Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Standing In The Shadows ❯ Chapter 4

Standing In The Shadows 4

 

Disclaimer: As much as I may wish otherwise, I do not own any part of Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. They are owned by their respective authors. I only claim ownership of this twisted plot and the muses that created it.

 

Chapter Four

 

 

There was nothing to grab onto, nothing for Naraku to sink his claws into as the blue light surrounded him with a brilliant flash. The wind seemed to have subsided some here, he wasn't seeming to be thrown around like the previous seconds of this journey but it was all just too strange and surreal for Naraku to comprehend. What had remained of his sanity was now gone and as he traveled through the rip in time, any remaining logical thoughts shattered, shards now like the shards of the jewel he carried. The voices of all the thousands of demons that he carried each assaulted his ears, angry, demanding revenge and blood lust from every act that had been committed against them in the past. Slowly the thousands of voices merged into one, an insane powerful voice that screamed only one word without thought of who or what the action would be carried out against. `Kill!' That single thought crystallized in his mind as he noticed that even in this strange place he wasn't alone. He could feel that damnable Inuyasha even here as if somehow he had been followed for the hanyou's personal amusement. He struck out blindly, somehow knowing that he wouldn't be able to injure the hanyou here in this place but lashing out in his frustration and hatred anyway.

 

Suddenly he hit the solid ground. Hard. The hard earth rose up and met him as his head cracked against the side of the well His crazed mind interpreted the blow as an assault against him and he jumped to him feet to deal a death blow to whatever being had dared to strike him. The square wooden walls of the well met his confused angry glare, there was no one there to vent his wrath on. Looking up, he saw that the top of the well wasn't a far distance off, easy jumping distance for him. His maniacal laughter filled the well, echoing off of the walls. Already he could feel the youki of several demons within easy striking distance as well as the pull of the Shikon shards that the damnable miko had managed to keep out of his grasp. The voice clamored louder in his head, the shards were close at hand and a few troublesome demons wouldn't stop him from his goal. At last all the shards would be in his possession, the jewel reformed. There would be none that could stop him, he could kill every living being at his leisure if he so chose.

 

As he crouched, ready to make his leap out of the well and into this strange place that was above his head he felt the youki of the demons rising to battle levels waiting above him. His lips curled into a feral grin, he would incorporate and absorb these demons into himself as well. It would be delicious, the rush of adding all that new power. The added benefit was there that quite possibly these demons were new friends of the miko and he could use their deaths to further torment her before he chose to end her own pathetic life. With that final thought he took his leap, his claws scrambling for purchase along the top of the rim as he was carried upward towards his intended goal and the waiting demons he could sense above.

 

Inuyasha was used to the feeling of traveling through the well into the future but even he was surprised at the amount of wind that accompanied his journey this time. It screamed past his sensitive ears, threatening to burst his eardrums and deafen him with it's roar. He listened closer as the sound became more distinct and shuddered violently at the sound of pain that was being carried on the wind. It was the voices of the damned. Never had he ever experienced this going through the well and he devoutly hoped he would never be subjected to it again. `I guess this is because bastard Naraku came through the well. I have to hurry, Kagome could already be under attack without me there to protect her.' The wind seemed to respond to the unspoken thought, giving him a final hard shove and causing him to come to a bone jarring crash onto the bottom of the well.

 

Naraku burst out of the well house full of rage and onto the lightly snow covered ground at the same time that he felt Inuyasha arrive behind him, at the bottom of the well that he had just vacated. The hanyou was of minimal concern to him however, he had little to no respect for him in the first place. No, his attention was already on the demons and the miko who had been a thorn in his side all these years. She who had the audacity to keep the remaining jewel shards from him. They were standing in front of him as if they had been expecting his arrival, already in the process of beginning their assault upon him. His eyes landed on the small apparition that was even now streaking towards him, faster then most eyes could follow. Naraku only had time to throw up a barrier around himself before the fire demon would have reached him. He watched as the barrier knocked the demon back into the snow and starting laughing in a hysterical diabolical way "Truly pathetic, I hope this isn't the best that you can do. If it is then just give up now, I may be persuaded to end your miserable lives quickly."

