Summary:
After being caught lip locked with Hojou, Inuyasha finding Kagome's collection of intimate drawings, being yelled at for trying to cheer a sad soul up, and sharing a dance between a miko and a hanyou at a modern day prom, the infamous inu tachi gang has found themself lodged in the middle of an impossible battle against Naraku's new incarnation, Sanraku. Knowing they can't beat him just yet, they manage to escape with only a few injuries, one that could have cost Kagome her life. With time to heal emotional and physical wounds, Kagome comes up with the plan to stay at her realm until Sanraku wanders away from them, eventually losing their scent so they can sneak up on him and take him by surprise. Inuyasha, finally giving in, rides home with his companion where Inuyasha finds the nerve to cuddle next to the girl as she sleeps, though she has cursed him to sleep on the floor below her. As Kikyou developes a deal with Naraku and Sanraku to take down the gang and recreate the jewel, Kagome spills her feelings to Inuyasha of why she just isn't too happy at the moment. A whole week of crying and embracing, sleeping in yellow flowered feilds, taking showers together, nearly kissing on several occasions, nearly falling off the side of a building, and taking Inuyasha to school, getting payback on Hojou, and nearly getting run over by cars, the two finally return to the warring era. Though everything seems normal, they have no idea of the secret affair that had sparked between the slayer and monk after Miroku's slip up with accepting a woman's offer to bear his child. Finally, the full moon is here and Kikyou pops up out of the blue to make sure Kagome is clear that she can't save Inuyasha this time around. What does she mean? She was soon to find out after her heart is torn in two to learn that Kikyou carried Inuyasha's child in her womb the day before she died. Kagome breaks down, yells, and then makes up with Inuyasha, all to lead up to their very first kiss on their own free will. But the moon was still full, and the youkai blood took over. In the midst of their passion, Inuyasha harmed Kagome in every way he could, his nails carving into her skin as he kissed her lovingly. It was beyond his control. Morning came, and Kagome hadn't let go of life just yet despite the large amounts of her blood on Inuyasha's hands and spread over the rock where they lay. The hanyou went off to battle, leaving his companion where it was safe as he found himself kneeling at their enemies feet, bleeding and useless. Kagome broke in but it only resulted with a hand through Inuyasha's stomach as the schoolgirl was posessed by an evil Sanraku. Through the forest, Kagome chased Inuyasha until she backed him against a tree where he uttered his last words: "I love you." The arrow through his heart pronounced him dead. Kagome was released from the spell and left to greive over what she had done. But not for long as Kikyou cut in to steal the shards from around the girl's neck. The dead miko wasn't about to play along the rules. Next thing the poor miko knew, Inuyasha's claws, very much alive, were raking down her back. Somehow, all managed to survive. All but Kagome's calmness and mercy. The enraged miko shoved Kikyou over the edge of a cliff where Inuyasha caught her by the wrist in the neck of time. There, he was forced to pick between his two loves. With the uncurling of his fingers, he had chosen. Kagome. Kikyou fell to her death several feet below. Back into battle, they plunged, where the rest of their companions still fought with useless force. Things aren't looking good.
Chapter 62
Dimmed blue eyes scanned downward, eyeing the ever thickening crimson splotches that stretched down the hanyou's back. Puddles of thick red spilled off his firm structure, his arms raised high, the muscles filling the white, crimson splotched sleeves completely full. It took a full minute before the monk really realized that Inuyasha was standing right before him, alive and…well, alive.
"Inu…Inuyasha?" Sango stammered his name, mahogany eyes gleaming wildly up at the hanyou. Her heart thumped, and her eyes nearly welled with tears of joy. She could have sworn she had seen the boy, so lifelessly pale, fastened by an arrow to that tree. Had it all been fake? No. Telling by the round spot of dark blood on his back where the arrow must have come out the back.
With a soft, painful, grunt, Inuyasha let the limp girl slide off his shoulder. He cradled her gently in the crook of his arm, tip of his sword stabbed into the ground as he put half his weight on the thick blade. Strained breaths left the hanyou's throat as he gazed down at the pale girl, dressed in his very own haori.
Throwing his amber eyes back to the other huddling lovers, Inuyasha slid his fingers from around the hilt of his Tessuiga to swipe a ebony strand of hair from the schoolgirl's face. He turned softly, round drops of crimson blood dotting the grass as he shot an assuring grin to the shocked pair.
"Sango. Take Kagome so I can finish off this bastard." He said, thumb caressing against the sleeping girl's silken cheek.
