A Mere Servant

By: Angelwarrior1

Chapter 12: Final Bout

He slammed several wolf demons into the concrete wall of the palace and rushed into a frenzied onslaught of pure chaos. Everything around him was either a fighting miko or a demon trying to kill anything it pleased. War cries sounded every which way and stung his ears, creating a constant ringing in them. After killing another medium sized group of demons, Inuyasha looked around for Kagome. He constantly worried for her safety in the back of his mind while fighting.

It took him a while to spot her, the demons prevented him from looking too hard as they kept him busy fighting. Eventually he came upon a hoard of demons trying to claw, bite, and devour something. Or perhaps someone. He knew he had found her when a bright white light enveloped the entire hoard, destroying all in a single shot. As dire as the situation was, he couldn't stop the smirk that spread across his face. Kagome was no longer a scared young woman, she had found her courage to stand up against anyone and everyone who opposed her. He was proud of that and even prouder to say she was his. Maybe that sounded too possessive to some, but to him it only sounded right. Natural. And he wasn't about to change that thought. He was brought from his reverie when the light died and he saw his Kagome standing before him in the now bright green field her energy created. He dropped before her gently and rushed to her.

"You doin' alright?" He stopped just short of reaching her.

"Yeah. They're just coming after me because I'm the miko's leader. I'll be fine." She smiled briefly.

Inuyasha was no fool and knew that something was off. Kagome claimed to be fine, but she looked a little fatigued. He clearly wasn't buying it as Kagome frowned back at his worried face.

"Really. I'm ok, don't worry." She stood on her tip toes briefly to brush a kiss on cheek, but Inuyasha wanted something a little more solid.

He swept her up into his arms and gave her the first passion filled kiss they had shared since that night he had made love to her. It lasted for a few moments and when they parted they were both out of breath.

"I'm fighting beside you now, so no getting rid of me to fight on your own. I won't allow that."

"But Inuyasha, you're demon too. I may accidentally purify you. I couldn't live with myself if that happened." She gave a pleading look.

"I'll be fine. I'll fight near you and move when you purify demons. I didn't mean I'd be right next to you 'ya know." He smirked as she huffed at his teasing.

"Now isn't the time to piss me off." She hissed and Inuyasha laughed at her change in attitude.

"At least you aren't all serious anymore. You worried me when you wouldn't even smile my way for a while you know. Like your happiness had died with the birth of your new powers"

"It did die for a while, but it came back now. I need that inner happiness to keep going and... to make sure you're happy and free. I have to keep you and the others free now. That would make me very happy if I could achieve that." She smiled faintly.

"Then what are we waitin' for? Let's go kick some ass!" Inuyasha grabbed her and kissed her on the mouth quickly before releasing her and sending a wink her way.

"Definitely!" Kagome giggled and watched Inuyasha rush off to slay more enemies.

She followed suit and flew at lightening speed at more than a few groups of different demons, killing them quickly with her purifying light that enveloped her. Inuyasha kept to his word and stuck close by to make sure Kagome didn't tire out. An enormous explosion of blood red light caught more than a few fighters attentions and most looked to see what had occurred. Kagome almost screamed in a mixture of terror and anger as she saw Naraku emerge from the explosion unharmed. The bodies of mikos flew away from him and turned black from his impurity filled body.

Her eyes followed as they hit the ground and a her eyes that contained some blue in them turned completely white. White from her rage. Her body tingled all over as the images of his betrayal as a father flashed through her mind. She was briefly aware of Inuyasha stopping next to her and yelling something, but she never made out what. Her mind was overflowing with so many images and memories of pain and then; nothing. It was all gone, wiped from her brain. Her thoughts became crystal clear. She could hear everything around her, making out the different words of the fighters around her. It seemed she could even hear their thoughts and though this should have overwhelmed her, it didn't.

All of the thoughts were separated quickly and easily in her mind and continued to process new incoming information. She could move without becoming distracted from it and it seemed that most thoughts from others ran in the background of her mind. Her brain skimming along every thought it came across and picking out only vital information to her until it knew all it had to. Her brain was interrupted from its probing by Naraku's words.

"Well, I must say DAUGHTER, you're looking quite lovely today." Kagome held back the shiver as she saw him smirk in self satisfaction.

