InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Suffer The Fray ❯ Friends in Death ( Chapter 27 )

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

Disclaimer: I hold no claim to the characters of InuYasha...Rumiko Takahashi does. I only claim ownership of Shunsoke, and I make zero profit from writing this.

Here's an overview since its been awhile- Having left Inuayasha practically for dead in the village where Kikyo and Akago had ambushed them, Kagome, Rin, and Kikyo are taken to the Western Lands of Inu no Taisho where Hakudoshi has occupied the fortress. Naraku takes the Jewel Shards from Kagome before leaving Hakudoshi to kill them. They are unexpectedly aided by Sesshomaru who, despite being hampered by a barrier around the fortress, kills Hakudoshi and takes on Moryomaru after the beast attacks Kikyo. Inuyasha has managed, with the help of Shunsoke, to make to a small stream when he is found by Jaken and Ah-Un, sent by Sesshomaru to find him. Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara have found themselves on the trail of Naraku's aura after Kohaku leaves them behind at the village.

Moryomaru was brief in his execution, moving on to target Sesshomaru once the fight had left her.

Kikyo felt as if her body was being crushed and yet experienced none of the pain that should have accompanied such an event. Her vision darkened the room around her and she was suddenly engulfed in a cold that sunk down into her bones. Although chilled, she could feel the ragged clothes clinging to her frame and the blood that flowed from her wounds.

The sensation began to fade as the life-giving souls within her departed. She knew it was only a matter of time now before her existence on this plane ended, and it brought a smile to her lips.

"Kikyo!"

Hands were suddenly lifting her up, pulling her into a lap. She lifted her head and found that the arms cradling her belonged to Kagome. Her face was smeared with dirt and dried blood, the tears in her eyes giving them a liquid crystal quality, but all Kikyo could see was a beautiful girl full of promise. And as if to foreshadow her destiny, Kagome used that shining heart to suppress the souls from leaving her broken body.

Kikyo's smile only brightened. "Kagome, I was wrong."

Those luminous brown eyes wrenched away from her ravished body to her face. "Kikyo, don't talk. You need to save your strength. I can get you out of here."

"Kagome..." The older miko waited until the girl stopped fussing and truly listened to her. "I am dying."

"No," Kagome bit her lip and shook her head, "Please, you can't."

"You know as well as I do that I was already dying." She sighed. "Death is only natural."

"Why?"

Debris rained down on them before Kikyo could respond; the fortress shuddering on its foundation as the battle between the demons smashed its way outside. Kagome hunched over to shield the elder woman until the dust ceased to fall, glancing back quickly to see how Rin had faired. The girl had tucked herself up against the wall and was busy tearing off the already shredded kimono to free her legs.

Kagome tightened her arms around Kikyo. "We don't have much time. I have to get you out of here."

Kikyo shoved her away with what little strength she had left. "No."

"We can't stay here! It's too dangerous!"

Kikyo ignored her. "I did what I did to make sure the two of you survived this night, because I certainly will not. I was never meant to return to the world of the living, but it seems I was brought back for a reason. It took me until tonight to realize that you were that reason."

"What?" Kagome blinked with confusion. "I...I don't understand."

"I have always questioned why I was given this second chance at life. At first I thought it was because my thirst for revenge was so strong that the kamis renewed me to kill Inuyasha, but then I learned of Naraku's treachery. Given the fact that my soul had been passed to another, I assumed that I was brought back because you were too weak to kill Naraku and restore the Shikon no Tama."

Kikyo sighed and laid her hand on Kagome's arm. "I told myself to hate you and it was easy when I saw how you were with Inuyasha. I believed he belonged to me and that you were stealing him from me. Soon I realized that my power was weakened with part of my soul missing and I began to desire your death."

Kagome couldn't hide the hurt from her expression. "You had so many chances to do it. Why didn't you?"

"There was so much good inside you that I couldn't bring myself to commit such an act. If anybody should be envious of anyone, it is I of you."

"Me?"

A ragged laugh escaped her. "Despite all the animosity I have shown you, you still decided to save my life from Naraku's miasma. And when the decay of my body began to twist my mind, I did attempt to kill you." She smiled ruefully. "And yet here you sit, still trying to save my life."

Kagome scowled with indignation.

"You still don't see why?"

"No."

"Even before my death, that quality was absent from my being. I would have never done what you have done and I knew, with a shockingly painful realization, that you were the stronger woman." She took a shallow breath. "All this time I had believed my second chance was to rectify my mistakes and avenge my death, but I now know that my second chance is through you."

Kikyo could see the girl was still confused underneath the surprise painting her face.

"Kagome, you were given my soul so you could do all the things I thought I was brought back to do. You're the one destined to reclaim the Sacred Jewel and kill Naraku because you are stronger than I was. Tonight I realized that I was brought back to help you to do that and I have failed miserably."

