Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi is a goddess and we're all just playing in her world.

The Ties That Bind

Chapter 2

A Thief Among Us

It was a beautiful fall evening. The sky was clear and the moon was a bright beacon of light turning the land into shades of blue and black. Inu-yasha sat in the Goshin Boku tree and enjoyed the peace and quiet. He knew that he better enjoy it while he could, because soon enough they would have to face Naraku to complete the Shikon jewel. Inu-yasha's original agenda of recovering the jewel to become a full fledged demon had fell by the wayside. Now he just wanted to kill Naraku. He knew Kagome would take care of purifying the jewel.

But what would happen once Naraku was defeated? Sessho-maru had said that Kagura was trying to kill Naraku herself because he held her heart in his hands. Would her heart be freed, or destroyed with Naraku? Inu-yasha already knew that the prince's body Naraku confiscated was just a shell now. The prince's soul had hopefully been freed when Naraku took possession. But no matter what happened, he knew that Naraku's death would not fix all the damage he had caused. Kikyo would still be a soul-devouring shell of her former self who still hated Inu-yasha. Sango's father, brother and comrades would still be dead. The only damage he knew that would be undone would be Miroku finally being freed of the wind tunnel. Other than that, the only thing gained would be peace of mind. He could live with that.

Inu-yasha looked up at the moon that was shining down on his friends, and watched as soul collectors slithered through the sky, collecting souls of the dead and taking them to their rightful resting place until they were chosen to be reborn. But all Inu-yasha could think of was Kikyo. Talking to Kagome had helped Inu-yasha realize that they may have loved each other before Naraku's treachery, but if they'd had a true love, they wouldn't have believed the other capable of the crimes perpetrated by Naraku in disguise. Inu-yasha sighed and closed his eyes. He didn't want to think about that anymore. What was done is done and Kikyo had chosen her path. Then Inu-yasha caught a familiar scent in the air. His eyes opened and scanned the hills; his ears twitched searching for any telltale noise. Then he saw them. Three soul collectors were circling the base of a tree. Kikyo.

Inu-yasha stood on the tree branch and stayed alert for her presence. She eventually emerged from the trees, a flowing, silent specter making her way towards him. She stopped at the base of the tree and looked up at her former love. His body was tense, all his senses strained for any sign of ambush or deceit. She gave him a small smile.

"Inu-yasha. I need to speak with you."

"What could you possibly have to say to me?"

"I wanted to clear things between us before your final showdown with Naraku. I know you are close to completing the jewel and will be going after Naraku's shards soon."

"How do you know that? Have you been spying on us Kikyo?" Inu-yasha jumps down to confront the former priestess.

Kikyo leans against the tree, her voice softening, and her eyes downcast. "I can feel the jewel becoming whole again. I can feel the power building. I'm not a complete shadow of my former self Inu-yasha." Kikyo looks up at Inu-yasha, a look of sadness in her eyes. "Not everything about me has changed."

Inu-yasha is pulled into Kikyo's deep brown eyes. Memories of gazing into her eyes and seeing only love for him flooded his mind. He wanted to reach out and feel her smooth, pale skin. He wanted to feel her in his arms again.

"What did you want to tell me Kikyo?"

"I wanted you to know that I'm not the monster you think I am. I am still the Kikyo you fell in love with." She slowly reached out and let her fingertips brush over his chest, feeling his reaction even under all his clothes. "Inu-yasha…."

Inu-yasha stared in wonder as Kikyo reached out and ran her fingers over his chest, sending tiny shockwaves through his body. He tried to remain calm, tried not to let her affect him. But he was being drawn to her, her long white fingers clenching his sleeves, pulling him to her.

"What are you doing?"

"Inu-yasha. I may never get to see you again. Who knows what will happen when you fight Naraku. You may kill Naraku and me right along with him. Or Naraku may prove too powerful even for you. And I couldn't bear the thought of not seeing you one last time to tell you how I truly feel. To tell you that I…..that I….."

Kikyo looked away from Inu-yasha, hanging her head so her hair hid her face. Inu-yasha felt his chest tightening, he slowly let his hands find her waist, slip around to her back and envelop her in his arms.

"Kikyo….."

He rested his head on her shoulder and felt her hands move up to his shoulder blades, clutching at him. He closed his eyes and reveled in the feel of her hair against his cheek, the way her body felt in his arms. He was so overwhelmed by memories of Kikyo and their love, he didn't notice the knife before it plunged into his back.

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Inu-yasha was aware of a burning between his shoulder blades. He tried to move, to reach for it, but he was paralyzed. He looked at Kikyo, horrified, realizing she had been manipulating his feelings for her in order to get close to him, and what? Kill him? He watched as she slipped out of his grasp, a smile on her face.

