InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Phoenix ❯ Wait and Bleed ( Chapter 7 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

A/N: I'm ridiculously sorry for the ludicrous amount of time it took to get this chapter out, but a lot of stuff happens in it, and a lot of stuff happened to me while I was writing it. I'll admit, the first month (I can't believe I have to use that word) was pure writer's block, and what I did write didn't feel right, so I scrapped it. Then, next month, I was ridiculously sick for three weeks in with I got an MRI, an X-ray, and blood work done and they still couldn't figure out what was wrong with me (apparently, I showed signs of a blood clot in the brain or something, pneumonia, and mononucleosis, but I didn't actually have them). Thankfully, this was on Thanksgiving break, or I would have missed even more school. I then worked my ass off trying to make up the work and the eight tests I missed (fucking teachers), and I still have three more to do. Oh, and my brother got in a car accident while we and our neighbor were going to school. No one was hurt (the airbags didn't even deploy), but it still put a bummer on my mood.

Enough of my bitching though, this chapter has over 8,000 words in it to make up to you guys. I can't believe it's almost been three months since my last update.

Disclaimer: Seriously, the only thing I own in this story are the ideas and concepts not shown in the series. I don't own the characters, but I do own that sexy red electric guitar-shaped paperclip.

Helpful Note: You'll notice in this chapter that the legend of the Shikon no Tama doesn't have all the correct details. This was done purposefully. Things that may not have happened in Kagome's reality happen in the legend. (In this story, while very close, InuYasha and Kagome's relationship doesn't really step into romance.)

//The Phoenix\\

§Wait and Bleed§

"Patience, n. A minor form of despair, disguised as a virtue."

--Ambrose Bierce

It seemed that nothing dared to interrupt the silence as it perpetuated through the devastated temple grounds. Only the rain, with its soft and mournful pattering, had the venial audacity to break it. The wind had stopped its billowing, seemingly too stunned at what has happened to act as though this was meant to be. However, it wasn't and the wind didn't blow.

Confusion was predominant, followed closely by a heartache so tangible it might as well have been he who was pinned to a tree by an arrow. There were many questions skating through his mind, but the only one he could focus on was “Why?” Had his arm been free, he would have run a hand through his black hair.

Yusuke looked over to Kuwabara. His friend appeared ready to vomit at the brutality that lay so simply before them. If he felt this horrible Yusuke didn't even want to begin to imagine what Kuwabara felt right now. He wanted to call out, say something to comfort Kuwabara, but he didn't want to be the one to disrupt the silence—the only thread that seemed to hold the feeling of unreality upon them. Besides, what could he possibly say? Any words that could offer comfort of any significant value had to be said by Kagome herself.

Movement in his peripherals drew his gaze instead to Kurama and Hiei. Kurama had tried to lean over to get a look at Kuwabara, probably able to smell the emotional torment coming off of his scent. His face was impassive but his emerald eyes showed what it did not, a mosaic masterpiece of having the facts but not knowing the reasoning behind them.

Hiei though, Yusuke would never, could never even begin to fathom what was going on in the Jaganshi's mind, but he was staring intently at Kagome. The only giveaway was the slight limpness of Hiei's usually proud shoulders—a sign of hope resigned. Yusuke wasn't a fool, and had made a reputation out of noticing the little things that often led to great victories on his part. He had seen the look in Hiei's eyes when the flea demon mentioned Kagome's capacity for love, as well as her blindness on—what she deemed—were trivial and not meant to be seen anyway. As a Forbidden Child no one had offered him the love he needed, and now one of the few creatures that could give it and show him how to return it was dead.

Kagome was dead.

Kagome was dead. He couldn't hear a heartbeat. There was nothing there to listen to, and suddenly the silence was no longer a selfish veil of unreality, but a stark testament of the truth.

Kagome was dead.

Considering she had the knowledge of what it felt like to be hit by a truck, she couldn't exactly say that this feeling was what she was experiencing. Granted, it did feel very close with its sudden appearance and lingering pain, but this was completely different on the scale that—for the most part—what she was feeling was emotional.

Kagome slowly blinked up and noticed that she was in the Shikon again. Midoriko knelt at her side, administering a cold rag that had been soaked in the nearby brook to her forehead. The Shikon's creator smiled gently at her. “You've been out for a while, Wakamusha. I must admit I was concerned for your revival,” Midoriko informed in a soft voice.

“Am I…?” The question sagged but the point still made it to the target.

“In a way: yes, you are dead. However, as I told you before, the Shikon would never allow its Guardian to die. You are too important for such a death,” the older miko said. “Besides, you are too powerful to be killed by the dead; you would have survived this even if the Shikon wasn't behind it.”

Kagome carefully stood and stretched her arms high above her head, bending forward to elongate her spine. When righted again, she turned towards Midoriko. “Do you have any suggestions to getting through this?”

Midoriko's face became thoughtful as she pondered how to respond. “Assess the situation, and then plot it now while you still have the chance. There is no telling what lies beyond you, best be prepared for whatever decides to come. What do you plan to do about the kitsune's mother's soul?” Midoriko asked.

Kagome paused, an odd look of determination in her eyes, before giving her answer, “Exactly what I plan to do with the part of my own soul Kikyo has in her possession: I take it back.”