The thought appalled Kagome. "How could you have failed? It's because of you that I try so hard to be all that I can possibly be."

"I didn't teach you the miko practices or how to reach the full potential of your power. I have knowledge and experience manipulating my aura and energy and I should have passed it down to you. I despised who and what I was and the thought of you wanting to be a miko never occurred to me."

Kagome searched her eyes for a few moments and nodded. "I don't agree that you failed, but I accept that you didn't go about it in the best manner." Her expression grew somber. "What about Inuyasha?"

Kikyo ignored the pain beginning to creep along the edges of her mind. "I imagined myself in love with him, but I've known for a long time that I merely wanted to possess him."

"Wow, that's..."

"Yes, I know." Her right eye began to twitch as the pain intensified. "I may have had my sister and the villagers, but I was painfully alone in my existence. I wanted someone who understood the torment I lived with everyday. I saw myself reflected back at me in his eyes and I think I thought that if I loved him that I would somehow come to love myself."

"Oh, Kikyo..." The tears had returned to Kagome's eyes as she gently touched Kikyo's fluttering temple.

"I was trapped by my duty to the Shikon no Tama and wanted to be rid of it. That's when I told him to become human; that way I would be free of the jewel and he would be bound to me forever." She gave a soft snort of disgust. "I never asked what he wanted. I only thought of my own desires to be normal and in some backward way I thought that was what I was giving him."

"I don't think he would see it that way."

"Have you asked him about his feelings for me?"

She nodded. "Yes. He says he doesn't love you like that anymore."

"I don't believe he ever truly did."

Kagome brushed back Kikyo's bangs, acceptance of what was to come finally giving her voice serenity. "And what do you believe?"

"I believe the kamis try to direct us on a path, but because they do not control free will, they must present us with choices and tests along that path. How we act will determine where that path leads. I believe the kamis used the prospect of love as a test to see if I was worthy of the task they had given me. By polluting it with the darkness of my heart, I failed their test and was stripped of my life."

"You're saying they killed you as punishment?"

"Yes, but not because of what you think. I had already been given the honor of protecting one of the kamis creations, The Sacred Jewel. To be offered love is the ultimate test a person can be given. Only a true and pure love will prevail; the one I was creating was twisted. The duty I had so easily discarded did not just concern my life, but the lives of many. When I threatened those lives in an attempt to attain that love, the kamis decided I was no longer person they had chosen me to be. I had failed their test of purity and only a truly pure heart would be able to defeat the corrupted one I had released into the world."

"The kamis couldn't allow the ripples of my mistake wreck havoc on the world, so they decided to return my soul to this world to atone. But they didn't want to give that soul to just anyone," Kikyo gripped Kagome's hand. "They waited five hundred years to give it to a pure heart- to you, Kagome."

Kagome bowed her head. "You saw what I did to Inuyasha. My heart isn't pure."

"You're being put through the test of love, even if for no other reason than the fact your souls are bound to one another's." Kikyo swallowed a cough as the souls within her tried to leave. She gripped Kagome's arm tightly. "Love is said to make people do strange and uncharacteristic things. Yes, you made a mistake, but only because you love him beyond conscious understanding."

Her breathing grew labored. "The love you share is deep...and unyielding...persevering despite all the obstacles that would tear other's bond apart." Kikyo began to wheeze. "You...must...suf-suffer...the fray...and ful-fulfill both...our destinies."

Kagome cried openly as she caressed the dying miko's face. "Okay, I will." She tried to smile as she nodded. "For you."

Kikyo's expression was peaceful. "G-good. Now let...me go."

A broken sob escaped Kagome's throat as she gently slid her legs out from under Kikyo's torso. Arms shaking, she laid the miko's head down on the dirty tile and hesitated before slipping her hands from the woman's shoulders.

"Thank you," her chin wobbled. "For everything."

The release of souls was almost explosive, rising from her body and veering away in droves. Kikyo could feel less and less pain with each passing soul and welcomed the coming calm of death. When there was only one soul remaining in her body, Kikyo blinked slowly and locked her gaze with Kagome.

"I return to you what is rightfully yours, Kagome. Use it well."

A wistfully sensual caress brushed against the edges of his senses and Koga froze. The familiarity of the sensation set his heart pounding in his chest as fear permeated the fibers of his body and broke free through a sheen of cold sweat. His ears twitched with the sounds of shrill screams echoing through his mind.

Koga pinched his eyes shut, willing the memories away. No, not again.

The seductive touch grew bolder, wrapping around him like a lover's embrace and coaxing out the horrid images he had banished to cages in his mind. The faces flashed past his eyes in a rushed succession, all of them painted with stark expressions of terror as they fell beneath his hands. Men, women, children...all of them led like lambs to slaughter.

