Blood was everywhere. The stench of it was arid and putrid; it was laced with poison and the smell of entrails. When one split the body cavity of a living creature, the gore unleashed from the intestines was enough to gag a full grown man and make them run. War wasn't pretty. It seems honorable and heroic in brushwork, sure. The calligraphy describing the events is always poetic, and makes killing another man seem like a just thing. The scrolls don't tell you about the stomach-churning smell of death. They don't tell you about the look of terror as you lock eyes with the person, and see their terror. They don't tell you that the other side is almost a mirror image of the one you're fighting on. They don't tell you that the man you just killed had a beautiful wife with a baby on the way.

No… war is a gruesome thing. The only good it brings about is the fact that it's the easiest way to change a nation. Words of a Lord can only go so far. Empty promises of, "Oh, the crops will be better." Peace talks meant nothing. Things get accomplished if you burn a few villages. It's a sad truth.

But this war was worse, by far. The forces at work were not mere men on thrones, pointing ringed fingers and giving orders dressed in their finest silks-no. The one behind all of this evil was just one, poor samurai. The lost soul had been badly burned in a raid. His lust for a woman, a single woman, drove him to this. He had called the demons to him, lusting for power and a new body. Onigumo had gotten more than what he wished for. Now, he was a power hungry cluster-fuck of writhing things. 'He' wasn't even a good pronoun to use to name the creature. Naraku was a conglomerate of tainted demon souls, mushed into something akin to Christianity's "Legion". There was no one person anymore, they were many.

Kohaku lay in pieces at the demon's feet. Without the jewel, his body had crumpled like a sack of rice. To make matters worse on her poor sister, Naruku had playfully disembowel the innocent boy; his tentacles piercing the tender, dead flesh and ripping the body to pieces as if he were no more than Christmas paper. It had taken all of the monk's strength to hold Sango back. It was what Naraku wanted; the rage from seeing her brother die so gruesomely made Sango disregard any training she had about fighting.

Kagome was in tears and disbelief, holding a hand over Shippou's frightened eyes. The small fox-demon wailed in sheer terror, and gaged, nearly on the verge of vomiting from the fresh scent of death assaulting his sensitive nose.

"You bastard!" Inuyasha yelled, his sword making an arc in the living stone to create a formidable rift in the clash of auras. Blades of pure energy rushed forth from the tip of his blade, the Wind Scar. Naraku only smiled, lifting a portion of his tentacles aside to reveal a while form.

Kanna.

Her emotionless face stared straight into the half-demon's indignant eyes. But indignation slowly turned to horror as he realized his mistake. The white, empty demon angled her mirror, reflecting it back to the pained lovers. Sango's teary eyed face glowed with the oncoming energy of the attack. Miroku opened his wind-tunnel, sucking in a portion of the waves of energy. But it wasn't enough. Screaming, Inuyasha watched as his own attack cut his friends to shreds. Kirara was a pile of fur and gore, there was simply nothing left. Sango's arm parted from her side. Miroku's right half, the side of him with the curse, was gone. His skull was sheered from his temple to his jugular. Brain matter oozed from the wound while his cardioid artery drained out his life force in a steady rhythm of a dying heart. With a cry even more furious than when her brother died, Sango threw her demon-slaying boomerang. It flew faster, fueled by human emotion – the strongest stuff there is. The weapon missed Naraku by miles. He only smirked as it whistled by, his hair barely even being disturbed by its passing. However, it came round and slammed into Kanna's back. Two halves of her slumped and hit the ground with a small thud. Her mirror fell uselessly to the ground and shattered to pieces. As it broke, so did she. Her face cracked down the middle, revealing ash and clay. Naraku had made her out of his flesh; she was a porcelain doll made of bone.

Dizzy from the loss of blood, and in shock due to her two loved ones deaths, Sango fell. She landed on her back, brown eyes staring at the beautiful, azure sky. Dreams of having children with Miroku danced before her eyes. She wanted to live out her life with her brother and love, forever happy and in peace. Maybe Kohaku would marry Rin, Sesshoumaru's ward? All seemed pointless, and trivial now. Why is it that the precious things we love most seem to go first? Sango frowned at the blueness of the sky; it was too happy. She had nothing left. No one left that truly loved her. Kagome had run to her side, screaming her name as she tried to bind the gaping wound that used to be her arm. How kind… if Sango had a sister, she wished it was Kagome. Sweet, funny, and amazing Kagome… she would will miss her when she died. A tear slid from Sango's eyes, and she blinked to speed its progress down her cheek.

