InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Longest Journey ❯ Shikyo ( Chapter 27 )

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

Chapter 27: Shikyo

It had been ten days since the day they'd blocked the bond between Kikyou and Inuyasha, and he was on his way. He'd be arriving, with all his little minions, around mid-afternoon tomorrow - and everyone was on edge, except Sesshoumaru, of course.

This wasn't like a normal battle, though, for the pack - they were fighting one of their own, sort of. And for Kikyou, it was even harder, because she had to face the remnants of her mate... she didn't know if she could handle it.

The worst part was, he was there to take Kagome, and Kikyou, and he didn't care who he killed to get what he wanted - and he also didn't care that Kagome didn't want him to want her. He had decided he wanted her, and what he had become was perfectly willing to force that issue - she'd seen it herself one of the times she'd gone to spy on him.

In fact, the thought of raping her had excited him, and had ended with him masturbating - that, more than anything else, had horrified her, making her fear the hanyou she'd once loved almost more than she'd feared Naraku. She hadn't told Sugimi at first, not wanting to anger him, but then had decided that he needed to know - they needed to figure out a way to keep something like that from happening - because if it did, Sugimi would kill him, and she didn't want him to end up killing his own son.

They had decided, because of that, that Kikyou and Kagome would stay behind a barrier, as the most vulnerable members of the group, being as they were what he was after. Kikyou was just as afraid of what he would do to her if he caught her outside the barrier, and so she would help Kagome by keeping the barrier intact while she fought to restore Inuyasha's heart and soul to it's proper place. Kikyou was powerful enough to keep it up for days, if necessary... and Kagome wasn't entirely sure that it wouldn't be.

The weird thing about it all was that in the entire time that they'd had Kanna and the infant with them, he'd not spoken a word - and Kagome in particular knew that he was fully capable of doing so. The only thing the child had done was sleep - and stare at the women with sorrow in his gaze. It was entirely too creepy. It was like a newborn, human Inuyasha was pleading for forgiveness without a voice.

That evening found the pack rather subdued, and everyone ate their dinner, then left to their respective rooms - most just wanting to get the waiting over with. That was the hardest part of any planned battle, as Sugimi had told Kagome - the wait.

And they were all finding that a hard burden to bear.

---zZz---

Inuyasha looked around at his little army's encampment, satisfied. Things were working out well - and tomorrow, he would finally retrieve what was his and punish those that thought to keep them from him.

Some might have thought that he would seek to attack at night, or even, early in the morning, and while that was the most tactically sound time to do so, he was not going to take that route. For him, this was about vindication, and that would be hard to get in the dark. He wanted everyone to know he was coming, and see him with clear eyes - he refused to show up like a thief in the night.

He turned his head and looked at his newest toy - the last incarnation that Naraku had ever created - and smiled. Her name was Shikyo... and it was appropriate. It meant death, and that's what she was. She could only be used once, but in case things went badly for him tomorrow, she was his weapon of last resort. If he couldn't win, and take his onna's and escape, then he'd see them both dead, along with he himself. At least then, they'd be together in the afterlife.

Shikyo's very essence was a portal, or gateway, to hell - and it was a one-way trip. Not even Tenseiga could bring you back if she sent you, because Tenseiga worked by destroying the messengers of the afterlife as they came to take your soul. However, since Shikyo sent your soul straight to hell immediately, there were no messengers of the afterlife to destroy - leaving Tenseiga helpless to interfere.

She was basically his trump card.

He thought over what his little spies had found out for him. It wasn't much, because his enemies were all inside the Northern shiro, and it was hard to hide a giant wasp inside a house, even if it was a large one. They'd only been able to observe things from a distance. But at the least, he knew that Kanna, Kagura, and Akago were there, and that both his onna's were, as well. It appeared that they knew he was coming, but he wasn't overly concerned with that, he found. It really didn't matter if they knew.

One way or another, both his onna's would be by his side by this time tomorrow night...

Either alive, or dead - and at this point, he really didn't care which it ended up being.

---zZz---

Everyone rose early the next morning, and the mood as they all gathered was somber. Kisho watched his mistress with concerned eyes - she was very strung up, and he was really worried about her. The truth of all of this was that the rest of the group were there to divert the attention of Inuyasha's allies away from the real battle - the one that would take place between he and Kagome. Oh, sure, there would be the obligatory fight between Sugimi and Inuyasha, but the real battle would be won or lost by his young mistress... and she knew it.

