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Chapter 13

The cloying smell of incense thickened the air of the darkened room. He smirked with cold amusement and wondered what his retainers would do if they realized that their sad attempt at purification did little more than provide him with a pleasant perfume. The old fools were convinced that with the death of the chieftain, the demon had been driven from the household. For the moment it suited him to indulge their misapprehension, but soon that would change. He was growing restless. If his plans were to succeed, it was now time for him to assume a more active role.

He sighed in frustration as yet another attendant fluttered into the chamber, offering a healing tonic that was meant to infuse him with newfound strength. He submitted to the man's care, sure to mold his face into an insipid mask of gratitude. The idiots had yet to realize that their sickly young lord had vanished long ago. There was only Naraku now.

His duty complete, the attendant slipped from the room and Naraku was once again alone. He reclined on the cot and allowed himself to contemplate the fate of his latest demon puppet. When he had heard talk of a demon being released from a sealing spell he had been compelled to investigate. Though he doubted that the simple-minded dog hanyou could cause him much trouble, the frail portion of his soul had demanded action. Even now, when little of Onigumo's tattered soul remained, Naraku could not forget the naive priestess who had tended to the pitiful bandit's wounds.

Recalling the delicious look of despair and confusion on the woman's face made him smile. While his plan had not worked perfectly on that sunny morning fifty years ago, Naraku had at least been entertained by the chaos his actions had incited. The priestess had easily believed her hanyou suitor had betrayed her for the power of the jewel. The hanyou had been fooled in a similar fashion. With the rich scent of Kikyo's blood clinging to him, Inuyasha had been unable to detect Naraku's disguise. Irritatingly, it had all been for naught; he hadn't managed to capture the defiled Shikon jewel. The priestess had succumbed to her wounds and had been cremated along with the jewel of power. The oblivious hanyou had been sealed to Goshinboku, condemned to an eternal existence that was neither life, nor death.

Naraku had previously believed that the hanyou was ignorant of his existence. It now seemed as though Inuyasha had been much more attentive than he had ever imagined. Naraku had deliberately created the demon puppet in Kikyo's form in order to exploit the hanyou's emotional weakness. Though this time he didn't have the additional benefit of Kikyo's scent, Naraku had thought the torrential rain would provide adequate interference.

He had greatly underestimated his adversary. Not only had Inuyasha easily detected the demon puppet's presence, he had immediately known that the figure was not Kikyo's vengeful spirit. Naraku had counted on the Inu hanyou's inherent mercy to draw out the confrontation and give him a chance to strike. He had not believed that Inuyasha would be capable of destroying a demon puppet if it wore Kikyo's form. He had been wrong on every count.

At first it had seemed as though Inuyasha wished to extract his revenge against Kikyo, but the hanyou's parting words had shattered that notion and raised yet more questions. If Inuyasha had known Naraku's identity, why hadn't he protected Kikyo against the initial attack fifty years ago? Was it possible that Inuyasha had been toying with the priestess all along? But the hanyou's hurt and confusion upon his sealing had been evidence of the mongrel's blind trust. How was it possible that Inuyasha had been sealed to Goshinboku in ignorance, but had awoken enlightened?

And then there was the presence of Inuyasha's female companion to consider. Her fresh beauty had made Naraku's pawn seem ridiculously two dimensional. The woman was not Kikyo, but even so, Naraku had been forced to remind himself that the priestess' bones lay cradled in the earth on the other side of the small village. Her attire had been outlandish and there had been other discernable differences in her appearance that separated her from the miko he had known, but the similarities had been enough to cause his human soul to awaken from its slumbering decay. Was it possible that the woman shared much more with Kikyo than just a passing resemblance? Could Inuyasha have found Kikyo's reincarnation? Fury coiled within him, cold and serpentine. Reincarnation or not, he craved the woman with an intensity that rivaled his desire for power.

