A/N: Inuyasha and all characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, this story is the brainchild of Kajatk8, and belongs to her. No profits are being made from this, it is just a fun way to pass the time and expand my writing capabilities.
Much love and thanks to all my awesome reviewers! MirrorFlower and DarkWind, Madam Fluffy, JJ, yukihime88, shadow miko, Nyght elf! Thank you!
And of course a special thanks to Ariel-Mystic-Siren for Beta-Reading!
Chapter 8. Battle for Edo
Jinenji, Inuyasha, Kirara and Kagome had packed up what little they'd need, and left the Harmony Shrine in a rush. Jinenji was riding Kirara, and Kagome had been on Inuyasha's back. She'd found it rather difficult to get comfortable in her new armor, as it poked and prodded her in new and unfamiliar ways. While she'd typically carried a bow, she found a bow, a quiver and her backpack to be extremely difficult to manage above the armor on her back. She also couldn't turn her head without accidentally getting her hair caught in the spikes on her spaulders. She'd remedied that by putting her hair up with a pink ribbon she'd found tucked away inside the armor. She thought of Sango and smiled. It appeared her friends had thought of everything.
Except, of course, the moon. Halfway through their return trip to Edo, the sun had sunk down below the horizon. Kagome had expected the moon to follow the sun, and rise slowly, but it hadn't. This wouldn't have been very important if it hadn't been for Inuyasha. His hair had run black, with his ears and claws receding and he'd fallen over from the weight of an armored Kagome on his back.
The fight that had ensued was inevitable. Kagome had wanted Inuyasha to take Kirara and head back to the Shrine, she could ride atop Jinenji's shoulders. But, of course, Inuyasha would hear none of her demands. She was human, and so was he. He wouldn't let her go into battle alone, and he refused to go back, even if he was human.
So, Kagome had found herself looking for someone else to be her beast of burden. She'd swapped places with Jinenji atop Kirara, and Inuyasha was holding on to her waist behind her. Jinenji was trying to keep up with Kirara's pace and was doing a fine job of running parallel with them on the ground.
Kagome glanced back behind her, and wondered when she'd next see the sister priestesses. Of course, now they really were her sisters.
"What's wrong Kagome?" Inuyasha asked in a soft tone. He seemed to be filled with more emotions when in his human form.
"It's just… We didn't really get to say good-bye." Kagome said.
"It's not like we're going to be gone forever. Once Edo's safe, we'll go back." Inuyasha said matter-of-factly.
"I know." Kagome replied. But she couldn't keep the dark thought from coming to her that she wouldn't see the sisters for a very long time. She wondered where her apprehension was coming from, and Kagome remembered Rin's words.
Well, Rin had been wrong right? She was returning to Edo, and it had been just a week more than a month. So there, she kept her promise… Right?
But, as the trio approached Edo, Kagome's dark thoughts continued to flood her mind. She realized it was from the barrier that they were quickly approaching and grimaced. She didn't want to walk willingly into something so dark and evil.
As they were on the outskirts of the village now, they could see Sesshomaru's Bakusaiga lighting up the sky.
"Keh! Least we know Sesshomaru is still alive," Inuyasha said.
"But he's been fighting for a week straight," Jinenji replied.
Kagome turned to look back towards Sesshomaru. She could just about make out his white form after the last flash of lightening had danced across the sky.
"Kagome, put on the mask," Jinenji said. "We are about to pass through the barrier."
"What about you, Kirara and Inuyasha?" Kagome asked looking over towards Jinenji's form and he was straining to keep up with them.
At the mention of her name Kirara roared an uncanny assurance at Kagome.
"I'll be fine, and I can look out for them." Jinenji replied.
"Inuyasha you should take the facemask. In your human form, I doubt you'll be able to hold off this evil." Kagome said seriously.
"Keh! I'll be fine, you wear it." Inuyasha replied.
Kagome groaned in outrage and pain. She'd started to feel a little better, she was not as sluggish as he had felt upon waking. Yet, the fight between them had drained her of what little energy she'd recovered. Really he could be so stupid sometimes! Likely she'd be fine because she could purify whatever it was that knocked out everyone else. Kirara was a demon, that might afford her some form of protection, and she already knew Jinenji wasn't affected. But with Inuyasha, in his current state, there was no way he wouldn't succumb to the spelled powder.
