Bloodborne Duties

 

Bloodborne Duties

An ancient curse was placed upon the Inuyoukai family: if the youngest born heir does not produce an heir-apparent before his 205th birthday, the Dogs will surrender to the Panthers. Inuyasha is the youngest heir and it is his duty to avoid the curse.

---

Inuyasha and Kagome finished eating breakfast and they set off once again. He was carrying her on his back claiming that it'd be faster for them and a lot more time efficient if he carried her to the Hakurei River. Kagome had her face buried in Inuyasha's large mane and allowed him to run in silence, hoping that they arrived at the river before sundown. It was past noon, Kagome could tell by the sun being directly overhead, but she was not at the least bit hungry; probably because she hadn't exerted any energy in the past couple of hours.

"You hungry?" she asked Inuyasha who grunted in response. She took that as a no and resumed being quiet. Inuyasha dodged cracks in the ground, large boulders, leapt from treetop to branches and everything else in between. He could sense the river, he knew it was close by and the sooner he got there, the better it'll be.

Kagome's right, Inuyasha thought to himself as he continued to run. Naraku hasn't shown us any signs for a long time now. I don't even remember the last time we even saw him. Inuyasha began jumping from tree branches since the ground was beginning to get rocky and it was starting to irritate him. Something's up, I can sense it. And the feeling wasn't a good one. He was now courting Kagome and the mark on her neck showed that to all Demon's out there.

Shit, he inwardly cursed. I should've held out till after the final battle. The bastard might use Kagome against me…

"INUYASHA!" Kagome called and he suddenly stopped on a branch.

"Wha— Oh…" He stopped midway as he saw Kikyo's shinidamachu. They were close by and he was surprised he hadn't sensed it earlier. He was too caught up in his thoughts. "Crap," he murmured, remembering what Kikyo had told them during their last encounter together just a few days ago.

"Inuyasha…" Kikyo whispered as he stood in front of her.

"Kikyo." He nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"I have come to warn you and my reincarnation that Naraku's forces are accumulating and he is on a search for you both. It is better if you both lay low for a while."

"After he's dead," she whispered, "you'll come with me to hell… won't you…?"

Inuyasha gulped. "Thanks for the news Kikyo." He avoided her statement. "It's getting dark and Kagome is alone. I'll… see you soon, right?"

Kikyo nodded. "Yes. You will." Turning around, she slowly left.

Inuyasha's glance flickered at Kagome who had slid off his back and stood beside him. He could see the internal battle reflect in her eyes and he put his hand gently on her shoulder: "Trust me?"

She jumped and looked over at him. "Huh?"

"I said trust me," he whispered. "Wait here for me. I'll be back."

Before Kagome could respond, Inuyasha jumped off the tree, leaving her on the branch with just her backpack, bow and arrows. A single tear rolled down her cheek. Oh, Inuyasha…

.xx.

"Kikyo," Inuyasha greeted firmly as he stood in front of her just by the edge of the river. She stood by a tree, her cold aura surrounding her as it usually did. She nodded her head in acknowledgment and the two kept the distance that was between them.

"Naraku is nearby," Kikyo finally spoke. "I cannot pinpoint exactly but he's somewhere between here and Hijiri Island."

Inuyasha frowned. "What? But there's only water in between—"

"That's what confuses me," she whispered. "My shinidamachu have spotted his aura emit from the water but I fail to understand how he is sustaining underneath the surface. I don't know if it's a trap or not."

Inuyasha nodded slowly. "I can take his ass if he pops out of the water like a mermaid."

Kikyo raised an eyebrow. "Brash, as usual. How is my reincarnation?"

Inuyasha's heart raced at the mention of Kagome. He was hoping Kikyo didn't bring her up, but shit never went the way he hoped for it to. But what annoyed him the most was that Kikyo referred to Kagome as "my reincarnation."

"She has a name you know," Inuyasha said rudely. "It's Kagome."

Kikyo's eyes narrowed.

"Say it with me?" Inuyasha felt like he was reliving the past when he first met Kagome and he wanted to bark with laughter at the thought of it. "Ka-go-me."

"I don't care for her name, Inuyasha." Kikyo spat. "All I care about is you coming to spend eternity with me in hell."

Inuyasha brought his hand up to the hilt of Tetsusaiga and he loosely gripped it, just in case something ended up happening and Kikyo moved to pin him to another tree. "It's not going to happen, Kikyo," he said slowly, watching her expression change from shock to anger.

"Isn't going to happen? Why not?"

"It just isn't."

"Does it have something to do with my reincarnation?"

"Kagome," he automatically corrected, finally getting a feel for how Kagome felt when she constantly corrected that pansy Hojo's name. "It's Kagome. And yes, it does have something to do with her."

