Pairings: Inu/Kag Mir/San Sess/Rin
A/N: …sorry for not updating, I mean, I just had surgery and all, and I just got done with all the absent work I had to do, as well as come up with an ending for this chapter, which didn't come to me until about now. I actually planned on doing something a tad different from what I did for the challenges in this chapter, but oh well, it works for now.
THIS IS LONGER CHAPTER! TWENTY-FOUR PAGES LONG! I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT:D
DarkWolfYoukai-and-Blood Demon: Wow, you are really good at guessing! Yes, that will happen in this chapter, as I was going to do it anyways. Also, we have the same problem, so that's okay.
Anoraspellsong: …People ask me this a lot, and the answer is this: my story, my rules. Don't like it? Sue me.
Inuyashaandkagomekiss: YES THIS IS INU/KAG! I WRITE THAT EVERY CHAPTER!
GOAL: 400+ reviews
x.
Chapter 25
x.
Nali flew gracefully above the maze, staring down at the small red dot that was Inuyasha. He was progressing much faster than she had expected, now over halfway through the maze, and still going on the right path.
'A clever one, he is,' she thought, thinking of his strategy. 'Though bad for the sword…' she added. 'He'll need that sharpened afterwards…'
Soaring closer to the human, she analyzed the few demons that were left along the right pathway, and her eyes gleamed.
'This shall be interesting…'
x.
Inuyasha trudged along with more effort than he wished to use, using his sword almost as a crutch, his shoulder sending waves of pain shooting through his body until that was the only thing his entire arm could feel. His chest hurt, making it hard to move well, and his legs felt like they were on fire. In short, he felt like hell, and that pissed him off.
He came to many more intersections, taking the first path that he came to, not caring if it were a dead end or not, and thankfully, didn't come across one. He wasn't sure if that was good or bad, but he kept going, wanting to keep his mind off of his shoulder, and centered upon his sword, and his balance.
For a while, he wondered whether he was even still awake, as he couldn't feel half his body, and that he couldn't see. It felt as if he were drowning in a sea of pain and numbness, but he continued to press onwards. Just one foot in front of the other…
Soon, however, his path intersected that of another demon. This, unfortunately for him, was a wind sorceress, similar to Kagura, who controlled the wind, making his sword useless for long-ranged attacks. And this time, Kagome wasn't with him to shoot her arrows to clear away the dark aura.
The sorceress immediately drew her fan, sensing a weak human to play with, and blew up a tornado. Inuyasha, knowing the winds fairly well after all his time fighting with it, dodged easily, but in return, a jabbing pain shot through his legs. Losing balance, he crashed into the hedge, pain breezed up his shoulder, causing his head to feel a strange fogginess, making him dizzy, not sensing the wind blades that were coming towards him until his ears processed the dangerously close whizzing sounds at the last moment.
Mustering up the last ounces of his strength, Inuyasha balanced himself, and jumped above the blades, satisfied at the sound of cutting hedges that would only grow back thicker than before. Sensing the sorceress in front of him, he tried slashing at her, the sound of ripping clothing reaching him, but no cry of pain. He must have missed.
Kneeling and gasping for breath, the human turned his head to where the flapping cloth of her kimono came from. He heard the fan swish, drawing up a gust of wind that almost blew Inuyasha to God knows where. Instead, he launched forwards, against the breeze, and swung his sword randomly, smirking when he heard the sound of cut paper. The sweet sound of a fan being torn in two. He heard the sorceress gasp and stumble backwards, and he pointed his sword forward, hearing her take a sharp intake of breath as she leaned against the hedge.
"You're a nuisance," he murmured irritably, and with one swift motion, his sword was stained red, some specks flying on his face from a sliced neck as the sorceress crumpled in front of him. Standing straighter, catching his breath, Inuyasha stared blindly down at where the corpse lay, a pool of blood flowing around her body. Slowly, Inuyasha moved around until he found the line he'd been making, shoved his sword into it, and continued along the path he'd been creating.
x.
She stared up at the mass of clouds with eyes that held sorrow. The deep ruby irises reflected the losses she experienced so suddenly. Now, her fate rested within a group of total strangers. All she could do now was trust in them, and keep her kin safe.
A soft, rhythmic, purr-like sound came deep within her throat, and was responded with a small, high-pitched roar. Leaning her neck downwards, she spotted the source of the small squeal. Out of the forest brush, bounding towards her with their small legs, were three little draclings. Two the deepest black, the other an emerald green.
Upon arriving at their destination, all three seemed to collapse next to their mother's feet, out of breath, a hideous red aura glowing around their scales. Leaning down, Nagori nuzzled their snout-like faces, making that soft rumbling noise as she licked their faces lovingly.
All three squealed cutely, one even trying to flap their large, leathery wings to fly. However, the red aura grew brighter, and the black draclings fell on its stomach, out of breath, and too tired to stay standing. Nagori slowly reached down, and bit the young one gently with her mouth, and raised it onto her back, where it could look around freely.
'This black magic makes us suffer,' she thought, nuzzling the black dragon to sleep. 'But we'll make the best of things…at least, until the end…' For lack of a better word, Nagori sighed, and began to give a bath to her rather unwilling children.
x.
Far, far away from where Inuyasha and the others battled, a castle lay heavily guarded. Even with so many warriors, the lord of this castle wasn't someone that one would wage war against. On the contrary, every guard was positioned at one room, which was posted in the center of the castle, built with the added cover of the garden, making it almost undetectable. However, a few people too many already knew it was there, and many of those few didn't come with good intentions at what lay inside.
