The Last Light
Chapter 10: You Make it Real

"Everybody's talking in words
I don't understand
You got to be the only one
Who knows just who I am
Your shining in the distance
I hope I can make it through
Cause the only place
That I want to be
Is right back home with you

I guess there's so much more
I have to learn
But if you're here with me
I know which way to turn
You always give me somewhere,
Somewhere I can learn
You make it real for me"
-James Morrison

"Who's there?" Miroku called out into the darkness. He and Sango pulled apart and got in their fighting stances, suddenly alert.

"Who disturbs us? Humans?" A deep voice questioned.

"We do not mean any harm," Sango said, "We are just here looking for a type of flower and then we'll leave."

"We know what flower you are looking for," Another voice said, this time a female. "But no one is allowed to touch it."

"Please, it is for our friend," Miroku tried reasoning, "He's dying."

"No!" The male's voice boomed, causing an echo to ring in their ears. "Leave now or you won't live."

"Kilala, come here," Sango whispered as Kilala jumped over to her. Sango grabbed her boomerang and tossed Miroku's staff to him.

"So," the female voice said, "You wish to fight."

The two figures stepped forward into the light and Miroku and Sango could finally see their bat-like forms. Large black wings were folded at their backs, with spikes glinting in the sunlight. Bulky claws gripped small swords, and their dark red eyes shifted back and forth from Miroku to Kilala to Sango.

"We just want the flower," Miroku said, "That's all. We do not wish to fight with you."

"It is too late," the male bat-demon said, "You have already drawn out your weapons, and no one is allowed to get that flower!"

As he finished that word, he started running towards Miroku, his sword drawn. The female, with a loud cry, took off after Sango. Sango threw her boomerang quickly and hit the female demon's arm holding the sword. She cried out and dropped the sword.

Thinking quickly, Sango ran towards her, catching the boomerang as it came back to her. Crouching low, her eyes watched as the female rolled on the ground and jumped back up, clutching her wounded arm as blood ran onto the floor. She jerked her head to the side to see the sword behind her out of arms reach.

Sango, noticing her distraction, ran after her with her boomerang drawn behind her back. The female, sensing Sango's approach, quickly jumped into the air with inhuman speed and slashed her claws down Sango's back as she landed behind her.

With a loud cry, Sango stumbled, but remained on her feet.

"Sango!" Miroku yelled, his eye catching Sango as she struggled with the female demon.

"There is no use for fighting," The male bat said to Miroku, "You will lose."

Miroku gave out a grunt as he kept blocking the demon's attacks. But his staff could only take so much. He rolled out of the way to dodge a high cut and flung his staff at the demon's legs, only to have it blocked. Bouncing back into position, Miroku parried the demon, blocking all his attacks, but not finding a way to get past his astounding agility.

For the first time ever, Miroku wished he had his wind-tunnel. As much as it was a treacherous evil that had always haunted him, now when his friend's life is on the line as time ticks by, it would be a nice thing to have to just end the battle quickly.

Inuyasha might even be dead now. They might have taken too long. Inuyasha was strong, but not everyone can stray away from death.

With these thoughts Miroku's head flooded with disturbing thoughts as he grew more forceful in his fighting. He started slowly stepping towards the demon, sweat running down his face, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to get past the demon's sword to get a hit at his body.

The bat demon noticed Miroku's sudden intensity and smirked. He took a couple hard swings at Miroku, and finally swiped it across Miroku's arm. Gasping Miroku bounced back a couple feet away from the demon.

Glancing down at his arm, he noticed blood running through his fingers where he gripped the flesh. His breathing was harsh, and he eyed the demon warily as the demon stood there smirking as his red eyes bore down Miroku.

Worried about Sango, Miroku glanced to the side to see Sango and Kilala fighting off the demon. From what he could see in that brief second was that they had the upper hand. Good, they were safe as of right now.

"Why can we not have the flower?" Miroku asked the male, trying to get a couple seconds to calm his breath down.

"Because," the demon said, his red eyes baring into Miroku's, "Only we have it, and people always come to get it, when we do not want to share it. What we have created is-" his statement was cut off as a loud screech echoed through the cave and both the demon and Miroku looked over, Miroku feeling a dread wash over him, hoping it wasn't Sango.

But it wasn't. The girl demon was struggling to stay up, that was for sure, as she tried scratching Sango with her claws. But Sango jumped back. And in the second where the bat demon, seeing his mate's trouble, started running towards her, Sango jumped onto Kilala's back, pushed herself up with her boomerang held above her head, and slammed it down through the demon.

Miroku's ears were flooded with the demon's screeching as she fell to the ground, Sango standing over her.

"No! Sango!" Miroku suddenly yelled out as the male demon roared and charged at Sango.

Sango just had enough time to raise her boomerang and block the demon's first blow, but wasn't quick enough for his under swipe from his claws that dragged down her side.

Gasping, Sango knelt to the ground as she stared up at him, seeing only his furious red eyes glaring at her. Raising his sword above his head, he was ready to strike down and give her the same fate as his mate, when the blow was blocked by Miroku's staff.

