Under the Pale Autumn Moon

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"Fool, Inuyasha is dead," Naraku laughed at Kagome's misfortune and his good luck, "Now it's time to get the Shikon no Tama."

Kagome's half-lidded eyes floated to Inuyasha, his lifeless body lying in even more of his blood, he was either dead or dying, and she could do nothing to save him, nothing to save the one she loved.

Naraku chuckled again, "Now you have nothing left to live for, Kouga is mine, and Inuyasha is dead, so why not work for me, it's the least you can do, since I had to go to all the trouble of finding Kikyo so many years ago."

Kagome's eyes widened, "What?"

Naraku didn't answer her and continued walking leaving Kagome to wonder why or what he was talking about. 'What is he talking about?'

Kagome closed her eyes miserably as she was dragged for the second time that day towards the castle, which now had a strange aura, no doubt the Shikon no Tama.

It almost seemed like time stood still at that time, the time when she watched Kouga fall and "die." It was then she had promised herself never to love again, and now her whole being belonged to Inuyasha, and he was dead.

'Are all the people I love destined to die?' she thought bitterly as she recalled the times that Kouga, Kaede, her family and...Inuyasha had died. Were dead, except Kouga, but he belonged to Naraku, unaware of the mind control devise in his neck. In a way, he was dead, never able to run free until the mind control was gone...or Naraku died. Both unlikely, she wasn't about to release the wolf bastard. She'd been able to pull hers away from her neck before Naraku tried to control her again.

A sharp slap on the cheek made her jump from her thoughts. Naraku stood over her, with a dangerously angry look on his face. "You will listen when I speak to you," he growled at the young woman.

Kagome glared at him, "Why should I?"

Naraku raised an eyebrow, "Because I own you."

Kagome angrily at him and turned her back on him, looking in the direction she'd left Inuyasha. She felt tears running down her face, "...You've killed the only person I hold dear."

Naraku grinned, proud of himself.

Kagome sniffed, "I've always lost the one's I love: Kouga... Inuyasha."

To Kagome's horror, Naraku laughed, not his usual cackle or a chuckle, but a full-blown crack up on-the-floor-laughing kind of laugh that hurt your sides and made you cry.

Naraku's grin never faltered as he stood and looked at Kagome, his eyes twinkling with amusement, sinister amusement. "Poor little Kagome still doesn't understand."

Kagome's look only caused him to continue, "Poor little Kagome doesn't understand does she, such a shame, such a shame."

Kagome glared, "What are you talking about?"

"How do you think I knew about your curse? How do you think I knew that Kikyo was the one who put the spell on you? How did I know that it was Kouga who was killed? How, dearest Kagome, did I know where to find you?"

Kagome's mind was going haywire with all the questions Naraku was stringing past her, and for the life of her she was drawing up a blank, completely.

Naraku sighed and shook his head; "I suppose I should show you, then." Naraku raised his hand and snapped, immediately Kouga ran towards them and he stood motionless as he awaited some instructions. But, Naraku had a different idea; instead he raised his own clawed hands and stabbed it through Kouga's stomach. Kagome gasped as she watched Kouga turn into dust and ashes that collapsed into a heap. A strip of paper with Kouga's kanji name written on it landed softly on the pile of earth and cinders. Kagome blinked in fascination and looked up to where Naraku once stood, but instead was face to face with Kouga.

"What?"

Kouga shook his head impatiently and spook to her in Naraku's voice, "You really are as dense as you look."

Kagome shot a glare towards him, "And what's the point of this? So what if you can morph into Kouga."

Naraku once again shook his head, "There never was a Kouga."

Kagome's eyes widened.

"Ah, yes, now maybe your brain is understanding, Kouga was someone I created," he smirked and morphed into Kikyo, "Need I explain more?"

"You...you were...Kikyo, too?" Kagome gawks.

Naraku nodded proudly, "Yes, I was both of them, by creating detachments that looked like your "best friend" and "lover" was quite simple, so easy, almost too easy, you see."

"What did you do to Kikyo and Kouga?" Kagome whispered.

Naraku snorted, "there was never a Kikyo or Kouga-they were both me. ME. I knew of a Miko with extraordinary powers, and I needed those powers in order to get the Shikon no Tama from my castle. Years ago another powerful Miko sealed my castle from me. I hatched a plan to make it so you could get it open. It was supposed to happen earlier, back then, you see, but my little Kikyo detachment actually developed feelings for my Kouga detachment causing her to disobey me and curse you, causing me to lose track of you."

Kagome glared at Naraku as tears streamed down her face, "You tricked me."

"Yes...wait...actually, yes, yes I did."

