Time and Again
by Zoni S. Nirii

The smoke across the field of broken tree stumps and charred grass was steadily thickening as the battle against Naraku continued. The sounds of metal against metal whipped through the air. Energy waves tearing through cloth and skin and the eternally harsh currents of wind that kept blowing out of control thanks to Kagura seemed to electrify the air. This was one time when the word silent could have never been applied, and at the moment any thought of sound or the lack there of was the furthest thing from the minds of those fighting. On the field the six fighters were each facing their own enemies.
Naraku himself seemed to be everywhere at once. Most of the field was a mass of writhing tentacles, sending shattered tree limbs and occasionally animals or people flying through the air with every raucous movement. His twisted face, now only barely resembling anything human, was turned to face Inuyasha. Laughing maniacally the once-handsome features were pulled taught over a phantom skeleton. Inuyasha was standing as tall as was possible, Tetsusaiga in hand and practically bristling with his anger. This was it, the moment he'd been waiting years to see...the end of Naraku. He'd have his revenge for himself...for Kikyou....for anyone who had ever been dragged into this war for whatever reason. Vengeance was his.
Stationed directly behind the hanyou was Kagome. For the first time in Heavens only knows how long, the girl had managed to get a few arrows off before she was attacked. Bow in hand, hair wild and eyes blazing she was more into this battle than she'd ever been. The outsider dragged into a fight; she had no real reason to be here and fighting this battle but she was anxious to do her part. She pulled an arrow from the quiver on her back as if the motion were the most natural thing on Earth to her and set it in place against the bowstring. Her fight was for her friends, each and every arrow that she loosed was aimed with anger towards the pain that Naraku had caused her companions.
A good distance away stood Miroku. His robes billowing in the wind, hair loosed from it's usual binding and Kazaana pulling hard against the magical currents created by Kagura....he was concentrating on nothing but the fight. The remnants of his staff could be seen scattered about the ground around him. The monks left hand was bracing his right arm, now rapidly shaking as if it were determined to lose control. There was little doubt in his mind as to the fact that this fight might be the end of him. Determined to at least get this much done, he was not holding back in the slightest. The curse that Naraku had placed on his hand would be the end of it's creator or at least one of it's creators children. To fulfill his father and grandfathers wishes before him, this was his fight.
Almost entirely across the field itself at the very edge of a ruined forest Sango was fighting her own demons. Kohaku had been mercilessly attacking for the past quarter hour. His sharp scythe ripping through the air to tear at her armor and skin time and time again before returning to the hand of it's dead master. Unwilling to strike back with lethal force but also unwilling to leave her brothers side, Sango merely fended off the attacks using Hiraikotsu as a shield. Occasionally taking a halfhearted swing at him with the oversized weapon; she wasn't certain that she could finish this battle. To kill her brother and kill herself, that was her mission. Revenge for her father and the whole of her village as well as the end of their simple culture. New strength surged through her and she reached for the sword tied at her side; her mission would be completed. It was her duty.
Away from everyone, Shippou was fighting a lethal enemy of his own. Kanna. Her mirror already shattered by some quickly forgotten enemy, the girl was standing nearly motionless, still holding the frame and few shards of pale glass that remained. Those shards of glass seemed to offer some power though. An eerie aura drifting about her seemed to keep Shippou far enough away for her comfort. Not that the pale, creepy child really showed any emotion. Shippou was fighting for a few reasons, the main one being that he wanted to protect his friends. The second that he was almost (though not quite) tired of running away or avoiding a fight. After all, he may just be a kid but he could fight too. He just liked to let the big people do it occasionally too. However, both his protector Sango and his most trusted friend Kagome were well out of reach. He was forced to defend himself for once.
A youkai swarm had isolated Kirara. The nekomatta was on her paws and roaring boldly in the faces of more than fifty fairly strong creatures. Struggling a few step forward and sinking heavy fangs into the nearest youkai, the feline attempted to make some headway to her master. The fight wasn't going well, however. For every step forward that she took she was forced two steps back. Flames blazing around her, the shapeshifter growled her frustration to the youkai around her.

