Chapter 1: Death
(AN: I don't know if it's going to be a multi-chapter fic)
Warning: The following fic contains moments of extreme sadness and descriptive gory scenes. Should you have any problems with these things, do not read the rest of this fic. Just scroll down to the very bottom for the Author's note to get a nutshell version of the events mentioned in case I do more chapters.
Inuyasha slashed at Naraku, doing everything in his power to inflict at least one blow to the vile demon.
"So it comes down to this, eh, Inuyasha? Whoever wins this will have nearly all of the jewel shards at their disposal. I hope you're ready to die." Naraku taunted as he dodged another of Inuyasha's sloppy blows. "Distracted? I'd be more worried about my life than those of my friends against that puppet, if I were you."
"Shut the hell up!!!" Inuyasha yelled as he dashed at Naraku with the Tetsusaiga raised to cleave the thing in front of him in half. He was distracted though. It was normally he who made the killing blow against a puppet, and he could hear the buzzing of the Saimyosho (sp? Naraku's bees) near where he'd left Kagome and the others.
"You are sloppy, today." Naraku muttered as he dodged the blade by moving quickly behind Inuyasha who was still recovering from the momentum of the giant sword. "Maybe you should. . . SIT DOWN!" With that, he kicked Inuyasha in the back, sending him flying through the air. Within seconds, there was a sickening thud as Inuyasha hit a tree and slid down to the ground, blood trailing his path down the tree trunk. The Tetsusaiga had slipped out of his hands upon collision with the tree and was now stabbed into the ground, in its old and rusty form again, a few feet from Inuyasha's limp body.
"That had to hurt." Naraku said passively before walking up to the badly injured hanyou.
But he wasn't ready for Inuyasha to grab the blade, transform it, and swing at the same time.
The fang tore through Naraku's arm like a knife through warm butter. The limp appendage fell to the ground as Naraku gave a scream of pain. No, he definitely wasn't ready for the hanyou to make that quick of a recovery.
"DIE BASTARD!!!" Inuyasha yelled as the Tetsusaiga began to glow and eerie red. Winds started to swirl around the blade in a torrent of deadly energy as Inuyasha held it over his head. "Bakuryuuha!!! (sp again?)" Then he swung it down, releasing a tornado of dark energy, Naraku's own youki.
Naraku's eyes widened as he was swallowed by the horizontal tornado formed from his youki, releasing one last scream of agony as his bodyseemed to be obliderated. Inuyasha collapsed onto one knee, using the Tetsusaiga as a brace. He was making an effort to just stay awake. His vision was blurring into and out of focus now.
When the dust cleared, Inuyasha, alone, was kneeling in the open area created by the Tetsusaiga's attack. There was nothing showing that Naraku had died, but Inuyasha wasn't really expecting a pile of ashes. What went into that tornado didn't normally come out.
The exhausted hanyou grunted in pain at his body's protests as he worked to stand up. He couldn't fully stand, but his healing power had already begun to fix him up. He was feeling stronger already; at least able to see solid images. He still couldn't stand though, leaving him to use Tetsusaiga as a walking stick so that he could see what had happened to his friends. There was no yelling or crashing sounds, signifying a battle so the battle was obviously over.
But he wasn't ready for the scents that met his nose. There was blood ahead; human blood. Too much for minor wounds.
Inuyasha sped up, ignoring the screams of protest from his muscles. The scent of blood got stronger as he moved along. 'What the. . .' Inuyasha now broke into a full run, stumbling a lot from pain, mind you, but running just the same. His mind was ajumble of confused thoughts at the moment. There was too much blood ahead. Too much HUMAN blood. What he should smell would be Naraku's miasma that was released when a doll was destroyed. It was there though, which meant that the copy was dead. But his friends had obviously suffered.
He ran and ran, hoping to help his comrades if they were injured and were attacked by other demons. But when he got to the battle sight, he realized that no healing would be needed.
The first thing he'd seen was a doll, cut in half, at his feet. The next was the mangled body of Miroku, not far from the doll. His cursed hand looked as if it were burnt off from the elbow down, giving Inuyasha a view of the muscle, bone and flesh inside what was left of the monk's arm.
