Good Morning!

Sorry for the very late update, Iv'e been so busy at work and in my spare time I've been re watching Sailor Moon and Kuroko rather than writing, sorry sorry :P Also my editor Mouse is super lazy : So he was slow in editing this. Anyway, Enjoy~

Oh also, I am from New Zealand so I type with UK English (Centre, Fibre, Realise) rather than US English (Center, Fiber, Realize) etc. So uh, the one person who messaged me about my grammar... Yeah.

Inuyasha was glad when he finally had his haori back, and his demon was particularly sated too when they noticed it smelt heavily of the woman who had been wearing it for the last couple of months. Kaede had provided Kagome with a simple light kimono, black in color, decorated with white illustrations of leaves, stalks and flowers, to which Kagome appreciated and tied off with a beautiful green obi that hugged her small waist. To Kaede's amusement, Kagome slashed the bottom of the kimono so that it ended just above her knees to allow her better movement and practicality. No one noticed a certain Dog Demon sneaking side glances at Kagome's shapely legs and frame.
"Thank you Kaede, it's wonderful." She preferred the kimono to the priestess garments she was initially offered, and turned down the geta as well, this attire was perfect for movement and easier to clean. "This is perfect for the journey." Kaede smiled warmly in reply,
"Are ye ready to go?" Inuyasha and Kagome nodded in sync, Kagome looked at him
"Inuyasha, are you sure you want to do this?"
"Keh, quit asking me wench, I've already decided so buzz off." He crossed his arms and stuck his nose into the air, Kagome leaned over and flicked him on the nose, starting a childish brawl of flicks ending in one another sticking their tongues out. Kaede chuckled as she had never once seen the half demon acting so childish, was this really the deadly Inuyasha that had once terrorized their village? The both of them stopped bickering as Kagome turned and stomped towards Kaede who was now sitting upon her horse, ready to guide them.
"Are ye finished?" she asked with a hint of mockery, turning away from them towards the direction of the demon.
"Just lead the way you old hag." Called Inuyasha from behind her,
"Aye, we mustn't linger then. Away we go." Kaede in the lead, guiding the group, riding her horse expertly despite her age, followed closely by Inuyasha and Kagome. Inuyasha had to admit he was surprised to find out Kagome was capable of making this trip on foot, she ran at his pace never faltering, each step was sure and each leap to avoid a root or ditch was graceful. He thought travelling with others would be annoying, that they would be a hindrance, but for the first time in his life he wasn't alone and it was actually fun. He found himself trying to run a few seconds ahead of her but she was fast and he found he was speeding up to keep pace with her, and when their path took a turn through slightly harsher territory he found out she was far more agile than he. Kagome flashed a cheeky smile at him which stunned him so much that he almost didn't dodge the small branch she had tossed lightly at his feet causing him to slow slightly,
"Hurry up loser, you're falling behind!" She called back from ahead of him laughing, he returned with a toothy grin,
"Oh you're going down Kagome!"

Inuyasha felt like he could have gone on forever if he had to, but Kaede was only human and she was old so they had no choice but to stop and camp overnight. Inuyasha, overzealous as usual, bitched and moaned about losing time but they all knew that if Kaede was left behind and the other two went on ahead, the old woman would surely die of exposure or be killed by the dark spirits they felt surrounding the area. The three set up a camp just as the sun was setting, the area was near the edge of a skeletal forest that made Kagome feel nauseous to be around. The area went as far to the left and right as she could see and seemed as though it went on forever, it was littered with the bones of large trees, the cracked earth held wispy roots within its grasp, and was void of any green. She almost dread the thought of having to travel through it the next day. They set up their small camp, and Kaede had tucked herself away as best she could beside the fire, there was no cloud cover so the cold set in just after sundown. This didn't bother Inuyasha much, he didn't mind the cold, having suffered worse; but he was quite perplexed when he found himself worried about Kagome, that wench was always feeling the cold. She was sitting up, eyes locked onto the clear sky above, thousands of stars strewn throughout; and a serene look on her face as the the light from the fire bounced around her irises. Inuyasha hadn't had that much fun in a long while as he had chasing Kagome around, and even as he settled against a dead tree to rest his eyes, he couldn't help but still feel remnants of that childlike glee bubbling within him. His ears twitched as, they picked up shuffling and his eyes opened when he felt Kagome sit down next to him, he stared at her with one eyebrows raised by she refused to meet his gaze opting for the stars instead. He smirked, something akin to pride washing over him when he realised she had just wanted to be near him. The two ended up talking throughout the night making jokes about one another and bickering playfully, Kagome realised for maybe the first time in her life in a long time...she had a friend.

