InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness ❯ Finale ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, YuYu Hakusho (As much as I'd love to) or any of the anime/manga characters.

 

Finale

 

The barrier vanished from the cave as Kagome finished adorning her armor once again.

“That was… wow,” she said, her face a brilliant red as she watched Hiei dress.

“Agreed,” he said before lifting his cloak and quickly wrapping it around himself.

“Think we should go back before they start looking for us?”

“Most likely, though I doubt they'd find me,” he sighed. They exited the cave and took off toward the arena.

When they reached their team, Kurama looked speculatively at the two while Yusuke gasped.

“Damn! Your wounds are gone! What the hell'd you do?”

“A little R&R,” she said with a shrug. “Waterfalls can do wonders for mikos, even if they're not pure.”

“I see… It's a good thing Hiei found you. The semi-finals just ended,” Kurama said, though his stoic mask was broken by a knowing smile.

“It's over? Alright, I should probably tell you what we're up against.”

She pointed toward the forest and the team, along with Keiko in Yusuke's protective hold, vanished from the arena.

“So, what exactly are we up against?” Kuwabara asked. “Their power was off the charts!”

“I don't know what you sensed, but it wasn't even a fraction of their power,” Kagome said, making the psychic gulp.

“They can't be that tough!” Yusuke growled.

“Alright, listen up. Do not take them lightly. Naraku, and in turn his incarnations, fight dirty. A lot of them have some form of psychic power, and they use it to bring random facts against you. Kanna, the white-haired woman with the mirror, is extremely dangerous. Any form of energy attack thrown at her is reflected back with double the force through her mirror. She can also steal souls and create a large demon made of glass that absorbs its opponents' abilities. And any damage done to it is instead transferred to her so the creature can keep fighting.”

“Sounds rather taxing.”

“Their alternate, Moriya, is a shapeshifting psychic that makes him or herself into a painful memory. At least, that's what I got from his power, but I didn't get a very good look,” she sighed.

“Well then, do we really have to worry if he or she's an alternate?” Kuwabara asked hopefully.

“Alright, don't get angry at me for this. Any hope you guys have of this being a tame, contained fight is bullshit. They're not going to abide by rules set by humans or demons other than Naraku, and he makes his own rules and games. Everything and everybody can and probably will be used.”

Kuwabara gulped and she sighed.

“There's a tall man with a scythe named Kurasa. He can fly and teleport. The scythe is formed from pure youki, and it has some kind of dangerous ability that I didn't have enough time to read.”

“Sounds rather like that man on Toguro's team,” Kurama observed to Yusuke.

“Then, there's a short redheaded woman with silver eyes. She's kind of like a mix between Kanna and Moriya. From what I saw, she uses her staff to bring a person's worst nightmare or fear to life. But I don't think it would work on psychics, so anyone here can fight her, I think. But I'm not taking her lightly, either.”

“And that huge guy?” Yusuke asked.

“His name's Moyami, and out of the entire team, he's the one I hate the most after Naraku.”

“What'd he do?”

“Killed my family in this time period,” she growled, though it wasn't directed at them. “He creates blades by mixing his bones, blood and youki together. And he can fly and use barriers. If you want to know anything about Naraku, ask your boss, since he's here,” she sighed before the man stumbled into the woods.

“Ah, Kagome, so nice to see you,” he said with a shiver.

“Yeah, I'll bet. Tell them whatever. I stopped caring. I need to go do something, though, so could you possibly open a portal to Genkai's for me?”

Botan appeared next to Koenma and a hole opened in the air next to the miko, who quickly disappeared…

 

Kagome stepped out onto Genkai's grounds. She walked toward the main temple and found all of her children sitting around Genkai, talking quietly.

The second she entered the room, all four shot up and run to her with a chorus of `momma' coming from their group, save her brother. Their arms went around her in various places and she smiled sadly.

“You're back early,” Genkai observed.

“I need Inuyasha's armor,” she sighed.

“So, it's the final fight, then?”

She nodded and Genkai tossed the fire rat robe to her.

“Momma?”

She looked down at Shippo and smiled encouragingly.

“I'll be alright.”

His green eyes widened at that and Rin's embrace tightened.

“Please don't go,” Souta sobbed.

“I have to. I'm the only one that can beat him… I'll tell you what,” she said before kneeling down to face the four of them. “How about, when momma gets back, we'll all go out for ice cream, alright?”

They all knew it was a tough façade, and she sighed.

“I swear that I won't leave you alone. I love you all so much, and there's not a thing in this existence that can make me hurt you guys, alright?”