Kagome suddenly got a look of disgust, "What?" Naraku stared at her with an evil glare, wondering why she had such an ugly look on her face.

She paled, "I...kissed you!"

Naraku had to fight the urge to fall over and scream at her, all this time she was disgusted by the fact she'd kissed him while he was in Kouga's form...

"And that means I was also kissing Kikyo's form indirectly," she looked genuinely disgusted.

...Naraku made a mental note to seriously hurt Kagome in the near future.

Suddenly, it sunk into Kagome...Naraku had tricked her, had USED HER to take a goddamn jewel. She growled dangerously at Naraku, who in turn, smirked.

She felt tears brimming the sides of her eyes, "Too long."

"What was that, dear?" Naraku smiled one of his cruel smiles that made you want to crawl under a rock and die.

"For too long you've played with my heart-cursed me made me life a living hell! You killed Inuyasha...you destroyed my life. I. Will. Never. Forgive. YOU!" She screamed as her emotions took over and she raced forward and blasted Naraku with a blast of white light, scorching his shoulders and making him take a step back from the girl.

He grasped his shoulder tenderly, not expecting the girl's attack so quickly and powerfully. He smirked as he removed his hand-no matter, he just wouldn't allow it to happen again. He would not lose to a little girl.

She was braced for an attack and was also building up her Miko powers for another blast, probably just as effective as the last one. Naraku would not allow it.

Just before Kagome was about to launch forward with the grace of a well defined Miko, Naraku shot around her in a whirlwind of black energy and she was whipped off the ground. He smiled to himself, and this was one of his weak attacks. Just as Kagome was going to be thrown from the whirlwind due to whiplash, he made his black whirlwind stop and Kagome came crashing to the ground. The satisfying crunch promised that she'd broken something she would need in the near future.

"Oh, I'm sorry did I hurt you?" he asked mockingly, enjoying every second of this. "What's that you say...you want to go again? Why sure!"

Naraku whipped around and Kagome was yet again thrown into the whirlwind, her right arm was useless, flopping around in the wind, she cringed as she felt the whirlwind stop and she began to fall to the ground. Expecting to feel cold ground, Kagome closed her eyes, and awaited another broken arm or leg. But instead she felt herself caught of the ground by someone who could jump really high.

Sango and Miroku ran back from the manor, having discovered there was a barrier, the two had run back in hopes of finding a spell book of some sort that could break it. It was a weak barrier, hardly took any energy to keep up.

Miroku knelt down and began lighting incense and began a one-handed prayer. Sango watched the ground closely, concentrating all her energy on the barrier being gone.

The barrier wavered slightly, it wouldn't be long now...

Sango just hoped they weren't too late. She gripped the one thing she grabbed from her mantle, knowing perfectly well that Inuyasha would not only need it, he's the only one who could use it.

Kagome felt comforted in the arms, that is until it hit the ground and went launching into the air, higher than the whirlwind had taken her. She gulped and dared to open her eyes. She instantly wished she hadn't.

Naraku was holding her, with an evil grin. He cackled evilly and dropped Kagome from the climax of his jump, just before he began to descend.

Kagome gasped and was already imagining the pain she would be going through. Naraku fell with her, but he seemed unworried. Lucky bastard.

She closed her eyes tighter and starting praying. The one thing she hadn't done in hundreds of years, 'Please, I don't want to die, I want to be with Inuyasha.' She then mentally slapped herself. Inuyasha was dead.

She hated reality.

Then she felt arms around her again. She sighed, did Naraku decide he wanted to go higher. Deciding she didn't want to find out, she punched her captor.

"Fuck," the figure groaned, "That hurt Kagome."

Kagome blinked her eyes open, the figure was blocked slightly by the setting sun, making it appear to be just a black shadow, but she knew who it was.

"Inuyasha!" Inuyasha smiled and landed with perfect grace and ease on the ground setting Kagome down. The smile seemed forced, and he was still bleeding, his wound not completely healed.

Naraku landed behind him, his eyes on the setting sun. He grinned, wouldn't be much longer now. He turned with much satisfaction towards the two who were still staring at one another.

Kagome then turned to Naraku, her eyes radiating with a new fire, the fact that Inuyasha wasn't dead was unearthing some new hope for the cursed Miko.

She braced her knees and bent over her hands, chanting softly as Inuyasha tensed up, ready to defend her if Naraku moved at all towards her crouched form.

Suddenly Kagome let out a loud chant and a burst of pinkish white light slammed into Naraku, causing him to fly back into the castle walls, the light surrounded him and went past him, his body too small to have the whole thing hit him. He crashed into the wall of his castle and it cracked.

The castle was opened.