DISCLAIMER- I don't own Inuyasha but I do own Anya and the other original characters in this story so please don't steal.
Chapter Six- Confrontation
Anya sat on Kirara's back as the two continued their trek. Both were tired, but they couldn't stop, not when they were so close.
The wind blew and Anya refrained from shivering. The air had grown cold and the wind only continued. Times like these, Anya couldn't help but wonder if Nami was warm enough or if she was okay. She wanted to scream because of her stupidity for taking Nami out in the first place! What possessed her to do that?
Anya took a deep breath to calm herself; placing blame again was not going to help. Sensing Anya's distress, Kirara began to purr softly as she walked. Anya chuckled and patted her on the head.
"Thank you Kirara, I really needed that," she said as they saw the shrine up ahead.
/oo/
(Back at camp)
Inuyasha woke up and was ready to get the others up as well when he noticed someone was missing.
"Anya?" Inuyasha asked, hoping she was in a tree or just stretching her legs. When he got no response he took a deep breath and caught her scent. It was faint meaning she had been gone for hours. She wouldn't go to the shrine alone would she?
He looked all over the campsite when he noticed a piece of paper next to Kagome. Gently, without waking her, he took it and recognized Anya's handwriting. His eyes widened as he read the note.
"Inuyasha, what are you doing?" Kagome asked groggily as she sat up.
"Help me get the others up!" Inuyasha said hastily. Anya had gone alone and with how her mind was at the moment that was a dangerous thing to do…
/oo/
Naraku continued to watch from Kanna's mirror as Anya grew closer. He felt victorious though he hadn't defeated her just yet. He knew that this past week or so, he had worn Anya's mental and emotional stability down. She was not well enough to fight and in her demon form, she only became reckless. This seemed too easy for him.
'Oh Anya, how I will enjoy our fight,' he thought with an evil grin.
/oo/
(At the front of the shrine)
Anya stood and stared at the shrine entrance. This was it. She would finally get Nami back and hopefully dispose of Naraku. Kirara pushed her forward and gave a small growl.
"I want you to stay here and wait for the others Kirara. I'll be okay," Anya said, petting the cat demon. Kirara gave a growl of disapproval but Anya ignored it and continued on.
'Watch out Naraku,' she thought.
The shrine was large and full of twists and turns, but all Anya needed to do was to follow Nami's scent. However, since she was so preoccupied on saving her daughter, she failed to notice the small mob of demons creeping up behind her…
/oo/
Inuyasha and the gang ran as fast as they could through the winding trail leading to the shrine.
"Why wouldn't she wait?" Sango asked running alongside Miroku who was a few paces behind Inuyasha.
"She probably had a nightmare about losing Nami! She only acts this way when she has a really bad one too!" Inuyasha replied, keeping his eyes forward. He knew his sister and the biggest thing was that she was more reckless than usual when driven by fear. She was sleep deprived and planned to fight Naraku when her mental status was probably borderline insane.
"I'm sure she'll be okay! She's been through worse!" Miroku yelled over the wind. It seemed that a storm was brewing.
"Nami's life was never at stake like this though!" Kagome replied from where she was riding on Inuyasha's back. The path seemed to drag on forever as they continued to run. Inuyasha felt worried for Anya and Nami.
'Anya please don't let your guard down! Wait for us!' he yelled in his mind.
/oo/
Anya felt her breath leave her body as she hit the ground after something slashed her back. She felt as if her scar was opening again. She painfully turned her neck and saw a group of demons ready to fight.
'Damn, why didn't I see them!" she yelled to herself as she shakily stood up and turned around fully. She ran towards the demons and killed two instantly with her claws but one grabbed her hair and threw her into a nearby wall and she landed on her side.
Pain shot through Anya as she landed on her arm, her wrist had twisted and she felt it break under her weight. She groaned and stood only to be punched in the face. She fell onto one knee as the demons came closer. Her breathing was heavy as she thought of Nami. She felt adrenaline rush through her body and her vision became red.
Her demon was alive.
