CHAPTER SEVEN
"S-S-Stay back!"
"Get…get away from us!"
The villagers massed together. Some had torches. Some had pitchforks. Some had knives. All of them trembled in terror at the new horror before them. They had been frightened enough when the mysterious boy came in to town with even more of himself, but now they were doubly shocked. One of them, grinning at them all like a ravenous monster, was walking forward with insanity in his eyes. His sword was drawn, and he seemed to be examining them…sizing them up as if they were some sort of feast or market to choose from. Despite how many villagers had banded together, the sight of even one Sanhou was more than enough. The other sixty had scattered moments ago, jumping in all directions with superhuman powers from the mountain. But this one remained. People in homes glared through cracked windows, while woman covered their children with their bodies. But none of them made a move as the boy marched forward, glaring at them evilly.
"What…what do you want with us?" One of them finally managed to ask.
The boy held the sword up in front of him. "I'm going to need more of myself to finish my quest…" He spoke back darkly and nearly madly. "But there's so few demons left around here…" He paused for a moment, but then glared hungrily at them and seemed to almost lick his lips.
"Humans…work just as good…"
The group quivered more. One brandished a pitchfork in front of him, waving it in front of his eyes like he was a wild animal. "S-Stay away!"
The boy grinned wickedly at him, then easily chopped off the end of the pitchfork, spun around, and plunged his sword right into the man's chest. The other villagers went white, dropping their own weapons at the monster's speed and brutality.
"Those Youkai kill so many…no one will miss just one more village…"
Inuyasha slowly picked himself up off the forest floor, feeling more enraged than ever. At least, he'd feel more if his head wasn't throbbing so badly. He had a few more broken ribs now, and if he could be bruised his face would now be swollen shut. Another tooth had been knocked out. Dried blood was all over him. The lighter injuries had already healed, but still he had nearly been beaten to death. Evidently, they weren't too happy about the stone column. Shattered tree trunks lie all around him from the Sanhous having picked them up and beat him together. That was after he fell to the ground. Then they all took them and bashed him as one.
The dog demon wiped crusty blood from his lip. Actually, he wasn't as mad as last time. At least he stood his ground this time. But Sanhou hadn't used the Saphsaiga this battle. He fought him hand to hand. Of course, he was so drained from the last fight that he had been an easy target. Some of his power had come back now, but he was still sore and beaten.
Nevertheless, he didn't care. It was mid-afternoon now and getting later. It had to have been quite a while since he was beaten down. There was no telling where he and Kagome were. He hissed to himself. Screw Sanhou's warnings. He didn't care how long it took or how many of his damn copies he threw at him. He was going to find Kagome. He bristled at the thought, and grew even angrier at the notion. He had no idea what that thing wanted with her…but he'd break every bone in all their bodies if he had absorbed her. Actually…that thought, though he would never admit it, filled him with true fear.
The Hanyou leapt away immediately, headed back for Kaede's house…but then halted himself. One of his ankle bones was still broken, and he winced when he landed on the jump. Cursing silently, he instead was forced to hobble on down the way.
"This is not good…"
"It's a massacre…a nightmare."
Sango and Miroku hadn't gotten too far in their search for the murderer…when they saw that he had done much worse. As they had passed into the next nearest town as the late afternoon came, they saw that they were already a bit late. The town was a ghost town. Laying in the street, hanging out of windows, dangling everywhere in fact…were people. At least, their bodies, each one as still and cold as Kirara's had been. It had been a swift butchering, and none had been spared. Not only women, but women with their babies were dead in the streets. And the babies had been killed as mercilessly as the rest of them. The same thing with children. They were still in a group, still where they had been playing together, before the monster had killed them. Nothing was left there now except for a graveyard. The wind slowly waved by, but no sound was heard. This filled the warriors with fear.
