The Good Fight
Kagome had to admit, she was rather pissed now. That blasted sword was still merrily draining away at her powers, and it was making her physically ill. If she didn't do something, she'd probably throw up, and that would break her concentration and let the stupid sword drain all her powers.
That thought was enough to make her even angrier, and her aura began to flare. She growled under her breath, the sound quickly escalating into a full-fledged scream of frustration as her aura spiked further than she ever thought it would have. The room filled with a blast of purifying energy, and she felt the chains binding her snap.
Bout bloody well time!
/---/
The brother's watched with trepidation as Naraku, Kanna, and Hakudoshi came to stand defiantly in front of the shed, standing so neither brother could use their weapons without killing Kagome. Kouga moved to stand a few feet away from the shed, smirking rather triumphantly. Inuyasha's face twisted in disgust.
"Naraku." Sesshoumaru called out coldly. "You have something that belongs to us."
"Are you referring to the miko?" Naraku demanded smugly. "She should be out in a few minutes. As soon as she does what we want her to do."
Miroku's eyes narrowed. "Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, I sense Kagome's powers flaring. She is fighting the sword's pull."
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Sango replied.
"I'm not sure. What does it take to awaken that sword?"
Apparently Naraku had noticed the same thing. "It won't take long now." he assured them. "When her powers flare their highest, the shield will be broken. Then all we'll have to do is coat the blade with her blood to bring it back into full power. She will be its first kill."
"Over my dead body!" Inuyasha snarled, brandishing the Tetsusaiga. He was about to charge when –
A blast of purifying energy radiated from the shed, forcing the demons to raise up protective shields or risk being turned to dust. Naraku's eyes lit in sheer bliss. "Now it is time." he murmured. He was about to take a step into the shed when a power-saturated arrow came flying out at him, narrowly missing his shoulder and burning a black streak across his skin. From inside, they heard Kagome curse.
"You come any closer, Naraku, and I'll purify your scrawny little arse." she shouted at him, her voice dripping with venom.
"You can't let any more power escape you, little miko." Naraku called back, thoroughly enjoying the situation. "You'll only serve to further awaken the sword."
"Ask me if I give a crap. Maybe if I let off enough power I'll purify it too. Willing to take the chance? Kami knows I wouldn't be." She was crouched on her knees in the back of the room, behind the altar. As it was, she had a clear shot, but she knew if she could goad him into taking one more step, there was no way she would miss. Or she could make him back up enough that the brothers could use their weapons. Either one worked for her.
Naraku chuckled. "We shall see, little miko."
"I have a name, you know! Use it!" She fired another arrow, this time making him jump back in shock – right into the path of Sesshoumaru's waiting blade.
"Inuyasha, get Kagome!"
The hanyou nodded, quickly moving forward and entering the room. "Kagome?" he called softly.
"Inuyasha, behind you!"
He spun around, fully expecting to see the face of Kanna, or one of the other demons, but he gasped. "Kikyou!"
/---/
It wasn't a pretty sight by the time Taisho and Totosai got there.
Sango, Miroku, Shippou, and Rin were caught in battle outside of the shed, Kikyou and Inuyasha were in a face-off with Kagome trying hard to protect Inuyasha, and Sesshoumaru and Naraku were in the midst of a fearsome battle.
And through it all, Taisho could feel the evil of Sounga being awakened.
He cursed under his breath. They were too late to stop the shield from being broken, but at least Kagome was still alive and unharmed. The sword wasn't at its best yet.
"So now what?"
"Now we fight the good fight."
With that they plunged towards the battle.
/---/
It wasn't that difficult for Sesshoumaru to dispatch Naraku, not with the rest of the gang distracting his friends. Alone, Naraku was not his battle equal. After all, Sesshoumaru had trained with the best.
Naraku made a clumsy swipe, which Sesshoumaru quickly dodged. He instantly stepped in and ran the youkai through the gut with Tokijin.
Satisfied, he turned –
and groaned.
Things just couldn't be easy, could they?
Kanna's weapon created a void. And that's exactly what the others were facing.
/---/
"Kikyou, please don't make me kill you." Inuyasha warned. "We don't have a chance, we never had a chance. Get over it!"
Kikyou smirked. "I don't care. I'm still going to kill you." She took a step forward to bring the hanyou into better aim.
An arrow flashed over Inuyasha's shoulder, striking the cold-hearted miko in the chest. He glanced behind him, staring at Kagome in shock. "I could have handled her." he protested mildly.
"I couldn't risk that." she said simply. "Come on, we need to go help the others now." Inuyasha nodded and together they hurried out to stand beside Sesshoumaru. Kagome stared at Kanna in shock. "Just what the heck does she think she's doing?" she demanded.
"About to take us all into the void in that mirror, I presume." Sesshoumaru said darkly. "Draw Tenseiga. We need to end this now."
Kagome nodded and drew the sword, leveling it right beside the Tetsusaiga. "I'm ready." she said tightly. Sesshoumaru nodded.
"Now! Dragon Strike!"
"Wind Scar!"
Kagome didn't say a word, but her sword shone brightest of all, as all three attacks joined together and vanished into the void of the mirror. For a long moment, nothing happened. Then the mirror shattered, taking the void spell with her.
There was a hesitant pause, where no one really said anything. Then Kanna spoke. "Crap."
Kagura chuckled. "I'll second that." she said dryly. "Now what, Takahashi? Now what do we do?"
"You walk away, and I'd suggest you do it before our dad finally gets his butt down here." Inuyasha advised. "We'll let you go – for now."
Kanna, Kagura, and the others all nodded and walked away. Kouga glared at Kagome for a moment longer.
"This isn't over." he hissed. He turned then and walked away. With a sigh, Kagome turned back to the brothers, the evil of Sounga pulsing through her body.
"Now what?"
/---/
AN: Hey, four pages! It's a record. Review, please!