Ahhh! Damn it's already my 16th chapter? Seriously! Hahaha! This is awesome! Thanks for all your support senoritas, oh and you guys too. Ha!
Chapter 16
The sky had blackened, leading to an impending. But it was still a little ways off, about a half hour away. The sun had also started to set, making a beautiful sunset, somewhere around 6:00 p.m. The forest was completely silent and still except for the crickets that started to chirp for the upcoming night and the loud thunder that came with the storm. Then there was a slight movement in the forest and one by one, Inuyasha's, Sesshomaru's, and Kaede's groups appeared and kept pushing through the foliage to get to where Naraku's miasma was the strongest. The groups were in a hurry to get there too. The reason: they were running out of time, which they realized while they were heading towards the miasma. Naraku was getting closer and closer to the village and they had to stop him before he reached it. There was a high probability he would destroy it and its people. "So where is Kanna, Kagura?" Kagome asked as she didn't see the small girl in her group. Kagura just waved her hand around and looked at Kagome with a smile. "She's helping us by looking for Naraku's heart with Sango's brother, Kohaku." At this Sango turned to Kagura with astonishment. "My brother left Naraku's side too? Where is he?" Sango asked as she got closer to Kagome and Kagura. "Relax Sango. He's ok. He joined us when Naraku's hold over him weakened. He is helping Kanna look for Naraku's heart but it's been weeks now since we last heard of them. The last time we heard of them was that they were somewhere in Kai. The only bad thing is that there was a major battle in that area between Shingen Takeda and Kenshin Uesugi…The people are calling it the Battle of Kawanakajima. (A/N: Real people and battle people, no lie!) But the good thing is that if they have been able to move around the battle they may be, by now, somewhere in the Northern Lands. That's really the only place left to look for Naraku's heart. I am sorry I can't help you more than that Sango." Kagura said as she looked at Sango with a sympathetic look, which Sango returned with a smile and thanked Kagura with a nod.
15 minutes later…
They were still in some pretty thick foliage when a black orb of miasma hit the ground in front of them. They all looked at each other and then at Inuyasha as he took a few more steps towards the orb. "What is it?" Kagura asked as she tried to look at the orb. Before anyone could answer another orb fell near their location, followed by hundreds more. "This is it!" Inuyasha yelled at everyone as they all started to move out in different locations, trying to dodge the black orbs that could easily disintegrate them.
Rin, Ah-Un, Jaken, and Shippo…
Rin was on Ah-Un with Jaken and Shippo as Ah-Un tried to dodge the miasma with quick movements in the air. They had taken off when the first orb hit the ground and were now trying to dodge the orbs. Jaken was yelping as more and more miasma orbs headed towards them. "Don't worry master Jaken, Lord Sesshomaru will defeat the evil Naraku and bring peace back to the land." Rin said happily as she watched Sesshomaru and Kagura down below also dodge the black orbs.
Sesshomaru and Kagura…
Sesshomaru was with Kagura when another black orb hit their location. Sesshomaru and Kagura both went to the left and right respectively and then came back together. "I think it would be best if we all aren't together, that way Naraku's orbs won't be able to hit us all." Kagura proposed. Sesshomaru nodded and they both took their own paths, Sesshomaru went by ground and Kagura used one of her feathers to take to the sky. "There is a clearing up ahead!" Kagura informed her teammates on the ground and air.
Miroku and Sango…
Miroku and Sango were also together when they heard Kagura yell the information to everyone. They were both on Kirara on the ground but were forced to take to the sky when more and more orbs of black miasma kept pounding the earth. "It's safer in the air then on the ground." Miroku said behind Sango. Sango nodded and looked straight ahead at the clearing Kagura had mentioned. "That's where the orbs are coming from Miroku." Sango said as she felt Miroku getting frisky. "Even going into battle you have a nuisance of trying to get a girl in a one mile radius of your hand, Miroku." Sango said annoyingly as she kept going to the clearing with a knocked out Miroku.
Kaede and her group…
Kaede was with her group as more and more orbs fell in front of them. Being slow and human, they could divert and dodge most of the orbs that had already hit the ground and were aimed at the group in front of them, Inuyasha and Kagome. Kaede had known from the start that anything could happen, including not coming back to the village and its people. But she had already chosen and she did not want to turn her back to her friends.
Kagome and Inuyasha…
Kagome was on Inuyasha when another orb went flying their way. Inuyasha moved out of the way by jumping up but the back draft force of the orb was too great and sent them face first into a mesh of trees and brush. "Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled when he noticed that Kagome was headed towards a tree head first. They both reached out with their hands and Inuyasha pulled Kagome into his chest before Kagome hit the tree. When they finally hit the ground, Inuyasha helped Kagome up. They looked around and noticed that everyone in the small army came out of the forest and looked at the center of the clearing. They too looked at the center of the clearing and saw their enemy, Naraku, in his baboon fur. He stood in the clearing with a smug look in his face.
