DISCLAIMER: This is the 18th time in this story that I've had to tell you that I don't own Inuyasha! Understand? GOOD!!
Another chapter. Woo. -----(note the lack of enthusiasm, lol)
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Keitaru came back many years later. He had tricked Toshiro before he'd ever met Naomi and her mother, so it was a few centuries later that he called upon him to help defeat Naomi. Toshiro had, of course, obeyed, but with every intention of back-stabbing him when he got the chance.
Toshiro looked Inuyasha in the eye. "I have no choice. If I do not help him, he will kill me."
The two stared down each other for what seemed like hours, Inuyasha still gripping the front of Toshiro's shirt. It was only minutes, however, before Inuyasha spoke.
"You hate him."
"You do not know that."
"I can see it in your eyes."
They stared down each other yet again. This time it was Toshiro who spoke.
"Yes, I hate him. But I still have no choice."
"Yeah you do. You can choose to help us kill him."
"If we fail, he'll kill us. You understand that, don't you?"
"Then I guess we better not fail."
And thus the silent agreement was made. Toshiro would help them kill Keitaru and save Naomi. Inuyasha lowered him back to the ground and let go of his shirt.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Kouga yelled. "This could be a trap, you idiot! How do we know he's really on our side?! How do you know that he's not just acting?!"
Kagome placed a hand on Kouga's arm. "Just trust him," she said softly. One look at her face was all he needed to calm down and trust Toshiro.
"So, what do we do?" Sango asked, walking over to them. "Is there some way we can get into that barrier?"
Toshiro looked around. 'We need Shina,' he thought. His eyes fell on Shippou, who had jumped onto Kagome's shoulder. "Hey, kid."
"M-Me?" Shippou squeaked. He had not forgotten the earlier attempt on his life.
"Yeah," Toshiro said. "Cast your Fox Fire at the barrier."
Shippou looked at Kagome, wondering whether he should listen or not. Kagome gave a slight nod, and Shippou hopped off her shoulder and scurried over to the barrier. He took a deep breath and prepared himself to cast the spell. He concentrated, building up his energy. "Fox Fire!" he shouted. The spell hit the barrier....
....And bounced off.
Toshiro sighed. So, he was too young to have enough power. Then he got an idea. "Concentrate on the person you hate the most," he said. "And imagine that the barrier is that person."
Shippou looked at him, a little surprised. Then he looked back at the barrier and built up his energy again. "Fox Fire!" he shouted again, casting the spell once more. This time it was stronger, and a hole appeared in the barrier.
"Wow, Shippou!" Kagome exclaimed. "That was pretty powerful!"
"I'm curious," Miroku put in. "Who were you thinking of?"
"Uh...." Shippou looked around nervously, knowing that his answer would get him into trouble. "Inuyasha."
"WHAT?!?!"
"Now's not the time," Toshiro said, stopping Inuyasha from launching himself at Shippou. "We need someone to go in there and find her."
"I'm going," Inuyasha said with certainty. "She's my friend, and I have to save her. Plus I'm the strongest one here."
He earned two glares and two whacks on the head from two demons.
"Wolves like me are a lot more powerful than pathetic dogs!" Kouga exclaimed. "Especially half breeds!"
"And foxes are definitely the dominant species," Toshiro added.
"I'm going too," Hikaru interrupted, the first time he'd talked in a while. "She saved me, and now it's time to return the favor."
"Well, you better hurry up and go!" Sango exclaimed, looking at the quickly closing hole. Inuyasha and Hikaru looked at each other and nodded before running through the hole, Inuyasha leading with Hikaru following.
Once they had gone and the hole disappeared, Miroku turned to Toshiro. "How did you know that Shippou would be able to break the barrier?" he asked.
"Shina had the power to break barriers," Toshiro said. The others couldn't miss the sad note in his voice. "And it appears that this young fox demon is her reincarnation."
'Shina?' Kagome thought. She stared at his downcast face. 'Could he have loved her?'
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Hikaru stepped inside the barrier and immediately froze. The darkness was stifling. It pressed in around him, and he felt as though he would never see the light again. He felt as Naomi had; only his feelings were multiplied ten times over.
Inuyasha stopped when he realized that his companion wasn't following him anymore. He looked over and saw the poor guy just standing there, looking like a pale statue. "Snap out of it," Inuyasha growled, grabbing his arm. He felt the fear too, but he wasn't about to show it. "Come on, we have to get Naomi outta here!"
