A/N: Alright, here we go with chapter 24, with no reviews and I feel like I'm going in blind. But alas, I didn't know what to expect…well, thanks for reading anyway. I hope to punch out this story this month.

When Dark Meets Light

Chapter 24

Sesshoumaru…

"Sesshoumaru…please…hurry…" He heard her strained voice in his head. "I'm coming." Was his reply to her. He closed his eyes and focused all around him. His blood…it had to be the way to find her. It would surely act like a beacon for him, if he could feel even a trace of it, he would know.

Arashi…

She kept a firm hold on the creature before her. She was surprised that she still had strength left for such a feat. 'I must hold on.' She kept repeating in her head. Sesshoumaru's blood was doing a number of things to her, but mainly it kept her conscious. It was renewing with vigor, but it was a painful process. It was still vying for control over her blood. 'What if…?' she shook her head with a frown. That would be giving Sesshoumaru's blood dominance inside of her; any self-respecting vampire wouldn't, shouldn't and couldn't do that. Then another thought crossed her mind. 'I'm going to die here, and I'm worrying about a little blood dominance?' That was stupid, utterly stupid.

Maybe if she didn't let it take complete control it wouldn't be so bad and it would give her a much needed energy boost. She began calming her own blood within. Hoping this would work. She shuddered and felt the boiling go to new heights, she clenched her eyes shut. It was overwhelming her. She tried to keep her breathing steady.

Suddenly her body jerked against the restraints. The power surge she felt was great and she had to release it somehow. Involuntarily, her body transformed. Her wings spread behind her and she was writhing against her bonds. The chains glowed with light. There was a barrier on them and try as she might, she couldn't break them. She narrowed her eyes to slits and looked towards Naraku. "You think you are clever, eh Naraku?" He felt her eyes on him, and as soon as he met her eyes he was now not just being held down, but crushed underneath the pressure of her mind. His eyes widened, clearly not expecting this from the woman before him.

Sesshoumaru…

He felt it. The power surge was to his right. He took off in that direction and pushed himself to go as fast as he could. 'What's going on?' He wondered while trees and rocks seemed to be a blur around him. It was his blood, alright, but what was happening? Another wave of power, that nearly knocked him back, was felt and his blood ran cold.

What he saw was a battlefield. Well, not so much a battlefield as a massacre site. Right in the middle of it, he could see Arashi, her black wings spread behind her and her coat flowing around her, her hair caught in an invisible breeze. She was chained off of the ground. But where was Naraku? His nose told him that his foe was close by. Then he noticed it. Naraku's form was on the ground, motionless. He turned his gaze back to Arashi, there was something wrong. She was expelling so much energy that he was sure she would collapse at any moment. "Arashi?" He whispered to himself. But it seemed Arashi had heard him, she had turned her attention to him.

She cracked a smirk. 'He came for me…' The statement lingered in her mind. It gave her a feeling like she'd never had before, a sense of something she couldn't quite put her finger on. It was akin to longing, a strange thought past through her and it shook the very core of her psyche. 'I needed him…to come.' Her smirk turned to a smile and the wild, dangerous look in her eyes disappeared. Her wings returned to their normal place within her. And she collapsed against the chains, letting them hold her up.

The stress of the situation suddenly overpowered her. She had finally noticed that she was in fact nearly exhausted from the exertion of her power. Somehow, Sesshoumaru's blood had overtaken her and was now reacting very differently than it had earlier. It quieted down, almost to the point where she couldn't even sense it within her anymore. She couldn't hold Naraku anymore as her power weaned away from her. It was like a sieve had opened, and her power was draining out of it.

Her breathing was ragged, and she was barely conscious. Sesshoumaru was no longer rooted to the spot and quickly went to her side. "You came…." She said quietly and fell into unconsciousness. From behind him a dark chuckling emerged. Sesshoumaru whipped around and found Naraku trying to stand. "You." Sesshoumaru growled out. He was before him in seconds, Naraku didn't have a chance. "I'll kill you now, with my claws, ripping you limb from limb…" It was the truth, before Naraku could even reply, he felt his arms giving way and felt Sesshoumaru's poison working through his system.

He tried to regenerate, but found it difficult as Sesshoumaru poured as much poison into the wounds as he could. He could feel each claw as they tore into his chest, working themselves into a frenzy into his chest. Sesshoumaru wasn't holding back, and Naraku didn't have a backup plan this time. He could feel his strength ebbing as Sesshoumaru ripped more and more of his body away. His chest was completely open now and Sesshoumaru wasted no time in grasping the heart that beat there. He ripped it from Naraku injecting more poison into the scarcely beating organ. The heart practically melted in his palm, but he was in no way finished. Naraku's last word came out with blood flowing from his mouth. "H..how…?" And his body gave way to death. His eyes empty and staring ahead, while Sesshoumaru continued his assault on the remainder of his body.

It went on for quite awhile. Naraku's form no longer remotely recognizable anymore. Sesshoumaru was covered in blood, poison and sweat. Never before had he lost all control like that. He shuddered, and opened his eyes like it was the first time. Again he shuddered. All of his senses were sharp and the smell, especially brought an ache to his head.

He looked out at the field before him and saw the first of the suns rays shining, slowly covering the land before him. That shook him out of his reverie as he turned his head and saw Arashi still unconscious. 'I have to get her out of here!' He picked himself off of the ground and made his way to her. With the death of Naraku, the barrier around the chains vanished and he easily tore through them. He held Arashi bridal style noticing that she was completely limp and made a quick exit to the nearest shelter he could find.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed, and it's not the end yet. Anyway, please R&R and hopefully I can get another chapter out soon!