Disclaimer: I own Rhiodoru, Karameida, Zaniistar, Kishotaka, Niishi, Yuryu, Akaruihi, Tsuyoihi, and Kiirohana. All other characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

Treasure and Treachery

Everyone stared at the jewel, the sacred Shikon no Tama, the Jewel of Four Souls.

Everyone, that is, except Sesshomaru. His eyes scanned the scene, taking in everything. He couldn't allow shock to weaken his vigilance. The moment his attention was focused elsewhere was the moment an unseen enemy attacked. The dog demon's gaze then fell on Inuyasha, whose blank eyes did not appear to see anything.

This was not good, Inuyasha being once again under the control of the enemy. Maybe . . . Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes . . . maybe it would be best to just kill Inuyasha and eliminate that complication. He had Tenseiga, after all. There was just one problem with that course of action though. Sesshomaru wasn't sure if that black collar would destroy Inuyasha's mind when the hanyou died. Tenseiga could heal the body, but it couldn't heal the mind.

Biting back a frustrated sigh, Sesshomaru turned his gaze back to Naraku. Now was his chance to get his revenge on the foul half-breed. Tonight, he could finally kill Naraku. But this Yuryu was yet another complication.

Sesshomaru studied the cloaked demon. It was a spirit dragon, that much he could tell from its scent. There was something vaguely wrong, slightly suspicious, about the way the demon's attention was so focused on Naraku, about his stance, about the way he stood so tensely.

Only because he was watching the demon, did he see it happen.

With complete silence, and movement almost too fast to see, Yuryu surged forward, whipping a sword out from the concealing darkness of his cloak. The ring of steel echoed through the night as Yuryu lunged at Naraku's unsuspecting back while he gloated over the jewel. The blade was already coming down on his shoulder as Naraku started to turn, his expression morphing into surprise. The blade swept through Naraku's shoulder like butter, shearing off the arm that held the jewel.

The dismembered arm fell as though in slow motion, thumping onto the ground with a quiet splatter of blood. The Shikon Jewel bounced out of the limp palm and rolled a few feet away.

Naraku screamed in pain and fury, whirling on Yuryu, but the demon was already swinging his sword again, sinking it deep into Naraku's side. The demon staggered as Yuryu released the blade, leaving it embedded in Naraku's torso.

Then Yuryu shot forward and snatched the jewel, slipping back out of reach, putting space between himself and Naraku, who was yanking the sword out of his side. Yuryu stopped thirty paces away, Inuyasha standing dumbly nearby.

Naraku, bleeding and maimed but alive, faced Yuryu from across the courtyard. Everyone else was frozen with surprise, watching the scene play out.

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed as he wondered if this move by Yuryu would work in their favour or not. With Inuyasha already under his control, and the demon now possessing the Shikon Jewel as well, Sesshomaru doubted this was going to make things any easier.

Naraku's face, twisted with fury, slowly relaxed, and he flexed his maimed shoulder. With a twitch, the disembodied arm flew up to reattach itself to Naraku's body. The wound in his side closed and mended—the only indication that there had actually been a wound was a tear in the demon's kimono. Rolling his shoulder, Naraku smiled at Yuryu.

"And just what were you planning to do now, dragon?" Naraku hissed.

"I know exactly what I'm going to do now," came the lofty reply. "Do you, Naraku?"

Naraku's expression darkened. "Do not think to toy with me, demon. You will regret crossing me."

"Oh, I seriously doubt that, Naraku. You, on the other hand, are going to rue the day you ever met me."

Naraku snarled softly and was about to reply when his eyes suddenly widened. "You—"

"Yes." Yuryu voice was triumphant. "Now, it's time for me to go. I wouldn't want to be late for my day of reckoning."

Sesshomaru frowned, not understanding what was upsetting Naraku, not understanding their exchange. But he knew he could not let Yuryu leave.

Then the world exploded.

With a horrendous crashing, the castle behind them and all around them burst apart, shattering. Debris rained down everywhere as roars shattered the night's silence. Huge shapes rose up from the castle ruins.

Glowing red eyes looked down on them from every direction. Massive dark shapes loomed over them, all around them. With ear-shattering roars, the spirit dragons spread their massive wings, raising them towards the stars. Lightening crackling along the tips of their wings.

Sesshomaru knocked Kagome to the ground even as he threw himself down nearby.

Lightening exploded all around them. Huge bolts smashed into the ground, tearing deep gashes in the turf, melting the dirt and filling the air with the stench of burned earth. With crackles of energy and crashes of thunder, the lightening danced through the night, tearing apart everything it touched, filling the very air with electricity. Booming and shrieking as it destroyed everything, the lightening leaped and danced, tearing apart the remains of the castle and exploding against the ground. The harsh light burned through the darkness, illuminating everything and blinding Sesshomaru with its brilliance.

And then it stopped. Sesshomaru was instantly on his feet, eyes narrowed as he peered through the dust and debris.

