InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Words with My Uncle ❯ Naraku is the Victor ( Chapter 1 )

-Chapter One-

-Naraku is the Victor-

 

"No battle is worth fighting except the last one.” - Enoch Powell

 

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To first understand my story you'll need to know my father's story. His name was Sesshomaru, and he once held the title that I do now. Everything I know about him I learned from my mother and from my aunt and uncle. I am told that he was a great and honorable ruler, despite certain flaws like a thirst for power, and that I am very much like him in appearance and sometimes in demeanor.

 

It's strange, really, hearing Uncle Inuyasha talk about my father - his brother - because they once hated each other with fierce conviction. Fighting over anything and everything, they were bitter rivals. Their biggest conflict was over the Tetsusaiga, Uncle's sword and prized possession. From what I understand, my father often tried to steal the weapon, but was never successful and lost interest in the endeavor after a while.

 

Aunt Kagome speaks of him with a kind of pity and respect that I didn't understand when I was a child. The reason she does so lies in the tale of the final battle against Uncle's most infamous nemesis, Naraku, a filthy bandit-turned-hanyou whelp who caused droves of pain and anger for everyone, human or otherwise. You see, long before I was born, Uncle and his comrades, who were Aunt Kagome, a monk named Miroku, a slayer named Sango and her hellcat Kirara, and a kitsune, Shippo, all traveled everywhere over the country in pursuit of Naraku, for he had wronged each of them in some way. Their journey was long and difficult, and blood was shed in waves, but finally they were indeed triumphant. Naraku, coward that he was, hardly ever did his own dirty work, and so countless numbers of other beings were drawn into his dark web, one of them being my father.

 

Naraku had an incarnation, several of them in fact, but one remains crucial to this story. Her name was Kagura, and she was the first and only woman to ever capture my father's heart. She detested her master and from what I learned, she also cared for my father.

 

There was also a human child who was called Rin. How she came to travel with my father remains unknown to my Aunt and Uncle, but they do know that she was indeed always by his side after he… acquired her. She was the first human my father ever tolerated, and perhaps he even liked her.

 

Finally, there was an imp named Jaken, who remained a faithful servant of my father's for quite a long time. I understand that he was quite annoying, and once even tried to steal the Tetsusaiga from my uncle for my father, but he failed, fortunately.

 

When the time came for the ultimate confrontation between Uncle and Naraku, my father, Kagura, Rin, and Jaken were all there. This is the part where my tale grows difficult to tell; for it is not a happy thing I share with you now. Uncle relayed the events to me, and I could feel and even smell the sorrow it caused him to do so… I'll tell you what he told me, and I hope you are not too saddened by it.

 

OooOooOooOooO

 

The battle of the century, it would be called later. Naraku stood in the center of what had once been a beautiful field, and was now nothing more than a barren plain choked with blood and the smell of death. Around him were the heroes, the warriors who were responsible for tracking down the evil hanyou and engaging him in one final showdown: Inuyasha, the legendary half breed who wielded the Tetsusaiga, Kagome, the strange miko with incredible power, Miroku, the monk with a powerful yet cursed hand, Sango, the woman demon slayer who was the last of her line, Sesshomaru, the youkai lord of the western lands whose demonic swords brought both destruction and life, and Kikyo, the undead miko who had once been the sole guardian of the Shikon no Tama.

 

If one were to glance overhead the scene they would be greeted by the sight of Kagura, the woman who was the wind. She was suspended in the air on her flying feather, while Kirara, the youkai cat that was Sango's pet and companion, flew in circles around the woman in her large form, growling and bearing her enormous fangs.

 

Hidden in the trees that lined the battlefield were Lord Sesshomaru's vassals, Jaken and Rin. A few meters away from them was the young fox demon, Shippo. They watched with bated breath as the battle raged, as one after the other, Inuyasha and his comrades fired off attack after attack, most of which were blocked and sent ricocheting back by Naraku. The group was growing ragged and tired, but sheer determination to complete their task drove them on.

 

“Wind Scar!” Inuyasha roared as he brought the Tetsusaiga down over his head in a big arch, unleashing a powerful wave of demonic energy that barreled toward Naraku. The blow was reflected off an invisible barrier and sent straight towards Kagome. Inuyasha moved like the wind and scooped the miko up and away from the blast, setting her down safely several yards away.

