Author's note: Hey Everyone, liking the updates so far? Get the tissue boxes ready people! Oh and I have to say, 172 reviews! Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would create a story that would be liked so much! It makes me want to cry:'( WAAAH :'( thank you thank you thank you!

Chapter 20: Set me free

"Kikyo" Kagome said drops of perspiration rolling down her face from all the pain "Please, stop it."

"Never!" Kikyo said "I want him to suffer Kagome! But you are the only thing that can stand in my way! I don't like things that stand in my way!"

"You vile, horrible" Kagome uttered out in frustration "Let me go!"

Kikyo merely began to laugh as Kagome sunk lower in the cage, the power of her premonitions beginning to take control of her. Their power had grown so immense that it was beginning to surround her in the form of a blue lightning. A hazy green aura engulfed Kagome. Kikyo seemed almost surprised at this. The aura was a symbol of Kikyo's own power, but the aura was green, thick with envy. Kikyo was not jealous of Kagome in the least, so why was this happening to her.

Confused, she stopped immediately and look at her hands in perplexity. "What?" she said aloud, making her bewilderment clear "how can that be?"

She turned to look at Kagome, who was panting and still lying on the ground. It was hard to tell which was her sweat and which were her tears as she lay there, almost limp and breathing shallowly.

It was obvious that Kikyo would not get what she wanted this way. So she pondered what to do in an almost panicked frenzy. Was Kagome powerful enough to thwart her powers? Her? Kikyo? The one who had given the power to Kagome? It seemed so, for other victims had never created an aura of Kikyo's own feelings to compete with the power of the premonitions.

If Kagome was really as powerful as Kikyo thought, how could she still get Kagome and Inu Yasha out of the way? It suddenly came to her, like a bolt from the blue. She smirked, knowing that Kagome would willingly go along with her plan, she would have to.

"Fine" Kikyo said, snapping her fingers so that the cage was lifted "If you wish it so badly, I will let you return to him."

"What?" Kagome said, surprised at Kikyo's sudden change of heart. Though, she wanted it to be true so badly, she knew that these second thoughts were too sudden to come without a price.

"On the condition" Kikyo said, much to Kagome's prediction "that you only stay there for 2 hours."

Kagome still looked surprised, thinking that there was probably some other catch. This couldn't be possible, it seemed too easy. After all, Kagome could easily tell Inu Yasha that she loved him and break the spell within two hours. The idea that this fact had never crossed Kikyo's mind seemed impossible to Kagome, not when she had done all this planning since Kagome's birth. She was sure Kikyo was planning something.

"Here" Kikyo continued, handing Kagome a large pocket watch laced on a string to tie around her neck "this will indicate how much of your life is left."

Kagome slowly took the watch from Kikyo's hands and slipped it over her head. "I want to make this interesting" Kikyo quipped "more of a challenge."

Kagome knew it! Kikyo was planning something! Hastily, Kagome moved to take off the watch "I'm not going along with anymore of your evil schemes!" she said, struggling to remove the object. But the watch would not allow Kagome to pull it off her neck. Every time she tried, the same green light that had surrounded her earlier, engulfed the necklace and made it tighter round her neck. She was unable to remove it!

"What?" Kagome said in frustration, glaring up at Kikyo who returned her angry look with a simple, knowing smile.

"You already agreed when you took the watch from me" she laughed amusedly "how easily you are fooled for your wimpy love Inu Yasha."

"You…bitch!" Kagome yelled.

"Such language" Kikyo scolded in mock horror "we are in heaven you know!"

"Enough of this" Kagome continued to shout "I am not a pawn on some board game; you can't play me like a piece on a checker board!"

She tried to lunge at Kikyo but Kikyo merely snapped her fingers and once again, Kagome was on the floor, clutching her pounding heart.

"I could just as easily get rid of you here and now Kagome" she said coldly "you should be happy I am giving you a chance at life."

"Life?" Kagome said, looking up at her.

Kikyo smiled "here is what you must do" she said.

