Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me. And here's a bit of fair warning, with two Inuyashas… things may get a bit confusing. When there is a change of point of view (and there will be lots) I will try to make it clear at the beginning of the sentence which one we're focusing on. I tried to be as clear as I could and still keep the story going smoothly.

Chapter: Eleven: Inuyasha versus Inuyasha

Kagome watched in shock as the very human Inuyasha was standing up after being thrown into a tree by the very enraged hanyou Inuyasha.

How the heck was that possible?

How can they be in the same place?

How was it possible that the HUMAN Inuyasha seemed to be healing so quickly?

She watched as the wounds on his arm just disappeared. Not that the wound was healing slowly with the skin knitting back together like what happens with her hanyou, but actually disappearing! He seemed just as shocked as she was. Then she saw him smile slowly, one that could be classified as wicked if it were possible for her sweet, if not occasionally temperamental, friend could even be wicked.

Inuyasha, her dog eared Inuyasha, froze in mid attack when he noticed the unusual healing. Landing gracefully near Kagome, he sniffed.

"What are you?" the hanyou demanded, moving closer to Kagome protectively.

"I'm Inuyasha," the human said with a confident smile. "And Kagome is coming back home with me."

The hanyou was creative in his colorful (though not terribly original) response, that caused Kagome to blush, as he suggested the human do things that weren't humanly possible. He left no shadow of a doubt in anyone's mind about what he thought about THAT particular idea. Nope, it was highly unlikely that he was about to let some human take off her. Well... sort of a human...

"You aren't human," Inuyasha growled as he kept himself planted firmly in front of the curious and confused miko, "You have no scent."

"No scent?" echoed Kagome, who finally found her voice.

The human cringed, cursing the tattletale. This wasn't the way he had planned on telling Kagome about what he had figured out. Well, to be honest, he wasn't really sure that he had planned on telling her at all. He stepped to the side so that he could get a better look at his friend, but the demon was one big red movable wall. Every step that he took, the demon blocked.

"What's going on?" asked a small, tired voice.

"It appears, Shippo," …yawn… "That Inuyasha has found… himself."

"Shut up, Miroku!" growled the dog demon. "This human was trying to steal Kagome."

The demon slayer jumped to her feet and quickly picked up her weapon, all traces of sleep vanished. The monk's countenance went from amused to carefully blank. The kit was wailing in panic as Kirara stood on his tail to keep him from leaping blindly into the fray to get to Kagome.

"Protect her." The miko was shoved in their direction as Inuyasha focused all of his attention onto the interloper.

Quick as lightening, Inuyasha leapt at the human, raking his claws across the human's middle. He ignored Kagome's scream, but was glad she didn't 'sit' him. His ears pinned back as he glanced in her direction warily. Would she interfere in this fight like she always did with Kouga? Would she protect this… this… imitation?

Kagome shrieked again, but this time it was because the human was suddenly healed once more. There wasn't even a tear in the shirt he was wearing! Definitely not a human. Inuyasha sniffed again. But he wasn't a demon either. So, what was he? Not one to give up easily, the hanyou leapt once more, but this time his claws went straight through his body.

Not tearing through it or making a hole. His hand went through the body as if it was mist. Or a ghost. Inuyasha crouched down and looked up to see a human version of himself sporting a very cocky smirk.

"What's the matter, demon?"

Inuyasha looked down at the demon crouching near him and felt an unbelievable sense of power. The demon couldn't touch him!

"Leave Kagome alone," the dog demon growled.

Inuyasha chuckled. "Sorry, pooch, but I can't do that. I'm taking Kagome home with me. So be a good boy and just play dead."

The human walked through the enraged hanyou. As completely surreal as the whole experience had been for him, he just wanted to take Kagome home and get back to real life. Well, as real as life got for him at least. The first thing he planned to do was destroy the stupid well. Then he had to figure out exactly how his whole existence worked so that he could find a way to keep Kagome with him all the time. With luck she wouldn't even remember this place or these people. They would just be some barely remembered dream. And THIS time he wouldn't let anyone talk about dreams at all! He would find a way to keep her so busy she won't have time to think about these dreams.

He would find a way to make her happy. So happy that she would never want to leave him, even if she ever did find out the truth.

He'd find a way to make her love him as much as he loved her.

Kagome watched as the human Inuyasha started walking towards her. She was a bit creeped out when she saw him walk THROUGH the other Inuyasha. The human looked determined, the hanyou looked… shocked. Why wasn't he moving?

He expected to feel icy shivers down his spine when the human walked through him, but instead, he felt nothing. Nothing at all. The lack of smell still bothered him more than a lack of substance. Looking down at his claws he swore under his breath. Was this thing a ghost? Nothing seemed to be able to touch him. But… he had touched Kagome…. For a moment his vision turned hazy and crimson, but he shook it away.

