The Revival: Reincarnate

Hello! This is my first Inuyasha fanfic, and I hope you enjoy it! Some notes: PLEASE read my other author's notes, because they explain important things. And 2: I know that Naraku had sons and other crap that attacked after Naraku died, (At least… I think so…) But for the purposes of this fanfic, let's pretend that they either don't exist or attacked when he was alive.

The Revival: Reincarnate

Prologue

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Back, you savage beasts!

Kagome sighed, hastily tying back her long black hair. This was it: the final battle. Standing back up from her crouched position, she smoothed down her signature green skirt. Then, the miko notched another arrow and took aim. Barely taking time to confirm her target, she let her arrow fly, notching another on as the monster in front of her disintegrated in a shower of pink sparks.

There was also miasma scattered across the battlefield, and (bug things) were everywhere, rendering Miroku's kazaana useless. But they were holding their own. And past all that, in one of the few areas not overrun with monsters, was an evil hanyou in a baboon pelt. Naraku. That was where Kagome was positioned, entrusted with the duty of making sure that the surrounding ring of Youkai kept their distance.

The sky was darkening; making it seem like midnight was upon them. It was hard to believe that it as just past noon. She let loose another arrow, and gazed to her left. Sango, Kirara, Miroku and Shippo were all taking a defensive stance, and were also fighting back the evil and corrupted youkai.

Then, Kagome nervously looked to her right, where he was: Naraku, one of the greatest of evils. Looking past even him, she felt her heart flutter. 'Inuyasha!' She thought, 'Please be okay…'

Brandishing the Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha was battling head-to-head with Naraku. Kouga, Ayame and, surprisingly, Sesshomaru were also fighting along-side him. They had managed to break down Naraku's barriers using Inuyasha's red Tetsusaiga, among other attacks, but other than that they hadn't done much damage.

It seemed as if Naraku had an unlimited power source of energy. With every hit, he healed immediately. He hardly even bothered to dodge the attacks! At least, because of his arrogance, he hadn't bothered to make Kagura fight against them also. She was no where to be seen. Kanna, as always, stood solemnly beside Naraku, who had the nerve to take the time to gaze into her mirror every few minutes.

After all this was said and done, he would blast back the other's power, increased tenfold! Ayame was now unconscious, Kouga was bleeding at an almost fatal rate, and Sesshomaru had a large gash on his armless shoulder, which Jaken, ever-present, kept trying to heal, angering his lord and getting in the way. But at least the Taiyoukai was still fighting.

Inuyasha was also fighting along-side his half-brother. Apparently, when they weren't trying to kill each other, they made a pretty good team. 'You shouldn't joke at a time like this!' she reprimanded herself. Releasing another arrow towards a youkai that was getting a little too close for comfort, she turned back towards Inuyasha and let out a small gasp of surprise, nearly dropping her bow. Inuyasha was fighting with one ear nearly torn off his head! He had a gash in his side, and she could tell that he was fighting way past his limit.

'This has to end,' The miko thought, 'now. He has to have some weakness… He can't be invincible… he's half-human, after all.' She thought to herself, before inwardly scolding her train of thought. 'Baka! Inuyasha is a hanyou too, and he is nearly invincible! He acts like it too, except when he shows the softer side of his heart… wait, his heart!'

Kagome, cheered to herself, a plan hatching itself in her mind. 'Onigumo had a heart, he proved it by err… 'Loving' Kikyo!' Then, another thought struck her, 'His heart is the source of his seeming immortality!' It was a weird thought, as if it was not her own, and she felt compelled to look away from her current opponents. There, nestled behind some trees, was Kagura, a small smirk gracing her lips.

She walked towards Kagura, as if held in some strange trance, slowly coming closer to the wind youkai. Kagura's grin grew. "Looks like you need some help." She said, her voice as fleeting as the wind. She moved a bit, and Kagome could see a small bundle in her arms, covered in a blanket. The bundle moved, over and over, ever so slightly. Kagome was a little disturbed to see a small body behind the youkai, also wrapped up in a blood-red blanket.

"What is that?" Kagome found herself asking. It moved again, almost in a pattern…

"You know what it is…" Kagura said, laughing fiercely. "Catch!" She through the bundle far into the air, and the blanket peeled away from the bundle, revealing a small, beating, heart. Then, the wind youkai fled into the shadows.

Kagome picked up an arrow and notched it, before aiming the tip at Naraku's (or at least, she thought it was his… Kagura was known to play tricks) heart. "Inuyasha!" She shouted, pouring every ounce of her miko energy she had into that single arrow. 'Please, please hit…' "His heart, Inuyasha! Aim for that heart!" She shouted to him, releasing the well-aimed arrow.

