InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Greates Thing ❯ One-Shot

"Naraku," the voices said in unison, "touch a hair on his head and you will not even get a chance to see you killers!" Naraku looked up from the almost unconscious hanyou to see both mikos, Kikyou and Kagome, standing side by side with their bows drawn. A pink aura was surrounding both, if it was to unite them as one.

"Kukuku…Do you think you have the will to destroy me Kikyou? Do you?"

"Yes, we can," the two said as one, "NOW DIE NARAKU!" The two released their arrows in perfect timing, sending a huge beam of pink towards Naraku. The beam hit his entire body; vaporizing him the instant the arrows touched his skin. The pink slowly faded away allowing the once pink sky to turn a dark clouded gray. The Shikon-No-Tama dropped to the ground near Inu-Yasha. He weakly clutched it in his hand, and slowly hoisted himself up to his feet. He turned towards Kagome and Kikyou and slowly walked towards the two. The light blinded almost everyone who was not fighting, and they became curious to see what happened after the light faded. Kirara brought Miroku and Kagura on her back with Sango walking beside the three, carrying Shippo. Kouga carried Ayame on his back nearing the two semi-glowing mikos. Rin had joined Sesshomaru's side and was helping him limp over to sight before them. Everyone gathered around Inu-Yasha, Kagome, and Kikyou; waiting to see how things would unfold.

Inu-Yasha was slowly walking towards Kagome and Kikyou, using his sword to help steady his shaking body. He reached the two waiting mikos, outstretching his hand with the jewel in it.

"Here. It's yours-"

"Thank you Inu-Yasha." Kikyou said trying to take the jewel from his hand.

"No. You're not its guardian anymore," Inu-Yasha said shifting his hand towards Kagome, "it's yours now, Kagome." Kagome took it from his hand and placed the few missing shards and the jewel in her hand; closing it a faint pink light escaped from her hand, and when she opened it the jewel was finally complete.

"Well, it's over. It's finally over." Sango stated, with a sign of relief in her voice.

"I guess it is, and look! My wind-tunnel is gone too!" Miroku said pulling off the rosary beads seeing that no void of wind appeared.

"Well, now that this is over, Ayame and I are going to head off back to our clan. We'll see you guys around. Don't forget Inu-Yasha, she's a special one." Kouga ran, oddly with enhanced speed, to the east where both his and Ayame's clans were waiting for their safe return.

"Now the only problem left is getting Inu-Yasha and Miroku back to the village…Kirara can't carry both and make it there in a fast time." Sango said, thinking aloud, with a hint of concern in her voice. She knew that Inu-Yasha was in no condition to run or even walk, and Miroku, though he didn't show it, was still fighting the poison from Naraku's insects.

"Yea. We need to get Kagome back to the village as fast as possible to keep her out of harms way." Inu-Yasha added.

"You can borrow my dragon, Ah and Un, to go to the village. He will come back to me once you reach the village."

"Thank you Sesshomaru." Kagome said bowing. "But what will you do?"

"Travel back to the Western Lands with Rin."

"I-I guess I am the only one here without a place to go, even though I am free…" Kagura said with a sad tone.

"You can come with us Kagura-sama! Right Sesshomaru-sama? Can she come with us? Please!!!" Rin, like normal, said with lots of energy.

"I guess," Sesshomaru said pondering the idea, "we'll be able to arrive in the Western Lands faster that way."

"Arigato Sesshomaru-sama." Kagura said bowing her head with great difficulty. She moved off Kirara and steadied herself on Rin. "I guess this is goodbye. Thank you for all your help." A great void of air surrounded the three and a gigantic feather appeared in the air with Kagura, Rin and Sesshomaru on it. It flew towards the west.

Kagome watched the three disappear in the distance for a while then suddenly spoke. "Kikyou, will you be coming with us?"

Sango and Miroku looked towards Kagome with shocked looks. They did not know about the promise.

"Of course…I have a task that must be completed."

"I guess we should leave then…"

"We should."

