Atonement
By Miss Kagura
Chapter Ten — The Ninety-Fourth Day

Three Months Later…

Kaede looked over her shoulder to the somber hanyou watching her work and handed a basket of tomatoes to Shippou. "Take these inside to Sango and Miroku," she said as she took another empty basket and knelt next to the next plant. When several minutes had passed, she pushed the basket to Inuyasha. "These aren't going to harvest themselves, you know."

Inuyasha sat down beside her, grumbling half-heartedly as he reached out for a ripe, plump tomato. Deadly claws instantly turned the tomato into a mess of juice and torn flesh; Inuyasha stared at it, thinking about how fitting it was. He always destroyed fragile things. "What's the matter with Sango?" he finally asked.

"Use your fingers, but be careful not to slice them," Kaede said as she deposited another red fruit into her basket. She hated to be the one who had to tell him the news. It was cause for celebration for everyone else except Inuyasha. "Sango is carrying Miroku's child. Her place is here now, Inuyasha. She has ceased to be a demon slayer and has become a mother for the time being."

The soft pads of Inuyasha's fingers braced a tomato and plucked it safely from the plant. Sango, Miroku, Shippou, Kagome, and Kirara had all grown under his leadership in the collapsing pack that hunted Naraku. Now that they were all mature, they were slowly being removed from the life that made them who they had become. "Miroku will need to stay here with her, I guess," he said.

"Aye. Their happiness will be in your hands, Inuyasha. You have to find and kill Naraku so Miroku will live to hold his child," Kaede said.

Some part of him still couldn't let go of the dreams he had before Kagome was taken right out from under him. In some lost part of his mind, he and Kagome lived in a hut next to Sango and Miroku, and their children played together. Even months later, he sometimes thought about it, and it hurt like hell.

The hanyou shrugged. "I'm alone again then? Good, less for me to worry about!"

When the tomato in his shaking hand popped, Kaede sighed and shook her head. "Unnecessary, Inuyasha. We were both left alone in the world when my sister Kikyou died. You were given the gift of being able to sleep through the loneliness, but it became my life."

Inuyasha gave the old woman a bitter smirk. "If the plan Kikyou and I made had worked, I guess I'd be old like you, huh?"

"Aye. You might be dying like me as well," she said as her voice cracked.

"Wh-What? What are you talking about? You're just fine!" Inuyasha yelled.

Old hands went back to their work, and for the first time, Inuyasha realized how tired and how old Kaede looked. The child he remembered climbing trees and pestering him and Kikyou had disappeared into the body of an old and exhausted woman.

"I sense that my time is near," She replied, neglecting to tell the hanyou about the intense headaches, the nausea, and the way her vision had blurred over the past weeks. She knew what it meant; she had nursed too many dying people not to know how it would end. For the first time in years, she was afraid, but it wasn't because she was dying. Her fears were for the hanyou she had come to think of as her delinquent, rude adopted son.

Somehow, it was a comfort to be able to feel dread about something other than the village she had guarded for so long. That would be left in the hands of Miroku, and she had no doubt that he would do well.

Inuyasha's claws dug into the soil, clenching it tightly. "Are you sick? You dumb old hag, you should be inside resting, not working!"

"The child Sango carries will live each day as one day closer to death. We will all die because we are mortal, and you will be left alone," Kaede explained.

Alone…

Inuyasha's ears flattened in despair as Kaede reminded him that loneliness was the theme of his life. While letting someone go hurt badly enough, the sharp, painful silence they left behind was so much worse. "I know what it's like to go to sleep and know nobody cares if I wake up again. I can't go back to that. I'd rather die," he whispered in a voice Kaede could barely hear.

"You mustn't let that happen. You push all of us away, Inuyasha. Even if someone did want to love you, you wouldn't let them," Kaede said.

Another tomato ruptured in Inuyasha's hand, and he quickly apologized, trying to change the subject. "Fuck, I destroy everything I touch."

"Promise me you'll let yourself love again as well as be loved," Kaede said.

Inuyasha frowned and looked away; he never made promises to anyone. His last real promise had been to Kikyou, and that had indirectly wrecked his life, pushing Kagome farther and farther away until he could no longer reach her. This was different though; this was the only thing she would ask of him. "I promise," he said, unable to look at her.

