Notes: I appreciate everyone's patience with this story. It's moving very slowly, I know, but every scene so far has been necessary. It's very close to getting much more interesting, I promise. In fact, chapter ten should startle at least a few of you.

Chapter Nine: The Last Death of Kikyou

Kagome approached the multitude of steps leading toward her shrine home with relief in her heart. For the past three days she'd taken the walk home from school with trepidation, wondering when – or if – Sesshoumaru would confront her. If he truly meant no harm, then she was safe, but the miko girl knew better. His eyes held the same evil glint they'd had when she first met him so long ago. The jewel wasn't just a nostalgic memento to him, and Kagome was less than eager to find out why.

She'd finally made it past the lasts step when she looked up and her heart stopped.

"I'm going to assume you were sidetracked, Higurashi, and give you one more chance."

Kagome forced herself to appear calm, and stared him straight in the eye. "Then you are mistaken, Sesshoumaru-sama. The Shikon-no-Tama is not for sale. It was my responsibility in at least one previous life, a part of my body in this one, and the only thing I have left to remind me of my adventures with Inuyasha. No amount of money in the world will convince me to part with it – especially to you."

The demon narrowed his eyes to mere slits and advanced upon her slowly. Kagome took a slight step back, the heel of her foot finding the edge of the stairs. She was effectively trapped, and without any bows and arrows.

"If you believe yourself safe because demons are the subject of fairy tales and the police are a phone call away, then it is you who are mistaken. I pointed out to you in the restaurant that you have been free of demon attacks since your return. What I did not tell you is that I am the reason you've been safe. The jewel you selfishly hoard is meant to be used for the increase of demon powers. I've diverted a good deal of resources toward keeping you and the jewel safe in the hopes that you would be more amenable to my offer. Since that is not the case, I am giving you an order. Hand it over, or suffer the consequences."

Looking at him incredulously, Kagome found herself laughing. "You really think I'm afraid? I've hunted demons far more dangerous than you and won."

"Yes, with the help of Inuyasha. I may not love my half-breed brother, but I do know he was far more powerful than a mere human." Sesshoumaru gave Kagome a smile filed with mirth. "Unfortunately, little girl, I don't see your hanyou protector anywhere here. Do you?"

Tears began to form in her eyes and Kagome found her vision quickly blurring. Damn him. Damn him to hell for making her feel this way. Driving the emotions away, Kagome deftly stepped to her right and came around the inuyoukai so that she was no longer cornered. He continued to face away from her, standing stiffly with the late afternoon sun bathing his normally silver hair in hues of orange and pink. "This was your last warning, miko," he stated quietly, in a tone that clearly implied danger. "Now you know how I've been protecting you, and I know where you live. My business card is on your desk; should you change your mind – and I highly suggest you do – you should contact me at once. If not..."

"Go to hell."

The girl's impertinence amused him, and knowing that she couldn't see his expression he allowed himself a small smirk. Her anger was coming off of her in waves, mixed with a fresh flow of sadness. Sesshoumaru realized he'd touched more than one nerve, and the thought satisfied him. After all, he thought, how dare she? How dare she keep the jewel away from him? How could she possibly understand how wrong things were? How much he needed the Shikon-no-Tama to make them right?

No matter. He would have it in his possession one way or another. With a final breath of the afternoon air Sesshoumaru descended the stairs, refusing to make further eye contact with the young woman behind him. The one who, in some subtle way, reminded him very much of a woman from long ago whom he'd held very dear.

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Inuyasha glanced at the small collection of friends who'd come to bid him farewell. Miroku let his arm drape protectively around his young wife's shoulders as she tried to remain in control of herself. She was angry with the hanyou. Angry that he was going to leave them behind and follow Kikyou into hell. Angry that he was dishonoring Kagome's wish for him to live out his life as happily as he could.

