11-16-09: Meeh I couldn't really change this one either as much as I would have liked. But that's okay, I guess. Enjoy!!

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You're Kinda, Sorta, Basically, Pretty Much, Always On My Mind.

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I Do Not Own Inuyasha

"Talking"

3. Those After The Jewel

"Kaori! Never hand it over!" Kaede barked. She acted like I didn't already know that. I had been taught that the Shikon No Tama was used to boost youkai's spiritual powers. I knew that it was an unholy jewel. I knew that Inuyasha wanted the jewel to become a youkai. But..

"I won't go easy on you, Kaori!" Inuyasha shouted, flexing his claws. Up until now I hadn't realized how very sharp those claws were.. Perfect for ripping through human flesh.. My human flesh. "I especially won't.. for the sister of that wretched Kikyou!"

He lunged forward, his claws pointed directly for my body. But he seemed to have forgotten something. I had grown up with him as my role model. He had taught me how to dodge youkai's attacks.. and I had practised for hours until I had preformed the dodging manoeuvres with exceptional speed and grace. He wouldn't kill me.

I jumped out of the way, somehow landing silently and gracefully on the other side of him. I hadn't realized I could be graceful when my life depended on it.. I also hadn't realized that Inuyasha had whipped around.

He slid back a few feet before he found traction, and sprinted toward me again. "Wench! I'll cut you in half!"

I quickly moved out of the way and held the Shikon No Tama to my wounded chest. My hands were soaked in my own blood. I didn't feel the pain. Maybe it was the adrenaline that coursed through my veins that numbed me.. but was that adrenaline also making me unafraid? I wasn't scared at all. I didn't know why though. I should be scared. I was going to die unless I gave this guy the jewel.. and I was forbidden from ever doing that.

"Inuyasha, I'll-" I stopped myself before I said anymore. Kaede would hate me if I said it, also because I had stumbled on a root..

"Kaede-sama.."

"Undoing Inuyasha's seal was unwise, wasn't it?" The village men asked. It was quite annoying on how they took the near death experience, of Kikyou's younger sister so calmly. It was as if I wasn't important enough for their concern.

Kaede sighed, watching Inuyasha's continuous attempts to kill me. "What a bother.." She pulled out a set of black and white beads and held them in her hand.. Those were the beads Kikyou had made for Inuyasha.. but I thought she had gotten rid of them for she decided against using it on him.. "Of course Kaori would end up causing something like this. Yet again.. that damn guy.."

"Now prepare to die!" Inuyasha yelled, as he aimed his claws for my head. I stepped back until my head hit the bark of a large maple tree.

"Is that even possible!?" I replied, ducking before Inuyasha sliced through my feeble body. The force of the tree falling behind me pushed me to my knees. My hands still held the Shikon No Tama, thankfully, but with the constant jumping around.. It could only last for so long.

"Take this!" Inuyasha shouted, jumping from the other side of the stump toward me. Kikyou's beads suddenly materialized around his neck, and he was distracted for a split second. Giving me enough time to dodge his attack.

"Kaori, speak the subduing word!" Kaede shouted, finally showing some sort of concern for my safety. I knew how this particular necklace worked, I needed a word. A word that would be used as a password to unlock the necklace's power and subdue the wearers power.. namely Inuyasha. But even though I knew this, my mind was blank.

"Why? Wouldn't it be easier to hand over the jewel?" I asked, backing against another tree.

"Now your speaking my language!" Inuyasha stopped attacking and walked over to me again. He held out his hand calmly, waiting me to give him the jewel. He acted like he had forgotten that he'd just tried to kill me with these very claws. I needed to buy myself some time to think of a word, and this was the only way could think of distracting him. I held my hand out toward his, the jewel grasped tightly in my fist.

"No Kaori! Don't! If you do then you'll be betraying us all!" Kaede shouted.

"Betray Kikyou and my family.. or betray Inuyasha.." I murmured. Inuyasha had dog ears.. He was part dog youkai.. A dog.. I had a word! I pulled my hand back to my chest and Inuyasha became angry once more. "Gomen Inuyasha. I can't.." I turned to walk past him and toward my elder sister. "Osuwari."

Inuyasha's face was pulled to the forest floor, in a way to me, that looked painful. I stopped beside Kaede and gave her a small reassuring smile. I had to let her know that I hadn't been serious about giving away the jewel, so she could trust me again.

"Wow!"

"He got quiet!" The village men exclaimed, stating the obvious.. again!

"Hmm." Kaede's eyes swept over the frozen Inuyasha. His eyes were full of shock and his face was covered in dirt. He sat up abruptly and yanked hard on the beaded necklace.