He left at daybreak the next morning to resume his hunt for Naraku. This time, however, he was totally alone, and his companions were left in a hut to build their new family in Kaede's village. Even Kirara and Shippou had stayed with them, and Inuyasha knew he couldn't blame them. Because he wanted them to be happy, he knew he had to kill Naraku. Miroku needed to see the evidence that a woman actually had agreed to bear his child, and Sango needed to know her brother was safe.

The silence was like torture.

He thought about Kagome, about Kikyou, and about all the things he had done wrong to end up so utterly alone after managing to build up a pack. He worried about Kaede, and thought about Sango. When Miroku had found out the night before, the joy in his face, his eyes, and his tone had been indescribable.

Inuyasha was left feeling guilty by the almost hateful jealousy he found in his heart right then.

"Ooof!"

Inuyasha was ripped from his thoughts as Abi plummeted into the ground in front of him. She'd never admit she tripped; cats were far too graceful. She managed to land on her feet, and her ego took all the real damage. It left her standing face-to-face with the much taller hanyou, looking into eyes she hadn't seen in so long she had almost forgotten how intense they were. It was his likeness to his father that had caused her blunder in the first place. Inuyasha had the same hair, same eyes, and same face as his father.

"Were you following me, Bitch?" Inuyasha yelled.

Dumbstruck green eyes narrowed angrily and an open palm made contact with Inuyasha's cheek. He had also inherited his father's mouth, however unintentionally. "All you need is a talking sword from Hell and no one would be able to tell the difference," she grumbled adding, "I live here, what's your excuse?"

He was suddenly grabbed from behind, and his eyes were covered as an all-too-familiar voice broke the silence and his heart. "Guess who?" Kagome chirped excitedly.

"Kagome? How come I didn't smell or hear you?" Inuyasha asked as the miko sat perched on his back, hugging his neck.

"Herbs! Where's everyone else?" she answered.

Inuyasha grabbed her arm, holding it in place when she tried to slide off his back. "I'm traveling alone now," he said.

Right at that moment, a black cloud passed by overhead, and Inuyasha immediately ran after it. "Naraku's scent!" he shouted, running across the tree line with Kagome holding tightly onto his back. "You missed a ton, Kagome. Sango is knocked up, so everyone else is playing house in Kaede's village!" he yelled.

The grip around his neck tightened. "Really…what's that?" she asked as they came to a field. The cloud of miasma cleared around something that seemed like a youkai. Behind the youkai stood Sesshoumaru with a most displeased expression, as if the last thing he wanted was to deal with more of Naraku's incarnations.

"Get back!" Sesshoumaru shouted to Ah-Un, who backed up quickly, carrying Jaken and Kohaku farther away.

A sharp tentacle flew by Sesshoumaru and only narrowly missed Kohaku, who was thrown into the air by the dragon, who thankfully had faster reflexes than the tentacle. Kohaku's fall was broken when he was caught by one of the tentacles and hoisted him up, high above the battle. Sesshoumaru's leapt to his rescue, but just as he reached for Kohaku, three razor sharp extensions of the creature's body impaled him.

"Tch! Who are you?" Sesshoumaru growled.

A cruel, fanged smirk formed on the monster's lips. "I am Magatsuhi, the dark will of the Shikon No Tama."

Inuyasha ran across the clearing and leapt into the air, cutting his brother free. "You're gonna be one dead asshole in a few minutes!" he yelled.

Magatsuhi realized he was trapped in between an irate hanyou with a huge sword, a taiyoukai, and a priestess, who was aiming an arrow at him when he finally turned. One look from Magatsuhi and Kagome went limp and fainted on the spot. Then, he knocked the hanyou out of the way and prepared to deal with Sesshoumaru as he transformed into his true form.

Sesshoumaru snapped Magatsuhi's head off before he even saw the taiyoukai move his way, but his decapitated body remained standing, spewing miasma in all directions. When Inuyasha saw the miasma, he leapt and managed to free Kohaku. As soon as Kohaku was out of Magatsuhi's reach, Inuyasha drew his Tessaiga, only to be faced with his brother totally intertwined in tentacles, nearly choking as the slowly crushed him.

Magatsuhi smiled. "Don't worry about your brother. Even if he dies, he'll be reborn…as a part of Naraku!" he said.

