InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Walk of Destiny ❯ Down to the Bottom ( Chapter 17 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

~ Do I really have to say it? I mean, who would be stupid enough to assume I own "Inuyasha"? Please don’t raise your hand. ~




Walk of Destiny
By angelwings1
Edited by Kelli G

Chapter 17 ~ Down to the Bottom

They had been locked into their respective positions for no more than a few minutes, but already Kagome's arm was growing terribly heavy and beginning to shake. With each waver, Tessiaga pulled a little farther from Inuyasha's neck, and his grip on her throat tightened a hair. Kagome fought desperately to keep the sword pressed against his throat, but she knew she couldn’t stay in position much longer, not with her elbow tight as it was and her bent knees screaming.
Caught between wanting to pry away the demon’s teeth and his fear of being attacked, Rashu fidgeted at the edge of her eyesight. There had to be a way to correct this. If he lost her, there would be no chance of winning this war.
Kagome carefully adjusted her fingers on the battered hilt, edging her grip closer to the cold crest of the sword. She didn’t know why Inuyasha hesitated. Surely he was not afraid of Tessiaga’s dull blade, especially since his jaws would snap faster than she could cut his throat.
“Inuyasha!”
She had forgotten about Sakura.
“Kill her, Inuyasha!” the demon woman screamed, taking an anxious step towards the frozen pair. “Hurry!”
A warm blast of air ran across the miko’s face as the dog beast’s muffled growl rumbled from the depths of his throat. His teeth slowly drew away from her skin. Kagome half-wondered if he was releasing her...that was, until she felt his teeth resume their hold, having brought her deeper into his mouth, causing her head to disappear entirely from sight. His breath was enough to wrinkle her nose. ‘Gross…’
Drool quickly found a home in her hair, and Kagome bit back a cry of disgust. With his huge, wet tongue running over her face, Kagome wondered how she could possibly think of an idea to save herself when she was struggling not to hurl.
‘Does Tessiaga still have power over his demon half?’
Closing her eyes, Kagome searched for the warmth of the sword’s essence. As she had thought, the blade was thrumming with life, building a sort of wall between herself and Inuyasha.
‘Tessiaga, the Sword of Earth… the protector of Man.’
Curious, Kagome strained weakly and pressed the sword forward. Inuyasha instantly drew back, revealing moonlight to Kagome’s eyes, but never quite removing his teeth from her neck.
‘Tessiaga is protecting me.’
Sakura snarled when she saw her champion falter. “Inuyasha!”
The instant his name broke the silence, a chill enveloped the air around the hanyou. Tessiaga quickly rose to the challenge, and soon the blade was shaking in the miko’s hand.
‘Inuyasha is trying to overcome Tessiaga!’
Kagome pushed all her weight into the sword, hoping it would help, but all it did was irritate the huge dog demon, and soon his energy was shooting up in retaliation. Fear raced through her blood, and before Kagome could stop it, her miko powers had surged into the ancient blade. Inuyasha roared loudly and flew backwards, freeing her neck and giving her a clear view of the resonating sword.
Kagome gasped loudly. Tessiaga was pulsating, changing between flashes of gold and pink. Her powers were intertwining with the demon powers of Tessiaga, and the blade was now skyrocketing with energy.
“What are you doing, Lady Kagome?” Rashu shouted, straining to be heard over the sudden blast of wind that howled through the fields.
The time traveler shook her head, her eyes staring at the blade in a daze as its jagged ridges melted together, creating a perfect edge. The hilt grew hot in her palm, as if she held fire in it. Soon, the pink light consumed the length of the blade, and the heat stretched through her fingers, smoothing the blade out to become longer, wider.
Sakura quickly circled round to Inuyasha, both of them watching the miko bring the sword close to her face. Kagome swept over the blade, the firelight dancing beautifully over the smooth edge. It wasn’t quite as big as when Inuyasha wielded it, but Tessiaga was abnormally large for a sword. She swung it lightly, testing the weight. It was like carrying hot air in her hand.
“Amazing,” she whispered, giving it a final once over as she tested the balance. Her wrist barely complained. “I knew it was light, but I never knew it felt so effortless.”
Sakura shook her head, her lips curling with consuming rage. “The idiot!”
Kagome snapped her eyes to Sakura. “W-what?”
“He had to know this would happen!” the woman growled, glaring at the miko and the sword. “Why else could only a human release the sword from his grave?”
“What are you talking about?” Rashu demanded, his disdain for the demon mistress plain in his voice.
Giving the priest a pointed look, the woman studied the glowing sword. “Tessiaga is a powerful weapon, but it was created by demons. A human should not be able to wield its true power.”
Kagome glanced down at the blade, her reflection staring back at her in surprise.
