Chapter 28
Kagome
I looked down at a sleeping Keiko and couldn't keep the smile off of my face. It has been a few weeks since I gave birth to her, and it was easy to see that she really was adored by all, especially her father.
If I wasn't his mate, I would be jealous of how much attention he gave our daughter. I ran a finger gently over my daughter's cheek before standing from my kneeled position. It was time to meet with the others.
All of us have felt this ominous feeling hovering over us, and we all believed the final battle was very near. I could only hope that we were right. So many lives depended on this battle being won, and I am tired of waiting for Kikyou to attack.
Seven years of dealing with Kikyou and Naraku, and all of his tricks, was enough. It was time to end this for real so we could all live our lives happily.
I started making my way down the hallway. The entire pack had already begun the meeting knowing that I needed to feed Keiko. I was a tad bit surprised to see Mattaki walking towards me.
"Mattaki, is the meeting over?" I asked, stopping in front of my mate.
"Uh, no. I just felt like seeing our child for a moment." He answered, catching me off guard.
Something didn't seem right with him. He wasn't speaking like he normally did, plus he always called Keiko 'pup,' not 'child.'
"Are you okay?" I questioned, looking him over.
"I am stressed. This war will be coming to an end soon and it is taking its toll." He replied, making me nod.
"Okay, well, I just put Keiko to bed so don't wake her up." I informed before standing on my tippy toes to kiss his lips gently. When I pulled away, I once again got the feeling that something wasn't right.
Mattaki didn't say anything. He just walked away. I watched him for a moment before turning and continuing on my way to the council room. The others would be waiting for me and Mattaki to return.
However, I was not expecting to open the door and see Mattaki sitting at the head of the table. Everyone looked at me while I stood frozen.
"I–I thought you said you were going to visit Keiko?" I whispered, my brain trying to figure out what exactly was going on.
"What are you talking about, Little One?" He asked, standing up from his chair and approaching me.
"In the hallway…"
"I have not left this room." He interrupted.
My eyes went wide and I looked at him. "Mattaki…Keiko." I whispered, my voice desperate.
In a matter of seconds, I was picked up and carried to the nursery. When we arrived, I ran immediately to the crib, and what I saw forced a terrified scream from my throat. Keiko was gone. There was no sign of her anywhere.
I hardly even heard the enraged snarl behind me as Mattaki realized what had happened. It took moments for the rest of the pack to come in the room with us. Small, feminine arms went around me, and somehow, I registered that Mom was trying to comfort me.
All I could do was stare at the empty crib, praying that my daughter was all right. Somewhere in the background, a feral Mattaki and Sesshomaru were giving orders to all that they could: servants, guards, noblemen, and the pack.
I reached out and placed a hand on the sheets that were still warm from my daughter's heat. She hadn't been gone long at all. I pulled the small blanket to my face, trying to keep the heat there. My daughter was gone.
I felt something crinkle against my hand in the blanket and I pulled it out, gasping at what I saw. It was a piece of parchment paper with a sickening note on it.
Dear Copy,
Thank-you for your daughter…and that kiss.
It wasn't signed, but it didn't need to be. Only one person ever called me 'copy,' and she was the one who ruined my life from the moment she took part of my soul.
"Kikyou." I whispered before abruptly standing.
"What?" InuYasha asked, looking horrified. I just handed him the note as I walked past, determined to reach my chambers. When I did, everyone continued to follow me in, all at a distance as if they were scared of me. I grabbed my quiver and placed it on my back before grabbing my bow.
"You kissed Kikyou?" InuYasha asked.
"Is that really the first thing you noticed?" I snapped before pushing past everybody. "I thought it was Mattaki."
"Miko, what are you doing?" Sesshomaru asked, coming to stand in front of me.
"Stand down, Sesshomaru. That bitch stole my daughter and I am going to get her back." I ordered, not caring if it pissed Sesshomaru off. I was alpha female of the pack which meant he had to listen to me.
"Kagome." Mattaki said, making me freeze.
"Do not tell me that I can't go after her." I growled through clenched teeth.
"I will do no such thing, however, you will not go alone." He stated. I was silent for a moment before nodding.
