Chapter 9: Before We Fall
I look in the mirror
And I try to understand
And piece it together
Wash the blood from both my hands
I can't see the ending
There are people who know my every secret
I'm tired of pretending
- Mirror by Ellie Goulding
December 1st - 12 P.M.
"We're keeping to the same Northern route." Inuyasha argued.
"If we keep heading North, we're bound to hit rugged terrain that is dangerous for us to travel in. These are mountains full of snow and ice we're talking about. This is why we never have gone North in the winter. It's best we pick a different route, like South?" Miroku sighed as he tried reasoning with the hanyou.
"We just travelled South four weeks ago. We didn't find anything," Inuyasha just about had it with the monk's antics.
"Miroku is right Inuyasha. We're only human, maybe you can survive the mountains and elements, but for us it's not a viable option." Sango defended.
"Hey, just because you two are canoodling now doesn't mean you can gang up on me." Inuyasha tossed back.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome warned. She looked back and mouthed a sorry to Sango. Sango looked up shyly, while Kohaku stared at his sister and Miroku in astonishment. The side of his head was still swollen from where Sango had punched him to knock him out unconscious, but he was grateful she did that to ease the torment of Naraku's possession.
"You're courting my sister?" Kohaku asked the monk. Miroku put a hand behind his head nervously.
"Well, not until she agrees that she wants me to court her," Miroku said quickly, he didn't dare look back at Sango's expression not wanting to add any pressure in front of her kin.
"But this canoodling," Kohaku started. Sango wrapped a hand over his mouth to stop him from speaking. "Ok! That's enough questions from you lil brother."
Kohaku peeled Sango's hand away from his mouth and continued to walk beside his sister, "I'm just wondering what his intentions are. Besides, it's not every day you have a man grovelling at your feet, Sango. Most, if not all, are scared to death of you." Sango stopped in her tracks. Kohaku looked back questioningly and saw the flames coming out of her mouth. Miroku tried to intervene for the poor boy but Sango was already mad. "What was that, Kohaku?"
"Now now, boys can say the darnedest things, my dear Sango." Miroku said nervously.
It was times like these when Kagome thought back to her little brother, Souta. She would have that same look on her face and her younger brother would be backing up from her, scared of what she would do next.
"What's that, Miroku? Are you defending him?" Sango looked between the both of them with anger. Miroku and Kohaku started to back away, feeling the air getting hotter and hotter as sweat beads rolled down their foreheads. "Nope, nope he's on his own," Miroku backed away quickly from Kohaku. "Gee thanks."
"Kagome, is your brother this bold?" Sango asked not taking her eyes off her brother.
"Oh, he's ten times worse." Kagome admitted truthfully. "If he said something like that to me, I would demand an apology. Or hang him upside down from his ankles and wait for an apology."
Inuyasha looked back at Kagome stunned. "And you SIT me for hanging Shippo up by the tail..."
Kagome blushed. "He's my brother, there's a difference. It's an older sibling thing."
"Ya! There's a difference, Inuyasha!" Shippo mocked while sticking out his tongue at the half demon.
"I need a chain of command on you for every time you pick on your brother." Inuyasha countered. "I wonder what the word would be if I could get Kaede to make subjugation beads for you."
"Inuyasha..." Kagome had that warning tone back in her voice.
"Roll over. Hm, no that's not good enough." Inuyasha tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Stay. Yup that's what it would be. Kagome, ST-"
"Sit boy." Kagome paid no mind to him crashing down to the ground as she walked right on past him. "Maybe it's time you see your older brother."
"Half-Brother!" Inuyasha shouted. "And no, I'm not visiting that old prick."
"So if we're not heading North, and we're not heading West, that leaves South or back home." Miroku suggested.
"At this rate, I'll be going back home if Inuyasha keeps up with his remarks." Kagome said in annoyance, eyeing the small Inuyasha sized crater.
"How about we take a vote." Miroku intervened before Inuyasha could say anything more on the subject. "Sango, Kohaku, Shippo, what do you-"
Miroku didn't have time to finish when the sound of men hollering at their horses to gallop faster became increasingly audible to the group. To the north of the path, they could make out a small snowy cloud forming from the galloping horses and men commanding them forward. "Move out of the way! We must see the healer of the village!"
As the horsemen were getting closer, the group took notice of their armour. It was plastered in ice and dried blood. A wagon was being roughly pulled from behind and it carried four injured villagers. Some looked close to death. Miroku took a step toward the horsemen.
"The village that we came from just suffered a demon attack. I would not bring anymore injured to this village. They will not be treated quickly." The horsemen slowed down to hear the monk. "Pray sir, what happened to you lot?" Miroku inquired hastily.
"A great demon from hell attacked the village in the dead of night. We've never seen a demon so powerful in over a 100 years." Inuyasha's ears twitched at the mention of this powerful demon.
"That sounds like Naraku." Shippo pointed out.
"But he had attacked this village in the dead of night. He couldn't have possibly attacked another." Sango reminded her companion.
"This is Naraku we are talking about. The bastard can clone himself." Inuyasha huffed, while shoving his hands into the sleeves of his haori.
"No it was not that vile filth who attacked our beloved village." Everyone brought their attention back to the horseman. "This demon is from the legends of the North."
"And which legend might that be?" Miroku asked curiously.
The horsemen looked back at his men. "Daisuke, carry on and get the injured to a village quickly. Go, now." Kagome's head jerked up at the man called, Daisuke. The man snapped the reigns against the neck of his horse. Daisuke noticed a pair of eyes on him as he passed by. His face moved to the side to meet Kagome's gaze. His face was angular with sharp cheekbones underneath obsidian eyes that seemed to look into her soul. He smirked at her, causing an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. That was him. She was sure of it. The nomadic priest. Kagome continued to stare at his back until he was no longer in sight.
Inuyasha having noticed the small exchange, looked at Kagome, "What was that about?"
Kagome turned to him, furrowing her brows at the uneasiness she had just felt. "I think we will encounter that man again, but I don't have a good feeling for some reason."
Before Inuyasha could question her more on the subject, the leader of the men on horseback started speaking about the attack once more.
"The legend I speak of is about the Great Youkai of Miomataku. It is said that there were two brothers that reigned over the North for quite some time. They were respected by many demons across Japan for their diplomacy, and power. The brothers' names were Miso and Katsu. Miso was known for his cold temperament, and Katsu was known for his gentle and compassionate nature. Together they led their people through the frontier of the North within a fortress that is claimed to have looked like a village of mirrors because it was made of ice so clear you could see your reflection. This fortress was well hidden in the mountains, far away from any human villages. However, there were a few groups of humans that discovered the fortress and were so enchanted by the beauty of the ice. The group were invited inside, but they did not know at the time that the village was run entirely by demons. The demons resembled humans in their pearl white attire, but their eyes were a startling icy blue. The group of humans were comprised of both men and women. Among them was a beautiful priestess, Sara. The humans having realized that the fortress was run by demons, were immediately frightened. However the demons were intrigued that these humans were able to find their fortress and rewarded them by sparing their lives and letting them stay one night. The humans were both appreciative of the gesture, but wary of staying the night. The priestess among them however reasoned with them as her powers were weak after climbing the mountains and keeping a barrier around herself and the villagers for so long. With no other choice, the humans acquiesced the offer.