'Great Lord - can you not do anything to help calm the mistress down? She cannot last this way, she will panic herself straight out of the battle if this doesn't stop.'

Even Kirara was worried about Kagome, and Sugimi could see the concern. They were all nervous, but she was taking it especially hard, and he decided that as soon as she had finished her meal, he would take her aside for a litle while and do his best to calm her down.

Just at that point, the only two members of the group that had not already joined them, came in, and suddenly, everyone's attention was grasped by the two.

Kagura blushed on noticing the group's rather pointed attention, but Sesshoumaru merely looked at them all blandly and asked, "Why does everyone stare so? Have you never seen a courtship mark before?"

At that, everyone started talking at once, and as Sesshoumaru took a seat near Kagura, Kagome broke through the babble to smile quietly and congratulate them. Sugimi added his to hers, and Kagura smiled gratefully back at them.

Sesshoumaru raised a brow at his father. "So, I take it that you approve my choice, father?"

Sugimi tilted his head questioningly at his son. "Would it matter if I did not?"

At Sesshoumaru's quietly spoken "No", he nodded. "I didn't think so. But, nonetheless, I approve. How could I not approve of my beloved mate's own daughter?" he asked, in a teasing voice, with a quick glance at his miko.

She scowled at him, and he laughed. "That's enough, Sugimi. Now you're making me feel old again. This is soo not the time for that."

That got a bit of nervous laughter out of the group, and suddenly, something occurred to him.

With furrowed brow, he asked, "Has anyone seen that cowardly flea lately? I haven't noticed him since Sesshoumaru and Kagura returned..."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Of course you haven't, Sugimi, and you just answered your own question as to why with the word 'coward'. He always runs off as soon as he gets the chance whenever there's danger, you should know that."

There was a flurry of voices agreeing with that, and he sighed. "Yes, I know... he'll never change. Besides, he always was terrified of Sesshoumaru anyway, and tried to stay as far away as he possibly could from him."

Sesshoumaru merely shrugged elegantly. "Of course he does. I may be Inu, but that does not mean that I have to have dealings with fleas. That is a rather cliched circumstance, you know - that just because one is Inu, there are bound to be vermin associated with one. I, personally, have better taste than that."

Kagome stared at him for a moment, and then laughed, as Sugimi sighed.

What a Sesshoumaru statement.

But it certainly lightened the atmosphere amongst the group a bit.

---zZz---

After breakfast, everyone gathered in the family room, and a final discussion on strategy took place, as they knew that Inuyasha would be arriving soon, they were planning on moving out within the hour. As much as Sugimi had at first been against leaving the walls of the shiro with his precious mate, he had finally given in to the reasoning that she'd actually be safer behind Kikyou's barrier, and that there was no point in damaging his palace with a pointless battle fought over its walls.

Because of that, they had decided to take what soldiers they were planning on, and the pack itself, and move to an intercepting position about a mile away from the gates of the shiro. It was a nice and open area, and they would actually have the high ground position, which was good. No that it was a particularly steep incline, but still...

They were well aware that the force being brought against them was not overly large, but that it was, for all that, still very dangerous. Sugimi, and Kagome would be focused on Inuyasha himself, and Kikyou on the barrier. It had also been decided that Kanna and the infant would be inside the barrier as well - Kagome would need his heart nearby to be able to fuse them again anyway, and this way, they wouldn't be vulnerable to being snatched by any of his allies.

Sesshoumaru would take on Hakudoushi, and whatever other youkai that decided to attack him, while Kagura would also fight at his side. Kouga would also take on a contingent of youkai, and planned on getting plenty of action in with any soldiers, as well. And Sango and Miroku would be doing the same... in fact, Miroku had come up with a daring plan to deal with the saimyousho once and for all...

At first, everyone had been against it. But when he explained his idea, they had to agree that it would work... as long as the medicine that Kagome had brought would work against that many wasps all at once. When she had assured them that he could have two shots back to back, he had been pleased, and Sango had immediately taken over the medicine detail. While he was using kazaana on the bugs, she would stick him with the shots, thus making sure he got them in a timely manner.

And that was mostly it. The largest unknown was going to be the battle between Kagome and Inuyasha - because even though Inuyasha had taken in Naraku and his youki, he still wasn't quite a match for his father. He was for Sesshoumaru, now, and that hadn't pleased his elder brother, but neither of them had the age or experience of their illustrious father, so it was already a foregone conclusion that he would not be able to best Sugimi in a fight.

