Seeing that Inuyasha wasn't moving, Kagome stood up stumbling a bit and despite Kohaku's protests, ran to the hanyou. She kneeled next to him and pushed him on his back. Her hands started shaking even more than before when he groaned and his face frowned in pain. His breathing was heavy and ragged. Kagome knew that something wasn't right – despite the crater that he had made when he crashed in the rocks, there was just no way he could feel that bad. He had been stabbed in the stomach so many times and he always got up.
She turned to look at Naraku, who to her utter surprise crashed on the ground too. But unlike Inuyasha, he obviously had more strength and managed to push himself up on his knees. He held his hands to his bleeding chest and stared directly at Kagome. Kohaku immediately knew what his 'master' was up to and stood in front of the girl and the hanyou to defend them.
"Kagome-chan, stay back." the boy warned, not turning to look at her. "Thank you for purifying my Shikon shard and freeing me from his control. Now I have to pay you back…" with that he ran toward Naraku.
Kagome screamed for Kohaku to stop, seeing the wide smirk that appeared on Naraku's lips, but the boy didn't listen. Just when Kohaku was in range to attack, the evil hanyou stood up, uncovering his chest. Before the dark-purple light blinded Kagome, she saw that in the center where that big red eye had been now could be seen the unfinished Shikon no Tama. When she was finally able to see, Naraku was standing next to Kohaku's unmoving body.
"I needed that shard." the evil hanyou said, smirking. "I see that my condition affects you greatly, Inuyasha." he snickered.
"Shut the fuck up." Inuyasha snarled, trying to get up and catching Kagome's attention. She looked at him confused, obviously by Naraku's words.
"Oh, I see." Naraku's smirk widened. "You don't want her to know just how much my shouki crystal affects you…"
Not letting him finish, Inuyasha pushed himself up and jumped at Naraku. He half expected his barrier to rise again and knock him out, but that never happened. He swung Tetsusaiga and Naraku had to avoid it, instead of block the sword with his 'indestructible' barrier. Although his body was fully regenerated after taking Kohaku's shard, the evil hanyou had lost one of his abilities.
That was very good for Kagome. Now she not only knew where she had to aim her arrows to be able to reveal the Shikon no Tama, but she didn't have to worry about the barrier. Well, of course she was angry with Inuyasha again. He hadn't told her that his connection with Naraku was so strong that the evil hanyou's injuries could affect him too.
But her anger could wait, right? Now they were alone in a fight with their greatest enemy and they just had no right to fail. Too many lives depended on that fight. If they loose, there was no one to stop Naraku. So, standing up and taking her bow, Kagome aimed at his chest where that big disgusting eye kept moving around and waited for a clear shot.
Inuyasha attacked again, but this time his opponent had something to block him. Naraku's right arm extended and formed a sword. It separated from his hand and he grabbed it. The two weapons met and the two opponents stood against one another, each one trying to push the other back. It seemed that they were even, and there couldn't be a winner. But then something happened that turned everything in Naraku's advantage.
From where the two swords were touching started to form a dark cloud that grew bigger and engulfed them both. Kagome was at a loss of words, she didn't have anyone to talk to, anyway. She started at the big round cloud, ready to shoot her arrow. Suddenly, something like electric impulses started to run around the cloud and someone was thrown out of it. Her eyes widened in shock and panic when she saw that it was Inuyasha.
The hanyou crashed in the rocks, dropping his sword and falling to the ground. Kagome screamed his name and ran to him. Just when she was about to reach him something wrapped around her waist and pulled her back. She screamed again but there was nobody to help her anymore. Naraku brought her close to him and turned her so she could face him. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw how scratched his face was. And the most shocking part was that he wasn't healing.
"Look what he did to me." the evil hanyou almost growled at her and she turned her head away. "I will make him pay. He will see you die."
The bone chilling tome of his voice was enough to make her cringe, but still, she refused to look at him, gritting her teeth. However, this enraged him even more. His left arm extended to a pointed vine, striking her in the left cheek and making her turn toward him. Blood ran down from the small wound, and she felt tears well up in her eyes. He brought her even closer, laughing cruelly.
"You will be screaming pretty soon too." he smirked and threw her on the ground.
Kagome hit the ground so hard that her air was knocked out of her. While she tied to catch her breath, Naraku stepped above her and kneeled next to her. His smile faded as he gripped a fistful of her dark hair to force her gaze upon him. She opened her slightly unfocused eyes and winced from the pain of being moved.
The same dark cloud engulfed them both and she could feel herself weaken even more. Suddenly, his grip on her loosened and she fell back to the ground, unable to move anymore, her eyes closing tightly in pain. But she managed to stay awake; she couldn't leave Inuyasha like that. She knew that he was still alive and she was determined to stay with him, no matter what.
Naraku stood up, deciding that she couldn't be a threat anymore, now that he had taken her energy too. He walked toward the fallen hanyou with a wide arrogant smirk on his lips. Just when he was a step away from his opponent, Inuyasha jumped up, grabbing his sword and thrusting it deeply in Naraku's stomach. To the hanyou's utter shock Tetsusaiga didn't transform. He jumped back, pulling it out of the stunned Naraku and it transformed.
