Chapter Twenty-Four: The Two Jewels

"Oh, Rin!" You say, pulling the shaking girl close to you. Weak with relief, you are just glad she is alright.

"-san," Rin's voice says, muffled by your embrace, "You are choking Rin."

"Oh!" You exclaim, quickly letting go. How could you have forgotten your demon strength? "Rin," You ask. "when did you get out."

"Rin doesn't know. It was all dark and the palace was on fire. People were screaming and demons were every where. Rin didn't know where she was running to until she heard -sama's voice. -sama sings very nicely." She adds, attempting to smile although you can see tear trails running down her mud-stained cheeks.

"Rin," You begin, your stomach twisting in a strange pattern of knots. "where is Sesshomaru?"

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"The last time Rin saw Sesshoumaru-sama, he was a great big doggy, and running down the hill scaring away the bad people. He bitted them too when he got close. Naomi-san helped him. Naomi-san has very sharp claws. She helped Rin get out of the castle, and went to help Sesshoumaru-sama. That was the last time Rin saw them."

Hmmm... from what she said, he might have been winning... but I can't be sure. I guess the only way to know for sure is to go back and look for myself... but the battle might be over yet, and if Sessh is hurt I don't want the kids to see. Sakura-chan... what should I do?

Take them with you, but don't go back to the castle--yet. Leave them in the village with that old priestess. She can watch them while you go see how things are. It sounded like a good idea, but of course the first step would waking up the children. Gently you shift so that Akira is no longer using you as a pillow, then gently tickle his sensitive ears. He's awake in an instant, trying to swat at your hands.

"Mom!!!!"

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As if to answer 's thought Killer comes through the woods barking. " we're winning" Killer holds out a letter "this is from Sesshomaru." She smiles. "Sesshomaru sends his love."

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You walk towards Kaede's village, talking to Sakura the whole way.

Was Sessh really like that when he was younger? He was that possessive?

Yep! It's amazing on how much he's mellowed down... You felt a tug on the sleeve of your kimono.

"What are you doing?" You smile at your daughter.

"Momma's just thinking..." You stop when you see your eldest stop. "Akira, what is it?" He turns and points ahead.

"There's a giant Inuyasha..." You stare at the blimp-like chiibii.

"Well, this is new..."

"-san! Look out!" You turn, and shove the twins behind you. You feel something pass through your chest, then blackness. "Momma? You alright?" You wake to see Heiwa filling your version. Groaning, you sit up. Akira was hunched over in a corner, holding something.

"Akira?" He turns to you, something shiny and glowing in his hands.

"This came out of you, the arrow brought it out." You picked up the jewel, feeling Sakura's presence as you did so.

This is the Jewel of Pure Hearts, you are the bearer of this burden, as I was. Small transparent hands covered your own. You look up to see almost a mirror image of your demon self, only younger.

"Sakura?" The girl nodded.

"Rin and I shall be together, she's more my age right now...and she wants to be able to go with you and Sessh. She will look a lot like me, as you see me now. Sakura smiled. Besides, I think it'll be fun messing with Sessh's mind for a while…" You grin and the girl disappeared.
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Wow, you think to yourself, it feels so weird not to have Sakura-chan in my mind anymore... it's kind of lonely, really... You realize that your children are still gathered around you in frightened silence. Akira is still holding the Jewel, staring transfixed at its shiny iridescent surface.

"Mom... what is this thing?" Hanabi and Heiwa crowd closer to him, standing on their toes to see what he's got.

"What is it, Nii-sama?"

"I don't know... Mom had it, maybe she knows..." You try to briefly explain about the Jewel and Sakura and whatnot.
"So... Sakura-sama's ghost is with Rin-chan now?"

"You could say that, yes." You get to your feet and brush off your kimono.

"Come on, now. Let's get going."

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As you walk nearer to the end of the forest, you see the well you jumped in earlier. But instead of the well being nothing covering the top, you see a thick sheet of a material covering the top.

How are we going to get up? Sakura asked.
"I don't know." you say out loud.

"I know a way. It might be dangerous but it's worth a try." Akira exclaimed. . . . . . . . . .

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Akira picked up a stick and drew some circles and X's in the dirt.

"Here's my plan, while Inuyasha-baka is distracting the main source of whatever is attacking Father, me an momma-"

"Momma and I." He made a face at Hanabi.

