Hanyou Kagome Part 2: The Sorrow Begins

Chapter 13: Blood

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Disclaimer: :laughs: It's been a while, hasn't it? You know what else? I'm sick of two things! Yay! For one: I'm starting to hate this story. As a matter of fact, I've hated it for more than five chapters. But what can I do when I'm flooded with happy little e-mails telling me to stop being lazy? Anyway, I'm not promising anything, but I'll try and stop hating this story long enough to continue writing it. There should only be a couple more chapters to go, anyway.

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Kagome hissed, a vicious smirk blessing her once gentle features. Her eyes lit up wildly, her mouth curved up in a fiendish grin. Inu Yasha had never seen her like this; it was like someone had taken over her body.

Four someones, to be exact.

With the speed and tenacity of none other than the wolf prince, she dove at Naraku, fangs and sword bared. Inu Yasha mentally shook himself alive and charged as well, tetsusaiga in hand.

Kagome's feet pounded the ground as she swooped upward, planning and aerial attack. She held the katana over her head, preparing to embed it into Naraku's skull.

Inu Yasha held his sword level, ready to slash through Naraku's torso.

Before either action could take place, Kyoko dove in front of her master, using her body as a barricade. Inu Yasha and Kagome sliced down at the same time, ripping her apart and sending a shockwave of energy throughout the battleground.

Naraku didn't even spare a glance at his lifeless daughter; the hit through the head had set off muscle spasms throughout her entire body, sending the upper half into violent twitching episodes. Her lower half was half a football field away.

Kagome wrenched her katana from Kyoko's splintered skull and drew it up, her face splashed with her victim's scarlet innards. Inu Yasha looked at her again. What was wrong with her? She was never so brutal... so sadistic... so...inhuman.

He liked it.

"Kagome! You take the left, I'll take his right!" Inu Yasha shouted and began to sprint. Kagome nodded in affirmation and took off at her opponent. Her eyes changed from a fierce blue to a burnt caramel as she sheathed her katana and grabbed up the two sickles again.

Naraku wasn't going to wait for another double-team. His being began to morph and bubble grotesquely. His armor seemed to explode as he turned into a hideous blob of throbbing flesh.

Kagome through her sickles with the lust and grace of Sango, ripping through the mass with all but no affect. She tugged at the chains, but the chains pulled back and she flew toward Naraku unwillingly. Inu Yasha dove in and sliced the chains right before she could be thrust into the heap of bubbling lard. They collided into each other and toppled onto the ground.

Naraku cackled maliciously and, strangely enough, folded back into himself and became humanoid in form once more. "You two are pathetic," he scorned, drawing a jagged blade with intricate markings along its body.

Immediately, Kagome and Inu Yasha shot up, landing neatly at opposite sides of the court, Naraku in between. Kagome darted upward, unsheathing her katana once more. She reached Naraku before Inu Yasha could, slicing into his right shoulder. He grimaced and caught his breath a moment as she ripped away her blade and dove backward.

"We're not as pathetic as you think, Naraku," Kagome hissed, her hazel eyes glued to the youkai.

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The battle ensued for hours. Skin was slashed, bones were broken, and Kagome's revived body was getting weaker.

Naraku had a broken kneecap, a nearly fatal stab wound to the chest, and his left arm was dangling by what seemed to be a thread. He didn't flinch a muscle.

Inu Yasha had a broken wrist and several large gashes, but he was just as stubborn and composed as Naraku. He had saved Kagome from several nasty blows, so she was fine, for the most part. Her souls were growing drained, as was her resuscitated body.

"Do you honestly think you could win this?" Naraku hissed, standing firm despite his leg.

"It's two against one," huffed Inu Yasha as he propped his heavy sword onto his shoulder, "we should be asking you that." Naraku glowered and held his katana toward the dog demon, the hilt clutched tightly at his hip. Inu Yasha grunted and lowered his tetsusaiga, his muscles not wanting to work anymore; and even worse was the fact that he only had one working hand. Kagome planted her feet firmly to the ground, her eyes sparkled with the glittering exuberance that is Naoko. Unfortunately, that spirit was all but drained. They were ready for the final attack. It was now or never.

