AN: *stares* *blinks* *gapes* Man, if I'm gonna go from 176 reviews to 230 in one day, I ought to start doing that more often! I'm KIDDING. True to my word, I have no intentions of pulling a stunt like that again. No more obscure hook-ups and cruelty to Sesshoumaru. You guys are the BEST! *Hugs Sesshie plushie from Chibi Tenshi* This is not to say that I haven't got a sleeve chock full of twists, but hey. I solemnly swear that neither Sesshoumaru or Kagome will get with anyone else, ever. (Although that DOES kill my interesting Kouga plotline . . . . I'm kidding . . .) But really. You guys oughta see who Inuyasha ends up with later on.

On with my praise. Readers like you guys ROCK! I got compliments, constructive criticism, the works! You are the best! And I didn't get any flames! Death threats? Yes. I wouldn't be surprised if someone takes out a contract on me once the story is done. In two days, you guys have surpassed the feedback on 'The Real Deal,' which I didn't think I would do again. But nooo, wonderful people like you went on ahead and pushed me past my milemarker, so I'm on new ground here. *Gulps* That's a lot of people . . .

Enjoy this chapter! Might as well have two honkin' huge and eventful chapters back-to-back, huh? I think this is it for this story, with one more chapter and an epilogue that ties up *some* of my loose ends. Then, OMG, I jump pretty headlong into the sequel. Which is going to be *very* interesting, as I try to avoid sequels with a passion. Okay. Wish me luck. By the way, I want EVERYONE to forget how horridly I wrote Kaede earlier. I completely didn't even think about it. Just shoot me now. I tried this time. Very sorry. I even pissed myself off.

*

Kagome

We walked in (amiable) silence for most of the day, which turned into a few days of not total silence, and while it was not exactly cuddle-worthy when it came to being a comfortable scenario, it could have been worse.

I could have been travelling with a PMS-infested badger, for example.

I didn't have the courage to ask about the mark on my neck, which, while it was healing, wasn't exactly fading. I hadn't thought in my dream that he'd bitten me so hard, but I guess he had. In my dream. Was it just a dream? I hoped to all things holy that it was, because if not . . . I would have to die. Just crawl into a small hole and die very quickly. It's not that I would have minded it being real, especially since Sesshoumaru had been (as) caring (as he could be, given who he is), but as for me . . . oh, that was another story. I personally had no desire for physical contact of that extent for a very long time. I'd had my share, thank you very much, and it didn't really appeal to me with a big neon sign or anything. I could handle kissing, as I have demonstrated, but—even the idea of anything more than that gave me the heeby-jeebies. I guess dreams are easier to on things like that than reality. If I had been awake and in that situation, I wouldn't have been able to do it. We're talking panic attacks, short tempers, possible violence, the works.

Besides . . . I HAD JUMPED HIM! Not quite literally, but . . . ergh, I didn't want to think about it. Thank god it was a dream, because if it hadn't been, I would have died. It was that simple. I would have been too horrified with myself to live, and therefore died of humiliation.

But it had been a dream . . . best not to dwell on what could have been. Instead I chose to get over my horror of what-ifs and sulk over the fact that I didn't get to finish my dream. I sighed.

The lingering silence was broken by Sesshoumaru on the third day, as we began to enter forests that I recognized. We were in Kouga's territory, I realized with a perk. If we happened to run into him (actually . . . maybe we ought to avoid him, with Sesshoumaru being so protective lately), maybe he'd be willing to lend a hand with Naraku. Not like he didn't hate him enough.

Anyways. Silence broken. Sorry about that. "What do you intend to do about Naraku?" asked Sesshoumaru after a little while.

I glanced at him, eyebrows coming up as I was snapped from my reverie. "Huh?"

"Naraku," he repeated boredly. "Tell me you at least have an idea of what to do when you see him again."

I felt the blood leave my face. "Why would I—oh. You mean do I have a plan."

A heavy sigh that spoke of great suffering.

"All right, I get it, and yes I have a plan," I told him.

"Do you feel like telling me, or do I have to wait?" he asked shortly.

"I really ought to make you wait, but it's not a huge thing. Okay, um, I kinda . . . when we were all at your fortress, after I was feeling a bit better I ransacked your library," I began a bit sheepishly. "And I found this book of spells from a few hundred years ago, from a monastery in Prague, that had a spell I liked. I'm not big with magic," I admitted, "but I think that if Kaede helped me with it, we could do it. Anyways, it's an—well, it's an exorcism," I said in a rush. At his raised eyebrow, I continued to tell him. "Naraku is a half-demon made up of hundreds of thousands of other demons—he was created when a dying man allowed demons to consume him. But they didn't consume all of him, because he's still half human. So my plan is to use this spell to exorcise these demons. When you take them all away, he's just a human. It makes sense, because that's what an exorcism is—banishing demons from a human. He's only powerful because of the demons. Without them, he's nothing."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "All well and fine, theoretically, but a spell like that banishes demons from a body. Once they're out, they are still demons, and then you have to worry about them returning to Naraku."

"Oh, but that's why I'm brilliant. Once the demons are out in the real world and not fuelling Naraku, then they're fair game for Miroku's wind tunnel. Then Inuyasha and Sango can make quick work of Onegumo."

"Who?"

"The human who created Naraku," I explained. "And don't catch me on technicalities—like the insects, for example, I worked that out too."

"Insects?"

"Oh, don't you remember anything?" I asked with exasperation. "If I recall correctly, you were the one who set them on Miroku originally!"

"Ah. Those. Yes, I remember now."

"Yeah, back in the good old days," I scowled. "Anyways, we've been trying to figure out for a long time the best way to keep Miroku safe from the bugs, so wherever we confront Naraku, we're planting bug bombs in the area around us. Plus, I'm hosing Miroku down with some semi-enchanted Off."

