ABC Thought

"..." Normal chat

Chapter 42

"Shut your mouth!"

Angered by the Kitsune's mockery, Sesshomaru charges forward empty-handed. Inuyasha too, doesn't want to lose to his brother and attacks her with his special move Kongosoha.

However, Sora easily dodges those sharp diamonds and chuckles. "My, my...Is that all you got?"

On the other side of their battle is Byakuya who is facing against the rest of Inuyasha's group by summoning a bunch of poisonous vines from below to keep them from interfere.

"You already know what will happen if you cut them, don't you?"

He smirks, watching them struggle inside the vine's grip.

Meanwhile Sora has taken the upper hand after sending Sesshomaru flying to the wall with a single kick. To finish him, she launches forward to land a punch but Sesshomaru dodges her just in time.

"Wham!" and the wall behind him shatters.

As Inuyasha's about to jump in to deal with her, he hears Kagome's voice and notices that she's stuck within Byakuya's vine. Taking the chance that the Sora isn't paying attention to him, he rushes over to her side for aid.

"Kagome!"

"Hey now, I'm still here you know?"

It's too late, she's appeared in his way and kneed him in the stomach. In instant Inuyasha kneels on the ground and coughs out blood.

Enjoying his painful reactions, the Kitsune steps on his back and slams him into the ground.

"Inuyasha!"

Cannot stand watching him suffer without doing anything to help, Kagome tries to break loose and manages to free her hands. Quickly, she reaches for the bow and arrows behind her back. However if Kagome shoots the vines to free herself now, Byakuya will just summons more of them and she will run out of arrow in no time.

Therefore the only thing to fire at is. Her!

And with that in mind, Kagome draws her bow and aim at the Kitsune.

"Thwack!"

"What's this?"

As the arrow almost reaches to Sora's neck, she catches it with her hand and snaps it into two. Figures that it's Kagome who has shoot this arrow, Sora shifts her attention to her.

"You are going down first, little girl."

To get rid of her potential threat, Sora summons a huge blue fireball at Kagome.

However, Sesshomaru stops her in mid way by attacking her from behind and saves Kagome from getting burned alive. Annoyed by being interrupted, she kicks him as revenge and they get back into the fight again. While Inuyasha's still lying with his face down on the floor and seems to be unconscious.

"Hey, hurry up and get your weapon. We don't have all day for this."

From afar, Byakuya shouts to her as they have wasted too much time here and he's getting bored. Plus, Naraku won't be pleased to know that he's slacking off his other works just to help her.

"Alright, Play time is over boys."

Sora sends Sesshomaru a few meters away with another kick and casts a huge flame circle under his feet to keep him in one place. Just then, Inuyasha finally wakes up from his slumber.

"Kagome, don't let her take the weapon!" .

But my arrow is too weak against her. What should I do?! Kagome looks back and forth between her bow and the Kitsune, unsure what do to.

"I will lend you my power."

Suddenly Kagome hears a voice beside her ears and finches in surprise, seeing that Kasenada's spirit is standing right next to her. "Kasenada-sama?!"

Without hesitation, he holds up his hands to her bow. Transferring his spiritual energy into it and asking for her cooperation.

"Please focus, we don't have much time."

Kagome obliges and gathers her as much energy as she can until the arrow shines up on its own a white bright aura. And the girl gasps in awe. Incredible!

"My apologize, but this is the best I can offer for now. Everything left is up to you, Kagome-san."

Kasenada fades away and Kagome draws her bow to aim once again. Waiting for the right moment when Sora reached her arm to the sealed Naginata and shoots.

"This again? Heh! You never learn, do you?"

Like last time, she catches the flying arrow with her hand and smirks. Unexpected to her however, the arrow blows up by itself and injures her.

"Gyah!"

Sora falls back onto the ground with a half destroyed arm. Much to Byakuya's shock, yet he cannot fly over to help as Miroku and Sango have managed to get out of his trap and attack him from both sides.

"Impossible...! This energy is...!"

Sora shudders as her regenerate power is weakened due to get in contact with that same old energy, which she hasn't encounter for such a very long time.

Kasenada?! That cursed name has once again appeared in her mind, no matter how much she's tried to get rid of it. Feeling her energy's being completely drained, she closes her eyes and falls into unconscious.

Taking the one in a million chance that Sora's let down her guard, Sesshomaru dashes forward and attempt to striker her with his poisonous claws. However, everything's instantly stopped once Sora awakes and looks up.

"Sesshomaru...?"

Sesshomaru freezes upon hearing such familiar voice, which he has been yearning to hear for an eternity. Soon their eyes meet and he notices those clear brown eyes.

