Before I start on my story, I've got several things to say, first of which is for Gods' sakes, read and review Family Reunions and TransPossessing by Inuficcrzy: it's a very good and original storyline, 29,000 words, it's been out more than two months longer than mine, but it's only got 37 reviews: come on, people!
And I'd like to say that Kagome does trust Inuyasha: even if you trust someone a lot, you still have that seed of doubt in you (I mean, look at what it was like before Kikyo died…Kagome had a lot of doubt about Inuyasha choosing her or Kikyo, doubted herself and Inuyasha, etc)
Speaking of reviews, I'd like to thank either Youkai Chick Supreme or NightRain for giving me my 300th review ::does happy dance::; thank you very much, that's about ten times more (literally) than I ever expected to get!
BurningBritelyOne: Unlike Kikyo, Sesshoumaru can never die! BWA HA HA! Well…maybe he can, but I'll never tell ^_-. He will get hurt, I guarantee that…nobody, not even him, can walk away from the Bakuryuuha unscathed…
Nightrain: You confused me when you said "how'd you get from here to there?"…well, at least now I know what happened to you, lol.
RogueSaiyajin: I stopped there because I was sleepy and needed to finish the last two problems on my math homework, lol…the creative juices are flowing tonight so it should be longer than normal, and also, if it shapes up the way it is in my mind right now, the plot will actually advance in this chapter…
Badgerwolf: Yes, it would be hilarious if he did…I could imagine Inuyasha being the one to hold the keyword ^_^…visions of, "FLUFFY! LAY DOWN!" come to mind…lmao.
Sylver-Adjah: It's funny, too much detail was actually one of my biggest problems when I started thinking, hey: I can write somewhat decently! I'd write stories that were too much detail, and it took a while to break that habit…but thanks for the compliment, I really appreciate it ^_^
Sammy: My katana's not actually one meant for fighting, as such it's a little heavier than other swords and a little more unwieldy, but the answer is, no: it's not hard to wield (for me at least). It's actually fairly light and easy to maneuver, which is very cool.
Oh well, on with the third part of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's battles…let me impress again, however: read Family Reunions and TransPosessing, a story that good with so much time and effort put into it deserves a lot more than 37 reviews…
I don't own Inuyasha, but I've come to the conclusion that possessions aren't everything…::snorts and bursts into laughter:: (j/p about this last thing; I'm not really a materialistic person…), and ps: I decided to add a little before adding the part from last chapter ^_^
Chapter 28
Energy crackled, swirled, and spun at the collision of the two fields of youki, and Inuyasha searched the collision field for a certain point…a point where lightning flashed and thunder crackled, the weak point of one's youki—the place where the Bakuryuuha could be formed.
And he found it, just in time, as well—Sesshoumaru burst into the clearing, eyes flaming red as he fought the call to transform into his youkai form (to do so would mean certain death, as he would not be able to wield the Toukijin). It was with this in mind that Sesshoumaru speeded towards Inuyasha, and just as quickly his eyes widened in surprise as he saw what his hanyou brother had waiting for him there…a power greater than the likes of any the world had seen before, an energy that had carved the great Ryuukotsusei into bite-sized chunks of dragon flesh, a strength that the Toukijin had no answer to: an attack now named in the scream that tore from Inuyasha's throat.
"BAKURYUUHA!!!!!!!"
"KAGOME! GET AWAY!" Inuyasha roared in the same breath, bringing down the sword with all his might as he watched Kagome begin to scramble away; and he smiled as he saw surprise, and—could it be?—a tint of fear run through Sesshoumaru's eyes as he tried to answer the Tetsuaiga with the Toukijin. It was impossible, however, to oppose the Bakuryuuha, and the final blast of energy cut under the Bakuryuuha and struck Inuyasha in the legs, striking a final, painful wound upon Inuyasha as the energy of the attack encased both of them.
From inside their shell of energy, Inuyasha watched in grim fascination as Sesshoumaru's own powerful youki began to turn on him, empowered further by the terrifying might of the Tetsuaiga as it unleashed an angry roar, even as Tenseiga began pulsing at Sesshoumaru's side…
Tendrils of energy snaked from above, expanding, swirling, and changing into the cyclones of energy that had ripped Ryuukotsusei apart, limb by limb; Sesshoumaru tried to knock these cyclones off course, to strike back at them with the might of his Toukijin, but it was of little use: he may as well have been trying to fight his own youki.
