InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Fate of Love ❯ Beyond the Barrier ( Chapter 3 )

Nikki Kelly

Disclaimer: The magnificent world of Inu Yasha is the sole creative masterpiece of Rumiko Takahashi ~ NOT ME!!!

A/N: Yeah...yeah...I know...I took forever to write this chapter...some of you probably want to kill me...but all the reviews really got me motivated...so...here it is!

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Chapter Three ~ Beyond the Barrier

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Kagome sat there, holding her hanyou, watching as his eyes slowly unfocused and broke the locked gaze with her own. They glazed over as he stared into nothingness, and she felt one last shudder rack through his body at his last breath. Then he went limp, and all the tension his features had held just a moment before fell from view, as his head slumped to the side.

Not being able to believe what was happening, Kagome hugged him tight, as if it would give him life. When his body gave no response at all, she wept uncontrollably into his beautiful silver mane, reality hitting her full force. Inuyasha was dead.

She lifted her head to the sky, her hands instinctively clutching the nearly complete jewel in her hand and the few remaining shards she wore around her neck. Her cry echoed through the forest, shattering all barriers of time and distance. "Inuyasha!"

Kikyou gasped, feeling a sudden loss inside her being. She watched as the last remnants of her former soul left her body. The strange smoke-like aura seemed to change, and it surrounded the hanyou and the girl. Finally rid of any sort of sustenance and not even being able to give a final thought to what was happening, her empty form fell to the ground. It turned to ash upon impact.

Kagome stared at the sky, tears cascading from eyes that never once blinked. She felt the long-missing part of her soul return as the Shikon No Tama molded into its whole form and landed softly on the fallen hanyou's lifeless chest.

There was a new fullness inside that felt awkward to Kagome, but everything seemed clearer now. She could feel the power pulsing through her veins. The miko powers she had been told she had, but had never been able to feel. She felt whole, and she looked down at her hanyou with the determination fierce in her eyes.

She went to take up the jewel, but with her fingertips just inches away, she hesitated. Her hand was pulsing with a fervent need, but the inner devotion to her moral ideals kept it still. She knew the jewel should not be used for one's own gain; it would taint the sacred object. The logical part of her mind told her to let what was done stay done, and to keep the jewel in its purified state.

But as Kagome looked down into Inuyasha's empty, staring face, a sharp pain ripped through her heart. She wept with helplessness at the thought of living without him, of existing in any realm without him. Her whole body began to shudder as she fought with her conflicting emotions. Reason was gaining control, and her leg muscles had been just about to work into a standing position when her gaze fell to the arrow protruding from his chest; the arrow protruding from his heart.

Inuyasha had given his life for her. He had given his soul for her. For the first time in her life she felt it; she knew what had lain hidden from her all along. It was something she had felt for so long, but had never thought would be reciprocated. He loved her.

Kagome's heart soared to new heights and her hand went to the jewel without a second thought. It flared at her touch, then immediately began to emit a deep comforting warmth. Any previous fears and doubts she'd had melted away, and in the most arcane crevices of her soul, she knew her intentions were right. As she held the jewel lightly in her palm, her free hand drifted to Inuyasha's face, her fingertips brushing softly against the cooled flesh of his cheek. She moved the hand to cradle his head as her mouth instinctively went to meet his. She stopped just before they touched, exhaling softly on his lips. She gripped the Shikon jewel in her other hand, and pressed it firmly to the wound in his heart. "Live as you were, Inuyasha," she whispered fiercely, as if it were a demand, and then took up his lips with her own, rendering the wish true.

Violent torrents of wind whipped by Kagome, threatening to tear her and her hanyou apart. Earth and time seemed to scream in defiance and the reality around her began to meld together, into blobs of unrecognizable substance. Her body felt like it was being pulled into a thousand directions, ready to break into oblivion. She clutched Inuyasha closer to her, and squeezed her eyes shut as the fear began to overwhelm her.

But Kagome never broke her kiss with the hanyou.

She held him to her until the noises stopped. Until the world had ceased to tremor and howl. Until the agonizing pressure left her head. Until there was complete nothingness surrounding her.

For it was in that very moment that she felt a hand grip the nape of her neck, and felt a passion like no other flow through her lips. For a moment, Kagome dared not open her eyes, fearful it would all turn out to be just a dream. The intense mix of curiosity and lack of breath soon superseded that fear, however, and she somewhat reluctantly pulled away. Slowly she opened her eyes to gaze at the hanyou in front of her.

Inuyasha's beautiful and seemingly endless golden eyes stared into her own. They pooled with that same fullness she had seen just before his death; it was an emotion she had been previously unable to identify, but she plainly recognized its meaning now.

He inhaled deeply, then exhaled with a sigh, his heated breath mingling with her own. This feeling of life sent blissful shivers down Kagome's spine. There was no denying his existence now. He lifted a trembling hand to her face, tenderly brushing away a stray tear rolling down her cheek with the pad of his thumb. His once cold hands held a warmth she had never felt before, and they softly cupped her face, as he drew her to him once again. His gentle whisper tickled her lips as he repeated over and over between kisses, "Oh...Kagome...my Kagome...my love..."

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To Be Continued...

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~~Hmmmmmmmm...I'm not exactly sure if I like the way this chapter turned out...I had writer's block for the longest time...just too many ideas swirling through my head...oh well, whatever...PLEASE tell me what you thought of this chapter and the whole story thus far...the feedback definitely keeps me going...

Note to Chibi Mizu Tenshi: Thanks for the complements...I pride myself in my descriptions...even though they're not always the best...

Note to Siren: Bwwwaaaaaahhhhhhaaaaaaaahhhhhhhaaaaaahhhhhaaaaa!!!!!!!!!! ...............thank you................