InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Coming of Age ❯ Chapter 9 ( Chapter 9 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: DemonSaya 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.14.2006 | Pages: 5 | Words: 9.5K | Visits: 931 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.14.2006 | Pages: 5 | Words: 9.5K | Visits: 931 | Status: Completed
AN: This is the final installment of Coming of Age. There will not be anything after this chapter. Once it's done, it's done, no saying 'so, when's the next chapter', or anything like that, because I will just kindly point you to the author's note and the little word beside the number 9. It's been fun, but it's really time to wrap up this fic for good. I will post the finale at the end of this chapter, just to give it a proper ending, but once you all see the word Owari, it's over, that's the end. No more, except perhaps future revision in another five years. <3 Love ya'll, and thanks for the patience.
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Coming of Age
By: Demonsaya
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9 (Finale)
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Coming of Age
By: Demonsaya
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9 (Finale)
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It was a shame. A shame that Kouga was still so weak, even with six perfectly corrupted shards he was unable to take down a hanyou and his mate. That the death of one insignificant little girl would cause him to snap out of his anger driven trance.
Now they had eight shards. True, he had far more shards, still, but there was a strange glow coming from the shard around the girl's neck, and if that shard touched the jewel, he would be done for. Although that brought about part two of his plan. After all, what kind of evil bastard would he be if he didn't have a follow up should part A hit the fan.
He turned, looking at his captive, who looked more weak and emaciated since the last time she was seen, having given the remains of the shared soul back to the person it belonged to in this life time. The undead priestess stared up at him with a calm expression, unperturbed by her position. Her face was almost serene, as though she knew what was coming and was already accepting of her fate.
“How does it feel to be abandoned for your living copy?” He sneered at her, expecting at least a glare from the woman.
She lowered her eyes, pondering the question. “I was angry at first, and then I was sad. But the fact remains that Inuyasha has fallen out of love with me and in love with her. Nothing I can do can change that.” She raised her eyes and looked at him calmly. “Even if I could, I think I wouldn't anymore.”
This was not the reaction he was hoping for. He was hoping to infuriate the woman, but it appeared she'd gone through all the stages of grief already and had accepted the fact that the hanyou loved another. Naraku scoffed, looking towards the door, sensing them on the other side.
She looked towards him and her lips turned up into a small smile. “I do believe...that you are jealous of Inuyasha. That you have always been jealous of him. People trust him so easily, and love him so completely. You will never have that. You will die alone.”
He turned towards her again and sneered. “You think I care about having someone to love me? I will own the world with the shikon no tama, I will be all powerful, and you weak mortals will bend to the will of a god.” He laughed softly, capturing her face and turning her towards him. “And then I will take whoever I wish as mine. No mark of mating would be able to stop me.”
Kikyou chuckled darkly. “You may take, but you can never have what is most important. Hearts must be won, Naraku, and your evil, sinister ways will only earn you hatred, even if your lust is satiated, you will find the object of your desire with a knife either in her belly or in your back.”
He snarled his displeasure with her and snaked a hand behind her head, fisting in her hair and jerking her head back, looking down into her defiant gray eyes. This woman who he'd wanted since he'd seen her, this woman who angered him, who caused lust to swell in him, this woman who always had and probably always would defy him. “Do you think you know so well what will happen in the future, my dear?” He hissed against her skin, bringing his face a fraction of an inch away from hers.
She kept that dark smirk on her lips. “I know that Inuyasha and Kagome are going to destroy you.” She whispered.
He smiled darkly as well, and drug her forward, pressing a hard kiss against her mouth. He didn't mind that she tasted of death. Then again, had he had the time, he would probably have pressed her cold body against that wall and screwed what little life remained in her out of her. He pulled back, licking his lips, enjoying the disgust on her face. “Don't hold your breath, dear Kikyou. You might suffocate waiting for the cavalry.”
Now they had eight shards. True, he had far more shards, still, but there was a strange glow coming from the shard around the girl's neck, and if that shard touched the jewel, he would be done for. Although that brought about part two of his plan. After all, what kind of evil bastard would he be if he didn't have a follow up should part A hit the fan.
He turned, looking at his captive, who looked more weak and emaciated since the last time she was seen, having given the remains of the shared soul back to the person it belonged to in this life time. The undead priestess stared up at him with a calm expression, unperturbed by her position. Her face was almost serene, as though she knew what was coming and was already accepting of her fate.
“How does it feel to be abandoned for your living copy?” He sneered at her, expecting at least a glare from the woman.
She lowered her eyes, pondering the question. “I was angry at first, and then I was sad. But the fact remains that Inuyasha has fallen out of love with me and in love with her. Nothing I can do can change that.” She raised her eyes and looked at him calmly. “Even if I could, I think I wouldn't anymore.”
This was not the reaction he was hoping for. He was hoping to infuriate the woman, but it appeared she'd gone through all the stages of grief already and had accepted the fact that the hanyou loved another. Naraku scoffed, looking towards the door, sensing them on the other side.
She looked towards him and her lips turned up into a small smile. “I do believe...that you are jealous of Inuyasha. That you have always been jealous of him. People trust him so easily, and love him so completely. You will never have that. You will die alone.”
He turned towards her again and sneered. “You think I care about having someone to love me? I will own the world with the shikon no tama, I will be all powerful, and you weak mortals will bend to the will of a god.” He laughed softly, capturing her face and turning her towards him. “And then I will take whoever I wish as mine. No mark of mating would be able to stop me.”
Kikyou chuckled darkly. “You may take, but you can never have what is most important. Hearts must be won, Naraku, and your evil, sinister ways will only earn you hatred, even if your lust is satiated, you will find the object of your desire with a knife either in her belly or in your back.”
He snarled his displeasure with her and snaked a hand behind her head, fisting in her hair and jerking her head back, looking down into her defiant gray eyes. This woman who he'd wanted since he'd seen her, this woman who angered him, who caused lust to swell in him, this woman who always had and probably always would defy him. “Do you think you know so well what will happen in the future, my dear?” He hissed against her skin, bringing his face a fraction of an inch away from hers.
She kept that dark smirk on her lips. “I know that Inuyasha and Kagome are going to destroy you.” She whispered.
He smiled darkly as well, and drug her forward, pressing a hard kiss against her mouth. He didn't mind that she tasted of death. Then again, had he had the time, he would probably have pressed her cold body against that wall and screwed what little life remained in her out of her. He pulled back, licking his lips, enjoying the disgust on her face. “Don't hold your breath, dear Kikyou. You might suffocate waiting for the cavalry.”
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They observed a long moment of silence for the girl before Inuyasha looked towards Sesshoumaru, a serious expression on his face. The demon didn't speak but he wore a calm, if disgusted expression, and so Inuyasha grinned, as though reading his thoughts. He looked towards his mate, where she was comforting the wolf, who clung to the body of the girl he'd killed and cleared his throat.
Both slowly raised their heads, Kagome, quickly, Kouga more slowly, almost reluctantly. The hanyou could see why. There were tears staining his face. Inuyasha looked at them seriously and he watched Kagome straighten and return to his side without his prompting. Kouga still remained sitting on the floor, cradling the body against his chest. Inuyasha walked towards him and dropped to one knee, looking at the wolf demon seriously, his expression grave.
“I killed her...” He whispered, his voice broken slightly.
Inuyasha nodded, resting a clawed hand on his shoulder. “You did, but you were corrupted by Naraku. Everything comes back to Naraku.” He said evenly. “If you want to avenge her, rather than sitting here and crying like a baby, go punish the bastard who caused you to go so blind to everything around you that you killed a friend.”
Kouga stared at him in confusion. “I have to watch over her...” He whispered. “I can't just leave her like this...” Why was Inuyasha being kind to him? When had the hanyou matured to the point that he was willing to let their petty rivalry go and fight together to destroy the common enemy? The answer was so obvious it almost made him laugh. Mating had calmed the hanyou. It had calmed his agitated spirit, it had given his chaotic life an obvious direction.
The hanyou stood, looking towards his brother. “She was pack. She is pack.” He said calmly. “So he's pack too.”
Sesshoumaru nodded in what almost looked like approval.
Kagome gave the hanyou a winning smile and walked to his side. “Sesshoumaru-sama, would you look after Ayame?” She asked softly. The great demon nodded and she looked towards Kouga once again. “Kouga, this is your fight too.” She said evenly. “Like Inuyasha said, you're pack, you're still a part of this family. Naraku misled you. He used you. Because of him, someone who loved you very much, who wanted nothing more than the old you back is dead. You have an obligation to yourself to see Naraku punished.”
Kouga looked from the dog boy to the human girl who stood before him and they were joined by the rest of the rag tag pack as they called them. A great demon, a demon hunter, a lecherous priest, a human girl from another world, an outcast hanyou. All of which were offering him a place to fight beside them in the name of defeating the common enemy, the one who had caused everything leading up to this point. Slowly, he released Ayame's body, letting it sink to the ground. He gently crossed her arms over her chest and leaned forward, placing a soft kiss to her forehead. Then, he rose to his feet, looking at them wearing a calm expression. “Let's go kick that miserable bastard's ass.” He said, giving them a grin.
Inuyasha grinned in return. “That's the spirit.” He gave Sesshoumaru a glance and nodded in his direction, guiding his mate towards the large door that stood between them and their next fight. He heard the other's following, with Sesshoumaru as the sole exception. From him he heard the sound of steel against wood and grinned broader. Loyal pack members deserved rewarded.
Kagome glanced behind them towards where Sesshoumaru stood over the girl and her jaw gaped slightly, seeing Tenseiga in the great demon's hand. The demon looked towards her and nodded his acknowledgment, and then he waited. Kagome looked up at her mate and he nodded at her, as if understanding her unspoken question. Her heart melted and she smiled for him. “You're a good man, Inuyasha.”
He gave her a gentle squeeze and rested his palm against the worn wood of the door. Slowly, he pushed the door inward, allowing it to open easily. His eyes swept around the room and he wasn't entirely surprised to see Naraku standing there with his back to them. What did surprise him, however, was seeing his old love tied up against the wall, wearing a disgusted expression. He ground his teeth together and took a steadying breath. The hanyou felt his mate's hand come in gentle contact with the mark on his shoulder and it caused a calming breath of life through him. It was as if she healed every injury from the fight with Kouga just with her touch.
“I'm disappointed in you, Kouga. You could have been very powerful.” The demon turned, smirking at them, holding the large chunk of the jewel in his hand. “Ah, the hanyou and his bitch, come to try to destroy me?”
