(A/N: I wrote this a little while ago when I was first getting into Inuyasha. I haven't seen all the episodes yet, but I wrote what I think might happen at the end.)

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing, though I wish I did. It's not fair!

PART ONE:

"SHOWDOWN WITH NARAKU"

They were finally coming down to it. Naraku's fortress was in sight. They had already destroyed Akago, the infant demon with his heart, along with his evil incarnations, all but Kagura and Kanna. Now all that was left was to kill Naraku himself. And somewhere in there, the evil half-demon that had caused so much pain was waiting for them. They had come so far, achieved so much, and now the end was finally here.

"Alright." Said Inuyasha, getting pumped. "The time has come to finally slay Naraku once and for all."

A monk stepped forward beside the half-demon. "This may be our final battle." Said Miroku. He looked at his hand, which contained the cursed Wind Tunnel. "At least for me. I don't have much time left."

A demon slayer holding a gigantic boomerang moved to join him. "Then we'll just have to go in there and kill him quickly."

Miroku smirked at her. "Why Sango, I didn't know you cared." He teased.

He moved his hand close to a place that he spent a lot of time getting slapped over, only to have it grabbed by the demon hunter.

"Don't try it, you pervert." Sango growled. She knew the lecherous monk too well by now.

Inuyasha turned angrily to the monk. "Hey Miroku, if you can stop thinking perverted things for one moment, then maybe we could get this over with before your Wind Tunnel sucks you up." He pulled out Tetsusaiga, the sword forged from his father's fang, and the sword transformed. "Naraku, I'm coming for you!"

He leapt foolishly into battle just as he always did, until a single word caused him to go crashing into the ground.

"Sit!"

Thump!

Groaning, Inuyasha pulled himself out of the ground and glared at the time traveling priestess.

"What'd you do that for?" he demanded.

Kagome crossed her arms. "Just think for a moment. Every time you run into a battle to face Naraku, he always gets away. Maybe this time we should actually sit-" thump "-down and come up with a plan. Oops, sorry, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha pulled his face out of the ground again. "We don't have time for that!" he cried impatiently.

"Kagome may have a point." Said Miroku. "Naraku does have most of the Shikon Jewel. We can't just go charging blindly into his fortress with no plan of attack." He turned to Kagome. "So, what do you have planned?"

"Uh…" Truth be told, Kagome didn't have a plan. She was merely suggesting that they come up with one before they did anything rash. "I… don't really have one." She said, laughing nervously.

"Keh! Well you guys can stand around and strategize if you want." Said Inuyasha rudely. "As for me, I'm going to do what I should have done a long time ago."

He turned and headed for the castle again. Kagome sighed. "Inuyasha, sit."

Thump!

Standing by Kagome's feet, a little fox-demon shook his head at Inuyasha's behavior. "He never learns."

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The Shikon hunters weren't the only ones who were after Naraku. In fact, several others wanted the half-demon dead, one of them being his own offspring. Kagura, the wind sorceress, had wanted her 'father' dead for a long time. But she was unable to carry out that desire. It wasn't that she was weak; on the contrary, she was very strong. But she was one of Naraku's incarnations, and the evil half-demon literally held Kagura's heart in his hands and could kill her at any moment.

Kagura was forced to do Naraku's bidding or die. All she wanted was to be free, but the constant threat of Naraku killing her prevented her from having a life of her own. But now her time was running out. Naraku was really getting fed up with this game of gathering the Shikon Jewel shards. He had ordered Kagura to retrieve the shards from Inuyasha and the others. If she failed again, he would kill her without a second thought; he had told her so himself.

Kagura had tried to get the shards, but the half-demon was so stubborn. Not to mention he also had a monk, a demon hunter, a priestess from the future, a fire cat-demon, and a fox-demon to back him up. Kagura had failed again. But she knew that if she returned to Naraku empty handed that she would die. In desperation, she turned to the only one who may be able to help her. If he agreed that is.

Lord Sesshomaru was a very powerful dog-demon. Kagura knew that if anyone could defeat Naraku, he could. The problem was getting him to agree to help her. Sesshomaru had a heart of ice. The only thing he seemed to care about was the human girl, Rin, who traveled around with him. Nothing else seemed to matter to him, or he did a very good job of pretending nothing else mattered. So why would he help her?

Kagura had approached the dog-demon and had literally gotten on her knees and begged him for his help and that she would do anything if he did. Sesshomaru seemed somewhat amused that she was actually begging for his help, which infuriated the wind sorceress, but she didn't give into her anger. She found Sesshomaru rather annoying at times, but she would be lying if she said that she didn't find herself fond of the Lord of the Western Lands. Very fond.

To her surprise, Sesshomaru agreed to help her if she would lead him to Naraku, for he too wanted the half-demon dead and he was tired of this game of Hide-and-Seek. Now came the problem. If Kagura simple brought the dog-demon to Naraku, the half-demon would kill her on the spot. What was needed was a certain kind of leverage.

Kagura knew exactly where to find that leverage. Naraku desired the sacred jewel shards just like every other demon. He had a majority of the Shikon Jewel, but he needed more. There were three others that had jewel shards. The first was Kohaku, the brother of the demon hunter, Sango, enslaved by Naraku. A jewel shard was implanted in his back, keeping him alive. That one was out of reach. Inuysha's human girl, Kagome, had a single jewel shard in her possession, but Kagura had already attempted to get to it and failed. The third person was the wolf-demon, Kouga. He had two jewel shards imbedded in his legs, granting him the ability to run very fast. Kagura knew she could get those from him easily enough, especially if she had Sesshomaru on her side.

Kouga was easy enough to find. He too was after Naraku's life and had been tracking the half-demon down. At the moment he was on his own, sniffing out Naraku's trail and coming very close to his destination.

Kouga's nose twitched as he caught the scent of a being with a scent very similar, almost identical, to Naraku. A mighty gust of wind picked up as Kagura appeared to him, riding on her enlarged feather. Kouga wasn't surprised to see her since he was near Naraku's fortress. What did surprise him was that she had Inuyasha's brother with her.

"Kagura." Kouga spat the name. "What do you want?"

Kagura smirked and held her fan out in front of her. "What do you think? I have come for the jewel shards."

Kouga glared at her. "I figured as much. Why are they with you?" he asked, nodding towards Sesshomaru, Rin, and the toad-demon, Jaken.

Sesshomaru took a step forward. "I am here to assist her." He said emotionlessly. "You can either hand over your shards, or you can fight me for them."

Kouga was surprised by this strange turn of events. "And why are you helping her?"

Kagura looked at Sesshomaru. She too was wondering the same thing. He had never wanted help with anything in the past, preferring to do things on his own. So why now was he wasting his time by helping her when he normally did things on his own.

Showing no emotion, Sesshomaru replied, "She is willing to lead me to Naraku. But first I need the jewel shards or else Naraku will kill her."

Kouga snorted. "And why would you care?"

Jaken angrily waved his staff of two heads at the wolf-demon. "How dare you question Lord Sesshomaru decision!" He was always quick to defend his master, though he too wondered why his lord was wasting his time helping the wind-demon; he could find Naraku on his own.

Sesshomaru pulled out his sword, Toukijin. "What I decide to do is of no concern of yours." He said tonelessly. "Now hand over the jewel shards or I will kill you and take them."

"Back off!" Kouga shouted.

He sped forward, attempting to get around the dog-demon. Sesshomaru moved fast and was soon in his path. He swung Toukijin, but Kouga quickly dodged the attack. He aimed a kick at Lord of the Western Lands' head, but the Sesshomaru easily grabbed his leg. He swung the wolf-demon around and let him go.

Kouga crashed into the ground, but was on his feet a second later. He charged the dog-demon again, but was cut off by a powerful gust of wind from Kagura. He glared at the wind-demon only to have his view of her blocked by Sesshomaru appearing before him. Ducking under the dog-demon's swinging sword, Kouga's face met with Sesshomaru's knee slamming painfully into his chin.

Kouga was on his back with Sesshomaru standing over him. He had lost this battle. Sesshomaru swung his sword, slicing the two jewel shards from Kouga's legs; Kagura immediately went to retrieve them. The wolf-demon winced at the sudden pain. It wasn't that bad and it would heal quickly, but now he had lost his super speed.

Sesshomaru turned back to Kouga and held Toukijin an inch away from his face. Kouga gulped, suddenly afraid for his life. He had attacked the Lord of the Western Lands, so the dog-demon had a very good reason to take his life.

"I should kill you attacking me like that." Sesshomaru said. "It was foolish to think you could beat me."

Kouga glared back defiantly. He did not want to die yet, but if this was his last few moments before he departed to the land of the dead, he would face it like a man; he wouldn't beg for mercy or cry like an infant. He looked into Sesshomaru's icy gaze, showing him that he would not be intimidated.

Fate, as it seemed, decreed that Kouga would not yet meet his end. Something moved quickly, coming to Kouga's aid. Sesshomaru suddenly recognized the danger and moved aside, but not before a pair of claws painfully grazed his cheek, drawing blood.

"No one touches my Kouga!" said a feminine voice.

Kouga recognized that voice, and he was very surprised to hear it. He looked up and found a very beautiful redheaded wolf-demon defending him from Sesshomaru.

"Ayame?" he gasped.

The female wolf-demon grinned. "Hello Kouga, dear. Good to see you again." She turned back to Sesshomaru. "If you want my Kouga, you're going to have to go through me!" she declared.

Sesshomaru stared coldly at her. Slowly he reached up and felt the cuts on his cheek. She had actually drawn his blood. It really took some skill to make him bleed. He had to admit that he was impressed, but also infuriated. Very, very few had made him bleed and lived to tell the tale.

"You little whence!" Jaken shouted from the sidelines. "How dare you strike Lord Sesshomaru!"

Rin didn't say anything. She was terrified of wolves, which was perfectly reasonable considering she had been killed by them. Luckily, Sesshomaru had brought her back to life with his sword of healing, Tenseiga.

Sesshomaru continued to stare at Ayame, silently debating if he should waste his time killing her or not. She had made him bleed, he should make her pay, and so should the other wolf-demon. But looking at the female, he saw that she was willing to die for the male. If he killed one, he would have to kill the other. But why should that matter? They both deserved it.

Instead, Sesshomaru sheathed Toukijin and turned away, heading back to his companions. Jaken gave his master a confused look. The wolf-demon girl had just scratched him, and he was just going to let her go?

"My Lord?"