They were innocents...

He could feel the blood splashing on his face, warm and thick and metallic. Koga's stomach knotted as he shuddered, remembering how easily their flesh gave way under his claws. The breath in his lungs burned to be released, but the fear of potentially vomiting kept his mouth pressed shut.

A shadow swept over his head and sent him shying back into the thick trunk of a tree, his heart surging up into his throat. The knife of panic succeeded in dispelling his nausea, and he finally opened his lungs to pant rapidly. The chirping of crickets continued to penetrate the thick night air; unfazed despite the terror gripping him, and he realized that the shadow had taken it's taunting aura with it when it had passed.

Koga shivered and held up his hands, staring at his trembling fingers with dismay. Look at me. The future leader of the ookami-youkai clan...reduced to a shrinking pup by a mere aura. He drew his fingers into fists until clenching them became painful, using the ache of his joints as a remedy for his clouded mind. Get a grip, Koga. Quit cowering.

Releasing a tight breath, Koga stepped out from beneath the branches of the tree and reluctantly turned his eyes back to the darkened sky. He didn't expect to find anything there, but the fact that his body was humming with anticipation made him scrutinize every corner of the huge expanse above him. He was actually disappointed that there was nothing but billowy clouds in the rich night sky. It made him feel paranoid, which meant he was vulnerable, and that was something he avowed to never be again.

He scrubbed a hand along his jaw and gave his head a shake as he took a step back onto the path he had been following through the woods. Movement caught his attention, and he stilled instantly, stealing a glance out of the corner of his eye with the utmost caution.

A dark shape slid past below the milky clouds, and Koga took the risk of turning his head to get a better look. Staring blankly into the sky, it was relatively easy for him to spot the bowed contour of the object slipping through the clouds.

Koga narrowed his brilliant blue eyes and under his second assessment, found that there were two small figures hunched atop the boat-like vessel. The realization had him gritting his teeth and growling ominously enough to silence the constant chatter of insects around him.

A feather... Koga began to move, dodging the underbrush and keeping the airborne pair in his sights. It's a fucking feather!

If there was any one person he hated more than Naraku, it was Kagura. There was no repenting for the sins she had committed against his brothers-in-arms, and just the thought of being able to finally make that point known to her was thrilling. Koga flexed his clawed hands, his lips pulled back to bare his glinting fangs in the moonlight. The rush of the hunt pulsed through his veins and fueled his exhausted body to its top speed, which was decidedly slower going than he was used to, but he wasn't about to take the risk of using the power of the jewel shards again.

Branches and shrubs slapped at his limbs as he rocketed along the trail, eyes locked on the sailing feather through the dense tree canopies. His feet pounded on the dirt, lifting fine clouds of dust in their wake, and the tail of his pelt waved like a banner behind him. Whisking his eyes away from Kagura for a fraction of a second, Koga scanned up ahead in search of anything that would aid his attempt at an ambush.

The aid came in the form of an enormous tree adjacent to the trail that dwarfed every other piece of vegetation around it.

The corner of his mouth lifted in a wolfish grin. Perfect. That's just what I need to fianlly catch that trifling bitch.

He clenched his jaw and drove his legs harder, lamenting the loss of speed the Shikon Jewel shards had provided him for only a moment. He gave his head a tight shake to re-focus and dug his toes harder into the dirt to propel himself toward the tree. Gauging the speed, Koga pulled his head down to pull every last drop of velocity from his body.

Careening toward the immense tree, Koga eyed the distance and leapt at just the right spot to send himself into the lowest branches. Sweat dripped into his eyes as he launched from branch to branch, racing with every beat of his heart to reach the top. He hauled his body, chest heaving, to the highest limb that would hold him and let a satisfactory growl slip from his crooked grin as he watched Kagura sail right into his sights.

Right where I want you...

Tension flooded his body as the canoe-like, white feather drifted closer. At first he could only make out the fine definition of the vane portion of the feather, but when it slid within mere feet of his reach, Kagura's bowed head popped into view, her dark hair fluttering with the breeze.

Now!

Koga galvanized his muscles and prepared to spring when something suddenly stabbed him through his chest.

Holy shit!

His balance lost, his arms wind-milled as he fell backward. Branches tore at his flesh as he plummeted, pain radiating through his entire body when he finally slammed to rest on a wide bough halfway down the tree. Koga clawed at his chest as he sat up, blood running from what was, in essence his entire body. The only exception seemed to be his chest which was completely intact.

"What the fuck?!"

Slowly getting back to his feet, he gave himself a once over. I know what I felt. Something stabbed me... Finding nothing to explain the phantom pain, Koga turned his wide cyan eyes back to the darkening sky. Fear snared his heart when he realized why that night had fallen dark so many hours premature.

