InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hanyou of the Future ❯ Swan Song ( Chapter 20 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

AN: First of all, I realize these last few chapters are pretty much jossed thanks to the ending of the manga and anime, so I hope you still enjoy the ending. Thank you to my beta Isis-Kitty for being amazing and sticking by me all these years.

Hanyou of the Future

Chapter 20: Swan Song

Before the smoke cleared, Inuyasha was leaping to his feet over Riho and frantically searching for Kagome. He squinted through the smoke, and he sighed in relief as he found her safely hidden behind a crate of boxes. In the corner of Inuyasha's eye, he saw Naru desperately pawing around the debris for the jewel with his hands and mechanical tentacles. When a tentacle barely missed stabbing his face, Inuyasha dove for Riho, who was unfortunately no longer where he'd left her.

The air was beginning to clear up, and the smoke lifted from the dock, where many of the crates and wooden boards had been burnt badly or destroyed. He yelled at Riho, who jumped forward when she spotted the jewel, and she ran for it as if her life depended upon it.

Inuyasha reached ahead, trying to beat Riho to the jewel. He still had no idea what the woman intended to do with it, but he wanted to be there in case Naru tried to scoop up the jewel before her, or if he tried to hurt anyone else.

How it happened, Inuyasha wasn't sure, but Riho managed to grab the jewel right before one of Naru's mechanical tentacles; however, another tentacle came out from under the smoke and tripped her from her already wobbly footing. Inuyasha gaped as Riho fell over, the jewel once again slipping from her grasp. Inuyasha dove for it, watching it roll on an uneven incline past him and toward Kagome. He heard a scream behind him, and he turned his head around to see that Naru had impaled Riho with one of his tentacles, putting the poor woman out of her misery. The scent of blood filled the air, and Inuyasha and Kagome watched in awe as Riho gasped on her last breath. Takeda was coming awake too, and he rubbed his sore bottom and watched with some small pity as Naru killed his comrade. He smirked and shrugged his shoulders, as Inuyasha met his eyes before turning back to glare at Naru.

“You bastard! You'll pay for that!” Inuyasha didn't much like Riho, but the woman didn't deserve to die, especially not when she was doing everything to help her brother.

“Inuyasha!” He snapped his head around when he heard Kagome's voice. She had the jewel in her possession as she continued to hide behind a huge crate, which made Inuyasha spring over to her and fight off one of Naru's tentacles before it could reach her. He growled at Naru when everyone fell into a quick standstill, and his sword turned a dark black with a sea of stars as he readied his next attack.

Naru's next move surprised them when he pulled out a simple revolver and pointed it at Kagome. Of course, they all thought it was simple.

“You think that gun is going to stop my sword, asshole?” Power surged from Tessaiga, and Inuyasha cracked a confident grin at him. He could feel his demon blood warring inside him, winning as it bubbled to the surface. Kagome gasped behind him, and he already knew that his eyes must have turned red. Tessaiga was barely containing the rage exploding within him.

“I admit, I was first amused by your ignorance of youkai technology in the modern era, Inuyasha,” Naru said, but he was no longer smiling. “No more. I will do away with you with one of the most powerful youkai weapons ever forged. This is not a mere revolver, boy. This was forged to cause a rip between this world and the land of the dead, much like your sword.”

“Another Meidou Zangetsuha?” Kagome asked. “If the two were to meet...” Her face paled. “Inuyasha... there must be another way! You two could destroy Tokyo!”

Before Inuyasha was able to make a choice, their tense scene was interrupted by Aki, Sesshoumaru, and Kouga and Ayame's crew as they came up behind Inuyasha and Kagome on the dock. When they took in the sight of Naru's gun and Inuyasha's sword blazing with power, everyone realized the gravity of the situation.

“I know of that revolver,” Sesshoumaru chimed in. “It was my mother who forged it.” He growled as Naru grinned.

“An amazing woman, your mother. She liked her riches too much in this modern era, which was why she was so easy to bargain with. In return for her treasures and solitude, this weapon was practically a steal,” he boasted, which only seemed to aggravate Sesshoumaru further.

“Brother, you must be careful. Do not take his threat lightly. If those two powers connect...”

“I know, I know! I get it! What am I supposed to do, huh?” Inuyasha's hands slightly trembled as he gripped his sword, and Kagome put a comforting hand on his shoulder. When she touched him, they were both surprised as the Shikon no Tama in her hand began to glow. Inuyasha took her hand into his, and they watched the jewel together, their joined auras increasing its output. Even Naru seemed intrigued.

Kagome's eyes widened and Inuyasha felt the power too. It was increasing rapidly; in power and in light. It washed over them slowly, but Kagome spoke before it enveloped them all.

