InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Minoue ❯ Resolutions ( Chapter 53 )

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

Disclaimers: I do not own InuYasha or any of the manga/anime characters. They belong to the wonderful genius Rumiko Takahashi. Any original characters do belong to me.

AN: Thank you very much to inufan625 for acting as my beta once again. An additional thank you goes to Knittingknots for her help as well. I greatly appreciate the time they've taken to help make me a better writer and this a better story.

I must also thank each of you that left reviews. I read each and every one of them, and greatly appreciate those of you that took the time to leave one.

Also, this is the final chapter of Minoue with the exception of the Epilogue. While I have truly enjoyed working on this story, it is time for it to come to an end. I am grateful to those of you that stuck around to see it all the way through. I plan to post the Epilogue in time for Christmas so in just a few days, you will have the very end.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Minoue

Chapter 53: Resolutions

“I wish I were the most powerful and feared man in the land!”

Naraku intended to laugh with glee upon the granting of his wish, but instead found himself assailed by the sixty-odd men that appeared to be there to honor him. “Et tu, Brute?” `Where did that come from?' he questioned. He covered his head with his robes when he saw the daggers in their hands. `What the fuck is this thing I'm wearing?' he wondered in spite of the chaos around him. Falling to the ground, he tried to protect himself as their blades entered his flesh and tore at him over and over again. As his body died from the violent attack, his spirit jumped.

“It is time. The Russians are upon us,” he said to the woman that was with him - the woman he had taken as his wife the day before. Somehow he was aware that Berlin burned in an inferno above them, littered with debris and bodies from the bombings. The Russian army was moving in. He had been betrayed by the man he considered his most faithful of his officers - Himmler had tried to negotiate surrender to the Swedish Red Cross. His world was falling apart, and he refused to be humiliated. Without any apology to his new bride, he placed a glass ampoule in her mouth before doing the same. He had already given the orders for their bodies to be shot to make certain they were dead and then burned so the enemy could not desecrate them. To ensure that Eva did not betray him as well by not joining him in death, he grasped her jaw as if to say goodbye before popping it with his hand, forcing her to bite down on the poison capsule in her mouth. Satisfied when she crumpled before him, Hitler stood up straight, saluted his likeness hanging on the wall, and bit down.

`This is more like it! These people adore me!' he thought as he waved to the crowds and looked at the woman next to him. Naraku didn't know where he was or what kind of automobile he was riding on, other than it was an old American convertible of some kind, or who the woman in pink with the funny round hat was that was sitting with him. He felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck, forcing him towards her and she in turn took her white gloved hands to examine him. Then there was another loud crack followed by terrible pain and screams. Suddenly, everything went black.

Everyone was left staring at the space that Naraku had disappeared from.

“What just happened?” a stunned Sango asked.

Miroku responded. “If I remember my history correctly, those were the final words of Julius Caesar as he was assassinated.”

“The jewel granted his wish - though not exactly in the way he imagined,” Kagome said quietly. “Naraku did not take into consideration that those who hold great power and are feared usually have someone plotting to kill them.”

“Considering the number of lives the man has ruined, it seems a fitting end for him,” Kagura said. “I wonder if that's the only life he jumped into?”

Julius Caesar, Adolph Hitler, John F. Kennedy, Attila the Hun, Benito Mussolini, Rasputin, Caligula, Abraham Lincoln, Zhang Fei, Malcolm X, Saddam Hussein and Oda Nobunaga were just some of the individuals that Naraku's conscious leapt into. For the rest of eternity, his spirit was doomed to hop from body to body of great tyrants and leaders just before their untimely demise. He would remain the longest in the body of Al Capone where he landed just before the Treasury Department officials showed up at his door to arrest him for tax evasion, and where he would remain until the body that hosted him suffered from massive stroke, and the gangster was no longer considered a threat. He would know the truth of the death of Attila the Hun - that he did not die from a ruptured oesophagus from excessive drinking as was reported, but rather his bride stabbed him in the throat as he lay in bed in a drunken stupor on his wedding night. However, just like the rest of the world, he would never know if Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone when he assassinated President Kennedy. He would only know the pain as the bullets ripped into his skull.