"KAGOME!" Inu Yasha screamed, hugging her tightly to him "this can't be happening! THIS HAS TO BE A LIE!"

Naraku merely stared, getting annoyed at the hanyou before "oh stop howling like a dog you…dog!"

Inu Yasha looked up at him in anger "she is dead now" Naraku continued "give it up fool! You cannot win! Even she can not come back from the dead."

Inu Yasha felt the anger in him rising, his blood boiled with an unparalleled fury.

"You dare" he said "to insult Kagome?"

He glared up the foul man "I'll shut your mouth forever if you do it again!" he shouted, lunging at the demonic human.

"That's the challenge?" Kagome said in disbelief "I have to break the spell within 2 hours time? That's it?"

"Yes" Kikyo nodded "if you can't, your soul belongs to me!"

"That'll be easy!" Kagome said, standing "I accept whole heartedly."

"There is one other thing" Kikyo pointed out "you can't tell Inu Yasha about the bet placed between us, agreed?"

"Agreed!" Kagome said "Say goodbye Kikyo, because I won't be coming back!"

Kikyo merely smiled, grabbing the stringed clock and twisting it to indicate when 2 hours were up "good luck" she said pressing down the button on the top to start the clock.

Kagome smiled in determination as she felt herself disappearing from the spirit world. Soon she was racing back to her body. She could see herself, lying limply on the ground. She grew closer and closer to her corpse, until suddenly.

"INU YASHA!" she said, sitting up from where she lay quickly.

Inu Yasha froze, mid jump. His claw dropped to his side and he looked down for a moment. He seemed like he was almost quivering. This continued for a few minutes until he slowly turned, tears welling up in his eyes "Kagome?" he called softly, seeing the girl he had thought dead only moments ago, standing and looking back at him. She was glowing, radiating with beauty and grace that he had previously feared he would never lay eyes on again.

"I'm here Inu Yasha" she said, holding out her arms to him.

"KAGOME!" he screamed in joy, running to her like a lost child running to his newly found mother. Hugging her body tightly, he felt her warm tears on his shoulder as she caressed his face with a bloodied but beautiful hand.

"Hello Inu Yasha" she said with a teary smile "sorry to worry you."

"But I thought" Inu Yasha said in disbelief, kneeling to the ground, the girl still in his arms "how did you…?"

Even Naraku, who was standing directly behind them, seemed utterly surprised at the girl's power. His shock was apparent on his face.

"Kikyo said I could come back" Kagome said "but only for 2 hours."

"Why?" Inu Yasha said, growing sad once more "why do you have to leave me again?"

"I have to" Kagome said "I'm not so powerful that I can come back completely from the dead."

Inu Yasha looked down at her in pain "but before I go" Kagome said "I wanted to see you one last time; I couldn't bear leaving without talking to you once more."

"Then before your time is up" Inu Yasha said, smiling "I'll kill Naraku for you!"

"Go Inu Yasha!" Kagome cheered "destroy him!" I'll break the spell a little later she told herself inwardly after all, I still have 2 hours.

With new found hope, Inu Yasha lunged once again for Naraku, who tried to dodge but was deeply scraped in the arm from one of his claws.

Kagome began to cheer when suddenly; she felt a sharp pain in her own arm. Turning to look at it, she saw a deep gash in it. Her eyes widened in surprise and fear and the blood flooded down her arm. The crimson liquid continued to pour as she thought to herself in fear what?

Inu Yasha kept attacking Naraku, who again and again mysteriously failed to dodge. Soon it became that Naraku was cut badly in his cheek, face and chest.

"AAAAAAGH" Kagome screamed in pain as she too felt the pain of searing flesh in the same areas, then the warmth of her blood.

What's happening? Why? She thought why am I getting hit in the same places as Naraku?

She began to hear cold, shrill laughter in her ears. Kikyo's laughter "Witch!" she screamed "explain this to me!"

