Disclaimer: The characters and world of InuYasha are not mine, they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. The Alien characters and movies are not mine either. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter 13

Sesshomaru reached the shore of the lake in no time, followed by Rin and Jaken who descended from the sky, safely seated on Ah-Un's back. He knew that his brother's group was following closely behind from all the ruckus they caused and he couldn't care less: he didn't need them anymore now that he knew precisely where the one he was looking for was. The remaining question was what was she up to, and from what he could tell she could as well be engaged in a fight as in a meal. He needed to assess the situation thoroughly, to understand what exactly was going on, before determining if he had to intervene or not. The hanyou would have to stay out of his path or learn the hard way that it was a bad idea to meddle with his business.

As he paused to examine the calm expanse of water before him, delicately sniffing the air to confirm what his nose told him moments ago, he absently overheard his half-brother as he arrived and addressed the strangely-clad miko, who was still perched atop his broad back.

"Hey, Kagome! What the fuck are we doing here! There is no youkai around; the place is as peaceful and deserted as can be!" he shouted.

Sango, Miroku and Kagome looked at each other, in despair over Inuyasha's hopeless lack of spiritual powers. The young dog hanyou had never been able to sense demonic auras, contrarily to them, and they always wondered how he managed to survive all these years in the dangerous wilderness without this ability. His nose had to be extremely sensitive, or he wouldn't have lasted past childhood.

Sesshomaru's immobile form tensed as the ominous youki came closer to them. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the monk, youkai-slayer and miko as they turned to face the lake when suddenly a thin black form shot out from the middle of the lake, heading toward the sky at high speed. The humans' eyesight was too poor to clearly see details, but even at that distance the taiyoukai could distinguish the fiercely glowing golden eyes of his former travelling companion. He saw her twist in mid-air as she turned her body in her ascension to face the water, as she was about to reach the peak of her momentum before she would plummet down toward the surface. He recognized the intense concentration on her face, the focus that betrayed that she was about to direct her energies at her concealed enemy. However, as trained to control his emotions as he might be, Sesshomaru's lips parted slightly when whatever pursued Kitana emerged out of the water, a huge mouth widely open upon what could only be described as an enormous ball of light, effectively stopping the attack she was preparing to unleash. His composure was that of a terribly bored person, but his opened lips sharply drew a breath that betrayed his growing anxiety.

SSSSS

As the demon once again stopped her retreat, his fangs opening on his terrible mouth, Kitana decided it was time to stop fleeing and start counter-attacking. Calling for the help of her living armor, she felt her claws elongating and sharpening as she prepared to strike at the scales of the monster. Dodging his attack with a fast dive, she plunged toward his throat and delivered a brutal blow with her claws, a blow that should have opened a gaping wound in the flesh of the thing; except that it did not.

A painful jolt travelled all along her forearm up to her shoulder and she would have screamed had she had air in what she used for lungs. She did not have time to process what just happened as another attack was sent her way, sending her into another dive for safety. Closely following the coils of the humongous body, she descended about midway between his head and tail before trying once again to sink her claws in the beast. And again and again, to no avail: the hide of the thing was so exceptionally solid that her arms were now in tremendous pain from the repetitive shocks against the unbreakable matter. She had to move once more, as the beast finally found her and came at her, letting go of a snarl that sounded more like an explosion underwater.

While taking great care never to place herself in the line of sight of the creature, she persistently tried to find an opening in his armoured skin. She hid beside a coil of the monster's body and tried another approach, sliding her claws in-between two scales, trying to reach the flesh. To her irritation, she only met with another row of scales, tiny and dense, that covered the space between each larger scale. This demon was protected by armor so strong that she couldn't conceive what enemy made it necessary. What kind of foe had claws or fangs so formidable they pushed such a monster to develop such an enduring hide? It was unimaginable.

She had to move once again when the beast tried to crush her between the coils of his huge body, but this time she did not manage to evade his sight and hide again. No matter how she plunged or turned, no matter if she hid beside or underneath his body, her enemy had learned of her tricks and was now countering them efficiently. She was desperate for a solution, and only one possibility appeared in her mind. If the beast did not give her enough time to use her powers, she would create that time.

