Disclaimer: I don't own any Inuyasha characters. Please don't sue.
Author's Note: At last! The final chapter! Oh man, this story was extremely trying. I hope everyone enjoyed it, and don't worry. There's a nice little epilogue coming soon to wrap things up a little bit more. Thank you so much for everyone who stuck with me through my trails and tribulations, and watch out for the epilogue and the first chapter of Project Armageddon, re-vamped and charging full-speed ahead.
Chapter 27, The Final Sealing
Takara Kahori stepped forward from the shoji, her amethyst eyes boring into Naraku's. She was beautiful, a fragile iris blooming on the edge of night and winter. Her face was as white as a geisha's, her painted lips were as red as blood. Her kimono billowed about her thin frame like fog around the mountains. It was silver, and the embroidery shimmered in the candlelight. Kahori's midnight black hair had been pulled back into a bun that was decorated by lilies. She took one step forward, and then another.
A growl arose from Naraku's chest, and his eyes flashed, but he did not move. Miroku watched his mother in wonder. How many years had it been since he had seen her? And since when had she possessed the power to stand? Something moist hit his hand and he realized that he was crying.
"Step away from him, Naraku," Kahori commanded.
Immediately, Naraku obeyed.
Kahori surveyed the damage, taking in each speck of dust. Her eyes paused a moment on the face of her husband, and then looked away again quickly. Finally, she sighed and said, "Miroku, bring the miko to me."
Miroku swallowed against his dry throat and stumbled over to Scarlet. He collected the bleeding, half-conscious girl into his arms and made his slow way over to his mother. When he had reached her, Kahori placed a hand on his shoulder and he lowered Scarlet to the ground.
Kahori looked next at Sango. "Miroku, cut her free."
As Miroku did this, Kahori slowly padded down the stairs. She kept her head high and her back straight as she walked, showing no evidence of the disease that had plagued her for so many years. She inspected each of the unmoving Chiba siblings, shaking her head sadly when she came to Yu.
Miroku knelt beside Sango and cut the cords that bound her. He helped her rub the raw skin on her wrists and ankles before pulling her to her feet. Then, Miroku led the princess away from Naraku and over toward his mother.
Naraku watched them, ferocity shining in his sapphire eyes. Still, he did not attack.
When they reached her, Kahori took Sango's face in her hands. They looked at each other intently, as if trying to measure something in each other's eyes. Then, Sango threw her arms around Kahori in a tight embrace. Miroku stood there, stunned, watching the two women hold onto each other like they were mother and daughter. When Sango broke the hug, there were tears in her eyes. Kahori brushed them away gently.
"Help me with the miko, Sango-chan," she said softly.
Takara Kahori crossed the room to Scarlet, knelt down beside her, and touched her shoulder. "How are you?" she whispered concernedly.
Scarlet coughed, and dark red blood dribbled down her pale cheek. "Breathing is a little hard—I broke a rib—but I can still string my bow. Give me a shot at that bastard. I want to get him back for what he said about Kioko-sama."
Kahori knit her brows together. "Scarlet, there was nothing you could have done for Kioko-sama. There's nothing any of us could have done."
"No," Scarlet hissed laboriously. "I'm so tired of people saying that. It was my fault she died. She died so I could live, just like my mother in that village… That's why, Kahori-sama…That's why—" She closed her shaking hand around her bow. "—I need to see him dead before I go."
Sango's hand flew so fast that is was no more than a blur. Miroku didn't register the slap, even, until Scarlet reached up to touch her reddened cheek in surprise. Kahori stared quietly at Sango. Sango glared at Scarlet. "Don't talk like that!" Sango screamed. "Don't talk like you're dead already. If you talk like that, what's the point in fighting? …If you talk like that, Scarlet-chan, how can you possibly go on living?"
Scarlet looked up at her friend, her face a myriad of emotions. "Sango-chan…"
Kahori stood and walked placidly through the shoji she had entered by. When she remerged, she was carrying Sango's Hiraikotsu and her wakizashi. She handed them to the girl, and stepped back. Sango accepted them and looked at Scarlet with fierce determination shining in her mahogany orbs.
"You won't die, Scarlet-chan; I won't lose anyone else."
Sango swung her Hiraikotsu over her shoulder and marched down the broken steps to stand beside Miroku. When she drew level with him, she turned and faced him. Her whole frame was strangely rigid and her gaze intense, as though she were bracing herself for an attack. "Houshi-sama…you were trying to tell me something before I was captured, back in the woods. What was it?"
