Chapter Fifteen

"Dance of Blades!"

Swirling, crescent-shaped blades of white-hot energy slammed the earth as Kirara descended toward the cave entrance. Miroku cursed out loud as he struggled to keep his balance atop the fire-cat. In their haste to reach InuYasha, to help their friends do battle with Naraku, they had forgotten their enemy's minions. Kagura floated down toward them upon her feather, her fan open, waiting to unleash yet another furious volley of razor-sharp energy. Miroku gripped his staff tightly as he leapt off Kirara and spun about to face the wind sorceress.

"It's Kagura!" Miroku growled as he peered over his shoulder to the wind sorceress. She drifted higher into the sky, but not far. Her red gaze remained on him, her fan was poised for another strike. She stayed her hand, watching his eyes as he watched hers. The connection, though not clairvoyant by any stretch, was strong enough to tell Miroku that what she had planned was not an attempt on his life. She had intent in her eyes.

The last time he had seen that look on Kagura's face, she had betrayed her master. Did she intend the same even now? Miroku grit his teeth and leaned toward Kirara's ear.

"Kirara, take us down."

The fire-cat quickly complied. When she was low enough to the ground, Miroku leapt from her back, skidding several feet before coming to a stop. Kirara spun about so that she took a defensive posture in front of the monk and snarled viciously at Naraku's reincarnation. Kagura dropped from the sky a moment later, landing on her feet as the feather seemingly vanished. That same moment, she slipped it into the tie in her hair. She closed her fan in that moment and started toward Miroku, a somber look on her face.

Miroku stepped toward Kirara, a hand on the nape of the great fire-cat's neck, calming her with the silent gesture. They stared back at Kagura as her eyes went from the fire-cat up to the monk. Her somber mood evaporated into a smirk as she closed her eyes. Her chuckle chilled Miroku to the bone, but he knew she would not attack. If she were here to fight him, she wouldn't bother to meet him face to face. After all, he was only human.

He loosened his grip on his staff, gazing back to her as a small smile touched his own face. They stood there, facing one another, for several moments before Kagura lowered the fan to her side. "You should go. Naraku has InuYasha with the cave. He will kill him if you don't hurry."

"You're going to betray him again?"

"My life is not my own, monk," Kagura replied. "I cannot destroy Naraku… but you can. You and your friends, combined, might be able to bring him down. But I fear it won't be easy."

"Nothing good in life ever is, Kagura."

"I ask only one thing in return," she said softly, turning her gaze to the ground.

Miroku's heart broke for her. "What is that?"

"Stay free." She fixed him with her most intense gaze. "Stay free. You owe that to life itself. Stay free."

He held up right hand, the one with the accursed Wind Tunnel. "I will try."

"Now go… I have to reach Hakudoshi and Kohaku. They are going to try to destroy the woman and the kitsune." She was gone a moment later, in a cloud of vapors. Miroku's eyes turned skyward and watched as her feather drifted off to the southeast.

He never thought he would hear himself say his next words: "Good luck, Kagura…"

He turned toward Kirara. "Let's go."

He started to run toward the mouth of the cave, staff gripped across his torso in both hands. For the first time in ages, a furry had taken hold. Naraku had spent his existence stealing everything Miroku held dear. Life. It was not always his own, or that of those people close to him, but each of his friends shared similar experiences. All but one, anyway. But one thing was certain. Kagome cared for each of them with a mother's heart. Taking the lives of those she cared for was certainly enough for her to remain involved. She was certainly a good friend. As good as they came.

Up ahead, not fifty feet away, A familiar figure in a white kimono and red hakama stumbled out onto the path and hustled quickly to the mouth of the cave. Raven hair, long and lustrous, tumbled past her shoulders in rippling waves. Kikyo. He'd never seen the priestess move so quickly. Like him, she was headed for the mouth of the cave.

Is it going to come to an end today? Miroku didn't dare to make such a prediction. One thing was certain, however: things seemed to be falling into place far too conveniently.

Just ahead of them, Kikyo rushed into the cave. Miroku picked up his pace, running as quickly as he could. Just as he was about to enter, there was a flash of violet-white light ahead of him. He hit a wall of air so compact that it knocked him on his butt. From the corner of his eye, though he could barely open it, he saw Kirara, too, as she slammed into an invisible wall and tumbled to the ground.

