InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Shards of Foxfire ❯ Chapter 9

I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while! I have tons of schoolwork, but after this weekend, it'll be pretty much done! Here's a good chapter in consolation.

Thanks to my reviewers (Yay! I reached 30 reviews!):

Chiisai-Tori: Sorry, I'll try and get Inuyasha and Kagome more like a couple, especially in this chapter and the next one!

Noname: Glad you like the blackmailing part!

Fairyangel124: Wow! Lotsa people like that blackmail stuff!

Cricket-chan: It's ok. Here's what happens next!

Tsume Yamagata: Glad you liked the flashback!

Now, on with the story!

The next morning, all was calm except for a certain monk being held at knifepoint by a certain annoyed taijiya. "I warned you, Miroku!" Sango seethed with anger as her new best friend, her dagger, was making Miroku very nervous. "Y-y-you did, Sango?" Miroku asked, quivering. "I-I'm sorry Sango, I couldn't help it. When I wake up to find a beautiful girl sitting in my lap, I really don't know what I'll do!" Sango was still mad, and what Miroku said made her even madder. "Well, you didn't have to grope me! And don't think that your flattery will get you out of this, you-you pervert!" Someone tapped Sango on the shoulder, and she spun around, the dagger safely back in its sheath. "Kuranosuke-sama!"

"Yes, my dear Sango? Is this man bothering you?" Kuranosuke asked, glaring daggers at Miroku.

"Oh, not at all." Sango said, lying through her teeth. "We were just having a small disagreement." Kuranosuke nodded like he knew she was lying, and said, "Well, just to let you know, breakfast is ready for you and your companions downstairs." Sango curtsied gracefully, and gave Miroku a hug. "Let's go, Miroku." Sango said, and Miroku wrapped his arm around her waist, confused as to her sudden mood swing.

The breakfast was delicious, and everyone had plenty to eat, even with Inuyasha and Shippo. Everyone was tired from the festival from the night before, and so breakfast was nearly silent. Everyone finished pretty quickly so that they would get to Koharu's village by dark, as it was a long way away. Sango was about to get up from the table when Kuranosuke took her by the arm, and led her away. "Kagome, pack up my things for me, okay?" Kagome nodded as Kuranosuke took Sango so she couldn't see the hopelessness in Miroku's expression.

Kuranosuke led Sango to a bridge over a stream. "Sango, I have led you here before, and I will tell you the same thing I said the last time we were here together. Sango, will you be my wife?"

Miroku walked away after hearing Sango hesitate. His Sango was lost to him forever.

Sango hesitated before answering, but her answer was much the same as it was before. "I'm sorry, Kuranosuke-sama, but I cannot marry you. I do not fit in here, and you know that. Besides, I have something I still must do. I don't know if I'll ever return, so here is my farewell." She kissed him on his cheek, shattering his already broken heart. As he watched her retreating figure, he yelled, "I will always love you, Sango!"

Sango ran to catch up to the rest of the group, panting hard. "Wait up!" Sango yelled as she finally caught up to the group. "Good, you caught up!" Kagome said. "Sorry, but the servants kicked us out for no reason." Kagome shrugged. As Sango stared at Miroku, he looked up and his eyes met hers. "Why are you here?"

"What are you talking about, Miroku?"

"I thought that Kuranosuke wanted you to marry him."

"Yeah, but I turned him down.'

"You did?" Miroku looked like a kicked puppy that was being offered a treat.

"Yes. Why would I marry that selfish jerk?"

"What do you mean?"

"Kuranosuke is nothing but a selfish jerk that lays around in his castle all day and never does anything interesting! If I were his wife, I'd have to lie around all day. That really doesn't suit me. Besides, I don't like him. I like…someone else. I like…you." Sango said as she let him hug her close to him. "I missed you." Miroku said as he led her back to where the main group was.

"We never acted like that, did we, Kagome?" Inuyasha said haughtily as Kagome played with his ears. "Oh, of course not." Kagome said sarcastically. "Not with Kouga or Hojo." Inuyasha decided to kiss her to silence her. "I love you." Kagome said as the kiss was finished and she hugged his shoulders. "Feh." Inuyasha said as they continued on their journey. Kagome interpreted that to mean, "I love you, too", so she

The next obstacle on their journey was a deep forest (A/N: Wow, I'm listening to Fukai Mori now, o_O), but Inuyasha felt that something was wrong. "Naraku's youki." Inuyasha said, sniffing the air experimentally. This must be where we fought Naraku. Kagome thought as she shivered involuntarily. The forest looked dark and forbidding, and what looked like miasma was everywhere. They were about to enter, when they noticed someone very familiar.

