UnSpoken Love By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 27: The Battle is Won

Rin wasn't at first quite sure how to react. It felt as if the entire world were about to end, as if all she had known was this horrible battle and yet she had only been involved for what she supposed was a day by now. She still wasn't too sure what was going on, but she would have to find out after everything was cleared up. There was no time now to worry about why she was being attacked and why she had a demon protecting her suddenly.

Kirara danced through the skies, diving down and coming back up only to charge a horde of demons and slimy roots with a roar as Sango and Kagome attacked left and right. Rin was holding her broken arm, cradling it and glaring at their attackers meaningfully. If only she could summon forth more of her power, maybe she could clear a path to Naraku…Her arm gave a stinging throb just at the thought and she had to suffice with kicking ruthlessly at the demons that managed to get past her cousins. It was frustrating, having to do such a task, but she would do anything she could to help.

There was an explosion and a loud roar followed, the four points of deadly energy ripping up everything in their path as they tore forth from the blade of Inuyasha's sword. "Kaze no Kizu," the hanyou growled angrily over the blast that swept his hair backward furiously. He had to make sure he had a good grip on the ground to keep himself from falling backward.

The attack succeeded in what he had been hoping it would, clearing a large path toward the heart of the mass of vines. He was sure that Naraku was waiting within, Inuyasha could smell his putrid stench. Charging forward, he growled in astonishment and loathing as his half-brother zoomed by overhead, taking the lead without a word.

Sesshoumaru had taken out Toukijin and was giving the approaching vines before him a glare as they tried to close in on him. How dare he try such a stupid trick on this Sesshoumaru! Without a word, he swung Toukijin in an arc, succeeding in eliminating a good deal of the vines in his way. Those that he had missed her dodged easily, leaving Inuyasha to deal with them. He heard his brother growl in annoyance and hurl some obscene comment but Sesshoumaru was not paying attention. All he was focused on now was taking down Naraku who had proved to be much more trouble than he was worth. How degrading, a demon of his stature having to deal with such a lowly creature, but he didn't trust Inuyasha to get the job done properly, he was far too sloppy.

Inuyasha cursed violently as he swung Tetsusaiga about, fighting off the vines. That bastard! Sesshoumaru would pay for this after he had killed Naraku! The vines hadn't been that much of a problem, but he had fallen behind Sesshoumaru, who was moving at a rapid pace now. Cursing again, he kicked one or two of the spiked vines aside and darted after Sesshoumaru, not about to let his egotistical older brother get the better of him like that.

He looked up in surprise as Kirara soared overhead; hissing angrily and biting at the vines that were getting too close to her. He could see the three women aboard the cat demon and growled. They should know better than to come down where it was more dangerous! What would they do if they got in trouble and he couldn't protect them? Snorting derisively, he continued on, making sure to keep his pace even with Kirara's so that he did not lose sight of Kagome and the others.

Sesshoumaru slowed as he came into the middle of a dark purple haze. It was harder to breathe in this dark mist, but he showed no signs of strain as he glanced about, training his vision to pick out any little movement that might indicate where Naraku was. He could not see the roots or the lesser demons that had been surrounding him only moments before. This was most strange, for it was as if he had stepped into another dimension or something of the like. It was hard to tell; already he had lost sight of his exit, though he knew it must be right behind him. The miasma pressed in close on him, trying to stifle him.

An eerie laugh issued from nowhere, chuckling darkly at the Demon Lord that stood quite still in the center of the miasma, waiting for an attack to be issued. "Ku ku ku, how the mighty have fallen, Lord Sesshoumaru," Naraku's voice said mockingly. "To let yourself fall in with a human girl, just like your honorable father…Shall I squeeze the life from her in front of your eyes? Yes, that would make you angry, wouldn't it?"

Sesshoumaru bristled, but he did not show it, the only noticeable change was that the hair on the back of his neck was standing on end and his fangs had set together behind his lips. "Show yourself, coward," he said stoically, ignoring Naraku's threat. It was best to do so or else the vermin might believe he had provoked the Demon Lord somehow.

"Ku ku ku," was the only reply as a shape started to form from the dark mists. The miasma slid away evenly as it made way for Naraku, clad in a white baboon robe and chuckling still.

Sesshoumaru wrinkled his nose at the abomination, how dare such a thing survive in his lands? It was disgusting that he had allowed this creature to thrive for so long unnoticed. He gripped the hilt of Toukijin and waited for Naraku patiently, calculating the entire time when his best move would be.

