Author Notes:I can only say this: Next is the final chapter.

Disclaimer: Besides the plot line, I don't own anything. Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Yomiuri TV Corporation. I'm not getting any profit from this story; this was just made for fun.

Warning: Maybe there is bad language? I'm not so sure what you consider bad language... ^^U

Thanks to: My beta reader, PandaStarz, for her wonderful work on this chapter.

Slavery.
Author:MikoAucarod

Chapter 21: 15 seconds.

"You two are really stupid if you thought that you could come directly to the wolf's den and get away from here alive." Naraku said, observing how both girls were quickly stopped by Bankotsu and Suikotsu.

Kagome began to struggle and she got free from Bankotsu's grip. Then she quickly moved towards Inuyasha.

She knelt by his side and stared at his injuries with horror. Bullet marks, sword and daggers and claw marks, bumps and bruises covered his entire body. Inuyasha was breathing with difficulty.

For a few terrible seconds, Kagome was afraid that Inuyasha could be in the same state that his father had been. As if reading her mind, Inuyasha managed to open his eyes and looked at her.

"This is-is nothing... I'm sorry I- I was forc-forced to tell…" Inuyasha coughed blood and that only made Kagome to look at him with despair. "It's nothing… compared with your fath-… father… you should-ldn't have… come." He managed to whisper.

"Inuyasha, calm down. I'm here. We'll get out of this."

"How I love the women's optimism," Jakotsu spoke, with a feminine tone and walked towards Kagome, grabbing her hair and making her stand up. Kagome began to yell and exclaim to let her go.

The half-demon could only stare with pain at his owner. At his Kag. He couldn't move.

"Dammit! Let go of me! Inuyasha- Inuyasha you can move!"

"Make that brat shut up before I place a bullet inside her stupid head." Naraku observed, angry, at how Inuyasha was trying to stand up. It was in vain. Yet he wouldn't take the time to order him anything at this moment. Even if they hadn't killed him yet – it wasn't as if they could without taking of his shackle, anyway – Inuyasha was too weak at that moment and couldn't even place a finger against them.

They had already taken care of that.

"Now, Kikyo," he spoke, turning his back to Inuyasha, confident that the hanyou wouldn't even be able to carry his own weight. "Do you know that it's rude to send your uncle Naraku to prison? And to make it worse, you didn't even come to visit me once. What bad manners, miss."

"Shut up! You're not my uncle! You damn murderer! How dare you look me in the eyes? How dare you after you killed your friends? My parents!"

"They were in my way, that's all." Naraku then looked at the left of the room. There was a desk with lots of monitors.

Kagome paled when she saw in them that Sesshomaru, Kouga, and Miroku were quickly moving through the halls and stairs of the building. That's how Naraku and the seven warriors had known that Kagome and Kikyo were coming.

When Naraku noticed Kagome staring at the monitor, he walked towards her and placed his arm around her neck, making her moan with terror.

Inuyasha, who had managed to stand up, tried to go to her and help her, but Kyokotsu stopped him, punching him and making him stumble backwards until he hit the wall.

"You know, Inuyasha said some interesting things while being with us," he said with a twisted smile. It was obvious how he had made Inuyasha talk. "How didn't I notice it earlier?" he continued, while studying the girl between his arms. "If I had known I wouldn't have let you go from that alley in the first place. Now, say any word and you can consider yourself dead," was his new threat. Kagome tried to release herself and because of her movements, the man felt something hitting his leg. "Oh, but what's this…?"

Kagome looked terrified when Naraku took from her pocket the bag with Kei's stones.

"So you came here prepared, in case I killed Inuyasha, eh? It's such a shame that you won't be able to use them anymore."

"You're a spoiled kid!"

"And you're dumb and crazy!"

"That's how you thank me for saving you from the insane Kikyo? At this moment you could be eating from the palm of her hand, literally!"

"There isn't so much difference! You bought me, remember?"

