Chapter: beginning of the end

Inuyasha was worried. It had been six days since they parted from Linn in the forest clearing. How is she now? He should never have left her alone with that monster! He still couldn't explain why Linn had insisted so much on staying with Sesshoumaru. He hadn't done anything to earn her sympathy. On the contrary! He had tried to get her out of the way, as he did with anyone who dared to stand in his way. He was merciless and the heart in his chest seemed to be made of stone. Inu Yasha's earliest childhood memories were shaped by this image of his brother. Sesshoumaru had only looked down on him from the start. Inuyasha had often tried to reconcile with him, although he didn't even know why Sesshoumaru was avoiding him. After her father died, the situation had only gotten worse. Sesshoumaru seemed completely bitter and wouldn't let Inuyasha even come near him.Badly hit by the loss of his beloved father, Inuyasha had at some point buried the hope of ever coming to terms with his brother and had turned her back on his home village. From then on he wandered aimlessly and his grief and frustration turned more and more into a deep-seated hatred for his cold-hearted brother who seemed to feel no pain at all.
If Linn had really managed to bring him back to life, he would certainly not show her gratitude but would take the first chance to kill her. Maybe at that moment she wasn't even alive anymore. He should have forced her not to separate from the group! He should have protected her !! Countless accusations swirled through his head and it seemed to him as if his shoulders would soon break under this invisible burden.
"You worry about her, aren't you?"Inuyasha was torn from his gloomy thoughts when Kagome spoke to him.
Was it so easy to see through that Kagome could read it like a book? There didn't seem to be any point in denying his feelings, so he just nodded wordlessly and looked at her. Then Kagome took his hand and squeezed it gently.
"She seemed very sure of her cause. You have to trust her, Inuyasha.", Kagome said reassuringly and smiled at him.
"Kagome ..." he muttered uncertainly.
Between the feelings of guilt there was now another feeling that came over him sometimes when he was with Kagome. When she looked at him and after a long time he finally felt understood by someone. When was the last time he felt this way ?? The memory of Kikyou flared again in his heart. But this time it was weaker than usual. Was he slowly beginning to forget it? No, one look in Kagome's eyes inevitably made him think back to his lost love.Even if he knew that there could be no future for this love, it was not possible for him to banish it from his thoughts.
Kagome was Kikyou's rebirth and looked very similar to her and yet the two couldn't have been more different. Kikyou had often been serious and thoughtful. Kagome, on the other hand, was cheerful, impulsive and sometimes a real pain in the ass. At the thought of their constant squabbling, a fleeting smile crept over the face of the half-demon, which Kagome could not hide.
"Well, you seem to be feeling better," she said, relieved.
Only now did they both notice that they had been walking through the forest for a while without realizing it, holding hands. Startled, they scattered with bright red heads.
This action brought them the undivided attention of the others, who hadn't noticed anything of this until now."Hey Kagome, did something bite you?" Shippo asked worriedly and fearfully on the lookout for possible monsters.
Miroku just grinned knowingly. They were really too cute. Would they still get along in this life? It was obvious to everyone what they felt for each other. Well, except probably for the two of them ... He himself was very different, of course. He really had no problems with girls. Linn was probably the best example. How quickly he had managed to wrap the little one around his finger despite the increased difficulty due to her extremely jealous brother. It was as if he could still feel her kiss on his cheek. Her soft lips on his skin ... Okay, it was just a little kiss, but they were still at the very beginning of their relationship. However, it would certainly not be wrong to start thinking about family planning ...While Miroku was dreaming to himself and occasionally sighing lost in thought, Sango was slowly getting too colorful. This womanizer really only had one thing on his mind. She could literally see what thoughts were going on in his skull when he had that slightly moronic grin on his lips again. She really liked Linn, but this constant fidgeting was getting on her mind. To vent her anger, she grabbed her boomerang and placed a light nudge on the back of the knee of the monk walking in front of her. This bent to the side unprepared and landed rudely in the leaves. Before he could get up again, Sango had already stowed the murder weapon away and was looking at the sky with an innocent expression.
"Hey, what was that supposed to mean?", Miroku scolded angrily and patted the leaves off his robe.
