Yeah, yeah, it's late. No real reason except that I was lazy and there was another fanfic bashing my head it. LEAVE ME ALONE PLOT BUNNIES! TT.

Chapter 31 – Fourth Encounter

They now held the full Shikon no Tama. It was three days until the next full moon, when everything would finally be settled. As it was, the entire gang, with Shintaku added was at the castle of the Western Lands. Kagome continued to stare at the Shikon no Tama, disbelieving that Naraku hadn't gathered any shards. Within three days, it was inevitable he would attack to try and find the Shikon no Tama. Kagome was in the heart of the defenses; the gang was their last defense before the protectress.

They were still taken by surprise.

A mass of lesser demons stormed the castle. They were weak, but the amount never seemed to end. It seemed like an endless battle. The everlasting siege. Many times a blast of reiki, or purification powers slowed the advance, but it wasn't long until they reached the center. Then, the demons all fell back to allow a purple demon to go through the now broken defenses.

It was too easy for Goshinki, until he met the Reikai Tantei. His abilities and speed aided him, and soon the team was heavily wounded, thanks to the sneak attacks that the lesser demons pulled. Goshinki's path was clear once again, and Goshinki made his way to the most difficult trial: the protectress. However, Kagome hadn't been trained to block her mind from mind readers, thus Goshinki was able to dodge all of her attacks and advance swiftly. He took the jewel with one hand and swiped his claws across Kagome's chest before he made his escape. Following his departure was a scream of frustration as Kagome broke down crying.

8-8-8-8

They would get revenge, which was certain, everyone wanted Goshinki dead, and they began to plan how, and hoped that he hadn't given the Shikon no Tama to Naraku yet. Hiei had threatened to kill Kuwabara if he didn't stop being so stubborn.

"I'm the only one who can create a suitable mental barrier. He only got me last time because I was taken from behind!" It was one of the rare moments when Hiei would lose his temper. Usually, Kagome would act as a peacemaker, but she had begun to sink into depression, despite Kurama's attempt to stop her descent. Jin and Touya also seemed down, and Yusuke did his best to keep the team together.
"Kagome," Kurama continued to try to snap her out of her trance.
"What's it like to die?" Kagome suddenly asked. Kurama shook his head.
"Youko avoided death by escaping to this body," he explained.
"How?" Kagome seemed genuinely interested.
"He concentrated the rest of his energy to separate his soul from his body. His body died at that moment and he left to find a host." Kagome stood, her eyes flared like fire again.
"Kuwabara, Hiei's right, he can kill Goshinki easier than the rest of us. We have to move fast if we're going to intercept him." Hiei and Kuwabara stopped yelling and looked at Kagome. She smiled at them in reply.
"Lets go then," Touya, stated. The group then set out, hoping that they would be able to recover the jewel that was screaming for it's protectress.

8-8-8-8

They met Goshinki at the frontier of the Western Lands. At first, they had swarmed him with a multitude of thoughts, confusing the demon. Then Goshinki brought out a hoard of lesser demons to keep them otherwise occupied. At first, only Boudan and Shintaku were needed to keep the demons at bay. Then Jin and Touya came to their aide when they had begun to tire. It continued until only Hiei was fighting Goshinki and everyone else kept the lesser demons from interfering in the battle. Goshinki tried to take his opportunities to run, but he was stopped every time.

They were all beginning to tire now, and everyone started to make mistakes. Kagome had run out of arrows and began to try and keep the demons off of her with a katana. Kurama's arms had begun to tire, his whip losing some of its normally deadly accuracy. Yusuke had the most energy left of them all, and was avoiding its use to save his energy. Kuwabara was out of the fight with a large gash across his chest. Jin and Touya had combined their powers to make an ice tornado, but their energy was flickering like a candle using the last of its wick. Boudan and Shintaku were also running on the dregs of their power. Everyone had injuries at this point and they all hoped that Hiei would finish the battle soon.

Hiei was afraid to release the dragon, in case Goshinki dodged and it hit one of his companions. As it was, he had to rely on his sword and his fists. When he used his sword however, he made sure to avoid Goshinki's teeth. Kagome had forewarned him that if his sword met Goshinki's mouth, it would break on his teeth. So he used the lesser attacks of the dragon's technique to further damage Goshinki. They were both equally injured, however Goshinki had the advantage of his mind and speed. Enough so that Hiei was beginning to get annoyed. He started swearing in every language as he attacked and finally, running out of patience he called the Jaou Ensatsu Ken and sliced Goshinki into pieces in seconds. When he realized it had been that easy his swearing increased.

After five minutes he dropped his sword, panting heavily he allowed himself to collapse.
"Daijobu?" Kagome limped over, a gash on her leg. Hiei gave a slight nod of his head.
"We have to go back to Sengoku Jidai," Kagome informed them. Jin, Touya, Boudan and Shintaku looked confused. The Reikai Tantei however looked at her questions in their eyes.
"It's time that I told you the details of the last time Naraku was killed. He has the Shikon no Tama now. All hell will break loose if he manages to make a wish." She looked up defiantly. Her bow shook in her hand/
"We can't let that happen."

I'll save review replies for later.

Next Chapter: Plans and Past Final Battle

This will be the last contest. Otherwise I'll be giving away stuff.