The Crucible of Time
By Fujifunmum
Chapter 5
The real Kagewaki was long dead. Sango knew that better than any of the fighters, having been tricked by him long ago into attacking Inuyasha. They believed that only the real Naraku could hold the Jewel, but even that was not a certainty in this battle fraught with magic. He raised his other hand and the demon hoard stopped attacking Inuyasha.
With the flick of an eyebrow, he summoned another presence. Kikyo stepped outside of the castle onto the porch beside him.
Her Shinidamachuu, bringers of the restless souls of the dead maidens she feasted on, surrounded her. The lingering miasma clouded the sky. Kagome estimated it was mid-afternoon; the battle had been going on for some time. She cast an inquiring glance at Inuyasha. He was staring at Kikyo with anger clearly showing in his eyes.
Kikyo made her way directly to Inuyasha. She took no notice of the others, save for a slight glance over to Kagome. Kagome had re-directed her arrow at Kikyo, instructing both Sango and Miroku to concentrate on Naraku. If Kikyo was concerned, she did not show it. She stood directly in front of Inuyasha, who held Tetsusaiga between them.
"The shards." She demanded, holding out her hand.
Inuyasha was clearly irritated, but turned and left her standing there as he moved to stand behind Kagome.
"What are you doing?" Kagome was unnerved by Kikyo's presence and quite concerned with Inuyasha's behavior. She did not take her aim from Kikyo's heart. She wondered if she could kill another Miko. Dismissing that, she wondered how you killed someone who was already dead.
Inuyasha ripped the shards from her throat in a flash of movement and went back to stand in front of Kikyo. His eyes flashed with anger, but he placed the bottle of shards on her outstretched hand.
Kagome let lose a screamed "No!" that echoed off the castle walls. Inuyasha's ears flattened with the pain of the sound and the feelings it represented. He turned pleading and pained eyes on her, begging her to trust him, to believe in him.
Kagome was stunned. He had kept some part of the plan from her, she was sure of it now. She kept her aim on Kikyo, but as soon as Kikyo's back was turned to walk towards Kagewaki Inuyasha was behind her with an arm encircling her waist, whispering quietly in her ear.
"It wasn't supposed to happen like this, Kagome. Aim for Naraku, not Kikyo. As soon as he completes the jewel, shoot, and shoot to kill, just as we planned." She nodded and Inuyasha resumed his protective stance next to her, ready for the next attack. He barked at Miroku and Sango to watch their flanks while he and Kagome concentrated on the couple in front of them. He signaled Kiara and Shippou to go back to the roof and keep watch.
Kikyo approached the porch holding the Shikon no Kakera in her outstretched hand. She moved silently and swiftly towards Naraku with the grace and beauty that had captured Inuyasha's attention in her lifetime. Only the Shinidamachuu and the stench of earth and bones belied her real status as the undead Miko.
She reached Naraku at the same time as Kiara and Shippou hit a magical barrier that seemed to materialize in an instant. The jewel was combining before their shocked eyes as it lay in his hand. The barrier intensified, perhaps driven by the jewel.
Sango rushed to see to the safety of Shippou and Kiara as they fell. Miroku and Inuyasha flanked Kagome and Kagome infused her powerful Miko magic as she let fly her arrow aimed at Naraku's (or perhaps Kagewaki's) heart. The arrow hit the barrier and stopped in mid-air. The air around the arrow began to sparkle with the conflict of such deep and powerful magic. The arrow was glowing in mid-air as the sparkling, disintegrating effect it had on the barrier began to grow.
Kagome lowered her bow, handed her bow and arrows to Miroku and ran closer to the barrier. She bolstered the impact of the arrow by aiming her hands directly at the arrow and the barrier. She unleashed the biggest explosion of Miko power that had ever been released. Even the undead Miko gasped in awareness that here was a Miko that rivaled or surpassed Midoriko in power. Kiara howled at her in recognition, startling Sango who was calming her after her fall.