"Mmh? What do you mean? I just didn't look.", Sango said hypocritically, but the broad grin that now settled on Miroku's face made her suspicious."Always those clumsy advances ..." he smirked and took a few steps towards her.
"Shall I show you how to do this correctly?" He asked, trying to make his voice sound as seductive as possible.
Now he was standing right in front of her. Sango's face first turned pale and then turned a dark red.
"You probably don't have all the cups in the cupboard anymore, you pervert!" She hissed and picked up her boomerang again. But this time to really overcook Miroku. He saw Sternchen first and then Sango, who stomped away furiously.
"Tz, Kindergarten ...", Inuyasha muttered and earned a wry look from Kagome. But he couldn't take care of that anymore because he had heard a noise. It was a rustle that approached them quickly. With a sign he ordered the others to stop and keep quiet. As if on command, they all took the attack position.Miroku had pulled out his staff, Kagome had already put a hand on one of her magic arrows, Shippo had chosen a position a little further behind the others and Inu Yasha had also raised her ears and was ready to jump. Only Sango, who had already preceded it a little, was not to be seen.
Who would they deal with me this time? Maybe with one of Naraku's nasty descendants again? These monsters had grown stronger over time, which suggested that Naraku himself had also become more powerful. How long would it be before they would face him in person?
Suddenly a figure broke out of the undergrowth. Inuyasha pounced on her without hesitation. There was a scuffle, but both moved so fast that the other could only hear a flicker in the air. When Kagome was about to draw her bow to help Inuyasha, the fight ended abruptly.Now a very strange picture presented itself to them. It was as if Inuyasha was wrestling with his own shadow. But then both opponents let go of each other and looked at each other aghast.
"Really great greeting ...!" Linn gasped and pushed her hair back from her face.
"Linn? ... You are alive!", Inuyasha shouted and hugged his sister overjoyed. Miroku wanted to do the same, but an evil look from the half demon made him quickly dismiss the thought.
"Great, I almost broke a nail because of you, brother!" Joked Linn and gave Inuyasha a head-butt.
Inuyasha pouted for a moment, but then began pestering Linn with questions:
"Why did it take so long? What did this disgust do to you? Oh, I'll ...",
"No need to worry. We got on really well!" Linn interrupted him in his torrent of speech.
Everyone looked at her in astonishment."That is supposed to be a joke!" Inuyasha replied incredulously. The very idea that Sesshoumaru could get along with anyone was more than crazy.
"No, seriously. He was pious as a lamb!" Said Linn calmly.
Well, that wasn't exactly the truth, but Linn just didn't want to give her brother the satisfaction of telling him the whole story. Besides, the fact that Sesshoumaru hadn't cut her into strips actually spoke for itself. The image of the peacefully sleeping Sesshoumaru came back to her mind. It was really just a slight variation on reality ...
"It can't all be true!" Inuyasha grumbled. "Admit it. You took him around the corner when he was passed out."
"Oh shut up! You just can't stand the fact that I get on much better with him than you do!" Linn hissed back angrily."Ha, who wants to get along with such a stinky boot? I'd rather kiss a slimy toad demon!" The half demon snapped and made a disgusted grimace.
"Suits you!" Linn poisoned and stuck his tongue out to her brother, whereupon he pulled her hair hard.
"Immature, small half-demons have no business here, ..."
The two fighters suddenly turned their heads.
"Who was that?" They hissed as if from one mouth, but their friends just looked at her uncertainly.
"It wasn't one of us," Kagome whispered worriedly.
Suddenly it seemed as if all the noises around them had ceased. No bird sang, no more breeze stirred in the branches. All they heard was a cold voice that they couldn't make out from which direction it was coming.
"So long you have run after me without success. Every time you have failed miserably. You have strained my patience for too long.But today is your lucky day. I will now put an end to this tragedy once and for all. "
Linn felt an ice-cold shiver down her spine. She had a bad idea. That voice could only belong to one ...
"Naraku!" Inuyasha hissed and there was pure hatred in his voice.
"So you really dare to come here. You won't end anything here, but you can prepare yourself for your own exit. Come on, show yourself, you coward!", He growled and took Tessaiga's grip with his right hand.
"Ignorant! It has already started.", Came the disembodied voice again and now a figure they already knew slowly floated down from the sky. Just one look at the fur of