Naraku chuckled still and came to a stop twenty-five feet away from the Demon Lord. "How nice to see you again, Sesshoumaru-sama," he said mockingly. He did not even bother to bow to his superior, something that made Sesshoumaru even angrier.

"Your talk bores me," Sesshoumaru informed and lifted Toukijin as he struck out at Naraku. The blade crackled with energy and the ground was blown apart as a blast shot straight toward Naraku. A cloud of dust and miasma obscured his vision, but only temporarily. Sesshoumaru could sense his aura still, his attack had missed.

Turning about, he faced Naraku with a stoic expression, Naraku was smirking again and his red eyes danced with laughter as they gleamed out from the veil of miasma.

"How rude to attack before our conversation is over, Sesshoumaru-sama," Naraku scolded.

"I have no wish to converse with an abominable creature such as yourself," Sesshoumaru replied coldly. He brought up Toukijin again and narrowed his eyes on the sneering smile of Naraku.

Both of them stopped as Inuyasha and his group rushed in, making quite a bit of noise. His brother had never known how to make an effective entrance, Sesshoumaru thought to himself. His eye caught that of the human girl and she gave him a worried look. She seemed to want to speak, but when her lips parted she slumped back uncertainly. He looked away quickly again, though he was quite sure that Naraku had seen the sudden switch of his attentions.

"Naraku!" Inuyasha growled, pointing Tetsusaiga at the red-eyed demon that was smirking at him.

Naraku's eyes flickered to the rag-tag group of travelers, but he was still focusing on Sesshoumaru, giving him one a knowing smirk. His other eye was fixed on the human girl with the broken arm; the one that had not yet looked his way, her attentions fully concentrated on the silver-haired Demon Lord. She looked frightened, how very cute…

Kagome strung her bow, pointing it at Naraku with a vicious glare. Letting the arrow fly, she felt a little light-headed as some of her pure energy flowed into the arrow as well. The pink-enshrouded arrow raced toward Naraku in the blink of an eye, but Naraku had anticipated the attack and dodged just as it struck the ground and tore a large crater where he had once been standing. Kagome bit her lip in frustration. That had been her last arrow too…

Sango swung down from Kirara, hefting her Hiraikotsu and standing a little ways behind Inuyasha menacingly. She glared at the dark figure of Naraku. This horrible man had threatened Rin and invaded her home, it was intolerable.

"It would seem that you have come to witness each other's death, how very sweet," Naraku commented with a chuckle as he looked at Sesshoumaru right in the eye. The Demon Lord did not react, his stoic mask firmly in place still.

"Shut up and die," Inuyasha snarled and brought down Tetsusaiga in one sweeping motion. "Kaze no Kizu!"

Naraku disappeared behind the blast only to reemerge from the smoke in the form of the slimy creature he had been when he had killed the Council. He cackled at them, snapping several large crab-like claws that protruded from his back. "Futile! All of you, die!" He laughed again and he lunged at each of them, whirling attacks back and forth simultaneously.

A large blue glob had fastened onto Sesshoumaru and he could feel some of his demonic power ebbing away. He growled angrily and knocked it off. How dare the fool believe that he could absorb this Sesshoumaru! Toukijin cut cleanly through a large green and purple thing that looked like it might be some sort of organ. Its contents spilled out onto the ground, steaming and hissing as they ate away at the dirt. The smell from the mess was putrid and only seemed to make the miasma thicken.

Rin clutched at Kirara with her good hand, looking about worriedly at her friends and family. This was not good, they looked like they might win, but she had a bad feeling eating at her stomach. A strange kind of nausea seemed to be overcoming her; she whirled, black dots appearing before her eyes. Her head was pounding, her throat was on fire and her stomach was churning angrily. She was sure that she would throw up soon if she didn't lie down. Kirara gave an uncertain growl as Rin lay limply against her. "It's ok Kirara, I'm just gonna lie down for a minute…" she said, giving a whimper as her stomach and head both gave a powerful sting. She felt horrible, what was this?

Kagome looked over to her young cousin, to find her slouching against Kirara. Her heart sped up and she raced over immediately, pulling Rin into a sitting position and looking at her pale face. Rin whimpered and tried to open her eyes, but they refused. Kagome gasped, she had not realized that Rin was not yet strong enough to fend off the miasma! Kagome was not affected by it at all, and Sango had her mask, but Rin was still only in training and was not able to keep the poison from entering her.

"Sango!" Kagome called to her sister urgently. The Demon slayer came to her side immediately and saw without Kagome saying a word that Rin was having a dilemma.

