Chapter 48

She was just toying with them, keeping them busy. Her attacks were poorly timed, badly aimed and clearly did not channel her full power, but damned if they weren't annoying. Sesshoumaru had just dodged another wind attack when the alarms on their watches went off. A moment later, he saw the barrier shudder. Relief flooded him as he yelled, "Now, Inuyasha! She has done it!"

With an eager smile on his face, Inuyasha raised Tessaiga and sent a wave of energy at the barrier, shattering it. The team sprinted inside, chased by Kagura, who was hurling blades of wind at their backs, sending trees falling in their wake.

They could sense Naraku's presence as well as Kagome's, following the dark hanyou's aura to the caves behind the house, knowing Kagome would follow. Sesshoumaru had slowed when he thought he smelled Kagome's blood, but his brother and father had grabbed his arms, herding him into the cave. Naraku's dark chuckle echoing off the cavern, they ran swiftly over the damp, rock passageway, cutting down streams of low-level youkai blasting out of the cavern ahead. They finally made it there, to a giant, open cave that was likely a former reservoir, seeing Naraku standing at the center on a rock island as millions of low-level youkai swirled over his head.

His entire form had changed to a battle-ready toughness. He was wearing spiked, bone armor in the form of matched vambraces, a gardbrace on his right arm, a pauldron covering his left shoulder, a fierce-looking breastplate, with a red eye in the center, that extended over his pelvis and down between his legs coming to a point just above his knees and large arches of spiked bone winging out over his shoulders. He wore a long, blue on blue, sleeveless jacket that tied in the front with a yellow obi. Green tentacles extended from his back.

"So you have come for my precious daughter, have you? You, who did not even have the courtesy to ask her father for her hand. Well, you should know she is mine. You will not have her!" Naraku exclaimed. He had felt the moment the curse's tether had broken and rejoiced knowing she was now all his.

Stepping forward, Sesshoumaru said, coldly, "You are wrong. Higurashi Kagome is the chosen of this Sesshoumaru and will never belong to you."

He barked out a sharp laugh. "My daughter is powerful, but she is no match for one such as you. I will be benevolent in light of your imminent demise and tell you she has just passed from this life. Your little human plaything is no longer within your reach. Surely you noticed the moment the barrier flickered, allowing you to break it with your little sword? That was because her soul left her body in death, breaking the tether of my curse over her."

"Little?! Have you even looked at this thing?" Inuyasha asked, holding his giant, transformed sword aloft.

The clear, bright sound of her voice echoing off the massive cave walls, Kagome unveiled her scent and aura, timely announcing her presence with, "I broke the curse!" As she spoke the words, she released the spell concealing her power from her father and watched with pride and unrestrained joy as her his eyes showed shock and fear in them for the first time in his life. It was only a flash before he recovered his cocky stance, but it was hers and she savored it as a moment she would replay in her mind. She walked up to stand in front of her family.

She heard Inuyasha's muttering, "What the hell is she wearing?" and looked over her shoulder to give him a dirty look.

"How is this possible? Where did this power come from? It wasn't there before or I would have sensed it!" A thought occurred to him and he smiled slyly. "You've gone dark, haven't you?" He tried to see her aura but his skills had become extremely dulled over the years, especially after he had sold his soul. "You found a way to gather another's energy as I gathered it from you. Probably from the superior cur. Thatta girl. Here, baby, I'll help rid you of them."

The demons that had been swirling overhead converged and swooped down on the group. Inuyasha unleashed his Wind Scar attack, destroying 100 demons in a single swing, Shiori leapt into the sky, attacking from the air with her claws and sonar attacks, Toga sent black spikes flying from his sword, clearing a path that was quickly enveloped again as Sesshoumaru yielded his Explosive Corrosion wave, obliterating thousands of demons for every swing. There was no end in sight as they just kept coming as if called into existence by Naraku himself.

Sesshoumaru tossed Kagome her katana and she had just grabbed it, tucking the sheath into the belt of her yukata when she was lifted off the ground. She looked behind her. "Kagura, what the hell are you doing?"

"What I must," she said miserably. She deposited Kagome on the rock island a step away from Naraku before moving off to the side, standing protectively in front of her older sister, Kanna.

Sesshoumaru broke from the group and started attacking Naraku. He was slashing at the stream of spiked tentacles the hanyou kept sending towards him, leaving piles of rent flesh smoking from the poison attacks on the rocky ground.

