Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Sogakukan, VizMedia.

Chapter 49


Last Time…

Kagome coughed and scrubbed her face of dirt and dust, the motion doing her no good as her hands were also covered in dirt. She rose quickly and turned towards the building, feeling as though her stomach dropped and was in freefall. Kagome vaguely registered the sharp pain in her knees, signifying that she had collapsed onto the concrete. She heard nothing, felt nothing, saw nothing. The old building was now a massive pile of rubble and smoke.

Ayame rose and turned to see Kagome on her knees, staring at the mess left behind by the explosion. Tears fell streaked through the dirt on her face and her fingers were curled into tight fists. Kagome's mouth moved quickly, repeating the same words over and over.

"Please come back. Please come back. Please come back."

"Kagome…" Ayame said softly. She knelt down next to Kagome and gently took her shoulders in her hands. The movement seemed to jar Kagome out of her shock.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed, her face contorted in dread and pain. "Inuyasha!"

Ayame tightened her hold on Kagome and closed her own eyes, unable to look at the raw grief on Kagome's face.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome said in a quiet voice. "You promised you would come back," she cried.


"Inuyasha!" Kagome bellowed, her throat hoarse and her voice croaking. Her tearbright eyes remained focused on the mountain of concrete, glaring at it as if to show her where her mate was.

Ayame looked from where Kagome knelt frozen on the ground to the bustling youkai surrounding them. As soon as everyone got their bearings, all youkai officers set out on trying to clear the rubble and find any hint of life. Her eyebrows furrowed together. Because of the scent tablets that everyone had taken, it made their job much harder.

Kagome brushed off Ayame and shakily got to her feet and started making her way to where the building once stood.

"Hey!" Ayame quickly grabbed her. "What do you think you're doing?"

"She's right, Takado-san. We don't know how stable the site is or if the explosion was complete. It's better if you stay there," another man called out. "Please be patient and let us find the bodies!"

Kagome's face paled. "Bodies," she mouthed.

"Kagome, please listen to us," Ayame pleaded. "What will Inuyasha say later when he finds out you started running towards an unstable explosion site? You'll never hear the end of it!"

Pausing, Kagome turned to Ayame and threw her arms around the wolf youkai's neck. "Thank you," she whispered, grateful that Ayame spoke about Inuyasha in terms of when and not if and that was the support that she needed most.

Rumbling and shouts stole the women's attention and they turned to see many of the youkai rushing towards the source before a bright light burst through the rock, causing many to raise their hands up to shield their eyes. As soon as it had died, Kagome lowered her hands, her eyes crinkling as she waited impatiently for them to adjust. Hope rose at the sight of several men's silhouettes, but her heart sank again just as quickly when she didn't recognize Inuyasha's among them— the familiar triangles perched on the top of his head missing in the crowd.

Kagome ran towards the men, her expression determined. "Where is he?" she demanded.

One of the men looked down at her from where he stood atop the rubble, coughing into his dust-coated arm, his face covered in shallow scrapes and cuts. After several deep breaths, he finally spoke with a raspy voice, "He and Kouga were on the other side of the building. He gave us the order to get out of there."

Blinking in confusion, Kagome asked, "Why?"

"That woman is insane," he said before another coughing fit came over him.

Kagome backed away as they started to clamber down the pile of rock and away from the building's ruins. She darted her eyes over the huge expanse of the former hotel, searching for any sign of movement. Unknowingly clenching her teeth, she waited while the man she was talking to accepted water from a medic and downed it, small streams spilling out of his mouth and clearing dirt from his chin.

"As soon as he sent Kouga out with the female hostage, he and his brother started going at it. Warned us to get out of there when it started getting serious— sounded like he had something up his sleeve but I don't…" The man sighed and shook his head. "The female inuyoukai told him she was done. We tried to get the hell out of there on his orders then there was this blinding light. Then… everything went dark."

"It wasn't a regular explosion— it was a huge release of youki," Kagome murmured. "Was she really so desperate?"

"Hey! Back off! Something's rumbling!"

Several feet away, youkai personnel were scrambling away from the pile of rocks they were searching. Many of them began to pull out their weapons once they got a safe distance away.

"Keep your guard up! We don't know if it's friendly or hostile!"

"We've got movement over here, too!" Heads swung in the direction of another pile of shifting rock further away.

