Battle of the Shikon

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from InuYasha.

Chapter 2: Allies and Betrayals

Kagome had to allow herself to be absorbed into Naraku...how could that be? They had always known that one day they would find a way to destroy Naraku and become victorious, but why had it suddenly demanded the sacrifice of Kagome's life? InuYasha's mouth continued to hang open in unspoken words, silence acting as a gag. Kagome would die...the girl sitting in front of him with shaking hands and terrified brown eyes would no longer be breathing, no longer be sitting him or yelling at him. Anger bubbled up from the pit of his stomach, quickly growing to a fierce roar.

"No! Kagome's not going to die! She won't let herself be absorbed into Naraku! There has to be another way!" InuYasha yelled, getting to his feet and towering over his friends. He rounded on Miroku, golden eyes flashing with fury. "Miroku! You have to think of another way to kill Naraku! There has to be one we haven't thought of!"

Miroku only gave him a blank look as if InuYasha was asking him to put the sun in his pocket. This, of course, only pushed the hanyou's anger further. He opened his mouth to let out a rainbow of curses when suddenly a foul stench floated into his sensitive nose. Turning aside, he glared at the doorway. "Naraku's nearby!" he growled darkly, placing a hand on his Tetsusaiga hilt. "As if we didn't have enough problems!" he added before hurrying to the door, missing Kagome's sad smile.

"Kagome, you should stay here. If Naraku somehow found out about Miroku's theory, he'd probably come after you," Sango warned, laying a comforting hand on the miko's shoulder. Kagome sighed and nodded meekly. Sango gave her a grateful smile, joining the others as they filed out of the door. Just before she left, she asked Kirara and Shippou to remain with Kagome just to be safe. The small neko youkai mewed and Shippou nodded in agreement as Sango left. Not two moments later the three of them were forced to halt in their tracks.

They had expected a puppet of Naraku or another one of his rejected demons instead of Kagura. The wind youkai stood there with her two feathers in her hair and red-slashed fan in her hand. A strange grin was plastered on her face.

"Kagura," InuYasha stated in a deep growl, pulling out his transforming Tetsusaiga fang.

Kagura grinned at him just as darkly, but she closed her fan with a quick snap. "Put your sword away, InuYasha. I did not come here to fight."

InuYasha frowned heavily, ignoring her words. "Save it! I wouldn't trust you even if you weren't one of Naraku's incarnations!"

Surprisingly, Kagura's smiled didn't wane even for a moment. If anything, it widened. "I wouldn't expect anything less, which is why my reason for being here is even more interesting than I had imagined," she replied in a cool voice, tapping her cheek with the tip of her fan.

Miroku shifted slightly to lean towards InuYasha's ear. "Be careful, InuYasha," Miroku whispered to him. "She's hiding something and I think she intends to make us dig it out of her."

"Don't you think I know that already," he retorted in a hiss, though never removing his eyes from Kagura.

A look of strange amusement rose in the demon's face. "There's no need to plot against me," she said calmly. The mirth suddenly melted from her face as she took a few steps forward. The group tensed and raised their weapons. She ignored them, but suddenly turned her gaze to Miroku. "You, monk," she began, pointing at the houshi with her closed fan.

"What do you want with me?" Miroku questioned coldly, drawing himself up defiantly and readying his staff for combat.

Ignoring his question, she paused her stroll towards them and pulled her arm back to her side. "This afternoon you faced a demon of Naraku, but after you examined the ashes, you rushed your friends all the way here," she gestured to the house. "I am not going to ask you why, if that's what you're thinking, because I already know the answer."

It was a heavy effort not to flinch or shout. 'How could Kagura know? We only talked about it a few minutes ago and she wasn't even near here!' InuYasha thought angrily, eyes boring into the demon. 'No, we can't believe her, not yet anyway. We have to act as if she's making it up.' Miroku did a good job of masking the shock from his face.

Before any of them could say anything, Kagura continued. "Either way, the only thing I am interested in knowing is if you...are sure of your success, if you go through with it." How could she look so calm? Damn her!

Miroku's gaze hardened. "I don't know what you're talking about," he replied in the same cold voice.

Kagura's high laugh was beyond mocking and tempted InuYasha to cut her in half right that moment. "Do not bother playing dumb with me. I know that you have found a way to kill Naraku," she paused for a moment to let her words sink in. Before continuing, she swung her gaze to InuYasha's as if to make a point. "And I have no intention of letting him know about it."