While everyone fell asleep, the priestess was restless. It was a mystery that this fortress stood in the deadly mountains. She walked through the fortress, but she was stopped by Katsu. The two exchanged words, and it was their first interaction since her arrival. What no one expected, was that it would be the start of many interactions between them. The next day, the demons fulfilled their promise and let the villagers go. When the villagers arrived back in their village, they told their friends and families of the beautiful fortress in the mountains. The curiosity of the other villagers grew, and it didn't take long for a few misguided individuals to want to see the fortress for themselves. Sara warned the villagers not to go, but they did not heed her advice. It was in this same day, that Miso's curiosity for Sara guided him to her village. He didn't understand why he was drawn to her, but he had to see her. He didn't expect her to sense him, but she immediately sought him out when she felt his aura approaching. The two talked privately, and she had warned him about the villagers who would be seeking out the fortress. Katsu promised no harm would come to the villagers as he would use the power of the Katsukane Mirror to prevent the group from finding the fortress. Katsu showed Sara the mirror he spoke of, and the powers it contained as it was the tool that built the fortress in the first place. Miso revealed that it was the very thing that kept people from finding the fortress and maintaining peace amongst his villagers. However, he noted that the mirror did not work against her powers and that's how she and the villagers were able to find the fortress in the beginning.
After they parted ways for the second time, Sara waited until the villagers returned to confirm that Katsu kept up his end of the bargain. From that point on her respect and admiration for the demon became stronger. Over the next few months they met in secret, and their bond grew from strangers, to friends. Then one night, Katsu confessed his deep feelings for Sara and the two became lovers. Unknown to them, they were discovered by Sara's brother, Tobi, who happened to be the village's General. Tobi was enraged at the two as he did not have any compassion in his heart for demons. In his anger, he waited until Sara had returned to the village to expose her to the village. He convinced the villagers that Katsu had brainwashed and possessed his beloved sister, as a result, he declared war upon the demons in the North. He wanted to personally seek out Miso to kill him and end the spell that was inflicted on his sister, and the best way to do this in his mind was to use Sara as bait.
In Tobi's madness, he had his sister restrained by ropes and had beaten her to force her cooperation to find the hidden fortress. The soldiers were met by the demon army outside the fortress. Upon the sight of Sara bound and bloody, Katsu was enraged. Miso roared, and defended his brother's honour claiming that they do not have the power to enchant humans by seduction and that their kind is above such trickery. Not believing a single word, Tobi escalated by threatening to kill his sister in front of Katsu. His actions only revealed the true love that the two lovers harboured for each other. His sister's affection for the demon disgusted Tobi for he now knew that Miso had spoken the truth. His anger lashed out and he killed his sister in front of Katsu, slitting her throat for all to see. For a sister who falls in love with a demon is not his sister at all, and should perish for such a crime.
Horrified by the assault on his beloved, Katsu made no hesitation to kill Tobi and the villagers by using the Katsukane to trap their souls for an eternity inside the mirror. Katsu however never recovered from that day. He was no longer the kind and compassionate dragon demon he was before and one day he killed himself to end the despair and tragedy that upended in his life. Miso angered by his brother's suicide vowed to destroy all the human villages in the North, but not before absorbing Katsu and his power into his body so that he could take control of the Katsukane mirror. From that day forward he was known as Misotaku. He accomplished his goal, as all the surrounding villages were demolished in his rage. His clan followed suit, and it did not take long for surrounding regions of Japan to learn of the rising evil of Misotaku and his clan. Misotaku urged all other demon lords in the other regions to take action and rid themselves of the humans of this world. As Misotaku lost control of himself and the immense power he absorbed from his brother, so did that of his clan as they took it upon themselves to vanquish humans in other realms of the country. The Western Demon Lord, Inu no Taisho, quickly put a stop to this as he was not going to let just any demon disturb the peace in his territory. It was said he brought down 100 demons with one swoop of his mighty sword. When news was sent back to Misotaku that the Western lord killed 100 members of his clan, he declared war upon the West. Inu no Taisho, wanting to avoid carnage of his own people, rushed to the North to battle Misotaku before he arrived in the West with his army. After a long battle between both lords, the Western lord was able to vanquish Misotaku and imprisoned him within an impenetrable wall of ice. Slowly, and over many years, humans started coming back to the North to inhabit and rebuild the villages that once stood there."
"Well there you have it Inuyasha, your father saved the day once more." Shippo cheered. The older man balked at the admission.
"Is that true? You are the son of the great demon lord of the West?" The man questioned.
"Keh. And what of it?" Inuyasha crossed his arms in a huff, clearly not enjoying the man's praises of his father.
"Then you must help us! You are the only one who can stop Misotaku!" The older man pleaded. "He is no longer in the North, he went in the direction of the West to find your brother."
"Half-brother!" Inuyasha corrected sharply. "How was this demon able to be revived if he was sealed in an impenetrable layer of ice?"
"Yes, I was asking myself the same thing." Miroku pondered out loud. "Do you think Naraku could have done this with the help of the jewel?"
"It could be similar to the time he restored Ryukotsusei." Sango added.
"I think we have our heading you guys!" Kagome beamed, and internally grateful that they were not going to the frigid North.
"Ok, but let's just get this one thing straight. I am not running to the aid of Sesshomaru. We will find Naraku, and kill him once and for all!"
"Whatever makes you happy and sleep at night, Inuyasha." Kagome sighed, knowing all to well his motives for wanting to rub the power of Tetsusaiga in his brother's face whilst fighting a foe their father once fought.
They were just outside the Western lands when they stopped at a village for the night. It was the night of the new moon after all, and they had no choice but to take shelter from the bitter cold. They had no problem acquiring a room this time, and fell asleep easily in two separate rooms. Kagome knowing that she would be training with Rossi and Lady Giya, let her slumber take over as it transported her to the Miko sanctuary and training grounds.
She woke up to find herself in the brightly lit fields with Lady Giya on the opposite side. Kagome walked over to Lady Giya, and bowed to the older priestess.
Wasting no time, Lady Giya ushered Kagome to join her for a walk as she began to explain the things she would teach her today.
