InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Ours ❯ Koga 2 ( Chapter 17 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
I studied my opponent as closely as I could. "Hey...isn't that the same one that Jun fought?"

"No...it's just a bit different." Miroku answered. I don't know how he could tell.

I shrugged. "Alright, I'm ready to move to the coast. Give me my directions, Seiko."

"Actually..." She muttered. "I still haven't heard back from Hiroshi. I guess with Takeo gone, it's taking longer than usual."

"Huh?" I blinked. Well, that was unfortunate, but it made sense. I returned my attention to the enemy. "It's moving...away from us."

"Is it changing location for us or something?" asked Miroku.

"...I guess I'll just have to follow it."

Zearth followed the spider-shaped robot that walked on four legs all the way out to sea. Had it done this for us? Or does it have advantages in water? Was it a trap?

"Oh!" Seiko exclaimed. "Help is here."

Ever since Rin won her battle due to last-minute outside help, Seiko and them decided it would be better to have volunteers around just in case. Those that were willing to die in the process, just to help out with whatever little things we may need in order to win. Heroes in their own right...

Suddenly, the enemy robot detracted its two forearms and stood up on two legs just like Zearth. It started walking around in circles in the water, looking like it was doing some sort of dance. And then it began to spin rapidly with its arms out.

I couldn't get closer to it without getting harmed, since spinning this fast made it so its arms worked as blades. It reminded me of the time I got trapped in Kagura's tornado.

I tried to step back, but I couldn't run away. The enemy's spinning produced winds that were so strong it knocked Zearth over on its back. And then it stopped spinning and stood hovering over us.

How ironic is it that I ended up having to fight the one that seems to use Kagura's fighting method?

"Sure fights different from the other one." The witch herself commented.

Just then the enemy raised its arm like it was preparing to strike. I got ready for it.

"Wait, don't stand up!" said Kagura.

It was too late; Zearth was already on its feet. As soon as it was, the enemy twirled two of its legs around so fast when it made contact with Zearth, it pummeled through its armor like a jackhammer. I was knocked back down on my back.

"Dammit, you shouldn't stand up, I'm familiar with how that thing fights. It's using wind!" Kagura told me. "Keep your balance low."

"But how the hell can I fight lying down?!" I had fought with Kagura before, so I was sure I knew at least little ways around it. I stood up anyway, and when the enemy attacked me, I made Zearth bend over and crawl on all fours.

This robot could move in numerous ways, detach and re-attach its body parts, and did not necessarily have to be human-shaped all the time. The next time the enemy came at me, I punched it with an arm I was using as a leg.

I knocked it over; but now, it was standing on its tail. That was a bad move for it. It made it very easy for me to knock it off balance and make it fall on its back.

I pierced its chest and pulled out the round "vital area" that all robots had, and needed to be destroyed in order to win.

But just then, something hit me. I felt like I'd been stabbed, but I didn't let go of the sphere.

"What the hell? We're under attack?!" I shouted. I made the screen zoom in on whatever it was that attacked me.

It was not a demon. In fact, I'm not sure what it was. It was a flying metal object with wings.

"What the hell is that?" I shouted. "Has anyone seen anything like that before?!"

They all shook their heads no, except for one person; Kagome.

"That's a fighter jet." She explained. "But...those are from my time; they won't be invented for hundreds of years! How did one of those get in the Feudal era?"

I gulped. "Dung Beetle. Where are we?"

"On Earth." He answered plainly. I glared at him; he was keeping something from me. Then I realized I still held the enemy's vital spot it my hand. Carefully, I poked a hole in it.

"What-what are you doing?" asked Kagome.

I wasn't destroying it; not only could seeing what's inside it answer my question as to where the hell we were right now, we'd all been dying to know something for the past few days. Those spheres that we have to crush, that look exactly like our cockpit-what is inside them?

I gulped as I carefully pulled off just enough so that we could see what was inside it without destroying it. When I finished, I was staring into the eyes of a girl that looked exactly like Kagome, surrounded by a circular formation of chairs occupied by people who looked like us.

"Dung Beetle." I called in a grave tone. "Who are we fighting?"

"You're fighting against Earth." He answered, resulting in more confused faces. "The terminal point of a diverging branch in space." he elaborated. "In other words, a parallel Earth in another dimension."

Nobody spoke for a while.

"What does that mean?" asked Inuyasha. "We're fighting against different versions of ourselves? Why-"

"To weed out future possibilities of the universe." Dung Beetle stated. "Kind of like pruning the shrubs."

Sango visibly paled. "What does that mean?"

"The universe, including the Earth, branches out into infinite time-space possiblities that exist simultaneously in different dimensions. The closer the divergence, the more alike they are, and the more distant, the more different they are." He continued. "If you lose, your universe and its place in time-space will disappear. It will no longer exist. And if your opponent loses, their universe is gone. Kind of like weeding out the weaker ones in a species that is overpopulating."

Seiko was panting, breathing heavily. "...I can't believe it..."

"What choice do we have but to believe it?" replied Hiroshi. "But the problem is...Dung Beetle, exactly how many people have we killed?"

"Well, I'll exclude Jun's battle since that didn't have any effect on your universe. He was fighting for his own world. So, then, about...60 billion people."

We couldn't speak.

"For each battle you win, that's about ten billion people that die." He continued. "Of course, you have the casualties on your side to think about as well, so...60 billion and a few thousand, I guess."

And then in clicked. I knew where we were. "So...this is..."

"Your opponent's Earth. Sometimes, we go over to their universe to fight. Sometimes, they come to ours."

I surveyed the scenery below me. "Why is it so similar?"

"If you wanna preserve a variety, you gotta have the places with the least differences crush each other first." said Dung Beetle.

Kikyo let out a breath, and spoke for the first time in a long while. "...over 60 billion..."

"Oh another thing." said Dung Beetle. "Those vital areas of the enemies? Those are actually their crew's cockpit, so Zearth's vital spot is its cockpit as well. But the destruction of the cockpit itself isn't the condition of the victory. In order to win, what you actually have to do is kill the current pilot of the acting robot who's required to be inside the cockpit. That's how you win."

I stared into my opponent's eyes-the enemy robot's current pilot. The Kagome look-a-like-no, an alternate universe version of Kagome.

And around her...other versions of ourselves.

Their Kagome was shaking.

I...

I have to kill her?