A/N: Hey you guys! Wow- 235 reviews!.! So...I'm working diligently on this ending- and it really is going to be a lot longer than the original ending. I hope you don't mind. Also, if any of you see ooc-ness in the characters, please let me know, because I've been watching other anime shows recently, and sometimes that messes up the characters in my head. Thanks to you all for reviewing, and sticking with the story! I hope you enjoy this chapter... it's where things really begin to get different.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inu Yasha. And please don't remove my story from the server!

Previously:

"Wait… where are you going, Inu Yasha?" Kagome asked, under her breath. She didn't really feel like he blamed her for what happened, but… she had a bad feeling about this. She didn't want Sesshoumaru and Inu Yasha to fight; and that's exactly what seemed to be about to happen.

"I'm going to deal with Sesshoumaru," Inu Yasha said in a low, dangerous tone of voice.

"Inu Yasha," the youkai turned to face Kagome, whose eyes were filled with concern. "Be careful." Inu Yasha nodded, and headed for the source of Sesshoumaru's scent.

Altered chapter 13: confrontation
"Rin." The girl turned to see Sesshoumaru standing behind her. It was late; he was probably going to tell her to get to bed. For some reason, she couldn't sleep, and had crawled up onto the roof to look at the stars- and the small crescent of a moon that hung in the night sky. It was her favorite place to go when they visited the castle. The night sky and the seclusion of the castle made her feel at peace- it gave her time to think about things, and regain her composure when she felt distressed or melancholy.

"Good evening, Sesshoumaru-sama," she greeted him, although not rising from her seat on the roof.

"What are you doing up here at this time of night?" he asked her coolly.

"I'm just thinking," she told him. Sesshoumaru stood there in silence, as if expecting her to continue. After a few moments, she did. "I remembered when Jaken-sama told me about your quest for something called 'power.' Are you still after it, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Of course," he replied, staring out over the vast, dark expanse of the forest. Those were his lands. Now that Inu Yasha had shown a care about his past and discovered that lanyard, Sesshoumaru was obligated to include him in the family ownership of the Western lands. It bothered him to share something that he considered his own. But now, at this moment, he thought about it in a different light. Inu Yasha had considered Kagome as his own; yet he had taken her from him, and even marked her with his own blood. In this way, Inu Yasha had also been forced to share something that he considered his own. In a way, at least according to Sesshoumaru, they were somewhat even.

"I see," Rin commented. "I was also remembering- I had asked Jaken-sama where I would be in your kingdom." Rin paused, wondering if she should continue.

"What did he say?" Sesshoumaru asked, looking down at Rin. Her face and dark hair reminded him of Kagome when he had first seen her with Inu Yasha. Only somehow, Rin looked a little sadder.

"He said that I would be dead by then," she said softly. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes, detecting her emotions. Rin let out a sigh. "When I remember what he said, it makes me sad to think that I won't be with you forever." She smiled sadly, and looked up at the taiyoukai. "Ne, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"What is it?"

"You'll still remember me after I'm gone, won't you?" Sesshoumaru's eyes widened slightly in surprise, and he broke his gaze with Rin. He tilted his head back to look at the moon, causing his silver hair to swish slightly in its light.

"Don't be stupid, Rin," he told her, remembering when she asked him the same thing five years before. 'I have no intention of allowing you to befall the same pathetic fate as other humans do,' said a voice from the deepest regions of his heart. As long as he was alive, he would do everything in his power to keep her with him. Rin smiled again, but this time it was no longer sad.

"I love Sesshoumaru-sama and Jaken-sama, and I hope that I never have to leave them," she said, looking up at the stars. Sesshoumaru waited a few moments, before turning to walk away. He turned his head and looked over his shoulder at Rin.

"It's time to go inside, Rin." With that, Sesshoumaru walked away from where Rin was sitting.

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama," she said softly, mostly to herself. She knew that he cared about her, and she had become used to the way he expressed it. Every time she needed his help, he was there. If she was hungry, he took her to a place to eat. When she was kidnapped, he rescued her. Rin knew how much she loved and depended on Sesshoumaru- but how much did he love and depend on her? Sighing, Rin rose to her feet, clambered down the roof, and entered the castle.

About an hour after he had talked to Rin, Sesshoumaru had been minding his own business, reading over a few of the recent contracts made with the Northern lords. Suddenly, he looked up from his paperwork. He could hear his brother coming from a mile away. Putting his scroll down on the desk, he stood and faced the door, waiting for Inu Yasha to enter.

