AN: Final Chapter. Hope you enjoyed the fic.
CH10: Please don't Die, I love you!
"Kohaku!" Sango stumbled. The weapon was yanked roughly from her body. She fell to her knees and clutched the front of his armor. Her whole body trembled. She had a coughing fit that sprayed blood down her chest. "Brother..."
"Sango!" Miroku cried. He brought his hand up and focused it on Kagura. "Move or I swear I'll suck you into the wind tunnel you created. I don't care who's in the way, be they human, demon, or your damned poison insects.
"Fool! Would you really sac-"
"Wind tunnel!" The great vortex began to whirl, sucking in everything nearby. Rocks and debris flew into the hole in his hand and disappeared.
"What are you doing?" Kagura demanded. She produced a hive of Saimyoushou. Miroku didn't hesitate to suck in the insects, hive and all, despite the pain. "Are you insane?"
"Yes!" He yelled. Kagura was beginning to lose ground to the wind tunnel. Soldiers, human and demon were sucked in. "No..." He said, changing his answer, "I am not insane. I am in love. Sango means everything to me. Without her I might as well die. And if I die, I'll do it taking her revenge!" Miroku roared as he rushed towards Kagura. She flew towards him caught in the wind that she could not control.
"No! Stop this!" The wind stopped.
"No! Not now!" Kagura landed on top of him. His hand rested over her heart. The wind tunnel was gone. "Perfect!' Kagura smiled. "You've lost your strongest weapon and the poison courses through your veins. Now I'll finish you. DANCE OF BLADES"
At this range there was no way that Kagura could miss. Miroku prepared for the end, but it didn't come.
"DANCE OF BLADES!" Kagura waved her futilely. The wind would not come.
"I win." Miroku said feebly. He put the last of his energy into a punch that knocked Kagura unconscious on top of him.
"Sister..." Kohaku's eyes suddenly gained life. "Sango, what happened?"
"Kohaku..." Sango smiled happily despite her condition. "Ko... Ha... Ku..." Sango collapsed onto the stage at Kohaku's feet.
"No..." Kohaku saw her wound. It was unmistakable. "Sango... I'm, sorry Sango..." He trembled as he knelt down and clutched his sister's body. "Please, Sango, you can't..." He cried, "Don't let it happen, please... I DON'T WANT YOU TO DIE!"
Kagome dragged Inuyasha from the hole where she'd sat him. He was bleeding from his wounds. He had looked so strong. He had taken out everyone in his path as if they were nothing. He must have been bleeding the whole time. He looked so pale. "Inuyasha... Wake up..."
"There's too many of them!" Ayame grunted as she sliced open another demon puppet, "He must have been making these for months."
"Ayame!" Koga pushed the wolf girl out of the way as another demon puppet had tried to attack her from behind. Instead it was Koga who was impaled from behind, adding to the injury he had sustained when Inuyasha had broken Koga's arm.
"No Koga!" There was no way he would be getting up after that attack. He was surrounded by them. "Kyaa!" Ayame screamed as she sent out an attack of wind and leaves that sliced the demon puppets to shreds. More took their place immediately. Ayame did not have the strength to attack so soon. She was going to die, and worse, so was Koga and no one could save them. She screamed as a demonic tentacle flew towards her face. Then, it disintegrated. They all did. There was nothing left of the demon puppets but a stick tied with a piece of Naraku's hair. "Koga! Are you alright?" She rolled him onto his back and laid his head on her lap.
"Ayame..." He grinned weakly, "Takes more than that to stop me. What about you and Kagome..."
"Please Inuyasha..." Kagome begged, "I'll do anything you want, just wake up." She stroked his hair gently, "I won't S-I-T you anymore." She said, "You can mate me as soon as you're better... I won't let anyone go anywhere near me without your permission... Please don't die Inuyasha... I love you..." She bent down and kissed him on the lips.
"Ka... go... me..." Inuyasha's voice gurgled with blood bubbles as she released the kiss.
"Inuyasha..."
"Don't..."
"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked surprised. His eyes were barely open, "I thought..."
"Don't... for... get..."
"Don't forget what?"
"Your... pro... mise..." His eyes closed once again and he returned to sleep. 'I love you too...'
"You killed him." Sesshomaru noted as the demon puppets crumbled.
"He was weak and over confident." Bankotsu said, "Always protecting his heart, but treating the rest of his body as disposable. He might as well have placed a target on his chest."
"This Sesshomaru thinks that it is a fault you share."
"I've earned my confidence. No one has ever bested me in personal combat. None have even come close."He tossed his waist length gray ponytail.
"This Sesshomaru looks forward to the challenge." He surveyed the battlefield. The fighting had all but stopped. With the demon puppets gone and Naraku dead, everyone seemed to be tending to their fallen comrades. "I owe you for taking my revenge from me."
"Fighting for revenge. How quaint." Bankotsu smiled.
"What better reason could you have?" Sesshomaru asked, intrigued by the man's actions.
