InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Haunted ❯ Five Sides ( Chapter 22 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

ARG! Sorry, I know that it's been ages. I have no acceptable excuse. I cannot blame the new Harry Potter book, as I finished it in seven hours. Nor can I blame a regression into Fullmetal Alchemist-based insanity, though it did seriously impair my judgement and levels of reasoning, and continues to do so.

All I can say is that I found this chapter brutal to write, and I kept deleting stuff and rewriting and deleting, and then just dreading writing it. Furthermore, it required lots of careful planning and staging. But really, that doesn't cover it. So, again, sorry!

Responses:

Aeika: You're absolutely right. I wrote the last page and a half in about five minutes. I really, really wanted to just get that last part out, thus the result. I'll go back and change it some day… some day…

Auxana: Thank you! (Clutches Strawberry Pocky) I'll treasure this… Bribes are absolutely wonderful!

rin_sama1989: Hehe. Inuyasha and Kagome have quite a rocky relationship, don't they? I don't think that I could write something completely centered around them, actually. Pro'ly wouldn't work out… But I'm glad that you like it how it is!

AkeryouSesshoumarusMate: Heh… I can't seem to write any ending besides a cliffhanger. (Hangs head in shame) Sorry 'bout that…

Inu Kaiba: I did? Sorry… (about the hair thing). I've noticed the same thing; black-ish brown, browner in the sunlight and typically black in darker scenes, the same way Kagome's hair is bluish and Kikyo's containing a purple tint. Thanks for pointing it out. (I seem to make those sorts of mistakes a lot.) Thanks! My shoulder's much better. It was just sore, and I hafta admit, I was being kinda wimpy about it… XD

Angel 4 life: Took 'em long enough to make up, didn't it? XD

SilverontheRose: Frankly, I'm jealous. Homemade tortillas? Yum! And fajitas aren't half bad, either… I'm glad you like it so much! Hmm… my imagination is a bit of a nomad. A very strange nomad, at that. Honestly, most of my ideas come from puzzling over "what if?" situations.

Lizz456: Thank you! I think I'm a bit young to write a book, though… But I heard that some girl in France who's around fifteen or so wrote a book and it was published. That was a couple of years ago. Something with stones on the cover… I had the same thing to me happen with the new installment of Harry Potter: my mother had to drag me from the book. She wasn't too happy about it, but I managed to finish it in a day. (Being the obsessive bookworm that I am). She wasn't very happy about that, either.

Ardent-Amber: Glad'ja like it! Yeah… I know, there're tons of spelling mistakes, though I do use Spell-Check. Sometimes, I think, the machine mistakes one word for another, or it's a typos that spells another word. (i.e. if I mean to say, "the quick brown fox" and I accidentally type, "the quick brown for". Correct spelling, wrong word…)

Lacey Beans: Thank you, and I'm really sorry that it's taken me so long to update!

Thanks, all, for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. 'Course, you guys all knew that already.

Haunted

Chapter Twenty-Two: Five Sides

Small paws pattered softly on the thick, cream-colored carpet as Shippo paced back and forth, green eyes glinting in the soft halogen light of the hallway. Tail bushy with agitation, the little kitsune uttered a defeated sigh and plopped onto the floor next to Buyo. "Sometimes," he confided to the cat, "I wish the house wasn't so big, and so old…" The estate creaked unhappily, the small unidentifiable noises straining the anxious fox demon's nerves. "What's taking him so long?" he burst out at last. "It's been hours and hours. It's can't be that hard to find-" He cut off abruptly, emerald eyes huge in his face. The noise came again, the distantly polite sound of knuckles against the front door.

Mulishly, the kitsune bit his bottom lip. "That better be Miroku!" he told the obese cat. "He's left me here by myself long enough." Cautiously, he approached the door. With a few softly-uttered syllables and a small puff of blue fire, Shippo the Pink Bubble floated up towards the peephole in the door. "Who's there?" he barked, voice squeaking, in a feeble attempt to intimidate the strange old man standing on the other side of the door.

Lazily, he scratched his bulging stomach, his red nose gleaming slightly in the dingy orange porch light. He frowned blearily and glanced down a crumpled scrap of paper in one large hand. "Priestess Lane… This 's it, then." Impatiently, he knocked on the door again. "Hey, Miroku! Open the door, you delinquent monk! It's me Mushin!"

