InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Future Incarnations: Inuyasha 2030 ❯ Confrontations ( Chapter 20 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
Chapter 20: Confrontations
Chapter Contents: Violence, death and swearing.
But what else would you expect from a final battle?
From the last chapter:
“Kagome!” Inuyasha screamed. But Kagome was lost in thought or couldn't hear his screams from behind the barrier. Her quiver was empty. She reached into the waistband and pulled out a knife. Inuyasha recognized it as her `kaiken' knife.
“No!” he murmured. It was her ceremonial suicide knife that she had worn while posing in her wedding kimono. Unlike her bow and arrow, Kagome would have to get within inches of her opponent to use the knife.
Kagome ran forward while Inuyasha stood by helplessly behind the barrier. He watched as her entire body lit up with purification power. Tendrils of white-pink energy erupted from her body and became focused on the small knife in her hand. Sparks flew from the knife and energy pulsed from her body as she ran forward, oblivious to the screams behind her.
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Desperately Inuyasha lunged and sliced at the barrier that separated him from Kagome. Whacking at the barrier with his sword only sent rippling waves through the barrier.
Soon Miroku and Sango were at his side. “Help me!” yelled Inuyasha as he continued lunging and slicing. Sango started to help him slice at the barrier and Inuyasha was pleased to see that two holy swords were having a far greater affect than one. Perhaps with a third sword they could take the barrier down.
Inuyasha turned to look at Miroku who seemed to be contemplating, rather than fighting. “Dammit, Miroku. Use your sword and help us cut through the barrier. I need your help! Now!” yelled Inuyasha
“Wait a moment Inuyasha,” said Miroku as he held out his hand in supplication.
“Not now, Miroku,” growled Inuyasha.
“Please Inuyasha. I feel magic at work. There's an evil spell that is raging behind the barrier and I think it's a Poison Imp spell,” said Miroku in even tones.
“A what?” yelled Inuyasha in frustration as he continued to hack at the barrier.
“The Poison Imp Spell that Naraku had used long ago to get demons to fight against each other. Do you remember that when one demon lost they merged with another until only one was left? We need to get Kagome out of there without being trapped by the spell,” answered Miroku.
“Shit! Then hit the barrier with all you've got!” yelled Inuyasha as he led Sango and Miroku on a charge to slice the barrier. With each hit they felt the barrier weakening and sliding away. The ripples that erupted from their combined hits were no longer ripples, but large waves. Soon the barrier thinned before them and then flashed away in silence.
Inuyasha charged forward and made his way to Kagome. She was bathed in pure pink-white light and had already managed to stab a squid-like demon on its side with her small `kaiken' knife. The demon howled in pain as the purification power leeched inside of its skin—destroying it from the inside out. As the demon writhed Kagome and her knife were flung aside. Kagome's body flew through the air hitting the ground hard a few meters away. She tried to get up, but her arms were unsteady and her eyes were unfocused. She didn't see another demon coming up behind her prepared to finish her with its long fangs.
“No!” screamed Inuyasha. He was running towards Kagome as quickly as he could, but his human legs simply weren't quick enough. There was only one non-human who had the speed to get to Kagome in time. Just as the beasts' huge fangs were about to snap around her--Hojo dived between them.
Kagome turned around just in time to see a huge wormlike demon with a dragon's head and fangs bite down hard on Hojo. If Hojo hadn't put his body between them it would have been Kagome instead. The demon clamped down on Hojo as he squirmed in the dragon's jaw. Hojo tried to return the fight by using his strength to open up the dragon-like mouth of the creature and managed to pull himself out. However, Kagome could see the huge gaping wounds all over his abdomen from where the huge fangs and venom had sunk in. Both blood and froth was oozing from all of his open wounds and she could see him winching in pain as he tried to fight off the demon.
“Kagome,” Inuyasha yelled as he put himself between Kagome and the demon. “Get behind me!”
Kagome grabbed the glowing knife that had been embedded in the demon's writhing side and stood behind Inuyasha. She quickly pecked him on the cheek. “I knew you'd come!”
“You gave me a heart attack, bitch,” snarled Inuyasha.
“I love you, too,” answered Kagome with a smile.
“Keh,” murmured Inuyasha and he couldn't help but to smirk back.
While Inuyasha protected Kagome Hojo lunged on the demon's back and used his spider-like thread to wrap his foe in layers of tangled skein. Soon the dragon's mouth was bound shut and Hojo simply fell onto the floor.