And explosion was heard, followed by shouts and cries. Gunshots fired, more explosions sounded. Within seconds, numerous corpses surrounded the building, which was surrounded with smoke from a collapsed roof. Nothing could be made out, except for a figure clad in a kimono, holding what looked like a pair of chopsticks.
"Thanks for the gift, too bad I can't stay longer," the figure whispered to herself, a playful smile adorning her blood-red lips. All around her, corpses lay, whether they be guards, lords, women, children, doctors; whoever once dwelled within the castle were no more, making the garden a battleground of blood and death. 'So much for the saying, "a moonlight stroll through the garden clears all thoughts". This place is nothing but flames, now.'
In an explosion of white mist, a section of fire was obliterated, and Koto stepped forward, tossing her blood-stained hair, an air of pride surrounding her. Her other hand was coated with blood that was being washed away by the chilly water coming out of her hand.
"Kagura," she began, her tone bored. "Do you have it?" A nod. "Good. Now, hurry up, would you, dear? Naraku will be waiting; we mustn't stall him." Without waiting for a response, Koto leaped onto the castle roof, and up into the night sky, disappearing in an elegant display of water and mist.
"I hate that woman; the show-off," Kagura mumbled, reaching up to grab a feather from her raven-black hair. Before she touched it, she heard the twinge of a bowstring. Slowly turning her head, the sharp thud of an arrow barely missing her head was heard. She stared ahead, the arrow imbedded within the burning tree next to her, which soon crumpled into ashes from the purifying light. Kagura glared. 'Why does she always have to be so damn interfering?'
Kikyo aimed another arrow straight at Kagura. "Don't move," she ordered in an unsurprisingly cold tone. "Or you'll die."
Kagura smirked, raising her fan. "Don't think I'll be afraid of your measly arrows." She held up the golden sticks. "Or did you forget that if you shoot, you'll destroy these as well?" Kikyo's eyes narrowed. "Your arrows diminish any demonic aura it hits. These items, for example, carry demonic aura from who created them. You hit me, you hit the items, and both will be destroyed." At Kikyo's hesitation to shoot, Kagura's grin widened. "Then what will you do about your plans, eh, Kikyo?"
Suddenly, Kikyo smiled, her eyes losing any sense of hesitation, and causing Kagura to flicker with disappointment and confusion. "You are correct with that one, demon. However, those items also carry a pure aura, from what they were made for. Even if my arrows destroy demonic auras, there is a slight chance that the items will remain intact, via the pure aura that also resides in them."
"Then go ahead and try it!" Kagura shouted, raising her fan, and creating tornadoes. "DANCE OF THE DRAGON!" The tornadoes roared, tearing up the land, and what remained of the castle garden. Kikyo calmly aimed for the heart of the blast, and fired the arrow. Purifying energy surrounded the arrow, and immediately destroyed the demonic winds.
"…So, she escaped." Kikyo glanced around the empty, charred grounds, examining all of the corpses that lay about. Clasping her hands together, she mumbled a small prayer for the dead. "May you find happiness in the netherworld." Feeling disappointed, Kikyo turned around and walked away from the ruins of the castle. 'Where could Naraku be?' she thought as she disappeared from view.
x.
'D…Dammit!' Inuyasha thought irritably, leaping to the side rather sloppily. He rolled onto the rough ground rather harshly, but paid it no mind as he had to jump away again. He'd been walking along the path until he had come to a different part of the maze. From what he could gather, it was a huge clearing, one he somehow didn't see when he was looking at the maze from that ledge before he began. As if to clarify that statement, as soon as he entered, he could feel growling to the side of him. And before he knew it, he was leaping for his life, trying to avoid the flames that licked the ground beneath him. He was facing off against another dragon, this one at least four or five times the size of the last one he fought.
'Agh!' he thought as he was nearly spiked by a roughly scaled tail. 'Reason one why I won't have kids; the wife would kill me if I ever let one die…'
As Inuyasha tried to get his bearings to try something as an offensive move, the dragon beat her wings, which were the size of an average house, causing Inuyasha to blow back into the hedge, the sharp twigs digging deep into his back and shoulder, causing a small yelp to escape him, before he was completely engulfed in a sea of flames. Yet, surprisingly, he didn't feel it very badly. He wondered why…
'…Is this…what it feels like…to die?' he asked himself, his eyes drooping. His vision was spinning violently in a world of blackness, unable to see the red and orange hazards spinning around him. The heat lapped against his skin, clothes, and hair, but couldn't feel anything catching fire. He felt as if his knees would buckle any moment, in fact he encouraged the thought, but his legs stayed as stiff as plywood.
Suddenly, a deep, crimson wind leaped up from Tetsusaiga, surrounding him, and spinning around, evaporating the flames within seconds. His head cleared, and he felt the wind surround his sword, sinking into it. He felt it changing, heard the crackling of flames, and the swirling of wind. His sightless eyes widened, realizing that he no longer wore his fire-rat robe.
'My haori…it fused with my Tetsusaiga…' he thought, amazed at his new sword. Though he couldn't see it physically, in his mind flashed an image of what his sword looked like; sparkling, red flames swirled around the sword, though not once touching the blade, as the silver wind swirled around it as well, both intertwined into each other. 'Does this mean…that I can defeat that thing?'
