Must I repeat myself? I don't own InuYasha or any of those characters. I only own the OCs! If that isn't clear enough I don't know what is.
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Also, I may not update again for a while. I just got out of a really bad situation and am in recovery at the moment. I will try to update as usual but if I don't I'm SUPER sorry guys. Thanks everyone for dealing with me and my horrible writing. Love you girls and guys! :)
To WarriorPrincess
Thanks! I'm glad you love it so much, that is great to hear! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
To BraziaRios
Since you're 'done' as you put it, here's another chapter. :) I hope it is to your liking.
It seemed an eternity for InuYasha and Kagome as they continued to rush blindly towards were they had last seen Akari as the dust settled around them. Neither noticed how quiet it had become, or how many of the followers that weren't fighting had directed their attention towards the stage.
"Akari!" Kagome called out with a touch of desperation as she and InuYasha jumped up onto the stage as the last of the dust settled to reveal their daughter standing in the center of the seal with the chains broken at her feet and her head bowed. "Akari! You're okay!" Kagome cried in relief as tears gathered in her eyes and she moved to engulf the girl in a hug.
"Akari? Interesting, it means brightness if I'm not mistaken." Akari said, her voice holding a strange echo of another's voice, one that made InuYasha's instincts howl as he grabbed Kagome and pulled her back behind him harshly. "Suzume did well finding the Heir for me." Akari said as she stretched her arms out like she was flying, making them pop loudly as she looked up at Kagome and InuYasha with a twisted smile that didn't quiet reach her eyes, eyes that were two different color, one a familiar silver blue while the other was a vivid purple. Akari was watching InuYasha with a smug, toothy grin, one that expressed confidence and self-assuredness while her eyes were cold and calculating, a cruel expression on the young pup's face.
"Who are you?" InuYasha growled as he turned Tetsusiaga onto the figure, his demon side telling him this was his enemy but his human side telling him this was his child. Akari's face calmed slightly as an air of indifference surrounded her and she held her hands out while closing her eyes and turning her head.
"Isn't it obvious? I am Lord Yakumo, and you're demise." Akari said with a smirk as she opened her two colored eyes to look at InuYasha with that same cold look. Suddenly before InuYasha could react Kagome was gone, sent flying off into the crowd of followers before she could even cry out. "Hmm, such a bother that one. I've never really seen much point in Suzume keeping her alive." Akari's body spoke as InuYasha turned around on his heel and grit his teeth together as his own body stopped him from swinging his sword down at the pup looking up at him.
"Trouble? Well than you should know your rightful place!" Yakumo yelled, creating an electric palm blast by raising his right arm as his right hand began to glow bright pink with energy. He then released his energy in the form of an expanding pink cloud of electricity that quickly surrounded a stunned InuYasha. Once the energy engulfed InuYasha, his body was overwhelmed by the pink electric current and sending InuYasha flying back a few feet. Yakumo smiled at the sight as he straightened up and looked out over the remaining followers. "Followers," he said in an almost loving tone as he looked out over them with a half smile. "Die. Spiritual Energy Conversion!" He called out and watched in maniacal glee as the humans in the crowd withered into dust as their foul souls were sucked away into Akari's old body, forcing it to change again as Yakumo gained more power through the technique.
"Damn!" Yusuke muttered as he watched his opponents go down while the demonic ones moved forward with grins of their own. "Mind controlling again?" Yusuke said with a smirk and prepared to fire off another Spirit Shotgun when suddenly the demons around him were annihilated by a rose whip and a glowing orange sword.
"Wait to use that Yusuke." Kurama said as he and Kuwabara moved to stand beside their friend as he dissipated his attack for later. "We will have use of it in a moment." The red haired fox spoke up as he looked over at Akari, or Yakumo now, as he tilted his head back and glowed with his new energy as a skeletal armor formed over his chest and arms while a white streak grew in his hair.
"What are we going to do?" Kuwabara asked as the three looked at the once innocent child.
"Fools, what else is there?" Hiei spat as he calmly walked over to them, missing his shirt and headband.
"But-" Kuwabara started to argue only to be stopped by the appearance of Sesshoumaru and Kouga.
"Hold up, I doubt you four realize it yet but at this point there's nothing you can do anyway." Kouga spoke up, making the four look at him with one glare and three confused but curious looks on their faces.
"Pack law." Sesshoumaru said plainly as he adjusted an unconscious Kagome in his arms, his eyes trained on Kurama as the fox's eyes widened and he gasped in realization.