"Spare me. I'm no daughter of yours. So don't speak to me like you care for me." Kagome spat the words out with bitter and anger.

"You know, when this is all over I'd be glad to take you home with me once again." He licked his lips in appreciation for her beauty.

His face made her want to vomit and she decided to end the conversation before he revealed something she'd rather he not. Inuyasha beat her to the punch though, literally rushing and smacking Naraku with his sword.

"I thought I killed you, you bastard!" He raged on and attempted to end his life for a second time.

This attempt however, wasn't a successful one. Naraku grabbed Inuyasha effortlessly and began to squeeze his throat. Inuyasha struggled to make Naraku drop him, but the red eyed man's grip was too strong. Kagome flew at Naraku with top speed and managed to knock Inuyasha loose. She stopped in front of Naraku and fired a purified energy beam at him. Naraku's speed was top of line as well, so he ended up dodging from most of the blast relatively unscathed. Well, except for his left arm. It was completely gone. He stared at the spot where his missing limb should have been and then stared darkly up at Kagome. Kagome simply smirked in return to his astonishment.

"Did I hit something important? Clumsy me." She rushes again.

Naraku simply smirked at her, causing her eyes to widen when she witnessed his arm regenerate.

"Forgot to mention I can regenerate." He came at her with speed she couldn't match and knocked her into several trees.

"KAGOME!" Inuyasha tried to lend aid but was incapacitated by Naraku, who knocked him into a hug boulder nearby.

Kagome rose from the debris filled area and shook off the dizziness that plagued her mind. She didn't get time to fully recover though. Naraku attacked her again, pummeling her repeatedly until she had no option other than to attempt to block it all. Most hits got through and when Kagome tried to go on the offensive, Naraku wouldn't allow her to hit him. Kagome began to worry when she started to feel tired. Extremely tired. Her energy was slowly leaving her and she had no idea why.

Soon the purifying white light around her diminished and she was open to attack. Right where Naraku wanted her to be. His attacks become more brutal, since he could now touch her without worrying about losing body parts. Kagome was quickly losing and Inuyasha was currently unconscious. Kikyou was trying to get to her daughter, but more and more demons came to kill her since Kagome was no longer an issue. They wanted to get rid of the most powerful fighter first, and Kikyou was definitely on their top ten list. Kaede also seemed to be a favorite, as more and more pounced on the elder miko. She quickly killed them with skilled ease and continued making her way toward Kagome.

Inuyasha slowly came to. He vision was blurred and took a moment to clear. A moment he didn't have as his ears heard a specific pained cry. Kagome's pained cry. His ears perked up and he bounced up from the broken piece of boulder he was laying on. He saw it then. Kagome being beaten by Naraku. Naraku winning. He couldn't win. They couldn't lose. The same things he thought earlier before the fight repeated in his mind. He was willing to kill for her. He was willing to die for her as well. He wouldn't let her defeat be an option to him. He ran as fast as his injured body would carry him and just as Naraku was about to finish his Kagome...Inuyasha became the martyr. The martyr for love.

"INUYAHSA!" The scream seemed to pause everything in time.

Kikyou looked over at Inuyasha's burnt body as it hit the ground. She felt the sharp pain that she knew was her daughter's and Inuyasha's heart breaking. She felt the sorrow for her first and only good master and she cried in rage as time seemed to come back to reality. Burning her enemies with her pure energy, Kikyou doubled her efforts of ridding the enemies from battle. Kaede in the mean time rushed to Kagome's aid. She arrived on the scene to find Kagome holding Inuyasha's charred body against her. Sobbing into his now burnt hair. Naraku loomed a few feet away and began to approach the weeping miko.

Kaede quickly formed a barrier around Kagome that Naraku bounced off of when he tried to continue moving forward.

"Kagome my child. You must listen to me. You can still defeat Naraku. You must for Inuyasha. He did not want you to lose." The elder wrapped her arms around the young woman's shoulders.

"How can I now. My only true love is gone now. What's the point?" Kagome whispered sadly.

"Inuyasha would have want you to kill Naraku for the both of you. Don't you want to at least fulfill his last wish?" She whispered back.

