AN: Phew! One of the longer chapters of the story, I think, but nothing goes on in this one haha I swear. I think I just babbled for the sake of it. Don't worry, like I said, there is a plot. (I think). And, uhm, certain things happen to Miroku, but don't worry, he'll still be in the story, he'll still be a hero, so don't freak over it. But anyways…enjoy the chapter! We'll get to the interesting stuff soon. Promise.

It All Comes Down to This

Today had been a long day. And it wasn't over yet. This would surely be her glory, the cherry on top of the sundae. She was sick of being the one in distress, the one being munched on by half-vampires. It was time for something positive.

Naraku smirked. "If that goes through my chest you'll never see your brother again."

            She mirrored his smirk. "I knew it. You're afraid of death. You're thinking up excuses for me to drop the blade." She did no such thing, instead she purified the silver, the glow lighting their faces.

            "How can I be afraid of death when I am already dead?"

            "You know what I mean, smart-ass." But Kagome knew it was true. That didn't mean she couldn't prick him a bit, though. And if she was on the right track, and he really wanted her to be his vampire wife or whatever, he wasn't going to hurt her. If he wanted to take her forcibly he would have done so already. As Naraku reached his fingers toward her neck, she nudged the blade closer against his skin.

            "You've been tasted." His tone was menacing. "Who would dare ignore the mark Naraku leaves on his bride? Any vampire knows I can rip him to shreds in barely a breath."

            She rolled her eyes. "Take a lucky guess. You've known him all along. I had to learn the hard way."

            Naraku bent his head down and laughed softly. "Inu-Yasha? You are a comedy, Kagome. Do you think you will be happy with Inu-Yasha? Not while he still clings to the past."

            Kagome narrowed his eyes. "I know all I need to know. And the experience wasn't exactly pleasant, you know. Vampires think pain is pleasure. It's part of your sick lives."

            Another laugh. Could she slit his throat? "You will not know until you are one of us. Until you are with me. Come, let me broaden your knowledge…" Kagome glared at him fiercely. "Well, if you really know all you need to know, then you know you will not be with him for long."

            "What do you mean?"

            "It is for me and Inu-Yasha to know. You know all that you need to know, remember?" Kagome growled inwardly. Naraku played with some strands of her hair. She swiped him away with her other hand. He raised an eyebrow.

            Kagome put her free hand on her hips. "So here's the situation. Inu-Yasha's going to take us to the Inu-kai castle. I'm going to take back the Shikon Jewel and kill Sesshoumaru. Then I'm coming for you. I'll get my brother back, then I'll kill you. Does that sound okay?"

            "You will attempt to retrieve the Shikon Jewel?" Again one of Naraku's knowing, mysterious smiles. "Don't worry, it's in safe hands."

            "I'm sure it is," she rolled her eyes, but the knife did not waver. "Why are you here, anyway?"

            His smile widened. "I happen to know that no matter how hard you look, you'll never find the Inu-kai castle. You've already been searching for forty years…if you can't find it in that amount of time you'll never find it."

            "Things are different now. Inu-Yasha knows how to get there," Kagome said levelly.

            "Does he really?" Naraku leaned forward, so close his long hair brushed Kagome's shoulders. She forced down a shudder. "If he did, then why isn't he here?"

            Kagome had been prepared for Naraku…or so she thought. She had made herself believe that he wasn't as powerful as she made him seem in her mind. She'd prepared herself for any references he made to that rainy night six years ago. But she hadn't been prepared for this. He kept throwing weird questions at her, mind-boggling questions that she didn't want to dwell too long on in case he took advantage of her distraction. Why couldn't Inu-Yasha get into the castle? He was from there, wasn't he? And who was guarding the jewel? How safe could a vampire's hands be?

            "I'll tell you something, my little Kagome," Naraku said in a condescending tone. She nudged the blade slivers closer to his chest, glaring up at him with warning eyes. Don't call me that. Only Miroku and Inu-Yasha ever called her that, and even they didn't get away from it unscathed.

