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The Breakup

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As the inutaichi soared through the air on their respective demons – Kagome and Miroku on Shippo while the rest rode Kilala – anxiety coursed through their systems. The demon version of their friend had been as unresponsive as the human had been earlier that day. The human Inuyasha fidgeted nervously as he rode next to his comatose counterpart. There was a catch - obviously – to whatever was going on but much to his chagrin, the human actually felt more energized than he had before the demon had fainted. It was almost as though the demon being out of commission made it easier to breathe, and he felt…well great actually. Not that he was stupid enough to voice such a realization.

"How are you doing back there?" Sango's voice suddenly carried on the wind, "You hanging on alright?"

"Yeah, I'm…" Inuyasha began to answer before choking when a bug managed to careen into his open mouth sending involuntary shivers through his entire body as he tried to quell the desire to vomit. A quick anxious glance over her shoulder made the slayer snort and roll her eyes, "Keep your mouth closed."

"You tell me this now?!" Inuyasha bellowed back hoarsely, "Never seems to be a problem for you."

"I've got experience you don't" Sango clipped back playfully as she once again turned her gaze forward, "It's all about…"

A quick clap of thunder and the strange animal sound cut her off as Totosai descended from the heavens towards them. Quickly landing, the group made to rush towards the eldery demon before he stormed forward to land a solid thawk on the human's head.

"You stupid boy!" Totosai roared as he swung his staff wildly, "How could you have let this happen?!"

"Hey! Hey! I didn't do shit!" the ebony haired Inuyasha protested as he tried and failed to duck the blows that just kept coming.

"Tessaiga summoned me after you forsook everything your father died for! You tossed his sacrifice into the pits of hell and made a mockery of it!" Totosai hissed angrily as he continued his rampage, "He died to save you and your mother! He wanted you to live life as you were intended to be, not this! I thought there was a brain in there but apparently not. You stupid, stupid..."

"Totosai! Stop!" Kagome cried out when a solid thawk managed to hit the human square in the face making blood gush out of his nose, "Stop! Just tell us what's going on!"

"This fool managed to get his being split in two," Totosai groaned exasperatedly as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, "It's old demonic magic which you, Kagome, have been a victim of yourself except he was weak and..."

"What do you mean I've been…" Kagome began heated - interrupting the elderly demon's tirade - before she trailed off as her eyes widened in understanding and she whispered quietly, "Kikyo."

"It's the same spell. One vessel calls out to the other to steal their soul until the dominant one prevails. It becomes a never ending battle unless the two vessels come to truly desire reuniting their soul once more," Totosai huffed as he plopped down onto the ground and sent a withering side-eyed glare at the two Inuyashas nearby, "In your case, Kagome, you had another vessel already. This...this worthless idiot over here split himself in two and created a vessel. It should've been useless! This would've never been a problem if you didn't hate yourself so much! It wouldn't've..."

"I'm not understanding, what is this spell?" Sango asked quietly. No one had ever told her of Kikyo's origins and it didn't sit well with her that at any moment Kikyo could kill her friend without any warning. Miroku seemed to be of the same opinion as he inquired softly, "Kagome?"

"Back when it was just Inuyasha and I, we fought a demon witch who tried to steal my soul with some spell and place it into Kikyo to revive her clay body," Kagome began slowly as she stared in mild horror at the two Inuyashas before her, "But ultimately I managed to get most of it back."

Totosai nodded idly for a minute as he picked at his ear before asking in an exasperated tone, "You ever feel a pull on your chest that makes you lightheaded?"

Kagome nodded slowly, panic gracing her features and she rubbed lightly at her chest, "Sometimes I still get a nagging feeling around here but I…I never thought…."

"Well, I can't say I blame you for not knowing the specifics," Totosai addressed Kagome as he cricked his neck, "Not like it's a common spell. That pulling feeling is her trying to reunite the soul, perhaps even subconsciously. You two seem to balance out though or else one of you would be dead by now."

"Oh," Kagome breathed dejectedly as she once again turned a concerned gaze upon the human Inuyasha who was staring at her with a mortified expression on his face.

"So…so Kikyo could still…she's been trying to…" the human whispered anxiously, more to himself than to the elderly demon staring curiously up at him.

"Indeed she has, just like you two morons have been trying to fight for dominance," Totosai scoffed angrily, "The difference is you're weak unlike her! Splitting yourself in two because you both wanted to be something you're not! Then one of you has the sense enough to truly desire to be reunited and the one who didn't called back the soul!"

"What the fuck?!" the human spluttered incredulously, "So if one of us has a thought like that we die!?"

"No, no you stupid boy," Totosai sighed in exasperation as he glared at the ebony haired teenager before him, "He's not dead, just...weakened. He must've admitted his true desire to himself and you'd be wise to join him. That's the only way to get yourselves out of this mess."

"I...I don't...I didn't mean..." the ebony haired Inuyasha spluttered nervously as he cast an almost frightened glance at the demon lying atop Kilala. Sango and Miroku exchanged nervous glances before sending a fleeting, mournful glance at their miko friend – which luckily went unnoticed. Just a few hours ago, the demon had said that it would be best for Kagome for them to stay apart. One could say he almost looked defeated as he had said it, adding almost as an afterthought that he was indeed free and it might be best for them to stay separate. Perhaps he wanted...maybe he...

"Is there any way to buy us some time?" Kagome whispered suddenly tearing both slayer and monk from their thoughts before she added a little louder, "What if I take the human to my era? Would the demon part wake up?"

"Don't know but worth a shot," Totosai groaned as he slowly got to his feet and turned to return to his demonic bull, "In the meantime, I'll see if I can find out some more about this blasted spell and if there's any way to undo it."

The human Inuyasha couldn't help but secretly do somersaults in his head while simultaneously feeling tremendously guilty. In the end, he was getting what he really wanted. Despite himself, he couldn't find it in himself to care about what Totosai had said. So what if they'd never get put back together again? That wasn't the worst thing in the world. He'd get to go live in Kagome's time and go to her school and be with her and be…normal.