"So glad you could make it. I was starting to think my miasma disintegrated you all." Naraku said with a sinister smile as he watched everyone take out their weapons. "Naraku! Today is the day you die!" Kagome yelled as she pulled out an arrow and put it in the bow she had in her hands. Naraku disappeared and reappeared next to Kaede's group and within seconds killed everyone except Kaede, which quickly moved out of the way and back stepped toward Kagome and Inuyasha. Inuyasha pointed his Tetsusaiga at Naraku and made sure everyone was out of the way before he sent a Wind Scar at Naraku. The Wind Scar went straight towards Naraku but Naraku was prepared and put up a barrier to protect himself. "Inuyasha! We'll provide you with long range attacks as you and Sesshomaru get close!" Kagome yelled as Kagura, Miroku, Sango, Kaede, Shippo, Ah-Un, Jaken, and she launched their long range projectiles at Naraku as Sesshomaru and Inuyasha got in close with their unique swords. Naraku scoffed and made another barrier to block most attacks and dodged the different attacks of the long ranged experts. Naraku took out his tentacles and tried to spear everyone in reach. The closest targets were Sesshomaru and Inuyasha as they were the only ones to fight close quarters. Sesshomaru jumped up and landed on the tentacle, using it as a plank to get closer to Naraku. Inuyasha dodged the tentacles and started to cut each one that missed. Naraku was starting to get impatient so he sent a big orb of miasma towards Inuyasha. Inuyasha saw this and had seconds to react. "Wind Scar!" Inuyasha yelled as he sent three long strips of energy towards the orb. The miasma and wind scar fought for dominance and sent electricity around the clearing, causing the ground to explode in some places. The wind scar held out and cut through the orb. It then headed straight towards Naraku, who was preoccupied with Sesshomaru. He noticed the wind scar at the last moment and dodged, but got his baboon fur destroyed. The wind scar then dissipated and Inuyasha kept heading towards Naraku but Naraku was prepared. Naraku used two of his tentacles to distract Inuyasha as he headed straight for him on his blind side. "Inuyasha, behind you!" Kagome yelled as she aimed for Naraku. She let loose one of the arrows and it went straight towards Naraku's head. Naraku dodged the arrow and was still heading towards Inuyasha when another purified arrow went in front of him. He stopped dead in his tracks and noticed the arrow wasn't Kagome's but the other priestess, Kikyo. "Kikyo!" Inuyasha exclaimed surprised. Kikyo looked at Inuyasha and smiled her approval. "Naraku your luck has just ran out!" Kikyo exclaimed at Naraku as he looked at everyone with an angry face. He was indeed running out of luck because at that moment he didn't know where his most loyal soldier was. He needed his expertise, especially in this final battle, but he was never heard of after he left for the mission for the jewel. Naraku just had to deal with this by himself for now. "That fool better not have betrayed me!" Naraku thought as he dodged one of Kikyo's arrows. "At least they haven't noticed my other plan…"
Gakuto…
Gakuto ran through the foliage until he reached something that singed his nostrils. He looked down on the ground and noticed what looked like hundreds of black orbs moving at high speeds, but went at a pace Gakuto thought he could chase, pushing through the earth to get somewhere. He stood in front of one of the orbs as more and more orbs started to pass by him. The orb that was in front of him suddenly seemed to suddenly stop in front of Gakuto but it just slowed down, as if it detected something in front of it. He then thought of an outrageous thing to do and stuck his palm towards it. The orb took a few seconds to reach Gakuto's hand and when it did it turned in on itself and made a static electricity sound. Gakuto's eyes widen when he realized what this was. He used his saber and used a slicing upward motion with his saber to lift it off the ground and sent it into the air. The orb then completely disappeared and about ten seconds later a small, but effective, explosion exploded in the air with so much force that it could be heard and felt for miles.
Naraku and the others…
A loud explosion rocked the earth under their feet causing everyone in the clearing to look behind them, except for Naraku, who was already looking towards the explosion area. But something was wrong, the explosion was too soon. Naraku just dismissed it and saw an open opportunity while everyone was distracted. He made a clone of himself and then hid in the bushes. He would use the clone as a distraction while he looked for a chance to attack.
Gakuto…
"Damn that Naraku! What was he thinking?" Gakuto said out loud as he looked at some of the tree tops that were singed and dead on the top. He then looked at the other orbs. "Why would he be using so much of his energy to make so many Clouds of Destruction?" Some of the orbs were already passing him and heading towards the village and some where in front of him, gaining speed by the second. Gakuto then realized where the orbs were headed. "Those orbs! They're heading towards the village!" Gakuto said out loud as he jumped on all the orbs until he reached the front of the orbs paths, exploding those which he stepped on. Gakuto then realized how close the orbs were to the village. He turned around and saw the village below. He then turned back to were the orbs were and cursed. "I better use the special technique for this." Gakuto said out loud as he held onto his saber towards the forest ahead of him filled with black miasma orbs. Gakuto opened the saber back into its pincer like position and fired his own orbs at the black orbs. As each orb hit each other it triggered an explosion that could have destroyed half the village. Thankfully the village was still a bit ways away. Gakuto just had to hold out and try to hold his ground with the explosions and the gust of powerful winds that followed that threatened to make him fly. Gakuto sent more orbs and this time started to explode the orbs farther away, there will be a massive crater in the area, but at least the village will be ok. More and more orbs started to disappear until there was only one left. The orb, though, must have been the last one sent because this orb was massive in structure and went at an alarming rate of speed. Gakuto studied the orb and knew that just a couple of his orbs would destroy it but since it being so big it must be big enough to destroy half the village, even if it was miles away. "Naraku can just piss me off sometimes…" Gakuto said out loud as he ran full speed towards the orb and tried to lift it like the first one he encountered. He was successful in lifting it and sending it into the sky but there was another problem. He sent it to low and it was starting to fall to the ground again. Gakuto cursed again and thought quickly of how to stop the orb. His face then lit up when he came up with a risky idea. "I only have one shot at this!" Gakuto thought as he pointed the saber at the heart of the orb, jumped as high as he could, and got his whole right arm in it. His right arm, immediately, then started to burn and disintegrate. He seethed in pain to the point that he almost growled at the orb. But he already planned this and tried to spin to gain speed. He kept going faster and faster until he was just a black blur under the orb. "Now!"Gakuto yelled as he detached his saber from the orb and sent it flying spaceward. The orb went through some clouds and reached the point of no return. It wasn't in space yet but it was far enough to be safe. Gakuto already realized this and started his run through the burning earth, towards the battle.
