I was asked what a doppelganger was the other day. A doppelganger is someones look alike, and it is said that everyone has one, though I'm not sure I believe it. Could you imagine that? Somewhere on this planet is a person who looks exactly like you. Creepy, yet I doubt it's true. I'm sure there are people who resemble you closely, but having a twin who isn't related to you in any way? Come on…
All the same, here we have the next chappy. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-chan!
Love; The Greatest Sacrifice
Smiling as Kouga thanked her yet again, Kagome turned her attention back to the battle raging between Sesshomaru and Naraku, freezing when another being caught her eye.
Lower lip quivering, she managed to stammer in disbelief, "Inuyasha?"
Large, triangular ears swiveled to the left as the soft, lilting voice of the woman he loved called his name. Eyes turning apologetically to her for a brief second, he smiled in his charming, boyish way and turned his gaze back to Naraku.
Memories of when she was younger flooded back to her as she watched the brazen hanyou brandish his Tetseiga, determination painted across his features. Shaking off the slight daze she was in, Kagome rose to her feet and ran into battle, blade swinging precisely as she tore through the mass of lesser demons.
Joining the inu brothers in their face off against Naraku, Kagome clutched Faia Enko a little tighter, feet spread in a defensive position.
"Isn't this a sight?" Naraku mocked, "Two brothers and a miko, both yearn for her love, but only one possesses it."
Realization hit him with a cold, hard slap as the pieces of the puzzle came together. Sesshomaru was the man she loved, and apparently, from the change in her scent, the two were a newly mated pair. Forcing back his despair, he reminded himself that Kagome did not belong to him, and that he had a war to fight.
"Shut up!" Inuyasha bit out; jaw clenching as he drew Tetseiga. Slowly it iced over in a layer of diamond shards, thrumming with power as it glowed blue. Sucking in a breath, he snarled, "Adamant Barrage!" Swinging the Tetseiga, he watched as a shower of needle like crystals raced toward his adversary.
Smirk tugging his lips, Naraku stood confidently as the shower of adamant sped toward him.
Hooting in triumph as an explosion of power engulfed the hanyou in a cloud of smoke, Inuyasha slung the Tetseiga over his shoulder, commenting smugly, "He wasn't so tough."
A mocking laughter rang through the air, putting the trio on guard once again. When the cloud dissipated, they were all mortified to find the smug villain standing before them, his barrier intact.
"But… how is it possible?" Inuyasha stammered, eyes going wide as he took in the hanyou's grinning face.
Shaking his head, Naraku chided, "That was pathetic, Inuyasha, even for you. Honestly, did you actually believe that same attack would have any affect on me after three years? Silly boy, you're too quick to judge."
Snarling, Inuyasha lifted his sword and shouted heatedly, "I'll show you!"
"Inuyasha," Sesshomaru scolded, "be not a fool. If the attack did not succeed the first time, why would it succeed the second?"
Lowering his weapon, the silver haired hanyou mumbled under his breath, "Smug, arrogant, smart ass bastard."
Tossing a disapproving scowl in Inuyasha's direction, Kagome shook her head and fingered the hilt of her Faia Enko. Eyes returning to Naraku, she suggested, "Why don't we try combining our attacks?"
"It is an acceptable suggestion," Sesshomaru concluded, poising the Toukijin at his side.
Nodding, Inuyasha readied Tetseiga and prepared to release the Adamant Barrage once more.
Calling forth her own blade's demonic powers, Kagome prepared herself, sword thrumming in her hand as it glowed red.
Blade's lifting in unison, the trio unleashed their devastating attacks on the loathsome devil, watching with determination and anxiousness as their combined assault barreled toward him.
Upper lip curling in a snarl as the barrage of attacks shattered his barrier, Naraku howled in pain, body engulfed in light as the collective power of the hanyou, miko and western Lord speared through him.
When the dust settled and nothing remained but splattered innards, the young miko gave an animated 'whoop' of joy and threw her arms around Sesshomaru's waist.
Noting the fact that none of the half breed's minions had vanished, the emotionless taiyoukai instructed, "Keep your guard up, koi, Naraku is not through yet."
Sending a quizzical look up at her lover, Kagome searched the area for the evil hanyou's aura, appalled and mortified when she found it had not extinguished. "What is it with this guy?!" she cried in an exasperated tone.
The three warriors watched as, one by one, the small pieces of flesh wound together and molded into a single, writhing mass. The amorphous accumulation of organs and tissue shifted upward, slowly taking shape.
The young miko gagged as the innards shifted into place, a cloud of miasma spiraling around them. When the toxic gas dissipated, Naraku stood angrily before them, eyes ablaze with fury.
"That hurt," he hissed, his fingers lengthening into long, dagger like appendages.
