Chapter 5
"A Familiar Voice"
The moon was full in the sky and the stars glittered in the midnight sky as a light breeze blew tiny Cherry Blossom petals through the air. Michiko closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, inhaling their light fragrant scent with her keen hanyou senses. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts as she shed her dark blue kimono and slipped into the water of a warm hot spring.
She sighed and settled far down into the water, so that only her nose and above showed atop the surface. So many things had happened so far that day... For one, she had met her brother, Inuyasha, whom she had not seen for most of her life...
"I didn't have the slightest clue he was out there." She muttered to herself sadly. "If only I had known... so many things would have been different... my life might have been so much more tolerable."
The hanyou swirled her hand through the warm waters, watching it ripple. She gazed into its glassy surface, remembering back to her past...
Michiko had been roaming the world for so long now... she was nearly 13 and needed a place to stay... she needed friends to keep her company... and most of all, she needed love.
She came to a village, then one day. Suddenly, she knew it- somehow she had found her way back to where she had been born! The villagers, naturally, didn't recognize her, and welcomed her in.
The years passed, and Michiko grew to be an official member of the peaceful village. Before she knew it, she turned 18, and was considered a woman. Michiko took up the responsibility of protecting her village after that. She felt it was the least she could do to repay the villagers for their kindness...
Then, one day, something strange happened. She began to have strange dreams... in those dreams, she would be in the shack that she used to live in- that she was born in-, laying on a mat. She was seven in the dream, meaning her mother was still alive. In fact, she was sitting next to Michiko, singing softly the song that she always sung to get her to go to sleep. But strangely, there was something in her mother's arms every time she had the dream. A closer look would show her that it was a hanyou boy who was the same age as she.
Michiko desperately tried to see who he was, but there was no way of telling, for his face was blank... which was rather odd.
However, there was always a strange smell in the air after that, like that of smoke, followed by the sound of voices. Michiko knew that the voices where those of the villagers who despised her mother for mating with a youkai. The villagers had known that her father was away temporarily, and now were about to attack them. Michiko knew she would have to warn her mother... so she called out, "There here!" as quietly as she could; her voice sounding rather spooky when she said it. And that was it. The dream ended after that...
That wasn't the end of the strange occurrences, unfortunately. After the first time she dreamt that bizarre dream, time seemed to have stopped for her. Michiko stopped growing, stopped aging, and stayed the way she was, at 18. It went on like that for 50 years... untill about a half year ago when Michiko finally started to progress again.
And that pretty much led up to the point when she met Inuyasha. Everything, after their reunion, had made sense to her. She had seen the conclusion to her dream, and learned that she and Inuyasha had been separated for so long by the goddess that her mother had prayed to please save her children on the night of her unfortunate demise...
Michiko had just one thing on her mind now... one thing that the goddess had said that troubled her...
Suddenly, before she could finish her thoughts, there was a rustling noise coming from behind one of the bushes around the hot spring. The hanyou snapped her head up out of the water the rest of the way and perked her ears, trying to listen for the sound again.
It took a while, but finally whatever- or whoever- was making that sound, well, made it again. Michiko grabbed her kimono and wrapped it around herself; jumping out of the water. She tied the sash loosely, before crying out, "Who's there?!"
A tall figure stepped out from the bushes. Michiko shaded her eyes from the moonlight to see who they were. Their scent seemed familiar... too familiar. "Show yourself!" she demanded.
The person stepped forward so their face was intelligible. Michiko's heart skipped a beat as she gazed upon his face. Her lips moved together to speak this stranger's name that so clearly came to memory.
"Sh- Shentuki."
Indeed it was him... the mortal man she had fallen in love with so long ago... and now there he was, standing there before her, looking unharmed from the disease that had taken his life... or had it?
Michiko could feel her eyes start to water. "What are you doing here?" she whispered. "Is this some sort of dream? An illusion?"
Shentuki shook his head and smiled the same handsome smile that had always made the hanyou's heart melt.
"Nay, Michiko... I have returned from the dead to be with you."
The hanyou was shocked. Was it possible that such a miracle could have taken place? How... and why?
