Chapter 3: A Battle to Remember

A Battle To Remember

Disclaimer: I still don't own inuyasha. This is really getting annoying now. Oh well on with the story.

The sound of laughter cascaded through the air. Youngsters dashed around, immersed in childish games, while their parents chatted and conversed nearby. Young men and women exchanged hurried kisses with each other behind huts and tall trees, all the while looking out for disapproving adults. Lovers looked at each other with heated gazes, finding creative and clever ways to excuse themselves from village functions and family dinners. Summertime had come in the feudal era, and, after the bounty of the spring harvest, everyone finally felt that they could relax and enjoy some of the bounty they had received.

In the midst of it all, a lone woman, resplendent in vibrant robes of white and crimson wove through the crowd. Curious passerby stared openly at her, marveling at her beauty, until they got a glimpse of her eyes. One look from those dark, soulless eyes and those looks of admiration turned quickly to fear. If she'd been able to feel emotion, she might have laughed at the way they stumbled over each other, trying to get out of her way. Frozen in her clay body, Kikyo viewed the world around her with a cool disdain. The only emotions she was capable of feeling were lust, vengeance, and anger. Those emotions, which sizzled in her chest, and flowed through her veins the way that blood should have, kept her strong. She looked at the smiling faces surrounding her, and was filled with a strong sense of disgust.

If she'd been honest, she might have admitted to herself that the reason she hated humans so was because of their ability to feel such happiness, such joy, such overwhelming love. She hadn't been able to experience those emotions since she'd been brought back to life, though she hadn't realized it at first. She had gone to a small village, trying to find fulfillment in protecting the innocent once again. She had even taken several lovers since the witch Urusue had snatched her spirit back from the netherworld and thrust it into this earthly body. It hadn't taken her very long to realize that something was wrong with it. Where she should have felt fiery passion, she felt only a cool disinterest. Those in the village had loved her for a time, but they soon began to realize something was wrong with her. The men called her a heartless monster even as they tried to entice her into their beds, and the women, with whom she never spoke, never tried to make friends, believed her a cold, calculating bitch.

Then she'd killed the priest who'd discovered her stealing the souls of the recently deceased, preventing them from finding absolution in the afterlife. She'd been forced to flee before anyone found out what she had done, and while she was running, one constant thought kept running back and forth through her head.

Urusue may have given her a body, but she hadn't given her a heart.

Kikyo shook off such thoughts quickly, refusing to be bothered by them. She, having no heart, couldn't be expected to also bother with trifling emotions such as sadness, guilt, or regret. She was too strong to feel any emotional at all except for vengeance.

"Vengeance," she whispered, savoring the word as it rolled across her tongue and spilled out of her ruby lips. Vengeance, not this clay body, nor hope for a future, was what truly bound her to this Earth. She would wreak vengeance upon the world in punishment for the cruelty that it had bestowed upon her.

She'd spent three years searching for anything and anyone who could restore her to her rightful body and make her human again. She'd made deals with demons, consorted with the darkest witches and priestesses, performing sacrifices, chanting spells that made even her unfeeling skin crawl. Nothing had succeeded in completing her resurrection, and so, finally, she'd settled on wreaking destruction and havoc upon a world that had given her nothing but grief, heartbreak, and, even now, refused her even the most simple of pleasures - friendship, love, companionship. If she couldn't enjoy them, she would ensure that no one else could either. And now, she had a way to realize her deepest desire, and, even better, an ally who would help her accomplish her plan to do it.

She moved quickly through the crowd, her mind not even registering the strange looks she received. Her mind was on far greater things. She had travelled across many lands, searching and seeking Naraku, the many demon monster who was the key to fulfilling all of her greatest dreams. She knew that he would help her wage war against Earth and all those that lived in it. He would do anything for her. As long as Onigumo's heart beat within that chest, he was powerless where she was concerned. A few sweet words, a few seductive glances, and he would be just as helpless against her as he had been when she had first found him - burned and mutilated beyond recognition.

'Yes,' she thought to herself, turning her attention back to the people around her. 'Enjoy yourself while you can. Soon you will all do my bidding'. She smiled at the thought. If she couldn't truly create a perfect life for herself, she would make sure that no one else could have one either. Especially not a certain half-breed that she had called her love. She had seen him since, galavanting around with her reincarnation. He had found her replacement quickly enough, and it made her burn to think of him with that girl who, despite having almost all of Kikyo's original soul, was so different from her the two could barely be compared. 'But not for long,' she consoled herself. 'Soon, Inuyasha too, will know what it feels like to be empty, cold, heartbroken and alone. He will realize we are not so different from each other, and he will come crawling back into my arms.' And together, they would rule over a kingdom where happiness and love wouldn't exist. If she couldn't be like them, then they could all learn to live like her.

...

Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kirara sauntered down the dirt road, joking and laughing. They had travelled to this village in the hopes of buying more supplies and hearing stories of any strangely powerful demons that were haunting the area. Demons that were hopefully carrying jewel shards.