Leading the thing deeply into the lake, snaking around and under its coils, she made sure that the head was following her. She did her best to make a knot of the serpentine beast, to entangle him within himself, before suddenly turning toward the surface and heading up with as much speed as she could obtain.

She summoned what was left of her meager powers and tried to focus while she swam. Then, as she pierced the surface and went flying into the air, she turned around to face the lake, channelling the energy of surrounding water and air into her, preparing to release it right into the flesh of her enemy. However, once again the cunning beast surprised her. He had freed himself of the knots easily, charging after her, and at the last moment, when she thought she would be victorious, when she was about to rip the heart and brain and flesh of the monster with a vicious energetic attack, she lost. For what came out of the lake was not the beast, but a huge ball of pure energy contained between his opened jaws, an energy so wicked that she shivered at the thought of touching it, let alone be engulfed into it.

Kitana barely had the time to redirect her focus before the attack was hurled toward her. As she dived back in the lake, a large unnatural wave rose between her enemy and her, replacing her as a target for the fatal attack. The huge energy ball vaporized the water instantly on contact, but was also dispersed at the same moment, creating a deep mist upon which the sunlight danced and drew ephemeral rainbows.

SSSSS

"No way!" shouted Inuyasha, recognizing the creature that was now plunging back underwater, following closely behind its prey. "I killed the darn thing months ago!"

"Ryukotsusei? How can it be?" said Sango, disbelief in her eyes.

"It has the jewel shard!" added a distraught Kagome.

Sesshomaru intervened, never letting his gaze falter from the now foggy surface of the lake.

"Don't be stupid, hanyou. Dragons do not come back to life. It is just another one."

"Feh, another one maybe but equipped with a jewel shard, Sesshomaru! So give me some space and I'll blast it. At least if I catch it by surprise we may have more luck than the darn girl and get out of here alive," Inuyasha said, unsheathing his Tetsusaiga and calling forth its powers.

SSSSS

Underwater, the battle continued. The dragon seemed to be completely enraged and he did his best to grab the annoying creature that dared to enter his domain. His movements were fast and precise, and Kitana was desperate. She found out that despite her weariness, she could somehow predict his moves by reading the vibrations in the water, in a way similar to how she saw the heat waves emitted by living beings. Every muscle that the giant dragon had to contract when coming in on her would make the water pulse, sending her a message and she could swiftly move out of the way. The attack he sent her at the surface would have been difficult, if not impossible to endure and she certainly did not want to see it coming at her again. While trying to decide what to do, she took utmost care to always stay close to the dragon's body, hoping that he would avoid blasting himself in an attempt to destroy her. To increase her chances, she never stayed long at the same place, whirling all around his body. However, this strategy had a major downfall, for it would never allow her to stay immobile long enough to concentrate and gather energy for any kind of offensive move. She wanted to spank herself for taking on such a powerful adversary right when she so desperately needed to feed. Even if she could take the time to focus, her attacks would be weakened by her lack of vital energy.

SSSSS

"Sit boy! Sit sit SIT!" screamed an irate Kagome. "Can't you see how the water is moving over there? Kitana is certainly not dead, and I won't allow you to sacrifice her, you are-"

"Miko."

Kagome was stopped in her ranting by the imperative tone of the taiyoukai. He rarely addressed her directly and even though she did not feared him as much as in their first meetings, he was certainly one to respect. She gulped before slowly turning toward him and met his stern amber eyes.

"Where is the shard?"

She blinked. This was usually Inuyasha's question, and it was weird to hear it coming from his loathed half-brother. However Kagome knew something had to be done, not only to retrieve the shard but also to help Kitana, and the brutal attacks of her hanyou companion were not suited to the situation. They needed a little more... delicacy.

"Well, I did not see it for very long-" the golden eyes of the dog youkai reduced to slits upon hearing these words "- but I am almost sure it is somewhere in-between the arms. Yes, that's it. I think that's where the heart is, or at least it was there on Ryukotsusei…"

Having heard what he needed to know, Sesshomaru took flight. He surveyed the waters below him with an intense concentration, trying to distinguish the two protagonists who were now furiously agitating the once calm waters of the great lake.

