Prologue.

It was the aftermath. But it was completely different than they had ever imagined beating their enemy would be. Or perhaps it was that they had just never dared actually think about what life after revenge would be like. Their thoughts had always been focused on the battle itself, never moving beyond that great moment when Naraku would fall at their feet, vanquished. It had been a good way to live, but had done little to prepare them for what would happen after, or rather, now. They were all gathered here, all of them, now eyeing each other warily, for under normal circumstances they were not the best of friends. In some cases, they were the best of enemies, united only by the unspoken truce created by the crimes of their mutual enemy. Inuyasha, the 'hero' of the epic that had begun when the Shikon no Tama, the orb of the four souls, had been shattered, stood up straight and shouldered his Tetsusaiga – the fang-sword that was longer than he was when transformed. Normally he would have sheathed it in a dramatic action signaling what he had accomplished. But considering the company that he was currently keeping, they were not out of the woods yet. His pointed ears pivoted cautiously. He was a half-blooded demon of the canine variety, as the meaning of the characters he used to write his name clearly stated. His pointed ears were covered with soft white fur, fur nearly the same color as the silver hair that flowed past his waist. His nails were closer to claws, and his eyes were golden. Although he looked otherwise human, he was never to be mistaken for one.

Kagome was standing next to him, clad as always in the strange garb she called a 'school uniform' from her time. Although upon their meeting he had tried to kill her for the sacred jewel, now he was used to having her at his side. What would happen to her now? It upset him as it was when she left to do her 'tests'; how could he possibly cope if she disappeared through the well forever? He glanced over at Miroku, who was predictably staring at his right hand. The sacred beads hung useless in his other hand. They would never be needed again, for the vortex Naraku had put in the hand of his grandfather was no more. But perhaps to counter Miroku's good fortune, Sango's brother Kohaku lay dying, the shard that had so long preserved his life ripped from him by Naraku, the same being that had brought him to death's door in the first place. which no longer had a black hole in the middle that sucked everything in.

Inuyasha jumped, detecting motion in the vicinity of his elder brother. He and Sesshoumaru had never gotten along, and he was not entirely convinced that his brother was no longer after the sword of their father that Inuyasha carried. But it was the little human girl that so mysteriously trailed after his brother wherever he went. She broke away from where she had stood behind Sesshoumaru, and ran to kneel by Kohaku as well.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" She asked softly, her young eyes uncomprehending the meaning of Kohaku's labored breath and Sango's tears. Inuyasha's eyes flicked to his brother. It was Sesshoumaru that had kept him from putting his sword away – whenever he and his full demon half-brother met, they fought, and at the moment, he really didn't feel up to it. Hopefully Sesshoumaru did not either. All in attendance had fought hard to defeat Naraku, so his brother should be just as tired as he, right?

In response to the little girl's silent question, Sesshoumaru walked forward, his hand on the hilt of one of his two swords. Inuyasha's jaw dropped, Kohaku had once almost killed the little girl, but he'd been under control then. Certainly Sesshoumaru had figured that out and wasn't going to…

"No!" Sango cried, and covered her brother's body with her own. Miroku stopped staring at his hand, and he and Inuyasha rushed forward, Kagome not far behind…though not fast enough.

In one deft movement, Sesshoumaru drew his sword and slashed both Sango and her brother. The three rushing forward stopped in shock, but there were no cries of pain and no spurting of blood from newly opened wounds. Sango slowly sat up, only to be pulled protectively into the arms of her fiancé, who did not immediately realize that she was unhurt, and that even the wounds she had received in battle were gone. Inuyasha stared in shock.

"Tensaiga." Kagome said, understanding first. "I completely forgot."

"H-he…healed Kohaku?" Miroku stuttered. And it was true. The boy, previously on death's door or worse, opened his eyes, and Sango broke away from Miroku to lean over him.

"Sango?" He said, looking up at Sango in confusion. He sat up. "Where are we?" Clearly, his memories had returned with his life.

That little crisis over, Inuyasha looked over at his rival – Kouga. But for once the wimpy wolf was not fawning all over Kagome, so Inuyasha did not really feel an inexorable need to attack him outright. Must be his exhaustion again. His eyes caught Kikyou's. She was watching him, she, the resurrected form composed of mud and human bones in the likeness of his lost love, more than fifty years gone. He still remembered with searing clarity that fateful day when the red string of fate had been cut, when she had taken the sacred jewel to meet him, to make him human like her. Both of them had died that day, both believing the other to be their murderer. Inuyasha had done nothing, but Kikyou had sealed him to the god tree. Naraku had tricked them into killing each other, and it had worked.

