AN: See? I promised this chapter would come sooner, didn't I?

Fast question for you guys: I've noticed a lot of fanfic authors starting tumblers or facebook pages, or websites, or etc etc. Is this something you guys want me to start doing, or should I just write my stories, and keep quiet about myself? What would you want to see on it if I did start one?

And thanks soooooooo much to SplendentGoddess for the kick in the ass I needed!

Evelyn: You're right, it's going to start getting serious this chapter, lol. As for maple cookie, I was just trying to go back to the maple syrup jokes Kag/Inu usually make with each. Sorry, no real conspiracy there. (That would be a good story though. Maybe one day I'll write something where cookies are really important somehow, lol) Thanks for the review!

JOHNXgambit: Yeah, I'm here, woot. Sorry again for the wait. I really didn't mean to take that long. Thanks for sticking with me though!

Jessika: Well here you go ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I am making no money off this story.


November 17: 8:34 PM

"That last trap wasn't so bad." Souta announced cheerfully. "I think this Kagura would be really fun to meet."

Inuyasha only grunted. That's what everyone said until they mysteriously found themselves stalked by a homicidal maniac intent on knitting a stuffed animal out of their hair, all thanks to Kagura feeling the need to matchmake. But let the boy keep his delusions for as long as possible. Inuyasha was determined to keep Souta alive long enough to ruin them.

"And she's really nice to let you keep your jewel in such a safe place." Souta continued to Kikyo, completely unconcerned with the crocodile infested moat surrounding Kagura's shoe collection.

Did Inuyasha want to know how Kagura kept crocodiles down here? Hell no. Did he want to get Souta away from Kikyo? Yes. And it was just about time.

Kikyo was getting sloppy for once, her excitement getting the best of her. She strode ahead of them without looking back, her attention diverted now that her goal was ahead of her. The quick tapping of her heels across the floor was beginning to beat a headache into his brain.

One single finger. That was all Inuyasha had control over right now. He didn't know if Kikyo's spell was wearing off, or her control was slipping. It didn't really matter. That's what he had, and it would have to be enough.

He tapped Souta's leg twice, quickly getting his attention. "Now?" Souta whispered, eager to get his presents.

His next tap was more of a hard rap, needing Souta to move now. He didn't repeat the instructions, praying Souta remembered them exactly. He couldn't risk Kikyo's sudden scrutiny when she was finally distracted.

Quietly, Souta wiggled against Inuyasha's arms, working one leg free. He let go of Inuyasha's shoulders, and fell completely to the floor, the faint thud muffled by the annoying clicking of Kikyo's heels.

Inuyasha was forced to keep marching ahead as Souta tip toed into a side hallway, thankfully heading off into the right direction. What he thought was a room full of rare baseball cards and mint condition action figures was actually one of the dozen panic rooms Sess had built for Kagura.

As if anyone who tried to kidnap Kagura or steal any of her things would survive long enough for her to get to a panic room. If Sesshomaru hadn't killed them, Kagura would slowly drive them insane in the time it took for him to do so.

Still, the bastard had always been paranoid, and now Inuyasha completely understood why. After this entire ordeal was over with, Inuyasha would oneup his brother on the crazy by just chaining Kagome to him and be done with it.

Kagome. He painfully bounced off Kikyo's shield, still unable to reach his mate. A sudden burst of pride flared in his chest at how much thinner it felt, knowing Kagome must be trying to break through it.

That better be all she was doing though. He scowled suddenly, terrified at the thought of her walking into Kikyo's death trap. Maybe he'd be better off chaining her in their bedroom to keep her from waltzing into danger instead...

"This is it. After all these years." Kikyo whispered reverently. "I'll finally have my revenge."

Inuyasha's brow tried to arch. Revenge? What did Kikyo need revenge over? When had she ever been wronged?

With Kikyo still leading, she led him to a small, insignificant door built into the curve of a support wall. Unlike the grandness of the columns holding up the ceiling and the colorful tiles that swirled under their feet, this was plain. Ordinary. Not ugly, but not really pretty either. Inuyasha would have guessed it was only a storage room, where Kagura kept extra white-out and spare crocodiles.