Naraku... Now that he wasn't so focused on killing Kagura, he realized that the murderous bastard had never really left. He'd hidden himself...but I don't think it was from me.

Whipping his eyes back to the gliding feather, a thought occurred to him that he hadn't considered when he was the one trying to attack Kagura. He scented the air as he watched the wind witch drift ever closer to the swirling black cloud and felt his blood run cold.

Kohaku is with her! Naraku is after the shard in his neck!

Koga clenched his jaw as he scrambled desperately back to the top of the tree, using all the strength he could muster to leap into the air. The feather wasn't quite as close as had been a few moments before, and he had a fleeting tick of fear that it was out of his reach, but it vanished as his clawed hand clamped onto the quill.

The brash maneuver dislocated the white feather from the sky, as well as both of its occupants. The ookami-youkai watched as Kohaku and Kagura fell, uncaring of the outcome of the wind witch. Kohaku, on the otherhand, was well below him and moved ever closer to the ground.

Shit. I can't let that kid die now.

Relaxing as the night air turned cold, Koga fell, twisted mid-flight into a dive, and extended his hand out toward the boy. Kohaku turned his head toward him, and their eyes met just as his kusari-gama sliced into the flesh of Koga's arm.

Koga snarled at the flash of pain. "You little shit!"

Straining closer, Koga tried again and was ready when boy slung the hooked blade in his direction. It took Kohaku by surprise when he snatched it out of the air and used his waning strength to jerk the young youkai-tajiya into his iron-like grasp. Kohaku tried to struggle, but Koga smothered him against his body as they drew closer to the earth.

Keeping a tight hold of the kusari-gama, Koga eyed for a way to break their fall without breaking their bodies. "Don't fight me, kid! I'm trying to keep you alive!"

Kohaku squirmed. "Did you forget that I'm already dead?!"

Koga ignored his protest as the trees below them loomed closer, gauging exactly just how he was going to play his next move. The best option he had was to use the branches to slow them down, but leave them in one piece while he did it. Gritting his teeth, Koga wrapped both arms to lock Kohaku to his chest in an attempt to shield him and gave the boy back his weapon in the process.

"This isn't going to be pretty, so don't fight me."

The heels of his feet broke through the leaves of the canopy, snapping the small branches as he went. Unable to see below him, Koga tipped his head to the side in an attempt to find the more substantial branches that would be of the most aid to them. In preparation for their potentially painful decent, Koga realized he had miscalculated and would need his hands more than he originally thought.

"Hold on to me!"

Kohaku did as he asked, seeming to understand where the wolf was coming from, and Koga grabbed onto any tenuous branch within his reach. He held just long enough for them bend and snap, slowing their speed. The only downfall to this plan of action was the fact each time he held a branch, the more and more it felt like his arms were being ripped from their sockets.

It seemed like a lifetime before they began to slow, the length of time between each branch increasing by the second. The pain from his shoulders began to dim and he took a quick glance toward the ground, a shock of panic shooting down his spine.

We're still going too fast for the ground to be that close. We'll be fucked...

Scrambling for ideas, he suddenly remembered he had an extra set of hands with him. "Kohaku! Use that crazy weapon of yours!"

Kohaku acted without hesitation, slinging his kusari-gama with lightning speed so that the chain wrapped about a large limb of the tree with blade sunk deep into the bark. He twined the end he held around his entire right arm and locked it to his side as it went taunt. Koga nearly lost his grip on the boy as they went to an instant stop just above the ground and was unable hold him any longer once he was left dangling.

Koga let his legs collapse as he hit the dirt, rolling so they didn't snap in two. He lay there for a moment as his body throbbed and watched as Kohaku, completely unscathed, pulled himself up the chain of his kusari-gama and unwound it from the tree. The boy dropped down easily and walked toward him with an annoyed look on his face.

"Did you forget that I live only because of the Shikon Jewel shard in my neck?"

The wolf slowly got to his feet. "Did you forget you're a fucking idiot to think Naraku wouldn't just jack your precious shard while you were splattered all over the ground?"

Kohaku's face went somber. "Naraku?"

"Why the fuck do you think pulled you out of the damn sky?" He took a quick look at the cut Kohaku had given him. "You think I'd do that for kicks?"

He glanced back at the boy when he didn't respond. "You honestly didn't feel him? He was waiting to ambush you and I'm not about to let him get to you."

Kohaku's eyes widened. "Naraku's here?" He stared down at his blade for a moment and then whipped his head back up. "Kagura!"

The ookami-youkai watched the boy whirl to dash off and shook his head. "Oh, hell no." He leapt after him and latched onto the collar of Kohaku's suit. "No way am I going to let you go."

