CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Desicions Made... A Battle Begins

For the next few days Inuyasha steadily recovered from the intense poison in his body all the while remembering the words Inu had spoken to him...

'I want to destroy you when you are at your best...... I am your equal in every way...... When we fight we shall be alone.'

With a searing headache the hanyou tried his best to endure the barrage of questions and comments that his friends threw at him.

Miroku: "What did the demon say to you Inuyasha-sama?"

Sango: "Why didn't he attack?"

Shippou: "You must be really scared of him."

Kagome: "I don't care what he said... you're not allowed to leave this hut alone anymore."

Kirara: "Meow."

From the looks of the situation Kirara was the only one on his side and that was because he couldn't understand a word she said. It was only a matter of time before he was back to his full health and he needed to get away from everyone before then. It would be a difficult task but if he didn't do it Inu might lose patience and attack his friends despite of what the vile demon had said.

"Planning on going somewhere?"

Miroku's voice sent a sudde chill down Inuyasha's spine. 'CRAP!' He turned to find the monk sitting in a very non-chalant manner by the entrance to the hut. "What's t to ya monk?" He hid the desperation in his voice quite well according to him, but Miroku was always quick to pick up on hos friends' true feelings. "Do you want to tell me now what happened between you and this demon?"

"His name is Inu."

Miroku stood up and stepped foward. "Come. Everyone should hear this." With that Miroku led the way into the forest. They walked for a bit until a small stream appeared in the distance. Miroku slowed his pace.

"Oy, monk...."

Miroku slowed even more and slightly crouched to the floor.

"Monk...."

Miroku was practically crawling now as they neared the stream.

"WILL YOU CUT THAT OUT YOU PERVERT!!!!"

Just as Inuyasha's voice tore through the silent forest a huge object flew towards him from the direction of the stream. He didn't even have a chance to duck as the boulder connected with his face. With a resounding crash Inuyasha fell backwards on the ground.

"Inuyasha you pervert!" Kagome's voice came from beyond the trees, "Don't come over here until I tell you to!" A moment passed and Kagome's voice was heard once more. "Ok, you can come now." Miroku half carried half dragged Inuyasha's limp body to the stream.

"Houshi-sama... I should have known!" Sango was standing at the edge of the stream with her wet hair in a ponytail. Her wet clothes clung to her petite frame and accented her curves. Miroku stared for what seemed to be an eternity... that was until the rock hit him on the head.

"You lech!" Sango was now standing over him with another rock in her hand. Kagome had gone over to Inuyasha and was rubbing his head. "What's ths about Miroku-sama?" Miroku quickly stood up and moved away from the threatening youkai exterminator. "Kagome-sama, Inuyasha was telling me about the demon he encountered yesterday and we were on our way over here because I thought it might be a good idea for you two to heard this also." Sango raised her fists at the monk. "The only idea that you had was to peek on us you lech!!" Snago would have kept yelling at the perverted munk, but at that moment Inuyasha began to stir.

"What happened? I felt like I was hit by a huge rock." Sango smiled sheepishily and dumped the rock in her hand behind her. Inuyasha didn't seem to notice this and shook off the pain. "Anyway... why was I here again?" Miroku stepped up to answer his question. "Remember you were going to tell me about that demon. You said his name was Inu."

A flash of realization passed through Inuyasha's eyes. He suddenly became quiet and distant. It was as if everything else around him had blurred out and he was back in that tree limb staring at the blue eyed demon. Was it really his equal? Was that demon really Inuyasha? He remembered the claws on its hands and feet, the malicious fangs and the pointy ears sitting atop it's head. It was as if that demon was a reflection of what Inuyasha would be some day........ a full demon.

'I won't let that happen to me.'

"Inuyasha?"

Kagome's voice snapped Inuyasha out of his little trance. He found himself staring into her dark brown eyes. Eyes full of worry.

"What aren't you telling us Inuyasha?"

Her voice was that of a million needles puncturing his skin. It was agony to keep something from her, but he knew that if her told them they wouldn't let him fight alone. If this demon really was his equal he was in trouble..... his friends would want to fight with him. That was something that he couldn't let happen.

"Nothing. I only told the damn monk the demon's name and he came to peek on you two."

Miroku shot a resentful look at Inuyasha, but Sango and Kagome seemed to buy the story. Shippou all the while hadn't even bothered to get out of the stream and was still playing around in the water. "Inuyasha-sama, are you sure that there wasn't anything else you wanted to tell us?" Miroku was watching him closely, but Inuyasha simply turned around and walked away.

"Forget it lech! I'm not giving you any more excuses to peek on them!"

Content with his story Inuyasha walked into the forest and then broke into a run. The air whipped about him as he ran at full pelt towards the hut. He was only a few steps away from it when he smelled Inu. He didn't even bother to pull out his tessaiga. Instead he lashed sideways and jumped into the nearest tree.

