Earlier chapters of this story can be found on Unexplored Territory: 
http://www.skyneko.com/unexplored/



Fragment of the Dream
A darker alternative for Inu-Yasha.
By Amanda "Seifergrrl" Lever

Chapter 3: Explanation


�You do realize,� Inu-Yasha said, eyes bright with an emotion somewhere 
between rage and hate, �You aren�t moving a fucking step from this temple 
till you till me everything.�

Kikyou sat in silence before her irate almost-lover and the whimpering 
kitsune cub that had joined him early in his quest to find the shattered 
Shikon no Tama. The kitsune�s soft sniffles didn�t move her cold spirit, 
but Inu-Yasha�s rage battered her heart like the typhoon�s gale winds. He 
was angry at her for what she�d done, and he didn�t even realize that she�d 
done it with him in mind.

�Kikyou!� he barked again, fangs flashing. �Tell me what happened!�

Her arm arched, and she focused on the pain to keep her calm. His grip had 
been painful; had her body been flesh and bone, he would have surely 
discovered the black marks of his fingers in her flesh. But did he, not 
weeks ago, promise that he would always protect her? And yet, he�d done her 
more harm then Naraku could do to her now?

�Kikyou!�

�Let go of me.�

Never before had Kikyou�s voice so battered Inu-Yasha, nearly sweeping his 
hand from he arm with physical force. He released her without a bit of 
protest, and flexed his now empty hand. But he didn�t stop talking, though 
he lost momentum and certainty, �K-Kikyou��

�Stop.� she snapped, lashing him with her words. �You have no idea, not 
even the most remote thought for what you disturbed.�

�I know you were casting spells at the foot of the damn God Tree!� 
Inu-Yasha snarled as his anger renewed. �And I want to know why! And I want 
to know where Kagome is! And Miroku and Sango! What did you do with them?�

�Nothing,� she retorted, her eyes fixing darkly on his. �Nothing� 
intentionally.�

�Intentionally?!� The hanyou�s rage knew no bounds. �So what the hell did 
you unintentionally do to them?�

�I don�t know.�

That shut him up. Silence descended like the stillness preceding a storm in 
the wake of his raging, and he simply stood there, staring down at the miko 
he�d dragged from the clearing, the clearing that they had both died in, 
and simply looked at her.

�You don�t know.�

�No,� Kikyou confirmed with no relish or enjoyment. �I don�t. If I did, I 
would tell you, Inu-Yasha.�

Dropping down to squat before her, resting his weight on the balls of his 
feet, his arms on his knees, he peered at her quizzically. There was 
something amiss here, but it was not in her words. She was being honest, 
that much he could tell. It made him put aside his anger, but left in it�s 
wake a certain apprehension that he could not leave alone so easily.

�You�re telling me that the miko of the Shikon no Tama was had gone to work 
a ritual, and she has no idea what it might do if it backfired?� To say he 
sounded skeptical was an understatement. Sarcasm dripped from every word, 
and hurt her as surely as his claws could. His golden eyes narrowed to 
slivers, as he glared at her. �I think that�s a load of horse shit!�

Weathering his anger with her own as a shield, Kikyou stiffly replied, �I 
can give you a theory, if it will make you feel better,�.

�Yes! Yes it will!� Inu-Yasha snapped, furrows of aggravation dug between 
his scrunched brows. �And it will prevent me from getting angrier!�

Kikyou took a breath, and then began slowly, biting off the words as if she 
thought she was being forced into a needless explanation. What did she care 
for those people, anyway? If they were out of the way, she could be with 
Inu-Yasha, without that girl... �The Goshinboku is a special tree; its 
roots reach throughout time,� she began. �The Bone-Eating Well is made of 
the same wood, creating the connection between our time and that girl�s 
time.� Her tone gave no second guessing to how she felt about Kagome; she 
had the same regard for her reincarnation that most had for trash.

Inu-Yasha�s brows knitted at the way she referred to Kagome, but didn�t 
bother to correct her. �Go on,� he urged gruffly.

�Using a blessed mirror, I sought to focus the power of the Goshinboku,� 
Kikyou said, her voice steady. �I did so; I manipulated the threads of 
time; I steered the fates of our past selves; leading us back to each 
other, leading Onigumo�s band away from the village with foul weather and 
wild beasts.�

Her eyes flickered to him for a brief moment. �And then you arrived.�

Ignoring Inu-Yasha�s increasingly impatient experssion, she continued with 
only a breath�s pause, �The spell was disrupted. I could not keep Onigumo 
from returning for the Shikon no Tama and myself.�

�And then what?� Inu-Yasha demanded. �What happened? What happened to 
Kagome and Miroku and Sango!�

�I believe their energies may have interfered with the spell; they did not 
exist in that time��

Inu-Yasha threw up his hands, and stalked to the other side of the shrine 
and back again, swearing hotly. His face was red, his hands clenchedshe�d 
never seen him in such a state of agitation.

Working the fury from his system, he rounded on her, cutting the air with 
one hand as if to slice away her arguments. �You�re going to tell me how to 
undo that spell. You�re going to bring my friends back from that � that� 
where-ever you put them! And you�re not leaving my sight until you do! Do 
you understand? You go to far!�

�Too far? Too far?� Kikyou�s voice rose steadily, before she got up from 
the floor. �Who are you to tell me what I will do, for whom?�

�I won�t return to you until the Shikon no Tama is assembled and whole,� 
Inu-Yasha said slowly, a growl beneath his words. �And only Kagome can lead 
me to the shards.�

�So it for the quest, again, that I must bring this girl to you?�

�And Miroku!�  Inu-Yasha added quickly. �And Sango and Shippou! They�ve all 
been wronged by Naraku now! You can�t deny them their right to vengeance!�

Kikyou sighed; there would be no arguing at all with her one-time beloved 
hanyou. He would see his friends returned, or he�d attempt to take Naraku 
on his own, in their name. Attempts to sway him would be futile at best, 
infuriating at worst.

�Alright,� she finally said, even though the thought of bringing that girl 
back to his side pained her like the arrow she�d put into his heart. �I 
will do my best to bring them back to you again.�

Inu-Yasha looked at her evenly; his ears and nose did not betray her  she 
was honest and true. She would keep up her end of the bargain.

Turning her back to him so she didn�t have to see his scowl any longer, 
Kikyou said,  �You will fetch what I need, and you will do as I tell you.�

His voice was angry, with hurt beneath it. �Fine,� he said sulkily

�Then let us begin. Bring me parchment and ink.�

Inu-Yasha�s heavy, angry footfalls sounded behind her. She knew he�d double 
check everything she put on the list with her sister Kaede. While he loved 
her, he no longer trusted her�

And that cut more deeply then Naraku�s claws could have ever gone.



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