CHAPTER ELEVEN

Inuyasha

"Inuyasha, get down!" Sango yelled from behind me. "Hiraikotsu!"

I ducked and Sango's weapon flew over my head, hitting the whole first row of dead soldiers. As soon as I could see the next row, I charged at them, clawing their heads off. Once a handful went down, I turned to the nearest set and took care of them as well.

"Watch out, you mutt!"

I turned to see Koga coming at me from the left and using the strength from the jewel shards in his legs to kick through three soldiers standing behind me with their weapons in the air, ready to try and kill me.

"Uh, thanks I guess." I said, punching a soldier, not really wanting to apologize.

"Watch your back before you get killed!" He spat, drop kicking a soldier to his right.

"Whatever! I could've handled it!" I instantly regretted thanking him. He was so full of it. "And why aren't you watching Kagome like I told you to?!"

We stood back-to-back with one another. "Shippo's got her covered so I can be out here to help fight."

I looked towards the cave and Shippo was using his Fox Fire and spinning top to keep the soldiers away from Kagome.

"We need to get closer! It's the jewel shards that their after, remember?" I yelled to Koga and the others who seemed to spread out to fight rather than staying close to the cave and Kagome.

"Ah-choo!"

A sacred arrow flew right past my face that made my heart race. If I had attacked the soldier in front of me like I planned to before Miroku did, that arrow would've went right through my head.

"Why does it seem like they're multiplying?"

I ignored Koga and turned to the cave. "KAGOME! You almost killed me! Watch what the hell you're doing, for Christ sake!" The realization of me close to death had me furious.

"I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T TRY TO DO THAT! I sneezed, okay?"

"That's all you have to say for yourself?!"

"Ugh, sit boy!" She screamed. "I said I was sorry! You jerk!"

I was going to give her a piece of my mind when this battle was over. How could she sit me in the middle of a fight like that?! Just what the hell did she think she was doing?

I pulled my face out of the ground and was about to stand back up to fight when an arm shot up from the soil and grabbed my neck, holding me in place. I tried to push off from my feet but only to be stuck even more with the arm's grip tightening.

"What the hell is going on?" I was in no position to grab Tetsusaiga or try to claw at what I couldn't see under my neck.

"Brace yourself, Inuyasha!" I heard Sakura yell, running in my direction.

I tried to get a good look at her to see what she planned on doing and all I was able to see were her red glowing eyes as she punched hard into the ground right beside me. I felt the earth start to rumble beneath me and Sakura then said "josho" (rise).

On her command with a lift of her hands, tree roots and vines lifted the unknown from below with me locked in its grip, pulling me closer as I went into the air with him. I drilled a fist through his chest and he released his arm from my neck.

"There are more of them coming from the ground!" Sango dodged a soldiers attack with her boomerang, looking to her feet to make sure the hands sprouting near her didn't grab her legs.

"Wind Tunnel!" Miroku stood at the cave entrance and used his cursed right hand to suck in the dead soldiers around him.

I drew Tetsusaiga. I was tired of playing around. I needed to find out which one of these things were part of Naraku. "Wind Scar!"

Just as quickly as I wiped them out, another wave surfaced. Damn Naraku! I scanned the soldiers to see if one of them stood out from the rest when Sakura slammed into me, sending both of us flying. She looked at me and pushed off of my chest, spinning upside down onto my shoulders and landing behind me on her feet all in one motion, the feline in her not wanting to land any other way. She had her arms wrapped around me as I lay in front of her, our bodies still sliding until her back crashed into the side of the cave.

"Are you okay?"

Since she started fighting, not once had she stopped or even paused to catch her breath, it seemed. But here she was, sitting here with her hands on both my arms, looking down on me to make sure I was okay before she continued to fight.

"I just got a little ambushed over there." She continued once I didn't say anything.

"No, it's okay. I'm fine. Thanks for the save." I pulled myself up and used my Tetsusaiga for support.

"Cease!" There was a large gust of wind and all of the dead soldiers stopped fighting at the sound of the woman's voice that spoke.

My nose picked up a familiar smell and a hint of a putrid scent mixed with it. I was just now noticing it but this must have been what Sakura meant when she said she smelled Naraku. It was Kagura.

Ayame

All of the soldiers surrounding us stopped all movement at the sound of a woman's voice. I followed the scent of Naraku and looked in the air to see a pale woman with her short black hair in a high pony-tail floating to the ground on a large feather with a fan in her hands.

"What do you want, Kagura?" Inuyasha snarled at her. "I know that was you controlling these dead soldiers with your Dance of the Dead technique." He swung his Tetsusaiga to his front, keeping his guard up.