"Urasue," he muttered to himself, rising and walking over to a heavy wooden chest that dominated one corner of his chamber. The name obviously meant something to the pair, for after Inuyasha had mentioned it the woman had grown stiff with terror. Naraku unlocked the chest and withdrew a single wooden form from inside it. Pulling a strand hair from his scalp he wound it tightly around the doll and used it to force a thread of his youki into the core of the wooden frame. He grinned as a figure garbed in the pelt of a baboon appeared before him. There was no need for words, for he was one with the demon puppet; he would continue to sense the world through two pairs of eyes until the golem was destroyed. The baboon-clad doll slipped from the chamber and vanished into the night. Naraku sighed and resigned himself to playing the role of a sickly young lord for a little while longer.

xxxxx

Kagome gently shifted Shippo from where he lay curled on the edge of her sleeping bag and carefully rose from her cot. She tiptoed across the room, and breathed a sigh of relief when she was able to slip from the hut without awakening any of the others. The sun had yet to rise, but the sky was beginning to blush with the first traces of dawn. She took a deep breath of the rain-cleansed air and leaned back against the hut's outer wall in an attempt to soothe her tumultuous emotions.

Inuyasha had been gone all night. Although she had vowed she would give him some space, she couldn't suppress her growing anxiety. Now that Naraku had begun to move against them it was more important than ever that they stick together. She wanted to make sure he was alright; yesterday's attack couldn't have been easy on him. She just wanted him to know he wasn't alone.

She pushed herself away from the wooden wall and started towards the edge of the village where the small graveyard lay. If he wasn't at Kikyo's side, he'd probably be sitting in the branches of Goshinboku. Her footsteps faltered when she rounded the side of an outbuilding and caught sight of him. Inuyasha knelt by the stone dais and small alter that marked Kikyo's final resting place. His head was bowed and his ethereal silver hair hung in a damp tangle down his back. She saw his ears flicker at the sound of her approaching footsteps, but he didn't acknowledge her in any other way. She steeled herself, knowing that he wouldn't appreciate her company, but forced herself to continue walking forward.

She hesitated a moment before she knelt by his side, carefully tucking the fabric of her green skirt away from the ground. She also needed to pay her respects to the priestess. Though they could hardly have been called friends, Kagome had respected the other woman. She knew that the Kikyo she had met had only been a pale imitation of the person she'd been in life, but Kagome considered herself fortunate to have met the miko. After all, how many people could actually say they had met their pre-incarnation? They sat in silence for quite some time before Inuyasha finally spoke.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, shattering the peace of the morning. His words were so abrupt they nearly caused Kagome to shriek with surprise. She blinked at him, one hand pressed to her chest in a futile attempt to slow her racing heart.

"The same thing you are," she replied once she had regained the ability to speak. She looked up to find him scowling at her. Now that he was looking at her she could see just how greatly he'd been influenced by the previous afternoon's events. His golden eyes were sunken from exhaustion and his nose was red. Kagome didn't think she'd ever seen him look so tired.

"And what do you think that is?" he snapped, looking away from her.

"Saying goodbye," she said softly. He scoffed and looked down at his hands. Kagome watched his fist clench convulsively and realized that he was reliving yesterday's attack. He had destroyed the demon puppet even though it had worn Kikyo's form. "You know it wasn't her yesterday, right?" she asked tentatively. She wanted to place a comforting hand on his shoulder, but she didn't quite have enough courage.

Inuyasha scowled at her. "I ain't stupid." He rose to his feet and violently brushed off the knees of his hakama. "You were the one who was fooled by that fucking demon puppet."

"Then you know you have nothing to feel guilty for," she replied, pursing her lips in response to his angry tone. Sure, he hadn't called her stupid directly, but he had certainly implied it. Her temper was nettled, but the last thing she wanted was to get drawn into a shouting match with him. She pushed herself up from her kneeling position and ignored the grime from the damp ground that clung to her skin. She raised her chin. "It wasn't Kikyo. You didn't hurt her. It was just one of Naraku's dem…"

"I know that!" he interrupted, his voice low and deadly. "I know it wasn't really her, but that don't make it any easier!"