She pulled them all into a tight hug and gently kissed each of their foreheads before standing.

“I should be back by the end of the week. Be good for Genkai and I'll get you all a treat when I get back,” she said with a wink before vanishing.

The children looked at Genkai, who was smirking.

“Don't worry, kids. Your mother doesn't make promises lightly. And I have no doubt that she'll win, so why don't we all just get some rest and wait for her return, huh?”

The four followed the elderly psychic, who was exactly as confident in her pupil as she seemed to be, into the living area of the massive estate, where the koorime could keep them entertained for a while…

 

“Hmm… She seems rather disturbed.”

“She's been like that from the start. Alright, toddler, you heard her. So tell us what the hell's the deal here,” Yusuke growled, making the prince take several steps back.

“Alright, alright, as long as she said to…”

Koenma ran through an abbreviated version of the events leading up to Kagome's capture, and was careful to skip that part as he explained up to the final battle in the past, where everyone dear to her died and she apparently killed Naraku. Everyone but Hiei was staring at him in stunned silence.

A look of pure horror filled the humans' faces, while even the demons seemed to be rather pale by the end of the story. Kagome had told Hiei a lot, but not nearly everything.

Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for Kurama, who'd absorbed the information with curiosity.

“So then, Koenma… You said Naraku captured her and she escaped two weeks before the final battle… What exactly happened?”

Koenma shook his head violently.

“No. Uh-uh. Even if she told me I could tell you her past, she'd kill me if I told anyone about that time.”

Their eyes widened at that, and Yusuke stepped forward.

“What exactly did he do to her?”

“He tortured me,” Kagome said, having reappeared that second with a long, red robe. Her appearance had completely changed in the short time she'd vanished. She'd gone from a pale, human-looking woman to a demon that made Koenma shake.

“Ah… I wasn't going to answer, Kagome,” the prince said quickly.

“It hardly matters anymore. If I don't tell them, I'm sure Naraku will. And he'll put a rather… angering spin on it.”

“What the hell happened then? I mean, what could he have done that was so bad compared to all the other things he did?” Yusuke asked.

“First, he trapped me by making me think he'd kill Inuyasha with a tainted shard he'd given to the demon we were fighting. I wasn't a stupid girl after everything, so I fought him, but he beat me, despite training with both Sango and Inuyasha… So, I was out cold, and I woke up in a dungeon. He kept me down there for three days. And, every morning I woke up to being smacked around by some lesser demons trying to get where I'd hid the jewel. Noons, I got some pieces of moldy bread to eat, but thankfully, as a miko, I didn't really need much food or water to live off of… But that first night, as well as the next two… he raped me,” she said, glaring up at the treetops.

For several long moments, nobody said a thing, and then she felt Hiei next to her. Though he didn't touch her, his presence was somehow calming, and the threat of crying slowly dissipated.

“But, I got him back with interest. That third night, after he was done, I lashed out with all of my miko energy. I'd been building it up for the entire time I was captured, and I hit him while he was distracted. Had he been a demon that didn't regenerate, I would have slit his throat with the claws that formed from my energy. But, he healed and all that was left was an ugly scar. But the sudden attack was enough of a distraction, and I bailed. I escaped and found myself not too far from Kaede's village. Also, while I was in that dungeon, I discovered how Kagura was controlled, and told her that if she got me supplies, I would help her. That was on the second day, though.”

There was more silence and Kagome smirked.

“Even now, he's got that scar, too. I think that was my final act as a pure miko.”

“Obviously not, since you kept the jewel pure up until this point,” Koenma sighed.

“Well, now that the reminiscing is over, I hope you understand that I'm serious about killing him by any means necessary. The others are strong, but are little more than mindless pawns.”

“I believe that I'll leave this to you five,” Koenma sighed. “And, should you live, Kagome, I like the idea of having you on my team.”

At that, a portal opened and both Koenma and Botan disappeared from the forest.

“The finals are going to start in about ten minutes,” Kurama observed. “Perhaps we should get there before they do so.”

They ran toward the arena again, and reached their side of the ring with more than eight minutes to spare.

“So, we know everything now?” Yusuke asked. When she nodded, he sighed.

“Look, Kagome. I'm really sorry that things like that happened to you, and I feel bad for being an ass, but I hope to god that you won't let it affect anything.”

“It's fine,” she sighed. “We'll be even if you can keep anyone friendly out of the fight.”

A dangerous aura revealed itself and the team turned to Naraku, dressed in armor that hadn't been there before. It was apparently made of spikes, and an eye rested in the belt.

