Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Twilight

Genre

: Romance/Angst/Hurt

Pairing

: Edward/Kagome?

Summary

: They expected Kagome Higurashi to be some decrepit old woman but when she looks no more then seventeen years old, what are the Cullens to think? Horrors of Kagome's past are intricately intertwined with the Volturi and yet she has agreed to help this family due to past relations with Carlisle. Cruelty runs through her veins and she has done great terrors in the name of something good, some even for Carlisle, so what is this family to do when faced with the monster that is Kagome?

Love of the Dead
Chapter Four: Friendly Fire [Reconstructed]

"There's a crack in the mirror,and a bloodstain on the bed - O you were a vampire and baby, I'm walking dead." - Concrete Blond

x . . . . x

Kagome had been curled on her side, head buried in between Shippo's shoulder blades when the sounds of snarls ripped through the house and something crashed and shattered against one of the walls. Sitting up in bed, both she and Shippo ran down stairs groggily, Kagome grabbing a robe. By the time her feet touched the last step, she was fully awake, miko energy flaring around her as she prepared for action. Cerulean eyes turned toward an aching familiar voice and narrowed upon coming in contact with her target.

Rosalie flew passed her and hit one of the walls as Emmett growled in response and leaped on her attacker. A high pitched whine filled the room as he bit into the shoulder of the man he was clinging to. With that the Cullen family leaped and piled onto the man. A cry fell passed Kagome's lips and Shippo created a fiery, blue whip that wound itself around several of the vampires and yanked them from their prey. Kagome moved quickly, grabbing Esme by the back of her neck and tossing her from the dog-pile.

Alice came next, followed by Carlisle. They in turn hissed at her and Emmett's mouth was still attached to the man's shoulder as he began to howl in pain. Kagome wasted no time in delivering a solid punchy to Emmett's right eye and another to his nose causing him to growl in pain and release the youkai. Kagome's fingers fluttered over the wound that bled and was turning a sickly green and horrifying black. Tired, crystal blue eyes stared at Kagome with a smile curling his lips upward, showing a hint of fang.

"Dumb ass." Kagome murmured affectionately, miko energy seeping into her fingers and slowly moving the venom that vampire's saliva contained. It was poison to ookami's kind and killed rather then changed them. The youkai squirmed and Kagome growled lowly at him. "Kouga." she snapped, lips curling into a snarl. "Stop moving!"

"It fucking hurts, Kagome!" Kouga growled bag, a hint of whine entering his voice. Soon the poison and the wound were gone and Kouga was able to breathe easy. "Bastard vampires." he grumbled, eyes moving passed Kagome to stare at the coven. "Worse then Jaken, I swear." Shippo barked out a laugh and the vampires looked sheepish. Kagome turned angry eyes to them and stood, bringing Kouga with her.

"What is your problem?" she snapped. "Why did you attack?"

Carlisle opted to speak and almost flinched away when Kagome turned to those cool eyes on him, "We smelled wolf and he just appeared inside like it was natural."

"Well it is natural! He visits often!" she then turned to Kouga whom was snickering. "And what is your excuse, Kouga?"

Kouga looked shocked and gaped for a few moments, "My excuse? They were in your house! How was I supposed to know they were guests?" Pouting, Kouga took a seat at one of the couches and grumbled lowly to himself. Kagome rolled her eyes and a hint of a smile curled her lips, shocking the Cullen coven. A little more then a week had passed and they had yet to see the young girl smile because of happiness. Normally it was sardonic, cynical, or due to dark amusement.

"Try and save a girl and this is how she repays you?" Kouga muttered in Japanese, causing Shippo to chuckle. Kouga shot the kitsune a glance before blanching. "Put some god damned close on, you moron!"

Kagome glared at him and the women in the room, minus Kagome, politely turned away. Due to the quick events, none had realized he had been clothing less. "Really?" Kagome demanded and the kitsune shrugged his shoulders.

"Shit hits the fan and you expect me to get clothes on first?" he asked and then walked upstairs with an elegant flick of his tail that somehow managed to seem sarcastic and snotty.

Kagome turned toward Kouga and sighed, "Kouga, this is Cullen family... Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Edward. There is a ningen girl... somewhere, named Bella. Cullens, this is Kouga and he's a friend."

Edward spoke, "Bella is still upstairs asleep. The girl could sleep through World War three." Kagome snorted and turned toward Kagome while the Cullens settled on available couches and chairs.