Then he noticed Sango's form. He immediately wished he hadn't. She was messed up pretty badly. She had a large hole in her chest from which her organs and blood were spilling out forth. He had to turn away to keep from vomiting. He just thanked Kami that he couldn't see her face. It would probably be furrowed in pain, something that even the hard hanyou didn't want to see. He was a demon, but youkai blood didn't protect someone from their nightmares, and that would surely bring on quite a few already.
Looking up more, he could see Shippo leaning against a tree at the far side of the battlefield,who, fortunitally,just looked badly cut up. At first Inuyashawanted to see if thetiny youkai was just knocked unconscious from hitting the tree, butacloser inspectionbrought to lightthat his neck was bent at an odd angle, showing that it was badly broken.
A major surprise came to him when he spotted the form of Sesshomaru on the ground. His normally white robes were now stained with a dark crimson. The pole-like form of the Tokijin (sp?) sticking out of his throat. He alsoshowed no signs of being alive. The Tenseiga was still sheathed at his hip, glowing as if trying to revive its master; but the dark power of the Tokijin negated that power.
Inuyasha walked up to the body of his brother and looked down at his face. It was twisted into an expression of shock, anger and pain. It actually hurt Inuyasha to see his brother like that. If it had been him that had killed Sesshomaru, defending against an attack started by the full demon, he would have no problems looking at him dead on the ground. But now, it was obvious thatwasn't the case. He was dead due to a battle with a puppet. But that made no sense. Sesshomaru could beat Inuyasha if he really put his mind to it, yet he died against a single puppet? It made no sense at all! His friends were all dead from a battle to a frickin' copy?! How?!
Looking on more, he found a sight that made him simply want to die. Kagome was lying on the dirt with a stream of blood coming out of a wound on her head. There was a growing puddle of blood surrounding her, staining the bow and arrows that lie in the crimson liquid. The smell of death around her seemed weaker than how strong it was around everyone else. But it was there. She wasn't dead yet, but she was dying. And fast. His instinct to make himself scarce from her Miko power was just barely ignorable. That meant that her life force was down to around nothing, as she had no control over her aura's anergy.
He made his way toward her, intent on making her live. Along the way, he came across three more wooden dolls, all cut in half. No wonder this was a massacre. Naraku had sent four copies of himself against them. They never had a chance. Shit, if he'd been there, he probably would have been double- teamed and killed within seconds. It was no wonder that Sesshomaru was dead.
He collapsed to his knees in front of her, picking up Kagome's limp body and removing her from the puddle of her own blood. He walked a few feet before collapsing once again. He needed to get her to Kaede, and quickly. But he doubted that he'd make it. He . . . didn't have the strength. Why NOW did he have to get an ego-awakening?! Life was a bitch, no doubt about that. The dark clouds in the sky seemed to agree with his mood as a soft rain began to fall on the scene.
"Inu. . . Yasha?" A weak voice said from his arms.
He looked down to see that Kagome was looking at him. She looked tired and her eyes were drooping, as if doing everything in her power to stay awake. "Kagome, just hold on. I'm going to get you to Kaede. She'll fix you up, don't worry."
"Inuyasha. . . don't be . . . a fool. You . . . you know that . . I'm dying." Kagome was beginning to gasp for breath. A sign that blood was leaking into her lungs. Even Kaede couldn't stop internal bleeding. The truth hit him like a ton of bricks. Kagome was going to die, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. "I . . . I want you to take the Jewel. Protect it and don't let anyone . . . take it."
"No, you're not. I . . . I won't let you. I won't take the jewel." Inuyasha said, hoping to have it come out rough, but a tear sliding down his face destroyed the attempt.
"Inuyasha. There's . . . nothing you can do about it. Did you. . . destroy Naraku?" She asked.
"He's gone, Kagome. He will never taint this world again. I promise you." He told her, more tears coming down his cheeks. He hadn't cried since his mother died, he'd promised himself that he wouldn't let himself look weak; that he had to be strong to take care of himself. That promise was dead now too.
"I'm glad you're okay, Inuyasha." She drew in a ragged breath. "Inuyasha. . . I've wanted to . . . tell you something . . . for a long time."