Both of them nervously looked around the area. The fiend had been quick. It seemed impossible that one could kill so many in such a short period of time. Of course…he probably had more than one accomplice. But if he could truly add more to his number by killing humans or demons…then that meant he had just gained the ability to split into a hundred more versions of himself. Sango didn't like this one bit. Perhaps she had been too careless. In her anger to defeat the murderer, she had been too hasty. They did need Inuyasha's help, assuming that he was still alive. Both she and Miroku couldn't possibly handle all of these ones together. She had been expecting ten at the most…
"Should we look for survivors?" Miroku asked.
At that, they heard a crunching on the ground, indicating something was coming. Both of them immediately spun around to the source, and saw themselves fixing on the nearest house. Walking out of the front of it, looking wicked now rather than just sly and cool, was the miko from earlier. A madness was in his eyes now, and he smiled at them darkly. Immediately, Sango readied her boomerang and drew her sword. Miroku readied his Kazanna.
"Don't bother." The one simply answered. "They're all part of me now."
Sango grit her teeth under her mask. "You bastard."
"None of these people could fight back." Miroku insisted. "Are you sure you're not just another demented demon?"
"These people provided plenty of spirits for me to duplicate myself onto." The one simply answered. "But they also provided me with much more…"
At that, the town did slowly come back to life as, bit by bit, people emerged from their houses. But as the two warriors looked around, they saw that they weren't normal people who emerged. They were just more of the first one, looking vicious and cruel.
"They gave me their valuable memories." Said one coming out of a window to the right of the first.
"Worth far more than knowledge and integrity." Another said, coming out of an alley.
"They come complete with experience." One said as it walked out a door.
"They add to my view of the entire world." One spoke as it dropped off a roof into the street.
"Entire lives and all their memories and relationships…" A miko marveled as he strolled up the street behind the two.
"Now a part of us." One said as he hopped over a fence.
"We understand these people far more than anyone else ever will." Another commented as he kicked dry basket out of his way.
"More than they understand themselves."
"We see them as all people see them."
"Now, they are privileged enough to make us stronger."
"You two…will only grant us more knowledge."
"You'll tell us all your secrets."
"All your lies."
"All your heart's desires."
"All your fighting techniques."
"All your conversations with friends."
"All their weaknesses that you've observed."
The two warriors felt fear rush into them now. No less than twenty of the mikos surrounded them now, each one with sword outdrawn, and all pressing in closely. Sango, hearing the terrible words of them all, had hesitated to attack from a distance, but now she was wondering if it would make any difference. They pressed in on them on all sides now. They all glared at them with a ravenous stare. They were silent, looking rather like animals trapped in a den of hunters.
Sango looked around a bit, before glaring at one. "You're no miko. You're not even a shadow of Kagome or Kaede."
"Actually, I'm everything Kaede is." The warrior darkly replied. "She's part of me too now."
The warriors glared at him, their eyes open in shock. "Impossible…"
Another spoke up. "And you know Kirara is in here…but now, you're little brother is also one of us. You should thank me, Sango. Kohaku's free at last both of Naraku, but also any of his painful memories. He thinks of nothing now as he lingers with us."
Sango's face went livid. Her eyes burned with anger, and her body went out of control in rage. "Bastards!" She cried as she swung her boomerang at the nearest one.
The warriors had grown stronger…for he only shifted his head a small inch as the boomerang struck him. After that, he did nothing. He smiled back at Sango a moment, before drawing his sword and plunging it right into Sango's chest. The warrior stiffened and immediately dropped her weapons. She made a gagging sound, and suddenly collapsed to her knees. If she was going to scream, it was too late. Her breath was gone.
"Now you can keep them company." The miko darkly spoke. "They miss you a lot, after all."
Miroku's eyes filled with terror as well. He seized Sango and tried to pull her off, but it was useless. The blade held into her with invisible hands. It would not release her. Miroku's own eyes filled with tears as he struggled to save her, but it was to of no avail. Sango's heart stopped in his grasp, and her body went cold as ice. The blade only removed from her when the thing removed it from her. Her body went limp as a rag and immediately fell to the ground.