"Whatever it is, you can disregard it." Kikyo took a step towards him. "You belong to me."

"No, Kikyo." Inuyasha's voice lowered. "I belong to Kagome. I just want your soul to rest in peace in Heaven, where it belongs. To you, I have no other ties."

Kikyo's eyes widened as she watched Inuyasha turn to leave, "Inuyasha!" she called him but he didn't look back.

"Thanks for the information," he said over his shoulder to her. "I'll tell Kagome you said hi."

Kikyo frowned. "I never said say hi to her from me!"

"Now you did!"

He tricked me… Kikyo fisted her hand and turned to leave. I can't believ— I'll make him want me again. My reincarnation has nothing on me, I'm the original, and nothing ever bests the original.

.xx.

Kagome was sitting on the branch that Inuyasha left her on, swinging her feet and watching animals randomly run around on the ground beneath her. She was annoyed at Inuyasha and it wasn't because she didn't trust him. She trusted him enough, but she didn't like the fact he didn't even ask her to go with him to see Kikyo. If all Kikyo was doing was sharing information about the whereabouts of Naraku, than Kagome being there shouldn't really affect any transferal of information.

A glint of silver made her head snap to the left in time to see her fiancé jump from a far off tree to the branch she was sitting on. Slowly, she stood up. "What happened?"

He walked up to her. "She said that she felt Naraku's aura in the water between here and Hijiri Island."

Kagome frowned. "In the water? How?"

He shrugged. "We don't know. But guess what?"

Kagome seemed weirded out by the fact that Inuyasha was excited about something just after coming back from a visit with Kikyo. "What...?" she asked slowly as Inuyasha cracked a stupid grin

"I taught her how to say your name!"

Kagome almost fell out of the tree. "You did what?"

"Taught her how to say your name," he repeated. "She always calls you her reincarnation so I taught her how to say your name." He paused. "Though it did remind me of when we first met and you yelled at me."

Kagome smiled at the memory before turning her attention back to what Inuyasha said. "Thanks?" She wasn't sure how to react to that but the anger she had for him earlier disappeared in an instant. "I think?"

He snickered. "Just hop on, the river is really close by and I spotted some boats when I went to talk to Kikyo."

Kagome nodded and climbed onto his back once more. "Inuyasha?"

"Hmm?" He took off from the branch.

"Next time she drops by… can I come too?"

Inuyasha was silent for a bit before he responded. "Sure." Kagome's heart stopped. "I don't see why not."

.xx.

Inuyasha managed to haul an upturned boat into the water and helped Kagome onto it. Grabbing some oars, he began paddling one side and Kagome paddled the other. He was keeping rhythm and Kagome followed him every time he commanded stroke.

"Do you see the island?" she panted.

"No. Just keep paddling in time with me," he instructed her and they continued. Kagome wiped the sweat beading down her forehead and kept on paddling the oar under Inuyasha's rhythm. Half way through the following stroke, her attention snapped up and she stopped paddling.

"What happened?" Inuyasha inquired, seeing the look on her face.

"Jewel shards..." She whispered. "A lot of them. I can't count—it could possibly be the rest of the—"

"Naraku," Inuyasha whispered as he dropped his oar and stood up, ripping the Tetsusaiga out of its sheath.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, BASTARD?"

"Don't move so much!" Kagome held onto the side of the boat but Inuyasha paid her no heed. A deep purple miasma started fogging up the area and Inuyasha scowled, quickly ripping off his haori and handing it to Kagome. Without word, she pulled it on and buried her nose into the cloth so that the miasma wouldn't enter her system.

"SHOW YOURSELF!"

Naraku's demonic laugh resonated. The miasmic fog became thick enough so that Kagome and Inuyasha couldn't see each other clearly any longer, even though they were sitting on the same boat.

"KAGOME!"

"INUYASHA!" she shrieked. Coughing slightly, he whipped his head around to see if she was still there but he couldn't tell.

"Are you there?"

"Ye— AHHHH!" she screamed as a giant splash was heard.

"KAGOME!" he roared but everything went quiet. The miasmic fog disappeared and Kagome was no longer on the boat where she was earlier. Inuyasha's heart stopped completely.

"Kagome…" He dropped to his knees, staring at where she was. "KAGOMEEEE!" He fisted his hand and punched the boat, causing a hole to appear where his fist collided. I'll make that asshole pay. He'll fucking pay for laying a single finger on Kagome. Inuyasha stood up, sheathed his Tetsusaiga and dove into the water.

Even if it kills me, I will get her back. He maneuvered his body around the water so that he could get a complete picture of where he was. It was just an endless abyss of river. His lungs were beginning to burn but he paid no heed to it as he swam closer towards the bottom of the body of water.