"Dammit," Miroku whispered, staring to the sky. "It's a barrier."

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Sango froze in the path just ahead of Zuri and Shippo. Her eyes went wide as the haze took shape before her. Two familiar figures, both watching her, stood in the path: Hakudoshi, a triumphant and arrogant smirk plastered on his pale face, and Kohaku, with eyes seemingly dead to the world, his chain and scythe held at the ready.

"Kohaku!" she cried as she ripped her katana from its sheath.

"That's Hakudoshi," Shippo told Zuri, the fire of anger in his eyes. "And the human with him is Kohaku. He's Sango's brother… Naraku enslaved him."

Zuri seemed to contemplate what he told her, and then drew her sais. She twirled them, glaring at the evil demon boy standing with the human. The human meant nothing to her, but what this bastard, this Hakudoshi, had done was inexcusable. He would have to die.

Shippo grasped the skirt of her kimono. "He can't be killed, Zuri. Naraku has his heart."

"Stand aside, Shippo," the vixen said coldly. "Sango… you take your brother. Hakudoshi will not leave this place in one piece."

Sango turned her eyes to Zuri, but the fox demon had already lunged forth, twirling her sais. Before she realized it, Kohaku struck out. Sango was barely able to block his blow with her katana before being knocked to the ground by an even stronger blow from her brother. His knee met her groin a moment later, a blow meant to immobilize her. Sango let loose a cry of pain, tears streaming from her cheeks, as a flash of steel revealed her brother's emotionless expression.

"Kohaku…" she stammered.

He brought his weapon down with vicious finality.

"Kohaku!"

"Foxfire!" A white-blue blaze, little than a flash of light, really, coursed through the air between brother and sister. Sango clenched her eyes shut as Shippo's fox magic caused her vision to blur. She twisted her head as best she could to the right. Cold steel grazed her ear, but somehow did not cut flesh. The weapon's blade rested against her left cheek. Kohaku lifted the weapon once more, meeting her gaze with his own.

He started again to bring the weapon down, but before he could finish the deed, Sango caught sight of a blur of red as Shippo lunged just over her head and slammed into Kohaku's face. "Leave her alone!" Shippo shouted as he exploded in a puff of smoke. The transformation was something like a large, pink balloon. Shippo's favorite transformation. Kohaku's weapon pierced the fox demon, never coming close to Sango, and the balloon burst, sending both Shippo and Kohaku flying in opposite directions.

Sango curled into a fetal position for a moment, groaning at the pain in her groin, but then forced herself to her knees.

"Kohaku…" she mumbled. From the corner of her eye, she saw Hakudoshi locked in a battle with Zuri. She reached for her katana, wishing she still had her Hiraikotsu. Lifting her blade, tears still stinging her eyes, Sango sought her target.

"Shards of Illumination!" Blades of white-hot light split the dismal surroundings, momentarily blinding the demon-slayer. She recognized the voice as that of Zuri. As her eyesight improved, she could see the vixen spinning her sais in each hand, and each glowing slightly red, as if the blades had been set in fire only a moment before. Sango knew instantly that they were the source of the blinding power.

Blade tip to the ground to use as a support, Sango forced herself to her feet. "Kohaku," she said as she darted off toward the direction where her brother had gone. She did not waste the time it would have taken to see if Zuri's attack had been successful. All that went through her mind, now, was the fact that her brother was here, and within her grasp.

The face shield they had found before must be his. She could see that now. He was here, after all. There could be no other explanation. Her fingers grazed the shield as she continued to run. She knew without a doubt that she had to reach her brother. She had to reach Kohaku. Only recently, she'd come to realize that the window of opportunity was closing. When Naraku finished with Kohaku, he would dispatch of him.

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Through the blur of unshed tears, InuYasha gazed to the face of heaven. She seemed so peaceful, so content, oblivious to the pain he had seared into her very soul. Oblivious of his betrayal. Kagome was dead, by his own hand. InuYasha could see no way that he could ever forgive himself for his actions. Slowly, carefully, the half-demon used the claw of an index finger to brush Kagome's bangs from her eyes. He wished to gaze into those beautiful, brown orbs. He'd forgotten how beautiful those eyes had been. Now, he would never gaze into them again. The life behind them had faded to oblivion. And it was all his fault.

