DISCLAIMER: All Inuyasha characters are the creation of, and © to Rumiko Takahashi, and subsequent parties. Full Circle is the creation of my demented mind, and © to Shun'u Hanashiro 2000-2001.
Author's Notes: Italicized text (or //) can indicate private/unvoiced thoughts – or – flashback sequences. Colons [::] indicate insinuated thoughts by another character into one's subconscious. Be forewarned that all of the events prior to tankouban 14 of the manga are up for grabs in this story.
May 2000
F U L L
An Inuyasha Fanfiction
Part 2: The Final
Confrontation
Sengoku Jidai…
The world is an ever-changing place; nothing remained stagnant, stationary for long. To remain unchanging, would be the equivalent of true death, an unliving state, for even in dying, one is changing. But most changes were subtle, gone unnoticed because they took so very long to occur. A little at a time, a rock is chipped at, brushed by the wind or submerged in water, and gradually it is eroded into dust. No one notices until they no longer trip over that little stone that always jutted out of the wooded path, the one that they ineffectually cursed at every morning when they went for their daily walk. Such is the way of nature: mysterious, quiet, ephemeral.
And yet, there are those moments in history when a change takes place that is so grand, so expansive in nature, that it is obvious to even the most dull-witted of people.
An explosion of earth and rocks would be one of those things.
**********
"Chikushou!"
Inuyasha snarled when his strike completely missed Sesshoumaru, who had inexplicably managed to reappear behind him. The resulting star-spray of dirt only obscured his vision.
::Behind you.::
He spun a complete three-sixty. Sesshoumaru's curling claws were dripping poison mere inches away from his face.
::Too slow.::
Inuyasha scrambled backwards, but not before a few drops of the acidic clear fluid landed on his pink haori and sizzled, eating through sturdy, woven, fire rat's fur and biting into his flesh. The tiny wounds stung enough to make Inuyasha wince, but also served to boost his determination.
"So…" Sesshoumaru stopped his rapid-fire attacks and regarded his huffing brother through narrow eyes. He wasn't even winded. "Do you think that you've improved? Show me, Inuyasha. Show me that you've learned how to use Tetsusaiga to its full ability; otherwise you have no right to claim Chichiue's legacy."
"Bastard," Inuyasha strained to lift Tetsusaiga. "I don't have to prove myself to you."
Sesshoumaru arched his eyebrow. "That is where you are wrong, Inuyasha. You do."
"Shut-up and fight!"
Tetsusaiga moved incredibly fast. Sesshoumaru did not expect the move. He shifted, but was caught in the shoulder with a glancing blow that would have bisected a lesser demon. As it was, his bone armor shattered and fell to the ground in a myriad of useless pieces. Now he was mad. He was getting tired of replacing his armor. Sesshoumaru snarled, a sound that began deep in his chest, snaked upward out of his throat to escape from between thin lips, and drew Tenseiga from its saya. Inuyasha smirked. His arrogant brother was finally beginning to take him seriously. The two wolves circled each other.
**********
From their positions atop a hillock, Kagome, Shippou, and Miroku were in various stages of concern. None of them could do anything to stop events from unfolding. Kagome held Shippou in her arms as they watched, and the little kitsune was uncharacteristically quiet. Miroku was not so worried about Inuyasha as he was about Naraku who was watching everything from his tree. The malevolent youkai was a sore in their side, always appearing to cause trouble and havoc, but Miroku had other reasons for hating him; Naraku had been the one to curse his father, and then him with the Air Rip. And soon, if the Air Rip were not cured, he would die as his father had before him, an ignominious death resulting from being pulled into the Air Rip. Yes, Miroku had many scores with Naraku that had to be cleared.
**********
What am I doing here? It isn't as if they would have any answers. Could it be that I still care, even after that girl took my life from me? No… that is wrong. I know better. It isn't her fault at all that she is my reincarnation… but… I can still hate her for living my life.
Kikyou let her feet decide where to go, releasing conscious physical control over to a clay body that somehow retained muscle memory from her real body that had died fifty years ago. She was tired. It wasn't just a physical ache that she could deal with; rather, it was more of an emotional drainage that left her feeling hollow.
I shouldn't even be feeling. Not if Kagome had taken everything from me, leaving me with only my dying hatred. So why? Why am I sad?
