Battle of the Shikon

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from InuYasha.

Chapter 3: The Plan

"Get out of the way," he commanded in a coolly levelled voice.

"What? How dare you speak to me like that, despicable vermin!" the bear youkai growled loudly, long fangs flashing in the light. It raised its ominously long claws in a heated threat. "I'll teach you to show respect!" With a roar the bear youkai launched itself at its opponent, already thrashing its claws forward. The loud pounding of its footsteps seemed to make the forest path shake with its vibration.

However, its opponent remained unfazed by the threats. If anything, he seemed to grow calmer as if the threat of battle was only a bother to be brushed aside. Raising his fore and middle fingers with a reserved frown, he made a slashing movement at the youkai. A whip of light suddenly appeared from his hand and raced towards the victim with the speed of a striking snake. The bear youkai didn't even have time to pause in horror as the whip cut cleanly through it flesh. Its two halves fell away with a low shriek as the whip of light faded away once more.

The victor was a tall silver-haired youkai with a crescent moon in the centre of his forehead and dressed in a red-embroidered white kimono. A large full cloth of fur hung over his right shoulder while two swords, one missing its sheath, hung at his left hip by a yellow and blue cloth tied around the waist. His face was the heart of the coldest winter day and the warm sun afternoon seemed to shy away from his stoic yellow eyes.

"That was brilliant, Lord Sesshomaru!" a young girl cheered enthusiastically, clapping her hands in applause. She wore an orange and beige plaid kimono and part of her black hair was tied up in a small tail on the side of her head. She sat upon the saddle of a brown-scaled two-headed dragon each with a black and silver muzzle over its snout. The reins of the beast were being held by a small toad youkai in a brown kimono, black top hat, and holding a tall two-headed wooden staff while walking ahead of the animal.

"What a foolish demon! Imagine, trying to make my Lord submit to a lowly beast such as he! Humph! He certainly got what he deserved," the toad youkai commented with an approving nod of his head.

Lord Sesshomaru ignored the two completely as he stared ahead into the distance. 'What is he planning?' he thought for a moment. Turning around, he stared right at Jaken, who suddenly seemed to think it fit to throw himself down onto his hands and knees with his head bowed as if he were receiving orders.

"Jaken," he began in a monotonous tone, "Stay with Rin." Jaken blinked at the order, unable to hide his displeasure of it. Still, the toad youkai bobbled his head mumbling a humble "Yes, m'Lord".

Turning back, Sesshomaru bent forward slightly and shot off into a quick run, his penetrating eyes coldly staring at something in the distance. Having dog youkai blood flow through his veins, his sight was more advanced than humans or lesser demons. He was able to see the small yellow insects buzzing in the distance. The Saimyoushou were vile creatures that carried out orders from Naraku without any thought and their toxic poison made them dangerous to both demons and humans alike. It still sickened him to remember that he had once made a deal with that despicable half-demon, Naraku. That deal had almost killed him in the end, but Naraku had been foolish enough to believe he would get away unscathed. If the Saimyoushou were nearby, that meant that they would eventually lead him straight to Naraku, and Naraku to his ultimate demise.

He quickly gained on the ill-coloured insects, but kept a few paces back so he could get a clear view of them without them detecting him. Naraku was a fool indeed, sending out these little trail marks for anyone to follow. 'I must be careful. Naraku may be a fool, but he enjoys spinning his enemies in circles. This could be a trap,' he reminded himself.

After a while of pursuit, the scent of Naraku began to strengthen alongside the poisonous insects. It had to be either another demon or puppet of Naraku seeing as Naraku rarely risked coming out of his castle himself as of late. The Saimyoushou suddenly stopped their flight. The dog demon stopped as well, watching their every move. Either ignoring him or unaware of him, they gazed on at something ahead. Lowering his own gaze, he spotted their focus of interest. It was the youkai Wind Sorceress, Kagura. Her smirk seemed terribly bland as if she had just done something to her great distaste. Her red eyes had a strange emotion in them. If she had not been a woman of Naraku, he would have thought she seemed regretful.

"Sesshomaru," she stated in neither greeting nor challenge, casually tapping the tip of her closed fan to her cheek. She almost seemed expectant as if she had expected him to come to her like a dog to an owner. The thought infuriated him, but it was held carefully and cooled down with his stern determination. His face remained blank and cold, the ideal expression to wear when facing an enemy.

