I'm really sorry it took me so long to update, I myself was surprised when I looked just how long it was since the last update.
Also, thanks everyone who were supporting me and also those who will in the future. At this moment I would especially like to thank to the guest reviews which kept bugging me about updating this story. It really helped a lot ;). Now, on to the story :).
Chapter 15 - Confrontation
"Kouga!" I screamed as I realized what was happening. Naraku was trying to complete the jewel right here in front of us, letting us watch without a chance to do anything against it.
His tentacles went easily through Kouga's barrier and were reaching for the shards in his legs. I was scared and I didn't know what to do. I didn't have my arrows and I was starting to panic as I didn't want to watch this happening.
Then Naraku retrieved the shards from Kouga's legs, who gritted his teeth not to scream in pain, and drew it back to him. It was at that moment when my fear turned into anger.
I wasn't thinking about what I was doing, the only thing I could think of was to kill Naraku. My anger was increasing every second and I growled in low tone. I jumped and charged at Naraku, who just turned at me to see what's going on.
The usual confidence he had in his eyes as he turned at me quickly changed in surprise, just a second before I sliced him with my claws. As I let out of my anger, I came back to my senses and I realized that somehow I got out of the barrier which was holding me until now. I looked towards it and only saw as it was already starting to dissipate, starting from the scar which I made with my claws as a way out.
I was perplexed. How did it happen? The barriers were supposed to be able to keep us inside no matter how hard we would try to get out. I saw the others as they were trying to get out, yet even though they were stronger than me, they weren't able to make a single scratch on their barriers, so how was this possible?
"Kagome, watch out!" Inuyasha shouted and I quickly jumped away as I noticed that Naraku already regenerated and was trying to attack me. He didn't pursue me, but instead was watching me, with a sign of curiosity and suspicion in his eyes.
'Just what is she? A priestess or a demon?' He thought and I smirked.
"What's wrong Naraku, you look surprised." I told him mockingly. I didn't know where it came from, but his confusion probably gave me more confidence in myself.
"Where did you get the power to break through the barrier?" He asked then and my smirk only grew wider. I was surprised that the rosary around my neck was still working and that even when I was using my demonic powers, I still looked human, but at this moment I was glad for that.
"You never answer our questions, why should I answer yours now?" I asked, crossing my arms to show him how confident I was. Deep inside I knew that it wasn't the best idea, but Naraku seemed to be more cautious around me now, otherwise he would already attack me again.
"Moreover," I added, "if I don't know how the barriers are supposed to work, I can't even answer it." As I was watching him confidently, I noticed that he was also trying to regain his usual posture and when he started to talk, there was already no trace of his surprise or any other emotion on his face anymore. We were just staring at each other, confidence seeping out of both of us.
"I've planned to tell you after the jewel would be complete, just before I would kill you, but it seems that thanks to your action I will have to change my plans a bit." He started, I just kept watching him cautiously.
"I've been observing you, analyzing your powers. These barriers are made according to those observations. Each barrier is specially made for one of you, making it impossible for those inside break through with their own powers. However, they could be easily freed by someone else." So that's how it was. My barrier was supposed to keep inside a priestess, so when I broke out with my demonic powers, it didn't resist at all. A small smirk appeared on my face. Now I could free everyone else and defeat Naraku.
As if he knew what I was thinking, all of his minions stepped between me and my friends in effort to not let me through. All of their eyes were set on me, waiting for anything I would do. I looked at Sesshoumaru, searching for some advice as what to do next. To my surprise he really gave me some, though it wasn't as helpful as I hoped it would be.
'You can't defeat them. Not when you're alone against them and not with your skills.' I caught his message and I frowned. Though on the other hand I had to admit that he was right. The fact that I was able to hurt Naraku before was only thanks to surprise and the fact that he didn't attack me yet and I was still alive was only thanks to my act and him analyzing the situation.
If it truly went into real fight, I wouldn't stand much chances. As Sesshoumaru said, I wasn't very skilled with my demonic powers and even if I had my arrows with me, I couldn't tell if they would be much more helpful to me.
Sure enough, I certainly couldn't win with just using my strength, so if I was about to have at least a little chance, I would have to use my brain. Easier said than done, as I just couldn't come up with anything which could help me from this.
"What's wrong Naraku? Are you scared?" Not the best thing to say, but I figured that my confidence was the only thing which kept them all away from me. Though, this was probably a little too much and I realized that right when Naraku smirked.
"Well then let's see if there's something to be scared about." He looked at Hakudoushi, who only nodded and then immediately charged at me. I just barely dodged his halberd. He didn't even let me catch my breath and already attacked me again. This time I wasn't fast enough and he managed to cut my side.
I covered the wound with my hand in effort to stop the bleeding, half-kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily as I was trying to surpass the pain. I couldn't afford to show any weakness. I was already in big enough disadvantage.
"You don't seem to me as such a big threat." Hakudoushi commented with smirk, slowly walking closer to me. I was watching him cautiously. It definitely didn't look well for me. There was just no way for me to beat him in regular fight of strength. I had to think and I had to think quickly.
