Disclaimer: I don't own anything, happy now?

Kagome stared at the place, where Inuyasha stood only a second ago. The only thing indicating he ever stood here were dry leaves, which had been blown into the air during his rush leave and were currently slowly spiraling back to the ground. Oh. My. God. OH MY GOD! He is going to – oh no! She wanted to run after him, she really did, but it was as if her legs weighed two tons – each one! She couldn't move them no matter what.

A sharp whistle came from the left and Kagome turned her head in Sango's direction. The exterminator was watching the sky, two fingers still placed to her lips. She was obviously calling Kirara. "I hope she brings the monk. He may be perverted, but he knows how to handle Inuyasha at times like this," said Sango. Then she grabbed Kagome's forearm and darted in the direction of the demon lord's camp.

Halfway to their destination they both heard a sinister sound of an explosion. "Tell me," Kagome forced out from her lips between pants, "that he didn't use the Wind scar!"

Sango chose to stay silent. Of course he did it. After all, it was his style to burst on the battlefield, curse and send the Wind scar to all possible directions and only then start to ask questions. "If anything happens to Rin, I swear I will kill him with my own hands!" the priestess growled.

When they reached the clearing, Sesshoumaru and his followers were staying at, they couldn't believe their eyes. I seemed that Inuyasha gave to the word 'clearing' a whole new meaning. As far as they saw, there were uprooted trees, branches, piles of splinters and dirt, and in the middle of that all were three rather striking tracks. Inuyasha was in the place, where they started, Tetsusaiga ready in his hands, while his half-brother stood at their end. They couldn't see Rin or Jaken anywhere, so they assumed that Sesshoumaru sent them away, when this all started.

"I don't care! You made her cry, you bastard! I'm gonna beat you to a pulp and then make you apologize!" he shouted at the demon lord.

Sesshoumaru looked angry, but it couldn't be so bad, because he had yet to unseathe Tokijin. "I and your priestess were merely talking, what happened to her afterwards is not my business. Therefore, I have nothing to apologize for," he responded. In the next moment, a very specific spark appeared in his otherwise cold eyes. They all knew he was going to say something offensive. "Although, I must say I am quite surprised. Humans cower in fear before me, that is understanable, but that even your little priestess broke down after a mere talk... How disappointing."

Sango looked at her friend, who was currently starring wide-eyed at Sesshoumaru, and was going to calm her, when a quiet thump, indicating Kirara's landing, diverted her attention. "What happened here?" asked Miroku, while getting off Kirara.

"That's a long story," Sango answered. "The most important thing right now is to stop Inuyasha! Kagome-chan, we need you to-"

"Listen, buddy! What did you mean by that?!"

The exterminator gulped and very slowly turned to the place, where Kagome stood, just to learn that the one she was talking to was no longer there. Instead, she was standing beside very surprised Inuyasha and pointing her finger at the bored lord.

"K-Kagome? What are you doing here? Get lost! This is between him and me!" Inuyasha yelled at her.

Kagome only humphed and frowned at him. "Don't make me say the word, Inuyasha!" she threatened him. Judging by the way Inuyasha's ears flattened against his skull it seemed that her threat worked out just fine.

"Although I hate to say it, I must agree with Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru said unexpectedly. "It has nothing to do with you, priestess."

"Oh really? I beg to differ, my lord." Kagome spun round, her black hair flying in the air like waves of a heavy sea, her hands fisted. Inuyasha quickly took a few steps back. When he heard stamping, he spread his arms and stopped his friends, who wanted to help Kagome. Neither of them seemed to understand, why he did it. "It's too late," the half-breed told them gravely, "we can't help her now. She is in the 3M."

Sango gasped and Miroku nodded. When Kagome got in the Mega Mad Mode, there was no way back. They really couldn't do anything. The problem was, the one to make Kagome go ballistic had always been Inuyasha. Then they didn't have to do anything but wait, until she gives him ten, twenty sits and everything was back to normal. But nobody knew how would their dear friend react now, when the one who eangered her was Sesshoumaru. And – what was even worse – nobody knew how would react the demon lord! They could only keep telling themself that he couldn't kill her, because she had to guard the Shikon no Tama till the very end.

"You offend my honour and think that I will just stay here and listen?" continued Kagome, oblivious to her friends's anxiety.