“A sword to protect,” she whispered, her voice sounding oddly detached. “Inuyasha’s father wouldn’t have made this available to all humans. He had to know that we are just as capable of abusing its power as demons are.”
“Yet you have unlocked the essence of the sword’s power,” Sakura hissed.
Kagome narrowed her eyes on the woman, hearing the hatred in her tone. “You know why, don’t you?”
Sakura’s eyes flashed a dark red, but she quickly regained control over herself, and they resumed their normal golden glint. “Tessiaga is Inuyasha’s sword, meant to protect the ones he loves…dumb sentimental purpose for such a powerful weapon.”
Kagome became rigid. “The sword is protecting me...because...”
The demon mistress didn’t bother to respond, merely musing aloud. “His father knew that Inuyasha would have a dark streak within him, because of his demon blood. He must have been concerned Inuyasha might one day use Tessiaga unintentionally, against the very people he wanted to protect. I can only assume he had the sword built with a safety feature.” Her gold eyes jumped to the girl’s face. “However, I don’t think the dumb dog ever thought that a miko would be the one to use it.”
The wind danced around them, and more shouts floated through the air. The miko glanced at the three figures. Sakura was watching her stonily, carefully observing as she scratched Inuyasha’s lowered brow. Behind her, Rashu was watching her with the same intensity, fear coloring his gaze.
“Mixing demon and human powers together is dangerous,” Rashu stated quietly, the Hasu Ly's radiance slowly growing between her and the priest. “Let go of the sword, Lady Kagome. If it is truly a weapon of demons, then merging your powers with it will kill you.”
“That can't be true!” Kagome shouted, trying desperately to ignore the singing in her blood, the growing warmth in her chest. “We shouldn't be afraid of humans and demons coming together!” She bit her lip nervously as she tried to watch Rashu and Sakura at the same time. Her words sounded weak even to her own ears, and like them, she wondered if they were true. The demoness and priest began circling her slowly, as if sizing her up for the kill.
The sword was strange in her hand, almost unnatural. She had never come across something that tugged at every fiber in her body. The wind wrapped around the sword, smelling of hot spice. She couldn’t identify the way it felt to her, except that it was wild and mysterious. More importantly, it was frightening.
The sword consumed her in seconds, and the rest of her surroundings slipped from her focus. There was only herself and the sword, burning together in a single flame. With each wave of heat, Kagome felt new strength build in her limbs. She could take on the world if she wanted. No one would be able to stop her if she wielded Tessiaga.
Kagome blinked, her hand trembling. Why this sudden thirst for the world? Was this Tessiaga's doing? Was the merging of her powers with Tessiaga somehow influencing her mind?
‘Ultimate power does corrupt. I was already powerful, but doubling my power… it could make me blind.’
Her heart skipped.
‘Doubling? Has my power really doubled?’
Her eyes focused on Sakura and Inuyasha. They were both stepping backwards, closer to the flames. They were frightened.
“This is why hanyou are dangerous, isn’t it?” Kagome asked, thinking aloud. “It’s not because they are weak, but because they have the power of both human and demon. They understand both sides, when others can never grasp the true potential of either.”
Sakura snorted loudly. “Hardly. Don’t try and make the mix of demon and human into a fairytale, little girl. Mixed blood is a disgrace, no matter how you look at it. Even if hanyous gain the power of both demons and humans, they also have the weakness of both. Hanyous are not the supreme beings you make them out to be.”
“I’m not saying that!” Kagome shouted, her anger taking over. “I just can’t believe hanyous are as evil as you say! They are another life born in this world, meant to live here as we do!”
“They are the bridge between our two species -- a bridge that needs to be burned!” Sakura snapped, launching herself at the girl.
Kagome swiftly brought the swordpoint to meet her. Instantly, the sword exploded with pink flames. Even with her miko powers and that of Tessaiga combined, however, her eyes were not fast enough to follow the woman’s movement.
Her brown eyes grew wide as Kagome felt warm air rushing against the back of her neck. She hastily swept the sword into a spin, but the blade found nothing behind her. Losing her balance from the wild momentum, Kagome stumbled forward. Just when she caught her weight again, she noticed a white blur to her left. The sword followed the blur, but again crashed into only air.
“Crap!” Kagome grumbled, falling to one knee. The sword was useless if she couldn’t connect with her opponent.
The hilt abruptly disappeared from her fingers and something solid rammed into her right temple, earning a loud cry from the miko as she crashed to the ground.
“Too slow!” Sakura taunted, standing over the human girl. “You may have power, but you’re still too weak. Even Midoriko, the strongest priestess who ever lived, couldn’t stop the most powerful demons of the world.”