He walked in the general direction of where the dragon stood, roaring, and preparing to launch another blast of fire. "Hah. Prepare to die," Inuyasha smirked, holding out his emblazoned sword. 'Please work…' When the dragon shot out a ball of fire two times the size of the previous one, the ball now having about a mile-long diameter, Inuyasha swung his sword as hard as he could, praying that whatever happened would be a good thing.
There was an explosion of energy, a roar of pain, and Inuyasha was blown back. He hit the ground hard, skidding for who knows how long. His sword was blown out of his hands along the way. He blinked, and noticed something for the first time; he could see again.
'Does that mean…I made it out?' he thought, his vision blurring. Sleep sounded really good at the moment. 'I can't…' he told himself weakly, 'I have to get out of here…ugh…' Unable to resist the oncoming darkness, Inuyasha's eyes dulled, and he was launched into a world of dreamless sleep.
x.
Nali watched with amazement as she saw what Inuyasha had done. The dragon and human both launched some attack, the dragon being fire, and Inuyasha's being his sword. The fabled Bakuryuuha. However, instead of just wind, there was a strange, pure red fire, sparkling as it hit head-on with the flame ball. Both went swirling in a shining mass of wind and flame, tornadoes sizing up and spilling around the maze, destroying everything in its path, including the hedge. The dragon was incinerated after giving one last, painful cry. Inuyasha was blown far back, out of the maze, his sword falling along the way. Where the maze used to be, nothing remained. This time, the hedge wouldn't grow back. Not ever.
Eyes shining with delight, Nali swooped down and landed softly on the ground. She walked over to where Inuyasha lay, eyes part-way open, the pupils dilated. Though he wasn't dead, he was severely injured. However, she wouldn't send him back to his friends. Not yet…
x.
Kagome could feel a sharp twisting in her chest, over her heart. She held her hand atop it, praying that Inuyasha was safe, and uninjured. She had a bad feeling about the game, and the fact that Inuyasha had been gone for much longer than she had wanted.
'He'll be all right…' she thought, 'He's always okay…he'll make it out of this one, too…'
Blinking back unwanted tears, her eyes widened in surprise as Nali appeared from the vortex. Inuyasha was not with her.
Eyes gleaming, Nali started off by saying, "So, which of you will play next?"
At first, no one answered. Everyone was staring at Nali, clearly noticing the absence of the hanyou that swore that he'd live through whatever task Nali had put him through.
"Where's Inuyasha?" Hari asked, beating Kagome to the opportunity.
"That is unimportant at the moment, you shall all see him after the challenge," Nali replied. "I need another contestant, as well as one who has lost a game." She turned towards Sesshomaru. "That means you."
Kagome stared at Sesshomaru, who, at first, looked slightly surprised, but his expression soon became blank, staring hard in Nali's direction. Gaze drifting downwards, Kagome saw Rin clinging to his pant leg, as if he would disappear forever if she let go. Kagome smiled.
Looking up at her lord, Rin whispered, "Don't go, Lord Sesshomaru." Sesshomaru gave her a downwards glance, his eyes showing an emotion that Rin never saw in her master. Compassion, a look that silently told her not to worry. Nodding ever so slowly, Rin released hold on his leg, allowing her master to walk forward into the vortex. Sniffling, she thought, '…I don't want you acting like you did earlier, my lord. I don't want to see your eyes so fearful towards me…not now, not ever.'
Nali turned towards the last three members to had yet to play a game: Hari, Sango, and Miroku. "Well, which is it?"
All three took a glance at each other. When no one spoke out, Hari sighed and stepped forwards. "I guess I shall," she spoke in a brave, solid tone, yet her eyes betrayed her. They shown with fear, anxiousness, and confusion. Then again, almost everyone felt that way at the moment, though some hid it better than Hari. Nodding her head towards Nali, she stepped through vortex, disappearing into its unknown depths.
Meanwhile, Kouga stared from his seat, far from the group, leaning against the two-headed dragon, Ah-Uhn. 'That serpent…' he thought, watching Hari disappear. '…She's not who she appears to be…there's something about her that seems awkward; dangerous…but what?' Kouga rubbed his arms, feeling goosebumps form on them from trying to figure out what Hari truly was. Was she really what she said she was? Just a serpent who had no talent whatsoever? If that was so, then why was he feeling so alert and fidgety? 'Something's not right here,' was all he thought as he tried to make himself as unnoticeable as possible.
x.
Sesshomaru found himself in a strange dimension, different from the one he was in. It was an uplifted part of land, rising above the ground as high as the tip of the roof on the Western Land's highest tower. And that was pretty high…(think Empire State Building high…O.O) If you fell, it would be a straight fall down to the hard, jagged ground below, where you'd most likely die while your innards blew out of your sensitive skin, spilling blood everywhere, ending your life in the messiest way possible.
'What is this place?' he thought, looking around the land. The surface area covered as much as the maze Inuyasha had been in, but it would still be possible to fall off, for the surrounding land made it harder to see where the edges were (think of the cliffs you see in those barren wasteland-type thingies…they're on a REALLY big one of those rock cliffs….yeah….)
He turned around, and stared with wide eyes. Lying there, covered in blood, was Inuyasha. Rushing over, Sesshomaru turned his brother onto his back. He was human, eyes still open partway, but they were dull, blank, lifeless. However, Sesshomaru could still sense that he was alive, even if just slightly. He pondered on how Inuyasha could survive through this much blood loss, this much pain, and he concluded that it was Nali's powers that kept him alive.
