LONELINESS and ABSOLUTION - original version by sesshys_jaded_samuri

Chapter 1- The End

Disclaimer: All characters pertaining to the show InuYasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. I am not making any money from this...the only thing that I am getting out of this story is the satisfaction of knowing that other people enjoy my writing. All original characters are my creation and belong to me...as does the plot and storyline.

LONELINESS AND ABSOLUTION

Chapter 1: The End

Kagome stared blankly at the carnage before her, afraid to move – almost too afraid to even breathe. She was afraid the enemy would find her alive. But most of all – she was afraid that she was the only one left alive. She listened to the silence that blanketed the village, straining for any hint of survivors. There was nothing - only the sound of the wind howling through the trees.

Finally, unable to take the silence any longer, she struggled to sit up. A searing pain tore through her side and chest. Her body ached. Her muscles complained from their lack of use, but she refused to just lie there. From where she sat, she could not see any of her friends. She looked around and realized that they could be anywhere. Though there were no bodies in a ten foot radius around her, there were hundreds of corpses littering the ground; most of them had been Naraku's minions. The calm silence told her that she was the only survivor left - if there had been any more, they would have fled by now. The color of the sky told her that it was late afternoon. It had been just after dark when the onslaught came.

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She and her companions had been gathered around the central fire with the few remaining villagers (most had fled) and their youkai allies alike. They were going after Naraku. He had stepped on way too many toes and had made many enemies, and they had come from all over the land to join in the cause - to rid the world of that abomination once and for all. He was a threat to humans and an intolerable disgrace to all youkai.

The problem was - Naraku was far stronger that he had ever let any one believe. He had already completed the Shikon-no-Tama. Kagome had known it. She had felt it calling to her - begging for her to cleanse it of his putrid taint. No one else had known and she realized that she should have told them. However, she also knew that if many of the youkai discovered that information, they would abandon the cause in favor of their own preservation. Very few of them would have willingly gone to their deaths for just the chance of defeating Naraku...no matter how badly he shamed them. She had hoped that what their army lacked in numbers would be compensated for in sheer power. She kept it to herself, hoping that the large number of demons present would mask her scent enough so that none of them would smell her deception. Even InuYasha's older brother, Sesshomaru, had graced them with his presence, agreeing to put aside their differences for the time being.

None of them realized that they had been led into a trap by Naraku's traitorous offspring. Not that they had done it intentionally. Neither Kanna nor Kagura had the slightest inkling that Naraku was powerful enough to completely control their minds. It had been a gradual invasion that they had been totally ignorant of. They had not even known when he had completed the Sacred Jewel. He had sent them out with the idea that they were betraying him to gather allies. He had been controlling them all along. He had neatly and quite secretly watched them gather his enemies and then sealed them all in a gigantic kekkai (barrier) like rats in a cage. They hadn't even known it. It had all been so perfect... so convenient.

Then as the sun was setting, they gathered around the fire for the remaining women to serve them what would be their last meal to discuss their strategies. It was then that Naraku had unleashed his hordes on them. They never stood a chance. Even with the amount of combined power that they had gathered, it was not enough.

InuYasha had lasted longer than the rest of her party, but not by much. She had watched him fall in front of her, his silver hair turning to black as it pooled at her feet - his red haori gone black with blood. He had smiled up at her. "Run, Kagome. Get away from here. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," he had whispered as his hand had fallen limply at his side. Sango and Miroku were already gone, both slain by the marauding demons. She had crumpled to the ground beside him, too shocked to even cry. She looked to the sky, and through the thick smoke of the battle, she realized that in their eagerness to be rid of Naraku, they had overlooked a very crucial factor, at least crucial for InuYasha and many other hanyou (Naraku not included) that happened to be there. There was a new moon.

They had held their ground for as long as they could, but quite simply, they were overwhelmed. Naraku had taken full advantage of the new moon, knowing that it was going to diminish their numbers. They had sorely underestimated Naraku, and it had been their downfall - she had been their downfall. If she had only warned them...

In the end, it had been Kikyo and herself that had ultimately been Naraku's undoing, though she remembered none of it. She remembered Kikyo coming to her. "Get up," she had said with cold, dead eyes. "You must help me." That was the last thing that she remembered.

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He had been engaged in battle with the wretched hanyou when something had drawn his attention. He had watched as the young miko stood and grabbed Tetsusaiga from his brother's dead hands, surprised that she had the nerve or the strength. Naraku had used the distraction to knock his own sword from his hand. She steadily made her way forward, never taking her eyes off of Naraku. Then she had boldly picked up his own discarded sword and had blindly rushed at Naraku like the bravest of warriors, unafraid to meet her death at the hands of the enemy, oblivious to the pain in her hand as the tainted sword's aura battled with her own and burned her delicate flesh, her eyes alight with a rage that caused even himself to pale. Wave after wave of purifying energy pulsed from her body. It had hit him with a force as strong as any he had ever faced, sending him flying. His second sword had protected him, shielded him.

She matched Naraku blow for blow, sending her purifying energy down both swords, hacking away at his numerous appendages while the undead priestess worked her magicks on him unawares, slowly coaxing the Shikon-no-Tama from its resting place in Naraku's body. As her strength began to ebb, one of Naraku's clawed appendages struck the miko's side, tearing menacing gouges into the flesh, yet she continued to fight. Then finally, the undead priestess embraced the wretched abomination and nodded. The younger miko caught the sacred jewel and then surrendered her energy to her predecessor as she used the last of her strength to drag him to hell. The miko clutched her hands to her side, coating them and then placed them on the ground before her, sealing the portal with her own blood before collapsing into the welcoming darkness as a pale white orb emerged from the charred ground and slammed into her chest.

TBC...

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