            Inu-Yasha…would he realize she was taking such a long time? Would he come out and save her? She shook her head fiercely. He wouldn't dare! This was her fight! Well…maybe not her fight but she needed to face Naraku without his help.

            "You and your beloved—" The sarcasm and humor laced in his tone were so thick Kagome could practically feel it on her face like bad breath "—can search for another hundred years and you will never find the castle. It's hidden in another dimension, and will not appear unless they choose to. Your master has trained you for nothing. You won't get Kikyo's revenge."

            Here we go, she'd built up her barriers for this part. Him telling her she couldn't do it. Him telling her her skills were worthless. But what was that with the dimension thing? Whatever. It was just him messing with her. "There's always a way in. They can't hide forever," she said with a hint of a smile that was only half as confident as it sounded.

            "You're such a stubborn angel," he murmured, blinking coal black eyes. "How I wish I could just take you with me now." Kagome didn't bother hiding her disgust, and found herself briefly wishing for Inu-Yasha to come quick. Key word being briefly. "But it's true. The only way you can enter is if they open it to you. But fear not," he said, smiling, as she opened her mouth.

            Fear? Bah. "I have just left the Inu-kai castle, from a conference from their leader. His name is Sesshoumaru. You may have heard of him?"

            Sesshoumaru. The bastard who killed Kikyo. She'd only heard his name tonight, but the way Myouga had said it, the way Inu-Yasha had said it, she could be facing stronger than she'd ever faced. But was he too strong for her?

            "He has heard of your little cry for revenge. He has heard of the one who took Kikyo's place. He even knows that you two are almost identical. And he's interested—he's spent the last few days preparing for you, sacrificing humans from his own supply to open the gateway…and it's scheduled to open tonight."

            Kagome was so intent on the first part of his last statement that she almost forgot the last part. "Humans were killed in this?" Her eyes flashed angrily. "How many humans did you kill for this?" 

            He shrugged his shoulders lightly. "It takes much blood to open dimensions," he said, dismissing the matter with a wave of his hand. "I'd say about a quarter of his supply."

            The girl in front of him was silent. She was so angry she couldn't trust herself to speak. Myouga always said she put her emotions first, and she had to control them when she was fighting. Like Kikyo did. So she remained quiet as she calmed herself.

            "Did you hear what I said? The gateway is opening tonight. When I give the signal, the castle will appear. The gate cannot be open for long, so I suggest you and Inu-Yasha and whoever is foolish enough to accompany you run fast. I'll be waiting there…as will the Inu-kai." Naraku bared his fangs. "You have a choice now, though. You can go through or abandon your mission. If you go through, I cannot guarantee Inu-Yasha or your allies will remain alive. Most likely they will die. It's all up to Sesshoumaru. But if you come with me now, you will see your brother...but you remain with me forever."

            Like that was a hard choice. Inu-Yasha wasn't going to die so easily. Myouga had escaped with his life once and he could do it again. "Open the gateway. I'll see you and those bastards on the other side," she said, hoping he could hear the hatred in his voice.

            He watched her a moment. "Suit yourself. But before I leave, I have something for you." Naraku lifted his arm. Kagome's grip tightened on the knife. He thrust his hand down, and a window in the air appeared before her. Kagome jumped backwards, but it stretched and surrounded her until the backyard melted away and she was in marbled hallway with bright lights hanging over her.

            She took a wild look around. Behind her it was empty, a hallway stretched towards infinity. But in front…a figure was walking towards her. A small figure, a boy. Maybe ten or eleven, with short brown hair and a look of loneliness. Kagome might have prepared herself for anything Naraku could say to her, but she did not prepare herself for this. "Souta..." she breathed, the words catching in her mouth. She spoke louder. "Souta!"

            The boy stopped walking and looked up. Kagome waved frantically towards him. He acted as if he didn't see her. Perhaps he couldn't. She watched his eyes glaze over in confusion. "Souta…" she said again. This was her brother. Her knees began to shake.

            "Oneesan?" he said softly, in a voice still childlike like she remembered. Tears freely falling from her eyes, Kagome sprinted towards him. If he couldn't see her, then she would go to him, and make her presence known. "I'm here, Souta! I've come for you!"