The barrier was down in less than five seconds after Kagome infused her power. But the explosion it created as it fell shook the entire battlefield. The powerful barrier blew outwards towards Inuyasha and the attackers, blowing them all back into the trees behind them. Sango and Kiara had escaped the major force of the blow and were immediately in the air searching for Kagome. She had to strike as soon as the barrier fell or Naraku could be away with the Jewel. The wolves had been blown into the trees with Inuyasha, most losing their lives in the force of the explosion. Only Inuyasha emerged, battered and bleeding, to rush towards Kagome.
Kagome had fallen face down when the explosion erupted, allowing the brunt of it to go over her. Miroku had fallen over her to protect her and the precious bow and arrows. All present were shocked by her power, but the danger embodied by Naraku, whatever his form was, could not be ignored. Naraku signaled for the demon hoard to attack, knowing they would reach Kagome before Inuyasha could. Miroku was up and unleashing the force of his Kazaana in a flash, needing to buy time for Kagome to aim her bow and deliver the fatal arrow. He ignored the Saimyoushou streaming into the void; it was his last stand and he knew it.
Kagome was struggling to regain her footing, screaming for Sango to find Shippou, as Inuyasha sped by her to keep Naraku engaged and stop additional attacks on Kagome. Before Inuyasha could strike, a katana appeared as if by conjuring and materialized in the chest of Kagewaki.
Inuyasha was the first to recognize the sword. He was amazed that the sword had chosen to attack Naraku/Kagewaki rather than his own beating heart. Turning, he saw Sesshoumaru entering the battlefield from behind the graveyard.
"I, Sesshoumaru rule Toukijin. The hate I have for Naraku is evidently greater than the hate I feel for you, little brother."
"Feh," was Inuyasha's only response, there was too much danger to Kagome to concern himself with his asshole brother. He'd been forced to trust him for this alliance, he had no choice now but to turn his back on him. He moved to relieve the embattled Miroku, but was stopped by the new activity on the porch.
Kagewaki screamed in pain and collapsed. He was revealed as another extension, but the one that Naraku had trusted with the jewel itself. Naraku himself must be close by. As Kagewaki crumpled both Kikyo and Kagome lunged for the jewel. Kikyo was closer but Kagome was quicker. She scooped up the jewel, smacked Kikyo upside the head and returned to her place at Inuyasha's side in a flash.
"Was that absolutely necessary, Bitch?"
"No," Kagome paused then smirked and said, "Yes."
Her mind snapped back to the battle at hand as she clutched the completed jewel and raised her bow to cock another arrow. She spotted Rin and Jaken waiting for Sesshoumaru behind the gravesites, but she couldn't find Shippou anywhere. She screamed again for Sango and Kiara to find Shippou; she had not seen him since Kiara's collision with the barrier.
Inuyasha just frowned at her. "Concentrate on Naraku," he barked. "If we are successful Shippou will be fine one way or another. If not we are all dead."
Kagome shuddered at his words, but struggled to regain her composure and steady her aim. Miroku was fading as Inuyasha leaped to relieve him. The Kaze no Kizu dispatching the demon hoards as Miroku struggled to restore the hand guard over his enlarged void. He collapsed with the pain of the effort and the poison of the absorbed demon bees.
Sesshoumaru astonished them further by recalling Toukijin from the crumpled heap that had been Kagewaki and taking up a stance at Kagome's side.
"I, Sesshoumaru, Demon Lord of the Western Lands, will not allow Naraku to continue to disturb of the peace of my land."
Kagome could hear Inuyasha's low grumble on her right. She tried to shush him when she heard Sesshoumaru mutter something very low. She couldn't swear to it, but she thought he said, "damn puppies".
Kikyo sat next to the heap that was Naraku, stunned by the power and dexterity that Kagome had just flaunted in front of her disbelieving dead eyes.
Suddenly, from the roof they heard the unmistakable laughter of Onigumo. He was a pitiful sight after the handsome and well-dressed extension that was Kagewaki. He looked like someone who had been dead for over 50 years. But it was clear that he was about to unleash the wrath of Naraku on their heads.
