New Enemy

Ilyo and Icthalur arrived back at the castle in almost no time.

When they entered it, Ilyo was immediately set upon by Kagome. "Did you find out where he is?" Ilyo nodded quickly. Kagome smiled broadly and looked around. "Where is Sesshomaru?" she asked, confused by the demon Lord's absence.

Ilyo figured he might as well be straight with her. "He has abandoned us. He stabbed me and then flew off to destroy Inuyasha."

Kagome looked surprised for a minute. Then her anger got the better of her. "That stupid bastard! Next time I see him, I'll tear his damned throat out!"

Ilyo looked down at her in shock. Sesshomaru's parting words, his warning, flashed through Ilyo's mind at that point. He quickly realized that Kagome's demonic nature was taking hold of her and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

As Kagome continued ranting, her eyes began to glow red. Ilyo could tell that her anger had been building up for a while and the situation of Sesshomaru betraying them was just an outlet for her to let it all out. He watched nervously as her fangs began growing and she started growling.

Icthalur had also quickly come to a conclusion about what was taking place. Acting quickly, he delivered a sharp blow to the back of Kagome's head. It knocked her out instantly. He smirked at Ilyo, who was looking at him with a heavy frown on his face."What?" he asked defensively. "You weren't doing anything; somebody had to."

Ilyo nodded at the quick thinking Icthalur had displayed, though he was still a little angry that his friend had struck his girlfriend. He looked in sadness at Kagome's crumpled form. Kneeling down, he lifted her carefully and carried her off towards her room. Once he reached the room, he placed her gently on the bed, tucked her blankets snugly around her and then returned to Icthalur.

"Now we need to plan for the upcoming battle," he stated as he came to stand beside his old friend. "We both know that Sesshomaru can't defeat Inuyasha. But Inuyasha will certainly detect my blood on Sesshomaru's blade. He will come here, thinking that I am wounded. Unfortunately for him, I heal really fast."

Icthalur nodded. He knew that Ilyo's plan was still going to work, regardless of the betrayal of Sesshomaru.

The two walked outside to wait. Ilyo figured that Inuyasha probably wouldn't even kill Sesshomaru. As soon as he thought that Ilyo was wounded, he would leave and come straight to the castle. Ilyo estimated it would probably be about another twenty minutes before Inuyasha arrived.

The two were suddenly joined by present day Sesshomaru. He looked ready for a fight. Ilyo grinned at his brother. Sesshomaru said nothing. He merely stood silently, waiting for Inuyasha. They didn't have to wait long. Surprisingly, the half-demon was not alone.

Inuyasha and Sesshomaru landed silently before Ilyo, Icthalur, and present day Sesshomaru. Ilyo looked at Sesshomaru in shock. "I thought that you were too honourable to associate with that trash. Was I wrong?"

Sesshomaru shrugged at the question. "I want to go home, and he is the only one who can get me there."

Inuyasha stepped forward after that. "Sesshomaru has chosen wisely; he knows a winner when he sees one. Now, I believe that it is time for a fight. You want the jewel, come and get it." With that, the battle commenced.

Icthalur immediately attacked Sesshomaru, who had drawn Tokijin. Icthalur took a direct blast from the demon sword, but shook it off like it was nothing. Drawing his own sword, Icthalur started trading blows with Sesshomaru, both of them whirling around in a vicious, deadly circle.

At the same time, both Ilyo and present day Sesshomaru had leapt at Inuyasha. He had no weapon, since Ilyo had destroyed the Tetsusaiga, so he defended himself from Tokijin with only his claws. He managed to send the weapon flying from Sesshomaru's hand and then dealt him a vicious blow to the face. It sent Sesshomaru careening backwards through the air. He got back up quickly, but immediately realized that Ilyo had to be the one to fight Inuyasha, so he stayed back and watched the battle continue, ready to step in if it became necessary.

Ilyo, meanwhile, attacked Inuyasha viciously. He delivered punch after punch, sending the smaller demon to the ground again and again. But he just wouldn't stay down. He got up each time as if it were nothing. Ilyo quickly realized that this fight would go on for a very long time. He would tirelessly beat the crap out of Inuyasha, but it would never be permanent. And Inuyasha was not powerful enough to mount any real offence against Ilyo. Ilyo knew that he had to end it now. Withdrawing his sword, he went for a killing blow, and he gave Inuyasha the opening he had been waiting for.

As soon as Ilyo raised his sword over his head for the death strike, Inuyasha quickly withdrew the Shikon Jewel from his pocket and thrust it forward into Ilyo's chest. Ilyo gasped in surprise and stepped backwards, falling to his knees.

Inuyasha had hoped that his unexpected move would incapacitate his eldest brother. He figured that the immense power of the sacred jewel being added suddenly to Ilyo's body would have a negative effect on him. Unfortunately for the half-demon, before he could capitalize on Ilyo's weakness, a sword was thrust into his body from behind.

Inuyasha turned slowly as the sword was withdrawn, already dying, to see Sesshomaru staring at him. It was not present day Sesshomaru. Leaning in close to Inuyasha's face, Sesshomaru growled, "I would never betray my companions to work with you. Unluckily for you, you were too stupid to see that."

Sesshomaru quickly pulled away when he heard a feeble chuckle emit from Inuyasha's dying body. "I am not as stupid as you think, Sesshomaru. Although I did not think you would kill me, my main goal has already come to pass. Very soon, another will rise up to take my place, and he will not be so easy to defeat. I'll see you all in hell." With a loud growl, Inuyasha finally died. A trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

Sesshomaru stepped back from his brother's body. He turned to see Icthalur and present day Sesshomaru rushing over to Ilyo. He joined them.

