I know. I know. I have , like, 3 unfinished stories floating around but this idea popped into my head and I have to start writing it down otherwise it'll be stuck in my head for a loooong time. So here goes... Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.......*hides handcuffs*

What Is and What Could've Been - Fate's Decision

Inuyasha sat in the middle of a ring of blazing flames, covering his sensitive ears from the evil laughter surrounding him. A bloodied Kagome lay across his lap, bruised and battered by his own greedy claws. He lightly graced her swollen cheek and she tried to flinch, but the pain was too unbearable. Inuyasha's mind seemed to unravel inside him. When had everything turned from a dream into....into this? Kagome's blood stained his hands and what had he doen to prevent it? Nothing. He had let his youkai blood get the better part of him and now Kagome was suffering a slow and painful death. The teenager raised a bruised hand up to Inuyasha's tear stained face.
"Inu..yasha?"
"Yes, Kagome?"
"It's you. You're really back." She gave a faint smile before falling back into a dark oblivion. Inuyasha left her hand resting on his cheek. The laughing continued, more louder than before. Kagome's lifeless hand fell to the ground as Inuyasha picked himself up, guarding Kagome's corpse.
"What is that you want?! Why?! Why did you do this?!!" The laughing came to an abrupt stop. A feminine voice stretched across the scene.
"I have done nothing. I told you from the beginning, you may not like everything I show you." Inuyasha felt himself go limp beneath himself and dropped to his knees. 'How did things end up like this?'

