Ch. 6 As Death Comes Life; As Life Comes Sacrifice

Inuyasha glanced up from the graves of the two wolves.
Kagome was crouched, grief-stricken, beside Koga. Silent tears stained her pretty face and glistened in her eyes. Inuyasha couldn't understand why she cried for the wolf demon…not exactly, anyways…but he let her grieve.
Miroku and Sango hovered not far away from Kagome. Shippo was huddled on Miroku's shoulder, thinking.
Of course, he scented Renee and Andrea all over the place…but what could he do? Going after them himself would be dangerous….no, it would be suicide…but if and when the others found out, he couldn't just stop them…they would ask why he hadn't told sooner. Such dilemma!

" Shippo." Sango spoke quietly. " You look as if you ingested miasma. Is something wrong?"
" Just…sad about Koga." Shippo lied quickly, guiltily, Sango seemed about to ask more, when Kagome let out a deafening sound, half-wail, half-shriek, and scrambled back. Inuyasha reached her side in a moment, the others a few paces behind him.

" Look at that…" Kagome whispered hoarsely. Inuyasha stared at Koga…or what had been Koga. Now, it was just a pile of…nothing. Broken down by the miasma from his killer's sword.
" Oh…" Was all Sango could squeak out. Miroku was struck dumb, as was Inuyasha, though he fisted his hand in anger. Shippo stared, horror struck. A single word broke from his lips, half heartbroken sob, half angry snarl.
" Why?" He whispered. " Why?"

Renee's POV
Andrea and I slipped through the dusky light, possessed eyes flicking around the undergrowth warily. Our swords were raised at ready. Takai felt strong in my grip, and waning sunlight glinted on Kurushimi's jagged, teeth-studded edges. Feeling all the more confidant for the strength of our blades, I upped the pace, and Andrea moved swiftly to match my movements. Stride by wary stride we approached a cove of trees, from whence a soft singing could be heard.

" That is the human child, Rin." I whispered, my haunted eyes blinking slowly. The music stirred something inside me. Andrea flinched, and then we padded on. Pushing into the grove of trees, I raised my sword and let out a faint snarl.

Sesshomaru was nowhere in sight. Rin and Sesshomaru's vassal, Jaken, were seated near a slumbering dragon demon. Rin lifted her head and let out a faint scream. Andrea darted forward, striking Rin across the forehead and silencing her. Rin collapsed, unconscious, as Andrea and I loomed over Jaken.

" Surrender yourselves, mortal girls!" Jaken squealed. I reached out, grabbed the staff he was carrying, and cast it aside with a worldly smirk. Jaken shrank back, looking terrified.

" This is the end of the line for you, toad." Andrea muttered. Grabbing Jaken by his neck, she began to gut him. I held his mouth shut, so that his tortured screams were silenced as he bled to death in our hands.
Once we had peeled loose all of his insides, Andrea and I cast him aside, and reached to do the same to Rin. I raised my sword, ready to strike.

" The hell do you think you're doing!" A voice snarled into my ear. For a heartbeat, I suspected it was Sesshomaru, until something jerked me flat on my back. Andrea growled deep in her throat as something pressed over my shoulders, pinning me down.

" Don't kill her!" Kohaku snarled inches from my face. Twisting, I wriggled free and rose to my feet. He rose beside me, staring lividly from Andrea to me and back again. I faced him defiantly.

" Lord Naraku…our father…ordered us to kill the girl and use her body as bait to lure Sesshomaru to the castle!" I snapped at him. Andrea backed me up with, " We obey our father, not you, you pitiful scrap of flesh!"
Kohaku looked slightly hurt, for a moment, before he shrugged.

" Whatever. I don't control you, but I'll tell you this…Inuyasha and Sesshomaru are both hunting you."
Then he was gone.

" In-Inuyasha?" I stared at the ground, wondering why that name meant something to me. Andrea looked just as ponderous, before she spoke decisively, " We'll let the girl live, and take her back to the castle with us."

" Agreed." I nodded, slung Rin over my shoulder, and was moving off when Andrea called, "What about the dragon?"

I turned back.
" Kill him." I said indifferently. As I walked away, I heard Andrea' blade slice into thick flesh, and when she joined me, all traces of the humanity in her had gone, as they had from me. Our bloodlust and battlespirit restored, we dashed on, not knowing what awaited us at the castle.

Kagome, crouched on Inuyasha's back, felt him shudder to a stop. The demonic aura here was so strong it nearly choked her, and she was just a human. Inuyasha held one arm across his nose, trying to block the stench as he stared at Naraku's castle, eyes narrowed venomously.

