Beautiful Souls

“Who’s there?” Miroku called, tightening his grip on his Sebai.

Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga. “Show yourself!”

“ Calm yourselves, my friends….”

“ You are in no danger here….”

“ All is well.”

Three voices, unearthly and surreal, echoed through the cavern in which the eight warriors stood, staring at the temple shrine resting in its sheath of ice. From deep within the frozen tomb, a ghostly radiance began to smolder and swell, forcing the travelers to cover their eyes momentarily. The gleam faded back again, revealing three large faces peering out from the surface of the curved ice.

Zengoro was the first to react, sinking formally to his knees and bowing low in reverence. “My kami… I have failed you in my task.”

The face in the middle smiled. “Rise, faithful servant… your devotion is most pleasing to us. It is not the end result that we examine, but the ardor with which one serves.”

Kagome stared at the images in amazement. “Kami… does that mean that you’re…”

“Izanagi no Mikoto,” said the face of an old man in the middle.

“Izanami no Mikoto,” said the face of an old woman on the right.

“Kukurihime no kami,” said the face of a young woman on the left.

“ We are the caretakers of Mt. Hakusan, and once were the inhabitants of this shrine.” Izanami no Mikoto continued.

“ We are not the only gods who have found their home upon this mountain,” said Izanagi no Mikoto.

“ Juichimen Kami, the Eleven Faced Avalokitesvara,”

“Kurikara Myoo, the first prince of Hakusan,”

“Senju Kannon, the Thousand Armed Avalokitesvara,”

“ These are just a few of many, but without our power to guide them, Mt. Hakusan and all of its kami has been swallowed by the iniquity of our enemy. We are trapped, and powerless to stop her.” The three spoke simultaneously, and each face mirrored the sorrow of another.

“ Who is she… and how can we stop her?” Kagome finally asked in a quiet voice.

Kukurihime no kami met Kagome’s eyes, “Many centuries ago, our servant Taicho-Daishi removed the hebi youkai from our most sacred lake, sealing them away within the bowels of the mountain.”

“All were captured,” Izanagi no Mikoto continued. “Except two.”

“Kuroseirei, and her father, who’s mate was their Queen.” Izanami no Mikoto said. “ He took his daughter far from our lands, sinking deep into the sea, and nearly vanishing from our memory as well.”

Izanagi no Mikoto spoke again. “The seasons changed many times, without another threat to us, until a great evil rose over the land, threatening to consume everything in its wake. This evil was immense, but before it could come near us, it vanished.”

“It was you who destroyed this malevolence, and thus saved the world. However, wickedness did not stop with the villain known as Naraku.” Izanami no Mikoto said somberly.

“ Soon after your victory, Kuroseirei rose from the sea, and returned to Mt. Hakusan, freeing her people and bringing chaos to the land once more.” Kukurihime no kami eyed each of them. “The new hebi Queen is strong, and not to be underestimated. She holds not only her own power, matured by centuries of hatred, but that of her father and mother as well. You must approach her carefully, but swiftly, for time is running short.”

“You are all that stands between Kuroseirei, and the destruction of the world as we know it.” Izanagi no Mikoto concluded.

“So how do we defeat her?” Inuyasha urged impatiently.

Izanagi no Mikoto smiled at the hanyou. “Inuyasha… defeating her will be no easy matter. She is not so powerful as Naraku, or nearly as crafty, but you do not have the luxury of three years to end this battle.”

Before the hanyou could respond, Izanami no Mikoto interjected, “We cannot tell you the way to defeat Kuroseirei. Only you can find your path in this matter, as it is your gift to do so. However, you have been given clues that will aid you in her defeat.”

Kukurihime no kami added, “There is little more we can give to help you in this task. It is in your hands now.”

“ One word of warning,” Izanagi no Mikoto offered. “ Do not drink the water from the lake. It is poisoned by the presence of the hebi youkai, and even a mouthful would put the drinker under their control.”

Izanami no Mikoto smiled. “Not one of you can defeat Kuroseirei… but she can be destroyed by something far greater than you. Use your gifts wisely, and do not act in fear, but with faith in your actions.”

The light from the frozen shrine began to fade as Kukurihime no kami addressed Zengoro. “ Should the warriors fail, the deities of Mt. Hakusan will no longer be permitted to return here. Should they win, we three shall return to our mountain as soon as a temple has been built to enshrine us again.”

As the image of the three deities faded, the voice of Izanagi no Mikoto could be heard one last time, though seemingly from a distance. “Good fortune, my friends.”

All was silent for a moment as the eight friends digested what had just happened.

“Well, that was… nice and cryptic,” Inuyasha finally grumbled. “Was that supposed to help us, or just confuse us more?”

“ They’ve definitely given us some food for thought,” Miroku mused.

Inuyasha snorted, “They didn’t even tell us how to defeat this, Kuroseirei. What was the point?”

“ At least we know not to drink the water,” Kohaku joked.

“ They said that we’ve been given clues for how to defeat her,” Kagome said thoughtfully. “ What exactly did that mean?”

“ Hey, I know this is important, but how are we gonna get back out of here?” Sango wondered. “ Not the way we came in… climbing down would be so much harder than coming up was.”

“ We’ll just have to find another way,” Inuyasha stated, looking around.

“ Why don’t you just blast a way out for us?” Shippou asked excitedly.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “And bring the mountain down on us? Good idea,” he said sarcastically. “While we’re at it, why don’t we reactivate the volcano and roast some fish?”

“The volcano?” Sango muttered. “Kagome, can I borrow your flashlight?”

“Sure,” Kagome said, wondering what Sango had in mind.

Carefully, the taijiya began edging her way around the mass of ice holding the temple, searching with her hands to see how far she could go. With the aid of Kagome’s flashlight, she found that there was a gap between the ice block and the cave wall, large enough for all of them to pass through.

“I think there’s more back here… I think we might be able to find a way out if we keep going,” Sango suggested.


No one had a better suggestion.

The darkness on the other side was oppressive, and even Kagome’s flashlight did little to penetrate the inky darkness. Sango led the way this time, shining the light’s beam over the walls, searching for something in particular.

“What exactly is it we should be looking for, Sango? Anything in particular, or is the ceiling just gonna disappear above us?” Inuyasha finally asked after a long stretch of minutes.

Sango frowned thoughtfully. “My father once told me something about volcanoes. If I remember correctly, I think that there are supposed to be air vents, or pockets, within the body of the mound, allowing gases to release. If we could find one of those, we might be able to get out using that.”

Miroku nodded. “What do they look like?”

With a sigh, Sango’s frown deepened. “That’s the problem. I’ve never seen one, but I know they’re supposed to be sort of camouflaged in the walls, so we’ll need to look carefully, and feel the walls with our hands. Everything looks the same so we might miss something without realizing it.”

The stone walls were surprisingly cool for the inside of a volcano, Kagome realized as she began to feel her way along the uneven surface of the rock. Her fingertips brushed against the rough planes as her eyes searched for anything that would give hint of a hidden pocket in the walls.

For as far ahead of her as she could see in the halo of the light Sango held, there appeared to be nothing but more of the same solid rock. This sameness echoed on and on for what seemed like miles; so much so that when the coarse texture of dirt and stone disappeared beneath her fingers, Kagome was startled.

“Wait, Sango… let me see the flashlight for a sec.” Kagome asked as she came to a stop. Shining the beam directly onto the wall in front of her, she frowned at the apparent solidity of the façade. The change she had felt wasn’t visible, but she knew it had to be there. Reaching out a hand, she attempted to touch the wall.

The hard rock beneath her hand was real enough, and Kagome frowned in confusion. Thinking hard, she mimicked the path of her fingers over the surface… only to feel it fall away from her touch once more. Except that this time, she understood. Extending her arm further, Kagome stepped forward as far as she could into the camouflaged niche.

“I think I found one!” Kagome called excitedly to her friends. A much smaller corridor twisted back and forth on itself, and it was easy to see how she had missed the opening in the dim light.

“Well, shall we see where it leads?” Miroku suggested.


With unspoken agreement, the group filed into the tunnel.

The silence was a palpable thing, peering over their shoulders and darting in to nip at the taunt strings of their nerves. When Sango stopped suddenly, those behind her jumped.

“What is it?” Kohaku hissed tersely.

“Does anybody else feel it?” Sango questioned cryptically.

‘Evil’, is a term that is often misused. Real evil - pure evil - is something tangible. It invades all of the senses. Its voice grates the sensitive tissue of the ear; the taste of it gags the throat; its most gentle caress abrades the skin; the stench offends even the coarsest of sensibilities. Only the sight of it is deceptive, for evil can appear as innocent of face as a newborn child.

To experience true evil is to lick the viscous underbelly of the world and become immersed in the cloying thickness that creeps into the hidden doorways of the soul. Though you may not recognize it at first glance, someone with experience can become adapt to sensing its presence, and prepare for an encounter with it.