It took a few moments for Sango to make a move to take Kagome. By the daring look in the hanyou's eye towards Miroku, he wasn't going to let the pervert hold his girl. The slayer, moved forward on her knees, entire body trembling rapidly. She gently tugged the limp girl into her own trembling embrace.
Was the girl still alive? Of course she was. Inuyasha wouldn't be so cocky and aggressively playful if she was dead. In fact, he probably wouldn't be there at all, saving them just in the nick of time. Sango stared down at her friend's blood and tear streaked features and felt tears rise into her own eyes. The miko looked so broken, torn and ragged at the edges
The other youkai was silent, slim black pupils shimmering with shock and amazement at the hanyou's survival. Had he not smelled the great loss of blood, felt that accomplishing wave of triumph was over him as Naraku's voice echoed through his ears to let him know that the great Inuyasha was dead and gone? He knew it had to have happened. The dripping crimson stain still growing across the hanyou's chest and leg was proof.
"…Now…" Inuyasha muttered, and without a single grunt or cringe of pain, lifted his massive sword high over one shoulder. "…you die…"
"You're supposed to be dead." Sanraku hissed, pearly white teeth revealed as his lips peeled back in disgust. His barrier flickered as his focus shattered momentarily. His eyes narrowed, muscles rippling and barrier back up as he let his shock subside to anger and frustration. How bothersome. The mutt was still alive.
"Sorry to disappoint." The hanyou sneered back, his own ivory fangs revealed, tinged with the red of blood. Who's blood? His own, as the liquid poured from his lips in the moment of death, or the night before when he had sank them into Kagome's tender flesh?
"You're alive." Sanraku repeated, the only thing he could manage in the midst of his confusion and anger. Inuyasha was supposed to be dead. He wasn't supposed to be here. This was supposed to go as planned. What could have gone wrong?
"Nah, shit." The shameless hanyou retorted, letting his blade rest in the ground beneath him as they chatted "friendly".
"How?" Sanraku raged.
"Was this your doing? Were you trying to kill me? Tell me now!" Inuyasha shot back, ignoring the demon's question completely.
"Foolish mutt. I'll just have to finish you off myself."
He gripped the hilt of his father's fang tighter in his bloody and callused hands. His golden eyes narrowed as he pushed all other thoughts from his mind. He couldn't think about Kagome, or about Kikyou or anything. This was now. His goal was to kill this incarnation, and he wasn't about to stop until he had done just that.
Inuyasha pulled back a little further, knuckles turning white as he gripped the hilt even tighter until the entire blade was blood red. He heaved the weapon forward, pure rage and hate in his eyes as he opened his mouth and screamed out: '"Windscar!"
Rushes of bright light struck out at their opponent, the loud seer of wind stinging that their ears. Inuyasha cursed inwardly as he watched the effects of his attack ride over Sanraku's hazy black barrier and finally vanish into light wisps in the air.
'Damn. I forgot he had that stupid barrier.' The failed hanyou though angrily, the tip of his blade resting stiffly in the dirt beneath his feet. His chest heaved, making him unwontedly aware of how badly his chest ached. Bolts of fire hot pain stiffened his body, but he didn't dare give in. How could he beat this guy? How was it possible to get past that barrier that his sword wasn't yet strong enough to destroy? He vowed, that if he ever got out of this battle alive, he would work endlessly to level up his blade until it could slice through any barrier like butter.
For now, how could he win this fight? How could he get himself and his friends out alive? Was it even possible? The hanyou's spirits started to dim, but he didn't dare give in.
"S…Sango…."
At the rasp of her name, the slayer turned her wide brown eyes to the limp body in her arms. She felt the girl tense, and then a cringe peeled away the relaxed features in her face. Kagome….she looked like she was in so much pain.
"Kagome…don't try to speak. We're going to take care of you now. You've been hurt, so don't try to move." Sango assured the pained girl, stroking a stray blood streaked ebony hair away from her eyes. The slayer cradled her friend, making sure to smile as reassuringly as she could. If Kagome, the light of all their hope, gave in…what would they have left?
"S-Sango…My…bow.." The miko stumbled over her words, blinking her hazel brown eyes around her. She saw nothing but smears of red across the grass and dirt. If she could just get a hold of that bow and a sacred arrow, maybe they wouldn't be doomed after all.
At the miko's strange request, Sango reached behind her. She fumbled her fingers across the patches of dried grass and dirt. She knew she had seen it somewhere around here. Somewhere….She felt a warm hand meet her own and her mahogany eyes shifted over to meet pure violet eyes.