Immediately InuYasha snorted loudly with a deadly grin. "And why should we trust you? It isn't as if you've ever shown any sign of being an ally."

"Are you sure of that, half-demon?" Kagura answered calmly, her tone emphasizing "half-demon".

InuYasha's smile vanished. 'Damn her,' he thought furiously. The terrible thing about it was that Kagura was right. She hadn't told Naraku about the night of the full moon when InuYasha turned into his human form. It was a shock to learn, but that wasn't enough to throw in their trust with her and admit that they had found a way to kill Naraku. What exactly was she trying to pry out of them?

As if his vanishing grin was the answer she had been looking for all along, Kagura suddenly smiled widely, a sight so strange to them that Sango nearly raised her Hiraikotsu for flight. "That is all the answer I needed," she whispered softly, her eyes closed as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her. Opening them, she took a few steps closer. The group tensed again, but their eyes nearly fell out from their sockets as Kagura stopped and suddenly bent down on one knee with her head bowed. The red-slashed fan left her hand and tumbled to the floor before her while she replaced her hand to her heart.

"I, Kagura of the Winds," she began, "woman born of Naraku, swear on my earthly grave and hope of freedom to humbly serve my secret masters, InuYasha the half-demon, Miroku the monk, Sango the demon slayer, and Kagome the priestess. By my honour and wish of life, I swear my oaths of free will to my new masters and vow never to speak of my betrayal or oaths to anyone else. The Winds I own now serve them." She then retook her fan and opened it to make a small slash on her arm. Throwing the fan back down, she took some of the blood with her uncut hand and threw the blood specks at the feet of her "new masters". Then she picked up her fan again to slide it back into her kimono before rising again.

The three of them stood there with their eyes wide as they would go. InuYasha's mouth was hanging wide open. The silence was unbelievable as they just stood there in complete shock. Kagura was submitting to them? The oath she had given gave no doubt of suspicion whatsoever. It was a very strong oath, probably the strongest for both demons and humans. To break that oath was to forfeit your life, whether your masters decided to take it from you or if you did it yourself from failing them.

"I cannot promise to come whenever you call, but I will return later to answer any questions you need answered. You will kill Naraku and set me free," Kagura continued, the previous meek voice she had used for the oath now gone. The group was still a deadly silence even as Kagura mounted her large feather and took off once more into the black of the night.

Little did Kagura know that she wasn't the only one who was aware of her betrayal. Further ahead of the Wind Sorceress's direction, the same beautiful miko with her flying silver serpents elegantly walked towards Naraku's castle. The barrier had been no more of a challenge to get through than the last time she had visited Naraku. Some of her soul collectors had died from the miasma, but by this point she cared as little for their deaths as she did for the women whose souls she had been using to keep her in this world.

"Another visit, Kikyou?" His voice truly did echo the thousands of bloodthirsty demons that had made him so long ago. It was cold like the harshest winter bite, yet dark like the shadows that trailed behind him. Kanna of the Void stood beside him, her expressionless face staring at Kikyou as she held her small mirror in her child hands.

"Naraku," Kikyou greeted, stopping for a moment to slide the door back into place behind her. Her lifeless eyes gazed to the right of Naraku for a moment before drifting back. "I see that you have lost one of your servants."

"Kohaku died by my orders, just as I had planned. You might have severed the bond I had on him, but I regained it just as it was before." His sneer was like a slap in the face, but it did not appear to affect Kikyou at all. If anything, one could say she looked almost pleased. "So what brings you into the depths of my castle once again, Kikyou?"

"The offer of advice," she answered.

"Oh?" he said, eyebrow raised. "You are truly a mystery, Kikyou. Giving me jewel shards, breaking the bond of one of my most obedient servants, and now giving me advice? If I did not think you intended to kill me, I would have thought you wanted to make me stronger."

Kikyou simply smiled at him, like she would for a child or weak elder. "I came to suggest that you keep a tighter rein on your incarnation, Kagura of the Winds. I understand that something new has come into her view and if my suspicions are correct, she has become a dog ready to slip her head into another leash." Naraku stared darkly at her as if piecing together her words in his mind.

"Another leash," he repeated, eyes trying to bore into her mind.

