Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, just my oc
Naraku evilly laughed at the group as he hovered above them all. They glared at him from the opening of the Great Dog Demon's skeleton. He had just obtained the shard from the same demon that attacked the shinigami. Naraku was present the entire time. He was there when Kagome and the shinigami first located the shard, and he was at Hisoka's castle. Naraku overheard every single plan the lord's made and was always a step ahead of them. He used Shiori to his advantage and let her take care of the demon lords while he waited for Kagome to find the fragment.
Now, Naraku was taunting the group as he held the lost shard in front of him. He was attempting to drown them all in a sea of miasma, but Kagome and Emi kept the area purified. It was becoming harder and harder to purify the area because Naraku's miasma greatly increased. He had sensed that Shiori was taken to hell along with Hisoka. So Naraku took that moment to try and make his escape.
"Naraku you bastard!" screamed Inuyasha. "Do you really think you can get away?"
"Unlike you, I'm the only one who can leave this place. I don't need Shiori's aid, but you do," he jeered. "And she's already been sent to Hell. Without her, you can't return to the land of the living."
"She went to Hell?" thought Emi. "Oh no, she must be trying to rescue her father."
"Don't you realize it, Inuyasha?" he questioned. "I've already won. You will all be forever trapped in the Netherland!"
Just then a swirl of light appeared on the horizon—it was Sesshomaru and company. Naraku stared in shock. Everyone else looked to see what was coming. They too were surprised.
"It's Shiori….and Sesshomaru?" baffled Kagome. "What's he doing here?"
"Lord Sesshomaru, what are you doing?" she suspiciously asked.
She noticed he was flying towards the tomb instead of after Naraku. Shiori let go of him as he landed directly in front of Inuyasha. Before Inuyasha could speak, he punched in the face by Sesshomaru. Inuyasha went sliding back into the wall.
"Inuyasha!" cried Kagome as she rushed over to him.
"Was that absolutely necessary?" Shiori bleakly asked. "I thought we just talked about not engaging in foolish games with Inuyasha!"
"Punishment for defiling our father's grave," he coldly answered.
"That hellhound…."
Sesshomaru shook Jaken off and flew up to Naraku. He looked at the demon coolly.
"Vermin…" he hissed.
"Sesshomaru, didn't expect to see you here," said Naraku darkly. "Did you come to save your little brother? Or did you come to rescue your beloved mate?"
"I came to finish you."
"And Shiori, I thought you went to Hell," wondered Naraku as he loomed down at Shiori.
"I did," she said bluntly. "But obviously, I've returned."
"Those underworld goons were true fools," Naraku jeered. "Not once did they sense my energy. What total mockeries they were—all of them."
"You say that, but yet…you still hid yourself from them. You hid like the coward you truly are," Shiori fired back.
"Hmph, so you still think of me as a coward, eh?" he questioned. "I see your recent victories have swelled that overconfidence of yours."
"If you are not a coward, then step out of your barrier," she ordered.
"Feh, I see no reason to do such a thing," he spat.
"Then I'll have to be broken," she threatened.
"I'd like to see you try….."
"Enough of this," Sesshomaru impatiently said while drawing his weapon.
Sesshomaru and Naraku battled on while the rest watched from the tomb. Shiori turned back to the rest of the group.
"Shiori!" sang Emi happily, "You're okay! Wait, what happened to the gash in your chest?"
"….long story," answered Shiori.
"How did you destroy the last demon lord?" asked Miroku.
"That's also a long story," she said.
"How did you escape the depths of Hell?" wondered Sango.
Shiori sighed, "okay…..one day, when were not all involved in a life or death situation, I'll tell you everything. But right now we need to stop that disgusting creature!"
"Well, can you at least tell us where that bastard came from?" Inuyasha angrily asked as he vigorously pointed at Sesshomaru. He was still rubbing his cheek.
"Uh…that part I have yet to figure out," Shiori admitted. "It never came up in a conversation."
"Never came up in a—that should've been the first thing you talked about!" shouted Inuyasha.
"She must've been so happy to see him, that she didn't even think about how he got here," thought Kagome.
"If you must know, we came through a gateway shone to us by Kagura," informed Jaken.
"Kagura?"
"Hey Kid," said a voice from behind them all. "Can you still fight?"
Everyone turned around. Behind them was an enormous demon skull. It was the same demon that attacked them earlier, Housenki. It was also responsible for attacking the approaching shinigami. The old demon became tainted when it grabbed hold of the shikon fragment. But since Naraku stole the shard, the old demon returned to normal. Now he was offering his aid to Inuyasha in order to make things right.
"You must cut me," said Housenki. "Once you've done, tessaiga will obtain my power."
"That's right, if you slay a strong demon with tessaiga, it will absorb that demon's power," said Kagome.
