Gotta make this a fast update...one more chappy after this, can you believe it? I don't own Inuyasha, and here's the next update:
I looked towards the others for help with the matter. They fought the best that they could, but even with the Tetsusaiga dealing out tremendous damage, the youkai still came raining down. 'Where did Naraku obtain such energy?' I thought in milliseconds. 'There's so many coming down…the sky is flooded from them…how is he able, without the Shikon no Tama?' Had I greatly underestimated my foe?
"He's using all of his energy for this attack!" The monk shouted to me. "If you strike now, he won't be able to counter it!"
"Now, Sesshoumaru!" Sango cried. "Before it's too late!" Her weapon easily hacked youkai bodies into two, and yet still they came down quickly.
"We...can't...hold on...for much longer!" Inuyasha held his sword out as a sort of shield to protect the group from the fangs and claws. "Make up your mind already!"
Naraku smirked from witnessing all this. Suddenly, he brought his hand up, and the youkai took this as some sort of sign, for an instant later, blood had been drawn on Kagome's arm from a quick bite. Her face cringed and shot an arrow, but it was not enough to hide this new pain. Five other youkai took a direct attack against my brother's sword, leaving it badly damaged; too damaged to effectively be used and thus unable to perform the Kaze no Kize attack. Naraku's grin grew.
If things were different, then I would have perhaps thanked Naraku, for he had now made my decision final. A second later, I hacked away the youkai from them temporarily, allowing the others to move away from the flood. "Get her out of here!" I snarled to Inuyasha. "Leave this place!"
As I continued to fight them away with what strength I had left, my eyes became red slowly. Inuyasha saw this and realized he could not argue my demand. He grabbed Kagome by her arm to help with my worries. "We better do as he says, Kagome!"
"No!!" She shouted. Kagome tried to pull her arm away from him and run back to me. "But-! He can't win this by himself! We can't just leave him! Let me GO! Sesshoumaru!!"
I glanced at the mark left on her arm, and my resolve hardened even more. Little by little, I defended the youkai away until I was close to my opponent. His face became angry. "You think you have won? You know nothing about the power I wield!"
I could sense that he was becoming frustrated, and my thoughts were confirmed when his barrier sealed itself back up, rendering it impossible to enter yet again.
"Is the wench truly that important to you?" He continued to me. "So my hypothesis is indeed correct...you are a horrible fool, Sesshoumaru. Sacrificing the noble spirit of a taiyoukai for a mere mortal human? And now, you will lose everything! Your emotions have tainted your abilities in battle, the double-edged sword of the human! Just like your father. Soon, he will share the fate that you will shortly be given…"
My mind raced. What could be done? With his barrier in the way and the Tetsusaiga unusable, Naraku was invincible. My thoughts fled back to my earlier experiences with the Emperor and the youkai castle. What had the Emperor taught us?
"Inuyasha." I called to him from a distance. "Throw the Tetsusaiga to me."
He looked at me as though I had lost all sanity. "Nani? But-" I gave him an icy stare however, and soon his beloved sword was in my possession. After having a firm grip on it, even though I could not wield it properly, I then took my own sword and pressed it against the Tetsusaiga. There was a small glow, and then…the sword was repaired as though it had never been used. From a distance, I saw Inuyasha's jaw drop. I tossed it back to him so he could examine it closer.
His eyes widened. "H-How did you…?"
"I have learned to have more faith in our father."
Naraku became even angrier after hearing those words. "This time, you won't be able save even yourself, Sesshoumaru." Immediately after he said that sentence, even more youkai rained down.
"Just give up already!!" In a sudden burst of confidence, Inuyasha leapt up and slashed the Tetsusaiga in the air, causing the Kaze no Kize attack to be performed. The whole sky lit up in a radiant glow of power, and in those moments, I could see or hear nothing.
"Stand up. There's no time to waste."
I opened my eyes slowly. That voice…where was I? My fingers felt beneath. Dirt and grass…I had somehow been knocked to the ground when Inuyasha gave his attack. How long had I been there?
"Naraku!" I sat up immediately. Where was he!? Was the Kaze no Kize enough to finish him off? Or had he escaped yet again?
"I have killed Naraku. Stand up." The voice repeated. "I wish to hurry away from this place and see my wife and daughter again…"
I looked around—my sight was slightly blurred, but eventually things began to focus. A tall figure was standing there…he had white hair…a long sword…and a scent that matched…my own?
He smirked. "That's better. At last, we meet."