 

“Do you really think your lousy barrier can stop us?” Kuwabara had gotten more then a little angry now as he had watched the ease that Hiei had been thrown back from the barrier and how fast Naraku had erected it. The taunts that Naraku was even now throwing at them made his temper flare even higher, as if the team was of no more consequence to him then some bothersome gnats "Stand back guys. This is a job for the great Kuwabara!” He glared at Naraku who was staring at him with malevolent amusement. “If you think that's going to keep us out you better think again! You're in for an ass kicking pal!"

 

Koenma seeing the battle was about to get serious, retreated to the far edge of the shield to stand by his mother. It was likely the safest place to be out of the entire courtyard. Even though she had said she wouldn't interfere, he had no doubts she'd make sure he didn't come to any harm. Nearby, Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei stood ready to fight, waiting only for Kuwabara to bring the barrier down. Nothing could be done until that was accomplished. Grabbing his wrist, Kuwabara reached deep inside himself and called forth his spirit energy. It built in him, higher and higher until it became strong enough to rip through the barriers that Naraku had erected. Giving a shout of “Spirit Sword!” the energy he had been gathering broke free. Brilliant yellow light flared to life, taking the form of his weapon in his hand. He brandished it over his head as he ran towards the barrier that Naraku had erected, ready to slice the damnable thing to hell.

 

The spirit sword came down on the barrier. At first the barrier moved fluidly with the sword as if attempting to accommodate the force that was trying to rip it apart., shimmering with the movement and reflecting the energy that was being used against it back at Kuwabara as if it was somehow laughing at his attempts to breach it. Kuwabara shoved forward pushing with all his might and the barrier finally gave way, a horrendous groan filling the air as it was ripped apart suddenly. The sudden parting of the barrier made the large redhead stumble forward almost falling on top of Naraku who jumped to the side with a shriek of rage. “How dare you! Don't you even think about touching me you filthy disgusting excuse for a human.” A clawed hand snaked out and grabbed Kuwabara by the throat puncturing the skin as the claws sank into the flesh. The blood began to flow down the claws as Naraku shook Kuwabara's body and then pitched it away from him as if he were no more than a filthy rag. Kuwabara landed heavily on his side, then raised his head to glare at the hanyou, eyes widening in alarm as his brain took in the sight of the poisonous gas that was beginning to billow up from the ground around Naraku.

 

The purple cloud of gas continued to grow until it enveloped Naraku, effectively causing his disappearance from their sight. Kagome was the first to yell to the others. “It's miasma and it will kill you!” She took off at a dead run, headed for the well house where she had her bow and arrows stored for her trips into the past and hoping to be able to reach them in time to save her friends from a very painful death. Her holy powers burned the miasma off of her skin as she ran, purifying the air around her but that wouldn't be enough to save the others. Then two things happened at the same time. Inuyasha had heard Kagome yell the warning about the miasma and jumped out of the well, ready to protect her, Tetsusaiga in hand. The other thing that happened was that Naraku had been listening to the sound of Kagome's hurried footsteps and realized where it was that she was headed. He timed his attack perfectly, listening to the sounds of her movements. Just as Kagome was running past him he struck out with an energy bolt, hitting her in the back and causing her to crash headlong into the side of the well house. The well house already weakened by the pressure that the barrier had forced against it now gave way, coming crashing down on top of Kagome and Inuyasha.

