Complete the Circle
Chapter Six: The True NarakuInuyasha fought with Naraku, neither really able to harm the other. Inuyasha saw Sango and Miroku fighting a puppet Naraku, and Kouga fighting Kagura. Kanna was picking up the broken pieces of her mirror. Is she trying to fix her mirror?
Just then, Kouga stumbled over a rock that Kanna had placed there and was cut by Kagura's wind. Kagura was about to finish him off while he was still on the ground, but Inuyasha had rushed over to Kagura and knocked the fan out of her hand.
Something is strange here. It's almost as if she deliberately let me knock the fan out of her hand. And Kanna placing the rock… It's almost as if this entire thing was staged.
"Dog-turd, you're getting in my way!" Kouga growled, standing next to him with hostility in his eyes.
"You wimpy wolf! You would be dead if it wasn't for me!" Inuyasha would have insulted the wolf more if he hadn't heard Kagome's voice.
"Don't you try anything, Naraku," she said, an arrow poised to be fired. Inuyasha turned around and saw that while he was bickering with Kouga, Naraku had tried to sneak up on him and attack him.
"Looks like you need a girl to save your life, Dog-turd," Kouga said, causing Inuyasha to lose his temper. But he couldn't do anything for at that moment, Naraku fired another ball of energy at Kagome.
"Kagome!" he shouted, running towards her.
"Kyaa!" she screamed, firing the arrow. The arrow had no effect against the ball of energy, and was still headed to demolish Kagome.
Inuyasha quickly scooped Kagome up and jumped away from the blast. He was surprised when he felt something sharp pierce his heart.
"Na-Naraku."
The wound in Sango's back was starting to affect her. As she tried to defeat the puppet Naraku, she kept feeling the emptiness of losing her brother and the hatred of her people's deaths collide with each other, making her feel weak. But still, she pushed on. I'm not the best youkai exterminator in my village for nothing. I will defeat this puppet and get my revenge on the real Naraku.
She saw her chance to slice the puppet in half when she saw Miroku cut off a large group of roots with his staff. She brought Hiraikotsu down through the puppet like a sword, slicing it in half. The puppet disappeared, leaving only a wooden figure with a single strand of hair tied around it, broken into two halves.
"We better go help Inuyasha," Miroku said, panting slightly.
Sango nodded and turned towards Naraku, only to see Inuyasha suddenly dash off and knock the fan out of Kagura's hands. Inuyasha wha-? She saw Kouga on the ground and immediately understood. So you went to save Kouga? And you're always saying that you don't care. So even while fighting Naraku you're still keeping an eye on us.
"Don't you try anything, Naraku." Sango saw Kagome with an arrow in her bow, ready to fire it at Naraku. Kagome sure recovers quickly. I didn't even notice that she was there.
Sango saw Kouga say something that made Inuyasha angry. Probably taunting Inuyasha again. When will those two ever get along?
All of a sudden, a bright orb of energy appeared from Naraku. Sango gasped as she saw the ball of energy head towards Kagome. Kagome, run! She heard Kagome scream. Inuyasha!
She saw Inuyasha use all of his speed to grab Kagome and leap into the air, evading the blast.
Thank goodness…
Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw a tentacle suddenly shoot out from where Inuyasha's heart would be. She saw the pearls of blood seeming to float in the air before staining the ground below. The red of Inuyasha's coat turned black as she saw a liquid form of miasma ooze from the tentacle, poisoning the hanyou.
Wha-what's happening? She felt herself trembling as she fell to the ground in shock, sitting on her legs as the debris from the roof she destroyed earlier dug into her legs.
Inuyasha felt the piercing pain of the tentacle shoot through his heart. He felt his nerves ripple with agony and his heart burst beads of blood with every beat that the heart tried to issue. He could feel his heart tearing as it tried to pump blood while the tentacle was still in him. Soon, the pain from his wound started to fade away as he began to feel numb.
He saw that Naraku was injecting a liquid miasma into his wound to insure his death. His blood was beginning to turn black with the poison. He felt his consciousness begin to slip away.
Using Kagome's image to trick me… I have to hand it to you, Naraku. I never expected this to happen.