Naraku had not once stopped laughing. Unbelievably arrogant, confident to no end and somehow still allowing endless opportunities to attack present themselves seemingly without care. In a semicircle around a good portion of him the ground was pushed up and out; trail marks of a recent Kaze no Kizu that had not hit its mark. The only Kaze no Kizu that Inuyasha had been able to manage before Kagura had been ordered to direct the wind so that Inuyasha could no longer use the attack. The distance between the two hanyou was remarkably small and the towering presence of Naraku's raw form threw shadows of Inuyasha, even in the dimming moonlight. To any outside observer it would have looked like a total standstill. Inuyasha's hair stood on end almost, rather like a cat, as he growled out countless curses and insults at the top of his lungs and under his breath. Golden eyes darted this way and that to look for a weakness; any weakness...something that would allow him to make easy work of this. He'd been dead fifty years thanks to this bastard who had turned Kikyou and he against each other. It was about damn time that he got some payback. However, fate was never kind and there was no doubt what so ever in his mind that if there was a weakness he'd have to look for it.
"Kagome! His shard! Where is it?!" barked Inuyasha. He backed up a step instinctively, reminding himself that he also had her to protect. The girl also backed up a step, though she let an arrow fly while doing it. Sneaking a glance back towards the towering form of Naraku that, oddly, wasn't attacking but seemed rather to be waiting for something. The familiar chilling aura of the Shikon no Tama could be both seen and felt radiating from him. Unbelievable strength and impure shards.
"They're directly in the center!" she called. Fumbling with one hand to grab another arrow, fingers pulling at the tufted shaft before setting it to the string and loosing it in the blink of an eye.
Inuyasha nodded heartily, white hair shaking with the motion as his eyes finally set directly on those of his opponent. Lifting Tetsusaiga and preparing to charge he muttered "Keh, so that's it is it!"
"Inuyasha, you think you can defeat me using that weak power again?" came Naraku's voice followed by a dark laugh. Countless shapeless arms waved as the enemy loomed even closer, taking extreme delight in the taunting of the hanyou.
However, Inuyasha had noticed something. The Kaze no Kizu hadn't penetrated Naraku's barrier, true...nor would Tetsusaiga ever be able to break such power by any given means to his knowledge....but he had located Naraku's weakness. In an attempt to fight off larger attacks or seem more menacing, Naraku had spread himself across an extremely large amount of ground. As a result, his shield was weaker in two points. The first point was, undoubtedly, towards the forest facing away from Inuyasha. But the second...the second was in the ground. All along the ground, maybe five feet under the shield was breaking. Inuyasha's nose twitched lightly as he examined this fact; the shield was barely cracked but he could still smell that bastard through it. Shields like those that Naraku loved so much often dampened scent and presence...but now it was as if he had no shield up at all. If only he could get Kaze no Kizu to hit that exact spot....

Miroku's grip with his left hand tightened. The force that Kazaana was unleashing at the moment, at the height of its power, felt as if it might rip the entire Earth apart. A strong pulse of pain was now shooting through his right arm at regular intervals and it was shaking almost to the point where it was about to rip itself out from the hold he was keeping on it with his left hand. The monk pressed his feet into the ground as if afraid of being blown away and stared angrily up at his opponent far above the battle field. Kagura had surrounded herself with a powerful chaotic wind that was almost entirely defeating the effect of Kazaana. However, the wind youkai was having trouble keeping that up and it was obvious. Slowly he was getting the upper hand.
Suddenly Kagura stopped fighting the current, instead she turned a strong blast of wind to push her out of the way of the Kazaana and turned towards where her master, Inuyasha and Kagome were fighting. Miroku saw what was going to happen but he was frozen in place. Unable to regain control of his arm and almost afraid of letting go of it with his left arm. It was the most he could do to yell out, "Inuyasha! Kagura's going to try something!"

Kagura watched the scene from high above. Inuyasha had lifted Tetsusaiga and was preparing to use Kaze no Kizu the second that the infernal winds around him had stopped carrying the youki away from his sight. Kagome too was readying for another strike. Her powerful mikos arrow was held taught against the bowstring and she was frowning out at a particularly ugly youkai a hundred or so feet away from her. Kagura smirked. This was perfect. She grabbed her fan and pulled it in front of her face. Now to wait for the perfect moment.