“Hello, Kagome,” he said darkly. “I see you're wearing your favorite half-breed's armor. Odd, considering how much good it did him in the end.”

“I hope you're looking forward to being purified. Unlike the rest of these demons, I'm not holding back against you.”

“Oh, I intend to make you show your true nature in front of your new friends.”

“Well then, I say we get started,” she said with a smirk.

The demons passed them and took their places on the other side of the ring. After five minutes of glaring at each other, the announcer reached her stand and grabbed the mic with zeal.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen! It's time for the finals of the Dark Tournament! It's been a long fight for these two teams, with plenty of strange twists and turns. And so, now, Team Urameshi versus Team Kurasa! Fighters, any words before we start?” she asked with a sweeping gesture toward the eleven people, though Moriya was barely visible in the tunnel behind Naraku's team.

“I have something to say,” Naraku said with an evil glint to his eye. He caught the mic as the announcer tossed and smiled cruelly at Kagome.

“Demons, I would like to inform you that you'll most likely die before this tournament is over.”

There was a long, stunned silence at that. And then, there was a loud chorus of outraged yells.

“Oh, but I'm not the one that will be killing you. You see, this woman that has so easily been killing demons is not, in fact, a demon herself. She is, however, a miko,” he said as his plan sank in.

“Son of a bitch,” she groaned.

“In fact, she's been killing demons for a rather long time without a second thought.”

“You know, I don't think they believe you,” Kagome said as she took in the audience's reaction. “I've shown too much youki.”

“Well then, right here and now, why don't you show every demon here that you absolutely have no miko qi in you,” he challenged, his voice echoing throughout the arena.

Everyone was quiet as they waited, and Kagome smirked.

“I'm not showing you anything until the time comes for me to kill you.”

“I see… So, you're saying you can't do it?”

“Don't goad me,” she bit out. “Tournament or not, I'll make sure you die today, for good. I should've done a better job last time, but I guarantee you I won't make the same mistake.”

“I see…”

Kagome sensed the motion near her and dove away just before a tentacle hit her. The second it met her skin, an explosion of brilliant blue energy left her. The tentacle vanished and Kagome's eyes were slowly reverting from a brilliant white to dark red.

“Well now, I'd say that's good enough proof. So, what do all of you say? Should she be allowed to leave here alive!?”

Kagome snarled as the dome filled with bloodlust-filled yells.

“I believe this should be sufficient revenge for destroying the jewel,” he said before tossing the mic back to the announcer.

“Umm… I guess that this could be really dangerous now… Umm… first fighters, take your places!”

Onto the stage rose Tsukikiba, the woman with red hair. Her eyes locked on Yusuke, who smirked.

“Alright, I'll fight you,” he said before rising onto the stage.

“Umm… First match, Tsukikiba versus Yusuke Urameshi… begin,” the announcer called before ducking under her table, suddenly afraid of the crowd around her.

In the woman's hand formed a long staff, which became engulfed in youki.

“Yusuke Urameshi, huh? I've been doing a lot of research on you.”

“Like I care,” he bit out before pointing at her. “Spirit Gun!”

The spirit energy exploded forward and she smirked. Without even moving from her position, she blocked the attack with the flick of her wrist. Her staff flew up and began spinning. When the attack hit it, the energy was absorbed before she caught it again.

“Hope that's not all you've got… Nightmare Crash!” she yelled before hitting the ground. A black, glowing orb formed and was filled with a dark energy. The orb then vanished and before Yusuke stood… himself.

“So, you fear yourself the most? What? Demon blood too strong for you?”

Yusuke looked at his mirror image and smirked.

“Sorry, bitch. I don't think your power works on psychics,” he said before shooting his copy point-blank with energy. The orb shattered and the detective charged her.

“I don't know how you got this far, lady, but that's over now! Spirit Wave!”

He hit her stomach and his energy exploded outward. As it did so, her body was completely obliterated.

“Sorry. Much as I hate to kill, there's no doubt that you guys are the most twisted demons I've met, so I can't let you get out of here. You understand,” he said before walking off the ring.

“Y… Yusuke Urameshi wins… Umm… next fighters?” the announcer asked hesitantly, hiding from the demons around her.

Up to the stage stepped two people. Moyami and a small woman that had Moriya's energy.

“Umm… what?”

“Well, the tournament officially is a trivial matter, so we decided to shake things up a bit,” the woman sighed. “I want to kill the woman.”

Kagome looked at the demon next to her and smirked.

“Alright, I can spare some energy killing you two,” she said before jumping up.