True evil is rare, and even rarer are those who have seen enough of it to react appropriately, and even then, have the strength to follow through.

Inside the gas vent on the volcano of Mt. Hakusan, eight warriors stood in silence, reaching out into the darkness with all their senses for what Sango had felt. With the exception of Zengoro and Kirara, they were all young. Others of their race would have judged them too young to have the experience necessary to identify the distilled essence of evil, but Naraku had made sure each of them was well prepared, for all of eternity.

“Kami…” Kagome breathed.

Miroku set his jaw. “I guess the gods weren’t kidding.”

“Keh,” Inuyasha swore doggedly. “ We’ve handled worse.” The hanyou forced his way through to the front of their group, trying to act impatient instead of protective. “ Come on,” he urged. “ Stay behind me… they’ve gotta be close.”

The group edged further along the narrow corridor with bated breath, listening intently for any indication that they were not alone in the dark. The faint plink of water began to rise up from somewhere ahead of them, and a hollow whistling sound indicated that they were near an opening to the outside world, at last.

As the murky twilight appeared before them, Inuyasha paused before leading them outside. “You guys stay here. I’m gonna make sure it’s safe,” he whispered.

Without waiting for an answer, he slipped through the crack in the rock and disappeared into the shadows.

Kagome listened to the silence that followed in Inuyasha’s wake, straining her ears in case he were attacked, and needed help. All was quiet, and after a few minutes, she allowed herself to relax a bit.

“ The kami mentioned that Kuroseirei’s kingdom was at the bottom of the lake,” Miroku whispered. “ If that’s the case, how do we intend to find her?”

“ We don’t,” Sango answered quietly. “At least not right away. She’s bound to have guards around the lake, and they’re sure to report our presence when we get close enough. She sent a youkai hundreds of miles just to get rid of us, and it’s likely that she doesn’t know he failed, or that we’re here. When she discovers that we’re on her doorstep, sooner or later she’ll engage us herself.”

A shiver danced across Miroku’s spine and in the same instant he realized what it was, Kohaku’s voice drew his attention.

“Um… guys? I think we’ve got company.”

Sango gasped as she too sensed the presence of swiftly approaching youkai, and whirled around to shine the light back the way they had come. The passageway twisted this way and that, making it hard to see more than five feet in any direction as the corner rounded out of sight. Their ears however, as well as certain other, more intuitive senses, told them all what eyes alone could not.

The whispered arpeggios of sinuous scales rasping against rock and dirt, occasionally accompanied by the susurration of a hiss, grew louder in the stone concert hall of the cavern. It seemed to be a cacophony of rustling leaves moving steadily closer, echoing around them and creating the illusion that their prey was surrounded.

“All in favor of running for it, say ‘aye,’” Miroku muttered.

The snakes rounded the corner into the final stretch of tunnel where the warriors waited, and every inch of rock surface, from floor to ceiling, was hidden beneath the body of a hebi youkai with gleaming red eyes. The hoard swept towards them, and when their quarry was at last before them, the serpents uttered a loud shriek in one voice, and sprang forward onto the seven friends.

********************

Inuyasha crept softly away from the mountain, sniffing the air for nearby youkai. He knew something was close by; could feel the energy brushing against his own, but for some reason he was unable to pinpoint the exact location. His inability to locate his enemy was frustrating, and could ultimately be dangerous.

On edge, Inuyasha grasped his sword tighter and stole closer to the lake. The opening in the mountain had let him out onto a little plateau that gradually slanted downwards into the valley between the mountain peaks. As he approached that key location that had been haunting Kagome’s dreams, he felt his stomach clench in anticipation.

He wished the fighting would begin. It was the waiting that killed Inuyasha. Right now, he was alert; focused on the slightest change in the environment, and it was maddening for the hanyou to wonder whether he was the hunter in this scenario… or the hunted.

Once the fighting began, the boundaries would be more clearly delineated. The roles of ‘huntee’ and ‘hunter’ could quickly burn away in the heat of battle, leaving only two opponents clashing for victory. The best combats were the ones you weren’t sure you’d win. Inuyasha found a lot less pleasure in beating a foe that offered him no challenge than against one with whom he was either evenly matched, or even better than he.

Deep inside, Inuyasha instinctively knew that Kuroseirei would prove difficult to defeat, and he relished the fight to come. Until then, however, he remained taut as a bowstring, unable to relax under the burden of the unknown.

The air in the valley was thick, and heavy. The rain had stopped, but twilight had long ago made the evening dark and ominous. The area looked clear, and although he knew, rationally, that there was sure to be a lookout or two posted nearby, Inuyasha still could not detect any specific presence.

He realized his entire body was tingling with the energy from a dark miasma that flooded the entire area, and understood why he was having so much trouble finding his adversary. The saturation of the demonic power from the hebi youkai had made it impossible to distinguish one particular signature from the masses. As they lived in a kind of hive community, existing interconnected with one another, so were their life forces similarly linked.

A scream rent the quickening night, and Inuyasha knew instantly that he had made a fatal mistake. Spinning on his heels, he sprinted back towards where he had left the others, berating himself for leaving them alone in the first place. It didn’t occur to the hanyou that there were seven of them, and only one of him, or that his presence would not have made a difference. As he ran, he found himself silently praying to kami he hardly knew, on behalf of the lives of his friends.

The plateau beyond the fissure in the mountain presented a scene of mass chaos. The group appeared to have been attacked by an incredible amount of snakes - all thrashing bodies and slashing fangs. Closest to Inuyasha under a tree was Shippou, who frantically stood guard over the still recovering Kirara, protecting her with his kitsune-bi.

Sango, Miroku, Kohaku and Zengoro were in the midst of what could only be described as a nightmare. A multitude of serpents surrounded them on every side, pushing them closer together. They were holding their own against the snakes at their feet, protecting their legs from attempted attacks while simultaneously blocking strikes from others that seemed to fly at them from both the ground and the mountain, knocking the bodies to the earth.

Zengoro noticed the hanyou’s arrival first, and as he transformed into his true appearance – a large, fawn colored elk with magnificent antlers – he called out to Inuyasha as he stomped down on the body of a snake at his feet, “Over there!”

Inuyasha turned in the direction the youkai had indicated and ran towards the cave entrance, holding his breath as he went to find the one person he had not seen outside.

Kagome lay on the floor of the tunnel, body swarming with hebi youkai. Even with Tetsusaiga in hand, Inuyasha’s eyes flashed red as he screamed with rage, tearing the serpents away from his mate’s body and crushing them in his fists before flinging them against the sides of the cave.

“Kagome!” he called to her desperately. A furious growling echoed in his ears and it took Inuyasha a minute to realize that it was coming from himself. Leaning close to her body, he inhaled deeply, and pressed his lips to his mark on the side of her neck. He felt the faint thump of her pulse beneath his touch, and the faint brush of her aura reacting to his own reassured him, temporarily, that she was still alive.

Inuyasha lifted Kagome into his arms, realizing as he did so that she had been bitten… more than once. “ Fuck!” he shouted, feeling the demon blood within him scream out for vengeance. Kagome was strong - stronger now than she’d ever been, and if she had sustained an injury this bad, they must have been taken quickly, and by surprise.

They had been ambushed.

Kuroseirei knew they were here.

Kuroseirei would die.

As Inuyasha hurriedly took his mate outside to the tree where Shippou waited, he counted the number of wounds he could see on Kagome’s body, tattooing the final number on his heart so that, when the time came to confront the snake Queen, he could adequately repay the debt he now owed her. With every bite, he became more enraged, and by the final count of eleven separate strike marks, Inuyasha could barely restrain his demon.

“Watch her,” he ordered the shaking kitsune as he quickly placed Kagome on the ground.

Drawing his sword once more, Inuyasha let loose a violent shriek, filled with wrath, and leapt into the fray, slicing through a knot serpents who had the misfortune of getting in his way. Miroku met his eyes grimly, and the hanyou nodded to acknowledge the pain in the monk’s own eyes before the two lined up back to back and increased the strength of their efforts.

Thick blood flew through the air, soaking the garments of the warriors who gave no pause as they continued to slaughter the attacking youkai. Sango had three snakebites on her arms, and Miroku had four, but both showed no sign of being under anyone’s control but their own.

All but a handful of snakes were now dead, lying in pieces on the ground. It was now that these last remaining few chose to transform into their larger demon form, not bothering to pause before rushing in to attack once more.

Inuyasha felt an even deeper, purer anger flood him at this metamorphosis. They had not been sent to kill them – or at least not all of them. They had been sent to detain them - toy with them and keep them occupied until their leader was ready. Kagome lay injured not twenty feet away and it was all a diversion. The youkai hadn’t even used their full strength.

Angrily screaming for everyone to cover themselves, Inuyasha flew over the heads of the five enduring snakes, landing so that they all were now in front of him. The serpents turned to face him as each of the other four fighters realized what was about to happen and ran for cover.