Kagome didn't even flinch. “We don't intend to try.” She said coldly. This demon had caused so many people so much pain. He had tricked Inuyasha and Kikyou into betraying each other, he had caused the air void in Miroku's hand, he had robbed Sango of her family, caused the destruction of Kouga's pack, had used Sango's brother to manipulate her, had used Kikyou to come between herself and the man she loved. And the most recent insult, had manipulated Kouga into harming those he had once viewed as friends, had pumped him up with Shikon shards and corrupted him, blinding him so badly that he killed a dear friend.
Inuyasha drew his sword and aimed it at the demon, glancing towards Kagome. “Use your arrows and stay at a distance. I don't want you put at risk.” He said in a quiet tone, then looked towards the other melee fighters. “Sango, you cover Kagome. The rest of you are with me.” He gave his mate's hand a squeeze. “Back-up should arrive shortly, but I can't fight well when you or someone else are in danger. Go get her untied and have her look after Ayame as she recovers.” He said softly.
She nodded, and caught Sango's eye. “Come on.” She said, sliding around the wall. She watched as her mate and their companions darted towards the demon, unaided by the shards that she had in her possession. Naraku wasn't intimidated by them. In fact, he knocked them back one at a time, and Kagome realized something. Naraku was over confident. He'd never seen what these men could do when someone they loved was in danger.
He hadn't seen Inuyasha take a poison claw through his belly, just so she wouldn't be hurt.
Had never seen Miroku run headlong into danger, Kazanaa blazing, no matter that he was shortening his life span.
Had never seen Kouga protect his pack as fiercely as he could with his own life.
He had witnessed the events, but he hadn't seen beyond the brazen stupidity of the attacks. He hadn't realized that these actions were their strengths. The way they saw life, what was important to them, that was what made them strong. Their desire to protect those they loved their friends, their companion, their patchwork family caused their inner strength. She felt her heart swell as Inuyasha was knocked violently back into the wall and he pushed himself back up, meeting her gaze, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth and running back towards the demon.
She reached her destination and Sango used her sword to cut through the ropes binding the miko who bore her own face. Kikyou stood and looked at her, a calm expression on her face. “You've went down in number.” She said evenly.
Kagome nodded. “That's being taken care of. We need a favor...”
Inuyasha saw that his old love was released and moved himself so that Naraku wouldn't notice as Kagome got the other woman out of the room. The demon was still standing in the same space and not as much damage as Inuyasha would have liked had been dealt on the bastard. There had to be a weakness somewhere. Miroku couldn't open Kazanaa because there were probably some of those damn bees waiting for him, and he was still slightly wounded from his battle with Kouga. Kouga was being more careless than he himself was being, probably because he didn't think he had anyone to protect.
“You are a fool to think you're strong enough to defeat me, hanyou...I've eaten greater demons than you for lunch...” Naraku sneered at him, but his smirk was gone when he noticed the girl who was once his captive was being escorted out of the room. The demon hunter and the girl with Kikyou's face kept their eyes and weapons trained on him.
“We shall return when the girl has fully recovered.” Kikyou said evenly.
Kagome nodded, not looking towards her. After all, Naraku had spotted them. “Okay.” She said, breathing steadily, never mind the murderous look on the demon's face. She couldn't let her fear get the better of her. She had a mission to finish. She had shattered the jewel, and by god, she'd be the one to reassemble the damn thing.
“Witch...” Naraku seethed.
Inuyasha snorted, looking at the demon, wearing a haughty expression despite the pain he was in. “What's wrong, your all-seeing-eye not catch our plan? We didn't know Kikyou would be here, thanks for helping us out there...”
As he finished speaking, Sesshoumaru, the sole uninjured demon in the area, walked into the room, still in the process of sheathing Tenseiga. “The girl is recovering.” He said evenly. He gave Kouga a flat look. “And if you don't want a very irritated wolf-girl on your hands, this Sesshoumaru would recommend you cover your ass better.”
Kouga's eyes widened and he felt a new determination growing in him. He had to protect Ayame, she had protected him. She had protected him from himself, she had saved him when he needed her to the most, at the cost of her own life. Now, it was his turn to protect her. And when it was over...
Kouga glanced towards the great demon. He wouldn't thank the cold bastard, but the demon had a point. “Right...gotcha...” He turned his attention back towards Naraku as Miroku moved towards Kagome and Sango to guard them. He closed his eyes and felt energy crackle around his hand, bringing his Goraishi to power, feeling the claws extending from his hand. “Tough break, Naraku-teme...” He said, straightening his back and grinning. “You've tasted this before, right? If not, should I introduce the two of you? This is Goraishi, a good friend of mine, but I'm afraid it doesn't like you much.” He snarled the last part and lunged for the demon who was watching him with a callous expression.
Inuyasha watched as he did that and grinned. “Well, damn, if it's like that, let's do it.” He allowed Tetsusaiga to transform into the dragon scaled version and smirked in a cocky manner, preparing to rip the demon bastard to shreds as well. Sure, he knew that it wouldn't kill him. It would just hurt him for awhile. But he had to rely on Kagome's theory. They had to exude enough positive energy to get all the shards to resonate like the one that was closest to the center of Midoriko's heart, the one that held the majority of her intentions.
Sesshoumaru drew Toukijin and with an emotionless expression, joined into the fray.
Kagome closed her eyes, cupping the shards between her hands. Quitely, she began whispering the words that for some reason she knew instinctively. She felt the shard go brighter and it began to emit a warm sensation. The other shards were resonating as well, but they weren't in synchronization with the primary one.
Something was inhibiting their absorption of the positive energy.
She began to discreetly look around, finding that with the exception of the melee fighters, Sango and Miroku were both wearing tense expressions. She touched them both on the shoulders gently and they looked towards her. “You need to have faith right now.” She said calmly. “Inuyasha and the other's will not fail. They are doing what is needed to be done, but I can't do what I need to do unless you two have positive thoughts.” She said softly.
Sango looked towards her, wearing a guilty expression. “I'm sorry, I just hate sitting idle...” She said softly.
Kagome closed her eyes and felt a twinge of pain in her abdominal region. If Sango participated, something bad would happen to her, and she knew it. Yet, she opened her eyes and nodded. “Sango, if it's what you feel you need to do, I can't stop you. Naraku has done something horrible to both of you. Go do what you feel you must. I will be safe where I am.”
They hesitated for a moment, but Kagome gave them both a gentle shove. “As long as you two sit here brooding with the pretense of watching over me, my work can't get done. Now GO.”
They nodded, standing and running into the battle as well. She allowed herself to be the conduit, to absorb the positive energy they exuded. Their fight was merely a pretense. She simply had to get all the shards to resonate together. To do that, she needed her spiritual energy. Energy that grew stronger with positive emotions, like her love for Inuyasha. Yet, all she could do was sit here and watch until their positive energy fizzled out and died.
Hopefully, that wouldn't mean that any of them fizzled out and died along with it.
Inuyasha glanced towards Kagome and saw her praying to the jewel, all the shards were glowing, but he knew that she knew what she was doing. She had to wait as long as possible, for Naraku to be worn down by their physical advances to attack him spiritually. The moment's distraction, however, was all the opening Naraku needed, and he snaked an appendage around his neck, cutting off his windpipe. Futilely, he clawed at the appendage that just seemed to heal itself no matter how many deep gouges he dug into it.
Sango ran forward, swinging her boomerang, throwing it towards the limb, hoping to sever it and effectively free the hanyou, but another appendage knocked the boomerang back at her, and it hit her severely in the stomach, sending her flying back against the wall. Her vision spun and her first fear was towards the unborn infant in her belly. She could hear Miroku call out to her, and he moved hurriedly towards her. She felt like her entire body was exploding in pain.
Kagome squeezed her eyes shut. The positive energies were faltering. It still wasn't enough. She needed more, or it wouldn't work. “Don't loose hope...” She whispered. “Don't loose hope yet...”
Inuyasha needed air. He needed to breath. He could see Kagome was faltering and knew she was running out of her own power. The jewels were glowing brightly. Wasn't that enough, yet? He wondered. What was wrong with the plan? Was it failing?
A sword ripped through the appendage holding him above the ground and he fell to the ground, looking up to see his brother standing there, his face furious. “I know you're worried about your mate, but if you don't start covering your ass, I'll kick it myself.” He snarled back at the hanyou, who pulled what remained of the arm from around his neck, sucking in deep breaths.
The fight wasn't over yet. Inuyasha glanced towards Sango, who was laying back against the wall, shaking and crying, and instinctively, he sniffed the air. Fury grasped him and he felt his claws bite into the palm of his hand. “She lost the pup.” He whispered, feeling his demon blood threatening to take him over once again. He took a steadying breath, lightly touching Tetsusaiga's hilt. It didn't completely calm him, but he could feel some of the rage subside. It was like in the cave when Kagome's touch had purified the jewel that was tainted through him. He lifted his furious golden gaze towards Naraku, who was looking at the demon brother's with a dispassionate expression.
Naraku frowned slightly. He would have to deal with the older demon first, apparently. He wasn't sure why, but the girl was sitting off to the side, with the jewel shards cupped in her palms, where he couldn't see. Her eyes were tightly closed, and her lips were moving rapidly. He sensed one of the three demons lunging towards him and he waved a hand, causing shouki to blast him fully in the face. He turned, seeing the demon that had attacked him while the majority of his attention was on the human girl had been Kouga. “No honor among traitors...” He said in amusement as Kouga stumbled backwards, blinded by the poison.
Kouga blinked his eyes rapidly, cursing faintly. He had to keep fighting, but how would he manage that when every time he got close enough to strike, the damn bastard struck first? How was he supposed to get rid of the bastard who'd caused him to hurt Ayame if he couldn't see? He felt a clawed hand on his shoulder and gasped startled as he was shoved back, and winced as he hit the wall a bit.
“Just stay back until your vision clears, Kouga.”
Inuyasha's voice.
Inuyasha glared at the demon, and raised his sword, darting forward, gesturing for his brother to cover him. Unfortunately, Naraku saw through the plan of attack yet again. Inuyasha felt the regrown arm that held him last time pin him against the wall and there was a grunt that sounded suspiciously like pain from Sesshoumaru.
Naraku sneered, looking at the two brothers he'd pinned to the wall. One hand was wrapped tightly around the hanyou's neck, his other had formed into a sharp point, penetrating through the chest of the great demon, who merely looked down at it as though it were nothing more than an annoyance.