"What brings you here, Kouga?" Kagome inquired as she pressed a kiss to his temple, greeting him in the universal language of youkai. Kouga rumbled lowly and gave her a quick glance.

"Sesshoumaru said you were going to Volterra and I thought I could lend a hand with planning and gathering our assault force." Kagome nodded her head and Carlisle made a sound of discomfort, still unhappy with the idea of Kagome attempting something so violent and unnecessary. Kagome glared a the doctor and Kouga stood from his seat on the couch. "Different views?"

"He thinks that we can get through this without violence. He came here for a spell that I refuse to do again and negotiating with the Volturi puts you in a worse place then when you started." Kouga nodded his head once, eyes hardening.

"I have no doubt you already have plans." Kagome made a sound of agreement and moved to the corner where she had her lap top set up along with several books and scrolls. "You know that an attack of this magnitude is going to be frightening as hell and no less fun." Kouga grinned causing the miko to shake her head. Kouga had always loved a good fight, brawl, or tussle. It was something that ran through his blood and was seeped into his instincts and Kagome knew it had been a long time since he had any of those.

This time, Esme scowled and spoke, "I don't see what is so 'fun' about my family risking their necks in a fool's plan." Kagome gripped a black book from her stash, worn, and yellowed with age.

"You don't have to come." Kagome murmured coldly, eyes dark with anger. "This goes beyond your family. I've been itching for a reason to get into Volterra and your family has just provided us the perfect excuse."

"Eh; Out of curiosity, Kagome, how many do you think we'll need?" Kouga asked.

"Just the seven of us. We plan, go in, and get out." Kagome shrugged. "Simplicity at its best."

"Seven?" Edward asked incredulously. "Just seven?"

"Yes, Edward." Kagome hummed. "Just seven."

"Volterra is a mini fortress, Kagome." Jasper drawled gently and the miko bobbed her head slowly in agreement. "Seven won't make the cut, especially if you get lost. All plans are shot straight to hell then."

Kagome held the small, black book up for everyone to see. "This has maps." she answered as Shippo walked down stairs in a pair of sweats and a white long sleeved shirt. His eyes fell on the back and something in his eyes darkened as his tail twitched behind him in anger and agitation.

"You kept that all these years?" he inquired lowly. The young woman nodded her head slowly and shrugged her shoulders in a way that could have meant everything and nothing all at once. "I thought you burned it all." he snapped harshly and Kagome almost flinched at the tone.

"No. I kept what could be useful in the future." she murmured in response. Carlisle took a step forward, sensing the tension spike and Jasper quickly took control and sent out soothing waves to fill the room.

"Kagome... I'm lost." Carlisle murmured softly. "No maps have ever been made of the Volturi castle. How did you get a copy?"

Though Edward could not read Kagome's mind or Shippo's for that matter, Kouga's was a wide open book and Edward easily flipped through the pages of his thoughts that came rapidly.

My fault. I should have saved her; I should have saved them. They turned on us, she turned, they all turned -

And then flow of thoughts just stopped and Kagome was glaring at Edward as though she were going to murder him there on the spot.

"Stay the fuck out." she hissed, her eyes black with anger. Edward recoiled as he felt a burst of power hit his mind, causing him to cry out and grab his head in pain. Naturally, Bella chose that time to walk down the stairs, a small screech flying passed her lips as she ran to Edward.

"Edward! Edward are you alright?" Bella asked. Edward pushed her away and she fell on her rear causing Rosalie to laugh aloud.

"Now you want to care whats wrong?" Edward growled, gasping for air he did not need, softly. With a glare toward the fallen ningen and another toward the immortal one, he stomped outside.

Bella turned angry cinnamon eyes toward Kagome and stood, "You!" she hissed angrily. "This is all your fault!"

"No, its yours and his. He shouldn't have brought a ningen girl into this world and you should have stayed away from other worldly affairs. You are both selfish." That said, Kagome retreated to her corner that held her supplies and continued her planning. Kouga stood and joined her and though Shippo looked angry and torn, he sat beside her as well.

"I swear this is better then those soap operas on TV." Emmett chuckled and Alice glared at the taller boy, not finding Edward's deteriorating relationship funny in the slightest.

Rosalie on the other hand found it all hilarious.

.

Kagome didn't take her breaks often but when she did, she took them alone and she expected to not be bothered. Shippo passed this fact onto Kouga whom tried to follow Kagome out of the house and Kouga proceeded to pout.

Kagome, of course, ignored this and took her walk in the setting sun.