Kagome cocked her arrow as a swarm of spider demons attacked from both right and left. Inuyasha handled the ones on the right, Sesshoumaru the ones on the left. Sango leapt with Kiara to unloose her Hiraikotsu at the pitiful but dangerous Onigumo. Her boomerang made contact with his slight form, ripping the gi off his back and exposing the spider shaped burn on his "skin". He screamed in rage and flooded the area with the most poisonous miasma they had been exposed to yet. Inuyasha used his Kaze no Kizu Wind to disperse the noxious gas, but he could not aim at Onigumo directly for fear of hitting Kikyo who was directly under him, still on the porch. He screamed at her to move so he could execute another Kaze no Kizu, but his brother reacted just as she leapt off the porch.
"I, Sesshoumaru, Demon Lord of the Western Lands will not permit such a pitiful miasma as this to prevail." Stunning them all, he unsheathed Tenseiga. They all knew Tenseiga had the same kind of capabilities, but none of them (including Sesshoumaru) had ever seen the sword's wound of the wind. He executed it flawlessly, dispersing the miasma completely and reviving Kagewaki in the process.
"Need I, Sesshoumaru, remind you Inuyasha that I was the first to use the Kenatsu with Tetsusaiga as well? Perhaps I, Sesshoumaru, should have given you swordsmanship lessons, little brother."
Inuyasha's growling increased as he muttered, "Meals would have been an even better idea, asshole."
"I, Sesshoumaru, had not considered that, little brother." Kagome's eyes went from one brother to the next with alarm. Things were getting out of hand and it was almost sundown. It was time to end this battle now.
She took careful aim, infused the arrow with the maximum of her Miko power and struck Onigumo directly in the heart. The molecules that had once been his body dispersed and blew away with his miasma.
She put a hand on Inuyasha's arm to silence him and turned quickly to Sesshoumaru. It was time to get him to deliver on his end of the bargain before their brotherly enmity could distract them both.
"Sesshoumaru, thank you for helping us rid the Western Lands of Naraku." She delivered a swift kick to the shins to the hanyou beside her grumbling, growling and muttering "Feh."
"I believe Rin has shared our wish that you use Tenseiga to revive our fallen friends. We have placed them in the graveyard you passed coming here for their safekeeping during the battle. Perhaps we should adjourn there now?"
She and Sesshoumaru began moving towards the Taijiya graves. Kouga and Kohaku were growing cold in the waning sunlight. Hopefully the elapsed time had not been long enough to keep Tenseiga from reviving them. The sword's revival of Kagewaki gave them hope.
Sango and Kiara had gathered the dead wolves from the forest behind them and were placing them alongside their fallen leader. The small fox form held tenderly in Sango's arms was the last body to be placed. Gently, Sango lowered the lifeless Shippou next to Kohaku.
Kagome cried out in alarm at Sango's actions and rushed to her side. To her imploring eyes and streaming tears Sango hugged her and said, "The fall from Kiara knocked him out. He may have been injured as well, but the blast from the barrier blew him into the trees. He did not suffer, Kagome- chan. Have faith that Inuyasha's brother can revive him. I, too, am struggling to hold onto that faith."
"I, Sesshoumaru will hold to my promise to use Tenseiga for your fallen friends, Miko."
Inuyasha did not join them. Instead he moved towards where Kikyo waited, standing alone and wondering at his intent. Miroku was nursing his wounds on the porch, but the restoration of his hand to wholeness with Naraku's death had negated the effect of the poison of the Saimyoushou. For him, the lifting of the curse had lifted all of the effects of the Kazaana. He called out to Inuyasha, struggling to rise and asking if the hanyou needed help. Inuyasha just shook his head and continued toward the resurrected Kikyo. Miroku moved to assist the disoriented Kagewaki. The rewards for releasing the young lord from Naraku's control should be great indeed.
Inuyasha thought as he approached Kikyo that the revival of Kagewaki must surely be a sign of the great capabilities of Tenseiga as Naraku had taken over his body long ago, keeping it as one of his many kugutsu puppets until the very end when he had been forced to flee to his original form of Onigumo. Inuyasha's heavy heart swelled as he took the arm of the unwilling Miko and dragged her after Kagome and Sesshoumaru.
"It's time, Kikyo. You will stand with the wolf, Kohaku and our fallen friends to see if my father's fang can revive even you, the undead. If your humanity is successfully restored I will have kept my promises to you. If not, I will go with you into hell."
