Shippou led the way through the village and bounded up to Kaede's hut, promptly knocking on the wood. The door swung open to reveal a startled Kaede. Before she could say anything, Shippou held his finger to his lips, requesting silence. Nodding, Kaede moved out of the way and let the pair through the door.
Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku were seated in the main room discussing their issues with Naraku when Shippou, Kagome and Kaede entered the room. The hanyou gaped when his eyes fell on the youkai princess and he mentally berated himself for not picking up her scent sooner.
"Shippou!" Sango exclaimed, hugging the kit as she warily eyed the ninja who promptly stared back, her eyes betraying no emotion.
"I assume you are Sango," Kagome stated dryly, removing the mask of her camouflage garb. "Do not be alarmed; I have no evil intent toward you or anyone here."
Sango nodded once, though she still kept her guard up. A grin slowly spread across Miroku's face as he stood and started toward Kagome, his hand extended toward her own. Deciding to humor the monk, Kagome played along with his.
"Kagome-sama!" Miroku smiled charmingly, kissing her hand. "A pleasure to meet you. I must ask you a favor. Would you do me the great honor of bearing my chi—"
"And you must be the 'Lecherous Monk' I was warned about," Kagome interrupted with a smirk. Laughter broke from Shippou, Sango and Kaede, and Inuyasha even cracked a smile as a rosy blush made its way across Miroku's cheeks. Sango suddenly decided she liked the new character known as Kagome.
"Why yes, I am," Miroku smiled as he reached down to pat her, ahem, behind, promptly earning a slap from Sango.
"What're you doing here, wench?" Inuyasha questioned when Kagome peered at him.
"Well, Inuyasha, it's nice to see you too," she replied wryly as she slapped him with her tail, earning a scowl from the hanyou and smirks from the humans.
"You two know each other?" Sango asked looking surprised.
"Vaguely," the princess responded. "He attacked me when we first met."
"Figures," the youkai huntress snorted.
"So what happened to you after that whole thing with the soul stealers and crap?" Inuyasha gruffly asked.
"Oh…that," Kagome replied. "Your brother took me to his home and took care of Shippou and I. He even took it upon himself to bandage my hip…but maybe he only did it so I wouldn't bleed everywhere," she finished thoughtfully.
Inuyasha snorted.
"What happened to your hip, Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked.
Kagome sighed. "To make a long story short, we were attacked and a centipede youkai ripped the Shikon no Tama from my hip. How or why it was in my body in the first place, I do not know, but Naraku now has half."
Everyone stared at the youkai in disbelief.
"How did Naraku get part of it? Did it break?" Kaede questioned rather calmly.
"Oh…heh," Kagome laughed nervously. "I uh…well…when I was fighting with the centipede, she ripped out the full Shikon no Tama from my body. I accidentally cleaved it in half and she managed to leave with part of it, so I have just a little over half," Kagome finished, pulling the jewel from one of her numerous pockets.
Inuyasha's eyes darted from Kagome's face down to the pale pink jewel gently glowing in her hands. Suddenly, one of his hands snaked out and brushed against the Shikon half when Kagome quickly moved it from his grasp.
"Hey, give me that! I've been looking everywhere for it!" Inuyasha growled.
Kagome threw him a look, telling him to shut up as she tucked the Shikon safely into one of her pockets.
"What, are you deaf? I said give me that jewel!" Inuyasha barked as he stood.
Kagome whipped out a shuriken and hurled it at the hanyou with lightning-fast movements in a show of her rising irritation. It grazed his cheek and imbedded itself into the wall behind the hanyou. Inuyasha jumped up and was about to retaliate when Miroku jumped in the middle of the two.
"So you have problems with Naraku as well," questioned the monk, effectively breaking up the forming fight.
"Yes; he has tried to capture me or kill me or do whatever is in his twisted mind more than twice," Kagome answered. "Four times in fact…"
The group was about to continue speculating the situation at hand when terrified cries rang through the village. The group rushed out to have a look. The sight greeting their eyes were hundreds of youkai swarming the area.
In the Western Lands, a shudder racked through the young lord. He suddenly felt as though something were about to happen.