"Anything." Inuyasha said. These would most likely be her dying words, and he'd be damned if he didn't give her a final chance to say them.
"I . . . I love you, Inuyasha." She said rather quickly, a small blush accentedby the pale color of her cheeks.
Even while dying, Inuyasha had to admit that she was still beautiful. He had tried to ignore her for so long, and his attempts at keeping himself from being betrayed, by pushing everyone around him away, he'd just hurt her again and again. Life wasn't a bitch, it was worse, so much worse.
"I love you too, Kagome." Inuyasha told her, tears now freely pouring out of his eyes. No one could tell anyway with the rain soaking their bodies.
Unfortunately, Kagome never heard his words as her entire body went limp in his arms, her glassy eyes staring into the cloudy sky. Inuyasha felt his instinct to run completely vanish, meaning that Kagome's life force was gone. She was dead. It was . . . over, gone, done, kapoot, all for naught; pick your poison on which piece of crap word described the situation.
Inuyasha growled his displeasure before throwing his head back and yelling curse after curse at the unforgiving clouds above him.
One hour later
Inuyasha just knelt there, completely oblivious to the rain soaking through his yukata and his hakima. He still held Kagome's limp body against his, as if trying to force some sort of life back into it. But there was no chance of that. She was gone. He'd spent the time they had together calling her names like 'wench' and 'bitch', without a thought of what it would be like for him if she had truly left him. Now there was no chance to get her back. Kagome, his Kagome, was dead. He gently reached behind her back and removed the chain that held the portion of the Shikon Jewel they had.
He suddenly felt as if his ego had been completely incinerated. There was nothing left, no feeling at all beyond horrible grief. He suddenly knew what it was like when he transformed; to have no feelings at all. He no longer felt as if he could do anything he wanted. He suddenly realized every weakness he had, the weaknesses he pretended weren't there before. It took him losing the woman he loved to realize just how imperfect he was.
He laid her on the ground before closing her eyes. She looked so peaceful, as if she was just asleep. But he knew she was beyond sleep. Her skin no longer had a tinge of tan to it; it was a pale white. It almost made him want to turn away just so that he wouldn't have to look at her.
But these were his friends. Even Sesshomaru, his half brother who wanted him dead, apparently had died helping Kagome, Sango and Miroku. Then it hit him. Sesshomaru had the Tenseiga! It could revive the dead! He could bring them all back with a flash of a sword!!!
He ran excitedly, completely forgetting that he was wounded. Almost as soon as he got up, he hit the ground again; this time on his face. For a change he welcomed the ground slamming into his face. It reminded him of Kagome, when she used to sit him into a three-foot deep hole. He got up and ran toward Sesshomaru's body again, this time more careful to keepbalance.
The Tenseiga glowed a bright shade of blue at his presence. He pulled out the sword and suddenly realized that he had no idea how to use it. He tried holding it up, but nothing happened. What was this thing supposed to do anyway? Was he supposed to hit the victim with it? The glow of the sword died almost as soon as he'd lifted it up, apparently realizing that its owner was not the one holding it.
Inuyasha sighed in defeat. He'd really hoped to revive everyone with this thing, but apparently it was only meant to work for Sesshomaru. He was tempted to remove the Tokijin from Sesshomaru's neck and let the Tenseiga do its job, but had serious doubts. He'd seen that blade take control of someone. The very demon that'd created it. The creator was dead, yet walked and attacked by the power of the sword alone. No, he wouldn't touch the blade. It was too risky. If he got controlled, he'd probably destroy all their bodies, and he had more respect than that for the bodies of his comrades, no, his friends. . .
He removed the Tenseiga's sheath from Sesshomaru's side, sheathing the blade, he attached it to his own hip. He couldn't leave this here. If someone took it, they could bring back the dead if they found out how to work it correctly, which they'd probably use in a war so that there would be no casualties on their side.Any beingshouldn't have that kind of power. He briefly wondered about the little girl, Rin, but soon forgot about her. He wasn't in the mood right now to go searching for a little girl. He felt kind of heartless, deciding to leave her out on her own, but she was probably with Jaken. Whether or not the toad was weak, that staff could protect them until they got to a village or something. Jaken would probably ditch Rin there and leave, for all he cared, Jaken could die. But Kagome had liked Rin, so he didn't want her to die. Right now he had no choice though. Finding them would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Nearly impossible.
