InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Captive Soul ❯ chapter 42 ( Chapter 42 )

__________________________________________________________ < p>Chapter 42: The beginning of the end.

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The poison had spread too far. Sesshomaru knew this. He knew he was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it. With his hazing vision locked on the old willow, he sighed, the deep exhale trailing in a whimper, "Rin...."

Forcibly, he tried to stand up from the knee that was now firmly rooted to the ground. Pain seared into his system, a quaking wave of molten fire. For a moment, he closed his eyes, blotting out the world and clanks of battle as if it would blot out this terrible agony from his body. He shuddered while the poison continued its assault on his burning insides. Only once in his entire life as a slave had he ever felt such pain before and that time was securely branded into his memory: The miko witch who had captured him...the one who had broken him with purifying fire...

Using every ounce of strength and determination he had left, Sesshomaru opened his eyes and began to rise in painstakingly slow degrees, his sights still set on the old willow and his heart still beating in desperation to see his mate one last time.

He moved a few steps before falling once again, groaning as he landed on hands and knees. "Rin....."

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In mid run, Kagome assessed the situation in the field. From her approaching position, she could see the giant black soul stealer striking at Inuyasha's red and silver form as he jumped and dodged while slashing continuously with his sword. Running faster, Kagome scanned the battle ground. Upon reaching the edge of the field, she spotted Sesshomaru on his hands and knees.

Kagome ran to him, falling to her knees at his side. His lowered features were hidden by shaded silvery bangs. He was trembling and his breath was labored. "Sesshomaru! Are you..?"

Immediately, she smelled it: the putrid stink of venomous poison. It clung to the air around the dog demon, an invisable miasma radiating from the black and scarlet stains on his torn shoulder. Putting two and two together, Kagome knew the soul stealer had bitten Sesshomaru and injected him with this poisonous black venom. Obviously, the inu youkai could not fight against it for he was dying. His aura was fading.

"Sesshomaru...."

He lifted his head only a little at her call. Through quick, shallow breaths, he rasped. "Kagome..... Rin?"

Leaning closer, Kagome tried to see his face. "She is okay...her soul has returned."

At this reassurance, he gave one single, slow nod, his head lowering closer to the ground. "I...I am dying.."

Kagome bit her bottom lip. There was nothing she could do for him. "Sesshomaru..."

His deep rasp cut her off. "Weaken the soul stealer, Kagome. You have the power to do so. You are a miko....you can....weaken it."

Swallowing hard, Kagome nodded. "I will try my best."

"NO!" He coughed; the action seemed to shake his entire form. "NO! KILL IT! OR IT WILL KILL RIN!"

Standing, Kagome gripped her bow and slid an arrow from the quiver. "Do not worry, Sesshomaru. I will not let that happen." With that promise, Kagome turned, notched an arrow, aimed, and shot.

The arrow sliced the wind, shining brighter in intensity as it whistled toward the intended target. Her mark had been set and now it hit with precision. A brilliant blast of purifying power struck the swaying black soul stealer in the one eye it had left, effectively blinding the abomination. It screamed horribly, its head tossing left and right in raging pain. As the serpent shook its head, it backed farther into the tree line. Inuyasha followed, his sword clanging against the reflective black scales.

Kagome grimaced. She had put a lot of power into that arrow. It was supposed to have completely destroyed the creature but her attack had only blinded it.

Taking one last glance at the fallen inu youkai, she ran in the direction of battle several hundred feet away.

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Rin opened her eyes to see long green branches slightly wavering in the breeze. Rays of sunlight peeked through the dangling leaves, making her blink at the brightness. Groaning, she sat up. Placing a hand on her temple, she shook her head back and forth slowly. All thought was fuzzy. What happened? Rin forced her mind to clear and to remember. The last thing she could recollect was pulling at Sesshomaru's restraint; hearing and feeling it...crack. Then....pain...in her...hand.

At that last memory, Rin raised her left hand and looked at it. Two very red holes marred the skin on the back. White pus oozed out the swollen marks which appeared similar to a snake bite.

Swallowing, Rin looked up and around. Where was everyone? Her sight fell on what was left of her garden. Most of the flowers were crushed flat. Getting worried, Rin rose shakily to her feet and began walking to the place where they had been performing the removal. As she moved to the center of her garden, she glanced at what was left of her shed. One whole wall had been busted in. Worry changed to fear when she stopped and looked down to see a large sizzling hole in the cobblestones.