He was staring at me now as though I'd finally gone off my rocker.

"Stuff from my world," I explained. "Bug repellent—for real this time, though. Not just the crap they sell in stores that makes you invisible to bugs, because once he opens the wind tunnel, it won't matter if they can see him. Now they'll be physically unable to approach him, period. I'm thinking that the radius is about twenty feet. We didn't have a specific plan until I found that spell," I added, "but we had little stuff like that worked out."

"I see," was all he said. "And have you memorized this spell?"

I pulled it out of my shoe. "No, but I'm getting there. Sorry, by the way, I tore the page out of your book."

He shrugged. "I didn't ever read it. I'm sure I won't miss it."

"Where are we going, anyways?" I asked him. "I still have to get to Kaede's village."

"I figured as much from what you and Inuyasha have said. That's where we're going."

I blinked. "It is?"

He nodded. "We're a day away from there, in case you haven't noticed."

"I had noticed, thanks a lot. Just didn't know where you planned on going."

"Would you have gone with me even if I hadn't gone to the village?"

I snorted. "No, I would have wandered off into the forest by myself, so that I could be attacked by a random demon—yes, a random demon, they do travel alone, and I SWEAR that when they do, they ALL decide to follow me. I mean really. I have the shittiest luck when it comes to that. It's like my shirt says 'Free Food' or something like that."

"I'll take that as a no."

"Go on and take it like that. I was being serious."

*

We approached Kaede's hut near noon the next day. The relief that welled up inside of me was unbelievable, especially when I saw Inuyasha come shooting out the door like he'd been shot from a cannon. I made a move to run at him, but Sesshoumaru grabbed my arm to halt me. "Cover your shoulder," he said shortly.

"What? Why?"

A long finger rested on the still-healing bite that I'd been as of yet unable to explain. "It will raise questions," he told me as I lost all the blood in my face. How did he—oh no—

"KAGOME!"

I felt a smile split my face, the panic pushed aside as I got ready to be pounced. But before Inuyasha could pounce on me, he was passed by a smaller and temporarily quicker shape, which got to me first and knocked me over. "You're okay!" wailed Shippou.

"Goddamnit, Shippou, you piece of shit!" Inuyasha cursed roundly.

I gave Shippou a hug before standing up and jumping on Inuyasha, whose immediate irritation with Shippou for beating him turned to me for touching him. "Hey, get off!"

I just hugged him tighter. "Aww, I know you missed me!"

He sighed and returned the gesture quickly, just to get it over with, before peeling himself off of me. "Yeah, and I'd miss you more if you didn't reek of my brother!"

"Well you travel with him for that long, and see if you don't come out smelling like him," I replied smartly.

He wrinkled his nose. "Whatever. You still smell raunchy, I've been able to smell you coming all morning. Hey, I scared the hell out of your mom the other day."

"WHAT?!"

"Yeah, you told me about all the bug crap you needed from your house, so I kinda went the other day and got it from her—the spray stuff, the bug bombs, the works. It's set up in the woods already—the whole village is safe from them. This fight could happen anywhere in this place, and it would work. Kaede also enchanted that metal thing that sprays so that the bugs can't go near Miroku. He won't put it on, though."

" . . . It's absolutely horrid, I'm not letting it touch me!" came the monk's voice.

"Funny," snapped Inuyasha, "that's exactly what Sango said about you last night!"

"Both of you grow up. Your immaturity is the most annoying thing I've ever been around," came a cold voice from inside the hut that I couldn't place. Why wasn't I able to put a face to it? . . .

Inuyasha's face darkened when the woman spoke, and seemed barely able to keep himself from saying something harsh in reply. "Who—" I began as Sesshoumaru came up beside me to make himself tall and imposing and intimidating to his brother. "Oh my god," I finally said. "You—tell me you didn't." The voice finally hit home. "Ooooh, I'm going to sit you all the way to the Atlantic if you actually tell me that—"

"Is there a problem out here?" the woman asked, stepping out into the noonday sun and fixing her dark eyes on me. The sun made her white shirt shine with its own light, offsetting her black hair. I couldn't read the look on her face as we locked gazes, but suddenly I felt about two inches tall and shrank back into Sesshoumaru ever-so-slightly.

I shook my head in response to her question. "No, just a disagreement," I said in a voice that was very small. What was she doing here?!

Her look of disdain faded into another unreadable look as she looked over at Sesshoumaru. "Sesshoumaru," she said with a slight incline of her head. "It has been a long time."

"Kikyo," he replied in acknowledgement. That was all he would say to her. She turned on her heel and went back inside, saying nothing else.

I looked at Inuyasha, not even saying what was on my mind lest I screamed. He looked very unhappy. "She found me and Miroku about two days ago," he muttered. "Said she was willing to put the past where it belonged long enough to destroy Naraku."

"She's hiding something," Sesshoumaru told him flatly.

"Oh, how would you know?" Inuyasha demanded sourly. "You're not even a demon anymore—you can't still tell these things!"

"Intuition is an acquired talent, not a given of being a demon," he replied coldly. "And you had best watch yourself—I will only be human until Naraku is defeated, and then, if you still insist on being an ass, we will work this out like men."

Inuyasha's hand flexed on the hilt of Tetsusaiga. "Yeah, if you live that long—"

"Boys," I cut in. "Now isn't the time. Is it all right if I talk to Kaede? I mean, you two won't kill each other, right? I kind of need you to be alive when Naraku shows up," I told Inuyasha.

"You're worried about me?" he scoffed. "Fat chance! I don't see anything decent Sesshoumaru can do, so worry about him! Especially if he keeps popping off!"

I sighed and simply walked off.

*Thwack!*

A glance behind me revealed that Sesshoumaru had popped Inuyasha a good one, and his brother responded by smacking him upside the head as well. "What was that for?" the younger of two morons demanded.

"For being stupid."

