Well, this story is slowly wrapping up. Only a few more chapters and I shall be done. Scary isn't it? I know, but now that school is fixing to start up again, those chapters might have to wait. It's only like 2 or 3 more. I hope that everyone has loved this story and will stick with it until the end. Well, enjoy this next chapter.

Disclaimer: I do NOT OWN Inuyasha!

As Battle Rages, One Is Lost

The young demon was beginning to hate mornings very much. His grey eyes stayed shut as he knew his father would be coming in any moment to wake him. He felt a cool breeze come through the window. His hands pulled the blanket closer to him as he drifted back into slumber. Although, he thought that he might get some decent sleep in, he ended up having a nightmare. After a while, he snapped his eyes open as bit his lower lip. 'Not this dream again.' he thought as he sat up in his bed to see that the sun's rays were beginning to shine through his window. Tama ran his hand through his hair and sighed. Maybe he should tell his mother about this dream. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the door. His small feet swung over the bed and hit the floor. With a small nod, the child went to his door and left to go to talk with Nara.

The demoness slept soundly in her bed with no worries. She felt the warmth of Sesshoumaru leave her as he woke up before the sun. Frowning slightly in her sleep, she turned over and pulled the blanket closer to her body, much like her son did. Her dirty blonde hair fell slightly in her face as she moved her head some. Nara didn't hear the door open as she still continued to sleep. It wasn't until she felt a hand on her shoulder that she opened her eyes to see her son with a worried look on his face. Of course, she woke up completely when she saw that. Sitting up some, she patted the bed next to her. "What is it, Tama?" she asked, her voice sleepy, but somehow soft and warm.

"Mom, I keep having this dream." he said, looking at the bed. He didn't want to worry his mother with this, but who else could he tell. Although, he looked up at her and saw her smiling at him, still, Tama couldn't believe that she was talking now. It was only a few months ago that his mother had first spoke to anyone. Yet, she was still kindhearted and loving.

"Is it a bad dream or a good dream?"

"A bad one. Someone dies, and I don't want that to happen."

"Shh, my child. It was just a dream. Nothing more." she said, opening her arms to let him give her a hug.

"But, Mom, it's scary." Tama said, after he had crawled into her lap and laid his head on her shoulder.

"I know, I used to have a dream where you died."

"Really? Did it go away?"

"As soon as Mr. Kija came and we left, yes."

Tama's face looked sad and he pulled away. "But, I don't think this one will. If there ever is a war, tell Uncle Kija to stay away."

Nara looked scared for a moment, but then laughed lightly. "Is it because you are worried about him? You shouldn't be. He is a strong one, just like your father and you."

"I guess." he said, looking at the floor. After thinking about what she said, he looked back up at her. "But what about you, Mom? You are strong too."

"Oh, no. Not me. I can't fight at all."

"It's not that. You have been through so much and still you are laughing and happy. I couldn't do that."

Nara smiled as she patted Tama's head. "Well, someday you will learn Tama." she said, letting her hand caress his cheek. "Now, enough of this sad talk. Let's get some breakfast."

As soon as food was brought into the conversation, all sadness left Tama. He crawled off the bed and stood up, smiling brightly. He nodded and grabbed his mother's hand, telling her to come on. The young demon seemed to feel at ease now. Then again, mostly everyone who was feeling uneasy, talked with Nara. She just had that aura of someone who could make you feel better. As the little one walked along hand in hand, they both saw Sesshoumaru walking ahead of them. He stopped once he sensed both of them coming. The boy looked up and smiled as he watched his mother smile brightly as she watched her mate.

"Good Morning, Sesshoumaru." she said, without even hesitating this time. She had become stronger now that she was here. Her grey eyes looked to her mate with joy as she moved closer to him. She watched him nod and then looked back to Tama who came running up to be next to her. The family walked into the dining hall together. Kija was standing behind his seat, looking at Kari as she set the table. His bright blue eyes seemed to be dazed as he couldn't help but watch. Tama cleared his throat as he set next to Rin.

The demon lord sat down and waited for everyone else to take their place. Once they all had been seated, he nodded. His golden eyes watched them eat. Every so often, he would look at the window. Something didn't seem right to him today. He just couldn't place his finger on it. After a while, he stood up and walked out. Of course, no one dared to question what he was doing. They all continued to eat, as they all knew he ate alone.