"Don't you dare compare me with thatgirl! If I bought you it was to save your life from a miserable fate!"

"My imitation of life is miserable already, thank you very much!"

"You are such a fool!"

"Stubborn!"

"You act like a misbehaving dog! Sit boy!"

Naraku threw the bag with stones towards Jakotsu, who placed them inside his pocket and went to stop Kikyo, since Bankotsu and Suikotsu were now preparing to receive the newcomers. Both had taken a machine gun.

Through the monitors they could see how the three Slaves stopped in front of their door.

Sesshomaru opened it and the burst of gunfire was heard. Both Kagome and Kikyo yelled and even Inuyasha couldn't stop the exclamation from going through his mouth when he saw his friends fall backwards to the floor. Their bodies were covered in blood.

"Are you mad about this?" Kagome asked softly, noticing how the teenage boy hadn't look away from their hands.

For a second, she had thought to let go, but then she noticed, with surprise, that he had slowly maneuvered his own hand in order to intertwine their fingers together.

He moved so gently, as if he were studying each of his own movements.

"No…" he whispered finally, once he had trapped her hand in his "Honestly no… I…"

Kagome saw him and a small blush crossed her face and, a bit confused, stared at Inuyasha's face. He was concentrated, as if he were remembering something.

"I… this is the first time that… that someone has held my hand."

Then they heard an explosion and the wall of the right side of the room collapsed. Sesshomaru, Miroku and Kouga appeared, unharmed, behind the smoke.

"Never underestimate the powers of a magical fox," Miroku spoke at the same time the injured bodies of Sesshomaru, Kouga and Miroku disappeared in a puff, leaving only a few strands of hair behind.

That's when everything turned into chaos. Bullets and attacks crossed the room from one side and another. Yet, the fight didn't last long, because whenever the three slaves tried to directly attack one of the warriors, the stone in their shackles began to shine and forced them to stop or deflect their attacks.

Soon, the seven warriors found the advantage in this.

"You were complaining about a pain in your chest…"

"Well, I don't feel any pain, I'm perfectly fine."

"That is the place where your heart is…"

Inuyasha froze at those words. Wasn't he supposed to be immortal with that disgusting thing on his neck?

"Sometimes," Kagome spoke softly "we're not injured or sick…. It just hurts."

"That shouldn't be normal."

"It isn't normal. It happens when you're sad, very sad." Kagome looked at him, feeling sad herself. "It's like when you think of someone you loved a lot, and lost."

That's when Inuyasha smiled bitterly.

"If that's the case then the only thing that would be able to ease this pain would be to go back to my old life, get rid of that despicable witch and never die in the first place."

Yet, Kagome was staring at Inuyasha, who did everything he could to avoid the attacks. He was pale, because of the loss of his blood and she could notice how he even lightly crossed his eyes, as if he wanted to focus his vision.

Without being able to help it, Kagome sobbed slightly. She wasn't feeling well, she wasn't feeling safe, something would go wrong, and she knew it. She didn't want to have these kind of thoughts but… why then couldn't she stop remembering each and every single one of the moments that she had spent with Inuyasha? Why were they appearing in her mind?

"This necklace belonged to my father. He liked to wear it, he used to say that it was ancient, that's why we always took good care of it… I thought you would like it."

"I can't accept it."

"What?"

"This object is a memory of your father, Kagome. I can't accept it," said the young hanyou, attempting to return the box to her.

Kagome shook her head and pushed the package back to Inuyasha.

"This is a gift that I want to give you. It's from me to you. You will accept it because you will accept it," she said, not really knowing what else to say.

Inuyasha took the necklace carefully from the box. He was surprised at the strength of the beads and finally he looked over at the girl sitting next to him again.

"Are you sure it's ok?"

"Of course." Kagome took the necklace from Inuyasha's hands and, carefully, pulled it over his head, finally letting it rest on Inuyasha's neck. She then took his hair and pulled it off of the necklace. When Inuyasha felt her hands touch him, he had remained still, feeling Kagome as she was pacing then fixing the necklace, always being very careful, as if she were afraid of hurting him.