Didn't she understand? Inuyasha sighed as he turned his gaze back to the undead miko beside him. He could never be happy without Kagome there. Even if he stayed in the village with Miroku, Sango and Shippou, it wouldn't feel right. Everything that made him Inuyasha screamed out that a large part of his soul had left with Kagome. Kikyou couldn't fill that void, not really, but at least he could find peace. And maybe, just maybe, he'd find Kagome again in the next life.

The time had come to say goodbye. It would be best, he thought, to say it quickly without any drawn-out conversation. After all, what could he say? That he'd write them? That he hoped to see them again one day? Not in hell, that's for sure! He settled for something simple.

"Thank you."

Miroku seemed momentarily confused, but then he seemed to understand. Thank you for understanding. Thank you for being here. Thank you... for your friendship.

"Good luck," Miroku answered back. I hope you find her again, Inuyasha.

Shippou blinked back his tears, waving clumsily at the hanyou who he'd come to regard as a big brother. First his real parents, then Kagome, and now this. Would he ever stop losing the people he loved? Sango held him tight against her, and he settled into her warmth. Somehow, he felt, Sango and Miroku would be there much longer. He had to hold onto that hope or he knew he'd never be the same.

The mood was fast becoming uncomfortable, so Inuyasha took Kikyou's hand and stepped further away from his friends. "How do we do this, again?"

"We just... do. I give up my hold on this life, and when I am pulled into the afterlife anything I am in contact with goes with me."

"All right then. Let's get this over with."

His tone annoyed her, but Kikyou pushed the feeling aside. Closing her eyes, she said a silent prayer and then released herself to fate. Almost instantly she felt the ground beneath her soften, and a wind picked up to surround her and her beloved as it began to pull them downward.

Unlike the first time she'd attempted to take him with her, Inuyasha was fully conscious of the events and began to wonder just how it would play out. Kikyou, being dead already, did not need to breathe. Once they were fully underground, would he suffocate and die? Or would he find himself in the other realm before that happened? After all Inuyasha had lived through, the idea of dying from lack of air galled him. Nonetheless, this is what he'd decided to do and nothing short of the hand of kami would pull him away.

"WAIT!"

An unfamiliar but urgent voice called to him and he turned from Kikyou to study the approaching stranger. She was a miko, he could tell by her traditional dress, and she was not much older than himself.

"Don't go!"

Kikyou's eyes snapped open in annoyance. Just how many young miko women had Inuyasha seduced? "Another one?"

Inuyasha shook his head, "I don't know who she is."

The pull on their bodies had slowed to a near halt while the winds died down. Kikyou released Inuyasha. As eager as she was to get this over with, she knew she couldn't be at peace unless he left completely ready and willing.

The miko continued running, finally coming to a stop just before the pair who stood at the bottom of a small crater. Panting heavily, she leaned forward to catch her breath. "Gomen," she began, "but I must speak with you. This is a matter of utmost importance."

"Do I know you?" Inuyasha asked somewhat rudely, hands stuffed in his sleeves.

"No, but I know you. At least, I do in my dreams." She took in his raised eyebrows and realized how odd her comment sounded. "Excuse me, let me start again. My name is Asako. I come from a village to the north, where I am a shrine miko. Two years ago, I began experiencing visions of events that I knew nothing about. They are usually jumbled bits of emotions, places, people, and sometimes battles. I began seeking counsel on what I saw, and have pieced together some small bits of information. On one expedition to learn about my visions, I was told by an old monk that the hanyou in them was named Inuyasha, and he led me here."

"Are these prophecies?" Miroku asked the young woman as he and Sango approached the trio.

"I'm not certain, it's all still very new and unclear to me. However, I am certain that you cannot go through with this descent into hell."

"Why not?"

She shook her head sadly. "I can't say for sure, but I do know this: you have a greater purpose to fulfill in your life, and you cannot escape this world just yet. If you do, there will be a great disaster in the future."

"Disaster?" Sango regarded the young woman who, as far as she could tell, appeared to be sane even if her words suggested otherwise.