The battle…
Everyone turned around to Naraku who was still looking at them and not moving at all. They were about to attack when another series of explosions rocked the earth, causing everyone to ignore the 5 minutes that was heard of the explosions. Naraku headed towards Inuyasha and was about to impale him when Sesshomaru and Kagura sent their most powerful attacks towards him. He was able to dodge both but was unprepared for Inuyasha's Wind Scar. He turned towards Inuyasha when he heard the earth starting to break but was too late to dodge or put up a barrier and was down for the count. Kikyo and Kagome knew it wasn't over and sent their purified arrows at the torn up Naraku. He was purified within seconds and it was over in less then 30 seconds. "Yeah we did it!" Shippo exclaimed as Jaken, Rin, and he started to dance, landing a few feet away from Sesshomaru. Rin ran to Sesshomaru and hugged his leg, causing him to growl at anyone who was watching and making fun of them. "You did it lord Sesshomaru! You defeated Naraku." Rin exclaimed as she smiled up at him. He acknowledges her and patted her on the head. "That was to easy though…" Inuyasha said out loud. Everyone agreed and started to look around the field. Before any one could see Naraku, he popped out of the bushes next to Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru grudgingly was caught of guard and fell to the ground. There was a scream and Naraku was about to impale Sesshomaru when Rin jumped on Naraku's tentacle. "Rin!" everyone screamed. "Get of me you piece of trash!" Naraku complained. "No! You will just harm my lord!" Rin retorted. No matter how many times Naraku tried to shake Rin off, she wouldn't let go. Sesshomaru watched on as the human girl that saved his life was impaled and shaken off as if she was a bug with one of Naraku's tentacles. Rin's eyes turned a scary shade with no pupils, landed a few feet away from the group, and then disappeared when she went into the brush. Naraku then looked down at Sesshomaru and was about to impale the surprised and ever enraging Sesshomaru when another distraction occurred. Somewhere in the sky, an explosion that could have shaken all of Japan rocked the earth again, but 10 times bigger then the smaller explosions. Naraku was forced to look up, as well as everyone else as they saw one of Naraku's orbs explode in the sky. The orb's explosion was a dark purple with some black and was detonated somewhere near space and earth. The sight was both amazing and destructive. Everyone quickly remembered what Naraku did last time and quickly looked at Naraku. Naraku hadn't expected his plans to go so wrong. "Damn it! What the hell could have done that to my strongest attack? It hadn't even reached the village!" Naraku thought angrily. Naraku thennoticed that everyone was staring at him and was about to continue his attack when he was impaled by Sesshomaru's hands. Naraku tried to break loose but couldn't because Sesshomaru had bended his fingers in his body. "Naraku you're going to pay for what you did to Rin!" Sesshomaru yelled, his eyes turning blood red. Naraku then noticed this was a plan in motion all along. He instinctively looked up and saw Kagome and Kikyo, also with anger in their eyes, aiming their arrows to Naraku. Naraku's end has come. Kagome and Kikyo launched their purified arrows at Naraku, and for a brief moment, Naraku was afraid. The arrows entwined and combined into one strong, purification blast. As the arrows pierced Naraku's body, Naraku began to disintegrate inside out and yelled in pain. Sesshomaru had taken out his hands from Naraku's body and went to join the team and stood next to Kagura, just in case it wasn't over. Naraku tried to stand up and had gotten to a lazy stance at best when he finally stood up. Everyone just waited until he said something but were surprised when he started to laugh. "What's so funny Naraku?" Inuyasha spat. "This will only hinder my search for the jewel, not kill me. You can not kill me unless you destroy my heart! I'll just be sent back to my castle you…Ack!" Naraku answered, coughed the last word for some reason, and started to feel his body teleport to his castle. Everyone realized he would never die as long as his heart was hidden. But then they were surprised even more when Naraku's eyes widen in shock and he finally disintegrated into nothing but a pile of ash and dropping many, MANY, jewel fragments in the pile. They all looked at each other in genuine confusion. Kagura then got a hunch what happened.
