Kagome groaned as her back hit a tree, the bark biting into the soft flesh. She slid down the trunk until she sat, her legs splayed at the knees away from her. Her arm bleed profusely, and she felt broken.
Looking up, she took in the bodies of her friends. Sango, her battle gear stained red instead of the armor pink. Her hazel eyes were glazed over with death as she stared at the sky. Kagome was glad, at least, that Sango didn't know that Kohaku lay dead, not more than a meter away in another clearing.
Her head swiveled to take in Miroku, his purple and black robes wet with his own blood. She cringed. His arm lay over Sango in a lover's embrace. And they were to be married after this last battle…
She looked away and found Kirara, her tan fur tinged crimson. She watched as the fire cat's breathing became harsher and harsher until it stopped.
Tears slipped down Kagome's cheeks as she turned to see Shippo, lying motionless in the grass. His blue pants were stained forever purple and his vest, once a bright happy light green, now a dark forest color.
She shivered. A figure loomed above her and she knew who it was.
The voice sneered and laughed at her, but she just looked at Naraku, the tentacles from his back waving eerily in the wind. A soft breeze shifted both of their hair and Kagome shivered. There wasn't a punishment bad enough for this. There wasn't a death bloody or painful enough that would make Kagome taste revenge.
She gasped, feeling Naraku's bones slip into her stomach. Blood escaped her mouth and spattered onto the ground before her. Looking from Naraku's red eyes to her stomach, she dimly registered what he had done, but didn't feel it.
Numbly, she looked up into his vermillion eyes once more. He scowled and she could tell what he was thinking. Why weren't her eyes showing anything? Pain, hurt, sorrow, fear, anger, hatred… From a girl who usually wore her emotions on her sleeve and danced out on a limb, it was disconcerting to see her eyes emotionless. Kagome looked more like Kikyo now than ever.
Her body jerked as he extracted his boned hand from her stomach. She placed a shaking hand over the terrible wound and looked down at the blood. It was… odd. She felt nothing.
Looking up, her eyes narrowed. "Murder…" she hissed, attempting to stand on wobbly legs, but not succeeding. "Murder… Bastard… Filth…" Nothing could describe the utter and extreme hate she felt for the evil hanyou.
Lifting her hands, palms outward and facing towards Naraku, Kagome let loose a burst of purification power. It reached Kanna who held the baby with Naraku's heart. Soon, Naraku was not ash, settling softly into the grass.
Leaning against the tree, Kagome closed her eyes against the pain she felt in her heart. Gone… they were all gone. Except for… 'InuYasha… at least you're safe…'
Thunder rumbled in the distance and she tilted her head against the tree, her face turned towards the skies, as rain began to beat against the corpses of her friends. She stared, her eyes glazed over, seeing and yet unseeing, at the sky. But she was not dead. Yet.
An anguished cry came from the corner of the clearing. Out of the corner of one eye, she watched a red clad figure dart from corpse to corpse, each cry worse and more heart wrenching than the last.
Finally, InuYasha reached her. The scent of death no doubt covered her, for he kept back a choking sob and clutched her to him.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she whispered his name. InuYasha's body suddenly stiffened and he pulled away from her, watching her open her eyes again. "Na-Naraku's dead," she said softly, but it hurt all the same. Her voice was gentle, but scratched the insides of her throat.
InuYasha shook his head and smiled grimly as tears streaked down his cheeks. "Ka-Kagome," he managed to say.
She lifted a weary hand and caressed his cheek. "InuYasha I- I love you and I wi-wish that I-" Darkness closed around her and her hand dropped into InuYasha's. He splayed the fingers apart and felt his body tremble. No… this wasn't how it was meant to end… they were supposed to live together… to love each other until they died, hand in hand, not one before the other. Both old and happy… not here and with broken hearts…
He buried his face in the crook of her neck, feeling his shoulders shaking as sobs racked his body. "No…" he whispered into her neck. "No…"
InuYasha finally lifted his head, his amber eyes full of pain and longing. "Kagome," he whispered as he kissed her cold lips. Their companions' deaths weren't as hard to take as…
Standing, he knelt by the Shikon no Tama and whispered, "I should've been here… please, have Kagome take my place in the land of the living…"
Kagome opened her eyes. She shifted and turned over. Her eyes fell on a picture of InuYasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, and her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she remembered the day they all died…
Kagome shivered and knelt down by InuYasha. He had just killed Naraku. Her fingers smoothed away the fine silver hairs from his forehead and he coughed feebly. "Inu…Ya…asha," she managed to say through her sobs. InuYasha smiled mirthlessly.
"Kagome I- I love you and I wi-wish that I-" His words died away as his clawed hand held onto her's, then loosened.