"SIT BOY!!!" The night seemed to shake with the anger oozing from Kagome's voice. It had been a normal day until Kikyo's soul snatcher's flew across the sky, with an anxious hanyou not far behind them. And behind him, a worried Kagome. For every single time that Inuyasha fled towards Kikyo's aid, someone got hurt. That someone usually being Kagome herself.
And this occasion was no different, except for the fact that the final heartstring in Kagome had been tugged a little too hard and she ran from the scene as quickly as possible, as to avoid any more conversation with the two- timer.
She ran as fast as she could; as fast her legs could take her until she reached the well. And there Inuyasha stood, in all of his heroic form, ready with an excuse. Kagome slowed down and let her gaze travel up and down the hanyou. She admired everything about him : his amber eyes that tried to hide the truth but always failed, his silver hair that somehow always manged to mingle with her own raven locks in one of his rare embraces, the way he stood, his pride beaming off of him. Kagoem stopped herself from going any furthur. He had hurt her for the last time. With that in mind, she took advantage of the rosary beads hanging from his neck and jumped in to the well.
The hanyou slipped into the branches of a nearby tree. How had he let him and Kagome's relationship get this far. If he turned his back on her now, he would hurt her - something that he didn't want to do. But if he turned his back on Kikyo, he'd be taking back a promise - something that he was taught never to do. 'What have I done?' Inuyasha buried his silver covered head into his palms.
"Indeed, I must ask what you have done too.." Inuyasha's amber orbs popped open as he searched for a being who matched the feathery light voice. A small giggle leaked out from behind a tree and Inuyasha unsheather Tetsusaiga; sending the tree into a million of airborn splinters.
"A little slow tonight, aren't we Inuyasha?" The voice now had the seductive sting of a woman. Where was it coming from though?! A slight rustle from the bushes caught the hanyou's attention and once again, he aimed the giant fang at a defenseless shrub and fired. A bubble of laughter swarmed the forest.
"Show yourself you bastard!!"
"I prefer bitch, thank you very much." Inuyasha quickly turned on his heel to come face to face with a young woman. He gasped in surprise.
She was about Kagome height but it was obvious that she was not human. Her skin was a ghostly white, paler than his own half brother. Her hair was quite the obvious; long deep violet locks trailing down to her knees. Rouge streaks laced themselves through out her hair. Her eyes were of a soft pink. Inuyasha was in awe before he shook himself out of the mesmorizing trance. She quirked a thin eyebrow at him.
"I don't know what you're staring at but it's not me who said that." Inuyasha hated to admit it, but she was right. The voice taunting him was far from adolescent echo stirring from deep inside the woman. Inuyasha looked over her one more time. She was wearing a flowling red dress with a red design of a foreign flower imprinted against the lace-like material. Quite an uncommon attire. She nodded in a downward motion, a few strands of purple and crimson locks trying to stray in the same direction. Inuyasha slowly shifted his gaze to the direction of the polite nod.
A child of no more than seven stood before him. Her hair was pinned up into two mounds of red,blonde, and black. Strands of each color lightly hung from the back of her head and clung to her neck. She was paler (if possible) than the woman, but her eyes were of a firey red instead of the soft pink like the taller woman sported. She wore no fancy ensemble, just a black kimono tied off with a vivid pink sash. Inuyasha braced himself in a fighting stance, Tetsusaiga aimed at the two females.
You have five seconds to introduce yourself before I use this handy little sword to dice you two up!" The child sent a look at Inuyasha that sent chills down his spine. And he swore, that for a moment, a could see flames rise up in the little girl's eyes. The older girl jumped in worry and turned the little girl away from Inuyasha.
"Are you nuts?!! Do you KNOW what this creature is capable of?!! We're here to help you idiot!! Now put that damn thing down before someone loses an eye!!"
"Explain why you're here...five seconds."
"I am Bella and this is Tsuni. I'm a messenger of the Fates and Tsuni is the 'deliverer'. "
"What does a deliverer do?"
"Gee. I wonder. They weren't lying when they said you were a little blunt headed..."
"Yea, yea. I get it. What does she deliver?"
"Hopefully you won't have to find out. We were sent here by the Fates to correct the wrong. To show you what will become of your deceitfulness."
"Deceitful?! Yea...ok....sure..." Bella sighed.
"We were warned of this Tsuni.." The young child looked up at Bella with large, sentimental eyes. "I know. I had alot of hope for him too." The girl's rouge eyes shifted to the hanyou standing behind Bella's shoulder.
"What? The brat can't talk for herself?"
"Not unless she needs to. You wouldn't like what comes out of her mouth - hate, fear, anger, destruction. Do you mind? I hate it when people tower over me like that."
"So what do you want? And make it quick."
"It's not what I want, it's what THEY want. Come, Inuyasha. Take my hand." Inuyasha gave her blank stare. "For goodness sake! It's not like I have cooties or anything! Now take my blasted hand!!!" Inuyasha carefully enclosed his hand in her own and before he knew it, a light gold mist swirled around and he felt as if he were being lifted.
"Wait!! My friends!! Miroku and Sango and -"
"They'll be fine. The Fates have stopped time JUST for you. You should feel blessed."
"Feh." Another angry glare from the Tsuni.
They mist faded away but it seemed as if they hadn't moved an inch. Inuyasha rolled his eyes. This was going nowhere.
"SIT BOY!!" The life fled from Inuyasha's body as he awaited the ground to meet him; face to dirt. But instead he felt someone else fall. He turned around and saw the scene that had occured just moments ago. He watched as Kagome jumped down the well and jumped up a tree. His stomach turned as he saw Kagome leave trying to hold back tears. Had he really hurt her that much? Bella strode up beside him. She lifted a petite hand covered in a web of tribal ink vines.
"This is where Fate takes their course." Inuyasha impatiently waited for something to happen. He was about to turn and walk away when he heard a hiccup in the distance. His attention was redirected back to the well. Kagome poked her head out and looked around for any sign of Inuyasha. Another hiccup and then a sniffle. Kagome wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
"Stupid hanyou. Why can't...you just open your eyes? What are you saying Kagome? If he's happy with Kikyo then so be it." Inuyasha barely had time to sort out the situation in front of him before a cloud of dust and debris stopped in front of Kagome.
"It better not be..." Kagome wiped away the remaining tears and smiled at the man standing before her.
"Kouga....what are you doing here?" Bella held a firm grip on the hanyou's shoulder as the lust for the blood of the wolf demon took over.
"You're jealousy is too much Inuyasha. But this is just the beginning."
"What are you talking about?!"
"Simple. I told you from the beginning that we were going to show you what would happen if your deceit with Kagome continued..."

Dun dun dun........Next chapter: The Death of Inuyasha and a New Life With Kouga.