Kagome groaned softly as she pulled to her elbows. Her fingers slowly pressed against the side of her skull, feeling a familiar wetness. The miko carefully turned to look at Sakura over her shoulder. “She may have become trapped inside the Shikon Jewel with them, but she never failed.”
Sakura ground a knee into the miko’s spine, stopping the discussion altogether. “Enough! You did fail, girl! Inuyasha is still a demon, your village will still die, and demons shall reign.”
Kagome gritted her teeth, fury burning. She'd barely begun to fight, and already she was down. Her pride smarted as she dug her nails into the dirt. Maybe she had lost Tessiaga, but that wouldn’t stop her. “I’m not out yet!” Bracing her hands against the ground, the girl began to push herself to her feet.
Though Sakura’s strength was considerably more powerful than her own, she decided to allow the child to rise, and stepped back to face her quarry. “Stupid human.”
Panting slightly, Kagome turned to her, eyes reflecting the moonlight like a pair of stars. “I might have come here without a plan, but I don’t doubt my being here is right. This is where I belong.”“Dead?” Sakura chuckled. “Because that is what’s going to happen, girl. There’s no one to stop me from killing you. You think this other human frightens me? I would have brought my guards if I was worried.”
Kagome hastily scanned the ground. If she could only get Tessaiga back... ‘THERE!’
It was a little to the left beyond Sakura, but she could get to it. With no hesitation or second thoughts, Kagome lurched from her knees and flung herself towards the blade. All that mattered in that moment was reaching the sword.
Sakura’s eyes followed the girl, easily keeping with her slow movement. All she had to do was swing out her claws, and she could effortlessly kill her. It would be over in the span of a short breath.
‘Sesshoumaru was right. You weren’t a threat.’
Her hand casually swept forward, as if murdering a young girl were an everyday task. “You end here, priestess!”
To her surprise, her hand was slapped away inches from the miko’s back. Unbalanced by the blow, it took the dark-hearted woman a bit of time to regain her senses and notice the white figure between herself and the human girl. Sakura roared in utter fury at her son as the miko’s hand closed on the sword’s worn hilt. “TRAITOR!”
“You will not touch her,” Sesshoumaru said softly, batting away his mother’s claws.
His words brought on a whole new wave of fury, and her eyes blinked to red. “You...you bas--”
Her words were interrupted as Tessiaga screeched to life. The demons jerked towards the girl, noticing how the rosy hue swallowed both her and the sword. Kagome glared pointedly at the demoness. “You want me, Sakura? Then take me!”
The invitation was plenty. With a roar that filled the sky, the demon mistress ducked under her son’s arm and raced towards the girl. Tessiaga was quickly placed between them, even though the girl knew there was little chance she would be able to hit the woman.
‘Save me.’
Sesshoumaru quickly tackled the Lady of the South to the ground, both of them growling like half-crazed dogs, eyes crimson with blood-lust. While the two fought to untangle themselves, Rashu hurried to Kagome’s side, his emerald dagger pointed at the demons with heavy callousness. “You have your chance, Lady Kagome. Kill them!”
Her eyes followed the pair, seeing that Sesshoumaru and Sakura were much too busy to notice them. To kill them now would not be self-defense, but murder. “No.”
Rashu didn’t dare remove his eyes from the demons to stare at the girl, but his voice showed that he was shocked by her answer. “What do you plan to do, then?”
“I…” Tessiaga swung left, as she noticed Inuyasha stalking towards her, but then she swung Tessiaga back to the right when Sakura made a short lung for her. Luckily, Sesshoumaru knocked the woman away and regained her attention. Kagome swallowed, her heart pounding against her ribs painfully. “I…” It wasn't like she had had a great plan in the first place. She knew she would fight Sakura, but she'd never guessed Sesshoumaru would come to her rescue. She could only guess that he was doing this because she was fostering Rin; he owed her. Even if his motivation was a bit selfish, she had no real need to attack him. The point of her being here was to save Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru’s death wouldn’t help her in the least.
Rashu looked at the woman, seeing her eyes full of indecision. His jaw became tight, and his grip strangled the dagger. “Fine. I’ll do it!”
At that instant, Kagome realized Sesshoumaru had gained the upper hand, pinning his mother to the ground with his knee digging into her neck. It didn’t take long for her brain to register that his back was exposed, that his whole being was focused on defeating the lethal enemy at hand. She had never once, in the span of four years, witnessed a time when Sesshoumaru had allowed his back to go unguarded. Just as she realized the danger her new ally was in, Rashu’s blade leapt to take advantage.
Tessiaga quickly knocked the Hasu Ly aside, and soon Kagome was standing on the line between demon and human.
“Lady Kagome.” He didn’t sound shocked. His voice was hard and low, like a man who had always suspected.
Kagome could only pray her voice did not break. “I can’t let you.”
The noise of the battle behind her ceased.
