Chapter 24 His Plan Fails!
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A/N: I'm so happy you all reviewed! You are all so cool! Thank you!
Flower Kid- Okay I went and looked at the chapter you reviewed and I can't find the part you are talking about…But I do know in my early chapters of this story they are not too good. I have made them better, but I still need to fix a few more things. I just haven't gotten around to it! I keep starting other things!
Sango17- Thanks! Smiles. I got this chapter up as soon as I could! I will continue to read your story and look forward to your updates!
Foxywolfkagome-Thank you for reviewing. Glad you liked it.
angel61991- I updated!
StarfireGreencoon-Thanks, I'm so glad you like it!
heavens lil cherry-Thanks! Here it is! Sorry it took me so long!
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Sesshomaru found his brother, not surprisingly, trapped. He knew his brother was weak but he never thought he was weak enough to get himself ensnared by something so weak as vines! They had wound themselves around his hanyou brother's arm. Inuyasha seemed to be yanking at the vines and shouting something about Kagome leaving him, or whatever. Sesshomaru didn't really care. All he wanted was to free his brother so they could go after Naraku. But still it shamed him to see his brother fall pray to an obvious trap as this.
Sesshomaru began walking towards his brother when the wind around him began to pick up. He looked up and saw Kagura descending towards him on one of her famous feathers. She whore a cocky grin on her face as she landed not far from him.
"Nice seeing you, Sesshomaru. How have you been all this time?" She asked tilting her head off to the side. "Did you miss me?"
"I don't have time for any of your games! If you are here to fight me, then lets get it over with! The sooner I destroy you the sooner I can help my brother and kill your master Naraku." Sesshomaru said coldly. He did not have time for these games! Sesshomaru was tired of being here! He wanted to destroy Naraku now! What was with all these delays! First his brother and now Kagura? When would it end?
"I am here to fight you, but not because I want to. Naraku is watching me. He always is! So I at least have to make it look like I battled you and lost. Please do this for me! I promise I can help you! I know things about Naraku others don't! I know his weaknesses! You just have to help me! Set me free!" Kagura whispered quickly.
Sesshomaru remained silent for a few moments. He thought about what she was saying. She did have a point. She may prove useful if defeating Naraku. They may need her in the end. "Fine, I will help you. But if I find out this is a ploy….I will not hesitate to kill you on the spot!" Sesshomaru nodded his head. He had new admiration for this woman. It took guts to go against your master. He liked that.
"Thank you." Kagura said taking a step back. She flung out her fan and attacked. "Fuujin no Mai!"
Her wind blades shot out at Sesshomaru. He easily dodged every one of them. He then unsheathed his sword and swung it towards Kagura. He used low energy so as not to hurt her severely. Kagura didn't even attempt to dodge the attack and was flung backwards with out the blade even touching her. She hit the ground with a thud and pretended to be unconscious. She hoped this worked! She so desperately wanted it to!
Sesshomaru then walked over to his brother and with one swipe of his poison talons broke the vines trapping him. Inuyasha fell to the ground. The spell was broken. He quickly got to his feet, confused.
"What happened?" Inuyasha asked his brother. "One minute Kagome was running off with that wolf butt, Koga and the next minute I'm here with you."
"You, my brother were under some kind of spell. You are so weak! Trapped by mere vines! I can only imagine that Kagome and the others are trapped much the same way." Sesshomaru said coolly.
"Kagome! We have to find them!" Inuyasha said ignoring his brother's harsh words. "Wait. How come you weren't trapped?"
"I was smart enough to know it was all a trick set up by the unholy beast, Naraku! You on the other hand…."
"Come on! We have to find the others!" Inuyasha said beginning to run. He had to find Kagome. He just knew she was in some kind of danger!
Sesshomaru glanced one more time behind him before following after his brother. He looked to where Kagura had been but she was gone. He smiled, which surprised even him! Without wasting any more time he ran after his brother.
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To Takashi it had seemed like hours since he had been trapped in this world of complete and utter nothingness. He hated this place with a passion! It was just so lonely! And the one thing he hated the most was being alone. It was his worst fear! The one thing he hoped would never happen to him and yet it had.