"Found it." Miroku said, giving her fingers a soft squeeze before pushing the feather of an arrow and the base of a wooden bow into her palm. "We're going to get through this."
Kagome's frail little fingers wrapped around the familiar weapon as Sango brought it to her hands. The miko fumbled a little, smearing her and Inuyasha's blood over the white wisp of the feather at the end of her arrow. It took awhile before she pulled it into place and even longer to force herself through the pain to raise the bow high and aim for Sanraku.
"Too bad you didn't die with that wench. You just won't give up, will you. Impudent half breed." The youkai hissed, fingers arching into a half curled hand, claws extending outward to form a pointed pole
"What the hell'd you just call her?" Inuyasha shouted out, fists clenching tightly until his knuckles turned white. The harsh words directed towards him seemed to slip completely passed his silken silver ears, flicking angrily. Any cruel word spoken of his beloved would result in a pounding to the speaker. The hanyou was more protective of Kagome than ever.
Sanraku didn't reply, though a small smirk split apart his thin, pale, lips. His pole shaped arm extended further, the point just barely poking from the dark black haze that surrounded the mysterious demon. He seemed serious. Before, he was merely toying with the lives of the mortals and two youkai "pets". Now, the evil glint in his dark eyes told them all he was ready to kill them for good.
Kagome's fingers started to slip from the wooden edge of the bow, the sharp string biting into her other finger. She gripped it tighter and struggled to aim through her blurring and tilting vision. Just a few second she knew she would be out cold again. This strike had to count. It was the last thing they had.
The miko tugged back on string, arrow set firmly in place despite her trembling hands. Her vision wavered crazily one last time before she let the arrow loose and watched it soar through the stifling air as zip of sound and color. Seconds after, she heard the satisfying zap as the glowing arrow tip pierced Sanraku's barrier.
Inuyasha didn't waver a bit as the arrow stabbed a small hole in the barrier. His shock swirled on the inside, captivating his mind though his body took action right away. He shot forward, leaving his precious sword forgotten on the bloody ground beneath his feet. His hands shot out, ripping away the arrow to shove his hands through the hole it had created. He tugged at the edges, tearing the fault bigger and bigger. The sizzling sting of fire seared across his palms as the barrier burned at his skin. With a single growl of pain he ripped the hole open even further to send himself inside.
The hanyou's shoulder caught Sanraku in the chest, sending him backwards and out of his only protection. Inuyasha forced him to the ground, taking advantage of the shocked expression across his inhuman features. He raised a fist, sharp nails teasing cruelly at the raw skin across his palms where he had been burned. Short, powerful punches let loose on the youkai's face, one after the other, splattering blood from the hanyou's injured hands across stark white skin.
The very last thing Kagome saw before her eye lids slid closed once more was the sight of her lover pounding his bleeding fists into their enemy's face. His rage was true and ever growing with each blow he sent into Sanraku's face. So…they weren't doomed. At least not the rest of them.
Inuyasha stopped, his fist pounding and dripping with blood. The sound of rasped breaths wheezed more from the youkai's throat beneath him than his own. His amber eyes settled on Sanraku, how blood coated his entire face, his eyes sliding low and his nose bent badly. How could he have been so cruel? What had come over him?
The hanyou removed his knee from his enemy's chest and stumbled back to take hold of his sword and swing it back around, the tip pressing eagerly into Sanraku's throat. So many questions swarmed his mind. Why had Kikyou suddenly demanded his death? Why was she so cruel now? Who was the fool and why was he going after them if he wasn't under Naraku's control?
"Dammit! Tell me what's goin' on!" He demanded.
Sanraku's eyes barely opened, his lips parting weakly but only letting out pitiful wheezing breaths. How could he have let this half caste take him so off guard? It had all happened so fast, from the moment he spoke words of the hanyou's love.
"Spit it out, baka." Inuyasha demanded firmly, the point of his blade piercing into the youkai's neck. A gurgling snarl wisped from Sanraku's busted and chapped lips. It was as if his vocal cords had been damaged in the harsh pounding from the hanyou.
"N-Naraku. He wants the sh-shards. He made a deal with Kikyou to fulfill her wishes if she could fulfill his. He wanted the shards, she wanted you and your friend's deaths. He…said he would split his powers with me if I agreed to help him send you all to your deaths. If Kikyou could get Naraku the shards, Naraku would have a plan to kill you all." Finally, Sanraku's voice drowned into a soft and barely audible breathing sound. Everything pained him now. He couldn't blink without a strike of pain rippling at his eyelids.