I heard a splash so she must've gone into the river... Inuyasha looked around, fighting the urge to surface and take in a deep breath of air. Times like this I wish I was a fucking fish demon. He swam deeper down, his chest was beginning to hurt and any moment now, he was going to breathe and intake a lungful of water, ultimately drowning.

Hang in there, Kagome… he urged mentally, partially doing it to keep himself going. A glint caught his eye and he immediately began swimming its direction. His heart pounded against his ribcage as he saw Kagome's engagement ring lay on a rock near a cavernous dent in an even larger rock. He quickly picked up her ring and swam towards the dent. Placing a hand on it, Inuyasha was almost not surprised when he felt his hand penetrate the exterior and disappear inside. Illusion. He popped his head into the void and saw that there was a fire-lit corridor inside the rock. Slowly, he hauled the rest of him inside and breathed like he never breathed before.

"Fucking Naraku," he pocketed Kagome's ring and pulled out his Tetsusaiga, ready to rip anything to shreds if it dared interfere with him getting his mate back safely in his arms.

.xx.

Kagome struggled as invisible ropes had her tied up against a wall. Inuyasha's haori was still wrapped around her from earlier and because of that, her body was dry despite the fact she was hauled underwater by Naraku's giant tentacle. Her body ached everywhere and her stuff was mercilessly thrown to the side, her backpack open and all the contents spilling out. Sitting directly across from where she was held hostage was the ever fearsome Naraku, in his baboon pelt and demon armour. In the palm of his hand was three-quarters of the Shikon no Tama.

Does that mean I have the other quarter? Kagome thought. I haven't tried fusing it…

"Stop struggling, impudent human." Naraku's voice drawled. "The more you struggle, the more your bindings tighten."

Almost instantly, Kagome stopped fighting. "You're pathetic," Kagome spat. "You're using me to bait Inuyasha? Why don't you just take the stupid shards and do what you have to do! Why are you waiting for him?"

Naraku smirked, getting up off his throne and walking straight towards Kagome. Her eyes widened as he pressed her two cheeks in together with his thumb and fingers. "Because," he whispered, "that little puppy has caused me enough troubles throughout the years—not to mention you, but you're no fun to kill." Naraku released her head and she spat in his face. He merely wiped it off, smiling.

"Kikyo wanted him when I wanted her. He's out to get the jewel when I want it—he always has everything."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "You're acting like a jealous younger sibling."

"I am not jealous," Naraku coolly remarked. "I just have extreme hatred for that half-demon." He began retreating to his throne and only then Kagome noted the hundreds of demons scattered around the ovular room that they were in. She gulped, sweat beginning to bead off her forehead.

"Don't you worry, when he gets here, I'll kill him slowly while you watch. Then I'll take the shards, do as I please with you and continue on with life."

Kagome's eyes widened. Inuyasha… hurry up… she tried to wiggle her wrist but the bindings got tighter.

How can I release myself?

.xx.

"Fuck you, Naraku..." Inuyasha spat as he continued running down the endless corridor. At least throw some petty fucking demons at me so I know I'm going in the right direction!

The hallway seemed never ending and it was wearing Inuyasha's patience to the last thread. He needed to see Kagome now or else he'd turn the earth inside out before shoving Naraku's head down those toilet things that Kagome's time used.

"KAGOME!" He shrieked, hoping to get a response.

Nothing.

I'll try again.

"KAGOMEEEE!"

And as if it was a light at the end of a tunnel, he heard her voice: INUYASHA!

Kuso. He clenched his fist. I'm coming, Kagome.

.xx.

KAGOME!

Kagome's eyes snapped open as she heard Inuyasha's voice. She knew better than to call him, it was exactly what Naraku wanted and she refused to fall for his tricks. However, the dark demon anticipated such a reaction from Kagome and, within the blink of an eye, he was beside her with a poison tipped knife against her throat.

"Call for him," he hissed. "Or when he does eventually find you, I'll kill you very slowly." His other hand was on her neck and began slowly trailing downwards. Kagome's eyes widened.

KAGOMEEEE!

"Call him. Now."

And she did. "INUYASHA!"

Naraku smirked dangerously as he pulled away from Kagome. "Good job. Now minions, go."

Kagome's eyes widened. "Wh—what?"

Naraku cackled. "Did you honestly think I would let him find you without a fight? Now the show is just a lot better because he knows your alive. Ah, this will be so entertaining."

"YOU SICK TWISTED BASTARD!" Kagome struggled even harder and the bindings were tight enough to cut off her circulation. "IF WE DON'T KILL YOU TODAY, I SWEAR MY NAME WON'T BE KAGOME ANY LONGER!"

