Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Hallowed Anniversary	By : SplendentGoddess Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > InuYasha/Kagome Views: 4986 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Inuyasha, and the characters therein, are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I am in no way affiliated with Takahashi or VIZ Productions, and I do not gain financially from my fanfic in any way.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
Chapter 2 - Monster Mash

Wanting to cover as much ground as possible, Kagome carried the burden of both her quiver and her backpack, while Inuyasha carried her, as they ran through the woods at top speed. There was no way they could make it back to Kaede's before nightfall, but they still wanted to travel as far as they could before being forced to stop for the night. Tonight was the new moon, which meant an entire night of remaining still, and they did have an appointment to meet in Kagome's time, after all. The 31st wasn't going to wait for them if they were running late. Fortunately, they should have plenty of time to get back, considering they had left for Kaede's a whole two days earlier than what Inuyasha had originally predicted as the deadline for when they needed to head back. But the extra time had been allotted for a reason. It seemed in recent months that everywhere they went, random youkai were after them for their jewel shards.
That day was no exception, as it would soon turn out.
They'd been running for maybe four hours before a gravelly voice declaring its desire for their jewel shards stopped them dead in their tracks. Well, it wasn't so much the voice that had stopped them, as it was the thing that said voice belonged to. With as hideous as the youkai already appeared on its own, Kagome didn't even want to think about what it would look like if it were actually to get a hold of their jewel shards. The best way to describe it was a cross between a bipedal salamander, and the melty-drippy mud guy from The Nightmare Before Christmas. It also smelled like how you'd imagine such a creature would likely smell, and Kagome immediately felt sorry for her husband and his sensitive nose.
The hanyou managed to deal with it, though, as he quickly lowered Kagome from his back, keeping her behind him for protection as he faced off against the creature.
"I would say I'd let you live if you let us pass, but I think killing you would put you out of your misery." he hissed, drawing his sword as the beast snapped its enormous jaws in their direction.
Using a demonic attack that could only be described as disgusting, the youkai somehow managed to harness the blobs of melting wax-like flesh upon its person, and Kagome couldn't help but to stare in fascination as the smaller droplets all gathered into its open palm, forming a perfect sphere. She snapped back into reality just as the youkai threw its flesh ball at her, Inuyasha currently in the air mid-swing with Tetsusaiga and unable to block the attack.
"Kagome! Look out!"
Acting on pure instinct, the miko swung her bow much like a baseball bat, successfully deflecting the youkai's attack while Inuyasha finished with the follow-through of his own.
For its size and general shape, the youkai was fast, easily dodging Tetsusaiga as it swung itself around, nearly smacking Inuyasha in the face with its tail before he too managed to dodge at just the last moment.
"Jeeeweeellll ssshhhhaaarrdssss" it managed to hiss again.
"I don't think so!" Inuyasha declared as he swung down with Tetsusaiga a second time.
The youki charged ball of guck that Kagome had sent hurling back in the youkai's direction proved harmless to the creature as it merely reabsorbed its own energy, but the arrow she had sent soaring along the same path moments afterward was another story. Distracted as the oni was with trying to dodge Inuyasha's attacks, it failed to notice Kagome's arrow until it was too late.
"Nooooooo!" it cried, as its body dissolved into sparkly dust.
Taken aback by his enemy suddenly disappearing before his very eyes, Inuyasha glared with faux anger at his grinning wife, as he bitterly declared, "I had him!"
Shrugging, Kagome said "Sorry" in a tone of voice that made it clear she wasn't really all that apologetic.
Huffing, Inuyasha kept up the pretence of being mad for another thirty seconds or so, before Kagome's smile finally called his bluff, and he grinned crookedly back at her in return. She had grown so much more powerful over the years. He was truly proud of her.
Two hours later, it actually took a combined attack of Wind Scar and her sacred arrow to take down the ginormous bear youkai that had already been in possession of a jewel shard. Just like the last time, Naraku's disappearance once again meant that all of the lesser youkai were crawling out of the woodwork, only this time, the dark hanyou was not merely biding his time behind the safety of a holy barrier.
And speaking of barriers, Kagome was starting to get rather concerned regarding the upcoming moonless night. While Inuyasha might posture and claim that he didn't need her protection, she knew otherwise, and deep down inside, so did he. There weren't any villages nearby, so they had no choice but to stay in the wilderness that night. It would be the first time they were truly on their own during the new moon, but Kagome was not quite as helpless as she used to be, and had already formulated a game plan. It would be hard on her to create a barrier that could last all night long, but not impossible. She had been practicing with both Kaede and Miroku on the subject for months, having decided that she needed all the training she could get to be at her absolute strongest while she and Inuyasha were traveling alone together, just the two of them. It would make it a lot easier on her, though, if she only had to concentrate on a straight wall rather than a rounded dome, and so after some mild arguing, and threats of a sexual nature - or rather, the lack thereof - it was with a rather undignified surrender that Inuyasha headed towards the nearby mountains, concentrating on finding them a suitable cave for the night.
Setting up an hour before sunset, Inuyasha worked on building themselves a small fire, while Kagome focused on creating a protective barrier across the entrance of the cave. Ever since her spiritual powers had reawakened at the fall of Naraku, it was as if the original, weaker seal she'd been born with had also been lifted from her aura, as she was much more powerful now than she had ever been before. Pulling out several real sealing sutra, Kagome concentrated first with the prayer that Miroku had taught her, as she charged each of the sutra individually. Then, she grabbed her arrows, and stabbed one through each sutra before then jamming the arrows into the dirt and rock face of the cave entrance. She then closed her eyes once more, concentrating on a prayer that Kaede had taught her, to use her arrows as amplifiers for the power of the sutra attached to them. It was exhausting, but well worth it. Opening her eyes, Kagome was certain that it had worked, although she unfortunately had no way of really testing it.
Or at least that's what she'd thought.
"Inuyasha!"
The hanyou in question, knowing full well what to expect if she had done it right, reached forward without any visible hesitation, and was instantly thrown back on his ass with second degree burns on his hand.
"Damn, woman, I'm staying on your good side." he chuckled in amusement, hissing under his breath at the pain in his fingers and palm.
The burns would heal in about half an hour or so, so they'd be gone before sunset. Still, that didn't mean that Kagome was about to let him suffer through the pain until then. Her weariness instantly forgotten, she opened her bag and pulled out some cooling ointment and gauze, while gesturing for him to stick out his injured hand.
Reluctantly, he complied, voicing his opinion regarding her 'wasting' their supplies on him, even though deep down, he actually appreciated the attention. It wasn't so much that he ever truly needed her to treat his injuries, because he would heal on his own just fine, but the simple fact that she wanted to treat his injuries meant more to him than even he had realized back at the beginning. Back when they'd first been hunting the jewel shards, as well as Naraku, Inuyasha had thought that her fussing over him like she always did was annoying and pointless. He'd thought that the girl was stupid for not comprehending the fact that fussing over some minor scratches here and there simply wasn't necessary. It hadn't been until after Miroku had oh-so-tactfully pointed out the fact that he should be thankful that Kagome even cared enough to treat the wounds of a hanyou at all - the monk hadn't been with their group for very long at that time and hadn't yet known that Kagome wasn't from their world - that it had suddenly dawned on Inuyasha what the houshi had actually been getting at. Kagome had known that she didn't have to treat his wounds, but she had wanted to, anyway. Her lack of prejudice due to being from the future aside, she'd wanted to help him, to make him feel more comfortable until he healed. Even though he'd still put up a fuss, for appearance's sake, he'd secretly always appreciated her care of him after that little revelation.
Nobody else had ever bothered to show such care for him before, not since his mother's death. Maybe Kikyou would have willingly treated his battle wounds, if he had let her, but unlike Kagome, Kikyou simply hadn't put up a fight when he'd dismissed the significance of his injuries. Kagome never took 'no' for an answer, and he loved her for it. Yes, her blatant disregard for his own opinion when it came to making sure he was properly cared for was one of the things that had made him fall so deeply in love with her back in the beginning. It was one of the things that had proved to him just how deeply she'd loved him.
Now that they were married, he hardly put on much of an act at all any more. He did voice his opinion in this instance that it was foolish of her to waste her gauze like that, in case they needed it for something more serious later on, but she merely pointed out that they were already heading back to her time, anyway, and so she could easily restock their medical supplies while they were there.
"I can't very well just leave you to suffer with those burns. It's my fault." she whispered, applying the much appreciated aloe to his reddened skin.
"Feh." he scoffed. "It's hardly your fault. I'm the one who touched the barrier."
"Yes, you did." she agreed, planting a tender kiss to the gauze-covered palm of his hand. "You deliberately risked inflicting yourself with pain and injury to make sure the barrier was working, to ensure our safety. Thank you."
