Chapter 18: The First Wave

She was unable to sleep that night when they went to bed. The anxiety was a little too high for her liking. Her chest felt heavy and her head just had too many scenarios of what was about to occur. She was worried about the plan that they had created. So many things could go wrong.

Sesshomaru did not want to wait and wanted the plan to be set in motion the following day. After much deliberation, because they needed to make sure they were on the same page . By the time their meeting was over, she had an overwhelming headache. He had Rin show everyone where they would stay and somehow, her and Laxus were able to have privacy, much to Inuyasha's displeasure.

She finished dressing into her pajamas as Laxus was curiously walking around the bedroom, at times peeking out the window to see any signs of threats. There were too many smells and it was making him uneasy. He could still hear the murmuring from the humans and demons outside of the window. He paid attention to all of them. So many injured, so many dead, so many with no hope. This was worse than what he thought. He's seen battle, but this was a war.

To think one monster was at fault for everything.

What also didn't help was that he could practically taste her anxiety, but he didn't want to be pestering her with questions. He knew why she felt that way. She was worried about all of them, about him. She didn't even want him coming in the first place. He knew this wasn't what she wanted when she wanted to come home. She was thrown into a bloody battlefield.

He heard her sighing heavily, and that's when he stepped away from the window and decided to lay down. Without a word, he made her lay down next to him and wrapped his arms around her. His nose was at the crook of her neck, and as he inhaled taking in her sweet scent, he felt her shivering.

"It's going to be fine."

His voice was low as he murmured it against her ear. She placed her hand on his arm and squeezed it.

"I know…" she softly replied.

He kissed her temple, "Try to get some sleep. We have to be up in a few hours."

She swallowed heavily. She then started to move, so she would now be facing him. She placed a hand on his cheek and pleadingly looked in his gray eyes.

"Promise me you'll be careful and watch out for each other."

His gaze softened by her pleading tone, "I promise."

She needed to keep positive that everything was going to be okay.

Because if she didn't, who would?

They stayed quiet until he spoke again, "So… that was Koga huh?"

She groaned, "Laxus-"

"Any other demons I should know about? I mean at least he knew his place. Sesshomaru has a stick so far up his ass I doubt-"

She hit him right on the ribs, "Stop!"

He smirked as he knew he got her distracted, at least for a moment.

"It got you to smile a bit."

She stopped as it was true. She was smiling at his ridiculous comment. She raised herself up, using her elbows to support herself as she wanted to look at him directly. He used his hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

She looked deeply in his eyes as she whispered, "You shouldn't be here."

"You were not supposed to be in Magnolia either."

"I'm scared."

"I told you you don't have to be. We are all going to be fine."

She shook her head. She moved so she was now sitting hugging her knees.

"No. Right now, this fear, it has nothing to do with Naraku. I'm scared of this, of us. I just met you a few months ago and just the idea of something happening to you makes me scared! Absolutely terrified! This is ridiculous!"

She was stopped as he sat up and kissed her profusely. She found herself melting at his touch, at the feelings he was passing on to her with that kiss.

They didn't speak for the rest of the night. He held her until she fell asleep. He couldn't however. He won't say it outloud, but he was just as scared as she was. This woman, this silly powerful priestess, held his head and mind and body all in one. He jumped to be into another universe to help her, knowing the risk of not going back home.

But he was here and he was ready to lay everything down on the line for her. He hugged her tightly for the rest of the night.

The following morning, murmurs were everywhere as the remaining soldiers got ready for battle.

Levy was shifting nervously as she saw Gajeel coming out of the courtyard, Lily already transformed. She went up to him, glad to see a familiar face.

"How are you feeling?"

He smirked at her, "I'm ready to do some fighting."

"He's been excited since he woke up," Lily cut in.

"He won't be too excited when he's missing an arm when something gets a bite out of it."

The three of them turned to see a young woman with bright red hair up in a ponytail making her way over. Her white wolf fur draped her shoulders and had a similar skirt. Her armor was red and blue, and her green eyes were shining brightly.

She looked at Levy first and extended a hand, "Didn't get a chance to meet y'all last night. I was helping a mortal during labor. I'm Ayame."

Levy grabbed her hand and shook it, "I'm Levy. This is Gajeel and Lily."

Ayame gave them a once over and nodded, "Koga told me about y'all. Brave for you to come here."

"Well, Kagome is also part of our guild," Lily said, "We were not going to let her fight this alone."

Ayame smiled, "She has that effect on everyone. Say, where is she?"