Kanna and Kohaku, the Northern Lands, Minutes before Naraku's death…
Kohaku helped a weakened Kanna walk through knee-deep snow somewhere in the Northern Lands by carrying her on his back. Kanna had refused so many times that Kohaku just lifted Kanna and put her on his back. They were equally tired because of the battle they had tried to avoid. They had gotten half way through the battlefield when the troops of both armies noticed them. Kenshin Uesugi was the hardest to go through because he tried to exorcize them of their demonism. (A/N: Those who have played the Samurai Warriors series, specifically Samurai Warriors 2 Empires, would understand.) Shingen Takeda was equally tough but they were able to get past his troops as well. All in all both of them only suffered a few scratches and bruises, except for Kanna, which used her powers more than she wanted. She had exhausted herself to the extent that Kohaku and her where going less than 30 miles a day. Kohaku had enough and lifted Kanna on his back so that they both were able to at least add 5 more miles to their journey. They walked until they could see the outline of Naraku's Castle. "Finally! We made it Kanna!" Kohaku stated as he looked to the castle and turned to meet Kanna's white eyes. She nodded and started to get off Kohaku's back. She wobbled at first and Kohaku helped her stand at ease. "Thank you Kohaku." Kanna stated as she started to walk towards the castle's massive gates. She used her mirror and used a weak form of Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga power she borrowed from Inuyasha. The doors burst open and flew inside the courtyard. At first everything was quiet but then, as if on queue, tens of thousands of demons came from inside the castle. Kanna had expected this and sent another Wind Scar towards the demons. The demons disintegrated but more were close behind. Kohaku noticed Kanna needed time and he went in front of Kanna to kill as many of the demons he could with his sickle. He made a small glance behind him and noticed Kanna was now ready for another wave of demons. He killed a few more of the demons before he moved out of the way and Kanna sent another wave of the Wind Scar. The demon's numbers lessened and weakened as Kanna sent wave after wave of the powerful attack. Kohaku then noticed Kanna had a look of fatigue because she had her mouth opened and her normal stoic expression was fading. Kohaku noticed that he could take care of the rest of the demons and let Kanna launch another wave of the Wind Scar before he laid a hand on her shoulder and moved her behind him. Kohaku then charged towards the demons and killed the remaining demons by using both his sickle and sword.
"Is that all of them Kanna?" Kohaku asked as he took deep breaths in. She shook her head much to Kohaku's dismay. "So how many are left?" Kohaku asked as he headed towards Kanna. "Demons…None. But…there still some…traps and barriers around the castle." Kanna breathed out, trying to regain her composure. Kohaku put her right arm over his shoulder and led her through the courtyard towards the front doors of the main building. "Wait. There is a barrier here. It's weak but it alerts Naraku that someone is in his castle." Kanna said as she returned her arm to its side. "How do you know all this Kanna?" Kohaku asked. "Because I helped Naraku build the barriers." Kanna answered as she used her mirror to absorb the barrier into it. She slid open the door and waited until Kohaku came over to help her again. They walk through the hallways and deactivated barrier after barrier until they reached what seemed to be the heart of the castle. They opened the door after they took off the barrier and walked in. They immediately looked in the center of the room and saw four, barrier protected beating hearts. They looked at each heart as one of the hearts started to beat faster and faster. Kohaku looked at Kanna and noted it couldn't be her heart because she wasn't breathing as hard as she was before. He then got a crazy idea. "Kanna, can you find out if Kagura is ok with your mirror?" Kanna nodded and used her power to look at their friends. The mirror showed Kagura and the other looking at a frantic Naraku being disintegrated. They both looked up from the mirror to the hearts and looked at the one that looked as if it was going to have a heart attack. "That's Naraku's." they both stated simultaneously. They both walked up towards it and looked at it with a verity of emotions. "So what do we do now?" Kohaku asked Kanna. "Well first we take the barrier off and then we destroy it." Kanna said as she removed the barrier and was about to destroy the heart when Kohaku placed a hand on her left shoulder. She looked back in confusion when she saw Kohaku grin. "Before you do anything Kanna can I try something?" He asked as he extended a finger towards the heart and poked it. "Ha! I bet that hurt!" Kohaku joked. "Ewww." Kanna could only state in utter disgust with a slight enjoyment to the action. "Ok, go ahead Kanna." Kohaku moved behind her so Kanna could do what she needed to do. She used the Wind Scar and another attack she borrowed, Kagome's purification arrow and pierced and disintegrated Naraku's heart at the same time. "It's finally over." Kohaku breathed out. But what happened next was something totally unexpected. The whole castle started to fall down and the hearts in front of them were buried under rock. "The hearts, our friends! They must be dieing right now!" Kohaku yelled as he headed towards the ruble. Kanna stopped him. "Even though we may never retrieve their hearts, the hearts are protected by the barriers remember?" Kanna stated. Kohaku reluctantly accepted and looked around them. "We got to get out of here!" Kahaku yelled as he lifted Kanna and started to run through the paper like doors. They reached the outside and passed the dead demons and got as far as the front gate, or what was left of it, when they felt a rush of air pulling them back towards the castle. Kohaku tried to get away from the pull by jumping and was successful in getting farther away from the castle's pull.