The cyclones closed in upon him, roaring as they spun in a killing frenzy around Sesshoumaru's body, drawing tighter and tighter, and Sesshoumaru released an angry snarl as they impacted—and Inuyasha had to shield his eyes as flashes like lightning surrounded his brother, striking down to stab the ground; and then, with a tremendous explosion that hurled Kagome (who was now more than fifty yards away from the battlefield, and pausing as she tried to see the two fight) an additional twenty back, the fight was won by Inuyasha.
He felt a sense of pride as he propped himself up on the Tetsuaiga, the amount of blood he had lost making him weak and dizzy as he waited for the debris to clear so he could see the fragments of his brother's body…his youkai brother, who had scorned and taunted him since his birth, had been defeated by what he said was an inferior half-breed. Inuyasha grinned at this, thinking to himself, 'Guess what Sesshoumaru? I WIN!'
Inuyasha didn't bother to trek the distance between he and Kagome: he could smell that she had spilled no blood, both inside and out, and he could hear her grumbling about, '…that damn Inuyasha could have warned me sooner…', and instead walked slowly and unsteadily forward. The dust was settling, and he fully expected to see his brother's body, lying in a hundred pieces that were scattered around the clearing or, at the very least, horribly mangled.
What he saw took his breath away: he was still alive! Badly injured from the Bakuryuuha, nearly unconscious, blood streaming from a million different cuts, what looked like a broken leg—but still alive!
'HOW COULD HE SURVIVE!?!?!' Inuyasha yelled inside his mind. 'THAT ATTACK CARVED RYUUKOTSUSEI INTO PIECES SMALLER THAN MY HAND—HOW THE FUCK DID IT NOT DESTROY MY BROTHER!?"
"What are you waiting for, half-breed?" Sesshoumaru growled, though his words no longer contained any threat: he could barely move, let alone kill somebody else. "Go ahead and finish off Lord Sesshoumaru," he spat in a mocking tone.
Inuyasha looked at his sword, winds and electricity snapping around the blade as he shifted his gaze to his brother, and raised his sword…then promptly sheathed it , returning it to its normal state as he knelt next to his brother and grabbed him by the collar, hefting him up and looking him straight into the eyes as he growled out what he hoped would be the last words he ever spoke to his brother.
"Listen, bastard: I beat you this time, and I could kill you right now if I wanted to. But guess what: I'm not going to, and do you want to know why? Because it would be stupid of me to kill someone who might be able to take down Naraku should I die, that's it; nothing more. I don't ever want to speak to you again, I don't want you to come after me, I don't want you to come after Kagome, and if you do I swear to whatever Gods in heaven and hell there are that I'll unleash Bakuryuuha on you again next time, and this time make sure you don't survive it. Got that?"
Sesshoumaru didn't say anything, he just stared grimly into Inuyasha's eyes as he saw them nearly brim over with hate, and felt insult add itself to injury as Inuyasha threw shoved his head and chest back into the ground none-too-gently, got up unsteadily, and walked away, wounds healing even as he walked away.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried, running into the clearing as she saw how badly he had been wounded by Sesshoumaru, and gasped as he pretty much collapsed on top of her: though Sesshoumaru's last attack had been unable to match the power of the Tetsuaiga, it had crippled Inuyasha's legs, and they were in a bad shape as of now: they didn't know how far away the next town was, and Kagome was going to have to load Inuyasha onto the back of her bike to take him there. "Hang on, Inuyasha…," Kagome whispered, laying him gently on the ground as she ran to grab her bike.
Gone less than five seconds, Kagome returned with her huge yellow backpack bouncing cheerfully upon its grave owner's back, bike in tow as she tried to heft a nearly-unconscious, poisoned, and wounded Inuyasha onto her bike. Needless to say, it was not an easy task, but she eventually managed to get him in a semi-sitting position, head and body draped against her backpack as he wrapped his arms around her stomach, and she rode off into the bright sunlight in search of the next town…
'It can't be that far, right?' Kagome thought to herself nervously.
