Chapter 20
Dawn broke crisp and bright. A sunny, cloudless blue sky looked down upon a group of travelers whom nature's cheerfulness was wasted. They were deep in thought of the coming battle- the last battle. Naraku's time at large was at an end. His spite and his malice needed to be taken out of this world. Sesshomaru, Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku silently prepared to set out for another day of walking, one final day of wait before everything was brought to a conclusion. The bright and carefree weather mocked their heavy hearts. They set off on their way.
O0o.o0O
"Ku..ku..ku.." Naraku's evil laughter filled the castle. Dainigumo took a step backwards. Laughter was the last thing the half-Onigumo, half priest Daisuke expected to hear from Naraku after his newest creations had been easily defeated by a Miko and a Taiyoukai. Dainigumo had been forced to kill the pair of gray creatures to prevent them from betraying their master. If Dainigumo's attempt at an opponent's life had been so easily put down, he would not be laughing, brooding maybe, but not laughing like the evil creature in front of him.
"Kukuku. They've become a strong team- enemies worth matching my wits against. I will meet them very soon in battle. Dainigumo, have you ensured the wolves will show up?" Naraku peered out of the side of his eyes at his underling.
"Yes, master," answered Dainigumo, a cold chill running up his back from even the indirect red gaze of the not-quite-man, not-quite-demon before him. Dainigumo continued, "I have sent them word that Kagura would be here. They had not yet learned of her death."
"That woman serves me more in death than she ever did in life," laughed Naraku. "But I'm curious, how did you convince them to come? They would have expected a trap."
"I pretended to be a weary priest when Kouga passed by. I told him I sensed a dark and powerful aura from this castle and had heard rumors of one called Naraku was terrorizing the local villages. He naturally jumped to the conclusion that Kagura would be where ever you were. He ran off to gather his companions, or at least that's what I think he shouted as he ran to the North." Dainigumo gave his narrative in a flat tone. The facts were all Naraku wanted to know so that's all the underling gave him.
Naraku's smile was one of dark twisted mirth. He played with the nearly completed Shikon no Tama on his fingertips. "One final round to play of this game. I tire of the players," he mused aloud.
"Who else do you desire to fight against, master?"
"I have defeated the woman I could not touch before. I'm about to finish off the hanyou that stole Kikyo from me. Sesshomaru and the human Miko must be destroyed because they are meddling. Others want revenge on me, so they will die also. All of this shall be dealt with shortly. It's the same old game. I need a new challenge. Something I have to learn. Something that will keep me moderately occupied. Rumors have come of a new land across the seas. The humans don' t even know of it yet, but some demons have seen it. They say it is unlike anything they have seen before. Perhaps I will conquer it when I'm done here."
"Of course, master," bowed Dainigumo once more, sensing the end of the conversation.
Naraku thought of his next goal in silence- the new land he would conquer, the enemies he would face, the thrill of the scheming. He stared out blankly into space, but suddenly snapped back to he present. He pressed the Shikon jewel tightly within his palm. "Come now, Dainigumo. We must prepare for our guests. I think we shall start tonight's entertainment by killing one lover in front of the other. Then, we'll finish the night with a general bloodshed. You're allowed to kill anyone you wish except Inuyasha and the Miko. I want to personally take care of them. Lower the barrier to draw our enemies to us, like a moth to the flame. Then we shall burn them till there's nothing left."
"As you say, master. I will get everything prepared."
O0o.o0O
Inuyasha could never be described as a gracious loser- he sulked, he snapped at people in his short temper, and he withdrew into himself and his thoughts. He had to endure seeing his pompous-ass-of-a-half-brother and his Kagome sneak glances at each other, stand much too close together for his liking, and look with 'love struck goo-goo eyes' at each other, as he called it. It was sickening to him. The girl that he loved, but never understood what she meant to him until it was too late. She fell out of love with him and instead fell head-over-heels with his brother. Now, Inuyasha was left to learn how to love her like a sister, nothing more.
Perhaps he was overreacting, he thought to himself. Sango and Miroku didn't seem to mind, but then again, they were caught up in the same actions as the other couple. Inuyasha silently wondered if he had been drunk anytime recently, for he had to be drunk to completely miss the sudden transformation that seemed to come over Miroku and Sango. They still bickered, they still hollered, but there was something deeper there. Inuyasha felt as if he was missing out. The others had all found someone to spend their lives with, but he had only lost both of the women he had ever loved- one to death and the other to Sesshomaru.
It was mid-day. They ate as they walked to save time so that they could reach Naraku's castle before evening set in. Just an hour before, Naraku seemed to stop hiding and his barrier dropped from around his castle, the evil foe's scent permeating the surrounding trees and allowing the dog demons to easily pin point his position. They were not far.