SSSSS

Kitana felt his presence in the air above from the depths of the lake. Sesshomaru. So he had come, she thought. Once again, he would be the witness of her humiliation.

The dragon felt her distraction as she looked to the surface, and his human mask smirked maliciously. She would have been easy to catch at that precise moment, but he enjoyed playing with his preys more than anything. Suddenly, he abandoned his pestering little toy and leapt forward at great speed, eager to destroy whatever was more important to her than their fight.

Quickly understanding her enemy's move, she followed. Powerful strokes of her legs and tail propelled her toward the surface, in a race against death itself.

SSSSS

Sesshomaru felt the attack coming straight at him. How stupid could this dragon be if he thought that he, a great dog demon, son of the unrivalled dog general, would be harmed or worse, turn tail in face of such an evident and avoidable attack? As he prepared himself to cut through the offending beast with his Tokijin, the most unexpected thing happened. Instead of having the dragon jumping right at him, it was Kitana who blasted out of the lake toward him. The beast followed her closely though, but somehow she managed to push him away from them with the help of a strong, deep wave of water that she directed at his flank. As the dragon crashed back in the lake, roaring in frustration, Sesshomaru caught Kitana with his fur pelt and gathered her at his side.

Their eyes met, furious golden eyes clashing with exhausted black and yellow ones.

"There is a jewel shard near his heart. You won't survive if you-"

His words were cut short as the dragon retaliated by hurling the tip of his tail directly at them. Sesshomaru jumped back higher in the air, but while he did so he lost his contact with Kitana. As she fell back toward the lake, the terrible head of the dragon emerged under her and a huge clawed hand caught her body in a powerful grasp. A victorious snarl and a laugh left the mouths of the beast, accompanied by a terrible look of agony on Kitana's face. She was caught so tightly in the dragon's grip that her ribs snapped under the pressure; her claws and fangs could do nothing to free her, her useless tail was whipping at a stone-solid skin. Her rejoicing enemy dragged her underwater.

Sesshomaru didn't wait for an instant before reacting; his blood-enemy would not insult his family further by snatching what he considered his almost possession right from underneath his nose. He had important matters to discuss with her and she needed to be alive for that purpose. Unsheathing his Tokijin, he followed them into the lake at a great speed, and in an instant he was underwater. His vision blurred by the millions of tiny bubbles created when the huge body of the dragon re-entered the water, he was caught off guard by a powerful blow from the monster and was sent forcefully away from his enemy and his comrade. Angered by the audacity of the beast who thought that he could get rid of a dog demon that easily, he strongly pushed against the waters, combining his youki cloud with all the strength he had in his tights, determined to make the creature pay. However, he was not a marine creature at all and even if he could hold his breath for a long time, he soon realized that his armor, swords and pelt only hindered his movements.

SSSSS

The dragon was having a very good time. Granted he was at first irritated by the presence of an enemy in his very own lake, but finally it became an occasion to test the strength that this shard was supposed to give him. According to the demon who approached him carefully a week ago, perched on a large feather and hiding her face behind a fan of some sort, he should be the strongest creature of all times with this tiny shard and yes, he felt powerful. Now, with the unexpected but welcomed arrival of the dog demon, he could finally kill two birds with one stone. The honor of his family, lost when his cousin was defeated by a dog not only once but twice, would be regained and all would see how strong he really was right now. The great beast adjusted his grip on the black creature in his hand and gave some time to the dog demon to realize just how stupid it was to enter an enemy's territory unprepared, and then he struck.

SSSSS

Sesshomaru clearly saw the huge head coming at him and braced himself, his Tokijin emitting waves of its malevolent youki, ready to blast the offending creature in tiny pieces. However, once again things did not go as planned. The water slowed his movements so much that when the attack came at him, his sword only slipped on the scales of the muzzle and he lost his grip over his weapon that sank into the deep lake. Deprived of his weapon of choice, immersed in a hostile environment that rendered his usual poisonous attacks useless, and faced with a powerful enemy who was turning around to strike at him once again, he took the only decision that was available to him at the moment.

