Sorry that it took so long to get this chapter up, but life just grabbed me and didn't let go. Oh well, here we go.
Revenge of the Forgotten Love
Chapter 6 A New Love, A New Breakup
Late in the evening, two figures washed up on the shore of the river. Though it looked like one, for each held the other in their arms. Sesshomaru and Kikyou lay on the banks of the river after their fall over the cliff. A long time they lay there, but eventually one stirred.
Kikyou raised her head and looked about her surroundings. At first, she did not recall what had happened. Then it came back to her, and she looked below her to see Sesshomaru lying on his back. It seemed that he had shielded her from the blast and broke her fall over the falls.
"Sesshomaru," she said. He did not stir. "Sesshomaru," she said in a pleading tone. He still did not stir, that was when she noticed that he was bleeding. Sesshomaru had several blast wounds on his back. Kikyou shook him again, calling his name.
Once again he did not stir, and the priestess began to shed silent tears. She raised his limp body so that his head was on her lap. "Sesshomaru, please don't die. I love you, I might not have realized it soon enough, but I love you perhaps more so than Inuyasha," Kikyou confessed to the youkia.
Sesshomaru stirred for the first time. His beautiful, amber eyes slowly opened and stared up at the woman that loved him. The youkia reached up one of his hands and wiped away one of her tears. Kikyou was startled when she realized that he was awake, since her eyes had been closed.
"Sesshomaru," she said. Sesshomaru put two fingers on her lips and sat up.
He then spoke, "Kikyou, the truth is that I love you, too. And I meant the words that I said when we met Inuyasha. I wasn't acting, and I'm not acting now." The youkia's eyes held a foreign emotion in them, love.
Kikyou looked as though she had heard the words that she had always wanted to hear. Both the youkia and human, with hearts and minds align, leaned in and kissed. Their kiss lasted for long moments, neither wanting to break such a divine moment. Eventually, they both broke away and Sesshomaru stood. Kikyou was helped to her feet and they both left to find shelter for the night.
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'Damn, damn, damn,' Inuyasha thought as he jumped down from a rock that he had been standing on. He was trying to track down Kikyou after she fell off the cliff, but the river had washed away her scent. 'Damn that Naraku! If it weren't for him then Kikyou wouldn't have fallen off the cliff. Hell, she wouldn't even have died in the first place! He didn't even stay to finish the fight after she went over the falls,' Inuyasha thought in frustration.
He continued to run and jump over rocks as he sped down the rocky bank. It was getting late and he wanted to find her before the sun set. 'Sesshomaru, he shielded her from the blasts. Where does he think that he gets in on saving her? She's my woman, damn it,' he continued. 'When I find him, he's dead. If he isn't already. Don't worry Kikyou, I'll find you.'
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Dawn was breaking, and Kikyou sat with her new love, Sesshomaru. The priestess was sitting on Sesshomaru's right leg, using the fur on his armor as a pillow. They had slept in this position through the night, soundlessly. Kikyou had already healed the youkia so the way that they were sitting had no effect on him.
Sesshomaru awoke first, but seeing that Kikyou was still sleeping remained still. He did not want to disturb his sleeping beauty. 'To think that I would fall in love with a human. I think that I see father's reason when he fell for that woman. Pride can be forgotten now, love is far more important than that. Kikyou, I will always be there to protect you,' those were his thoughts as he sat there contently.
He rested his cheek on her head and inhaled, breathing in her sweet scent. This caused her to awake. Kikyou opened her eyes slowly and looked up at Sesshomaru's fair face. She smiled at him as he asked, "Sleep well."
"How could I have not," the priestess responded. Sesshomaru smiled back at her.
The youkia held her gaze for a moment longer, then said, "We should get moving. The sooner that Naraku is out of the way, the sooner that we can go on in peace."
"Of course," Kikyou said. She then stood and jumped down from the tree. "Come on," she said, her voice light and playful. He jumped down and began walking beside her.
"We should go up river and track Naraku from there," Sesshomaru said, regaining his emotionless-self. Kikyou nodded, also regaining her cold demeanor. If they wanted to find Naraku and kill him then they would need all their wits and self-control.
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Kagome was flying through the air on Kirara's back. "Inuyasha," she yelled, looking for the hanyuo. After he had went off on a walk, she had gotten worried and had went looking for him. Suddenly, she saw a flash of red. "Inuyasha," she called as she went down.