"Last time, I taught you how to focus on your ki and to divide it into portions to help you sustain your power for longer periods of time. Today, we will continue with that but focus on making barriers. Last time you erected a barrier to protect your friends and almost killed yourself. This time, you are going to use only a minimal amount of spiritual energy to make that exact same barrier. If you let go of your barrier before I say so, you must run 20 laps around the sanctuary. If you let go of it a second time, you will run 40 laps. You understand?"
Kagome paled at the consequences. She was not much of a runner, and she only hoped she would be able to endure the strength of the barrier so Lady Giya wouldn't find that out.
"First, change out of your clothes and into those training garments." Lady Giya commanded as she dropped the clothes into Kagome's hands before turning around.
Kagome nodded her head, and quickly changed her clothes. When she was done, Lady Giya turned around. "Ok, let's begin."
...
"How much longer...do I have to keep this..barrier up?" Kagome said through strained pants. Beads of sweat rolled down from her forehead. It felt like an hour had passed since she conjured the barrier out of thin air. Her muscles started to quiver, and her energy was dwindling. She had to concentrate and make sure she didn't let go of the barrier before Lady Giya ordered her to do so. It was mentally and physically tiring. Did Lady Giya want her to fail to see her run 20 laps? Was this some kind of cruel joke?
"Until I say so, girl." Lady Giya said plainly. She could sense Kagome's power decrease as time wore on, but this exercise wasn't just to test her limits for one chunk of ki she had set aside, it was to practise her endurance at keeping a barrier up. Lady Giya waited two minutes more until she felt the first portion of Kagome's ki deplete.
"Ok, that's enough." Kagome let the barrier go happily and placed both hands in front of her dropping her head between them. Her breathing was laboured, and she held her stomach from the muscles cramping.
"Breathe in through your nose and out from your mouth, the cramping will subside faster that way." Lady Giya sat down in front of Kagome quietly.
"Raise your head Kagome, you only used your first set of ki. You must not show any sign of weakness." Kagome took one more shaky breath in, and did what she was told. Although her breathing was still noisy, she tried her best to look unaffected. When her breathing became normal, Lady Giya spoke again.
"Now take that second set, and do the same thing. This time make the barrier larger and stronger." Kagome inwardly groaned. She remembered what happened last time when she spoke out in protest, she got a blast of Lady Giya's rage. Her wrist remembered the slash of spiritual energy for whining. Education was not like it was in the modern era.
"Do it quick, or else I will not be as kind as yesterday." Lady Giya warned sharply.
Kagome searched within herself for the second set of ki she had stored away. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she grasped the ki and channelled it into a barrier.
"Larger." Giya commanded.
Kagome pushed the barrier out further, raising her hands in front of her. "Not good enough. Keep going." Kagome could feel her muscles screaming, still not fully recovered from the last exercise. Still, she tried to expand the barrier until Lady Giya finally said, 'good, hold.' Kagome looked back to those times when she would be forced to do wall sits in P.E. class. That was a lot easier than what she was doing now.
"Concentrate, child." Lady Giya could feel her mind wandering, and Kagome snapped back to attention.
Twenty minutes passed by, and the barrier had shrunk by an inch. Lady Giya had zapped Kagome lightly for letting the barrier shrink and Kagome had mustered up the will and energy to put the barrier back where it was.
When she reached 40 minutes, the barrier had shrunk back to the same inch, and Kagome received two slashes to her arm where blood was drawn from the impact. Her barrier dropped back 3 feet in surprise, and before Lady Giya could slash her again, Kagome had the barrier back to its original mark.
After several minutes, Giya noticed that Kagome's ki was almost depleted once again and gave the ok to drop the barrier.
Kagome held her stinging arm and found that blood had started clotting where her hand rested. Their training continued until Kagome was at her last ki reserve. Lady Giya stopped at the third, not wanting to exhaust Kagome to death.
"We are done for now. Go find Rossi and tell her we are finished. She will have some thing for your injuries." Kagome now had a mirrored graze on her other arm for dropping the barrier back 4 feet on the last round.
"Lady Giya, I wanted to ask you before I leave." Kagome started, having remembered the details she had heard earlier that day about the legend of Misotaku. "Do you know of the Priestess Sara and the story of the demon lord in the North?"
Lady Giya took a short breath, surprised by the sudden question. "Yes, I do. Why do you ask?"
"Misotaku has somehow been revived. My friends and I, we're more than likely going to be fighting him tomorrow, along with Naraku." Kagome answered tiredly. Her body was numb, and she couldn't feel her fingers from all the power she had channeled through them to keep the barrier maintained.
"That would be a foolish thing to do in your state." Lady Giya admonished quickly. "You are weak right now and it will take time to recover from this training session. There are still things you need to know before you go into battle with a foe has powerful as a demon lord."
"Then teach it to me now. Lady Giya, I have one more-"
"We will do no such thing. You won't survive another session today. If you are smart, you will not fight tomorrow." Lady Giya finished. "A smart warrior knows when to fight and when not to. If I don't see you tomorrow, I will assume you died and will be thankful I don't have to waste my time with such a foolish girl."
Kagome fell quiet. Before she could speak, Lady Giya ushered her to move and find Rossi. Kagome conceded, and went on her way to find Rossi. When Kagome was out of sight. Lady Giya held her stomach and took a step back. 'So that monster has returned...The one that murdered my entire Northern village all those years ago.'
December 2nd - 8 AM
He stopped in his tracks. Looking to the North, he could sense a rather large aura entering the Western lands. His subordinates were not too far behind him. A younger girl with a full set of teeth ran up to his side. She was not as young as when he had revived her, although she still sang her silly songs. "Rin." His voice was soft, but loud enough to have attracted her full attention. "Stay here with Jaken and Ah Un. Jaken look after Rin until I get back."
"Of course mi'Lord!" Jaken squabbled. Sesshomaru caught wind of the demonic aura from miles away, it was both foreign and familiar to him. There were only few youkai who possessed such power, and it was a long time ago when powerful youkai dared trespassing into lands without a proper invitation. Whether the youkai would be intelligent to retreat would be the question as Sesshomaru made sure to flare out his own aura in warning to the intruder.
It only took a quarter of an hour to reach the other side of his territory. The border between the Northern and Western lands were divided by a grand mountain pass with fearsome jagged cliff faces towering over and disappearing into the cloudy sky above. He glided over soft, snowy terrain until he found the source of the power. A large purple barrier radiated in front of him. He halted going further, already knowing who had created such a shield in the first place. "Naraku." The inside of the barrier was foggy to an outsider, but there was no mistaking the scent that accompanied the larger aura within.
"Kukuku. A warm welcome from the Western Lord himself?" Naraku had entered through the barrier to give his opponent a better view.
"Always hiding behind your pathetic barriers." Sesshomaru remarked dryly, not impressed with the display on his territory.