"If I cut you…then what happens to you?" wondered Inuyasha.
"Hmph," scoffed the demon. "You worry about others at a time like this? It is you who will lose your life in this place…do you have that much courage? If you aren't worthy of owing the fragment….then you will have no chance of cutting me."
"Well hearing that changes my mind," snapped Inuyasha bearing his sword. "Kagome, stand back!"
Inuyasha tried to slice the skull, but it wouldn't break. Instead, shards of adamant came flying out. Everyone ducked for cover. It would seem that cutting the skull wasn't gonna be that easy. Meanwhile, Naraku kept taunting Sesshomaru through his barrier. At one point, he even extended his body outside of the barrier and attacked Sesshomaru with the miasma. Of course, the demon lord was unaffected, but everyone one else was in grave danger.
"There's too much miasma," said Emi, desperately fighting back the miasma.
Shiori stepped in to help, but she too was having trouble. Naraku's miasma seemed to be getting stronger with each encounter. Even she was affected by the poison…..though, only slightly.
"Kagome!" she called. "Your sacred arrows!"
"I can't, I don't have any more left."
"Eh? What about that one?" asked Jaken pointing to the arrow in her quiver.
"I can't use that one, it's sorta rejecting me," said Kagome. "I don't know why Kikyo's arrow is rejecting me like this. Every time I go to touch it, it shocks my hand…."
Shiori looked at the arrow, "The power infused in that arrow…..it doesn't feel like Kagome's energy. It feels more like…..Kikyo's? But how, she was killed by Naraku."
Inuyasha turned away from the skull and went to help his friends. He ordered them to step away from the miasma.
"I'll take care of this stuff!" he said as he prepared to whirl tessaiga.
"Weren't you going to cut me and strengthen your sword?" asked Housenki. "Do you not want my power?"
"Shut it!" he snapped. "I'll deal with you next."
"So you care more about the lives of your friends, than you do about gaining power?"
Inuyasha was irritated, "I have more important things to right now! Windscar!"
Naraku looked down as he saw Inuyasha's oncoming power surge.
"Hmph, you pushed back the miasma with your windscar. It's not more than a temporary solution," he arrogantly stated.
But the evil smirked was wiped clean from his face. A large adamant shards ripped through his barrier and attacked his body. How had the tessaiga learned the old skulls diamond attack? Everyone watched as Inuyasha's sword turned to diamond.
"You have passed my test," said Housenki. "If you were driven by desire and only cared for strengthening your sword….the diamond fragments you were showered with would've killed you. But because you desired to save your friends more, they did not….."
"That demon skull," noted Shiori. "It's broken in half."
"You may now inherit my power, the adamant barrage," it said.
Inuyasha looked up and realized that Naraku was trying to escape.
"You won't get away!" he hollered swinging his sword. "Adamant barrage!"
Giant slices of diamonds expelled forward and pierced Naraku's body. The group watched in awe as he cringed with absolute pain.
"Damn you!" Naraku cursed.
"It seems you no longer have the power to create a barrier," observed Sesshomaru. "And now I shall deliver the finishing blow!"
Sesshomaru swung tokijin with such force, that Naraku's body was left shredded into pieces.
"vanishing?" pondered Sesshomaru.
Kagome looked back at her last arrow. Would it reject her this time? She decided to risk it and grabbed for it anyway. This time, she was able to pull it out and line it on the bow.
"I can't let him get away with that shard," she thought while aiming for Naraku's shikon shard. "Hit the mark!"
Kagome fired her arrow and it soared through the sky. Naraku's eyes widened as it hit the shard, nearly purifying him whole. A bright pink light exploded through the air. Once the explosion subsided, Naraku and Kikyo's arrow were nowhere to be seen. He escaped…..but barely. Shiori jumped up and caught the falling shikon shard. She marveled at how pure it had become.
"Even after all of that….Naraku is still alive," she thought. "It's because of his heart….If he hadn't discarded into another incarnation, then that attack would've killed him. But where is this hidden incarnation? We have to destroy it….."
Sesshomaru floated next to her, "now…..it's over."
She felt more presences zooming towards them. Hundreds, if not thousands, of shinigami were rapidly approaching. The others felt them coming also.
"As much as it pains me to say this," said Shiori with annoyance. "It's still not over yet."
She feared that the shinigami were followers of the dark lords. If that were true, then they were definitely seeking revenge. Inuyasha, Kagome, and Jaken floated next to them on Shippo. Sango and Miroku came out on Kirara.
"So, these guys still wanna fight huh?" said Inuyasha. "Heh, fine by me. I'm itching to try out my new move again!"
"Why does he always have to become so cocky after tessaiga learns a new ability?" thought Kagome.
Shiori was ready too; she already had her sword drawn. Isao emerged from behind the front line and glided towards her. The others stared at the mysterious shinigami.
