The End of the Demons

Life and Death

The flash of blue light had been blinding for the demon. When he opened his eyes to darkness he assumed that what the Miko had revealed had been true and his new residence would be in Hell. He waited patiently for something to happen. Surely some creature from the after life was coming to drag him away, but nothing happened. As his vision started to clear, he realized that he was in some small enclosed space, and the Miko was with him. Unfortunately for her, she had expired. Whether it was due to her injuries, or the claw that he still had clamped around her neck, he did not know. He actually did not care.

He dropped the Miko to the ground and looked around. He appeared to be underground. As he looked up, he saw a ceiling above him, but also an opening to the hole that he was in. He jumped up and realized that he had been at the bottom of a dry well. The well was enclosed in a small building. How unusual. Most villages would not waste time and resources to enclose something like a well. The demon sniffed the air and was almost knocked unconscious by the odors that assaulted him. He did not recognize them at all. He opened the door of the structure and was hit with another more powerful wave of disgusting fumes. He decided to block his sense of smell for the time being. All demons were able to turn their senses on and off as needed, but he did not like turning off one of his most powerful skills.

As he moved away from the well house he saw a larger building. He had never seen a home like this. It was not a palace, but it was not a hut either. He crept in for a closer look. He watched Kagome’s family from the window and listened to them talk. They were having a meal and wondering when Kagome would return this time. A small male was wondering if she would bring Inuyasha with her. This convinced Sesshomaru that somehow he had come through time with the Miko. This would mean that he was 500 years in the future, and the only full blooded demon in existence. His eyes immediately bled red with the desire to conquer r a world that would not be prepared for him.

He summoned his cloud and took to the sky. The world was completely different. The patches of forest were few and far between. There were huge buildings and thousands and thousands of people. He went to the top of a high building and stretched out all of his senses, except for smell. He picked up parts of conversations, news reports, and happenings on the streets below. He was able to ascertain that the humans had become much more advanced over time. They were organized and had weapons that he had never heard of. One lone demon, even a powerful one like himself, would have a hard time conquering a world teaming with humans. He would need some type of help.

Sesshomaru returned to the dry well after a few hours. He unsheathed Tenseiga and revived Kagome. When Kagome awoke she was surprised to find herself healed of her injuries, in the well in her own time, and in the grasp of Lord Sesshomaru.

“What are you doing here, you’re supposed to be dead?” she asked.

“I believe those are questions that you should be answering for me,” Sesshomaru responded.

“Me, how would I know how you got here,” she yelled back.

“This is your home, is it not?” he questioned.

“Well, yes, but..” she tried to respond.

“And it was your power that brought us here, “ he continued.

“No, it must have been the power of the jewel,” she bit back.

“Isn’t the jewel a part of you?” he calmly asked.

“I guess it is now,” she quietly responded. “But I don’t know why it would have brought you to my time.”

“Do you remember what happened in the last few minutes of your life,” he asked.

“The last few minutes…Oh my god, I died. I remember dying, but then that means you brought me back?” she asked gazing at him.

He nodded.

She thought about his question and started to walk back through her last few minutes in the Feudal Era, “I remember the orange light in the sky. I knew it was the power of the jewel surging through the world seeking out all of the demons. Then I felt the jewel return to my body. I saw you rush towards me and then you grabbed me by the neck. I know you tried to ask me something, but I could not hear you. I felt the familiar tug of the time slip, and saw the blue light. The pain in my body and neck became unbearable for a moment and then I was in a dark tunnel with a light at the end. As I moved towards the light I saw my father, Sango, and Miroku and I knew that I was dead. I started to rush towards them and asked for Inuyasha. Miroku shook his head and said that Demons no longer existed, even in the afterlife. I wanted to ask more questions, but then I felt a pull at my waist. Something was pulling me backwards down the tunnel and then I woke up here.” She had tears in her eyes when she was done talking.

“Hm. So it would appear that my grip on you made me immune to the fate of all other demons. That is not so hard to believe since holding onto you meant that I was holding onto the jewel.” Sesshomaru smirked.

“Um Sesshomaru, why did you bring me back? Are you going to help me try to set things right?” Kagome asked with hope in her eyes.

Sesshomaru laughed, “What makes you think that this is not right? I was the strongest demon in the world. It is fitting that I would be the one to survive. As for why I brought you back, I required a new servant to assist in the conquest of this world.”

“You brought me back to be a servant? Don’t you even care about all of the rest of your kind?” Kagome shrieked.

“No,” he answered calmly.

He grabbed Kagome more firmly and threw her over his shoulder. Then he jumped out of the well with her.

“What about Rin and Kohaku, do you care about them?” she asked.

“That is of no consequence. They would have died years ago.” He stated as he continued walking toward Kagome’s house.

“That’s true, but I thought you might be interested to know how you brought about their deaths,” she said while still draped over his shoulder.

She was abruptly dropped to the ground and when she looked up she saw a very irate Demon Lord. “Speak human!” is all he said.

Kagome knew that she had only one chance to convince him to help her, “Please follow me to the shrine and I will explain along the way. After the demons disappeared, Rin and Kohaku were left alone. Kohaku protected Rin and they set out to look for the demons. They searched for years. They wrote books about demons like the one that I showed you. Many humans were thrilled that the demons were gone and started to purge them from our history all together. A certain order of priests and priestesses claimed that it was their holy power that brought an end to the demons. They used this leverage to gain power for themselves while claiming to be righteous. They started to hunt down the people who insisted on keeping the memory of the demons alive. They called them witches or heretics. These people were tortured until they recanted their beliefs. They were then killed by either beheading or burning.”

By now they were in the shrine and Kagome had pulled out another book. She handed it to Sesshomaru. It was a detailed account of the killings that were done by these “holy people”. It had graphic accounts of how the humans were tortured and killed. The majority of these humans had claimed to be mates of demons who disappeared. Some had claimed to be friends. In the back, was a list of all of the names of the people who were killed. Rin and Kohaku were on the list.

Kagome watched Sesshomaru’s reaction to her story. At first she thought he did not care. Then she noticed a small twitch at the corner of his right eye.

“It says here that Rin was pregnant at the time of her death,” he stated quietly.

“Did you happen to catch the name of the head priest who served as judge and executioner in many of the accounts listed in the book?”

“Naraku.”

---- I do not care for this chapter quite as much as the first. I think the next one will be better. There should be less talking and more action. Thanks to those who read and reviewed. I do not own any of these characters or any part of Inuyasha.