Razor-blade-like claws extended around her nails and she smirked with long, ebony fangs that gleamed.

“Ooh, doggy wants to play,” Moyami mocked.

“I'm not a dog, you bastard. Oh, and, I have to ask. This fight; is it an official declaration of forfeiting the tournament?”

The two looked at her and she shrugged.

“Well, you can hardly be in the tournament without playing by the rules. So it's either both of you fight me or your team stays in the tournament.”

A collective laugh came from Naraku's group and his red eyes locked on Kagome.

“I don't care about some human-controlled atrocity of a tournament.”

Kagome turned her head to the cowering announcer.

“There you have it. They forfeit the tournament. Team Urameshi wins. So give them the prize and then, any demon that wants to live should run.”

The cat demon, along with half the audience, gaped at her.

“Their words.”

“Umm… winner of the Dark Tournament by forfeit, Team Urameshi. Get your prize if anybody survives,” she called before running away, along with most of the audience. The few strong demons around stayed, enjoying the show apparently.

“Alright, now that they're gone, let's have a real party,” Kagome said. “Naraku, you wanted to see what I can do? Fine!”

Suddenly, the entire dome shook under a massive force that formed around Kagome's body. Brilliant, colorful columns of energy wrapped around her body as her hair became blood-red. Her eyes turned coal-black and grew dark, blood-red slits in the middle. Her fangs grew in size and became blade-like at the ends and her entire body seemed to grow with the more power she released.

The ground underneath her exploded under the pressure of her energies as the tattoo on her arm glowed with a brilliant golden flame.

“It's the last chance to leave,” she told her teammates without looking back. None of them moved, and she smirked.

“Alright then. Naraku, here's a treat from Kikyo. I hereby call upon the holiness of the forces of good, long-since dead. Release my power!”

A massive flare of white energy built up around her and suddenly, the dome was being pulled apart and a massive barrier was erected around the fighters.

She grabbed the Tetsusaiga and pulled it out. This time, however, the flare of power as it transformed was a flash of pure darkness. As it left the sheath, a long, wickedly curved blade formed. The power around her slowly dissipated and Kagome was no longer with them. At least, going by appearance.

Her skin was now ashy-gray and long, jagged black markings covered her cheeks, which had increased in size.

“My my, this is exciting,” Naraku said as he took in her new appearance.

A ball of black energy formed in her hand and she smirked.

“Shiniryu.”

The ball exploded and a serpent of black energy engulfed Moyami, who began to scream as he was slowly devoured.

“That was for my family,” she said as his youki assimilated with the dragon, which grew in size and attacked the woman who'd been next to the skeletal demon. She too, was quickly devoured.

“That was for pissing me off.”

The dragon, now triple the size it had been mere seconds ago, returned to its mistress and wrapped around her arm.

She felt a slight pulling sensation and turned a sneer toward Kanna.

“Stupid puppet. It didn't work on me when I was weak, so why would it work now?”

Kanna stopped trying to draw her soul in and a massive demon of glass formed, causing Kagome to frown.

“I'm not interested in you. Inuyasha more than settled things with you.”

“I'll take out some aggression,” Yusuke said before approaching the demon. To her side, she found Kurama and Kurasa battling throughout the barrier around them. With those two gone, Naraku was the only one left.

“Not so tough without an army of minions, are you?” she asked as she sauntered toward him, Hiei right next to her. “You wanted to see my full power? Here it is. 100%. Surprised?”

He smirked at that.

“Surprised that you're nothing but a mere soul collecting kuromiko? Not really. It had to happen eventually. So, you opened your heart and soul to these people you don't even know, huh? Have they told you anything?”

“Whatever their pasts are, I don't need to know nor do I care. See, that's something you never understood. I can look past previous wrongs. But you take it to an extreme that I'm unwilling to forgive.”

Her claws became engulfed in diamond shards and she smirked.

“Hiei, I suggest you get back.”

At that, he dove away. She swung her hands and a massive spray of diamonds launched forth from her fingertip.

“That's new,” he observed as he easily dodged them.

“Well, I couldn't quite get the attack to work right with Inuyasha's sword. So, I learned to do it incorrectly, but quite well, fusing youki with my claws. Not quite as effective, but it works.”

“HA! That's rather amusing! Even the dog's sword rejected you!?”

Kagome lifted the slender blade in her hand with a smirk.

“Oh, no. See, I learned a year ago something really interesting. That's what I'd thought too. But, it turns out, that because Inuyasha gave his sword to me when he passed on, it formed around my youki, constructing new powers. Like this, for example,” she said before swinging. As the sword reached Naraku, a massive swarm of miko qi launched forth from a dimensional hole that had been formed.