That was impossible, she would never hurt him. He had finally understood that.

"Merry Christmas, Inuyasha" she said, hugging him at the end. That action alone made him feel awkward again, just like that day when she had resurrected him, and hugged him in the kitchen when he had entered. She was glad that he was okay. What was he supposed to do now? Just then, he remembered his mother. When he was very young his mother used to hug him that way. And what had he done then?

"Merry Christmas… Kagome"

They were defeated. Sesshomaru was threatened by the claws that Suikotsu was carrying as a weapon. Bankotsu had stopped him thanks to his abilities and now the taiyoukai was unable to move. The claws would pierce the stone in his neck if he made any movement.

Miroku fell unconscious on the floor, because of the paralyzing poison that Mukotsu had thrown at him.

Renkotsu shot Kouga's legs and pinned him to the ground, causing the youkai wolf to launch a groan in frustration.

"Drink it, it'll make you feel better. Don't let it get too cold."

Kagome took it, and without even know what it was, took a sip, savoring the delicious taste of cinnamon as it filled her mouth.

"Is this… chocolate?"

Inuyasha took a seat beside her, drank from his own cup, then sighed and relaxed.

"Yup, it's chocolate with a dash of cinnamon. I don't know why, but it helps. Kaede used to ask me to make her some every winter night, that's why I thought it would help you." He told her, watching with satisfaction as a soft blush began to creep over her face once more.

"It's very effective," she concluded, taking another sip. "I love it, thank you, Inuyasha"

"Stop it!" Kikyo exclaimed, under Jakotsu's grip, seeing how everyone were defeated. "Naraku, please stop it! Don't hurt them! I'm-!"

"You think this is about you?" Naraku smiled mockingly and looked at the futile efforts of Kagome trying to get away from him in order to help Inuyasha. The hanyou could barely stand and he was placing almost all his weight in the wall. Yet his eyes shone with determination. He was determined to stand firm until his last moment.

Seconds later, he felt Kagome's cover draping over him, and looked over at her, shocked. Kagome was smiling, with sadness in her eyes. Even without knowing his past, without knowing about his death, she too had learned to read his gestures and manners, and at that moment she had noted something very important in his eyes…

"I don't intend to leave you alone tonight."

"Leave Kagome alone. What are you looking with all of this? If it's not for Kikyo, then what do you want from us?

Naraku looked at him with his narrowed eyes; these kids were beginning to bother him.

"Do I have to explain myself in here? Do you honestly think that I'll tell you all my plans only because you're asking? Don't be a fool, Inuyasha. This is not a stupid cartoon or a TV show."

The seven warriors began to laugh.

But Kikyo understood then, watching Inuyasha's injuries, so similar to the ones Kagome's father had – she knew from what her aunt had told her - watching how Naraku was stopping Kagome from doing anything… It wasn't only that Naraku wanted to kill her for putting him in jail. That thing about Inuyasha giving them enough information… Naraku had discovered what was under Higurashi's name and now he wanted it.

He wanted the fortune of Higurashi's family. It all made sense.

"If you think I'm crying, it's not true, so don't worry about it."

"I haven't said anything yet, Kagome," he answered, half-mocking, half-serious. He knew very well that, that scent was the scent of fresh tears… why deny it?

Inuyasha looked at Naraku with hate. Kagome was in danger and no one could do anything. They enjoyed making them suffer. What were they looking for?

"If Kikyo isn't so important, then you won't mind if I switch places with her.

Kagome and Kikyo yelled but their voices where immediately interrupted when Naraku spoke again. One wrong step and everything would be screwed.

But honestly, didn't Inuyasha think that they had had troubles in finding him and now he just wanted them to go?

"I'm serious, forgive me."

"There isn't really anything to apologize for…"

"Then… are we ok?" Inuyasha asked again, with his ears down a bit. He felt bad now, he had hurt her, even if she denied it. "Everything… everything will go on as before?"