Frustrated beyond measure, Kagome tied the facemask on her head preparing herself. She could tell they were only a few strides from the barrier. The air was getting thicker and she could almost feel the darkness overflowing from Edo. She looked back at Inuyasha's face and the look of determination that had come over it. Sighing, she forced the tiredness that overwhelmed her down and willed her limbs to move. She grabbed her bow from her shoulder and nocked an arrow against whatever Sesshomaru was attempting to fight.
Sesshomaru had been weakening ever since Jinenji had left to fetch his brother and Kagome. He knew he could stay awake for days at a time, and had proven this to himself on many occasions. But he hadn't pushed himself so hard in such a long time. He growled inwardly, since Naraku, he'd become weak, something he'd once sworn never to do again.
Each day was worse than the previous one. He could feel himself slowing with each volley that the enemy sent his way. He had attempted to discern the enemy's location, but no matter what he did, he couldn't sense their presence.
It was almost as if they were shrouded from him. He cursed inwardly, and wished he'd paid more attention to what Kaede had said to him about dark priestesses. But, he'd been confident and cocky like always. He had Bakusaiga and Tenseiga, what could go wrong? Aside from Rin, anyone who died he could revive. And that was if he wanted to.
It hadn't been a constant thought in his mind but he again cursed his father for giving Inuyasha Tetsusaiga. Inuyasha wasn't here. Sesshomaru was. If only he had the sword, he would be able to cut away this barrier and find the culprit in a heartbeat.
Speaking of which, where was his idiotic brother? Why had Jinenji been gone a whole week? Was it a week? He'd thought so. He'd counted the sunrises and sunsets. There had been thirteen since Jinenji had left. Why had it taken so long? Surely the fire-cat could easily find where his damned brother and the miko were hiding in less time than a week.
He set down atop of Kaede's hut to rest. He'd been doing this every few hours or so, just to sit unburdened for a moment and regain his strength. That and to ensure that Rin was still safe. He hadn't noticed any harm come to her from her enchanted sleep and he meant to keep it that way.
The darkness that enveloped the village attempted to take control of his mind. He'd laughed inwardly at the idea that anyone had tried to control him. The last person who'd attempted to control his actions had been Naraku, and Sesshomaru had hunted him down, only ending his quest when he'd ensured the despicable hanyou was no longer of this earth. Still, whatever had attempted to sway him had been wise in their choices.
He'd been shown horrible scenes. Some were true difficult memories of the past, but most were fabrications. Images that he knew to be fake because they held no substance, had no smell, but they'd drawn upon his fears. He'd seen Rin's lifeless body once again, just as she'd been in and directly after her contact with the Meido, but this time it had been the villagers to kill her. They'd covered her small body with lashes, beaten her until both of her eyes had swollen shut and then stabbed her in the gut repeatedly until her intestines dragged upon the ground. Yet the entire time she'd screamed his name. At first he'd been brought up short by the scenes he'd been shown, and fell to his knees. But then he'd come to his senses. He'd smelled for Rin and found her where he'd left her outside of Kaede's hut. He smelled no blood, no intestines, viscera or any harm done to her at all. He listened for her heartbeat and for her breathing. Both were deep and evenly paced, she was just deep in sleep.
At that he'd sighed out his relief, and it was then that he'd cast off the darkness that had overwhelmed him. Except, he knew that he'd angered whoever had attempted to control him. They were livid, and he could feel their fury on the wind. Not only had he not succumbed to the voices whispering to him to kill every villager, and raze the village to the ground, he'd cast off the voice as well.
He had been riddled with a feeling he could only describe as fear ever since the first villager had succumbed to the darkness. He felt after it had retreated from him and grown and grown, until eventually the same dark presence had completely enveloped one of the village men. Sesshomaru had been forced to watch in horror as the man's sleeping form had been lifted into the air and devoured. There five meters above the ground, the man hung weightless and an aura of darkness had swallowed him up. Sesshomaru watched as small invisible mouths ate the man's flesh before his very eyes. Not even his bones were safe from the darkness, and all that fell to the ground was his hakama, fingernails and a few strands of hair. Apparently, these items hadn't been appealing to whatever had eaten him.