The duo looked behind them and looked on as the castle started to implode and suck everything, including the dead bodies of the demons. They kept watching until the implosion was done and then sent a massive gust of wind to all of Japan. The spot that used to be Naraku's Castle was no more. It was just a blank spot in the snow covered earth. "So it's finally over…" They said in unison as they started their trek back to their friends.
Gakuto…
Gakuto watched on as Naraku's body started to fade into the atmosphere. He had reached the clearing in time to see Kagome and another person fire their arrows at Naraku. He was hiding behind a tree and bushes when he noticed something near by. He looked closer and it looked like a small girl. "It's the girl from the Northern Lands…Damn." Gakuto thought as he kept staring at the small girl. He knew there was nothing he could do, not because he didn't want to but even if he was miraculously able to save the little girl's life it will not change the future. But then he hit himself mentally for not getting it sooner.
"I'm such an idiot! Now I remember how I remember this place! I was here when I was just a teen...I ran away from the castle when my grandfather…died in that battle with that blasted snake handler, Orochi and left me all alone. I was human back then. I hid in the forest and wasn't found for days. Then Karakuto and Serikuna came. I don't understand why but Karakuto and Serikuna both helped me…
Flashback…
A black haired boy around the age of 10 sat alone in the middle of a forest next to a tree and surrounded by bushes. The forest was bigger then any in the continent of Japan. His family was not noble but actually came from a peasant background. Over the years though, the Minamoto had started to get wealthier and better lives due to the Genpei War between the Genji and the Taira Clans. They supported the Genji Clan because of their support of the emperor and family ties. They also supported the Genji because they supported the welfare of the people, not like the Taira clan who was filled with tyrants and demons. The war was at a stalemate when Gakuto's grandfather, The Hero of History, Yoshitsune Minamoto, was called into action to combat against the Taira's new weapon, Kiyomori Taira. Kiyomori was a strategist that won many battles for the Taira early in the war. Gakuto's eyes were red and puffy and he held on to his knees. He started to remember before his grandfather left. His grandfather was young himself, 30. Gakuto didn't put any thought in it until Yoshitsune told him he was adopted into the Minamoto when he was found as a small boy outside the castle gates. Gakuto had not cared and loved his grandfather even if they weren't related. Then came the news of the battle his father went to before he left, later know as the battle that would change the war, Battle of Koromo River. His father had been killed in action trying to defeat Kiyomori in a duel. It was later revealed that one of Kiyomori's men, Orochi, had used an arrow to kill his father when they realized Kiyomori was going to be defeated. Gakuto had been so young and didn't know what to do. He ran away from home and hid in the near by forest and took his grandfathers Taiyou no Gantoretto, Sun Gauntlet. He was crying in his knees when he heard movement nearby. He raised his head when the movement stopped. In front of him were two people, a young man and a teenage girl. The man had a giant silver, gold, and green sword on his back, a dark green cloak with silver trim and designs on the bottom of the cloak and white hair that reached his waist. The girl, a little older than Gakuto but younger then the man next to her, had a light blue and white cloak on, with the light blue as designs and trim. Gakuto also noticed her hair was completely white with blue highlights. She didn't have any weapon he could see but learned through instinct everything doesn't look as it seems. They both wore strange masks with different animals on them that only had the eyes poked out of them. The man wore a tiger mask that had green hair with dark green stripes. The girl had a white snake mask, but unlike the man, she had two holes where the snake's nose would be.
Gakuto stared at the two with uncertainty. The Taira had hired many assassins to kill and threaten the Genji and its followers into submission and these people could have been one of them. Gakuto kept staring at them as he slowly put on his grandfather's saber and started to get up. Before any of the two adults did anything, Gakuto ran through the brush at amazing speeds, even for a human. When Gakuto reached foliage that started to get thick he turned on Yoshitsune's saber and started to cut and slash his way through the foliage. He knew he could out run almost anyone on foot because he had so much stamina and speed. But that soon changed when Gakuto noticed the man in front of him still staring at him. Gakuto stopped running and started to walk backwards when he bumped into someone. Gakuto used his tender age as an advantage and surprised the person behind him by sweep kicking them and making a slashing motion where their stomachs would have been. Gakuto had learned how to fight in many different types of fighting styles and his favorite was the wolf. (A/N: Don't know if that's an actual fighting style but oh well.) Gakuto looked in surprise as the girl landed gracefully on his saber. Gakuto looked at her mask and jumped away from her. She jumped off his saber and landed on the ground. Gakuto then used his knowledge of his grandfather's saber and extended his fathers saber to full length, which now looked like a spear on the small boy's frame. Gakuto was about to attack again when someone grabbed him from behind. "Easy kid! We are friends not foes!" The man said behind him. Gakuto lessen his struggle and looked at the girl that approached and the man behind him. "Now I'm going to let you go so don't run off ok?" the man asked. Gakuto nodded and turned off the saber. The man lowered him to the ground and released him when his feet touched the floor. Gakuto turned around and looked up