He glanced upwards to the Saimyoushou. They still buzzed there in silent order, watching Kagura instead of himself. Why would Naraku be spying on one of his own creations? She didn't seem to be aware of them as they hovered high up in the trees, just above her eyesight. Or perhaps she was aware and simply passed the fact over. The thought was puzzling, but he let it fall away to the back of his mind. Kagura was in front of him. He needed to concentrate on her instead of letting her slash her cursed fan at him while he gazed at something else.

"What have you come here for?" he asked coldly.

Her tapping stopped and she lowered her fan back to her waistcloth. Red eyes flashing back at him, she gave him that regretful smile once again. It was a purely alien sight on her normally sly face. "I was passing through the area and I caught word that you were near by." How she caught word of him out here was beyond him. "So I thought I would make a little visit. I knew that you would follow the scent of Naraku so I waited and here you are."

"A visit," he repeated as if the word tasted foul in his mouth. His eyes narrowed suspiciously, but beside that he made no other motion.

Her smile darkened for a moment before lightening again. A wind passed through them and rustled their hair, but their hard gazes remained unaffected. After a few moments of silence, Kagura shook her head and looked away. That regretful look was insufferable, but it was an emotion easily melted away. The sound of the Saimyoushou's buzzing still hummed in his ears, but it was faint enough for Kagura not to be able to hear. Perhaps she truly was unaware of them.

"I wish you could have taken part in the death of Naraku when you had the chance, Sesshomaru," she suddenly said. The dog youkai raised a cool eyebrow at her, but she ignored it. "It may not be too late, but your wish of solitary victory is now gone."

"What plot of Naraku is this?" Sesshomaru demanded darkly. The woman was utterly mad. She was a complete fool if she spoke those words from her own mouth while the poisonous insects watched. Unless, of course, she had been commanded to say those words as an order from Naraku in attempt to lure him into trusting her.

On Kagura the expression mirrored mild surprise, but on anyone else it would have been utter shock. After a few moments of silence, the emotion faded back to cold stillness. "Naraku..." she said slowly as if she wasn't sure if she should tell him this, "Naraku doesn't know. He knows nothing and I intend to keep it that way." She paused to pluck one of the feathers from her hair. "You could join us if you wished it. You could gain some victory, some revenge." Finally she turned away and threw her feather into the air. It swelled in size and after a quick leap upon its back; Kagura allowed her winds to carry her away from Sesshomaru and the Saimyoushou.

Sesshomaru remained watching for a few minutes. 'There are others included in her secret, then?' he thought before glancing at the Saimyoushou once again. The insects were watching him now, but only for a moment longer before their wings suddenly stopped and they dropped to the ground, dead. Perhaps Naraku wasn't being as foolish with his servants as he had expected. 'What are you planning, Naraku?' he thought as another scent drifted by with a light breeze. He felt the desire to wrinkle his nose in disgust of the smell, but instead he only looked towards its source. Suddenly he sprang into a run through the forest, aiming straight for the scent. The cold of his face seemed to harden with each passing step.

A little distance away, the group were preparing their food and water sacks for the journey home as evening crept in. Their temporary resting place would have done fine for another day or two of planning, but now that Kagura knew where they were, the chance of Naraku suddenly swarming down on them lifted them to their feet. Kagura's oath of fealty was still on the balance between trust and suspicion, but it would have to be dealt with another time. As of now, they had to prepare for the upcoming battle. Miroku, or anyone else for that matter, had not been able to think of any alternative to the victory over Naraku so at last they were forced to accept it. If they didn't start preparing now, they would run the risk of Naraku finding out and their only hope being dashed away before they could do anything. Kagome had told them of her acceptance, however reluctant, but no one was near comfortable with the thought yet.

They decided to remain at the abandoned farm for one more night before they left to continue their plans. Sunset was slowly rolling in and the far East was cloaked in silver-spotted black. They had just finished throwing dirt over the supper fire and packing away any extra food when InuYasha suddenly growled deeply. It was the first noise he had made since Kouga had left.

"What is it, InuYasha?" Kagome asked, shifting her backpack onto her shoulders.

