A/N: the semi-final showdown! the preemptive battle royale; Naraku v. the world! who will come out on top? who will be destroyed? who will even give a damn about this A/N? lol nah but srsly.. enjoy the chap! xD
disclaimer: i don't own InuYasha; my OCs belong to me.
Chapter 30: Madness - Streets and Furs
"In this realm of fire, there's a gateway that connects to the other side: over here." She paused short of a jagged outcropping that hid a tunnel's path beneath the outstretched rock.
"Why do I get the feeling that this's a bad idea," the younger she-wolf muttered to her sister.
She elbowed her gently, her face stoic as she looked at their 'guide'; her ears twitched as she sensed his heirloom fang trembling softly at his side. What's up with Tensaiga? She wondered.
"Lord Sesshomaru, are you sure it's wise to be following this woman? She might be leading you into a trap again." The imp hissed, his annoying voice not gone amiss by the trio of females plus his master.
"Be silent." The imp flinched at his stony tone. "I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to Tensaiga." He growled.
Both sisters noticed the soft blue glow coming from his lesser-liked katana; she placed her hand on the hilt to still its trembling, slightly surprising its wielder.
Their eyes met: she shrugged softly, offering a slight smile; he nodded, his hand squeezing hers before letting it drop from the hilt of his heirloom fang.
The trio of yokai followed their red-eyed guide into the tunnel; the imp squawked a desperate complaint before scurrying after his otherwise-stronger comrades.
The blue-haired female almost jumped when she felt her foot crush something as they continued down the tunnel that sounded like porcelain.. Or bone; she only hoped it was the former.
Her sister was unperturbed by the things littering the ground she walked on, even though she knew they were (as much as her little sister had hoped otherwise) bones she stepped on with her bare feet; she kept her eyes on the brunette incarnation cautiously.
They finally stopped at the apparent end of the long tunnel. "Okay, this is as far as I'm going to take you." She announced, sidestepping the daiyokai that stepped forward.
"Well thanks for the little quest into the netherworld's catacombs." Korihime mused sardonically, meeting her red orbs.
Kagura huffed and smirked derisively at her sarcasm, her red stare glancing at the two daiyokai that had moved past her. "I'm not gonna get involved in this." She muttered.
Getsu glanced back at her and shrugged, slightly surprised the incarnation refused to go further. "Suit yourself; see ya around." She replied dismissively, slightly surprising her sister at her nonchalant calmness.
"What did you mean by that, Kagura; is it dangerous up ahead!?" Jaken squawked.
She scoffed, "be quiet, you fool. You're the one who asked me to show the way." Her red orbs looked to the couple again, particularly at the gold-eyed male. "I did warn you that I wouldn't guarantee your safety." She reminded.
"S' not like we need your supervision to go into the Borderland." The younger sister rebutted coolly, arms folded across her chest as she shrugged past the incarnation, her shoulder lightly clipping with hers, as her companions walked ahead. "But thanks for bein' a ferryman; later, wind witch." She declared, the imp scurrying at her heels.
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She yelped as she almost fell down into the mist-covered pit of the Borderland.
She grabbed her wrist in time, gathering up her demonic power quickly and pulling her up. "Hold onto me, Kori." She ordered, letting her cling to her left arm as they –that is to say, Getsu, Sesshomaru, Korihime, and Jaken—flew into the mist-covered land.
Both sisters' eyes widened in awe at the unmistakable sight of the demon skeleton clad in armor.
That's the Inu no Taisho? The female daiyokai wondered.
"Sesshomaru, that's your father?" Her sister asked as they were flying side-by-side.
He nodded. "Hn. Getsu..." he began to instruct.
"I'm not leaving your side, you know; you can get that ridiculous thought out of your head right now." She interjected calmly, meeting his disgruntled gold scowl with a patient look. "We've come too far to turn back now. All three of us! Besides, Naraku is our problem as much as he is yours."
He growled under his breath at her too-correct words, exhaling. "Fine, but stay close. Both of you." He ordered.
Both sisters shared a look and then smiled at him. "You got it!"
He smiled a little at that, glaring forward.
The hanyou yelped as his sharp punch sent him sprawling back into the further recesses of the late-daiyokai's maw.
Both sisters exhaled.
"InuYasha!" The priestess barked in surprise before the rag-tag group of humans plus neko and kitsune hurried to their friend's side.
"Was that necessary?" The female daiyokai wondered as he finished scolding –or, knowing Sesshomaru, "berating"—his little brother for disturbing their father's grave and leaped out to land atop the tip of a high peak to stand off against the vile hanyou that had given them hell for over a century.
He ignored her –knowing he was going to probably get an earful later—and instead narrowed his gold eyes in disgust and annoyance.