A horrendous scream seized her attention. She turned in the direction of the field. What she saw towering several feet above the tree line nearly made her shriek: a gigantic snake of some sort was thrashing and striking about wildly. Rising fear blossomed into growing panic. Fast as she could in her weakened condition, Rin hurried toward the battle in the field.

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Inuyasha had seen Kagome enter the field and kneel by his half-brother, but at the moment, he was too busy entertaining the gigantic soul stealer to call out to her. As he sent wave afer wave of the Kaze no Kizu, Inuyasha began to realize that his useless attacks were only keeping the scaly creature occupied. How long he could keep this up, he did not know. If Tetsusaiga had no effect then what could he do? Sesshomaru appeared to be in bad shape. No help there.

A thought struck him as he landed and jumped upward once again. Kagome. Her power might help to destroy this thing. Glancing in mid swing, he spotted the miko rising from her kneeling position. From the corner of his eye, he saw her notch an arrow. That was it, time to get out of the line of fire. Knowing the blast was coming, Inuyasha darted out of the way just before the purifying streak flashed past him. He somersaulted backwards, landing on the earth several yards away.

Upon alighting on the crushed field grass, he looked to see what damage the attack had inflicted. The brightness faded to reveal a screaming serpent with just both eyes missing. Kagome's arrow had not done much damage, but at least it was now completely blind. That could give them an advantage. He jumped into battle once more, hacking on the underbelly again and again.

As the towering soul stealer backed up further and thrashed its head from side to side, he sensed Kagome's approach. Upon descent, he pushed off the snake's pointed beak to spring up and over, landing at Kagome's side. While breathing hard and staring at his scaly opponent, he heard the miko's firm tone. "My arrows are not very effective. Since it has the Shikon no Tama, it is too powerful. More than likely, it will heal itself soon. That blindness will not last much longer."

Inuyasha glanced at the miko. Her hair had fallen loose. The coal black strands framed her determined features in wild abandon. "What can we do? Tetsusaiga has no effect either. We are fighting a losing battle. I don't know why, but it has not tried to kill me. It only seems to want to kill Sesshomaru."

Kagome gave a serious nod. "It also wants to make sure Rin is dead. It is here for a reason, Inuyasha. I have a good idea what this thing is. It is part of the curse of the restraint. This...creature was designed for one purpose only: to kill Sesshomaru if he was ever freed and to kill the one who dared to free him. The miko who created this....abomination did so in order to make sure Sesshomaru never lived to see freedom."

Anger rising, Inuyasha looked back at the screeching black serpent. His vision hardened into a furious glare. "On my honor, Kagome, and my father's, I will kill this soul stealer and I will avenge my brother. I think...we should combine our attacks. Only this time...I am going to try something different. Tetsusaiga will send out a blast greater than the Kaze no Kizu. It will center on the soul stealer's power, using its own energy against it. I want you to get behind me and shoot your arrow in the middle of my blast. Do you understand?"

He glanced at the miko who gave a nod. "Yes, I understand."

She then backed up, her sight still locked on the looming threat before them.

Inuyasha braced into a defensive stance.

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Rin had sped up, her heart pounding with every step. One clear thought pushed all others from her mind as she neared the border of the field: Sesshomaru.

When she reached the edge of sage, Rin paused. Her line of sight first went to the battle raging at the other end of the field, close to the tree line. Kagome and Inuyasha were standing side by side while the screaming snake-like giant thrashed about wildly. Her attention then slid down to find Sesshomaru's fallen form. He was on his hands and knees, nose inches from the ground, strands of silver stained with red draping over his shoulders, and he was... shaking.

Letting out a whimpered gasp, Rin ran to him. She landed hard on her knees directly in front of his shaded features. "Sess?"

He did not seem to hear her. Undaunted, Rin reached out to his cheek, repeating the plea, her voice quivering close to a choke. "Sess?" When her fingertips brushed his skin, his left clawed hand seized her wrist, holding it still.

He had yet to look up. Swallowing hard, Rin reached out again with her left hand. "Love?" This time, when her fingers slid softly across his right cheek, he did not move. Cupping her palm on the warmth of his face, Rin bit her bottom lip, wanting more than anything in the world for him to look up...but he didn't.

Glancing down, Rin's heart sped up. Thick, red, blood coated his right wrist and hand. The points of his claws were deeply buried in the dark earth for his grip was now solidly fisted in the ground. A blackness swirled within the pooling scarlet, a curling, deadly, blackness....