Takashi had just about given up hope when a bright light shown down on him. He shielded his eyes and tried to focus on the figuring coming towards him through the golden light. As the figure got closer he began to notice things. The person was a woman and….and….she looked so much like him! Who was she! Was she his mother, his birth mother? He so desperately hoped she was. How many times had he dreamed of meeting her?
"Who are you? Are you going to hurt me?" Takashi said trying to make sense of it all.
"No Takashi I am not here to hurt you, but to help you." The woman said.
"How do you know my name?" Takashi taking a step back.
"I am the one who gave you that name." The woman stated simply.
"What?" Takashi stepped forward and got a better look at the woman standing before him. She was just so beautiful. Her hair was a shade of golden yellow he had never seen before and went way past her shoulders. Her eyes were green just like his own, and her skin was very pale. She looked dazzling. Just as he often pictured her to be. "Mother?"
"Yes, that's me." The woman smiled.
"I don't know what to say. I have so many questions for you!" Takashi said running a hand through his black hair.
"We have plenty of time. Ask me anything."
"Why did you abandon me?"
"You weren't abandoned. Your father and I were being hunted by a demon who wanted our power. We had reason to believe he didn't know you existed yet and wanted to keep it that way. So, in order to save your life we gave you up. Yes it was a human family but we knew they would take good care of you and we made them promise not to tell you anything about us. Because then the demon may be able to find you that way. All we wanted was for you to grow up safely." She said sadly.
"Did the demon find you?" Takashi asked. He already knew the answer to the question but he had to ask it anyway.
"Yes. Eventually he did." She said shaking her head with remorse.
Takashi hung his head. "Why are you telling me this now?"
"Because that demon….is Naraku."
Takashi looked at her in surprise. "Naraku? He's the one that killed you! They to avenge your death I will kill him!" Takashi clenched his jaw angrily.
"You must be careful! When he sees you in battle he may realize who you are. Fight hard my son."
"Wait! Before you go, can you tell me yours and my father's name?"
"My name is Naomi and you father's is Katsu."
"Thank you." Takashi said truly grateful. "I just have one more question."
"What is it, my son?"
"What kind of demon am I?" This was the question he had wanted the answer to the most out of anything.
"That is something you already know, deep down you have always known. It was something we hid deep in your memory to save you. Look hard and you will find it." She walked towards him and placed her hand gently on his head. Takashi reveled in her gently touch. Her hand was so warm. "Remember." She said.
Takashi closed his eyes and tried to remember. He searched his mind until he found what he was looking for. "I'm a…." He began surprised by what he found.
"Yes." Naomi said. "I'm sorry but I must go now. I don't belong in this world. They only let me leave to help you."
Takashi nodded. "Thanks you. Tell father that I don't blame you for what you did. If I were in you position I would have done the same thing."
"I will my son. He will be happy to hear that. Now go save the girl! She needs your help! " With the wave of her hand she was gone. Takashi looked around him and noticed he was no longer in the world of nothingness. He was now back in the courtyard of Naraku's hideout. Takashi had no time to think about what had just happened. He raced off in search of Tessa, somehow knowing she was in danger and he would be the one to save her.
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Inuyasha finally found Kagome sitting on the ground crying and screaming. His heart ached for her. He didn't know what she was seeing but he knew it was something that was killing her. As he got closer to her he noticed her hand was placed over her heart and she was talking earnestly.
"Inuyasha no! Don't leave me! You can't die on me now!" She said.
Inuyasha could feel her anguish like it was his own. He bent down beside her and wrapped his arms around her but she didn't seem to even notice he was there. "Kagome," He began softly, "It's not real. What you are seeing is only a trick set up by Naraku. Come back to me."
Kagome seemed not to be hearing him. Her crying continued and she began to stare off into space. "Kagome!" Inuyasha said more earnestly. "Kagome! Listen to me!" She still didn't respond. "Kagome! Snap out of this!" He began to shake her. "All of this isn't real!"
Suddenly the spell over her was broken. "Inuyasha? Is that you?" Kagome asked not believing what she was seeing.
"Yes! Kagome it's me!" He stopped shaking her and hugged her tighter this time.
"Inuyasha! I thought Naraku had killed you and everyone else! You were dying in my arms and talking about how you saw you parents and they were calling to you! I tried to stop you from leaving me but it didn't work!" Kagome began to sob openly. "You left me and I felt as if my heart was breaking! It hurt so much!"