"Oh this barrier is not for me. This barrier is quite...special. Why don't your come closer to see for yourself."
"Enough with your games. I will dispatch your repugnant stench from these lands." Sesshomaru engaged his poison claws as he stepped forward, until he felt a strange pulsing beckoning him into the barrier.
"I have someone here that wants to meet you. I believe proper introductions are in order." Naraku teased maliciously.
"Is that the brat of the bastard dog general? I can smell the stench of dog piss all over these lands." Misotaku growled while sneering at the young demon lord in disgust.
Sesshomaru snarled as he recognized the intruder. This was the Northern Demon Lord from long ago. He was a few centuries younger in those days, but he couldn't forget the stench of the traitorous Northern Dragon clan. "I see you have lowered your standards and have required assistance from this pathetic half breed beside you. You should have remained in the after-life, now I will show you what a grave mistake you have made trespassing my lands."
Misotaku roared in laughter. "It is curious that your wretched father fell for a mere human. If he had agreed to help my cause in ridding this world of humans, he would still be alive today. Instead my faithful cousin, Ryukotsusei avenged me as your dear father succumbed to those wounds Ryukotsusei dealt him..and all for the love of a worthless human woman."
"Don't mistake me for my worthless half-brother. Your words mean nothing to me. I do not care for the lives of humans." Sesshomaru said out of emotionless boredom. He allowed himself to linger on the thought of Rin. Too soon after the mere image of her was in his mind, he quickly willed it away and focused on the enemy ahead. "Now prepare to die."
Naraku and Misotaku saw Sesshomaru heading their way with his hand on Tokijin as they had predicted. He was running full speed into their trap.
Misotaku laughed ferociously, awaiting the moment he would sink his fangs into the blood of the heir to the Western Lands. This was the moment he longed for throughout his time in the after-life. A chance at revenge, to continue what he had started all those years ago. He could feel the combined power of his brother in his veins. The end of the human empire was near at last, and it was going to start with the decimation of the dog lord's legacy.
December 2nd - 7 AM
Kagome had woken up before any of her comrades noticed she was in her deep sleep meditation. Her clothes however were all soaked in sweat from the training that had transpired in her dreams. Much to Miroku's dismay, Sango had chosen to sleep in a shared room with Kagome and Shippo this time, while Inuyasha, Miroku, and Kohaku stayed in another adjacent to the girls.
Kagome quickly searched through her bag for a change of clothes. Kagome then walked over to the screen door, opening it to walk outside in the corridor. Her light footsteps padded along the wooden floors. Her pyjama pants swinging with every step. She was trying heading towards the kitchen when she found a discarded a rather large bowl used for decoration on the floor at a doorway. She looked around quickly, not wanting to get caught taking the bowl. As soon as she picked the bowl up she was quickly walking to a nearby door to the outside. Once outside she froze, and this time not from the cold temperatures. There were a group of villagers poised to enter the door and here she was holding a decorative bowl in her pyjamas. They all looked at one another as they took in the sight of this odd human dressed in garbs with cute cartoon puppies on the fabric.
"Ah! Just out to clean the decor...this thing is so dusty I'm even...AHHHCHOO!" Kagome faked a large sneeze while pushing through the group and holding the bowl at arm's length. "Quite atrocious!"
".." One of the woman gave a questioning look, while others just regarded her as the inn's cleaning help making a scene.
"Such a strange girl," one of them managed to say loud enough for Kagome to hear.
"And look at her clothing..."
Kagome waited until all of them were gone from sight and swiftly dug the bowl into the snow. She had managed to get enough inside the bowl. 'The things I have to do for proper hygiene.' Kagome straightened up and turned back to go inside. Her feet were now burning and numb from the cold snow.
As soon as she was inside, she went back to her shared room with Sango. Sango and Shippo had woken up as well, and were relieved to see the younger girl return from wherever she ran off to.
"Hey Shippo, can you fox fire the snow in this bowl for me?" Kagome asked kindly. Shippo shrug his shoulders not understanding why he had to do this, but knowing Kagome he knew better than to question her antics.
When he simply used his fox fire on the bowl turning the snow into warm, steaming water, Kagome sighed, rejoicing in her resourcefulness. She then walked up to her bag and pulled out soap and a foaming cleanser. Shippo picked up the foaming cleanser, examining the bottle closely. He pushed open the cap and was instantly met with an orange refreshing scent.
"Kagome, this smells great!" Shippo exclaimed while holding up the bottle over his head.
"Yes that's a facial cleanser," Kagome explained softly. "Here, I'll show you how it works."
Shippo watched intently as he let Kagome take the bottle to demonstrate. Kagome went through the motions of cleansing her face. Spreading the foaming cleanser over her face earned her a round of giggles from Sango and Shippo. She leaned over the bowl of water, hands scooping water to rinse her face. Soon Sango and Shippo were both washing their faces and marvelling at how fresh their skin felt after the treatment.
Kagome loved these little moments with her friends trying out her modern products.
"I'm going to show this to the guys," Shippo beamed excitedly. "Especially, Inuyasha!"
Kagome shook her head at his eagerness to do show and tell.
"Kagome, I'll go with him to make sure Inuyasha doesn't go overboard. I understand you probably want to get cleaned up."
"If you don't mind?" Kagome looked up questioningly at the slayer, and smiled when Sango nodded. "Thanks, Sango." Sango and Kirara departed after the kitsune to the next room where the men were located.
After Kagome had cleaned herself up and changed into her black bodysuit top and dark blue faded jeans, she slipped on her black knee high boots. She could hear the commotion over the cleanser going on in the room still. Kagome decided it was time to interrupt the bickering over who's face was cleaner, Inuyasha's or Miroku's. When she walked into the room she was surprised to see Miroku, Inuyasha and Kohaku with faces full of the foam cleanser. She couldn't help but laugh at the them. Sango had rejoined them after taking a step outside, her hands full of snow.
Sango tossed the balls of snow to the men. "What's this for?" Inuyasha caught the snowball with one hand.
"It's to rinse your face from all the suds." Sango answered.
"Keh.." Inuyasha looked over at Miroku who had already started dabbing the snow near his face as the melted snow started dripping down his hand and into the sleeves of his robe.
"When you beauty queens are done, we're going to be eating breakfast down the hall." Kagome teased as she got up to leave with Sango, Shippo and Kirara in tow.
"Oi! Who you calling a beauty queen?" Inuyasha pointed his finger at them. Kagome looked back to giggle at the hanyou. Inuyasha took this moment to wipe the remaining water from his face with his sleeve.
"See you soon, ladies!" Shippo heckled the older men by vigorously waving at them before getting hit by the bottle of cleanser.
