It took them almost two weeks to chase after Naraku's trail and three days to catch up with the hanyou. The air has long turned bitter and biting cold as they trailed after the feel of tainted shards up a snowy valley. Sango long told them to be cautious for the valley was famous with the appearance of Yuki Onna, a female tribe of youkai that ruled over ice and snow. They were also famous to be acquaintance of the snow princess Shirayuki Hime.

Miroku led them to a cavern and proceeded to make camp for the night. It was unsafe to travel in the blizzard and in the dark of the night, no matter the urgency of their mission. Nothing can be achieved by being reckless after all.

Kagome stirred her instant ramen as she contemplated on what to do when they do catch up to Naraku. Would their friends still be alive or have Naraku used them as part of his body?

Sango saw Kagome's expression and scooted closer to share body warmth with her. Kagome's blanket was really warm and unfortunately none of them trusted Miroku to share it with him and so Kagome lend him her sleeping bag. Sango had giggled and said that he looked like a youkai with the body of a caterpillar. Miroku decided not to answer, although he gave them a wry smile at the joke about his person.

Sango leaned against Kagome, "They'll be fine, Kagome. They have to,"

Kagome looked at the crown of Sango's head and know that Sango wanted to convince herself more than she wanted to convince Kagome. She nodded and stared at the flickering campfire, praying that they'll be fine.

The next morning was chaos, Naraku strike moments before they woke up and thus almost cost them their life. Sango was the one who felt something and opened her eyes to see that hordes of tentacles creeping on them. She had shouted and woken both Kagome and Miroku moments before the tentacles strike. Miroku threw ofuda at the tentacles and succeeded in burning most of it. Kagome looked around and saw that the cave's ceiling was not going to be able to support with all the commotion and so shouted, "We have to get out now!"

The three scrambled into the cold morning air that was magnified by the fact that they were in a snowy landscape. Kagome forgo her shoes in favour of her life and had regretted that she had taken off her shoes the night before for comfort. The thick socks were now soaked through by the snow and she was shivering.

Sango and Miroku had long proceeded to continue fighting with Naraku's body parts while Kagome decided to move since moving warmed her body more to look for Naraku himself. As she turned a corner, she saw Kikyo standing over Inuyasha's prone form. Kagome let out a relieved sigh at the sight that Inuyasha was only sealed by the arrow and not dead. She then saw a small formed Kirara at the side, her eyes closed and an ofuda placed atop her forehead.

She reached out as far as she could without alerting Kikyo of her presence and pealed the ofuda slowly off Kirara. The bakeneko opened her eyes and saw Kagome who quickly signalled her to be silent. Kirara nodded and quickly took off for Sango.

Kagome sighed silently and looked at Kikyo stared at the vial of Shikon in her hand. She turn to Inuyasha and reach out to touch his forehead. Kagome ran forward and crashed into Kikyo, who grunted in surprise.

The two struggled on the ground for a moment. Kikyo then threw Kagome off her person and placed her hand together. She started chanting strange strings of wordings and Kagome was alarmed by the rapid change in the aura of Kikyo's reiki. From bright, it slowly turned dark the longer she chanted and her porcelain skin started to crack under the dark pressure. Kagome shook her head, "You have turned into a Black Miko,"

A sound alerted her about Inuyasha that lay unconscious behind her. Kagome turned and saw the arrow that was stuck on his chest slowly dissolved into slithers of darkness only to seep into him. Kagome shook her head in disbelieve, "No,"

Inuyasha's cheeks slowly slashed blue, the only sign of his human side losing control over him and when he opened his eyes, there was none of her friend left within them. His eyes were unfocused and dead as he glared at her, drool dripped from the side of his lips as he growled at her viciously. Kagome turned to Kikyo, "What did you do to him?!"

Kikyo opened her eyes as she dropped to her knees, "Merely giving him his wish,"

Kagome shook her head, "Inuyasha doesn't want this!"

Kikyo smiled bitterly, "What do you know of his wish? I have known him longer than you,"

Kagome glared at her as she raised her hand to shield herself before Inuyasha's blinding rage as he started toward here, "Yeah, before you were dead! I know him now, the Inuyasha that you have never taken the time to learn!"

Inuyasha unsheathed Tetsusaiga, the sword hummed with the dark swirl of his uncontrolled youki. Kagome shook her head and screamed, "SIT BOY!"

The prayer beads around his neck glowed with blinding intensity as she repeated the words over and over again; trying to make him stop and gain time to think of a way to gain back his lost sanity. Kikyo scowled and quickly put her hands together and chanted spells. Immediately, the beads shattered into tiny little pieces with no hope of ever regaining their former shape. Kagome could only stare in shock of what has been done by Kikyo, "What did you do?"

Kikyo heaved on her hands, the strain of the dark spells taking her over, "I made those beads, fool. I would know how to destroy them,"

Inuyasha's loud growl brought back Kagome's attention to him. She noticed the puncture wound left by the arrow that Kikyo shot him with, noticing how the darkness swirl just beyond the wound and knew that she only needed to push her reiki into the wound and destroy the darkness. But to do so, she needed an arrow but since she have none and the one she brought along has been buried in the cave that she left when Naraku attacked, her only other option was to touch him and to do that she must get close enough to touch him.

But Kagome doesn't have time to ponder, Inuyasha have raise his blade into the air and the swirl of golden youki that coated the sword was enough warning that his attack meant to kill her. Kagome have only one option left.

As the sword was brought down and the famous attack known as Kaze no Kizu cut through the space toward her in blinding speed, Kagome closed her eyes. In the far distant, Naraku had retreated and Sango, flying atop Kirara, saw the attack. She screamed in fright, "KAGOME!"

Naraku took that moment to grab Kikyo and left, the undead priestess staring as the event unfold before her eyes.

Just as the youki crashed against Kagome's barrier, it shattered her immature shield and peach light that was the signature of her reiki burst but not in an attempt to protect her. It shot like an arrow toward Inuyasha and straight into his chest. Kikyo smiled wryly, "Fool, you used all the energy left within you to save him. You no longer qualified as a miko, Kagome," She closed her eyes, "No. You are no longer in this world. Good bye, my reincarnate,"

The reiki that entered Inuyasha destroyed Kikyo's spell and turned him human temporarily. But perhaps it was the most unfortunate thing that he stayed conscious as his sanity returned. Tetsusaiga in his grip, he could only stare as Kagome disappeared within the Wind Scar. Sango's scream as well as Miroku's shout rouse him from his stupor and Inuyasha felt his heart shattered as the only other person beside his mother that have never asked him to be anything else other than himself disappear under his attack.

He could feel her breath leaving her body, could feel her warmth disappear from the world. Inuyasha screamed in anguish, more painful than anything that he has ever experienced before, "KAGOME!"

In the snowy distant of a cold world of ice and snow, the Megami of snow and ice opened her eyes. Beside her, a wolf as white as the blizzard and almost invisible to the unobservant eyes raise its head to look at her. Shirayuki Hime smiled, "A successor, finally,"