"Humans have no honour, priestess," Sesshoumaru responded. Unlike Kagome, he noticed Inuyasha's retreat and finally grasped that his opponent was now the little human girl. "They are half-witted, pathetic creatures, without a hint of reason."

"Yeah, yeah. Pathetic. Sure. Weak, stupid, in short we are all beneath you. Do you ever, ever listen to yourself? I mean, you are constantly repeating the same words! Do you really believe it, or are you only trying to annoy me? Are you truly so full of prejudice?"

"These are no prejudices, merely experiences."

"Experiences with whom? With people, who know your reputation and fear for their lives? The only human you have some true experiences with is Rin-chan! Do you think she is pathetic and half-witted?" Kagome dared to say. It was only because she was absolutley sure that Rin and Jaken wasn't there.

Sesshoumaru frowned. "I suggest you not to drag Rin into this," he said darkly and slowly reached for Tokijin.

Kagome didn't give to the sword any attention. Instead, she looked right in his golden orbs. Weird, she thought, not even a hour ago I was all nervous and now... Now she was somehow pissed beyond belief. First he humiliates me, then he offends me and my race and now he threatens me?! He is sooo going to eat it! "You like hurting people with words," she started venomusly, "but as soon as you run out of that acid remarks of yours, you draw your sword. You know, Sesshoumaru, where I come from, people call this a loss. If you aren't able to finish it properly, don't even start it!"

Sesshoumaru contemplated what to do. Should he leave? Or should he stay and shred that little, insolent mortal in pieces so small that even the miraculous Tenseiga wouldn't be able save her? Both possibilities were appealing. On the other side... The priestess challenged him to a fight – truly childish fight, but fight none the less. Refusing the challenge meant that he lost. His reason told him to let it go, leave, find Jaken and Rin and spent the rest of the evening in peace. The much, much bigger part of his personality, namely his ego, kept yelling at him to stay and fight. After all, defeating the girl with her own weapon should open her eyes and put her back to her place. Yes. He let go of Tokijin's hilt.

"A verbal conflict, the most pitiful way of fight. How befitting you."

"Oh, I may be pitiful, but at least I'm not a pompous ass without manners!"

"I do not want to hear that from someone, who is running around in such indecent clothes."

"These indecent clothes are my uniform! We have to wear it at school! I thought you of all people would understand, because you are the lord and it's required from you to wear a formal attire of specific colours and desing!"

What kind of school would require from its students to wear such a thing? He smirked. "Does it mean that where you come from are actually schools, which teach the 'art' of prostitution?"

Kagome gasped and immediately started to shake with anger. "You..." she growled. "What did you just say?"

"I said what I think, priestess. You look like a whore," he said every word separately, just to piss her off.

If someone thought that the 3M was the worse state of Kagome's anger, now he had to admit that heď been terribly wrong. It seemed like she was about to explode. That was partily caused by the flame of pink holy energy, which was dancing around her. Whore? Whore?! Whore?!!!

She almost looks scary, he thought, almost.

"You know what, Sesshoumaru?" She didn't wait for his answer, it was a trick question, anyway. "Look at yourself and then say something! From the very first moment I saw you, standing on the devil-like thing, I had to think: 'Oh my God! What's wrong with this man?!' I mean, look at the boa! It's so fluffy and huge! When I look at you from the left, I can't even see your head!! You look like a walking fluff! And you drag it behind you, too! We must constantly watch Kirara, because she wants to play with it! And one more thing – with that pink markings you look like a gay!!! Are you one, Sesshoumaru? Are you? Because I can't tell!"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. Inuyasha turned round and tried to muffle his laugher. He wasnť very successful; you could tell by those weird whooping sounds he made.

"My… sexual orientation is none of your business," he hissed and sent a resentful look to Inuyasha, who lost his battle and was now openly laughing. „But I have to wonder, what must be the other side of the well like, given that it could produce something as foul as you."

"Oh yes, my home on the other side of the well," Kagome began, somewhat calmer when she saw that she finally managed to anger her ever so collected opponent. "It's a really, really horrible place. I can't even imagine you living there. If you want to win an argument, you mustn't kill. If you want to gain power, you have to learn how to cooperate with people, how to manipulate them. Physical power means nothing, in fact only the worst kind of people use violence to have their way. What would you do in there, indeed..?"