Grabbing Kagome around the waist and leaping to the side as the flexible, spear like digits shot at him, Sesshomaru observed, "It seems that the jewel fragments he possesses are providing him with almost limitless strength. As long as he has them, he is practically immortal."
"Well then," Kagome announced determinedly, "all we need to do is get those shards away from him."
"Easier said than done, "Inuyasha reminded them, his amber orbs fixated on the enraged, crimson eyed demon before him.
Hoisting her sword over her head, she proposed, "One more time, boys. While he's pulling himself together, I'll grab the jewel."
Overhearing the miko's little comment; the menacing villain vanished in a whirl of miasma, dissipating into the air. His chiding voice echoed through the clearing as he crooned, "Did you actually think that I would be so stupid as to stand by and allow you to attack again? This Naraku is not so foolish."
"Kagome," Sesshomaru ordered, "can you sense the Shikon?"
"Yes," she answered, a befuddled look crossing her features, "but it's everywhere, like its split into tiny fragments all around us." As she concentrated, the pieces began grouping together once again, the source of which was directly behind them. "Look out," she shouted, rolling out of the way as an array of spikes shot at them.
"How very perceptive of you, miko," Naraku jeered, retracting his tentacles.
The first thing Sesshomaru noted when he cast his belittling gaze to the hanyou was that the fiend was missing an arm. "My, my," he commented idly, "what ever is the matter, hanyou, unable to pull yourself back together?"
"Not at all," Naraku parried, "I'm simply waiting for the right time."
As the silver haired western Lord and the vile half breed glared one another down, Sesshomaru failed to notice the lost appendage was indeed returning to its master, and that he was in its path.
Spying the arm as it hurled toward her mate, Kagome cried out in horror and sprang into action, leaping between the taiyoukai and the clawed projectile.
Hearing his mate wail in pain, Sesshomaru spun around and balked when he found her to be standing directly behind him, a very familiar arm protruding from her stomach. Heart freezing in his chest as she teetered backward, he dropped his weapon and caught her in his arms, cradling her lovingly to his chest. "Kagome," he beseeched frantically, "hold on, koi, don't leave me."
Grasping the accursed arm as gently as he could, he pulled the severed appendage from its place lodged in her gut and threw it carelessly over his shoulder.
Eyes brimming with tears as the young miko coughed up a mouthful of blood, Inuyasha roared in desperation, "Kagome!" Rushing quickly to the spot where she lay in his brother's arms, the grief stricken inu hanyou blanched when he saw how much blood she had lost. "Kagome, you can't die!" he shouted in frustration, falling to his knees.
"Koi," Sesshomaru whispered, "can you heal yourself?"
"I'll try," she whispered, summoning her miko powers. She sobbed angrily when she found that she was unable to conjure up the strength to heal herself. Apparently, she had drained too much energy when destroying her doppelganger, and the affect was taking hold.
When she shook her head, he placed her gently on the ground and removed the Tenseiga from its sheath, clutching its hilt tightly. When no thrum of power vibrated through it, he snarled in desperation and roared, "Work, damn you!" Swinging the healing blade across her shivering body, he snarled when it did not take effect. Trying again, he gnashed his teeth when nothing occurred.
Spearing the blade into the ground, he fell back to his knees and pulled his mate into his lap, fear gripping him when he noted the pale color of her skin. "No," he whispered brokenly, tears trailing down his flawless ivory cheeks, "I forbid you to leave me!"
Teeth clenching as he watched the scene unfold, Naraku hissed as his arm reattached itself. He had not meant to hit Kagome, but the meddling little onna had gone and leapt in between his claws and the taiyoukai, sealing her fate. 'Calm yourself,' he coaxed, 'once we have all that we desire, resurrecting the bitch will be a simple task.'
With that in mind he smirked, the skin on his back splitting as a swarm of tentacles leeched forth.
Shuddering as her breath began to grow shallow, Sesshomaru sobbed quietly, "Don't leave me, mate, I love you."
For the first time since the beginning of her travels with the western Lord, Kagome saw sorrow seep into his eyes, the emotion rooted deep within his amber depths and into his soul. His face was no longer the collected mask of control she had grown so used to, but a canvas of raw grief; his brows furrowed, teeth clenched, golden orbs screaming in turmoil… it was devastating, to say the least.
Lifting a slender, pale hand, the young miko brushed a strand of silver hair from his eyes, smiling crookedly when it fell back into place. When he spoke, she could hear his pain, feel it in the pit of her being.
"Please."
The simple, single word succeeded in forcing a tear from her azure depths, the strained and shaky tone he used almost inaudible. He sounded so helpless… and it terrified her.
Oh no, Kagome's dying! Wahhhhhhhhh! Is she really dying you say? Well… would you hate me if I said yes? Don't hate me just yet… read on before you cast the first stone.
And, of course, please review for ChaoticReverie.