/oo/
Inuyasha felt his body pulsate as his eyes widened. Anya's demon was released and that meant his demon was close behind if he wasn't careful.
/oo/
Anya jumped from her kneeling position and slashed through two more enemies and used So'unga on the last two. She then ran through the maze of halls as Nami's scent became stronger, as did Naraku's.
She turned the corner and saw another mob of demons waiting for her. Naraku was stalling her, but for what reason?
She charged towards them and easily sliced through them with her claws. She could barely feel her broken wrist anymore, but she knew that when this was all over she would be feeling it for a while.
"You are a wonderful fighter Anya. So much more graceful as a demon," Naraku's voice said, echoing through the corridor.
"Where are you Naraku!" Anya demanded in a deep snarl. She heard an echoing chuckle.
"In time my dear, for now, enjoy the fight," The voice disappeared as more demons came at her.
/oo/
Nami stood in front of Naraku, her eyes dead.
'What's wrong with me?' she asked herself, 'Why can't I move?'
She knew who had her and she could hear his voice talking to her mother.
'Momma, help me!' Nami's mind screamed.
/oo/
Anya watched the last enemy fall to the ground in a bloody mess as she ran towards a room. Every fiber in her body told her that Nami was there.
She ran faster then stopped directly in front of the screen door. Though she was a full demon at the moment she could still disguise herself to look half-demon. She took deep breaths and watched her hair return to silver and felt her red vision return to normal, meaning that her eyes were temporarily gold.
She collected all her courage and barged through the screen, ready to confront Naraku.
/oo/
Miraculously, Inuyasha and the others made it to the shrine quicker than expected. However, they were met by a large group of demons which would take a while to fight them all. Kirara was already fighting and the others jumped in.
"So Anya is inside alone!" Kagome yelled to Inuyasha who took down two demons.
"She's strong, she'll be fine!" he yelled back but Kagome wondered if Inuyasha was answering her or really convincing himself.
/oo/
Naraku laughed as he watched Anya enter the room. Her eyes narrowed dangerously on him and Nami.
"Ahh Anya, so glad to see you come," he said in a sickly calm voice.
"I want Nami," Anya said walking farther in the room.
"No Anya, not when I've waited so long for our fight," he said with a laugh, "Nami, go stand in the corner and wait," he continued. Anya watched with heartbreak as Nami mechanically moved to the corner and sat down.
Anya growled in a low, menacing way. She didn't want to fight with Nami in the room; that was something she never wanted her to see. But at the same time, Nami was hypnotized so would she really remember this?
She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice Naraku attack until she felt one of his tentacles pierce her side. She gasped as she nearly lost her balance and put a hand to her side. Naraku laughed as he saw Anya try and get her bearings as he shot another tentacle at her.
This time though, Anya was prepared as she lunged out of the way and towards Naraku. She was able to slam him into a nearby wall that was far from Nami so she wouldn't get hurt. Naraku seemed angry as he stood and had a tentacle shoot at her but when she went to dodge it; he wrapped it around her ankle and threw her across the room into a wall as well.
Nami sat emotionless as she watched the two continue to fight. On the outside she seemed as if she wasn't even there but on the inside, in her mind, she was screaming.
'Momma! Be Careful!" she shouted. When she saw Anya charge towards Naraku only to be thrown to the floor, she was able to control her movement enough to hide her face in her arms.
Anya groaned and rolled onto her side. As Naraku continued to laugh she turned and saw where So'unga had fallen. She leaned over and grabbed it and kicked her leg under Naraku's feet to try and knock him off balance. As he fell she threw So'unga through his side but he easily stood up and made another attack at her.
'What's wrong with me? Why can't I fight?' she yelled in her mind. No matter what situation she was in, she was always able to fight in some way. Now suddenly she could barely throw a punch. She wiped her lip where some blood trickled down and looked over at Nami. She saw her face buried and felt something snap in her.
"What's the matter Anya? Do not worry for Nami, I'll take good care of her," Naraku provoked. Anya's eyes became red. She let out a loud snarl as her demon came alive once again and she tackled Naraku.