Shippo sighed and relaxed slightly. It was the man from the photo. He glanced at Buyo. The large cat stood, swaying on the top of the landing. "What did Miroku say again?" he asked the obese feline. Buyo miaowed loudly in response, a thin nasal sound. "He said to keep him away from the sake, I think… and stay on guard." The kitsune puffed out his chest, his bushy tail flicked slightly.

He stepped forward and swung the door open. The man turned around in surprise, eyes narrowed under bushy eyebrows. "Hello?" His voice echoed uncertainly. "Is anyone there?" He paused, confused, then continued crossly. "Miroku, if this is your idea of a funny joke-"

"Ahem."

The large old man looked down. "Oh." He took in the strange-looking child's small stature- no wonder he hadn't seen him- and the pointed ears, the bushy tail. "Kitsune, are you?" he asked brusquely. "Just the type that Miroku'd hang about with; always tricking people." He paused to remove his weathered straw sandals at the door before stepping inside. "Speaking of which, is he home right now?" His shrewd dark eyes took in the large silent house with surprise. "What a big place."

"No," Shippo replied cautiously. "He's gone. But he'll be back soon, with the others," he added hastily.

"I see. Well then, would you have anything to offer a thirsty traveler? Some sake, perhaps?"

"Miroku told me to keep you away from everything alcoholic," the kitsune replied, green eyes frank. "But we have orange juice, and milk, and stuff." He led the old Buddhist priest into the living room. "I'm gonna get some Cheerios, anyway."

Mushin grimaced. "No thanks." He sat down heavily on the couch as Shippo reappeared in the room, a large box of cereal in one hand. "Are you sure he said nothing alcoholic? You see, these travels always alarm me. I always think about the speed, and crashing, and on top of that, I have a bad heart. Reacts with anxiety. The best thing for me to calm me is to have a nice drink. Sake is, you see, clinically proven to reduce the risk of f-heart dizzy -I mean, disease."

Shippo looked down at the cereal box, completely unfazed. "You're just reading off the box." He paused for a moment, green eyes contemplative. He reached deeply into the box, the plastic sealing rustling. "Here." He held out a large handful of cereal. "For your heart, if it's really so bad."

Mushin sighed unhappily and relieved the kitsune of his handful. "It's no the same as sake…" he grumbled. He chewed for a moment, surprise registering in his expression. "Hey, these aren't half bad…"

_|__|_

(•.•)

--( • )--

(____)

Hopeless.

Miroku shivered slightly, and fingers that were numb from the wind's icy breath clutched more tightly to Kirara's ruff. He was freezing. With all the goings-on, he'd forgotten to bring a jacket. No matter how warm the evening was, the elevation and the windy flight was bitterly cold.

The ground below was laid out like a great jumbled quilt, neat green squares of varying shades looming off in the darkness to his right, and to the distant left was the jumbled city of Maebashi, visible only because of all the light pollution. The sun was a mere orange sliver on the horizon, vibrant hues of red and purple fading into blue and green as Miroku and Kirara traveled on. And somewhere out there was Sango.

Absolutely hopeless.

Despair was creeping upon him, it's icy fingers lodging tightly in his throat and making his hands fall slack on Kirara's back. An hour and a half ago, he'd rushed out of the house with the ridiculous impression that he'd be able to find the demon exterminator somewhere in this endless expanse of forest and rolling hills, and at night at that. He hadn't even had a plan. But giving up…

He couldn't do that. Numb fingers tightened again around Kirara's long fur, and just in time, too. "Whoa!" Purple eyes went wide with alarm.

The fire cat wheeled around suddenly and rushed towards earth. "I hope that means you've seen someone we know," Miroku quipped as he hung on for dear life. The icy wind whipped the words from his mouth as they rushed towards the earth in a dizzying spiral that left the monk's stomach somewhere above. High above.

"Kirara?" And suddenly Miroku's stomach was the last of his concerns.

"Sango?"

"Miroku? Is that you?"

"Kagome, too?"

"Duh." There was a derisive snort from down below.

"And Inuyasha?"

