Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for the few characters that I have invented to make my story possible. If there are any questions about the story refer to the end of chapter 15 or leave a signed review and I will answer it.
OK, this seriously was not my fault! I am very upset that I finished this hard chapter (for me) early (5pm west coast time USA) and still had to post it late because for some un-godly reason this website wouldn't let me upload it no matter how I did it and no matter what I used. So here it is and I am sorry it is late, though I remind you it is not my fault I did try to post it numerous times over the last two days.
Also I'm so sorry about the cookie last time. Damn thing didn't show and I was so sure that it would too. Oh well I tried. Now please bare with me and my horrible writing when it comes to fighting. Just pretend that there is some intense action going on with all the words being thrown back and forward and I'll try my best to put adequate action in.
Ch.21 The Final Battle
Arisugawa moved to Kagome's side as the soldiers took care of the remaining enemy force. She was breathing heavily and he placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her in case she fainted.
"Are you sure you are fully healed? Perhaps you should go back…"
"He is here. I feel him. It is going to end today, one way or another he will die today." She looked into Lord Arisugawa's eyes, "I have to do this and it has to be now."
"You are a very brave and strong woman Kagome but that won't save you. Give up, join me and you can get back at Inuyasha for betraying you and leaving you for Kikyou. All of this other stuff has nothing to do with you or the jewel, it between these lords. So do you want the jewel? I will give it to you if you come to my side now and pledge your loyalty to me." Naraku said landing about fifteen feet ahead of her.
"Really, all I have to do is pledge my loyalty?" Kagome asked taking a step forward and tilting her head questioningly.
He smiled licking his lips, "Yes, and I will give you the jewel."
"Kagome don't believe this hanyou, he is lying to you!"Kazuki yelled as he came out the miasma and heard Kagome ask Naraku if he meant it.
Inuyasha was in front of Kazuki and he looked hurt, "Kag…."
Kagome turned to face her left to see the two men, "Inuyasha, you have hurt me a lot since I arrived in this time."
She began to move forward returning her eyes to Naraku as everyone else watched her.
"You have continued to be rude, uncaring, and mean to me and my friends."
She took another step closer to Naraku as she continued, "You have continued to not return my love and instead sneak off at night to be with Kikyou."
She was getting closer. 'So close now…just a few more steps and I can end this without anyone else getting hurt.'
"You don't love me, you can't protect me, and you can't grant my wish. You never could."
She was only a few feet away now but she needed to get closer. She looked Naraku in the eyes slowing down so he wouldn't move away at her closeness.
"But he…Naraku can."
He froze shocked but none of it changed the huge grin on his face. He had won, she would join him and he wouldn't have to kill her instead he could use her to hurt Sesshomaru and Inuyasha and she would stand by or perhaps assist him as he killed them both.
She took the last step forward and quickly pulled out her dagger to deliver the killing blow.
+Incoherent Growling, Shouting, and Screaming+
*Slumping of a Body to the Floor*
+Feet Hitting the Ground as Multiple People Run+
*Metal Clashing with Metal*
"You little vixen, perhaps you are better fit to be at my side than you think." Naraku said looking to Kagome as his sword clashed with Sesshomaru's swords.
Kagome sat there in shock as blood covered her hands.
"Kagome, Heal him! Heal Inuyasha!" Arisugawa said worriedly as he laid Inuyasha out on the ground.
Everything had happened so quickly. One second she was going to stab and kill Naraku with her dagger and then….
'Inuyasha you idiot, why did you do it?!'
Inuyasha had run at Naraku and he jumped out the way seeing him. But what no one saw was Sesshomaru coming at Naraku from behind and instead of Naraku dyeing Inuyasha now laid in front of her bleeding from his wounds.
Inuyasha's hand came up to her face and he touched her cheek, "Kagome don't cry."
Was she crying she wondered, "I don't know if I can heal this."
He smiled, "I know you can Kagome. Don't let me die here before that bastard."
Kagome smiled sadly and placed her hands on his upper and lower chest and focused her energies and entire being to focus on healing Inuyasha and nothing else.
~*~*~*~
Sesshomaru swung Tokijin at Naraku but he jumped backwards. Sesshomaru quickly followed with his dragon strike (I don't remember this so well so I'm sorry if I'm wrong) to catch him off guard.
As the debris cleared Naraku stood still in the center of it all, "She would have died if it wasn't for Inuyasha. How would you have felt having her blood on your hands?"
"I wouldn't care."
"Well you seemed to be upset that I was convincing her to join me and that she was just about to do so."
"She would not betray me."
"Don't let her fool you. She is more conniving than you think and she is very convincing too, but after the way she was acting with me I can tell that you may know that more than I do."
Sesshomaru growled, "She means nothing to me and I care not for her conniving ways, it is human and they are predictable."
Swords clashed again and Naraku jumped back into the light of the sun. Before Sesshomaru could locate him again a ton of tentacles came at him from the sky. Sesshomaru moved dodging one after another as they hit and dug into the ground.
Then Naraku yelled from behind him coming at Sesshomaru with his sword. Sesshomaru parried his attack. And pushed the unsuspecting hanyou into his own tentacles that where still stuck in the ground. He crashed through them his body snapping those that he hit before he fell to the floor.
~*~*~*~
Kagome could feel all of her miko powers spilling into Inuyasha's body to heal him, 'Please work.' She thought desperately as she continued. She could feel the flesh pulling together and mending itself but there wasn't anything she could do about the blood loss. Then she lifted her hands sensing there wasn't much she could do left.
She then turned and looked at Lord Arisugawa, "You need to take him to Kikyou. She will know what to do now that I have healed the wounds. Please be careful."
Arisugawa nodded, "I will Kagome."