"What of my Shinidamachuu? The souls of the maidens are all that is keeping me alive since my soul has been stolen by your bitch Kagome." Kikyo continued to struggle as Inuyasha implacably placed her beside the dead wolves.
"She is not your reincarnation, Kikyo. And even I, Sesshoumaru, do not know if Tenseiga can revive one such as you. I have my doubts, but if you stand with the others, we shall see."
"You will keep your promise, Inuyasha?!" Kikyo was not at all pleased with the prospect of submitting herself to the will of the Tenseiga. "I will drag you into hell with me as my revenge!"
Inuyasha gave her a simple nod of agreement. Kagome paled as Kikyo stayed where Inuyasha had placed her next to the wolves. Sesshoumaru was preparing to swing Tenseiga to invoke the wind of revival. Why had Inuyasha not discussed his intentions with her beforehand? Kagome knew the answer was simple. He did not want to distract her from her duty to destroy Naraku by purification and to purify the Shikon no Tama at last. She looked down at the completed Jewel in her hand. The dark shadows that had been there before she had taken the jewel into her keeping were already gone. It was the unspoken measure of her true strength that merely holding the Jewel purified not only Naraku's influence, but also the original embattled Midoriko and demons trapped within. It was already pure in the fading light of the sunset, reflecting only the glorious colors of the sky. Kiara, feeling the reincarnated presence of Midoriko came willingly to sit by her side. Kagome turned her attention back to Sesshoumaru and prayed that his sword would work, that all of the slain fighters and Kikyo would be revived.
The swinging of the sword that heals cut the silence surrounding the dead Taijiya graves. The effect was nearly instantaneous. Kouga, Kohaku, Shippou and the wolves revived nearly at once. Shippou leaped into Kagome's waiting arms, snuggling into the safety of her loving caress. Sango gathered the dazed Kohaku in her arms, hugging him to her and releasing the tears of her long years of trial.
Unfortunately, the effect on Kikyo was also instantaneous. Her Shinidamachuu began to leave her. One by one the dead souls left her aura and her undead body to resume their original flight to the netherworld.
The effect on Kikyo was unexpected. She did not demand that Inuyasha go to hell with her, as both Kagome and Inuyasha thought she would. Instead she was forced by the most primal of examples to accept that she was dead and could not be revived by any but the most evil of means. She saw the humanity in the face of Kohaku, the boy who had been forced to kill his own family by the evil Naraku. She saw his pain at his revival and wondered if it might not have been kinder to allow him to die.
That thought stunned her and she turned it in on herself. Before Inuyasha had blurted out her name, she remembered that she had wished to remain dead. Then she looked skyward and saw the souls of the Shinidamachuu as if for the first time. They each represented a soul of a dead maiden; a soul she had stolen in order to continue her life of vengeance. Inuyasha had agreed to comply with her vengeance. He had agreed to go to hell with her. Even the sad faced hanyou who stood before her had exhibited more human kindness towards her than she was capable of in her tortured earth and bones form.
As she was forced to let go of her Shinidamachuu, Kikyo finally followed her sister Kaede's advice and let go of her anger and vengeance.
"Where is Kaede?" She asked, her voice cracking and her legs buckling beneath her.
Inuyasha knelt by her side and told her the truth. "Dead. Killed by Kagura. We buried her next to where you were buried in the Shrine near the village." The sadness in Inuyasha's voice startled Kikyo further. He felt more pain and sadness about her own sister's death than she did. Her unnatural form was incapable of it. Only the light fading from her false eyes reflected the scattered humanity she was capable of now that her anger and vengeance were gone. "Kagome killed Kagura. Purified her into dust before our very eyes. That was how we knew we could kill Naraku."
"Sesshoumaru is right." She breathed, collapsing to the ground. "She is not my reincarnation. " She turned pleading fading human eyes on Inuyasha and Kagome. For the first time Kagome saw the Kikyo that Inuyasha had loved. "Bury me with my sister. Let me rest with Kaede."
Kagome set Shippou down and came to Inuyasha's side, each of them held a hand of the long dead Miko who was returning to a shell of earth and bones before their wide eyes.
"I release you from your promises, Inuyasha. I forgive you."