"What exactly are you implying, girl?" Sesshoumaru asked, this time perfectly positive that he was not going to like the answer.

Kagome didn't answer him and looked at the suddenly so interesting ground. She wasn't sure if she should continue, or not. Childish quarrel was one thing, this was something completely different. She winced, when she heard the demon's voice much nearer than she expected. He stood right in front of her. "Tell me. Or are you going to give up?"

No, I'm not gonna give up, not just yet. She took one deep breath and redirected her gaze back to his eyes. "Do you know the limit of your power, Sesshoumaru?"

Inuyasha immediately stopped laughing. "Oh shit, she hit the nerve," he whispered

"What did you mean by that, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked quietly.

"You'll see," Inuyasha promised and tried to find out, how was his brother feeling now, when Kagome tapped the only thing he'd ever had doubts about.

"My power knows no limits, girl," Sesshoumaru responded at last.

"You don't know then," the priestess continued. She had to finish it, although she didn't really want to. Sesshoumaru looked scary, too scary. "To know your limit is not a sign of weakness. As long as you know your limits, you can always get better. The power you gain while pushing your limit up is then considered to be your own."

Sango and Miroku finally understood, what Inuyasha meant. And they wished Kagome hadn't had said that. It wasn't very wise to question the demon lord's abilities.

"Are you implying that my power is not my own?" Sesshoumaru asked slowly.

He is looking at me in the same way he did at that time in the tomb of his and Inuyasha's father, when I managed to pull out the Tetsusaiga. He felt so insulted, then, that he tried to kill me... Is is possible that the things I just said were true? Maybe it's time to call it a day... But she couldn't stop now. "Yes," she said firmly. "I think you are so strong, only because you had strong parents and you inherited it." Finish it! Finish it! "And I also think that you should stop calling people weak and pathetic, because the only thing that is pathetic, is your constant priding yourself on something, which isn't even yours."

That's it, she thought and closed her eyes in anticipation of killing blow. Instead of that she got an answer.

"You are weak and pathetic."

"Huh?" She opened her eyes.

"I do not think so because of your origins, or because of the amount of your power. No, it is because of the reason, why you wanted to get stronger in the first place," he said and smiled a little.

Kagome started to panic. Sesshoumaru smiling – that meant he was about to say or do something very displeasing. Displeasing, as for her; she was sure he was going to enjoy it. "Why did I wanted to get stronger? Because I wanted us to found the shards--"

"Kikyou."

Kagome winced.

"You do not like to be called by that name, do you?"

"You don't know, what you're talking about."

"What is worse? To pride myself on power that isn't my own, or to exert yourself to get stronger, because you naively believe that if you are stronger than her, people will stop seeing her and start to see you? Do you think this is the way, how to get in his heart?"

"You don't know, what you're talking about!"

"I know it very well. Or did you really think that I would miss something as obvious as your desire to surpass the dead priestess? Do you think I do not see, how you look at my brother and hope that he forgets about her and chooses you? You might seem to be kind and generous, but on the inside, you are as greedy as other humans." He bent down so he was almost touching her ear-lobe and whispered: "Do you know, why she is better than you? It has nothing to do with power, nothing to do with appearance. It is caused by your approach to things and your way of thinking." He smiled again. "So immature. You will always be a child. And a man needs a woman, Ka-go-me."

He rose up and looked at her already tear-stained face.

The heavy silence was torn by a loud slapping sound.

Sesshoumaru brought his hand to his face and then looked at his blood-stained fingers. It seemed that the priestess used the holy energy to strenghten her blow and now he had not only two, but six stripes on his cheek. With one cold glare he dared Kagome to go on, but she only bent her head and started to sob.

"Weak and pathetic," he said one more time and then looked at wide-eyed Inuyasha. "It seems I won this battle," he announced to him and his friends. Afterwards he turned around and disappeared on the other side of the clearing, amongst the fallen trees.

I won, he repeated to himself. The girl lost.

I won. Then why do I feel so bad?

A/N: What a bad day for Kagome! I really start to feel bad for her. I'm sorry I didn't update sooner, but this moth is just disaster after disaster. I don't even want to talk about it. T-T But I must say, there was one thing that cheered me up: Linkin Park in Prague!!! Never mind. I will try to update soon.