Be there for me

Chapter 18:



"Here, in this room." said Kagura, as she indicated towards a closed door. Kagome looked between the door and the wind demon, and shook her head slightly.



"You first. After all, how do I know it's not a trap?" Kagome sarcastically asked as she eyed the wind demon with disdain. True, Kagura seemingly had tried to help them in the past, but Naraku had anticipated her betrayal and used it to set up a trap for them.



"You don't know. I don't know either. But the door is sealed with a charm of some kind. It repels me when I try to open it." explained Kagura as she snapped her fan shut in frustration.



"So in other words, Naraku doesn't trust you to enter the room. Hence it's probably something important. Or knowing you, he could have set up a trap and hope that you enlist the aide of someone he hopes to ensnare." Kagome thought as she placed a single finger around her chin.



Kagura's eyes started twitching as she began to lose control of her patience. "Oh, just try and open the door will you? We don't have all day until Naraku finishes with Sesshomaru and notices me and you missing." explained Kagura.



"Oh, all right. But if it's a trap, I'll come back from the dead and haunt you for forever." said Kagome with a hard angle in her voice. The miko proceeded to the questionable door and pushed on it gentle. She gave out a slight yelp and jumped back when she was zapped by something or another.



"I see what you mean about the charm." said Kagome as she lightly blew on her hand where it was slightly burnt.



"Are you able to disable it?" Kagura asked, looking at Kagome with a bit of doubt now.



"Sure, but let me borrow one of your feathers first." replied Kagome, holding out her other hand.



With a slight sigh, Kagura did as she was asked. Kagome took the offered feather, and charged it up with her purification powers, causing the hair's on Kagura's neck to stand up on end.



Then, Kagome threw the feather on the door. A cascade of sparks and discharges arced across it, before the door shattered into a million splinters.



Kagome and Kagura walked into the room, looking for any signs of boobytraps or other waiting suprises.



But instead, they found several vases, one containing a little infant, the other glowing organ sacks. Kagome looked over to Kagura in question.



"Are these what I think they are?" she asked in disbelief.



"Naraku's heart. And those of his minions. Except for my heart, which Naraku always carries around with him." confirmed Kagura with a slight smirk on her face.



Kagome's own face grew wide with an evil grin. She looked over to the wind demon with glee in her eyes.



"Come on. Help me transport these to the main castle room. It's time for a little payback." said Kagome...



* * *



Sesshomaru dodged another attack from Naraku, but didn't see Hakudoshi until the little kid's pike stabbed him in the back. The great dog demon lord was rapidly tiring from the two front offensive, and what's worse, had lost Tokijin when the little boy took it out of himself and threw it away.



Now the best he could do was avoid their attacks with his poision whip and claws.



And with the two of them still hiding behind barriers, it wasn't looking good for him at all.



But, when they could have continued attacking him and finished him off, they held back all of a sudden.



Sesshomaru let a low growl escape his throat. He would rather they finish it now, rather than start to toy with him.



"What's holding you back, Naraku?" taunted the dog demon as he cracked his knuckles.



"Nothing at all, Sesshomaru. I'll finish you soon enough, but it's occured to me that I have some unfinished buisness." replied Naraku as he diverted his gaze to where Miroku was fighting with Kohaku.



With a whirl of his staff, the monk knocked the boy's scythe away from him, and then proceeded to knock him out. Taking a knee on the ground, the monk started gasping for air as the fight had taken a toll on him.



With a flick of his wrist, Naraku sent one of his tentacles straight through Kohaku's back, disloding the jewel shard from it. The tentacle continued through and pierced Miroku in the stomach. With a cry, the monk fell to the ground, clutching the hole in his stomach.



Naraku retrieved the jewel shard, leaving the dead Kohaku and wounded Miroku on the ground.



"The last jewel shard. And now it shall be completed." said Naraku. Hearing this, Sesshomaru moved to attack him, but suddenly found himself encased within a demon slug that started to sap his strength. Gasping, the dog demon collapsed to his knees.



Hakudoshi walked up behind him, and pulled the pike out of Sesshomaru's shoulder.



"And now that the sacred jewel is once again whole, we'll no longer need you. With you out of the way, I'll take a great pleasure in killing your toad servant and raping that little girl who you promised to protect." taunted Hakudoshi. But the little kid's eyes grew round as a red light enveloped Sesshomaru, dissolving the slugs that had been latched onto him.