"Simple, killing is fun." He replied as if it were obvious, "I love the feeling of tearing the life away from a body with my Banryu. Human, demon, or even animal; I don't care. If it breathes, I will enjoy killing it."
"A waste... Killing without provocation, without reason. You cannot enjoy the lingering pleasure of a slow death, the pride that you have brought a strong opponent to his knees, the rewards of defending what belongs to you."
"You need a reason to kill?" Bankotsu grinned, "That's news to me, but I am happy to oblige." He said, generating a ball of spiritual energy with Banryu. "I'll take the thing that's most precious to you. Then I will get the best fight out of you!" Sesshomaru involuntarily shifted his eyes, glancing at Rin who watched his battle from a short distance away.
"So that is it." Bankotsu laughed, "I've always loved killing children." In a flash, Sesshomaru was attacking ferociously with his sword. Each strike sent out waves of stinging hatred, but Bankotsu deflected each strike, dodging the demonic energy.
"Is that your best?" He asked, "How disappointing." Bankotsu punched Sesshomaru in the face with his off hand and Sesshomaru was knocked to the ground. "The great Sesshomaru, powerful demon prince, felled by a single punch from a mere human."
"Hold your tongue!" Sesshomaru spat angrily. Never had he ever been made such a fool of.
"Fox magic!" Shippo threw an object towards Bankotsu.
"No!" Sesshomaru disintegrated the object with his poison whip."He is mine."
"Then let's get rid of the nuisance." Bankotsu finally released his ball of energy, sending it towards Shippo and Rin. Sesshomaru leapt in front of the attack. His sword shuddered as it fought against the attack.
"Run..! Now!" Sesshomaru ordered. As the attack began to overpower him. A loud crack sounded and Sesshomaru was struck by the energy, leaving deep gouges in his chest, but deflecting the ball enough that it missed the children. He glanced at his sword. It was cracked and warped in the middle of the blade. "Useless." Sesshomaru cursed as he sheathed the sword in his belt. "I told you to RUN!" Sesshomaru shouted. Rin grabbed Shippo's hand and ran towards where Inuyasha lay.
"You are alone, and your sword is destroyed." Bankotsu said, "Can you do nothing but dies?" Bankotsu mocked, "Am I so great that even the mighty Sesshomaru, who strikes fear into the hearts of his enemies, trembles before me."
"No. I just need the right sword." He dove for the spot where Inuyasha had dropped the Tetsusaiga, barely dodging Bankotsu's next attack. "And now I have it." He said, standing up holding his father's fang. "Wind scar." The blades of demonic energy from the Tetsusaiga met with a ball of energy from Bankotsu.
"Incredible." Bankotsu said, "Though I only used a fraction of Banryu's power, your sword managed to counter it."
"Your sword is not a demon sword. Where does its incredible power come from?" Sesshomaru asked as his blade clashed with Banryu.
"From the blood of my enemies." Bankotsu gloated. "This sword has soaked in the blood of ten thousand demons. With each kill, Banryu gets stronger." He slashed, "And stronger," He slashed again, "And stronger!" Sesshomaru was driven back by the blow and the Tetsusaiga was forced back until Banryu cracked Sesshomaru's armor.
"Strength without dignity." Sesshomaru growled, "You sicken me." He spun; side-stepping Banryu as it came crashing to the ground. "Wind scar."
"That was close." Bankotsu grinned, "A little faster and that would have hit me." He had managed to shield himself with Banryu.
"How many strikes will it take?" Sesshomaru asked, "When will your weapon fail you?"
"Not until long after you're dead." Bankotsu charged. Their swords clashed and with a deft movement Sesshomaru's sword went flying. "Now, die!" Bankotsu attacked with an overhead strike. Sesshomaru, in one fluid motion, drew the damaged sword from his belt and blocked the strike. There was a loud crack as the two blades met. The end of Sesshomaru's sword was severed by Banryu's powerful blade, embedding itself deeply into Bankotsu's throat. Banryu, jarred by the impact, dropped and stabbed Sesshomaru in the gut. "Urgleblug..." Bankotsu gurgled in amazement. He collapsed to the ground, drowning in his own blood.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin ran over as fast as she could.
"I'm fine, Rin." Sesshomaru said casually. He didn't even flinch as he removed the giant halberd from his gut. "Were you injured?"
"No." Rin smiled and hugged Sesshomaru's leg.
"Call Jaken. I want all three swords fixed and hanging in my study by tomorrow."
"Of course Lord Sesshomaru!"
Sango and Miroku were dead. The poison had been too much for Miroku's body to handle, and this time he was not covered in purifying sacred sutras to protect him from it. His skin was not dark gray and blotchy from the Saimyoushou poison. He lay beside Sango in a massive grave where so many were being buried that Kagome could not count them all. Tears ran down her face and she cried onto Shippo's head as she held him in her arms for comfort. She looked down at the two bodies. They had loved each other so much. They had followed the wishes he had left in his will about his burial. His cursed hand would grope no one but Sango ever again. They had been her best friends here. She didn't know what she would do without them.