“KAGOME!” Inuyasha cried. “NOW!!”
There was a familiar creak behind the demon and he turned his head, not releasing either demon. The girl held the arrow to the bowstring, her face calm, almost serene. Around her neck, glowing bright, were all nine shikon shards she'd been purifying. “Did you really think...that we came all this way without a surefire way to destroy you?” She asked in an even tone, as though unperturbed that her mate and husband was dangling some ten feet above the ground.
Naraku sneered, looking towards her. “You know, little girl, I think your loyalties are misplaced...” He said evenly. “Here you are, mated to someone who doesn't even tell you he loves you. To someone who for three years loved your previous incarnation.” He laughed in his evil way. “Yet you vehemently defend his worthless hide.”
“I love him.” Kagome said bluntly, but hearing her worst enemy state all her fears aloud caused her to get tense with worry. It would be hard to keep the shards in their resonating state if she wasn't thinking positive. Was it possible the demon knew the plan now? Could he possibly know what she intended to do?
“Ah yes, you LOVE him, and you TRUST him. But does he trust you? From what I understand, he sent you to your time just so you wouldn't accept Kouga's offer.”
“He sent me home to protect me!” She objected, but her concentration was broken.
The demon smirked, noting the way the glow had clouded slightly. “This demon that you loved only chose you because you're alive, and Kikyou's dead. He never really wanted you...he just wanted your power. He wanted your abilities. He doesn't actually care what happens to you, or he would have been over there defending you with his life, rather than leaving you by yourself.”
“NO!” Kagome shook her head, tears in her eyes. “Even if he doesn't love me, Inuyasha cares for me! And I'm okay with that! I stayed by his side despite that!”
“He doesn't love you, why devote your life when you could do so much better...?”
Her eyes went to Inuyasha and she saw the aching expression on his face. “Because I love him.” She whispered, drawing the arrow, preparing to fire once again, her expression calm once again, despite the tears on her cheeks. “I love him and he picked me, even if he loves Kikyou, he's mine now.”
“A foolish decision.” The demon moved to attack her, but the sound of another arrival caused him to pause, looking towards the door. A wolf girl with red hair and green eyes stared at the scene with a calm expression. Behind her was an undead miko, her expression serene. Kikyou moved towards Kagome and Ayame stepped forward, towards Naraku.
“It's all your fault.” Ayame said evenly. “From the start. You're the one who attacked the tribes of wolf demons...who killed Kouga's pack and the demons to the east. You're the reason Kouga didn't come to me after Kagome's rejection, the reason he killed me.” She shifted her gaze towards Kouga, who's face was turned towards her, but his eyes were unfocused. He couldn't see her. “I am your opponent now.” She said evenly.
Kagome glanced towards the girl and nodded, lowering her bow as Sesshoumaru was sent sliding to the floor as the demon withdrew the arm that had punctured through him. Kagome moved around the room, taking Kikyou with her. She and the woman discussed a quick plan b and both nodded. They still needed to improve the purity of the shards. Kagome knelt besides Sango, who was still crying and rested a hand lightly on her abdomen. “Sango, I know this is difficult, and very painful...” She looked towards Miroku, who was holding her, his eyes frightened. “Miroku, I know you're worried for her. I need you to help me, though. I need you two to think about life AFTER this, I need you to imagine the two of you together, married, having other children.”
They looked at her and nodded, and Miroku rested his head against Sango's, closing his eyes, trying to tune out the sounds of Ayame circling Naraku, of Sango's heart wrenching crying. Sango lifted her face and took steadying breaths, watching as Kagome moved towards the next person on her mission.
She knelt beside the great demon, resting her hands on his chest, seeing his bleeding still hadn't stopped. “Sesshoumaru...I need you to think of the little girl at Kaede's...Think of Midoriko-sama, you have to get better. You're going to get better.” She whispered and saw the demon's eyes were blissfully calm.
“A step ahead of you.” He said evenly. “Go to the wolf, the fight will escalate soon.”
Kagome nodded, she moved towards Kouga and saw his eyes were finally clearing. She knelt beside him and covered his eyes with her hand. “Kouga, it's me. I need you to have hope. Trust Ayame, she's strong.”
“Naraku's stronger.” He whispered, feeling his fear growing. “Three demons couldn't stop him.”
She rested a finger on his lips. “You have to trust those you love. You have to trust them not to fail. I trusted all of you, is it too much to ask for you to trust her?”
He felt his eyes focus on the girl and his heart clenched painfully. Behind Kagome, circling the demon was the girl he'd killed, the girl who'd been given back to him. “I trust her.” He whispered.
Kagome couldn't get all the way to Inuyasha so she closed her eyes and opened her heart as she heard Ayame lunge towards Naraku, her face a mask of rage. She didn't have any special weapons, she had only some flimsy armor, which had a hole through it, but she fought as fiercely as any of the other's had.
Naraku threw Ayame against the wall, and she flipped, planting both her feet against it, and pushed off, not holding back against this demon who had caused them all so much pain, who would still be causing them pain had she died. She wouldn't let the bastard win. She knew she was just a distraction, merely buying time for Kagome and Kikyou to spread the message to focus on the future, to have hope, to think about the one you love.
She flew at him and he reached towards her, trying to catch her throat, no doubt to pin her against the wall, as Inuyasha was. She twisted her body in mid-air, aiming herself at the other arm, her shard claws passing easily through them. She skidded to a stop not far from Kouga and rather than checking on her love, she turned and faced the demon once again. Inuyasha dropped to the floor. “Inuyasha, go to Kagome NOW!”
Kouga slowly stood, his vision having fully cleared. He rested a hand on Ayame's shoulder and stepped at her side. “Let's finish this.” He said softly. He heard her soft growl of agreement and jumped forward, Ayame at his side. He grinned, drawing Naraku's attention towards himself, allowing Ayame to deal a great deal of damage when she struck.
Inuyasha pulled yet another shredded arm from around his neck and rushed to his mate's side, seeing her focusing on purifying the jewel, both Kagome and Kikyou had the shards between their hands and they were whispering softly to them, and he dropped to his knees, putting his arms around his mate. He brought his lips to her ear and tried to speak, but his throat burned from the pressure Naraku had placed on it. He forced himself to swallow a few times.
“It's not enough.” Kikyou said evenly, her eyes opening a bit. “We still need more.”
Kagome kept her eyes close, still whispering to the stupid shards.
Inuyasha gestured for Kikyou to move a bit and he wrapped his hands around them as well. He saw Kagome's eyes open and she was staring at him with a strange expression. One he didn't often see on her face. It was almost hopeless. He took a steadying breath and began to speak. “Kagome, I love Kikyou, part of me always will.” He saw the crushed look on her face and removed one hand, cupping her face with it. “But I can never love her as much as I love you, as much as I always loved you. You're stupid, reckless, and you annoy the crap out of me, but I do love you.”
Her expression changed from one of pain to one of shock, and suddenly, all the shards between their three pairs of hands began to resonate in exact sequence, almost violently, glowing from the inside. Kagome looked up at Inuyasha and felt his hand gently touch the mark on her shoulder and tears filled her eyes and that was the last thing he saw before there was a bright flash of light, which blinded everyone in the room except Kagome. Kagome stood slowly, lightly kissing Inuyasha's forehead, giving her previous incarnation a gentle embrace. She lifted the shard that for some odd reason had formed the head of an arrow. She picked it up carefully and nodded.
As the light in the room began to clear, it finished forming the arrow, and Kagome lifted her bow, fitting the arrow carefully into the notch. Everyone's vision began to clear and Naraku was looking directly at her. “As is the will of Midoriko.” She said softly, and released the arrow, allowing it to fly towards the demon.
Naraku's eyes widened as the arrow flew towards him. His eyes never left the eyes of the girl who had fired the arrow at him. He felt it hit where the jewel was located in his body and there was a bright flash of light, followed by inescapable pain. He couldn't remember pain so bad in all his life, even when his mortal body had been burned horribly, or when he had merged with all those demons. This was a burning pain, as though he was being torn to pieces. He let out a long scream, throwing his head back as the light engulfed him.
At that moment, although no one else could see it, a woman stood up and walked towards Kagome, resting a hand on either of her shoulders. “You have done well.” Her voice was ethereal, airy, almost. More like a memory than an actual event.
“Midoriko-sama...” She whispered, looking up at the woman who couldn't be more than a year or two older than her.
She leaned forward and kissed Kagome's forehead gently, in a sisterly manner. “Thank you. You will be rewarded...”
Kagome shook her head. “I don't want anything.”
The woman smiled and shook her head. “Everyone wants something. Even me.” Her eyes flickered towards the demon who rested against the wall, his eyes staring into the light. His expression was emotionless as usual. She looked back at Kagome and smiled. “Do not worry. Everyone will be happy.” She promised, as the light slowly began to fade.
Within moments, the light was gone, and Kagome was standing there, her hands laced together in front of her chest, her eyes lifted towards the sky. The jewel was gone. She slowly turned towards her friends and saw that none of them had really moved from their places. She smiled, standing there, trusting that she was telling her the truth.
Inuyasha's vision cleared and he looked around immediately, finding his mate standing there looking at him, wearing one of her most beautiful smiles he'd ever seen on her. Her expression was one of peace and serenity. Slowly, he stood, moving towards the girl, who moved towards him, opening her arms, and accepting him into her embrace. He buried his nose into her hair, worriedly sniffing at her. “Kagome, are you okay?” He asked her worriedly, pulling back and looking down at her face.
She nodded, and looked towards the woman who shared her face, who was staring down at her hands in confusion. “Kikyou.” She said softly, drawing her mate's attention towards the other woman.
Kikyou looked up at Kagome, her brow creased in confusion. “How am I alive?” She asked softly. “I should be...” She rested her hand against her chest and was startled to feel a steady pulse beneath her hand. She had a heartbeat. She was alive, really alive, this time. Her body was real. Her eyes widened in wonder and she looked towards Kagome, tears in her eyes. “I'm alive...”
Inuyasha's eyes widened in shock and he looked towards Kagome, who was wearing a warm smile. “Kagome, what happened?” He asked softly.
She smiled broadly up at him, then glanced towards Sesshoumaru, who was standing, rubbing his chest where the hole had been. It had sealed relatively quickly. Quicker than was normal, even for him. Her eyes glanced towards Sango, who was peacefully sleeping in Miroku's arms, all the blood from the miscarriage gone. Kouga and Ayame were checking each other over, looking for injuries.