“ Kaza no Kizu!” The blast from Tetsusaiga swept through the started hebi youkai, giving them no time to react before reducing them to nothing more than chunks of molten flesh that steamed as they fell to the earth.

“ How’s Kagome?” Sango called to him the second it was safe to emerge from shelter.

“ Unconscious,” Inuyasha answered tersely. He was still seething, frantic to find something else to kill – someone to blame for Kagome’s condition.

As always, Miroku seemed able to intuit the hanyou’s mood. “ We were attacked in the cavern,” he explained with a note of remorse in his voice. “We never sensed them coming… and then they were on top of us. We made Kohaku and Shippou get out and Sango and I stood ground just as they started attacking. Both of us were bitten almost instantly and Kagome rushed forward to heal us before Zengoro could stop her. She managed to save us, but when the youkai realized what her power could do….” Miroku’s voice trailed off. “ I’m sorry… she risked her life to rescue us. We should have known they were there.”

Inuyasha shook his head. “ It’s not your fault. There’s so much damn dark energy here that it masks individual energy signals. We were set up.”

Zengoro bowed his head. “ She is a brave woman… I regret that I could not protect her better than I was able to.”

“Kagome knew the risk. Even if she’d known that she would die, she still would have done whatever she could to rescue Miroku and Sango.” Despite his words, Inuyasha’s expression was still one of anger and guilt. “ Are you guys alright?”

Miroku nodded. “ We’ve been a lot worse,” he said.

Inuyasha nodded with relief and turned to look intently in the direction of the lake. “ Then I think we need to have a little conversation with this Kuroseirei… about the proper way to treat guests.”

Sango exchanged a worried glance with her husband before replying. “ We’re game, but take it easy. Getting killed isn’t going to help Kagome.”

Inuyasha nodded his head, although his jaw remained clenched. “Shippou, you stay here with Kirara and Kagome. You’re in charge of their safety. Think you can handle that?”

Shippou looked at Inuyasha with wide eyes, but nodded solemnly.

Without another word, the hanyou took off in the direction of the lake, leaving Sango, Miroku, Kohaku and Zengoro to follow behind him, at a rush to keep up.

“ Inuyasha,” Miroku called out, not bothering to lower his voice since their presence was already known. “ What exactly are you planning to do?” The monk knew his friend well, and in his current state of mind he was liable to do something foolish.

Inuyasha didn’t slow his pace. “ I’m gonna knock on her front door and ask her to come out and play,” he answered over his shoulder. “ And if that doesn’t work - I’m gonna have to make her come out… personally.”

Sango caught up to the crazed hanyou and grabbed hold of his arm. “ Are you insane? The kami told us not to go in that water! How do you expect to…”

“The kami said not to drink the water,” Inuyasha corrected. “ How long, do you wanna bet, I can hold my breath?”

Miroku reached Inuyasha’s other side just as they arrived on the shore of the lake. “ Wait, Inuyasha… there’s got to be…”

“Hey! Kuroseirei!” Inuyasha screamed. “ You got something to say, why don’t you say it to me? Or are you too scared to do your own dirty work?”

The others fell silent in shock as Inuyasha waited impatiently for any kind of response. When none came, he began wading out into the water, dragging Miroku and Sango along with him.

“ Inuyasha,” Miroku began ardently, trying to find a way to talk some sense into his friend.

The center of the lake began to ripple, and then bubble riotously, making the five warriors pause in their tracks. Before any of them could tense in preparation of an attack, a column of water exploded up into the air, shooting out gushers in every direction.

A particularly formidable blast gushed towards Inuyasha and the others, and the hanyou found himself soaring through the air, pushed back by the ersatz tsunami. He hit the ground hard more than twenty five feet from where he had been standing, and ignored the jolt of pain in his body as he jumped to his feet.

Looking around, Inuyasha saw that Zengoro and Kohaku had managed to get out of the way in time, but the tidal wave had glanced off of Miroku and Sango when it had struck him dead on. The monk had been thrown ten feet or so to the left, while the taijiya had only been knocked off balance and was submerged in the water.

Sango’s head surfaced from the lake and she carefully wiped her face before opening her mouth to breath. As the four men stepped forward to help her, Sango’s eyes went wide in surprise and she managed to inhale deeply as her body was once more dragged beneath the surface.

Inuyasha ran into the lake and reached out in time to see Sango’s body, wrapped tightly in the embrace of at least fifteen different snakes, being dragged deeper and deeper into the center of the lake.

“ Sango!” Inuyasha shouted. He readied himself to go after her when a loud splash of displaced water caught his attention. A colossal pillar began to rise from the lake, and it took the hanyou only an extra moment to realize that this must be Kuroseirei.

The snake Queen was monumentally larger in proportion to the minions their group had encountered heretofore. Her mammoth head was as large as a house, and four, wickedly razor-sharp fangs protruded from her upper and lower jaws. Each jagged scale on her sinuous body was visibly as large as Inuyasha’s own head, and so jet-black that it gleamed in the moonlight. Dark blue stripes striated her torso, and the color somehow reminded the hanyou of blood.

Equally deep blue eyes shone down at Inuyasha, and he almost shuddered under the intensity of the undiluted malevolence in them. He was unable to tear his gaze away from her, but noises on every side of him said that they were now surrounded.

Kohaku’s voice resounded from nearby, echoed by Zengoro’s as the two began fighting off the encroaching serpents at Inuyasha’s back. The hanyou remembered Sango, and finally broke his silence as he turned to find Miroku wading back into the water.

“ Miroku!” Inuyasha yelled as he drew Tetsusaiga. “ Go get Sango!”

Miroku nodded his head, but didn’t move otherwise as he stared intently down into the water where his wife had vanished before their eyes.

Just as Inuyasha was beginning to wonder what he was waiting for, a smile crossed Miroku’s face, and within seconds, he too was dragged under the water… presumably taken wherever Sango had gone.

Making sure that Kohaku and Zengoro were all right, Inuyasha backed out of the water and leveled his sword at the towering serpent. “ Looks like you’ve gotten a little big for your britches,” he taunted.

Kuroseirei threw her head back and laughed. The sound echoed like thunder throughout the valley and Inuyasha could feel the reverberations of it in his body.

“ I wasn’t expecting you to be amusing,” the snake Queen chuckled. “ That will make killing you so much more enjoyable. A little… entertainment before dinner, shall we say?”

“ Sorry,” Inuyasha spat insincerely. “ I don’t tap dance for no one!” With a violent cry, he slammed the Tetsusaiga downward, sending a blast from the Wind Scar dancing across the water on a direct collision course with the youkai.

Kuroseirei was large, but surprisingly swift. She had little time to study and appreciate the power of her opponent’s skill before darting upwards into the air and out of the path of danger. She neatly cleared the tiny hanyou standing on the shore and landed in the center of the valley with a loud thud.

Although shocked by the counter-maneuver, Inuyasha wasted no time and attacked again, sending another blast of wind towards the snake in the same second she hit the earth.

The hebi youkai grinned, pleased with her foe’s performance. Kuroseirei was not fond of easy victories. Her eyes flashed yellow and a gust of wind stirred the air around her. The attack from the hanyou’s Kaza no Kizu was easily deflected by the swirling air stream and died before getting near enough to the queen to do any harm at all.

Kuroseirei laughed at the expression of fury on Inuyasha’s face. “ That was enjoyable. The rumors I’ve heard about you are true at least. I’m not so convinced about your friends though. I will truly enjoy killing you.”

Inuyasha maintained a defensive position, but couldn’t help asking, “ So, why us? What’s so special about us that you’d send an assassin hundreds of miles after people you’ve never met?”

The snake Queen’s mood just kept on improving the more they fought. She made a sound that could have been a giggle, except for the thick vein of cruelty rooted in it. “ This is not vengeance, if that’s what you’re wondering. I have been separated from my people for centuries… hidden by my spineless father who was too afraid to take on a worthless priest when he attacked our people.”

“ Snakes don’t have spines,” Inuyasha couldn’t help pointing out.


Kuroseirei’s eyes flashed dangerously, but a thin smile teased the corner of her mouth. “ A power greater than I nearly ruled this land until not long ago. Now it is I who will rule the world and the only obstacle in my way is your band of… warriors,” she offered lightly, practically sneering the last word.

Inuyasha grinned ferociously, “ There’s just one little problem to your plan, Kuroseirei,” he said. “ How do you intend to rule the world without a head?” His voice rose in a scream as he launched himself off of the ground, aiming a strike at the youkai’s thick body.

Kuroseirei grinned as her power surged up within her and a blast of fire exploded from her gaping maw. ‘ Oh, this is going to be fun,’ she thought.

*********************

Miroku’s lungs felt as though they were going to burst into flames at any moment as the cluster of snakes wound tighter around his body and dragged him deeper still. His eyes were squeezed tightly closed and he forced up images of Sango to keep him focused – to help him resist the desperate urge to breath for just a little while longer.

