InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sacrifice ❯ A difficult desicion ( One-Shot )

I can't believe this! How cruel is Naraku that he would stoop so low just to obtain the jewel? I never in my wildest dreams thought it would come down to this, but I know it has to be done. This is for the sake of not only Feudal Japan, but of the future. And, of course, this is for my friends, my family, but most of all, for Inuyasha.

 

Sadly, Kagome sat at her bedside table, tears falling to the paper under her trembling fingers. She glanced at the clock, knowing she had to hurry. If she was going to go through with this, it had to be now. The pencil in her hand shook as she wrote what would be her final words.

 

My dearest friends and family-

 

This is perhaps the hardest note I've ever had to write. Naraku has given me a difficult choice and, because I see no possible way out, I have made my decision. The choice was to keep the jewel, forcing him to slaughter my friends one by one or to give him the jewel and let him kill me. I do not know if I should give him the jewel, but I do know this much. I know that if he were to kill my friends, then there would be simply no point in living. Though he will be almost indestructible with its power, my friends will never be defeated by such an evil menace as he.

 

Remember that what I have done, I have done for you. I have sacrificed myself to keep the past protected, to keep the future safe, and to allow my friends the chance to live another day. And, to Inuyasha alone, I have but a simple message. Though you are a simple hanyou, and stubborn as well, know that I love you and always will, down to my last seconds of life. I hope to meet you again on the other side. Goodbye, everyone.

-Kagome Higurashi

 

Silently, Kagome turned off the desk lamp and placed the folded note in the back pocket of her jeans. Another copy lay on the desk, one she hoped her mother would find in the morning. Before leaving the house, she peeked quickly into her each of her relative's rooms and wished them a happy life without her. No doubt in her mind now what must be done, she raced outside and leapt into the well.

 

Quietly, the young miko crept into the hut where her friends lay sleeping. She carefully tucked her note beneath the sleeping Shippo's arm before running back outside. Taking a last look at the hut, a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

 

“Goodbye,” she whispered softly.

 

Kagome ran away from the hut, towards the stream where she had promised Naraku she would meet him. Little did she know that her silent goodbye had awoken a previously slumbering hanyou.

 

“Where the hell is that wench going at this time of night? And what was that crying for? It almost sounded like she wasn't going to be coming back this time…”

 

Without thinking, Inuyasha jumped through the treetops, following the miko. He stopped suddenly, running out of trees as he found Kagome kneeling beside a stream.

 

“I'm here now. Let's hurry up and get this over with.”

 

“Ah, but young miko, if I do this too quickly, I cannot enjoy your suffering nearly as much.”

 

Inuyasha gasped silently as he saw Naraku appear beside Kagome. The evil hanyou grabbed the girl by the front of her shirt and hoisted her up to eye level.

 

“So, you have chosen your destiny. Where is your part of the jewel, miko? I cannot kill you if I don't have your shards.”

 

“They're right here, in the bottle around my neck.”

 

Naraku laughed and set her down for the moment. Swiftly, he reached up to the chain and pulled it off, the bottle of shards falling into his outstretched palm. A sinister smile formed on his lips.

 

“Excellent. Now, it's time to fulfill the other half of the bargain. I assume you've done as I instructed and kept your mouth shut.”

 

Kagome nodded. “I wrote my final goodbyes, but no one will read the notes until I'm already dead.”

 

“Fine. I hope that you enjoyed your final day among the living because these next few moments will be more painful than you can imagine.”

 

Kagome said nothing as Naraku produced a sword from thin air. He used vines and lashed her to a tree, hoping she would struggle slightly. Instead, she hung there limp, ready to be slaughtered.

 

“My, my, no fight? No struggle, no last death threat to me? You disappoint me, miko. Perhaps if I were to kill the hanyou first-”

 

“NO! You leave him out of this! You swore if I died you'd leave them alone!”

 

“My dear, you should know by now that my promises mean nothing.”

 

Kagome thrashed about, trying to swing at her killer.

 

“You bastard! If you so much as lay a hand on any of them, I'll-”

 

“You'll what? Haunt me? Be resurrected by some sorceress and try to kill me like Kikyo did? Your threats mean nothing so long as you hang from what will be your deathbed. Though, I must admit, I am glad you finally decided to start fighting back. This will make the killing all the more enjoyable for me.”

 

Kagome glared at him as Naraku raised his sword to her arm. He ran it slowly down the length of her arm, a trail of blood following. He did the same with her other arm. He produced a whip from behind his back and lashed her across the face. A bruise began to form on her cheek, along with more blood on the bridge of her nose. But, so as not to give him the satisfaction, she said nothing.