They were about a mile from the village when Inuyasha first noticed the scent of blood. The scent hung in the air, too soft for the others to notice, but blatantly clear to his keen demon senses. He took a deep breath and choked on the metallic tang of it.

"Something happened here," He told them, his eyes scanning for danger. Kagome," he asked, without looking at her, "can you sense anything from the land?"

She looked questioningly at him, but didn't say anything. At some point, a few years ago, she had learned to pick up on the strong emotional traces left on the land during times of major events. Sometimes it was awful things - battles or wars that had been fought, demon slaughters - but sometimes it was also romantic things - the first kiss of two soul mates or the first time two people became lovers. Sex was an incredibly powerful experience, and the emotional imprint it left on places was just as tangible and just as overwhelming as the violent urges leftover from war. Love and hate. Two sides of the same coin, each as powerful as the other.

The first time she'd encountered one of those ECA's (Erotically Charged Areas), the opposite of a VCA (Violently Charged Area), she'd almost lost her balance and fallen to the ground. She felt a man's hands stroking and caressing her body, tasted his exquisite lips, felt waves of passion rolling over her body, and lost herself to glorious pleasure she had never known before. The experience had left her trembling, her lips parted and open, her eyes glazed over, and it had taken her moments before she could move, still overcome by vestiges of feelings not her own. It had left her aching, wanting, needing. Fortunately, she'd been away from the group, wanting to bathe in privacy before she turned in for the night. She'd hoped that dousing herself in the frigid stream water would help her regain her senses. That's what always happened in the movies, right? Cold showers? The movies lied. She'd returned to camp and slipped into her sleeping bag, losing herself to nighttime dreams that took her through that moment over and over and over again.

This spot, by contrast, was a pure VCA. She could feel the threat of violence in the soil, could pick up on the hatred and menace that emanated from it. She swallowed painfully, fighting the urge to gag. These emotions were stronger here than in most places, and she could sense them permeating the area, could feel them dark and oily on her skin.

"Oh yeah," she choked. "Something bad happened here, recently." The Earth beneath her remembered. "It's recent," she said, suddenly. "That's why it's so strong."

She felt hands move to pick her up, and soon she was astride Inuyasha, her arms clasped about his shoulders in her favorite riding place on his back.

"Let's go," he said to the others. "I don't like the smell of this place, and I want to know what's going on."

They moved quickly, and as they did, the emotions got stronger and stronger. Kagome buried her face in Inuyasha's haori, trying not to let them overtake her. She wasn't inherently violent, and so, instead of being overcome and controlled by these hateful emotions, they just made her feel nauseous.

"You okay?" Inuyasha whispered back to her, concern evident in his voice. She nodded in response, not trusting herself to speak.

"We're almost there. Hang on."

Within a few moments, they could see the outline of a small village. The thatched huts appeared intact, and there was no obvious sign of a struggle, but the stillness and the lack of people when they should have been swarming everywhere was warning enough. They walked past the first house cautiously, but saw nothing. Nothing in the second house either, or the third, or the fourth.

It wasn't until they got to the center square that they discovered the carnage. At least twenty villagers - where the others were was anyone's guess - had been caught in some kind of deadly, magical maelstrom that still twisted and raged in the center of it all. It rose, foreboding and dangerous, striking and crashing into lovingly-crafted homes and tearing up carefully tended gardens and plots of land.

Kagome averted her eyes from the figures on the ground. Although she had been in this land for over three years, it never got easier to witness the devastation and death that were part and parcel with living in this era. Instead, she focused on the black vortex directly in the center of the melee sucking in suspicious shining white vapors.

"Show yourself and pay for what you have done here," Miroku commanded, his hand poised to unleash his wind tunnel and condemn the figure to death by black hole.

The dark tornado whirled tighter and tighter, surging up and out. Houses collapsed under its barrage, and Inuyasha instinctively tucked Kagome underneath him, protecting her from flying pieces of wood and other objects. It began to come toward them, and Inuyasha shifted Kagome, his hand reaching for his sword.

Then it stopped, and the top tilted slowly, almost like a head looking quizicly at something. Then it started laughing, darkly. Kagome and the group exchanged wary and confused glances with each other. The pool of magic began to recede, although it left its taint in the air, and the ground. The figure in the middle appeared slowly; sandaled feet, white socks, a flash of red and white fabric taking shape into familiar robes, ivory hands, and finally a face with which they were intimately familiar.

"Kikyo," Miroku exclaimed, the only one of them capable of making any noise.

She paid him no attention. Her smile was cold as she faced them, but her focus was on the central, haori-clad figure who couldn't seem to tear his eyes from her.

"You still find me beautiful, Inuyasha," she said softly, knowing his ears and his ears alone would hear it. "Even now." Her laugh was bitter and sensual.