"Do what you want." I replied, walking past Sesshomaru. Whoever chose to follow could, as long as they didn't get in my way.
I didn't stop to see who was following me, but I knew who it was. For some unknown reason, InuYasha was the one who was coming with me to kill Kikyou. I just hoped he understood that there was no going back for his once-lover. She had kidnapped my child, and even I can't forgive that.
I'm not sure just how long we searched for any sign of the wretched woman. It was already pitch black outside, and if it wasn't for InuYasha's eyes, I would be having trouble just walking through the forest.
"Someone's coming." I announced when I felt something pushing against my aura. It confused me more than I would like to admit. I could tell it meant no harm to us, but it still felt terrified, as if it thought we were going to kill it.
"I feel it." InuYasha confirmed, coming to stand in front of me. I glared at him for a second before looking past him. I could hear stumbling footsteps coming our way before they suddenly stopped.
"Please don't shoot. The voice begged, and I instantly drew my bow. I knew who that voice belonged to.
"Ma?" InuYasha asked, just as surprised as I was. I watched as the tall woman stepped from the shadows, her eyes instantly meeting mine. She was holding her arms to her chest, and I could see blood dripping heavily to the earth beneath her.
"I couldn't let her do it. I couldn't let her kill someone so innocent." Izayoi whispered before moving her arms and revealing a wide awake Keiko.
Instantly, my bow fell to the ground and I ran towards the woman. She put up no fight as I took my daughter and began looking over every inch of her. When I was sure she was okay, I flared my aura, letting everyone know to find me.
"What happened?" I asked, looking over Izayoi and seeing that the blood was hers. She was wounded badly, and the way she was hunched over told me that she wouldn't last much longer. At this point, there was nothing that could be done.
"When I was resurrected, Kikyou told me that Mattaki had been brought back to life so we could have another chance. I foolishly believed her. You see, even though I betrayed him, I really did love Mattaki. Takemaru forced me to go along with his entire plan. He threatened InuYasha. He said he would kill my son the moment he was born so I did what I felt I had to." Izayoi explained, looking towards her son for a moment before looking towards me again. "Of course, Takemaru still killed me and InuYasha. When Kikyou brought me back, she told me that you were trying to steal Mattaki from me, and I believed her. It wasn't until I learned of all of her lies that I knew the truth and tried to leave. I was going to warn all of you but she caught me, then forced me to shoot Mattaki with that arrow. Do you think you can tell him? Tell him that I always loved him and that I am sorry I couldn't have been a better wife for him?"
"I am here." A baritone voice called out, making us all look behind me. Mattaki and Sesshomaru stepped from behind a few trees and joined us. At first, Mattaki eyed Izayoi suspiciously, but then he turned his attention to our cooing daughter.
His red eyes instantly returned to gold when her eyes met his, and he reached out slowly to pull her from my arms. He took his time checking over Keiko before handing her to Sesshomaru who repeated the action.
"I thank you, Izayoi, for returning my daughter to me." Mattaki stated, turning to the woman. "I heard your explanation, and I forgive you. After all, you were only trying to protect our son."
Izayoi nodded before falling to her knees. She moved her hand from her stomach and I gasped at the sight. It was covered in blood, and it was apparent she had been shot by an arrow. InuYasha was at her side instantly.
"Ma, you need help."
"There is no hope for me, my son. My time was done long ago, and I should never have been returned. I must tell you though, the danger you think is here, isn't." Izayoi panted as InuYasha helped her to her back.
"Tell us what we need to know." Mattaki ordered softly.
"There is no Naraku. You really did kill him, Kagome." She announced, making me gasp.
"But Miroku's curse! And Kanna! Everything points to Naraku being back!" I yelled, not understanding.
"I don't know anything you are asking, and I am sorry. All I know is that Kikyou is no longer in her right mind. She continues to talk to Naraku as if he is there, but he isn't. I do not know what happened for her to act like this, but she is a danger to all. You must defeat her." Izayoi stated, closing her eyes for a long moment before opening them again.
"Did she create an army?" I asked, looking at the woman and wishing there was something I could do to help.