He expected the water to grow colder as they continued descending through the lake, but Miroku was surprised to feel the temperature increasing the further they went. It occurred to him that they had submerged beyond the normal lakebed, and were now sunken to a point within the belly of the mountain, and possibly nearer to the volcano.

He should have tried meditating on the way down, but now that he’d thought about it, it was too late to start. The burning in his lungs was now too big a distraction, and would be more than enough to keep him grounded.

As it was, Miroku didn’t know how much longer he could hold off the insistent demands of his aching frame. When the snakes guiding his body suddenly released him and he floated up to the surface, he was so startled that at first, he forgot to inhale even after his head cleared the water.

Gulping in huge breaths of air, he sputtered and gasped for a few moments while at the same time trying to remember not to swallow any of the tainted liquid. Flailing wildly, his hand struck against something, and he managed to grab hold of it long enough to regain his strength and climb out of the water.

The room was dim, lit only by a single torch hanging in an iron bracket on the wall. He appeared to be in some sort of cell, cylindrical in shape and without any discernable door, excepting the hole in the floor that he’d just come through. Around the edge of the room was the shelf onto which he’d climbed. It was only about four feet in width, but on the opposite side of the pool, Sango lay sprawled out and unmoving.

“ Sango,” Miroku rasped shakily as he crawled over to her on hands and knees. He’d had much more preparation for the dive than she had, and if she’d been unable to avoid breathing underwater, she was dead – either by drowning, or poisoned by the toxic water.

Rolling the taijiya onto her back, Miroku leaned his head close to her chest and was relieved to hear deep, even breaths. The sound was clear, so he could safely assume that she had managed to pull herself out of the lake before passing into unconsciousness. Shaking her gently, he tried to rouse her from her torpor.

Sango blinked, and opened her eyes, surprised to see Miroku’s violet gaze filled with concern. She seemed to remembered snakes dragging her to a cell, deep underwater, but if Miroku were here, had it all been a nightmare?

Sitting up, Sango realized that she was, in fact, trapped in the round room she’d begun to think was imaginary. “ Miroku? What happened?”

“ I came after you,” he explained. “ Are you alright?”

Sango nodded. “ I think so,” she said, frowning. “You came after me?”

Miroku smiled. “ Well, I didn’t say it was easy.”

Trying to hide the tears in her eyes, Sango punched Miroku in the arm. “ Baka.”

“ Ow!” Miroku flinched from the unexpected assault “ What was that for?”

“ You could have died!” Sango exclaimed. Tears ran freely down her face, but she ignored it.

Miroku started to reply, but kept quiet instead. Somehow, he knew what Sango meant. She would have done the same for him in a heartbeat, and he would have been more concerned about the risk to his wife than for his own safety.

“ So, how do we get out of here?” He asked.

**************************

Inuyasha’s chest heaved from exertion, but he only had a minute to gasp for air before dodging another ball of fire from Kuroseirei’s throat. ‘ Since when can snakes breath fire, anyway?’ he wondered as he hit the dirt at a roll, managing to avoid being Bar-B-Que’d by mere inches.

“ Gotta think of something...” Inuyasha muttered as he quickly jumped to his feet.

“ Tired already, hanyou?” Kuroseirei asked. “ I haven’t even begun to work up a sweat.”

Inuyasha forced his breathing back under control, “ Well,” he huffed. “ You are cold-blooded.”

“ And you’re a feisty little thing, aren’t you?” Kuroseirei laughed. “ I wonder... when I swallow you whole, will I get heart burn?”

“ If you don’t choke on me first!” Inuyasha answered, leaping forward with a slash of his blade. Though the snake queen easily maneuvered away, she was unable to pull her body completely clear of the attack. A ferocious hiss slid between her teeth as the tip of her tail separated from the rest of her.

Eyes flashing, Kuroseirei rounded on Inuyasha. “ Well met,” she grated. “ You scratch my back...” turning, a grin spread across her face as she aimed for Kohaku. “ And I’ll scratch yours.”

Thunder rumbled in the belly of the sky, drowning out Inuyasha’s warning cry to the young taijiya. Kohaku threw his Kusarikama, easily taking out three snake youkai, and unaware of the impending danger.

Kuroseirei’s tongue shot out of her mouth, headed straight for youngest warrior, ready to swallow him whole. With a cry of pent up rage, Inuyasha ran faster than he ever had before, slamming into Kohaku and throwing him to the ground just as the fleshy organ struck.

The tongue wrapped around Inuyasha’s torso instead of Kohaku’s, and the hanyou barely had time to register the look of surprise and horror on the boy’s face before he felt a jerk, and went flying backwards directly into Kuroseirei’s waiting jaws.

********************************

Sango’s lungs burned, and if she hadn’t already been submerged in the lake, she knew that her eyes would be watering from the effort it took to continue holding her breath. Just ahead of her, she could make out the silhouette of Miroku’s back as he felt his way along the bottom of the underwater castle.

Miroku’s purple kesa (1) had been removed, and each end was tied securely around each person’s waist, ensuring that they wouldn’t become separated. Logic suggested that there had to be another entrance to the main part of the castle, although exactly how far away it was could pose a problem. They would only have so much time until breathing would necessitate that they either turn back, or die trying to find an escape.

‘ Just a little further,’ Miroku silently urged as he continued pulling them forward. He could feel that he was quickly reaching the point of no return in the matter, and although he had to admit the unlikelihood of another entrance being within range of their own prison cell, he had to keep pushing, just in case.

Sango wasn’t sure how much further she would be able to go. Both of them were still fairly weak from the trip down to the bottom of the lake, and though the water pressure wasn’t as intense as she expected it to be, she nevertheless wished to be anywhere but where they were right now.

As Miroku continued pressing forward, she felt a new surge of determination. He had risked his own safety to rescue her, and it was all for nothing if they couldn’t find a way back to the surface to help Inuyasha defeat the snake Queen. Quickly glancing back over her shoulder, she realized that there was no point in turning back, anyway. They’d never make it back to the cell in time, and it was only hope that kept them going ahead now.

Miroku found himself praying silently as he increased his speed. Fear of death had long since abandoned him from its clutches, but a newer fear for the lives of his wife and unborn child had blossomed within him, making the monk wish he’d undertaken this exploration alone before dragging Sango along.

Miroku almost gasped aloud when his hand didn’t feel cold stone above his head. Daring to think that they might have a chance after all, he fan kicked with his legs, propelling himself upwards and pulling Sango along behind.

His head broke the surface of the water and still Miroku didn’t try to breath until he was sure that Sango was alright. He held on to her as they began inhaling deep breaths, willing themselves to keep quite.

A loud roaring in Sango’s ears worried her, until she realized that the sound was external. Looking around, she realized that they had emerged in what looked like a cave. A waterfall cascaded down in front of the only opening into the rest of the castle, effectively blocking them from any eyes that might have otherwise spotted their graceless rising.

Once he was sure they would both be alright, Miroku swam closer to the waterfall to see if anyone was in the room beyond its curtain. A large chamber waited ahead, silent and empty. As Sango reached his side, he whispered to her, “ Feel like exploring?”

Without reply, Sango took a deep breath and swam under the falls and into the next room, followed closely by her husband.

********************

The sword embedded deeply in the roof of her mouth prevented Kuroseirei from slamming her jaw shut on the captured hanyou, but Inuyasha’s arms were weakening, and wouldn’t last much longer.

“ Inuyasha!” The cry from the ground below caught his attention, and he could just make out Kohaku as he swung the chained sickle in an arc above his head.

“ Get out of here!” Inuyasha screamed down to the boy, knowing it would do no good. He had to get away from Kuroseirei or they’d all be goners. Summoning up hidden fonts of strength, he shoved forward with his arms, yanking the blade through the roof of the serpent’s mouth and against her teeth.

Kuroseirei’s scream made the valley shake, and lightening punctuated her fury. Taking advantage of the widened opening of her jaw, Inuyasha swung out of the youkai’s mouth, hanging from Tetsusaiga until it too pulled free, and both went plummeting to the ground.

The deadly flight of Kohaku’s weapon had managed to tear a chunk of flesh out of Kuroseirei’s torso, but ultimately served no greater purpose than to piss her off. She turned to him, eager to take out at least one of them for her troubles.

Zengoro noticed Kuroseirei’s change of focus from Inuyasha to Kohaku, and instantly transformed into his true youkai state. Turning his back on the horde of hebi youkai’s he’d been decimating one by one, the elk demon charged the enormous Queen, goring her so firmly with his antlers that he was yanked off the ground when she jerked with the pain.

The aruji hit the earth with a resounding crash as he was flung free of Kuroseirei’s tail. Inuyasha had run to protect Kohaku from her attack and now pushed the boy in Zengoro’s direction as he called out to the snake Queen.