At which point I sighed again and walked inside, where Kaede was sitting with Sango, Miroku, and Shippou. Kirara was perched on Miroku's head, being cute as her tails swished across his face and he batted at them occasionally. Kikyo stood by the window, obviously the outsider (though whether it was by choice or Miroku and Sango's unanimous dislike of her, I didn't know. The latter, I hoped spitefully).

"It's started," I sighed. "We're here for five minutes, and it's already started. I may kill them both before Naraku gets here. He is coming, right?"

Miroku nodded. "We have only Inuyasha's three shards from Kouga and Sango's from Kohaku, plus the one in Sesshoumaru's arm. Naraku wants to complete the jewel more than we do—he'll come to us."

"Good." Despite the fact that we wanted it to work out like that, I couldn't stop the cold tendrils in my stomach at the prospect of seeing Naraku again. Ever. "Kaede," I began, "I guess they've told you the plan for nailing Naraku."

"Aye," she replied. "Inuyasha has spoken to me of this plan ye concocted."

I swallowed. "Okay. Um—I'm not very good with magic, and I—oh jeez, I can't do this spell alone. The only magic I know is the kind that just happens, and I won't be able to do it by myself. I need you out helping me with it. It's stronger when two people cast a spell, anyways."

But she was already shaking her head. "I am too old for a battle such as that. The magic in thee is stronger than my magic, Kagome," she told me. "If ye put your whole heart into this spell, Naraku will live no longer than ye wish him to."

I was shaking my head as well. "I can't. I—he'll kill me before I can get the whole spell out!"

"He will not," Kikyo cut in coldly. "Inuyasha and his brother will suffice to distract him from what you are doing."

"Sesshoumaru can't fight him!" I exclaimed. "He had better not be anywhere near that battle—he's never been human before, plus the fact that he's got a weak stomach. The only good he'd be is if we needed someone throwing up every ten seconds. Now if we could get something going like in 'Stand by Me,' where everyone started getting sick, including Naraku, then it would be a different story. But I don't think that's going to be the case. He can't fight."

"Then he will be killed," Kikyo said angrily. "You will not force my sister to fight when she does not wish to do so."

I felt my face drain of all color. "But I have no experience with spells at all!" Swallow your pride, say it, just suck it up and ask. "Kikyo—are you—"

"Inuyasha has asked me to make you invisible to Naraku," she informed me before the words could come out and demean me. "I will be unable to aid you. If you are even half the woman Inuyasha deludes himself into believing you are, then this spell should come as easily to you as breathing." I heard the bitter sarcasm in her voice. Great. I open my mouth to ask her for help, and she hates me for it.

I just can't win.

*

I sat sulking outside Kaede's hut later on that night, watching the stars with the knowledge that I was actually safe, for the first time in awhile. The idea that it wasn't safe with Sesshoumaru wasn't a new one, especially given his homicidal tendencies towards Inuyasha, but really.

That wasn't what was eating at me, though. Once again, the world had come to a dead halt because Kikyo was around. It was seriously like everyone stopped when she was involved. And I was left in the dust. She always made sure that my opinion looked like that of a schoolgirl with no real experience, no common sense. It was obvious that she didn't care enough about me to hate me. As I believe I read in a book, if she'd hated me, at least it meant that she considered me a human.

Inuyasha plopped down beside me. "Don't pout. You annoy the hell out of me when you do that."

"I thought I annoyed the hell out of you when I wasn't pouting."

"You do, but you're more annoying when you're sulking."

"I ought to sit you all the way to London," I told him darkly.

"To where?"

"Never mind. Why is she here?" I demanded unhappily. "She helped Naraku last time, if I remember correctly. She practically gave him that new body of his. This is her fault entirely—he couldn't have kept us on the run if he'd been trapped in that dying body and forced to use demon puppets."

"Why do you care?" he scoffed. "You just don't like her."

"So what if I don't? At least I care enough to have an opinion—she doesn't give a flip one way or the other if I'm alive or dead. Except when she's trying to kill me, and under those circumstances, she'd prefer me dead!"

"Oh, and you're saying it's better if she always hated you and always tried to kill you?" he shot back. "You're a real piece of work, you know?"

I stood up and folded my arms. "Yeah, I missed you too," I told him, walking off to the woods.

There was a rush of air, and he landed on his feet nimbly in front of me. "Uh-uh. I'm not stupid enough to let you go storming off into the forest alone, at night, again," Inuyasha practically snarled. "I think all this time with my brother has given you a temper."

"Oh shut up," I muttered, turning away but not walking off. "At least he pretended to be civil."

A moment of silence.

"Are you in love with him?" he demanded suddenly.

Now a bucket of ice water. "What? No!"

His golden eyes narrowed. "Good. I wasn't looking forward to killing him while he was still a human, as it takes the challenge away, but I would have."

"Inuyasha!"

"I would have!" he snapped. "He's my brother—I know him better than you ever will! He's a murderer, he tried to steal the Tetsusaiga a lot, he destroys whole villages in a temper tantrum! The guy is evil, Kagome. All he'll do is hurt you in the end."

"This from the guy who tried to kill me the first time he met me," I scoffed.

He scowled. "I thought you were Kikyo. Who wouldn't have wanted to kill you during a mix-up like that?"

A smile cracked my face, but I erased it. "That's beside the point. Look, it's none of your business, so I'm not going to argue this with you, okay?"

"Fine. I'll let it drop for now—but when this is over, you're telling me everything. I have a long list of questions you'd better answer."

"Like what?"

"Like what's really going on between you two, and everything you're not telling me. For example, what happened with Naraku that was bad enough to make Sesshoumaru up and tell me that he almost killed you for not telling him, plus he wouldn't tell me because there was no one around who could beat me down so that I didn't go after him myself. I'm currently dying of curiosity, but I guess you trust my brother more than me, huh?" He sounded . . . he actually sounded jealous. Was I delusional?

