A/N: So, here is that chapter you've all been waiting for. Probably not the best fic to read on a day like today, aka V-day, but if you've had a crappy day like me or are just one of those people who have no time for love at the moment, this chapter is dedicated to you. Happy (belated) Valentine's Day!
Through Blood and Tears
Chapter 15: Fight for Their Lives
"We should help them," Rin mumbled, glancing at the door for what seemed like the tenth time since the group had run out in a haste to help their friends. Sesshomaru glanced at her before returning his gaze to the spot across from him. "They need help, they're in trouble."
"Why?" Sesshomaru's stotic voice sounded in the classroom.
She gave him a curious glance. "What do you mean?"
"Why try to protect them, knowing you will fail?" His amber eyes bore into her own, cold and emotionless, and yet she saw a warmth protruding from their depths.
The bubbly girl smiled softly. "I can't just sit by and do nothing while my friends are out there, doing whatever they can to save each other." Determination flashed through her eyes as she made up her mind, hopping down from the desk she sat upon. She took a few steps towards the door before she stopped.
"Rin," he called, watching her movements.
"Yes, Sesshomaru?" she responded, turning to face him.
"Do you intend to help them?" She replied with a curt nod. "Then you will stay and care for the wolf." He left no room for argument and Rin obediently followed his orders, knowing the dog demon was correct. After all, she had no weapon or strength to fight with. If she ran to help, she would only be in the way.
"Lord Sesshomaru?" she questioned in respect, receiving a raised eyebrow from the stotic man. It wasn't every day that he was called with such formality, especially since his father's kingdom perished long ago. "Why don't you help? You surely are strong and skilled enough to battle."
"The half-breed is the one who has those to protect. This Sesshomaru will not stand in his way." He went back to his emotionless facade, leaving Rin to wonder about his cold heart as she worked on reassessing Hakkaku's wounds.
"Ayame!" Sango screamed, letting go of Miroku's hand and running towards the screaming girl.
"Wait!" her boyfriend called after her, watching the demon turn his eyes upon the couple. The man, who had taken lives with his own hands, was too fast as he quickly removed the solid object from the wolf demon's shoulder and swung it at Sango. Hard.
The brunette flew backwards, slamming against Miroku. He struggled to keep his footing, but the force was too great and he smashed into the row of lockers behind them, causing a dent to appear. A stream of blood spurt from his mouth from the impact before he lost consciousness. Sango rested a hand against her ribs and coughed, watching the hazy figure of their attacker take steps closer to them.
"I don't think so," Inuyasha yelled, releasing his grip on Kagome and running to his friends' sides. "Argh!" he yelled, plummeting his fist towards Kagome's father, not realizing the demon's speed. In a flash, the man was gone, leaving the half-demon's fist to clash with the tiled floor. His ears flickered on his head, detecting the vile man's movement, before quickly jumping into the air to avoid the claws aimed at his neck.
As soon as his feet hit the floor, Kagome's father swung a kick beneath him, knocking Inuyasha to the ground. Rolling out of the way, he barely missed the man's fist colliding with the floor. "Inuyasha!" Kikyo called out desperately, taking a few steps towards her former beloved.
"No, stay back!" he warned, knowing a mere human had no chance with a demon. He continued to roll back and forth on the ground, dodging the flailing fists, before finding an opening. He struck his claws against the demon's cheek, taking the opportunity to jump back; putting distance between them.
"Inuyasha," Kagome whispered, tears in her eyes, as she watched him battle the man she believed to be her father. "You need help ..." Knowing if she fought she would only be in the way, she glanced around for anything that could help him. Spotting Kouga's crumpled form, she slowly began crawling her way towards the wolf, keeping her eyes on her father's back. He was occupied with Inuyasha at the moment and unaware of the other members of her group.
The demon's gaze shifted from the half-demon before him, taking sight of his 'daughter' crawling across the room. "Where do you think you're going, bitch?" he snarled, taking an impressive jump against the span of the hallway to pounce upon her. Kagome leaned back and covered her eyes with her arm as he straddled her tiny body. "Trying to run, are we?"
"Kagome, duck!" she heard Inuyasha yell, immediately doing as she was told. A flash of red and silver sent the man stumbling forward from the force of Inuyasha ramming into his back. As soon as she found room, Kagome rolled to the side and got up, making her way to the opposite side of the hallway, away from Ayame and Kouga.