“You would actually kill me?” the man hissed, their blades scratching against each other in the silence.
“I won’t let you,” she said, her eyes hard.
Rashu frowned. “All for a demon.”
Abruptly, the air became chilled, ice crystals seeming to form in her lungs. Kagome winced, her chest feeling as if she had raced through endless fields of frost. Her hand pressed against her heart, and she coughed. ‘Why is it suddenly so cold?’
“Finish her, sister!”
Kagome didn’t even turn; she went completely on instinct, and threw herself to the left. At the same moment she fell to her hands, Tessiaga tumbling out of her reach, the ground shattered loudly behind her. There, standing in the small crater, was a huge bronze cat, her chin-length fangs gleaming as she snarled.
With the Hasu Ly glowing like a giant star, Rashu carefully stepped back from the oversized cat. Another cat dropped beside the first, but this one was more human in appearance. His gold hair swirled behind him as he drew up to his full height, glaring down at her. “So this is the little human you were so worried about, Sakura. She may be quick, but she doesn’t look like much.”
The demon mistress glowered from the ground. “If you think that’s quick, then you’re either slow, or stupid.”
Kagome's heart pounded faster as she recognized the pair. “You’re part of the Blood Four, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” the male cat replied, eyes sparkling dangerously as he studied her. “And I’m quite sick of dealing with you, little girl. You’ve been a pain since day one. A thorn, soon to be removed.”
Kagome hastened to her feet at his words, but her newly injured arm buckled under her weight. Gritting her teeth, Kagome held back her groan. Aki’s eyes flashed red, his hunger for her overwhelming his thoughts to be cautious.
“Such rich blood,” he murmured, his nostrils inhaling her fresh scent. “Clean blood, too.”
“Clean blood?” she asked, trying to distract him. There were only a few yards protecting her, and she guessed he could easily jump them from where he was standing. He was a cat demon, after all; Kilala was able to make three hundred yards at a small gallop. Kagome frantically crawled backwards, cradling her bad arm against her chest.
Aki’s red tongue slid over his fangs thoughtfully. “You smell just like most mikos, pure and clear like fresh spring water, but your scent is stronger. Reminds me a great deal of that old priestess.”
“You mean Kikyo,” she growled. Even in the middle of this mess, fate still had a way of annoying her with the reminder of how much she was like Kikyo. Why couldn’t people just see her as her own person for once?
Kagome quickly bit back the thought, remembering what Destiny had said: ‘Stop trying to be better than her.’
Aki frowned. “No, I never met that woman. I’m talking about Midoriko. Of course, it would make sense, you smelling like her. You’re the most powerful priestess to come along, since she died and created the Shikon Jewel.”
‘Midoriko,’ Kagome mouthed, her eyes set on the cat man.
He nodded, his tail whipping sharply behind him. His jeweled eyes kept a steady gaze on her, and his golden mane fluttered majestically in the orange light, as if he, too was part of the ocean of fire. Kagome watched him, hypnotized, her wide brown eyes unable to turn away. ‘So beautiful...’
The man strode forward purposefully, his steps steady and quiet. Keeping his voice to a low purr, the demon lord said, “It was always feared another priestess would rise, and hope to finish what Midoriko started.”
Kagome blinked, trying to drive away the haze in her mind. “Started?” she mumbled, her thoughts too muddled to think properly.
He nodded again, his eyes resembling two perfect suns. “Yes. Midoriko believed demons and humans could live together, but demons continually attacked her, never giving her a chance to bridge the gap between the two. Finally, when she was cornered within a cave towards the south, Midoriko tried a final time to bring humans and demons together, and created the Shikon Jewel.”
“The S-Shikon Jewel?” Kagome gasped, her mind snapping awake. “She created the jewel to unite demons and humans?”
Aki frowned, surprised she had so easily broken free of his spell. “Yes,” he replied, carefully weaving his charm around her again. It usually only took a few lines of a story to entrap a simple human, but this youngling was proving far more difficult. “The Shikon Jewel was made when Midoriko attempted to purify the evil from the demons’ hearts. She was the strongest priestess ever known, but a single woman did not have the strength to purify an army. When she discovered she would fail in her task, she sealed herself and the demons within her own heart to forever battle against each other.”
“The jewel is desirable because it holds the power of a priestess and a hundred demons,” Kagome whispered, her eyes wide. “That's why it was so easily tainted. Both darkness and purity reside in the jewel in a perfect balance. The keeper of the jewel tips the scale in either’s favor. Until the keeper is strong enough to purify the jewel, the Shikon forever exists on a wavering pedestal.”
‘It was never the power of my wish that freed the jewel, but it was my purity that cleansed it of darkness.’
