I was sitting on my bed waiting to find out if my brother was okay. He was in the hospital because of my powers. It was all my fault!

I sank onto the couch, head in my hands, and started to cry. What if he died? What if he hated me?

There was a knock at the door. I ran over and looked in the peephole.

Standing there was a boy about my age. He had long white hair, dog ears, and was wearing a red kimono. I figured he must be some kind of demon.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My name is Inuyasha." He said. "I seek sanctuary."

"Of course!" I opened the door.

Inuyasha was hurt badly. I sat him down and pulled off his kimono. I purified his wounds with my sacred powers. He was poisoned badly, so it took awhile. He cried out a lot throughout the entire thing.

After I was done, I bandaged his wounds.

"Are you still in pain?" I asked.

"Don't worry about me?" Inuyasha said. "I'm tougher than any human. That's for sure."

"Sure." I said. I led him to the guest room. "Dinner will be ready soon."

I headed to the kitchen and finished the stew. I stirred it up. I kept thinking about my brother and I sniffed and started to cry.

"What are you crying for?" Inuyasha asked, standing right behind me.

I turned. "I put my brother in the hospital with my sacred powers."

"No you didn't." Inuyasha said sharply. "I don't believe that for a second. A woman like you would never hurt someone on purpose."

I blinked and blushed. "Ah...thank you. I'm Kurisuta Hikawa."

"Sure, Kuri." Inuyasha said. "Is dinner ready? I'm starved."

I giggled. "Yeah it is."

I headed into the kitchen and got us each big bowls of stew. I put it in front of him and Inuyasha finished it in a hurry and held out his bowl for more. I refilled his bowl three times and finally he was full.

"Thanks." Inuyasha said, smiling at me.

I didn't smile. I was scared. What if Inuyasha found out about my powers? What if I hurt him.

He must have noticed I wasn't smiling, because he looked concerned when I looked up.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

"I'm okay, just wish…" I trailed off. I wished I didn't have such horrible powers. I wished I hadn't hurt anyone with my power.

"Hey." Inuyasha said. "Why do you wear gloves?"

Why did he have to notice?

"I wear them to protect everyone. From myself." I replied softly. "Goodnight Inuyasha."

I headed to my room and collapsed on my bed. I fell asleep instantly.

Later that night, my brother Cohaku came home. I hugged him, but he didn't hug me back and he looked at me with cold eyes.

"Please forgive me." I said softly.

Cohaku finally hugged me back. I thought everything was alright again but then I heard him say, "I just hope you never do that again. I'm staying away from your hands."

"W-What did you say? That was so…vicious."

"What do you mean? I didn't say anything."

I left knowing that if I hug someone, I can hear their thoughts. I wondered what would happen if I…never mind.

I woke up later that night and went into the hallway, and ran right into Inuyasha. I grabbed his arm to steady myself, and his yoki struck me and I flew into the wall and slid down it. Blue silver sparks played around my injuries, healing me.

I got up slowly, and he tried to help me, but I moved my hands away from him.

"Are you alright?" Inuyasha asked. "Did I do this to you?"

"It's not your fault." I said. "Please...don't blame yourself, Inuyasha."

I got up, but backed away from him.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "Are you afraid of me?"

I stopped and looked in his eyes. "I could never be afraid of you. You should be afraid of me."

And then I left him there. When I got to bed I realized that he had heard what I was thinking when my hand wasn't touching him. I had thought "I hope he isn't afraid of me." But he only heard "afraid" and thought I was scared. He must have heard it and interpreted it without noticing it himself.

xxx

Inuyasha stared at the ceiling. What had just happened? How had he attacked the priestess?

He rolled over onto his side, staring at the wall.

I thought I could control my yoki, he thought. When she touched my arm, I heard her say she was scared. I want to help her control her powers. I want to...but I am afraid I'll hurt her again. I'll just have to control my power better.

Inuyasha closed his eyes. He wasn't sure what to think about Kuri. He wasn't sure if he could love again after Kikyo.

It was late into the night until he fell into a troubled sleep.