Chapter 11: The Rivalry

Gajeel really wanted to laugh. He really did. Although due to the circumstances it would probably be frown upon and he would get yelled at or hit. But damn, did he really want to laugh.

He was impressed that Kagome decided to outright jump over a freaking balcony, but Laxus' face had been more hilarious. It was like he was still trying to process what his girl just did. Gajeel didn't want to move from his spot when Kagome punched the other blonde, however, he felt Laxus' magic flaring and he knew he had to go to prevent one blonde murdering another blonde. A few hits would probably be okay, but murdering would be too messy, Laxus would be thrown in jail, and he probably wouldn't hear the end of it from Levy on why he didn't do anything. So the moment Laxus went, so did he.

He really had to give it to Kagome. She was small and almost all of the time, a sweet cool chick. She fed him, she automatically made her way into his good list just for that one. But damn did she have a temper. It only left him wondering if Laxus had gotten her mad like that already.

As they all left the field and made their way to the infirmary, Gajeel could still feel that murderous energy from Laxus. Oh yeah, the lightning dragon was completely whip by the woman that was under his arm. He really was hoping Laxus would smash Saberpunk's face in, just to give him an excuse to hit something. He was still not happy about what happened with the chariots event.

Kagome didn't go back to normal until she went inside the infirmary to check on Lucy.

Team B waited outside alongside Gray, Natsu, Erza, Happy, and Carla. Kagome came back out and softly told them to come in. Her face was pale and her eyes looked tired. The flames she had in her eyes earlier as she had yelled at Sting was long gone. Laxus gave her a confused look as he went up to her, quickly pulling her against him so she could lean on him, "You alright?"

"She used a lot more of her energy than what she's used to," Porlyusica cut in, "I told her to stop many times but she wouldn't."

Gajeel had grabbed a chair for Kagome to sit on, "Talk about stubborn woman." She smiled tiredly as Laxus had her sit on it.

Cana snorted, "Do you not see who she's with?"

He threw a glare at the drunk for that one.

Natsu's eyes swept on the unconscious form of Lucy. His rage had also disappeared as he took in her unconscious form. It just looked wrong. She needed to be up, celebrating with them. He's supposed to see her smiling, not being covered in bandages.

He felt a hot strange sensation in his throat. He walked up to her and swallowed, "How is she?"

"To the quick thinking of Kagome, Wendy, and Sherria, she will be alright. Her heart had been too weak until Kagome got to her first. If it wasn't for that, she would have been in worse shape."

Natsu noticed how Lucy's faced shifted as a groaned slipped out of her lips as her eyes slowly opened. He got closer to her and gripped her hand, worry dripping out of his mouth, "Luce?"

Her wide chocolate eyes were slowly opening, squinting as she tried making out her surroundings. Her tired eyes caught Natsu's face and she tried to smile. Her voice was tired and raspy, "I'm sorry I couldn't win."

"You got us the points," Gray quickly said. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel like a failure in her current state.

Erza nodded as she got close to the bed, "You did excellent."

Lucy smiled at them until realization hit her, "My keys…"

But Happy came through and immediately gave them to her. She was happy to have them back, but she was emotionally drained and her body was still throbbing from the beating she endured. It wasn't long that she fell asleep again, clutching her precious keys to her chest, looking for their comfort in her current time.

Juvia wet a cloth since Kagome was still pale and placed it on her head. Kagome smiled at her, "Thank you Juvia."

Natsu was now growling, his fist white as he tried to calm down his temper, "They're going to pay for this."

And just when they thought things couldn't get worse, Makarov came in and announced that Fairy Tail needed to form one sole team. There had been loud complaints, but it seemed it was becoming complicated when arranging fights. There had been a lot of deliberation, but nonetheless it was created and definitely the strongest team that they could form.

Everyone cheered for them as they came in, and the entire crowd was hyped over the new team created.