Ilyo had risen to his feet. He stood there, looking thoughtful, as his friends ran to him. "Ilyo, are you alright?" Icthalur asked the question with great concern. In all his years with Ilyo, he had never seen his friend stumble like that in battle. No one had seen Inuyasha push the jewel into Ilyo. All they had seen was the huge dog demon fall to his knees. They assumed that he had been injured. But he just smiled.

"I'm fine. He just caught me by surprise; that's all." The Sesshomarus seemed to accept the explanation, but Icthalur remained unconvinced. He did not give voice to his doubts however. Ilyo had already turned towards the castle. Icthalur figured he was going to check on Kagome.

The two Sesshomarus remained outside with Icthalur. Icthalur turned to past Sesshomaru. "That was a good ploy. You even fooled Ilyo and me. But now I wonder, what was Inuyasha talking about? He said someone new would take his place? Where did he hide the jewel? I can't sense it anywhere." Both Sesshomarus shook their heads. Icthalur shrugged. "Ilyo will track it down soon. I think he went to check on Kagome."

Meanwhile, Ilyo was walking towards Kagome's room, interrogating himself mentally. Why didn't I tell them about the jewel? But he had no answer.

It didn't take him long to arrive at Kagome's room. He quietly opened the door, and quickly realized that she was out cold. He was watching her quietly when intense pain suddenly erupted in his chest.

Ilyo fell to his knees, overwhelmed by the intense agony, but the pain was gone in a second. Ilyo got slowly to his feet, looking down in shock at his chest. Then, he looked up at Kagome's sleeping form. For a horrible instant, Ilyo felt an urge to kill the sleeping girl. The urge was gone in a second, but it scared the hell out of him. Turning, he quickly strode away from Kagome.

Ilyo walked towards the presence of Icthalur. He found his friend, along with both Sesshomarus, sitting at a table located in a small room. As soon as he entered, they looked up at him. He smiled.

"Kagome is still out. But I believe that she will awaken soon. Until then, we must talk. Inuyasha said something about someone else taking his place, a much stronger being. There are not currently any demons remaining in this era who are stronger than he was, regardless of the jewel's power." Ilyo chose not to mention his pain, or his fleeting desire to kill Kagome as she slept.

Icthalur did not say anything, but he had a feeling that Ilyo was hiding something from them. He remained silent however, and indicated that Ilyo should continue.

"Well, since there is no one else, Inuyasha must have been bluffing. All we need is the Shikon Jewel and we can figure out who will be returning to the Feudal Era. I figure that I can get it tomorrow, but today, we should relax. We have had enough worry in the past few days; we deserve a day to take a break."

Icthalur and both Sesshomarus nodded in agreement. Then, Icthalur grinned. "Well, that's a good plan. What did you have in mind?"

Ilyo thought for a moment. "I figure we all do whatever we want for the next five hours and then come back here for some dinner. Then, it's time to sleep, and tomorrow, we'll get the sacred jewel and everything will be back to normal." Icthalur nodded and quickly left the room. Both Sesshomarus left as well, leaving Ilyo alone with his thoughts.

Once Icthalur left, he quickly exited the castle and flew off. He was going to go have some fun. Unlike Ilyo, Icthalur did not believe that Inuyasha had been lying. He'd had no reason to not be straight with them. So Icthalur was going out to have one last day of fun before the inevitable battle.

Landing on a sidewalk, he saw his destination. It was the same bar that he'd had some fun in the other night. Grinning, he walked into it and sat down at the newly repaired bar. After a couple of beers, Icthalur decided that he would rather sit and reflect than start any fights. But the choice was taken out of his hands.

"Hey, you son of a bitch; I owe you an ass kicking." Icthalur turned and saw the same guy whose beer he had drank the other night, the cause of the fight.

"Well, I guess I'm not going to be getting any thinking done here." With that, he threw a punch at the guy, catching him beneath the chin and sending him flying across the room. Icthalur leaped after the fallen man with a huge grin on his face.

After the five hours had passed, everyone gathered back at Sesshomaru's castle for dinner. Kagome had still not awoken. Everyone ate and had fun; they told jokes and stories. But then it ended and talk turned serious. For some reason, the topic of conversation returned to Inuyasha's last words. Everyone started debating on who remained in the world that could be the one Inuyasha had spoken of.

Ilyo tried to put a stop to the conversation. "I've already told you guys, Inuyasha was bluffing. There is not any demon remaining in this era that could be as powerful Inuyasha said."

However, Icthalur was struck by a sudden, horrible thought. "You're wrong. There are still four demons remaining in this era who wield far greater power than Inuyasha ever did."

Ilyo looked like he was about to say something, but before he could, Kagome entered the room. She opened her mouth to speak, but then she turned to Ilyo. Her eyes widened in horror and she let out a horrified scream. "Your aura, it's turned black!"

Ilyo looked down at himself. Suddenly, horrible agony ripped through his body once again and he fell to the floor. Kagome rushed to him, but before she reached him, he had already started to climb back to his feet. When he looked at her, she jumped backwards in horror. His golden eyes had turned pitch black.

Ilyo looked at everyone for a minute and then laughed cruelly. "I'll be seeing you all again very soon." With that, Ilyo simply faded away, leaving nothing behind but four very shocked demons.

Icthalur was the first to speak. "Well, now we know who Inuyasha was talking about. But there is still one question. How did this happen?"

The answer would have been obvious if anybody would have seen the sacred jewel when it was forced into Ilyo's body. It had been pitch black.