They were jolted from their thoughts by the soft sobs of Bankotsu holding Kikyou's body. He held her against him and was rocking back and forth. “She didn't deserve this… he forced her to help him… she didn't know what he really had planned…” the words spilled from his mouth to no one in particular. “She tried to back out, but he wouldn't let her…”

The inuyoukai took a quick survey of the grounds before he spoke, “Mrs. Higurashi, would you take Rin and Souta to the house? Check for any damage, and I will see to it that repairs are made.” She nodded and herded the two children in front of her, understanding the need to remove them from the scene. Once they were on their way, Sesshomaru strode over and pointed his sword at Bank. “You were part of this.”

The hired assassin looked up and met the Daiyoukai's eyes with his red and swollen ones. “I'll admit that I was, but I was having some serious misgivings about this whole thing. I'll confess that I've killed my share of men over the years, but I've never deliberately gone after women and children. I did my best to make sure there was a distraction so maybe the kids could get away before things got out of hand.”

“What about those in the freezer at the estate in the mountains? There were women and children there that had been forced to their death along with the men and youkai,” the dog demon inquired.

Bankotsu responded, “That was not our doing - they were already dead when we arrived. Naraku hired the Thunder Brothers before he hired my group. However, they couldn't follow instructions and kept leaving dead women in their wake. Naraku was afraid they would eventually lead the authorities to him. He fired them and hired us. Unless someone's done something I don't know about, we haven't actually killed anyone since we started this job.”

“That explosion - you said you disposed of one of my men,” Sesshomaru stated, curious because he thought all of his men were accounted for.

Bank shook his head. “I lied. I did blow up a shed, but it looked like it was mostly empty and about to fall down, anyway. There wasn't anyone else near it. I did it as a distraction and hoped that someone would take advantage of it.”

“Your diversion worked. Move aside,” Sesshomaru ordered as he tucked Toukijin back in his obi and pulled Tenseiga from its sheath. He could feel the sword of his father's fang pulsing at his side.

The mercenary pulled her body more tightly against him. “What are you going to do? She's already dead.”

“If you do not wish for her to remain so, lay her down and move aside,” Sesshomaru commanded.

Though he was completely confused, Bankotsu did as asked. He gently laid Kikyou's limp and bloody body on the ground and moved back.

The Daiyoukai stepped forward and held the sword angled towards the ground in front of him. He realized that he could see the messengers from the underworld swarming around the dead girl's body. Tenseiga pulsed in his hand once again, directing his attention towards the imps of death. Raising an eyebrow, he swept his arm back and then across Kikyou's body, slicing through those in the way and dispersing the ones he missed. It only took a moment before Kikyou sucked in her breath and then started coughing.

“Kanna? Kanna!” Kagura called out. “Where are you? It's safe to come out now.” Sesshomaru's men had rounded up the others that had come with Bankotsu. The inuyoukai that Jakotsu had shot had already recovered, having plucked the bullet from his abdomen once he came to. In fact, Jakotsu was now flirting with him, much to the youkai's mortification.

While Kagura looked for her sister, Sango hugged her brother. “Kohaku, you're all right!”

Miroku moved next to the two siblings. “Since we heard what Naraku said to him to lift the spell, we'll be able to tell the doctors. If the girl heard what Naraku said to him so that he would obey his commands before they arrived, the doctors should be able to reprogram him with time.”

Tears shown in Sango's eyes as she lifted her head. “I'm so sorry, Miroku.”

“Sorry for what, my dear Sango?” he asked, puzzled by the statement.

“I… I never told you…” she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I'll understand… I'll understand if…”

“What is it, Sango?” Miroku was thoroughly confused.

“I'll understand if you don't want to be with me anymore,” she choked out.

“Why would you think that?” Miroku tilted his head and furrowed his brow.

“Now… you know… I… I… I slept with that monster…”

“Sango, you didn't know who or what he was. You just thought he was another student and that he was interested in you, right?” he asked.

“Still, I should have known…” she said quietly.

“How could you have known? None of this was your fault. It was the fault of an evil man who thought he could make a wish and take over the world. Do not blame yourself for something you had no control over,” Miroku stated. “Besides, I don't have exactly the most virtuous reputation.”

