InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ What Matters the Most ❯ Death ( Chapter 73 )

A/n: Hey everyone! I’m back with a new chapter! Just in time for Halloween, too! ^_^ I don’t have too much to say right here, so I’ll just let you guys at the story and wait till the end to ramble. ^_^

Oh, and let me just apologize beforehand to any and all males who are reading this. *winces* --- Death

To Sesshomaru panic wasn’t an emotion he was very familiar with.

Panic wasn’t something he had experienced very much in his life since it was so very easily associated with a complete loss of control over oneself, and therefore not something he had a whole lot of tolerance for.

But panic is what he was beginning to feel now, as the last of his youki released it’s control over him, pulling back the haze of red that had shaded his mind before like a curtain, and allowing him to again begin processing the things around him.

And he did not hesitate to begin transforming.

He didn’t know what was going on a the moment, but he had heard Inu Taisho’s shouts at Inuyasha to calm down, and Inuyasha’s frantic and terrorized cries-- felt his mate’s desperation-- and then it had suddenly all stopped, and that was more terrifying than anything.

But in this form, in his current condition, he couldn’t even bring his body to rise more than a few feet above the ground before his three remaining legs would collapse under the strain. And if he couldn’t walk than he certainly couldn’t fight, and he had no way of seeing what was going on anyway; how was he supposed to protect his mate in that state?

So he had summoned what strength he could and forced his body to change again.

This time the process had been much slower than it normally was, and much more painful.

His arm was gone, but his mind didn’t seem to be comprehending that, and it was sending out all kinds of hazardous signals to it, trying to make it transform like the rest of him, and by the end of it Sesshomaru was quite certain that, had his arm still been attached, it wouldn’t have transformed into any kind of form he could recognise, let alone use.

He ended up feeling rather unbalanced because his mind still didn’t think his arm had transformed with the rest of him, and he was forced to remain crouched over with his teeth grit as it mentally maimed his non-existent appendage for a few more moments, before slowly settling down-- still sending out the occasional throb to see if the limb would respond, but otherwise leaving it alone.

Sesshomaru wasn’t surprised when he noticed that the actual arm had indeed transformed with him. That was a good thing-- if the limb was still transforming, then it was at least somewhat connected to him still, and there would be a hope of getting it attached again. Not right now, though. Attaching missing limbs took a lot of time and energy, and right now he had neither of those to spare.

Right now, he needed to focus on Inuyasha.

Twisting around, Sesshomaru turned slowly to face in the direction all the commotion had been coming from before, freezing when his eyes fell-- not on Inuyasha, like he had been hoping-- but his father... sprawled out on the ground, covered in his own blood... his face a mask of surprise and pain... completely still...

Shock wasn’t something Sesshomaru wasn’t accustomed to feeling, either, but he had been getting used to it recently, having Inuyasha as his mate. And now, shock wasn’t a strong enough word, he was sure, to describe what he was feeling, but it was the only thing his mind could come up with for the emotion that surged through him at the sight of his father like that.

He wouldn’t go so far as to say he and the Inu no Taisho had ever been close. Not that it couldn’t have been true, at one time-- he had been alive for more than nine-hundred years, surely at some point in time he and his father had gotten along; recently, however, in the last couple of centuries they had been at odds with each other.

And that gap between them had only continued to grow when Inu Taisho had mated Izayoi and sired that half-demon... welcomed them into their home... forced Sesshomaru to put up with their presences when he would have been just as happy leaving (or killing them)...

The mating between him and Inuyasha had done little to nothing to fix this problem, if it hadn’t made it worse. The last time he could think of that he and his father had had anything close to a “father-son” moment would be when Inu Taisho had attempted to “comfort” him over Inuyasha and Tsukiko’s disappearance, and before that... well, before that, he couldn’t remember any such moments ever taking place.

So he wouldn’t go so far as to say he felt sad at seeing his father lying there, maimed and broken and obviously lifeless.

But still... This was still his father... the invincible, all-knowing, all-powerful Inu Taisho of the western lands. And to see him slain like that... well, it was fairly staggering to Sesshomaru. And he could feel his chest tightening a little with some unnameable emotion-- grief maybe, though he wasn‘t so sure-- that he quickly pushed down; whatever he may decide to feel about his father’s death, now was not the time to experience it-- not when he could still hear sounds of a battle taking place not far off, and knew that his mate was in need of his help...

Hardening his resolve as well as his expression, Sesshomaru turned slowly away from his father to face the other two occupants of the maimed expanse of land.

His eyes landed on the figure clad in crimson-- blood covering every inch of his body-- as the boy raged in a madness of red and bloodlust against the other hanyou, who, for the first time, looked a little concerned... Sesshomaru could hear him muttering little commands for the collar to obey, but whatever he was saying was not working... the collar was either refusing to respond, or Inuyasha was simply refusing to yield to it any longer. He didn’t know.

