Fan Fiction Title: A shift of destiny
Author: Soliloquys
Disclaimer: Hiten nor any of the characters in my fanfiction aren't mine, all belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 7: The Old Witch

Whenever Manten's corpse had been dumped beside her, Kagome never thought that she would have the stomach to endure a rotting cadaver next to her for too long. But she was surprised that she hadn't thrown up after several hours of being mere inches away from that thing had passed. For the duration of their trip to wherever, she had had her face nuzzled between her knees and her eyes closed, trying her damnest to think of something else. From thought to thought her mind idly wandered aimlessly through fantasies that seemed farther now than ever before. Happiness seemed unreachable, and the bruises which speckled her skin would be a constant reminder of that until they disappeared.

Now she recalled what few memories of InuYasha she had: his dismissal of her help during the fight with Yura, his cold voice which seemed to be spiked with hatred towards her, his tenderness towards that fraud mother of his, and ultimately his immediate response to her cry for help-well, almost immediate. In the end, she missed him, but no more tears would come. Crying at this point seemed useless. Her head was lifted for a moment to regard the brothers with no emotion, but then she looked forward into the grey sky that had seemed endless for too long.

But something was visible beyond the parting mist that cloaked this lofty terrain they traveled over. Peering into the wind, she saw that there was a deep gourge in the rocky earth whose bottom was unseen, and the high plateaus were joined together only by a rickety old bridge. This was apparently the destination they had finally reached, for Hiten's pike was lifted towards the skies right over the stone structure that lay on the other side. From the mist came a bolt of lightening that cracked infront of the structure, and a low roar filled the area. Off in the forests, a few birds scattered and cried.

Her chest heaved once, and she held in her breath as she glanced at Hiten-who was grinning now. The dark, soft cloud was descending towards the opening to the structure. She now saw that the building appeared to be part of the mountain facade itself, a great opening dug out-and a few chimneys jutting out into the grey skies. There on the wide and long ledge before the land dropped she saw a figure, crouched over a tub. Letting her breath out, she felt herself shudder once more and glanced nervously down at Manten's body.

Uneasiness came upon her again. She was going to be boiled down at one point for Manten's hair ... was she going to be minced and molded into a living organ so that Manten would live again? Was she going to be sacrificed? The skin of her ankles turned white as she tightened her grip on them moreso. Then her frail body jumped at the sound of Hiten's voice. Slowly, Kagome turned to face his smirking expression.

"What? Don't you ever relax?" She had only encountered these types of looks previous to Manten's tragedy. It was still a dark smile, but he appeared to be amused. Maybe, she pondered as she realized this change, it was the thought that he might be getting his dearest brother back that allowed him to be his old self again. She opened her mouth to reply, but he shifted and stood up.

His crimson eyes were upon her, narrowed, and he gripped her arm-though not as roughly as he had before-and helped her to her feet. She found that she needed this, for her knees were weak and she strained to stand even with his aide. A black slippered foot stepped onto the dusty ground, and she followed along behind him unsteadily.

The figure surely had a gender to it now. An old witch, it was, with a hunched form, a long pointy nose, eyes that bulged a bit unnaturally from her face, and pursed lips painted red. She was kneading a type of mucky clay in that tub, her hands completely devoured by it as well as her sleeves. Even parts of her face were smudged reddish-brown. She turned her head to look upon the visitors-her face lined with the wrinkles of a crazy scowl.

"It's not every day that I, Urasue, get visitors." She eyed the brilliant armor upon the youkai, and then the timid little beauty behind him. She frowned now. "What do you want?"

The dust beneath him stirred as he strode even closer to her, his face serious and threatening again and his eyes glowing through the mist that hung aloft at this altitude. "You're bringing my brother back to me."

Her bony hands grabbed a scythe on her other side and she swung it out so that it stopped him dead in his steps, only a few feet away from her. He felt the cold resonating from the bladed edge against his neck, and glanced down to see a blurry image of his face. Then he looked back down to her hideous complexion as her coarse voice filled his ears. "I'm not doing anything for you."

The dark lines of his eyes narrowed, and the pike that rested in both of his hands now swung up and around, the poles clashing and her weapon slapped out of her hands. Kagome watched at a safe distance, but still flinched at a brief spark of lightening when the two devices collided. The rickety thing clunked on the ground, and she hissed as did the skin of her hands. Her unmovable scowl shifted, and the old witch corrected herself. "-Atleast not for something in return."

Kagome breathed regularly now, watching the two ruggedly negiotiate and exchange glares of distaste. No focus was upon her, and she felt as if she was merely a spectator until one pair of eyes, she felt, were rested on her. The witch gazed at her for a long time, as if interested in her all of a sudden. Her heart skipped. Oh kamis. Hiten turned around to look at her as well. The young girl could only see one eye; the other was obstructed by the angle of his face.

"...No. I need her for something else."

Once again she was worked up, even as they both looked back and glared at one another. What exactly were they saying...? Then her eyes widened, as the glint of the jewel shards caught her eye. For the second time, she focused on their conversation.

"Damn it. Here, then, you can have these." His dark brows were pulled into a deep scowl. It was apparent he didn't want to give them up.

But finally the witch looked satisfied. Her wide lips spread into a smile to reveal a set of crooked teeth. Those insanely large eyes danced from the shards, to Hiten, to the ningen, and then to the corpse back on the cloud.

"Very well then."

( I really want to apologize for this ridiculous waiting time. Prod me in email if I ever take this long again. I think the story is finally going to pick up after this point. There's a bit of a surprise I have in store. Well, maybe its a surprise. It'll come in the next chapter or the one after. I'm not sure yet. I have plenty of ideas. Hee. I thank you all for the encouraging reviews. I know some of you guys are begging me to make this a Hiten x Kagome story. Maaaybe. ;D)