Twists of Fate (Formerly: Choices of the Heart)

It was a blissfully peaceful afternoon in the area known as InuYasha's Forest. The birds sat contentedly singing in the trees, while varios other woodland creatures scuttled about below them. Nothing seemed to be interferring with the animal's day to day routine, at least until an all too familiar shout resounded through the area, causing each creature to scurry to the most convient hiding place they could find.

"InuYasha! Sit boy!" A shrill, almost desperate voice bellowed out breathlessly. Not moments after the call had been made, a lone figure emerged from the shelter of the forest, racing to the clearing, that only moments ago had been occupied by it's furry residence. Now the only sign of life other then the huffing and panting woman was the fluttering of wings as the birds who had previously been singing rushed off to find a place where silence would once again reign.

The raven haired woman dared a glance over her shoulder, slowing her fast paced run down to a slow jog. Chocolate brown orbs peered out from beneath a curtain of ebony bangs, scanning down the path she had none too gracefully raced down. A small sigh of relief upon noticing that her pursuer was no longer in sight. Slowing her jog down to a slow trot, she closed in on the only remaining object in the now vacant clearing, a small delapitated wooden well. A wide grin spread across her bubble gum pink lips as she reached her destination. The petite woman shifted the obnoxiously large yellow bag which she was carrying on her back, and prepared to leap down into the wells dark depths, when an aggitated growl caused her to pause and stare nervously back in the direction she had just come from.

No sooner had her gaze shifted did a young dog eared hanyou come huffing down the trail, his face covered in dirt with a few blades of grass clinging to his silky silver mane. His handsome face contorted into an angry scowl upon catching sight of the female and her intentions. Another growl slipped past his smirking lips as he stalked closer to the woman, looking more like a cat about to pounce on a mouse, rather then the inu-hanyou he really was. But before he could gain any further ground, another cry of 'Sit boy!" disrupted the silence again.

Around the hanyou's neck, a necklace of beads and fangs began to glow, simulationously gravity began to work against the hanyou, causing him to drop flat on his face and into the earth beneath him.

“Damn it Kagomen! What the hell was that for, wench?" He hissed, while struggling to regain his composure. Lifting his dirt covered form up from the crater that he had created, he sat upright in the dirt, staring questioningly at his raven haired prey. He was still baffled as to why she had forced him into the situation he now found himself in. How had she known that he was going to follow her? 'Damn that woman,' he thought, 'it’s like she can read my mind.'

“I’m going home, and I don’t want you following me." The woman known as Kagome shifted her postion, swinging on jean clad leg over the side of the well. Turning back toward her hanyou companion, she narrowed her eyes into a glare. "I mean it InuYasha! If you so much as step one toe in my time, I'm going to you know what you, until you discover new land!" Turning her gaze towards the well, she sighed quietly. "I have to go home, I promised momma I'd be home for a special dinner tonight, and you're not going to make me late." Giving one final glance over her shoulder, she bellowed out one last sit command, then silently dropped into the depths of the well. The flash of blue light, and the scent of powerful magic alerted the dirt trodened hanyou that his friend was no longer there.

InuYasha could only sit, immobilized for a few moments as the necklace’s enchantment slowly began to fade. He could feel himself sulking, although he would have denied it had anyone else come across him and questioned him. She was gone, and her only explanation was that her mother had planned some big important dinner that she just couldn’t miss. He knew what dinner was, but why have a party along with it? He was curious about that, and in all honesty wanted to see what exactly a dinner party was. At least that’s what he told himself. He really wanted to know why Kagome had been so vague on the details when he had questioned her.

There was more to the story then that, he could tell by the way her eyes had danced around the room when she had told him. He could detect the guilt in her voice with her rush to answer his questions, leaving out her usual details. There was something else going on, of that he was sure of. Kagome had never hidden anything from him before, why would she start now?

'Maybe she’s not coming back.....'

The thought that had popped into his mind instantly made his stomach turn. Denying it as always, he soon forced the idea out of his mind. 'Of course she was coming back, Naraku was still around, and there was still work to be done. She couldn’t abandon them now....or could she? ' A frown creased his brow at the battle going on inside of his mind. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, Kagome meant more to him then he would ever let on, and her absence this time was nearly devestating since she had given him little to no details of her return. Shaking the dirt from his hair and clothes, he sighed and rose to his feet.

No, he finally decided. She couldn’t leave them, she would be back and he needed to get his mind off of these stupid thoughts and back on more important things, like how to take down Naraku.

“Grrr.....damn woman! There’s more important things to be done then run off to some party! I hope that her dinner gets burnt and ruins the whole damn thing.” InuYasha muttered in a growling tone.

Plopping down into a squatting postion, InuYasha prepared himself for a wait. He refused to leave this spot until Kagome came back, and if she didn't return that evening, he would simply go off and fetch her the next morning, regardless of threats. With his mind now made up, he lowered himself down to sit indian style in his own private crator, and allowed his thoughts to take over his mind.

He had little time to think when the sound of a twig snapping caught his attention, soon followed by shuffling of feet. Tilting his head back he inhaled deeply, catching a faint, but familiar scent wafting towards him. His head flopped back down, his chin landing on his chest. “Great....just great. Just what I needed.” He grumbled under his breath.

