Chapter 34

Kikyo was entertaining some children in a local village, that she had recently took up residence. She had always loved children. She felt liking a walking contradiction, and it made her sick.

'I am but a dead thing. I could have had a child of my own with Inu Yasha, but alas, I am stuck in this flesh made of bone and clay,' she thought disgustedly.

She then sensed a presence in the forest and went to it.

"Onigumo, you have come back. You fool. I would never sully myself with a despicable creature such as yourself. You may be a half demon, but your heart is human and it still lusts after me. You have tried ridding yourself of me to deny your feelings, but I know," Kikyo taunted.

"Woman, you know not what you talk about. My lust is different than that of the bandit Onigumo. I have purged myself of his ridiculous desires and replaced it with the ones I have had, even before I took up his body," Naraku replied with a growl.

"I know. You sloughed your human heart off into another incarnation. I am sure though you still feel the affects. So, if you desire something else, who or what do you lust for now?" Kikyo asked, almost laughing in his face.

"My heart belongs to the priestess you think is your reincarnation. But, recent events have revealed information. She is the heir to the Eastern Lands, the very female demon I have lusted after years ago, in my original form. That soul in your heart is hers. You are on borrowed time, Lady Kikyo. It will do you well to not try to take back a soul that never was yours. For if you do, I will kill you myself," Naraku warned.

"I would like to see you try," Kikyo laughed at him once again. "The heart of Onigumo still beats within you. I told you that a couple years ago. Despite your strong will. Raising a hand against me will not prove fruitful. And I assure you, that Kagome, even if she is not my reincarnation, would not want you. If she is a dog demon, then she would never accept a spider demon. I heard dog demons are sensitive to scents, and that any insect demons tend to be repulsive."

Naraku growled, "There are ways, dearest Kikyo, that she could succumb to my… charm."

Kikyo frowned and then pulled out an arrow, nocked it, and aimed at Naraku. She released it, watching with mirth as it tore through him.

"Curse you, foul woman," he shouted, leaving behind a small wooden puppet.

"Pity it was only a puppet. You still hide behind using illusions. I will seek retribution for your crimes Onigumo, and I will take pleasure in it," she said, her eyes gleaming in the sunlight.

She continued on back to the village, deep in thought.

'So, the young girl is actually a demon. The Eastern Land is ruled by the black dog clan, a very powerful bloodline that also ties into the holy lines. Midoriko was a demon, but her blood was strong in her holy powers, and suppressed her demonic self. She appeared human, except for the petal markings on her head. Instead of having the mark of her house, the sun, her mark was different. The young Kagome must have had her demon side concealed. Interesting that her own soul keeps my body going. Onigumo warned me not to touch her, but now that my own soul is lost from me, I will take the girl's soul and kill Naraku,' Kikyo chuckled darkly to herself.

It was then, that she caught herself. She was succumbing to her own selfish desires! Yes, she wanted Inu Yasha. She remembered the time he gave her rouge for her lips, the very same rouge he said that belonged to his mother. She sank to her knees, the soul stealing demons hovering closer.

'I want to live. I loathe this clay body. I want to hold Inu Yasha again, but I think he is already lost from me,' she raged to herself.

She then pictured Kagome being held in Inu Yasha's embrace, deep in a kiss, and she fumed, 'He is mine! Damn demon! Probably already mated to him.'

She had learned about demons a long time ago from a warrior priestess that had originated from a demon slaying tribe, that had once traveled to Kikyo's village. The head priestess at the time, was actually a priest, and had sent her to learn from the woma,n so she could be educated about various demons. He had thought it important to know so she could understand their behavior. She learned that dog demons were known to be very sexual creatures when not in public, and tended to be extraordinarily beautiful.

Kikyo knew that Kagome was naturally beautiful as a human, and was most certainly even more, as a demon. She had been told that Kagome was her reincarnation by Urusae, and believed it, until Naraku told her otherwise. She did look somewhat similar, but she was much different. Kagome had grown taller than her over the past few years, and her hair was much darker, even wavier. Her eyes were also blue-grey and seemed naïve to the world. Kikyo had always been weary of many things and had a guarded visage, almost as stoic as Lord Sesshoumaru himself.

'I share the soul of a demon. Perhaps that is why she was given the Jewel of Four Souls. She's probably a part of Midoriko's line, but that would mean she was a couple centuries old," Kikyo thought to herself.

She had heard through the exterminators that passed through Edo, that there had been no other heir besides a female, and that one had mysteriously disappeared. Rumors had it that she either died, or ran from a potential suitor and hid herself. Another rumor was that her parents had sent her away for her protection. The last rumor was more believable than the rest as she knew even black dog demons from young age, were strong and hard to die. Now that she had been informed of the revelation of Kagome's true self, she knew that was the only excuse.

Kikyo's thoughts again turned back to her dilemma of getting Inu Yasha back. She did regret threatening Inu Yasha, and had somewhat figured that she had been at fault for pushing him away. She recalled when Tsubaki had cursed her and she knew that was the reason. She hated being a priestess, and the day that the elder priest had died, she had been appointed to run the village as its spiritual leader. Before that she had hoped to marry the headman's son, and wore elaborate kimonos that she had made by hand. Once she was appointed, she took up her responsibility, and washed her hopes of being normal down the creek. Men did not see her as the same with eyes of wonder and wanting. They saw her with respect and hope for their safety.

'If Naraku had not come between Inu Yasha and I, we would have been married and there would be no more Jewel of Four Souls,' Kikyo groused.

If she had a heart beating in her clay and dirt chest, she would have felt it clench, and she would have sobbed, but she could not.

'This body does not allow me to show my weakness and I will see to Naraku's demise for taking the life that I should have had.'

The image of Inu Yasha and Kagome embracing returned with a vengeance to her mind. At the image of Kagome and Inu Yasha lingering in her mind, she shoved away her sentiments, determined on seeking out Kagome.