Last Time: "What!?" Naraku yelled and dropped Kouga. Houseki thought fast and ran for the God Tree.

Kaoru took Sango and Miroku to town to spend some of their money. Shippou and Yahiko hung out inside the dojo, exchanging stories about fights and the men they considered heroes. Kagome found a bow and arrows and set about a little target practice.

She drew the bow. 'We're trapped here.' She took aim. 'The shards are gone, most likely they're in Naraku's hands.' Her eyes narrowed. 'And I have no idea how that has come to be,' Kagome burned the bull's eye into her brain, 'or if Inuyasha is alive or...' She let loose the arrow and dropped the bow. It hit dead on. She ran out of the complex, followed at a safe distance by Himura Kenshin.

Kagome ran past the shrine and charged into the forest, gasping for breath. Her tears streamed across her face and she wished she had her bicycle. She came around the back side of the God Tree and stood in front of it, ashen and shocked.

"Oh my god, INUYASHA!!!"

The tree was almost completely covered in vines and lichen; much how it looked in her time, only she could just see his face, a foot and a hand poking out from under the growth. The arrow was mostly disintegrated, but it's glow was obvious to her eyes.

It all came back to her: the poisonous gas, Naraku, the well. It was all his doing, but SHE had killed Inuyasha. Kagome wept at the base of the tree and tried to think of what to do.

Her concentration was interrupted by voices. She turned her head to see a group of people move into the clearing.

"And here we have the famous 'Spirit Tree'", Kagome's ancestor, the priest told the group. "On which it's said a demon was impaled and imprisoned here many centuries ago."

"Ooooohhh..."

Kagome blinked from them to the tree and back again a few times. "You mean, you can't see him!?"

The tourists muttered to themselves.

She stood up. "I'm the one who did it! Yeah! It was me."

"Please, cousin, don't make a scene," the Higurashi priest tried to quiet her.

"You mean you really don't see him!?!"

"See who, cousin?"

"Inuyasha!"

The group laughed at her and moved on to the next sight on their tour. She slumped back down the ground. A shadow appeared above her.

"What do you see, Kenshin?" she asked him.

He squinted, but replied, "I see a tree."

"I must be crazy..."

Kenshin helped her to her feet and they turned back for home. Just as they were leaving the clearing, Kagome's senses perked up. She spun around and looked to the tree. There was an intense glow coming from its trunk.

"That wasn't there a second ago!" she shouted and ran back to the tree.

Houseki climbed up her father's body and tried in vain to pull the arrow out. Naraku was closing in fast. She remembered that when she had taken the shards into her body, she had gained a great deal of power. If she could just get these into his body... In a panic, Houseki popped the bag into Inuyasha's right ear.

"Wake up, Tou-chan!" she shouted. Naraku grabbed her leg and pulled her down.

Kagome clamored up the tree till she got up to his head. Under a leaf, stuffed into his right ear was her bag of Shikon shards. Kagome pulled it out and stared at Inuyasha's face. "How did...?" she wondered. She rubbed the ear and caressed the exposed side of his face. It was still soft, as if he were only sleeping.

"Well, if I did it before, I can do it again!" she cheered and grasped the arrow. It exploded in a burst of light. The vines that covered him shriveled and turned to dust. The two of them fell to the ground.

Inuyasha shook his head slowly. "Uhnnn..." he moaned. Directly underneath him, Kagome did the same. "Kagome!"

"Inuyasha!"

His face darkened. "Why did you...?"

'Oh my God, he thinks I killed him!' she thought as he heart rose into her throat. One word explained it all. "Naraku."Once she saw the relief in his eyes, she threw her arms around him.

Kenshin cleared his throat. Kagome threw Inuyasha off of her and giggled. "Kenshin, this is Inuyasha. Inuyasha, Himura Kenshin."

"Where's Naraku?!" he growled.

"Take it easy, we're about 300 years away from him right now. Let me go get the others and we'll all go get him!"

"Wait, what?!"

"Just hang tight, Kenshin will keep you company! Be right back!"

Kenshin shrugged and smiled.

"Do YOU know what the hell she's talking about?"

"Not really. So... You're a youkai, right?"

His eye twitched. "Half. Half youkai."

"I'm terribly sorry."

Inuyasha walked away. Kenshin followed. The hanyou noticed the shrine around the well and the strange surroundings and began to understand just how much time had passed. He stretched a bit the sat down. Kenshin joined him.

"What?"

"Oh nothing. It's just not every day I get to speak with living mythology."

"Whatever," he scoffed.

"You know, that Kagome is a very nice girl."

Inuyasha raised a brow.

"I have someone similar. Tough, strong, stubborn, yet sweet and beautiful."

Inuyasha put his head in his hand. "Yeah. Stubborn mostly. I keep trying to protect her, but I just can't if she won't stay the hell out of danger!"

"Mmm," Kenshin plucked a tall piece of grass and pulled the seeds out one by one. "And I don't want to offend her, because she wants to be able to protect herself..."

"But one more tough scrape like that one..."

"You may not be able to save her?"

"Right."