Kagome sighed, slightly. It wasn't that simple. Normally she was the one who, after some stupid fight, apologized to Inuyasha and now the roles were reversed. She would definitely forgive him, but this wasn't some stupid fight…

"I guess it will… honestly, I don't even know why it affected me so much. I mean, you and I have nothing going on between us, beside our friendship."

"And the fact that you're the owner of my life…"

"Inuyasha, that old trick won't be of help. If you didn't know it I already have had control over you, I can have it again. What else could I need?"

"Precisely. Just let them go and I won't have any motive to disobey you or make things difficult to you. You can even kill me if you want, but they," he added signaling his friends "and Kikyo and Kagome let them go. I don't know what's on your mind, Naraku and no matter how much would I like to discover what are you planning I know you won't tell us. But they don't have to be a victim of your craziness."

"Don't worry, just… just stay by my side. Believe me, that's the only thing I need."

"… Interesting. Do you really value your life so little?"

"Is not that I don't value it, but neither can I say that I have one."

"… You really are a very interesting person, Inuyasha." Naraku repeated. "But it's a shame that you can be stupid enough to believe that I'll accept your deal and let them go. You're stupid if you think that after killing you I won't hurt them."

"Kagome!" yelled Inuyasha, waking up and opening his feverish eyes. Where was he? What had happened? Had gone something wrong? Why the hell wasn't the sensation of drowning not going away?

Then he felt a hand rest on his head. Kagome's hand.

"Easy, you had a nightmare… everything's all right, Inuyasha. How do you feel?"

The hanyou relaxed, but was still weak and 'dying'. Gently, he took the hand that Kagome had resting on the mattress, between his claws.

"Thank you for not leaving…" he whispered so low that he wasn't sure if Kagome had actually heard him or not.

Inuyasha was already pale because of the blood loss, but, if possible, he paled even more and only could stare at Naraku's gun, which was pointing directly to his head.

No… it was aiming further down.

"Why are you- why do you worry so much? What- what are we to you?" Inuyasha answered but couldn't open his eyes. He was no longer able to move his eyelids and he ignored how he had managed to barely speak.

"You're very important to me, Inuyasha. You and Shippo are my friends… you're my family. I don't want to see you tied to this sort of life…"

The hanyou managed to open his eyes and look at her. She returned the look with great sadness.

"I know how hard it must be for you, to have loved ones that with time will die… and you won't be able to do anything about it. All you can do is to watch them all pass…"

Inuyasha hadn't seen it from that point of view before since he had never had someone he really cared about, but now... If he let her know about his feelings for her… for the first time he felt terrified of her returning his feelings.

"I want to release you. I want you to have a normal life."

"Kagome… it's thanks to you that… that we have a life as normal as possible." Inuyasha could feel it. It was now or never. Nevertheless he needed to know. "Would it be so bad to share your life with me, as I am? A hanyou… a Slave…"

"Inuyasha…" Kagome looked at him, touched by his words but still looking depressed. "The last thing I want is for you to suffer. I only seek for your happiness, and Shippo's."

"What if we decided-" Inuyasha began to suffer from lack of air. It was so close, he could feel it. "…Stay like this forever? If we didn't care… to actually be Slaves as- as long as we could be wi-with you? I… my happiness-"

Naraku triggered the trigger, the thunderous sound of a gunshot was heard and Kagome just managed to scream.

Inuyasha could see the bullet coming towards him, literally. It seemed the time had stopped. No, he didn't want his last vision to be the one of the death.

"I told you everything would be all right, Kag." Inuyasha gently moved some strands of her hair with his claws and placed them behind her ear. Then he returned his hand, and left it on her cheek.

She sighed with relief as she felt how his hand was once again warm.

"For a moment I thought that-"

"I'm not as weak as you think."

How ironic. Time ago he had searched it, time ago he had been mad because death had been taken away from him… and now he was terrified.