Kagome landed on the ground, next to Inuyasha. "Kagome, what are you doing here," he asked.
She responded, "I was just worried, so I came to look for you."
"Why are you always so worried about me? I can take care of myself, and if you don't mind I have to go find Kikyou," Inuyasha said angrily.
"Kikyou, is she all that you care about? What about me? I thought that you loved me, not that dead wretch," Kagome yelled back.
Inuyasha held his ground during this outburst. Then he shot back, "Love you, I never loved you! I only loved the part that reminded me of Kikyou! I never loved you, and I never will! In fact, because of you, I almost lost the person that I really love! So get lost, Kagome!" With that, Inuyasha ran off, leaving Kagome in heartbroken tears.
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Sesshomaru and Kikyou were attempting to track down Naraku. But it wasn't so easy, even though he was weakened. The two of them weren't about to give up, so the search ensued. Kikyou was trying to track Naraku's demonic aura, and Sesshomaru was trying to find his scent.
"I've found him," Kikyou said, Sesshomaru had found his scent the moment that she had said that. The priestess looked at Sesshomaru and asked, "Do you think that it's a trap? He probably could have hid himself better, even in his weakened state."
"Perhaps, but I'm not going to let him get away," he stated. Kikyou nodded, and they began to follow his trail. It seemed that he was not far away; they could reach him in about an hour if they walked. Both wanted Naraku out of their life for good, and weren't going to give up.
After a while of walking, it became apparent that Naraku wasn't going to just let them walk up to him. Youkia were following them, powerful youkia. Sesshomaru shot a quick glance at Kikyou, she returned it. The two groups then clashed.
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Inuyasha had recently caught Kikyou and Sesshomaru's scent, and was following it. He jumped from tree to tree, going as fast as he could. Sesshomaru wasn't going to have Kikyou; Inuyasha would die a hundred times before he let him have her.
Inuyasha froze suddenly. He could smell the blood of youkia, and Kikyou's scent. He once again sped off. After a few jumps, he finally saw the sight of Kikyou and Sesshomaru fighting off youkia. When the last one was finished off the priestess looked over at Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha," she said. He did a final leap over and stood in front of her. Sesshomaru had the urge to go over and hack his brother's head off, but resisted for the moment. He did however walk over beside his love, within arms length of him.
Inuyasha noticed this but ignored him and spoke to Kikyou instead, "I'm glad you're okay, I thought that you might be dead."
"No, I'm fine," Kikyou was trying to avoid saying anything that might cause a fight between the two. "We're tracking down Naraku, perhaps you should join us. You don't mind do you, Sesshomaru," she said.
"Fine, just don't slow us down," he said, gruffly. Inuyasha didn't like the idea of joining him, but if he could stay next to Kikyou then he'd put up with it.
Sesshomaru was walking ahead, leaving Kikyou and Inuyasha together. Sesshomaru was aware of this, but let it happen. When it seemed that he was out of earshot Inuyasha spoke to Kikyou, "Kikyou, what are you doing with Sesshomaru? You don't actually love him, do you?"
Kikyou looked into Inuyasha's eyes and said, "Inuyasha, I do love your brother, and he loves me, too. I'm sorry but we had our chance, and some things are not meant to be."
"Kikyou, please, I love you. I always have, please don't do this. I can't live without you," he pleaded with her, giving his most sorrowful expression.
The priestess just stared at him. At one point Inuyasha would never admit to his feelings, but now he was pleading with her to notice that he loved her. "You chose Kagome over me, and you love her. How can you be with me if you love another woman," she questioned.
Inuyasha was about to say something, but Sesshomaru interjected, "We're here." Sure enough, there was a barrier and beyond was undoubtedly Naraku's lair.
Inuyasha stepped forward and put a hand on the Tetsaiga. "This is where I come in," he said, eager to impress Kikyou. Sesshomaru shot Inuyasha a death glare, and Inuyasha just smiled triumphantly.
The hanyuo unsheathed his sword and raised it above his head. The blade pulsated, and began to glow red. "Tetsaiga," he yelled and struck the barrier. A hole appeared where the sword had struck and spread, dispersing the entire barrier.