Naraku's body was hit by several of them and she smirked.

“Nehakuryu Tetsusaiga,”(1) she said before a new wave shot forth, though it was youki this time.

Naraku quickly erected a barrier and the energy split upon contact with it.

“We wouldn't want this to be too short, now would we?”

The Tetsusaiga flared with power and she smirked before swinging downward. A jagged, rippling black cut formed where her sword went.

“I don't care what the length of the fight is, as long as you're dead by the end.”

The cut exploded with golden energy and two massive dragons launched forth, one a midnight-black while the other was a brilliant gold. They both attacked Naraku, who was obviously not expecting the kind of fight she'd brought.

Then, he smirked and the entire ground shook before tentacles began to rise.

“You know, Kagome, I've had longer to prepare this than last time. Don't think you'll be making it out alive, this time.”

Kagome smirked at that.

“Oh, you know what? Because there are other demons that fight like you, I came up with a very effective anti-trap a while ago.”

She sheathed the Tetsusaiga and smirked as her demonic power, which had been slightly held back by the sword, erupted in the form of a mountain of energy around her.

“So, your strategy is to be more demonic? Kagome, you should know by now I don't die that easily from demons,” Naraku sneered. His arrogance vanished the second her eyes, which had been tightly closed as she sheathed her blade, opened…

 

“Damn!” Yusuke yelled. “She wasn't kidding about that power,” he observed as he dodged another attack. His attack, he reminded himself with a growl.

“What's wrong, detective? You seem to be running out of steam rather quickly,” the bleeding white-haired girl said with a cruel smile.

“Well, it's kind of a pain in the ass to fight your glass bitch and hold off that damn mirror's power. But, I'm not complaining. It's been a while since I've killed a strong demon.”

Her smile disappeared at that.

“You assume you'll kill me, detective?”

“I have no doubt,” he said before charging at the glass demon before him. As he smashed his fist into its head, again, it healed and a new bleeding wound appeared on the girl's head, again.

“You know what? I think I'll just make it so there isn't enough left of it to take the damage!”

Yusuke launched into the air and a massive ball of mixing red and blue energy formed at his pointer finger's end.

“Eat this! Spiritual Demon Gun!”

The energy released and shot at the glass demon with speeds faster than even Youmi could counter. It hit and nothing was left of the creature. He watched as the white-haired girl's body exploded with bloody gashes.

With a gurgled, wet, choking sound, she fell to the ground and slowly turned to bits of broken glass.

There was a scream and Yusuke reared around to find a demon approaching Keiko with incredible speed, and he wasn't close enough…

 

Kurama dodged a new wave of slashes from the tall, slender demon. So far, it had been a very dangerous battle that was very similar to his bout with the explosive demon on Team Toguro last time(2). As the demon, Kurasa, swung his scythe, explosions would trap Kurama in its path.

As it happened, there was a long, slick trail of blood and thorn petals slowly forming.

“You're slow, Kurama! What's the matter? Not in the fighting mood today?”

Kurama, despite his usual calm, growled at that.

“Petals and Thorns!”

He crushed the rose in his hand and the millions of youki-infused rose petals formed a vortex around the two.

“Ha! Don't make me laugh!”

Kurasa swung his scythe down into the ground. As the blade met the ground, a massive explosion of youki went off and the blade-like petals fell to the ground.

“You'll have to try harder than that, Kurama,” Kurasa mocked. “Maybe if Youko came out to play, you'd stand a chance.”

Kurama growled at that. He was just as skilled as his other half, and he was going to prove it, despite the kitsune complaining in the back of his mind the whole time.

“Thorn Wheel!”

He spun his Rose Whip in a large arc and it lashed against Kurasa's scythe. The more it hit the weapon, the sharper the thorns got and the harder the root became.

Kurasa's eyes widened as Kurama swung with all of his might. This time, when the two met, the blade snapped off of the scythe and the handle turned to dust at the sudden hit of youki it received.

“Oh, that's rather annoying,” Kurasa sighed. “Well then, I suppose I should get serious then, huh?”

He reached for the top button of his cloak and quickly tore the cover off. Kurama's eyes widened at the difference in appearance. Whereas the cloak had obviously hid his musculature, he hadn't expected it to hide the sheer volume of mass that it did.

Kurasa, who had been tall and willowy with the cloak, was not terrifyingly lithe without it. Rock-hard muscles rippled under a skin-tight pair of black jeans and a sleeveless shirt. At either of his sides were two long, slender blades. His hands, which had appeared large because of the bulky covering, were now extremely thin and appeared as deadly as the scythe had been.

