Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha, and they probably wouldn't let me because this fic is so far from family friendly.

As a further disclaimer, there is a lot of violence in this chapter, and there will pretty much be violence, death and destruction from here on out.


Nemesis

Pompeii | 79 AD

Sango finally made it back to the villa, panting heavily. Instantly, she caught sight of the Roman guards in their ridiculous and grandiose purple robes, and rounded on them at once.

"Where is she? Where have you taken Lady Kagome?"

"Know your place, servant girl", one of the guards spat at her feet, and Sango felt herself hit her breaking point.

"Where. Is. Kagome. I won't ask again."

"Know your place!"

Before Sango could comprehend what was happening, the guard struck her across the face so hard that she saw stars. Instantly, without thinking about the consequences, Sango reeled back her fist and struck him equally as hard.

"Hey! Hey!" The last person Sango expected to come to her aid was always the first one that seemed to show up precisely when she needed him. The priest Miroku came into her line of vision, and Sango almost smiled.

"Be at peace, gentlemen. What has come over you, daring to strike a Lady?" The priest turned to her, "Are you alright, Lady Sango?"

"Never better", in an extremely ladylike manner, Sango turned to the side and spat out a mouthful of blood, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. "They've kidnapped Lady Kagome."

"I beg your pardon", one of the guards stepped forward, and Sango raised her fists in warning.

"Lady Sango", Miroku motioned for her to put her fists down. "You know these grounds inside and out, we will find her."

Sango promptly ignored him, choosing instead to hiss "Where. Is. Lady. Kagome," at the guards. May the Gods be in her favour, she would single handedly take on four Roman guards at once. Sango was on a mission, and she wasn't going to let anyone stand in her way.


It did not matter that InuYasha had just fought an epic battle, almost single handedly. It did not matter that he had experienced enough violence to last him a lifetime. The arena was cleared of the fallen, though the sand was still thick and dark with blood. InuYasha was dragged around for a few moments until they shoved him back into the ring. This time, alone.

The sun was beaming down on him, reflecting off the sand and nearly blinding him.

A droplet of blood dripped from InuYasha's arm down his hand, onto his sword, and from the tip of the blade, fell to the sand beneath him.

It was going to be a spectacle.

"By the patronage of Senator Naraku!" The masked men chanted again, and it was all InuYasha could do not to roll his eyes. If Naraku was really all that powerful, then the bastard could hop down into the arena and fight InuYasha himself. That would give everyone a good show, at least, which was all anyone seemed to care about.

Oh, how InuYasha would have loved to have been in the ring with Naraku. The man who murdered his mother, slaughtered his people, and now was holding Kagome captive.

"The champion of Rome!" The men continued to chant, "Goshinki, hero of the half-demon rebellion, will now face the new champion of Pompeii, the Inu Hanyou, in single combat."

Guards streamed into the arena, lining the outside. InuYasha was fully and truly stuck. As much as he had wanted to go after Kagome, to save her from whatever fate may lie for her, he needed to focus now.

Slowly, Goshinki appeared in the arena. He was a horrible, great horned thing. His eyes glowed a bright red, and his sardonic smile made the hair on the back of InuYasha's neck stand straight up. Feh, he had never been scared in an arena, and he wasn't going to start now. But there was something that didn't quite sit right about the horned demon standing in front of him. And fuck if he was going to die at the hands of the monster who had murdered his people.

Goshinki turned to Naraku, holding his sword up in front of him in a dramatic salute. "All hail to Emperor Titus."

The crowd, InuYasha noticed, was booing Goshinki's arrival. It was an interesting feeling - he wasn't usually on the receiving end of the crowds' cheers. Normally, they jeered at him, booing him throughout the entire fight. Usually, he was the underdog. InuYasha wondered if it would have any impact on their fight.

Goshinki turned back to InuYasha, positively beaming.

"You fucker. You murdered my people." InuYasha snarled under his breath.

Goshinki's grin widened. "Really. Well, whatever revenge you think you're going to have, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."

Roaring, InuYasha lunged forward and struck. The loud clang of metal hitting metal seemed to reverberate extra loudly in his ears as InuYasha's attack was blocked by Goshinki's shield. The pair started to dance, swords clanging as they met, blocking each other's attacks.