"No. She tried, but any demon she approached refused to help her the moment they realized there was something wrong with her. That and they heard the tales of the Shikon Miko and didn't want to gain her wrath." Izayoi answered before reaching inside her haori. She pulled her hand back out and opened it to reveal the remaining Shikon no Tama. "Plus she can't do much now that I took this and the child."
"How did you get this?" InuYasha asked, taking the Jewel from his mother.
"When I learned that she planned to kill the child, simply to cause Kagome pain, I drugged her. I made her a tea that contained a plant that would make her sleep. It worked wonderfully…at first. It didn't work nearly as long as I had been hoping, and because of this, she was able to get a shot off on me. I still got away since she was too drugged to follow me. Knowing that she has now lost, I have no idea how she is going to react. You need to prepare yourselves." She whispered
"Thank-you, Izayoi. You have no idea how much your sacrifice means to us." I said, kneeling down beside her. Her hand shot up and grabbed mine, her eyes now full of desperation.
"Do what I couldn't. Protect Mattaki and InuYasha. Keep them safe and happy." She pleaded. I smiled at her and squeezed her hand in return.
"I always will." I promised. She looked at me for a moment longer before finally letting go. Slowly, her eyes closed and her hand fell from mine. I backed away as InuYasha grabbed his mother and buried his face in her long hair.
I could only watch as he grieved for his mother for the second time. It was hard seeing him hurting again, and I silently vowed that Kikyou would be brought to an end. It was time to settle everything so we could all move on with our lives.
After some time, Izayoi's body began to dissolve into tiny lights that floated upward until they could no longer be seen. I knew then that her soul had finally moved on and was now resting as she should have been from the beginning.
"Let us return to the shiro." Mattaki ordered, looking at his son with saddened eyes. I knew he was feeling slight pain from watching his ex-wife die, and I couldn't blame him. Even I was upset at her death, but at least it had not been in vain.
Mattaki and Sesshomaru used their orbs to get us home quicker, and the moment we landed, Mattaki took Keiko from his eldest. He looked at me for a moment but didn't say anything. I knew he wanted me to follow him so I silently did, taking one last look at InuYasha who was searching for Kanna. He needed her right now.
When we finally reached our rooms, I shut the door behind me. I didn't even have time to turn around before my mate had me in his arms. His entire body was shaking and his face was buried in my neck, our daughter being held in between us.
I let him hold on to me until he calmed down enough to speak. I knew he wasn't crying, but being an Inu Yokai like he was, our daughter being kidnapped had bothered him just as much as it had bothered me.
"She's okay, Mattaki." I whispered, running my hands through his hair.
"I failed. She should not have been taken, yet I did not even notice the presence of that woman." He replied.
"No one did. I didn't even notice the Jewel, and I talked to her. What happened was no one's fault except Kikyou's, and she will get what's coming to her." I soothed, nuzzling into his thick neck. About that time, Keiko began to whimper and I couldn't help but smile.
Mattaki pulled back slightly and looked down at our daughter who was reaching for me. I knew what was wrong and grabbed her so I could sit on our bed and begin feeding her. As she suckled on my breast, Mattaki looked over both of us before kneeling before me, one of his hands on Keiko's head, the other on my knee.
"I will never allow anything to happen to her again, Kagome. Nor will I allow any harm to come to you. You two, plus my sons, are the most important things to me, and I will do what is needed to ensure your safety. This is my promise to you." He declared, his golden eyes looking as if they were on fire.
I leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "That is a promise I know you will keep."
He sighed before getting up from the floor and sitting on the bed beside me. "What of the Jewel?"
"I will merge the two pieces and purify it. Eventually, Kikyou will attack, and I don't want to take any chances of her getting it back. It is time for it to be gone, once and for all." I answered, pulling out the half of the Jewel Izayoi had given me and looking at it.
Mattaki grabbed my hand and curled my fingers around the thing, making me look at him. "It is an excellent plan, Little One. I know you will succeed. Kikyou is of no worry. If what Izayoi told us is correct, she will be taken care of quite easily."
"I know, but I worry about InuYasha. He just lost his mom again, and he's about to lose Kikyou again." I whispered.