Inuyasha smiled at her words, a mild blush staining his cheeks. He was so used to her chastising his rash actions, and calling him stupid - even though he knew she didn't really mean it - that it always surprised and embarrassed him whenever she expressed her deeper understanding, recognizing his actions for exactly what they were as she expressed her genuine gratitude for his effort.
"Keh."
Caught up in his own thoughts for the moment, he missed it, at first, when her kisses started traveling up his wrist, then his arm, until he suddenly felt her brush back his sleeve in order to reach more skin.
"Kagome...?"
"Hmmm?"
Catching her face delicately with his other hand, Inuyasha held his fingers gently against her chin, turning her gaze to meet his own. She looked at him in that moment with nothing but pure, unadulterated love. The rapidly falling shadows cast their eastern facing cave in a blanket of darkening twilight, the flickering dance of their small campfire reflecting itself in each other's eyes, as they gazed across at one another.
Then the sun completed its descent.
Kagome felt more than saw the pulse of energy that rushed through him, as his youkai blood quickly switched 'off' into hibernation mode. It was magical to watch, and she was grateful to learn that the experience did not cause him physical pain, despite its appearance. She had braved asking him once, and he had assured her that while it felt 'weird' it didn't actually hurt. The miko watched, unblinkingly, as her husband's white hair became enveloped in waves of cascading black, as if someone had poured a bottle of ink on his head. His claws and fangs shrank in that same moment, retracting into his body, while at the same time losing the deadly sharpness they'd once possessed, becoming nothing more than blunted human nails and teeth. Of course, his ears always fascinated her the most. Kagome watched, still as a statue, as they slowly morphed in shape while simultaneously crawling down the sides of his head. It all happened so fast that she knew if she blinked, she could miss something. One minute he was his normal, hanyou self, and the next, he was completely human, sitting before her with the same look of love still blazing in his now coffee colored orbs.
Without saying a word, the hanyou-turned-human leaned forward, capturing her lips with his own. His emotions were always so much stronger during his human night, and while Inuyasha used to loath that about himself, he had since learned to accept and cherish the times when he could fully let his love for the woman before him soar with all the power of his human heart.
Even so, would you believe that in the entire year they'd been together, they had not yet made love during his human night?
During the first five months they had been together, they had still been traveling as a group, still hunting Naraku, and the opportunity to be together at all had rarely presented itself. They had scampered off for a quickie on several occasions, relying on Inuyasha's demonic senses to inform them when the coast was clear, but during his nights of vulnerability they had all stayed close together at camp, playing cards or telling stories, or anything else they could think of to help themselves stay awake. It had become a tradition among the inu-tachi that his pack return the favor of his constant protection by protecting him during his human night, and though it had taken him a little while to get used to the idea, he had eventually learned to accept the fact that he actually had friends...something that he never used to think he'd ever have in a million years.
Then, after Naraku had finally been defeated, and Miroku and Sango had decided to settle into Kaede's village, Kagome and Inuyasha had strived to return to Kaede's village as well during his human nights, not wanting to spend them alone in the forest just the two of them for very real and obvious security reasons. That of course had meant that they still hadn't been alone on those nights, sharing the small hut with everybody else, though it had also meant that they could at least get some much-deserved sleep, for once. Inuyasha felt safe in Kaede's village, and he also rejoiced in the fact that he could at least hold Kagome while they slept, knowing that nobody would say anything derogatory about it.
On a couple of occasions, they had even passed through the well for the moonless night, enjoying a night alone in Kagome's bedroom instead, although they still hadn't dared to do anything too extravagant while her family had been asleep in the same house. They were both quite the screamers while in the throws of passion, and that would have been beyond embarrassing the following morning. But thanks to their privacy and his unhindered human emotions, they had learned more about each other than they'd ever thought they'd know during those two moonless nights spent in her time. Stupid little things, everyday things about their respective pasts that they wanted to share which each other simply for the sake of sharing. Kagome had told him stories from her childhood, and amazingly enough, he had returned the favor. He hadn't wanted to keep anything about himself a secret from her any longer; he loved her.
Then there had been the one time, back when Kagome had still been wearing simple yukata rather than the robes of a miko, that they had found themselves too far out to make it back to Kaede's village in time, and so they had ended up staying in some random village during his human night. They had both agreed that it would be the lesser of two evils, knowing that staying in the village would undoubtedly be safer than being completely alone out in the woods without the added protection that Miroku, Sango, and even Kirara had always provided in the past. Even Shippou, as useless as he usually was in battle, had provided a set of demonic ears for things that went bump in the night. It had been before Kagome had learned how to make her protective barriers, and so they would've been virtually defenseless, aside from her arrows, had they decided to remain in the woods just the two of them on that night. Having waited until after dark to make their approach, they had been tremendously relieved when they had received a normal, warm greeting by the local villagers. Because Kagome had been dressed appropriately enough for the role, they had decided to tell the Inn Keeper the truth in that they were husband and wife, and they had received no hassles with acquiring a single room to stay in for the night. Still, they hadn't dared do anything while in such a dangerous setting. Besides the fact that the walls were literally paper thin, and they had definitely not wanted any strangers to overhear them going at it, there had also been the very real possibility that a youkai might have been drawn to their position during the night because of Kagome's jewel shards. They'd also known that they couldn't risk exhausting themselves and end up accidentally falling asleep. Inuyasha still couldn't believe that he had actually fallen asleep after their first time together, and when he had been hanyou, no less. No, they most certainly couldn't have risked that when they'd known that they'd had to be out of there before dawn the following morning.
Fortunately, their night in the village had at least been a peaceful one, as no random youkai had shown up to disrupt the tranquility of the Inn, and the following morning, they had successfully snuck out before dawn, leaving only confused humans in their wake when their empty room was discovered two hours later, leaving the Inn Keeper and his wife to wonder why their patrons had failed to stay for breakfast. They had wondered if perhaps the young couple had not truly been married after all, and had merely been seeking some place private to get away for a few hours during the night for an improper tryst before needing to return to their respective lives come morning. Little did they know that virtually the opposite was true, as Kagome and Inuyasha were rightfully married, and they would also never deliberately seek out the 'privacy' of a village Inn were they merely in need of a place to express their love. To do so would not only be foolish, but extremely dangerous. Especially after her change in wardrobe, which had taken place not long after their moonless night at the Inn.
While staying in random villages with him in his hanyou form had become less of an issue after Kagome began wearing the robes of a miko, as people began seeing her as his captor instead of his whore, they most certainly could not attempt anything of a romantic nature, even if they hypothetically once again got a room for his human night. Not while Kagome was seen as a priestess by the local villagers. Loving a miko was simply off-limits, even for a human man.
A hanyou loving a miko was punishable by death. They'd learned that lesson the hard way, too.
What a horrible lesson it had been.
Now, they weren't stupid, and they had certainly known never to try anything too frisky while in the company of others, but they hadn't thought, at least at first, that simply sleeping in one another's arms would have caused any harm. They had been as quiet as a mouse. How were they supposed to have known that the Inn Keeper would decide to stick his nosey head into their room in the middle of the night? Whatever happened to respecting a miko's privacy? But apparently that right was null and void, considering 'what' she had already been sharing a room with. They never did find out if the man had actually suspected them all along, or if he had merely wished to make sure the miko was all right, only to be horrified beyond words at his discovery. After all, even though they had merely been sleeping, and had been fully clothed, only lovers held each other that tenderly as they slept. They'd fled that village at top speed with flaming torches and words like 'dark miko' and 'youkai's whore' following in their wake.
After all, if Kagome was bedding with a hanyou, then she had to be a dark miko, right? Miko were supposed to remain pure, both in body and soul. Or at least that's what everyone else seemed to believe, despite the fact that Kaede, who was clearly aware of their relationship as well, had never once said a single thing about their coupling in a negative fashion. She had actually congratulated them, stating how she had been able to tell that they'd been in love with each other for quite some time, and how she was glad that they had finally decided to act on their feelings. But Inuyasha figured that Kaede had a rather unique perspective regarding the whole thing, all things considered, and her meaning had not been lost on him when she'd expressed how she believed that he and Kagome had been destined for each other.
Just like it seemed as though they were destined to find this cave for the night, he mused, even as he continued to brush his tongue delicately against her own, mentally cataloging the alteration in her taste due to his weakened sense of smell.