This particular man had been unpleasant, his wife had died during a demon attack before Inuyasha had awoken, and he'd never been the same since. He'd been hardened, harsh and cruel to any that crossed his path. Sesshomaru couldn't say that he felt poorly about the man's fate, except that he was honor bound to protect the villagers. He felt as if he'd failed in his duty, and it was not a pleasant feeling. Plus, he worried that the same fate would befall Rin. Before Rin had found him, she'd been forced to live through many bad experiences. If the darkness needed something to latch onto, which he'd inferred from its first choice of victims, then he was terrified that all of Rin's good memories wouldn't be able to outweigh the bad.
Whatever it was that was targeting the village didn't have a form or shape. He hadn't been able to touch, smell or even sense anything for a week. To his eyes he seemed to be fighting ghosts, yet, when he'd used Tenseiga in the first day, he hadn't beaten back this invisible foe. He had expected the darkness to fall to the sword that could cut those not of this world. That was when Kaede had said that Kagome was needed. She could see those which others could not. She would be able to discern who the foe was, and fight it.
At this Sesshomaru had felt his pride wounded. A mere mortal girl – able do to something which he could not? Impossible. But then he'd thought about all their encounters. She'd removed Tetsusaiga, survived his poison, been hit with the Kaze no Kizu, survived endless encounters with random youkai, and beaten Naraku, she'd even taken an arrow in the back if Shippo was to be believed. Since he had unlocked the sealing of her powers by Magatsuhi, Kagome's reki had only grown. He'd felt it when they'd rid a village of an entire family of moths a few months back. She was stronger than he'd ever seen a miko be. Well, not stronger than her.
Sesshomaru was reminded of Ena and all her feistiness. The hime would have been able to defeat this foe no problem. Then she'd send some witty remark Sesshomaru's way, about how he wasn't up to the task.
Sesshomaru snorted at his memory of the hime. Yes, she'd be able to beat this darkness no problem. If only he knew where to find her…
He felt the darkness amassing once more and rose into the air, he flew off of Kaede's hut towards the heaviest presence of evil. His muscles were tiring, and he couldn't keep protecting the village in his current state. As he passed Miroku's hut, he saw Jaken's unconscious form and frowned. He almost missed the toad's presence. Jaken was always had such faith in him. He was always so sure that Sesshomaru would triumph. Even in those seldom moments where Sesshomaru had felt fear, Jaken had always been confident that Sesshomaru would be victorious. He had taken solace in the kappa, more often than many realized, and he found himself missing him more than he'd thought possible. He shook his head, ridding himself of such caring thoughts and continued towards the darkness.
Sesshomaru scented the air. He couldn't smell the foe, and it was driving him crazy. He pushed his youki outwards to sense the presence of whatever he was supposed to be fighting. As he closed his eyes and continued to push his aura, Sesshomaru felt movement to his right. He opened his eyes and jumped to the left in surprise. An arrow full of purifying reiki whizzed past him; exactly where his right shoulder had just been, and landed directly behind him above a hut. It came from the direction he'd been trying to sense not a moment before.
A wave of purification exploded behind him, and he brought his arm up to shield his face. After a few moments, the purity ceased and he dropped his arm and looked up, several pieces of flimsy paper were falling to the ground like leaves lost in the wind. Paper?
Sesshomaru let out his breath in a huff. So he'd been fighting ghosts after all? Shikigami controlled by a puppet master hiding in the shadows? But why was there a distinct scent of youki? Typically Shikigami came from mikos, not youkai. Until the arrow had struck what he could not see, he hadn't smelled paper at all. Now he did, and it was slightly burned, but he also smelled youki mixed in with reiki. Intriguing.
As Sesshomaru was lost in his thoughts, four more arrows twanged across the sky, purifying the evil shikigami that had been attempting to devour the villagers.
