In Chapter Eleven, Sesshomaru once again convinces Kagome to stay, sure that she would not stay without a threat of physical violence. And Inuyasha and the crew meet Sesshomaru on a secluded mountain pass, beginning a battle for dominance over the tired miko.

For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that is used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and is not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique ad nauseum. (Whew!)

Chapter Twelve – Enter Minions

"Yaah!!!" Sango yelled at the top of her lungs as she flung her weapon at Sesshomaru with all the force she could muster. I don't know how much longer we can go on like this. We have been fighting him for over an hour, and he doesn't seem to show any sign of letting up. Yet, all of us are growing so tired.

Miroku was thinking the same thing as he jumped to avoid Sesshomaru's poisonous whip. But, he was also thinking about Kikyou's lack of involvement in this fight. She led us here, right to this mountain pass, which she swears is the only way to get to his castle. Yet, from the accounts we had from the villagers, there were other, less dangerous ways to get there. If I didn't know better, I would think she led us here because it would be the most problematic place to fight Lord Sesshomaru.

There was little time to do much thinking after that, as another volley of attack came his way. Sesshomaru was definitely gaining the upper hand in this fight, but was beginning to lose the battle within him. His control was slipping, and he was barely able to control his weapons. The green whip hissed in his hands, dripping poisonous gas from all sides. It began to lose its flexibility. In its place, the green poison began to cover the ground.

Shippo was the first to alert the group to this, and they all began to climb a short way up the crumbling mountainside to escape it. To them it looked like Sesshomaru was making it harder for them to focus on defeating. But he and Inuyasha knew that his baser instincts were beginning to take over.

Inuyasha taunted his brother with this knowledge. "How does it feel to lose control, Sesshomaru? You, who are always at the top of every game. Let it go, Sesshomaru. Take your true form and fight me like a real demon. Then when I beat you, I will know that there was no way you could have done better."

Sesshomaru growled at his brother's insults. "Perhaps you are right baby brother. I was only trying to spare you the humiliation. But, as you wish." Sesshomaru let out a long, low growl and immediately turned into an extraordinarily large, vicious white dog.

"Kah! His fang is larger than Inuyasha!"

"Yeah, maybe. But, this dog only has three legs. And that is because of me." Inuyasha immediately lunged forward and charged headlong at the ferocious dog, who glared at him with crimson eyes.

Kikyou decided to take this opportunity to sneak back around the corner, making her exit from the group. She knew that there was an open path to the castle. She just did not want them to find it that easily. She had not expected Lord Sesshomaru to come for them. That was usually not his style. "But, then again" she said to herself, "he usually doesn't steal mikos and make them his whore, either."

She crossed back a short ways through the woods, but not far enough in to become lost. Then she stopped and listened. The eerie music called to her. The music that wrapped around her like a long lost lover. It was the call of her soul. She knew these calls well, because each soul had a unique song to call it back to its body; or its body back to it. Her lost souls filled her with music, but only for a short time, because none of them fit her. That is why she constantly needed to have more souls to fill the empty cavern that was her body. Her soul constantly sang out to its missing half.

She had tried to ignore it; had tried to live a normal life without it. When she first discovered that it was not Inuyasha but Naraku that had perpetrated her killing, she decided to try to put the past behind her. She was even willing to return to the underworld, as she should have. But the piece of her soul that she managed to keep clung to life as fiercely as Kagome did. The pieces of the soul sang to each other. And Kikyou, always teetering on the brink of death, became drugged by the music. At first it had scared her, but soon she craved it. Whenever she got close to Kagome, she could hear the music, the two pieces of her soul in perfect harmony.

Kikyou had then tried to live in a village like the one she had lived in with her sister, Kaede, and be their miko. Had even managed to do it while taking the souls of those who had died for sustenance. But even that was not possible. Fortune hunters and do-good monks always forced her to run. Or kill.

She had given up trying to live the peaceful life she had once had. And she blamed that squarely on Inuyasha. He had let her die. He had not tried hard enough to save her. He had let her pin him to the tree with those arrows. So now, she had the perfect opportunity for revenge.