There was so much to think about, so much to take in, and every thing made her sick inside.

Yes, it was her idea to take on the Volturi but they were selfish and emotional reasons.

Her hands clenched at her sides and fury welled within her deep and full. Her lips pursed and she took a deep breath as memories of dark thoughts and darker days filled her mind. She remembered blood more then anything. Crimson fluid had become a constant in her life those days. Eyes closed, shaking off the memories, she stepped out of her shoes.

Sometimes the memories overwhelmed her and when they did, she ran.

She ran into the forests that surrounded the shrine, down a well worn path she created with her own two feet, and she rarely stopped.

She ran as the screams in her memories, the bodies that touched her own, and the pain nipped at her heels.

She and Shippo had barely escaped with their lives several hundred years ago. Barely escaped from the place so filled with death. So many people had died for the Volturi's greed and lust and it made her want to retch.

Her feet padded against the ground, the dirt embedding itself between her toes. Her breathing came in soft pants and the miko just stopped thinking. There was only action now. She kept moving at her steady pace, ignoring the throb that insisted on burying itself within her heart. Reaching the half way point, Kagome came to a halt and placed her hands on her knees.

Though she resisted, memories came through and one word whispered past her chapped lips, "Inuyasha."

Collapsing under the pain that coursed through her whole body from her heart, she fell to her knees and sobbed.

This time there was no Shippo to hold her and turn her pain into pleasure.

There was just her and the memories.

.

Wiping his lips of blood from the deer he had caught with a handkerchief, Edward took a deep sigh of relief.

He was trying with Bella, honestly he was. She wasn't receptive to anything he did though. She was constantly angry with every little thing that he did to help her and he was sick of it. Love? This wasn't love and he was starting to believe it had never been. From where he was standing, it had been obsession. His obsession with her human scent and human ways and her obsession with his predatory charm and the way he completely intoxicated her. Tawny eyes hardened minutely and he cursed himself for thinking this way.

He wanted to push the thoughts to the back of his mind but they always managed to swarm back to the front.

Edward wasn't perfect because he was a vampire, in fact, he wasn't perfect at all.

He was an immortal and that's about all.

Yet she expected... everything from him.

He would give her everything but not the perfection she sought because it was something he could not provide her.

It frustrated him to absolutely no end.

Sighing softly, the vampire began the trek toward the Higurashi household - where his second problem lay.

The immortal, Kagome Higurashi, was an enigma.

She was cruel and yet she was kind. She was angry and yet she was sad. She was a contradiction and she held more secrets then anyone else he had encountered.

Not to mention whenever he looked at her, his mind automatically went back to the day he met her and she released the spell that held her scent.

She had smelled absolutely divine.

Running a hand through his already mussed hair, Edward sighed once again and continued on. He slowly made his way back to his temporary home but paused when the soft sound of sobbing reached his ears. Turning toward it, eyes narrowed, he made his way silently after the sound. Surprise registered on his features when he took not of the small Japanese female that had just crossed his mind not moments before. The family had intruded in her home for roughly two weeks, more or less, and very few emotions had come from the Higurashi girl.

She was angry, cynical, occasionally rude, cruel, but never had he seen her cry.

Torn between intruding on her desolate form and turning tail, Edward watched the tears roll down her cheeks.

He guessed that even she had days where immortality became a burden.

Pursing his lips, he knew she would rather him walk away then have anyone see her in this state.

Naturally, he walked toward her.

.

"Kagome..." Edward murmured softly. Kagome turned reddened, puffy eyes toward the male and his heart, had it been beating, would have stuttered in his chest. She harshly wiped her tears from her cheeks and glared at him. She stood jerkily, lips set into a scowl.

"What do you want?" she nearly hissed like an angry cat. Edward arched a brow at the girl and nearly growled back. Instinct tore through him and warred within himself. It growled to dominate the woman that thought she could take him on and would show such disrespect. Rationality screamed that she was older, stronger, and she was trying to help his family. Followed by that he felt a burst of fear and it blossomed through his eyes, causing them to widen and Kagome to cast a look of confusion his way.

Never had he felt instinct so keenly.

Normally he fought it like the rest of his family, allowing it rule only when he fed and then it was denied once again.

It tore through him once more and this time it was followed by hunger so strong that he collapsed to his knees.

Venom began to form in his mouth, bitter and acrid. He fought to spit it out on the ground and forced himself to swallow.

"Edward?" Kagome inquired, her cerulean gaze narrowed at his fallen form.