He heard a strange sound, and turned to see Hari appear a couple feet behind him, about ten feet in the air. Surprised at the sudden lack of foundation, Hari let out a loud, serpent-like whine as she fell onto the ground. She moaned, rubbing her back as she sat up, but quickly forgot her pain as she noticed Inuyasha. She ran over, and kneeled down beside him, and gave a questioning look at Sesshomaru. He returned her gaze, but his eyes gave nothing in reply.
Sapphire eyes shining sadly, Hari reached down, brushing her fingers against Inuyasha's pale skin, flinching at how cold he felt. It tore her heart to see him like this, but she couldn't do much about it. Her healing powers took more out of her in her human form, and she needed all of her energy to fight in the challenge with Sesshomaru.
Suddenly, Nali appeared next to them, and Hari immediately withdrew her hand, placing them in her lap as if she were just caught trying to steal a cookie from the jar. Sesshomaru would have smirked at the look on her face, but considering the situation, it wouldn't be very appropriate.
"You two will work together on this challenge," Nali explained. "Your objective is to keep Inuyasha from dying." Both Hari and Sesshomaru snapped their heads up at that notion. "My powers will keep him from dying on his own, but you two will have to defend him from demons that will try and kill him. If he dies, you fail."
Hari glared. "What did you put him through to get him like this in the first place?" she shouted in anguish. "You could have killed him just by that alone!" Sesshomaru sighed softly, but did not join in the protest.
"Whether or not he died in the last challenge shouldn't be of your concern. He agreed to the challenge at the beginning, he knew that he would be risking his own life and mental stability. He chose this path, he should walk it to the end." Nali huffed, for lack of a better term, ending the discussion. "Are you prepared to start?"
Blinking back her anger, Hari nodded. Sesshomaru merely stared, not bothering to do so.
"Very well," Nali said softly. "You may begin." In a wisp of smoke, the dragon vanished, leaving behind nothing of her physical form. Even so, Hari's anger continued to boil inside of her. If Sesshomaru felt the same way, he was better at hiding it, but the possibility that he didn't care made her angrier.
'I hate this…' she thought, her insides boiling, 'I hate her…her sick entertainment joint is killing us all! If she weren't one of the Ten, I'd-'
Hari's thoughts were cut off as she felt a strong hand on her shoulder. Looking over, she saw Sesshomaru, who was giving her a small smile of reassurance. Hari felt her anger bubbling away, leaving her feeling a slight warmth in her chest.
"Don't let her words get to you, or you will lose this game," he explained coolly, yet warmly at the same time. Something squirmed inside of Hari, making her return the smile, wondering why Sesshomaru was being nicer to her than anyone else.
'Or maybe that's just me…' she added as an afterthought, feeling her cheeks tinge pink at the thought. 'Aw, damn, I hate hormones!' Knowing that Sesshomaru would notice her blush, she turned her head away a little bit, before something caught her eye. Reacting quickly, she shot crystals out of her hand, towards the demon, catching it between the eyes, in the neck, and a couple landing in its chest. It screeched, and fell over, twitching every now and then, before becoming motionless.
Sesshomaru smirked, and released his grip on Hari's shoulder. By now, many more demons of all kinds were crowding around, all having their eyes set on having Inuyasha for dinner. Growling, Sesshomaru brandished his energy whip, crackling it against the demons, tearing their sensitive organ tissue to shreds, inevitably ending their wretched lives.
Hari shot more shards at the demons, finally becoming annoyed and slamming her hands on the ground, causing gargantuan crystal shards to shoot from the rock and collapse dozens of demons, who spurted blood out as they fell. Hari wasn't surprised to see the corpses disappear after they hit the ground, dead, as it would interfere with the challenge: demons tripping over corpses, fighters hitting corpses by mistake, others using corpses as shields…the list went on and on.
Sensing more demons coming, Hari backed up a bit, making sure that Inuyasha's unconscious form was within arm's distance from her, in case he needed protection from a demon that, by fluke, managed to make its way through both her and Sesshomaru.
And unfortunately, that is what happened that pushed her to the edge.
x.
"You are Shourai, are you not?"
"…Yes, I am."
"I require an answer to a question; I believe you know it."
"………."
"It's her, isn't it? She's The Key, isn't she?"
"…I don't know who you're talking about."
"Bastard, you lie; you know very well who I'm talking about! Tell me; is she The Key to all of this?" There was a crackling of knuckles, and an eerie silence reigned over the two figures.
A pause.
"…yes, she is…"
"Very good. I thank you for your service, Shourai."
"………."
x.
It felt like hours, but still, Hari didn't give up; neither did Sesshomaru. They had managed to stave off the demons so far, they could continue doing so until they won…
'To be honest, when DID Nali say the game would be over?' Hari asked herself. Her eyes narrowed in realization. 'DAMN HER! At this rate, we may never get outta here, fighting a stupid, neverending battle!'
Behind her, Sesshomaru stayed silent, muttering an occasional curse when the increasing number of intelligent demons took a strike at him, nearly hitting him.
Suddenly, something tackled Hari from behind. She tried to shove whatever it was off of her, but it wrapped around her waist and hands, and merged with the ground, trapping the serpent tightly to the ground. Gasping, she began to struggle with her bondage, only managing to have whatever trapping her to tighten its hold, tying up her legs and trapping them as well, holding down her neck and wrapping more so around her wrists and ankles.
Unable to look behind her to see what Sesshomaru was doing, she was left to her nose and ears to find out what was happening. Her heart almost stopped as she heard a swipe of claws, and the smell of Inuyasha's blood hit her nose.