She gave Inuyasha a warm smile and pushed herself onto her tiptoes, kissing his lips gently. He sighed softly, fisting his hands in her hair, closing his eyes and drawing her fully against him, feeling her arms wrap gently around his waist. They remained like that for a long moment, until Kagome pulled back slightly, looking up at him, her eyes happy. “Naraku's gone.” She said evenly.
He nodded. “Where's the jewel?”
She closed her eyes, resting her hand over her heart. “It's in all of us.” She said softly. “She rewarded us. It's over.” She whispered.
He felt his breath rush out of him and he hugged the girl tighter to his chest.
Kagome closed her eyes, fisting her hands lightly in the fabric of his haori, smiling happily. Thank you, Midoriko-sama. She opened her eyes and could almost see the woman smile at her. Slowly, she pulled away from her mate and looked towards the two sleeping humans against the wall and smiled. “We should head back. I'm sure the little ones are worried about us.”
He nodded, and moved towards Miroku and Sango, carefully pulling the girl onto his back. “No hurry.” He said, looking around twinkling. “Things are going to be pretty boring without some asses to kick.”
Kikyou walked up to Kagome's side and looked at the girl, smiling faintly. “I don't suppose there is room on this journey for one more? I should like to see my sister again.”
Kagome smiled, nodding. “You're pack.” She said evenly, then moved towards Inuyasha's side, seeing the surprise on both of their faces. She smiled, and moved towards the open doors where she could see the sun raising over the trees and lifted her face towards it. First day of the rest of her life. She couldn't wait. Cheerfully, she stepped out into the light, hearing her patchwork family leave the scene of their battle behind her.
Everything was going to be alright.
Both slowly raised their heads, Kagome, quickly, Kouga more slowly, almost reluctantly. The hanyou could see why. There were tears staining his face. Inuyasha looked at them seriously and he watched Kagome straighten and return to his side without his prompting. Kouga still remained sitting on the floor, cradling the body against his chest. Inuyasha walked towards him and dropped to one knee, looking at the wolf demon seriously, his expression grave.
“I killed her...” He whispered, his voice broken slightly.
Inuyasha nodded, resting a clawed hand on his shoulder. “You did, but you were corrupted by Naraku. Everything comes back to Naraku.” He said evenly. “If you want to avenge her, rather than sitting here and crying like a baby, go punish the bastard who caused you to go so blind to everything around you that you killed a friend.”
Kouga stared at him in confusion. “I have to watch over her...” He whispered. “I can't just leave her like this...” Why was Inuyasha being kind to him? When had the hanyou matured to the point that he was willing to let their petty rivalry go and fight together to destroy the common enemy? The answer was so obvious it almost made him laugh. Mating had calmed the hanyou. It had calmed his agitated spirit, it had given his chaotic life an obvious direction.
The hanyou stood, looking towards his brother. “She was pack. She is pack.” He said calmly. “So he's pack too.”
Sesshoumaru nodded in what almost looked like approval.
Kagome gave the hanyou a winning smile and walked to his side. “Sesshoumaru-sama, would you look after Ayame?” She asked softly. The great demon nodded and she looked towards Kouga once again. “Kouga, this is your fight too.” She said evenly. “Like Inuyasha said, you're pack, you're still a part of this family. Naraku misled you. He used you. Because of him, someone who loved you very much, who wanted nothing more than the old you back is dead. You have an obligation to yourself to see Naraku punished.”
Kouga looked from the dog boy to the human girl who stood before him and they were joined by the rest of the rag tag pack as they called them. A great demon, a demon hunter, a lecherous priest, a human girl from another world, an outcast hanyou. All of which were offering him a place to fight beside them in the name of defeating the common enemy, the one who had caused everything leading up to this point. Slowly, he released Ayame's body, letting it sink to the ground. He gently crossed her arms over her chest and leaned forward, placing a soft kiss to her forehead. Then, he rose to his feet, looking at them wearing a calm expression. “Let's go kick that miserable bastard's ass.” He said, giving them a grin.
Inuyasha grinned in return. “That's the spirit.” He gave Sesshoumaru a glance and nodded in his direction, guiding his mate towards the large door that stood between them and their next fight. He heard the other's following, with Sesshoumaru as the sole exception. From him he heard the sound of steel against wood and grinned broader. Loyal pack members deserved rewarded.
Kagome glanced behind them towards where Sesshoumaru stood over the girl and her jaw gaped slightly, seeing Tenseiga in the great demon's hand. The demon looked towards her and nodded his acknowledgment, and then he waited. Kagome looked up at her mate and he nodded at her, as if understanding her unspoken question. Her heart melted and she smiled for him. “You're a good man, Inuyasha.”
He gave her a gentle squeeze and rested his palm against the worn wood of the door. Slowly, he pushed the door inward, allowing it to open easily. His eyes swept around the room and he wasn't entirely surprised to see Naraku standing there with his back to them. What did surprise him, however, was seeing his old love tied up against the wall, wearing a disgusted expression. He ground his teeth together and took a steadying breath. The hanyou felt his mate's hand come in gentle contact with the mark on his shoulder and it caused a calming breath of life through him. It was as if she healed every injury from the fight with Kouga just with her touch.
“I'm disappointed in you, Kouga. You could have been very powerful.” The demon turned, smirking at them, holding the large chunk of the jewel in his hand. “Ah, the hanyou and his bitch, come to try to destroy me?”
Kagome didn't even flinch. “We don't intend to try.” She said coldly. This demon had caused so many people so much pain. He had tricked Inuyasha and Kikyou into betraying each other, he had caused the air void in Miroku's hand, he had robbed Sango of her family, caused the destruction of Kouga's pack, had used Sango's brother to manipulate her, had used Kikyou to come between herself and the man she loved. And the most recent insult, had manipulated Kouga into harming those he had once viewed as friends, had pumped him up with Shikon shards and corrupted him, blinding him so badly that he killed a dear friend.
Inuyasha drew his sword and aimed it at the demon, glancing towards Kagome. “Use your arrows and stay at a distance. I don't want you put at risk.” He said in a quiet tone, then looked towards the other melee fighters. “Sango, you cover Kagome. The rest of you are with me.” He gave his mate's hand a squeeze. “Back-up should arrive shortly, but I can't fight well when you or someone else are in danger. Go get her untied and have her look after Ayame as she recovers.” He said softly.
She nodded, and caught Sango's eye. “Come on.” She said, sliding around the wall. She watched as her mate and their companions darted towards the demon, unaided by the shards that she had in her possession. Naraku wasn't intimidated by them. In fact, he knocked them back one at a time, and Kagome realized something. Naraku was over confident. He'd never seen what these men could do when someone they loved was in danger.
He hadn't seen Inuyasha take a poison claw through his belly, just so she wouldn't be hurt.
Had never seen Miroku run headlong into danger, Kazanaa blazing, no matter that he was shortening his life span.
Had never seen Kouga protect his pack as fiercely as he could with his own life.
He had witnessed the events, but he hadn't seen beyond the brazen stupidity of the attacks. He hadn't realized that these actions were their strengths. The way they saw life, what was important to them, that was what made them strong. Their desire to protect those they loved their friends, their companion, their patchwork family caused their inner strength. She felt her heart swell as Inuyasha was knocked violently back into the wall and he pushed himself back up, meeting her gaze, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth and running back towards the demon.
She reached her destination and Sango used her sword to cut through the ropes binding the miko who bore her own face. Kikyou stood and looked at her, a calm expression on her face. “You've went down in number.” She said evenly.
Kagome nodded. “That's being taken care of. We need a favor...”
Inuyasha saw that his old love was released and moved himself so that Naraku wouldn't notice as Kagome got the other woman out of the room. The demon was still standing in the same space and not as much damage as Inuyasha would have liked had been dealt on the bastard. There had to be a weakness somewhere. Miroku couldn't open Kazanaa because there were probably some of those damn bees waiting for him, and he was still slightly wounded from his battle with Kouga. Kouga was being more careless than he himself was being, probably because he didn't think he had anyone to protect.
“You are a fool to think you're strong enough to defeat me, hanyou...I've eaten greater demons than you for lunch...” Naraku sneered at him, but his smirk was gone when he noticed the girl who was once his captive was being escorted out of the room. The demon hunter and the girl with Kikyou's face kept their eyes and weapons trained on him.
“We shall return when the girl has fully recovered.” Kikyou said evenly.
Kagome nodded, not looking towards her. After all, Naraku had spotted them. “Okay.” She said, breathing steadily, never mind the murderous look on the demon's face. She couldn't let her fear get the better of her. She had a mission to finish. She had shattered the jewel, and by god, she'd be the one to reassemble the damn thing.
“Witch...” Naraku seethed.
Inuyasha snorted, looking at the demon, wearing a haughty expression despite the pain he was in. “What's wrong, your all-seeing-eye not catch our plan? We didn't know Kikyou would be here, thanks for helping us out there...”
As he finished speaking, Sesshoumaru, the sole uninjured demon in the area, walked into the room, still in the process of sheathing Tenseiga. “The girl is recovering.” He said evenly. He gave Kouga a flat look. “And if you don't want a very irritated wolf-girl on your hands, this Sesshoumaru would recommend you cover your ass better.”
Kouga's eyes widened and he felt a new determination growing in him. He had to protect Ayame, she had protected him. She had protected him from himself, she had saved him when he needed her to the most, at the cost of her own life. Now, it was his turn to protect her. And when it was over...
Kouga glanced towards the great demon. He wouldn't thank the cold bastard, but the demon had a point. “Right...gotcha...” He turned his attention back towards Naraku as Miroku moved towards Kagome and Sango to guard them. He closed his eyes and felt energy crackle around his hand, bringing his Goraishi to power, feeling the claws extending from his hand. “Tough break, Naraku-teme...” He said, straightening his back and grinning. “You've tasted this before, right? If not, should I introduce the two of you? This is Goraishi, a good friend of mine, but I'm afraid it doesn't like you much.” He snarled the last part and lunged for the demon who was watching him with a callous expression.
Inuyasha watched as he did that and grinned. “Well, damn, if it's like that, let's do it.” He allowed Tetsusaiga to transform into the dragon scaled version and smirked in a cocky manner, preparing to rip the demon bastard to shreds as well. Sure, he knew that it wouldn't kill him. It would just hurt him for awhile. But he had to rely on Kagome's theory. They had to exude enough positive energy to get all the shards to resonate like the one that was closest to the center of Midoriko's heart, the one that held the majority of her intentions.