His released youki flared around him in an improbable underwater inferno and a vivid crimson invaded his golden eyes under its influence. Sesshomaru could feel all of his teeth elongating, his molars turning into a row of sharp fangs, the corners of his mouth extending to reach his ears and his fur pelt merging with the fur that now adorned his whole body. The enormous white dog that he became, although crippled with the loss of a foreleg, pushed against the water with his hind legs and shot right at the dragon, viciously grabbing the short arm that kept Kitana captive between his jaws and shaking it in a very canine way.

SSSSS

The dragon let out a scream of pain that travelled through the water and echoed to the furthest corners of the huge lake. The attack had been totally unexpected and in his surprise he relinquished his hold over his capture to redirect his attention to the youkai that was now challenging him. What begun as a playful bashing of insignificant insects was becoming much more serious now, as the details of the well-known story of how his cousin was destroyed by a similar dog demon came to his mind. However, that particular dog demon that was focused on ripping the dragon's arm from his body in a curious imitation of his own handicap was now immersed in the dragon's favorite playground, and he would soon be a much drowned dog. Smirking, the dragon swiftly coiled himself around the muscular body of the dog, ignoring the sting of his fangs upon his arm. The cur would have no strength left in him to bite in a few moments. A cruel smirk came to his humanoid figure as his scaled face liked its lips in anticipation.

SSSSS

Kitana shook herself out of her confusion as she fell toward the bottom of the lake, freed from the deadly grasp of her foe. She couldn't believe what she saw, and she kept replaying the transformation in her mind until it became real. She clearly saw Sesshomaru change form, right before her very eyes, and if she was right he was now battling against the beast in the form of a great white furry animal. An animal that did not look aquatic in the slightest, but didn't seem to care about that detail at all. This world would never cease to amaze her.

With her broken ribs and deeply bruised and torn muscles, Kitana was not much of an opponent, but when she saw above her the mortal coils of the dragon tighten around Sesshomaru's struggling form, she took a decision. It would have to work, or they both would be in a lot of trouble. She shot after them, taking advantage of the distraction of the snake-like beast to go for his head.

SSSSS

Sesshomaru was doing his best not to allow too much air to leave his lungs but the pressure he was under was immense. His enemy was strong, the power of the jewel shard added to his natural abilities, and fighting underwater was clearly not to his advantage. In his rage he tried to claw and bite at the folds of the beast, to no avail. In a faraway corner of his mind, his admiration for his father grew a little; knowing the dog general succeeded to plung one of his claw in the hide of a similar demon fuelled his desire to fight back, but he had to be realistic. He was not his father. For him, the only way out of this trap would be to return to his smaller humanoid form, but his fury and rage were so great that his youki couldn't be refrained and called back at the moment. All he could do was struggle while his enemy rejoiced in his helpless state, his double set of eyes connected with the taiyoukai's.

Black stars started to cloud his vision when he caught sight of Kitana, who was swimming furiously toward the head. As he was about to loose consciousness, he saw her plunging toward the immense red eye on the left side of the dragon's head, terrible claws ready to strike; a smile almost graced his furry, canine lips when the targeted eye exploded in a burst of scarlet liquid. As the immense power that kept him captive withdrew, Sesshomaru transformed back in his humanoid form and saw the dragon sinking to the bottom of the lake, trashing madly in his pain. His lungs were screaming for air and as much as he wanted to give in to their plea, he knew he would never reach the surface in time.

SSSSS

Once again, Kitana pushed her body to move, fighting against the bursts of pain that the contraction of each and every muscle of her body brought to her. She swam to her unexpected helper, who was now in a state not much better than her own, and quickly assessed his condition. She saw his golden eyes loose their sharpness and start to rotate inward; he was clearly loosing consciousness out of lack of oxygen. Without thinking, she quickly extracted the so-needed oxygen from her last breath of water, and putting her mouth in contact with his, she breathed the air into him.

Sesshomaru's eyes blasted open as the oxygen reached his brain. Kitana was there, by his side, embracing him tightly and kissing him. Not a kiss, he corrected himself. She was helping him to breathe. And he was suddenly grateful for that, despite his previous anger at her reckless behavior.