at the man. The girl stood next to Gakuto and looked down at him. He also looked at her and she waved, causing Gakuto to blush and wave back. He had never been with a girl before because of the continuous training, becoming a noble heir, and other things so he had no experience talking to women. "Why are you alone out here kid? You know it's dangerous for one for your age to be out here alone. Where are your parents?" The man asked as he lowered to Gakuto's level. Gakuto had nearly forgotten why he was in the forest when he remembered his grandfather. "I don't have any parents…" Gakuto lowered his head. The girl right next to him then made an 'aww' sound and hugged his small frame making Gakuto blush again. "What happened to them sweetie?" the teenager asked. The two adults only heard Gakuto's mumbling. "What was that?" the two asked. Gakuto came up with the courage to say what had bothered him so much. "They left me in the care of the Minamoto family. But now I don't have a family because my…grandfather, Yoshitsune Minamoto, died." Gakuto breathed out as he began to feel tears well up in his eyes again. The girl then pulled him in an embrace and patted his head as he cried on her shoulder. She looked at Karakuto and nodded. Karakuto just shook his head and looked back at the small child in his sister's arms. "What's your name kid?" Karakuto asked. "Gak…Gakuto Minamoto." The boy managed to say through sniffles. Karakuto patted on the kids shoulder and stood up. "Hey kid…" Karakuto started. "I am going to regret this…damn Serikuna and her woman feelings." Karakuto thought jokingly. "How would you like to go with us?" Karakuto asked as he looked at the kid who turned his head and laid his right ear on Serikuna's shoulder. "Will it get me away from all this?" Gakuto asked. Karakuto looked at the teary eyed kid and nodded even though he might have to stay here longer. Karakuto pulled out a seal and placed it in mid air. Gakuto stared in amazement as the seal burned and a Japanese style door appeared out of nowhere. It opened by itself and a bright white light came out. After Gakuto stopped crying Karakuto lifted him up on his shoulders and they began to walk through the gate with Serikuna close by. "Ready?" Karakuto asked. Gakuto nodded and held onto Karakuto's head. "What are your names?" Gakuto asked before they went through. "Karakuto Karyo and Serikuna Aneway and we are your new family…brother." Karakuto said as they walked into the shining light.
End of Flashback Gakuto P.O.V…
"Days after that Karakuto and Serikuna taught me The Ways of the Mystics and learned that they themselves were the last of the mystics. They showed much care with me and they treated me with kindness and respect. We became so fond of each other that we made a pack to live and die together. After that I was made a mystic by giving up my humanity. I learned to think more on my head then my feelings and how to control my anger. I was happy that I had a family and I was no longer alone. Then I noticed brother Karakuto going back to the living world. I sneaked passed Karakuto when he wasn't looking and went through the gate. I was then teleported to Naraku's castle and found out that he could help me find the man who killed my grandfather. I worked for him until the job for the jewel shard came. Then I went to where Kagome was. The village was attacked by bandits and I killed them all because they would have killed everyone in the village and kill my only lead to the Jewel. The villagers had acknowledged that Kagome had the jewel but she had already left to another universe. I started to leave and got far from the village when the gate that brought me there appeared in front of me. The doors opened and I was immediately tackled by a worried 19 year old Serikuna, Hit on the head by a pissed off 30 year old Karakuto, and laughed at by a miko named Midoriko. They had been worried sick about me. I asked what Midoriko was doing there when she said we had to protect a group of people in a far away land in another universe. I disagreed when Midoriko told me Naraku was dead and that Kagome still had the jewel. I agreed and my brother and sister went with Midoriko to a new land. I didn't agree for Naraku but hen again he was going to help me find Orochi. That was until Midoriko told me that he was in the same universe as Kagome." I thought as Ilooked up from the dead girl to the group surrounding Naraku.
I knew I had nothing else to do and knew what would happen next so I just left the area but then looked back at the dead girl. I reached over to her without being noticed and I closed her brown eyes, closed up her wound, and made her less bloody with the power of the jewel. After I was done I looked down at myself and noticed the wounds were now healed. "The jewel is a mysterious thing…" I thought as I reached into his left hip and dropped the jewel near the girl, hoping that the group will find it. He then started to walk away back towards the village and would wait until they got back.
Normal P.O.V…
The group stared at the pile of ash and jewel shards in surprise. Then Kagura cleared her throat. "I think Kanna and Kohaku found Naraku's heart… which means he really is gone." Kagura said with slight happiness. Sesshomaru then remembered what happened to Rin and started to run where he last saw her. Sango and Miroku stared at Miroku's wind tunnel disappear in amazement. Inuyasha and Kikyo headed towards the pile of jewels and started to pick them up. Kagome, Shippo, Ah-Un, and Kagura started to walk towards Rin and Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru lifted Rin's surprisingly clean body and laid her in the clearing. He looked at Kagome and handed her a jewel shard. "I found it near her with a strange scent on it." Sesshomaru stated as he looked at Rin and then noticed the same smell on her. "She has the same smell too…" Sesshomaru added. This surprised the group and they began to look around the clearing. "Is it Naraku?" Kagura asked. Sesshomaru shook his head. "No. Surprisingly Naraku's stench isn't on her anymore. Strange…" Sesshomaru stated.
