CHAPTER 2:

NOTICED

A/N: well, I thank everyone who is reading this story! Thank you and please review!

Kikyo fluttered her eyes open. She was in the hut alone. In the corner was her stuff and everything seemed the same except that Inuyasha wasn't there. Walking outside, Kikyo squinted her eyes at the bright light that fell from the sky. She remembered she was still in her dirty clothes so she went inside again and changed.

When she went outside again, this time Inuyasha was there. He was making a fire and had fish on the ground.

"Good morning." Kikyo greeted.

Inuyasha simply glared a bit at Kikyo, still not comfortable with her presence. "I'm cooking fish for myself. If you're hungry, you're catching your own fish."

Kikyo nodded. "Um…okay."

"I'm going to be leaving this afternoon." He told her. "I won't stay here long."

"Where exactly are you going?" Kikyo asked.

Inuyasha's eyes wandered to the fire that he started. "I'm not sure, myself. So are you going to stay here for the rest of your life?" he asked.

"Of course not." She answered. "I will go. But for today, I'm staying one more night."

"Are you going to go back to that village?"

"Yes. I…I'm going to visit one more time before I leave."

"Leave for what? What are you going to do now?" Inuyasha asked, putting his fish on a stick and placing it in the fire.

"I'm going to find a youkai…and kill it." She said harshly.

Inuyasha was a bit surprised at the change in her voice.

"It's funny. I am supposed to be pure but right now, I feel so wicked and tainted with hatred." She laughed pathetically.

"That's stupid." Inuyasha remarked. "You act as if it's so bad to have hatred inside of you. Everyone has hatred inside themselves. It's not the end of the world."

Kikyo laughed a little bit. "Y-you're right." She went inside the hut and got out her water jug. "I'm going to the stream."

Inuyasha took out his fish out of the fire and began to take a bite. That miko is really weird…or maybe it's because I never met a miko before.

Kikyo went to the stream and put her jug in the water, then sat and relaxed for a moment. I wonder who that silver haired youkai was. I want to kill that youkai so that it will never destroy a village and bring pain to someone like me again. Kikyo decided to go back to the hut. When she arrived, Inuyasha was still eating his fish.

"You're back already?" he asked.

"Yes. Did you expect me to not come back for a long time?"

"Uh…no. Not really." He admitted. He took one last bite into the fish and then threw the bones into the fire.

"Do you want a drink?" she asked him.

Inuyasha was quiet for a while then nodded. "Um…sure."

Kikyo gave him the water jug and sighed, taking a seat on the ground. Inuyasha drank out of the jug for a moment, then gave it back to her.

"Thanks." he then vanished into the woods, never to be seen again.

Kikyo couldn't help but feel a bit lonely. "It's feels odd when there aren't villagers around. Well, I should be going to the village." She got her bow and arrows and started for the village. When she arrived, everything still seemed the same as yesterday; there were no huts as they were all destroyed and it was as quiet as yesterday.

She went over to the flower fields and picked as much flowers as she could. She then brought them to the graves of the villagers. When she arrived at Kaede's grave, she sat down and gently put the flowers on her grave. "Ohayou Kaede-chan." She spoke. Kikyo felt a little weird speaking to a grave, but she was lonely and it didn't really matter to her that much anymore. "I hope you're doing okay."

The rest of the time, Kikyo was silent, just looking at the sky and wondering about how the fates of the villagers would have changed if she was in the village.
Her mind soon wandered to the silver haired youkai with golden eyes. She remembered how he stood tall with blood in his claws. Kikyo had to admit to herself, that youkai did seem frightening. A part of her didn't want to see him again but the other part wanted justice for the villagers.

When night approached, Kikyo got up and began to go in a direction she did not know where would lead her. She looked back at the village; her home; once more and departed. Just as she was walking, she heard a sudden ferocious roar. Kikyo rushed to the direction of the sound, hoping it wasn't a youkai attacking a person.

When she arrived, what she saw was horrifying. A large youkai was dead on the ground and standing on top of him was a silver haired man. His eyes were golden and he was drenched in blood. For a moment, Kikyo suddenly remembered the sight of the other demon that destroyed her village. Was that the youkai…! She thought to herself.

Kikyo got out an arrow and aimed it at the head but as things cleared out, Kikyo could tell it wasn't the same youkai. At that moment, it began to rain and the blood on the man cleared. The man appeared to be Inuyasha.

