A/N: before you guys comment, yes I know this is way off canon and highly implausible but... again... it's fan fiction I do what I want.

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Itty Bitty Pretty Fourteen

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The first thing that registered in his groggy mind was the half disintegrated arm in his hand that continued to bubble angrily around his fingertips. The second was the gnawing pit in his stomach that spread like wildfire and twisted into a cold, ruthless nausea. The third was Tsubaki laying sprawled out before him clutching the bloodied stump and cursing under her breath.

"This isn't possible," the dark miko kept repeating angrily under her breath as she glared over at the very much human hanyou equally sprawled out on the ground, "You were a half-breed. It isn't possible."

What was or wasn't possible wasn't registering in his mind as he continued to stare dumbly at the grotesque appendage in his hand and waited for the world to stop spinning beneath him. It felt like someone had just stabbed him repeatedly in the gut and his head was throbbing to such a degree that it felt like it had split open. This had been a terrible idea, he thought bemusedly to himself - unable to really process anything going on around him. One of his least thought out charges into battle. Here he was human yet he'd somehow managed to dismember a dark miko who ran on demonic energy in a way that he'd never managed to do even when his youkai was strongest. He had never seen anything like it except for...for...

Eyes widening in understanding then immense confusion and disbelief, Inuyasha's eyes flickered rapidly between the arm - if you could even call it that anymore- and the dark miko. Tsubaki was right. It wasn't possible. Hell, if it were he'd have purified himself a million times by now. There was absolutely no way that he possessed spiritual powers. That was the stupidest thought that had ever crossed his mind and yet...

"Where are you hiding that undead bitch?" Tsubaki hissed angrily - causing the human hanyou's violet eyes to widen in surprise, "It's a trick. Where is she?"

"Hell if I know," Inuyasha answered as he finally dropped the sizzling arm and pushed himself into a sitting position - the world still swirling around him unsteadily, "But you're in for a world of hurt. That much I can tell you."

Nostrils flaring angrily, Tsubaki staggered to her feet - still clutching her mutilated arm even as she got into a defensive pose and bluffed angrily, "I'd like to see you try. You have no weapons or power of any kind. How do you expect to defeat me?"

"You better shut that trap of yours before it gets you into trouble," Inuyasha bluffed back as he too got unsteadily to his feet - cursing the world for suddenly bursting into an array of various colors that he was confident he'd never seen before. They were distracting - horribly so - and they seemed to spin and swirl almost angrily around the woman facing him. Could that be...was that demonic aura? Blinking rapidly, Inuyasha couldn't help but take a chance and glanced behind him. While there were some faint lights in the forest, the rest of the world was clear and a feeling - almost like a pressure- emanated from where the dark miko stood. It wasn't possible. If he'd possessed these powers all along, he'd've been turned human decades ago. This wasn't possible and yet, there was no denying that something was going on here.

"What would Kagome do?" Inuyasha muttered weakly to himself as he turned his head once more to look upon the seething woman, "Or Kikyo. Or Miroku. They'd...they'd cast a barrier, right? How the fuck does that work?"

If there was ever a time that guilt was unwanted it was now. All he could think of is how he'd been so hard on Kagome who'd fallen into their world and immediately had to learn how to harness her newfound powers. At the time, he hadn't fully appreciated how difficult that must've been on her. No, like the insensitive jerk she so rightfully accused him of being, he'd never really understood how downright terrifying the concept of newly found powers actually was. Grimacing, another part of him didn't like the idea that all this time whenever his friends had looked at him they'd been seeing strange lights bouncing off him. That especially didn't sit right with him considering where he wanted to head with a certain miko from the future. No wonder priests and priestesses thought demons were terrifying. At a minimum, demonic auras were disorienting.

Tsubaki seemed to be having concerns of her own as she watched the overwhelmed looking former hanyou plot his next move. These newfound powers - if that truly was what they were - were troubling to say the least. While she was aware of the potential ramifications of selling your soul to demons, to have spiritual powers have such a devastating effect against what should've been flesh resistant to such attacks dissolve instantaneously...well, it was troubling to say the least. He could not be allowed to touch her again.

"Having some trouble?" Tsubaki taunted as she took a subtle step backwards, "Tell me where that corpse is hiding."

"As far as I know, she ain't here," Inuyasha responded angrily as he tried to focus on making a barrier that - at a minimum - would prevent her from attempting a full frontal attack, "Now why are you out here trying to scam defenseless children, huh?"

"Defenseless?" Tsubaki chuckled darkly, "That defenseless child was able to curse you with little to no effort was she not? She is many things but defenseless is not a word I'd use to describe that filthy half-breed."

"What's your game then?" Inuyasha spat back - desperately trying to stall until he figured out how to do something, anything to walk away alive, "Why bother?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Tsubaki chuckled incredulously, "You and your pathetic group of so-called friends have spoiled my plans twice now. I was hoping that filthy half-breed would be able to defeat you or at least cripple you until she brought you to me. I'm in need of replenishment and your youkai would've been just what I needed. Your purification was an unfortunate mistake. Once I'm done with you, I'll just absorb the girl and I'll be right as rain."

"Over my dead body," Inuyasha sneered as sparks of pink began crackling ominously around him. Tsubaki merely chuckled and shook her head, "That can be arranged. You have no control over your powers - if that is indeed what they are. This should be easy."