A/N: Thanks to readers Lorien Legacy and Lord Halcyon for their kind comments in the last chapter. Hope the rewrite reads better than the previous version. This chapter is quite short, but the next will be considerably longer. Please enjoy anyway.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.


A Different Journey

The story of Inuyasha, and the miko he loved who had survived death


Chapter 2

Kagome had never seen anything like it. One moment, shimmering violet light like that of a thousand meteors exploded in the air, and the next a swarm of giant flying insects clouded the skies black. She could no longer believe the dog-boy when he said this was reality. This couldn't be reality. This was more ridiculous than a movie!

The dog-boy readied himself in a battle stance. Kagome stood watching dumbly – what else could she do!? At that moment, a hand tugged her back. She turned to see an elderly miko had come behind her.

"What are you doing standing there…" The miko's voice trailed off when she saw Kagome's face and her single eye widened in such surprise Kagome was afraid she would faint. "Kikyou-oneesama?"

First the dog-boy, then the miko. Did she really look so much like this Kikyou person?

Before Kagome could answer, someone yelled at them. "Stand back!" The female voice ordered. It was another miko, a younger one, possibly only a few years Kagome's senior. She must be Kikyou, for now Kagome realized why they all mistook her for this person – they looked so similar they could probably pass off as identical twins.

The elderly miko confirmed Kagome's suspicions. When she saw the young miko, her shock was even greater than when she saw Kagome. She turned back to Kagome. "You're not Kikyou-oneesama." The elderly miko pointed a shaking finger towards the young miko stumbling towards the giant flying insects with a longbow in hand. "She is. She has awakened?"

The giant flying insects came down then, some enlarged mid-flight after swallowing shards of the violet light that had exploded earlier. The miko called Kikyou notched and drew an arrow. Though her movement was by no means fluid – she seemed lacking in strength, her arm strained to pull the heavy bow – it still screamed of experience that Kagome's attempt could not compare. And though it took a second for Kikyou to steady her bow, the arrow flew true when she did, striking the first insect's abdomen precisely where the violet light was. The insect blasted apart and the light dropped. Only then did Kagome realize the light was not just a light – it was a shard of the marble called the Shikon-no-tama. Kagome's shot at the crow must have broken it!

On the other side of the swarm was the dog-boy. Like Kikyou, he dispatched the insects with expert efficiency, though his methods were far more crude and gruesome. He ripped into the insects with no regard to the blood, flesh, and bone he had to claw through. Not all his strikes found the Shikon shards. When they did not, the insect just regenerated. He didn't seem to care, keeping at it till he cleared a path through the bodies. When he did, he saw Kikyou, and Kikyou saw him, both soaked in blood.

"Inuyasha…" Kikyou's voice had been authoritative when she had told Kagome and the elderly miko to stand back, but it had been warm with compassion. Now, there was only hatred. A black hatred – it seemed to sear down her arrow to taint the steel head dark.

"Kikyou!" The dog-boy – Inuyasha – yelled in turn, leaping at her.

The elderly miko beside Kagome grabbed the first thing she could find in her hakui: a necklace of black beads and white fangs. "I can't let him hurt Oneesama again." Kagome heard her mutter before the necklace glowed, split apart, and flew towards Inuyasha. The necklace rejoined around Inuyasha's neck the moment his claw was about to reach Kikyou, the moment Kikyou's arrow readied on his heart.

"Die!" Kikyou shouted when she released the arrow. At the sound, the necklace yanked Inuyasha down to crash the ground with a thud. His outstretched claw buried into the mud by Kikyou's feet, Kikyou's arrow flew into the space he occupied a split second earlier, hitting nothing before falling in the distance. There was silence after. Kikyou just stood while Inuyasha struggled to stand. "The kotodama necklace…" she whispered, and something about her deadly gaze softened. She lowered her bow and walked away.

Inuyasha chased her, growling. "Why did you betray me, Kikyou!?"

She stopped, turned sharply, and though murder was no longer in her eyes they flared with anger and hurt. "Betray you? You were the one who clawed through my shoulder and stole the sacred jewel. I would have died…" – why didn't she?

While Kikyou touched her shoulder in deep thought, Inuyasha shouted, "What are you talking about? I never hurt you! You were the one who called me a hanyou and tried to kill me. You shot that arrow into my heart and I thought I would have died too. Turns out you were even more sadistic than that and won't even give me a clean death-"

"Is that what you think I did?"

Inuyasha could not reply. No, this did not make any sense. Why would Kikyou all of a sudden try to kill him that day? How would it have benefited her? And apparently she had been fatally injured. Inuyasha swore he did not inflict it. Then who? Kikyou wasn't lying. Kikyou never lied. If he dug through his memories he would faintly remember the Kikyou who had shot the final arrow was indeed wounded, bleeding a trail behind her. He had been so consumed in his rage that he hadn't noticed, hadn't cared. But Kikyou thought he did it? He tried to kill her? Why would he do that? How?

But Kikyou was disinterested in Inuyasha's thoughts. She left her question unanswered, walking away again. Inuyasha screamed at her. "Wait!"

"Die."

At Kikyou's command, the beads around Inuyasha's neck pulled him to the ground again. He slammed so hard the breath was knocked right out of him. While still on his knees, he tore at the necklace, trying to break it, but it did not budge. He tried pulling it above his head, but it wouldn't move past a certain point. Even biting the beads did nothing.

"Give up, Inuyasha. I was the one who made the kotodama necklace. Only I can remove it. With this, you are powerless against me. Be grateful I spare your life today."

Kikyou was far in the distance now. The elderly miko who had been by Kagome followed and stumbled to Kikyou's side. Inuyasha was about to stop her, but recognizing his intent, Kagome imitated what Kikyou did.

"Die!" Kagome called.

Indeed, Inuyasha hit the ground. He glared at her. "Why does it work with you too?"

"I thought that since I can undo Kikyou-san's seal, I can also get that necklace to respond to me. Seems like it worked."

Inuyasha didn't care. He was up and about to chase after the two miko again. Kagome had to call for him to die again to stop him.

"What the hell was that for!?" he shouted.

"Take a hint, will you? Even I can tell Kikyou-san is important to the old miko, so let them have their conversation. You had yours."

"I am not done with Kikyou. I still have to-"

"Die!"

Bang

This device was so convenient, Kagome concluded.


End of Chapter - reviews appreciated