"Hey….it's…you…" the hanyou managed to say before collapsing to the floor.

"Oh…!" Kikyo ran to Inuyasha and picked him up. She dragged him into a nearby cave and set him on the floor. "Are you alright, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha didn't answer.

It appears that he is still unconscious. Kikyo thought to herself. It's funny. We meet again and he's in the same position as before, hurt and bloody.

Inuyasha began to mumble something. "Uh…what am I doing here?"

"You're awake. It's me, Kikyo." Kikyo said, getting her water jug and pouring water on his wounds.

Inuyasha winced in pain. "That hurts, dammit!" he said sitting up.

"I'm sorry." she apologized. She got a ripped cloth from her hakama pockets from the old miko clothes she had and wrapped it around the hanyou's wound.

"Why do you keep saving me? I can take care of myself, you know." Inuyasha said ungratefully.

"I guess I'm just used to doing this to any stranger. Of course, I never did this really to a hanyou before."

"Then don't do it to me!" he retorted, pulling away from her. Kikyo fell over from the sudden jerk. "Ah…um…I-I'm sorry." he said, helping her up.

"No. It's okay."

Inuyasha smirked. "Whatever."

"What were you doing out there?"

"Killing some youkai. What do you think?" he answered.

"Why? Did you just want to slaughter it?"

"Why are you saying this? You kill countless demons don't you?" he yelled.

"Yes but that's because they want the shik-" Kikyo shut her mouth before she could say anything else. I shouldn't tell him or he'd want the jewel. "It's because…they…uh, threaten the village."

"W-well, I had good reasons to kill that demon too." Inuyasha protested. "It was my one of my brother's demons. He sent them to kill me."

"Your brother?"

"Yeah. We don't exactly have that 'brotherhood friendship' thing. I hate him and he hates me too. He wants me dead and same for me. But I can't just keep killing the demons he sends to kill me. I have to-I have to kill him! So that's why I want something called the shikon no tama."

Kikyo widened her eyes. "The shikon no tama!"

"Yeah. It's a jewel that grants power to anyone. I want it to become a full-fledged demon and obliterate him."

"Maybe you shouldn't be so hateful of your brother."

"You don't understand! What should you know anyways?"

"Well." Kikyo sighed. "At least you have someone that's your family. I…I have no one. My young sister died. You should mend the ties between you and your brother before it's too late."

Inuyasha kept quiet. "Oh. Um. Sorry about that. I didn't know your sister died."

"She was killed. A youkai attacked the village and slaughtered everyone." Kikyo said disgusted. Suddenly something hit her. "Come to think of it, the youkai looked kinda like you."

"Me? Well I didn't destroy any village."

"Or perhaps…that was my imagination." Kikyo mumbled. "Anyways. If you search for the jewel, I can sense that…that something bad will happen."

Inuyasha smirked. "Whatever. I can handle it."

"You might die."

"It's not like I care. If I die, I die. That would only benefit my brother anyways. But I'm not planning to die yet to make him happy. My only ambition in life is to find the shikon no tama and use it to become the strongest youkai and then destroy my brother!"

Kikyo smirked pathetically. And mine is to protect the jewel and destroy anyone who wants to get it. "I'm…going outside." She walked outside to the pouring rain. Kikyo's mind wandered to what she was going to do with Inuyasha. In a few minutes, Inuyasha was asleep and Kikyo made a decision.

Youkai or hanyou he still wants the jewel. My duty is to kill anyone who wants it. Slowly, Kikyo pulled an arrow from the things she brought from the shrine. She approached the hanyou who was in a deep sleep. "Forgive me." she said, getting ready to thrust the arrow into his chest. Her mind told her to do it but her heart said it was wrong. She remembered what Inuyasha told her a few minutes ago. If I die, I die. But I'm not planning to die yet. Kikyo shook her head. Even though he's a hanyou and only wants the jewel, he still wants to live and fulfill his ambitions. What am I to take them away from him. I'm sure later in the future his ambitions will change. Right now, I just can't kill him.

Kikyo sighed and put her arrow back. She then laid herself on the ground and fell asleep. Something inside her knew that that wasn't the only reason she couldn't kill Inuyasha. Something about him was like…was like her in a way. Alone with no one to love and ambitions that seem impossible. Just like her…

A/N: Yup. Second chapter ending. Thank you for reading and the reviews you give me! They are the inspiration for me to keep writing! Thanks and see you in the next chappie!