"Hey! Why you gotta pick on little guys like me?" He waved the bottle in the air in protest, but then noticed his two female comrades leaving him behind as they turned a corner to go to the kitchens for food. "Hey! Wait for me!"
...
They were all sitting together eating their fish and rice in peace when Kagome felt a familiar sensation run through her veins. She could sense a chunk of the jewel shards nearby. That could only mean that Naraku was close to the area. Soon after Inuyasha picked up the aura of the spider hanyou as well and stood up abruptly.
"Naraku." As soon as the name left his mouth, he was already running out of the hut and into the snowy environment outside. His hair whipped around from the wind, carrying a sparkling spray of snow through his silver locks. His hand was firmly wrapped around the hilt of Tetsusaiga and feet spread apart in his battle stance. He was ready to face Naraku head to head.
It took only a couple more minutes for the group to follow him as they grabbed their weapons from their rooms. Kagome had thrown on her winter jacket, gloves, and backpack, ready to head towards the battle. She could feel the jewel shards, yet she knew that Naraku was still a ways away from where they were located.
Kirara had transformed and soon enough the gang was on their way, tracking down the evil demon called, Naraku. Yet, Kagome could still hear the words of warning that Lady Giya had said before she had met up with Rossi to dress her wounds.
'If you are smart, you will not fight tomorrow...A smart warrior knows when to fight and when not to. If I don't see you tomorrow, I will assume you died and will be thankful I don't have to waste my time with such a foolish girl.'
Kagome bit her lower lip nervously. She was still exhausted from the training she had earlier. Even if she did fight, there would not be any point as she was on her last reserve of ki. She would be able to shoot a few arrows, but if she did anything more than that, she would be a goner. She needed time to recover.
It took them a little over twenty minutes to get close to where Kagome was sensing the jewel shards. They were going to push further to reach their destination when they noticed a hoard of Saimyosho gathered around a figure that was hopping from the tree branches beside them. Miasma completed shrouded the figure, bubbling and smoking over the length of the person. The figure made a long leap, stopping to block the group from going any further, when all of sudden the miasma dissipated enough to show, Naraku.
"It's been a long time," Naraku paused and lifted his scarlet eyes to meet his longtime nemesis. "Inuyasha."
Naraku stood in his usual armour with his green tentacles waving back and forth. He did not erect a barrier to protect himself.
"Naraku!" Sango said through bared teeth.
"I see you have Kohaku in your company." Naraku gestured towards the younger demon slayer. "I assure you that will change soon."
"You will not get your hands on my brother so long as I am still here." Sango roared out ready to use her hiraikotsu on the enemy ahead.
"Ah yes. It was quite an oversight that Kohaku was able to escape my control last time, but make no mistake. I can just as easily tap into his mind and take over at any time. At which point, you'll never know until he's fulfilled my order." Naraku laughed. His sinister sneer addressed all of them with contempt. He hated this lot more than anything. They had always proved to be too resilient, and they just would not give up. It's what made it so infuriating to deal with them, but equally pleasing to torment them all the same.
Sango stood in front of Kohaku protectively. "Kohaku is not so weak to let you back in again. He will stop you, and I will always stand by him to protect him no matter what it takes." Kohaku looked up to his sister, surprised and comforted by her words. When he saw Naraku, he could feel his stomach drop to his feet. Fear had overcome him as he remembered the faces of his loved ones as he cut them down those dreadful two years ago.
"Although you make a compelling speech, it will be futile when Kohaku will be the one to kill every last one of you. I am not worried about killing all of you when I will have him to do it for me."
"Always forcing others to do the dirty work. Why is that not surprising?" Kagome shouted out with sarcasm.
"Fortunately for Kohaku, I am not here for him today. However, I am here to tell you something about your dear brother, Inuyasha." Naraku always loved baiting Inuyasha. His reactions were always amusing to say the least.
"I don't care about that prick," Inuyasha started to argue, but was silently curious to know what Naraku was up to. Naraku quirked an eyebrow. "Well, I just thought to tell you that a battle for your father's land is going on at this very moment, and Lord Sesshomaru is fighting a losing battle."
"Why you-" Inuyasha unsheathed his sword, already fed up with all the talking. "You need to shut up. All you do is open that shit hole for a mouth and talk talk talk. You're boring me to tears." As Inuyasha finished he had already jumped forward, sprinting towards Naraku with his sword raised to cut him down.
Naraku had leapt up into the air before the Tetsusaiga collided with him. "I'm going to kill you and then kill whatever demon Sesshomaru is fighting."Inuyasha swung his sword, hoping to at least catch the spider hanyou in a lethal area.
He followed Naraku as he continued to evade attack after attack. Naraku smirked, his plan was working. None of them had figured out his plan yet, and at this rate the battle between Sesshomaru and Misotaku was going to be uninterrupted. Kagome watched helplessly. She didn't want to waste her energy but if she had to, she would use a little of her ki to shoot an arrow. She focused her attention on Naraku and Inuyasha as they battled each other. Naraku had started using his tentacles to try and cut and spear Inuyasha. Inuyasha dodged and cut down several tentacles that had come his way, although some had cut through the sleeves of his haori to leave open gashes on his right shoulder and bicep.
Sango sprang into action, and launched her boomerang into the tentacles that were poised for Inuyasha's back. She ran to give herself momentum to catch her hiraikotsu, when Kirara sprinted beside her to offer her assistance. Sango caught her weapon and jumped onto Kirara's back. Kohaku was about to join, when Miroku used his staff to stop the boy in his tracks.
"No, you stay here. If you get too close to Naraku he might take hold of you again." Miroku explained. Kohaku was about to protest, but knew the monk was right. He had to be careful not to get in the way.
Kagome gasped, causing Miroku, Shippo, and Kohaku to look away from the fight and towards her. "What is it, Kagome?" Shippo asked worriedly. He moved his face closer to hers to get a better look at her. Naraku had taken notice of the change in Kagome's expression. 'She figured it out.' His eyes narrowed as he sent four tentacles flying her way at lightning speed. Inuyasha tried to get towards her in haste, but Naraku used more tentacles to block his path. Sango hurried towards Kagome and the others. She flung the boomerang in the direction of the tentacles, but realized too late the tentacles coming at her from behind. Naraku used this opportunity to wrap the tentacles around Kirara and Sango, squeezing them to knock them unconscious. Sango struggled against the grip and used her hidden blades within her arm to cut through the assault.
"Lady Kagome!" Miroku exclaimed, he raced towards the tentacles with his staff raised to block his friends from the attack. He had no choice he wouldn't be able to block all of the tentacles. He had to open his wind tunnel. One look to the sky confirmed that the Saimyosho were indeed present in this fight as well. In the knick of time, Sango's boomerang swept through the tentacles, leaving a steamy, wriggling green mess behind. No longer caught in the tentacles, Sango and Kirara flew forward to the others.