Sesshoumaru drew Toukijin and with an emotionless expression, joined into the fray.
Kagome closed her eyes, cupping the shards between her hands. Quitely, she began whispering the words that for some reason she knew instinctively. She felt the shard go brighter and it began to emit a warm sensation. The other shards were resonating as well, but they weren't in synchronization with the primary one.
Something was inhibiting their absorption of the positive energy.
She began to discreetly look around, finding that with the exception of the melee fighters, Sango and Miroku were both wearing tense expressions. She touched them both on the shoulders gently and they looked towards her. “You need to have faith right now.” She said calmly. “Inuyasha and the other's will not fail. They are doing what is needed to be done, but I can't do what I need to do unless you two have positive thoughts.” She said softly.
Sango looked towards her, wearing a guilty expression. “I'm sorry, I just hate sitting idle...” She said softly.
Kagome closed her eyes and felt a twinge of pain in her abdominal region. If Sango participated, something bad would happen to her, and she knew it. Yet, she opened her eyes and nodded. “Sango, if it's what you feel you need to do, I can't stop you. Naraku has done something horrible to both of you. Go do what you feel you must. I will be safe where I am.”
They hesitated for a moment, but Kagome gave them both a gentle shove. “As long as you two sit here brooding with the pretense of watching over me, my work can't get done. Now GO.”
They nodded, standing and running into the battle as well. She allowed herself to be the conduit, to absorb the positive energy they exuded. Their fight was merely a pretense. She simply had to get all the shards to resonate together. To do that, she needed her spiritual energy. Energy that grew stronger with positive emotions, like her love for Inuyasha. Yet, all she could do was sit here and watch until their positive energy fizzled out and died.
Hopefully, that wouldn't mean that any of them fizzled out and died along with it.
Inuyasha glanced towards Kagome and saw her praying to the jewel, all the shards were glowing, but he knew that she knew what she was doing. She had to wait as long as possible, for Naraku to be worn down by their physical advances to attack him spiritually. The moment's distraction, however, was all the opening Naraku needed, and he snaked an appendage around his neck, cutting off his windpipe. Futilely, he clawed at the appendage that just seemed to heal itself no matter how many deep gouges he dug into it.
Sango ran forward, swinging her boomerang, throwing it towards the limb, hoping to sever it and effectively free the hanyou, but another appendage knocked the boomerang back at her, and it hit her severely in the stomach, sending her flying back against the wall. Her vision spun and her first fear was towards the unborn infant in her belly. She could hear Miroku call out to her, and he moved hurriedly towards her. She felt like her entire body was exploding in pain.
Kagome squeezed her eyes shut. The positive energies were faltering. It still wasn't enough. She needed more, or it wouldn't work. “Don't loose hope...” She whispered. “Don't loose hope yet...”
Inuyasha needed air. He needed to breath. He could see Kagome was faltering and knew she was running out of her own power. The jewels were glowing brightly. Wasn't that enough, yet? He wondered. What was wrong with the plan? Was it failing?
A sword ripped through the appendage holding him above the ground and he fell to the ground, looking up to see his brother standing there, his face furious. “I know you're worried about your mate, but if you don't start covering your ass, I'll kick it myself.” He snarled back at the hanyou, who pulled what remained of the arm from around his neck, sucking in deep breaths.
The fight wasn't over yet. Inuyasha glanced towards Sango, who was laying back against the wall, shaking and crying, and instinctively, he sniffed the air. Fury grasped him and he felt his claws bite into the palm of his hand. “She lost the pup.” He whispered, feeling his demon blood threatening to take him over once again. He took a steadying breath, lightly touching Tetsusaiga's hilt. It didn't completely calm him, but he could feel some of the rage subside. It was like in the cave when Kagome's touch had purified the jewel that was tainted through him. He lifted his furious golden gaze towards Naraku, who was looking at the demon brother's with a dispassionate expression.
Naraku frowned slightly. He would have to deal with the older demon first, apparently. He wasn't sure why, but the girl was sitting off to the side, with the jewel shards cupped in her palms, where he couldn't see. Her eyes were tightly closed, and her lips were moving rapidly. He sensed one of the three demons lunging towards him and he waved a hand, causing shouki to blast him fully in the face. He turned, seeing the demon that had attacked him while the majority of his attention was on the human girl had been Kouga. “No honor among traitors...” He said in amusement as Kouga stumbled backwards, blinded by the poison.
Kouga blinked his eyes rapidly, cursing faintly. He had to keep fighting, but how would he manage that when every time he got close enough to strike, the damn bastard struck first? How was he supposed to get rid of the bastard who'd caused him to hurt Ayame if he couldn't see? He felt a clawed hand on his shoulder and gasped startled as he was shoved back, and winced as he hit the wall a bit.
“Just stay back until your vision clears, Kouga.”
Inuyasha's voice.
Inuyasha glared at the demon, and raised his sword, darting forward, gesturing for his brother to cover him. Unfortunately, Naraku saw through the plan of attack yet again. Inuyasha felt the regrown arm that held him last time pin him against the wall and there was a grunt that sounded suspiciously like pain from Sesshoumaru.
Naraku sneered, looking at the two brothers he'd pinned to the wall. One hand was wrapped tightly around the hanyou's neck, his other had formed into a sharp point, penetrating through the chest of the great demon, who merely looked down at it as though it were nothing more than an annoyance.
“KAGOME!” Inuyasha cried. “NOW!!”
There was a familiar creak behind the demon and he turned his head, not releasing either demon. The girl held the arrow to the bowstring, her face calm, almost serene. Around her neck, glowing bright, were all nine shikon shards she'd been purifying. “Did you really think...that we came all this way without a surefire way to destroy you?” She asked in an even tone, as though unperturbed that her mate and husband was dangling some ten feet above the ground.
Naraku sneered, looking towards her. “You know, little girl, I think your loyalties are misplaced...” He said evenly. “Here you are, mated to someone who doesn't even tell you he loves you. To someone who for three years loved your previous incarnation.” He laughed in his evil way. “Yet you vehemently defend his worthless hide.”
“I love him.” Kagome said bluntly, but hearing her worst enemy state all her fears aloud caused her to get tense with worry. It would be hard to keep the shards in their resonating state if she wasn't thinking positive. Was it possible the demon knew the plan now? Could he possibly know what she intended to do?
“Ah yes, you LOVE him, and you TRUST him. But does he trust you? From what I understand, he sent you to your time just so you wouldn't accept Kouga's offer.”
“He sent me home to protect me!” She objected, but her concentration was broken.
The demon smirked, noting the way the glow had clouded slightly. “This demon that you loved only chose you because you're alive, and Kikyou's dead. He never really wanted you...he just wanted your power. He wanted your abilities. He doesn't actually care what happens to you, or he would have been over there defending you with his life, rather than leaving you by yourself.”
“NO!” Kagome shook her head, tears in her eyes. “Even if he doesn't love me, Inuyasha cares for me! And I'm okay with that! I stayed by his side despite that!”
“He doesn't love you, why devote your life when you could do so much better...?”
Her eyes went to Inuyasha and she saw the aching expression on his face. “Because I love him.” She whispered, drawing the arrow, preparing to fire once again, her expression calm once again, despite the tears on her cheeks. “I love him and he picked me, even if he loves Kikyou, he's mine now.”
“A foolish decision.” The demon moved to attack her, but the sound of another arrival caused him to pause, looking towards the door. A wolf girl with red hair and green eyes stared at the scene with a calm expression. Behind her was an undead miko, her expression serene. Kikyou moved towards Kagome and Ayame stepped forward, towards Naraku.
“It's all your fault.” Ayame said evenly. “From the start. You're the one who attacked the tribes of wolf demons...who killed Kouga's pack and the demons to the east. You're the reason Kouga didn't come to me after Kagome's rejection, the reason he killed me.” She shifted her gaze towards Kouga, who's face was turned towards her, but his eyes were unfocused. He couldn't see her. “I am your opponent now.” She said evenly.
Kagome glanced towards the girl and nodded, lowering her bow as Sesshoumaru was sent sliding to the floor as the demon withdrew the arm that had punctured through him. Kagome moved around the room, taking Kikyou with her. She and the woman discussed a quick plan b and both nodded. They still needed to improve the purity of the shards. Kagome knelt besides Sango, who was still crying and rested a hand lightly on her abdomen. “Sango, I know this is difficult, and very painful...” She looked towards Miroku, who was holding her, his eyes frightened. “Miroku, I know you're worried for her. I need you to help me, though. I need you two to think about life AFTER this, I need you to imagine the two of you together, married, having other children.”
They looked at her and nodded, and Miroku rested his head against Sango's, closing his eyes, trying to tune out the sounds of Ayame circling Naraku, of Sango's heart wrenching crying. Sango lifted her face and took steadying breaths, watching as Kagome moved towards the next person on her mission.
She knelt beside the great demon, resting her hands on his chest, seeing his bleeding still hadn't stopped. “Sesshoumaru...I need you to think of the little girl at Kaede's...Think of Midoriko-sama, you have to get better. You're going to get better.” She whispered and saw the demon's eyes were blissfully calm.
“A step ahead of you.” He said evenly. “Go to the wolf, the fight will escalate soon.”
Kagome nodded, she moved towards Kouga and saw his eyes were finally clearing. She knelt beside him and covered his eyes with her hand. “Kouga, it's me. I need you to have hope. Trust Ayame, she's strong.”
“Naraku's stronger.” He whispered, feeling his fear growing. “Three demons couldn't stop him.”
She rested a finger on his lips. “You have to trust those you love. You have to trust them not to fail. I trusted all of you, is it too much to ask for you to trust her?”
He felt his eyes focus on the girl and his heart clenched painfully. Behind Kagome, circling the demon was the girl he'd killed, the girl who'd been given back to him. “I trust her.” He whispered.
Kagome couldn't get all the way to Inuyasha so she closed her eyes and opened her heart as she heard Ayame lunge towards Naraku, her face a mask of rage. She didn't have any special weapons, she had only some flimsy armor, which had a hole through it, but she fought as fiercely as any of the other's had.
Naraku threw Ayame against the wall, and she flipped, planting both her feet against it, and pushed off, not holding back against this demon who had caused them all so much pain, who would still be causing them pain had she died. She wouldn't let the bastard win. She knew she was just a distraction, merely buying time for Kagome and Kikyou to spread the message to focus on the future, to have hope, to think about the one you love.