"You don't get it right either, so . Anyhow, momma and I -makes face at Hanabi- will sneak around behind it, and take it down." Heiwa raised his hand. Akira sighed.

"What?"

"I got to go potty..."

"We're about to attack the biggest threat to the Western lands, and you have to go what?!"

"But I really got to go, Nii-san!" Akira gave a sigh like one who can't take it anymore, and looked at Hanabi and Rin.

"I suppose you have to go, too?" Both nodded. You stifled a giggle, and waited while your kids went in the bushes.

"There, there Akira, someday they won't have to go when your instructing them..." He brightened up, and you saw how hopeful he looked, so you finished your statement in your head instead of saying it out loud. Instead, they'll make your enemies wait while they go right before engaging battle... Rin make a sound that was between a cough and a strangling sound. Akira glared at her when she came back into the clearing. She smiled at him, then looked directly at you.

"So, are we going to go with his plan of action?" You started when you heard Sakura's voice come from her mouth. "Or are we going to wait until we catch up with Sesshomaru-kun?"

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When Sakura responds, you can almost hear the impish grin in her voice.
Let's go with his plan. It sounds more fun...

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"Okay, let's go then-we can't waste anymore time. Everyone knows what they're doing? Good. Then let's go!"

"Wait! Where is Heiwa?!?" Akira exclaims.

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At your firstborn's outcry, a small silver head pops up from behind a bush.

"Mama," Your second son calls excitedly. "Come see the awesome bug I found!!!" Akira falls on his back in exasperation, foot twitching, as Rin and Hanabi rush over to ooh and ahh at Hiewa's discovery.

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Oh Sakura..., you thought, looking at the children, I'm not going to put my kid's in any danger. I'm going to leave them with Kaede-sama and try to go find Sesshomaru..


Of course. I understand, .. I'll watch over them for you.

You thanked her and headed towards Kaede's village with the kids, leaving them there.

"But Mom!" Akira whined. "You can't go alone..! You'll get hurt..."

"Oh, Akira.." You looked at all three of them, begging you not to go. "I shan't be gone long. I'll go see what's going on and come straight back... I promise." You hugged them each and thanked Kaede for looking after them.

At the battlefield...

Fire's roared and tree's groaned in the wind. The palace you had lived in was no more and bodies littered the field with blood everywhere. Flames licked overturned trees and spread for miles. Nothing else moved. Embers died away into ash, floating away in the wind as you slumped to the ground in a crying fit.

"Where are you, Sesshomaru..!?"

You called, trying to find his scent. The blood and rotting corpses stung your nose and you were forced to breathe out your mouth, now tasting the disgusting air. Crying, you turned over bodies and sifted through ash, looking for your loved one. A flash of silver caught your eye and you turned to it.

Oh, dear God, please be him..! It shined in the moonlight, almost glowing amongst the dying embers. You pulled a large, powerful looking beast's body away and cried harder.

"Oh Sesshomaru..." You called, leaning down to what you found.

He lay there, bloodied and beaten. His armor had been ripped off by claws, the marks now scabbing. His hair was a tangled mess with twigs and blood smeared in it. The haori you had so many times buried your face in was shorter, cut off, and dirt and blood covered most of it. You looked at his face, saddened and in pain, smeared with ash and even more blood. His stillness made you think the worst. You laid on top of him, sobbing into his dirty kimono.

"No.. No, no, no..." You pleaded with the stars that this was not his fate.

"Not again!" You screamed at him. "Your children need you..!"

Kissing the moon on his forehead, you held him close, wishing to never leave him again. You had almost rocked yourself to sleep when a light made you open your eyes. A sword in a black sheath at his side was glowing dim. When you went to reach for it, it pulsated, almost having a heartbeat. You dried your tears and picked it up, holding it to your chest.

"Will you help me, Dear Tenseiga?" You asked it, putting in Sesshomaru's limp hands.
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You gently fold Sesshomaru's cold, lifeless hands around the sword's hilt. The blade hums gently and pulses with blue light. You silently pray as you focus on trying to sense the messengers of the Underworld.

Is that them? Damn... ugly little beasts.

As you've seen Sesshomaru do before, you slash through them with Tenseiga. They shriek loudly as they disappear.

Did it work? Is he... is he all right?

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You felt your meiko's pulse grow stronger, and watched as he changed into an orb form. Smiling tenderly, you picked him up.

"I love you, forever now and always." Satisfied, you turned towards Kaede's village.