" What's happening here?" Came a deadly voice from somewhere to their left, and Kagome looked over to see Hakudoushi approaching them with swift, limping steps. She wondered why he was limping, and then glared, hoping whatever it was, was really hurting him.

" Invaders?" Hakudoushi sounded mildly interested, though his eyes flashed with excitement, " Inuyasha, and his puny friends?"

" Hakudoushi, is it?" Inuyasha snarled, drawing his sword. It seemed he hadn't forgotten what Hakudoushi had nearly done to Kagome long ago, when he still bore the appearance of an infant.

" Indeed. I'm…pleased you remember me. And…well, well. Monk and Demon Slayer. I see you've still managed to cling to life."

" That's something you will find much harder to do than expected!" Miroku threatened. Hakudoushi let a Cheshire-cat grin slide over his lips.

" But of course." he lifted one hand and flicked his wrist. At once, a tide of demons surged from the castle, every shape, size, and color imaginable. Heading them was Kagura, the Wind Sorceress, flanked by Kanna.
Shippo leaped to attention, beginning to gather the power of his Fox magic into his hands. Kagome stood beside him, notching an arrow into her bow; Sango moved until her shoulder touched Miroku's, and both raised their weapons; Inuyasha held Tetsusaiga and gave Hakudoushi a fierce glare as the Youkai boy fell back to join his sisters.

Then, over a rise in the ground appeared Kohaku. He froze, eyes distending in shock. His eyes locked with Sango's and the silent look that passed between them said it all; Kohaku did not want to fight them.
" Well, Hakudoushi, what have you dragged in this time?"

Shippo and Kagome both stiffened, and glanced back at the same time. Shippo fought back a howl of misery.

Far off, in the forest where he had retreated to ponder quietly, Sesshomaru heard the muffled, quickly deadened, scream of the human child Rin. His war ruff rippled in the cold, foreboding breeze as Sesshomaru bounded back toward the temporary resting spot. If Jaken had let anything happen to Rin…

The demon Lord skidded to a halt, head raised, chest heaving.
The reek of Jaken and Ah-Un's blood coated the trees and grass in a horrid, foul-smelling stink. He found the Kappa and the dragon demon lying near each other, their bodies roughly thrown against a tree stump, cast aside like playthings no one wants. Scattered here and there, as though they were ghost beings leaving barely a trace of scent, was the stench of Naraku's followers, near Jaken's gutted body and Ah-Un's limp form.
Sesshomaru studied the carcasses, drawing in deep, but shallow, breaths, struggling with an emotion he had never known before.
Fear.

Though Rin's body was missing form the pile, and her scent was not there, he knew she was at Naraku's castle. And what would he do with her? Would he skin her? Slowly torture her? Would he…would he dare…
In a flash of pure, uncharacteristic panic, Sesshomaru understood how Inuyasha felt each time his friends…or his love, Kagome…were injured or kidnapped. He felt…empty. Like Naraku's follower or followers had wrenched a chunk of his soul away and were slowly raking clawed hands over it, making him feel a deep, blatant hate.

As if on winged feet the Youkai sped after the scent of Naraku's followers…it was not easy to follow, for it seemed they drifted in the likeness of shadows, here darting, here dodging, here crawling, here climbing.
As the demon darted on, following the fate scents, he found himself hissing words, words he would never have spoken were he not alone.

" Hang on Rin. I am coming for you. Please, be safe…"

(Renee's POV)
Andrea and I had appeared over the crest of a hill behind them. Rin lay in a crumbled heap at our feet. Sesshomaru was nowhere in sight, but the stink of blood was all around us…Jaken's blood, and Ah-Un's blood.
" Oh my gosh." Kagome breathed. Andrea and I moved with lightning speed to Hakudoushi's side, and Kagome whispered into Inuyasha's ear. " Those are my friends from the states! Look! Naraku implanted jewel shards in their necks!"

" Damn him." Inuyasha seethed.

" Do we have a problem, brother?" Andrea sneered to Hakudoushi.

" Why, yes, in fact. These six are intruding. Kill them now."

" Our pleasure." I responded, raising my sword deftly.

" Oh, and do try not to injure yourselves, as you injured me in training!" Hakudoushi seethed, indicating his ankle.

' So that's why he was limping.' Kagome thought, as Hakudoushi added, " Only, inflict that pain upon them, the foe." I rolled my eyes at his hint of doubt in me…in Andrea and I, as a team… lifting my sword higher, turned to face my enemies, and fixed my malignant gaze on the nearest one…Kagome.