Kohaku stood solemnly beside her. Tears trickled down his face as they had ever since he had regained himself when Naraku had died. They had discovered that he had in fact been killed when the demons attacked. One of Naraku's Minions had shot the sacred jewel into his heart where it now stayed. The jewels influence seemed to have made him immortal as long as it remained embedded in his heart. When the doctors had examined him, he had begged them to remove it and end his suffering, but they had refused his request. Kagome had purified the jewel within him, which he thanked her for, but it wasn't what he wanted: living forever knowing he was responsible for his beloved sister's death. Kagome placed a comforting hand upon Kohaku's shoulder, but his tears only worsened.
"Let's go see the others." Kagome said to Shippo. He nodded. Kagome walked to the base, taking the elevator to the seventh level. Because of the number of injuries, the infirmary had been expanded so that many of the room on the level were now housing patients. They had brought in many more doctors and nurses to help with the load. Her friends, or at least those who had survived the battle, resided in the same large room with a few others.
"Stop it!" Koga growled, "I'm fine!" Ayame was fussing over him. She had received only some scrapes and bruises that had healed overnight. Koga, however, had his arm in a sling and a bandage around his chest.
"You're injured!" Ayame insisted, slamming him back down into the bed. "Don't make me tie you to the bed!"
"Hi, Ayame." Kagome greeted, "How are you doing?"
"I think I've gotten him handled." She smiled as she shoved some pills into his mouth and began pouring water down his throat while plugging his nose to ensure that he swallowed them.
"I can see that."
"That bitch is trying to kill me." Koga complained.
"Bite me!" Ayame countered. Koga scowled.
"How are you doing Kagome?"
"I'm not injured." She said.
"Hey..."
"Inuyasha! You're awake!"
"What about your promise." He asked, wincing as each breath caused him pain. Kagome knelt down beside the bed.
"You can barely move."
"So..."
"There's no way you're feeling strong enough to mate me right now."
"Not that... I never gave you permission to talk to Koga."
"I may have to break that promise once in a while."
"No. Never." Inuyasha insisted stubbornly.
"What if I go for a burger at WacDonalds and there are no female cashiers?"
"I guess you have to take me with you then." He smirked as he reached up and touched the mark that was quickly fading.
"We'll see." Kagome managed a small smile.
Over the next few weeks, people recovered and things returned to the relative normalcy in the base. Sesshomaru was appointed as the new director of the facility, and under him, demon attacks sharply dropped and an end to the turmoil seemed to be in sight. Inuyasha recovered fully and Kagome decided to keep at least one of her promises.
"Why do I have to do this?" Inuyasha grumbled as he fought with the men who were trying to stuff him into an attractive kimono that was meant to go well with Kagome's.
"If you're going to mate me, you have to marry me first!" Kagome shouted through the curtain.
"But that's like doing the same thing twice!"
"Just do it!" Kagome ordered, "Before I sit you!" Kagome said, breaking her promise not to sit him anymore, for the third time that day.
"Fine!" Inuyasha grumbled, coming out a minute later, suitably dressed for the occasion.
"You better behave." Kagome hissed as they headed through the rows of guests to kneel before the Higurashi Shrine's altar. Kagome's grandfather was the priest officiating the service.
Kagome glanced over the crowd. Of course, her mother and Sota were there. They had both been extremely happy to know that Inuyasha would be joining the family, despite her grandfather's. With them sat Shippo who had taken to them well and had almost immediately become best friends with Sota who loved the little fox's magic.
Also in the front row, two flowers represented the two friends who had so recently been buried. Next to that was Sango's brother Kohaku. He had yet to accept his fate, but was aided by the most unlikely of friends. Kanna sat next to him holding his hand. While losing Naraku had stripped her of her demonic powers, her basic essence meant that she was as immortal as Kohaku was. They found comfort in each other's pain and lack of purpose without those who had been closest to them.
Koga and Ayame were also there. Ayame was sporting a brand new mark that resembled brown wolf heads and black claw marks that Koga had given her in a fit of passion when he had learned that Kagome was actually going to mate the mutt. He had discovered that it was not so bad being Ayame's mate.
Her friends from school were there. Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi were extremely happy for her, despite the fact that that they used to encourage her to accept Hojo's advances. Hojo himself sat near them looking rather sullen, despite his obviously fake smile.
Kaede and many soldiers whom she didn't know, but obviously knew her had also crashed the wedding. Thanks to Ayame's insistence, Hakkaku and Ginta sat in the back with them. It was an excellent turn out.
Kagome slapped her face. Myoga the flea floated flattened to the ground. "Haven't seen you for a while."
"I had important business to attend to." Myoga said.
"Ran away as soon as it got dangerous and didn't come back is more like it." Inuyasha said.
"A fine way to treat a guest who comes to wish you good luck on your wedding day!" Myoga said, pretending to be insulted.