Sesshomaru ignored him. He turned to Kagura and said emotionlessly. "We're leaving. Kagura, take us to Naraku's."

Kagura nodded and took the feather from her hair, transforming it to its giant size. She sat on the feather and Sesshomaru joined her as Jaken climbed on top of the two-headed dragon-demon, Ah-Un, with Rin. The group took off heading for Naraku's fortress.

Ayame turned to Kouga, looking concerned. "Are you ok?" she asked.

Kouga stared at her. "You saved me." He said.

Ayame giggled. "Of course I did. Why wouldn't I?" She looked down at the cuts in his legs and her laughter died. "You're hurt. Let me see that."

She bent down to examine Kouga's wounds. He winced at her touch and she looked at him worriedly.

Giving her a reassuring smile, he said, "I'll be fine. It will heal quickly."

Ayame gave him a stubborn smile, as if to say that he wasn't going to get away that easily. "Stay still. I'm not about to let my future husband go face Naraku while he's injured."

Kouga couldn't help but smile. "So, you're still on about that?" he asked, referring to the promise he made to her on the night of the lunar rainbow.

"Of course I am." She replied. "I love you. I would never let you go."

Kouga sighed. "I told you, I'm engaged to Kagome."

The female wolf-demon frowned. "But she's with Inuyasha. Besides, you were engaged to me first."

Kouga winced as the guilt built up inside of him. "I'm afraid I still don't recall the promise you claim I made to you." he lied, feeling even more guilty because he did remember it.

Ayame looked heartbroken. "What does Kagome have that I don't?"

"She can sense the scared jewel shards." Kouga replied. "She'll be useful in finding them."

Ayame sat back, her eyes shining with tears. "Is that the only reason? Does nothing else matter to you?"

Kouga winced again. 'Why does she have to make me out to be the bad guy?' he thought. "Of course more matters. But I need the jewels shards to become stronger so I can beat Naraku. Kagome can help me find them."

Ayame continued to pout. "I've tried learning how to sense the jewel shards. I've tried so much to get you to be impressed by me, but…"

Kouga took her hand in his. "Ayame, you have impressed me. You strong, brave, beautiful," Ayame blushed, "and you have a kind heart. You're special in your own way."

"Oh Kouga." Ayame felt her heart speed up. She wanted to throw her arms around the wolf-demon holding her hand. "Kouga, please take me with you to fight Naraku."

Kouga was momentarily taken aback by the female wolf-demon's request. "What?"

"Please!" she said hopefully. "I want to be there, fighting by your side. I want to show you that I'm strong."

"You've already shown me that." Said Kouga. He had planned to face Naraku on his own. He had even told his fellow wolf-demons, Ginta and Hahhaku, to wait for him while he killed the evil half-demon. He continued to look into Ayame's hopeful eyes. Finally he sighed. "Alright, you can come."

Ayame beamed. "Really?"

Kouga nodded. "Yes. I could use some help. We better go, or else Sesshomaru will get to him before us."

He tried to stand up, but Ayame pushed him back down. "Hold on there, mister, you're not going anywhere until I've taken a look at those legs."

Kouga was surprised at first, but then a smile crept up over his face. 'Women.'

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Kagome's eyes widened at the unmistakable sensation she was feeling. Quickly jumping to her feet, accidentally knocking Shippo off her lap, she cried, "I'm sensing sacred jewel shards!"

Inuyasha was on his feet a second later. "What? Where? Is it Naraku?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, it's… there!"

She pointed up into the sky. The others looked up and spotted Kagura flying on her large feather with… Sesshomaru! Rin and Jaken followed closely behind, riding on Ah-Un.

"Is that Sesshomaru?" asked Miroku.

"What's he doing with Kagura?" Sango wondered.

"Hmph, nothing good." Inuyasha growled.

"It looks like they're going into Naraku's castle." Shippo observed.

Inuyasha pulled out Tetsusaiga. "Well there's no way I'm letting Sesshomaru get Naraku!"

"Inuyasha, what about the plan?" Kagome said.

Inuyasha glared at her. "What plan? We have no plan! We've been sitting around doing nothing. There is no plan! We're just going to go in there and destroy Naraku. Now let's go!"

Stubborn and determine as always, Inuyasha charged forward. Kagome didn't even bother trying to 'sit' him, knowing he wouldn't stop. 'Oh Inuyasha, I love you, but sometimes you can be so frustrating.'

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Naraku sat in his fortress. He knew Inuyasha was coming. Good, he was looking forward to putting an end to the half-demon's life once and for all. Now the question was, did Kagura do her job and retrieve the jewel shards?

"Kanna!" he snapped.

A figure stepped out of the shadows. Naraku stared down at his incarnation. She resembled a young girl with pale skin and hair as white as the clothes she wore. She had a blank expression on her face and a mirror in her hands. She looked up at her 'father', waiting for his orders.

"Show me where Kagura is." Naraku ordered.

Kanna held up her mirror. The vision of Kagura riding on her feather towards Naraku's fortress appeared. Naraku was surprised to see the Lord of the Western Lands sitting next to her. This was unexpected. Was Kagura betraying him again? Surely she wasn't that foolish. She wouldn't dare to try and betray him while he held her heart, would she? And why was Sesshomaru helping her? Had she volunteered to bring him here? Sesshomaru wasn't the type of person to ask for help or to accept it. He would rather die than have someone else's help.

"So, she's gone crawling back to Sesshomaru." Naraku observed.

"Do you think she's brought him here to kill you?" Kanna asked, sounding as if she didn't care.

Naraku chuckled. "I wouldn't put it past her. She's either really stupid or really desperate."

"Does this mean you're going to kill her?"

Naraku was silent for a moment, thinking of the possibilities. "No, not yet. I'm curious as to how she got Sesshomaru to help her. This could be interesting." He smirked evilly. "I think I'll go meet them."

"What of Inuyasha?" Kanna asked. She changed the image in the mirror to the Shikon hunters.

Naraku continued to grin. "I'll give them a little distraction."

He closed his eyes and concentrated. He focused on fusing pieces of his flesh together, moving his body parts to create a new life, made from his own flesh. His back began to swell as a large gray tumor tore through his clothes and began growing. This was no ordinary tumor though, actually, it wasn't even a tumor. It pulsed like a heart as it grew in size before it tore free from Naraku's body. The pulsing gray sack of flesh smacked down on the floor with a disgusting slapping noise. It began sliding across the floor as it continued to grow.

Kanna watched her new brother or sister as it slid out the door, heading for Inuyasha and the others. Satisfied with his handy work, Naraku fixed himself up a bit.

"Now then, let's go see what Kagura has planned."

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The gray mound of flesh continued sliding along the castle floor. It knew what its master and father wanted it to do; kill Inuyasha. It was happy to oblige. The half-demon was close. Right outside the fortress by the cliffs to be exact. There were others there too. Good, the more the merrier. It would spill their blood and consume their flesh, once it was fully born that is.

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"Wait!" Inuyasha cried, holding out his hand to stop the others. "I'm picking up Naraku's scent."

"Naraku's scent?" Miroku repeated. "Is it him, or one of his incarnations?"

"Keh! Knowing that coward, it's probably one of his incarnations." Inuyasha growled.

"Inuyasha, look there!" Shippo cried, pointing to the castle.

From out of one of the windows, a gray blob slid like a slug and dropped onto the ground before it began heading for them.

"Guess that answers the incarnation question." Sango observed.

The pulsing gray blob stopped a few feet away from them. There it pulsed like a beating heart, not doing anything else. The Shikon Jewel hunters waited anxiously for something to happen, but the gray mound of flesh did nothing.

"What's it waiting for?" asked Shippo, from behind Kagome's leg.

"Probably waiting for us to let our guard down." Inuyasha guessed. A second later he jumped in the air, ready to slice the gray blob in two. "Well I'm not giving it the chance!" He brought the Tetsusaiga down, only to have it collide with a barrier. "Damn, it has a barrier!"

The gray blob began squirming around, as if something was trying to get out. It tore open as Naraku's incarnation hatched. This creature was unlike any incarnation Naraku had created before. It appeared to be multiple parts of several other demons put together, the Frankenstein of demons. It had the torso of some large reptilian demon, brown in color and close to the point of starvation; the burn scar in the shape of a spider was on its chest. Its right arm seemed to be the standard demon arm, all five digits with sharp nails at the end. Its other arm seemed to be a combination between a praying mantis scythe and a lobster claws. Three pairs of wings grew out of its back, the top pair being bat wings, the pair underneath black bird wings, and under them some type of insects wings, perhaps a wasp. Its head, ironically, was a baboon-demon's head, giving it an almost exact resemblance of Naraku wearing his baboon suit, the only difference being that it had deer antlers. Its left leg was that of some type of horse, while the other that of a bird, and from out of its rear grew a scorpion stinger. The demon was hunched over, revealing that out of its back, in between the pairs of wings, several black and red tentacles wiggled around. Most likely this incarnation was probably made from the discarded pieces of demons that Naraku didn't use when he created his body.

Inuyasha stared at the demon with pure disgust. "Damn, you are one ugly demon."

Naraku's child growled, revealing a mouthful of razor sharp teeth. Miroku stepped up next to Inuyasha to prevent him from going anything rash. "Calm down, Inuyasha." He warned. "This is no ordinary demon."

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha asked impatiently.

"Just look." Said Miroku, nodding at the growling demon. "This demon seems to be fit for several kinds of environments. It obviously has been made to be a survivor, as well as a predator."

"Hmph, I'll take it down just the same." The half-demon remarked as he charged blindingly into battle.

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"So this is where Naraku has been hiding." Sesshomaru observed.

"Yes." Kagura replied. "He might already know we're here; especially if he asked Kanna to find me."

"Lord Sesshomaru will beat him anyway!" Rin cried confidently. "Lord Sesshomaru is the greatest, right Master Jaken?"

"Of course he is." The toad-demon replied.

Sesshomaru didn't reply. He was confident in his skills, but he also knew that Naraku was no pushover. It wouldn't be easy slaying him. Sesshomaru's eyes wandered over to Kagura. He still had to get her heart away from the half-demon. Once again he asked himself why he was going through so much trouble for her. Now that he knew where Naraku was, he had no further need for her. So why did he find himself still willing to help her? Why did he care?

He just did. It was as simple as that. He asked himself the same question regarding Rin. Why had he allowed the human girl to travel around with him? She was only a bother, a distraction. She wasn't useful in anyway, so why did he care?

He just did.

