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Kagura continued to thrash and struggle against Naraku. And yet, at the same time, she seemed to sense her fate was, at this point in time, inevitable.
She kicked at her captor and screamed her sister's name as the light grew ever stronger. Kanah did not react at all, and Naraku, his head still turned, did not flinch.
Ticking off each of our names, she began to curse us all. A last, desperate attempt. Her approach was to scare us into releasing her. Yet no one fell for this tactic, and the light began to emanate and stretch out from the mirror.

Soon, the light exploded, engulfing everything within my vision. Kanah was the first to fade from view, then Naraku and Kagura, her body writhing with the last of her efforts. All my senses dulled save for sound. The light, which now seemed to dominate the earth, grew whiter and stronger, and soon I found I was completely blinded. My last awareness was the sound of a blood-curling shriek before a deathly silence. The brightness that burned through my eyelids, then dimmed back to darkness. Behind closed eyes, I saw spots, and all around me was the sound of nothingness. My own breathing echoed a trillion times louder within my head, my heart pounding so fast and just as loudly.

I heard footsteps approaching in my direction, and there was a cool and gentle hand on my shoulder. It shook me slightly. Lifting my head meekly, I looked up to meet my eyes with Naraku's. He looked me over for a brief minute, assessing my body for damage. Then, he smiled down at me. I could not help but smile back. His eyes were so soft and gentle. It felt home, like sitting in the middle of a forest after a violent storm. We sat like that for a while, taking each other in. The rest of the world seemed oblivious to me, what had just taken place, a false illusion; a bizarre daydream. In this moment it felt as if nothing had gone wrong, as if nothing could go wrong. I soaked up the ambiance of the loveliness of this time together, wishing it would never end and knowing it would have to. The events that had taken place here were not some daydream, as I would like to believe. It had been very real, and Naraku and I would feel the physical consequences soon enough.

Daring to break eye contact, I looked around at what had once been the hall of Naraku's very grand castle. It was a shambles. Debris, rice paper, and splinters of wood were strewn about everywhere. Blood splattered what little remained of the floor. In some parts, the ceiling had collapsed. In others, it was completely missing. This was Naraku's castle. His home. And for a brief moment after the realization of our love for each other, it had been mine too. I felt the deep pain that Naraku must have felt at loosing something quite important to him. Together we would have to start over and rebuild a new castle. But for now, we'd have to take refuge in each other's arms.

I glanced anxiously behind Naraku, curious as to what had happened to Kagura. Her body, I could not find, and all that remained of her existence were two shards, neatly set where her body had hovered in its final seconds.

"Are you in terrible pain? How severe are your injuries?" His eyes had gone from happiness to complete concern. They lowered and focused on my lips, awaiting my answer.
"Naraku, I am merely paralyzed. I shall be fine. It is you we must worry about. You have suffered tremendous blows, and, without your shikkon shards, you might be rendered incapacitated."

Meekly, I raised my hand to brush against the side of his cheek. He closed his eyes and nodded into my hand.

There was a sudden noise from behind him, and we both turned to look at its source. Kanah stood idly by, examining her mirror, the vessel that had taken and eliminated her sister's soul.
"And you, dear Kanah, must be thanked. Without you, our lives would have surely come to a premature end. For this, we are indebted to you." Naraku said softly.

"Do not worry so much of this, for you have already given me what I desired. Freedom was all I could ask for, and it has already been attained. I can do nothing more but go off on my own now, and leave you both to your lives. Thank you for freeing me." She said this simply, her voice so quiet it was barely above a whisper. She nodded toward us, a slight bow, and turned slowly. She made her way through the rubble, walking toward the forest. We watched her form shrink from view as she progressed further and further away, finally disappearing from all sight when she entered the woods.

Our attention returned to each other, and we knew what we must do. I pulled the pouch containing the shikkon shards from my side, tugging at the strings so that it might open. Naraku stood and retrieved the two shards in the center of the room. After walking the circumference of the room, he was able to find the pile of five shards left by the trees, as well as one that had been clumsily released from Kagura's body. When he returned by my side, he poured these shards back into the pouch. I then added the blood-covered one I had dug from under her skin.

All that was left to be done was the meticulous and painful process of removing the shards from Naraku's body. Together we went to work, each of us quickly digging our nails under his skin and quickly extracting them from his body. We collected several shards, and continued this until there were none left in are detection. With each shard we pulled out, I could sense he was becoming weaker and weaker. He would grunt with the release of each shard, sending pain stabbing into my heart.

Naraku had become so weakened that it took the rest of his remaining strength to situate himself next to me before he finally collapsed, his head next to mine. We both lay on our stomachs next to each other. Feebly, we wrapped our arms around one another and held each other in this way.

'Your castle....' I said to him telepathically.
'It is of no consequence. You and I can build our own castle together, and it will be truly our own. The battle we have fought here today is the beginning of our lives together. We shall remain in peace this way til the end of our lives. If trouble comes knocking at our door, it will be at the home that we have built together; the home that we rule together. I will never brave any trouble alone, for I shall always have you by my side.'
'And I shall have you....'

In an instant, everything flashed before my eyes. The life I lead, the battle we had just fought... Everything. And then, I began to catch glimpses of the future. I began to see a strange and wonderful building I had never once laid my eyes on. Yet something warm seemed to course through me when I saw it. I saw myself standing on a luxurious balcony, gazing into a dark and beautiful forest.
An image then flashed through my mind that spoke the most to me.
I saw two beautiful children playing in the garden.
Their hair was long, thick, and dark, like that of Naraku's. Their eyes, brilliant, piercing amber, such as my own. Pale, fair skin, smiles that could dazzle even the most fearsome of beasts, and laughter that resonated the setting sun. In every aspect and every way, they were spectacular.
I felt myself melting further into his arms.

"I.....I ....love...you...." he whispered delicately into my ear, sensing my contentedness.
"I...love you....too..." I breathed.

Exhaustion overtook us, and we found ourselves passed out, sleeping blissfully as our bodies handled the natural process of recuperation and healing.

The End.