InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sacrifices ❯ The silhouette's identity ( Chapter 14 )

Hi there minna! This chappy's a little long, so all I'm going to say here is I don't own any of the Inuyasha characters. Enjoy!!

Chapter14: The silhouette's identity

Widened eyes and shocked faces were reflected on everyone as they stared at the silhouette standing in the distance. The arrow stucked on the tree behind Kikyo, the one that had made that cut on her cheek, was the one that had destroyed the barrier she'd put up. Kikyo narrowed her eyes in anger as she saw the silhouette approching them.

Miroku, Sango and Shippo were all shocked at this sudden event. Who could've shot that arrow? And most important, who could be strong enough to break the barrier? The monk's gaze shifted towards the miko and his eyes widened even more at the sight of her.

"What??..."

"What is it Houshi-sama??"

Shippo first glanced at the monk's shocked expression and then turned towards the miko, getting wide surprised eyes as well. "Masaka!!... Kikyo..."

Sango's confused expression vanished when she focused on the miko's face. Blood was dripping from her cheek and her eyes were even angrier than before. "What??... Blood?..."

Inuyasha was shocked. Who was this person? And how could the barrior be destroyed so easily? He narrowed his eyes as he noticed the silhouette walking towards them.

"Who's there?!!..." his tone of voice angrier than ever and his eyes focused on the walking figure.

When the silhouette stepped out of the shadows and showed itself, nothing but widened shocked eyes were reflected on everyone's faces. Especially Inuyasha's.He stared at the cold expression of the girl standing in front of him, as serious as ever and with her eyes narrowed. Gasps and a 'What the hell??' were heard from the direction of Miroku, Sango and Shippo. Then, it was all silence. Some leaves passed the girl's face, blown away by the wind.

"K-Kikyo...?" Inuyasha stammered in disbelief as he stared at the second miko holding her bow. The miko only stared with deadly eyes at the one taking her place.

An evil laughter was heard and Inuyasha quickly turned towards it. Kikyo's evil laugh slowly came to an end, she stared at the serious looking miko before she spoke. "So... I guess you finally decided to show up..." stated the evil smirking 'Kikyo'.

Inuyasha stared at her with angry eyes. Then, he quickly picked up Tessaiga from the ground and held it in front of him. "Who the hell are you!!?"

"Shut up stupid hanyou... this doesn't concern you..."

"What??!!... what do you ..." Inuyasha was cut off by the miko behind him.

"I came when I noticed the strong shouki (*negative energy that demon's expell*) in the area..." Kikyo stated with a serious look in her eyes.

"Hn... then I guess you didn't know what was going on here..." the fake Kikyo stated with an evil smirk on her face.

"Of course I did..." 'Kikyo' narrowed her eyes in anger. " I've known about this little play of yours since the beginning... I just wanted to see how far you'd get... Tsubaki..."

Everyone widened their eyes in surprise and shock. Tsubaki the black miko? But she had been destroyed! This whole situation was getting more complicated by the second.

Up in the sky, Miroku, Sango and Shippo were staring at the situation in disbelief. They knew Tsubaki had been defeated a long time ago, and if she wasn't, then how could she have taken Kikyo's form?

"So that's were the strong shouki came from..." Miroku stated with serious eyes now. "I knew I had felt it somewhere else... though I didn't expect it to be Tsubaki's..."

"I know... but how can she control Kagome like this?" asked a concerned Sango.

"Why don't we leave the questions for later!! We've got to help Kagome!!" yelled the little determined kitsune. Both Miroku and Sango nodded in agreement as Kirara headed towards them; but suddenly a large bunch of youkai came in their way once again.

"Look out Sango!!..."

"Kirara!!" the tiger-youkai roared and then turned around, avoiding the deadly demons that were coming their way.

"Miroku! Sango! Shippo!" Inuyasha yelled when he heard them being attacked.

"They shall now interfere in this..." Tsubaki stated, not taking her eyes off Kikyo's serious ones.

Inuyasha turned towards her and snapped. "How the hell did you come back to life Tsubaki!!!"

Tsubaki laughed once again and then her eyes got angry as he stared at the hanyou. "You..." Inuyasha widened his eyes in surprise. "It was because of you that I couldn't complete my revenge... you just had to interfere, didn't you? All of you did... even this lifeless puppet got in the way..." she stated as she glanced at Kagome.