Naraku smiled as he gathered Kagome in his arms. She pushed against him but he held her tight. He buried his face in her neck and whispered, "I love you so much, little one. I truly wish you could have died in the tub as I planned, but I am glad you came to me because you brought me exactly what I need to destroy these nuisances."

Her face contorted into the shape of ultimate physical pain and shock. Her knees buckled and she grabbed on to the fabric covering her father's upper arms to try to steady herself, but she knew she was going to fall. The only thing holding her up was Naraku's clawed hand buried in the flesh of her right pelvis. His searching claws shredded her insides until he found what he sought, ripping it from her belly with the same speed he had entered her. Without that support, Kagome crumpled to the ground in a heap, her lifeblood flowing like a river out of her, spreading in a rapidly growing circle.

"Nooooo!" Sesshoumaru roared, the intensity of the sound causing debris to fall from the ceiling of the cave. His eyes bled red with outrage as he manically chopped tentacles from all sides, trying desperately to reach his chosen, but making little ground.

"Kanna, you know what to do," the dark hanyou spoke over his shoulder as he lifted his bone armor and cut a hole in his chest before thrusting the Shikon no Tama into the cavity. Instantly he transformed to yet another form: that of a gigantic spider. All that remained of his former body were his chest, neck and head, though they were hardly recognizable. His hair had gone white, his eyes full red, his skin a deep brown with purple slashes over his cheeks. His rib cage had moved to the outside of his body and extended out at his sides like spikes. The flow of demons he had been producing halted as he concentrated on the changes going over him physically. As he grew, he swallowed the group fighting him whole before turning to the group of Kanna, Kagura, and Kagome and swallowing them as well. Then he made his way out of the cave.

…

Toga awoke slowly, but realized he was alone. He called out for his sons and Shiori, but there was no answer. He got up and set off in search of his family.

…

Inuyasha awoke next to his mate. He breathed in her scent, realizing with shock that something was terribly wrong. He shook her shoulder, willing her still form to rise, but there was no denying the sight of Bakusaiga, Sesshoumaru's blade, protruding from her abdomen. Shiori was dead. He howled in despair at the atrocity. His only thoughts were of finding his brother and taking his revenge.

…..

Shiori woke next to her mate. He breathed in her scent then began shaking her shoulder wildly. He called out to her, begging her to wake up. She shouted to him that she was awake, calling him an idiot. 'What the hell is wrong with him?' He ran a hand over her belly, reaching up into the air and making a pulling motion before howling in deepest emotional pain. She kept calling to him as his eyes swirled with crimson and he jumped up, sniffing the air and taking off down the tunnel. She got to her feet and hurried after him. She didn't know what was going on, but she wasn't about to get separated.

….

In yet another cavern, Sesshoumaru awoke next to Kagura. As he took in his surroundings, he realized who was there with him. Crimson bled to his eyes and he pounced, grabbing the wind witch by the throat, waking her with the violence of his actions. She struggled and cried, broken pleas for forgiveness croaking past his hold on her. Finally he registered what she was trying to say and flung her against the wall to his right.

"What do you mean 'she's not dead?'" he demanded.

She was coughing and rubbing her neck, gasping for breath, but she continued brokenly, "She's…not dead. Naraku is…obsessed…with her. He…needed the jewel, so he took it, but he will not let her die. He needs her even more than he needs the jewel. He considers it his greatest weakness, a human failing that keeps him from being truly powerful, but as long as Onigumo lives inside the hanyou Naraku, he cannot live without her. Please, Sesshoumaru, you have to trust me. He will find a way to save her."

"You had better be right, witch." He looked around the cavern. "Where are we?"

"I remember Naraku swallowing us and then nothing more."

"We are inside the dark hanyou? But this appears to be rock." He struck the wall with his fist, watching as bits crumbled to the floor. He picked up a piece and raised it to his nose, sniffing it. It smelled like sandstone. "We are under an illusion. Nothing we perceive in this place can be trusted." He looked warily at Kagura, wondering if she was even real or if he was talking to himself. Would Naraku say such things to him? If it meant building up his hope so he could shatter it later, most certainly. "I must find her," he said, and took off down the tunnel.

"Hey, wait for me!" Kagura called, scrambling to her feet and jogging after him.