All he knew was that, as strong as Inuyasha was, as good a fight as he was putting up, he wasn’t fit for this. His body was a myriad of wounds and pain and there was no way he would survive if he kept fighting-- even if he did win.

At his side he could feel Tokijin humming it’s appreciation for the death and bloodshed around it, and he cautiously placed his hand on the blade. Normally he would not be concerned about his ability to control it, but considering all that had happened recently, he wasn’t willing to take the risk that he wouldn’t be able to, and the blade would make him kill Inuyasha.

When no more than the familiar tug at the edges of his mind occurred as he gripped the blade, Sesshomaru relaxed a bit. He could fight without Tokijin, of course, but one handed would be a bit more difficult than he was used to, and he didn’t want to test his limits any more than he had to right now if he didn‘t have to. The cost if he messed up would be far too great. First he would weaken Naraku. He could bathe in his blood after that.

Narrowing his eyes, Sesshomaru slowly withdrew the blade from it’s place at his hip and began moving toward the battle taking place before him. ---

Inuyasha growled low in his throat as his opponent dodged yet another of his attacks.

It seemed his original assessment of the demon hadn’t been entirely right; the creature’s youki wasn’t very strong, but the demon itself was stronger than he had anticipated. Smarter, too... it seemed to know how he was going to attack before he himself did, and it was blocking out almost every single one of his hits.

Cracking his knuckles, Inuyasha frowned. This was taking far too long for his liking. He wanted blood. He wanted death. And he wanted it now.

His claws were itching and glowing faintly in the beginnings of some unknown attack-- the blood clinging to his nails hardening enough to break skin-- but he couldn’t remember what it was that was supposed to come after that, and so it was simply serving as another frustrating distraction.

A flash of movement from the corner of his eye, and Inuyasha barely had time to leap out of the way as a tentacle buried itself deeply into the earth he had stood upon moments before. Narrowing his eyes, Inuyasha let out a small snarl and twisted around in midair-- baring his claws and slicing them down through the fleshy appendage before it had a chance to extract itself.

Falling to the ground again a few feet away, Inuyasha dropped to a crouch, using his claws to dig deep welts into the earth to stop himself skidding-- taking the momentum built up, and instead using it to drive him forward as he raced to counter the youki’s attack.

Adrenaline pumping through his veins, blood rushing in his ears, and Inuyasha smirked unconsciously as his body began to sink into the familiar dance of battle.

Block, dodge, strike, spin, run, duck, twist, fall, hit, slice... everything in life had a sort of rhythm to it, and if you could find that rhythm and master it, than you were virtually unstoppable. And this particular rhythm was one that Inuyasha was very familiar with. Years of fending off the youkai that thought to invade or usurp the western lands... not to mention fighting with Sesshomaru. Not that Inuyasha remembered any of this at that moment-- at least no mentally-- but to his body, this was all part of a familiar song he had danced to many times before, with, maybe, a few new steps added.

And Inuyasha’s grin only broadened when he finally broke through the barrier of tentacles surrounding his target, and sunk his claws into flesh other than the fatty mush that made up the said disgusting appendages... the warmth of the creature’s innards clenching around his fist as it followed the path his nails had blazed only seconds before, sinking past flesh and into the entrails that lay hidden beneath.

The collar around his neck was shrieking it’s disapproval, injecting venom into his veins almost non-stop, but it still wasn’t enough. He didn’t feel the pain anymore, and his body refused to slow; he simply didn’t care about anything that wasn’t death.

The youkai over him hissed angrily, yanking back from the hand buried inside him-- but not before Inuyasha had the opportunity to close his fingers into a fist within the demon’s stomach. The odd squelching noise and familiar feel of intestines being squished was strangely pleasing to the hanyou’s ears, and Inuyasha found himself longing to hear it again.

Unfortunately for him, the demon wasn’t going to allow that to happen, and a moment later he was taking his revenge-- lashing out with a tentacle that had sprouted from some random part of his body and lifting Inuyasha into the air, knocking the breath out of him as said tentacle impale itself somewhere around his midsection, dangerously close to a lung.

Blood laced with venom from the collar bubbled to the surface, spilling down the thick, fleshy appendage from Inuyasha’s wound in a sickly, metallic mixture that almost instantly drew a strange pus-like substance to line the edges of the wound with sickly yellow foam.

Inuyasha let out a small, choked noise, his eyes widening a little as the tentacle wriggled within him, and his body momentarily slumped along the thick appendage-- blood and other fluids dripping from within the wound to run down fleshy limb and drip toward the ground.