She wasted no time. As soon as Sesshomaru's eyes opened, she brought him closer to her and was about to swim toward the surface when he extended his arm, pointing at the pitch black bottom of the lake that had swallowed the dragon. Following his gesture, her eyes caught a slight glimmer of light reflected on the blade of the Tokijin; the sword had ended its descent upon the edge of a jagged rock, halfway between the surface and the bottom of the lake. At the same time, she also detected the heat emitted by the beast underneath them, who was far from dead. The dragon was completely enraged and soon he would forget his pain and come for revenge. She brought her attention back to Sesshomaru and shook her head from side to side, refusing to endanger them any further for the retrieval of a mere sword. Securing her hold onto the dog demon's hurtful body, she once again forced her battered self to move despite her injuries, and the smooth, fluid movements of her hips, legs and tail soon propelled them both toward the surface. They reached the so-needed air in the middle of the lake and Sesshomaru tried to speak. She did not let him.

"I know what to do, Angelus. Now go-"

She did not have time to finish her sentence as a huge energy blast from the dragon was hurled directly at them from the depths. The taiyoukai grabbed her by the waist and summoned all his remaining energies to send them upward on his cloud of youki. He felt the immense power of the beast brush against his own demonic aura, but they were unscathed. However, the head itself followed the blast out of the water, and the jaws where closing in on them at a great speed.

"It's okay. Let go of me." Kitana firmly pushed Sesshomaru away from her, freeing herself and turning as she fell toward the dragon. In a delighted hiss, he closed his jaws upon her lithe form and let his body fall back in his element.

Stunned, the taiyoukai looked impassively at the lake below him. No emotion could be seen on his pale face, but he was in turmoil inside. Was he assisting to the last attempt of Kitana to leave this world? An attempt that would very likely be successful? He knew this could happen when he let her run away from him after his humiliation on the riverbed, he knew she had no reasons to fight to stay alive. He knew, but he never wanted to believe it.

Then anger overcame this realization, anger directed once again at the foreign creature. How dare she ignore his heroic efforts to save her, how dare she brush all that with the back of her hand and plunge right into death, with no regards for the immense honor she had been granted when he fought for her survival? Never before had he gone to such extreme ways to help someone. His primal, selfish motivations for helping her did not matter. Days before he took the decision that he needed her alive and at his side, for only she could remove these abominable images from his head, and he would let no one disregard one of his decisions.

Just as he was about to plunge back underwater to retrieve the offending female and give her the punishment she deserved for belittling him, a huge shadow came at high speed toward the surface of the lake. He just had the time to move out of the way when the dragon shot out of the water, screaming in pain. His short arms were clawing at his chest and his smell, once similar to leather covered with fish scent, was intermingled with the rich, coppery aromas of blood. Just as Sesshomaru started wondering where this scent was coming from, the great beast vomited a large quantity of the crimson liquid, vividly tinting the waters around him. He then fell back in the lake and started to swim wildly, directly toward the shore where Rin and Inuyasha's group were standing.

Sesshomaru moved forward faster that the eye could see and distanced the dragon. Just as he reached the beach, making sure that Ah-Un brought Rin away from there, the beast was there. Towering above them, his tortured features frozen in a mask of agony, the dragon let out a last roar and fell forward, sending a panicked monk, miko, hanyou and youkai slayer flying across the beach.

Sesshomaru did not falter as the great beast fell almost right at his feet, as he clearly heard the last beat from its huge heart moments before. He was in pain, something that he hadn't felt in many months, and he would certainly not waste his energies at moving recklessly when he was in no true danger.

Giving no attention at all to the head of the dragon, he walked unfazed toward the upper chest of the beast that lied across the sandy beach. He could hear strange sounds coming from there, and as he came closer he saw that the ribcage over the heart was moving, as if something was pushing against it from the inside. Cocking his head to the side, he looked curiously as finally the bones and skin cracked and burst open, giving way to a very bloody, tired and hurt Kitana.

Catching her breath while lying on her back, her feet pointed toward the body of her slain enemy, she tilted her head backward to face Sesshomaru's dripping wet, immobile form, standing above her.

"I… don't want to… hear a single… word about… being born again…" she whispered as she panted for air, exhausted. A small smirk reached the taiyoukai lips as he watched his companion slowly lick her lips, and then bring a hand to her mouth, eagerly cleaning it from the blood that covered every finger and knuckle. Her other hand fell open on the sand, revealing the presence of a tainted jewel shard.