Gajeel started looking around until he spotted her, "She's right next to that blonde idiot over there."

Ayame followed his gaze, and sure enough, she saw her. She was kneeling in front of two injured mortal soldiers, talking to them and smiling. She saw her standing up, turning to the tall man behind her who had his arms crossed. She noticed the way her eyes were shining as she looked at him, the way she was smiling, the way she was glowing.

Oh yeah, Kagome was in love.

She noticed how the man was looking at her, his expression unreadable as she was saying something to him. She saw the way he rolled his eyes at whatever she said, but saw him grin at her.

In her opinion, it was about time for her to be happy.

Before she could walk over, silence fell on the make up camp as Sesshomaru stepped out of his castle, with Inuyasha right behind him with his arms crossed.

Wendy got up, as she was checking on the fox demon that she helped heal his arm the night before. Or whatever was left of it. He got up as well as his eyes hardened.

"You're going out there?" he asked her quietly as he saw the ones that could still fight get ready.

Wendy looked up at him. Akira was his name and he was only a few years older than her.

"Yes. That's why we are here."

Carla was in Wendy's arms and was looking at Sesshomaru, "Is he always so…"

"Stoic? Serious?" Miroku chimed in as he heard the exceed's comment, "He's always like that ever since I could remember."

Sesshomaru looked at everyone as the wind howled softly. There were no rays of sunshine. The sky was covered in clouds, something that it had been for months. All eyes were on their leader, the only form of authority they had left.

"Today is a different day. Today is a day where the rage of those we have lost and what we've lost will fuel us for the revenge we seek. Use your anger in the battlefield, look out for one another. We do not know how strong he is now as he's only missing one shard. We will succeed."

Laxus placed his hands in his pockets as he leaned to whisper in Kagome's ear, "He can sure make a speech."

"I've never heard him speak without insulting anyone before in one sentence."

Sesshomaru looked right where she was and she let out a soft sound as she had been caught.

They made their way over as everyone else from the group was. Kagome caught Ayame's eyes, so the priestess quickly rushed and hugged her tightly. At one point Ayame hated her, but not anymore. It was obvious by the way the other woman was hugging her.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "We can do the reunion another time. We got wind that his troops were already moving towards us. We need to hurry."

Sesshomaru looked at Ayame, "Is the evacuation plan set?"

Sango was confused, "Evacuation? What do you mean?"

"We need to be prepared for anything," the demon lord whispered harshly, "If something goes wrong, we need to get as many of them out of here."

"And go where?" Sango challenged, "This is their home now, this is their fortress. If this falls- you can guarantee the death of everyone here."

"We just need to take all precautions," Ayame said, "I've been working on a tunnel. If anything goes wrong, we can leave."

"There's too many injured," Carla chimed in, "What about them? Expect them to leave?"

"We will-"

"Enough!"

All of them turned to look at Laxus that was staring harshly at Sesshomaru, "We haven't even stepped foot in battle yet. No one will be leaving."

Sesshomaru held his gaze without a problem. The tension could be cut with a knife. Kagome placed a hand on Laxus' upper arm, hoping it would calm him down.

"Well I'm ready to kill the bastard so I want to leave already."

And with that, Inuyasha stormed towards the exit, That seemed to do it as the giant double doors started to open, signaling them to head out.

Kagome's heart started to beat faster, because she didn't want them to face the danger first thing. She didn't want him putting himself in danger like this.

Gajeel went up to Levy who was nervously looking out the doors, "Keep an eye on her. You have that spell memorized that Freed showed you?"

She looked up at him, "Who do you think you're talking to? I can even say it in my sleep."

He grinned, that crooked stupid grin that could make her legs feel like jello, "Gajeel…"

And he noticed how she was looking at him. With those big doey brown eyes. He took in the faded freckles in her face, the way her blue hair was framing her face.

"Wouldn't expect less. Be safe, keep your eyes open."

Levy swallowed the lump in her throat as he started to walk away. She desperately wanted to run and hug him, but this was not a goodbye and she was not going to treat it as such.

Sango mounted Kirara after hugging Kagome and Shippo, Miroku right behind her. Inuyasha glanced at her, but didn't say anything as she looked at him. He nodded, but he soon took off.

She then turned to look at him. The black cargo pants, the black boots, the black shirt. She could see his tattoo coming through the opening of his shirt. She took in how his hair grew ever since she met him. Why did his scar look more dangerous now?

"Don't look at me like that."

She didn't realize she was openly staring.