"I wish I could explain more. Mostly my visions are emotional. The feeling of something dangerous being on the horizon, and of a great destiny unfolding. All I know is that the destiny belongs to Inuyasha, and to some fellow miko whose face I do not recognize. She appears more often than the hanyou in my visions, in strange clothing from some other world."

"Kagome."

Miroku nodded slightly, exchanging an interested glance with Sango. "Do you suppose the well might be repaired sometime in the future?"

"Well?" Asako's brows furrowed in confusion. "What well?"

"The Bone Eater's Well," Shippou piped up from his perch on Sango's shoulder. "It got sealed a month ago when Kagome returned to her time with the Shikon-no-Tama."

"Yes, that sounds familiar," Asako acknowledged. "I had one vision in which the strange miko carried the completed Shikon jewel with her down a dark hole, and was overcome with the sensation that a task had somehow been completed. This happened just over one moon ago, as the sun was setting."

Kikyou rolled her eyes and grabbed Inuyasha's hand. "This is all nonsense. You defeated Naraku, put the jewel back together, and Kagome is safe in her world protecting it as she was meant to do. There is nothing left here for you, Inuyasha. Ignore this pretentious little girl and come with me."

Her eyes widening in worry, Asako shook her head firmly. "No, please, you have to listen to me. What you say isn't true. I can't fully explain how I know this, but the journey Kagome began is unfinished. In fact, it has only just begun. Inuyasha must not go with you to hell, or there will be dire consequences."

"The well is sealed," Inuyasha spoke quietly, his eyes sad. "There's a good chance I won't live long enough to see Kagome again. I don't know what kind of great destiny you believe I have to live for, but I am certain you've confused me with someone else."

Miroku clasped a hand over the hanyou's shoulder to grab his attention. "Inuyasha, perhaps you should give this some more thought. Have you ever wondered just why it is that Kagome-sama came in the first place? Didn't it seem odd to you that she appeared so suddenly for no reason at all?"

"There was a reason," he argued. "She had to help me put the Shikon-no-Tama back together."

"But Inuyasha," Sango piped up, "the jewel wasn't broken until after Kagome came. If she'd never come, the jewel wouldn't have been broken in the first place."

"Maybe she was the only one who could help defeat Naraku?"

"Without the Shikon-no-Tama, Naraku would have been a much easier enemy to destroy. There must be some reason you met Kagome, and the more I think about it, the more I wonder if Asako isn't right. You owe it to yourself and to Kagome to look into this."

"What about me?" Kikyou replied. "Inuyasha, you promised me your life."

Asako's face turned dark with anger. "This hanyou's life isn't yours to take. What kind of miko are you, that you'd drag an innocent into hell?"

"Innocent? He was supposed to die with me over fifty years ago. I'm simply fixing a wrong."

"He wasn't meant to die then, and he's not meant to die now. I wish I could explain better, but I can't. All I know is, your time together is over. Please, accept that and let him go."

"I won't wander the earth any longer, Inuyasha," Kikyou spoke coolly. "Make your choice now, because after today it will be too late."

"I... I can't—"Inuyasha glanced quickly at the faces surrounding him, from Kikyou's frustrated glare to Asako's desperate gaze, to the hopeful expressions on the faces of his friends. The hopeful eyes, more than anything else, made his decision for him. "I'm sorry, Kikyou. If Asako is wrong, then I'll live out the rest of my life alone and miserable. But if she's right, then I owe it to fate to follow the path I am meant to lead. I hope that you can forgive me."

"I'll never forgive you," Kikyou spat. She pushed him away from her, and closed her eyes. The light and wind returned, quickly opening up the ground beneath her. As the group watched, her body became one with the earth surrounding her and after a few seconds more, she was gone.

Inuyasha closed his eyes in silent mourning for a moment, then opened them again and turned back to Asako. "All right, I want to hear everything you know, and I want to hear it now."