"A human?" asked the demon in a rhetorical manner after a long silence. Her comrades paused, gasping. They knew what would happen but still were in shock.

At first glance, nothing had changed. Then, atop her head, nothing could be seen. Instead human ears rested on both sides of her head and her golden eyes had turned a musty brown. Though she appeared not to have changed, a demon could tell immediately from stench alone. She reeked of human blood. Her aura had gone from strong and invasive to cowardly and meek in only an instance.

"Guess you know my secret," Kikyou stated, masking her fear in an air of confidence.

The demon bottled up his rage in an attempt to stay composed. Then he spun around, kicked a tree and broke it in half. The three jumped a little, envisioning the tree as themselves. They watched in fright as the demon growled low in his throat.

"Damn it! That bastard didn't say anything about this!" The demon glared at Kikyou from the corner of his eye as his anger subsided. He wasn't one to become easily enraged and even that outburst was unbefitting. "Kikyou, right?"

"How do you…"

"I'm not the only one. And so long as you have that little trinket of yours, I won't be the last."

"What are you saying?" Kikyou asked, eyes narrowing with distrust. He smiled.

"I'm proposing a deal. As it stands now, I cannot touch you. However, once the sun rises you're free game. I'm sure you know what will happen."

Kikyou gripped the soil beneath her hand, worried about what this proposition of his may entail. She rose to her feet, looking directly into his eyes. "Get to the point."

He smiled.

"My point is that you need me and I need that jewel."

"I don't need you."

"Oh, yes, you do. Do you really think that scrawny hanyou body of your will protect you forever? I'm only the beginning."

"Kikyou, don't listen to him. He's just a filthy water demon," Kazumi stated as she watched her friend's wavering eyes.

Sae left the cave and headed out into the fields. Begrudgingly she headed out to find Shirou to notify him of dinner being ready. She could smell him, but the scent was not all familiar. He was nearby, probably, and so she headed to the treeline.

"Shirou, you there?"

She heard a twinge among the darkness. She, however, was a demon with sight only as strong as a human's.

"Shir…"

"Go away!" he yelled, his voice both angry and sad.

She looked down at the boy who leant against a tree. Her eyes broadened to see a boy with black hair. He was, undoubtedly, human. At first all she wanted to do was mock him, seeing as his strength and senses were reduced to almost nothing. However, those thoughts faded from her mind. He hated himself and that reflected clearly on his face.

"Disgusting, isn't it?"

"So, it's the full moon that triggers it…"

"Just leave."

"Leave? Do you know what Lady Rin will do to me if I just leave you out here?"

He looked up at her, more irritated than anything.

"Why stay out here in your condition? You have a better chance of survival in the cave with Milord protecting you. Moron."

"I…" His voice faded as he remembered when this happened in the past. Each time he was confined to his father's side. It was for his own protection, but he couldn't help but wonder why his mother, a human, was able to stand on her own and protect himself. Sango and Miroku were the same. Perhaps he was weaker than them. He didn't want that. "I can't."

"What?"

"Rather, I won't. I can take care of myself."

"I'm listening."

"Kikyou!" shouted Kazumi, shocked that she would ever sink so low as to make a deal with a demon. Kikyou glanced at her briefly and then turned back to the red demon.

"Provided you hand over the jewel when I need it, I'll protect you. Well?"

From atop the trees sat another demon, watching and waiting, intrigued by the two below. He watched the raven haired girl from above, awaiting her response. It was inevitable that she would accept, especially in such an unfavourable situation. It was inevitable.

"Not in your life." Her human companions smiled while the demon remained confused. "I would never give the jewel to a demon, no matter the reason. When I become I hanyou again I assure you that you will not be able to take the jewel. Do you know why?"

There was a pause. The hidden demon blinked, awaiting an answer. No one said a word.

"It's because I'm a hanyou. Demons may have strength, but humans are far more capable than you give them credit for."

The red demon scoffed at this, arms folded. "Then I'll just take it by force once morning arises."

Kikyou smiled and stuck her tongue out at him. He growled at her in response. "I won't transform back until tomorrow night. If you're going to attack me, best do it now."

"Believe me, I'm tempted."

Interrupting their conversation, the hidden demon dropped from his tree and approached them in the shadows, his eyes shining a bright cyan among the blackness of the forest. "Alright, that's enough of that. Leave Kiki alone."

"That voice is…"

Appeared from the dark stood Karo, whom she had not seen since she had ran away from home. Satoshi and Kazumi were at a loss for words, assuming another enemy had appeared. He smiled his usual overconfident grin as he approached them. "She's already promised me the jewel so you can back off now, Yaremi."

"I did no such thing! Forget that…you know him?"

He blinked a few times, then quickly rushed over to the demon. He whispered, "Say anything and I'll kill you."

