Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all related characters, locations, plots, etc. belong to Rumiko Takahashi. No money is being made on this little piece of drivel. I promise to return all characters none-the-worse-for-wear upon the story's completion.

Author's Notes: Alternate Universe: A universe other than our own, 'original' universe. Similarities may or may not exist between the two. Common plot device in fictional stories, particularly those of the science fiction and/or fantasy genres.Characters from our universe may inhabit the alternate one, however their behaviors and characteristics will not necessarily be the same as those of the 'originals'.

Please see the above definition before lodging any complaints about characters being out-of-. I realize I may have made Inuyasha too coherent when in demon form, but as yet I haven't seen/read any of the Rumiko's story where his demon blood takes over. Unfortunately, I can't understand Japanese, and they haven't translated that far yet. I needed him to be semi-coherent for the story, however, so I am sticking with my alternate universe excuse.

I would like to thank all my reviewers. Comments to individual reviews will be posted in a separate chapter shortly.

Also, contrary to what you might assume from this chapter, this story will eventually become a Sess/Kag. It's just going to take them awhile to get there. I just have a hard time believing that Sesshoumaru would suddenly, after most likely hundreds of years of being a bastard (though an undeniably sexy bastard), see the error of his ways and start kissing human babies (or mikos) and helping old women across the street. Course, that's just my take on things, but since it's my story...well, you get the idea.


Spirits of the Past
by: darke wulf

Chapter Three: When Wild Inu Attack

Kagome fumed, not sure which brother she was most annoyed with. "Yes, I'm aware of that. Thank you both so much for pointing out the obvious." As the two brothers continued to silently stare at her, however, she started to become self-conscious. "I don't look that bad, do I?" she asked as she smoothed out her short skirt.

Neither Inu answered her at first; both were too busy taking in her changed appearance and trying to determine what, exactly, had happened. Kagome's skin had paled several shades, and seemed almost to glow in the dim tomb. As she was not a taiyoukai, there were no markings on her face or arms, but both had altered in other ways. Her facial structure had narrowed slightly, while her cheekbones had become more prominent. As was common for youkai, her ears were sharply pointed at their tips. Her eyes remained grayish-blue, but specks of violet now danced in their bottomless depths.

Her hair was unchanged, the ebony locks providing a dramatic contrast to her lightened skin. Her hands had become larger; fingers lengthening into deceptively delicate looking talons. The Tetsusaiga, in all its glory, she held in her right hand; the tip of the massive blade resting on the ground. A black tail, just long enough to brush the ground, spiraled once around her legs, its end twitching with her agitation.

All the changes in her appearance, however, paled when compared to the amazing difference that had come about in her very bearing. Before her metamorphosis, in spite of showing admirable spirit and courage for a young girl, she had still possessed the inherent air of weakness and fragility that all humans held. Additionally, if not in the grips of anger or outrage, she had tended to be confused and uncertain in new situations. Now, such was not the case.

Before Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha was a proud female inuyoukai, standing tall, head held high, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. She held the Tetsusaiga with a confidence she had never before shown, making it obvious that, somehow, she knew exactly how to use the mighty fang. In spite of the tight sweater and short skirt she wore, she projected self-assuredness and a warning to all not to take her lightly.

This was not the same helpless, weak ningen who had been in her place only minutes earlier. This new Kagome was dangerous. She was deadly.

She was beautiful.

Not that either of Inutaisho's sons were going to admit that, of course. Sesshoumaru was not inclined to small talk, and at the moment was too busy trying to determine how the Tetsusaiga had apparently turned an irritating human girl into an undoubtedly equally irritating female youkai to engage in conversation.

As for Inuyasha, he was still stunned speechless, and feeling more than a little betrayed. //I don't believe her. I travel with the bitch, save her life more than once, and to repay me, she steals the sword that would have granted my heart's desire. The Tetsusaiga, which according to Myouga Father left for me, would have turned me into a full-fledged demon! But that wench took it from me before it had the chance. How dare she! Who the hell does she think she is?!//

"Feh. Who cares what you fucking look like, bitch? Just hand over that sword.