Early the next morning, not long after sunrise the trio continued their journey, this time keeping an even faster pace than that of the previous day, travelling mostly in silence, each caught up in their own thoughts. Kagome hated travelling through the desolate area, there was no life whatsoever present in her vicinity save for Inuyasha and Kaede. Trying hard to block out that feeling of emptiness she spoke, in a desperate attempt to fill the ever widening hole in her heart.
"I feel sorry for her." Kagome directed her statement toward Inuyasha, his ear swiveled in her direction, "Her grave being violated. When you're laid to rest in the earth, one shouldn't be torn away like that." Inuyasha huffed,
"Keh who cares, I'm going for the jewel. I could care less about her being at peace."
"She's been dead 50 years Inuyasha, and you were the one to kill her, she should at least be allowed to rest peacefully by her shrine, undisturbed."
"It's not been 50 years for me. It feels like only months ago since she.." He paused, he jumped in front of Kagome, grabbing her shoulders and stopping her in her tracks. "Wait what?! I killed her!? What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Ye are the one who gave her the fatal wound that was upon my sister's shoulder, are ye not Inuyasha? She said it twas ye" He turned, wide eyed, facing Kaede who had noticed the interaction and stopped her horse to listen in. "My sister died the day she pinned ye to the tree, a result of the wounds ye carved into her."
"Bullshit! I never touched her. She said she lov-" He paused. "Fuck." Kagome turn away from him ever so slightly

"If it wasn't you then...then who?" Kagome and Kaede believed the boy, his reaction was evidence enough, and it made sense to Kaede, having seen the way he once protected Kikyo. Nobody had noticed how pale Kagome seemed to go, they were too caught up in their own thoughts.
"That's why she shot me then?" He spoke uncertainly. "It must be, she believed I had betrayed her." He growled louder "I'll find who did this and I'll kill them for doing that to me and Kikyo. Let's go." Kagome nodded and followed him, however not at his side this time, just slightly behind him.

Kagome was grateful when the desolate area gradually gave way to greenery and she felt the life around her. It turned out to be quite dense and she realised there was a large river rushing throughout, but a man made dam used for agricultural purposes was stopping the essential lifeblood from flowing to the desolate area they had just come from. It saddened her to know that only one could have life, the village or the forest. They continued on until the ground split into a great canyon, the large river rushing below.
"Lady Kaede?" Kagome saw the priestess slow her horse as they approached a long rickety old bridge that allowed passage over the gap.
"This bridge, leads into the lair of Urasue." Kaede spoke grimly. Kagome's expression shifted to one of discomfort at hearing the name
"Is someone going to tell me who the hell that is?" Inuyasha interjected, arms folded irritated everyone else seemed to know something he didn't, as he came to stand next to the two women.
"Urasue," Kagome began, "Is an ogre sorceress..a necromancer" Inuyasha sensing the apprehension radiating off the two women, urged her on with a pointed look, not really knowing what a necromancer was but not really wanting to admit it. Kaede finished for her instead
"Urasue brings the dead back to the living. I now know why she wanted my sister's remains." Everything began to spiral around Inuyasha, he felt like suddenly he couldn't breathe. 'No fucking way...that's impossible' he thought. His blood boiled and his mind was racing with thoughts of his last few moments with the priestess playing over and over again.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome's voice brought him back to the present, soothing his demon with the concern laced throughout her features. At a glance Inuyasha had looked calm, in fact Kagome thought he hadn't heard Kaede in the first place until she noticed the flexing of his muscles, and saw his clenched fists. He growled under his breath, agitated with her staring at him intensely.
"What?" He snapped "Let's fucking go already." He stormed past Kagome and started across the bridge not caring if they were following him. Kaede looked between the two half humans before dismounting her horse, and stepping across the bridge herself.
-