Her eyes did not open again.

Small shoulders began to shake. The young high-school girl, who had knew nothing of war and true anger, now blazed with these emotions for the first time. Her body glowed with raw power; the purity of her emotions fueling her spiritual powers. The girl's whole body convulsed as she stood up slowly. Her hair and clothes swirled as if she were underwater. So strong was her emotions that her aura was tangible, aglow with power.

"NARAKU!" she yelled, in a voice that no one had heard out of this girl. It sounded more like a woman's than an adolescent's. To Inuyasha, she sounded oddly like Kikyo. She jogged over to her half-demon friend, and laid a steady hand against his forearm. He had been standing there, chest tight with sadness, staring at the bodies of his friends. He didn't have many friends, and the fact that they lay dead by his own hand…

"Inuyasha" Kagome said again, bringing him to the present. He could feel her power seeping into him. If it had been any other priestess, he just knew that he would have been purified from even a five-feet distance. He felt his demon blood rising to the surface as a result of the girl's opposite power. "Don't fight the transformation; it's all we have left now… don't worry, I'll keep you safe."

"…and I'll keep you safe," he muttered. The usual gruff mask placed over his actions had died along with Sango and Miroku.

She smiled, and closed her eyes, throwing a portion of her aura at her friend. Immediately, his body pulsed red with his demonic aura. It was pure, however, untainted by the bloodlust and animalistic nature. Purple stripes ran down his face and arms, as he felt bones in his jaw and hands pop. His silver hair billowed out from the rushing of power within him. Silver fur began to coat itself on his hands and feet, giving him a werewolf-like appearance. He could not physically transform into a true demon form, but whatever Kagome did unlocked his ability to tap into that well of power. It was like giving a vaccine, in a sense. She wasn't actually purifying him, she simply shocked his system into believing that it was, so his own power surfaced, fighting it.

A low grow rumbled in his chest as he clenched Tetsuaiga with awkwardly long claws. Next to him, Kagome knocked an arrow against the taunt string of her red bow. Its tip was already glowing with sacred power. The light of it nearly blinded Inuyasha's now super-sensitive eyes.

"Well, now you look like the mangy mutt that you really are, Inuyasha," Naraku's voice rumbled sensually like the devil himself.

The boy only turned to the priestess, and kissed her cheek softly. It was horribly out of character for him, but he wasn't sure he would ever get the chance to ever again. It was awkward and innocent; his fangs even brushed against her skin, due to their enlargement. Upon pulling away, he heard the girl sigh, "I love you". Inuyasha smiled, if you could call it a smile with those frightening canines.

"Ditto." He growled. "Be safe." With a nod, she turned back to their opponent.

"Shippou, get off my shoulder. This might purify you." The priestess whispered to her charge.

"…I love you too, mum." The fox-demon sobbed, hopping off from his perch.

Kagome's eyes glowed pink with an inner holy light. Just how many people had been hurt by Naraku? Sango and Miroku were only two out of thousands of victims. He had killed Kikyo. He slaughtered villages for fun. Miroku's family was not the only one to suffer under a curse place by him. Sango's entire village was wiped out in the span of fifteen minutes, maybe less.

This had to end. And it had to end now.

Her arrow flew, her aim perfect, and hit the demon right between his eyes. His head vaporized, just as her half-demon sprang into action. He hacked and slashed the body as much as he could; the damn creature kept re-spawning his body together at an alarming rate. Had he already absorbed the jewel? Inuyasha thought as he continued his flurry. Things were not going well, he could feel the raw power in him start to fade just as much as he could feel Naraku's power start to multiply.

Shippou did not see the stray tentacle coming towards him. It impaled him square in the chest, going right through his young, little heart. Is this what it feels like to die, dad? He smiled sadly, as he tried to look back at Kagome one last time. "I… love you mum. You were always a mum to me, Kag… Ka-" he coughed, blood splattering from his lips. "Dammit." The little boy swore, using Inuyasha's rough tone. "I guess I'll see papa again…" He smiled, the fading from his eyes.

That's when Kagome really lost it. Her aura nearly exploded with power. As mentioned, human emotion is a scary thing. It has the capacity to fuel nations to battle. To cause genocide of Jews based off of a single political party's slander. Behind every murder, emotion is the metaphorical trigger. Kagome was no different. This power was astronomical, greater than even Midoriko's on a good day. The answer was simple: a woman who loses a child is a force to be reckoned with. With a hateful look, her crystal-blue eyes contained promise of death. The high-school girl walked straight into the writhing mass of Naraku's flesh, allowing herself to be pulled deeper within.

