Author's Note: This is a very disturbed, dark and twisted plot bunny who was begging to be written instead of the other fics in progress I was supposed to be working on. I think the premise has been done before, but indulge a sick bunny. Oh, and I'm deliberately ignoring the manga post-anime…because I claim creative license.
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Kagome had watched them all die before her eyes.
This cannot be happening, this is not real,she kept chanting in her mind.
The poisonous miasma filled her lungs, burning and searing. She choked. With a wave of her hand, she purified it before it could overcome her.
Naraku positioned himself in the middle of the plain, exuding his miasma, cloaking himself in the thick purple fumes. Tentacles sprouted from his final chosen form out of every single available orifice.
"Your friends are all dead," hissed the sibilant voice, raspy with barely suppressed power. The completed Shikon jewel, tainted black, was firmly embedded in his forehead. "You will be the next to fall, miko."
Half-choking, half-sobbing, Kagome notched another arrow in her bow and prepared to draw it back. She took aim and fired. The arrow buried itself deep into Naraku's gelatinous body, the wound oozing ichor. A bright flash of purifying energy incinerated that portion of the hanyou's body, forcing an animal howl and pain and fury. He lashed out with spiked tentacles, agglutinations of poison. The miko dived off her perch, narrowly missing the deadly edges.
Inuyasha isn't around to save me anymore.
Fresh tears blurred her vision. Kagome wanted nothing more than to curl up in her bed, safe at home in modern day Tokyo, knowing that her friends were waiting foe her at the other end of the Bone Eater's Well in the Sengoku Jidai. The part of her that was oddly detached from her body silently urged her to give up: to let Naraku end her life with one blow, to join the others wherever they were.
Kagome ran, over dead black grass stained with blood. The bodies of wolves were scattered everywhere and it took great concentration not to trip over any of them. Kouga and his eastern wolf tribe had been ferocious warriors, up until the very end. Naraku had massacred them all, crushing them, poisoning them, cruelly tearing them from limb to limb. The wolf prince himself had been killed as he leapt into the fray with Inuyasha, the pair displaying rare teamwork in their concerted assault on Naraku.
"Come on, wolf!" snarled Inuyasha, letting fly with Tetsusaiga.
"It's you who should do more, pup!" shot back Kouga.
Naraku merely smirked as their attacks bounced off his barrier harmlessly. Miasma streamed out from under the barrier, disorienting the two.
Inuyasha fell back, wheezing and shaking his head to clear it. Kouga was less affected but he still sped around the barrier, both searching for an opportunity to land a devastating kick on their enemy and to escape the deadly fumes.
Naraku's eyes flashed, and razor-tipped tentacles shot from the barrier, directly at Inuyasha.
Kouga saw them and did the only thing he could.
He ran back in a wide arc and picking up speed, dashed forward, barreling into Inuyasha's shoulder headfirst.
"What – !"
"Move, you useless dog!" Kouga convulsed, the tentacles tearing right through his neck and torso. The appendages withdrew and the wolf youkai collapsed to the ground, choking on his own blood.
"Kouga!" Inuyasha rubbed frantically at his eyes and knelt at his comrade's side. No one else had seen him die.
"Take – take care…of Kagome… idiot pup." The life left Kouga's vibrant blue eyes in one final spasm.
Slowly, almost reverently, the hanyou reached out and closed the sightless eyes. He would mourn for his comrade – friend – later.
Kagome did not even know the wolf prince had been killed until she heard wild howling from Ginta and Hakkaku. She could not even shed tears for them as they were slain too in a desperate revenge attempt a few minutes later.
As she ran, she felt the quiver slung on her back. She was running low on arrows. Kagome knew she needed to save her arrows, the only weapons she could infuse with her spiritual energy.
Hell lot of good the spiritual energy will do me.
Everyone was always telling her what a powerful miko she was, the sheer quantity of spiritual power she had inherited from Kikyo. It was not enough to save her previous incarnation.
Kikyo stood impassively on the edge of the battlefield, as always. She already had drawn back an arrow, ready to fire.