"SESSHOUMARU!" Inu Yasha shouted as he slammed the sliding door open.

"Have a care with other people's property, Inu Yasha," Sesshoumaru said calmly. Judging by the expression on his little brother's face, Sesshoumaru figured that Kagome had told him what happened. He wasn't surprised; Kagome didn't seem the type of person to keep a secret like that for very long. But now he had to face up to Inu Yasha about what he had done.

"Maybe that's what I should be saying to you," Inu Yasha growled deeply. Without saying anything more, he stormed over to Sesshoumaru and landed a hefty punch on his older brother's left cheek. While Inu Yasha was approaching, Sesshoumaru placed one foot behind the other, strengthening his stance to withstand the blow. Having strengthened his stance to withstand the blow, he didn't fall, but rather slid back several feet. Inu Yasha was no weakling, especially now that he was now in essence, a full youkai. A small red mark began to show itself on Sesshoumaru's face. Sesshoumaru had been expecting this from Inu Yasha, and feeling partially like he deserved to be punched, he allowed his brother to strike him. However, Sesshoumaru's silence angered Inu Yasha even more. "What do you have to say for yourself, Sesshoumaru?" he demanded. The taiyoukai brought his right leg forward to meet his left, and stood straight once more.

"I'm sorry, did you have a claim on something?" he asked his little brother, mockingly.

"Teme… you knew I was with Kagome, and yet you…"

"You are lucky that's all I did, Inu Yasha. Don't blame others for taking action where you failed to do so." Sesshoumaru continued, "had Kagome been marked already, this wouldn't have happened." At this, Inu Yasha knew that Sesshoumaru was right; he hadn't claimed Kagome as his own. If another youkai had taken her, they very well may have marked and mated with her without knowing of her ties to him. But knowing this didn't squelch Inu Yasha's anger. He remembered Kagome, and her confusion about her feelings. He drew his Tetsusaiga and positioned it towards Sesshoumaru.

"What are your intentions toward Kagome?" he growled deeply. Sesshoumaru watched in silence as Inu Yasha subconsciously began to change into his full youkai form. His ears moved to the side of his head and changed shape into humanoid youkai ears, and he developed stripes identical to those of Sesshoumaru on his cheeks and forearms. As he changed, the tone of his growl became more and more dangerous. Sesshoumaru hadn't put any real serious thought into keeping Kagome around- after all, he planned to mark Rin. The thought of Kagome remaining at his castle, however, was not an unpleasant one. The taiyoukai would have told his brother to put his sword away, but at this point, words were of little use. Besides, Sesshoumaru didn't know how to answer Inu Yasha's question- not even to himself.

"Are you challenging me?" Sesshoumaru asked mockingly. His answer was merely another growl. "Have you become incapable of speech, Inu Yasha? Are you so weak that you are still unable to control our father's blood which runs through your veins?" With every question, Inu Yasha became more and more angry.

"First you mark Kagome, and now you insult me further?" Inu Yasha spit out. "You're no real brother of mine." Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and sighed, putting a hand on the Tenseiga at his hip. "Are you going to use that sword?" Inu Yasha asked incredulously.

"A duel, then." Ignoring Inu Yasha's question, Sesshoumaru walked past Inu Yasha, who still had Tetsusaiga drawn. "Come outside."

About two minutes after Inu Yasha left her by the lakeside, Kagome heard the sound of swords clashing. It was coming from the direction of the fields where Rin usually played in the mornings. Wondering if this was the fight she had foreseen, she hurried to the scene. Sure enough, when she arrived she found Sesshoumaru and Inu Yasha in the middle of a heated battle. Kagome could sense the seriousness of Inu Yasha, and the cool indifference of his brother. It seemed the same as all of their fights before. But now, Inu Yasha was… a full youkai. His ears were no longer at the top of his head. He looked remarkably like Sesshoumaru, except for his thicker eyebrows and red clothing. They were almost the same height, but Inu Yasha was still a little shorter than his older brother.

While Inu Yasha's fighting was similar to how it had always been, Kagome noticed that he was more focused, and made less extraneous moves than normal. When Kagome looked closer, she also noticed that not only were the brothers fighting, but also that they were using their sister swords. 'I didn't think Tenseiga was capable of fighting,' she said to herself. She had previously noticed that Tenseiga was the only sword at his side, but hadn't thought it was because he could now fight with it. Kagome was stopped from thinking any further by Inu Yasha's war cry.