Naraku was crouching in the middle of the clearing, looking a little worse for wear, but still alive. The monk and slayer were helping each other up, looking shaken but mostly unharmed. Kagome was trembling on the ground, her wide eyes staring at the torn-up ground. The demon cat was fine, hovering twenty feet up in the air a little ways away.

Zaniistar was the only one who had remained standing. His clothes were actually smoking, the edges black and burnt away. His eyes though, his green eyes glowed with power and a terrible fury. Sesshomaru realized that he had actually been hit by the lightening, but being a dragon himself, had absorbed that power into his body without coming to any harm. A useful trick.

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed as he scanned the devastated courtyard again. He silently swore.

Yuryu and Inuyasha were gone. And the Shikon Jewel with them.

Kagome, Sango, and Miroku were huddled together, staring around at the destruction. Zaniistar eyes were strangely blank, filled with that horrible rage, and he stood motionless, as though waiting.

Sesshomaru carefully took stock of the situation, aware of the glowing red eyes still watching them out of the endless darkness. It would be another moment or two before his night vision recovered from the lightening.

There were five dragons, varying in size, the smallest one the same size as Zaniistar when transformed. The biggest was somewhat larger than the dragon Rhiodoru had been. Sesshomaru turned in a small circle. Bronze, teal, cobalt-blue, ivory, and plum. The bronze dragon was the largest, the ivory one the smallest.

Sesshomaru eyed the teal dragon, the one closest to him and the second largest.

The tension stretched to the breaking point. Only the creaking of the dragons' rock-hard scales, and the wood from the shattered castle breaking beneath them as they shifted their weight, broke the silence. No one moved.

With a hideous crash, a section of castle roof abruptly collapsed.

With screams of rage, the dragons lunged forward to do battle.

Drawing Tokijin, Sesshomaru easily leaped backwards as the teal dragon's claws slashed a yard deep gash in the ground. Springing forwards, wings outstretched for balance, the dragon took another swipe at him, its deadly talons glinting in the moonlight.

Sesshomaru dodged again, raising Tokijin to strike.

Out of nowhere, the dragon's tail swung around, the wickedly curved spines filling his vision.

Sesshomaru sprung backwards, but not fast enough. He felt the edge of one of the spines tear through his armour and kimono, rip into the flesh of his chest.

He hit the ground, landing on his knees and sliding backwards. Then he was leaping upwards and away as the dragon pounced again, intending to crush the dog demon beneath its bulk.

Dodging, remaining just out of reach, Sesshomaru sought to find a weakness in the dragon's defense, searching for some kind of opening.

Screams and roars, bellows and crashes tore through the air, another distraction, as the courtyard and beyond filled with battling dragons, humans, and demons.

Sesshomaru, landing lightly on one foot, sprang into the air again, dodging the dragon's swift slash. The spirit dragon's agility surprised him, considering its size. It moved like a cross between a bird of prey and a lizard, fast and quick, but still powerful, almost mesmerizing in its reptilian grace.

The teal dragon suddenly swung its long, sinuous neck towards Sesshomaru, its teeth snapping shut with a loud, hollow clap, uncomfortably close as the dog demon quickly dodged. Seeing an opening, he shot downwards, Tokijin aimed for the base of the dragon's neck.

With a roar, one massive wing suddenly swept underneath him, unfurling with a snap, slamming into Sesshomaru and hurling him through the air.

Twisting in midair, forcing his lungs to inhale, Sesshomaru caught a glimpse of white underneath him. Tucking his feet underneath him, he landed hard on the rump of the ivory dragon, then launched himself back into the air, Tokijin raised.

The ivory dragon's teeth snapped shut inches from him, its gleaming fangs tearing out a chunk of white fur from mokomoko-sama.

Ignoring that dragon, he focused on the teal one. Bringing Tokijin down in a powerful sweep, Sesshomaru smiled with soft satisfaction as bands of blue power shot from the sword, tearing through the teal dragon's wings.

Screaming in pain, the dragon twisted away, saving the rest of its body from being consumed in the blast. Whirling back to Sesshomaru, it snarled viciously, its eyes glowing red with rage.

Sesshomaru landed lightly on the ground, preparing to attack the dragon again while it was weakened and distracted from the pain.

A sudden bright flash of light was his only warning. Throwing himself to the side just in time to save himself from the stray bolt of lightening that streaked through the air, having missed its opponent in a separate battle. Slamming into the earth a mere three feet from him, the lightening seared Sesshomaru with its heat and light.

Staggering, he looked up just as the teal dragon descended on him, mouth gaping and full of viciously pointed fangs as long as his arm.

Running would get him nowhere. No battle had ever been won by sticking to the defensive. No battle had ever been won without taking chances.

Teeth bared, Sesshomaru lifted Tokijin and leaped into the face of the enemy.

: x ∙ To Be Continued ∙ x :

A/N:

"Mokomoko-sama" is zee Fluff. XD

Chapter 39 – Teamwork?