A\N: And another chapter is up again! I seriously need sleep now because I was again up to about 4 in the morning and this seriously cannot be healthy for me. My sister commented to me that I had that "giddy hyper sleepy look on my face" this morning, and that I was acting all of those things, so I must be beginning to show. Anyway, I don't have a lot of time right now, just wanted to update this really quickly-- got things to do, places to be... ah who am I kidding, no I don't! Just got to finish some before-christmasbreak school work, etc. And by some, I mean a LOT!
Anyway, here's to the fan-fucking-tastic people who reviewed this story (which, BTW, now has 50 reviews!):
-TheyMadeMeDoIt - Well I'm not trying to put you guys to shame, I've just got overtired and overactive muses at the moment. It's kinda like when you eat a whole bunch of sugar or something right before bed and then you're up all night running on empty but with enough energy to run around like a maniac. Though now that I think about it sugar never did get me hyper... Coke always worked well though!
-Silverhaired Nemesis - Sango and Miroku should be mentioned sooner or later but I don't know when their actual "cameos" are going to be. As for Sesshomaru, I'll probably find a place for him and lots of other characters we know and love later on in the story... how far away they come in all depends on how this story decides to pan out. Anyway, don't worry, they'll come around eventually. (After all, I can't leave our favourite demon-slayer, lecherous monk, and stoic dog-demon out now can I?)
-MustLuvKits101 - Glares at non-reviewers as well yeah I know what you mean, though Christmas is coming up so people just might not have the time to review stories at the moment, but it's still kinda depressing when no one reviews. BTW, sorry for not responding to your last review, but it didn't get up till I'd already posted chapter 9 and by then there wasn't anything I could really do about it...
-rena555 - I celebrate Christmas not Holiday (which some people are now demanding we call December 25th) but thanks, and Feliz Navidad to you as well! As I said, Miroku and Sango will be coming up sometime sooner or later (hopefully sooner than later) and so will Shippo and Kirara. I do not know what they're doing at the moment though, so we'll have to wait and find out about that.
sourapple10000 - Yeah, poor Inu, how can I be so cruel to our fav hanyou? Kagome... I'm actually surprised only two people have asked about her, I thought more people would be concerned about her, but nope, everybody wants to know where Miroku and Sango are. I guess Kagome's not as popular as I first thought... anyway, she should be in one of the upcoming chapters (maybe the next one or the one after that) so have no fear about that.
That all of them?
Okay, then there's only two things left to do, the first of which is:
DISCLAIMER: Guess what? Kagome, Inuyasha, Kikyo and Naraku all belong to Rumiko Takahashi-- NOT ME! If you thought they belonged to me, you clearly need to get a refill on your medication. I make no money off of them. One character (Amaya) and the story, however, belong completely and entirely to me!
The second of which is to give you the next chapter already:
Never let go
Kikyo sighed as she wandered through the halls of the temple.
It was old and unused, but well protected by many sacred magic's.
She had cast her own spell allowing Inuyasha and herself to pass through, but any other demon would be destroyed if it came near the barrier.
She leaned against the rail of a balcony and stared off into the distance. The flashes of her storm could be seen even from this distance, and she knew that it was, perhaps, the only reason Naraku had not already come after her.
She would not give Inuyasha up, however, if he did.
She was determined, she would make the hanyou trust her again, and then she would win his heart.
No one would take him away from her again.
Memories drifted to her of the moments before, of Inuyasha's uncertainty and confusion, his suddenly wide eyes reflecting things she could not see, the panic in him, the way he flinched away so violently when she reached for him-- all of it led to one conclusion: Inuyasha was remembering.
Kikyo did not like this, for it put a strain on her plans. If Inuyasha remembered too much about her, or anything else in his past life, it may lead to the awakening of all the old feelings of hate, betrayal and disinterest that had grown in the hanyou's heart. She could not allow that to happen. She had worked so hard to gain the hanyou back, she would not give him up again, not let him be taken, even if it was his own mind trying to steal him from her.
She gritted her teeth, and gripped the balcony until her already pale knuckles turned white, and bits of loose stone, long worn down, shifted and crumbled beneath her grip.
One of her servants soared past, shimmering like a ghost in the moon, heading out to find a soul to sustain her.
Shimmering like a ghost...
Kikyo sighed, and he shoulders slumped slightly.
Why did life have to be so complicated all the time?
More importantly, why did death have to be so complicated?
"For the living time goes on, they carve their futures everyday, but for the dead... Time stands still." Kikyo glared at the monks words, and then another voice entered her mind.
"The dead cannot feel. The have torn free from the grips of death, but they have torn away their ability to live in doing so. Time ceases to recognise their existence, and in return, so do many of the living. But more importantly... the dead cannot love. They have torn their hearts when they escaped from death, and have no ability to simply...feel, let alone the knowledge to share feelings with others. That's why Inuyasha will never love you, Kikyo. You must learn to accept that and move on."
Kikyo's grip tightened even more and she glared at the ground far below unseeingly, knowing the words of that young miko to be true. The woman had seen her for what she was instantly, but instead of trying to send her to her death, the woman offered her advice, and listened to all she had to say before telling Kikyo that which she believed to be the truth... which, some part deep inside Kikyo still attached to her human self knew to be true.
But her dead self will not accept.
'They are both wrong.' Her mind snarled angrily. 'I can make Inuyasha love me again. I will feel. And then I will claim him as mine forever.' She shoved roughly away from the balcony and began walking down the long, echoing halls.
'For if I can't have him.' She silently vowed to herself. 'Then no one can.'
END
A\N: Well that's all for now. Maybe I'll have another chapter up later today or tomorrow (I don't know, it all depends on how busy I am) so Ciao until then!
SPECIAL THANKS TO: TheyMadeMeDoIt, Silverhaired Nemesis, MustLuvKits101, rena555 and sourapple10000 who are the awesome people who took the time to review this story! Thanx, you guys are the best!