A small shudder ran through his body as it tried frantically to alert his oblivious mind to the amount of damage that had been done, but he (as with the collar, and the venom, and the bruises, and the cuts) ignored it.

He had no interest in pain.

Sucking in a slow, shuddery breath, Inuyasha’s crimson eyes narrowed to sharp, angry slits as he quickly attempted to straighten himself up-- growling low when his body jerked awkwardly around the appendage, but refused rise enough to give him the leverage he needed to break free.

Blood and bile welled in his mouth, but he barely noticed as it began to trickle over his lips to mix with the other fluids draining along the tentacle. In fact, if it weren’t for the bitterness of the bile, he might have enjoyed the taste of blood running over his tongue.

As it was, he didn’t like it, and it only made his rage flare that much higher as his wriggled and attempted to escape-- hating his inability to move and fight.

Cracking his claws, Inuyasha raked them sharply up the sides of the tentacle, trying to convince it instead to release him. That didn’t work, either, and the next second his arms were being wrenched to the side by more of the same tentacles, effectively staying his attempts at escape as they forced him further along the one impaled in his stomach.

Inuyasha howled-- more in rage than anything-- and thrashed as best he could as he felt his vision start to grow blurry. He choked a little as blood the sickening blood-bile mixture began to fill his throat, and spit as much of it as he could out before it could choke him, uncaring of the way stick strands clung to his lips and dripped down his chin.

Flattening his ears back, Inuyasha turned his enraged eyes upon the demon in front of him, snarling all the more at the dark expression that lined the pale face in front of him, not at all concerned with the visible malevolence glowing the youkai’s eyes.

‘Well, Inuyasha,’ the demon said, seeming completely oblivious to the fact that Inuyasha had no way of comprehending what he had just said. ‘It is a shame to end things this way. You did make a good pet. Unfortunately, I have no use for a dog that attacks it’s owner and disobeys my orders. I’m afraid it’s time to put you down for good.’

Inuyasha frowned in incomprehension at the demon as the tentacle gave an uncomfortable twist within him, before a low cry escaped his lips, and he slumped once more along the now-sticky appendage, his vision flickering and going black, head hanging low and his ears drooping to either side... completely limp.

Sesshomaru did not hesitate.

Though it had killed him before to watch his made be wounded in such a way, there had been nothing he could do. Naraku had held Inuyasha too close to his body, and with his little brother awake and still controlled by his youki... well, there was no telling what would have happened if Sesshomaru had interfered. And any attempt to do so would have done little more than give him away to Naraku.

However, the moment Inuyasha’s body had slumped along that tentacle, and Sesshomaru felt Naraku had moved his baby brother a safe enough distance away, he struck.

Sinking Tokijin’s blade firmly into the ground before him (not trusting the blade to not try and change the flow of his attack and focus it on Inuyasha), Sesshomaru instead raised his remaining arm, the tips of his fingers glowing green as a familiar, electric power ran through them. He paused for all of a nanosecond to calculate and make certain he wasn’t going to hit his brother, before slashing his fingers through the air.

Energy surged forth from the tips of his claws in the form of a venom-green whip that hissed faintly as it twisted through the air like a snake, weaving it’s way around and slicing through Naraku’s flesh with ease before the hanyou even seemed to realise what was happening.

Blood sprayed in crimson arcs around them as the scent of burning flesh filled the air, and the tentacles fell to the ground-- writhing there like worms and spewing out small amounts of miasma, before going completely limp.

Inuyasha fell with them, his body sickeningly slack as it hit the ground, the tentacle within his torso squirming in a vain attempt to regenerate itself, before shrivelling up.

Sesshomaru didn’t pause to worry about that right now-- he couldn’t. Naraku wasn’t that strong, but he clearly was not an opponent to be taken lightly. If Sesshomaru hesitated now, the demon would have a chance to think and plan things, and that wasn’t an advantage he was willing to give the kumo. As long as he could keep Naraku on edge, the demon wouldn’t have a chance to hurt Inuyasha anyway.

Naraku made a noise of some sort-- unidentifiable against the blood pounding in Sesshomaru’s ears-- as he cut off his whip and again rushed forward, not even bothering with Tokijin now.

Tentacles shot out from Naraku again, but they were not given the opportunity to make contact as Sesshomaru’s whip sliced through them, never once breaking his stride until he was right in front of the other youkai-- slamming into him with all the grace of a drowning cat and knocking them both to the ground.

Freeing his hand from the tangle of limbs he had created, Sesshomaru barely acknowledged the tentacles weaving around his body as he lengthened his claws till they stretched several inches out from his fingers, before, without warning, he stabbed the digits downwards-- plunging past the weak barrier of the half-demon’s flesh, and down deep into his throat-- his icy mask breaking only for the smallest grimace of disgust as miasma and blood welled to the surface-- narrowly missing spraying him in the face in it’s attempt to flee it’s former prison within Naraku’s body as he released his venom deep within the bastard’s veins.