Rin looked up from the disturbing sight, fixing her desperate gaze on Sesshomaru's shadowed bangs. Even his blue crescent moon was partially hidden by the strands of silver. "Sess...please....look at me...please."

Within the contact, she felt his entire body shudder once, as if he had heard her. The clawed grip on her wrist slipped. His head turned, his nose finding the center of her palm. Hot breath heated her fingers as his pained rasp vibrated through her skin and to her ears. "Rin..."

Rin let out a worried sob. "Yes."

Suddenly, his left shoulder lowered, and with it, the rest of his body. His left side hit the ground. Empty air replaced the warmth of Sesshomaru's cheek as he slid to the earth. Yet, she still could not see his face for the curtain of silver hair hiding his features from view. Needing to see that amber gaze, Rin leaned forward. Carefully, she touched his right shoulder, the one caked with blood, hoping to push him to his back. The second the tips of her fingers pressed against him, he yelped. Instantly, Rin jerked her hand back, afraid, her heart nearly breaking in fear for he was now whimpering. "Sess????"

Too scared to touch him again, Rin could only watch in helpless agony as his body shook, a slight nearly imperceptible tremble of pain. "I'm here, Love. Please..." Her eyes were burning now with hot tears, the drops cooling as they dripped down her cheeks. "...please..."

The whimper trailed off. He began moving. Rin hovered over him, her fingertips reaching to his face. Delicately, she pushed the silver strands away from his pale features as he rolled to his back. Taking great care, Rin smoothed her fingers over the skin of his face. Her voice cracking with her heart. "Sess...please open your eyes, please."

She could have smiled when his dark lashes sluggishly opened, revealing a hazy darkened gold, but her smile faltered at the distance within the dazed amber. His honeyed gaze was not focused, life was slipping from it. Without realizing, Rin let out a soft, wailing sob. "Sesshomaru!!! No!!!"

Through her blurred vision, she clung to the fading hint of life in his eyes. "See....me..."

At her command, he blinked once, the amber...focused...to find...her.

Now, Rin smiled in her pain.

His lips parted, he spoke, the deep baritone rusted with dryness. "Rin..... don't....cry..."

Rin shook her head. "Don't die on me...please...I need you..."

He blinked again. "My....Love..."

That amber gaze misted over.

His eyes closed.

Her heart broke. "Noooooooo..........!!!!!"

Sobbing, Rin clenched her eyes shut and lowered her cheek to his. "Not...fair."

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Inuyasha's ears twitched at the sound: A wail, more painful than any he had ever heard, heart breaking sobs overriding the horrible hissing of the creature before them. Kagome had just positioned herself behind him and he was getting ready to attack when he heard it. For a second, he turned his head, looking in the direction of the agonizing wail. What he saw was Kagome's sister lying on his brother's body, her long brown hair hiding both of their profiles from view. Yet as he watched Rin's trembling form, he could see a faint pink bubbled aura surrounding them both.

While his mind tried to figure out just what that aura was, Inuyasha noticed something....silence. He looked back at the monster serpent. The towering soul-stealer had ceased thrashing and hissing and it's long pointed beak was pointed in the direction of Rin and Sesshomaru...almost as if it....sensed....them.

Alarm surfaced, giving a vivid warning. Even blinded, it could sense his half-brother...and Rin. Any second now it was going to attack them...he could feel it.

As if reading his mind, the serpent began slithering toward his fallen brother and his intended mate.

In that instant, Inuyasha knew he had to attack.

With everything he had, Inuyasha raised his fang then sliced it forward, cutting the wind in a blast so powerful it tore the ground, quaked the earth, and left a deep crevice in its wake.

When his sword came down, an arrow swished by his head, shining brighter than the core of a star, the intensity of power so great, it nearly knocked him to the side.

He watched, partially awed, but somewhat wary of the outcome, as Kagome's arrow blistered the air, finding the center of his blast, twisting purifying power within his own blinding attack. Her white light filled the void within Tetsusaiga's cutting tunnel of demonic energy.

It would be close.

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Her tears wet his face as her cheek rested on his. All she could feel was the pain in her chest. All she could hear was the slow beat of his failing heart. How she could hear it, she did not know, but she listened. She listened to each slowing thump, the pauses ripping a piece of her away, beat by lingering beat.

Yet, a strange feeling shook her in her grief. One so intense it made her hair prickle and her body tingle with caution. Sniffing, she raised up and turned her head. The earth shuddered, and with it, the air boomed. Rin's eyes widened as she saw something very big and very black approaching fast.