 

"Hiei! Kagome's down, take that bastard out!" Yusuke took off at a dead run towards where he had seen her fall knowing that the apparition would do everything in his power to destroy Naraku. He'd rejoin the fray after making sure the girl was alright. If something were allowed to happen to Kagome he knew Hiei would never forgive any of them. He had almost reached Kagome when a large fleshy green gob that looked something like a vine seemed to appear out of nowhere. It reached out and grabbed him, the fleshy appendage pulsing as it began to grow. As he pulled himself free another anchored itself to his body, followed by more and soon he was unable to move as they enclosed his body in a pulsating cocoon, attempting to absorb him. Pulling free from part of it but unable to completely free himself, his gaze followed the mass back to its source. He was horrified to discover that the fleshy substance was actually a part of Naraku. "Hiei! Cut me loose from this damned thing!"

 

A sword came down, slicing into the green mass but it wasn't Hiei's. Inuyasha had thrown the fallen wood of the well house off of the top of him and Kagome, then pulled her unconscious body to the far edge of the barrier. Blood was trickling down her forehead but she hadn't been seriously injured as far as he could tell. Now he was able to stay between Naraku and Kagome while still being able to cut Yusuke free, though he didn't exactly know who the hell he was. All he was certain of was that he had been trying to help Kagome and for the moment that was good enough for him. He could only hope that this strange demon, a Mazuko by origin if his guess was correct, wouldn't be waiting to turn on Kagome and attempt to take the jewel for himself once this battle with Naraku was over. Get out of there stupid, he will reabsorb those pieces! Didn't she tell you about him?" Even as Inuyasha yelled at Yusuke the green masses had begun to move, already growing in size as they inched their way back to the larger whole that was Naraku. He reabsorbed them with ease, appearing none the worse for wear. If anything, it appeared that he had gotten more angry at having Yusuke cut out of his grasp by the offending hanyou.

 

His angry crimson eyes met Youko's icy golden gaze as the Kitsune raised his rose whip in his hand, advancing swiftly as he prepared to attack. Naraku raised his hand, throwing a tainted jewel shard directly at the kitsune and watched it as it penetrated through the white fur, embedding it into the flesh underneath. Youko's eyes filled with horror for a moment, then went completely blank as the diamond shard embedded in his flesh took effect. Naraku's eyes filled with malicious glee and amusement as he now took control over the kitsune. “You will now destroy these demons trapped in this barrier with us.” Youko turned, his body possessed by Naraku's control and began to advance on Hiei, bringing his whip up in preparation to strike the diminutive fire apparition down.

 

Trapped inside of his own mind, Youko was powerless to control his own body. Screaming in rage, he could see every move that he made and what he was about to do but he was unable to prevent it. He was about to fight and try to kill his longtime partner and friend. He watched helpless as the rose whip came whistling through the air, watching as the fire apparition dodged to the side to avoid the attack at the last minute. Again and again the whip came whistling down, cutting the air like a knife, only to have Hiei jump to the side to avoid the blow. `Why isn't he fighting back?' Youko knew that this would not be able to continue on indefinitely, either Hiei would tire and take a misstep or his whip would manage to land a killing blow. Either way the end would not be pretty. He reached out to mind touch the apparition, almost crying with relief when he found he still had that ability under his control. `Hiei, he has control of my body. I can't fight him and he will use my body to kill you . Kill me first, just make it quick.'

 

Hiei's crimson eyes scoured the battlefield looking for a place he could possibly escape Youko's attacks long enough to kill Naraku and put an end to this madness. His eyes fell on Kagome who seemed to have regained consciousness enough to be able to help them with this dilemma. It was entirely possible she would have the best answer for winning this battle, she had mentioned that she has been fighting this particular hanyou for a long time now. Obviously she should know what to expect from him. Not bothering with niceties, he established a mind link between her, himself and Youko. `What can you do to help us miko? Naraku has taken over Youko's body. How do we counter it before he kills us all?'

 

Kagome had regained her consciousness and while she was currently trapped behind Inuyasha unable to help in the actual fighting she had been pulled into the conversation that was going on between the two demons and had an idea. `Naraku can only control Youko's body by using the Shikon shard while it is tainted. Hiei if you can get him close enough for me to touch him, I can purify the shard and Youko will have the control of his body back. Naraku will lose the control he has gained. Can you do that?'