Inuyasha cried out as his stomach was impaled by a stray spear of flesh. This had to end…
A glimmer of light made him pause as he attempted to rip the offending object out of his side. K-Kagome?

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" he cried, trying to push himself towards her. Strange feelings stirred within him. If Naraku hurt her… if he kill-… no….. no… NO… NO!

"MATE!" Inuyasha yelled, his demon side finally realizing just what Kagome was to him. She was his light, his happiness, his soul mate. The person he was meant to be with for the rest of his life. It was as is he had finally found the last piece of the one-hundred-thousand piece puzzle. It was hiding under the box this whole time. Right there. He loved her. He loved her so much. It was more than simple, human affection. No, this was the call of something much more primal and eternal.

He watched in horror as Naraku assaulted her. Each tentacle was burned off by her overpowering aura. She was untouchable, but also unfortunately for him, unreachable.

With Naraku distracted, and the tentacle still embedded in his flesh, Inuyasha formulated a plan. He closed his eyes, and let the evil creature start to absorb him. As two started to become one, the boy felt a pulse and pull from the jewel. It was in that moment that Kagome's aura faltered, a tentacle managing to wrap itself around her middle. He heard a rib snap under the pressure.

Concentrate.

He mentally reached out to the jewel, touching its powers with his very soul. When he had held it those fifty-odd years ago, he had only felt its surface power. To connect to it like this, he almost cried out in shock at just the raw amount of force that the tiny marble had within it.

Kagome cried out in pain, and Inuyasha was thrown about in the sea of tentacles, as she send out a blast of raw power.

…please… make a wish… a foreign voice pleaded inside his mind.

Naraku can't access all of this power. But you can, little half-demon. Your soul is a balance of powerful demon and spiritual human… your lineage created the perfect blend between to species. This jewel, is a blend much like that. With my power, and the hoard of demons, it is a constant push and pull, yin and yang… Like you, Inuyasha.

Are you… Midoriko?

Yes… please… make a wish while the little miko uses her powers again. It balances out Naraku's demonic claim on the jewel, allowing you to make a wish.

…A wish…?... What to do…

"KAGOME" he cried, nearly sobbing. "CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

"…y-YES…" came a weak answer.

"Can you blast 'em again, dearest..?" Inuyasha called out tenderly.

He felt her power gathering as a yes. All of her sorrow, all of her happiness, all of her rage, and all of her emotions rolled into one, last push against Naraku. As it unleashed her fury Inuyasha thought:

I wish… I wish for a second chance. I wish for all of Naraku's influence to be erased from history. For the future to end up peaceful and happy as if none of this ever happened. For all of the souls that he killed to find peace. For Kagome to never fall into the well, five-hundred years from now. For.. peace…

…that's more than one wish. A voice chuckled. Demon voices whispered around his head, endowing him with raw energy. But I know how to make this wish a reality.

A raw blast wave obliterated Naraku, and Inuyasha saw the dead body of Kagome fall, limp. She had used her very soul in the last push, completely destroying Naraku.. and part of Inuyasha. Having been connected to the beast, his stomach and internal organs were ash, purified by her powers.

He too, fell. Crawling, using the last of his strength, a human Inuyasha laid a kiss upon Kagome's tear-stained face. He too, was sobbing.

"Mmm…mate…" he sighed, exhaling his last breath.

A pink shock wave burst from his body, making the trees and earth quake in its path.

Elsewhere, Kouga looked up in horror as he saw doom approaching him. One by one, his pack disintegrated from the holy light. When it reached him, he inhaled his last breath.

Smells like wild lilies and orange peel… Kagome, what did you-?

Sesshoumaru sighed as he watched the spiritual bomb go off from a distance. He knew his end was near. Sprinting with his supernatural speed, he scouped up a surprised Rin in his arms and ran as fast as his demon blood could carry him. He thanked the stars that he was near that certain little village. He needed Kaede… As he unceremoniously burst into the hut, he carefully dropped his charge on the ground and drew his sword, holding the elderly woman's head up with the point of his sword.

"Take care of Rin, else I will haunt your soul and cast it into hell."

"Haunt?" came a startled, raspy voice from the old priestess.

It was at that moment that the being known as Sesshoumaru vaporized into a white, pure ash.