"Kagome!!"

"Her spirit was strong... even though she'd just a copy of Kikyo..." Tsubaki narrowed her eyes, still holding Kikyo's form, and then she continued. " I was so angry... I had been defeated by Kikyo's reincarnation... her reincarnation!! This stupid girl's power is nothing compared to Kikyo's and yet she had dared to do the same thing she did..."

Tsubaki's fists begun shaking in anger. " That's why... before I completely vanished I wished with all my heart to be given a second chance... and finally that day came... lots of demons surrounded what was left of my soul and then ate it... they gave me the body of a human who had just died... and then this body turned into Kikyo's shape... because that way... I'd be able to get to you... disgusting hanyou..."

Inuyasha's hands clenched around Tessaiga as he heard all of this. Then, Tsubaki continued her explanation. " In a way you could say I did the same thing as Naraku..."

Kikyo drew a slight smirk on her face. "Then I guess you're just as fool as he is... if you think you can get to me by hurting Inuyasha you're wrong..." Inuyasha turned to look at her. " I told you before his life belongs to me and me only..." Kikyo narrowed her eyes with a serious expression. " ... and I told you I'd send you to hell if you tried anything..."

"That's right... but guess what... this time you'll be the one going back to hell Kikyo... and don't worry... Inuyasha will go there with you as well..."

Inuyasha was fed up by now. All this talk had annoyed him from the start. How dared she take Kikyo's form? And what was the thing that made him angrier, how could she have used Kagome like that. He held Tessaiga in front of him in a defiant way as he stared with angry eyes at the black miko that had Kikyo's image.

"Tsubaki!!!" he was ready to attack when he was suddenly interrupted.

"Don't even try it..." Tsubaki stated not taking her eyes off Kikyo. Inuyasha stood frozen and with widened eyes as he saw Kagome standing in front of him, holding her bow and arrows once again.

"Leave her alone!!" Inuyasha yelled, standing in front of Kagome.

Tsubaki drew an evil smirk on her face before she answered. " I don't think that's an option... "

"Why?? Why do you have to do this to her!!"

"Because... it would just please me to see you get killed by the girl who loves you... just like 50 years ago..." Inuyasha narrowed his eyes in anger and so did Kikyo. Kagome held her bow up and placed an arrow in it, aiming for his heart once again.

"HIRAIKOTSU!!" yelled Sango as she threw her boomerang and saw how the demon's body was slashed.

"KAZAANA!!..." Miroku yelled as well, with several demons being sucked into the black hole in his hand. He made an effort to close it and put the beads around it. "Argh!"

"Houshi-sama are you ok?!"

"Hai... I think I've used Kazaana too much... it's staring to hurt, I'm sorry..."

"Don't worry Houshi-sama... these demons are no menace, they're just... too many that's all..."

"Eh??!" Miroku and Sango turned to Shippo, who was looking at the scene between the two Kikyos, Inuyasha and Kagome.

"What is it Shippo??"

"Kagome!! She's... she's going to shoot Inuyasha again!!"

"What??..."

Inuyasha stared at Kagome's empty eyes. They looked so sad and lonely all he wanted to do was run up to her and embrace her like he had done before. But it was impossible. He was sure that if he tried anything, Tsubaki would just do something to her and hurt her and he wasn't going to allow that to happen. He got lost in his thoughts for a few seconds, and then, he lifted his face when he heard the bow's string being pulled back.

" 'Damn it!!!'" He thought to himself as he held Tessaiga up. Tsubaki was smirking behind Kagome.

But suddenly, all of them widened their eyes in surprise. The bow and arrow Kagome was holding were now flying away from her hands as the bright purifying arrow made its way and got lost in the far distance.

Inuyasha quickly turned to Kikyo and saw her hlding her bow up and with an angry expression on her face.

"Kikyo..." the hanyou muttered softly as he stared at the young miko.

Kikyo lowered her bow and stared at Tsubaki. Her usual cold expressionless look was now gone and replaced by a serious and angry one.

"Even though your body is mostly made of demons there is no way you have the power to control someone else's mind... where did you get that Shikon shard... did Naraku gave it to you?..."