I immediately leapt to my feet. "You-!"
"…Lord Sesshoumaru, King of this land. Yes." He walked slowly closer to me, with the air of royalty. "Don't look so surprised." This taiyoukai was like me in a great deal of ways—but even though we had an identical appearance, there were some notable differences as well. Whereas I was just an imposter, he truly looked like a ruler of a vast land. His jaw was slightly firmer, and his eyes told me that he had experienced many battles, both losses and victories.
When my surprise wore off, I asked him "How are we both here at once? You cannot return here until I have exited…where have you been staying this whole time while I am here?"
"I have been inside of you this whole time…watching all that has occurred. Unfortunately, I could not leave until Naraku was dead, or at the very least, on the verge of death. My brother helped with that, indirectly. As you may have noticed, my personality passed through to you from time to time…especially when the Queen, my wife, came into the picture." He almost smiled, but his traits were far too much like mine to show such a facial expression. "I needed you to defeat Naraku and prevent my father's death so our kingdom would not fall into his hands, as I could not."
"And why not?"
The King moved over to the lake that was very close by and stared at the shores. "That is a long and complicated story. I knew, for one, that you have experienced battles with Naraku before in your own land, thusly making him a bit more predictable."
My eyes narrowed. "And Kagome? Why did she have to come here?"
His face softened at that name. "I thought you wanted her to. That's why she's here."
"I see…and where is the real Queen? And the others, for that matter?" I looked around—we were all alone in the peaceful forest at the shore's edge. There was hardly any evidence at all that a fight had occurred.
"They are safely back at the human castle…my wife, like me, was inside the Kagome that you know. We were there the whole time…when you came here for the very first time, with the use of some of the Shikon no Tama and Inuyasha's Kaze no Kize, you together landed in our palace. The fusion process had been completed, and we were caught inside for that amount of time. It…the amount of pain…I felt from…seeing…her die…" His eyes shut tightly for a moment. "The pain you felt combined with my own had intensified it, allowing Naraku's defeat…but I was not gladdened by this. Our kingdom had been in ruin from his reign, the true Emperor was dead, and my wife…she was gone." He paused for a second to push this memory away. "So, my task was not yet complete, and I knew that yours wasn't either. Things needed to be fixed to the proper way. So, after you left to your own land and we came back to the moment before you arrived, I set about studying in the castle's library for an answer. After weeks of research, I found a way to set a fixed time for you to return…specifically, before my marriage and Naraku's destruction. Everything happened as I had predicted—you did indeed travel back here, and from there you set about correcting things." He turned to look at me. "Do you understand everything now?"
"Your methods lacked a second plan in case everything did not fall exactly into place." I said after thinking the question over. "You were truly within me this entire time? And the Queen in Kagome?"
He nodded. "That's correct. And there I waited, never interfering with anything that went on. I must admit even I did not expect things to happen so well. But now that Naraku is dead, you are free to leave now." He held out his arm and opened up the fist to reveal his half of the Shikon no Tama. "Use this to return home. The Tetsusaiga is waiting."
I looked at the token. 'Home…' For some reason, it was such a strange concept to me. It had been ages, seemingly, since I was last there. And things would never again be the same—Kagome would come back with me, and our secret revealed to all. Never again would we live separate lives. I nodded, taking the treasure from his hand. "Arigato…for everything."
"I should be the one thanking you." He replied. "But never mind—no more delays—we must return back to the castle now…you will be able to turn back home, and furthermore, I must see my wife again…she is waiting for me now, I predict."
He turned to leave, but I did not move. "Before we travel back, I have one last question to ask. How did you kill him?"
His brow rose. "Naraku? Ah. Immediately after Inuyasha's attack, his barrier had evaporated, critically wounding him. You had been temporarily blinded, and so that was my chance to strike…and I took it." The King glanced up in the sky. "Before he died, Naraku looked straight into my eyes, and I knew that he realized then who I truly was, and who you were. Then, the final blow, and he gave a mortally hurt cry, falling down into the lake that you see before you, which washed his evil away forever." I stared at it—the pristine waves seemed to embody purity.
"I see. Very well—to the castle, then." Although I did not mention it to him, I too wanted to see how Kagome fared, and how her arm was that had been injured. With one last glance towards the lake, we sprinted away in the direction of his home.
When we arrived within the halls, the King motioned for me to follow. Along the way, we met the old woman named Kaede. Her eyes twinkled when she saw both of us. "Ah, just as I thought. So, everything seems to have worked after all, eh? Well done, my Lord."