Inuyasha sheathed his sword and dared to move toward Kikyou and attempted to get her to ride on his back. Sesshomaru however zoomed forward and punched Inuyasha in the face. "Keep your filthy claws off her," he said, and got her on his back. Kikyou looked at Inuyasha with apologetic eyes.
Inuyasha jumped up and followed Sesshomaru as he headed for Naraku's castle. The hanyuo was not about to let Sesshomaru out of his sight. He would relish the day that he killed his brother and got his woman back. Kikyou however could not decide whom she loved more. Sesshomaru was perhaps the most handsome of the two, and stronger. Inuyasha however was someone that she could relate to more, and was softer. They were both protective also, that didn't make coming to a decision any easier though.
After what Inuyasha had said, Kikyou was having mixed feelings about the two of them. She loved them both so dearly, and Inuyasha had another woman if she didn't choose him. Another thing that scared her was that if she chose Inuyasha, then Sesshomaru would probably kill him. And if she chose Sesshomaru, then Inuyasha would fight a futile battle. 'Damn, what am I going to do about the two of them. If I choose one then the other won't just leave. They're both too stubborn,' Kikyou didn't have much time to dwell on her thoughts though.
"What the-," she heard Inuyasha say as he disappeared into the mist that had mysteriously accumulated. Sesshomaru stopped and Kikyou jumped down. "What is this," Sesshomaru asked.
They heard the unmistakable sound of Naraku's laughter then his voice, "Did you honestly think that you could just walk up to my castle? I think that you would like to meet my new servant before you proceed."
The sky had darkened considerably after they had passed the barrier, giving the figure in front of them the perfect cover. "Show yourself," Sesshomaru ordered. The figure hindered and stepped forth from the shadows.
The person that stepped out was a female youkia. She was rather attractive, even Sesshomaru gave her that much. Standing at about Kikyou's height, she had long white hair that fell to her knees with bangs that resembled Sesshomaru's, save that they went all the way across her forehead. She wore a black cloak and had armor similar to Sesshomaru's over a white kimono with matching pants underneath it. The youkia also had black boots that came half way up her shin with an opened front, allowing her toe to show. (A/N: They're the same boots that Bonkotsu wears, hope that helps you picture them.)
Sesshomaru drew his sword, ready to destroy this new obstacle. "You're Lord Sesshomaru, I presume," she spoke, looking him over. Midnight blue eyes met with amber ones as they sized each other up. After looking her over for a moment he realized something, she was not one of Naraku's incarnations.
Indeed, she had her own scent, and Naraku's was spread so thinly on her that it seemed that she had only met him once. She had probably only spoke with him to get orders from the filth in the castle. Finally, Sesshomaru answered the woman's question, "That's right, and who are you? I can tell that you're not one of Naraku's incarnations."
She seemed pleased that he noticed, and answered, "I'm Shikara, a wolf youkia from the Southern Lands. But now it seems that I'm serving Naraku, so sorry to cut the introductions short, but I have a job to do." She moved toward Sesshomaru with surprising quickness and attempted slice him with her claws.
Claws clashed with metal and Shikara's attack was stopped. She jumped back and Sesshomaru lurched forth, she dodged his attack and appeared behind him. Before the wolf could attack an arrow came flying in her direction. Kikyou's arrow did not hit the mark, but saved Sesshomaru, nonetheless.
Seeing that she was taking on two instead of one, Shikara raised her hand above her head. A stream of light shot forth and created a barrier, deep blue in power. "That should knock out your interference, priestess. This is a fight between youkia," she said in her commanding voice.
With that the battle ensued, each wanting to destroy the other, or seeming to. Sesshomaru did not take kindly to killing a youkia, but would if he had or needed to. Shikara, though, seemed to have other plans.
The wolf youkia seemed to get bored or frustrated with this form of attack, and pulled out the heavy artillery. She didn't have a sword; instead she had magic at her fingertips. Shikara began with simpler spells, ones that shot forth in beams of light and blew up anything it touched. They were easy enough to see, but were extremely fast and she shot volleys of them, with only a one second interval.
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"Kikyou, Sesshomaru," Inuyasha called. They had just disappeared into the mist and left no trace behind. He began running in the direction that they had been going in only a few seconds ago.
All the sudden, Naraku's cruel laughter came out of the dark, making Inuyasha stop dead in his tracks. "What's the matter, Inuyasha, you look scared. Can't find your precious Kikyou," the bodiless voice inquired.