Naraku sat high atop a tree, watching gleefully as the scene unfolded before him. In his hand he held his half, rather slightly less than half, of the Shikon no Tama. A barrier surrounded him and his youkai, masking their scent from the powerful noses of the hanyou mutt, the kitsune and most importantly, the Guardian Princess. All the players were in position, and he held the cards. All they had to do was play their roles.
The group in Kaede's hut rushed outside. Kagome, Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and Kiara sprinted for the forest, luring the attacking youkai away from the village. Kaede and Shippou tended to those whom had gotten hurt as the horde youkai raced after the group dashing toward the forest.
The five stopped running when they reached a large clearing that looked suitable enough for a battle. Kagome drew Masamune and Murasame, Inuyasha welded Tetsusaiga, Sango readied Hiraikotsu, Miroku prepared his Air Rip and Kiara transformed from the tiny cat to the large, intimidating feline. They were ready for battle.
Had they been any slower, they would have been devastated as the swarming youkai began pouring into the clearing, attacking the group as they could.
Kagome's hands moved with fluid grace as her twin swords worked together, impaling, slashing and cutting any youkai unfortunate enough to meet her blades. It was almost as if her hands and arms moved of their on accord, as if they had a mind of their own.
Inuyasha's fang pulsed in his hand and immediately transformed, growing and elongating to a beautiful curve with an extremely fine point. No sooner had it changed than Inuyasha released Wound of the Wind, cutting down youkai all around him.
Miroku released the Air Rip onto the demons heading in his direction, the curse swallowing any youkai unfortunate enough to cross its path. The Air Rip took so much energy that Miroku was only able to use it a maximum of four times, and after the blast subsided, Miroku fell to his knees, slightly winded. (A/N: No pun intended… ^_^)
Sango and Kiara worked together in destroying the youkai attacking. The taijiya repeatedly threw Hiraikotsu, knocking down large quantities of youkai as the giant boomerang returned. Kiara, in her state of transformation, was able to spit large orbs of fire and incinerate any youkai within her vicinity.
Injuries were increasing and the five had been fighting for quite some time now, using every skill or trick they knew. Though the youkai were dwindling due to the combined efforts of the team, the five fighters were quickly diminishing in energy. Kagome jumped off to the side and withdrew the healing herbs, equally distributed them among the five warriors. When she finished, she took each portion to the fighters. As they consumed the herbs, they slowly felt a good portion of their energy of their energy being restored. With the newfound energy, the team gained a new motivation, and quickly dispatched the youkai with their strongest attacks. The youkai were gone and in their place, five tired beings and a bloody battlefield.
Naraku smirked from his perch in the tree. His plan was unfolding beautifully. Soon, the Guardian bitch would be his. But he decided he would wait a short while, for the pathetic humans to recover some of their energy before unleashing the new wave. After all, Naraku thought. What fun would it be to watch them die so quickly without suffering?
Sesshoumaru's unease grew with each passing moment. Something terrible was about to happen, that he was sure of.
"Jaken!" he barked.
The toad stumbled to his master. "Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama?"
"I am leaving," he stated shortly. "You will take care of Rin."
"B-b-but Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken protested.
"Jaken."
"H-hai, Sesshoumaru-sama…" Jaken sighed in defeat. Unbeknownst to the toad, he would soon discover the horrors of make-up and girly cloths.
With that, the youkai lord took to the air and headed to where his instincts led him.
The group sat in the clearing and talked, slowly regaining their strength bit by bit.
"Kagome-sama," Miroku began. "Why is Naraku after you?"
Kagome sighed as she wrapped her tail around her shoulder in a fashion she'd unconsciously picked up from Sesshoumaru. "I hold the other half of the Shikon no Tama. This is probably the fifth time he's attempted to acquire it from me."
"I see…" Miroku murmured.
Sango looked at Kagome and studied her. There was something about the girl that Sango didn't quite get. Kagome looked up and noticed Sango staring at her. She raised her eyebrows in a questioning gesture.
"Kagome-chan…" the youkai huntress began tentatively. She took Kagome's look as her cue. "I've heard stories of the Guardians and how they possess the Shikon no Tama and protect it."
"Right…" Kagome knew what she was getting at.
"And you had the Shikon no Tama imbedded in your hip, correct?"
