In Chapter Seventeen, Kagome and Kikyou settle old debts. Kagura goes her own way as a twist develops. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha are reluctant to return to mutual loathing after the battle is over.

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 Eighteen – Twisted Mettle

Shippo was the last one to find the exhausted Kagome. He had heard the melee, but his little legs did not take him as fast as the others. I never get to do anything. I promised I would keep Kagome safe, and now she is probably dead. He reached the door of her room and looked around in disbelief.

Inuyasha was sitting in the middle of the room, looking a little worse for wear. Miroku and Sango were beside him, and they were all looking at Rin. "Where's Kagome?"

Miroku turned around to face the little kitsune. "There you are. I was beginning to worry. Kagome is fine. She went to look for Lord Sesshomaru."

"Where did he go?"

"He didn't say. Just that he was going to tie up loose ends. He is looking for Kagura. The battle is over."

Inuyasha was getting frustrated again. "Why are we just sitting here? We can't let her find Sesshomaru. He has her under some sort of spell."

Sango was also getting frustrated. "What was it Naraku told you again? It doesn't make sense."

He ran a set of claws through his hair. "He said the same soul cannot occupy a body twice at the same time. That's why Kikyou died so easily."

"But, Kikyou didn't have a soul. She only had a piece of Kagome's soul."

Miroku was deep in thought, with his eyes closed and his hand to his chin. "But, she had just killed Rin..."

"Kikyou wouldn't kill Rin. She doesn't kill people." Inuyasha was getting pretty angry.

Sango looked at him like he was going insane. "Right. She just borrows all those souls then. Do you really think that all those souls she eats just happen to belong to people who are already dead? That sure is a lot of dead young girls."

"Yes, she had Rin's soul inside her. But what does that have to do with what Naraku said." He thought for a moment. He looked up at Sango. "Unless, that made two souls occupy the same body."

Everyone looked in Miroku's direction, but it was Shippo who voiced their unifying question. "What do you mean?"

Miroku snapped his fingers. "Of course. That is why Kikyou didn't go after Kagome. She was becoming too powerful for Kikyou to overpower with only a part of a soul inside her."

Sango was unable to understand what Miroku was thinking. "So why then would she come here at all?"

"I believe that Kikyou originally wanted to go kill Kagome while we were otherwise distracted with Lord Sesshomaru. But, Kagura told her to do otherwise."

Inuyasha perked up at that statement. "Sesshomaru said that Kagura lured all of us here. She told Kikyou exactly where to find this stupid place. She played us all." He started pacing the room. I need to find Kagome, but I want to know what Naraku meant by what he said. If Kikyou really did help me only to kill Kagome, she is no where near the same person I knew so long ago. The Kikyou I knew would never hurt a fly. Dammit!

Miroku continued. "But, Kikyou known that Rin was the same as Kagome."

"The same?" Shippo said.

"Yes. I believe that Rin is also a reincarnation of Kagome."

Inuyasha jumped out of his sitting position and walked up to Miroku and looked him dead in the eye. "Feh! You must be crazy. Kagome is Kikyou's reincarnation. We all know that."

"Do you really think that a soul as powerful as Kikyou's didn't reemerge for five hundred years? It was too powerful to stay away from this world. Where it is needed. No, I believe Kagura convinced Kikyou that Rin was her first reincarnation."

Inuyasha threw up his hands in indignation. "Now I have heard everything. Rin? That little ragamuffin that travels with my brother, worshipping him along with that worthless toad? Naraku must have hit you hard, Miroku."

A little lump stirred near Shippo. He jumped up in surprise. "What is that?"

Jaken sat up, a little worse for wear. "Did somebody call me? Oh, my head." He put a little green hand to his head. What happened? Where did all these insufferable people come from. Rin! He tried to get up, but a terrible burn on his chest wouldn't even allow him to bend. "Ow! That damn miko!"

Shippo stepped over to Jaken, not terribly afraid because the toad demon was just as tall as he was. "What miko? Kagome. Don't you say anything about Kagome or I'll..."

Jaken put his hand up, unable in his pain to take Shippo's prattling. "No, I did not mean Lady Kagome. I am talking of the one made of clay. She tried to kill Rin..."

Miroku corrected him. "Lady Kikyou did kill little Rin."

Jaken jumped up, heedless of the searing pain in his chest. "No! I was supposed to protect her!"

Inuyasha put a hand to his ears to shut out the toad. "Great job you did."

"Inuyasha!" Sango's heart went out to the little demon. He really did look like he was in pain.