A clawed hand burst through the piles simultaneously and the sound of guns being readied echoed throughout the site, the air heavy with tension. After, everything was silent except the sound of falling rock and metal. Kagome found herself holding her breath as she waited for the owners of each hand to reveal themselves.

With a loud grunt, someone emerged from the nearest pile, covered head to toe in dust and with blood trickling from a large gash near his temple. He immediately held his hands up. His ears were perched on the top of his head and he wore an aged crimson robe.

"It's me!"

Kagome sagged in relief and a thankful sob escaped from her as she took note of the unmistakable sound of his voice, despite its hoarseness.

Inuyasha turned and pulled a weak Kouga out from the hole behind him. Kouga was limp as Inuyasha dragged him out, his arms hooked underneath his partner's shoulders.

"I need immediate medical attention!" Inuyasha called out.

"Inuyasha," Kagome gasped, more tears spilling over and trailing down her cheeks.

Inuyasha continued to carry Kouga's torso slowly from beneath the rocks until emergency personnel rushed over a stretcher and they shifted him onto it. Kouga let out a low groan from the movement and Inuyasha nodded to himself satisfactorily.

"He's responding to pain— that's good right?"

One of the paramedics nodded. "As far as we know, it's a positive sign that he hasn't sustained major injuries to his nervous system."

"Take care of him, alright? I want regular updates."

"Yes, sir."

They rolled him away and Ayame briefly touched a hand to Kagome's shoulder before rushing over to the stretcher, speaking rapidly. "Take him to Todai— I'm a nurse there. They're aware of the situation and have heightened security prepared. I need to take a look at him…"

Inuyasha turned and finally made eye contact with Kagome, his brows furrowed but the rest of his expression otherwise relieved.

"Kagome…"

He rushed to her and wrapped his arms tightly around her, lifting her up, and resting his chin on the top of her head while she buried her face in his chest, her whole body heaving with relieved sobs. When he pulled back, his hands gently cradled the sides of her face, brushing away her tears with his thumbs. Inuyasha kissed the top of her forehead lightly.

"Told you I'd come back," he said with a low voice, a ghost of a smirk on his lips. His expression sobered and Inuyasha probed her with scrutinizing eyes as he gently stroked her face. "You okay?"

Kagome lifted her hands to hold his wrists and nodded. "I'm fine— what happened?" She eyed the trail of blood leading from his temple and pulled her sleeve down to wrap around the heel of her palm and pressed it against the wound.

"It's fine, Kagome. Head wounds bleed a lot." His comment earned a mild glare and the pressure increased slightly on his temple.

Inuyasha winced but allowed her fussing, offering an almost amused smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Crazy bitch basically admitted that she murdered my father out of spite. And she lied to Sesshomaru. He believed it when she told him that we were the reason he died— my mom and me."

Inuyasha's lips were pressed into a tight line and his eyes were somber. Kagome could see the storm brewing in the golden depths. She took one of his hands and pressed his knuckles to her lips, earning a softening in his gaze before he took a deep breath and continued.

"Then, Sesshomaru… he brought up Rin and it got messy between them. Between missing out on the chance to hurt my mom anymore and Sesshomaru turning on her, Tomiko finally lost it."

"That was her? We all felt the huge wave of youki before the actual explosion."

"If Kouga hadn't handed me my old man's robe— if you hadn't given it to him… I don't know, Kagome. I might be on my way to the hospital with Kouga. Kouga might not have even had a chance to get to the hospital."

Kagome wrapped her arms around his chest tightly. "But you're okay. We're okay."

Inuyasha pressed his lips to her temple and nodded in agreement.

"Put your hands up!"

Inuyasha immediately turned and pushed Kagome behind him as he looked towards where the men had their guns pointed, instantly pulling his weapon out as well. As he neared the other pile of rubble, Inuyasha could see Sesshomaru's torso huddled closely over something, his usually pristine appearance now marred by dirt and blood, his tailored clothes ripped apart. Inuyasha froze at the scent that came to him and lowered his weapon slowly and holstered it.

"Let us help her!" he called out.

A snarl ripped itself from Sesshomaru, his lips curled back and showcasing his fangs, much larger than before. The inuyoukai's eyes were no longer the same familiar shade of gold as Inuyasha's but bled a crimson color with blue irises instead.

Inuyasha scowled at Sesshomaru, insisting, "Your fucking arrogance will be the death of her!"

