This will be my last chapter for a few days, as I will be moving to Alabama on Tuesday. This is a two day drive from where I am in Texas, but I hope to continue posting by the end of the week. Do not worry, this is a 20 chapter story. I will not leave you hanging for too long, I promise.

In Chapter Thirteen, a wounded Sesshomaru was tended by Kagome, and they finally express their feelings for each other; although not in so many words. Kikyou was informed by Kagura that Rin is also her reincarnation. And would be much easier to kill. And Naraku and Kagura plan to make sure that no one comes out of the final confrontation alive.

For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that is used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and is not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique ad nauseum. (Whew!)

Chapter Fourteen – The Beginning of the End

Before the sun rose the next morning, and the sky was just beginning to shimmer with a pink and orange haze, an overlarge, big-eyed pink balloon wafted down a pasture covered in mists. A trail of strange crying mushrooms sprouted up here and there in the wake of the fluffy balloon. Huffing and puffing could be heard emanating from the balloon as its trajectory started a slow decline. "Steady. I can do this. Ugh!" The balloon seemed to be lifted by a windless breeze, and up it went again. Shippo was searching for something. "Where is it? Kikyou said it was straight this way."

The balloon stopped for a moment, and turned in a complete circle. There was nothing but mist everywhere he looked. "Maybe I didn't go straight. It is impossible to tell. Inuyasha will kill me if he catches up to me and I didn't find it." He used the weeping fungi as a guide and reset his course. With renewed vigor, he flew ahead as fast as his roly-poly body would let him go.

And then it happened. The mists started to part, and the faint outline of a castle emerged before him. The balloon disappeared with a loud pop and Shippo dropped to the ground. He almost yelled, but remembered Inuyasha's warning about the element of surprise. So he waited. While bouncing up and down with both hands over his mouth.

The rest of the gang caught up shortly, with Inuyasha trailing, an armload of loud mushrooms making him angrier by the second. "You didn't have to pick them up, Inuyasha. They would have disappeared soon." As he finished the sentence, the mushrooms disappeared.

"Listen, runt. You were the one who wanted to be the scout. I warned you to be quiet. And how do you leave a trail for us? With fucking cryin' mushrooms!"

"Inuyasha! Your yells are louder than that whole load of mushrooms. Now shut up!" Sango had had enough of his constant bitching since Sesshomaru had escaped. She wasn't happy about it either, but something had been nagging her since the ordeal ended.

It isn't like him to be merciful. I saw it. He had the perfect opportunity to kill Miroku, with very little effort on his part. And he didn't. He knocked him out of play, but otherwise, the monk remained unharmed. And that last move. Inuyasha was prepared to strike, and I knew the only way Sesshomaru could get away from it was through me. So, instead of running me down and killing me, he jumped into the air and flew away. I got a good shot at him, wounding his back, but he was too far gone. "I still don't understand why he ran away like that."

Inuyasha huffed. "Simple. He is a dirty, stinking coward."

"Inu-" Miroku started.

"It's true. That coward turned tail and ran the moment he was overpowered."

"Not so, Inuyasha. I believe that he is a good strategist. He surmised that nothing would be gained by dying at that moment, and he would not have been able to defeat you with all his wounds. He is waiting for us to come to him."

"I agree. I don't think he intended to fight us at that pass. He almost looked surprised to see us."

"He didn't looked surprised to me. He was wielding his poison whip."

Shippo turned his nose up, trying to look like he knew more than everybody else. "You didn't see him when he first arrived. He was looking for us, sure. But he didn't look anywhere near angry until he heard Inuyasha's plans to sneak up there and get him where he lives."

He started to say something to the little twerp, but Inuyasha then decided to be silent and started walking towards the castle. Miroku caught his arm before he got too far. "Inuyasha, just how do you expect to get in there?"

"I am gonna break down those damned walls with my bare hands if I have to. She has waited long enough."

Sango got up onto Kirara's back. "I have a better idea. Kirara and I will fly over there and drop down into a courtyard. All castles like those have an open area somewhere. We will let you in from the inside, and we can still sneak up on him."

Miroku walked over to Sango, with a somber look on his face. "Let me get this straight. You are going to fly on a fire-laden cat right into the middle of his castle and expect not to be noticed. Pull the other one."

She sent him a go-to-hell glare. It was then Shippo who came up with the acceptable alternative. "I'll go with them. We'll fly on Kirara until we get close, and then I will fly her over the walls. I know I can carry her. If it isn't too far."

She gave the monk an acid smile and took Shippo into her lap. "Happy?"