"Shh. Kagome everything is okay now. It was all just a trick set up by Naraku." He held her for a few minutes and let her cry. He looked up at Sesshomaru who had his back to them as if he was trying to give them some kind of privacy. "Now we have to go find the others, okay? They are probably in the same trouble as we were."
"Okay." Kagome sniffled.
Inuyasha helped her to her feet. When she regained her composure they all ran off searching for the remaining missing members of their strange group.
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When Takashi finally found Tessa saw was struggling on the ground. Somehow she had gotten herself trapped in some kind of vine. He knew she must be seeing something else, just like he was not long ago. Looking at her he saw she was scared out of her wits. With one swipe of his clawed hand he broke the vines, freeing her.
When Tessa noticed her restraints were got she quickly sat up. "What happened?" She asked Takashi. "One minute I was in a wooded area trapped by some demon and the next I'm here with you."
"First of all, it's wasn't a demon. I think it was just an illusion set up by Naraku to trick you." Takashi said smartly.
"Oh." Was all Tessa could say. "But it felt so real."
"Yeah I know. It felt real for me too. And guess what?" Takashi said taking a seat down beside her. "I found out what happened to my parents! They didn't abandon me or anything! They were killed by Naraku!"
"What! He killed your parents!"
"Yeah! I know!" Takashi retold what his mother had told him. About why they gave him up and, their names and he even described his mother. "She was so beautiful Tessa!"
"I'm so happy for you!" And she really was. He finally got the closure he had been seeking.
"Thanks! We better get going. I bet the others are in trouble too."
"Yeah. Let's go find them."
Takashi helped Tessa to her feet and together they walked off in search of their friends.
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Ayame was about to question Koga about what was going on when a boy appeared out from no where her. A human boy.
"Step away from him." The boy said with no emotion shown in his voice of his face.
"What? Why?" Ayame asked confused. Why was a human boy ordering her around? Why did he think he could tell her what to do?
"Because if you don't he will kill you." The boy said.
"Who? Naraku? Is he near here? Did he do this to Koga?"
"Get away from here before he kills you and leave Koga alone. He is part of Naraku's plan and you are tying to ruin it."
"I will not leave Koga here to die! I will not let Naraku kill him! You can't tell me what to do! You are only a weak human!"
KILL HER! The voice whispered across his mind. KILL HER! "No!" Kohaku screamed startling Ayame. He fell to his knees holding his head.
"What's going on? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Ayame asked feeling concern for the human boy. Maybe she had been a little harsh to him.
"Stay BACK!" Kohaku ordered shooting his weapon at her. Ayame was barely able to move out of the way in time.
"What is your problem?" Ayame asked getting angry. "Are you trying to kill me?"
Kohaku didn't bother a reply. He just continued to throw it weapon at her, trying to kill her. Ayame didn't know what to do. He was human and she didn't want to hurt him, besides even if she wanted to she couldn't get close enough anyway.
"Koga!" She yelled as she dodged another attack. "Koga! Snap out of it!" The weapon came at her again, this time closer than the last. "Koga!"
Koga thought he heard Ayame calling to him but he didn't believe his ears. It had to be his imagination. I mean, she was lying dead here, right before him.
Koga! He heard her call his name again. Maybe it wasn't his imagination and her spirit was here to haunt him. KOGA! A sharp pain ran down his back. He fell to his knees in a shock of pain. What the hell? He blinked his eyes a couple of times and saw Ayame standing right in front of him. Her face was so near his he could see the concern in her beautiful eyes.
"Ayame? Is that you? You're not dead?" Koga shook his head as if he wasn't believing what he was seeing.
"No baka! I'm alive! You must have been under some spell set up by the hanyou Naraku! Now hurry that boy is trying to kill me!"
Koga turned around just as Kohaku's weapon shot towards him. With ease he caught the weapon in his head and yanked it. Not expecting this Kohaku was thrown forward. He flew through the air and landed on the ground with a thud. The impact knocked him out.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Ayame wondered.
"Yeah, I just knocked him out. He'll wake up in a couple of hours."
"Good. Koga-" Ayame started to saw but was immediately stopped when Koga wrapped his arms around her.