"Oh you won't defeat me. And don't worry about changing your name; it becomes highly insignificant when you're dead." Naraku waved her off as if she was an annoying little bug.

.xx.

Inuyasha wanted to rip something's stomach out of its body and feed it to Naraku when he saw the hoards of demons running in his direction. Bitch wants to play ugly, huh? At least he knew he was going in the right direction.

Inuyasha reared his sword: "KAZE NO KIZU!" He released the lash of wind and not even half of the demon's incinerated.

Shit. He tried again. "KAZE NO KIZU!"

And once again, not even half of the demons charging at him incinerated. Inuyasha's mind went into overload as he began hacking and slicing away at demons that charged at him. What the fuck do I do? I can't do this shit alone!

Inuyasha felt like cold water was just thrown at him when realization struck like gold. My half demon can't take them but… Inuyasha suddenly felt the weight of the Tetsusaiga. But my demon…

With the blink of an eye, he threw his Tetsusaiga to the side and felt the first demon that was charging at him slash his cheek.

Inuyasha pulsated.

"Pathetic hanyou!" A caterpillar-like thing snickered but that caused Inuyasha's grin to broaden.

He pulsed again, his pupils dilating and his claws detracted from his fingers. Inuyasha felt his human lock itself away and his feral self released. Just save Kagome, the human in him whispered before Inuyasha succumbed to the darker of his two bloods.

The demons hoarding Inuyasha paused.

"What just…"

"AUGHH!" Inuyasha screamed as he reared his claws and began slicing and scratching away at the demons, making his way to the only person that mattered to him.

Mate, his demon roared in his mind. Find... mate...

.xx.

"He's coming," Naraku grinned, his voice echoing off the walls. A peculiar demon waddled up to Kagome and ripped the vial of shards off of her neck.

"HEY!" Kagome screamed. Instantaneously, Naraku snapped his fingers and Kagome's bindings released, causing her to fall. Without second thought, she clambered to her bow and arrows and picked them up, glaring defiantly at Naraku.

"Big mistake," she pulled a bow back and Naraku rolled his eyes. She released the arrow but it disintegrated in midair while on its trek to Naraku.

What the…

"My powers are too strong for you."

Kagome gulped. Oh crap.

"And it's just a matter of time before I get stronger."

Kagome tried to release another arrow but once again, it disintegrated midway.

Inuyasha… hurry!

.xx.

"HYAA!" Demon Inuyasha roared as he broke past all of the petty demons and into the ovular room in which Kagome and Naraku were both situated in. Their eyes snapped to him and his was solely trained on Kagome.

Mate. Found- Mate.

His internal human seemed to be relieved which relaxed the demon blood just slightly. His eyes, then, turned to Naraku.

"You. Take. Mate." He strained to make coherent words, something his demon was not accustomed to. "Will. Destroy."

Naraku's grin widened. "Demon Inuyasha? My oh my. This just became so much more fun."

"INUYASHA!" Kagome screamed, beginning to run in his direction but with a flick of Naraku's wrist, her body flew sideways and slammed against the wall. She slumped to the floor, blood trickling from her mouth down her chin. She strained to sit up, her body hurting more than it did before.

"Inu—ya—sha…" she croaked.

Inuyasha pulsated once more.

"NO HURT MATE!" he roared charging at Naraku.

"Then I guess I'll just have to," Naraku dodge Inuyasha's charge, "hurt you…"

Naraku viciously sprang at Inuyasha, tentacles shooting out from where his ribs were supposed to be. Youkai Inuyasha had only one purpose and that was to protect his mate: the jewel shards, the fate of the world, the existence of humanity meant nothing to him if his mate was injured—

Or worse… Dead. Her life was his sole priority and the rest of the world could just protect it's damn self.

Destroy him, the human in him blared. Kill that fucking asshole.

The demon grunted, dodging Naraku's tentacles with ease. Kagome wiped the trickle of blood on her chin and watched Naraku and Inuyasha parry one another. Naraku's toying with Inuyasha. She noted bitterly to herself. He knows Inuyasha has no sense of battle right now. His mentality is charge in and try to win. Kagome noted the empty sheath on Inuyasha's hip. He dropped the Tetsusaiga. Kagome's eyes widened. He must've chosen to transform into demon. Nothing else made sense to her. Inuyasha wasn't so weak that he lost control of his Tetsusaiga AND transformed all at once. He must've done it willingly.

But now that he's here, Kagome quietly crept to her bow and arrows and picked them up, he's going to need his sword otherwise there's no way he can win. She glanced around; there weren't any small demons around anymore. They must've all been sent to attack Inuyasha earlier on. Kagome noted Inuyasha recklessly running towards Naraku and the latter dodging with speed and agility.