A warm blast of air caressed her brow, and Kagome jerked her head upwards to see the golden man looming over her. His eyes narrowed, puzzled, as she met his gaze. How was a human so young able to completely resist his spell?
His fangs quickly slid out, and Kagome cringed when she saw the red consume his eyes. She hadn't noticed that he was closing the distance between them. ‘Crap!’
She fell to her back seconds before he lunged. Her legs came together and struck upwards, striking the demon hard in the stomach and tossing him overhead. A crash followed an angry howl, and then the other cat was upon her. Kagome was barely on her knees before the female’s fangs dug into her already injured shoulder. The miko couldn’t hold back the scream. A fox demon’s fangs were a bee sting compared to the cat demon’s bite. The two tumbled to the ground, Kagome trying vainly to push the demon’s weight off of her, but she soon found herself pressed face first into the ground.
Painfully, Kagome twisted her head around until she was staring the female cat straight in the eye. The cat demon laughed at her feeble movements. “What do you think you can do? My brother may think you strong, but you’re just a human, after all.”
Kagome scowled beneath the cat. “So what? That doesn't mean you should underestimate me!”
With her defiant words, Kagome's skin began to glow beneath the demon’s heavy paws. The cat merely sneered. Nerves began to shoot off throughout the miko’s body, filling her with fire. Aki, alarmed, raced towards the miko and his sister with claws outstretched to deliver the killing blow, but he was too late. A wall of rosy light burst forth from her body, violently slamming the two demon cats backwards.
Still pinning his mother, Sesshoumaru squinted against the light. “I knew it.”
The air crackled with energy, and lightning lashed out, upturning the earth and bringing new passion to the flames. At the very heart of the chaos, Kagome knelt, bracing her hands against the ground, watching the ones who had attacked her.
Pain raced through the siblings’ blood at an unimaginable speed. Aki tried to move, wiggle his fingers even, but when his joints bent it felt as if stitches were ripping apart at the knuckles. He didn’t dare move more, fearing he would unleash pure fire on his limbs. Even as he remained motionless, an unstoppable white heat engulfed his veins, liquefying the marrow of his bones. His lungs suddenly became heavy weights, pressing against his heart. Each breath was agony, and soon his breathing was reduced to fitful coughs. His sister’s horrid croaks joined his.
Bracing himself against the agony, Aki looked down, catching the wide eyes of the astonished girl beneath him. “What have you done?”
Kagome stared at them wordlessly, captivated by the power she had unleashed. The air around her was now cool, despite the flames that had exited her body just moments before. Inside the depths of the demon’s black pupil, something called to her. It was almost as if she could hear a voice, yet there were no words. It was instinct, not that she realized it at that moment. She was too busy watching a gruesome image unfolding in the demon’s eyes.
She could see blood, an ocean full of it. Was it his or someone else’s? She couldn’t be sure. All she saw was a cold, terrifying red tossing in monstrous waves. The water’s crazed dance was difficult to follow, and her head swam. She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes to the sickening sight, but she couldn’t seem to remember how to blink.
A new surge of waves crashed through the ocean of the demon's eye, and was soon joined by a brilliant cast of red stars over a black sky. Kagome heard a gasp as the stars exploded, and realized it was her own voice. The darkness quickly swallowed the fireworks, and for a short moment, there was silence.
She was alone in the cold darkness, her breathing pitching erratically. Her fingers became numb, and her body convulsed in a shudder. ‘What’s happening?!’
Muffled voices slowly began to filter through the darkness. If she hadn’t felt so nauseated, she might have looked up to locate the speakers, but she knew one sudden move would get her reacquainted with the inside of her stomach. As she pressed her head against the ground, the voices grew louder, talking all at once. Kagome winced.
By now her head was throbbing, the voices shouting. She caught words, only a handful, but enough to understand these were human voices, begging for mercy or crying out curses. Her shaking hands frantically covered her ears as the voices became shrill with terror. The pitch was too high for her, the voices too numerous, and her head felt as if it would split wide open.
“STOP IT!” she yelled, twisting wildly in the dirt. But the cries didn’t slow, didn’t fade. They grew impossibly louder; their echoes trembled through her, right down her spine. It felt like nails were hammering into her joints, locking her body down. She was completely helpless. Not only was she unable to move, but there was nothing solid to fight against.
Her head lolled to the side, overwhelmed by the turmoil within. ‘Darn it.’ She could barely concentrate with the noise and the frigid air. ‘Why does it feel familiar?’
The cold emptiness reminded her of something, a memory. She had sensed this before. Kagome pressed her forehead harder against the ground, desperately trying to focus on the sketchy memory.
It had been cold then, too, she remembered. She had struggled against it, preferring the warmth. Another scream broke through her concentration, forcing her to shuffle through her thoughts again.