InuYasha felt every muscle in his body tense. What was she doing here? Was she trying to find him, or just wandering around aimlessly? His gut told him that she was looking for him, but he wanted to be wrong. He couldn’t face her, not now anyway. He was still preoccupied with his thoughts of Kagome.

Amber hues shifted in the direction of her footsteps. Only a few seconds would pass until she finally emerged from depths of the forest. The woman managed to gain a few feet from the tree line when she spotted him. She hesitated for a moment, then slowly took a few more steps in InuYasha’s direction.

It was Kikyo. He groaned inwardly, his shoulders slumping at the sight of her standing before him. Dressed as always in her priestess garb, her face held an unusually serious expression. Dark brown orbs peered down at him, squinting as if they were trying to cut through the tension in the air that had arrived with her arrival.

She didn’t hesitate. She had come all this way to finally speak what was on her mind without any disruptions. “InuYasha,. may we speak please?” Her quiet hushed tone broke the silence, and brought InuYasha’s thoughts of Kagome to a screeching halt.

InuYasha slowly rose to his feet, his gaze traveling to Kikyo’s face. The instant his eyes met Kikyo’s face he could have sworn she was Kagome. Sometimes he forgot exactly how much the two looked alike. Guilt immediately washed over him. How would Kagome take this meeting? He knew whenever he had managed to run into Kikyo, Kagome would shut herself off from him for a time. He wasn’t entirely sure why, he mostly believed her to be angry. But how would she act knowing that he and Kikyo were meeting now all alone, with no one to distract the pair?

'I don’t owe her my loyalty, I can talk to whoever I want! It’s not like I went chasing after Kikyo, not my fault if she finds me. Kagome will just have to deal with it.' Of course that was what he was saying in his mind, but his stomach was turning in anxiety at the prospect of Kagome’s wrath.

InuYasha kept his distance from Kikyo, tearing his gaze away to stare down at the ground below him. They were only talking, that couldn’t hurt could it? Clearing his throat, InuYasha took his time in replying. He was trying to hold off the confrontation for as long as possible, but knew he couldn’t postpone the inevitable.

“Of course Kikyo, is there something wrong?”

He noticed that she was keeping her distance from him. She standing just a few feet away from him, but feeling as if they were miles apart. The tension in the air thickened even more after InuYasha finally spoke. He noted the turmoil inside of Kikyo. She appeared to want to speak, but she was holding herself back.

Kikyo took the time of silence between them to stare into InuYasha’s face. Deep brown orbs scanning over his features. Her eyes glanced fleetingly over his mouth, his cheeks, his nose, until finally reaching those intense amber hues. Her stare lingered there for sometime, his eyes still captivating her as they had so many years ago. Kikyo knew if she actually had blood coursing through her veins, she would be blushing a shade of red that would make a lobster envious. Realizing that she was staring at him, Kikyo turned her head to the right, forcing her eyes to follow the same path. She couldn’t look at him when she spoke. If she saw a look of contempt, or could even detect the slightest bit of rejection in his expression she wasn’t sure what she would do.

Kikyo glares could have burned a hole into the ground. She stood there, her mind racing at each conclusion this confrontation could come to. She had come to confront InuYasha about his feelings, but what she hadn’t thought of was the chance he may reject her. It wasn’t until she finally stood before him that the thought he may not want her had even crossed her mind. How would she deal with it?

Just staring at him for those few moments had brought back all those old feelings she had restrained for so long. Looking into his eyes, she wanted to lose herself in their depths, to stare into them for an eternity. She wanted to the safety of his arms around her, his scent filling each and every breath she took. She never wanted to leave his side again.

In that instant Kikyo lost control of her senses. Unable to control her own limbs, she found herself hurdling towards him. As she closed in on him, her arms stretched out soon throwing themselves around his shoulders. Silent sobs shook her body, and for once she wished she could actually shed the tears she knew wanted to be shed. She didn’t want to look at him, she couldn’t.

InuYasha could only stand there in a stunned silence. He had been struggling with his own thoughts and emotions. He was in turmoil, torn between his feelings about Kagome, and the tender emotions he had once felt for the woman now weeping in his arms.

He remembered the day he realized he was falling in love with her. The way peering into her dark brown eyes had consumed him with a feeling he couldn’t even begin to comprehend. He had wanted to protect her, to be everything to her. He had even been willing to weaken himself and become a human for her.

But now looking at her he didn’t feel the same way. He didn’t feel angry as he had when Kagome first awakened him. He didn’t feel resentment. But he didn’t feel the strong rush of emotions that he had once held for her. He wanted to protect her, but only because he had promised he would. He would be there for her, but only as far as friendship could bind him to her. His thoughts were interrupted as Kikyo spoke.

“InuYasha...I’ve come today because I realize that I miss you beyond reason. Now that I no longer have the jewel to protect, and my duties as a priestess are over, I am able to be with you now. We can finally be together InuYasha.”

A small audible gasp slipped through his lips. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was Kikyo really trying to rekindle their love? His mind was flooded with memories, the memory of their relationship. The tenderness between them was a hard thing to deny. Even with the thought of Kagome and what was building between the two of them, InuYasha couldn’t help being just a little open to the idea of what Kikyo was proposing.