"Father? What's the meaning of this?" she asked.
"So that's Shiori's father?" pondered Emi. "She looks like him, minus the reddish eye color."
"You're right," agreed Kagome. "She does."
"These men wanted to pay their respects to you, for stopping the evil demon lords' rampage," said Isao to Shiori. "And they would like to offer gratitude to you all for getting Naraku out of their lands. They are greatly appreciative."
"Pay their respects?" she asked. "You act as though I'm some deity. I was simply doing my duty."
"But you are, my lady. You're our angel." said one of the shinigami.
"Eh?" said a flustered Shiori. "You have it all wrong, I'm not an angel; I'm part tennin. People constantly confuse tennin with angels, but they aren't the same thing."
"Yeah, this girl's nowhere near an angel," though Jaken rudely.
"Oh, but you are," said the shinigami. "You're our angel. You don't know how long we've waited for someone to come free us of the dark lord's reign. But you did it."
Inuyasha couldn't help but think back to when Shiori defeated Reika. This was almost like that same scene.
"Is is me, or has Shiori become some kinda evil tyrant?" he whispered to Miroku.
"You noticed it too? Oh, most definitely," he complied. "First she over through the tennin monarch, and now the shinigami monarch. I wonder who she'll conquer next."
Shiori shot them a deadly look over her shoulder. Both men silently froze.
"I think she heard us," whispered Miroku loudly, trying not to move.
"No shit!" snapped Inuyasha, he was also staying perfectly still.
Their plan worked. Shiori turned away from them and back to the shinigami. They were safe for the time being.
"For what you have done," announced the head shinigami, "We will always hold you in a high regard. You've freed us of those treacherous beings and ensured us a safe passage to nirvana. We can't thank you enough."
"They're very proud of you," said Isao putting his hand on Shiori's shoulder. "And so am I, my daughter. I couldn't be more proud. And not only because of that….but you've also accepted the truth. You finally accepted my love."
"Of course Father, would I have come this far if I hadn't?" she beamed at him.
Isao looked over at Sesshomaru. He was still silently hovering beside her.
"And I see you've also accepted your own feelings of love," he thought.
She couldn't even speak as she took in all of the praises.
"Shiori, there are many shinigami abilities that you can't perform, and due to you being of half blood," said Isao. "Just as there are many tennin abilities you can't perform…..but you've learned to work against your limitations. You've learned to combine both your powers together. It's possible that in the future you'll learn abilities that neither tennin, nor shinigami can perform."
"Really?"
"Of course, that depends only on you," he said.
"We've all agreed that we want you to be our new leader," said another one of the men. "We are in need of one and want you to be our queen."
"My sister's going to be queen?" marveled Emi.
"That's very kind of you," said Shiori generously. "But right now, I don't have the proper mindset to rule over such a vast land. You'll need a leader with a deep understanding of the way things work here. One that has great respect for the dead, as well as the living."
She stopped and looked at Isao, "someone who's not afraid to take great risks for the things they love, no matter how many times they've been beaten…..someone with deep wisdom. Father, you shall be king."
Everyone gasped. Was Shiori really giving up her throne to her father?
"It's true that I defeated the lords," said Shiori. "But I didn't do it alone. I had help from my companions…..I had help from souls of the dead."
She opened her palm and revealed the shikon jewel, "They even managed to take back the shard that was lodged in this world on their own. If you're going to crown me ruler, you'd have to crown them as well."
"But you were the one that brought them here," he said. "You opened the portal."
"Even so, I'm not the one who should be ruling this land. I didn't do any of this alone," she said. "Father, you told me I was the only one capable to stopping the lords. And for a long time….I believed that. But it wasn't until my companions got mixed in everything, that I realized….it just wasn't true. I never had to fight alone."
Shiori glanced over to Sesshomaru, who was already looking at her, "I had allies."
"Is she really refusing the throne," thought Isao.
"Father, I really think you'd be a better fit for this place than I," she said.
"Shiori, are you absolutely sure?" he asked.
"Of course I am," she responded. "I trust you Father."
He looked at her, then back to the shinigami. Would they go for it?
"The Lady has spoken!" cried one of the voices. "The High Lord Isao shall be ruler of netherworlds, and his daughter Shiori, shall be Princess of the Netherworlds, the Angel of Darkness."
"The what?" shrieked Shiori. "That's not what I wanted!"
"So she went from being a queen to a princess all in one instant?" remarked Miroku.
"You don't have to go Shiori, you can stay here and rule over these lands?" asked Isao. "These are your lands as well now."
"I can't," she answered. "My place is in the living world. I still have one more foe to defeat…..we all do."
He nodded, "I thought you might say that. So I'll send you all on your way…..but know that you always have a place here."
"Father, no offense, but knowing I have a place in the underworld isn't exactly…..comforting." She said bleakly.
