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Chapter Text

“I hate this,” Inuyasha muttered, kicking angrily at a rock.

“A day won’t make any difference,” Miroku said reassuringly. “We can be looking for his trail again first thing tomorrow. And Kouga said that they couldn’t find a trace of him anywhere nearby.”

“Because they can’t find him through the barrier!” Inuyasha snapped, repeating the argument they’d had that morning. “He could attack at any moment!”

“Which is why we need to find somewhere to lay low,” Sango countered. “We need to be safe for tonight, at least.”

Inuyasha growled but didn’t argue. It made sense, he supposed, but it didn’t change the fact that his stupid transformation was costing them even more time! The fact that it was his weakness that was keeping them from finding Naraku was killing him. He crossed his arms and glared up at the sky. The beautiful day was mocking him, with the afternoon sun shining merrily and birds chirping through the gentle breeze.

“He has to show up eventually,” Shippo said, glancing between them from Miroku’s shoulder. “You said that the wildlife around his castle was dying from all the miasma leaking through. That means that someone has to see him sooner or later, even if he has moved on from the Northern Mountains!”

“It’s the ‘later’ part that’s the problem,” Inuyasha grumbled. “He’s going to heal soon, and this is our best chance to find him before he does.”

They continued dismally through the forest. It was the easternmost portion of the Northern Clan’s territory and the only section that hadn’t been thoroughly searched. It was probably because there was no trace of miasma lingering anywhere. But, with every sign of him having disappeared from the rest of the territory, it didn’t make it any less likely to be Naraku’s new den. Even here, the trees were dying, and there was little sign of large prey around. The miasma had decimated even these far reaches of the land. Naraku’s presence was still all around, even if he couldn’t sense it. But the sun was crawling towards the horizon, and they were close to the territory border, and their next step was to abandon this path altogether and start fresh even further away.

And that was when Inuyasha picked up the scent. At first he wasn’t sure he’d even smelled it correctly – it seemed to come out of nowhere! And then he thought his mind might be playing tricks, giving him what he’d been desperately searching for right when he couldn’t pursue it. But there was no doubt. Naraku, or one of his incarnations, was somewhere nearby. There was no blood or smoke to indicate an attack, no miasma or other hint of a barrier, no scent of any other demons in the area. It was just Naraku, alone in the forest.

Inuyasha took off at a frantic pace. The others jumped onto Kirara’s back and followed.

“This doesn’t feel right,” Sango muttered, and Miroku had to agree.

“Do you think he’s transformed or whatever he does in his version of the new moon?” he asked quietly. “He’s chosen his time of vulnerability to rebuild his body and repair the damage?”

“Odds are this is just another incarnation,” Sango said, coating Hiraikotsu with poison.

“It has to be him,” Inuyasha muttered, pushing himself even faster despite the fatigue creeping into his bones. “That bastard had to show himself eventually!”

“His timing could have been better,” Miroku said quietly, glancing up at the sky for the hundredth time that day.

Inuyasha couldn’t agree more. It wouldn’t be long before sundown, and he could already feel his power waning. He was struggling to keep up with Kirara, and odds were he’d taken far longer than he should have to catch Naraku’s scent. It was the second time that the bastard had caught them just before a new moon. He had to wonder if Naraku may have found out about them somehow, either from Kagura or by some other means. But he wasn’t about to let it stop him. He’d kill Naraku once and for all!

They tore through the forest, well past the wolves’ territory, across a wide open field and into yet another forest. The temperature dropped as they ran further and further through the old growth, the air growing heavy with mist. Inuyasha put on a final burst of speed as he could feel his youki beginning to go dormant. But he was falling behind Kirara. She slowed to a stop, glancing at him nervously. He pushed past her, continued on until he skidded to a stop at the edge of a large lake. He couldn’t tell where Naraku’s scent was coming from anymore. His sense of smell was dead. His breathing came in ragged gasps.

“Inuyasha,” Miroku said quietly. “We need to go.”

“No!” Inuyasha snarled, whirling around and baring his teeth. “We almost had him! We need to keep going!”

“Odds are, this is another trap,” Sango argued gently. “We don’t even know that it’s him. We need to find cover for the night. We can’t let him see you.”

“Look over there,” Shippo said, climbing onto Sango’s shoulder and pointing at a small hut on the opposite side of the lake. “Would that work?”

“Most likely,” Miroku hummed. “I should be able to seal it up. If Naraku hasn’t found us already, it might prevent him from doing so.”

Inuyasha growled softly and looked away. Miroku held out a hand with a small smile. Inuyasha sighed heavily and climbed onto Kirara’s back behind the monk. He buried his nose into Miroku’s shoulder as he wrapped his arms around his waist. Kirara took off over the lake, keeping low to the water’s surface in case anyone was looking out for them. The hut turned out to be an old, abandoned shrine, resting on the edge of the lake with a short wooden walkway leading up to it. Shippo jumped off of Kirara’s head and ran inside to check it out, soon calling back to them that the coast was clear.

“What kind of sutras are you gonna put up?” Inuyasha asked Miroku as they followed the kit inside.

“Probably just the ones to block your presence for now,” Miroku said, his expression set into a serious mask. “But if there’s any sign of Naraku nearby, I’m going to seal it off completely.”

“Yeah, just trap me in a box for him to find,” Inuyasha grumbled, but he winced when he saw Miroku’s frown. “I’m sorry. I’m stressed.”

“I know,” Miroku murmured, pulling him close to press a kiss against his cheek. “But it’s going to be fine. We’ll protect you.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Inuyasha whispered gloomily.

The inside of the shrine was covered in a thin layer of dust, and the air was stale and smelled of mildew. Water plants pushed through the floorboards and wound their way up the walls. It was only a single room, barely big enough for all of them. Kirara transformed down but sat just inside the door after they’d closed it, ears pricked for any sign of danger. Inuyasha sat back against one of the walls, the sheathed Tessaiga leaning against his shoulder. After laying some sutras around the inside of the shrine, Miroku knelt down next to him, staff across his thighs. Sango sat against the opposite wall next to the door, propping up Hiraikotsu next to her and absently playing with a small knife. With tensions running high and uncertainty in the air, they settled down for a long night.

~*~

“I hate this,” Inuyasha muttered, grasping Tessaiga and playing with its sheath.

“So you’ve mentioned,” Miroku said distractedly, staring through a gap between the wooden planks of the door.

“You sense him nearby?” Sango asked nervously, running her hand along the strap of Hiraikotsu.

“Mhmm,” Miroku nodded. “It’s faint, but it’s definitely him. Or an incarnation, I suppose. Kirara, Shippo, do you hear anything?”

They both shook their heads.

“I don’t know if it’s a trap,” Miroku frowned. “He may be trying to lure us out, or he might attack. He could just be passing by, but I have to assume that he knows we’re here.”

“Kirara and I will go check it out,” Sango said after a moment. “You seal the place up after us.”

“Please tell me it’s almost dawn,” Inuyasha said, hugging his knees a little closer to his chest and angrily stabbing the tip of the untransformed Tessaiga into the floor.

“Almost.” Sango shot him a tight grin as she opened the door for Kirara to slip outside before her. “We’ll be back soon.”

“Be careful,” Miroku said. “And if you find anything, don’t engage. We need to wait until we can fight together.”

Sango nodded and closed the door firmly behind her. Inuyasha watched Miroku grow impossibly more serious, his jaw clenching as he considered.

“Shippo,” he said after a moment. “I need you to wait outside until dawn. Let us know if you see or hear anything. I’m going to seal the door with sutras.”

“I’ll make sure nothing gets close!” Shippo said determinedly as he scurried out the door.

Inuyasha swallowed and dug his blunt nails into the floor. Miroku placed a line of sutras against the walls and door. Even though he couldn’t hear it, Inuyasha knew that the monk’s heart was pounding. His was doing the same. His knuckles turned white as he gripped his sword. He’d felt useless in situations before, especially when mortal, but this was a new level of horrible. If it really was Naraku out there…

“There’s a Jewel shard coming,” Miroku murmured, eyes fixed on the crack in the door. “I can’t tell how many.”

Inuyasha sucked in a breath through his teeth. “So it might be him.”

“Maybe.”

They were silent except for the sound of their breathing, loud in the confines of the shrine.

“Damnit,” Inuyasha muttered fiercely. “When is this night gonna end?”

“I’m going out there,” Miroku said, pushing to his feet. “Something’s happening.”

“I’m not going to just sit out here on my own!” Inuyasha hissed, crossing the room to stand in front of him.

“We can’t let him see you,” Miroku said calmly. “You can find us once the sun rises.”

Inuyasha opened his mouth to argue, but Miroku pulled him close instead and pressed a kiss to his lips.

“I love you,” he said earnestly. “I’ll see you soon.”

“I love you,” Inuyasha echoed, pressing their brows together firmly. He sighed heavily, and it turned into a growl as his fingers clenched against the back of Miroku’s head. “Stay safe. Don’t you dare die.”

Miroku nodded and then he was gone, and Inuyasha was left alone in the silence of the old shrine.

Miroku breathed in the night air, immediately noticing the unnatural stillness. It was as though the world around them was holding its breath. It brought with it a creeping sense of anxiety that he fought to push down. It was just another night. He needed to focus on keeping everyone alive, and that was all.

“I haven’t heard anything,” Shippo whispered from where he sat at the other end of the wooden walkway. “He hasn’t attacked.”

“Where are Sango and Kirara?” Miroku asked.

“Over there,” Shippo said, pointing across the lake. “They haven’t moved for a while. I think they’re waiting for him.”

Miroku nodded. “Stay here. Keep yourself hidden, and if he or anything else shows up, run.”

Shippo glanced behind them. “What about Inuyasha?”

“He’ll be fine,” Miroku forced himself to say. “You just focus on keeping yourself alive, alright?”

He moved swiftly through the trees, following the curve of the water’s edge, keeping an eye on the sky that wasn’t lightening quickly enough. The thick grass and weeds were heavy with damp and clung to the bottom of his robes, slowing his movements. The air was thick with a horribly familiar demonic aura, so heavy he could taste it on the back of his tongue. If this was an incarnation, it was more Naraku than any of the others had ever been. If it was really him… Miroku know better than to think that there was any kind of fate giving them this chance, but even so, they couldn’t afford to waste it. Naraku was weak. He was vulnerable. And if they could just wait until dawn, they would gain the upper hand.

“Miroku,” Sango’s voice hissed through the darkness in a hushed whisper. Miroku hurried to her side. She was crouched down in the hollow behind a cluster of boulders, Kirara transformed beside her, ears twitching at every sound.

“Any sign of him?” Miroku asked quietly.

“No, but I know he’s here,” Sango said. “Do you feel that?”

“Yes. I don’t know what to make of it.”

Sango grimaced, thinking. “Head back downwind. We’ll keep lookout. I want you closer to the shrine until sunrise.”

Miroku nodded and disappeared back into the darkness of the forest. Sango shifted nervously as she watched him go. Kirara’s body was utterly still, other than the swivelling of her ears and the occasional flicking of the tips of her tails. It was the calm before the storm, and they all knew it.

What if it really could all end that day?

Everything could be over. She would avenge her father, her people. She could find Kohaku and they would be free. Finally, the nightmare that had been plaguing her since that fateful mission to the castle would be over, and she could find her life again.

But she couldn’t get ahead of herself. She had to stay in the moment. She had to be as focused, as relentless as she had ever been. She wouldn’t let any of her new family die. Only Naraku.

Then Kirara’s head jerked up, and she tensed impossibly further. Sango raised Hiraikotsu. And a figure clad in a white baboon pelt jumped over the cluster of boulders and shot past them. Sango leapt onto Kirara’s back and they took off. This was no puppet. She could sense the youki coming from him. This was really Naraku. Sango threw Hiraikotsu. It whizzed over Naraku’s head and he ducked. The weapon cut through one tree and lodged itself in the trunk of another. Kirara didn’t slow down, merely veered to the side so that Sango could yank the weapon free. They continued giving chase. Kirara leapt, sank her teeth into Naraku’s shoulder. Miasma instantly burst from his body in a cloud, filling the air with fowl poison. Sango jammed her mask on her face and jumped off Kirara as she reared back, yowling in pain as the toxins entered her lungs. Sango threw Hiraikotsu once more, but once again Naraku dodged. He was running as fast as any demon, too fast to keep up with on foot.

“Miroku!” she shouted, risking Naraku hearing her. “He’s coming your way!”

She snatched a ball of poison powder from her robes and threw it on Naraku’s left side, forcing him to veer right, further towards the monk.

Miroku spun around. He wasn’t nearly as close to the shrine as he would have liked, but then again, now he would be able to keep the battle as far away as possible. He just had to trust that Naraku didn’t know that Inuyasha was there, or if he did, that they would be able to keep him from reaching him. Miroku pulled a handful of sutras from his robes and threw them as soon as he saw the flash of white. Two of them struck, and Naraku cried out as the spiritual power caused his youki to flare – but it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as it should have been. Tsubaki! The spiritual power he absorbed from her must have lessened the effect that it might have on him! Miroku swore and cast his staff aside. If he couldn’t fight with spiritual power, then there was only one option left to him.

He ripped the mala beads from his hand and braced himself as Naraku tried to leap over his head. The wind tunnel caught hold of him, dragged him off course and began pulling him in. Naraku twisted in the air, and something flew from under the baboon pelt. Miroku didn’t recognize the hive until almost a hundred Saimyosho burst from it. He hesitated, even as the first of the insects disappeared into his palm. Was it worth it…? But no, Naraku was already moving back, fighting against the wind tunnel’s grasp. If he was going to make his final stance, then he was sure as hell taking Naraku with him. Miroku shoved the mala beads back onto his hand.

Then Naraku was suddenly right in front of him, a hand wrapped around his throat and squeezing hard. Miroku struggled frantically, reaching for the dagger in his robes as Naraku steadily lifted him into the air. The baboon mask had tipped back, and Miroku could stare into his cold red eyes. It was as close as he’d ever been to the demon, close enough to see the line of sweat drip down his brow.

“Die,” Naraku whispered.

Then Hiraikotsu burst through the trees and cut off the arm holding Miroku. Naraku cried out and fell back, miasma trailing from the severed limb. Miroku threw himself to the side to where his staff lay, rolled to his feet and flung himself at Naraku. The demon’s body was already writhing and morphing, long spiny legs and lashing tentacles already emerging from his back. Miroku’s staff struck his torso, hard. It ripped through the baboon pelt, cut through several limbs that had emerged. Naraku’s body flew into the air, supported by spider-like legs that sprang from seemingly nowhere. He had more than tripled in size, only his head and the upper half of his human-like torso remaining the same. He was staring at Miroku, hatred in his eyes.

Kirara crashed into one of his reaching limbs, clamping down hard with her teeth and tearing it off at the joint. Hiraikotsu carved a path through more of Naraku’s legs on one side, forcing him to use the constantly-sprouting limbs to keep himself steady rather than attack. Miasma was steadily filling the air with noxious purple-black clouds. As Kirara flew over Miroku’s head, Sango’s hand reached down for him. He caught it and she swung him up behind her as Kirara circled around, weaving through the flailing tentacles.

“So he’s not busy reforming his body somewhere,” Sango said dryly as she caught Hiraikotsu.

“How can he change his form so much?” Miroku asked with mild disgust, before he shook his head. “We need to figure out how to kill him.”

“We can start by cutting off his head,” Sango growled. “Then we tear apart his body piece by piece until we find his heart. Let’s see him try to regenerate from that!”

Miroku glanced anxiously at the sky, which had turned grey with dawn. It wasn’t close enough. The sun hadn’t even begun to cast its array of colours across the horizon. They were on their own. No matter what, they had to keep Naraku distracted until Inuyasha transformed. Miroku realized with a jolt that the sutras were still on the shrine. Would Inuyasha even be able to get out once he transformed back?

Naraku began to move towards the lake, felling trees as he went with his massive body. Sango threw Hiraikotsu again but this time it slammed into something invisible before it struck and fell to the ground.

“A barrier,” Miroku said grimly.

“Will you be able to break through?” Sango asked as Kirara dove for the weapon.

“It’s worth a try.”

It was their only hope. Naraku was aiming straight for the shrine. If they couldn’t break through the barrier, couldn’t fight him off or at least hold him back, then there would be no way to stop him from reaching Inuyasha.

Kirara cut across Naraku’s path as Miroku struck out with his staff. It glanced off the barrier, sparking it to life and sending crackling pink light spreading out in a wide dome around Naraku. It didn’t break, but the jolt of energy that raced up Miroku’s arm wasn’t as strong as he was expecting. Naraku must still be weak! A small warning rose in the back of Miroku’s mind, but he pushed it away.

“Go in again!” he told Kirara as he wrapped a handful of sutras over the head of his staff. This time he poured everything he had into the blow, and a hole tore through the barrier. Kirara flew through it before Naraku could fix it and made a circle under his belly. Miroku and Sango lashed out with their weapons, cutting through as many of Naraku’s legs as possible. Because he had splashed into the edge of the lake. The shrine was well within view. And Naraku wasn’t slowing down.

“Does he know?” Sango asked, but neither of them had the answer.

No matter how many legs they chopped off, more appeared to take their place. Contained inside the barrier, the miasma was growing constantly thicker. Miroku followed Sango’s lead and shoved his mask onto his face, but Kirara’s breath was already coming in ragged gasps. As Sango continued to slice apart Naraku’s body, Miroku cut swaths through the air with his staff, purifying as much of the poison as possible. Once they reached the back of Naraku’s body, Kirara swung back around and shot up into the air in front of him. Without slowing down, Naraku struck at them with a dozen flailing tentacles. One caught Kirara broadside, knocking both Sango and Miroku off her back.

“Get Sango!” Miroku shouted as he swung his staff around and used it to break his fall by cutting deep into the fleshy portion of one of Naraku’s upper arms. Another tentacle wrapped around his middle, yanking him free. He cut through that one as well, fell into the water along with the rain of body parts. This couldn’t go on for much longer. Even Naraku wouldn’t be able to reform his limbs indefinitely. But Naraku’s body was twisting and jerking, most of his limbs retreating back into his torso. His head had disappeared.

“Miroku!” Sango shouted, and Miroku held up an arm for her to haul him onto Kirara once more. Spurts of miasma filled the air as several limbs broke off Naraku of their own accord, leaving behind the body of a giant spider. It was larger than any they’d seen before, the largest demon they’d ever faced apart from Menomaru, but he was no longer transforming.

“Is this it?” Miroku breathed. “Is this his true form?”

But then Naraku was stampeding forward, easily crossing the depths of the lake. He was heading straight for the shrine. Kirara passed over his head, letting Sango jump down onto his face and plunge her sword deep into one of his eyes. He didn’t falter. Miroku threw all his sutras, landing some in the wounds that Sango and Kirara had made. Sango threw Hiraikotsu down the length of Naraku’s back, gouging a deep path, but still, no reaction. Miroku reached out a hand and swung her back onto Kirara, but panic was beginning to creep onto both of their faces. Shippo was in sight now, standing frozen on the roof of the shrine, watching their approach with visible terror. Miroku shouted for him to get out of there, but his voice was lost in the roar of thundering limbs and the splash of water. Naraku crashed into the shrine without slowing down. It was shattered to pieces in an instant. Shippo launched himself into the air, transforming into his pink orb form and floating a safe distance away. Everyone else held their breath. Naraku had finally stopped, was slowly turning back around. Miroku tore his eyes away from the pieces of debris from the shrine that were falling into the lake just long enough to catch a glimpse of light on the horizon.

Then Inuyasha burst from the water, Tessaiga transformed in his hand. He launched himself onto Naraku’s head, already swinging, and struck down hard enough to tear through the reformed barrier and plunge his sword deep into the top of Naraku’s skull. A loud shriek resonated through the air, and Inuyasha grinned. He leapt into the air as Naraku began convulsing, his youki flaring around him until he hovered, suspended far above the demon. And then he dove. He swung Tessaiga over his head as he careened downwards, sent the Wind Scar shooting towards Naraku. It hit him face-on, cut through three of his legs, tore stripes through his body. Kirara followed suit, letting Sango tear through joints and ligaments with Hiraikotsu while Miroku severed another two legs with his staff. Naraku’s body crashed into the ground, half-in and half-out of the lake.

Inuyasha landed on the partially-shattered wooden walkway. Kirara swooped down beside him. Miroku was off of her back before she’d stopped moving and swept Inuyasha into a fierce embrace. Neither of them spoke for that scarce moment, but then the fight broke them apart.

“There’s a Jewel shard on Naraku’s back,” Miroku said hurriedly. “Near the spider mark.”

“I’ll get it,” Inuyasha snarled.

He leapt under the cover of Hiraikotsu, landed on the demon’s upper back. Naraku thrashed, craning his head around and spewing a line of silk at Inuyasha. Miroku snapped the wind tunnel open, began drawing in the stream before it could hit home. He winced as he saw the poison coating it, knew that it would hit him hard. But only later, once this was over. Once it didn’t matter anymore. Inuyasha plunged Tessaiga into Naraku’s flesh and crouched down, bracing himself against the pull of the void. Kirara flew in closer and Miroku closed the wind tunnel, striking with his staff again. He carved off one of the giant fangs and sent another blast of spiritual power straight into his mouth.

But now that Naraku wasn’t racing at full speed, the miasma spewing from his wounds was forming a thick, swirling cloud around him. Kirara was already wheezing strongly, and the black toxins obscured large portions of Naraku’s body. Worse, he was still regenerating. Every piece that they chopped off managed to worm its way back to him and reattach.

“Inuyasha,” Miroku called out. “Put on your mask and focus on his head. I’m going to draw in everything that Sango cuts off!”

Inuyasha shot him a nervous look but complied, going for Naraku’s eyes as Sango had done. Miroku passed a handful of sutras to Sango for her to place along Hiraikotsu. Kirara made a wide bank, staying further away from the miasma as Sango threw the weapon once more, purifying the air at least a little while also cutting Naraku to pieces. Miroku opened the wind tunnel once more and drew in each leg as it fell. As Kirara circled around behind the giant body to give them access to the other side, Inuyasha raced back down the length of Naraku’s swollen abdomen and thrust Tessaiga deep into the spider-shaped mark. He snatched the Jewel shard that emerged and leapt out of the way of the next eruption of miasma. Tentacles were beginning to sprout from the stumps of Naraku’s severed limbs. Inuyasha cut through some with Tessaiga but they were driving him back. Miroku blocked one with his staff but another glanced off his right shoulder. He knew that they would be able to pierce through any of them with little effort.

Sango threw Hiraikotsu again, but a flash of pink amongst the flailing limbs caught her eye. Shippo transformed back and landed on Naraku’s head. He threw his spinning top, which began to burrow into Naraku’s face.

“Shippo!” Sango screamed. “Get out of there!”

“Shippo!” Inuyasha shouted, throwing himself through the wall of tentacles, his eyes flashing red once before they stuck there. He snatched the kit from where he stood and hurled them both away. They crashed into the water as Naraku thrashed. A tentacle struck Kirara and flung her and her riders into the forest. She flipped around in the air and dug her claws into the ground as they landed, dragging them to a stop as Miroku and Sango struggled to keep hold. Inuyasha leapt from the water and threw Shippo after them. Kirara jumped and caught the kit in her jaws. Inuyasha shot them a wild, wide-eyed look. Miroku nodded.

“Sango,” he said, passing his staff to her. “Aim for his head.”

He jumped off of Kirara’s back and took off running to the edge of the lake, trying not to stumble from the thick weeds. Hiraikotsu whizzed over his head, his staff strapped to the length of the weapon. It struck Naraku’s face, the spiritual power crackling to life with a bolt of energy. Inuyasha leapt into the air and hurled the Wind Scar after Hiraikotsu as the weapon fell away. The six lines swept up the spiritual power, combining with it to tear Naraku to shreds. Miroku tore off his mala beads one last time, ignoring the strain in his muscles as he drew in all the pieces. Inuyasha was blazing with amber light, his eyes still flashing red as he sent yet another attack hurling at Naraku after the first. He then landed on the remains of Naraku’s back, amidst the howling winds of the void, and plunged his sword into Naraku’s heart. He watched as it stopped beating. He watched the miasma around them dissipate.

Then there was silence.

~*~

Kagura froze in place. Something solid and heavy had slammed into her chest, something she hadn’t felt for a very long time. It hurt, but not as much as it had when Naraku had ripped it from her. She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling where her heart beat once more. It was back? How? Why would-?

He wouldn’t.

Naraku would never relinquish his hold over her.

Unless…

“Naraku,” Kanna whispered, staring blankly into her mirror from where she stood behind Kagura. “He’s dead.”

~*~

Kohaku fell to the forest floor, grasping his head in agony as memory after memory slammed into him. He couldn’t bear it. It was all too much! His father, all those people- Oh, what had he done? He couldn’t- How could he-

But Sango.

A sob tore from his throat, his fingers clenching around the hilt of his kama. Everything hurt. He just wanted it to stop! He wanted it to be over! But Sango was out there, somewhere, looking for him. She still loved him, still believed in him. She hadn’t given up on him, even after everything he’d done. They could be together again. They could be a family again! And maybe, just maybe, somehow that would make it okay.

He pushed to his feet, shaking so much that the chain of his weapon rattled. He angrily swiped away the tears falling from his eyes, took a steadying breath. This was what they’d been waiting for – what they’d all been waiting for, for so long! He couldn’t give up now. He had to find his sister.

~*~

The water had stilled, the demonic aura had disappeared, but still, no one said anything. Inuyasha staggered out of the water to stand by the others. His face was pale. He looked vaguely down at the bloody Jewel shard sitting in the palm of his hand. Miroku followed his gaze. They all stared wordlessly at each other, trying to understand what had just happened. Naraku was dead. He was gone. They had won. It was finally over. There, in the middle of some nameless forest, surrounded by a broken shrine and the calls of cheerful birds, they had finished their quest. Miroku shook his head slightly. He couldn’t believe it. He’d never known if he would live long enough to see this day, and now that it was finally here, he didn’t know how to feel. Relief would be the strongest emotion, he suspected, once his mind actually caught up to the situation.

He tried not to get ahead of himself. There was still work to be done – they still had to complete the Jewel and discover what to do with it, and it was possible that Kagura and Kanna were still alive, but… A thought struck him. He pulled the mala from his hands and tentatively opened his palm, pushing aside the swath of cloth which rested there. There was nothing. No mark, no sign that there had ever been anything amiss. He curled his fingers into a fist, his eyes burning and the air stuttering in his lungs.

“Miroku?” Inuyasha asked, looking at him worriedly.

Shippo climbed onto his shoulder, eyes sharp and anxious. Miroku wordlessly lifted his bare hand up to the kit and opened his palm again. Shippo cried out and stumbled back before he gasped loudly, grasping Miroku’s hand in his own small ones and pressed them firmly against the skin.

“It’s gone!” the kit said loudly, shrilly, his tail swishing back and forth in excitement. “It’s really gone!”

