InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ After-effects ❯ Showdown! Kagome VS Akkimaru ( Chapter 16 )

Disclaimer: Well, it's the usual of usual he he he.

 

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Chapter 15: Showdown! Kagome VS Akkimaru

 

If one word could describe Akkimaru's mood right now, it would be absolute devastation. For years she had been watching the struggle between Naraku and Inuyasha's gang, waiting for one of them to fall. And then, it had happened, the evil hanyou had been struck down, leaving a weakened party in its wake. It was the golden opportunity she had been waiting for. Quickly but carefully, she had rounded on the unsuspecting party and she would have succeeded if one goddamn kitsune hadn't had the bright idea of causing the miko and the hanyou to leave unexpectedly.

 

That was when one of her underlings suggested that they might be able to enlist the help of Kikyo to retrieve the jewel considering that there was only two of them to deal with now. A brilliant idea that had failed due to the sheer incompetence of her underling. And then she had elected to take someone hostage, a classical strategy but very efficient nonetheless. Once again, thanks to Mattemaru, her plan almost failed. Fortunately, her loyal Washisuto was able to scoop down and bring her not one, but two bargaining chips.

 

Mattemaru had been an annoying pain in the ass from the start, butting in unexpectedly and very efficiently disrupting her carefully laid out plans. He even went so far as to lead the lord of the western lands himself, Sesshomaru, to her. Though she had won, the youkai had proved to be remarkably resilient to her attacks.

 

And yet... as annoying, as infuriating as Mattemaru had been to her, nothing could compare with what the girl in front of her had done. By purifying the jewel, she had successfully crushed her ambitions and rendered years of careful planning completely meaningless. In short, she had taken away her very reason to exist.

 

"I'll make you pay wench! I'll do the same thing I did with Sesshomaru and that brat Shippo. I'll strip you of your powers and after that, I'll take my time torturing you to death," she thought infuriated.

 

With a feral growl, she stuck her staff in the ground. The purple jewel pulsed once and a barrier immediately started expanding. Before anyone could react, they found themselves pushed away, all except Kagome that is. Finally, after the barrier reached the limit of the cleared area, it stopped growing.

 

"What the..." said the girl as she looked around her in confusion.

 

It was rather surprising, Inuyasha who had been standing right next to her was now fifty meters away, picking himself up from the ground, looking as confused as she right now. Finally, her eyes came to rest on the staff planted in the ground and Akkimaru who was sporting a predatory snarl on her face.

 

"What's the meaning of this?" she demanded angrily.

 

"It's actually quite simple," began the youkai. "It simply means that you're going to die!" she exclaimed and with that, she tore her staff from the ground and pointed it at her.

 

There was a ripping sensation inside Kagome's soul followed quickly by a feeling emptiness unlike any she had ever experienced before. She was on the point of wondering what had just happened when Akkimaru interrupted her train of thoughts.

 

"Well girl, how does it feel to be stripped of your spiritual powers?" she taunted.

 

Looking at the youkai in disbelief, Kagome tried to summon her powers, but no matter how hard she focused, nothing happened. A cold feeling of dread started creeping up her spine as she realized that she was completely helpless. Absorbing the jewel may have turned her into a hanyou and given her the strength to go with it, but she didn't have any sort of skills when it came to fighting barehanded, so it all amounted to nothing in the end.

 

"Use this Kagome," a familiar voice suddenly rang out in her mind.

 

"Midoriko!" she exclaimed mentally right before something happened.

 

It felt really strange, in the space of a second, her perception of Akkimaru changed. The pulls and flexes of her muscles that had meant nothing a second ago were suddenly clues to an impending attack as well as possible openings. The Tessaiga in her hand that had felt alien was now exactly like an extension of her arm. In short, it felt like she had held a sword all her life, which was impossible, unless...

 

"Midoriko, what did you do?" she asked in confusion.

 

"This is my gift to you Kagome," answered the miko, her voice suddenly becoming weaker. "Use it... well," she finished so lightly that Kagome had to strain to hear it and then, all traces of the old miko's soul were gone from her mind.