"No one may trespass here." Kagura said, flicking her fan so that it extended completely. "Don't make me hurt you…oh. It's you!" Kagura said, welcoming them. "I really wouldn't suggest going through, but it is the fastest way to the next village. That miasma is strong stuff, and will try to trap you. Be careful!" Kagura yelled as they started forward. "Well, she's definitely more cheerful." Inuyasha said, holding Kagome's arm so that she wouldn't go anywhere. "Be careful in here, that miasma's a doozy." As everyone walked forward, none of them happened to notice that they had all separated.

Naanaami walked back to the campsite, a boar slung over her shoulder. It looked like the only two people remaining at the camp were Koga and Kohaku. "I brought dinner!" Naanaami said cheerfully, laying it down before them. Kohaku looked up to thank her, but when he saw her, his expression turned to disgust. "You filthy half-breed, how dare you come here!" Koga came up to her, the same expression on his face.

"What are you talking about?" Naanaami said, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. "I thought you liked me. I thought you thought I was cute."

"Me?" Kohaku asked. He looked utterly disgusted at the mere thought. "Me, think a hanyou like you was cute? Never! For that, you will die!" Kohaku pushed her to the ground and started kicking her in the side. Koga soon joined him. Naanaami was trying to stay still, tears streaming down her face, hoping that this was a dream; that she would wake up, but she never did. Suddenly, the kicking stopped, but Naanaami felt cold steel at her throat. "Die, Hanyou!"

Sango awoke from her deep sleep to a horrible sight. Her companions, including Kirara and Miroku, were slaughtered, blood everywhere. She looked up to see Kohaku, his weapon dripping with blood, their blood. "Kohaku, why?" Sango said, tears streaming down her face. A sinister laugh came from Kohaku, sounding nothing like him. "Thank you, Sango, for protecting me until Naraku came back. It was only a matter of time until he took me back. Thanks to you, I was able to fulfill my master's wishes. And now," he said, swinging his chain blade, "I must kill you. Goodbye, Sango."

Rin wandered around the groves of trees, lost and confused. Sesshoumaru-sama was supposed to be back now with Jaken and Ah and Un. She kept wandering until she saw someone. "Excuse me, but have you seen Lord Sesshoumaru-sama?" The creature was a demon, and to her dismay, Sesshoumaru had defeated him a few days ago. "Lord Sesshoumaru, eh? You must be the little girl he takes around with him. There fore, you must die." He slung her over his shoulder and carried her, kicking and screaming, to his lair. There, sinister-looking demons laughed at her, making fun of her. As they got to the center of the lair, he placed Rin down. "Now, don't run away, little girl. It'll hurt worse." He brandished the sword, about to swing it.

Ayame went back to her old wolf den, to say hello to friends. As she neared it, she knew that something was wrong. Her feeling increased as the cave came into view, and smoke rose from it. She ran closer, only to find that the cave had been burned out. Her grandfather looked to be the only one alive, and just barely. She ran to him and lifted his head as he collapsed. "Grandfather, what happened?" Ayame said, worried for him. "Electric demons set this cave on fire. Flee while you can." Ayame's grandfather collapsed, breathing his last breath. Ayame began crying, and curled herself up into a small ball. She didn't notice the fire around her until she tried to leave. A ring of roaring flame surrounded her, and rapidly coming closer around her. "Help! Someone, please!" Ayame yelled as the flames closed in on her.

Inuyasha ran faster and faster. Naraku had taken Kagome, and he was planning on using her as his servant. Kagome's scent was getting stronger, and he deduced that they must be near the mountains. The nearest village was deserted, and so he entered, Kagome's scent getting even stronger. Naraku's resurrected form had the same scent as his old form, so Inuyasha had no trouble finding him. As he entered, Kagome was laying on the floor, bruised and bloody. Naraku laughed. "Kukukukuku. I tried to use her as a servant, but she was too strong. Instead, I decided to destroy. I'll leave, so that you can have your final good-byes." He laughed again as he left. "Kagome." Inuyasha said, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. Kagome was so badly injured that she could barely move her head, and whispered, "Inuyasha. You came." Inuyasha nodded. `But I couldn't save you, Kagome.' "I'm fading fast, Inuyasha." Kagome said. Inuyasha brought her up to him, and kissed her deeply, tasting the blood running out of her mouth. Kagome then breathed her last breath. Tears running down his face, Inuyasha took out his sword, about to kill himself. "See you in a minute, Kagome."