Kikyo and Kagura jumped out of the way to stay clear of the large demon who charged through them, trying to stop the force Inuyasha had inflicted upon him. He finally stumbled and collided with the floor, leaving a smirking Inuyasha as he dropped from the air. He flexed his claws, preparing for another attack. "Had enough?" he asked.
An unexpected chuckle rose from the man's throat, causing Inuyasha to growl in response. "You think you can defeat me." It was more of a statement then a question. He rose from his position and wiped his arm across his chin to clear away the trickle of blood spilling over his lips. His eyes deepened to a dark red, indicating his anger.
Before Inuyasha could blink, the demon plunged a fist through his gut, sending a spray of blood from his mouth, followed by a grunt. "Inuyasha!" Kagome called, looking on in horror as the man she loved was brought down by her father.
"Heh, heh, heh ... a mere half-breed such as this has no hope to have power." He carelessly threw Inuyasha aside, sliding his fist from his stomach in the process. His body crashed against the wall before falling to the tile with a sickening sound.
"You bastard," Kagura called out, surprising the group with her words. As she distracted him, Sango turned around, wincing in pain, to assess her boyfriend's wounds.
"Miroku," she whispered, trying to rouse the injured man. He mumbled something and his brows furrowed in pain. "Miroku!" she hissed, flickering her eyes back to the demon, making sure he was preoccupied. "You have to get up, come on!"
"Oh ..." he groaned, lifting a hand to steady it against his head. "What happened?"
"There's no time! We have to help Inuyasha." At the mention of his friend's name, Miroku's violet eyes snapped open and his vision cleared. He glanced around the hallway, taking noticed of Kouga's form. Ayame sat nearby, propping her back up against the wall, trying to stop the blood spilling from her wounded shoulder.
On the opposite side, Inuyasha stirred, trying desperately to rise from his place on the floor. A gaping hole was left in his chest, spilling a pool of blood onto the tile and staining it red. "Inuyasha," Miroku whispered, ignoring the pain that shot through his back as he struggled to kneel. He placed his arm on his bended knee, grasping Sango's hand. They didn't have much time before the demon killed them all.
"Stay still, witch," the demon yelled, chuckling soon after. Kagura used her control of the wind to expertly dodge his attacks, missing death by mere inches.
"You think you can beat me? I have power over the wind," she said before slamming into the lockers to avoid his claws. She quickly got up and drew a fan from her pocket. "I can decide whether or not you can strike me down." Flickering her red eyes around her classmates, she knew she couldn't back up the words she said as much as she would have liked. There was no room in the hallway to use her Dance of Blades, unless she was willing to risk decapitating her fellow students.
The man stilled his movements, watching as Kagura faced him. Her breaths were heavy and uneven, evidence of her weak stamina. A smile spread across his lips. "Kagura, do you not understand that I can kill you in an instant?"
She glared and a scowl adorned her face. "Stop toying with me!" With a battle cry, she swung her fan to force a wave of wind to crash over him. His clothes rippled in the onslaught, but he did not move his feet from their position.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk ... I was hoping I would have more time to play with you." He chuckled, taking slow and steady steps towards where the wind sorceress stood.
Kagome watched helplessly as her father strode towards her classmate with an evil glint in his eye. Glancing to her right, she saw Sango and Miroku watching the wolf demons across the hallway, knowing they were the only ones that could help right now. "But they can't fight ..." she murmured, trying to think of a way to save them all. Then her mind flickered to a certain dog demon. "Sango," she called quietly, trying to avoid her father's sensitive ears.
The brunette turned to her, glad to see her friend unscathed. "What is it, Kagome?" she asked, crawling towards her.
"We have to get Sesshomaru. He's the only one that can help." Recognition flashed across Sango's face before she gave a curt nod.
Miroku came up beside his beloved, leaning his shoulder heavily against the lockers. "I don't think we can get to him," he gasped, grabbing both of the girl's attention. "He's down the hallway, pass your father. The only way to get to him would be to create a distraction."
Sango's eyes lost their hope and she glanced at her boyfriend. She shook her head. "The only ones capable of that are Inuyasha and Kouga, but they're both down."
"Well," Kagome said, glancing back at her father. "We'll have to make do with what we have."