Naraku won't notice if I… disappear. Kagome convinced herself as she began sidling against the wall, hoping to get to the exit of the ovular dome to retrieve Inuyasha's discarded sword.

"Your demon is quite the fighter, Inuyasha." Naraku smirked. He was unaware of the fact that was Kagome moving just behind him, "This might be a lot more interesting than I initially ascertained it to be."

"GAHH!" Inuyasha screamed, his hair flying wildly. Using his claws, he sliced a big enough cut on his own left shoulder to draw blood. Dipping his fingers into his blood, he reared his hand and released a fury of hijinkessou. With ease, Naraku managed to deflect the crescent shaped blades of blood. All the while, Kagome moved quicker towards the exit. It was so close, yet so far.

Pinpoint his weakness. Ningen Inuyasha commanded Youkai Inuyasha. It's Naraku. We've fought him countless times, just figure out his weakness.

Keh, the Youkai roared internally. Fight much, no weakness.

The human sighed. I know we've fought him a lot and haven't found a weakness but you have to do it NOW. We left the Tetsusaiga— Holy fuck, Kagome! I can sense her moving!

Youkai Inuyasha's eyes flickered quickly to the left to see Kagome inching towards the exit. Quickly, he ran around Naraku so that Inuyasha's face was facing Kagome and Naraku's back was towards her— keeping her out of sight.

Good work, Ningen Inuyasha commended. The youkai barked. She's going to get the sword.

Smart. Mate. The full demon hoarsely told his weaker half.

Concentrate on keeping him distracted. When she gets back with the sword, we can become hanyou again

Mmm.

"Come get me, Inuyasha." Naraku taunted. "I'm having so much fun…"

"Die!" Inuyasha roared as he charged again for a head butt. Kagome made it to the exit of room and broke off to a fully fledged sprint. Hang in there, Inuyasha, she pleaded inwardly, clutching her bow as she ran straight down the corridor until she saw her mate's sword. The rotting corpses of long dead demons assaulted her sense of smell and Kagome coughed, pulling Inuyasha's haori up to her nose. Inuyasha must've done all this.

A faint glint caught Kagome's attention. Urging herself to speed up, she spotted the Tetsusaiga laying forgotten towards the left wall of the corridor. The ugly demon that had taken her shards from her earlier to give to Naraku was trying to pick up the sword. Every time it tried, the sword shocked him, not allowing a full demon to touch it.

Without word, Kagome pulled an arrow out of the quiver attached to her back and pulled it back on the bow. Quickly, she released a purification arrow and incinerated the demon with ease. Darting forward, she picked up Inuyasha's sword, turned around and began racing back towards where Inuyasha and Naraku were facing off.

.xx.

Just a little longer. Ningen Inuyasha remained the voice of reason in the Youkai's mind. He knew Kagome would run back any moment now with the sword—he could feel it. Naraku was toying with him and because of the fact that Kagome went to grab his sword, Inuyasha was glad that Naraku was helping him buy time without knowing it.

"You know how long I've waited for this?" Naraku snickered. "To destroy you slowly and complete the jewel?" Naraku showed the almost complete jewel to the Youkai. Even though the sparkling object didn't matter to him, the human within him gasped in fear.

The jewel!

Useless. Youkai responded.

He can use it to hurt Kagome, Ningen Inuyasha uttered dryly. And then he'll destroy the world and yadda yadda yadda but none of that matters because Kagome will be dead!

Mate not dead, Youkai snarled. Ningen Inuyasha agreed with him.

She won't be if you keep buying us time. He's missing a few shards: the one in Kohaku's back and the ones that Kouga has. He can't use the jewel yet...

"I'm going to slowly kill you in front of— WHERE DID SHE GO?" Naraku screamed as he finally realized that Kagome was not in the vicinity of his ovular chamber. He dropped his guard and Inuyasha tackled him to the ground, viciously punching his face, trying to sustain some sort of Inuyasha-to-Naraku combat. Naraku's tentacles sprang forward and peeled Inuyasha off of him.

"I'm done fucking toying with you," Naraku hissed. "I'm going to bind you, fuck that little bitch of yours in front of you before killing her. And then I'll destroy you."

The youkai's eyes bled red. "No touch mate..."

Naraku's sneer deepened. "I'll do more than touch—"

"INUYASHA!"

Both of their heads turned to the priestess standing at the entrance of the chamber with a tattered sword in his hands. The youkai took the opportunity to shove Naraku mercilessly to the side and run to Kagome as fast as possible.

