InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Strange Duet ❯ Caught in the Act/War Zone ( Chapter 6 )

Welcome to the 6thchapter of Fallen! I hope everyone is enjoying the story thus far. There isn't really too much I have to say this time, except that I'll try to update a little more than one chapter every two or three months. Well, let's get on with the story!

 

Tracklist: C6: To Hell We Ride- Lost Prophets/ Faint- Linkin Park

 

Standard Disclaimer: Inuyasha/co are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, not me, I do own Chimokoumaru and his family, along with any other OCs that may pop in here.

 

 

 

It was almost impossible to believe that it had been four months since she had struck that deal with Sesshoumaru. Even more unbelievable was the fact that Inuyasha hadn't found out about or even asked her about how it was possible to improve so much in so short a time. The guilt that had been gnawing at her continuously for weeks on end kept growing in intensity as the days passed her by. He had slipped off to go see Kikyou more than seven times in the past two weeks, she hadn't even needed to look or ask him either, she had felt the wandering miko's melancholy presence in the air around the forest and village. Despite the irritation and hurt that she felt each time she heard him leave, a small part of her kept telling her that it was only fair that he not tell her his secrets when she wasn't being straight forward herself.

 

`That has to be the most screwed up logic I have heard yet.'

 

She thought to herself in frustration as she tossed and turned on the futon. They were three days into the five she had forced Inuyasha to give them to recover from their latest encounter with their nemesis. Unconsciously her body stiffened up, heart rate picking up speed as a cold finger of fear ran down her spine. Sango and Miroku didn't blame her for being nearly paralyzed with fear when they had run into the dastardly foe; after all, in the previous battle he had shown her just how easily he could have killed her. The scars on her left thigh proved it too, serving as an eternal reminder of how she was lucky to have escaped her end right then and there.

 

`I can't just stop my journey because I'm scared of him…can I? I mean, Miroku-sama and Sango-chan are probably afraid to die too and have almost been killed themselves at his hands multiple times.'

 

“So why am I the one thinking of running away?”

 

Kagome mumbled into her pillow as she tried to force away the fear that had made her tense up. Blue-grey eyes stared thoughtfully at the dark wall in front of her, as if the boards themselves held the answers to all of her questions. She hadn't seen or heard from Sesshoumaru for about twelve days now, the last time she had gone through a rather embarrassing explanation when she had tried to take Rin off to the side to explain to the girl how the personal items she had brought for her worked and had gotten caught by Sesshoumaru. He had, of course, demanded to know what she was teaching and giving Rin and what their purposes were.

 

`I don't think I've ever been so humiliated in my entire life.'

 

Sesshoumaru had listened to her stammer out the explanations with a rather sick curiosity barely masked in his eyes and had commented rather dryly that he would place her in charge of keeping Rin supplied with the objects to assist her and keep her comfortable. All Kagome had been grateful for was that he didn't ask for a demonstration of how any of the things worked. Because there was absolutely no way he'd get her to show him how a tampon or a bra was used on the female body. She'd rather take her death at his claws than do that. Speaking of his claws, she thought to herself scowling as she turned on to her back, listening to the deep breathing of her friends and staring straight above her, he and Inuyasha had decided to fight the last time they had encountered and had almost given away the fact that she was taking training lessons from him.

 

`Both of them are such temperamental idiots.'

 

Kagome shivered slightly, burrowing into her blankets more as she tried to regain a semblance of warmth. March was not her favorite time of the year. Sure it was warming up and the sakura trees would be in full bloom by next month, but it still felt like winter darn it and she hated to be cold. Still, winter in the past was kind of fun, she admitted to herself with a grin at some of the memories.

 

One of the times they had been snowed in at the village, she, Sango and Shippou had planned a well deserved revenge against Inuyasha and Miroku. They had waited until the boys were back with their loads of firewood before they had begun pelting them from various places around Kaede's hut with an army's worth of snowballs. Shippou had his place on top of the roof and had been squealing with laughter even as Sango had thrown one after another in rapid succession, going straight for Miroku most of the time as Kagome fired off one after another at Inuyasha. It had taken the boys quite some time to figure out that they weren't really “under attack” or in trouble before they joined up together and began retaliating with snowballs themselves.

 

Inuyasha cheated the whole time, using his extra strength and speed to his advantage to completely out-snowball Kagome until she was breathless with laughter and begging for him to stop. Of course, that had been right after Inuyasha had pitched a single snowball to knock Shippou flying off the roof and into a snow drift as tall as Kagome's hip. Even some of the villagers had put aside their wary nature of the strange activity to join in; the children especially enjoyed the game, laughing as they tried to “save” Kagome by attacking Inuyasha with not quite round snowballs.