The human had touched her to wake her up.

Had kissed her.

KISSED HER!

It was a bit harder shaking away the red haze this time. Rage boiled his blood and his claws dug into the earth as he tried to keep himself from losing all control. It went against all of his protective instincts to let another male so close to Kagome. (Miroku and Shippo don't count, of course, since they are pack.) But he had to let the male just a little closer. He fought against the demon inside of him and against his own instincts to let the human just a little closer.

The human's arm rose. Fingers stretched towards Kagome.

Kagome wasn't sure how to feel as Inuyasha was reaching for her. Part of her brain told her that this was some kind of illusion, a dream, perhaps even a demon. But another part of her brain argued that this was her childhood friend and that she loved him and trusted him. Her body refused to move. It didn't go towards him or away from him.

His fingers were just a whisper away when suddenly he vanished.

Actually, 'vanished' is really the wrong word. What happened was that he was there one moment, then there was this red blur, then there was nothing. It wasn't really a mystery, since Kagome was well acquainted with what that red blur meant. She looked to the left (the direction the blur seemed to be heading) and saw a red clad figure slamming her childhood friend into a tree.

"INUYASHA!"

They both looked at her, which was a little disconcerting. She didn't know which one she was yelling at, or for. She felt her grasp on sanity slip just a little more when they gave her identical questioning looks.

"Don't worry," called the human cheerfully, "The demon can't hurt me." Then once more he walked through the hanyou and began walking towards Kagome.

Inuyasha ignored the snarling demon behind him and focused on his friend. He would walk straight through every one of them, take Kagome's hand, and somehow get her out of here. Would she become intangible too if he had a hold of her? How were they going to get back to wherever it was that he came from? Would going down the well help? He wiped his sweaty palms on the legs of his jeans, a bit bemused that he could even HAVE sweaty palms.

He pushed aside his questions and doubts. Perhaps he should have come up with an escape plan, but he couldn't think of anything else besides getting to Kagome. Once they were together they would figure something out.

"SHIPPO!"

Inuyasha was startled with the demon behind him yelled. For the moment he couldn't remember which one of them was Shippo. But it didn't matter, the yell was a command, which meant the tricky demon was up to something. So he took off at a run towards Kagome. He called her name.

"KAGOME!"

Inuyasha snarled as he heard the human yell for the miko. The kit better get to her in time. Big green eyes blinked uncomprehendingly at him for a moment. For a few moments actually. So many long moments that Inuyasha thought that the fox demon would never get it. Telling him exactly what to do would ruin the element of surprise, but if he didn't do it soon… well… the human wouldn't be the only one who should fear for his life.

At the last moment the hanyou heard the pop and saw the large pink bubble appear and carry a squealing Kagome up to the tree tops. The kit would live another day.

"What should we do?" whispered Sango as she watched her best friend float up and land on a tree branch far above their heads.

Miroku was silent for a moment. "When the time is right, we will know." He sighed dramatically as he motioned towards the drama unfolding with one hand, causing the rings on his staff to jangle. "But for right now we watch, and we help Shippo keep Kagome away from the Inuyasha of her dreams."

A silver ear twitched, as well as a tick in his forehead. "DON'T CALL HIM THAT!"

"Do you forget about his hearing or do you just like to provoke him?"

Miroku grinned his answer at Sango, his free hand slipping lower as the jangling rings distracted the slayer.

"You PERVERT!"

Why oh why did he ever let Kagome talk him into letting those two tag along anyhow? Why couldn't he have just told her no? And whose side were they on in all this anyhow? Did they WANT Kagome to go with this THING? Unsheathing his sword, he decided that it was time to end all this.

"A sword?"

Inuyasha looked at the demon holding the sword. How did the sword get so big? Oh yeah, magic. He almost scoffed at the idea when he remembered his own predicament. He shrugged, okay, so it was magic. He was finally a believer. Kagome would probably be amused, and gloating.

The demon yelled some phrase and swung the sword. Kagome screamed his name from the tree tops. Blades of … was that wind?... went right threw him. It kinda tingled. He looked up into the trees and waved at Kagome to let her know that he was just fine. It was a little surprising to see the same sword swing straight through his waving arm. Surprising and more than a little unnerving. But a little cool at the same time. It was beginning to feel more like a superpower than anything else.

The demon cursed some more. It was interesting that his sweet Kagome would purposely hang out with such a foul mouthed creature. How could she have ever have accused HIM of having a potty mouth when she hung out with THAT demon?

"Problems?" Inuyasha asked the fuming demon.

Inuyasha was beyond rage. Nothing was working on this puny ghost of a human. Claws and his sword went right through him. Even the wind scar hadn't had any effect on him. Maybe Miroku or Kaede would have some ideas, knew of some sort of spell, but he couldn't risk leaving Kagome alone with that… that THING!