'I must be getting soft.' The dog-demon thought. In the past he had never behaved in such ways. He never asked anyone for help or accepted it, and he certainly never helped anyone else unless it was in his interest. If anyone ever was a bother to him or dared to defy him, he would simply kill them. Now look at him. He, the Lord of the Western Lands, was traveling on the feather of the offspring of his enemy with a human child as a companion. Yes, he was defiantly getting soft.

"He knows we're here." said Kagura, bringing him out of his thoughts, as she commanded the feather to land.

Sesshomaru looked down and spotted Naraku waiting for them. He had an emotionless expression on his face, very similar to the Western Lord's. The half-demon's eyes narrowed as his offspring and her 'guests' landed.

"Kagura," he growled, "I didn't expect company. Would you care to tell me why you have brought your friends into my fortress?"

Kagura gave him the dirtiest look she could muster and remained silent. Her eyes moved to Sesshomaru. It was time for him to fulfill his part of the bargain. She had done her part, she had brought him here, now it was his turn. But did he intend to keep his promise? Come to think of it, he hadn't even promised.

Sesshomaru stepped forward and held out his hand. In it lay the scared jewel shards he had stolen from Kouga. "You want these, don't you?"

Naraku looked from the jewel shards in Sesshomaru's hand back to the dog-demon's face. "I do. But I assume they are going to come at a price."

"Naturally." Sesshomaru replied, his lips moving into the slightest fraction of a smile. "You can have these shards, if you give Kagura her heart."

Naraku raised an eyebrow, surprised by Sesshomaru's offer. He looked at Kagura curiously. "Her heart, eh? Interesting. And why would you want her to have her heart back?" His gaze returned to Sesshomaru. "Those shards greatly increase a demon's power. Even if you don't want them, you could ask me for something of much higher value." He continued to stare at the dog-demon. Sesshomaru's face held no emotion. Naraku's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You're not in love with her, are you?"

Rin's face lit up with joy and Jaken gasped in shock as Kagura blushed a deep shade of red. Sesshomaru's face hadn't changed in the least. He was very good at not showing emotion; it prevented his enemies from reading his expression and seeing his weaknesses. As calmly as ever, he said, "What I do and why I do it is of no concern to you. If you want these shards, you will give Kagura her heart."

Naraku chuckled. "Her heart. Well, if that's really what you want. It doesn't matter, she's useless anyway; she can't even defeat Inuyasha." He held out his hand and Kagura's heart appeared in it. "But then again," he sneered at Sesshomaru, "you can't either."

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed into a scowl as Kagura's heart was engulfed in a red light. It flew out of Naraku's hand and entered Kagura's chest. The wind sorceress clutched at the place her heart had entered. She suddenly felt more alive than she ever had. She had her heart! For the first time ever, she could feel it beating in her chest. She was finally free from Naraku.

Naraku gave a snort of laughter at Kagura's expression as he turned back to the dog-demon. "Now then, Sesshomaru, I believe you have something that belongs to me."

Not even bothering to approach the half-demon, Sesshomaru tossed the two jewel shards to Naraku. He caught them and clenched them tightly in his fist. He gave Sesshomaru a smug look.

"Now I almost have all the pieces of the Shikon Jewel. You were a fool Sesshomaru. You handed me weapons of great power all for that whence."

Sesshomaru pulled out Toukijin. "You won't have a chance to use that power."

Naraku chuckled. "Fool. Do you really think you can defeat me?"

"Lord Sesshomaru can defeat anyone!" Rin shouted from the sideline.

Naraku's gaze fell upon her. Sesshomaru didn't like the look in the half-demon's eyes. "Jaken, keep Rin safe." He said, before charging at Naraku.

He swung his sword, but only came in contact with air. Naraku was floating high above him. He was fast, Sesshomaru would give him that much, but he wouldn't get the best of him.

"Not so fast, Sesshomaru." Said Naraku. "I've got some friends who would like to meet you."

A swarm of demons came down from the sky, defending their master from the dog-demon. Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed in frustration at the unexpected arrival. Looks like he would have to wait awhile before he could slay Naraku.

Swinging Toukijin, Sesshomaru took out several demons at once. But there were many more where they came from, and Sesshomaru was soon surrounded. His yellow eyes scanned left and right, looking for a weak point in the wall of demons.

A blast of wind struck several demons to his right, taking out a fair amount of his enemies. A moment later, Kagura was at his side, holding her fan in an attack formation. Sesshomaru was surprised she was still here, and fighting with him no less. She had gotten what she wanted; she was free from Naraku. Her life was in her hands now; she could do whatever she wanted now. So why was she risking her new life helping him?

Kagura turned to him and raised an eyebrow questioningly. Sesshomaru return her gaze, still wondering why she was helping him. As the demons moved in to attack, he decided to worry about it later. For now he was just grateful she was with him.

That was definitely a first. Him, Sesshomaru, grateful. Who knew?

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Inuyasha had to admit, this demon was stronger than he thought. Apparently Miroku had been right, this demon did seem fit for anything. It was fast, strong, and had great defenses.

"Wind Scar!" Inuyasha cried, swinging Tetsusaiga.

Using all six of its wings, the demon quickly took to the air, dodging the attack. But Sango was in the air on the transformed Kilala's back, ready to attack.

"Hiraikotsu!" she cried, tossing the giant boomerang.

The demon caught the weapon in his claw and tossed it aside. Opening its mouth, it unleashed a blast of power at the demon hunter and the cat-demon. Both were knocked from the sky, coming crashing down to the ground.

"Transform!" Shippo cried, changing into a large pink balloon. Sango and Kilala landed safely of his rubbery body, breaking their fall.

The demon moved fast, appearing in front of the transformed Shippo. Its scorpion tail swung forward to sting the fox-demon. Miroku moved in to defend him, blocking the venomous stinger with his staff.

"I got you now!" Inuyasha declared.

He swung Tetsusaiga, but the demon viciously backhanded him. He came crashing down several feet away. Slowly he began getting to his feet, unaware that the demon had moved in on him, swinging his tail to inject him with venom.

"Inuyasha, sit!" Kagome shouted.

Thump!

Inuyasha was pulled to the ground and the demon's tail just missed stabbing him. Growling in frustration, the demon turned to Kagome, who suddenly felt very vulnerable. She quickly reached for an arrow, but the demon had already launched its attack.

"Kagome, look out!" Inuyasha cried.

He attempted to get to her, but the demon stomped down hard on his back with his horse hoof, pinning him there. Kagome jumped aside to avoid the attack. The blast still sent her flying several feet.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted. Finding new strength, he managed to lift himself up, throwing the demon off him. "You bastard!"

He swung Tetsusaiga. In one quick motion, one of the demon's tentacles lashed out and wrapped around the sword, trying to pull it from the half-demon's hand. Several more tentacles shot out, taking hold of his arms and legs.

"Inuyasha, hold on!" Miroku cried, coming to his friend's aid.

He didn't get very far as more of the demon's tentacles shot out, wrapping around him too. Then, not even waiting for the others to make a move, more tentacles grabbed hold of Sango, Shippo, and Kilala.

"Let us go, damn you!" Inuyasha demanded.

The demon made a noise that sounded like a laugh as it tightened its grip on him. Its scorpion tail moved to a stabbing position, ready to finish what it had started.

Kagome moaned as her hand went to her head. She had a hard landing and her head was spinning. She struggled to get up, but she fell back to her knees. When she opened her eyes again, she realized that someone was standing in front of her. She looked up into the emotionless face of the undead priestess.

"Kikyou!" she gasped, surprised by the woman's sudden appearance.

The priestess spared her reincarnation a glance before returning her attention to the battle. "I have not come here with the desire to help you or your friends." She said, her voice holding no emotion. "I have come for Naraku."

She calmly took out an arrow and took aim. The arrow glowed with a holy light and she let it fly.

The arrow struck one of the tentacles holding Inuyasha and erupted into a blast of holy light. The demon cried out and released its prisons as it shrank away from the light. Landing hard on the ground, Inuyasha turned to Kagome to ask what had taken so long when he spotted his first love. She stood by his second love with that cold expressionless face, glaring at the demon.

'Kikyou? When did she get here?' Inuyasha wondered. 'She must be here for Naraku.'

Unlike Inuyasha, the demon didn't stop to consider Kikyou's presence. What it saw was another being that needed to be killed. Technically, Kikyou was already dead, but apparently not dead enough. Summoning up its power, it sent a blast of energy at her.

Kagome cried out and Kikyou took a step back as the blast came towards them. Kikyou's soul collectors quickly moved in to defend their master, taking the blast themselves. The force of the blast disintegrated them and sent the two priestesses flying to the very edge of the cliff.

"Kagome!" Shippo cried, as he watched the two priestesses land very close to the edge of the cliff. Thankfully, they hadn't gone any farther, or else they would have fallen into the void.

Groaning, Kagome sat up, putting her hand to her head. That had been too close. If it hadn't been for Kikyou's soul collectors, they would be dead. Speaking of Kikyou, the undead priestess sat up without a sound, as if she hadn't just been hit by a powerful attack.

The ground suddenly moved beneath them. Kagome cried out in surprise, and even Kikyou gasped. They shared a nervous look with each other before the ground beneath them gave way, their combined weight being too much for the small piece of land on the cliff. Several feet below them, sharp rocks pointed upward, ready to smash anyone who fell upon them to pieces.

"No!"

Inuyasha leapt through the air, trying to get to the two priestesses as they fell. He grabbed Kagome's hand in his left and Kikyou's in his right. The two nearly pulled him over the edge, but the half-demon managed to stay on the cliff, barely. And to make matters worse, he had a very bad grip on the two women.

Straining to keep hold of the priestesses, Inuyasha cried out for his friends. "Hey guys, get over here! I'm losing my grip!"

"Hang on, Inuyasha!" Miroku cried.

He made an attempt to help the half-demon, but Naraku's newest offspring moved to block him. Its baboon mouth curled into an evil smile, daring the monk to try and get by.

"Sango, a little help!" Miroku called.

Sango was already moving in, riding on Kilala. She tried to get by, but the demon's tentacles whipped out, nearly hitting Kilala. The demon's message was clear; if they wanted to help their friends, they would have to go through him.

Inuyasha was losing his grip. Both women were slipping from his grasp. On top of that, he was having trouble staying on the cliff. Slowly he began to slide over the edge.

"Hang on." he growled through clenched teeth. "I'm not losing either of you."

Even as he said it, both women began sliding further out of his grip. He couldn't hold onto both of them.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried out as she slipped further down.