To be continued.
Chapter 5
The real Kagewaki was long dead. Sango knew that better than any of the fighters, having been tricked by him long ago into attacking Inuyasha. They believed that only the real Naraku could hold the Jewel, but even that was not a certainty in this battle fraught with magic. He raised his other hand and the demon hoard stopped attacking Inuyasha.
With the flick of an eyebrow, he summoned another presence. Kikyo stepped outside of the castle onto the porch beside him.
Her Shinidamachuu, bringers of the restless souls of the dead maidens she feasted on, surrounded her. The lingering miasma clouded the sky. Kagome estimated it was mid-afternoon; the battle had been going on for some time. She cast an inquiring glance at Inuyasha. He was staring at Kikyo with anger clearly showing in his eyes.
Kikyo made her way directly to Inuyasha. She took no notice of the others, save for a slight glance over to Kagome. Kagome had re-directed her arrow at Kikyo, instructing both Sango and Miroku to concentrate on Naraku. If Kikyo was concerned, she did not show it. She stood directly in front of Inuyasha, who held Tetsusaiga between them.
"The shards." She demanded, holding out her hand.
Inuyasha was clearly irritated, but turned and left her standing there as he moved to stand behind Kagome.
"What are you doing?" Kagome was unnerved by Kikyo's presence and quite concerned with Inuyasha's behavior. She did not take her aim from Kikyo's heart. She wondered if she could kill another Miko. Dismissing that, she wondered how you killed someone who was already dead.
Inuyasha ripped the shards from her throat in a flash of movement and went back to stand in front of Kikyo. His eyes flashed with anger, but he placed the bottle of shards on her outstretched hand.
Kagome let lose a screamed "No!" that echoed off the castle walls. Inuyasha's ears flattened with the pain of the sound and the feelings it represented. He turned pleading and pained eyes on her, begging her to trust him, to believe in him.
Kagome was stunned. He had kept some part of the plan from her, she was sure of it now. She kept her aim on Kikyo, but as soon as Kikyo's back was turned to walk towards Kagewaki Inuyasha was behind her with an arm encircling her waist, whispering quietly in her ear.
"It wasn't supposed to happen like this, Kagome. Aim for Naraku, not Kikyo. As soon as he completes the jewel, shoot, and shoot to kill, just as we planned." She nodded and Inuyasha resumed his protective stance next to her, ready for the next attack. He barked at Miroku and Sango to watch their flanks while he and Kagome concentrated on the couple in front of them. He signaled Kiara and Shippou to go back to the roof and keep watch.
Kikyo approached the porch holding the Shikon no Kakera in her outstretched hand. She moved silently and swiftly towards Naraku with the grace and beauty that had captured Inuyasha's attention in her lifetime. Only the Shinidamachuu and the stench of earth and bones belied her real status as the undead Miko.
She reached Naraku at the same time as Kiara and Shippou hit a magical barrier that seemed to materialize in an instant. The jewel was combining before their shocked eyes as it lay in his hand. The barrier intensified, perhaps driven by the jewel.
Sango rushed to see to the safety of Shippou and Kiara as they fell. Miroku and Inuyasha flanked Kagome and Kagome infused her powerful Miko magic as she let fly her arrow aimed at Naraku's (or perhaps Kagewaki's) heart. The arrow hit the barrier and stopped in mid-air. The air around the arrow began to sparkle with the conflict of such deep and powerful magic. The arrow was glowing in mid-air as the sparkling, disintegrating effect it had on the barrier began to grow.
Kagome lowered her bow, handed her bow and arrows to Miroku and ran closer to the barrier. She bolstered the impact of the arrow by aiming her hands directly at the arrow and the barrier. She unleashed the biggest explosion of Miko power that had ever been released. Even the undead Miko gasped in awareness that here was a Miko that rivaled or surpassed Midoriko in power. Kiara howled at her in recognition, startling Sango who was calming her after her fall.