“Inuyasha, finally...it's time.”

----

Kagome became frightened when she opened her eyes and Inuyasha was not beside her. She missed the feeling of his hand in hers. When she realized where she was after the jewel's light consumed them all, she started walking forward through the open black space.

She guessed that she was in another dimension inside the jewel. She could hear demons growling in the unseen background, and their voices echoed in the hollow space as she kept walking and searching.

“Hello?”

She didn't know what she was supposed to do. She wanted to know why the Shikon no Tama brought her here, and why she was separated from Inuyasha.

She heard a mechanical buzz and clank to her right, so she spun her head around and found the source. Her eyes widened, and she looked up into a hive of webs. They held many forms, but two of them she recognized as Naru and Naraku. What the...? Were all of these forms Naraku's incarnations?

“Good instincts, Kagome,” a voice said to her side. When she looked up, she was next to Kikyou, who had her arrows ready. She looked down at Kagome with that typical, impassive expression of hers, and she huffed. “Well, are you ready?”

“What ... what are you doing here? You died!” Kagome exclaimed, looking her up and down, for she did not believe what she was seeing.

“I'm alive because you are,” Kikyou said simply. “Now get your bow ready. We have to fight.”

“I don't want to fight anymore! I completed the jewel! Now I just want to live a normal life,” Kagome whined. She met Kikyou's piercing eyes, and Kagome held up her chin. “A normal life with Inuyasha.”

“You will never have that. Not as long as the jewel exists. You will fight inside it for all eternity,” Kikyou said. “Now, ready your bow.” Kikyou took the first shot, and Kagome watched it fly past with pink, spiritual brilliance. Kagome's hands trembled, itching to follow Kikyou's lead.

“No, I won't fight,” she said. “I refuse!”

“We will die then. We will lose the battle,” Kikyou said, and she turned to Kagome and put a hand on her shoulder. “Come on, sister. We must fight. Midoriko is waiting for us to join her.” Then Kikyou smiled, so sickeningly sweet that it caused a pang in Kagome's stomach.

That was when Kagome knew that this wasn't real; this Kikyou was a part of her imagination. She pushed her aside and ran away into the dark.

-----

Kagome woke up, startled and disoriented. She was just standing next to Kikyou who wanted her to fight. Now she was bound tightly, high upon the Goshinboku. Inuyasha was screaming beneath her.

“Inuyasha!” Kagome struggled with her bindings, ripping at the skin on her wrists. She watched as Inuyasha sobbed and clawed at the dirt, unearthing the hilt of his sword. When he finally freed it from its grave, he spun around and started dashing toward a form that looked like Naraku. Only it wasn't, not really, and Kagome knew this.

“Stop! Inuyasha!” she screamed as much as high and loud as her voice could get, but he could not hear her. “Don't fight him, please! You'll be trapped!”

Suddenly, she was free from her bindings, and she didn't know why. She plummeted toward the earth about five feet, and Inuyasha fortunately stopped charging. He turned around and stared at her spot, like he was looking through her.

“Yes, that's it! Come on! It's me, Inuyasha! Can't you hear me?” she pleaded, and she watched as the sword went limp in his grasp.

“Kagome?” he called to her, suspicious that he was hearing things; however, he started walking toward her anyway. Somehow, as he came closer, the veil between them became thinner. The thickness of the gray mist around them started to fad. Suddenly he became clearer, and in his eyes he could see that she was becoming visible for him too. “Kagome!” He rushed to her, letting the sword fall into the ground. He scooped her into his arms and held her like he'd never let go.

“Inuyasha,” she said. “I was looking for you. I didn't think I'd ever see you again.” She met his golden eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. “I met Kikyou. She wanted me to fight with her - forever.”

“I saw Naraku. He taunted me, daring me to fight him,” he said.

“But I refused. I suppose I was brought here to see you make the mistake,” Kagome said as Inuyasha regarded her curiously. “If one of us would have fought, I'm afraid the jewel would have trapped us forever.”

“Then how... how did we get out of the spell?” he asked. Kagome shook her head with a smile.

“I shouted for you as loud as I could, hoping I could reach you,” she said, but then they were both distracted by a pink glow, now materializing within their joined hands. “The jewel! It was with me all along. I didn't realize.”

Inuyasha pulled her close to him, and she felt him tense. “I have a feeling we aren't done yet. Look, Kagome.”

She looked to her right, and inside the space of the jewel, which was now starting to meld with the outside world flickering beyond the light of the veil, they saw Naru, Naraku's incarnation, coming toward them in a blob of demons and tentacle machines.

“What do we do now? We can't fight! We'll be trapped inside the jewel again,” Kagome said, fearing for their options. Inuyasha growled; he didn't like it any more than she did.