She flew at him and he reached towards her, trying to catch her throat, no doubt to pin her against the wall, as Inuyasha was. She twisted her body in mid-air, aiming herself at the other arm, her shard claws passing easily through them. She skidded to a stop not far from Kouga and rather than checking on her love, she turned and faced the demon once again. Inuyasha dropped to the floor. “Inuyasha, go to Kagome NOW!”
Kouga slowly stood, his vision having fully cleared. He rested a hand on Ayame's shoulder and stepped at her side. “Let's finish this.” He said softly. He heard her soft growl of agreement and jumped forward, Ayame at his side. He grinned, drawing Naraku's attention towards himself, allowing Ayame to deal a great deal of damage when she struck.
Inuyasha pulled yet another shredded arm from around his neck and rushed to his mate's side, seeing her focusing on purifying the jewel, both Kagome and Kikyou had the shards between their hands and they were whispering softly to them, and he dropped to his knees, putting his arms around his mate. He brought his lips to her ear and tried to speak, but his throat burned from the pressure Naraku had placed on it. He forced himself to swallow a few times.
“It's not enough.” Kikyou said evenly, her eyes opening a bit. “We still need more.”
Kagome kept her eyes close, still whispering to the stupid shards.
Inuyasha gestured for Kikyou to move a bit and he wrapped his hands around them as well. He saw Kagome's eyes open and she was staring at him with a strange expression. One he didn't often see on her face. It was almost hopeless. He took a steadying breath and began to speak. “Kagome, I love Kikyou, part of me always will.” He saw the crushed look on her face and removed one hand, cupping her face with it. “But I can never love her as much as I love you, as much as I always loved you. You're stupid, reckless, and you annoy the crap out of me, but I do love you.”
Her expression changed from one of pain to one of shock, and suddenly, all the shards between their three pairs of hands began to resonate in exact sequence, almost violently, glowing from the inside. Kagome looked up at Inuyasha and felt his hand gently touch the mark on her shoulder and tears filled her eyes and that was the last thing he saw before there was a bright flash of light, which blinded everyone in the room except Kagome. Kagome stood slowly, lightly kissing Inuyasha's forehead, giving her previous incarnation a gentle embrace. She lifted the shard that for some odd reason had formed the head of an arrow. She picked it up carefully and nodded.
As the light in the room began to clear, it finished forming the arrow, and Kagome lifted her bow, fitting the arrow carefully into the notch. Everyone's vision began to clear and Naraku was looking directly at her. “As is the will of Midoriko.” She said softly, and released the arrow, allowing it to fly towards the demon.
Naraku's eyes widened as the arrow flew towards him. His eyes never left the eyes of the girl who had fired the arrow at him. He felt it hit where the jewel was located in his body and there was a bright flash of light, followed by inescapable pain. He couldn't remember pain so bad in all his life, even when his mortal body had been burned horribly, or when he had merged with all those demons. This was a burning pain, as though he was being torn to pieces. He let out a long scream, throwing his head back as the light engulfed him.
At that moment, although no one else could see it, a woman stood up and walked towards Kagome, resting a hand on either of her shoulders. “You have done well.” Her voice was ethereal, airy, almost. More like a memory than an actual event.
“Midoriko-sama...” She whispered, looking up at the woman who couldn't be more than a year or two older than her.
She leaned forward and kissed Kagome's forehead gently, in a sisterly manner. “Thank you. You will be rewarded...”
Kagome shook her head. “I don't want anything.”
The woman smiled and shook her head. “Everyone wants something. Even me.” Her eyes flickered towards the demon who rested against the wall, his eyes staring into the light. His expression was emotionless as usual. She looked back at Kagome and smiled. “Do not worry. Everyone will be happy.” She promised, as the light slowly began to fade.
Within moments, the light was gone, and Kagome was standing there, her hands laced together in front of her chest, her eyes lifted towards the sky. The jewel was gone. She slowly turned towards her friends and saw that none of them had really moved from their places. She smiled, standing there, trusting that she was telling her the truth.
Inuyasha's vision cleared and he looked around immediately, finding his mate standing there looking at him, wearing one of her most beautiful smiles he'd ever seen on her. Her expression was one of peace and serenity. Slowly, he stood, moving towards the girl, who moved towards him, opening her arms, and accepting him into her embrace. He buried his nose into her hair, worriedly sniffing at her. “Kagome, are you okay?” He asked her worriedly, pulling back and looking down at her face.
She nodded, and looked towards the woman who shared her face, who was staring down at her hands in confusion. “Kikyou.” She said softly, drawing her mate's attention towards the other woman.
Kikyou looked up at Kagome, her brow creased in confusion. “How am I alive?” She asked softly. “I should be...” She rested her hand against her chest and was startled to feel a steady pulse beneath her hand. She had a heartbeat. She was alive, really alive, this time. Her body was real. Her eyes widened in wonder and she looked towards Kagome, tears in her eyes. “I'm alive...”
Inuyasha's eyes widened in shock and he looked towards Kagome, who was wearing a warm smile. “Kagome, what happened?” He asked softly.
She smiled broadly up at him, then glanced towards Sesshoumaru, who was standing, rubbing his chest where the hole had been. It had sealed relatively quickly. Quicker than was normal, even for him. Her eyes glanced towards Sango, who was peacefully sleeping in Miroku's arms, all the blood from the miscarriage gone. Kouga and Ayame were checking each other over, looking for injuries.
She gave Inuyasha a warm smile and pushed herself onto her tiptoes, kissing his lips gently. He sighed softly, fisting his hands in her hair, closing his eyes and drawing her fully against him, feeling her arms wrap gently around his waist. They remained like that for a long moment, until Kagome pulled back slightly, looking up at him, her eyes happy. “Naraku's gone.” She said evenly.
He nodded. “Where's the jewel?”
She closed her eyes, resting her hand over her heart. “It's in all of us.” She said softly. “She rewarded us. It's over.” She whispered.
He felt his breath rush out of him and he hugged the girl tighter to his chest.
Kagome closed her eyes, fisting her hands lightly in the fabric of his haori, smiling happily. Thank you, Midoriko-sama. She opened her eyes and could almost see the woman smile at her. Slowly, she pulled away from her mate and looked towards the two sleeping humans against the wall and smiled. “We should head back. I'm sure the little ones are worried about us.”
He nodded, and moved towards Miroku and Sango, carefully pulling the girl onto his back. “No hurry.” He said, looking around twinkling. “Things are going to be pretty boring without some asses to kick.”
Kikyou walked up to Kagome's side and looked at the girl, smiling faintly. “I don't suppose there is room on this journey for one more? I should like to see my sister again.”
Kagome smiled, nodding. “You're pack.” She said evenly, then moved towards Inuyasha's side, seeing the surprise on both of their faces. She smiled, and moved towards the open doors where she could see the sun raising over the trees and lifted her face towards it. First day of the rest of her life. She couldn't wait. Cheerfully, she stepped out into the light, hearing her patchwork family leave the scene of their battle behind her.
Everything was going to be alright.
oooooooooooooooooooooo
Kagome yawned widely as she sat in her class, staring at the chalk board, scribbling down notes. They were covering the points that would be on the final exam rather hard and she was finding that it was boring her to tears. It wasn't like she didn't already know this stuff. The last week when she'd been in Sengoku Jidai, she had spent a good bit of her time studying, much to her mates displeasure. Of course, all of their arguments about it wound up landing them both wrapped around each other at the base of the God Tree. A light blush covered her cheeks and she smirked, chewing on her eraser.
“Miss Higurashi, is there something amusing to you?!” The teacher snapped, and Kagome looked at the teacher and with held a snort.
“I'm sorry, sir, but I can't help but notice that your barn door is open.” She said, smirking when the teacher yelped, quickly zipping his pants. That was yet another tactic that her mate had discovered and taught to her. When someone is angry with you, embarrass them and there's really nothing they can do.
The entirety of the class erupted with laughter as the teacher stood there, sputtering, and turned back to the chalk board, scribbling more notes down. She giggled, catching Ayumi's eye and chewing on her pencil eraser. The girl smirked and winked in return, giving her a thumbs up. She could see Hojo looking at her with a irritated expression and she turned her face back towards the front of the class, completely ignoring him.
It had been like this ever since she'd returned. Hojo was still irritated that Kagome had rejected him for something that he convinced himself was evil. She mostly ignored him, only speaking to when it was absolutely necessary. Eventually, she hoped he would get a clue, like Kouga did.
That thought caused a wry grin to spread across her lips. Kouga had been following Ayame around with an odd expression on his face, one she remembered seeing on Inuyasha's face a few months ago. Ayame, meanwhile, was pretending to be oblivious, although she confided to Kagome that it was really because she wanted to punish Kouga a little for his treatment of her. Kagome had grinned and given her the best advice she could think of. She'd said 'have fun'.
The teacher droned on and she turned her head, looking out the window, smiling when she saw two boys waiting down by the gate with soda cans, talking like best friends, although she could see the beginnings of a tick forming beneath her husbands eyebrow. Getting the ring engraved with a appearance seal was the best idea her mother had ever come up with. He stood down there, looking like any other human boy from her time. Well, except for the waist length silver hair and bright golden eyes.
Those eyes that she loved so much met hers and she gave him a warm smile. His lips turned up into a warm grin and he flicked the hair she'd braided for him that morning over his shoulder, his grin turning wicked, which caused a blush to quickly cover her face as she looked quickly back at her school work, trying to ignore the growing heat in her belly. Damn him for being so hot so effortlessly.
The bell rang and Ayumi came over towards her desk. She peeked out the window and waved at the pair then looked towards Kagome as the girl gathered her things. “Yuka and Eri want to drag us out for ice cream and so they could officially meet our boyfriends.”
Kagome coughed politely, waving the wedding band around so her friend could see it. Both of them broke down into a fit of giggles and Kagome scooped up her bag. “Ice cream sounds good.” She looked towards their slightly estranged friends and gestured for them to join them, smiling at them. “So, I hear you all wanted to make plans for tonight?”
Yuka and Eri rushed over. “Well, yeah. This is really the first official time we get to meet your boyfriends! We didn't even know Ayumi had one until you spilled. And yours is SO dreamy...”
The school girl waved her hands. “I get it, I get it. Let's get down there, before they decide to come up and find us.” She turned towards Ayumi and noticed some suspicious marks carefully concealed with make up and a broad grin spread across her lips. “Boys like them, they just don't wait around, do they.” She teased, giving her friend a wink.
