Part 25: Battle Cry

A/N: Hello dear readers. One step closer towards the climatic end of this fic. Things are about to get even crazier!

As always, thank you to my dear reviewers! Your constant encouragement is always appreciated:

IMoveTheStars4No1

AmorPorSiempre

Little25victor

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish for it, I unfortunately own nothing except my plot, and a few OC's here and there.

"If you leave your arm out like this, Naraku will seize it with a tentacle and try to stab you with it just so he can poison you." I shouted out.

Two days. 48 hours, this was all the time we had left before the duel. I feared this would not be enough time to prepare Sesshoumaru for what he would be up against when he faced Naraku. The man who raised me may be a hanyou, but he was strong, cunning and willing to do whatever it took to win. Even playing dirty. Cheating was part of his very nature. My one fear was that Sesshoumaru was too honorable of a man to sink to Naraku's level. Principles were nice, but they could get one killed.

I saw Sesshoumaru grind his teeth upon hearing my words of advice. I knew how much he hated that. It felt dishonoring to him that I was telling him all about Naraku's preferred attacks and battle strategies. He did adjust his posture stiffly after a few heartbeats of hesitation.

"The second you will have your back turned, he will certainly summon some clones to confuse you." I told him next. I did not care that he did not like that kind of training. All I cared about was keeping him alive.

Whether he liked it or not, I fully intended to tell him about all of Naraku's abilities and tricks: tentacles, clones, poison; I was going to make sure my lover was best equipped. At first, he had found distasteful the idea of preparing and learning about an opponent's weaknesses, but he had rightfully clammed up once I had asked him if he would rather be alive or honorable. Naraku was a monster; there would be no honor in this fight.

"Keh! The inu youkai sense of smell should help tell the real bastard apart from one of his clones." Inuyasha stretched out a kink in his back.

The two brothers had been sparring for the past twelve hours without taking a break. Neither of them was showing any sign of fatigue. The sun was about to go down, and they were only now starting to slow down. I could tell that had it been up to them, they would have continued sparring well into the night, but it was almost dinnertime and today was a special day to the Tashio family: Christmas Eve.

I had been surprised to find out they actually celebrated it as that was unheard of among youkai. Considering Kagome was a miko and her family managed a shrine, I did not think celebrating Christmas was part of their traditions either. From what I had gathered the Tashio family celebration revolved around a great feast and the kids going to bed early so they could wake up at the crack of dawn to unpack the many presents 'Santa Claus' had put for them under the tree. This year the celebration would be cut short as due to mom's murder and the upcoming duel, none of us were in a cheerful mood; however, cancelling the special dinner had been out of the question. The kids needed some normalcy, and we needed to come together as a family in this difficult time. I had offered to help with dinner preparations, but Kagome had rightfully thought I would be more useful helping Sesshoumaru get ready for the fight of his life. I had not argued.

"I don't doubt your sense of smell, but the clones even reproduce Naraku's smell, so that can't help." I corrected Inuyasha. I was sure to give Sesshoumaru all the information I could so as to make sure he would be ready.

"Keh! Just go on the offensive, and don't give the bastard enough time to take a breath or think about using any bullshit tricks like clones."

Sesshoumaru scoffed at his brother's advice. My lover was just not good at listening to guidance.

"Enough! This Sesshoumaru knows how to handle Naraku." With this last statement, my lover sheathed his sword and marched towards the door; silently indicating the training session was done.

I pushed down the panic. We had done all we could to have Sesshoumaru ready for the day after tomorrow. It was now time to plaster a fake smile on my lips, and meet up with the rest of the family. We had a celebration to attend.

The three of us stepped out of the training hall to be greeted by freezing cold air. I quickly called forth a warm gust of wind to shield me from the winter air.

Out of nowhere, a white object came flying towards Sesshoumaru, and hit him right in the face. Things had happened so fast none of us had moved a muscle.

A cheering Shippou came out from behind a conspicuous mound of snow. Apparently the little trickster had used some kitsune magic to hide in plain sight in the form of snow in order to hurl a snowball at his uncle's face.

Inuyasha laughed out loud so hard, I feared he might break a couple ribs. "Hilarious! Sesshoumaru-sama aren't you supposed to be all strong and mighty. You got caught by a mere kitsune kid. Well done son!" The hanyou walked over to his son and ruffled his ginger curls.