"Pack law? What's that?" Kuwabara asked in confusion as the two older demons turned to look over at InuYasha, noticing that the older hanyo had stood back up and had sheathed his sword before dropping it behind him.
"Pack law is an old law that was created among the first packs. In simplest terms it means the Alpha of a pack is in charge of controlling his pack members; be it for punishment, power, hunting grounds, or rank. Right now, because the body is Akari's originally, Yakumo falls under InuYasha's pack." Kurama said as they watched Yakumo finally notice InuYasha.
"Meaning InuYasha is in charge of Yakumo and what happens to him." Kouga said as he turned his head to look at the team of four before turning around to look at Sesshoumaru. "It's been an hour and a half, by now I wouldn't be surprised if Kagura and Ayame have called the entire force to come get us." He told the older white haired demon as he continued to watch his brother.
"You know what to do then." Sesshoumaru said in his usual monotone as Kouga raced off, kicking up a bit of dust. The team of four missed this, instead talking among themselves while shooting glances towards the two hanyo's as they prepared to fight.
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"It seems dogs never learn." Yakumo said with a sneer as he seemed to look down his nose at InuYasha, even though the older hanyo was bigger than him.
"If you don't shut up and give me back my pup right now, I'll-" InuYasha started only to be interrupted by Yakumo.
"You'll what half-breed? I don't think you understand what's happened. You're 'pup' as you call it, is gone. The minute you released your Meido attack you killed her off and gave me new life, a life that was no longer sustained by the Jewel of Seven Hells. I should thank you." Yakumo said with a half laugh before he shifted his stance a bit and glared at InuYasha with that same toothy smile. "Perhaps by making you and your friends death quick?" He asked and, as if that was the signal, both shot towards each other. They clashed with their claws and special attacks, InuYasha using his skills to dodge most of Yakumo's attacks while trying to at least knock him out.
"Holding back? It appears that even half humans are sentimental." Yakumo smirked as he sliced InuYasha's cheek deep enough to have his claws graze his teeth. InuYasha growled and managed to kick one of Yakumo's legs out from beneath him, forcing the possessor to the ground and allowing InuYasha to pin him down. As InuYasha glared down at Yakumo his claws hovering over Yakumo but all InuYasha could see was Akari looking up at him.
"Dammit!" InuYasha yelled as he punched the stone beside Yakumo's head, leaving a small crater as Yakumo laughed, his voice lapping over Akari's own as he used the girl's claws to slash through InuYasha's clothes and across his chest, cutting an inch deep and tearing muscle like paper.
"Your sentiments are appreciated half breed!" Yakumo laughed as he repeated his electric palm blast and sent InuYasha flying away from him and up against a cave wall with enough force to make him stick in the hole his body had made. "But because of them, your friends are going to die!" Yakumo told him as if it were all a game to him before his eyes finally fell on the Spirit Detectives, Sesshoumaru, and Kagome just as the Priestess started to come to.
"Ses...Sesshoumaru?" Kagome whispered before her eyes widened and she forced Sesshoumaru to put her down, his eyes never leaving Yakumo as he calmly walked over to them with the same cold and calculating look from earlier.
"Tools of the Spirit World, it will be a pleasure destroying you." Yakumo said and calmly put up a shield around himself just as Hiei flashed forward and tried to attack him with his sword. "Now now you wouldn't hurt a little girl would you?" Yakumo asked in mock worry before bursting into laughter as Hiei snarled at him and jumped back to stand with the other's as they prepared for their own attacks. Kagome felt her anger start to grow dangerously fast as she looked at the being controlling her daughter, and without thinking grabbed a leaf off of one of the nearby plants that had formed during the fight, turning the small leaf into a bow with a single arrow nocked in it.
"Release her! Release her or I swear you'll die!" Kagome snarled, her eyes a ruby red once more as Yakumo cocked his head to the side and stopped laughing as he looked at Kagome with a toothy grin.
"Must I repeat myself? You're pup is gone." Yakumo said before gasping and falling to one knee when Kagome launched the arrow and struck a spot just below his left knee. "You would hurt your own?" Yakumo snapped and felt his borrowed heart skip a beat at the look on the Priestess' face.
"Like you said, she's gone and as much as that hurts me, I refuse to let you use my baby's body for this! NOW DIE!" Kagome yelled as she made an arrow out of her own energy even as tears ran down her face and blurred her vision. "I'm so sorry," she whispered softly as she released the arrow and turned her face away as Yakumo screamed his rage.