 

`Hell yes I can do that!' Hiei never took his crimson eyes off of the deadly whip that was even now coming down towards his head. So far he had managed to elude the whip but the kitsune was deadly accurate in his aim. It would only be a matter of time before the whip found it's mark and he would have to decide who would die, him or Kurama. It just wasn't a decision he wanted to have to make. But now it appeared that Kagome had just handed them the solution to this particular problem and his darting back and forth took on another purpose, leading the kitsune over to where Kagome was waiting. `Damn it Youko, hurry up!'

 

Hiei's eyes narrowed in anger and disbelief as the body that was Youko reached up into his hair and pulled out some familiar looking seeds. He had seen this attack used once before, at the Dark Tournament. It was then that he knew they were in trouble. As the kitsune threw it on the ground he fed his ki into it causing it to sprout. Quickly it grew to over thirty feet tall with more then a dozen stalks sprouting out of it. The hungry mouths that were on the end of each of the stalks weaved in different direction, each searching for something to eat and alert to all of the movement going on around it. Kagome's eyes were wide with fear and her face had turned a pale white at the sight of the mouth that was weaving it's way towards her. She had never seen a plant like this before but she had no doubts that it was looking for its next meal and she had suddenly been listed on the menu. Yusuke noticed the look on her face and turned to look, wondering what had caused that reaction. When he saw the Ma-Kai no Ojigisou, the death tree, he yelled to her “Stay still dammit! It hunts by movement.” He turned, furious at the Kitsune's choice of attack. Yelling to Youko he tried to reason with him, not knowing he was being controlled. "Youko what the fuck do you think you are doing? You'll kill us all!"

 

“He is being controlled, he can not fight Naraku while the jewel shard is in his body.” Kagome's low voice reached Inuyasha's sensitive ears which had swiveled backwards to hear what she was saying. Long experience with fighting Naraku had let him know exactly what this meant even if the others might not fully comprehend it. He caught Yusuke's eye and nodded his head slightly to indicate where he was going. Yusuke wasn't sure what he had in mind but he nodded in agreement, having no choice but to trust the hanyou for the moment. He fired a blast from his spirit gun into the advancing plant, watching one of the heads explode in a shower of shredded foliage as Inuyasha circled around behind the kitsune to where Hiei was still trying to herd the fox over to where Kagome was waiting. Taking a deep breath he took a flying leap and tackled Youko from behind sending him sprawling face first into the dirt, coming to a stop right in front of Kagome.

 

Naraku gave a loud shout of anger, realizing he had lost control of the fox as Kagome reached out and touched the prone kitsune that was lying in front of her. Her hand glowed pink as it came into contact with the tainted shard, purifying it as she pulled it from Youko's body. Reason and life returned to the blank eyes even as Naraku was preparing to launch another attack. The golden yellow eyes glowed as Youko ignored the evil hanyou, turning his attention to containing the death tree that he had been forced to grow. Using his ki, he forced the plant into dormancy, returning it to it's seed form and then tucking it safely behind his ear once again. When that was accomplished he turned and faced Naraku once more, eyes flashing in anger. “Now you die!”

 

Suddenly Youko stopped, his attack cut short as he and everyone else watched as Naraku morphed into a kitsune, one identical to Youko. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he stared at his opponent. This wouldn't stop him from killing the bastard, if he thought it would he would prove just how wrong that particular thought was. They circled around each other, each looking for an opening to launch an attack upon the other but not finding one. Kagome had retrieved her bow and arrows from the ruins of the well house, and had an arrow notched ready to take a shot but it always seemed like she couldn't get a clear shot. She wouldn't risk purifying Youko by accident, she wouldn't be able to live with the heartbreak if that happened. Hiei realized what her dilemma was, if he hadn't been able to read energy signatures he wouldn't have been able to tell the difference either. Naraku's illusion was that perfect. But this was something that he could possibly do something about. As the two Youko's circled, he darted in from the side and scored a slash across the hanyou's shoulder, the katana slicing cleanly. It wasn't a killing cut but it was better so far then any of them had managed. He watched in disbelief as the wound released a cloud of miasma, then closed immediately after, Naraku acting as if he had never noticed the cut in the first place. His hand flew to his face, covering his mouth and nose as the gas filled the air. A quick glance around showed him that the others were doing the same, the only one remaining unaffected was Kagome.