" Oh no…" Kagome whispered, looking over her friends…they were all tired, all weak. Sango was struggling under the weight of her Hiraikotsu. Miroku was panting heavily, and a stitch was growing in Kagome's own side.

" Well? Are you gonna fight back, or what?" Andrea challenged. I let a sneer grow on my face to match Andrea's. Kagome backed, unwilling to hurt us.

Shippo suddenly broke rank and faced us.

" The hell are you doing, Shippo?" Inuyasha snarled, but the kitsune wasn't listening. He stared at Andrea and I.
" Stop! Don't do this, guys, you're not murderers!"

" Oh, yes they are." Came Naraku's sleek voice. Inuyasha tightened his grasp on Tetsusaiga's handle, his heart beating faster as Naraku went on.

" Come here, my daughters."

Andrea and I fell back to his side, and Shippo stared after them.

" No…" He whispered.

" Dammit." Kohaku shouted. " I've had about enough of this."

Sango screamed out loud as her brother flung himself on top of Andrea and began to wrestle with her, not hurting her, and Shippo pounced on me. The whole clearing exploded into battle. Kagome and Hakudoushi tussled at the base of a tree. Sango and Miroku took on Kagura and Kanna. Inuyasha distracted Naraku with a series of futile blows.

A cloud of smoke suddenly filled the air, choking them all.

" What the hell?" Inuyasha coughed.

" Inuyasha!" Miroku shouted. Inuyasha leaped back, bringing his sword up to meet Sesshomaru's as the Youkai swung a blow, not at him, but at me. Throwing his brother sideways, Inuyasha shouted, " She's not your enemy!"

The two brothers battled shoulder-to-shoulder against Naraku, driving him back.
Then…

" Kohaku! No!" Sango shrieked. Inuyasha glanced around to see the boy freeze. The glitter of a jewel shard on the grass showed he had been deprived of his life source by Andrea, who had nicked it free.

" DAMN THIS!" Inuyasha shoved Naraku aside, turned to the tide of demons that hovered nearby, waiting to attack. Inuyasha dropped and grabbed Kohaku's body as he hit the ground.

Sango joined them then, leaving Miroku to fight Kagura and Kanna.

" No…" Sango whispered, running one hand through Kohaku's bedraggled hair, tears forming in her eyes, " he can't…he can't be dead…he can't be!"

" Sango!" Miroku shouted. Sango looked blankly at him.

" We have to keep fighting." Inuyasha ordered her, springing up and taking over Kohaku's fight with Andrea.
Shippo and I stalked around each other, with Kirara nearby, waiting to spring. Shippo stared at me…the girl he had befriended.

" Why, Renee? Why? You were a nice girl! What happened?" The kitsune whispered. I stared at him.

" I'm Otome. Who are you babbling to?" I snapped. Shippo stared broken-heartedly at her.

" H-How? Why? Renee, please…" To his shock, and mine as well, my expression changed.

" I-I can't, Shippo. I try, and I can't…"

" Yes, you can! You have to! You can't live if you don't!" A small glimmer of hope shone in Shippo's eyes, then quickly dimmed with sorrow and disappointment
The human look had faded from my eyes, and I raised my sword, digging it into Shippo's shoulder and sending him to his knees. At the same moment, Kagome screamed,
" INUYASHA!"

Shippo looked over to see Andrea had her blade on Inuyasha's throat. The hanyou was down on his knees, the Tetsusaiga inches from his searching fingers. Andrea had the blade lengthwise across the heaving throat of her victim…and she was about to kill him.

And the same instant, Shippo felt a pulsation ripple through his body. He thought of lightning, and mused, briefly, that being struck by such must be what he was feeling like now. Another pounding pulse, and his head drooped. His gaze fixed on his shoulder, where the blade had bit into the tender flesh. He blanched.
The skin there was turning the same ghastly color and texture as ash. At once, he thought of gangrene. Kagome had told him of the lack of blood flow that turned one's skin…literally…to ash.
What…how could that…be?
Then…

" Oh, no! Shippo!" Kagome had turned frightened eyes on him, and everything seemed frozen, except for Kagome's utterly terrified eyes, blinking quickly, as she screamed, " No! Shippo! It…It's Miasma!"

A/N
WindScar: Let's hope Shippo doesn't die again! Inu and Sesshy are getting along...for now. What's with Sesshomaru's emotions? what will happen to Rin, and will Kohaku be dead for good? More than that...will andrea kill Inuyasha? o.O Review and then find out!