InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ After the Storm ❯ Prologue ( Prologue )

Prologue

 

 

The time had finally come. There were no guards, no demons in the way anymore. It was just them--Naraku and Inuyasha.

 

Inuyasha drew the Tessaiga and held the blade toward Naraku. He narrowed his eyes angrily.

 

"I've finally got you cornered, Naraku," he growled. "This time, there's no escaping me."

 

He thought back to the others. To Miroku, facing Kanna and her mirror. To Sango and Kirara, fighting Kagura and Kohaku. To Shippou, battling Hakudoshi.

 

And to Kagome. His Kagome. She was up against the only one he himself could never kill--Kikyou. She had appeared, saying that she was the one who was to defeat Naraku. Kagome hadn't so much as blinked as she had stepped forward to face the woman. The two were evenly matched; there was no question anymore.

 

Which means they each had an equal chance at dying.

 

He could lose any of them. Any of his friends…and all because of the bastard who stood before him.

 

This time, he would prevail. This time, thought Inuyasha, I will defeat Naraku!

 

Inuyasha focused on the Tessaiga and made it change into its diamond form. At the same time, he and Naraku leapt at each other and crossed blades. They stood for a moment, staring at one another angrily over the blades of their weapons. Then they both pushed back, Naraku staying suspended in the air as Inuyasha landed neatly on his legs. They charged again, Inuyasha trying to gain the momentum to attack with a Backlash Wave, but the area was too enclosed; there wasn't enough room to get the momentum he needed. Over and over again, the adversaries crossed their blades, but neither could get in a hit.

 

Damn, thought Inuyasha. How can I get him to lapse in concentration? Just one thing…one moment…

 

"You know, Inuyasha, without your friends, you're nothing," said Naraku smoothly. "How does that saying go?…Your bark is worse than your bite."

 

Inuyasha glared at him and swung the Tessaiga again, pushing Naraku away from him. They both landed smoothly.

 

"You're too weak to even defend your friends," continued the demon. "Thanks to you, they're behind, fighting those who they cannot defeat. Kanna can absorb the monk's soul. Sango cannot attack her brother, and Kagura uses blades conjured from the air that could tear a limb off in a second. Shippou is too weak to stand a chance against Hakudoshi, or anyone else for that matter."

 

"Shut up!" snarled Inuyasha, throwing himself at Naraku.

 

"And then there's Kagome."

 

Inuyasha's eyes grew wide for a moment, and Naraku knocked him back in that one instant.

 

"Kagome is too weak, too kind-hearted to finish off Kikyou…especially so long as she believes you are still in love with Kikyou. You know she's in love with you, Inuyasha. She's said it before. But you have never given her a straight response, have you? She hurts deep inside because of that, carries a darkness in her heart because she believes you still love that corpse. We both know you fell for Kagome long ago, but she doesn't know that, does she? That's her weakness. She won't be able to finish off Kikyou, and Kikyou will prevail. She'll kill her, Inuyasha. You know she will. The woman you still love will take the life of the girl you've fallen even more in love with."

 

"No…" murmured Inuyasha.

 

"And it'll be all your fault, hanyou," sneered Naraku. "Because you couldn't protect her. And nor will she ever be avenged, will she? Even after she kills Kagome, you still won't have the heart to kill Kikyou again, will you? Kagome's soul will wander in darkness. She shall become like a demon herself, wandering in shadows and heartache, knowing you didn't love her enough to avenge her death."

 

"SHUT UP!" yelled Inuyasha, launching himself at Naraku. He dodged him smoothly, and swung his sword at the hanyou. Inuyasha realized he was shaking, hard. He couldn't get the words out of his mind. Images rose before him, unbidden. Kagome, trying to help him since the very beginning, even if it meant risking herself. Kagome standing by him, even after she found out about his human transformations. Kagome promising she'd stay with him, even after they had discovered about his demon transformations. Kagome saying she'd remain with him, even after he'd hurt her so badly they both felt as though they should never see one another again. Kagome risking herself for him in the acid of the Oni's stomach just a few weeks ago. Kagome yelling that she loved him during their encounter with Kaguya, letting him know that she loved him, despite everything that had happened between them--the fights, the arguments, the misunderstandings, the moments with Kikyou…

 

Kagome dying, lying in his arms, seemingly dead during their encounters with the Shichi'nintai...

 

He couldn't…he wouldn't let that happen to her again. He had promised her that day, that he'd never let something like that happen to her again.

