Chapter 12: Battle for Yahiko
Blood.
The Battousai wanted her blood.
Raizel laughed as she teleported out of the way of the enraged Kenshin. The youkai pulled a shuriken from her sleeve and threw it at the human. He dodged it as he swung toward her, eyes blazing furious gold. It was then that Raizel noticed the blood on her sleeve. The human had cut her.
It wasn't much, just a minor flesh wound; however it put the youkai on guard. Apparently the stories of the infamous Battousai were true. Raizel narrowed her eyes as she teleported next to the Naraku-possessed Yahiko.
The Battousai anticipated her move as he appeared next to her. But before he could make a move, a clawed hand dug into his chest. The Battousai gritted his teeth in pain as he jumped back. He hissed at the deep male voice that taunted him.
"Who is this human that dares to attack us, woman? I sense a youkai's power within him." Yahiko's lips quirked up in an inhuman smile as his now red eyes glowed dangerously. He flexed his bloodied hand. Raizel turned and went down on one knee.
"Lord Naraku, this man is the reincarnation of Sesshoumaru."
"Sesshoumaru?" Naraku closed Yahiko's eyes as he accessed the boy's memories. "Yes…yes I see. Interesting." The possessed child turned to mock a horrified Inuyasha.
"So, the hanyou still lives I see. Tell me Inuyasha, where is your wench priestess?"
"You son of a…." Inuyasha raised the Tetsusaiga.
"Inuyasha, no!" Shippo yelled. Inuyasha growled as he lowered the weapon. He didn't want to hurt Yahiko. The hanyou stared at the clawed hands on Yahiko. Naraku chuckled malevolently as he studied his hands.
"Spiritual powers and traces of dog youkai blood, tell me Inuyasha, is this whelp a descendant of yours?" Inuyasha growled at him.
"YAHIKO!" Kaoru screamed. She ran toward the boy.
"KAORU! DON'T!" Sanosuke tried to grab her, but the stubborn woman was too intent on saving her student. "KAORU!" Shippo swore as he left his injured children. Sango leaned painfully against her older brother. Namu watched as his father attempted to stop Kaoru and he clenched his fist when Naraku flung a poisonous miasma at her.
Kaoru swayed as she coughed violently from the fumes. An angry Kenshin appeared in front of her as Inuyasha grabbed her wrist and lifted her clear of the poison. Kenshin began turning his sword in a rapid circular arc until he dispelled the deadly fumes. The reverse sword slowly came to a halt and Kenshin held the sword out in front of him.
"Sesshoumaru…even with a reverse sword, will you risk killing this child?" Naraku taunted. The Battousai stared coldly at him. Don't kill Yahiko! The Battousai paused before attacking. No more blood! The part of his mind that belonged to the rurouni insisted yet again. Don't kill Yahiko! Don't kill Yahiko. Don't kill…don't kill…
Naraku watched in interest as the human's eyes flickered from yellow to blue and back again. Sesshoumaru's reincarnation pointed his blade at the resurrected hanyou.
"Naraku," the Battousai's cold voice intoned, "You should have remained dead." He lowered his sword to his midsection and prepared to attack. NO! The swordsman paused as he struggled internally. If you kill Naraku, you'll kill Yahiko! Yahiko…
"I…can't kill Yahiko," he said softly. Kenshin pushed the Ishin Shishi away, but his eyes still glowed yellow. He could only keep the Battousai at bay for so long. Kenshin stared horrified at Yahiko. What could he do? Tenseiga… A faint voice whispered in his mind.
"Milord!" Jaken raced toward Kenshin as he dragged the Tenseiga behind him. "Milord!" Naraku narrowed his eyes as the saw the sword. He turned the boy's body to seek out Raizel. The green-haired youkai nodded at him before teleporting to Jaken.
Jaken gasped and covered his head as Raizel swiped at him with a poisoned shuriken. The little youkai heard a clunk, followed by a female's swearing. He looked up to see Sanosuke standing over him, using the Hiraikotsu as a shield. The shuriken had bounced off the bone weapon. Sano gave a wry grin behind his new weapon. He was really starting to like the Hiraikotsu.
Raizel hissed at Sanosuke and tried to slice through his weapon. All she managed to do was push the human back a few feet, but the Hiraikotsu refused to budge. She bared a set of fangs and was preparing to teleport behind him when a sharp pain dug into her back.
The woman screamed as she felt her back split open. She whirled painfully around to see the kitsune glaring hatefully at her. Her blood dripped down Shippo's blade as he brought it up again.
"That was for my children, witch. The next will be for Yahiko," Shippo growled. He managed to graze her throat with his Kadouki before she teleported away. The kitsune growled after her. When this was over, he would hang her head in his and Souten's main hall at home. If there was even a head by the time he was done with her.
