Fated Existence

Chapter 7 – The Other White Inu

There comes a time in every being's life when they ponder upon the stupidity of others and wonder if they themselves have ever done such remarkably dumb things. Of course, for this particular being, he would never repeat such thoughts aloud when they concerned his master. His human charge, however, he had no qualms in telling of their stupid actions. And he was usually stepped on for such transgressions, but the pain was sometimes worth it. Now he stood next to his master, gripping his staff tightly in an effort not to show his fear of his master's visitor. Or were they the visitors? He wasn't really sure and wasn't about to figure it out. He glanced over at his charge and was shocked at the look on the child's face. The expression was caught somewhere between fright, recognition, and awe; a most interesting combination. Then again, the visitor was an interesting abomination herself.

"Why do you seek me out, Sesshoumaru?"

The woman's bland voice brought Jaken out of his thoughts and redirected his attention to the resurrected miko.

"This Sesshoumaru is not looking for you."

The slight frown on Kikyou's lips looked as though she disbelieved him. Her gaze flickered briefly to the child riding upon the dragon's back.

"Are you running as well?"

"What would this Sesshoumaru need to run from?"

"Fate."

Jaken cringed at the sudden flare of Sesshoumaru's youki. His master was angry now, but what about? As the youki settled, Jaken relaxed slightly, but was taken aback at the very faint hint of… was that sorrow… before Sesshoumaru's youki once again lay 'dormant'. He tried to commit most of their conversation to memory, puzzled by the deliberate avoidance of certain topics and names. He was certain the conversation was an important one, but he hadn't the faintest clue in what regards that might be.

Sesshoumaru left Rin at a nearby stream to gather fish and berries while Jaken watched over her. He needed to think about what he'd just heard and determine if the dead miko was speaking the truth. He settled himself at the base of a tree within earshot of Rin and went over Kikyou's words once more. Are you truly returning to this time, he thought to no one in particular. Kikyou's words had brought back old memories of his youth; back when he'd received Tenseiga and lost his father. Back to when his anger at 'Fate' had been misdirected onto a child with no clue as to why he was being treated so poorly. While he vowed to be the one to take down the 'lowly hanyou', deep down he was secretly proud of his half-brother's accomplishments… minus losing his arm, of course. Inuyasha was certainly proving himself to be Chichi-ue's son. And the thought of his brother immediately brought to mind the dead miko and her reincarnation and thus the reason for his current pondering.

Being such a creation as she was, Kikyou would know if her time was limited on this plane. Her intention to take Inuyasha to Hell with her was the main reason she still walked this earth, but she couldn't approach the hanyou now. Not with her reincarnation looking for her under the instructions of another from her time. While the affairs of Inuyasha's little group were of no concern of his, Sesshoumaru knew that he would be unwittingly drawn into this particular situation, but not unwillingly. Not when he finally had the opportunity to confront 'Fate' and demand a few answers.

Jaken watched with a bored expression as Rin played in the stream, rather than catching fish. What is Rin's connection to Kikyou? He thought. Kikyou had made it a point to mention that Sesshoumaru was using Rin. But what for? Rin found her share of trouble like most weak humans, but Jaken seriously doubted that Sesshoumaru would use a human child like that. Sesshoumaru didn't go looking for trouble, unless he counted Naraku, but that kind of trouble was necessary to get into. She wasn't able to see shards like Kikyou or Kagome; nor did she have knowledge of anything of any worth to Sesshoumaru… at least that he knew of. So again, what exactly was Rin's connection in all this? Or was the connection Sesshoumaru himself? Oh, his head hurt just thinking about it. He was certain of one particular connection though. Both Sesshoumaru and Kikyou 'protected' Inuyasha from harm by claiming the hanyou's life was forfeit to them. The reason may not be the same, but both wanted to be the one's to seal Inuyasha's "fate".

Kikyou stood silently at the edge of the place where Urasue had created her clay body. The confrontation with Sesshoumaru had driven her to seek out her so-called 'origins'. She had been mildly surprised to see the child, Rin, still with him. But seeing the child had given her insight to their differences as well. Urasue may have been able to resurrect her spirit, but Tenseiga resurrected flesh as well. Her time was shortening now that her incarnation knew the truth. Kikyou had known it was only a matter of time before the Guardian would seek Kagome out. Of the two, Kagome stood a greater chance of locating her through the link they shared. But the link went both ways, Kikyou knew what Kagome knew as well, just as she also knew how Kagome felt about her friends and being torn between two worlds. Kikyou was able to block the link to a certain degree, but only because she had trained her powers for longer than Kagome.

Kikyou frowned slightly as one of her Shinidama-chuu brought yet another soul to her. She touched the place above her heart where Kagome had healed her. Three years ago she'd wanted nothing more than to be the one to rid the world of Naraku and take Inuyasha to Hell with her. Retribution had been her goal. Yet now, she felt strangely… alive, somehow. As though Kagome had given up another piece of herself. While she still wished to end Naraku's existence, her goal with Inuyasha was changed. Now she wanted to live and taking Inuyasha to Hell would thwart that wish. Which brought her back to her original dilemma: how to avoid Fate.

"Do you know what you are asking of me?"

Kikyou nodded, her hands clasped before her in a silent plea.

"You say it is for him, but your eyes tell me it is for yourself."

"Chotto!" She took a step back at the accusation.

"This thing you ask... it will cause much pain to them. She is there to fulfill her own destiny. Yours ended fifty years ago. I cannot allow you to take what has been passed to another."

A flicker of light caught her by surprise as the image of her reincarnation appeared. The image seemed to be struggling against something.

"But I will allow you this one wish upon the condition that you will return what you have borrowed within one year.

Barely three months had passed before she'd changed her mind and found a way around the Guardian's 'rules'. Her only assurance that she had succeeded was the very fact that she still walked this earth three years later. Powerful as the Guardian was, Kikyou knew the Guardian was not omnipotent otherwise she would have been found when she'd betrayed the Guardian by remaining 'alive'. She'd also lied to the Guardian when she'd asked to come back and by now Kikyou knew the Guardian must have figured it out. Why else seek out Kagome?

Now, more than ever, she would use their link to her advantage. Before, she had no fear of getting within close proximity to her reincarnation. But now that Kagome knew the truth and was 'commissioned' to finding her, she needed to stay as far away as possible until she could think of a way to escape Fate once again.

A/N:

Chotto: No!

Egad! I'm sooooo sorry that it's taken so long to update! What started as a small glitch blew up into something more.

1) I overwrote chapter 7 and had to retype it! 2) Computer crashed and had to fix it. 3) Yahoo kept eating my Beta's email of the beta'dch. 7!

Things back to normal… I hope. Chapter 8 will hopefully be up next week. Work has gotten hellish so I'm having issues with trying to write.

Reviewers

MMorg

InuyashasLoveLorn (such devotion lol)

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Angel8818

Standard Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all the characters of this manga are property of Rumiko Takahashi.

All other characters are mine unless otherwise mentioned.