A/N: Well, I couldn't just leave you hanging like that, so here's the next bit. Do you know how hard it is to write a chapter while selling pizza??? I must be insane. Good company for Inuyasha…

Disclaimer: Ha! I wish.

Tempting Fate

Chapter 15: How to Stop a Brawl

The fight between the two youkai appeared to be fairly evenly matched. Both sported a number of wounds, ranging from scrapes to gashes. Eventually the strain began to tell on them and they separated, each keeping a wary eye on the other.

Kouga had to admit, this new Inuyasha was more than a little intimidating. It was like trying to fight a partially-transformed full youkai – which was pretty well near impossible. Without his shards to boost his strength, he would never have been able to keep up without transforming himself! But even a cub could tell you, it was vital not to let your opponent know that you were intimidated; not for a second.

"Not so good without your precious sword, eh Inukkoro?" the wolf jibed arrogantly. "No better than the average youkai! Pitiful." Inuyasha's reply, however, left him somewhat startled.

"The sword is unimportant – I'll rip you apart with or without it for touching my mate!" Inuyasha shifted his stance subtly, getting ready to spring. Kouga took great exception to the comment.

"She is in no way your mate – she told me so!" he challenged Inuyasha recklessly, not fully realising his imminent danger. "You said two weeks…the two weeks aren't up. You've forfeited the right to claim her, and now she's mine!"

"I will kill you, wolf," Inuyasha barked sharply. Kouga grinned.

"That's the only way you'll ever get her back now, Inukkoro!"

Inuyasha's already strained self-control snapped, sending him flying towards his tormentor. Kouga also leapt forwards, putting the pair on a direct collision path.

"That is ENOUGH!" a furious voice rang out. Suddenly the two rivals found themselves suspended motionless in the air, unable to move a muscle. Kouga's mind was racing as the two males were lowered none too gently to the ground, still encased in the burning grip. 'This seems awfully familiar…'

***

Naraku watched in growing disbelief as the young miko below him began to single-handedly foil his plans yet again. 'No! The wolf youkai still has his shards!' he thought, annoyed. Aloud, he said, "We may yet have to do this the hard way, Kagura. Be ready to attack."

Kagura said nothing, her attention fixed on the deceptively small human girl.

***

Kagome could practically feel the steam coming out of her ears. Loosening her miko hold on the pair just enough to allow their arms to move, she hauled back and threw Tetsusaiga like a spear at Inuyasha. Out of reflex he caught it before it could hit him, the sword's magic making him stagger slightly as it began to take effect. Making sure to keep the two securely 'gagged', she watched as the inuhanyou's eyes slowly faded back to their natural golden shade.

"Finally!" she snapped, her arms crossed over her chest angrily. "The next time you let this happen, puppy, I'll hit you over the head with the blasted thing!" Suddenly she whirled on Kouga, making his eyes go wide. "And you! Provoking him deliberately, egging him on…you're no better than each other!" Kagome glared at the both of them in turn, sparing a quick glance for her rather disoriented comrades in the background. "You each had absolutely no regard for anything but your petty little quarrel. If you must know, I'm disgusted with both of you!" She fell quiet, still fuming.

***

Sango, coming closer along with the others once she had regained her bearings, listened with some amusement to Kagome's tirade. She had to admit, the ignorant males certainly had it coming! But it was an indescribable relief to have Inuyasha back to his hanyou state. Kagome's methods had proved more than a little unorthodox, but they certainly worked! She didn't think she would ever forget the sight of the sheathed Tetsusaiga flying straight at Inuyasha's head. 'That was quite a throw – I bet Kagome-chan couldn't pull it off twice…'

Nearby she noticed a female wolf youkai hovering about, but she dismissed her as no threat. The wolf, simply put, looked flabbergasted at what she was seeing. The demon exterminator instead watched carefully as Kagome's eyes seemed to flick up to the top of the mountain every so often. "I wonder what's up there?" she mused quietly. The wolf heard her and loped over to the girl, making Miroku stiffen instinctively. Kohaku remained relatively calm, but alert, and Shippo just looked scared. The wolf noticed their reactions and let out an annoyed snort.

"Oh, for goodness' sake, settle down, boys. I'm not going to eat you or anything!" She looked at Sango seriously. "Kagome said something about Naraku being up there, but I can't see him from so far away." Her lip curled in distaste.