Kohaku glared at him. "If Naraku's here, he'll just kill her when he can't find me. I can't let him do that."

"I don't give a flying fuck what he does to that bitch. Sending her to hell would only be doing me a favor."

"You don't get it! She's working with me against Naraku!" He jerked free from the wolf's grip. "He's going to kill her."

"I don't fucking care! You're not-" Koga only had a split second to dodge the singing blade and miss losing his head as Kohaku dashed off into the underbrush. Growling, he started after him. "He really is a fucking idiot."

It wasn't hard for him to catch up with Kohaku as they dew closer and closer to Naraku's oppressing aura. Koga could see it through the shrubbery; a dark fog covering the small clearing up ahead. He could sense Kagura nearby and knew he had to stop the twirp before he got himself in even bigger trouble.

Spotting Kohaku as he approached the clearing, Koga coiled down and pounced on the young youkai-tajiya. "Not so fast, kiddo."

Kohaku bucked under his hands. "Will you mind your own damn business?!"

Koga yanked him upright and pinned him against his chest, covering his mouth to keep him silent. He tipped his head down to whisper in Kohaku's ear. "You need to learn to shut up once in awhile. Naraku is right there and he doesn't need to know where you are."

Kohaku went still as the fog suddenly started swirling, Kagura's body becoming visible in the process, and started to shake angrily when Naraku appeared before her. His rage was muffled by Koga's hand. "No..."

Her shoulders were hunched as she stared at his feet, her eyes squinting shut as Naraku's various tentacles spidered out behind him. The concretion of his aura was suffocating and all she wanted to do was huddle in a hole somewhere and hide. Kagura hated herself for flinching when his hand took hold of her chin and lifted it so that their eyes met.

"Hello Kagura." His deep voice rattled around inside her until she felt like cracking. "It's been awhile."

She opened her eyes and glared at him. "Not long enough."

"Oh," He pulled away his hand and smiled. "I thought you would be happy to see me put you out of your misery."

Her crimson eyes blinked with fear as his gaze bore deep inside her, feeling as if he were trying to sear her soul. Breathing heavily, she shoved the sensation away and lifted her fan. "Go to hell!"

He chuckled. "So ungrateful. Would you rather that I prolong your suffering?" His tentacles slithered about behind him. "It would be my pleasure."

Kagura shuddered. "No, I-"

There was a spark of movement, and Kagura watched in slow motion as blood splattered across the ground before her and, knowing with a sudden rush of agony that it was hers. The moment ended swiftly as she was thrown back with a violent force, and her torso was slashed open from hip to shoulder. Her head snapped back into the ground as she landed like a rag doll in the dirt, her fan spinning in the sand out of reach.

Gazing blankly at the dark night sky, Kagura was relieved that her pain was so great she could no longer feel any of it. A faint smile graced her lips as a hand reached down toward her.

Is this...the end?

She was being lifted up and continued to stare emptily as Naraku's face drifted into view. "Now isn't the time to be daydreaming, Kagura!"

His hissing voice shattered her newfound solace, and everything became entirely too clear as she was propelled back into the unrelenting trunk of a large tree. Kagura screamed in anguish as more of her bones were pulverized into splinters. Tears spilled unchecked from her eyes as her crushed body slid down the trunk and into a mangled heap on the ground.

Unable to move, she watched with stuttered wheezing as Naraku stalked closer. He stopped a few feet from her and snaked a tentacle around her right ankle, dragging her toward his feet.

"Maybe now you will be more receptive." Naraku slithered his vile appendage up around her throat and lifted her from the ground, grinning when she shrieked as her weight pulled on her wounds. He tipped his head to within inches of hers. "I'd like you to tell me where I can find Kohaku."

Kagura's eyes widened. No, not Kohaku. Not him.

She gritted her teeth as she glared at him. "Nev..er..."

The corner of Naraku's mouth lifted. "No? Well," He lifted his right hand up until it was level with her eyes. "Perhaps this will loosen that tongue of yours."

From the moment she'd been born, the red glowing object he held was the only thing in the world she had ever truly desired. Everything she had done in her life had been in been hopes of one day possessing it, and now she could not bring herself to care one bit.

The only thing I care about now is protecting Kohaku from Naraku.

Kagura watched her heart glow and throb and found herself laughing as best she could with blood clogging her lungs.

Naraku's face seemed to suddenly pull together in an enraged sneer. "You dare laugh?" He threw her to the ground. "I will crush your heart into nothing but dust unless you tell me where Kohaku is."

She smiled. "Be...my guest."