"We were just on our way back," Kagome confirmed. "Sorry if we worried you," she added sheepishly as Kirara landed.

Shakily, Miroku dismounted and attempted to smooth his windswept hair. "Oh, not at all," he replied airily, feeling decidedly foolish. A taunting voice in his head seemed to say, "See? They're all right. Stupid of you to run off like that. They can take care of themselves, without your help, you who left completely unprepared." He grimaced slightly.

Sango's eyes quickly picked up the expression on the monk's face. "Is something wrong, Miroku?" She regarded him for a moment. "Jeez, you must be frozen. Here, take my jacket." The demon exterminator pulled off her sweatshirt and handed it matter-of-factly to him.

"Are you sure it'll fit?" Miroku took the navy blue bundle dubiously as they continued walking, Kagome and Inuyasha talking - or rather, arguing- ahead of them.

"I'm sure it will." Sango glanced at the ground and cleared her throat uncomfortably. Her voice was almost a whisper as she continued. "After all, it fit my father …"

Miroku paused for a moment, purple eyes almost reverent. "Thank you," he murmured, realizing how much the sweatshirt he was now wearing meant to Sango.

The demon exterminator's smile was more of a grimace. "No problem. It's just a sweatshirt, after all…" And even the grimace faded into nothing. "I mean," she amended thoughtfully. "It's still a sweatshirt, even if he's gone now."

Miroku smiled and clapped a hand on Sango's shoulder. "Thank you, regardless."

Suspiciously, Sango regarded the hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him. "What are you plotting?"

"What do you mean?" Purple eyes looked back innocently. "I'm not plotting anything."

"Really?" Sango remained unconvinced. Her voice took on an edge. "Then why, pray tell, is your hand now at my waist?"

The monk hastily removed the offending limb and shoved his hands in the pockets of the sweatshirt.

"Can't you keep your hands to yourself for five minutes?" Sango demanded crossly.

"Oh…" Amethyst eyes widened in sudden revelation.

"'Oh'?" Sango questioned, eyebrows raised in skepticism.

"I left Shippo by himself…"

"A great father you'd make, Miroku." The snide remark came from Inuyasha.

"No I wouldn't," his voice took on a slightly reproachful note.

Sango glanced at him and looked away. "Well, in any case, knowing him he'll have set the whole house on fire by now, thinking Buyo was some sort of monster come to get him."

Kirara mewed in agreement. "And I invited my foster father." Miroku looked at Kagome. "I hope you don't mind."

Kagome shrugged. "Why would I?"

"…And I told Shippo to keep him away from anything valuable or alcoholic, just to be on the safe side," the monk added tactfully with a serene smile.

"Are you sure that was necessary?" Kagome looked at him in consternation. "I mean, he's your foster father. Surely he'll be fine, right?"

"Trust me, Kagome. I knew exactly what I was doing."

There was a pause as Kagome digested this information. "Can Kirara carry two of you?" she asked Sango.

"Yup." A bright flash of fire penetrated their dark surroundings for just a moment, and Miroku and Sango were airborne.

Wordlessly, Inuyasha swung Kagome onto his back and they took off down the dark and silent road.

(\ /)

(•. •)

(><)

"Mushin?"

Frankly, Miroku was astounded when he entered the living room, expecting the worst. He'd thought that they'd see, in the least, one empty sake bottle. Honestly, Miroku would've been happy with only two. It had been a good hour or so since Mushin must've arrived. And yet, there he was, sitting on the couch. His foster father was astoundingly, incredibly….

Sober.

And eating from a large cardboard box of Cheerios.

"Is it really you?" Miroku asked suspiciously, purple eyes narrowing slightly. The others trooped in behind him, confused.

Mushin snorted derisively. "Of course it is, Miroku. Who else could I be? You know," he continued. "For someone who received such good grades in college before you left, you certainly aren't very smart."

Having used up his supply of polite and eloquent answers, the black-haired monk replied frankly; "An imposter. Normally, if left to your own devices, you'd be passed out on the floor with sake bottles all over the floor, with stains on the carpet." He glanced wryly at the cereal box. "Instead, here you are, eating from a box of cold cereal. There are no alcohol stains in sight, in fact I see Cheerios instead." He bent down and picked up one of the pieces. "Shippo's preferred breakfast meal."

