Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Time Traveler Meets Spirit Detective ❯ Chapter 19 ( Chapter 19 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha
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Chapter 19 - The Last Battle

Light and Dark, Good and Evil, Life and Death, opposites that were always fighting each other, but were also necessary. If there was no life, there was no death. To live, something had to die. Predators ate prey, and in return were eaten by bigger or better predators. Without darkness, there was nothing for light to shine upon. Without light, what would darkness take over? And good and evil... sometimes when she was younger she would have wondered if there was such a thing outside of her grandfather's stories.

Now she knew there was. He laughed as her friends were hurt. He laughed fifty years ago as he set Kikyou and Inuyasha against each other. He laughed as he killed, as he set sister against brother. How she hated his laughter. If she could, she would have torn out his voice box.

Unfortunately, at the moment, she was more likely to get her own torn out before she could reach him.

Wave after wave of lesser demons impeded upon their progress. Kagome managed to shoot out any demon that came close to her, but between defending herself and the odd arrow that shot towards a demon one of her friends didn't see, Kagome wasn't making much progress toward Naraku.

With a frantic thought Kagome's head whipped up and around. She had lost track of Shippo during all the fighting. She relaxed when she saw him safe and sound, scuffling around near Yusuke's feet, doing his best to help while not putting him self in any unnecessary danger.

Unfortunately, this distraction allowed one of Naraku's detachments to creep up close to her and she felt a sudden pain in her side. Her vision swam for an instant due to pain and then her arrow was shot through his skull and the pink haired, black skinned, green clawed demon was nothing but ash.

"Ow," She muttered to herself while focusing herself again, frantically shooting at the demons who had snuck up to close for comfort. One demon actually managed to scratch her, but then he was screeching as he licked the blood off his claws and swallowed. A sweet taste until he realized it was burning him from the inside. He stared at his claws that still had a few red droplets left. Was it just him, or was there a faint pink glow to her blood?

That demon also turned to ash, and Kagome retreated a few steps to give herself better access. She bit her lip. She only had half of her arrows left now. They couldn't keep this up forever.

Sango was thinking the same thing as she and Miroku fought back to back, occasionally getting flashes of Hiei fighting nearby. His sword seemed covered with flames, and Sango was startled to realize that even she could feel the power rolling off of him and the other boys. Hell, she could feel the power rolling off of everyone now, including Naraku.

This was truly the last fight. She could feel it in her bones. And they had to win. Otherwise freeing Kohaku was for nothing. She wanted to survive too, and nurse her brother through his guilt that she knew was coming. She didn't want it to, but she doubted Kohaku would not remember now that the shard was out of his back.

With a sudden jerk upward she was flying through the air. Below her a sword crashed into the space her back had been a moment before. She craned her neck awkwardly to look at the fire cat that had grabbed her by the back of her exterminating uniform. "Thanks Kirara."

A soft growl was her only answer as she released the exterminator, followed by an attack on a demon pressing too close to Miroku for comfort. Sango had no more time to worry about Kirara or Miroku as the demons swarmed around them and she fought with everything she had. If it weren't for the poisonous wasps in the air, she knew Miroku would have taken care of them, but instead he was forced to simply use his staff.

A whip slashed through a demon on Sango's side and the demon exterminator glanced over to see Kurama already turning away. Kurama sighed and slashed swiftly through a few more. It wasn't that they couldn't overpower these demons, it was the sheer numbers of them.

"I didn't think there were so many low level demon available even in present day Makai, never mind the Feudal Era," He muttered to himself. Hiei popped up beside him, his word glistening different colors due to the blood of demons. His jagan eye was open and glowing as he took a swipe backwards without looking to slash through a few more demons.

"Don't exaggerate the situation," Hiei said in clipped tones before once again disappearing. Moments later there was a fiery explosion in the center. Kurama sighed. At least he hadn't used the dragon yet. In this case, it might get rid of many of the other demons, but he'd probably end up getting killed by the leftovers.