She let fly and the shaft hit home, blasting open a massive hole in Naraku's chest. A momentary look of surprise crossed his face before being replaced by an intolerable smugness. Poison solidified in the gaping wound and closed it up, leaving not even the slightest of scars.
"Your spiritual power counts for nothing, Kikyo, now that I have the entire Shikon jewel in my possession," taunted Naraku, red eyes glowing with triumph.
The dead priestess said nothing, notching another arrow in her bow.
"Hmph."
Kagome appeared at her incarnation's side, her white school blouse already darkened with blood.
"We should strike together at the Shikon jewel, maybe we can purify it," she suggested.
Kikyo's lips were pursed as she considered the idea and she finally nodded.
The two priestesses drew their arms back as they prepared to shoot. Waiting for an opening, they both spotted one and released at the same time.
Their arrows joined in mid-flight, becoming one large beam of purifying white light. Together, they pierced the Shikon jewel. Kagome saw a twinkle of light in the corner of the corrupted jewel.
"We did it!" she cheered. Naraku reared back, astonishment twisting his once-handsome features.
"No! I won't let you now that I have come this far!"
"Look out!" shouted Kagome, seizing Kikyo by her arm and beginning to drag her to safety. Before they could move, spears of agglutinated poison shot out of Naraku's body and rained onto them.
"Kagome!"
Inuyasha had appeared from nowhere. "Kaze no Kizu!" A wave of energy burst from Tetsusaiga, destroying the worst of the barrage.
But he was too late.
Kikyo fell to her knees, several long spears protruding from her body. The hanyou gave a cry of anguish and he caught the fatally wounded woman in his arms.
Kagome was right beside them. "I'll purify the poison. Kikyo, you can't die!"
She smiled weakly. "I already have."
The younger girl fought back tears as she placed her hands over the older miko's injuries. Warm energy flowed from her fingertips and into the holes.
It was to no avail. Kikyo closed her eyes for the final time in Inuyasha's arms.
"Kikyo…"
The hanyou's face was an inscrutable blank.
"Inuyasha, I'm sorry I couldn't save her this time…" wailed Kagome, tears streaming down her face.
"It's not your fault, Kagome," he said quietly. Strangely enough, she could hear him despite the noise of the battle. "You did what you could."
He lay her at one corner of the field, brushing back her long dark hair with his claws. Kagome hovered at the side, not knowing what to say. When at last he raised his head to look at her, a deep sadness still remained in Inuyasha's golden eyes.
"I will avenge her," he said.
Kagome's foot touched something hard. Kikyo's quiver! It lay discarded, the arrow fletches stained with blood. She bent down, scooping up the arrows and tossing them into her own quiver. Looking up again, she threw herself facedown to the grass, narrowly avoiding a barrage of crystallized poison spears aimed at her head. On bended knee, Kagome shot another arrow at her adversary, watching him writhe as purifying energy dissolved his tentacle.
Keep moving,she told herself, her breath coming in small gasps as she sprinted out of reach of his appendages. He's too big, he can't catch me as long as I stay low.
A blast startled Kagome. Naraku shrieked as pieces of his body flew in multiple directions. Sesshomaru stood there, calmly wielding Tokijin in his hand.
"So it's the Lord of the Western Lands," said Naraku in a mocking voice as his body reformed. "Your hanyou brother is already dead at my hands."
The elegant youkai raised a single eyebrow in response. "He was not my brother." He struck fiercely, sweeping his sword in a downward arc, unleashing a burst of energy.
Sesshomaru! He's still alive?Kagome paused to catch her breath, bending over. She watched as Naraku was thrown backwards by the sheer force of Sesshomaru's attack. In his wake, he exposed a broken, crumpled body. The brown fur attached to it was matted with blood. Tears welled up in the young girl's eyes again.
"Kitsune-bi!" A wall of bright blue flames shot out, singeing Naraku's tentacles and forcing him to release Kagome's leg.
"Shippo-chan!" Kagome struggled to get to her feet, falling back with a whimper of pain.
The little kitsune ran over to her, grabbing her arm. "Come on, Kagome, we have to go!"
She managed to crawl out of Naraku's reach with Shippo's help.
Roaring with rage, the hanyou raised one tentacle.
