Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, only my OC
Slight Recap!
"Let her die, Inuyasha," Orochi continued. "Sesshomaru will never know and you'll get to save your precious priestess. She could be dying this very instance. And after learning everything you now know, would really allow her to die in a place like this?"
"To save Kagome, Shiori must die," thought Miroku. "And by saving Shiori, we might miss the chance of rescuing Kagome. What a completely sadistic choice."
"So who will you save? The girl you love?" Orochi taunted. "Or the girl your brother loves?"
And…..back to our story!
Shiori laid down in agony as she felt the blood soaking her haori. Her vision was becoming completely blurry. Never in her life had she ever been attacked with such demonic power. She attempted to drag herself away, but the puppet stepped down on Shiori's wound. Shiori cringed in pain.
"Why do you squirm?" it mocked her. "I'm applying pressure to your wound. Shouldn't that make you feel better?"
"Disgusting shrew," Shiori screeched in pain.
"Who's the one on the ground now, darling?" it teased her."There's nothing you can do, especially as a little tennin," said the puppet.
"Tennin?" Shiori baffled. "What is she talking about now?"
"Oh, you haven't realized it? Let me show you." said the puppet grabbing a lock of her hair.
She pulled the lock in front of Shiori's face and let her examine it. Shiori's eyes widened in surprise—the lock was white! She reverted to her tennin form!
"What?" she stammered. "How…I don't understand."
The puppet smirked at Shiori's confusion.
"You can't do anything in that form," it sneered, "Might as well give in to me."
"Hell will freeze over before that happens," Shiori weakly responded.
The evil puppet smirked, "then let the freezing begin."
….A many yards away….
"Well Inuyasha?" asked Orochi. "What do you choose?"
Inuyasha stared over at the dying Shiori—she was losing blood fast. The puppet had her in its mercy. He glared back at the evil demon lord before him. Suddenly, his troubled expression hardened.
"Should be an easy choice," laughed Orochi evilly. "Shiori belongs to your hated brother. If anything, she's an enemy."
"You bastard!" he spat. "I don't take orders from you or anyone else! From the moment we met, she made it clear that she wasn't my enemy! Shiori can die on her own terms if she wants….but it won't be because of me! It won't be because I didn't help her!"
He swung at Orochi with his sword, but the lord dodged the attack.
"I won't have her death on my hands!" Inuyasha continued. "If you won't tell me where Kagome is, then I'll just beat it out of you! But you are not gonna corrupt me with your filthy mind games!"
Orochi drew is blade and repelled Inuyasha's attack away from him.
"Like I would listen to anything you had to say anyway!" Inuyasha shouted as he swung tessaiga.
"Windscar!"
Orochi jumped out of the way of Inuyasha's wrath, "So you wanna play, huh half demon? Fine by me."
"Miroku, Sango," said Inuyasha over his shoulder. "Go help Shiori. I'll take care of this bastard!"
"Right," they said in unison.
Miroku, Sango, and Shippo ran in Shiori's direction. They prayed they weren't too late.
….Still a many yards away….
"What's going on?" Shiori thought. "Why have I reverted to my purified form? It doesn't make any sense. When she shot through my body, she also injected me with miasma. If anything….I should be in shinigami form."
She was still being pinned down by the evil puppets foot. The weight of its foot alone was almost enough to crush Shiori in her current state. Shiori was still trying to figure out why she became a tennin.
"What an interesting twist this is," laughed the puppet. "This has become a battle between your two selves. Shinigami Shiori, vs tennin Shiori. But, I think we both know which one of us is going to win."
"Stop using my name!" Shiori retorted. "You aren't me. You're nothing but an abomination."
"An abomination that was made in your likeliness," it sneered. "This is who you are, whether you like it or not. I don't understand why Sesshomaru even tolerated you for so long."
"Lord Sesshomaru….."
"Don't think just because you established a mind link with him that he's yours for the taking," spat the puppet.
"Mind link?" Shiori baffled. "Is that how I've been able to transfer thoughts to him?"
"You didn't even know about the mind link did you? My, aren't you a sharp one?" mocked the puppet. "And I thought you were a little swifter than that. You definitely don't deserve him."