"I thought you were dead! I thought you were dead and it was all my fault!" Koga pulled back and looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it, but I love you Ayame. I love you."
"Koga!" Ayame said hugging him again. "Are you serious! You really love me?" Ayame pulled back from the hug and looking into his blue eyes.
"Yes, Ayame. I love you and want you to me my mate."
"Omigosh! Koga!" Ayame didn't know what to say.
"So will you except?"
"Of course! You don't know how long I've dreamed of this moment!"
Koga chuckled. "Come. We should start looking for the others."
Ayame nodded and followed after him.
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Naraku slammed his fist into the ground, creating a large hole in the floorboards. "They both failed me!" He said angrily after seeing that both Kagura and Kohaku had failed to stop Ayame and Sesshomaru. "Good help is so hard to find these days! I guess I'll have to do everything my self! Kanna you stay here." Naraku ordered.
"Yes Milord." Kanna said dutifully.
Naraku left the room muttering obscenities as he went.
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Kagome, Inuyasha, and Sesshomaru quickly found Miroku by his horrid screams. When they found him, he was on his knees screaming something about his Kazanaa. He seemed genuinely upset about something and kept muttering about how sorry he was.
Kagome and Inuyasha looked at each other and instantly knew what he was seeing. Poor Miroku! They walked towards him and Inuyasha broke the vines that were slowly winding themselves up his arm and across his upper body. To Miroku this must have looked like his wind tunnel was sucking him up. Inuyasha forcefully but gently shook Miroku bring him back to reality.
"What happened? I thought I was being sucked up by my Kazanaa? I saw myself pull you guys inside it as well!" He said looking from Kagome, to Inuyasha to, Sesshomaru and back again.
"It was an illusion cast by Naraku." Kagome said simply.
"A weak illusion. I was able to figure out it was a trick!" Sesshomaru said crossing his arms.
"Have you found Sango yet?" Miroku asked worriedly.
"No. We still have to find Takashi and Tessa, Shippo and Kirira, and Sango." Inuyasha answered.
"Well then let's get going!" Miroku said getting to his feet. "We have to find them before it's too late!"
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Takashi and Tessa hadn't gone far when they heard crying. Perplexed they continued walking until they came across the owner of the cries.
"It's Shippo and Kirira!" Tessa shouted excitedly. She quickened her pace until she was upon them. Poor little Shippo seemed to be crying.
"Shippo? What's wrong?" Tessa asked the child. Was he under a spell like she was? What had he seen?
"Is he okay?" Takashi asked.
"I don't know. It's like he doesn't even know we're here."
Shippo began to hear voices and he thought he felt someone rubbing his back. When he looked up he saw Kirira was looking around like she could sense something.
"What is it, Kirira? Do you see something?"
"Rowr!" Kirira said.
Shippo looked around him searching. The voices began to get louder and slowly instead of being in the forest near the well he was in the courtyard again and Tessa and Takashi were sitting around him.
"How did you guys get here? What happened? I thought you all were fighting and left me!" The Kitsune said.
"No that must have been the illusion Naraku tried to trick you with." Takashi answered nodding his head.
"So you guys didn't really leave me?" Shippo asked the frown leaving his face as a smile took its place.
"Nope!" Takashi said patting Shippo's head. "We would never leave you!"
Shippo giggled happily and jumped into his arms.
"Come on you two! We need to find the others!" Tessa said beginning to leave.
"We're coming!" Takashi carried Shippo in his arms and followed Tessa. Kirira was not far behind.
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When Sango came into view Miroku ran to her. She appeared to be dead and was lying on the ground face first. As Miroku flipped her over they rest of the party reached him.
"Is she dead?" Asked Kagome on the verge of tears. If they were too late and Sango had…died, she didn't know what she would do. Sango had become her best friend!
Miroku placed two fingers on her neck to check for a pulse. He sighed with relieve. "No she is still alive." Miroku looked up at them before turning his attention back to Sango. "Sango, wake up." He said moving the hair from her eyes. "What you're seeing is not real. It's only a dream."
Sango's eyes began to flutter before they opened. "What's going on?"
"Naraku tricked us all. He created an illusion as a way to stop us. But he failed." Miroku said.
