InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Legend of the Hanyou ❯ The Final Battle ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: InuYasha and co. property of Rumiko Takahashi

 

Chapter 2

The Final Battle

 

 

Growling to himself, InuYasha dodged the attack from Naraku, the two female yells echoed in his head as he found an opening to hit their enemy. `The bastard spotted it too. At least he's good for something,' he thought as he watched Sesshoumaru take the opportunity he had been given as well. Before either attack had the opportunity to hit, he felt the wind of something fly dangerously close past his face before striking their enemy the instant before his attack had the chance to. `Fuck!' he said to himself, recognizing the two energies wrapped around the arrows as his attack sliced into Naraku. `I fucking told her to stay the-' his internal tirade was interrupted with an explosion of violet light as his brother's sword Tenseiga, joined Tetsusaiga. It took him a moment to realize exactly what was happening, as the body of Naraku exploded, leaving thousands of youkai in his place.

 

The impact of the four attacks together had done what nothing else had been able to: defeat Naraku. `Damn it! I don't care how it happened!' He thought as he released the first `Kaze no Kizu' at the massive swarm of youkai. “Miroku, get your ass over here and help me!” He screamed before releasing another attack.

 

Watching the monk out of the corner of his eyes, he waited until he saw the release of the kazaana before releasing a third attack. `I told her to stay outta the way. I don't care if we woulda got our asses kicked'. Trying to keep his eyes on Miroku, Kagome, and the youkai all at the same time, he continued to slice through them as they gathered around them.

 

“InuYasha!”

 

Turning toward the cry for help, he noticed the kazaana was dangerously close to non-existent. While Miroku attempted to ward off youkai with only his staff, the rosary beads that previously contained the curse lay forgotten on the ground at his feet.

 

“Incoming!”

 

Dodging Hiraikotsu as it whipped past, he watched as it severed though the youkai closest to Miroku before returning to Sango. “Get the hell outta there, Miroku!” InuYasha screamed, attempting to time his next attack to pick up the youkai where Sango's Hiraikostu had left off, giving the monk adequate time to get out of danger.

 

Watching as over a hundred youkai shattered before turning to dust with the single blast, he estimated there would only be one more attack before the last remains of Naraku vanished forever. Lifting Tetsusaiga above his head once again, he forcefully slammed it into the ground unleashing the final blow. Watching in awe as the dust from the youkai slowly fluttered to the dirt floor, it took a moment for the realization to sink in.

 

They had defeated Naraku.

 

The past year had been spent attempting to do just that. Naraku had been the one to cause the betrayal between Kikyou and himself the reason he had been pinned to the tree and that Kikyou had died. Naraku had cursed Miroku's grandfather, creating the kazaana and cursing it to every descendant until he was defeated. Naraku had been the one to take control of Kohaku and forced him to murder his taiyija comrades and he had unleashed the youkai into the taiyija village, leaving Sango the only survivor of the proud community.

 

The quest to obtain the shards and complete the shikon no tama had brought pain to so many lives. Shippou had lost his father to the Thunder Brothers, leaving him orphaned and alone. Kagome had felt responsible for everything, having been the one to bring the jewel….`Kagome…'

 

Sudden irritation overwhelmed him as he remembered what she had just done. Taking a moment to sheath Tetsusaiga, he felt a growl develop deep within him as he swung around to chew her out. `How hard is it to listen? I told her to stay back and protect them.'

 

Connecting with her brown eyes as he turned, he noted as they widened in recognition. `Keh, even sheknows she's got it coming.' Watching as she took a step back in defense, she briefly glanced at the ground a few feet away before regaining eye contact with him. The simple movement distracted him as he realized just what she had looked at in that instant. `Kikyou…'

 

Looking away from both of them as a strange lump formed within his throat, he managed to bite out, “Get the jewel, Kagome,” before slowly walking to the fallen miko's side. From the corner of his eye, he watched as Kagome stood there, unmoving for several moments before straightening her back and walking away from them.

 

“I left her there for a reason.” He growled as he crouched down with his hands between his legs next to Kikyou, before investigating her injuries. “I didn't want her involved.”

 

“Where did she come from, InuYasha?” Startled, the simple question hadn't been what he had expected to hear. Forgetting about her injuries for the moment, he found himself staring into a pair of soft brown eyes that overfilled with emotion. He'd first mistaken Kagome for Kikyou, but had quickly learned the differences between them to be so great he sometimes wondered if Kagome really was Kikyou's reincarnation. It wasn't until this very moment he knew the truth; he was staring into a mirror of Kagome's eyes. The pain, coldness and stress that normally filled her gaze were absent, replaced with the warmth and spirit normally only found in Kagome's. “I know she's not from here.”