They stopped for a break just out of sight of Naraku's castle to regain their strength for battle. They could all sense the strong demonic aura overpowering everything else in the area. Inuyasha was nervously stroking the hilt of tetsusaiga when he caught sight of Sesshomaru and Kagome having an argument. Kagome's fiery temper was obvious- even the plants seemed to try to seek shelter from her. But Sesshomaru stood his ground, stoically enduring her storm, Inuyasha tried to listen in- he had never before seen Kagome look so angry, but as much as the hanyou strained his ears, no sound could be heard from the obviously yelling Kagome. 'She must've put up a sound barrier," he guessed.
Inuyasha watched out of the corner of his eye as Kagome paced around Sesshomaru, throwing her hands out from time to time to further a point. Her cheeks became red with her effort and she finally tired. Sesshomaru pulled her into his arms and they just stayed like that for some time.
Bored, Inuyasha turned his head so he didn't have to watch them being all close and all. He found himself wondering what the new couple could be arguing about. Knowing Sesshomaru and his male-dominated views, it was probably over Kagome fighting against Naraku. Sesshomaru would want to keep her safe and out of harm while Kagome would stubbornly refuse to do any such thing. Inuyasha knew that was one argument Kagome would win, having tried to keep her away from battle so many times and failed. Whether you barred her from it or not, she would always show up to protect her friends.
Inuyasha was more than surprised, therefore, when Sesshomaru and Kagome returned to the rest of the group who were preparing to continue onward, and Sesshomaru announced that Kagome would be staying behind.
"WHAT!?!" came Inuyasha's outburst. "We need her to fight, especially now that she's a miko and a demon." He had been hoping that Kagome would speak up and support his claim, but she stayed silent staring at the ground. She wouldn't even look him in the eye.
Inuyasha naturally assumed (because nobody had ever taught him that to assume makes an ass out of u and me ass-u-me) that Sesshomaru must have threatened her or deeply scared her into staying behind. Inuyasha's anger flared. "BASTARD!" he shouted at his taiyoukai half brother.
Kagome visibly flinched and looked up at his outburst. She looked sad, maybe anxious, but not scared like the half-demon thought she would be.
"Inuyasha," Sesshomaru addressed him coolly, "If you want to continue shouting obscenities at me, then perhaps we should take this somewhere the other's will not be plagued by your stupidity.
Inuyasha 'fehed' before jumping off into the trees. They heard him say, "Maybe we should leave. I do have a few more 'obscenities' to shout at you, asshole."
They retreated away from the group with the speed granted them by their demonic blood. Once out of Kagome's hearing range, Inuyasha turned to Sesshomaru.
"You're an asshole, you know that?" repeated Inuyasha.
Sesshomaru stared at him levelly. "I do not recall an occurrence to provoke this wrath from you, but I will humor you. Why am I an 'asshole?'"
"You and your stupid male pride! We need Kagome to fight with us. Maybe you haven't noticed, but Naraku has specifically pin-pointed her out and has tried to kill her. It's because he knows she has the power to defeat him and he only know about half of her power. He doesn't even know that she's a demon now. She's the only one among us who has ever hurt Naraku enough to seriously make him fear for his life, not just strategically retreat, but flee for his life. She wants to fight him! She needs to be there with us so she can do everything she can to help us. If you keep her from fighting and even one of us doesn't come back alive, you'll break her spirit-the fiery spirit you fell in love with," sprouted off Inuyasha, the things coming easier to his lips then he thought possible. He knew Kagome so well, yet had never realized it until it was too late for him.
Sesshomaru seemed unfazed by Inuyasha's words. "I fear you have misunderstood the situation, Inuyasha. Kagome has chosen to stay behind, I did not force her."
"BULLSHIT!" spat Inuyasha, visible specks of spittle showering Sesshomaru. "I know Kagome and she would never choose to send someone else to do what she is capable of herself. The jewel is her responsibility and she will want to be there till its end."
"The situation has changed for her," countered Sesshomaru, an edge to his voice.
"Oh? Has it?" mockingly asked Inuyasha, straightening his back to stand taller to try to intimidate his brother. "What could stop Kagome from trying to protect her friends?"
There! thought Inuyasha, I know you have something to do with this, Sesshomaru. Did you threaten her?
"She has found something that needs her protection more than her friends. Something that is both hers and mine. Ours." Sesshomaru smiled at the memory of Kagome finding out she was pregnant. Her soft voice echoing, 'ours?'
"Stop speaking in riddles Sesshomaru," he yelled, " Yours and hers? What's that supposed to mean. It sounds like your talking about something you've created." Inuyasha suddenly froze. Theirs? It couldn't be possible, he thought. "...a...ba... baby...Kagome's pregnant?" he whispered unbelievingly.