Miroku looked back at the others just in time for Inuyasha to tackle him to the ground. The hanyou was clutching him tight, pressing kiss after kiss to his face and making a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. Miroku just squeezed his eyes shut and tried to remember how to breathe. He was floating, indescribably light and simultaneously exhausted. Inuyasha’s arms had somewhat of a strangle-hold on him, but Miroku shifted his head around to meet Sango’s eyes. She had one hand pressed over her mouth, tear tracks on her cheeks. Shippo was running in mad circles around her, making small, high-pitched squeaks. Kirara was still in her larger form, sat down and panting the miasma from her lungs, but a deep, rumbling purr emanated from her chest. Miroku let out a shuddering breath and hid his face in Inuyasha’s shoulder, letting the slightly hysterical voice of his partner wash over him. Another pair of arms joined them soon after, and Miroku said something indistinct to Sango as she huffed a quiet laugh. No one was sure who was shaking. Perhaps they all were.

Miroku shifted so that he could stare into the blank plane of his palm again. He hadn’t seen some of it for ten years. Carefully, he wormed his other arm out of the strangle hold that Inuyasha had on him and ran his fingers across the skin, just to make sure it was really there. He wasn’t surprised when Inuyasha’s hand joined his, the short claws tracing lightly along the surface. Miroku held out his hand for Sango to do the same, and she unashamedly did so. Even Kirara nuzzled it before turning to lick his face.

Once they had all calmed a little, had finally caught their breath and stopped the frantic pounding of their hearts, they simply held each other. It took a long, long time for them to break apart. It was mostly Kirara’s coughing that finally did it. The raspy quality of her breath coupled with the blood splattered across all of their clothes prompted them into action.

“Do we have any of those herbs left?” Miroku asked as he fished out the needle and thread.

“A little,” Sango replied. “We’ll need more soon. We can-” She cut herself off sharply, and blinked. “I guess we won’t need more. Huh.”

“There’s bound to still be poisonous demons out there,” Inuyasha said. “We’ll need it for that.”

There was a beat of silence, and it felt like someone had punched Miroku in the gut. Sango was staring at the small bundle of herbs in her hand, frowning hard. Inuyasha’s ears flattened to his head and his shoulders hunched. He opened his mouth and then closed it again.

“Right,” Sango eventually said. “We’ll be facing a lot more demons now that Naraku’s gone.”

The tension bled out of the group in a rush. They’d all avoided talking about what would come after, for various reasons, but now that after was here, it was good to know that their friendship hadn’t died with Naraku. Miroku began stitching their various wounds while Sango cut up the herbs for them all to chew on to combat the miasma. As he’d expected, Miroku was thoroughly scolded for having sucked in both Saimyosho and miasma, but as it wasn’t enough for concern, everyone found it difficult to be angry. They were all somewhat shocked that they had all emerged from the battle in reasonably good health. It left the path ahead surprisingly open. Shippo flew high into the sky to scout out a safe place for them to stay in until they figured out their next step. As they gathered their things to leave, one by one, they all stopped to look at Naraku’s dissolving carcass.

“I can’t believe he’s really gone,” Inuyasha murmured.

“It had to happen eventually,” Miroku offered, but he couldn’t deny that it felt so unreal. “It’s odd, though. He only had the one Jewel shard. I wonder where he stashed the rest of it. He must have had the vast majority of it, after all.”

Inuyasha hummed in agreement and shrugged a shoulder. “We’ll find it soon enough. I can’t wait to see the look on Kouga’s face when I tell him he doesn’t have an excuse to keep his anymore.”

Miroku chuckled gently, but Sango’s eyes were fixed on the ground. It didn’t take long for the others to follow where her mind had gone.

“We’ll figure out something for Kohaku,” Miroku said gently. “We won’t remove his shard until we’re sure that he can survive without it. For all we know, Naraku was just using it to control him.”

“Right,” she said softly. “We’ll find a way.”

Kirara felt well enough to fly them the short distance to the abandoned rest house that Shippo had found. Once they landed, Inuyasha set off to find them something to eat before they slept. Somehow, it felt like much more than a night without sleep that was calling them to bed. While he was gone, Miroku and Sango sat side-by-side in front of the fire they’d built outside, Shippo and Kirara asleep on their laps. Neither of them said a word. Eventually, a smile broke on Miroku’s face and he looked up at the late morning with new eyes. As they cooked and shared the fish that Inuyasha had caught, there were several moments where one or more of them would laugh quietly to themselves, giddy with it all. They kept on leaning against each other, simply revelling in their relief and the fact that they were all alive.

Despite their exhaustion, none of them could settle down into a full sleep. Miroku and Sango napped intermittently while Shippo and Kirara played. Inuyasha couldn’t even think about falling asleep yet, despite how much he wanted to. Instead, he wrapped his arms tighter around Miroku so that the monk’s back was flushed with his chest and buried his nose in his hair. Thoughts swirled around in his mind, barely forming before another took its place. He didn’t know what to do with himself – and not just that day. For a hundred and fifty years, his only goal had been surviving. Looking back on it now, his life had been a meandering, pointless thing. He’d never found real joy or any purpose until he met Kikyo. This thing with Miroku, searching for the Jewel shards and fighting Naraku, had given him a sense of belonging he’d never, ever had. Even with all the horrors that came along with it, he couldn’t pretend that he wasn’t grateful for the family it had brought him. And he didn’t want it to end. It was a relief that Sango had hinted that she would stay with them for the time being, and he and Miroku still had to find the rest of the Jewel, but what then? It would only be so long before their mission was done. And for the first time in his long life, he had to confront who he wanted to be. What he wanted to do, now that opportunities were there.

And no matter what else happened, no matter where or what or how, he wanted to be with Miroku. He supposed that made it easier, in a way. He would go where Miroku went and find something to keep himself busy. He would see what the monk wanted and find a way to give it to him. Because in a few short months, this man had given him everything he’d never had – and he’d be damned if he was going to lose it. He wanted Miroku forever, or as close to forever as they could get. He wanted Miroku in every way possible. And it was frightening, in a way. It was relieving, in another. He knew it with a certainty he’d rarely felt before. And, despite the small voice still nagging in the back of his mind, he was fairly certain that Miroku felt the same way.

He wouldn’t ask until later. They would learn their new lives, their new places in the world, and they would find their new balance. And then, once everything else had settled down, he’d ask a question that he’d honestly thought he would never have any reason to ask.

It was late afternoon when Shippo sniffed out the hot springs. Everyone expressed a mild interest in going in for a soak, but at the same time, they weren’t particularly inclined to move. They’d created a small world of peace around their campfire, and they didn’t want to break it. They didn’t want to shatter their new reality for fear that it might prove not to be true. So they picked away at the last bit of fish and watched the sun set. Kirara groomed Shippo absently as he napped on Inuyasha’s lap. Inuyasha reached out an arm and slung it over Sango’s shoulders, drawing her closer to him and Miroku. Shippo snored loudly and absently slung an arm off Inuyasha’s leg.

They looked up at the stars and the sliver of a moon, leaning heavily into one another. Everyone had been quiet for most of the day. Miroku suspected that it would take a while – a good, long while – before any of them truly came to terms with their new reality. And then they had to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives. Every time he thought about it, a wave of emotions bowled over him and he could barely breathe. He’d never… Of course, he’d been fighting his whole life to have a life, but he’d never really…thought of what came next.

“So,” he whispered into the night air. “What now?”

He was answered by a series of huffed breaths and short chuckles, knew that he hadn’t been the only one wondering.

“I don’t know about you,” Inuyasha finally said. “But I plan on sleeping for a week.”

“Seconded,” Sango grinned.

“And I wanna eat my way through a rest house,” he continued. “And a fruit stand or two, now that we’re really getting into spring. I want a whole pile of sweets that Shippo’s not allowed to touch and I want to eat until I can’t move.”

They smiled at each other and the stars for a moment longer.

“I think,” Sango said slowly. “I’d like to go back to my village. Tell my father what happened. And then I need to find Kohaku.”

“We’ll help you find him,” Miroku said firmly. “We need to find the rest of the Jewel shards, in any case. But…” He shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind seeing Mushin, as well.”

Inuyasha pressed a kiss against his temple. “I’ll come with you.”

Miroku didn’t have to ask him if he was sure. Inuyasha hadn’t let go of him all day.

“Let’s go to Kaede’s first,” he said instead. “We can tell everyone the news, drop off Shippo, and head our separate ways. We can meet back there in five days and start our search for Kohaku.”

“We should probably check in with the others at some point as well,” Sango said. “Kouga, Sesshomaru-”

“They can wait,” Inuyasha muttered. “At least for five days.”

More silence, heavy with what they all knew needed to be said.

“And we’re going to keep in contact, right?” Miroku finally said. “Even after everything’s over with, we’re not just going to go our separate ways forever.”

“No,” Sango said quietly. “I don’t think we can get rid of each other that easily. I still don’t know exactly what I want to do after I get Kohaku back, but even if we end up living in different areas, we’ll still be family.”

“Yeah,” Inuyasha whispered. “You’re my pack. Nothing’s ever changing that.”

Miroku kissed him soundly and then whipped around to place a kiss on Sango’s forehead, too. She laughed loudly and shoved him away, only for Inuyasha to zoom in from the side and do the same. It was the ebb and flow they’d all felt, the burst of bright, vibrant joy that broke through the thick blanket of shock that still covered them. As their laughter slowly faded into something softer, more subdued, they dropped all pretenses and held each other once more. What a strange day it had been.

Sango lifted Shippo off Inuyasha’s lap and shot him a wink. “Well, we’re heading off to have a bath. Let me know when it’s safe to come back.”

“Sango!” Miroku exclaimed, apparently scandalized. “What on earth could you be suggesting? What kind of inappropriate, untoward-”

Inuyasha unceremoniously covered Miroku’s mouth with his hand while he called a “Thank you!” after Sango’s retreating back. When he removed his hand, Miroku was smiling brightly at him. Inuyasha wasted no time in pressing a kiss to his lips, his jaw, his neck.

“In all honesty,” Miroku said, nipping at his mouth. “I don’t know just how much ‘celebrating’ I’ll be capable of tonight.”

“You think this is going to be the celebration?” Inuyasha smirked, brows raised. “Trust me, once we’re done the celebration, neither of us are gonna be able to walk for a week! But we need time and a place and a solid supply of snacks for that. Tonight, I just want to feel you.”

He leaned in for a deeper, longer kiss, while Miroku hummed appreciatively into his mouth. Their hands roamed over each other’s bodies, slowly and firmly. Even with Sango generously giving them a brief window, they felt none of the hurried energy that had plagued them in the past. For the first time in their partnership, they had all the time in the world. There wasn’t even much fire between them to begin with, just bone-deep comfort and safety and peace. They moved against each other as the stress of the past few days slowly melted away. They traced eah others injuries, from the slashes down Inuyasha’s side made by Naraku’s lucky strike to the finger-shaped bruises blossoming around Miroku’s throat. They traced them all, and old scars beside, and reminded themselves that they had survived. Only once they had both completely shed their worries, and they’d drunk in the mere presence of each other, did their lingering touches turn into something more. Their movements became more pointed, drawing heat and energy between them. Miroku had just begun to cant his hips up suggestively when Inuyasha pulled back, one ear flicking. He frowned, listening intently before he shook his head.

“It’s nothing,” he said in answer to Miroku’s concerned look. “I guess I’m still a little jumpy.”

“And for good reason,” Miroku pointed out, before he snaked a hand around the back of Inuyasha’s neck and pulled him in for another kiss. “Now,” he whispered against his lips. “Where were we?”

~*~

He was wandering through an endless path, his surroundings shifting unnaturally from the tall trunks of trees in a dying forest to the rising walls of a ravine to old, decrepit houses, but always with something pressing in on either side. There was a voice calling to him. It sounded like a woman, but he didn't recognize her, and he couldn’t make out the words. The wind was whistling past him, chilling him to the bone. He knew that he needed to get somewhere, that he had to keep on going until he reached his destination, but the further he went, the more uneasy he became. The more the world around him shifted, growing darker and more sinister. There was an ache in his chest, in his hand, and it was growing ever more difficult to breathe. He felt eyes watching him, peering through the expansive night.

The voice was growing louder, more insistent. He felt the ground begin to crumble beneath his feet, could sense something approaching from behind him. The pain in his hand had grown to an agonizing throb, and suddenly he was underwater. The freezing temperature made him gasp, losing precious air, but no matter how he kicked and struggled, there was something weighing him down. He fought against the clawed hands grasping at him, threatening to drag him down into the depths forever. He could hear someone calling to him over the rushing in his ears, but the voice sounded different than before. It sounded again and again, calling his name, reaching for him. He tried to find it but there was nothing but blackness, nothing but a relentless pressure on his chest and the excruciating pain lacing up his arm and-

“Miroku!”

His eyes flew open and he was scrambling back, away from the figure looming over him. There were hands on his shoulders, his face, and the voice was more insistent than ever. But as he struggled to focus on the words, to get away from the threat, Inuyasha slowly materialized before him, eyes wide and ears pinned back. He was keeping up a constant stream of hushed reassurances, one hand grasping Miroku’s arm, the other hovering just before his chest, ready to grasp. Miroku realized belatedly that he had pushed himself dangerously close to the fire in his attempts to escape the twisted images in his mind. A quick glance told him that no one else was awake, that he hadn’t caused too much of a scene. He met Inuyasha’s eyes hesitantly, saw sharp concern and heartbreak and wild hope shining there.

Miroku couldn’t force words past the lump in his throat, so instead he simply tipped forwards into Inuyasha's waiting arms. Inuyasha let out a ragged breath and held him tightly, burying his nose into Miroku’s hair.

“You’re safe,” he whispered. “Whatever you saw, it’s not real.”

Miroku squeezed his eyes shut and focused on breathing. It wasn’t too often that his mind tormented him with something that felt so tangible, like a real and present danger that he had to escape. Most nights, it was just the howl of the wind or the indistinct cries of those he loved. He hated nights like this, where even after waking, the line between reality and the dream were blurred. He hated how frightened he was. He couldn’t open his eyes again, couldn’t face Inuyasha, so he pressed harder against the hanyou’s chest and hid from the world for a while longer.

~*~

Kagura sat on a log, staring at nothing. She didn’t know what to do with herself, now. All of her short life thus far had been as Naraku’s slave. What could she do? What did she even want out of life? It didn’t matter, in the end. She could choose whatever she wanted. No one could stop her now.

She glanced up at Kanna, still silent, still kneeling on the ground, looking into her mirror. Her sister, Naraku had said. Her kin, even if they were only related through their connection to that vile monster. The only person she really knew. And even then, what did she even really know about Kanna?

“Naraku’s dead,” Kagura muttered, and even saying the words out loud felt unreal. “What are you hanging around me for?”

“I have nowhere to go,” Kanna said simply, in that same faint, emotionless voice. “I have no one to be, anymore.”

Kagura frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I am a mirror. I am what others need me to be. I reflect what they want. Now, I am nothing.”

“Stop that,” Kagura snapped, pushing to her feet. “You’re still someone, Kanna. Even if you don’t know who that is yet, you can find out! You’re not just some empty shell.”

Kanna still didn’t look up from her mirror. “Naraku made me that way.”

“Naraku’s gone. He can’t control you! He doesn’t get to decide anything, anymore!”

Finally, Kanna met her eyes. “Kagura, what is it you wish?”

Kagura scoffed. “Isn’t it obvious? Freedom! I have it, now. I am the wind itself!”

“I do not have a wish,” Kanna said. It was so hard to read her, to try and guess what she was thinking or feeling. Kagura didn’t even know if she could feel.

“Then find one. It’s your life, now.”

“I know where to find a wish. Will you take me there?”

Kagura paused. She had no obligation to Kanna, not really. But despite everything, she wanted this kid to have a shot at life. And, she supposed, she had used Kanna as well, in the past. The strange little girl had been the only one she could ever talk to, whether it was to rant about Naraku or simply search out some company. “Where is it, exactly? And what is it?”

“I will show you.”

Kanna stepped onto Kagura’s feather and knelt down in front of her. Kagura sighed and lifted them both into the air. She followed Kanna’s whispered directions over forests and a mountain or two, further west than she had ever gone before. They set down in a small clearing surrounded by old, gnarled and mossy trees. The faint light provided by the crescent moon barely broke through the thick canopy. Kanna immediately started walking while Kagura looked around skeptically.

“What exactly do you expect to find in a place like this?” she asked in mild derision, using her fan to move a piece of low-hanging moss off her shoulder.

“Your wish may come true,” Kanna said, not looking back at her.

Kagura scowled. “What are you talking about? My wish already came true! Naraku’s dead and I have my freedom! Weren’t you even listening?”

But Kanna didn’t slow down. Kagura sighed, weighed her options for a moment longer, and then followed after her. The girl wove between the trees, her feet not making a sound on the forest floor. Kagura didn’t know why she bothered keeping pace. If Kanna got lost, so be it! She didn’t care! But some twisted curiosity drove her forward. What could Kanna want?

They emerged eventually to a rocky cliff face, which rose upwards until it eventually joined with the large mountain beyond. Kanna kept on going, aiming for a narrow crack in the stone wall. She ducked inside and Kagura stopped, crossing her arms.

“Kanna?” she called after her. “What’s going on? What is this place?”

“Come see inside,” Kanna’s voice drifted back.

Kagura groaned, tipping her head back and staring accusingly up at the sky for a moment before she followed. After the first narrow crack, a spacious passage opened up inside the cliff. Gradually it grew into a large cavern. The air was heavy and still, and the only sounds were Kagura’s steps and the dripping of water off the stalactites in the cavern’s ceiling. The light was almost nonexistent, but Kagura was able to make out the stark white of Kanna’s hair and robes as she walked down the strangely flat floor to a solid wall at the back of a cave. It was illuminated by a shaft of moonlight shining through a crack in the ceiling. There, in the middle of a pool of crystal clear water, was an altar. It was covered in dust and grime, the wood falling apart from the damp. Amidst the dozen of sutras and shimenawa around it rested a circular golden mirror, eerily similar to Kanna’s silver one.

“What the hell is his?” Kagura breathed, somehow reluctance to break the deadened silence of the cave.

“To meet nevermore,” Kanna whispered, and there was an odd quality to her voice. “Tears of sorrow overflow deep within my heart. What good, this potion of life? All is but dust in the wind.”

She just stood in front of the mirror, her own silver one reflecting it back, unmoving. Kagura stepped forward, into the freezing pool, and snapped her fan open. With a powerful gust of wind, she knocked away all the seals covering the altar, until only the golden mirror remained. She pulled her sleeve down over her hand and wiped the dust from its surface. In its reflection, she saw Kanna shift her own mirror slightly to catch the moonlight and direct it into the golden mirror. Then something moved in the reflection. Kagura spun around to see the crescent moon shift and, like an eye opening as some giant beast in the sky awoke, the moon became full.

“So,” a voice said calmly from the altar, and Kagura turned back to meet the steady gaze of a woman’s reflection caught in the golden mirror, though there was no sign of her outside of it. “Naraku is dead.”

“And you are?” Kagura asked warily, raising her fan.

The woman in the mirror smiled. “Let’s just say that I once knew Naraku, many years ago. He asked me for something that I could not give him. He was not pleased with my answer.”

Kagura scoffed. “Did he do this to you?”

“Not exactly.”

“Name yourself.”

The woman closed her eyes, and the mirror pulsed. “I am the Princess of the Moon. I am the Wish-Granter. I am Kaguya.”

“And why should I care?” Kagura asked. “Kanna, why did you bring me here?”

“I see your wish,” Kaguya said coolly. “Kagura, your freedom is but a fleeting illusion.”

Kagura turned back to her reluctantly. “So what if it is?”

“I can grant your wish. I can give you true, everlasting freedom.”

Kagura crossed her arms. “Who says I don’t have it now?”

“Kagura,” Kanna said quietly. “She can do as she says.”

She didn’t know what to believe. But, now that she had her freedom, it had never felt so precarious. What was the harm in a little extra protection? As she cast her gaze downwards, the reflection of the full moon shone in the water of the pool. Even as she watched, the reflection shifted, and the faintest hints of a castle emerged along the surface. Criss-crossing it were the five intersecting lines of a pentacle, made from glowing strands of moonlight. When she looked up, the same five-pointed star rested on top of Kaguya’s reflection like the bars of a cage. In the five spots where two lines met in a point, a character was etched into the golden frame of the mirror.

“Fine,” Kagura huffed. “Tell me what you want. Then I’ll see if I’m willing to help you or not.”

~*~

The usual collection of villagers appeared to greet them as they saw Kirara approaching overhead. There were concerned faces as they saw the bloody clothing, and Inuyasha could hear shouts for Kaede. It was almost dark. They had taken two days to make it back to the village. Even while slowing down to account for all of their injuries, particularly Kirara’s as she flew them, they hadn’t wanted to meander. There was a drive, a strange urgency that none of them could place anymore, that had prompted them to arrive as soon as possible. Inuyasha could smell the tension in all of their scents. It came in waves, intermingled with joy and relief and pure shock that never seemed to really go away. Inuyasha was painfully aware of the fact that, despite the feeling of an immense weight having been lifted from his shoulders, he hadn’t slept since the battle. He didn’t know why – some old fear, maybe, of losing his pack now that they weren’t pushed together by Naraku’s forces. All he knew was that he’d held all of them close, and he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off them. That his instincts were still warning him of danger, even though there was no more enemies to fight.

Kirara touched down in the middle of the throng of villagers. They waved off the clamouring concern being thrown at them, said that they would tell the whole story later. Kaede emerged through the crowd and, after taking one hard look at them, gestured for them to follow her back to her hut. She sat them down and handed them each a cup of tea before she would even let them speak.

“Well,” she said, crossing her arms. “What has you all looking as though the world’s ended?”

“Naraku’s dead,” Inuyasha said quietly, tracing patterns on the floor with his claws.

Kaede didn’t say anything for a long, long time. “Well,” she finally breathed. “Well, that would explain it. I take it that all of ye are injured?”

“Nothing serious,” Miroku shrugged.

“And did anyone die?”

“No one else,” Sango replied.

“Then why such maudlin expressions?” Kaede asked in exasperation.

They all looked at each other in mild surprise. And then they all burst out laughing. They went on and on, bracing against the floor and each other, gasping for breath and wiping tears away from their eyes. Kaede didn’t exactly look reassured at this display, but she didn’t question it. Once they were all lying fully on the floor, she set about making them some food and let them recover.

“Do you want the village to know?” Kaede asked.

“Perhaps tomorrow,” Miroku said, glancing between Inuyasha and Sango. “I don’t think that any of us need that kind of attention tonight.”

They all knew that there would be celebrating. What they hadn’t expected was for the entire village to halt all work for the day. Most of the people hadn’t truly understood the danger that Naraku posed, but after learning that he had been the one to kill Kikyo, and having seen Musou with their own eyes, they were glad to be rid of his threat. There was music and dancing, piles and piles of food, drink flowing from all sides, and no stop to the conversation.

Inuyasha accepted Shippo’s challenge to eat an entire wild boar on his own, and regretted his decision for the rest of the night. He was also dragged down by so long without sleep. He had busied himself for most of the previous evening with washing everyone’s soiled clothes and chopping wood, and had only crawled into bed with Miroku well into the night. Now, after an afternoon of recounting the story of their battle again and again and a belly full of food, he leaned heavily into Miroku’s arms and shut his eyes. He couldn’t sleep – not with the multitude of sounds and smells and the sweets that Miroku kept on magically procuring for him – but he could finally relax.

They prepared to leave late the next morning. Hachi had arrived just before dark the night before, and had eagerly accepted the spoils of the feast in exchange for the long flight to the temple. When Miroku gave him the reason for their journey, the tanuki had flung his arms around the monk and held him tight. He’d gotten a little teary-eyed as well, and Miroku had worn an expression of overwhelmed gratitude for the rest of the evening.

But that morning, they were all smiles. Miroku had made absolutely sure that no one had said a word to Inuyasha about the snores that had resonated through Kaede’s hut for most of the night, and the hanyou remained blissfully unaware. Kaede insisted on them all taking a practically ridiculous amount of food for their travels, and none of them had the heart to refuse her. Shippo was a little miffed at being left behind after only just joining them again, but they promised that they would be back in five days to regroup and make a long-term plan. Spirits were high and the feeling of relief had finally settled into their bones.

The only problem was, once everything was packed and they were ready to go, no one moved. Kirara stood with Sango on her back, while Inuyasha and Miroku hovered beside Hachi, not yet ready to set off just yet. No one could articulate their resistance to parting ways, the unease they felt at the prospect of losing sight of one another, so they ended up shuffling awkwardly until they noticed Kaede staring at them. They all blushed and hurried to take off.

~*~

“Are you sure it’s down there?” Kagura asked, gesturing at the empty expanse of ocean below them.

Kanna looked down into Kaguya’s mirror and then nodded. Kagura sneered and began their descent. It had taken them far too long to track down this stupid place, but Kaguya had said it was necessary to gather the strange series items to set her free. Apparently, she wouldn’t be able to grant any wishes while trapped. Kagura wasn’t so sure. She glanced up once more at the moon, which smiled down at her in a mocking crescent. She knew better than to trust any of the illusory spells of some demon! There was no reason to believe that this Kaguya had any real power. It could all just be a trick. But Kanna seemed to trust her – had sought her out, had somehow known about her – so Kagura figured that there was no harm in seeing how this all played out.

“She says to keep going,” Kanna reported. “We need to break through the barrier to reach the island.”

Kagura brought them down as close as she dared to the rolling waves of the ocean. After Kanna told her to stop, the girl pushed to her feet and tucked her own mirror behind her legs before holding out Kaguya’s golden one facing outwards. Something shifted, and a low hum of power sounded through the air. A beam of white light shot forth from the mirror and struck an invisible wall in front of it. The blast spread across the barrier, further and further until it broke through. Kagura flew them forwards even as the barrier closed behind them.

The island itself was an impossible shape. Two curved, tapered cliffs rose high above the ocean like the horns of a bull or a crescent-moon blade, entirely unsupported beneath except for a tall, thick column of earth and rock at its base. The curved prongs rose far above them at a slight upward angle, and several thin streams turned to waterfalls that careened through the empty air to the sea below. Kagura could feel the demonic aura in the air immediately. She wasted no time in following the sheer, floating cliffs of the island up to its surface above. It was even larger than she’d expected, with several small mountains along its outer curve and a large lake in its inner portion. She could just make out a decrepit old town stretching out on the edge of the lake.

“What the hell is this place?” she muttered.

“We must go further in,” Kanna said. “To where the jewelled trees grow.”

“Fine,” Kagura snapped. “Let’s get this over with. I don’t want to stick around.”

Already, she felt as though there were eyes watching her. Isle of Ghosts, indeed. She directed the feather through the forest to what looked like a carefully cultivated garden beyond. The feather touched down lightly and she stepped off, looking around in wonder. There were a dozen or so trees scattered around, their black branches twisting and gnarled. But instead of being wooden, they seemed to be made of some black gem like jet. Along its length, sharp, ragged jewels grew in the place of leaves, while small clusters of perfectly round green gems replaced the berries. As Kagura reached out to break off a branch, she noticed something moving amongst the trees. A small yellow-green light meandered around the garden, casting different colours through the air as the jewels caught its glow. It moved like a flying insect, but Kagura had the feeling that this was no regular fly. And there were more of them, drifting in and out of the trees.

“The ghosts,” Kanna murmured, watching them.

And then there was a shift in the air, and Kagura spun around. A giant red bird with flaming wings was diving towards them. Just before he touched the ground, he transformed into his human-like form. He was dressed in red and black armour, and he held a long staff with a feathered fan at the end of it.