"Kilala, help me!" Miroku yelled out as the demon brought back its sword and got into another match with Miroku.

Miroku grunted as he tried to block the demon's attack, but now he was moving at an even faster speed and the attacks were harder. Kilala came back behind him and tried to bite him, but was pushed to the side as the demon spun and knocked Kilala out of the way.

She slammed to the ground, her head hitting the stone floor.

"Sango!" Miroku yelled, hoping she was still conscious, "Give me your rapier."

Worried, he kept trying to match the demon's power but found it hard. Sooner or later his staff would break, he knew it. Troubled thoughts swamped his mind as he knew he was on his own, Kilala out cold, and he couldn't see Sango, but from that gash in her side, he didn't know if she was still breathing as of right now.

His chest hurt from breathing hard and he tried to blink away the sweat that kept rolling into his eyes.

"Sango!" he yelled again.

"Here…" he heard a faint voice.

Jumping back from the demon, Miroku landed next to Sango, to see her kneeling on the floor, her hand holding up her sword.

Grabbing it, Miroku jumped back forward before the demon could come any closer to Sango. Sword in one hand and staff in the other, Miroku moved faster, now more confident with both weapons in his hand versus the demon's one sword. Having trained like this before with Sango, Miroku spun and jumped around the demon's attacks, trying to find a pattern in the way he was fighting.

"You will die human!" The demon yelled, his red eyes flashing with rage.

Miroku ignored his words and continued to work against his sword. The demon was unbelievably fast, but it seemed he started to slow down now from having to fend off two weapons.

Miroku's arms were weak, and his body felt numb. Never before had he had this much contact with a demon. But three lives were on the line, and then his own. He was their last hope. If he failed all of them now…

Mustering an unknown strength inside him, Miroku started stepping forward with his attacks. The demon started to step backwards, and now he was on the defensive side. Remembering Sango kneeling to the ground with blood gushing from her side infuriated Miroku. Then he saw in his mind as Kilala's head slammed to the ground, and Inuyasha's dying body lying weak on the hut floor as Kagome desperately clutched his hands.

Those were the people that needed him, his family. To hell if he ever let them down.

Finally seeing a pattern in the demon's attack, Miroku figured out the only way to get through them is at the precise time, is to strike through the left. That was the weak end.

The sounds of steel hitting steel reverberated throughout the cave, giving Miroku a sense of pride as he continued to get closer to the demon. And finally seeing his moment, Miroku struck the sword through the open spot and stabbed the demon in the stomach.

Gasping in surprise, the demon stepped back, his red demonic eyes staring at the bleeding wound. Looking back up, he raised his sword to strike Miroku, but in a spinning movement, Miroku knocked the sword off his hand with his staff, and as the sword dropped to the ground and the empty echo trailed into Miroku's ears, he sliced Sango's sword across the demon's chest.

The demon cried out, his eyes rolled back, and he fell dead to the ground. Miroku landed on his feet. It was silent now, his heavy breathing the only sound he could hear. It was eerie compared to the hysterics he was just hearing moments before.

He waited a couple seconds to confirm the demon was dead before running over to Sango, who was now lying sideways on the ground, her hand clutching her side.

"Sango," he whispered as he rolled her onto her back.

She grunted in response, her eyes tightly shut as her breathing labored.

Sensing something beside him, Miroku glanced over to see Kilala stumbling next to him.

"Are you okay?" Miroku asked Kilala. The cat demon nodded in response as she shrunk down to her smaller form.

Tearing off a long piece of his sleeve, He gently pulled up Sango's clothes to expose her stomach. He gasped at the sight of it, seeing more of her insides then he would have expected. Wrapped it around her torso, he tied it at the knot to try and stop her bleeding.

"That should do for now. Just stay with me Sango."

Her head slightly moved in a nod, and Miroku sat back, his hand stroking Kilala as he watched after Sango for a couple minutes to try and rest from the fighting.

Kagome entered the hut, only to smile at the sight before her.

Inuyasha and Shippo were both asleep. Shippo was curled into a ball in the crook of Inuyasha's arm.

Stepping as quietly as she could, Kagome walked over and sat down near Inuyasha's head. Her back against the wall as she relaxed after a long day. She just spent most of the day by Kikyo's grave.

Although there was always a sense of jealousy that Kagome felt towards the priestess for having claimed Inuyasha's heart, she was still saddened at her death.

And Kikyo never got her chance to be with Inuyasha again.

This is what Kagome had been thinking about during the whole day so far. Her thoughts wandered on how much Kikyo had meant to Inuyasha and how the two of them were supposed to be together after they defeated Naraku.

Kagome had always wished that Inuyasha would choose her. She knew she loved him with everything she had, and that's also the reason why she would be fine with him leaving her for Kikyo. Above everything else, she wanted him to be happy. And if Kikyo made him happy, then so be it. Tough luck for her, right? She was five hundred years too late.

But then again, Inuyasha did choose her before Naraku when he threatened them both. That's why she was here now, living and breathing. Because he saved her.