It shouldn't matter. There was no reason for it to even concern him, and yet it did. A long gap of time existed between now and the last time he felt this…lost. Of course, the last time this emotion came to him was when the hiruiseki that his mother had cried for him as a baby was cut from around his neck. Though that time, he was able to seek retribution, and eventually it was given back to him by Mukuro many decades later.

Kagome wasn't a gem to be given back. Besides, what right did he have to want her back? What reason? The only words that he had spoken to her were threats and subtle accusations. Why in Makai would he want her back when she was only a human, a weak and pathetic creature?

Hiei mentally released the sigh he had been building up. He knew that answer, and he hated it.

Upon Kurama's request, he had taken up observing her and it was through this that he was able to see things about her that he had never really found in anyone or anything. When she was awake, she was very down-to-earth, not preoccupied by what so many other pathetic humans felt was essential like what garments are worn or who was dating which jackass when and for how long. And when she was asleep, her face would sometimes contort, her eyes would roll around in her head, her hands would twitch occasionally, and, in a voice so soft that he was hard pressed to hear it, she would release a shattering whimper. The fact that she had nightmares, was haunted by what he could instinctively tell were her memories, gave him something that linked him to her.

It didn't take him long to figure out that he was no longer watching her because Kurama had asked him, but instead he observed her for his own needs—needs he was sure died a very long time ago.

It was a shame that he would never get to be with her, and probably wouldn't have been able to even if she wasn't dead right now. She was a miko, a creation of holiness placed in the world to destroy things like him. She would never have been able to truly love him.

…Right?

A groan, distinctly feminine, resounded in the silence of the clearing, breaking Hiei from his mournful musings. His eyes instantly shot up to look at Kagome, but to his dismay she was as still as she had been five seconds ago. Inwardly wincing, he shifted his gaze to Kikyo.

She was blinking against the still steady fall of rain, apparently stunned to be on the ground in the first place. She gathered her bearings, taking in the fact that she was down two legs, he and his teammates were still held helplessly to the trees, and that her reincarnation was successfully pinned to a tree as well. A small grin worked its way onto her pale lips, before her eyes narrowed hatefully at Kagome. She struggled silently into a sitting position, and Hiei distinctly heard the words, “I'll just have to be quick then,” release itself from her throat just moments preceding a rather nasty coughing fit.

Hiei didn't bother to restrain himself from wishing she would choke.

When his wish wasn't granted and she regained control of herself she raised her arms into the air. The sickly green eel-like demons floated down from the sky and wrapped around her, lifting her into the air. She drifted over to Kagome, observing her carefully before she reeled her right arm back and swung it relentlessly into the dead girl's cheek.

“What the hell!” Yusuke exclaimed. “You fucking wench! She's dead dammit! Aren't you happy yet! Aren't you satisfied?”

Kikyo turned to him, her cold brown eyes betraying nothing. “No, I'm not,” she answered simply.

This time it was Kuwabara who spoke; his voice betrayed everything he was feeling. “How dare you! You kill off an innocent person, did what you came here to do, and you dare to not be happy about it!” His fury took away his voice, and all he could do was grind his teeth and bite his tongue.

Kikyo moved her right arm to face Kuwabara, and Hiei felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise as the power grew in its intensity. The air seemed to cackle angrily in response as Hiei was actually beginning to worry for the man. “Do not presume to understand my nature,” Kikyo responded in her usual tone. “I have lost more than can be gained. It will never be enough.”

Hiei's agile eyes were able to see the sphere of power leave her hand and head towards Kuwabara. He turned his eyes away; he was unwilling to see his teammate's death, even if he didn't particularly care for Kuwabara as it was anyway. After a few moments of silence, Hiei opened his eyes, expecting carnage to greet him.

It was quite the bittersweet surprise to see that the oaf was still fully intact and obviously alive. A light violet barrier, radiating purity, had deflected the blast somewhere in the opposite direction. Confusion melted into shock—yes, actual shock—when he looked at the two priestesses and saw the beautiful blue-grey eyes of Kagome slowly starting to open once more.

For some reason, one he couldn't explain, Hiei was relieved to see them.

Kagome forced herself into consciousness only to have to struggle to maintain it. The pain her physical body was going through was enough to push her right back into the darkness, but it wasn't what she wanted. Later, she promised herself, later she would rest.

Before she even could open her eyes, she felt Kikyo's energy rising and focusing into a point. She heard what Kikyo had said to Kazuma and knew this was directed for him. A barrier sprung itself around him a millisecond before what would have been a rather fatal blast could make contact.

Her head was resting slightly on one side and she imagined she looked much like how InuYasha had looked when she had first seen him. When she was finally able to flutter her eyelids enough to make a vague depiction of what was happening around her, the world was slightly tilted because of this position. Finally, she gathered enough strength to keep her eyes open, but the lids were so heavy that she could only keep them open to a certain point. She tried to move a little, but the slightest twitch of her left hand forced her to close her eyes again. This hurt so much…

After a few moments of calming her body down again, she opened her eyes once more, traveling them across the shrine clearing. Kirara was still resting in her kitten form, looking quite happy that she was alive, but apparently not all that surprised. The Reikai Tantei looked thoroughly shocked, Kazuma probably so shocked that he didn't realize tears were rolling down his cheeks. At last, she focused her gaze on Kikyo, who looked positively livid to see her awake.