Miroku's own breath was gone. He gaped down at her, transfixed in horror and terror. His body quivered, as he looked over her fallen form. His heart had sank. His stomach turned cold. Everything he had ever seen that was good in the world suddenly vanished. His trembling hands held over her a moment, before he lowered them down and touched her. For the first time, he had no impure thoughts about her at all. His hands rested only on her shoulder and arm, as if doing so would wake her. But it was useless. Nothing would anymore.
"No…" Miroku gasped.
"Now we know everything about you and her." The warrior darkly spoke. "All of your stupid attempts to get her attention…and all of her secret little thoughts about you. Oh yes, she did think you were a bit cute, if not a hopeless pervert, Miroku."
Miroku's face turned hideous with rage. It twisted into a horrible snarl. He didn't care what it took. He was ready to cut his Kazanna open enough to inhale every last one of them. Leaving Sango's side for a moment, he shot up to his feet, pointed his open palm right in the face of the enemy before him, and prepared to rip off the protective guard…
The monsters weren't scared. "Go right ahead, Miroku. Then her spirit will be trapped inside you forever, along with everyone else in this village."
The monk froze solid. His anger abated, and turned to shock. He didn't move a muscle.
The warrior snorted at him. "Not willing to make sacrifices, you see. I wasn't for a while either. But now I know better. I know true victory will only be gained through sacrifices. I'll never have ultimate power unless I continue my collection. That was Sango's problem too. She wasn't willing to kill her brother. She knew, probably more than the rest of you, death is the only end for him now. But she refused to accept it."
"What of you, Miroku?" Another one spoke from behind. "Would you like to be bound with your lover forever? There's nothing else for you in this world, nothing but to await the Kazanna to consume you. Why not be intertwined with your lady's spirit? Here…" He actually drew his blade and held it before him. "I'll even hold up Saphsaiga for you to run yourself through on."
Miroku's shock disappeared and his fury returned. His face turned into burning rage once again at the insulting thought. "Go to Hell. Each one of you."
In response, the warrior calmly shoved his blade forward and stabbed it into Miroku.
"You first."
Sesshomaru didn't dare let Rin down for even a moment, but kept her swept up close to his side. He dodged the incoming blades of the storm of warriors rushing at him as best he could, but they had increased their speed and power. They were more ruthless than ever now, looking as wild as demons themselves. Leaping into a town where he happened to catch one killing other humans was a bad idea. He soon realized why he had failed to kill the youth at the start, he regenerated. And there were even more than ever now, all coming at him.
At last, realizing it was futile, the demon turned and began to leap away, taking right for the treetops. Once he got there, he quickly began to leap away. As he did, his blood burned at the sound of the mocking laughter behind him.
"Run, Youkai! Run! There's nowhere in the world you can hide from me anymore! But I do so enjoy watching you run away like a frightened dog, just like your stinking brother!"
Sesshomaru was able to put a better control on his temper than that, however, and continued to leap away in the forest. It was too dangerous to keep Rin around this. Besides…he realized it was hopeless now. Saphsaiga may have been his solution to Tetsusaiga, but he could never get it now. Its powers were far greater than even he expected. No, for now he had to keep away and plan further, try to consider another option.
Unfortunately, his options were limited. This human was expanding through the world like a disease now. His odds of victory diminished by the minute. Plus, he had gotten much stronger… Perhaps he absorbed the strength of his kills? Then again…of course. Inuyasha. He had wanted to find him for the Shikkon shards. They were what gave him so much power. His mongrel of a half-brother had collected enough power for him to become unstoppable now. And yet, this one had said that Inuyasha had ran as well. That indicated that perhaps he was still alive.
As he thought that over…a foreign idea suddenly slipped into his mind. It wasn't one that he would have normally even considered. But now, he wondered if it indeed was his only choice. It made him sick to his stomach to even think about it. Yet in short order, there would be no more Youkai or Hanyou in the world. When that happened, Sesshomaru knew he would stand alone against this tide, and his odds of victory were honestly non-existent.
"What now, Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin asked.
The demon hesitated a moment at that. He said nothing for a short time, still thinking over the latest idea. But in the end, swallowing secretly to contain his disgust, he spoke up.