He looked into the face that Naraku had borrowed. On her face was an expression of pure hatred. It was nearly the same expression that Kikyo had on when she had shot him fifty years ago. But Inuyasha could see that beneath the image of anger, Naraku was smiling. It must have been his eyes, or perhaps his illusion was imperfect, but Inuyasha could tell that Naraku was laughing at him.
He pushed Naraku away from him, swinging Tetsusaiga at him.
Kaze no Kizu. He didn't have the energy to shout out his attack as usual. He was dimly aware of falling onto the ground and hearing the attack of the Tetsusaiga slice through Naraku.
It hurts. Through the poison I can still feel the wound in my heart. It feels…it feels like Kikyo's arrow.
His eyes were beginning to become blurry. He looked up and saw the image of an angry Kagome turn into one of a smirking Naraku.
Even though I know that Kagome didn't wound me, and that it was Naraku, I still feel the same pain that I felt fifty years ago.
Kagome didn't injure me.
Naraku did.
Kikyo didn't betray me.
Naraku did it.
That's what you were after, isn't it? To stain the Shikon no Tama with feelings of anguish, betrayal, and hatred.
Kagome… Kagome didn't hurt me.
Naraku is the one who did it.
But…but I still feel the same agony.
Not because of Naraku's illusion of Kagome. Not because of the hatred and anger I saw on Kagome, no, Naraku's face.
But because I am still unable to be with the one I care for, no, love. Just like fifty years ago.
I hate you, Naraku.
But that was what you were after all along, isn't it?
He was faintly aware of Naraku plunging something into his blood. But by then, he had already gone to death's door.
Sango had watched, silent, unmoving, as Inuyasha pushed Kagome away from him and fell onto the ground. The blood immediately started to pool around him, and blood occasionally squirted from his wound as his heart kept on trying to pump blood, then finally slow down into a stop.
Inuyasha hit Kagome with the Kaze no Kizu?
Sango stared in shock as pieces of Kagome started to come together and combine themselves into a human again.
Kagome can't do that…
Kagome walked up next to Inuyasha, an expression of anger and hatred on her face. She had a really large piece of the Shikon no Tama in her hand. Sango saw Kagome turn into a smirking Naraku.
Naraku? Her paralyzed mind couldn't piece the clues together. She saw Inuyasha stir slightly, as if to look at Naraku's face.
She suddenly felt sick when Naraku took the Shikon shard and dipped it into Inuyasha's blood as if he were dipping one of the cookies Kagome brought from her world into milk.
That's right… The Shikon no Tama displays greater evil power when stained by blood tainted with hatred.
Kohaku… Is this what you were trying to tell me before…before Naraku took the shard out of you? She suddenly felt her mind begin to move quickly again as she felt fury at Naraku's actions. He killed Inuyasha. He killed Kohaku. He'll pay.
"How dare you use Kagome's image against Inuyasha?" Sango shouted, throwing Hiraikotsu at Naraku. Kanna appeared suddenly and reflected the attack back at Sango. She barely caught the boomerang, her arm feeling like it was ripped out of its socket. She swung the boomerang again, her anger clouding her judgment.
This time, Kagura used her fan to blow Hiraikotsu away. So you've gotten your weapon back? Well it doesn't matter. The one I'm really after is Naraku.
She jumped into the air and retrieved Hiraikotsu in midair. If I can't throw it, then I'll use Hiraikotsu as a sword. She ran towards Naraku, only to be blocked by Kagura. Sango swung the massive boomerang down on Kagura while Kagura tried to block the attack by using her wind blades.
"Fuujin no mai!" Sango noted the desperation in Kagura's voice as she released her attack. She ignored the blades of wind cutting through her, and instead tried to bring Hiraikotsu down on Kagura again. Her back felt warm with blood and her vision was already beginning to swim. It looks like I'll join you soon, Inuyasha, she thought grimly.
She thought she heard Miroku yelling for her to stop, but she could have imagined it. Sango used Hiraikotsu to cut at some of the wind blades, jarring her already sore arm. She heard something cracking, but ignored it. Kill Naraku. Kill Naraku. KILL NARAKU!
Hiraikotsu suddenly shattered.
A tornado came from Kagura's fan, and Sango's world was soon bathed in darkness.