 

`We certainly had fun while all that snow lasted. The war between Sango-chan and Miroku-sama kept everyone entertained because the two of them wouldn't quit.'

 

She sighed again and shifted and rolled on to her side, facing the door of the hut as her frown deepened. Why was she feeling so restless tonight? And, what was this feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach? Naraku wasn't anywhere near here, she'd have sensed him if he was.

 

`It just feels like something bad is going to happen. And I can't explain why or what it is either.'

 

As if on cue, the mark on her neck suddenly pulsed with energy, sending a shiver down her spine as a brief surge of youki entered her body and dispersed soon after. Again she was unaware of the golden flash her eyes had taken on when the mark gave its call through her body. Kagome swallowed hard and gently threw back her covers; her feet were covered in three layers of thick socks as she struggled to push her feet into the bulky black snow boots and double tied her laces tightly. It was a good thing she had left on her layered clothing, three short sleeved shirts, four sweatshirts and a thick white sweater went under her thick jacket as she pulled on her gloves and quietly left the hut and trudged out into the frozen mud and in the direction of Sesshoumaru's call.

 

Inuyasha's eyes opened slowly as he listened to the girl's footsteps fade away and leaned up, Tetsusaiga sheathed and ready as he slipped out the door to follow her. Kagome had been acting too strangely as of late, and people were starting to say that he had done something to her to make her act this way. Now he intended to find out just what the hell was making her run out in the middle of the damn night when it was freezing and wet outside.

 

`What the hell has you doing this Kagome?'

 

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`Okay, he calls me out here and yet he's not even here. This had better not be his idea of a joke or so help me I'll kill him and let Inuyasha take the scraps!'

 

Kagome fumed after about an hour of fruitless wandering around in Inuyasha's forest. She was near the Goshinboku, could feel the gentle and soothing aura of the ancient tree easing her stress and frustration little by little as she looked around again. The practice blade she had been using had been propped up against one of the trees for her, as if saying that he had been there and had departed for reasons known only to himself. There was something weird in the air, like she was being watched or something like that, she thought to herself frowning as she spun around and looked behind her, adjusting her stance into a defensive one as she stared into the darkness in front of her in confused irritation.

 

`I could have sworn something was there.'

 

Somewhere deep within her mind a voice shouted at her to turn around and right now. Kagome whirled, automatically bringing up her practice blade just in time to block one of a series of attacks aimed to knock her to the ground. The white shape that contrasted so greatly with the darkness of the dense forest could only be one person; Sesshoumaru. It was confirmed as she blocked and parried, trying to land a blow on him while making sure her defenses were as secure as she was able to make them after being caught off guard like that. No one else had those particularly expressionless amber eyes.

 

Kagome couldn't help but yelp as a rather hard smack from the blade hit a bruised area from earlier that day. She fought back with all she had, glaring at Sesshoumaru and trying to utilize every trick he and Sango had taught her the past months to give herself more of a chance than she had at the moment. In the end though, it wasn't meant to be, due to the rather low and dirty move he pulled on her, ducking beneath her blow and sweeping her legs out from beneath her with one of his feet before immediately rising up and holding the tip of his own practice blade barely an inch from her unprotected throat.

 

“You have lost this round.”

 

Kagome groaned to herself as she gave Sesshoumaru the best “you suck” look she could manage to summon as she winced before touching her bruised side with her hand. That blow had seriously hurt, she thought to herself cringing as she glanced back up and opened her mouth to tell Sesshoumaru that she conceded her defeat when a yell had her freezing up like she had when she had set eyes on Naraku.

 

“Kagome!”

 

Sesshoumaru immediately used his foot to nudge Kagome sharply away, sending her rolling to the side and against a tree as Inuyasha came charging out of nowhere with the Tetsusaiga transformed and held high above his head. She saw the fury and panic in Inuyasha's eyes as she heard him bellow out his infamous attack, blue-grey tendrils of energy whipping around the blade as the energy slowly turned to the same golden color as his aura.

 

“Kaze no Kizu!”

 

The claw like blades ripped across the frozen mud and damp earth, hurtling towards Sesshoumaru even as the older man dodged the attack, reaching for his own blade, Toukijin had been destroyed a good while ago and thus left him with only the Tenseiga to defend himself, as if he needed a weapon. Electric blue energy glowed from the blade as Sesshoumaru held it up in front of him, his voice calm and cold as ever as he spoke the name of his own attack.

 

“Souryuuha.”

 

The attack hit Inuyasha square on, sending him flying back into a couple of the trees before he hit the ground. Fortunately, it didn't seem to have fazed him very much as he snarled something very unfavorable under his breath and got back up. Kagome had pushed herself up, covered in mud now as she ran over and tried to block Inuyasha's path, eyes wide as she glanced over her shoulder at the awaiting Sesshoumaru before she turned her attention back to Inuyasha.