Kikyou's soul collectors gathered around her and lifted her into the air. Sango got on to Kirara's back behind Miroku, so he could rest on her during their trip back. Shippo hopped in front of Miroku, on Kirara's back, and quickly fell asleep in on Kirara's back. Kagome helped Inu-Yasha on to the back of Ah and Un. She placed herself behind Inu-Yasha, following Sango's example, so he could rest on her during their trip back. She slipped her hands around his sides and laced them around his folded forearms. The two groups lifted into the air, following behind Kikyou who was already far ahead.

Inu-Yasha fell asleep quickly in her arms from both loss of blood and pure exhaustion. It was a quite trip back, but it allowed Kagome to think of the upcoming task that Kikyou had to finish.

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.:~{(3 days later)}~:.

Everyone arrived to the village safe and sound. They were greeted with a large crowd made up of both villagers and travelers who saw the pink light that erupted during the battle. Kagome and Sango rushed both Inu-Yasha and Miroku into Kaede's hut, Shippo and Kirara following. Ah and Un started the return trip to the Western Lands, but Kikyou stayed out of the hut (and that probably was a good thing too.) Miroku recovered very fast because you could say he built up a tolerance of some sort to the poison from Naraku's Saimyoushou. Inu-Yasha on the other hand, was taking a longer time to heal. He had used most of his energy in his last attack, so his body was still greatly fatigued. Kaede restrung the Shikon-No-Tama and had a formal ceremony, presenting the once-again complete Shikon-No-Tama to its new guardian. Kikyou stayed away from the village, and spent most of her time in Inu-Yasha's Forest.

Inu-Yasha had slept for three days, and on the 3rd day Kagome went out into his forest to gather some herbs that would help many of his wounds to heal. She was deep in the forest, not noticing any ones presence.

"Kagome," came a voice from the trees. Kagome now sensed a prescience and instantly knew who it was.

"Kikyou," Kagome spoke in a monotonous tone.

"We need to talk." Kikyou appeared with her soul seekers, floating down from a high branch in one of the trees.

"What about?" Kagome asked acting as if she had no idea about what the conversation was leading too, even though in the pit of her stomach she knew.

"You plenty well know what, bitch." Kikyou said becoming forceful.

"How about you refresh my memory." Kagome said coldly.

"Oh you very well know what I am about to say. Tonight's the night. Were going to hell tonight weather you like it or not. I don't care how he feels any more. He promised me, and he's going. No matter what you do, you'll never get him to love you-you-you little clone." Kikyou spat at her feet, her soul stealers encircling Kagome and lifting her above the ground. "And let me put this in terms you'll understand: Go back to your own era and forget about Inu-Yasha. Make his trip and easy transition for him to go to Hell with me. You may be my reincarnation, but nothing more. He has no love for you he only loves me. We may have combined forces to defeat Naraku; Hell we became one essence basically, but I will always beat you when it comes to Inu-Yasha's love."

"You know…you really don't know me." Kagome said mid-air, looking down at Kikyou with a cold stare. "When he first promised you he would protect you, I was heart broken. I wanted you to die. I knew I couldn't compete with you because you are dead and I am still living."

"At least you can admit defeat." Kikyou said smugly, interrupting Kagome.

"Shush! I'm not done yet! I couldn't understand why people always thought of us as the same, I saw no similarities between us either than looks. But then it hit me, we both want to see and be with Inu-Yasha. That's what we have in common. That's what makes us so similar, our want for Inu-Yasha. I knew that I could never have his heart because he saved all its room for you, but I thought that if I could just be around him…"

"What? He could learn to love you?"

"No. If I could be there to support him, comfort him, be there in his times of need, be there so he could talk to some one, if I could just be there so that he knew that I was there I-I would be happy."

"What? That makes no sense!"

"Yes it does. It makes complete sense. I made a promise to my self to always be there for him, good or bad, so I could make sure that he was happy."

"How can you be so unselfish?"

"How you ask. Well I wouldn't expect you to understand because you have no heart. What I'm describing is true love. Inu-Yasha may not return my love, but I love him so much that I would do anything to see him happy, even-even-even if it meant him going to hell with you. That's how I feel, now will you let me down so I can `go back to my era' as you so kindly stated it."