I looked around to see that none of the soldiers had moved an inch since she came out of hiding. Something was up. Naraku had definitely been playing with us.

"Naraku wants the jewel shards." Kagura simply said, sticking the now transformed feather into her hair, making it look like a regular decoration.

"And he sent you and your dead army to get them?"

Kagura growled at Inuyasha's insult and raised her fan in the air. "Dance of the Dead!"

In an instant, all of the soldiers charged everyone towards the cave in an attempt to reach Kagome.

"Ayame! Shield Kagome!" Sakura yelled, trying to hold back at least seven soldiers from knocking her over. She had been using her nature powers just as I taught her and she was doing a pretty good job from what I've seen. Now it was time for me to really test what she's taught me.

I shoved two soldiers off of me and restrained them to the ground with help from some vines I summoned and ran over to Kagome. She stood with an arrow pulled back in her bow, ready to fire if necessary.

I stood at her side with my hands out in front of me, pulling energy from the lightning strikes in the sky above the clouds. Small bolts of electricity appeared and disappeared around my hands as a small golden shield started to form in front of me.

"Come on, come on." I concentrated and the shield grew large enough to cover Kagome and I. I was relieved because a sword was heading right in my direction and hit my shield instead of my face. The force from the blade caused little bolts of lightning to show up at the point of impact.

Koga kicked the soldier away that threw his sword at me as he ran towards me with intentions of forcing my shield down.

"Got that thing up just in the niche of time, Ayame!" Kagome glanced my way with a smile.

"I'll say." I gave a nervous laugh.

"Dance of Blades!"

I looked ahead and saw three crescent-shaped blades headed my way, splitting the army of dead soldiers in two as if they were parting the Red Sea. I couldn't react fast enough to try and counter attack, but what I really wasn't prepared for was my shield being cut through so easily.

I closed my eyes as I was blasted to the back of the cave. I heard Kagome scream beside me and could only hope that she wasn't injured too badly. I knew I would be fine but the sharp pain in my head prevented me from recovering as fast as I usually would have.

My name was being called from the distance. I lay still, my head thrown back on a rock as I tried to open my eyes. I held my breath to keep from inhaling the smoke and debris from the broken stones all around me. I groaned as I felt my body being pulled up off the ground. I finally opened my eyes and Sakura was fanning smoke from my face.

"Are you okay?"

I placed a hand to my head with a frown. "I'll be fine. Where's Kagome?" I rushed my question, frantically looking around for her. Koga was lying her down in front of Kilala's large body as I ran over to her. "Kagome, are you okay? I'm so sorry!"

She shook her head. She was beginning to turn weak but the priestess powers she possessed kept her going strong. "Don't worry, I'll be alright."

"This will be over in a minute, Kagome. You just take it easy." Koga kissed her forehead and looked at Kagura with death in his eyes.

I felt bad. Kagome was hurt because of me. I felt like I could have done more to keep her safe.

"Ayame, don't sweat it. I just need to rest for a second."

She must have easily ready the look on my face and smiled her school-girl smile.

Finally being able to agree, I nodded and went back out to help everyone else.

"You're definitely going to pay for that, Kagura." I promised her. I snatched a few inches off of the bottom of my kimono so I could move around more easily. Now is the time I wish I was still in my present day clothes because I could seriously kick some ass in my jeans. I wasn't expecting to go through all of this mess so a kimono seemed okay for the day. Boy was I way off. It didn't matter, though. I was still doing some major damage.

"Hm. Before you go through on your word…" Kagura put her arms down by her side and quickly shut her fan.

"Uh, what's happening?" Shippo squealed, jumping onto Miroku's shoulder in fear.

All of the dead soldiers Kagura was controlling started to foam at the mouth and they simultaneously fell to the ground. It was evident that she didn't need them anymore but I knew she wasn't dumb enough to try and fight every one of us in a sig-against-one battle, excluding Kagome, Shippo and Kilala.

"There's one more message from Naraku that I need to deliver."

"And what might that be?" Inuyasha asked, staying prepared.

Kagura waved her closed fan slowly over the wet ground in front of her. Two figures arose covered in dirt from head to toe.

"They are not under my control so I have no responsibility of their actions. But you should be very familiar with them." Kagura took a step back with her voice sounding a bit uninterested in the message, but her eyes telling another story, anticipating what was about to happen.

The dirt fell clean from the two figures floating in front of us and I heard Sakura catch her breath. I stood, frozen in place with my black eyes growing wide. It was as if time stood still as the two undead demons looked at my sister and I with no emotion written on their faces whatsoever. This was the first time I never knew what to do during a fight. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. My heart was pounding so rapidly I thought it would jump out of my chest. This had to be a dream.

After 11 long years, I was standing face-to-face with my parents.