Looking down at Inuyasha's sleeping face; she wondered why he would do such a thing. Maybe it was because she'd been his shard detector for three years. Or maybe possibly…he loved her as well?

But that was impossible. His heart was taken by Kikyo, and Kagome didn't have a chance of having a part of it. But now Kikyo was dead. How does he feel? He hasn't said anything about it yet. But then again, Inuyasha has always been the one to be quiet about what's bothering him. And Kikyo's death must have shaken him.

Poor Inuyasha. His love was taken from him twice, and from the same man. Kagome sighed as a new thought struck her.

Maybe if she wasn't there, or so weak that she was caught under Naraku's trap, Kikyo and Inuyasha both would have lived.

Kagome leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, refusing to cry again. That's all she has been doing lately. She needed to stop being so weak. And she needed to stop thinking about it, because what happened in the past is in the past. She need to focus on the present, on getting Inuyasha well.

But Inuyasha was dying. Even if he didn't return her love, she loved him more than anything and everything. He was her life.

"Kagome?"

Blinking back her tears quickly, she looked down to see both Shippo and Inuyasha awake.

"Why are you crying?" Inuyasha asked.

"Probably something you did, baka," Shippo remarked, scooting away from Inuyasha having realized he had slept with him.

"Scram Shippo!" Inuyasha said, glaring at the kit. Shippo huffed and walked out, taking one last glance at Kagome. Shippo didn't want to see her crying, but Shippo knew that Inuyasha would take care of his mother.

Kagome looked down at Inuyasha, the tears now completely gone from her eyes.

"Can I lay in your lap?" Inuyasha asked, a blush rising to his cheeks.

Smiling, Kagome nodded, and helped Inuyasha as she scooted closer and he laid his head in her lap. He stared up at her.

"Why were you crying?" he asked her.

"I wasn't," she simply replied, acting innocent.

"Bullshit Kagome," Inuyasha said, "I smelled it. Shippo did too."

"You guys were so cute lying together," Kagome said, smiling down at him.

"Keh," Inuyasha said, looking to the side.

Kagome smiled and she looked back across the room, her thoughts once again leading back to Kikyo.

"Why'd you choose me?" Kagome whispered after a moment's silence.

"Hmm?" Inuyasha said as he turned his head back over.

"Why me? Why not save Kikyo?" Kagome asked. "She's the one you love."

"Who says I love her?"

"You do, Inuyasha. Are you okay?"

"Okay with what?"

"Are you okay with what happened? You're really good at hiding what happened to Kikyo."

"Well…" Inuyasha started, his hand moving up and lightly holding Kagome's arm. "I am…sad that I couldn't help her. But it's about time she rest." His fingers lightly trailed up and down her arm, causing tremors to travel up Kagome's spine.

"But you'll never see her again Inuyasha. She was your love and-"

"Like I said, who says I love her? I owed my life to her, yeah. I used to love her, yeah, in a way. But she never accepted me as who I really was." He paused a second, his fingers stilling on her arm. "But then I met someone who had a weird obsession with my ears, but was, and still is, the greatest person in my life."

Gasping, Kagome stared at him, not believing that Inuyasha, the gruff Inuyasha, just said that. But…no. It can't be.

Can it?

Her heart started racing.

She got the part about him not loving Kikyo. But what was with that second part? Is he implying…?

Kagome gasped again as she felt a hand on her cheek. She stared into Inuyasha's golden orbs, her heart melting at his soft smile on his face.

"You're everything to me Kagome."

Her hand rose to close over his, and she held it to her cheek, her face nudging against it. Tears welled up in her eyes, but for the first time in a long time, they were tears of happiness. Her heart wouldn't stop pounding and she knew that this was the truth. And after three years she heard it.

Kagome sometimes got the notion that he saw her as more than just a friend, but always pushed it away because then the thought of Kikyo would come up.

But to know, to finally know, after three years of loving him, but too afraid to speak her mind, that he loved her, was amazing. This feeling, that was making her heart race and her smile get wider, and the tears in her eyes to roll down her cheeks, was incredible.

She knew he hadn't said it outright to her, but she knew Inuyasha. She knew him too well. He wouldn't say it just yet, but she knew that he meant it, and that's what he meant. He loved her.

He loved her.

And she loved him.

"Inuyasha," she said softly.

He opened his mouth to say something, but he started coughing. His hand dropped from his face and he leaned over the side, his coughs getting heavier. She put her hands on his back, rubbing it softly, appearing calm on the outside when on the inside she was freaking out. If there was blood there after he's done coughing, she didn't know what she would do,

After his coughs were done he leaned back into his original position in her lap, and groaned as his eyes closed. She gently rubbed his head, her eyes widening at the pile of blood now on the floor.

Oh Kami, she thought.

Soooo.

YAYYYY!

Another chapter :)

Woo.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it. Getting close to the end 0_0 but I have a few more things I need to screw around with ;)

I appreciate the reviews, so review please!! Thank you guys for the reviews for last chapter. I know it's been a while, but they really get me motivated. So thank you.

Bye bye for now.