This caught Kagome's attention. Her eyes glowed white for a moment, before dulling to her original birth color. No longer did Kagome possess white hair and eyes, they had returned to their former color when her power left.

"Why did my power leave me grandmother?"

"You let your anger take over again. You may feel anger, but if you feel too much your powers will drain faster. When you fight with anger instead of love, your use more energy than you put out. That is why you no longer have any powers. There is also another reason though..." Kaede averted her gaze momentarily.

"What reason is that?" Kagome began to feel dread fill her.

"Kagome... don't be angry for what I am about to do."

"What?"

"I must fulfill my life's purpose. This old woman is tired, lived longer than she should have. All to wait for this day. The day she could be the key for the awakened."

"Grandmother? What are you talking about?" Kagome began to panic when she heard such strange speech come from her grandmother's mouth.

"Long ago, I was informed by Midoriko's spirit that I was the key to fully unlocking the awakened one's powers. You are that awakened one. And I am your key." She stared into Kagome's eyes as she said this, making sure Kagome understood.

"But...what will happen...to you?" Kagome's paused her breathing as she waited for her answer.

"I...will die my child. I have waited a long time to complete my purpose. I have lived longer than I expected to, I assumed I would die young from this. Not with you though my dear, you have been a great joy for me to look after. I always knew you were special and I knew that you would be the chosen one to lead us. Now I must do my part to further the story of Midoriko's legacy. So you can complete the legacy my child." Kaede closed her eye and smiled in peace.

"Grandmother...I will miss you." Kagome's eyes cried.

She knew not to beg. Her grandmother would not change her mind about this. This she knew from experience.

"I will be watching over you, just as I always have. I will just be watching from a different place. I always will." Kaede kissed Kagome's forehead and placed her's against Kagome's.

She then took both of Kagome's hands and placed her palms flat against her own. With the uttering of a few ancient words, Kaede and Kagome began to glow a faint yellow. The yellow soon went to white. Slowly, as the light grew unbearably bright, Kaede began to fade. Eventually she was nothing more than clear light. And then nothing. Kagome let her tears fall and her hands finally dropped. She didn't bother to look at what her right hand hit by accident, but when she heard groaning she did. Her eyes widened as she look down to see Inuyasha's body glowing. All because her purified hand had touched his dead body. He eventually sat up and looked at his glowing hands.

"What the-"

"INUYASHA!" Kagome hugged him tightly and kissed his confused face and mouth.

Kagome released him and look at him curiously. Why didn't he turn human? If he's half demon then surely she would have purified his demon half when her hand touched him. But he seemed completely normal. Even the glowing on his body was fading. She mentally shrugged it off, deciding she'd rather not know. All that mattered was he was alive again. She'd make sure he stayed that way too, her eyes narrowing at Naraku who was waiting impatiently for the barrier to fade or Kagome to come out.

"Stay back Inuyasha, I'll handle him." She stared at him with confident eyes, clearly showing him that she was ready this time.

"Ok, I'll be here if you need help though."

"I know." She smiled and gently pecked his mouth.

She rose and left the barrier faster than Naraku could comprehend. Taking her advantage, she ripped off both of his arms this time. She remembered what Kaede said about using love instead of anger. So she channeled her love into her tool instead of her anger and fought valiantly. She wanted to end Naraku as quickly as possible, who knew what he could do next to someone she loved. So she rushed him.

Naraku expected her to stop next to or in front of him, but Kagome had other plans. She rushed past him, swirled and came up behind him sticking her energy covered hand into his heart. Naraku could only gurgle with wide eyes as his black heart was purified and burst into white sparkles of fading light in his chest.

"Can you regenerate that?" Kagome whispered into his ear from behind.

Various fighters from every race and kingdom gasped when they saw the all powerful Naraku slain before their very eyes. Some even began to back away slowly from her presence and burst out into a frenzied run. Inuyasha smirked and began going after the deserters. Kagome simply stared at Naraku's lifeless form. It certainly made a difference to kill your tormentor. Her stay with Naraku hadn't been long, but to her it felt like an eternity. An eternity she'd wish to forget. Kikyou began to aid Inuyasha in getting rid of the lesser demons. The giant battle slowly diminished as the mikos destroyed the seemingly endless armies from every kingdom. The sky soon darkened into night and the last few demons were killed. The leaders had long ago fled after seeing Kagome's display of power. Even Inuyasha's father had disappeared without a trace, not that he ever bothered showing his face on the battle field. They suspected they'd catch up with him soon enough and if he tried anything they'd rid themselves of his presence...