She wasn't afraid of his youkai. After all, the demon claimed her long before the human part of Inuyasha realized he wanted her. She held the sword out to him: "Take it," she urged, hoping Inuyasha would get the hint.

Inuyasha's red eyes were focused on Kagome before looking down at the sword. Take? he uncertainly asked his human.

Take, human Inuyasha confirmed. Without a second thought, the demon grabbed the sword and a bright white light surrounded Inuyasha. Trying to stay in control, Naraku dashed towards the glowing demon but within a split second, Inuyasha shoved Kagome out of the way and jumped away himself. His eyes had returned to their natural ochre shade and his claws retracted back to its regular size.

"Hello, Naraku," Hanyou Inuyasha was back.

"Your demon was a lot more interesting," Naraku hissed. "But I'm not letting this bitch get away with what she did!" Before Naraku was able to launch at Kagome, Inuyasha reared his sword and hurtled his scars of wind to the baboon mix spider half-demon.

"Your opponent is us," Inuyasha seethed, referring to his human and demon combined—his two bloods that both desired to spill Naraku's blood. "Not Kagome."

Naraku turned his head to Inuyasha. "When have I ever played by the—" he was cut off by another hurtling kaze no kizu. Kagome took this opportunity to run as far away from the two fighting demons as possible. She clutched her bow and watched Naraku turn his full attention to Inuyasha. His eyes flickered to Kagome in acknowledgment and thanks for returning his sword. Kagome smiled at him and nodded.

"Fight me." Inuyasha commanded and Naraku sneered.

"Gladly." A dark miasma began to fill the room and Kagome buried her nose in Inuyasha's haori. Her eyes widened seeing that the poison was getting to him as he didn't have his fire-rat haori to protect him from the stench. Hoping that her priestess purification would work, Kagome pulled out an arrow and shot it directly between Naraku and Inuyasha. The streak in which her arrow shot purified the miasma and through a ripple effect, the air around Naraku and Inuyasha purified as well.

Inuyasha took the opportunity to charge at Naraku and drive his sword through his gut. Naraku glanced at the sword in his stomach and then commanded his tentacles to wrap around Inuyasha, throwing him across the room. Without missing a beat, Inuyasha recovered and charged at Naraku again, launching into the air and going for another close-range attack.

Kagome looked around. What can I do? Her eyes drew to the darkened Shikon no Tama that was resting in a small insertion dug into his armoured pelt. The shikon? Naraku's powers were multiplied due to the almost whole shikon jewel being so close to his body. Kagome bit her lower lip. I shouldn't tell Inuyasha about it, Naraku will know what we're up to if I do.

She resisted the urge to yell to Inuyasha and tell him to try and dislodge the shikon no tama from Naraku. She could tell that Naraku was still toying with him. He began emitting another round of miasma and Kagome frowned, pulling back another arrow. "INUYASHA!" she roared before releasing her purification arrow towards Inuyasha. Inuyasha pulled up his sword and released a backlash wave that redirected the arrow towards Naraku, the dark energies of his backlash surrounding the holy bright light. Naraku was not anticipating such a move and was hit in the shoulder.

His pelt melted.

The miasma also was purified between Inuyasha, Kagome and Naraku. Kagome pulled another arrow out and was ready to shoot it once more. Naraku's eyes snapped in her direction and he began hurtling towards her. Inuyasha was dumbfounded for a split second before rushing after Naraku. "DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE!" he roared. In the moment, Kagome released her arrow and Naraku cunningly moved out of the way.

"LOOK OUT!" Kagome screamed. It was too late, her arrow had struck Inuyasha in the chest and he screamed out in pain as the arrow started purifying him.

"NO!" Kagome roared, running towards him but Naraku caught her with his tentacle. Cursing, Inuyasha pulled the arrow out of his chest, a black melting hole appeared as result of the arrow.

"Let her go," Inuyasha hissed.

"Or what?" Naraku smirked. "In case you have not noticed, half-breed, I have been toying with you. I am far stronger than you perceive me to be and I can destroy you in a heartbeat. But where's the fun in that?"

"I said," Inuyasha's voice darkened, "let her go." He enunciated the last three words. Naraku raised an eyebrow.

"If you say so."

He dropped Kagome and she fell almost fifteen feet towards the ground. Shrieking, she closed her eyes and began chanting a prayer Miroku had begun teaching her just before Sango and he got married. Inuyasha's eyes widened and before he could even make the move to catch her, a spiritual blanket appeared beneath Kagome, breaking her deathly fall. She panted in relief.

"Concentrate on him," Kagome yelled. Naraku watched in amusement, but his smile dropped when Kagome yelled to Inuyasha to go for the jewel.