"…." Sango didn't say anything as her eyes began to tear up. She sat up and hugged the Monk. "It was so real, Miroku! I saw them all die again! My whole family! I watched as they were killed again by my brother and there was nothing I could do to stop it!"
"It's okay! It's all over now!" He rocked her back and forth. "We'll make Naraku pay for hurting us! After today he will be dead! I promise you!"
Sango continued to cry and Miroku let her. "Thank you." She said when she had finished her cry.
"Don't mention it." Miroku smiled and helped her to her feet.
"Are you okay now?" Asked Kagome genuinely worried about her friend.
"Yes. Thanks for your concern."
Kagome nodded.
"We need to get going!" Said Inuyasha. "We still have to find Takashi, Tessa, Shippo and Kirira!"
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They had searched for hours, looking for the last four of their friends. Where were they? Had Naraku already killed them or was he holding the hostage in his large hut? That was the only place they hadn't looked in. They were about to enter when……
"Guys! We found you!" Tessa called from behind. All heads turned to face her.
Kagome ran to her cousin and hugged her with all her might. "I was so worried about you! We couldn't find you no matter how hard we looked!"
"We couldn't find you either! We have been searching forever!" Tessa squeezed her cousin.
Kagome broke the hug and turned to Takashi. At that moment Shippo wasted to time in jumping into Kagome's arms.
"I was so scared Naraku had already killed you!" Shippo cried.
"I know. I was scared too. But you are safe now. I have you." Kagome said trying to reassure him. "Thank you Takashi for taking such good care of him for me."
"My pleasure." Takashi smiled. "Shippo is like a little brother to me."
"Guys," Inuyasha said interrupting the happy reunion, "Now that we are all back together let's get rid of Naraku once and for all!"
"Yes. The sooner we do this the sooner I can leave you bunch of weaklings." Added Sesshomaru.
"I think I will be the one getting rid of you!" Naraku casually walked towards them from inside his fortress. "Now that you are all back together I can finally kill you!" He threw his head back and laughed manically.
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Kanna sat in the room wondering what was going on. Naraku had left her hours ago and all she her was the sound of the wind blowing. Shouldn't she have heard a great battle raging out there? She began to worry. Did this mean Naraku had won? If so then why hadn't he come back yet? Or was he dead? Something told her where ever he was he was still alive. She had a feeling if he were dead she would know it. After all he had created her.
The screeching of the door being opened startled her from her reverie. Was it Naraku? Had he finally returned to her with the news of his victory? She braced herself. Surely if he was back he would no longer need her and now was when he would kill her as well. She took in a deep breath and saw…Kagura enter the room? But she saw Sesshomaru kill her with his sword!
"Kagura! I thought you were dead! Master and I both watched as Sesshomaru killed you! We saw you die!"
"That was the plan, Kanna. I wanted it to look as though I had been killed. Today Naraku is going to die and we are going to help do it!" Kagura said with triumph. "Today is the day we will be set free to do as we wish! After today we will no longer be ordered around!"
"But how? Sooner or later Master will find out of your trickery! And then he will not be pleased! Surely he will kill you! Kagura this is a bad idea! He holds your heart in his hands!"
"By the time that happens he will be dead! I already have a plan worked out! We can use your mirror!" Kagura said enthusiastically. "Please tell me you'll do it! In order for my plan to work I need you! Please say you'll help!"
Kanna remained silent for a few minutes. If this worked…She and her sister could live in peace! No more worrying about how much longer you have left to live! No more worrying about failing your master! "What are you thinking, my sister?" Kanna asked beginning to accept her sister's plan. It was either now or never! She would rather die trying to escape than die by her Master's hand when he no longer needed her.
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YAY! I did it! I got chapter 24 up! It didn't take me as long as I expected it would! This chapter is longer than the last one! Over 4,400 words! And 13 pages! It's the longest chapter I have ever done! I hope you liked it! Please tell me you do! It took me a long time to type up and I worked really hard on it!
I bet you all knew Naraku's plan was obviously going to fail! I mean he is the bad guy of the story……We can't let him get the upper hand. Can we? But will they win the real battle against Naraku? You'll just have to wait until the next chapter to find out, my friends! Can you bear it? Is the suspense killing you? MUAHAHAHAHAHAH! Please R & R! Thank you!
Clouds of the Sky