 

He had no plans to break that promise.

 

"Die, you bastard!" Inuyasha yelled suddenly. "Wind Scar!"

 

He let out the powerful attack, knocking Naraku back, but not leaving a scratch. He fell back, panting. He had to finish this quickly…before the others were finished off for good…

 

His distraction proved his undoing. Naraku attacked, letting out the poisonous miasma to use as a smoke screen. Inuyasha covered his nose, narrowing his eyes against the miasma. He had to defeat him quickly…what if any of them had been…?

 

"Wind Tunnel!"

 

Both Inuyasha and Naraku looked around with surprise as the familiar voice yelled out. The miasma began to swirl as it was sucked into a vortex belonging to the hand of a certain perverted monk.

 

As the miasma disappeared, Miroku sealed the void and smirked. Beside him stood Sango, her Hiraikotsu over her shoulder. On his other side stood Shippou…and, to Inuyasha's immense relief, Kagome, her bow still drawn.

 

"Need a hand, Inuyasha?" asked Miroku mildly.

 

"Thanks, Miroku," said Inuyasha gratefully, smiling at his friend. He turned back to look at Naraku. "Let's get this over with."

 

Everyone nodded. Miroku and Inuyasha attacked at the same time, followed up by attacks from Shippou and the girls. As Kagome's arrow passed by him, Inuyasha could have sworn he smelled fresh blood on it. He turned to look at her; she looked a little out of it. He tried to catch her eye, but she was determinedly looking away, focusing solely on the fight. As he swung the Tessaiga at Naraku, he asked Miroku, "Did something happen to Kagome?"

 

Miroku shook his head, indicating now was not the time. Inuyasha frowned. Now that he thought about it, the others looked slightly worried, and he could smell their nervousness. But Miroku was right, now was not the time. They had to beat Naraku quickly.

 

Behind them, Sango whispered to Kagome, "Are you holding out okay?"

 

Kagome smiled at the demon slayer and nodded. "I'll be fine," she said. "I'm not going to quit now."

 

"Take it as easy as you can, though," warned Sango. "With an injury like that--"

 

"I said I'll be fine," said Kagome firmly. Sango knew that tone meant she wasn't to say anything more. She simply nodded and rushed into the fight again.

 

Naraku was doing his best to deflect the repeated, constant attacks. Even with his usual barrier, he was on the defensive, unable to attack. They had the advantage…for now. As Kagome set loose another arrow, she noticed and remembered something. Recently, there had been a baby. A pale baby, half of which had become Hakudoshi. Naraku couldn't be killed in this form…the baby, Akago, was the key…

 

Kagome narrowed her eyes and focused as hard as she could on the surrounding area. In a nearby room, she could feel a dark energy, darker than even Naraku could give off. If she could pinpoint the direction…

 

"Inuyasha!" she called out.

 

Inuyasha turned away from Naraku and landed beside her at once, leaving Miroku, Sango, and Shippou to face the demon alone momentarily. As he landed, he noticed the same smell of blood coming from her and grew worried…

 

"Inuyasha, use the Tessaiga in that direction," she said, pointing to the furthest right corner from them.

 

He blinked, bewildered. "Huh? But Naraku is over there…"

 

"Just trust me on this, Inuyasha," she said fervently. "Just trust me and unleash an attack that way."

 

Unconvinced, he shrugged but stood at the ready as she drew back her bow, aiming an arrow for the same target. She nodded, and he swung the sword down, unleashing a Backlash Wave. At the same time, Kagome released the arrow. Together, the two attacks destroyed the entire corner--and as it did so, Naraku screamed, joined by another, almost unearthly, wail. In the midst of the light, everyone could faintly see a small bundle, surrounded by an odd, lavender light.

 

"No!" yelled Naraku.

 

They all watched as the object dissipated into small specks of blue-white light, floating around them. Naraku's usual barrier seemed to fade away, and he looked panic-stricken. Inuyasha immediately turned to Naraku and attacked with a Wind Scar, coupled with another one of Kagome's Sacred Arrows. Naraku yelled out once more as the Wind Scar cut his body up, and then there was a silence as Kagome's arrow found its mark and plunged right into his heart…which had just returned to his body, unable to stay in Akago.

 

As he stayed suspended in the air, staring down at the arrow piercing his chest and his enemies watching him wearily, Miroku seemed to regain his senses for a moment. He unsealed the Wind Tunnel once more, unexpectedly, so that Inuyasha had to grab his friends and lay them low so that they weren't sucked into it. Naraku was heard damning them one last time as he vanished into the Wind Tunnel--which vanished right along with the accursed demon.