Kagome gasped, peering out from behind Inuyasha to see that the older man was hunched over Rin's body, hugging her close with one arm. She was covered in blood and Kagome could see that Sesshomaru had lifted fallen debris off of where she was crushed under its weight. Rin stared at Sesshomaru, her chest shaking with every labored breath.

"Mizuki, make him listen to fucking sense!" Inuyasha yelled. "It's your life on the line."

Rin's glassy eyes rolled from where she watched Sesshomaru to Inuyasha. Inuyasha frowned at the vacancy in her usually lively gaze.

"C'mon, I know you're not this stupid. Sesshomaru— is your pride worth her life?!"

The inuyoukai glared at his younger brother, snarling and snapping his fangs, tightening his hold on Rin. Rin took in another rattling breath, making it apparent that she was choking on her own blood and likely suffering from heavy internal bleeding. With what seemed like a herculean amount of effort, she rolled her head back to face Sesshomaru and smiled weakly.

"I have no regrets, Sesshomaru. I would do it all over again just to be at your side. You saved my life and I'm glad to die next to you," she rasped out. "That's all I've needed, is to be by your side."

Sesshomaru's expression settled down, his eyes returning to gold, and he inclined his head at her. "I have no regrets, as well. Rin… my mother… she is wrong. You are more than—"

Rin closed her eyes and sighed placidly. "I know. It's okay."

"Please… she's dying," Kagome's soft voice carried and cut through the tension. "There's a chance for her to survive this. You'll only end up hating yourself if you don't give her that chance."

Inuyasha's eyes remained on his half-brother but his ears twitched restlessly as Kagome moved around him, slightly revealing herself. He shifted to try and push her behind him, but she resisted his efforts. Kagome's eyes were wide and sincere as she pleaded.

"You saved her life for a reason. Don't let this be it. The two of you haven't even lived a life together, not really."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and glared at Kagome. He hissed, "As if it would matter."

"Doesn't it?"

"Do you think me so stupid to believe that either of us would be allowed to walk away from what we've done? There's only one outcome for us. And that? A life in captivity? I would rather have her die in my arms than banish her to live out a miserable life alone. From the beginning, I saved her so she could be free." Sesshomaru shifted to awkwardly pull her closer to his body.

Kagome gasped as the motion revealed that the inuyoukai had actually lost his left arm in the explosion, his previously meticulous dress shirt torn and bloody, hanging loosely without a limb to fill it out.

"You're hurt, too," she murmured.

"Don't bother with your useless pity. I don't need it," he snapped. He looked down at Rin in his arm, then back at Inuyasha. "Alright, little brother. You have me where you want. Take your revenge."

Inuyasha shook his head. "No."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. "No?"

"No. A bullet in the head would be too quick for you. You deserve to fucking rot for all of the destruction you've caused. You and your crazy mother."

Sesshomaru sniffed haughtily. "You don't have to worry about my mother anymore, do you?"

"Keh! She killed our father and tried to kill my mother— I won't feel any remorse that she ended up killing herself because of her own arrogance."

Kagome raised her eyebrows at that. The insane amount of youki she felt being released concurrently with the explosion was exactly what she thought it was. She still couldn't fathom that Tomiko would be so desperate to kill Inuyasha that she would sacrifice herself and potentially her own child. Kagome looked over Inuyasha, amazed that he managed to survive until she remembered the durability of the crimson robe he had draped over his torso.

"As far as I'm concerned, you deserve nothing more than to live out the rest of your miserable existence alone knowing that you brought all of this shit upon yourself," Inuyasha sneered. His gaze roved over Rin's still form. "But we can still help Rin if you let us."

Sesshomaru's mouth quirked into a twisted affectation of a smile for just a moment before his expression fell. "If you truly care so much for her… Then let me have this moment with her."

Inuyasha stared at the older youkai warily, his jaw twitching as he considered him.

Gold met gold and Sesshomaru's brow furrowed as he spoke. "I know that you owe me nothing. But consider it an act of good faith in honor of our father. You said it yourself— Father hoped that we would one day meet and consider each other brothers."

Inuyasha continued to glare at Sesshomaru, gritting his teeth and shifting his jaw as he thought it over. "Fuck!" he hissed. "Everyone back off— just a few feet."

The men surrounding them stared at Inuyasha warily before grudgingly stepping away from the two brothers, though they kept their weapons trained on the elder Takado. Kagome tightened her grip around Inuyasha's arm and he kept her behind him, his eyes quickly sliding over to her before turning on his brother again. His ears moved restlessly and again, he heard the weak rattling of air in Rin's lungs. Kagome made a small sound of sympathy and Inuyasha shook his head minutely.