He didn't answer, though she knew he had heard her. His fingers clenched by his side, but his sword hung limply in its sheath. He couldn't, or wouldn't, raise it against her. On his side, Kagome watched their exchange with anger in her chocolate eyes.

"Inuyasha." she hissed at him. "Do something."

When he didn't move, she pulled forth an arrow from her back, preparing to end this on her terms. But before she could fit it, his hand closed down on her wrist, preventing her from moving it.

"What are you doing?" She asked him, her voice like steel. He didn't answer her, but his grip remained vise-like on her wrist.

"Why, Kikyo?" He asked, a growl in his voice. She didn't answer him, her face impassive. Her body spoke differently. She was wide open, proud and confident of her work. Her skin was glowing, rejuvenated with the life-spirits of those she had killed. Looking at her made Kagome's stomach twist and turn; she felt sick to the core.

Kikyo merely stared at them across the square, watching them bound by Inuyasha's ability to act. She turned from them, her magic whipping from her body, purifying the bodies she had just destroyed until they were nothing but ash. She began to walk away from them, her body once more being consumed by the dark vortex - a shield against any would try to touch her.

Miroku moved to go after her, still in disbelief that Inuyasha couldn't and wouldn't go after her himself. He made it four steps. Flashes of lightning magic extended out from the tornado that was Kikyo, aiming straight at Sango. Miroku flew in front of her, blocking it with his body, his staff working to deflect the magic. But he couldn't claim all of it. It flared around him, and he collapsed to the ground, twitching. A sharp gust of wind hurled him backward out of the center square.

"Kagome," Sango's voice called.

"Go Sango," she answered, her eyes still focused on that dangerous maelstrom. Sango nodded briefly before tearing off after Miroku, Kirara at her heels, her boomerang clenched tightly in her fist.

Meanwhile, all she could do was sit there, immobilized in Inuyasha's grip, watching her ancient predecessor walk away from her crimes. When Inuyasha finally released her, she pulled away from him so violently she almost fell over. He reached out to steady her, but she slapped his hand away.

She took the arrow that she was still holding and strung it through her bow.

"We are going after her," she told him, daring him to argue. Her eyes were burning, and magic danced over her skin. She moved away without asking him beginning to walk swiftly. She could hear Kirara's growl behind her, knowing that Sango had picked Miroku up, and was now holding him against her to prevent him from falling.

When Kirara reached her, and Sango extended a hand, she took it, allowing Sango to pull her up on Kirara's back. The two of them looked at Inuyasha, Sango giving him a clear look of reprove for his actions, and Kagome shooting him a look that promised pain. He stood there, not believing their threats, until Kirara took off without warning, launching into the sky.

"Damn," Inuyasha swore, preparing to follow them when a clear voice rang out, its command echoing in his ears.

"Sit, boy" Kagome yelled down, watching somewhat gleefully as Inuyasha collided with the ground, bound by her command. Over the past few years, she had learned to imbue the command with a touch more magic, thereby giving her the ability to make the command last longer than usual. With the way she was feeling now, it was highly likely that Inuyasha would be immobilized for at least a few minutes, giving them plenty of time to find them once they had accomplished their mission.

"Let's go Sango," she said, resolutely. Sango nodded, her arms tucked securely, almost possessively, around Miroku.

They took to the skies, their eyes peeled for any signs of movement on the ground. Kikyo's tornado wasn't like that of a natural twister. It moved quickly, covering miles in mere minutes, borne by her magic and not by any of the natural laws of fiction, gravity, inertia.

"Up ahead," came Kagome's gleeful shout. She could see the faint flash of black magic ahead on the horizon, hiding just over the next hillside. Sango whispered something to Kirara who picked up her pace, the flames around her feet and tail increasing in size as she propelled them forward.

Neither of them were expecting the blast of wind that came at them from the left. It slammed into them, knocking Kagome off balance. She toppled off Kirara, her scream echoing through the hillside as gravity sent her plummeting to the ground. At several hundred yards off the ground, she wouldn't survive the collision. Kirara raced towards the forest floor, trying to defeat gravity. Sango's eyes were wide and fearful as she watched her best friend hurtling to her death. Stretching out her hand, she murmured a quick prayer, and then focused all her attention on Kagome. She reached forward, their fingers touching for a moment, hands clasped, but her grip wasn't strong enough. One hundred feet above the ground, she lost her grip and Kagome went tumbling back into open air.

Sango watched in horror. Kagome's eyes were closed as if waiting for the inevitable. Seventy-five feet, sixty feet. By the time she at fifty, Sango closed her eyes, unable to watch the scene unfold, in her head an ominous countdown started.

Five, four, three, two.

A loud crash.

One.

...

I finally finished another chapter :). I hope you all like it. Please, please review. I'm completely redoing this story, and changing a lot of it, and I would really like to know what you think of it. Is it good? Do you like it? Is there anything that doesn't make sense or should be better?

Please let me know, good or bad.