It was only bitterly and vaguely satisfying to Sesshomaru when Naraku went rigid beneath him-- his hands and tentacles still tugging uselessly at him, but their struggle getting weaker by the second. It didn’t matter anyway-- even if the very earth had cracked open beneath them and swallowed them to take them to hell, Sesshomaru would not be dissuaded from his mission now. And he would not be moved.

He could feel Naraku’s limbs slowly slackening in their fight against him, and he slowly allowed a bit more of his toxin to slip past his fingernails and enter the kumo’s bloodstream, careful not to allow too much to break through. Though Sesshomaru’s poison was toxic, and very much lethal, if the dose was concentrated it could work as a good temporary paralysis. And he had luckily enough used it on Inuyasha enough times to know the exact right amount to give a half-demon without killing the thing.

The moment he felt Naraku go limp beneath him, Sesshomaru did not hesitate to draw back, away from the filthy bastard, and rise swiftly to his feet.

His shoulder was aching even more than it had before, and it felt like his missing hand was clenching hard enough to break his fist, but Sesshomaru ignored it, instead staring coldly down at the fallen half-demon before him, not bothering to hide even a trace of his loathing from the creature’s angry crimson eyes.

At this point, perhaps, it would have been the place for any other than him to talk to their soon-to-be-dead captive... tell them everything they would love to do to them... all the pain they wanted them to feel... but Sesshomaru had absolutely no interest in such things. It was a pointless waste of time, and would simply give Naraku more time to think of a way to escape. Not that there was any hope now that he could escape, but Sesshomaru didn’t feel like taking any more chances with this bastard.

Besides, even if he had been the time to do that, there simply wasn’t time now. Not when his family still needed him.

Though there was nothing he could do now for Inu Taisho, he should still get the corpse back to the castle so he could be properly buried. And besides that, Inuyasha needed a healer badly. And he still needed to find his missing daughter.

There was no time to torture the creature in front of him the way he desired... the way his blood was demanding he do it. And, while he could always drag Naraku back to the castle with him, the effort would be too much on his sapped energy supply, and the risk that something would go wrong was too great.

‘So I shall just have to make this as painful as I can in the time that I have.’

Turning to face Naraku again, Sesshomaru slowly raised his remaining limb, allowing Naraku to see the blood and venom coating it even as he called more to the surface-- the green substance hissing vaguely at being exposed to the air, and he found himself wishing that he could still have his other arm, if just for a moment... it would have allowed him to cause so much more pain to this vile being.

Still, there was no use complaining over the past when he still had to take care of the present.

Sesshomaru eyed Naraku consideringly for a moment, before it suddenly occurred to him exactly what would be the most painful and (likely) fitting death he could come up with in this situation.

Offering the hanyou a slow smirk, Sesshomaru slowly crouched down in front of the kumo-- trailing his hand inches over the half-demon’s thigh, watching as his venom dripped and ate quickly through the fabric it found there.

When he came to Naraku’s groin, he stopped, his eyes trailing over the area with unmasked aversion. This was the part of the hanyou that had caused Inuyasha so much pain so many times... this was the part that had been inside his mate when only he should have been. And that was more than enough of a push to make Sesshomaru release a small flood of his acid over the area.

He was disappointed when Naraku made no sound, though the look on the half-demon’s face suggested that it wasn’t for a lack of trying.

Mentally smirking at the half-demon’s pain, Sesshomaru slowly withdrew his hand, watching the flesh writhe and burn as it was eaten away... as Naraku spasmed under the assault, his body bucking of it’s own accord since Sesshomaru’s venom still ran through his veins.

The inuyoukai waited patiently for the hanyou’s fit to end, knowing that that, still, wouldn’t have been enough to kill him-- though the blood loss eventually might.

He still had one more thing in mind for the kumo’s death, and the moment he felt Naraku’s eyes had focused enough again after his sudden emasculation, he put it into action.

Pushing aside the tattered, melted, steaming remains of the hanyou’s robes, Sesshomaru positioned three of his fingers at the creature’s entrance and then looked up to meet Naraku’s eyes; his own golden one’s burning with ice and rage, the message in them clear.

“You did this to Inuyasha.”

And the moment he felt that message had been properly conveyed-- the moment Naraku’s eyes widened as much as they possibly could in his current condition-- Sesshomaru slammed his fingers inside, still dripping with poison.

It was vile and disgusting to be touching the filth hanyou there, but it was worth it to hear him scream, and Sesshomaru relished the agonized sound as he twisted his fingers in the creature’s flesh, sending as much venom as he could to eat away at the demon’s flesh before he could be given the chance to die.

