Shishio and Sesshoumaru faced each other silently. Not a word crossed between them for the longest times, before the two beings moved forward at the same time. Mugenjin met Bakusaiga, and the resulting crash caused the very ground to shake. Shishio rebounded first, turning to slash across Sesshoumaru's back. But Sesshoumaru had turned at the same time, and the two swords collided again. The sheer amount of yoki being thrown around was on a terrifying level. Each time the blades struck one another, Mugenjin spat out a roll of flame, whilst Bakusaiga sparked with the green energy.
The two went back and forth, very little swordsmanship on display. The two were like savages fighting for the kill, each strike was precise, but would soon be blocked and countered. Sesshoumaru took a step back, before slashing his sword downwards for Shishio.
"Bakusaiga!" He shouted, and the decaying yoki descended upon Shishio. However, he didn't seem all that phased. He lifted Mugenjin and shouted:
"Homura Dama!" and a tornado of fire surrounded his sword, and he slashed it downwards. The fires met the yoki, and the two twisted and mingled… before promptly exploding. The resulting explosion surrounded the two demons, and it seemed to draw a thunderstorm from the skies. Thunder cracked, and a bolt of lightning struck the ground between them.
"You are strong, Sesshoumaru. Sheath your sword, and let us work together to take over these lands. You can be my right hand man." he said, his eyes wide, his face twisted up into sheer insanity.
"Hmph. Have you no sense of honor, Shishio? You grovel like a peasant at the feet of one who is stronger than you. I, Sesshoumaru, will not bow before the likes of you." He retorted, before he crossed the distance between them. The two warriors promptly began trading blows. The ferocity of such caused the very ground to tremble.
"Hey, Kagome." Inuyasha nudged his head towards Yumi, who had flipped Sojiro onto his back, gently rubbing his head. "Should we… I dunno, check on her?"
Kagome eyed her with distaste. "I mean, she's with, y'know, that." she gestured vaguely towards Shishio, who was currently locked in a furious waltz. "Is she worth it?"
Inuyasha looked at Yumi for a moment. The way she was holding him reminded him of his mother. Izayoi would hold him, just like that, and stroke his hair. He could still hear her soft voice singing that lullaby, and just how safe and warm he felt. It… Well, it struck a chord in his heart, for some reason. "... Probably."
Kagome looked at her husband. The softness in his expression… It was one of the things that made her fall for him. "Okay." she said, and moved over to Yumi. She approached and crouched down. "Are… are you okay?"
Yumi's eyes snapped up to Kagome. From one of the many layers of her kimono a small knife came out. She held it with her right hand while her left held onto Sojiro. Inuyasha promptly walked up, his hand wrapping around the dagger and pulling it away from her.
"Stay back!" Yumi threatened.
Inuyasha, who was still bleeding fairly profusely, just dropped onto his bottom next to Kagome. "... Feh. We ain't about to steal the corpse, if that's what you're worried about."
"We… wanted to ask you some questions. Why are you helping Shishio? Who is this boy?"
"I won't tell you anything!"
"If you answer, I could probably convince Sesshoumaru to bring the moron back to life." Inuyasha said dully.
Yumi paused. She looked up at Inuyasha, her eyes swimming with tears. The vision caused his heart to stop for a second. Had his mother looked like that when his father died? "... He can do that?"
"Yes, he can. Please, Miss, what is your name?" Kagome asked.
"Komogata Yumi." she sniffed, her eyes lowering to Sojiro's face. He seemed so peaceful.
"Okay, Miss Yumi…"
Kagome began asking her questions, to which Yumi answered honestly. Who was Sojiro, what was she to him, what was her relationship to Shishio? It was revealed that they were lovers. That he had rescued her from the life of an oiran by way of a chance meeting. That, despite the burns on his body, she loved him.
"Tch. How can you love a monster like that? It's his fault Sojiro is dead, you know!"
"Inuyasha!" Kagome snapped. "Be nice."
"I am being nice. Answer me one more question, Yumi, what does Shishio intend to do now that he's a full demon?"
"He's not a demon. He has become an asura– or so he said he would. But I don't know. He said he was going to conquer these lands and turn it into a superpower that no other country would touch."
"That's ridiculous! Why would you love someone so incredibly stupid?"
"Inuyasha! SIt boy!"
The battle was raging on, and it seemed that despite the full force of Bakusaiga, Sesshoumaru could not get an edge on Shishio. On the other side of the coin, Shishio couldn't get the edge on Sesshoumaru. The two were deadlocked. The fires of Mugenjin were raging, and every so often Sesshoumaru's yoki would flare up and blow it away from them.
Kenshin had sat up and observed the fight. She was watching Shishio through the flames, and she noticed something about his technique. He would always block, and then lift his sword up for a downward strike. She had an idea to counter this– but could it work? Would it work? Could she even perform it?
"Shishio!" Kenshin called out, rising to her feet. Kenshin looked worse for wear, with what the pretty large burn mark across her chest and neck, various cuts and gashes. The two inside the fire came to a stop, and both turned to look at Kenshin.
"What do you want? Can you not see that the men are fighting?"
Kenshin bristled lightly at that comment. How dare he?
"Let's end this. One more duel. You and I– to the death." she said, and promptly slid Tomoe back into its sheath.
"I have beaten you twice now, Battousai! You are nothing but a weakling. You are to become my food. So sit over there and wait to die!" Shishio snarled.
"... Lord Sesshoumaru." her violet eyes searched Sesshoumaru's face. Pleading. Longing.