Not wasting time in wondering about what had happened Inuyasha ran to Kagome. He pushed her on her back and she whimpered at the movement. "Hang on, Kagome." he whispered, bending down and kissing her lightly on the lips. "I'll get you out of here. You just hang on, ok?" seeing her nod slightly, he was up again, covering her with his haori.
By that time, Naraku had managed to snap out of his shock and confusion and had turned toward Inuyasha. "You better forget that sword." he said coldly. "It won't hurt me since we are connected."
"Not directly, bastard." the hanyou snarled and raised Tetsusaiga, ready to attack again. "You'll pay for what you did to Kagome." with that said, Inuyasha screamed 'die' and ran toward his enemy.
Naraku stood calmly on his place. In fact he was way too calm. He disappeared in an instant; just when Inuyasha brought his sword down, firing a Kaze no Kizu, reappearing behind him. His sword was back in his right hand and he stabbed Inuyasha through his back, the blade coming out from his stomach. The hanyou gasped but other than that, he didn't make any sound. Pulling his sword out of him, Naraku jumped back, smiling maliciously.
Inuyasha fell on his knees, supporting himself with Tetsusaiga. He cursed himself and Naraku of course and slowly stood up, turning to face the evil hanyou. Suddenly, many long purple wines shot from Naraku's back and flew toward Inuyasha. Some of them he managed to cut off, but others he couldn't and finally his legs, arms and waist were tightly wrapped in them. He couldn't move.
"What are you going to do now, hanyou?" Naraku asked coldly, stepping forward. "You cannot defeat me, haven't you realized that by now?"
"Keep saying that and you may begin to believe it." Inuyasha growled and another vine wrapped around his throat, effectively shutting him up.
Naraku squeezed the hanyou tighter and tighter, having the best time of his life. Until someone, he had obviously forgotten about, decided to step in the fight again. An arrow flew toward the evil hanyou, destroying most of the vines that held Inuyasha. Naraku's head snapped toward Kagome, just in time to see her fall down, too exhausted by that single shot she managed to make.
"Hah, stupid girl." Naraku laughed cruelly, his eyes narrowing.
But his smile faded when Inuyasha swung his sword, cutting most of the remaining vines. He screamed an insult and leaped for an attack, knocking the evil hanyou back a few steps. Naraku hit the ground hard, dodging another attack before able to recover from the first. Ripping some remaining vines from himself, leaving deep gashes where they had been on his body, Inuyasha stepped in front of his opponent with his sword over his shoulder.
"You ain't so tough, now are you?" the hanyou snickered, his eyes narrowed and flashing with something unreadable.
Kagome saw him step forward and heard his snicker. She shivered – that was not the Inuyasha she knew, he was different. And she knew that the reason for his behavior was the shouki crystal. The hanyou was using way too much his connection with Naraku, he was taking too much of his dark energy and that was affecting him in the worst possible way. Kagome just hoped that he didn't lose his mind in this fight.
"Inuyasha…" she whispered, seeing a vine creep toward his leg, but he didn't seem to hear her.
However, the hanyou had seen what Naraku was trying to do and was ready. He had already made his mind and waited for his enemy's next move. Suddenly, that vine shot toward Inuyasha, piercing his right shoulder, but he didn't drop Tetsusaiga. He didn't make even a sound, as more vines came from Naraku's back wrapping around him tightly. He just made a few steps back, gritting his teeth as pain shot through his whole body.
"Now I got you." Naraku snarled, outstretching a hand with an immediate pulse of power, making the hanyou fly further back.
Inuyasha grabbed on the vine in his shoulder and closed his eyes tightly. Trying to pull it out, he could not suppress the scream – it just hurt too much. With the shouki crystal, he had managed to keep the pain under control, borrowing some of Naraku's energy, but now as the evil hanyou was weakened he couldn't get enough energy. The pain was nothing he had ever felt before, leaving him panting and falling back against the rocks.
'Fight!' he screamed in his mind, as another vine attached to his neck, his own blood flying in every direction. 'Fight it! Just… a little… longer…' his mind insisted.
Kagome wasn't trying to scream Inuyasha's name anymore. She was crying now, trying with her last strength to move toward him and help him, no matter how. She pushed herself onto all fours, crawling to his aid. He screamed again, as Naraku's sword turned into a spear and the evil hanyou stabbed him in the stomach, where his previous wound was. More tears ran down Kagome's cheeks. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned sharply to see who was touching her.
"Kikyou!" her voice was just barely above a whisper.
"Don't interfere." the Miko said firmly but Kagome didn't listen. "You will only get killed. Do you think Inuyasha wants that?" she asked and this made the dark-haired girl stop her attempts to escape from the strong grip on her shoulder.