"Of course not. I've heard about him though. His name is Yaremi and he's a water serpent—a member of the Junsui clan—which means he's not allowed to attack humans, as per his clan's rules." He halted his information after Yaremi sent him a deadly glare.

"Just wait a minute!" shouted Satoshi, who had remained quiet for the past while. "Who are you? You're a demon, right? Just what do you two want with Kikyou?"

Karo sighed. "I want the Shikon no Tama embedded within her chest."

"The Shikon—wait, you mean the Jewel of Four Souls? That was destroyed long before any of us were born.

"Did you really think something so powerful would just vanish?"

Kikyou's mind flashed back to the night he had first said that. She remembered the glow of his eyes against the piercing darkness as he said those very same words to her. Without even realizing it she had already begun to believe it despite lacking proof. If what he said was true, what did it mean? Why was she the carrier of the jewel? She recalled her parent's stories of the Shikon no Tama, about how much sorrow and pain it brought with it and how its existence was cursed. The more she remembered, the more her grievance showed on her face. If it had been reborn within her, how could she stop the cycle of misfortune from recurring?

"Kikyou…" Kazumi's voice trailed off, watching the black expression of her comrade turn to sadness. The boys turned to see this as well. The only one to show concern was Satoshi, whilst Karo furrowed his brow. He knew whatever she was thinking was something he did not want to hear. "Is something wrong?"

"Karo!" Her head shot up to face his, showing, for the first time, her resolve. "If the jewel is really within me, I will never let you have it."

"What did you say?" He growled in a deep, bellowing voice. For the first time Kikyou had seen him lose his temper. He flexed his claws in a similar fashion to her brother and father, an action that usually followed violence. She felt her body tremble with those words. Perhaps it was the human in her that was scared off by that demon's appearance. It did not matter. For the first time she was certain that her feelings were correct and nothing would deter her from believing them to be true.

Kazumi and Satoshi rushed to shield her, holding their weapons firmly towards the demons. They didn't understand the situation, but nothing would stop them from protecting their friend. "I don't know what you want the jewel for; it doesn't matter. You don't understand the true nature of the jewel. Giving it to you would be a mistake. No matter what you say, I can never let you have it. If that means I have to fight you then I will."

Karo's eyes filled with anger and rage. He removed a blade from his pant leg and dashed towards her. "Then I'll just have to take it!" He jumped up over her bodyguards and prepared to stab her straight through her chest. Kikyou closed her eyes in preparation. Instead of pain she felt cool drops of water hit her face. She looked up, seeing Karo's arm caught in a sphere of water.

"Now, now, is that any way to treat a lady?" Yaremi stood with his arm outstretched, keeping the water together. He watched up at Karo whose anger seemed to subside. He let the water fall and Karo ran into the darkness. The others just stared blankly, unsure of what had just happened. "He's not so bad. Well, normally."

"How can you say that? He just tried to kill her!" Kazumi blurted out, wanting to hit him over his head with the hiraikotsu.

"He was using a knife. He's a demon. If he really wanted to hurt her, he would use his abilities. That guy's strong; he was just trying to scare her a little."

"Why did you save me?" Kikyou asked, not sure what to make of his sudden change.

"The teachings of my clan prevent me from allowing harm to befall humans. I was never planning on killing you, I just want the jewel," stated Yaremi.

Kikyou looked into the shadows of the forest. Whether he was truly aiming to hurt her or not, he was still terrifying in that moment. His passion for the jewel made her curious about what he needed it for.

"In any case, I'll be protecting you from now on, Kikyou."

"What?" Satoshi and Kazumi shouted in unison. Kikyou blinked blankly for a few seconds before quietly asking "Why?"

"I've found the jewel so I can't just walk away and leave without it. Besides that, I'm interested in the Collector's interest in you. He's a dangerous kid; people like him don't show interest in just anything."

"Collector"

"Karo's alias—Collector of the East."

A/N: Finally an update. It's been about 4 1/2 months since my mother died and I think I'm finally ready to continue with this story. I tried before now but I just wasn't able to write for whatever reason. I know the chapter is short and there's a lot of talking but I'm really out of practice so hopefully you'll excuse the sloppiness. I'll try to redo it eventually. I'm going to start on chapter 17 tomorrow morning so hopefully there will be another update then or in a few days. I appreciate the one person who wrote a review asking me to continue this. Actually I decided on the ending of the story while writing this chapter (don't get your hopes up-I'm still not even done introducing the characters or the main villan(s) and I want to answer every question before it ends) and so now the rest of the chapters will base themselves on the outcome. I'm glad to finally be writing again and hope that you guys will continue to support me while I do so.

Id love to hear any ideas/theories you have about the story and any and all feedback is appreciated so that you in advance and please review!