“It's a poison imp spell Kagome! The only thing that can disrupt the spell are holy attacks,” yelled Miroku. “We need to use your spiritual power or the holy swords.”
Kagome only nodded in acknowledgement. Then she stood behind Inuyasha grasping his arms and managed to channel her spiritual powers through him and into his holy sword. The purification energy she was pumping through him would have seriously injured him at any other time of the month, but today he was fully human and he was simply a conduit.
Suddenly Inuyasha felt the energy swirling about him, like he did before he sliced demonic energy with the wind scar. His long black hair rose up around him as if the wind was blowing up against him and an aura of intense white energy whirled around him. The energy churned and intensified until he unleashed it with a powerful wave of holy energy unlike anything he had felt before.
“Heavenly Wave!” he yelled and the sacred energy rose up to meet the last two remaining demons. The demonic bodies broke apart in splintering waves of holy power as they were turned to diamond dust that sparkled briefly before dissipating into the air.
As the demon's bodies disappeared Kagome rushed up to Hojo's bloody form. Inuyasha tried to hold her back with a snarl. “Don't touch him Kagome, he betrayed you!” Inuyasha yelled.
Kagome still went forward to gingerly kneel beside Hojo and looked at the huge gaping bite wounds that were all over his body. Worse still that each wound was festering as if acid was eating away at his flesh. Hojo coughed and more blood fell out of his mouth.
It was then that Kagome finally noticed the spiderlike fangs that had erupted from either side of his mouth and realized that Hojo was no longer entirely human.
“Hojo, what have you become?” she whispered in fear.
Hojo could only look up at her with dimming vision. “Kagome,” he muttered. “I was dying in the chem lab. Naraku came to me and told me that if I did as he told me that I could have you forever. I shouldn't have trusted him. I'm sorry, Kagome.”
“Hojo?” Kagome murmured.
“I always loved you,” said Hojo with a sad, weary smile. “I'm sorry…so sorry,” he added again as the light left his eyes which quickly became cloudy and emotionless.
“Hojo!” Kagome yelled. “What were you thinking? Why did you trust Naraku?” Kagome sobbed for a moment before she got up to reach unsteadily for Inuyasha who was scowling behind her.
Inuyasha simply gripped Kagome closer to him. “What the fuck were you thinking Kagome? He betrayed you.”
Kagome just looked at Inuyasha with melancholy eyes. “Yes, he betrayed me. Just as you and Kikyo betrayed each other and it all happened because of Naraku. Pity him Inuyasha.”
“Kagome,” Inuyasha murmured. He held her tightly to him when he heard Tsubaki laugh and call out to them.
“I want the miko, give her up human!” she laughed.
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Moments before…
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. He didn't like the thought of someone else manipulating him into battle, but he would have been attacking Naraku no matter what Tsubaki had said. The demon lord pulled his sword from its sheath and charged forward so fast that he was a blur.
“Bakusaiga!” he yelled.
Kagura moved beside Sesshomaru almost gleefully as she unleashed another wave of flesh tearing wind blades. She seemed to laugh and relish the moment.
Sesshomaru took no pleasure in attacking Naraku. Just as he had done over 500 years earlier, he hit Naraku with the Bakusaiga blade. A blade that rotted away anything that it came in contact with. However Naraku didn't remember their last fight and was shockingly surprised when he found his body could not regenerate.
“What have you done? The sword it…?” questioned a panicking Naraku.
Sesshomaru merely raised an eyebrow as he spoke, “My sword destroys whatever it touches, you cannot regenerate what it has touched,”
Naraku shuddered. Kagura had betrayed him, though he thought wryly that perhaps it was something that he should have expected. And now Sesshomaru, one of the most feared of Japan's ancient demons was fighting him with a sword that could truly destroy him. Quickly Naraku shrugged off the parts of his body that had been cut by the Bakusaiga, much as an octopus will shear off a tentacle when in danger. As parts of Naraku fell aside purple-black miasma filled the air—but Naraku was chagrined to see that his noxious fumes affected neither Sesshomaru nor Kagura. He did grin to see that Tsubaki was affected and she pulled her sleeve up to cover her mouth before she incanted a spell. Tsubaki's aura expanded and enveloped the miasma until it dissipated into nothingness. Naraku frowned. He had hoped that at least his miasma would hurt her.