She wasted no time, but went straight ahead and pulled out an extra mask, placing it over Rin's mouth and strapping it on hurriedly. "She should be ok," the demon slayer assured her sister as she felt Rin's forehead and checked her pulse. With that she went back to fighting Naraku, leaving Kagome to stand guard over their cousin.

Inuyasha had taken quite a few blows and was now shielding himself behind Tetsusaiga as several bladed claws swept forth and pushed his back across the dirt. His side was bleeding, as was his chest and his left leg. Sesshoumaru hadn't taken a single blow yet, though he looked a bit dirtier and more ruffed-up than usual. They were making considerable progress, though Inuyasha was still frustrated that Naraku had not yet died. If only he could get him distracted so that he could strike one of his vitals…

As if in answer to his thoughts, there came a burst of pure energy as an arrow tore through the sky and landed right in Naraku's scaly middle. The blow left him staggering; the putrid mass of rotting flesh reeled and hissed angrily as Kikyou, Keade and Miroku stepped from the miasma casually.

Kikyou notched another arrow without a single expression and fire; this time blowing off one of Naraku's many arms. The creature spat and hissed again as his fiery blood spilled on the ground steaming. Keade looked on approvingly and nodded at Miroku who unleashed his Kazanna, cleaning up the bit of rotting mess on the ground.

Sesshoumaru looked them over and considering them no real threat, prepared to charge Naraku again. Inuyasha was watching still, in shock from seeing the three appear so suddenly.

Keade looked at Rin and came over, talking quietly to Kagome as Kikyou, Miroku, Sango and Sesshoumaru continued to fight. Inuyasha broke from his trance and quickly followed suit.

The new addition to their numbers drove Naraku back, the crushing blows of Kikyou's pure arrows gouging deep bleeding ruts in him. Growling, Naraku managed to pull himself up and strike out a few times before his eyes fell on the unprotected Kagome, Keade and Rin. He smirked to himself devilishly. He would escape, no doubt, but first he was going to give Sesshoumaru a little surprise.

Charging forward, he ignored the attacks that cut deeply into him as he laughed to himself, his red eyes glowing. Keade turned about, hearing the roar of the fighters and the sickening hiss of Naraku's flesh on the ground as he came. Her one good eye widened and she thrust her hands up to try and erect a barrier, but she was too late, already the monster had come too close for the barrier to work. Kagome pulled away from her cousin's side, caught between shielding her and going to Keade's side in hopes of erecting a barrier. Deciding quickly that she was better off protecting her cousin from where she was, she stood defensively in front of her, glaring at the oncoming monstrosity.

Sesshoumaru zoomed after him, growling deep in his chest. How dare Naraku ignore him in the midst of battle, he would put him in his place. Toukijin slashed in a wide arc, creating a severe wound on Naraku's side and hacking off several of the remaining arms that he had.

The only two arms that Naraku had left lashed out at the two mikos. Keade was thrown completely off her feet, crashing into the ground some distance off in a heap. Kagome stood her ground, but her drained miko powers did not stand a chance against the might of the monster bearing down on her. She too was tossed aside, along with Kirara. Rin dropped down on the ground, rolling in the dirt like a rag doll before coming to a halt on her side.

Her bad arm was pinned beneath her and her eyes had started to open with the sudden pain. When she spied the bleary form of Naraku's grotesque shape rearing above her, she breathed in sharply and tried to push herself up onto her feet. Seeing that this movement was futile, she did the only other thing she could think of as a singular red claw swung down toward her.

Her hand thrust upward, as if in a protecting motion. Sesshoumaru sped up as he saw a burst of pink and white light stream forth from her hand as the claw met with it. There was a blinding flash during which the ground shook and several huge chunks ripped out from the earth only to be obliterated in mid-air. For a moment, Sesshoumaru saw the bright 'light' that had been calling him for so long shine like a brightly burning beacon. At the sight of it, he felt his heart beat quicken, but it was only for a moment, for the 'light' was gone again almost immediately.

When the light had faded, it was obvious that Naraku had been severely weakened. He gasped for breath, leaning forward and yet trying to pull himself up at the same time. A heavy glare was set on the human girl that lay on her side, pale and panting from her sudden exertions.

"Curse you all," he hissed and a cloud of miasma began to obscure their view of him.

Kikyou produced an arrow that cut cleanly through the dark mist and struck him in the shoulder. "You shall not escape," she said to herself in a low tone as her eyes narrowed.

Sesshoumaru had arrived at Rin's side, hovering protectively near her and glaring at Naraku meaningfully. The pale face of his enemy leered at him, chuckling darkly even as Inuyasha brought up his sword to strike the final blow.