But since Kikyo was striding straight towards it, there was probably something a little more important inside.

Her hand reached out, her fingers nearly brushing the door before she froze. "Actually, you should be the one to open it in case of more traps. Just set Souta-"

Pain exploded against his eye, the palm of his hand stinging from where it had slapped his face. His claws felt wet, and the burning sensation on his temple meant he probably nicked himself.

"Where is he?" Kikyo shrieked, her panic grating his ears. "Where's Souta?"

He could faintly see a streak of red out of the corner of his eye, so he blinked, wishing he could brush it away. "Let him leave. You've got me, what more do you need?"

"You idiot! Don't you realize he could get killed in here?" Kikyo snapped. "One wrong step, and he could plunge into a lake of fire, or come across Kagura's den of lions next."

Like Souta was anywhere near where Kagura kept her big cats. But Inuyasha couldn't point that out since he was nearly struck dumb from shock.

...did Kikyo really just sound like she cared? Had he heard her right?

"I can't believe you didn't warn me when Souta left." Kikyo scolded, the lines on her face suddenly more pronounced.

Fucking hell, he had heard her right. None of that sounded like worry one of her pawns was going to get away. It seemed more like actual, genuine concern about the runt's safety. Which was insane since Kikyo was only a well planned psychopath, not someone who cared. Maybe Kikyo's spell was leaking into his brain or damaging his eardrums. Because something was going wrong here.

"You absolute moron." Kikyo hissed under her breath, backing away from the door completely. "What could Kagome possibly see in you? Souta?" Kikyo called out, peering down a hall, forcing Inuyasha to follow obediently at her side. "Souta? Are you alright?"

Inuyasha didn't know what to say. Just hours before, Kikyo had talked about casually killing the boy. Now she was acting like some caring guardian. Her face looked stricken, the skin around her eyes tight with worry. "Kikyo, just leave him alone. He's got nothing to do with this."

"He has everything to do with this. He's a Higurashi, and my patient." Kikyo shot back. "And you just let him wander off."

He hadn't just 'let' him, he'd told him how to do it. Besides, Souta had a better chance with Kagura's traps then with Kikyo. "When the hell do you care about your patients? Are you going to care about Souta the same way you cared about his mother?" He guessed aloud, suspecting the answer but needing to hear it.

Kikyo waved his accusation away. "That was necessary. I needed insurance once I realized you were going to betray me. Besides, it's not like she's a real Higurashi." She dismissed.

His one, moveable finger curled tighter into his fist. "You really did hurt her then."

"You didn't guess that earlier? No wonder your mate threw such a fit." Kikyo grumbled. "Why else was my scent there?"

Well, at the time other things had seemed a bit more important, like saving Kagome's mother and supporting Kagome through her breakdown. And then...more other things had happened. In the midst of everything else, he chalked the faint trace of Kikyo he smelled up as a mistake.

"Honestly, Inuyasha, that wasn't an accident. That was supposed to be a warning towards you." Kikyo rolled her eyes. "I can only imagine what distracted you."

Shame washed over him, but he pushed it away, knowing he couldn't afford to be distracted right now. "It sounds like you've got everything figured out, Kikyo." Inuyasha said as calmly as he could, trying to think for once in his life. He needed to give Souta time to lock himself in the panic room. He wouldn't have the chance if Kikyo kept the fast pace she was setting. And besides, that 'real Higurashi' comment bugged him.

Kikyo huffed. "Of course I do. That's what I've been telling you. Souta!" She yelled down a hallway again, louder this time. "Souta, come back NOW!" She circled around in disgust, looking at all the various paths he could have taken. "This place is a maze." She complained. "SOUTA!"

"So about Kagome's father-" Inuyasha tried to ask before he abruptly found his hand covering his mouth.

Kikyo glared at him. "Really Inuyasha, that's what you want to talk about right now?" Venom practically dripped from every word. "Not about where Souta is?"

Inuyasha didn't say anything, trying to pick up on Souta's footsteps instead. They were steady, still towards the panic room. He was so close.

Kikyo stopped still in the middle of the hallway, a mere three feet from where Kagura's crocs waited impatiently for the their next meal. "Oh, screw this." She muttered, digging into her bag, her face practically pushed inside.