She blinked, "What?"

"Don't look at me like this is the last time you see me. Just be ready for when Lily needs to take you up front."

She swallowed and nodded, "Right."

He didn't want to kiss her, but he at least needed to feel her scent. He grabbed the back of her neck and placed a kiss on top of her head.

And just like that he was off with the others. Her heart felt heavy as the double doors closed again. Now it was just a matter of time.

Koga placed a strong hand on her shoulder, "It's going to be different. You're here and you brought help. Dragons of all things."

She turned her head, "Why are you not with them?"

"Best to have some fighters here just in case."

They shared a look and she nodded. Just knowing those double doors was separating her from them.

Now, to wait.

Gajeel couldn't help the grin that was slipping through his lips. Yeah, the situation was serious, but this was the opportunity to let loose. Back home, they were limited on how much magic to really use.

Let alone kill something.

Now here they were, making their way over to what is the halfway point between the two sides. He could smell them. How many? He wasn't sure. The air had the stench of sulfur and rotten flesh. As they continued, the snarling and growling was increasing on the other side. He cracked his knuckles as the grin on his face finally took over. Laxus rolled his eyes as he glanced at him. He couldn't really blame him however. He was feeling the adrenaline sweeping through his veins already. The sun was barely poking through the horizon, deep colors of violet and orange gracing the sky through the clouds.

Inuyasha was taking the lead, as he had insisted on doing the first wave of attack. With an air of confidence as being able to use Tetsusaiga without killing any of their own, he jumped high in the air.

"Wind Scar!"

The high pitch of the wind as he swung it unleashed the energy wave. The demons that were hit by it didn't stand a chance as they were killed instantly. Inuyasha turned his head, his cocky smirk evident on his face. Murmurs of the small army behind them broke, as some had not even seen the Wind Scar before.

Gajeel snorted and decided to be the first dragon to attack.

He sprinted, his right arm glowing a green aura as it shape shifted forms.

"Iron Dragon's Sword!"

The arm transformed into a jagged long blade and with a swipe, another wave of demons fell. The destruction was great as well, Inuyasha's eyes widening. As his arm retracted back, he flicked it as it was now covered in demon blood. The murmurs were louder now.

"Impressive but we are going to need more than that if we want to get through," Sesshomaru said as he noticed the demons growing angry at the fate of the ones that died.

Gajeel rolled his eyes as he moved his head towards Laxus, "That's your cue."

Laxus didn't turn to look at him as he took a step forward. Slowly, crackles of lightning started flickering around his form. As he took another step, thunder echoed as his body was now covered in lightning. A panther demon next to Gajeel gasped, "What is this…"

Gajeel couldn't help it, but his smirk grew wider just as the lightning around Laxus expanded, "That is a Fairy Tail wizard."

Laxus took a deep breath and then exhaled. Lightning erupted out of his mouth in an incredible size and power. That attack wiped twice the size of what Inuyasha's Wind Scar had done. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at the display, the magnitude of damage the attack had done, while Inuyasha rolled his eyes. The army behind them cheered loudly, new vigor entering in them as Sesshomaru followed with an attack of his own.

The demons lunged forward, having enough of seeing the others die in front of them.

Now to continue pushing through.

Kagome was biting her nails as the anxiety rose as she saw the attacks from a distance on the post. She could see the smoke, but her heart seemed to skip a beat when she saw the lighting.

She kept telling herself it was going to be okay.

"Your mate has an incredible amount of power," Ayame commented with a raised eyebrow as she saw it behind Kagome. The priestess choked, "He's not my mate."

"Yet you reek of him."

Kagome blushed but did not say anything otherwise. She then turned to the ground, to see Wendy, dressed in a blue short kimono with long sleeves, her sandals strapped up her calves to maintain in place. Wendy saw her and waved

Kagome leaned over the rail, "You're going now?"

She nodded, "I doubt any of them are injured, but I want to make sure and start attacking from above."

"We'll be okay," Carla said as she extended her wings. However, before they could make the attempt to leave, a strange smoke started to sweep through the walls. The dog demons that were taking post, were falling dead. Screams were quickly heard. Ayame was barely going to have Kagome come down the ladder when they both noticed a bomb coming their way. Ayame tackled Kagome, both women sent flying from the explosion and landing on top of a hut, destroying it as it crashed under them.

"Kagome!"

"Ayame!"

Kagome was coughing, her muscles groaning as she tried to get up. Her ears were ringing, as part of the explosion they still caught in mid air.