Long, blood-red claws gleamed at the ends of his fingers, with wicked, talon-like curves at the ends. His hair, which had been mostly hidden, was now revealed to be a long, thick curtain of silver. Without the cloak covering his face, a long row of ebony fangs revealed themselves. And, from the center of his back, sprouted two long, raven-black, bat-like wings.

Dark, pupil-less red eyes focused on Kurama like a laser as he started to slowly let Youko take over.

“I am Kurasa of the Black Fangs, and I will kill you, Youko Kurama,” Kurasa said in a suddenly deeper voice than he'd originally spoken with.

“Rose Whip!”

Kurama swung the weapon at him only to watch Kurasa catch it, bare-handed, without receiving as much as a shallow wound.

“That won't work anymore, Kurama.”

Kurama threw a large collection of seeds at Kurasa, who jumped away with a smirk.

“You can't really believe it'd be so easy, can you?”

Kurama watched as the seeds landed in the puddle of his blood from the whip. As soon as the seeds landed, youki exploded outward and Kurama smirked.

“I may not be as effective as my predecessor with plants, but I can still manage.”

The seeds exploded and Kurasa suddenly found himself engulfed in sharp, jagged vines.

“What!?”

“Petals and Thorns!”

Kurasa began to squirm out of the vines as Kurama's attack came. It hit and a massive amount of blood fell from the vortex. As it vanished, the vines were gone, but so was Kurasa.

The only warning Kurama received next was the sharp, stabbing pain in his chest. He looked down to find a long blade jutting out from where his heart was.

“Ha! That's what you get, stupid fox!”

Kurama grabbed the blade, slick with his blood, and grabbed Kurasa's wrist near the scythe's handle.

“Big mistake… I go down with my enemies.”

Kurasa's eyes widened as a massive tree sprouted around them. And then, youki exploded and his body was quickly devoured. Kurama staggered out of his creation just as Keiko screamed bloody murder…

 

Kagome heard the scream at the same time a strong smell of blood assaulted her senses.

Her dark, rainbow-like eyes shot from one source to the other and she bit her lip.

“Quite a predicament. Will you run to help the human, and let the fox die? Or will you go to the fox and let the human die? Or will you fight me and let both die?” Naraku sneered. Kagome turned to him and snarled, her fangs gleaming in the light given off by her aura.

“But then, if you leave me, who knows whether I'll escape or not?”

At that, Kagome's snarl turned to a sneer.

“You aren't going anywhere, Naraku, ever again.”

And then, Kagome seemed to be frozen in time. Except, the demon attacking Keiko suddenly exploded and the fox's wounds healed. She unfroze and smirked.

“What!?”

“I'm faster than you can ever imagine, Naraku. I can literally be in three places at once. With the powers of those whose lives you destroyed, I will end your existence.”

“Oh? Well, in that case, you should know something about your little demon friend there,” he said, eyeing Hiei, who growled.

“What about me, filth?”

“Did you know, Kagome? The bandit named Onigumo, he had severe burns. And the cause of those burns is your friend there. So, in a way, he's the reason I exist!”

Kagome seemed to have fallen for Naraku's bait for half a second before she snarled.

“And the reason I exist is to undo that mistake. You know, I learned to use this spell specifically to kill demons that can regenerate. And it's holy magic, so you won't be getting away. Now, it's going to be over in a flash, so watch carefully!”

Kagome spread her arms so her body made a cross. Long, white bolts of energy struck the ground around her as her eyes closed in concentration.

“I call upon the elements in this, my spell. Air, heed my call and bring me your might! Fire, heed my call and bring me your strength and bravery! Earth, heed my call and grant me your eternal wisdom! Water, heed my call and bring me your calm. Spirit, heed my call and grant me your holy serenity. With the spirits of the north, east, south, west, and unity, I cast this, the spell of final endings.”

Kagome's aura became a brilliant, pure white that rivaled the sun its in intensity. In her hands formed a longbow of pure light while an arrow, glowing dark purple, formed.

Naraku gasped at the power in her hands, which was purer than any being on Earth had ever possessed.

“How!? You're a kuromiko that killed and became a demon! You've gained from the souls of the dead! This power shouldn't be possible!”

Kagome smiled serenely at that.

“You may be centuries old, but you have a lot to learn. This power isn't a holy purity. It's the sign of the purest hatred ever in existence,” Kagome said in a low-pitched, throaty voice unlike her own.