The hanyou's eyes widened in shock as he turned towards Kagome, who was now on her knees. Tsubaki hel an evil smirk on her face as she answered.

"And I thought you hadnt noticed... but of course, you're the only one who can see the shards, how foolish of me..." Kikyo stared at Kagome and noticed a bright spot on the back of her neck. "That fool Naraku didn't even notice I wasn't you... I guess I'm good at pretending to be you... even when I hate to have this form now..." Tsubaki smirked evilly.

*Flashback*

(*Back when Kagome and 'Kikyo' were in the woods; the day she told her she was just a shard detector to her so called friends*)

...

Kagome widened her eyes in shock as she felt Kikyo's cold embrace.

...

Kikyo smirked evilly as she tightened her left arm around Kagome's back while her right arm held her neck. "I don't want you to suffer later...I'm just doing this to protect you..."

Kikyo smirked evilly as she held Kagome's neck. She quickly introduced a Shikon shard she was hiding and then narrowed her eyes. She tightened the embrace for a few seconds so she wouldn't feel the sting.

Kagome's eyes widened as she heard this and she quickly let go off the cold embrace. Kagome stared at her with anger filling her eyes. "Protect me?? Is that why you told me all those things??" she snapped at her.

...

*End of flashback*

"I did the same thing I did back when I was still... 'alive'... only this time things were just easier..." Tsubaki started chuckling. "This girl just followed me into the woods... thinking that I was you and maybe I had something to say to her about Inuyasha... of course... I did tell her the truth... that she was just a shard detector..."

Inuyasha widened his eyes. " 'That was the day I thought I'd seen Kikyo... that's why she looked so sad!! All this tme she'd been sufering thinking that we were only using her!!'" Inuyasha thought to himself as his fists started to shake in ager. "That's why Kagome was acting weird!! Because of your lies!!!"

"Lies?... is it so?... don't you use her to find the shards? Isnt that the truth?..."

"No it isnt!!"

"Oh really... what is she then?..."

Inuyasha's anger had increased greatly by this point. Without thinking, he started running towards Tsubaki and held Tessaiga high in the air. "Take this you scum!! AAHHH!!!..." then he widened his eyes.

Tsubaki only grinned as she saw the hanyou's attack being repelled by the new barrier she had created. As she watched him jumping back and landing on his knees with an angry expression, she smirked evilly once again. " I told you... it's useless..." Inuyasha's eyes narrowed in anger as he got back to his feet and once again went after the dark miko.

Kikyo stood behind watching how Inuyasha's attack got repelled over and over by the strong barrier. He looked so angry, angrier than other times she'd seen him this way. Then she shifted her gaze towards Kagome, who was still on her knees and her head lowered, strands of her hair covering her dull eyes.

She shifted her gaze towards Tsubaki, who was smirking evilly all the time, and caught the moment of Inuyasha being repelled once again by the negative energy. His clothes were torned, and she noticed he was breathing heavily from all the attcked he had performed. But he just wouldn't give up. This was something she admired on him... always so persistent, so stubborn... but that just was a sign of how he never gave up. She stared at his angry face with her usual cold eyes... and for a moment there, she wished all his efforts were made because of her...

Inuyasha held Tessaiga up once again and faced the smirking dark miko in front of him. "I'll get you for this Tsubaki!!!..." He was ready to attack when he was stopped suddenly by one of kikyo's arrows that flew by in front of him at high speed.

"What?..." He turned his gaze towards Kikyo and noticed she was staring at Tsubaki. Then, something surprised him. Kikyo had taken out another one of her arrows and was aiming at the barrier.

"Don't you think I'm doing this for you or her Inuyasha..."

"Kikyo..." stated the hanyou as he watched the miko pull the bow's string.

"I don't plan to let her take my form anymore... she disgusts me..." Kikyo narrowed her eyes and aimed for Tsubaki.

"What... you think one of your little purifying arrows are gonna break this barrier?? Things are different now Kikyo... the power of several demons are with me now..." Tsubaki said with a smirk on her face.

Kikyo narrowed her eyes and whispered. "We'll see about that..." Then she made the shot. The purifying arrow she had thrown was brighter than ever was. Even Inuyasha, who was staring at Kikyo in disbelief, had to cover his eyes for the brightness of the arrow was just too much for his eyes.