She began to struggle again, more wildly than ever; however, it was a feeble attempt. She heard Sesshomaru shouting out to her, and calmed down. She focused her powers on whatever was holding her down, and felt mild satisfaction as the thing wrapped around her turned into ice and shattered.
Forgetting everything else at the moment, she rushed over to where Inuyasha lay. He was still unconscious, but now both eyes were closed tightly, his face scrunched up in pain. There was a gaping hole in his chest, over his lung. The blue aura that surrounded him, Nali's magic, was beginning to fade, leaving Inuyasha on the brink of death. If the magic stopped anytime soon, Inuyasha would die.
'Oh, God…' Nali thought, feeling tears coming to her eyes. She could hear the screams of demons behind her, but paid them no notice, drowning out Sesshomaru's commanding voice to concentrate only on the person she had failed. Voices from her past began to erupt around her, enveloping her in a world full of despair.
"You have failed me, Hari…why couldn't you be more like your siblings?"
"I hate you, you failure! Why stay here if no one wants you? You're a waste of space and existence!"
"…Nothing comes out right when you're around, Hari. I'm sorry to say this, but everything you try to do right always ends up with someone getting hurt."
"…get away…get away…MONSTER!"
Tears fell down Hari's cheeks as she tightly enclosed her hands to the sides of her head. She shook herself violently, trying to make the voices leave. Yet they wouldn't fade, they came back stronger and stronger, until her ears began to drum loudly as the words filled her head.
"Nothing I do is right," she whispered to herself, "Everyone I'm around suffers…"
Gripping her head more fiercely, she curled up into a ball, feeling her heart turn ice-cold. Around her, ice began to form, eventually covering herself and Inuyasha in a thick, ice dome, separating them from Sesshomaru and the onslaught of demons.
She looked up, and saw Inuyasha's face twisted in agony. "I didn't want this to happen…" she whispered softly, reaching out to touch Inuyasha's cheek. Before she reached it, however, Inuyasha let out a gasp of pain, and she flinched back. "………would it have been better if I had died all those years ago?" Images flashed through her mind again.
A dagger.
Cut flesh.
Blood.
Her family.
Screams.
Death…
"Because of that, I caused the death of my sister…" she said in a slightly hysterical tone. "Even though I try to make everyone's lives easier, I still mess up and end up killing people…" Tears fell down in floods now, making her vision blurry.
"Should I just give up? Wander around, and be alone for the rest of my life?" she asked herself. "That'd be a good thing, wouldn't it? Yes…it would…"
"You always have a place with us."
Hari gasped as an image of Sesshomaru appeared in her mind.
"No one here thinks you are worthless."
Hari stared at the ground, and began tracing invisible circles in it. "You're wrong, Sesshomaru…I am worthless, no matter what anyone thinks."
Suddenly, an explosion sounded, and Hari looked up to see Sesshomaru himself leaping through a hole in the ice. "Hari, cover it back up with your powers!" he ordered quickly, and Hari, upon instinct, did as she was told. The hole was soon filled with new ice, leaving the demons to hack away at the dome.
Sesshomaru took one glance at Inuyasha, and turned towards Hari. "You can heal him, correct?" Hari nodded weakly, and Sesshomaru blinked in confusion. "Then why aren't you? Are you too weak?"
"…I'll end up making a mistake…" Hari replied softly, half of herself not really there, but dwelling in the misery of her childhood.
Kneeling down, Sesshomaru rested his hand on Hari's shoulder. "You won't make a mistake, Hari," he said, his voice catching Hari's attention quicker than anticipated. She stared at him with wild eyes, as if she were afraid of him. "I know that you are a talented healer, or you wouldn't have been able to save that monk. I've already told you that no one here thinks you are worthless."
"But…"
"Whatever happened to you in the past is over. The past is the past, and it won't effect how you live out your future." Sesshomaru's eyes attained a sad look. "I learned that the hard way. You need to learn, too."
Hari's eyes began to lose their wildness, and regained their calm, collective nature. She sat up straighter, and looked Sesshomaru straight in the eye. She had to be strong, now, no matter how difficult it may be. Sesshomaru was right; she shouldn't worry about the past. But it was harder to let go and move on when you've spent your entire life being controlled by it.
"…Inuyasha is near death; if I heal him, I'll be defenseless, and the barrier will crumble," Hari explained, her voice oddly vacant of any emotion. "You'll need to keep us all safe as I keep him alive."
Sesshomaru nodded, and stood up, brandishing his Tokijin (please note that Sesshomaru still does not have Tenseiga, as Nali has not given it back to him…), and nodding to Hari.
'I'm not going to fail this time,' she thought, placing her hands on top of Inuyasha's chest. 'This time, I'm going to succeed, and do something to help the ones I love, instead of pushing them farther away...'
Concentrating on Inuyasha, Hari felt her energy surge through her body, down her arms, and into Inuyasha. She felt his mind become more active, his breathing improving slightly, and some of his minor wounds healing; but it still wasn't enough. Pushing herself harder, Hari absorbed the energy of the barrier around her, and started pumping it into Inuyasha's body, slowly healing the serious wounds that decorated his body.
She could hear the slashing of Sesshomaru's sword as he tried to keep the demons at bay, but she paid no mind to them. The voices of her past continued to wear down her mind as they yelled and screamed. Still, she bit down, and pushed away all other thoughts, the voices and the fighting becoming a blurry sound, as if she and Inuyasha were miles away.