Shentuki frowned when her silence filled the air. "If you do not wish to be with me any longer, I can leave..." he offered.
Michiko gasped. "NO!" she cried. "Do not leave me again! I need you, Shentuki! You do not know how my heart has grieved for you."
The hanyou was overtaken with despair and remorse, and she pitched herself into his arms. "You do not know how I wanted to tell you how much I cared..." she whispered. "I should have swallowed my pride and told you... but nay... I was too foolish to be grateful to have you by my side. Will you ever forgive me?"
Shentuki embraced her there, running his fingers through her shiny wet hair. "Of course I do." He murmured. "I could never stay mad at you, Michiko, for the truth is, I have always cared about you as well."
Michiko lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "Truly?" she asked quietly. "You do care for me? A half-breed?"
Shentuki gathered her chin in his hands. "Of course." He said, smiling. "I love you for who you are, not what you are."
Michiko smiled back and sighed as she looked into his eyes. Those blue eyes that had once haunted her in her sleep... they were now her life support, for she felt that if they so much as blinked, she would stop breathing... So they stayed like that, gazing into eachother's eyes. Michiko finally felt her eyes start to close.
Shentuki leaned her head against his shoulder and caressed her cheek, lulling her into a sleepy state of consciousness. She sighed and closed her eyes the rest of the way, feeling completely secure being in Shentuki's arms.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Meanwhile...
Inuyasha was sitting in his old hut, thinking about everything that had happened that day, so far. Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the room. The hanyou shaded his eyes so he could see who was joining him...
When he could see once again, Inuyasha looked up to see the very same goddess that had saved him and Michiko so many years ago.
"Do you accept or decline?" she asked suddenly.
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. What was she talking about...?
Suddenly, another person appeared next to him. It was his mother! She was silent, thinking about what the goddess had asked. After a moment, she spoke. "I accept... only if you assure me they shall meet again."
Inuyasha was confused. This was like the same thing he had seen before... what did this mean?
The goddess nodded. "As you wish." She said. "But know this- their meeting shall bring tragedy."
Inuyasha's mother looked concerned as she looked over at Inuyasha. "What tragedy do you speak of?" she asked.
"When they find eachother again, one shall die. It is that simple, I regret."
The hanyou's eyes widened. He had forgotten all about that! How could he have been so stupid?!
The goddess then turned to Inuyasha. She spoke to him very gently... but there was a rather serious and urgent tone to her delicate voice.
"One of you shall die, before the sun rises. I urge you to go find your sister... but be warned- one wrong choice shall hasten the fate of the chosen one, so be cautious from this point forward..."
Inuyasha gasped when he saw the goddess start to leave. "Wait!" he cried. "What does that mean?"
His mother layed a hand on his hand, making him look to her in surprise.
"Inuyasha," she said, smiling. "It will all make sense... destiny and fate are in control now... so do as the goddess said..."
Then she, too, started to fade away.
Inuyasha jumped to his feet. "But which one of us shall die?" he asked.
His mother looked sad upon hearing his question. "The one who has served their purpose on earth shall join me in eternal rest." She said. "One of you shall die a death with honor... and the other shall live on with honor to fulfill their duties in this world."
As the two bodies faded away completely, the room flooded in a bright light once more. And so the dream ended.
Inuyasha sat up, and looked around. He was no longer sitting in the hut; he was still resting against the tree that he had fallen asleep against.
Suddenly, two scents filled his nose... the first, he recognized to be Michiko's... but the second was strange, and yet familiar all at the same time...
The hanyou leapt up from his pile of leaves and raced towards the scents, not knowing who, or what, he'd find there. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shentuki smiled as he saw Michiko start to fall asleep in his arms. He laid her on the ground gently, and knelt down next to her.
"Michiko..." he murmured, drawing his sword. "How foolish you are... your heart has been trapped in a brutal cage for so long now... loving me... Now what will you do to save your heart from breaking a second time? For if either of us was to die..."
He raised the sword above her neck. "If either of us was to die, we'd be separated once again..."
Suddenly, out of the bushes leapt Inuyasha. He drew the Tetsusaiga in a split second, and raced towards Shentuki and Michiko.