"Sesshomaru is coming," he spat angrily. Without wait he drew out his sword and steadied it as if preparing to throw a Wind Scar at his half-brother before the youkai could even approach. Kagome struggled to suppress a sigh.

Miroku ran his fingers through his hair tiredly. "We seem to be getting a visit from everyone as of late," he mumbled to himself. "Perhaps we'll meet Kikyou or Jinenji on the way to Kaede's village." Sango chuckled lightly beside him, which of course made Miroku beam proudly. Yet being the idiotic houshi he was, it was soon followed by a death glare from Sango and a flying fist.

Pulling his hand away, Miroku gently touched the bruise on his cheek with a disappointed sigh. "This is not the time for you to be a pervert, you idiot monk," Sango growled, crossing her arms and turning her head away from him with her chin high.

"Can we just focus please?" Shippou pleaded, looking at Miroku with a tired expression. The words were barely out of his mouth before InuYasha growled again and narrowed his eyes towards the West. Quickly a tense feeling came over all of them as they waited for the figure of InuYasha's older brother to appear from the forest shade.

They only had to wait for a few minutes before the outline of a tall youkai in a calm walk appeared among the darkness. As he came closer the details of his cold face and silver hair glowed with the sunset light to his back. The deadly aura that was always around him became nearly too bold for comfort. His eyes seemed even more demanding than usual and he appeared on the verge of drawing out his Tokijin. At about twenty steps away from them, he halted. His gaze swept over the area for a moment before focusing back on his younger brother.

"InuYasha," he commanded coolly, eyes full of fury but face as dead as stone. "Tell me what she said."

"What the Hell are you talking about?" he growled back, threateningly raising his sword.

Sesshomaru ignored the blade, eyes sweeping over the area again as if searching for something. "She was here last night, so do not bother lying to me, little brother," he spat. The last two words were hissed as if to make them an insult. "Tell me what she said."

InuYasha did a rather poor job in keeping the surprise from his face compared to his brother. Despite this, he hissed out, "I told you, I don't know what you're rambling on about."

"And I told you not to lie," he repeated with a twinge more impatience in his voice than before. "What secret did you make with her?"

Though none of them had been moving, a sudden strict feel of stillness came over them. How could he know about her oath? Had Kagura made the same with Sesshomaru? No, it was impossible. Coming to them for help was one thing, but to throw her life at Sesshomaru's feet? Finally Miroku took a step forward.

He hesitated for a heartbeat in decision of his words. "Did she...throw her blood at your feet...?" His lips stayed parted for a second longer as if to say something else, but he thought better of it and closed his mouth. Sesshomaru would know what he meant. The oath Kagura had given was known between both humans and demons. To throw your blood at the feet of another was the sincerest form of fealty.

Sesshomaru gave an icy cold glare at him. "Stay out of this, human," he commanded coldly. "Human" was said with the same intention of insult as "little brother" had. He swung his eyes back to InuYasha. "Now, tell me once and for all what she said and I will spare you your lives."

"Shut up!" InuYasha yelled at him. "We not going to tell you anything, so you go to Hell!" He swung his Tetsusaiga challengingly. Sesshomaru simply observed him without a sliver of expression.

"It would be no trouble at all in killing you, InuYasha. You hold your weaknesses on your face. A trait from your pathetic human blood, no doubt," he answered in the closest thing to a sneer as was possible for him.

"Shut the Hell up!" InuYasha roared and took a step forward as if intending to run him through right then. Kagome hurried to lay a hand on his shoulder to stop him. He hesitated for a moment, but then let himself he calmed down. After a moment, Sesshomaru turned his eyes to Kagome and watched her. Kagome remained amazingly still under his gaze without any indication of fear. Then he shifted his gaze to each of the others in turn before resting once again on InuYasha. Finally the dog demon swiftly turned and began to walk back the way he came.

"I never thought you'd be the one to run away from a battle, Sesshomaru," InuYasha sneered loud enough for his brother to hear.

The dog youkai paused only for a moment to turn his head slightly, but only that. "Do not push your luck too far, little brother. I will not kill you today. There is still some need for you to live a while longer, from what you say. Once your task is over, then I shall kill you." With that, he turned his head back and continued on with his walk as calmly as he came.