“You,” he snapped, levelling the staff at them as it glowed red. “What are you doing here? No one is supposed to be able to break through our barrier!”

“Don’t worry,” Kagura drawled, deftly snapping off a branch from the tree behind her as she turned to face him. “We’re just leaving.”

“Oh no you don’t,” the demon hissed. His youki was flaring around him, and parts of it broke off to form smaller fire birds around him.

Kagura snapped her fan open and shouted “Dance of the Dragon!”

The twister of crackling energy flew towards the demon and though he leapt up and out of the way, red wings sprouting from his back to keep him aloft, he was blown back and his fire dissipated. Kagura jumped onto her feather and hauled Kanna up by her robes. She had no desire to meet the guardians of this cursed island. As they rose swiftly into the air, something crashed into them from the side. Kagura was knocked off her feather, and she swung around to punch away the demon that was grasping at her. This one wore a black-and-white striped pelt that matched his hair, and was clawing at her furiously. Kagura pushed him away from herself and threw a volley of blades at him. She could hear him shouting at the first demon, then up at another seemingly heading towards them from above. Great, just what they needed. Kagura leapt back onto her feather and shot a blast of air out in all directions. It caught both demons and flung them back, just enough for Kagura’s feather to shoot into the sky.

“Kaguya,” she shouted over the howling winds. “You’d better be able to get us out of here!”

Kanna held out the golden mirror once more, and another beam of concentrated light shot forward to break through the barrier again. As they disappeared into the night sky, Kagura glanced back to see that the island had vanished once more. She shook her head – what a hellish place.

“Is this good enough?” she asked, waving the jewelled sprig in front of Kaguya’s face.

“It is,” Kaguya said with a wry smile. “But that is only the first of the five.”

Kagura groaned loudly. “Tell me that the others won’t be this much work!”

“Do not fear. The next one is nearby.”

They flew into the rising sun, deep into a collection of mountains. Once again, Kagura followed Kaguya’s directions to a deep valley between two peaks. She landed next to a mountain stream, took in the piles of boulders and craggy walls all around them.

“Now what?” Kagura asked impatiently.

“Just wait.”

It was only a few moments later that a low rumbling came from deep within one of the piles of rocks. Gradually they began shifting as something moved within them, and the head of a large white dragon emerged. His eyes narrowed as soon as they landed on the golden mirror. He opened his mouth and hissed, exposing rows of pointed teeth. Kagura lifted her fan.

She let Kanna dig out the crystal from the creature’s neck, though she was surprised that the girl was able to do so without getting any blood on her robes. Kanna carefully placed both mirrors on a rock and waded into the stream to wash the crystal clean. It was partially clear with white and grey swirls running along the inside, and it was perfectly round. Kagura took it from her hands and tucked it into her robes beside the jewelled branch.

“Now to break the seals,” Kaguya said. “I will need more of my power if we are to find the other three.”

The mountain was tall on the horizon as they approached, but rather than landing in the forest as they had before, Kaguya directed them beyond where she had been imprisoned to one of the five lakes. Floating above Yamanaka, Kagura dropped the crystal and watched it sink down into the water. To her surprise, a pulse of white light shot through the lake.

“Oh, arrow of mine,” Kaguya said in a quiet, haunted voice. One of the five characters on the golden frame of her mirror pulsed weakly. “With power pure and immense to slay the dragon, do your good deed fast and swift, grasp the crystal in its neck.”

“Handy to have instructions,” Kagura said wryly, eyeing the golden mirror.

They passed over Lake Shoji next, and Kagura threw the jewelled branch into the water. A green pulse of light swirled across its surface as Kanna whispered “I ventured to see if what I had heard was true, but this jeweled sprig with leaves so real, ‘twas nothing more than an empty promise.”

“Three more,” Kaguya murmured, and the white lines criss-crossing her mirror were fading in and out even as a second character flashed green. Up in the sky, the moon was whole once more.

“Where to next?” Kagura asked.

“Two of the items have been lost to time,” Kaguya said. “The stone bowl of Buddha has always been kept hidden from me. And your former master, Naraku, apparently delighted in stealing away with the shell.”

“Yeah, that sounds like him,” Kagura sneered, though she was suddenly markedly uncomfortable with Naraku having one of the five items needed to free Kaguya. How much had he known about her? What had happened between them, all those years ago? She shook her head, casting out the thoughts. They needed to find the bowl and the shell, and luckily, Naraku’s army would still be loyal to her. She wouldn’t have to waste her energy searching for them. “I’ll deal with those two,” she said. “What about the last one?”

“Cloth woven from the fur of the fire rat,” Kaguya said.

“Inuyasha,” Kanna murmured.

Kagura groaned loudly. “Of course he has it. This couldn’t be easy, could it?!”

She veered the feather around and took off, already planning out how she could steal the clothes off a half-breed.

~*~

The temple gradually came into view. Inuyasha glanced over at Miroku, and frowned at the way that the monk was anxiously playing with the mala beads wrapped around his forearm.

“You okay?” he asked gently.

“I’m fine,” Miroku answered, too quickly, and then he sighed. “I just never knew if I would ever actually be able to have this conversation with him.”

Inuyasha scooted closer and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “I know. But it’s here, and he’s going to be so happy.”

Miroku gave him a small smile and turned further into his embrace. Hachi touched down at the edge of the clearing opposite the temple. Miroku and Inuyasha slid off his back and started forward. Miroku paused at the edge of the deep, circular hole in the ground and looked down at where the stone marker rested in its center. He carefully made his way down to it while Inuyasha waited for him above, letting him tell his father the news on his own. Mushin had stepped out to meet them by the time they made it to the temple.

“What’s going on this time?” he asked gruffly, crossing his arms. “Did you break yourself again?”

Miroku chuckled softly. “Not this time, though I can’t blame you for thinking that.” He paused, and swallowed. “Naraku’s gone.”

“Huh,” Mushin said, and then. “Ha! Haha! Well, my boy, you actually did it!” He swung an arm around Miroku’s shoulders and squeezed him tightly. “Your father and grandfather must be so proud.”

Miroku hunched his shoulders, a little embarrassed. “I hope so.”

“Come on, come inside,” Mushin said, already dragging him towards the temple. “You, too, Inuyasha. This calls for a drink!”

Miroku shot a slightly exasperated look over his shoulder at Inuyasha as he and Hachi followed them inside.

“Looks like all that training came in handy after all!” Mushin continued as he grabbed a jug of saké from the floor. Miroku made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat and eyed the old monk skeptically.

“Why don’t I cook something up for us?” he suggested.

“Feel free,” Mushin smiled. “You know where everything is.”

Inuyasha caught the slight inclination of Miroku’s head and followed him through the temple. Stress was evident in his scent, though his heartbeat remained calm and even. Inuyasha grabbed his arm and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Miroku pressed their brows together and huffed a short laugh. He couldn’t ask Mushin to change, he supposed. He began rummaging through their various food stores and sent Inuyasha out to the small garden to gather up some things for their meal. They returned to find Hachi drinking saké right along with Mushin, the two chatting amiably over a plate of dango. Miroku shook his head fondly and set to work. Though the sound of Mushin’s snoring soon filled the room, he miraculously roused himself just as the food was ready.

“Now that that vile monster is gone,” Mushin started. “What will you do, young man? What happens next?”

Miroku shared an uncomfortable look with Inuyasha. “I’m not entirely sure. There’s still a lot of strife in the world. I suppose I will continue to do my part to ease as much of it as possible.”

Mushin snorted. “And I suppose that includes easing the hearts of young women, does it?”

Miroku’s face flushed bright red and he hid behind his bowl. Inuyasha snorted, somewhere between irritated and amused. Mushin didn’t seem to notice.

“Give me your hand,” he said, already reaching out. “I’ll read your palm.”

Miroku hesitated, then pulled the cloth away from his right palm and leaned forward to give Mushin access. The old monk took the hand in both of his and hummed thoughtfully, examining it thoroughly.

“Hmm, oh dear…no good…” he said as if to himself.

“What is it?” Inuyasha asked nervously, eyes darting between Miroku and Mushin.

“You only have three more days to live,” Mushin said, releasing Miroku’s hand.

“Only three days?” Miroku asked quietly, his heartbeat rising.

Mushin began to guffaw. “I’m only kidding,” he said, waving his hand at Miroku dismissively. “Honestly, boy, you need to stop falling for that one.”

Miroku made a vague noise of acknowledgement, while Inuyasha glared daggers at the old monk and told his youki to shut up. They finished their food quickly while Mushin and Hachi had second and third helpings, but when they stood to begin cleaning up, Mushin waved them back down.

“You did the cooking,” he said. “And I imagine you’ve had a busy time of it recently. You two relax for the evening.”

He bustled off, while Hachi promptly fell asleep beside the fire. Inuyasha caught Miroku looking around slowly, taking in the state of the temple with a slightly pinched expression. Eventually he turned back to Inuyasha, and there was something in his eyes. “Feel like going for a walk?”

The late afternoon air was warm but breezy as they walked side-by-side along the edge of the forest. “You okay?” Inuyasha murmured.

“Yes,” Miroku said, and he sounded more sure than he had when they’d arrived. “This place just holds a lot of memories.”

“We don’t have to come back here again after this,” Inuyasha pointed out. “Not unless you want to.”

“He’s still my family. For a long time, he was all I had. It’s just…complicated.” They continued on for a little longer before Miroku suddenly smiled brightly. “I notice that you keep on saying ‘we.’”

“Well, yeah,” Inuyasha said slowly. “Aren’t we a ‘we’?”

“We are,” Miroku said, pressing a kiss against his cheek. “And I’m glad for it. I didn’t think that everything would disappear once Naraku was gone, but it’s good to make sure.”

Inuyasha pulled him in for another, deeper kiss and tangled their hands together. He almost asked the question then, but he held back. He wanted to make it special. He knew that Miroku had been allowed limited indulgences in his life, so Inuyasha was going to pull together everything he could for his partner. Besides, this wasn’t the time or the place. They were surrounded by the past and the things that still haunted them. When he asked, he wanted it to be all about their future.

“So what about you?” Miroku asked when they eventually broke apart. “What do you want to do next?”

“Hell if I know,” Inuyasha muttered, and his ears flicked back. “We could stay in Kaede’s village, or travel most of the time. I don’t really care.”

“There’s still the Jewel to consider, and how to get rid of it,” Miroku said, pausing. “Inuyasha, do you still want to become a full demon?”

Inuyasha stopped, stared hard at the ground. “I…I don’t know.” Miroku squeezed his hand gently but didn’t say anything. “I just want to be stronger. Naraku wasn’t the only thing out there trying to kill us. I need to be able to protect you.”

“You’re already so strong,” Miroku murmured. “And you always protect me. You have to know that.”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Perhaps. But you know that I can’t think of a single thing I’d change about you. I love you, just the way you are.”

Inuyasha bit his lip and looked away. “I know.”

It was getting dark as they made their way back to the temple. Miroku was concerned to see Mushin waiting for them by the door.

“I need to speak with you, young man,” he said, unusually serious. “Alone.”

Miroku shared a quick glance with Inuyasha then followed the old monk inside. In all his life, he’d only seen Mushin calm and focused a handful of times, and none of them had boded well for anyone. More often, if he wasn’t laughing or teasing, he was angry at the world. Never this level, sober expression.

“I have something for you,” Mushin said, gesturing to an ornate wooden box resting on the floor. “Miyatsu left this last testament with me, to be given to whichever descendant defeated Naraku. I’m afraid your work isn’t over yet, my boy.”

Miroku glanced from the box to Mushin, but the old monk wasn’t giving anything else away. He turned and left Miroku to read the testament alone, another irregularity that set Miroku’s heart pounding. He knelt down in front of the box, untied the string around its length and carefully removed the sutra wrapped around the box with the odd, five-pointed symbol painted on it. He lifted off the lid to reveal the folded paper inside. He’d never had any contact with his grandfather before, besides the staff that had been handed down through the generations. The words that greeted him weren’t what he’d been expecting – why would a demon’s release be tied with Naraku’s death? How had he never heard of this fearsome opponent before?

Mushin was waiting for him by the door.

“I’ll do it,” Miroku said. “I’ll make sure this demon doesn’t escape.”

“Good lad,” Mushin said gravely. “You know where his grave is?”

“Close enough. Are you sure the people there will still remember everything?”

“I’m certain. Miyatsu spent his final few years there for a reason.”

“Well, then I’d better get going,” Miroku said, looking down. He pushed aside the dozens of thoughts swirling through his mind and eased the mala beads from his hand. “For you,” he said, holding them out for Mushin. “To remember.”

Mushin took the string of beads and then pulled Miroku into a fierce embrace.

“You’ll come back more often, now that you have the chance, right?” the old monk said hopefully in his ear.

“I’ll try,” Miroku promised.

Mushin braced his hands on Miroku’s shoulders as they broke apart. “Best of luck, my son. And safe travels.”

Miroku’s eyes were burning as he stepped back outside. Hachi was nowhere in sight, but Inuyasha stood at the edge of the cliff bordering one side of the temple, staring up at the sky. The wind was playing with his hair, tossing it to and fro. As Miroku walked towards him, the tension in his partner’s stance became obvious.

“What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t notice before, but it’s a full moon tonight,” Inuyasha said, his frown deepening. “The moon isn’t supposed to be full for another week!”

“It’s already starting,” Miroku breathed.

“Huh?”

“My grandfather left a message for whoever defeated Naraku. Apparently there’s a powerful demon that he fought some fifty years ago, before he’d even encountered Naraku, and managed to seal away. She will try to escape now that Naraku’s gone. A nightly full moon is the first sign of her power growing. I need to-”

“What’s that?” Inuyasha asked sharply, his eyes darting through the evening sky. “It can’t be!”

“What is it?” Miroku asked, grasping his staff.

“This scent-” Inuyasha stuttered, eyes wide and ears flat to his head. “It- It can’t be him! But it’s Naraku’s scent!”

“It may not be him,” Miroku said hurriedly. “His incarnations might still be alive. We never found out if they could survive without him or not.”

“There,” Inuyasha hissed, drawing Tessaiga, his eyes fixed on a point in the far distance. “Something’s coming.”

It took a little longer for Miroku to make out the white blur flying in the direction of the temple. By the time he recognized her, Kagura had already sent a volley of blades shooting towards them. Miroku and Inuyasha dove out of the way, scrambling away from the edge of the cliff to safer ground.

“Mushin, stay inside!” Miroku shouted, grabbing a handful of sutras from his robes.

The wind had grown to a powerful storm. Kagura had her fan raised, poised to strike at any moment. Kanna knelt in front of her, holding her mirror as she had the first time they’d met her. Inuyasha shot Miroku a look and the monk nodded – as far as they knew, these were the only two incarnations left. They had a chance to kill them once and for all. But why were they here? Unless they were acting on Naraku’s orders, they had no reason to seek them out.

“Inuyasha,” Kagura greeted coolly, bringing the feather to a stop a safe distance from the cliff, out of reach. “Finally! What the hell are you doing all the way out here?”

“None of your business,” Inuyasha growled. “Though I could ask you the same question. Here to avenge Naraku’s death?”

“Ha!” Kagura barked a laugh. “That monster is better off forgotten. I’d almost managed to purge his name from my mind.”

Inuyasha bared his teeth, not in the mood for games. “Then why are you here?”

Kagura smirked, and her fan snapped forward to send another wave of blades at him. Inuyasha leapt into the air and tried to reach for the Wind Scar, but Kagura must have felt it and manipulated her youki out of the way. And with Kanna being the strange, empty void that she was, there was nothing for Inuyasha to latch onto. Unless-

“Hachi!” he shouted. “Get out here! I need you!”

Another volley of blades shot towards him and he jumped back, landing beside Miroku. He knocked away the few blades that came too close for comfort, while Miroku sent a handful of sutras flying at Kagura. They connected with a white barrier that Kanna had put up around the feather.

“Why the blades?” Miroku said, wrapping another sutra around the head of his staff. “Why not just knock us off the cliff? Surely that would be easier.”

“Don’t give her ideas!” Inuyasha hissed. He grabbed Miroku around the waist and threw them both out of the way of another attack. “Damn it! I can’t do anything without the Wind Scar.”

“I can try to purify the area, but I don’t know if we can get through Kanna’s barrier. Would Tessaiga work if we got close enough? I can-” He reached for his forearm but froze as his fingers met nothing but the cloth of his tekkou. Of course.

Kagura’s fan flashed again, and a twister barrelled towards them. They leapt away but it followed Inuyasha, gaining speed as it went. Inuyasha felt it dragging him forward, pulling him into its grasp. He struggled to break free but it was no use! He threw himself around to see Miroku busy cutting through several other twisters with his staff, spiritual power flowing around him. But there were more and more coming between them. Inuyasha swore and began to struggle in earnest, trying to cut through the crackling youki in the wind and break free. But then suddenly the twister vanished, and he was left hovering in the air for a heartbeat. Then he saw the blades flying at him. There was nothing he could do to stop them ripping past him, catching along his arm, his thigh, his side. The force of it flung him back and he landed hard on the ground. Miroku was in front of him in a heartbeat, batting away the few remaining blades with his staff. He then slammed the weapon on the ground, pulling up a barrier between them and Kagura. But she wasn’t attacking again.

Her eyes were following a swath of red twisting through the air. It took Inuyasha a moment to realize that his left sleeve had been torn through by one of her blades. His hadagi was still connected by a thin strip of fabric, but the red sleeve of his suikan had been ripped clean off. It was caught by the wind and arched through the air until Kagura’s hand reached out and snatched it. She caught Inuyasha’s eye and smirked.

“The white hot flames of my love for you cannot burn this cloth of fur,” an unfamiliar voice came from her direction. Inuyasha sought out the source until he noticed with a jolt that Kanna’s mirror was gold instead of the silver it had been before, and a woman’s face was reflected in it. She seemed to be the one speaking. “My raiment, sleeves dried of tears, now on this day I don it.”

“Who are you?” Inuyasha asked, pushing to his feet and shoved his way in front of Miroku, holding out an arm protectively. He was leaning hard on Tessaiga, grimacing through the blood pouring from his wounds. “Show yourself!”

“My name is Kaguya,” the woman said. “I am the ruler of eternal night.”

Inuyasha growled. “Whaddya want with me?”

“I have what I came for,” she smiled, and strangely there was no malice in her expression. “And in return, I can grant you a wish, if you so desire.”

The image of her in the mirror gradually faded to be replaced with his own reflection. But as he watched, his eyes turned red, purple markings appeared on his face, and he smiled with extended fangs. Inuyasha gasped and scrambled back, one hand tightening around Tessaiga’s hilt while the other pressed against his mouth, feeling for the proof that he hadn’t transformed. Miroku’s hands were on his arm, asking what was wrong, but Inuyasha couldn’t risk speaking. He wasn’t transforming! That wasn’t what was happening! It was just some stupid illusion! But the fear had sparked his youki, and it was begging to get free.

“Hey,” Miroku whispered, framing his face with both hands. “You’re alright. You’re in control.”

“You,” Kaguya hissed. “I will return for you later.”

Miroku didn’t know what she was talking about, but he didn’t particularly care. He could see Kagura raising her fan again, so he spun around and snapped a barrier into place before the blades could hit them. But then Kagura was rising up on her feather, looking like she was going to take off. Miroku dropped the barrier and raised his staff to throw it at her. Kagura saw what he was doing and shouted “Dance of the Dragon!” Half a dozen twisters shot from her fan and raced towards them.

Inuyasha dragged Miroku behind him and hurled the Wind Scar at the approaching attack, connecting to the youki in it, sweeping the twisters up into the blast and sending them hurling back towards Kagura. Kanna’s barrier fizzled to life in front of them, but the strange young girl was also holding out Kaguya’s mirror. A sphere appeared in the air in front of them, pitch black and seeming to draw in everything around it. The Backlash Wave veered upwards to meet it and, just as he’d seen demons disappear into Miroku’s wind tunnel, Inuyasha watched as the attack was compressed and shrank as it disappeared into the void. The black nothingness seemed to grow even larger, and the hum of energy filled the air. Inuyasha’s instincts were screaming at him that danger was coming.

There was little warning before Kagura’s twisters mixed with the Wind Scar shot from the void in all directions. They carved deep holes into the cliff face and dug gouges into ground. Miroku shouted and tackled Inuyasha to the ground, pulling a barrier over them both just before one of the twisters reached them. He gasped as the power of the combined attacks dug into his mind as he struggled to keep the barrier up. He wouldn’t be able to last for much longer. Inuyasha had twisted around and grasped his waist, ready to fling them both out of the way once the barrier failed. It seemed like forever before the attack faded away.

“What fears control the lives of mortals,” Inuyasha could barely hear Kaguya’s voice over the ringing in his ears. “Come. We have what we came for. We can finish our business with them later.”

Inuyasha shifted himself further on top of Miroku and risked a glance up to see Kagura turning her feather around and flying away. He growled at her retreating form, but didn’t move to give chase. Miroku squeezed out from under him and immediately grasped at Inuyasha’s robes, surveying the damage.

“Some of these are deep,” he said quietly, running his fingers along the length of the gouge across Inuyasha’s thigh.

“They’re nothing,” Inuyasha sniffed. “What about you? You okay?”

The monk’s expression was pinched from having used so much spiritual power, and there were a few scrapes visible along his skin, but he seemed relatively unharmed. Inuyasha sniffed him over, just to be sure. He frowned at the spark of panic in his partner’s scent.

“Miroku?”

“It’s nothing,” he said quickly, shaking his head. “Just that strange void… It was a little too familiar.”

Inuyasha winced in understanding. Miroku helped him to his feet and glanced over at the temple. One of the twisters had come alarmingly close to the structure, but Mushin was still safe inside. Hachi poked his head out from around one of the corners of the temple, looking sheepish. Miroku shot him a deeply unamused look before he slung Inuyasha’s uninjured arm over his shoulder.

“Let’s head inside,” he said. “And I’ll dress your wounds.”

“Never mind that,” Inuyasha said, tugging his arm out of Miroku’s grasp. “I want to know what the hell that was all about.”

“It is interesting that Kagura would seek us out on someone else’s behalf now that Naraku’s gone,” Miroku said thoughtfully. “And that demon calls herself Kaguya. Interesting choice.”

Inuyasha eyed him warily. “What’s so interesting about it?”

“Kaguya was the name of a celestial being who lived on earth for a short time before returning to the moon,” Miroku explained. “There’s a whole story about her, but it always ends with her leaving and never coming back.”

“So this isn’t her,” Inuyasha shrugged. “Just some demon trying to gain clout.”

“I suppose so. Although… the old legend mentions cloth woven from the fur of the Fire Rat, if I remember correctly.”

“Huh?” Inuyasha frowned.

“She was plagued with suitors who refused to leave her alone, so she sent the five most eligible on impossible tasks to keep them busy. There was the jeweled spring from Horai Island, the crystal-”

“Wait, what?” Inuyasha gasped. “Horai Island? That place is just a myth!”

“I think that’s the point, darling,” Miroku said with a puzzled expression, trying to figure out why that piece of information in particular had drawn such a reaction. “Each item was designed to be impossible to find, although I suppose not so for the robe.”

“My father gave it to my mother,” Inuyasha muttered, looking down at it. “I have no idea where he got it from.”

“Well, if this Kaguya demon is posing as the celestial maiden, then she likely has Kagura searching for the other four items as well. Supposedly she knows something we don’t, otherwise it would be a pointless task.”

“I don’t like it. Kagura’s up to something with this, and we need to find out what.”

“Indeed, but that will have to wait,” Miroku said, pulling the message from Miyatsu out of his robes. “My grandfather said that once Naraku died, an incredibly powerful demon would break free. Finding where she’s sealed away and stopping her needs to be our next step.”

“Whatever this demon is with Kagura, she’s bound to cause trouble as well,” Inuyasha argued. “She tracked us down all the way out here! Who knows what she’s up to? We need to stop her from finishing whatever plan she’s cooked up!”

“This other demon may grow into even a bigger problem,” Miroku countered. “Once we stop her from escaping, we can focus on stopping Kaguya.”

Inuyasha opened his mouth and closed it again, frowning deeply. “We have two options.”

“So we do,” Miroku said slowly, hesitantly. “But there are also two of us.”

“Miroku…”

“I need to go to my grandfather’s grave. There are people there that can tell me what happened with the demon he sealed away. You can find out whatever you can about Kaguya and Kagura, and then Hachi and I will meet up with you and we can plan our next move.”

Inuyasha scowled, his hands grasped the front of Miroku’s robes and pulled him close. “I don’t like the idea of splitting up. We’re already supposed to be heading back to Kaede’s soon.”

“I know,” Miroku sighed. “But Sango and Kirara will know that something’s happened when we don’t show up. They’ll be ready to help, and with the four of us, we’ll be able to take on both demons. But we need to know what we’re dealing with.”

Inuyasha ground his teeth, but he didn’t see another option. “Promise you won’t try to take on this demon alone?”

“I will if you’ll do the same.”

Inuyasha huffed a short laugh against his lips and pulled him into an embrace. “Just be careful.”

“Hachi,” Miroku called out as they poked their heads into the temple to make sure that Mushin was alright. “We need to leave right away. We’re going to drop off Inuyasha and then go to my grandfather’s grave.”

“I don’t know about this,” the tanuki said, crossing his arms. “This was supposed to be a short visit here. You didn’t say anything about facing a dangerous demon.”

“I can’t have you backing out now, Hachi,” Miroku said sternly. “I promise you’ll be safe, but we have to hurry.”

~*~

“You need to tell me what’s going on,” Kagura said as they approached Lake Motosu. “Do you have a history with Inuyasha or that monk?”

“That’s nothing that you need to be concerned with,” Kaguya said loftily. “Once I am free, there will be a reckoning, but you needn’t be involved if you do not wish it.”

“Whatever,” Kagura sighed. “I don’t want anyone trying to kill me again because of you.”

They came to a stop above the middle of the lake and Kagura tossed the sleeve into the water. At the flash of red, Kaguya whispered “Could you have but known that it would burn so swiftly, this raiment of fur, you would not have sat with such little show of concern.”

“What now?” Kagura asked in annoyance. “The bowl or the shell?”

“Naraku kept the shell hidden,” Kanna broke in, staring hard at her mirror, which reflected the figure of a young boy running through the forest. “I have found where he put it.”

“Excellent,” Kaguya smiled. “Let us be off, then.”

“Not so fast,” Kagura snapped. “I think you need to tell me exactly what you had to do with Naraku.”

“There is nothing to tell,” Kaguya said quietly. “Many years ago, he asked for a wish that I would not grant. Because of that, he despised me and ensured my imprisonment.”

“And you knew about this?” Kagura asked Kanna, but the girl was staring into her mirror and didn’t answer.

~*~

“What do you think?” Sango asked, leaning onto Kirara’s head as they flew along the length of the river that would eventually lead towards their home. “Would it be better to try and rebuild the village first? Or would Kohaku do better at Kaede’s? I worry about what he might have remembered now that Naraku’s gone. I want him to know me, but…”

Kirara rumbled deep in her chest and glanced up over her shoulder at Sango, blinking slowly at her. Sango blew out a long breath.

“You’re right – one step at a time. I really thought that we might find some trace of him around where we found Naraku, but he must have been sent off somewhere else. He could be anywhere!”