"Are you alright?" Sango asked. Kagome smiled and nodded.
"Thanks, Sango!"
"Miroku, this isn't the real Naraku. It's a puppet. The real one is with Sesshomaru in the West." Kagome explained carefully.
"I wish I could finish this one off right now with the wind tunnel." Miroku admitted through his uneven panting. He thought they were going to be goners for sure if Sango hadn't thrown her weapon before getting attacked. As for Inuyasha he was still fighting Naraku head on.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth for amplification. "This Naraku is a fake. The real one is fighting Sesshomaru!"
This only infuriated Inuyasha more.
"Damn you, Naraku. Sending a puppet to distract us away from the real fight!" Inuyasha had stopped following him, ready to take the puppet out with his Wind Scar. "I'll finish this once and for all. WIND SCAR!" Strong winds and electricity erupted from the blade, ripping through the ground and air towards Naraku's body. The attack engulfed his form completely. When the attack was done and the smoke cleared, they saw Naraku's puppet encased in a purple barrier.
Kagome gripped her bow and reached for an arrow. She was hoping she wouldn't have to use her powers until they reached the battle field, but she wasn't given much option if this puppet didn't want to be destroyed so easily. Stringing the arrow into her bow, she lined up the shot and fired the arrow with the little bit of ki she could use. The arrow shot straight and into the barrier, causing the barrier to ripple and shatter from the radiating purification power.
Now that the barrier was no more, Inuyasha followed suit and used the wind scar on the puppet. It was the final blow to the puppet as it disintegrated and left behind a wooden toy slashed in half.
"Keh, damn that Naraku." Inuyasha clenched his fist in frustration. They had been wasting time fighting a fake so that they wouldn't interfere in the real battle.
"We don't have much time. Look!" Sango cut in as she pointed to the sky in the West. There were dark clouds funnelling over top of a large barrier just at the border of the Western Lands. The clouds were flashing with lightning. They could only guess that that was where Sesshomaru was battling the Northern dragon demon. Roars vibrated through the lands and earthquakes shuddered the trees, as winds picked up at dangerous speeds. Pellets of ice started falling from the sky, and the group looked at each other with a serious glance before dashing off into the direction.
Naraku looked down in his hand to see his puppet slashed in half. He didn't often use these puppets against Inuyasha and his group, but it had served its purpose to delay them from interrupting this battle. And what a battle it has turned out to be. Lord Sesshomaru was panting and bloodied. He had finally met his match in battle, and Naraku was pleased to see how this was playing out. Misotaku looked down at the younger lord with contempt. The Northern lord of course suffered battle wounds. After Sesshomaru had launched his Dragon Strike, Misotaku evaded each strike but miscalculated the last strike of power and was hit on his side. Blood dripped from the wound, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.
Sesshomaru used this time to pause before the next attack. He remembered a past discussion with his father before he went into battle with Misotaku all those years ago. His father had revealed the weapon that was behind Misotaku's powerful attacks. The Katsukane Mirror. A mirror so powerful that it could reflect your attack back at you with 1000 times the force. This demon had sent his own attacks back at him, weakening his body, and tearing through parts of his clothing. The land was scarred with deep scorch marks from his attacks being repelled and sent back. As the ice pellets began to rain down inside the dome of the barrier, the scorch marks started filling with ice and snow. The mountains that surrounded them were no longer visible with all the smoke and snow fall.
"Let's finish this, I grow tired of battling dogs. Once I destroy you, I will find that brother of yours and gut him like a fish." Misotaku growled out in annoyance.
Sesshomaru resumed his battle stance, firmly holding Tokijin in his hand. He had to figure out a way to defeat this demon before this fight drags out much longer. He looked down at Tenseiga briefly. 'If only I had Tetsusaiga. That's the sword father used to defeat this filth.' Sesshomaru broke out of his train of thought when he sensed the next attack forming from Misotaku's mirror. He had to destroy that mirror. They have been fighting from a distance and it was time to get closer to his opponent.
Sesshomaru ran like the speed of light towards his enemy before his Dragon Strike attack was aimed at him again from the cursed mirror. At the last second he dodged the attack and then used his Dragon Strike again. This time, he altered the trajectory of each strike. This confused Misotaku as he only felt the shift in demonic energy, but there was no attack to be seen except for the one he just used from the mirror. The mirror's attack had finally ceased after the last strike. Misotaku contemplated the mirror more, maybe it was a fluke that this pup's attack really did fizzle out.
Then it happened. It blasted up from the ground like hellfire underneath Misotaku. The dragon strike hit Misotaku unawares and it was a direct, fatal hit.
Misotaku roared, unable to move as each strike paralyzed him one after the other. He could feel his body on fire. How was this sword able to affect him, a dragon demon? He had to get out of this attack before he died. He was not going to perish before taking down the whelps of his greatest enemy. The mirror started rattling in his hands. It began to absorb the assault, pulling the energy beyond the surface and into its void of power.
Sesshomaru remained stoic as he watched what Misotaku was doing. He had injured him critically, and he wasn't going to let him recover that easily. He went in for the kill, but realized the mirror had begun to pulse. When it finished absorbing the attack, Misotaku took the mirror and placed it against his chest. The mirror dissolved into his armour, and the energy from Sesshomaru's attacks was being used to regenerate his body. It's as if this dragon demon fed on demonic energy. He would not be able to use his Tokijin in this fight.
"I have to hand it to you, you almost had me there." Misotaku taunted. "Hitting me from underground. Now, that's not a move your father taught you."
"I don't care for the sentimentality of your old sparing days with my father." Sesshomaru coldly responded.
"Indeed. Those were the golden years before your father became weak. We were like brothers, your father and I. Even dreamt of becoming the lords of our respective lands, and challenged each other to see it to fruition. There was peace amongst us, we invited each other to parties, fought wars together. I met your mother, and even acknowledged your birth. All of this was before Toga betrayed me and slaughtered my people. He treated them like outsiders ravaging his lands, but they were only sterilizing it of the human filth that inhabited those inferior villages."
"Your father would still be alive, you would have been able to fight him if he had allowed me to vanquish the trash in his lands. I was doing him a favour."
"Your reservations about the past make no difference to me. Your treasonous crimes shall be met with by death." At that moment, a familiar and annoying scent became increasingly apparent. His dim-wit of a half brother decided to interrupt his battle. Sesshomaru watched as his brother and his friends arrived one by one through the barrier.
"Well, look at that. Things just became more interesting. I know that sword anywhere. Looks like your baby brother came to the rescue, Sesshomaru." Misotaku replied, but his eyes zeroed in on the humans that followed suit behind the red-clad hanyou.