"Hang on, Kagome!" Inuyasha cried. "You too, Kikyou. I'm not going to- Ah!"

He cried out as he nearly went over. From his waist up, he was now dangling over the edge. The priestesses were even worse off. Inuyasha was only holding onto their very fingers.

"I… ah, I can't!" Inuyasha cried in agony.

"Inuyasha." Kagome whispered.

The half-demon looked down at her. Then his eyes traveled over to Kikyou. He sudden experienced déjà vu from. He and Kikyou had been in a situation very similar to this one. She had told him that if she died again, she would cease to exist forever. If she died here and now, Kikyou would be gone for good.

His eyes darted back over to Kagome. She was Kikyou's reincarnation. In a way, she was the reason Kikyou would no longer exist when she died, since Kikyou's soul became Kagome's. It wasn't her fault though. It was the Shikon Jewel. Kikyou had been reincarnated so the Shikon Jewel could come back too. The jewel came back, but Kikyou didn't; instead Kagome was born. There would be no afterlife for the undead priestess.

Both priestesses stared into Inuyasha's golden eyes and understood. He couldn't hold onto both of them. He would have to make a choice. From the beginning, there had been a love triangle between the three of them, and Inuyasha could never decide between the two of them. Now came the time to decide.

"Inuyasha." Said Kikyou, speaking to the half-demon for the first time. "My greatest desire has been that we would die together. You said you would die with me."

Inuyasha visible winced. Yes, he had said that. He had been so in love with Kikyou that he said he would be willing to go to Hell with her. But what about Kagome? He loved her too, and not because she was Kikyou's reincarnation. She may look like the undead priestess, but she wasn't her.

"Inuyasha." Kagome whispered. "Just do what your heart tells you. I just want you to be happy. And if that means you choose Kikyou over me, then so be it."

Inuyasha winced again. Damn this was hard. This was the hardest thing he's ever had to do. He always knew he would have to choose between them, but not like this.

The priestesses slipped some more and Inuyasha knew he had no more time. He looked into his heart and chose the one he truly desired.

"I'm sorry, please forgive me!" he cried, tears forming in his eyes.

He opened his hand and moved it to help hold the other.

Kikyou fell screaming into the void.

Inuyasha shut his eyes tightly, but he couldn't block out her cry of death. With a much better grip on Kagome, he pulled the priestess up. The second she was safely back on the cliff, he pulled her to him and held her tightly.

Kagome was still in shock over what had happened. She had thought Inuyasha had chosen Kikyou. She had been ready to die for the half-demon, but he had chose her. Her. Not Kikyou, but Kagome.

"Inu… Inuyasha." She whispered, snaking her own arms around him. She didn't understand why he had chosen her. "Why?"

"I couldn't lose you, Kagome." Inuyasha said, holding her like she would disappear if he let go. "Not you. I love you too damn much."

"Inuyasha." Kagome felt tears in her eyes as she buried her face into his shirt. The two were completely oblivious to the battle their friends were currently fighting. At the moment, all they had was each other.

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"I'm picking up Naraku's scent all over the place!" Kouga cried, sniffing the air.

"I think he's this way." Ayame said. "It's stronger here."

Kouga went over to her and sniffed the air. "Yeah, you're right. The only problem is that it's hard to tell the difference between him and his offspring." He sniffed the air again and his eyes widened. "Hey, I know that smell!"

Ayame turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

Kouga continued sniffing. "Yeah, that's definitely dog-boy."

"Dog-boy?" Ayame repeated. "You mean Inuyasha?"

Kouga nodded. "Yeah, him. Well there's no way in hell I'm letting him get to Naraku before I do."

He grabbed Ayame's hand and pulled her along as he followed the scent.

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"Hiraikotsu!" Sango cried, throwing the boomerang at the demon.

The demon batted away the boomerang and wrapped a tentacle around the demon slayer. It already had Miroku and Kilala wrapped up. Shippo was a short distance away, using his fox-fire from a safe distance, but the demon didn't even seem to notice him.

"In…u…yash…a…" Miroku moaned, having a hard time talking from the tentacles squeezing him to death. "Ka…go…me…"

The demon laughed at the monk's desperate cries for help. It squeezed even tighter, wanting to see its victims' heads pop off.

"Inuyasha, the others!" Kagome gasped, hearing Miroku's painful cry.

Coming back to reality, Inuyasha released the priestess and turned to the demon. Tears were still in his eyes, but they held pure hatred in them. "You bastard." He growled dangerously. "I'll tear you apart and send you straight to Hell!" He charged forward and retrieved Tetsusaiga. "Die!"

Swinging the giant sword, Inuyasha cut through the tentacles holding his friends. The demon cried out in rage and pain as it moved in on the half-demon.

"Just try and get me!" Inuyasha shouted. "Wind Scar!" The demon jumped in the air, avoiding the attack. Inuyasha glared angrily at the demon. "Damn you!"

The demon sneered at Inuyasha as it opened its mouth and fired a blast of energy. The Tetsusaiga pulsed in Inuyasha's hands as he held it tighter.

"I've had enough of you!" he shouted. "Backlash Wave!"

He countered the demon's attack with his own. The demon's eyes widened as it was hit square in the chest. It threw its head back and roared as the attack completely disintegrated it.

Inuyasha glared at the spot the demon had been a moment ago. "That was for Kikyou." He growled.

His shoulders slumped as he relaxed for the moment. It didn't last long though as a familiar and unwelcome scent hit his nose.

'Not him! Not now!'

But it was him, and he wasn't alone. Kouga suddenly joined the group with Ayame by his side. His eyes scanned the area, surveying the damage before they settled on Inuyasha.

"Hey, dog-turd." He said in a smug voice. "You look like you've seen better days."

Inuyasha was in no mood for Kouga's smugness. Actually, he was never in the mood for it, but especially now, after what happened.

"Kouga, what the hell are you doing here?" he demanded.

Kouga just smirked at him. "I'm here for Naraku. I assume you are as well. Huh? Hey, wait a minute." He stared at Inuyasha with a look of disbelief. "Are you crying?" Inuyasha growled at the wolf-demon. "You are! I don't believe it! This is great, I never thought I would get to see something like this."

Inuyasha made to move towards the wolf-demon. "Why you…"

He stopped as Kagome stormed by him looking livid. She marched right up to Kouga and gave him one of her death glares. Kouga shrank back fearfully.

"Uh, hi Kago-"

"Quiet!" Kagome snapped. "You have no idea what just happened here, so you have no right to say such things!"

"Kagome…" Kouga muttered, suddenly feeling guilty. He then noticed that her eyes were red and puffy too. "Have you been crying too? What did you do to her dog-turd?"

"Me? Why I oughta-"

"He didn't do anything!" Kagome shouted. "But someone just died here, and all you can do is just stand there looking smug and insulting Inuyasha! You disgust me!"

"Ouch, what a blow to the ego." Shippo muttered.

Ayame moved to stand in front of Kouga. "Listen up, priestess! No one talks to my Kouga that way! I don't care what happened, you have no right to make Kouga out as an insensitive person!"

Kagome glared back at the female wolf-demon. "Ayame, I have nothing against you, so stay out of this! It doesn't concern you!"

"If it concerns my Kouga, it concerns me!"

"Ladies, ladies please." Said Miroku, coming between the two. "This is not the best time for this. We all came for Naraku, now let's go get him."

Everyone turned to Naraku's fortress. Somewhere inside was the evil half-demon that had caused them so much pain, and they were going to kill him once and for all.

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Naraku walked through his castle, smiling evilly. His demons were doing a very good job at distracting Sesshomaru and the traitorous Kagura. Sometimes strength came in numbers. He knew his demons probably wouldn't survive, but he didn't care. The distraction was good enough. Now he had two more jewel shards. All that were left was the one in the priestess' hands, and the one held by-

"Kohaku!" Naraku snapped, his voice ringing through the halls.

A short while later, Sango's younger brother came up to his so-called master. "Yes, Naraku?" he said. 'What does the bastard want this time?'

Naraku smirked. "I think it's time for a little reunion."

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"The scent is stronger over here!" Kouga cried.

Inuyasha glared at the wolf-demon. "Keh! You're only realizing this now?"

"Shut up, dog-face!"

Rolling her eyes, Kagome said something that she knew would distract the two. "I'm sensing the sacred jewel."

"Where?" the two demons asked in unison.

Kagome concentrated, trying to locate the source. "Somewhere on the other side of this-"

"Wind Scar!"

The wall Kagome had pointed to came crashing down. Both Inuyasha and Kouga ran through the gaping hole before the dust even settled to show if the coast was clear.

"Uh… ok." Kagome muttered.

"Those two should be more careful." Said Miroku. "Who knows where Naraku is hiding."

"Here you are, Naraku!" came Inuyasha's voice.

Miroku sighed. "I guess that answers that."

Knowing that both Inuyasha and Kouga would most likely do something foolish, the others charged into the room. There indeed stood Naraku, and right beside him was Kohaku; his eyes were dark and glazed over.

"Kohaku!" Sango cried.

Naraku rested a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Well look at this, we're all together again."

"Get your filthy hands off him!" Sango shouted, preparing to throw Hiraikotsu.

Naraku smirked. "I have no further use for him. You can have him back. It will be more entertaining killing you all at once."

He gave Kohaku a push forward. The young demon slayer slowly walked to the group. Inuyasha didn't take his eyes off the boy, not trusting him. Kohaku walked up to Sango and looked up into her eyes.

"Sister…" he muttered.

Sango's eyes widened. "Kohaku!" She threw her arms around him, embracing her brother tightly.

"Sister…" Kohaku repeated. "I need… I need…"

"Yes, Kohaku? What do you need?"

Kohaku pulled out of Sango's embrace slightly and looked at Kagome. "Her… help… I need… her… help…"

Kagome blinked. "Me?"

Kohaku reached for her. Naraku smirked as he watched the priestess attempt to help the boy. 'Humans. They're so naïve.'

"What do you need me to do?" Kagome asked.

"I need… the jewel shard!"

Kohaku's hand shot out, taking hold of the jewel shard around Kagome's neck. Once it was in his grasp, he jumped back and returned to Naraku. The evil half-demon laughed as his slave presented him the shard.

"Such fools you are. Far too trusting.

"Damn you, Naraku!" Inuyasha shouted. 'I knew it was a trick! Why didn't I stop him?'

"Now," said Naraku, "just one last shard to collect."