Sesshomaru turned his head slightly over his right shoulder and looked to where the barrage had been released from. He knew he would find Inuyasha, the fire-cat, Kagome and Jineji. He was almost relieved. But as he took in the sight and scent before him he froze.
There atop Kirara flying above the village was Ena. It couldn't be. He hadn't seen her in so long. He'd just thought of her, and he was exhausted. His eyes were playing tricks on him. He blinked once, twice and looked again.
This time, he saw who it really was. Inuyasha had taken his human form for the night of the new moon. He appeared to be swaying where he sat, trying to stay conscious. He was grasping the woman in front of him as if his life depended on it. There seated before him, was the miko, Kagome. But she bore a significant resemblance to Ena. She was wearing Ena's armor, face mask, and had Ena's quiver over her shoulder, even the pack that she'd carried.
Sesshomaru couldn't believe his eyes. In fact he didn't want to and instead believed that he was exhausted from defending the village for a week straight with no food, water, rest or companionship. Perhaps he'd lost his mind? Yes, that must have been it.
Except then he took in her scent as the breeze whipped his hair around his face. While his eyes could deceive him, his nose could not. She smelled distinctly like Ena. Not a hundred percent like her, but close enough. He knew who sat atop the fire-cat, and who Inuyasha clung to.
In that moment he was furious. That she would leave him for his brother? But, no…no, that didn't make any sense. They had left to get Kagome. The only way that Ena could be here in Kagome's place was if she and Kagome were the same person. Sesshomaru was definitely not willing to make that connection.
"Ooo-hooo! Finally come out to play fox-hime?" A strange voice called from the forest on the outskirts of town to the east. Except it wasn't one voice, but it sounded like three voices were entwined together. It sounded feminine and masculine all at the same time.
Sesshomaru glanced towards the voice, but there he saw nothing. He narrowed his eyes.
"I don't know who you're calling 'hime,' but I'm here to get rid of you." The girl atop Kirara shouted back.
"Well, that's convenient; because I'm here to destroy you, little bitch." The three voices replied.
"Oh yeah? Come and face me like a man then!" The girl roughly replied.
At her words an arrow shot out, not where the voice had come from, but instead from the left. Sesshomaru didn't notice the arrow until it was too late, and he was too far away to stop it. He watched as it took Inuyasha in the left shoulder and the force of it knocked him off of the fire-cat.
The girl turned and had a look of shock on her face, and she screamed in utter desperation, "Inuyasha!"
Sesshomaru was stunned. That didn't happen to him often, so it felt exceedingly unfamiliar. All the planning and scheming that this invisible foe had done, attacking the village with shadows and Shikigami. The week that he had defended this village against the darkness, and within moments, there went his brother. Alive one moment, then he was plummeting to his death in the next.
Sesshomaru watched unable to move as Jinenji jumped into action and caught Inuyasha before he fell more than twenty feet down. The girl looked down at the large hanyou, holding the smaller one. Then she spun around and closed her eyes. Sesshomaru watched as a look of concentration covered her features and she nocked another arrow. She opened them and shouted, "I'm going to kill you for that."
The voice in the darkness laughed. "It's all a game hime. Just a game. And you have to play by the rules, or she will die." The voices harmonized, echoing out across the village mercilessly.
"Who will die?" The girl yelled back.
"Does it matter?" Laughed the voice.
"No," the girl breathed out. Sesshomaru barely heard it over the wind and the laughter of whoever was behind the attack on the village.
"Kirara, go down," the girl said.
"Come now, or she will die." The voice said angrily.
The girl looked down again at Jinenji's ministrations on Inuyasha then told Kirara to head toward the edge of the forest.
"Take care of him," she said yelled back to Jinenji as she left in a flurry of smoke and embers from the fire-cat's paws.
Sesshomaru glanced down at his fallen brother and Jinenji. He could see that the larger hanyou was doing everything he could. Somewhere deep within Sesshomaru's chest his heart gave a backflip. He was going to lose his brother.
He'd never really called the man who was dying, brother. He'd always called him the half-breed, or hanyou, or a taint on his family's honor. But now that he was dying, he regretted all he'd said. He'd said that Inuyasha's life was his, of course, he had. Sesshomaru was the eldest after all, all those under him in age fell under his protection. But he hadn't meant it. Not once he'd learned that Tetsusaiga was what kept his brother from turning into a monster. After that discovery he'd stopped his aspirations for his father's sword. This of course was long before that he'd learned to respect Inuyasha.
