Chapter Text
“Wait Inuyasha.” Kagome said. “It's faint, but I sense a jewel shard. It's up in those mountains.”
“We don’t have time to go chasing after every little shard. We need to find and kill Naraku now, while his barrier is weakened.” Inuyasha replied. “It's probably just another one of his traps anyways.” He continued.
Sango spoke up: “What if it's Kohaku’s shard? We have to check it out”
“I agree with Inuyasha, it's definitely one of Naraku’s traps, I can sense a large demonic aura from up in those mountains.” Miroku said.
“I’m not going to turn my back on Kohaku, I’ll take Kirara and check it out, you three can stay on Naraku’s trail.” Sango said.
“Wait,” said Miroku, “I’ll come with you Sango.”
“Will you two be able to find the shard without me?” Kagome asked.
“Its almost certainly at the center of that demonic aura, between Kirara and myself we should have no trouble finding it. You stay with Inuyasha, if you do encounter Naraku he may need your spiritual powers to slay him.” Miroku said before jumping up on Kirara’s back, sliding his arms around Sango’s waist.
“Good luck.”
“You too.”
Inuyasha tapped his foot impatiently as Kagome climbed onto his back. “You ready? Hang on tight, I’m not letting this bastard get away again.”
The rocks and trees became a blur as Inuyasha sprinted through the forest. Naraku’s scent was growing, he was definitely closing in on the castle. As Inuyasha broke through the treeline he landed, coming to an abrupt stop. He released his grip on Kagome’s thighs, allowing her to slide off his back.
“What the hell?” Inuyasha said as he sniffed the ground.
“Inuyasha what is it? Naraku?”
“No, worse, its fucking Sesshōmaru.”
“What is he doing involved in this? Do you think he’s working with Naraku again?”
“I don’t know, but his scent just disappears here.”
Inuyasha hesitated for a moment, I wonder, he thought to himself, Could this be Naraku’s barrier? He drew his Tessaiga, “Alright, lets see if this Red Tessaiga was worth all the trouble!” A bright crimson hue spread from the hilt, bathing the whole sword in a bright light. He lifted the blade straight above his head, bringing it down in one powerful stroke. The air in front of them appeared to ripple and shimmer as the sword moved through it. In the distance, nestled into the foothills of the nearby mountains, Naraku's castle faded into view.
Inuyasha returned Tesseiga to its sheath before bending down to let Kagome back onto his back, “Let's go Kagome, it's time to finish this thing.”
The pair had only reached the crest of the first hill when they came face to face with a familiar foe. Kagura of the Wind stood before them, blocking their path to the castle.
“Kagura” Inuyasha spat, his voice dripping with disgust. How dare you come between me and Naraku now, when I’m so close to my final victory, my vengeance? Kagome climbed off Inuyasha’s back and readied her bow. Inuyasha drew his Tesseiga.
“Wait Inuyasha, I’m not here to fight you,” Kagura said.
“Like I give a damn what you have to say!” Inuyasha replied.
“Inuyasha, let's hear her out, she has kept your human night a secret from Naraku so far. I think we owe her this much,” Kagome said.
Inuyasha shifted his weight between his left and right feet while he considered what Kagome said.
“Fine, we’ll listen to what she has to say. Now out with it, before I change my mind.” Inuyasha said while he lifted his sword up to balance on his shoulder.
Kagura rolled her eyes, can I really count on this moron? She wondered to herself. Still there is no denying he’s gotten stronger. He broke through Naraku’s impenetrable barrier without breaking a sweat.
Kagura began “Inuyasha, right now Sesshōmaru and Naraku are locked in battle, Naraku plans to absorb and assimilate Sesshōmaru into himself. If you strike now and join forces with your brother, I believe you’ll have the strength to overcome and destroy Naraku.”
“And what’s in it for you? You’re an incarnation of Naraku, if he’s killed won’t you die too?” Inuyasha questioned.
“I don’t know,” Kagura admitted, “but it's a risk I’m willing to take, I’d rather die than continue living as his slave.” Kagura hesitated a moment before finishing her thought, “I can’t betray Naraku openly, so for now I’ll pretend to have been defeated. Good luck, and if you can, try to avoid hitting my heart with your windscar.” With that she plucked a feather from her hair and soared into the distance.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting that,” Inuyasha admitted, “I don’t like the idea of teaming up with Sesshōmaru, so he’ll just have to stay out of my way while I kill Naraku.”
Kagome wasn’t going to disagree with him. Maybe Sesshōmaru was Naraku’s enemy tonight, but she wasn’t going to just forget how many times Inuyasha’s older brother had almost killed him in the weeks and months prior. Especially that time he had punched right through Inuyasha’s chest. The memory of those wounds, how much pain Inuyasha has been in, made her an involuntary shudder. Now’s not the time to dwell on the past, Kagome thought as she placed her hands on Inuyasha’s shoulders, lifting herself up to rest on his back. It’s time to kill Naraku.
Progress towards the castle was swift. After a few minutes’ sprint, Inuyasha leapt onto one of the roofs, setting Kagome down before jumping into the courtyard to confront Naraku. Naraku looked nothing like his normal self, but the stench was unmistakable. His body was a writhing mass of different demons: tentacles, mandibles, spines, spikes, pincers, teeth, and arms. Sesshōmaru stood opposite Naraku, in the middle of a scattered pile of Naraku’s flesh.