 

Naraku was growing bored with the onslaught. He'd been hit once, when that foul Sesshomaru had swung at him unexpectedly with his Tokijin. The tai-youkai was fast, and the evil hanyou hadn't been able to dodge the attack in time. He was left with an angry red gash on is right shoulder that bled black, foul smelling liquid. Insolent fool. Naraku decided that Sesshomaru would be the first to suffer his wrath for his impertinence. He waited for Inuyasha to attack him with Tetsusaiga again, and when the assault came he erected another translucent defense that refracted the energy in all directions, including straight up into the sky.

 

Kagura was directly in the path of destruction, as Naraku had wanted her to be. Sesshomaru's reaction was everything the half breed could have hoped for. The Lord of the West leapt into the air and swept Kagura out of harm's way. And while he was distracted with his task, Naraku took great pleasure in watching another train of demonic power disappear into the woods.

 

There was a scream, high-pitched and so chilling that it stopped the tai-youkai in his tracks. Then there was nothing.

 

No.

 

With more momentum than he had ever moved before, Sesshomaru sprinted towards the spot that his two traveling companions had once stood. In their place was a huge rut, evidence of the attack that had passed through. There was nothing else. No blood. No flesh. No cloth. But the youkai could smell it, the fear that one who is unprepared for death feels right before they are sent into oblivion. No.

 

It couldn't be; it wasn't right. They weren't supposed to be involved. Rin and Jaken… No.

 

Naraku wasn't finished yet. While Sesshomaru stood in shocked silence in the cold shade of the trees, the hanyou unleashed a lightning fast tentacle and sent it shooting skyward where it wrapped itself firmly around a horrified Kagura. She yelled and thrashed and tried cutting him with her deadly fans, but her strength was minimal compared to his. But the wind sorceress was not without her resources; she had asked him for help once, and she wasn't beneath doing it again.

 

“Sesshomaru!”

 

Her call was like ice water to his mesmerized daze, and his head snapped to the side to see the newest development in the fray. Oh no, Naraku would not get away with hurting Kagura. Sesshomaru wouldn't allow it. He jumped towards her, once… Twice… Completely intent on reaching the filthy hanyou and slicing him to ribbons with his bare claws. And he would have, had not he suddenly found himself with one slimy and grotesque tentacle shoved through his stomach. The foreign thing had cut his sash, the one that held his swords in place, in half, and Tokijin and the Tensaiga clattered into the dirt.

 

Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, and Kikyo were bombarding Naraku with weapons and the Wind Scar, but their enemy just cackled and deflected every blow. He never took his red eyes off of the tai-youkai that he had suspended on one of his extremities as he made his next move.

 

With the coppery taste of his own blood in his throat, and completely immobile, Sesshomaru watched, almost as though the events he saw weren't actually taking place, and what his eyes took in made him want to howl.

 

Naraku smirked in a way that was wholly evil and lowered the tentacle that held Kagura until she was eye level with him and her beloved lord. Then he glanced at Sesshomaru, making sure he had his attention, before plunging another feeler into the place where Kagura's heart was supposed to be. Her scarlet eyes widened, then dulled as if the light behind them had gone out. Her body slumped, lifeless and limp, only seconds before it disintegrated into dust and fell into a pile on the ground.

 

The unmasked horror on Sesshomaru's face provided pure bliss to Naraku. Successful in his mission, to completely devastate the normally untouchable tai-youkai, the hanyou was thoroughly enjoying himself now. The loss of one of his incarnations was a small price to pay. Besides, he could just make another if he needed to, if his struggle to obtain the Shikon no Tama didn't end with this one battle.

 

So caught up was Naraku in his celebratory thoughts that he let his guard down. Kikyo was the first to catch the shift. She turned her stern gaze to Kagome, her other self, and nodded once. Now was the time. The young miko from the future relayed the message to Inuyasha and Sango with a glance, and they in turn forwarded it to Miroku. The five of them prepared themselves, mentally and physically. They had to act quickly and precisely. If they waited too long Naraku would reconstruct his defenses. And they knew that if one misplaced blow failed to kill him, the chance to do so would not come again.

