Hey all! Sorry its taken so long and I honestly have no good excuse for it avoids thrown objects Please don't hate me! OK first off KIKYO LOVERS BEWARE! I FULLY EXPECT YOU TO HATE ME FOR THIS CHAPTER! DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU! That aside I am also aware that no matter how I spell it someone will yell at me for it. (i.e. Kikyo, Kikyou, Kickyou, etc). I just went with what was on the back of a DVD so deal with it. My feelings toward the aforementioned #!& will shortly be apparent...If they aren't already :p

NVP

Chapter 14

Inuyasha and Kagome walked through the forest in silence. The others they had left in the village with only the brief explanation of, "We'll be back soon." Inuyasha had wanted to go alone but, as usual, Kagome had proven that she could be just as stubborn as him. To be honest, he really didn't have a particular destination in mind. He knew though that if he stayed away long enough she would find him.

'Kikyo.'

He had no earthly idea of what he was going to do or say when she did, but he had to tell her something, he owed her that much. He couldn't keep trying to live two lives going between the two, especially now that he'd chosen Kagome.

As the day began to fade Inuyasha began to feel very stupid. They might as well have been walking in circles. Day turned to night and his impatience only grew. Finally he gave up and made a fire for the night beneath a large tree.

"Guess it'll have to wait, we'll head back in the morning," He said with a sigh. Kagome nodded, she wasn't in any hurry to see Kikyo anyway.

"That's alright, we're bound to run into her sooner or later looking for Naraku."

Inuyasha simply nodded and stared into the fire. He'd hoped to get this settled now and be done with it.

Later when the fire had died down a little and the two had retired for the night, Inuyasha sat against the trunk of the tree staring up at the stars. Kagome lay next to him, sleeping soundly with her head resting on his leg. He looked down at her and smiled. His life finally seemed to be simplifying somewhat. He'd been wrestling with himself for months now, and fighting on too many fronts to resolve anything. First there was Kikyo's "betrayal" fifty years ago, and then Kagome's appearance, then the jewel shattered and Naraku emerged and with that came the revelation of his role in pitting him against Kikyo, and finally Kikyo's resurrection which added a whole new degree of complication. Not to mention all their battles and other hardships with evil demons and humans alike (Including his own demon nature). He had at first thought that he had nothing more to live for and agreed to follow Kikyo to hell, but there was no way that was going to happen now that Kagome, as well as his new friends had given him the reason he needed and opened his eyes. Kikyo was dead, and nothing could change that now. What remained of her spirit was only a shadow of her former self, and he would see her at peace or die trying.

His thoughts were interrupted by a feint whistling sound in the trees. Carefully, so as not to disturb Kagome, he lifted her head and rested it on the ground. He then followed the sound to its source. There, winding among the trees like a huge serpent, was a soul collector. It looked straight at him for a moment before turning and heading deeper into the woods. Inuyasha steeled himself before following, Kagome would be safe here until he returned. He slipped through the trees silently in pursuit of his glowing guide, Kikyo's scent getting stronger all the while.

He found her resting beneath a tree as well, staring up at the moon. The soul collector paused near her a moment and she closed her eyes as though it spoke to her. When she opened them again she stared up at him in his hiding place among the branches. "It has been some time since you came looking for me, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha dropped out of the shadows to stand a few yards away, still unsure of what to say.

Kagome awoke slowly and yawned, and bolted upright when she realized that Inuyasha was no longer there. Fear flashed through her as she thought of a thousand reasons that he might leave ran around in her mind. A demon was nearby, he'd caught Naraku's scent, or maybe Kouga, or Kikyo. She relaxed only slightly at the last one. 'She's here.'

Inuyasha was about to speak, but a raised hand from Kikyo followed by a cold smile gave him pause, "It's alright, Inuyasha. I already know why you've come. You have her now, and can't be with me."

Something about the way she said her sparked a brief anger within him, but he let it pass, "Kikyo…how…?"

"I have my ways," She said, glancing up at a soul collector as it passed.