"Whatever I say about you, Rin," He spoke darkly. "Remember…it's a lie."
The feudal lord sat humbly and quietly in his inner chamber, behind the rice paper walls. He kept to himself very secretly, not allowing anyone inside into his private thoughts and considerations. He had a lot on his mind currently. In particular, why he felt he had lost a special link between himself and his followers as of late…and why the wind and the land seemed to be strange now… The night was falling, and only a few candles and lanterns illuminated him.
Slowly, the curtain was slid aside. To that, the lord opened his eyes and gazed out. A shadowy figure slowly entered his room, calm and strolling. He was dressed like a miko, but he had a sword, of all things, at his side. But he wasn't alone. Another dressed just like him came in afterward…and looked shockingly the same. One after another, five more came into the room, until the entire side of the private chamber was filled with them. The lord looked at them, and did not seem pleased. A sour frown was on his face.
"These are my private chambers, children." He announced to them, being rather calm. "I normally would have anyone killed for simply coming in here unbidden, but I think a month in prison would serve you well. Unless you are some septuplet group of performers for my amusement. In which case, I am too busy." He turned his head slightly outside. "Guards, remove them."
"Your guards are already dead, Lord Naraku." The boy in the lead confidently answered. "There's no one in this pagoda but you and me now."
The lord seemed to react to this slightly, but only a little. "I do not know what you are talking about, boy. My name is Miyamoto."
The boy chuckled at this. The others did as well. "What's this?" He asked. "The great Naraku, lying through his teeth for a mere human? No. Your name is Naraku. I know that all too well."
The lord sighed and slowly rose up to his feet. "If this is someone's idea of a prank, it is in very bad taste. I have men hunting Naraku as we speak. My name is Miyamoto. And if it is a fight that you are looking for-"
The lord was cut off as one of the boys held up a glimmering object with a smile. The lord looked to it, and his face seemed to loosen as he did so.
It was Kanna's mirror.
"Now why don't you stop trying to bluff me, Lord Naraku."
The man's eyes looked surprised a moment longer. But then, he looked over to the boy again. His face went from irritated and old to focused and evil. Slowly, his clothes and appearance vanished. In their stead, a man clothed entirely in a baboon skin took the place, looking taller and more powerful than the previous one.
"If Kanna still lived, I would kill her to losing to a stinking human litter." A dark, insidious voice spoke through the mask. "That, and being traitorous enough to tell you where I was."
"Yes, her memories were hard to access on that subject." The boy calmly answered. However, after saying so, he held up a small fan. "Kagura's memories were much easier, however." He went on with a smile. "Oh Naraku…if you could only have fathomed how much they both hated you, their 'father'. I thought nothing could be worse than Sango's anger…until I felt theirs. They thought of nothing but killing you, I hope you know."
"But they were wise enough to realize that none will ever kill me." Naraku darkly answered. "More than I can say for a set of pathetic humans who now stand before me. You must have been very foolish, thinking you could find me and dispatch me as if I was nothing more than some human assassin target. And now, I find your insolence insulting. I will have to work up an especially grand punishment for you…"
The boy stood there a moment longer, smiling calmly back at the baboon skin. Then, after a pause, he suddenly shot forward and snatched the hood right off of Naraku's head. Naraku was surprised. Normally he would have killed anything that tried that…but the human was faster than anything he had ever seen. "Look me in the eye when you talk to me. Stop cowering behind that ridiculous getup." The boy sneered.
Naraku, pale face now exposed, merely sneered. Moments later, a horrible, sickening stab was heard from the youth. Now, it was his turn to look surprised, and he looked down to his chest. A black tentacle had emerged from Naraku's skin, and had pierced him right through. It not only did that, but shot right through his back, split, and then pierced all the others as well. He looked up to Naraku, and the demon glared back.
"Never touch me, filth."