It had been dark, too, but not as if it were night. No, it had been the feel of darkness, of evil.
It had felt hollow, like now, an empty, dark, cold vastness.
Kagome’s mind jerked to a halt as the memory clicked into place. “Naraku!”
It was just like the time she had killed Naraku. She was battling the same type of darkness Naraku had been filled with.
Suddenly, Kagome found the will to snap out of her vision, and her eyes quickly noticed familiar gray fuzz floating down around her. She could once again see the burning fields, Rashu, and the dog demons, but the two cat demons were nowhere to be seen.
Kagome numbly watched as a pinch of fuzz land in her hand, warm to the touch. Her purity had done it again. Unconsciously, her purity had acted against the darkness within the demons, burning them to ash.
She looked dully at her gray-covered hands. “I purified them.”
“I knew it!”
Kagome locked eyes with the demon mistress, who was still presently pinned by Sesshoumaru’s knee. “What?”
Sakura glared openly at the miko, heedless of her helpless position. “You just killed two of the strongest demons alive with barely any effort. No one can tell me you aren’t a threat to us now.”
Kagome glanced at Sesshoumaru, but he only gazed back blankly. “What do you mean?”
Sakura looked to her son and struggled once more to remove his knee. Using her one free hand, the one that wasn't being crushed under his foot, she dug her fingers under his knee cap and pressed hard on a pair of pressure points. Grunting in surprise, Sesshoumaru involuntarily moved his knee a fraction to the left, accidentally giving his mother the lever she needed. Even with his outstanding control and strength, he was unable to stop her. His weight quickly shifted out of control and he fell hard to the side, barely catching himself on one hand. Sakura shot out from beneath him the moment she got the chance. Sesshoumaru reached out to stop her, but she was already charging towards the unsteady miko.
“You’ll die here, miko!” she screeched, whipping out her short sword.
Kagome automatically threw up her good arm, fingers spread wide. “Not yet!”
A hot flash swept over the demoness, and before she could run, the pink light surrounded her. Sakura lost control of her limbs almost instantaneously, and a cold sweat overcame her.
She should have killed her the moment she had found her. If she hadn’t hesitated, if she had just killed her instead of giving Inuyasha the job, her life wouldn’t be hanging by a thread.
Sesshoumaru fell away from his mother, with Inuyasha anxiously circling the two women, searching for some way to get to his mistress. The western lord was a good fifty yards away, but his skin was itching from the searing heat pouring from the miko.
“So cold,” Kagome whispered, her eyes glazed with a grayish hue. “I’m standing out in a field of fire, in the middle of summer, and I still feel like I need a coat.”
Sakura grimaced against the needling sensation in her spine, glaring at the girl. “What are you mumbling about?!”
Several yards away, Rashu wiped his brow, realizing that the temperature had mounted in the last few minutes.
“I can feel it,” the miko replied, but it was hard to tell if she was talking to Sakura or herself. “Just like with Naraku, I could feel the coldness of his heart.”
Sakura got the message behind her words. She began to struggle frantically against the hot bondage of the girl’s aura.
“Your heart is cold, like his,” Kagome continued, her fingers slowly stretching towards the white noble.
“Don’t touch me!” Sakura hissed, her voice coming out in a feeble roar. She winced inwardly at how pathetic she sounded. How had she become so weak as to beg for her life? Especially from the same human who'd been at her mercy moments before!
Kagome blinked, the gray vanishing from her brown eyes. “Purification is the answer to the power of priests and priestesses. It was never power or physical strength, as everyone believed. It was the goodness and purity of their hearts that made them strong.”
Rashu’s eyes grew wide. “But that’s impossible! Kikyo was hardly pure of heart, and neither was Midoriko, powerful as she was. Both sided with demons–”
“Can’t you consider for a moment that not all demons are pure evil?” Kagome snapped angrily.
“Stop your stupid babbling!” the demon mistress screeched, her pain rising. “Just kill me already!”
“Just give me a second!” Kagome shouted, turning to the priest. “Midoriko was a holy woman, pure enough to balance the evil of an entire army. The only reason she failed–”
“Was because she had a fondness for demons!” Rashu finished loudly, stabbing the Hasu Ly into the air. “If she had been truly pure, she would have won!”
Kagome’s shout died in her throat as a tiny lingering voice within her whispered, ‘It wasn’t because of that. There were just too many demons.’
She glanced between the priest and Sakura, doubt flooding her heart. What if she was wrong?
Then her eyes turned to Inuyasha’s burning scarlet ones. Maybe when she'd first met Inuyasha, he hadn’t been the hero he was now, but he had proven to her over and over that his heart was not made of stone as he liked to pretend.
“He’s not evil.”
Her heart skipped as a wild idea came to mind. If she could use her purity to kill demons, perhaps she could do the same thing for Inuyasha. She could purify the demon from him.