Whenever InuYasha tried to kick at Goshinki's knee, or spin around to strike him from his blind spot, it seemed as though Goshinki was always one step ahead. He continued to block InuYasha's attacks with a skill level that InuYasha had not yet seen, even in his many battles.

The two continued to spar, and InuYasha could sense that he was going to start to tire. He had already fought a full battle, but there was no sense of fairness or justice. Not in the pitts. Not when there was an audience to entertain.

Before InuYasha knew what was happening, Goshinki had kicked his leg out from under him, and he hit the warm sand with a grunt. Reflexively, InuYasha threw up his shield in front of his face, kicking himself away and quickly rolling to his knees.

A few seconds later, Goshinki's sword hit the sand where InuYasha's neck had been.

It was almost as if Goshinki had the ability to read InuYasha's mind, or to somehow sense where InuYasha was going to be moving. He had never fought someone so skilled, and was starting to have a sinking feeling. Did he have a chance?

Goshinki advanced on him, and as InuYasha held up his sword to strike at Goshinki's belly, Goshinki swiped at InuYasha's sword, cleanly cutting it in half. The sharp end fell with a thump to the sand, and InuYasha's heart sank.

That was it. That was his pathetic revenge.

The crowd was going ballistic, screaming and gasping and booing Goshinki.

Goshinki advanced on him, putting the end of his sword beneath InuYasha's chin and made the half-demon stand. InuYasha exhaled sharply, prepared for the end of his short and miserable life.

"Kagome", he breathed, without even realizing that he had spoken.

"Bring this slave a better sword", Goshinki declared after an extremely long pause, and one of the guards stepped forward, offering a sword to InuYasha. When InuYasha reached out to take it, the guard dropped it in the sand and stormed off.

The crowd was once again cheering and stomping, but the simple act of dropping the sword was making InuYasha start to see red. He had seen his share of disrespect, of foul and dirty tricks because of his half-demon Gladiator status, and he was starting to have enough.

Red was slowly creeping into the edges of his vision, and InuYasha was attempting to take some deep breaths and stave his demon blood off. It may have saved him in the fight, but he had other things to worry about, and once it took over, it could take weeks for him to regain his composure.

InuYasha bent down and picked up the sword, while Goshinki threw away his shield.

Alarmed, he started to feel the edge of the blade he was given, a sinking realization hitting him. "This blade is dull", he spat at Goshinki.

"Is it?" Goshinki stepped forward to mutter under his breath. "Interesting." He paused to wink. "Let's give them a good show."

It wasn't a battle, so much as a death sentence. Of course he would never have been given a fighting chance, not after he threatened the Senator. But gods, did he want to put his claws on that man.

Renewed with a new sense of purpose - to simply not die - InuYasha lunged forwards, all but forgetting the sword, and getting in a punch to Goshinki's nose.

Goshinki grunted and staggered back, taking advantage of the move to kick at InuYasha's shin. They both swung their swords at the same time, struggling for control before InuYasha punched him in the nose again. If it worked, he was going to keep doing it, and take deep satisfaction.

Maybe he couldn't win, but he sure could beat Goshinki to a pulp.

InuYasha swung again, lunging his entire body. He was getting tired, and weak, but he was going to keep fighting until they had to drag his body out of the arena.

Goshinki kicked at InuYasha, and he fell onto his back. Almost as if a direct cause of InuYasha falling, the earth started to quake once more.

A little pleased for the distraction, InuYasha took a moment to catch his breath and wait for the shaking to stop. He was becoming accustomed to it now, though it had startled him at first. It must have just been part of living in Pompeii.

But then, unlike before, the shaking did not stop.

InuYasha could hear the cracking of the Amphitheater, and people started shrieking and crying, attempting to rush out of the arena. Kagome's parents stood, rushing to either side of Naraku, who was screaming at Goshinki, "Kill him! Kill him now!"

Goshinki lunged forwards, but the shaking was too much for him to even stand on his feet. He started to half lunge, half crawl towards InuYasha.

And then, the worst noise that InuYasha had ever heard in his life started. Kneeling, he whipped his head around to see the great mountain that was said to protect the city start to spew smoke, ash, and fire. He watched, horrified, as smoke and ash started to fill the sky, blocking out the rays of the sun and the beautiful blue sky.

People started to plummet from the stands as the arena started to collapse in on itself, part of the ground itself cracking. It was horrifying.