Kurama frowned at the demon who had just sliced open his shoulder, then with a quick flip of his wrist and a flash of golden eyes the demon was gone. "I liked this shirt!"

"Aw, shut it kitsune! If we all die you won't have to worry about fashion," Inuyasha yelled as he jumped over Kurama's head, the slash of Tetsusaiga killing one hundred of the demons in front of them. Inuyasha smirked. "I love doing that."

There wasn't even a pause in the fighting as more demons took the place of the one hundred smaller ones just destroyed. Kurama chuckled despite himself. "Perhaps you should do it a few more times. Apparently they haven't gotten the picture yet."

Inuyasha's only response was a quick growl as Tetsusaiga began swinging in earnest. "Damn demons! Die!"

Inuyasha's snarls only provided the demons a louder target, and Inuyasha's eyes widened when they began swarming from all directions. "Shit!" He practically howled when one demon got a bit too close and bit into his shoulder. A swift arrow helped him out with the closest ones. He took the space as a heavenly gift and swung Tetsusaiga in all directions this time, though he got a few glares from his friends when they had to dodge very quickly.

"Hanyou. Desist in swinging your sword like a club. This Sesshoumaru would take no pleasure in killing you while Naraku is still on the field." One particular complaint was voiced. His ears flattened in response. "Like you could!"

"This Sesshoumaru-"

"Hey, dogs, focus on surviving for a moment and not on trying to kill each other!" Another canine of their group joined in enthusiastically. Both of them growled at the wolf and Sesshoumaru's claws flexed where they held tightly to Tokijin. "Do not speak to your betters wolf prince."

"Betters? Two simpering mutts like you? Like-" Despite the numerous demons in the way, Kouga suddenly found himself with a sword at his throat. Kouga's eyes widened at the intent in those eyes and dared not to swallow. He lowered his eyes humbly - painfully - and said, "I apologize Lord Sesshoumaru."

"If we were not in a middle of a battle, I would make you do more than apologize," Sesshoumaru hissed before turning and gracefully dealing death to the demons closest to him.

If he hadn't been worried about what Kagome was planning, Yusuke would have been having fun. Not that this wasn't serious, but the adrenaline rush that came from the fighting was liberating. This was the time when he could really live. No school to worry about, no judging looks, nothing. Just the adrenaline pumping through his veins and the multiple attacks coming from every side.

At a brief pause in the fighting Yusuke anxiously looked at his companions. The lesser demons seemed to be thinning out a bit, and the group was all standing. Many of them seemed to be bleeding in one form or another, but they were mostly ok.

Yusuke's eyes traveled to Kagome and his eyes flashed angrily. He ducked under an attack of the nearest demon and punched a few of the closest ones, almost instantly killing them. He took another look at Kagome. "Shit."

She looked the worst of them, and she was almost backed up against a wall. Even as he watched she stumbled and a pile of screeching demons scrambled for her. "SHOTGUN!"

That cleared a path well enough, and Yusuke grasped Shippo in one hand and Puu in the other. Both of them ended up on Kagome when he dropped them and skidded to a stop in front of her. He didn't have to be able to growl like the canine demons to put his point across. Intimidation spread out from him like a wave. The demons actually backed up a bit as they felt his spirit energy rise. Then they charged with a roar, and arrows were whizzing by him as he punched and kicked at the demons. Obviously Kagome was well enough to be up on her feet.

Soon enough the masses that had seemed like they weren't going to end were thinning. Mostly due to Yusuke, Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, and Hiei using large scale attacks on them. Naraku didn't seem at all affected by the loss of so many troops. Of course, that could have been because half of the shard hunters were dripping blood and looked ready to drop.

Kuwabara winced as he attempted to lift his spirit swords again. Pain shot through one arm with every motion. One of Naraku's children had slammed him into a wall before he'd sliced it open and destroyed it, and he had a feeling his arms was probably broken. It didn't matter. He'd still fight.