Kikyou made it to the clearing she was looking for. The soul's song was clearest here. This was a direct path to Sesshomaru's castle, where Kagome lay. Kikyou smiled. She is waiting, but she is anything but happy about it. I wonder what went on between the demon lord and his bitch.

"I was wondering when you would come back this way. I found this place without the aid of a broken soul singing out to me." The spy in the shadow made its presence known again. "Oh yes. I know full well how you came to find both Inuyasha and Kagome. I can hear them too. Although, I must say, I find the sounds of the singing souls to be rather... disturbing. I guess you would had to have been dead to fully appreciate them."

Kikyou smiled a saccharin smile. "A condition you could never be in, considering you have never really been alive."

Kagura stepped out from the shadows, a little pissed off at the words Kikyou had flung at her. "Point taken. But, I am here on business from Naraku."

To which Kikyou laughed outright. "Naraku? What business does he have here?"

"Strife always peaks the interests of Naraku. And he has found this little tiff between Inuyasha and his brother Sesshomaru to be, well, tantalizing. He sent me to help you with what you had in mind."

"And that is?" I am not going to lay my plan open, bare to this back stabber.

Kagura opened her fan a little, tilting it to her head. "Why, you plan on stealing your soul back while Inuyasha and Sesshomaru are tied up in this little war."

She was a little taken aback. She had not expected Kagura to have figured it out so easily. "How do you know that that is what I am doing? Maybe I want to help Inuyasha; to get back in his favor."

Kagura hovered near Kikyou, but paced a little to the side before answering. "Have you ever been out of his favor? I mean, really? He has tried to save you before, and would gladly do so again. He told you that he always thinks of you and that he loves you. What more do you want than that?"

"I want that bitch Kagome dead. And I want back what is rightfully mine. A life, rich, full and long. A real home, not a cave or a clearing in a forest. I don't want to have to worry about being killed again by some bounty hunter trying to make a name for himself. Or by someone like you."

Kagura let out a slow bow in appreciation of Kikyou's words. There is an awful lot of truth behind those words. She does want peace. But her warped existence has skewed what real peace is. True peace can only be found in death. And she refuses to die. "I believe your words, miko. And so does Naraku. That is why he is willing to give you this piece of information, so that you may have a chance at a normal life again. Perhaps even a chance at a normal love this time."

"And, pray tell, what does Naraku want in return?"

Kagura took on a look of mock surprise. "Why do you insist that he wants any kind of payment in return?"

Kikyou crossed her arms in defense. "Because I know him. I knew Onigumo before him, as well. Neither one of them would help me out of the kindness of their hearts. Neither one of them had hearts."

"Touché, Lady Kikyou. He does want something in return. Actually, two things. And they are both things that you can easily provide."

Kikyou was deeply troubled. This was the man who killed her, out of some twisted love for her and tainting the Shikon jewel. And whatever he wanted was probably not going to be something she would want to give. On the other hand, any information that would make retrieving her soul easier was worth a little give and take. "What does he want?"

Kagura smiled at Kikyou's turnaround. "First, after you kill Kagome, he wants the jewel shards that she carries with her."

She thought about that for a moment. She was going to need the completed Shikon jewel to return her body to its natural state. Otherwise, she may not be able to live as a human. But, I can get the information from Naraku's spy and then keep the shards for myself. I have it on good authority that they carry the majority of the jewel. That would make my work that much easier. "Done. And the other?"

"He wants you to make sure that Lord Sesshomaru kills Inuyasha. Inuyasha must die. Naraku has suffered greatly at that hanyou's hands, and he wants Inuyasha to suffer. Preferably after he has learned about Kagome's death. That way, his death will be even sweeter."

Without hesitation, "Done. I want him to suffer as well. Inuyasha will die."

The wind sorceress laughed out loud. Naraku will be so happy at how easily this living corpse turned on her one true love. With the jewel shards under his control, she will eventually have to come to him if she wants to live. Even if she does manage to get the soul back from Kagome, there is no guarantee that it will dissolve into nothing, just as the other lost souls do. Because, in Kikyou's clay body, even her own soul is lost. It is infinitely safer in Kagome's body, which is wholly real.