Kagome slowly made her descent towards the ground. She gave Kikyou a cold stare and brushed shoulders with the dead miko.

"You know Kikyou," Kagome stopped, "one thing that does make us different is that you could never truly love or trust Inu-Yasha as he was. You could never love him for him. That's what makes us different, I love Inu-Yasha for who he is, not for who he could be. I just want Inu-Yasha to be happy, weather he loves me or not. Goodbye… bitch."

Kagome continued towards the well, tears starting to fall from her eyes. Little did she know that she had just had two audiences watching her previous speech with Kikyou.

"You can come out, Inuyasha. I know you're there. You other four…go comfort your Lady Kagome before I kill all of you."

There was lots of rustling in the bushes. Some noise coming towards Kikyou, the other noise going in the direction in which Kagome had just gone towards. Two silver fuzzy ears popped out of the bushes, and finally Inu-Yasha had appeared. The two were by the Goshinboku, the tree with so many memories that incorporated the two. For a while they both stared at each other. Neither wanted to break the silence.

"It's time Inu-Yasha. You made a promise to me that you would come to Hell with me after the ordeal with Naraku was over with." Kikyou said stepping towards Inu-Yasha.

"I know." He said, not looking at the approaching woman.

"You knew this time was coming all along. You cannot have any regrets."

"I know," is all he said.

"Are you ready?" Kikyou said circling her arms around his neck (AN: I know! She got really close really fast!).

-;~{( Back with Kagome at the Well )}~;-

She had been sitting at the Well for some time now. She just didn't have the heart to jump through and never come back without saying goodbye to her friends. Tears were falling freely down her faces silently. She was arguing with herself in her head now…

`I can't just leave him…I love him!'

`But you love him so much that you just want him to be happy right? What if he is happy with Kikyou? Could you bear to witness that again?'

`Yea. I could. I could because I would get to see that rare smile on his face, those peaceful eyes, all which make your heart jump.'

`But could you bear the heart break?'

`No…but if I just go home, I'll be heartbroken for the rest of my life anyways…'

`Not if you think of all the good times you've had with him, all the happy memories…'

`I guess, but I would hate my self every day for not telling him how I feel about him. For not taking the chances to tell him because I was scared that he would reject me…'

`Then why are you sitting here, at the well, the connection to the present instead of trying to keep Inu-Yasha from going to Hell with Miss Bitchy McBitch?'

`Because…'

`Because what?'

`Because…it's not my place to keep him from going. It's his choice.'

`If you love him…you trust him right?'

`Yea…I still do and I always have…'

`Then don't you trust him to make the right decision?'

`I do…but…you've seen the look in his eyes when he's around her…he's still in love with her.'

`But have you studied his eyes recently?'

A blue light flooded the area, and Kagome knew exactly what the light was. `He's going…'

Kagome leaned her back against the well, tucking her knees under her chin, wrapping her arms around her shins. She started sobbing hysterically; her body started shaking she was sobbing so hard.

"No," She whispered, "he's actually going. He's leaving me…"

Kagome didn't know what to do or how to react now. She was arguing in her head again. Her optimistic side was telling her `hey even though he's gone, he'll always be with you in you're heart. You'll always have memories with him, ones that you'll cherish. He's always going to be with you.' But her other side, the down to earth side, could only thing of one thing: `I'm alone now. I'm alone. I'll never see him again. He'll never come back. He's gone. I'm alone…'

~*~I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone

and though you're still with me

I've been alone all along ~*~

~*~When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears

When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears

and I've held your hand through all of these years

but you still have all of me…~*~

Kagome was lost in her own little world of sorrow. She didn't even notice that a person sat down by her, and encircled her shoulders with an arm.

"Kagome," she heard a voice.

"Kagome," no…it couldn't be.

"Kagome," it was, "you're wrong. You're not alone."

"Inu-Inu-Yasha?" was all Kagome could get out before her throat was chocked with more sobs.

"Yea?"

"It's really you. You're here. I thought you were going with her." Kagome said looking at his face, tears still rolling out of her eyes.