Kagome, for her part, couldn't quite shake the odd feel of his mouth on hers without his fangs. It was like she was kissing somebody else entirely. But when she gazed deeply into those darkened eyes of his, they didn't seem strange to her in the slightest. Yes, they were a different color, but the eyes truly were the windows to the soul, and the soul she could see gazing back at her from those chocolate depths was the same soul she had fallen in love with so long ago. Wrapping her arms up and around his neck, she held him to her tightly as she explored his fang-less mouth with her eager tongue, instantly noticing the more docile approach he adopted in his attempt to dominate her with his own.
Slowly, Inuyasha reached up with his right hand, his burns having since healed, and cupped her delicate breast through the fabric of her chihaya. Kagome leaned into the touch, relieved to learn that while he may be a bit gentler on his human nights, he didn't lose any of his brazen confidence.
Reluctantly pulling herself away after a moment, the miko was quick to squash the sudden look of confused hurt that momentarily splashed itself across her husband's face, as his eyes widened in realization upon seeing her unrolling her sleeping bag.
"Kagome..." he moaned, his voice suddenly so husky with desire that it almost sounded like his normal hanyou voice with its intensity.
"Come here and lay down." she instructed softly, understanding how her husband lacked his usual animal aggressions at the moment. He couldn't help it. It was a natural side effect of becoming human.
Obeying her command with a curious smirk on his face, he lied down before her on top of her sleeping roll, eager to discover what it was she had in mind.
He was not disappointed.
Slowly, tenderly, Kagome planted loving kisses upon his forehead, nose, mouth and chin, before lowing herself even further, suckling on his throat at his pulse-point. He shuddered below her in anticipation as her hands began deftly unfastening the ties on his suikan and kosode, pulling both robes open in a desire to reach more skin. The sudden chill of the night air against his heated flesh was short lived as she draped herself across him, straddling his legs as she delicately ran her tongue along his chest, teasing his nipples until they became as stiff and aroused as something else she could feel throbbing below her belly.
"I can't believe we've never done this before." she cooed, even as she continued to sprinkle his chest and tummy with kisses. He was pretty sure she was referring to his human night, although he had never before found himself in the submissive potion below her, either, until now.
"No time like the present." he hissed through his pleasure, in an adaptation of the motto they had been living by for an entire year.
Her only response was an approving moan, as she writhed her lower half back and forth against him, while continuing to suckle on the exposed skin of his torso. Shimmying herself even lower along his body, she straddled his shins, as she started lazily working loose the ties of his hakama. She was in no hurry...they had all night, after all.
Inuyasha growled in anticipation the best his human vocal cords would allow as he stared down at her with fire in his eyes. There was nothing quite as erotic as the sight of his Kagome sitting on his legs, working to untie his pants. Yes, his Kagome. Sometimes, he still called her his mate, even if that term was casual at best. More often than not, he referred to her as his wife, as that title was simply fact, and his human half felt pride in the declaration. But, if there was one word he had to pick with which to describe his woman the most accurately, it would simply be 'Kagome'. That single word stirred more emotions within him, even while hanyou, than he'd care to admit to anyone, except to Kagome herself, of course. He always made sure that she knew exactly what she did to him. The fact that she was dressed like a miko did nothing to hinder the exotic image of her sexuality in his mind. He had gotten so used to seeing her in that outfit over the past few months that it was simply clothing to him by that point. He knew the woman underneath all those clothes, both physically and mentally, and while Kagome could represent the epitome of the perfect miko when it came to say, treating the sick or injured, she simply disagreed with the notion that in order to be pure of heart, one must also remain pure in flesh. According to her, expressing physical love was the purest of acts that any two people who truly cared for each other could partake in. He wasn't about to argue with her on that point, either.
Especially not now.
Having successfully untied the knots on his hakama, she folded the front flap downward, exposing his fundoshi. His straining, tented, filled to capacity fundoshi. She licked her lips, and his eyes bugged in instant understanding. His flesh was always so much more sensitive during his human nights. Usually, that was a bad thing, because it meant he could feel pain much more intensely. But, during blessed moments like these...
Unconsciously, he raised his hips as he felt her attempting to slide his fundoshi down, assisting her with exposing his throbbing lust to her eager eyes. He was nearly just as large in his human form, still well beyond what would be considered average for a Japanese male. His pubic hairs, as would be expected, had also turned to black for the time being, but Kagome found the sight of him no less appealing than on any other night.
Feeling her wrap her delicate hands around his sensitive flesh, the hanyou-turned-human closed his eyes and hissed in pleasure, concentrating on anything abstract he could bring to mind in a desperate attempt to not lose himself too quickly. It felt absolutely incredible, beyond his wildest dreams, to simply have her touching him like that. He still remembered the first time she'd ever done so, and how surprised he had been at the simple difference that somebody else's hand could make. For the longest time Inuyasha had remained in stunned disbelief that there actually was a 'somebody else' to touch him in such a manner. Never in his life had he ever dared to truly hope that he would one day find himself a companion as he had now. He had known, or rather, he had thought, that the life of a hanyou was one of solitude. Sometimes he still found it hard to believe that the last year of his life wasn't actually just some sort of elaborate dream, which he would one day, regretfully, awake from. But no, daring to glance down the length of his body in that moment, Inuyasha assured himself that it wasn't a dream. Kagome wasn't a dream. She was real, she was his mate, his wife, his lover, and she was touching him. It felt even more amazing than usual, under the circumstances, and he was loving every minute of it. The increase in pleasure he was already experiencing due to his human transformation was made even more dramatic by the tidal wave of human emotions currently washing over him, and for once in his life he didn't fight the mental onslaught. He embraced it.
Much like she was embracing him.
Good gods...
A gasp of pleasure was ripped from his throat so forcefully that it echoed throughout the entire cave at the sudden feel of her taking him fully into her mouth. While she had done that for him a few times before, he had always been standing, usually leaning up against a tree, with her on her knees before him. Never before had he been lying so exposed before her, helpless on his back. Never before had he felt as though he were the one submitting to her during the act.
She was slow, torturously so, as she relished in watching him writhe below her in pained pleasure. So much, too much, and yet not nearly enough, and she knew that. His head thrashed back and forth seemingly of its own accord, as his breath came in shallow gasps and pants. Delicately massaging his testicles with her left hand, Kagome gripped the base of his shaft firmly in her right, as she slowly but surely began pumping him in a more recognizable rhythm. He cried out when she scraped him gently with her teeth, and his hips bucked forward when she danced her tongue in lazy circles around his head, teasing the rim of his foreskin.
Finally, it was the faintest, pained whisper of "St-stop..." that barely reached her ears, that let her know that her temporarily human husband had taken all he could endure.
Uttering the command for her to cease her actions had been the single toughest thing he'd ever had to do in his entire life. Screw that 'morning after' talk with her mother. That had been nothing compared to the painful protesting his body was cursing him with for having stopped Kagome's wonderful torture in that moment. But he knew she'd understand why he had uttered the command, and somehow managing to get his eyes to obey the signal to open in that moment, Inuyasha was pleased to find her already on the verge of becoming quite naked. He wouldn't question how she had mastered getting in and out of those miko robes so damn quickly; it was one of her many wonderful talents.
Sitting up, he slipped his own open robes down his arms, removing them fully, before kicking away his hakama and fundoshi, until he too was completely bare before her. Despite the fact that he was currently human, Inuyasha found that it was suddenly rather warm in their small cave; especially with the heated gaze Kagome was sending his way. He was just about to get up, but his wife crawling forward and delicately placing a hand on his chest immediately let Inuyasha know that she wanted him right where he was, lying flat on his back. Ordinarily, his youkai half would never settle for being dominated by her in such a fashion, but he supposed she already knew that, which was probably why she had never even attempted such a position, until now.
Being the human man that he currently was, he merely smiled lovingly at the sight of her crawling over him, her breasts dangling in front of his face. Licking his lips, he tilted his head forward and captured one of her hardened nipples between his teeth. She hissed in pleasure, but reluctantly pulled away, as she sat herself fully upright, positioning herself over his throbbing erection.
"Kagome..." he groaned, and it was neither a command for her to stop, nor permission for her to continue. It was simply an exclamation of his love for her, and she understood that, returning the gesture when she leaned forward over him once more, whispering "Inuyasha..." before reaching down between themselves guide his body within her own.
He had to close his eyes against the sensation of her heat enveloping him. It was a weird sensation, for his body to be receiving such signals of pleasurable mating, while lying motionless on his back, putting forth none of the effort. Part of him actually felt a little guilty, simply laying there, letting her pleasure him, letting her do all the work. He tried to move his hips, but she stopped him, clearly indicating that she wanted to be the one in control, at least this once.
As she slowly began rising and lowering herself in a steady rhythm, Kagome found that she couldn't tear her eyes away from his face. Though she couldn't see all too well, the low light from their small fire provided her eyes with enough illumination to clearly make out his strained expression, from the unbearable pleasure that she was currently putting him through. He was already close, thanks to her earlier attentions, and so it wasn't long at all before his breathing once again began coming in shallower pants. That was her cue to stop moving altogether.