"My Demon kiln thrives with your magic Kikyo!" I can feel it surrounding us!" Urasue cackled, wrapping her heavy robes around her even tighter, chilled despite the tremendous heat her oven was pumping out from behind the rock wall. She slashed away at it, revealing a small space, lined with mud bricks and clay to preserve the heat. Flames licked at her feet, yet she paid them no attention, stepping on the to get closer to the clay casing that lay in the dead centre. Removing a herbal stem branch from her hair she chanted in the ancient language of her now long dead tribe "You will be my finest yet Priestess. You are my masterpiece. Arise!" And threw the herb down watching gleefully as dozens of souls flew into the clay coffin like fireflies until it burst. She stared down into the beautiful pale face of the priestess Kikyo. "Come forth child, and do unto the world my bidding. Your mother's bidding."

'It's warm? Why is it so warm? It is pleasant.' Fingers tingling, the feeling of a body felt foreign to the soul, not used to being inside one for quite sometime. It stretched its reach throughout the body, calibrating itself, not used to filling in one so large. The soul had always been given a new body, a tiny one when it was still in the womb and it was so easy to ease into, due to the small size. And as the body grew, he would learn to crawl then walk then jump. Never in its thousands of years of incarnation, had it ever been given to a large body, this was not normal. Toes twitching, muscles flexing as the soul soaked into every fibre, navigating the body seemed so simple despite its large size, like the soul already knew its way around. It brought the organs to life starting with the brain, filling the lungs up with what little oxygen was available, jumpstarting the heart to pump blood around to the liver and kidneys; the small vessels that carried the blood opening up. Saliva began to fill the mouth and sweat began to form on the brow from the heat and the skin began to rosy ever so slightly in the apple of the cheeks. Finally when the soul felt it was settled in, it realised it knew this body; it had housed one of it's favorite spirits it had lived as, so it summoned that very spirit and waited for her consciousness to take over. 'Welcome back Kikyo, it seems we get a second chance.' and it waited for Kikyo's memories to slam into it.
"W...W…" Kikyo stirred, the white of her eyes showing as her eyelids flickered. "Warm…" Her voice was barely a whisper, not yet comprehending what was happening just yet.
"...rld my bidding. Your mother's bidding." A voice croaked out near her and Kikyo slowly moved her arms to her chest where something scratchy lay upon her, she grasped sloppily at a stem with leaves, sluggish. Opening her eyes she winced at the bright light that surrounded the short, fat figure who she assumed had been speaking to her. "Kikyo, my child," Kikyo scowled, this was not her mother; Kikyo's mother had been tall and beautiful, nothing like the hag before her now. She felt demonic energy attached to parts of her mind and body like a puppeteer's strings but as her spiritual power came back to her, she was able to snap the connections easily, this demon was weak….how had it resurrected her? Kikyo sensed a very familiar energy and saw in the old hags grasp a pink light. 'She has the Shikon jewel?! How? It was burned with my body! That's how she revived me...but how did she get it?' "I am Urasue and you will follow me." Kikyo stood up uncertainly, and wobbled towards the woman, the herbs still clutched to her chest.