Shentuki got up and backed away from Inuyasha, evading the sharp blade which would have easily cut his head off.
When the hanyou saw Michiko laying on the ground so still, he forgot all about the stranger. "Michiko!" he cried, shaking her gently. Suddenly, a electrifying shock flew from around the hanyou and rocketed into Inuyasha's body, sending him backwards into a tree.
"Ughhh..." he groaned, clutching his head. He winced as he tasted blood in his mouth. Looking back to Michiko, he could make out a light blue shield that surrounded her body. "What the hell...?" the hanyou muttered to himself.
Shentuki laughed. "You fool." He sneered. "Could you not see the barrier I have set around her? It was specially designed to keep her in... and you OUT!"
Inuyasha growled and staggered to his feet. "Who the hell are you?" he snarled. "And what do you want with Michiko?"
Shentuki smirked. "The wretched human that half-breed sister of yours fell in love with was named Shentuki. And who said I wanted anything to do with her?"
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "What's going on? How can you be Shentuki? He's dead, aint he?"
Shentuki chuckled. "Atleast someone besides me was paying attention to your sister then, I see..."
"You... you were there listening to our conversation before?!" Inuyasha cried, gripping the Tetsusaiga angrily, making the blade crackle with yellow energy.
"Precisely." Shentuki answered smugly. "And it was thanks to her that I knew how to play the part of Shentuki... for I certainly wouldn't have known how deeply in love with the fool she was. Hahahahaha..."
Inuyasha could feel his anger and vengeance on his sister's behalf boiling to the point of exploding. "So you aren't Shentuki, then, are you?" he growled.
"No." Came the reply. "But it isn't like we haven't met before, Inuyasha..."
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Don't you know who I am? We are quite good friends, you know..."
The hanyou bared his teeth in rage. "Well I'm sorry I don't remember a scum like you..." he snarled. "And personally, I'd never associate with someone who is a insignificant dullard such as yourself!"
The man laughed. "Hah... ironic... Kikyo said that to me as well a long time ago."
Inuyasha's eyes widened. "K-Kikyo...?" he stammered. Suddenly, his eyes flashed with an frightening anger. "Naraku." He growled.
"Hmmm... so you've finally figured it out, puppy?" Naraku sneered, transforming into his true form.
Inuyasha clenched his fists. "It all makes sense now." He muttered. "You decided to kill another one of the people I care about... so you've been watching us."
Naraku smiled. "When I heard that sister of yours rambling on about how madly in love she was with that Shentuki character, I couldn't help but disguise myself as he. When she layed eyes upon me as her former lover, her heart immediately fell into despair and she let her guard down completely."
Inuyasha growled.
"What is it with you hanyou and your overwhelming trust you have in those wretched humans?" Naraku asked. "Is it the fact that they are so frail and helpless compared to you that makes you feel sorry for them? Or is it the weakness of your human heart that you hold within your body that binds you to have a inexplicable taste for mortal companions?"
Seeing how outraged Inuyasha was becoming, Naraku decided to take it one step further. "Inuyasha..." he hissed. "You should know of what I speak... for that pathetic mortal that hangs around you shall be the downfall of every one of you and your companions."
Automatically, Inuyasha felt it his duty to stand up for Kagome. "Shut up! You have no right in talking about Kagome like that!" he snarled. "She has nothing to do with this whatsoever, so just leave her out of this!"
Naraku chuckled quietly. "Oh, really?" he questioned. "Then tell me, Inuyasha, why is it that you are always with her? You care about her so much... and you know as well as I do that you'd do anything to protect her from harm."
Inuyasha was at a loss of words as Naraku stood before him, taking advantage of his weakness for Kagome. The hanyou tried not to let his fear become apparent, for that's all it would take for Naraku to destroy him completely. So instead, he pointed the tip of the Tetsusaiga at Naraku. "If you say another word about Kagome, I'll slit your throat." He threatened.
Naraku laughed. "Oh, would you rather hear me talk about Kikyo? Or have you forgotten about her now that you have your precious Kagome to take her place?"
That was all it took to totally and completely break every strand of control the hanyou had. With a great cry, Inuyasha leapt at Naraku and the battle began.
