The Spell

*Unfortunately, I do not own Inuyasha and Company. Rumiko Takahashi does. (Except Koneko, she's mine.)

Sesshoumaru summoned his whip of acid to flick at the demons in front of him. They had followed the flame to a warehouse on the other side of town. He and Yuuko hadn't hesitated in rushing in. Inside, they found a dozen of demons of various kinds, all displaying signs of being claimed. As soon as they entered, the demons attacked.

He felt a flash of purifying energy behind him and spared a glance back. Kagome was holding a metal rod she had apparently found on the ground. It glowed pink as she swung it around to hit a Sai demon, knocking him back. Inuyasha stood as close as he could to her, stopping those who tried to attack her from behind. Behind them, Sango and Miroku teamed up against a pair of Tora demons. He had to admit, the humans could hold their own.

To his right, Satomi would lunge forward to strike and then dance back as Shippo distracted them with fox fire. To the left were Kouga and Ayame who ran around, too fast for any demon to get a hold of them.

Sesshoumaru wrapped his whip around the Wani demon in front of him to fling her away and marched forward towards Yuuko. He could smell blood, Koneko's blood, and his eyes bled red in anger.

Yuuko was in a similar state, knocking out a Shiroitachi with a punch to the face. When he joined her, the two of them turned towards a nearby door, the source of the smell, just in time to see it open.

The Tokage from earlier stepped out first, but he didn't rush forward to attack. Instead, he stepped to the side to reveal Naraku who held a dagger to Koneko's throat.

She really didn't look good. She was pale which contrasted the blood staining her dress. Naraku appeared to be holding her up as she seemed weak and dazed, likely from blood loss. But her eyes immediately found his, not yet glazed over from being claimed.

"Well, hello," Naraku greeted with a smirk. "Would you look at this." He gestured towards the two of them. "Cats and dogs working together. Seems impossible."

Sesshoumaru ignored the strange emphasis he placed on the last word and stepped forward with a snarl. "Let her go."

Naraku pressed the dagger into Koneko's throat, making her whimper. "Now, now. I can't do that quite yet. You got here a little sooner than I expected, I haven't had time to claim her yet."

Sesshoumaru was about to say something back when Yuuko spoke up. "'Sooner than you expected?'"

He smirked. "Ah, yes." He turned his head slightly towards the Tokage, not taking his eyes off the two of them. "Do it now."

They raised their hands to defend themselves, but the Tokage didn't move towards them. Instead, he took a deep breath and roared. For a split second, there was silence as those behind them paused. But then there was a crash as a multitude of demons lept out of the places they had been hiding.

Yuuko and Sesshoumaru spun around to see the demons swarming their friends. Even Kouga and Ayame weren't fast enough to avoid them all. Only Kagome remained untouched, projecting enough energy to keep the demons at a safe distance. But everyone else was in danger of quickly being overwhelmed.

The Tokage took advantage of their distraction to rush forward and tackle Sesshoumaru, pushing them into the fight. Yuuko was soon forced to follow as demons surrounded her and pulled her away from Naraku and Koneko.

"Isn't it wonderful?" he asked excitedly, watching the fight. "Demons and humans fighting together. A Miko even! All the impossibilities."

Koneko watched in horror as her friends and family started losing ground. Sango and Miroku joined Kagome, the only ones who could approach her, and helped her preserve her energy by fighting the demons surrounding them. But it was clear she couldn't maintain that level of power for much longer. Inuyasha had joined Satomi and Shippo, the three back-to-back but slowly accumulating injuries. Kouga and Ayame ran over to Sesshoumaru and Yuuko, but they couldn't reach them before several demons blocked their way, forcing them to stand and fight.

Yuuko and Sesshoumaru fought well together. He would strike at enemies with his whip and she would swipe at their legs, bringing them down. But there were too many demons for the two of them to handle. One managed to land a hit on Yuuko, causing her to bleed from a cut in her cheek. Sesshoumaru also received a hit on his arm, the demon doing a fair amount of damage before being burned with acid.

Naraku wiped some of the blood off Koneko's neck as they watched the fight. "It's time to do what I meant to do a long time ago." He pressed his lips against the wound and hissed the ancient words, her mind translating, "This half-demon is under my control…"

Her mind rebelled, even as her body stayed still with the dagger still pressed against her neck. No, this isn't right. This can't be happening! "No!"

The last word came out of her mouth and reverberated around the room. It was only when everything went silent that she realized she had spoken in the same ancient language as the claim. That word and her natural power had caused everything to still.

"What?" Naraku whispered.

Koneko quickly found her feet and managed to pull away from Naraku and the dagger. She turned, a bit unsteady but determined, and faced him. "I said, no." Again, the word echoed around the room, causing everyone to shudder.

"How…?"

"No more," she continued, the ancient language flowing out from her as she crafted her spell. "No more will you steal away control from others, no more will you claim them." There was a stir of movement from behind her which she ignored.

Naraku stumbled back in shock, staring wide-eyed behind her before looking back at her. "You can't do this! It's impossible!"

She growled at him. "Fuck your impossibilities." The darkness of the language felt heavy on her tongue as she continued, "Your power is forfeit. For the rest of your life, you will be weak." He gripped his chest and gasped. "And most importantly, you will never come near me or my family ever again!"

As her final words rang through the room, Naraku seemed to shrink, becoming meeker before their eyes. There was a beat of silence as he just stared at her, appearing truly afraid. Then he sprinted away as quickly as he could.

Her friends watched as the now free demons followed suit, leaving the building in swarms. It didn't take long before only the ten of them remained standing there.

It took a moment for Koneko to turn towards the others. Her movement was sluggish, and when she looked at them, her eyes were pitch black. Most of them took a step back, still rattled by her dark spell. But Yuuko and Sesshoumaru very slowly approached her. She watched them blankly.

"Koneko?" Yuuko asked quietly. "Are you alright?"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath… and then swayed dangerously. Sesshoumaru quickly caught her before she fell, Yuuko close behind. But when Koneko opened her eyes again, they were her natural purple.

"Yeah," she murmured. "I think I'm okay now."

*Sai means rhino, Tora means tiger, Wani means alligator/crocodile, Shiroitachi means ferret