He reached behind Kohaku's neck and pulled free the sacred jewel shard keeping him alive. The moment it left his body, the demon slayer dropped dead.

"Kohaku!" Sango shouted as she watched her brother die.

Naraku laughed. "Now I have all the pieces of the Shikon Jewel!" he declared. "Now the pieces shall become whole once again!"

He took out the nearly completed sacred jewel and put the shards together. There was a flash of light and the jewel became whole again.

"Yes!" Naraku cried, holding up the jewel. "Nothing can stop me now!"

Kagome's eyes narrowed. 'Not if I can help it!' She reached into her quiver and found that there was only one arrow left. She must have lost the others when she nearly went over the cliff. 'Better make this one count.'

She took aim and fired. How ironic this was. Hadn't this been how the sacred jewel had been shattered in the first place?

The arrow soared through the air and struck Naraku's hand. The evil half-demon cried out as the jewel flew from his hand. It landed several feet away, still whole and intact.

"Bitch!" Naraku snarled.

"You're going down, Naraku!" Inuyasha cried, charging forward.

Naraku growled in frustration. "Not so fast."

A purple mist suddenly surrounded him. Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks before coming in contact with it.

"Miasma!" he gasped.

Naraku sneered at him. "And now for the jewel."

He turned to retrieve the jewel, but before he could move, a gust of wind came in and blew the Miasma away.

"What the-" he growled. His eyes narrowed as he saw the cause. "Kagura, you traitor!"

He glared at his 'daughter' standing several feet away. Sesshomaru stood beside her, along with Rin and Jaken. The human held the Shikon Jewel in her hands.

"Give me that!" Naraku growled, pointing to the sacred jewel.

Rin stuck her tongue out at him. Sesshomaru moved to defend her in case Naraku tried anything.

"Rin, stay back." He ordered. "And protect that jewel."

Rin nodded. "Yes, Lord Sesshomaru, I will." Here eyes suddenly caught sight of Kohaku, dead on the ground. "Oh no, Kohaku!"

Naraku looked down at the dead boy and smirked. "Here, a little present for you."

He kicked Kohaku's body over to them. Sango cried out angrily at Naraku's disrespect for her brother. Rin bent down over the dead boy.

"Kohaku, wake up, please." She begged.

Naraku laughed. "I can still save him, if you give me the sacred jewel." He held out his hand. "Give it to me."

Rin clutched the jewel closer to her chest. "No way!" She turned to the dog-demon beside her. "Lord Sesshomaru, can you help him, please?"

Sesshomaru looked at her and saw the tears in her eyes. His gaze shifted to the dead boy on the ground. Slowly he reached for Tenseiga. Holding the sword over the boy, he saw the demons of the underworld crawling over Kohaku's body. So his soul hadn't passed on to the afterlife yet. He could still be saved.

With a swing of his sword, the demons of the underworld were forced to retreat, disappearing from whence they came and Kohaku took a breath. Naraku's eyes widened at the sign of life.

Sango couldn't believe her eyes as she watched Kohaku sit up. He was alive; her brother was alive!

Kohaku seemed to be surprised that he was alive too, and completely free from Naraku's control. "Huh? How am I?"

Rin suddenly hugged him. "Lord Sesshomaru brought you back." She said happily.

Kohaku just then realized that she was there. "Rin? What's going on?"

"Hmph, you puny pests are a major thorn in my side." Naraku growled.

Kohaku looked in the direction of the voice. He saw Naraku staring angrily back at him. And behind the evil half-demon he saw his sister and her friends. A cold fury overcame the young demon slayer as he settled his gaze on the man that ruined his life.

"Naraku!" Kohaku shouted, backing away from Rin and pulling out his sickle. "I am going to enjoy killing you."

"So am I!" cried Inuyasha.

"Me too!" said Sango.

"And me!" Miroku added.

"You're going down!" Kagome declared.

"It's time for you to die!" cried Kouga.

"We're all taking you out!" Shippo finished. He backed away a few steps. "…I'll do it from over here though."

Naraku's eyes looked to the enemies in front of him to the enemies behind him. "So, you all want a piece of me." He closed his eyes and chuckled. "Fools, I'll kill you all."

Naraku began to change. Everyone, save Sesshomaru, tensed up as the half-demon turned into his demon form. This was to be expected though. They were all fully prepared to make this the final battle. Naraku seemed to have the same thing in mind.

"Naraku, you've taken so much from all of us." Inuyasha growled. "Now it's our turn to take from you!"

Naraku chuckled. "No, Inuyasha. It is now time to do what I should have done long ago."

One of his insect legs flew at the half-demon. Inuyasha jumped aside as Kouga jumped in the air, aiming a kick at Naraku's head. A tentacle shot out and wrapped around the wolf-demon's leg, throwing him at Miroku.

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango cried, throwing the giant boomerang.

Naraku easily knocked the weapon aside before quickly turning in time to defend against Ayame's attack. While he was distracted, Inuyasha quickly moved in to help.

"Wind Sca-"

Before Inuyasha could finish the attack, one of Naraku's legs slammed into his chest, pinning him to the wall. Inuyasha cried out as the pointy leg dug into his gut. Then Sesshomaru struck, slicing off the leg pinning Inuyasha with Toukijin.

Naraku grunted in pain as several tentacles flew at the dog-demon while his back was turned. His attack was blocked though as several gusts of wind, delivered by Kagura, whipped against him with such force that it split his skin. A moment later a metal blade cut into his shoulder as Kohaku hit him with his sickle.

Naraku turned and slammed into the young demon slayer, sending his ex-servant crashing into the wall. The painful bite of Kilala distracted him from delivering the killing blow, and before he could react, one of Miroku's scared sutras landed on his chest, filling him with great pain.

"Insolent pests!" Naraku shouted angrily. This was very frustrating. They had strength in numbers. Every time he turned to face one of them, another one moved in to attack.

Losing his patience, Naraku unleashed a cloud of Miasma. It was immediately blown away by Kagura. Glaring at her, he lashed out with one of his tentacles. Before it reached her, Ah-Un chomped onto it with both sets of mouths.

"Good work, Ah-Un." Cried Jaken. "Now hold him while he feels the power of the Staff of Two Heads!"

Naraku ignored the toad-demon's pitiful excuse for an attack as he tried to shake Ah-Un off. Unable to, several more tentacles wrapped around the demon, squeezing him nearly to death. Kagura used her Dance of Blades attack, which sliced Naraku's tentacles to ribbons.

"I'll kill you!" Naraku shouted.

Several more tentacles flew at her. Sesshomaru quickly moved in to intercept the attack, slashing him with Toukijin.

"Not while I'm here!" he said coldly.

Naraku glared at the dog-demon. "You-"

His angry cry became a howl of pain as Inuyasha slashed him from behind with Tetsusaiga. Before he could recover, Hiraikotsu slammed into his head, followed by Kouga delivering the kick he had failed to land last time.

"Way to go!" Shippo cheered from the sideline, not having done anything to help.

"Get him, Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin cried.

"Keep it up!" cried Kagome with the other two, wishing she could help, but she was out of arrows.

Naraku staggered forward. He was badly wounded, and not just his body, but his pride as well. He had to admit, he had underestimated his enemies, but he would not be defeated.

Chuckling, he turned to his enemies, grinning evilly. "You're better than I thought. But you are still no match for me."

"Keh! From our point of view, it looks like you're no match for us." Said Inuyasha smugly.

"He's right, Naraku." Kouga sneered. "Seems like this is the end for you." He smirked. "Guess the mutt couldn't do it on his own."

"What did you say?" Inuyasha snapped angrily.

"Guys, now is not the time for this!" Miroku scolded them. "We've got Naraku on the run, let's not give him the opportunity to get ahead."

Naraku laughed. "Got me on the run? I think not, monk. In fact, I've got a little surprise for you."

His eyes flashed red and a strange yet familiar sensation crept up in Miroku's hand containing the Wind Tunnel. He could feel the air moving around his hand as if he had it uncovered.

"What's this?" Miroku gasped.

Naraku laughed. "It looks like you're out of time. I say you have only a few minutes left."

Miroku's eyes widened as he realized his Wind Tunnel was growing and would soon suck him up. In desperation, he dropped to the ground and rested his knee on his hand, palm down, trying to reduce the suction to prevent it from affecting his friends.

"Hold on, Miroku!" Inuyasha cried.

He jumped towards Naraku with Tetsusaiga raised. Naraku opened his mouth and unleashed a cloud of Miasma. Inuyasha pulled back his attack to avoid the cloud. Naraku used the opportunity to slam one of his insect legs into the half-demon.

Sango had already run over to Miroku in an attempt to help him. The monk tried to force her away, but the demon slayer wouldn't leave.

"Get away, Sango!" Miroku cried. "I don't want you to get sucked up."

"I'm not leaving you, Miroku!" Sango snapped. "You have no one to defend you!"

"And who will defend you?"

"I will!" cried Kohaku, appearing at Sango's side along with Kilala. Both demon slayer and demon moved in front of Sango and Miroku to defend them. "I won't let him harm you, sister."

Naraku laughed. "How sweet. But you're no good to anyone. You were better off dead."

"You're better off dead!" cried Kouga, attacking from behind with Ayame right behind.

Naraku was delivered a blow to the head by both male and female wolf-demon. He growled in frustration as he lunged at the group before him. Kohaku lashed out at the half-demon with his sickle and Naraku recoiled, hissing his frustration.

"Wind Scar!"

Naraku cried out as Inuyasha's attack hit him from behind. A moment later, Sesshomaru and Kagura hit him with their own attacks. Unable to take the combined attacks, Naraku crashed to the ground.

"Let's end this!" cried Inuyasha, as the Tetsusaiga glazed over in adamant. "All of us!" He raised the diamond covered Tetsusaiga. "Adamant Barrage!"

His attack hit Naraku along with everyone else's. Spells fired, swords swung, and weapons flew as everyone unleashed their wrath upon the half-demon. The blast of all the attacks disintegrated Naraku's body as he vanished in the explosion.

"We did it!" cried Ayame.

An evil chuckle came from within the cloud of smoke. When it cleared, Naraku was still standing. Not literally though. Most of his body had been destroyed. His right arm and from his waist down had been completely obliterated, but the evil half-demon was still alive.

"Fools! Did you think it would be that easy?" Naraku asked with an evil smile. He began to glow with an unholy red light as his demonic aura flared around him. "You have no idea what I'm truly capable of."