…..

Kagome awoke surrounded by white light. She could hear a familiar voice calling to her and slowly opened her eyes. Not trusting what she was seeing, she asked hesitantly, "Gram?"

"Hello, sweetheart. How are you feeling?" Kagome's maternal grandmother answered. She was dressed in khaki pants and a floral, short-sleeved, polyester shirt. Her grey hair was done in short, brushed out pin curls and her ice blue eyes smiled down at her favorite.

Tears sprung to Kagome's eyes and she asked, "Am I dead, Gram, or am I hallucinating?"

"Neither, sweetheart, but neither are you alive. You are in-between, but don't worry, everything is as it is supposed to be. You are safe here."

She continued to choke up with tears as she said, "Oh, Gram, I've missed you so much! I was so lost when you left…"

Her grandmother sat her up and pulled Kagome, who was a good 7 inches taller than herself, into her lap, sitting back in her rocking chair recliner and cuddling her. Kagome smelled her sweet smell like ripe September fruit and laid her head on top of her grandmother's. She remembered how no matter how tall she had gotten or how much she weighed, her grandmother had always pulled her into her lap and held her. Granted, her grandmother was a noncompliant diabetic and probably couldn't feel much in her legs anyway looking back and Kagome's mother would have killed her if she ever found out, but that was her Gram: she really didn't give a damn for how things were supposed to be, she did things the way she thought they should be. Granddaughters belonged in laps and that was all there was to it.

She cooed, "I know you took it hard. I saw when you crashed your car into that tree and, young lady, I hope you realize now what a stupid thing that was to do," at her meek nod, she continued, brightening, "but you're doing much better lately, aren't you? A soul mate! And look at all you've accomplished with him in such a short time! I always knew you were a special little girl. Gramps, too."

"What does in-between mean? I remember Dad taking the Sacred Jewel from inside me, and hearing Sesshoumaru—oh, Gram, he sounded so upset!—and it hurt so much and Kanna came to kneel beside me and she held my hand and then…then I woke up here."

"That man is no 'Dad' or 'Daddy' to you. Those titles are earned through love and caring. Neither one of us have had a daddy, sweetheart. He is only your father, same as mine was, and there's not much of that left now that he's sold that blackened husk of a soul of his." She sighed. "You are in-between because you needed to travel here to meet a very special individual. She's been impatiently—as I suppose is her prerogative—waiting for you to come. She's the one that explained your purpose to me."

"The reason I hung on to life so long at the end, wasting away in that nursing home, was because I couldn't bear to leave you alone in this world. You were already so alone." Kagome drew in a sharp inhale as she felt the pain of guilt. "Now, now, there's nothing to feel guilty about. You remember, don't you? The last weekend I was alive? When I woke up from my dementia and asked for you and Kaneko? Well, that's because this Lady had visited me and told me that I could let go, that someone was coming who would heal all the hurt you had experienced and had yet to experience. Then she blessed me with clarity so that I could say good-bye to you properly. You flew all the way home from that fancy school of yours and I got to look in your eyes and know who you were and tell you how much I loved you. I got to make my peace with your mother as well—you know how we were always at odds—and bid farewell to my other children and grandchildren. All because my favorite grandchild was special."

They just sat holding each other for a long time, the rocking chair squeaking quietly with every forward motion. "You know what you need?"

"Hmm?"

"Snickerdoodles and milk."

"Gram, I can't eat those anymore," she said automatically.

"Sweetheart, I could remind you how you spectacularly fell off your diet last night, but oops, I already did!" Kagome groaned. "You know how I always told you that broken cookies had no calories or sugar in them? Well, as it turns out, cookies in Heaven really don't have any calories or sugar! Now let's get you some." She squeezed her close then patted her on the butt to get her moving.

…..

A/N: My Gram and I had the exact same kind of father. She was lucky enough to meet and marry a man who loved her despite her less than sane moments and they shared a perfect love, with her giving him three children, two boys and finally, years later, the girl he had always wanted, until he passed away from stomach cancer. She was a true romantic, and filled her favorite granddaughter's head with tales of her life with her soul mate, who hadn't lived long enough to meet his grandchildren, while they played games, went for long walks, sung standards, swung on swings and ate foods no diabetic should be eating in quantities that no diabetic should consume. They were two of a kind.

…