A/N- Okay, here is the epilogue. I know a lot of you were confused about the last chapter. Basically, what happened was, they fought Nibori/Naraku (Kaede, Tomo, Taro and Shippo all showed up. Kaede, Tomo, Taro fought the larger thing while Miroku, Sango, Kagome all fought smaller one.) Miroku got a vine through the chest, pushing Sango away, and now they are all back at the village. This starts off at the hut where he is, Kaede treating him. You find out how Nibori and Kikyo played into all this.
Ringing her hands over and over again, starring at the old hut. One hour. That's how long they had been sitting there. That's how long they had been waiting to know how Miroku was holding up. Tomo, Taro, Sango, InuYasha and Shippo were sitting patiently for an answer.
"Damn, come on! Is the monk alright or what Kagome?!"
Patiently meaning the opposite of its definition.
"You insensitive jerk!" Sango screamed, hitting him over the head.
"Ow! I am just as worried as you Sango but Kami, its taking too damn long, either he is gonna live or-"
"INUYASHA SIT!!!"
"Son of a bit-"InuYasha half got out.
Sango walked over to him, kicked him in the rib.
"Hey" InuYasha mumbled, his mouth filling with dirt.
Kagome was standing just outside the hut, fire shining brightly in her eyes as she glared at the collapsed hanyou. Her eyes softened immediately as she saw a teary eyed Sango. She walked over to her, hugging her best friend. Sango sobbed into her shoulder, thinking the worst.
"Shh, its okay, Sango. He's still out but Kaede gave him some of her special herbs and she said he should be fine." Kagome said her eyes slightly teary. She felt her tremors rising as the possibility that he wouldn't make it even with the medicine flashed into her mind. But she needed to be strong, for Sango, for Miroku, for everyone.
Shippo crawled over to Kagome gripping his small body onto Kagome's leg. Kagome pulled back from Sango, looking at her with a smile.
"Kaede said you could go in." She said, keeping her voice level. Sango nodded, her eyes still slightly blurred with tears before walking past Kagome to the hut.
"Shippo, its okay sweetie. Didn't you here what I just said?" Kagome asked a still crying Shippo as she lifted him up into her arms.
"But, but he's still hurt." He said in between sobs.
"But he's got medicine and Sango and Kaede are in there watching him. Tomo, Taro?" Kagome said, looking over to the two boys who had been sitting silently, waiting to see what they could do, not close with the monk but loyal to Kaede.
"Could you take Shippo into the hut and then Kaede said she needed some help with things around the village." Kagome asked, handing Taro Shippo and they took him to the hut.
Looking back to where InuYasha had been sat, she noticed he was sitting Indian style, his back facing her.
"InuYasha?" Kagome called, not moving from her spot, not trusting her legs as she felt her pent up sadness and weakness leak out.
He didn't move, didn't answer, but she noticed the way his ears perked ever so slightly.
"InuYasha?" She said again only her voice was shaky and quiet. She watched as he turned his head to her and saw the previous anger of being sat wash away as he saw her somber figure.
"Um…" She said, not sure how to ask what she couldn't say out loud. She couldn't voice her weakness; it would make it too real. Miroku's situation would become too real.
Without a word, InuYasha stood up and moved to her, pulling her into him, wrapping his strong arms around her, cocooning her fragile form against him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, sobbing into the crook of his neck, her tears making a trail down his collarbone.
"Kagome." He whispered, running a hand through her hair as his other arm held her to him as tight as he could without hurting her.
"They...said he could…that he might not…" She gasped out; holding tighter to him, if that was possible.
"He'll make it. The monk is stubborn enough." He said, glad to hear her choked laugh mixed with her calming sobs.
Pulling his head back he looked into her eyes.
"Come on, let's go see him. Besides that stupid kit is probably driving Kaede crazy. Like that old hag can handle anymore then she already is." Kagome jabbed him in the gut, walking next to him with her arm around his waist, his around her shoulders.
"Jerk." She commented, wiping her tears off.
InuYasha just shrugged, a cocky smile playing on his face as they stepped into the hut. Both were exceedingly happy to see the open eyes of their badly wounded friend. Letting go of InuYasha, Kagome walked over and knelt next to Sango.
"How you feelin?" She asked.
"No need to fret ladies. I am as fit as ever." He said, this comment broken with his wince as he shifted slightly.
InuYasha looked over at Shippo, Tomo and Taro who was helping Kaede put away the many herbs that were spewed throughout the hut.
"Oi, Kaede. You know the reason why Nibori and Naraku just seemed to be killed so easily??"
"You call that easy?" Miroku said a small smile on his face.
InuYasha just smiled back a little before returning to Kaede.
"Well, I was hoping we could wait to Miroku is fully healed but I can tell that ye are all anxious now. Take a seat, InuYasha." Kaede said, continuing her ministrations as InuYasha sat next to the door. Kagome moved from her spot next to Sango and sat down by him, finding his hand and holding it in her own.
"Let me start off by saying that Naraku is not dead."
"What!?" Everyone said at the same time.
"Ye heard me correctly. What you killed was merely his counter part."
"So we only killed Nibori?" Sango asked, her hand still clutching onto Miroku's hand.
"Yes."
"So who was he anyway? It's just like Naraku to pick some random demon to fight for him but to be is other half? That is just too…un-thought of."
"Naraku may not have had a choice in the matter. I cannot be for sure what his intentions with Nibori had been but from the past we can learn. Naraku, in this case, was probably the puppet to Nibori, a demon who was most likely the descendent of the original demon to be separated from the human so many years ago." Kaede spoke, placing a bundle of airiboo flowers into a container.
"Irikas time, right?" Kagome asked.