**********
::Weakling. Useless half-breed. You can't even avoid a simple attack as that? Why do you always fall for the simplest tricks?::
"Ugh," Inuyasha shook his head, trying to dislodge that irritating voice in the back of his mind. But it was too late. The voice had distracted him from his adversary, a critical mistake. Tenseiga clipped a lock of Inuyasha's hair, nicking his right ear and drawing blood.
"Pay attention," Sesshoumaru said.
::You let him intimidate you, just like when you were a child.::
"Shut up!" Inuyasha screamed.
Sesshoumaru reacted to the confusion in his half-brother's voice. Inuyasha had not been speaking to him. There was something else happening besides Inuyasha's usual violent reaction to him, something under-handed. If there was anything that Sesshoumaru despised more than being upstaged, it was being manipulated. Whoever this hidden foe was, he was about to learn a painful lesson.
**********
Naraku knew the moment Sesshoumaru suspected his interference. The youkai lord no longer focused on Inuyasha, letting himself react naturally and dodging by instinct. Instead, Sesshoumaru put all of his attention into finding the source of Inuyasha's behavior. Naraku smirked. He was not about to reveal his presence any time soon, and so long as Inuyasha played his role, Sesshoumaru would not have a chance to find him. Naraku was so absorbed in his own gloating that he failed to notice the three figures taking action below.
**********
"I'm going to stop this," Kagome declared. Miroku and Shippou had opposite reactions.
"No way, Kagome! You'll get hurt," Shippou shouted and clung to her arms tighter.
At the same time, Miroku said, "I'll help, Kagome-sama." Kagome searched his face, and found that they were in complete understanding; Naraku had to be stopped before he harmed anyone else.
Shippou looked from one to the other and resigned himself to the fact that he would not be able to convince them otherwise. A small part of him also knew that he was being selfish, trying to keep Kagome, the only person who came close to being family now that his parents were dead, safe when everyone else was in need of her help. Kagome gave the kitsune a quick warm hug, as if she had heard his thoughts and wanted to reassure him, before setting him down.
She said, "I have my bow and arrows. We just need to get close enough so that I can shoot at him. Miroku-sama?"
"I'll distract him," he said. "You do what you have to do, Kagome-sama. We'll stop him once and for all."
"Please be careful," she beseeched. "Naraku almost has all of the Shikon no Tama. I don't know what he's capable of right now."
"Wait, I'll help." Shippou said. He pulled out a large leaf from an inner fold of his blue shirt and let it float down to his head. When it landed, the air around him shimmered and wavered, and there stood Kagome's mirror image. Kagome grinned at him.
"Thanks, Shippou-chan. If you pretend to be me and go with Miroku, he won't see me coming from the other side."
Miroku rolled his eyes when the kitsune puffed up with pride. It looked rather ridiculous considering that he looked like Kagome at the moment. Miroku slung his arm around Shippou's shoulders, making the other's eyes grow wide in alarm.
"Come on, Shippou, we have to make a ruckus." He began to tug the Kagome look-alike towards Naraku's hiding place.
"Oi! Get your hands offa me, Miroku!"
Miroku fluttered his lashes and teased, "But Kagome-sama, won't you do me the honor of bearing my child?"
"You JERK!" Shippou, bearing an uncanny resemblance to an enraged Kagome, raised a fist and brought it down on Miroku's head with a resounding thump that hurt a lot more than it sounded. Shippou hadn't held back. Miroku recoiled. Since they were safely out of Kagome's hearing distance, the houshi swore.
"What the fuck, Shippou! I was just kidding, can't you take a joke?" Shippou snarled and his illusion wavered for a second. Miroku stared at the image of Kagome superimposed on Shippou's true form.
The kitsune said, "It isn't funny! I'm a guy!"
"What the hell are you saying, kitsune?" Miroku was growing angry. "I don't like men."
"Coulda fooled me," Shippou muttered. He reined in his illusion and it solidified. Now he no longer looked like a ghostly Kagome.
It occurred to Miroku, as he watched Shippou, that he had forgotten, for a moment, that it was not Kagome at all, but Shippou. Anger temporarily dispelled, only to be replaced by an incrementally spiraling confusion; he clamped down on his emotions and followed Shippou in stony silence.
