right moment. Then, using all of her miko powers, she used her soul to create a vessel for the demonic souls."

Kikyo paused significantly, but neither Kagome nor Souta picked up on the subtle hint. The priestess sighed, and continued.

"And so the sacred jewel was formed. It was handled with care, although it was not fragile. Paranoia drove the protectors to extreme measures. However, it was all wasted – the jewel could only be broken by one with a pure heart. Even back then, these maidens were not very common. However, it had to happen. Every fifty years, one would shatter the vessel. The demons would escape, and bid their time with new hosts. The breaker of the jewel would have to recover the pieces of Midoriko's soul, and with them, the demons that had broken free." An inaudible gasp came from one of those listening, but Kikyo did not bother finding out whom.

"Were they always the same demons? Could new ones also…I dunno, find her soul too?" asked Kagome, a little confused. Kikyo's story was a little different from the one that her grandfather had told them.

"That's a good question." Kikyo responded patronizingly. Kagome showed no outward signs of annoyance, but she was building up anger inside. Kikyo couldn't be much older than she was, and yet, was talking down as if to a five year old child.

"Many other demons were lured by the power of her soul, and would also be drawn in upon the completion of the Shikon no Tama. Their souls, however, were not immortalized with the rest. They would be…digested, if you will. The energy this released could be harnessed. The ignorant call it 'a wish'."

And now the pieces fell together for the Higurashis. Her story matched enough with the one they had been told earlier, and they could now accept it.

However, outside the hut, another set of ears was listening. The owner of these ears had just been confused beyond reason.

'How can the pure mikos shatter the jewel every fifty years…if the jewel is their heart?' Kaede thought, feeling a headache coming on.

Inuyasha was sweating heavily, and bleeding from about five minor wounds. His older brother was floating just out of his reach, looking as composed and clean as he had a few hours ago, when they had started battling. This infuriated the hanyou, and he leapt again, futilely swiping the area Sesshomaru had been in with his claws.

He was desperately tired of this fight, and regretted ever accepting the challenge. He would never admit it, of course, but he wished with all his heart that he was back with Kikyo, and not struggling against Sesshomaru.

He had been stupid…and had agreed to his terms. This fight would not officially end until one of them died. Sesshomaru was playing with him, and running away was not an option.

"Kikyo…I'm trying for you." He said out loud, ignoring the mocking grin he received from his opponent. Just verbalizing his intentions seemed to help bring strength back to him. Despite it all…he could still feel himself weakening.

He forced his fatigued limbs to move, expecting to encounter thin air – as he had all the times before.

Kaede knew that Kikyo was lying to the strangers. She didn't know why. Everyone in the village, and probably everyone in the whole entire world probably knew the story, except for whoever Kikyo was talking to.

It was almost an unwritten crime to lie about Midoriko's story. Elaborating was tolerated in only small amounts. If the story wound up completely different from the original, people would scorn the teller.

Kikyo was committing suicide, in a sense. She, as the protector of the Shikon no Tama, should have known better. Kaede was torn between reporting her sister and just confronting her.

She knew though, that in the end, she would do neither. She would listen and keep learning more about this new side of Kikyo.

"Where do we come in? I'm sorry, but we do need to be somewhere." Kagome lied badly, not caring. She didn't feel like talking to the priestess that resembled her so closely. Neither did Souta, if the looks they exchanged were any measure of their desire to remain.

"Please don't go. I do need you."

"How? I'm sorry, but you haven't explained things very well. We need to prepare for the night, and even if we leave now – it could be dark by the time we get back." Kagome said in a stiff voice, tired of the dancing around.

"Look, I'm not supposed to…but I took a glance into the future." Kikyo took a deep breath. "A hanyou I thought loved me – he's going to betray us."

"And this concerns us how?" Kagome asked, only mildly interested.

"You're the reason why he does. I saw that he began visiting your campsite, and the look of love I enjoyed slowly became the look in his eyes whenever he was with you. It isn't just the emotion of a woman scorned – later on, I saw him take a knife to the boy. He lied to you, and you followed him with the miko power I know you have. You teamed up, and destroyed the Shikon no Tama – you because you thought the soul of your brother was there – him because he thought he could get a wish out of its destruction."

"I don't believe you. Souta, come with me."

"You are abandoning your duty, to prevent what may be." Her desperate voice tried to tell them.

Souta had already gone outside. Kagome turned around, shifting what she was holding a little.

"No. You are trying to get vengeance for what may not be." She replied calmly, and a little sadly. It was hard to believe that this beautiful, supposedly pure priestess could harbor such misguided thoughts.

Kikyo looked after them, speechless. She didn't move for a few minutes, not even when Kaede came in and lit the fire. Her sister glanced at her briefly, then went back out to visit with friends.

"What do you think of her?" Souta asked cautiously. They had made their way back without any major accidents occurring. Kagome had brought a flashlight with them by accident – which proved to be useful. True to her prediction, it had grown dark before they had returned.

"She doesn't understand. Looking into the future is dangerous – it's written that way in all the fictitious and stupid books in the future, so it must have some truth in it. She needs to realize that, and I know Kikyo's been warned. Interpreting visions and whatever isn't so easy."

"So you don't think that hanyou lover of hers is going to show up?"

"He'll show up, I guess. I don't really care about what happens since she's probably wrong, except that we need to find a way to keep her from us. I don't like her." Kagome said childishly, dropping hurriedly into the well.

"Suspicious….or just jealous?" Souta said comically, following her.

Author's Note:

I only read through this once, so there may be mistakes.

I want to write a story in the present tense…the past is what most people do, so it's a little overused (ha, just a little). I'll have to do a whole new story in order for that to happen, though. Changing writing styles in the middle of a story just isn't going to work.

Review please.