“ Your fight is with me, Kuroseirei!” Inuyasha called, drawing her away from the others.

Kuroseirei laughed deeply, her voice filled with new malice. “ You are the one I want, Hanyou. I will use the bone’s of your friends to pick your flesh from my teeth later on. I may even have a midnight snack later,” she mused gleefully, “ your two friends have surely died by now within my castle. It won’t be as enjoyable as eating you, but I’m sure their power can still be absorbed just as effectively... don’t you?”

Inuyasha growled, and brought his sword up for another strike. “ Kongousouha!”

************************

The castle appeared deserted as Miroku and Sango crept from room to room, searching for anything or anyone that could grant them a chance at escaping back to the surface. When the castle began to shake, both of the warriors held perfectly still, unsure of what was happening.

“ Earthquake?” Sango whispered.

Miroku shook his head, staring at the ceiling. “ I don’t think so... we’re right inside the volcano. Any earthquake would feel much stronger, don’t you think?”

Sango nodded uncertainly. “ What then?”

“ I think it came from the surface,” Miroku said. “ I hope Inuyasha is all right.”

“ Let’s hurry,” Sango suggested nervously. “ He may need our help up there.”


“ I’m sure he does... my Lady can be most dangerous when she’s of the mind to be.”

Miroku and Sango whipped around to see a single youkai standing in the doorway they had come through only moments before. The deep yellow stripes on his arms matched the intensity of his hair, and his appearance paired with the ferocity of his grin made the both of them sure that he was no ordinary youkai.

“ Of course... by the time you could get to the surface, it would all be over anyway,” the youkai continued as he approached them slowly. “ Which leaves us with the question of what to do with the two of you.”

“ Who are you,” Sango demanded.

The youkai grinned. “ How rude. I am Yaichiro. It is I who had the honor of tracking you down for my Queen... and who issued the order for Seppuku to kill you, although I must admit... I am pleased to have the honor of doing away with you myself.”

Miroku stepped forward. “ If you will insist on fighting, then I offer you my blessings now, before you die. However, if you wish to settle this peacefully, I will make sure you are set free, unharmed, once your Queen is destroyed.”

Yaichiro laughed. “ I have heard many stories of your power, Monk, along with the other members of your party. You have committed amazing feats, I admit, but defeating my Queen, or myself, will not be one of them.”

“ Suit yourself,” Miroku nodded, holding the length of his Seibai in both hands as Sango took Hiraikotsu off of her back.

As the youkai Yaichiro drew a staff from behind his back and charged Miroku, the ground shook much harder than it had before, sending all three of them to the ground.

********************

The trembling of the earth beneath her woke Kagome with a start. For a moment, she couldn’t recall why she’d fallen asleep beneath the Goshinboku on such a chilly night as this one, and when rain began to fall, she pushed herself onto her knees, intending to run back to the house before she became drenched.

“ You’re awake!” Shippou could hardly contain his relief as Kagome groaned her way into a sitting position and looked around.

As the nights events came back to her in a rush, Kagome gasped, “ Inuyasha! Is he alright? Where are the others?” She tried to rush to her feet, but a wave of nausea forced her to slow down a little.


“ I’m not sure,” Shippou admitted. “ They ran down to the lake to find Kuroseirei after we were attacked, but no one’s come back yet.”

Another tremor nearly sent Kagome back to the ground, but she braced herself on the trunk of the sheltering tree, and managed to stay standing. “ How long have I been unconscious?” she asked.


“ About an hour, I think. Inuyasha told me to stay here and protect you,” Shippou explained, biting his lip. “ I didn’t know what else to do.”

Kagome only partially took in the kitsune’s words as she looked off towards the valley. Inuyasha had been gone for an hour and he still wasn’t back? “ Shippou, you stay here. If I’m not back in another hour... run back down the mountain with Kirara and...” looking down at her adoptive son, she smiled. “Stay safe. Whatever happens, you stay safe, alright?”

Shippou stood in shock as Kagome took off down the hill at an unsteady jog. If she didn’t come back.... “Kagome!” the boy shouted. “ Come back!”

Sweeping Kirara into his arms, the kitsune ran after his mother. If she was going to fight, there was no way he would stay behind and chance surviving this fight alone. Not again.

*********************

Again the castle shook, but this time the fighters managed to keep their balance.

“ You feel that, Monk?” Yaichiro demanded as the trembling ceased. The two were face to face, staffs locked together above their heads and held in place only by the momentum of each of their bodies. “ One way or another, this battle comes to an end tonight. The fighting is setting off the volcano. The angrier my queen gets, the more power she feeds into it. Either she kills all of you, and we win, or she gets angry enough and we all die, save her.”

“Meaning you’ll die too then, right?” Miroku grunted back, forcing one end of his Seibai down and striking Yaichiro in the chest, knocking him backwards.

Yaichiro maintained his footing and swung his staff around low to the floor, taking Miroku’s feet out from under him. “ My life is my Queen’s, to do with as she pleases. Death is but a small service if it further’s her glory.”

“ I see,” Miroku said, springing to his feet. “ Then I guess she’d miss you if I killed you myself?”

Sango seethed as she watched the two fight. The room they were in was too small for her to get a clean shot in with Hiraikotsu and not risk injuring both Miroku and herself as well. Re-shouldering the boomerang bone, she pulled out the lesser of her two main fighting weapons - a wakizashi sword.


Smaller than a katana, but just as capable of killing, Sango usually wore this with her armor as a precaution, and could hardly remember the few times she’d needed to use the blade. It seemed to be the only thing that would suit her purpose now. Edging around behind the youkai, she waited for the opportunity to strike down their opponent.

Miroku composed his face to show no sign that he’d noticed Sango’s actions. Hoping to keep Yachiro facing the opposite direction, the monk struck quickly, forcing the youkai backwards and towards the taijiya’s drawn blade.

At the last moment, Yaichiro’s eyes gleamed with a deadly light, and Miroku knew that all was lost. The youkai stepped forward into the monk, catching him off guard and sending him tumbling to the ground. A quick knock to the head didn’t render Miroku unconscious, but slowed him down enough for Yaichiro to get the upper hand.

Swinging around just steps away from Sango’s reach, Yaichiro released the end of his staff, sweeping it under her feet. The taijiya tried to leap over the attack, but the youkai had aimed high enough to prevent the success of such a maneuver.

Pointing one end of the staff above Sango’s neck, Yaichiro paused in preparation of shoving the wood through the hollow of her throat. “ Your Monk will have the pleasure of watching both his wife, and unborn child die before his eyes,” the youkai hissed.

As the staff began to fall towards her, Sango closed her eyes tightly and thrust upward with her sword, allowing Yaichiro’s own momentum to impale him cleanly through the gut.

The youkai’s eyes widened in shock, and his mouth fell open, blood spilling from between his lips and staining his teeth a violent red as he shuddered his way into deaths domain.

Sango let his body fall to one side and she took a deep breath before getting to her feet and removing the blade from its resting place. Wiping the blood off on Yaichiro’s hakama, she turned to see a grim Miroku standing beside her.

“ Let’s go,” Sango urged before he could say anything. “ Let’s get the hell out of here.”

********************

A deep cut, the result of a bite from Kuroseirei, stung on Inuyasha’s right arm, and his palm was damp with sweat and blood, making it difficult to maintain a firm grip on his sword. His left leg was burnt pretty seriously as well, thanks to a ball of fire sent his way, straight from the youkai’s mouth.

Now, as he leaned against a rock to regain his breath, the rain began again, and Inuyasha cursed its arrival, knowing exactly who was the cause of it. Kuroseirei seemed to be enjoying the wait, watching him from a little ways off as though she had all the time in the world.


Although she had sustained some pretty serious injuries herself, it was obvious that Kuroseirei had the upper hand in this battle. Despite the numerous diamond shards that had just barely pierced her flesh, she seemed unaffected by them and as ready to fight as ever.

It had never taken Inuyasha so long to defeat what he would consider to be a ‘lesser demon’, even though the kami had almost equated her strength to that of Naraku. Inuyasha had no idea what had happened to Miroku and Sango, but he couldn’t count on them to arrive in time to help him now, just as he could no longer count on the continued strength of Kohaku and Zengoro, who had managed to kill off all but a handful of the smaller youkai by themselves, but now were physically unable to battle with Kuroseirei.

“ Inuyasha!”

He had to be hallucinating, but Inuyasha turned anyway at the sound of Kagome calling his name. “ Kagome?”

She was running down the hill, looking surer with every step she took. Inuyasha’s eyes widened at the sight of her, and he uttered a prayer of relief that she was alright.

“ Kagome!” he shouted as she reached his side, not sure whether to make her go somewhere safe or to grab her and hug her tightly.

“ Are you okay?” Kagome asked, blue eyes wide with worry.

“ Me?” Inuyasha choked with disbelieving laughter. “ You dummy, get out of here so I can kill this thing!”