"AaaaahHH!" Inu Yasha yelled, as he came down on Sesshoumaru from midair. Sesshoumaru raised the Tenseiga to block the blow, and Inu Yasha seemed to hover in midair as their swords tested their strength against each other. Sesshoumaru succeeded in blocking the strike, and Inu Yasha flew back about twenty feet. As he landed on the ground, he slid back several more feet, touching a hand to the ground in order to balance himself. In a blinding flash, the taiyoukai stood in front of Inu Yasha, and moved to strike him. Had Inu Yasha not been in his transformed state, he probably would have been hit. But being in full youkai form, his reflexes were ten times faster than what they were in his post-transfusion hanyou form. He dodged to the left, and crouching down, swung his sword around in an attempt to slice Sesshoumaru's feet. Sesshoumaru jumped to avoid the swing, and landed behind his brother a few moments later. Thrusting Tenseiga into the ground, he plunged his poison claws into Inu Yasha's back.

"KKhhhh," Inu Yasha winced, but the pain was nowhere near it had been when he was previously injured by Sesshoumaru's shouki. He reached behind him before Sesshoumaru removed his hand, and placed one of his hands around his brother's wrist, releasing his own poisonous shouki onto his brother. He pulled Sesshoumaru's hand out from his back, and turned around to face his brother. "Oops- almost forgot," he said, pulling a half-smile. "I have poison claws, too." Inu Yasha gripped his brother's hand extra tight, but Sesshoumaru put a foot on his brother's stomach and pushed away, using the force to make a back-flip. He landed on his feet, facing Inu Yasha.

"Zangetsuha!" Sesshoumaru called, as he swung the Tenseiga downward.

"What the?" Inu Yasha said in surprise, as he noticed a black semicircle form behind him. It began to suck him in. "This is… this is like the Kazaana!" Quickly, he struck the ground with his sword, and held on for dear life. Finally, the portal closed. "Since when was Tenseiga able to fight!" Sesshoumaru smirked.

"Since that old man Totousai reforged it. It works quite nicely now, I think." Sesshoumaru angled the sword to run the moonlight's reflection down the blade. Now that it was capable of destruction, the Tenseiga looked much more deadly than before. In the distance, Kagome stood with her mouth open. Whatever move Sesshoumaru had just made was similar to what Miroku's Kazaana had been like, but… this move was much more powerful.

"Two can play at sword moves," Inu Yasha raised Tetsusaiga. "Bakuryuu-HA!" At this, Sesshoumaru sheathed Tenseiga, and removed the sword, sheath and all, from his belt. Holding it up to the twisting winds of Bakuryuuha, he was able to use Tenseiga's barrier to keep from being injured. After the attack subsided, Sesshoumaru returned the sheath to his belt, and once again drew the Tenseiga.

"Zangetsuha!"

"Bakuryuuha!" Inu Yasha countered, sending the strike behind him. Without wasting any time, he twisted around and sent the Kaze no Kizu at Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru easily avoided the attack, and, once more sheathing his sword, donned his poison whip.

Kagome continued to watch from afar. It was like a clash of Titans. There was no way anyone would be safe if they interfered in this fight. Kagome didn't know who she should root for- Inu Yasha was angry because of what Sesshoumaru had done, but she didn't feel any malice towards the taiyoukai. She was the one who initiated the kiss, after all. And how did she feel about Sesshoumaru, now? She shook her head and continued to watch the fight. Now was not the time to be sorting through her feelings. She, along with the two youkai in front of her, were too consumed with the fight to notice another young girl who stood on the opposite side of the battle.

Rin had been trying to sleep, when she heard insanely loud noises coming from outside. When she exited the back doors of the castle, she was shocked by what she saw. Two youkai brothers, at it again. Rin was hoping that they had settled their differences. Even when she was smaller, it never sat well with her, knowing that they were brothers who didn't get along. She noticed the blood on Sesshoumaru's hand, and the dark spot of blood on Inu Yasha's back, and it made her stomach turn. It looked like they were going to fight to the death. Although they always looked serious when they fought, somehow Rin felt like this time was different. There was a short lull in the fight. Rin took her chances and ran in to stop them.