Kagome's anger once again ignited, shining furiously in her eyes. A low growl started deep in her throat in response to the threat posed by the hanyou. "Wrong, Inuyasha. The Tetsusaiga is my bonded. Lord Inutaisho himself gave it to me, along with his skill and powers. I will not let you dishonor it with your quest for power."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened at Kagome's words, though he remained silent, content to watch events unfold for the time being. //What could the girl could possibly mean by her words? Father has been dead for over a century. He could not possibly have given his fang to this...whatever she is. The wench must be lying.//

"Bitch!" Inuyasha's roar interrupted his brother's thoughts. "If you won't give me the damn sword, I'll just have to take it from you!" Looking over at his younger brother, Sesshoumaru was startled to see red beginning to tint his eyes. Inuyasha's demon blood was starting to overwhelm him. Things were about to get interesting.

Kagome thought about simply 'sitting' Inuyasha, but decided that it would be better to prove here and now to both brothers that she deserved the right of wielding Inutaisho's fang. She, too, noticed the red in Inuyasha's eyes, and the wild look that had settled on his face. A sense of foreboding came to Kagome, as she realized that this was not the same Inuyasha with whom she had been traveling. Somehow, though, she felt a warm presence in her mind assuring her that she was up to this challenge.

A feral grin spread over Kagome's face as, decision made, she brought the Tetsusaiga up into a ready position. "Bring it on, dog-boy."

Sesshoumaru briefly considered joining the fight, but decided it would be more prudent to analyze this new opponent first, rather than rushing into battle blindly. //Especially when my dear brother is so willing to gather information for me. And, should Inuyasha manage to take the sword from this upstart, it will be a simple matter for the great Sesshoumaru to claim it from him.//

So decided, Sesshoumaru slowly moved closer to one of the tomb walls, where he could observe without getting pulled into the struggle. Jaken, who had finally regained consciousness, shuffled over to join his Master. "M'Lord?" the toad youkai asked in confusion as he watched the blood-eyed hanyou face a female youkai whom Jaken would have sworn had been a filthy human, "What is going on?"

"That, Jaken, is something that this Sesshoumaru intends to find out."

Meanwhile, Inuyasha could feel what little control he had had over his anger slip away with Kagome's taunt. A red haze enveloped his mind as he lunged at her, claws ready to tear into her flesh. "You bitch! I'll kill you!"

All watching were shocked when Kagome easily sidestepped the enraged Inuyasha at the last second and kicked out with her right leg, sending him stumbling off-balanced, before she leapt to a safer distance. "Feh," she snorted, sounding a great deal like the hanyou she was fighting, "is that the best you can do?"

Kagome once again could feel a warning within her mind, along with an urgent need to do...something. //I don't understand. Is this a sixth sense of some sort?// Keeping her eyes glued to Inuyasha, Kagome focused more of her attention on the feelings of unease until, suddenly, the voice of Inutaisho spoke clearly, if quietly, within her mind.

//Don't taunt him. His demon blood has taken control of him. You will only succeed in pushing him farther over the edge.//

With a snarl, Inuyasha again attacked, moving even faster than he had before. Distracted by Inutaisho, Kagome only barely managed to avoid the killing blow that had been aimed at her heart; instead Inuyasha's claws opened three deep gashes on her upper left arm.

//But what can I do?/ Kagome thought desperately, being careful this time to keep her full attention on Inuyasha. With her right hand she pressed down on her wound, trying in vain to slow the flow of blood. She suspected that, being a youkai, the wound would heal long before blood loss became an issue, but still, in her mind, the sooner it stopped the better. //I don't want to hurt him, not if it's not really him in control of what he's doing. But he's going to kill me if I don't do something!//

//Try to force him into unconsciousness. It's the only way to give his human blood a chance to restore balance.//

//Easy for you to sa..//"Yikes!" Kagome quickly brought Tetsusaiga up to block the energy blades that Inuyasha had through at her. Belatedly she realized that several of the deeper wounds that Sesshoumaru had given Inuyasha during their fight had yet to heal, enabling Inuyasha to use his 'blades of blood'.

Luckily for her, Kagome managed to avoid Inuyasha's attack, performing a series of acrobatic moves to dodge those blades that she could not block with Tetsusaiga. "Come on, Inuyasha, snap out of this! It's me, Kagome! You don't really want to fight me."