After they decided it was nothing the small army walked back towards the village and buried Rin near Kaede's hut. Jaken had been relived of his position and was free to go were he pleased. At first he wanted to stay with Sesshomaru but then changed his mind. Inuyasha then surprised the group by leaving with Kikyo and giving Kagome his Fire Rat Coat and his immortality. Sango and Miroku left for Oshu and gave Kagome a goodbye present because she won't be coming back. Kaede gave Kagome a bow made out of Inuyasha's bones and arrows that were already purified. After everyone left, Kagome, Kagura, Shippo, Kirara, and Sesshomaru started to walk towards the Bone Eater's Well, while being followed by a curious Gakuto Minamoto. Before they were teleported or even knew they were going to leave this universe, they united the jewel shards to Kagome's shard and watched as the black and pink jewel turned into a beautiful pink in a flash of a rainbow color. They haven't noticed him and were teleported to the other universe. Midoriko then looked in the brush and smiled. "Come out Minamoto." Midoriko said, surprising Gakuto. Gakuto walked out and looked around the clearing. "What's up Midoriko?" Gakuto asked lazily. Midoriko placed a hand on her head and shook it. "Are you serious? What are you doing here? You know you could have really hurt yourself?" Midoriko stated with a hint of anger and annoyance. Gakuto just laughed at this. "Midoriko, I know my limits, besides I've been doing everything you told me to do. I protect Kagome and her friends and still come out in one piece." Gakuto explained. Midoriko just shook her head again. "You gave up your immortality and mystic powers for her you know that?" Midoriko started. "And I would do it again. A job always comes first." Gakuto retorted. It was Midoriko's turn to laugh. "I am thankful that you gave up your immortality but you know this isn't because it's a job…It's for Kagome and her safety." Midoriko stated, looking at the distraught Ex-Mystic. Gakuto didn't want to admit it but Midoriko would know it anyways. Midoriko then went towards Gakuto and stopped in front of him. "Gakuto you did the right thing." Midoriko stated as she looked at the human with sympathy. "Gakuto…It's time to go back home but before you do I have to tell you two things. One, I will be sending more letters to you and the group more recently. And two…" Midoriko whispered the rest and kept it a secret from all the readers! Gakuto nodded with new bound confidence and started to disappear from the Dream World and go into the Real World…
"Be careful and best of luck…" Midoriko stated as she also began to disappear into another universe after Gakuto had fully left the Dream World.
The Leaf Village, The day after the Akatsuki attacks…
Villagers started to walk into the main gates and other gates leading into the village from the castle that started to disappear. With the help of ANBU, Junin, and even Akatsuki members, the village was filled with its villagers in less than 2 hours. To everyone's surprise, the Mystic's first stop was Naruto's favorite stop, The Iruka Ramen Stand! Karakuto, Serikuna, Kakashi and countless others stood in line behind the yellow head Naruto as he ordered every kind of ramen in the store, as the one that would pay for everyone's ramen would be the Mystics. Running for one's life works up an appetite. Everyone in line watched as the owner and his daughter, Ayame, were over whelmed by customers. "Why do we have so many customers Naruto?" Ayame asked. Naruto pointed his chop sticks to the two sitting at the end of the stand, a man and a woman that looked like they were ANBU. Ayame looked confused. "Half the village is here in this one stand because of two ANBU?" she asked as she watched the male ANBU hand a bowl of ramen to the female next to him. He removed his mask when he retrieved his ramen from her father, revealing a 35 year old man with a scar across his face. This surprised her, because even though she was a civilian she knew that ANBU Black Ops members were not allowed to remove their masks. "He isn't supposed to do that is he? Aren't they ANBU members?" Ayame asked as she kept staring at the ANBU members. Naruto shook his head. "They are not from here." Naruto stated as he finished his 3rd bowl of ramen and moved on to his 4th. "Well how come she isn't taking off her mask?" Ayame asked as she watched the other ANBU member eat. Naruto looked up and noticed Serikuna was eating but had her mask half way up so that one could only see her pink lips eat the ramen. He then turned his attention back to his bowl immediately when Serikuna stopped eating her ramen and looked straight at Naruto and Ayame. "Hehehe…I guess she doesn't like anyone to see her face." Ayame said nervously as she walked back to work. The villagers and the other Nin laughed at this action and continued eating their ramen on the stools, floor, or on the rail near a small lake. Sasuke looked at the Mystic that was eating her ramen peacefully and politely, as to not drag attention to herself. "I will figure out what you look like under that mask soon enough." Sasuke thought as he kept looking at the left side of Serikuna's 'face' from the rail he was on. Then came a blood curling cry and everyone looked up to see a pink haired and blond haired kunoichi's run towards Sasuke at full speed, tackling him to the ground, and fighting for his affection, causing laughter among the Mystics, ANBU, and some Villagers. "Hey Uchiha! I didn't know you were out looking for a wife!" Karakuto hollered as he laughed with his giggling sister and returned to eat his ramen.
Gakuto and Kagome…
Gakuto had woken up from his stupor to see a confused looking Kagome. When he moved his hand from her face, she immediately screamed with fright and pushed Gakuto to the ground. Gakuto yelled as he hung from the tree he was in and looked down at the ground. "Kagome! What was that for!" Gakuto yelled as he used his other appendages and grabbed onto the branch like a sloth. "You scared me!" He heard. "Well at least help me up!" Gakuto yelled back. He kept looking down at the ground in fright as he felt Kagome pull him up. He held onto his chest as he lay on the trunk. "You almost gave me a heart attack!" Gakuto yelled as he began to feel his heart beat faster. Kagome could only laugh. "You big baby!" Kagome retorted as she continued to laugh. Gakuto also laughed and they laughed until they noticed it was morning. "We should go back to the village." Gakuto said as he got up but watched his footing. Kagome nodded and Gakuto helped her on his back again but still watching the ground as he felt a jolt in his spine. Gakuto jumped up above trees and started to run towards the village. "I'm scared of heights now because of you!" Gakuto tried to joke. This was granted a giggle from the miko on his back.