Seeing this, Inuyasha gave a cry of, "Kaze no kizu!!" Using the current of the blast to speed the arrow, he also helped keep it on track, so it was sure to hit it's mark. The arrow was lodged firmly into the heart of Naraku, whose face was twisted in agony, feeling the pain of not only his heart, but the other injuries his body had obtained.

"You!" Naraku snarled, turning towards Kagome as his body started fading away. "This is your fault, bitch!" Then, he used the last of his energy to send a tentacle towards the young miko, piercing her chest. Energy spent, Naraku was dragged into Hell, where he shall spend the rest of eternity.

Kagome, eyes widened, struggled to breath, finding darkness clouding her vision. She gazed up weakly to see Inuyasha's face, his eyes shining… were those tears? The ground, why was it closing in on her? Inuyasha!' She thought, finding herself unable to talk. 'I don't want to die, Inuyasha! Please, don't let me go… revive me…'

"Kagome! Speak to me, dammit! Kagome! Wench!" Inuyasha cried as her eyes closed and her body was slowly dragged into the ground by roots. "No!" He shouted, taking hold of her limp hand. "I won't let you go! Don't die on me! You can't leave me alone!" All of this was in vain, but the persistent hanyou's grip did not loosen, only tightening in hopes of keeping the two together.

"Inuyasha…" A voice called, and Inuyasha looked down, startled. "Please, don't waste your time." Kagome whispered, giving him a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Besides, I'll just be reincarnated again…" She trailed off, tears coming into her eyes. "Inuyasha, I need to tell you something, before..."

"Don't talk like that, Kagome, it's not like you." Inuyasha gently scolded, before turning his head away to hide the tears. "And please, don't cry Kagome, I… I hate it when you cry." He choked out.

"Inuyasha, listen, I wasn't sure when it happened, and I know you love Kikyo, not me," He tried to protest, but she silenced him. "Anyway, sometime, while I've traveled with you, I've realized that I- I lo-" She suddenly stopped, coughing up blood. She convulsed once, her body still fighting. Then, eyes dropping, she gazed up at her beloved companion. "Gomen nasai, Inuyasha."

Then, Inuyasha released her hand, and she once again was pulled into the earth, leaving a broken-hearted hanyou behind. "Damn it, Kagome!" He screamed, his eyes turning red as his inner demon tried to escape. His companions looked on in silence. The other youkai had stayed following Naraku's death, so they had seen Inuyasha and Kagome's final goodbye. Tears also leaked from their eyes, save Sesshomaru, whose face was as stoic as ever. Kouga and Ayame had already left, even before Naraku was dead, Kouga seeing that he would be useless in battle if he died from loss of blood. So he took Ayame and left for his wolf tribe, not seeing the triumph over Naraku, not seeing Kagome's death.

"KAGOME!! YOU CAN'T- you can't leave me all alone again, Kagome…" Inuyasha said, collapsing onto her grave.

It was dark… No, not dark, darkness. That's all it was. Everywhere she looked. She was standing on it, under it, in it. The very essence of the place seemed to be composed of darkness.

"Hello?" She called out, her voice eerily echoing through the shadows. "Hello, is anyone there?" She called out once more, though her search seemed fruitless.

Then, a smooth voice rolled out through the darkness… "My my, what a surprise, to meet such a high Hoshi member… Have you run away from your pack, little one?" The voice whispered. Kagome couldn't tell if the voice was male or female, but it seemed to have a feminine undertone to it.

"Excuse me, but… Who are you? And besides, I'm not a monk; I'm an untrained miko at best." Called Kagome, trying to see through the darkness. There was utter silence, and Kagome had the strangest feeling that the voice was contemplating something.

"That is… of no importance." The voice carefully answered, contemplating the effects of it's words. "But that is beside the point. And for your other question, child, I was not calling you a monk! I was simply referring to the Hoshi clan of the north. I had… mistaken you for someone I knew from there. Anyways, you shouldn't be here, so I will help you leave, back up to the surface world. You would like that, no?"

(A/N: Here is my map: Panthers rule the south, Sesshomaru rules the west, Kouga and other wolf tribes rule the east, and the Hoshi clan rules the north. Naraku had a little bit of power everywhere, and Kaede's village is in the middle lands, which aren't ruled solely by anyone.)

Kagome had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, which slowly spread up her spine and raised hairs on the back of her neck. But against her better judgment, she answered, "No… I mean, yes! No, not no… Yes! I mean yes! I… I guess…" The voice merely chuckled at her confusion. "Oh, by the way," Kagome began, "Where are we? All I remember is being dragged into the earth…"

(Quick A/N: I'm just using the name shadow realm; this has nothing to do with Yu-Gi-Oh.)

"I am glad you have accepted my help." The voice said, as a beautiful woman with jet-black hair up in a braided bun stepped out of the shadows. "This," She began, gesturing the space surrounding them. "Is the shadow realm. I am the presiding queen, Pandora. It is nice to make your acquaintance." Pandora said, giving a small curtsy.