Snapping his eyes open, Inuyasha gazed up at his wife's teasing smirk in disbelief.
"You bitch..." he panted in amusement, his strangled laughter somewhat softening the blow of the insult.
Kagome laughed above him, causing his eyes to roll back in his head from the sensation of her inner muscles gripping him so tightly. Looking down over himself, he experienced another wave of arousal at observing the sight of his shaft disappearing into her core. Suddenly, he had the best idea, as he fumbled with his hands to remove the no longer needed gauze still covering the fingers on his right. Pulling the bandages free, he smirked at his clawless digits, before promptly reaching forward and brushing them against her nest of curls, seeking the treasure he knew lay hidden within.
Kagome stilled above him for an entirely different reason when she suddenly registered the sensation of his thumb repeatedly rubbing against her sensitive bundle of nerves. He had never touched her like that before, and for obvious reasons. Ten lethally sharp reasons, to be exact. He'd occasionally brushed her with his knuckles, a tease more than anything else, simply to enlist the occasional gasp from her, but nothing like this. Regaining her composure, Kagome managed to keep herself moving over him, even as wave after wave of pleasure washed through her own body at his continued ministrations.
He was close. He was beyond close. He was dangling over the edge, his feet standing on nothing, as the tree branch he clung to from above cracked and strained from the weight of supporting him. Still, he refused to fall. He refused to plummet into those depths, without at least bringing her with him. Gripping her right hip firmly with his left hand, Inuyasha knew that for once, he didn't need to fear accidentally piercing her flesh with his claws as he held her tightly, restricting her motion. Stop moving, damn it! Frantically, he rubbed her, and he could feel her entire body shuddering above him. Her own breathing rapidly became more shallow, and her eyes pinched shut.
Suddenly, it happened. She cried out above him, her inner muscles tightening around his shaft to the point of insanity. That sensation alone was nearly enough to do him in, but he somehow managed to muscle up enough strength to lift and lower her with his left hand on her hip, his right hand still preoccupied below. If she experienced any discomfort from him gripping her one side so tightly, she didn't show it, and it was only two trips up and down before he felt his own explosion roar through him at breakneck speed. He howled so loudly that it was a wonder he didn't trigger a cave-in, and at the sound, Kagome couldn't help but to silently muse that apparently not all of his inu instincts left him during his human night, after all.
Collapsing on top of him, they both laid motionless for a few minutes, each of them concentrating on regulating their breathing.
"That...that was..." Inuyasha eventually tried to pant out, though his wife completed his thought for him.
"Incredible." she gasped, and he could only nod in agreement below her.
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"What about the time you drank all that sake from Yakurou Doukusen's jar? You got pretty drunk for a minute there, yourself."
"I was not drunk!"
"Then why were there three of me then, hmmm?"
Still thinking it best to stay awake throughout the remainder of the night, after Kagome and Inuyasha got dressed, they snuggled together inside her sleeping bag, reminiscing on the more amusing moments of their original journey together. Inuyasha had just finished thoroughly humiliating his wife with the reminder of how she'd acted when she'd gotten herself drunk off the mists of Mt. Kasumidake, when they'd gone in search of the legendary sake Miroku's master Mushin had requested they fetch for him. There had been three of her, then, with an equally drunk Shippou and Hachi making up the other two busy-tailed members of the Kagome Triplets.
Still, the miko wasn't above payback, and their brief time spent with that youkai sage while Sango had been getting Hiraikotsu repaired had immediately come to mind. At the time, Inuyasha had of course insisted that he wasn't drunk, but had then turned around and proceeded to ask her why there were two, and then later even three of her. But he hadn't been drunk. Of course not. How foolish of her to have presumed otherwise.
"Okay fine..." he finally relented, causing her to do a little mental happy dance at being proven right. "But it wasn't as if I'd drank any of that sake on purpose. That stupid old sage just threw me in the jar!"
She'd meet him halfway on that one.
"That's true, you're right about that."
"Feh, 'course I'm right."
The miko couldn't help but to smile at that, so she was taken completely by surprise when she turned back his way after a moment, only to suddenly discover how somber her husband had unexplainably become.
"What's wrong?" she asked right away, concern and confusion both present in her voice. What could have possibly changed his mood so quickly?
"We came so close to losing him." Inuyasha mumbled under his breath, and Kagome immediately realized that he was talking about Miroku.
She and Sango had eventually been made aware of the health condition that had been plaguing their friend and traveling companion for the later portion of their journey. While Kagome knew that she couldn't blame Inuyasha for keeping Miroku's condition a secret, as she definitely understood how strongly he valued the honor of keeping a promise, the miko had still been a little hurt, at least at first, to realize that Miroku had actually wanted to keep something as important as his health a secret from her and Sango in the first place. Of course, it hadn't taken Kagome all that long to realize the same thing that Miroku had understood back then, that if Sango had realized just how weak he had truly become, she wouldn't have hesitated to protect his life with her own. She'd done it before, at Mt. Hakurei, and the houshi hadn't wanted to bear the thought of her actually dying on his behalf.
He needed to be the one to protect her, and he had done so a few times since that day, still using the wind tunnel on a few rare occasions, though only when absolutely necessary. He had done good to keep his promise to Inuyasha of not using it in vain. He had truly only resorted to using his curse whenever he'd felt that there had been no other options. Kagome couldn't really blame Miroku for his decision, if she were to be fully honest with herself. It was only the part about keeping it a secret that had bothered her. But if she had found herself faced with a similar situation, she would have chosen to drink the poison too. She knew she would've. If it would have meant feeling no pain, and being able to aid her friends in battle, you better believe it.
And Miroku's wind tunnel had proven necessary in the end, just like Sango's Hiraikotsu, Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga, and her own sacred arrows. Even Sesshoumaru had played his part in the dark hanyou's destruction, and they could never forget about Kohaku's sacrifice. It had truly been a group effort, on everyone's part.
~~~Flashback~~~
(AN: I originally wrote this battle scene prior to the translated release of manga chapter 526. Although the manga has since been completed, 33 chapters later, I have decided not to alter what I'd already written back when chapter 525 had still been the latest installment. I like the way this turned out, just the way it is. So this battle takes place during and directly after chapter 525, as if the events of chapter 526 and beyond never happened. None of the events after manga chapter 525 exist in the universe of this story.)
"Wake up! Fight, Kohaku!"
Desperate to reach the soul of her brother that she knew was still locked away in there, somewhere, Sango faced off against Magatsuhi, who in turn only laughed that her effort was useless, until of course the boy suddenly regained consciousness. Kohaku was quick to make up his mind regarding what course of action there was left for him to take, though Magatsuhi merely taunted the boy that even if his body was smashed upon the rocks below, he would still control the portion of his corpse that contained the jewel shard.
In the mean time, Kagome had noticed something very important regarding said shard, which was now the one and only shard keeping Naraku from completing the entire jewel. The tiniest hint of Kikyou's pure light was present within Kohaku's shard, having been transferred from Naraku's jewel, which enabled the boy to resist Magatsuhi's power over him, but more than that, it meant that there was still a chance. There was still time. There was still hope.
Magatsuhi was the physical manifestation of the sacred jewel's evil, itself. The jewel's purity, namely Midoriko's soul, was all but completely overpowered by that point. Kikyou had borrowed a portion of Midoriko's soul for a time, back when she'd needed the ancient warrior-miko's strength in order to continue to fight against Naraku's miasma, and as a result, their souls had formed a sort of bond, if you will. While the borrowed portion of Kagome's soul had never returned to her upon Kikyou's death, their souls were in truth still one in the same. Kagome could just as easily sense Kikyou's essence within Kohaku's jewel shard as she could sense her own existence on the Earth. She also had a unique connection to the Sacred Jewel to begin with, having been born with the jewel within her body, and as such, she could almost feel the soul of Midoriko herself, crying out to be saved from such agonizing evil.
With Magatsuhi's seal over her own miko powers still in effect, Kagome didn't know what she could accomplish, but she still had to try.
It was at that moment that everything seemed to happen all at once. Kohaku let go, fully prepared to plummet to his own death, knowing that neither Inuyasha nor his sister would let Magatsuhi stake claim on his jewel shard. Kagome prayed that she could somehow lend her strength to Kikyou's power within the shard, knowing that the evil force that was Magatsuhi was in truth only half of what the Sacred Jewel consisted of. Everyone watched in relief as Magatsuhi was somehow forced out of Kohaku's body, apparently by the force of his purifying shard, but then before Sango could catch her brother atop Kirara, Naraku shot out one of his tentacles, snatching the boy mid-air by his leg.