Shiomi?! They definitely belong to Shiomi!

Although her figure and the marks on her face still resemble to Sora. Those features of hers are things that Sesshomaru can never mistakes.

"Sesshomaru?! Where are you?"

Shock and terrified, Shiomi reaches out her arm to him for aid and bursts into tears once he accepts her without hesitation.

"I'm here." Sesshomaru kneels and embraces her gently.

Even though cannot breathes properly and limbs feels numb all over, Shiomi tries to hold onto him tightly, afraid that he will once again leave her side if she let go.

"Sesshomaru, you are here...! You are finally here with me... I'm...so scared!"

At the back, Inuyasha ceases his fight and watches the two of them hugging each other in confusion.

"Hey, what just happened?!"

And Kagome approaches from behind, explaining to him that thanks to Kasenada's help from earlier, her arrow's able to release Shiomi soul.

"Guys? A little help here?"

Miroku calls out to them and they quickly snap back to the situation.

"Crap! Almost forgot about that Byakuya!"

Inuyasha leaps into the fight to help his teammates, having Kagome's aid from a far. And it's only a matter of time to have Byakuya getting cornered.

"What the hell?!"

Byakuya cursed once seeing that the table's turned and what's worse, his main card is now embracing their enemy like long lost lovers while their objective is still laying there, untouched.

"Hey, Kitsune! Have you lost your mind already?!"

Thanks to Byakuya's desperate yell, Sora gains back in control and her eye's turns back into blood red. Slowly feeling her power and demonic energy returns, she takes a deep breath to focus.

Meanwhile, Sesshomaru has also noticed her transformation but she has acted first by punching Sesshomaru at his stomach and forcing him to release her.

Taking advantage that everyone's still frozen in shock, she jumps onto the stone table to grab the Naginata and Byakua rushes over to her side. Together they escape from the scene using Byakuya's flower technique.

"Oh no, they escaped!"

Kagome rushes to the white flower Byakuya has left on stone table, watching it fades away into dust.

At result of the intense battle, Inuyasha has to leans onto his sword to stand straight. And Sesshomaru's armor is heavily damaged. Though his injures don't seem to be too fatal.

Putting Hiraikotsu back in place, Sango states.

"It seems that Kitsune has joined force with Naraku."

"That means it will be easier to keep track on her from now on." Miroku nods in agreement.

However Kagome voices out her worries that from now on it will be much more difficult to approach Sora. Not to mention with her aid, who knows what kind of crazy things Naraku can achieve.

"Sesshomaru, to save her your effort alone won't be enough. You need our help. Especially Kasenada's. It was his power just now that brought Shiomi's consciousness back."

Therefore Kagome tries to convince Sesshomaru to work together. Despite Inuyasha's unwillingness. However, Sesshomaru doesn't answer and takes his leave, much to the girl's distress.

"Wait! Sesshomaru!"

"It's impossible to ask Sesshomaru to fight along side with Inuyasha, you know it right?"

Shippou jumps onto Kagome's shoulder and shrugs. While Inuyasha groans, still not understand why Sesshomaru has to sacrifice this much only for a single human girl.

"Because you love her, don't you Sesshomaru? That's why you are trying so hard to save Shiomi."

Kagome turns to him, recalling to their tearful reunion back then. Her words hit right on the mark and Sesshomaru pauses.

"Oh my... Could it really be...?"

Both Sango and Miroku looks at each other, cannot believe what they've just heard.

"Sesshomaru?! Having feelings for someone?! That must be one hell of a bad joke!"

Inuyasha almost chokes on his breath cause of her otherworldly statement. However Sesshomaru keeping silent to most of Kagome's sayings end up causing things to be even more confusing to him. "Are you serious?!"

"Sesshomaru-sama!"

Finally Jaken and Rin arrive to the scene, only to see Sesshomaru passes by them and heads toward to the entrance at the opposite direction.

"Eh?! We're leaving already?!"

The two have to turn Ah-Un around to follow him. "Wait for us! Sesshomaru-sama!"

Inside one of Byakuya's hiding spot.

"Care to explain what happened back there?"

Leaning against a huge tree, Byakua questions her strange behavior back at the cave.

"That's none of your business. Right now what's important is that they have Kasenada's aid."

Sora spat, practices wielding the Naginata as her damaged arm has been completely recovered.

"Kasenada?"

Byakuya raises his eyebrow at the name. Recalling that he has heard of it for a several times back when searching for her weapon whereabouts.

"Yes, an old nemesis of mine."

Therefore she nods. To think that Kasenada's spiritual energy still remains in this world. I have to get rid of him before thing eventually get out of hand.