"What??..." Tsubaki yelled as she saw the barrier being destroyed in front of her eyes. Kikyo's arrow had indeed destroyed her barrier and was now heading towards her. "This cant be happening!!!..."

A loud crashing sound was heard and after that, sparkles of what was left of the barrier that had been created by Tsubaki floated in the air. No sign of her in the surroundings.

Inuyasha stared with widened eyes at the whole scene. Colored sparks floated all over the place, making it a colorful and bright scene. It would've been a pretty thing for him to watched if this hadnt been caused by the barrier and if he wasn't in such a confusing and sad situation.

Then he slowly shifted his gaze towards Kikyo, who was still on the same spot she'd been standing since the beginning. She lowered her bow slowly and then turned to face Inuyasha, with narrowed and cold eyes.

Inuyasha was taken back at first, but there was one thing that was different this time. He turned around when he heard running footsteps behind him. Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kirara were running towards him with worried though expecting faces.

"Inuyasha!! Are you ok?? What happened??" Shippo cried as he jumped to his shoulder. But the hanyou didn't pay attention to him, he was just staring back at Kikyo.

All of them turned their gazes towards her and met her usual cold stare, even though it was directed only to the hanyou. They stayed in silence for a while, then, Inuyasha softened his expression and sad eyes replaced the once serious ones as they saw Kikyo being lifted by her soul snatchers.

Kikyo hadnt taken her eyes off Inuyasha. Then, she stated in a cold though soft tone of voice. "Remember... your life still belongs to me..." They all watched as she disappeared in the sky.

Miroku lowered his head and then lifted it back, glaring at Inuyasha from the corner of his eye. The hanyou had not said a word, he just stared at sky where the miko had disappeared a few moments ago.

"Are you ok Inuyasha..."

There was a brief moment of silence before he spoke. "Something's different..." he stated simply. Miroku raised an eyebrow and stared at him.

They were both brought back to reality when they heard Sango and Shippo yelling. "Kagome!!..."

"Kagome what's wrong!!?" Shippo yelled in concern.

Inuyasha and Miroku quickly turned around with concerned and serious faces. Kagome was standing in front of Sango, but her eyes were still empty. Inuyasha started running towards her as fast as he could.

"KAGOME!!!" He was about to reach her when he suddenly stopped and turned his gaze towards the sky. An evil laughter was heard and they all narrowed their eyes in anger.

"And you thought that was all that was needed to destroy me!! You fools!!!" Tsubaki stated.

"KISAMA!!!" Inuyasha yelled in anger. "Come out of where you're hiding!!!"

They all turned they gazes towards Kagome, behind her, an evil energy started to walk towards them. They widened their eyes when they noticed Tsubaki walking out of the shadows, surrounded by a dark blue aura and holding an evil smirk.

"Tsubaki!!!..." Inuyasha yelled, ready to attack.

Tsubaki smirked evilly and then stood right behind Kagome. Inuyasha stopped suddenly when he noticed.

"Remember... I'm still in control..." she stated as she placed an arrow in Kagome's hand.

"What is she talking about??" asked a desperate looking Shippo. Sango and miroku stood behind Inuyasha, that taijiya holding her Hiraikotsu and the monk holding his staff.

"Tsubaki... she used the little strength she had to make a final wish..."

"We know Inuyasha... we heard her when she explained how she made a deal with all those demons..." Miroku stated with a serious look on his face.

"But that's not it... she used a Shikon shard and placed it on Kagome's neck..." the hanyou's fist started shaking in anger. "That's how she can control her..."

"What??..." Shippo yelled in shock.

"Just like what happened when she placed that curse on her..." added Sango, not taking her off Kagome.

"That's not the worst part..." Inuyasha stated with his eyes narrowed. "She has her soul..."

Miroku, Sango and Shippo widened their eyes in surprise. "What do you mean??" yelled a teary Shippo from behind him.

Miroku turned his gaze towards the sky and noticed a soul snatcher. It was holding the most bright soul he'd ever seen. Then he gasped. "Masaka!..." Shippo and Sango looked up as well and widened their eyes in shock.

Author's note:Ohohoho another cliffy! Sorry I took so long to update this ;__; sorry!!!! But no more delays I promise ^__^