Sesshomaru moved and started to strike at Naraku again. The demon lord's body moved with incredible speed, so that he appeared to be a blur. Multiple strikes hit and dived deep into the inky blackness of the half-demon's body. Purple ichors erupted from each strike and the area under Naraku looked like spilt ink.
Naraku moaned as his flesh started to rot away while he still lived. He tried to stop the disintegration by shrugging off large sections of his body, but he couldn't stop the multiplying decay.
He lashed out a tentacle at both Sesshomaru and Kagura as a final desperate act. The tentacle that tried to race toward Sesshomaru was quickly hewed off by a quick flick of the Bakusaiga blade. The one that he had sent to Kagura clamped down on her neck. She struggled against the choking pull as Naraku screamed.
“Betrayer! Sister! You will join me in hell!” yelled Naraku as he pulled her body closer to him as parts of his flesh rotted away before her eyes. Her eyes widened in horror as Naraku's very face started to rot and melt away with the oncoming decay.
Sesshomaru quickly moved to strike off the rubbery black tentacle wrapped around her neck. She fell to the ground choking, as her brother became a writhing mass of decomposing black flesh.
“It is finished,” smiled Tsubaki evilly as she walked forward and kicked the black flesh that was bubbling on the ground in front of her. Then she turned and looked at the group of humans who had just struck down her barrier and who had defeated the demons within it. “I want the miko, give her up human!” Tsubaki laughed.
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. “What did you say priestess?”
Inuyasha quickly moved to shield Kagome with his body. He held his holy sword in front of him and pointed it at the evil priestess. Apparently, Tsubaki didn't think the human boy protecting Kagome was much of a threat, because she only addressed Sesshomaru.
“She is only a human, demon lord. Why would you want to protect her? Give her to me. I need her body and blood for the spell to make another shikon jewel. Join with me Sesshomaru and the jewel can give us ultimate power,” said Tsubaki with great confidence.
Sesshomaru would only point his Bakusaiga directly at the Priestess's heart. “The miko is engaged to my son.”
Tsubaki reddened and nearly choked as she looked at the clearly human male who was protecting the other miko.
“Then share her fate!” yelled Tsubaki as hordes of writhing demons erupted from her scaly eye. “Kagura! To me!”
Kagura stood in shock next to Tsubaki and hesitated for a brief moment. Then she looked questionly at Sesshomaru before lifting her fan in front of her face.
Sesshomaru now stood next to Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango and the demon cat Kira.
Hundreds of large demonic creatures continued to erupt from her eye as Kagura struck down her fan and yelled, “Dance of Blades!” The shining white blades spewed forth from her fan and quickly centered on the dark priestess next to her. Tsubaki hadn't expected Kagura's betrayal, but the barrier deflected Kagura's incoming blades.
“You dare!” screamed Tsubaki. “You dare to betray me!” Tsubaki waved her arm and hordes of demons flew against Kagura trying to kill her.
“I control the wind Tsubaki!” yelled Kagura as a tempest erupted in the middle of the warehouse. Hurricane force winds blew and buffeted the building and any windows that had not already been broken shattered into thousands of glass shards.
Inuyasha had placed himself firmly in front of Kagome and was trying to fend off the many demons swirling in the hurricane force winds. His holy sword managed to slice and destroy a few demons, but there were hundreds of them and he was only a human tonight. On the other side of Kagome, Miroku and Sango were also attacking with their holy swords with almost as much success as the human hanyou who stood beside them. Still it was hard to stand, and even harder to grip the sword, while the winds whipped around them distorting their vision.
Kagome revved up her spiritual power and once more became a glowing mass of pure pink-white energy. Tendrils of her power floated up against her body like a tesla coil and any demon that had the misfortune of brushing against her aura was instantly fried into a million pieces of light.
Sesshomaru coldly and calmly fought against the horde of demons that surrounded him. His Bakusaiga sword severed each demon neatly leaving themwrithing on the floor as their bodies rotted away.
While her opponents were distracted Tsubaki moved toward the other miko. Once she was within a few meters she sent a group of demons to shove Kagome aside. Each demon exploded in turn upon contacting the young miko, but they had the desired effect of separating her from her three protectors.
“Now!” screamed Tsubaki and a barrier flew up around Kagome and Tsubaki.
“Nooooo!” yelled Inuyasha as he tried to strike at the barrier that separated him from Kagome. The barrier didn't budge. “Miroku, Sango! I need your help. Help me take down this barrier as well!”