Inuyasha immediately broke away to engage the dark hanyou in battle, then, hoping to get rid of him once and for all with a quick strike of his newly acquired Meidou Zangetsuha. For a second there, he thought he'd been successful, but Kagome, whose powers apparently weren't as sealed as she'd thought they were, instantly realized that she could still sense the evil that was Naraku's corrupted jewel, and warned Inuyasha that the dark hanyou still existed. He barely dodged the tentacle that had come shooting out of the rock face behind him no sooner than she'd said that, and he and Sango continued to face off against the pieces of Naraku that held Kohaku captive, while the spirit of Magatsuhi watched amusedly from the sky above.
Magatsuhi dared to smirk that they had lost, but it was at that moment that Sesshoumaru arrived on the scene wielding Tenseiga, the only sword in existence that could cut the evil spirit that was Magatsuhi, being a sword of Heaven.
While Sesshoumaru took on Magatsuhi himself, Inuyasha continued to face off against Naraku, while Sango attempted to free Kohaku, despite the pain of her earlier injuries. They had to win, they had to defeat Naraku; it was the only way to save Miroku's life.
Kagome suddenly realized in that moment that she was in truth still a miko, as she could feel the speck of purity within Kohaku's shard pulsing in time with her own heartbeat. Magatsuhi might have sealed her powers, for the most part, but they were still there. If she could break other spells that had been cast over herself throughout their journey, then she could break his hold over her as well, she told herself in that moment. Her powers couldn't be blocked completely, after all, if she could still sense the presence of Kikyou's light within the jewel. She suddenly had a flashback to Kanna's last words, when upon the void-youkai's death, she had told her in a vision that the light would kill Naraku.
That's right, Naraku couldn't touch Kohaku's shard, because it caused the light within the jewel to spread. But Magatsuhi corrupted Kohaku's shard...he said that when his shard rejoined with Naraku's jewel, the point of light left by Kikyou would be engulfed.
Glancing across at the battle before her, Kagome saw Sango successfully slice away Naraku's tentacles with her newly strengthened Hiraikotsu, the spirits of the youkai within her weapon having agreed to fight by her side until the very end. Kohaku landed behind her on Kirara, and the two taijiya were quick to escape the path of destruction as Inuyasha released a Diamond Spear Blast in Naraku's direction.
There was no way Kagome could miss the speck of light that shined through the darkness within Kohaku's shard.
Hmph, Kikyou's spell isn't working? That's what you think, Magatsuhi. You haven't won yet after all!
Naraku, having finally revealed himself in his entirety, appeared floating before them all, his mostly humanoid body protected by a powerful barrier. Inuyasha's adamant barrage could pass through Naraku's barrier, but that did little against the dark hanyou when he merely sacrificed insignificant pieces of himself as physical shields against Inuyasha's attack.
Magatsuhi, meanwhile, was being significantly weakened in his battle with Sesshoumaru. The daiyoukai was not without his own battle wounds, but he continued to fight regardless of the corrosive damage his body was enduring. He was a powerful daiyoukai. He would heal. Magatsuhi would not be quite as fortunate.
Sensing that he would inevitably lose his battle with the daiyoukai, in a desperate attempt to save himself Magatsuhi fled back within the confines of Naraku's jewel, his physical embodiment instantly disappearing and thus ensuring his safety from Tenseiga's blade. Naraku was not pleased with that turn of events, however, as it simply made himself a greater target.
"Magatsuhi, you coward." he hissed, but Magatsuhi was not one of his creations, and he could not order the dark spirit of the jewel to do his bidding.
In the same moment that Magatsuhi's form disappeared within the jewel, Kohaku held his head as though he were in pain, the corruption in his shard pulsing in time with the speck of light, as though the two forces were battling one another, as Naraku attempted to gain control over Kohaku's body, while Kikyou's light prevented him from doing so. Kagome had never felt anything like it. Kohaku's shard was nearly completely black, but yet, the boy's mind was still his own. Suddenly, it was as though Kohaku had just realized something, as his face adopted a look of peaceful acceptance.
"What's the matter, Naraku?" he taunted from his place on Kirara's back. He had his own vengeance to seek against the dark hanyou, and had stopped crying tears of blood a long time ago. His soul would not be broken. He knew what had to be done. "Has your puppet's strings been cut? You will never bear full control of the jewel so long as it remains incomplete!" he cried.
"Kohaku!" Sango shouted, wishing to protect her brother's life at all costs. What was he hoping to accomplish by goading Naraku like that? The dark hanyou already desired his shard; he didn't need to go making it even worse!
But Kagome had realized the same thing Kohaku had, having felt the same revelation within her own heart, and regrettably, she too knew that it was the only way. When Kohaku's eyes met her own, she nodded, to let him know that she understood. Kikyou's light still existed, which meant that with it, there was still a chance to purify the rest of the jewel.
Magatsuhi, meanwhile, continued to seek the completion of the jewel himself, ignorant to the true power of Kikyou's purity. The jewel was nearly complete. He was nearly complete. He needed to be whole, and then they would know true fear. Even that insignificant Naraku was merely a tool he used to strengthen his own evil, as the dark hanyou had unconsciously done his bidding for years, tainting the jewel as black as could be, until finally he had been strong enough to escape as the specter they had seen. He was the true villain. He was the embodiment of evil, itself. Naraku thought he was in control? That man was nothing but a fool.
A being such as Magatsuhi could never be permitted to succeed, or all truly would be lost. Kagome suddenly recalled what that daiyoukai Hosenki had said so long ago, when they had followed Naraku to the Inu no Taisho's grave, seeking what had then been the final unclaimed shard. The late jewel-youkai had revealed that the Shikon shard had actually told him it wished to accompany him into the afterlife, so that the Shikon no Tama could never again be completed. It had been that shard's desire that the jewel remain in pieces. Kagome now understood. That shard had been pure, and so therefore it had been the pure will of Midoriko's spirit that had wished to prevent what she could sense, even then, that Magatsuhi had planned.
But that was before, before Kikyou had joined her soul with Midoriko's, leaving a spark of her own light within the jewel. Midoriko now knew what Kikyou had understood so early on, that the only way to defeat Naraku was to allow him to complete the entire jewel, thus destroying his evil from the inside out. Midoriko had come to understand this long ago, which was why she had interfered with Kouga's jewel shards, freezing his legs so that Naraku could capture him. It was fortunate that the wolf's life had been spared in the end. The jewel needed to be completed now; it was the only way to defeat the dark hanyou, or the even more threatening force of evil that was the jewel itself. Kagome recalled Kikyou's final words, as the dying miko had suddenly placed everything in her own hands, back on that fateful afternoon.
"Kagome...the rest is up to you."
For a long time Kagome had felt guilty over failing to save Kikyou that day, until she finally understood that Kikyou had never intended for her to save her body. It was Kikyou's soul that her young reincarnation had saved, by purifying Naraku's evil. Miko who had died, and were then reborn under the control of evil, were supposed to suffer in Hell for all eternity. Kagome had learned that during her battle with Hitomiko. She truly had saved Kikyou on that day, after all, just as she had managed to save the spirit of Hitomiko from Naraku's influence, as well.
Then Kagome remembered Hitomiko's parting words, regarding how she considered her a mystery, because she had failed to sense any spiritual powers in her, as though her true powers were being sealed. Kagome had thought, at the time, that the one sealing her powers had been Kikyou, but now she knew that it had been Magatsuhi all along. Apparently, his first seal hadn't been as effective as he'd hoped, but he'd since rectified the situation.
Kikyou told me to protect the final shard, protect Kohaku's light... But how can I do that when Magatsuhi has strengthened his seal over my powers?
Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru continued to face off against Naraku, but he wasn't the one they truly needed to defeat, it was Magatsuhi. They needed to defeat the jewel itself, thus slaying Naraku in the process.
"Kagome-sama!" Kohaku called suddenly, "Get ready!" he instructed, as he noticed the same thing the inu-brothers had both attempted to prevent...a new barrage of tentacles heading straight for the shard in his neck.
"Kohaku! What are you doing?!" Sango cried, as Kohaku dived away from Kirara.
I'm sorry, Ane-ue, but I can't risk your life along with mine.
Kagome knew what Kohaku intended of her, and holding her bow to her chest, she closed her eyes in prayer.
The bow from Mt. Azusa was no ordinary weapon.
"This Mount Azusa is a sacred mountain."
"The spirit of Mount Azusa tests a person's heart."
"The bow...it's yours..."
"Kaede-babaa says that if you always carry it with you, it'll form a connection with your heart."