With that comment, Sesshoumaru switched back to his human form and dropped from the entangling tentacles with ease. He was bloody, he was getting angry, and when he drew Tokijin, he intended to use it to kill. As soon as he had it completely unsheathed, Magatsuhi's detached head hovered in front of him. Sesshoumaru snarled and thrust Tokijin into his mouth.

"Die vermin!" the taiyoukai exclaimed.

"You forget that this sword was forged from Goshinki, a piece of this same body. It shall return now," Magatsuhi said as his fangs chomped down on Tokijin, which shattered in his mouth. Sesshoumaru tried to pull the sword out of Magatsuhi, but it was stuck. He let it go and growled as Magatsuhi chewed up and swallowed his entire sword, letting only the hilt fall to the ground.

"Take Kagome and get her away from here!" Sesshoumaru shouted at his brother, who wouldn't have listened under any ordinary circumstances. However, with Kagome unconscious on the ground, Kohaku in trouble, and Sesshoumaru determined to kill himself, he went to her side.

Abi, who had realized there was something else in the area she couldn't actually see, took the herbal concoction she had given to Kagome during training to evade youkai senses and threw the entire bottle into the middle of the battle. Instantly, Magatsuhi and Sesshoumaru lost nearly all of their senses. Temporarily blinded and unable to smell the body Magatsuhi borrowed from Naraku, Sesshoumaru suddenly became aware of the otherwise undetectable presence that lingered over the battle. Tenseiga started to rumble at his side and Sesshoumaru sailed through the air as he unsheathed it. The blade made a deep, clean cut across Magatsuhi's real face, which had been hidden by the body he had made from Naraku.

When the wind blew the herbal haze away, Magatsuhi realized Kohaku had vanished and wrapped his body around Sesshoumaru. "You've put on a good show, but it seems my prey has escaped. I'll just do away with you and your whore now and finish this," he said.

The tentacles formed a cocoon around Sesshoumaru, who was trapped inside. His claws tore at Magatsuhi's flesh, as he considered the consequences of not escaping. There was something so precious at stake that if he couldn't get out to save her, he didn't want to escape at all. For Kagome's sake, he had to be great. He had to stand up to Magatsuhi on his own and slay him. He didn't want to do it for power, or reputation, or to be favorably compared to his father, or because he was stubborn. Pushed to his limit, Magatsuhi had driven every selfish desire for power out of his mind.

Tenseiga detected the change in Sesshoumaru's heart and began to glow, calling Bakusaiga to their master.

In Toutousai's workshop, the old youkai awoke to the brilliant light of Bakusaiga being summoned and watched as it flew out of the cave and went westward to Sesshoumaru. It streaked across the sky, leaving a brilliant trail of light behind.

In the woods on the other side of the clearing, Abi leapt from one tree to another, carrying Kohaku away from Magatsuhi. The scent of Naraku following caused her to put the boy down in the crook of a branch, and then wait. One of Naraku's incarnations, Byakuya, flew by on his paper crane. "That was quite a trick you pulled, Pussycat. Now hand over the boy unless you want to end up on Naraku's bad side too," he said.

Abi stared at him for a moment, and then unsheathed long, curved, deadly cat claws.

Three seconds later, Byakuya was staring up at Abi as he lay on the ground, which was littered with tiny scraps of paper. She turned and reclaimed Kohaku from the tree, which only confused Byakuya. "You're not going to fight me?" he asked.

Once upon a time, before the Inu no Taisho was a general and long before he had sons to frustrate him, he had just been Touga. He had a sword from Hell, and an inspiring amount of ambition. When all was said and done, he had become greater than even he had imagined. If he looked over his shoulder, however, all he could see was the trail of bodies that had made the difference between 'strong,' and 'unforgettable.'

Byakuya was merely a small part of the mass of youkai who would die to make Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha strong. His life, for all practical purposes, ended the first time he battled against the brothers. All that remained unknown was how long he'd be allowed to continue living before he died like all the others had.

"You are already dead. It would be a waste of my time," she replied.

The scent of Tenseiga swept through the trees, and both looked up to see light coming from Magatsuhi's body. It was so bright that it shined even through his flesh. Bakusaiga flew to it, and then neatly pierced the flesh of the cocoon that held Sesshoumaru. The taiyoukai's striped hand shook as he reached out and took the blade.