 

`How come I didn't, I should have heard or sensed him!'

 

“Inuyasha, wait! Don't attack Sesshoumaru and-hey!”

 

Inuyasha roughly shoved her; he was trying to get her behind him but had pushed too hard, sending Kagome crashing to the ground with a thud and a small outcry of surprise. He continued to walk a couple more paces before he launched himself at Sesshoumaru with a roar of anger, Tetsusaiga high in the air as he snarled at his half brother, swinging wildly left and right as he tried to kill the bastard.

 

Kagome winced as she landed on her bruised side and immediately pushed herself up with a worried look on her face. Sesshoumaru's usually stoic mask had turned slightly angry, not a good thing either, she thought to herself frantically as she sat there for a moment. Something hit her as she began to get up, halting her progress immediately as a small gasp escaped her.

 

`He didn't even turn to see if I was okay…he just rushed out and attacked Sesshoumaru!'

 

In all their battles he had done something like that, always making sure she was out of the way in whatever way was necessary before he full out attacked his half brother. Even when she interfered in the battles, he was always trying to get her to go away from the battlefield. She had thought it was because he didn't want her to get hurt or get taken as a potential hostage but now…

 

`He only gets me out of the way so that he can fight with Sesshoumaru, not because he doesn't want anyone else getting hurt.'

 

Sesshoumaru's eyes had narrowed as Kagome had intercepted, or at least tried to, Inuyasha from reaching him. The girl was more than foolish, could she not see that the only thing in Inuyasha's mind at that moment was to kill him and then turn his attention to her? What he had not liked at all was the little fact that Inuyasha had not even spoken to the girl or even acknowledged that she had spoken with him and had pushed her rather forcefully away and had sent her to the ground, whether he had meant to or not. Women, especially human women may be fickle and strange specimen but that was absolutely no excuse for someone to strike or cause them any physical harm intentionally under any circumstances. Sesshoumaru sheathed the Tenseiga, his hand flicking out to the side as his claws glowed, the electric yellow energy whip dangling from his fingertips as he cracked it in the air, the sound echoing in the dead silence of the forest like a gunshot before he spoke.

 

“You are a fool Inuyasha. The girl came to me of her own free will to request my expertise in the art of fighting. I was merely giving her a test of her own abilities.”

 

“Inuyasha he's telling the truth!”

 

Inuyasha glared at Sesshoumaru before he tore his gaze away and fixed the furious expression on to Kagome. The fact that his Kagome had been sneaking out behind his back to meet with Sesshoumaru, Sesshoumaru for fuck's sake, he thought angrily, and get trained by the bastard when he would have trained her had she even bothered to ask him hurt more than anything. Sesshoumaru wasn't the one who had gone after every little thing and cooked it up to cure her when she had gotten sick. Sesshoumaru wasn't the one who swore to protect her or protected her when she damn well needed it. And Inuyasha was more than positive that it wasn't Sesshoumaru who loved her. All in all, the secret keeping both hurt him and pissed him off and there would be no way Kagome'd be escaping unscathed in the scolding department when he was finished with Sesshoumaru.

 

`Why didn't you tell me Kagome?! Did I really do something to make you not trust me with something as serious as this?!'

 

“Go to hell Sesshoumaru, and as for you Kagome, shut up and go home. I'll deal with you when I'm finished with this bastard.”

 

Kagome pushed herself to her feet and stormed over to Inuyasha, placing herself between the brothers and glaring full out into Inuyasha's face. Though she looked about as pissed off as Inuyasha did, her voice didn't reflect it at all, only pleading with him as she spoke.

 

“Inuyasha please, calm down and let's talk this out.”

 

“No. Go home now.”

 

“Inuyasha-”

 

“No. I'm telling you to get going.”

 

“Inuyasha please-”

 

“Hell no. I said go home.”

 

“Inuyasha will you just-”

 

“Fuck no, I told you to go home dammit so go home!”

 

Kagome opened her mouth to argue with him, grabbing the sleeve of his haori as he began to walk past her.

 

`How dare he just tell me to go home like that?!'

 

“Inuyasha, I want you to just stop and listen to me for a sec-”

 

Inuyasha's voice suddenly cut her off, sounding almost absurdly loud in the forest. He didn't look at her and there was a menacing note in his voice that had Kagome breaking out into chills. He didn't want to do this, didn't want to have to resort to this because he knew it'd probably be the one thing he could do to make her hate him or at the very least never want to see him again.