Her hand emerged with a round little box that fit neatly in the palm of her hand. Her thumb pressed down on the top and the lid popped open, smoke gently wafting out.

The flared head of a soul collector emerged from the box, the rest of its body soon following, unfurling in one, long line.

Inuyasha's eyes widened frantically. "Kikyo no!" he yelled, his voice muffled by his own hand.

"Don't you start with me. I'm not the one who let him get away!" Kikyo snapped back. "It'll be able to track Souta down faster than I could. Just keep up."

With his hand still covering his mouth, Inuyasha didn't bother pointing out that how well he kept up depended completely on her.

The whiskers on the soul collector's face twitched, like its nose was wrinkling up. Its entire body went stiff, before shooting off, flying straight in the direction of Souta's footsteps.

"Hurry up." Kikyo ordered, taking off after the soul collector, Inuyasha forced to follow behind her.

His hand dropped to his side, the sick feeling in his stomach growing worse. Begging hadn't worked. Maybe a threat would. "Leave him the fuck alone, Kikyo. You're making things worse for yourself."

Inuyasha almost stumbled when Kikyo stiffened his legs, nearly sending him off balance.

"I'd start worrying about yourself. You're the one I won't lose any sleep over slicing open." Kikyo snapped back.

So she did care about Souta. Somehow, someway, Kikyo had come to care for Kagome's brother. Inuyasha didn't know the hows, or the whens, or even the whys, and he didn't really care. He finally had a way to save Souta.

The soul collector abruptly turned a corner, nearly hitting a column in its haste. Kikyo only hurried behind it, keeping Inuyasha close with his awkward running. He tried twitching his muscles, still only able to move the one finger. His thumb felt close to moving, sensation nearly returning. Not much of a fighting force there.

Ok, so then it was time to make Sess eat his words. Inuyasha could totally use reason to win a battle. He didn't need his strength or his fists to do his fighting for him all the time. After all, Kagura couldn't be the only one with a silver tongue in the family. "Souta really is a great kid." Inuyasha started, trying to talk to Kikyo like he would someone who wasn't a psychotic freak of nature.

Kikyo growled. "Did you always talk this much, or is this new?" She demanded. "You're annoying."

Inuyasha ignored that, even when he wanted to point out some of her new turns of phrase. "I'm just saying. He's a little bit like the little brother I never had."

"Just touching." Kikyo grumbled, mostly focused on the tail of the soul collector.

He bit back his snarl, striving for patience. "Look, I get it. You never had any siblings, your family hated you and your friends talked about you behind your back. You don't understand what it's like to be responsible for someone you care about. So it's gotta be...hard," Inuyasha guessed, trying to be careful to use the right language, "to understand what Kag and I are going through. And what we're willing to do to protect Souta. So I guess it's not completely your fault that you're fucked in the head. You never loved and protected a little sibling."

Kikyo stopped dead, her shoulders suddenly stiff, and her hands curled into fists at her sides. Suddenly unconcerned with the soul collector, she let it fly ahead of them, disappearing around a column.

Hah! He had her now. "So is there anyway you can consider leaving Souta al-"

She slowly turned her head around, her cold eyes nearly pinning him to the wall. "How..fucking dare you!"

This time when the pain hit the side of his head, it was dealt from Kikyo's hand, "You are the most insensitive bastard I've ever met in my life!" Her palm hit the other side of Inuyasha's face, the blow sending shooting pains down his neck. "How could even you throw that at my face?"

...what the hell had he done? "Kikyo-"

"How did you find out about Kaede?" Kikyo demanded, this time using her heels on Inuyasha's shins. "It was enough that I lost her, I will not let you mock me about her!" Her eyes were strangely bright, spots of red rage coloring her cheeks. "I did everything I could. Why does no one ever mention that? It's not my fault she died-"

"Gahhhh! Help!" Souta's scream echoed down the hallway, Kikyo flinching at the sound.

Oh fuck, the soul collector. "Down the hall, turn left, and hurry the fuck up." Inuyasha snapped, the pain in his head instantly forgotten.