Amari walked through the miasma, unaffected, calling everyone's names. Finally, Kagome came over to Amari. "You're not affected?" Kagome asked in shock. "No. Should I be?" Amari asked. Kagome tried to explain about the miasma. "If you have strong spiritual powers, like we do, you are unaffected. But everyone else is faced with his or her fears. You must wake them up out of their trance or they will die. Come on! We don't have much time!" (A/N: This is all happening at the same time, okay?)

Miroku walked to the nearest river, his hand hurting painfully. He knew that it was time for him to die. He held back tears at both the agony and the unfairness of his life. He was supposed to have a long life ahead of him. "Miroku!" Sango called. "What's wrong, Miroku?" Miroku screamed, "Stay away, Sango!" Tears streamed down his face. "No, Miroku! I can't let you die alone!" She ran to him and hugged his waist. As the hole in his hand widened, he screamed in agony. Sango held him tighter. As they were about to go, she said, "We'll die together. I love you Miroku." Then, there was a flash of light.

When Miroku looked around, he realized that he wasn't dead, nor was Sango. Then, he noticed her on the ground, bleeding. The monk quickly realized what had happened. Inuyasha and Kagome had just killed Naraku when his hand was about to consume him, and he had no bad effects. However, the backlash had hit Sango will full force, and it must have been very painful. Miroku went over to her, cradling her head in his arms. "Sango, please wake up." Sango didn't respond, just lay there, dying. As a last memory, he kissed her, and she lay still, a smile on her face. Tears streaming down his face, he carried Sango to the village and gently laid her on the ground. He didn't know what to do.

Koga soon found Amari and Kagome. After being explained the effects of the miasma and bragging that he was too strong of a youkai to be afraid of some miasma, he ran off in search of anyone he could find.

Kohaku was having a good time relaxing with everyone, when he was suddenly surrounded by blackness. Naraku's voice could be heard echoing through his mind. "I have a job for you, Kohaku." Kohaku shook his head. Not again. "Well, Kohaku, I guess I'll just have to force you." Kohaku then heard a voice in his head, telling him to kill Sango. Kohaku tried to go against the voice, but he kept moving forward, chain blade raised. Sango was asleep, and though Kohaku's whole body screamed not to do it, the blade went in a downward swing towards her neck, about to kill her.

Shippo was still wandering around in the forest, wondering where his friends had gone. He hated being left alone. He guessed that calling for them would help, so he began calling their names. "Inuyasha! Kagome! Rin! Sango! Miroku! Somebody?" But his cries remained unanswered. Shippo began to be afraid, and cowered near a bush when a large shadow loomed over him. It was a huge demon, and the rest of his tribe. They picked him up and held him in the air by his tail, laughing at his sobbing requests to let him go. "We're going to have some kitsune for dinner tonight!" The leader laughed as he began to walk away, Shippo still wailing.

Sesshoumaru and Kirara met each other in passing, both unaffected by the miasma. They were both running as fast as they could, so they merely nodded. One ran in one direction to find her mistress, and the other to find his "sister".

Sango felt the blade slice through her back, and she cried out in pain. Kohaku was standing over her, laughing. The demon exterminator could feel the blood running out of her body. "I'll just leave you to die, then, Sango." He ran to Kagura, who had recently appeared, and took him away.

Sango was remembering everything that she missed in her life. Almost as if summoned, Kirara licked Sango's face and let her lean on her. Almost as soon as that had happened, Sango realized something. She had seen Kirara's body earlier, and it was definitely dead. Also, Kohaku had some will. He wouldn't laugh at her death, and his voice wasn't that deep. It isn't real. It isn't real! "IT ISN"T REAL!" Sango cried, her voice ringing through the clearing.

Heh, heh. Cliffy! The more you review, the faster the chappie comes out!

Ja ne!