Pure has become impure, impure has become pure. Good has become evil, evil has become good. To live is to die, to die is to live.

"Lady Kikyo, we are about to reach our destination." Kikyo's shikigami had flown ahead to see if they could find Mt. Hakurei.

"Thank you." Kikyo continued to walk down the path. My spiritual powers seem to be weakening as I get farther up the mountain. She walked a little further until she reached a barrier.

"Lady Kikyo, it seems that we cannot enter."

"Such a shame." Guess I won't be fulfilling the old man's wishes after all. Kikyo let out a sigh as she made her way back down the mountain top. I wonder if Inuyasha's had any luck. I haven't seen or heard from Naraku. As for the band of seven, I am beginning to think that it was all just a ploy to get everyone side tracked.

"Where to my Lady?" one of her shikigami asked.

"We will look for another village to stay at until we can detect signs of Naraku. That barrier…it has to be released eventually."

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Kikyo traveled for two straight days with no luck. The three villages that she had spotted were either in ruins or had been abandoned. She was now beginning to worry. It was now mid-afternoon and she was climbing a hill towards another grassy plain when she heard laughter. Sounds like children. She proceeded to climb the hill and when she reached the top, she found two young boys sitting around a well. They jumped at the sight of her but then smiled.

"Hello miss," one of them said. "You must be new here!"

"Yes, I am," Kikyo responded with a smile.

"Don't you worry miss. You are welcome here!"

"If you don't mind my asking…are you two out here all alone?"

"Oh no…wait, you are a priestess?"

"Yes, I am."

"Oh forgive us priestess. We did not mean to disrespect you," they said in unison. They bowed their heads politely and smiled.

"It's really quite alright. Now what were you saying?"

"Oh yes, the good doctor takes care of us. He lives in a cabin not too far from here. Oh, you must meet him priestess! He takes good care of us."

"Oh…well, alright," she said smiling. They took her hands and began to lead her towards the cabin.

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Inuyasha and Miroku arrived at the village down south to find that it was now nearly deserted.

"Damn! We're too late," Miroku replied.

"I don't know…let's have a look around. Whoever was here sure meant business," Myoga said.

"Alright you guy, let's split up. I'll start looking in the cabins to the left and you guys wander the fields," Inuyasha ordered.

"Right!" They all split up and started to search the abandoned village. Inuyasha searched the first couple of houses with no luck. He was about to call off the search when something caught his attention. He spotted a small boy hiding underneath a bunch of broken wood pieces. Inuyasha walked forward and the boy started to plead.

"Pl…pla…please…sir…don't…ki..ki…kill me!"

"Hey, what are you going on about? I'm not here to kill you."

"Inuyasha? What are you…? Oh it's a boy!" Kagome cried. The others turned and immediately joined Inyasha and Kagome.

"Hey little boy, why are you out here all alone?" Miroku asked concernedly. He helped pull the small boy out from underneath all the wood and the boy started to cling to him then began to sob.

"It's alright now child. Here, go to Sango." Sango reached for the boy and he came to her, clinging to her just the same as he did Miroku.

"Just what we need, another whiny baby. We'll never get anything done if he doesn't…"

"Inuyasha…" Kagome said softly. He immediately shut his mouth for he knew what would happen if he didn't. He was starting to get more and more annoyed with Kagome but he let it slide for now.
"There, there child. Tell us what happened,' Sango whispered. The boy stopped sobbing and started to speak softly.

"He…killed…them. That…man…he had a machine man that killed them."

"Machine man? Are you sure child?" Miroku asked.

"Yes, he…his name was…Ginkotsu," the young one whispered.

"Hmmm…must be another one of the band of seven," Myoga commented. "Inuyasha we need to hurry before they destroy more villages."

"Uh…In…Inuyasha," Shippo stammered.

"What the hell do you want Shippo?" he asked annoyed.

"Uh…look…look…there's a…" Inuyasha and the others turned just in time to dodge a blast from a robotic looking man.

"WHAT THE HELL…?"

"Sango, take the boy and the rest of you get back out of the way!" Miroku shouted.

"WHO THE HECK ARE YA?" Inuyasha asked, but instead of getting an answer the mechanical man fired another round of small cannons at him and Miroku.

"Inuyasha…Miroku! Be careful!" Sango shouted. The little boy had started crying again, but was being comforted by Kagome and Shippo for the time being.

"I'll teach you to not answer me. WINDSCAR!" Inuyasha fired his windscar and it was a direct hit. He sent the machine man flying and watched as pieces of its arms and legs flew off into the distance. "Stupid idiot." Inuyasha turned as started to make his way towards Kagome and the others when Miroku shouted, "MOVE INUYASHA!"

"What the…?" He rolled out of the way just in time. "JAKOTSU! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE AGAIN? SHOULDN'T YOU BE OFF SOMEWHERE PLAYING WITH YOUR DOLLS?"

"Oh how thoughtful of you Inuyasha, but no. I am content as is. I see you met my brother Ginkotsu."

"What brother? Oh, the one I splattered into tiny pieces a few seconds ago?"

"Inuyasha, don't be silly. Did you really think you could get rid of one of us that easily? He'll be fine. Bankotsu has fixed him up again quite nicely. Why don't you see for yourself?"

"Inuyasha, I have a bad feeling about this," Myoga said.

"Shut up. Hey, Jakotsu, why don't you let me finish you off first and then I'll go and see if you're just pulling my leg."

"Oh goody! I was hoping you'd play with me some. Unsheathe your sword and let's do a lovers dance of blades!"

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"Dr. Suikotsu! Dr. Suikotsu! Look who we've found!" the boys shouted as they ran ahead of Kikyo. Kikyo shook her head and laughed as she slowly made her way towards the cabin.

"Oh boys, I was beginning to worry about you. Where have you been all this time?" he asked the boys.

"At the well and…" That was all Kikyo heard of the conversation for something immediately caught her eye. She peered inside the cabin and saw that there were three other children inside playing in a circle. All these children and only one man to watch them. He must be special. Kikyo smiled and made her way towards the cabin steps but stopped immediately. I don't sense…could it be? She studied him closely for a moment and then gasped. Her spiritual powers detected a sacred jewel shard planted in his neck. Why isn't it tainted? Could it really be that he's so kind that the jewel does not affect him? Kikyo frowned. The sacred jewel was so sensitive that if it detected even a hint of jealously or anger, it could become tainted in mere seconds. What is going on here? She decided that this was something she needed to investigate.

"Uh…excuse me good doctor?" He looked up and saw the priestess and his face went blank.

"I'm…you're the priestess right?"

"Yes I am," Kikyo said humbly.

"I'm so sorry for being rude. Please forgive me. The children…I was so caught up…"

"It's quite alright. I know they can be a handful at times," she replied, extending her hand for him to shake. When he took her hand Kikyo's suspicions were confirmed. So he's dead…just like me.

AN: Sorry for the short chapter. I could have made it longer but since the next chapter is going to be detailed, It'll end up being longer than this one.