Even if I managed to defeat him, I couldn't really kill him. He would regenerate again, just like Naraku. All I needed to do was to stop him, but how could I do that when I couldn't kill him? He wasn't the type of person who would stop fighting if he still had some strength left.
"Prepare yourself, I'm going to send you into an eternal sleep." He snickered when he was just two steps from me. Eternal sleep... I smirked. That's it!
"As long as I can still breath, you didn't win." I jumped up and grabbed him by his throat. He looked a bit surprised and then rather amused.
"You can't kill me like this." He grinned, at which I answered with my own grin.
"It was never my intention." He looked shocked for a second, but at that time the sleeping gas was already seeping out of my claws and Hakudoushi was just trying to fight its effect, but to no avail and soon he was lying on the ground in deep sleep.
I looked around to check on the situation. As I was focusing on Hakudoushi, I didn't notice anything else what was happening around me until now and what I saw at this moment left me completely speechless.
The fight with Hakudoushi led us both further away from everyone else, so we were far from everyone's center of attention, which was right now focused on Naraku, with the almost complete jewel in his hand. There was only one shard left and I knew where that one was. Everyone knew it.
However, thanks to this situation, no one noticed that my fight with Hakudoushi already ended and I was again thinking how to use this to my advantage. Kohaku was already walking towards Naraku, and I knew there wasn't much time left.
Just what should I do? I couldn't think of anything. I wasn't good in thinking things through, I always just did what I thought was right, not thinking about consequences, but I knew that this time it would be really a bad idea to act like that. I was slowly, but certainly starting to panic again.
I knew I had to stop Naraku from completing the jewel. I needed to save Kohaku from him, but I knew that since he's under Naraku's influence, he would fight back. I also had to free everyone from those barriers, but once I would get closer, Naraku or some of his minions would notice me and tried to stop me for sure. I didn't have time for another fight and I couldn't even be sure that I would win that fight.
After I summed everything up, I came to pretty hopeless conclusion. No matter what I would try to do, I would be forced to fight with someone, who would certainly be if not stronger, then much more skilled than me, which was making my chances very low. I also couldn't be sure that the trick I used on Hakudoushi would work even with the others, and even if it did, it would still take too much of now so precious time, which I couldn't let to happen.
One thing was certain, I couldn't face Naraku and his minions alone, so that left me with only one task to do and that was to free my friends. However, there was still the issue with how to do it. I was pretty sure that if I used combination of my powers, it would effectively break everyone's barrier, but to do that I would have to get the chance to break it.
How to break it without having to come closer? I didn't have my bow and arrows, or anything which could serve as that. Practically anything I learned while I was still thinking that I was just a priestess wouldn't help me in any way. That led me to think about my demonic powers.
There was only one attack I knew from Sesshoumaru, which could reach longer distances and that was his poisonous whip, but even if I had this kind of power, I didn't know how to use it. However, this brought me to something which Rin told me right after we encountered that mass of squirrels.
Even though I didn't remember doing it, I knew I was able to, so the only thing left was to recreate it while I was conscious and not under the influence of my demonic powers. I didn't know what should I do, but I had only one try so I had to succeed no matter what.
I did the last check that Hakudoushi was still sleeping and that everyone else were still focused on Naraku and the jewel and then I stood up straight with determined face. I could do this. I knew I could and moreover, I had to.
I raised my hands in front of my face and looked at my outstretched fingers. Seeing the dull nails at the tips of my fingers took my determination away for a second, but I wasn't going to give up. I quickly tore up the rosary around my neck and looked at my hands once again. This time I could see the sharp claws there and my confidence returned.
My brows wrinkled in concentration as I was trying to point all my powers into the tips of my fingers. My claws slowly started to glow and they were also getting longer. I smirked, glad that it was working, but I almost lost my concentration when I saw that I was spotted and Kagura was now heading towards me.
This situation placed me in front of two options. One of them was to lose concentration and dodge the attack which was sure to come, but if I did that, I knew I wouldn't get a second chance to get to this point again and to free my friends. On the other side, if I continued in my task, I might be able to finish it and to free everyone before the attack would reach me, but I knew that if I went with this option, I wouldn't have enough time to dodge afterwards.
I felt the power running through my fingers and I saw that Kagura sent her blades against me. I could either dodge and fail my mission or finish my mission and most likely get killed. There was no way I could win this fight if I dodged and I needed to free my friends.
I saw the blades coming closer and I felt the power reaching its peak. Even without trying to dodge, I knew it was going to be a close call, but I needed to give it my best. If I released my powers too soon, it might not have the effect I needed and then all my tries would go in vain. I couldn't let that happen. I had to make this right.
The moment, I felt was the right one, came and I quickly stretched my arms towards the barriers with my friends imprisoned in them. The powers I stored in my claws went flying that way in the form of spears of light and I knew my friends would be freed. I managed to form a small smile just before something sharp hit my chest.
I fell to the ground with a painful scream, and I was slowly starting to lose consciousness as more and more blades were hitting my body. I just hoped that everyone else would be alright.