Her friend's eyed her suspiciously. "You don't mean ..." Miroku said, his sentence trailing off.
"Kagome, are you crazy?" the brunette practically shouted. "You can not use yourself as bait. You'll be dead long before we can get to Sesshomaru."
She shook her head. "No, I'm certain he'll want to make my death long and painful. Even if he was able to get me, I can still buy you guys some time." Her tone gave no room for argument.
They paused a moment in thought. "Don't you die on me, Kagome," Sango finally said grasping her ribs in pain.
"I won't," she replied, smiling reassurance.
Before she could change her mind, Kagome stood up and walked away from her injured friends. Her father was still attacking Kagura, but the wind sorceress appeared to be losing. With another hit, her fan flew from her hand and skidded across the floor before stopping. She casted a worried look in its direction before turning her attention back to her enemy. "Now, you shall die," he said calmly, flexing his claws and raising his hand above his head.
"Kagura!" Kagome screamed, running towards her friend, already knowing it was too late.
The demon plunged his hand through her chest, squeezing her heart, and receiving a gasp in surprise. He smiled. "Bastard, damn you ..." were her last words as Kagura slumped off his hand and to the tiled floor. Light faded from her crimson eyes and her chest stopped rising when no more breath entered her lungs.
"No," Kagome whispered, covering her hand with her mouth. It couldn't be true.
Kikyo slowly knelt down to Kagura's lifeless form, glancing over her only true friend. "Kagura," she whispered, emotion wavering in her usual icy voice. Her hand lifted to brush a stray piece of hair from the woman's face. Finally, after a moment to grieve, she stood up, fisting her hands at her sides. Raising her eyes to glare at the man who had caused Kagura's death, she spoke. "You vile beast. You killed her." Rare tears dotted her auburn eyes before spilling down her flushed cheeks.
Kagome's father chuckled. "She was such an easy prey, no fun at all." He looked over the woman's appearance and watched as she took a step forward. "So, you wish to challenge me? You're nothing but a weak human."
Inuyasha rose on his hands and knees, coughing up blood. "Kikyo," he whispered, raising his head to look up as his former love proceeded with vengeance.
"Don't do it, Kikyo," Kagome yelled, making no move to help her classmate. "You'll get yourself killed."
The woman in question sent a heated glare towards Kagome. "I do not fear death, Kagome." She turned her gaze back to the man before her. And in a whisper so soft, only those close enough could hear, she said, "what I fear is being alone."
The demon laughed, his fangs protruding from his lips. "Then I shall put you out of your misery." With a final glance at Inuyasha, Kikyo smiled, feeling his claws rip through her abdomen, sending pain through every fiber of her being.
"Go to hell," she whispered, smiling as she fell back to lay on Kagura's corpse. She shut her eyes, allowing her tears to escape their confinement and pool on the tile beneath her.
"Kikyo!" Sango shouted, feeling anger take over her hatred towards the girl. Before Miroku could stop her, she lunged at the demon's back. He smiled and sidestepped her attack, leaving her fist to burst through the air. In a flash, his knee found her stomach and blood spurted from her lips. He then elbowed her in the back, practically squeezing the life out of her. With a final kick, he sent her flying through the air.
"Sango," Miroku yelled, running to catch her before she collided with the tiled floor. She crashed into his body, sending him falling against a row of lockers and hitting his head in the process, rendering them both unconscious.
Kagome stared speechless at the mess in front of her. Blood stained the white tile, spilling from her friends' wounds. Ayame and Inuyasha were looking at her, wondering what her next move would be. Besides them, no one was making it evident they were alive.
"And now," her father said, making her swing her gaze to him. Would he kill her in the same manner he had done to Kagura and Kikyo? "Time to rid the world of the wench who took my life away." He took a few steps towards Kagome. She could only stand there, paralyzed with fear as her father took out a concealed gun. How ironic, to be killed by something not of demon nature, but a weapon made by humans.
He smiled menacingly and cocked it; a clicking noise echoing through the silent hallway. "Goodbye, my dear."
A/N: OKay, so hopefully you liked this chapter. I'm apologizing right now, because the next chapter is going to be a bit on the short side. This story is not over yet, I'm guessing around four or five chapters left. I have yet to completely write out the ending, but I know how its going to go. As always, thanks for reading and please review!
New poll up!