            She flung her arms around him—and clutched empty space. As she stumbled forward, Souta shivered. Kagome skidded to a stop and turned around, her face pale. She couldn't touch him…she was so close she could see him but she couldn't reach him…Naraku was probably laughing at her somewhere…the window was fading…

            "Souta! Wait for me!" she called out to the boy, who was turning transparent with every second. She could see him turn his head… "I'll come for you! I'll bring you back home!" Then the picture faded completely, and she was in pitch darkness.

            Her breathing came out in ragged gasps. Souta's soft, "Oneesan?" rang in her mind, over and over. His voice was beautiful to her ears. Naraku had played dirty. Just before the fight, he'd shown her the one sight that could make her break. Somewhere above her, in the blackness, Naraku chuckled softly. "The gate will open soon," he said, his voice washing over Souta's.

            The tears that poured from her eyes were no longer of happiness or shock, but of anger and frustration. "I hate you," she said simply.

            "That can be changed. Ah! Now what do I see? Your faithful lap dog has heard you screaming and is coming to the rescue." Again, the sarcastic venom. Naraku took the jealous thing to an extreme. "I'll bring you back now…oh, and tell Inu-Yasha that she is waiting."

            "She? Who is she?" But Kagome was feeling dizzy, as if she were spinning…the darkness was melting…she could see trees—

            "Kagome!" Someone was shaking her shoulders. She focused her eyes and saw Inu-Yasha's gold ones peering with concern. It was at an odd angle, though. She felt something soft on her back and realized she was on the ground.

            Miroku was standing behind Inu-Yasha. "Wow, what kind of a breather did you take?" he asked. Always tactless in the middle of a disaster.

            "How'd you know I was here?" Kagome mumbled.

            "You were screaming 'Souta' over and over again," Inu-Yasha replied. "We came in time to see you fall."

            I don't believe this. Inu-Yasha saved me again? No way. No effing way. Kagome convinced herself that he hadn't really saved her—he'd come only after Naraku had run away. She could have woken up by herself. Therefore, he didn't really do anything. Yup, I handled the situation fine, she thought. I did not get seriously injured. Then it came crashing back to her.

            Kagome shot to her feet. "Inu-Yasha! Myouga! The gate! Naraku! The Inu-kai! Now! Here! Souta…" Her world spun for a second and Inu-Yasha held her elbow to steady her.

            Myouga hopped beside her. "Kagome, slow down. What are you saying?"

            "Inside," Inu-Yasha said shortly. "She's shaking like mad." He put an arm around her quivering shoulders and pulled her to the warmth of the house.

            After a cup of Kaede's tea ("No thanks, I don't think I could digest—" "Nonsense, you've obviously been through some trauma, this will calm your nerves…") that did nothing to calm her nerves and instead made her talk super fast, she explained everything to Inu-Yasha and Myouga. Except the 'she is waiting' part. She decided to wait for that one.

            "So the gate is opening today," Myouga said. Kagome nodded. Myouga looked at Kaede, who stood up and beckoned to Miroku. "Come help me, young man, there's a lot of stuff to carry." Miroku looked confused, but as he was not about to ignore a woman who could sharpen silver arrows to pierce vampires he got up and followed her out of the room.

            "It feels strange," Myouga continued. "We've been searching for so long, and now it's come to an end. This is where it'll all end." Silence greeted his words. Kagome's hands, which still shook slightly, were wrapped around the tea cup. Inu-Yasha was staring at the knuckles of his hand, lying flat on the table. Myouga stood up. "Excuse me, I'll make a few phone calls. We must gather as many skilled vampire slayers as we can. During our time with Kikyo, we had had a lot more time to prepare. It will be more difficult this time for us." He left the room, and they could hear him speed-dialing everyone on his phone.

            Kagome's eyes were now dry, but her nose was still a bit red. Inu-Yasha knew she'd been crying. He'd seen her train herself and steel herself for Naraku's next visit, he hadn't known of anything that would've made her break. But then his keen ears had heard her screaming her brother's name, even her ragged sobs as she was trapped in something Naraku had done to her. It made him furious, to think he still had that power over her. But he couldn't let that emotion just spill over.