"The one thing I hate more than your father is humans. I shall rip them apart before your eyes." Misotaku's eyes flared with rage and disgust as he took in the sight of the humans. Their grimaces and observations of his power and the surroundings only proved to aggravate him. The little rodents infesting pure demonic lands.
"Oi! Sesshomaru you look like shit." Inuyasha waved his sword in his brother's direction.
Sesshomaru growled. Of all the people he hated, his half-brother was number one on his list. "Silence your tongue when you address this Sesshomaru, half-breed."
"So you're that Taku bastard everyone is harping about. You look like an overgrown lizard ready to be squashed by my Tetsusaiga." Inuyasha growled out, introducing his famous cocky persona to the enemy.
"Your brother is brazen, Sesshomaru. Shall I give him the same treatment I did you, or gut him right here?" Misotaku quirked an eyebrow curiously.
"I will be the one to kill, Inuyasha."
"Hm, a sibling rivalry...how dull." Misotaku countered. "Although it would be interesting to have you kill your own brother and spare me the hassle, it is highly more entertaining to just kill you both myself and enjoy the look of pain and despair on your wretched faces."
"How the hell did you manage to get so beaten up like that, when all this asshole does is talk?" Inuyasha barked at his brother. Kagome shook her head at his antics when it came to his older brother. He was surely going to end up battling his brother instead of the Northern Demon lord.
Sesshomaru only glowered down at his half-brother. His urge to punch him in the face and shove a sword through his gut was becoming more appeasing as the minutes dragged on. Although he would never admit it, his brother's interruption gave him time to regain his strength for his next attack.
Nearby Naraku watched. He had explicitly told Misotaku not to battle the brothers simultaneously. It appears he would need to intervene himself to make sure that did not happen.
Naraku walked towards the Inu-tachi and stopped just a short distance away.
"On the contrary, Misotaku you will not be fighting Inuyasha at all. It has been some time since I faced off with him." Naraku stared down Inuyasha as he spoke, not taking his eyes off the group in front of him.
"I do not take orders from the likes of you, half-breed." The Northern demon lord bellowed in rage.
"I am beginning to doubt your abilities. If you can't even defeat Sesshomaru, what makes you think you will be able to take both brothers on? Shall I give you a sacred jewel shard to make sure you finish the job?" Naraku chastised.
Naraku's words only managed to infuriate Misotaku more as he gripped the mirror forcefully. "I will kill you all now. KATSUKA-NOHA!" As the last syllable dropped from his tongue, the ground began to shake and a piercing sound raked inside his enemies' ear drums. "Let me show you the true power of the Katsukane, for it will be the last thing you see in this life."
As everyone looked around to observe what indeed was occurring, the ground at the edges of the barrier separated to give entrance to walls of ice coating the insides of the barrier. The outside world was now closed off from their line of sight. It was like being inside a vaulted dance studio. The walls resembled mirrors that reflected everyone's appearance and environment within the inside of the dome. When the shaking and ear splitting sounds had ceased, everyone glanced at each other and behind them at their reflections.
"It's like the description of the Northern palace. A fortress of mirrors." Miroku murmured in awe. "I don't think we will be able to get out of this barrier."
In response, Inuyasha had walked towards the wall in question and raised his sword to hack it away. When he raised the sword away from the spot it hit, there was no scratch or mark to be seen. "What kind of magic is this?"
Misotaku laughed. His eyes were cast down to the mirror in his hands as it too began to shake. Out of the mirror came an object replicating the same mirror being held. Misotaku then raised his mirror towards the sky and the duplicated mirror started floating to the top of the dome. When the mirror had reached the top, it flashed a few times and then did nothing. Sesshomaru contemplated the attack. So far it had not attacked anyone, and only transformed their surroundings. Naraku grimaced. This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
"I can see you are all confused. Let me show you what has happened. Sesshomaru, I shall start with you." Misotaku laughed with sinister intent. He raised his mirror to the spot where Sesshomaru stood. The mirror at the top flashed and repositioned towards the Dog Demon lord. Sesshomaru sensed immediate danger. He had recovered enough to evade attacks, but he wasn't so sure about the barrier behind him let alone the mirrors that threatened to attack him. "Die."
A bright blue light soared between the mirrors and had vanished it seemed, but the hairs on Sesshomaru's neck stood on end having sensed something coming at him from behind. He jumped out of the way and watched as the blue light missed him by a single hair. He landed to the side as the beam of light continued on its path until it hit the other end of the dome and was reflected back again. The beam of light was continuous, like an electrified line. "Again."
As Sesshomaru yet again dodged the attack, another live beam had appeared and remained inside the dome, cutting off another side. "Let's make this more interesting shall we?" Misotaku closed his eyes, when he opened them he had his mirror fixed on the Inu-tachi and Naraku.
"I don't like the look of this." Sango said apprehensively. "Kirara!" Kirara had soared into action, jumping in front of Sango, Kohaku, Shippo and Miroku and allowing them to climb on, getting them out of harms way.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha grabbed the priestess in haste as not one, but four beams of light shot out from the wall behind them. Everyone had dodged the attack, including Naraku, but six continuous and dangerous beams of light were now dividing the dome. Sango, Miroku, Kohaku and Shippo had been separated from Inuyasha and Kagome by two beams of light, while Naraku also had two beams of light separating him from the rest of his opponents. Although, because Naraku was situated closer to the middle, the beam of light had intersected all the other existing beams.
"He's going to keep firing those things at us, unless we stop him." Miroku yelled to his comrades. "If I'm not mistaken, these walls are also mirrors themselves."
"Yea no shit, Miroku." Inuyasha growled out, frustrated by the new developments. "I'll just get rid of all these lines of power." Before anyone could protest, Inuyasha had flung the wind scar attack at the two beams separating himself from his comrades. The attack had indeed hit the beams but instead of breaking the power surge, he had created a new power surge with his attack. It was only until he noticed the look of horror on his friend's faces when he realized his blunder. The wind scar had reach the opposite side of the mirror and was sent back in Inuyasha's direction. Since the wind scar involved more than one streak of attacks, there were three other scars ripping at the ground towards him and Kagome. He jumped to get out of the way and quickly looked around to see where to land. The wind scar was permanently active and running from one side of the mirrored wall to the other, creating deeper scars in the ground.
"Damn it all!" Inuyasha roared.
The assault from the dual mirrors however did not rest, as Misotaku fired more attacks towards his opponents. Naraku by this point had reached out telepathically to his incarnations while dissolving his barrier on the outside.
From the outside, Kanna and Kagura had arrived. Through their connection with their master, they had been informed of the events that were transpiring within the ice dome. Kanna had begun to use her mirror to recreate a Katsukane attack, burning a hole with its beams into the ice formation. It was lucky that they had absorbed that little attack from Misotaku upon their first meeting, or else this would have been a more dire problem.