Her main hope was that, now that her brother had been freed, he would be looking for her as well. She didn’t know what state he would be in. She didn’t know if he would even want to come home. All she knew was that she had to find him and let him know that everything would be alright.

Kirara tensed under her and her head snapped up. She sniffed the air once more and then growled, her ears flattening and tails lashing.

“What’s wrong?” Sango asked, already shedding her travel clothes.

Kirara bounded through the air, aiming for something in the forest. It took Sango a moment to see three pig demons in full armour thundering down a shallow ravine, rusty spears and swords in hand. It took her a moment longer to see what they were chasing, but once she had, her heart stopped and her blood froze.

“Hand it over!” one of the demons shouted at their target. “Give us the Jewel shard!”

He raised his spear and threw it, but the boy spun around and knocked it away with his kama before taking off again. Another demon pulled out a bow and notched an arrow and, before Sango could do anything, he fired. The arrow whizzed through the air and found its mark straight through Kohaku’s thigh. He crashed to the ground and skidded to a stop on the forest floor. The pig demons gathered around him, weapons raised. Sango flung herself at them, cutting straight through one with Hiraikotsu and imbedding the weapon in another one’s throat. Kirara leapt at the last demon and ripped off his head. Sango spun around, eyes wide and breathing hard as she took in her brother. She didn’t know what to expect. But Kohaku was already stumbling towards her, tears streaming down his cheeks. Sango let Hiraikotsu drop to the ground and she opened her arms and then her little brother was hugging her, clinging to her as he sobbed. His knees buckled and she followed him down, wrapping her arms tighter around him.

“Kohaku!” she cried, careless of the tears spilling from her eyes. “Oh, Kohaku!”

“Sango!” he gasped raggedly. “I didn’t want to do it, but I couldn’t stop it! Naraku forced me to do all those things and I just wanted it to be over, but I couldn’t escape him, and-”

“Shh, it’s alright,” she said, though deep down, she knew it was anything but. “None of that was you. None of it was your fault. I know you have to carry it still, but none of the blame is yours.”

“I was so scared,” he admitted in a small voice. “I didn’t know what was going on or who I was. I thought I was all alone.”

“I know, but you weren’t,” she said fiercely. “I was always looking for you. I never gave up on you, little brother.” She eased back to look at him carefully. “But you remember now? Everything?”

“I don’t know,” he murmured, eyes wide and haunted and staring off somewhere in the distance. “At times, I think I do. But it’s so hard to grasp. It’s like, if I try to hold on too tightly, everything slips away. I know-” His voice broke and he swallowed hard. “I know I did terrible things. I know that I killed father and-”

“That wasn’t you,” she reminded him firmly.

“But it was my hands that killed them,” he whispered, and a few more tears slipped down his cheeks. “Everything else is fuzzy. I don’t remember a lot of our life before. I don’t remember our mother’s face at all.”

“That’s to be expected,” Sango said gently. “You were so young when she died.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. “I didn’t know that. I thought I may have forgotten everything about her. I don’t even know what things I don’t know.”

“Come on,” she said, holding out a hand to him. “I’m going to take you home.”

He looked up at her hesitantly. She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Kirara pushed past her and nuzzled Kohaku’s cheek with her nose.

“Kirara!” he exclaimed, and threw his arms around her neck. “I missed you, too!”

Kirara’s purr was like thunder as she began licking away Kohaku’s tears, her tongue almost as big as the boy’s entire face. She continued until he began laughing amongst his sobs. Sango pressed a hand over her mouth to try and stop the overwhelming emotions crashing into her. Kirara ducked her head under one of Kohaku’s arms and Sango helped to guide him onto her back.

“You got very close to our village,” Sango said as Kirara took off. “Did you remember the way there?”

“Not really,” he shrugged. “I can’t really picture it in my mind, but it felt like the right direction.”

“I suppose you haven’t had to travel much,” she said, and then caught herself. “Or, at least, not from the village, anyway. It’s impressive that you knew how to get to the area at all.”

By the time they’d gotten to the village, the shock had worn off and the pain had taken hold, and Kohaku was shaking. Sango had to take almost all his weight as he stepped off Kirara and his injured leg threatened to buckle. She helped him to the nearest house, not bothering to cross through the entire village to get to the one that used to belong to them. Kirara transformed down and trailed behind them, ears pricked in case anything else had found its way into the fortress. It would be safer to get inside quickly. Besides, she didn’t know if it would be better to avoid those memories associated with their house, anyway. Their village was bound to be full enough with them as it was. But Kohaku was looking around, seemingly struck by the ruins around them.

“I knew it had been attacked,” he said quietly. “Naraku told me that everyone was dead, but I never really imagined…”

“I know,” she murmured. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”

She sat him down in the old, dusty bedding and began examining the leg. The arrow had already snapped off along the shaft, leaving a splintered mess sticking out of the back of his thigh while the barbed head emerged out the front. Despite everything, it was a relatively clean wound, but it would take some effort to get it out.

“Stay put,” she said firmly. “I’m going to find some supplies to treat this. Kirara will keep you company.”

Kirara chirped and hopped up beside him. Kohaku smiled tightly and ran his fingers through her fur. Sango watched them for a moment before tearing herself away. She grabbed a bucket and carried it to the well to fill it up. As she moved on to the old herb garden next, she glanced up at the sky and stopped. A full moon? It wasn’t supposed to be a full moon yet. Was it? She honestly couldn’t remember. The past few days had been such a blur. But no, it had only just been the new moon when they killed Naraku. It was far too early for the full moon! So what was going on?

She gathered the herbs quickly and brought them inside. Kohaku was leaning back against the wall, eyes closed, breathing rapid, and face pale. His kusarigama lay beside him, dirty and caked with demon blood. At least, she hoped it was demon blood. Kirara’s head shot up when she saw Sango, catching the unease in her scent, but Sango shook her head. Later. Kohaku was more important. She dropped off this load and set off again to find the medical supplies kept in almost every house. Being a slayer was a dangerous occupation, after all.

“Kohaku,” she whispered when she got back, shaking his shoulder. “You need to stay awake for now, little brother.”

“Mm,” he said, rubbing one of his eyes with the back of his hand. “Sorry. I haven’t been able to sleep recently.”

Sango didn’t want to consider why that might be. “Sit up,” she said instead. “I need to get at your leg.”

She pulled out her knife and cut off the arrowhead cleanly, leaving a smooth end to pull back through Kohaku’s thigh. She pulled a thin strip of leather from her robes and handed it over to him.

“Here. You’ll want this.”

Kohaku took it and stared at it blankly for a moment before his eyes snapped up to hers. “Oh, this is going to hurt, isn’t it?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Great,” he grimaced, and shoved the piece of leather between his teeth.

“You ready?” she asked, and he nodded. “On the count of five. One, two-”

And she pulled the arrow out sharply. Kohaku choked out a cry and his body jerked, but then it was over. Sango bit her lip, secretly pleased that Kohaku had forgotten that little trick. You could only really use it once on a person, and she remembered her father using it on him when he was eight and had broken his arm.

She washed the wound thoroughly with saké while Kohaku still had the leather in his mouth, and he groaned loudly but didn’t try to get away. Once she’d washed off the surrounding area with water, she stitched and bandaged it quickly.

“Do you have any other wounds?” she asked, eyeing his frayed and filthy clothes.

“I don’t really know,” he said, spitting out the leather. “Nothing serious, I think.”

“Can I check?”

He hesitated for a moment but then nodded, and began shedding his robes. Sango fought hard to keep her expression neutral. He was thin, far thinner than he had been all those months ago. But he was taller, too. She’d suspected that he would be going through a growth spurt, but his long, gangly limbs still came as a shock. He still had the body of a child, but there was no denying that her little brother had started to grow up. There were scars, too, that hadn’t been there before. Most were no more than nicks, but it was painfully obvious that none of them had been properly treated. Most were lumpy and poorly healed. The most prominent were four puncture wounds along his chest, from the arrows that had killed him. Sango bit her lip hard when she saw them. They were what caused her brother to need the Jewel shard to stay alive. She couldn’t even begin to think about what that would mean in the future, with their quest to make the Jewel whole once more.

So instead she checked him over thoroughly, made sure there was nothing serious. She found a significant lump on the back of his shoulder about the size of a small chicken’s egg. It was firm to the touch as well, but didn’t look exactly like scar tissue, either.

“What’s this?” she asked, running a finger along it.

Kohaku made a small noise of discomfort and shifted away from her hand, his eyes staring blankly into the middle distance. “I don’t know.”

She frowned, but decided to let it go for now. There were probably still a lot of things that he wouldn’t be able to talk about, and she didn’t want to push. It was clear that even though Naraku was dead, his hold on Kohaku still remained through all the damaged he had caused her little brother’s mind. Her only job now was to make sure that he was safe and healthy, and had the best possible chance to heal.

The other oddity was the cowrie shell she could see tied to a piece of twine that hung around his neck. She had never seen one with that pale blue, speckled pattern before.

“What about this?” she asked, pointing but not touching. “Do you know why you have that?”

“No,” he said, lifting the shell up to look at it. “But I know that it’s important. I guard it. I think something bad will happen if I lose it.”

“Did Naraku give it to you?”

Kohaku gasped and he squeezed his eyes shut, his breathing growing rapidly to a panicky rhythm.

“Hey, hey,” she said quickly, grasping his shoulders. “It’s okay. You don’t have to remember. You don’t even have to think about it. It’s alright.”

“There’s just so much,” he sobbed. “It’s all just a jumble in my head and if I try to follow anything it hurts.”

“I’m sorry,” she said as she wrapped him in an embrace. “I’m so sorry.”

She held him for a long time as he clung to her. She could already tell that he was exhausted. She had wanted to get some food into him, maybe even treat some of his smaller scrapes that had obviously become infected, but it looked like sleep was the most important thing for the moment. Gradually, Kohaku’s head began to rest heavily against her shoulder, and his breathing slowed. She eased him back down onto the bed and pulled the blankets over him. Even if he had grown, he still looked so small and vulnerable.

Sango sat down with her back against the wall, between Kohaku and the door, Hiraikotsu across her lap. Kirara positioned herself directly in front of the door, ears still pricked. Sango closed her eyes, but she knew that she wouldn’t be getting much sleep that night. Instead, her mind spun out countless possibilities for the future. Would Kohaku want to travel with them? Would he be better off staying put? She didn’t think that their village would be a good place for him, and not just because of its ruined state. There were too many memories here for him to be able to heal properly. Kaede’s would be safer, and there would be more people to help him there. People that he didn’t know, and therefore wouldn’t trigger anything in his mind. But would she stay there with him? She had made a promise to travel with Inuyasha and Miroku until they destroyed Naraku. That had been done, but it still didn’t feel like their task was over. She had also agreed to help them find the Jewel, and there was the matter of Naraku’s incarnations to deal with. She felt as though she needed to see this thing through to the end… But Kohaku had to come first. She couldn’t leave him alone again.

She didn’t know what to do. She had been so focused on getting him back that she hadn’t thought how Kohaku’s needs might conflict with her new family. Would it be possible for her to do both? Could she stay with him at Kaede’s until he settled in, and then rejoin the others? It would be difficult, going back and forth, but she knew that Inuyasha and Miroku would understand. At least she could be sure that Kirara would stick by her side, no matter what. They could make it work, she was certain.

As she suspected, it took her a long time to get to sleep. She woke frequently, startling awake with a hand reaching for her weapons and the feeling of danger approaching. Each time, Kirara gave a soft trill to let her know that all was well. She would have to make sure that the twin-tail slept the next morning, so that she would be able to get them back to Kaede’s as quickly as possible. Sango already wasn’t sure if they would be able to make their rendezvous within the five-day limit they had set.

By the time the sun had risen, she couldn’t get back to sleep. Quietly she pushed to her feet, set Hiraikotsu against the wall, and slid the door open to try and find them some food. Instead, Kohaku made a quiet noise and began squirming in his bed. His face scrunched and he began saying half-formed words, his movements becoming increasingly frantic. Sango rushed to his side and braced a hand against his shoulder, whispering reassurances that everything was okay. His eyes snapped open and he bolted upright, looking around wildly.

“You’re alright,” she said, trying to hold him steady. “Kohaku, it’s okay. You’re safe. I’m here.”

His eyes locked onto her face and the breath stuttered in his lungs. “S-Sango?”

“Yes, it’s me. Everything’s okay.”

He swallowed hard, and his eyes darted all around the house. “Where are we?”

Sango sucked in a sharp breath, but she didn’t let her shock bleed into her voice. “You’re home, Kohaku.”

“Home?” The frightened vulnerability in his voice broke her heart. She should have expected that his memories wouldn’t stay consistent.

“Yes, you’re home and you’re safe. Everything’s alright. Go back to sleep.”

He blinked up at her with wide eyes before he slowly drifted off again. Sango made sure that Kirara would keep watch over him and then went outside, sank down against the outer wall of the hut and cried. Somehow, in all this time, it hadn’t really struck here that she wouldn’t be getting back the same happy, inquisitive little brother that she’d lost. Kohaku had been through hell just as much as any of her companions, and there was no question that it had changed him.

Sango cooked up some rice for them, figuring that they both needed something easy on their stomach. She grabbed a handful of dried fish for Kirara as well and headed back to the house. Her stomach clenched as she saw that Kohaku was already awake, but Kirara was in his lap and purring ferociously as she kneaded his stomach, a look of intense concentration on her face. Kohaku was smiling as he watched her, and his expression didn’t change when he looked up to see Sango in the doorway.

“Good morning,” she greeted. “Hungry?”

“Starving!” he grinned, already reaching out for a bowl.

They ate quickly but quietly. The silence between them was a little awkward but not strained. She supposed it would take a little while to get used to the new dynamic between them. She kept reminding herself, whenever she began to worry too much, that her brother was back and that’s all that mattered. Kirara was napping between them, resting up as Sango had requested. But as they finished up and Sango began clearing away their bowls, Kirara’s head lifted and she growled softly.

“Kirara?” Sango asked, already reaching for Hiraikotsu. “What is it?”

Kirara shot to her feet and burst out the door, transforming as she ran. Sango followed after her, holding out a hand for Kohaku to stay put. Her heart sank when she saw what had driven Kirara outside.

“Kagura,” she growled, drawing her sword. “Leave him alone. He’s not going with you again!”

“Calm down,” Kagura said, passing her fan in front of her face. “All I want is that shell of his, nothing more.” She must have seen Sango’s dubious expression, because she smirked. “We’re both free from Naraku’s hold now, so why not be friends? I have no quarrel with the boy, and not even with you, despite all the trouble you’ve caused me. Hand over the shell without a fight and I’ll let you live.”

Sango frowned. Naraku had likely given that shell to Kohaku. What the hell could Kagura want with it? Was she still working under Naraku’s orders, somehow? An awful thought struck her. Was this some way of bringing Naraku back? It seemed exactly like something Naraku would do, have a plan to thwart his own death. All her instincts were telling her not to give the shell up, but if she fought Kagura, she didn’t know if she could win.

“I don’t have all day,” Kagura snapped, lifting her fan. “Why don’t I show you that I mean business?”

She snapped her fan forward, and a twister burst to life, careening towards the house.

“Kirara!” Sango shouted, throwing herself back through the door and tackling Kohaku to the ground. The twister hit full-force behind her, tearing the house to pieces. Sango threw the Hiraikotsu over their heads as a shield as the debris began to rain down. Eventually, all was quiet. Sango shoved away the pieces of roof and walls covering them and checked to make sure that Kohaku was alright before surveying the damage. The house was gone. Kagura was flat on the ground, Kirara pinning her there with paws on her chest. But Kagura’s fan was pressed up against Kirara’s throat.

Kagura didn’t seem concerned, and Sango knew why. She was painfully familiar with Kagura’s attacks, and she knew that the twister had been nothing compared to what she could do if she was serious. She wouldn’t be able to use Hiraikotsu against her, since Kagura would just knock it away. If they tried to fly away, Kagura would easily overtake them. She would have to face Kagura hand-to-hand with Kirara’s help, and that didn’t bode well for her.

“Kirara,” she called over. “Let her go.”

Kirara did so reluctantly, sending a glance back at Sango to try and gage what was going on.

“What do you want with the shell?” Sango asked, reaching into her pocked to pull out an explosive packet of poison and smoke.

“None of your business,” Kagura replied easily.

“How do I know you won’t kill us once you have it?”

“You don’t, and honestly, I’d be happy to see you and your oversized housecat dead. But you and I both know that you would try to fight back, and I don’t particularly feel like putting in a lot of effort for this one.”

Kirara had begun heading back and was tensed, poised to spring into action. Kohaku was struggling to stand behind Sango, so she stepped back so that she’s be able to grab onto the front of his robes. Kirara pounced towards them. Sango threw the ball of poison. And a powerful gust of wind ripped past them. It caught Kirara and flung her aside. The poison flew back over their heads and connected with a house behind them. Sango managed to snag a hand in Kohaku’s robes but then both of them were lifted into the air, flung upwards and slammed from side to side by the buffeting winds. Sango struggled to keep a hold of them, everything trying to drag them apart. Then the wind eased and they began to fall. Sango saw the blades shooting towards them and she dragged Kohaku to the side with all her strength. The blades passed a hair’s breadth past her face instead. Then another gale caught them, somehow pulling them in opposite directions, and Kohaku was wrenched from her grasp. There was fear in his eyes as he futilely reached out for her. Another blade was shooting towards him and there was nothing Sango could do to stop it.

The blade sliced past his neck, cutting through the twine string and ripping it and the shell free. Kohaku frantically tried to catch it but it was gone, flinging through the air and into Kagura’s hand. And then Sango and Kohaku were caught in another gust and flung even further away. Gradually the winds faded, and they began to fall once more. Sango reached out a hand and snagged hold of Kirara’s fur, pulling herself onto her back and holding on tight. Kirara veered around and ducked under Kohaku a heartbeat before he hit the ground. Sango pulled him into her arms and didn’t let go.

As Kirara landed, Sango caught sight of Kagura riding her feather away, a small, white-clad figure kneeling in front of her. Kagura looked over her shoulder and caught Sango’s eye, and sent her a pointed expression. She hadn’t killed any of them, even though they both knew that she would easily have been able to. In fact, it was probably more effort on her part to cut through the string around Kohaku’s neck without cutting him as well.

“The shell,” Kohaku was gasping, and he sounded distraught. “They have the shell!”

“What do you know about it?” Sango asked, bracing her hands on his shoulders and forcing him to look at her. “What will happen now that they have it?”

His eyes were wide and lost, and he shook his head slightly. “The cowrie shell born from a swallow. Once she has it, the seal will be broken.”

He spoke the words distantly, as though it wasn’t really him saying them. He squeezed his eyes shut and grasped his head with his hands, his expression twisting in pain. Sango sank to her knees and held him close.

“It’s okay,” she whispered. “Don’t push yourself. That’s plenty already.”

But she stared up in the direction that Kagura had gone. There was no question about it now – they would have to follow her and see what was going on. Hopefully Inuyasha and Miroku would be ready for a fight.

~*~

Inuyasha stalked through the field, turmoil in his mind. He didn’t know what to do. He’d been searching all day but there was no sign of Kagura anywhere. They’d gone as far as they could on Hachi, but it was almost impossible to track anyone through the air, and Miroku had been anxious to leave for his grandfather’s grave. So Inuyasha had been hunting through the area, finding absolutely nothing and becoming more and more certain that everything was going wrong in the world. He was sure that Kagura was up to something, and that this Kaguya demon would turn out to be a threat. And he didn’t feel like spending another year hunting down a different, all-powerful adversary, thank you very much.

But as certain as he was that he needed to track down Kagura and smash that golden mirror to pieces, he was also keenly aware of a different kind of urgency building in his gut. He and Miroku hadn’t been apart for more than a day since they first set out from Kaede’s some ten months ago, and his mind, heart, and youki were all loudly unhappy with the change. He was fully aware that later, once they settled down and stopped almost dying every other day, they would need to learn how to have personal space. He would need to be comfortable with spending a little time apart. But not now! Not when danger still lurked around every corner and he hadn’t even had a chance to properly tell Miroku that he wanted to spend the rest of their lives together! When he’d hugged Miroku goodbye, he’d had to force himself to let go. He’d stood watching Hachi disappear into the distance for far longer than he should have. He felt as though a large piece of himself had just slipped away, and he didn’t know what to do about it.

He was coming up on another human village but he didn’t care enough to avoid it. He was going to follow the direction that Kagura had gone in until something else popped up for him to follow. So he stalked through the narrow path between the houses, ignoring the startled shouts and deeply suspicious looks, kept his ears back and eyes down and hands curled at his sides. As much as he wanted to draw Tessaiga, he didn’t have time for a fight. He could see the flash of a spear in the corner of his eye, but he didn’t stop. The human hesitated, obviously not wanting to provoke this strange creature. Inuyasha passed through the village without incident.

He walked through a rice paddy without stopping. He cut through a forest and emerged into another grassy field. There were more humans up ahead, but he wasn’t about to stop to avoid them. There was a river coming up ahead, too wide to jump across easily, but there was a narrow bridge just in the direction he needed to go. There was a group of men standing between it and him, and they were shouting at one another, but he didn’t care.

“Hey, you!” one of the men shouted, pushing past one of the others to glare at Inuyasha. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Inuyasha eyed the man but didn’t slow down. He was dressed in cheap armour, as were his four companions. There was another man there, dressed in fine robes and hugging something to his chest, seemingly the target of the others. Whatever. Inuyasha shouldered past the man who approached him. The man’s hand clamped down on his shoulder.

“I don’t know what you are or where you think you’re going,” the man said in a low, dangerous voice. “But I’d suggest handing over your money and sword.”

Inuyasha bared his teeth, and his youki began to swirl around him. “Take that hand off me if you want to keep it.”

“Insolent whelp!” the man shouted, raising his own rusted sword. “What is it with everyone today? You and that other weakling have been giving us far too much trouble.”

Inuyasha spared a glance at the ‘other weakling.’ He was a fairly young man, eyes wide with fear. He had a sword at his hip, but he hadn’t reached for it. Instead he just hugged the cloth-wrapped parcel he carried and hunched his shoulders as though waiting for a blow. Inuyasha groaned loudly. A year ago, he wouldn’t have cared. But enough time with his stupid pack had infected him with stupid human morals, and now he couldn’t let this stupid traveller be beaten and robbed.

“Let us pass,” he growled at the thieves. “I’m not in the mood to argue. If you don’t step aside, I’ll kill you.”

“What?” one of the men snapped. “Now you’re trying to cheat us out of this guy’s goods as well? The balls you must have to-”

“Please!” the traveller wailed, trying to twist out of the grasp of the thieve that had seized his arm. “My mission is of the utmost importance! You must have seen the full moon! If I don’t hurry, terrible calamity will befall this land!”

Inuyasha stared at him. Well, that made things either way simpler or way more complicated. The man behind him swung his sword. Inuyasha stepped forward, let the blade snap clean off on his right arm and punched the man out cold. The other thieves shouted and rushed at him, but a swift kick to the face for each of them had them lying on the ground. Inuyasha stalked up to the traveller, who leaned away from him as he approached but didn’t try to run.

“M-my thanks, good sir,” the man stuttered, obviously terrified. “I am in your debt.”

“What was that about the full moon?” Inuyasha asked, dragging the man closer by a fist in his robes. “What do you know about it?”

“My mission must be kept strictly secret,” the man said, and he looked almost apologetic. “I’m afraid that I cannot-”

“Shut it,” Inuyasha hissed. “You say there’s a demon causing this full moon? I know about her. What I don’t know is what some skinny rich kid thinks he can do to stop her from breaking free, so why don’t you enlighten me?”

“What on earth do you mean, breaking free?” the man asked in a terrified voice. “Princess Kaguya left hundreds of years ago!”

“Kaguya?” Inuyasha exclaimed. “Wait, that’s who’s causing the full moon?” But Miroku had said that it was whatever demon his grandfather had sealed away that was causing it! Could they be one and the same? Well, that made things easier, he supposed, but it also meant that things were far more complex than he’d been anticipating. “Come on,” he said, grabbing the man by the arm and dragging him across the bridge, away from the unconscious thieves. “You and I need to have a conversation.” He shoved the man down onto a fallen log by a cluster of trees. “Speak.”

“It’s a bit of a long story,” the man said, reaching into the carrying cloth tied over his back. “A token of my appreciation to enjoy while I share it.”

He placed a large orange into Inuyasha’s hands. Inuyasha stared at him for a moment, then reluctantly sat down and began to peel the fruit. “Spit it out, then.”

“Are you familiar with the legend of Princess Kaguya?” the man asked in a reverent tone.

“Assume that I’m not.”

“Well, if you were, then you would know that it’s impossible for her to be breaking free. And she’s not some demon, she’s a god! The Goddess of Eternal Night!”

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes before popping an orange slice into his mouth. “Go on.”

The man shifted uncomfortably. “Look, I’m really not supposed to-”

“What’s your name?” Inuyasha snapped.

“Hojo,” the man said reluctantly. “Hojo Akitoki.”

“Hojo, I’m Inuyasha. I’ve had a long day and I am not in the mood to ask again. A demon is behind the full moons. If it is Kaguya, she’s trapped in a mirror and about to break free. I don’t know what she’s planning once she’s out, but I’m betting it won’t be good.”

“It can’t be her,” Hojo insisted quietly. “Kaguya came to the earth in the form of a human baby and emerged from a stalk of bamboo that a man cut open. She was raised by him and his wife, and they say that she was the most beautiful woman to have ever lived. She had hundreds of suitors, but she didn’t care for any of them. Five were of high enough status that she couldn’t simply reject them, so she sent each of them on an impossible task, to find an item that either didn’t exist, or was lost forever. The items were a jewelled sprig from Horai Island, a robe woven from the fur of the Fire Rat, a stone bowl used by Buddha himself, a crystal found in a dragon’s neck, and a cowrie shell born from a swallow. Of course, none of the men could find the items, so she was able to successfully reject them all.”

“Get to the relevant bit,” Inuyasha hissed impatiently.

“The Emperor was the next to propose, but Kaguya rejected him, because she knew that she would have to return to the moon. The Emperor tried to force her to stay, but her attendants came down from the heavens and put everyone to sleep. They shrouded Kaguya in a feathered celestial robe, and it made her forget all of her love for humanity. With her ties to this world severed, she was free to return to the moon. The only things she left behind were a message for the Emperor, an elixir of immortality for him, and her celestial robe.”

Hojo pulled at the strings tying together the cloth bundle, to reveal a cloak made entirely from feathers. They were a mixture of black and white, a line of the opposite colour framing the outside of each individual feather. They shone brightly in the light.

“The robe was entrusted to the Hojo family almost fifty years ago. Our family cherished it, and it was said to bring good fortune, but it came with a warning. A high-ranking monk told my grandfather that if there came a time of a nightly full moon, the robe must be thrown into the crater of the same mountain where the Emperor cast the elixir of immortality – Mount Fuji. Otherwise, great calamity will fall upon this land. And last night, there was a full moon when there shouldn’t have been. So I must get to Mount Fuji as soon as possible and destroy the robe!”

“Suppose this is true,” Inuyasha said, crossing his arms. “And Kaguya really did go back to the moon. What kind of calamity is supposed to happen?”

“I’m not sure.”

“And what if she didn’t go back? What then?”