Half an hour later, Sesshoumaru was waiting patiently, silently contemplating his defeat by his brother…rage growing as he realized he'd been thoroughly beaten…and then an epiphany as the Tenseiga pulsed at his side, it's gentle motion soothing the glowing pain of his wounds.
'That's why father gave me the Tenseiga…' Sesshoumaru thought to himself, realization dawning. 'That half-breed can't kill me with the Tetsuaiga, but I cannot harm him with the Tenseiga…it's a balance, a mechanism used to keep Inuyasha and I from killing each other.' He snorted in derision inside his own head as he continued. 'You were wiser than I thought, father…but still: why did you give him the Tetsuaiga when I already knew it's full power? Why not give the one with the soft heart the sword of healing?'
Unfortunately, that's all Sesshoumaru managed to think: as he thought the last line, he became aware of a sudden presence in the clearing around him…a smell that he remembered, had loathed since it had betrayed him…and the voice that accompanied that smell spoke out next to him as he tried to turn his head to look him in the face.
"You," Sesshoumaru growled, eyes flashing red as he futilely tried to summon the strength to transform into his demon form, to rid himself of this damn nuisance…but the strength refused to answer his call.
"I was going to absorb for the winner, Lord Sesshoumaru," Naraku sneered, bowing mockingly as he laughed at the fallen demon. "But I think I'll settle for the gallant loser…that annoying Inuyasha has his little miko friend with him, and it would be quite troublesome should she choose to defend him…"
He paused, grinding his foot into Sesshoumaru's hand as it twitched, reaching for the Toukijin, and continued, "Tsk tsk tsk, Sesshoumaru…that would ruin all my hard work and planning, and we can't have that, now can we?"
He laughed, long and slowly, as he opened the folds of his kimono and dropped his shirt to the ground. Spider-shaped burn pulsing hideously, glowing gold in the hot sunlight, tentacles of flesh tore forward, stabbing their way into Sesshoumaru's chest, and began draining the life from him…firm, taught muscle melted, ran like molasses…tight skin withered and shriveled as the very blood was sucked from his body, youki fusing with Naraku as he laughed loudly, feeling his features assume those of Sesshoumaru…black hair lightened, little by little, until silver hair flashed in the sunlight.
Black eyes glowed as liquid amber found their way into them, and Naraku could feel his fingernails shooting out into long, tearing claws—all the while Sesshoumaru shriveled, aged, grew more and more decrepit until, finally, Naraku's flesh wrapped around him in a tight cocoon and pulled him into his body.
Naraku's laugh approached maniacal as he could feel the might—the awesome, nigh-unparalleled might!—flowing from Sesshoumaru's body into his own; strength doubling, tripling, growing at a fantastical rate as he could feel the youkai—not a drop of human—blood surging through his veins…
The first part of Naraku's plan was complete.
Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru's plight unbeknownst to Inuyasha and Kagome, the couple had found a village, much to Kagome's delight and, for some strange reason, Inuyasha's distress: he was fighting her, struggling tooth and nail (well, more like protesting loudly and threatening), to go onto the next village, but Kagome wouldn't hear of it.
"Inuyasha, you're hurt very badly, and I'm not risking you dieing trying to go to the next town when there's a village right here!"
"I am NOT going to come crawling into this village, wounded and begging for help!" Inuyasha said back, what little strength he have starting to leave him as vision slid out of focus despite all his efforts to stay focused and argue going back into that village…
He didn't want to come back to this village for a very good reason: this was where he had been born; had been raised; had been laughed at, taunted, teased, and discriminated against by human and demon alive…this was where his mother had died, the only person to have ever meant anything to him before Kagome and Kikyo, and blasted his life apart when he was 5. This is why he fought to leave, despite the fact that he couldn't stay conscious any longer…
'Well, he'll live…if he can still argue with that much strength there's no way he's going to die…and at least he's quiet, for now,' Kagome thought, dismounting her bike and seeing what she could do about getting a loud-mouthed hanyou and herself a place to stay and heal. 'Sigh. This was SO much easier when Miroku was with us…'
Well, what'd you think? Possibly my longest chapter ever, and I've still got a bunch more ideas locked inside my noggin…please read and review, I got I think 21 today and every one counts! ^_^ Review shite kudasai! Jaa, mata ne!