Suddenly, Sango's Hirakostu came hurling towards the fake Shiori. She eyed it coming and turned around to deflect it back. She took her foot off Shiori's chest and turned to face them. She angrily glared at Miroku and Sango.
"So the lecherous monk and weak demon slayer specialist have come to the rescue, huh?" she mocked.
"Get back demon," Miroku ordered.
The puppet stared at it, "I hope you aren't planning to use that wind tunnel of yours, monk. My body is filled with deadly miasma. I imagine that sucking me inside won't be good for your health."
…..
"You're tough for a half demon brat," shouted Orochi. "But your efforts won't do you any good. You can't stop me!"
"Will you just shut up!" retorted Inuyasha.
"You know, I was never going to tell you the location of the castle," jeered Orochi. "I was simply going to give you a false location and let you wonder aimlessly. So in a way, I suppose you chose wisely. But it doesn't matter—those girls will die anyway."
They clashed blades constantly. Inuyasha was being pushed back by Orochi's brute strength. In fact, he was pushing him back straight towards a ledge.
"Windscar!" Inuyasha attacked.
Orochi smirked, "that move again?"
He whirled around his giant blade and sliced down the middle of the windscar. Inuyasha stared in shock as the blade absorbed his attack. With one large swing, Orochi hurled the energy back Inuyasha.
"Death wave," he shouted.
Inuyasha quickly ran to get out of the wave's destruction.
"This bastard's gonna be tough to deal with,"
Orochi smirked, "Just a bit further…..a bit further."
…..
Sango eyed Miroku carefully, hopping he wouldn't try to use the windtunel. Miroku stared at his right hand and back at the evil puppet. He knew sucking her in wouldn't be a smart move.
"Though without that windtunnel, what more can you do to stop me? Are you gonna attack me with those weak sutras of yours?" the Shiori puppet taunted. It then turned toward Sango. "Or, will you try to attack me with that worthless boomerang again? Humans are such weaklings."
Shiori turned her head in Miroku and Sango's direction. Above their heads, was a floating blue orb. It was the very one the others spoke of earlier; the one that guided them to her. No one else seemed to notice this time but her.
"Grandmother?" thought Shiori.
The orb swayed back and forth in acknowledgement. Shiori sat herself up and watched the evil puppet. She was disgusted by its cocky attitude. The creature deliberately turned away from her because it no longer considered Shiori a threat.
"Such arrogance…..am I really like that? Is this really how I'm seen?"
The puppet started attacking them with energy blast. Miroku and Sango jumped out of the way to escape the puppets attack. She laughed menacingly as she fired blast after blast and leapt after them. Just as she had them cornered, a voice from a far compelled her to stop.
"Stop this madness," said Shiori firmly.
The puppet turned around and saw Shiori in the distance. Shiori was now back on her feet and tenderly holding her injured chest. Though she was battered, the look of determination still burned in her eyes. The puppet frowned. She was hopping her spirit had been broken, but alas, it was not.
"Shiori," noted Sango. "She's okay."
"You should've just stayed down," said the puppet. "Why waste what little strength you have left by standing?"
Shiori narrowed her eyes, "that's enough out of you, puppet."
"You still only refer to me as a mere puppet?" it said with an evil smirk, "When will you realize that I'm more than just a simple puppet."
Shiori widened her eyes as it continued to speak, "I was made from you. Part of the blood that gave you life, flows through my body. I'm no mere puppet, there's no one controlling me on the other end."
"The blood that gave me life?" Shiori wondered.
"Yes," it answered. "You see, in order to make me more powerful than the average demon puppet, I need a sample of your blood—or at least some that was similar."
"F-father's," Shiori stammered.
The puppet smirked, "now you understand. Oh but don't worry, we kept him alive."
"You will all pay for this," snapped Shiori.
"Why do you even care about him?" questioned the puppet harshly. "It's not as though he cared for you. He only conceived you so that you could handle his dirty work. You're nothing to him, and you always will be."
Shiori looked up to see that the blue orb was still there. It continued to sway over everyone. Though it never spoke a word, Shiori felt she understood what it was trying to say.
"You're wrong," said Shiori soundly. "My father values me, just as any father should value their child. He always loved and cared about me—still does. He told me so himself."