Naraku's teeth clenched for a moment before his face went calm. "Oh, well." He brought her heart in front of him as he spoke. "I've been wanting to do this for a long ti-"

Kohaku was almost to point where he couldn't bear to watch Kagura's torture any longer when Naraku suddenly stopped talking and stepped back from the wind witch. Kohaku blinked with fear as the heart slipped from Naraku's hand, and the demon's eyes began to dart around erratically. Before Kohaku had a chance to ask Koga what was wrong, swirling winds hit them so forcefully that he was sure he would have been blown away if not for the wolf.

It disappeared as fast as it had come, and the two of them shook off the leaves and twigs covering them before glancing back into the clearing.

Kohaku's mouth gaped open. "Naraku's gone!"

Koga did a three-sixty, eyes searching everywhere. "You're right. I don't see him anywhere." He glanced at Kohaku. "Something must have happened."

"What could possibly happened to freak out Naraku that much?"

"I don't know," Koga scratched the back of his head as he looked up at the stars. "But whatever it was..." He turned back to the youkai-taijiya, but he was gone. "Kohaku?" Turning around, he saw the boy kneeling next to the crumbled body of Kagura.

Kohaku couldn't stop his eyes from growing wet at sight of Kagura's totally destroyed body, his hands shaking as he tried to figure out where he could possibly touch her without hurting her more.

"Ko...haku..."

"No, please don't talk." Kohaku took hold of her hand.

She grimaced as she breathed. "I...just saved...your life. I can say...all I want."

Kohaku swallowed hard. "Kagura..."

"Would you..." Kagura managed to barely point with her free hand. "Get my heart?"

Kohaku scrambled up quickly and gently picked up the still-glowing heart and dashed back to her side. "Here."

Kagura gave him an almost imperceptible shake of her head. "No, I want...to give it...to you."

"To me?"

"Yes." She smiled faintly. "I can...save you."

He stared at her in shock. "What?"

"She wants to give you her heart to keep you alive, instead of the jewel shard in your neck."

Kohaku whipped around to see Koga standing behind him, looking down at Kagura. "Koga," he glanced back at Kagura. "is that true?"

"Technically she would be possessing you, but I guess she's better than having Naraku possess you." Koga crossed his arms over his chest. "The only way she can survive is to leave her body and go into yours. If she allows you to keep sovereignty over your body, that would make her the exception rather than the rule."

Kohaku stared into her wavering crimson eyes. "Kagura..."

"I will...possess only...your heart." Her chest heaved as blood drooled from the corner of her mouth. "I want...to live...through your heart...and lend you...my power." Her free hand tipped toward her fan lying nearby. "I want to...free you...from this fate."

"You would do that for me?" Kohaku struggled to keep his voice from wavering.

"We...will be...saving...each other."

Koga cleared his throat. "You sure you would be okay with that? Forever living with a demon inside you?" He snorted. "You come from a family of demon slayers."

Kohaku glanced down at the dimming glow of Kagura's heart, a demon heart, and wondered what his sister would say. Would she accept me with a demon keeping me alive? Would she understand that I only did it to make sure I'd be able to repent for the sins I've committed? He took a deep breath and looked into Kagura's closing eyes.

Yes, Sango would understand. He smiled. She's my sister.

"Alright, Kagura. Just tell me what I have to do."

She gave him a slight nod. "Place my heart...against yours...and I'll...do the rest."

Kohaku held her gaze for just a moment longer before he closed his eyes and raised the beating heart, placing precisely over his own. His eyes snapped open as the red glow grew to a blaze and his own heart skipped a beat as a rush of tingling warmth spread like wildfire through his body. He began to pant as the power that followed electrified his limbs, lifting him up from the ground, inch by tiny inch.

Hanging suspended in the air, this newfound strength pulsating through his veins, Kohaku turned his face up to the night sky. His frame went rigid when he saw who was looking back at him, her nearly silent whisper carving its way into his heart.

"Kohaku," Sango's eyes welled. "What have you done?"


Kagome watched as Kikyo's body was engulfed in a blazing blue light. The light vibrated the very air around her as it streaked toward her, entering her chest with the force of a battering ram. Kagome fell back to the floor and lay stunned by the sudden clarity assaulting her senses. In a bewildering flash of astonishment, Kagome recognized a recovery from a dullness she hadn't realized had claimed her when Kikyo had taken back a part of her soul.

Her limbs trembled for an entirely new reason; the power flooding her body was awesome in its strength. Sitting up, Kagome held up her hands and stared at them as if they belonged to some foreign entity. This is what my powers are supposed to feel like... She turned her palms away and concentrated on the shield she had created against Moryomaru...and easily conjured it, an oblong partial barrier with energy crackling around its edges like a live wire.

"Holy cow," she blinked with wonder. "How the hell did I do that?"

Before I had to concentrate, but now it's like...it's like I just know. All I have to do is think and it happens. Closing her hands into fists, the shield faded back into her extremities and settled inside the well deep within her body. I don't have to fight to control it either...it just listens.