'Inuyasha, can you hear me?' she asked, wondering if his mind was still active, even if he was nearly dead.
'…Hari…' came the weak response. '…What's going on…?'
Her eyes narrowed in determination, and she replied, 'I'm trying to heal you. Please, just hold on a while longer.'
Suddenly, to Hari's great surprise, Inuyasha's eyes flickered open, the hues the darkest violet. They stared up into Hari's cerulean colored ones, before they drooped farther down, and his head turned towards the black strands of hair that lay scattered around him.
'I'm….still human…?' he asked, voice sounding as if it were fading away.
'…Yes, you are.'
'But….I'm out of the maze….right?'
'…yes…'
Inuyasha allowed himself to smile softly, his eyes drifting closed. 'At least…I lived a little longer after I won………'
Hari felt Inuyasha's life begin to slip through her fingers, and her mind went on red alert; she invoked more power into her healing magic, straining to keep healing Inuyasha, to keep him alive. Tears fell, mixing with sweat, both falling in floods down her cheeks, onto Inuyasha's torn shirt, so dirty that there was almost no white anymore.
'Hari…let me go…' came Inuyasha's quiet voice, echoing in her head like a clock in a silent room.
'No,' she replied fiercely, sharply ending all of her doubts that Inuyasha would die. 'Not as long as I'm here…' She could feel her reserves of energy leaking out of her as if it were water being grasped by careless hands. Shaking her head, she pushed beyond her limits, desperate to keep that flow of life inside Inuyasha.
The agony that she felt was near unbearable, but she couldn't give up. Not now, when they were so close; not when their friends had sacrificed so much to get this far.
'I can't let them down,' she thought, 'Nor can I let myself down.' With a final burst of motivation, she pushed everything she had into Inuyasha, feeling with satisfaction that his life force had become stronger.
And then, she met the sweet call of darkness.
x.
Kagome had been speaking to Sango about what her challenge would be. She and Miroku were the only ones to have not played a game so far, and Kagome wondered how difficult Sango's would be. Being a demon slayer, Nali would surely give her a much harder task, right? Kouga stood off by Ah-Uhn, Jaken constantly berating him with insults and orders. The wolf's expression clearly showed how much he wanted to pummel the toad into the ground, but refrained from doing so just barely. For what purpose, no one knew, but it had to be important for Kouga to act that way.
'I know there's something not right about this…' he thought, jerking his head as a ripping sound tore through the near-silent clouds. A large flash exploded in a single spot, and when it faded away, there stood Sesshomaru, with a very human Inuyasha cradled in his arms. Hari was back in her serpent form, and lay on the ground, her usually sparkling sapphire scales now a pale, dull grayish blue.
Kagome gasped, and rushed over, Sesshomaru laying Inuyasha on the soft clouds, and Kagome setting to work on any injuries he may still have. Almost everyone noticed that Inuyasha no longer wore his fire rat haori, nor did he bear Tetsusaiga. Some began mumbling about what had gone on between the three, and what the challenge was about, but no one dared to ask.
Sango began to help Sesshomaru heal Hari. As this was the first time the slayer had been this close to the demon lord since the challenge, she couldn't help but notice that he no longer wore Tenseiga. Tokijin was still strapped to his waist, but his father's sword was absent from its sheath.
In the meantime, Kagome was wiping the blood and dirt off of Inuyasha's body; she couldn't exactly see any wounds on him, but that didn't mean that they weren't there. Seeing him in this condition worried her greatly, but she was happy that he kept his promise of coming back alive.
"Uhh….Lord Sesshomaru?" Sango asked hesitantly.
Sesshomaru turned, and smiled slightly, though it was almost invisible. "There will be no need for formalities out here, slayer." Sango stared for a moment, before letting out a small giggle.
"All right, but you have to stop calling me 'slayer' and start calling me by my real name. It's Sango, by the way." Sesshomaru nodded in acknowledgment. "Anyways, Sesshomaru, what happened to cause this much damage to Hari and Inuyasha?" For a moment, Sesshomaru glanced over at Hari, then towards Inuyasha. Finally, sighing, he replied, "We shall wait until the others awaken; even I am slightly baffled on how all of this happened, after all, Hari chose to keep me out of the loop half the time. Nali didn't tell us about what Inuyasha went through, and Hari…" He paused, staring down at the pale serpent. "Well, Hari does as she pleases, more or less."
Sango blinked for a moment in confusion. It wasn't exactly an answer, but it made sense. Nodding, she stood up, and walked over towards Miroku, who was standing off, trying very hard to force a conversation with Kouga. Unfortunately for him, he was failing miserably.
"So…." he began lamely, "Have you been seeing Ayame lately?"
Glaring at the corrupt monk, Kouga harshly replied, "She's been up in the mountains the whole time, training. And if I were you, I'd stop the questions before I decide to rip that damned head right off your forsaken neck!"
Miroku gave a small half-whimper and backed off a few steps. Kouga smirked.
As everyone became settled, another flash shown brilliantly in front of the group, and Nali stepped onto the clouds. Staring around, she spoke in a clear-cut tone, "Well, isn't this a fun afternoon we're sharing? Or, should I say days? Nights? Or has it been a week already?"
"What the hell are you babbling about, dragon?" Kouga asked rudely. Sango elbowed him sharply. "What was that for?" he whispered indignantly.