Without a word, Kikyo turned around and sprinted, dropping her bag and her heels clicking madly. Inuyasha's legs pumped awkwardly, and he wished more than anything for his free will back. He could have been with Souta in less then a second if Kikyo wasn't busy pulling his strings.

"HELP!"

"He's just ahead!" Inuyasha's heart felt like it was in his throat, trying to rob him of breath. He couldn't let Kagome lose her brother too. Whatever he had to do, he would do it. "Please Kikyo, let me go to him."

Kikyo hesitated, unbuttoning her jacket as she ran. "You'll just go for me."

Not at the cost of Souta's life he wouldn't. "I won't even look at you. Just let me-"

Kikyo skidded to a stop, nearly hitting Inuyasha run into her. Souta writhed on the floor in front of them, a soul collector wrapped tight around his entire body, a white light covering both of them as the color drained from Souta's face.

Kikyo whipped her jacket off, her power running in glowing red symbols across her bare arms and collar bone. Inuyasha's skin burned from the nearness, tightening and blistering from the force of it.

Crimson radiated from her hands as Kikyo took an archer's stance, a line of power stretching back between her fists and ending in a large, threatening looking point.

She aimed it at the soul collector, but stopped, another streak of white blooming in her hair. "I can't hit the soul collector without hitting Souta."

Inuyasha struggled against Kikyo's spell as hard he could, his entire body finally twitching from the effort. He could feel the pain in his eyes as red bled into them, muscles bunching up against the hold Kikyo had on him. "Fucking let me go."

"Just get the soul collector off of him!" Kikyo ordered.

Snap

Inuyasha nearly crumbled to the ground, the strings Kikyo controlled abruptly cut. He sprang for Souta instead, not taking the time to marvel over his freedom or run his claws across Kikyo's neck.

The soul collector was strangely cold, numbing Inuyasha's hands as soon as he wrapped his fists around its body. He just held on tighter and ripped it away from Souta, unrolling the boy down the hall. It hissed at him, white fangs flashing, fighting Inuyasha's grasp on it, eager for the prize he had just ripped away.

Inuyasha stretched it above his head, providing a clear target for Kikyo, even as it jerked around.

Kikyo drew her arm back, and her power shot across the air like an arrow, easily slicing through the soul collector as dust rained down on Inuyasha's head.

Instantly, Inuyasha's body tightened, Kikyo's ties wrapping around himself once more before he could even think about going for her.

"Souta!" Kikyo ran to her patient, still shivering and pale on the ground. "Are you alright?"

"Dr. Saito...what was that thing?" Souta asked, his voice shaking. "And...what did you do? What did Inuyasha do?"

Kikyo sighed, kneeling next to Souta. "I'm sorry Souta, I didn't want you to find out."

Fucking damn it all to hell, Inuyasha could see the panic room door. "Souta, run!"

Kikyo growled, her hand clamping down on Souta's shoulder. "I didn't want to have to do things this way either. Thanks Inuyasha."

Still pinning him down, Kikyo dug into her pocket until she pulled out plastic ties, tying Souta's wrists together quickly in front of him. "Souta, I'm something very special-"

"A psychopath." Inuyasha muttered.

Kikyo only glared at him, helping Souta sit up when he didn't look quite so pale. "Have you ever heard of a priestess? Or a miko?"

Souta looked dumbly down at his restraints, in shock that they were there. "I think Gramps has mentioned them."

"Well, I'm one. And Inuyasha-"

"I'm a demon." Inuyasha interrupted, wanting to get the explanations over with quickly. If Souta was scared of him, Souta was scared of him. There was little he could do about it now that they were both trapped.

Souta's eyes widened. "That's...that's so cool!"

Inuyasha would have grinned if he hadn't just failed to get Souta to safety. "Souta, listen to me-"

Abruptly, his hand clamped over his mouth, muffling whatever he was about to say next. In a small, terrible place deep down, he was glad Kikyo had gagged him. There was no way to apologize for what he hadn't done.

"Come along Souta, we have things to do." Kikyo said briskly, hauling him up and keeping him close with one hand wrapped around his arm. "If Inuyasha can't get me my jewel, then you'll have to do it."

The color leached back out of his face, the situation starting to dawn on him. "What are you going to do, Dr. Saito?"