Nami looked up as she watched Anya's new appearance fight Naraku.
'What's wrong with Momma?' she wondered. She had never seen Anya in such a form…
Anya looked over at Nami and still saw the dead expression, but something inside her told her that Nami knew what was happening and she was trying to fight the control.
Naraku and Anya continued to throw each other around the room for what felt like hours until both had each other by the throat. Anya was trying to catch her breath as she felt her chest constrict in pain. Her whole body felt broken but she wasn't about to give up.
/oo/
Inuyasha and the gang ran through the halls and continued to fight demons as the sounds of Naraku and Anya fighting became louder. When they got closer, things seemed to go completely silent. Fearing the worse, the gang ran faster towards the end.
/oo/
Nami wanted to break the control but she didn't know how too. She sat, frozen, as her mother held tightly to the throat of Naraku who in turn held hers. Both were breathing heavily but Naraku had a grin on his face that made her worried.
Anya felt her stomach turn uneasily as she saw Naraku's grin. Something was not right, he was planning something.
"Do you think you won Anya?" he asked. She felt her color drain from her face. She was too close to him, if he attacked, she couldn't dodge it…
"Why?" she asked breathless. Please don't let Nami see this; don't let him attack just yet!
"Because you just lost," he said as a tentacle went through her chest. Anya felt it and couldn't hold back her scream.
Inuyasha and the others ran into the room just as Naraku's tentacle went through Anya and she fell to the ground.
Anya hit the floor and gasped for breath. Her eyes were wide. She should've known that Naraku was planning something to do something like this! She wanted to close her eyes but a sudden scream caused her to painfully turn her head to the source of the sound to see Nami.
/oo/
"MOMMA!" Nami screamed as she broke from her control. She saw Anya turn her head painfully over to face her. She didn't look like her mom; her hair wasn't silver but red and her golden eyes were red with blue pupils. But the look in her eyes told Nami that it was her mom in that strange body.
She saw a glow and looked down to a jewel shard lying in front of her. Was that what was controlling her? She didn't think about it as she stood and ran over to Anya.
"Momma," Nami whimpered. She saw Anya's eyes turn slowly back to gold.
"I'm fine Nami, just a scratch," she said.
"No, it's not," Nami said. Anya gave a small smile.
"I'll be fine," she said.
"Damn, he got away when we weren't looking," Inuyasha said as everyone noticed Naraku was gone.
"We'll get him don't worry. But for now, can you guys get me back to the castle, I'm starting to feel pain," Anya said with a pained laugh as her hair returned to silver. Inuyasha lifted her and laid her on Kirara's back. He then lifted Nami as everyone cautiously left the shrine, unsure if Naraku had really disappeared or if he was waiting for them.
Nami slipped onto Kirara and started to gently play with Anya's hair which made Anya smile in her half-conscious state. She had won, she had gotten Nami back.
/oo/
(EPILOUGUE- ONE WEEK LATER)
Anya walked along the castle's gardens as Nami ran ahead of her, trying to catch a butterfly. She had been healing from her wounds for the past few days and was finally getting up and moving.
Nami had seemed to fall back into her normal life quickly, immediately going to Minearou and Amu when she got home to play a game. She only ever spoke of the whole Naraku incident when she asked about Anya's demon appearance. Anya had answered truthfully that it was her demon form and when Nami asked if that's what she would look like when she gets older, Anya could only say "possibly."
"Momma look I caught it!" Nami yelled as she ran up and opened her hands to reveal a beautiful white butterfly.
"Very nice," Anya said as Nami smiled and let the butterfly go, only to chase it again. Anya knew she couldn't protect Nami forever and one day she would be old enough to fend for herself and follow in her footsteps. But that wouldn't be for a while and right now, Anya was going to do everything to protect her daughter.
That was a promise.
Review! So what did you think? I hope you all enjoyed it. I have so much fun writing Anya I think I'm always gonna make stories for her. I got the idea of Nami breaking control from the first movie ( I wont say anything for those who haven't seen it). Until next time, Read and review!
