It took a few seconds for the shock to wear off. It took a few more for the scream to get out of Kagome's throat. The scream itself lasted a good long while. She scrambled to her feet, stumbling backwards as Inuyasha extricated himself from the well. She reached the door, ready to turn, run, slam the door and figure the rest out later.
Inuyasha had other ideas. He tackled her before she could flee, pinning her to the wall.
"What'er you running for, bitch?"
"Let me go."
"You're fucking coming back with me. Back to where you belong."
"I belong here, with my family, in my time." That said, Kagome used her powers to throw him back. With Inuyasha temporarily immobilized, she darted out of the well-house, snatching her bow and quiver and notching an arrow just in time to fend off the leaping youkai. He crouched not six feet away, blue in red eyes shining with hurt. His new black and scarlet outfit more elegant and mature, reminding her of his older brother's ensemble.
Kagome twitched involuntarily, her shot going wide. The bolt nicked Inuyasha's arm, purifying the demon's flesh to the bone. He shuddered, more at the fact that she had shot him than at the wound itself.
The girl strung a second arrow, her teeth bared in a snarl that would have been more at home on her opponent's face. She let it fly, aim perfect this time. Inuyasha whipped out the Tetsusaiga, faster than seemed possible, and cut the arrow down. He sheathed the gleaming red blade, and rushed Kagome, too quickly for her to restring her bow.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Kagome? Do you think I'm crazy? That my heart is 'somewhere far away?' I'm still me!"
"You chose to use the Shikon no Tama to become a full youkai. Can you ask me to stay by your side after that? I never said I would stay in the past."
She threw up a holy barrier again, not fast enough to injure the youkai, but powerful enough to force him to move.
"Go back through the well, Inuyasha. Leave me and won't have to hurt you."
"I'm not fucking leaving without you."
"Then, I won't forgive you!"
Kagome held her aim and closed her eyes, trying her hardest not to tremble, not to process the fact that the Goshinbuku was behind Inuyasha, and that her arrow would pin him to it just as surely as the arrow of her previous incarnation's had.
"Everything's fucking come full circle, eh?" She felt Inuyasha sigh. "Go ahead and shoot me, Kagome. You are the only one I'd let kill me."
Her eyes opened, aim wavering. Amazing how little a year could change an expression; Inuyasha's face was the same as the day she had first seen him. In this very spot, five hundred years before.
"Why are you shooting big brother Inuyasha, nee-chan?"
Kagome jerked at Souta's small voice. She half-turned, hissing. "Souta, get behind me."
"Nee-chan, I thought you'd be happy that Inuyasha came for you."
"Souta, cover your eyes."
Kagome released the arrow. Inuyasha's eyes grew wide with shock as he realized the arrow was aimed at his neck instead of his heart. It hit with wet thud, drawing a strangled cry from Kagome and a tinny shriek from Souta.
The youkai slumped, blood gurgling in his throat. He glared up at Kagome, eyes glowing balefully. He reached up and wrenched the arrow from his flesh.
"Did you really expect to kill me, with an arrow you didn't even want to fire?"
He jumped at her again, blood flecking the air he breathed and staining his new haori a deeper red. Kagome forced Souta to the ground and attempted to string her bow in the same motion. It didn't work.
"I'm not here to kill your bloody family!" Inuyasha twisted the bow from her grasp, snapping it in two. Kagome bit back her defeat. No rosary, ineffective on a true youkai; no miko powers, too exhausted from previous uses. She was beaten.
Inuyasha hoisted Kagome up on his back and started for the well-house, slowly, since Kagome refused to hang on to him. He had to keep her from sliding off by yanking her back onto his shoulders every few seconds.
"Put me down," whispered Kagome.
"Like hell."
Inuyasha was not the only injured party of the fight. The door of the well-house had been reduced to a broken slab of wood hanging by one hinge. The pair entered the damaged building, and were amazed to see who had reached it first. Crouched at the bottom of the well was Souta, still and white. Both captor and captive marveled at the feat. The captor's shock a few movements longer, giving the captive an opening. Kagome slipped down Inuyasha's back, seeking to get far enough away. It proved futile. The youkai caught her again, now holding her securely to his chest.
"Get out of the well, brat," he growled.
"You'll let nee-chan come home, won't you big brother Inuyasha?" asked Souta, frozen still.
"Souta, get away from here!" yelled Kagome, voice muffled by her position.
"What if you can't come back?"
"It's more important that nothing happens to you."
But Souta refused to climb out of the well. The stalemate went on, Souta immobilized by terror, Inuyasha unwilling to break his word, and Kagome desperate for a way out.
Help came by pure chance, unless divine intervention is taken into account. Kagome's hand brushed the Tetsusaiga's sheath. Seeking to distract Inuyasha, she flailed her legs, while her hand sought a good hold on the sword handle. Once she had one, she jerked on the sword as hard as she could manage.
It came free. Despite her awkward position, Kagome thrust the katana deep into Inuyasha's shoulder. He dropped her, in too much pain to spare a thought on her.
Gambling on Inuyasha's honor, she stumbled out of the splintered hole that was once the well-house door. Her bow was were she had dropped it. She fumbled for the arrows, very much aware of the former hanyou's recovery speed.
This time she didn't hesitate. One arrow buried itself in Inuyasha's unwounded shoulder, the next in his stomach. Between those; the neck and stab wounds, she hoped he would no longer have the strength to overpower her.
"Souta! Come out of the well-house. Go inside and call Mama. Tell her to buy concrete, like we talked about."
"Hai," Souta responded as he crept out from the wreckage of the door, giving the combatants a well-deserved berth.
Inuyasha's expression stung, an uncharacteristic mingling of hurt and surprise. He slid the Tetsusaiga back into its scabbard, signaling defeat. His appearance blurred and shifted; eyes reverting to an achingly familiar amber.
"What the hell's concrete?"
Kagome frowned, trying to find the words to explain in a way Inuyasha would understand.
"Liquid stone."
"You'll cover the well with it."
"Tomorrow."
Inuyasha turned and ducked into the well-house. Kagome did not watch him go.