As her lips parted to scream, a blast of blinding light hit the oncoming gigantic black serpent. The explosion smashed into the creature. Just before Rin closed her eyes at the intensity of the thundering blast, she saw the massive, towering body begin to fall as jagged shards of power sliced chunks into the air. Rin immediately covered Sesshomaru, burying her face in his neck right before a chaotic backlash of wind nearly pushed her over.

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Inuyasha watched the soul sucker die. Pieces and chunks splattered the wind only to dissolve into masses of coal black sparkles. The surrounding air fogged over with a gray miasma. The last remnants of the scaly serpent burst in wave of black light, a final eruption of tainted energy.

Yet, in that wave of black light, several beams of pinkish white shot upward and out, over the land. Above all of this, something round and black was spinning. The second all of the shooting lights faded, the spinning object fell into the clearing clouds of miasma.

Kagome's sharp gasp prompted him to glance back. The miko was holding her hand over her mouth and shaking her head with wide eyes.

Concerned, Inuyasha turned to the miko. "What? What is it?"

The young woman did not answer, only shook her head in shock.

More roughly than he intended, Inuyasha grabbed her shoulders, shaking her. "Snap out of it, Kagome! TELL ME WHAT IS WRONG!"

Her widened gaze switched from the battle scene to him. She whispered, "The...Shikon..no..Tama...shattered."

At first, surprise seized him. "WHAT?!" Then, common sense took hold. He grunted. "We can't worry about that now."

Taking her hand, Inuyasha pulled her toward Sesshomaru and Rin.

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Rin peered up as all the commotion died to see the last pieces of the gigantic black snake flake off and disappear into a blackish gray mist.

Then she saw several pinkish lights shoot off in several directions. A low hum above all this stole her attention, making her look even farther upward to see something black and round spinning in mid air. After the last pinkish white light vanished, the spinning object...fell into the fading mist. It was so close that Rin even heard the object thunk on the ground a few yards away.

Not caring exactly what that object had been, Rin lowered her attention back to Sesshomaru. He was not moving but she could hear his heart. The slowing beat thumped in her mind like a diminishing echo.

"Rin?"

Rin looked up to see Kagome and Inuyasha. The pain in their eyes revealing how truly hopeless the situation was. She reached out to her sister, imploring. "Kagome, please...please...help him. I know you can. You are a miko. You can save him."

Kagome's steel grey gaze captured hers in remorse before falling to Sesshomaru in weighted sorrow. "I....cannot...help...him..."

Unable to stop her tears, Rin cried. All strength drained away along with her hope as she eased her forehead to Sesshomaru's chest. "No...no...no..."

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The scene before him was too much to bear. Inuyasha looked down, eyes cast to the ground as he turned to the miko. Lifting his gaze to Kagome, he asked, "Kagome...are you sure there is nothing you can do?"

The miko shook her head. "The only way to rid a demon of poison is to have two well trained mikos perform a purification exchange. One miko would have to purify the poison while another miko protects the victim. As it is, if I tried to purify the poison in Sesshomaru's blood, I would purify him along with it. It would be a quicker death than the poison."

An idea struck him. "Kagome....what if...Rin helped you perform this...exchange?"

Kagome looked at him. "Huh? What do you mean? Rin can't help me...she doesn't have any miko abilities."

Inuyasha furrowed his brow. How could he explain what he suspected? "I think Rin does have those abilities, Kagome. I...saw something earlier. Rin formed a protective barrier around her and Sesshomaru. Only a miko can do that."

At first, Kagome stared at him with unbelieving doubt, but slowly, growing realization lightened her features. The miko looked down at her sister. "Rin."

Rin gazed up at them with eyes full of pain and tears.

Kagome's frown was serious. "Will you take a chance to save his life?"

Rin's eyes widened a touch as she stared at Kagome and gave one slow nod. "Yes."

Dropping her bow and quiver, Kagome knelt by his fallen brother, holding Rin's gaze to her. "Listen very carefully, sis. I am going to try something, something that might save Sesshomaru. I will need your help. If we fail, he dies instantly. If we do not even try, he will die when the poison finally kills him. Are you willing to take that chance?"

Kagome's sister bit her bottom lip, glanced down at Sesshomaru, then swallowed heavily. "Yes...if there is a chance we can save him..yes."

Giving a firm nod, Kagome let out a long breath. "Then we shall begin." .

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