Kikyo merely replied "check the watch Kagome, time is running out"

Kagome looked at the watch confusedly, a whole half and hour was indicated as lost by its hands. But she knew that she hadn't been alive for more than ten minutes.

"He is powerful isn't he?" Kikyo said with a smirk "I didn't think he had such supremacy."

"Why is this happening?" Kagome said, pointing to the watch and her bleeding body.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that his demon powers are being energized by your life force?" Kikyo said in mock forgetfulness.

"What?" Kagome asked in confusion.

"Haven't you noticed that Inu Yasha is now able to hurt Naraku where as he couldn't before?" Kikyo mentioned "it is because his power is being boosted by your remaining soul. Using his half demon claws is eating up minutes of your time here. His tenacity, rage, and hunger for revenge are being channeled into his attacks. The more angered he gets, the more of your time is taken away. Your cuts are the results of his power eating up your soul."

"You!" Kagome shouted "you tricked me!"

"You expected anything less?" Kikyo said with a smirk "this is just his power in his hanyou form; imagine how much time it would eat up if he were to become his transformed self? Imagine how angry he'd be then?"

"You wouldn't dare!" Kagome yelled at Kikyo began to laugh.

"Oh wouldn't I?" Kikyo said "I said I wanted you out of the way, and I said I wanted him to suffer. Why not kill to birds with one stone. When this is over I shall laugh at the irony of it all. For isn't it ironic, he thinks he is helping you by extracting his revenge when in reality, his efforts are tearing you away from him."

She laughed harder than ever as she rose higher in the air, fingers snapping.

"No, Kikyo, don't" Kagome said as she saw Inu Yasha pulsate as he had when he had transformed earlier that evening "Kikyo! KIKYO!"

But Kikyo had disappeared, leaving only the echo of her cold laughter ringing in Kagome's ears. "INU YASHA!" she screamed, seeing the eyes of her beloved hanyou become angry and warped. His face grew distorted with rage and his claws, which had grown about 3 inches longer gripped the air. His fangs which had also grown pushed so deeply into his lip from gritting his teeth that icy crimson blood was trickling down his chin.

"Don't transform!" Kagome said "PLEASE! YOU'VE GOT TO STOP!"

Kagome frantically looked to her watch. The whole first hour was gone and Inu Yasha had not even made an attack in his altered form. Kagome knew she would have to do all she could to break the spell while she still had a chance. She only hoped he would be able to hear her.

"Inu Yasha!" Kagome said "I LO…"

Kagome stopped short, gagging and clutching her heart. She watched as a large, cross-shaped cut appeared on one of her wrists.

"Kikyo" she shouted, pointing to the cut which miraculously, had no blood emerging from within it "What is this?"

"My own personal touch" Kikyo's voice echoed through the air, though she made no effort to show herself physically "I do it to all my victims, a standard triangle of pain, a cross on each wrist and a mark on the forehead indicating what the person died from. Maybe on you I should make it a heart, for you died trying to save your love. Once your life is over, I take the blood of your past life away from you. Your empty corpse will belong to me. But the marks remain however, to signify how useless your life really was, and to remind you how though those dark times were in the past, they truly happened and the pain will be real once more. You'll live in constant reminding of your spiritual torture, alone and unloved with me in the bowls of hell!"

"You…psycho…witch" Kagome seethed, anger rising with every word "I won't die for you! I'll break the spell right now!"

"Ah, ah, ah" Kikyo said, a hint of a chuckle in her voice "You've forgotten the premonitions already? I used them to stop you from foiling my plans once before, and I can do it again!"

"NO!" Kagome said as the hands of the watch moved faster and faster, soon she would only have 15 minutes left.

"I've got to reach him somehow without saying my feelings aloud" Kagome said "but how can I do that?"

Author's note: and here is where I need your help. How can I get Kagome to reach Inu Yasha? It would seem corny and not well thought out if she reaches him by merely thinking about him, as was my original idea. But if you like or if you can think of a better way, I am completely open for suggestions. Thanks everyone! See you next update, JA!

-xXxKaG-cHaNxXx