"Idiot!" Sango whispered back, equally harsh. "Don't be rude to one of the Ten! As far as I can tell, they're way higher in status to any lord, perhaps even higher than Sesshomaru! If I were you, I'd show respect!" Kouga let out a scoff, and turned his back to the woman.
"Nali, what are you speaking of?" Miroku asked, trying to ignore Sango's criticizing argument, as entertaining as it was to see Kouga being one-up by a human. "The entire time we've been here, it has been light as day out."
Nali let out a rather disturbing laugh, making an involuntary shudder run down Miroku's spine. "You need to do your homework, youngster," she replied heartily, yet not losing an inch of that disturbing aura around her. Like a freaky obsession that hadn't been aroused in years finally finding something worth being obsessed about; now that creepy excitement was back, in full force, making Nali as scary as she was playful and airy. "Of course it appears to be daylight in this realm, these are enchanted clouds. While atop them, all you see above you is daylight. All you see around you is daylight. However, if you look below you, you will find that time changes as it normally does. The time frame in these clouds goes much slower than the time outside; I'd say we've been up here, what, about 3-4 days? Perhaps longer?"
It felt as if a tidal wave came crashing down upon the group, freezing them in a stunned silence. If what Nali said was true, did that mean that Nagori could already be dead? Or that anything else may have befallen others? What about that danger that anything magical is sensing throughout the world; could that be starting yet? Or perhaps later? So many questions, so little answers.
Nali broke the silence, as usual, her eyes gleaming with delight. "Now, I see that the only two who haven't competed yet would be you two." She pointed her snout towards Miroku and Sango. "Since you two are rather…cooperative…you both will play in this game." Both humans blushed at the word 'cooperative'. They knew perfectly well what Nali was talking about, though Kouga showed his understanding by snickering loud enough to topple an edifice. Sesshomaru turned his face away, not wanting anyone to see the smile that was forming on his face. Meanwhile, Rin and Shippo seemed to be the only ones out of the loop, as they exchanged questioning glances, showing plainly that they hadn't a clue what the grown-ups were talking about.
"Hmm…cooperative, you say-OUCH!" shouted Miroku as Sango and Kagome elbowed him in the gut. "What was that for?" he shouted indignantly.
"Get your mind out of the trash, you letch!" Sango shouted, blushing from both embarrassment and anger. However, though she didn't dare let Miroku see, she let showed a small, playful smile, making Kagome attain that sly grin she always got when she saw a small romantic slip from her friend.
'…I know they're humans, but I think they're overreacting a bit too much…' Nali thought, wondering whether she should have just kept her mouth shut. Nonetheless, she broke the small moment by letting out a slightly irritated, yet clearly entertained, growl, grabbing everyone's attention. "Now, if we're all done fooling around, you'll realize that we still have a final round left in our game. This one is worth two points. However, in this particular game, if you lose, you lose the entire thing. Understand?"
"What was that?" shouted half of the group indignantly.
"We worked our asses off to get this far, and now you're saying that we have to put our faith in a couple of…humans!" Kouga added, throwing his arm to the side to strengthen his conjecture. However, one look at Sango's boomerang said otherwise for the putdown about Sango being a measly human.
"Even though my feelings differ from Kouga's, he has a point. Are you saying that all this time, we've wasted our team's effort and stability only to end up having one match to decide the outcome of the entire game?" Miroku summarized from the more civilized perspective.
Nali nodded. "This is a team effort. If I had told you all outright that the last game would decide the fate of everything, then you'd all become entangled in everyone's own desires to play. This would create discord, and no one would stop to think of what anyone else thought. If they were too weak, human, demon, or in between, they'd be thrown out of the strategies. So, this way was much easier and flexible to handle."
"Hmm…that makes sense, but couldn't you have made the challenges a little easier?" Sango asked.
Nali's eyes flashed. "Hah! If I did that, then you'd all think I was some sort of pushover, now, wouldn't you? Well, I'm not, I'm a Dragon that takes real talent to win, as my orb has one of the most valuable powers out of the entire Ten." She turned towards Miroku and Sango. "So, are you two ready to begin?" They nodded. "Very well. Let the real fun begin."
"Good luck, you two," Kagome whispered, watching the two follow Nali and hop through the vortex that led to wherever the challenge would be held. After the last glimpse faded away into nothing, her concentration landed back on Inuyasha, where she was surprised to find that his eyes were partially opened. He was still human, and he glanced around confusedly. "Inuyasha, how do you feel?"
In response, the human weakly lifted a hand and rubbed his forehead. "I gots a pounding headache, fer starters…" he slurred, almost incoherent on Kagome's part. He glanced back to where the vortex was last seen. "Who's up next?"
"Sango and Miroku."
"So…did we win our challenges?"
Kagome let out a smile, though it held more sadness than otherwise. "I suppose so, as Nali didn't say anything about losing, though she didn't say anything about winning either."
"…."
"…Inuyasha?"
Moaning, Inuyasha mumbled something inaudible. Leaning closer, Kagome barely caught the words. "…shouldn't worry so much, ya know…"
Smiling softly, Kagome replied, "Sorry, but I can't help but worry…" Silently, she said to herself, '….if I love you, I have to worry for your safety, don't I?'
Inuyasha gritted his teeth as a shiver racked his body, sending waves of coldness splashing about him. Kagome quickly fished a blanket from her huge backpack, and gently laid it over Inuyasha's body, careful not to cause him any pain. "….c-cold…" he mumbled before slowly falling unconscious, his breathing evening out and growing deeper, though still sounding weak and forced.