Shippo scurried out of the kitchen. "I gave them to him." There was a grin on his face. "It's kept him away from anything alcoholic."

"We don't have much sake anyway," Kagome admitted. She glanced oddly at the old monk, then to the younger one. "Miroku, why'd you have him come, anyway?"

Miroku glanced at his foster father. "Because he has a certain object, and a certain spell that might come in handy."

"Really?" Inuyasha demanded. "What's it do?"

Mushin fumbled with a small pouch concealed in his robes. After a few moments, he reverently held out a shining pink bauble. It twinkled innocently in the artificial light provided by the overhead lamps.

Kagome took a curious step closer. "What is it?"

Miroku looked grave. "It is the Shikon no Tama."

(\ /)

(0.0)

(><)

"Kagura." Naraku's voice in the wind witch's mind was imperious, commanding. "You have overstepped yourself, yet again. I will not have you interfering any more." A dull headache started to pound in her head. Scarlet eyes narrowed in a pained grimace. "Now, where have you left the sword?"

Frankly, Kagura was surprised that she wasn't dead yet. Her mind was a pounding whirl of shock and pain and panic. Had he known, from the very beginning? Why hadn't he stopped her? What was going to happen now?

Kanna chuckled as Naraku withdrew from Kagura's mind and settled in a much more suitable host. "Your questions are irrelevant. I think you know that answers to all of them, after all."

Despair struck her in the chest like a cannonball. He was going to kill her. She would never be free, for even in death he would enslave her soul.

Naraku chuckled softly, sensing her distress. "Or perhaps you don't. Do you even know what this sword does?"

"You know I don't," Kagura snapped, fury flashing in her scarlet eyes.

"Aren't the signs enough?" Kanna's eyes narrowed in disgust. "What use have I for a sword that kills the wielder? Or are you blind to the way it eats magic and sips from life?" The pale girl's head shook slowly from side to side. "No, the sword is not for me. The sword was intended for something previously dead." He sighed. "Unfortunately, with Tsubaki killed by her own greed, he will not be appearing. The sword is now useless."

Kagura relaxed slightly. So she wasn't going to die. At least not yet, which gave her time for one last, desperate plan…

"However," Naraku continued through Kanna, "your futile attempt, while pathetic, was well-meant. Soon I shall have no more use for you, Kagura. Hope that that day never comes, Kagura, because when it does, there is no doubt in my mind that you will be the first to die." The harsh words reverberated off of the cold stone walls of the cave, and Kagura had no doubt in her mind that Naraku was speaking the absolute truth.

(\ /)

(0.0)

(><)

"So what's it do?" Inuyasha repeated impatiently, mistrustfully eyeing the small pink Tama as it sparkled. For some reason, it was making him uneasy.

Mushin raised an incredulous eyebrow at the hanyou. "You mean that you've never heard of the Shikon Jewel?"

"No. So why dontcha tell us already?" The hanyou raised his own eyebrow in return arm folded impatiently across his chest.

The elderly monk scratched his head. "Well, it's complicated. Lots of myth and legend surrounding this little pink jewel…" He rolled it around on his palm, savoring the words. "Some say that the Shikon no Tama can grant wishes. Other legends tell us that it's cursed. Judging by it's bloody past, I would say that it could be an astute accusation, but-"

"I don't care. Just tell me what it does." Clawed fingers drummed an impatient tattoo on the coffee table.

"That was rude," Shippo accused from his seat on the floor. "My father taught me to respect my elders. It's a pity yours didn't do the same."

"Shut it, Brat," the demi-demon growled. "We don't have much time, you know. I ran into Kagura," he explained when everyone looked at him curiously. "There are only a few days until Naraku plans to free himself."

"Are you sure she's telling the truth?" Sango asked sharply. "She is an agent of Naraku, you know. What makes you think that she isn't just playing his games?" Naturally, the demon exterminator was disinclined to believe anything that her family's murderer said.

"It didn't seem like she was lying," Inuyasha grumbled. "And better safe than sorry."

Shippo snorted. "Since when were you worried about safety, Inuyasha? You're always rushing recklessly into things headfirst, without thinking twice!" The kitsune earned a large bump on the head for his accurate depiction of the hanyou.