He looked at Kagome and ignored everything else. It all happened in just fractions of a second, but it didn't matter; the time was insignificant as long as he could contemplate her eyes. That calmed him down.

"Feh! You're just saying that because you don't have a boyfriend."

"Of course that's not the reason, even if I had one, the details that my friends give me are beautiful gifts…"

"Don't give me that crap. They bought more than what they really needed and now they don't know what to do with so many things."

"Inuyasha, could it be… that you're jealous?" Kagome asked, watching him, but the hard look that greeted her made it very clear that jealousy wasn't what he felt at that moment. For some strange reason, deep down from inside of her, she felt disappointed, and she knew what he was trying to get at…

The bullet made contact with the stone and shattered it. Inuyasha's eyes, which just a second ago Kagome had been watching, completely lost their life and focus.

The man's body fell to the ground, dead. The fifteen seconds had begun its countdown.

"You want me to begrudge them only because they don't accept me as whom I am?"

"Precisely." Immediately, Inuyasha hit his head against the edge of the bed, tired. "Well, that's not what I meant… well, that's exactly that I meant but- don't misunderstand me, Kagome."

The girl sighed again and looked at the album one more time.

"Perhaps I would consider your opinion if there was a reason to do it, but there isn't. On the contrary, they may not be my friends, but they don't treat me bad and once in a while I speak with them and it's nice. Besides I don't really need them since I have Sango, lately we've been seeing Kagura and Ayame more often and there's even Kikyo. I have my mom, Shippo… and I have you. It doesn't matter really what other people do, or what they thought about me or what their reason is behind talking to me. They haven't hurt me and there's no point in holding grudges towards anyone. It just-"

"It just kills your soul." Inuyasha interrupted with a confused and surprised look. Then he looked again towards Kagome.

"One second." Naraku began to mock, staring at the lifeless form of Inuyasha.

"Please, I beg you, Kagome… leave things as they are. Don't ask, I- I don't want to hurt you." Inuyasha lowered his hand, releasing the girl from her silence.

"The truth doesn't kill, Inuyasha." She shook her head with shame but she needed to know. She needed to know what was happening with him. "Is that the reason you left?" She asked, cautiously.

"Yes" was the half-demon's dry answer.

"And I imagine it has something to do with me."

"That's right."

"Is it something bad or something I should worry about?"

"… It's something… It's something that made you have the life you actually have and it won't have any repercussion in your future." Inuyasha felt his soul relieved when he saw that he had escaped from that question.

"Then it's all right."

"Two seconds." Bankotsu and Suikotsu said at the same time, keeping Sesshomaru at bay, with Suikotsu's claws dangerously close to his stone.

"Even if I'm a murderer?" Inuyasha's eyes widened with fear. That question had escaped his lips before he could stop it. There was no way back now.

Kagome was even more surprised than the man in front of her but after a few seconds she calmed down.

"Were you the one who hurt him or who attempted to do him harm?" she asked.

Inuyasha shook his head. He looked down, tired, exhausted… Knowing the truth was killing him! How was he supposed to deal with this?

"I ended his life…" He finally spoke. "But only because he was a Slave he was still there… I just-"

"You removed his shackle," whispered the girl. Kagome observed Inuyasha and then she smiled weakly. "You didn't kill him. You only released him from his agony…"

"It's still something bad. I snatched his life away from him. I snatched him from his family…"

"Did you know it at the moment? Did you know that would happen?"

"No…" Inuyasha looked Kagome and just let it out. "Your father asked me to save him, to end with the pain. And that's what I did- I didn't know that it would cause you pain for more than two years."

"Three seconds." Spoke Mukotsu, smiling while sitting over Miroku's back, who was still unconscious.

"Give him back." Kagome's voice trembled with anger. "I order you to give me back my father!" Despite the tone of voice, she barely spoke above a whisper. But she was angry and out of control.

"I can't revive the dead, Kagome… I'm not some kind of magician; I just follow orders."