Kagome, probably the only one who was calm and actually looked it, swallowed before saying, “If it will never be enough, Kikyo, then why are you doing it in the first place?” Her voice was weak and tired, but its effect on the dead priestess made it seem as though it was as sharp as the sword that still dangled uselessly in her right hand.

Kikyo's shinidamachuu flew her back what would be a few paces. “I had not intended you to wake when I shot you, reincarnate. How is it you are not dead?” the older woman asked.

“Don't skate around my question, Kikyo,” Kagome ordered, her weak voice full of accusation.

“And why not? You have just done the same to my question,” Kikyo shot back.

Kagome released a heavy sigh. “I asked you first. My question should be given an answer before yours is satisfied,” she responded, a small frown forming on her face. It was so cold.

“That's a fairly childish reason to not answer, reincarnate.”

“Yes, but then again, this whole thing is childish on your part, isn't it, Kikyo?” Kagome asked before elaborating. “I mean, here you are, taking souls, taking life, and none of it even belongs to you. You said so yourself that nothing will ever make it enough, but you do it anyway, like a child who throws a tantrum. Is that not how you're acting, Kikyo? Like a child, right? I mean, you can't even bear to say my name, Kikyo. You may be older between the two of us, but who is really the childish one here? Or are you not going to answer this question as well?”

Kikyo moved back further, obviously surprised by Kagome's words, but in the end indignation won out. “Silence, reincarnate. Your questions aren't worth an answer. You are beneath me, and you are only alive now by circumstance.”

Kagome allowed herself to glare at this remark. “I am alive because I am not so weak as to be killed by the likes of you,” she said.

“`The likes of me?' Tell me, what are my `likes'?” Kikyo asked mockingly.

Rolling her eyes, Kagome answered, “Dead. You are hopelessly dead, Kikyo, and you have to maintain yourself by absorbing the souls of dead women. You're dead, and you're childish: a dead child. And like all dead children, it's tragic, but just because you lost your life does not give you the right to take another's soul. I'm sorry, Kikyo, but you were robbed of something that just can't be taken back.”

The dead miko looked as though she had been struck, but only Kagome's eyes could see the true damage her words inflicted on the woman. To her, Kikyo's layers were slowly being removed, and only to her did the dead child show itself. “It's not fair,” it said at last. “I killed you, but you're alive.”

“Yes, but I've been paying for it. You know me better than anyone here, Kikyo, except maybe Kirara.” Kagome closed her eyes and sighed sadly. “You know what this has cost me.”

The child, unsatisfied with this answer, started to shout in a rage again. “But I paid, too. I did it, I sacrificed for it. Why am I the one who stayed dead! It's not fair!” it yelled again.

“You were a priestess born and raised, Kikyo. You were made to protect it, to destroy. It was just something added on to a regular routine. It's different for me, because I wasn't raised to be a priestess. To one moment be a regular human, and then to suddenly learn that you're different, and that you now have this responsibility…it almost crushed me. For the past three years of my life I've been a big bull's-eye for any power-hungry fool, human or demon or both. You didn't have to give your life to it like I have, and even you couldn't handle the pressure I bear. It's why you died! And now you're making it all the harder for me! I lost my family, my friends, and the place that had become my home! But I have Kirara, I have Kazuma, I have Shizuru, I have Yusuke, I have Myouga, I have my shrine! They are enough for me, and here you are trying to take them away! Did you honestly think I'd lie down as you trampled over everything I cared for!” Kagome yelled back, just as angry. Thunder boomed in the background, the wind cycloned around them, picking up stray leaves and branches, and lightning struck dangerously close to Kikyo.

Painstakingly, Kagome sheathed the Shinkirou and drew forth the Kiseki-Jihi. Unsure of what exactly she was doing but following her instincts, she expanded her power and lifted the sword that gleamed like purple flames. Kikyo gave a cry as her power flooded the clay body, emancipating the small white souls from their prison. Her hama no reiyoku left Kikyo to guide the souls into the sword that gives back life, protecting them there. She sheathed the sword and redrew the Shinkirou, but it was too late. Kikyo had left, floating up and disappearing, leaving only her voice to weakly echo, “We'll continue this later, reincarnate.”

The weather had settled immediately, but a light shower of rain still fell. It took everyone a second to process what had happened, but even when that second passed they were still quiet for some time.

Kurama worked diligently on getting off the tree. He shook his head enough to loosen some of the seeds from his hair, and caught the one he was looking for. Using his energy, he grew it enough to do the job required. Something akin to a Venus flytrap started eating away at the bindings until at last he was free. After returning all the seeds to his hair, he silently freed Hiei, who in turn took out his sword and quickly cut free his remaining teammates. Kagome was the only one not off of a tree.

During this, Kirara again transformed into her fighting form and stood beside her mistress. She rubbed her head against Kagome's limp left hand, gaining the young woman's attention. The miko gave a small smile. “You know, Kirara, I don't think this is what they meant by a rock and a hard place,” she whispered, but drew back the attention of the Reikai Tantei.

The team moved in front of the miko and the cat demon. “So…how are we getting you down?” Yusuke asked, uncomfortably staring at the arrow still imbedded in his friend's heart.

“I think that's a fair question,” Youko said from the back of Kurama's mind. He continued, “I also think that a fairer question would be `What the hell just happened?' but I'm not going to be picky right now.” Kurama remained quiet, not giving a reply to the kitsune spirit. “Come on, Red,” Youko consoled, “Mother might not be gone for good.”