Ayumi coughed politely and had the decency to blush. “Nope, they don't.”
They walked out of the room and headed downstairs, chattering cheerfully. Kagome could sense Hojo following them and rolled her eyes slightly, glancing towards Ayumi and gesturing behind them. She glanced back and shook her head. “Maybe someday he'll grow out of it.” She said, hopefully.
Kagome pushed open the door and broke away from the group, running over towards her husband and throwing her arms around his neck, pressing a firm kiss against his lips. She could feel him grinning under her kiss. She pulled back, then glanced towards Ayumi as she embraced Shippou, pulling him into a deeper, much more lingering kiss. A smirk broke across Kagome and she tugged Inuyasha's forelock to get him to lean towards her. “I think Shippou is...” She cleared her throat and gave him a meaningful look. “About where you were about six months ago.” She said meaningfully.
The hanyou smirked, slapping the kitsune across the back. “Wow. I'm going to have to etch this into my memory so I can tease you about it later.” He said evenly as Shippou watched Ayumi move around him with a lost puppy expression. “So, she's making you wait?” He felt Kagome lightly tap his arm and looked innocently towards her. “What?”
She fixed him with a look that clearly said 'tone down with the dominant dog crap or you might not get the iku iku later'. He pouted in response and put his arm around her shoulders, looking down at her. “Yuka and Eri are treating all of us to ice cream.” She announced, hearing her friends stuttering. “That's okay right?” She looked up at her hanyou, grinning.
“Sounds great.”
They spent the rest of the day teasing Shippou and Ayumi, until Ayame looked at her watch and squeaked. “CRAP! Mom's gonna have my head if I'm not home in fifteen minutes!”
Kagome gave her a sly look. “She keeping tabs on you and your boyfriend?” She teased lightly.
Ayumi blushed, seeing Inuyasha smirking at her, his arm wrapped gently around Kagome's shoulder. “My mother doesn't know Shippou as well as your mother knows Inuyasha!” She said, scrambling out of the booth. She hesitated when Shippou caught her wrist.
“I can give you a ride home.” He said, giving her a wink. No one at the table missed the obvious sexual innuendo and even Inuyasha had the decency to blush. “You know, on the bike.” He thumbed a motorcycle that Kagome was quite certain wasn't there when they first came into the parlor.
Yuka and Eri squealed and both boys cringed slightly.
“Miss Higurashi, is there something amusing to you?!” The teacher snapped, and Kagome looked at the teacher and with held a snort.
“I'm sorry, sir, but I can't help but notice that your barn door is open.” She said, smirking when the teacher yelped, quickly zipping his pants. That was yet another tactic that her mate had discovered and taught to her. When someone is angry with you, embarrass them and there's really nothing they can do.
The entirety of the class erupted with laughter as the teacher stood there, sputtering, and turned back to the chalk board, scribbling more notes down. She giggled, catching Ayumi's eye and chewing on her pencil eraser. The girl smirked and winked in return, giving her a thumbs up. She could see Hojo looking at her with a irritated expression and she turned her face back towards the front of the class, completely ignoring him.
It had been like this ever since she'd returned. Hojo was still irritated that Kagome had rejected him for something that he convinced himself was evil. She mostly ignored him, only speaking to when it was absolutely necessary. Eventually, she hoped he would get a clue, like Kouga did.
That thought caused a wry grin to spread across her lips. Kouga had been following Ayame around with an odd expression on his face, one she remembered seeing on Inuyasha's face a few months ago. Ayame, meanwhile, was pretending to be oblivious, although she confided to Kagome that it was really because she wanted to punish Kouga a little for his treatment of her. Kagome had grinned and given her the best advice she could think of. She'd said 'have fun'.
The teacher droned on and she turned her head, looking out the window, smiling when she saw two boys waiting down by the gate with soda cans, talking like best friends, although she could see the beginnings of a tick forming beneath her husbands eyebrow. Getting the ring engraved with a appearance seal was the best idea her mother had ever come up with. He stood down there, looking like any other human boy from her time. Well, except for the waist length silver hair and bright golden eyes.
Those eyes that she loved so much met hers and she gave him a warm smile. His lips turned up into a warm grin and he flicked the hair she'd braided for him that morning over his shoulder, his grin turning wicked, which caused a blush to quickly cover her face as she looked quickly back at her school work, trying to ignore the growing heat in her belly. Damn him for being so hot so effortlessly.
The bell rang and Ayumi came over towards her desk. She peeked out the window and waved at the pair then looked towards Kagome as the girl gathered her things. “Yuka and Eri want to drag us out for ice cream and so they could officially meet our boyfriends.”
Kagome coughed politely, waving the wedding band around so her friend could see it. Both of them broke down into a fit of giggles and Kagome scooped up her bag. “Ice cream sounds good.” She looked towards their slightly estranged friends and gestured for them to join them, smiling at them. “So, I hear you all wanted to make plans for tonight?”
Yuka and Eri rushed over. “Well, yeah. This is really the first official time we get to meet your boyfriends! We didn't even know Ayumi had one until you spilled. And yours is SO dreamy...”
The school girl waved her hands. “I get it, I get it. Let's get down there, before they decide to come up and find us.” She turned towards Ayumi and noticed some suspicious marks carefully concealed with make up and a broad grin spread across her lips. “Boys like them, they just don't wait around, do they.” She teased, giving her friend a wink.
Ayumi coughed politely and had the decency to blush. “Nope, they don't.”
They walked out of the room and headed downstairs, chattering cheerfully. Kagome could sense Hojo following them and rolled her eyes slightly, glancing towards Ayumi and gesturing behind them. She glanced back and shook her head. “Maybe someday he'll grow out of it.” She said, hopefully.
Kagome pushed open the door and broke away from the group, running over towards her husband and throwing her arms around his neck, pressing a firm kiss against his lips. She could feel him grinning under her kiss. She pulled back, then glanced towards Ayumi as she embraced Shippou, pulling him into a deeper, much more lingering kiss. A smirk broke across Kagome and she tugged Inuyasha's forelock to get him to lean towards her. “I think Shippou is...” She cleared her throat and gave him a meaningful look. “About where you were about six months ago.” She said meaningfully.
The hanyou smirked, slapping the kitsune across the back. “Wow. I'm going to have to etch this into my memory so I can tease you about it later.” He said evenly as Shippou watched Ayumi move around him with a lost puppy expression. “So, she's making you wait?” He felt Kagome lightly tap his arm and looked innocently towards her. “What?”
She fixed him with a look that clearly said 'tone down with the dominant dog crap or you might not get the iku iku later'. He pouted in response and put his arm around her shoulders, looking down at her. “Yuka and Eri are treating all of us to ice cream.” She announced, hearing her friends stuttering. “That's okay right?” She looked up at her hanyou, grinning.
“Sounds great.”
They spent the rest of the day teasing Shippou and Ayumi, until Ayame looked at her watch and squeaked. “CRAP! Mom's gonna have my head if I'm not home in fifteen minutes!”
Kagome gave her a sly look. “She keeping tabs on you and your boyfriend?” She teased lightly.
Ayumi blushed, seeing Inuyasha smirking at her, his arm wrapped gently around Kagome's shoulder. “My mother doesn't know Shippou as well as your mother knows Inuyasha!” She said, scrambling out of the booth. She hesitated when Shippou caught her wrist.
“I can give you a ride home.” He said, giving her a wink. No one at the table missed the obvious sexual innuendo and even Inuyasha had the decency to blush. “You know, on the bike.” He thumbed a motorcycle that Kagome was quite certain wasn't there when they first came into the parlor.
Yuka and Eri squealed and both boys cringed slightly.
oooooooooooooooooooooo
Kagomeand Inuyasha spent the next few days in Kagome's time exclusively, although Inuyasha was sneaking away in the middle of the night and stealing through the well. Kagome didn't even notice until one night when she woke up in the middle of the night and found she was alone in her bed and the window was open.
It had hurt her, and her mind automatically wondered the worst, till she firmly shook the thought out of his head and she reminded herself that he loved her. He wouldn't be going back there to have an affair with Kikyou, who recently had been spending a great deal of time with a young man from the village who fancied her. Finally, she decided that her hanyou was probably going back to train with his brother, or just to get some fresh air for a little while.
She didn't ask him about it.
She wanted to prove to him that she trusted him.
When her final exam was finally over, which shockingly, she passed with an A, despite it being a math test. She blamed that on Inuyasha's amazing ability to grasp the subject. He had spent several days early on sitting within hearing distance of her class, learning the lessons through osmosis, and when she started having trouble, he revealed his talent. He would sit her down and show her how to work through each problem.
Not just with that class, either. Several of the classes that had been giving her trouble since her life went to Sengoku Jidai, due to her inability to take her mind off a certain dog-eared hanyou, his ability to memorize things caused him to be a very useful studying tool. He actually teased her a few times that she only loved him because he made her get good grades.
With a sigh, Kagome rolled over in her empty bed and made a firm decision to return home tomorrow, at least to find out what Inuyasha was doing at night. She smiled, thinking about her family in the other time, her other home. Things were so calm there, and even when there was the occasional demon attack, there was none of the tension present when Naraku was alive.
Sango had grown large with her pregnancy, the child she'd almost lost during the last battle now proving to put strain on the demon hunter. Often, Kagome found herself bringing back whatever the taijiya's latest craving was. Miroku was acting every bit the nervous father as her pregnancy progressed, also acting the part of doting husband quite well. Every few minutes, he would ask if she needed to rest, offer to rub her back, and would quickly stop her from lugging the weight of something. Although Kagome could tell that the attention irritated the Taijiya, she understood Miroku's mild smothering.
During that last fight, they'd come so close to losing their child, he didn't want her to put more strain on herself than necessary. And even though it irritated Sango, the girl wouldn't have it any other way. The glow on her face told Kagome that Miroku's outward affection towards the girl had warmed the girl's heart.
Sesshoumaru, Rin, and Jaken had left not long after returning, waiting only until everyone was fully healed from their battle. Midoriko's magic had sped up the process a great deal, but some of them were only human. Kagome had a distinct feeling that the demon would find himself a mate sometime in the not too distant future.