Kagome stared at the back of Inuyasha's head, watching his behavior. Surviving by herself for years on end and being so connected with life had taught her how to read people, she was observant, very observant. He had his shoulders squared and his movements were stiff, it seemed like he was taking his time, not caring about the treatment of Kikyo's sacred ashes or maybe angry thinking about her. But Kagome knew by the drooping of his ears, and the way he was clenching and unclenching his fist, he was agitated...nervous. 'He still loves her…even through the anger.' She saw the hurt in him too, and for some reason she was sad. Why? She didn't pity him... Because he still loved Kikyo? 'No that can't be. I don't care about that' She closed her eyes physically shook her head to dispel the thought almost crashing into the back of Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha?" She poked her head around to see his face, her eyes widened. "Inu… Inuyasha?" His face was frozen, eyes focused on something that Kagome couldn't see, his ears were pointed and he was breathing deeply, slowly through his nose. His body was completely rigid one second then gone the next as he bolted off across the remainder of the rickety bridge, rocking it violently, so much that Kaede yelped and had to grip on to the rope for dear life. Kagome leaped to her side, and then proceeded across quickly, Kaede upon her back she followed after Inuyasha.
"Kagome, ye must hurry" Kaede was panting but her voice held an urgency Kagome could not ignore "I can sense my sister, I can sense Kikyo's spiritual powers!"

When the two locked eyes, it was like everything melted away except them. His gold eyes held so much emotion, her black eyes looked as though they held none, but he knew her better. He knew if he stood right up against her, noses almost touching, he would see the swirl of vehemence in them, and the way her eyebrows dipped just a fraction told him the extent of the rage she was holding on to. 'He's still alive...there's no way my arrow failed to keep his soul dormant...he must have been released. What the hell is going on?' she thought, watching his movements. His eyes burned into her still naked from, modesty kept barely intact by her long hair, and he looked furious; the thought only pissed Kikyo off even more 'How dare he be furious, when he is the one who betrayed me first.' His lips quivered slightly which she picked up, a tell-tale sign he was choosing his words carefully. She prepared for the nasty things he would say, 'Go on Inuyasha, say my name you lying bastard. Say it.' He spoke, finally breaking the silence, saying her name for the first time since he had awoken "Ki...Kikyo." she was surprised by the lack of anger in his voice, and the way it trembled. A burning agony spread across her chest and shoulder racking her body with pain and she was forced to the ground. Inuyasha gasped, pure muscle memory told him to go over there and catch her but invisible hands were grasping his ankles and legs, keeping him in place. Kikyo's hand darted out, snatching the robes Urasue was holding out to her, and donned the white haori quickly, followed by the red hakama. She stood up, securing the ties and it took Inuyasha's breath away, there she was, his Kikyo, standing before him in her priestess robes looking as delicate as she did 50 years ago.
"Kikyo!" A loud exclamation brought Inuyasha back to reality, Kaede was shuffling forward, tears in her one good eye. Kikyo looked up in confusion, sensing the woman's spiritual energy, until finally all of the strings connected in her mind.
"Kaede, my sweet sister" a soft look appeared on Kikyo's face, and the tears which had been building up in Kaede's eye finally spilled over, trailing down her cheek.
"My dear sister, ye have been brought back to us, I have aged so yet ye still recognize me" The old woman was beside herself with tears of joy,