Naraku might have found the catalyst needed to stir the demonic blood in his veins, but it was InuYasha's own inability to control his actions in that monstrous state that had, in the end, cost dear Kagome her life. Eyes closed, the half-demon pressed the dead girl to his chest, burying his face in her raven hair. For the first time since his childhood, he felt the stream of tears coursing down his cheeks. InuYasha had failed them all.

It didn't seem all that long ago that Kagome had freed him from Kikyo's spell, pulling the sacred arrow that had pinned him to the sacred tree. Now, she had paid the ultimate price for the misfortune of having stumbled upon the feudal era. She was gone. Tears flowed freely—it was a strange feeling, something InuYasha had never thought he would ever have to feel again—and he didn't much care who might see. Kagome was all that matttered… all that had ever mattered.

Behind him, Naraku chuckled. Unfazed by the sound, InuYasha simply waited. Death would come soon enough. Then he could be with Kagome again. The jewel shards were a thing of the past. They didn't matter. Nothing mattered.

Only Kagome.

"And now, InuYasha, I will grant you your last request," his nemesis whispered. The sound of ringing steel filled the cavern. InuYasha didn't really care. He carefully brushed a clawed finger over Kagome's unmoving lips. Her somber expression reminded him only how much he had grown to care for her. Foolish bitch… she had stolen his desire to be a full-fledged demon. She had instilled in him something even Kikyo had never dreamed.

She had made being a half-demon something worth living for.

How he loved her.

"Time to die, InuYasha," Naraku rumbled.

"Nooo!" The resounding scream of the undead priestess, Lady Kikyo, filled the void of the cavern. A trail of energy split the darkness as a sacred arrow cut through stale, dead air the corridor. As the tip of the arrow met Naraku's arm, the appendage burst apart in a rain of sparks. Naraku let out a cry of surprise.

Without hesitation, Kikyo ripped another arrow from her quiver. She was moving quickly, toward the half-demons. Fast as lightning, the arrow was nocked and away. Kikyo ran forward again, closing quickly. It split it's target in twine, raining more white-hot sparks down upon InuYasha and Kagome. When the energy faded, there was nothing but haze and the smell of sulfur in the space where Naraku had stood.

InuYasha stared blindly at the remnants.

Kikyo came close.

"He's not dead," she murmured. "InuYasha, your sa–"

He spun to her. In the blink of an eye, he snatched Kikyo from her feet and slammed her against the nearest wall. He held her there, one fist wrapped dangerously about the soft of her slender neck, snarling up at the startled priestess. Their faces were mere inches apart. "Damn you, Kikyo! How dare you do this to Kagome! She never did anything to hurt you!"

"Inu…"

"I should tear your throat out!" he yelled, giving her a vicious shake. He let her smell his hot breath on her cheek, spittle flying from his teeth. "A quick twist and you'd be out of my life forever! You deserve no less!"

"InuYasha." Her voice was nothing more than a breathless squeak. "You're hurting me."

"And you hurt me!"

"InuYasha… please, let me down." She closed her eyes and tried to swallow. It sounded like she was really hurting. He wondered how that could be. She was dead, a soulless entity wandering the world of the living. "InuYasha… look at your hands. It appears to me… you're the one with Kagome's blood on your claws."

InuYasha flinched, stung by her words. He dropped her to her feet, though she collapsed a moment later to the cold, stone floor. Curling up into a ball, Kikyo rubbed the soft of her throat with trembling fingers. She was hurting. Suddenly, InuYasha felt like a rat.

But she had stolen something, he realized. "Kagome's soul," he said in a low, dangerous voice. He wondered if she would respond.

Now, she flinched. He knew he'd struck a nerve.

"Spit it out, Kikyo," he growled.

A sigh escaped her trembling lips. Tears filled her dark eyes. "Kagome is dead, InuYasha. Her soul was lost to her long before my soul collectors stripped it from her corpse." InuYasha clenched his fists. A low growl reverberated in his throat. Kikyo held up a hand, leaning against the wall to steady herself. She pressed a small, fist to her breast, gazing up to him with fear in her eyes. It had been a long, long time since he'd seen fear in her eyes. What was going on?