"It's definitely not an ordinary weapon." she mumbled quietly to herself, as Hitomiko's words came rushing back to her.
"Rather than you, that bow truly belongs to someone else. Someone who knows how to use it properly."
She was just trying to get under my skin...get me to see... the miko realized now.
"You merely shoot it. It's like you're not using its spiritual power."
That's right...my powers may be sealed, but the bow possesses spiritual powers of its own. Even then, Hitomiko said that she could sense nothing from me, but I was still able to use the bow properly. I was still able to use its spiritual power.
"You know what you must shoot. Look carefully, and believe."
"Please, give me strength." she whispered. I can feel it, the bow's spiritual power. "The one I must shoot...is Naraku!"
At the same moment that Naraku caught Kohaku's falling body, a tentacle instantly making contact with the shard in the back of his neck, Kagome fired.
Everyone watched in horrified fascination as Kagome's arrow raced towards Kohaku's location. Nobody could understand why she'd just done such a thing. Then, before everyone's eyes, her arrow momentarily disappeared, not piercing through the front of Kohaku's throat as it had appeared it was about to do moments prior. Reappearing on the other side of his neck, her arrow made ghostly contact with his shard, and there was an explosion of purifying light visible by all, as Kikyou's essence gained strength from the bow of Mt. Azusa, just like when Kagome had previously shot Kikyou herself.
Naraku realized too late what Kagome had intended to do, though that didn't stop the dark hanyou from sending another one of his tentacles hurling in her direction, piercing her shoulder. Fortunately, a backdraft from the spiritual explosion within Kohaku's shard somehow managed to travel down that same tentacle, purifying it as it went. That purification backdraft successfully cleansed Kagome's wound of Naraku's miasma, while at the same time stopping the tentacle itself before it could pierce the bone. It was as if the light from Kohaku's shard had deliberately sought to protect Kagome from Naraku's attack, otherwise she could have very easily lost her arm right then. As it was she just had a deep flesh wound but nothing more. The purifying light continued to envelope her then, until her entire body was surrounded by a pink glow. Vaguely, she thought she heared Inuyasha call her name.
This is...Kikyou's soul? It's so warm.
Naraku had already taken the shard from Kohaku's neck, but it was too late to stop what was already in motion, as the dark hanyou recoiled in agony from Kagome's arrow continuing along its path, slicing through his other tentacles.
"Bahhhh!" the dark hanyou cursed in pain, as Kohaku's lifeless body began to fall, only to once again be caught by Sango atop Kirara.
"Kohaku...?" the female slayer voiced in worry, cradling her brother's body.
Landing near where Kagome lay in Inuyasha's arms, Sango held her brother's fallen form in her own, and it didn't take long for Kagome to shake herself out of her daze, as she slowly approached their companion and her brother, ignoring the pain in her shoulder and the blood rushing down her arm. Reaching forward with her uninjured arm and placing a hesitant hand upon the boy's own shoulder, it was quickly revealed that the seal had been lifted from her spiritual powers, as her touch was suddenly able to revive him, even if only for a moment.
"Ane-ue..." he managed to rasp out, to everyone's great surprise.
They had all known that without his jewel shard, Kohaku would instantly fall dead, but he was merely functioning on borrowed power for the time being, Kagome's body still charged up from the jewel's pure light washing over her.
"It...is over..." he wheezed, and Sango could do nothing but cry silent tears as she slowly rocked her brother in her arms.
"You did it." she agreed, raising the boy in her arms so that he could observe the results of his sacrifice, "You helped us. We've won."
Glancing upward, Kagome could see for herself the light from Kohaku's shard, as it once again began purifying Naraku's jewel, as had been Kikyou's design prior to Magatsuhi's corruption.
"Nooooo!" Magatsuhi himself cried out, his voice echoing throughout the sky around them like thunder.
Naraku was in pain, but was also desperately attempting to recapture his presence over the jewel. He surrounded the stone with a blanket of miasma, as everyone bore witness to the forces of light and dark once again doing battle within the tiny bobble. Only this time, it looked as though Magatsuhi would not be victorious.
"You have lost, Magatsuhi." Sesshoumaru stated with confidence, his possession of Tenseiga allowing himself a unique perspective to the battle happening within the jewel that only he could see in such detail with his connection through the sword to the spiritual realm.
Naraku attempted to remove the purifying jewel from his person and launch a new attack towards his enemies, but Magatsuhi chose that moment to reveal the fact that he could control the dark hanyou's body just as easily as he had controlled Kohaku's.
"What is this?!" Naraku cursed in panic, as he felt his body's will suddenly in the control of another.
"You are nothing." everyone heard Magatsuhi claim. "You are only powerful because I have given you that power."
Magatsuhi sounded terribly weakened, and indeed he was slowly being defeated by the increasing presence of Kikyou and Midoriko's combined purity within the completed jewel. But he would not allow himself to be defeated entirely. He would not allow himself to become vanquished from this Earth. Even though he knew it meant that he would once again have to start small, gradually corrupting the hearts of those who would encounter the individual shards, it was better than to remain as he was now. If he didn't act fast, then he would completely cease to exist in only a matter of seconds.
Naraku watched on in horror as he was unable to stop the remaining power of Magatsuhi from forcing one of his own tentacles through the jewel, once again shattering it into countless pieces, as his last act of will before being torn apart was then used to thrust the shards of the jewel outward, once again scattering it, and himself along with it, to the far reaches of Japan. Some of the shards were pure, while some were corrupted, but just like before, a dark shard could become purified by a miko's touch, while the pure shards could turn dark in the hands of somebody evil.
The balance had been restored, and while that meant that Magatsuhi still lived, and still had a chance to gradually increase his weakened powers of evil, it also meant that Kagome still had a chance to defeat him, her spiritual powers having been completely unsealed as Magatsuhi's influence over her disappeared the moment his being was shattered along with the jewel. She was certain that they would eventually recollect all of the shards, and that Magatsuhi would eventually be purified from the jewel completely. All he had truly done, in her opinion, was buy himself more time before his inevitable death. But that was a worry for another day, as they still had another foe to defeat, one that was currently still standing before them.
Naraku was no longer invincible, and now stood before his enemies with the faintest twinge of fear within his dark soul.
Inuyasha pointed his sword at the evil hanyou, a twisted smirk of amusement present on his lips. "You're going down, Naraku!" he promised, before releasing a powerful Wind Scar.
But apparently, some powers of Naraku's had truly been his own, though not many. While Inuyasha's attack struck true, with the dark hanyou no longer able to form a barrier, he managed to avoid getting completely annihilated by quickly changing shape, only losing several of his tentacles and insect legs rather than his entire being. Everyone watched in dread as he then began the slower process of regenerating himself. While his severed pieces of flesh no longer flew to his person of their own accord, he still possessed the power of absorption, and quickly launched out several tentacles from within himself to collect the surviving pieces of what had been severed in Inuyasha's attack. They knew that without the jewel Naraku would be easier to take down in the end, but apparently it wouldn't be quite as easy as they'd hoped. Considering what Naraku actually was, it made sense that the power of absorption would be something he naturally possessed on his own. Even with all his fascination of spiders and spider webs, only one of the main youkai that had joined with Onigumo's body had actually been a spider. Naraku, as a whole, was in truth a conglomeration of several youkai. When he had expelled Onigumo's heart prematurely, prior to the creation of Akago, the faceless man that had possessed Onigumo's memories had also possessed Naraku's regenerative power, and that being had not been in possession of a single jewel shard.
Speaking of jewel shards, one had landed near where Kagome sat, instantly purifying at her touch. With her left hand still placed firmly yet gently upon Kohaku's shoulder, she somehow managed to pick up the shard, despite the injury to her right shoulder, holding it thoughtfully between her fingers, a contemplative gaze in her eyes. But before she could execute her plan, the boy spoke.
"No, Kagome-sama...I do not desire to remain suspended in this world any longer."
"Kohaku, what are you saying?" Sango asked through her tears, wiping the dried trails of blood from Kohaku's cheeks.
"Please, Ane-ue, it is better this way. Like Kikyou-sama...Kagome-sama has...purified my soul."
At first Kagome thought he meant that she had managed to purify him as Kikyou herself had previously done, but then she realized that what he'd actually meant was that she, Kagome, had purified him just like how she had previously purified Kikyou's dying form.
"Kohaku..." Gently squeezing the shoulder she held, Kagome encouraged his eyes to meet her own, as she asked him quietly, "Are you sure...?"
Kagome didn't doubt his soul had been purified, but what she was asking was if he was sure of his decision regarding his life, and ending it. Even though she knew that the jewel needed to one day be completed, she was willing to place the purified shard she held back within his neck, if it would mean he could still live a little while longer.