Unshed tears shined in Kagome's eyes as she brushed some of Inuyasha's bangs away from his face. Despite the scratches that tattered his form, he was still as beautiful as ever. His hair felt like silk between her fingers, and soon, she was tracing his jaw line, wincing as she noticed how cold his skin felt beneath her hand. 'He must have lost a lot of blood,' she thought, staring at the numerous blotches that stained his ebony hair crimson. 'Whatever he faced in that maze must have been hard on him.'
Kagome stared out towards the invisible patch of clouds where Miroku and Sango had stood mere moments before. She prayed that whatever they faced wasn't as hard as what Inuyasha faced. If it was, she didn't want to think of what the outcome could be.
"Please, stay alive," she whispered, staring down at Inuyasha's peaceful face as she began to brew over all the troubles they'd faced. Though it didn't help her understand the events that took place any better, it did help her keep her mind off of what was happening now, as well as give her something to contemplate while they waited.
x.
"What is this place?" Sango asked herself, staring around at her surroundings. Miroku didn't answer, preferring the silence instead. They were on a grassy platform that was circular, and about ten yards in diameter. Around them were much smaller, square platforms, each a variety of different colors, with seemingly no reoccurring pattern. The squares were probably about 1 x 1 yard in area, and were spread out at random distances.
Soon, Nali appeared next to them, her massive body nearly exhausting the limited amount of space on the platform. "Congratulations; you are the first ones to ever reach this stage in a couple hundred years. Most usually break down or die beforehand, as this is the only stage that's always set last, in every round of games I host." Though it was meant as a compliment, neither Sango nor Miroku were encouraged by her words.
Eyes gleaming, Nali continued, "Proceeding with the game plan, this is how it will be set up. This platform will glow a certain color in a matter of moments. The two of you must navigate your way on the platforms of the same color. After a while, a path of tiles will form, and you'll have to navigate it to the end. It takes both of you to make the path appear, but only one to complete the game." As an afterthought, she added, "I'm pretty sure that this is also the only game I have where no matter what happens, no one dies, though I'd advise that you stick together on this one….oh well, game start already." With that matter cleared up, the dragon disappeared as silently as she had come. Sango and Miroku stared at the blatantly vague description of rules Nali had given them. Is this why so many of their strongest had lost?
Suddenly, without warning, the platform below them began to glow, the color settling on the dark crimson. To the humans' dismay, the nearest platform of that color was at least another ten yards away, or more specifically, another twenty or so platforms away.
"What happens if we step on a non-specified platform?" Sango wondered aloud.
"Well, only one way to find out!" Miroku shouted, lunging forward, and barely landing on a green platform a yard away, Sango doing the same, landing on a pink one.
Suddenly, the platforms below them began shaking, and at the last moment, the two leaped to another platform as the previous ones froze, and fell, disappearing after a few seconds. In a panic, the two raced towards the dark crimson tile many yards away, their time to stand on the unspecified ones becoming shorter and shorter, until they barely made it off the foundation until it, too, joined the rest that disappeared in the neverending dimension below.
Using complex acrobatics, Sango was able to coordinate herself to land on the correct platform, Miroku soon landing on the same as well. They looked back towards the center, the starting point remaining the color of blood. Sighing, the two began to catch their breath.
"So, where should we head ne-EXT!" Sango shouted the last part as the platform they were standing on started falling beneath their feet. Reacting quickly, she threw herself towards another platform, barely holding onto the edge, quickly hauling herself upwards as said tile began to vibrate. Miroku, too, barely made it to a different tile as well. Both quickly leaped off the tiles before they fell with them, and disappeared into the depth below.
"I presume that even if the tiles are the correct color, we still can't step on the same one," Miroku shouted over towards Sango, who was racing towards a newly spotted crimson tile. Miroku was heading for one couple dozen yards away. Finally, with one final heave, Sango landed her feet upon the tile. It glowed a bright ruby color, before fading back into its original blood crimson. Sango breathed in deeply, satisfied that the tile didn't fall. Looking up, she was happy to see that Miroku had arrived at the correct tile as well. Standing up, she looked at her surroundings. The tiles had suddenly replaced themselves, but held different colors than before. It now gave Sango the conclusion that whenever they arrived at the correct panel, in the correct way, the previous tiles that they had stepped on would replace themselves, though holding a different color.
However, their rest didn't last for long, as the center tile suddenly turned a violent orange, and the one below Sango's feet began to rumble as if an earthquake were shaking her. Nearly stumbling, Sango leaped awkwardly off the tile, and onto the next, a highlighter yellow platform, and leaping farther and farther from Miroku, who was going the other way around the center platform. When the two finally reached the orange tiles, they were on opposite sides of the center platform, on opposite sides of the track. They remembered Nali's hint at staying together, and their hearts sank.
As if to extend their mistake, not only did the center platform change color again, a lime-green, five ogres appeared upon the starting point, each equipped with a huge club, each standing almost eight feet tall. Their eyes glowed bright red as three hopped towards Sango, two towards Miroku. They jumped about five tiles at a time, though this time, the tiles did not disappear beneath them. Panicked, and worried for Miroku, Sango began leaping from tile to tile, hoping to outrun the ogres, as well as catch up to Miroku. The tiles disappeared beneath her, her breathing becoming labored from the exhausting task. All thoughts of Nali's dialogue from before escaped her, until only one thought remained in her head.
The game was on.
TO BE CONTINUED……