Once the meal was over, they all went their separate ways around the castle. Nara went to her room leaving Rin, Tama and Kari together. The three were talking just fine, they all didn't notice that Kija wasn't in the room anymore too. He had followed Nara. The two girls looked at each other and nodded. The both sat down beside Tama and looked at him with bright smiles. He, of course, looked at them both and sighed. He could only guess what they were going to do. As long as it wasn't to annoying, he wouldn't mind to much. However, while they asked him questions about Nara and Sesshoumaru, he had this feeling as though he shouldn't be talking with them. He stood up moments later.

"Tama, what is it?" Rin asked, looking at him with a frown.

"Something isn't right. Get to my mother's room." he said, his eyes now narrow as he went to the door, claws extended. When he opened the door he didn't see anything. "Come you two." he said, ushering them to follow him as it was now pretty quiet in the castle.

Both of them were silent as they followed him. They were scared and held each other's hands as they continued down the hall. "Is everything ok?" Rin whispered to Kari.

"I don't know, Rin, but we must be quiet." Kari said quietly back to her.

With that, Tama led them into Nara's room. All three women talked amongst themselves, wondering what was happening. It was then that he went to the window and saw a massive army heading towards the castle. His eyes widened as he caught Sesshoumaru out in front waiting for them, as well as Kija. He balled his hands together and didn't know what to think. How could they both take on all of the demons by themselves? He pressed his lips together and felt this slight pain as his nightmare flashed before his eyes. Kija was down there about to fight. He could be injured or even killed. He shook his head and turned to leave, forgetting about protecting his mother and the others. His feet lead him through the castle where he noticed that most of the servants had now made their way outside to fight along side Sesshoumaru and Kija. Tama stood at the door when he saw Genroku talking with the two. He growled as he watched and listened to their conversation.

"I told you that I would return, Sesshoumaru, and now I shall take what belongs to me." Genroku said, glaring at the other demon lord.

Sesshoumaru said nothing, but Kija on the other hand, growled. "How can you say that? You treated her like dirt. No, Nara belongs here where she is happy." he said, his berserker blood seemed to boil, but he held it back as he knew that Kari wouldn't want him to fight like that. The silver haired demon simply looked at Genroku and then spoke calmly. "Take your incompetent, worthless army and leave my lands." he said, never taking his eyes from the evil demon before him.

"What? Incompetent? They have been trained to defeat you." he said, rambling on. It wasn't until he was in mid-sentence that Sesshoumaru's clawed hand went for his throat. It was then that the battle began. Genroku drew back and pulled out his sword. He had been itching to fight Sesshoumaru for a while. His eyes seemed to hold so much revenge at this moment. Of course, most of the fighting between the two was happening so fast that not many could keep up with it.

As many of the demons were trying to attack Sesshoumaru from the back, Kija was the one who was protecting him and killing all of the ignorant demons that tried to kill both of the strong dog demons. His blue eyes would narrow as he used his own wits because he didn't have a weapon. That didn't last to long as he jumped around and grabbed a sword from one of the fallen soldiers. It soon would be to small of a weapon to attack with, for the short sword he had was more for defending. He noticed that all of the other servants from the castle were joining in on this battle. A smirk came to him as one of the servants he had known tossed him a sword. He looked at the enemies and grinned evilly, for now it was time to let bloodshed begin.

Tama stood in the doorway, confused. Why were all of the servants fighting? He hadn't thought that they could. But of course, his father always thought of everything. He wouldn't have weak servants. No, they had to be able to fight incase something like this was to ever happen. His grey eyes watched from where he was standing as he watched some fall. After a while, he searched for Kija. His nightmare kept flashing before his eyes. The young demon tried to suppress the feeling he had of wanting to fight. After a while, he couldn't hold back. Tama let his poison claws extend, and he went charging into battle to protect his uncle. Or at least that was what he was telling himself.

As the women watched from Nara's room, they were silent. All of them couldn't believe what was happening. Slowly, Nara was beginning to understand. Genroku had come for her. She whimpered some as she didn't want to go back to that awful place. Never again did she want to go to her old home. She closed her eyes to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. It wasn't until that Kari said something, did she open her eyes once again.

"Kija!" The young demon called out as she saw that her beloved was fighting off many demons by himself. She looked up at Nara who was watching him as well. Finally, she looked back to the epic battle beneath them.