            It was a good thing vampire hunters were trained to fight without sleep for up to a week, for this could be a very, very long night.

            "I saw Souta," Kagome said softly, and Inu-Yasha looked up. "He's so beautiful, but he's all alone. I could hear him, he could hear me, but he couldn't see me, and we couldn't touch." She took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. "I don't know, I always told myself I would save him, I would get him back, but I never prepared myself for when I actually saw him." She took her hands away from the cup, and they quivered. She laughed softly. "I hope I can aim properly tonight. I have to. Like Myouga said, it all comes down to this."

            Inu-Yasha reached over the table and placed his hands over hers. "Just relax. Take a few deep breaths." She blushed as much as her pale face would allow it.

            "…Do you think I can defeat Sesshoumaru?"

            She saw it in his eyes before he said the word. "No." The image of Sesshoumaru in her head suddenly expanded from a bloodthirsty Inu-Yasha lookalike to a huge Hulk-sized behemoth who was just as ugly with fangs the size of her head and blood dripping down his mouth. He probably growled a lot. And he was smelly, too. She was going to die tonight.

            "Kikyo couldn't, and she was the best," he said evenly. "But you and me together, yeah. We'll kick his sorry ass to vampire hell. Wherever that is."

            "We could die tonight."

            "We won't. We'll storm the place and we'll stake them all, you and me."

            "That's the second time you said that," Kagome snickered. For awhile the only sounds in the kitchen was the clock on the wall. Then she said, "It sounds good. You and me together." Now the blush was deeper.

            Inu-Yasha found himself fascinated with the kitchen wall. "Yeah…" his heart beat faster (not that he lived when he was a vampire) as his words trailed off. What is she implying? Does she mean—

            "I mean, you know, against Sesshoumaru. I'm not alone," Kagome supplied quickly. Inu-Yasha relaxed, though his heart beat faster than ever. "Oh," he said.

            "Heh heh. What did you think I meant?" Kagome turned and began a thorough study of her fingernails, not unusual to Inu-Yasha's interest with the wall.
            Inu-Yasha looked at her as she examined her nails. They were probably about to fight the biggest fight of their lives, and it was possible (no matter how much he tried to convince her—and himself) that they might not make it. Whatever he needed to say he should probably say now. Forget about the past…he couldn't dwell on that forever. "Well, you and me together alone sounds pretty good too," he said in the most casual tone he could muster. Kagome frowned in confusion. "Like, you know. Not against anything. Just…you know?"

            Kagome looked at him in the eye. She thought of the pictures lying in her bag, the porcelain figurine, how they'd huddled close under mounds of concrete. Could she and Inu-Yasha— "You're saying—"

            Inu-Yasha smiled. "Tell you what. If, during some time in the fight I have to save your life, you're gonna have to reward me."

            Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Reward you? In what way?"

            "Nothing too big. Just maybe…a kiss would do."

            She was so stunned she broke into laughter. "A kiss? That's it? That's all you what?" But her mind was screaming hell, yeah! So loudly she thought he could hear it.

            His smile turned mysterious. "Yeah. But my way."

            Why did that sound so good and bad at the same time? "Why can't I kiss you now?" she asked nonchalantly, a flush appearing on her cheeks. I'm going to kiss him? Did I just ask him if I could kiss him? Well, this was the 21st century.

            Inu-Yasha pretended to think about it. Then he leaned forward, his eyes twinkling. "Yeah, sure that would work too."

            Kagome grinned. She too leaned forward—

            A loud sound nearly made her jump out of her seat. "Ahh, I'm pooped!" Miroku yelled, dropping the rest of the weapons on the kitchen floor. "I didn't think she'd make me carry all that stuff!" He stopped and looked at his two friends, who were considerable closer than they'd been when he'd left them. "Whoops, am I interrupting something?"