Mushin turned to his rather embarrassed pupil. "Do they always do this?"

Miroku's expression was miraculously solemn. "It's a demon ritual, I believe."

_|__|_

(•.•)

--( • )--

(____)

If Naraku had a mouth, it would've been curled in a cold smile. "One would think," he sighed in Kanna's head, "that after waiting five hundred years, one day would be of little importance."

Kanna nodded politely in ascent. The entrapped demon felt a twinge of irritation. The problem with mindless obedient subordinates was that they never had anything to say in response.

The ghostly remnants of Naraku stirred in the urn. That was one of the reasons why he'd kept Kagura alive for so long. Life -if that's what his meager existence could be called- was much less dull when he had to keep an eye on the mutinous wind user.

"Naraku." With a start, the trapped demon realized that his mind was drifting from the task at hand. Quickly, his consciousness flooded Kanna's own. "Hah." The pale girl's voice was filled with Naraku's smugness. "I was expecting something like this." He watched through Kanna's eyes as a motley crew of young adults approached, identical grim expressions on each face. He sighed. "A last, desperate attempt to rid the world of me before I can do the same to them."

He paused. "This should prove… interesting." And perhaps challenging, though he didn't admit it aloud. As much as he hated to admit it, they had a chance of doing their task. Tsubaki had failed to raise his old familiars, Kagura had run off somewhere, and all he had was Kanna and a bunch of purifying sutras.

Quickly, Naraku's agile mind began to form a plan. He allowed Kanna's pale, colorless lips to turn up in a cold smirk. It was going to be close.

(\ /)

(0.0)

(><)

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Kagome asked Miroku yet again out of the corner of her mouth. Her balled fist tightened with nervous tension.

"I certainly hope so," Miroku replied quietly, purple eyes steady. His staff jangled, filling the tense silence with the noise.

"Anyway," Inuyasha continued, "it's a bit late to start questioning yourself, isn't it?" He cracked his knuckles. "And I want my sword back."

Sango snorted. "So that what this is about." She hefted Hiraikotsu, sharp brown eyes watchful.

Although he was quivering uncontrollably, Shippo popped his head over Miroku's shoulder. "You're just mad that Naraku made such a fool out of you!"

"Shut it, Brat." Inuyasha cracked his knuckles again, amber eyes narrow. "We should be watching for traps, not yammering about nonexistent grudges."

Abruptly, they all fell silent, Shippo quaking worse than before. Wordlessly, Inuyasha found the large black rock and turned the corner. "There." He pointed down the hole.

"Now, do you all know what you have to do?" Miroku asked quietly. "No questions?" Silence. He heaved a sigh. "Well then, lead on, Inuyasha."

Dubiously, Kagome watched as the hanyou disappeared down the dark tunnel. She took a deep breath and followed him. Part of her mind wondered whether she was committing suicide.

A hand squeezed her shoulder reassuringly and Kagome jumped in surprise. Sango grinned back. "Nerves?" she whispered. The black-haired schoolgirl nodded fervently. "You'll forget about 'em soon enough."

Kagome found Sango's comment far from encouraging.

"Stop." Inuyasha put up a hand. "There's something there…"

A pale figure emerged from the darkness, small hands clutching the silver rim of a mirror. Oddly, Inuyasha noticed, the inside seemed to be glowing. Or was it a trick of the light? He backed away slightly, amber eyes wide with the shock of realization. No, it wasn't his imagination. The light was getting brighter, and something behind the surface was stirring…

"Everyone move back!" he roared, adrenaline pulsing through his veins. "NOW!"

_|__|_

(•.•)

--( • )--

(____)

Miles away, sealed safely in a small room kindly leant to him by Kagome, Mushin's tightly closed eyes popped open. He glanced around the room. Everything was set; there was the chalk pentacle, inscribed upon the dark, rough piece of slate. Surrounding the pentacle were violently inscribed kanji, as if someone were trying to break the piece of chalk on the uneven stone. Off to the side, he had five pebbles stacked. And in the center was the Shikon no Tama.

The elderly monk shuddered. He didn't like this kind of spell. It's existence was against his own, and his studies. But of course, that was nature of a Juso of a black priestess.