Miroku stared at the girl in front of him in a mixture of awe and horror. He looked at his mother. Her amethyst gaze was steady and gentle, full of compassions and, at the same time, compelling him to tell the truth. He looked at Kyoden's katana, hanging loosely in his hand. He closed his finger around the hilt, and felt that his brother was close to him. He looked back at Sango, took a deep breath, and opened his mouth.
"Sango…do you remember the night we met?"
Sango nodded. How could she forget the night that she had lost everything…and gained Miroku…?
"I told you my name was Miroku, nothing more and nothing less. Miroku, who was 'just a traveling servant of Buddha'." Miroku sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It was such a comfortable, familiar habit that Sango almost forgot what they were talking about. "You told me that you had tried to kill yourself, I said you were being silly, that you must have everything you could possibly want. Immediately, you informed me that everything you had ever loved had been taken from you that same night.
"You told me that your fiancé had perished that night. I dropped the bandages, do you remember?"
"Yes," Sango breathed. "You said my name…"
"I told you that I had also suffered a loss that night. You grabbed my hand and whispered, 'Please…please do not say that your loss is greater than mine, or I shall not be able to contain my tears.'"
Those forgotten tears now began to well in Sango's eyes. "Houshi-sama…"
"Do you still remember what I said, Sango?"
"Houshi-sama!" Sango took one step back from him, too frightened by the impending truth to hear more. "No more, houshi-sama. I don't want to hear any more!" Sango looked up and caught Kahori's eyes. The woman's face was a mask of pain, but her gaze was steady and clear. Sango looked back at Miroku, whose face was almost a mirror of Kahori's.
"Sango, I told you I thought we were just about even." Miroku shook his head and released a disgust chuckle. "I lied to you, Sango. I lied because I was afraid, not to help you. I thought I was protecting you by keeping the truth from you, but I was only helping myself.
"When I was very young, I began putting on disguises and snuck into the villages around my home. I was terribly good at it, and quickly learned all the tricks. But as soon as the disguise was found out, everything changed; I couldn't just be me, I had to act and talk in a way that fit my status. In all my life, no matter what façade I wore, only one person treated me like I was just the same as everyone else. That person, Sango, was my brother."
Sango stifled a sob. "No, houshi-sama. Onegai shimasu! I don't want to hear this!"
Miroku hardened his expression and pressed on. "When I pretended to be a houshi, you treated me like I was just any other person interested in your welfare. Sometimes, you even treated me like I was below you. It certainly was interesting, Sango. In fact, I grew to like it. Eventually, I came to depend on it. I couldn't tell you who I was, because I didn't want to lose you."
Miroku stopped and looked at the princess before him. Sango didn't move, and she didn't say a word. She simply stood there trembling.
"Go ahead, Miroku," Kahori said gently. "Tell her."
"Yes, boi, tell her who you really are. Tell her everything," Naraku taunted. "Just give me a moment to get over there, I want to see the look in her eyes when you tell her." He began to move towards the two, but an icy flash of Kahori's eyes stopped him in his tracks.
"Not a word out of you, cur," she spat.
"Sango, my name is Takara Miroku. Takara Bairei, the Great Lord of the Eastern Land, is my father. I am his heir. Takara Kahori is my mother, so I am also an inheritor of the Blood Seal, which you described to me. Takara Kyoden, your fiancé who perished at Naraku's hands, was my brother."
The Hiraikotsu slid from Sango's back and hit the floor with a resounding clap. Scarlet, from her perch on top of the stairs, closed her eyes and muttered a silent prayer. Takara Kahori did not move an inch. Miroku gazed steadily into Sango's widened mahogany eyes.
A tear slid down Sango's cheek, paused momentarily on her chin, and then plummeted downwards to the floor.
Piercing metallic laughter sliced through the air, drawing every eye in the room. "Excellent!" Naraku cackled. "I couldn't have predicted a better outcome. How moving, how powerful—a truly exhilarating turn of events. Miroku, oji, you truly have done my job for me. Ha!" The demon was almost doubled over in laughter. Miroku felt his stomach drop to his feet, and found himself unable to look at Sango.
"Naraku—" Kahori began.
"Enough!" Naraku roared, rounding on Kahori. The air cracked between them cracked viciously, and Kahori fell back.
"Hahaue!" Miroku gasped, running to his mother's side. Kahori took his arm and pulled herself to a sitting position. A stream of blood had appeared on her chin, but she ignored it. She glared at Naraku, her amethyst eyes alive with silent fury.