"Wait, so we don't know if any of this stuff is even correct? You just think this bastard is dead but we don't know for sure? And above all we don't even know exactly who the demon is? This is bullsh-"
"InuYasha!" Kagome said in dangerous tone.
Grumbling to himself, he let go of her hand and crossed his arms, glaring at the wall next to him.
"Please continue Kaede." Sango said trying to keep Miroku from laughing at InuYasha, afraid his stitches would come undone.
"Thank ye Kagome. Now, yes, in Irika's time and no, InuYasha I do not know for sure. But I have sent his demon and he seems to be relatively the same demon. Nibori was once just a small fox demon, unable to do no more then shoot the same fire Shippo here does. But, according to the document, he had found a way to become stronger, to eliminate his fox powers and engage him into a full fledged fire demon. He had accepted fully that tainted power."
"Tainted? How so, Kaede?" Miroku said his voice rough.
"Feh, you guys need to pay more attention. Fire demons are fake. No such real thing. The only real thing is the body they stole as setting stone. Fire power is like what happens when a demon gets a jewel shard for bad reasons. Their power becomes tainted. Only there is no jewel." InuYasha spoke.
Everyone starred at him in silence.
"What?" He said, annoyed with the stares.
"Is he right, Kaede?" Shippo asked, deciding to make himself known as he sat in Kagome's lap.
"Of course I'm right you little twerp!"
"Yes, Shippo, he loud mouthed hanyou friend is right. The jewel is a catalyst to turn pure into bad energy but a type of fire power is its own catalyst. As I was saying. He accepted this and was over run by it. Eventually he needed to release some of that heavy burden, thus leeching onto a half human, a half demon, so he could control the human side and it could hold the power like a demon." She said, done with her herbs and talking directly to them all.
"So Nibori's ancestor almost got overtaken by his own power." Sango asked.
"Yes, this is true."
"What a jerk? Who goes around doing that to innocent people?"
"Ye forget Kagome, in this era and even more so then, most hanyous, even ones like InuYasha, were not treated like people."
"Yeah, they were and still are treated like dirt, like the muck they walk on." InuYasha said angrily.
Kagome slipped her hand back into his. He didn't unfold his arms but did hold her hand back, showing his appreciation.
"Well, I am just glad it's over." Sango said, placing a cool cloth on Miroku's head.
"Yes, that is enough for now. We all need rest and I need to finish cleaning up Miroku. Now, go on, stay in the medical hut so as Miroku can have some peace and quiet."
"Can, can I stay Kaede?" Sango asked, looking at the woman with pleading eyes.
"Of course ye can."
"But what about us ya old hag?" InuYasha said before Kagome shoved him out the door of the hut. Shippo continued to help pick up containers.
Walking a short distance into the woods, stopping next to Goshinkibou, InuYasha wrapped his arms around Kagome and jumped into the tree, settling himself upon his branch, seating Kagome comfortably in front of him, her back leaning against his chest.
"Kagome?" InuYasha asked after some time.
"Hmm…" Kagome replied.
"How did we kill him? We didn't follow the plans Irika told us to? I mean, we don't even have that medallion thingy."
Kagome thought this over a moment, unconsciously running her hand up and down her blood stained sleeve where the burn mark had bled away.
"Well, Miroku used his love to keep Sango alive who used her fathers' dagger to stab him and I used an arrow and you used your strongest power from the Tetsiga. Maybe the whole 'pull the metal apart' was just a metaphor for 'attack together'."
"Well that's stupid. Stupid broad should have just said that instead of stressing us out."
Silence enveloped them again, mulling over the events of Nibori's death. Which brought up…
"How do you think Naraku lived?" InuYasha asked.
"Maybe…the side that Nibori attached to was just a puppet or incarnation."
"I guess that makes sense. The coward never fights his own battles."
Kagome paused.
"InuYasha?"
"Yeah Kagome?"
"What happened with Kikyo? Did she help him?"
"I don't know…" 'But if she goes after Kagome again I have no choice but to kill her.' InuYasha thought, his grip tightening on Kagome.
"What is it?" She asked concerned, worried that the mention of her brought back memories.
"Nothing just that you are never allowed to go to the Hot Springs alone ever again."
Kagome laughed, turning her head to kiss him on the lips which he fully returned. Pulling apart she looked at him.
"We still have Naraku to get. So that means…we need to go back to my time for more first aid kits, especially for Miroku."
"No."
"But Miroku could really use that first aid kit."
"Your time is even worse then here. No."
"Not even for Miroku? You really are a jerk!" Kagome said, pushing off his chest but he held her to him.
"But you love a jerk."
"Oh Kami, what was I thinking!?" Kagome struggled before giving up and sagging against him once again, fully planning on being angry with him until morning when…
"Tomorrow we can go." InuYasha said, kissing the top of her head.
Kagome smiled, feeling him tighten his hold on her.
She knew things were going to be tough, getting Miroku fully healed without too much damage and Kikyo and Naraku. But now, with what she had made with InuYasha, she had a feeling it would get easier if not more interesting. It would still be hard but at least she had love, friends and family to look forward to. And she knew she always would because her heart brought her here. Her heart and the moonlight tears she shed that brought InuYasha to realize the happiness they had together too.
A/N- That's it!! It's over…oh, with the moving, school and every other bump along this long road, and we made it to the end. I hope this explained everything!!! If not, please let me know. Its 3:46 A.M (I only have early morning to do writing) so there is a possibility I skipped. But, I hope you all enjoyed it and I hope you will let me know. I love you all, my loyal fans through all of this and the new ones who stayed!! I am grateful for your comments, support and just overall ability to bring up my day. This story is for you and I am just happy you always told me what you thought helped (and believe me a lot of it did)!! Love you guys and thanks for reading D