Naraku stayed put while Inu Yasha and Kagome charged, both insane with rage and malice. Inu Yasha beat her to the kill, and he swung up at his opponent, missing him as he stumbled backward. He regained his footing just in time to see Kagome pull a spear from her back and fling it at him. He batted it away with his sword, sending it spiraling to the ground several long yards away.

Inu Yasha continued to swipe at Naraku to have his every attempt parried. He was fatigued after several swipes and Naraku took full advantage by swatting Inu Yasha's sword from his grasp. Knowing full well what would happen if he left his tetsusaiga for too long, he lunged for it, leaving Kagome to fend for herself. She threw another one of Naoko's spears from her back to have it smacked away again. This time, it flew for Inu Yasha.

Kagome cried out in horror and jumped just in time to catch it before it could plunge into Inu Yasha's back. She tumbled forward and rolled to her feet, jumping upward and headed straight for Naraku with her last ounces of energy.

Inu Yasha watched from a few yards away; he was so fatigued that he could hardly keep track of Kagome's movements.

Kagome dove and the pair made contact. Naraku had his sword up defensively and Kagome was using all of her force to push her spear against him. The two weapons sliced aside and they were both free again.

Kagome tossed the spear aside and unsheathed her katana, slicing upward at Naraku as she did so. He stumbled backward again, but didn't get hit. She swiped as rapidly as she could, Naraku's face turning from anger to slightly stunned.

Her eyes began to fade from jade to sapphire and her blows became more drawn out and sloppier. Everything seemed to move in slow motion now, her vision was becoming blurred and she felt sick to the stomach.

Slowly, Naraku began to strike at her and she transitioned from offense to defense. His swipes were rapid and she was getting overwhelmed as her pace became sluggish.

A rip to her shoulder, a gash to her thigh, a tear on her cheek; things were becoming worse and worse. She felt her friends' spirits energy decrease within her as more cuts began to cover her body. She cringed and squealed with every slash; luckily enough, none were fatal just yet. He wanted her to suffer.

Though she was slowing up, she knew a fatal blow when she saw one. Naraku's tainted blade headed for her throat in slow motion; she could see it all coming to an end, but she couldn't stop it. As it swept forward, she saw lights flash before her as though to tell her to get out of the way. Despite these warnings, she couldn't move as fast as she would need to.

Just as the blade touched her neck, Inu Yasha dove in, slicing upward and tossing Naraku's blade aside.

It was over.

In one swift movement, the tetsusaiga slashed clean through the tai hanyou's torso. He stood there for what seemed like hours though it was barely a second, a questioning look blessed his features. His red eyes blinked once as his mouth began to overflow with his malice-rich blood. He fell over in a puzzle, choking on his own blood.

Inu Yasha looked down at him; Naraku looked up at him, his eyes full of hate and bewilderment. Kagome walked over to him and without hesitation, thrusted her katana into his throat, stapling him to the ground. His windpipe gurgled angrily at her as he exhaled for the last time.

Kagome, the young girl that Inu Yasha once knew so well, had changed. She was no longer the adorable, carefree girl that had wondered the lands with him in search of the Shikon shards. She was a young woman, and a cold-hearted killer.

The female hanyou looked over at her comrade; her blood-spackled face was full of pain and an overwhelming sorrow. Her eyes began to tear, yet she didn't collapse into Inu Yasha like she usually would, and he didn't go to her side. They just stood still, looking at each other.

The pain was incredible on both sides. Despite this, they just stood and stared. The relief that their hellborn opposition was finally back where he belonged was so emense that there were no words. All these years, and all this time, he had always evaded them. They had always planned on killing him... but what about afterwards? They just stood and stared.

"Kagome," Inu Yasha murmured, trying to calculate that they had finally defeated his arch rival. He had typed in the equation, he just couldn't hit the 'enter' key. She didn't flinch, she just looked at him; her own pearl blue eyes watched him try to come up with the words that they both needed to hear.

"Kagome... we've won."

The tears that had welled up in her eyes began to flow freely down her face. She never thought that the day would come. She never thought that it would end. Their adventures, their battles... they all had led up to this. The only question left to ask was...

...what to do next.

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