The Battle of the Shikon

Higurashi Kagome was frightened, but also determined not to show it.

The battlefield was set, their allies were in position and all that was left was to wait for the arrogant son of a bitch to show. Inuyasha stood on her left, Sango on her right and beyond her stood Miroku. Sesshomaru-sama was far to the other side of Inuyasha with Jaken simpering at his side, staff of heads ready for battle. Rin had remained with Ah-Un for the duration of the battle; the dragon would keep watch over both Sesshomaru's human pup and Kagome's kit as she had left Shippou with the dragon as well. Kouga, Ayame and their combined packs stood ready for battle behind Sesshomaru and along with them was Jinenji. The peaceful and gentle hanyou had decided that his friends were important enough to him to fight alongside them and so he was ready while his mother waited at Kaede's village for the outcome of the battle. Sesshomaru had brought his army to bear and the other lords, Hikari the Dragon lady of the North and Shiro the Naga lord of the South had brought their armies as well and all had gathered here, at the point of convergence for the lands. They waited for Naraku.

It would not be a long wait.

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The arrival of Naraku and his incarnations was quick and bloody, the explosion they caused killing fifty of Sesshomaru's men and wounding many others, but the fighters jumped straight to action. Kouga and Ayame went for Kagura while Sango and Miroku, with Kirara by their side began to cleave their ways through the hoards that Naraku brought. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru went for Naraku himself while Kagome engaged Hakudoshi and Kanna. The young miko had taken Sesshomaru up on an offer that he had made to train her in the martial arts and his teaching, while brutal, were enough to make her one of if not the single most dangerous human in the Feudal Era. He had taught her the sword and the energy whip and one of his generals, a tanuki with a penchant for drinking and habit of losing himself to his rages, had taken a liking to her as a sibling and taught her to wield the wind with the use of a pair of small fans, similar to Kagura's.

Pink blades of purifying wind arched toward Kanna's mirror and the void demon merely stood and waited for her mirror to absorb it; unfortunately for her that is not what happened. The miko-ki slammed into the mirror and instead of being absorbed or reflecting back at the miko the energy sliced clean through the mirror and purified it from the outside in. Kanna was not long for the world after that and Kagome was able to concentrate on Hakudoshi, by far the more challenging opponent. The young youkai swung his weapon, only for it to be blocked by Kagome's sword, the Katana no Hikari, the Star Sword, the blade created for her by Totosai and made from mixing the two fangs from her demon brothers, a magic kitsune leaf from her son and one of her own hairs charged with her miko-ki. It was one of the most powerful swords to ever be created and had only one purpose: the protection of all that Kagome cherished.

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Sango threw the Hiraikotsu once more, catching it on the rebound after it had cleaved through a good portion of Naraku's remaining army. She could feel Miroku beside her, fighting with his staff and sutra, his Kazanna being rendered unusable by the presence of the Saimyosho that hovered around and through the battlefield. Despite this the pair of them fought like a well-oiled machine, twirling, striking and guarding at exactly the right moment to protect their partner and love, though neither had yet confessed. It wasn't until Sango gasped at the sight of a familiar boy in yellow armor that their rhythm was interrupted, though it was not terribly interrupted. Sango had finally come to terms with the fact that her little brother had died and would die again; she only wished to say a proper farewell this time before he went. She began her attack on her younger brother, tears staining her cheeks as she engaged the boy in combat for what would be the last time.

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Kagura fought half-heartedly and as a result was pummeled by the wolves and the horse hanyou. She had not wanted to fight; she hated Naraku as much, if not more, than Inuyasha did, but he still held her heart and so she was forced to fight for him lest she die in horrible agony as the evil one crushed her heart in his hand. She threw attack after attack, her Dance of Bones and her Wind Blades, but every attack was just a bit off, her aim purposefully failed as she fought people that she would much rather be allied with. She had watched them in the days approaching this battle and what she had seen she envied. She envied the kindness of the Miko who, instead of destroying youkai as all those before her, healed them and befriended them instead. She envied the relationship between the Monk and the taija; they obviously loved one another even though the taija was hell-bent on ignoring it. Most of all, however, she envied the relationship between the kokitsune and the Miko; they truly loved one another as mother and son and it made the wind witch wish she could have that feeling for her own child…if she could have her own children.