"Kagome, watch out!"
Shippo leapt courageously in front of her, taking the impact on his small body. The lump form was tossed aside carelessly like a discarded plaything.
"Shippo-chan! No!"
Kagome was too emotionally numb to cry. She got to her feet, ignoring the stabs of pain that lanced through her leg and fired an arrow. It struck Naraku square in the back, drawing another cry as a chunk of his body was gouged out.
Without her realizing it, tears carved clean tracks on her blood-splattered cheeks. Kagome dabbed at them with her ragged sleeve, smearing the stains. She was practically drenched in blood, little of it her own, her white blouse clotted and torn.
"Sesshomaru!" The youkai turned his head in her general direction. "Attack him again!"
He obliged, sending out another wave of devastation. Kagome shot an arrow, the two forces combining to strike Naraku with a massive boom.
Retaliation came swiftly. Kagome and Sesshomaru split and ran as darts of poison rained where they were standing.
Forced back by the attack, Kagome found herself facing a gigantic crater and a mound of dead demons.
The final resting places of Sango and Miroku.
The taijiya and the houshi fought valiantly, she with her Hiraikotsu cutting swathes through the ranks of the lesser demons sent by Naraku, he with his shakujou, holy sutras and Kazaana.
"Kazaana!" The void opened and sucked in hordes of demons, saimyosho included.
"Houshi-sama, no!" Sango ran to his side, desperately trying to close the Kazaana. He gently eased her hands away, shaking his head. Sweat glistened on Miroku's brow and he mopped it with his sleeve.
"This is the last battle, Sango. I have nothing left to lose." A faint smile crossed his features. "Besides, I would do it if it meant you would be safe."
She bit her lip, holding back the tears.
"I can't lose you."
He had no answer for that.
Reluctantly, Sango tore herself away, plunging into the melee with renewed vigour. She could hear the swishing sound of the shakujou as it sliced through their enemies.
Finally, they had defeated the minions. Naraku spared them a smirk.
"Sango and the monk. This is the end for both of you." No sooner than he had spoken, tentacles shot from his torso, attacking the pair. Kirara, seeing her mistress' plight, soared down to battle alongside.
Miroku, already weakened from the saimyosho poison, was too slow to dodge. Though he managed to throw up his staff in time to defend himself, a tentacle easily knocked it out of his grasp. He grunted as it penetrated his chest.
Sango had drawn her wakizashi, hacking away at the forest of tentacles. She had not seen Miroku fall, slicing wildly as dismembered parts littered the ground at her feet.
"Sango…" Gritting his teeth against the pain, Miroku hauled himself into an upright position, leaning on his shakujou. "Forgive me…for not keeping my promise to you." He tore off the prayer beads viciously in one sweep, breaking the string and letting the individual beads clatter everywhere.
Unleashed for good, the Kazaana began consuming Naraku, piece by piece. The pain in Miroku's arm was excruciating and he fell to his knees again. It took all of his strength just to aim his hand away from Sango.
The howl of the winds caught Sango's attention and she whirled around, fearing the worst. Beside her, Kirara bit and clawed at the limbs.
"Houshi-sama!"
Her momentary lapse of concentration proved fatal. With Miroku's voice in her ears shouting a warning too late, a tentacle impaled her back and protruded from her chest. Sango severed it with a flash of her wrist, letting the sword fall the next second. Their eyes locked for the briefest of instants.
The world became dark and blurry around her as the taijiya slumped to the grass, the noise of battle around her fading out gradually.
"Houshi-sama…forgive me for not keeping our promise," she whispered.
Miroku saw her fall, the tears leaking from his eyes being sucked into the Kazaana. Taking up his shakujou, he slit his palm open with its blade.
The cries of the wind intensified almost exponentially. Naraku screamed as more and more of his body fell victim to the Kazaana. Miroku doggedly held on, ignoring the blood ebbing from the fatal wound in his chest.
Just before the entity called Naraku could be entirely consumed, he threw up another barrier, draining the Shikon jewel of its power. The new barrier resisted even the Kazaana. Miroku knew it was the end, Naraku's maniacal laughter ringing in his ears.