"It is done, woman," Naraku growled, stepping towards Kahori. Her threw out his hands and laughed cruelly. "You have no control over me anymore—the Blood Seal is weakened. Every moment that passes, I grow stronger and soon, I will break the Blood Seal's hold over me by killing you and the Blood Seal's descendants."
Kahori squeezed Miroku's arm, and he looked at her. Very softly, so that her lips were hardly moving, Kahori breathed, "Go to Scarlet—find out whether or not she has the vile." Then, she stood, wiped the blood from her chin, and glared hard at Naraku. "What makes you so certain that you will ascertain so much power, hanyou?" she challenged. "You have not known your powers since infancy."
Naraku thinned his lips angrily at the bold challenge, but proceeded to explain nonetheless. "I know more of my destiny than you would care to believe, onna. I have met with youkai who would seek to manipulate me, or to oppose me, but none of them have lasted long. I know that a great evil gives authority to my whims, and sets its will against my enemies. But moreover, I have felt within my being a huge voice, an abyss that would be filled by the enormous power I am meant to have inherited, if not for that disgusting miko and you three ladies." He spat on the ground in front of Kahori. "The power is now so close I can almost taste it; I fear you no longer."
As he spoke, Miroku crossed to Scarlet. Her breathing pains had increased, but she smiled bravely as he drew near. "Miroku…" she wheezed.
Miroku reached out and took her hand. He squeezed it, imagining as he did so that he could transfer some strength and hope into Scarlet's body. "I did it, Scarlet," he whispered. "I told Sango everything."
Scarlet's smile grew, and she stretched out her hand to touch his face. "I know, princeling. I'm proud of you."
They stayed like that for a few moments, drinking in strength from the other's presence. This was a concluding point in their relationship, and both knew that it might be the last time they ever saw one another in this lifetime. "Scarlet, I need to know: Do you have the vile?"
"Yes," she answered slowly, closing her eyes. She reached into her kimono and pulled it from the layers of silken cloth. "Here it is, good as new." It was a beautiful crystalline vile filled with an emerald liquid that glittered in the light. Scarlet pressed the vile into Miroku's palm. Her icy blue eyes watched his face steadily and she said, "Miroku, Naraku must not be allowed to have this vile; this vile is the only thing that keeps him from his true power. Do not let him take it!"
"Oji, I tire of this!" Naraku hissed, suddenly appearing nearby. Miroku quickly concealed the vile inside of his robes. As he did so, his hand brushed against another object; it was the prayer bracelet that Domeki had given him. "Are you going to fight, or do you prefer to hide back here with the women?"
Miroku bristled. "That's enough, Naraku."
"Oh," Naraku said with mock sensitivity. "Have I insulted your manhood, oji?"
Miroku said nothing.
Naraku was beginning to get anxious and agitated. If Miroku kept resisting his attempts to mentally unsettle him, the fight would not be an easy one. "Fight me!" he commanded, letting his bloodlust slip from his aura.
Still, Miroku said nothing. Kyoden's sword felt like lead in his hands, unyielding and strong. It warned him against brash actions.
"Very well," Naraku seethed. "Perhaps I need to persuade you." His foot flew out and he kicked Scarlet in the side, sending her rolling across the ground. Miroku flinched, but Kyoden's sword was now a dead weight, keeping his feet firmly planted. When Naraku saw that his course of action had not rendered the desired effect, his lip curled in anger and he raised his katana to cut Scarlet open.
"Damare! Naraku!" Kahori exclaimed, running forward. The plea didn't carry much weight, but it caused just enough hesitation in the hanyou to create the necessary opening for Sango to dive into action.
Naraku's katana struck the surface of Hiraikotsu, causing the blade to hum viciously. An instant later, before Naraku had quite comprehended the situation, Sango emerged from behind the giant boomerang, her wakizashi glinting. Naraku blocked quickly, catching the wakizashi just inches from his chest, and pushed against the thin steel so hard that Sango almost lost her footing as she backed away.
"You little bitch," Naraku growled as he blocked another attack. "Are you so indignant as to fight me with killing intent?"
"I will fight you until you lie dead at my feet, monster," Sango replied angrily as she pounced again. "I will never give up." Tears sparkled in her brown eyes as she fought.
"So, you have convinced yourself that it is within your capacity to destroy me?" Naraku said calmly, his cool countenance unaltered by her threats.