 

`I'm trying to do what's best for you Kagome, no one who gets mixed up with Sesshoumaru ends up coming out of it alive. I want you to stay alive and by my side, that's why I have to…'

 

“Kagome, I want you to let go of me right now and go home. You haven't been there in almost a month and a half and can't possibly know if your family is safe and well. After all, who knows what could have gone on while you were sneaking off?”

 

The air left Kagome's body all at once, as if Inuyasha had turned around and both slapped her and sucker punched her in the stomach. Her eyes widened at the blatant threat he had used her family in and even the implications that it served when he said it. Who was this?! Her mind screamed out in complete disbelief and denial. It couldn't be Inuyasha, not her Inuyasha, the one who loved and cared for her family as if it were his own. He'd never say anything like that about her family to her…right? Kagome tried to say something and heard something that sounded like a small whimper of protest and disbelief escape her.

 

`Please tell me you didn't mean or say that to me Inuyasha.'

 

Inuyasha only moved his arm, jerking her hand off of his sleeve as he began to walk again towards Sesshoumaru, the Tetsusaiga held at his side as he advanced purposefully towards his brother. His voice came back to her, still in that low and deadly serious tone.

 

“Do I need to tell you again Kagome? Or is it that you really don't care if they're alive or not?”

 

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Kagome felt her eyes fill up with angry tears that burned her eyes as her hands clenched into fists. Inuyasha had crossed a line that everyone knew not to cross, out of common sense rather than being told her weaknesses about her family. For that, there could be no forgiveness. She had had to put up with a lot of Inuyasha's talk and whatnot but this, this was beyond her ability to forgive people for almost anything. He had broken a level of trust that they had shared and it wasn't going to be able to be repaired, not with this kind of damage.

 

`How could you Inuyasha?!'

 

“Inuyasha…”

 

The hanyou's ears flicked back to catch her words as he turned slightly, unreadable amber eyes looking over a crimson clad shoulder as he waited for her to say what she needed to. Shock filtered across his features as he noticed her face and her expression. Her cheeks were bright red spots of fury on her face while the rest of her was pale, her eyes blazed at him with one emotion he had never seen directed at him; hate. Her mouth opened and a screech of pure power formed one word.

 

“Sit!”

 

The rosary flared up, brighter than he had ever seen it flash before. The force with which he was thrown face first into the ground hurt like nothing he had ever gone through before. Hell, getting stabbed in the chest didn't even hurt this bad. Judging by how cold and suddenly dry the dirt was that he was laying face down in, Kagome had said the word and had backed it up with a decent amount of her power, he thought wincing as the spell began to lift enough for him to push himself to his knees and look behind him.

 

`Can't say I didn't deserve that.'

 

Kagome stared at him, still with that terrible rage in her eyes, Inuyasha noticed with a sinking heart. He swallowed hard and hefted himself effortlessly out of the hole he stood in up to his hips before glancing briefly at Sesshoumaru and returning his attention to Kagome. He took a step towards her and was stopped due to the fact that he had to dodge a wooden practice blade thrown at his head by the enraged girl.

 

`What the?!'

 

Kagome's eyes were over bright with unshed tears as she glared at him. When he tried again to step towards her, she retreated, fists clenched and shaking tightly at her sides as she shook her head once and stepped back. Her footsteps were loud in the forest as twigs and the rotted remains of leaves crunched under her weight. A cold wind blasted around them all, sending silver and ebony hair into the air as time seemed to slow down to a stand still around the three people gathered there. Kagome's voice was quiet but filled with pain as she spoke three words she had never spoken to anyone in her life.

 

“I hate you.”

 

Even Sesshoumaru was surprised with the amount of conviction and emotion behind the young woman's words. With each word, he noticed that the half breed seemed to wilt and even become more pathetic than before. When the final word had been said, it seemed like the girl had shattered the hanyou's will altogether. The shock and utter devastation on his face should have given him satisfaction and yet, it did nothing but have him narrowing his eyes as Inuyasha looked down at the ground and said nothing.

 

`Even a half breed such as Inuyasha should be able to shrug such a comment off.'

 

Inuyasha had visibly flinched, thinking that Kagome was going to let him have an earful and probably two life times worth of sits like that last one. The three words she had said to him cut into him even more than Kikyou's words had when he had spoken to her before she had died.

 

Inuyasha…you did all this, for such a thing…

 

Why did you betray me Inuyasha?!

 

I hate you.

 

Kikyou had accused him of betraying her, for trying to kill her for the jewel when he had had his final moments alive before his soul was pinned to the tree for fifty years. Their last words to each other had been filled with anger, hurt and betrayal but not hate. Inuyasha had always dealt with the “I hate you” from the others he had run into since he was younger but had never heard those words from someone who cared about his well being like Kagome had.

