CHAPTER 1

PROLOGUE

"I have to hurry…my body won't last much longer…before that, I have to destroy this damn thing— " Kagome panted. She held her bleeding shoulder as she made her way inside the woods. On her right hand, she held onto the sacred jewel tightly.

STAB.

Suddenly, an arrow pierced her back and she fell to the ground.

"There she is! Don't let that dark miko escape again! Capture her!" she heard the voices of the men from the village getting closer.

Not long after that, a man with a long flowing silver hair who was dressed in a red robe appeared before her.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome said as she gazed upon that man.

Without warning, Inuyasha stepped on Kagome's right hand, forcing it to open. He took the sacred jewel from Kagome and said,

"Hah! As if I will let you destroy it. I will use this jewel to turn myself into a full-fledged demon! You can let yourself be killed by those villagers!"

"So…all this time…you have been deceiving me? From the beginning...you were planning all of this…?" Kagome asked in disbelief. Her body was trembling and more blood flew out from her wounds.

"Damn right! Thank you for the jewel. After this, I will kill those children that you cared so much for." Inuyasha said as he walked away from Kagome, with the jewel in his hands.

Then, dozens of men—each holding a spear or some sort—came towards Kagome. They forcefully lifted her body up and dragged her back towards the village. There, they tied her body to a stake and stood her in the middle of the village, with piles of firewood surrounding her.

"Burn the witch! Burn the dark miko! Kill her!" Kagome could hear the villagers screaming. Their eyes were full of hatred and disgust towards her.

Then, Inuyasha approached the stake. On his left hand, he held a torch. He wore a wicked smile on his face.

"Down with the bloody dark miko." he whispered as he bent down and set the firewood on fire.

"Damn you...Inuyasha…I hate you! You traitor!" Kagome screamed as a drop of tear streamed down from her eye. "I won't die in vain…even if I had to die, then I'm taking that jewel with me!"

"Come forth, O holy sacred jewel!" Kagome called upon the sacred jewel.

The sacred jewel appeared from Inuyasha's robe and flew towards Kagome. Then, a pink light suddenly covered the jewel and Kagome. When the light disappeared, the jewel was gone.

"With this…I have sealed the jewel within me…" Kagome said with the last bit of her strength, "It will never fall into the hands of evil…ever again…I'm taking it with me to the next world…"

"Damn you! Give me back the sacred jewel!" Inuyasha shouted.

Then, as she felt her life was fading away, Kagome took one last glimpse on Inuyasha.

Inuyasha…Even if it has to end this way…I guess that's fine …

After that, she closed her eyes and let herself be engulfed by the flames.