Inuyasha turned just in time to see Kagome's arrow fly. The twang from the bow as it spun off from the movement seemed to be the trigger for what happened next. The arrow flew about half way to it's opponent before it was snatched out of the sky by a powerful current of wind. The dart turned around and flew straight back to it's owner, slicing easily through her chest and out through the back of her uniform and deep into Inuyasha's thigh. Inuyasha barely even registered the searing pain of the holy arrow as it struck.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Kagome didn't scream. Didn't let off a shriek or make any noise really....she just fell over. Just like that. Her shirt was soaked through with blood, indicating the proximity of the arrow to her heart. Inuyasha stared in horror, ears twitching as he could hear her heart give off a faint pulse. And another. And another. And then nothing.
"KAGOME!" Dropping Tetsusaiga at his side, Inuyasha turned to fall down on his knees next to her. The battle seemed to have come to a complete halt as everyone in the area began to realize what had happened. Inuyasha just sat like that for a moment, as if not touching her might bring some sign of life back. After a moment his head lowered slowly towards his own chest as he began to heave himself back up onto his feet. Turning around almost painfully slow, he reached down to his leg and pulled the arrow forcefully from it, showing no sign of even noticing the slightest pain at doing so. The hanyou growled, low and dangerous, in a way that terrified the lesser youkai around him. He turned his head to face Kagura, still floating a hundred feet in the air on her giant feather. His eyes flushed blood red. Even with Tetsusaiga, he was bordering on his full youkai form. It was held at bay only by a sliver of will.
"Fucking bitch, get down here so I can tear you apart!" roared Inuyasha. His voice was thick with rage, hands already quirked and obviously ready to tear apart the object of his hatred. Kagura however seemed to be too stunned to do anything, let alone move. Inuyasha let out a nearly inaudible curse under his breath and then tensed himself close to the ground once more. In a single instant he had shot impossibly high into the air. One hand reached out above the other, muscles straining as his fist closed around strands of plumage. His other hand reached over and grabbed hold of Kagura's kimono. Kagura hadn't had a chance to move once the hanyou had launched himself towards her from the ground. She let out a light shriek as Inuyasha used all of his strength to fix a strangle hold on her right ankle and sent her hurtling to the ground with a single motion of his arm. Her back and head slammed into the ground leaving a small wave of dirt, sand and grass around her as she lifted herself to sit up before Inuyasha came flying down from above for a second attack. One clawed hand wrenched forward and gripped her hair. The other hand went directly through her throat and, catching hold, twisted. A froth of bloody bubbles sprang forth around his hand as Kagura's body went into a series of convulsions. The sound of bones crunching as well as the sickening hiss that was her response to the attack could be heard even by Sango, who stopped fighting long enough to turn and see what was going on.
Kagura was no longer recognizable. Her facial features twisted with the torture, her entire form covered in her own blood and her fan now clearly visible, sticking through the fabric of her clothing where she'd impaled herself on it during the fall. Inuyasha tightened and loosened the grip several more times until he could no longer hear a satisfying crunch and smelled the edge of death. Only then did he release his grip. At that moment however he heard something which infuriated him even more. Laughter. Naraku was laughing at him. At the death of his offspring Kagura. At the death of Kagome. He was enjoying it.
Inuyasha retrieved Tetsusaiga. He'd had enough messing around, it was finally time to finish this. Aiming at the weak spot he could still smell, he unleashed Kaze no Kizu. The strength amplified infinitely be it through his anger or the large amount of youki in the air no one knew. However, in only a moment a series of blinding lights cut through the shining barrier surrounding Naraku. The pink light that was the energy folded in on itself under the pressure from the attack and the crushing blades of wind fell heavily onto the occupant. Limbs separated from the main body, fluids, blood and debris shooting everywhere over a several hundred yard radius around where Naraku's main body was. His now half-human head was split in half and tossed carelessly to one side, an ear splitting scream echoing from it before being cut off prematurely. Just before the final piece of flesh and bone dissolved a small pink shard flew away from it and landed with a shallow splash in a pool of green liquid, turning black with the impure energy around it. Naraku had possessed most of the Shikon no Tama and now it was no longer in him. The last traces of him dissolved with a resounding crackle and silence fell upon the field.
Inuyasha paused to pick up the large shard of the Shikon no Tama before going over and seating himself next to Kagome's body. He picked up one of her hands and pressed the jewel into her palm, watching it leech back to pink even though its owner was long gone. Closing her hand around it he just sat for a moment and allowed everything that had just happened to sink in. This was it, this was the end. He had been able to kill Naraku like he wanted. He now had done everything he truly wanted, other than turning full youkai, and yet for the first time in his life he felt like crying. He pulled her body up into his lap and hugged it to him in a meaningless effort to try and bring her back. He'd do anything. He didn't feel this way when his mother had died. Or when he found that Kikyou was dead. So why now?
Miroku had just now arrived, kneeling next to Inuyasha with an unreadable expression on his face. His right hand was noticeably slack at his side, exhausted and severely strained from the effort of holding it so long with the Kazaana. He didn't say anything, however. It was likely that he didn't know what to say. He had extended his life span and removed the curse but at this cost? What was one supposed to think?
Sango batted off a few lesser youkai with Hiraikotsu and came trotting up. She hadn't seen it earlier when watching Inuyasha finish Kagura, but now she could clearly see. "Oh my God...Kagome-chan...is she..."
Inuyasha kept his eyes securely fixed on Kagome's lifeless features as he slowly rose to his feet, holding her close in his arms. He didn't want to have to look at the others right now. Not even acknowledging a whimpering squeak from Shippou when he arrived, his own battle finished when Naraku had died and Kanna had decided to leave, Inuyasha started walking. "Monk....you can perform the funeral, right?"