Miroku was favoring one foot and blood could be seen on his other leg through his ripped and torn robes. Sango had a nasty slash near her ribs. The slice on Kurama's shoulder had been opened wider by a couple of other demons, and he had his other hand to it to attempt to stop its bleeding.

Despite the wounds of those and others, all of them stood as tall as they could and faced Naraku with every ounce of strength they had.

"So, you have done well so far. Not well enough. Children, your troops are gone. Kill the ones who did it for me." The detachments that hadn't been killed scrambled forward, five strong still. Kagome studied them but didn't recognize them. It didn't matter. They weren't her target.

She focused her gaze on Naraku and began walking forward. She didn't get very far before Yusuke pulled her backwards again, at the same time punching the closest demon towards its siblings and the rest of the shard hunters. "Kagome."

A thousand meanings could be put in her name, she found out. The emotions she heard beneath the deadly anger almost broke her courage. She turned to face him slowly, wincing slightly. She'd gotten a few more cuts, and the one in her side was bleeding a bit more than she would have liked. Botan was looking towards them worriedly as she healed Kuwabara before he went to fight with the others. She'd mostly stayed out of the fight, but she could sense there was a lot of tension going on over in that corner of the courtyard.

"Yusuke," She acknowledged, though her voice seemed a bit choked. She refused to cry. She looked out at her friends and shuddered. Naraku had taken into account her new allies. Her friends weren't doing very well against his 'children'.

"Go to Botan. I don't care what plan you had. You can't do it now. You look like shit Kagome." Yusuke mentally snorted when she rolled her eyes. He wasn't exaggerating. When she didn't say anything he lifted her chin up. "Damn it Kagome, you're bleeding all over the place."

He didn't get to say anything more because for the second time that day she kissed him. Unlike the last one there was nothing quick about it. She allowed him plenty of time to respond. This time he did.

Kagome would have been glad to stand there eternally and melt into his arms like a sappy romantic if not for the warning bells going off in her head. She had to end this, and she had to do it soon. She pulled back and stared at him for a moment. They were in a middle of a battlefield and she was distracting herself and him with her selfishness. One less thing to regret indeed. He felt nice. Kagome hoped she would be able to do that again.

Then she ducked as a sharp dagger came flying towards them. Yusuke jumped back. A squeak alerted him to the presence of Shippo at their feet. He looked down and found Shippo was staring at the dagger that had landed right behind him. Then he saw Yusuke looking at him and scrunched up his face. Then he grinned. "You kissed Kagome."

That was a pointless and obvious statement if there ever was one. Still, argumentative as always, Yusuke stated, "She kissed me first."

"Yup. She did. It's 'cause all the boys she's ever liked don't have a romantic bone in their body. There's a incarnate with a nasty looking weapon behind you," Shippo said cheerfully. Yusuke whirled around and punched the incarnate. After a few moments of struggle and dodging a sword, the incarnate was down for the count and Yusuke was sporting a few new scratches. It was then that he realized he hadn't seen Kagome since she'd ducked the dagger.

Hoping that he was wrong he turned slowly to where Naraku hovered. Just in time to see him block an arrow from Kagome and for an incarnate to send her flying into a wall. Everyone froze as her body hit the wall with a soft thud. Even as she slid down one of Naraku's tentacles reached out and plucked her up. He laughed wickedly as her friends began to make some headway with his incarnates. The fools. They'd never make it in time.

Kagome's vision swam dangerously. Colliding with a wall was not fun. Blood trickling out of her side and nearing Naraku's tentacle around her waist was a bit funner though. Unfortunately, that would give it away before it was time. If only she could focus!

She was supposed to be acting like she was helpless right now, not actually being helpless. She heard Naraku's silky voice penetrating the cloud around her mind. "Did you really think any of you could beat me? My miasma alone has been slowing you enough that the smaller demons were able to injure you!"

Then his voice was directed at Kagome. "And you, reincarnation of Kikyou. My puppet injured you, did it not? I don't see any traces of that injury. That must be the blue-haired ones healing power. I have heard of that."