He knew he shouldn't, but he was also beginning to feel very guilty.

"Kikyo, I want your soul to be at peace."

Kikyo stared at the moon again, seeming to ignore him.

"You should go now, Inuyasha. She'll be worried if you aren't there when she wakes."

Inuyasha moved as if to say something, then drooped his shoulders and sighed. She was right, there wasn't much else to say. He turned and walked away, back in the direction of their camp, but before he'd gone three steps he heard the all too familiar sound of an arrow being notched and readied. He started to turn but something struck him hard from the side, knocking him to the ground a few feet away and out of the path of the flying arrow. He looked down at his chest to see the crown of Kagome's head.

"Wench," Kikyo muttered.

Kagome looked up at him, "Are you okay?"

Inuyasha glared at Kikyo, "No, "he growled.

They stood to face Kikyo, who no longer looked passive…but hateful as she had when she'd first been resurrected.

"I see you've found another half breed…or rather, made one."

Now it was Kagome's turn to growl, "And just what is wrong with that? At least I can love him for who he is! You would have made him become human, you could have just as easily used the jewel to be like him instead. Why didn't you?"

Kikyo laughed. A cold, heartless sound, "Yes, it's true I once had feelings for him, bit I never could stand the fact that demon blood runs through him. A priestess cannot sully herself with a demon."

Inuyasha heard the words but was nearly numb at her outburst. He'd been used. Kikyo had wanted him to use the jewel only to rid herself of the burden of guarding it. Kagome had made a point though.

"Why didn't you just make a wish of your own, why use me?" He said angrily

Kikyo's expression grew serious, "Oh come now, Inuyasha. You must have noticed it by now." Inuyasha didn't blink.

"The Shikon Jewel comes with a price. Those who seek to use it for selfish gain inevitably meet their doom because of it. Their wish may be granted, but they would find no happiness in it," She said coldly. "This is the curse of the jewel of four souls."

This was true, all of them had seen it firsthand. All those they had encountered with jewel shards were either left with nothing or dead. Inuyasha supposed that they remained unaffected because they weren't using them at all…yet.

"So you see? I needed you to dispose of it for me. With the jewel gone I could live a normal life."

Inuyasha clenched his fist, holding his rising anger in check, "And I'd probably be dead," He said flatly.

"Probably," Kikyo notched another arrow.

Kagome and Inuyasha jumped in opposite directions as the arrow flew by. When they looked back, Kikyo was nowhere to be seen. Inuyasha cursed under his breath and spun in a circle, "Kagome, did you see…"

He stopped short at the sound of another arrow being fired and ducked low, expecting it to be aimed at chest level. It passed by, too far off target to have been aimed at him at all. Kagome gave a small cry and fell to the ground from the force of the arrow.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha called, running to her side.

She tried to get up but collapsed when she put weight on her arm. The arrow had stuck through her shoulder and out the back. Inuyasha helped her sit up and cut the bloody tip off with his claws, then moved around her to pull out the rest. "Kagome, this is going to hu-GAA!"

Inuyasha leaned forward slowly until he was on all fours in front of her. He reached down to the middle of his lower back to feel the shaft of yet another arrow. Kagome's eyes went wide and she forgot her own pain momentarily, "Inuyasha!"

She grabbed the shaft of the arrow still in her shoulder and slowly pulled. Tears streamed down her face. She clenched her teeth and let out a sound somewhere between a snarl of rage and a scream of pain. When it was out she cast it aside and leaned over Inuyasha.

Another arrow flew just inches in front of her nose and she followed its path back to Kikyo. Kagome felt a deep, pure rage build within her as their eyes met. More anger than she'd known in her life. She flexed her claws and bolted straight at her, her battle cry a scream as her tears continued. Kikyo fired again, but not at her. Inuyasha screamed as it embedded itself in his thigh. Kagome stopped her charge and turned towards him.

"Fool!" Kikyo said, letting loose another.

No sooner had she said it, than Kagome realized her mistake and dove to the side. This time the arrow caused only a long, shallow cut on her side and through her shirt rather than finding its intended target.

