Chapter 35: Love doesn't have to make Sense

The carpet ride was uneventful. If you don't count the fact that Miroku kept getting airsick, Shippo was afraid of heights, and they flew by a little boy climbing up a beanstalk which grew up just like a big ladder and reached the clouds that is.

Onwards they flew north… to face who-knows-what… but they were getting ready for the fight of their lives. Now that the leader of the resistance had been taken, (Again) it was only going to be a matter of time until a whole-out war began.

How Kagome knew this, she had didn't know… all she knew was that going to Naraku to save Inuyasha was going to be the most difficult thing that she would ever have to do. It was different than traveling around before… she had Inuyasha by her side up before she decided to jump straight into the unknown…

She was still jumping head-first into the unknown but this time it was without Inuyasha standing right next to her. She reached up and took hold of her hair barrette and ran her hand over the flowers. She could only hope that everything would turn out alright in the end.

*Inuyasha*

"What are you here to give me?" Inuyasha demanded.

Kikyo didn't answer at first. Instead she looked through the bars of the window at the rising fully moon and said, without ever taking her eyes off the night sky, "Have you ever wondered just how does the full moon shine so brightly? Everything is balanced with each other in a perfect dance, a perfect song, an eternal symphony, spinning round and round, never ceasing, always moving, turning… Perfect."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Inuyasha demanded. "Just what are you here to give me?"

She looked back at him and said simply, "The item that Naraku desires… the Sacred Jewel."

Inuyasha's jaw dropped. "Stop kidding around. What are you… how did you… there is no jewel!" he finally shouted. "The jewel's been missing for years!"

Kikyo only smiled as she reached into her pocket and, to Inuyasha's amazement, pulled out a bright pink jewel that began to glow with a brilliant light. "This is the Sacred Jewel, Inuyasha," she said to his stunned look.

"I'll be more than happy to give it to you," she began as he forced himself to sit up to get a better look at it. "But in exchange, you must give up something in return."

"I don't care," he said quickly. "Don't you realize what this means? With this jewel we can finally beat Naraku! We can take back Ariellica!"

"True…" she said, slowly, "But is that worth giving up something that you hold dear?"

"Look, if it can beat Naraku, then I'm willing to trade anything for it!" Inuyasha shouted. "Now untie me and give it to me so I can finally knock Naraku into next millennia!"

"Don't you even want to hear what it is that you must give up in exchange?" Kikyo asked him with her eyebrows raised.

"Whatever it is," Inuyasha snarled, "If it can beat Naraku then I'll give anything up!"

Kikyo curled her fingers around the jewel and said softly, "Alright then… in order to gain this jewel…" she looked at him long and hard. "You must be willing to give up the life of the girl you love."

*Kagome*

"I really wouldn't worry too much, Kagome," Satsuki said with a hand on the older girl's shoulder. "Inuyasha's survived weeks as a dog right? I'm sure that he can survive a little while trapped in a castle. But I have to say that this little adventure is a nice change."

Kagome blinked at her in confusion. "What are you talking about? What do you mean by a nice change? This isn't a game."

Satsuki shrugged as Sango slapped Miroku, whose hand began to creep where it wasn't wanted.

Satsuki gazed down at the darkened ground she said sadly, "Usually in fairytales, it's the boy who rescues the damsel-in-distress from a castle. But here, you're rescuing the prince-in-distress. It's a nice change don't you think?"

Kagome thought about it for a moment before she realized that she was right which made her blush even more. She was suddenly glad of the darkness that was creeping around them.

"Yeah…" she said after a few minutes. "This time, the girl gets to be the hero. But you know something? It's just ridiculous that I feel this way about someone that I barely know! I mean, just a few days ago I thought that he was a dog! So why…?

Satsuki laughed slightly, "That's what's special about fairytales and dreams. They don't have to make sense. All that matters is what your heart tells you; and to just let the magic guide you on your way."