And just like that it had ended. It seemed like it had happened ages ago. It had only been a little over two weeks ago. Inuyasha still felt guilty. Kagome would have rather been buried in her own time, he knew it. Knew she deserved better than she had received in the end but they had been too far away from the well to even consider returning her body to her family. Earlier that day he'd handed the Shikon no Tama shards that they had to Kaede. She hadn't said a word, like the others she hadn't known what to say. Just now he'd returned from attempting to explain to Kagome's mother what had happened. It was his responsibility, the least he could do. He'd returned her backpack and other belongings and then after delivering the information left.
Now he was sitting beside the well with his back leaned up against it. His fingers were running over and over the beads on the rosary fastened around his neck. He hadn't tried to see if he could remove it; he didn't want to remove it any more. None of this would have happened if she'd never stumbled into the well in the first place, there had to be some way to fix it. Some way to make it so she'd never have to see any of this. It didn't matter what happened it was just...just that he never wanted to have to see that. Didn't want it to ever happen. The hanyou longed for a way to erase that from his memory, erase it from history. And then it struck him.
There was a way.
A determined look dawning on his face he showed that he had finally figured it out. If he destroyed the well....so completely that it could never be rebuilt then she would never have to come through the well, would she? She'd never have to shatter the Shikon no Tama...never wind up fighting for it...never die. Ripping at the sturdy logs of the well, Inuyasha began to dismantle it bit by bit. Past experiences had shown that smashing it with a rock and attempting to fill it with trees didn't work very well, and so he tried a more direct approach. He moved the last log and started digging at the sides of the well. This well was well built though, it's sides were framed by even more wood. Buried, hidden from sight...
There was a loud crack as one of the supports shattered after Inuyasha hit it a couple times and then jumped out of the way as the wall slowly gave way and dirt filled the well. Now there was no way that -

Crack.

Inuyasha's vision came into focus slowly, muscles already tense even before he was waking. The vines that held him to the tree and that damn burning pain in his chest were infuriating. A low growl hovering barely beneath the surface as he opened his eyes to the dark night. Staring ahead into the forest his nose could detect a scent in the distance, coming closer quickly. It was a scent that was familiar, comforting to him...but his mind was screaming enemy. As if he were watching a movie, Inuyasha heard himself speak without wanting to.
"I can smell her, that woman who killed me..."

To be continued...