“Who are you!?” Naraku barked.

“I'm the Spirit of Vengeance, and this miko has summoned me to do what she cannot. And that is release the emotions of wrath. Now then, say farewell to this world,” she said before releasing the arrow. With a massive flash of light, it launched forth and Naraku screamed in pure agony as it pierced his chest, where his heart would be.

The entire island shook as the arrow buried itself deep within the kurohanyo's body. The light surrounding Kagome slowly disappeared and she fell to her knees, shaking.

“What!? What is this!?” Naraku screamed as his body began to slowly explode with light.

“It's a spell that will make sure you don't return this time, Naraku. Even if there's a piece of you somewhere to heal you, this arrow will seal your soul and completely destroy you from existence,” Kagome said as she weakly stood up.

Suddenly, the ground shook as Naraku's eyes bled red.

“Miko! I will not die without a fight!”

Despite his body slowly disintegrating, Naraku launched forward, a long spear forming from his youki.

Despite the shield Kagome quickly erected, he still broke through. The tip went straight through her abdomen and she was lifted off the ground. As her weight was left solely on the spear, her body slowly slid down as it was lifted more vertically by the second.

“I will drag you to the pits of Hell with me!”

Hiei launched through the air and quickly severed the arm wielding the spear off. As it fell, the spear disappeared and Kagome rolled up to a sitting position quickly.

“Damned annoying hybrid!”

Kagome, along with everyone else, stared in horror as a massive spike shot straight through Hiei's chest and reared around to come out so there was a loop around his spine. Blood slowly seeped out of the large gashes and Naraku sneered.

“I hope you weren't expecting anyone to live through this battle, Kagome.”

The tentacle pulled and suddenly, Hiei was in two halves on the ground, glassy eyes staring up at nothing.

Kagome's eyes widened as blood pooled around her demonic lover's body. It had been complicated and a pain in the ass, but Kagome had, once again, thrown away caution and decided it was okay to like someone. And now, he was dead because of her.

She slowly stood and walked toward Naraku, making the only sound in the entire stadium as everyone watched to see what she was going to do.

To everyone's surprise, she grabbed the arrow in Naraku and it exploded.

“Naraku, you may not realize something. Because of you, I lost so many people that I loved. My family, my friends, Inuyasha, and now Hiei. There's a very large difference between last time and this time.”

“Oh? And what's that?” he sneered, despite the pain the missing half of his body was causing him. Suddenly, a large blade shot into his chest and he found himself paralyzed.

“I don't give a shit if I go to Hell anymore,” she bit out before walking toward Hiei. She gently moved the halves of his body together and sealed the wound as best as she could, along with the spine. Just like last time, it wouldn't save him. But things were different now.

She quickly extracted the Tenseiga from its sheath and the little imps suddenly stopped chaining Hiei's body as they looked up in terror.

“He's not for you,” she bit out before swinging. They turned to ash as Hiei's heart slowly started to beat at its demonic pace again, which was still slow, but a big improvement over none at all.

His eyes opened wide as she knelt down.

“What just happened, onna?”

She smirked before gently kissing him. As she pulled away, his eyes were wide as they stared at her.

“It's not important, Hiei… I'll be right back.”

She straightened and slowly stalked toward Naraku, who was now coughing blood.

“Sesshomaru gave me a gift of redemption. I only wish I'd known how to use it back when you killed everyone. No, scratch that. I wish I'd known how to do this!”

She grabbed the Tetsusaiga from his chest and ripped it upward, making a massive gash across most of his upper-body.

That's when he realized she was still grasping the arrow of light. Unfortunately, Naraku's body was too weak to move as she plummeted it into the gash. It vanished in his blood and an ear-shattering scream of agony left him. Red smoke rose as his blood slowly dissolved.

“Don't worry; it won't kill you too quickly. With that power in your blood, you'll die of agony after an eternity of pain. That's how I want you to die; suffering like you made others suffer.”

His eyes widened as he stared at the once-merciful miko.

“Fortunately for you, I'm not you. So instead, I'll make your death quick. But it will just condense all of the agony into a few seconds.”

She stepped back and her once-again black eyes locked on him.

“Darkness, I summon you as your mistress. Come to my call and answer my light with your evil.”

A black aura began to swirl around her and her armor slowly began to melt at the intensity of the youki underneath.

“Spirits of the Damned, I humbly ask you for your services. Come to me and release your torment.”

The youki around Kagome suddenly turned into a vortex of black, shrieking wind around Kagome and Naraku.