Kikyou nodded and turned away to slide the door back open. "Another leash," she agreed quietly before leaving. Even after she was long gone, Naraku still stared after her with fury buried deep in his eyes.

The morning came with the same dreary feeling as was present the night before. The pale sunlight stretched far towards their little hut and abandoned field. The group still slept, tired from the night full of discussion. After Kagura had left, one could only expect them to talk of her oath until their eyelids closed on themselves.

Kagome was the first awake. She had fallen asleep along with Shippou before the rest had returned inside. Getting up now, she left the hut to pause outside. 'If only it had been a dream,' she thought bitterly, looking at the rising sun over the forest trees. The sun always rose in the morning, no matter how long the night seemed. It would always rise in the morning, but one day...one day Kagome would not be able to see it rise anymore. One day she would see it rise for the final time and never again.

She would have to give up her life for the Shikon No Tama. Miroku had said it clearly; the only way to finally defeat Naraku was to allow herself to be absorbed into his body so her purity could spread through him and destroy him. There would be no chance of survival and she knew that. 'It's my duty,' she thought. If only telling herself that it was her duty was enough to encourage her to keep going. What if today was the last day of her life? What if she never saw the faces of her friends again? What if she never got the chance to say goodbye to her parents? Those questions were foolish. She knew that her friends wouldn't make her sacrifice her life today. They would never even consider making her do anything of the sort. Letting a sigh escape her lips, she wandered a little further from the hut to sit upon a short boulder. The view of the sunset was even better here, but it was a bitter thought.

'I brought the jewel here. I shattered it into shards, so it is my fault that Naraku is so powerful. Kikyou might have given him the shards, but it was because of my presence that that ever happened.' The sun's pale light barely warmed her chilled skin at all. 'I need to be the one to finish him off...I'm the only one that can do it.'

If only the last couple of days had never happened. It had seemed like a dream before...

It had been a long day of travel and the battle with the lizard demon had been very tiring. Luckily they had found a small river trailing from the east with a few good fish leisurely swimming through its waters. They had even been lucky enough to catch a good few and make a comfortable dinner.

As they sat about the fire, each munching their own fish, Kagome watched the sky. Sometimes she wondered if there were as many Shikon shards as there were stars in the sky, glittering their white light like a crystal just out of human reach. Peace was a rare time for them, especially after a battle, so it was only to be expected that InuYasha and Shippou would begin a squabble.

"Hey! That's my fish!" Shippou yelled, leaping up from his spot as InuYasha wolfed down the fish that had moments before sat in front of the kitsune child.

"Well, it's too late now," InuYasha replied calmly, rubbing his mouth with the back of his hand. Shippou growled at him and began hopelessly beating InuYasha's leg with his small fists. InuYasha in turn raised his own fist and smashed it down on Shippou's head, making him cry pitifully.

"InuYasha!" Kagome hissed, her peaceful thoughts consumed long since. InuYasha began to flinch, thinking she was about to sit him, but Shippou had planned his own punishment for the hanyou.

Before InuYasha realized what was happening, Shippou had thrown one of his magic acorns up InuYasha's left nostril. Immediately InuYasha yelled in surprise and clawed at the wriggling acorn, but to no avail. Giving up the attempt, he growled evilly at Shippou and the two began a futile chase around the camp, the acorn still dancing in the hanyou's nose. Having forgotten all about sitting him, Kagome, Miroku, and Sango roared with laughter, clutching their stomachs from the effort.

She let out her own chuckle at the memory. It had been a hilarious sight and would not fade any time soon. Then again, they had barely gotten any sleep that night from the moans of InuYasha and Shippou. InuYasha moaned from the hundreds of sits inflicted by Kagome and Shippou from the bumps and bruises inflicted by InuYasha's fist.

But the miko's mirth faded slowly as her mind returned to the present. There would be no time for laughs like that anymore. She would have to prepare for the final battle and say her farewells to everyone. It was only then that it struck her that she had fully accepted her task without ever realizing it. It brought a chill to her spine from the small effort she had required.

"Kagome?" came InuYasha's voice. "Are you okay?"

Kagome turned around and she almost gasped. InuYasha stood there with a face so sincere she almost didn't recognize him. His silver hair glowed gold in the morning light and his yellow eyes were full to burst with worry for her. She felt her heart skip a beat, which automatically made her blush a deep pink. Her heart began to race a little faster as he came to sit beside her. What was wrong with her? She had sat with InuYasha before, but it had never made her heart race like this. Annoyed with herself, Kagome looked away. "Yeah, I'm fine," she answered. "I just came out to think for a bit."

