Two Months to Live

Chapter Thirteen: Death is Only the Beginning

This is a sequel to One Month for Romance. It is complete in 27 chapters. It has a few plot twists that will shock you.I'm posting it here with the permission of the author. I found it at http://www.geocities.com/inuyashakarma .  Enjoy.  Tim Seltzer

Disclaimer:  Corisu Li: Have you guys noticed that all the evil people's names kinda rhyme? Naraku, Ayako, Kohaku... ah, well, maybe I'm just being weird.
Kunoichi: Radioactive hamster!!! *tic*
Corisu Li: -__- Ah, the randomness. Why in seven hells did I make her hyper again?
Kunoichi: Cuz.............
Corisu Li: Yeeees?
Kunoichi: CONFECTIONER'S SUGAR!!!! *snaps fingers and fills room with the powdery stuff*
Corisu Li: *blinks, looking like a snowgirl* Oh, that was so wrong.
Kunoichi: Sunflowers, rainbows, eskimo pie! *dives under the sugar, mouth wide*
Corisu Li: Uh...I'm covered in powdered sugar. It is very uncomfortable. Grr, shake fist shake fist. *shakes fist* (Bwaaaahahaha....I've been doing that at school all week and people have been looking at me funny. Wonder why?)
Kunoichi: *pops up* She doesn't own anyone in this story except Ayako, Ninsei, and ME! If she did, I wouldn't have to use powers to get sweets! Ja! *dives under*
Corisu Li: *~_~ I need a bath.

Chapter 13: Death is Only the Beginning

Kohaku's eyes were lowered reverently as he answered, "I said that Inuyasha and the others are here, Master Naraku."

For a brief moment, confusion flickered across Naraku's face, but it was gone in a split second. It was replaced with a look of cool anger as he realized that Kikyou must have finally betrayed him, as he knew she would. "Go to greet them. I would hate for them to think I am a bad host."

Kohaku looked up for a brief second and took in the form of the being that was his master. Since his earlier defeat at the hands of Inuyasha, Naraku had been wandering aimlessly as a soul. This new body of his, however, was impressive and worth the wait. It was vaguely humanoid, if one were to ignore the tip of the pointed tail that extruded from the bottom of his robes. His skin seemed to glow with an inner light, but not the peaceful kind. The malicious intent seemed to roll off him in tangible waves. He had prominent muscles, but they weren't ridiculously huge, holding an unfathomable power in the smallest of spaces. His lank dark hair hung around his face in clumps, partially obscuring one cold, black eye. Naraku seemed to notice Kohaku looking because he snapped, "BOY! Did you hear me?"

"Hai, Master Naraku. I will go to greet them." The boy excused himself with a bow and took the hallways that would lead him out of the castle, wondering if he'd meet that girl again, the one that caused a pang in his stomach every time he attacked her.

Then, with a scoff, he figured that if her existence plagued him, she would just have to be obliterated.

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Kikyou nodded slowly. "I have to admit, for you, that is an acceptable plan."

"So? Will you help us?" Kagome was completely disgusted with herself, but at the same time, she knew that there was no way that they could pull off the procedure with just two mikos, one of whom wasn't even fully trained.

The undead miko gave her an appraising look, then gave a curt nod. "If only to restore myself."

"Okay!" Kagome clapped her hands together authoritatively. "First, we need to put up the barrier." She looked around and her eyes came to rest on the castle. "We'll stop it just short of that castle. We wouldn't want anything in there coming in."

The other mikos nodded. The three formed a circle, holding hands. Kagome winced when she felt Kikyou's cold hand in hers, but said nothing. They had only begun to concentrate when a gasp from Sango halted the procedure. She was pointing toward the gray building, a hand over her mouth.

"Ko...Kohaku...."

And so it was. The boy was leading a vast horde of diverse youkai toward them all. Ayako walked serenely by his side, a calm grin on her face. Kagome's eyes widened. "Ignore them for now!" she snapped at Kunoichi and Kikyou. "We need to get up the barrier before any more get in! Everyone else, keep them away from us!"

Inuyasha slid Tetsusaiga from its sheath. "No problem, Kagome."

Miroku readied his staff and Sango pulled Hiraikotsu from her back. Ninsei held his staff in position as well, and the other two were near the rear, Shippou with a handful of kitsune-bi and Kirara snarling and spitting.

When Kagome, Kikyou, and Kunoichi closed their eyes and began to concentrate, a pulse seemed to race through the ground. Then, as if it was there all along, a bubble-like shape appeared, halting about fifty feet from the castle door. "Solidify it!" Kagome gasped, her face screwed up in concentration.