He and Sanosuke eyed each other for a moment before looking down at the Tenseiga in Jaken's hands. It was pulsating brightly. Sano's mouth hung open slightly as he stared at the sword. Jaken started to run toward Kenshin again, but Shippo's hand caught him and held him up.
"Shippo! I have to…"
"Get the Tenseiga to Kenshin, I know."
"Then why…"
"Because I need you to protect my children." Jaken looked up at the kitsune's green eyes. They were burning with a hatred that he had never seen in Shippo before. The smaller youkai nodded his head in assent. Shippo put him down and reached for the sword.
"Sano and I will get the Tenseiga to Kenshin."
Jaken watched Shippo and Sanosuke race toward Kenshin with the sword. He sighed wearily as he carried his staff over to the kitsune's children. Jaken stood in front of them at the ready. He wasn't going to let any more harm come to them.
Meanwhile, Inuyasha and Kaoru had joined Kenshin again. The hanyou had intended to leave Kaoru out of danger, but the stubborn woman had twisted his ear and told him no. She had the same strong spirit that Sango and his Kagome had possessed. Inuyasha admired that.
Yahiko seemed to swim in a sea of foggy red. He heard faint voices, but they were muted and incoherent. The boy tried to call out for Kenshin, but he had no voice. In a panic, he yelled for Kaoru, Sanosuke, and Megumi. Hot, suffocating air seemed to press against him and the boy screamed wordlessly for Kenshin again. He was answered by a reverberating, deep laugh.
"Stay silent boy, you are no more than a ghost now." No! Yahiko tried to yell at the voice, but he seemed to sink deeper into the red sea. The boy tried to think, but his mind was shutting down. He floated for what seemed to be an eternity until another voice jolted him.
"Don't give up Yahiko!"
Who? Who are you? Yahiko tried to ask with his silent voice. Where am I? Where's Kenshin? And Kaoru…
"Wake up Yahiko, don't let Naraku beat you!"
Naraku…
"Wake up Yahiko!"
A very, very faint image of a young monk materialized in front of Yahiko. He held out a hand to the boy and smiled with encouragement.
You have the blood of Inuyasha and Kagome, as well as mine and Sango's, flowing inside you. Be strong Yahiko!
Be strong…
"WAKE UP YAHIKO!"
Inuyasha watched in amazement as Naraku suddenly yelled in outrage. His youkai power had suddenly dropped as Yahiko's spiritual power exploded. Yahiko's body actually levitated as various energies battled inside him.
Naraku tightened the boy's right hand around the Toukijin and refused to let go. Yahiko managed to briefly regain control of his left hand. The boy slammed it against his right fist in an attempt to make Naraku drop the sword.
Yahiko brought his fist down again and again until Naraku finally regained control of the hand. His right hand dripped with blood.
"Yahiko! Don't give up Yahiko!"
"I…won't…" Yahiko forced out. "I…am the son of a samurai…I am a student of the Kamiya Kasshin…." He lost his voice as Naraku regained control.
"YAHIKO!"
The dead monk reached out to him. The boy didn't have the necessary training to repel such a strong possession. He reached an invisible hand out to Yahiko's body and Naraku recoiled from his touch.
Naraku whirled on the human spirit. His soul had sensed the dead monk. He swiped the Toukijin at the human soul.
"Stop interfering Monk!" The youkai possessed blade passed through the monk's invisible form.
Inuyasha blinked in surprise as Naraku swiped at the empty air. Monk? The hanyou tightened the grip on the Tetsusaiga and cursed silently. He couldn't use his sword without killing the boy.
"KENSHIN!" Kenshin, Kaoru, and Inuyasha turned to see Shippo and Sanosuke racing towards them. Kenshin's eyes settled on the glowing sword in the kitsune's hand. Tenseiga…
Raizel lunged at the two men. However, her injuries slowed her down and she was unable to avoid the Hiraikotsu as Sanosuke swung it at her. She spat out blood as the kitsune paused and started to draw his sword. Sanosuke shoved him toward Kenshin.
"What the hell are you doing fox?" Sano yelled. "Get the sword to Kenshin! You can kill the wench later!" Shippo growled as he complied.
"Kenshin! Head's up!" Shippo shouted as he prepared to throw the Tenseiga to him.
Naraku growled as he swung the Toukijin at the kitsune. A blast of energy ripped from the sword as it raced toward him. The kitsune jumped into the air and transformed into the shape of a silver-feathered hawk. He sped toward Kenshin with the Tenseiga in his talons.
Kenshin felt the weight of the sword as it fell into his hands.