Then, to Naraku's surprise, the surprise turned to a smile, on each one of their faces. Without care, the boy in front of him pulled out his sword, and with one easy cut sliced right through Naraku's tentacle. The demon was surprised at this. No normal human blade could leave a mark on him. But what more, the human then stabbed the tentacle still inside his body and the others. Once he did that…Naraku suddenly felt an icy hand grasp him somewhere from within. Something felt like it was being drawn out of him. As he felt this, and looked, the tentacle dried up and withered in the chests of the humans, and then turned to dust and slid out of the holes in the chest of the opposition. Naraku was surprised. Normally, that tentacle would have simply reconnected itself. But now, it died on the ground right there. What more, the blood that remained on the ground began to shift and grow, rising up from the floor. He looked back to the human before him, which turned his head to him as if to say. "Eh? Like what you see?" The holes in their chests closed…and the blood continued to grow until the room was now filled with fourteen boys.
The demon raised an eyebrow…not showing his true surprise. "So…a demon I hadn't heard of."
"Oh, I'm much more than a demon, Naraku." The boy cooed in response. "That's odd…I seemed to add three more to my available pool just by stabbing that tentacle. Huh. Guess you really are full of demons. I don't suppose you remember a person's life you destroyed one year ago, at the deep forest miko tribe?"
Naraku looked unchanged. "I've killed thousands of humans. You don't expect me to remember just one, do you?"
This only made the boy smile wider. "Not at all. In fact, in another few minutes, you'll never remember anything again."
With that, the boy shoved his sword forward and stabbed it into Naraku. Instantly, the foul creature felt a cold feeling shoot in through him. But it wasn't just once. Oh no…he felt a separate choking, sucking force on each one of the demons that made his constitution. One by one, he felt them being drawn from his body and into the sword before him. For once, the demon's look turned to one of genuine shock. Growling, a massive spider arm, the size of the room, burst out from his robe and backhanded all fourteen of the humans in front of him at once, sending them all flying back so violently that they smashed down the walls and crashed into the room before him. Of course, the sword was ripped out as well, and a fuming Naraku now glared angrily at the humans, or demons, before him. Dust had been thrown everywhere, as well as debris. The fourteen themselves all lay motionless before him.
But it wasn't for long. As the dust cleared, Naraku realized he had revealed a room with no less than three hundred more of the same youth there, all smiling and looking rather confident. Slowly, they stepped over the fallen bodies…who began to pick themselves up again anyway, and made their way toward Naraku.
"I've waited for this moment for so very long, Naraku." The lead one said. "But I won't be satisfied until I hear you beg for mercy."
The demon snarled. "Fools." At that, two more spider arms went flying out from under his clothes, sweeping forward to mow down the oncoming hoarde. But they were ready this time. Some of them, still smiling at Naraku, easily vaulted over the blows. But others stood their ground, and simply caught the spider arms. With that done, two more on either side hacked off the limbs, and promptly jabbed their swords into them. Soon, they too stiffened and withered, and as they did Naraku felt a cold feeling inside him again. More demons that should have returned to him were now being sucked out of him instead. Once the arms were gone, the others came forward.
"Go on. Call for help." One of them asked. "No one can save you anymore. Not that anyone in this world would want to save you." With that, he suddenly poked out his own sword and jabbed Naraku in the shoulder. The move was so fast that even he couldn't dodge. But it left a cold feeling in his shoulder, and he felt another demon being sucked out in the process.
Naraku sneered. "Imbecile. I don't know what you think you're doing, but in the end it is I who will be the one who swallows your souls."
Four limbs shot out this time, all with poisonous barbed ends, all headed for different opponents. Two of them simply sidestepped, then sliced off the limbs and absorbed them too. Another stopped the arm with one hand. Still another didn't bother doing anything. He let the barb shoot through his body without so much as batting an eye. Once it had gone through, both he and the one who stopped the arm stabbed their swords into the arms at once. Again, Naraku felt the cold feeling shoot through his body. He again felt a sucking off of him. Demon after demon fled from his body, and as it did his own body began to feel cold and stiff. The air seemed to be sucked from his own lungs… Growling again, he shot his arms back.