Sniff. Sniff. Oh great, now she's crying, Inuyasha grumbled. How was he going to be able to concentrate on killing this thing if she cried over him? It. It's not human. How could she get worked up over some THING that wasn't even alive. Just because it LOOKED alive didn't mean it WAS alive, even if it did look and sounded like someone you knew. Surely she knew the difference. Didn't she?

The stupid human called up some promise to Kagome about keeping her safe. Which really was stupid. No one kept her safer than him. And it was really really stupid to think that she needed to be kept safe FROM him!

"Just SHUT UP!" he screamed as he plunged his sword into the human's chest, pinning him (rather ironically) to the tree.

But the human just looked at it. Then he smiled a little. Inuyasha jerked back when he saw the other's hand hover over his own. He could feel his skin crawl when the hand began to slowly solidify. As the human grabbed his sword he raked his claws through his belly again. But no luck, only the hand was solid.

And he had the sword.

Inuyasha couldn't believe it. He was holding the demon's sword. Okay, it was also nearly beyond belief that he was holding the sword while it was sticking out of his body. Somehow he was able to make only part of his body solid. This just got better and better.

He pulled the sword out of the tree and gave it an experimental swing. The demon's jaw had dropped open. Unfortunately, the sword he held in his hand looked rather… lame. It wasn't nearly as formidable and majestic looking in his hands. It looked horribly beaten up and rather old.

With one swing of the sword he slashed at the demon, who hadn't moved. There was a line of blood on his arm where the sword sliced him.

"Things just got interesting," he said as he raised the sword.

Inuyasha couldn't believe it. He was holding HIS sword! How was that possible? And he CUT him! Things didn't get interesting, they just got more complicated. Not only was this thing armed, but it seemed that the sword could be solid or as intangible as the human was. Luckily the human was the worst swordsman he had ever seen.

Ever.

He had only drawn blood because Inuyasha had been so shocked at seeing him grab the sword that he hadn't moved. With a smirk he reached up and soaked his claws in the blood that was beginning to drip from the shallow wound.

"BLADES OF BLOOD!"

Of course the attack didn't hit. The human went into ghost mode again. It was very irritating. What was more irritating was how quietly Sango and Miroku were talking to each other while watching on the sidelines. It was like they were watching a show on television like Kagome's family would sometimes do. He told himself that it was because they had complete faith in his ability to win. But a small voice inside of him asked if they were even sure who they WANTED to win.

And what about Kagome?

He spared her a glance, easily dodging another blow by the human. Who did she hope would win? She kept calling his name. But… which Inuyasha was she calling? And why was she climbing down the tree? What was wrong with Shippo? He shouldn't be letting her come down the tree! It was too dangerous! This moron was swinging like a wild man, no aim. Sure it wouldn't harm him if the sword made contact. But what if he accidently hit Kagome?

Inuyasha swung the sword again. The hunk of metal was a lot heavier than it looked. His arms were tired. How could they be tired? If he didn't really have arms, then how could they get so tired? Could he will them to feel better like he could will himself solid? There wasn't really time to try. If he quit swinging, then the demon would try to get his sword back.

"Just let us GO!" he yelled as he swung once more. This demon had other friends, why couldn't he just let him have Kagome?

His heart nearly burst as he made contact with something solid. He saw the blood running down the demon's hands and felt sick. He hadn't meant to kill anyone, or hurt anyone. He just wanted to take Kagome home.

The fear that he had mortally wounded the demon disappeared with the demon smirked. He had grabbed a hold of the sword!

"STOP!" screamed Kagome. Neither Inuyasha looked in her direction.

Inuyasha concentrated on making the sword intangible again before the demon could jerk it out of his hands. He had to end this.

Jumping back he took all his aches and pains, all his feelings of being tired and sore, and pushed them out of his head. Out of his body. Taking a deep breath he tried to imagine gathering strength, and was pleased when he could feel it filling his body. He changed the grip on the sword.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!" he yelled as he closed his eyes and focused all of his energy on the sword, nearly making it glow with power. This was the hit that would count. He was certain of it.

He opened his eyes just in time to see Kagome as she threw herself in front of the demon with her arms outstretched wide.

It was too late to stop the momentum.

The demon screamed Kagome's name, wrapping his arms around her as if he were going to take off with her, as the sword plunged through them both. Inuyasha dropped to his knees and grabbed his stomach, letting out a sob. It was over. He lost her. He killed her. He killed the woman he loved more than life itself. It didn't matter if he disappeared or his unusual existence ceased. Without Kagome... without Kagome it just didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore.

"Oh my gracious," a quiet voice on the edge of the clearing said. "This did not go at all as I had planned."

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Author's Note:

Yeah, I know, you all hate me. "Evil" might possibly be my middle name. Just remember that the story isn't quite over yet.