            Kagome leaped out of her chair like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on. "Miroku!" The said person immediately tensed, in case Kagome would let out some of her pre-battle nervousness on him. Instead, she flew into his arms and wrapped her own tightly around his neck. Brushing some of her hair out of his face, Miroku caught Inu-Yasha's slightly twitching gaze. Aw, the guy had nothing to worry about. Kagome was his sister, and he was the brother she never had—well, from the past six years.

            Kagome, meanwhile, had contemplated killing him for interrupting what could have been the most important moment of her probably soon-to-be-jeopardized life or hugging him because she was so glad to see him. Since she decided she might never see him again, she decided to hug him instead. And say goodbye.

            Miroku heard the word whispered against his neck, so quietly he wondered if it was just his imagination. But no, she'd actually said "Good-bye." He stepped back from her. "Good-bye? For what?"

            His best friend looked up at him and smiled, though it seemed stretched. "You're going home now. Obviously this sleepover has been cancelled. We'll see you after…you know, everything…"

            I'm going home? "That's news to me. I thought I was going with you," he said.

            She looked like he'd just told her he was actually E.T.'s brother and he wanted to 'go home', just not the home she was referring to. "What? You can't come with us. You'll die. This is the Inu-kai, not some dumb demon gang in the alleyway."

            "Hey, that bit rhymed, die, Inu-kai…" he said. Kagome crossed her arms and he continued. "Look, you think I'd send you off to some other dimension alone with a half-vampire who's probably going back to his kind?"

            "I object!" Inu-Yasha called out from the table. "That's speculation, I move to strike. And it's mean."

            Kagome slapped her palm against the wall. "Order, order! Miroku, you have been with me longest. You know I can kick butt. I'm not going to be some helpless girl. And I want you to go home to be safe. And if you go, I'll be too worried about you to…concentrate on other things…" 

            Miroku bristled. Oh, he was a hindrance, was he? "Hey, I've seen enough of you training to have picked up a few things of my own. See, look." He picked up an arrow from the pile of weapons he'd dropped and walked to Inu-Yasha. He feinted a stab at Inu-Yasha's shoulder. "Hah!" He turned around and 'stabbed' his other shoulder. "Hah!" He whirled around again and poked at his stomach. Inu-Yasha sucked in his breath, as Miroku was getting closer and closer to not feinting. Then with a last whirl, Miroku let out a karate yell and pretended to punch Inu-Yasha. "There, how's that?"

            Silence. "Mentally I killed him about four times, what about you?" Inu-Yasha asked.

            "I got five," Kagome replied. "I managed to squeeze one in during that ridiculous hiii-ya thing." Miroku was crestfallen. "See, this is why I can't take you! Besides, I'll need someone to cover for me to my mother. She'll go nuts if all of us are missing. And you tell better lies, Miroku."

            That wasn't necessarily true, but she would say anything to crack that stubborn face of his. "You're staying, and that's final."

            "Hmph. You're not the boss of me," Miroku muttered like a petulant child.

            Kagome stamped her foot. "Arrgh, if only I had a wand so I could Petrificus-Totalus you or whatever!" she cried.

            Inu-Yasha perked up. "Oh, you read Harry Potter too? Spanking good novels…" But Kagome shot a withering glare at him.

            Then he got an idea. Petrificus Totalus…hm… He went to the pile of weapons Miroku had dropped and looked for one thin wooden case that looked like a pencil. "Well, if you say you're going with us, I guess we have no choice but to let you," he sighed. Kagome whirled around, jaw dropped. Inu-Yasha smiled back at her. Trust me on this one.

            Miroku frowned. "Really? I won't be in your way?"

            "Nah, but you have to know the basics. Here, catch." Inu-Yasha threw the case at him. Miroku caught it deftly. "Good, good, agility is one of the traits of a vampire hunter." Kagome had seen what the case was and realization made her smile.

            "Do you see the little red button on the end?" Miroku turned the case over so the red button was facing away from him. "Good, now press it."

            As soon as Miroku pressed it, a long needle shot out of the end facing him and dug into his shoulder. He shouted out and pulled the needle from his skin, but the damage had already been done. His arm grew limp, and past his shoulder, to his neck, down his torso, till he was almost stiff all over.