The moon was full in the sky and the stars glittered in the midnight sky as a light breeze blew tiny Cherry Blossom petals through the air. Michiko closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, inhaling their light fragrant scent with her keen hanyou senses. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts as she shed her dark blue kimono and slipped into the water of a warm hot spring.
She sighed and settled far down into the water, so that only her nose and above showed atop the surface. So many things had happened so far that day... For one, she had met her brother, Inuyasha, whom she had not seen for most of her life...
"I didn't have the slightest clue he was out there." She muttered to herself sadly. "If only I had known... so many things would have been different... my life might have been so much more tolerable."
The hanyou swirled her hand through the warm waters, watching it ripple. She gazed into its glassy surface, remembering back to her past...
Michiko had been roaming the world for so long now... she was nearly 13 and needed a place to stay... she needed friends to keep her company... and most of all, she needed love.
She came to a village, then one day. Suddenly, she knew it- somehow she had found her way back to where she had been born! The villagers, naturally, didn't recognize her, and welcomed her in.
The years passed, and Michiko grew to be an official member of the peaceful village. Before she knew it, she turned 18, and was considered a woman. Michiko took up the responsibility of protecting her village after that. She felt it was the least she could do to repay the villagers for their kindness...
Then, one day, something strange happened. She began to have strange dreams... in those dreams, she would be in the shack that she used to live in- that she was born in-, laying on a mat. She was seven in the dream, meaning her mother was still alive. In fact, she was sitting next to Michiko, singing softly the song that she always sung to get her to go to sleep. But strangely, there was something in her mother's arms every time she had the dream. A closer look would show her that it was a hanyou boy who was the same age as she.
Michiko desperately tried to see who he was, but there was no way of telling, for his face was blank... which was rather odd.
However, there was always a strange smell in the air after that, like that of smoke, followed by the sound of voices. Michiko knew that the voices where those of the villagers who despised her mother for mating with a youkai. The villagers had known that her father was away temporarily, and now were about to attack them. Michiko knew she would have to warn her mother... so she called out, "There here!" as quietly as she could; her voice sounding rather spooky when she said it. And that was it. The dream ended after that...
That wasn't the end of the strange occurrences, unfortunately. After the first time she dreamt that bizarre dream, time seemed to have stopped for her. Michiko stopped growing, stopped aging, and stayed the way she was, at 18. It went on like that for 50 years... untill about a half year ago when Michiko finally started to progress again.
And that pretty much led up to the point when she met Inuyasha. Everything, after their reunion, had made sense to her. She had seen the conclusion to her dream, and learned that she and Inuyasha had been separated for so long by the goddess that her mother had prayed to please save her children on the night of her unfortunate demise...
Michiko had just one thing on her mind now... one thing that the goddess had said that troubled her...
Suddenly, before she could finish her thoughts, there was a rustling noise coming from behind one of the bushes around the hot spring. The hanyou snapped her head up out of the water the rest of the way and perked her ears, trying to listen for the sound again.
It took a while, but finally whatever- or whoever- was making that sound, well, made it again. Michiko grabbed her kimono and wrapped it around herself; jumping out of the water. She tied the sash loosely, before crying out, "Who's there?!"
A tall figure stepped out from the bushes. Michiko shaded her eyes from the moonlight to see who they were. Their scent seemed familiar... too familiar. "Show yourself!" she demanded.
The person stepped forward so their face was intelligible. Michiko's heart skipped a beat as she gazed upon his face. Her lips moved together to speak this stranger's name that so clearly came to memory.
"Sh- Shentuki."
Indeed it was him... the mortal man she had fallen in love with so long ago... and now there he was, standing there before her, looking unharmed from the disease that had taken his life... or had it?
Michiko could feel her eyes start to water. "What are you doing here?" she whispered. "Is this some sort of dream? An illusion?"
Shentuki shook his head and smiled the same handsome smile that had always made the hanyou's heart melt.
"Nay, Michiko... I have returned from the dead to be with you."
The hanyou was shocked. Was it possible that such a miracle could have taken place? How... and why?