"He—he knows?" I repeated, my voice rising.

"Yeah, he knows!"

"But—" but he only knew in my dream. This was not looking good . . . I had woken up! I'd actually gone from asleep to awake, and he had gone away! It was not possible that I'd ever told him!

I was missing something really big. But what?

"I have a headache," I groaned.

"Then freaking go to sleep. I smell Naraku already—he's too close for comfort. We tried getting the shard out of Sesshoumaru's arm, but it won't budge. The arm itself likes him now that he's human—I don't see how we're gonna get it out without slicing him open, and he's not keen on the idea. We'll work on it tomorrow, before we face Naraku. How are you on that spell?"

"I have it memorized," I admitted, "and I guess all that matters is that I can say it, since the words bring out the power, but I have a bad feeling. There's got to be a hole in this plan somewhere . . . I can feel it. But I just can't place it. I feel like I'm missing something." Oh look, the story of my life.

"You're not missing anything," he snapped. "This is foolproof. Now that Kikyo's casting a spell that makes you invisible, it's even better. Having her on our side can only make things even harder to crack. Naraku'll never see it coming. He won't even know what hit him."

I sighed. "Whatever you say. I guess I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah," he said. "I'm going to be out here for awhile and stay on the lookout." And with that, he shot straight up and perched in the higher branches of a tree, thus ending the conversation.

A glimmer of white and silver caught my eye off to the other side of the hut, by the little stream in the village. Before heading inside, I jogged over to see what he was doing.

"Do you plan on getting any sleep before tomorrow, or would you like to sit out here and play 'bait' with all the demons out at night?" I asked Sesshoumaru.

He didn't answer the question. "You should listen to my brother."

I blinked. "Huh?"

"I am not a good person," he told me shortly, "to put it nicely. I have done nothing to deserve your kindness."

"For one thing, no one earns kindness. I give it freely. For another thing, you have earned it. I—I know we weren't there for very long, but when we were in the Northern Lands . . . I know I kind of got mad at you after dinner, but I know you were just trying to help with Nanashi and all. I feel like you looked out for me pretty well there. So please don't say you didn't earn it after that, okay?"

His eyes, which had remained fixed on the horizon, dropped to the ground. "I would rather you not use that as an example. I paid a heavy price for your safety that I would rather not think about."

I hesitated. "Um—okay. I can do that. You may not be a good person, but you're not evil. Just keep that in mind."

"And yet I feel nothing but," he replied sourly.

I stepped in front of him and caught his gaze. "You never did anything wrong, okay?" With what little courage I had, I kissed him very gently, and even though he responded at first, he pulled back nearly immediately.

"If you knew—" he began, then cut himself off bitterly. "You would regret doing that."

All right, so he insisted on being difficult. I could deal with that. "Fine. So tell me this—Inuyasha said earlier that you knew what happened with Naraku. How did you find out? Give me at least that."

He met my eyes for the first time. "Do you know nothing of the woman whose castle we stayed in? She is not called the Lady of Dreams for nothing. Her power to manipulate the dreams of one, combine the dreams of two, enter them as she pleases, whether alone or with another person, makes her a very dangerous woman indeed."

My eyebrows came together in confusion before a prospect that made me freeze opened up. "You—you saw my dreams? What in the hell did you do that for? Is that even what you did?"

"I knew because she wanted me to know," he told me shortly. "If you want my advice, then forget everything about that place. At least one of us should be able to." And he turned and walked away, a signal that he didn't want to talk about it.

My hand flew to the joint between my shoulder and neck as I entered Kaede's hut, where Miroku was poking at the fire as Sango, Shippou, Kaede, Kirara, and Kikyo slept soundly. I felt very faint. Did that mean—

He glanced up at me. "Are you okay?" he asked when he saw my face.

I shook my head faintly. "I—I don't think so. I think I'm going to pass out."

"If you insist, then try to wait for a few seconds," Miroku told me, getting to his feet and hurrying over to me. "Oh, sit down, for goodness sake."

I did so, with his help. "Have you ever heard of the Lady of the North?" I asked, putting my face in my hands to cool it.

"Yes, I have. Saeko, the Lady of Dreams, if I remember correctly. Why?"

"Sesshoumaru and I stayed there for the night a few days ago. I—I don't feel very good. I feel violated."

"Sleep," he insisted. "Just don't think about it right now, it will only keep you awake, and we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

I nodded, closing my eyes miserably. A long night, followed by a long day.

I wondered what Sesshoumaru didn't want to talk about? . . .

And alongside all that, my bad feeling didn't go away.

*

The next day was uneventful, for the most part. I lolled around with my eyes closed, going over the spell as I lay in the sun and listened to Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru argue off and on, Sango beat off Miroku every few minutes, Shippou and Kirara horse around, and Kaede generally ignore her sister. Some of the things Kikyo had done in her worthless afterlife had so displeased her little sister to the point of not speaking to her. I knew it rankled both of them, but probably Kaede more than Kikyo. It was her older sister, after all. She was supposed to be Kaede's role model as a child, but instead she returned as . . . well, whatever she was now, which was generally disturbing and loathsome.

Words flow easily through the mind, even if they're from a language that died over a thousand years ago, but I had no guarantees on how they would come out when I actually had to speak them. The spell I practiced was old and so difficult that it hadn't been performed since its origins five thousand years ago, when a priestess battled a demon from the depths of Hell itself, and cast the spell to destroy it finally. It worked, in theory, but as the spell was an exorcism, all it really did was separate the demon soul from the body. Once that happened, the soul split into millions on billions of demons that roamed the earth for another thousand years before most became strong enough to create bodies of their own. As the legend went, that was how demons came to this realm. But I couldn't say the spell out loud unless I had a demon to direct it on, otherwise it would seek out any demon within the area to fulfill the power given by the words. So I kept quiet, as it would have meant big trouble for Inuyasha and Shippou. I couldn't actually speak it until Naraku showed up, and so while all the words sounded right in my head, it left a lot to be imagined when speaking. Russian is an easy language to learn in theory . . . once you get beyond all those damned consonants . . .