There was a chuckle. "I'm going to kill you miko. And I'm going to rip you into pieces so not even Tenseiga could hope to revive you. But first, I think I'll do my puppet honor and give you his wound back."

Two screams split the air. The tentacle had gone through Kagome in the exact same way the puppet before him had done it. That was to be expected, as Naraku had controlled the puppet. Kagome's intense piercing scream mingled with Naraku's infuriated scream of pain and rage as the blood flowing from her shoulder ate away at his tentacle.

They dropped to the ground, Naraku staring at the miko as he tried to withdraw his tentacle from the purifying blood. This was impossible. She could not have done this. An untrained, immature, pathetic little wannabe miko could not have made her blood purify him!

"How?" He choked out as her blood seemed to keep his tentacle in place. It was trying to travel to the rest of him.

"It wasn't hard. When I use my powers, not my arrows, but when I channel it through my hands, it gathers in the rest of me and I have to push it from my blood to my hands. I just didn't push. It's actually easier." Kagome's eyes were weary, and each word was a struggle. She lifted her hand that was on her uninjured side and put it on his chest. "Still, I think its time for it to move away from my blood."

Her friends were coming. Some of them anyway. Some of them lay still. She could sense that. Unconscious or dead? They would be dead if she didn't do this. At the same time she sensed Yusuke gathering up for one of his attacks. Good. She didn't know if she had enough energy to do this alone.

"SPIRIT GUN!" Later, his friends might comment that they wouldn't have been surprised if he had used up all of his left over spirit energy in that desperate blast. All he could see, all most of them could see, was the blood dripping down Kagome's form as she stood near Naraku. As his attack hit, Naraku's body glowed pink from another attack. There was a screech, and a struggle. Kagome was thrown back to land limply in the dirt of the courtyard. Everyone was gaping at Naraku. The two powerful attacks had met, and now Naraku was purple instead of pink.

There was an unearthly screech as Naraku began to disintegrate. "Curse you! The Shikon no Tama will bring you more trouble than even I have! I will not let this be the end!"

Then the form of Naraku was gone, a pile of ash in the shape of a spider the only reminder that he had been there. Soon, even that was gone as it blew away with a swift wind. Not that anyone was actually watching that anymore.

The entire group that could stand was standing around Kagome's fallen form. Sango was carrying Miroku. He was in bad shape. She herself was only breathing because of Sesshoumaru's healing sword. He wouldn't use it on Miroku, stating he was unsure how it would react to the power of a holy being. That, Sango knew, counted for either Miroku or Kagome.

Kirara, too, was dead. And, now that the battle was over, Sesshoumaru saw no reason to bring the cat back at all. He had no debt left over. He took one sniff of the air around the miko, wrinkled his nose at the stench that filled the courtyard, and was gone. Naraku was destroyed. It was time to check on Rin and go home.

Everyone had collapsed next to Kagome, awaiting some sign that the girl was still living. Botan had been knocked unconscious by a smart incarnate that decided she hadn't liked the other female renewing the irritating warriors. She would not be able to tell them.

Yusuke was holding the limp teenage girl in his arms. There was so much red. He hoped some of it was demon blood. He hoped most of it was. No one could have bled that much and still be... Yusuke muffled the thought. Not possible.

"Kagome?" The faint whisper came from Kouga, crouching down across from Yusuke. Kouga and Inuyasha exchanged a worried glance. The smell of death hung in the air, but so many had been killed, mostly demons, and miasma still hung in the air. It was impossible to tell if life was still in Kagome.

"Hey, wake up!" Inuyasha's slightly angry and more than a little panicked voice intruded upon everyone thoughts. Kagome lay motionless.

"Damn it Kagome. Wake up." Yusuke stared at her. Despite the curse word, his voice was soft, and barely audible. Even Kouga and Inuyasha backed up at the raw emotion in his voice.

"Please Kagome." Yusuke couldn't remember many times when he'd ever used the word 'please'.

"Please wake up."

There was no answer.

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