InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ What The Future Holds ❯ The Final Battle ( Chapter 27 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

The family began to adjust to their two new additions, and Kentaro took to calling Inuyasha and Kagome "papa" & "mama" quite easily. The newborn wolf cub proved to be a voracious eater, even when compared to the voracious eating by the newborn pup. Having survived nursing Shaoran and Shirrow, Kagome seemed prepared for these two. But even she started having some problems, as her body produced so much extra milk she felt full constantly. This was welcomed by Inuyasha, who always enjoyed helping 'relieve' Kagome of her excess milk, when he knew he wasn't taking food out of his pups' mouths.

A few days after Kentaro's arrival and after another snowstorm had calmed, Inuyasha prepared himself for battle. He had a promise to keep to himself and the young wolf cubs. Kagome saw him put on his fire-rat hitoe, which he only wore now when he was going into battle. It was still his armor, even though he had been presented with a beautiful set of samurai armor when he had been named Captain. Kagome saw this and knew what was coming. She knew Inuyasha believed in honor and would avenge a fallen comrade. She knew - but she didn't have to like it.

"Inuyasha, where are you going?", she asked as innocently as possible. Without turning to face her he said, "If you have to ask, then you don't know me as well as I thought you did." "Please, Inuyasha, don't go. It's cold. Wait and gather your troops.", she pleaded to no avail. "No, I have the element of surprise on my side. The cold is best - I've trained extensively in the cold. And this is between me and Takagawa.", he replied to her as he prepared to leave. He picked up Kiyoshi's katana and walked out the door, leaving Kagome with these parting words, "Tonight the snow will be stained with that bastard's blood and it will be spilled by this sword." And with that he was gone.

From the moment a girl gets to be full-grown, the very first thing she learns - when two men go out to face each other - only one returns.

Inuyasha had been trained in the art of the ninjas, including speed and stealth. But tonight, he was all Inuyasha, cocky, brash, confident. He raced to Takagawa's camp, which, unlike before, was now full of rogue samurais. Without the sorcerer, Inuyasha knew he was facing all humans. But he only cared about one human. "TAKAGAWA, YOU BASTARD, COME OUT HERE AND FACE ME!" The samurais all gathered around to see who was brash enough to call out their chief. When they saw a single half-demon standing there brandishing a katana, they all started laughing. This elicited a growl from the single warrior. The Hun appeared, his large sword slung over his shoulder. Seeing that Inuyasha wasn't wielding Tessaiga, his confidence grew. Without his sorcerer that sword scared even him.

"Half-demon, you wish for your death as well," the Hun's voice boomed. Inuyasha released another growl, this one mainly to calm himself. Takagawa was a huge person and made Inuyasha looked small. "He's only a human,", Inuyasha said to himself, "and the bigger they are the harder they fall." The samurais began taunting Inuyasha, but Inuyasha kept his eyes and thoughts on the Hun. "The only one who will die here tonight is you.", Inuyasha growled as he charged the Hun.

As the samurais taunted Inuyasha and cheered their leader, the two men clashed numerous times - each managing to dodge or counter the other. The battle continued and swords clanged. As the sun set and the cold became more of a factor, Inuyasha's training became evident. He knew how to keep his energy level up even as his body temperature dropped. The Hun wasn't as lucky. Still, the battle dragged on, each man seemingly evenly matched, although the Hun was becoming more and more winded. The Hun knew he had to strike and get a deadly hit or the cold would be is undoing. Inuyasha, used to being able to mouth off his opponent, kept himself quiet as he had been trained. "Save your energy.", he thought to himself. "The better man will win here tonight, half-demon.", taunted the Hun as he swung again at Inuyasha, only to have Inuyasha nimbly flip himself out of the way. Just then, one of the samurais managed to distract Inuyasha as he began wielding a pole - with Kiyoshi's head at the top. Inuyasha saw this and froze for just a second - but long enough for Takagawa to run Inuyasha through with his sword. Time seemed to stand still as the two men stared at each other. Takagawa ripped his sword from Inuyasha's body, flipping Inuyasha around until he was on his knees, back to Takagawa. As Inuyasha knelt there gasping for air, Takagawa growled out, "It's over half-demon, prepare to die, as I said the better man will win tonight." The Hun pulled his sword back, ready to slice the hanyou's head off. Inuyasha closed his eyes and then... the blood splattered everywhere as the samurais stared.

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MWHAHAHAHA - cliff hanger! Don't worry - you know I update quick! Oh - and the line in italics is from a song from the sixties called "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."