The jewel— Oh shit it's right there! How Inuyasha failed to realize the jewel was embedded into Naraku's pelt was beyond him. Probably because his youkai self ran into the battle blindly, putting Inuyasha off track.

"Silly human. Even without the jewel, you two will die tonight."

Kagome frowned. What if I... Her eyes widened. Naraku's evil energy is darkening the jewel. If I purify it, I purify him and he'll die...

"INUYASHA!" Kagome yelled, "ATTACK HIM! KEEP ATTACKING HIM!"

The tone of her voice told Inuyasha that his wench had a plan. Nodding at her, he began a barrage of attacks—everything he could muster up, everything he ever learned throughout his journey with the Tetsusaiga he shot at Naraku.

"KAZE NO KIZU!"

Naraku wanted to attack Kagome. He wanted to summon more of his demons because he knew these two were up to something, but the endless attacks Inuyasha sent his way prevented him from doing so. When he managed to deflect one attack, Inuyasha sent another.

"KONGOUSOUHA!" Inuyasha released his adamant barrage. Spears of ice were shot at Naraku and he held his arms up to his face to protect himself. As he moved his arms from his face, Inuyasha's fist impacted with his nose.

"Filthy half-breed!" Naraku moved to punch Inuyasha back but the half demon ducked and kneed Naraku right in the stomach before driving the hilt straight into his nose. Naraku coughed out blood and Inuyasha scoffed.

"Keh, not so strong now, are you?"

"I'm just getting started…"

Kagome managed to balance three arrows onto the line of her bow and pulled all of them back. One of them is bound to hit. She closed her eyes and channelled all of her energy into the arrows. She knew she would pass out from the lack of energy after but that didn't matter at all. If this attack destroyed Naraku, then passing out would be worth it.

May all the pure energies of this world and the next aid me. Kagome inwardly prayed, Help me destroy this vile demon once and for all! She felt a hot energy pour out of her body and into her arrows, help me—help us restore peace upon Japan forever…

Her arrows were glowing a bright white. Inuyasha and Naraku both stopped and turned to Kagome. Quickly catching onto what she was doing, Inuyasha jumped behind Naraku and grabbed his arms. "This is the end," Inuyasha whispered.

Before Naraku could react, Kagome unleashed her three arrows.

"It's time for you to…" Inuyasha jumped out away from Naraku in time with the three arrows impacted into his body, "die."

One was lodged into his forehead, the other in the middle of the jewel that was embedded into his pelt. The pressure from the arrow caused the jewel to puncture Naraku's body, embedding itself into him. The third arrow had hit him right in the crotch—at that, Inuyasha flinched.

Naraku smirked. "You think that would work?"

Kagome's smirked matched Naraku's. "No. But a purified jewel will..."

Instantly, Naraku's smirk was replaced with a look of fear. The same holy white light that was surrounding Kagome's arrows were now radiating from within his body. It was deadly silent when a crack was heard. Kagome lowered her bow. "Imagine," she whispered, her voice echoing off the walls, "hundreds of tiny purified shards in your body."

And as she finished speaking, the first shard flew out from Naraku's belly. Inuyasha made a mad dash to Kagome and picked her up and hid them both behind a giant boulder. Naraku screamed as hundreds of shards penetrated his body and flew in every direction, breaking through the cavern that they were in. Water began leaking into the cave slowly and Naraku—no—Onigumo's body fell.

"Did you… purify him?" Inuyasha whispered. Kagome gulped.

"I hope I did…"

Inuyasha glanced around and saw the cave beginning to break. "We don't have much time." Picking her up, he ran them both towards the sizzling body. Indeed, it was the purified Naraku—Onigumo. Kagome fell to her knees and watched his burned body.

"I purified him." Kagome whispered. "I didn't think it'd work."

Inuyasha pulled out his Tetsusaiga and cut Onigumo's neck, detaching it from his body. "For good measure," Inuyasha murmured. He saw a glinting object on the floor and leaned forward to pick it up.

"A jewel shard," he flicked it at Kagome who caught it and clenched it tightly in her hand.

"We're back to square one," she murmured, "we might've destroyed him, but we have to find these things again."

"Better to do it without an evil creature riding my cock." Inuyasha gruffed. "Now let's go, this cave is caving in."

Nodding, Kagome climbed onto his back and Inuyasha began running out of the underwater cave. Rest in peace, Kagome whispered in her mind, Onigumo…

.xx.

"AUGH!" Miroku screamed, gripping his right hand. Sango hurried over to him.

"MIROKU!" she screamed, holding his arm, "Miroku, what's wrong!"

"It's burning me!" Miroku roared. "The kazanna!"

Without thinking, Sango pulled the rosary beads off of his hand and ripped the cloth away that covered his kazanna. A light air began sucking her but it kept getting weaker. Tears sprung into her eyes and she began crying.