Sesshomaru had been most impressed by the mission that Inuyasha had taken upon himself – to complete the jewel. That particular undertaking was an honorable one. That had been around the time that Rin had come into Sesshomaru's life when he'd realized that he didn't hate his brother. He didn't like him, but he didn't hate him. That, in and of itself was baffling.
He'd watched his brothers group, and even assisted them, working towards the common goal of defeating Naraku. At the end, he'd almost held something akin to affections for his brother and his companions. But now, the man was dying, and he'd never get to tell him what he really thought of him. That he didn't really think it was so horrible to call him family.
Sesshomaru shook himself. He was a great and powerful demon in his own right. He was the wielder of Tenseiga. His hand rested for a moment on the aforementioned sword as he was lost in thought. He decided in that moment that if his brother died, he wouldn't stay dead for long.
He looked down again before following in the fire-cat's wake out of the village. He realized quickly that they were heading towards Inuyasha's previous resting place attached to the Goshinboku. They were also moving towards the well, the mysterious well that had disappeared during the final battle with Naraku. The well that had reappeared after the fight with Naraku had been concluded. Only a few knew of its importance, and Sesshomaru worried if this foe knew of its importance to Kagome. He grasped Bakusaiga more tightly as he flew towards voices raised in the distance.
Kagome was livid, furious, angry. She didn't have enough adjectives to describe her emotions. She was broken inside. Inuyasha could be so stupid. If he had just taken the facemask… but then no, he probably still would have gotten shot with the arrow. But maybe he would have been able to jump out of the way?
Kagome didn't realize it, but she was crying. She lifted a hand up to her face to brush bangs out of her eyes, and found them covered in tears. Her face darkened and she wiped them away.
"Faster Kirara," she said determined to take care of this menace and then return to Inuyasha's side. She trusted Jinenji with all his botanical knowledge, but she trusted her twentieth century medical knowledge combined with the feudal one much more.
"Take me down to the well." Kagome said leaning forward so she could speak into Kirara's ear. She hadn't let go of the arrow in her right hand yet, and held it desperately, ready to release her rage in one fell swoop. There the arrow tingled her fingers, and Kagome was reminded of what Inuyasha had said. That her quiver and arrows were meant to rival that of Tetsusaiga. She had a feeling she was beginning to understand what that meant as the arrow hummed in tune with her emotions.
Kirara touched down next to the well and Kagome jumped off. She circled around the well, placing it at her back, and closed her eyes in concentration as she pulled back on the bowstring. The feathers of her arrow tickled her cheek as she pulled back tightly. There. The arrow itself seemed to tell her that she'd found her target and a thrum went through her fingertips. She took a deep breath then let it out slowly, aiming towards the forest leading to the Goshinboku, there, she opened her eyes, and released.
A wave of pink light streaked across the sky and exploded in a wave of purity as it hit another shikigami-made creation just this side of the forest. Paper flew across the landscape like confetti in the breeze. But Kagome knew she'd missed. She'd just happened to hit one of the minions of whoever this was. She had missed the mastermind behind the attacks.
"Why are you doing this?" Kagome asked to the air. She felt fairly stupid talking to an unseen foe. What she wouldn't give to look into her foes face. She swayed where she stood; she was weak from the cost of her arrows on her soul. These new arrows in particular seemed to drain her more than her others ever had. Kagome prayed to whatever Kami's were listening that she'd have enough energy left to purify whoever had killed Inuyasha.
No, he wasn't dead. She wouldn't let herself believe it. He was alive, and after she took care of this monster, she'd be back at his side. Everything would be fine. Before they went back to the Harmony Shrine, maybe they would stop by and see Miroku and Sango. Perhaps even Shippo? Then, before she knew it, they would be back at the Shrine, and Inuyasha and Momiji would be back to their antics while Botan would be schooling Kagome in the way of the bo.