I also had to get the spell right the first time. I could only speak it from beginning to end once, and if I misspoke, I risked calling the souls of all demons in the area into Naraku's body . . . which once again kind of screwed over Inuyasha and Shippou.

I sighed and let the sun warm me, grateful that we had at least this calm before the storm. I had nothing to worry about that could be fixed, it was a beautiful day . . . things definitely could have been worse. Sure, the day was a bit still, no birds sang, but didn't I just mention the calm before the storm? I knew full well that Naraku would show up eventually—if Mother Nature felt it necessary to take a vacation before he got there, then power to her.

Maybe it was the sunlight.

I heard someone above me clear their throat, and I opened my eyes lazily. Kikyo stood over me, her bow drawn and her face shadowed. "He's here," she said tonelessly.

I blinked. "What?"

"I said, he's here."

"I heard you. He's not."

"Don't you feel it?" she asked me with a note of pity that I couldn't feel it. "He's been here all along. Get the monk and have him apply that enchanted repellant—now. He may not get another chance."

I stood up, a frown on my face and an argument on my tongue, but the look on her face spoke of no bullshit. I swallowed . . .

And then I did feel it. Creeping, hovering cold, not from the warm sunlight but from the deepest recesses of my mind, hidden at a glance but still there. It hadn't been that nature packed up and left . . . it had been pushed out.

It wasn't the calm before the storm that had lulled me into a false sense of security. It was the calm during the storm that had done so.

"Does he know that you—um know?" I asked her, going very pale.

She shook her head. "He is only watching. Keep calm, and he will not know that you sense him. I will speak to Inuyasha and his brother."

"Wouldn't he think it's odd that you're talking to me?" I said, the words coming out thoughtlessly.

Her eyes betrayed nothing—I sometimes wondered if she'd forgotten how to make facial expressions after being dead for so long. "Not if he suspects I'm going to say what I'm about to."

I waited.

"In a time like this, rivalry between us will do nothing but get us killed," she told me. "Possibly even those we protect, as well. If we can overcome our differences, then we will be undefeatable. Although in our case," my predecessor added with irony, "I suspect we must overcome our similarities rather than our differences. Until Naraku is dead, I do not care where Inuyasha's affections lie. I wish him ill, and you as well, but at my hands alone will you suffer, not Naraku's." I blanched further at her bluntness. Guess beating around the bush wasn't going to get us anywhere, huh? "Though I suspect you have suffered much already at his hands, so perhaps I will take his torment into account and be kinder to you."

"Sounds . . . er, fair," I fumbled. "Pretenses aside for now, I don't care where Inuyasha's affections lie, whether Naraku is alive or dead. But if you try to punish him for something he didn't do, then you'll have to get through me first, and I'm not the pushover you almost killed back in the middle of Naraku's miasma. Inuyasha is my friend, and if you try to hurt him—I'll stop you. And don't think I can't."

Kikyo blinked, taken aback. "Perhaps you pose more of a threat than I originally expected," she admitted with a smile. "For now, while Naraku is our common enemy, I rather appreciate that. I do look forward to seeing how you plan on stopping me from extracting what is mine, however."

"And what is that?"

"Revenge," she replied simply. "If you wish to live long enough to finally face me as an equal, I recommend you gather your friends. I have already spoken with my sister—she has taken the fox-child to another village just now, and they will not return until the battle is over, for better or worse. For now, I will speak with Inuyasha."

I had the urge to let out a mutter of 'good luck' that was only partly sarcastic, but refrained. "Right. See you when this battle starts, huh?"

"Indeed." And she turned then to deal with Inuyasha.

I whistled at Miroku, who glanced up at me. The sight of him almost cracked me up, had the mood not been so serious—he was sitting against a tree, considerably apart from Sango, and judging from the handprints across his face and the lump on the side of his head, I could guess why. I gestured for him to get up and come over to me, which he did with stiff limbs. Looked like he and Sango had been at it again. Someday—not anytime soon—he would have to learn to keep his hands to himself.

If we lived.

"You called?" he asked with a very monk-like bow.

I nodded. "Come inside Kaede's hut with me."

A fine eyebrow raised. "Oh really. Any particular reason?"

I sighed. "I have something in there for you."

Another eyebrow came up. "Really. I suppose that would be . . ."

He didn't finish his sentence, because I dragged him inside and grabbed the can of Off! from the floor, shaking it violently. Touching the cold can made the reality of what was happening sink in—this was now. This was when we put into motion a plan that worked well on paper—but everything worked on paper. Not everything worked when put into motion.

His dark eyes widened when he saw what exactly I had in mind. "A little early for that, isn't it?" he asked with what was beginning to sound like phony cheer.

"No," I said grimly, "it's not. I actually hope it's in time. Close you eyes and hold your nose, this stuff is murder.

He did so, and I sprayed him down both front and back, making sure to get every exposed inch of him. He shivered once I was done. "I don't know why that's very popular where you come from," he chuckled dryly. "It's miserable."

"Well you can either smell like chemical or you can be eaten alive by mosquitoes," I replied.

His face paled. "Mosquitoes in your time actually—"

"I didn't mean that literally," I sighed. "I hope you're ready to use your wind tunnel for the last time."

He looked at his hand, fingering the rosary thoughtfully. "I don't think I'll miss it very much, although I'll be more careful now when I walk around in the woods alone. I suppose I'll be rather unarmed, won't I?"

"Better unarmed than . . . erm, whatever," I muttered when I couldn't think of anything clever. My wit was failing—courage under fire is all well and fine, but wit under fire? Yeah, right.