It was the only fitting death he could think of in the time he had. And definitely the most painful.

But still, he felt very little satisfaction as he watched Naraku’s body spasm repeatedly-- not unlike it had moments ago. The only difference was the volume... Naraku’s vocal chords seemed to be producing strange, strangled noises on their own that weren’t so much screams of agony as just... noises. They actually hurt Sesshomaru’s ears, and he silently contemplated tearing the half-breed’s throat out just to shut him up.

When he felt enough venom had been distributed, Sesshomaru withdrew his fingers-- a look of abhorrence on his face as wiped his hand on Naraku’s robes and watched as the other’s spasms slowly began to die down... only this time, there was no eye-focusing or meeting afterward. Naraku’s eyes were still wide and laced with agony, but they were glazed and unfocused, the pupil’s dilated as far as they could go; already the familiar clouds of death were beginning to seep along the edges of the crimson orbs.

Still Sesshomaru eyed the half-demon-- as though making certain he was really dead-- but when those clouds in the half-breed’s eyes only continued to thicken, and Naraku didn’t move to so much as draw a breath, Sesshomaru slowly allowed himself to relax a little as he rose to his feet and took a few rather shaky steps away from the bastard’s corpse.

Exhaustion was a foreign sensation to, but Sesshomaru could not fail to recognise it as it seeped over the edges of his mind like locust through a field-- quickly draining what little remaining strength he had. He stumbled, his vision blackening around the edges, before falling completely to the ground... watching as the world in his suddenly narrow field of vision flickered and faded slowly to black. --- Glossary (In no particular order)

Youki - A demon’s demonic energy...

Youkai - Demon

Hanyou - Half-demon

Kumo - Spider

Inuyoukai - Dog-demon

I think that’s all I used this chapter... if it’s not, just let me know. ^_^ ---

-Tryst - Hey, you’re still alive! : D I was beginning to wonder... Lol, good to see you’re back though! : D

-Tasa - Well I know you didn’t want to, but it had to happen! Gomen! And yeah, Inu probably will hate himself... but first he has to get out of demon-berserker mode, and go back home and everything else, so for now I’m safe from that (well, I hope I am anyway.) Naraku’s dead now, though, so maybe that’ll make you feel better? If not, then I have virtual pocky! ^_^ And don’t worry, Tsukiko will make an appearance. Just not yet. It’s just really difficult to integrate her into battle scenes like this. : / Hopefully you can forgive me for killing off Inu Taisho, though?

-Jester08 - Lol, well I’m glad you liked it! And that you can’t believe it is part of the reason I did it... if you did believe it, then you’d have been expecting it, and there would have been no point doing it! ^_^ Mm, yes, Sess does have the Tenseiga, but there’s always the chance that it won’t work on Inu Taisho. You’re right, though, Naraku should’ve been the one to die from the start. I guess my muses just decided that he shouldn’t go down without a little more Inu torture. Hopefully my sadistic way of killing him was enough to satisfy?

-____insert user here - Okay, I got all your messages, and I’m reading the first one first like you requested. ^_^ -- Lol, well I don’t know, I think there’s a couple people who could do that... Still, they probably couldn’t do it with anywhere near as much efficiency as you! ^_^ Lol, yeah, I killed Inu Taisho... I never really thought about having it in for him, though. My muses just decided that somebody on the good side needed to die, and since it wasn’t gonna be Inu or Sess, and I didn’t want to kill Tsukiko, and anyone else would’ve been difficult to kill, Inu Taisho became their main target. ^_^ -- Lol, well, actually, I usually try and listen to everything everyone says, and, as tempting as singing about llama’s and wicker baskets may be, I still think I’d prefer to hear what you have to say. ^_^ Huh? Only 5-10%? Yeesh. And yet we’re expected to remember so much more shit now than we ever were supposed to way back when. Fcucking psychotic. ^_^ -- ... Lol, okay, I’m afraid I missed the question amongst your babbling, but... -- Hm. Only 5/16 crazed? And here I’m usually at least half crazed the majority of the time... We must rectify this! *offers up sugar and paper* -- Lol, yeah, we’re back on male lactation again (somehow). Lol, I remember most of the stuff about it, actually, but I don’t think about it too much anymore. It’s not like it’s something that happens everyday, or that you bring up in a conversation that’s trying to have any semblance of normalcy. And I can say that seeing as how I think all our normalcy abandoned the conversation right around the second post. ^_^ -- Mm, yeah. I hate how fucking careful you have to be nowadays. Lol, there’s this one comedian, Russell Peters, he has pretty much no regard for that stuff. He’s really actually quite funny. ^_^ I mean, it is a serious subject, but it’s one that I have absolutely no interest in getting involved in because I can’t say anything that I want to without somebody tearing my a new one. So I’m leaving it alone. -- Hm. Can braincells cry? ... I don’t think they can. Must’ve been vodka then. ^_^ The lost island of MU? Lol, never been there. Here the weather’s nice this time of year, though. -- ... Never heard the male rendition of “I Am Beautiful.” Not even sure if I’ve heard the original, either, I don’t know if I’m thinking of the right song... I did have “Face Down” by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus stuck in my head the entire time I was writing this chap, though, and that was a little strange considering I wrote this chap in bits and pieces. Every time I went to work on it though, Face Down was just playing. Couldn’t get it out of my head. : / -- Lol, yeah, I killed Inu Taisho via Naraku. I’m sorry, but it just had to happen. *offers virtual pocky* -- Well, if that’s what your psych says, than you should probably listen to them, neh? Hopefully s/he’ll let you back on long enough to read this chap, though, neh? ^_^ Good luck with your remaining braincells! ^_^

