Inuyasha is a traitor.

That was Kikyo's one thought as she struggled through the grass, trying to reach the village in time, before Inuyasha could tear the place apart. She had been foolish to trust a demon, even if this one was hanyou. Even if this one had been kind to her. Her training as a priestess had told her that all demons were devious, but this deceit struck at her very core. The cruelest sorts of demons tortured not your body, but your spirit. She should have recognized it. She should have known that the hanyou was the worst kind. Being kind and cold to her in turns. Listening to her patiently, and then rejecting her. He had been drawing her in, drawing her toward him, with both his occasional displays of kindness and his rebuffs. They had spent time together, talking sometimes, sometimes just sitting there, when Inuyasha hadn't wanted her to know he was there, but, as a miko, she did of course.

He had been trying to steal the Shikon no Tama, as every other demon, hanyou, and even some humans had done. She was too powerful for him, easily defeating him. But instead of killing him, or purifying him, she had let him be. He had come back, seeking the jewel, but never again attacking the village, fearing for his life she had presumed. Eventually they had begun to talk to each other, for lack of anything else to do.She watched the jewel, and he watched it too, in his own selfish way. She had acquired a companion in guarding the jewel, something Kikyo thought she would never have. Then, her greatest and most secret wish looked like it was going to become a reality. Not only would she no longer be alone, she would not have to guard the accursed jewel.

She had asked him if he wanted to become human, and to her surprise and her joy, he had agreed. She would be freed from her guardianship and Inuyasha.... Inuyasha would be with her. But she should have tested him somehow. Her foolish pride, and her even more foolish trust had stopped her. What better judge, she had thought, than her own heart?

Kikyo stumbled as the pain her side throbbed, reminding her where her heart had gotten her.
Standing, practically defenseless, in an open meadow, waiting for Inuyasha, with the Shikon no Tama. Waiting full of hope.

She laughed bitterly as another stumble caused her life's blood to stream more insistently down her side. Hope. What a stupid thing. Hope had torn her flesh open with sharp claws, with Inuyasha's laughter sounding in her ears, mocking her.

She had turned just in time to see the red robe and the claws descend upon her. Not that she needed that glimpse to identify the hanyou. He had stopped to gloat as she struggled to stand. And of course, he had to snatch the Shikon no Tama away from her, before leaving to destroy her home.

Ignoring the way the world had begun to fade, and the ever-present pain in her side, she started walking faster towards her village. She had to stop Inuyasha. That was what her last action would be before leaving this world. To kill the one who had betrayed her. To kill Inuyasha.
The desire to do this doubled when she saw some of the houses in the village burning, its people standing outside and searching the rooftops and trees for the treacherous hanyou. Suddenly she saw him.

" Heh! I'll get the Shikon no Tama today, Kikyo!" Inuyasha said, soaring past the villagers and crashing through the roof of the temple. Kikyo pulled out an arrow, preparing for him to come out. Something was amiss. He had already stolen the Shikon no Tama...maybe she was confused. She could see the trail she had followed to get into the village, etched in her own blood. Now was not the time for doubts. She wouldn't last much longer. She had to kill Inuyasha. He burst up out of the temple, with his prize glittering in his hands. Kikyo's eyes narrowed She had merely been confused. He had attacked her first; to try and make sure she wouldn't interfere.

"Inuyasha!"

He turned and grinned, dashing into the forest. She went after him.

"Onee-sama! Onee-sama!" cried Kaede, her little sister running after her. Kikyo had to out distance the little girl. What if Inuyasha attacked her? There was no telling what he might do. He had betrayed her so easily, what was harming a little girl to a person like that? The need to protect her sister, coupled with her hatred gave her strength and her steps sped up as she reached the forest.

"How could you?" Kikyo yelled into trees, knowing he could hear her "INUYASHA!" Kikyo quickly nocked her arrow as she saw him. He turned and stopped, as if surprised. She almost smiled. Had he really thought he had finished her off? She was the priestess of the Shikon no Tama, and she would protect it, even if it cost her her life.

Although it had cost her her life.

Her whole life had gone into the protection of it. She was selected, from the moment she was born, for the power that burned inside of her. As a child she had been trained, first by the village miko, then by others, in far away places. She had been ripped from her own parents ruthlessly, all for the protection of what she had thought was shiny bauble as a child, and now knew to be the most evil creation on earth. When she Had returned to her home, after being given the jewel by the taijiya who had been guarding it, she realised she barely knew those she had left behind. Her sister Kaede, had accompanied her often, after showing late signs of possessing the powers of a miko herself, but her mother and father, dead upon her return, she could not mourn for. As she held her little sister while she sobbed at the loss of their parents, Kikyo herself felt nothing. She had buried the dead, and continued as she had. Strengthening herself to guard the jewel and purifying the jewel. It was the only life she had known. It was the only life she thought she could ever know.

Until Inuyasha came.

"Die Inuyasha." She said, feeling her hatred burn every other thought out as she loosed her grip on the arrow. The flown arrow struck true, straight into Inuyasha's heart, if he had had one. It hurled him into a tree and stuck there. He dropped the Shikon no Tama.

He had ripped that hope, the hope of another life away from her as relentlessly as her arrow had ripped through his body. She took a little pleasure from the thought. Leaning on her bow for strength, she readied herself to fire another.

"K-Kikyo." He said his eyes wide. Kikyo found herself unable to stand any longer. She collapsed to the ground, clutching at the Shikon no Tama as it rolled into her hands. Kikyo looked up at Inuyasha as the binding spell in the arrow took hold and he closed his eyes.

'I am avenged,' she thought, 'and the Shikon no Tama is safe.' So why did she still feel uneasy? Was it the look on Inuyasha's face as her arrow struck him? As if she had betrayed him.

Anger at all he had done to her welled up inside of her, her rage and hate filling her. He deserved to die, and worse.

Looking at the bloody jewel she clenched her jaw, forcing tears back. She looked up at the hanyou. He looked peaceful, in death. A peace he did not deserve.

"I will hate you forever for what you have done, Inuyasha." She whispered.

Nenmeris here again, sorry that this story wasn't has lighthearted as the rest, but hopefully you liked it anyway

Any comments, flames, spelling errors, criticisms, and random babble are welcome, as usual, so read and review! Please? I'll update faster...this isn't so much a priority, because school is currently depriving me of sleep and sanity, but it can always become one....