Chapter Thirty-Five
Standing at the height of three men, The Beast towered above them, its teeth gleamed dimly under the light of the moon. Its black fur moved over its massive body, muscles moving seamlessly underneath. Its giant feet pawed at the ground, its sharp claws clicking against the title. It had the body shape of a wolf, but it was far too large to be one.
The Beast swung its large head to look at the group and Sango took a step back, terrified. Her mind could not comprehend the situation. Kikyo let go of Inuyasha and he raised his sword, but he did not look ready for a fight. Kikyo walked up to stand next to Sesshomaru, both who looked baffled.
"No, it cannot be," Kikyo whispered. "Kagome." The eyes of Sango and Inuyasha lit up in realization of the name. Up until now, it had only seemed like a coincident that Kagome had appeared at the time that The Beast had disappeared. They knew better now; The Beast did not disappear, it was only in hiding.
The Beast made what sounded like a whining sound and laid its head low on the ground. Kikyo took a hesitant step forward, but Sesshomaru grabbed her arm. He could not believe it, not really. How could Kagome, the sweet and nice servant be such a horrible beast? He felt duped, knowing that he had let such a killer into his home. It appears she had tricked them all.
Naraku's lip curled in disgust. "I had hoped that your useless need to stay human would have faded by now. I see I was wrong, but that can easily be fixed. I know how to break you, Kagome." Naraku smirked, eyeing Kikyo, the only one who did not look terrified or betrayed. His smirk widened and he turned back to look at The Beast.
"Kill her," he whispered and The Beast's bright red eyes snapped over to look at him, pleading. The Beast felt a tug and she felt her control slacken as a feeling so familiar washed over her. From the base of her throat, a growl began to build and her body straightened up, falling into attack mode. Resistance was futile, she knew that already. Her eyes fell on Kikyo who automatically knew what was happening.
Kikyo shot out of Sesshomaru's grip, running for the door. But The Beast was quicker. She bunched up her legs and jumped right over Naraku, hitting the floor and skidding to a stop in front of the doors, effectively blocking Kikyo's only chance at escaping. Quickly regaining her footing as she slid to a stop, Kikyo hiked up her dress and turned on her heel, making a mad dash for the opposite side of the room. She was not quick enough.
A jet black paw shot out, throwing Kikyo through the air, her head smashing against a pillar. She crumpled to the floor, motionless. As The Beast stalked over to make its kill, Inuyasha roared, "No!" With much speed, he raced over to Kikyo, raising up his sword in front of The Beast. He slashed his Tetsusiaga down the length of The Beast's front right leg and she roared in pain. The Beast took a swipe at Inuyasha, but he jumped to the side, stabbing The Beast in her side.
Forgetting all sense of self-preservation, Sango ran over to collect Kikyo as Inuyasha dealt with The Beast. Sango bent down, placing Kikyo's head in her lap. Blood poured down from a wound on her head, but she was still conscious.
Through her blurry vision, Kikyo caught sight of Inuyasha as he gave The Beast yet another blow. "No," Kikyo choked out, fading in and out of consciousness. "Do not hurt her."
Sango ,having caught the words, looked at Kikyo strangely before pulling her up, dragging her off to the side. By now, Sesshomaru had taken out his sword and had cut a deep gash on the back leg of The Beast.
Sango pulled Kikyo to the wall, standing up to evaluate the damage. Sango glanced over at the door, only slightly bent out of place from the weight of the Beast. Sango knew she had to get Kikyo out of the room and she hurried to see if the door would still open before dragging Kikyo with her. The Beast backed into a pillar with her large weight, cracking it through the middle. Sango heard the sound and looked up, suddenly realizing her position. Her eyes widened, knowing there was no time for her to react.
Coming from seemingly nowhere, Miroku darted across the floor to Sango, grabbing her and pulling her out of harm's way just as the pillar came crashing down. The debris and dust covered them as they lay on the floor, Sango a bit disoriented. Miroku pulled her up and asked, "Are you okay?"
Sango nodded, coughing violently. "We need to get Kikyo out of here." Miroku nodded, pulling Sango up with him. "I need to check the door," Sango continued. Reluctantly, Miroku let Sango go as she continued her travel to the main entrance.
Both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were growing tired. The Beast had been dealt quite some damage, but still was able to stand on stable legs. The wounds healed just as quickly as they had been dealt. Inuyasha let out an "Oof," as a paw came right down on his stomach, sending him flying. He skidded across the tile, rolling to a stop next to Kikyo. He struggled to sit up, his head aching. Sesshomaru jumped just in time as a paw came crashing down where he had been standing. He did his best to keep The Beast from going after Kikyo, but the fight was bringing them steadily closer.
"Inuyasha," Kikyo's voice rasped and Inuyasha pulled himself over to her, his shoulder bleeding profusely. "Do not kill her."