Bakusaiga pulsated in his grasp, demanding his power. Whatever power Sesshoumaru had felt while wielding the stolen Tessaiga so long before seemed insignificant to what he felt coming from Bakusaiga. This blade, unlike the one he had coveted, smelled only of him, and not of his father. It was his own weapon, an extension of himself, and it was totally in sync with his will.

Sesshoumaru let his power flow into the sword, and then stepped out of his father's shadow into the realm of legend. With one slash from Bakusaiga, Magatsuhi's body exploded into tiny pieces and Sesshoumaru flew through the wrecked flesh and switched swords, ready to land a killing blow on his real body.

Magatsuhi attempted in vain to reassemble his borrowed body, but it was broken into far too many fragments. Even if he could simply put it back together, everything that had been touched by Bakusaiga degenerated into nothing. The blow from the sword had infected his flesh with some sort of degenerative condition.

The conviction, righteous indignation, and courage in Sesshoumaru's eyes and the sword in his hand were enough to make Magatsuhi tremble. The fight was over, and even Magatsuhi knew it. He made his escape, only narrowly missed by Tenseiga as he quickly located Kohaku nearby and entered his shard, taking control of Kohaku.

Kohaku's kusarigama neatly pierced Abi's chest and left her a bleeding mess. Superhuman power supplied by the Shikon shard allowed Magatsuhi to speed toward Naraku. Deep within Kohaku's mind, the battle between Magatsuhi and Kohaku raged. If anyone had known how hard Kohaku fought in the short distance between Sesshoumaru and Naraku, they might have understood the choice he made when his body reached Naraku. Had they understood whatever little strength he had left had been spent pushing Magatsuhi out of his mind, they would have been proud of him.

It was over. The blast from Bakusaiga caused Magatuhi and everything he touched to degenerate fall apart, including his own body. The skin on Kohaku's fingers was starting to rot and peel even as Magatsuhi told him what was happening to him.

Kohaku closed his eyes, and listened to the chain of his weapon as it swung.

Naraku had destroyed and rebuilt Kohaku's mind so many times, the life he lived had faded. All he remembered sometimes was his sister's face, and what he had done. He was haunted by the sound of his father's body being ripped apart by his own hand, of his sister's crying pleas, and the fact he knew it would eventually come to this. He had let her down.

But it was finally over, and he realized he could let go.

Kohaku took a last breath and gave Naraku exactly what he wanted.

The kusarigama ripped the Shikon shard from Kohaku's back and threw it into Naraku like a dart.

Naraku watched in confusion as the flesh disappeared off Kohaku's body and a small skeleton landed on the ground. The boy had killed himself; despite every promise Naraku knew he had made to be strong, he had died by his own hand. What purpose did it serve?

Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha approached him and realized that Kohaku's skeleton lay at Naraku's feet. "You bastard!" Inuyasha screamed.

"You're too late, Inuyasha. Now I possess the entire Shikon Jewel. Perhaps you would like to witness it become whole again?" Naraku taunted.

Inuyasha reached for his sword, but a glare from his brother stopped him.

The shard disappeared into Naraku's body and began to fuse with the rest of the jewel while Naraku gloated. "Kohaku took his own life. It seems I have won. With this, neither of you stand a chance," he said. The sliver of Kohaku's shard joined the rest of the jewel, and transferred the degenerative energy Magatsuhi had infected it with to the rest of the jewel.

Naraku felt it instantly. His body burned, and limbs that had been constructed from thousands of other youkai seemed to suddenly be made of rubber.

Sesshoumaru gave Naraku a cruel smirk. "Killed by a little human boy? How shameful."

They watched as Naraku's body began to fall apart, ripping at the invisible seams that held his conglomerate form together, starting at his chest where the jewel rested. It was horrifying, and would have made any regular person sick. Lumps of flesh fell to the ground around him. When Naraku could no longer maintain the impenetrable barrier around his person, he clawed into his chest and removed the Shikon Jewel, which he hurled at Inuyasha. Inuyasha ducked and let it hit the ground behind him and roll aimlessly through the forest.

Naraku hissed as he fell to his knees and stared up at a diamond-plated Tessaiga.