Naraku laughed. “You’re too lake Inuyasha, now watch as I absorb your brother and become even more powerful.” Suddenly all the discarded remains of Naraku’s body that had been scattered around Sesshōmaru lurched forward, forming a fleshy cocoon that completely encapsulated the Daiyouki’s body.
“I didn’t come here to save that asshole, I came to fucking kill you!” Inuyasha yelled as he drew Tesseiga and rushed forward to strike Naraku. The windscar tore through his body, but in this form Naraku was able to stitch his form back together as quickly as he was being destroyed. A back and forth continued for several minutes. Inuyasha would launch the windscar at Naraku, tearing his body apart, only for it to rapidly coalesce, just in time to be hit with another blast of the windscar. All the while, Naraku’s Miasma was beginning to take its toll. Dammit! I need to figure out a way to stop his regeneration or this fight will end with me choking to death on this stupid miasma. Inuyasha nervously eyed the mound of flesh that stood in Sesshōmaru’s place. I should probably do something to prevent him from being absorbed, if I don’t this fight might get a lot harder.
Inuyasha had barely finished his thought when sensed a disturbance from within the fleshy cocoon. Am I too late? Inuyasha wondered. Suddenly the cocoon burst open, revealing Sesshōmaru’s true Yokai form, an enormous three-legged dog demon. Sesshōmaru roared, emitting a thick spray of poison across the whole courtyard. Naraku had definitely miscalculated. The noxious spray of Sesshōmaru’s breath was dissolving Naraku’s body, cancelling out his own miasma, and counteracting his ability to heal and repair himself.
Naraku didn’t have much time, without his self-repairing abilities another strike from the windscar could destroy him. Naraku launched himself upwards with all the power he had left; he could rebuild his strength and take his revenge later. As Naraku flew into the air Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru gave chase. They were too slow, Naraku was going to get away. Again.
Kagome steadied her aim, she allowed herself a final exhale as she loosed her arrow. A clear shot: this is what she’d been waiting for. She squeezed her eyes shut as the arrow launched off the drawstring, if she missed she didn’t want to see it. Through her closed eyelids she could still sense the enormous emission of light from her arrow. Naraku let out a guttural scream as his body was purified in the blast. Naraku’s flesh turned to ash and all that remained of him was the Shikon Jewel still suspended in air and the debris that littered the courtyard. Was it over?
Inuyasha dived through the air and caught the Shikon Jewel in his claws before landing on the roof next to Kagome. Inuyasha gently placed the Shikon Jewel in Kagome’s palm. The two held eye contact for a long moment before breathing a deep sigh of relief. Naraku was gone, the Jewel was purified, and nearly complete.
“I can’t believe how close to whole it is,” Kagome said, examining the jewel in her palm.
“Yeah there can’t be more than four or five shards remaining, we’re closer than ever to restoring it.” Inuyasha replied. In the back of his mind the thought filled him with dread. When we finish collecting the jewel shards, what will happen between Kagome and I? The idea of being apart from Kagome was painful, but for now Inuyasha wouldn’t let these thoughts spoil their victory over Naraku.
Kagura descended on her feather into the courtyard, greeting Sesshōmaru who had already made his transformation back into human form.
“Thank you lord Sesshōmaru, please excuse me one moment.” Kagura said as she walked over to a steaming chunk of carapace left over from the battle. She prized the chunk apart revealing a small red orb, no bigger than one of her fists. She carefully picked up the orb, loosening her robes before she inserted the orb into her chest, effortlessly pushing it through the valley of her breasts.
“Now, that that’s taken care of,” She turned to face Sesshōmaru, “Rin is being held in a small hut in the mountains due east of here. Inuyasha’s friends are already there, slaying the demons Naraku had placed to guard it.”
This was all Sesshōmaru needed to hear, he hesitated only long enough for Jaken to run out of hiding and grab at his furs before he set off in accordance with Kagura’s directions. The power and distance of his jumps gave him the appearance of flight.
Next Kagura turned to Inuyasha and Kagome.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but thank you Inuyasha and Kagome. Though Sesshōmaru is too proud to admit it, had it not been for you two Naraku would have gotten away. I owe you my freedom.”
“So how does it feel to be free?” Inuyasha asked.
“I can feel that disgusting scar on my back fading away. My destiny is no longer Naraku’s.”
“And what are you going to do, now that you have the choice?” Kagome asked.
“I’m going to fly far away from this place, I’ll take the eastern wind over the sea and see what lies beyond, and when I get bored of one place I’ll float along the wind and find another. I suppose that makes this goodbye, I don’t expect I shall see either of you ever again.”
“Uh huh, bye I guess, can’t say I’m really torn up to see you go.” Inuyasha said.
“Inuyasha! That's so rude!” Kagome chastised before turning to address Kagura, "Thank you for keeping Inuyasha’s human night a secret from Naraku, and helping to leave his castle undefended tonight Kagura.”
Kagura nodded before plucking a feather from her hair and floating off into the night. I am the wind. She would never get tired of living free.