-golden_kitsune - *offers up tissue* Yeah, Inu Taisho’s gone. I’m sorry, but it just had to happen! My Muses decreed that a good guy had to die, and if it wasn’t Inu Taisho then it would’ve been Sess or Inu or Tsukiko! Inu Taisho was the best candidate. Yeah, Inu’s gonna be really fucked up when he wakes up and remembers everything I’ve done to him. *glances at inu nervously* maybe I should just put him in a coma or something... -- *blinks* What are you talking about? Of course uber-angst is good! You can never have enough angst! ^_^ And don’t worry, I have no intentions to stop angsting. ^_^ -- Is it? Hm. I don’t know, I haven’t read very much of the manga. I know that FMA went in a different direction than it, they took out that one character... Ling?... and they added in Dante and they just did a whole bunch of stuff differently, so I don’t know how the manga ended. I loved the anime’s ending though. I mean, if they hadn’t made the movie, it might have driven me a little psychotic, but with the movie I couldn’t imagine a better ending. I mean, them all ending up back in Ed’s world (maybe with Heiderich, where he is cured of whatever he’s got and becomes famous for building rockets or whatever) reunited and living the lives they’ve dreamed of is nice, but it would’ve ruined everything they had done. Bittersweet endings are always the best and most believable. That’s my belief, anyway. ^_^ -- Lol, thanks! I’m trying to keep the updates fairly evenly spaced, although this one got pushed back because of Halloween and tests making me race around like an idiot, but... Hm... *Offer up virtual Naraku plushie* will that one do? -- Lol, I know what you mean. I’m almost at the end of the anime (and since I don’t actually read the manga) I’ve drifted away from Inu. The last ep I saw, though, was “Forever with Lord Sesshomaru” and that one was enough to get me working again (at least a bit). Lol, you just gotta love the Sess eps! Especially when Rin’s in them! ^_^ Wow... *glances at long response and winces* yeesh... here you give me like four sentences, and I bombard you with yet another feature-length ramble. *winces again* Gomen! I talk too much. >_<

-rinsama1989 - Lol, well I’m glad that you still thought it was okay. That makes me happy, because I sure as hell wasn’t hoping for the best, so to know that I didn’t achieve the worst is enough to satisfy me. ^_^ Lol, really? Huh. Lol, well I guess love scenes are easier cause they’re slower paced and there’s less bloodshed (or there probably should be) than battle scenes. Lol, and I’m glad that you think that! ^_^ -- Gomen for putting you in shock, btw. Hopefully when it finally sinks in, you won’t come back and kill me, neh? It’s just really hard to write when I’m dead. ^_^

-Ladykaa28 - Why are you sorry? I’m the one that killed him! Still, as you said, this isn’t some friendly dispute, and somebody’s inevitably gonna end up hurt and/or dead. As to bringing him back... well, we’ll see. ^_^ -- Mm, yes, there has been enough bloodshed on the inu’s side. And I’m happy to tell you that (unless Inu remains in berserker mode when he wakes up and attacks Sess) there probably isn’t going to be any (or at least much) more on their part for a while. Not that there’s not gonna be pain, I’m sure their gonna be completely angsted out for a while, but no more bloodshed for a bit. ^_^ -- Hm.. well, that is an interesting deal, but I’m afraid I can’t make it. The Naraku of this fic is now dead, and is currently being ressurrected and brainwashed so that I can use him again as a villain for some other fic (They tend to be less willing to be a character in my fics if they can remember what I’ve done to them ^_^). Still, I suppose I could lend him to you... I mean, I’d have to ressurect him and brainwash him again afterwards, but it’d probably be good for you to vent on him for a bit. ^_^ Especially considering his death in this (while painful) was not exactly slow... -- Ugh, you have writer’s block, huh? I hate that! You should take a look at this article thinger (http ://www .successful-blog . com/1/why-dave-barry-and-liz-dont-get-writers-block/ w/o spaces) I don’t know how helpful it’ll be-- it works different for different people as far as I can tell. Or else try working on a diff fic. Not a long one, but just something like a one-shot. Sometimes that helps me. Or, of course, there’s always completely disregarding everything I say and telling me to mind my own business cause it really isn’t mine. ^_^ -- Well, I don’t know for sure, but hopefully this chap helped satisfy at least some of your bloodlust, neh?