Kagome's energy was low so she tried cheering as much as she could. She really had overdone it. She just needed to be more careful on how often she was healing people. It was becoming an almost daily thing. But she didn't mind it. It was naturally in her nature.

By the time the battle against Sabertooth came up, she felt better. She was excitedly watching, specially enjoying seeing Levy's reaction whenever Gajeel was making hits. Kagome took notice that Natsu was being more serious than usual. Then again, this was her first time really seeing him fight. The first time wasn't even all that fair to begin with. But she knew he was doing this for Lucy. She always hoped that it wasn't one sided what Lucy obviously felt for him, but seeing his reaction to her being injured and the way he was looking at her, it wasn't one sided. She knew he was doing this for her. Not just for the guild, but primarily Lucy.

As the fight continued on, she felt a strange sensation inside of her. Her breaths became shallow and her throat felt tight. Suddenly, she felt a force, forcing itself inside of her in her chest. She gasped for air as she collapsed. Drops of sweat started to form immediately on her forehead and her heart rate was increasing at a fast pace. She felt hot, but not like if she had a fever. She felt an intense heat in her chest. She could hear everyone around her, but she couldn't speak.

"Kagome, can you hear me?"

"What's wrong with her?"

"She probably used too much energy on Lucy!"

But Bickslow was capable of seeing what was wrong and his eyes widened.

"Oh my God- we need to get her out of here!"

He didn't hesitate as he scooped her up in his arms as she was trembling violently. Levy left to tell Laxus and Juvia stuck by him, keeping Kagome's face cool to prevent her from passing out.

"Where are you gonna take her?" Juvia asked with worry as Kagome's pupils dilated and her aura started to come out. She could see the sparks of pink flashing violently around her.

"The infirmary. It's the closest and it'll be the safest."

He could see the energy getting bigger within her and he just ran faster. He kicked the door open and placed her on the bed furthest away from Lucy. Lucy sat up as much as she could and Wendy was frantically asking what was going on as she saw the trembling woman in Bickslow's arms. Carla wasn't even sure how to respond. Bickslow placed her gently on the bed, but with his hands he grabbed her arms as she started to thrash around. Juvia moved quickly, grabbing Kagome's ankles.

Just then, a worried Laxus came in. The moment Levy told him that Kagome was taken to the infirmary he had sprinted without a second thought. He could practically taste the anxiety from the script mage, making his worry increase.

"What the hell is going on?"

Suddenly, she stopped moving. There was a force, pushing Bickslow and Juvia away from her and they soon could see a translucent pink shield all around her.

Bickslow removed his helmet as his eyes glowed, "Her soul- it's reforming again."

Carla was next to them by this point, "What do you mean her soul?"

"Is she going to be okay?" Lucy asked with a wince as she tried getting a better look.

Laxus' inner dragon was thrashing with fury inside his head, not liking one bit seeing her in the state she was in.

"Kagome! Kagome, answer me!" he yelled as he slammed his fists against the shield.

She felt herself being pulled into a dark hole. She didn't know where she was going or where everyone else was. She kept screaming their names, his name, but she was coming up empty. It seemed to be endless and she panicked. She was confused and scared on what was going on. She closed her eyes, but as she opened them again, she was now standing on a field. A familiar field. She could see the tall tree, hovering over the surrounding ones. A part of its trunk was smooth, where Inuyasha was asleep for fifty years. She took a step forward, and she took notice that her clothes were different. She was wearing the priestess garment.

She knew that there was no way for her to be back home again. She looked around, "What is going on? Why am I here?"

"Because it is time to say goodbye."

She whirled around and gasped as she found herself looking at a mirror image. But the eyes were different. They were cool and filled with tremendous pain and sorrow.

A breathless gasp escaped her lips, "Kikyo…"

Kikyo seemed paler, her long black hair resembling pitch black ink. The woman cautiously brought her hand up to her chest as she continued to stare at Kagome, "We are one again."