That brought a snort from InuYasha.

Miroku threw a glare in the hanyou's direction. “What I was thinking was… well…”

“Let's get married,” Miroku and Bankotsu said almost simultaneously.

“What?” Sango and Kikyou responded.

Kikyou had sat up and was now wearing Bankotsu's jacket to cover her bare chest. She couldn't believe she was alive, much less completely healed and scar-free.

Bankotsu shrugged his shoulders. “I think we should get married. I don't think either of us will ever find anyone better suited than we are for each other. We enjoy each other's company, and the sex is good. I mean, we already have more than a lot of couples do when they marry, so why not? Besides, I didn't realize how I felt about you until you were ripped away from me. As of today, I am officially retiring from the mercenary business. I have enough banked away that I don't really have to work, but I've been made some offers to act as a security consultant. I think it's time to go legit. What do you say, Kikyou?”

“I…” Kikyou thought about what he said and about her recent thoughts on the subject. “Today?”

“We can wait, but there's no time like the present. We are at a shrine, after all,” Bankotsu responded. “Not to mention… I might have to spend some time in prison…” He wasn't certain what the Daiyoukai had planned for him and his men.

“I'd like to call my mother, I think… and maybe take a shower and get a change of clothing,” Kikyou said, looking down at her blood-splattered and ripped attire.

Bankotsu helped her to her feet. “Well, let's get to it, then.” He looked down at his own grime covered fatigues. “I need a shower and change of clothes, too. I have the overnight bags in the car - though this isn't exactly the get-away we were planning on.”

“Kanna, are you all right?” Kagura asked as she saw her younger sibling walking towards her.

“Yes,” she answered. “I was not harmed.”

“I'm sure Mother and Father are worried sick about you. We should contact them and let them know that you're okay,” Kagura said, relief in her voice.

“Kagura…” Kanna started. “I…”

“It's all right, Kanna. I'm just glad you weren't hurt.” Kagura fell silent.

“I'm sorry,” the younger girl whispered. “I should have listened to you. I didn't want to believe you were right all along.”

“He was an evil man that would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. He said whatever was necessary… All that matters now is that you are okay. We need to get you home,” Kagura responded.

“What about you? What will you do?” Kanna asked.

“My place is with my mate. The wedding may not have been real, but our relationship is. Not only is he my mate, but you will be an aunt soon enough. Come to think of it, I haven't told our parents yet.” Kagura grinned. “I can't wait until they find out their no-good daughter is pregnant with the heir to the Daiyoukai of Japan. Maybe I'll let you break the news to them. They probably wouldn't believe me.”

“You… you still want to marry me?” Sango asked.

“Of course I do,” Miroku replied.

“But…I… slept… I… betrayed all of you…” Sango was having a difficult time forming a coherent sentence.

“I love you, and that's what matters,” Miroku started. “I was certainly no virgin when we met—” he stopped long enough to throw another glare in InuYasha's direction, “and I'm not certain how you think you betrayed us.”

Sango sighed. “I gave him the jewel. If it had granted his wish as he requested…”

“Sango,” Kagome interrupted, “we all understand why you did it. You didn't want to see… well…” she nodded at Kohaku. “We don't hold it against you. Any of us might have done the same thing if forced to choose like you were. It's just too bad the jewel didn't disappear when Naraku made his wish.”

“It wasn't exactly a pure and unselfish wish,” Jii-chan said. “It looks like he sure corrupted the Shikon no Tama, though.”

InuYasha added, “Is anyone brave enough to pick that thing up and put it back where it belongs? I can feel the evil Naraku tainted it with from here.”

Kagome sighed. “I'll do it. But we'll have research how to seal it again since the box and sutra were destroyed.”

“Kagome,” InuYasha said, warning in his voice as she bent over to retrieve the jewel from where it had dropped when Naraku vanished into thin air.

“Someone has to do it - we can't just leave it lying around on the shrine grounds,” she responded.

“I'm sure I can help you with the sutra to seal it,” Miroku offered. “Anything to help—”

He stopped short as Kagome stood up and held it on the palm of her hand.

“Wow,” they collectively whispered together.

“Would you look at that…?” Jii-chan said in wonder.