Fifty years later, Kagome had popped out of the well from the strange world of the future she called Tokyo, with the jewel they had died for, that Kikyou had ordered burned with her remains hidden in her abdomen. She had not even been aware of it. Fifteen years old, she had been attacked by a centipede demon and the Jewel of the four souls had been freed and brought back into the world. To save her life she had freed the boy stuck to the god tree, and Inuyasha had been revived to the scent of the girl who had sealed him. Days later, Kagome accidentally shattered the sacred jewel, marking the beginning of their strange relationship. At first her presence had annoyed him, but now he could not think of a future without her. She was the first person to accept him as he was. Even Kikyou had wanted him to become human to live with her. She had put up with a lot from him over their travels, and yet she still stayed with him. What was he to do when she returned to 'Tokyo' for 'tests' and didn't come back? What if the well closed up while she was on the other side? What if…

But in reality, he could see no real way for them to be together. She had a whole other life on the other side of the well, in a world that he could never hope to really understand. He had visited there before, and managed to survive it, but to live there? And all had not been resolved wit the death of Naraku. Kikyou remained. She still walked the earth because of the blind rage she had felt upon her resurrection for Inuyasha, and that rage kept her here still, though she knew the truth now. She could not rest until she took him with her. It was an impossible situation. He could not be with Kagome, and he could not just leave Kikyou to forever wander the earth. He did not want to die, he did not want to go to hell, but he could not let things lie.

Inuyasha's thoughts were interrupted. "What to do? The jewel?" She glanced around.

Sesshoumaru turned indifferently away. "I have no interest in such a thing. I have all the power I possibly need."

"I don't need it either." This from Kouga. Inuyasha scoffed at this, for the demon had carried shards in his legs to quicken his speed since they met him. "Unlike the mutt, I don't need outside help."

"Yeah right." Inuyasha scoffed. "-cept you needed it up 'till five minutes ago." But his voice lacked bite. Today, nothing could anger him. Normally the insult would have enraged him, but now it only seemed petty.

"Nor do I." Kikyou said. "The Shikon no Tama has brought me nothing but sorrow."

Kagome picked up the small pink bead and held it between her delicate fingers. "To think that such a small thing could cause such trouble." She tossed it to Inuyasha. "Well, it appears that now you're the only one who wants the wretched thing."

Inuyasha looked down at the sacred jewel in his palm. Once, he would have given anything to possess it, but now? Now he saw it only as the instrument of all his sorrows, perhaps even an extension of Naraku. He no longer wished to become a full-demon, to leave his mother's blood behind, to become as powerful as his brother. Now, he had nothing to wish for. Or did he?

He closed his hands over the jewel and closed his eyes. When he opened them, everything was as it had been. Of course, his desire was beyond even the power of the jewel. He glanced around the group until his eyes rested on Kagome. It was at that moment that the solution to his dilemma, the only solution, occurred to him. He looked at Kagome, and she stepped back, surprised by the look in his eyes of absolute decision, for better or worse.

He approached her slowly, dropping the jewel in her hand. "Kagome, you are the guardian of the Shikon no Tama, you take it." He closed her hand around it, willing his voice to be steady as he continued, "Don' be mad, Kagome, it's the only way. I'll find you again, if I can." Then, as he had so long ago on the day he had tried to prevent her from ever returning to the era of the warring states, Inuyasha swept her into his arms and held her tightly, resting his chin on top of her hair. It was the round-about way, but it was the only one.

He released her abruptly, and stalked over to Kikyou, who had watched all this almost impassively. "Let's go." He ignored the gasps around him at this statement.

"Inuyasha?" Kikyou frowned. It was surprising how much emotion her golem body could communicate.

"I die, you die, right?" He said. It was not a question. "You can't stay here. You aren't real, and you'll probably try to kill Kagome an' me again, and I can't let that happen. So I'ma go wichu."

Kikyou did not wait for him to ask twice. As the light rose from the ground around he and Kikyou, and the ground began to give way, Inuyasha sent one thought upward before oblivion. "Don't cry, Kagome."