"Want to bet, bitch?" Iuyasha growled, the words slightly slurred due to his lengthened fangs. "I'm going to hurt you alright, and enjoy it, unless you give me that damn sword!"

"I don't get it," Kagome cried, desperately trying to reach her companion, "you didn't even want the Tetsusaiga before. Myouga and I had to practically force you to try and draw it."

"That was before I knew it could turn me into a full demon. Now give me the sword before I really get angry!"

Kagome shook her head, a pained expression on her face. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha, but I can't do that."

"Fine," Inuyasha spat, preparing to attack again. "I gave you a chance to save your sorry life, now you're going to die!"

Inuyasha ran at Kagome, deliberately kicking up a large cloud of the bone-dust in the process. Not yet entirely used to using all of her heightened senses, Kagome momentarily lost track of him. Suddenly a dark shadow appeared out of the cloud directly in front of her. Having no time to dodge, Kagome completely gave herself over to her instincts and brought the Tetsusaiga to bear, blocking Inuyasha with the flat of her blade. Then, still acting without conscious thought, she pivoted on her right foot, swinging the mighty fang around at her opponent.

Only Inuyasha's quick reflexes kept him from being disemboweled. He did not escape unscathed, though. A fact made clear by the dark red stain that rapidly spread out from the new tear in his fire rat haori.

"Please, Inuyash," Kagome cried, frightened by the viciousness of her own actions and the small part of her that was calling for more of the blood of he who dared to attack her, "stop this now. Please! I don't want to hurt you!"

Inuyasha put one hand to his midsection; when he pulled it away it was stained and dripping with his own blood. Bringing the hand up to his mouth, he licked the blood away, his lips turning crimson with the thick liquid. He grinned evilly at Kagome's obvious disgust, reddened fangs only adding to the disturbing picture. "Don't worry, bitch. It won't happen again. You just got lucky."

Sesshoumaru silently disagreed with his half-bother's assessment. //The wench did not 'get lucky', as that half-breed claims. It is clear that she actually has far more skill than Inuyasha and, combined with her command of the Tetsusaiga, she should easily be able to dispose of him. For some reason, however, she seems reluctant to cause harm to the whelp. She must be a fool. He is genuinely trying to kill her, and yet she is obviously holding back on her attacks rather than risk hurting him.

//Still, I suppose it does not matter. From what this Sesshoumaru has seen, the wench should not give me much trouble when I take Tetsusaiga from her, should she come to her senses and defeat Inuyasha. And Inuyasha has never been a match for me. No matter the winner of this battle, the Fang will be mine.//

As Kagome faced off with Inuyasha, Inutaisho's voice once again gently spoke in her head. //You are going to have to fight him, child. It is the only chance you, and possibly he, have.//

Kagome nodded her head reluctantly. //Alright, but I'm not going to like it. I just need to knock him out, right?//

//Hai. That should allow him to regain control of himself. Do not think that it will be an easy task, however.//

//Right,// Kagome agreed, then turned her full attention back to Inuyasha. "Ok, dog-boy. Bring it on."

"Heh, gladly, bitch." Inuyasha sprang towards Kagome, red-eyes illuminated with malice.

Coming to a decision, Kagome tossed the Tetsusaiga to one side, freeing her hands to more easily deal with Inuyasha without risking seriously hurting him by accident. Her mental bond with the Fang enabled it, and subsequently her, to remain transformed, even though it was no longer technically in her possession.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed as he stared at the sword, but the energy he could see crackling menacingly about it convinced him to leave it where it lay. //There is no reason to risk further embarrassment by having the sword reject me once again. No doubt once the bitch is dead the protective spell she has woven over the Tetsusaiga will be removed, and I will be able to claim it as I was meant to.//

Kagome crossed her arms in front of her to block Inuyasha's attack. The second his arm contacted with her crossed wrists she was moving, planning to catch him in the head with a spinning heel kick. Inuyasha proved too quick, managing to duck under her leg while swiping one clawed hand at her planted left leg. Realizing his intentions just in time, Kagome took to the air, jumping over the hanyou's arm.