The barrier was down in less than five seconds after Kagome infused her power. But the explosion it created as it fell shook the entire battlefield. The powerful barrier blew outwards towards Inuyasha and the attackers, blowing them all back into the trees behind them. Sango and Kiara had escaped the major force of the blow and were immediately in the air searching for Kagome. She had to strike as soon as the barrier fell or Naraku could be away with the Jewel. The wolves had been blown into the trees with Inuyasha, most losing their lives in the force of the explosion. Only Inuyasha emerged, battered and bleeding, to rush towards Kagome.
Kagome had fallen face down when the explosion erupted, allowing the brunt of it to go over her. Miroku had fallen over her to protect her and the precious bow and arrows. All present were shocked by her power, but the danger embodied by Naraku, whatever his form was, could not be ignored. Naraku signaled for the demon hoard to attack, knowing they would reach Kagome before Inuyasha could. Miroku was up and unleashing the force of his Kazaana in a flash, needing to buy time for Kagome to aim her bow and deliver the fatal arrow. He ignored the Saimyoushou streaming into the void; it was his last stand and he knew it.
Kagome was struggling to regain her footing, screaming for Sango to find Shippou, as Inuyasha sped by her to keep Naraku engaged and stop additional attacks on Kagome. Before Inuyasha could strike, a katana appeared as if by conjuring and materialized in the chest of Kagewaki.
Inuyasha was the first to recognize the sword. He was amazed that the sword had chosen to attack Naraku/Kagewaki rather than his own beating heart. Turning, he saw Sesshoumaru entering the battlefield from behind the graveyard.
"I, Sesshoumaru rule Toukijin. The hate I have for Naraku is evidently greater than the hate I feel for you, little brother."
"Feh," was Inuyasha's only response, there was too much danger to Kagome to concern himself with his asshole brother. He'd been forced to trust him for this alliance, he had no choice now but to turn his back on him. He moved to relieve the embattled Miroku, but was stopped by the new activity on the porch.
Kagewaki screamed in pain and collapsed. He was revealed as another extension, but the one that Naraku had trusted with the jewel itself. Naraku himself must be close by. As Kagewaki crumpled both Kikyo and Kagome lunged for the jewel. Kikyo was closer but Kagome was quicker. She scooped up the jewel, smacked Kikyo upside the head and returned to her place at Inuyasha's side in a flash.
"Was that absolutely necessary, Bitch?"
"No," Kagome paused then smirked and said, "Yes."
Her mind snapped back to the battle at hand as she clutched the completed jewel and raised her bow to cock another arrow. She spotted Rin and Jaken waiting for Sesshoumaru behind the gravesites, but she couldn't find Shippou anywhere. She screamed again for Sango and Kiara to find Shippou; she had not seen him since Kiara's collision with the barrier.
Inuyasha just frowned at her. "Concentrate on Naraku," he barked. "If we are successful Shippou will be fine one way or another. If not we are all dead."
Kagome shuddered at his words, but struggled to regain her composure and steady her aim. Miroku was fading as Inuyasha leaped to relieve him. The Kaze no Kizu dispatching the demon hoards as Miroku struggled to restore the hand guard over his enlarged void. He collapsed with the pain of the effort and the poison of the absorbed demon bees.
Sesshoumaru astonished them further by recalling Toukijin from the crumpled heap that had been Kagewaki and taking up a stance at Kagome's side.
"I, Sesshoumaru, Demon Lord of the Western Lands, will not allow Naraku to continue to disturb of the peace of my land."
Kagome could hear Inuyasha's low grumble on her right. She tried to shush him when she heard Sesshoumaru mutter something very low. She couldn't swear to it, but she thought he said, "damn puppies".
Kikyo sat next to the heap that was Naraku, stunned by the power and dexterity that Kagome had just flaunted in front of her disbelieving dead eyes.
Suddenly, from the roof they heard the unmistakable laughter of Onigumo. He was a pitiful sight after the handsome and well-dressed extension that was Kagewaki. He looked like someone who had been dead for over 50 years. But it was clear that he was about to unleash the wrath of Naraku on their heads.