They waited until the outline of Sesshomaru had vanished among the shadows once again before they dared move or give a sigh of relief. "What the Hell did he mean by "from what you say"? We didn't tell him anything about Kagura." Grumbling to himself, he shoved his Tetsusaiga back into its sheath and headed back to the hut without another word.

Kagome watched him leave with a worried expression. "Oh, InuYasha..." she whispered to herself, shaking her head. Lifting her gaze back up to the others, she said in her regular tone, "What do you think?"

They were quiet for a few moments. Miroku had a hard expression while Sango watched him worriedly, Shippou and Kirara in her hands. The houshi watched InuYasha disappear into the hut before switching his gaze to the spot where Sesshomaru had vanished. He gave a fatigued sigh before rubbing his left temple with a hand. "There's no doubt Sesshomaru meant Kagura, that we can be sure. Obviously the two of them met recently and close by if Sesshomaru was able to locate us so quickly."

"Perhaps Kagura purposely went out of her way to meet Sesshomaru? Unless he simply detected her scent of Naraku and hunted her down," Sango commented.

"But why would Kagura want Sesshomaru to find her? Doesn't Sesshomaru want to kill Naraku as badly as we do?" Shippou thought aloud, scratching his head as he watched Miroku.

Miroku sighed before replying. "I don't know. It is possible that she wanted to get his allegiance as well. They may be enemies, but it's obvious that he didn't kill Kagura or else InuYasha would have found the scent of Naraku's blood on Sesshomaru." After a moment, he gazed at the sunset as he continued. "Sesshomaru asked us what secret we had made with Kagura. He also told us that we had a task to finish. I have little doubts that he doesn't know about Kagura's oath to us. Could it be plausible that she also told him of our intentions?"

No one answered this. It was impossible to predict what Sesshomaru would do if he found out that they were planning on killing Naraku. There could be the chance that he would kill all of them just so he would have a clear field for his own revenge, for all they knew.

"But..." Kagome began, "But does this mean that Kagura can be trusted?"

New silence was born at the words. Could Kagura be trusted? True, she was a woman of Naraku, but she had kept InuYasha's new moon secret and she had given them the strongest oath of fealty known to both humans and demons alike. If she had gone to Sesshomaru for help as well, she might truly be trying to get safety into the death of Naraku.

"Let's return inside," Miroku finally whispered. The light was getting terribly thin and they had to have a good night rest before their journey tomorrow morning. The others mumbled a soft agreement before they turned and headed back towards the hut.

Despite the weakening light, Sesshomaru was able to see his path as clearly as if it were day. The forest trees passed him by swiftly as he sped along, mind full to burst. 'She swore an oath to them,' he thought in amazement. The monk had been clear enough, even if his companions had been blind to it. The only reason he would ask if Kagura threw her blood at his feet was if she had already done so with them. 'She will get herself killed soon enough. Naraku will not stay blind to her secret betrayal for long.' His thoughts died away into tense silence as the last rays of light vanished and the distant glow of a fire appeared. Rin was already waving to him while Jaken was apparently trying to drag his bottom along the ground in attempt to put out a fire at the end of his kimono.

The interior of the hut shared the same tense silence of Sesshomaru's mind. Each member of their group sat around the fire as if rolling the words over in their heads. It had taken a good two or three hours to decide, but it seemed longer if one included the eerie feel of awkwardness between each sentence. The plan was made, and that's all there was to it.

"I still don't like it," InuYasha growled, eyes closed and arms folded.

Kagome gave him a pitied look. "We have to trust Kagura, InuYasha. We just have to. Otherwise the entire plan would collapse. We need her help." She knew the attempt to comfort him was in vain, but she felt it essential nonetheless.

"But how do we know that she won't betray us? She could lead us straight into one of Naraku's traps and we'd be dead before we knew it," InuYasha insisted, eyes now open and glaring, more in irritation than fury. "She could be under Naraku's order all this time and be guiding us to our deaths!"

"Yes, we know the risk, InuYasha," Miroku answered calmly. "It seems by this point that everything hangs on Kagura's oath. Either she meant it and she will lead us to Naraku's castle without his knowledge or she will betray us to our demise. It's the very balance between definite life and death."