"Poor Inu-yasha. Nothing personal, but I need your help and this was the only way of ensuring it I'm afraid."

"I will never….." Inu-yasha was still trying to move, the burning that started between his shoulder blades now spreading over his whole back.

"Do you feel that burning Inu-yasha? In a few moments it will have spread to your whole body. And when it does, you will do whatever I ask. Completely unaware and completely obedient."

"Why Kikyo? Why are you doing this?"

Kikyo chuckles softly and brings her face in so close to Inu-yasha's that their noses touch. "Because you will never defeat Naraku. You and those friends of yours are going to walk right into his trap and give him all the jewel shards and then he'll be unstoppable. I can't allow that to happen. So I want you to give me the jewel shards you have collected. I can get close to Naraku and steal the other fragments away and make it whole again. Then I can use it to defeat that bastard once and for all."

"You're crazy if you think I'm just going to hand the jewel over to you."

"Oh you will. I can see my spell has almost taken over your entire body. It won't be long now Inu-yasha."

"Kikyo, don't do this. Your plan will never work. How can you manage to get so close to Naraku? Are you and he pals now?"

A flash of anger crosses Kikyo's face at Inu-yasha's words. But then she recovers her composure and the smile reappears.

"The heart of that fool Onigumo still beats in Naraku. He may have merged his body with a host of demons to gain life, but he did it out of love. Love for me. I will use this to my advantage to get close to him. Just as I did with you Inu-yasha. The only difference being that I will kill Naraku and keep you alive to serve me."

The last thing Inu-yasha hears is Kikyo's laughter before the burning consumes his body.

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Kikyo watches the last glimmer of will dwindle to nothing in Inu-yasha's eyes. She steps up to his ear and whispers her commands. "I want you to bring me the jewel shards you have collected. You will steal it from Kagome and bring it to me under the cover of night. No one must know what you have done. Is that understood?"

Kikyo looked into Inu-yasha's dead eyes waiting for confirmation. "Yes."

"Ok. Where is the jewel now?"

"With Kagome."

"And where is Kagome?"

"With the wolf."

Kikyo's interest was peaked by this new tidbit of information. Did Kagome find someone else to lavish her affections on? Interesting. No wonder Inu-yasha was so eager to believe her confessions of love.

"What wolf is Kagome with Inu-yasha?"

"Koga. Her mate."

Mate! It appeared the little schoolgirl had grown up. Kikyo let the laughter escape her lips as she studied Inu-yasha.

"And how do you feel about this Inu-yasha?"

He remained silent for awhile and Kikyo began to wonder if he was able to fight her spell, until he finally spoke.

"I … love…her." His voice was strained, as if he were trying not to tell Kikyo. She would have to be careful. If he was able to fight the spell, even a little, she had to act fast.

"How long before Kagome gets back?"

"One week."

One week? That was unacceptable. Kikyo had to put her plan in motion as quickly as possible before Inu-yasha broke through her spell.

"I want you to travel to the wolf's territory now and steal the jewel from Kagome. You will bring it back to me immediately. Let no one stand in your way. Do what you must to retrieve the jewel. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Fine. Go."

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Inu-yasha raced to the wolf territory in the east, not sure why he felt the need to visit Kagome. He hoped she wouldn't be mad that he was stopping by unexpectedly. It took him half a day to reach the village. When he inquired on Kagome's whereabouts, he was told she and Koga had gone home to visit Kagome's family. It took Inu-yasha a few moments to recover from the shock before he thanked the old woman and raced back to the well. She took Koga home? The old woman made it sound like it was a common occurrence. How many times had Koga gone through the well? Why hadn't Kagome mentioned it before? He supposed it made sense for Kagome to visit with everyone at once, but it bothered him for some reason. He had grudgingly accepted Koga and Kagome together. He loved Kagome and made her happy. And even though he and Koga were never going to be the best of friends, he didn't hate him. So why was Inu-yasha feeling jealous?

He reached the well late that night feeling a bit exhausted. He had run full speed both ways and stopped a few moments to catch his breath. Just as he was about to jump down into the well, he saw Kikyo's soul catchers emerge from the woods followed by their mistress. He watched her approach, his eyes fixed on her, his body frozen. He couldn't figure out what was going on. Then he felt a burning wave wash over his body and everything went blank.

Kikyo slowly approached Inu-yasha, letting her presence activate the spell within him. She could tell the moment he stopped thinking and smiled to herself. The jewel was almost hers.

"Do you have my jewel shard Inu-yasha?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Kagome took the jewel home through the well."

"So you're going through the well to retrieve it?"

"Yes."

"I'll be waiting here for you. Now go."

To be continued…..