Meanwhile, Ayako had stepped to one side, her long black hair whipping about in the disturbance caused by the casting of the spell. It was only a moment later that she realized exactly what the group was doing and pointed at the trio, smirking. "Kill them." she uttered softly, and watched as the youkai poured forth to do just that.

"Oh, no you don't!" Inuyasha yelled, launching himself in front of the oncoming youkai and slicing a few away with his sword. Meanwhile, more and more youkai were pouring in to fight, passing right through the weak membrane of the barrier.

And then, quite suddenly, it seemed as if a dome of glass was place over the battlefield, swirling with pink and purple aura. Kagome sighed. "Done!"

Now, the loads of youkai that were outside of the barrier stayed there, and when they became brave enough to approach it and try to force their way inside, they were instantly fried with a jolt of miko power.

Kunoichi dropped Kagome's and Kikyou's hands and admired their handiwork. "Great idea, really."

Inuyasha, who was holding about six youkai at bay with just his sword, chose this moment to scream, "What the hell are you wenches doing? Get on with it!" With a sharp slash, he tore his opponents apart and rejoined the fray.

Miroku was alternating between blowing the youkai into the newly erected barrier and watching them burn or slicing them with his air blades. Ninsei was using his staff as well, to drop the youkai into pits and seal them underground or to turn the ground under their feet to quicksand, making attacking them much easier. And what was Sango doing?

Kohaku had approached her and was standing an appropriate battle distance away. "Master Naraku wants all of you dead," was the only thing he said.

Sango couldn't bring herself to speak. Kohaku didn't give her time to build a sentence anyway, as he hurtled his chain sickle at her. Sango hadn't expected the sudden attack and gave a short scream as she fell to her knees, clutching her shoulder. "Kohaku, please! I don't want to have to hurt you!"

Kohaku's stony look didn't change. Instead of replying with his mouth, he whipped the sickle forward again. This time, however, Sango was ready. She leapt to her feet, pulled her katana from her waist, and blocked the blade, sending it to the ground, harmless.

Sango was about to begin another plea for Kohaku to remember her when he drew the sickle back toward himself in an inhumanly fast motion and whipped it out again. The blade cut a gash in the arm that had been struck before. This time, Miroku noticed her cry of pain and turned.

"Sango-san! Are you all right?"

Sango's mouth was drawn in a thin line. "Don't help me, Miroku-san. I want to deal with my brother on my own."

'Brother?' echoed faintly in Kohaku's mind, and he got a faint glimpse of this girl bandaging his hand when he'd caught his sickle wrong. As soon as the memory returned, however, it was somehow erased from Kohaku's thoughts and he turned his lifeless eyes again on Sango.

Again manipulating the chain sickle at the almost perverse speed, Kohaku whipped the blade back toward Sango, who managed to block it again. With this, the two fell into a rhythm: Kohaku would attack, Sango would parry, over and over. As beads of sweat formed on Sango's forehead, she realized that one little slip could be the difference between life and death.

As this was happening, Kikyou was chanting, her hands in a praying position. Kagome and Kunoichi had joined the fight, the former brandishing the Sora-Ki and the latter standing rather far away, firing purified arrows at all enemies within reach.

Even though the flow of youkai had been halted, they weren't making much progress. There were so many youkai already inside the barrier that they seemed to be everywhere at once. When several minutes had passed and no noticeable difference was shown in the masses of youkai, Inuyasha yelled out to the others, "Get behind me!"

The fighters (especially those with youkai blood) hurried to a safe place. That is, everyone except Kikyou, who was so deep in her chanting that she hadn't heard the warning. Or maybe she had, and didn't care.

"Kikyou, MOVE!" Inuyasha snarled, holding Tetsusaiga over his head. The army of youkai was approaching fast, and the best time to use the Kaze no Kizu would be now.

Kikyou ignored his cry and continued chanting. Suddenly Kagome's body underwent a violent tremor and she gasped. "He's coming!"

A swirling black vortex had appeared at Kikyou's feet. As they watched, horrified, a head began to rise from it. A baboon head...

"Get out of the way, Kikyou!" Inuyasha hollered again, but to no avail. The miko was deep in meditation, and she would remain that way until she had fully summoned Naraku.

Kagome's plan had been this: erect a barrier and eliminate everything inside. Then, they would summon Naraku inside the barrier (ensured that it would be the real him, because puppets wouldn't answer to the call). Then, they could fight without worrying about their opponent fleeing in the middle of the battle.