"You know. I've been through some tough scrapes, and every time it comes out all right, I tell myself that I'm going to tell her."

"Tell her...?"

"How much I love her." Kenshin rolled a grass seed between his thumb and fingers. "Because I'm not sure I'll get a chance the next time."

A light breeze blew their hair and the stray seeds around. "Shit." Inuyasha watched the seeds scatter and waited for Kagome to return.

Miroku, Shippou and Sango were elated to find Inuyasha alive. They jogged towards the well past a few tourists whispering to themselves about the strange young man with the dog ears.

Kagome thanked Kenshin for he and Kaoru's hospitality. Sango, Shippou and Miroku jumped into the well and Kenshin waved as he walked back home.

"Come on, Inuyasha!" Kagome called.

"Chotto," he whispered. "It's gonna be crazy when we get back there."

"I know."

"Without the Tetsusaiga, I don't know how good I'm gonna be against Naraku."

"I'm sure you'll..."

"No." Inuyasha cut her off. "What I'm saying is I don't know if I can make it through this, so I need to tell you..."

Kagome's heart just about stopped. "Tell me what?"

He cursed again and tried not to look into her eyes. It was no use. "I love you."

Kagome's shoulders relaxed. She cocked her head to the side. He blushed crimson. Kagome walked up to him. He panicked, thinking she was going to be the one to kiss him, and not the other way around, but she stretched her arms out.

To his surprise, she lifted the prayer beads from around his neck and wound them around her arm. "You haven't needed these for a while," she whispered and smiled.

Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her close to him and kissed her deeply. "Come on," he said as they came up for air. "Let's go."

"Inuyasha...?" Kagome turned to him just before she jumped into the well.

"Mmm?"

"I love you too."

When they jumped down and joined the others Kagome could feel the air change, meaning the well was working. Sango, Miroku and Shippou stared at Kagome and Inuyasha as if trying to see if they looked different. They all noticed the beads.

"What!?" the both cried.

The others pretended to whistle and mind their own business.

Their levity came to an abrupt end as they climbed out of the well. Inuyasha sniffed the air.

"Blood," he said and followed his nose.

"Ugh! Over here!" Sango cried as she stepped into a pool of it.

Inuyasha sniffed. "Houseki!"

Miroku furrowed his brows. "Then Myoga did find her."

Sniff sniff "... and... Kouga?"

"That's odd." Kagome looked around for signs of a fight. There were plenty of broken boughs and footprints everywhere. The tall grass was pressed down in many places.

"Maybe he was helping out," Shippou suggested.

"Che, I doubt it."

"Unless he's in love with Houseki," Miroku mumbled.

"Naraku has to be around here somewhere." Kagome narrowed her eyes. "I can feel him."

"If he's hurt Houseki," Inuyasha snarled as he gnashed his teeth. "I'm gonna rip off his head and shit down his neck."

Just at the northern edge of the clearing, some leaves rustled, making the whole group turn. Standing by a tree, wearing a blood-soaked kimono shirt was Houseki.

"Houseki!" Inuyasha called to his daughter, but Kagome held him back.

"Don't. She's absolutely studded with Shikon shards," she warned.

Miroku urged Sango and Shippou to get behind him and backed away from the inevitable confrontation. Sango did not move to use her boomerang.

Houseki's eyes didn't seem to focus on anything. She raised a hand and bared her claws. In a sudden and shocking gesture, she raked her claws across her own chest.

"Houseki!?" Inuyasha shouted, knowing he couldn't get through to her. 'Naraku must have her under his power!' he thought.

Without even so much as a change in facial expression, Houseki raised her arm, dripping with her own blood.

"Hijin Ketsusou!!!" she screamed and threw the razor-like blood at her father.

Inuyasha was stunned. He leapt out of the way just late enough to get caught by some of the sharp slashes of blood. His right sleeve slit open and hung loosely. He bared his fangs. 'What can I do!?' he thought in a panic. 'I can't hurt her, but if I don't do something...' he jumped back as she slashed at him again. '...She may hurt me! Those shards are making her crazy strong!' He jumped up into the branches of a tree and looked around for an idea. "Kagome, get the hell out of here!" he shouted.

"No! I won't leave you!"

"Don't be stupid!" he yelled, but was cut short as he fled the trees from Houseki's advances. She snarled and clawed at him. They faced each other on the ground. Her eyes were narrowed and smoldered with false hate. "Houseki, snap out of it!" Inuyasha shouted. "You don't want to hurt us. Naraku is controlling you," he growled.

As if on cue, Naraku cackled from his hiding place. "How right you are."

"Yarou! This is the last fucking straw!" Inuyasha tried to leap over Houseki to get to Naraku, but she caught him and gave him four deep gashes in his abdomen. He was forced to turn his attention back to his daughter.

"I don't wanna do this, butcha leave me no choice!" he shouted and punched her square in the face. Houseki leaned backwards, but stayed on her feet. She straightened up and grinned. Blood dripped from the cut Inuyasha's knuckles had made on her cheek.