"How do you know he's here?" Miroku asked bluntly.

"Kikyo tipped me off—I can't believe I didn't feel him earlier," I admitted. "I was just feeling awfully lazy. He's watching us—everything. I hope this doesn't tip him off that we know he's here. Better to let him come when he wants and be ready than to tip him off and make him spring an attack right now," I said as we stepped out of the little hut. "I mean, the two of us randomly disappearing? Not very inconspicuous."

He dragged me back inside and studied me. "Hmm . . . I'll fix that." And with that, he dislodged my clothing a bit, skewing my pants a little bit, yanking on one side of my shirt so that it was rumpled, and batting at my hair quickly. I stared at him.

"What was that for?"

He pulled me back outside and planted a very firm, very—erm, friendly—kiss right on my lips, taking my face in his hands to keep me from jerking back. My eyes snapped open wider in surprise as he continued to kiss me, then smacked him on the back of the head once he pulled away.

"Miroku! Okay for one, you are such a pervert, for another, you are going to get me in TROUBLE!, and finally, ick! You taste like bug spray!" I exclaimed, wiping my mouth (which tasted miserably like Off!, if you can believe it).

"Oh yes, I forgot, you're taken," he sighed. "I suppose it won't be my children you have, then."

I scowled and hoped Sesshoumaru hadn't bothered to look over at us right then—not that he had a right to be jealous, as I technically wasn't really taken. "Wha'd you do that for, anyways?"

He shrugged and flashed me the smile that must have gotten at least one girl to agree to give him a son. "You only live once. The way I see it—and as a monk, I am enlightened—we run a fifty percent chance of losing today, and if we lose, then I'll have died knowing I never did that. Although now I fear Sango will be rather angry with me now, won't she?

I sighed. "She's not the only one!"

"My other excuse is that if you came out all ruffled, then who's to say we didn't go for one last rough-and-tumble before you left me for Sesshoumaru forever?" he added, wounded. "Naraku should be flattered that he got to see the last kiss you'll ever give me before you leave me for Inuyasha's brother and sworn enemy. I did so love our life together; I will miss you as you begin your life with another, but I suppose I'll be fine. After all, I am but a monk. I must survive the cruel hardships of life and continue on with a broken heart."

"Quit making fun of me," I muttered sheepishly.

The voice from behind us made me jump as we moved away from the hut. "Your heart isn't all that will be broken if you try that again," Sesshoumaru snapped tersely. "Lay another finger on her, and that will be the next thing I break."

Miroku raised his hands in surrender. "I simply couldn't help myself, in light of the fact that we may all die today."

"Keep your hands to yourself," he warned, "or you'll bring it on early."

He chuckled and turned to walk off. "My heartfelt apologies, Lord Sesshoumaru. I will not offend you as such again. My word as a monk is my bond."

A growl. "Hey, down boy," I urged quietly. "He's right. I take it you've already talked to Kikyo?"

"I have. The odds that we will survive this are very slim—slimmer as Naraku watches us. I dislike this greatly; an enemy who makes no move is a clever one indeed, and I suspect he knows our moves and studies them so that he sees more in then than we thought was there. If we do not play our cards right," he said flatly, "we will not live."

Why don't you kiss him?

Excuse me? I didn't think that-

Right now, in front of them all. You want to . . . you pretend that he can take you in his arms and you will melt, as you always have, but should you do so, you will only see me . . .

Holy shit.

My breath left my lungs in a big whoosh, and my stomach dropped to my feet. I raised my eyes to look at Sesshoumaru—

His eyes were blood red.

I stumbled back, a scream rising in my throat—

Gold again.

Stop it.

He's driving you crazy—

But Sesshoumaru's eyes had hardened, and he no longer looked at me. His eyes were fixed behind me, and his hand dropped to his other sword. A new chill raced up my spine . . .

A hand on the base of my neck, right by the mark on my shoulder. Please let that be Miroku. "Did I interrupt anything?" came Naraku's low, rolling drawl. "Please continue; I was under the impression you were talking about me, and I do so love hearing about myself. I suppose that's a bit narcissistic, but really. Can you blame me?"

My gut reaction was to jerk my elbow up into his stomach, but I didn't. I couldn't move—I had frozen to the spot. Everything flooded my mind—he's going to kill us all, this will never work because I'm too terrified to cast that damn spell, oh God Sesshoumaru knows what happened . . . how can I . . .

I didn't have to keep thinking, because I heard the groan of a bow being pulled taut. About twenty feet away, Kikyo had drawn her bow and notched an arrow that hummed with the power of a priestess, her eyes hard but her aim bound to be flawless once she released. Inuyasha had drawn Tetsusaiga as well, Sango stood with her boomerang at the ready, and Miroku gripped his staff like a weapon.

"Let her go," Inuyasha snarled, taking a threatening step forward.

"I wouldn't move if I were you," Naraku warned, his hand tightening on my neck and pressing into the bruised wound on my neck. I flinched involuntarily. "And where did that come from?" he wondered aloud, moving my hair aside as he felt the source of my flinch. "What a nasty mark . . . it must have been painful," he remarked, his breath brushing my skin as he leaned in to inspect it. "Unless . . . my goodness, Lord Sesshoumaru, you certainly got carried away, didn't you?"

Sesshoumaru gripped the sword's hilt tighter. "I would not speak of things I know nothing about if I were you," he told the demon, his infallible calm exterior dropping into place. Naraku would see no other reaction from him until he was dead. "It makes your intelligence seem more laughable than it already is."

I didn't miss the glance Inuyasha stole at Kikyo before he exploded. "Sesshoumaru, you stupid son of a bitch! If you touched her—"

"Be silent," his brother snapped.

"If you touched her at all," he continued, ignoring him, "you're next! After I take Naraku out and finish the jewel, you're SO dead that it's not even funny!"