**********
The trees worked wonders to hide Kagome's progress towards Naraku. Using a stealth that she had never known that she was capable of, Kagome darted from tree to tree, keeping well out of sight of Naraku, but also of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. And the reason for this? Simple. The closer she got to Naraku and the jewel, the closer she was to the dueling youkai, Kagome felt more and more displaced, as if she were experiencing an outer body moment. Somehow proximity to the jewel was making her hyper sensitive to emotions and thoughts, something that had never happened to her before; and definitely not a good thing when those emotions were coming from such intense beings as Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. Truly perturbing was the fact that their emotional distress was causing her physical pain.
Kagome gasped when a particularly excruciating spasm made her
drop to her hands and knees on dry grass, cutting pebbles, and broken twigs,
her quiver and bow falling to her side, to clutch at her heart. Kami-sama!
If they don't kill each other, they'll definitely kill me. Groaning with
the effort of pulling quaking limbs into order, Kagome reached blindly for her
weapon. Her vision was blurry, gray around the edges, and she felt
light-headed. Forcing her legs to work, albeit shakily, Kagome used her bow to
prop herself upright, blinking rapidly to clear her sight. Moving on sheer will
power, Kagome jogged in a stumbling gait towards where her senses told her the
jewel would be. Her thoughts were a jumble with speculation. Could it be
that the jewel is making Inuyasha act this way?
**********
Inuyasha's here? Kikyou wondered. Who is that he is
fighting?
She had found them completely by accident. Wandering aimlessly tended to do that. She would just walk and walk, and eventually she would find civilization, or in this case, youkai. There was never any reason for her to walk, nowhere that she particularly wanted to be or to go to, no destination. It was simply a way for her to pass her non-existence. After all, what was there for her to live for, when she was a claymation with no soul, only hatred? She couldn't even have the consolation of anger, as Kagome had stolen that along with everything else on the day that she had been born, however inadvertently.
Kikyou observed dispassionately as Inuyasha battled with his faster opponent. She almost wished that the other youkai would kill Inuyasha, do her a favor, but then she thought that it would be dissatisfying to just see Inuyasha die at another's hands. She wanted to be the one who stripped Inuyasha of his overweening pride, of his life, and of his love. That was her ultimate fantasy: to plunge a metaphorical knife into Inuyasha's heart… wasn't it?
Movements mechanical, smooth and robotic, Kikyou settled onto a boulder and watched Inuyasha with a critical eye. She honestly had no idea what was happening, but it would not take a genius to know that Inuyasha had private demons tormenting him at the moment. He was fighting even more intensely than on the day that he had killed her; it revealed that this person with the silvery white hair and icy gold eyes meant more to Inuyasha than she had. Funny. She had always thought that Inuyasha loved her most in the world. She was wrong. This stranger was someone that Inuyasha loved more dearly than she. Kikyou turned away, and continued her meandering journey with dark thoughts. She refused to look back.
Naraku, I know you are near. What are you using the jewel for? Do you know its secrets yet? I can sense its power… but I cannot feel anything…
**********
::You look like a fool. Chasing a flitting bee without any thought to what the bee's objective is.::
"Don't fucking play with me, Sesshoumaru!"
"Play? We are not children any longer, Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru was scornful. "I, Sesshoumaru, do not play." He sheathed Tenseiga, favoring hand-to-hand combat over the katana, as it gave him a much better sense of satisfaction when he cut into his enemies with his toxic claws. The hidden enemy would have to wait. He had more pressing matters to take care of.
Inuyasha's red demonic eyes narrowed in understanding. He let Tetsusaiga return to its deceptively plain, rusty form and put it aside. Without the heavy weight of Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha found that his movements were not hindered. He smiled in satisfaction, a curl of his lips that revealed pointy lengthening fangs. He too preferred using his blood claws when it came to battles with his half-brother. For other opponents the sword was best, but for this one person who had caused so much heartache, Inuyasha wanted to literally tear him limb from limb with his bare hands.
"Come at me," Sesshoumaru ordered in a chilly voice. Inuyasha was happy to oblige.
::Now. Make your move now, Inuyasha. Take your long awaited revenge.::
And the battle began in earnest.
To a human bystander they were pink and white blurs, the color of their clothing their only identifying mark. But to Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru, time slowed as if the world were submerged in molasses and everything moved in sluggish pantomime.