 

I hate you.

 

She had said those simple three words with more feeling behind it than he had ever heard before in his life. He couldn't even remember her saying that to Naraku and yet to have those words used on him…what had he done?! Inuyasha looked back up, stepping forward even as he reached out with one hand towards her, trying to tell her with his eyes and his face that he hadn't meant it in the way it had sounded, that he was just jealous, that all he wanted was for her not to be threatened or taken from him in any form.

 

“Kagome, I-”

 

“Don't ever come near me or my family again Inuyasha! I hate you!”

 

Kagome yelled at him as she whirled around and shot off into the forest, making a bee line straight for the well even as she past by the village on her way there. Sango was up early, warming up for the day with Miroku while Shippou and Kirara watched on. When the blurred form of the human girl shot past them, covered in mud and running as if the demons from Hell themselves were after her, Sango dropped her Hiraikotsu and raced after her, lengthening her stride so that she was running beside the girl at a flat out sprint.

 

“Kagome-chan, what's wrong? Where's Inuyasha-”

 

“He's not my friend anymore and I never want to see him again!”

 

Sango stopped after those words, watching in a stunned silence as the younger girl reached the well and vaulted over the side, vanishing in a burst of blue-white light that seemed to symbolize the very beginning of all their troubles to come. Miroku came racing up from behind her, Shippou and Kirara not far behind as the human man stopped beside her, trying to catch his breath even as he looked up to talk to the woman he was fond of and felt his nerves suddenly bunch up, a sick feeling in his stomach as he finally asked the question he knew would probably change their lives as they knew it.

 

“Sango, what happened?”

 

Maroon eyes turned to meet the dark cobalt blue ones even as tears filled her eyes. Her voice shook as she responded and looked back at the well.

 

“Kagome-chan said…she said that Inuyasha is no longer her friend and she…never wants to see him again.”

 

Shippou understood the severity of the words even before he noticed the expression on Miroku's face. Forest green eyes filled with tears as his voice quavered in fear and in a quiet kind of confirmation when he asked the rather rhetorical question.

 

“She's not coming back this time?”

 

Miroku let out a long sigh, looking forlornly over at the well even as his hand fell heavily on to Sango's shoulder and the other on Shippou's head. His eyes darkened as he spoke quietly.

 

`This isn't like their normal fights either.'

 

“It doesn't look good Shippou. It doesn't look good.”

 

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Kagome pulled herself out of the well in tears, fighting back the sobs that threatened to overtake her. With a small yelp of surprise followed by a cry of pain, Kagome felt herself flip head over heels over the side of the well to land hard on her stomach and face. Almost exactly like she usually `sat' Inuyasha, she thought with an almost hysterical laugh that turned into sobs after a moment. She lay there for a good amount of time, her fingers furrowing into the rich time filled soil that lined the floor of the well house as she felt her body curl up on itself as she sobbed her heart out.

 

She could never go back to Sengoku Jidai ever again, not with what had happened back there between herself, Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha.

 

`What has that idiot done now?! Both of them, so stupid and stubborn and proud, I can't take it!'

 

Her eyes closed as sobs wracked her body, her arms wrapping around her chest as she hugged herself, letting the tears fall down her face and turn the dry soil into damp earth,

 

`I just can't take it…'

 

It was a long time before her tears dried up and replaced her with two things; exhaustion and fury. She pushed her mud encrusted form up, kneeling on one knee before shoving her hands against the firm ground to get herself up and back on to her feet. She pulled the well house entrance open, watching the rain falling and pattering on the rooftops and the white washed stones of the shrine itself. Perfect, she thought to herself irritably, even the weather matched her mood. Kagome stumbled out into the rain, turning around and slamming the door shut before wedging one of the thick handled brooms against the door's handle, keeping it closed for the moment. She was immediately getting drenched in the downpour as she set her sights on the warmly lit house in front of her.

 

She wanted a long hot bath, a hot meal, some music and a good long rest before she could even think of doing anything else. Her mother would have to be told, she thought sadly to herself, eyes filling up with tears as she tried to find a way in advance to tell her mother that the man she trusted her daughter's safety with was no longer to be trusted or allowed near any of them.

 

`This is going to break Mama's heart…Souta's too, he really trusted Inuyasha.'

 

Kagome was not, and she would repeat it as many times as it took, she would not let her personal hurt, feelings and judgment get involved when she told her mother. She didn't want her family getting any more involved than they had been already. This was between Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru and herself; there was no need to drag innocent people into it. Her eyes flashed the color of the storm clouds above as she walked to the door and felt her knees wobble before they gave out beneath her. Kagome's cry of surprise was lost in the crack of thunder that bellowed over head, her fists hit the door and shook the wood from the impact. Her hair fell into her eyes even as she heard the door open and Souta's voice yelling for their mother to get over there and now.

