Okay, what is up with Teresa? Is she just screwing with everyone? Will anyone get to fight ever? Or is the point of this story really that I drive you all insane with my lack of getting on with it? Could it be that this whole thing is totally something that someone imagined, and not what's going on at all? No…wait, I suppose it is technically that, since um, I imagined it. And it never really happened. But…yeah, you get what I'm saying. Even if it is all an illusion…
*****
Something Is Real
Part 23
*****
Bees flying, buzzing everywhere, carrying news, messages that conflicted or correlated or confused their receiver. Naraku stood in the middle of all of them, having just stepped out of his castle with the intention of confronting Inuyasha and his friends. He had not realized there were so many waiting to tell him. But which could he believe? The bees never lied, but they were not beings that were able to tell when they had fragments of a story. They could not collaborate and create something that was coherent. That was left to him.
Something was coming, that was certain. There were different stories he was receiving. Some said one group, some said two. Some said that there were no children, some said two, some said one. Some said there were animals with the humans and youkai, the numbers of which they could not agree on. Some said it would be five minutes before they arrived, some said twenty. Some said they approached from the east, others from the west or even the north. It was ridiculous. Some sense had to be made of all this information.
If he just remembered it was all true, then that would obviously make things easier. Hopefully.
Perhaps now would be a good time to escape.
No, he had to think.
Now, they all agreed that the group (or groups) had five people each. That was something to go off of. So it was probably likely to be the Inuyasha-tachi. There was one child in their group, and that large animal of theirs. That would make sense with some of the stories. But not all of them. So maybe…there was another group? Or even…two different groups in addition to that one? He tried to think of all the people he expected to come after him. He could think of at least five others, but he wasn't sure he could think of ten.
This was stupid, and none of it was making sense.
He should just flee.
"Hello, there." The voice, like velvet stretched over a pile of knives. Dangerous, cool, angry, and utterly familiar. "Going somewhere?"
"Kagura." Naraku turned, trying not to notice that he felt suddenly strange. Nervous…anxious…vaguely…afraid? Kagura was standing with Kanna. On her other side, the dead miko Kikyo was looking rather threatening without actually showing an expression of emotion on her pale face. Beside Kanna, Kohaku stood like a shaky blade of grass, waiting to be squished, but next to him, Kouga looked like he couldn't even conceive of the concept of defeat. It was clear that he could win. But this was not what he'd been expecting. At all. Naraku did not like surprises. "It has been a long time."
"We all came to greet you, Naraku." Kikyo spoke up. "Be sure to show your manners. We were long in coming, but it will all go well, I believe."
He wished she wouldn't speak so vaguely. It made him feel annoyed that when he played the same game, he was not quite as good. Not quite as convincing.
Was Kikyo playing?
Of course she was. She had to be.
"I'm so glad we got here first." Kouga cracked his knuckles. "I've been waiting to confront you for so long."
Naraku wondered how they had reached him. They would have to cross his barrier. Maybe he was only seeing things. Maybe none of them were here at all, and he was simply straining himself. It was probably all a strange and foolish dream. Or perhaps Kikyo had broken it. She could do those things, he recalled. Why did it take him so long to be logical at a time like this? It was more critical now than ever. He had to see clearly.
"Nothing to say, children?" Naraku found refuge in cruel words, turning on Kohaku and Kanna, likely the easiest to break of the entire group. "Are you all along for the ride as well?"
"Don't talk to me." Kohaku growled, his voice surprisingly strong. "Your voice makes me sick."
"Enough talk, let's kill him!" Kouga, apparently worn out on pleasantries, took a flying leap through the air, his arm pulled back and ready to slash a strong arc through his target. Of course, Kouga was not much, especially now that he lacked his shards. However, his attention was so focused on his dodging that he utterly missed it when Kagura shot her wind blades at him, followed by a purity arrow from Kikyo just as Kohaku leapt into the fray. Kouga managed to leap out of the way of Kagura's attack, and Naraku felt several sensations as the blades hit him dead on.
First, he realized that Kagura had grown much stronger than he would ever have expected. Second, he wondered at feeling pain from something that was, essentially, just a piece of himself. Third, he wanted to kill her.
Her heart. He had her heart. Kanna's too. This shouldn't be so difficult, he realized. He just needed to think. Stay clear.
And then he was holding it. Kagura's heart, bright and red and pulsing and begging to be smashed in his strong, cruel grip.
"No!" he heard the scream as though it were background noise, something totally separate from the situation at hand. He couldn't even recognize the voice. Had it been Kanna? Kohaku? Kouga? Kikyo? Kagura? It didn't matter. He squeezed.