Tenseiga…
Kenshin's right hand dropped the reverse sword as he enclosed it around the hilt of the Tenseiga. His left hand gripped the sheath as he pulled it away from the sword. The sword glowed brightly as the human brought it out in front of him.
Naraku hissed as he swung the Toukijin at Kenshin. His attack was repelled by the Tenseiga. The resurrected hanyou recoiled again as he felt invisible fingers dig into his side. That damn monk was interfering again.
"MONK!" Naraku roared as he tried to attack the soul again. Miroku laughed at him.
"SHUT UP!" The possessed Yahiko yelled again. The monk continued to laugh. Kenshin stared in amazement. Now that he held the Tenseiga, he was able to see the faint figure of the dead monk.
"Who's he yelling at?" Inuyasha muttered.
"A…monk…" Kenshin stuttered in answer. The hanyou's eyes widened into giant golden orbs as he stared at the red-haired human. Miroku yelled at Kenshin.
"Kenshin! Use the Tenseiga! NOW!"
Kenshin leapt up and swung the Tenseiga down in an arc. Blue energy gushed out from the sword like the raging tides of the sea.
The Toukijin fell from Yahiko's hands. The youkai aura faded from the boy as the claws shrunk from his hands. Black eyes regarded Kenshin for a moment as the boy whispered.
"Kenshin."
Then Yahiko fainted.
Kenshin wished that had been the end of it, but it wasn't. The Tenseiga was a sword of life, not a sword of death. The Toukijin had been made from one of Naraku's incarnations. Naraku's incarnations had been made from his own flesh.
The Tenseiga had brought the Toukijin back to life and it was still possessed with Naraku's soul. The Toukijin turned into back into the fang it had been made from. The fang seemed to sit there for a long moment before it softened and turned into a mass of flesh. It started to move along the ground toward the injured Raizel.
"Oh no you don't!" Inuyasha yelled. He swung the Tetsusaiga at it, but Raizel managed to teleport herself to Naraku. She wrapped her hands around him and teleported away. The hanyou lowered his sword and turned toward the unconscious boy.
"How's the kid?" he asked. Kaoru and Kenshin were kneeling next to Yahiko.
"He's alive," Kaoru answered. A tear slipped from her eye. Kenshin looked around him. The monk was no where to be seen. The swordsman started to resheath his sword as Shippo approached.
"Where's Sano?" Kenshin asked. Shippo paused as his eyes widened. He and the others whirled around to find him. The kitsune growled softly as he remembered the attack Naraku had thrown at him. He had avoided it, but Sanosuke had been in its path too.
"Sanosuke!" Shippo shouted. They heard Sanosuke answer weakly.
"Calm down you stupid fox, I'm alive." Sanosuke leaned heavily on the Hiraikotsu. He'd used the weapon at the last second to protect himself from the blast. He had survived, but not without any injuries. His white clothes were soaked with blood.
"SANO!" Kenshin yelled. He ran to his friend. Sano gave him an impish grin as he fell to a knee. He grunted with pain then. He could feel that some of his ribs had been broken. Sanosuke held up a weak hand to his worried friend.
"It's not as bad as it looks Kenshin."
Kenshin stared at him before pulling the Tenseiga back out of its sheath. He swung the blade at Sanosuke and healed his wounds. A tired Sano grinned wryly at his friend.
"Neat trick," Sano yawned, "But I think I'll take a nap now." He closed his eyes as he leaned against the Hiraikotsu. Kenshin gave a sigh of relief as he sat down next to the sleeping Sanosuke. Kaoru walked up to him, followed by Inuyasha. The hanyou gently cradled Yahiko in his arms. Kaoru stared down at Sanosuke.
"You bum," she murmured, but she said it with a fond smile. She and Kenshin exchanged relieved smiles before she surveyed her dojo.
"My dojo's a wreck…" she moaned softly. Inuyasha's ear twitched as he headed into the house, which had miraculously survived.
"We'll fix it, don't worry Kaoru," Inuyasha reassured her. Shippo headed into the house with Sango under one arm and Namu hung over his shoulder. Kenshin gave a tired sigh as he stood up and dragged Sanosuke into the house with Kaoru and Jaken's help.
He wondered where the monk had gone.
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"Master? Are you all right?" Raizel stared at the flesh in her hands. No response.
"Master?" She asked again.
Naraku suddenly lunged forward and forced himself into her mouth. The female youkai's body stiffened as Naraku absorbed himself into her body. The skin on her back reknit and healed itself as the image of a spider formed across it. She sat silently for a long time before she began to chuckle with mirth.
Naraku examined his new body with satisfaction.
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Next time on Chapter 13: The Lecherous Monk Returns