"Wha.. What the hell is this!?" He demanded, trying ever so hard to break it. It was useless for him to try. Kikyou had made the necklace so it was indestructible to it's wearer.

"To struggle is useless, Inuyasha, as that rosary subdues your power." Kaede explained, inspecting the wound on my chest that refused to stop bleeding. Apparently centipede youkai's have a sorta of venom that prevents wounds from healing. Leaving it's victim to bleed to death. But I was aware that we had come up with a sort of anti-venom when I was 3 or 4, so I wouldn't be dying today, at least.

"Wha..?" Inuyasha lunged toward Kaede, he claws flexed again. "Go stuff it, babaa!"

"Kaori.." Kaede sighed, turning her back on the hanyou.

"Osuwari." I said and watched Inuyasha do another face plant. It was kinda funny, the power I had over him was far greater than his own.

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"However, it has become something of a problem.." Kaede sighed, applying the lime green cream that would stop the bleeding. It was cold, and stung a little, but it started to work right away, so I was grateful for that. She bandaged up the wound as she spoke, talking loudly, and clearly so the inu hanyou outside would be able to hear the conversation. "As the Shikon no Tama has resurfaced in this age. Evil beings will come swarming after it."

"Like youkai, right?" I was about the pull my shirt over my head, when I notice the dark red blood stains contrasting against the white fabric. I frowned in disgust, and threw it aside, along with my sweater. My pants were torn, and covered in dirt, mud, blood, and grass stains, and I'll bet my appearance wasn't that much better either.

I glanced toward my sister pleadingly, and she handed me something like miko attire. I took it and threw it on quickly, listening carefully as my sister continued to speak.

"Not only youkai, Kaori.. but people with evil in their hearts as well." Kaede explained, as Ι tied my hair into pig-tails. "In this age of war, if they can get the Shikon No Tama and all of its spiritual power.. They can then achieve all of their desires."

I sighed and sat back down on my knees, the Shikon No Tama securely around my neck once more. "Right, I'd forgotten now very troublesome this little jewel could be."

Inuyasha walked in moments later, as if he had sensed that I was fully clothes from just being outside. I watched him suspiciously as he sat down, farthest away from me as possible. He didn't look at me and kept his eyes away from anything near me as well. What was his problem?

"And I'll bet you still want the jewel to become a youkai?" Maybe my questions will force him to look at me. "I thought you said you'd use it to become human."

He growled and then his amber eyes flickered to mine. He looked away quickly, quicker then I had, though in a state of surprise I had dropped my eyes instantly. In that fraction of a second, his gaze had been hard and cold.. as if I had said something I shouldn't have and he wanted me shut up. That was probably the case here.

I turned back to Kaede, now having no interest in that dog anymore. He could be rude all he wanted, I don't care! "I never really figured out what happened, you know. One minute they were fine and all lovey-dovey," Inuyasha growled, "the next they're trying to kill each other."

"Yes, Kikyou had ordered us to keep it from you, but things happened, Kaori. Terrible things." Kaede explained. Well.. yes I knew that already, or else they wouldn't have tried to kill each other. I guessed that my sister wasn't ready to tell me the whole truth yet.

The sound of breaking wood, brought my attention back to the rude hanyou. He'd hit the floor, most likely in fit of rage, and was now glaring across the room toward my older sister. "Babaa.. You've been going on like that since earlier." He growled. "Do you know me?"

"You don't recognize me, do you? But that's not surprising." Kaede answered, poking the fire with a long stick. "I am the older sister of Kaori, and the younger of Kikyou, the one who sealed you. I'm Kaede."

" Kaede..?" He mumbled. I tried to stifle a laugh at Inuyasha's confused expression. Surely he would have recognized her by her scent but I believe he's still a little slow, after the 50 years dead thing.

"It had been 50 years since then.. So I have aged as well."

"Hmm.. You're that other brat, huh.. which means.." He leaned back and closed his eyes, a slight smirk growing across his face. "Kikyou is a total hag as well? To bad, being human, isn't it..?"

"Kikyou-onee-sama, is dead," Kaede muttered. I knew that this was a subject she didn't want to bring up, and this was a subject I didn't want to hear. Memories of that day flashed before my eyes as she continued to speak. "It was that same day you were sealed."

"Hmm. So that's what happened.. To bad for that fucking bitch, eh?" Inuyasha sneered. "Keh. That's a relief."