-Tai-san - Hm. Well that depends. What do you think just happened? -- *blinks* Oh come on, don’t be absurd! “Too much angst”... As if there’s such a thing! ^_^ -- Lol, you’re better? Huh. Well, that was faster than most of the other reviewers, I think. I guess you’re a quick recoverer. ^_^ Lol, glad you liked the chap despite something that you might think happened possibly having happened in it. ^_^ Writer’s block? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! ARGH! That’s horrible, and... wait... did you just say you sent your muses away? Voluntarily?! O.O And to me?! Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? My muses would completely corrupt your muses! You’d never be able to recognise them again! They’ll be angsty, sadistic, violent things that thrive in the very darkest corners of your mind! Call them back before it’s too late!!!!!!!!!! O. O

-Arie Date - Lol, well I’m glad you’re enjoying it, even if you’re only at the third chap (which, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, needs serious editing). ^_^ Hopefully the story won’t completely fry your brain out before you make it this far (it’s been known to do that to people ^_^). Hm. I forgot to mention what Neko is? Damn. Thanks for pointing that out to me! I’ll fix it when I edit that chap... (assuming, of course, that I actually get my lazy rear in gear and do edit ^_^). Lol, well I’m glad to hear that! I look forward to hearing each and every one of your reviews! Although, considering the point in the story, I may not respond to them all, but know that I will be reading them, and am very thankful for each one! ^_^

-CrimsonInHumanBlood - *dives under desk and curls into fetal(sp?) position* I’M SORRY! *offer up virtual Kleenex and pocky* I can’t promise to bring him back, though! I mean, that might not work with the story! And if you stop reading, how’ll you know if I do bring him back or not? *ducks under desk again to avoid sharp flying objects*

-Nahau - Ack! I’m running out of Kleenex! *runs to store and buys so more to give to you* I’m sorry that you liked him! Well, no, I’m not sorry that you liked him, but... well, you know what I mean! Still... glad you’re not getting violent on me over it. ^_^ Mm, no, I can’t make everyone happy. But I’m still trying to keep everybody at least semi-satisfied! Hopefully I’m accomplishing that much at least. ^_^ And as to the answers to your question... well, you’d have to read the above chapter to find out. ^_^

-Caitriona - Hm... *rummages through fridge* Sorry, I’m all out of alcohol at the moment. I think that might‘ve been one of the things the other reviewers were throwing at me... *offers up juicebox (nobody was throwing those because they aren‘t sharp or heavy enough to give me a concussion ^_^)* Any better? ^_^ -- Lol, yeah, things certainly aren’t looking too good for the inu family, neh? Lol, and don’t worry, I don’t mind when people tell me to update soon. One of the best encouragements I can ask for! ^_^ So I’m definitely gonna try to! ^_^ -- Death by angst? Hm... Well, if you have to go, then that sure seems like a good way to do it. ^_^

-Zetsuii - *eyes you worriedly* I’m not gonna have to take you to the hospital, or anything, am I? -- And as to Izayoi... Well, you’re certainly perceptive, aren’t you? ^_^ I’m afraid I’m not gonna answer that right now, though, you’ll have to wait and find out. ^_^ Lol, and thank you for reading!!! : D Hopefully this chap met the angst standards you were hoping for. ^_^

-coldTenshieyes - *eyes you warily* Are you sure you’ve cooled off? *crawls out from under desk* Lol, don’t worry, I don’t hate you. ^_^ Your verbal explosion was actually a bit less violent than some of the reviewers. ^_^ And I’m not mean, so much as... angsty. ^_^ I can’t promise to bring Inu Taisho back, though. It’s all up to my muses! They’re the one’s that killed him in the first place, and they won’t stay still long enough for me to make them bring Inu Taisho back. I don’t want you to be depressed, though... or to stop lurving the fanfic! Then I’ll have to be depressed, too! : (

-Crazy-Inuyasha-Girl - Lol, glad you liked it! : D

-Nikki23534 - Lol, complex in a good way, right? ^_^ Lol, glad you’re enjoying it so much! Although now I’m concerned... one of the other people who said their heart was pounding also said they hadn’t taken a breath throughout the entire chapter... ... You’re still breathing, right? o.o

