Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of the characters from the series.
Kagome woke with a gasp. Glancing at her alarm clock, she groaned; 4am was definitely not a decent wake up time! Though, considering the dream she had just had, it was understandable. It hadn't been a dream, really, though; it had been a memory, long pushed out of her mind. Something she hadn't wanted to remember, in fact, something she had longed to forget.
The battle had been going strong in their favor since sunrise; the sun was now high overhead, indicating it was around noon. It would end soon though, any minute now Naraku would be dead. Inuyasha stood before him, preparing to release the adamantite barrage; Kikyo stood on his left, I stood on his right. We released our arrows simultaneously; hers hit the small child Kagura held up in front of her as mine pierced Narkau's chest, purifying the area.
I heard a deep growl behind me, and turned just in time to see Kouga charging toward us, a look of pure hatred and fury on his face. I let out a slight gasp and noticed his jewel shards were completely black and pulsing with energy. I quickly drew an arrow and aimed my bow, but I knew I had no chance of hitting Kouga. He was going to kill Inuyasha. I closed my eyes and heard the deafening crack of bone smashing, then a gasp. I opened my eyes, expecting to see Kouga standing over Inuyasha's broken body. What I saw shocked me.
Instead of Inuyasha on the ground, it was Kouga; dead. Sesshoumaru stood over him, blood mingling with the poison dripping from his claws. He looked at me and hissed, and then he was gone. I looked from Kouga to Inuyasha, back to Kouga. "How…" I mumbled.
Inuyasha was hugging Kikyo tightly to his chest, oblivious to the threat which had been there. Oddly, I felt nothing at that sight; it was almost as if, in that one moment of time, I could feel nothing at all.
At the sound of my voice he turned and looked at my face. Whatever he had been planning on saying though, was cut off as his eyes followed mine. He didn't understand – hell, I didn't understand what had just happened. I knelt down next to Kouga's body and began to pray for his soul. I have no clue why he had attempted to betray us, I honestly didn't care. He was dead and I wasn't sorry, Idid feelpity for him though.
I gently closed his eyes andfolded his arms over his chest. Then I reached down to his legs and took the shards he had protected from corruption for so long. I purified them quietly, and felt a tear roll down my cheek.
"Kagome…" I heard Inuyasha begin speaking, but with a shake of my head and the raising of my hand I silently asked him to just be quiet. I then stood, and looked at the battlefield around us.
There were many corpses; both friend and foe. I saw 3 jewel shards scattered around, and behind me I felt the large chunk which Naraku had possessed. I turned and nodded to Kikyo; silently we began to gather the last few shards. As I was purifying the chunk which Naraku had so corrupted, I saw her gather the other 3 shards and purify them quickly. She walked towards me, knelt in front of me and grabbed my hand to place them in it. I gasped and looked into her eyes; was she finally going to trust me? She closed my hand over the shards, turned and nodded.
I suppose I had known then, watching Inuyasha so torn between his beloved Kikyo walking away and me kneeling there purifying the jewel; a smart person would have seen his eyes stay on her longer, and accepted his choice then and there. He didn't go after her though, he just kept staring; watching as Kikyo walked further and further away. I allowed hope to blossom in my heart, hope that he would choose life over death; over hell.
I stood again; the complete, purified jewel in my hand. In the distance, I heard Sango and Miroku calling our names, and absently I heard Jaken calling out for his master. There would be time to worry about what had happened later, for now the wounded needed healing; my head needed to clear. I turned my back on Inuyasha and made my way towards our friends.
Tears rolled unchecked down her face again over the pain and sorrow of that day. Yes, the group had beaten their foe; her quest had been completed. However the loss of so much life tore at her soul and the betrayal of her friend put a crack in her heart; a crack she now realized she had never tried to heal. It had made leaving them so much easier, almost a relief.
(a/n: Any Kouga fans out there, please don't hate me! I had stated these next chapters would be heartbreaking to write, I feel saddened by the turn of events.
Also, until I get things clarified, the chapters are going to be very short as these last 2 have been!
