Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

A/N: Whew, this had been a wonderful chapter to write. It's not as tiring as writing the other battles, but still... it's a battle here. -wipes sweat- Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 16:

The Performance

Miroku nervously bit down his bottom lip, feeling his palms getting sweatier as he continue to follow the powerful demon in front of him. Something tells him that he should be proud that Sesshoumaru had asked him for his help, but he found himself much more relieved if he was left alone. But making a wise decision, he didn't say his preference out loud.

Not realising that Sesshoumaru had stopped, Miroku was only inches away into bumping him. He thanked Buddha that he didn't, or he would no doubt find one of his appendages lying on the ground.

He stared at Sesshoumaru stupidly as the demon was looking at him. He blinked; trying to think what he was supposed to do. He immediately remembered the daiyoukai's request, and quickly started using his spiritual powers to scan the area for any hidden demonic barrier. Knowing better than to waste Sesshoumaru's time, he forced his mind to concentrate hard to find the hidden barrier. He felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead. So far, nothing came up, and he had to squash down the rising panic. Sesshoumaru had given his trust—or at least that's what he believed—and be wasn't going to disappoint him.

When he found nothing, he decided that he should put in more effort. He sat down cross-legged on the grass, and placed his staff beside him. He raised three fingers, and started chanting words that he had learnt during training. Soon, he found his mind calming down and able to detect something. He focused more, and realised that the barrier he was searching for was nearby. Then, his eyes flew open, and he used his staff to point where the barrier was located.

"There," he said, getting onto his feet. "That's where she's hiding."

Wasting no time, Sesshoumaru motioned to where Miroku had pointed, and looked down to absolutely nothing. Miroku caught up to him, and slapped down an ofuda at where he believed there was a barrier. Luckily for him, he was right, and a small blue barrier appeared in front of both; Sesshoumaru and Miroku. What lies inside of the barrier wasn't visible, but Miroku could tell that the enemy Sesshoumaru was searching for was in there.

Miroku jerked slightly when Sesshoumaru drew his sword. Wordlessly, the daiyoukai swung his sword to shatter the barrier. The barrier didn't budge, however. Instead, it made a crackling sound, and remained unscathed. To Miroku's misfortune, it raised the fury inside Sesshoumaru, and now the demon lord was glaring at his direction.

"Monk, you will remove the barrier."

Miroku nodded and placed another ofuda on the barrier. If Sesshoumaru couldn't break the barrier, then that would mean the barrier was really strong. It instantly reminded him of Naraku's barrier. He wasn't sure how effective his ofuda would work on the barrier, but if he can't break it, then that would mean they are in need of Kagome's arrow.

Miroku got to work with his task. He chanted a few words, and gave a slight nod to Sesshoumaru's direction as an indication that he was done. Sesshoumaru swung Tokijin again, but the barrier was still there. Miroku sighed and scratched the back of his head with his staff.

"I believe we need Kagome-sama for this one," Miroku explained, in hopes that Sesshoumaru would not kill him for not being able to break the barrier. "Her arrows will be able to break the barrier."

"Then you will bring her here."

Miroku nodded and started running for Kagome. When he was far away from Sesshoumaru, he let out a breath he didn't know he was keeping.

Miroku and Sesshoumaru may not be able to see what was inside the barrier, but Koukatsu can pretty much see what laid outside it. She watched in apprehension as the monk placed an ofuda to break the barrier. Damn monk. She was doing a good job hiding from Sesshoumaru, but because of him, Sesshoumaru now knows where she was hiding. It was only in a matter of time before they decide to call the miko.

The miko wasn't that strong, but her arrows was something Koukatsu didn't take lightly. One shot from that arrow, and she just knew that her barrier would break. She would have to figure a way to get out of here alive.

"I'm going to bring that hanyou here. When I have him under my clutches, Sesshoumaru seems more hesitant to attack," Koukatsu said to Jikiko. Although the puppet was nothing but an empty vessel, she still considered it as company.

The arrow Kagome had fired hit Koukatsu, and the puppet dispersed in the air. Kagome realised that it was only a puppet, and found herself suddenly knocked to the ground by Inuyasha. She narrowly dodged the deadly claws that were aimed at her face. Thankfully, Sango threw her Hiraikotsu at them, and Inuyasha leapt off from her in order to dodge the flying boomerang.

"Kagome-chan!"

"Thanks, Sango-chan," Kagome said, as she got herself onto her feet. She brushed her palms on her uniform skirt, and kept her eyes on the hanyou. "Is Miroku-sama done already? How long do we have to fight Inuyasha?"