"Inuyasha, it's a bit too early to be relieved.." Kaede said, poking the fire again. "Kaori, holds the same skills as Kikyou-onee-sama. And she's surprisingly strong for anyone who hasn't trained her whole life and didn't want anything to do with being a miko. There is something strange about this girl, and I think you should take note of it."

I flushed red as a tomato, and stared down at my hands. She was right.. I was strange, but mostly it was the fault of not wanting to be a miko and follow in my sister's footsteps. I hadn't wanted be what they wanted me to be because, like most girls, I had wanted to fall in love and get married and have my own children. But being a miko stripped you from those rights, and you were to live without love and family. I didn't want to live a life of solitude like Kikyou did.

But the spiritual powers that came with being a miko had always haunted me in my sleep. I had always wanted to be stronger, but then, I didn't want to be alone. I was stuck between my future family, and my lust for strength. But.. when I had first met Inuyasha, my problems had disappeared.

One of the reasons why I had always looked up to Inuyasha more, when I was younger, was the fact that he was part youkai. I had marvelled over that. He had powers, he was strong.. and upon meeting my sister, it was obvious to me that hanyou or youkai, you could also have the family future that I wanted. Once I had figured this out I had decided, that no matter what I had to do I would be the same. But I already knew that it wasn't possible.. unless you used the Shikon No Tama. But then it would become impure, and Kikyou would never have that so my dreams had been thrown out the window.

"That reminds me.." Inuyasha's voice broke me from my trance, and I stole a side-ways glance at him. "Why the hell aren't you a hag as well, you're not that much younger then the babaa over here."

"Osuwari!" I steamed at the straight forwardness of his question. He could have said it nicer, and without insulting my sister and me in the same sentence, but it was probably impossible for someone like him. "Well for your information, there is now a huge age gap between me and Kaede now. The Shikon No Tama stopped my ageing for 41 years, so I am still 15."

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"I hear she's the youngest sister of Kikyou-sama."

"Now that you mention it, she is rather noble, and solemn and she looks much like Kaori."

I listened to the villagers gossip about me as I walked down the dirt road by the rice farms. It was my second day here and all afternoon it had been like this. Didn't I already tell these guys who I was? Or did they think I had been lying this whole time? I turned my gaze toward them, as the whispers had stopped, and saw that their heads were bowed in respect.

One of the women stepped forward with a basket full of super huge vegetables. "Please take these as a sign to show you, how very sorry we are about yesterday morning, Kaori-sama." I took them from her, and inspected the ones on top. Perfect.. and huge. We really needed the secret of making these veggie so monstrous for the future. All those chemicals weren't helping.

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I stumbled up the steep hill toward Inuyasha, my lack of grace and physical skill working against me. He was sitting in the lowest branch of a tree, just staring out into space...I think he's gone brain-dead, because he's too stupid to be actually thinking about something. I picked up one of the huge, juicy, red tomatoes and lodged it at his head. Sadly he heard it coming and caught it right before it hit him. I hate those reflexes.

"Hn?" He whipped around to look at me, an angry, surprised look written across his face.

"Since you caught that you can have it! Your germs are on it now." I called up at him. His angry look grew worse, and I felt a smirk grow across my own face.

"What's with the food?"

"Them villagers gave it to me hoping I would forgive them for tying me up earlier."

"And did you?"

I smirked and dropped the huge veggies at the base of the tree. "They seem to think so." I, then, sat down and looked toward the light blue sky. Today the sky was flawless. Not one single cloud ripped through the vast blueness. "Are you gonna come down and help me eat these mutant vegetables or are you just gonna mope all day in that tree?"

I thought I heard Inuyasha scoff and he looked away from me, staring back into space. Fine, if he didn't want to do it the easy way...then we could do it the...sorta harder way. "What are you trying to do? We all know you're too stuuuuupid to be able to think about anything." It worked. He was suddenly beside me. He glared at me and snatched away one of the baskets. The way he looked at me, gave me a whole new out look on the phrase 'If looks could kill'.

"What are you plotting, bitch?" He asked, swallowing that last bit of the huge tomato I had whipped at his head.

"If I was plotting something, I wouldn't tell you." I stared down at the village, it was sad to know that this beautiful little village would one day become a vast city of pollution and gas guzzling vehicles. I glanced at Inuyasha, out of the corner of my eye, and he was giving me another death glare. "Look, idiot, you seem to have me and Kikyou mixed up but I wasn't the one who tried to kill you, okay? I actually cried on that day."

"Keh! Lies! You and your stupid sisters make me retch!"

I snatched a monster carrot out of his hand. "No I think that's the food. Besides there's no way you could have forgotten everything that happened 50 years ago. Just remember, I'm not Kikyou, I'm my own person, and you know full well that I don't intend to live my life the way she did."