"What are we supposed to do?" Kagome asked, totally at a loss for strategy. If any of them attacked, their attacks would continue to divide up the space even more, making it impossible to move around properly.
"We need to kill that bastard, that's what." Inuyasha growled, while holding Kagome in his arms. "There is a bit of time between each attack, if we can get close enough to him I can use the Tetsusaiga." Before Inuyasha could react, Sesshomaru had already started making his way towards Misotaku, continually avoiding the attacks aimed at him.
"Damn him, he's always gotta be the first one to the punch," Inuyasha scowled in annoyance. Inuyasha jumped over the beams separating him from the others and set Kagome down with them. Meanwhile Kirara whined from everyone's weight on her back.
"Sorry, Kirara, this is only temporary." Sango reassured her feline companion.
"Hey look!" Shippo pointed trying to get everyone's attention. Miroku was the first to direct his attention to Shippo and where he was pointing. Naraku had somehow created a hole through the wall and was escaping through it. "I'll get him," Miroku said as he unleashed his wind tunnel. Naraku felt the pull of wind from the curse he bestowed on the monk drag him away from the hole. He growled in anger, pulling out a hive of Saimyosho to get sucked into the monk's hand.
"Miroku watch out!" Kagome shouted. When he closed it up, Sango threw her boomerang at the incoming wasps. "He got away, and the hole disappeared." Miroku admonished.
The wasps perished as they were slashed in half by the slayer's weapon. That was when Kagome got an idea.
"Sango!" Kagome exclaimed getting the older girl's attention as she caught her boomerang. "Your weapon doesn't fire in only one direction. You can attack Misotaku head on with it and won't be attacked with your own power in return."
"That's right! Good thinking!" Sango brightened. "Kirara can you get us closer?" Kirara growled softly in response. While Misotaku was preoccupied with the brothers.
Sesshomaru was at his limit for tolerating Inuyasha's involvement because every time Inuyasha let his attacks go on Misotaku, they would miss and hit the wall where he was positioned, creating new lines of surging power. In-between an attack Sesshomaru sprinted towards Inuyasha with his arm raised and fist clenched. "Stay out of my way!"
Inuyasha didn't sense Sesshomaru fast enough when he felt a fist connect with the side of his face, throwing him back closer to the wall. Inuyasha grimaced while propping himself up with his elbows. "You asshole! What do you think you're doing?" Inuyasha accused, raging in anger that his brother had attacked him.
Sesshomaru ignored his squabbles and returned back to the fight. Before Sesshomaru could attack Misotaku, the dragon demon had trained the mirror on Inuyasha and another beam of light erupted from the wall behind him. He wasn't quick in avoiding the attack this time, and it had singed his side. Inuyasha dropped to his knee in pain, holding his injured left side.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled, her heart catching in her throat. "Sango quick! Before Misotaku decides to hit him again." They were within range to attack Misotaku now, and Sango heaved the mighty boomerang with all her might. The boomerang launched forward with a vigorous momentum driving it towards the enemy. Sesshomaru had stopped in his tracks before he could attack Misotaku with the tokijin. Misotaku dodged out of harms way from the boomerang but did not realize that Sesshomaru had crept up and slashed his sword at the demon catching the dragon lord at the chest.
A long slash dug into the Northern lord's chest, as he grunted from pain and shock. Sesshomaru didn't waste any time before driving his sword through the demon's chest, but Misotaku had repositioned his mirror where the sword would have embedded itself. The sword was absorbed into the mirror and sucked out of Sesshomaru's grasp. His sword, gone.
Cackling in triumph, Misotaku revelled in the surprised look on Sesshomaru's face. Sesshomaru's scowl deepened, but he was not without his own powers as he used his poison whip to slash at Misotaku's clawed hand on the mirror. With a mighty roar, Misotaku looked on in disbelief as his hand fell to the ground and with it the mirror. When the mirror hit the ground it did not shatter, but a hairline crack had formed at the top corner.
"You little shit," Misotaku was about to land a fatal blow to Sesshomaru when a loud *BANG* echoed throughout the battle field. The sound vibrated in the demons' ears. Misotaku looked around ablaze, something wasn't right and he felt something warm trickle down his skin.
Everyone looked around to see what was amiss, and their eyes landed on Kagome. She propped herself up on an elbow while still holding up a strange black object in her hand. Kagome slowly got back to her feet to see the aftermath of her shot. Since she couldn't use any of her spiritual powers still, she used the one thing that was quicker than an arrow, her newfound gun. The symbols on the side of the K5 handgun were in a different language, what seemed Korean.
Misotaku followed the direction of everyone's attention to Kagome. 'What is that weapon?' The pain radiated in his chest, and when he tried to regenerate his body and heal his wounds, he couldn't. Something was definitely not right. As soon as he noticed, fine-line cracks started appearing along the icy walls. As the cracks travelled higher and higher, the integrity of the structure started to shake in protest.
To everyone, they were amazed to see the mirror that Misotaku held, was now in pieces. The impermeable glass that created hours of grief for the group was now displaced amongst a pool of blood at the feet of Sesshomaru and Misotaku. Left in the wooden underside of the mirror was a hole the size of a grape. Misotaku dropped to his knees, the broken mirror clattering to the ground. Sesshomaru sensed imminent danger as the structure of the dome was falling apart. He quickly jumped back and ran full speed at the severely damaged wall with his poison whip at the ready. It was time to go. In his escape, a giant sheet of ice fell from the top of the barrier and crushed the fallen Misotaku. The others still shocked from the gunshot took this as their sign to vacate as well. The loud bang of falling ice starting to fill the ears and scene of the battle field. Sesshomaru had created a hole where a series of fissure lines in the ice had formed. He blasted through the space in the wall, escaping to safety. As seconds passed, the crashing of ice became increasingly audible. Inuyasha was on the side of the dome dodging falling sheets of ice on his way back to the group.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled about to move forward when Miroku quickly pulled her back to safety as a medium sized sheet of ice crashed in front of them.
"Quick! We must escape through that hole Sesshomaru made!" Miroku advised fearfully.
"I'm not leaving him behind!" Kagome protested against Miroku's vice grip.
"Kagome, we must go or we will all be dead under this ice." Sango reasoned while climbing onto Kirara's back. Kagome looked around her, and understood what they meant. It was now or never. Kagome allowed Miroku to pull her to Kirara. They all climbed on and bounded towards to the opening that Sesshomaru escaped through. They made it through, and waited for Inuyasha to materialize through the hole.
"Come on, Inuyasha.." Kagome clasped her hands together and held them to her mouth, anxiously awaiting the man in red. Her eyes desperately searching for him.
As the remnants of the structure finally buckled, Kagome's heart burst in anguish. "INUYASHA!"
Coming Soon - Chapter 10: Cataclysm