InuYasha took his moment, took his chance, and leapt to his feet, slamming his body into Goshinki's. The pair fell to the lower level of the arena, to where the Gladiators and slaves were kept. As soon as he made impact with the stone floor, he groaned. Maybe not his best idea, but given the circumstances, his options were limited.

He could hear the terrified screams of people above, but needed to focus on the demon in front of him. Goshinki had also survived the fall, and before he could get to his feet, InuYasha leapt on top of him and started to pummel him.

The caged Gladiators started to cheer for him all around the tunnels, and InuYasha was sure he heard Bankotsu cheer, "Get him, dog boy!"

For some reason, that filled him with a renewed sense of purpose. Both he and Goshinki had lost their weapons in the fall, and Goshinki used both of his legs to kick InuYasha off of him. They both scrambled to their feet, and continued to kick, punch, and hit any part of their opponent that they could manage to.

"You're brave, I'll give you that", Goshinki spat between clenched teeth as he kicked InuYasha so hard in the gut that InuYasha doubled over. He fell backwards into a cage, feeling the metal bars pierce through his skin. "But you're a savage. A half-demon abomination. And no abomination can ever be a match for a full demon. You could never beat the might of Rome."

Instantly, an idea struck InuYasha. He knew exactly where the lever was that would open the Gladiator's cages. Smiling, though he was panting, InuYasha held his hand over the lever. "How about twenty of us?"

Before Goshinki could move, InuYasha pulled the lever to release his fellow Gladiators. It was a move he would have made anyways, so that his fellow Gladiators wouldn't be buried alive by the collapsing of the arena. Being killed while caged was the worst that could happen as a Gladiator - if they were all to die, they deserved to die free, in fresh air, and not underground and caged like a pack of rabid animals.

The doors to the cages opened, and Goshinki tried to run. InuYasha intercepted him once more, but Goshinki was too fast for him, and the demon scrambled to his feet, running through another set of doors. He closed them and locked them behind him.

Bankotsu stepped forward, helping InuYasha to his feet. "Good to see you, dog boy."

The pair clasped wrists, and InuYasha smiled, breathing heavily. "And you." Every muscle in his body was on fire, but he had never been so happy to be alive.


Dead bodies laid, scattered throughout the Amphitheater. The Gods had invoked their wrath upon them, fire and smoke continued to spew from the mountain of Pompeii.

The Noble's box, which was normally the best place to sit and watch games in the arena had become the worst place to be. Multiple Roman guards had been crushed as the arena had collapsed, all that could be seen was different body parts sticking out from under the rubble.

Souta had died quickly, without suffering, as his skull had been smashed in. He, like the Roman guards, had been crushed under rubble as the arena collapsed in on itself.

Lady Mai lay on the ground, blood streaming from the wooden stake that was impaling her stomach, immobilizing her. A droplet of blood ran down her cheek, almost like a tear, though her eyes were closed. Despite her horrific injuries, she looked peaceful.

Takumi, miraculously, had a broken leg, and felt weak and dizzy from the ash and smoke he had inhaled, but had no worse injuries. He had tried to dig his only son out, to no avail. Maybe that was for the best - he didn't want to see his only son like that. Weeping, he dragged himself to his wife's side.

"My love, my love", he whispered, over and over again, caressing Mai's hair.

It was all his fault. His ambition had been in the wrong place, and had caused the Gods to strike them down. The Gods were punishing him. His son, his wife, his daughter - he stopped himself. He could only hope that the Gods had spared his beautiful daughter. He needed to go to her, but he couldn't bring himself to leave the side of his wife.

Gasping, Lady Mai's eyes shot open, and she started to gasp for breath.

"My darling, my darling. I'm here", Takumi attempted to soothe her. His heart sank - he hadn't realized that she was alive, and couldn't imagine the pain that she must have been in.

"Kill him", Mai croaked, choking on her own blood.

"Mai?"

"Kill. Him."

Naraku. Takumi had forgotten about him. Where had he gone?

Suddenly, a sharp pain crashed through his chest, and the world went dark.


A/N: Okay. So. I really have no excuses and all I can say is that I'm really sorry for the chain of events that is to come. Although, despite the angst, I can actually promise an InuKag union soon! So at least we have that to look forward to.

Thank you so, so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, or alerted, you all give me the strength to keep going. I'm finally done school (ya girl has her master's degree now!) so I'm hoping that will mean more time to actually write fun things.

As always, please drop me a line and let me know what you think!