"I don't understand." Edward rumbled lowly, his pupils swallowing the golden color of his eyes, turning them black. "This need."

"Shippo warned you." The miko murmured softly. "Your instincts, that inner beast, can be denied only so long before it breaks through."

A low growl thundered in his chest and Kagome took a step back. She had seen others this way, and Carlisle had his family denying the hunger, their natural capabilities and needs for so long.

Jasper was truly the only one that explored what he really was, having met the Cullens years after his transformation. Though she wasn't scared of the vampire, she definitely did not want to be around if he lost his head and went on a spree. It was something that Shippo could deal with better. She had the tendency to kill what attacked her.

Living for such a long time had hardened her existence and carved something cruel into her.

It was actually quite sad she could no longer be that carefree, pure girl that fell down a well all those years ago.

Edward's obsidian eyes turned to Kagome and though her expression was not fearful, it was wary and that was what the inner drive wanted.

Wary as good as submitting as far as it was concerned.

"Don't make me hurt you, Edward. It will go against the reason your family is here." she stated, almost amused by the spectacle but amusement was bravado. When vampires lost control... they were several times stronger then they were before and even more frightening.

Breathing deep, Kagome took a step backward and that was all Edward needed in order to leap. Kagome ducked out of the way as the vampire came at her, faster then she had anticipated and she tossed him a scowl. He chuckled lowly, his lips curling over his perfectly straight teeth. Narrowed cerulean eyes gazed at the vampire that ran at her, his hands capturing her forearms in his. He yanked her close and Kagome could smell a faint mint scent around his mouth which she found odd considering his diet.

There was an emptiness in his eyes that said Edward wasn't functioning on intellect but had given himself over to something else entirely.

"Let me go now, Edward." she snapped and the vampire inched his nose to her neck, snuffling softly and growling low when he realized she carried no scent. "Let me go or you'll be regretting it later." His lips caressed her neck, his tongue licking over her pulse and he was tempted to bite into her and relish in the taste of her blood. He had tasted human blood once before and that was when Bella had been bitten by James and never before that or after.

The miko counted in her head backwards from ten. Edward hadn't shown any real aggression in the house but she knew that people could just snap from time to time. Things get triggered and things just happen sometimes and people get hurt. She was definitely not going to let this be 'one of those times where people just get hurt'.

Seven...

Six...

His teeth nibbled along her neck slowly, applying pressure, letting her know that he could tear out her jugular at any time he wished.

Five...

Four...

Pressure increased and turned into pain and she hissed, "Edward."

A purr rumbled in his throat and she growled lowly.

ThreeTwoOne!

Power rose angrily, defensively and the heel of her hand came up and made contact with his jaw causing his mouth to shut with audible 'click'. The male jumped back with a hiss and he narrowed his black eyes at her. She narrowed her eyes in return and the two began circling one another.

"You don't want to do this." Kagome said slowly. "I'm older and I have been fighting and killing your kind for many years." The circling continued for several moments and Edward once again leaped with surprising speed.

.

"... and this is where we will conclude our tour! You are more then welcome to approach anyone in this hall if you have any questions!" A young smiled charmingly at a small group of tourists consisting of no more then twelve. The tourists twittered softly amongst themselves, glancing at the men and woman scattered through the hall, their eyes gleaming red with hunger. The tourists, of course, all thought it was an interesting tourist attraction and began jumping over themselves in order to get pictures.

The young man began to leave the hall, the smile fading off his handsome features and his lips curled into a deep frown as the doors shut behind him and the first few screams filled the dim.

Ebony hair gleamed under the fluorescent lights and crimson eyes glowed with a fiery anger. Blood seeped under the door and he began to walk away from the room, the scent causing a familiar feeling of hunger to twist his gut.

He hated the Volturi and this place more then anything else in the world.

They took everything from him and left him with nothing.

Entering his room, the young man stripped himself of his clothing and fell on his bed nude with a soft growl of hatred.

Rolling over on his back and lifting a clawed hand to his eyes, the young man covered them with a sigh of defeat.

No matter how much he wanted to leave, he couldn't and he knew it.

They threatened him, threatened to take what last piece of his sanity he held dear.

They would bring her. Torture her. Hurt her. End her.

Nothing more or less.

He was bound to this place, forever.

And forever was a long time to spend in such misery.

.

.

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'Gome Yuki:: Sorrrrry! It took forever to get this out because I've been distracted by life! It's also somewhat short but I thought it would be a good place to end You know the drills, kiddos! Review!