Hojo frowned deeply. “I can’t believe that the story would be wrong. Kaguya was only ever meant to come here for a short time! She always needed to return to the moon!”

“Well, there’s someone who’s calling herself Kaguya now, and she’s trying to break free from the mirror she was sealed in. I’m guessing she’s a demon, and she’s looking for all the five items. She’s already got the robe of the Fire Rat. She’ll probably be coming after the celestial robe as well.”

“Could she be the calamity that the monk spoke of?” Hojo asked quietly, his fingers grasping the robe. “Could she be the one causing the nightly full moon?”

“I don’t know,” Inuyasha sighed. “If that’s all it was then I wouldn’t have a problem with it – hell, I’d be glad for the moon to stop waning all the time! But the Kaguya I met is mixed up with some dangerous people, and I’m not willing to wait and see what she has planned.” He pushed to his feet and popped the rest of the orange slices into his mouth. “That’s why I’m gonna help you get to Mount Fuji and destroy this stupid robe.”

“Are you serious?” Hojo asked, jumping to his feet. “Oh, thank you, thank you! You’ve saved my life once already, and now- How can I ever repay you?”

“You can start by shutting up and walking fast. We have a lot of ground to cover.”

~*~

She walked along the abandoned forest path, through the twisting branches of the dead trees. So much destruction, so much loss of life, and yet Naraku was nowhere to be seen. His presence had entirely vanished. Had he truly died? It didn’t make sense. She knew that the strands of fate had bound them together. Ever since her first decision to save his life all those years ago, she had known that Naraku would be haunting her forever. Now, with the insight that only the dead could achieve, she knew that Naraku was hers to kill.

A soul collector flew to her outstretched hand, its silent voice speaking to her in a hushed whisper. There was death nearby. Death that spoke of a fruitless search, the start of an awakening. They both looked up at the moonlit sky, the second in a row.

The soul collector wound around her waist and lifted her into the air. A dozen more appeared to do the same. They carried her through the night, from this patch of death to another, reaching for the dawn. They set her down on the outskirts of a small village. She could already see the bodies. Though the demons were long gone, she could feel the remnants of their presence. What had they been searching for? None of the bodies had been eaten – this couldn’t be a hunt for food. Even the children had been slain. It was methodical in a way that could only mean that they were being controlled.

She walked through the houses, empty except for the bodies. Some two hundred had been slain. No dead demons. No human survivors. A massacre. Crows were picking at the corpses. She could see the shrine looming before her, through the early morning mist. Most of the dead were scattered around it, possibly having fled there for protection. It had not served them well. As she walked past, movement caught her eye. A young girl, perhaps ten years old, lay at the top of the stone steps leading up to the shrine. Her pink robes were covered in blood. But she lifted her head and looked up at Kikyo with sunken eyes.

Kikyo rushed to her side. She could already see the soul leaking from the child’s body. It was far too late for her.

“Tell me what happened here,” she whispered.

“Many demons,” the girl gasped, struggling for breath. “They killed…everyone.”

“Do you know why?”

“Here.” The girl struggled to pull something out from under her body, from where it had been cradled against her chest. It was wrapped in a cloth, stained red. “The priest told me to protect it. The Stone Bowl of Buddha. It’s what they wanted…”

Kikyo took it carefully, peeled away the cloth to reveal a roughly made bowl. “Are you sure you want to give it to me?”

“You’re a priestess, aren’t you?” the girl asked faintly, and her head fell until her cheek rested on the ground. “Guard it well.”

Her eyes slipped shut. She was almost gone already. Kikyo sat beside her until there was nothing left. Then she stood, and walked away.

~*~

Miroku only knew the vague location of the village that his grandfather had stated in his testament, but seeing as he had died there, there would be a fairly obvious marker. Sure enough, as Hachi passed over the rice fields and a small collection of houses, in the middle of a grassy field beyond, there was a large circular crater formed in the ground. It was the exact same hole that marked his father’s grave. It was what had been left behind after Ruri had been sucked into her wind tunnel as well. And it was the grave that, until only a few nights ago, Miroku had expected to end up in someday.

Hachi touched down in the field and transformed down to follow Miroku to the edge of the hole. Miroku stood at the lip for a long while, looking down at the stone marker placed in the center of the crater. There were flowers left there. It was surprising. No one had ever tended his father’s grave except for him and Mushin. It was comforting, in a way, to know that his grandfather hadn’t been forgotten. Miroku knelt down and said a quick prayer. And then he whispered to his grandfather that he had done it – Naraku was dead. He could rest in peace, knowing that his cursed line had been saved.

What he didn’t say was that he wasn’t sure what would come of it. As far as he knew, this family line would still be over. He’d always wanted children, even if he had refused to pass on the curse. He’d convinced himself that they would be a reward for having destroyed Naraku, along with his wife and home. But now that he had Inuyasha, all that had changed. He had all he needed, a family of his own making even if it wasn’t what his father or grandfather would have wanted. And it made his heart ache to have disappointed them in this, but gradually he was coming to understand that he wasn’t living for them. He doubted that they would be pleased with him spending his life with a half-demon, but so be it. He loved Inuyasha and he would never let him go.

“Excuse me, young monk,” a voice came from behind him. Miroku spun around to see an old man, stooped and withered with age, holding a small collection of flowers identical to the ones resting on his grandfather’s grave. “Did you know Master Miyatsu?”

“He was my grandfather,” Miroku said hesitantly.

“Ha!” the old man laughed, smiling. “Somehow I’m not surprised, though he never mentioned that he had children. He lived here for a few years, you know. My village is forever indebted to him.”

“How so?” Miroku asked, and the old man’s face fell.

“Perhaps we’d better head inside.”

Miroku placed the flowers on the grave for the headman, since it was a difficult climb for him, and then followed him back to his house. Several people emerged through the village to see what was going on, and the headman announced that this young monk was a descendent of Miyatsu. The people’s faces lit up and they called out words of encouragement to Miroku. They seemed less sure of Hachi, but the tanuki stuck close.

“Now then,” the headman said, pouring Miroku a cup of tea. “There is a story that has been told again and again in my village, ever since it happened some fifty years ago. A celestial maiden was passing through the forest on the outskirts of our village. One night, as she was bathing in a spring, a man who saw her stole the celestial robe that she had left hanging on a tree branch nearby. The maiden was furious and flew into a rage, and she began slaying one innocent villager after another. Many tried to stop her but none succeeded, until Master Miyatsu happened to pass by. He led a group of monks and priests and drove the evil maiden away. They pursued her for many days and nights, and eventually they managed to bind her inside a mirror. They sealed her away in a cave near Mount Fuji.”

“Interesting,” Miroku said quietly. “I was left a message by my grandfather, but he said that she was a demon, not a celestial maiden.”

“I could not say,” the old man shook his head. “The story has changed many times over the years. Some say she was a celestial maiden, others say she was a goddess from heaven. Others say she had the power to create enteral night, yet others claim she could grant any wish. I was only a young boy when it happened, so I do not know. But if Master Miyatsu said that she was a demon, then that’s what she was.”

“And what about the celestial robe?” Miroku asked. “What happened to it?”

“No one knows. I believe Master Miyatsu may have destroyed it, for it was never seen again. Even if she was a demon, and not a celestial maiden, the robe was genuine.”

Miroku bowed. “Thank you for telling me this, headman.”

But his mind was whirling. A demon sealed away in a mirror. Could it be the demon that had attacked him and Inuyasha? Was it possible that she had been the one his grandfather had warned him about? She did seem to recognize him, with her vague threat of unfinished business. And this demon claimed to be Kaguya. Had she been posing as a celestial maiden then, too? And the celestial robe… Miroku shut his eyes, thinking. The Kaguya that had faced them had been after the robe of the Fire Rat, one of five treasures from the legend. Princess Kaguya of that legend had a celestial robe, just as this demon of his grandfather’s had had. It was what had allowed her to shed her mortal form and return to the moon. If this demon Kaguya found it, then it would grand her immeasurable powers. Or… It was almost impossible to believe, but what if this really was Kaguya? Miroku shook his head – Kaguya loved humanity. Why would she have killed innocent people? And how would she even have been still walking the earth fifty years ago, when she was supposed to have returned to the moon centuries earlier?

It didn’t matter, either way. It was too much of a coincidence for the two demons sealed away in mirrors to not be related. That meant that Kagura was busy helping the fearsome demon that his grandfather had faced, and Miroku had to stop her. He needed to find Inuyasha, find the celestial robe, and stop this false Kaguya from breaking free.

~*~

They stopped in the middle of Lake Saiko, and Kagura dropped the shell into the water. She watched the blue flash and sighed. “Four down.”

“Time has passed swiftly, as I have waited to see this shell you promised,” Kanna whispered. “They say that I wait in vain. Now could this be truly so?”

“When exactly did Naraku let you learn all this poetry?” Kagura asked her dryly.

“Now the Stone Bowl of Buddha,” Kaguya said instead. “And then I will be free.”

“But we have no idea where it is,” Kagura pointed out. “None of the demons could find it.”

And though she didn’t say it, she was getting sick of this treasure hunt. She was wasting her time and starting fights she didn’t want for a vague promise of freedom that she was pretty sure she already had! One more day of this nonsense and she would be done.

“Meet with them and tell them to expand the search,” Kaguya ordered.

Kagura ground her teeth but took off, heading towards the forest where she’d summoned the demons to begin with. It was close to where Naraku had last been hiding, so she’d have to make sure that none of those nosy wolves caught her scent. She wasn’t in the mood for another fight.

She passed by the mountains and set down in a forest. She sent out the signal for the demons to come find her, and then sat down heavily on a log. She was exhausted. Kaguya had been demanding that they search non-stop for these stupid items, and it had been days since she’d slept. She’d thought that her freedom would be marked with a month of taking what she wanted and killing whoever she pleased, but now it felt like the first order of business would be to sleep for a season at least.

A demon approached, but it wasn’t one of hers. It was a long, white serpentine creature with six insect-like legs and fins like a fish. It swirled around her head and then turned back and disappeared in the direction it had come from. Odd. Kagura waited to see what would happen next. Soon, more appeared, followed by a human figure. Kagura recognized her at once. She stood, raising her fan.

“Kikyo,” she called out. “It’s good to finally meet you properly. You look as gloomy as usual.”

“Kagura,” Kikyo greeted coolly. “Is this all Naraku’s doing?”

Kagura snorted. “What, that rotting corpse? Please.”

“He’s dead?” She didn’t sound surprised, more disbelieving. Like she knew it couldn’t be true.

“Dead and gone. I’m working towards my own interests, now.”

“Indeed,” Kikyo said dryly, pulling something from her robes and inspecting it. “And what interest could you have in the Stone Bowl of Buddha?”

Kagura raised her hand. “Give it here!”

“Gladly,” Kikyo said, holding it out for her to take.

Kagura frowned. What, just like that? She glanced behind her at where Kanna still stood with the two mirrors. Kaguya was watching. Kagura walked tentatively towards the priestess, eyeing her the whole time. Kikyo didn’t move. But when Kagura tried to take the bowl, her hand tightened around it and refused to let go.

“This person you work for,” Kikyo whispered, and Kagura suddenly realized that she was trying to ensure that Kaguya couldn’t hear. “What is it she is after?”

“None of your business,” Kagura said, reaching for the bowl once more.

“I believe it is. And I don’t believe that you wish to bind yourself to another master, Kagura.”

“That’s not what’s happening now!” Kagura snapped.

“No?” She sounded amused. “A young girl gave her life to entrust me with this bowl. I will not give it away lightly. But tell me where this person will go once she’s free, and it is yours. I will see to it that you are not bound to her for any longer.”

Kagura glanced behind her once more. “Once I break the seal, she’s going to be looking for a celestial robe. She didn’t say what she needs it for, but if you find it, you’ll find her.”

“Excellent,” Kikyo smiled, and this time she didn’t resist when Kagura grasped the bowl. “A deal is a deal.”

She began to walk past Kagura, towards where Kanna stood. She moved on without so much as glancing at the golden mirror. Kagura felt a chill run down her spine – what a creepy woman! But then again, if she was planning on killing Kaguya, all the better for it. So long as Kagura got the freedom promised to her, she didn’t care what happened next.

She dropped the bowl into Lake Kawaguchi, and watched as the last of the five items disappeared into the last of the Five Lakes of Mount Fuji. A yellow flash spread across the lake, and as it faded, Kanna’s voice whispered “I hoped to find the gleam of the fallen dew, but nothing I can see. So why did you go yonder to the Mount of Ogura?”

A white light burst from the golden mirror. The five symbols etched around its frame glowed in their respective colours and then melted away. The fine intersecting lines shone brightly before they began to dissolve in the mirror’s surface. The light seemed to condense and then it emerged from the mirror in a solid orb, floated away and then formed into the body of a woman floating in the air. She was tall and regal, wearing a long purple robe with her loose hair flowing in the breeze. Her large, deep blue eyes were solemn, and her pale skin seemed to glow with an inner light. Kagura felt the wave of sheer, raw power flowing from her and she knew at once that this was no demon, as she’d initially thought. Kaguya looked up at the full moon and she smiled.

“There, you’re free,” Kagura said. “I’ve kept my promise, now grant me my wish. Give me this true freedom you speak of.”

Kaguya glanced at her, and she was struck by the confident, experienced wisdom she could see in her eyes. It was a look that came from centuries of having observed the world, a depth of knowledge that no mortal could ever attain.

“I will grant your wish, but not yet,” Kaguya smiled. “There is one more thing I require of you.”

“You want your robe?” A nod. “Then get it yourself! You’re free now!”

“I will not be truly free until I have my robe,” Kaguya said stiffly. “And that means, neither will you.”

She took off, flying easily through the air, and Kagura had no choice but to follow. Kanna didn’t seem surprised at the turn of events, but then again, she may not be capable of feeling surprise. Kagura, on the other hand, had the distinctive feeling that she may have just ruined everything. All she could hope was that they would be able to find the robe before Kikyo did. Kaguya had better grant her wish by then.

~*~

Hojo was sleeping soundly beside him, but Inuyasha could only stare up at the full moon, listening to the gentle lapping of the water in the nearby pond. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to settle down until this stupid robe was burned. Or, if he was honest with himself, until Miroku was back in his arms. This new demon showed that, even with Naraku gone, their lives wouldn’t necessarily be easy. He wished they could just ignore the world for a while, let it sort itself out and leave them alone. But he knew it couldn’t be. The full moon was up there mocking him, tantalizing him with the promise of never having to turn mortal again. No more nights of vulnerability. No more fights he would have to sit out, fewer chances for his pack to get hurt or killed while he sat around being a useless weakling.

His conversation with Miroku by the temple flitted unbidden into his mind. Did he still really want to become a full demon? He didn’t know. It wasn’t that he wanted to be a demon just to be a demon – just like how he’d slowly come to accept that being a hanyou wasn’t bad just because he was a hanyou. But demons were stronger. He’d seen that first-hand when he’d transformed. If he could harness that power safely, use it to protect his pack… Because that was what he truly wanted. He just wanted to be able to keep Miroku safe, and Sango and Kirara and Shippo. If there was some way to be able to do that without becoming a full demon, he supposed he would do that instead. But there wasn’t one. Using the Jewel, becoming a real, pure dog demon in a safe way that he could control was the only way to get what he needed.

But Miroku had said over and over that he didn’t want Inuyasha to become a full demon. It wasn’t so much that he was afraid that Miroku would reject him if he did change for good. The monk had stuck with him this far, after all. But Miroku knew him in a way that no one ever had before. If he didn’t think that he needed to transform, then… Inuyasha sighed. He knew that he didn’t have much to offer. He had no place to call home, no money to keep them going and no real way to get it without Miroku’s people skills. Being able to protect his partner was all he could really do, all he was good for. So however he was able to do that, it would have to be enough.

And then he caught the scent in the air. Naraku – which meant Kagura and Kanna, most likely – and different, unfamiliar scent. He pushed to his feet, a hand already on Tessaiga’s hilt. There was something else as well, a strange floral scent. He realized that it was cherry blossoms. One of the trees beside him had opened all its blossoms, even though they had barely begun emerging when he and Hojo had settled down for the night. Now they were falling around him, being stirred by the gentle breeze, glinting in the light of the full moon. The smell was growing as well, overpowering everything else.

“The time has now come,” a quiet voice drifted over the water of the pond. “Behold the robe from heaven to drape upon my shoulders, and for you, it is but a deep sadness that I feel.”

“Who’s there?” Inuyasha snarled, drawing his sword, though he could guess.

A perfect circle of light shone from across the pond, reflecting the light of the moon. A gust of wind sent the cherry blossoms swirling around it, and then there she was. Kaguya had broken free.

“Thanks for saving me the trouble of hunting you down,” Inuyasha grumbled, stepping between her and Hojo.

“You again?” Kaguya sighed. “What luck I have. Where is my celestial robe?”

He saw her eyes lock onto Hojo. He heard the man’s heartbeat jump. Inuyasha leapt at her, swinging Tessaiga. “No way!”

He hurled the Wind Scar at her, mildly surprised that Kagura hadn’t appeared to block it from forming. But as the six lines of power raced for her, Kaguya lifted a finger, and the attack dissipated into nothingness. Inuyasha froze in shock – she hadn’t even had to move, hadn’t even put up a barrier or blocked the attack! How the hell was he supposed to fight her?

But then something wound around his middle and yanked him backwards, and he collided with the trunk of the cherry tree. Roots and branches sprang up all around him, winding around him like ropes and tying him tight. Inuyasha snarled and thrashed – he did not have good memories of being imprisoned by plants – but for some reason, he couldn’t break free. The branches had bound his wrists so that he couldn’t claw them apart, and pressed tightly across his throat. His youki flared around him, trying to burn through the wood, but it glowed with a strange white light and didn’t so much as singe.

“Inuyasha?” Hojo asked, cradling the celestial robe to his chest and staring at him with wide eyes.

“You idiot!” Inuyasha snapped. “Run!”

Kaguya chuckled. “Only a half-demon. I can still grant your wish, if you so desire.”

Inuyasha growled and increased his struggles, sending out wave after wave of power. He managed to twist one hand around to claw at the branches, breaking a few of them in two. Kaguya tutted.

“What a pity,” she muttered, and raised her mirror.

Bolts of pure energy shot from the branches and crackled along his body in burning agony. Inuyasha cried out, his vision whiting out before it flashed red and stayed there. The attack only lasted for a moment, but it left him gasping raggedly for air and unable to see anything, his entire body writhing in pain. He could hear someone shouting at him, thought it was Hojo.

“Yes, there it is,” Kaguya’s voice rang in his mind. “Now, give me the robe.”

Inuyasha snarled, breathing heavily. He could feel himself losing control, bound and unable to even fight back. He saw Kaguya walking towards Hojo and he shouted a protest, his heightening strength allowing him to work one of his arms free. Kaguya’s eyes flashed to him and she frowned, and she lifted her mirror again.

And then Miroku flung himself off Hachi’s back and slammed a barrier into life as he landed in front of Inuyasha. The bolts of energy that had been racing across the ground crackled across the spiritual shield instead, quickly eating through it. But Miroku didn’t stop there. He spun around, the head of his staff glowing brightly in the darkness, and cut through branch after branch, freeing Inuyasha piece by piece.

“Monk,” Kaguya said, low and dangerous. “Why do you insist on denying me my freedom once more? Why can you not let me leave?”

“Kaguya,” Miroku said, whipping around to face her. “I know what my grandfather did to you, and I am prepared to seal you right back in that mirror if you try to kill anyone else. But if you truly are the goddess of legend, and you want to go back to the moon, then I will not stop you!”

“Lies!” she hissed, and a long spear with a crescent-moon blade at the end materialized in her hand.

Inuyasha thrashed, struggling to tear away the last of the branches holding him. His wounds from Kagura’s blades, which were not yet completely healed, split open and began bleeding anew from his violent movements. Kaguya saw one of the branches beginning to crack and called in more to take the place of the ones Miroku had cut through. Miroku raised his staff, but made no move to attack.

“How could you be the real Kaguya?” he asked. “She returned to the moon hundreds of years ago!”

Kaguya shouted angrily and threw herself at him. Miroku tried to block the blow of her spear but the impact threw him far into the air. He connected hard with the trunk of one of the nearby trees and slumped to the ground. Inuyasha roared, his eyes bleeding red. More branches circled around him, one cutting harshly across his throat. Kaguya was walking towards the monk, raising her spear. And then an arrow shot into the crescent blade, glancing off it with a burst of spiritual power. Kaguya stopped and glanced in the direction the arrow had come from.

“A sacred arrow?” she murmured. “How interesting.”

“Kaguya,” Kikyo’s voice called out as she emerged from the darkness, another arrow notched. “Stand down. You are making a mistake.”

“And who are you, to make such claims?” Kaguya asked dryly, turning fully to face her. Behind her, Miroku slowly pushed to his feet, still dazed and gasping for breath, and started to make his way back to Inuyasha.

“I know Naraku,” Kikyo said. “Better than any other, I would say. I know that his incarnations cannot be helping you out of the goodness of their hearts.”

Kaguya’s eyes narrowed. “Are you here to aid me, or hinder me?”

“Neither. I am here to discover the truth. Now, release Inuyasha.”

“You have given me no reason to.”

“Is my arrow not reason enough?” Kikyo asked, pulling it taught.

Kaguya smiled, but didn’t move. Kikyo began walking carefully around to the cherry tree, keeping her arrow trained on Kaguya the entire time. Inuyasha was panting heavily, a combination of the branch pressing against his throat and his youki struggling to break free. His claws dug gouges into the trunk as his eyes fixed on Miroku. The monk was leaning against his staff, a hand wrapped around his middle, but he had almost reached the tree. Hojo stood frozen beside it, still grasping onto the celestial robe as he watched the proceedings with wide eyes.

“Tell me what you intend to do once he is free,” Kaguya said to Kikyo calmly. “Will you prevent me from accomplishing my goal?”

“Perhaps,” Kikyo said evenly. “I do not yet know all that is in place.”

“You realize that I will kill you if you try.”

“You realize that you will have to be creative in doing so. It is difficult to kill the dead.”

“Do you think a god could not do so?”

“I have no doubt that you could.”

Several things happened at once. Hojo let out a cry of protest at the indication that the woman before them was a god. Miroku reached the cherry tree and raised his staff, ready to cut through the remaining branches. Kaguya saw this and raised her spear. Kikyo fired. In a flash, it was not the spear in Kaguya’s hand, but the golden mirror. The arrow shot towards the mirror and disappeared into it with a burst of white light. The mirror began to shake. Kikyo’s eyes widened. The arrow re-emerged, having turned completely around, and shot towards Inuyasha. He snarled, his youki flaring. Miroku flung himself forward, and the arrow struck him in the back instead. Inuyasha roared.

“You do realize what you have done,” Kikyo’s voice cut coolly through the mayhem.

Kaguya sighed lightly. “I must be falling out of touch with mortals. This is why I must have my robe. It is past time for me to take my leave.”

Hojo began scrambling away, making for the comparative safety of Kikyo. Kaguya watched him thoughtfully, lifted her spear. Kikyo’s hand darted out and grasped the bundle from his arms, revealing the robe in the moonlight.

“You cannot return yet.”

Kaguya glared. “And you think you can stop me?”

She held up her mirror, which had begun to glow white once more. The robe lifted into the air, the feathers beginning to glow as they were pulled with increasing power towards the mirror. But Kikyo refused to let go. Gradually she was lifted off her feet, and as she wrapped her hands tighter around the robe, both it and she disappeared into the mirror.

“What trouble,” Kaguya sighed, and turned to Inuyasha. “I do regret the pain that I have caused you. I have no quarrel with you. If you so desire it, I will grant your wish.”

Inuyasha thrashed and snarled, muscles straining to the breaking point against the branches holding him. “Let me go! Let me go!”

She nodded almost imperceptibly. “As you wish.”

The branches and roots disappeared as quickly as they emerged. Inuyasha dropped to the ground and immediately his hands were on Miroku, frantically searching out the wound. His eyes snapped up to Kaguya, glowing red, and he howled. She lifted her mirror and he flung himself towards her, but white light flashed around her and suddenly she and the mirror were gone. Inuyasha was left snarling at nothing but air, his youki clawing at his skin.

“Inuyasha,” Miroku gasped, pushing himself up slightly.

Inuyasha spun around and raced back to his side. He had almost completely transformed, his claws and fangs extended and purple markings painting his cheeks.

“Hey,” Miroku rasped, holding out a hand. “Come here.”

Inuyasha wrapped his arms around the monk, holding him with bruising strength as his ragged pants filled the air.

“Come back, now,” Miroku breathed, cupping his cheek with one hand. “You have to come back to me. I need you here.”

Inuyasha made a pained, keening whine and squeeze his eyes shut, struggling to maintain control. He tried desperately to block out the outside world and tried to focus on Miroku’s scent, his heartbeat, the warmth of his arms and the fact that he was here. But the smell of pain and blood and the knowledge that he had just watched his partner get shot right in front of him kept any semblance of calm from finding him. But with Miroku’s soothing words and the hand rubbing circles along his back slowly forced him to realize that the human who was currently bleeding out was putting his energy into making sure he didn’t transform, so the least he could do was pull himself together enough to help. So he pulled back and shifted Miroku in his arms to get a good look at his wound.

Despite the blood slowly spreading across the purple robes, it wasn’t as bad as he’d feared. The arrow had struck Miroku’s right shoulder blade, and though it had pierced through bone, it hadn’t gone in as deeply as it could have. The majority of the shaft was still visible, which meant that it hadn’t gone straight through his lung. Inuyasha almost sobbed as he realized that he hadn’t just watched Miroku receive a killing blow – although, the severity of the wound might still prove fatal.

“Can you sit up?” Inuyasha asked, struggling to speak around the elongated fangs and the whirlwind in his mind. “We need to get the arrow out.”

He carefully maneuvered Miroku until he was propped up against the tree, petals from the cherry blossoms still occasionally drifting down around them. The monk was terrifyingly pale, and slight tremors were running through his body.

“Kikyo,” he gasped. “She got Kikyo.”

“I know,” Inuyasha said tightly, pulling the bandages and thread from Miroku’s robes.

“You have to go after her.”

“I have to make sure you’re okay first,” Inuyasha snapped, harsher than he’d been intending. “Besides, I don’t even know where Kaguya took her!”

“I might be able to help with that,” a voice said beside them.

Inuyasha whipped around with a snarl, but it was only Hojo and Hachi, both crouching beside them, looking worried.

“There’s an old legend,” Hojo continued. “That on the night of the full moon, the reflection of Kaguya’s castle can be seen in the Five Lakes of Mount Fuji, to reflect all that the Emperor offered her to try and get her to stay. It’s where she supposedly went before returning to the moon, as well.”

“She was sealed there as well,” Miroku said, grasping Inuyasha’s arm. “This Kaguya. My grandfather was one of the party who bound her to the mirror. I still don’t know if she’s truly a demon or not, but she’ll be going back there to use the robe. We need to-”

“We’re not doing anything,” Inuyasha interrupted. “I’ll go after her, and I’ll burn the damn robe myself if I have to. You’re going back to Kaede’s and meeting up with Sango. You’re going to hell her what’s going on and you’re going to stay there while she and Kirara come.”