"I am not the issue right now."

"I'm making you the issue, you freaking moron!"

The voice in my mind cut through the terror instilled at Naraku's mere touch. The minute I tell you to run, came Kikyo's voice, do exactly that.

I can't! I thought desperately. I—he's right here! He'll kill me—or he'll take me again, you don't understand, he can't do that! I can't let him!

He will do nothing of the sort. When I tell you to run, then RUN. Do it while he is still distracted.

I felt my heart stop at the thought of moving—it wasn't an appealing action, although just standing there in Naraku's grasp wasn't that appealing, either. I waited patiently for Kikyo to tell me to run . . . then the air around me shimmered, as though I was under water. I blinked, and Naraku's hand jerked away in surprise.

RUN!

And I did. I hauled ass, stumbling away from him as fast as I could. I smashed into Sesshoumaru on accident, and he balked suddenly, as though he hadn't seen me coming. What—his reflexes weren't that bad as a human—

He was looking right at me, but it was like he couldn't see me at all. I backed away. "Kikyo?"

"Shut up!" the priestess snapped, the only sign that she was stressed. This spell will only last while I can concentrate, and while you live! If he gets an idea of where you are, he'll kill you!

I nodded, but it was a pointless gesture as I scrambled to safety. Now what? I'm pretty much away—I'm behind Inuyasha. He doesn't know I'm here.

The spell, she told me. Your spell is the key to this entire setup; if you fail, then he wins. Cast it, and show him what happens when he attempts to destroy you as he did.

Okay . . . if you insist, I said, attempting to be dry. I was so scared that it didn't really work. I sat down cross-legged, as quietly as I could, and began to chant under my breath in a language that had been dead for centuries and prayed to all things sacred and holy that I did it right.

In the meantime, Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha had quit arguing when I literally vanished from sight. "What the hell—" began Sesshoumaru, the only sign that he was taken by surprise. His face revealed nothing.

Naraku seemed less concealing when it came to what was on his mind. "Very clever, Kikyo," he snapped, "for a cheap conjurer's trick. How long can you keep her hidden when you are trying to keep yourself alive?"

Her arrow never wavered. "I will keep her hidden until it is time to reveal her. No sooner." And with that, the arrow released from her hand and sailed at him with accuracy that scared even me. But this is Naraku we're talking about, so whole lot of good accuracy did. Within inches of his face, he caught the arrow between two fingers and snapped it in half carelessly.

"You'll have to do better than that," he told her smoothly.

Almost as one, both Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru made a dive for Naraku, Sesshoumaru's sword glittering in the sunlight and Tetsusaiga blazing with the fires of hell. Their blades cut clean through Naraku's body, but the solid form dissolved into a pillar of miasma that left both brothers coughing. He reappeared by Sango, not very close, but close enough that she didn't jump out of her skin and had the reflexes to hurl her boomerang at him.

He caught it easily in his hand before slinging it back at her, rather pointlessly, because she caught it as easily as he. But the moment her hand came in contact with the boomerang, she let out an exclamation of pain and dropped it. "What did you do to it?" she demanded.

"A little hot to the touch, isn't it?" he asked her smugly. "It will be of no use to you in this battle. I recommend you run for the hills, unless you wish to end up like your brother, hmm?"

My voice faltered as I approached yet another word that I could spell, but not pronounce. This was not going smoothly. With my luck, I'd end up turning us all into demons.

"This would go far easier if you'd just hand over the jewel shards," Naraku told the still-hacking Inuyasha boredly. "You're putting up even less of a fight this time than you did last time—I'm rather disappointed, really. I already have most of the shards—should I add another to my collection?"

My concentration broke for only a second as I saw Sesshoumaru hesitate, as though uncertain. Then, without warning, his arm began to glow—the arm with the shard in it.

"Sesshoumaru!" shouted Miroku reflexively, but it didn't help anything. In all honesty, I'm glad someone said something, since I couldn't. The glow grew brighter and more concentrated, until it was teeny tiny, but nearly blinding. And then, with an exclamation of pain and a blossom of blood, the shard literally ripped out of his arm. Naraku held out his hand patiently, and the shard dropped into it as though it had always belonged there. I took a shuddering breath and continued speaking softly, although to be honest, I was about ready to quit and do something useful, rather than sit on my ass and do this.

Do not stop the spell, Kikyo snapped in my mind as she drew another arrow. This is all just to keep him from noticing you.

Right, I muttered. I'm working on it.

Inuyasha pushed himself to his feet. "Asshole! Get the damn shards the fair way," he snarled, readying himself for another run at the half-demon.

With an elegant sweep, Naraku drew a sword from his side that I hadn't seen before, and raised it in Inuyasha's direction as though saying 'come and get it.'

He came.

There was a clash of metal on metal, and at first it seemed ludicrous that Inuyasha could lose when his sword outsized Naraku's so much. But Naraku blocked and thrust immediately, then brought his sword crashing down on Tetsusaiga with a mighty explosion. The air itself seemed to react to the contact, because a wind picked up immediately and nearly knocked me over, along with everyone else.

With another mighty swing, Naraku's sword contacted Tetsusaiga again, and this time—well great shit—there was a delayed hum in the blow, and with a sort of resignation, the sword shrank back to its battered form, leaving Inuyasha more than a little stunned.

In his hesitation, Naraku pulled back with his fist and slammed the hell out of Inuyasha's stomach, doubling him over. "Petty fool," he snapped, "did you really think you could defeat me? I knew you would not use the wind scar, not when you risked destroying the friends you love so dearly!" Another blow, this time under Inuyasha's chin. "But it will be your downfall. I have only to take the remaining shards from you, and then I will be unstoppable!"