 

“Sis?! Mom, get over here and fast! Something's wrong with Kagome!”

 

`Something's…wrong with me?'

 

“Kagome-chan?! What happened, why are you soaked and dirty? Kagome-chan?”

 

“Sis? Hey, c'mon sis, say something.”

 

Kagome shook her head as she looked up and met her family's anxious eyes before she managed to say his name.

 

“Inuyasha…”

 

`…he's a traitor.'

 

She tried to finish what she had begun to tell them but felt her vision suddenly spin and her world go black.

 

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Inuyasha was only able to stand there for a moment, his eyes stunned and his expression wounded and guilty before he shook his head and began to go after the young woman, determination flanked by desperation in his heart as he took the first few steps before he was blocked off by the sudden form of Sesshoumaru in front of him. His damn half brother had recently acquired a new blade. Though it was not a youkai forged blade, it still was able to blast Sesshoumaru's youki as it channeled through the metal.

 

`Dammit, what the hell else does this bastard want with me!?'

 

“Get the hell outta my way Sesshoumaru, didn't you already have you kicks for the day by messing up my life!?”

 

All Sesshoumaru would ever need in a blade now was the ability for the sword to send out a burst of youki if need be. Inuyasha had long since sullied the Tetsusaiga, the pride and joy of their proud Father's fang, with needless attachments such as the Ryuurin. The cold amber eyes narrowed at the attempt at the guilt trip Inuyasha threw in his face. He raised his head a little and looked down at Inuyasha, as he always had done for the past fifty and beyond years before responding.

 

“Do not blame your foolishness on to me, Inuyasha. You were not forced to speak your words nor were you forced into attacking myself for no eligible reason save for your jealousy.”

 

Inuyasha lunged at him, Tetsusaiga drawn and held high above his head as he swung the mighty fang. Too many times he had been subjected to his half brother's superior-than-thou attitude and he was sick of it. He would not deal with this bullshit anymore. Swirls of grey-blue energy began to swirl around the blade again as he fired off another of his favorite and infamous attack at Sesshoumaru.

 

“Kaze no Kizu!”

 

Sesshoumaru repeated the same gesture, not even bothering to state the name of his attack as he fired off the electric blue attack, the energy leaping forth eagerly as spikes of power reached for Inuyasha's attack, ready to dispel and pierce through it to get to him.

 

“Fool!”

 

Inuyasha immediately countered when he noticed the attack Sesshoumaru sent at him, confidence mixed in with his fury as he raised the Tetsusaiga again and aimed for the place the two pools merged together.

 

“Bakuryuuha!”

 

Sesshoumaru snorted in disgust even as he stepped forwards, a white blur as he swung the blade again, his energy clashing with that of the stronger attack before the two fought briefly for control, Sesshoumaru's youki overtaking Inuyasha's attempt at a backlash of their energy and striking the whelp himself. Trees fell in and around the area of the battlefield, kicking up great sprays of dirt, mud and wood into the air as debris flew every which way. He found Inuyasha on his back, the Tetsusaiga still gripped tightly in his fist even as the awkward and most likely uncomfortable position the hanyou was in had him upside down and his feet propped high into the air by a tree trunk. The hatred in the dirt streaked face did nothing to stir any kind of helpful emotion, save for exasperation and utter annoyance at the idiot who had his father's blood in his veins. Voice cold and impersonal, Sesshoumaru stared for a moment at the glaring form of Inuyasha before he sheathed the unnamed weapon into his obi, turning away with a scornful look on his face as he began to walk away.

 

“You will never defeat this Sesshoumaru with such pathetic excuses for attacks Inuyasha.”

 

Okay, being hit by a backlash of his energy, Sesshoumaru's, his again, and Sesshoumaru's again hurt.

 

Actually, scratch that. Being hit by his energy and Sesshoumaru's twice hurt like hell.

 

Inuyasha groaned as he found himself wondering for an instant why Sesshoumaru was walking upside down before he figured out that he had landed on his upper back/head and was hanging, or rather, sitting upside down with his feet in the air and his head on the ground. All in all, it just fucking hurt. Sesshoumaru always walked away from him, turning his back, making him the loser and the idiot of every encounter. He had done the same thing when his mother had died that cold snowy night, telling Inuyasha that he was to survive if he had the brains to.

 

`Bastard…I'm not some pup you can just ignore until I go away!'