"Oh my God," she murmured. "It's gone…"

Miroku's eyes widened as he saw his kazanna seal off for good. The pain subsided and his heartbeat increased.

"They defeated Naraku." A huge grin cracked across his face. "Sango! They defeated Naraku!"

Sango's smile matched his own, tears still streaking down her eyes. "Inuyasha and Kagome… they killed him!"

"We must tell everybody!" Standing up, he helped his wife up and they both left their hut, Miroku slightly walking faster than his pregnant wife.

"KAEDE!" Miroku roared. "YOSHI! HATSUMI! HIKARU!"

Villagers looked up from their work to Miroku who was headed in their direction.

"THEY DID IT!" Sango yelled now. "KAGOME AND INUYASHA DID IT!"

Kaede's eyes widened. "They didn't…"

Miroku laughed. "THEY KILLED NARAKU!"

.xx.

Inuyasha broke the surface of the water with Kagome still holding onto his back. Her backpack had been caught in the cave-in and she had to leave it there—thankfully it didn't hold anything of significance. The only thing she was glad she never kept in the pack, but rather safely tucked in her pocket, was the pair of lockets she purchased at the village where they defeated Nezumi, the rat.

Quickly, he swam them back to shore and they both lay on the grass, breathing heavily.

"You did it," Inuyasha whispered.

"We did it." Kagome grinned. She sat up and Inuyasha followed suit—and then she tackled him into a tight hug.

"WE DID IT!" She laughed in happiness. "Oh my God we killed him! He's dead, forever!"

Inuyasha smiled, trying not to show the pain in his shoulder, the spot where her arrow had struck him. It would heal. "No more Naraku! I can deal with shard hunting for a few more years. Gives us something to do."

Kagome grinned. "I don't care if the jewel shattered into a million pieces. Naraku's dead, we're spending eternity together—might as well have a hobby!"

Inuyasha laughed. He actually laughed; a hearty, loud, head-thrown-back laugh. "This feels amazing."

Without a word, Kagome pressed her lips against Inuyasha's and they shared a searing hot, passionate kiss. Her tongue ran over his lower lip and he bit her upper lip. Her hands dug into his mane and his hands tightened around her waist. They eventually broke away to breathe, but their foreheads were pressed against one another.

"He's gone," she whispered, "and we can have pups now without worry that he'll be out to kill them—and save your Clan from ultimate defeat."

Inuyasha snickered. "I don't care if the Panthers came right now and told me to run around Japan ass-naked with my hair shaved off. Well, I would but I could care less right now… No more Naraku."

Kagome giggled. "I think we should go back to the village now. Miroku probably already knows."

Inuyasha nodded and stood up. He, however, stood up with Kagome still in his arms and he shifted her to bridal style and began to walk. She was still wearing his haori but he didn't care. It looked better on her anyway. "I found your engagement ring in the water."

Kagome's eyes widened as she pulled her left hand away from his neck and looked at it. "Oh my God I didn't even realize!"

Inuyasha laughed. "Yeah, in the middle of being kidnapped and at the hands of death, I wouldn't expect you to. It's in my hakama."

"Can I have it back?"

Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha stopped, put Kagome down and took the ring out. He didn't allow her to slip it back on but rather put it on himself, and then picked her back up bridal style. Kagome sighed. "I can walk you know."

"I know," Inuyasha simply stated. "But now that Naraku's dead, I wanna carry my mate back to our village like this."

Kagome's heart soared. She knew what he meant; now that Naraku was dead, he'd commence with the mating ritual soon. And her gut was telling her he would do it within the next few days…

"It'll be a long walk." Kagome warned.

"I know. I'll be running too."

"But you're tired and injured from the fight!" Kagome ran her fingers over where her arrow had punctured him in the cave. "You should let me walk."

"Wench," Inuyasha said firmly, "shut up? I'm okay and I'm walking back to the village like this. Take it or leave it, but you can't do anything about it and you can't subdue me either so you're kinda stuck."

Kagome sighed. "Fine," she muttered. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. But we set up camp when it's sundown, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," he teased. Kagome nestled her face into his shoulder and smiled broadly.

Naraku's dead. And Inuyasha and I are going to be mates… If I died right now, I'd be one happy dead person.

Inuyasha kept on walking with a goofy grin on his face. His mind was on one thing and it wasn't the fact they just defeated Naraku.

I'm going to see Kagome naked… and she won't be complaining about it! Finally!

.xx.

Beta-edited: Sakura-chan Master of the Clow

The original chapter on Fanfiction.net was split into TWO chapters. For ease of editing, I combined both parts into one large chapter for AdultFanFiction