Kagome cocked her arrow as a swarm of spider demons attacked from both right and left. Inuyasha handled the ones on the right, Sesshoumaru the ones on the left. Sango leapt with Kiara to unloose her Hiraikotsu at the pitiful but dangerous Onigumo. Her boomerang made contact with his slight form, ripping the gi off his back and exposing the spider shaped burn on his "skin". He screamed in rage and flooded the area with the most poisonous miasma they had been exposed to yet. Inuyasha used his Kaze no Kizu Wind to disperse the noxious gas, but he could not aim at Onigumo directly for fear of hitting Kikyo who was directly under him, still on the porch. He screamed at her to move so he could execute another Kaze no Kizu, but his brother reacted just as she leapt off the porch.
"I, Sesshoumaru, Demon Lord of the Western Lands will not permit such a pitiful miasma as this to prevail." Stunning them all, he unsheathed Tenseiga. They all knew Tenseiga had the same kind of capabilities, but none of them (including Sesshoumaru) had ever seen the sword's wound of the wind. He executed it flawlessly, dispersing the miasma completely and reviving Kagewaki in the process.
"Need I, Sesshoumaru, remind you Inuyasha that I was the first to use the Kenatsu with Tetsusaiga as well? Perhaps I, Sesshoumaru, should have given you swordsmanship lessons, little brother."
Inuyasha's growling increased as he muttered, "Meals would have been an even better idea, asshole."
"I, Sesshoumaru, had not considered that, little brother." Kagome's eyes went from one brother to the next with alarm. Things were getting out of hand and it was almost sundown. It was time to end this battle now.
She took careful aim, infused the arrow with the maximum of her Miko power and struck Onigumo directly in the heart. The molecules that had once been his body dispersed and blew away with his miasma.
She put a hand on Inuyasha's arm to silence him and turned quickly to Sesshoumaru. It was time to get him to deliver on his end of the bargain before their brotherly enmity could distract them both.
"Sesshoumaru, thank you for helping us rid the Western Lands of Naraku." She delivered a swift kick to the shins to the hanyou beside her grumbling, growling and muttering "Feh."
"I believe Rin has shared our wish that you use Tenseiga to revive our fallen friends. We have placed them in the graveyard you passed coming here for their safekeeping during the battle. Perhaps we should adjourn there now?"
She and Sesshoumaru began moving towards the Taijiya graves. Kouga and Kohaku were growing cold in the waning sunlight. Hopefully the elapsed time had not been long enough to keep Tenseiga from reviving them. The sword's revival of Kagewaki gave them hope.
Sango and Kiara had gathered the dead wolves from the forest behind them and were placing them alongside their fallen leader. The small fox form held tenderly in Sango's arms was the last body to be placed. Gently, Sango lowered the lifeless Shippou next to Kohaku.
Kagome cried out in alarm at Sango's actions and rushed to her side. To her imploring eyes and streaming tears Sango hugged her and said, "The fall from Kiara knocked him out. He may have been injured as well, but the blast from the barrier blew him into the trees. He did not suffer, Kagome- chan. Have faith that Inuyasha's brother can revive him. I, too, am struggling to hold onto that faith."
"I, Sesshoumaru will hold to my promise to use Tenseiga for your fallen friends, Miko."
Inuyasha did not join them. Instead he moved towards where Kikyo waited, standing alone and wondering at his intent. Miroku was nursing his wounds on the porch, but the restoration of his hand to wholeness with Naraku's death had negated the effect of the poison of the Saimyoushou. For him, the lifting of the curse had lifted all of the effects of the Kazaana. He called out to Inuyasha, struggling to rise and asking if the hanyou needed help. Inuyasha just shook his head and continued toward the resurrected Kikyo. Miroku moved to assist the disoriented Kagewaki. The rewards for releasing the young lord from Naraku's control should be great indeed.
Inuyasha thought as he approached Kikyo that the revival of Kagewaki must surely be a sign of the great capabilities of Tenseiga as Naraku had taken over his body long ago, keeping it as one of his many kugutsu puppets until the very end when he had been forced to flee to his original form of Onigumo. Inuyasha's heavy heart swelled as he took the arm of the unwilling Miko and dragged her after Kagome and Sesshoumaru.
"It's time, Kikyo. You will stand with the wolf, Kohaku and our fallen friends to see if my father's fang can revive even you, the undead. If your humanity is successfully restored I will have kept my promises to you. If not, I will go with you into hell."