 

“So it is now, at the moment of your death, you show more defiance than ever? How very bold, miko, but I wonder, if someone were watching this, would you act the same? If you knew that at this very moment, your friend, your love, Inuyasha, were watching us while perched above in the trees, would you act as bold? Would you not call out to him, say your final words to him while you still can? Or would you still stay silent, defying me until the end? Did you know that he is weeping for you, Kagome? He is crying for you because he can't stand to watch you die. Come on, wench, call to him. I want him to be by your side as you die so that your death will be all the more painful. Call to him, bitch. Get him down here now!”

 

Kagome could hold it back no longer. “INUYASHA!!!!”

 

Promptly, the hanyou jumped to the ground and rushed to Kagome's side. Before he could reach her, however, Naraku thrust a poison at the hanyou, paralyzing him on the spot.

 

“Now, now, just because I'm allowing you to watch, doesn't mean you can touch her. I don't want any daring rescue attempts or I'll slay you both on the spot. Why should two die in place of one?”

 

Inuyasha felt helpless. He stood there, frozen in time; unable to help the woman he loved so dearly. He could only watch as Naraku slashed her, whipped her, and maimed her in every way possible. He watched as her heartbeat dwindled, her breathing labored. Finally, he watched as Naraku raised the sword to her throat.

 

“Any last words, Kagome?”

 

Kagome turned towards the motionless hanyou. As the tears started falling, she opened her mouth to speak.

 

“Inuyasha… Inuyasha, I love you. I love you and I always will. Remember that, Inuyasha.”

 

How the hanyou longed to respond, to confess his love to her as well. Instead he could only watch in pure horror as Naraku raised his sword and swiftly slashed Kagome's throat. She screamed in pain, her entire body shook. Naraku did nothing, only watched as the miko began to die, her aura fading. He smiled evilly as she took her final breath and whispered softly, “Inuyasha.”

 

Naraku laughed loudly as he broke his hold over the hanyou. Inuyasha rushed over to his love's lifeless form. He stroked her hair softly and allowed the tears to fall down his face. Naraku still laughing, he turned around to face her killer. He dropped the Tetsuiga to the ground, allowing his vision to be blurred with a crimson haze.

 

“You lousy, despicable, good for nothing, BASTARD!”

 

He lunged at the evil being, catching him off guard. Inuyasha wrestled him to the ground, knocking the near-complete Shikon Jewel from his hands. But this battle was not about the jewel. This was about Kagome. Finally pinning him down, Inuyasha raised a clawed hand, ready to slash Naraku in half. But the evil half-demon did nothing but laugh.

 

“This is how it ends, Inuyasha, isn't it? I kill your love and you, in turn, kill me in revenge. And what exactly will you do with the jewel once I am gone? Will you still become a pure youkai or perhaps you will wish your beloved miko back to life? In any case, I know that the jewel can never become pure as you think it shall. It will never be pure so long as it is in the hands of a hanyou. Remember that, Inuyasha.”

 

The hanyou flexed his claws and glared at Naraku.

 

“I think it's time that you shut your damn mouth, for good.”

 

In one swift movement, Inuyasha slashed his claws across Naraku's throat, nearly cutting through the bone. He watched as the body before him vanished and his own vision began to clear. He moved towards Kagome's body and picked up the jewel that now lay beside her. He knew the wish he wanted to make, but was it truly what Kagome would want? He remembered what she'd said to Naraku, that she had done this to save the lives of her friends. If she were brought back to life, then her actual death would have been pointless. He sighed deeply and, standing before Kagome's body, made his wish.

 

 

EPILOGUE

 

A crowd of people dressed in all black sobbed as a body was being lowered into the cold ground below. In another time, the same event was occurring. Neither group knew they were being watched from above, though some suspected. In heaven, two spirits stood watching the separate funerals. The female sobbed loudly, knowing how much this must have hurt her friends. The male stayed silent and held her close, whispering that they would be okay. The woman turned away, unable to watch any longer.

 

“Do you think they miss us down there?”

 

“Of course they do. Look at how sad they are right now. They all lost two friends, two people they cared about, but they know it had to be done.”

 

“I guess you're right. But tell me, Inuyasha, why are you here? Naraku didn't kill you, I know that much. But, when I died, you were still alive. Why are you here and your body as lifeless as mine down there?”

 

“I wished on the jewel, Kagome. I wished that I could be with you always. Even though it sounds selfish, before I died, I saw the jewel turn pure white.”

 

“But you had a full life ahead of you. Why did you give that up?”

 

“Because, Kagome, without you, life just wouldn't have been worth living.”