Kagome stood outside in front of their graves. They were in a field behind the shrine she lived in. Tears welled up in her eyes and slipped down her cheeks. Her knees buckled beneath her and she placed a gentle hand on InuYasha's grave. Shivering, she remembered her own dieing words echoed in his mouth. They had loved each other for so long and this…
A shadow fell across her and she didn't even look up. "Ha-hai?" she asked, not even looking around. Silence. Finally, it was too much. She swallowed and looked behind her. "Nani? You know it's-"
Her voice was cut off as she saw who was standing there. Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara in her kitten form, and InuYasha. But… they looked different. They all wore normal clothes. Sango wore loose jeans and a black and pink t-shirt, a beige hat placed at an angle on her head. Miroku wore black jeans with a purple t-shirt. Kirara didn't have two tails, but one. Shippo didn't have a fox tail and wore shorts and a long sleeved shirt. InuYasha had midnight black hair and bright hazel eyes. No cute dog ears came from his scalp, and he wore jeans and a read sweat-shirt.
"Oi, wench," InuYasha growled crossing his arms as Kagome gaped at him. "Wha' cha doin' here?"
She swallowed and stood up. "Just praying over some graves," she rasped, clearing her throat which had long since grown sore from the constant crying.
"Oh… I'm so sorry… but these graves are ancient. I don't think their names exist in any archive… Do you know their descendants?" Sango asked. Kagome smiled.
"No…" 'You have no idea how much I knew them.'
Miroku smiled and took Kagome's hand. His fingers massaged her palm for a moment before he said in a sickly sweet voice, "My beautiful lady, would you consider coming to my house for-" What he was going to say (however predictable it was), was cut off as Sango hit him over the head, her eyes closed shut in pure and utter anger.
"Miiiiiiiiiiiiirooooooooooooooookuuuuuuuuuuuuu," Sango hissed. Kagome jumped slightly. So… were they named after their incarnates? Only one way to find out…
Sweat dropping and rubbing her neck, Kagome said happily, "Higurashi Kagome desu. What are your guys' names?"
Sango pointed to each of them in turn, naming off their names. "I'm Sango, my cat is Kirara, the pervert is Miroku, the kid is Shippo, and the guy is InuYasha. We've been friends since forever since we were all stuck with weird and really kinda old names."
Kagome giggled and got a strange look from InuYasha. "I donno… I like them."
Sango's face split in a wide smile and she turned to leave. "Hey, Kagome, do you want to come over for a bit?" Kagome nodded.
"Hai! Just let me pray a little bit more and I'll be right there! Meet you guys at the bottom of the hill."
She returned to the graves, though this time with a smile. When a shadow fell across her again, Kagome looked up to find InuYasha looking down at her with a questioning look. "So… who are you praying for?"
Kagome smiled and stood up, dusting some grass and dirt off of her skirt. "My friends."
She turned to go, but InuYasha grabbed her hand. He whirled her around and she stared into his eyes. Though this time, they were golden. He pulled out his enchanted beads and smiled. "Surprise."
Kagome stood there, shaking slightly. "Inu… InuYasha…?" she asked. His silky silver hair flowed over one shoulder and his wonderfully soft dog ears twitched on top of his head.
Tears slipped down Kagome's cheeks and she hugged him. He paused, surprised by her hug, but it wasn't before long that his clawed hands reached up and hooked around her back, holding her close to him, their heartbeats thumping together, speaking to one another. He whispered into her ear, his warm breath tickling the back of her neck, "I said I'd always be with you and protect you… why should I stop now?"
A loud slap echoed to them and a scream of "PERVERT!!!!" accompanied with "BUT SANGO… NO, WAIT!!!! DO BE SO RASH!!!" CRASH
They broke apart, InuYasha rolling his eyes and Kagome giggling. InuYasha muttered, crossing his arms, "Bakas… the lot of them. Some things never change, most of all reincarnations."
Kagome eyed him. Crossing her arms she leaned against a tree, her bright brown eyes narrowed. InuYasha flinched. "Oh, so I'm just like Kikyo, am I?" she asked.
"I- I didn't mean- It's not what- Kagome, NO!" "SIT BOY!!!!!!!" FWAMP
Ok… so maybe nothing ever changed, least of all, friends.
(A/N: I know, I know, I've already ended a story like that, but I just can't help it… it's so much fun to end with a furious 'sit' and a little ending note!!!!! Anywho, what happened was InuYasha made such a selfless wish that both he and Kagome were permitted to live, even if Kagome remembered him dieing. Clever, ne? No, it isn't? Yeah, well… -can't come up with a good come back- -has to resort (no matter how embarrassing it is) to- YOUR MOM!!! God… I should stop spending time with the immature guys that are my friends and use that phrase… anyways, please, review!!!
The Kikyo Hater)