There was only one problem. Too much, and she might cleanse him of every ounce of demon blood he had. Inuyasha might have been willing to become human once, but there was no way he would be willing to give up his demon powers this time. She could never bring him to the weakened state he hated most.
Not to forget, the entire idea was completely risking Inuyasha’s life. If she was wrong, and her purity killed him…
She turned back to Sakura, still unsure. Even though her muscles were twitching, and her face was twisted in agony, the demon woman glared pointedly at the girl.
Was there any other way?
Suddenly, it felt like every eye in the world was watching her, burrowing through her soul, beholding her doubts. Could they see how scared she was? How unsure? She was supposed to be strong and wise, but she was being an indecisive child.
What would Kikyo have done?
‘Why does that matter? She’s not here! You are!’
Kagome glanced to Rashu, immediately knowing what he would do. Sesshoumaru watched her silently, no help, as always.
‘Trust yourself.’
Kagome grimaced. ‘I doubt Kaede was thinking of this moment when she said that.’
‘Just do it.’
Staring hard at the demon mistress, Kagome felt resolve tighten her body. ‘I don’t care if I’m better than Kikyo. I don’t care if we win this fight. I just want Inuyasha back.’ The thought of him forever a full dog demon made her choke back a sob.
Any tears she might have shed, however, were banished as the ground shook beneath her. Just as Kagome glanced down, the earth literally split apart, and a purple dragon burst out. Thrown into the air as the dragon rammed into her, Kagome lost her concentration, and her aura slipped, allowing Sakura to drop to the ground.
It took all her will not to scream in terror as she sailed hundreds of feet above the burning field. Feeling the hot wind blast against her face, Kagome was absolutely certain her stomach had been left on the ground. The same ground that was quickly rushing to reacquaint itself with her! Unfortunately, someone else wanted to meet her first, and introduce her to a pair of wide, gaping teeth.
That’s when she did scream.
Shiro grinned wickedly, snapping his jaws around the miko in one swift bite. His first thought was how easy it had been to kill her, and how much he would relish the crunch of her bones...then he realized he held only air between his teeth.
Wheeling swiftly as he searched for the girl, his sight stopped on the western noble, who stood clutching the miko to his side. His eyes widened. “I don’t believe it.”
Kagome was thinking the very same thing as she stared up in astonishment at the pale face of her rescuer. Her body was still trembling from the fall, but his warmth was calming her, slowing her pounding heart. Sesshoumaru glared outright at the face dragon, his upturned, defiant face resembling Inuyasha’s a great deal.
“Thank you, Sesshoumaru,” she whispered, shocked that she was saying the words.
He merely nodded, refusing to look at her.
Kagome couldn’t stop staring at his slanted profile. He didn’t look different. His face was as cold and blank as ever, but it was strange to see him so close. Not once in all her fights against him had she ever been pressed against his chest, and the surrealism of it struck her.
Her strength abruptly gave out, and her head lolled to the side, resting against his ribs. His face blurred in her vision. She must have lost a lot of blood.
“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice not giving away a hint of what he was thinking, his grip tightening on her. Her eyes refocused, noticing he was glancing her over out of the corner of his eye.
“Yeah,” she heard herself mumble. “Just a little dizzy.”
He nodded again, and readjusted her weight on his arm. She wondered what he was thinking at that moment. He had probably never thought he would have to actually touch her in order to come to her rescue. Being that he was as stiff as a board, Kagome guessed he was quite uncomfortable with the feeling. Only Rin ever got this close to him.
“I believed you were a traitor,” Shiro hissed, crawling forward. “But I didn’t think you could actually love her.”
Kagome whipped to face the dragon, ignoring the fresh wave of dizziness the sudden movement sent through her. “Love?!”
Her temples pinched hard on her brain, cutting off the blood flow as she desperately tried to get her thoughts to click together properly. Carefully, Kagome turned to the noble, his arm feeling suddenly too warm. Her world quickly began to spiral out of control as she realized he wasn’t denying anything.
He was still glaring at the face dragon. Kagome could only wonder if he refused to look at her because it was true. If he didn’t care about her, Sesshoumaru was not one to keep quiet about it. He would normally dismiss the accusation without the smallest rise in his voice. But instead he just stood there, as if it didn’t deserve a response. Well, she sure as hell needed one!
By then, Sakura had finally regained her composure, and was slowly rolling onto her side. All of her muscles quivered beneath her weight, still shaken from the electricity the miko had wired through her body. She couldn’t remember the last time getting to her knees had been such a struggle. Each quiver of her body made her stomach churn with pure disgust.
A human had bested her, and not just any human, a child. Shame consumed her. Even the demons that had fallen to Midoriko decades ago had at least fallen to a woman in her prime, and those demons were far weaker in comparison to her noble blood.