With demons attacking on every side Miroku and Sango tried to slice at the barrier together with Inuyasha while trying to defend their backs. They were only able to strike together three times before Miroku and Sango had to return to the battlefield and defend their backs and Inuyasha's as well.
Inuyasha was screaming in a panic as he lunged again and again at the barrier. It wasn't breaking. “No,” yelled Inuyasha in desperation as he put his hands up against the barrier and peered inside.
Within the barrier Kagome's aura was still shifting and coiling around her body. Pure white-pink spiritual power massed around her and he noticed that she still held her kaiken knife in front of her preparing to strike Tsubaki. As she watched in horror masses of demons erupted from Tsubaki's demonic eye once more. Soon the entire barrier was filled with snakelike demons that slithered on top of each other. Each creature was trying to get closer and closer to Kagome, but once they hit her aura they would disintegrate.
“How much longer can you last little miko?” asked Tsubaki as the snakes swarmed around them. “You can't keep up that power level forever. Soon your powers will fade, as you get tired. But I will be here waiting. I only need one snake to bite you again. Then I'll control your mind and you will do as I wish.”
“Never!” screamed Kagome as she focused her holy power on her kaiken knife and lunged at Tsubaki.
Sesshomaru moved up next to Inuyasha. “You and your companions need to get out of the way.”
“What?” asked Inuyasha who was clearly focused on Kagome and wasn't even watching the hundreds of demons swirling around in the hurricane-like winds within the warehouse.
“Get behind me!” Sesshomaru yelled. “Kagura, Miroku, Sango, Kira—get behind me!”
Everyone soon complied except for Inuyasha who Sesshomaru quickly grabbed and shoved out of the way. The demon lord then looked up at the writhing mass of over a hundred demons in front of him. His lips curved in an ice-like smile that would have cowered a lesser demon.
“Bakusaiga Kaze no Kizu!” yelled Sesshomaru as a massive wave of energy erupted from his blade and spewed forth a tsunami of power that ripped the demons in front of him and the warehouse itself into shards of dust.
Darkness fell all around them as the dust started to settle. Soon a group of dust laden adventurers with a huge demonic cat by their side appeared from the dust clouds. Then two women coul dbe seen in a translucent bubble that had a dusty layer on top. Even Bakusaiga's Wind Scar did not break the barrier that Tsubaki had created.
“We have to get inside that barrier,” Inuyasha yelled as he struck with his sacred blade and motioned to his two companions to strike as well. Soon all three of them joined in the attempt to destroy the barrier, but unlike the last barrier around the Poison Imp Spell—this barrier was not weakening.
“Dammit!” screamed Inuyasha. “If I was only a hanyou tonight, then I could use the Red Barrier Breaker attack.” Inuyasha still slashed at the barrier, refusing to give up even when the rest of the party knew that his attempts were hopeless.
Sesshomaru put a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. “Perhaps there is a way, son. The Tessaiga needs a half-demons power. Perhaps it could work if a demon and a human worked in concert?”
Inuyasha's face cleared of the panic that was gripping him and flickered with hope. “Perhaps,” said Inuyasha as he brought out his Tessaiga blade and held it before him and motioned Sesshomaru to grip it as well. Sesshomaru sheathed his Bakusaiga and then gripped the Tessaiga as well. Sesshomaru tried to channel his demonic powers into the blade and Inuyasha simply tried to concentrate on having the sword transform into the barrier breaker.
For a brief moment no one spoke even as a spiritual battle raged within the barrier between Kagome and Tsubaki. The two dog demons concentrated together as they gripped the sword tightly. “Please,” begged Inuyasha, “Please Tessaiga I call upon you to help me protect Kagome.” Slowly the sword started to pulse and then it grew and glowed with an unnatural light. Soon it changed from white to a shimmering red color.
The father and son brought the sword down on the barrier and sliced it neatly in two. The barrier shook and then split, spilling a heap of slithering demonic snakes onto the floor.
Inuyasha wasted no time in grabbing Kagome and pulling her out of harms way. Then with a nod to Sesshomaru they brought the blade down almost directly in front of Tsubaki.
“No!” she cried as demonic energy filled the air.
“Kaze no Kizu!” yelled the demonic father and son as the blade fell down to the ground wrenching gapping holes in the concrete floor and obliterating everything in its path. Jagged white light filled the chamber before the nighttime's darkness reasserted itself. Nothing remained other than dust, a few charred corpses and a few stray beams that once held up the warehouse.