"Now, demon spawn, tell me this important information which will turn the tide against precious Kagome."

She drew Kikyou closer with her fan, so she would not have to say this out loud. "The way you are planning to regain your soul will never work. Kagome has the larger half, and now knows how to control most of its powers. She will kill you outright before she relinquishes the soul. What's more, your half of the soul will naturally gravitate to Kagome's larger half."

Kikyou got very angry at this news. "This is what I bargained the jewel shards for? This is neither true nor helpful. I am infinitely stronger than Kagome. She has never been formally trained on how to use her powers, and will never stand up against me. I have proven this several times. Were it not for Inuyasha's constant intervention, she would have been dead long before now."

"If you will allow me to finish, there is another way. You do not need Kagome's soul."

Now she was intrigued. "How is this possible?"

"The reason you hear the song so clearly now is not because Kagome's soul was in peril, or because she found a moment of bliss in Sesshomaru's arms," She had to swallow down her bile at the thought of Kagome taking the man she considered hers. "Your soul was reincarnated long before Kagome. There is another that holds your soul, who is not nearly so powerful.

"The little girl that travels with Sesshomaru was born not too long after your death. She stumbled upon him in the woods, and he sensed the miko powers in her immediately. This is why she travels with him. He wants to use her powers to increase his strength. This is also why he kidnapped Kagome. He wanted the most powerful miko he could find to train her right. They are the same soul as well. Only Rin's soul is complete. And she is not powerful enough yet to beat you, should you try to take it from her."

Kikyou smiled at the thought of an easy victory for once. A very easy victory.

Kagome was lying with Rin in Rin's room. This room was also sparsely decorated, but everything had a cheerful and light feel to it. And most of the furniture was scaled down to fit Rin's small size. Except the extra large tatami that matched the one Kagome slept in. Rin had not had an easy day. For that matter, neither had Kagome. She had been lulled into making love with Sesshomaru again. And again she had felt that he had used her.

He won't listen to me, either. Although he goes about it in a more forceful way, I am still just a possession to him. And a possession to Inuyasha. I had really thought I had loved Inuyasha. But being here has proven that the men of this family aren't capable of loving. At least not loving me.

Rin stirred in her sleep, a little fitful and sniffling because she had cried herself to sleep. She has had a very tiring day for one so young. Her father threatened her life, and I tried to leave her to her fate. It is a wonder she had let me back here to comfort her. Kagome had returned to her room to find Rin crying on her pretty pink pillow. As soon as the door had opened, Rin had looked up, dazed for a moment. But then she had immediately run into Kagome's arms and cried her little eyes out. It broke Kagome's heart to think that she had almost left this bundle of trust and unabashed appreciation.

She and Kagome had gone down to the bathing room to clean themselves up. Rin was dirty from the day's gardening, play and salty tears, and Kagome had been disheveled from something a little worse. Rin had felt better when they were done, especially after Kagome had washed Rin's hair with a sweet smelling soap that had been left in her room. But, she had begun to cry again when Sesshomaru had not come home to see her to bed. And that is how she had fallen asleep.

Kagome did not have the heart to leave her there alone, either. She had felt such a strong bond for this girl, ever since she had first met her long ago when she had gotten lost. Before Sesshomaru had lost her on purpose, that is. She learned very quickly that time that it was not a good thing to be lost from Sesshomaru.

What was it about him that made her forgive him for all the bad things he has done? He let her wander off, used her to lure me in, and held her life over my head without a second thought. And still, she cries because he isn't here. What does she see in him that I can't seem to find?

Kagome fell asleep mulling over these thoughts, along with several others of a more intimate variety. Not knowing that not too far away, the two most important men in her life were battling over possession of her.

Coming Soon – Chapter Thirteen – Spies and Lies

Sesshomaru returns from the formidable battle with his brother a little worse for wear. Kagome reluctantly uses her healing knowledge to help him recover. Kikyou keeps Inuyasha ready for more, instead of calming him down. And Kagura sees something she shouldn't.