"No, Tama!" Nara called out as she spotted her son. If Genroku saw him, then he would go after him. She turned and began to run out of her door. Kari close behind, leaving Rin by herself. Rin watched the battle and noticed that the other women had disappeared. She turned around and began to leave the room only to see Kari and Nara poke their heads in. "Stay here, Rin." Nara commanded her with a stern look. Rin nodded and whined some as she was told to stay with Jaken. "But, I always have to be with him. I thought I was old enough not to have him around." Of course, a few moments later, even Jaken went to the battle field, leaving Rin all alone once again to watch from the safety of the castle.

As Kari and Nara ran through the castle, they noticed that they were the only ones here. Of course, they both knew where everyone was, unlike Tama. As the women reached where Tama had been standing not to long ago, they froze as they saw many lying dead on the ground in front of them. Both of the dog demons gasped as they closed their eyes for a moment. It was to much for them to see. Nara was the first one to open her eyes again. She searched for her son with frantic eyes. A sigh of relief hit her when she saw that he was still alive. Kari saw Kija fighting with minimum damage. She smiled some as she felt better.

However, as Tama was coming closer to Kija, Genroku saw him. That did not help matters any. His rage had overtaken the demon, and he smiled wickedly at Sesshoumaru before vanishing to appear behind Tama. The young demon was to busy fighting the enemy in front of him to notice. Only when he heard his mother's frantic call did he duck and look behind him, just in time to dodge the attack. He glared up at Genroku as he let his claws try to catch his skin. An evil chuckle came from him. "You cannot defeat me with those measly claws, Tama." he said, going in for another swing. By now Nara was frantic, she couldn't do anything. Again she called for him to come to here. It was then that Genroku heard her worried voice calling for her son. With that he vanished once again and began to come at Nara.

Kija looked up to see that he was going after Nara. It was then that he could no longer hold back his berserker blood. His dark aura appeared again, and he bolted for Genroku. "Don't you touch her!" he growled as he attacked him from behind. Genroku had only a fraction of a second to move. He was clawed at, causing some blood. That wicked smile was still on his face as he turn to Kija. "Well, if it isn't the berserker." he said, holding his sword up to Kija. Another growl came from the angry one as he charged once again. Genroku was having some trouble because Kija's strength had doubled in only a few seconds. But still the battle raged on. Kija's mind was set on killing him.

Sesshoumaru looked up to see the battle. His golden eyes observed that Nara was close by, and Tama was trying to help Kija. His eyes narrowed as he moved swiftly, killing every demon that attacked him along the way. This wasn't a challenge, but he had to protect his son. He called Tama over to him, watching the young demon fight with ease. A smirk came to his face as he knew he had trained him well.

Meanwhile, the battle was at a stand still until Tama yelled out. "No! Kija, I can't let you die!" Sesshoumaru placed a hand on Tama's shoulder to hold him back. The young demon pressed his lips together and held back a growl as he watched. Kija looked at Nara as he saw they were getting closer to her. He had to protect his sister at all costs. But in that brief moment of looking to make sure that his sister and love were safety out of range had caused an attack of opportunity for Genroku. When Kija looked back at his enemy, his black eyes saw that his claws were in his chest, poison dripping out of the wound. "It seems that I have won, and now for your sister." he said, pulling his hand out and turning to go to Nara.

Sesshoumaru didn't think twice, he soon was standing in front of Genroku, his sword drawn. No words were said as the sword fight began anew.

Nara's eyes widened as she screamed out in agony. She watched him slowly look up at her, his eyes starting to turn back to their bright blue color. His black hair was turning back to dirty blonde as he slowly fell to the ground. She couldn't take it, she ran out there in the midst of the battle and fell to her knees by his side. She looked at his wound and held back tears. "Shh, don't say anything Kija. We will get you some medicine, and you will be better." she said, resting her hand on his forehead and the other on his chest to try to stop the bleeding.

"Na...ra..." he said, his vision now becoming blurry. Yet, he still could see her dressed in white and glowing some. For he was now feeling the affects on the poison. She shushed him again, but he still tried to speak. He was dying, and he knew it. "Good...bye, my...dear...sister." he said, his hand on her other arm as she had been trying to stop the blood. His body went limp as she looked at him with shock. Her eyes looked him over as he wasn't breathing anymore. It was then that she looked at his ripped shirt and saw where Genroku's claws had attacked. She gasped as she moved it away to see a grey star exactly like hers. Her hand went to her mouth as she let her tears fall over and onto his dead body. Her brother had been with her all this time. "Oh Kija...why?"

Chapter End...

Cliffhanger huh? Yup! I thought you guys would like that. Well, if ya want the rest of the story. Review and tell me how much ya like it. See ya soon.