The King nodded. "Where is…?"
"Ah." Her eyes shined even more. "They're in the Throne Room. They are waiting, Lord Sesshoumaru."
"Hai. Arigato." He moved swiftly down the left side of the hallway. I followed carefully.
"Did that old woman know about everything?" I was very puzzled at what had just occurred.
"She is Kagome's royal advisor…even if she kept it a secret from her, Kaede still would have found our plans out. Therefore, we went to her for advice, of which she gave plenty, and we were able to better formulate our plans." He turned a corner and approached massive doors without saying another word about the subject. "Wait here. We cannot risk the guards seeing both of us at once." I nodded—it made sense. As I walked to the other side of the hall, he went up to the guards who were standing at the two doors. After speaking a few words to them, they said something back and moved away to another location. Once they were gone, he looked back and nodded to me, a signal that we were in the clear. I walked up to the doors somewhat eagerly. Already I could smell Kagome's scent, and even more so, since there was now two of them behind the doors.
He tried not to show it, but I could tell he was excited as well at the prospect of seeing his wife and daughter again in person. The doors gradually shifted open to reveal the throne room that I had become so much familiar with.
All eyes swiveled to us—Inuyasha…Miroku…Sango…Kagome…Rin, and another Kagome. Her characteristics were not as different as mine were from the King's—they looked almost exactly the same, but like him, she had a more royal air to her, and also looked to be more experienced. She was wearing her golden crown and a blue robe laced with silver, one that Kagome had actually worn before when we first came here. Furthermore, her eyes lit up once she saw the King enter the room, and likewise my Kagome for me.
The Queen smiled. "Ah, so those two are here at last…well done with the fight." She looked sternly at my counterpart. "Why didn't you return back sooner? I was worried, you know!"
"I know." He replied. There was a certain emotion in his voice now that he was talking to his wife again that only I had caught. The relief to see her safe at last, and the peaceful days that would finally come. "He and I had…many things to say and explain."
"Of course." She moved gracefully towards him and took his hand. They truly looked happy—a reflection, perhaps, of our own relationship. "I know you came as quickly as you could. Shall our guests be leaving now, or will they stay for a little while longer?" The Queen looked at me, then Kagome. "At the very least, stay for dinner in the evening."
I looked at her indifferently. "Whatever Kagome wants is what will be done."
She blushed. "Oh…oh, I'm sorry, but…I want to return home. I don't think we should stay here any longer…um, not that I hate staying here (I love it!) but still, there's too many risks if we do. Like if they see two of us together." She giggled.
Inuyasha stepped forward. "I have the Tetsusaiga ready—Kagome told me everything, and how the process of the travel works. Do you have the Shikon part ready at hand?" I nodded, holding it in my fist. Kagome walked over to my side, ready to return home.
Review Responses:
Tsuki Yume: True, true…perhaps he just wanted to prove Naraku wrong in the sense that he's not weak and he doesn't need anyone's help.
Twice987: Gladly! There's only one chapter left, you know…
Isabella777: Arigato! Hope you can read the rest, too!
BurningDawn15: Aw, sorry to hear that you don't leave in a very nice place! And sorries about the cliffie…evil, evil Vira…hehehe.
Harmony8390: Bah, Sess is a sucker when it comes to not listening to Kagome. Lol.
Wake-Robin: Heh, that's okay, I do it all the time. And oh look, I guess they survived after all, who could've guessed. XD
the hitokiri battousai himura: Yeah, I know! I'm WAY too evil…well, I'm glad you like it though.
Row: Yeah, sorry about that…I put the link in wrong, it works now, however.
Di-Anna: Arigato for telling me that! I never would've noticed otherwise. And yes, go check out my WHR fic! I love that one a lot…
fluffys-sidesick: Glad to have ya back! Hope you can read the last chapter, too!
butterflyrin: Will do! Arigato for the review!
Tifa-sama: Wow, you're like the smartest reviewer I have for knowing that I can't make chappies longer and update faster at the same time. lol. And they're in the time before they got married, but that's the only thing that is the same.
Inugirl: Sure thing! Glad you like it!
Okay peoples, just one more chapter to update after this! Remember, you MUST ask any and all questions now in your review or forever not know the answer! I know that this last one was kind of confusing, so I'm hoping to see lots of things for clarification. Anyways. R&R! Arigato, ja ne!