Shaking her head and scowling, Kagome turned to face Kuroseirei, positioning her bow to take aim at the youkai.

“ How sweet... your human hurrying to your side to protect you.” Kuroseirei slid a little closer, chucking as Kagome took a step back at her advance. “ Now, I wonder... which of you should I eat first... and which of you will watch the other die?”

Inuyasha growled deeply as he got to his feet. “ You know, for all your talk about killing me, you sure haven’t made good on your threat,” he taunted, moving to stand beside Kagome. “ I’m beginning to think that’s all you are... talk.”

Kuroseirei’s eyes narrowed. “ You’re right... I’ve toyed with you far too long.”

Lunging back as if to snap at one of them, she provided Kagome with a clear shot at her neck. The miko took it, sending an arrow to find its home in the youkai’s throat.

Kuroseirei screeched in greater agony than ever before as the Purifying Arrow sizzled in her flesh. As a circle of flame began forming in the youkai’s mouth, Inuyasha secured an arm around Kagome’s waist and leapt with her to a safer vantage point in time to avoid the blast.

The snake demon’s eyes darkened, but instead of turning to confront the couple yet again, she instead turned her face to Kohaku and Zengoro, who were suddenly joined by an out of breath Shippou and a disoriented but newly awakened Kirara. The kitsune shouted a warning and, as another burst of fire headed their way, he expanded his body to a size large enough that the others were safely sheltered behind him.

Both Inuyasha and Kagome hollered Shippou’s name in panic as the blazing cannon briefly engulfed him, then sputtered and died. As the kitsune returned to his normal size and slumped to the now continuously shaking ground, an irate hanyou and a furious miko attacked Kuroseirei with the combined force of their anger.

*******************

It was becoming impossible for Miroku and Sango to stay on their feet without leaning against something, so their journey was made slower and longer than they could have wished by the necessity of having to travel along the length of the castle walls. Through rooms and past windows through which water seemed magically unable to pass, they continued to climb to gradually higher and higher points of the castle.

The trembling around them was ever increasing, and as they approached what appeared to be the highest tower, it looked like there might only be one option open for escape. They would have to swim for it.

Miroku was just about to put these thoughts into words when sound rose from behind them. The shaking of the castle had obviously caused a disturbance in the remaining youkai waiting to be called into battle, and either they were eager to escape before the fortress collapsed around them, or their summons to the fight had come at last. Either way, he and Sango were only minutes away from facing what sounded like several hundred snake demons.

Struck with an idea, Miroku turned to Sango, trying not to look as grim as he felt.

“ Whatever it is - no way,” Sango rushed before he could speak. She recognized the expression on his face as one of resolve, and that usually indicated that the monk was planning something noble, but stupid.

Miroku sighed. “ You need to go. Take good care of my child.” He didn’t explain. He knew he wouldn’t need to. Kissing Sango briefly, he whispered his love, then turned to face the stairwell.

As Miroku began whispering prayers, a barrier arose between them and the youkai racing up the stairwell, sealing them inside the castle and trapping them. Sango at once knew his plan. He intended to keep the hebi youkai captive until the castle collapsed, destroying at least half their numbers in one blow.


Taking himself along with them if it came to that.

“ No!” Sango grabbed his arm, pulling him closer towards the window.

Miroku’s didn’t open his eyes as he spoke to her in a calm voice. “ I have to keep my concentration. As soon as I break the circle, they’ll be free, and we’ll both be taken down before we can get to safety. At least you have a chance this way. I’ll follow you if I can. Now get out of here before it’s too late.”

With one hand still pointed towards the stairway, Miroku used the other one to push Sango through the window and into the water before she could protest again. He refused to let the threatening tears find their release as he did what he had to do.

Sango began swimming, furiously trying to quench the anger and sorrow that was building in her stomach. He had forced her to go. He had made the decision for her... for their child. He was stupid, he was foolish, he was brave... but dammit, she loved the baka, and if he was going to choose for her, she was going to decide for him, too.

Turning around and swimming against the upward pull of gravity, Sango slowly made her way back down to the window through which she’d come only moments before.

Miroku edged his way closer to the window, knowing that if it were even going to be possible for him to escape, he’d have one, and only one, chance to do it. The snake youkai beyond the barrier were furious now, trying their best to intimidate him from beyond the wall of his spiritual energy. The moment he let them free, they would be all over him. Even if he made it through the window, chances were that he’d be dead before he made it to the surface.

He could only hope that Sango got back in safety.

A sudden hand on his shoulder made Miroku jump and he forced himself to hold the barrier in place, even as he turned to see who had surprised him.

In the window, Sango knelt on the ledge, panting and dripping wet. “ You’re an idiot,” she gasped, wrapping the folds of his kimono tightly in her fist. “ Take a deep breath and hold it as long as you can.”

As she pulled him back out of the window, Miroku realized that she was talking about him holding the barrier, not his breath. Sango struggled through the water, and the monk knew he only had a few minutes more before he’d need to swim too. He only hoped it would be enough to get both of them out of there alive.

*******************

Kagome grunted as her body slammed into solid rock, carried by the momentum of the serpent’s gigantic tail. Through the nearly blinding flash of pain that shook her body, she could hear Inuyasha shouting her name from far away, and she clung to it as she struggled to get back onto her feet.

All three of them - Inuyasha, Kagome and Kuroseirei - were wounded, but it was clear to the miko that if something didn’t happen soon, she and her mate wouldn’t be the ones to walk away from this.


Kagome didn’t know where Sango and Miroku were, and there was no time to question it. For the moment, Kuroseirei’s attention wasn’t on her, and Kagome used that to her advantage, pulling herself up a path on the cliff she’d crashed into. From a higher position, she may have a better chance at inflicting a mortal wound.

She no longer noticed the rain that had begun pounding down on them not too long before but had already soaked them to the marrow of their bones. Now the wind had begun at gale force as well, and Kagome wanted to cry with frustration as she forced against it. On top of all of that, the ground still shivered beneath them as though the world were ending. Somewhere in the back of her mind, the girl knew that this wasn’t good.

From across the valley, Inuyasha watched Kagome from the corner of his eye until he was sure that she was alright. Uttering a nearly continuous string of curses, he focused on keeping Kuroseirei’s attention on him, and away from his mate.

Inuyasha was also aware at the limiting time pressing against them, but he’d never backed out of a fight before, and wasn’t about to start now. If he was going to die here, he’d make sure the snake youkai went down with him.

He’d tried almost everything he could think of against Kuroseirei, but none of it had worked. The fact that the Kaza no Kizu proved ineffective didn’t completely surprise Inuyasha, given the hebi youkai’s ability to control the weather, but he had hoped he’d have at least some luck with the Diamond Shard Blast, or even the Bakuryuuha, which had been easily maneuvered around by the astonishingly nimble demon.

Still, it was this move Inuyasha continued using, hoping for that one lucky hit that would end all of this for good. Since Kagome had joined the fight, all taunts had ceased. Kuroseirei seemed more determined than ever to be rid of them, even if she would have to forego the satisfaction of eating them by pounding them flat with her tail.

Inuyasha felt some measure of comfort in the fact that Kuroseirei had not managed to inflict serious damage on either him or Kagome. Still, the stinging needles of rain were more of a hindrance to him than to the thick-hided serpent, and the wind served to tire him out more quickly than normal.

Another shock wave shuddered through the earth, and Inuyasha was certain that time was running out, one way or another. As another well aimed ball of fire was shot towards him, Inuyasha retaliated by using the Kaza no Kizu attack to smash it off track and out of his way. The maneuver worked, but just barely. Sparks from the incinerating mass attached to his clothing, but were easily put out by the rain.

Inuyasha was tired. He hated the realization as soon as it came to him, but he knew it was true. He knew that he’d been manning a solid defense for longer than he would have liked to, and that wasn’t going to gain him the upper hand. Staring at the night black scales that towered above him, he tried to think as the last embers of the disappearing fire ball reflected of the smooth surface of his opponent’s body.

There was always one thing that he hadn’t tried, and Inuyasha managed to think of a second one while his body was already in movement for the first idea. In a desperate move, the hanyou leapt straight into the youkai’s torso, trying to slam Tetsusaiga through the protective layers of thick scaly flesh.

The blade sunk in, but not deeply, and as Kuroseirei thrashed and snapped down at him, Inuyasha jerked the sword free and was flung back against the mountain. Struggling to regain the wind that had been knocked out of him, Inuyasha got to his feet and aimed Tetsusaiga directly at the serpent, waiting for his moment.

Kuroseirei screamed with rage, making the earth quake more furiously, and another mass of flame escaped her mouth. The hanyou did nothing to avoid it, standing firmly in its path, sword extended before him.

As the flames came towards him, Tetsusaiga transformed in Inuyasha’s grasp, and was suddenly encrusted with dragon scales. The sword grew hot in his hands as the power of the flames was absorbed into the empowered blade, glowing with the energy of the new attack.