`Kikyo killed her. She died,' Kurama finally replied. `I feel it in my heart that mother died.'

Youko shook his mental head. “Don't tell me that you don't know what that girl did just now, Red. You're mourning when you should be jumping for joy…well, maybe not something so cliché…”

`What do you mean, Youko?' Kurama asked, in a rare state of confusion.

“I swear, Red, sometimes you're just hopeless,” the silver fox spirit admonished before explaining, “Kagome is using that sword, the one that looks like it has a purple blade, as a sponge to hold in the souls that Kikyo was using to move around. She's the one with Mother's soul now, not Kikyo.”

“Any ideas, Kurama?” Yusuke's voice interrupted, causing Kurama to jump. He turned wide viridian eyes to the leader. “To get Kagome down? We can't touch the arrow; its got the same sort of magic on it that Botan's eyes had,” Yusuke elaborated, noticing the slightly bewildered look in his eyes.

Kurama looked speculatively at Kagome. Her breathing was slow and labored, indicating pain, but her face was calm, fixing her gaze at the large fire-cat nuzzling its head into her limp left hand. However, despite the calm, her eyelids flickered dangerously as though she was about to pass out; a distinct possibility. Sometime during his talk with Youko, the sword she had drawn was back in its sheath on the opposite side of the one holding his mother's soul. Due to gravity, her right side sagged uncomfortably, all of her weight being supported only by the arrow.

“We can't touch the arrow, but can she?” he asked. “She broke the spell on Botan, maybe she can do the same to the arrow, and we can get her down from there,” he suggested before turning to Kagome, “Do you think you can do that?”

The priestess frowned, but nodded all the same. “You'd have to move my hand for me, though,” she added, her voice even weaker than before. Everyone looked to Kuwabara, but he still seemed so stunned that Kagome was alive that he couldn't move. Instead, Yusuke stepped forward and carefully took the miko's right hand, standing back after placing it on the arrow.

Despite Yusuke's gentleness, uncharacteristic though it was, Kagome still had to withhold the wince at the movement. Closing her eyes in feigned concentration and real exhaustion, she allowed scenarios of what would happen if she just removed Kikyo's aura from the arrow, not purifying it to dust, to run through her mind. One particularly gruesome one of two guys on each arm, pulling hard in an effort to dislodge her, was enough for her to disintegrate the damn thing instantly, preferring to fall than be pulled off.

However, instead of hitting the hard, muddy ground below her, she felt a firm, incredibly warm surface catch her. She knew the instant arms which weren't her own were steadying her that someone caught her, but who could be fast enough to do so when all the guys had moved back to avoid any backlash that might come from her powers?

“Nice catch, Hiei!” she heard Yusuke praise. A little surprised, she opened her eyes to crimson. Blushing slightly at the closeness of their faces, she gazed into Hiei's eyes, giving a slight smile. Almost tenderly, he laid her back onto another soft surface, only this one was fluffy. Soft purring told her that Kirara had taken up being her resting place for the time being. As Hiei pulled away, Kagome was once more reminded of just how cold she was at the moment, but before she could even voice this, fatigue and pain finally took her consciousness away.

“Not a word, wench,” Kikyo mumbled as her shinidamachuu brought her into the clearing holding her prisoners. Her reincarnation had gotten much better than anticipated, and it certainly threw a wrench in her plans.

“What the hell happened to you?” Shizuru asked anyway, certainly not sympathetic. In fact, the young woman sounded positively ecstatic given the circumstances. “It looks like your legs lost a fight to a wood chipper.”

Kikyo glared before settling back against an unoccupied tree. It was about all she could do now that the souls inside her were released. Most of her shinidamachuu were already gathering more for her, but some were using themselves to reconstruct her legs. The unusual silence made Kikyo look up, finally noticing that everyone was looking at her for an explanation. “I have never been near a wood chipper in my entire existence, so I doubt I would have just walked up to it. It is even more doubtful that I would have fallen in battle to one, either.”

“So it was one of the Spirit Detectives, right?” Shizuru ventured.

Kikyo snorted, “Spare me your pathetic notions. Your little boys were easily restrained in under five minutes.” At this point, she turned her head and whispered with malice, “No, it was that little bitch that did this to me.”

“Kagome, did this to you?” Keiko asked, completely astonished. “But she could barely walk the last time I saw her!”

The kuromiko glared at the girl before saying, “You know nothing about my reincarnation. I am not so foolish as to doubt her strength, neither should you.” With that said, Kikyo promptly fell into a recovering sleep.

“When is she going to wake up?”

“Which one, Yusuke?”

“I don't know. I just want them to wake up.”

“Did Kagome say when Botan would regain consciousness?”

“I don't think so, Kurama. You'd be the first to remember if she did though.”

“…I still have trouble believing Kagome could put up with an arrow in her heart. I don't think I've ever been so…scared in all my life when I thought she was dead.”

“I hear ya, Kuwabara…I hear ya.”

“Yes, it was quite remarkable. However, even more so would be that she used that sword, the only one we were able to remove from her, to hold the souls that Kikyo had managed to steal. I've never heard of such a thing…You've been more silent than usual, Hiei. Do you have any thoughts on the matter?”