"I died a long time ago." was his answer, and Sango leaned forward in that moment, kissing his forehead.
"Tell father he needn't worry about me. I'm not alone any longer." the slayer whispered, and she felt her brother nod against her in understanding.
As if on cue, another member of their group slowly staggered onto the scene at that moment.
"Miroku!" Sango and Kagome both cried out at the same time. "What are you doing out here?!" the miko continued, sensing for herself how terribly wounded he still was, even if he could feel none of the pain.
"Keh, feeling better are you?" Inuyasha asked next, his act of indifference necessary to keep himself from yelling at the monk to get back in bed. What was he doing out there, anyway? Hadn't he been unconscious? The shouki wound had reached his chest, and by the smell of things, Inuyasha realized with dread that the houshi's condition hadn't improved.
"Kaede helped me seal the wind tunnel." Miroku replied, revealing the extra prayer beads currently wrapped around his hand. "It has stopped growing."
"That doesn't answer our question!" Kagome protested.
Ignoring her, Miroku continued with his slow approach, using his staff as a walking stick, until he too was kneeling beside where Sango held Kohaku in her lap. For the briefest of moments, the boy smiled.
"You better take care of her." he told the monk plainly, "She truly loves you, you know."
All Sango could do was continue to cry, while Miroku answered solemnly with, "I know."
"Please, release me." he asked of Kagome then, a gentle pleading in his voice she'd never heard before, and she found she had no choice but to obey his wishes, slowly removing her hand from its place on his shoulder. Instantly, at the loss of her touch, his life left him, and Sango flung herself into Miroku's weary embrace, as the monk held his wife as tightly as his weakened body could manage.
"Naraku." Sesshoumaru spoke up then, "His will be the final death on your hands. Your time ends now. Bakusaiga!"
Having sheathed Tenseiga, Sesshoumaru swung with his new sword, launching his attack with deadly precision. Naraku barely managed to escape the blast, sacrificing several of his tentacles, which he had detached from his body so that the sword's blast wouldn't continue to eat away at him, in order to protect his heart. He still had many of his lower youkai left to play with, but he was nowhere near as powerful as he had once been. It also appeared as though the only shard that had stayed within the vicinity was already in Kagome's possession. He was, in a word, screwed. Where was that Byakuya bastard when you needed him?!
"Oh no you don't!" Inuyasha shouted when it became clear that Naraku had avoided the brunt of his brother's attack. "Diamond Spears!"
Naraku's body was significantly damaged by the attack, but that didn't stop him from sending the fragments of adamant back in everyone else's direction. If he was going down, he at least intended to take as many of them out with him as he could.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted in panic, frantically leaping in the girl's direction.
"Inuyasha!"
Crouching down the best she could to protect her head, neck and chest, a few of the diamond shards managed to slice into her arms and back before he covered her body with his own, but fortunately they were smaller shards and she wasn't injured too severely. Sango, meanwhile, attempted to protect both herself and Miroku with Hiraikotsu, and for once, the youkai souls that made up her weapon seemed to grasp the concept of love, as they made sure both their mistress as well as her chosen life-mate remained unharmed. Kirara hadn't been present, having temporarily flown off to deliver Kohaku's body to Kaede in the village, but she was quickly back by Sango's side, as the taijiya prepared for what she knew would be the final battle.
"This. Ends. Here." she said through gritted teeth and drying tears. "Hiraikotsu!"
"Bakusaiga!"
"Wind Scar!"
Miroku also took notice in that moment of how, although Naraku still appeared to be able to regenerate himself, the process was suddenly much slower than it used to be. Seeing the dark hanyou's weakness as a window of opportunity, he quickly pulled the beads from his hand.
"You ask why I have come out here? Sango, I simply could not stay unconscious, when my heart knew you were in danger. I was called back to fight beside you! What good is my life if I cannot sacrifice it for the woman I love?!"
"Miroku, no!" Kagome protested, but ignoring her, the monk released his kazaana, sucking in whatever loose pieces of Naraku he could manage.
Kagome flung herself at him, ignoring the searing pain running through her many wounds as she did so. She was sure she'd need stitches after everything was said and done. Gritting her teeth, the miko wrapped her arms around Miroku, offering whatever strength she could lend him as he sucked in a great deal of their enemy. At her touch, the scars of miasma that had nearly reached his heart instantly began to recede.
"She's purifying him!" Inuyasha cried out through a relieved laugh, for once not carrying about concealing his emotions. "Naraku, your ass is ours now!"
"I don't think so!" the dark hanyou shouted, suddenly releasing several saimyoshou in a desperate attempt to save himself from his own curse.
"Miroku, that's enough!" Sango shouted, and seeing the poisonous insects appear on the scene, he instantly resealed his wind tunnel. Thanks to Kagome's touch, Miroku's wounds of shouki were mostly purified, and the monk was, for the most part, in much better shape than when he'd first staggered out onto the battlefield.
"Naraku, your continued delusion of escape is laughable." Sesshoumaru stated calmly, swinging with his own sword yet again.
Inuyasha, rather than issuing forth another direct attack, channeled his Dragon Scale Tetsusaiga, and quickly took aim at the swirls of Naraku's youketsu. Because he was in fact made up of many different youkai, he possessed many different sources of youki, meaning there were many different youketsu visibly swirling around him. Inuyasha could not slice all of them at once, but he successfully cut through the two nearest ones, and Naraku screamed in agony as a couple pieces of himself fell away dead.
Naraku, who by that point more closely resembled a giant mutated spider/scorpion with a human torso sticking out of where the insect's face should be, quickly realized that his time was indeed up, when his only chance for salvation, his final and only living detachment Byakuya, was suddenly spotted floating near by, merely observing the goings on with an expression of indifference. The truth was, Byakuya wished for freedom from Naraku's control just about as badly as Kagura had in the end, and if Naraku was truly facing his moment of death, he wasn't about to interfere. The others also quickly realized that Byakuya had arrived on the scene, but when it became apparent that he had no intention of rushing to Naraku's aid, they too decided to let him be for the time being. They would figure out where they stood with him as a potential enemy later.
Still refusing to concede defeat, despite having come to the realization that his death was inevitable, Naraku managed to launch an attack in Inuyasha's direction in that moment, successfully piercing the shoulder of his sword arm and causing him to drop Tetsusaiga.
"Inuyasha!"
Rushing over to where her love was hunched over in pain, Kagome didn't hesitate to close the gap between them, even when she sensed the sudden pulse in his youki. When he raised his eyes to stare up at her, Kagome wasn't surprised to see that he had transformed into his youkai-self, but she didn't fear him in that state.
"Inuyasha, it's me, come back to me love, please." she cooed, before leaning forward and planting her lips upon his own.
Kagome...
His youkai blood instantly receded, and he pulled away from the chaste kiss with a hiss of pain, grabbing his shoulder. Unlike when Naraku had attempted to pierce Kagome's shoulder, nothing had hindered the dark hanyou's attack that time around, and his tentacle had successfully pierced Inuyasha's right shoulder clean through. The joint was dislocated, and the arm was currently useless. His current state was suddenly the least of his worries, though, when the inu-hanyou took a moment to glance back up at their enemy.
"Damn woman, get your ass outta the line of fire!" he shouted, and Kagome turned just in time to see the tentacle that had been heading straight for her head.
"No!" she shouted on instinct, flailing out her hand in its direction, and Naraku's tentacle instantly purified at her touch.
His body was badly broken, but the smirk on his stolen human face remained as condescending as ever, as he asked Kagome in a taunting manner, "You have bedded with that filthy hanyou?"
"Feh, where the hell have you been, moron? That was months ago." Inuyasha ground out in as nonchalant a tone as he could muster while hissing in pain, as Kagome helped him stagger to his feet. He knew he no longer had reason to fear the dark hanyou learning of their secret, considering he'd be dead in a matter of minutes.
"Then you truly are a weak imitation in place of Kikyou." Naraku continued, ignoring Inuyasha for the moment as he continued addressing Kagome directly, hoping to darken her spirit by making her doubt herself. "No true miko would ever willingly allow such filth to corrupt their purity."
Kagome just stared at Naraku with a sort of 'I'm so not in the mood for this' expression on her face, but before a retort could reach her lips, it was Sesshoumaru, of all people, who spoke up on her behalf.
"The miko's purity, as humans call it, is clearly not in question here. Anyone who can sense reiki should be able to recognize the obvious. Inferior though Inuyasha may be, their physical joining has proven irrelevant in regard to the strength of her miko powers."
"How about a demonstration!" Kagome shouted then, somehow managing to find the strength to draw back her bowstring, despite the blood that poured from the gaping wound in her shoulder as she did so.