The first strike went to Sesshoumaru. Not very surprising considering that his speed was twice that of his brother even on the worst of days. But with that first drop of blood that rolled off his shoulder, Inuyasha lost control of an already tenuous hold on his humanity, and with that humanity went all of the gentler aspects of his personality. Sesshoumaru almost smirked with his satisfaction. Now that they were more evenly matched, he would stop teasing and truly test his brother's endurance. Colorless, odorless poison dripped off his claws to form sizzling pits in defenseless earth.
Inuyasha screamed wordlessly, and charged with greater speed than he had ever managed in the past. He flung his right arm out with fingers curled and stiff as claws protracted to form whitish hooks. When he was within striking distance Inuyasha made a swipe at his brother, putting all of his weight into the motion, and leaving no room to back out. Sesshoumaru slid backwards, and managed to dodge the blow by a hair's breadth. In retaliation he spun on his heel and struck Inuyasha in a long line across his back as he flew past him, all five claws digging deep gouges through resilient pink fire rat's fur and into Inuyasha's flesh. His brother rolled to a relatively safer distance away.
Sesshoumaru's poison caused the worst possible wounds, Inuyasha thought as he hissed with pain. It was not so much the cuts of his brother's razor sharp claws, although those played a large factor. Inuyasha had experienced deep cuts, stabs, impaling plenty of times before to deal with them. It was literally the poison which special glands in Sesshoumaru's body produced that caused so much unbearable pain. The poison burned him deep within, making muscles twist and spasm, and caused the sensation of small ants gnawing on his flesh as they marched along exposed, raw nerve endings. Agony described the feeling nicely.
But Inuyasha had formed a small amount of tolerance for his brother's favorite weapon. Once before, he had been the victim of Sesshoumaru's poison. And that time, Sesshoumaru had shoved his whole hand through Inuyasha's stomach, creating a gaping hole just below his heart and lungs, in his torso. Inuyasha had barely survived that time. And if he had then, then he was not about to give up now. Rolling to his trembling legs, Inuyasha gathered the last shreds of his tattered pride and stood tall.
"That wasn't good enough, Sesshoumaru," he hissed through clenched teeth. "Try again."
Sesshoumaru smiled, cold, detached. Yes, Inuyasha. You are learning. He said, "My turn. Look to your left." And he blurred.
Trusting his brother to not play tricks during a duel, Inuyasha shifted to the right, angling his body in time to feel an icy wind pass by his face. It was his brother, that wind, and now, finally, Inuyasha began to understand. Instead of tracking his opponent with eyes that were fatally slow, he let his senses shut down one by one until all he could do was feel. Nerve endings screamed in his back, as that too was amplified, but Inuyasha could not afford to let his injuries hamper him. He curled his claws with eyes closed and ears unhearing, and waited for that winter breeze to come again. And he knew that it would.
**********
No time. She was running too slow, breathing too hard, and her body was too tired. Yet Kagome fought on, pushing herself to the limit, even if it broke her in the end. Less than ten minutes had passed, and in that brief interval Inuyasha had attacked Sesshoumaru only to become injured. Kagome's legs pumped harder, willpower overcoming physical aches, and she finally arrived at the spot that she had sighted from the knoll not too long ago.
She gasped, bent in half and clutching trembling knees, pressing a hand against her heart when it pulsed and throbbed against her ribs, as if demanding release from its natural prison. Breathe, her mind screamed. Don't let it get you, there's little time. Stop this now. Don't let your human body fail you. And she did: breathe.
Grateful that her body would not collapse, Kagome blinked away sweat and tears that she had not noticed were present. She was in a clearing, yards deep in the forest and hidden from everyone else's view, and from where she stood, Naraku's form was as clear as day. He stood on a high tree branch, facing the open field and intent only on the battling youkai. Kagome frowned when she saw his smug smile. Gritting teeth in stubborn determination, she notched her arrow and took aim.
**********
Miroku and Shippou were close enough to see Naraku's face. This time, the bodiless youkai had taken the form of a young daimyo. As was his habit, Naraku had chosen a handsome young man as his host, one who had black hair knotted neatly at the top of his head, and whose pale features were refined beneath thin arching brows. So far the youkai had not noticed them yet. Miroku used this to his advantage. He and Shippou edged around some shrubbery and closer to Naraku. They thought that they had time to act. They were wrong. Before either could do anything to distract Naraku for Kagome, she had already acted.