The wayward thought helped her stand firm against her unseen foe. She smiled and knew that no matter what, she had a strong family base to support her. No matter what happened here and now, she would be alright. She would have her family, and they were strong. They would survive. So would Inuyasha. Resolved she stood firm.
The only response she got was the appearance of six brightly colored orange and grey moths that flew in dizzying circles overhead. They appeared out of thin air and dropped a red powder over hers and Kirara's heads. Kagome purified the air around her body and subsequently wasn't affected by the powder at all, but Kirara was. She roared and bucked several times throwing Kagome forwards to the ground before exploding in a fiery ball and transforming back to her kitten-like form.
"Kirara!" Kagome gasped, after having the wind knocked out of her, she crawled over to the small cat. But Kirara didn't move. She looked at her for a moment, but she could still see the easy rise and fall of her chest. She didn't appear to be dead, just knocked out, like the rest of the village.
Kagome stepped in front of Kirara's prone form in a protective stance. She again closed her eyes and attempted to focus on the centermost part of the darkness while stringing another arrow to her bow. The arrow almost vibrated in anticipation and Kagome raised her eyebrow at it. 'Ready to go are you?' she asked silently to her arrow.
"Pull back on that arrow any farther and she dies." The evil voice spoke behind her.
Kagome swung around to her left, never pulling back farther on the string, but not releasing it either. She stayed stock still holding the arrow delicately in a half pulled manner and watched in horror as the voice made its way out from the forest and revealed itself to her.
The figure was hooded in dark grey, and Kagome could see dark yellow eyes looking at her with malice. Kagome was used to looking into caring amber eyes, but these appeared so evil, and were jaundiced a sickly yellow that made her nauseous just looking at them. But perhaps that was because she was so weak. Then again, perhaps not.
The figure shrugged off the grey cloak it was wearing and Kagome saw a beautiful blonde demoness standing in front of her. The jaundiced eyes were almost too much and overwhelmed the otherwise pretty heart shaped face that leered at her. The demoness had a nose that seemed too small and lips that were pursed in her direction. She was wearing a set of blue pleated o-yoroi. They were very similar to Kagome's she noticed, the demonesses armor had blue plates edged with black and she had a light red obi tied around her waist. In it, on her left side her obi held a sword, again almost a copy of Kagome's also with an intertwined with a grey and dark blue silk tsuka and a bright yellow and faded red plated sheath.
"How perfect, you decided to wear your armor, hime. You did show me how to make mine after all." The demoness said.
"Who are you?" Kagome asked.
"As if you don't know!" The demoness scoffed.
"I don't." Kagome replied.
"Playing coy was never your strong suit. But, how fitting that we are matching tonight! We are sisters after all aren't we? How kind the fates are that we have reunited. Know this Kagome, you will not last the night, you shall die in your pretty armor! And, how fortunate that Sesshomaru can witness your death, and on the sidelines too! Why, it just feels like old times! I couldn't have planned it better myself." The figure cackled.
Kagome realized that while the form in front of her was that of a woman, she also possessed two male voices. They were combined together in an eerie manner that sent shivers down her spine. It was unnatural and evil. Whoever this had been originally, they were not a demon, but they had clearly merged to form the monster standing in front of her. She was strongly reminded of Naraku, as her arm quivered still holding her halfcocked arrow.
"Who are you, really?" Kagome asked far more calmly than she felt. She didn't like that this woman seemed to know her, yet, she was sure she'd never met them.
Kagome felt for Sesshomaru. The demoness had said he was near; she was not going to purify him by accident. She doubted that he'd let her live if she even came within an inch of him. He'd seemed to become more relaxed in the few years after the defeat of Naraku, but she doubted his benevolence if he came too close to her sacred arrows.
"Feigning ignorance? It doesn't become you hime. You know who I am, and what you took from me. You took away Uta. So now I will take away all you cherish. Inuyasha took away Ryota's family. And he took my life. It's only fitting that he be here, and witness what I'll do to you." The three voices said with utter malice and pointed at where Kagome felt Sesshomaru.