"Why not?" she asked, bewildered. "You shouldn't feel guilty because you didn't do anything wrong."

"Keh! I didn't even spare her a second thought since you… since we…" he trailed off, unable to say the words that saturated the air between them. He hadn't thought about Kikyo since they had made their traumatic wish upon the Shikon jewel. He growled, stepping towards her and tightly gripping her biceps; his fingers easily encircled the complete width of her upper arms. She looked up at him, startled, and found herself caught by his furious, golden-eyed stare. "Haven't you realized it yet?" he demanded. "When I'm around you, you're all I see! I didn't even realize that she had died as a result of our wish!" He looked down and his ears flattened to his skull. "I gave up, Kagome. Without you, I stopped fighting."

"Inuyasha," she breathed, astonished by his words.

"I abandoned the others! I just… I surrendered! I…"

"But you gave us a second chance. You purified the jewel!" she protested.

"That was luck!" he bellowed. Kagome shrunk away from him, but his steady hold prevented her from gaining any additional distance. Had luck really been all that had separated her from… oblivion? The idea made her distinctly uncomfortable. Inuyasha continued, so entrenched in his own guilt that he was oblivious to her growing distress. "What type of bastard is able to kill a demon puppet when it wears the body of his first love?" he asked bitterly.

Something inside her snapped, unleashing a feeling of fury she hadn't expected. "You would never hurt her! Even in her clay form you couldn't hurt her!" Kagome cried. They had been through hell and back! He should know by now that he was a good person, not the monster feudal society had labeled him. "You knew that it was a demon puppet. You knew it was Naraku wearing a face he had stolen! You were strong enough not to let the emotional weapon Naraku had chosen hit its mark! Even I didn't realize Kikyo was gone until yesterday! You can't blame yourself!"

Inuyasha scoffed, pointedly looking away from her. "I shoulda taken better care of you," he said, his voice quiet but intense. "I shoulda taken better care of the both of you." His grip on her arms loosened and he stepped back.

"But we're here now," she said. Over the last few days the simple phrase had become a mantra. "There's no point in blaming yourself," she said. Put the past behind you, she thought. Learn from it, and move on. "If I had been more responsible…" she began, painfully aware of her own short-comings. School had seemed so important at the time, but now placing her academic life before her training as a miko seemed petty and childish. "I should have been able to protect myself, rather than continually relying on you to save me," Kagome forced herself to say, but her voice trembled. "I had a stack of ofuda in my pocket," she admitted. "I shouldn't have let you deal with the demon puppet alone."

"Someone had to go get the others," he replied gruffly. "It ain't like you ran off or anything. You came back."

"I guess," she allowed with a small, uncomfortable shrug. Summoning her courage she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, drawing strength from his solid presence. He stiffened in surprise before tentatively returning her embrace. She smiled into his shoulder, strangely comforted by his awkwardness. It proved that although their relationship was changing, he was still the gruff hanyou she adored.

Silence stretched between them and it wasn't long before Inuyasha's ears flickered. Even Kagome could hear the sounds of movement and conversation that carried from the edges of the village. The sun was up now, and the inhabitant's of the small community were readying themselves for the day. Kagome grimaced, wondering how much of their conversation had been overheard. They hadn't exactly been concerned with whispering.

"We should go back to the hut," he said. "It's getting late." She hugged him more tightly and sighed, wishing she could hold on to the moment just a little longer. "Aren't you afraid that the villagers will see us?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious. Kagome's head shot up so quickly she nearly hit him in the nose. He quickly jerked back, disentangling himself from her arms.

"Is that something you're worried about?" she asked, frowning in an attempt to hide how much his question stung. "It's not like you to be troubled by what other people think. As far as I'm concerned, it's none of their business who I decide to hug," she said indignantly, causing Inuyasha's lips to quirk with amusement.

