Chapter 64
Touga stopped the moment a new scent hit his nose. It was one he never expected to smell here, one that gutted him, sent him to his knees as every bit of fight left him. Eyes trailing up, he saw Naoshi floating above him, a body strewn over his shoulder and a bloody bag in his hands.
"This is what I wanted to see." Naoshi hissed, letting Izayoi's body drop from his shoulder. She plummeted towards the ground, but Touga moved, catching her lifeless body before she hit. Her throat had been sliced open, her eyes left open wide. They were still filled with tears, and the rage that bubbled in Touga nearly caught on fire.
When Naoshi dropped two more bodies, Touga was forced to leave Izayoi on the ground so he could catch them. InuYasha and Yona. Two of his children. They had been impaled, holes in their chest. All the rage that had been bubble fizzled away, left with an all consuming grief.
"They were so easy to kill. They were left defenseless, left all alone in a castle while your army was here, getting slaughtered by mine. She made it easy, offered her life to protect the annoying little brats." Naoshi laughed, eyes gleaming with amusement.
Touga held his children to his chest, falling to his backside. How? How could they have been beaten so badly? They had all fought, all pushed themselves to the brink, but it wasn't enough. Naoshi was winning, and there was nothing they could do to stop him. There was nothing they could do to keep him from destroying everything he put his hands on. Death had won.
"They were innocent." Touga felt the burning of his tears, felt his body trembling. The smell of his family's blood was strong around him. Looking up, he noticed the weight in the bloody sack, and realized the severity of Naoshi's crime. "All of them?"
"Every single one. I killed them all, and now, I'm going to kill you. Then I'll kill my brother, his mate, and the monk. By the time I'm done, I will rule all of Japan, and then the world. Death will be unstoppable." Naoshi laughed, his head back, grin split all the way to his ears.
When Touga said nothing else, Naoshi looked back down, cocking his head to the side. "Have I broken you that much? So much so that you can't even respond to me." Naoshi felt disappointment bubbling in him. Why, after everything he had done, was he still not enjoying himself. This was supposed to be fun, instead he was just bored.
"I won't give you the satisfaction." Touga finally said, his voice soft, so low Naoshi had trouble hearing it. Turning his back on death, Touga crawled to Izayoi with his children in one arm. He knew they were gone, knew there was nothing left to do. Setting his son and daughter beside their mother, he brushed his hand down each of their faces. Then he swallowed, looking up to where his oldest was still fighting, his voice was a whisper on the wind. "I am sorry, Sesshomaru."
Having seen enough, Naoshi scowled, piercing Touga's back through his armor. Why? Why wasn't he having fun? No matter what he did, he was bored. Killing had been a pleasantry for him, and now, surrounded by it, he couldn't bring himself to feel anything.
Pulling his hand from Touga's back, he watched as the lord fell to the ground, his body caging in his family, protecting them even in death. Naoshi hated it. Death had touched Touga, and yet, he was still loving, still the man he was in life. Snarling, he turned back to the last three fighting. He would end this one and for all.
…
"That's it." Miroku panted, standing beside Kagome. They were looking around, seeing that no one else in their army had survived. It was just them three, standing alone. A sob escaped Kagome as she realized just how many people they lost, a hand going to cover her mouth. Everyone. They had lost everyone other than the three standing there.
"We are not done." Sesshomaru was staring at something, and they all followed his line of sight. Naoshi was back, hovering in the sky. Slowly he was making his way to them, a frustrated scowl in place. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, gaze zeroing in on the satchel in his hand.
He knew, before the scent hit him. There was only one thing that would fit in a bag that size. Naoshi had gone missing, and then he returned, a bloody bag in his hand. Sesshoamru snarled, eyes bleeding red. His pups. His twins were in that bag, gone. He could smell their blood now, could scent their death.
He was going to kill Naoshi, was going to gut him. He wanted revenge, he wanted Naoshi's blood on his hands. The rage that was in him was all consuming, forcing his body to change, to grow, but then it stopped, a barrier forming over him.
His eyes widened, turning until he saw Nona in the tree. She had her hands outstretched, aiming directly at him as her mouth moved, muttering something that he couldn't hear. He couldn't move at all, invisible chains wrapping around his arms and legs. They pulled him down until he fell to his knees, and he knew Nona had betrayed them.
No.
The voice inside of his head belonged to the witch, the woman that was going to cause them to lose the war. It would have been three against one. They would have stood a chance with Kagome and Miroku, and now, Nona was taking that away.
No, Lord Sesshomaru. I am on your side, but this must happen. Kagome is not strong enough, not without her power, and life cannot be born without death. Trust me. This is how it must be. Death must win for life to prevail. Only then will the world be righted.
"Sesshomaru?" Kagome was at his side, gripping his shoulder, but all he could do was snarl. His mouth would not move, his limbs frozen as they were. There were tears in her eyes, fear for his life. She hadn't noticed yet, hadn't realized what Naoshi had in that bag.
His eyes softened then, grief filling them. If Nona was to be trusted, then she knew what she was doing. Sesshomaru had no idea what Nona was planning, but she had never led them astray before. Opening his bond, he let Kagome feel everything he was. The love he had for her, the grief for their twins and family.