The blonde demoness made Rin appear from the darkness. A very large shikigami moth approached carrying the child and set her down about twenty feet to the left of Kagome. Kagome glanced at the girls sleeping form, while blinking the sweat that had begun to drip down her head out of her eyes. Her arm began to visibly shake and she tried to steady herself.
Rin had no idea what was going on. She didn't know she was in mortal danger. But Kagome knew she couldn't let anything happen to her. She knew Sesshomaru would go crazy if anything happened to his daughter. Kagome had seen it, that somewhere deep inside of him; he cared about her like no other. Knowing this, Kagome couldn't let anything happen to Rin; she knew if anything befell Rin, Sesshomaru would be broken.
Kagome wavered where she was standing. She didn't remember the last time she'd held an arrow for this long before and she didn't know how much longer she would last standing here. She was already twitching, the arrow seemed to feed off of her own strength and she found that she couldn't keep her bow-arm up. The previous arrows had weakened her so much, her eyesight was blurring at the edges. She was going to lose against this yellow demoness – and soon. But she couldn't let that happen. And she definitely couldn't let Rin fall to this evil woman.
"Now prepare yourself," the blonde demoness said. "I almost envy you. You will see Uta before I do."
Kagome watched as the demoness strung an arrow on a black bow she pulled out of thin air and released, aiming at Rin.
Kagome didn't think, she just responded. She finished pulling back her own half-nocked arrow and fired with all her remaining strength. The power that erupted felt different and her right arm tingled far more so than usual. She watched as the arrow streaked across the night sky towards a brilliant pink, but in its trail, green leaves could be seen mixed in with her reiki. Kagome had aimed just in front of where Rin's slumped form lay. She hoped her arrow would act as a shield as she'd done several times before for Inuyasha when he'd been knocked down.
Without hesitating another second she grabbed behind her, grasping another arrow from her quiver and faced the demoness. She didn't aim, she just let the arrow do its work, it seemed to understand and made her fingers tingle even more. She pulled back hard on the bowstring and released in a matter of seconds.
Time seemed to slow, as Kagome watched. As soon as her second arrow was away, she looked towards Rin's slumped form. She realized that the first arrow she'd shot had worked. A reiki-filled shield hung around Rin's body, and the shield glittered with the green leaves, the same leaves she'd seen in the arrows wake. It was as if within the shield itself the green leaves were held there, suspended and immobile. She signed in relief at the sight, Rin was protected. She was safe, she would live. Kagome smiled.
That was when she felt it. Kagome was hit one, two, three, and her body was thrown backwards. Kagome staggered and attempted to remain standing, but in doing so she took several steps back. She felt the foreign objects take their places just above where her armor protected her heart. Time seemed to slow down even further and Kagome glanced down at herself. She wasn't hit with just one arrow; it felt as if she'd been stabbed by many. Kagome tried to breathe but instead choked out blood. Her mind tried to protect her, but eventually it revealed what she wanted to see – three arrows were buried in her body. They seemed equally spaced out one hitting just above her heart, one under her chin and the other just below her right shoulder.
She backed up again in a final attempt to balance herself, but instead, she tripped over Kirara's unconscious form and felt herself falling backwards. She braced herself to hit the ground fairly hard, but thought vaguely that she should have hit it by now. Instead she kept falling. She looked up, but realized only a moment too late that her foot had caught not only Kirara, but the lip of the well too. She was falling down into its depths, she reached out trying to right herself and instead she felt her head hit the edge of the well. Her vision darkened to black and Kagome could think no more.
A/N: This chapter took a lot more time to write. Mostly because school has started and I'm in several difficult classes, I'm only ¾'s time, but it's still a lot, second semester physics, genetics and Native American philosophy, pretty heavy stuff.
Once again, don't forget to download the mystery gift on your Pokémon ORAS or XY game, and you'll get a free Celebi this month! Hooray! Go twenty years of Pokémon. (YOU ONLY HAVE 'TIL 3/24!)
As for my story, Oh no! Kagome's fallen down the well, situation looks pretty dire! Any thoughts from my loyal readers out there? I'd love to hear from you guys. Thanks so much for all the favorites, reviews and follows, I appreciate every single one! I hope to get the next chapter out later this week too, and get the next one in the works!
Lots of love from,
Kajatk8