"I'm not sure, but I hope it's not long," Sango said, retrieving her Hiraikotsu. "Fighting him like this is unpleasant."

"Sango! Kagome-sama!"

Kagome turned around and found Miroku approaching them. She waved her hand and was startled when Miroku caught her arm. "Miroku-sama?"

"Quick," Miroku said, breathing heavily from the running. "Sesshoumaru wants you to break a barrier."

"But what about Sango-chan—"

"No time, let's go."

Kagome was dragged away by a hasty Miroku. Meanwhile, Sango kept her entire focus on Inuyasha; who positioned himself like an animal ready to pounce on its prey. She shifted Hiraikotsu, ready to defend herself if Inuyasha decided to launch himself towards her and attack.

"Inuyasha, I don't want to do this, but I just wanna let you know that the reason I do is because I don't want you getting hurt."

She knew he wouldn't react to her words, but at least he would understand her intentions. Slowly, she took out a bamboo tube, and started pouring out tiny black beads in the palm of her hand. Muttering a sincere apology, she threw the beads towards Inuyasha, and the thing exploded like a smoke bomb. When the smoke spreaded around, she already had a mask over her face, protecting herself from the smell. What she threw a second ago were scent beads that could easily knock out a demon—especially with a sensitive smell.

She watched as Inuyasha dropped to the ground with his eyes closed. She sighed in relief, and placed down her Hiraikotsu. She wanted to do this earlier, but with Kagome nearby, and with no other mask to help protect her friend, she just couldn't find the opportunity too. But now, she could focus back on fighting the puppets that were now searching for a target to fight. With Kirara by her side, she started attacking the puppets one-by-one.

"So all I have to do is fire my arrow?" Kagome asked, staring at the blue sphere in front of her.

"Yes," Miroku replied.

"Okay," Kagome said, and used one of her last few arrows. Determined, she made sure that the arrow was strong enough to shatter the barrier. "Here I go."

She released the arrow, and it flew directly at where she had aimed. As the sharp tip of the arrow made contact with the barrier, they watched as the barrier immediately dissolve, and their eyes were now looking at a sitting Koukatsu, with Jikiko by her side. She didn't look too happy seeing them take down her barrier, but she was a little too calm for someone who was about to lose her life.

"Leave," Sesshoumaru said. His eyes were locked onto Koukatsu, but his order was directed to the two humans nearby. "This Sesshoumaru has no further use with you ningen."

Kagome was about to open her mouth to tell him that he was being extremely rude for dismissing them like that, but Miroku was fast enough to drag her away before she could. She protested him a bit, but then she gave up and allowed herself to be dragged.

"What a jerk," Kagome huffed.

"Now, now, we should be thankful that he needs our assistance. That would mean he couldn't have done it without us," Miroku said, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Well," Kagome begun, but finished lamely with, "You're right."

Not knowing to the two humans, Sesshoumaru could hear every bit of their conversation, even if they were already far away. He decided to let their words slide though, as he watched his arch enemy with a scowl tight on his face. His hands gripped on Tokijin, and the next thing the two demons knew, they were fighting a battle of life and death.

"Congratulations, you found me," Koukatsu said as she dodged each and every one of the daiyoukai's attack. When she spotted an opening, her claws grew a few inches and she swung it at the demon lord; which he was able to dodge too. "But it's obvious to me that without those filthy humans, you wouldn't have been able to break my barrier."

Her only response was a sword swung at her head—which she was lucky she was fast enough to dodge.

"I'm tired of this, Sesshoumaru. Don't you? Just hand me over the Western Lands, and maybe we won't have to see each other again."

She yelped when Sesshoumaru's sword pierced her arm. She staggered a few steps backwards, and it was a bad move. With a few seconds of being distracted from Sesshoumaru, the daiyoukai took this opportunity to make a beeline towards her, and shifted his sword so that it would hit the flesh of her belly.

And that was when Sesshoumaru heard the demon shout, "Koukan!"

Sango had gotten rid of the last puppet. She wiped the sweat on her forehead, and glanced to the side to give Kirara a victory smile. She then spun around, and was in time to see Inuyasha already getting up. Her eyes widened. Those beads were suppose to make him unconscious a little longer, but she guessed that it's because he's under control that he was able to wake up earlier than expected.

As she was about to stop him from getting Tessaiga, she felt someone grab her ankle. She looked down and found a tiny girl—about Shippou's height—wrapping her arms around her leg. The girl had pale skin and is holding her without any force. But Sango found herself frozen to the spot. She tried moving her limbs, but none of them would comply.