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"I'm so sorry," I heard Kagome whisper softly, the words somehow reaching my ears over the sound of the waterfall and my own cries of pain. My left leg felt as if it were being eaten from the inside out, my hands burned from what felt like fire, and my chest hurt with an ache that felt worse than everything else.
"No...Don't give up! I'm...almost there." I whispered and thought as I forced my eyes open and noticed a strange white blue glow coming towards me through the waterfall.
"The choice is your's." I heard Toshiro repeat in my head and I grit my teeth and nodded my head. Forcing myself to stand I looked at the glow in the waterfall as it came closer, I had made my choice and my instincts were guiding me at this point while something blocked out majority of my pain.
"I WANT TO LIVE!" I screamed and dove towards the waterfall just as the glow burst out of it like an arrow, slicing a small curtain through the waterfall. Behind the water, I could see Kagome on a hard rocky ground covered in strange plants and what looked like the remains of a battle, she looked like she was crying and holding onto herself as InuYasha ran towards her in what looked like flashing painting, each movement appearing for an instant before being replaced by darkness and a new image.
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The Spirit Detectives watched in awe as the arrow made of pure power hit Yakumo in his chest, right where his heart was. As it went through him, he seemed to vanish until all that was left was Akari's still form sitting on one knee before tipping forward as a bloody hole sprayed blood out for a second before hitting the ground with a dull thud, forcing the arrow in her leg all the wall through. Hiei turned away from the scene, his eyes filled with an emotion other than anger. Kuwabara bowed his head and cried, he hadn't been close to the girl but seeing what had happened hurt him deeply. Kurama closed his eyes as a few tears escaped and calmly turned his whip back into a rose that he gripped until the thorns made blood drip from his hand. Yusuke growled and slammed a fist into the ground, angry at how powerless he had been to do anything and how stupid he had been to not do something while he could. InuYasha at this point appeared, using Tetsusiaga as a cane as he stumbled over to Akari's fallen form, falling to his knees beside her before pulling her up into his arms with shaking hands.
The only person not moving was Sesshoumaru, his eyes had lost their cold look and he was watching the broken family in front of him as Kagome stumbled over to InuYasha and both parents held the obviously dead child in their arms as they both cried. Without a word he pulled his old sword Tensiaga free of it's sheath and walked over to them.
"Set her down." Sesshoumaru said as InuYasha looked up at him with broken eyes, eyes that made Sesshoumaru visibly flinch as they looked up at him. InuYasha's eyes told Sesshoumaru that his younger brother blamed himself for all of this, that he blamed himself for not protecting them like he should have. But Sesshoumaru knew, even if something had changed it would have been the same regardless of what had led to it.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, please, I'm begging you, please bring her back." Kagome choked out between sobs as InuYasha moved back a small step. Sesshoumaru nodded and focused his eyes on the child, trying to find the creatures of the Underworld.
"There are no creatures." Sesshoumaru said after a few seconds, his eyes narrowed slightly in confusion as Kagome gasped, her eyes wide as she looked down at Akari with a mix of fear, hope, and dread.
"What do you mean?" InuYasha asked in confusion as Sesshoumaru turned away.
"I do not know." Sesshoumaru said just as Kurama spoke up.
"If that's the case then there's hope." Kurama said, his eyes blazing as he looked at Kagome. "May I?" Kurama asked softly and nodded in respect when InuYasha growled while lifting Akari's limp form out of Kagome's arms as the Priestess stood up as well.
"There is a small demon run clinic not far from here. If we can get Akari there fast enough we may be able to save her." Kurama said and looked over at Hiei with a knowing glare as the smaller boy nodded his head. "Hiei knows the location of the clinic and is the fastest of all of us." Kurama told InuYasha and waited as the hanyo seemed to think about it as he looked down at Akari's pale limp form.
"If anything happens to her, I will kill you in the most horrific ways possible." InuYasha said, his voice bleeding into his demon voice as he carefully and slowly laid Akari in Hiei's arms. Hiei didn't speak, instead nodding his head at InuYasha before vanishing with a small swirl of dust.
"We'll go get the girls." Yusuke said, his eyes filled with determination as he slapped Kuwabara's shoulder and both boys started to run off.
"I will accompany them." Sesshoumaru said and calmly walked out after the two boys leaving Kurama with the two parents.