"Hmph," scoffed the puppet. "Of course he would tell you that. He just wants to be in your grace. You're nothing to him. If you believe anything otherwise, then you truly are a fool."
She raced toward Shiori with her sword in hand. She would do much more than put a whole through her chest. This time, she was aiming to slice off her head!
Sango threw her hirakostu and prayed it would reach them in time. But the giant boomerang wasn't flying fast enough. It wasn't going to make it in time to stop the puppet from killing Shiori. Shiori did nothing but watch as the puppet got closer and closer.
"Oh no," thought Miroku. "She must be too weak to move. This time….she's done for."
"You can believe whatever you want, but if you have to believe in something….then believe the truth," said Shiori softly as the puppet gunned for her. Shiori's eyes swelled with tears as she smiled weakly. "And I….I choose to believe the truth."
Just as puppet was about to slice Shiori's head off, Shiori jammed her hand through its heart. It stopped its pursuit and instantly froze. That was its critical weak point. Shiori then transferred her spiritual and demonic powers into her hand, causing the puppet to explode into ashes. The explosion reflected the hirakostu back towards Sango. Shiori stood amongst the ash and looked up to the deathly skies. She grabbed a strand of her hair to find that it was black again. The puppet only created an illusion to make her think she was tennin, possibly to keep her from using her demonic powers. Shiori collapsed down on all fours.
"Shiori!" called Miroku.
They ran over to Shiori to check her injuries. Shiori weakly glanced up to them. She was bleeding as badly as before, but she was still badly injured. Shippo examined her shoulder.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'll manage," she said tearfully. "I'll be fine."
Sango knelt beside her, "But you're crying…."
"Am I?" said Shiori softly.
She slowly touched her cheek with her finger tips and examined them. Miroku, Sango, and Shippo watched her in bewilderment. She was still smiling at them.
"I had no idea a person could while rejoicing," she said.
"What?" Miroku thought. "I don't understand…"
"But why are you crying?" asked Sango.
"Because," said Shiori standing up. "I finally believe it."
"Eh?" thought Miroku. Why was Shiori always talking in riddles and circles? "Believe what?"
"The truth," she answered.
They were all still very confused about what she was talking about. But that didn't matter to Shiori; she finally accepted her father's love. She felt as though she could take on the world…..even though she was still hurt. Shiori put her hand to her wound and started to purify it.
While she attempted to get rid of the miasma in her blood, Miroku and Sango turned towards Inuyasha. He was struggling against Orochi. Inuyasha was quickly trying to avoid getting sliced a part by Orochi's giant sword. They noticed that the two were a significant distance away from them. Were they that far away to begin with? They could see that he was steadily being pushed back towards a deep chasm.
"He's in danger," Miroku noted. "Pretty soon that monster will have Inuyasha right by the edge."
"I wouldn't be too worried, Inuyasha can jump really good," said Shippo. "He'll be fine."
"I was observing that chasm earlier," said Shiori. "It's bottomless."
"Eh?" said Sango
…..
"You can't avoid me forever!" shouted Orochi to Inuyasha. "Eventually, I will kill you!"
"Damn it," thought Inuyasha. "This guy's too fast. But if I don't beat him soon I'll never find out where he's got Kagome. I have to beat him!"
"Hmmmm, I do wonder what Brother is doing to that young girl right now. I bet it's something scandalous," taunted Orochi.
"You fucking scum bag!" growled Inuyasha. "If you do anything to Kagome I swear I'll—"
"You'll what?" said Orochi with an evil smirk. "You can't even touch me. If you were so concerned about that woman, you would have chosen to save her instead of your brother's wench. Of course, you already know I wouldn't have told anyway….but it's the thought that counts right?"
"Go to hell!" screeched Inuyasha.
Orochi prepared to swing once more, "Not if you go first."
Orochi swung an energy attack at Inuyasha, and he was forced off the edge. Orochi smiled with evil satisfaction. He finally succeeded in pushing Inuyasha into the bottomless pit. Inuyasha tried to stop his fall by jabbing tessaiga into the side of the edge, but it wouldn't work.