"I tried to protect her, but she kept jumping up in front of me. She grabbed her insipid bow and arrow and ran up to that miko, shouting for me to get out of the way. That miko just laughed and shot a blue light at Rin. The little arrow deflected it and it hit the wall. The arrow then hit the ground and broke. I pushed Rin into the corner and tried to use the staff against that miko, but she laughed and waived her hand. The two heads of my staff were separated!"

Miroku picked up an ugly shrunken head by its long black hair. "I guess that explains this. But listen, Jaken..."

Jaken refused to listen. "She threw her blue power at me because I stood between Rin and herself. I was thrown over by the door and that is the last I remember. Rin! How could I have let this happen?"

Sango reached out to him. "Jaken, listen. Rin is not..."

"She told me that I was her friend. My only friend and I let her die. This lowly Jaken does not deserve to live..." Jaken began jumping around the room, hopping first on one foot and then the other. He was trying to find some way to end his life in penance for what he let happen to his friend.

A hand on his shoulder made him turn around. "Jaken, be quiet."

Jaken immediately turned to the voice, and looked up into the face of his only friend. Tears of joy burst off of his face as he started screaming in happiness. "Rin, you're alive! I knew you couldn't be dead; I knew it. I knew I protected you."

Miroku retaliated with a smirk. "Actually, it was Lord Sesshomaru who brought her back to life. For a short while, she was dead."

Jaken stilled when the monk mentioned his master's name. "Lord Sesshomaru was here? But, then he saw me lying around on the ground. I must find him and apologize. Perhaps he will not kill me. Rin, you little fool. You let me sleep while the master was..." He trailed off as the pain in his chest caught up with him. He sunk back down to the floor.

Rin kneeled in front of him. "You're in pain, aren't you? Oh boy, I get to use the poultice that Kagome taught me to make. It was made fresh last night. You stay right here." She skipped off in the direction of the herb garden, all the troubles of moments ago forgotten.

As the grown-ups continued to figure out exactly what happened, Shippo followed Rin out of the room. All they seem to want to do is talk. I need to find Kagome. Maybe I can find her this time. He followed Rin to the garden. "Rin. We need to find Kagome. Do you know where Lord Sesshomaru went?"

Rin did not stop, but went to the edge of the garden to grab her pestle, filled with crushed herbs. "I want to help you, but I need to give this to Jaken. He is in terrible pain because he tried to help me." She moved over to a pot filled with water. Drawing out a wooden ladle full of water, she poured it into the pestle and used the mortar to mix it all together.

Shippo was getting very impatient with everyone in the castle. "If you can't come with me, at least tell me where Lord Sesshomaru went."

Rin finally looked up at him. "I was barely up when he left. But, my guess is that he went to find Kagura. She put Kikyou up to all of this. Maybe he went back to his quarters."

He grinned. "How do I get there, quickly? It took me forever just to find my way back here."

She laughed and ran to the other side of the garden. "His wing is easy to get to. The fastest way is through these doors. They open up into his private courtyard."

He ran to the doors, then stopped. He thought for a moment, then ran back to Rin and gave her a hug. "You really do smell like her, you know."

Rin didn't understand what that meant, but liked being hugged. She had grown used to it with Kagome here. She hugs me all the time. "Go and help her. I have to stay here."

Without another word, Shippo ran through the doors.

I have to rest. My head is swimming. She sat down on a ledge by the entrance to Sesshomaru's courtyard. He has to be in there. He isn't anywhere else. She thought for a moment, and could hear his voice coming intermittently from his room at the other end of the courtyard.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw a little fox bound through a couple of doors she didn't even know were there. "Kagome! I found you. I have been looking everywhere for you." He ran and jumped into her lap. Shippo hugged he so tightly, she could barely breathe.

"Shippo, I am very glad to see you, but now is not the time. I have to find Sesshomaru."

"Why?"

"Because I need to talk to him."

Shippo looked at her as if she had lost her mind. "Kagome, now is not the time for talking. You know that we all came here to rescue you."

Kagome frowned. "I don't need rescuing."

"What do you mean? He kidnapped you and we are here to get you back."

She looked at him. "I said I don't need to be rescued. Sesshomaru would never hurt me. He needed me to help train Rin. She has miko powers like me."

"Oh! But Miroku said something very important about Rin..." He kept going, but he didn't know that Kagome was no longer listening.

Sesshomaru. Kagome heard his voice coming from his room. It was growing louder. She thought she heard a crash, but Shippo's incessant bouncing and chattering stopped her from hearing it clearly. There are sometimes when I wished he were just a little bit older. "Not now, Shippo. I have to get to Sesshomaru. He needs me."

She dumped the kitsune off her lap in her standing. "What do you mean, he needs you? He doesn't need anybody. Kagome, you sure are sounding weird."