Shentuki frowned when her silence filled the air. "If you do not wish to be with me any longer, I can leave..." he offered.
Michiko gasped. "NO!" she cried. "Do not leave me again! I need you, Shentuki! You do not know how my heart has grieved for you."
The hanyou was overtaken with despair and remorse, and she pitched herself into his arms. "You do not know how I wanted to tell you how much I cared..." she whispered. "I should have swallowed my pride and told you... but nay... I was too foolish to be grateful to have you by my side. Will you ever forgive me?"
Shentuki embraced her there, running his fingers through her shiny wet hair. "Of course I do." He murmured. "I could never stay mad at you, Michiko, for the truth is, I have always cared about you as well."
Michiko lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "Truly?" she asked quietly. "You do care for me? A half-breed?"
Shentuki gathered her chin in his hands. "Of course." He said, smiling. "I love you for who you are, not what you are."
Michiko smiled back and sighed as she looked into his eyes. Those blue eyes that had once haunted her in her sleep... they were now her life support, for she felt that if they so much as blinked, she would stop breathing... So they stayed like that, gazing into eachother's eyes. Michiko finally felt her eyes start to close.
Shentuki leaned her head against his shoulder and caressed her cheek, lulling her into a sleepy state of consciousness. She sighed and closed her eyes the rest of the way, feeling completely secure being in Shentuki's arms.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Meanwhile...
Inuyasha was sitting in his old hut, thinking about everything that had happened that day, so far. Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the room. The hanyou shaded his eyes so he could see who was joining him...
When he could see once again, Inuyasha looked up to see the very same goddess that had saved him and Michiko so many years ago.
"Do you accept or decline?" she asked suddenly.
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. What was she talking about...?
Suddenly, another person appeared next to him. It was his mother! She was silent, thinking about what the goddess had asked. After a moment, she spoke. "I accept... only if you assure me they shall meet again."
Inuyasha was confused. This was like the same thing he had seen before... what did this mean?
The goddess nodded. "As you wish." She said. "But know this- their meeting shall bring tragedy."
Inuyasha's mother looked concerned as she looked over at Inuyasha. "What tragedy do you speak of?" she asked.
"When they find eachother again, one shall die. It is that simple, I regret."
The hanyou's eyes widened. He had forgotten all about that! How could he have been so stupid?!
The goddess then turned to Inuyasha. She spoke to him very gently... but there was a rather serious and urgent tone to her delicate voice.
"One of you shall die, before the sun rises. I urge you to go find your sister... but be warned- one wrong choice shall hasten the fate of the chosen one, so be cautious from this point forward..."
Inuyasha gasped when he saw the goddess start to leave. "Wait!" he cried. "What does that mean?"
His mother layed a hand on his hand, making him look to her in surprise.
"Inuyasha," she said, smiling. "It will all make sense... destiny and fate are in control now... so do as the goddess said..."
Then she, too, started to fade away.
Inuyasha jumped to his feet. "But which one of us shall die?" he asked.
His mother looked sad upon hearing his question. "The one who has served their purpose on earth shall join me in eternal rest." She said. "One of you shall die a death with honor... and the other shall live on with honor to fulfill their duties in this world."
As the two bodies faded away completely, the room flooded in a bright light once more. And so the dream ended.
Inuyasha sat up, and looked around. He was no longer sitting in the hut; he was still resting against the tree that he had fallen asleep against.
Suddenly, two scents filled his nose... the first, he recognized to be Michiko's... but the second was strange, and yet familiar all at the same time...
The hanyou leapt up from his pile of leaves and raced towards the scents, not knowing who, or what, he'd find there. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shentuki smiled as he saw Michiko start to fall asleep in his arms. He laid her on the ground gently, and knelt down next to her.
"Michiko..." he murmured, drawing his sword. "How foolish you are... your heart has been trapped in a brutal cage for so long now... loving me... Now what will you do to save your heart from breaking a second time? For if either of us was to die..."
He raised the sword above her neck. "If either of us was to die, we'd be separated once again..."
Suddenly, out of the bushes leapt Inuyasha. He drew the Tetsusaiga in a split second, and raced towards Shentuki and Michiko.