"Yes…"
"Well…Kagome-chan, are you a Guardian?"
The youkai princess sighed again, this time deeper. "Yes, Sango-chan I am…there's no use denying it."
Miroku and Inuyasha gaped while Sango nodded at her correct assumption.
"You're an intelligent girl, Sango. Something not too often found among humans," Kagome joked with a smirk.
Miroku looked at Kagome, then Sango, then back at Kagome again, putting two and two together. The light bulb above his head suddenly brightened in registration. "Why didn't I realize that!" the monk exclaimed.
"Wait, let me get this straight," Inuyasha began. "You're a Guardian, a member of a race that was supposed to have been destroyed more than two hundred years ago? Someone sure is a nutcase."
"Supposedly destroyed two hundred twenty years ago, to be exact," Kagome replied, ignoring his last comment. "I was the human equivalent of six years-old."
"So what happened?" Sango gently urged.
"Naraku happened," Kagome spat the name as if it were a vile cuss word capable of damning one to hell if one were to utter it.
"What do you mean, wench?" Inuyasha questioned gruffly.
Kagome was about to answer when she suddenly froze, eyes widening in horror as her ears twitched. Inuyasha suddenly noticed what had stopped her and growled.
A crescendo of buzzing was filling the air.
Naraku smiled wickedly as he noticed Kagome and Inuyasha stiffen. Let's see how well they handle this little trick, he thought gleefully.
Cupping his half of the tainted jewel in his hand, the Shikon turned black as he called forth its power, creating swarms and swarms of youkai, pouring a little of himself into each being, making it faster, stronger and smarter. Finally, he sent them forth and they attacked, all in the same instant, surrounding the five warriors. The tainted Shikon half amplified their power ten-fold.
The evil hanyou smirked. You will be mine, Guardian.
Kagome stared in shock, unable to move. There were so many of them, more than before. Thousands.
Inuyasha wasted no time in releasing Wound of the Wind. The devastating attack eliminated any youkai at contacted, but this time, the youkai they were fighting were smarter and faster.
Miroku released his Air Rip, which was still effective as it swallowed the youkai in its path, but the priest's energy was quickly diminishing.
Sango's Hiraikotsu had a similar effect to Inuyasha's Wound of the Wind; her giant boomerang harmed the youkai, but they easily dodged the blows.
Kiara's incinerating flames still burned the opposing youkai to ash, but the feline was tired and would soon run out of energy.
It seemed that this would be the end for the five.
Sesshoumaru's instincts told him he was where he needed to be. Looking down, his golden orbs met a sight that truly shocked him, something that had not happened in a long, long time. Below were thousands of youkai swarming two humans, two youkai and a hanyou. One youkai, the inuyoukai, he recognized as Kagome. The hanyou he immediately knew was his brother. Who could miss the red ensemble so insulting to his eyes?
Sesshoumaru watched a little longer as the monk released the Air Rip and collapsed. His brother performed Wound of the Wind. Inuyasha's attack engulfed many of the imposing youkai, but harmed the female human and her feline youkai as well. Kagome dragged the two to where Miroku was and stood in front of them protectively as youkai began to surround them.
Deciding he'd seen enough, Sesshoumaru landed behind Kagome.
In the trees, a certain evil hanyou stared in surprise at the unexpected visitor. A joker, eh?
He soon realized that the unexpected visitor was the Western Lord himself. Naraku dimly recalled Kagura mentioning something about him, but forgot what exactly it was.
The hanyou sat and watched Sesshoumaru intently, analyzing the new player in the game, thinking he wouldn't make a difference to the outcome of the battle. He thought wrong.
Kagome turned around to face Sesshoumaru and couldn't contain the look of surprise etched on her face. As Sesshoumaru drew Toukijin and walked to her side, Kagome nodded in realization. Drawing her swords, the two began to fight off the youkai trying to kill the fallen soldiers.
Inuyasha watched in surprise as his brother landed at the scene and drew his sword and fought off youkai with Kagome. It was something he'd never expected from the cold, uncaring Western Lord. Soon Inuyasha joined them, unleashing Wound of the Wind for the nth time that day.