But her little cries were drowned out by Inu Yasha once again announcing his Bakuryuuha. By the time Rin was in eyeshot of Sesshoumaru, it was too late. He moved toward her, trying to block her from his stupid little brother's attack, but the Bakuryuuha had already been unleashed. Sesshoumaru could only succeed in removing her from the raging tornadoes of youki just before they completely ripped her apart. Once the tornadoes and smoke cleared from the area, Inu Yasha spotted Sesshoumaru on the ground. He thought he won the battle, until he looked closer, and took a whiff of air. He smelled not just his and Sesshoumaru's blood- but Rin's blood as well. He dropped to his knees, disgusted by what he had just done.

"Rin? When did she…?"

Kagome let out a gasp when she saw Rin run into the path of the Bakuryuuha. What seemed like a lull in the fight was only Inu Yasha trying to find the right placement for his sword when he would strike. As soon as the smoke cleared, Kagome ran across the battlefield to where Rin lay, with Sesshoumaru kneeling over her.

"Rin!" she cried, arriving at the girl's body, and falling to her knees. "Rin," she sobbed quietly. Tears welled up in her eyes. She looked at Sesshoumaru, who was completely focused on the girl. "Sesshoumaru… can you use the Tenseiga?" The taiyoukai shook his head.

"After it was reforged to fight, it became the exact opposite of the sword it once was. It no longer has healing capabilities," he replied softly, his hand pressed against the side of Rin's face.

"Sesshou-ma-ru-sama," Rin said weakly, her eyes opening, and looking around. "Where... are you?"

"Rin," Sesshoumaru replied, not a trace of worry in his voice. Kagome looked at him. His face betrayed his feelings. While his voice was strong for Rin, he obviously expected the worst.

"I... I can't see you, Sesshoumaru-sama…"

"Don't be afraid, Rin," he told her calmly.

"It- it hurts. I'm sorry..." she coughed, the sickening sound of blood in her lungs rattling in her chest. "I didn't want you to fight with your brother anymore…" Sesshoumaru was quiet.

"I… love you, Sesshoumaru-sama," she added weakly. The cough was painful, and she could tell that her end was near.

"Rin," he whispered, his voice beginning to shake.

"Just- remember-- me," she whispered, before closing her eyes for the last time. A small smile played upon her lips as she crossed over into the afterlife. Kagome's tears landed on the dewy grass. She looked at Sesshoumaru in the moonlight, and then over at Inu Yasha, who was on his knees, struck with remorse. She heard something like a growl come from deep inside Sesshoumaru's chest, and turned her attention to him once more. His eyes seemed to flash like lightning, and before she knew it, he was gone from Rin's side. She quickly looked at where Inu Yasha had been, only to find him hanging by the neck, from Sesshoumaru's grasp.

"Khkkchk.." Inu Yasha struggled to get free of Sesshoumaru's choke-hold. Not only was it painful to be hanging by the neck, but Sesshoumaru was inflicting as much poison as he could muster onto his neck- probably in an effort to melt off his head. The taiyoukai had never before looked so threatening. His squinted eyes were bright yellow, and his nose crinkled at its bridge. No words could express his feelings, and so he had nothing to say; he only wanted to kill Inu Yasha for what he had done. Inu Yasha was shocked for a moment at the terrifying face of his brother, but the pain in his neck prompted him to quickly kick against Sesshoumaru, winning his freedom. He fell to the ground, his older brother towering over him.

"STOP!" Kagome yelled, running towards the two youkai brothers. "Stop!" Both Inu Yasha and Sesshoumaru looked at her as she approached. Just as she almost reached them, she tripped over a gash that had been made in the earth during their fight. She would have been embarrassed, if she didn't think that Inu Yasha's life was in grave danger. She tried to get up, to continue towards them, but there was a shooting pain in her ankle. "Ah!" She cried, putting a hand to her foot. "Please," she looked at both brothers with urgency in her eyes. "Sesshoumaru, Rin wanted to stop you from fighting. Inu Yasha, please don't fight with Sesshoumaru. You're brothers!"

"Keh," Inu Yasha replied. Kagome had no idea of the seriousness of their fight. But considering that already one girl was hurt- no- killed, he was ready to put the fight at least on hold. Sesshoumaru seemed to have a harder time putting a stop to his attack. His eyes stared at Kagome. She had never seen such desperation, such anguish in them as she did at that moment.

"Please, Sesshoumaru- it's… what Rin wanted…" she pleaded from her seat on the ground. He seemed to stare at her for forever, before he averted his eyes to Rin's body, which lay on the other side of the field. Without so much as a word, Sesshoumaru began to walk toward Rin. As soon as he was gone, Kagome pulled herself toward Inu Yasha, who was in pretty bad shape himself.