I looked down at the grinning little fox demon, and before I knew it, I was chuckling too. The little kid's laughter was just infectious. Ever since mother's death, this was the first time I had laughed so heartily. It felt good.

Sesshoumaru silently wiped his wet face, all the while sending a freezing glare to his nephew.

"Very amusing indeed Shippou." Sesshoumaru said dryly.

I walked over to him, and helped my lover clean his face with the sleeve of my sweater. Instinctively, I reached up to press a kiss to his cheek and smiled.

"Your face is freezing. You look like a real Ice King." I gently teased him, but it was on Shippou that Sesshoumaru's eyes were locked.

"Hum, I think mom is calling. Must be time for dinner!" A heartbeat later the little fox was running towards the house, clearly in fear of his uncle's wrath.

"Did you have to scare the kid like this?" I rolled my eyes before looping my arm around Sesshoumaru's. I decided to hang on to him in case he decided to rush after Shippou to teach him a lesson on respecting his elders.

"Keh! Let's just hope Naraku doesn't catch you unaware like this tomorrow." Inuyasha stated, all traces of mirth gone from his voice.

"I knew your son was there, but this Sesshoumaru pretended not to see him in order to please the child. There will be no pretending tomorrow."

"Right, you ain't fooling anyone old man." Inuyasha chuckled. "Let's just go get cleaned up and eat the feast Kagome cooked for us tonight."

Dinner had been great. We had all sat around the huge dining room table and indulged in all the delicious dishes Sesshoumaru's staff had prepared under the close supervision of Kagome. I had been surprised, but pleased to see the whole Higurashi family join us for dinner. Old man Higurashi entertained Rin and Shippou with tall tales about his youkai fighting past. Kagome's mom forced everyone to eat more all the while delighting in her youngest grandchild, and Souta used any chance he got to question his beloved brother in-law.

I had to fake a smile all evening, but I would be damned before I let the kids see how upset I was. I may have laughed too hard, and drunk a bit too much wine, but I thought I had managed to go through the evening well enough. After the dessert, we had all given each of the children a gift. Sesshoumaru grumbled a bit about them getting too spoiled, but he had happily helped me pick the presents we gave to each child in our name. Rin received an ornamental flower-shapedhairpin, Shippou a rare book on kitsune magic and baby Izayoi a puppy shaped rattle. Sure, my lover had not been on board with that last gift as he felt it insulted the baby's inu youkai heritage, but I had managed to get him to go along with it. Considering how Kagome was cooing over it, I thought the rattle was a smashing success.

After one last round of kisses and hugs, the Higurashi clan left, and the house inhabitants retired to their rooms. The kids were eager for morning to come so they could unpack the presents Santa Claus was sure to leave for them, so we all went up to bed much earlier than usual. I had to admit my first Christmas Eve celebration had gone much better than I had anticipated. Not once had a smile left my lips, and I was pretty sure I had managed to pretend to laugh at every joke, even the stupid ones by Miroku. Good thing Sango was there to poke him in the ribs to dissuade him to keep churning out foolish jokes.

A sigh left my lips once I entered our bedroom. I did not have to pretend anymore. Over here, I could display openly how I really felt without fear of judgment. Sesshoumaru had already seen me at my worst and continued to love and support me.

I walked up to him and looped my arms around him. I wanted to show him how much I loved and appreciated him. We understood each other and what our wants were; no need to speak. In a matter of seconds Sesshoumaru and I fell into bed, fusing each other's lips in a deep kiss.

Wordlessly we shed our clothes, and soon enough we were naked and entwined on our bed. Ever since mother's death, the most we had done was share a few chaste kisses. A part of me still felt way too guilty to enjoy myself by making love to the man who held my heart, but this night was different. In two days, Sesshoumaru would be literally fighting for his life, and tonight might be the last night we would share. I knew tomorrow I would be too wound up to make love to Sesshoumaru, let alone sleep.

I don't know how he managed to move so fast, but in a matter of minutes Sesshoumaru was gloriously naked, and he had helped me shed all my clothes a well. He tenderly pushed me back and parted my legs to settle right where I wanted him most. After taking the time to tenderly run his length over my slit, earning a soft moan from me, with one deep thrust, he pushed deep into me. A keen moan still escaping my lips, I locked out mouths in a deep kiss.