"What's going on?!" she shouted as she desperately tried to move anything other than her mouth. She assumed the tiny girl may have something to do with her restricted movements. "Let go of me!"

In front of her, she saw Inuyasha glowing, and wondered what the hell was happening. But then, the light around him disappeared, and she was shocked with what she found next.

Sesshoumaru could tell that he was so close to piercing Koukatsu's flesh. He didn't hold back when swinging his sword directly at her. This was it. He was going to end this once and for all, and none of them would have to see Koukatsu's existence again.

But then all of a sudden, Koukatsu shouted something, and her form started glowing. Sesshoumaru didn't stop moving his sword, however, and continued moving it closer to the demoness' abdomen. Just when his sword was so close, everything fell into slow motion. He watched as Koukatsu's form was suddenly replaced with his brother's. In that moment, he watched as awareness returned to his brother's once dimmed golden eyes. Inuyasha's eyes widened at the scene in front of him, but it was too late. Sesshoumaru couldn't stop at the very last second. Everything was happening too fast.

"What the—"

Sesshoumaru's sword pierced through the center of Inuyasha's firerat, and through the skin of his brother's. Dark crimson leaked at where he had pierced, and he stilled when Inuyasha coughed out blood. Blood dripped from the corner of his younger brother's mouth as his head lolled forward. Sesshoumaru was just in time to catch his brother before he collapsed to the ground.

Even with one arm, it was enough for Sesshoumaru to use it to sit his brother down. The sword was still in his brother's stomach, and Sesshoumaru wondered whether this was the right time to take it out or not. It turned out that Inuyasha wanted the thing out of his flesh as soon as possible, because his brother instantly pulled it out with one tug, and threw it aside. Inuyasha's face blanched right after the action. It turned out that recklessly pulling the sword out was a bad move, because blood started oozing out more.

"Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru said, as he knelt on one knee. He didn't know exactly what to say. They were never close, so offering comforting words right now would seem disturbing. So he decided to state the obvious, "You are in need of medical attention."

"You don't say," Inuyasha said in a hoarse voice, and chuckled darkly. He wrapped his hand at the terrible wound, catching blood on his palm. "Well, at least that woman isn't controlling me anymore."

Sesshoumaru inwardly agreed. He tilted his head slightly when Inuyasha leaned back and laid outstretched on the ground. His hand was still over his stomach, but his eyes were failing to keep open.

"Don't mind me, I'm just... gonna take a nap."

Sesshoumaru could only stare at his brother's lying form. As his younger brother closed his eyes, Sesshoumaru stood up and walked over to his bloody sword. He stared at the item and remembered what had happened. Koukatsu had somewhat switched places with Inuyasha in order to flee from her impending death. She knew how things were going to go, and had pulled another trick from under her sleeve. Sesshoumaru felt his ire rise. Koukatsu had once again fail to die, and is now running off in order to save herself.

Sesshoumaru turned his head to see his brother's laying figure. A pool of blood had started to form, and his brother was going to die if no one tends his wounds.

His vision was suddenly layered by crimson.

"How—?!"

Miroku, Sango and Kagome watched as Koukatsu appeared. Sango had the time to see Inuyasha being replaced with the puppeteer, but Kagome and Miroku didn't know what happened earlier, so they were now confused and thought that Koukatsu had teleported. That is, until Sango started shouting, "Where's Inuyasha?!"

"Inuyasha?" Kagome said, and her eyes scanned the area around her. She then whipped her head towards the puppeteer. "Where is he?!"

Koukatsu looked at them with an annoyed look, and a cloud appeared behind her. She jumped onto the cloud, and the white thing started lifted her up in the air. They noticed that one of her arms were drawing out blood, and realised that she was injured.

Before she was high up in the sky, Kagome yelled, "Wait! Where's Inuyasha?!"

But everything was replaced with an eerie silence when every single one of them were overwhelmed by the sudden burst of a powerful youki. Not only did the power of youki froze everyone at their places, but the demonic aura itself spoke: danger.

A/N: If everything goes as planned, then the next chapter will be the last. I know, I'm not ready to end this too, but all good things must come to an end. (I mean, I know everything bad had been happening in this story, but it was a good thing to write, at least, for me.)

- Replies -

roseeyes: It seems Kagome didn't have the opportunity to release Inuyasha from being controlled, but hey, at least he's not being controlled anymore, right? xD