Kagome didn't like how that sounded. She took a step forward, "What do you mean we are one? Where am I? How did you get here?"

Kikyo shook her head, "There's not much time. My time has ended. It is up to you."

Kagome's eyes widened as she felt a knot in her throat, "No… you cannot mean-"

"The door will be opened."

Kagome approached Kikyo as her eyes were brimming with tears. She grabbed her shoulders, but her fingers came up empty. Kikyo's body was slowly disappearing in small spectacles of light, "No! You can't leave! Kikyo, what happened?!"

"I'll always be there. For I am you..."

She didn't hold back the tears as she shook her head, "No… I am Kagome."

….

She woke up abruptly with a gasp. Laxus jumped from his spot on the chair and practically ran to her.

She had been in a coma like state for over a day.

"Kagome," he said soothingly as he carefully took a hold of her, "Kagome can you hear me?"

But she wasn't listening. With trembling hands, she grabbed the small flask that hung on her neck and opened it with great urgency. As the four shards landed in her palm, the moment they made contact with her skin, they glowed powerfully.

Her voice broke as she stare wide eyed at her hand, tears brimming in the corner of her eyes.

"No… Oh Kami... no…"

He took a hold of her shoulders and slightly shook her, "Kagome, for fuck's sake, talk to me!"

"Laxus, you need to calm down."

He ignored the commanding voice of his grandfather. He couldn't calm down. He had been losing his shit the entire time she had been unconscious. It was finally the middle of the day of the free day before the final of the games that she finally woke up. She seemed shaken by something and he didn't like it.

But she wouldn't stop staring at the jewels or ignore the fact that she could feel her purifying energy moving wildly inside of her. She gripped them and brought it close to her heart as she finally cried out.

He's never felt so useless in his life as the woman who he had been falling for was crying in sorrow. Her wails were bouncing off the walls as she cried. He just held her. He didn't know what else to do because he had no clue what the fuck was even going on.

She broke into sobs as she held on to him. She wasn't sure if she was crying of her own sorrow, or because Kikyo was finally resting in peace, or because she couldn't imagine Inuyasha's pain.

Bickslow approached them slowly, "Kagome, how are you feeling?"

She looked up at him from where her head rested on Laxus' chest, "I… I…"

"Your soul is whole again," he carefully said, "I wouldn't try getting up. Your body has to take it in again, especially with the amount of energy you have now."

Her eyes welled up in tears again, "I… I know… She came to say goodbye…" she sniffled.

"Kagome," Levy's soothing voice carefully said, "Who are you talking about?"

She opened her palm for them to see the glow from the shards, "Kikyo… I… I never said this to all of you… At the start… of everything… I was kidnapped by a witch. She was hoping to resurrect Kikyo again… but she needed a soul… her soul… I was saved, but half of it went to her."

"But now it's back?" Gajeel asked as he leaned against the wall.

She trembled as she couldn't form the sentence.

Bickslow looked at those that were there, "The only way her soul could be whole again is if Kikyo dies. Apparently she did and that part of the soul seemed to have searched for its rightful owner."

She pulled away from Laxus and pleadingly looked at him, "I have to go back. I'm sure he killed her. He's made his move. They need me," she turned to the others, "I'm all that it's left to destroy him."

Makarov nodded in understanding, "We will figure something out. I do not mean to put the sorrow and the severity of your situation to the side, but right now we must deal with one incident before jumping into another dilemma."

She was confused, "What's going on?"

"Lucy was arrested by the Royal Army," Gajeel responded, "You've been knocked out since yesterday afternoon."

Levy placed a hand on Kagome's shoulder, "I'm still working on the book I got from the celestial world. I will make sure you get back to help your friends."

Kagome couldn't describe how grateful she was to them. Their support was unimaginable. However, she didn't like the fact that Lucy was arrested, so she asked them to tell her what happened. The iron slayer had been there when it happened, so he went into the story of how they found an entire graveyard of dragon bones and eventually why Lucy got taken away.