“This is for Kagura,” she said before a bolt of black energy hit Naraku's chest. Where it hit, a small black circle formed; right over his heart.

“And this is for Miroku,” she said before another bolt made a circle on the kurohanyo's right hand.

“This is for Sango,” she said as the wind picked up in pitch and another bolt hit Naraku's back, covering the spider-shaped scar with the large circle roughly where that arrow had pierced Sango's back.

“What are you doing to me!?”

“This is for Inuyasha and Kikyo, who you made suffer beyond any others with your scheme,” she screamed over the wind. Another bolt of energy, bigger and more painful than the others, shot down and hit the center of his forehead.

“And this is for the suffering you've caused me!”

The wind stopped with one final, shattering-glass like eruption of a scream, and a massive bolt struck him in the center of his chest. Over the other circles formed a large spider-web of black energy, and the kurohanyo looked at her in fear.

“Heaven's Torment!” she screamed before smashing her fist into him. As it met his flesh, the pattern covering his body flared with golden light, along with Kagome's entire body. And then, a column of the energy exploded upward into the sky, engulfing both of them.

The island suddenly shook with such violence a fissure ripped itself across the center of the island. And then, it shook again and the island began to sink.

“What are you doing!?” Naraku screamed.

She felt the eyes of her teammates on her and slowly turned. Golden tears fell from her eyes as she took in their looks of horror.

“It was nice meeting you all, but it looks like I have to go now,” she sighed.

“Kagome?” Kurama asked, taking in her appearance of surrender.

“The spell to destroy a soul requires the user to die. I enjoyed meeting you all. And sorry we couldn't figure the whole thing out earlier, Hiei,” she said as more tears fell.

“What the hell!? What about your kids!?” Yusuke barked.

“I don't know,” she admitted. “But at least I can die knowing their future in this world is nearly guaranteed now…”

She turned back to Naraku and smiled sadly.

“You know, it's really sad. If Onigumo hadn't been possessed by greed, none of this would have ever needed to happen… I'll die knowing that I fulfilled my purpose.”

“You bitch!” he screamed. Tentacles rose up from the ground, engulfing Kagome. “I'll kill you before this damn spell is over!”

“No you won't,” Kagome sighed. “Without your puppets and jewel shards, you're nothing but a weak, desperate, possessed human. This spell is the ultimate form of retribution for everyone that has ever suffered because of the jewel, or by effect, me or you. I'll die and you'll cease to exist. I'll be reincarnated, and hopefully my next life cycle won't be one of despair.”

Naraku's eyes suddenly widened as the tentacles turned to ash and his body slowly began to disintegrate.

The column around them began to glow with specks of colorful energy along its way into the Heavens. Silver, gold, black, red, blue, white, pink, and green(3) all ran through the brilliant column of power. The ground slowly began to sink into the water around the island, and the spirit detective's team looked at the miko helplessly. And then, the column exploded with such a powerful force that the water turned to mist from its intensity.

As the smoke from the explosion cleared, Kagome stood in a massive crater, unmoving.

“What the hell!?” Yusuke yelled.

Keiko's eyes flooded over with tears as she covered her mouth with a violently shaking hand.

The five of them ran toward Kagome and found her body frozen in her place by a large, glowing coating of white energy. Slowly, it disappeared and her body fell limply to the ground, lifeless…

 

 

A/N:

(1)Translation: Nehakuryu=Twosouldragon, or Two-soul-dragon. Get it?

(2)I cannot for the life of me remember the man's name, but hopefully the description is enough to figure out who I'm talking about.

(3)Here's the rundown of the energies:

silver= miko qi

gold= mixture of all energies

black= hateful energy

red= youki

blue= healing energy

white= purity

pink= purification

green= poisonous energy (Sesshomaru's claws, for example)

Sorry for the way that Naraku's team didn't really get development before being brutally murdered, but from the beginning, I had the idea of using them as ways to show what Kagome's power was like when fully released. I hope that the other fights more than made up for it, though.

I hope I did okay with the spirit in Kagome. I thought of it this way; Kagome hates Naraku, but she's a mostly pure woman and she doesn't like the feeling of wrath. She's not impure, and hate in itself isn't always an impure thing since there is such a thing as `pure hatred.' So, she used a spell to unleash a holy entity that would do it in her place. I love mythology-based stories, and wanted to get some in here somewhere. I thought from the beginning that the final fight would be a good place to do it. Tell me your thoughts and opinions.

I LOVED writing this story. It was very fun for me. And, because it was the finale to the fanfic, I gave you guys a whopping 18 pages! (In Microsoft word)