Tendrils of his aura flashed outward, consuming his opponents in his essence. All of them, even Sesshomaru, flinched as the aura hit them. Naraku laughed as he crushed them with his power.

"Damn, what is this?" muttered Inuyasha, dropping the Tetsusaiga and falling to his knees.

"He's too strong…" Kouga muttered, falling beside his rival.

They all began dropping, one by one. Sesshomaru was the last one standing, but he too eventually fell to his knees.

'This can't be happening!' he thought. 'How can he be this strong?'

The aura around him increased in strength and he let out a gasp of pain. Beside him, Kagura completely collapsed, unable to hold herself up any longer.

"Sesshomaru, I'm sorry." She muttered. Sesshomaru's gaze shifted to her and he saw tears in her eyes. "I brought you here to face him. I got you involved."

Sesshomaru struggled to find his voice. He felt ashamed that Naraku, who was a half-demon no less, was able to do this to him. Him! And Kagura was blaming herself?

"No Kagura, this isn't your fault." He groaned. "It's my fault. I failed to protect you, and I'm sorry."

Kagura didn't know what to say.

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Miroku was suffering, both from the fact that he was being crushed by Naraku's power and that his Wind Tunnel was still growing, and getting stronger. In another minute or two, it would creep out from under its covering, if he lived that long. He looked at Sango and all the good times they had together flashed before his eyes. That included all the times she slapped him for toughing her in the wrong places. He could never keep his hands off her. Yes, he was womanizer, and yes he asked ever woman he met to bear his children, but he felt something for Sango that he never felt for any other woman. And out of all the women in the world who could bear his children, he wanted it to be Sango.

"Sango…" he muttered. The demon slayer managed to turn her head to look at him. "It was you, Sango. It was always you. I love you."

Through the pain, Sango managed a smile. "And I love you." she said.

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Kohaku cursed Naraku's name. The damned half-demon had taken everything from him and used him for his dirty work. He made him kill his father and nearly his sister. There was blood on Kohaku's hands from so many people that he had killed in Naraku's service. Finally he was free from that monster's clutches and he was about to die. Kohaku didn't mind dieing, he surely deserved it after all he did, but he wanted to take Naraku with him. But it looked like that was out of his hands.

Slowly he turned to his sister. He remembered the day Naraku had forced him to kill her, and he nearly did. Ever since that day, his life had been a living hell as he followed Naraku's orders without thought or feeling. It may not mean much now, but he had to say it.

"I'm sorry." He muttered. "I'm sorry."

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Kouga wasn't any better off than the others. His strength was failing him. He knew Naraku would be tough; that was why he left his companions, Ginta and Hakkaku, behind, he knew they would be no match for Naraku. He had tried so hard to find Naraku to avenge his tribe, now it seemed he was meeting his end by the one he had sought.

Kouga tried not to think such dark thoughts. He tried focusing on the joys of life. Surprisingly, his thoughts turned to the wolf-demon beside him. He suddenly realized that one of his biggest regrets was not getting to know her better. She was strong, brave, smart, kind, and stunningly beautiful; the perfect mate for a wolf-demon like him.

Which brought him back to the promise he had made to her during the night of the lunar rainbow. He had promised to make her his mate. He had pretended he didn't remember to get her off his back, but she was persistent, and he was foolish. He spent so much time trying to get Kagome to look at him the same way she did to Inuyasha, that he didn't realize what was right in front of him.

Using the rest of his strength, he reached out and grabbed Ayame's hand. She opened her eyes and looked at him. He needed to let her know before they died.

"Ayame…" he muttered. "About my promise… on the night of the lunar rainbow…" Ayame's eyes widened. Kouga gave her hand a squeeze. "I remember."

Despite the pain, Ayame smiled as her eyes filled with tears of joy. She gave his hand a squeeze back as they both suffered under Naraku's power.

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'Lord Sesshomaru, please forgive me.' Thought Jaken. 'I failed you!'

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This couldn't be the end. It just couldn't. He had come too far, worked to hard to have things end like this. Inuyasha tried to get up, but couldn't move. Tetsusiaga laid still in his hand, feeling heavier than it ever had. No, this just couldn't be the end. He had finally reached his goal. He had Naraku cornered, he had the Shikon Jewel put together again, and, most importantly, he had told Kagome what was in his heart. No, this just couldn't be the end. And if he died, there would be no one there to protect Kagome.

'Kagome, get out of here.' he thought. 'Please, just save yourself. Take the Shikon Jewel and run. Go back to your time. Just get away from him. Kagome!'

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"Fox-Fire!" Shippo cried. The attack did nothing. The fire went out the moment it touched Naraku's evil demonic aura. "It's no good! My Fox-Fire isn't working!"

"We have to do something!" Rin cried tearfully, keeping a tight hold on the Shikon Jewel. "He's killing them!"

"I know." Said Kagome. 'But what can we do? I'm out of arrows, Shippo's attacks are useless, and Rin can't do anything.'

"Please, do something!" Rin begged of Kagome. "You're a priestess! You have to do something!"

Kagome had tears in her eyes. She wasn't trained to fight without her arrows. "I can't do anything." she murmured.

"I can!"

Kagome turned around and her mouth dropped open. Kanna was walking towards them, supporting a gravelly wounded Kikyou. She was alive, but barely. Her entire left arm was missing and a crack in her clay body went up her face, leaving a large hole over where her right eye used to be. From out of this hole, the souls she had been using to sustain herself were escaping, making her weaker with each loss.

"Kikyou, you're alive!" Kagome cried, rushing towards the undead priestess.

"Not for years." Kikyou muttered. "But for now, I am still existing. Not for much longer though. My body is damaged beyond repair, and I'm losing souls fast."

Kagome looked from her friends to Kikyou. There was nothing she could do for them; she wasn't a fully trained priestess. Kikyou was, she could help, but she wasn't in any condition to do anything, not on her own.

Kagome ran over to Kikyou and Kanna to help support the undead, soon to be dead, priestess. "Kikyou, we have to help them!" she cried desperately. "What do we do?"

Kikyou winced. "I can't do it on my own. I'm too damaged. Soon I will cease to exist completely."

"What can I do to help?" Kagome cried.

A sad smile crept over Kikyou's lips. "It's up to you to defeat Naraku now. I can give you a chance, but you'll have to be the one to finish it."

"What do we do?"

Kikyou struggled to remain conscious. "I'll take Naraku down with me."

Kagome's eyes widened. "No, you can't do that! There has to be another way!"

Kikyou smiled again. "You're kind, but kindness won't save anyone here. Besides, I have nothing left to live for anymore. Inuyasha chose you. My greatest desire was for the two of us to die together. But I guess I'll have to settle for Naraku."

"Kikyou…"

"No, Kagome. This is my choice. At least this way, you and Inuyasha can have a chance to have what Naraku took from us. Just do me one favor; Promise to tell my sister goodbye for me."

"Kikyou-"

"Promise!"

Kagome winced. "Ok, I promise."

Kikyou completely relaxed in Kagome's arms. "Thank you…"

The last of her captured souls escaped her and Kikyou's body began glowing. Kagome felt the part of her soul that Kikyou possessed come back to her as the undead priestess' clay body turned into a single arrow. Kagome held the arrow tightly. This was the opportunity Kikyou was giving her. In her last moment of existence, she became a weapon that Kagome could use to defeat Naraku.

A look of determination came over Kagome's face. She strung the arrow and took aim, making sure to have a perfect shot at the evil half-demon.

"NARAKU!" she shouted. The evil half-demon turned to her. "Go to Hell!"

She fired. Naraku's eyes widened as the arrow sped toward him, hitting him square in the chest. Shock and disbelief spread over his face as he looked down at the arrow in his chest and felt the smallest presence of the now truly dead priestess.

"Kikyou…" he murmured. The arrow began to glow as it erupted into a blast of spiritual energy. "NOOOOO!"

Naraku cried out as the remainder of his body was completely obliterated. The light grew brighter and brighter, completely consuming Naraku.

The light faded and Naraku's demonic aura dispersed. The others were released from his power as Naraku was destroyed, once and for all.

Kagome remained completely still as she stared at her friends lying motionless on the floor. She didn't know if they were alive or not, and she was afraid to find out.

Rin was the first one to break the silence as she ran to Sesshomaru's side. "Lord Sesshomaru!" she cried. "Wake up! Please wake up! Come on, you can't be beaten by someone like Naraku!"

Sesshomaru groaned and looked up at Rin. There was a slight smile on his lips. "You know me better than that, Rin."

Rin's face light up. "Yay, you're alright! You were great, Lord Sesshomaru!"

Sesshomaru stood up. "Thank you, Rin. But the credit really goes to Kagome. She finished him off." He turned to Kagura. She was still alive, he could smell it. Everyone was, even the humans. Not that he cared of course! Bending down, he said softly, "Kagura."

The wind sorceress twitched and her eyes slowly opened. She looked up at Sesshomaru and saw him offering his hand to help her up.

"Is it over?" she asked, taking his hand.

Sesshomaru pulled her to her feet. "Yes, it's over." He turned to the toad-demon laying face down on the ground and nudged him with his foot, none to gently. "Jaken, get up!"

Jaken only twitched and remained on the floor. Rin bent down over him. "Is he ok?" she asked in concern.

Sesshomaru nodded. "He's fine." He looked at the others. "They all are."

Rin sighed in relief. She left Jaken and went over to Kohaku's side. "Kohaku, wake up. Come on, wake up."

Kohaku groaned and regained conscious. "What happened?" he asked.

Rin smiled. "Naraku's dead."

Kohaku jumped up. "He's dead? He's really dead?"

Rin nodded. "Yup, Kagome killed him."

Kohaku's eyes were widened with disbelief. He had thought they were goners. He quickly turned to his sister. "Sango, wake up! Naraku's dead!"

And that was how it went on until everyone was back on their feet, slightly shaken up from the fight, but otherwise not too damaged. Sesshomaru wasn't really the type of person to celebrate, so he decided to cut the victory party short.

"Rin, Jaken, it's time we were leaving." He said emotionlessly. "And Rin, I believe you have something for Kagome."

"Huh?" She looked at the Shikon Jewel in her hand. "Oh, yeah! Here, I saved it for you."

Kagome gratefully accepted the sacred jewel. "Thank you for keeping it safe for me."

Rin smiled. "You're welcome!" Next she went over to Kohaku. "I'm glad you're ok now." She said. And then, to Kohaku's surprise, she kissed his cheek.

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. "Rin, we're leaving."

"Coming!"