 

"I hope you're ready girl because when I'm through with you, you're going to beg me to kill you," laughed Akkimaru, jarring her out of her thoughts.

 

"Come on then, I'll show you just how powerless I really am," she answered the youkai, her eyes hardening and her body automatically shifting into a defensive stance.

 

The youkai froze for a second at seeing the girl's behavior, but the cruel smile quickly returned. "Looks like this is going to be more interesting than I thought," she said right before she launched herself at her hanyou opponent.

 

Akkimaru wasted no time and began with a flurry of fast and furious strikes that immediately got the girl hanyou on the defensive. The blows were raining on Kagome like there was no tomorrow. Using her staff sometimes like a club, sometimes like a quarterstaff, the youkai started pushing the hanyou girl back slowly.

 

She didn't know exactly how long she managed to hold out, but suddenly, Kagome put her foot on a piece of wood and it slipped very slightly, making her waver. This was all the opening Akkimaru needed and with a victorious roar, she raised her staff above her head and brought it down in a vertical slice. The hanyou girl instinctively raised the Tessaiga above her head in a desperate block. Already off balance, she was unable to put any strength in her move and when the staff connected with her untransformed sword, the impact sent her flying backward. She landed in a dazed heap a few feet away, her chest burning with a newly received wound.

 

"Kagome!" called a chorus of voices.

 

She looked up to see Inuyasha, standing on the other side of the barrier which was only a few feet away from her. He was looking both frustrated and helplessly worried. Beside him were Shippo and Yuna who sported the same expression as the hanyou on their face. She also noted with a small amount of relief that they were now free of their captors.

 

When she saw Kagome looking her way, the ten years old girl immediately moved forward a few steps. "Kagome-sama, her staff..." she began in an urgent tone, but before she could say more, the girl hanyou had bounded away in order to avoid yet another assault from the insane youkai.

 

"What's this about her staff?" asked Inuyasha, curiosity temporarily overriding his worry for the girl on the other side of the barrier.

 

But the child wasn't listening, all her attention was focused on the fight in front of her. The hanyou was about to repeat his question when she suddenly took off at full speed. Raising an eyebrow in confusion at this unexplained behavior, he turned his gaze to Shippo, hoping to get some sort of explanation but he ended up empty as the kitsune had also decided to take off.

 

"The hell's going on here?" he asked to no one in particular before bounding after the retreating pair.

 

Meanwhile, Kagome once again found herself barely holding her own against Akkimaru's onslaught. It was frustrating in a way because, for all the skill she now possessed with a blade, the youkai proved to be far too swift for her to mount any sort of attack.

 

"Dammit, I can't take much more of this!" she thought as she felt her arms start to burn from her incessant parrying.

 

Finally, after blocking yet another blow, a plan formed in her head. She voluntarily let her left foot slip slightly, altering her balance and making her look like she was stumbling. Akkimaru went straight for it and roared victoriously as she swiped horizontally at the girl hanyou's neck. At the last possible moment, Kagome suddenly threw her weight down, the blow going harmlessly over her head. Not expecting such a move, the youkai was thrown off balance for a split second, giving the girl the opening she needed. Immediately jumping up from her crouching position, she slashed upward across Akkimaru's chest, causing the youkai to stagger backward.

 

"That... was a pretty... neat trick," panted Akkimaru when she regained her balance. "But, with such a dull blade, you can't possibly hope to win," she finished mockingly.

 

The panther youkai was right, in her untransformed state, Tessaiga was about as effective as a wooden practice sword. Of course, Kagome wasn't about to admit that to her opponent. "Tessaiga's a stubborn sword," she shot back with narrowed eyes. "So even if she won't transform for me, I know she won't allow herself to lose to the likes of you!"

 

"Kagome-sama!" called a voice suddenly. "Her staff! You must break her staff!" it said urgently.