"Vermin." He spat.
Both sisters followed his line of sight and glared at the hanyou.
"Kori, go help InuYasha." She urged quietly, perking her ears.
She balked, "but onee-chan!"
"Do it, Korihime. I know you can't fly very well so I'm telling you for your own good… Please, Kori-chan." Her silver eyes were soft, reminding her of their mother's usually-soft blue stare for a brief moment.
She nodded and obeyed, hugging her tightly before letting go, leaping to land in the maw of the late Inu-Daiyokai.
"Kori-chan!" The kitsune declared in surprise when the blue-haired female landed nimbly inside the maw, moving to their group.
"Keh, so why'd you stay behind?" The hanyou wondered, pissed that he'd basically been kicked out of the fight but at the same time he was relieved to see the 'pedigree-princess' had come to their side.
She jerked a thumb behind her at the impending battle. "Getsu made me stay out of it; same thing Sesshomaru did to you, only… less painful." Physical-wise, she inwardly added with a grimace.
"But you're almost as strong as your sister; why did she make you sit it out?" The demon slayer asked, meeting her pissy blue stare.
She sighed and lifted a decaying skull, turning it this way and that in her hand. "As I said, the same reason Sesshomaru made the baka-inu sit it out: she doesn't want me to get hurt." She replied quietly.
The aforementioned hanyou guffawed. "Bull-shit! My life should be the LAST thing that jackass cares about! What the hell ever gave you that friggin' idea?" He barked.
"You're still brothers, InuYasha, remember!?" Korihime snapped, tossing the skull in her hand at his head and looking away, crossing her arms at her chest. "Even if you're only related because of your father, and even though Sesshomaru hates you because your father died protecting your mother when you were born doesn't change the fact that you're brothers. You're pack, InuYasha. Pack doesn't hate each other to the point of death." She explained angrily.
InuYasha quieted and then huffed, rubbing the bump from her throw gingerly. "Wolves are different than dogs, remember?" He grumbled.
She made to fire back a retort before sensing something from the far corner.
'Young one, do you still wish to fight?' A low gravelly voice asked, making the hanyou look at the owner of the voice.
A large blackened skull with glowing red eyes stared at the half-breed.
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"You're stronger than InuYasha; that much I'll say."
A wide arc of green energy screamed at the barrier from the side, making the surface ripple; his red eyes sharpened slightly.
"And where are my manners? It's been a while, hasn't it, Princess Getsuei?" He drawled.
She flicked her wrist, bristling. Dying Wolf's Blood didn't even pierce the damn barrier; if InuYasha used his Red Tetsusaiga like he did that night with the panther tribe, then Sesshomaru and I could land the death blow, she mused, watching her mate send blow after blow at the barrier but still it didn't work.
"Do you really wish to kill me that bad, Sesshomaru?" He chuckled, meeting his narrowed gold stare; his lip curled. "Very well then, I shall grant your wish."
Three thick green dragon-like limbs shot out of the barrier, forming mouths of jagged fangs as they sailed at him.
"Look out, Lord Sesshomaru!" The imp cried shrilly from inside the maw of the great demon.
A jet of blue fire screamed at the limbs, destroying them on contact and surprising the hanyou.
He looked at her as she neared his side, cracking the knuckles of her right fist.
She met his stare and winked, glaring at the hanyou that cackled softly; thick plumes of miasma spewed out from the limbs she'd burned, filtering out into the misty air.
"Korihime, put up a barrier; there's miasma coming your way!" She hollered.
The bright pink glow of her sister's barrier came into view seconds later, a relieving sign.
More miasma spilled onto them, slightly surprising her before she hovered closer to his side and slipped her scabbard from her side, quickly connecting the bottom of the scabbard and tip of the hilt together: a circular, almost-oval blue barrier-dome formed over them, blocking them from getting the brunt of the miasma spill.
"Your barrier is almost an oval-shape," he noted quietly, perking her ears.
She nodded, smiling at him. "I guess I really have gotten stronger." She replied, watching the miasma lessen around them. "Sesshomaru, when I give the signal, use the Dragon Strike and I'll use Dying Wolf's Blood; if we hit him when his barrier is down with both attacks, we just might be able to destroy him." She instructed, perking his ears.
He nodded, watching her drop the barrier, returning her scabbard to her side. "Tactical thinking… You really have become your father's daughter." He mused, seeing her look up at him in surprise.
Her eyes softened and she nodded again, her cheeks warming. "Wouldn't be here if I didn't think like that, now would I?" She shrugged.
His gold eyes glared at the hanyou that had seemed unfazed by the she-wolf's protection of him. "You're not deluded enough to think this miasma would have any effect on either my mate or me." He scoffed.