"Mew . . . mew. . ." He heard a high pitched meowing sound from behind him. Turning, he spotted Kirara, in her travel-friendly form, pawing at Sango's face. Apparently she didn't want to believe that Sango was dead. Inuyasha knew the feeling. Even though she looked like a stupid cat, she was still a demon. And demon's had better minds than humans did, mainly because they could work faster than a human brain could.
Inuyasha silently walked over to Kirara and picked her up off the ground before taking out the Tetsusaiga. He transformed it and thrust it into the ground. A burst of gold energy shot out of the blade, creating a deep pit.
Inuyasha walked over to Miroku's body, picking it up, he went back to the pit and lowered his old friend into it. Kirara mewed sadly as she dragged Sango's dead form toward the pit. Inuyasha lowered her in next, mindful of the organs hanging out of the hole in her chest. Shippo was placed in next, then Sesshomaru, then Kagome. He didn't want to put Kagome into the pit. It would mean finally admitting to himself that he'd failed her, ultimately, this time.
Kirara seemed to sense Inuyasha's feelings and transformed to her larger form in a burst of flame. She started pushing the dirt back into the pit, covering thelifeless bodies of their long-time friends, allies, loves, and masters; depending on who was doing the thinking. She, too, had tears in her crimson eyes. She didn't want to bury her master. She'd been with Sango for a long time and it hurt her to have to do this. A few seconds later, Inuyasha also started to help cover the bodies with the earth.
Between the two, they erected a small shrine next to the unearthed soil. It had a piece of wood inside with the names of the dead on it, carved by Inuyasha's claws.
Kirara transformed into her smaller form again before jumping up onto Inuyasha's shoulder. She snuggled up against the hanyou's neck, trying to make Inuyasha feel better.
Inuyasha sighed and accepted the act, gently patting Kirara on the head. He made sure that both swords were in their respective sheathes and that the piece of the Shikon Jewel was around his neck before walking out of the clearing. He didn't want to think about Kagome or anyone else who was in that pit. He just wanted to leave.
Inuyasha walked back to where he'd fought Naraku. There were around twenty shards of the jewel lying where Naraku had been when the Tetsusaiga's attack hit him. He picked them up and held them to the half of the jewel around his neck, they glowed brightly, and then the pieces were sucked together. The orb had now grown to it's full size, that of what it was before it was broken, no longer only half the jewel. Inuyasha stared at the pink, glowing, jewel around his neck before walking out of the clearing and into the woods with Kirara still on his shoulder. He would have loved to wish Kagome back to life, along with the others, but the wish would have been for himself more than for the good of the people as a whole; it would have been a selfish wish, and either would have backfired on him or tainted the jewel, thus tainting the bearer's, his, mind.
Neither of them noticed the transparent form of Kagome form behind them andsmile sadly before dissipating into thin air, the words 'I love you' floating awayin the breeze.
AN:
I would also like to tell you that this is the firstInu-Yasha fic I've done so have mercy on me. I was also feeling rather rebellious from the normal Inuyasha fanfiction, so I kinda Killed everyone off to see how Inuyasha would react. I'm yet to see another fic where nearly everyone dies. . .
I also know that I will probably get so many flames for this that it will make hell look like an ice-box! Please don't send me mindless insults though. But do me the favor of telling me if you think that I should continue it or not. It was supposed to only be a one-shot, but if someone can give me a REALLY GOOD reason to continue it, go ahead.
-Ligar Zero X
Summary in a nutshell:
Naraku was clobbered with the Bakuryuuha (sp again?)
Inuyasha is badly wounded.
Sango, Miroku, Sesshomaru and Kagome are dead and buried.
Kagome's spirit reappears without them noticing and smiles as Kirara and Inuyasha walk out of the clearing.
Well, there you go.
As usual, tell me if you see any misspellings. Thanks!!!