Shentuki got up and backed away from Inuyasha, evading the sharp blade which would have easily cut his head off.
When the hanyou saw Michiko laying on the ground so still, he forgot all about the stranger. "Michiko!" he cried, shaking her gently. Suddenly, a electrifying shock flew from around the hanyou and rocketed into Inuyasha's body, sending him backwards into a tree.
"Ughhh..." he groaned, clutching his head. He winced as he tasted blood in his mouth. Looking back to Michiko, he could make out a light blue shield that surrounded her body. "What the hell...?" the hanyou muttered to himself.
Shentuki laughed. "You fool." He sneered. "Could you not see the barrier I have set around her? It was specially designed to keep her in... and you OUT!"
Inuyasha growled and staggered to his feet. "Who the hell are you?" he snarled. "And what do you want with Michiko?"
Shentuki smirked. "The wretched human that half-breed sister of yours fell in love with was named Shentuki. And who said I wanted anything to do with her?"
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "What's going on? How can you be Shentuki? He's dead, aint he?"
Shentuki chuckled. "Atleast someone besides me was paying attention to your sister then, I see..."
"You... you were there listening to our conversation before?!" Inuyasha cried, gripping the Tetsusaiga angrily, making the blade crackle with yellow energy.
"Precisely." Shentuki answered smugly. "And it was thanks to her that I knew how to play the part of Shentuki... for I certainly wouldn't have known how deeply in love with the fool she was. Hahahahaha..."
Inuyasha could feel his anger and vengeance on his sister's behalf boiling to the point of exploding. "So you aren't Shentuki, then, are you?" he growled.
"No." Came the reply. "But it isn't like we haven't met before, Inuyasha..."
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Don't you know who I am? We are quite good friends, you know..."
The hanyou bared his teeth in rage. "Well I'm sorry I don't remember a scum like you..." he snarled. "And personally, I'd never associate with someone who is a insignificant dullard such as yourself!"
The man laughed. "Hah... ironic... Kikyo said that to me as well a long time ago."
Inuyasha's eyes widened. "K-Kikyo...?" he stammered. Suddenly, his eyes flashed with an frightening anger. "Naraku." He growled.
"Hmmm... so you've finally figured it out, puppy?" Naraku sneered, transforming into his true form.
Inuyasha clenched his fists. "It all makes sense now." He muttered. "You decided to kill another one of the people I care about... so you've been watching us."
Naraku smiled. "When I heard that sister of yours rambling on about how madly in love she was with that Shentuki character, I couldn't help but disguise myself as he. When she layed eyes upon me as her former lover, her heart immediately fell into despair and she let her guard down completely."
Inuyasha growled.
"What is it with you hanyou and your overwhelming trust you have in those wretched humans?" Naraku asked. "Is it the fact that they are so frail and helpless compared to you that makes you feel sorry for them? Or is it the weakness of your human heart that you hold within your body that binds you to have a inexplicable taste for mortal companions?"
Seeing how outraged Inuyasha was becoming, Naraku decided to take it one step further. "Inuyasha..." he hissed. "You should know of what I speak... for that pathetic mortal that hangs around you shall be the downfall of every one of you and your companions."
Automatically, Inuyasha felt it his duty to stand up for Kagome. "Shut up! You have no right in talking about Kagome like that!" he snarled. "She has nothing to do with this whatsoever, so just leave her out of this!"
Naraku chuckled quietly. "Oh, really?" he questioned. "Then tell me, Inuyasha, why is it that you are always with her? You care about her so much... and you know as well as I do that you'd do anything to protect her from harm."
Inuyasha was at a loss of words as Naraku stood before him, taking advantage of his weakness for Kagome. The hanyou tried not to let his fear become apparent, for that's all it would take for Naraku to destroy him completely. So instead, he pointed the tip of the Tetsusaiga at Naraku. "If you say another word about Kagome, I'll slit your throat." He threatened.
Naraku laughed. "Oh, would you rather hear me talk about Kikyo? Or have you forgotten about her now that you have your precious Kagome to take her place?"
That was all it took to totally and completely break every strand of control the hanyou had. With a great cry, Inuyasha leapt at Naraku and the battle began.