Now, it just remained to be seen what his reaction would be when he finally realized that.

None of them had any knowledge about Shikyo, however.

And since she would be his reaction to losing to his father...

That was a very severe blind-spot indeed.

---zZz---

The noonday sun found the Northern forces firmly in place, and it wasn't long before they began to see the first signs of what they would be facing. The clouds of saimyousho and lower-level youkai were the same as they had always been under Naraku, and there was even the same miasma - although this didn't seem to stem from Inuyasha himself so much as another being that hovered at his side.

The aura of that one made Sugimi extremely nervous - it was so well-hidden within the miasma that he couldn't catch a sight of what it was... only that it was vaguely female in nature, and nothing else. He exchanged glances with Sesshoumaru... he had a feeling that it was something akin to a doomsday weapon.

How right he was.

Kagome, Kikyou, and the youkai children were already under the barrier, and Sugimi was extremely glad at that point that he'd already mated her, because otherwise, he'd have quickly gone feral - Kikyou's barrier was extremely effective at cutting off all contact with those outside of it save for vision, and his sanity was only saved by the fact that as mates, they had a higher bond that couldn't be blocked by any type of barrier. Especially as soul-bonded. Nothing could break that - not even death - and the sense of her presence kept him calm as he finally caught sight of the reason for this whole fiasco.

Inuyasha.

His son looked different than he had before - but even more telling of the differences in him was his aura. It was wrong. Sugimi could feel the traces of Naraku within his son's youki, and it was sickening. He cast a quick glance back at the barrier, and caught sight of Kikyou. She looked lost, forlorn, and he knew that she could feel the differences as well as he could. Turning back to face forward, he waited, calm now, stoic, Sesshoumaru and he looking almost identical in that moment save for the difference in crests.

By now, the enemy forces had come to a halt across from them, and the three Inu youkai stood, staring across at each other for many long moments before Inuyasha finally moved closer. He stared nonchalantly at his father and half-brother, seemingly unconcerned with any of the others.

Finally, he spoke. "I have come here for two things. If you give them to me, I will leave. I have no further business with any of you, but I will not allow you to keep what is mine from me. Will you stand down and hand them over, or will you fight?"

Sugimi growled slightly at the impudence of this hybrid. "There is nothing here that is yours, pup. The mate that you have does not wish to return to you in this state - you are not the mate that she chose, you are something else. And as for Kagome... she was not, is not, and never will be yours, whelp, she is mine. My mate."

Inuyasha hissed, scenting the air, he felt rage flush through him at what news it brought. His father had, indeed, taken his miko as a mate. Now, there was no choice. The male had to die - and he would relish in the blood. And then, even more, he would enjoy enforcing his will on Kagome after he had killed the male she had whored herself to.

They would both pay for denying him what he desired.

Raising his arm, he brought it down suddenly as the forces arrayed against him braced...

And the battle was joined as he raced to cross blades with his father.

---zZz---

Kagome and Kikyou, held safely behind the barrier, flinched at the primal scream that welled from Inuyasha's throat as he and Sugimi locked swords, watching with awe as Ketsuekikan was unsheathed in battle for the very first time. Kagome had wondered whether Inuyasha would still be able to use Tessaiga in the state he currently was in, and Sesshoumaru had answered that question quickly enough in the affirmative. It seemed that, although it had originally been his father's fang, it was almost an entirely different sword now, since Inuyasha's own fang had been introduced into the matrix of the sword. That also took away the chance that the swords' barrier would reject a fully youkai Inuyasha as well... it couldn't very well block it's own master.

She could feel Sugimi's new sword pulsing, longing for the first taste of the blood of its enemy, and with the skill of it's wielder, it didn't have to wait for long. With a rapid series of moves that Inuyasha couldn't even see, let alone stop, the daiyoukai drew first blood on his son... and the bloodblade pulsed even harder, as Inuyasha gasped, and leaped back, startled by what had just happened. It seemed that one of the attacks of his father's new sword was the ability to take the youki of its opponents along with their blood. It would have been a handy thing to have when he was after Naraku.

Staying back, he tried to figure out how to block that ability - he could not afford to lose too much of his youki to his father. Glancing quickly over, he caught sight of his bitches beneath the barrier... and his anger renewed itself. Kagome was his, and he would take her, and Kikyou, one way or another. He smiled, and looked around at the battle raging around them. It seemed to be rather a tie at this moment...