"Someday when you are older, Shippo, we really need to have a talk." She stood up, and her knees still wobbled a little. Get it together, Kagome. You don't want him to see you acting as if Kikyou really had an impact on you. He wouldn't like that.

Shippo bounded beside her as they went towards the voice of Sesshomaru.

As they got close to the door, they knew that he was not alone. Kagura is in there. I can feel that it is her.

Shippo hugged her calf, and she was reminded that she was not alone. "I don't think we should go in there, he doesn't sound very happy."

"He hardly ever is," she murmured.

They both stood there, listening to the door. Suddenly, the voices stopped. "What..." but Shippo was stopped from finishing his statement by a finger put to Kagome's mouth.

Something is not right. Why is it suddenly so quiet. They were arguing about something just a moment ago. Surely they do not know I am here. Listening, she still heard nothing. Then another thought rushed to her mind. One that did not make her feel any better. I remember what happened the first time we fought here. The way he silenced me, he kissed me. Kissed me!

Kagome burst open the door and rushed into the room, not heeding the smallish demon pulling at her leg. What she saw there made her stop in her tracks, holding her breath, and wishing she had not entered the room.

"Kagura." Sesshomaru said as he entered his private rooms. "How did I know you would be here?"

"Because we were made to know each other." She was brushing her fan lightly over a jade topped dresser, eyeing him with a mixture of contempt and reverence.

"You were made to carry out a coward's whims. I was born, of flesh and blood."

She smiled wickedly at him. "Now, that wasn't called for. I merely came here to talk to you. Insults will get us nowhere." She picked up an ivory comb, fingering the tines as if they were daggers. I know what you intend to do, Sesshomaru. And I will not let that bitch stand in my way. You are mine.

He stalked over to his dresser and snatched the comb out of her hands. "Do not touch what does not belong to you."

She reached out and put a hand on his arm. "I never do."

"You knew that that was just another puppet of Naraku's didn't you?"

She let go of him and walked towards a window, which overlooked a small portion of the courtyard. "Whose comb is that?"

"Answer my question, Kagura."

She turned and faced him. "No. You answer mine."

He let out a sigh, the only outward evidence that he was boiling on the inside. This thing put my house in danger, tried to have both Rin and Kagome killed, and is still playing games. I wish there were some way to discard of her completely. Does she feel nothing? But, as of this moment, she is still the only link to Naraku. He tried to kill me with a poisoned arm. He has tried to kill Kagome and Inuyasha many times. It is more important that he be stopped than Kagura die. "The comb belonged to my mother. Now, answer my question."

"I don't remember it ever having been here before."

What kind of game is she playing? 'You have never been in here before. What kind of game are you playing, Kagura?" He was starting to loose his cool with the wind witch.

"Well, never mind." She turned back towards him and smiled. "For a moment I thought that it was a gift for your precious little miko." She put a hand up, as if he were going to say something. "I know that you and that Kagome have formed a... special sort of bond during her stay here."

"That is not any of your affair," he said through tightly clenched teeth.

Kagura decided to ignore what he said. "But, you have to know one thing. No matter what she may or may not feel for you, it will never work out between the two of you." She walked closer to him and put her hand to his face, caressing it softly. "She is nothing like us."

He jerked his head away from his hand. "I am nothing like you. You are not a demon, you are an abomination."

Kagura snapped at his rejection. "And she is nothing but a reincarnation of a demented priestess. She is nothing!"

Sesshomaru backhanded Kagura without thinking, sending her flying to the chair on the other side of the room. She hit the chair, smashing it as she crashed through to the floor.

"How dare you touch me like that!" Kagura quickly composed herself and stood back up, wiping the blood that trickled from the corner of her mouth and smiling. "If you weren't the only one powerful enough to help me, I might start to get upset."

He sneered at her comment. "Do you really think that I would help free you from Naraku? As I have told you before, I will never help you. Your only hope is to help yourself. But I have a feeling that you do not really want to free yourself from his grasp."

She cringed at the thought of staying with that monster conglomeration that held her heart in his hands. "I would leave him right now if I weren't sure that he would kill me."

"Well, you are a part of him. Why should he give you up?"

"I have a right to live!" She took a step towards him, but stopped when the smile dropped from his face.

"You have no rights. You are his little errand girl, nothing more. His plaything, which he can throw away when he is finished."

"That is not true! He needs me because I can go where he cannot!"

"What do you mean, where he cannot? Is he injured? Unable to leave some little hovel?" She quickly closed her mouth, knowing that she had now revealed too much. He closed the gap between them, closing his claws lightly around her neck. "Be careful, witch. Answer me incorrectly, and it might be the last thing you will do."