Never had our lovemaking been so sweet and so slow. As he gently rocked our bodies, I ravenously ran my hands all over his body. His beautiful face, his toned arms and strong back. I wanted to commit to memory every inch of his skin and considering how he was staring down at me with such intent, it seemed he was doing the same.

He must have seen that I had noticed him staring at me because he shifted his posture just enough to be able to lower his face to mine and kiss me. I eagerly raised my hips, allowing him to slide in even deeper and bring our bodies impossibly close. Our lips had been fused in deep kisses and we only broke apart for a few fractions of seconds at a time, long enough to catch our breaths. I clung to him so tightly with my arms and legs that his thrusts could only be slow and shallow.

We had been rocking for a good long while when my orgasm took me by surprise. The pleasure had been building so slowly and deliciously and it had finally reached its peak. I broke our kiss long enough to throw my head back, and cry out as waves and waves of pleasure crashed over me.

Just a few thrusts later, Sesshoumaru suddenly groaned and quickly pulled out of me, spending his seed on my lower stomach. I gotta admit, it was kind of hot to be drenched in his seed, but surprising nonetheless. He had never done so before. I wondered if this was some sort of inu youkai thing. Maybe he wanted to mark me in his scent or something like that. He got up on his knees and suddenly grabbed a corner of our bed sheet to wipe me down, clearing the evidence of his release.

I looked down at him and noticed something looked off. I arched my eyebrows in surprise when I realized the base of his member had swelled up. I suddenly recalled something Kagome had explained to me some weeks ago about inu youkai mating and procreation rituals.

"Did you just try to impregnate me?" I blurted out without a second thought.

Pale red dusted his cheeks. Was he blushing? Utterly adorable.

He cleared his throat. "The tie was not completed, so you should be safe… Besides a child would have taken root only if you so wanted." I wondered if he was trying to convince himself that he had truly not accidentally planted his child in my womb.

I could not lie, a part of me was disappointed.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that if you had knotted with me and released inside me, I probably would've gotten pregnant." Must have been the generous glasses of wine I had slurped during dinner that made me suddenly so candid. I did not have a filter anymore, and I just wanted to tell Sesshoumaru about all I really felt.

"You mean…" He started, but cut himself off. Now it was his turn to look surprised. His cautious tone of voice let me know he was unsure to voice his hope, I decided to take him out of his misery.

I sat up, this was not the kind of conversation I wanted to have while lying down naked underneath him. "Sesshoumaru, I love you. I want to make a life with you. I want to be your wife. Having your children is the next logical step. To be honest, I can't wait to have your babies."

A small smile bloomed on his lips. He so often guarded his emotions, but clearly he was so happy that he could not contain himself.

I wrapped my arms around him, and buried my face in the crook of his neck to take in his scent. I leaned back just a bit to stare up in his eyes, but kept my arms securely around him. No way was I ever letting that man go.

"Once Naraku is gone, we can plan the rest of our lives, and give Rin the siblings she wants to badly."

The smile on his lips was replaced by a grim line. I had invited Naraku in our bedroom while my lover and I were having such a tender discussion. I hated it, but it was necessary.

Sesshoumaru ran his hand over my glistening back, gingerly running his finger over my spider shaped scar. His eyes seemed stormy, and a shiver of unease ran through me. Up until now he had boasted about his confidence, but for the first time I saw doubt, and it terrified me.

"Kagura, if something were to happen to me…"

"Don't!" I protested, and tightened my hold on him, pressing our naked chests close together. I had already lost mother, losing Sesshoumaru too would be more than I could bear.

"Kagura." He pulled away to look down into my eyes. "You must listen. What I have to say is very important." He insisted. "If I were to perish, know that you will always have a home here. I have spoken to Inuyasha, he is my heir for now, and he knows I have made arrangements for you to be taken care of for the rest of your life. Miroku holds all the information on the off-shore account I set up for you. He will tell you all about how to access it."

I did not care to find out if he had set up a nest egg of millions for me. A life without Sesshoumaru would be unbearable. Just thinking about it made me feel ill.

He must have noticed my unease, but forged on. "All I ask in return is that you promise to look after Rin as a mother would. She already lost her biological parents…"

I absentmindedly nodded and pushed down the tears prickling at my eyes. I loved Rin already as she was a wonderful and brilliant young woman. For as long as I would be able to, I would protect her and look after her. But one thing I knew for certain was that if Naraku cut down Sesshoumaru in battle than this was a promise I would not be able to keep.