The Shikon no Tama was quickly turning from the black mass of evil that Naraku had created to almost white - even more pure than it had been before the seals on the box were broken.

“Kagome…” InuYasha said in awe. “You're purifying that thing.”

“She must be even more powerful than her great-grandmother was,” Miroku added.

Kagome cupped her hands around it, closed her eyes and squeezed, and when the last swirls of darkness had been removed, she sighed. “I guess we better try to hide it again before someone else comes looking for it. What I really wish is that it would just disappear.”

“If only it were that easy—” Miroku stopped himself again. The Sacred Jewel had started to glow.

“Um… Kagome… what's happening?” Sango asked.

“I… I don't know…” she responded.

There was a bright flash of light, and then like a star going supernova, it collapsed on itself and was gone.

“What the fuck…” InuYasha couldn't stop himself from cursing. “Kagome, are you okay?”

The miko nodded her head. “I didn't think… I didn't mean to make a wish on it…”

“It must have been a pure, unselfish wish,” Jii-chan observed. “You managed to wish the Shikon no Tama out of existence.”

“That's a good thing, Kagome,” Miroku added.

“But… I could have wished for Kohaku to be healed, or… world peace or something…” Kagome mused.

“I suspect anything else you might have wished for would have been corrupted in some way, just as Naraku's wish was,” Miroku said. “Even if you meant well with the purist of intentions, I believe that it would have twisted it in some manner because there would be some way to consider it selfish. I believe the wish you made is the only one that would work.

“So, Sango, now that that is taken care of, will you marry me?” Miroku concluded.

“I… you mean you still really want to?” she answered.

“I don't just want to; I mean now - today. Our friends are here and your brother is here. He is the only family you have, and it may be a long time before we will have this opportunity again. It would be a shame to let everything we have set up here to go to waste,” he said definitively.

Sango looked her brother who had moved away and was staring over the shrine grounds. She knew Miroku was right about one thing - her brother would need to go back into the psych hospital and even though they now had something for the doctors to work with, it might take years before he could be released into society. “But…” she turned away from Miroku. “What I did…”

Miroku moved behind Sango and wrapped his arms around her as he pulled her against him. “I don't care about the past. More than anything I love you and want you as my wife. We really do understand why you did what you did today. After witnessing that, I'm not so certain I wouldn't have done exactly the same thing if it were my younger brother involved. As for your past with Naraku, you didn't know who or what he was.” He pressed his mouth against her ear and whispered, “And I certainly hope that sex with me is better than it was with him.”

That actually made Sango laugh. In fact, she started laughing so hard she could barely speak, “You know… when… I… said…” Miroku was having a hard time deciphering what she was saying until she held her thumb and forefinger about two inches apart. “That's it! That's all he had…” Her laughter doubled. “I really did think he was going to wish for a bigger dick!”

A broad smile crossed Miroku's face. “So… does that mean you find me… adequate?”

Sango turned into him and reached up to cup his face. “That means I find you amazing.”

Miroku wrapped her hands in his and brought them to his lips. Kissing her knuckles he said, “Then marry me, right now, while everyone is here including your brother.”

“All right,” she answered softly.

“Hey, old man! It looks like you get to perform a wedding after all,” InuYasha told Jii-chan. He couldn't help but to overhear even if he wasn't really trying to listen.

“Make that two!” Bankotsu called over. “Kikyou and I wanna get hitched as soon as we get cleaned up and her mother gets here.”

Sesshomaru's mother was drumming her fingers across her knee. “What about my son and that woman? Aren't they going through with this human ceremony?”

The Daiyoukai turned to face the elder inuyoukai. “Mother, if you had just called and told me you knew about this, I would have informed you that the entire thing was a trap to lure out that man. Kagura is already my mate, and that is not going to change. You're just going to have to get used to the fact that you are going to have grandchildren that are half inuyoukai and half wind demon. Your meddling is not going to drive us apart.”

“Humph. Well, in that case, I might as well go home.” She looked disgruntled.

“That's the best idea I've heard all day,” Kagura quipped as she flipped her fan open in front of her. “Would you like me to help send you on your way?”

Sesshomaru actually laughed as his mother vanished.