The bottom of Naraku's pelt cleared the ground and the black void sealed itself. Kikyou gave a jerk and opened her eyes slowly. Seeing the object of her summoning standing in front of her startled her, and she leaped back with a gasp.

Then, quicker than a flash, Naraku leapt forward and closed a clawed hand around her throat. "You betrayed me, Kikyou."

Kikyou spat at his face, her aim true, and the droplets fell inside the mask on his face. A red glint began to shine behind Naraku's eyeholes. His fist clenched and Kikyou released a strangled cry. No one else could bring themselves to do anything but stare in horror.

While all this was going on, the youkai were steadily approaching. Inuyasha hovered in indecision. If he attacked now, there was a good chance that Kikyou could be caught in the blast. On the other hand, there was a good chance that Naraku would be caught as well, ending this battle faster than any of them could have hoped.

And then, the indecision was shattered. Kikyou stared directly into Inuyasha's eyes, pain lacing her features. Do it, she mouthed.

Kagome seemed to have caught the motion, because she put a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "Naraku will kill her if we do nothing. It's inevitable." She put a hand to her mouth as she realized what had just come out.

The male hanyou stared at Kikyou for a moment, at least until her eyes rolled and she blacked out from the pressure on her neck. Everything was clear now.

Swirls of light blanketed Inuyasha's vision. He stared directly into them until he saw the sparkling white stripe where the youkai army's aura met the wind...

"KAZE NO KIZU!" he hollered, bringing the sword down forcefully.

Several things happened at once. Ayako shrieked and sought refuge to one side of Inuyasha, pulling Kohaku, who was still staring at Sango (who had run behind Inuyasha in the middle of their battle) with her. Naraku dropped Kikyou to the ground and whirled to face the hanyou. He found no time for a staring match, instead leaping into the air as high as he could. Inuyasha's attack decimated the ranks of youkai, reducing them to dust along with the inert body of Kikyou.

In the air, Naraku met with the miko barrier. Even though Kikyou's death had weakened it considerably, it kept him inside but lost the stopping power. The jolt burned away most of the back of his baboon pelt, causing it to slip from his body when he landed once more.

Sango gasped, while Ninsei and Miroku looked stunned. Naraku had dodged the Tetsusaiga's ultimate attack! What was there left to do?

Naraku sneered, "Was that supposed to strike me down, Inuyasha? I hope you'll forgive me for dodging. I thought you were aiming deliberately low."

Inuyasha bristled and bared his teeth. "Shut up, you bastard! You've been causing hell for us for too damn long, and I'm gonna stop you here!"

"Pitiful hanyou."

"Back at you."

Naraku looked taken aback for a brief second, then snarled, "I am more powerful than you could ever hope to be. All of you will die inside of this convenient barrier. Have you not noticed that you are trapped as well?"

"We're not gonna run away, Naraku. That's for cowards like you!" Inuyasha shot back.

Naraku glared. "No further speeches. I prefer to kill you all now. You are a waste of valuable time. Once you are dead, I will possess the entire Shikon jewel, and the world will be mine, shrouded in eternal darkness!"

Inuyasha scoffed. "Over my dead body!"

"Straight from the horse's mouth."

Inuyasha growled. "YOU-"

But before he could tell Naraku just what he was, the air suddenly became lightly fogged. As everyone stood, the abundant mist thickened, quickly reducing visibility so badly that no one, even the youkai, could see the hands in front of their faces. The thick smoke also deadened another sense, obscuring scent from the noses of the more sensitive fighters.

"Is this one of Naraku's tricks?" Ninsei shouted, waving a hand in front of him, trying to make contact with Miroku, who was there a moment earlier.

Sango, Kunoichi, and Kagome were trying to find each other by sound, but it was difficult because the fog distorted the waves. It would have been almost comedic if it wasn't such a dire situation.

Inuyasha cursed to himself. He began to step backward to try and find the others, but he halted when he head Naraku's voice. He sounded angry.

"AYAKO! Were you given orders to do this? Why have you disobeyed me?"

Ayako's voice was calm, even a bit joyous. "I only listened to your orders for one reason. And now, I don't need your help anymore. I have all I need."

"You will listen to me! Clear this fog NOW!"

"I am not yet done."

A furious growl puntuated this statement. Inuyasha grinned. Naraku seemed to be just as inhibited as the others. Maybe this could work in his favor...

Kagome wandered around, waving her arms in front of her and hoping against hope that she wouldn't run into Naraku. Or a tree. It turned out to be the latter.