            "Rule number one," Inu-Yasha said. "Never do something without knowing what's going to happen. The person you trust the most could turn and take advantage."

            "Yeah, we all know that," Kagome muttered, rubbing her neck.

            "An experiment of Kaede's," Inu-Yasha explained, ignoring Kagome. "After Myouga suggested it. A needle coated with paralyzing solution, which not surprisingly is made from some of her tea ingredients. You won't be able to move for a day at least. Not enough to kill a vampire, but enough to render him useless."

            "We're really sorry, Miroku," Kagome said. Miroku could only glare with his eyes. "It's for your own good. We just want you to be safe. And you know you hate gross sights." She started to reason with him some more, but then a loud crack and flash of light made her stop.

            After the crack, there was a dull roar that grew louder with each passing second. Through the window, light like rapid lightning flashed. Kagome felt her stomach plummet as she looked at Inu-Yasha. This was it. The gate that people had unwillingly sacrificed their lives for. Now was the time.

            The window flew open with a loud bang as Myouga ran into the room. "Grab your weapons!" he shouted, throwing them two belts with large pouches and straps. "Fill this with what you need—you'll need more than a sword and an arrow!" Then he practically dove into the pile of weapons.

            Kagome and Inu-Yasha scrambled through the pile, pulling out silver daggers, stakes, a couple of cases of the paralyzing stuff (with Miroku glaring nearby). Kagome pulled out a sword and a strip of chain, like the weapons she'd used against Falcon, and tied them to her belt. As she slid each weapon into strap, she purified it so her belt glimmered. Lastly she grabbed her steel bow and quiver of silver arrows and stood up. When she looked at Inu-Yasha  his belt was full, too, and he clutched his full-formed Tetsusaiga in both hands.  

            The three of them ran outside the house and burst onto the street. The tiredness after holding up concrete or suffering from loss of blood or seeing her brother again left Kagome, and pure adrenaline—maybe with a tinge of nervousness—swooped in. Her heart was pounding furiously, faster than her steps on the gravel road.

            A silver car skidded to a stop just a few meters ahead of them. Falcon, Takada, and three other vampire slayers leapt out of it and began running alongside the trio.

            Kagome turned to Takada, who was holding something silver in his hand. "A gun, you brought a gun? How's that going to help?"

            Takada grinned and held it up. "Silver bullets. Watch them drop like flies."

            "Ohhh. Smart." Why hadn't she thought of that? Maybe she could upgrade to a machine gun sometime. No, not the time to think about that.

            The gate was actually what looked like a rip in the air, a few blocks from where they were. It was a blinding white, occasionally sending out flashes of lightning. It was windy. And noisy. Typical of any gate leading into another dimension.

            "You know, this could be plastered all over the internet anytime soon," Inu-Yasha commented as he caught up with Kagome.

            "You know, I don't friggin' care!" Kagome snapped. She couldn't be nice right now, her stomach was jumping, newly infused blood rushing through her limbs, and she was about to fight the fight of her life. She could apologize later. If there was a later.

            "This is it!" Myouga shouted, as they drew nearer. He had to raise his voice over the noise. "Everyone get ready!"

            "Um…what are we supposed to do?" Takada asked warily while still running full speed toward the gate.

            Falcon rolled her eyes. "You jump in, of course," she said. As if to prove her point, she nudged Kagome's shoulder with her elbow. "Go on, you show him."

            Oh yeah, like I'm supposed to know? But she was the one expected to get Kikyo's revenge, so she may as well go first. I hope I don't get electrocuted. That would be rich. Kagome shot ahead of the group, bow clasped under one arm. She couldn't look at the gate directly, so she bent her head downwards, covering her head with her arms.

            Don't think, just jump. Kagome was so near the gate now she could feel its warmth. Don't think, just jump. Kagome ran faster, then braced her legs to jump. Oh, shit! She leapt off the ground and into the portal, and immediately it sucked her inside.

            It felt as if she were in a vacuum, and she couldn't scream because she couldn't breathe. She whirled and spun like clothes in a washing machine. Lightning cracked around her. Someone from behind crashed into her and catapulted both of them forwards even faster than they had before.