With a ferocious grin, Inuyasha raised Tetsusaiga to try fighting fire with fire.

Kagome reached the top of the incline, and braced herself against the wall as she clambered to her feet. Looking down into the valley, she felt as though her heart had stopped dead within the hollow of her chest. Before her was the vision from her dreams. Inuyasha stood across the valley from her, against the rock wall where they had found the arrow head embedded in the stone. The path of the Wind Scar had marked the ground just in front of where he now stood, facing Kuroseirei.

As she watched, Kagome saw Inuyasha bring his sword down and a ball of fire flew at Kuroseirei, singeing her flesh and eliciting more screams of torment from the serpent. Still, it was not effective enough to bring her down, and through the haze of pain and rage that all but blinded her, the hebi youkai began to move forward.

The wind howled around Kagome’s ears, and she felt frozen, unable to do anything but watch her dream become reality. Before she realized what she was doing, Tatsujou was in her hands and her last remaining arrow had been drawn.

“ No,” Kagome whispered, realizing that her hands were shaking and she had no control over that either. It wasn’t until the familiar pink glow of her aura surrounded her that the miko began to feel more at ease, and her mind instantly cleared.

“ Kagome!”

From across the valley, Inuyasha screamed his mate’s name, hoping she would understand. The pink light had surrounded him at the same instant it had encased her, and he suddenly knew what had to be done to end this battle.

Bits of discarded memories came to him at a pace too quick to analyze, but nevertheless, he understood their meaning. A vision of him asking Kagome to fire an arrow directly at his chest on their first fight with Kagura; another image of his mate’s aura surrounding him, but not purifying him; another of the vision he’d seen, identical to the scene being played out before his eyes, when he’d meditated with his family in front of their home in Kaede’s village.

Inuyasha didn’t understand completely what it all meant, only what it implied. Raising Tetsusaiga high above his head, the hanyou didn’t hesitate as he brought the blade downward.

“Kaza no Kizu!”

Kagome fired her arrow at Kuroseirei’s back, just as the youkai moved out of the path of the Wind Scar, and the two attacks met in mid air, exploding in a flash of pure white light.

The brilliant luminescence shattered night into day, and Kuroseirei’s scream echoed through the valley as the light swallowed her whole.

Kagome held her breath as she watched, disbelieving. One hand shielded her eyes as the light grew brighter, and Kuroseirei seemed to incinerate within the heat of its cleansing fire.

Kagome screamed, as the force from the Wind Scar collided into her, lifting her off her feet. A million voices echoed in her head, and she slammed her hands against her ears, trying to block them from her mind. Her eyes flew open, and had anyone been close enough to see, they would have realized that her iris’s and pupil had been completely swallowed by the whites, giving her an unearthly appearance.

Images flashed through Kagome’s mind in time with the voices, entering quickly and leaving her with the essence of lifetimes within the space of seconds.

A tiny infant with white hair cried in the arms of a beautiful women bidding her last goodbyes to her stoic mate. The same woman running down a mountain pass, holding a baby close and then again, shrouded in funereal garments and watched over by as sad eyed little boy with dog ears.

The boy running; the boy hiding; the boy crying. The boy chasing a tall and imposing figure lingering in the shadows and looking so much like the single memory of a father, long ago lost.
Children laughing, but not in play. The eyes of men and women, glaring with fear or mistrust.

A tiny room filled with an assortment of weak and defeated creatures, too broken to be recognizable. A kitsune... one who look a little like Shippou, only older. This kitsune being dragged away through the mud. A flash of red, and a blur of white, yellow and blue all around as humans fall into death, clutching poisonous wounds.


Years, decades, a century of pain, loneliness and a hunger for something that can’t be named, until... something familiar. The red and white outfit of a miko, nearly blinding in her beauty and innocence. A single kiss, punctuated by the sound of a wood striking wood and lit by the beauty of a red sunset. The pain of betrayal, the silence of nothingness.

Then Kagome... Kagome... Kagome. A million images of Kagome, over and over, increasing in speed until she recognized only one in a thousand. Kagome crying; Kagome laughing; Kagome naked, climbing out of a cooking vat. Kagome in pain; Kagome afraid. Kagome with eyes of trust, hope and then love. Kagome naked again and then in bridal kimono. Kagome.

Through all of this, there were others on the periphery of her vision. Miroku, Shippou, Sango, Kaede. More and more, but Kagome could not analyze, only watch this theater of life before her. When a hand dropped onto her shoulder, the miko jumped and her eyes swam back into focus, taking in the sight of Zengoro knelt before her with worry thick in his eyes.

“ Inuyasha!” Kagome jumped to her feet, ignoring the tingling sensation that filled her body, and the weakness in her knees. Running down the cliff side with Zengoro calling to her from behind, she flew across the shuddering valley and arrived just as Kohaku managed to get the hanyou onto his feet.

Inuyasha stared at Kagome and lifted a hand to cover his heart. His clothing was torn where the arrow had passed through, but the wound that had pierced his body was already healing, leaving no trace that anything had happened.

Unable to take his eyes off of Kagome, Inuyasha reached up to touch her face, as if seeing her for the first time. When his fingers brushed her skin, he felt the sensation on his own cheek, as if he were both the giver and the receiver of this touch. Kagome gasped and her eyes widened as she lifted her right hand and clenched it tightly around the same sensation running through her mate.

They were connected.

Turning to face the cliff behind where he had fallen, Inuyasha brushed away a few crumbs of rock to reveal the head of an arrow embedded deeply in the rock. The shaft had disappeared, but the arrowhead... one she had gotten from Chizuko before leaving earlier in the day, would remain there for five hundred years for them to puzzle over in another time, far from this.


*************************

Holding hands so as not to lose one another, Miroku and Sango kicked and clawed their way to the surface, bursting through the water with enough force to shatter ice. There was no time to waste in much needed breathing, and the two scrambled to the edge of the lake.

Weary legs complained against the act of standing, but both ignored the pain and ran as fast as they could.

The valley was surprisingly clear of anything remotely evil, and Sango took this as a sign that Inuyasha had won. As she and Miroku reached their friends, Sango could feel the intensity in the air, but didn’t take the time to wonder about it.

“ We’ve got to go,” Miroku panted. “ The volcano is going to blow.”

The surface of the lake began to bubble, and glow red, seconds before the rippling water gave way to hundreds of hebi youkai struggling in vain towards freedom.

Zengoro grabbed Miroku by the arm and ran to the edge of the lake, ignoring the questioning shouts of those left behind. Stopping at the water line, he raised his arms and bade the monk to do the same.

Miroku lifted his arms in imitation of the elk youkai, and closed his eyes, waiting for the man to say more. When silence fell between them, the monk glanced in Zengoro’s direction, feeling a moment of panic at the sight of the mass of serpents scant yards before them.

Just as Miroku opened his mouth to voice his confusion, the aruji joined hands with him, and the monk’s head shot forward as words poured from their mouths.

The monk had no idea what he was saying, nor in what language he spoke, but the pink glow that began to surround him lessened the fear that had begun to tickle his throat. Zengoro was recognized by the Shikon no Tama as one of wisdom, and his influence was accepted by a greater spirit than Miroku’s own.

Before them, the hebi youki shrieked, and suddenly seemed to recoil upon themselves as they were pulled backwards and into one great ball that began to hover above the surface of the lake. A pillar of fire shot up from the center, engulfing the screaming demons and sending the fiery mass plunging back down into the water.

Miroku’s free hand lowered slowly, palm facing downward as if in blessing. The released lava had been forced down by the burning snakes, and as he watched, the boiling subsided, the red glow faded, and then was gone.

Zengoro released the monk’s hand, and turned to him with a smile. “ I wasn’t sure I could do that, but your power was all that was needed to make it happen.”

Miroku was breathing heavily, “ What exactly did happen?”

“ If what I felt was correct, I think we sealed the opening at the bottom of the lake. The volcano and any youkai that survived are trapped underneath.” Zengoro frowned at the lake before closing his eyes and bowing his head.

Miroku realized he was thanking the kami for their guidance, and succumbed to the urge to do so himself.

********************

The seven travelers stayed in the village for a month, helping Zengoro rebuild the temple atop Mt. Hakusan’s highest peak. Rumors flew throughout the village as to the true identity of the kami who had been sent to save them, but no one ever really knew the answer to that.

With the completion of the temple came an astonishing array of miracles that further confirmed to the townspeople that they had indeed been visited by the gods. Much too late in the season, crops bloomed, and produced the most glorious harvest anyone had ever seen. Fish were caught in far greater abundance than ever before, and more children were conceived in that one month than in another four combined.

It was a time of thanksgiving, and worship and praise, and forevermore, the mountain would be thought of as a holy spot - a place of great reverence and just climbing its peaks was an act of devotion to the gods.