"Follow me." The fox said and took off at a run towards the clinic. It took them roughly ten minutes to get there at a hard run, but that was due to the fact that Kouga's police force had been in the process of gathering up many of the stray followers and had thought the three had been some until InuYasha had punched several and had said his name. Currently he and Kagome were trying to get past a nurse and to the back where InuYasha smelled Akari's blood while Kurama rested in a chair behind them with Hiei leaning against the wall beside him.
"I don't care if you're the damn Emperor! You're not getting back there!" The rhino demoness from Africa snapped at InuYasha as he flexed his claws and snarled.
"This is ridiculous! I'm a healer!" Kagome finally snapped and, putting up a small nearly invisible shield close to her skin, shoved past the demoness and made her way to the back. InuYasha didn't know whether to be pissed at her leaving him behind or relieved that one of them was able to get to their pup.
"I'm getting sick of you trying to get back there! Sit your furry ass down!" The rhino nurse snapped helping InuYasha make his decision.
"That's my pup back there! And I swear I will shred you're ass if you don't let me back there right now!" InuYasha snarled, his demon rising to the surface as he tried to shove past the nurse one more time, only to be thrown out of the clinic and into a brick wall across the street. "Dammit!" He grunted as he stood back up and ran back inside for round two.
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"Can't get any decent help around here!" A tall young man with short black hair pulled back in a tiny pony tail snapped as Kagome walked into the room holding Akari and cringed at the glimpse of the hole pouring blood on her daughter's chest. "Put on some gloves already and had me some more thread if you're going to just stand there!" The man snapped angrily at Kagome without turning around and moved one of the many lamps he had around him closer. Kagome rushed to do as he said, easily finding a box of latex gloves sitting by the sink and a small thing of medical thread.
"The shot missed her heart, but only by a hair. Next time you want to play like that aim somewhere else." The man said as Kagome turned around with her face burning and moved to stand across from him. As she did, she gasped in shock! "What? Never seen a blind guy before?" The man asked sarcastically as he turned his solid white eyes on Kagome and narrowed them in anger.
"Look, just hold that lamp closer so I can stanch the wound better." The man said with a sigh as he wiped his face and got a smear of blood on it. Kagome nodded and did as she was told, her mind turning with thoughts as her body moved through the commands the doctor gave her.
Two hours later Kagome was relieved beyond anything to see Akari's heart beating on the screen of an old heart monitor. Her daughter's chest was just barely moving but it was something and Dr. David, the blind man, said he was amazed that she was even alive after losing so much blood and had added that if she pulled through the day she would be fine.
"But don't think I'm not charging you for this! I mean it's not like I was doing anything at three in the damn morning anyway!" Dr. David snapped as InuYasha growled at him before moving into the room with Masaru in one arm and Shippo trailing behind him. During one of his flying adventures his two sons had arrived with Kouga, Sesshoumaru, and Yusuke's friends.
"Kaaa!" Masaru screeched in pure joy at the sight of his mother, nearly falling from his father's arms as he tried to get to her.
"Hey! How's my little man?" Kagome cooed as she stood up to grab him while giving Shippo a strong one arm hug that managed to bring tears to the boy's eyes. "I missed you, how were your exams?" Kagome asked her oldest son, making me laugh and wipe his eyes in spite of the situation.
"Will all of you people get out already! I don't even open till eight!" The small family of five could hear Dr. David yell from the front of the building. Kagome sighed before leaning back in the uncomfortable chair she had with Masaru in her arms, her eyes trained on Akari as InuYasha mimicked her, though he stood up a few seconds later.
"Is it all over?" Shippo asked after a few minutes of silence. Kagome didn't answer him, her body finally catching up with her mind as she sighed and closed her eyes.
"Not until she wakes up." She said softly and heard Shippo say a quiet 'oh' before she slipped into sleep.
"InuYasha, what if she never wakes up? Lady Keade said that sometimes when people suffer to much they go to sleep and they never wake up again." Shippo asked, his voice betraying his fear as he looked up at InuYasha as the older man stopped pacing and just starred at Akari.
"She'll get up. Now get some sleep." InuYasha said and moved over to Kagome, lifting her up carefully out of the chair and moving to sit against the wall. Shippo nodded and, while InuYasha wrapped his Robe of the Fire Rat around Kagome and Masaru, settled down beside him to rest as well. InuYasha would wake them at the slightest change with Akari.