"Shadow realm?" Kagome inquired. It sounded dark… Did she really want to be here?

"Yes…" Pandora began. "Shadow realm. It is the place of opposites and similarities. Here, the true natures of different people live. Instead of having light, we have dark. Instead of having physical, we have ethereal. Look, Kagome."

Kagome turned her head, and where there once was nothing, was now a small house, suitable for one or two people. "You can live here now. I have included the food and water needed by you humans." Pandora stated, before walking towards the quaint home.

"Umm… thank you." Kagome said, brushing aside the fact that Pandora knew her name, even without Kagome giving her one. She stepped inside, a little disappointed that it was feudal styled. 'Baka! I'm still in feudal Japan!' She thought to herself.

"I hope this will be an acceptable living space, if you need anything else, simply give me a call and I will arrive. Please don't call me for any other reason though, because I am very busy as queen. You will only need to stay here until I find a way to bring you back to the physical world. But…" Pandora paused, gazing at the miko. "It would help my search if you could do me a favor of sorts…"

"What?" Kagome asked, in awe at the beauty of her temporary home. So far she had noticed a small kitchen and dining room, two bedrooms, a garden with a hot spring for bathing, a well for water and laundry as well as a storage room and closet full of breath-taking kimonos. Then, she came back down to earth. "Oh, right. A favor. What kind?" The miko asked.

"Well, it is hard to move about the physical world with an ethereal appearance. It complicates things. Right now, we only have ethereal bodies. Your physical body is still on earth. You are trapped here, but I am able to leave. If you would allow me to, I could temporarily inhabit your body in the physical realms and search for a spell to release you."

This idea scared Kagome, but seeing no other way, she agreed. "I guess so, please be careful though. If someone sees you, they might recognize my body."

"Excellent." Pandora said, giving Kagome a smile. "I'll start the search right now. Call me if you need anything." 'And now, the fun begins.' Thought Pandora as she faded into the shadows once more. 'Why don't I leave my guest a welcoming present…? She will be of no use if she has no doubts…"

Kagome, meanwhile, had ventured outside, which was no longer plain darkness, but a large lawn with many trees. She was surprised when she spotted a certain dog-eared hanyou under a weeping willow. "Inuyasha!" She cried. "What are you doing here?" He looked up at her, and she then saw another person beside him. 'Kikyo…' Kagome thought, eyes widening.

"Oi, wench, I'm not Inuyasha." The doppelganger gruffly explained. "Don't you listen to anything? I'm the true nature of Inuyasha, sort of like his soul." Kagome had reached them now, and was glaring at Kikyo, who looked sad.

"Kagome, why are you looking at me like that?" Kikyo inquired, oblivious to the loathing coming from her reincarnation.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because of all the times you tried to kill me and Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted.

"I- I'm sorry." Kikyo stated, glancing down. "I had no control over it. The hate and betrayal from when I died over powered my better nature…" A few tears leaked from her eyes.

"Sorry doesn't change anything!" Kagome cried, "So get away from Inuyasha!" Then, she attempted to pull the hanyou closer to her. He did not budge.

"Let go of me!" Inuyasha shouted, putting his arm around Kikyo's shoulders. "And don't be so rude to her! It wasn't her fault!" He slowly backed Kikyo away from the enraged Kagome.

Kagome looked at him, then to Kikyo, and then the Inuyasha's arm around her. "But- I thought…" She weakly said. "I- You love me, don't you, Inuyasha?"

The shadow being scoffed at her. "Keh. I loved your appearance, not you, baka. It is similar to Kikyo. Though, her beauty and grace surpasses yours."

Tears were now sliding down the miko's cheeks. "No! You can't- you love me! This can't happen! How can you love her, when she's tried to kill you? What about that time we kissed, and I brought you to your senses back in Naraku's castle? She doesn't except you! I do!"

Inuyasha grinned, an action which looked foreign on his face. "How can I love her, you ask? Like this." And he pulled Kikyo into a deep embrace, giving her a passionate kiss. Kagome shook as her heart broke. She ran back into her new house and into her room. She collapsed on the futon, sobs escaping her throat. She eagerly welcomed the numb feeling that came with sleep. Her mind felt fuzzy, and her last thoughts were, "Inuyasha, why? How could you betray me, and hurt me like this?"

Watching from afar, Pandora's lips curled into an evil smile. "Everything is falling into place. Father, may your soul burn in hell, I don't see why you had so much trouble with these adolescents…"

There it is! My first chapter! What do you think? Please R&R!

Poll: How do you spell Inuyasha?

Inuyasha

InuYasha

Inu-yasha

Inu-Yasha

Other (Please explain)