 

Everything stilled. Miroku stood, staring at his palm much like he had the last time they had believed to defeat him. The others stood slowly, trying to grasp what had just happened.

 

"We…we won…" said Miroku disbelievingly.

 

Sango stood beside the monk, staring at his palm. "We defeated Naraku…" she said, just as dumbstruck.

 

"We did it, Inuyasha," said Kagome weakly, smiling. "We defeated him…at last…"

 

Inuyasha's eyes widened as she collapsed, and he caught her before she hit the floor.

 

"Kagome! Kagome, what's wrong?" he asked, panicking.

 

Miroku, Sango, and Shippou exchanged glances. Sango knelt down beside her friends and reached for Kagome.

 

"We hoped we wouldn't have to tell you, Inuyasha…" she said faintly. She rolled up Kagome's shirt slightly, showing him that her stomach had been heavily wrapped in bandages…

 

…bandages that had been stained with a blood-red liquid…

 

"No…" whispered Inuyasha. Sango ignored him and unwrapped the bandages from Kagome's body. Underneath them was a huge, gaping wound that was almost pouring blood. Inuyasha felt faintly sick as Naraku's words returned to him.

 

"She'll kill her, Inuyasha. And it will be all your fault, because you weren't there to protect her…"

 

"Kagome…" he whispered.

 

Sango looked at him grimly. "We have to get her to Kaede's," she said. "She'll know how to treat this. I think Kikyou used a poisonous arrow…this is a poison I still haven't encountered."

 

Inuyasha nodded and picked up Kagome easily. They ran outside, and Kirara knelt down slightly as they ran so that Sango, Miroku, and Shippou could climb on. As soon as they reached the open air, Inuyasha took off in the direction of Kaede's village, Kirara following closely. He couldn't let her die. Not now. Not ever.

 

* * *

 

About twenty minutes later, they finally arrived at the old priestess's hut and barged in. Inuyasha immediately lay Kagome down gently, hurriedly explaining what was happening. Kaede was surprisingly quick about it all, examining the wound. She and Sango left to search for an herb that would counteract the poison. Miroku and Shippou went outside to wait for them to return, leaving Inuyasha to sit by Kagome's side, watching her fearfully.

 

"C'mon, Kagome, don't quit on me now," he murmured, hoping she could hear him. "You've been through worse, I know you can survive this."

 

He was beyond fear now. Kagome couldn't die. If she did…

 

He shook his head, trying to dismiss the thoughts. No, she'd survive. He had no doubt she would. She had survived the seemingly incurable poison that Mukotsu had used against her, Sango and Miroku. This was nothing…right?

 

* * *

 

Soon, Sango and Kaede returned with the antidote and spread it on the wound. Kagome tensed a few times during the application, and Inuyasha was barely able to contain his outbursts as he watched her writhing in agony.

 

The hardest part was knowing that Kikyou had done this to her. It was Kikyou's fault that Kagome was near to death. He wouldn't have thought it of her, but since she had returned to the mortal world…

 

Soon, though, Kagome rested peacefully. The wound had stopped bleeding and Kaede assured them that the poison would not spread any further and had probably already left her body. Inuyasha still couldn't relax, though, and he doubted he'd be able to until she awoke. He stayed awake all night, watching over her. He knew that Naraku had been right about one thing. Kikyou was still around. Kagome would never have had the heart to finish her off, even after this.

 

He wasn't sure if he wanted her to leave the world or not, though. And that hurt him deeply, making him feel as though he was still betraying Kagome, despite everything they had been through together.

 

He couldn't deny how he felt about Kagome anymore…his feelings had developed way too much to deny anything anymore. He knew he had long since fallen in love with her.

 

The problem was, he still loved Kikyou, too…

 

Inuyasha's ear twitched as Kagome rolled over, mumbling his name in her sleep. He smiled gently at her and he shifted slightly, moving closer to her. His slight movement seemed to register with her, though, and she stirred and opened her eyes slowly. She rubbed her eyes as she sat up, looking around sleepily.

 

"Inuyasha…?"

 

"Sorry, did I wake you?" he asked.

 

She shook her head. "It's okay," she said. She smiled at him.

 

"We finally did it," she said softly. "Can you believe it?"

 

It was only then that the events of the day finally registered in his mind. She was right. They really had finally done it.

 

At long last, Naraku was dead.