The jewel felt hotter in her hand, as if it was trying to tell them something. Kagome looked down at her palm, red and blistered from the jewel. She couldn't hold onto it much longer. It was releasing so much energy it might melt off her skin.

“That's it! It's the jewel! It's fighting us! It doesn't want us to know!” Kagome said, and Inuyasha looked at her confused. “Trust me on this.” She took his hand, held it tighter, and said, “Wish with me, Inuyasha. Wish for the jewel to be gone from this world forever!”

Quickly, he closed his eyes and did just that.

-----

The light of the jewel poured out of them, but it was benevolent and quickly dissipated. When it was all over, Inuyasha and Kagome opened their eyes to some residual white light that was hovering over the dock. In the light, they caught a glimpse of Midoriko's spirit, who thanked them for freeing her as she quickly faded into the ether.

Inuyasha was still tense, looking to continue fighting with Naru, who seemed defeated and angry now that the jewel was gone. He charged for them, tentacles biting and grabbing for them, but suddenly someone else stepped in to shield them.

Sesshoumaru had transformed into his true youkai form, and he snatched Naru in one large bite, chewing and melting him with his acid-filled mouth. As quickly as he chomped on him, he spit the rest of Naru onto the ground, letting the other Vigilantes to finish him off with their high-powered youkai weapons. When they were done, Naru was nothing but a pile of broken debris within a purple puddle of goo.

“Ha!” Kouga said triumphantly. “It's about time the side characters defeat the bad guy!” He shot Inuyasha an offensive gesture with his finger, and Inuyasha rolled his eyes at him.

“So, it's over,” Ayame said, walking up to Sesshoumaru's side, who had since transformed, but was politely trying to cough out the rest Naru's remnants without putting on too much of a scene. When it became unbearable for him, he excused himself. Kagome and Inuyasha heard him hack out a large snot ball behind one of the remaining crates on the dock, and then return to their party without looking hardly ruffled at all.

To make matters more ridiculous, Kagome went to thank her mother, but found her running toward her classmate Hojo and scooping him up for a very noisy (and probably illegal) kiss on the lips. Kagome didn't even know where he came from since they saved him, but he assumed he tagged along to watch them put on a good show. She sighed to this, wondering what sort of life she had to get used to now that her mother was sucking face with a boy her age that had once shown interest in her.

Inuyasha turned her thoughts away from the aftermath hullabaloo, and he pulled her into a long embrace. He whispered in her ear about finding some alone time later, and she chuckled, knowing full well her hanyou had meant it.

“Well, now what do we do?” Inuyasha asked his brother, who was ordering around many of his lackeys.

“Things go back to normal, little brother. We round up Naru's men, interrogate them for useful information, and then lock them away in the youkai security prison in Hokkaido. Then, we move onto the next youkai threat in Japan. Just another Tuesday for us.” Sesshoumaru nodded as they dragged Takeda away in cuffs and signed some clipboards that were handed to him, and Inuyasha watched at how efficiently Sesshoumaru's men were cleaning up the mess. Soon it wouldn't look like a battle went on here at all.

“I guess this means our lives will be normal now that the jewel is gone.” Kagome sighed, shocked that the words were coming out of her mouth. “I can finally finish school!” She cheered.

“Hey, boss, are you still thinking about giving Inu-kuro a job?” Kouga asked Sesshoumaru, gaining Inuyasha's attention. “You have to admit, he was sort of useful.”

“Yes... but he'll have to be trained. That'll be costly,” Sesshoumaru said with a sniff. “He has a lot to learn.”

“Hey, you jerk! You know I'm a good fighter!” Inuyasha huffed and crossed his arms reproachfully. “Besides, who says I want a job from you?”

“Oh, I apologize. You already have a job. I had no idea you enjoyed modeling human underwear,” Sesshoumaru said with an evil smirk. “My mistake.”

Kouga roared with laughter, but Inuyasha's face was so red he was ready to kill them all. Kagome put a soothing hand on his shoulder, and she nodded to Sesshoumaru. “Ah, do I have a say in this? I'd really like you to give him the job.” Inuyasha continued to growl, but Kagome seemed to quell his anger for now.

“Very well,” Sesshoumaru said. “Let us return to the compound. I have something else to show you in the meantime.”

Kagome and Inuyasha looked at each other in wonder. Apparently, Sesshoumaru was still hiding something from them. They followed him eagerly into the limo waiting outside the docks, and Inuyasha stared at his brother suspiciously on the other side of the vehicle. What was he planning? Kagome seemed intrigued, and she was more than entertained by the back-and-forth nature of the two brothers. It was sort of peaceful in a way.

One could almost get used to it.

TBC...