"Kikyo-" Inuyasha started to ask in bewilderment before Kikyo held up a weak arm, silencing him.
"I saw her eyes. It is Naraku. She does not want to," Kikyo explained. Inuyasha looked over at Naraku, who watched Sesshomaru and The Beast battle it out from a safe distance. Just briefly, he saw something shimmer in his hand.
"He is making her," Inuyasha breathed and Kikyo nodded.
"Whatever he holds in his hand is was controls Kagome. She does not want to hurt us," Kikyo smiled weakly, still knowing that Kagome was good.
Inuyasha, with the help of his sword, stood up and stumbled over to Sango. "We need to stop Naraku," Inuyasha murmured to her.
"The Beast is our problem at the moment," Sango snapped.
Inuyasha shook his head. "Whatever Naraku holds in his palm controls Kagome. It is not her doing."
"How can you be so sure?" Sang asked.
"Naraku is holding something," Inuyasha explained. "Besides, Kagome has been here for a long time and not once has she hurt us."
Sango glanced over at Naraku and her eyes widened drastically as she nodded. "We need to help Kagome then." Her eyes shot over to Sesshomaru. "But we need to help him before Kagome does something she will regret."
The Beast's paw slashed down the side of Sesshomaru and he let out pained sound, gripping him arm. His sword clattered uselessly to the floor and he backed up as The Beast took a step forward, snarling.
Sango picked up a heavy piece of debris, testing the chunk of pillar in the arms. She winded back her arm, and threw the chunk through the air with accuracy. The rock smashed into The Beast's shoulder and she slumped ever so slightly under the impact of it. Her eyes snapped over to Sango and Sango's breath stopped. Clear as day, the eyes told Sango, Stay out of this.
Sango swallowed as The Beast's head moved back to look at Sesshomaru, and Sango picked up another chunk of pillar, hurtling it through the air. This one landed on The Beast's head and she let out a roar. Naraku frowned, feeling Kagome struggle to fight against his hold. He clutched the object in his hand even tighter and Kagome let out a pained whine.
Miroku took a stand next to Sango as The Beast stalked over to her. He pulled out his sword, standing in front of Sango to protect her. "We need to keep her busy," Sango whispered into his ear. "It is Naraku that is the problem."
Miroku nodded as a paw came soaring through the air. Miroku pushed Sango back as the paw came in contact with his sword, causing his feet to slide across the floor. Otherwise preoccupied, Inuyasha stumbled over to Sesshomaru, grabbing his sword.
"Look, not a lot of time to explain, but we need to get that thing Naraku is holding," Inuyasha explained.
Sesshomaru ripped his sword out of Inuyasha's hand and growled, "It is The Beast that we want dead now."
Inuyasha shook his head in frustration. "Listen! It is Naraku who is controlling Kagome right now; she would never hurt us like this!" Sesshomaru looked over at Inuyasha and Inuyasha continued, "Kagome does not want to hurt us, Naraku is making her. She needs our help and to help Kagome, we need to get ahold of what Naraku is holding. Whatever it is, it is what controls Kagome. See how tightly he holds it in his hand? It's important. It controls his greatest weapon: The Beast."
Sesshomaru looked over at Naraku, not quite believing Inuyasha. The Beast was a terrible menace after all, why should he believe that Naraku controlled her? Standing away from the battle was Naraku, with a glimmering object in his hand. Sesshomaru watched as his grip on the small thing tightened and at the same time, heard The Beast let out another pained roar, even though Miroku had not touched her. Naraku only smiled. Anger replaced Sesshomaru's feel of betrayal and his grip on his sword tightened. Ignoring the sharp pains in his arm, he ran straight to Naraku, who has keeping an eye on The Beast. Pushing himself off the ground, Sesshomaru leaped through the air, his sword cutting through in front of him.
A/N: Ooh-hoo-hoo, seems like this little battle is heating up. Will Naraku be defeated? Will Sesshomaru and Kagome finally be together? WILL I EVER STOP MAKING CLIFF HANGERS? Tune in next week to find out! :D
Semoka: Hmm, interesting idea. Not really a story I've given much thought, but that doesn't mean I can't. Maybe, if something comes to me. :)
Lolita-chi: Well, ask me a few questions and maybe I can explain. :)
Ainhoa11: More twists? Maybe… and I say that not to be evil, but because it depends on how you look at it. Maybe a twist or maybe not. Your decision.
noodlez4supa: Ah, well, I am human and prone to mistakes. I did my best to keep out modern words and phrases but I can only do so much as one person. :)
Aaliyah Taylor: Oh my god, you know me so well. :)
Sasusakui: *sigh* You know what? I'll forgive you because your avatar is Finn and it is what my Adventure Time friends would want me to do.
Okay, that was probably single-handedly the most reviews I have ever gotten for one chapter. I actually had to click to PAGE 2 just to view them all. You guys are amazing and don't let anyone tell you otherwise because my word is law. :)