Chapter 15 - The Battle - Part 1

Chapter 14-The Battle-Part1

The more Sesshoumaru dwelt on Kagome’s death the more he regretted his decision not to help; his heart ached when he looked at Inuyasha and he knew with certainty he had lost whatever chance of friendship between the two he had ever had.

The half-demon walked as though asleep, his eyes were cast down to the floor and his steps monotonously regular; often his companions tried to rouse him from his depression but their pleas and attempts fell on deaf ears.

Although only a few days since the death of Kagome, Sango felt it had been months of trudging in the seemingly never-ending gloom.

“There it is!” Shippo’s high-pitched voice cut through the air and made them all jump in shock.

“Oh my God.” Sango breathed as she took in the sight before her.

Naraku’s castle rose before them, unimpressive in itself, it still seemed to exude an aura of almost palpable evil; the two stories, built from the finest wood, looked forbidding even in the harsh midday sunshine.

A figure in a baboon skin cloak stood halfway between the castle and the companions, he bowed slowly and vanished.

“Another copy.” Sesshoumaru whispered to Miroku who, stood on the demon’s right hand side, shook his head warningly.

“Look!” shouted Shippo pointing to the roof of the castle; there stood the figure clad in baboon-skin again, once again he bowed.

Sango drew the boomerang bone from he back and threw it with all her might at the figure; to her surprise he caught it deftly in one hand.

Naraku smiled to himself as he felt the smooth bone under his skin, he jumped from the roof and landed barely a metre away from the demon exterminator; he glided to her side and placed the bone in her hands, leaning in so his lips were inches from her ear he whispered to her.

“Your weapon, my dear. You’ll need it.”

Sango shuddered despite herself and was about to back away when she felt a comforting pressure on her left shoulder; turning her head she saw Miroku looking angrier than she had ever seen him.

“Leave her be, Naraku. We have a score to settle.”

At the monk’s words Naraku threw his head back and laughed, the laughter was cold and filled with no real mirth.

“You cannot fight me.” It wasn’t a boast, it was simply a statement. “I am a god now, I can control nature itself.”

As if to illustrate his words a loud groaning creak came from behind the group; Sesshoumaru was the first to turn seeing, with disbelieving eyes, the forest they had just travelled come alive. Thousands of trees were pulling up their roots and moving to attack the small band; their movements were rolling and eerie and, although slow, seemed intelligent and immeasurably strong.

For the first time since Kagome’s death Inuyasha seemed to come alive, he drew the Tetsusaiga with an almost satisfied smile and faced the approaching tree-army; with a growl he launched himself at the nearest tree – luckily Sesshoumaru anticipated his move and followed drawing Tokijin.

At another word from Naraku the winds rose until a gale was whipping the dust from the ground making it impossible to see more than a metre in front and blowing the companions around.

Miroku fought until his muscles burned with the effort of swinging his staff but still more came, each foe blended into the next as he threw paralysing sutras and attacked with his staff. He had long since lost sight of any of his friends and the foremost thought in his mind as he fought was Sango.

The wind whipped his hair in front of his face as he planted his staff in the ground to try and keep from blowing away, just as he was about to move away something hit him from behind bowling him over.

When he came to a stop it was sheltered behind one of the trees that had been successfully defeated, looking round quickly to see what had hit him he saw Sango lying not three paces from him; he ran to her and tenderly lifted her in his arms.

Her face was mottled with bruises and blood flowed from her nose and mouth, her body was covered in cuts and gashes, and several bones were obviously broken; she fixed her eyes on Miroku’s face and a slight smile curved her lips upwards.

“”Sango will you marry me?” Miroku blurted out the words before he thought and then turned crimson, he hadn’t realised how much he loved her until that moment; to his mortification she seemed to be laughing, even though it obviously pained her to do so.

“Oh Miroku,” she gasped. “You never think of anything else do you? Even in a situation where we’re fighting for our lives.”

“I was serious this time, marry me.”

Something in his voice made Sango stop laughing and try to raise herself up despite the pain rushing through her body and the blackness threatening to claim her.

“You….you mean it?”

“Yes.” Miroku’s answer was simple and honest.

Before she could reply Miroku cried out in pain and arched his back; from behind him she could just make out one of the tree-men as he removed one of his sharper branches from Miroku’s back, it was coated with slick red blood.

As he pulled it away and moved on Miroku fell to the ground, lifeless. Sango, feeling her strength ebb away, crawled into his arms and closed her eyes.

“Of course I’ll marry you.”

The battle raged on around the two lovers as they lay dead in each others arms.