"Asshole!" that was Kouga, slashing at him so horribly. And what was going on? Where had these others come from? Kikyo was holding Kagura, lowering her as Kanna hovered nervously. Kohaku was attacking. Kouga was going crazy, it seemed. There was Inuyasha, flying at him, his sword unsheathed, but useless in such close and crowded quarters. He was yelling angrily at the others to back off so he could get a hit in. Naraku squeezed at that heart. It was warm, almost hot.
"We have to work together!" Kagome's voice was positively frantic. Kagura was screaming out in a continual wail of agony. She would pass out, soon. Sango was worried her brother was in danger. Miroku was worried Sango was in danger. That could be fun. But first, he squeezed.
He squeezed, and he felt the tension finally give, and burst. It was like a white-hot explosion in his hand, but in its way, it felt wonderful to him. Like he'd been given new life because he'd taken hers. She wasn't screaming anymore. Kouga actually stopped attacking to run and check on her, starting an argument with Kikyo over what they should do, and that was when Kanna ran at him, full speed.
He had never seen Kanna run at anything. He thought she didn't have the ability to run, like her lack of youki made her too weak for it. He had certainly never seen her cry, not even when the punishment was at its worst. He suspected that she cried on her own. But never where he could see. It was a shame. Her tears were glorious and lovely.
"Do you really want to die so badly?" he laughed aloud as she tried to crack him over the head with her mirror. Pathetic. It was the work of moments to wrap his limbs around her, and just as easily as she'd been created, Kanna was a part of him again.
"Sorry to be late." Sesshoumaru's voice brought Naraku to reality after the glee his latest kill brought him. "What have I missed?" It was not worth noting the weaklings that were following him, but Sesshoumaru was always a worthy opponent. This could be fun, if he thought of it like a game. All his favorite opponents lined up and ready to die.
"Kagura! Come on, the sword, use that thing right now!" Kouga was in a fit of senseless hyperactivity, nearly leaping at the dog demon and dragging him to their fallen comrade. "Bring her back."
"It is not necessary at this—"
"I don't give a shit what you think! Bring her back or I'll kill you, and to fuck with Naraku!" Kouga had never struck Naraku as a particularly powerful fighter, but at that moment, he did not envy Sesshoumaru. A sword that Naraku had always dismissed as secondary in Kouga's choice of weapon was suddenly at Sesshoumaru's throat, and the youkai looked vaguely surprised.
"Do it, Sesshoumaru." Kagome was the relative voice of reason. "It's for the team."
"Stupid." Was all he said before Naraku learned firsthand why it was that Sesshoumaru never fought with that other sword. It was not for killing. It was for healing. And before he could comprehend it fully, she was standing up again, a bit shaky, but seeming as though she'd only fallen asleep and was perfectly healthy. Naraku summoned up her heart in a rage. He killed her once, he'd do it again.
But her heart did not come to his hand. Somehow…like how it was that Kohaku was not responding to his messages. That damn sword…it could ruin everything. He would be fighting them over and over. Unless he killed Sesshoumaru, who knew how to use it. Or broke the sword.
"Where's Kanna?" Kagura's first words made Kouga's face fall. He'd been helping her to stand, but he paused.
"Naraku…took her back." He answered finally.
"Into…him?" Kagura's voice was thin, her face strained. Naraku was still dodging Kohaku, but he had no problem enjoying it and doing that at once. Kohaku was no challenge. He was interesting, but first…that sword.
"I'll take you back, too!" he threatened; flying at her like she was his target. Everyone formed up to protect her, and he dodged two arrows just as he switched at the last second and ripped the damnable sword right out of Sesshoumaru's possession, doing the first thing that occurred to him to get rid of it. He ate it, his body momentarily shifting to handle such…disagreeable food, but he handled it with little problem. It burned inside of him. Something about its powers, no doubt, did not seem to take well to being inside of such poisonous surroundings. It probably wouldn't digest, but he could deal with it later, once he'd killed everyone around him at the moment.
"He ate it!" Kohaku seemed so utterly shocked, Naraku wondered if this was really the same boy who had been his puppet so recently. "Why would he even want to?"
"So we can't use it." Kouga's voice was grim as his face. "Nice strategy, fuckhead."
"I thought you would all enjoy it." He smiled a cold, humorless grin covering his face. "Now then, if any of you are willing to give me more of a challenge than this," Naraku hit Kohaku so sharply the boy flew from him, hitting the nearest tree and crumpling in a heap. "And we are back to two down. Who's next?"
Sango had been expected. She flew at him as crazily as he had known she would, and he knocked her down just as easily as he'd predicted her behavior. But she was caught by Miroku, who looked homicidal until he realized that she was still alive. So was Kohaku. Naraku was just like a spider. He would incapacitate all of them, and then take his time killing them at his leisure. This revelation was not something that Naraku noted, as he was too busy fighting closely with Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, and Kouga, who were having a hard time not fighting with each other long enough to stage an attack. The other wolves hung back, looking unnecessary, and probably feeling it. Well, might as well take care of them.