Summersaulting through the air, Kagome was momentarily distracted at the surge of delight that spread throughout her body. Her youkai spirit sang as she gave herself up to its battle cries, coming down behind Inuyasha as he rose from the ground, her back to his. Her right arm swung back, talons extended, but Inuyasha rotated his upper body and grabbed onto her arm with his own right hand. His left hand shot out to impale Kagome from the side. Once again she leapt into the air and flipped over her opponent, avoiding the lethal blow but wrenching her shoulder painfully when Inuyasha stubbornly held onto her arm.

Now facing Inuyasha from behind, Kagome felt an instinctive urge to punch through his unprotected back with her own claws. Her body began to send venom to her left hand and, moving on instinct alone, she brought her arm back, preparing to punch through the hanyou's body, removing his heart in the process.

"NO!" she screamed as she watched her arm fly, seemingly of its own accord. Belatedly she realized that Inuyasha was not the only one in danger of losing control of the demon inside. Fighting an agonizing battle within herself, she managed to regain partial control of her actions and altered the path of her strike, connecting with Inuyasha's right wrist instead and forcing him to finally release her arm.

The two combatants leapt away from each other, alighting at opposite sides of the tomb. Both were sweating heavily, and Kagome scrunched her nose in disgust as she realized that she was caked in the dust of the pulverized bones that covered the ground. She rotated her right shoulder around several times, then shook her arm, trying to loosen it up. Her left hand raised to push sweat drenched bangs away from her face before wiping some of the sweat from it, leaving streaks of cleared skin peaking out from the gray-white dust that otherwise covered her face.

She couldn't help but hope she didn't look as bad as Inuyasha did, though she suspected with a heavy heart that such was the case. The hanyou's usually shining silver hair was matted with dirt, leaving it dull and stringy. A dried trail of bloodied tears ran from the eye Sesshoumaru had earlier pierced, and his mouth and chin were still covered in the blood he had licked from his hand. He was slouching slightly, and his right arm was wrapped protectively against his midsection, his hand hanging numbly from his shattered wrist.

Noticing Kagome's assessing gaze, Inuyasha immediately tried to straighten, not quite able to hide the grimace the action caused. "Ready to give up yet, bitch?" he panted as he regarded Kagome with scorn.

Kagome shook her head, sad eyes taking in the hanyou before her. "I already told you, Inuyasha, I can't give you the Tetsusaiga. But I don't want to fight you, either. Come on, Inuyasha. It's me, Kagome. You know, that 'stupid girl' you've been traveling all over the country with. Come back to me, please. This enraged demon, this isn't really you. You would never hurt me. I know that; I believe it with my very soul."

As Kagome spoke the words that rang in her heart, she noticed with cautious hope that Inuyasha seemed to be calming down slightly, and the red in his eyes had slowly began to fade.

"Ka...Kagome?" Inuyasha stuttered, confusion showing on his face. "Wha...what's going on? I feel...strange."

"That is because the part of you that is demon is demanding control, dear brother, and your pathetic, tainted blood cannot keep it in check," Sesshoumaru explained in a bored tone.

Kagome leveled an angry glare at the taiyoukai. "You're not helping, you know."

An elegant smirk was her reply, as Sesshoumaru found himself amused by her reactions. "This Sesshoumaru never claimed that he planned on helping you and that despicable half-breed."

Inuyasha's growl interrupted the other two's verbal sparring. "Who do you think you're calling despicable, asshole?"

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha to see, much to her dismay, that his eyes were once again completely red, and the bloodlust had returned to his face. Turning back to Sesshoumaru she narrowed her eyes and snarled, "This is all your fault!"

Sesshoumaru's face gave away nothing of what he was thinking as he looked first to Inuyasha, then back to Kagome. Only in his eyes was his evil amusement apparent; their gleam sent of shiver of foreboding through Kagome. "I disagree, wench," he drawled, "If you seek someone to blame for these events, look no further than yourself. You, after all, are the one keeping the Tetsusaiga from its rightful owner. Am I not correct, Inuyasha?"