 

Kuwabara tried to rise from the spot he had fallen, crawling towards Kagome and the fight that was currently in progress. "Kagome?" His voice cracked, the miasma burning through his veins making it difficult to breath. "Something's wrong with me." Even speaking caused the fire to spread through his blood. "I don't.. know what he.. did." His arms gave out beneath him as he fell to the ground once more, still trying to fight the poison that had been injected into his body. He felt like he was dying and his thoughts turned towards the demoness that he loved with all his heart. `Forgive me Yukina, for leaving you like this. I love you my snow angel.'

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

Inside the house Yukina picked up the thought from Kuwabara and realized that the man and her friends as well as her brother were all in trouble and most likely dying. A cry of distress left her lips and she pushed past her friends, shoving the restraining hands off of her arms in her determination. Her brother and the guys needed her, she wasn't going to sit in the house and wait the fight out like a wilting flower. Not when she could now be of some use. Once outside of the house she raced towards where the barrier was plainly visible, her destination clear to everyone who was watching from inside the house. Botan started screaming Yukina's name as she realized the girl was going to cross the barrier and join into the fray. Just as she was about to run after the Koorime and attempt to stop her, she was caught up in Souta's arms. The young man sought to comfort the girl he loved and had hopes of winning as his own, there was no way he could watch her run into danger as well. Shizuru stared after her, a feeling of disbelief and dread filling the pit of her stomach. The only thing that she could imagine that would make Yukina take off like that was if Hiei or Kuwabara was in serious trouble. Together they watched as Yukina disappeared across the barrier and out of their sight.

 

Yukina entered the inside of the barrier and came directly into the cloud of poisonous miasma. The effect it was having on everyone was immediately obvious, the only exception seemed to be Kagome who seemed to be glowing a bright pink color. `I can not allow this fight to end this way! Maybe I can help them.' Yukina's eyes turned from their normal red color to gold as the air around her became frigid cold. Frost formed on the surface of the barrier and the ground froze over, ice crystals beginning to blanket the surrounding area. As the temperature continued to plummet, the groups heavy breathing became obvious by the mist in the air. Still, it wasn't enough and Yukina pushed harder, hoping that if she could freeze the poisonous gas solid, it would drop to the ground rendering it harmless. Something had to give soon and Yukina was determined it wouldn't be her. With a final shove of ki, the gas finally became semi-solid and fell to the ground as a form of gel, overcome by the weight of the ice particles that had formed within it.

 

Hiei stared hard at Yukina, seeing what she had done. His heart that he had kept long hidden had clenched painfully when she foolishly came into the barrier yet he knew that it would have been impossible for him to stop her. Now she was stuck with them, for better or worse. The cold didn't have any effect on him but it was obvious that neither Kagome nor Kuwabara would be able to last long in these frigid temperatures. Yusuke would be cold, but he would survive, Youko and Inuyasha had their fur coats, he wasn't worried about them. He moved closer to Kagome, warming the air around her slightly while keeping a wary eye on Naraku. The cold seemed to have affected the evil hanyou, slowing him down slightly but not removing him as a very real threat. He slowly moved Kagome over to where Yukina was tending to Kuwabara, working to negate the effects of the poison that had been working throughout the mans body.