"Ow! Darn!" She rubbed the sore spot on her forehead angrily and bellowed, "This is STUPID!" before remembering that she didn't need to talk to speak with someone...

'Inuyasha!'

'Where are you?' he snapped back. He was looking around for any sign of anyone.

'Uh...by a tree?'

'Big help, Kagome.'

'I'm doing the best I can!'

'Have you found anyone?'

'No. Have you?'

'No. I-'

When he cut off, Kagome instantly became worried. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins and his body readying for action. 'Inuyasha? What is it?'

Inuyasha's eyes had become agitated by the fog. He was rubbing them furiously, blinking to clear his vision, when he saw him. Naraku was standing a short distance away. The air around him was clear up to a few feet away, where is blended once more into the white fog.

'Naraku.' He answered Kagome's question belatedly. Ignoring her pleas for him not to do anything rash, Inuyasha propelled himself forward with a battle cry, holding his sword ready.

Naraku dodged effortlessly, leaping to the side. Spinning quickly, Inuyasha launched in this new direction and Naraku evaded the blow again, this time by leaning back. "Damn...you...Fight...me!" Inuyasha panted. Naraku didn't answer, unless a sly grin is a response. Inuyasha leapt back into striking distance, and again, Naraku sidled away.

Inuyasha was becoming frustrated, but he calmed down enough to focus his thoughts. 'I have to make a swing count!' he convinced himself, looking at Naraku's calm face. Dredging up dirt behind him, Inuyasha flew forward once more, faster than ever, and swung Tetsusaiga, a battle cry bursting from his mouth.

When he felt sword meet flesh, he was elated. Landing on the other side of Naraku, he turned to look. A deep gash had been cut in Naraku's flesh, from the right shoulder across the chest to the bottom of the abdomen. But then, something that Inuyasha had not been expecting happened.

Naraku slumped to the ground and lay motionless.

'WHAT?' Inuyasha thought. 'No way it's over already! That was EASY!' He could detect Naraku's labored breathing and smirked.

Suddenly, almost as if on cue, the fog lifted and dissipated. Ninsei was the first to notice Inuyasha standing near Naraku, who was on the ground with the injury. And he cried out.

"Inuyasha! What have you DONE?!?" The panther youkai ran forward to Naraku, kneeling beside him putting a hand to the wound.

Inuyasha stared. "You TRAITOR!" he howled. "How dare you work against us!"

Kagome spoke quietly from behind him. "Why have you done this, Inuyasha?"

"WHY?!?!" Inuyasha rounded on her. "Isn't this what we came here for?"

"Have you lost your mind!?!?" Kagome shrieked. "We never came here for this!" She sounded on the verge of tears, and indeed, her eyes were rather misty.

"Yes the hell we did, you stupid wench!" Inuyasha stepped up to her, glaring. "Don't tell me that we came all this way not to kill-"

He cut off. Seeing as how Kagome had just slapped him with all of her strength, it wasn't surprising. Inuyasha's head was turned at an extreme angle and his cheek was tinged red. His eyes were wide and shocked, his mouth slightly open, his arms hanging limply at his sides, the fang sword clutched loosely in one hand.

Kagome slumped to the ground and buried her face in her hands, sobbing softly. Ninsei looked up at Inuyasha with hatred in his eyes as the hanyou turned back to face him.

And then, Inuyasha's face took on a look that resembled him being slapped again. His knees gave way and he sank to the earth, staring at the body at Ninsei's side.

"No..." he whispered. "No...it...it can't be..."

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Shippou: I'm doing this because the authoresseses..uh...authoresai....uh...anyway, the writer ladies can't do it because they might give away the plot. And we wouldn't want that! Oh, and Corisu had something to ask you guys: Does Inuyasha talk in youkai form? If you know, please review or e-mail and tell her. It's ESSENTIAL! Cuz-

Inuyasha: *dashes forward and slams a fist into the top of Shippou's head* SHUT UP, BRAT! You're just as bad as those crazy author chicks!

Shippou: *puts a hand to the huge bump on his head* Oww...Kagomeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

Kagome: OSUWARI!

Inuyasha: *crash-lands*

Kagome: Are you okay, Shippou?

Shippou: *sniffles* I guess so...

Kagome: *picks him up and hugs him* That's good. And all you out there, don't forget to review! C'mon, Shippou-chan, I'll make you some ramen.

Inuyasha: Hey, what about ME?

Kagome: Oh, you?

Inuyasha: Yeah!

Kagome: Osuwari!

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