Dodging cleverly and splitting his form in a way to avoid contact with his three main attackers, Naraku rained down on Ayame, Ginta, and Hakkaku. He bit the girl, carrying her shocked and already poisoned form as he beat down the two males with little trouble and so quickly that his evaded opponents had no chance to intervene until he'd dropped the girl and it was really too late. He looked around for more trash. Best to get rid of the weaklings first. However, at this point, Miroku had figured out enough to decide that Shippo and Jaken were in no way safe. So, with Kagome's help he made them leave as quickly as possible, sending both on Kirara with Kohaku and Sango's prone forms to return to the campsite where Rin was waiting with Ah-Un. He felt better now that she was relatively safe.
He also felt like destroying Naraku utterly.
Naraku was attacking again. This time, he was looking much like a twisted perversion of several youkai, barely clinging onto his human form as he bared fangs and claws and went straight for Kagome, who was trying to drag the wolves' bodies out of Naraku's range. He would have hit her, but he was stopped by a furious hanyou, and his teeth caught on Inuyasha's throat, needing to bite and rend something, if it couldn't be that deliciously innocent girl. Inuyasha would have to do. And Sesshoumaru was flying at him, furious, sword swinging as Inuyasha tore away finally, bleeding horrendously and looking probably worse than Miroku had ever seen him.
"We need a better strategy." Kikyo's voice reached Kagura, Kagome, and Miroku, but Inuyasha, Kouga, and Sesshoumaru were all about their attack, though Inuyasha was faring rather worse now that he had been so critically injured. "Just running at him over and over won't work. If we all attack at once, we could win."
"You're right." Kagome agreed immediately, still shaken from what had just happened, but recovering as quickly as was needed for a battle situation.
"Seven of us." Kagura was distant sounding, still not recovered from hearing about Kanna. "Not even half."
"It's enough." Miroku assured her. "It will be enough."
"You three stop that! We need to plan!" Kikyo called out to the three men surrounding Naraku. The distraction let him fly forward, and since she had spoken, he latched onto Kikyo, biting into her as he had done with Ayame and Inuyasha before. She only winced once, grabbing Naraku's head and holding it to her shoulder, where he was biting. She gave the others what could have passed for an extremely calm look. "I'll hold him. You all hit us with everything you have, all at once."
"That's stupid!" Kagura raged immediately. "You can't do something so totally—"
"It's the only way." Kikyo countered.
"It is not!" Kagura insisted.
"She is right." Sesshoumaru spoke up, his sword held ready. "This will work."
"That doesn't make it a good plan!" Kagura argued. "She'll die!"
"I already am dead, if you had forgotten." Kikyo reminded her, voice strained and hands glowing bright with the effort of holding Naraku, who had his share of biting and was now more concerned with their current suicidal plan. It really could work, and he knew that. "I was prepared for this as soon as I was resurrected. It is the fate of the dead to move on to the next world, whether they cling to regrets or not. At this point, my only regret is that I have not killed him. I can do it, if you help."
"I can't kill you!" Kagura was crying now, hysterical. "You're my friend!"
"Death does not kill friendship." Kikyo assured her. "Or love, or hate. It makes the soul dwell on those things. I can be sure, it has happened to me before."
"Do you…really want this?" Inuyasha spoke up his voice rasping and harsh from his injury, surprising Kagura into remembering his relationship with the dead miko. "I would do anything, I owe you my life."
"Then do this." She spoke, her voice sincere, her eyes clear despite the poison and the pain and the horrible fatigue that threatened. "And all will be repaid. You too, Kagura."
"Right." Kagome moved first, stringing her bow carefully. Sesshoumaru was still standing ready, Kouga moved to fight as well, and Inuyasha held his sword up shakily, though he was still arguably bleeding more than anyone ever should. Miroku wielded his staff ready, a handful of spells ready in his other hand. And then Kagura whipped open her fan. "On the count of three!"
"One!" Naraku struggled, and Kikyo felt her grip being strained.
"Two!" Inuyasha was having a hard time focusing his vision, but he steeled himself for what he was about to do. Kagura was crying still, completely hysterical.
"Three!" and then, as though all of them were of the same body, they flew into action, volleys of arrows and barrages of swords and spells and staffs and claws and wind and all Kikyo could do was hold on and hope that she could open that doorway to hell. With Naraku so suddenly weak, she knew…there was a chance of dragging him down. And then, all would be well again.
All would be right.
As the ground began to glow, she smiled.
After this, it would all be all right.
*****
The End (Of Part 23, That Is)