Kagome whipped her head to where Kikyo's body had been and found only a fine-grained pile of dirt. Even the blood that had flowed from the miko's wounds had reverted back into graveyard soil. She glanced down to where Kikyo's blood had stained her jeans and found only a soft dusting of grit coating the denim. The prick of tears hit her eyes as she wiped off her pants and clenched her jaw, determination straightening her back.

"I promise, Kikyo. I will use it well and send Naraku back to the hell-hole he crawled out of."

A shrill scream pierced the night and sent Kagome jumping. Rin? She whirled her head around to where she had last seen Rin and only found the discarded scraps of the girl's kimono. Oh, no...

Kagome glanced back at Kikyo's remains and pushed away the guilt that claimed her. I'm sorry, but I don't have time to mourn.

She scrambled to her feet and sprinted toward the gaping hole left in the wall from Moryomaru and Sesshomaru's dramatic exit. Enormous chunks of mortar and stone littered the ground around the void, and Kagome nearly broke her ankle in her haste to climb over it all.

Fuck! She pulled her twinging limb out of the surprise hole and pulled herself up onto another huge brick. Sweat coursed down the soft groove of her spine as she navigated her way outside. The only way down was from the ledge was a large piece of stone set against the wall. Kagome scowled. Great.

Steeling herself, Kagome leapt off and had to roll when pain bolted up through her sprained ankle to collapse her knees. Dirt plastered against the sweat-moistened skin of her belly and back as she used her hands to stop, her damaged wrist protesting with a dull throb. Ignoring all the complaints of her body, Kagome focused her senses to locate the others she knew to be outside.

The dark blanket of night was illuminated by the lightning that continued to scorch the sky, but Kagome didn't need any help in locating the roiling aura of Inuyasha's elder brother. Sesshomaru was crouched low to the ground as he grappled with Moryomaru's dragon jaws which were locked tight around the blade of Tokijin. She didn't need to see the Daiyoukai to know he was struggling against the weight crushing him. She could feel the barrier stripping his aura of its strength, and worry began to worm into her mind as Moryomaru continued to bear down on him.

Kagome hopped forward and saw Sesshomaru's arm was trembling as he held off the beast, the only outward sign of the barrier's hindrance. Kagome knew for a fact that things were worse than they seemed because he would never normally let himself get into a situation like this. She wished she could help him, but she was afraid he would turn on her. She knew that his reaction would be nowhere near as lenient as Inuyasha's.

One youkai trying to kill me is more than enough.

Another blood-curdling scream echoed through the clearing and Kagome reluctantly tore her eyes away from Sesshomaru. At first she couldn't see anything in the area from where the scream had come, but Rin's silk kimono shimmered in the dark from the flashes of lightning. She was staggering backward, clutching the bloody sleeve of her left arm as she went. Akago materialized from out of the gloom behind her, stalking her with the wakizashi that she was so attached to.

The crazy girl must have gone after him alone and been disarmed.

Kagome's heart rate accelerated as she watched Rin fall, landing with a yelp onto her wounded limb. Akago took the opportunity to pounce, moving up beside her to stomp down on her pelvis. She tried to curl away from the foot grinding into her abdomen, but the demon-child was steadfast. He laughed as she cried out and lifted the short sword with both hands gripping the hilt as if to pierce her chest.

Kagome started toward them in a shuffling run, her ankle screaming with each hurried step. She knew she wasn't going to get there in time and desperately searched for a weapon. Her darting brown eyes fell on a grapefruit-sized rock ahead, and she grabbed it as she hobbled past. Coming to an awkward halt, she risked leaning on her weakened right ankle and lifted her opposite knee to take a huge step forward. She pushed a good dose of her energy into the rock and put all her weight into twisting her hips.

The throw was one that would make any professional pitcher proud, the rock sailing true to beam Akago in the temple. Not only did the rock knock him back, but the power she had infused with it burned the skin on the left side of his face and singed off most of his soft lavender hair.

"Rin!" Kagome dropped to her knees beside the girl. "Rin, are you alright?"

The willowy girl pushed herself up and nodded. "Yes."

"How's your arm?"

She glanced at it dismissively. "It's nothing. What did you do to him?"

Kagome pried Rin's hand away from her lacerated arm and tore off the sleeve to tie around the wound. "I hit him with a rock."

"Really?" Her caramel-colored eyes blinked with wonder. "How did you do all that with a rock?"

"I'm still-"

"Yes," a hissing voice cut off Kagome's response. "How did you?"

Kagome wrapped her arms around Rin's shoulders and pulled her close, glaring at the maimed demon boy that emerged from the shadows. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

His dead eyes narrowed as he stared, assessing her. "There's something different about you. It's as if..." Those eyes shot wide with terror. "No! It can't be!"