"Sango, you wound me with your malice. I don't want to see you hurt. I will go in your stead."

She leaned down, close to his face. Miroku tensed for the impending kiss. Then, Sango gently but firmly...pushed him away. "Please. Save the manly crap for the little girls. Follow me, but not too close. I will let you in soon." And the trio flew off in the direction of the castle.

Miroku, blushing from embarrassment, looked around them. There was only Inuyasha. "Where is Lady Kikyou?"

They surveyed the surrounding area, but it was an open plain. There was no where for her to hide. She was just gone. "She was here when we walked into the mist barrier."

The monk sagely nodded his head. "So. She is off on her own agenda. I see. Inuyasha, I know that you still harbor feelings for Lady Kikyou, but I believe she is in this to see Kagome dead."

"Feh! Fat lot you know, monk. You cannot even see that Sango wants you." He marched off in the direction of the castle, slowly digesting the words Miroku told him. And he felt a sense of dread, fearing that those words were true.

Kikyou was up at the castle a few moments before Shippo and Sango. She tried to enter the castle alone, but she did not possess the ability to jump high enough or fly. So, she retreated to a corner where shadows would render her invisible.

Kirara set down a few yards from the castle, and poofed herself into her miniature form. "Okay Shippo. It is your time to shine. We must work quickly, because I am sure that your pink bubble form will attract almost as much attention as Kirara's." Sango looked down at the cat demon rubbing her leg. She had an idea. "Why don't you carry Kirara instead of me? She weighs a lot less than I do, and you will be able to fly quicker."

Shippo was more than a little relieved at this suggestion, and quickly blew up for flight. Balloon Shippo grabbed Kirara with his stringy arms and wafted above the entrance to the castle. Luckily for him, the first inner courtyard was not too far behind the main door. His balloon popped a little too soon, due to the added weight of the little fire cat. And they both hit the ground with a thud.

Sesshomaru woke up the second the two hit the ground. As he was currently sleeping on the ground, the tiny impact tremor shot through him like electricity. He looked down at Kagome, still sleeping in his arms. Damn. He got here sooner than I had hoped. I wanted just a little more peace before having to deal with him again.

He shifted and sat up against the tree. His back no longer throbbed with pain; it was down to a dull ache already. Kagome stirred and let out a little whine, not wanting to get up yet either. "We must get up. Your friends have just penetrated the outer gate. It will not be too long now before Jaken comes running in here to wreak havoc on us all."

Although loath to move, Kagome agreed that this was not how she wanted to be seen by Jaken. She grabbed her kimono and hastily draped it over her shoulders, standing as she did so. He sat there a little longer, just watching her. He's coming to get her. He's coming to get her. That same thought went through his mind over and over again. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want her to go, but to keep her he will have to kill his brother.

She tied off her sash, forgetting that her hair was in complete disarray yet again. "I better get back to Rin before she wakes up. If she finds that she is alone again, she might start crying again. She was inconsolable most of...last...night..."She trailed off as she realized that she might be insulting him. After all, it was because of him that she was crying. That's right! He tried to use her again to hold sway over me. I need to know if he meant it. She thought a little longer, playing with the knot at her waist. But, on the other hand, I don't think I could take it if he really did mean it. Damn!

"Kagome, what ever is going through your head, you are probably misled." Sesshomaru was standing behind her, only half dressed because his shirt was completely useless. "We will have time to discuss this later. For now, I want you to keep Rin in your wing. It will be the farthest from the...fracas."

She turned to argue with him, and he knew it. "Later, Kagome. I need for Rin to be safe."

Kagome lighted on his words. "Ah! I knew it! You would never hurt a hair on that child's head. You lied to me all this time."

Funny, she didn't sound angry. That was all he thought as she threw her arms around him and kissed her. Women.

Jaken interrupted the pair, running in like Armageddon was at hand. "Master, master! Those hooligan friends of the miko's have just gotten into the castle." He skidded to a dead halt at the edge of the courtyard, seeing the two of them locked together. "My Lord?"

Sesshomaru lifted his head and stared at the vassal, but did not let Kagome go. "I know this, Jaken. I heard them enter. Take Kagome and stay with her and Rin in the farthest wing."

Jaken sputtered his indignation. "My Lord. I do not want to leave your side. I cannot be banished with the humans. Especially not with human women."

Great. The toad is a chauvinist pig. "Hey, listen here you lackey. If you say another insult towards me, I'll take your tongue and wrap it around that hideous stick you carry around."