"What did you do with her, you bastard," he yelled. Naraku's voice once again spoke, "Do with her? I have done nothing to her. Do you really think that I could lay a hand on her since your dear brother is protecting her? But if I were you I would be concerned with my own well being instead of hers."
A figure then appeared in the shadows. However, before Inuyasha could say a word, an Enchanted Arrow destroyed the beast. "Kikyou," Inuyasha called. "What," Naraku's voice cried in dismay. From the shadows stepped a woman, but not the one that Inuyasha had expected to see.
Kagome stepped forth with another arrow notched to the string. "Inuyasha, you can go to hell. If I can't have you then no one can," she cried. She let another arrow fly, and Inuyasha dodged it easily. "Have you lost your mind," he yelled at her. "Get the hell out of here. You're going to get yourself killed."
"Oh, so you actually care now," Kagome, asked sarcastically. Naraku's once again spoke, "It seems that I won't have the pleasure of arranging your demise, but oh well. Have fun in the other world, Inuyasha."
"Are you saying that Naraku had nothing to do with this," he asked the human. She just nodded and prepared to shoot. She wasn't going to let Inuyasha get away this time, no matter what he did. Good thing for Inuyasha, she was a horrible shot.
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Sesshomaru had grown bored with this ineffective onslaught. And apparently so had Shikara. She decided to get down to business, and started throwing balls of energy at him. While doing this she was also attempting to cut off a hunk of flesh with her claws. The results were graceful combos that seemed harmless, but were very powerful. The youkia lord would not leave these attacks unheeded and was able to block most of them, but some hit, and some of his attacks hit.
Kikyou was also trying to dispel the barrier, but to no avail. It was up to Sesshomaru to win, and he was determined to do so. He had begun to try more powerful attacks himself, most of which Shikara either dodge or blocked with her second shield.
Sesshomaru became aware that lots of Naraku's insects had begun to accumulate. Also, the youkia's barrier didn't keep their blasts inside its playing field. He didn't know what this meant but took his chance to blast her with one of his most powerful attacks. The dog youkia had feared that the blast would not pass the barrier and destroy them both.
He let loose his attack and it hit dead on. The wolf youkia gasped at such power before she and all the insects were swept away by the attack. The barrier faded and Kikyou ran over to Sesshomaru. "She escaped, didn't she," she asked. Sesshomaru nodded. "We should move on," he said, turning to walk off.
"Wait," Kikyou cried. "What about Inuyasha? He probably ran into one of Naraku's traps. We should look for him." Sesshomaru stopped and sighed. "Fine, we'll play rescue the mutt before fighting Naraku," he finished, taking Kikyou on his back and following Inuyasha's scent.
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Inuyasha was dodging Kagome's arrows while advancing toward her. When he got just close enough he used his claws to cut the bow in half. "What the hell are you doing," he asked her as she backed away from him. She didn't answer him, because she didn't have the chance.
Another arrow shot out from the shadow of the trees. This one hit Kagome and disintegrated her when it pierced the skin. Kikyou ran out to hug Inuyasha, Sesshomaru walking behind. "Kikyou, you're okay," he said during the embrace. She just nodded and pulled out of it.
All the sudden Inuyasha face stiffened, "Did you just kill Kagome?" He seemed to have just realized. Sesshomaru then said, "Relax, Inuyasha, it was just a puppet."
"It was- I mean, of course it was," Kikyou said. Inuyasha seemed to relax, pushing aside what Kikyou had said. "Did you care or something, Inuyasha," Kikyou asked, looking at him hard.
"What, no of course not! She doesn't matter to me anymore, and as soon as I get rid of Sesshomaru, you'll be mine again," he said confidently. "Fat chance, but we'll settle this when we get rid of Naraku," Sesshomaru cut in. "I could have already killed him if we didn't have to come to your rescue. Don't slow us down again or I'll leave you behind." Inuyasha snarled at his brother but walked beside them as they headed to Naraku's castle for the final battle.
Yeah, I know Inuyasha's last line was cheesy, but I couldn't think of anything else to write. The next chapter will probably be the last. I don't think that I can fit what little ideas I have left in two. I might write an epiloge though. I half way wish that I had made that the real Kagome, but I have a little more bashing to do first, so I had to save her. (I hate my job.)
Moon's Darkness