From the sky, came a ray of purification beam that shot Orochi straight in the back. He cried out in pain as he fell forward. He realized it was just a distraction when Miroku, Sango, and Shiori went flying over head on Kirara. They rapidly dove into the pit after Inuyasha. When they were close enough, Miroku threw out his hand toward Inuyasha. He grabbed it, and they made a bee line back to the top of the chasm. Orochi angrily glared at them as they emerged.
"What's the meaning of this?" Orochi demanded. "Where's the Shiori puppet."
Shiori cringed at the combination of the word puppet and her own name.
"Oh, that thing? It's no longer haunting my existence," she flatly responded.
"You killed it?"
She smirked, "You can't kill something that was never alive."
"You little bitch," he scoffed. "You weren't satisfied with killing my brother kill. You just had to ruin more of our plans didn't you? Why must you constantly plague our lives?"
"I'm the one plaguing your lives? You threw my father into hell, made a deal with my most hated enemy, kidnapped my sister and friend, and tried to assassinate me with that evil puppet." she said stepping down from Kirara's back. "Not to mention your brother tried to have his way with me."
"Next time you won't be so lucky," he warned. "You'll be sorry!"
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" demanded Inuyasha
Orochi swung his sword and a blinding light came out of it. Inuyasha and the rest shielded their eyes and took a step back. They had their eyes closed long enough for Orochi to escape them without being followed. When the light finally died down, they looked back and discovered he was already gone.
"Damn it!" shouted Inuyasha searching around. "Without him we have no way of finding Kagome."
Shiori looked down and felt a strange presence with her. She looked up again and saw the blue orb floating above them all. This time, everyone else saw it too.
"It' that spirit," said Sango. "It's returned."
The blue orb whirled around the group then and back into the sky. It quickly whirled around them again.
"It wants us to follow it again," said Inuyasha, he turned to Shiori. "Are you feeling up to speed?"
Shiori wasn't feeling up to speed at all. She didn't want to risk flying at the moment. Even though she managed to purify most of the blood in the miasma, she still wasn't healed completely. But she was happy to no longer be on the verge of death.
"No," she admitted. "But I don't have much of a choice right now."
He turned around and knelt down in front of her. She stared at him in bewilderment.
"What are you doing?" she demanded to know.
"Get on my back stupid!" Inuyasha ordered.
"What? No I will not get on your back!" she dignifiedly retorted. "I don't like to be carried!"
"You let me carry you back at Mount Hakurei!"
She glared, "That's because I was too weak to move! And as you can see…..I can move! Are you suggesting that I'm so weak that I can't even walk by myself? Stop patronizing me!"
"Look, I'm trying to help you! You're obviously in pain!" he screeched. "Now stop being stubborn, swallow your pride, and get on my damn back!"
"Fine," she finally said while climbing on his back. "But only because I want to save the girls."
Inuyasha ran off with Shiori on his back. Sango and Miroku flew beside them on Kirara's back. They couldn't help but state at the two as they ran. It was weird for them to see Inuyasha with his brother's lover on his back. Even though she wasn't technically his lover….They then imagined what it would look like if Kagome rode on Sesshomaru's back.
"I wonder if Sesshomaru would be upset by this," whispered Sango to Miroku.
Shiori felt they're gazes and shot dirty looks at them.
"Stop gawking!" she snapped. "You're making this more awkward then it already is!"
They quickly turned away and looked back to the spirit orb that was guiding them
"Just what is that thing?" Miroku pondered as he stared at the orb.
"My grandmother," responded Shiori in a soft voice. "She's pointing the way to the castle."
"Your….grandmother?" asked Miroku. "That's right; creatures that die her are forced to wander the lands aimlessly never moving into heaven or even hell. How terrible it must be to be confined to wander here for all eternity."
"Are you gonna be okay?" Shippo asked Shiori.
"I'll be fine," she called out, putting her hand to her chest. "The wound's already closed. But It'll need some stronger purification later."
….
"My lord," said one of Hisoka's servants. "We've found the location of the jewel shard."