"I am certain that I can and I will, no matter what it means. I will kill you, Naraku." Sango promised, barely dodging a clever counterattack.
"And what do you know of killing, Sango hime?" Naraku taunted. He dodged as Sango brought Hiraikotsu around her body to take out his knees. "How many men have you killed in your time?"
Sango did not answer, but the question had an immediate effect on her performance. Her movement had suddenly become much more wild—the confidence was receding from her face.
"How many youkai have fallen t your feet, begging for their lives?"
Sango made an uncalculated swing of her boomerang that threw her off balance. She stumbled, tripped, and hit the ground hard. Her wakizashi slipped from her hand and rolled across the ground. Naraku's foot shot out and came down upon the blade of her wakizashi so forcibly that the steel was split. The hanyou laughed and began to circle Sango, his katana springing forward like a cobra at random intervals, opening shallow cuts along her arms and legs. His lips were cocked in a crooked smile that dared Sango to rise to her feet once more. "How many times have you hidden yourself away, Sango hime, relying on the men in your life to save you from the terrible shadows that descend upon you. First, you sacrificed your father and brother's lives so that you might live. Then, you stood by as Kyoden oji gave himself for your safety. Cruel, ice-hearted woman!"
From where she lay on the ground, her face partially obscured by her silken hair, Sango released a stifled sob.
"Now I ask you, hime, what do you know of killing?"
Sango trembled as he mind reeled. Everything from that fateful night onward was spinning around inside her skull, the images crashing into one another to form explosive bolts of light behind her eyelids. Her meeting with Miroku, his vow to help her avenge her family, spreading her father's ashes to the wind, the sight of Kyoden's dead body, Tomomi and Domeki, the dragon and the river, Scarlet and the Chiba siblings, the truth of Scarlet's past, her capture, and the truth of Miroku's past; all of the events and emotions she had kept bottled up inside of her had reached breaking point. She opened her eyes, grabbed Hiraikotsu, and screamed as her world came crashing in around her in an explosion of color and sound.
Miroku, still rooted to the spot, watched in awe as Sango began an exact and effective counterattack. She was pressing Naraku back, dodging every attack she could and ignoring the injuries merited by those attack she could not. Tears and sweat poured down her face, mingling with the strands of hair and pools of blood that had collected there. She was a terrifying sight, and Miroku found his mind soaring back to his last discussion with Domeki, where the old man had solemnly pleaded, "Don't let her be consumed by her want for revenge, Miroku-san." Miroku hadn't known it then, but now he was certain that his was exactly what the old monk had been warning him about.
He had already seen this side of his own personality, the night when he had gone off to meditate—the terrible, black enigma that had attacked him was now present in Sango. That presence that had entered into through the Kazaana was now eating away at the princess. Kyoden had helped Miroku conquer this part of him, but now his brother's earthly influence was almost spent and it was up to Miroku to save Sango. Miroku reached into his robes, extracted the prayer bracelet, and slowly began to approach Sango.
-…-…-…-…-…-
As Miroku crept towards Sango, Takara Kahori pulled herself over to where Scarlet lay unmoving. Very gently, she rolled Scarlet onto her back and placed her head full of dark crimson-tinted hair into her lap. "Scarlet," she beckoned softly.
The miko's icy eyes fluttered open. "Kahori-san… I feel my life closing in around me."
Kahori coaxed some stray hairs away from Scarlet's face. "She," she soothed. "Sango's right—don't talk like that. Besides, I need you to live."
"Why's that?"
"I need you to seal Naraku, you know how to do so, don't you?"
Scarlet laughed roughly, bringing up more blood to dribble down her chin. "Kahori-san, Kioko-sama's sole purpose in training me was to carry on her work—I not only know how to perform a flawless seal, but I also know how to care for it and how to uphold it."
"Good," said Kahori with a tender smile. "Will it require another Blood Seal?"
Scarlet considered this for a moment. "I don't believe so," she said slowly. "If I can get Miroku's and Sango's blood on the vile, and if a union if formed between their bloodlines on some following date, all that should be otherwise required in a constant caretaker." She looked at Kahori. "Would you be willing to do this, Kahori-san?"
Kahori shook her head sadly. "No, Scarlet. I am old and I have been sick for a long time. When this is done, I intend to enter the after life and join my sisters, Kinuko and Mayuko."
Scarlet's eyes flashed to the battlefield. Sango's condition was heightening—she was growing concerned. If Sango's situation continued to escalate so rapidly, it would not be long before Sango was consumed by it. "Then, you mean for me to be the caretaker."