Hiei opened his eyes and stood away from the wall he was leaning against. “Hn,” he replied before moving to the window ledge. They all were safe inside the Higurashi household, which Kurama unlocked with his legendary skills. Botan was lying on the couch; the healing fox that held her dear to his heart was sitting on the edge, passing a cool cloth over her head despite the lack of fever. Hiei had a very accurate suspicion that he was just trying to keep his mind off of his mother's death. Kagome, as she was the shorter of the two women, was propped up slightly against the arm of the loveseat, her legs resting against the rest of the sofa and a small blanket protecting her modesty (no shirt, little left of skirt, lots left for the wandering eye to see). Kuwabara sat against the love seat on the carpet, and Yusuke took up the remaining chair, nursing the bruise on his chest from his own attack. Kirara was lying on the back of the loveseat, healing her own wounds and watching over Kagome at the same time.

“Just wonderful,” Yusuke mumbled, “of all the days to forget my Hiei-Japanese dictionary. Kurama, you're fluent, was that an `I don't have a clue but like hell I'd tell you that' hn, or an `I have a few ideas but I don't want to say them' hn?”

The redhead frowned for a moment in thought. “I believe it was the latter, Yusuke. This is too interesting for Hiei not to have thoughts concerning it,” Kurama answered, moving his emerald gaze from the team leader to the Jaganshi, an eyebrow raised in query. “Your input would be very useful, Hiei. If you don't want to speak of that sword, how about the other two? They wouldn't let us touch her after you caught her, and the battered one let only Kuwabara and Yusuke touch it, but the one she used stopped them both from removing it from her side. It's almost like…” He trailed off, as his thoughts were getting close to ridiculous.

All the same though, Hiei nodded and finished, “Like they have a mind of their own. All of them are shielding her, particularly the battered one.”

“A mind of their own?” Kuwabara asked credulously. His eyes trailed to the one sword they could all hold, but none could draw. It was lying innocuously on top of the blanket Kagome was using. “Is that even possible?”

“I've heard legends of some swords that were able to do that. One belongs to Lord Sesshoumaru, but he's never used it, so I don't know what it does. Another is believed to be that sword's sister, but it's hidden in the tomb of the Great Lord InuTaisho, Lord Sesshoumaru's father, and only the Lord of the West knows where it lays,” Kurama informed.

“So wait,” Yusuke interrupted, “this famous lord dies, and the only one who knows where the tomb rests is the guy's son? Call me crazy but that's just a smidge unbelievable.”

The fox avatar smiled wryly. “Tell me about it. `Seeing, but never seen. Protected, yet never shown to its protector.' That's the only clue given for finding it, and even Youko couldn't figure it out. It makes little sense. Inu no Taisho was of incomparable stature, his tomb would have to be huge to house him, so how could its protector never see it? The sword inside of it was probably the only treasure Youko never managed to steal. Pity, too. It was said to take out one hundred demons in only one swing…”

Yusuke and Kuwabara's eyes bulged at that statement. “That many…in one swing?” Kuwabara whispered. “Nah, no way…”

“Hn, don't be so hasty. The Hokori no Hanyou wielded it to protect his lover, the Jun-Namida no Miko. There are some witnesses who remember it. They say it was like great talons made of wind cycloning towards the enemy and ripping them to shreds,” Hiei enlightened. “When Hokori died, the sword vanished. The generally accepted version says that it returned to the tomb, other's say that it was thrown into the river that he was tossed into when he was killed in the last battle of the war for the Shikon no Tama, and that it simply sank and was caught in a loose rock or some underwater reeds. One or two hopeless romantics say that the sword still guards Jun-Namida, protecting her as he would have desired to had he survived, but since her survival is still subject of great debate anyway, no one else really believes it.”

“Hey, I think I've heard this legend,” Kuwabara said slowly, as though he were unsure of himself. “My history teacher spent a lesson on it. You mean to tell me that it's not just a myth?”

“It's as genuine as you are, Kuwabara,” Kurama answered. “Those that met the Densetsu no Gumi and formed personal connections with the members won't speak of them, or reveal what their names really are. Hokori got the sword by traveling to Inu no Taisho's tomb, but that Jun-Namida was the only one capable of removing it and she gave it to him. Rumors say that he must have been Lord Sesshoumaru's late half-brother, InuYasha, but as to what kind of half-demon Hokori was has never been told, and as Lord Sesshoumaru has never said anything on the matter, it's too much of a speculation to have a viable fact.”

“But isn't that silence condemning?” Yusuke asked. “It's like hearing nothing from a man on trial for murder.”

“Not really, Yusuke,” said Kurama. “Despite the fact that you're a fellow lord, you've never met Lord Sesshoumaru. He didn't even participate in the tournament you threw to determine who would rule your lands until you decided to take up your birthright, and he's powerful enough to have won it with only one hand.”

Here, Hiei couldn't resist his snort, gaining everyone's attention. “He'd have to, as one hand is all he has,” he explained.

“As I was saying: Lord Sesshoumaru is very powerful, and very reclusive. He speaks only if he must, and no one really has the guts to ask him whether Hokori was indeed InuYasha after all,” Kurama continued.

“You mean even Yomi and Mukuro haven't asked him?” Kuwabara asked, impressed.