"Then I order you to die."

"I can't do that either… the shackle keeps me from dying." Despite his look, his voice was full of anger and sadness contained. And Kikyo could understand him; Kagome had just ordered him to die.

"Do it."

"Four seconds." Renkotsu tightened his grip in Kouga, making him impossible to move.

"Don't go! I'm sorry!" gasped Kagome, between sobs, looking almost pleading. Inuyasha looked at her, surprised and with a deep, profound relief in his heart. Kagome didn't hate him. "I didn't mean it- I… I don't know what I was thinking. I- I just… you- you won't hurt yourself, right?" She continued sobbing at the same time she stood up, being helped by Kikyo. "Don't listen to that order, I don't want you to die- I…"

Seeing the worried sick look in her eyes, Inuyasha shook his head, slightly.

"Do you remember the first order you gave me, when you resurrected me?" He didn't wait up for a response and continued, "I cannot commit suicide. You ordered me to not commit any stupid thing against me. I just- I'll leave for all the time you need to assimilate what has happened. I know this… this is something really hard for you."

"Then don't go" was the final order from Kagome, who freed herself from Kikyo's embrace and got near Inuyasha. Then she hugged him and hid her face in his chest, while silent tears continued to fall. "I need to know… what happened. Besides, I don't want to lose anyone else that's important to me."

That was enough for the half-demon, who embraced the girl.

"Five seconds." Ginkotsu smiled and began to clean his gun, letting his body rest against the wall.

"Why do you do this to yourself, Kagome?" he asked, weakly. His ears were lowered almost flat against his skull. He, who couldn't like, knew how to recognize the falsity from miles away.

"I don't know what are you talking about, Inuyasha." But her smile faltered a bit.

"You asked me to not leave, apparently you accepted the facts without a big fuss and then you act like this." Inuyasha sighed with irritation and scratched the back of his head, feeling helpless. "I hate seeing you angry or crying because of me, but if you need to do it, you need to do it. It isn't good for you to drown yourself in your own suffering."

Kagome looked down as Inuyasha spoke.

"Neither was it fine to order you to die…"

"No, it wasn't. But it was your love for your father speaking, Kagome. It's natural that your subconscious seeks to protect him."

"I don't know what's happening to me…" Kagome finally looked into Inuyasha's eyes, a look between depressed and crying for help. "I mean… I should kick you out of here but I can't do it. You're someone important to me, Inuyasha but… you killed my father."

'That is a fact', Inuyasha thought to himself. Even he felt uncomfortable being in that house. He felt he didn't deserve it.

"And yet… I can't tell you anything. And then I feel that I'm humiliating – I can't find the right word… dishonoring? insulting? – My father's memory for letting you be near us. What would he say to me? I feel so guilty… I… I wish to know what he would tell me, I…" Kagome gradually broke up until she ended speaking in whispers and soft moaning, because of her crying.

Inuyasha walked over to her and hugged her. She didn't complain.

"Six seconds." Kyokotsu kicked Inuyasha's arm, making him roll over himself, to Kagome's consternation. His body was in a curious position, one of his arms hanging towards his back, but he didn't move. Not a breath, not a heartbeat, not a movement of his ears. Nothing…

"Thank you so much, Inuyasha," she spoke, without removing her hands from his face. "I know that you did what you could and now I understand a lot of things that before this were just unknown to me… I… thank you."

He lowered his gaze, feeling powerless because he felt that it was getting more and more difficult to retain his crying, but he didn't dare to be apart from the girl at his side. He felt stupid. He… needed her that way…

"It isn't humiliating to release your suffering. You told me to not drown myself in my own suffering, don't force yourself to do the same thing; don't hold in your suffering anymore. Here I am." He heard Kagome's voice, and it was as if he had needed to hear those words to finally break down.

Inuyasha hugged the girl with despair and this time it was he who cried into her chest, finally releasing that anguish, that pain, that guilt, all of those dark feelings he had kept within him for over two years.

