Kaya's Story (An InuYasha Fanfic)

Chapter 99: The Beginning of the End

Two days later, we arrived at the Village of Half-Demons. The village was much less cheerful when we arrived. Everyone seemed to be on edge like when I first came back here. Something was up. Yasuo's voice startled me, "they've been like this since we got the news that you were most likely dead." I didn't know how to respond. "They were all worried because they thought our village would be next," Ryu stated. "Naraku only attacked here to get my attention. If I was dead, he wouldn't come here because he has nothing to gain from killing anyone here," I told them. They seemed startled that I had said that statement so calmly, but it was the truth. Naraku doesn't kill without a reason. He always has a motive for everything he does; a lesson I learned the hard way. "Kaya? You're okay!" I heard a little girl squeal. I looked to my right to see Koneko running at us, so I knelt down to greet her. She ran into my arms and I could feel tears starting to soak through my clothing. She was crying. I pulled back slightly to look into her eyes, but quickly pulled her back to me and wrapped my arms around her protectively. She was terrified, even now. Something had happened while I was away and I intended to find out what happened, one way or another. I picked up Koneko and stood up once she had calmed down. Just after we began to walk towards Ryu and Hiroshi's hut, I heard soft snores coming from my shoulder and knew Koneko had fallen asleep. This wasn't unusual and it was almost comforting. We walked into the hut and Hiroshi stood up immediately, looking as if he'd seen a ghost. "You're alive," Hiroshi stated in disbelief. "It's good to see you again, as well," I told him with a smile. "I'm happy you've returned. When Ryu went to InuYasha after—" Hiroshi stopped when he glanced at Ryu. "What happened?" I asked. "It's none of your concern," Ryu stated. "What happened?" I demanded. "Akito is missing. He went out with a hunting party and they got separated. We were worried something terrible had happened," Yasuo explained. "By something terrible you mean Naraku, right?" I questioned. "You did tell us that a wolf demon was fighting Naraku, as well," Ryu stated. I looked at them, "Alright, tell me where to start."

Ryu was protesting my going after Akito the entire walk to the Yasuo's hut. Even after I had put Koneko to bed, he continued to protest, and it was starting to piss me off. "Ryu, I'm glad you care but if you don't want to be knocked out I need you, to please, stop talking." Ryu looked surprised but he did stop, which was a relief. Yasuo, Ryu, and I were the designated party for the search. It took me a long time to find our first clue, but after that, it got easier; especially after I caught his scent. Akito had either fallen off or been pushed off a nearby cliff into the river below. That was where the trail temporarily stopped. It picked back up when we found him at a nearby village at sword point. To get Akito out of there, I had Ryu and Yasuo hide while I changed into a human. The plan didn't work as well as I had hoped, but it did get us out of there with no loss of life; so I count that as a win. Once we had gotten far enough away, I changed back into myself and received a very threatening hug. "Uh, Akito, did you bump your head or something?" "No," he answered as he let go, "I'm just happy to see you alive. It brings hope back to the village." I was confused, but I wasn't going to push it. Akito was alive and well, the village was going back to normal, and I was happy to be a part of it. Occasionally, things turn out okay in the end.

The next morning, I left for Lady Kaede's village. It's only a half a day's run, but the journey felt so much longer than usual. About midday, I found myself standing under the Sacred Tree, signifying I had made it at last. Much to my surprise, InuYasha and Kagome were nowhere around so I settled for finding the others. They were by the well, and when I found them Miroku was on the ground and Sango was holding a large stick. "What happened here?" I questioned. Sango and Shippo looked at me in disbelief. "I'm glad to see you all alive and well," I told them. "It has been a while," Miroku stated as he stood up. I nodded, "I know and I'm sorry for that." "It won't be us you will have to apologize to," Sango stated. "What do you mean? I figured you all would blame me for what happened," I questioned. "Kagura, in a way, told us what Naraku had done," Sango stated. I was confused, but also relieved. "Kaya, are you aware of how much time has passed since then?" Miroku questioned. I started thinking about it and honestly, I had no idea. It could've been a full month or so and I would have no clue. No wonder they thought I was dead. "It has been several weeks. Kagome has gone home twice," Shippo informed me. Had it been that long? How had I lost so much time? I knew about the four days, but how much more did I lose without ever knowing? I had to figure out a way to stop that dragon from growing closer to my heart or I wasn't going to see the final battle or be able to hide the Sacred Jewel. I looked around and everyone had left. My mind had been so focused on what was in my head, it quit focusing on my surroundings. I knew they had returned to the village, so that's where I headed. On my way there, though, I felt a demonic aura dangerously close. In the distance, I saw the outline of a barrier and headed back the way I had come. When I got there, Hakudoshi was hovering just above the tree line along with a swarm of saimyosho. Hakudoshi had come to take Kagome's Jewel Shard, but I wasn't going to let that happen. I fired an arrow at the barrier, but all the arrow did was cause a ripple and then disintegrate. A second later, InuYasha released a wind scar that caused the saimyosho to disappear just before Hakudoshi retreated. We tracked him using the Jewel Shard he stole from Kagome. As we got close, Kagome told us that she sensed Kohaku's Shard, as well. When we found Hakudoshi, he was fighting Kagura; which I found rather strange. Sango went after Kohaku just before Hakudoshi disappeared and then reappeared. InuYasha used his adamant barrage, but when he did we realized that the Hakudoshi in front of us was an illusion so the real one could go after Kagura. Once Hakudoshi picked Kagura up in his barrier, InuYasha refused to use his adamant barrage so Kagura took things into her own hands. She used her dance of blades to tear Hakudoshi's body apart and after the second strike she told us what Hakudoshi and the infant had planned. A solid plan, but since Naraku knew about it, it wouldn't work. He's too smart for that. As if on cue, Hakudoshi's barrier vanished causing InuYasha to use his wind scar. The saimyosho then came to Hakudoshi's aid but only for a moment. He then used a large cloud of miasma to keep us away before once again going after Kagura. Once Kagome had purified the miasma, Miroku used his wind tunnel and Hakudoshi was no more. Kagura was now on her own with Naraku still in possession of her heart. Her only option now was to run and hope he didn't find her before we could get her heart back. For now, we had to catch up to Sango and Kohaku before this Moryomaru could find him.

When we caught up to Sango and Kohaku, Moryomaru was trying to catch Kohaku so InuYasha and I both attacked using our swords. His adamant barrage destroyed Moryomaru's arm and my spiritual winds kept him from reforming as quickly. When InuYasha revealed who Moryomaru truly was, the demon stopped trying to go after Kohaku. Again, InuYasha released another adamant barrage, but before it could hit Moryomaru, the demon took to the sky and vanished completely. Sango then confronted Kohaku about what he remembered and whether or not he recognized her. This was a conversation I didn't want to be a witness too because I knew he wouldn't stay with Sango and our group. It was too painful for him because being with her reminded him of what had happened. Regardless it was painful for both of them to be apart. Sango suggested he journey with us temporarily and I was pretty sure of where we were going. We were going to go to the Village of Demon Slayers.