InuYasha is owned by the great Rumiko Takahashi. I own nothing, so I want to be in her will.

&&&&&&&

'That worthless copy continues to stand in my way.'

Kikyo had just witnessed her one and only love, whom she now hated more than anything, confess his feelings toward her incarnation by giving her a necklace he had made himself from thin strips of dried oxhide, decorated with small pieces of gold and precious stones he had found and kept to himself during their many adventures. The dead priestess had kept her distance as the event unfolded, cringing as the girl clapped her hands happily before putting on the necklace and hugging the suddenly bashful hanyou.

The miko moved smoothly, silently, through the grove of trees toward the river bank. Her sinewy minions obeyed their mistress' commands without fail, securing her clay body so that it would not fall to the earth below. Their brethren were at this very moment collecting more souls of dead maidens in order that she maintain her corporeal state.

That was becoming more and more difficult.

Urusue's binding spell was losing its power and she could feel her body breaking down at the most minute level. The ogre had revived the dead miko for a very specific task, one she was certain Kikyo would complete within a short period of time. Once that task was over, so too would be the need for the animated corpse. The old witch had been thwarted, however, and then killed by her own creation.

The priestess had used every bit of her skill and ability to sustain herself this past year, consuming souls at an ever increasing rate. The once revered healer had fallen so low as to now resort to predation to satisfy her needs, stalking and killing maidens herself if her catchers failed to retrieve an adequate supply. Had she a heart in that clay body, she might have shed tears over the irony, as well as in remorse. The body of earth and bones was fueled only by hatred, however, and the piece of the soul she still desperately clung to.

Soon her body would completely disintegrate in spite of the number of souls she consumed to sustain it.

"Damn them all!"

She cursed aloud, exasperation expelling itself almost out of her control. The little band of comrades wanted to complete the jewel for their own purposes. She wanted Naraku to complete the jewel for her own purpose. She considered her options briefly before deciding upon the only course of action that was left to her.

She would have to give up her desire to see the jewel completed and in Naraku's possession and focus on her primary mission:

To give up this body and go to hell, and to take InuYasha with her.

&&&&&&&

"Hey! I'm still hungry. Put that back, you little..."

The dog-boy glared at the little foxlet, who swallowed his fear as soon as he was certain Kagome was nearby. He stopped himself from putting the last piece of fish back on the service when he noticed her smiling back at him. Knowing he was safe from harm, he puffed up his chest as his bravado returned.

"I'm still growing. I need all the nourishment I can get. Right mother?"

He struck his cutest pose for her and she cooed back at her living teddy-bear.

"Aww, isn't that the sweetest thing?"

He was pulling at her strings and she knew he was pulling at her strings, but played his little game anyway.

The monk and the demon-slayer, also seated, glanced at the performance before them, then at one another before chuckling. Shippo was always good for some much needed comic relief.

Shippo gave a quick smirk and then stuck his tongue out at the growling hanyou, who wasn't about to give up so easily.

"I killed three river demons today, and I said I'm still hungry. You got 'till the count of three to hand it over, you little snot, before I go medical on your ass!

The monk laughed out loud as the kitsune quickly lost all his puffery, once again looking pleadingly over at Kagome as his legs began to quiver in fear. Sango had by now stopped laughing, and spoke in an even tone to the frustrated dog-demon.

"InuYasha, that's 'medieval', not 'medical'."

"Shut up, woman. I never asked you. And how the hell do you know, anyway?"

Sango reached behind herself for her pack, and after rummaging for a moment, pulled a small volume from it. It was a copy of a shoujo manga that was going to be quite popular 500 years in the future.

"My friend..." She nodded toward Kagome.

"...brings these with her for me to read when we're not fighting. I'm picking up some interesting terms from her time, such as, "you go, girlfriend", and "who's your daddy?". So, as I said, the term is, "go medieval on your ass", or do you want to read it for yourself?"

Miroku could hardly contain himself as she held out the book to the hanyou. Everyone knew InuYasha read at a very elementary level. Kagome had been working with him using one of Souta's old primers, but he was of course obstinate when he wasn't being lazy, so his development was moving along at a snail's pace.

Sango also knew that it was a bit cruel to bring up such a sore subject, but she never liked Shippo to be teased, much less threatened. The kit had grown on her over the time they had been together, and served as a surrogate little brother to her until she could one day rescue her own.

"You think you're so smart, huh? Well I don't care. That little smart-ass has something of mine and I want it."

He turned back to the kitsune, fangs showing.

"InuYasha, stop picking on him." Kagome finally spoke up, the look of annoyance crossing her face.

"Shut up, all of you. He needs to learn just who's who around here, and it looks like I'm the one to teach him exactly where he stands."

"Shut up? Did you just tell me to shut up?"

Annoyance was replaced with an anger that quickly equaled the hanyou's own.

"If you lay one finger on him..."

InuYasha ignored her, focusing on the kit with the fish still in his hand. It was cold by now, but that no longer mattered. He wasn't even hungry anymore. It was the principle of the thing. He would take guff from Kagome, and the monk ribbed him occasionally, and he even swallowed barbs tossed his way from the huntress, but this little... snot, this was too much.

And anyway, he was tired of Kagome always taking Shippo's side in everything. Just let her try to stop him. He gave the kit his most menacing glare.

"I didn't forget about you."

"InuYasha..." The young miko's voice had warning tones all over it.

"One..."

"Don't..."

"Two..."

"Even..."

InuYasha then stood and adjusted his haori. Kagome had shown him enough. She had chosen the kit over him, in front of all of them. He had enough pride that he wouldn't let her 'sit' him in front of them. His anger suddenly replaced by great disappointment tinged with sadness, he looked at each of them before making his way to the entrance of the hut.

"Thanks everybody, for making me finally understand that I'm less than crap."

He then ducked outside the doorway, and was off into the night before any of the others even made it outside.

"InuYasha! Wait!"

He was already a few hundred paces away from them but still heard her quite clearly. That sound hurt even more because he had fallen for her so deeply. She had shown him kindness, and affection, and something else, even. He had thought, no, knew that things would be different with her, but just like everyone else he had loved, she had betrayed him.

No one really cared. He was just a joke to them, to be used and then belittled. Even by the snot-nosed kit.

He made it to the Goshinboku and stopped, as he didn't know where else to go. Sitting down and leaning back against it's solid trunk, he tried so hard to bind his feelings, to be more like Sesshomaru, but he failed.

This time the hurt was too deep, and it called all the other hurts up from their hidden places within his heart.

'No. Don't do it. Don't do it.'

He cried.

Hiding his face behind one sleeve, he clutched tightly to Tetsusaiga, as it remained his only true friend, his only real protector, and, as the last gift of his father, perhaps his only remaining link to real love.

His heart quaked, and the hurts kept coming.

His mother.

His brother.

Kikyo.

And now Kagome.

He gritted his teeth to choke the sounds of sobbing back down his throat. The necklace. He had worked so hard on it, and on keeping it from her until it was perfect, as close to a reflection of his feelings for her as he could get. And then she...

Why did it hurt so much?

He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice.

What was that?

His ears perked up, listening for the rustling sound again. He sniffed the air before catching the familiar scent of the dead priestess approaching. He stood as her visage grew closer until she settled upon the ground in front of him.

"My InuYasha."

"Kikyo."

She took a step closer, and her pale complexion in the stark moonlight made her look even more ghostly.

"Do you remember your promise to me?"

He hung his head.

"Yes."

"Our time has now come."

&&&&&&&