"You fools!" He spat angrily at them.
"What's wrong, Naraku?" The lead one mocked. He jabbed his sword again, poking Naraku again, giving him another cold feeling, and sucking out another demon. "You do so much enjoy collecting humans to be toys for your amusement. Wouldn't turnabout be fair play?" He jabbed him again.
"How's it like, to be a simple…" Another one spoke, as he too jabbed Naraku.
"Human's…" One more said, jabbing him too.
"Toy…" Still another said, stabbing him again.
"Of amusement?" One finished, stabbing him one last time.
Roaring in anger, Naraku evoked his full fury. Black tentacles shot out from beneath him and fled in all directions. They shot under the floor, smashed through the lower building, and then burst up right beneath every last warrior in front of him. They instantly stabbed into all their bodies from below, they branched out into even more tentacles. They shot through each and every one of them in all directions, bursting through their bodies everywhere. This was more like it, Naraku thought. Now, it was their turn to become a part of him…
Immediately, both sides of his chamber were smashed in. The walls were ripped down and the paper torn asunder, and as they did they revealed three hundred more miko on either side. Naraku gaped for a moment, before all six hundred reached in and stabbed his massive, far reaching tentacle in six hundred different places. And there they held their blades. Now, the demons came rushing out of him like water from a pail. Naraku grew dizzy. His vision dimmed. His whole body turned cold as his breath began to be drained. But he couldn't even return his tentacle. He had to break it off, losing the demons he had inside. The six hundred readily absorbed the rest. Now, his body felt stiff and icy. He felt his strength failing. He wasn't used to this. Normally, he regenerated from any blow. But he couldn't now. Any piece cut off of him stayed off, and it was draining his reserves. He panted and stood there, unable to do anything else, not risking attacking again.
"I believe you're feeling a foreign sensation at the moment, Naraku." One mocked. "It's called terror. Interesting feeling? You've made so many to feel it and much worse, but you never bothered to try it yourself?"
Naraku paused a moment longer, realizing his situation. But in the end, he decided to simply do what he had done so many times before. Leave…until he found a way to kill this foe, just as he had done with everyone else. He turned, and in another second would have taken off…
Except the wall behind him had already been torn down, and another three hundred miko were staring at him with a smile. The nearest one jabbed him.
"Going somewhere?"
Even the small jabs hurt now, and he snarled. However…a faint trace of panic was beginning to form in his eyes. He darted around, and saw no escape on any side. At last, he looked to the ceiling.
"Don't bother." One said. "Fifteen hundred more up there."
Naraku snarled, and thought of burying himself.
"Twenty hundred more down there." Another answered. "Nowhere to run."
Naraku grit his teeth in rage. As he did, a small trickle of himself began to go down underneath him, seeping through the floor and sinking down into the lower level. He made sure to make it stick to the ceiling. If even so much as a piece of him left…
Suddenly, Naraku stiffened again as he felt an icy feeling shoot through him. He tried to pull the piece back, but another simply cut it off below, and soon Naraku only pulled in the severed end of the tentacle. One of them shook his head at him.
"Tsk, tsk. Really, Naraku. I must have more than half of you in my sword at this point. I know exactly how you think. You think you could outrun all my eyes and points of view? Besides," Here, he grinned wickedly. "Why run from just a simple rabble of…pathetic humans, was it?"
"Yes, yes." Another joined. "We're still waiting for you to swallow our souls."
Naraku was furious. For the first time he could recall, he didn't know what to do. He couldn't fight. He couldn't escape. This demon or whatever was making a mockery out of him. But he knew full well that blind rage wasn't going to get him out of this one. No, not in this situation. However, an idea soon took shape in his mind. He was a master at using the negative emotions of opponents against them. This one wanted revenge on him. Well, that would be his undoing then. Immediately, Naraku formed a more defeated expression. He began to look rather like a fox in a trap. This only pleased the others, as they came in. Meanwhile…Naraku slowly slid a trickle of himself between the cracks in the floorboard, inching them out to the nearest one before him.