 

He pushed himself to his feet and glared, breathing hard even as he felt the sudden loss of Kagome's aura in the area. She had gone back and no one had stopped her. Not that they could once she was in a mood, he thought bitterly to himself as he glared at Sesshoumaru's retreating back. Smug bastard, he didn't care about anyone but his own damn self and the fucking Tetsusaiga.

 

`I won't let him near Kagome again.'

 

“Get back here you bastard! I'm not finished with you yet.”

 

Sesshoumaru continued to ignore him, which only pissed Inuyasha off even further as he snapped something that he probably shouldn't have said.

 

“That's right, just fucking walk the hell off! That's what you always do when you don't want to face the truth! You did it when our old man came to save Mother and I because you couldn't admit that he loved the both of us!”

 

He should have stopped right there, this was heading into dangerous territory and fast. But his temper was already too heated and his tongue far too loose in his mouth for his own good as he dropped the last bomb on to Sesshoumaru.

 

“You let the old man down and you let him die!”

 

Sesshoumaru's eyes flared immediately even as his footsteps halted. His hands clenched into fists as he narrowed his eyes and felt the surge of rage course through his blood. It would be simple and justified to destroy the disgrace right then and there, release the girl from her emotions as well once the complication was eliminated. His father did not want Inuyasha to be destroyed by his hand, Sesshoumaru used that to his advantage by informing Inuyasha and who ever the fool managed to irritate that Inuyasha's life was his to take when he felt it was time.

 

But damn if it wasn't hard to remember that their honorable father did not want them killing each other, especially at times like this.

 

“You speak of things you have no knowledge of Inuyasha. Hold your tongue or I will remove it from your mouth.”

 

So Sesshoumaru was able to be pissed off, apparently his little stab about their father had been particularly effective. And so it should, Inuyasha thought to himself smugly as he rose off his knees and stood, Tetsusaiga's blade resting against the ground and ready to be swung when Sesshoumaru grew too close. His eyes met Sesshoumaru's as a small portion of Inuyasha's fang poked out of the side of his mouth in a bitter and angry looking smile.

 

“You let the old man down and you let him die.”

 

Before Inuyasha realized it, Sesshoumaru had crossed the distance between the two of them. His eyes widened slightly before he began to open his mouth to let Sesshoumaru have it again when the feeling of a fist connecting sharply against his cheek sent him flying into the debris of broken trees and upturned earth.

 

That blow had not been enough to satisfy the utter fury that was currently raging through his veins. Sesshoumaru's inner mind wanted blood to be spilled as a price for the hanyou's smart mouth and yet, a new, more damaging and cruel idea struck him.

 

All this had been started because of that girl, Kagome.

 

His eyes narrowed slightly as a smirk came over his face while he watched Inuyasha swear at him and pick himself out of the pile of rubbish he had landed in. He had known for quite sometime that the human girl had not only been the hanyou's strength but his weakness as well. Kagome had even assisted in his just created plans by leaving the hanyou, starting to break him by telling him her feelings for him at that moment, now, he would be the one to send the hanyou completely over the edge and break his spirit down. It would be too much to think of, should Inuyasha finally learn to respect his superiors after this.

 

“You should have stilled that tongue of yours, my dear Inuyasha.”

 

Inuyasha wiped the blood off his mouth with his sleeve, glaring at Sesshoumaru as he rose back up, Tetsusaiga in hand as he began to walk towards Sesshoumaru, each footstep picking up a little more speed until he and his half brother were racing towards each other, blades drawn and ready to tear into each other.

 

`Fuck that, to get you all riled up was worth that cheap shot!'

 

“And you should have never fucking touched Kagome you bastard!”

 

Their blades connected, sending sparks and swirls of youki into the air as the two fought with more than their brute strength. Growls and grunts filled the air as the brothers attacked, retreated to regain their bearings before repeating the process over and over again. Blood welled up from where one brother would sneak an attack with their claws and rake over the other's flesh in whatever open spot they could reach before returning the hand to the hilt of their sword. Sesshoumaru bided his time, waiting until the moment where he had Inuyasha to the point of needing to merely shove the pest down with his blade and a hand if needed before speaking to him, a cruel half smile crossing his lips as he coolly informed Inuyasha of his mistake in treating that girl.

 

“You have lost the right to watch over and protect that human girl Inuyasha. That duty now belongs to someone else, someone who will do the task properly.”

 

Those words combined with the sudden surge of force shoving down on to his body sent Inuyasha crashing on to his back and skidding back a little ways. He glared at Sesshoumaru even as his head throbbed from the force of hitting a tree, fangs bared as he blinked away the watery tears of pain from blurring his vision.

 

“You bastard, Kagome's mine to protect dammit! I'm the one who promised to protect her and I'm the one who'll stay protecting her from assholes like you!”