Kagura watched as Sesshomaru headed for the exit. She was… sad to see him leave. She didn't want him to go. She turned away, not wanting to see him leave. A moment later, she was surprised to feel a small hand in hers. She looked down and saw Rin holding her hand.

"Lady Kagura, are you coming with us?" she asked hopefully.

Kagura gasped in surprise. She hadn't expected this. Apparently, neither did Jaken, who was quick to scold the girl.

"Rin, you have no right to just invite anyone along with us!" he yelled. "Right, Lord Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru stopped walking and turned back to look at them. He locked eyes with Kagura, who held his gaze, unable to read his emotionless expression.

"Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin asked.

Sesshomaru didn't say anything for a few seconds, but then he turned away and said, "Let her do as she wishes."

Jaken's mouth fell open as Rin cheered happily. Kagura was surprised by this turn of events. She felt… honored. Rin tugged at her hand.

"Come on!" she said. "Lord Sesshomaru pretends he doesn't care, but I can tell that he wants you to come!"

Kagura's eyes widened and she looked back at Sesshomaru. Rin continued to pull on her arm and Kagura took a step forward.

"Sister?"

The small voice made Kagura stop. She turned around to find Kanna standing behind her, expressionless as always, expect for the slight frown she always had.

Kagura smiled at her and said. "Come on, Kanna."

Now Jaken was getting frustrated. "What, now you're just inviting anyone you want? Lord Sesshomaru!"

Sesshomaru stopped to give them a look that said that he didn't care either way. Rin stuck her tongue out at Jaken as she led Kagura and Kanna after Sesshomaru. The others watched them go, not really caring all that much. Even Kouga let Kagura leave. He had once desired to kill her for what she did to him and his tribe, and even now he held a deep hatred for her, but then again, he understood that she had been Naraku's slave, and on top of that, she was no longer the same person who had slaughtered his tribe. Besides, if he killed one of Naraku's enemies now, he would only be given the now dead half-demon satisfaction. The time of fighting was over.

Ayame went up to Kouga and grabbed onto his arm. "What now?" she asked.

Kouga didn't have a ready answer. He looked at the Shikon Hunters, his gaze lingering on Kagome a moment longer than anyone else, before he turned to Ayame.

"I'm not sure." He said truthfully. "For a long time now, my goal has been to defeat Naraku and avenge my tribe. Now that it's done, I'm not sure what to do."

Ayame hugged his arm tighter. "What do you want to do?" she asked.

Kouga looked at her hopeful face and really thought about his answer. He had originally intended to take Kagome for his mate; she was useful for finding the jewel shards. But now the shards were one jewel again and Naraku was defeated… Kouga hadn't thought passed this point. He had intended to have Kagome because she was useful, and in doing so, convinced himself he loved her. But what about Ayame? She was kind, strong, brave, and she had a better memory than him. Looking at the situation, she would make a much better mate than Kagome. Now the question was, what did his heart tell him?

He looked back at Kagome. He knew of her feelings for Inuyasha. It made him jealous. He wanted her. He had since he learned that she could sense the jewel shards. Ayame had said that she would learn how to sense the jewel shards so she would be worthy of Kouga's affection, yet she had not managed to do that. True, she was definitely stronger than Kagome, but Kagome's ability to see the shards was more useful.

That was when he realized the truth. He hadn't been after Kagome this whole time, he had been after her ability to see the shards. He had wanted Kagome for that reason and that reason alone. He did care for the priestess in general, but did he love her, or her powers? And if the answer was the latter, then how did he really feel?

Kouga thought long and hard about it, trying to find what he really wanted. When he made his decision, he gave the female wolf-demon a smile. "Well, now I think I'd like to settle down and start a family of my own. And I'd like to do that with you, Ayame."

Ayame's eyes became teary. "Do you really mean that?" she asked.

Kouga nodded. "I wouldn't say it if I didn't. If you'll still have me, that is."

Ayame literally threw herself at the wolf-demon. "Of course I will! I've waited for years!"

Inuyasha snorted. "So, wolf-boy finally gets his head out of his-"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome warned.

"What? I'm just saying."

"Kagome," said Kouga, giving her a small smile. "I hope you will forgive me for breaking off our engagement."

Kagome sweat-dropped. "Oh, that's ok. I just wanted to be friends anyway." 'Besides, I never agreed to the engagement in the first place.'

Inuyasha stepped forward. "Listen up, Kagome was never yours to begin with!"

Kouga smirked. "It doesn't matter anymore. She's all yours, mutt-face. Take good care of her. Come on, Ayame."

"Bye."

With that, the two wolf-demons ran off in a gust of wind, back to their fellow wolf packs. Once again, it was just the original Shikon Hunters again, and Kohaku, whom Sango wouldn't let go of.

Shippo was the one to talk first. "So, Naraku is finally dead?"

Miroku stiffened. "There's only one way to know for sure." He removed the covering over the Wind Tunnel to find… nothing. No cursed hole leading into a dark abyss of death, just skin. "The Wind Tunnel is gone. That proves it. Naraku is finished."

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Kaede was glad to find the Shikon Hunters alive and well, and with news that Naraku had been destroyed and the Shikon Jewel was whole again no less. Kagome kept her promise to Kikyou and delivered the message.

"My real sister died long ago." the old woman said. "I am just glad to know that she was still part of the woman she once was before she died. She is but a memory now, but at least I can remember her as the way she once was. Thank you, Kagome. And not just for the message. Thou have done a great thing, freeing us all from Naraku's evil. And now we just need to make sure no other demons take possession of the scared jewel."

Inuyasha crossed his arms. "Keh! You don't have to worry about that. Once I make my wish to become full demon, the jewel will disappear and this will all be over."

The others sighed; he was still on about that?

"Wait a minute!" Shippo cried suddenly. "If the sacred jewel is gone, how is Kagome going to come back?"

Everyone was silent as Shippo's question hung in the air. It was the question all of them had always wondered, but never dared answer. Without the Shikon Jewel, if Kagome ever went back to her own time, she would never be able to get back to the Feudal Era.

Kagome bent down and patted Shippo on the head. "You know the answer, Shippo." She said sadly.

Shippo frowned. "You won't be able to come back?" he asked, fearing the worst.

Kagome shook her head. "No, I won't."

Shippo's bottom lip started to tremble as tears formed in his eyes. He cried out and clung to Kagome desperately. "Don't go, Kagome! Please don't go! You can't leave us!"

Kagome hugged the little fox-demon, trying not to let her own tears fall down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Shippo. But it was always going to come to this."

The others were quiet as Shippo continued to cry. Inuyasha had a stunned look on his face as the truth of the matter hit him. Kagome was going to leave him? Now? Now, when he's finally confessed his love for her? Now, when Naraku was finally gone and they had a chance to actually live their lives?

"So, you're really going to go?" asked Miroku.

Kagome just hugged Shippo tighter, unable to face her friends. Kaede stepped forward and addressed the monk. "Kagome's whole family and way of life is in her own time. It was because Kikyou was cremated with the Shikon Jewel that she was reincarnated as Kagome here. She came back to finish what couldn't be done in her past life, and now she must return to her present and future."

Shippo took a handful of Kagome's shirt in his hands and held on so he couldn't be taken away. "No, she can't go! She can't leave!"

Sango stepped forward and gentle pulled Shippo off Kagome. "Shippo, her mother, grandfather, brother, and friends are in her time. We can't ask her to not go back to them."

"Why not?" Shippo cried. "We're like family!"

Kagome couldn't hold back the tears any longer. "Shippo, you are like my family. I love you all, but… Sango's right. I can't leave my other family behind." She turned to them, making sure to keep her face hidden by her hair. "I'm really going to miss you. All of you. Sango, you are like a sister to me. Miroku, Shippo, you two were like brothers. Kilala, I love you like family too. Kaede, you were like a grandmother. Kohaku, we may not know each other that well, but I care for you like family too. Inuyasha…"

She couldn't bring herself to look at the half-demon, let alone talk to him. She loved him. She loved him more than she ever thought it was possible to love a person. She loved the human side and the demon side. In fact, she didn't even see the difference in him. To her, he was just Inuyasha, and that was who she loved. And it was too hard to say goodbye.

Slowly she walked over to the half-demon. She reached out her hand and took his in hers. She placed the Shikon Jewel in his palm and closed his hand.

"K-Kagome…" Inuyasha muttered. He didn't have a clue what to say. He didn't want this stupid jewel. He didn't give a damn about it. He wanted her. Not this worthless piece of junk.

Kagome gave him a sad smile, still keeping her face hidden behind her hair. "Now you can make your wish to become a full-fledged demon."

Slowly she stood on her toes and kissed him with all the love she felt. Inuyasha was so stunned that he couldn't even respond to the kiss. He wasn't sure how much time passed before Kagome finally pulled away, but when she did, he wanted to feel her lips on his again.

Then he felt her hands around his neck as she began to remove the rosary beads. Inuyasha's hands rested on top of hers, letting her know that he wanted to keep them on.

Kagome left the beads alone and gave him a sad smile. "Goodbye." She said sadly.

She turned away and headed for the well.

"Wait, you're leaving now?" Shippo cried tearfully.

Kagome stopped. She struggled to get herself under control before answering. "Yes, I better. I've been gone a really long time, and I've really fallen behind on my school work."

It was nothing more than an excuse to leave. Right now, school was the last thing on her mind. But she knew that if she didn't leave now, she wouldn't be able to leave at all.

"Kagome, we'll really miss you." Sango muttered.

Kagome nodded. "I-I'll r-really miss you guys-s too. Goodbye!"

And she ran. She ran without looking back, because she knew that if she did, she would never leave.

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It had been four days now. Four long depressing days. The defeat of Naraku and the completion of the Shikon Jewel should have been a time of great joy, but things were just the opposite. Everyone missed Kagome. Things just weren't the same without her. Inuyasha was suffering the most. He hadn't left the well since Kagome went down it. He was still a half-demon, and he still had the sacred jewel, but none of that mattered anymore. Nothing mattered now that she was gone.

The others were getting concerned. Inuyasha hadn't spoken a word to anyone since Kagome left. In a way, they had lost two friends, Kagome physically, and Inuyasha mentally.

'She's really gone.' Inuyasha thought for the thousandth time. That was what his mind was telling him, but his heart wouldn't believe it.

Inuyasha looked at the small jewel in his hand. It was this jewel that had brought Kagome to him, and now it had sent her away. It just wasn't fair. He had thought losing Kikyou was painful, but losing Kagome was much, much worse. He would do anything to have her back. Nothing else mattered anymore.