Kagome looked at her and asked, "Magic… Love is magical isn't it? That's why it always appears in fairytales right?"

Satsuki just grinned. As Sango, who had been listening in to their conversation whispered to them both, "My advice to you is to just find someone who inspires and motivates you… and just let the magic happen. Love isn't just a mirage of the mind; or an illusion that's impossible to find. Love is real and exists within us… if you know where to look."

Kagome was silent for a long time as she thinks over what her friends just said. Finally, she spoke to herself more than to them, "You know? I always thought that falling in love is supposed to be one of the hardest things you ever do in life… but it isn't is it? In fact it's simple, so simple that you may never notice you're in love until it's too late… why though? Why is it that you always seem to fall for the person that you least expect?"

Sango shrugged, "No one can tell you who you'll fall in love with. That's something that only your heart can decide for you."

The howling of wolves pierced the cold night air as they flew farther on. Nobody spoke again except for the occasional arguments from Sango, Miroku, and Shippo. It wasn't until they saw a dark castle looming in the distance did they think of something to say.

"Ah, hell," Shippo whispered for Miroku's ears alone.

Miroku nodded, going pale, "You can say that again."

It was a tall, and ancient-looking castle. Like the kind you would expect an evil sorcerer who happens to be best friends with Dr. Frankenstein to be comfortable in. It was made of think black, stone that was so dark, that it made the night around them seem bright. There were about a dozen turrets and towers that looked as sharp as spikes and there were bars on every one of the windows.

The place just screamed out 'creepy.'

Kagome couldn't believe what she was doing. Really, why did it have to be her fighting a war in another dimension to save the life a half-human/half-dog man that she had just fallen in love with? Just her luck.

They flew lower and lower towards the castle, Kagome then noticed that the grounds surrounding the place were filled with demons that were a cross between worms and snakes and… maybe part skulls? Whatever they were—they were the definition of ugly.

Thankfully, Sango and Miroku were able to take care of them in no time at all. Kagome didn't know what she expected… that the carpet would just set down in front of the castle doors and the drawbridge would open?

Too bad that life's not a fairytale… No, instead, it flew lower and lower towards one of the many towers. Until finally, it hovered a few inches away from an open window where Sango quickly took care of the bars and chucked them as far as she could. Once the iron bars were removed, Kagome quickly stepped over and through the window before she turned to her friends.

Panting slightly, she asked, "This is your last chance. I can try to find Inuyasha on my own. I can't ask you guys to risk you lives for me."

Satsuki looked offended. "And what do you expect us to do? Go on our merry way home and pretend that none of this happened? Fat chance of that."

Miroku nodded as he ran a tired hand through his hair, "You are always helping others, Kagome. Now it's our turn to help you."

"That's right," Sango agreed eagerly, picking up her weapon. "And in case you forgotten, Naraku's an enemy to us all. We all want a piece of him. You can't fight to save your life so you're gonna need some backup. And besides, I quite like the idea of fighting Naraku in his own place."

"And also," Satsuki added as she joined Kagome through the window. "I know that Shippo's more anxious to fight than any of us, Kagome. Right Shippo?" she added to the fox demon who was sweating up a flood.

Shippo gulped before he said in a tough-guy voice that fooled only Satsuki, "Of course! Satsuki… you ah… you might want to hide though. I don't want to see you get hurt while I take care of that Naraku…" he pulled nervously on the collar of his shirt. He looked at Kagome and said, "You make sure that you look after yourself too, Kagome. Guess you're stuck with us, h-huh?"

Kagome was so touched that she felt like she was about to cry. Why did it seem like the only real friends that are worth having are those who lived inside a fairytale?

"Thank you."

(Hey there. Sorry for taking so long. But I've been having a lot of writer's blocks and other stories that needed to be updated. But the good news is that this story is going to be over soon. I would guess at… two… maybe three more chapters with an epilogue. I hope to update again soon… until then, thanks for sticking with this story!)