"Seven seconds!" exclaimed Jakotsu, shaking Kikyo and loosening his grip on her, thinking that victory was already in their hands.

"But why did she give it to you?" She asked again, confused. Inuyasha sighed irritably. He watched the sea, the waves breaking against the coast and over the sand, the moon reflected on the water surface, the stars shining with splendor… maybe…

"Maybe… she just wanted you to see this landscape."

"…maybe."

Inuyasha observed Kagome and smiled softly when he saw her so relaxed, contemplating the sea.

"Come here, sit down or you'll get tired," he said, moving aside and inviting the girl to sit next to him.

Kagome didn't think about it twice.

They were both observing the place, with a calm atmosphere, sitting next to each other. When time began to pass and the salty air began to feel cooler, the young girl covered both of them with the blanket – despite Inuyasha's claims that he wasn't cold.

As the night advanced, Kagome ended laying her head on Inuyasha's left shoulder and he was holding her, with his left arm over her shoulder.

After all, this first day hadn't gone so bad.

"Eight seconds," repeated Renkotsu. Kikyo stared at the floor, and then she noticed that her hand was really close to Jakotsu's pants pocket and thanks to his earlier movement the bag with stones was open and close to her. If she could reach one…

Kagome stretched her right hand and removed the wet cloth, cooling it in the bucket that she had at the floor beside her. The fever had fallen considerably, but she still needed to take care of him. While she let the towel to soak and cool off, she began to move his fringe, marveling at the image in front of her.

This wasn't the first time she saw Inuyasha unconscious. She already had experience with his death anniversaries, but at those moments he always seemed to be bracing life, fighting. His expression was always determined to not give up. But now he just seemed to surrender and give in to that dream, from which she didn't know when he would wake up.

Kagome began to fear the worst. What if Inuyasha never woke up again?

When she had told him to release Hojou, she hadn't expected this to happen. What if she could never see those golden eyes again? What if she never heard that 'Keh!' again that she hated so much, but at the same time was so fun to hear? What if she could never have him accompanying her again…? What if she could never see Inuyasha again?

She felt her heart burn. She couldn't- she couldn't see herself living without Inuyasha. She wasn't capable of returning to a life without him.

Inuyasha meant everything to her.

"Nine seconds." They could hear Kyokotsu speaking again.

Kagome stared Inuyasha's face again and her blush was stronger. Then her gaze got a tender look when she accepted what her mind and heart were crying loudly.

Finally, the girl placed the wet cloth over Inuyasha's forehead again, who sighed softly as a sign of relief when his skin came into contact with the cool fabric. Kagome smiled tenderly.

"Forgive me, Inuyasha for putting you being in this situation." A slight tweak from his left ear let her know that he had listened to her and her smile widened.

Kagome closed her eyes and lay down beside him, taking one of his hands between hers. She gave into sleep, feeling safe and protected.

She loved him. She loved Inuyasha.

"Ten seconds." Suikotsu was staring at Inuyasha's lifeless body with a mocking face. Kikyo closed her hand around the stone. She had it! She could save Inuyasha now.

"If I had never seen you again, Inuyasha… to hear you call me, to see your eyes… I-" She fell silent when she noticed the intense stare that he was giving her.

"You what, Kagome?" he asked softly, straightening up without releasing her face. He could feel it, her aura and her scent. They were losing the fear and sadness, giving more space to hope and… he couldn't be wrong, it had to be…

"I- I…" Kagome lost her trail of thoughts in his gaze at the same time he let go their interlaced hands to caress the other side of Kagome's face, tenderly. His thumbs began to move so slow and so tenderly, caressing her blushing cheeks.

Inuyasha was sure, that scent was unique. But he needed to know…

"Tell me Kagome, you what?" he asked again, in a grave whisper, at the same time he got near her face, leaving only a couple of millimeters of distance between their mouths. He could feel the nervousness of the girl in his arms and she opened and closed her mouth trying to speak. That made their lips nearly touch each other.