"Keh! You idiot!" Inuyasha sneered, grabbing back the monster carrot. "Do you still honestly believe you could become a youkai if you wish upon a star for it? It's not gonna happen so just give it up already. And I don't care what happened 50 years ago or whoever you are. Whether your Kaori, Kikyou, or some stupid human from another village I'll still show no mercy when it comes to getting the Shikon No Tama!"

"Figures.." I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. "You do realize all your feeble attempts would be useless against me because I can just say 'osuwari' and..." The sound of something slamming onto the ground brought my gaze back to him. He was an inch deep in the earth face down.. he kinda seemed.. to be in.. pain? "..and that'll happen."

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I stared into the crackling fire, as the sound of chirping crickets and the scent of the cool night air came through the open window. It was night again, and everything and everyone around me, were sleeping. In dreamland, a place that I dreaded but loved to go. Dreams.. My dreams were always filled with family and friends from the past, and things that I didn't want to be reminded about. Like remembering those amber orbs full of hatred as Inuyasha stared at me when he thought I was Kikyou.

This was the second night that I had been here. The Higurashi's must be worried.. and my Mother must be in the hospital after the shock of my disappearance hit her. I'd have to go back, and tell them where I've been.. and tell them that they'll never see me again because this is where I chose to stay. I'll try the dry well tomorrow..

I closed my tired eyes, and waited for sleep to come.

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I stumbled through 'Inuyasha's forest' searching for the dry well. I didn't want to go back, I'd rather stay here with Inuyasha, but if I was going to stay in the past...I'll have to say good-bye to my future first. 'Inuyasha's Forest'...Why did they call it that anyways? Was it because he was pinned against Goshinboku for 50 years? Or was it because he lived here? Whatever the reason, this forest is wrongly named. Inuyasha doesn't.. and shouldn't own anything. If he had been raised in Tokyo then he'd probably would have destroyed this forest by now. These villagers have no creativity in naming things at all.

I sighed and looked around. Large trees surrounded me, stretching toward the sky. Ferns, small bushes, vines and fallen branches, littered the forest floor. I spotted a large rock, that stuck out of the ground like a mini mountain and let out a groan. I had past that rock three times already. I was lost.

I turned around to go back the way I came, hoping to find the village and start all over. But instead of seeing bushes and the eerie green light behind me, two large well built men stood, leering over me, evil smirks on their scarred faces.. Uh Oh.

I whipped around, running into the trees. Those guys.. they were bandits. If they were from my time they'd be called gangsters. But now wasn't the time to be thinking about what they would be called if they were from the future.

I needed to get away from them.. I couldn't be caught. If I do get caught.. then Inuyasha won't know until the scent of my blood is floating through the air.. It'll be to late, and I would have died by the time he would arrive. But I saw a grubby, dirty, hand reach out from behind me, and grab onto my arm, making me come to a dead stop. Damnit.

The two bandits brought me to a old, run-down hut, deep in this forest somewhere, ignoring and easily over-throwing, my kicks, and punches of protest. I didn't want to die.. I wasn't ready to join my sister in oblivion! I had just released Inuyasha from his 50 year sleep so that I could live. Now everything was going to go to waste!?

The two bandits threw me to the hard wooden floor of their hide-out, and pinned me there by my arms. I lay on my stomach taking in the scene around me. There was about seven other men in the same kind of bandit armour as my kidnappers, and sitting on the north side of the hut, drinking soup or something weird, was the largest man I had ever saw. He had quite a lot of fat on him, but the height on this guy was abnormal. I could pass him off as a giant if I wanted to. But the way he looked, the pale skin colour and deranged face.. He looked dead, almost as if he were a zombie.

"Gehehe.." One of my kidnappers sneered, staring at my clothes. "This wench seems to be a sorta of miko?" Wench.. huh..?

"We captured her just like you ordered, Okashira." The other one announced, to the Zombie. Ugh, Okashira? This guy was their boss? Who wants a zombie guy as their boss? Especially one this huge! He probably breaks a horses back as soon as he tries to ride one.

"The jewel.." The zombie boss, demanded. "The jewel.. hand it over." The boss took wobbly steps toward me, the sword at his side unsheathed and looking deadly. I wasn't gonna hand over this jewel, but if I didn't they'll kill me and then take it. I couldn't win in either situation. I hope your happy Inuyasha.. after today, only one of these 'wretched' sisters will remain alive.. and it certainly won't be this one.

End Of Chapter 3

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