Kikyo tugged on his arm. "You don't have to worry about that right now. Let's just get going."

Souta's eyes were suspiciously bright, and Inuyasha's stomach twisted when no tears fell. He dug his feet into the ground when Kikyo would have hurried him along. "Why are you doing this, doctor?"

"I told you Souta, I want my jewel back." She forced him to walk, paying no heed to his struggling. "That jewel is very, very important to me. I've been waiting for it a long time." She sighed suddenly, hardly looking at Souta as he fought against her uselessly. "If nothing else, please believe me that this wasn't my first plan. You shouldn't have been included at all. But, things change and here we are. I am sorry for it though. I hope you'll remember that."

"Dr. Saito, you're scaring me." Souta whispered. "What's wrong with Inuyasha?"

Kikyo paused to scoop up her bag, "Just don't worry Souta, it'll all be over soon."


"Alright, so how did we make out?"

Still breathing hard, Kagome ran her gaze over them. "Not too bad. I'm a bit out of breath, but I was able to burn most of the sluice away. Miroku wasn't hurt-"

"Drat." Kagura muttered, disappointed.

Kagome waited to get a thumbs up from Miroku, still crouched over Kirara checking her paws. "Kirara's claws are a bit dull and her fur's a little thinner, but it doesn't seem like slime man hurt her skin. But Sango..." Kagome hesitated, hating to be the bearer of bad news.

"What?" Kagura demanded, worried now. "Is she alright?"

"Oh, no she's fine!" Kagome was quick to reassure, waving her hands as if Kagura could see them. "She sliced up the mask really well. You would be proud of it. It's just that-"

"The Mask of Flesh absorbed half my armor." Sango answered for Kagome, rubbing salve from the first aid kit over her pinkened skin. "It didn't get my arm, but it was close."

"No! That armor was a work of art!" Kagura gasped. "Light, flexible, and able to deflect a bullet. And a bunch of slime ate it?! Grrrrr. Just wait, Sess's research and development section is going to hear about this..." Kagura grumbled. "How much did it take?"

"My pads and the sleeve of my shirt."

"The poor cows that died in vain for that leather." Kagura sighed. "The GPS has you close to part three of Sess's closet. You might be able to find something in there to replace it."

"There's no time, Kikyo's been here long enough to reach the jewel room." Sango tossed the bottle of salve to Miroku, her arm shining and bright under the lights. "The lotion's made my arm slippery. That'll have to be enough."

"Ooooo, fighting down and dirty. I like." Kagura approved. "Ok guys, anything to say before you get out of range?"

"This would have been a lot simpler if you had given us guns." Miroku muttered.

"Oh, I'm sorry, expert marksmen, are you? Is that the sort of thing the Church includes in seminary?" Kagura's voice practically dripped with poisoned sweetness. "Is shooting a gun a new skill Sango has picked up since arriving in the modern era? Did Kagome take a class in school?...actually, she goes to public school, so that's a real possibility. Not a stupid, impractical idea like the first thing out of your mouth."

"Guys." Kagome broke in before they could get started. One day, they were going to have to work on this hatred Kagura had for Miroku. Just not now.

"Fine, so here's MY last words of encouragement before the ear mics get out of range. It's all up to you guys now. Fuck this up and we'll probably all die."

Didn't that just leave a big pile of warm fuzzies in Kagome's chest? "Thanks Kagura."

"Don't mention it chickadee, I've got no doubts at all about Kikyo getting hers tonight. Now go save that brother-in-law of mine. After this entire mess is over, he deserves the biggest, meanest, worst prank I can think up."

Which just meant she and Inuyasha would have to get her first. "Got it."

"Sango...whatever you decide, it was an honor seeing you again." Kagura added, the most respectful that Kagome had ever heard her. "Miroku, you can go die for all I care. Now GO!"

Kagome didn't wait for any further orders, she sprinted down the hallway, the ear mic clicking and buzzing painfully in her ear before it went dead.

Sango was instantly ahead of her. "Stay close. We want the hallway on the right."

She'd been heading for the left. Oops.