"I was supposed to, but I guess you can say reality hit me," Inu-Yasha said chuckling at himself.

"What- what does that mean?" Kagome asked, nothing in her mind comprehended what was going on now.

"Well, it means I don't love Kikyou as much as you thought I did. I can guarantee that much. And I know how I truly feel now." The sincerity in his voice only proved that what Inu-Yasha was saying was true.

"Oh, and what would those feeling be now?" She couldn't look at his face, the face she loved, because of the fear of rejection.

"I was there Kagome. I heard what you said." Kagome couldn't say anything because of the extreme embarrassment; she still couldn't look at his face.

"And you've been true to your word," he placed his fingers on her damp chin and tilted it so that she would have to look at him, "you've been by my side through everything, always supporting me. I greatly appreciate that. Because of you my life has been happy, and I've loved every minute of being around you. You've always taken care of me, wiping away all my tears and fears. Now, Kagome, it's my turn."

Inu-Yasha lowered his head so that their foreheads were touching. He gently kissed the girls cheeks, removing every last tear.

"You don't need to cry over me any more," he whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine, "because I'll always be here for you. Because I- I- I love you." He captured her lips in a gentle, but passionate kiss and it was everything that he imagined it to be. Her lips were soft, the kiss shocked her, but it was perfect. He broke the kiss and stared at her shut eyes. She opened her eyes to see amber pools of hope in front of her. She smiled, tears still staining her face.

"Kagome, I've loved you since the day I met you. It took me some time to find it, but it's true."

Kagome flung herself into Inu-Yasha's lap, throwing her arms around his neck, burying her head in his chest. His hands wrapped around her waist, just hugging her and whispering in her ear the he loved her. Kagome started to cry even harder.

"I love you to Inuyasha," she mumbled into his chest, and so that only he could hear, "I've loved you since the day I first saw you. I don't know what I would do without you. Gods I love you so much, and when I thought you left…I couldn't believe it."

"Shhh. Shhh," Inu-Yasha cooed to her, rocking her in his arms, "it's all right now. I'm here."

Inu-Yasha gave a gentle smile, looking at the girl in his arms. He only hugged her tighter, knowing that she felt safe in his arms. He owed this girl so much, not out of obligation but out of love. She had always been there for him, taking care of him, risking her life for him. He would always protect her, not because he had to but because he wanted to. That's how much Inu-Yasha loved her.

He gently rested his chin in the junction between her shoulder and neck, breathing in her scent. He just listened to her breathing calm, holding her tight, showing that he would never leave her side. His thoughts drifted through all of his memories that had Kagome in them, finally allowing him to drift into a light slumber.

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-;~{( In the bushes )}~;-

"Kawii! They finally told each other!" Sango cried/whispered, leaning into Miroku's chest.

"It's about time. So do you think Kikyou would have really killed us if we hadn't left?" The houshi questioned, letting his arms slip around the waist of the woman in front of him.

"I don't know. Maybe, but she was just full of hot air. Hey Kirara," Sango called over to her demon cat, "take Shippo back to the village. It's past his bed time."

"Hey! I want to see what happened between Inu-Yasha and Kagome!" Shippo whined while Kirara was carrying him off towards the village.

"Maybe we should let them have their privacy, love. I already get slapped enough on peeping on you when you're at the baths," Miroku commented, his grip around the love of his life tightening.

"Nah," Sango simply replied, resting her head against the houshi's chest, "it's our turn to spy on them."

/~~~~~~~~~~~~<End>~~~~~~~~~~~~\

AN: Ok I thought that was cute, but that's just me ^_^ I'm the author so I have to think it's cute. Lol. Well, hope you all like, even though I should probably be working on my other fic… :sweatdrop: ^.^' sorry I'm going through a bit of writers block and I want the chappies to be good. So I can't have ideas like these :points to the story above: floating around my head and try to stay on topic. It's late right now so I'm just going to post the story right now. I'm going to correct any other grammar/spelling mistakes tomorrow (its fricken 2 am right now…I'm surprised I can type so well XD) Well. I hope this fic touched you, even though its some what of common theme. Heh. R&R

-Ruku