"It's too late," he murmured lowly.

Kagome looked from the scene in front of them to her mate, a solemn expression on his profile. She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder, looking back to the couple in the rubble.

"Rin." Sesshomaru's voice was calm and clear, as usual, but he spoke her name with much more tenderness than he'd ever shown.

Rin kept her eyes closed but she tried to take in another sharp breath, though each breath was harder and harder to come by now. She allowed her lips to part when she felt the strands of his long hair graze over her as he leaned in close. She wasn't in pain, not anymore, but she was exhausted. When she felt the warm drop hit her skin, she fought the heaviness to open her eyes, shocked.

Sesshomaru stared deep into her eyes and she could've sworn there was the smallest hint of a smile curving his lips. She tried to give him a smile back, but she was so tired. Another rare tear fell from the inuyoukai and landed on her cheek. Sesshomaru made a face as he couldn't wipe it away as his remaining arm held Rin's body close to his.

"Sesshomaru…"

He shook his head and shushed her gently. "Don't speak, save your energy. I want you to know that you were never just a pawn for me to use. I…you mean very much to me. I couldn't let my mother harm you. I didn't show it well, but since meeting you, you've brought me nothing but joy."

His words spurred Rin to venture another attempt at a smile and she hoped it succeeded. She managed to reach and grab the hand that held her body close and squeezed it as hard as she could. She hoped he could feel it. "You saved my life," she said simply. "I owe you mine."

Her eyes closed again. "I'm happy to be with you, Sesshomaru. This is all I could've wanted."

"Rin…" Sesshomaru shook his head slightly and tightened his hold on her.

"Thank you."

Sensing that she was fading, Sesshomaru leaned down and gave her a last kiss, feeling the warmth finally leave her. He grit his teeth and pulled away, looking over the peaceful expression on her face.

Inuyasha watched passively, furrowing his brow when he realized his former colleague had died. "Sesshomaru, let us take her body so it can be properly buried," he called out.

Sesshomaru turned his head to glare at his younger brother, the two in a staring match until the elder nodded once. Inuyasha gave Kagome a meaningful look before removing himself from her grip and moving towards his brother. The other men followed in suit, their weapons still aimed at Sesshomaru. Slowly, with his hands up, Inuyasha approached him and reached for Rin's body.

Without breaking eye contact with Sesshomaru, Inuyasha carefully held Rin's body close to his chest and backed away with it before someone rushed towards him with a gurney for him to place her body. Once Inuyasha had reached a safe enough distance, all of the men swarmed in around Sesshomaru, though he made no effort to resist and merely continued to watch as Rin's body was placed in a bag and zipped up before being rolled away.

Inuyasha turned to give his brother a final look before taking Kagome into his arms and holding her fiercely, his shoulders sagging with exhaustion and relief that it was finally over. He took a deep breath when her arms wrapped around his chest with equal ferocity.


"Nee-chan!" Souta exclaimed, immediately wrapping up his older sister in a tight hug.

"Souta!" Kagome returned the hug with equal fervor. "Thank kami you're alright— where's Jii-chan?"

"He's fine, he's resting in one of the waiting rooms with Sango's family." He raised his head and caught his sister's mate walking towards them. "Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha smiled tiredly. "Twerp." He groaned when Souta hugged him roughly as well and the younger man stepped away hurriedly. "It's fine. Just sore." He rolled his neck and shoulders, groaning again at the sound of a few joints cracking. "Fuck, really gonna feel this for the next few hours."

Kagome commented wryly, "Well when you live through an explosion, there's bound to be some soreness."

Souta's eyes widened. "Explosion?"

Brushing him off, Inuyasha rolled his eyes and asked, "How's it been here?"

"Sango's okay. Still not completely cleared because of her head injury, but she's woken up a few times and managed to have short conversations. I've been watching her while Miroku's been called to the trauma unit. Your friend from work, too. Shippo? He takes over when I need to catch some sleep."

"That's him, alright."

"What about the rest, Souta?"

"Things got crazy about two hours ago. That's the last time I saw Miroku and everyone started yelling and moving through the halls… I thought it was best that I stay with Sango and Shippo in her room." He looked between the two. "Why? What happened? Is everyone okay?"