"Well, whelp? Are you going to fight, or watch others fight? Are you a coward, like Naraku was?" Sugimi stood, watching his son carefully, and deliberately baited him. A warrior that was off-balance was a warrior that was vulnerable.

Inuyasha stared at him, his youki beginning to pulse as anger became rage, and his mind began to fog - he never had handled insults well. He forgot about strategy, and keeping away from his father's sword in that moment, instincts screaming at him to kill the rival male.

"I am no coward, old man! Come, and test my blade again!"

Kagome watched carefully, noting his youki beginning to become unstable. This had been the whole purpose of the battle with Sugimi - to knock him as off-balance as possible. That was the only way that Kagome could get in. But it was not time yet - he was still far too aware of his surroundings to be vulnerable to her yet.

Glancing around, she kept an eye on the battle going on between the rest of the forces, and her friends, and was cautiously optomistic. While the servants that Inuyasha had brought with him were formidable fighters, so were the pack members - and they were slowly turning the tide against the hanyou turned youkai.

Turning her gaze back to her mate and his son, she frowned. There was another concern worrying at her - the other aura that had accompanied Inuyasha. As of yet, the presence had not entered the battle, merely hovering above it as though unconcerned, still wrapped in miasma and completely hidden from view. She was very worried about that thing - it wasn't hard to figure out that it was another incarnation... and those had never been good news for any of the group - at least not at first. Of course, Kagura was now but...

Brow still furrowed, she wished she could go into a trance and search out her soul's knowledge of this latest incarnation - but she couldn't afford to take her attention off the battle before her for long enough to make any difference. Maybe Kikyou would have a sense of that thing...

"Kikyou?"

"Yes, Kagome?"

"Have you tried to sense that thing hovering over us? I'm not getting anything specific but... it's making me very uneasy."

Kikyou looked up, and frowning, sent her senses out towards it.

After a few moments, her frown deepened, and she sighed, frustrated.

"No. It's too well hidden, but I agree - it's dangerous."

At that moment, Kanna spoke up. The two women strained to hear the whispery voice of the void child. "She is death. When Inuyasha finds that he cannot win, he will unleash her. Only the light of the shikon miko can save us at that point."

Kagome sighed bitterly. "Great. More riddles. I just love that. Why can't people just come right out and say what they mean?" Turning back towards the battle between her mate and Inuyasha, she tried to sweep her irritation to the back of her mind.

Kikyou chuckled hollowly. "Indeed... it would make things so very much easier, would it not? But then, perhaps we would not learn so much from 'easy'. I am sure that is the view of the kami."

"I think I could deal with that. I'm pretty sure I've learned enough from all this crap. Bottom line, bad is bad, and good is good. Lesson learned," she snapped. "This is getting ridiculous - I don't take that long to learn, so the kami can stop with the damned 'lessons' already."

Inuyasha moved back from his father yet again. He was fast becoming beyond frustrated. Nothing he did seemed to break into the bastard's calm - he was beyond skilled, and as his rage increased, so did his reckless nature. He was finally getting to the point that he was admitting that he could not win - already, most of his forces had been destroyed... the saimyousho were mostly gone, Hakudoushi had been vanquished by his brother and Kagura, and his youkai slaves were pretty much down to remnants.

And his father wasn't really even breathing hard. That wasn't to say that he hadn't gotten his own blows in against the older youkai, because he had, but it wasn't enough, and the blasted sword he wielded just kept taking chunks of his strength. It wasn't a winning situation - but then he grinned.

So be it.

If he couldn't have the two in life, then he'd have them in death, and pulling back, he sheathed the Tessaiga for the last time, and signalled to his weapon of last resort.

It had come to this.

Sugimi tilted his head suspiciously, gaze narrowing. The boy was up to something, and that smile was raising his hackles... it was the smile of one who had nothing to lose.

"I see that your reputation as a warrior of the highest skill was earned fairly, father," he said, sarcasm writhing through his voice, "it is just too bad for you that I do not fight fair. You should have just given them to me, you know. I hope you realize that their fate is on your head."

Calling down Shikyo, he watched with humor in his eyes and hatred on his face as the group before him braced, unsure of what was coming - and he chuckled gleefully, knowing that there was nothing any of them could do. Catching everyone off-guard, he darted towards the barrier keeping the women from him, and stood before it as the incarnation opened herself...

And swept he and his onna's straight to hell.