She had no excuse, and all because of that girl.
Her heart beat loudly in her ears the moment she saw the girl in her son’s protection. There was no way she would be able to get to her in her present condition, but her fury was demanding she kill her. Already her fangs were slipping out unbidden, pricking her lips hungrily.
“…could actually love her.”
Sakura’s eyes grew wide, searching her son’s empty gold ones. She had believed him seduced, possibly even brain-washed by the miko, but she had scoffed at the thought of love, even when she'd suggested it just to infuriate him. Her son was pure-blooded, incapable of love. She had beaten emotion out of him a long time ago. There was no way love could have remained in his heart.
After several long minutes, Sesshoumaru finally answered the dragon evenly. “I don’t really think it matters.”
Sakura couldn’t believe her ears. She growled from her humble place in the pool of her own blood. “I think it does.”
He acknowledged her with a casual glance, but didn’t respond to her burning glare. She seethed at his profile, her anger fueling new life in her limbs. She barely shook when she rose calmly to her knees, but it was plainly obvious from the way her blood flowed over her body that she was ignoring dangerous injures.
“I thought I had raised you better than that, Sesshoumaru,” she ground out through clenched teeth. The young miko looked to her, her wide eyes surprising the demon noble. Didn’t she realize her son’s loyalty to her went beyond just a casual fondness, or twisted lust? To take a human was a great dishonor, though several high-ranking demons had done it for far more stupid reasons. But for him to challenge the three leaders for her sake? This could be nothing less than attraction beyond sanity. “You’re stronger than some weak emotion.”
Everyone remained quiet as Sakura's next words grated past her throat. “Or will you prove me wrong, my son?”
Kagome swallowed nervously as she beheld his rigid stance, his cold eyes. ‘There’s no way.’
He didn’t respond for several minutes, only eyed the two other nobles. His grip slackened slightly on her, and to Kagome's shock, he pushed her behind him. Kagome gasped upon seeing his back completely exposed to her, knowing what this could mean. ‘Impossible.’
“Go to him.”
“W-what?” she stammered, looking up at the long, white hair that flowed down his shoulders.
“Go to him,” he repeated calmly, still guarding her. “Hurry.”
She peeked silently around him, seeing that the other demons were slowly taking up positions to strike. Rashu was to the right, starting forward, his face twisted in an indescribable emotion. She had barely caught sight of Inuyasha before Sesshoumaru pushed her towards his half-brother. She wanted nothing more than to go to Inuyasha and hug him as hard she could, but she couldn’t leave his brother's side just yet, not when he was risking himself so.
“Sesshoumaru.” She spoke his name softly. “Is it true?”
“Right now that doesn’t matter,” he bit out coldly, shifting his weight in preparation for the approaching danger. “Go to him.”
Biting down on her lip, Kagome hesitated for only a heartbeat more. She knew he was right. This wasn’t the time to be confessing secret loves, especially with an army closing in on them. But it still didn’t feel right leaving him, especially when he didn’t know the extent of what she was about to do.
“Sesshoumaru,” she persisted, even as she slowly edged out from behind him. “I–”
“Go!” he insisted, never raising the volume of his voice.
Kagome grimaced and ducked behind his arm, her heart set on the enchanted hanyou before her.
Sakura and Shiro instantly lunged for the miko, but Sesshoumaru took his place between them. However, the distraction the pair caused cost the noble a great deal, and soon Rashu had slipped by, racing to catch up with the miko.
Each time she pushed her foot into the ground, every single step, she felt like her heart would explode. It had taken her nearly three days of grueling heartache and blind hope to get here, but her faith and love had finally found a way to save him.
She didn’t know what would happen. She was honestly terrified of what she was about to do, but there was no turning back.
His red eyes narrowed on her, and he barked loudly as she approached him.
‘Just a little closer.’
Her arms opened to him, the yards dissolving into only a few more feet. His jaws went for her neck, but Kagome didn’t blink. She wasn’t afraid of him anymore.
Rashu, enraged, brought his dagger above his head, the point aimed at the miko’s unguarded back. “I won’t let you do this!”
Even as she heard the words, felt the danger behind her, sensed the struggle between the three nobles, she ignored all else and closed her eyes, crossing the last few inches to brush her fingers over his warm, furry muzzle. If she had hesitated but a moment longer, his teeth would have torn through her esophagus, ending the very life he had protected for the last four years. But Kagome didn’t hesitate to unleash the pink light that swept back the darkness, blew out the burning field, and swallowed every single being within the burnt stalks.
A single word graced the millions of curses and gasps seconds before there was overwhelming silence. After the light faded, and the moonlight replaced it, a pink star dropped to the ground.