 

Simultaneously, two women with sacred powers knocked their bows with their arrows. A golden eyed hanyou spread his legs and made himself steady on the ground as he held his powerful sword in front of him. A taiji-ya adopted a fighting stance and reaffirmed a strong grip on her giant boomerang - the Hiraikotsu. A monk pulled several ofuda from inside his violet robes and prayed to the gods for victory.

 

Five unwavering voices rang out over the scene, and anyone who heard them would have been left without a doubt as to who the victors would be.

 

“Wind Scar!” Inuyasha. The Tetsusaiga's power ripped through the air.

 

“Take this, Naraku!” Kagome. A sacred arrow flew.

 

“Your life ends now, demon!” Kikyo. Another arrow followed.

 

“Hiraikotsu!” Sango. The oversized weapon cut the sky with ease.

 

“Evil, be gone!” Miroku. The ofuda were thrown.

 

The attacks came racing from all directions, meeting at one central target: Naraku. As they converged there was an explosion of light that shifted from yellow to blue to pink and back again, forcing everyone to look away from the sight. The evil half breed's scream was agonizing and threatened to swallow them all whole; Kagome dropped her bow and covered her ears. Inuyasha's canine ones flattened to his skull. Then the wretched noise ceased, the glare faded, and Sango's boomerang came soaring back, slightly off course.

 

Eyes lit with cautious hope, tentative smiles, these were the things that could be seen on the faces of the heroes if one looked around. Hardly daring to draw breath, to even dream that maybe, just maybe-

 

All that was left in the middle of the barren field was a black, charred mark, as though some flame of Hell had risen and burned the ground.

 

-Naraku was dead.

 

“Keh! It's about fucking time that bastard keeled over!” Inuyasha's boastful statement broke the silence. It seemed to snap everyone out of their reveries, and suddenly there was noise and light and a pleasant feeling in the air.

 

Kagome laughed, the sound filling the atmosphere with beauty and happiness. Shippo raced out of the trees and into her arms. She hugged the kit close to her heart as he cried in relief. Miroku wasted no time in ripping the prayer beads and rosary from his previously cursed hand. The skin beneath the cloth was smooth, unmarred, perfect. The Wind Tunnel was gone. Unable to contain himself, the monk swept Sango up in his arms, laughing loudly as if he had not a care in the world. The taiji-ya giggled softly, for once not worried at all about Miroku's wandering hands. Kirara flew down to the ground and reverted back to her smaller form, watching her mistress with curiosity. Kikyo smiled at Inuyasha, and it was genuine and without malice. With a faint blush that wasn't uncomfortable at all, the hanyou returned the gesture.

 

Their happy sentiments were interrupted when a canine growl punctured the air. Inuyasha's ears swiveled towards the sound, and his body followed. When his amber eyes met the source, they widened in surprise and a tinge of fear. Sesshomaru, the great tai-youkai, was on his knees in front of the pile of ash that had once been Kagura. He had picked up a handful of the dark gray powder, and it fell through his fingers to the ground, leaving the youkai's palm filthy.

 

Sesshomaru's eyes, so like his half-brother's and yet so different, started flashing red. The crests on either side of his face were turning jagged and wild. His fangs and claws were lengthening, and Inuyasha would have had to have been a fool to not realize what was happening. Luckily, he wasn't a fool at all.

 

“Kagome,” he addressed the girl, voice low, eyes not moving from his older sibling. “Take Shippo and the others and get away from here. Go to the trees and don't move.”

 

“But, Inuyasha-”

 

“Just go, wench! He's transforming!”

 

The miko didn't need any more warning than that. Sesshomaru was dangerous enough when he had all his strength in check; when he lost control, he was positively lethal. Kagome beckoned to her companions and with some reluctance they followed her quickly to the cover of the woods. Kikyo, however, remained on the battlefield.

 

With a look meant to crush any arguments, Inuyasha yelled to the woman, “Get out of here, Kikyo!”

 

Her gaze was unwavering and fierce when she replied. “No. I can help you, Inuyasha.”

 

Without letting him reply she darted forward and then around until she was behind Sesshomaru. Fate was on her side; she was downwind from him and as long as she remained quiet, he wouldn't notice her. She crept forward slowly, careful not to make a sound or move too fast.