            Suddenly they shot out of the portal and onto grass. Kagome skidded hard across the ground, her chin making a nice deep line through the dirt. The person who'd hit her rolled a few meters away from her, but even he hit he ground hard.

            More thumps followed after cracks of lightning. She dimly thought she heard Myouga curse. A huge thump that made the ground shake. That must have been Takada. And someone—she couldn't put a name to it—muttered "Oof!" as they fell on the grass.

            Forget about the fight…she was wiped out already…

            Inu-Yasha forced himself off the ground, rearranging the weapons on his belt. "I hope the return trip home's a bit nicer," he muttered. Meters away Kagome was lying face down. He went over to her and pushed her shoulder. "Kagome? Kagome? Get up! Look where we are."

            She mumbled a bit. Inu-Yasha turned her over and brushed the dust off her face. She blinked, squinting up at him. "Did anyone get the number of that truck?"

            Inu-Yasha cringed. "That would be me...sorry." He'd tried hard to dodge her, but you couldn't really control yourself when spinning through a vortex to another dimension. He grabbed her hands and pulled her up.

            Kagome moaned and slumped forward into his chest. Inu-Yasha pushed her upright again. "Kagome, if you don't stop acting weak I'm gonna slap you."

            Kagome's head jerked upwards. "You slap me I kill you," she said.

            He patted her cheek. "That's the attitude we wanna see, Kagome-chan," he smirked. She scowled at him. "Save it for the battle. Did you even bother to look where we are?"

            She stopped and looked around her, her jaw slowly dropping as her eyes drank in the sight.

            The sky looked almost like early sunrise, but if this was the vampire realm then they wouldn't have sun. It was deep black, with streaks of red that swirled like dark clouds. The grass was dry and almost dead, and the field that led to the castle was practically barrenlands.

            The castle itself looked like a traditional Japanese castle, except much bigger and darker. Lights twinkled behind the paper screens, but they couldn't see within it. Even from far away, they could hear voices, like sinister laughing.

            "Home sweet home," Inu-Yasha said dryly. "It hasn't changed a bit." His face looked hard. Kagome remembered Naraku saying 'She is waiting.' She couldn't tell Inu-Yasha now…they'd find out anyway.

            "No, it hasn't," Myouga agreed, his voice catching.

            "They're expecting us," Kagome said. "Let's go."

            The other vampire slayers picked themselves up from the ground. They all looked at Kagome. She swallowed and reached for an arrow behind her back. As she purified the silver, she stepped forward and led the way, Inu-Yasha almos beside her, but not quite.

            Halfway past the field Kagome had reviewed what she was supposed to do. Kill Sesshoumaru, therefore avenging Kikyo, take the Shikon no Tama, then reclaim Souta. She could do that easy.

            Something inside her made her break into a run, energy pumping through her veins. Behind her everyone else started sprinting. Kagome shot up the steps to the castle, her heartbeat growing louder the closer she reached the paper door. Inu-Yasha rushed ahead of her and pulled out Tetsusaiga. With a loud cry, he slashed at the door, the screen ripping open. She ran through it, then stopped when she was inside.

            She was above what looked like a huge ballroom. Chandeliers hung on the ceiling and torches flickered on the walls. But that wasn't what got her attention.

            The room was filled with vampires, who were all looking at her now. Some looked like the demon gangs in the alleyways, but others looked elegantly dressed. Which was weird. These monsters are murderous, evil. They need to be killed.

            On a platform at the other side of the room two men sat. One of them was Naraku, smiling at her from below. The other was a tall, cold man with long silver hair and narrowed gold eyes. He was no doubt Sesshoumaru, the leader of the Inu-kai. So much for the ugly Hulk-man.

            She had an idea of what she must look like to them. A new Kikyo, standing before them, ready to fight like the battle 50 years ago, armed with arrows and ready to finish them off.

            She smiled widely. This was it. She would give it all she had. Kagome leaped into the air and fell toward the crowd below. Revenge was hers.