"Please, InuYasha… blame me all you will. You need not hold back your fury. I know that, and I accept it with all the life left in me. But if you wish to strip me of this life I've somehow regained… please do it knowing the truth, and not out of mere malice or a desire for vengeance."

"Then what's the truth?"

"I knew Kagome was going to die when she came here. There was nothing I could do. I gave her three arrows and sent her to her doom, though I knew you had no desire for her to join your fight with Naraku."

He crossed his arms into his sleeves. "You could have stopped her?"

"You know as well as I how futile the attempt would have been," Kikyo mumbled, staring at the ground. "She was quite taken with you, InuYasha. As I once was."

She glanced back, in the direction where she had come. InuYasha sensed it, as well. The barrier was down. Naraku was gone. Alive, but gone. For now, it was over.

Kagome…

He closed his eyes. "I've killed her, Kikyo. I butchered her with my own claws…"

Her voice was low and somber, her breath shallow. She was in pain. "It was Naraku. Never blame yourself for his doings. You lost control."

InuYasha knew she blamed herself, as much as he felt the blame was his own.

He pulled Tetsusaiga from its place in the stone wall where Naraku had dropped it. He'd recognized the sound of ringing steel from before. Naraku had taken it from him when he'd activated the demonic toxins in his blood… and forced him to kill Kagome. The pain in his palms was exquisite. InuYasha knew it was the result of the cuts created by his claws when they pierced his flesh as he clenched his fists.

"If it wasn't for me, Kagome would never have ever faced Naraku," InuYasha growled. He turned to the lifeless form of his friend from the future. Lowering to a knee, he scooped Kagome into his arms and darted away, tears still consuming his eyes.

Kikyo didn't follow. InuYasha didn't want her to.

As he neared the main corridor of Naraku's cave, he saw Miroku approaching. Kirara was with him. InuYasha tore past, ignoring them.

By the look of terror on the monk's face, he knew…

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Gone…

Sango dropped to her knees, staring at the face shield cradled in her hand. Tears were in her eyes. Kohaku was lost again. Again. Damn that Naraku! She closed her eyes and rested her face against the piece of armor. Her chest heaving with sobs, the demon-slayer wondered if she would ever get any closer to her brother, if Kohaku would ever be free, if they could ever be a family again. No matter how close she got to him, she knew she was no closer to bringing Kohaku back from Naraku's sinister clutches. There was nothing more to do. Naraku had taken everything from her.

Behind her came Zuri's light footfalls. The vixen stood there for a moment before turning to walk away. Shippo, who had apparently been with her, dropped to the ground and scampered up to the demon-slayer. He touched her arm. "Sango?"

She forced a smile down to the little fox demon. "InuYasha must have done it," she whispered. "Naraku's minions fled again." She mussed Shippo's red hair as she watched him through the haze of tears. "You saved my life, Shippo, and in doing so you saved Kohaku from making a grave mistake. I owe you the world, even if I could never give it to you."

"I'm sorry we couldn't save Kohaku," Shippo mumbled.

She mussed his hair again. "Don't worry about it. There'll be other opportunities." She bent down to kiss his forehead. "Other battles."

"I sure hope so."

"Sango!"

She turned her eyes to the sky to see Miroku and Kirara racing toward them. She sheathed her sword and rose to her feet. "Miroku."

"Is it just me, or does he look scared?" Shippo asked.

"Oh no," Sango mumbled. She bent over to snatch the little fox demon and raced toward her friends. Something was wrong… terribly wrong. Had something happened to InuYasha? Or Kagome? The fear in her gut spoke volumes. Naraku had stolen something from them again. She knew it without a doubt.

It was only a short run through the dead forest, and Sango remembered nothing of the journey between the spot where she had lost Kohaku and where she found InuYasha. She saw the stain of blood on the ground before she saw InuYasha standing over the body. Immediately her heart sunk. Kirara landed nearby, and Miroku slipped off. The eyes she met when she gazed upon the monk's face were heartbroken.

She sunk to her knees beside her dead friend, and then lowered her head in sorrow. Standing on the other side, InuYasha gazed down to them. She scarcely noticed Shippo bawling his eyes out beside her. She knew Miroku now stood over her, just behind her. He would be offering his prayers to Buddha. She knew she would have to offer her own.

InuYasha turned and stalked away.

No doubt to be alone.