"Kagome!" was shouted again, that time by Sango and Miroku simultaneously, who were both concerned for their friend, while Inuyasha, for once, gazed on in silence, loving pride reflected in his eyes.
That's my girl...
Come on, Kagome told herself, as her arm screamed in agony, If a mother can lift a car off of her child, then this should be easy!
Failing to suppress a scream of pain, she cried out at the physical protest of her injured body, but still managed to fire off her arrow in Naraku's direction despite it all.
Realizing she had actually managed to fire, Naraku's face adopted that look of clarity one possesses when they know they are about to die. He was not a fool, and indeed had known how strong Kagome's spiritual powers still were, but had merely hoped to ignite a spark of self-doubt within her consciousness at his words. Obviously, his effort had failed, quite miserably in fact.
After the torturous scream and explosion of light that followed in the wake of Kagome's arrow, the scene cleared away to reveal the pitiful remains of deceased youkai, surrounded by a mutilated human body. After all, Naraku was in fact a hanyou, and therefore could not be completely purified into nonexistence by Kagome's arrow alone, regardless of how strong her powers truly were. It would seem, though, that he had been reduced to nothing more than the human bandit he had once been.
"Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru spoke again in that moment, turning to meet his brother's eyes while sheathing Bakusaiga. "He is yours, finish this."
Miroku and Sango both stared with wide, disbelieving eyes at the daiyoukai for so willingly giving up his prey in the final moments. Was it possible that Sesshoumaru held a tiny amount of respect for Inuyasha buried somewhere deep down inside?
"With pleasure." said hanyou hissed in return, wielding Tetsusaiga as best he could with his left hand. "Meidou Zangetsuha!" he shouted as he swung.
"Noooooo....." could be heard as Naraku, or rather Onigumo's remains, were sucked into the Meidou, and into Hell itself. The giant black void then collapsed upon itself, disappearing as if it'd never been, and a strange sort of peaceful tranquility took over the atmosphere.
That calm was immediately broken by the words, "I would thank you."
Everyone glanced up to see Byakuya of the Mirage floating overhead on his paper crane.
"I hadn't known if my life force was truly tied to Naraku's, if upon his death it would also mean my own. But to die knowing that a beast such as him had also reached his end would have proven a better fate than to have continued to live and serve under him."
"What are your plans with your new found freedom?" Miroku asked, and Byakuya smiled.
"You needn't worry about me. After meeting that bastard Magatsuhi, I've got no desire to go collecting the jewel shards. Stay out of my way, and I'll do the same."
Kagome nodded, adding, "So long as we don't hear word of you destroying any human villages. We slay youkai who do that."
"Of which I'm well aware." Byakuya answered, returning her nod, before he flew off into the distance.
He was a youkai of illusion, after all. Odds were that he would take up residence in some 'haunted' forest somewhere, and that would be that.
Further thoughts on the future plans of Byakuya were halted when each woman on the field chose that moment to check on the condition of their respective husbands. Miroku was not yet fully recovered, but neither was he on the verge of death any longer. Yakurou Dokusen's poison was still in effect, making him incapable of feeling pain, and upon Naraku's disappearance within Inuyasha's Meidou, his kazaana had closed and sealed, leaving not even the tiniest blemish.
Sango had somehow managed to come out of the battle against Naraku reasonably unscathed, but she was still sporting a fairly bad injury from their earlier confrontation with Magatsuhi, back when he had been controlling Kohaku's body. At the thought of her brother, a new wave of sadness overtook her, though she could at least tell herself that his suffering had finally come to an end. Just like he'd said, Kagome had purified his soul. He was at peace now.
Speaking of Kagome, the miko in question was completely ignoring her own many wounds for the time being, frantically poking and prodding at Inuyasha's shoulder, wishing to see the true extent of the damage. That was proving rather difficult to do, however, while the hanyou in question was also simultaneously attempting to ignore his own injury in favor of checking on the condition of his wife.
"Let me see your shoulder!"
"You let me see your shoulder!"
And so on.
"Inuyasha..." Sesshoumaru spoke from his place beside them, and they each froze in their attempts at examining the other's shoulder in favor of glancing across at the elder daiyoukai.
"Yeah?" he asked, no trace of hostility present in his voice. He had never truly hated his brother.
"You have proven yourself worthy of possessing father's blood." Sesshoumaru stated matter-of-factly, as though the entire battle with Naraku had merely been a test of some sort.
While that obviously hadn't been Sesshoumaru's intention, as the dark hanyou had been a genuine enemy in need of slaying, the daiyoukai had certainly not failed to observe Inuyasha's strength during the battle. The hanyou had already proven himself the true heir of Tetsusaiga, it was high time he accepted the half-breed as an heir of their father's, as well.
"Miko..." he spoke next, and desperately trying to mask the pain in her voice, so as not to show her human weaknesses, she too responded simply with, "Yes?"
"You have proven yourself worthy of Inuyasha."
With that said, the daiyoukai turned and headed towards the village, where he had left Jaken and Rin. He could smell his ward's injury, from her previous encounter with Magatsuhi's evil aura, but he could also smell that she would make a full recovery, the medicinal bath the old miko had prepared for her already doing its job. Jaken was fortunate.
Inuyasha and Kagome, in the mean time, were left blinking, staring after his retreating form in confusion mixed with relief. When Sesshoumaru had initially discovered the new level of their relationship, something they wouldn't have been able to hide from him even if they had tried, he hadn't given any outward sign regarding his feelings on the matter one way or another aside from the brief pause in his speech that indicated his surprise when he had shown up out of the blue upon sensing Inuyasha's group nearby, wishing to compare notes in their mutual hunt for Naraku. The daiyoukai had been in a truce of sorts with his half-brother for some time, but at that time, it wouldn't have surprised the hanyou for an insult or two to have slipped past his brother's lips. Even something casual like how he should have known he would prove so weak as to repeat their father's mistake. Instead, Sesshoumaru had almost imperceptibly crinkled his nose, as if he found the scent of their recent joining to be mildly disgusting but didn't otherwise care one way or the other. He had let it go at that time without mention, and they had honestly thought that he was going to continue to let it go without mention from that moment onward, feeling secure in the fact that if he had had anything negative to say he would have most certainly done so right then and there, when he had first discovered it. They had certainly never expected the daiyoukai to actually say anything on the subject in a remotely positive fashion.
"Did...did your brother just...give us his blessing?" Kagome finally asked after a moment, the first to come out of their stupor.
"I...I think so, yeah."
```````````````````````````````````````
Sesshoumaru remained a 'sort-of' ally ever since the final battle. They definitely weren't friends, but he no longer showed up looking to fight Inuyasha to the death, either. On the rare occasion that they crossed paths with the daiyoukai while out hunting jewel shards, they more or less simply nodded to each other and kept going along their separate ways.
Once, Sesshoumaru even surprised them both by showing up at their campsite, tossing the miko two jewel shards. He claimed simply that while Rin had been fishing, a river youkai had thought to attack her, and that upon its death he had discovered that the beast had been in possession of those shards.
He had kept them for a brief time, thinking that he would merely relinquish them the next time their paths crossed on their own, but after a while they started proving troublesome to possess. He was unable to purify them, after all, and while their blackened taint proved completely ineffective at corrupting his own soul, they were making his small group a continual target for 'annoying' youkai. Youkai that he was getting 'bored' with having to slay all of the time. It was for that reason that he had finally decided to sniff out his half-brother and his human mate, to get rid of the useless things once and for all.
All he said while in their presence was regarding how he had come to possess those two shards and why he had sought them out to be rid of them, saying nothing about the scent of their recent coupling in the air, or anything at all that could have been considered an insult to either of them. He left in a hurry, claiming he no longer fully trusted Jaken's ability to keep Rin safe from harm during times of his absence, though that statement in and of itself also seemed odd when you took into consideration that the daiyoukai had actually admitted to caring about Rin's safety in the first place.
Things were definitely changing.
~~~End Flashback~~~
"I can detect the faintest hint of my scent marks on the wind, we should reach the village in the next hour or so." Inuyasha proclaimed as they ran through the mountains that bordered his forest.
"Thank the gods..." Kagome groaned from her place on his back. It had been a long three days since the night of the new moon in that cave, filled with nothing but battle after battle, and after everything, they only had one more jewel shard to show for it, from that damn bear youkai. None of the uglies they'd battled since then had had any shards of their own, only coming after them because they'd wanted her shards.
"What I wouldn't give for a nice long, hot shower, before crawling into a real bed."
"Hmmm..." Inuyasha contemplated below her as he continued to run, "That sounds nice...I think I'll join you."
"Hentai."
"You know it."
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