The closer and closer Kikyo brought them to that door, the more Inuyasha fought. The bonds felt looser, and Inuyasha was able to jerk and twist his upper body, but he still had no control over his legs or shoulder. He could curl two fingers on his right hand, and his eyebrow twitched like mad. And as much as it pissed him off to realize it, it wasn't going to get much better than that before Kikyo walked them through that door.

With Souta still pressed tight to Kikyo's side, she let out a sigh of relief at the entrance to the jewel room. "Ah then, let's try this again. Inuyasha, if you would please?"

The knob taunted him with his failure. Pissed off, he did the only thing he could to fight back. He curled his thumb and index finger together, leaving his hand to awkwardly slap at the doorknob without turning it.

Kikyo only clucked at him before forcing him to use his left hand, taunting him by twisting his wrist as slowly as possible. The door gently swung open with barely a touch, the inside dark and dim.

He took a shuffling step inside, breath caught in his throat. The floor didn't fall away underneath him, and the ceiling didn't open up to pour boiling tar on his head. It seemed like Kagura had kept this room free of any booby traps. With the Higurashi line disappeared, the jewel had probably been safe enough with only the safeguards Midoriko had set.

Huge sheets of electrical lights flickered on over his head, clearly on some sort of timer. The light didn't highlight very much, the room was much plainer compared to the rest of the elaborate treasury. The floor was gray concrete, equally gray safety deposit drawers lining the walls underneath a fluorescent lighting system that took up the entire ceiling. It was the center of the room that wasn't quite as plain.

Beautiful gems lay polished beneath glass cubes, lovingly displayed on squares of black velvet. Dozens of display cases full of sapphires, rubies, diamonds, emeralds, pearls, opals, and jewels Inuyasha had never seen before, glittered under the bright light, each neatly organized in rows of color, spaced equally apart.

"Oh wow." Souta breathed, his terror forgotten for a moment. "It's like a rainbow."

"Yes, yes." Kikyo muttered distantly, craning her head around. "But where would they have put...ah."

Without another word, Kikyo marched past Inuyasha, Souta firmly in her grasp. With no sign of any apparent interest, she passed colored lines of rubies, orange diamonds, citrine, emeralds, and sapphires to the purple colored stones, nestled between a section of topaz and opals.

Kikyo started at the first cube of the purple line, her palm hovering gently over a selection of amethyst jewels. She walked slowly down the line, equally uninterested in display cases full of tanzanite, charoite, or purple garnet and topaz.

Her breathing quickened, her pulse visibly pumping in her neck. "Oh yes. This is it." She breathed.

A glass cube full of polished jasper lay beneath her hovering hand, gems of all shapes and sizes covering the velvet cloth inside. Small etchings of swirls decorated the bottom of the case, visible only when Inuyasha squinted. Oval, square, rectangle and triangle jewels shone inside the display case, all in various shades of purple.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, studying the jewels carefully. Every jewel seemed to have one mate, except for one.

A perfect sphere of the stone sat in the very center, its color the exact shade of lilac. There were no marks on the gem to indicate a jeweler's tools, and no real faults. It was completely smooth all the way around, and rounder than Inuyasha had ever seen in a gemstone.

"Yes." Kikyo hissed. "This is it...the jewel."

"But how do you know which one's yours?" Souta asked, in awe of all the jewels, not just the one.

"Because of how round it is. Sesshomaru can try to distract with the rest of this crap, but they can't hide this from me." Kikyo said dreamily. "Inuyasha, clear some of these cases out of the way, we need room."

Inuyasha didn't try to fight the command, even though the long, rectangle displays were bulky and annoying to move. The jewels rolled around on their velvet surfaces, ruining the former neat lines. "Kikyo, this is stupid." Inuyasha suddenly burst out. "So you're about to get the jewel. So what? None of this works if you can't release Naraku!"

Kikyo only smiled. "You let me worry about what will and won't work, Inuyasha." She dug into her bag, "Now hold onto Souta. And if he escapes this time, I won't be as nice."

Inuyasha felt his hands close over Souta's shoulders as Kikyo crouched down, hauling out several tubes of vials with some sort of flakey material in them and a water bottle. She studied them for a moment, before coming to a decision and selecting a glass tube that looked vaguely red.

"Dr. Saito, I don't understand why this is happening." Souta tried hard not to whimper, but his voice shook anyway.