Inuyasha was growling, his eyes flashing red. As he lifted Tetsusaiga, the sword changed as if he was going to fire a Kongousouha. His left hand wrapped around the spear and he pulled it deeper into his stomach, making Naraku to come closer. The evil hanyou was surprised from such a reaction from his opponent and just didn't know what to expect anymore.
"Weak hanyou!" Naraku stepped back in shock, not thinking of releasing the spear. "This ends now!" he yelled, his eyes narrowing dangerously, as he seemed to glow in dark-purple light.
"Damn right, it does!" Inuyasha snarled, driving the spear completely through to get within reach. He raised Tetsusaiga and the sword seemed to glow in unison with the evil hanyou as it pierced his chest.
Inuyasha gritted his teeth, twisting the sword's blade. Naraku's eyes widened in shock, as pain shot through his whole body. His scream echoed in the cave and the purple light seemed to burst out of him, engulfing both him and Inuyasha. The Shikon no Tama burst out of him and fell in front of Kagome and Kikyou. A second later another piercing scream was heard and the purple light was replaced with light-bluish. It was so strong that Kagome and Kikyou had to cover their eyes.
When the light was gone and they opened their eyes, Naraku was gone. Only Inuyasha stood there with Tetsusaiga in his right hand. The sword was glowing in the same bluish light and the hanyou's eyes seemed kind of glazed and unfocused. There weren't any vines on him anymore, but his clothes were a complete mess and his whole body was covered in blood and wounds. Suddenly, he crumbled to his knees and with that Tetsusaiga broke into millions of small pieces.
Just now Kikyou let go of Kagome's shoulder. The girl immediately jumped up on her feet and ran to Inuyasha. She managed to catch him before he fell forward and with that her strength seemed to fade away. She sat back onto her knees, helping him lie on his back. She shook him gently and his eyes seemed to focus on her.
"Inuyasha…" she whispered shakily. "You…alright?"
"Stupid question…" he breathed painfully and coughed some blood.
Kagome wiped the blood with her sleeve and gently moved some strands of his hair away from his face. Kikyou took the Shikon no Tama and placed it in her sleeve, then she walked to the hanyou and the girl next to him. A dull thud was heard when Sesshoumaru was released from the dark cloud and fell on the ground. Inuyasha chuckled weakly and earned himself a glare from the frustrated dog demon.
Sesshoumaru walked toward his half brother and stood next to Kikyou. A strange feeling made Kagome's chest tighten and she furrowed her brows in confusion. Why weren't Kikyou and Sesshoumaru saying anything? She turned toward them and her eyes widened when she saw the Miko's sad eyes.
"What's wrong?" she asked, turning to look at Inuyasha again.
He smiled weakly and raised his left hand to her right cheek. "Nothing's wrong…" he said and coughed again, a strange purple glow appearing in his chest.
"The shouki crystal is killing him." Sesshoumaru's clod voice made Kagome shiver.
"No…" she shook her head. "You are going to save him." she ordered and to her surprise, the dog demon nodded.
Inuyasha was feeling drowsy. Somehow that was fine with him – it kind of dulled the pain. He watched Kagome with half lidded eyes. She was frowning, she had tears in her eyes – he didn't like that. He liked it when she was smiling. He knew what was going to happen, so he wanted to see her smile again. But he couldn't make his voice come out. He had to see her smile one last time.
"Why are you crying?" he finally asked weakly, almost too quiet to hear.
"I'm not crying, idiot." she said shakily, and then turned to Sesshoumaru. "Come on!" she urged him.
The dog demon drew Tenseiga out and stepped closer to his half brother. He narrowed his eyes trying to see the messengers of Hell. He couldn't. "What is the meaning of this?" Sesshomaru growled, startling Kagome.
"What is it?" she asked worriedly.
"I don't see the messengers of Hell." he said incredulously.
"That means his soul is no longer here." Kikyou said with her usual calm voice.
"But he's still alive!" Kagome cried turning to look at the hanyou.
"Now you're crying." he remarked dreamily, pointing a weak hand at her face.
At this, Kagome just couldn't stop her tears anymore. She answered something that he couldn't make out and his vision became even foggier. She sounded desperate – he didn't like that. She would never want to smile if she was that sad. He had to do something but he felt so tired and sleepy and couldn't hold his eyes open… He heard voices, telling him to wake up, white spots danced in front of his eyes. He knew it would soon be over.
"Smile for me one last time…" he mumbled before his head rolled to the side and his eyes finally lost focus.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome swallowed reaching with a shaky hand to turn his head toward her again. "No, Inuy-asha…" her voice cracked when she saw that he wasn't breathing.
Slowly, his body became transparent. Kagome screamed something that even she couldn't make out and he faded completely. Then she froze – she just couldn't accept this. But Inuyasha was gone and she saw it. The cave started shaking, rocks started falling and they had to get out, but Kagome just stood there unmoving. Sesshoumaru cursed and shook her hard. Instead of snapping out of her trance, Kagome lost consciousness.
"Stupid girl." the dog demon growled and picking her up, ran toward the door along with Kikyou, who had taken Kohaku's body with her.
TBC