She screamed as Kouga got in a lucky strike, raking his claws across her chest while Ayame kicked the wind witch in the back, driving those claws deeper as they passed. She landed at the feet of her master and Naraku looked down at her with anger in his eyes and hatred in his heart.

"You have failed me yet again Kagura. I no longer have any use for such a failure."

He said nothing else as he held the small red marble that was Kagura's heart and crushed it in his fist. The battle stopped as all looked to the wind witch at her blood curdling scream, the sound echoing for miles as she died and was reabsorbed into the abomination that called itself Naraku through a tentacle that he had sent through the dying body's back. With that action, the wolves joined the Inu-gumi in their battles against the rest of Naraku's army and Naraku himself.

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Finally, the field was down to the Inu-gumi, Sesshomaru and Kouga; as Ayame had been sent with Jinenji to see to the kits they had left with Kaede. They took Kohaku's body with them, as the boy had finally fallen to his sister's attacks. Sango's tears falling to mar the peaceful face of her baby brother and the last of her family. Now the last slayer stood with Miroku beside Kagome and Inuyasha as the fight came to its climax; Naraku, alone at the other end of the field.

"Ku, ku, ku…so it has come to this! The final battle of the war, but, a question to you Inuyasha, how do you know that I am the true Naraku?"

It was Kagome who answered.

"Because, Naraku, you would never give all of your kakkera to a mere puppet!"

The evil hanyou frowned and said nothing more as he sent a large group of tentacles at the fighters, who separated and began their own attacks. It was down to this: the final battle and all of them could only hope that if they had to die that they would at least take the damn hanyou with them.

Miroku and Sango fought together atop the fire neko Kirara while Sesshomaru-sama fought with Toukijin beneath them. Inuyasha took another side of Naraku, the decision to flank the hanyou an easy and obvious one to make. Kouga took his other side. Kagome attacked with what was left of her sacred arrows, timing her attacks just right to blow chunks off the demon that had caused such heartache and pain. Finally, Naraku could take no more arrows and he knew it, so he attacked Kagome directly, seeing how she was completely open at the moment.

No one really noticed the tentacle screaming toward the young miko as they were all absorbed in their own battles with the hanyou.

The impact took Kagome's breath away as the tentacle pierced her right side, directly opposite from where the jewel rested within her, and out her back, a neat, round hole left in its wake as the hanyou yanked it out and threw another at her. This one went through her left shoulder, rendering her archery ability all but useless and the scream that the wound produced as her shoulder blade shattered under the onslaught echoed grotesquely through the trees surrounding the battlefield. Kagome barely felt it when she hit the ground and everything went dark as she lay in a rapidly growing pool of blood.

*(*(*(*

"Guardian. Guardian, wake up please, I must speak with you urgently."

Kagome woke slowly, her eyes opening to a world with a pink sky and purple, almost violet grass. Midoriko stood beside the gravely injured young miko, her long black hair held up in an elegant bun by two decorative sticks that Kagome could tell doubled as weapons. Kagome struggled into a sitting position and noticed the demon beside the ancient miko. It was grotesque and twisted an amalgamation of three high class demons and yet, resembling none of them; it had no name Kagome listened as Midoriko and the demon talked, identifying themselves as the four souls of the jewel. They explained that she was their guardian and that she was the only one who could bring peace to all the souls, thus why the jewel remained inactive until her fifteenth birthday, when her powers actually activated, causing Mistress Centipede to awaken and attempt to claim the jewel. Then Midoriko told Kagome how to finish Naraku off for good, but it would mean leaving her family in both times as she would go to where and when she was needed, though the ancient miko did promise Kagome that she would see her demon friends again soon after her departure (hint, hint).

Kagome steeled herself and opened her eyes to her newly minted, pain filled world.