"Would you do it, Scarlet?"
Scarlet closed her eyes and let her mind stray from the battlefield to address the matter at hand. If she declined, her injuries would kill her within the hour. If she accepted, her injuries would be cured by the purifying qualities of the sealing, and her life would be extended to well beyond the stretches of her mortal mind. If she accepted, she would spend the rest of her life defending the vile until someone with enough talent emerged to become her apprentice. As soon as the apprentice was fully trained, Scarlet would finally be able to pass from the earth. Scarlet tried to imagine what it would be like living for what could turn into centuries, and then smiled at the though of watching and guarding Miroku's and Sango's descendants. "Yes, Kahori-san," she said finally, "I would be happy to."
-…-…-…-…-…-
Back on the battlefield, the blades were flying. Sango knew nothing more than action-reaction, all else was fading from her mind like a flickering candle as seen through rice-paper doors. Names and faces danced before her eyes, but she pushed them away. One face and name appeared again and again. It was a handsome face with amethyst eyes, but it hurt her to look upon it so she shied from it. Darkness fluttered around the edges of her vision, threatening to consume her, and she welcomed it. Darkness no longer held any fear for her—instead, she lusted after its peace and emptiness.
Empty. That's what she wanted; she wanted to be utterly and completely empty. Feeling was too painful and she couldn't take it anymore. She tried to hollow herself out, to free herself, but each time those amethyst eyes emerged and stopped her. She knew of only one way to free herself: to destroy the creature before her. She sensed innately that it was because of him that feeling had become an ordeal, and that only his death could satisfy her.
Something sharp struck her forehead and blood poured into her eyes. It took a moment for her to realize that the creature's sword had pierce her brow. The wound hurt, and the pain renewed her attacks on the monster. She swung at his middle with her giant weapon, but he dodged, landing on top of the weighty object and running up it towards her, sword raised. Sango didn't move, she only watched and waited for the final, truest emptiness to break upon her live a wave.
It never did, because the next moment, Sango was far from the monster, wrapped in a strong, fragrant embrace. She took a deep breath of the rich scent, and watched numbly as a green bracelet was slipped onto her wrist. The beads were cold. She blinked back tears and looked up into two wide, hopeful amethyst eyes. "Miroku…" she breathed.
Miroku smiled and then leaned in and caught her lips in a gentle but firm kiss that sent shivers racing up and down her spine.
Naraku shrieked and raced towards them, his blade flashing wildly. Miroku pushed Sango back, bracing himself for the on-coming attack, but the girl grabbed his arm and came level with him. "Together, Miroku."
Miroku grinned at her. She winked. They dove into action.
-…-…-…-…-…-
At the top of the stairs, Scarlet summoned her power into her hands. The glow burned brightly, pulsing around her and tingling as the purity closed her wounds. She opened her eyes and focused on Naraku. "Miroku!" she called.
The three figures below looked up at Scarlet, faces blank as awe overcame them. Miroku reached into his robes and produced the vile. Naraku saw and went pale.
"No…" he gasped. He didn't move.
"Hurry, Miroku. It needs both yours and Sango's blood on it," Scarlet instructed. The power was surging through her now, arching off her body in violent waves that lashed out and hissed. She cast a glance around for the Chiba siblings. Yu was dead, she knew. Jou was crouched over her lifeless body, his blind eyes watching Scarlet. Ton stood beside him, clutching his sister's hand. They were glowing dimly in the light—the intensity of Scarlet's power would soon purify their demon halves if they didn't distance themselves from her.
Miroku did as he was told, and pressed the vile into Sango's hands. A moment later, the vile was prepared. Scarlet gasped as she released a bolt of her power. It danced around the room, whizzed through Naraku as the hanyou screeched, and then carried him with it into the vile.
Scarlet crumbled to her feet, drained, but happy. Sango looked at the vile in her hands, and then immediately turned to Miroku to rip away the prayer beads.
"Sango!" Miroku exclaimed instinctively.
Sango squealed happily and lifted his bare palm for him to see. "It's gone, Miroku! It's really gone. You're free!" Happy tears were streaming from her eyes. "We did it, you're finally free."
Miroku smiled and embraced her, "I love you, Sango," he said huskily.
Sango laughed as she said, "And I love you, Miroku." Miroku brushed her tears away and then enfolded her lips in a hard kiss.
The End
- Ichimu