It was obvious he was struggling to say something, and not just from how he avoided looking at her face anymore. His hands jerked slightly as if he half-wanted to raise his hand to start a point, but then thought it foolish and stopped.

Finally, InuYasha sighed and kept his eyes firmly fixed on something in the distance. "Kagome...what Miroku said yesterday...you know you don't have to do that. Miroku will think of another way." He definitely didn't sound as positive about that as he might have wanted. "He'll find a way so you can be safe, Kagome. I'll...we'll protect you," he whispered, his eyes dropping down to his hands.

Kagome blushed again. "InuYasha...I...I have to do it." His eyes flashed towards her, so she continued before he could interrupt. "I don't exactly know how, but...I've already accepted what I have to do. It'll take a while to get used to, but...I know I have to do it."

Anger slipped into the hanyou's eyes and he opened his mouth to argue, but suddenly a tingle ran up Kagome's spine. She snapped her gaze towards the north. "I think I sense jewel shards coming our way," she said.

She would have thought InuYasha's anger would have melted, but instead it grew fiercer. "It's Kouga," he almost spat, coming to his feet. A few seconds later, a large whirlwind came into view and was spinning towards them. InuYasha placed his hand on his sword hilt but before he could draw it, Kouga had stopped his run and stepped from his vanishing whirlwind. Raising a hand in friendly salute accompanied with a handsome grin, the wolf youkai warmly greeted them with, "Hi, Kagome."

"Good morning, Kouga," Kagome greeted back. As if she had coughed sickly instead of speaking levelly, Kouga gazed at her as if she were truly ill. He came closer, despite InuYasha's growls.

"What's wrong, Kagome? You look more sullen than you usually do. And you're all pale," he said in a concerned voice. He raised his hand to test her temperature, but InuYasha had knocked away his hand while it still rose. Whirling to face him, the wolf youkai glowered heatedly.

"There's nothing wrong with her, you mangy wolf," InuYasha snarled, flexing his claws.

"I wasn't asking you, mutt!" Kouga retorted back, hand curled into a fist now. He glanced back at Kagome's face and then to InuYasha's and back. "Something's wrong with her, I know it! What did you do to her, you stupid half-breed?" he roared at InuYasha.

"I didn't do anything, idiot! And get your stupid face out of my face!" he roared back.

"Get your own face out of the way! Filthy mutt!"

"That's it, I'm finishing you off one and for all!"

"Oh yeah? Well, we'll see about that!"

Knowing where this was going, Kagome quickly slid off the rock and gently touched InuYasha's arm before he could rip out his Tetsusaiga and start the battle. "Please, InuYasha, Kouga, don't start fighting now," she pleaded, only barely keeping the sigh from escaping.

Kouga did seem to calm down at her command, but his stern look didn't. "He did something to you, Kagome. Tell me what it was. I have the right to know if you're hurt," he insisted, shooting a glare at InuYasha.

This time Kagome did let out her sigh. "InuYasha didn't do anything to me, Kouga. I'm completely fine, just...tired, I suppose," she answered slowly. 'I can't tell him the truth. Yet anyway. He does have the right to know, but not right now. He'll just start another fight with InuYasha and I'll never hear the end of it,' she thought.

"Please, Kouga. I just need some rest, that's all. I really don't feel up to keeping you and InuYasha from fighting right now," she continued. When Kouga didn't let up his probing stare, she closed her eyes for a moment before speaking again. "Please, Kouga. I don't want to ask you to leave right now, but I'd really appreciate it if I could just have some time alone without you and InuYasha fighting."

A few moments passed before finally the wolf youkai sighed. "Okay, Kagome. You get some rest, I'll leave for now."

Kagome blinked in surprise. "Really? You're not mad?"

His disappointed face now changed to a warm smile. "Of course not. If my woman says that she wants some rest, she deserves some. I'll see you around, Kagome! I'll be back later!" Saluting one last time with his famous grin, he sped away from them with his whirlwind trailing behind his feet.

"She's not your woman!" InuYasha hollered after him, but to no avail.


Phew. That was rather tiring to write. Hope you liked that funny bit Kagome remembered I added in just for the fun of it. Kouga will return into the story later, so expect to see him again!