Kouga and Ayame were courting, so to speak, although to Kagome it was a lot more of Kouga groveling and Ayame lapping up the attention. Although she knew that Kouga deserved it for his treatment of the wolf-girl, she knew that you could only hold off someone with that much pride for so long before they finally gave up forever. Kouga's attention towards her no longer extended further than how one would treat a sister, and he'd begun acting in a more brotherly fashion towards Inuyasha as well, and Kagome knew that he was grateful for the dog demons' actions which revived Ayame.
Speaking of Inuyasha...
She opened her eyes and saw him perched beside her bed, his eyes resting on her face with open affection. She smiled warmly at him, lightly ruffling his hair. “Last test was yesterday.” She said softly, her fingers trailing towards his ears. “I'm going to graduate.” She saw the twinge of pleasure in his eyes and yelped slightly when he pounced her.
Inuyasha smiled down at her, wearing a gentle expression. “Tomorrow, we go home, then?” He asked, his hands on either side of her head. “We can get started on the pups?” He teased lightly, leaning down and nipping her nose lightly. This was where he was happiest, wherever his mate was, in her arms, watching her beautiful face.
Kagome blushed, remembering their talk months ago, the night before the final battle against Naraku. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and laced her fingers through his hair. “Hm, I'll think about it.” She teased, watching him feign a wounded expression. A giggle escaped her and she nodded. “Yeah, when we go back, we can get started on making all those pups you want.” She confirmed, nipping his nose lovingly.
He rested against her, burying his face against her shoulder. He slipped his arms around her, his exhaustion beginning to claim him. “So tired...” He murmured lightly against her neck, hugging her possessively closer. He paused, pulling back and rested his lips lightly against his mark on her. He sensed her uneasy feelings and frowned slightly. “Kagome, what's wrong?” He asked, opening his tired eyes and looking down at her.
She blushed, twiddling her thumbs behind his neck. “I don't sleep well when you go back at night.” She admitted, letting him know that she knew about him disappearing in the middle of the night. She watched his eyes widen and his clawed hand was suddenly cupping her face gently, his eyes warm and affectionate. She blushed, glancing away. “I didn't want to ask about it because I don't want you to think I don't trust you...”
He silenced her with a soft kiss. “I'll show you where I go tomorrow.”
She blinked, not expecting him to be so honest about his disappearances. Startlingly, rather than it putting her on guard like it would have before they'd mated, it calmed her frayed nerves. “Okay.” She said, smiling gently and snuggling closer to her precious hanyou.
True to his word, after they stocked up on necessities, like Instant Ramen and chocolate, they went back through the well and Inuyasha led her first past Goshinboku, deeper into the woods, till they reached the edge of the trees, the edge of a clearing. He turned towards her and pushed the last trees apart, allowing her to step forward into the small, peaceful clearing.
Kagome's brain had been running through where on earth he could be taking her, and her breath caught when she stepped into the clearing. She looked around, then slowly turned, her eyes flying wide with shock. There, butted up against the small hill, stood a decent sized house, complete with shoji walls and raised floor and tile roof. She turned towards him, her eyes holding a question.
He came closer to her, his eyes uncertain. “I...I wanted a place for us to stay...to raise our children...” He blushed, lifting his eyes to hers, nervous, worried, and uncertain.
Her heart swelled in her chest and she threw her arms around him. “This is where you've been going? You've been making this?! Oh, Inuyasha!” She pressed kisses all over his face. “Oh, I love you so much!” She heard his soft chuckle as his arms wrapped around her as well.
Slowly, he set her down on the ground, smiling at her warmly. “Come on, let me show you.”
Kagome flashed him a bright smile and ran towards the door in front of him and his eyes trailed towards her hips, watching them sway left to right with each step and he gulped hard, feeling his blood racing. Ah, crap...
He gave his mate a rueful look and grinned, remembering her promise from the night before. It was mating season...
OWARI
It had hurt her, and her mind automatically wondered the worst, till she firmly shook the thought out of his head and she reminded herself that he loved her. He wouldn't be going back there to have an affair with Kikyou, who recently had been spending a great deal of time with a young man from the village who fancied her. Finally, she decided that her hanyou was probably going back to train with his brother, or just to get some fresh air for a little while.
She didn't ask him about it.
She wanted to prove to him that she trusted him.
When her final exam was finally over, which shockingly, she passed with an A, despite it being a math test. She blamed that on Inuyasha's amazing ability to grasp the subject. He had spent several days early on sitting within hearing distance of her class, learning the lessons through osmosis, and when she started having trouble, he revealed his talent. He would sit her down and show her how to work through each problem.
Not just with that class, either. Several of the classes that had been giving her trouble since her life went to Sengoku Jidai, due to her inability to take her mind off a certain dog-eared hanyou, his ability to memorize things caused him to be a very useful studying tool. He actually teased her a few times that she only loved him because he made her get good grades.
With a sigh, Kagome rolled over in her empty bed and made a firm decision to return home tomorrow, at least to find out what Inuyasha was doing at night. She smiled, thinking about her family in the other time, her other home. Things were so calm there, and even when there was the occasional demon attack, there was none of the tension present when Naraku was alive.
Sango had grown large with her pregnancy, the child she'd almost lost during the last battle now proving to put strain on the demon hunter. Often, Kagome found herself bringing back whatever the taijiya's latest craving was. Miroku was acting every bit the nervous father as her pregnancy progressed, also acting the part of doting husband quite well. Every few minutes, he would ask if she needed to rest, offer to rub her back, and would quickly stop her from lugging the weight of something. Although Kagome could tell that the attention irritated the Taijiya, she understood Miroku's mild smothering.
During that last fight, they'd come so close to losing their child, he didn't want her to put more strain on herself than necessary. And even though it irritated Sango, the girl wouldn't have it any other way. The glow on her face told Kagome that Miroku's outward affection towards the girl had warmed the girl's heart.
Sesshoumaru, Rin, and Jaken had left not long after returning, waiting only until everyone was fully healed from their battle. Midoriko's magic had sped up the process a great deal, but some of them were only human. Kagome had a distinct feeling that the demon would find himself a mate sometime in the not too distant future.
Kouga and Ayame were courting, so to speak, although to Kagome it was a lot more of Kouga groveling and Ayame lapping up the attention. Although she knew that Kouga deserved it for his treatment of the wolf-girl, she knew that you could only hold off someone with that much pride for so long before they finally gave up forever. Kouga's attention towards her no longer extended further than how one would treat a sister, and he'd begun acting in a more brotherly fashion towards Inuyasha as well, and Kagome knew that he was grateful for the dog demons' actions which revived Ayame.
Speaking of Inuyasha...
She opened her eyes and saw him perched beside her bed, his eyes resting on her face with open affection. She smiled warmly at him, lightly ruffling his hair. “Last test was yesterday.” She said softly, her fingers trailing towards his ears. “I'm going to graduate.” She saw the twinge of pleasure in his eyes and yelped slightly when he pounced her.
Inuyasha smiled down at her, wearing a gentle expression. “Tomorrow, we go home, then?” He asked, his hands on either side of her head. “We can get started on the pups?” He teased lightly, leaning down and nipping her nose lightly. This was where he was happiest, wherever his mate was, in her arms, watching her beautiful face.
Kagome blushed, remembering their talk months ago, the night before the final battle against Naraku. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and laced her fingers through his hair. “Hm, I'll think about it.” She teased, watching him feign a wounded expression. A giggle escaped her and she nodded. “Yeah, when we go back, we can get started on making all those pups you want.” She confirmed, nipping his nose lovingly.
He rested against her, burying his face against her shoulder. He slipped his arms around her, his exhaustion beginning to claim him. “So tired...” He murmured lightly against her neck, hugging her possessively closer. He paused, pulling back and rested his lips lightly against his mark on her. He sensed her uneasy feelings and frowned slightly. “Kagome, what's wrong?” He asked, opening his tired eyes and looking down at her.
She blushed, twiddling her thumbs behind his neck. “I don't sleep well when you go back at night.” She admitted, letting him know that she knew about him disappearing in the middle of the night. She watched his eyes widen and his clawed hand was suddenly cupping her face gently, his eyes warm and affectionate. She blushed, glancing away. “I didn't want to ask about it because I don't want you to think I don't trust you...”
He silenced her with a soft kiss. “I'll show you where I go tomorrow.”
She blinked, not expecting him to be so honest about his disappearances. Startlingly, rather than it putting her on guard like it would have before they'd mated, it calmed her frayed nerves. “Okay.” She said, smiling gently and snuggling closer to her precious hanyou.
True to his word, after they stocked up on necessities, like Instant Ramen and chocolate, they went back through the well and Inuyasha led her first past Goshinboku, deeper into the woods, till they reached the edge of the trees, the edge of a clearing. He turned towards her and pushed the last trees apart, allowing her to step forward into the small, peaceful clearing.
Kagome's brain had been running through where on earth he could be taking her, and her breath caught when she stepped into the clearing. She looked around, then slowly turned, her eyes flying wide with shock. There, butted up against the small hill, stood a decent sized house, complete with shoji walls and raised floor and tile roof. She turned towards him, her eyes holding a question.
He came closer to her, his eyes uncertain. “I...I wanted a place for us to stay...to raise our children...” He blushed, lifting his eyes to hers, nervous, worried, and uncertain.
Her heart swelled in her chest and she threw her arms around him. “This is where you've been going? You've been making this?! Oh, Inuyasha!” She pressed kisses all over his face. “Oh, I love you so much!” She heard his soft chuckle as his arms wrapped around her as well.
Slowly, he set her down on the ground, smiling at her warmly. “Come on, let me show you.”
Kagome flashed him a bright smile and ran towards the door in front of him and his eyes trailed towards her hips, watching them sway left to right with each step and he gulped hard, feeling his blood racing. Ah, crap...
He gave his mate a rueful look and grinned, remembering her promise from the night before. It was mating season...
OWARI
oooooooooooooooooooooo
AN: And so, they all lived happily ever after, right <3 Anyways, this is the end. No, there will be no sequel, this is the official end. So, satisfied with the ending? Unsatisfied with the ending? Tell me what you think, please! As usual, Read and Respond! I'm going on Vacation, which is why you're getting this chapter early. I'll probably read it later and decide I hate it and scrap it and totally rewrite the durn thing. Anyways, until I get bored and decide to revamp, this is yet another complete story, and right now this is the jewel of my fics. Total, it has more pages than any other fic. It's also the one on the most Alerts, as well as Favorites (Thanks to all the readers who put this story on alert and favorite), and it's my most reviewed (Mega thanks to all those who have reviewed this story). I love you all! Love, peace and Doughnuts, DemonSaya