Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company. They belong to the lovely Rumiko Takahashi.

Prologue: Promise

The pain was searing. With every move she made, it came in sharp stabs. It burned, gnawing at her senses, demanding that she stop.

And normally, Kagome would have stopped and listened to the obvious signals her body was sending her. Yet there was a greater pain that no amount of physical injury could surpass. This pain was unrelenting. This pain could never fully be healed. She felt as though her heart was being squeezed so tight it would burst. But it never did burst. The pain would end that way.

One would think she had plenty to be happy about. Naraku was defeated. The jewel was complete and safe in her hands. She could finally go home and have a normal life. But none of that seemed to matter anymore.

They were dead. They were all dead. Shippo, Sango, Miroku. And…

Kagome stopped as she finally reached her destination. Kneeling, she hissed as her wounds retaliated for being jostled. Ignoring the throbbing, she focused on the body below her. "Inuyasha…"

She reached out a hand to touch his cheek. She stared at his face, trying to ignore the extensive injuries that seemed to cover every other part of his body…trying to ignore that she was kneeling in his blood.

He would never wake up.

The tears came again, but she didn't sob. She didn't make a noise. They were silent testimony to the hurts she felt, to the injustice of so many precious lives lost.

She sat back as exhaustion threatened to overcome her. She glanced down as she felt the cold press of the Shikon Jewel against her chest. The Jewel seemed heavier than ever before. The battle had been waged due to such a small object. Everything seemed to come back to the Shikon Jewel itself. Reaching up, Kagome clutched the object in the palm of her hand. It seemed ironic that after all the months of work and searching, she felt neither happiness nor relief that the Jewel was complete.

She would break it again if it meant having everyone back.

But she could use the Jewel, use its power to save them. She touched Inuyasha's face again. "I won't let it end like this. I'll go back fifty years ago to when this all started."

No matter what, I'll save them. Save him. Even if it means…

Kagome took a deep breath and smiled sadly. She never took her eyes off of Inuyasha, even as the Shikon's light enveloped her.