InuYasha gave another growl but said no more. Overall those growls had been the extent of his dialogue as they formed the plan. Even though Kagome had suggested a good chunk of it herself, she didn't like it much more than any of the others. First, Kagura would secretly lead them to Naraku's castle where InuYasha would inflict his Red Tetsusaiga on it so they could enter. Then they would immediately attack with full strength until they came close enough to Naraku for frontal attacks. By this point they would simply concentrate on cutting pieces of his flesh off so they could capture one before it melted back into him. Kagome would strap herself to the piece of flesh and let it absorb itself back into Naraku with her imbetween. Though Kagome would probably be dead by this point, her miko powers would spread throughout his body until it killed him completely and freed the jewel shards. It was a terribly bleak plan, but if they worked hard enough, it would be successful.

"Kagome shouldn't have to die," InuYasha grumbled for what seemed like the tenth time. Despite his protests, he had carefully avoided looking at Kagome during the entire planning. "There should be another way."

"There isn't, InuYasha," Kagome answered softly. "If there was, we would take it, but there isn't. You have to accept that."

Suddenly InuYasha flew to his feet and towered over Kagome with clenched fists. "Accept it! Accept that you're letting yourself give up your life and for what? For some damn jewel shards and revenge over Naraku? I can't--!" He cut himself off as a loud growl ripped through his throat and he twisted to drive his fist into the wall of the hut. It made a deep dent and the hanyou had barely removed his fist before he stormed out of the hut.

"InuYasha..." Kagome whispered as tears started to sting her eyes. Quiet flowed over the rest of them. Kagome remained staring at the door for a good while, not daring to glance at the others. Finally she rose from her seat and filed out after the hanyou. The night was dark, but it was peaceful and pleasantly cool. A first glance told her that he had stormed off to sit on a tree log that sat just before the fields and the fire pit where they cooked their meals. Slowly she approached him. He didn't look at her as she sat down beside him, but kept his gaze firmly on the sky above. It was a beautifully clear sky with millions of twinkling silver stars shining down at them.

For a long time they said nothing to each other. Kagome gazed at the sky too, but her mind was elsewhere. 'He said that my death wasn't worth the jewel shards or revenge...he actually said that...' she thought in disbelief. It a rather bittersweet feeling to know that he cared about her so much to say that. 'For so long all he wanted was the Shikon Jewel so he could become full demon and avenge Kikyou's death. Did...did he really mean it?'

Her thoughts fell quiet for a moment as she side-glanced at InuYasha. The moon reflected off his golden eyes, so stern and angry. His silver hair seemed to glow as well, despite the night. Her eyes rested on his white dog-ears for a moment and suddenly her heart sank. Once she fulfilled her duties in the defeat of Naraku, she would never be able to touch those soft ears again. She would never be able to see his golden eyes or silver hair. She would never feel the warmth of his hands. Her heart would never race anymore from a his hug. Her eyes stung, but she didn't notice. She would fight with him again, never sit him again, never get angry at him for coming to her school without his hat on. He'd never save her again and she'd never save him again. She would never smile at him, laugh with him, tease him again...She'd never kiss him again.

Raising a hand, she turned her face away to try and wipe the tears from her damp cheeks. She gave a soft hiccup from her sobs and didn't bother in trying to stop them. She knew it was useless.

"Kagome?" a soft voice asked. She turned her head around and her heart nearly burst as her eyes met his. The pure sight of him made her mind race in the realization that she loved him. She loved him so much...so much that it nearly hurt. Her heart seemed to want to beat its way out of her chest.

"I'm afraid, InuYasha," she whispered back, dropping her gaze.

"Kagome..." After a few moments, she felt his arms slowly wrap around her as she was pulled into his chest. "You don't have to be afraid. I'll...I'll protect you, Kagome," he whispered into her raven black hair. "You're safe with me..."

She gave another sniff, but gladly accepted the embrace. "InuYasha...I'm not afraid of death...I'm..." She buried her face in his shoulder. "I'm afraid of losing you." He seemed to stiffen slightly at her words as if shock had ripped through him. "I'm afraid of losing you..." she repeated even more softly.

"K-Kagome..." he stuttered, but said no more. The moonlight seemed cold on her hands, but the warmth of the hanyou she loved was only just beginning to thaw the fear that clutched her heart.


Liked the fluff? Good, then you have something to review about. LOL Anyway, I hope you liked it and I'm sorry it took so long to make. Enjoy and review!