'Wish I'd brought MY bow.'

She ended her dive in a roll that put her right next to Inuyasha and threw his arm over her shoulder, "Come on, we've got to get out of here!" She said holding her side with her free hand. Inuyasha tried to move but as soon as he took a step his wounded leg gave out and they both crashed to the ground. Kagome got up and looked around, Kikyo was gone again.

"Inuyasha, you have to get up. We have to go now!"

Inuyasha gritted his teeth and growled, "Go on, I can't go anywhere like this."

"No, I'm not leaving you here."

"Kagome."

She growled down at him, "Stubborn."

He gave a weak smile as she knelt to inspect his wounds. His smile faded when his ears twitched at a dull 'thud' and she screamed and arched her back. The point of another arrow now stuck out of her previously uninjured shoulder from the back. Kagome grimaced and tilted her head downward, hiding her eyes.

Inuyasha managed to push himself up to his knees and glare at Kikyo, who stood a good ten paces away with another arrow already on him. Her flat, pale expression betraying no emotion or even if she cared about what she was doing. As if it was an ordinary, boring thing to do.

"We've drawn this out long enough," She said.

Inuyasha looked down at Kagome beside him one last time, and she immediately made him forget his own situation. She had begun to breathe rather heavily through her teeth, which seemed a little bigger than he remembered. Then calm seemed to overtake her, and she almost looked as though she'd fallen asleep sitting up.

Kikyo fired, drawing his attention back to her. There was now way to move in time so he simply close his eyes. He only hoped Kagome could manage to get away. Rather than death, he hear a sound in front of him and opened his eyes – which immediately crossed. There, hanging in the air an inch from his nose, was the point of an arrow, grasped in Kagome's hand. To top it off, she still had her eyes shut! Even Kikyo looked surprised.

Kagome stood and turned to face Kikyo, ignoring the arrow in her shoulder. She opened her eyes and gave her a glare that made her want to crawl away. Kagome's hand twitched and the arrow she'd been holding splintered and fell to the ground. Inuyasha could tell what had happened. He knew he should do something but all he could do was stare. His Kagome had just become a very imposing figure.

Her cheeks and wrists bore the same marks as Sesshomaru, only jagged like Inuyasha's were when he'd transformed and a fierce red rather than purple. Her fangs and claws had grown longer and sharper, which Kagome seemed to take great pride in displaying to Kikyo. But what Inuyasha couldn't bring himself to look away from and what Kikyo was finding more frightening than her claws, were her eyes. They had seemed to have gone the exact opposite of Inuyasha's. Instead of the blue pupils surrounded by red, her pupils were a burning red in a sea of deep blue. Death had never looked so beautiful.

"No more." Kagome growled through her teeth in a raspy voice that Inuyasha could barely recognize.

Kagome flashed an evil grin at Kikyo before becoming a blur as she ran to the side too quick for even Inuyasha to keep track of. Kikyo regained enough composure to draw her last arrow. It would do her no good though, if she couldn't see the target.

Something flashed by her too quick to even attempt to fire at. Then it was gone again. Kikyo felt a slight pain in her cheek and she felt it to see what it was. When she brought her hand away a few small droplets of blood stained her fingers. The forest went dead silent until an evil, sadistic laugh broke it. Kikyo spun around to see Kagome sitting casually up a tree, flexing a clawed hand with one bloody nail. To shove the point deeper she licked it clean, which she seemed to enjoy very much. Kikyo raised the bow to aim again but as soon as she drew back the string, Kagome disappeared again.

She ran in circles at varying distances around Kikyo, stopping only just long enough for her to take aim before moving again. Sometimes appearing on the ground a few feet away, other times in a tree a good distance away. Kagome dashed in again scoring another, slightly deeper gash on Kikyo's arm before darting into the undergrowth again. She was toying with her. Kikyo spun in circles looking for her and nearly screaming out of frustration and fear. For the first time in fifty years, she was losing focus.