 

Inuyasha wanted to call out, to gather the miko up in his arms and deposit her in the safety of the trees, but to do so could mean death for her. Besides, she looked like she had a plan, and he was curious. He kept constant vigil over his brother while sneaking glances at Kikyo to assess her movements. She was approaching the spot where Naraku had held Sesshomaru in the air and inadvertently cut his swords off. When she reached the weapons, one of her delicate hands edged down until it had the hilt of the Tensaiga in its grasp. Then Kikyo looked up at the wild youkai, who was appearing more deadly by the second, to make sure that he still had his back to her. Assured that he wouldn't suddenly turn around, she took a small step forward.

 

Inuyasha's eyes widened when he realized what she planned to do. A worried snarl welled up in his throat and he fought to keep it in. The strategy was a good one, but it was risky. If Sesshomaru happened to see her… How did she plan on staying out of his sight?

 

By now she was so close to him that if she reached out as far as she could her fingers would brush his Mokomoko-sama. Inuyasha was positive now that there was no way her plan could be executed without Sesshomaru being aware of it. If he was right, Kikyo was going to make it so that the Tensaiga was touching its owner… And then the rest would be Inuyasha's job. He would have to unleash the Wind Scar on his brother, and the Fang of Heaven would protect the tai-youkai, but the blast would still be enough to knock him unconscious.

 

Kikyo took a step to the right around the youkai in front of her, and it dawned on the hanyou with shocking force that the woman had never meant to hide her presence from the demon lord. No, she would let him see her, let him attack her. She would let Inuyasha hit her with Tetsusaiga's power. She was planning to die.

 

Now she was in front of Sesshomaru, and he knew full well that she was there. With a vicious growl, purely animalistic and entirely blood-thirsty, he lashed out at her with the razor sharp claws of his right hand. Kikyo reacted quickly, blocking the swipe with Tensaiga. Snarling angrily at the interception of his attack, the inu-youkai gripped the sword to hold his prey in place. He jerked her forward, and lacking the use of his missing left arm, chose to inflict pain with a different part of his anatomy instead. When his fangs sunk into her clay neck, she winced and shouted, “Inuyasha! Now!”

 

But the hanyou couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Broken thoughts made idle attempts to become coherent in his mind, and the end result was this: if he attacked, Kikyo would die. If he didn't Sesshomaru would kill her, and then they would still have a raging youkai on their hands, as well as a dead comrade. Either way, the outcome wouldn't be a good one.

 

“Inuyasha!”

 

Kikyo's voice was more urgent now. Sesshomaru was holding onto her with all his strength, and it didn't look like her body could take much more of the abuse. It was now or never…

 

Making his final decision, Inuyasha reared the Tetsusaiga up over his head and closed his eyes, trying to justify what he was about to do. “I… I'm sorry, Kikyo…”

 

Then the sword came down, and the Wind Scar exploded from the blade. It was over in seconds; the Tensaiga reacted the moment that its fellow's youkai energy reached Sesshomaru. The barrier that the Fang of Life provided was enough to knock the demon lord out cold, just before it teleported him far away from the field to somewhere safe.

 

Kikyo's body, along with her life and whatever light she had left, was obliterated instantly. But somewhere in the fabricated gusts of the Wind Scar, Inuyasha swore he heard her. Swore that as Kagome raced toward him to wrap him in a tight embrace and ask him if he was okay, there was a whisper in one of his white dog ears that could have only come from the dead miko.

 

“Thank you, Inuyasha…”

 

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Hanyou: half-demon

Miko: Shinto priestess

Youkai: demon (roughly translated, that is)

Shikon no Tama: the Jewel of Four Souls

Tai-youkai: I suppose that this would be the equivalent to “demon lord.”

Taiji-ya: slayer

Ofuda: These are the sacred seals that Miroku carries, and also the (dysfunctional) ones that Kagome's grandpa has.

Mokomoko-sama: this is the fluffy boa-ish thing that Sesshomaru wears over his shoulder, and it was named this by Rumiko Takahashi, herself.

Inu: dog

 

Disclaimer: Inuyasha is property of one Ms. Rumiko Takahashi. And thank gosh for that, because if I owned it you would be running for your life. Toodles.