Jaken gulped and bowed without thinking. Upon rising, he continued his assault. "My Lord, I will not leave you. I will fight to the death beside you. We can make quick work of these ignorant devils."

He is making it worse. He looked down at Kagome, who was beginning to get upset again. "I do not mean to kill them, Kagome."

She looked up at him. "Then let me go with you. I can..."

"No." The fierceness behind that single word made Kagome cringe. Sesshomaru sighed. "If the first thing Inu... my brother sees is you, he will steal you away. Without an explanation. I need to knock some sense into the boy."

Kagome slackened a little in his arms, a sign to him that she was calming back down. "Okay. I agree with that. Inuyasha can be hard headed most of the time. But Sango and Miroku will see reason. They will notice that I have not been hurt, and will not try to kill you. They will listen to me." Sesshomaru was in a quandary. And Kagome knew that there was something he was not telling her. "What? There is something else."

"If it were just them, I would let you go with me. But, there are others with them. They are not here to free you. I wager they want to kill you."

"They?" Kagome shivered. "Who are they?"

"Kikyou..."

"Ooh, I have had enough of her. Every time I meet her, she always tries to kill me."

Sesshomaru smiled at this outburst. "She wants her soul back."

Kagome tried to get out of his grasp and failed, miserably. "Well, she can't have it. She had it first, and look what she did with it. That's right, she died. So it is all mine now, and I mean to keep it."

Jaken started to jump again. "My Lord, the fox and the cat have opened up the outside door. They are coming his way!"

Sesshomaru led Kagome to the entrance to his wing. "Kagome, do not argue with me now. You will be safe in the far wing, and you must make sure Rin is safe. Her powers are coming along, but she can by no means take care of herself yet."

She wanted to argue, but he had a point. If it weren't such a dire moment for me, I would find this ironic. I stay here under the threat that Rin will die, and I am still here making sure she doesn't. "Okay, I'll go. But I want you to swear here and now that you will not kill or seriously hurt any of my friends."

Sesshomaru was getting frustrated at her lack of trust in this matter. "I swear it."

"And I do mean all of my friends, Sesshomaru. Every one of them."

"Go, woman! And take the toad with you."

Jaken fell to his knees at his master's feet. "Please, my Lord. Do not make me go with her." One solid stare from him and Jaken got up and started running behind Kagome.

Sango and the others crept into the first inner courtyard of the castle. Miroku immediately closed his eyes in concentration. "I believe that Sesshomaru is towards the west."

Inuyasha sniffed the air. "Yes. And he is coming this way." Without another word, Inuyasha ran to the west, trying to meet his brother head on again.

Sango, Miroku and Shippo all let out a sigh. "So much for stealth. Come on, Miroku. Don't fall behind." Sango grabbed Shippo and they and Kirara ran after Inuyasha.

Sensing that the group had moved off, Kikyou slipped into the castle. She also closed her eyes in concentration. But she was not trying to sense the presence of a powerful demon. She was listening to the eerie music that the broken soul emitted. And it was traveling from the west wing to the wing farthest from where Kikyou sat. She kept listening, testing Kagura's theory. Sure enough, another lyrical ode sang faintly from the south. It was soft, very soft. She must be sleeping still. And very contented. The music had a different timbre than Kagome's. It was higher, faster, and more spirited. Well, of course. Her soul is complete. Perhaps after I retrieve her soul, I will be able to get Kagome's. I wonder if the same soul from different times can inhabit the same body.

Just outside the main door, Kagura waited for her master. He should be here by now. I hate it when he makes me wait like this. Like a lowly vassal. Or servant. Or slave.

"Inward contemplation, Kagura? Or are you just feeling sorry for yourself yet again." The man who literally held her heart stepped forward, appearing from the mist barrier as if from nothing.

"They are already going headlong into their fates. Inuyasha and his band are heading towards Sesshomaru. And Kikyou fell for your trap. She realized that Rin is indeed another reincarnation of herself, and is going to kill the girl instead of Kagome."

Naraku nodded. "That should leave only Kagome. I will let you have the pleasure of killing her. Any way you like." He leaned in close to Kagura. "I hear she has been dabbling with the man you set your sights on. Poor little Kagura. Your heart must be breaking." He leaned back and laughed. "I shall have to check on it when we return."

He stepped into the castle, followed by Kagura. I'll kill you, Naraku. If it is the last thing I do.

Chapter Fifteen – Seek and Destroy

Naraku infiltrates the castle, hoping to watch his mortal enemies die, or kill them while their focuses are elsewhere. Shippo begins to search the castle for Kagome. And Kikyou comes closer to finding her souls.