"Very well, Battousai. I will not stand in the way, but do not expect me to save you. Your death will be your own fault." he said, turning to walk away– off towards Inuyasha and Yumi.
"What? Am I to entertain you again, Battousai? You cannot stand against me! You cannot win!" He was becoming quite deranged. Kenshin could see that his heat had been increasing, and that the ground under him was becoming scorched by just standing there. His power was increasing exponentially, and Kenshin knew the one thing that could stop him.
Sesshoumaru had walked over towards Inuyasha, who had stood from his sitting.
"Sesshoumaru. I made a promise, revive him." He said, pointing towards Sojiro.
"I have no desire to revive such an annoying pest."
"Come on, Sesshoumaru. He was dragged into this, same as all of us. He deserves a second chance. " Inuyasha protested.
"I will not waste energy on something so futile." he said, but of course, that damned fang pulsed on his hip. He reached down and unsheathed it, turning to stare at Sojiro. The servants of the underworld appeared and Sesshoumaru effortlessly cut them down. "Hmph."
Sojiro's eyes opened right as Kenshin made the first move,
Mugenjin met Tomoe, and the two blades sang out in protest. The two began to exchange blows, with Kenshin using her styles of moving. She twisted, she flipped, she rolled, she used Shishio's own weight to her advantage. However, like clockwork, he blocked and rose the sword over his head to swing downwards. And it was then that Kenshin knew that she would win this fight.
She pushed away from him, retreating to a safe distance. "It's time we end this, Shishio." she said, and slipped into her battoujutsu stance.
"I couldn't agree more, Battousai!" And then his yoki spiked, and the ground around him split open. He held Mugenjin up high. A pillar of flame surrounded him, and the heat was intense. Immediately, the grass and trees near him began to wither away. "I want you to feel this, Battousai! Feel the fires of hell– feel my greatest attack! The Tsui no Hiken; Kaguzuchi!" He yelled.
Kenshin took a deep breath. In her mind, everyone she cared about appeared. Rin. Jaken. A'Un. Tomoe. And then Sesshoumaru. This would be it. She would die. But she was okay with that, if it meant saving the lives of those she loved.
"HAAAAA!"
"HRRRAH!"
Kenshin activated it. The full speed of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu known as Shinsoku. Godspeed. She was so fast that the air around her shifted, and she was in front of Shishio. She unsheathed the sword, but mid-draw she added another step with her left foot. This put her leg in danger, but the brief stutter step changed her timing. The range and attack power were increased, and sure enough, Shishio had barely been able to counter. Everything went according to place, because despite Shishio being able to block it… Kenshin continued to spin.
"THIS IS IT! GOODBYE, BATTOUSAI!" But he realized for a moment… that he couldn't move. He had raised Mugenjin, aiming to bring it down and unleash the full weight of hell upon the Battousai. Only to find that his body was disobeying him..That's when the realization had kicked in. The amount of force put into the block had caused the air to rush away from the point of impact. It was dragging Shishio in, and he could do nothing.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Kenshin screamed, her voice ripping as she whirled herself around…
… and cut Shishio in half.
Shishio let out a scream of pain, and the fires of hell tore free from his body. The sounds of the damned billowed free, and it was evident that the souls inside of him were escaping. His legs landed where they had one stood with a dull thud, whilst the torso of Shishio went another way. He landed with a very wet thud, and his human visage began to flake away. The bandaged form of Shishio began to reappear, and blood began to pool from his mouth.
Kenshin stood, and sheathed her sword.
"Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu ougi; Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki." she coughed, and took a few steps towards Shishio.
There was a rustle of movement, Kagome screamed, and then Yumi found herself between Shishio and Kenshin.
"You are in the way." Kenshin said, flicking up on the hilt of his sword. Her arms were outstretched, and she was obscuring her view.
"No! He's had enough! Please… please stop… don't… don't make Lord Shishio fear any more pain…!" she cried out.
From the sidelines, Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha saw it at the same time. They both moved to stop it, but failed, Shishio raised himself up enough to shove Mugenjin straight through Yumi's heart. And… hit Kenshin straight in abdomen.
Yumi's eyes widened. Kenshin made a noise of shock, and the two women fell at the same time. Yumi fell back into Shishio, who had dropped Mugenjin, and promptly held Yumi.
"You are too soft, Battousai. This battle is still going on. I will take you to hell with me!"
Kenshin coughed, blood splattering out of her mouth onto the ground. She rose to her feet, her hands shaking. But not with pain, but with anger.
"Shishio Makoto… you would kill… no, you would sacrifice someone who loves you, just to kill me?!"
"Is it sacrificing, Battousai? Yumi was nothing but a whore for someone else, and despite me saving her, she could never be useful to me. Now, at the end of her life, she is useful to me. What more could she ask for, Battousai? What more could any of us ask for, but to be useful to the man named the strongest?"
He began to laugh, but was blasted by a large burst of green energy. In a matter of seconds, the two were gone. Leaving only Mugenjin and the echo of Shishio's laughter behind.
"... Lord Sesshoumaru," Kenshin said, looking over to him. Her golden eyes had shifted back to her usual vibrant violet.
"Battousai." he said, sheathing Bakusaiga.
"This one is… tired." and she began to fall sideways, only to be caught by Sesshoumaru.
And with a crying vibrato, the battle had come to an end. Shishio Makoto, the hitokiri, the asura, and the man who was promised, was dead.
The Hitokiri Battousai was asleep in her loves arms.