A glowing arrow shot through the air, aimed for Naraku's heart. But something went awry. Naraku's hand glowed before the arrow pierced him, creating a shell of energy about his body, and the arrow fell harmlessly to the ground. Miroku froze in horror when Naraku turned his face to look at Kagome, who stood defiant but unprotected in a clearing not too far from them.
**********
Sesshoumaru felt it the instant that Kagome had fired her arrow. It was like a tug low in his stomach; the way her raw power called to his senses and made him forget everything else was more intoxicating than a drug. In that moment Sesshoumaru became aware of three things: that Kagome was too far away; that his cloaked enemy was in the trees west of his position; and that the bastard was intent on harming Kagome. So Sesshoumaru did the first thing that his instincts told him to do, something that he would later question once the near frantic urgency left his veins. He abandoned his brother and dashed towards the girl who foolishly faced off with a ruthless youkai. It never occurred to Sesshoumaru that he should inform his brother of his intentions. A fatal mistake, as Inuyasha felt his motion and flew at Sesshoumaru with unerring accuracy. Sesshoumaru swore and dodged, but his brother had already learned from past mistakes and would not let him pass.
"You aren't going anywhere, Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha's eyes were still closed, when he said, "We settle this now."
"Che." Sesshoumaru could identify Naraku now. "Get out of my way, Inuyasha, unless you want the girl to die." That made Inuyasha's eyes snap open, but something in Sesshoumaru's expression stopped him from making hasty accusations. Inuyasha grew alarmed when he saw Naraku. He raced with Sesshoumaru to the forest clearing where Kagome was visible. They were too late. Naraku had already come down from his hiding place.
"Damn it! Naraku's too close!"
Sesshoumaru almost tripped when he heard his half-brother voice his very thoughts.
**********
Naraku knew that he had a very small window of opportunity. If it were simply Inuyasha whom he faced, then he would have enjoyed playing around, torturing the half-breed a little, before he killed the girl off. As it was, Kagome had somehow gained an ally in Sesshoumaru, and that was not to be borne. Naraku pulled a tanto blade encased in black lacquer out of his sleeve and bore down on Kagome, who stood mute and frozen in her pretty clearing.
The scene was a sick play in slow motion. There stood Kagome, with slate eyes wide and unblinking, staring up at the dark man who would take her life with a blank expression, as if she were a life sized doll incapable of human emotion. Running towards her were four people: a small kitsune child, a dark haired priest, and two demons, one half-human, the other a questionable ally. And she could only close her eyes as Naraku separated blade from scabbard. Then time sped up, and Kagome stepped back, away from death, and fell heavily to the earth with both arms catching her fall. But even as she broke free of her trance-like state, Kagome was too late, as was everyone else, and Naraku cleanly slashed at her throat. Blood spurted from the gaping wound, more like a grinning clown's mouth than anything else, and splashed Naraku's satisfied face, painting half of it red.
Fate was fickle and played evil tricks. Even the most blessed and innocent of people could be victims of it, and Kagome was no exception. And perhaps she already knew this as her eyes had closed in that last instant before steel touched fragile skin. She looked like a mannequin that someone had accidentally spilled paint all over, still and beautiful. But none of the people present could ever mistake Kagome for a wooden doll. They all remembered her tinkling laughter too vividly for that. Her instant death was accompanied by the sound of three voices raised in fury. Two were growling. The third resembled nothing more than the howl of an angry beast. Indeed, Inuyasha's voice was the loudest in the forest, as it echoed from tree to tree, past the invisible line between forests and field, and rolled down the river to cause children frolicking many villages away to have nightmares for many nights to come.
Only Sesshoumaru remained silent. While the others mourned, he showed no reaction to the tragedy that had taken place before him. Naraku was most wary of him, fully aware that the others were too deep in mourning to do much. Nearly translucent golden eyes regarded Naraku with something akin to curiosity, making the hairs on the back of Naraku's back stand on end. No one wanted to catch Sesshoumaru's attention, and least of all see their reflections in clear orbs. Naraku backed away despite himself when Sesshoumaru stepped forward, pleasure from killing the interfering human dwindling to be replaced by debilitating fear.
