A/N: Thanks to reviewers Lorien Legacy and Western White Tiger for their kind comments in the last chapter. Regarding Urasue, it would've been an awesome idea! Alas I didn't think of it as I was writing the last chapter and this one, so she won't make an appearance just yet. Maybe I'll consider having Urasue wreck havoc later on in this story. Anyway, thanks for reading. Hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.


A Different Journey

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


Chapter 5

Shinidamachuu normally had red sclera, but their eyes glowed blue from their pupils. These shinidamachuu, however, had bright red eyes. Each glimpse yanked at Kikyou's soul, and she knew if she let her gaze stay, her soul would be removed from her body, making her a mindless puppet to the master of the youkai. She could not shoot each shinidamachuu accurately, but such tactic was pointless given the numbers anyway. Instead, she aimed at where the swarm was thickest, drained her energy into her arrow, and shot there to blast many apart at once in the arrow's shockwave. Still, after nearly exhausting her quiver, the enemy did not seem to thin at all. Just how many were there?

The shinidamachuu came from the rocky hill ahead. Kikyou ran towards it, her feet much faster than she had ever been fifty years ago. The shinidamachuu swooped down towards her and tried to form a physical barrier against her movements. She erected a barrier that purified them upon touch, turning their red glow to blue again. When she was within range, she drew an arrow and aimed it at where a crack split the hill in rough halves.

The arrow soared with a violent pink light that was blinding with power. Because Kikyou was physically close to the target, and her enemy had not predicted where she would shoot, the shot got through without interference from the controlled shinidamachuu. When it struck, it exploded within the crack, tearing down the hill in a deafening rumble. As the rocks plummeted down and debris filled the air, blue orbs of souls escaped the ruins, floating up and away. A giant leech youkai emerged and roared. "How dare you take the souls away from me!"

"A leech youkai that eats not blood but living souls. The Circle of Life dictates that some creatures feed upon others for sustenance, but you consume unnatural things not as food but as means of gaining power to dominate and exploit others. Such is evil, and I shall not tolerate your existence."

The leech sucked Kikyou towards it along with the escaped souls, wishing to eat them all. Kikyou shot another arrow, but shinidamachuu darted in its path. If her arrows were to get through, she would have to distract the shinidamachuu.

It was then that the shinidamachuu she had previously purified gathered around her. She heard their voices and understood their meaning. They wanted to help her, so that their brothers and sisters still in the control of the leech could be freed.

In that case…

Kikyou shot another arrow. The red-eyed shinidamachuu gathered there to shield the leech. But in their shadow was a pack of blue-eyed shinidamachuu carrying a shard of the purified Shikon-no-tama Kikyou had given them. They sped forth with tremendous speed and momentum, appearing like a pillar of light streaking the battlefield. They rammed themselves into the leech youkai where the tainted Shikon was embedded, shredding apart immediately but not without having delivered Kikyou's purifying powers to the enemy. The leech made a painful shriek and fell, the tainted Shikon fell from its rapidly shrivelling body.

Kikyou reached a hand forward and the Shikon shards flew into her grasp. The shouki that plagued the land lifted as black smoke, and sprouts of wild grasses started raising their heads from the remediated soil to the calm, silver moonlight. This job was done, but as Kikyou surveyed the small clump of the sacred jewel she had reclaimed, she knew her journey had just started. There was still the mystery of what had happened fifty years ago; the fact that she had saved Inuyasha and his friends earlier today was enough evidence that she might believe, or wished to believe, Inuyasha's claims to have never hurt her were true. The only way to come to an answer was to keep gathering the Shikon shards. She couldn't trust him again until she knew the truth.

She had to make her next step soon. When she turned to walk away, she found that the swarm of shinidamachuu, since released from the leech's control, started following her. She considered killing them, but recalling her words to the leech, she decided otherwise. The shinidamachuu meant no harm, so if she killed them simply because she could, she would be a hypocrite. She let one rest on her fingers and gently stroked its head with her other hand.

"Then let us proceed together," she said.


With both Miroku and Inuyasha immobilized, Kagome could only help them set up camp within the cave. Luckily, Kaede had packed them some rations, so they did not spend the night hungry. It did take quite a bit of effort and a lot of bickering between Inuyasha and Kagome before the girl from an era of accessible electricity could start a fire from steel, flint, and tinder. Kagome was proud of the feat – even when she went camping with her school they started the fire with matches – but more so than pride she felt fatigue. She curled up near the heat source, relishing in the meagre warmth.

"Thank you for treating my injuries earlier, Kagome," Miroku said, taking her hand. Kagome snatched it away before he could keep rubbing her skin.

"It's nothing. I just touched your arm. I don't even know why that black poison disappeared."

"That's because you are Kikyou's reincarnation," Inuyasha snapped.

"Hey, can't you be more thankful that I healed your leg too?"

"Feh," Inuyasha grunted, but did not argue further. Perhaps that was the closest he would ever come to be "thankful".

Miroku ignored him, for once turning serious with intrigue. "Kikyou, was she the miko who guarded the Shikon Jewel?"

Inuyasha snorted. "What do you think? Who else can just summon the jewel shards like they are her pets?"

"Wait…are you saying the person who rescued us earlier today…"

"Aren't you a bit slow, Monk?" Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Miroku was shaking his head in disbelief.

"But it can't be. They say the Shikon's guardian was killed by a hanyou fifty years ago. The hanyou was a powerful one, the son of the previous Lord of the Western Lands-"

"I did not kill her!"

Inuyasha's outburst sent himself into a coughing fit. Even Kagome took pity on him, patting his back gently. "Take it easy. You're still weak from the poison."

"He's the son of the last Lord of the Western Lands?" Miroku asked Kagome, pointing at Inuyasha.