Kagura walked up to Sesshomaru with a look of pleading in her eyes. “Sesshomaru-sama,” said Kagura in amazement. She looked deeply at the demon lord. “Lord,” she said again. “You protected my child and you helped free me from my brother's abuse. I am forever in your debt,” she said as she bowed low before him.
The demon lord only arched an eyebrow and paused. “There is no debt Kagura. I only want to be Rin's guardian.”
“Yes, my lord, but,” said Kagura.
Sesshomaru coldly ignored her and walked over to Inuyasha. “I will see you in a week's time. Kagura, please return my son and his fiancé to her shrine.”
“But Sesshomaru-sama!” stammered Kagura as she moved toward Sesshomaru. Before she was able to touch his shoulder the demon lord had already taken to the sky and was flying away into the night in a cloudlike mist.
Kagome moved forward to Kagura. “Thank you Kagura-sama. Thank you for everything. You saved our lives and we are indebted to you.”
Kagura sneered as she looked over at the motley crew. “I only did this for my daughter and for Sesshomaru. It was for him, only for him,” she murmured sadly as she took a feather from her hair and threw it on the ground. Soon the feather expanded in size until it formed boat and she motioned for Kagome and Inuyasha to step inside. “I'll take you home,” she said with a note of dejection in her voice. A moment later they were streaking through the sky.
Sango and Miroku followed them on the demonic cat. The group soared across the black night of the Tokyo sky and made their way to the Higurashi Sunset shrine.
Next Chapter: An epilogue and a wedding of course…fluff and a lemon to follow…
I would like to say a big thank you to my Beta Theleb K'aarna who really helped make this chapter shine.
Author's Notes:
#1: Oops! I killed off three major characters in this chapter. What a bloodbath! I was going to stretch this one out a little more, but I decided that it was time to finish off the story. Oh and this chapter was hard for me to write. I'm not an action writer. I thrive on romance. So luckily my beta, husband and all around excellent game master, Theleb K'aarna, really helped me to structure the fight scenes and to help with the pacing. Thanks a bunch, love!
#2: I realized that Tsubaki had entirely different outcomes depending on if you subscribed to the manga or the anime. I read the Inuyasha manga well before it ever became a TV series, so I am relying on the manga version of Tsubaki. According to the manga she was defeated, but she lived on cursed never to die. It is that Tsubaki who is in my story. In the anime she morphed into an ogre and was killed. Pretend you never saw that episode…!
#3: If you actually read the last chapter of the Inuyasha manga (do a Google search for `One Manga' to read it) then you know something was lacking. As to what it was all I can say is that “Yesterday's Tommorrow” by Knitting Knots is just what you need. So check out her story if you have read Chapter 558 of Inuyasha. You won't be disappointed!
#4: My next Inuyasha fanfict (Inu/Kag always) actually has a few chapters completed so far. I'll waitunntil this story is finished before I post my new one. It's currently entitled `A Grudging Loss'. I'll post a summary with the last chapter of this fict. If you are interested in my next story then add me to your `Author Alerts' list.
#5: The Naraku in my story isn't as powerful as the canon Naraku. My character is simply a reincarnation who has not put as much time and energy into his `upgrades'. I also like the ideo of karma coming back to bite him.
#6: I think it was a little unclear, but if you read Chapter 15 you find out thatKagura wants revenge on Naraku. It is hinted that Naraku has been raping Kagura and that is why she let Sesshomaru adopt Rin. Since Kagura knows that Tsubaki is working with Naraku, they two plot together behind Naraku's back. This all happens behind the scenes.
Special thanks to the following reviewers:
Devil Rebel:Well, you were in good company. No one guessed her, but now looking back, I think that's because she died in the anime, while she lived on in the manga. The character I have in my story is from the manga. Yes, she's actually in both.
Naptownbaby: Here's your update. Only one more chapter to go…
Sofiakalaughable: Hope you enjoyed it.
Theleb K'aarna: Yep, you're probably right that Kagome shouldn't have had her bow and arrow. Though I did mention that she had her bow on her shoulder and a few arrows still left in her quiver after she was kidnapped. Whoops! Well, pretend that she just used her kaiken knife for all of this.
Blackdeathmessenger: Send me your next chapter whenever you want me to Beta. I don't check my e-mail everyday, so give me time to edit.
Tsukihime nee:Have a great Summer!