The End of a Long Journey
By Slvgal2010
A man with a long silver mane of hair charged at a man with long wavy black hair. The man with black hair smiled at the silver haired man as he dodged the large sword that the silver haired fought him with. "You had better do better than that in order to kill me, Inuyasha." called the black haired man. That enraged Inuyasha causing him to attack the black haired man yet again. Inuyasha gave a frustrated growl, when all he got for his effort was a shower of dirt from the gapping hole he had made in the ground.
His dog-ears swiveled to keep track of the black haired man's location. Inuyasha turned to face his opponent, growling. "Stop messing around, Naraku!" Inuyasha snapped at him. Naraku smirked at Inuyasha's frustration. Inuyasha suddenly smirked at an idea that had taken form in his head. "I see why you just keep dodging me you're afraid of fighting me head on." Naraku's smirk vanished. Naraku struck out with a large tentacle leaving a large crater in the ground where Inuyasha had stood a moment ago. Inuyasha saw the crater's size and his eyes widened in shock. He had never seen Naraku so mad before.
"Don't make the mistake of thinking I am afraid of fighting a half dog demon like you, Inuyasha." Naraku warned. Inuyasha knew that even before Naraku had demonstrated his strength. Naraku said, "If you don't like the way I am fighting you then just give up. Besides everyone knows you are a weakling and a coward who doesn't know how to fight for himself." Inuyasha was shocked by Naraku's gall to say that. He growled enraged by the fact that that was what Naraku thought of him just because his friends had saved his life dozens of times before Naraku had killed them didn't mean that he was weak.
Inuyasha snarled, "Don't you dare call me a weakling or a coward you filthy pig. Besides I know for sure that I can defend myself when I need to the only reason why they helped me is because they valued me as one of their friends." It was true. Inuyasha had come to rely on his friends for support. They had helped him defeat many enemies, and had become his family some how despite his unruly attitude and actions toward them.
"Oh, really? Do you really think you can take me on, defeat me, and live to tell the tail?" Naraku chuckled with amusement at what he thought of as stupidity to try to do such a thing. Inuyasha's expression remained grim while Naraku continued to laugh knowing the answer to his own question. Naraku stopped laughing, realizing with chilling certainty that Inuyasha was thinking of trying to do just that. "You had better not to do such a thing or else I will have to take your life." Naraku warned. Unfortunately, Naraku's warning fell on deaf ears.
Inuyasha was ignoring him, besides why should he listen to Naraku any way he had nothing to lose. Inuyasha had no friends, no relatives (that wanted him around), and no spouse or children to protect or care for. Inuyasha had figured this out about a month after his friends and Kagome, the woman who he had planned to marry, had died. He would avenge his friends and Kagome's deaths. Even if he did die trying he would take Naraku with him.
Inuyasha said calmly, "I do not care if I die or not when I fight you as long as I take you with me I will be satisfied with that alone. Even if I didn't die after my fight with you would kill myself to join my friends in the after life." The way Inuyasha looked and said this sent a chill through Naraku's body. He was starting to doubt his own confident words from earlier. Inuyasha attacked again. Naraku underestimated Inuyasha's speed and got a deep cut on his left arm. Naraku gripped his bleeding appendage with his hand. Inuyasha's face remained grim, knowing that one cut on the arm wouldn't do it. He had to defeat Naraku.
Inuyasha continued to attack, and Naraku continued to dodge him. Naraku found himself just barely dodging Inuyasha's sword. 'What is going on?' Naraku thought narrowly dodging another of Inuyasha's attacks. 'Is Inuyasha getting faster?' Inuyasha missed Naraku's right arm by only a hair tearing the sleeve of Naraku's haori shirt. Naraku landed on his feet, legs starting to shake and breathing becoming ragged from blood-loss.
"You are through Naraku. Your days of terrorizing others are over. You will pay for all of the people you have killed." Inuyasha charged Naraku again. Naraku tried to dodge the attack, but too late realized that he barely had enough strength to stand let alone dodge Inuyasha again. Inuyasha's sword went through Naraku's chest and at the same time Naraku's tentacle went through Inuyasha's stomach. Naraku fell backwards and Inuyasha went with him. Inuyasha lay on his side, unconscious, next to the dieing spider demon.
Naraku coughed up blood into his hand. He lifted it shakily to his face seeing the blood and let his hand drop to the ground. Naraku looked at Inuyasha and then up at the sky. "It's hard to believe that you had really been able to defeat me." Naraku chuckled softly at the irony. The spider demon gave a last deep breath of the air around him wanting to live, but he inevitably passed away never to terrorize anyone ever again.
Hours passed since Naraku's death, a dark figure rose from the ground. 'Why am I still alive?' The silent question was answered when Inuyasha looked at his stomach realized that Naraku had just barely missed his vital organs. It seemed that fate was on Inuyasha's side. He sighed softly, and rose to his feet removing his sword from the dead man. He leaned on it heavily as he used it as a crutch to leave the clearing. He limped out of the clearing with his head held high knowing that he had gotten rid of a monster that had caused many people to die and others a lot of pain. Besides he now realized his friends would want him to live on and not kill himself just to be with them in the after life.
The wind blew gently though the trees. The birds started to sing again sensing that the danger had passed. The world started to move again. The animal sounds in the forest gave nothing about the battle away. The forest was filled with life after the battle. The only ones who even knew that a battle had taken place was the earth with jagged scares in its soil and trees and the silver haired man walking away using a sword as a crutch.