Hikaru came out of his trance and looked at Inuyasha. "Sorry," he muttered, then followed again as Inuyasha ran through the darkness. He would have to stay strong, for her sake.
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"I'll have to go back to Keitaru and tell him that you are dead," Toshiro said.
"But isn't he fighting Naomi?" Shippou questioned.
Toshiro shook his head. "He's probably cast an illusion spell to make a copy of himself," he answered. "That's who Naomi is fighting."
"Is he that powerful?" Miroku asked, amazed.
"I'm afraid so," Toshiro said grimly. "He's so powerful that he can hide his scent. I don't even know what kind of demon he is! He could be a rabbit for all I know!"
"Wow...I've never even heard of a demon like that!" Sango exclaimed.
"And now I have to go," Toshiro said. "If I don't do something to keep his eyes away from the barrier, he'll find Inuyasha and Hikaru." Without another word he disappeared right before their very eyes.
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Keitaru felt a disturbance in his barrier. It was a small one, though, and he was sure that Toshiro could take care of it once he got back from killing those weaklings. Speaking of which...
Toshiro appeared on the cliff. "M'lord," he greeted Keitaru, bowing as always.
"Are they dead?" he asked.
"Of course. They were weak and defeated easily."
"Good," Keitaru said. He'd kept his eyes on the fight below the entire time, and Toshiro knew that he needed to concentrate to keep up the illusion. "Now, go do something about the disturbance in the barrier I felt a few minutes ago."
Toshiro stayed where he was. He said he'd distract him, and so he would. "It was probably just a stray demon trying to get in," he said casually. "Most likely nothing to worry about."
Keitaru would have glared at him if he did not need to concentrate. "I still want you to do something about it," he growled. "It feels like something came in, and I don't want any disturbances."
"I still think that it is nothing to worry about," Toshiro insisted. He would have to distract Keitaru from Naomi long enough for Inuyasha to help her, then get up there and defeat him. "I'll bet it's just a simple bird that got lucky and flew through a weak spot."
"I suppose you're right."
'Eh?' This was unexpected. Toshiro thought that Keitaru would have continued arguing, eventually turning to him and looking away from Naomi. It looks like the plan failed.
"I suppose I don't have to worry since that weak half demon is dead," Keitaru said calmly. "Unless, of course, he really weren't dead..."
Toshiro was frozen for an instant with dread. Did he know? Was it possible that he'd found out about the betrayal? Could it be that he was trying to get Toshiro to confess? No. Impossible. He couldn't know. "Of course he's dead," Toshiro responded. "Do you doubt my strength?"
"No, only your loyalty."
He did know. There was only one way to end this. Without thinking, Toshiro grabbed his only available weapon. His sword plunged into Keitaru's back and came through the other side.
The latter's shoulders shook. Toshiro took a step back, letting go of the sword and having no clue of what was going on. He had no idea whether he should flee in alarm or laugh in triumph. What did this mean? He didn't know, but he would soon find out.
Keitaru's shoulders shook more violently. Then he threw his head back, letting out howls of laughter. He turned on Toshiro, still chuckling. He grabbed the blade of the sword from behind and pulled it out. The gaping hole that the sword had made quickly disappeared, leaving not even torn cloth.
"Impossible," Toshiro gasped, the panic clearly showing in his eyes.
The mission had failed.
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Naomi thrust her sword violently. Keitaru merely dodged. "Damn you!" she spat, panting.
He only laughed. "You foolish half breed!" he said. "You truly thought you could defeat me? Me, the one who not even your mother could kill without dying as well?"
"Damn you!" she repeated. Then something happened. As she watched, the figure of him wavered and shimmered. His laughing voice was still heard, but that was fading along with his body. Cautiously, Naomi walked over to him and put a hand threw him as if he were water. She stumbled backwards a little in shock, then anger formed again.
"He tricked me," she growled. "That bastard tricked me! That was just an illusion!" She looked up at the top of the barrier. She could neither see nor hear anything from up there. "COME AND FIGHT ME!!!!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, her anger and hatred coming out in full force. She punched the side of the cliff with all her might, creating a crater that went all the way to the top of the cliff.
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Well, this certainly is setting the stage up for the final fight! Which is, coincidentally, the name of the next chapter! I'm sure you can pretty much guess what's going to happen....Review please!