"Sango…" With a last howl, the Kazaana consumed its bearer, leaving a smoking crater where the monk had been.
Kagome had been forced to watch it all, safely out of range of the deadly void, as her two friends died. It seemed a small blessing that each had not saw the other's moment of death.
Her breathing came in ragged heaves, thanks to a blow from Naraku which had impacted her chest, throwing her against a tree earlier. It had briefly stunned but not killed the young girl.
He had not been as kind to Inuyasha.
"Kaze no Kizu!"
The wave of energy slammed into Naraku, eroding half his chest away.
"I tire of you, Inuyasha!" snarled the conglomeration of demons, regenerating his body seamlessly. "Now you shall die!"
"Keh, I don't die that easily, bastard!" answered the hanyou, cleaving a limb into two with a slash of Tetsusaiga. "It's you who's gonna die today!"
He was replied with a smirk and a hailstorm of poison spears. Inuyasha easily dodged them all, vaporizing what was left with his sword.
A scream disrupted his focus.
"Inuyasha…" Kagome lay bleeding, a spear having pierced her abdomen.
"Kagome!" He darted forward and was promptly impaled himself on a number of spears.
"Ku ku ku…poor fool. You were so easily distracted."
Kagome vanished, leaving Inuyasha kneeling there, a look of surprise in his golden eyes.
"An illusion…"
"That's right, hanyou. You died for an illusion. It was so easy to separate you from that girl. Don't worry, she's still alive…for now.
"
Another blast rocketed Inuyasha off his feet and fastened him to a tree in the nearby forest.
"How ironic that you will die impaled to a tree again," taunted Naraku.
Inuyasha ignored him, focusing his remaining vision on the real Kagome, fighting in the distance.
"Kagome…"
Tetsusaiga fell with a clatter.
Kagome burned with rage. Naraku had not even allowed her to be with Inuyasha before he died.
He will pay for everything he has done.
Overhead, Sesshomaru swiped at Naraku's head with his sword. "Aim for the Shikon jewel, Sesshomaru!" shouted Kagome, hoping her voice would carry to him.
She had not much time. Taking the last arrow from her quiver, she prayed that she had at least picked up some necessary skills from watching Kikyo and concentrated. The shaft glowed, imbued with energy. Kagome focused harder, until she felt the arrow throb, vibrating with barely suppressed power beneath her fingertips.
Please let this work!
Sesshomaru had descended beside her as she worked. Understanding her plan, he held his sword at the ready.
"Now!"
Kagome let the arrow fly, just as the Lord of the Western Lands blasted at Naraku with Tokijin's ultimate attack. They were not expecting the two forces to combine into a blinding wall of light, thundering in their enemy's direction.
Naraku had barely enough time to scream before it hit him. The creature which had once been Naraku disintegrated into dust, the light returning to the Shikon jewel as he died.
Kagome and Sesshomaru watched as the dying cries faded away into nothing, the Shikon jewel falling, coming to rest at the young girl's feet.
"It is over," said the elegant youkai in his toneless voice.
Kagome said nothing, kneeling and picking up the jewel. It glittered in her hand, seemingly innocent.
This…this is what so many people and youkai have died for.
Slowly, her fingers closed around the gem, feeling the warm smooth surface. Rising, Kagome looked around her at the battlefield. Blood and bodies were everywhere, many of her friends and comrades still recognizable despite the frozen expressions of pain on their faces.
A soft rumbling beside her startled the girl. Kirara had limped up to her side, changing back into her kitten form in a burst of flame.
"Kirara." Kagome scooped up the nekomata, mindful of the numerous cuts all over her small body.
She keened, rubbing against Kagome's hand.
"I know, Kirara. Sango's dead." A lump rose in her throat. "Everyone else is dead. I'm glad you're alive, though."
The nekomata yowled and made a whining sound.
Kagome felt as though her heart was breaking all over again as the enormity of the losses sank in. Naraku had blighted so many lives and taken more. Clutching both Kirara and the Shikon jewel tightly to her chest, she made a wish.
"I wish Naraku had never existed."
Author's Note: Supposed to be a oneshot. Looks like it'll be a twoshot.