They had reached the village in no time flat and were greeted to an unbelievable sight. There was a line from the gate to somewhere in the village filled with villagers, ANBU members, and other Nin. "Excuse me Miss? What's the line for?" Kagome asked a villager as Gakuto looked at the line with amusement. "The lines so we can eat something at the Iruka Ramen Stand. They say the people that saved the village are there too." The villager answered as she return her attention back to the line ahead. "Kagome lets go check it out." Gakuto said. Kagome nodded and walked through the massive line. "I'll race you there!" Gakuto said as he started to weave in and out of the line. "You're on!" Kagome said as she started to jump on the roofs to get there faster.
Gakuto had taken to the streets, thinking it would be faster then going around the village, but damn was he wrong. He looked up from his position and noticed Kagome was already a few houses in front of him. "Wow am I stupid…" Gakuto thought a he jumped from the streets to the building next to Kagome. Kagome noticed this and looked at him in fake annoyance. "Hey! You're cheating!" Kagome yelled as she jumped over another building. "Nope. I'm just improvising." Gakuto said. "What? I didn't here you!" Kagome yelled back. "I said I'm just-" Gakuto didn't finish as he hit an air conditioning unit on one of the roofs. "Oww." Gakuto stated as he started to slide down the air conditioning unit and fall to the ground. "Who's cheating now?" Gakuto asked as he rubbed the back of his head and started to run again. "I'm improvising!" Kagome yelled back as she reached the destination, Iruka's Ramen Shop.
Iruka's Ramen Shop…
Everyone in the area watched as Naruto gulped downed bowl after bowl of ramen, being egged on by Karakuto and others. Naruto gulped down his 12th bowl when he looked up and noticed Kagome behind the group of people. "Mmp aome!" Naruto yelled with a mouth filled with ramen. Kagome involuntarily laughed at the knuckleheads antics, causing the others to laugh in unison. "You shouldn't talk with your mouth full Naruto, it's nasty." Kagome said between laughs. Naruto smiled behind his ramen and continued to eat his ramen. Karakuto kept egging on Naruto, hitting the stand with his gloved fist, as he finished the 12th bowl. Gakuto watched from beside Kagome, who had gotten there a few minutes back, and laughed as Naruto had noodles come out of his nose, much to the 'eww's' of the women and the laughter of the men. This went on until the villagers and Nin started to leave with full stomachs and laughter in their hearts. Karakuto, Serikuna, Gakuto, Kagome, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi were the last one at the stand as the looked at Karakuto and the owners of the store. Karakuto looked at the owners in nervousness as he didn't know what human money looked like. "Would you accept gold or silver?" Karakuto asked to the surprise of the owners. The owners nodded and watched as Karakuto took out a seal and placed it on the stand. He made a small chant and everyone watched as the seal burned and a small piece of gold came out. "That's it?" Ayame's father asked. "Wait for it…" Karakuto said as he began to back up. The owners noticed this and also backed up. Soon more and more pieces of gold came out of the stand. The gold flowed like a fountain until the stand was filled with gold. As the last pieces came out, something bluish came out in the end. "What is this?" Ayame asked as she grabbed the bluish stone. "It's Platinum. I don't know if you use it here but it's worth a lot of money because of its rarity." Karakuto said as he stared at the happy owners of the stand. "There is enough here to make an Iruka Ramen Shop in every block in the village, maybe every village!" Ayame said much to the happiness of the bouncing, foam mouthed Naruto. "Ramen everywhere, everyday!" Naruto began to laugh hysterically. "Ok kid you're freaking me out…" Karakuto laughed as he picked up the still bouncing Naruto. "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Ramen!" Naruto said from Karakuto's side. "I'll take crazy here back to his apartment unless he wants to live with us?" Karakuto said, much to the surprise of everyone. Naruto looked at Karakuto with astonishment and Karakuto smiled. "So what do you say kid? You want to live with us as a foster family?" Karakuto asked. Naruto was still looking at him with astonishment and confusion until Karakuto laughed. "Fine. If you come live with us I'll…buy you ramen when ever you want. No excuses." Karakuto laughed to Naruto's wide star eyes. "Gakuto... Take everyone back to the castle. I'm going to get this kid's things and get the paperwork done alright?" Karakuto said as he teleported to the apartment. "Alright let's go everyone." Gakuto said as he watched the growing members of the group. He watched on as Sasuke and Serikuna were running away from each other, one trying to get the others mask and the other trying to get to the castle as fast as possible. He saw Kakashi and Sakura leave to their homes and then looked at the teenager next to him, Kagome. He mentally laughed as he remembered the day's events. "Damn…"
Finally! On to the 17th! Please review and state your comments…to tell you the truth I don't know if those are the same thing. Hahaha! Wow I am so hipper today.