SSSSS

Inuyasha and his friends couldn't believe their eyes: Sesshomaru, the very same Sesshomaru who cared for no one but himself, was clearly trying to help Kitana in her fight against the giant dragon. They watched speechlessly as he plunged in the water, following after the beast had captured her.

"What the fuck is he doing?"

"Inuyasha, mind your language. There are kids here."

Kagome didn't want to express her anguish any further with the young Rin amongst them; after all, adults were supposed to be the strong ones around children so the little ones would always have someone to rely on in stressful events. It was hard, however, as her concern for Kitana was growing exponentially as her time spent underwater increased; and now that the taiyoukai had followed underneath the surface, she was also having thoughts about how to announce to a young girl that her beloved Lord Sesshomaru had died. What would happen to the child in that case, she wondered.

A humming sound then reached their ears and Kagome turned around, to see the little Rin seated sideway upon Ah-Un saddle, balancing her legs while she softly hummed a happy tune.

"Do not worry, Kagome-sama. Kitana-sama and Sesshomaru-sama are very strong, and they are great fighters. They will come back as soon as they are done with the dragon," said the young child with confidence.

"Rin-chan… You know Kitana? How?" asked a very curious Kagome.

"Oh yes I do. Rin knows Kitana very well. We all travel together, and she plays with Rin and with Lord Sesshomaru a lot! Since she arrived my Lord has a friend to play with, but she left us a little while ago. It is nice having her back with us, isn't it right master Jaken?"

Jaken was looking at the lake with panicked eyes, firmly grasping his staff of two heads in his small hands as he focused on the terrible fate that was to be his after his master's death.

"Argh, stupid human child! Don't you see that our great Lord Sesshomaru will be destroyed just because of this insufferable wench? Don't you see that I will be all alone by myself with him forever gone? Oh, cruel world, what will I do now that Lord Sesshomaru has faltered and perished?"

The bright laugh of the girl resonated into everyone's ears, very displaced in the dramatic events of the afternoon, but also soothing them and reducing somewhat their anxiety.

"Don't be silly, master Jaken. Lord Sesshomaru always returns."

Kagome's curiosity was fuelled even more by the child's words, but she did not have time to ask other questions. Her friend Sango gasped as before their eyes, Sesshomaru and Kitana had just reached the surface, before being once again attacked by the monstrous beast. This time though, things did not look good at all as while they tried to fly away from their attacker, Kitana fell and was swallowed by a very smug looking dragon.

"Stupid bastard! I told him only my backlash-wave could beat this thing, and of course he doesn't listen one bit! Serves him right," said Inuyasha, as he rested himself against his Tetsusaiga, planted in the sand. He eyed Kagome carefully though, he was just done cleaning himself from the grains of sand that covered his face and even entered his clothes. He certainly did not fancy having to do it all over again.

Kagome did not have time to react though, as the giant dragon emerged from the lake in tremendous pain, only to dash forward right to them. Miroku started undoing the prayer beads that sealed his wind tunnel, but he did not need it. As Sesshomaru reached the shore and Ah-Un took flight with his ward on his back, Inuyasha grabbed Kagome and Shippo and Kirara did the same with Sango and Miroku, and they all jumped hastily inside the woods at the end of the beach. Everyone surprisingly managed to get out of the way of the dying beast as it crashed on the sand.

In the forest, Inuyasha carefully unfurled his arms that were protecting Kagome. Stunned, she turned her large blue eyes toward him and smiled when she realized that once again, he had saved her life. And as she heard the muffled, infuriated screams of the little Shippo who was caught between them, she smiled even wider. Her eyes caught sight of Miroku and Sango, with a small Kirara on her right shoulder, who were clumsily walking toward them in the dense woods. The friends regrouped and, after making sure that no one was hurt, they carefully approached the huge form of the once glorious beast, eager to find out the cause of its demise.

SSSSS

Kitana froze as she recognized the energies of the approaching party: Kagome, Miroku and their weird group. A feeling of dread came to her as she understood the implications and she wished she could simply disappear from the scene. Sesshomaru would demand explanations, and those guys would certainly not keep their mouths shot. Apparently, she had just jumped from the cauldron into the frying pan.