"Kaze no Kizu!" Inuyasha roared loudly, bringing down his blade in a sweeping arc. The points of energy lashed out, tearing at what remained of Naraku who was still sneering at Sesshoumaru as he faded away.

Rin breathed a sigh of relief, as the last of Naraku's remains vanished into thin air. The miasma slowly started to dissipate after him and the Saimyoshou dropped to the ground suddenly, dead without their master. Her arm throbbed painfully and she felt her cheeks warming up as she realized that she was being stared at rather intensely.

Looking back up into the golden eyes, she noticed at exactly the same time that she had been propped up so that now she was no longer lying on her broken arm. She felt embarrassed and hastily tried to force herself into a comfortable sitting position so that he was no longer holding her. "Uh, thanks Sesshoumaru-san," she said with a smile, trying to hide her awkwardness.

"Are you well?" He asked in his usual stoic tone.

Startled by his sudden care for her well-being, she paused for a moment before hurriedly answering. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine, just my arm is all. I'm sure Inuyasha and the others are more messed up than I am," she added, feeling bad for not having had much of a hand in defeating Naraku.

Sesshoumaru nodded and picked her up in his arms, carrying her over to Kirara to sit her down again. Rin fidgeted in his hold, feeling quite out-of-place. She could feel everyone's eyes on them, staring at the spectacle. "I-it's alright, I can walk," she assured him, but by that time she had been placed solidly on Kirara's back. The cat demon purred, turning her head so that Rin could pet her.

Inuyasha gaped. Well, this was certainly something he had never thought he would see before. His brother, the egotistical cold-hearted killer that despised humans was cradling the girl carefully and taking care of her as if he had never once had a problem with them. He smirked, ready to get on Sesshoumaru's back about it. All these years they had been rivals over Inuyasha's parentage and now Sesshoumaru was acting just as their father had toward his mother.

Kagome giving him a steady glare as she helped Keade to her feet stopped him from doing this though. He felt suddenly guilty under her intense gaze and jittered a bit as she left Kikyou's side to come and tug on one of his dog-ears ruthlessly. She had seen that look before, and she was not about to have him start trouble when there were ill people to cure.

"If you have time to gawk, you can help Kikyou and I with Keade-obaa-chan," she said and tugged him in the direction of the elderly woman that was smiling at Rin and Sesshoumaru knowingly.

Inuyasha spluttered angrily, trying to resist, but he could do nothing against Kagome and allowed himself to be dragged off as his brother looked on coldly.

Rin fidgeted again, she felt very awkward about this whole mess and she knew that Kagome and Sango would be interrogating her soon, along with everyone else as well. Licking her bottom lip, she thought over what questions she wanted to ask and hastened to ask Sesshoumaru, though it did not look as if he were about to leave her side.

"Sesshoumaru-san…I, er, well…" when his intense gaze turned on her she felt all of her courage dissipate. She was far too embarrassed to ask, and yet just muttering like she was doing at that time was not making her look any better.

"I was wondering exactly why you've been looking for me," she finally spat it out and waited for his reply calmly. She could tell he wasn't much of a talker, but she hoped he would at least answer her question.

He studied her for a moment, his features did not betray even a little of what he was thinking behind that emotionless mask. "There was something I was searching for that I believe you held," he replied after a brief pause.

"Yes, you mentioned that before, but what was that thing?"

This time there was no pause. "The 'light,'" he replied.

Rin quirked an eyebrow. "What?"

Sesshoumaru did not reply he simply looked at her with the smallest hint of a smile, though no one but Rin saw it.

END

Yes, kind of a sappy, un-climatic ending, but I couldn't think of anything better to say for the last line. I also was going to do an epilogue, but it wouldn't have been very detailed or helpful, so I decided against it. Unless there are those of you that want one anyway?

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and kept with me through this. I am deeply sorry about my irregular updates and my strange habit of changing my writing style throughout the fiction. This was my first try at SesshRin, and I'd like to say I'm happy with it, but I know I can do better. For those of you that would like to see more RinSessh fanfiction from me, please look over at Lost World, another AU SesshRin fic.

I would also like to thank the two c2 communities that have been hosting this fic for some time now. Also, to those of you that have this fic on your favorites or have ever recommended it to someone- thanks so much! I am really grateful and I hope you enjoyed reading this fiction despite its irregularities.

Well, thanks again minna-san and please look for more RinSessh stuff from me in the future! Ja'ne!

OtakuSailorV

Review Please?