"You were the one," Sesshoumaru said conversationally. "The one who caused Inuyasha to behave that way."
"This has nothing to do with you Sesshoumaru," Naraku bit out. His fucking hands were trembling. He stuffed them into his sleeves, hiding his hands altogether. "Inuyasha is both of our enemy. I just made things easier by getting rid of the bitch."
"I see…" And then he dismissed Naraku. Just like that, he ignored the potential threat, as though Naraku were nothing more than a fly that happened to alight on his sleeve, and could be brushed away or flattened at will. It made Naraku livid, but there was nothing that he could do about it when he was still shaking within.
"Kagome," the kitsune sobbed and threw himself onto the girl's still warm corpse, crying into her cooling shoulder while shudders racked his little body. He was joined by the houshi who knelt behind him, heedless of the blood that soaked his priest's robes. Miroku was actually using his priestly training and saying a blessing for the dead girl.
When Inuyasha turned to him with red eyes, Naraku was braced and ready to confront him.
"Naraku, you'll fucking regret this day," Inuyasha spoke so quietly that Naraku had to strain his ears to hear him.
"Heh," Naraku sneered into Inuyasha's grief etched face, seeing every groove and hollow as another indication of weakness in the half-breed. "You've failed Inuyasha. Once again, you've failed to protect a loved one. How does it feel to be a failure?"
Inuyasha snarled wordlessly. He swiped his hand through the air, sending five blood claws through the air and slashing Naraku's pale face. The end effect was a gruesome mask, half of which was covered in Kagome's blood, and the other half bearing five bold red stripes interspersed with pale, pale skin. Naraku wiped his face with a long sleeve and grinned back at Inuyasha, daring the youkai to do something else. It was Sesshoumaru who cut off his entertainment.
The youkai lord had been silent since he had last spoken to Naraku, not really observing any of them or drawing attention to him. This certainly changed when he walked over to the dead girl and ordered her grieving friends to get away at the same time as he drew his sword in one smooth motion. Shippou and Miroku paled, and Inuyasha was immediately standing in front of Kagome with arms spread.
"What do you think you're doing, Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha yelled at him in disbelief.
Sesshoumaru said, "Do you want the girl to live?"
"What?" the others gasped in unison. Sesshoumaru spared them a bored glance. He did not repeat himself.
And it was unnecessary as comprehension dawned on all three hopeful faces. Naraku could only look from one to the next in confusion. There was no way to bring the girl back; she was truly dead and nothing could change it… right? He was beginning to doubt his surety when Inuyasha actually stepped back and pulled the houshi and kitsune with him, leaving a wide circle with only Kagome and Sesshoumaru at its center.
[End Part 2]
Author's notes:
I hope that Sesshoumaru isn't too cold in this part. And as for Naraku's fear of Sesshoumaru, this isn't hinted at in the manga, but I chose to add some more dimension to Naraku than just having him appear, stir the pot, then disappear. That's annoying as hell. And if you guys are confused as to why I added Kikyou, only to have her disappear, she's like a wild card in this story, showing up only when she feels like it, and only when she's necessary. This seems like something her character would do, as Kikyou often plays hide and seek, like Naraku, in the manga.
Definitions:
Sengoku Jidai: Japan's "Era of the Warring States", this was a feudal period in which clans across Japan battled for domination and land.
Youkai: equivalent of a western demon, I suppose, but I use the Japanese word "youkai" because I picture youkai as different from demons.
Shikon no Tama: "Jewel of Four Souls" Breaking down the Japanese words, this is literally [FOUR SOUL(s) (particle indicating possession) JEWEL/SPHERE/BEAD], however one must use a lot of context clues when translating Japanese. =P
Houshi: wandering monk? … I have to look this up. (Gomen ^^;)
Oneechan: used to address an older sister with fondness, or can be used with a slightly older female you are close to and speak casually with.
Hai: literally "yes", this is an expression of agreement that can be translated many ways.
Aa: expression of agreement… I think only men are supposed to use this… not sure though.
Saya: a sword sheath/scabbard
Chikushou: damn ^^;; Sagara Sanosuke's a bad influence…
Che: shit …a *really* bad influence.