“Hn, it is believed to be a death wish, as InuYasha is the reason Sesshoumaru is down an arm,” Hiei answered, the barest hint of a smirk on his face. “Besides, not only is Mukuro close to Sesshoumaru, but the Jun-Namida saved her life once. She never said if they were close, or if they even spoke more than a few words to each other, but with those two as possible sources, she probably doesn't even need to ask what Hokori was really called.”

“You know, you guys aren't really all that good at keeping your voices down. Don't you know that the injured need rest?” Everyone turned and watched as Kagome struggled to sit up. She looked around, noting the surroundings of her living room before asking tiredly, “How long have I been out?”

“About an hour,” Yusuke answered. “How do you feel?”

“Like I'm having a heart attack,” she said bluntly. The miko held a hand to her heart, feeling the slow, almost steady beat. “I'm healing…but not quickly enough. I'll never be able to fight her like this.”

Kagome stood, despite the protests, and used the sword that laid on her blanket to limp down the hall and out the door. The Reikai Tantei followed her to the odd tree that they had encountered on their way over the first time. They watched, mystified, as Kagome lay her open palm on the trunk and was surrounded by a brilliant glow. The tree's energy washed over her, into her, and when it receded it left a healed priestess in its wake. “Thank you, Goshinboku,” she whispered as she smiled up into the tree. With that same expression on her face, she turned to the Reikai Tantei as Kirara bounded onto her shoulder. “I love this tree.”

Kagome walked over to them while a glowing hand healed Kirara until she stood in front of Kuwabara. The neko jumped from her perch as her mistress threw her arms around the man. Before he could even react she pulled away and hugged Yusuke who managed to returned it. “I'm sorry you had to be involved in all of this,” was her reasoning before she moved on to Kurama saying, “And I'm sorry your mother was the first to fall.” Lastly, most surprisingly, Kagome hugged Hiei, their cheeks brushing against each other lightly as she whispered, “But thank you…for catching me.”

“I wonder how they're doing…”

Sesshoumaru turned his head slightly to look at Mukuro. A small pout was barely visible on her lips, a gesture she must have picked up from Kagome, as the miko did it whenever she was worried. It was rather…cute. “Fine, I'm sure. They are too stubborn to let themselves fall.”

“I know, Sesshoumaru.” Hiei, Kagome, don't die…please.

Kagome opened the door to the well house. “Don't come in here,” she told the boys before she walked inside, closing the door behind her. Everything was how she had left it, no bloodstains or anything. She looked upon the walls, pegged to them were weapons: a staff, three bows and four quivers with a pile of arrows waiting underneath, her own Hiraikotsu (she didn't use it much, but it was very good for an upper body workout and balance practice), an empty space she used to hold the Shinkirou, and many small daggers that could be used for easy concealment. In one corner of the walkway was a chest of all the poisons she already made (with a lock on it that only opened at her touch), the next corner held all the healing supplements that were also already done, the third had many jars of dried herbs and other ingredients also held in a chest with a special lock (a safety precaution as some herbs were poisonous). Kagome walked to the last corner, the one that held a small stack of clothes.

One was her traditional taijiya uniform and green armor; another was a different version that had a short skirt with slits up the side and tight shorts that fit underneath that. She looked at those with great consideration before deciding against it. No, Kikyo was human, this armor wasn't meant to be used against her when she was alive, and I won't use it when she's dead. Instead, she turned for the last set of clothes: loose green pants and a light violet, sleeveless shirt with dark blue flowers trimming the collar. They were her day clothes in the Sengoku Jidai.

Before she left, she pulled down her favorite bow and quiver, taking only one arrow for them.

Outside, she noticed that the Reikai Tantei was waiting for her. They looked up when she slid open the door and closed it again. “I'm going to take a shower and change. It should take Kikyo about four hours to recuperate enough to kill someone, which means three hours are ours to find her. I should only be half an hour tops, so during that time do what you want, whether it's work out some aggression, think about a plan, whatever. We'll meet in the living room when I'm done, okay?” she explained. They nodded once before going off. Kagome turned to the neko beside her. “Come on, Kirara; let's get all this blood off.”

“I say we sneak up on her.”

“It won't do. Kikyo knows we're going to go on the offensive so she'll be using her mirror to watch us,” Kagome shot down once again.

“No way!” Kuwabara exclaimed. “What else does it do! Let her fly?”

“No, her shinidamachuu do that for her, but it'll steal souls, so don't look into it. Our best bet would be to cause enough of a distraction to get rid of the mirror and let me handle it from there. We can use that time to free our friends and family so they won't be a liability. When you get them run away and don't come back.” She raised a hand to silence the outcry of protest. “No matter what you do, none of you can stop her. I can.”

“Like you handled her before?” Hiei retorted, glaring at the miko. He didn't appreciate being ordered around.

Kagome met his eyes in a challenge. “If I managed to weaken her as much as I did, do you honestly thing I let her escape accidentally? Kikyo is good at hiding things she doesn't want to be found, the fact that she hasn't been caught yet is proof of that. If I ended her then, odds are we'd never find where our loved ones are hidden. I can track her using my soul. It pulls more strongly the closer the two parts are to each other, and no barrier will be able to interfere with it.” She ended her staring match to stand up. “So, is it a plan?”

Yusuke looked his team in the eyes before saying, “It's a plan.”

After four grueling hours, Kikyo was finally recovered, and she decided to celebrate before her reincarnation and the Reikai dogs made it there, which, according to her mirror, would be in about five minutes. Stretching, she grabbed her bow and slung a quiver of arrows over her shoulder. Everyone was awake…except the `dearly departed' mother, of course.