"Got a problem with it?" Instead of Kagome, Inuyasha replied. He tried yelling, but his words came out broken. Kagome sighed.

"He denies it so vehemently, and though he's a bit of an asshole, I get the feeling he isn't the type to kill anyone," Kagome said. "I am inclined to believe Inuyasha didn't hurt Kikyou-san, even though Kikyou-san alleges that he was the one who tried to kill her fifty years ago."

"Kikyou-sama is alive?" Miroku asked.

"She appeared very much alive last I seen her. And Inuyasha says the person who rescued us is Kikyou-san. I did get the feeling that it was her – you know, that reincarnation bond I don't really know how to describe - so I think Inuyasha is right."

"I'm sorry, I am very confused," Miroku said. "How did Kikyou-sama survive? And even if she did, she should be in her late sixties. How is she still fighting? And what is it about you being her reincarnation?"

"I am about as confused as you," Kagome answered, "From what I gather, Kikyou-san's sister saved her with the Shikon Jewel. She was in a coma for fifty years. I am apparently her reincarnation – I come from five hundred years in the future. I fell into a well and somehow ended up here, and the Shikon Jewel was embedded in my body – I guess because it was initially used to treat Kikyou-san? And this giant centipede stole the jewel and broke it-"

"You broke it!" Inuyasha cut Kagome's explanation off.

"Okay. Fine. I broke it. Accidentally, mind you! What do you expect from me when this giant centipede, and then a giant crow started chasing after my life? That's besides the point. Maybe because the Shikon Jewel is in this world again, but Kikyou-san was revived from the jewel's aura or something. Inuyasha, what did Kaede-san call the aura?"

"Not telling you." Inuyasha turned his back to Kagome. Miroku grinned in amusement.

"I suppose she was talking about the jewel's senki?"

"Yes, yes! That! So she's this half sage or something now? Probably why she can still fight in her sixties. I am guessing that she still can't outlive five hundred years, so at some point in the far future she still died and reincarnated as me? Or maybe she was supposed to have died and reincarnated, but my coming here messed up the timeline? I really don't understand it well, so yeah…"

"It is okay, Kagome. I think I get the gist of it now. So why are you travelling with Inuyasha?"

"Why are y'all calling my name? I ain't your friend!"

Kagome and Miroku ignored Inuyasha's complaints. "We're looking for shards of the Shikon-no-tama."

"Really? I am too!"

"Wow. That's a coincidence!" Kagome might be put off by Miroku's advances, but she felt genuinely glad that she might get some other company than Inuyasha on her journey. Not that she detested Inuyasha, of course. He was just annoying. Though it could be cute at times. Argh! She wasn't going to think about this anymore! She turned back to the conversation. "Inuyasha here wants to look for the jewel because he will encounter Kikyou-san along the way. He wants to find out what really happened fifty years ago, because in his version of the events, Kikyou-san was the one who betrayed him and tried to kill him. Obviously, there is something fishy here, because Kikyou-san spared his life in their first encounter back at her village, then today again, she saved him. It makes no sense. And I am here because as Kikyou-san's reincarnation, I can sense the jewel shards."

"Don't make it sound like you are helping me. You're only doing this because you broke the jewel-"

"Inuyasha. Die!"

Bang

Miroku was stunned to see Inuyasha body slam onto the ground. Kagome didn't spare Inuyasha a glance, continuing from where she left off. "So why are you looking for the jewel shards, Houshi-sama?"

"Well, it's a long story. Now that I think of it, this might pertain to what happened to Inuyasha and Kikyou-sama. Have you heard of a shapeshifter by the name of Naraku?"

Inuyasha perked his ears. "Haven't heard that name. A shapeshifter, you say?"

Kagome got what Miroku was suggesting. She contemplated, her hand on her chin. "Won't a shapeshifter explain everything, Inuyasha? Say, this shapeshifter wanted to break your relationship with Kikyou-san – let's leave the motive for this for later – then he might have pretended to be Kikyou-san, met you and tried to kill you. You ran off thinking Kikyou-san was the enemy, stole the Shikon Jewel, meanwhile the shapeshifter pretended to be you to attack Kikyou-san…"

"Then she came chasing after me, wounded, and shot me with that arrow!"

"Yes! That's it!" Kagome exclaimed. Miroku nodded along the deduction.

"I think what Kagome said makes a lot of sense. From my understanding of the type of youkai Naraku is, that is definitely the kind of thing he would do. After all, he once shapeshifted into a beautiful woman just to lure my grandfather and cursed him with a wind tunnel that would be passed down the generations. You saw it in action, Kagome. The vacuum in my hand grows wider by day and will one day consume me like it did the snake. It has consumed my grandfather, my father before me…if I do not kill Naraku, I will succumb too, thus why I am searching the Shikon shards, for I have heard Naraku was once after the jewel, and I believe he would search for it again now that it has resurfaced."

"I do think you deserve some punishment for the sexual harassment, but punishment by vacuuming to death does sound a bit harsh," Kagome muttered.

Inuyasha wasn't listening to them. He had gotten up and stumbled to the entrance of the cave to stare the starlight. Kikyou might not have betrayed him. He had the evidence for it now, though still circumstantial. But what if it were true? He had mistaken her. He had not trusted her. And now she wandered – was she close by? Far away? Was she safe? All of a sudden, a burning feeling filled his chest. There was longing. There was worry. There was desire. He wanted to see her so bad, but he couldn't, probably not because Kikyou and he had ruined their past relationship by their own hands, but because they had been interfered with by a shapeshifter.

"Naraku…" He hissed the name of the man who was likely responsible for tearing him away from his beloved. Inuyasha clawed his own palm to make it bleed. "I'm gonna rip his sorry ass into a million pieces when I find him."


End of Chapter - reviews appreciated