Three Days Later

Kagome ignored a feline growl and wrapped the cloth bandages tighter. After killing Naraku, everyone had returned to Abi's house except Inuyasha, who left with Kohaku's bones and the purified Shikon No Tama. No one, including Inuyasha, knew what he was going to wish. She might have gone with him, but it had been three months since she had been with Sesshoumaru. As much as she hated neglecting Sango, she needed to be with Sesshoumaru for the time being.

Kohaku's death bothered Sesshoumaru more than he was willing to admit, and Kagome knew it.

Sesshoumaru felt disappointed with himself. There was an idea of Rin and Kohaku once, of happy human children that would grow into even happier adults. There was the boy that carried her through the pit of hell, and the girl that would do anything to make him feel better. They balanced each other out perfectly, and the taiyoukai had come to believe that they shared that dream, even if it was never spoken. Children always had such big dreams.

When Kohaku had found out Rin had died, something in him changed. He couldn't bear to face his own sister and had no one else in the world to go, so Kohaku's fight was about the future. It was to think of a time later on when everything would be all right. The little girl that was supposed to make his life worth living had died, leaving Kohaku without the dreams that kept him fighting.

In a world where Kohaku had no control at all, he had taken his life back from Naraku and killed the hanyou.

No one would ever know the respect Sesshoumaru felt for the small human boy.

"You didn't fail him, Sesshoumaru," Kagome said.

Sesshoumaru frowned at her; why did Kagome always feel like she had to make him feel better? "I know," he replied softly.

Abi and Sesshoumaru jerked to their feet at the same time. "You smell it too," Sesshoumaru said.

"I don't know that scent. It's definitely Inu though," she replied.

Sesshoumaru nodded and leapt to the ground, following the mysterious scent. As he drew closer to it, he realized he knew the scent quite well. It just lacked the humanity that had previously defined it. He came upon Inuyasha, who was leaning against a tree, shaking. "You used the Shikon Jewel to become a full demon," he said.

Inuyasha nodded, clutching his ears. His senses were overloaded, and he was painfully aware of things he had never known even existed. The strength in his limbs was unimaginable and uncontrollable, and poison dripped from his claws.

The only relief Sesshoumaru found in Inuyasha's obvious anguish is that he seemed generally coherent, unlike the berserk youkai Inuyasha changed into when his youki raged out of control. Had anyone else encountered Inuyasha, they might have been killed accidentally by the out-of-control taiyoukai that his little brother had become.

"Did you think the transition from hanyou to taiyoukai would be easy?" Sesshoumaru asked.

Inuyasha grimaced as Sesshoumaru's intense aura cut against his. "P-Please help me," he whined.

There was no one else.

Inuyasha hadn't wished to become the most powerful demon in the world; he only asked to become a full-blooded youkai, and because of who his father was, that pushed him so far above all the other youkai. The only person who had any grasp on what he was dealing with was the last person that would never show him mercy.

Once again, Sesshoumaru held Inuyasha's life in his hands. This time, though, he chose differently.

Inuyasha had taken Rin.
Sesshoumaru had taken Kagome.

There was no longer a reason to continue hating Inuyasha. Even Sesshoumaru knew it would only destroy both of them if he kept pining over Rin and punishing his brother for taking her from him.

They would have to do something about the living arrangements, since Abi's home was overpopulated and he suspected she deal with it in her own way if necessary.

"Come," Sesshoumaru said.

Please Review

Author's note: If you don't keep up with the manga, this chapter might have been a bit confusing. The point is that Sesshoumaru has a really badass sword (it killed 2000 demons in one frame in the manga) that keeps things from regenerating, as well as anything his foes come into contact with after they've been struck by Bakusaiga.

Special thanks to Dragoness Fohama, Goddess de la mort, restive silence, LoveANIME4, sesshyandkags4ever, sayuri-girl, BlazingMidnightRain, no life king, Taylor Ann Nicole, Britt-sempai, mangadreams, VampireGoddess12Xx. Dana Daidouji, flirtymiyu, cleoclaudia, kzb636, Laina Aurelius, kimoukai, kittyb78, TAJE, Foxfire Inari, ArizonaBay, LadySafire, 43InuAsha, Gothcat, shadowblade-tara, llebreknit, Amadoni, supersillee06, kagome past and present, Mikazuki Hime, musicallady1, and kumikonhan!