Sesshoumaru was an honorable man who kept his promises; unlike Naraku who was a vicious monster. My lover probably believed that the war between the West and the South would be dealt with and resolved after the duel. If he won we would be rid of Naraku, but if he was not victorious, I knew it would mean the death of me too. No way would Naraku let me live; no matter what the Council and the other Lords might say. No sooner that Sesshoumaru would be laid to rest, Naraku would have me killed too. Of that I had no doubt.

In a matter of hours, Sesshoumaru's own life was not the only one he would be fighting for, but I would be damned before I told him that. As if he needed more pressure.

"Alright, let's not talk about such depressing thoughts. I'm sure we can find a better use for our mouths." Before he had the time to admonish me for my wanton ways, I kissed him, deeply.

None of us said another word after that. We made love all night. In 24 hours Sesshoumaru would kill Naraku, or we would all be dead.

Two hours. Despite my best efforts, I could not stop my jittering. I knew it would unnerve Sesshoumaru to see me nervous, so I did my best to hide my shaking hands in the folds of my layered kimono.

Miroku had painstakingly told us all about the rules of the duel the night before as he, Sango, Inuyasha, Kagome, Sesshoumaru and I shared a much needed post dinner drink. When we had signed up for the duel, little did we know that the whole thing was dictated by strict rules. The fight would take place in a makeshift arena only the fighters could enter. The space was going to be protected by spiritual elements to prevent intervention. Kouga had readily volunteered some of his men to guard the perimeter around the fighting space. That reassured me, I knew the wolf could be trusted to keep out any interference Naraku could cook up. Only youkai weapons were allowed, and we spectators would look at the fight through screens as if it was some sort of sporting event. The arena was located in Menoumaru's territory. I did not trust the moth as much as I did Kouga, but holding the fight next to his creepy forest was a much better option than being in Naraku's space. The spider hanyou had offered, but we had of course turned him down.

Another rule was that we all had to wear traditional clothes, which explained why I was wearing an outfit similar to the one Sesshoumaru had prepared for me to use during our sparring sessions, and why despite my shaking hands, I was currently helping my love fasten the metal armor he had worn over his white kimono.

He looked gorgeous as usual, but also fully focused. The same could not be said about me. Thoughts spinning from all the details Miroku had told us, I had spent the better part of the night lying as still as possible so as not to disturb the slumbering Sesshoumaru. He had need of all the rest possible after all. It was odd to watch him sleep. For as long as I had known him, he merely slept a few hours a night, and woke up at the slightest movement or sound. I had taken the time to fully take in his features, and commit them to memory as this might have been the last night we spent together.

"Thank you." He murmured once I fastened the last hold of his armor.

"Sesshoumaru." I called to him before he could step away from me. "I want you to have this." I reached for my left hand and gently pried off the ring he had given me some weeks ago. "I know you are strong." I started before he cut me off. "But, it would not hurt to have some added security just in case." I took his left hand, and slid the ring on his littlest finger. Considering our size difference, it did not go all the way down, but at least it was securely placed on his person. "Besides it would be poetic justice to have your father with you when you kill his murderer." I purposely added that last part to cut out any retort or refusal on his end. Sesshoumaru was a proud man, and would hate the thought of resorting to any means other than his own to protect himself.

"I gave you this ring so that you would be protected." He looked down at the metal piece of jewelry now adoring his finger, but thankfully did not remove it.

"I'll be alright. Naraku will be too busy with you kicking his butt to care about me." I could tell he was worried for my safety, so I did my best to reassure him. "I will be fine, I will have my fan with me, and I promise to stay close to Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango. Just in case."

Sesshoumaru seemed to want to say something else, but thankfully, we were interrupted by a knock on our bedroom door.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, Kagura-sama, I just wanted to say hi before you leave."

From her puffy eyes, I could tell Rin had been crying. She knew what was happening today, and was probably as terrified as I was, but still she managed to fake a cheerful voice. She did not want to upset her much younger cousins who had been kept in the dark. Rarely had I been more proud of our daughter. That little human managed to burrow herself deep in my heart, and I thought of her as my own. Whatever happened today, I would do my best to keep her safe. She had known too much heartache already in her short life.

Before I knew it, I had walked towards the teenager, and run a comforting hand down her head.