“What the hell are you looking so happy about?” Kikyo turned to Genkai, looking rather exasperated.

“I certainly hope that you will be less of a talker than that one,” she indicated Shizuru with a vague hand gesture. “It is quite annoying and very rude as well.”

“Oh yes,” Keiko ventured, “because kidnapping and killing people is just at the pinnacle of decorum. I apologize if I seem a little barbaric to you.” An arrow plunged into the tree close to her head, shaving a couple of hairs short.

“If you are quite finished, I have a heart to break, thank you,” Kikyo spat, lowering the bow. She basked in the silence and the fear that her actions instilled in her hostages. Her surprise that Keiko was the one to speak out first was well hidden (after all, it had been Shizuru who had taken up heckling her), but she supposed all that time with Urameshi must have influenced her a little bit. “Now, where was I?” A mocking thoughtful expression came across her face before turning purposefully towards the Koorime. “Oh yes, your breaking heart.”

Yukina looked shocked for a second, but the expression quickly left to be replaced by a show of cold indifference. Kikyo smiled cruelly at it. “Yes, it's quite an amazing trait, sudden stoicism; you learned it when you were held captive by…Tarukane, yes?” The Ice Maiden refused to say a word. “And that silence…you are quite like your brother sometimes, aren't you?” The expression faltered but was quickly remedied, and a word never passed her lips. However, the small slip was all Kikyo needed to know a sore spot was hit. “Yes, you both managed to inherit that infamous Koorime impassive disposition.”

Kikyo briefly noted that not one of the other women were saying anything to protest, but a quick glance showed that they were in a mix of shock, fear, and anger over the presiding conversation. Silence was the best they could manage. The kuromiko returned her eyes to Yukina, but was slightly disappointed to note hardly a crack in the expression the Ice Maiden wore. “Icy and impassive,” the young demon said with an edge to her voice, sounding very much like her brother, “yes, you would fit in quite well there. At least, you would more than I ever did. To throw a baby off the island just because it was a boy, because he was born surrounded by a flame and had to be wrapped in a special cloth, because hybrids before him, other boys with Koorime blood, were said to be violent, but they didn't even bother to try and nurture him…I'm disgusted by my people,” she admitted softly. “I'm also disgusted by you.”

The kuromiko grinned, idly examining her bow. “You even have the same opinion of your own kind as your older brother. He returned there, to the island, did you know?” she asked conversationally, not waiting for the stunned youkai to answer. “Oh yes, he once vowed to kill them, but then he noticed how utterly dead they already were. You saw that, too, and you ran away. It's quite ironic that you two should meet in the one place where youkai aren't meant to be. Three years is a long time to not notice you have a blood relative standing so close to you, but never actually telling yo—”

“There's no point in continuing this, Kikyo,” Yukina interrupted, taking a quick glance at the body of Shiori before facing the ground. “Unlike Hatanaka-san, I already know what the big conspiracy is, and I have known since the Dark Tournament finals. I'm almost ashamed that I didn't see it sooner, but I know what you're trying to use to break me.

“When I saw him surrounded by black flames when he was facing Bui, generating so much power, releasing that dragon and being attacked by it as well, standing even though he had been pummeled by his much bigger opponent, and coming out on top in the end…I know who my brother is, and I love him. So kill me, you couldn't break Shiori-san, and you won't break me.”

Kikyo raised an eyebrow and an instant later an arrow protruded from Yukina's chest.

“…No…” The kuromiko cursed under her breath and turned to see that Hiei was standing on the opposite side of the clearing. His eyes were wide as he looked upon his sister's dying body.

“Ani…ki…” Yukina managed, a dark blue hiruiseki falling to the ground, standing out against the pile of white underneath her. Her body finally went limp.

Hiei remained unmoving, and none of the Reikai Tantei or Kagome dared to touch him. A tremor worked its way throughout his body, his eyes tensed and narrowed at the image of his deceased sister. Anyone who could sense energy felt the intense rise in his power until it could no longer be considered an A class anymore. After a small eternity passed, Hiei reached up and pulled off the bandana on his Jagan, the iris had changed into a darker violet. His cloak flew into the air, soon followed by the wards used on the Dragon. The sword at his hip was instantly in his hands, just as Kikyo pulled out the Mirror of the Void.

Behind him, Kagome nudged Yusuke in the ribs to gain his attention. It wasn't what they had planned, but Kikyo was now distracted. Yusuke nodded slowly, gesturing to Kuwabara and Kurama to go get the girls and continue with the plan. Kuwabara had to work hard to tear his eyes away from Yukina just as Kurama lowered his head from his mother. The three moved away with Kirara, but Kagome decided to stay where she was, not sure she liked the feeling that told her they were surrounded. Taking out the Tessaiga, she pushed that thought to the backburner in favor of watching the battle before her unfold. No matter how much she tried to reassure herself that it would be okay in the end, she couldn't stop the feeling of foreboding pressing against her heart.

Hiei lost sight of his surroundings, his eyes intent on the kuromiko and the rest of his body intent on decimating her. Nothing mattered right now but seeing this bitch fall to him, beg him for mercy and then killing her anyway. No…nothing else mattered.