"My name is Sanhou, for reference, a human." The warrior spoke as he walked forward. For a moment, the rage and evil vanished from this one warrior…and was replaced with a more innocent expression of righteous anger. "You slaughtered my family, and used me to do it. But from now on, you will become my weapon. The hell of Saphsaiga is too good for you. I only wish that somehow the thoughtless wraiths that are your offshoots will bring you more misery and pain."
"Think of what you're doing, human." Naraku spoke, continuing to slide the tentacle out. "I'm the strongest demon in the world. I can give you more wealth and power than you can ever dream of."
"Then offer me more than you can dream of." Sanhou darkly answered. "Offer me everything. Offer me all your prestige, all your power, everything that you have. Even offer me every last demon within you, being content only to be left with the miserable rotten soul of your own. Let me leave you only a miserable, helpless spider, one that any human could crush if they didn't think twice about you, which is exactly what you never did."
"Whatever you wish." Naraku answered, sliding the tentacle out more, nearly to Sanhou's foot. "I'll give you all that…if you're wise enough to take it."
But in response to that, Sanhou laughed darkly. His evil emotions returned. The others joined in. Their laugh was menacing and mocking, all of them now regarding Naraku as if he was nothing more than a dirty little nuisance, another helpless creature in their gasp.
"Now who's the fool, idiot?" Sanhou chuckled. "Power? Wealth? What about friendship? Love? Can you make me stop feeling lonely? Can you give me the respect that I lost? Can you restore to me the year of life that I spent your mindless slave? Can you give me back my family, my brothers and sisters, and can you remove the sting from my heart that I think of whenever I remember them telling me they would still love me even as I cut their throats? In case you haven't noticed, I have plenty of power without your help. I will take what I want from you and leave you with nothing. I was just bluffing you so that I could see you whine and whimper for me to spare you, desperately trying to do anything to get me to leave your wicked life. And I've been enjoying the fear I see in your eyes too. I want to remember that…for as long as I can…"
At last, Naraku was under his foot. It was time. Trying to contain his smile, Naraku formed a barb with his tentacle. He readied it to stab upward, to pierce the boy's foot and inject himself into him. He'd feel only a prick. He'd never know the difference until he was eaten. Then he'd spread into the others, consuming them all one by one as well, until there was again, nothing left but Naraku. Stupid humans and their self-prideful notions of revenge… It made them sloppy and slow. And now, it was time to lay low until the next opportune moment.
Naraku reared back to stab, but then heard a short thunk ahead of him. He looked down, and his eyes filled with genuine fear. Sanhou had stabbed down right into the crack, placing Saphsaiga there. In an instant, he had sucked the tentacle dry, and it withered into nothing.
"You demons, you're all the same." Sanhou cooed. "Thinking we humans are too stupid to see through your tricks. Wonder why you haven't been able to sense any of your little minions? Or any little seeds of yourself you've placed all over the world? They're gone, Naraku. They're part of me now. But don't worry…you'll all be reunited right now."
Without another word, ten Sanhous at once reached forward and stabbed Naraku in the heart. The foul demon roared. It struggled to transform, to try and break its way free. But it was too late. Its energy was gone within seconds as the last few demons were drawn out, and now the draining focused on him. He stiffened as his body turned to ice. The air left his throat. His vision went dim, and he forgot everything…his quest for the Shikkon shards…his feud with Inuyasha…even his own name… He swirled into an empty void of eternal blackness, where he could remember nothing, feel nothing, do nothing. He became another faceless wraith in a dark, cold, empty world…as he left behind his body. The Sanhous continued to hold, waiting until the entire body before them crumbled into dust itself. It too withered and faded, but they kept watching. Even as they knew everything Naraku knew and felt his full spirit transfer to them, they made sure that he didn't escape. But nothing happened. Only black dust was what remained of Naraku. At last, they pulled back their swords and calmly replaced them.
"It is done." One of them spoke with a smile…before all of them burst out into hideous laughter…marveling at the new wealth of souls within them and their victory over their hated foe.