"I-I… Inuyasha…"

"Eleven seconds," Jakotsu spoke again, with a sadistic smile at the same time that a yell from Kikyo was heard. The warrior had noticed her movements and had stuck a dagger into her hand, making her drop the bloodied stone that fell to the floor and rolled out of everyone's reach.

"I love you." was the single breath that flowed from Inuyasha's lips.

"I love you too, Inuyasha," the girl finally answered, opening her eyes and looking at him with her chocolate orbs.

"Twelve seconds." Bankotsu laughed derisively. No one could move or do anything.

"Kag, I love you, but I couldn't stand seeing you suffer for defending me or our relationship. There are a lot of problems involved."

"So what?" was her answer, and then her gaze relaxed. She couldn't get mad at Inuyasha, not right now at least. "Whatever comes, we'll go through it together, nothing will happen to us… and if the world goes against us, we just leave the world and that's it."

Inuyasha laughed at her last comment. Oh, Kagome… always so impulsive.

"You're wonderful, Kag," he said, with a strong blush on his cheeks.

"Thirteen seconds," continued Mukotsu. Kagome began to shake her head with despair. Naraku's hold on her arms was painful and it didn't matter how much she struggled, she couldn't get away. Inuyasha needed her! He was there, right in front of her and she couldn't do anything to help him!

"Don't worry, Kag. We're all fine, and I'll always be here to protect you, you must not be scared. I'll protect you," he vowed, kissing her forehead softly. "I would die before I let them hurt you."

"That's what I'm scared of the most." Inuyasha let out a small 'Keh!' and then he kissed the girl in his arms, wanting to bring her comfort, peace and mostly security, love and hope. Her soul needed that. "I just couldn't stand that-" she spoke again, after they broke the kiss, and placed her forehead against the half demon's. "… That you should have to sacrifice yourself to save me or my mom… or anyone… I don't want to lose you, Inuyasha."

"You won't, Kagome. You won't."

"Fourteen seconds." For the second time, Ginkotsu spoke, laughing at the despair of the people in front of him. Kagome went completely pale.

"…It is possible, Kagome. There will be someone out there who will be worth much more than me. Someone who's alive. Someone who can give you the family that you desire… someone with a job, who will be able to take care of you, support you, someone that will always watch out for you and your family. Someone who will be able to grow old with you. I can only offer you this."

And then Inuyasha took Kagome's face between his hands and kissed her passionately and vehemently. He was letting go everything into that kiss, he was giving her everything he had, his strength, his love, his own soul. That was everything he possessed. Kagome began to shake her head with desperation when she felt that saline kiss, a clear signal of a farewell, and hide her face in his jacket once more.

"I offer you my freedom, the one you had given to me…" he whispered quietly into her ear, "… my life, my strength, my own soul in exchange for your freedom, your safety. This is the most I could ever do for you, Kagome. Although I'm just a Slave, believe me, you made me feel like something much more than that. You gave me a life… and I'm grateful for that. Thank you, Kagome. I love you."

"Fifteen seconds!" Naraku exclaimed, with triumph, dropping Kagome at one side of him and turning around, leaving his back towards Inuyasha. Immediately, he pointed his gun towards Kikyo and Jakotsu moved aside, with a smirk on his face. He wouldn't lose any more time.

Kagome fell to the floor and closed her eyes. Her brain and her heart weren't capable of understanding what the hell was happening and she couldn't even give some order to this situation. Inuyasha was dead!

Kikyo stared at the gun in front of her with tears escaping from her eyes. There was nothing else that she could think of to help them. Now because of her, Inuyasha had died. The pain in her hand was nothing compared with the pain of her soul. It was her fault. It was her fault!

Not even a second later Naraku shot. Blood fell over Kagome's head and all she could hear was a scream, followed shortly by the sound of a body hitting the floor. The sound echoed in the room.

Then, some voices yelled in triumph, while other ones exclaimed with despair.