"No," Startled, you turned to see Rin/Sakura behind you. Turning around she motioned you to follow her."

We must go to the castle.

Curious, you follow her. After walking a ways, she turned to talk to a soul collector that had appeared at her side.

The time of the Choice is drawing near, tell your mistress she is needed at last.

The soul collector nodded, and flew away.

"What's the 'time of the Choice'?" She didn't answer.

"The time of the Choice is the instant both the Jewels are purified, and the sacrifices are chosen to bring forth the Balance." You start when you hear Kikyo's voice from right beside you.

"What sacrifice? Balance? Can you explain please?" She glanced at you, then went ahead to walk next to Rin/Sakura, leaving you to your thoughts.

For some reason, I think I should know what they're talking about, but when I try, all I see is a dense gray fog... Puzzled and intrigued, you continued on towards the pillar of smoke rising from the trees. After a while, you saw/sensed a barrier. Intending to tell the two people silently walking in front of you, you stop when Kikyo made a sweeping motion with her hand. A break in the barrier, just large enough for the three of you, was made, and closed when you passed through. Puzzled about this you hurry to catch up to them and ask them, but were delayed when you saw your home. Naraku had not been kind to it. Smoke and fire rose from many places, rubble and debris were everywhere. Demons of all kind numbering in the hundreds clambered all over the place, but would not go inside by any of the doors.

"Wha-what're you doing here? And... Ki-Kikyo?" Turning to your left, you saw the Inuyasha group.

"Kagome?" She hurried towards you, and glared at Inuyasha when she passed him.

"What was that for?"

"Oswari!" THWACK

"Enough!" She Looked at you, Rin, Kikyo, and the orb that was Sesshomaru still cuddled in your arms.

"Should I even ask?" You smiled wanly.

"You can try... god knows I did, but you're not going to get an answer out of them," You jerk a finger to the retreating backs of Kikyo and Rin/Sakura. "-and I have absolutely no clue what's going on. Just something about a Choice and the purification of the Jewels..." Kagome stared at you.

"Jewels? With an 's' ? There's more that one?" You shrug.

"Yeah I have one in my heart, which reminds me..." You give Sesshomaru over to her. "He'll return to his normal form in an hour or so, but for now..."You trail off as Kikyo went through the main door, and Rin/Sakura turned around and motioned for you to follow. Kagome hands you her shards of the Jewel, and you follow Rin/Sakura into the darkness and miasma that enshrouded the place you'd come to know as home.
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Kikyo and Rin/Sakura lead you to the center of the ruins of your home. There a makeshift altar has been erected. Kikyo stands in front of it, and Rin/Sakura goes to stand beside her. Solemnly she proclaims:
"It is time."

"Time for what?!?" Kagome cuts in, still confused. The undead priestess looks disdainfully at her reincarnation before continuing.

"It is time for the Choice, for the Sacrifice, to be made. It is time for peace, and the balance of power, to be restored. You see, originally when the Shikon Jewel was created, it was almost hopelessly corrupt. Thus, to balance its power, a second Jewel, the Jewel of Pure Hearts, was created from young girls' hearts. Even as its dark twin was placed in the care of a human... the Pure-Heart Jewel was left in the protection of a demon. A demon named Sakura. She was killed, and the Jewel passed on to her reincarnation. The Balance must be restored, now. The Pure-Heart Jewel must combine with the Jewel of Four Souls--but to do so, a sacrifice must be offered. The sacrifice would be not of the body, but of the soul.. the offering would give her soul to seal both Jewels. This will bind them permanently, and restore order and peace." Kikyo's smile chills you as she looks from you to Rin/Sakura.

"Only one can give her soul... but she must do it willingly. It must be done of her own free will, or all shall fail. But before you decide, know this: Whoever is sacrificed will disappear from the minds and hearts of her loved ones. Their memories will be wiped clean of her. No one will know she ever even existed. Now then... who is it to be?"

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You look from Rin/Sakura, to Kikyo, to the sacred jewel in Kikyo's hands, then to your chest where the other sacred jewel was kept.

"Let me see here, " You say slowly. "When the jewels are combined, the sacrifice.. "

"Me and either you or Sakura..."

"Thank you, Kikyo, me or Sakura..."You thought about what you just said, and when it sank in...

"WAIT A MINUTE! Are you saying that either of us -gestures wildly at Sakura and herself- is suitable for the sacrifice?!?!" Sakura looked at you calmly.