 

Koenma took one look at how haggard his team was, suffering the effects of inhaling the miasma and decided to react. Without letting anyone know that he was going to do, he left his mother's side, running towards Naraku. With it being so cold this was a perfect opportunity to snatch the remaining jewel shards away from the bastard hanyou. He could make sure that this half of the jewel could be locked safely away in the vaults, never again to see the light of day. Surely Enma and Amaterasu would be proud of him then for a job well done.

 

Hiei and Kagome stared in disbelief at the little demigod, unable to believe that he would be so stupid as to believe that Naraku was now harmless and wondering what in the nine hells he thought he was doing. He didn't possibly think he was strong enough to stand alone against Naraku didn't? Not after what he had just watched his entire team go through with this battle. Dread filled them, apparently this was exactly what he was thinking. Apparently the same thoughts were going through Yusuke and Inuyasha's minds as they moved to try to intercept him, noting the look of glee on Naraku's face the closer that Koenma came. Even Amaterasu looked stunned at what her son was obviously trying to do. Silently she looked skywards and sent a mind call to the black bird that had thus far stayed entirely out of the battle.

 

Naraku reached out his hand, his fingers forming sharp tentacles as he reached out and drove his hand through Koenma's midsection. Koenma staggered forward, falling off balance with the force of the blow. His hands reached out and blindly grabbed hold of the remaining Shikon jewels, the original goal of his headlong flight, and ripped them off of the chain around Naraku's neck. Naraku screamed with rage then, there was no way he was going to let his precious shards go that easily. He reached out with his other hand to grab them back from Koenma, but the black bird was faster then he was. The bird had been circling overhead and now dive bombed towards the pair, grabbing the necklace and jewel shards from both of their hands. With a loud caw of triumph the bird took wing, out of striking range and landed next to Amaterasu.

 

With Naraku distracted by Koenma, Kagome was finally able to get a clear shot at Naraku. She held her breath and aimed, praying that none of her allies would move into the way of her line of fire. Inuyasha saw her aim the bow and pulled Yusuke back away from Naraku to give her a clear field. Kagome wasn't always known for having the best aim in any of the worlds. Hiei gave a mental shout to Youko to stand clear at the same time. As she stared the hanyou down, all the pain and rage she harbored for the hanyou sprang forth. The years she had watched everyone suffer at his evil hands, all the emotions she had kept bottled up within her. Unbeknownst to her, tears began streaming down her face as the world around her disappeared, leaving only herself and that treacherous bastard. As he began his turn she let the arrow go, her power exploding into the arrow and disintegrating the wood instantly as it flew towards its target.

 

Naraku's eyes grew very large and filled with hate as he watched the arrow speeding towards him. There wasn't time for him to dodge out of the way or to throw up his barrier but he couldn't believe the quest was going to end like this. It just wasn't supposed to happen this way. He opened his mouth to scream at the same time that the arrow found its mark and pierced his heart. Everyone watched in astonishment as Naraku's body vaporized. Brilliant flashes of intense white and purple light exploded in the air as the backlash of the two energies collided. It hurt the eyes to look at, but even behind closed eyelids, the light was plainly visible. The wind picked up, a violent living thing which threw the wood from the destroyed well house through the air. Kagome also felt the spell on the well come down, forever preventing any further travel to the past. Their quest was finished and for better or worse Inuyasha was now stuck in her time. There was no way for him to return home. She prayed that her friends in the past could now be safe now and that Sango could now properly mourn her bothers passing and move on with Naraku's death. She would never know for sure but she could hope. This was her last conscious thought as the last of her strength gave out on her. As her eyes slid closed the last thing she knew was the pair of warm arms that wrapped themselves around her before she hit the frozen ground.

 

 

 

Author's note: This was certainly an interesting chapter to write. There were time I despaired about getting it finished. Once again, thank you to Ryukotsusei for pushing and prodding me through this, and your help along the way. You're the best. ïŠ

And now my loyal readers, may I present for your reading enjoyment this finished chapter. Please review when you are done reading and let me know how I do writing fight scenes.