"What's the matter, Akago?" She smiled. "Wrong girl die first?"

"Curse that wretched corpse!" His face was livid with rage. "Father was a fool to make a deal with that bitch!"

Kagome let go of Rin and stood up. "Naraku dug his own grave and now I'm going to put him in it." She started toward him, her ankle putting a hitch in her step that seriously dampened the intimidating effect she was shooting for. "You're lucky enough to get to join him there."

Akago panicked, back-pedaling and shouting. "Moryomaru!" He tripped and nearly fell. "Moryomaru, stop playing with that cur and kill her!"

She continued to advance on him. "He's not coming to your rescue, Akago." Kagome held her arms out to her sides to form a V with her body and snapped her fingers. Flames of swirling lilac energy ignited in her palms. "I'm going to kill two birds with one stone." She gave him a wink. "You and Naraku being the birds, of course."

He looked around wildly for an escape. "You know that his heart resides in me?"

"Mhm. I've known for quite some time that if I got you, I'd get you both."

When he realized there was nowhere for him to go, he cut his pale eyes back to her. "Nothing I say is going to stop you, is it?"

Kagome shook her head. "Nope." She followed him up the edge of the woods, backing him up against a tree. "Since you seem to love hearing yourself talk, have any last words?"

Akago nearly flattened himself against the tree's trunk, a pouting glare on his face. "This isn't the end, Kagome."

She flared the power at her fingertips. "It is for you."

Gritting her teeth, Kagome threw her hands out in front of her and released the reins on her power. The energy blazed from her limbs like a blowtorch and clawed its way toward Akago. She stared hard into his eyes as he watched it approach, finding it odd that the fear was no longer clutching his mind. Just as the purifying power reached him, Akago grinned maniacally and jerked something out from behind his back.

The energy slammed into him, but instead of swallowing him, it seemed to just flow through him. Kagome pushed more power toward him in a blazing display of light, determined to smother him. The distinct sound of breaking glass wafted into her ears and Kagome instantly stemmed the flow of power. She knew exactly what he had done before she saw the cracked mirror in his grasp and hated that she'd been tricked again.

Akago lifted the mirror and watched a piece of glass fall from the frame. "Oops."

Kagome couldn't remember what had become of Kanna when Sesshomaru steam-rolled his way into the fortress, but it hardly mattered now. She trembled with rage as she gazed at the youkai child. "You made me kill her!"

"More or less." He considered the looking glass critically. "What does it matter to you anyway?" He glanced at her from over the rim of the frame. "She was one of us, remember?"

"My fight was with you!"

"So upset..." He shook his head with exasperation and held out his right hand. "I guess I could let you have your way..."

The grass rustled to her left and when Kagome swung her eyes to look, Kanna was standing there. Nothing seemed amiss with a quick glance, but when she squinted through the dark, Kagome could see the damage she had inflicted. With her soul attached to the mirror, Kanna's face reflected the shattered glass in the frame. Fine cracks spider-webbed across her pale countenance and along the skin of her limbs.

Kagome put a hand to her mouth. "Your face..."

"Fascinating, isn't it?"

She whirled on the boy. "You truly are twisted if you'll kill your own comrades."

He shrugged. "They are all disposable."

"You make me sick."

"Try telling me something I don't know."

He tossed the mirror toward her and Kagome hopped forward to catch it before it hit the ground. When she looked up, Akago was nowhere to be found. He won't be so lucky next time.

She glanced down at the destroyed mirror and ran her fingers along the frame, speaking softly. "Why did you give this to him?"

Kanna's voice was still persistently monotone. "I was ordered to."

"You would willingly sacrifice yourself for them?" The idea seemed unfathomable to her.

"I was created to obey Naraku's will." Kanna stared at her serenely. "My death would have come either way." She gestured to the mirror by lifting a limp hand. "Now you must do your duty as I have done mine."

Kagome took a deep, shuddering breath and bowed her head. There was no arguing because what Kanna had said was true. It pained her that she had to kill the vacant girl; she had never really thought of Kanna as a threat. She closed her eyes as she pushed the thoughts away and focused her power on the object in her hands. Kagome didn't interrupt the flow of energy until she was absolutely sure the deed had been done.

When she finally opened her eyes, the mirror's frame had cracked in two, and there was nothing left of Kanna but shards of glittering glass on the ground.

A/N: Yes, I know...It's been almost two years (O_O) since I lasted updated. I apologize more than I could possibly say for the wait. It was not my intention to leave everyone hanging for so long, but all I can say is that life gets in the way and I honestly lost my inspiration for awhile. But, I am happy to say that I am reinspired and back to writing. I hope to continue entertaining you all. ~ Reux

Comments from the peanut gallery are warmly welcomed. XD