The three fought of the youkai as best they could, Sesshoumaru using his poison claws and sword, Inuyasha slashing and gashing, Kagome using her artfully learned ninjitsu. Even though half lie dead, a few thousand youkai continued to attack, and it seemed as though they were increasing in number.
Sesshoumaru was getting pissed, something he wasn't exactly used to in a battle. Naraku's youkai seemed like cockroaches—no matter how hard you tried, you just couldn't rid yourself of their filthy presence. His blood began to boil and his eyes bled crimson as the young prince gave into his transformation. With a surge of light, Sesshoumaru was in his demon form, towering, massive, and terrifying.
Kagome was exhausted by then and was about to drop to her knees when a sudden burst of light erupted from her swords in a surge of devastating power, killing youkai within a six-foot radius. She dropped her swords as her power flared and a blue aura surrounded her. For the third time in her life, the ninja blacked out.
Naraku was livid and had to use every ounce of control he possessed to keep from screaming out in anger and revealing his whereabouts.
His pawns had played their role up until the last part. He hadn't counted on the Western Lord showing up, let alone transforming and he most definitely hadn't counted on Kagome's overwhelming power. Things had most definitely turned against his favor.
He watched, seething as the Guardian raised into the air, her friends moving behind her, eyes wide in amazement. Naraku gasped as her power flared once again whipping her hair about. Holding her hands cupped over each other in front of her, a glowing orb of blue energy gathered between her palms, as a gaping black hole appeared on the ground underneath the youkai the vicious hanyou created. A pillar of swirling, transparent blue light surrounded the youkai, seemingly holding them in place as orbs of golden energy flowed into the darkness of the cavity. As the pillar dissipated and the orbs ceased their flow, the power in Kagome's hands erupted and the youkai were sucked in as the void closed behind them, leaving behind not a single trace of their existence.
Naraku was too shocked to move as his mind replayed what he had just witnessed. His lust for the Guardian grew as he witnessed the spectacle of her power.
He stared at the ninja as she opened her arms and spun around gracefully, disappearing into nothingness.
Once again, she had slipped through his fingers like sand.
Kagome's mind slowly crept back to reality as she woke. Opening her eyes, everything appeared as bleary and hazy colors melded together. As her eyes slowly focused, she sat up in alarm; she was in a cavern she'd never been to.
In the center of the underground was a pond of crystalline, blue water that seemed to glow. Some feet above the pond was what appeared to be an icicle that tapered from a ceiling of glittering ice. From the tip of the icicle, water dripped into the very center of the pond. As Kagome looked around, she noticed the walls appeared to be made of ice as well, glittering in their glory. Gold swirls were on the walls and ceiling, causing the place to look majestic in its splendor. Though it appeared to be made of ice, the cavern was not cold. She also noticed there were no doors in the cavern.
At the far end of the room, the youkai princess noticed mirror-like structure made of a soft, satiny gold. But it wasn't a mirror. On the part that would normally show a reflection was a large symbol engraved in ice blue. It was the Crest of Guardian Royalty.
Kagome walked to the mirror-like structure. She was about to brush her hand against the crest when she heard a noise behind her. Turing around, she found the pond of water had become hazy swirls of gold and silver.
Suddenly, a blinding flash of light appeared. As quickly as it had come, it vanished, leaving in its wake a figure. The figure floated, tall and graceful, light outlining her form and Kagome gasped in shock. It couldn't be, but there was no mistaking who the it was.
"Mother…?" she whispered in disbelief.
A/N: Whew, there's the end. It was longer than usual, so I hope you guys enjoyed it. But in all honesty, I hated this chapter. It wasn't as well done as it could have been even thought I wrote it over three times. I don't know...I just didn't like this chappy at all...
Also, were the characters (Sango, Miroku) OOC? If they were, I'm sorry. I'm still doing research on how they all should be acting. Oh yeah, keep in mind that Kagome is a bit OOC for reasons...I made her that way. But after next chapter she'll be the normal Kagome we know and love.
ONE FINAL QUESTION!
Does anyone know if Naraku has a weakness? I know of his dislike for his human side and I know of the Kikyou weakness...but she's really Onigumo's thing...Anyway if anyone can give me more detail, it would be much appreciated! Thanks! ^_^