The body of the last monster was extinguished from this world and then silence. The mikos all erupted into a cheer when they realized all of their enemies were no more. The battle was over. All that had stood against them on the battlefield had either fled or were deceased. Their main worry was now gone. They knew they would have more problems later, but for now they would have peace. Peace they would cherish.

Epilogue

One year later...

Trumpets blared. Lights danced all around the glowing pale blue palace as guests poured into the gigantic throne room. Doors parted and beauty entered into the room. Everyone was silent. No one dared to make a sound as the beauty swept across the room. One part of this beauty had flowing white hair, while the other had flowing white hair with streaks of black running through it. One was taller than the other and the tallest was male. The smaller was female and wore flowing white on her, while he wore form fitting black. They matched perfectly with each other and people were in awe of their entire being. It would only make sense that they command so much respect with their mere presence, that no one would question them at all. Because everyone trusted them. They knew that these two had fought for them, risked their lives even. One had been a servant, while the other born a prince. One had developed slowly into a leader of the people, while the other was born to become a leader of the people. Finally reaching the head of the grand dining table, the grand pair took their seats. Another woman took her seat next to the loved pair. A woman that all respected just as much as the two before her. Once every guest was seated at the enormous table, the pair stood and greeted their guests.

"Welcome everyone to the kingdom of the Mikos. We are honored and delighted to have all of you here to celebrate the anniversary of our victory against our enemies. A fierce battle such as that should never be forgotten, for we have lost many wonderful and brave souls along the battle. Brave women who will not be forgotten for their efforts to free our kind from the shackles we were forced to wear for so long. And now, on this day we come together to respect that. A wise person once told me to fight with love instead of anger, that is what I will do always. If you can fight with love instead of anger you will get much better results. It is that love that helped make us victorious. We must always love instead of hate." The wise speaker raised her glass along with her companion.

Everyone else followed suit.

"To love!" The speaker shouted joyfully.

"To love!" The guests and her companion shouted back in happiness.

Later in the night...

The female in white stared out amongst the beauty below her. A glowing pond of light blue, flowers that glowed by the moon's light. Everything seemed to glow just to make her happy. And happy she was, she glanced down at her rounding belly and patted it gently.

It wasn't very noticeable; yet anyways. Her male companion promised her that she was having two and that she would be showing that to everyone soon enough. She was delighted though at the prospect of two children for her to lavish her love on. Just as she was dreaming of the life she would have with her charming family, her partner in love came up behind her. He wrapped his strong bare arms around her midsection protectively. He was always protective of her tummy now. She knew he wanted these children just as much as she did.

She leaned her head back and gave him a welcomed kiss. The kiss became heated and soon he was throwing kisses all over her face and down her neck...

"Inuyasha!" Kagome giggled in mirth.

"Hmmm?" He smirked in amusement as she continued giggling uncontrollably.

"You're tickling me!"

"Really now. I think that's a fun thing." He chuckled into her neck, making her laugh from the tickling feeling of the vibration.

"Oh you! Always teasing." She calmed down and smiled in content happiness.

He sighed in reply, contently smiling as well. He laid his head against hers and slowly rubbed her protruding belly.

"You sure you don't wanna know what the pups are? I can tell by their scent 'ya know."

"Absolutely not. I want a surprise."

"Well a surprise would be giving birth to a different species. Sure you want that kind of surprise?" He snickered.

"Would you be serious for a minute!" Kagome growled, making Inuyasha bust out laughing.

"Congratulations, it wasn't two pups...It was a manatee!" Inuyasha doubled over with laughter.

"You ASS!" Kagome bopped him on the side of his head to stop him from laughing, but shrieked when Inuyasha caught her hand and swung her down into an embrace.

He kissed her with vigor passion and soon Kagome was docile once more.

"You tame now, giver of life to manatees?"

"OOOHHHHH YYYOOOUUU!"

The End