Title: The Weight of A Wish

Author: SakuraRyuu

Rating: K

Genre: Canon, Angst, Friendship

Characters: Inuyasha

Author's Note: Inuyasha and all characters in this fan fiction are the property of Rumiko Takahashi.

Inuyasha knew the final battle with Naraku was coming soon. The only shards left were the ones his group had, the two in Koga's legs, and the one in Kohaku's back. The problem plaguing his comrades most was how to get those last three shards. Koga wouldn't give his up without a fight and if Kohaku relinquished his, he would die. It was indeed a problem.

The thought foremost in Inuyasha's mind, however, was the wish that would be available once the jewel was complete. He now doubted he wanted that wish. He had always thought he would wish to be a full demon. After he met Kikyou he wanted to use the wish to become human. Now that he had Kagome and his friends, he was beginning to appreciate being hanyou. If the wish was given to him, he wasn't sure what he would wish for now.

Inuyasha was beginning to see there were stages to his life he had previously not paid any attention to. His childhood ended when his mother died. His solitude had ended when he met Kikyou. His loneliness had ended when he met Kagome. He knew if he wished to be a full demon he would lose his humanity. He knew his demon would live only for the kill. His friends would leave him for their own safety. He would be alone again, an outcast of the worst kind that would surely be destroyed in a matter of days once the blood lust took over. He would die, mindless and alone. He knew if he wished to be a full demon he would destroy the life that had so easily enveloped him.

Wishing to be human was no longer desirable. Kagome, Miroku, Shippo and Sango had shown him he doesn't have to change who he is to be accepted. Kagome said it wasn't he who needed to change but the way other people think. He was beginning to believe her.

And so Inuyasha thought, sitting up in the branches of the tallest tree, overlooking his sleeping friends, about how he would use the wish. He knew wishing to be a full demon would kill who he was. He would lose everything; Kagome, his friends, the acceptance, trust, and friendship he found with them, his humanity, his soul and his life. Was all that he would lose really worth the blood lust driven demon he would turn into?

He didn't think so anymore.