 

Turning to watch the subject in question digging amongst the remains and pull the nearly complete shikon no tama from the rubble, he sighed, “She just showed up here with the jewel one day. She calls her world Tokyo---the future.”

 

“Doing this was her destiny, InuYasha. She became involved the day she arrived here with the jewel. Did you believe she arrived here only for you?”

 

“No!”

 

He flinched at the adamant denial in his voice as Kikyou reached up to rub her thumb across his forehead. “The lines are gone as are the ghosts that used to haunt your eyes. She healed you; something I was not allowed to do. Perhaps that was one of her reasons for coming here, but like I…this world is not where she belongs. Her job is complete; she was needed to defeat Naraku.” She slowly lowered her hand from his face and gave him a poignant smile as she closed her eyes. “She was lucky to be the one to heal your heart, but I can't say I'm not jealous that she is the one who you gave your heart to in the end. For your sake, I hope that I am wrong when I say that she doesn't belong here. I would hate for you to lose us both.”

 

It was on the tip of his tongue to deny his feelings for the futuristic schoolgirl, but the sudden urge to find her had him searching the area until his eyes landed on her. `Kouga! That stupid wolf won't ever give up on--' the sound of his own growling interrupted his train of thought. Eyes widening in surprise at the noise, he looked down at Kikyou, flushing at his reaction to Kagome. Her face had softened, her breathing had ceased…she looked at peace. A gentle ball of light rose from her body, slowly gathering speed and growing brighter as it catapulted itself in Kagome's direction.

 

Something about it gave him a bad feeling, sent chills up his spine, unable to do anything but take after it, try to catch it. He watched as Kagome lifted her hands to ward off the light, as it connected with her it glowed so bright, even he couldn't see exactly what happened. The only thing he knew was, when he could see again—Kagome was gone.

 

Sprawled on the ground where he had last seen her, a torrent of emotions overwhelmed him. Sadness at losing the first real friend he'd ever had was hard enough to deal with for him, Kikyou was at peace and he was grateful for that. The other emotions were much baser, deeper, as if a huge part of his soul was missing. Dumbfounded at the emptiness that filled his arms, when he knew he had landed right where she should be standing and she couldn't just disappear.

 

Yet…that was exactly what had just happened.

 

“No…”he whispered as the truth slowly settled around him, the pain ripping through him as he felt his life crumble in that instant. Anger filled him, instantly blaming the one person who couldn't defend herself. “Damn her! She can't just leave! I love her!”

 

“He finally figured it out and she isn't even here to hear him say it.”

 

He chose to ignore the comment; Sango's gentle gasp and the smell of tears permeated the air around him as the shock quickly settled into her system. The disbelief was a palpable thing, no one was quite sure about what had happened yet, but InuYasha only had one thing on his mind. Scrambling to his feet, he ignored the commotion surrounding him as he raced toward his goal, his salvation: the well.

 

 

Touching down quick on a branch of a nearby tree before taking off again toward another, he moved faster than he ever had before in his life in order to reach his goal. The world passed by without him even noticing, his mind automatically reacted to landmarks as he ran. Fearing the worst, he raced against time thinking that if he was only able to get to the well, to Kagome, that everything would be okay.

 

`She's always been there, even when I tried to push her away.' The truth behind that simple statement was undeniable, she had returned to him no matter how bad things had gotten. It was a part of her nature, something he had counted on over and over.

 

Handing her the alarm clock that had frightened the crap out of him early that morning when he had gone to visit her, modern contraptions still managed to confuse him. She should know better then to have them around where they would get in his way. Yet the look of irritation that crossed her face as he handed her back the remains made him wonder if this wasn't really about the alarm clock.

 

 

“Is there anything else I should apologize for?”

 

 

“Not really...”she sighed, he knew she was thinking more but didn't voice it. He refused to bring up the issue about the mangy wolf; he'd just deal with it again when Kouga dared show his face around Kagome again.

 

 

He watched as Kagome stared at the clouds in the sky for a few moments, “Now that I've finally come back...” To his surprise, she moved in close to him, relaxed against him. Looking away quickly, he wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or fear that she would move away if he acknowledged she was there. “let me stay beside you.”

 

 

A strange lump formed in his throat at the simple request, words failed him. The only thing he found himself able to articulate seemed so stupid, but he said it anyway “Bah.”

 

 

He should have known way back then, that things would be different with her. It wasn't much after that day that he made a promise to protect Kikyou; he thought he would never get to see her again after that day. To his surprise, she returned to him, asked him if she could stay by his side. She hadn't left it since that day, until now.