"But Kikyou didn't give the shards to Naraku. She put then inside me to control me so I would kill Kagome." Inuyasha informed, twisting his blade to the side to glare suspiciously into the youkai's face. It sounded believable. Perhaps their plan just totally went out of line.
"Mmm…" Was the only pitiful sound their dying enemy could manage.
"I knew she wouldn't make a true deal with him. Is he stupid? Kikyou goes by her own rules, and Naraku should know that. He shoulda known she'd betray him." The hanyou pointed out. He let his sword slip away from Sanraku's neck. It didn't look like he'd be moving anytime soon anyway. "Now what?"
"Naraku still wants the restored jewel even with Kikyou out of the picture now. The jewel is nearly com…complete. And you hold the rest of the remaining shards."
Inuyasha waited, his amber eyes planted firmly on their foe, waiting for him to speak. As the hanyou's lips parted, about to shout out another demand of explanation, Sanraku's eyes slid closed and his chest finally ceased to rise and fall with weak breaths. He set his blade away from the lifeless demon, letting the sword shrink back into a blunt and rusty form.
His eyes wandered back to the miko, lightening at the sight of her blood streaked face. Her arms had fallen limp over her chest, empty bow inches below her curled fingers. Her eyes remained closed even has Inuyasha gently whispered her name. His heart seemed to stop for a short moment as he watched her there. He was captured by the sight of her so unmoving, like all the color had been completely drained from her face. The only thing he heard in the next few seconds were the heavy shouts of his companions as they fought to keep Kagome alive.
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Akina315- Really? You really think it was that good? That was my goal, so...thanks! And, yeah, that would be sad if she died. You just gave me an idea for this chapter! You just keep on wondering if this little girl is going to live or die. She's been through a lot already.
silverkonekotsukari- College? Dang. I feel young. Too young. Too young to be writing like this and have college people saying it's good. Geez. Well, thanks! But I still feel bad for updating so late.
Antilove006- Just keep reading!
rika- I'm so glad someone's happy that I'm making a sequel. Considering how this ends, I figured you beg me for one anyway. So...thanks!
GoingGhost- Yaya! I made sure to stick in something like that just to lighten the mood.
bluefoxfaerie- Daaaaaang! This story ain't over YET! Just a few more chapters and I'll go on and get started with a sequel. But I DO have to finish up that Spirited Away fic...
Alexa- YEESH! I don't know, you'll just have to find out if Kagome died or not! Yes, I'm doing a sequel. No, this is not the end of the story. No, Kikyou is dead for good. Okay, I'll try that, I have, actually. Check up top. And, yes, I've heard of Panic at the disco, I love them. WHOOO! That was a lot to answer to! Geez, I love you girl...
xcurlyinuyashax- You got that right. After seeing our dear Inu getting impaled through the chest a couple hundred times, I thought it'd be okay to get him hurt just a little bit more than what would kill a human. Glad you're happy about the sequel, and that link didn't work for me. EEP! But I think I found the pic. Was it the one of Inuyasha pinned to the tree and his eyes all red with all the blood. It says "He Lives", I think. If it is, I must say, it is REALLY good. Fantastic!
istinklikecheese- Niiiiice! Sorry, I'm not too fast on the updates now that school has started!
Kelly- Yup! Inuyasha is all our heros, isn't he now. I couldn't let them all be doomed to a gruesome death, now could I? Okay, maybe I could, considering what I've made them go through already, which is pretty much as bad as a gruesome death. If not, worse.
SleepInTheShadows- EEEEEEEEP! Jeepers, Sleep! -hugglesquish- I'm so glad your actually read it. I really didn't expect you to. I knew you weren't an Inuyasha fan! Thank you so much! I hope you'll continue reading. I've been trying really hard on this thing.
Kyome- I figured a lot of people would be happy about Kikyou's death. Though, truly, she's not all that bad of a person, I decided to make her have an odd role. It's still the same her, she's just been pushed over the edge by a number of things. She's just not the same anymore.
little-miss-inu-...I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU! WEEEE! -squishhuggle-
BlackParade- Aw...I think I'm in love with another reviewer...again. Heck, I'm in love with ALL of you! Yeah, I suppose we do have the same taste in music. Actually, both those lines just got stuck in there. I think I was listening to those songs while I wrote and I just saw how they fit and put them there almost like I had thought of them all by myself.
Interruption- NOOOOOO! Not yet!
life-as-we-know-it- Cuuuul! I made someone really emotional and happy with this story! That's so cute! Did that really happen?