“Inuyasha…”

“No! I’m not letting you fight when you’re already hurt! Not when you got shot-”

His voice died and he squeezed his eyes shut, his hands clenching around Miroku’s arms.

“I did what I had to,” Miroku whispered soothingly.

“You could have died! An arrow can hurt you so much more than anything it could do to me. You should have just let me take it!”

“I won’t,” Miroku breathed, meeting his gaze with startling intensity. “I will never let you get hurt if I can help it. You’re always throwing yourself in front of danger to protect me. How could I not do the same?”

Inuyasha growled fiercely. “It’s not the same! I heal! I can survive more!”

“And if you had been struck, you might have transformed completely,” Miroku said gently. “And I might not have been able to get you back.”

Inuyasha pressed their brows together and a frustrated sob ripped from his throat.

“Come on, love,” Miroku whispered, cradling the back of his head. “Let’s get this arrow out and then you can go after Kaguya.”

Inuyasha blinked away the stinging in his eyes and looked over the wound once more. “I don’t know how to get at it easily. Should I break part of it off to take off your robes? I don’t think I can get them off around the end of the arrow.”

“Pull it out first, then take off the robes,” Miroku said quietly. “You’ll need to stitch it quickly. The spiritual energy should prevent any infection from taking hold.”

“Yeah, try telling that to Kaede,” Inuyasha muttered, threading the needle and arranging the bandages. “See how fast she insists on redoing everything so she can cleanse it properly.”

He eased Miroku forward so that one hand was braced across his stomach and the other grasped the arrow.

“You ready?”

Miroku nodded, taking slow, deep breaths.

Inuyasha ripped out the arrow with a strong tug and then immediately began stripping off Miroku’s robes as fresh blood poured from the wound. He’d never actually had to stitch a wound before, seeing and Miroku or Sango usually did it, but he’d watched them enough times that he knew what to do. But at the prospect of sticking a needle through his partner’s skin, he hesitated and his youki flashed. But he knew that Miroku was counting on him, so he grit his teeth and set to work.

Miroku didn’t make a sound as Inuyasha poked and prodded at the wound, just rested his head against Inuyasha’s thigh and concentrated on breathing. When Inuyasha tied off the stitches and grabbed the bandages, Hachi helped hold Miroku up while Inuyasha wound the strips of fabric around his chest and over his shoulder again and again. By the end of it, Miroku was shaking slightly and had grown even paler.

“Maybe I should go with you to Kaede’s,” Inuyasha said hesitantly, brushing a hand down Miroku’s cheek.

“I’ll be fine,” Miroku promised. “I’ll have Hachi with me, and you need to get going.”

Inuyasha eyed him, biting his lip, but in the end he couldn’t argue. Instead he brought Miroku in for a long, deep kiss and then just breathed him in for a moment.

“Please be okay,” he whispered. “I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

“I love you.”

“Fuck, Miroku. I love you, too.”

“If she is a demon, she’ll have to be sealed back in the mirror,” Miroku warned him. “We can’t let her use the robe. Apparently she slaughtered most of a village the last time someone pissed her off. I can’t imagine what she’d do with the power of a celestial item.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Inuyasha said. “You just focus on yourself.”

He eased Miroku back to a sitting position and then forced himself to take a few steps back. He stared at his partner for just a little longer, trying to convince himself that leaving him behind was the right thing to do, and then took off in the direction of Mount Fuji. Miroku watched him go.

“Are you alright?” the strange man next to him asked awkwardly. “Do you need anything?”

“I’m fine,” Miroku said, pushing slowly to his feet. “And you are?”

“Hojo Akitoki. My family had the celestial robe.”

“Ah, excellent.”

Hojo’s expression twisted slightly. “Would you mind telling me exactly what’s going on here? I’m afraid I’m a little lost.”

“Come on,” Miroku said. “I’ll explain on the way.”

“The way?” Hojo echoed. “Am I going with you to this Kaede’s place?”

“No,” Miroku smiled ruefully. “We’re going to Mount Fuji.”

“Knew it,” Hachi muttered, crossing his arms.

“Don’t worry, Hachi,” Miroku said with forced cheerfulness. “All you have to do is drop me off. I don’t expect you to do any fighting.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about!” Hachi exclaimed, then paused. “Well, that too. But Inuyasha’s right! You’re on no state to be gallivanting off after some demon!”

“Well, I’ll be gallivanting whether you help me or not,” Miroku shrugged with one shoulder. “It’ll just be significantly safer with you.”

Hachi heaved a deep sigh. “If Inuyasha asks, you forced me into this.”

“Of course.”

Hojo looked startled when Hachi transformed, but he still helped Miroku onto the tanuki’s back before climbing up himself. He gasped when Hachi took off, and then was enraptured by the sight of the land passing by below them as they soared through the air. He told Miroku about the celestial robe in his family and the words from the monk that had given it to them.

“That may have been my grandfather,” Miroku said, frowning. “Though I’m beginning to wonder what his role was in all of this. Was he certain that this Kaguya is a demon?”

“He never said anything about the robe belonging to a demon, as far as I’m aware,” Hojo said. “Would it have been possible for a demon to have stolen the celestial robe from Kaguya and used its power?”

“Perhaps. I don’t know. If that’s the case, then I imagine that’s what she’s trying to do now.”

It was almost dawn when they set off. Miroku knew that it would take them a good portion of the day to reach Mount Fuji, even with Hachi’s speed. All he could hope was that Kaguya hadn’t made it back to her castle yet. He suspected that, with all the emphasis on eternal nights and the full moon, she wouldn’t be able to enact whatever ceremony she needed until after dark. They may yet have the chance to stop her.

Mount Fuji loomed in the distance, growing closer all the time. Already, he could see the hint of the Five Lakes. Miroku closed his eyes and let the time slip away, concentrating on centering himself and gathering his strength. He knew that following after Inuyasha possibly wasn’t the wisest decision he’d ever made, but if Kaguya needed to be sealed away again, he might be the only one who could do it. Hopefully with his and Kikyo’s powers combined after they rescued her, it would be enough.

“Monk?” Hojo’s voice asked quietly beside him some time later. “Miroku, right?”

“That’s right,” he said, opening his eyes and looking at the young man.

“Are you sure you’re alright? You look a little…not alright.”

Miroku smiled tiredly. “I’m fine. I’ve done this kind of thing before.”

“That doesn’t make it better!” Hachi’s voice interjected sternly.

Miroku gently flicked the tanuki’s head but didn’t argue. They were almost at Mount Fuji. It was too late to turn back now.

“Can you see Inuyasha anywhere?” Miroku asked quietly.

“No,” Hachi said, scanning the forest below them. “Hell, we probably passed him! I can’t imagine he could have run faster than I can fly.”

“Fair point,” Miroku sighed, running a hand down his face. “In that case he probably saw us, which means he’ll be looking for us. We should head down now and see what we can find before he catches us.”

“Before he catches you,” Hachi muttered, veering down amongst the trees.

Despite his words, Hachi transformed down after Miroku and Hojo had climbed off his back, and began to follow them as they walked towards the mountain. Miroku glanced up at the sun, which had already reached its highest point in the sky. So they had around half a day to solve everything. Excellent. His only reassurance was that, as there had been no sign of Kaguya yet, it likely meant that his theory had been correct, and she needed to wait until nightfall to use the robe’s powers.

The forest reminded him of the poorly named Forest of No Return where they’d fought Menomaru. There was a similar heaviness to the air, laden with power and an old energy that had leeched into the soil and grown into the trees. The air was cooler than it had been outside, and a gentle breeze wove its way through the dense canopy. Miroku took the lead, opening his senses to find the area with the most spiritual power. He hoped that it would lead him either to Kikyo, Kaguya, or the place where his grandfather had sealed her away. They passed by one of the lakes – Lake Motosu, he believed – and Miroku peered into the water thoughtfully. There was no image of a phantom castle reflected in the water’s surface, but there was still something there that brushed against his mind.

They continued on down a faint incline, approaching a thick wall of rock at the mountain’s base. Miroku was staring up at it when he saw something flash in the corner of his eye. He spun around, blocking the heavy weapon that fell towards him with his staff, grunting at the impact. He shoved it away, sending his assailant stumbling back, and spun to face her fully.

“Sango?”

“Miroku?” she gasped, dropping Hiraikotsu.

They collided in a tangle of limbs, pressing against each other and both letting out a rueful, relieved laugh.

“I can’t believe you came here as well,” Sango said, finally pulling back. “I thought- Damn it all!” She exclaimed, seeing the red painting her hand. “You’re bleeding! What did you do this time?”

He grinned. “I got shot.”

Sango’s face contorted through a series of complex expressions before she settled on exasperation. “Inuyasha had better be in an even worse state than you are, or else he’s gonna be for letting you come out here like this!”

“He didn’t let me!” Miroku said defensively, though he wasn’t sure exactly which of them he was defending. “He wanted me to go back to Kaede’s. I followed him here.”

“Oh, good,” she said, crossing her arms. “So he’ll kill you for me.”

Kirara then burst through the trees behind Sango, apparently having caught Miroku’s scent and trying to prevent them from killing each other. Miroku smiled at her, though it froze on his face when he saw the young boy riding her back.

“Kohaku,” he greeted, a touch awkwardly. “I’m not sure if you remember me, but my name’s Miroku.”

“Sorry,” Kohaku said, his eyes darting between him and Sango. “I don’t remember you. Everything’s a bit…fuzzy right now.”

“That’s perfectly alright,” Miroku said reassuringly, sharing a glance with Sango. Both of them were relieved that the boy didn’t remember stabbing him. “It’s nice to meet you again, in any case.” He turned to Sango and said quietly. “You found him?”

“He was heading home,” she whispered, turning her head to further disguise her words. “He remembers bits and pieces, but it comes and goes.”

Miroku nodded. “And I assume you know something about Kaguya as well?”

“Kaguya?” Sango echoed. “Like the legend?”

“One and the same,” Miroku said. “Either she never went back to the moon, or we’ve got an imposter on our hands.”

“We never saw her,” Sango said thoughtfully. “But Kagura found us at our village. She took a cowrie shell from Kohaku.”

“A swallow’s cowrie?” Miroku asked, frowning. “How did he get something like that?”

“I think Naraku gave it to him.”

They shared another heavy glance. It was suspicious no matter how they looked at it.

“Is Inuyasha around here?” Sango asked, looking at the rock wall. “I have a feeling we’re going to have quite the fight on our hands.”

“Most likely,” Miroku agreed. “Kaguya captured Kikyo when she got hold of the celestial robe.”

“Oh, wonderful. And how did you find this celestial robe, may I ask?”

“Akitoki,” Miroku called out, gesturing at him and Hachi. “Allow me to introduce you to my good friend, Sango.”

“Hi Sango,” Hachi said, waving at the slayer. “It’s not my fault.”

They filled each other in on the events of the past few days as they made their way into the cave. Their conversation faded away as they found the altar, and the countless sutras and other spiritual bindings scattered around where the mirror must have been.

“Five impossible treasures,” Miroku murmured, looking at it. “Kaguya seemed to need all five to break free of the mirror. Could that mean she truly is the real goddess?”

“If she isn’t, it’s quite a coincidence,” Sango said. “Although, it wouldn’t have been her to choose the items, would it? Surely your grandfather and the others who bound her would have decided how the seal could be broken.”

“Perhaps they chose them because of the legend,” Miroku shrugged. “Or maybe they make a stronger seal? The items represent the five elements. They have a powerful energy when combined.”

“Can we use that, somehow?” Sango asked as they emerged back out of the cave. “Use it to create the seal again?”

“It’s possible. I don’t know enough to say anything for sure.”

As they began walking around the base of the mountain, a low rumbling rose from the ground. A beam of red light rose from the lake nearby and shot into the sky, which was rapidly growing darker. Four more beams of varying colours were also visible, shooting up from various points throughout the forest. They gradually moved diagonally until all five beams crossed, forming a giant five-point star. The beams disappeared but the star remained, five white lines of light framing the full moon that seemed to be growing ever larger. Miroku took off towards the closest lake, and the rest of the group followed after him. He skidded to a stop at its bank, breathing hard, and took in the image of a large castle peering through the water’s depths.

“Is the castle a real place?” Sango asked, stopping beside him. “Or is it just an illusion?”

“I assume it’s real,” Miroku panted. “Where else could she be? Do you feel that powerful aura?”

Sango eyed him in growing alarm as his breathing refused to settle. She could see the patch of blood on his robes from where the arrow had struck. “If there’s going to be a battle, I think you should sit it out. I don’t like the sound of-”

A ball of fire burst from the water at a shallow angle, heading straight for them. Sango vaulted onto Kirara’s back in front of Kohaku as she shot into the air, while Miroku tackled Hojo out of the way. Hachi was panicking, looking like he was about to bolt, but he still transformed.

“Stay back!” Miroku shouted to Hojo as he jumped onto Hachi’s back.

Another ball of fire shot forth, this time aiming at Kirara in the air. She veered out of the way, but another soon followed, heading towards Hachi. A dragon’s head rose from the water, eyes glowing red as smoke rose from its mouth. It was followed by another and another, until the long necks of the five-headed creature rose high above the lake’s surface.

“Miroku-” Hachi said nervously, as the first dragon’s head shot another blast of flame towards Kirara, almost catching her.

“I know,” Miroku said tightly. “Just stay as far away as you can. I’ll have to-” He froze again, remembering, and he lowered his right hand. “We’ll have to get fairly close for me to use my staff or sutras, but Sango will be able to cover us.”

Kirara was already diving towards one of the heads, and Hiraikotsu flashed. It cut a gouge across one of the necks, though not enough to kill. The injured head swung around, snapping at the trio with giant teeth. Hachi dove in behind it, and Miroku threw a handful of sutras at its head. The dragon shrieked and flailed, icy mist rising from its mouth. It caught sight of Hachi and shot forth a volley of icy shards straight towards him. As Hachi reared back, Miroku hurled himself forward and threw a barrier in front of them both. The icicles dashed to pieces against it. Kirara then landed on the dragon’s neck, sinking her fangs into its flesh. The head roared and one of its companions dove for her, ready to tear her off. Kohaku’s kama flashed out and caught it in the eye.

“Well done!” Sango shouted back to him, but when she glanced at him over her shoulder, his face was pale and his eyes wide with something approaching panic.

Kirara peeled away from the dragon and circled back around. All five heads were diving for her now in a well-coordinated attack.

“No individuals could avoid each other like that,” Miroku muttered, before he shouted down to Sango “I think they’re all part of the same dragon! Their body must be hidden under the water.”

“So how do we get at it?” Sango called back, throwing Hiraikotsu towards one head only for it to be snapped up into the jaws of another.

Sango pulled a packet of poison from her robes and, as Kirara flew up, tossed it into the dragon’s mouth. It gasped in pain, Hiraikotsu falling from its jaws. Sango caught the weapon, wincing at the divots gouged along its length from the dragon’s teeth. Hachi flew in next, trying to give Miroku a shot at one of the heads with his staff. The red-eyed head whipped around and shot a ball of fire straight towards him. Hachi had no time to avoid it. The fireball struck him head-on, knocking him from the air and sending him careening towards the lake.

“Miroku!” Sango screamed, but as Kirara dove after them, a different head shot out and slammed into her side, sending her careening off towards yet another head.

Hachi had transformed back down as he fell, and it was all Miroku could do to grab onto him as they crashed into the lake. The water hit them like a rock wall, driving the air from their lungs as Miroku’s vision whited out. He clung to Hachi for all he was worth and began kicking, hoping against hope that he was propelling them towards the surface. One of his feet struck the ground and he pushed off, gasping raggedly as their heads emerged into the air. He flailed towards the shore, dragging Hachi along with him. His shoulder and chest were screaming at him, and he couldn’t seem to catch his breath. He pulled Hachi up onto the rocky bank and collapsed beside him, pressing a hand against the tanuki’s chest to see if he was still breathing. Hachi gasped and coughed, rolling to one side and hacking up a good portion of the lake before he collapsed with a low groan.

“Hachi?” Miroku wheezed, desperately shaking his shoulder. “Hachi, can you hear me?”

He looked up at Sango’s frantic shout. Another fireball was heading straight towards him. Miroku closed his eyes, knew there was nothing he could do.

“Wind Scar!” Inuyasha screamed as he burst through the forest, Tessaiga swinging above his head and a solid wave of amber flaring around him. He rocketed over Miroku as the six lines of power shot from his sword, sweeping the fireball up in their wake and sending the mixture hurling back towards the dragon. It hit three of the heads who shrieked in pain, and the whole creature seemed to rock back at the impact.

Inuyasha landed in the water with a splash but then he barrelled out, flinging himself at Miroku with red eyes and a snarl.

“You asshole!” he exclaimed, crushing the monk to his chest. “You fucking asshole!”

“I’m sorry,” Miroku choked, coughing slightly.

Inuyasha immediately pulled back, hands frantic on Miroku’s face. “You’re hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

Inuyasha growled, his ears fixing onto the laboured quality of the monk’s breathing. Everything in him was screaming that there was something wrong, but Miroku was already pushing to his feet, apparently intent on continuing on. Inuyasha growled again and picked up Tessaiga from where he’d dropped it. There were a dozen things he wanted to yell at the monk with varying degrees of swearing involved, but another roar from one of the dragons sharply reminded him that they were in a battle. So he waved up at Kirara, who immediately started flying towards them.

“Make sure he doesn’t pass out and fall off,” Inuyasha instructed Kohaku, not even blinking at the boy’s presence. He helped Miroku onto Kirara’s back behind the boy and squeezed his shoulder tightly. “We’re going to have words later.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Miroku smiled, but his eyes softened in silent reassurance and gratitude.

“Hold on tight everyone,” Sango instructed as Kirara took off again.

Inuyasha grabbed Hachi by the shoulders and dragged him further into the woods for safety and then took off towards the dragon. His youki was still pulsing with life beneath his skin, and he soared through the air until he landed on one of the long snouts and plunged Tessaiga down into it. Another head swung around to try and bite him but he flung the Wind Scar at it, cutting cleanly through it. The neck tipped backwards slowly before crashing into the water. The other four heads roared. Inuyasha saw a fireball heading for him so he shot into the air, letting his youki keep him aloft before he dove down, throwing out another attack from Tessaiga. It cut stripes down the length of two of the creature’s necks. A head lunged at him and Inuyasha spun out of the way, plummeting into the water. He began to kick for the surface, but then he caught sight of the creature’s body in the gloom. He could see the long, slender length of its torso, and the five-pointed star glowing brightly on its chest. He should have known that Kaguya was controlling it. He could see the head that he’d cut off already regenerating, too. Great, just great.

A different head plunged into the water after him, teeth bared, so Inuyasha kicked strongly to the surface. As the head came up underneath him, he rolled to the side and snagged onto its neck with his claws. As the dragon reared back, he let it pull him up to be even with the others.

“Sango!” he called out. “I know how to kill this thing, but I need you to distract it!”

“On it!” she shouted back, lifting Hiraikotsu.

He clung to the head as it continued to rise upwards, watching the others dive for him. He waited until one was close and then leapt, swinging his sword. He flipped through the air, pulling on his youki to turn sharply, and cut off the head at the neck. He followed it down as it fell, watched Sango slice through another neck with Hiraikotsu. But then a third head crashed into Kirara, almost knocking the three humans off her. Her yowl filled the air as she struggled to break free, and Inuyasha’s eyes flashed red. He twisted around, ready to leap into the air as he hit the water. He began running, not even thinking about what he was doing until he glanced down and saw the surface of the lake speeding past under his feet. Well, that was new. He raced along the water, his youki holding him aloft until he could throw himself at the head that held Kirara and cut through its neck.

Kirara tore free and began to circle back around, ready to dive in again despite the blood he could smell in the air. And then one of the last two heads shot a fireball at him, and it was what he’d been waiting for. Inuyasha let his youki sweep through him, pushing past all the anguish and fear that had sparked it, and hurled the Wind Scar at the dragon. The blow swept up the fireball, send it racing down into the lake along with his attack. The six lines parted the water, leaving a clear view of the creature’s body as the Backlash Wave hit it with full force. The heads shrieked as they were torn to pieces. As the water crashed back into place, bits of dragon splashed down around them.

Inuyasha landed on the shore, panting hard, his eyes still flashing red. Kirara landed beside him, though the others didn’t climb down from her back. Inuyasha looked them over carefully, taking in Miroku’s pale face, the torn sleeve where a dragon’s tooth had ripped down Sango’s arm, and the blood splattering one of Kirara’s hind legs. They were all alive, at least, but the battle was far from over.

~*~

“They are unnaturally persistent,” Kaguya muttered, watching the events play out on her mirror.

“I could have told you that,” Kagura grumbled, crossing her arms.

“I must hurry, lest they find a way into the castle.”

“And what if they do?” Kagura asked, a little more forcefully. “You’ll send me after them, I suppose? I freed you from that mirror! You have your celestial robe! Now when are you going to keep your promise and grant me my wish?”

“I am no fool,” Kaguya said coolly. “I know that you will disappear from my service the moment I grant your wish, and I have need of you for a while longer. On my word, if you remain with me until I am able to complete the ceremony, I will grant the wish I promised you.”

Kagura snorted, looking unconvinced.

“I wouldn’t trust her, if I were you, Kagura,” Kikyo said with a mocking smile, looking awfully smug for being chained to a wall. “She holds a love for humanity, not for demons. She won’t grant you anything.”

“Silence!” Kaguya snapped, glaring at her. “I make no such distinction. Only humans like you divide life in such meaningless ways.” She sighed and looked back at Kagura. “Though I admit, I have been reluctant to do as you so desire. It is not the demon, but the Naraku in you that sways my mind.”

“I hate Naraku as much as anyone!” Kagura growled. “I would have killed him myself if I could have.”

“And yet you have done his bidding,” Kikyo said, eyeing her.

“How dare you,” Kagura hissed, raising her fan. “I ought to kill you for even suggesting that!”

Kikyo laughed, cold and harsh. “Oh, and kill the only person who can truly defeat Naraku? You won’t. Neither of you will,” she added, glancing between Kagura and Kaguya. “You both want him gone.”

“I’d be interested if Naraku wasn’t already dead,” Kagura said, crossing her arms once more and leaning back against the wall. “But you’re just some dead human with a couple too many parts missing. And you,” she said, looking at Kaguya. “I don’t care who you are. You need to give me something, or else when Inuyasha and his gang burst in here trying to kill you, I’ll join them.”

Kaguya smirked and turned back to her mirror. Kagura raised her fan. Kanna’s hand reached out and caught a hold of Kagura’s sleeve, tugging gently.

“Not yet,” she whispered.

Kagura opened her mouth to ask what the hell she meant by ‘not yet,’ but then Kaguya cried out angrily. The dying remains of her dragon were visible in the mirror, and Inuyasha and his band of followers were regrouping.

“The choice is yours, Kaguya,” Kagura said. “Grant my wish, or I’ll see to it that you never make it to the moon.”

“You act as though you could possibly hold power over me,” Kaguya snapped, eyes blazing. “Or have you forgotten that I am a god? I am offering you something that many have killed for. The only reason I am still here on this wretched earth is because of the wishes that others sought from me!”

“You owe me,” Kagura said, low and dangerous, raising her fan once more.

Kaguya’s eyes flashed with white light, and then Kagura was being ripped back through the castle, Kanna beside her as they were plunged into the water. Kagura thrashed, trying to break free from the invisible hold, but a cocoon of white light was forming around her, and she was stuck.

Kikyo sighed regretfully, watching the barrier sealing the castle close up behind them. She had no ill will against Kagura, despite her being an incarnation. But she could not allow this plan of Naraku’s to continue. She had seen the pieces drifting about, and though they had not yet combined into a clear picture, she knew that all the remnants of his presence could not be a coincidence.

“Kaguya,” she called out, trying to draw the woman’s attention back to her. “I ask that you reconsider. Set me free, and I will discover what evil still lurks here. Then you will be free to do as your heart desires.”

“I am already free to do so,” Kaguya said warningly. “No one can stop me now.”

“Is that not similar to what you told Naraku fifty years ago?”

Kaguya blanched, and then her expression twisted in fury. “He could never imprison me here forever, even if mortals are so easily corrupted by greed. No matter what his tricks, I am free of him now.”

Kikyo pursed her lips – she wasn’t so sure.

Kaguya began chanting, and the pentacle carved into the floor began glowing. The celestial robe, which she had draped over the altar on the far side of the room, started rippling as though caught in a strong breeze. The moonlight shone down from overhead, piercing through the water to the hole in the ceiling, and onto the pentacle. The branch, crystal, sleeve, shell, and bowl began to glow with their respective colours and shake slightly. And then a wave of energy burst out in all directions, blanketing the castle and the world beyond in a hush.

~*~

“Is there some portal to access the castle?” Miroku was asking.

“Well it’s not just hanging out in the bottom of the lake!” Inuyasha said, his pacing increasing. “If it is, she’s hiding it fucking well!”

“We should check the other lakes as well,” Sango said. “We can see if-”

And then a beam of red light shot up from the middle of the lake, reaching high into the sky. Slowly, a white circle began spreading from the beam and running along the water’s surface, leaving everything in its wake unnaturally still and calm. The scent of cherry blossoms filled the air, and the full moon seemed to grow ever larger overhead.

“Look there,” Miroku said, pointing at where four other beams of green, yellow, white, and blue illuminated the night sky. “This must be the ceremony. All the five elements are coming together.”

The white light was picking up speed, racing across the water towards them.

“Brace yourselves,” Sango muttered, shifting to shield Kohaku with her body.

But the wave, when it hit them, was far from painful. It was electrifying, holding raw and undeniable power.

“Is that the robe?” Sango asked quietly. “Or Kaguya herself?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care,” Inuyasha growled, drawing Tessaiga. “She won’t get away with this.”

He took off, racing across the water’s surface as though it were solid ground, heading towards the beam of red light still shooting up from the lake. Inuyasha let out a wordless cry as he lifted Tessaiga above his head, amber sparks crackling along the red blade. He slammed the sword into the middle of the lake, which seemed to burst open, and a tunnel formed in the rapidly solidifying water, heading down to the castle below.

“Inuyasha, wait!” Miroku called out from where Kirara was flying after the hanyou. “That power- I think-”

But as soon as she pulled up next to Inuyasha, who was practically vibrating with pent-up energy, Kohaku flung himself off her back and jumped into the portal.

“Kohaku!” Sango cried out in fear and shock, and before the others could stop her, she flung herself in after him.

“Looks like we’re going,” Inuyasha said, grabbing onto Miroku’s arm. “Come on.”

Miroku frowned, suspicion growing in his mind. But he knew they didn’t have a choice. They stepped in together, Kirara following after them. There was the strange sensation of falling through water, even though the walls of the lake were solid around them and they could still breathe the air. And then the castle was rapidly approaching, strangely distorted and seemingly facing all directions at once. Inuyasha wrapped his arm tighter around Miroku’s waist as they touched down on the steps leading up to the en.

Inuyasha could see Kohaku already running down the covered hallway, heading towards a specific section of the castle, Sango chasing after him. They took off after them, Kirara following close behind. There was a startled cry from up ahead and Inuyasha ran faster, leaving Miroku behind and passing Sango as he burst into the main room after Kohaku. Kaguya had spun around and was staring at them, her crescent-moon spear in her hand. Kikyo was chained to the wall behind her, a pentacle painted on the wooden panels. Kaguya raised her spear as if to throw it and Inuyasha saw red. The next thing he knew, he was half-way across the room and Tessaiga was pushing hard against the spear still in Kaguya’s hands, forcing her back a step. She tore the spear away from him and swung, forcing him to jump back to where the rest of his pack had arrived. He snarled, his youki begging to be set free.