"Kikyo! I command you to kill these intruders!" Urasue's nasally voice irritated Kikyo to no end, her small gnarled hands shoved a wooden bow and some badly made arrows into her hands, "Listen to me, kill that filthy half demon and his wench for your moth-" She never finished her sentence, Kikyo blasted her with purifying energy before she could,
"You are not my mother, demon scum." The harshness of her words startling her, when had she ever been filled with such darkness and hatred? She had never really hated demons, and had always tried to remain neutral in her battles, so why did she feel like she had been brought back by the devil himself in his image of vengeance? Why was she not allowed peace? Not allowed to rest? Her eye trailed from the piles of soot that was once Urasue, and trained her eyes on the culprit,
"Inuyasha," snatching the bow Urasue had provided her she nocked an arrow and aimed it at the boy before her, "Why did you betray me!?" she demanded an explanation and she would receive it, then drag his sorry ass down to hell. She wouldn't miss this time. A female demon, quite a bit shorter than Kikyo stepped out in front of Inuyasha; the woman directed a look of vexation towards her. "Move woman, this does not concern you. I'll purify you too if you get in my way." Inuyasha was in a pure state of disbelief, in a few short minutes he had seen his dead love who had betrayed him, brought back to life and here she was aiming the same weapon at his heart. He barely registered Kagome's movements, nor Kaede's words
"Nay sister! It was not Inuyasha who betrayed you!" Kikyo, turned her head slightly in her sister's direction but her eyes never left Inuyasha's "I believe it truly was not his doing sister!"
"You lie! For a half demon no less!" Inuyasha visibly flinched at her words, ears drooping. Hearing her gentle voice directed towards him with such an intense vitriolic tone set his mind into turmoil, his human side wanted her to stop looking at him like that, it hurt so much, his demon side wanted to claw her face off for that accusing look and for betraying him in the first place. The part that hurt most was the way she spat 'Half-Demon' out at him...she knew he hated that. He was being tugged back and forth by his two halves internally and he wasn't sure which side he should let pull him over the edge. Kagome made the choice for him yanking his arm with a strength he didn't know she possessed almost popping his arm out of the socket, a flaming pink arrow whizzed past his face. He was almost stunned that Kikyo had let the arrow fly, but the insults she was hurling his way clarified that she too felt the same about the betrayal as he had when he woke up.

"Inuyasha snap out of it!" Kagome yelled, yanking on one of his forelocks to get his attention, Kikyo let fly another one but this time he was ready, he and Kagome leaped in opposite directions, the arrows landing between where the two of them once stood, leaving a large crater from the sheer amount of power behind them. The bow however couldn't take Kikyo's power and practically disintegrated in her hands, and they noticed a large red stain spreading across her torso from her left shoulder.
"This is what you did to me Inuyasha" Tears of anger and sadness welled in her eyes but Kikyo held them back, "You said you loved me and you killed me! I will never have peace until you are dead; I hate you!" With those words, Kikyo's face went blank, her jaw slackened and eyes rolled back, she fainted on the spot, her body no longer able to handle the blood loss. Something in Inuyasha's reaction caused Kagome's heart to beat almost painfully in her chest, he was at Kikyo's side before her body had even crumpled, catching her and cradling her to his chest. There was a storm of emotions raging within him, evident in his eyes when he looked at Kagome,
"Kagome, please help her." Kagome nodded.

She is back! So I've watched Inuyasha a whole bunch of time over the last 3-4 years and the first couple times i watched the series I hated Kikyo so much, I thought she was a home wrecking cockblock... But after a few time watching I began to really like her. Shes so strong and beautiful and her story is tragic, shes a really amazing character who isn't explored enough. I'm going to reflect that in this story because alot of the time in Kagome x Inuyasha fics shes bashed and made out to be an evil ho who wants to kill Kagome and ugh I just, I'm not doing that.

Second of all The whole spirit vs soul concept is really confusing for some people so i Just wanted to take a moment to explain. The soul is the entity that lives on and is reincarnated where as the spirit is unique to one individual, so a soul lives as many spirits but once it does in a life time, the spirit passes on to another world and the soul is reincarnated into another spirit. Sort of like..when you play an MMORPG, the account is the soul and all the different classes/races you play, each character is a spirit :D Got it? Hope so, I don't want to confuse anyone. Once again this isn't my personal belief/religious view and I know that Shinto does not follow reincarnation, but I'm putting it in there anyway, for character development reasons.

Anyway, send me your questions or reviews, I'll be happy to talk :)

Until next time, Bambi~ x