Kagome gripped Souta's shoulders to calm him down. "We saved Inuyasha's mother and Ayame. Or, Inuyasha and Kouga did. But Izayoi and Kouga got hurt pretty badly. I thought I heard Ayame telling the paramedics to bring them here… but if it's been as busy as you said, they might have rerouted them if there wasn't room."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed as he looked down the halls. "Ayame wouldn't have let that happen. They're here somewhere." He sighed and scrubbed his face with his hands. "My mom's probably in surgery due to the extent of her injuries and Kouga shouldn't be… he might be sedated somewhere in here." He reached in his back pocket for his phone and frowned. "No updates."

"I'm sure as soon as Ayame has news, she'll let us know."

Inuyasha grunted noncommittally. Kagome frowned and gently ushered her brother towards the waiting room. "Do me a favor and let the others know? I feel filthy and could use a shower so we'll meet up with them once we get cleaned up."

Souta nodded and headed down the hall towards their family. Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's hand and pulled him towards the nurse's station.

"Kagome?"

"Trust me." She pulled them up to the desk and the charge nurse raised her eyebrows at them. Kagome blushed but asked, "We've come from the explosion site… we were cleared by medical, but I was hoping you could point us in the direction of the locker room showers so we could visit our friends who are still injured without being covered in…" she gestured at herself.

The nurse considered them before nodding once. "You're friends with Kobayashi."

"We are," Kagome responded.

"I shouldn't be doing this, but take this and bring it back." She slid her access card across the counter and looked into Kagome's eyes. "No funny business."

"None," Kagome promised.

"Go down this hall to your left and tap the card against the reader of the fourth door on the left. They're co-ed showers, but something tells me you two won't run into any staff. Everyone's been called to trauma and emergency. Extra scrubs are kept in there, too."

Kagome offered a smile at her. "Thank you so much. We'll be back soon." She grabbed the access card and hurriedly tugged Inuyasha along behind her.

Once she figured out how to get the water at the right temperature and steam started rising, Kagome turned and pulled at Inuyasha, encouraging him to step into the stall with her. He resisted slightly.

"Kagome, what are you—"

"We just survived multiple explosions, multiple gunshots, an indiscriminate amount of emotional trauma, I need to wash this off. And I need to know that you're okay," Kagome murmured. She wasted no time in pulling her shirt over her head and kicking off her pants, both soaked from the stream of hot water pouring over her. The water at their feet turned murky and brown from the dirt and dried blood.

For all the insistence Kagome spoke and moved with, her hands were gentle as she pushed back the crimson robe from Inuyasha's shoulders, taking the time to neatly hang it over the door of the stall before slowly pulling Inuyasha's shirt over his head, careful not to move suddenly and aggravate his injuries. Inuyasha watched her tenderly and helped her remove his pants until they were both naked underneath the water.

Kagome beckoned for Inuyasha to lower down so she could lightly wash the dried blood out of his hair from his head wound, careful with the shampoo and shushing him soothingly when he hissed at the soap's contact with open skin. Satisfied once his silver hair was clean, Kagome set to work on carefully washing away the blood from the rest of his body. As her palms passed over the expanse of his chest, she lightly kissed at the dark purple blotches from where he had taken blows. Kagome massaged the juncture where his neck met his shoulders, and meticulously made sure that no remnants of the last night remained on his skin.

"Kagome…" Inuyasha breathed. His heart swelled at the love and care that his mate showed him and he gently cradled her face to pepper her face with light kisses. His claws raked through her hair and he applied pressure to her scalp as he washed her hair, feeling pride when Kagome sighed in response and lifted her face to him, baring herself in complete trust.

He took special care as he washed her body, his hands lingering as they slid down her spine, passed over her hips, and moved over her abdomen. Inuyasha knelt down to make sure that all of Kagome was clean before resting his forehead against her belly and hugging his arms around the back of her legs. Kagome instinctively crouched over him protectively and cradled his head. Kagome could feel Inuyasha take in deep breaths as he reassured himself that she was okay and safe in his arms.

Rising to his feet, his eyes met hers, and he held her tightly.

"I'm okay, Inuyasha. It's over," she whispered.

Inuyasha tucked her head underneath his chin and closed his eyes, letting her words wash over him, more effective in their soothing balm than the hot water.


March 2020: I hope everyone and their loved ones are safe and healthy. This is a scary time, but I'm hopeful that it will be over soon.