“Inuyasha, stand down,” Kikyo said calmly.

Kaguya glanced back at her. Inuyasha attacked, aiming for Kaguya’s head. Rather than the spear, it was Kaguya’s bare hand that blocked his blade and stopped it dead. Her luminous blue eyes stared hard at him as she slowly pushed the sword away, leaving not so much as a divot in her hand.

“I will tell you one last time, half-demon,” she said. “I do not have any desire to fight you. I will still grant your wish, if that is what you are here for. But if you wish to stop my return, I will not hesitate to kill you.”

Inuyasha roared, lifting Tessaiga again. But then the crescent blade of Kaguya’s spear twisted around the sword, yanking it from his grip and sending it flying into the wall, where it transformed down. Inuyasha leapt for her but then a wave of power crashed into him, knocking him to the ground.

“Inuyasha!” Sango shouted, throwing Hiraikotsu at Kaguya.

“Sango, no!” Miroku yelled.

The weapon met Kaguya’s spear and hovered in the air for a moment before it went rocketing back, straight into Sango and Kohaku. It struck them both and flung them back. Sango hit a pillar and slumped to the ground, while Kohaku skidded across the floor, gasping in pain and holding his wounded leg. Hiraikotsu struck the pillar above Sango’s head and stayed there.

Inuyasha leapt at Kaguya, amber light trailing from his claws, his eyes glowing red. Miroku shoved his way in front of him, pushed a sutra against his chest and threw the rest at Kaguya. But while Inuyasha stumbled back, howling as his youki flashed bright amber to ward off the spiritual power, Kaguya didn’t react at all.

“You’re not a demon,” Miroku said, holding Inuyasha back as he met Kaguya’s eyes firmly. “You’re really her. So tell me, why did my grandfather say you were? Why did you kill all those people?”

“I did not,” Kaguya snapped. “And you are a fool to believe I did. I came here to experience humanity, not to destroy it! But you mortals only ever demand more!”

“Then why did you stay?” Miroku demanded as Inuyasha’s hands wrenched at his shoulder, and he winced as the movement tore at his wound.

“Because you begged me to!” Kaguya shouted. “Because as soon as they found out that I was a god, they flocked to me with their wishes and pleas. They told me that I was the only one who could help them! If I had donned my robe as I had planned, I would have been free to leave without guilt. But I stayed. I wanted to come to earth for the span of a mortal life, and instead I have been trapped here for hundreds of years!”

“You still chose to stay,” Miroku said quietly. “You had no reason to slaughter dozens of innocent people, even if one did try to steal your robe.”

And Kaguya laughed, low and bitter. “I would have had every right, but I never did such a thing. It was you mortals who constantly sought power, and because I denied their petty wishes, they decided to imprison me forever.”

“They would not have done so on a whim,” Miroku argued, slowly raising his staff.

“But it was not ‘they’ who decided, was it?” Kikyo asked pointedly, drawing all their attention. “It was one in particular that you now despise.”

“Naraku was just another fool,” Kaguya muttered. “But when I denied him, he took it upon himself to destroy me.”

“He framed you,” Miroku breathed, everything finally falling into place. “He disguised himself as you and murdered the villagers to trick the monks and priests into imprisoning you.”

“And he showed them exactly how to do it,” Kaguya hissed. “With the items that I had used to escape the advances of others, to mock me with my attempts at freedom.”

“I’m sorry,” Miroku said truthfully. “But why didn’t you tell them?”

“You think I didn’t try?” she growled. “But they wouldn’t listen to my words, and Naraku had stolen some of my power along with my robe. I had not yet recovered by the time they imprisoned me.”

“Then go, now,” Miroku said, taking a pointed step back and bringing Inuyasha along with him. “Go before anyone else tries to stop you.”

“No!” Kohaku exclaimed, pushing himself up off the floor.

Miroku glanced at the boy with growing realization and turned back to Kaguya. “Go!”

“Then let me grant you each a wish,” Kaguya said. “My parting gift to humanity.” She held up her golden mirror, and Inuyasha’s reflection appeared in its depth. “I can see that what your heart desires. Let me give it to you, to make amends.”

Inuyasha’s youki pulsed, and he howled.

“No!” Kikyo cried out. “Inuyasha!”

“No, what are you doing?” Miroku shouted, spinning around to grasp Inuyasha by the shoulders. “Yash, no! Come back!”

But it was obvious that Inuyasha couldn’t hear him. His eyes were completely red, his fangs and claws growing, and the purple marks stood darkly on his cheeks. His aura was swirling around him in a solid amber wave, getting stronger every moment.

“Let him go!” Miroku begged Kaguya frantically. “Please!”

“It is his wish,” Kaguya said simply. In the mirror, the Inuyasha reflected back at them had dark hair and eyes and was staring out blankly, a stark contrast to the convulsing figure in the real world.

“You’re destroying him!” Kikyo argued, more emotion in her voice than Miroku had ever heard before.

“You’re stripping away his mortal half!” Miroku shouted desperately, framing Inuyasha’s face with his hand, heedless of the claws that dug into his arms. “Stop, he doesn’t want this!”

“You cannot see into his heart as I can,” Kaguya said, as though it were obvious. “This is the form he desires to take.”

Miroku hesitated, looking wildly between her and Inuyasha – but he couldn’t believe it. He knew that they’d spoken about it, that Inuyasha may have been hesitant to reveal how he truly felt in the fear of disappointing him, but… No. He wouldn’t want this. Not like this! This demonic form of his was out of control, the utmost point of the transformation. Inuyasha was shuddering violently, struggling frantically for control. Miroku knew that Inuyasha wouldn’t want to be like this.

So he spun around and smashed the head of his staff into the golden mirror. The metal pole of his staff snapped cleanly in two, and not a mark was left on the mirror. Kaguya’s face flashed with anger and she lifted a hand. Cherry branches burst from the wooden pillars, beams, and flooring around the castle, shooting towards him. Miroku sliced through as many as he could with the severed head of his staff, but he felt them cut across his arm, his leg, his side.

“Miroku!” Sango’s voice shouted from behind him. “Get down!”

Miroku instinctively ducked, waiting for Hiraikotsu to fly over his head, but it never came. Instead, more branches shot out and slammed Sango back against the pillar, growing steadily around her and Hiraikotsu and growing rigid as they set. Sango thrashed, springing the hidden blade along her forearm, but more and more branches were emerging all the time. Kohaku struggled his feet, his kama chopping through a few of them, but soon he was imprisoned as well. Kirara sank her teeth into the wood, trying to rip it apart, but a branch curled around her neck and dragged her into the air.

Inuyasha roared up at the sky, his youki pulsing stronger than ever. Miroku raced to his side, one last desperate attempt to get through to him.

“Inuyasha!” he begged. “Please, come back! Fight her off, I know you can!”

He tugged at the nenju beads, tangled his hand into Inuyasha’s hair, but nothing made any difference. He pulled out a sutra and placed it against his chest, but though Inuyasha howled in pain, the sutra burned away in a flash and the transformation raged on. Nothing was working. Miroku glanced around desperately, trying to find something! He almost wished that he had his wind tunnel again, just so that he could suck in the stupid mirror once and for all.

Kaguya laughed behind him.

“I can grant your wish, too, if you would like,” she said with something approaching amusement.

“You don’t know a thing about what people actually want!” Miroku snapped.

He reached into his robes for more sutras. His fingers closed around something else instead. Hesitantly, he pulled out the box of sacred Jewel shards and stared at them, the beginnings of a plan forming in his mind.

Inuyasha was writing, his breathing coming in harsh, ragged pants. He wouldn’t be able to hold on to any semblance of himself for much longer. They would have to act fast.

“Kirara!” he called out. “Get Kikyo out of there!”

He ripped his arms free from Inuyasha’s clawed grasp, slapped a sutra onto the head of his staff, and cut through the branch holding Kirara aloft. The twin-tail transformed down as she fell and then back to her larger form as she hurled herself against the wall where Kikyo was chained. She clamped her teeth over the chains and pulled, hard, tearing them from the wall. Inuyasha snarled, saliva dripping from his fangs as he took a step towards Kirara.

Miroku let the empty box clatter to the ground as he plunged the six Jewel shards into his chest. A pulse of pink light shot from his body, and he could immediately feel the immense power flowing through him. Then, as Inuyasha’s claws arced towards him, Miroku stepped flush to his chest and wrapped his arms around him.

“I know this isn’t who you want to be,” he whispered, barely audible above the snarling as Inuyasha’s claws raked down his back. “You want to get stronger so that you can protect us, but you’re hurting us!”

Sango was screaming at him. Kaguya was staring at him. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Kirara fighting off the branches as Kikyo ran to where her bow and quiver full of arrows were propped up against the wall. He could feel the Jewel shards pulsing in his chest, giving him the strength that he lacked.

“We were going to start our new life together,” he continued, voice ragged as his back was torn open and Inuyasha’s fangs sank into his shoulder. “I love you, Inuyasha, and I need you to come back to me now.”

Kikyo notched her arrow and sent it flying, straight into the golden mirror. It glanced off the surface and struck the wall behind Kaguya, but there was a definite snap as the surface of the mirror cracked.

“No!” Inuyasha gasped out, broken and ragged and rough, with Miroku’s blood dripping from his teeth. His eyes were staring blankly into the distance. “No!”

“I don’t understand,” Kaguya said quietly, and she sounded genuinely upset. “This is what you wanted.”

“No,” Inuyasha rasped, squeezing his eyes shut, clinging to Miroku’s arms. “I don’t want this. I want to protect my pack. I want to be good enough. I want the world to stop treating me like some worthless weakling!” He shook his head, curling in on himself. “I don’t want to transform. I don’t want to lose who I am.”

Miroku wrapped his arms tighter around him, shaking with relief. Inuyasha crushed the monk to his chest, each breath approaching a sob as he clawed his way back to himself. The amber whirlwind around them had become interspersed with a vibrant pink glow. The stress, the fear, the scent of Miroku’s blood cloying the air were all driving him back, sparking his youki to life once more, but he wouldn’t let it take him again!

“Stand down, Kaguya,” Kikyo said calmly, pointing an arrow at her. “You must realize now that you cannot do any more here on earth.”

“Yes,” Kaguya said softly. “My humanity has worn thin, it seems. It is best for all that I return to the moon with all haste.” She eyed Kikyo thoughtfully. “But you know that I require your aid. I was supposed to have an entire entourage of celestial maidens to help me pass through this mortal coil. You will have to do.”

“I will do what I can,” Kikyo said, easing back on the bowstring.

“You do not wish to stop me any longer?” Kaguya asked, raising a brow, intrigued.

“No,” Kikyo said, glancing over at Kohaku. “I think I understand what is happening now.”

Kaguya stepped forward, towards the pentacle on the floor. Inuyasha snarled viciously, wrapping his arms tighter around Miroku.

“Let her go, love,” Miroku breathed, catching Inuyasha’s chin and turning his head so their eyes met. “Just focus on me.”

The branches scattered around the castle all retreated back into the wood they’d emerged from. Sango slid to the ground, an arm around her abdomen and leaning hard against Hiraikotsu. She glanced over Kohaku, who was watching Kaguya with wide eyes but seemed unharmed. Kikyo reached out and pulled Tessaiga from where it had stuck into the wall and pressed it into one of Inuyasha’s hands. She then picked up the celestial robe and began walking over to Kaguya, who was already chanting as the pentacle began to glow. The five items were slowly lifting into the air, carrying the intersecting lines of light up with them.

That’s when Miroku cried out sharply in pain. He stumbled away from Inuyasha even as the hanyou’s hands followed him, trying to brace him as he curled in on himself, clutching his right wrist. He stared in indescribable horror and dread as something intangible pierced through his hand and began to tear away at his flesh. A small black dot appeared in the middle of his palm, and the faintest grasp of the wind pulled at his hair.

“No!” Inuyasha gasped in ragged terror, and his eyes snapped to Kaguya. “Let him go! Stop this right now or I’ll fucking kill you!”

“This isn’t me,” Kaguya whispered, face contorted in shock.

Miroku fell to one knee as the wind tunnel continued to tear open along his hand, white hot agony racing up his arm as ten years’ worth of damage flew back all at once. Inuyasha’s hands were clutching at his shoulder and chest, and then Sango was there as well, shouting something indistinct over the horror numbing his mind.

“Seal it up!” she screamed, shaking him hard. “Miroku, you have to seal it up or it’ll kill you!”

“I gave the beads to Mushin,” he said softly, flatly.

Inuyasha and Sango exchanged a horrified look over his head, panic catching in their throat.

“What do we do?” Inuyasha asked, grabbing onto Miroku’s wrist to hold his hand further away from his face, the wind growing stronger every moment.

And then Kikyo knelt down before him, deftly pushed past their tangled arms to reach into Miroku’s robe to pull out one of his last sutras. She lifted it to her lips and mumbled something indistinct, and the piece of paper began to glow with spiritual power. She placed it over his hand and smoothed it down firmly, cutting off the growing void.

“This will not last for long,” she warned him as he watched her blankly.

“What’s causing this?” Inuyasha asked frantically.

“Naraku,” Miroku whispered, glancing at Kohaku. Kohaku, who had dropped to his knees and was hunched over, pulling at his robes to reveal the dark stain of a spider mark growing on his shoulder.

“No!” Sango shouted, running over to him and falling to her knees. But Kohaku was staring at nothing, no recognition in his eyes as mounds of flesh began sprouting from his skin.

“What the hell-” Inuyasha bit out, surging to his feet, but Miroku only watched with detached resignation.

“It was all a trap,” he murmured. “He set this all up so he could steal Kaguya’s power.”

“Kohaku, please!” Sango begged, framing his face with her hands. “I’m right here, just-”

He cried out as a giant insect’s claw sprouted from his back, followed by waving tentacles. The mound of flesh was growing larger and larger, bubbling and writhing.

“Get back, Sango!” Inuyasha shouted, running over to her and yanking her away from Kohaku.

“No!” she screamed, thrashing in his grip. “I won’t leave him! Kohaku-”

“Naraku has him,” Inuyasha snapped, the words like poison on his tongue.

And then miasma burst from Kohaku’s back with violent force, exploding out in a wave that knocked Miroku and Kikyo to the ground and sent Inuyasha and Sango flying back against a wall. A laugh sounded from the direction Kohaku was in, and though they couldn’t see through the swirling cloud of poison in the air, they knew exactly who it was.

“Kaguya,” Naraku said as he rose through the air, his torso connected to a writhing mass of demon parts with Kohaku slumped limply before him. “It’s been far too long.”

“Naraku!” Kaguya hissed, hatred evident in her voice. “If you fight me, you will lose once more. You will not be able to stop me this time.”

Naraku laughed. “Oh, but last time was just the beginning. I didn’t have a tenth of the power that I now possess, and I still managed to learn a trick or two. Don’t you think I’ve used them well?”

He glanced pointedly over to where Miroku was kneeling, and Kaguya scowled.

“You monster!” she growled.

“Oh, I’m the monster?” Naraku said angrily, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “You had the power to change the world! You could have given me everything, but you kept it all for yourself! I was weak for fifty years because of you!”

Kaguya let out an angry cry, and dozens of wooden barbs shot from the ground and walls, all aiming for Naraku. They skewered through his flesh but he only laughed as miasma filled the air.

“Kohaku!” Sango shouted, running through the waving mounds of flesh to get to her brother. She ripped through the limbs surrounding him with Hiraikotsu and then pulled out her sword, ready to cut him free. But then Naraku’s tentacles were wrapping around her arms, her waist, and began dragging her towards him. Miroku reached her side and sliced through the limbs with his broken staff, but then he was dragging her back, away from Kohaku.

“Miroku, no!” she screamed, kicking and struggling.

“Naraku will absorb you if you stay,” Miroku said firmly, his breathing harsh as he tried to hold her back. Then Kirara dove for them through the wall of Naraku’s limbs and snagged a hold on the back of Miroku’s robes with her teeth, lifting them both into the air. Sango had no choice but to hold on.

“Inuyasha,” Miroku called out, half instructing, half reassuring. The hanyou had dropped to a crouch and dug his claws deep into the floor as his eyes were flashing red. At Miroku’s call he shot forward, ripping Tessaiga from its sheath and hurling himself at Naraku.

“Inuyasha, be careful!” Sango cried out, afraid of how wild he still was. “Don’t hurt Kohaku!”

Inuyasha growled in response, but she could see how carefully he aimed his strikes above her brother’s head. He also wasn’t using the Wind Scar. More and more of Naraku’s body was emerging every moment, filling the large room with countless demon parts and a thick layer of miasma. Sango forced herself to put on her mask, watching as Miroku did the same.

“What do we do?” she asked him. “We have to stop Naraku! We can’t let him come back!”

Miroku swallowed hard, eyes darting around. “Inuyasha, get Kohaku out of there!”

Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder at him, unsure, but dutifully began fighting his way back to where Kohaku sat. But Sango saw Miroku’s left hand reaching for the sutra on his right.

“Don’t you dare!” she snapped, slapping his right arm down. “The miasma will kill you!” She saw the exhaustion in his eyes, the despair which rested there. “We just got our lives back – I’m not letting you throw yours away!”

Miroku nodded vaguely and continued looking around. Even though Naraku was fighting off Inuyasha, all of his concentration was on Kaguya, who was staring at him with unmasked fury. She was holding her mirror out in front of her with a white-knuckled grip, and even though the surface was cracked from Kikyo’s arrow, a white beam of light still shone from it. But it was directed towards the pentacle on the floor, to where the five items were covered by a thick white barrier of swirling power.

“She’s still tied to the mirror,” Miroku realized sharply. “So long as she’s on earth, she’ll remain bound to it, and Naraku will be able to seal her away. Kikyo!” The priestess whipped around from where she’d aimed an arrow at Naraku. “The mirror!”

Kikyo followed his gaze and nodded sharply.

Naraku blanched. “You will not escape!” he growled, reaching forward with his countless arms to grasp at Kaguya. “Become one with my flesh!”

“Keep your vile hands away from me!” Kaguya hissed, her spear materializing in one of her hands as she sliced through the first wave of claws and tentacles. But more were reaching for her every moment, and she still had to keep Naraku away from the pentacle. Inuyasha had let Tessaiga clatter to the ground as he ripped at Naraku with his claws, his youki swirling around him once again, but one of Naraku’s tentacles wound around his middle and yanked him into the air. Naraku had almost completely filled the room with his writhing mass, blocking all paths to escape. Then he threw himself towards Kaguya, his chest already expanding, set to envelop her. Kaguya held up her mirror and aimed the white light at him. It burned through him with terrible force, reducing every piece of him that it touched to dust. But the rest of him was still moving, still reaching for her.

“Kaguya, get out of here!” Miroku shouted as he and Sango fought off every piece of the demon that came near them. “If he absorbs your power, he’ll be unstoppable!”

Kikyo stepped forward and shot her arrow into the middle of the barrier covering the pentacle, and Naraku’s limbs that had started surrounding it all dissolved from the flash of spiritual power. She then grabbed the celestial robe from where it had fallen and shoved Kaguya towards the glowing lines. The ceiling above them shook and groaned as Naraku’s body pressed against the pillars scattered around the room, began cracking and breaking them with his bulk. Miroku shoved Sango out of the way as a large chunk of the roof collapsed onto where they’d been standing. Kirara dove down through the tangle of limbs, batting them away with her claws to avoid inhaling the miasma as much as possible, and ripped apart the tentacle wrapped around Inuyasha. She clamped her jaws over his right arm, the one still protected by the sleeve of his suikan, and sprang into the air. She didn’t let go, even as Inuyasha thrashed and snarled and sank the claws of his other hand deep into her shoulder. Kikyo loosed one more arrow at Naraku’s body, destroying another chunk of it, then whirled around and shoved the celestial robe towards Kaguya.

One of Naraku’s arms shot out and ripped the robe from her hands, flinging it away. Kikyo cried out and sent an arrow flying through the limb, but it was still well out of her grasp. Kirara banked sharply to catch the falling piece of cloth, but Inuyasha was still struggling against her and throwing her off balance.

“Throw him here!” Miroku called out to her, and she obligingly dropped Inuyasha next to him before returning to catch the falling robe.

Miroku summoned all the strength he could muster from the Jewel shards and concentrated it along the head of his staff, and as Inuyasha whipped around to face him, he shoved the piece of metal against his chest. Inuyasha cried out and stumbled back, but his aura faded around him. And then one of Naraku’s arms crashed into them, knocking Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango into the wall and pinning them there. The pillar closest to them creaked loudly as it began to fall, bringing down a large chuck of the ceiling along with it. The entire castle was collapsing around them. Inuyasha roared and slashed through the tentacle before grabbing Miroku and Sango around their waists and throwing all three of them to the side to avoid another falling pillar. Another of Kikyo’s arrows cleared a path through Naraku’s body, but it seemed like more and more was emerging from nothing all the time. Kohaku had completely disappeared.

“Kirara!” Miroku said, holding up an arm for her to spot as she circled around looking for them. She dove for them and Sango immediately climbed onto her back, but Miroku caught Inuyasha’s arm. “You have to get Kikyo out of here.”

Inuyasha stared at him with wide eyes that were still flashing red. He looked wrecked, but then, they all did. But he took off all the same, weaving through the falling debris to where Kikyo still stood next to Kaguya.

“My robe,” Kaguya said, almost pleadingly. “I cannot leave without my robe.”

Inuyasha didn’t have an answer for her. He swung Kikyo onto his back and took off, back towards the others. But then a giant claw slammed into them from the side, throwing them to the floor. A tentacle shot out and curled around Kikyo’s quiver before ripping it away from her, taking all her remaining arrows along with it. Inuyasha roared and flung himself at Naraku again, claws flashing and youki swirling.

“Find Tessaiga,” Miroku instructed Sango, and before she could stop him, he flung himself off Kirara’s back and into the mess of limbs.

He cut through Naraku’s flesh as well as he could with his broken staff, the power of the Jewel shards making up for the smaller reach. But he knew that he wouldn’t be able to carry on much longer. No matter what, he couldn’t seem to catch his breath, and his robes were still steadily dripping blood. They needed this to be over quickly, one way or another. He fought his way to a safe corner of the room and looked up at Sango, who he knew would be watching him carefully. He gestured at Inuyasha and she nodded, and a moment later Hiriakotsu cut a path between him and the hanyou. Then Miroku raised his hand and tore the sutra from his palm. Inuyasha was ripped from Naraku’s clutches and careened towards him. Miroku shoved the sutra back onto his hand just as Inuyasha crashed into them, knocking both of them to the ground.

“Miroku!” Sango shouted, waving Tessaiga in the air. He shoved the growling Inuyasha off his chest and raised a hand to catch the sword before spinning around and shoving it back at Inuyasha.

“Kikyo!” Miroku called next, and tossed his staff at her.

Kikyo glanced at Kaguya. “Will it work, this time?” she asked, looking pointedly at the golden mirror.

“Do it,” Kaguya whispered. “Free me.”

As Hiraikotsu cleared a path around Kikyo, she notched Miroku’s staff to her bow like an arrow and shot it straight at the golden mirror. It struck with a burst of white light and the mirror shattered for a heartbeat before it exploded. Kirara shot past Kaguya, knocking away another limb that reached for her and dropping the celestial robe onto her shoulders.

“No!” Naraku screeched, his head and torso emerging from another section of his body. “I will not let you go!”

Sango smashed a vial of poison along Hiraikotsu’s length, heedless of the shards of glass that embedded themselves in her hand, and hurled the weapon at the wave of arms shooting at Kaguya. Kikyo was chanting, erecting a barrier around the goddess as her whole body began to glow, but Naraku was attacking with a ferocity that none of them had ever seen. As Sango caught Hiraikotsu on its return and prepared to throw it again, one of Naraku’s tentacles wrapped around the weapon and her arm. It wrenched Hiraikotsu from her grasp, snapping the weapon in two and pulling her arm from its socket. Sango screamed as excruciating pain ripped from her shoulder, and her vision whited out even as she felt Kirara catch her.

Inuyasha roared and threw himself forward, heedless of the claws, stingers, and tentacles which pierced right through him as he sent the Wind Scar tearing through Naraku’s body. And again. And again. Naraku was thrown back under the repeated attacks, and even he was unable to regenerate so quickly after such damage. As the scattered pieces of his severed limbs began slowly crawling their way back to him, Miroku lifted his hand.

“Inuyasha, get down!” he shouted, before he opened the wind tunnel.

Naraku shouted in anger as more and more of his body disappeared into the void, the room beginning to empty. Miroku ground his teeth and set his jaw as he saw new swaths of miasma bursting forth. But then an arrow cut through the dark purple clouds, clearing the air. He tore his eyes from Naraku just long enough to see Kikyo standing over her discarded quiver, breathing hard, her bow still raised and a pile of disintegrating limbs around her. Miroku turned his attention back to the mass of Naraku’s body, frantically searching for any sign of Kohaku or a Jewel shard. But there was nothing. As he closed his hand, Inuyasha pushed to his feet and raised Tessaiga over his head one more time. As a final Wind Scar tore through the castle floor and raced towards Naraku, Kikyo’s arrow joined its path just in time to strike the demon straight in the chest.

As the rumble of the crumbling castle died down, Kaguya’s quiet laughter filled the resounding silence as she lifted into the air. Her whole body glowed with an unearthly white light, her hair and robes twisting and merging until she was nothing but a pulsing ball of power. Before anyone else could stop her, the pentacle beneath her shot a beam up light straight up, through the broken ceiling and directly into the moon. When it finally faded away, she was gone.

At first, no one noticed the movement through the ragged sound of their breathing. But then Kirara yowled, and they all followed her gaze to where Naraku’s head had floated up off the ground. Kohaku was standing beside him, staring blankly at nothing.

“Not good enough,” Naraku smirked at them through his visible anger. “Not this time.”

They all leapt towards him but a burst of miasma exploded outwards, dragging them back. They could barely see Naraku disappear into the cloud, Kohaku following after him. And then the barrier that had been surrounding the castle vanished, and the lake crashed down around them.

Inuyasha grabbed Miroku as the pounding water threatened to rip them apart and kicked hard towards the light still shining down from above. They broke the surface gasping, Kirara bursting through the water beside them, Sango still clinging to her back. Kikyo emerged a little further away, apparently unperturbed by the water. Naraku was nowhere to be seen. Inuyasha grabbed a fistful of Miroku’s robes and dragged the monk behind him towards the shore, alarm growing at the sound of his ragged breathing. The four of them collapsed on the rocky bank, shaking from exhaustion and pain and stress and anguish.

“The moon,” Inuyasha gasped, staring up at the night sky. “Why is the moon still full?”

“The portal’s still open,” Miroku murmured. “Naraku might still be able to reach her, somehow.”

“But the castle was destroyed,” Inuyasha said, eyeing the debris floating up all around the lake.

“The five items weren’t.”

Miroku pushing himself upright and then tried to rise to his feet, but he sank back down to his knees with a groan and braced against the ground with his hands. Without the commotion around them, Inuyasha honed in on the crackling that emerged every time the monk breathed, and the horrible scratchy, crunching sound that rattled through his chest with every beat of his heart.

