-I know the last chapter was kind of jumpy and uncertain, but there was more that went on than meets the eye. Sorry it has taken me so long to update… Hope you still enjoy it! Oh, and I forgot to label the last chapter, so yea… it was ch. 18...

CHAPTER 19

Kagome stirred restlessly in her comatose state. She had been unconscious for four days, leaving the rest of the group wondering if she was actually going to pull through. Little did they know that she was still fighting an internal battle of her own.

Kagome wandered through the vacant field, wondering why she couldn't find anyone. They had all just been here moments ago. And what had happened to Kikyo? Surely since she was the one who had sent the blast of energy, she was still alive….

Her thoughts became more and more chaotic, and with each step she took, the sky above her turned darker and darker.

Finally she saw another figure forming in the distance, she ran towards it and stopped short when she saw that it was Kikyo.

She growled and clenched her fists. "Where did you bring me to? Where is everyone else!"

Kikyo laughed bitterly, as though she no longer derived pleasure from torturing her reincarnation. "I found that last time when I challenged you in your unconscious state, you were a bit harder to defeat. But now, with my enhanced powers, I think I can finally take back the soul that is rightfully mine."

Kagome thought back to the battle. The orb of silver light, the piercing scream, the lack of people around… She had somehow been taken to a different plane, one where the older miko had the upper hand.

Inuyasha stared down at the young girl and heaved another deep sigh. She had not changed condition and he was terrified that he would never get her back.

He and the others had also been baffled by the recent battle. Naraku had been nowhere near as hard to defeat as they had figured he would be. And that made no sense. He had felt stronger than he had been. Yet he had not really injured any of them.

A sudden thought came to him. Much too late than it should have. He jumped up and raced out of the room to find the others.

Kagome didn't know what to do. She stared at Kikyo for a moment, summing her up. She sensed a very strong aura about her, but she was still ruled by her rage, which (she hoped) meant she would be clumsy, only fighting to win, with no real strategy. She decided to get Kikyo to attack her in anger, making her block out all sense of her goal. Whatever that was.

"Why do you care so much for your soul? You are dead and it was given to the next rightful person. You lived the life you were meant. Just give up. There is nothing left for you!" She taunted, moving more to the miko's left.

Glowing enraged brown eyes met hers. "I have one purpose alone and that is to avenge my death!"

An arrow flew passed Kagome's ear as she ran at her past self. Kikyo followed suit and raced at Kagome, charging energy into her hands.

They met in an explosion of blue light, Kikyo's attack leaving scorch marks on Kagome's shirt. They flew apart and pelted blasts of energy at each other, narrowly missing each time.

"Why the hell didn't we think of it?" Inuyasha growled, pacing next to Kagome's bed. He stopped and looked at her. "He didn't even smell the same."

"Well, Kikyo probably figured that we would come after her, and to distract us, she made a double of Naraku. Most likely in the same fashion that she was brought back." Miroku supplied the answer while resting his chin on his steepled forefingers and staring blankly forward.

"That answers that pondering. Now what do we do about saving Kagome?" Sango queried, looking to Inuyasha for the answer.

Kaede walked through the doorway and responded. "Kagome must fight this battle on her own. There is nothing we can do to help."

The group all looked toward the cot that Kagome lie restless upon. None of them wanted to lose her again, but all they could do was to stay by her side in support. Which was something that angered them all, making them feel completely helpless.

"Kikyo, you can't keep holding on to your anger! Inuyasha may have wronged you in the past, but you know for a fact that Naraku was the one who killed you. Not Inuyasha!"

Kagome dodged another blast and reciprocated the action, sending one flying at Kikyo.

"You know nothing of my anger towards him! He betrayed me by falling in love with you! He only did so because you are a complete likeness of me! Otherwise you would have meant absolutely nothing to him!" Her aim became more inaccurate with each sentence spoken.

Kagome's plan was working. She quickly dove behind a tree and caught her breath for a moment then jumped out and sent everything she had in an explosion of force right at her.

Kikyo shrieked as her body convulsed and turned to dust. Rays of light emitted from the pile of ashes and shot into Kagome, thrusting her back against the tree she had hid behind.

She jolted awake, gulping in air like a fish that had been long away from water. She rubbed the back of her head, feeling a slight dampness from the gash that had been made from her impact on the tree.

Every one around her sighed in relief. Everyone questioned what had happened and if she was okay. She nodded and smiled slightly.

"Everyone, SHUT UP!" Inuyasha yelled, making Kagome's head pound worse. He turned to her and spoke calmly. "Kagome, what happened?"

So she calmly told the group what had happened to her, feeling a very disturbing sense of déjà vu. When she was done, the group told her of their conclusion about Naraku.

"How does that explain Miroku's wind tunnel though?" Kagome asked, glancing at the monk with a sad expression.

Miroku shook his head slightly, attempting an answer. "I am surmising it is because Kanaye still lives and he shares a direct blood link with Naraku. And with Kikyo's help, it was able to be reopened." He looked at his hand miserably.

Sango looked at the group. "Well, I guess that means our work is done yet. We have to find Kanaye and finish off the rest of the trio."

I hope this one didn't confuse anyone too bad. : P

Next chappie will be up soon!

-Angel of Starlight