Author's Note:

This story evolved as an as I went thing with no real end in mind. It was more of a character exploration of "what would happen if..." So enjoy this bitter exploration into hurt, healing and hope.

Be warned, since I haven't followed the series closely in years or seen the Final Act, I'm pretty sure some things won't fit into cannon.

Of Pride and Power
Chapter 19: Revenge

The fires that burned within Kagome would pale the flames of ten-thousand kilns by comparison. From the moment her foot left the horse drawn carriage to step into the rocky mountainous terrain, ire roared in her like a wild blaze engulfing a drought stricken forest, incinerating the guise of propriety from her imprisoned rage.

Marching towards the the perimeter of kneeling monks, Kagome raised her bow and a purified arrow sliced through the electric barrier with a crackling hiss to strike the neck of the raging youkai dog trapped inside. "Sesshomaru!" she shrieked, her voice raw and guttural.

"Lady Kagome wait!" Goro warned as he rushed after her, seizing her elbow with his hand. "Be careful–"

"Let me go!" she snarled, forcibly tearing her limb from his grasp and reloading her bow.

The inu-youkai roared, the sound causing the earth to tremble beneath her feet. Both the monks and Goro gave pause at the feral declaration of violence, but Kagome proved resistant. Rather than see the daiyoukai for the dangerous monster he was, Kagome only saw the murderer of her loved ones and the vile creature who ruined her life.

Again her arrow sliced through the air and struck his shoulder; a snarling bark accompanied the attack and vicious canines snapped wildly at the air. Beady pupils found her and with muscles rippling and fangs bared, Sesshomaru drew himself to his full height. Kagome marched between two monks, ignoring their mewls of protest as she stepped through their translucent barrier.

Poisonous claws dug deep into the ground and thick drool dribbled from his clenched maw, slopping onto the ground with a sickening 'plop'. A noxious cloud of troubling smoke rose from the melting earth where his acidic saliva fell. Kagome lifted her sleeve to her face to filter the offending fumes lest they kill her.

"Kagome get out of there!" Goro demanded at her back, but Kagome was unswayed. A swell of dark energy pressed against her and by its own nature, the Shikon Jewel rebuffed the offense with a hissing barrier of magenta light. Sesshomaru snarled and Kagome expelled the purifying light further until it brushed against the coarse wisps of fur on his lone forepaw.

Winds like a hurricane engulfed her, whipping hair and prayer beads against her chest. As the air calmed, the familiar youkai knelt within the center of the dome, his expression stoic but his brow belabored. In his condensed form, the effects of battle were made clear. Numerous arrows protruded from his back and chest and the silk of his robe and fur were stained dark and caked with blood. From Sesshomaru's apparent weakness, Kagome assumed most of it was his.

There was something unsettling in seeing someone she believed immortal sustain such heavy wounds. Kagome suspected that those wounds were the very thing that gave the surrounding monks the advantage to trap him; an advantage she intended to abuse entirely.

"You." she seethed, marching towards him.

"Kagome be careful!" Goro warned from the edge of the barrier. "He's dangerous!"

Sesshomaru looked to Goro and not to Kagome's palm which slammed against his cheek like an angry ocean wave beat stone. The proud immortal, staggered and growled but by the time he turned to face her, Kagome's hands had deftly transposed the Beads of Subjugation from her chest to his.

"Sit boy!" she ordered.

No words could accurately describe how satisfying it felt to see the proud Sesshomaru be yanked to the ground by his neck. Kagome's foot went to his back, stamping against his shoulders to force him down.

"This is your fault!" she screamed, her nails digging deeply into her clenched palms. A hiss rushed from fanged lips, one that would have brought terror to many a man but proved ineffective to her. "Sit boy!" she barked, accompanying the command with a stamp of her foot against his back.

"Inuyasha–Sit!"

Stamp!

"Sango–Sit!"

Stamp!

"Miroku–Sit!"

Stamp!

"Shippo–Sit! Sit! Sit!"

Stamp! Stamp! Stamp!

"This is all your fault!" she screamed, her emotions overwhelming her to tears. "Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit!" The command repeated on her lips until she was winded, worn and heaving for air.

It was amazing how much better that three letter word made her feel. It was as if her grief, anger and frustration had broken her emotional dams to deluge into a satisfying payback. A modest hole formed in a rough imprint of Sesshomaru's lanky physique. With a deep breath, Kagome stepped back and aimed an arrow to the pit.

Minutes passed before a shaky clawed hand emerged from the earthen cast, followed by an elbow leading to an arm that was healed to the wrist. The sight of it startled Kagome. How many years had passed since she left him? Red eyes and snarling fangs came next and upon closer look, Kagome noted a certain maturity to the Sesshomaru before her.

At the revelation Kagome's balance faltered. "How long has it been?" she breathed lucidly, her dread palpable.

"I will peel the skin from your flesh for your arrogance." he vowed, death dripping from his words like the sizzling poison from his claws.

"Spare me." Kagome dismissed with annoyance, raising her bow and taking aim at his head. "I should kill you." she informed. "I should take revenge for what you did."

Sesshomaru held her gaze without falter and even in his wounded, shambled state he still managed to carry an air of superiority and pride. "Stupid dog." she cursed, her shoulders bristling with tension. "This is all your fault. If it weren't for you, they'd still be here and I'd have my family." At the reminder, Kagome's fingers curled tighter around her bow.

It would be only right for her to kill him. Sesshomaru deserved to die...so why wouldn't her fingers release the arrow? The more she looked to his bloodied and broken form, the more she pitied him. Before her kneeled the last hope for youkai-kind and Kagome knew that should her arrow loose, the era of youkai would end.

Every fox, wolf and flea would perish in the oncoming reign of humanity and the legacy of her companions would be lost to time. Inuyasha, Shippo, Kirara would be reduced to fairytales and myths with her very arrow. Worse, if she took his life, the life of a creature that despite his evils did show the capacity for good, Kagome would never forgive herself.

Kagome's brows knit, her teeth clenched and her hatred turned inward. Beyond his person Kagome eyed a praying monk, the sutra he held and upon seeing both, a loathsome idea formed. Speaking in a soft voice for his ears alone Kagome warned, "If you try to kill them or me, you're dead." With understanding red eyes cleared, an arrow sung, the youkai dodged, the sutra was broken and with a rushing surge of his overwhelming energy, the barrier fell.