 

 

She'd been through enough in the short time since Tsubaki had cursed her. For once, he agreed they needed a break from the quest both emotionally and physically. He wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to return, the fact that she had done everything she did to break the dark miko's curse still surprised InuYasha. She was getting more powerful, `No, that's not right. She's getting in situations where her natural powers are being forced to come out.'

 

 

He tightened his grip on her, remembering how close he had come to losing her this time. It was her own power that saved her; he hadn't been able to do anything to help which made him feel responsible for the whole thing.  “I'm sorry, Kagome… that you're always stuck with me...”

 

 

A pair of arms tightened around his neck in response, surprising him with the strength that remained in them. In fact, he realized she continued to surprise him with the things she was able to overcome. “It's okay…” she replied, her voice tired and worn, “it's by choice that I'm with you...”

 

 

Realizing he was gaining ground on Kaede's village quickly, he managed to speed up even more than he thought he would be able to. Taking the quickest route to the well, he would reach it in mere minutes. The nearby village was filled with memories of her, moments they had shared; even the thought of her unable to return to it was unbearable.

 

 

Watching as Shippou slumped to the floor beneath his fist, he half expected Kagome to get angry with him for reacting to the kitsunes comment. “Kagome, come with me for a bit.”

 

 

 “Eh...?” She looked confused, but the request had diverted her attention from the kitsune so something had worked the way he wanted it to. Storming out the door, it took a minute for her to reach the doorway as she followed after him. `Damn it all. How could I be such an idiot?' He stormed back over to her, sweeping her into his arms so she didn't have to walk on her injured feet.

 

 

Leaping into a tree a good distance away from Kaede's, he made sure she was settled on the branch before sitting down next to her. She gave him a gentle smile, “What's up? You didn't want the others to hear?”

 

 

Unable to say anything, he glanced down at her bandaged feet, burned by the acid in the Oni's stomach. Guilt flooded him, if he hadn't needed the jewel, if only he was stronger on his own. The jewel had been too much for him to handle on his own, he had needed her. Because he hadn't been strong enough to overcome the taint of the jewel on his own, she had risked herself to save him. “Your legs, they hurt.”

 

 

“Inuyasha...”

 

 

“Damn, I've got a lot to learn, don't I?” The guilt of what he had made her do, the pain he had caused her overwhelmed him but he forced himself to look at her. “I'm really sorry I made you go through all that pain”

 

 

She looked surprised at his apology, probably because he didn't hand them out often. “No, not at all. If you hadn't been there, none of us would have survived.” She gave him a radiant smile, before adding, “And besides, at that time I was really happy. Being by your side makes me happy.”

 

 

“Kagome...” It was comments like that; they solidified inside him, made him whole. She was always able to express exactly what he was thinking, but never able to convey. `I feel the same. I'm glad you were there beside me.'

 

 

Landing in the meadow surrounding the bone-eaters well, he shook the memories from his head. It wasn't just that he was glad to have her beside him, just that she always was. No one had ever been there for him, like she had. The one person he had ever had unshakable trust in, life without her…

 

 

`Don't think about it.' For once he agreed with the stupid voice inside his head, he needed to figure out weather the well was still active. Until then, there really is no reason to worry about what things would be like without her.

 

 

Terror clenched his heart as he slowly made his way to the side of the well, his worst nightmare might have come true and as much as he wanted to make sure the well had remained open, he wasn't ready to find out yet. Touching the smooth wood, he thought about how his life had revolved around this object since the day Kagome had freed him from Kikyou's spell. Both his salvation and his curse, it had brought Kagome into this world to free him and she would always take it to leave him to go home.

 

 

Sighing, he looked into the depth of the well afraid to climb in. Unable to handle it if his fears became reality, her presence in his life was much more than something he enjoyed, a ray of light in an otherwise bleak existence, over time she had become a necessity, something needed in order to live.

 

 

Almost choking on the deep breath he took in preparation for the leap, he dropped into the well, still half expecting to feel the magic open beneath him. The impact of the cold, unyielding dirt lining the floor was eclipsed by the shattering of his hopes, dreams, things he hadn't even been able to imagine in until they were gone.

 

 

Digging his fingers into the dirt beneath his hands, as if somehow getting deeper into the ground would help him reach the non-existent time slip, would somehow get him to Kagome. “No. This can't be happening. I can't lose her.” Dragging as much as he could get with each swipe before loose dirt clods fell back in the hole he had already created, as his hands began to sting, as the scent of their blood infiltrated his nose.

 

 

His mouth filled with the metallic taste as his fangs dug into his bottom lip, willing the lump in his throat away, the burning in his eyes to leave. The heat on his face came as an almost foreign feeling; it took him a moment to realize it was happening, what the wetness hitting his hands actually was. Collapsing, he grasped the dirt beneath him succumbing to the tears that fell.

 

 

Kagome was gone.