"Ay...Ayame…" she said groaning.

The wolf demon coughed loudly, "I'm fine, you?"

"Same, what the hell was that?"

She couldn't see well because of the smoke, but she could hear shuffling and things being removed from on top of them. She got pulled up, her coughing increasing as she didn't feel the pressure on her chest anymore.

"What happened?" Ayame asked as Koga picked her up.

"I think they're here."

Laxus and Inuyasha turned their heads so fast as soon as they heard the explosion. The screams were faint as they had progressed further in during their own battles. They had just started, what could possibly be going wrong now?

Sesshomaru took notice of Inuyasha's stance, "Do not dare! You cannot leave, they have it handled."

Inuyasha slashed three goblins, "She's going to get herself killed, you know how she is!"

His loud snarl caught Gajeel's ear, "She can take care of herself. She's with everyone else."

Laxus was getting irritated with Inuyasha's lack of faith in Kagome. He took his irritation out on the demons that were so desperately trying to get them. His heavenward halberd killed so many in its path. Sango was wide eyed as she caught her boomerang.

"Sango!" Laxus called out, "They may need you, go back!"

Miroku nodded behind her as he jumped down from Kirara, "Go, he's right."

The demon slayer turned Kirara without hesitation and made her way back over to Sesshomaru's palace.

Miroku found himself near Laxus, "Something is not right. We have not seen the Band of Seven at all."

"Maybe that's what we heard," the other man muttered. Were they being played like fools?

Sesshomaru slashed multiple demons with his sword, "We can't go back. We do, it's a matter of time before all of these pests reach my ground."

Inuyasha spat on the floor and glared at Laxus, "She's going to get herself killed and it's going to be your fault!"

Laxus ignored him, and instead, he continued focusing his frustration on the surrounding demons. They needed to finish them up.

But it was true. Something was off. He was expecting at least the other incarnations to show or the so-called Band of Seven. Just lower class demons from what he could gather. As he kept fighting, he noticed the look Sesshomaru had.

It seemed the stoic demon lord was thinking the same.

The plan wasn't supposed to be like this. They had a plan. A good plan. A specific plan.

How did it become this?

Koga was growling because he knew they were at a great disadvantage. They mainly had women and children. Even with the tunnel, they still had the injured. The other two posts had been bombed as well, making everyone stick together in a tight circle. Levy was looking around, making sure everyone was there.

But Shippo's panic scream made Kagome's blood go cold, "I can't find Rin!"

Ayame cursed, "She was inside, look again!"

"Where the hell is Jaken?!" Koga shouted angrily as he looked around.

"You mean this toad looking thing?"

Kagome froze and slowly turned around.

Right on the steps to the entrance of the palace, Bankotsu stood there, the head of Jaken casually laying on his hand as the blood dripped down to the wooden floor. Wendy felt sick, as she had briefly met the toad the night before thanks to Rin. Akira used his arm, the only good arm he had, and pushed her behind him alongside Carla. The leader of the most feared band of thieves made eye contact with Kagome, then threw the head at them. Lily held his sword in front of him, making sure that Levy was behind him.

"How did you get in?!" Koga snarled. They had been fooled.

"Naraku did not waste time to use his new tricks thanks to the almost completed jewel," he smirked, "Now, the priestess is coming with me."

Kagome pointed her bow and arrow right at him, "And if I don't?"

And a gut wrenching laugh came from the inside of the palace, "Then you can say goodbye to her."

She grew pale as Mukotsu, the oldest member of the band, came out with a limp Rin on his arms. The short ugly man grinned at her, the same grin he gave her that day she was intoxicated, as he ran a hand through the girl's black hair.

Levy saw the way Kagome's arms were shaking, "Kagome, Kagome you can't go."

Bankotsu sneered, "You might as well make this easy for us darling. The entire place is surrounded by explosives that will let out a deadly toxin, killing every single one of you unless you come with us," he paused as he looked back at the unconscious girl and then back at her, "Not a fan of what he does but I don't really like getting in the way of what my friends want."

Carla snapped, "She is a child!"

Bankotsu shrugged, "Up to Kagome. It's either the child or her. I'd prefer it to be her as a kid it is pretty fucking morbid, even for me."

She dropped her bow and arrow, "Alright, enough! If I go with you, will you let her go?"

Bankotsu smirked, "You have my word."

"No!"

"Kagome you can't!"

"Kagome think of Lax-"

"Let her go then and I'll go with you."

It was not supposed to be like this.