 

Out of the corner of her eyes, Kagome could see the person who had just said those words: Yuna. The child was currently pounding frantically against the barrier with her left arm, the sling hanging loosely around her shoulder. That definitively caught her attention and she was immediately reminded of the time when Inuyasha and her had left Kaede's hut. "That's right!" she suddenly realized. "It's her right arm that's wounded, not her left. But what could it all mean?" she asked herself.

 

Akkimaru didn't leave her time to puzzle things out however. "Shut up you annoying little brat!" she snapped and leveled her staff at the helpless Yuna. There was a flash of light from the gem at the end and immediately a purple energy ball was sent hurtling toward the kid. Before it could reach its target though, Inuyasha had already scooped Yuna in his arms and had bounded away to safety.

 

The panther youkai snorted in annoyance before turning back to her, an evil smile appearing on her lips. "So you want to destroy my staff do you?" she asked mockingly. "Well, it's going to take a lot more than that broken down sword of yours," she laughed.

 

"This staff is like an extension of my soul. It draws all of its power from there, that's why its so strong... and that's also why it will never break, because my soul cannot be broken," she explained confidently.

 

"That's awfully cocky coming from someone who hardly managed to scratch me, a puny half-breed," taunted the girl hanyou.

 

While these words were exchanged, Kagome's mind was racing, frantically trying to figure out the meaning behind Yuna's actions. "Why? Why did they put Yuna's sling on the wrong arm?" she kept asking herself. But no answer came to her. Eventually, her train of thoughts was interrupted once again by Akkimaru who, in answer to her last retort, leveled her staff at her and started to hurl ball after ball of purple energy in her direction.

 

"I'll show you just how cocky I can be," she snarled angrily.

 

After about a minute of frantic leaping around, Kagome's luck finally ran out and one of Akkimaru's shot connected directly with her chest. The force of the impact sent her flying backward, straight into the barrier. All the air was forced out of her lungs as pain radiated through her whole body and her legs gave out from under her. Though she had been more critically wounded before, the girl hanyou found with surprise that her body refused to obey her commands.

 

"What's going on?" she thought as she desperately tried to make her arms and legs function.

 

"What's the matter girl? Can't move?" asked Akkimaru mockingly, raising Kagome's head with her staff so that she could see the fear in the girl's eyes. "It wouldn't be because you were hit by one of my paralyzing shots would it?" she continued in the same tone.

 

Kagome wasn't listening to the youkai's rambling however because something on her opponent's staff had captured her attention. Just above Akkimaru's left hand there was a small crack, barely visible, but there nonetheless. "So that's what she was trying to tell me," she thought as she finally understood Yuna's hidden message.

 

Of course, her lack of attention didn't go unnoticed on the panther youkai's part. Without warning, stars filled the helpless hanyou's vision as the angry Akkimaru's hand had come down in a hard slap.

 

"You should learn to listen when someone speaks to you!" she snapped.

 

"Kagome! What are you doing? Get up!" screamed Inuyasha's voice right behind her.

 

"Kagome, please!" this time it was Shippo.

 

"Kagome-sama..." and now it was Yuna.

 

"Dammit!" thought Kagome as beads of sweat started to form on her forehead from the effort of trying to break free of the spell she was under.

 

"You know," whispered Akkimaru in a secretive tone. "I think I'll spare you for now. It'll be a lot more fun to kill your friends with you watching," she finished.

 

Now that was probably the biggest mistake the panther youkai could have made. Rage suddenly flared inside the paralyzed hanyou, increasing her strength tenfolds. Her whole body began to shudder and shake and a menacing growl emanated from her throat. Akkimaru, suddenly uncertain, started to back away slightly as the shuddering increased and the growling grew louder. Finally, there was a popping sound and Kagome's body jerked violently as her bonds shattered.

 

"Impossible! She... broke free" exclaimed the youkai as the hanyou girl slowly got to her feet.

 

Firmly planting herself between Akkimaru and her friends on the other side of the barrier, Kagome locked her burning gaze with that of the youkai. "Just try and hurt my friends and see what happens," she snarled.