 

A hand gripped his throat, choking the air from his lungs as he started thrashing around, clawing in vain at Sesshoumaru's hand. His head was forced hard against the cold damp earth as Sesshoumaru straddled him. Sesshoumaru had him by the throat against the ground even as he leaned closer, a strange and victorious gleam in his eyes as he spoke to the half breed, loosening the hold enough so that Inuyasha wouldn't pass out or choke to death.

 

“She has spoken freely and openly to me Inuyasha. About her dreams, fears and wishes for the future, has she spoken to you about such things?”

 

Inuyasha made a garbled attempt at speaking that sounded rather suspiciously like “fuck you” before Sesshoumaru ground his head a little further into the dirt, the dark earth clumping into the silver hair of the hanyou even as Sesshoumaru continued to taunt the trapped hanyou.

 

“I have seen her in all aspects Inuyasha. When she laughs and cries, when she's delighted by some insignificant matter and she's utterly furious. I have seen her relieved and worried.”

 

He chuckled to himself as Inuyasha's eyes blazed loathing and rage towards him. His head bent down until it positioned itself right next to one of the triangular appendages before he spoke.

 

“Have you seen her when she is afraid Inuyasha? When your life is threatened by anyone, even by myself, she becomes so defensive and worried for you.”

 

Inuyasha tried to throw him off, body bucking wildly even as he tried to get his shoulders unpinned from Sesshoumaru's knees.

 

`K-Kagome, I'll make sure this bastard doesn't make you worry like that again!'

 

“D-Dammit Sesshoumaru!”

 

The older man stared at him; all traces of sadistic pleasure from seeing his reaction to his words suddenly vanished, as if they had not been there in the first place. Amber eyes suddenly turned angry as he released Inuyasha's throat, his hand pushing against Inuyasha's face, covering his eyes as cold, raw anger made its way into his usually emotionless voice.

 

“And yet her complete despair about your life being taken by that dead woman keeps her straddling the line between freedom and captivity. If you wish to be with the dead, release the one living so that she may move on.”

 

Inuyasha felt Sesshoumaru's body move off of him, his head still held tightly against the ground as he spat out his response.

 

“You think you fucking know me so well, don't you Sesshoumaru?!”

 

Inuyasha's hands grabbed Sesshoumaru's wrist, claws digging into the flesh and drawing blood even as he began trying to pry his hand off of his face.

 

“You possessed her to turn her against me, didn't you?! Kagome never would have left like that unless she was possessed by some bastard like you!”

 

Sesshoumaru released Inuyasha's face from his grip, eyes filled with disgust as he rose up and turned to walk away. He, stoop to having to possess a woman to turn her against the half breed? Ridiculous. All he would have had to do was show that girl what Inuyasha had gone to do with that dead priestess and she would have left him of her own will.

 

“You remain the fool Inuyasha, had I wished to have her turn against you, I would have done so ages ago. You are the one who is possessed. By a shadow of your past no less.”

 

Sesshoumaru's form began to glow, signaling that he was shifting into the pure energy state that he used to get to another pace quickly. He left another parting comment to his furious half brother before he vanished.

 

“The one who failed to protect her was you Inuyasha, you have only yourself to blame. She is lost to you because of your actions forever.”

 

Inuyasha glared at where Sesshoumaru had stood, temper rising even as he felt the familiar and much hated chill of fear stabbing into his heart. Sesshoumaru had said something very similar to him when Naraku had tried to kill Kikyou and had nearly succeeded. Tetsusaiga was placed back into its sheathe, his amber eyes looking around to judge the amount of damage caused to his forest before he caught the scents of Sango, Miroku and Shippou by the well.

 

`Kagome, I'll get the answers from you dammit. I don't believe that bastard, he must have done something to make you do that!'

 

A dirty crimson and silver blur shot towards the well, fear gripping him with icy fingers even as the feeling of something big loomed ominously over his soul. He would not let this go until he knew exactly what the hell was going on and heard it from Kagome's mouth. The image he had seen of Kagome as she looked at him back there haunted him, as did the words she had said to him.

 

…her eyes bright with unshed tears as she shook her head and stepped away from him. Fists clenched at her sides as she back away a few more paces and yelled at him, voice filled with so much hurt and anger before she raced away from him.

 

“Don't ever come near me or my family again Inuyasha! I hate you!”

 

I hate you!

 

`Kagome, you don't really hate me, do you?'

 

 

Kaze no Kizu: Wound of the Wind/Wind Scar

 

Souryuuha: Dragon Twister (3rd Movie attack)

 

Well, there's the 6thchapter everyone. I'll begin working on the 7thhere very soon. Please continue to review and give me some constructive criticism. Your input gives me more room to improve and succeed. Thank you to all who did review!