'Kagome, I want you back!' he thought desperately. 'You're all that matters to me!' He held the jewel tightly in his hands and shut his eyes tightly as the tears came again. 'I wish… I wish…'

His eyes snapped open as the answers to all his problems came to him. He looked at the Shikon Jewel in his hand and made his wish. The jewel glowed brightly for a brief moment before vanishing in a shower of sparks. The Shikon Jewel was gone. The souls Midoriko and the sealed demons were freed. The wish was made.

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Kagome was depressed. Very depressed. She spent most of her time in her room and barely ate. These past four days had been a living hell for here. It was very hard being away from the one you loved, especially knowing that you would never see them again, at least not in this lifetime.

Once again, she found herself wondering if she had made the right choice of coming back to her own. Her own time? Was this here own time? She wasn't sure anymore. This was where she was born, where she had grown up, where she was raised, where her family was. But it wasn't where her heart was; and wasn't there a saying that said that home is where the heart is.

Feeling a wave of sadness pass over her, Kagome buried her face in her pillow, trying to prevent herself from crying. She was tired of crying. She had done a lot of that over the past few days. She wanted to go back. Back to the Feudal Era, back to her other family, back… home.

A knock at her door distracted her from her depression. Groaning, Kagome buried her face further into her pillow. "Go 'way." She muttered.

"Sis, there's someone here to see you." Souta called from the other side.

Kagome groaned again. Who could it be? One of her friends coming to check up on her? Hojo coming to offer her some of his disgusting yet thoughtful cures? Whoever it was, she didn't want to see them.

"Tell them I don't feel well." She said, face still in pillow.

"They said you would say something like that." Souta replied. "And they told me to say that if you're strong enough to defeat Naraku, then you can surely muster up the strength to come downstairs."

Kagome jumped up so fast that she fell out of bed. Did Souta just say what she thought he said? He wouldn't be pulling her leg about something like this.

Poor Souta was thrown aside as Kagome burst out of her room and ran down the stairs at top speed. There, standing by the door, was none other than-

"Inu…yasha…"

Yes, it was him alright. Still the same red kimono, same long white hair, same yellow eyes, same cute little dog ears poking out of his head. And he was still a half-demon, to Kagome's surprise.

Inuyasha gave her a warm smile and said real kindly, "Hey, Kagome."

Indescribable joy filled Kagome and tears filled her eyes. But these tears of joy. "Inuyasha!"

She ran across the room and threw herself at the half-demon. Inuyasha hugged her back, never wanting to let go.

"I missed you." he said, quietly.

Kagome hugged him tighter. "I thought I'd never see you again."

Inuyasha smiled. "You don't have to worry about that anymore. I've come to take you back."

Kagome pulled away from him, surprised. "What?"

Inuyasha's smile didn't falter. "I've come to take you back." He repeated.

"How? Without the sacred jewel…"

Inuyasha shook his head. "We don't need it anymore." At Kagome's confused look he explained, "I made my wish Kagome. But it wasn't to become a full demon. I wished for something much better and far more precious than anything else that jewel could ever give me."

"What?" Was it her imagination, or were their faces getting closer?

"You, Kagome. I wished for you to be able to travel through the well without the sacred jewel." Kagome's eyes widened. "Now you don't have to chose between you're family and us. You can have both."

Pure joy filled Kagome's face. "You did that, for me?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Kagome, I would do anything for you. I love you."

"And I love you."

Their lips came together in a passionate kiss.

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Five years later.

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It had been five years since the defeat of Naraku and much had changed. At first, the demons had gone all out, searching for the Shikon Jewel, only to discover that it was gone. After things calmed down, the Shikon Hunters, who were no longer Shikon Hunters, settled down for a life of peace.

Kagome had settled down in the Feudal Era with Inuyasha. Thanks to her husband's wish, she lived in the past, which was now her present, but still got to see her family in the future. This time the excuse for her constant absence was that she was attending a school far away and could only visit so often. It was enough to fool Kagome's friends.

Sango and Miroku had gotten married and had 2 children, a set of twins, one boy and one girl. Unfortunately for Miroku, he wouldn't be getting the 10-20 kids as he had been hoping for. Not unless he wanted to be the one to deal with all the problems being pregnant caused and to be the one to go through the pain of childbirth, as Sango told him. But still, Miroku, being the way he was, couldn't keep his hands off his lovely wife. Inuyasha and Kagome actually had to move their home a bit further away because Inuyasha would claim to hearnoises from their friends' house at night. In fact, Kagome had to constantly return to the future to get certain 'precautions' for her friends; but she also kept some for herself and Inuyasha until they were ready to have children of their own.

Shippo had grown up a great deal and had become quite a powerful demon, one quite popular with the ladies; although a certain thunder-demon had become very possessive of him. He still constantly fought with Inuyasha, which normally resulted with him getting a large bump on his head and Inuyasha being 'sat'.

It had taken a long time, but Kohaku slowly began healing, not physically, but mentally, from the things Naraku made him do. He had grown into a very strong demon slayer and he did a very good job of warding off demons. He swore to protect his friends and family at all costs and would never let any harm come to any of them.

Kouga and Ayame started a family of their own as well. Their remaining two tribes became one very powerful one that no demon dared to face and whom their son would one day rule.

As it turned out, Sesshomaru and Kagura settled down and started a family of their own. Their mating ceremony had been very small and quiet since neither of them cared for the attention. Neither of them really connected with the original Shikon Hunters, but no more killing was attempted between them. They had a single daughter who would be the heir to the Western Lands when the time came.

Rin lived with Sesshomaru and Kagura in Sesshomaru's castle. All of Sesshomaru's servants warmed up to her and came to respect her, even though she was human. She would occasionally visit the others in Kaede's village, but for the most part she lived in the castle with Jaken as her bodyguard. When she did visit, she spent a lot of time with Kohaku. She became very fond of the demon slayer and played a major roll in helping him to get over his self-loathing.

Kanna lived in Sesshomaru's castle as well. She became a very valuable servant to Sesshomaru. She seemed much happier with her new life. Her expression even changed somewhat. Now, rather than always appearing sad and empty, she held an expression very much like Sesshomaru; not happy, yet not sad either; just neutral.

Myoga continued to serve Inuyasha, to the best of his abilities, though he was still a coward. He was eventually unable to escape from his so-called bride to be, Shoga, and he too started a family, with more kids than he could handle.

Kilala didn't change all that much over the years. She still remained Sango's faithful servant and friend, aiding her in anyway she could.

Kaede passed on her knowledge of being a priestess to Kagome, to get the girl to reach the full potential a priestess. But today, all things relating to being a priestess were set aside. She was doing the very important job of delivering a baby. And not just any baby, but the child of Kagome and Inuyasha.

Kagome had been in labor for 25 hours now. She was in a lot of pain and she was making sure Inuyasha felt at least a small amount of pain that she was feeling.

"Sit!" she yelled for the ten thousandth time that day. "Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit!"

Inuyasha moaned from down in the hole in the shape of his body. He had never been 'sat' so much in one day. He must have suffered at least three months worth of 'sits' in the past hour alone.

"Come now, Inuyasha." Kaede said. "Get up. It will be over soon."

Inuyasha slowly got to his feet. "I hope so."

"You hope so!" Kagome yelled. "How the hell do you think I feel? Sit, sit, sit! Sit, damn you!"

"I'm sitting…" Inuyasha muttered, face down in the dirt.

"Kagome, maybe you should be a little nicer." Said Miroku, out of sympathy for his friend. He knew the pain of becoming a father. Sango had broken his hand in three places when she was in labor, and according to Rin, Kagura had caused a massive windstorm that nearly tore down Sesshomaru's castle when she had given birth.

"Nicer!" Kagome shouted, making the monk wince. "Look at what he's done to me! Damn it, Inuyasha, I swear you're never touching me again! Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit!"

Sango winced as Inuyasha was slammed down again and again. She had behaved pretty much the same way Kagome was behaving now when she gave birth, minus the sit commands, although they would have been nice to say.

"How the hell did you have twins, Sango?" Kagome cried.

Sango smiled nervously. "That is something I still can't figure out."

"We're almost done, Kagome." Said Kaede. "Just a little bit longer."

"INUYASHA, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT!"

After two more painful agonizing minutes, for both Kagome and Inuyasha, the child was born.

"It's a girl." Said Kaede.

"A… girl…" Kagome breathed. "Inu…yasha… we… have a… daughter…"

The half-demon on the ground twitched as he struggled to stay conscious. Miroku bent down to take a look at him.

"I think he has a… um, make that several concussions." He said.

Kagome was still trying to catch her breath. "I'm… sorry… Inuyasha…"

"Don't worry about it." Inuyasha muttered, unable to get up. "How you doing?"

"Ok…"

"That's good, and the baby?"

"Just fine." Said Kaede. "Just cleaning her up a bit, then she can meet mommy and daddy."

Miroku struggled to help Inuyasha to his feet. He felt bad for the poor guy. Suddenly, having his hand broken in three places didn't seem that bad.

"Wow Kagome, you really did a number on him." Shippo observed from the window.

Kagome managed a small smile. "Sorry, child birth isn't easy."

"She's right." Kaede said. "For a man it would be like trying to squeeze an object the size of a chicken egg out of your-"

"AH! I don't want to hear it! I don't want to hear it!" Shippo cried, covering his ears.

"Ok, someone's ready to meet their parents." Said Kaede, bringing the baby over.

Kagome held her hands out for her daughter and Kaede placed her in her mother's arms. Kagome looked down at her daughter in complete awe. She couldn't believe it, she was a mother!

"She's beautiful." Inuyasha said, only able to see with one eye since his other one was swollen shut.

"Absolutely." Kagome agreed, running her finger over the infant's cheek.

Shippo popped up at that moment t get a better look at the baby. "Aw, she's so cute." He said. "And squishy looking." He looked up at Kagome and Inuyasha. "What are you going to name her?"

Kagome and Inuyasha looked at each other. Inuyasha nodded, letting Kagome know that he thought that she should be the one to tell the others.

"Well, we talked about it, and decided that if it was a girl, we would name her after the one that gave her life so we might have a chance for this. We've decided to name her Kikyou."

(A/N: So, who liked. Was it good, bad, just ok? Please let me know. I'm considering writing another Inuyasha story as a continuation to this one. It may take a while before I come up with anything, but I'm sure I will. At least let me know what you thought of this one.)