 

And then, as if answering to her own feelings, Tessaiga started pulsing in the hanyou's hand. Temporarily forgetting her anger, she brought the sword up and looked at it carefully. "Tessaiga... you want to protect our friends too do you?" she asked mentally and the katana pulsed once again in answer to her question.

 

"Thank you," she thought before returning her gaze to the panther youkai.

 

"Akkimaru, you'd better prepare yourself because now... you've made even Tessaiga angry!" she exclaimed as the blade abruptly transformed into its fang form.

 

Behind her, three pair of eyes witnessed the metamorphosis in complete bewilderment. "Say Inuyasha," said Shippo after a second of stillness. "When did Kagome learn to use the Tessaiga like this?" he asked, but of course, no one answered him.

 

Akkimaru on the other hand was finding her position less and less comfortable as the hanyou girl started advancing toward her. She had already taken one involuntary step back before she caught herself and realized what she had been doing. Strangely, this caused her to burst out laughing, immediately halting Kagome's movement.

 

"And to think the first one to strike fear in my heart, even if it was for a mere moment, would be a hanyou... how ironic," she said with unexplained mirth. "So you think you can protect your friends with that sword girl?" she asked, all traces of amusement gone from her features. "Well think again!" she exclaimed.

 

"Washisuto!" she called. "Come and show this girl just how powerless she really is!"

 

At those words, Kagome's heart literally stopped beating in her chest. She whirled around in time to see an enormous eagle descend on her friends. "NOOOO!!!!" she helplessly screamed.

 

But then, something unexpected happened. Before the bird could reach its targets, an enormous and extremely localized tornado suddenly encased the bird. Unable to withstand the raging winds, Washisuto was sent hurling harmlessly away from its intended targets. And then, as suddenly as it had come, the wind died down, leaving the bird to hover in place, completely disoriented. Before it could do so much as catch its breath, a ball of fire, that looked minuscule compared to his immense proportions, but was really as big as a man, connected with its chest, sending it crashing to the ground.

 

This created huge gales of wind that sent dirt and debris flying everywhere and forced everyone not in the barrier to cover their eyes. This, of course, didn't last and once things began to settle down, two shapes slowly started to appear through the cloud. One was distinctly humanoid with pointed ears adorning its head while the other was feline-looking, with two tails trailing lazily behind her.

 

"I'm sorry to disappoint you Akkimaru, but your dirty tricks won't work this time," called the wind sorceress once she and Kirara had gotten out of the cloud of dust.

 

"Keh! You sure took your time," exclaimed the hanyou in a falsely reproachful tone.

 

"Hmpf, so much for gratitude," answered Kagura, immediately catching on to the hanyou's playful mood. "Remind me not to save your hide next time it's in danger," she finished, snapping her fan shut for emphasis.

 

While Yuna had been outwardly silent during that last exchange, inside of her, emotions whirled uncontrollably. She couldn't understand it. When Kagome and Inuyasha had showed up to try and save her and Shippo, she had been glad... but nothing like this. She was so happy that it was almost painful. Her heart was so full that she was sure it would burst. Tears streamed down her cheeks in a vain attempt to quell a little of the emotions coursing through her. Her feet moved one hesitant step forward as the sudden need to feel Kagura's arms around her rose within her. Her pace quickly increased though and before long, her walk had turned into a full-fledged run. It wasn't just a need now, it was a frantic craving, a desperate yearning. She wanted to bask once again in Kagura's motherly love.

 

"KAGURA-SAMAAAAAA!!" she yelled as she threw herself at the sorceress, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks.

 

The youkai stared at the child clinging to the folds of her kimono for a few seconds, surprised by her overwhelming reaction. It was quickly replaced with a warm feeling though, a feeling that caused Kagura to kneel and gently wrap her arms around Yuna in a gentle and tender hug.

 

"Yuna..." whispered the sorceress softly, tears of her own threatening to spill from her eyes.

 

"I knew... I knew you would... come," sobbed the ten years old while returning the embrace as best as she could with her good arm.