"Keh. I ain't worried," he said, but Kagome felt that something about his bluster seemed false. "Come on, Kaede probably has breakfast ready by now," he said and grabbed her hand. The contact was electric. Kagome couldn't stop a smile from rising to her face as their fingers wove together. Whatever insecurity she had felt evaporated when he squeezed her hand and tentatively smiled at her in return.

As they started back towards the village Kagome swung their hands and teasingly bumped his shoulder. "So," she said, grinning up at him. "When I'm around, I'm all you see?"

"Keh!" he snorted and colour infused his cheeks. "Don't let it go to your head, wench."

xxxxx

"What do you want, Monk?" Sango drawled, her voice thick with irritation. Miroku froze, startled that she had noticed his presence so quickly. Although his intention had not been to spy, once he'd caught sight of her lithe figure he hadn't been able to resist the temptation to hesitate in his approach. The dark leather of her dragon-hide armor sheathed her body quite enticingly, and he was only human, after all. With a small grunt, she heaved the bone weapon into the air and continued the morning training ritual he had so rudely interrupted.

Miroku cleared his throat and walked forward off the forest path and into the small clearing. "I did not mean to intrude," he apologized. He watched, entranced, as she caught the massive boomerang with practiced ease. Wiping her forearm across her brow, she leaned the weapon against the ground and fixed him with an expectant look. "There are a few things I would like to discuss with you privately," he said. "This seemed like an opportune moment," he explained.

Sango nodded. Although she eyed him warily, she allowed him to usher her towards the edge of the dry well that interrupted the long grass of the meadow. They sat on the well's rim and stared back towards the boundary of the forest. "I'm not certain where to start," he sighed, resting his staff across his knees. "What I have to tell you is not my secret to share, however in this instance I believe you deserve to understand the situation in its entirety."

"What is it?" she asked, concern wrinkling her brow. Miroku very nearly smiled. This woman was constantly surprising him. Taijiya often became battle hardened, but empathy shone from Sango like a beacon.

He shook his head to clear it, chastising himself for being distracted so easily. It was no wonder lady Kagome had lost her temper with him. "Yesterday lady Kagome revealed to me the tragic events leading up to the purification of the Shikon jewel."

"Tragic?" she asked. "How could the purification of the Shikon jewel be tragic? The people of my village have been praying for the jewel's destruction for decades."

"It appears that our friends were only able to purify the jewel by an accident of fate. Kagome was gravely injured during a confrontation with Naraku. It was only through her passing that the conditions required to purify the jewel were met."

"Her passing?" Sango asked, bewildered.

"Lady Kagome… died briefly. For the jewel to be purified three aspects of the soul – human, hanyou and demon – were united by a single wish. After Naraku dealt our friend a lethal blow, Inuyasha and Kagome wished for a second chance. Unfortunately their wish could not be granted until after Inuyasha surrendered his humanity in grief."

Sango was silent for a long moment. "Why didn't they say anything?" she breathed, looking shaken. "When they spoke of it… it sounded like a victory." Miroku nodded. He too had thought the purification of the Shikon jewel had been something to celebrate.

"I thought you deserved to know," Miroku said, and rose to his feet. The metallic clatter from his shakujou seemed unnaturally loud in the wake of Sango's stunned silence. "Kagome was not making a trivial gesture when she volunteered to speak to the elders of your village regarding your banishment." Sango nodded, and Miroku felt a stab of guilt for burdening her with knowledge. He nodded once and turned back towards the village, intending to leave her to her thoughts.

"Miroku," she called after him, freezing him mid-step. It was the first time she had addressed him by name. "Thank you for your honesty," she said and bestowed him with a small, melancholy smile.

"Anything for you, Sango," he replied, and was startled when he found the words ring with unexpected sincerity. He set off down the path towards the village without a backward glance. He was losing his heart, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

A/N – Hello there! I'm very sorry this last chapter has taken me so long to publish. Many things in my life have changed, but I still love writing.

I'd like to thank everyone who voted for Second Time's the Charm in the Destined Awards over at Eternal Destiny! It's wonderful to hear that people are enjoying the story.

Thanks for reading!