Don't own Inu-Yasha

Chapter 3: Death

"Rin, where is Kagura?" Sesshomaru asked her as she walked into the castle.

"Lady Kagura is outside fighting a demon." Rin told him.

"She should not be fighting anyone in her condition." Sesshomaru thought to himself.

"A demoness showed up and challenged Lady Kagura to a fight to the death. She told Lady Kagura that you deserve a more powerful demon." Rin said as she put Sanyu down.

"My Lord, do not interfere with this fight." Kanna warned him.

"I will do as I wish." Sesshomaru replied as he left the castle.

"This will not end well." Kanna told Rin.

Outside the castle, Kagura was in a dangerous battle for her life. She had underestimated Amaya and her power. "Who is this woman? Someone must have sent her here." Kagura said as she barely dodged an attack.

"You are slowly loosing strength, and soon you will die." Amaya told her. Kagura tried to dodger Amaya's next attack, but she was too slow. Amaya's katana was plunged into Kagura's shoulder and blood flew everywhere.

"Ahhh!" Kagura screamed as she fell to the ground and grasped her wound. Amaya wasn't finished with Kagura yet, though. She walked up to Kagura and picked up a huge rock. "Stay back!" Kagura screamed as she used her fan to send energy blades at her. Amaya dodged them easily and threw the rock onto Kagura's ankle. "Ahhh!" Kagura screamed out in pain as her bone was crushed.

"I told you the Great Lord Sesshomaru would be mine." Amaya said as she took Kagura's fan from her and threw it into the small river. "Now you're coming with me." she said as she took a hand full of Kagura's hair and began to drag her away.

"Release me!" Kagura yelled as she tried to free herself from Amaya's grip.

"Stop fighting, you're as good as dead now." Amaya laughed. Just as Kagura had given up all hope, something happened.

"Release her." Sesshomaru stood before Amaya.

"Lord Sesshomaru. I have come to free you from this witch so that I can serve you." Amaya bowed before him and released Kagura.

"You bitch!" Kagura pulled the small pin (which was really a small dagger) from her hair and lunged at her.

"You still wish to fight me, despite the fact that I have crushed you ankle?" Amaya laughed. But she didn't laugh for long, Kagura stabbed her in her stomach, causing blood to gush from her body. Kagura then passed out from her own loss of blood.

"Bitch!" Amaya yelled as she pulled the dagger from her body. She was about to finish Kagura off, when Sesshomaru grabbed her arm.

"You do not want to do that." he warned her.

"My great Lord. Why do you not want me to kill her?"

"She is my mate. If you kill her, then I will kill you." he answered her.

"You deserve a much stronger mate. Allow me to kill her and you can take me." Amaya said.

"I will not allow you to kill her. Kagura is my mate because I chose her to be my mate."

"You cannot love her!"

"I can and I do." Sesshomaru told her. "Now leave from here and never return." he said as he released her arm. As Amaya slowly walked away, she turned and watched as Sesshomaru took Kagura into his arms and carry her back to the castle.

"You will pay for this, Kagura." Amaya said threw her gritting teeth.

"Yume, is that the village?" Ketsuzen asked as they came upon a village.

"Hello demon slayers! Welcome!" an elderly man said as he greeted them.

"Hello. My name is Yume. My mother, Sango, is the leader of the demon slayers. She has sent me with some of our best demon slayers to your village to assist you." Yume told him.

"Fine, fine, that's fine. Come, follow me and I will show you where you can stay and get ready." he said as he led them through the village.

"Demon slayers..." a young boy gasped as they walked by him. Ketsuzen ran to Yume's side.

"I don't like that boy. He's giving off a weird ora." he told her.

"I know." Yume replied. Ketsuzen turned and watched the black haired boy still watching them. When Ketsuzen looked into the boys deep, dark brown eyes, he began to shiver.

Later that night the demon that had been plaguing the village returned, but this time it had to deal with the demon slayers. "Ketsuzen, help them over there!" Yume ordered. Ketsuzen nodded as he ran to the other side of the demon. In a matter of seconds the demon was dead.

"Good job everyone. Now let's finish this." Yume said as she pulled out her katana to cut the demon apart. The other demon slayers began to hack away at the demon, but Ketsuzen was beginning to get a weird feeling. "What is it Ketsuzen?" Yume asked the young man.

"Something's not right." Ketsuzen told her. Just as he spoke these words, something took control of his body. Ketsuzen was sent into a killing frenzy, killing off all of the demon slayers, and injuring Yume. She used her staff to block his attacks, but was running out of energy, fast.

"Ketsuzen, what are you doing?" Yume tried to stop him, but she was no match for a half demon.

"Destroy the young man!" the village leader comdand the villagers. They picked up their bows and began shooting arrows at him. Just before Ketsuzen tore Yume apart, the arrows caused him to fall over, dead.

"Ketsuzen!" Yume ran to his side and took him into her arms.

"Are you alright, miss?" a villager ran up to her and asked her.

"You killed him... why did you kill him?" Yume cried as she held Ketsuzen in her arms.

"He was going to kill you. We had to stop him."

"He would have never killed me." Yume wouldn't take her eyes off of his body. Ketsuzen was like a brother to her, and now she had lost two of her brothers.

"Miss..." the village tried to get her up, but she wouldn't move.

The next day Yume began her journey home, with Ketsuzen's body. She had the villager bury the bodies of the other demon slayers in a small area in the forest, but she wouldn't allow them to bury Ketsuzen in that place. She knew he had to be taken home. The journey home took three days, and Yume wished that she would never make it. How was she going to tell Kagome and Inu-Yasha what had happened?

"Mother!" Iyasu yelled for Kagome as she rode into the village with Keiji.

"Iyasu! Welcome. What are you doing here?" Sango greeted her.

"I have come on the orders of my Lord, Kyou." Iyasu told her.

"Is Kyou with you?" Miroku asked.

"No. He has stayed behind. Where is my mother?" she asked as she jumped off the horse.

"Mother?" Iyasu walked into her mother's hut and called for her.

"Iyasu... when did you arrive?" Kagome asked.

"Just now. What is wrong?"

"I think something's happened to Ketsuzen." Kagome began to cry again.

"Mother, why do you think this?" Iyasu said as her mother cried in her arms.

"She's been like this for three days. Yume and Ketsuzen should have been back yesterday." Inu-Yasha said as he stepped out of the darkness.

"Father... mother, I'm sure he's fine." Iyasu tried to cheer her mother up.

"Kagome! Inu-Yasha! Come quick!" Miroku yelled for his friends. The three ran out of the hut and were horrified by what they saw.

"Ketsuzen!" Kagome fell to the ground and wept. Iyasu knelt down to her mother and tried to comfort her as Inu-Yasha stepped closer to his son's body.

"What happened?" he finally asked Yume, who looked as though she were near death.

"We were preparing to cut the demon apart when Ketsuzen began attacking us. He had no control over his body and nearly killed me. I would have gladly died, if it meant he would returned to normal, but the villagers felt differently. The leader of the villager ordered the villager to slay him. I tired to stop them, but it was no use. Before I could get to him, he was already dead. The other slayers were buried in the forest next to the village, but I couldn't leave Ketsuzen there. I've traveled with out resting for the past three days." Yume said, right before she fainted. Miroku picked her up and carried her into his hut, followed by Sango.

"Kagome..."

"Inu-Yasha..." Kagome looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears.

"I'm taking Ketsuzen to Sesshomaru." he told her.

"Yes." Kagome said, then Iyasu helped her up and back into her hut.