 

Finally, the youkai pulled slightly away in order to be able to look at Yuna's face. "You're not hurt are you?" she asked while wiping the girl's tear with her finger.

 

The ten years old simply shook her head in response before noticing the youkai's wet cheeks. "Kagura-sama... you're crying," she said, a bit surprised by that fact.

 

"It's okay, I'm just... happy to have you back in my arms," answered Kagura, a somewhat shaky smile appearing on her face.

 

"I'm happy too, Kagura-sama," replied Yuna before burying herself in the folds of Kagura's kimono once again.

 

******

 

To say Kagome was relieved at Kagura and Kirara's surprise attack was probably the understatement of the century. In the midst of the battle, she had completely forgotten about the two supposed trump cards hiding in the shadow, especially when she had noticed that Shippo and Yuna had broken free from their captors. While she felt her heart warm up at seeing the display of affection, someone else was having another opinion on the matter altogether.

 

"God this is making me sick," said Akkimaru, disdain evident in her voice.

 

The girl hanyou's mood changed instantly upon hearing the panther youkai's words. Her temporary happiness turned into downward hatred in the matter of seconds. Fire seemed to surround her as she turned around to face Akkimaru once more. When she leveled her gaze at the youkai, it was so filled with anger and hatred that Akkimaru couldn't help but take an involuntary step back.

 

"You shouldn't have done that," growled Kagome while taking a menacing step forward. "Trying to harm my friends is the one thing I will never... FORGIVE!" she roared before launching herself at the youkai.

 

The speed at which Kagome moved was so great that Akkimaru barely had time to raise her staff in defense before Tessaiga connected, sending bolts of energy flying around the two opponents. The force of the blow reverberated through her arms all the way to her toes and caused her to almost lose her grip on her weapon. "Impossible! Such strength from a hanyou... it cannot be," she thought as she found herself being pushed backward.

 

That was when she felt something that she knew was impossible: Her staff was actually beginning to break. Glancing up in both horror and astonishment, she watched helplessly as cracks she hadn't seen before started to widen under the hanyou girl's relentless push. "My staff! I have to do something!" she mused, panic flooding her being.

 

Without thinking, she summoned her staff's power and made it that the flow of energy would go through the Tessaiga and into her opponent's body. Too late did she realized her mistake. The energy coursing through her staff acted exactly like electricity going through a damaged wire. Finding an easy exit in the numerous fissures present, the power went straight out of the weapon and into her own body.

 

Gritting her teeth in frustration at her own stupidity, she willed the power to stop flowing, only to find out that it didn't work. What was worst, the flow was increasing, causing her muscles to cramp up and preventing her from releasing her staff. It wasn't long before the pain became too much for her to endure and she found herself screaming in agony.

 

Having sensed the danger she was in, Kagome had long since jumped a safe distance away and was currently watching helplessly as the youkai was staggering back and forth under the growing pressure of her own backfiring attack. Her eyes widened slightly and she took an involuntary step back as a pulsating purple light started to surround the staff.

 

"Her staff is... overloading?!" she whispered about a second before the full meaning of what she had said sank in.

 

Whirling around, she started bounding away from the howling youkai, trying to put as much distance as she could before the inevitable happened. "Everyone, get down!" she screamed to her friends right before a snapping sound was heard and the energy contained within the staff was all abruptly set free in a formidable explosion.

 

Kagome was still too close to Akkimaru to be able to put her own warning to good use and as such the blast caught her full in the back and sent her flying for a good ten feet before gravity pulled her back to the ground. She landed flat on her belly, effectively knocking the wind out of her and making stars dance in front of her eyes.

 

She didn't know exactly how long she lay there, ears ringing and head spinning, hovering between consciousness and unconsciousness but eventually, her faculties started to return, albeit slowly. The first thing she registered were scents. They were all intermingled together, making it difficult for her to determine how many there were and who they belonged to. There was one that stood out however, one that filled her with peace as soon as she recognized it.

 

"Inuyasha," her mind instantly identified.

