Chapter 9: Confrontation

"Talking"

Thinking

"Inner Youkai Talking" (out loud, when in control)

Inner Youkai Thinking (in head, only host can hear)

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the original characters from the story. Although I do own the storyline and any other characters that had the unfortunate luck to stumble into my head and are now at my mercy. Mwahahahaha!

Kagome paused. There, still sitting in her lounge room, was Sesshomaru, Rin and Inuyasha. She scowled, searching the room to glare at her younger brother. Souta grinned back. He did not know of the circumstances that caused her transformation, and his interferences were really getting on her nerves. "Souta. Why, exactly, are they still here?" Kagome asked, not sparing a glance to the trio on her couches.

Souta's face fell for a moment, and then brightened. He rubbed the back of his neck before answering. "Well, I know that you and Inuyasha didn't part on the best of terms, so I thought maybe you guys could make up…" He trained off, noticing his sister's hardened eyes. "Umm…"

"I have no intentions of recuperating my past association with him." Kagome snapped, "And frankly your interferences are beginning to annoy me, Souta."

Souta glanced up. His sister never spoke to him like that. He glanced over to the hanyou to his right, confusion clear on the face of the youngest Higurashi.

"Oi, what the fuck, Kagome?!" Inuyasha snapped. "What the fuck do you mean you have 'no intentions of recuperating your past association' with me?!" He mimicked.

"Just what I mean, Inuyasha, or do you need me to reiterate myself in smaller words?"

Inuyasha snarled at her and leapt towards her, claws extended. Kagome watched on with hard eyes as the hanyou she had befriended and loved lunged towards her with his sharp claws aiming towards her face. With what appeared to be boredom, she sidestepped the attack, and Inuyasha, who had been unable to change his course mid-flight, flew through the still open front door. Kagome turned and unhurriedly made her way out after him.

Souta rushed out after them with Sesshomaru, holding back an obviously worried Rin, following after. The trio exited the door only to see a bright flash of light. Sesshomaru felt as a wave of purity washed over him, wrapping itself around the property in an invisible barrier. He watched on as his hanyou half-brother attacked the girl. He could not find fault in the girl for her taunts; obviously the hanyou had done something to her in the past, which was unsuprising. The hanyou was still as loud, obnoxious and brass as he had been 500 years ago; unfortunately time had not curbed his bad habits.

Kagome stood across from Inuyasha in the courtyard, waiting for the hanyou to attack first. As expected, not a moment later Inuyasha rushed towards her and, yet again, Kagome allowed her lithe, small form to dodge the obvious and forward attack. "Seriously; what the fuck, wench? We show up and all you do is be a bitch! I waited 500 years for you and all you do is bitch and attack me! And when the fuck did you turn into a youkai? Huh? Did you betray me and mate some other youkai?! You fucking whore!"

Kagome couldn't help it as a bitter, sarcastic laugh forced itself up her throat. "You waited 500 years for me? All I did was bitch and attack you? I betrayed you?! So I guess it wasn't you who chose Kikyou. It wasn't you who stole the Shikon no Tama from me. It wasn't you who wished Kikyou back to life." Kagome glared at the surprised hanyou across from her. "Oh, what's the matter, Inuyasha? Didn't know that I knew what you did? Kikyou and I shared a soul, you baka! What in the seven layers of hell did you think would happen when you wished for her to return to life? That she'd live without a soul? Get a new one? Most of my soul was sucked out of me again because of you! And I didn't get it back! I almost died! Do you know the only reason I didn't die? It was because the Shikon no Tama fled you and pushed me through the well, and forced a youkai soul to merge with mine to replace what was stolen from me!"

Kagome sat on the edge of the well. Staring down into the murky depths below her, she caressed her throat, feeling the empty space where the Shikon no Tama had been suspended from the spider youkai silk necklace around her throat. She could still sense the jewel, as well as Inuyasha's youki. She knew that he had taken it, but she couldn't make herself take it away from him. She had, after all, promised him the wish once Naraku was vanquished. She just hoped that he wouldn't wish to become a full youkai. He was fine just the way he was. I just wish he could see that. She sighed.

Abruptly, a sharp pain pulled at her chest. Arching her back, Kagome's mouth opened in a silent scream. Falling to her side, she landed sharply on the edge of the well, miraculously stopping herself from falling the long way to the bottom. She shuddered, her entire body wracked with scorching pain. Her entire body arched as another wave of pain overcame her. "Inu…" The name cut off from yet another silent scream of pain. "Inu… yasha." She tried again, the name coming out in a pained whisper as her body seized in pain again. Kagome stilled, and watched with morbid fascination as the bright orb of her soul started to pull out of her chest, disintegrating as soon as it was out far enough; the sparkling dust that was her soul blowing away from her and into the surrounding forest on an invisible breeze. She felt the warmth leave her fingers and toes, the cold creeping up her limbs and her head bobbed weakly as she struggled to keep her suddenly heavy eyes open. A bright pink light then seemed to appear before her, momentarily blinding her as it seemed to heave the remainder of her partially disintegrated soul back into her body. Kagome felt warmth rush into her previously cold digits just in time to feel her fingertips brush against the wall of the inner well.

As the well's magic surged over her body, Kagome realised the Shikon no Tama was in her hand. Lifting it to her face, images abruptly flickered through her mind like memories.

Inuyasha and Kikyou together in a forest clearing.

Inuyasha raising the Shikon no Tama between the couple.

His mouth moving, as his distant words echoed around her ears.

"I wish that Kikyou was returned to life"

The tree's swaying in the invisible breeze.

"I wish that Kikyou was returned to life"

Sparkling dust flowing through the forest, entering Kikyou's chest.

"I wish that Kikyou was returned to life"

The Shikon no Tama erupting in a flash of pink light and disappearing into the forest.

Shaking her head to clear the memory, Kagome glared back at the momentarily stunned hanyou before her. "You didn't think I would notice when my soul was stolen from me again, Inuyasha, hmm? You didn't think anyone would notice that I disappeared just as a suddenly alive Kikyou stood by your side? You didn't think anyone would notice when you killed me?! Or did you just not think? Or care?!" Kagome snarled at him, her eyes flickering red with her rage as she crouched and prepared to attack. "You claim that I betrayed you because I was turned into a youkai, yet it was your betrayal that caused my change! You claim I'm acting like a bitch, and I think I have the right to! You say that I attacked as if unprovoked, yet you nearly killed me with eight little words just a few years ago!" She paused, taking a deep, calming breath as she glared at Inuyasha from across the courtyard. "Stop playing the victim, Inuyasha, because you're not. You nearly killed me. You nearly completely stole my soul. I lost my humanity and changed into something completely different because of your wish." She stood from her crouch, cold eyes glaring at the reason for her loss of humanity; the reason she would outlive her friends and family; the reason she could never marry a human or have children with one; the reason she lost the ability to live a normal, human life; the reason she had to leave behind her feudal friends and her son.

Author's Notes: Sorry for the wait, guys. I know I said I'd try to get back to this earlier, but graduating, moving, Christmas and job-hunting has taken up a large part of my life recently. I've also started another story I've been playing around with (but I won't post it until this is finished, unless it turns out to be a one-shot). Sorry again for the wait, and I'll be trying to add some more chapters soon. Thanks for putting up with me and reading my first fic! :)