He then kneeled and lifted a now unconscious Inuyasha into his arms. Kagome felt sad at his appearance, he looked so weak in Lord Arisugawa's arms. 'Please Kami, let him live.'
Kagome watched Lord Arisugawa run off with Inuyasha and then she got up and looked to Lord Kazuki who had taken over commanding the soldiers taking care of those left who fought against them taking the Western Castle back.
Kazuki stopped, "Lady Kagome?"
"I'm going to where they went off to. I need to help Lord Sesshomaru kill Naraku. That is my responsibility."
Kazuki looked at the girl, 'No…woman' he corrected mentally who had endured so much in one day and even before that and he felt sorry for her to carry the burden that she did but there was nothing he could do. She had made up her mind and she would be the one to kill the hanyou and cleanse the sacred jewel and keep it safe once it was recovered.
"Good luck." He said with a nod.
Kagome smiled sadly and gave him a nod of her own before she turned and ran into the forest where the two youkai had disappeared.
~*~*~*~
Sesshomaru slowly approached the unmoving body of Naraku with a smirk. He would kill the filthy human that dared to believe he was a strong youkai because he took the bodies of lesser demons to build his own.
Sesshomaru stood over the apparently broken body of the hanyou and smiled before plunging his sword through the space that his heart should have been. Naraku smiled one last time before with a poof of smoke he revealed that it was only one of his puppets.
Sesshomaru growled and turned letting his senses reach out to find his prey and then, 'Damnable woman!' He though as he took off towards her scent.
Kagome was running when Naraku appeared in front of her and she suddenly came to a halt.
"So Kagome, how does it feel to have seen Inuyasha die? Was it better for you knowing that you aided in his demise and got to watch him die slowly? Now before we were interrupted you were going to join me." He said the last part gazing over her body and licking his lips.
Kagome took a step back, "I will only join you in death Naraku. This is your end."
His smile only grew though, "I don't want to be forceful but I don't want to kill you either so I guess I have no choice." He said the last part darting at her.
Kagome moved aside and took off running in zigzags. She unsheathed her sword when she got to a clearing and stopped to look around.
Silence.
She readied her sword, "I know you are there. Come let's get this over with."
Then tentacles came at her from the trees and she cut through them, "It will take more than that to defeat me!" She yelled into the empty clearing.
She heard his signature chuckle before his voice filled the air around her, "I don't wish to defeat you Kagome. Join me, come to my side and we can control all of these lands."
"You have never been one to have partners Naraku so I don't believe that you mean it this time either."
Then his voice and breath was at her ear, "I would for you miko."
She turned and swung her sword to only hit air. Then he grabbed her arms from behind and made her drop the sword, "I win, now will you join me? I don't want to be too forceful with you, I rather you submit to me really."
"Never, I rather die!"
He sighed, "Well have it your way then."
He then threw her forwards and she spun around to see a bunch of tentacles coming at her, she closed her eyes and with one last thought she imagined Sesshomaru and how he looked when she had seen him sleep.
She didn't feel the pain though as she hit the floor, at least not the stabbing pain of tentacles ripping through her flesh. Instead she felt her body hit the earth with a thud and a rib or two snapping.
Kagome opened her eyes gasping and looked around to see Sesshomaru standing before her, stabbed multiple times by the tentacles meant for her. She then watched as a surprised Naraku looked at him incredulously. Kagome then looked closer now noticing that one of Naraku's own tentacles was running right through his chest.
Sesshomaru then broke the tentacles that were in piercing into his chest and ran forward sword in hand. The next thing Kagome knew Naraku lay in a head, cut in two at Sesshomaru's feet.
"Purify him, make sure he is dead. The jewel he had should be left after you do."
Sesshomaru then moved aside toward the trees blood dripping onto the ground.
"But your wounds, Sesshomaru let me heal you!"
He turned his head to look at her, "Kill him first. I shall be fine."
She then got up and went over to the heap that was Naraku. She held her hand over the pile and used her purification powers to disintegrate his remains and as Sesshomaru had said all that was left was the rest of the Shikon-No-Tama.
She pulled out her jewel shards and lifted the partly complete jewel from the ground. She then put them near each other and with a flash of pink light the jewel was purified and complete. Kagome then placed the jewel in her kimono and moved to Sesshomaru's side.
"I am so sorry my Lord that I allowed this to happen. I should have protected myself better so that you wouldn't have had to get in the way to save me." Kagome said with her head bowed.
"You are in my service and as of such it is my duty to protect you."
Kagome continued to bow her head, "But you are injured because of me."
He could smell the salt tears and turned to face her, "I am not as badly injured as you believe Kagome."
"But still…"
He then lifted her chin, "You are forgiven. Would you like to see for yourself though that I am fine?"
Kagome looked in his eyes before saying blushing slightly, "Yes, I would like to see so that I can heal you."
Sesshomaru then lifted off his armor and began to remove his upper kimono. Kagome looked on anxiously waiting to see just how badly the stabs from Naraku's tentacles were. To her amazement though when his kimono was removed there were only some gashes and small cuts but for the most part he seemed fine.
"Are you satisfied miko?"
"No, I still need to heal you." She then placed her hands on his chest and used the remains of her powers to heal him.
When she was done she stumbled a bit but he caught her, "You shouldn't have used all your energy."
"It was worth it. I can't stand to see you or anyone else hurt because of me." She then fainted and he picked her up into his arms.
"You are truly a strange creature miko. That is one of the reasons that I believe that I have become so interested in you."
He moved to pick up his armor and then he carried her back to the encampment.
~*~*~*~
A/N: Well that's that. I hope my action wasn't too bad or so hard to get through. Please read and review. I love hearing from you all, and any feedback is welcome but please try to use constructive criticism if there was something bad/wrong/you didn't like.
-Vamp ^-^