And, as the saying went, "Fight fire with fire." This curse was the best chance they had of taking Naraku down. There were only a few preparations left to make, and hopefully, Kagome and Miroku were setting them up now as Inuyasha and Sango held Naraku's attention.

A sound from down below brought Mushin's musings to an abrupt halt, ears straining. In the otherwise silent house, it was easy to make out the sound of a child's voice, and a woman's reply. The monk tensed. Was there a break-in?

"Hello?" A young boy's voice echoed through the silence. "Hey, Shippo, we're back! Kagome? Inuyasha?" Rapid footsteps echoed on the steps. "Hellooooooooooo…!"

"Souta!" The woman's voice was reproachful. "I know that you're excited to be home, but not so loudly, please." There was a smile in her voice. A paper bag rustled down below. "Souta, can you help me with these groceries?"

Mushin sighed in relief. Kagome mentioned that her family might return. But he couldn't go down to say hello. His entire focus should be on the pentacle…

There was a loud pop and Mushin whirled on the dark spell. The westernmost point was pulsing with a sickly red color, a shade reminding him of old blood. Quickly, he grabbed a pebbled and placed it carefully over the corner. The smooth black stone pulsed a brighter, orangey-red and steadied into a darker purple-ish glow.

He sighed tremulously, feeling weak-kneed though he was sitting down. Only four more corners to go…

(\ /)

(•. •)

(><)

Okay, she'd admit that things didn't go half as well as planned. None of them thought that Naraku would know that they would be coming, even though Inuyasha warned them that he might. So seeing Kanna had surprised Kagome.

What surprised her even more was what happened next; something large and obviously wishing them ill burst through the mirror's shining surface, howling as it clawed its way up the tunnel. It was only Inuyasha's quick thinking and an incredible burst of strength that saved the whole operation from total disaster.

"COME ON!" the hanyou bellowed, shoving Kagome, and then Sango, and then Miroku and Shippo up though the tunnel in a disorganized heap of flailing limbs and outraged exclamations.

They burst up to the surface as if propelled by rockets, but was in reality a desperate hanyou.

"What'dja do that for?" Shippo stuttered, having not seen the thing erupting from the mirror. "I swear, Inuyasha, you're so paranoid-" The kitsune shut up abruptly, emerald eyes huge in a face paler than Kanna's.

With a wordless snarl, Inuyasha whirled around and leapt at the great lumbering beast, claws at the ready. But it was quicker than he thought.

"Wha-?" The hanyou turned, but not quickly enough. The beast lunged, tongue lolling like some large dog, and claws like daggers scuffed him to the side.

Instantly, Sango took to the air, Hiraikotsu gripped tightly and a grim expression on her face. Miroku pulled a spell out of his sleeve and hurled it forward. Kagome yelped and ran towards Inuyasha.

"Stay back!" he hollered at her. "I'm fine!"

Kagome nodded and bit her lip.

Looking back, the following events became a blur in her mind. It was a mad scramble to kill the demon, whose lightning-fast reflexes made this task nearly impossible. In the end, it was Sango's Hiraikotsu that took off an arm, and Inuyasha got the head.

Panting slightly, the hanyou wiped the thick blood from his hands and onto the grass. The nice meadow was nearly unrecognizable; there was dark, rank blood dripping from the hulking carcass. The grass was torn, gouged both by Hiraikotsu and the dead demon's claws. Strange gurgles emitted from the corpse as it started to shut down forever, filling the silence.

"Come on," Inuyasha said finally. "And this time, let's stay awake."

The others followed him wordlessly into the dark tunnel.

_|__|_

(•.•)

--( • )--

(____)

Naraku wasn't too disappointed. He hadn't honestly thought that the demon that Kanna summoned would do much that distract them. It had served its purpose.

"They're coming." Kanna's soft, expressionless voice reverberated across the silence. The pale girl sat, tranquil, on the cave floor, small cold fingers tracing characters upon the mirror's reflective surface.

Naraku twisted slightly within his prison, betraying his anxiety. They were coming. A sudden idea took hold in his consciousness, and flooded it. "What if…? Would it work?"

Perhaps, if he played this situation correctly, he wouldn't need to wait two more days to be free.