"Miroku?" Sango turned to the houshi. "Can you sense him from this distance?" He shrugged, closing his eyes in concentration. A minute later, they flew open.

"It's him," he announced grimly, "and someone else. Kagura, possibly." The wolf growled at the name.

"The wind witch."

"I don't like this," Sango murmured. "We have to get to Kagome-chan, but he's the bigger threat right now." Beside her, Miroku nodded.

"Wolf –" he began. She corrected him absently.

"Mizumi."

"Right, er, Mizumi. Can you take us back to the mountain? Kagome-sama seems to have everything in hand here. Our more immediate concern is with Naraku."

***

Naraku could only watching in escalating fury as the group of allies, so recently split by infighting, was united once more. He growled, clenching one fist so tightly that his claws began to draw blood, unnoticed by him.

"That miko has interfered for the last time!" he snarled. "Kagura, get down there and draw them off – but leave the miko nuisance for me." The wind youkai merely nodded and took to the air once more, knowing that the evil overlord would not be far behind her.

'Time's up. I hope you're ready…'

***

"Too late!" Sango clipped out harshly, leaping astride Kirara. "Here they come!"

***

In the back of her consciousness Kagome could feel what was happening without her. She was torn between joining the fight and settling things here. Finally, she made a decision. 'It's no use – we need Kouga's shards, we need his help, we need to fight together…this has to end. Now." But she could see only one way of making the obstinate boys listen properly, and to really take her seriously.

They wanted to force her to choose? Well, fine. She would choose. But they wouldn't like it.

She took a deep breath to calm herself and began talking. "Ever since we all crossed paths with each other in the beginning, you've fought for no reason every time we meet." She hurriedly clamped down on her captive audience as they began struggling against her hold, alarmed at her words. "No, let me finish," she ground out through gritted teeth. To her relief they subsided, although they were still slightly panicky. And with good reason…

"It's been a stupid competition the whole time. And the only way that it will ever stop is if I remove the cause of the competition itself." She closed her eyes against the tears that threatened to come. 'It's the only way – I will not cry!'

"I choose neither of you." She released them and turned away, heading at full speed towards the fighting. She didn't once look back to see what their reaction was. She would have been surprised.

For once, silence reigned.

A/N: *Running for her life* Anyone seen the fire extinguisher?!? I'm gonna be roasted for this one…

Reviewer replies:

Badgerwolf – Hm…the wolf pack will redeem itself in the future. Keep looking!

Aamalie – It is torture; try writing this stuff without having seen it! Ugh…migraine…

KawaiiChica – I know what you mean about old machines…mine's not old, but it's stuffed up my Hotmail for some weird reason…takes forever. I hope you're not out of nails yet, you might still need them for this cliffhanger…

ShadowHeart – Glad you're back to normal. But I think you may just be Mr Hyde again with this one. Um…don't kill me?

Katami – Thank you, and I did! Broke 200 reviews! *falls over in shock* It's a first!

Inudemoness247 – It might not exactly be 'great', but at least it's a chapter, right? Right? Um.

Stripe – Cliffhangers make the fanfiction world go round…la la la. Maybe I should go hide now?

Krista - *Produces a SWAT shield* Ha! Fire away, I'm invincible! But those flamethrowers I can see coming at me might be a problem *sweatdrops*

Seikkyokuka – As for whether or not Inu knew what he was doing, I'll explain that later. Now that Kagome's miko energy has done a number on him, he might not be as crazy as before – just confused. *Hugs the plushie* Thanks! My very first one! Better than money…maybe.

Ashley (InuMad) – Sorry, but it's true! I'm an Aussie, and have never seen an episode. In my defence, I have read hundreds (literally) of the manga translations, and more fanfics than I can even remember as research. I am hanging out for the day when I can afford the DVD's though. Hopefully it won't be too long now. Yes, I'm a busy little bee, I don't know how I manage my schedule to be honest. It all sort of just…happens. Yeah. Don't die, more writing on the way (lots of stories in this brain of mine.) Don't kill me for the cliffhanger! Argh.

Miztikal-Dragon – If you were on the edge of your seat, I'm guessing you just fell off *hands you a cushion for next time*. Well, you said the boys needed their asses kicked…so she did!

A/N: *Still running* Bye! More soon! DON'T KILL ME!