The seven friends took what they considered to be unnecessary praise all in stride as they did what they could to restore the village. Sango and Miroku took little time getting back on their feet, having sustained no injuries more serious than fatigue and a few minor cuts and bruises.

Inuyasha insisted he was fine after a few short days, but stayed at Kagome’s side until she was driven crazy by his overprotective tendencies and sent outside for a while.

Kohaku’s minor wounds were easily tended to, and he spent a great deal of time entertaining the village children with his Kusarikama. He could also be found helping with the overabundant harvesting duties along with Zengoro, who was restored after a few days of continuous sleep.

The real reason for their lingering stay in the village was Shippou... the greatest casualty in this battle. Kirara stay by the kitsune’s side continuously, refusing to move for any reason. The boy was badly burned, and it was all Kagome could do to keep from crying as she tended to his wounds and waited patiently for his youkai blood to do the work that she could not.

Were Shippou human, Kagome would have been capable of doing much more for her child, but the possibility that she might purify the tiny youkai prevented her from trying anything more than she was confident of handling.

It was a week before Shippou opened his eyes to the excited chirping of Kirara as she called to the others, and another week before he took his first tentative steps into the regenerative spas of the Houshi Ryokan.

In the peace of the two weeks following Shippou’s recovery, the kitsune was oddly silent, although no one felt that he was unhappy for any reason. Most of the boy’s time was spent on the porch of the inn, quietly drawing with some paper and a charcoal pencil Chizuko had lent him.

One morning, as Shippou stared into the setting sun, Inuyasha came to sit beside him.

“ So, what’re you doing?” Inuyasha asked.

Shippou shrugged his tiny shoulders. “ It’s pretty, isn’t it? How it gets are purply and pink and orange.”

Inuyasha frowned, but nodded. “ Yeah, it’s pretty.” He hesitated, unsure of how to continue. “ Are you alright, Runt? You’ve been awful quiet since you woke up. Kagome’s worried.”

Shippou’s face fell. “ I’m fine... I’ve just been... thinking. About stuff.”

“ Like what?”

“ Like about... the future,” Shippou admitted, finally meeting Inuyasha’s eyes. “ I’ve never thought of myself as brave... even after Midoriko said I was. Ever since I woke up, everyone’s been saying what a brave thing I did.”

Inuyasha nodded, not understanding. “ Well... it was. Not everyone would jump in front of a ball of fire to protect their friends, which, by the way, is something I don’t ever want you to do again unless you have no other choice,” Inuyasha reprimanded playfully.

Shippou giggled, but his eyes remained serious. “ The thing is... when I did it... I wasn’t really thinking, just acting. I was terrified, but I just did what my gut was telling me to do.” Making eye contact with Inuyasha, the kitsune got to his point. “ What if I’m in a position where fear is in my gut, and I don’t do the brave thing? What if I run away instead, and someone else gets hurt?”

For once, Inuyasha thought hard before answering. “ First of all, you should always listen to your gut. As a youkai, it’ll lead you in the right direction more often than your blood ever will. It’s instinct. Second, if your gut ever tells you run... do it. Don’t question it; don’t worry about it being wrong, just trust that it’s the right thing to do, and do it.”

Pausing, Inuyasha made sure that he had Shippou’s attention for this. “ Listen closely, ‘cause I’m probably only gonna tell you this once. Midoriko chose you to be part of the Shikon no Tama for your courage. In this battle if no where else, you should be able to see what that means for all of us. Miroku, Sango, Kagome, you, me... each of us are starting to recognize certain powers that are granted to us because of the Shikon no Tama.

“We each did things that we felt we had no control over, so what I’m thinking is that when you jumped in front of Kohaku, Zengoro and Kirara, you were being guided by your fragment... the soul of your soul.” Inuyasha grinned before adding. “ You’re going to grow up to be one of the most powerful Kitsune ever born, because you have greater courage in your heart than most people ever find.”

Standing up and turning to walk away, Inuyasha paused before going inside to look down at Shippou once more. “ You made me proud.”

Orange and pink bled out of the night sky, and Shippou smiled.

*******************

Kagome hugged Chikuzo tightly before doing the same to Zengoro. “Thank you... for everything.”

Zengoro smiled, touching his forehead to the girls. “Just remember your promise. Not the next time you come, but the time after that? I expect the full story of your marvelous lives.”

Inuyasha put his arm around Kagome and grinned. “ I suspect that it’ll be well worth the wait, by that time.”

“ Yes, I suspect it will,” Zengoro agreed. “ I can’t thank you enough... are you sure you’re ready to go? You’re welcome to stay through the winter.”

Sango shook her head as she tied her bundle around her shoulders. “Thanks, but if we go now, we’ll beat the cold season back to our own village. Otherwise, the babies would be born away from home, and getting back would be even more difficult.”

Chikuzo nodded, “ We understand.” Handing them some baskets, she added, “ I’ve packed some more food for your journey... seeing as how it was so greatly appreciated the last time.”

Shippou grinned widely, then remembered something and ran back to his room. Reappearing, he handed a few pieces of paper to Chizuko. “ I made these for you... as thanks for looking after me while I was sick.”

“ Don’t be silly,” Zengoro said with a grin as he looked down at the paper over his wife’s shoulder. “ What is this?”

The first page contained a drawing of the Houshi Ryokan. Done in charcoal, it was a surprisingly realistic picture, and amazingly beautiful. The second was a crayon sketch of the mountain sunset, its color painting the landscape in breathtaking shades of purple, pink and orange.


The final picture wasn’t a picture at all, but caught the attention of both Inuyasha and Kagome immediately. It was a map of the mountain trail they had taken to get up the mountain. It was the same map Chizuko would offered them on their honeymoon.

“ Shippou,” Kagome breathed in surprise.

“ I did it from memory,” Shippou explained. “ I though it might come in handy.”

Meeting Inuyasha’s eyes, then looking at the aruji and his wife, Kagome nodded. “It will be.”

******************************************************************************
Chapter Glossary:

Kesa - The purple sash part of Miroku’s outfit. Typical attire for a Buddhist Monk. Color may vary from country to country.


A/N: Almost all of the characters in this story are brought to you by the genius of Rumiko Takahashi, and by the letters Y, O & U. I do not own the characters, they own me.

NOTE!!! THERE IS STILL ONE CHAPTER TO GO! DON’T GIVE UP ON ME JUST YET! We still have babies to be born and contest winners to reveal, so tune in next week for the conclusion... to... BEAUTIFUL SOULS!

Okay guys, take note. This is the LONGEST CHAPTER EVER! 32 pages - WOOT! Go me!

Now for the good stuff:

Vikki - :(

Kelsey (No. 1) - Ah, you make me blush! Thank you for such a dramatic review! I love it! I’m glad you’re enjoying the story!

Juice - I’m glad you enjoyed my explanation on their pregnancy. It’s a silly little thing, but I enjoyed writing it! Makes everything so much more fun. For me, anyway. Hope you like this installment!

Fran - Tell me about your story! As for plot bunnies... I usually follow them merrily down their trails. You never know where you’re going to end up, but the trip sure is fun! I found it helpful to sketch out several chapters before writing, that way if plot bunnies appeared, I could still stay on track with where I intended to go! Good luck!

Cjflutterbye - I love cliff hangers... they’re so much fun! Except if your not the writer... oh well! I hope 32 pages of action makes up for it!

Kumiko - Yay for you liking my Sacred Doggie story! It’s interesting. I came across the idea while doing research for, like, chapter 16 or something. I read this story about a dog statue in front of a fertility temple. All expectant and wanna be mothers would visit the statue to help with whatever pregnancy related issue they were dealing with. I thought this was PERFECT, but I didn’t know how to use it!!! I wrote the trapped in the cave scene with this in mind, but I really had to work to get this part in there, so I’m glad you approve of its usage!

New Fan - You’ve got a good eye... I’m glad you’re paying attention! Hopefully this answers your questions about Sango and Miroku. I wanted them to have some adventurous fun too. As for Zengoro... well, maybe there’ll be more about him in the sequel... we’ll see!

silverhentai - I suppose the babies lives could be at risk, but I didn’t want that to hinder their actions. I think the babies will be stronger for it! ;) I hope this chapter answered all of your questions! Keep ‘em coming if not!

Diane - Believe me, sweetie... I’m all about the detail in OUR story!!! Once more, can I get a whoop, whoop for research! Yeah, baby! I’d love for you to do a pic of Kuroseirei... we’ll talk! You’re right, lemon’s are awesome, but for me, the sex means so much more with a story behind it! (I know... typical girl, right?) I’m glad you appreciate the effort... it makes the sleepless night worth it!! If I ever finally get a book published, you’re definitely at the top of my list for book cover illustrators. Enjoy!

Kelsey - Ah German... even the most innocuous of statements becomes so menacing. What an awesome language! Especially der Oprah Buchklub... man, that’s evil! (Tee-hee... you’re cool!) Thanks for the lovin’! Keep enjoying!