"I can make a very good mother, if that is what your worried about..." You stare at her. Leave Akira, Hanabi, and Heiwa with her? Granted, she was Sesshomaru's first love, but my kids, with her? And what about my friends? Kagome, Shippo-chan, Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku? What about Killer, my kids? While you stood in numb shock, you didn't notice Sakura edging closer to you as you did so. However, you were awakened roughly when she raked your chest accidentally to take the jewel from around your neck.

"HEY!! THAT HURT!!!" She solemnly passed it to Kikyo, who promptly started reciting scriptures, and placed the Jewels side by side on a makeshift alter. You felt time around you freeze, and a feeling of floatation and euphoria almost overwhelmed you. You glanced over at Sakura, and saw that she was glowing, with waves of purple and pink light crossing over her features.

"The time of the Choice has come, Shikon no Tama..."

"I, Kikyo, protector and bearer of the Sacred Jewel of Four Souls in life as in death, willingly offer my soul as collaborate for this joining." You turned back to where Kikyo stood before the alter, and watched in horror as a purplish-pink figure swirled around Kiyo's body, pulling out her soul as it did so. When it was finished, earth and clay, with priestesses clothes, were all that was left. The figure turned to you and Sakura, and you heard a tinkling laugh.

"Two of you? This is indeed interesting..." She turned towards Sakura. "Your life was cut short... and you have only two ties to this world... Open your heart to me, child." You watched, bemused, as they were both enveloped in the strange Purple-pink glow. After a while, it receded, and the thing turned to you.

"Now, open your heart to me..." You felt a strange sensation, almost like someone opening a door to your innermost self, revealing forgotten memories of your past that you didn't know where there. You watched as you and Kagome went on that field trip to the river, and you ended up almost drowning to save Kagome. Then it jumped forward to when you were visiting the shrine, and that strange woman came up to you, telling you about the choice that will change your life... Your falling into the well, meeting Inuyasha... Sesshomaru and your first meeting... His claiming of you...Your first meeting with Naomi... Your first child...Your choice to go demon... Your fight and banishment... Your twins' faces... And a long lost memory of so long ago... You held your sister's hand as she labored to breathe.

"Onee-san..." You whispered, feeling tears run down your cheeks. She turned her head towards you.

"Nee-chan... I will always watch over you..." You leaned forward to hear her, as somewhere outside of your private world, the doctors where saying.

"No talking... Save your energy..."

"Onee-chan... when you meet him... and when the choice must be made... it will require more than just one sacrifice for your heart..." You sobbed.

"Onee-san, no talking... the doctor says you'll get better... You promised!" She blinked, then laughed. It was a hollow sound.

"Nee-chan, when the sacrifice is made, we'll see each other again..." You watched as her eyes grew distant.

"Nee-san!?"

"Love you, see you then..."

"NEE-SAN!!" You felt the tears run freely now, as the memory faded.

"Nee-san." You whispered. The orb of purple and pink whirled around Sakura. She turned and smiled.

"I told you we'd see each other again... name your next kid after me... Nee-chan." With that final farewell, you watched as a swirl of purple and pink souls collided in a twister, settling finally into a purple-pink jewel. Picking it up, you smiled when it started to crack.

"It's only fitting, after all..." You said as the Jewel shattered once more. Dimly, you heard Naraku's howl of agony or anger and you smiled; then your world went black.
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For a long time the darkness holds you. Its velvet folds undulate softly on some unseen breeze. It is calm here, you sense, it is safe. But you are not alone... In the distance a soft purple-pink light appears. Intrigued, you move towards it. Your sister stands there, smiling proudly.

"Nee-sama!!!!"

You run to her, tears of joy pouring down your face. She pulls into a gentle, warm embrace, then says softly.

"You did it, Nee-chan. You fulfilled the prophesy. Now Sakura, Kikyo and I can all move on. You've helped us find peace. Thank you."

She begins to fade away, her image softening and blurring as the light from her body brightens. Just before she vanishes completely, she whispers.

"Give my niece and nephews my love..."

I will, Nee-sama, I promise I will. You think, struggling to open your eyes.

At first glance you aren't sure where you are. Then you note the wooden walls and realize you're lying on the floor in Kaede's hut. Sesshoumaru is kneeling beside you, holding your hand. When your eyes fix on him, his own tear up.

"..."

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