Eventually, they were interrupted by Erza coming in the infirmary. She was glad that Kagome was doing better, but her gaze landed on Gajeel and Laxus.

"The first master wants to plan out our strategy for tomorrow for the games."

Laxus wanted to snap at the red headed woman for coming in and interrupting them. He could feel that Kagome wasn't feeling okay at all. Levy took notice of the mental debate in the dragon's head, "I'll stay with her. You all need to win tomorrow. It's okay."

He sighed as he got up from the chair. He noticed that Kagome hadn't raised her head, her eyes not focused on anything as she looked at her hands. He sighed again and gave her a kiss on the head and stepped out with Bickslow following along. Gajeel had his arms crossed, but the moment he saw Laxus leaving the room he grunted.

"We'll be at Bar Sun. Find us there if you need us."

Levy gratefully smiled at him, "Thank you."

And once they were alone, Levy turned to Kagome.

"What happened? I know you said that she came to say goodbye."

She saw the way her eyes started to focus again as she looked up at her.

"It was so sudden," she said tiredly, "I could tell I was back in my world."

Levy leaned in a bit, "Did she say anything that could be important?"

And the words seemed to echo out of her mouth, "The door will be opened."

Levy furrowed her eyebrows in concentration as the word door played over and over in her head, trying to decipher what it could mean.

But then she remembered the Eclipse plan that Gajeel told them after Lucy had been taken.

"The only door that holds some sort of magical energy is the Eclipse Gate," she cautiously said as her brain was still going fast with different theories, "I'm not too sure… it's supposed to be a door to the past. I'm not sure how that can be linked to your world."

Kagome sighed, "I tried going back to my world through the well I came from, it didn't work."

They stayed in silence afterwards. Levy wasn't used to seeing Kagome like this. The woman tended to always have conversations and laugh and smile. She wasn't sure how deep the relationship between her and Kikyo was, but it seemed to be taking a toll on the woman.

"So, why don't you tell me about your actual world? Not the Feudal Era."

Kagome smiled softly as a mental image of her mom, brother, and grandfather came to mind. The moment Levy saw her smiling, she felt happy again. There was the Kagome she learned to care about.

…

The sixth day of the Grand Magic Games was the most anticipated day. The remaining guilds with all of their members were to have an all out battle royale. The leader, which would be unknown to the competitors and the rest of the guilds, was worth five points while each other member was worth one point. Anyone could come out on top.

Kagome felt horribly that she had not spent the night with Laxus. She didn't want to be with anyone. She wanted to be alone with her thoughts.

Having her soul back again, it was a strange sensation. She could feel it moving and shifting inside her.

But it deeply worried on what could be going on with her friends back home. She was sure Naraku killed her, meaning he was ready. The final battle was approaching and she had no clue how to get back and help.

In the other hand, she was worried for Lucy who had been taken prisoner. She was sure that Natsu, Wendy, and Mirajane alongside the exceeds would be successful with their mission in retrieving Lucy. They had to be.

It was just too much that was going on. She only hoped it would get better.

When the team came into view, she cheered as loud as she could. She wasn't sure why she felt unsettled, like if it was going to be the last time she would be around everyone like this. But as the fireworks of the ceremony ended, she made sure Laxus could hear her from down the field.

Which in fact, he did. He could easily pinpoint her cheering through the entire mass of people in the stands. He wasn't mad at her for not wanting to spend the night in his room. He couldn't be. He wasn't sure entirely what the relationship between her and the other woman was, but it clearly impacted her. Bickslow had told him that her soul was wildly responding to being back put together again and to not be surprised if her purifying powers were out of control suddenly.

He stood proudly with the rest of his team, but he made sure he moved his head towards where she stood with everyone else and smirked.

He could hear her cheer louder.

And then the signal was given. It was time.

….