"I know you're out there and that you can hear me." If this guy was anything like Inuyasha his hearing was as good and could hear the hanyou as he spoke softly into the wind.

"We'll settle this tonight.... the sooner the better. I would do it right now but I know that everyone would get in the way. Stay away until then or they will pick up your demon aura. Understand?"

There was a sudden rush of wind as Inu lept out of his tree and off into the forest. As he ran away Inuyasha head the distinct words...

"Tonight, you die."

The day went by slowly as Inuyasha waited impatiently for the sun to set. Not wanting anyone to ask him questions he climbed to the top of a tree that was next to the hut and sat there most of the day. It wasn't until Kagome told him to go in and eat that he moved from his perch.

"You spent almost the whole day sitting up there Inuyasha, is there anything wrong?"

Kagome shot a worried glance at her hanyou companion and then looked back down at her food when she didn't get a reply.

"He's just being lazy." This earned Shippou a good lump on the head. Inuyassha then stood up and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Kagome called out to him. "Keh, I'm sleepin' outside tonight." With that Inuyasha walked out of the hut and lept into the tree he had been in all day. Kagome stared at the empty doorway where he had stood for a moment. It was as if he wasnted to be alone. Kagome couldn't help but think that this might be because of what had happened during that battle with Inu. Not only had she failed in killing the demon, but she had pierced Inuyasha with one of her own arrows. Maybe it had brought back bad memories for him.

Outside Inuyasha looked down on the hut until he saw the lights go out.

'Now's my chance.'

With a powerful jump he launched himself into the night sky. As he landed on the ground several yards away from the camp the familiar scent of his demon twin filled the air. It was as if the demon was waiting for him behind the next tree. Inuyasha set off at a run to get farther away from the camp. Through the maze of shrubs and bushes he ran without looking back..... but he already knew what was behind him. He could smell it. Inu was running at full speed to keep up with his hanyou counterpart. Inuyasha ran until he couldn't smell the campsite anymore and then made a sharp turn about that made him skid backwards a few feet.

"You ready?" He spoke into the empty forest as he crouched down into his attack position.

"I was born ready." came back from the darkness beyond the trees. There was a metallic sound and a gleam from where Inu had unsheathed naraken. Inuyasha smirked and drew his own demon blade. It shimmered with the reflection of the full moon.

"Only one of us shall leave this battlefield hanyou.... and it will be me."

The two bared their swords and advanced at each other. There was a powerful clash of metal as the blades met. With equal strength both Inuyasha and Inu fought to gain a foothold. Their demon aura's were crashing together around them forming sparks of electricity. With fangs bared the two stood for a moment pushing back a one another's swords and then both lept back simoltaniously. Inuyasha landed on the ground and thrust his blade in front of him as if urging the demon to attack. Inu responded by crossing his own sword in front of his body in an offensive stance. Then with all ofthe power that Inu had he charged at his enemy. Again their blades clashed, only this time their aura's also hit head-on. There was a sudden swirl of dust and wind followed by a loud bang as the two auras cancelled each other out.

"I am your equal hanyou... accept your death.... you cannot win."

Inuyasha smirked again as he heard Inu strain those words out of his mouth.

"Keh! If you're my equal... why are you having such a hard time?!"

With that the hanyou pushed with all of his strength and sent Inu flying backwards into the forest. As the dust settled Inu's figure could be seen as he leaned heavily on his sword.

"Not bad. This must be the transformation that Naraku told me about." It was Inu's turn to smirk, "Now let me show you mine."

With a roar Inu let naraken fall to the ground and threw both of his fists up into the air. Inuyasha watched as Inu's aura began to grow in an ever swirling wind around his body. A strong youki began to spread across the field that they were standing in. Inu's roar was deafening and shrill. But the problem wasn't only his battle cry, but the power that it was gathering. When Inu finally put his hands back down his blue eyes were ablaze with demon energy. They were shining brightly in the darkness of the night and were staring menacingly at the hanyou across the battlefield.

"DIE!!"

The supercharged Inu rushed towards Inuyasha with a true demon's speed, catching the hanyou in the chest and impaling him on the razor sharp claws in his hand. Just as easily as it would have been for him to pick up and throw a small rock, Inu raised the hanyou's body and tossed it aside with a powerful swing. The limp body plummeted intothe trees and fell on the floor a few yards away from Inu. It didn't move.

"That was much too easy."

Inu turned to leave when he felt the wind itself pulsate. He was about to dismiss it when he felt it again. Something was wrong. Once more the wind around him shivered as if in fear of something to come. As the demon slowly turned around he caught a glimpse of where the hanyou had fallen. Surprise and horror fell upon Inu's face as he looked into the forest.

'No! Impossible!'