 

And then, as the fog lifted further, voices started to filter through.

 

"Kagome! Hang in there Kagome!" said a voice that couldn't belong to anyone but Inuyasha.

 

"Is she going to be all right?" asked a much younger voice, Shippo this time.

 

"Don't worry, she's just shaken from the blast. Look, she's coming too," answered an older woman's voice, Kagura.

 

And indeed, a small moan had escaped the hanyou girl's lips as her brain finally kicked into second gear. Opening her eyes, she blinked a few times to clear her vision and was immediately confronted with a pair of very concerned golden orbs. The expression was quickly replaced by relief as he noticed her looking up at him.

 

"Kagome!" he exclaimed. "Geez woman, did you have to go and make us all worry like that?" he snapped in what he probably meant as an angry tone, but was spoiled by his lack of conviction.

 

The hanyou girl couldn't suppress a giggle of amusement at Inuyasha's antics. "Sorry about that," she answered. "But it's not like I did it on purpose you know," she finished with mirth.

 

Her smile was quickly replaced by a serious expression as she asked her next question. "What about Akkimaru?"

 

"Well... from the looks of it, I'd say she did a rather thorough job of doing herself in," answered the wind sorceress as she moved a little to the side to allow Kagome to see her fallen opponent.

 

From her point of view, the hanyou girl could see that Kagura's claims had not been exaggerated. The panther youkai was lying in a crumpled mass on the ground. Her whole body was burned beyond recognition and smoke still rose from what was left of her clothes. Struggling to her feet with Inuyasha's help, Kagome slowly made her way to the fallen youkai.

 

When she reached her, it was all Kagome could do not to look away in disgust. All of Akkimaru's skin had completely evaporated under the force of the explosion, leaving behind a grotesque mask of burned inner flesh marred with blood and dirt. As repulsive as the whole picture was, when a raspy sound emanated from the youkai's throat and her lips moved feebly in a desperate attempt to talk, Kagome forgot all about it.

 

"Akkimaru!"exclaimed the girl hanyou as she knelt beside the panther youkai.

 

"Enjoy your... life... hanyou," she wheezed in a barely audible whisper. "And remember... as everyone you... hold dear... forsakes you... that it was all... because of... me," she finished before going completely limp.

 

Straightening herself up, Kagome looked at her clawed hands in sudden apprehension. The words the youkai had said resonating with what she knew of Inuyasha's past. "Will everyone I know really reject me? Will I be forced to endure what Inuyasha had to endure?" she thought.

 

But then a hand was gently placed on her shoulder, bringing her out of her reverie. "Kagome, is everything okay?" inquired Inuyasha softly.

 

Turning her head around, her gaze took in the hanyou's worried expression and then trailed off to look at Kagura, who stood a little in the back along with Yuna, Shippo and Kirara. She also remembered Sango, Miroku and Kaede who were eagerly awaiting her return. The fear lacing her feature abruptly dissolved away only to be replaced by a bright smile. "Yes... everything's fine Inuyasha," she answered the hanyou in a cheerful tone.

 

"It doesn't matter if the whole world forsakes me Akkimaru..." she thought as she got back to her feet.

 

She then proceeded to take in all the people present. Kagura, the wind sorceress. Shippo the kitsune youkai. Yuna the former slave. Kirara the cat youkai. And last but not least, Inuyasha, the proud and stubborn hanyou who had captured her heart. Happiness bubbled inside of her as she realized just how lucky she was to be able to count such wonderful people as her friends.

 

"Let's go home, shall we?" she finally announced, feeling her eyes grow watery with the amount of emotions coursing through her at that very moment.

 

"... because as long as I have my friends by my side, I'll never be alone."

 

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Author's note: Well, I decided to put my notes at the end of the chapter now, feels more natural to me he he he. In any case, I hope you liked the showdown, it's one of the rare chapter that ended up exactly as I envisioned it and also one that I'm especially proud of. In any case, almost only a few more chapters to go now, I hope you liked the story :).