"Don't worry about me, Wench." InuYasha interrupted, walking into the room. Mattaki let out a low growl before grabbing a blanket and placing it over my feeding pup. InuYasha, noticing this, mumbled an apology before looking away and blushing.
"We are here to see the destruction of the Shikon no Tama." Sesshomaru stated, walking into the room with the entire pack behind him.
"And I want to see my granddaughter." Mom added, coming to sit on the other side of me and moving the blanket slightly so she could peek at Keiko.
"Mattaki?" I asked, and he knew what I wanted. He stood and walked to our bedside table, opened a tiny box, and pulled out the rest of the Jewel. He looked at it for a moment before placing it in my hand.
I closed my hand and pooled my reiki into my palm. Instantly, I felt the two pieces join together, and when I opened my hand once more, there sat a purified Shikon Jewel. I held my hand out and narrowed my gaze on the tiny thing that had caused so much destruction.
"Shikon no Tama, I order you to disappear!" I commanded. At first, nothing happened, and then a bright light formed in my hand. I could feel Mattaki covering me and Keiko with his body as I looked away from the too bright light.
After a moment, the light finally subsided, and we all looked at my hand. It was empty. The Jewel was no more.
-sSs-
Mattaki
I looked out at the clearing in front of us. My entire pack stood at the ready, staring down the one woman who dared to challenge us all.
Kikyou.
"So, you have come?" I asked, looking at the woman with disgust.
"Of course I did. I want the Jewel back." Kikyou stated calmly even though I could see her entire body trembling. Whether from fear or insanity, I wasn't sure.
"I have a few questions first." InuYasha started, going along with the plan we had made a few days prior. "I have convinced them to make a deal with you. If you tell us what we want to know, and promise not to mess with us any longer, we will give you the Jewel. Kagome no longer wants it. She has a family now, and that thing is way too much trouble. "
"Ask what you must." Kikyou replied, almost looking eager.
"Why? Why did you pretend to love me?" InuYasha asked.
"You were in the way. I needed to get you to leave so I could use the Jewel for Onigumo. After he became Naraku, I wanted to make him human again. The moment he took in those demons, he changed. However, you showed up to take the Jewel so you could become a full demon. I didn't want to kill you so I did the next best thing." Kikyou answered, shrugging her shoulders.
"How did you return my wind tunnel?" Miroku cut in, stepping forward.
"Naraku passed on the spell to me. He told me if I desired to use it, I could. So, I did." She answered, then waved her hand. Miroku gasped before removing his sacred beads and revealing a wind-tunnel-free hand.
"We know Naraku isn't alive." Kanna started, looking at the woman with hatred. "How did you make me see memories of him that weren't really true?"
"It was a backup plan. I knew there was a chance that Kagome could release you from my hold. So, I set up false memories. If she succeeded, you would think you had been working for Naraku when you were really working for me. It worked brilliantly, too." Kikyou replied, looking as if she didn't care at all. The disgust I felt for this woman was growing with every passing second.
"Why did you wait?" Kagome started. "Why did you wait five years to attack us? You had everything you wanted. All those times you tried to kill me before Naraku's death, you told me you wanted InuYasha. You had him. Why did you do what you did?"
"You really think I had InuYasha?" Kikyou asked, her anger spiking. "I convinced him to mate with me just so you would suffer! You killed my true mate, and I wanted you to feel how it felt to have something taken away from you like that! Imagine my surprise when InuYasha's mating mark didn't take. I made Kanna tell you it was because my body was dead, but the truth is, I wasn't you! Even with you out of the picture, that half-breed still only thought of you! He was supposed to be mine!"
By now, Kikyou was screeching so loud, it was hurting my ears. The way her eyes flared and her hands shook, I could see exactly what Izayoi had been speaking of. This woman was no longer coherent.
"Then he thought you were dead. I knew the truth because my soul never returned to me. You had to have been alive. I didn't tell him that though. It had been my hope that he would forget about you. Of course, that never happened. Even in 'death,' he still thought of you. I never could win! My copy always took everything from me! It took five years before I could no longer deal with that…mutt. So, I began to plan, and it worked, too. You did everything that I wanted. Of course, I hadn't planned on the overbred dog returning, but I made it work. All of it worked, and I–"
In a matter of seconds, a red blur suddenly shot past us, and when it went still, what we saw shocked us all. InuYasha had charged forward, and his hand now penetrated the dead miko's chest. Her eyes looked at him with such shock, she had to have mirrored our own. InuYasha pulled his hand away and watched as Kikyou fell to the ground, her eyes never leaving his.