'Damnit!' he thought. 'I'm doing damage, but those shards and his spell on her just keep her going!' "I'm sorry, Houseki-chan. I really don't wanna do this!" Inuyasha pushed his feelings aside and fought with only the desire to protect his friends. He landed punch after punch, each time praying that she would just fall down. Houseki backed up as she took each blow. They were getting closer to Naraku, who watched with great amusement.

"I thought you might be a match for her, even with the shard advantage, but I took this into consideration," he commented idly. "I could have made her a full Youkai, but what fun would that have been...?" Naraku reached into his white, baboon fur-disguise and removed the Tetsusaiga. "When she could fight you with your own sword!"

"Wha...?" Inuyasha blinked. Houseki back-flipped away from him and gracefully took the blade from Naraku. It transformed and hummed as she slashed at the air with it. Houseki screamed and charged her father.

He dodged as best he could, but she was fast. Soon, he was backing up against the tree-line. Inuyasha pulled the scabbard out of his belt and protected himself from a strike that surely would have killed him.

"Houseki!" Kagome shouted. "Stop it!!" Her pleas fell on deaf ears. Miroku gnashed his teeth in frustration. Sango and Shippou hugged each other.

"Kagome..." a voice to her left made Kagome jump.

"Kouga!"

He was dragging himself out of the bushes. His face was black and blue and one of his legs appeared to be horribly broken. He was pulling a quiver and a bow behind him.

Kagome nodded and jogged over to him.

Houseki reached around with her bare foot at pulled one of Inuyasha's legs out from under him. He crashed to the ground. Houseki pressed down with the fang. He could hear the scabbard start to crack. "Houseki... come on, please snap out of it! It's me! Inuyasha!"

"Inu..." she said in a grave, unfamiliar voice. "...Tou-chan?" She blinked her eyes. They focused. "Tou-chan help me. Kill me before I kill everyone!" she hissed.

Inuyasha was astounded, but he didn't relax. Houseki's eyes went milky again and she reverted to Naraku's power. She snarled and leaned down harder against the scabbard.

"Houseki!" Kagome shouted again. She raised her bow and took aim. She made sure the girl saw her before she let the arrow fly.

Houseki screamed in pain as the arrow dislodged a Shikon shard from her spine.

"Bingo!" Kagome cheered and readied another arrow. Houseki dropped the Tetsusaiga and turned her attention on a new target.

"Kagome, look out!" her friends cried from the sidelines.

"Wha..? She looked up and saw the hanyou, bloodied and savage, charging towards her. She froze in place. 'Oh no, I'm going to die...' Kagome thought.

"Houseki!!!" Inuyasha shouted. He grabbed his sword. It became the fang again. 'No time!' he thought, and threw the blade at his daughter.

Houseki stopped her pursuit only a few feet from her target. The tip of the Tetsusaiga pierced the front of her kimono. She fell forward. Kagome had to step back to get out of the way. When she hit the ground, they could see the sword shrink back to it's normal state and fall slowly out of the oversized wound. She started to get back up, but almost as quickly as she had gone down, a swarm of Naraku's bees were upon her, removing the Shikon shards which were keeping her going.

Crazed, Inuyasha rushed forward, scaring Kagome. He pulled the sword out of his daughter's back and ran at full speed towards Naraku.

"Naraku!!!!" he screamed and using the full power of his father's blade, leveled half the forest. He rushed to where he had last seen Naraku. The white, baboon disguise floated down and landed on the ground. It was unharmed. 'No. He got away... again.' Inuyasha stood there in disbelief for a few moments.

Kagome fell into a sitting position and stared at Houseki. Miroku and the others rushed over to help. Kagome couldn't speak to tell them, but they tried to help her anyway. She saw the wounds that had opened up after the shards were removed. She saw the huge puddle of blood that was quickly inching towards her. She could feel the life force fade away. Inuyasha ran back and scooped Houseki up. He urged them to follow as soon as possible and bounded off through the woods towards Kaede's village.

Sango and Miroku stood with their arms around each other and watched the sun set. Kirara and Myoga hung close by. Shippou helped Kagome tend to Kouga's wounds. He was healing, albeit slowly. Kouga and Inuyasha watched the door to Kaede's hut with unblinking eyes.

Finally, the crone emerged. She bowed her head and shook it slowly. Inuyasha slumped his shoulders.

"No!" Kouga leapt up from the ground, nearly knocking Kagome over and bounded into the room. He slowed as he saw her. Houseki's face was ashen. Her eyes were closed and he mouth hung open a little. Kaede had done her best to close the many lacerations their battle with Naraku had caused. Kouga fell to his knees and gently pulled her body into his lap. He cradled her and kissed her, whispering a secret farewell.

Inuyasha watched from the doorway. Miroku had guessed right. Kouga had fallen in love with her. The wolf youkai laid her back down respectfully and left the room. He met Inuyasha's eyes briefly. The hanyou had to look away, the pain in them was too great.

Kouga walked out of the village and into the coming night, alone.

Inuyasha spent only a few moments in the house before he too emerged and walked off in another direction.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome whispered.

"Just... gimme a while..." he whispered back and walked into the woods in the direction of the God Tree.