Kikyo didn't look at him, instead tapping out half of the vial out into her water bottle. "Souta...if your sister died, wouldn't you do everything possible to make that right?"

She shook the bottle up, the clear water quickly turning red as she looked up, staring at Souta straight in the eyes. "If you lost her, wouldn't it become your goal in life, to make the person who took her, pay? Would you be able to rest, knowing she wasn't revenged?"

...well, none of this was making any sense to Inuyasha. But Souta looked back at her with something dangerously close to pity. "When my father died, I only wanted to make sure he had found peace."

Kikyo jerked, her eyes wide. "...well, I guess not everyone is as low maintenance as you then!" She snapped, violently unscrewing the lid to her drink. She threw her head back, and gulped the water down, swallowing it all without pause.

The white in her hair immediately darkened, the lines on her neck smoothed, and when she lowered her head, her wrinkles were completely gone, and she looked again like the lovely miko Inuyasha had grown obsessed with 500 years ago.

He scowled at the empty bottle in her hand. "So how many siblings did you use to make that up?"

Inuyasha fully expected to feel his hand again, but Kikyo only smiled. "Come here, Inuyasha."

Souta whimpered when Inuyasha's hands fell away from his shoulders, and tried to step in front of him. "Inuyasha-"

"It's fine, runt." Inuyasha answered back, even though it really, really wasn't. "Out of the way now."

Kikyo waited patiently, a hand propped up on her hip. "I'll be generous and have you try lifting the case up before I start opening veins. Yours or his." She explained, sounding benevolent.

He wanted to fight, but he didn't want to risk Souta either in case there was a chance he could free the jewel. So he let Kikyo guide his hands towards the side of the glass case.

Pink light sparked between his palms and the glass, drawing out a hiss of pain from Inuyasha. Blisters cracked across his skin, burning a hundred times worse than Kikyo's quick brush of power.

"Hmmm. Blood then." Kikyo decided, feeling around the waistband of her skirt.

"Souta, close your eyes." Inuyasha quickly commanded when Kikyo flashed a long sliver of blade at him, an ugly smile twisting her mouth. He didn't know what Kikyo was going to do, and he didn't want Souta to suffer from the nightmares later.

"Why Inuyasha, that's the best thing I've heard out of your mouth all day." Kikyo nearly purred. "Arm out."

That almost comforted him. Drawing blood from his arm wouldn't be as deliberating as from his neck. But then he remembered what she had done to Mrs. Higurashi and got worried, fast.

Souta whimpered, "Dr. Saito, please don't hurt him."

"I'll be quick enough. Now hush unless you want to be gagged." Kikyo almost snapped.

His forearm hovered over the glass case, Kikyo carefully avoiding touching it as the knife's edge settled on his skin, right over his thickest vein.

Inuyasha held back his hiss when the blade dug down, blood quickly welling up. With a quick flick of Kikyo's wrist, the knife dragged across his arm, slashing it open.

"There we go. Nice and deep." Kikyo murmured, watching his blood run in rivets down his arm. She turned his arm over, and squeezed.

The pain was sharp, his arm beginning to feel numb. Drops of blood covered the jewel case, forming little puddles on the surface.

Kikyo only stared, looking confused. "But...it should be doing something." She squeezed his arm harder, not hearing his involuntary snarl. "It's just sitting there though. Not doing anything."

"It's blood, Kikyo. Were you expecting something else to happen?" His sarcasm wasn't helpful, but he couldn't help it.

"I was expecting you to open this case!" Kikyo snapped back, flinging his arm away. She glanced back at the case, her hand reaching out to touch it. "Maybe..."

She shrieked when the case suddenly shocked her, Inuyasha's blood in no way having loosened it. "No!"

She whirled around, slapping Inuyasha across the chest. "You're a Higurashi now! It should have worked." She froze, her eyes narrowing. "You limp dicked bastard. You couldn't seal the deal with your mate, could you?"

Inuyasha managed to jerk his shoulders in an attempt of shrugging them. "You take your time with class and you bag your trash fast." He eyed her up and down, making sure she knew which category she fell into.