“Miroku-” he said in alarm, but the monk shook his head.

“There,” he rasped, pointing at where the branch, bowl, jewel, crystal, and shell had all conveniently washed up onto the shore beside them, along with the broken pieces of his staff and Hiraikotsu. “Kaguya knows. She’s asking us to finish the job.”

With Inuyasha’s help he gathered everything together and laid it out onto a flat rock by the water’s edge. “We destroy the items,” Miroku said, almost to himself. “The five items are the five elements. White, metal,” he said, picking up the crystal. “Fire destroys metal. Kirara.”

Kirara carefully eased Sango off her back and limped over, placing a paw on top of the crystal. She closed her eyes as fire blazed around her leg, and when she stepped back, the crystal cracked in two. Miroku smashed it with a rock, just to be safe.

“Green, wood,” he said next, picking up the jewelled sprig. “Metal destroys wood.”

He grabbed his staff with his other hand and stabbed the jagged end down onto the branch again and again, breaking it to pieces.

“Yellow, earth. Wood destroys earth.” He picked up the bowl and laughed quietly, a little hysterically. “This is Buddha’s stone begging bowl. I…”

“Wood,” Inuyasha said encouragingly, picking up on the trend. “Wait here.”

He raced off into the forest, fear lending speed to his movements, and a moment later a loud crack filled the air. He ran back with a large branch in his hands that he’d broken off into a club and, before Miroku could stop him, he grabbed the bowl and began beating it with the giant chunk of wood. The bowl cracked to pieces and crumbled under the impact.

“Efficient,” Miroku said, though there wasn’t any real attempt at humour in his voice. His lips had turned a dusky purple. “Next is blue, water. Earth destroys water. Care to do the honours?”

Inuyasha snatched the small cowrie shell from his hand and smashed it under a rock.

“And red, fire,” Miroku sighed, picking up the torn sleeve from the robe of the Fire Rat. “Water destroys fire.”

After a moment’s thought, he simply tossed the sleeve into the lake. A red flash travelled across the water, and then the sky grew noticeably darker. When they looked up, there was nothing but a half moon staring back at them.

“We did it,” Miroku breathed, falling back against his elbows. “She’s home.”

“It’s not over yet,” Inuyasha grumbled, sparing a scarce moment to snatch his sleeve from the water before he dropped to his knees in front of Miroku, running his hands along the monk’s face and chest. He was convulsing slightly with each breath. “What’s going on? What’s happening to you?”

“His lung has collapsed,” Sango said, pushing herself upright with her left arm, the right still dangling uselessly beside her. Her expression was pinched with pain and she was startlingly pale. “His chest is full of air and he’s suffocating.”

“What?” Inuyasha gasped, instinctively grabbing a handful of Miroku’s robes. “No, nonono- Miroku, just hang on! Don’t give up on me now! Not now…”

“Kikyo,” Sango called out raggedly, dragging herself over to Miroku with her left arm. She unceremoniously shoved his robes open and grasped the long, double-edged dagger from the damp cloth. Miroku let his eyes slip shut, knowing what was coming.

“You still require something of me?” Kikyo asked, kneeling down beside them.

“Yeah, no shit,” Sango muttered, voice tight with pain. “Purify this as much as you can. We don’t have anything else to do it.”

Kikyo frowned, and it looked for a moment like she might refuse, but then she passed a hand over the blade and it glowed with spiritual power.

“Inuyasha, get his robes off,” Sango instructed next. “And hold him steady. This isn’t going to be easy.”

Inuyasha’s eyes were wide but he did as she said, stripping Miroku down until his torso was bare and then cradling him back against his chest. His eyes were fixed on the blade as Sango lined it up until the tip was pressed against the monk’s right side.

“Ready?” she asked. “On the count of five. One, two-”

And then she plunged the dagger sharply into his side. Miroku gasped abruptly and then fell back against Inuyasha as his chest heaved. There was a soft hiss as air escaped through the wound in his side, though it quickly began bubbling with blood.

“What the hell?” Inuyasha asked in a hushed whisper, swallowing hard as his youki pushed against his skin.

“Kaede will be able to treat you better once we’re back,” Sango said, leaning back on her heels. “And we’re going to have to watch the wound very carefully.”

“Speaking of wounds,” Miroku wheezed, pushing himself up slowly. “Let me see to your shoulder.”

“Miroku…” she said hesitantly.

“It’ll do more damage the longer it’s like that,” Miroku argued tiredly. “You know that.”

She grimaced tightly but nodded. Miroku directed Inuyasha to hold Sango tightly as he sat down beside her, bracing his feet against Inuyasha’s knees. “On the count of five. One-”

He tugged sharply, and there was a popping sound as Sango’s shoulder slid back into place. She cried out sharply and then clenched her jaw shut, taking in a few heavy breaths through her nose and swallowing down the nausea.

“That’s a dirty trick,” she insisted once she could speak again.

“Yes,” Miroku said simply. He looked over all of them, at the blood that mixed with the lake water pooling around them, especially Inuyasha. None of them were in good shape. Sango’s right arm was still bleeding steadily from the earlier fight with the dragon. Kirara had several long scratches down her shoulder and haunch, and she couldn’t walk properly. There were several holes ripped in Inuyasha’s robes where Naraku had pierced right through him. And Miroku didn’t particularly want to think about what his own back must look like, having met Inuyasha’s claws. He glanced up at Kikyo, who was watching them with a closed expression.

“You knew, didn’t you?” he asked quietly.

“I suspected,” she said. “I knew that Naraku could not truly be dead. Once I saw the boy, and the aura that surrounded him, I saw what Naraku had planned.”

“How did you know he wasn’t really gone?” Inuyasha asked. “There was no trace of him left around!”

“You will never kill Naraku on your own,” Kikyo said distantly, looking up towards the horizon as her soul collectors emerged from the trees. “He and I are bound together, our fates intertwined with the Jewel and the Four Souls. I do not know when our time will come, but it is the only way.”

“Wait,” Inuyasha said, pushing to her feet, but she was already being lifted into the air.

They were left alone in the darkness. Dripping wet, surrounded by the chunks of debris gently knocking together in the water, they all felt very small.

“Damn it,” Inuyasha swore viciously, curling his hands into fists. “How did he do it? How the hell did he-” His voice broke and he growled.

“It must have been an incarnation before,” Miroku said faintly. “He must have made it look and act like him to make us think we’d killed him.”

“But…” Inuyasha shook his head. “Everything? He knew about Kaguya even before we fought him during the new moon?”

“He must have known that we would find out about her,” Miroku sighed. “Perhaps through my grandfather. Perhaps Kagura knew, but she truly seemed to believe he was dead.”

They fell back into a solemn, heavy silence.

“We need to patch ourselves up,” Sango said after a while, though she made no move to stand. “Everyone’s bleeding everywhere.”

“All the bandages are wet,” Miroku pointed out softly.

“Then we’ll make do with what we have.” She eyed his chest with a tight frown. “We can start by taking those shards out.”

Miroku glanced down in surprise. He’d almost forgotten that the pieces of the Jewel were still there. Inuyasha sucked in a sharp breath.

“When did-” he started, and then the colour drained from his face. “Oh, no. Oh no, no, no…”

He grasped Miroku’s shoulder with a shaking hand, shifting him gently to look at the bite mark in the space where his neck met his shoulder, the long claw marks raked down his back that were slowly oozing blood.

“I did this,” he whispered in horror.

“Don’t,” Miroku said, catching his hand and holding it firmly. “This was Kaguya’s doing, not yours.”

Inuyasha swallowed hard but bit down the retort that rose. He’d have time to apologize later.

“It doesn’t look as bad as I thought,” Sango said, shooting an apologetic wince at Inuyasha. “I think the shards healed everything a little.”

“We only need to patch ourselves up enough to get back to Kaede’s,” Miroku said. “She’ll want to clean and re-do everything, anyways. Though, we’ll have to stop at the temple first. I need to get the beads back from Mushin.”

He looked haunted at the thought. Inuyasha glanced down at the sutra still slapped across his palm, the ink bleeding across the paper. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if the seal broke before they got the mala beads back.

“Alright, let’s hurry,” he said, grabbing the needle and thread from Miroku’s robes.

“You’re not using your arm,” Miroku told Sango sternly as she moved to help. “We’ll need to put it in a sling soon.”

Inuyasha slid the Jewel shards from his skin one by one, as carefully as possible. Though they left bloody divots along his chest, it was almost nothing compared to everything else marring his body. Inuyasha crouched down behind him next and stitched the deepest wounds along his back. They didn’t have enough bandages for everyone, especially after their previous battles. Those around Miroku’s chest had been torn apart during Inuyasha’s attacks, and Sango had used a good portion of hers on Kohaku. So everyone stripped off their underclothes and the hadagi were turned into long lengths of fabric. As Inuyasha finished bandaging Miroku’s back, following Sango’s instructions on how to give support to his punctured shoulder blade, he suddenly glanced up in the air.

“Miroku!” a familiar voice called down to them, and suddenly Hachi was careening towards the lake. He skidded to a stop and Hojo slid off his pack, stumbling towards them.

“You’re all alive!” Hojo exclaimed in obvious surprise.

“Hachi,” Miroku greeted warmly, but tiredly. “I’m glad to see you’re alright.”

“Nothing but a bump on the head,” the tanuki reported bravely. “What about you? You look like you’ve been through a rough patch.”

“Yes,” Miroku said softly, exchanging a look with Inuyasha and Sango. They may as well start now. “Naraku’s still alive. The wind tunnel’s back.”

Hachi’s face went through a wide range of expressions before he sighed heavily. “I’ll take you wherever you need to go.”

“Thank you,” he whispered.

They ended up repurposing almost everything. Inuyasha insisted that they stitch up all of Miroku and Sango’s wounds left, and there was no thread left for him. They used up most of the bandages to hold together the various holes punctured through his body, though they had started to heal already thanks to his overactive youki. Once they’d finished patching Kirara as well, there was nothing left. Miroku stripped off his kyahan and helped Sango remove her armour.

“Love, can you fetch us a long, straight branch?” he asked Inuyasha. “We’re going to have to make a brace for her arm.”

Inuyasha nodded and took off.

As Miroku began arranging the armour in various configurations, trying to figure out what would work best, Sango watched him carefully.

“Are you okay?” she finally asked quietly.

“No,” he answered, not looking up. “Are you?”

“No.” She sighed. “I suppose that’s to be expected.”

That made him glance up. “I’m sorry. Here I am only caring about myself when you’ve just lost your brother again.”

“Miroku,” Sango said firmly. “Shut up. I got Kohaku back, but now both of my brothers have had their lives ripped away again. I care about both.”

He stared hard at the ground, his eyes burning. “Fair enough. I’m trying not to think about it.”

“You don’t have to,” she said quietly. “Not yet. There’s so much…” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “We’re all going to need some time.”

“But Kohaku remembered you,” Miroku reminded her. “Even if things were still a little jumbled, he’s still there. He’ll be alright once you get him back.”

“Yeah,” she whispered, her voice choked. “That’s something, at least.”

Inuyasha came back with several options for them to use, and they fashioned together some combination of a brace and a splint using the various pieces of wood, armour, and Sango’s skirt to tie everything together. They then fashioned Miroku’s kesa into a sling. Inuyasha used Sango’s carrying cloth to tie together the two broken halves of Hiraikotsu, while he tied his torn-off sleeve around the pieces of Miroku’s staff.

“We should head to Mushin’s,” Inuyasha said decidedly, helping both Miroku and Sango to stand. “Hojo, where are you off to?”

“Don’t worry about me,” the man said immediately. “I’m heading south, but I’m not in a rush. I think it would be better for us to part ways here.”

“Sounds good to me,” Inuyasha muttered.

“Although, I do want you to know,” Hojo said hesitantly. “Inuyasha, I’m forever in your debt. You saved my life. If you ever need anything from me or my family, all you have to do is ask.”

“Thanks,” Inuyasha said curtly, already helping Miroku onto Hachi’s back.

As they took off over the forest, with nothing else to occupy their minds, the shock finally started to set in. Naraku was back. He had tricked them all. Despite everything, despite their best efforts, they hadn’t managed to kill him. Keeping him from getting Kaguya was a hollow victory, at best. It wasn’t enough for them.

Inuyasha knew that they were all too numb, too emotionally and physically drained for it to truly hit home. It would be later, once they’d slept and had a chance to breathe, that everything would really catch up. For the time being, he adjusted Kirara where she was curled on his lap and shuffled closer to where Miroku and Sango were lying, both flat on their backs, staring up at the night sky. He could smell the exhaustion dripping off them both, knew they needed rest, but he was also sure that neither of them would be getting a decent sleep for a while. So he rested a hand on both of their heads and kept watch as they dozed, drifting fitfully in and out of consciousness on the long flight to the temple.

Hachi made good time. It was almost morning when they approached the mountains. Miroku sat up stiffly, taking a steadying breath. His lips and hands had lost their horrible blue tinge, but he still felt as though he couldn’t quite get enough air. He didn’t know if that was more because of the hole in his lung, or the one in his hand.

No one else followed him as he climbed off Hachi’s back. The tanuki had landed close enough to the temple to ensure that they would be heard from inside, and Mushin had already appeared at the door. He had a jug of saké in his hand and was leaning against the wall, but when he truly caught sight of Miroku, the smile instantly dropped from his face. He straightened as he looked over Miroku with sharp eyes, taking in the holes torn in his koromo and the blood smeared across his neck, and his gaze eventually landing on the sutra on his right hand. Miroku clenched his jaw but didn’t say anything. He couldn’t meet Mushin’s eyes. Silently, the old monk lifted the string of mala beads from where they rested around his neck and held them out with open palms. As soon as Miroku took them, Mushin turned and walked back inside. Miroku stood there for a moment, staring down at the indigo-painted beads. Then he walked back to Hachi, and they left once more. There was nothing that could be said. They all knew that they would have to do more than enough explaining once they reached Kaede’s.

~*~

Kagura stumbled through the forest in a daze. She didn’t know where Kanna was, or if she’d even survived. All she knew was that she had to keep moving. The full moon had disappeared, and with it, her chances for freedom. She didn’t know what kind of vengeance Kaguya might seek on her, and if Inuyasha and his gang had survived, she had no doubt they’d be coming after her for retribution as well. She could take each of them on their own, perhaps, but she knew that as a group, she was no match for them. So she would have to disappear. She could travel far away, keep her head down and not cause any trouble. She could carve out a territory of her own, maybe secure a castle and live out the centuries alone. No matter what, she wouldn’t be trusting anyone ever again.

She pressed a hand to her chest, where she could still feel her heart pounding. Was she even truly free? Could an incarnation ever fully break away from Naraku? Perhaps, that’s what Kaguya had been hinting at, though she didn’t know how even a god would be able to change that. His shadow still loomed over her, in the eyes she felt on the back of her neck and the phantom hands clutched around her throat. She could almost feel his presence, almost-

“Kagura.”

She whipped around, heart pounding in her throat. No! It couldn’t be! He was dead! He was-

He was standing right in front of her. He was in his human form, naked and scarred and dripping blood. Kohaku stood behind him on one side, Kanna on the other. Both were staring blankly out. Kagura shook her head in silent, horrified disbelief. He couldn’t have. Even Naraku couldn’t have orchestrated all that! But Kanna… She had known, right from the very beginning, to go to Kaguya and break her seal. She had followed Naraku’s plan step-by-step, had been the thing he needed her to be, as she’d said. She had ensured that he would have everything he needed to go after her, to gain the power of a god. Based on the furious expression etched across his face, he hadn’t succeeded. That was some small comfort, at least.

“Kagura,” Naraku said again, his eyes fixed on her from amidst the dark bruises that surrounded them. “I was rather disappointed with your performance in my absence. I had hoped that you would have been more grateful for all that I have given you.”

Kagura swallowed but kept her mouth shut. Naraku was back. He had never truly died. Even without Kanna’s mirror to show him everything, she had to assume that he had been watching, somehow. What exactly had he seen? What had he heard? Just how dead was she? Based on the raging anger she could see just behind his eyes, it was bad. She couldn’t make excuses. She couldn’t claim loyalty or even respect to his memory. So Kagura did the only thing she could. She dropped to her knees in front of him and bowed her head.

“I’m sorry,” she said, not elaborating, not giving him any more ammunition than he already had. “I will do whatever you ask, whatever you need of me.”

His eyes narrowed, and a dangerous smirk played briefly across his lips. One hand shot out and wrapped around her throat, lifting her into the air. The other plunged deep into her chest. Kagura screamed as she felt his claws pierce through skin and muscle and bone. Power was swirling around his hand, keeping her alive despite what should be a killing blow. And then his fingers closed around her heart. And he pulled. Consciousness faded in and out but he shook her, reviving her just enough to see her heart beating wildly in his bloody hand.

Naraku pulled her close so that he could whisper in her ear, squeezing her heart as he did. “I should hope so.”

~*~

It was late afternoon by the time they got to Kaede’s village. Hachi was so tired that as soon as everyone else had slumped from his back, he transformed down and collapsed on the ground. Inuyasha was immediately calling for help, bracing an arm around Miroku’s waist as the monk gasped for breath. Sango sat beside them, blinking out with sunken eyes. The villagers came running, and soon shouts were filling the air. There were a dozen hands reaching for them but everything was strangely blurred. Inuyasha growled at the first person that tried to take Miroku from him, instead gathered the monk into his arms and began staggering towards Kaede’s hut.

“Inuyasha!” the old miko was saying, suddenly in front of him. “What has happened? What enemy did you face?”

He couldn’t answer her – not yet. Not when his pack was dying around him. He couldn’t admit that after everything, they’d failed. That he’d failed them.

He set Miroku on the floor of her hut, pulled Sango closer as someone helped her down beside him. Kaede was standing across the room, barking orders and directing villagers. He blinked around hollowly as wood was brought in for the fire, water was set to boil, herbs and bandages and jugs of saké all appeared from nowhere. There was a woman he vaguely recognized kneeling down in front of him.

“Inuyasha,” she said, forcing him to meet her eyes with her persistent tone. “Can you show me where you’re injured?”

A memory floated through his mind of her bouncing a baby on her knee, smiling as a toddler petted his ears. Inuyasha shrugged off his suikan and, after a brief moment to wonder if he cared anything for human sensitivities, pulled of his hakama pants. The bandages were soaked through with blood. He briefly thought how his wounds should have healed already. His questions were answered when the woman cut away the strips of fabric with a knife to reveal the full extent of his injuries. He hadn’t realized just how many holes there were through his body. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore everything other than the heartbeats of his pack as she set to work.

He caught glimpses of Shizu cleaning the long wound down Sango’s arm, careful not to jostle her shoulder at all. Kaede was kneeling beside Miroku, speaking rapidly but quietly with another woman as they slowly pushed a long, thin knife into his side. Even Kirara had a new human helper, packing the wounds on her side under Shippo’s careful supervision. But amidst all this, none of them said a word. Kaede knew how to patch them up well enough. Shippo could smell the miasma on them, the poison in Miroku’s scent, and made sure that tea was brewed with the right herbs and they all drank several cups. A man emerged through the door and stepped into the hut some time later, carrying a bucket with a thick red liquid inside. Kaede poured the liquid into four bowls and set the rest aside. She placed one in front of Kirara and handed Inuyasha another, and grabbed the other two to help Miroku and Sango hold.

“Drink,” she instructed Inuyasha as he stared down at it blankly. “You need it.”

It took a moment for his mind to finally catch up to him and inform him that he was looking at blood. Deer’s blood, based on the smell. Odd. He glanced up, questioning, saw the concern quickly hidden in Kaede’s eyes as she watched him.

“You have lost too much of your own,” she told him, holding a bowl to Sango’s lips. “This will help you recover it.”

Inuyasha swallowed it down without complaint. His stomach rolled, but he knew that it had nothing to do with the blood itself. Everything was just too loud, too grating on his frayed nerves. But as the urgent movement around them slowly calmed, and the flood of villagers dissipated from the hut, all that was left was Kaede’s questioning glare. And that was somehow worse.

Miroku was propped up against a wall, still struggling for air. Sango was lying on her side by the fire, watching the dancing flames through a haze of pain. And Inuyasha realized that he would have to be the one to say it.

“It was a trick,” he choked out. “He was never really gone. He just wanted to lure out a god to absorb her powers. We managed to stop him, but he got away. We don’t know where.”

He knew that they owed her details, but that would have to come later. For now, even those words cost him everything he had left. He couldn’t even say the name. He crawled over to Miroku’s side and pulled the monk into his arms and waited for the day to be over.

He stayed through most of the night, through the oppressive silence and tense expressions and sympathetic glances that followed. He listened to the hushed conversations outside that they thought he couldn’t hear, talking about village defenses and raising funds and how young they all looked to have faced such dangers. And he sat through Shippo’s little voice bravely saying how he would look after them, how even though Naraku was back, he’d make sure that everything turned out okay. And by the time the village had finally settled down, and they were well and truly left alone, he found that he couldn’t stand it any longer. So he eased himself away from Miroku, cast one final look over his battered pack, and took off into the night.

He ran for as long as he could, until his limbs were aching and his lungs were burning and the village was far behind him. Then he stopped, his chest heaving, and he let out a loud, guttural yell. It echoed through the dense forest, startling a flock of birds that had roosted nearby. They took off in a flurry of wings, and at least they were able to escape. He shouted again, long and wordless, trying to rid himself of at least some of the feelings that were threatening to crush him. And then he sank to his knees and dug his claws into the ground and let the sobs rip through him.

He knew that he needed to be strong for the others. He knew that each of them had been damaged in their own, horrible way by what had occurred, and he knew that he had to be there to help them. To make sure that this didn’t destroy them. But for now, for just this moment, all he could focus on was the absolute terror that had filled him as he felt his mortal soul being ripped away. As he’d seen the all-consuming void tearing its way through his partner’s hand. As he’d watched everything they’d fought for slip away. He knew that when it came down to it, they didn’t have a choice – they had to keep going, to find a way to stop Naraku all over again. But that didn’t mean that it was easy.

He waited until the world stopped shattering around him, until the simple act of existing stopped hurting quite so much, and then he picked himself up of the ground. There were others who needed him, who couldn’t wait for him to work through this mess himself. His pack was relying on him, and he couldn’t afford to let them down.

Inuyasha crept quietly back into the hut, wary of waking whoever might be sleeping inside. He should have known that he needn’t have worried. Miroku was the only one there, and he was far from asleep. Instead he was kneeling by the irori, staring blankly into the dying embers. Inuyasha slowly walked over and crouched down.

“Miroku?” he asked gently.

“Mm?” the monk answered, a flat and distant sound. He didn’t look away from the fire.

Inuyasha swallowed, avoided the first questions that rose to his lips. “Where is everyone?”

“Sango went out for a walk just after you did. Kirara went with her. Kaede said that she had village business to attend to, but I think she just wanted to give us some privacy for the night. She took Shippo with her.”

“I see,” Inuyasha said, wincing at the unease sitting heavy in the air. He didn’t know what to say, though he knew that he needed to say something.

“How was your walk?” Miroku asked, as though Inuyasha had simply gone for a pleasant stroll through the forest.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to lie, but then he found that he lacked the energy to even try. “I yelled a lot. Scared off some birds. It didn’t really make me feel better, but I don’t think I’m going to fall apart anymore.”

Miroku made a vague sound of acknowledgement. He was still sitting as stiff as a board, back rigid and unnaturally still. Inuyasha could hear his rapid heartbeat, smell the strangled mix of emotions dripping from his scent under a heavy layer of pain. Inuyasha scooted closer, reaching out a hand but pausing before it touched the monk’s arm.

“Miroku?” he asked again, softly, cautiously.

“Yeah?” came the reply in a broken whisper. Miroku’s eyes were swimming with unshed tears. Inuyasha placed a gentle hand on his shoulder but firmly pulled him closer. Miroku closed his eyes, the tears spilling down his cheeks, and buried his face in Inuyasha’s robes. Inuyasha held him as tightly as he could.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, and it was all he could think of to say. There was nothing he could do to make this better. He could feel Miroku’s grief as though it were his own, his sorrow and fear and frustration and an emotion that Inuyasha couldn’t name but felt in his very soul. He pressed his nose to the top of Miroku’s head, blinked away the sting of tears in his own eyes. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fucking fair! After everything they’d been through, after finally being free…

“We beat him once,” he offered, and it rang hollow in his ears. “We can do it again. We can just get stronger and we can do it.”

“He let us beat him,” Miroku whispered. “We defeated him because he allowed it – wanted it.” Inuyasha squeezed his eyes shut, and the monk’s hand clenched at his back. “We stopped him from getting Kaguya,” he continued, though it sounded like he was convincing himself. “That had to have done some damage.”

“And you hurt him,” Inuyasha pressed. “You drew in a huge chunk of his body with the wind tunnel. He has to be weaker now.”

Miroku sighed softly, his shoulders tensing. Inuyasha swallowed hard. It wasn’t enough to be called a victory. Not after everything. It wasn’t enough for them.

“It’s not your fault,” Miroku said into his chest, and his voice was choked.

“But you’re still hurting,” Inuyasha said, his growl thick with grief, and Miroku shuddered in his grasp.

“I just wanted it to be over,” Miroku whispered, as though he was baring a part of his soul. “It’s been so long… And for the first time in my life, I knew where I was. I could see the path before me, and even if I didn’t know exactly where it was going to go, I knew that it was going to be okay. I knew that you were going to be with me.”

“I’m still with you,” Inuyasha said forcefully. “No matter what, I’m here.” He wrapped his arms tighter around Miroku and held him close. “I’m with you.”

Miroku sobbed brokenly against his chest only once before he caught the next one in his throat. Inuyasha knew that even now, his partner was trying to hold everything in.

“Don’t hide this away,” he murmured. “Let it out.”

“I can’t,” Miroku whispered brokenly. “Not now. Not here. It’s all too much.”

Inuyasha growled softly, but there was nothing he could do. Just their short conversation had aggravated Miroku’s injured lung, and there was enough emotion swirling into the air to drown them. So Inuyasha just held on tight and waited for the pressure in his chest to ease. They hovered in time, unable to express the weight pressing down on them. Inuyasha kept his ears fixed on Miroku’s heartbeat, waiting and hoping for it to slow. Sleep would be their only escape for the time being.

He glanced up at the sound of quiet footsteps and saw Sango hovering at the doorway, watching them with hollow, red-rimmed eyes. She looked as lost as he felt. She looked as drained as he’d ever seen her. And she looked unsure. There was a brief shuffling, then a purple-clad hand emerged from the tangle of limbs on the floor and waved her over. She moved stiffly as well, and Inuyasha knew that he hadn’t been the only one raging at the sky. She curled against them, giving Miroku’s shoulders a quick squeeze. Kirara followed close behind her, still limping and breathing raggedly. All of them had lost something that long night, and the hollow ache of it sat heavily in their minds and their chests.

It was no surprise when sleep refused to come, despite their exhaustion. So they simply continued their shared embrace, clinging to each other in a tangled mess, sharing in their unspoken grief. Soon, sleep would come, and the nightmares would follow. The sun would rise and it would be a brand new day and they would have to start all over again. Their quest would continue with the tide of the moon and the seasons, and they would have to take part. They simply didn’t have a choice.