"Why?" She asked, her voice raspy.
"You are not the Kikyou I fell in love with. I guess that Kikyou doesn't exist since she wasn't real. You played with my heart, Filth, and now, I will play with yours." InuYasha answered, squeezing the organ that had been in his hand since the moment he pulled it away from her.
As he squeezed the life out of it, Kikyou screamed in pure agony. Kagome turned away from the scene and I pulled her to me, covering her ears as best as I could. No matter what, Kagome would never want to see this.
Finally, the screaming died down, and InuYasha dropped the lifeless heart to the ground beside the fallen Kikyou. I released Kagome as we watched her body dissolve into many small lights, just like Izayoi's. The only difference this time was, instead of going towards the sky, they shot towards Kagome, entering her body.
She gasped and her aura shot out, feeling much different than it ever had before, and it was obvious that her soul was now complete. When I was sure she was okay, I looked towards InuYasha who held sad, but determined, eyes.
"It's over. This time, it is really over." He whispered before turning and walking away, a worried Kanna following him.
No one said anything, all shocked and thinking on his words. It would take some time, but he would heal. And no one could argue what he said. It was finally over.
-sSs-
Here is the final chapter. I know the whole ending with Kikyou wasn't much, but she had nothing left, and had lost her mind, so it would be easy to kill her. I will be posting an epilogue soon and then starting a new story that is a Sess/Kag pairing. I am sorry about how long it took me to get this chapter out. Along with daily life getting in my way, I have been trying to finish off some of my other stories. With the next chapter, all of my stories will be completed except for one. I hope you all enjoyed, and I will try my best to get the epilogue out quickly for you.
Shout-outs:
Motionless17: Thank you for your review. I hope you can forgive me for taking so long to update.
LADY SILVERFOX: Thank you for your review, your story was funny. Lol. Unfortunately no, there will be no more pranks. Not only is this story coming to an end, a few people didn't like my pranks.
RedDrake323: The new pairing will be Sess/Kag, as always. Lol. It will have the kami's, and new people and quite a few things with it. Thank you for your review, I am glad you liked it.
Whovian212: I will continue writing stories, until I no longer have any ideas. Lol. Considering most of my stories come to me in dreams, it is unlikely that I will run out any time soon.
Victoria Cullen34: Thank you for your review, I am glad that you liked my last chapter.
Decadenceofmysoul: I am glad you liked what I did with Sesshomaru and Kagome. Thank you for your review.
LazuriteSix: Hey, we all have our fears, lol. Sesshomaru just didn't know how to handle a pup.
DarkAngel8605: InuYasha and Kanna will mate, but it will only be mentioned in the epilogue. The same with Sesshomaru and Rin having a pup. I don't think I will do a sequel with this story, just because there is not much more I can do with it.
DogDemoness108: Thank you for your review and I am glad that you like it so much.
Slvrphoenx: As I am sure you have noticed with my stories, I tend to have dramatic births. Lol. I don't know why, but I always write them like that.
Alucardgal: I am glad that you have been enjoying my story. I hope my update didn't come too late for you, and I promise I will try my best to update the last chapter quickly.
Lunamoon0320: I'm sorry that it has taken so long for this to come out, I'm glad you still like my story though. I currently have a beta at the moment, who does wonders, however if a time comes that I need another, I will keep you in mind, Thank you for the offer.
Macwag5: You're fine with pointing that out, I already had it planned out that way. While I write, I make sure to keep track of any loopholes I find in my stories. I reread them constantly while I am writing them, this way I can keep track of all that I need to. I hope this chapter answered your question about the loophole you found, this had been my plan all along, which is why Naraku was never seen in the story.
HokusKaeru49: I am glad you liked this story so much. I hope you continue to like it through to the next chapter as well. Thank you for your review.
I do not own InuYasha.