Fury bloomed high in her cheeks, her fists tight at her side. "You miserable worm. I'm sorry I ever met you." She hissed.

Inuyasha bit back laughter. "You think you're the only one? I'm sorry you were ever born."

She froze, her head snapping back like he had slapped her. She blinked twice, startled.

"You'll be sorry for that." Kikyo growling, yanking Souta to her.

Oh, fuck. Inuyasha fought against Kikyo's spell with everything he had, his body screaming in protest. "Kikyo, wait-"

"Inuyasha! Dr. Saito!" Souta cried, digging his feet into the floor.

Kikyo ignored them both, and pushed Souta's head down onto the glass, his skull held back and his neck pulled taunt.

Souta fought against her hold, squeezing his eyes closed and trying to arch away. "Dr. Saito! Please don't do this!"

"I'm sorry Souta." Kikyo kept him pinned with her body against his, and brought the blade against his pulse.

Inuyasha roared, his eyes bleeding red and his cheeks burned, blue lines streaking down his cheek bones. "KIKYO! DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HIM!"

"Oh, shut up." She muttered, staring at Souta's neck. "You're a big, bad demon. I've got it." The blade only rested against his skin, not drawing blood.

She sucked her lip into her mouth, and her arm trembled, at odds with what she wanted to do.

"Dr. Saito." Souta whimpered again. "Please."

Kikyo blinked. "Oh, fuck it." She grumbled.

Abruptly, she whirled Souta up and around, hugging him against her while holding up his bound hands. One more hesitation, and she drew a shallow line with her knife down his palm, just barely nicking him. She took his cut hand and pressed it against a clean section of the glass, watching intently.

The jewel room was silent enough that Inuyasha would hear the steady drip of his blood onto the concrete floor, all attention completely focused on the tiny cut mashed up against the cube.

And to Inuyasha's horror, something started to sizzle.


That theme music Kagome scoffed at earlier would have been great about now.

Kagome and Miroku followed Sango and Kirara, the entire treasury eerily silent. Kagura's traps whirled away in the background, but they were racked with tension.

Kagome eyed Sango's back. Maybe not Sango. She seemed like the calmest one in the group. She'd glanced over at Miroku, and his hand clutched his bag, nearly shaking. As for herself...

She was scared. She could admit that. There was a giant ball of fear lodged at the bottom of her stomach, threatening to spill out of her body and all over her brand new, kick ass clothes.

The only thing keeping it down was Inuyasha. Souta. The rest of her family Kikyo had threatened or hurt. If Kagome focused on the fear, she would be wheezing on the ground, and giving Kikyo another chance to use them.

So instead she focused on her rage, funneling her power into it. Purple light splashed against the walls, as petals weighed down Kikyo's block, thinning it with every passing minute.

"We need a plan." Sango announced, finally breaking the silence. "I'm thinking a distraction, than an ambush."

"And just who is providing the distraction, then the ambush, Sango?" Miroku asked, his tone edging on cold.

Sango ignored him. "We have to move fast. Secure Souta, then kill Kikyo as quickly as possible. Let's not draw this out any longer. Kirara will go in first to swoop up Souta, then the rest of us will move in."

Kagome had a sudden strange image of Kirara picking Souta up by the back of his neck like a kitten and had to choke back her hysterical laughter. She was starting to lose it.

She closed her eyes, focusing on her anger. On her need to see Inuyasha, safe and sound and far, far away from Kikyo.

"Here it is." Sango said softly.

For all the trouble this jewel had caused, Kagome expected something a little grander than a boring little door tucked away behind a column nestled in Kagura's shoe collection.

Sango carefully crouched next to the door, gesturing for them to join her, quietly. Breathing deeply, she gently nudged Kagome, trying to avoid actually touching her. "Kagome, I just want to warn you now, I can smell blood, and it's not Kikyo's-"

Snap

Power roared to life inside her, purple swirls and whorls lighting up over her skin. It burned at the tips of her fingers, demanding to be used.

Sango threw herself against the wall, hissing. "Kagome, calm down-"

There was no more calming down. Her fear was completely gone and rage had taken over. Enough. She was not going to take this for one more second.

Hardly aware of herself, Kagome reached for the knob and threw the door open.