He was accompanied by two guards; each of them had a grip on one of Kagome's arms. They had all just come back from searching for the jewel shard. She had no choice but to help them after they threatened Inuyasha's life. Because she believed they killed Shiori, she knew they wouldn't hesitate to kill Inuyasha or her friends next. She was determined not to let that happen. So Kagome explained to them that the shard was at the very boarder of the netherworld. Hisoka order a squad to take Kagome with them to the boarder. They needed her special skills in order to find it.
Hisoka turned to him, "Where is it?"
"It's right along the border of our world," he answered. "Just as the girl said it would be. She even pin pointed its exact location. It's in the remains of the Great Dog Demon"
"And because you're telling me all this means you have the jewel shard, correct?" asked Hisoka in a flat tone.
The servant gulped, "well no…..we ran into a bit of trouble."
"Just what kind of trouble do you mean?" Hisoka's patience was waning.
"When we approached, we were suddenly under fire by an adamant barrage," answered the servant.
"Adamant barrage?"
"Yes," he nodded. "It seems that someone doesn't want to give up the jewel fragment. The girl said she saw the shard towards the lower torso of the giant skeleton. That spot was also the source of the adamant attacks."
"So then, instead of fighting you decided to retreat with your squad?" Hisoka angrily questioned. "Did I give you that order?"
The servant was now shaking, "Um…well."
"And you know Naraku is still out there somewhere, you could have led him straight towards it."
"I'm sorry my lord," said the servant dropping to his knees. "Please forgive me! I beg of you!"
But Hisoka showed him no mercy and sliced off his head. Blood splattered back all over Kagome and the guards. Her eyes were filled to the brim with fright as she trembled. She stared down at the headless body. A swirl of light emitted from it and phased out through the walls. Hisoka smirked. But his smirk disappeared the moment he sensed Orochi coming—without the Shiori puppet. He could also faintly sense the real Shiori and her comrades. They were rapidly approaching them.
"How did they learn of the castles location?" he wondered. "They must be following that buffoon. That imbecile!"
"Take her back to the dungeon with the other woman," he ordered.
The guards obeyed and dragged Kagome back to her cell .He didn't want Orochi to say anything about Shiori in front of Kagome. As far she knew, Shiori was dead. If the girl discovered Shiori was still alive, she may gain some hope and refuse to help them again. But she was almost upon them…of course, if he killed both Inuyasha and Shiori in front of Kagome, that would totally destroy her spirit. Hisoka was getting another twisted idea. His brothers may not have been enough to kill Shiori, but he was confident that he could.
"Hisoka!" he cried. "That foul woman must be stopped."
"I take it she destroyed the demon puppet?" Hisoka asked casually.
"Yes," he answered. "I failed you, my brother!
"And now it seems you've lead them here," said Hisoka closing his eyes. "Dearest brother, I no longer have any use for you. You have failed me one too many times. And my patience has already been destroyed by that servant right there."
"What?" Orochi's eyes widened as he glanced at the body beside him. "You can't be serious."
Hisoka smirked, "Besides you'll just get in my way. Say hello to Father and Goro for me….I banish you to hell!"
Just as he turned on his servant for failing him, Hisoka did the same to his brother. He struck him down with his demonic power and obliterated his body. His soul went screaming to the depths of hell. Hisoka sheathed his sword and smiled to himself.
"My lord!" cried a servant. "Lord Hisoka, we're under attack!"
"Are we now?" he asked casually, "By whom?"
"That girl and her accomplices! They've found our castle!" he screeched.
"So they're here," he said.
…
"Outta my way!" shouted Inuyasha. "Windscar!"
He attacked the advancing demons and made a whole in the giant castle. More and more demons continued to attack them. It was looking nearly impossible that they would get inside. Miroku felt they had no other choice.
"Inuyasha, you and Shiori go on ahead to rescue Kagome and Emi. We'll take care of the demons," he said.
"Don't be stupid! Don't tell me you're gonna use the windtunnel?" barked Inuyasha. "It's too dangerous."
"I must," replied Miroku throwing off his beads. "Wind tunnel!"
He rapidly began sucking in the incoming demons. Sango worriedly looked at Miroku.
….
"Wow, this place is huge," marveled Inuyasha. "Without our senses, how are we ever gonna be able to find them?"
The pair made it to the castle and was now searching for Kagome and Emi.