He sneered, "No matter if it doesn't. So what now, Sesshomaru? The miasma will increase each time either you or your mongrel princess cut my body… and everyone in this area will die without fail."
She briefly glanced over at the still-shining pink glow from her sister's barrier and huffed. Not if Kori can help it, she thought. Her barrier was able to withstand the explosives of Genkotsu back on Mt. Hakurei so what's to stop it from not being touched by your pathetic miasma?
Sesshomaru closed his eyes serenely. "Naraku, is that all you have to say to me? You seem to think I would hold my sword back for the sake of humans: I'm not merely so damn sentimental!" He sent a wordless Dragon Strike at the limbs and severing them, sending more miasma into the air.
Naraku snickered as the attack missed again, red eyes glittering. "So it doesn't matter to you if everyone dies? Well, you're showing your true colors as a pure-blooded demon, Sesshomaru; your heart is unlike the others... Even towards your own pack."
Getsu bristled; Korihime glanced over at him and her lip curled.
"My heart has nothing to do with this. Naraku, you will be defeated today, whether by my hand or those of my family." He bared the front side of Tokijin as a breeze stole past them.
All three yokai perked up as they felt the oncoming rush of demonic wind from the maw of the late Inu-Daiyokai.
"WIND SCAR!" The hanyou shouted as the infamous attack screamed at the barrier-encased villain, crystalline shards flying at him and dismantling both the miasma and the barrier-bubble he had created.
The barrier! She thought in awe.
"Onee-chan!" Her sister came forward, having borrowed the twin-tailed neko and looking at her, smiling.
She nodded, looking at her mate. "Get ready."
He felt both her aura and his own spike, also feeling his sister-in-law's aura spike as she loaded an arrow into her bow, aiming past the neko's head at the shell-shocked hanyou.
"Kori, when I tell you, fire. Got it?" She looked at her sister to see her soft pink aura was radiating around her in a thin layer.
She winked and nodded, keeping the arrow pointed at their enemy. "Right."
The hanyou looked at the trio and huffed, sneering. "Well isn't this reminiscent? It's enough to make me sick." He spat, hoping to goad one of them into attacking beforehand.
"Hold tight, Kirara." She urged her steed, hearing her purr and then nod, sending a growl at the hanyou.
All three yokai felt the infamous fang pulse from inside the maw of the late Inu-Daiyokai.
"ADAMANT BARRAGE!" InuYasha roared; a wide array of crystalline shards screamed at their enemy, impaling him like a skewered boar.
His red eyes were wide in horror as pain wracked his body.
"C-Curse you, InuYasha…!" He snarled.
"Now!"
"Hit the mark!" Korihime fired the pink-infused arrow.
"DRAGON STRIKE!" Sesshomaru shouted, swinging Tokijin.
"DYING WOLF'S BLOOD!" Getsu screamed, flicking her wrist sharply to the left.
A wall of cool blue and bright green energy mixed screamed at the hanyou.
The combined attacks split apart the vile foe, his body ripping into shreds. S-such power…! He managed to think.
She lowered her bow and held onto the neko's mane out of reflex as his remains swirled in a circle. "Did it work?" She wondered of her steed, her blue eyes trained on the circular cycle of the shreds of his body.
Her eyes widened slightly as his remains started to fade; he's disappearing, he mused.
"Kori, load up another…"
A sacred arrow screamed at the remains, connecting with the tainted shard he had taken; bright lights came from the connection as the shard was instantly purified.
"The shard," she quieted in surprise.
"Kagome, you did it!" She crowed, beaming over at the priestess.
The mist faded from around them and the sky cleared to look like it did in the world of the living.
"Thanks for your help, Kirara." Getsu hugged the neko gently who purred and nuzzled her cheek before taking her sister's hand and helping her onto her peak, sending the neko back to her master.
"Are you two all right?" Sesshomaru asked as his mate sheathed her katana and his sister-in-law slung her bow over her shoulder.
Korihime nodded. "Peachy. Can we get out of here though? I'd rather not spend the rest of eternity here in your father's grave." She asked sheepishly.
Getsu chuckled and folded her arm over her shoulder, looking at her mate and winking.
Sesshomaru rolled his eyes and smirked, leading the way out of the Borderland with his mate at his heels.
A/N: well did i say there would be a showdown or didn't i? xDD just a head's up i don't think i'll be covering the filler ep 'Forever With Lord Sesshomaru', only because i'm so eager to get started with the Kanketsu-hen. just figured i'd let my doting readers know that. anywho, see ya!
**title ref - "This is Madness!" by Hans Zimmer ft. Junkie XL from the Man of Steel OST/ as a factoid, i also used "Hanyou InuYasha" from the anime OST 1 for the fight scene with Naraku.