Kagome frowned at the look on Hiei's face, like he was on a kamikaze mission, fighting only for his vengeance. He vanished right before both mikos' eyes, but Kagome, who had excellent eyes for catching things about speed followed as he landed behind Kikyo. She wondered why he didn't attack her immediately, but instead held the sword ready to stab until Kikyo turned around. Caught off balance by the quick change in positions, the kuromiko blocked with the mirror as his sword plunged in, the blade emerging as soon as contact was made and impaled Hiei in the sternum. Kikyo, still not fully balanced, smirked, but it faltered when, even as blood started slipping from his lips, Hiei copied it with more malice and accomplishment than should be present. “Don't see it yet, onna? I believe the ningen term used for chess is `check',” the Jaganshi ground out.

Confusion gave way to realization for both mikos as Hiei removed his right arm from the grip of the sword. Kagome gasped. `He locked the mirror out of the battle with his katana and his body. Kikyo can't use it to defend herself!'

Kikyo seemed to have come to the same conclusion. Her eyes widened as he raised the arm with the powerful Dragon just waiting to be released. “And this,” Hiei grated out, lifting his arm a little higher, “is the check mate. Jaou Ensatsu Kokuryuuha!”

Kagome watched mystified as dark clouds thundered in the night sky, blocking the moon and stars from view. A screeching roar broke through the clearing, and everyone stopped what they were doing to watch as a great black dragon of fire formed in the air, its red eyes hungry for destruction. It swooped down to capture anything, destroying many trees, which hit people before they could move, and finally targeting Kikyo. She tried to move the Mirror but it wouldn't budge, so she resulted in forming a barrier to try and protect herself, but the Dragon of the Darkness Flame was not to be daunted. It pursued her relentlessly, managing to break in through weak points in the barrier, pushing her into a cluster of trees. Her scream echoed loudly, and the Dragon instead moved on to find another target. Its red eyes landed on Kagome.

It sped over to her but stopped when it got a good look at her face. Instead, it pulled its body up into the sky and gave another roar before it was absorbed back into Hiei's body. He pulled the sword out of his body and away from the mirror, falling to his knees. His blood surrounded him in a great puddle, but he smirked. “I'll see you in Hell, evil priestess,” he whispered. Kagome watched as a dark blue gem fell from his eye, matching the one Yukina cried perfectly. Her own eyes widening, Kagome ran forward. Kneeling beside him and dropping Tessaiga, she lifted his face in her hands before her own tears clouded her vision.

He…he's dead… Carefully laying him down, she reached for the Kiseki-Jihi, but paused centimeters from touching it. Will this sword revive someone...who essentially killed himself?

Panting, she looked around the clearing. The Dragon desecrated it, and the debris from it managed to knock everyone else unconscious. They were thrown every which way; Keiko was even tossed into a tree. Furiously, Kagome punched the ground, leaving a notable crater. “It wasn't supposed to be like this, dammit! It shouldn't have been like this!”

“But since when has it ever been as it should be, reincarnate?” Kagome's head snapped up to see Kikyo emerging from the ashes of the surrounding trees, scorch marks here and there on her clothes and her body, like someone threw a porcelain doll into a fire but pulled it out not too long after.

She looked like she had walked through the flames of Hell.

Kagome watched, still knelt beside Hiei, as the Mirror of the Void floated into Kikyo's hand, and that the kuromiko was backing away from her. “Tell me,” Kikyo said, “why do you spill tears for a youkai that you have never met before today, Jun-Namida.”

A hand immediately lifted to her face, and with a horrified gasp Kagome finally realized that the glamour she held on the markings on her face had disappeared sometime during the Dragon's attack. No wonder it stopped before attacking her.

“This shall be a great battle,” Kikyo continued, a wild tone increasing as she spoke. “Imagine: dead versus living; incarnate versus reincarnate; taint and hatred versus purity and love; the Harvester of Souls versus the Jun-Namida no Miko! Finally, we can see who the better is! We can see who deserves our soul more! It will all be discovered now!”

Kikyo raised the mirror up into the sky, an ecstatically sadistic smile on her face. A pulse was released from the mirror and suddenly everywhere Kagome turned, demons were in her view. The feeling of being surrounded pestered Kagome once more. Her eyes snapped back to Kikyo, who lowered the mirror, that insane and wild smile distorting her face and reaching into the dark brown eyes. “But first, you have to find me,” she laughed, vanishing and leaving hundreds of demons in her wake.

Kagome stood, taking the Tessaiga with her. She couldn't sense Kikyo in all of this youki, and the pull on her soul was impossible to discern and follow. Thinking quickly, she pulled the wind underneath her friends, including the women she didn't know, and moved them a safe distance away. With that liability gone, all she could do was grip InuYasha's birthright and wait for the demons to make the first move.

`InuYasha…give me your strength…'

§§§§§§

Translations:

Aniki-Older Brother

Jaou Ensatsu Kokuryuuha-literally “King of Evil's (Jaou) Black Dragon Wave”; more commonly know as “Dragon of the Darkness Flame”

A/N: Did anyone else think `…oh, burn…' when Kagome was talking to Kikyo in the beginning of the chapter?

IMPORTANT!!!: I'm holding a vote. Do you guys want longer chapters (like I've been doing) and wait more time for an update, or do you want shorter chapters (only 2,000 words or so) and shorter time between updates? I really want to know.

REVIEW PLEASE!!!