"I started experimenting with the sewing machine Santa Claus brought me. Kagura-sama, when you get back, I'll show you what I made." She beamed at me as brightly as she could. "It's a surprise for Sesshoumaru-sama."

"I look forward to seeing what you made Rin." Sesshoumaru walked towards the girl, and managed to crack a smile for her benefit.

"I'll go down and make sure Jaken got the car ready." I let the two of them have some time alone; there was probably much they wanted to say to each other.

As soon as I went down the staircase, I was greeted by the most unexpected of sights: Sakura Tashio loitering in our hallway.

"Men are such foolish creatures. Resorting to under handed tactics to bring down each other for years, and in the end all it took was to bring things to a head was using some woman as bait." She may have huffed under her breath, but she knew damn well I could hear her loud and clear. "If only the woman in question was worth such trouble…"

I chose to ignore her completely. I had better things to do than care about what that hateful woman said.

"One must always do their outmost to look after the ones under their protection." Sesshoumaru said as he joined us. "Father used to always say so."

Sakura scoffed. I just loved it when Sesshoumaru managed to put her back in her place with just a few words.

"Let us go lest we be late." He stopped by me to press a kiss to my cheek before marching out of the house. After sending me one last glare, Sakura followed him.

"Keh! About damn time. Let's go kick some ass." Despite his joyful exclamation, I could feel the nervous energy pouring out of Inuyasha.

I stayed rooted in place, thinking back to all the preparations we had done, terrified that we were ill prepared and that some detail had escaped us. My brother in-law must have noticed my own anguish because on his way to the door, he leaned towards me to whisper. "Sesshoumaru will kill Naraku. He has too."

The fire burning in his eyes let me know how determined he was. If Sesshoumaru failed to kill Naraku, then Inuyasha would burn the world down to avenge his brother.

"Our seating spaces must be around here somewhere." Miroku, an eye patch still covering most of his face scanned the place, trying to figure out where the Tashio clan was supposed to sit. Despite the short amount of time to get things ready, Lord Menoumaru had managed to provide a good place for the duel. As Miroku had warned us, the place looked like a mini sports arena with a fighting territory in the center, semi hidden by huge panels thrumming with spiritual energy and seating areas all around the 'ring'.

Before the start of the duel, both fighters and their weapons had to be inspected by representatives from the two unbiased Lords Kouga and Menoumaru. Inuyasha had volunteered to accompany his brother. As he said it, he needed to make sure no wolf did anything stupid. After a quick goodbye to Sesshoumaru, Miroku, Sango, Kagome and I went to find our seats. Sakura had decided to step away to whoever knew where.

The place was full. Guess no one wanted to miss out on seeing two of the most powerful youkai fight to the death. All eyes were stuck on me, the official reason for this fight. While everyone knew that Naraku attacking me and insulting me was just an excuse Sesshoumaru had used to be able to call a duel with the man he hated, they still were curious about me. Naraku's daughter, married to Sesshoumaru, how scandalous. No wonder their eyes were stuck on me.

Frankly at the moment, I could care less if I was the center of attention. In just a few minutes, the man I loved would engage in the fight of his life, and for some reason, I could not shake a feeling of unease. Naraku had been too quiet up until now. He surely was up to something, and it would be something bad. Nausea crept up my throat, and I struggled to push it down.

I needed to freshen myself before I threw up all over the place. "I'll just go to the restroom. I'll be back in a minute."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Kagome asked me.

"No thanks, I'm fine."

"You look a bit pale…" She insisted. "I feel dark energy in here. Must be a dark witch in attendance." The miko shuddered, clearly upset.

Just as I made to head to the restroom, Sango laid a hand on my shoulder.

"Maybe I should go with you…"

"No need." I cut Sango off, gently shrugging her hold on me. "I'll be back in five minutes." Before the human woman went back on bodyguard mode and followed me out, I snuck in search of a restroom.

My phone rang, and I fished it out of one of the folds of my kimono. An unknown number. How unusual. I answered the call, and my heart stopped cold. Heavy breathing and a strained female voice I knew all too well greeted me on the other side.

"Kagura… my baby…"

"Mom?!"

To be continued…

A/N: Dun dun dun! Is the person on the phone Kagura's mother? How will the epic showdown between Sesshoumaru and Naraku go? We shall see next time! The next chapter will be named Weakness.