Sesshomaru nodded then gave a cruel smile. "Do I need to explain exactly how it was created?"
Inuyasha panicked and backed up a step, furiously shaking his head. "No, quite all right. I think I understand the basics. But, how far along is she? I haven't noticed any changes yet."
"Going on four weeks," the taiyoukai stated calmly, turning from Inuyasha and preparing to head back to the others. To him, this conversation was over. Inuyasha knew all that he needed to know.
That made sense t o Inuyasha- a demon had to be at least four weeks along before another demon, other than the parents themselves, could tell that the demon was pregnant. The child's parents would be able to tell almost instantly as the child was created. They developed a kind of sixth sense with the unborn fetus, a special link. Inuyasha was worried about facing their greatest enemy without the strong miko, "but at least she'll be safe. No matter what happens to us, she'll be safe. We won't have to worry," thought Inuyasha. "And it worked out just perfectly for Sesshomaru. He doesn't have to worry about her getting hurt and she can't protest to staying behind. I can't think of any other thing in the world that could keep her out of this fight. In fact, it worked out too perfectly," mused Inuyasha silently, suddenly remembering the special qualities of his youkai race, especially the ability to not get a woman pregnant unless the inu youkai wanted it- a certain control over their seed.
Sesshomaru stopped walking back to camp when he felt Inuyasha's anger flare again.
"You did it on purpose, you asshole," growled Inuyasha. Sesshomaru could tell that it was partly jealousy speaking from his half-brother. The taiyoukai silently cursed the idiot for finally using his brain. The demon lord already had his mate angry at him and now Inuyasha.
Inuyasha took dark enjoyment in Sesshomaru's situation. "Oh, just you wait. She's going to castrate you when she finds out. You got her pregnant on purpose- all just to keep her out of harm's way when we face Naraku. How long do you think it will take for her to finally realize that you had complete control over your...you know...seed? That it wasn't an accident. She'll figure it out and then you're in for it. You better hope she doesn't leave you and go back to her time, sealing the well behind her. 500 years is a long time to wait to apologize."
Sesshomaru remained unfazed. Deadpan, he said, "She has already realized it. She confronted me just a few minutes ago."
"So that's why she was yelling at you. I'm surprised she didn't do more. Hell, I'm surprised that you're not holy ashes right now." A few moments of awkward silence fell before Inuyasha's curiosity got the better of him. "Did she just...forgive you?"
Shocking himself, Sesshomaru answered the question. Maybe he just felt like quashing all of Inuyasha's hopes at a second chance at Kagome, the taiyoukai thought. He said, "Not yet. She said it would take her a while..."
"...but she still loves you and wants you to come back from the battle alive," finished Inuyasha knowingly. He caught Sesshomaru's quizzical brow. "What? You think you're the first to have a spat with Kagome? You may have been many a firsts for her, but not for fighting and arguing with her. Just a typical predictable Kagome. Her heart might just be too big and too forgiving. I never deserved her forgiveness, but she always gave it anyway," Inuyasha finished softly and sadly.
Sesshomaru almost had the beginnings of pity starting within his mind for the hanyou before him. Almost. But this hanyou was really his only threat as far as competition for Kagome's heart went. Instead of saying anything comforting, Sesshomaru kept a cold exterior and said, "I am returning," and walked off to the waiting group. They didn't even wait for Inuyasha to catch up before returning to their path on the way to Naraku's demise. Inuyasha just stood in the spot Sesshomaru had left him. To use one of Kagome's modern terms, he was just left hanging. Inuyasha's temper returned to him as he took after the group leaving him behind, hypocritically shouting rude phrases about being rude. The others just rolled their eyes.
Sesshomaru had pulled Kagome aside to once more warn her not to involve herself. "We will be able to defeat him. Do not worry about us. Just take care of yourself."
She took comfort in his arms as he wrapped them around her, her tears splashed down his chest. "Don't leave me without you in this world," she wept.
He kissed her softly. When he pulled away, gold eyes met silver. "Don't say such foolish things. I will return to you."
Then they parted and Kagome was left watching at the receding figures of her friends. He had warned her earlier that day to stay out of sight of the castle. If she could see them, Naraku could most likely see her and that would put her in danger. In her mind, Sesshomaru was saying, 'out of sight, out of mind,' and that ticked her off to no end.
She would follow behind them and keep out of the way. Sesshomaru's warnings be damned. He would not keep her from watching. She gathered up her bow and her bag and began to make her own way to Naraku's castle. She would not stand by and wait for either them to return or news of their defeat to reach her. She'd be ready...just in case.