-Korune - You mean you don’t hate me? *blinks* -- Lol, yeah, I know, I owe everybody a happy ending. And maybe I’ll give them one. Maybe. I really prefer more of a bittersweet ending myself, but we’ll see. ^_^ Mm, yeah, when you’re traumatized mate is pretty much completely broken in spirit and mind, it really kind takes all the “Flowers and candy” part out of the double-suicide thing. ^_^ -- Lol, I take the cake, huh? Well, I’m not gonna argue with that-- I do love torturing the characters in my stories. ^_^ If you want, I can share a piece of it with you, though. : P -- *blinks* Really? Huh. That strange because I only know maybe two other Arians. I mean, I’m sure I’ve met a few more, but overall the majority of the people I know aren’t arians (which is probably good, because, considering the profiles Aries usually get, I’d probably “lock horns” with them as soon as we met). I understand what you mean, though-- I don’t take astrology at all seriously, and I think the horoscopes are pretty much complete crap (no offence to anyone who doesn’t) but I find the whole profiles for the different signs to be pretty interesting. And they seem to match up pretty good with most of the people I know, too. This one site here ( http: //www .novia. net/~aaronk/ast/index . html w/o spaces) has a rather detailed profile of each of the signs without any of the other shit. Not that you have to look at it, or anything, just saying it’s kind of interesting to see if yours matches up. ^_^ I know I seem to be an Aries in personality almost entirely through and through. Anyway, I’ve really talked about that too much, so on to the next thing! ^_^ -- Lol, well I’m glad you don’t think they’re bad. I agree, I don’t read a fic for it’s quality of fight scenes (unless the fic is about a battle) but still, it never hurts to get it right, neh? Still, I’m still only just beginning to crack the surface on good writing-- I’ve got a long way to go before I’ll be able to get everything right. ^_^ -- *winces* Yeah, I know-- considering it’s a holiday that is supposed to simply consist of kids going door to door for candy, it somehow ends up turning into a lot of work. Fun, but still a lot of work. ^_^ (And as to your next review) Lol, well actually I think I’ve already dug my own grave and am currently out shopping for a coffin. ^_^ Lol, I honestly don’t mind really, for people to get that worked up over it then that usually means that their that involved in the story. ^_^ Plus, I have a sharp-object-proof desk, so none of them are hitting me anyway! : P To be honest, I don’t know how I’m gonna appease everyone. Killing Naraku seemed like a good way to start, though. ^_^ Holy hell! *looks over review* Shit, I just won’t shut up today! You’re like the third reviewer who’s written 1, maybe 2 paragraphs that I’ve just turned around and bombarded with rambles! o.O Gomen! You’re eyes are probably about ready to drop out of your head! I’ll shut up now! Oh, and thanks for the supplies, although I’m not sure how much good it’ll do me... I gave up blowing up my reviewers back in 99, and I don’t know if it’d be a good idea to start doing it again now. ^_^

-FXL - Alright. Who should I send to tell you then? And don’t be ridiculous, this story isn’t going to kill you! At least, not without a little physical assistance. ^_^ Lol, jj! And don’t worry, all of your questions will be answered... eventually. ^_^ Sorry, though, you can’t kill Naraku. I am currently busy reviving and brainwashing him so that he’ll be fit to work in one of my other fics. Maybe once I’ve used him a couple more times, I’ll let you have at him, kay? ^_^ And as to Izayoi... well, I think we’ll find out what’s been going on with here soon enough. ^_^ Lol, and thanks! I’m glad you liked it!! : D ---

A/n: Well, there, Naraku’s dead. Everyone happy now? ^_^

We’re almost done here! Well, with this part of the story, anyway. There’s still a lot more to go, I’m sure, but that will probably be done in a sequel story... If that happens, I’ll link to it when it’s posted. ^_^

Anyway, I’m not certain if this chapter is good... I was a bit stressed out when I wrote most of it, and when re-reading it I couldn’t tell if it was up to standards or not. Hopefully it’s not too bad, though... : /

Oh, and before I forget, somewhere in the story I mentioned Sesshomaru feeling a sensation of his hand clenching to the point it was going to break-- this does actually happen to people who lose limbs. Nobody’s entirely sure why, as far as I can tell, but scientists theorize that this phantom limb sensation is caused by the brain not recognising the fact that the limb is no longer in existence. It sends out signals to try and get the limb to respond, and when the limb fails to do so, the signals it sends get more extreme to the point when it is actually trying to hurt the limb to get it to respond. Something like that. Just an interesting little thing I discovered a while ago. ^_^

Anyway, the next chapter, or the one after that, will probably be the last one’s for this leg of the story though, so it‘ll probably be short. I’m not sure when the sequel will be up if I do it, but as I said, I’ll link to it. ^_^

Till then... \,\,\, Happy Halloween Everyone! ,/,/,/ : D

~Avarwen~