She fell to her knees beside him, eyes wide in shock. Almost slowly, her head turned, seeing what he already had. He was able to watch her face break. He heard the broken wail that left her throat, saw as she crumpled, sobbing her agony into the ground. Now she knew, she knew their twins were dead, killed by Naoshi.
"What did you do?" Miroku was staring at the bag in horror. His staff slipped from his hands, rolling until it brushed against Sesshomaru's leg.
"I killed them. All of them." Naoshi grinned, opening the bag so they could see the three infants inside. Miroku fell to his knees, face void of emotion. His daughter was among the dead.
She needs all of her power, Sesshomaru. For every death, for every life she has touched, her power has returned to her. Even in the womb, she was giving herself away, and now she needs to take it back. End this.
Sesshomaru swallowed, realizing he could move his hand. Just one. The one closest to Miroku's staff. It was like a story playing in his mind. He understood exactly what Nona meant. Kagome had given her power away to any she deemed worthy. As they died, her power went back to her. Alastar, Izayoi, Sango, anyone that she had touched in some way. They died, and her reiki returned back to her. She had given her power to one other. She had done it while still in the womb.
Sesshomaru reached down, grabbing the staff in his hand. It's purifying energy burned his palm, but he gripped it tight. He knew what he had to do, knew there was only one way to end this. Kagome would be the sole survivor, but she would live on. She would rid the world of evil.
"I'm sorry." Sesshomaru whispered, his mouth barely moving. Naoshi noticed him, realized he had his hand on a weapon. They attacked at the same time, Naoshi slamming his hand in Sesshomaru's chest, straight through his heart.
Miroku grunted, reaching up to touch the staff protruding from his chest. Blood dripped over his lip, down his chin and to the ground. His head slowly turned to Sesshomaru, his eyes asking why? Both toppled over, falling to the ground dead.
Kagome didn't move. She sat there, tears freezing. Her mind was numb, her body frozen. How? How did this happen? Why did it happen? She had been so good, so giving and kind. She had tried to be the best person that she could be, but it didn't matter. Everything had been taken from her.
She didn't understand any of it. Why? Why? Why? That was all that went through her mind. She was asking the gods, Sesshomaru, Naoshi, herself, any who would listen. Why? Why give her a family and love just to snatch it away? Why punish her family just to hurt her? Why was she born at all? Why did they have to suffer because of her? "Why?"
"Why?" Naoshi landed on the ground in front of her, stopping just in front of her knelt form. He dropped the bag at his feet, grinning. "Because you stole from me. Life should not steal from death."
"I stole from death?" Did she? She didn't remember. All she did was help those that needed it. She loved with her entire heart and mind. She gave everything she could. Was that stealing from death? She could count the number of people she had shared her reiki with on one hand. One single hand. Was that enough to warrant the destruction around her.
Thousands of people were dead, lifeless. Their blood coated the ground in rivers, staining the grass red. The stench of death was heavy, the blood burning her nose as she breathed it in. Four people. That was how many times she had shared her reiki. For times. Why would Naoshi take so many lives because of the four that she saved?
Swallowing Kagome looked up at death, meeting his amused gaze head on. "I stole from you?" Her voice was calm, almost as if she was in wonder at his thinking, his reasoning. "I saved those I loved. I saved four people with my power. I shared my life force with them. You destroyed thousands of lives for those four. A life for a life, I could have understood. I would have given my life for theirs, but I did not steal from you. You stole from me. Death stole from life."
"What?" Naoshi took a step back, sensing something changing in Kagome. Her aura began to swirl around her, growing more powerful by the second. Slowly, her body lifted from the ground, her eyes bleeding to bright pink.
Her reiki seeped from her skin, spinning around her violently. Her hair broke loose of her braid, whipping around her as her arms lifted, being held at her side. Slowly she pointed a finger at Naoshi, and he pushed himself off the ground, floating at the same height as her.
"You have stolen from life, and now you must pay." Her voice sounded different, as if it was several powerful beings speaking at once. She was terrifying, and Naoshi felt fear for the first time in his life. He never knew what kind of power she held, but as he looked at her now, he realized she was just as strong as any weapon. They were both the weapons of the gods, and now they were going to determine which one was stronger.
"You aren't strong enough. Look around you, Kagome. I destroyed your family, those who you hold dear. When I killed your twins, they could not even fight me. My hand went through their soft bellies so easily. Y-" Naoshi gasped as Kagome's hand shot out, her reiki moving faster than he could even see. It wrapped around his throat, cutting off the circulation so he couldn't speak, barely even breathe.
"You are insignificant. You are not true death. Death is just, death is not greedy. Death takes only the lives they are meant to touch, and let's life have the others. On this day, you stole from me, and now I will steal them back." Kagome raised her other hand, her reiki flowing from it. "It is time to end this."
...
We are soooo close to the end. Like, so close. There is literally only three chapters left after this. Just three little chapters that are jam packed and full of so much. But anywayyyyyy, everyone is dead. Literally Kagome is the only survivor outside of Naoshi and Nona. Yay. Kagome knew this was going to happen though. Remember she felt like death was coming before the war. She had that gut instinct, and she should have listened.
I know many of you want to stop reading, but I am begging you not to. It's grim right now, but it won't always be like that. Trust me.