Sesshoumaru grinned in triumph as Inuyasha turned his murderous gaze onto Kagome. //Of course, I was not actually referring to Inuyasha when I spoke of the Tetsusaiga's rightful owner, but I see no reason to inform the hanyou of that. Not until he kills the girl, at least. Which will soon happen if she does not cease in her pitiful desire to not hurt the half-breed. Then I will finally dispose of my worthless half-brother and claim my sword. A perfect plan.//

Unfortnuately for Sesshoumaru, he had not taken Kagome's fiery temper into account when making his plans.

To say that Kagome was angry would have been an incredible understatement. She could honestly not remember ever being as irate as she found herself. //That bastard! I was finally getting through to Inuyasha, and this cold, arrogant jerk had to butt in! What the hell does he think he's doing? This isn't some game! Lives are at stake!//

Sesshoumaru was startled out of his self-congratulations by a violent spike of power. Turning his eyes to Kagome, he was shocked by what he saw. Her ki had magnified by at least ten times, and was now clearly visible to his sight; the violet flames raged about her petite form. Those same angry fires were reflected in her eyes as she glared at him with utter loathing and disgust.

"You bastard," she growled, her voice low and feral as she bared her fangs at him. "You total bastard. Do you truly care so little for your brother, your own flesh and blood, that you would actively seek to keep him in this state? Or worse, risk his very death? What kind of monster are you?"

Sesshoumaru only barely managed to keep the slightly bored expression on his face as he realized with surprise and even a bit of apprehension that the small amount of miko abilities he had sensed on the girl when he had first seen her had not been purged from her body by her metamorphosis into a youkai but, by all appearances, had actually been increased several times over. At least with these powers it seemed that she was still untrained. Not that she wasn't still dangerous, but the risk was not quite as great as it could have been.

"Don't turn away from me, bitch!" Inuyasha was already in motion, moving quicker than the human eye could possibly follow.

It was lucky for Kagome, then, that she was no longer human. "That's it! I've had it." Kagome shifted to meet Inuyasha's attack, fists beginning to glow white-violet as her miko powers began to concentrate in them. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha, but you've left me with no other choice." No longer fighting the instincts that were demanding her action, Kagome brought the heels of her palms together close to her chest, her palms themselves facing the speeding hanyou as her fingers spread apart and curled slightly. The now single concentrated ball of miko energy before her hands continued to grow in size and power as she grimaced with concentration. Just before Inuyasha launched his attack, Kagome threw her hands out towards him, keeping the heels of her palms together, sending the blast of power towards him at speeds not even he could match.

The energy ball collided with Inuyasha, sending him flying through the air to collide with the wall of the tomb. His limp body slid towards the ground and lay there, unmoving. Almost before he landed, Kagome was at his side, not daring to breath until she noticed the steady rise and fall of his chest. "Thank God, he's alive," she muttered, feeling Inutaisho's relief, which echoed her own, in her mind. Reaching down, she gently scratched one of Inuyasha's ears. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I didn't want to hurt you, but there was no other way."

Her quiet apologies were interrupted by a cold voice. "If you're quite done, wench, I believe we have some unfinished business to take care of."

Kagome turned slowly around, desperately trying to keep her temper in check, as she knew that to lose control at this point would be to hand victory over to Sesshoumaru, and there was no way in hell she was going to do that. Staring at him with slitted eyes with gleamed with hatred, she cracked her knuckles and allowed her poison to flow into her claws. She didn't care if this was Inutaisho's son. She hated him for what he had done, was continuing to do, to Inuyasha. From using the Nothing Woman to impersonate his mother, to ripping out his eye without a sign of remorse, to actually trying to keep him enslaved to his demon blood. The youkai before her had done nothing so far to inspire anything in her but rage. And inspire that he did. She could feel it raging throughout her body, further heating her own youkai blood until it was near boiling. All her instincts were calling for his painful, bloody death, and she found herself having a very difficult time denying them. Inutaisho himself, who Kagome expected to be pleading for his eldest son's case, was strangely silent in her mind. Finally giving a mental shrug, Kagome decided that it was far past time to give the bastard what he deserved.

Smirking at him with a superiority intended to cause his own temper to flare, Kagome's fangs glistened in the low illumination of the tomb as she replied, "You damn well better believe we have unfinished business. I hope you've made peace with whatever gods you may worship, asshole, because you're about to be joining them."

Without further hesitation, Kagome leapt at Sesshoumaru, murder on her mind.