He pulled her into a hug. Shiori rested her head on her father's shoulder. She didn't know the next time she'd ever see him. Now that he was ruler of the Netherworld, he would most definitely be very busy. Shiori could feel her father's sorrow. He was truly sad to see her go. The entire time, Sesshomaru didn't say anything about what was going on. He was surprised that Shiori chose not to stay behind…..and a little bit relieved. She let go of her father and Shiori's vision started to get fuzzy. Everyone's did.
"What's going on?" asked Kagome.
"Shiori's father is sending us back to our world," said Miroku.
"Farewell my daughter," rang Isao's voice. "Farewell my princess. You've made us all very proud."
With a flash of light, the entire group was standing in a field, basing in the sunset. Shiori and Sesshomaru were standing next to each other. She looked down at the shard in her hand and walked over to Kagome.
"Take this," she said.
Kagome took the shard from Shiori and examined it. She couldn't believe they got it back from Naraku. Inuyasha was busy examining his new diamond balde
"And now it's over," said Shiori to Sesshomaru. "Officially this time."
"We still have Naraku to defeat," said Inuyasha. "And with my skill it should be a piece of cake! Heh!"
"Still arrogant I see," said Kagome eyeballing him.
"To do that, his heart must be destroyed," said Shiori. "Destroying his body will do nothing. It will only regenerate each time."
"Kikyo said the same thing," said Inuyasha.
"So I was right," thought Shiori. "She's still alive."
"Come on," he said. "We might still be able to catch on to his trail. He was already severely weakened."
Kagome sighed, "I guess now he thinks he can take on anyone now."
"Now? Haven't things always been this way?" said Sango.
"Well, I must be off now," said Emi. "I'm sure everyone's worried sick about me back home. I didn't tell anyone where I was going…but then again, I guess I didn't really know where I was going anyway."
She giggled lightly.
"Good-bye my sister…er, I mean princess!" she teased.
"Please don't call me," said Shiori blandly.
Emi squeezed Shiori tightly before quickly letting go.
"Oh no, I didn't hurt you did I?" asked Shiori with concern. "I forgot about the chest wound."
Shiori glared, "It was healed, remember? And even if it wasn't, that would've been incredibly painful!"
"Oh, I'm sorry….I didn't mean to upset you. You've been kinda mad at me ever since I knocked you unconscious,"
Inuyasha and his group all face palmed. Why would she bring that up?
"You…." She said with animosity. "I forgot about that little incident! Come here!"
She tried to grab Emi, but she moved out of her reach.
"Ah, but you already got me back my knocking me unconscious…..remember?" she asked.
"Yes….but I never got a chance to break your arm!" she hollered.
"Oops, that's my cue to fly!" said Emi floating above everyone. "Good-bye all! Good luck with your quest on defeating Naraku!"
"Emi! You can run all you want, but remember…I know where you live!"
Emi giggled softly before flying off to the sacred lands.
"Wow, you really are an angel of darkness!" jeered Inuyasha.
She death glared the young half demon.
"We should head off too," said Kagome. "This has been a long tiresome adventure for all of us."
Miroku and Sango nodded in compliance. Even Kirara was worn out. She was sleeping in Sango's arms. They said their farewells to Shiori and left…..but not before Inuyasha teased the new "princess". Shiori was left with Sesshomaru and Jaken. Truth be told, she was surprised Sesshomaru was still around. She thought he would've left long ago. Shiori slowly turned to the demon lord.
"Hmph," said Jaken. "It's about time those guys left."
"Do you still feel that I abandoned you?" Shiori asked Sesshomaru
"Hmph," he responded as he started to leave her.
Jaken scampered after his master. Shiori looked away. Sesshomaru stopped and peered over his shoulder to her.
"Shiori," he called.
"Yes?"
"travel with me again, if you so choose," he said.
"I wouldn't have it any other way, my lord," she smiled. "We are forever allies…."
She followed after them.
….
Rin sat down with Ah-Un and playfully teased him with a grain of grass. She happily sang to herself as she enjoyed the warm breeze.
"Rin," Sesshomaru called out to her.
She quickly turned around and waved, "Lord Sesshomaru! Master Jaken!"
"Oh and I supposed I'm just chopped liver," said Shiori crossing her arms.
"Lady Shiori? It's you!" gasped Rin. She dropped the grain of grass and ran to her.
Rin wrapped her arms tightly around Shiori. Slowly, Shiori returned Rin's embrace. Rin was surprised. Shiori never hugged her like that before.
"I've missed you so much!" she said.
Shiori smiled, "I missed you as well, Rin."
"Really?" she asked. "You did? So are you going to travel with us again?"
She looked up at Sesshomaru, "yes, for now….for now."
Is this the end of our story? 0.0