Inuyasha pulled the arrow from the back of his leg and managed to stand using a nearby tree for support. The sound of him scraping against the tree drew Kikyo's attention and she turned and fired on reflex directly at him.

Kagome seemed to appear in a run in front of him then. A run at Kikyo and the arrow she'd fired. Inuyasha watched in shock as Kagome caught the arrow, turned it around, and leapt into the air. At the height of her jump she threw the arrow at Kikyo like a small spear. She had time to throw one arm up in defense before the arrow went through it and into her chest and Kagome crashed down on top of her. Both slammed into the ground and Kikyo's eyes flew wide as she tried to scream, but Kagome grabbed her throat and squeezed. The scream never came.

"Kagome, stop!" Inuyasha yelled, limping towards her.

Kagome's grin grew wider as she felt her prey's struggles become less beneath her iron grip, until they finally stopped completely and Kikyo gave one last muffled gurgle as her last breath. Kagome gave a snort resembling Inuyasha's and dropped her to the ground as a child grown bored with a toy might, then turned to face him as she stood.

Inuyasha stopped and fell to the ground again. He was too late. He now knew the truth of Kikyo's deception but even so, he wouldn't have been able to kill her. He looked up at Kagome, unsure of what he could do or, more importantly, what she was going to do. Hopefully she'd return to normal soon before she could do anything more. He needed to awaken her human side, but how?

Kagome jumped into the treetops suddenly, disappearing from view. She came down a few seconds later only inches in front of him in a crouch. At first he thought she was going to attack him next. She still wore the insidious grin and growled/laughed at him when he didn't move. He heard her sniff the air and her expression changed first to one of confusion, then seemed to soften and almost looked caring and she nuzzled into his neck. He returned the gesture and they embraced, if only to keep her calm. He felt her caress his back and shivered. An intense, sharp pain wracked his lower back and he pushed her away and screamed.

Gradually the pain subsided and he looked up at her again to see her holding the arrow he'd been unable to remove. She looked at it a moment and growled angrily before throwing it away. Then she turned her attention to her own wounds. The arrow in her shoulder was still there as well. She tried to pull it out but since she'd been shot from behind she couldn't without causing more damage. Inuyasha crawled around to her side.

"Hold still," He said softly.

Kagome seemed to understand and relaxed slightly. As before Inuyasha broke off the tip and carefully pulled out the arrow, instigating a whimper from her that reminded him of Kirara. When it was out he sat back and tossed it aside, then began bandaging both their wounds using strips of cloth from his undershirt. Silently he wished he knew some of the healing herbs that Kaede had used but this was the best he could do for now. Depending on how long she stayed like this Kagome would probably heal on her own soon anyway.

After some time with no change in Kagome, he decided they would have to stay there the rest of the night at least. The others didn't need to see her like this and he had no idea of how she would react to them. No, better to wait. Besides, he really didn't feel like moving too much at the moment.

Inuyasha rolled onto his stomach to try to sleep, though he knew with the night he'd had it would be futile. He lay facing the direction Kikyo's body had fallen, (mercifully hidden by the trees and shrubs between them) wrestling with his thoughts once again.

Kagome suddenly moved in front of him and crouched, her head cocked to one side. Inuyasha sat up, "What's wrong Kagome?"

Kagome slowly reached out a shaking arm towards him and he followed to where she was looking.

'Tetsusaiga?'

His head snapped back up as it dawned on him. Kagome was trying to fight the inner demon just as he had. Maybe the sword would work for her as well.

Inuyasha pulled it from his waist and held it out to her. After a little effort she managed to take hold. The moment she touched it she lurched forward and screamed. Her eyes faded back to their normal color and her claws and fangs shrank back slightly. When it was done she gave him a brief, weary look before collapsing into his arms. He made sure she was unharmed before he pulled her close to rest against him. Once again he tried to sleep. Much more at ease than before it finally overtook him, filling his dreams with visions of Kagome, and nightmares of Kikyo.

The witch is dead! Man was this one fun to write, though my fav is coming up next (More Tor'mac and Shippo! YAY!)

Please R/R keep me inspired to keep going!