When the light faded, Sesshomaru was gone, replaced by the giant dog demon form known as fluffy. The beast turned around and growled at him with it's fangs.



"Hmph. Woof Woof, big bad doggy." taunted Hakudoshi as he took to the air. Then, fluffy jumped up in the air to attack him.



But the attack ended in failure when several of Naraku's tentacles pierced Fluffy, brining him to the ground with multipule wounds. Once again he was enveloped within a red light, and when it faded, Sesshomaru was back to his old self. Naraku withdrew his tentacles and looked at him with a amused expression.



"Now, old demon, time for you to die. Enjoy your stay in the afterlife." said Hakudoshi as he lifted his pike high, preparing for the final plunge....



* * *



"Hakudoshi!" yelled Kagome as she saw where the little kid was about to finish off Sesshomaru. They had arrived at the entrance just in the nick of time.



The little kid look over her way in amusement, then his gaze settled on the throbbing jar that Kagome held in between her legs. His eyes widened as he recognised what was inside.



"Time for you to die." she said softly, almost too soft for him to hear, before pluning her hands into the heart and letting her powers of purificant cleanse the heart before dissolving it.



Hakudoshi let out a single prolonged scream of agony before the demon dissolved into a cloud of dust, along with his pike and any remaining demon slugs in the area.



"Impotent wench. You can go join him in hell." yelled Naraku, his eyes a furious blaze, as he threw a shaft of tentacle in her direction. Kagome threw up her hands in defense, but knew that it would be a useless gesture.



Then the spear hit, and Kagome heard it thunk into her, but what was strange is that she didn't feel any pain. Opening her eyes, they immediatly widened when they saw the sight of Kikyo standing there in front of her, having come out of nowhere to sacrafice herself for the sake of Kagome.



Letting out a little cry, Kagome caught the falling priestess and cradled her in her arms. She looked at her face, but Kikyo's eyes were glazed over, the dead miko had already passed on to the afterlife.



Cradling the dead miko's body, Kagome began to cry softly, but then stopped when Kikyo's body turned to ash and graveyard soil, piling up at her feet. Kagome looked up at Naraku, who was looking at her with a huge grin of satisfaction in her face. She looked over to the vase that contained his infant heart, but gasped when she saw it was empty. Sometime during the assault, he had retrieved his heart and absorbed it.



"Damn you Naraku." said Kagome as she notched an arrow in her bow and let it fly. The blue arrow arced towards his barrier, and hit it, causing it to fluctuate with energy before the arrow was deflected upwards, into the miasma surrounding the castle. With a soft wind breeze, the miasma dissipates.



Taking advantage of his brief respite from battle, and retrieving Tokijin, Sesshomaru makes a sudden attack on Naraku, taking advantage of a weakened barrier. With a burst of energy, he breaks through the barrier, but is unable to finish off Naraku before he is thrown back.



However, Sesshomaru got what he wanted, holding the completed sacred jewel in his hand before tossing it to Kagome. Naraku's eyes widened to ovals as the miko caught it, purifying it instantly. Closing it up within her hands, she made a wish, and the jewel disappeared forever.



Sesshomaru looked at where his left arm used to be, and it suddenly appeared, the miko's wish being to help aide him in battle and hopefully destroy Naraku.



"Nooooooo!" yelled the said person as he watched his ambitions going up in smoke. "You fools, I will kill you all. Starting with the wench."



Putting words into actions, he launched another assault on Kagome, but the miko dodged out of the way this time. Naraku then shifted his assault, and within a few moments, all three members of Kagome's family laid dead, having been speared through their hearts by the tentacle shafts.



Letting out a pained scream, Kagome ran over to where they lay, and began mourning them as she pulled both the bodies of her mother and younger brother into her arms. The miko was now crying uncontrollably, and didn't care if she died from a lack of oxygen as her body was racked with sobs. First Inuyasha, then Kikyo, and now her family lay dead within the castle walls.



Naraku had taken everything, everyone away from her. Kagome felt like she didn't have anymore fight left in her, and just sat there, holding her dead family members in her hands, still crying.



Naraku stopped his assault and looked in her direction, an evil satisfied smirk on his face. He turned his attention to Sesshomaru.



"Sesshomaru, your next. After I finish you, I'll take great pleasure in having my way with Kagome before I absorb her into my body." tauned the demon lord.



Sesshomaru primed his sword, still in a worn out state, preparing for what would probably become his final battle. Un-noticed to anyone in the castle, a pair of soul collectors came into the area, each one bearing a soul.....