"What of my Shinidamachuu? The souls of the maidens are all that is keeping me alive since my soul has been stolen by your bitch Kagome." Kikyo continued to struggle as Inuyasha implacably placed her beside the dead wolves.
"She is not your reincarnation, Kikyo. And even I, Sesshoumaru, do not know if Tenseiga can revive one such as you. I have my doubts, but if you stand with the others, we shall see."
"You will keep your promise, Inuyasha?!" Kikyo was not at all pleased with the prospect of submitting herself to the will of the Tenseiga. "I will drag you into hell with me as my revenge!"
Inuyasha gave her a simple nod of agreement. Kagome paled as Kikyo stayed where Inuyasha had placed her next to the wolves. Sesshoumaru was preparing to swing Tenseiga to invoke the wind of revival. Why had Inuyasha not discussed his intentions with her beforehand? Kagome knew the answer was simple. He did not want to distract her from her duty to destroy Naraku by purification and to purify the Shikon no Tama at last. She looked down at the completed Jewel in her hand. The dark shadows that had been there before she had taken the jewel into her keeping were already gone. It was the unspoken measure of her true strength that merely holding the Jewel purified not only Naraku's influence, but also the original embattled Midoriko and demons trapped within. It was already pure in the fading light of the sunset, reflecting only the glorious colors of the sky. Kiara, feeling the reincarnated presence of Midoriko came willingly to sit by her side. Kagome turned her attention back to Sesshoumaru and prayed that his sword would work, that all of the slain fighters and Kikyo would be revived.
The swinging of the sword that heals cut the silence surrounding the dead Taijiya graves. The effect was nearly instantaneous. Kouga, Kohaku, Shippou and the wolves revived nearly at once. Shippou leaped into Kagome's waiting arms, snuggling into the safety of her loving caress. Sango gathered the dazed Kohaku in her arms, hugging him to her and releasing the tears of her long years of trial.
Unfortunately, the effect on Kikyo was also instantaneous. Her Shinidamachuu began to leave her. One by one the dead souls left her aura and her undead body to resume their original flight to the netherworld.
The effect on Kikyo was unexpected. She did not demand that Inuyasha go to hell with her, as both Kagome and Inuyasha thought she would. Instead she was forced by the most primal of examples to accept that she was dead and could not be revived by any but the most evil of means. She saw the humanity in the face of Kohaku, the boy who had been forced to kill his own family by the evil Naraku. She saw his pain at his revival and wondered if it might not have been kinder to allow him to die.
That thought stunned her and she turned it in on herself. Before Inuyasha had blurted out her name, she remembered that she had wished to remain dead. Then she looked skyward and saw the souls of the Shinidamachuu as if for the first time. They each represented a soul of a dead maiden; a soul she had stolen in order to continue her life of vengeance. Inuyasha had agreed to comply with her vengeance. He had agreed to go to hell with her. Even the sad faced hanyou who stood before her had exhibited more human kindness towards her than she was capable of in her tortured earth and bones form.
As she was forced to let go of her Shinidamachuu, Kikyo finally followed her sister Kaede's advice and let go of her anger and vengeance.
"Where is Kaede?" She asked, her voice cracking and her legs buckling beneath her.
Inuyasha knelt by her side and told her the truth. "Dead. Killed by Kagura. We buried her next to where you were buried in the Shrine near the village." The sadness in Inuyasha's voice startled Kikyo further. He felt more pain and sadness about her own sister's death than she did. Her unnatural form was incapable of it. Only the light fading from her false eyes reflected the scattered humanity she was capable of now that her anger and vengeance were gone. "Kagome killed Kagura. Purified her into dust before our very eyes. That was how we knew we could kill Naraku."
"Sesshoumaru is right." She breathed, collapsing to the ground. "She is not my reincarnation. " She turned pleading fading human eyes on Inuyasha and Kagome. For the first time Kagome saw the Kikyo that Inuyasha had loved. "Bury me with my sister. Let me rest with Kaede."
Kagome set Shippou down and came to Inuyasha's side, each of them held a hand of the long dead Miko who was returning to a shell of earth and bones before their wide eyes.
"I release you from your promises, Inuyasha. I forgive you."
To be continued.