Shiori looked around, "I…I sense her."
"Huh?" asked Inuyasha, letting her down. "Kagome?"
She nodded, "Come on, they're this way."
"You're right," said Inuyasha following after her. "I can smell her scent. Kagome!"
It was weird that all of the sudden they could all of the sudden use their senses again. It was almost as if they were being lead there on purpose. Suddenly, a group of shinigami servants jumped towards them. The pair quickly began fighting them off.
"I'll hold of these guys," said Shiori. "You go rescue the girls."
Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at her, "Are you sure?"
"Yes," she answered pushing back two men with her sword.
"But what about…" Inuyasha trailed off as he stared at her chest.
She caught him staring at her injury and gave him a boorish look. Inuyasha immediately recoiled back from the sudden hostility.
"Are you patronizing me again?" Shiori snapped. "I can handle this! Go…..save….the girls!"
Inuyasha awkwardly nodded before running off to follow Kagome's scent.
"These shinigami aren't very strong, they seem more like warriors then servants." Shiori thought while fighting. "I should be able to handle fighting a large group of them without being overpowered. I can't let my wound reopen.
After a short while, Shiori finally managed to defeat all of the servants. She even did it without killing any of them. The poor servants wallowed in pain and self-pity as Shiori triumphantly stood over them. All of them trembled with fear as she stared at them.
"Stay down," ordered Shiori. "And I won't have to kill you."
The servants were confused by this. They thought for sure they'd slay her. Shiori could sense their fear, but decided to just leave them alone. When she turned to go, she was stopped by three more warriors. These were a lot more buff than the group she just fought with.
Shiori turned to find 3 guards headed in her direction.
"Where do you think you're going?" one of the guys asked her.
"Out of my way buffoon," she snapped.
"You little wench, you dare talk to me like that?" he said grabbing her by the neck. "You need to be taught a lesson."
"You have to the count of ten to let me go," she said sternly. "After that, I'm not responsible for what happens to you. You have been warned."
They laughed, "Oh? And just what are you gonna?"
Shiori smirked; the guards grew weary of the sinister gleam in her eyes.
….…
Emi lay down on the cold cell floor and stared up at the ceiling. She felt like her heart had been ripped out of her body. Kagome sat beside her and tried to comfort her, but she knew it was useless. She couldn't imagine what Emi felt inside. Her sister was dead and nothing else seemed to matter to her anymore. She clasped Shiori's ripped haori against her heart.
"Why couldn't it have been me?" Emi whispered. "I'd gladly give my life for her."
Kagome sadly bowed her head. There was nothing she could say to console her.
"I wonder where Inuyasha is," she thought. "I just hope everyone else is still okay. I just can't believe Shiori's really…."
Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden vibration in the room. Emi quickly sat up to see what was going on. Both girls covered their heads as an explosion behind them complexly destroyed the wall. Kagome looked up as the smoke cleared and widened her eyes in surprise. Inuyasha leapt into the room.
"Kagome!" he said soundly when he laid eyes on her. "Are you guys alright?"
She got up and ran into his arms, "Inuyasha!"
Tears ran down Kagome's cheeks as she and Inuyasha embraced. Emi quietly watched the exchange. She was happy Kagome's beloved was still alive.
"You're safe now," said Inuyasha softly. "I'm here."
"I was….so sacred Inuyasha," said Kagome tearfully. "I thought something horrible happened to you. Are Miroku, Sango, and Shippo okay too?"
He nodded, "yeah, they're outside the castle right now. Everyone's fine, I came ahead with—"
"Not everyone's fine," said Kagome accidently cutting him off. "It's Shiori…"
"Huh?" he baffled. "Shiori? Well…yeah she's—"
"If only I could've protected her," said Emi sobbing softly "I could've saved her."
"What on Earth are you guys talking about?" Inuyasha asked in utter confusion.
"You don't know?" questioned Kagome sadly. "Shiori….she's…."
Just then Shiori came running in through the hole Inuyasha made, "Is everyone okay?"
Emi and Kagome gapped at her. Shiori was a little disturbed by their expressions.
"What's wrong?" she asked with concern. "You two look as if you've just seen a ghost."