His thoughts were interrupted by a large boomerang. The weapon whistled through the air and narrowly missed Kanna, who barely moved in time. The pale haired demon girl calmly sat down again, her mirror in her lap. "Well, well, well," she drawled. "I was wondering when you'd show up, miss." Kanna/Naraku smiled at Sango.

"Shut up," the demon exterminator replied tersely. She swung Hiraikotsu in a wide arc.

Deftly, Kanna reflected the weapon with her mirror, and it went spiraling back at Sango. The exterminator only just caught it.

Behind her, a dark-haired monk, his expression grim, emerged from the shadows. "Ah…" he murmured. "It begins to make sense…"

"You…" Kanna spoke with Naraku's inflection. "You look familiar."

The man's purple eyes flickered. "Those who knew my grandfather say that I bear striking resemblance."

The pale girl's mouth curved up in a nasty smile. "Those who knew him were right. Although, his eyes were brown. I remember quite clearly."

"Hey, what's the holdup?" Inuyasha demanded from behind. "This is no time to be chatting, Miroku, or have you already forgotten?"

"Of course," the monk replied crisply, eyes as hard and unforgiving as stone. "I don't wish to 'chat' with my grandfather's murderer, anyway." He paused. "But one more question. What did you do with him after he stumbled upon this place?"

"Kanna took his soul. We used his holy powers to destroy the more powerful of my bindings." The pale girl sighed mockingly. "Unfortunately, his body could not last. Tell me, is seeking out one's death a family trait, or is it unique to merely the two of you?"

"No more chatting!" Inuyasha demanded again, an edge to his voice and eyes blazing.

In response, Sango hurled Hiraikotsu again and it spun dizzyingly through the air in a wide arc.

"My, my, my," Kanna chided as the weapon passed her by. She raised her mirror above her head as a huge stalactite shook loose from Hiraikotsu's flight fell from the ceiling. The gargantuan chunk melted into the mirror, the shining surface rippling as if it was made of liquid. "Are we feeling a bit upset?"

He was treating them like insignificant children, Kagome realized. He had yet to truly attack them. The first demon was just to test them. He was toying with them. Smiling grimly, she pulled an arrow from her quiver and put it along the bow, eyes narrowed as she took aim.

It might be playing dirty, but from what she knew of the demon, he didn't deserve anything less. And perhaps, they wouldn't have to carry out the full plan… Hoping fervently, she let the projectile fly.

She blinked. "…Uh….?" Around her, the others were in a similar state of confusion. "Is that normal?" Were arrows supposed to destroy all of the spells in the air?

"Whatever it is, it isn't good," Miroku cautioned.

"I think we can all see that, Miroku," Inuyasha replied tersely.

"I knew you were going to do that, priestess. You humans are so predictable." As if in proof to the monk's statement, Kanna chuckled good-naturedly. "Thank you. That's what I've been waiting for." The darker of the two urns started to glow a sickening red color, like old blood.

"Well, don't just stand there!" Inuyasha howled, shoving forward. "Get in position!"

The others shook of the immense feeling of dread as the room started to darken unnaturally, as if the urn was drawing the light and collecting it. The five of them scrambled forward, Inuyasha exceptionally eagerly.

"Tetsusaiga!" He picked up the sword and stepped forward, eyes burning intensely. This was it… He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, concentrating. Just a little more time…

The urn burst violently in a deadly cloud of poisonous vapors, soft, cold chuckles reverberating off the walls over the tremendous bang. "Free…" Naraku held up one hand curiously. It was so strange to have flesh again!

The vapors cleared slowly as Naraku's laughter faded away. Cold eyes inspected the cave. Gone. Thoughtfully, the reawakened demon bent and picked up a shining silver shard. Kanna's mirror. Not even a demon could survive such intense poison. After all, he'd been saving up for the occasion for over five hundred years.

And that was a considerable amount of poison.

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(•. •)

(><)

…

(Sighs) I'm so tired of writing this story.

Him…

I know!

THE END

…naiad.

This chapter ended up being a lot shorter than the others. Oh well.

I imagine that if I ended it here, I wouldn't live out the rest of the summer, so you can expect one more chapter/epilogue thing. Gads, I'm tired though… Whoever said that being an insomniac is fun clearly wasn't one…