"Are you okay?" they asked each other in unison. Kagome smiled. "I'm fine," she said, "but what about you?" She raised a hand to Inu Yasha's neck, but didn't touch it. It really looked like a bad wound. While the inside of the wound was a bright green, the skin just around the gash was purple. A sickening crackle was coming from deep inside the wound- no doubt the effect of the shouki, eating away at his flesh.

"This? No problem. It shouldn't take too long to heal, with this new body." Meanwhile, Inu Yasha was making a mental note to put together some of those antidotes he had read about in one of the scrolls at his father's castle.

"Can you walk?"

"Sure," he told her, preparing to stand.

"I think that maybe you should go back to your father's castle," she told him. Despite the surprise on his face, she continued. "I…want to stay behind and settle things with Rin's burial. I don't think that…" she glanced behind her at Sesshoumaru, who was kneeling next to Rin's laying form. She continued in a whisper, "I don't think that Sesshoumaru will let you stay here any more." Inu Yasha nodded, remembering what it felt like when he thought Kagome had died at the hands of the Shichinintai.

"That's true, but… I don't want to leave you here, Kagome. Sesshoumaru-"

"I'll be fine. I just want to stay until after Rin is buried. You need to stay somewhere to heal, and now that Rin-chan is…" she trailed off, fighting the urge to look behind her again, "Well…" Kagome stared at the ground and continued softly, "…there's no real reason for me to stay here anymore."

"But-"

"Please, Inu Yasha." No matter how much it hurt him to hear Kagome say that she wanted to stay, he knew that she wouldn't forgive him if he denied her this request. It took almost all that he had to leave Kagome in Sesshoumaru's care once more.

"Fine. I'll be back to get you later."

"Make sure you're healed up," she told him, worried for his well-being.

"Keh, I'm fine. Just…you be careful, Kagome." She smiled at the youkai Inu Yasha.

"I will." A few moments later, they heard Miroku and Shippou's voices on the horizon.

"Inu Yasha!" they called, shortly before landing on the ground. Kirara reverted into her kitty form, and mewed. "Are you alright?" Miroku asked.

"Ah."

"Miroku, Shippou, Kirara!" Kagome called, glad to see her friends. She struggled to her feet, and gave each of them a hug. "Could you please take Inu Yasha back to the castle?" Miroku and Shippou looked at each other with puzzled faces.

"What about you, Kagome?" Shippou asked.

"I… still have something that I need to do here." Miroku and Shippou looked at Inu Yasha, to see if he agreed to this. He said nothing for awhile, but then he nodded once.

"You'll be okay, Kagome?" The miko nodded. "Then," Inu Yasha turned to his other companions, "let's get going." Again, Miroku and Shippou looked strangely at Kagome, before Miroku and Inu Yasha rode off on the transformed Kirara, Shippou running alongside them. Letting out a sigh, Kagome watched them leave before hobbling slowly over to Rin and Sesshoumaru.

"Sesshoumaru," she said gently. "Let's take Rin-chan inside. We can give her a proper burial in the morning." He gave her no vocal response, but instead stood up, hoisting Rin's lifeless body over his shoulder. Without so much as looking at Kagome, he walked inside the castle. Kagome stood motionless, watching the youkai lord with sad eyes. When he disappeared from her sight, she began to walk toward the castle, and entering her room, cried herself to sleep on the bed.

A/N: So, there you have it... things are really starting to get a little different now, ne? I teared up when I wrote this chapter, and then walked around in shock for the next hour. Anyway, please review, and let me know what you think so far! It will make my story better!

toxiclollipop: ehhe! Exactly- it has some similar stuff, but a few little things turned it into something totally different.

Beulah Page: Hehe! Your review made my day! What an honor that you've been checking for so long! I was influenced to make this alternate ending out of a small nuance because of this one movie called "Sliding Doors" with Gwyneth Paltrow. I saw it a long time ago. It was really interesting, and followed two different stories of the same woman- one story where she caught the train and saw her fiance with another woman, and the other one where she missed that same train and lived months without knowing he was cheating.

InuyashaGal: I'm not really one to make sequels- in fact, it took a lot of thought before I decided to even go on with an alternate ending. Sorry! I just saw too many crappy sequels, that I don't want to make one and add it to the pile.

Thanks a bunch to sheenachi, destinyheart15 (thanks for your support!), zookie78, and sesshy(13) (thanks for joining!).