Kagura was about to say something, but had been still long enough to recognize that they were being listened to. The miko is here. Perfect. If I cannot have him, I will make sure that no one else can either. "I did not mean it the way it sounded, Lord Sesshomaru," she said in almost a purred whisper. "I only meant that he does not like to venture out. He is easily recognized." She carefully slipped her hand onto his forearm, seemingly to try and stop him from killing her.

He leaned in a little closer, his voice dropping to a deadly quiet. "I think that you are lying."

She smiled and matched his low whisper. Kagura knew that the quiet would peak Kagome's interest. "Why would I lie to you?"

Sesshomaru did not answer. He sensed that Kagome was outside the door. He did not want her coming in here with Kagura. Kagura is extremely jealous of Kagome. She has been in enough danger. "If you leave now, I will spare your life."

"If I leave now, Naraku will kill me for letting you live."

"Run. Maybe you can outstrip him. Go as fast as you can and maybe he will not be able to reach you. Tough choice, but I will not offer you this opportunity again."

She knew that Kagome was about to rush in. "I think you are right. I should jump on this opportunity." Without another breath, she threw her arms around his neck and brought his head forcefully down to hers. She kissed him for all she was worth. Sesshomaru didn't fight, because he was taken completely by surprise. Utilizing this, she insinuated herself against his body. Kagura had never been this close to him, and she was reveling in the feel of him. I know I cannot make him want me, but perhaps I can make her hate him. Then I'll make a break for it.

Kagome chose that moment to burst through the door, with Shippo in tow on her left leg. She was rendered completely speechless. Standing before her was the demon she thought she was in love with, and the woman who plotted with both Naraku and Kikyou to make sure she was dead. And they were in a very intimate kiss, looking for all the world as if they were in the throws of passion. His hand was caressing her neck, and hers were wrapped in his long, silver hair.

Sesshomaru pulled away from Kagura as fast as she has attached herself to him. He didn't know what to say. He threw a murderous look to Kagura, who looked too pleased with herself. She knew she was going to make Kagome jealous. I'll deal with you later. I am going to make you wish you had never been created.

"Kagome." He dropped Kagura, who fell against the wall, with a salacious smile on her face.

As he mad a move towards Kagome, she retreated a quick step, then made a stand. Both of her feet were firmly planted shoulder width apart, with the little fox cub standing slightly in front of them. "Don't you dare touch me." Her voice was laced with such venom that he stopped, aghast.

"Nothing happened here..."

"So I saw." He growled and made another move toward her, but she held up her hand, holding a glowing blue orb. "I said, do not touch me. I don't want to hear it."

"I will not be ordered around..."

Again she interrupted him. "And I won't be played for a fool again. You tricked me into staying here. You tricked me into thinking that you would kill Rin. You tricked me into thinking that you cared for me."

Sesshomaru stared at the orb in her hand, which so resembled Kikyou's power. "I see you defeated Kikyou. You have regained your complete soul."

"Shut up. I don't want to hear anything out of your mouth ever again."

"Kagome, listen. Kagura was just trying to..."

"I will not be had again. By you or by anybody!" She turned and fled the room faster than she had ever gone before. The speed of her exit was enhanced by her newly completed powers, allowing her to run almost as fast as Inuyasha. How could I possibly have been so stupid? I actually was beginning to think of spending the rest of my life here with that odious man. How could I have forgotten what he is?

She kept running, past her friends coming into the wing, past the gates to the castle, past the mist barrier. Kagome was not completely paying attention to where she was going, she just wanted to go away. She wanted to hide, too embarrassed of the way she had behaved during her tenure at the castle to face anyone. There is no way I can face Inuyasha after what I have done. He will never forgive me. And Sango. And Miroku. I don't think I can even face Kaede now. And I do not ever want to see Sesshomaru again. That... that demon!

Far away, Naraku was watching the scene with Sesshomaru and Kagura unfold through the mirror that Kanna always held in front of her. As the visions dissolved, he sat back deep in thought. I knew she would always betray me, every time she had the chance. This will be her last performance, however. The witch is beginning to be much more trouble than he is worth. She will not survive the night.

He waived Kanna away and reached for a jar on a nearby shelf. The jar glowed red, pulsing as he reached his hand in. And Naraku started laughing.

Coming Soon – Nineteen – Return to the Simpler Time

Kagome returns to Kaede's village with the troupe, and relates a condensed version of her story to rapt listeners. Inuyasha and Kagome hash through some sorted feelings. Sesshomaru squares off against Kagura.