From the ground, Inuyasha released a string of vulgarities that made Naraku chuckle. But the distraction worked—his foot swung out and around, and Naraku slammed to the ground, flat on his back. He pounced immediately, pinning him to the ground and pressing his arm down onto his neck furiously. "I don't know how stupid you think I am," he snarled, "but I'm actually a little insulted. I guess I'll get over it when I KILL you, though!"

With a roar, Naraku flipped them both over so that Inuyasha was pinned this time, and from his anger came a sweeping, nearly solid wind that blew out and really did knock people over. Sango went flying into Miroku, and Sesshoumaru hit his knees to keep from being picked up. He still clutched his bleeding arm—which was still attached, even without the shard in it. I closed my eyes and hunched over, desperate as I reached the end of my spell. The words were coming a little easier now, but not as clean as I'd wished. Only Kikyo remained standing.

"You think you've won just because of this?" Naraku hissed. "Simply because you can get the upper hand and still manage to live for even a few seconds? You don't stand a chance! Not even with Kagome invisible to the world, chanting her little exorcism like her life depends on it! Oh wait—it does!"

I looked up in alarm at him, and everyone turned dead white. How did he—oh, this was bad—

"You never stood a chance!" he continued furiously, his hand wrapping around Inuyasha's neck and cutting off the air supply. He fought against the restriction, but it did him no good. "You are weak and foolish, and you will die miserably for it! You were so eager to accept any help you could get in defeating me—you saw your plan as foolproof, didn't you? I will so relish proving you wrong," he hissed, right up in Inuyasha's face now.

"Fuck you!" was all the response he could get.

Then the air around me shimmered again, the way it had originally. Only this time, it was more like I was coming out of the water, rather than being in it. I glanced down—I could see myself. I—oh no—"Inuyasha!"

"Kagome!" Sesshoumaru now. He was using his sword to push himself to his feet, still choking on miasma. His human lungs were more susceptible than Inuyasha's demon lungs.

Inuyasha's eyes widened in dawning horror. "What—"

The arrow Kikyo had trained on Naraku wavered slightly. "My spell has faded," she told him in a steady voice.

"Well then un-fade it!" Miroku hollered.

She went from being trembling and slightly nervous to hard as stone in one breath. I had the horrible, sinking suspicion that she'd been that study the entire time and had hidden her confidence. "No," she said plainly. The arrow that had been aimed at Naraku now lowered to Inuyasha, and she wasn't kidding.

God. Now I remembered why I hated that bitch.

A quick blow to Inuyasha's head made his body go limp as he blacked out, and Naraku dissolved in a wave of miasma that made its way to me. I did not stop whispering the spell, even then.

He solidified before me, his hands forming first and grabbing me, hauling me to my feet as he regained his body. Everyone else, who had made moves to do one thing or another, froze in mid-step. Really, truly froze, as though someone hit 'pause.' "You've failed miserably," Naraku informed me, slightly winded and slightly more triumphant. My breath hitched in my throat, and words died on my tongue. No! Keep going! I thought desperately. My lips moved again, so close to finishing the spell that I could practically taste it. No sound left my mouth, but I was still empowering the words. "You try so hard to destroy me, come so close to achieving your goal, and yet you never had the slightest chance in the first place. A pity, really, but true all the same."

I glared at him.

"I thought I would be the one to tell you this," he added, "as I know you would never find out otherwise. Lord Sesshoumaru, though he tries so hard to be noble, would most likely take this secret to the grave if he could."

I glanced at Sesshoumaru over his shoulder. His body was frozen, but the color left his face in a rush as though he were realizing something terrible. I did not like this at all.

"How to mention it . . . hmm, you remember your recent stay with the Lady of the Northern Lands, am I right? One blink for yes, please, I don't think you can really answer without ruining your spell. Anyways, Lady Saeko. Lovely woman, really . . . you noticed, of course, her attentions to Sesshoumaru, am I right? Yes, well, he . . . well—my goodness, I was planning on taking such great pleasure in this, but there's really no delightful way to tell you that on the night of your stay, he was so easily seduced by her that it was rather embarrassing."

He . . . what? . . .

"I'm sure there were circumstances; there always are," he continued dismissively, "but I found it rather appalling that he went right from your bed to hers. Really, even if he is a human, he ought to have some semblance of the honor he carried as a demon lord. I'm not quite sure how she orchestrated the dream sequences to work out so perfectly, but it was really rather brilliant. She is a bright woman, and she certainly knows how to get what she wants . . . several times, in fact, from what I hear. Your human must have amazing stamina, I will give him that, because according to several bugs I have in her castle, she was quite the worse for wear and very proud of it. I hear she won't walk right for weeks . . ."

I felt my stomach fall to the ground—or was that my heart? I couldn't tell. My eyes closed—the shock in Sesshoumaru's face had been the confirmation I didn't want. How . . . no. I couldn't even think about it. I felt heavier all of the sudden, and I hadn't even really processed the information yet.

How could he?

As though reading my mind, Naraku took my chin and made my eyes meet his. "How, indeed. I myself truly expected something to come of the two of you; gods know you put your entire heart behind it. Such betrayal astounds even me . . . I myself couldn't have orchestrated one better. Really, you two put Inuyasha and Kikyo to shame. Will you be all right?" he asked, a sort of fake caring in his voice.

I swallowed, unable to find my voice. I could only look at Sesshoumaru, feeling my heart break a little more every second. How . . .

This wasn't happening.

And then Naraku, still holding my chin, twisted sharply. There was a flash of white behind my eyes, and then I felt blackness envelope me—not unconscious blackness. Real blackness.

*

AN: I told you I wouldn't make any more obscure couples. I didn't say I wouldn't kill anyone. Stick THAT in your crack-pipe and smoke it!

Btw, sorry about the painful action sequence. It shouldn't even be called action—I make the creator of action roll over in his or her respective grave. Hahaha, how's that for a cliffie? . . .