A/N:

The second part of the finale.

Happy Reading ^^

Chapter 26. An Act of Love

The glowing sacred chains burst into pieces as Sesshomaru shifted into his inu form. It has been centuries since he freely shifted and succumbed to his beastly side and now, completely unhinged his inu body grew tall, causing the stones of the ruined temple to collapse. He was the same size as his late father, towering over the temple. He lunged towards the dragon youkai, who was pulling his now dead mate's body from her mother and towards the obelisk in the center of the room desperately. Sesshomaru pounced, grabbing the dragon by his teeth and tearing him away from his beloved. He tossed the dragon into the far wall, placing himself in between his mate and her mother and their assailant.

"Eager to die Sesshomaru?!" Daisuke snarled and he began to shift.

The green scales spread through Daisuke's body rapidly and he began to expand in size, changing into his dragon form. Sesshomaru lunged first, dragging the flying serpent out of the temple and hurling him towards the volcanic rock formation. Then, he jumped after him, ready to sink his poisonous claws into the dragon's hide.

Nanami kissed her daughter's forehead gently, settling her down onto ground. Her hands were shaking as she noticed they were stained with blood. Her daughter's blood. Her sorrow overwhelmed her as she succumbed to her tears, the sound of her wails only overpowered by the clash of the two demons engaged in combat. Nanami slowly moved over to her husband, who was weakly trying to crawl over to his wife and daughter.

"Hayao... stay put. You mustn't strain yourself," Nanami said as she took the few steps towards her husband and settled onto her knees near him.

The demons danced in a vicious battle, tearing at each other. Daisuke snarled as he tried to wrap his dragon hide body around Sesshomaru like a serpent, but the great inu swatted him away. Then came his fangs, crushing through the dragon's thick skin. Daisuke let out a demonic roar. Sesshomaru didn't waste any time. He pulled away his fangs. His claws then dug into the exposed flesh releasing a thick wave of his poison into the dragon youkai's body. And the dragon was no more, its carcass falling from the sky and into the sea below.

The inu daiyoukai let out a roar in victory and he descended once more towards the temple, returning to his humanoid form. He stood next to the body of his mate, his eyes upon her.

Sesshomaru was the victor, his arms bloody up to his biceps, his once pure silver hair completely disheveled and stained with soil and blood. There was a cut on his right cheek, no doubt from the dragon's claw.

The proud lord dropped onto his knees, overwhelmed with the loss of his love. Was it the now a severed bond? This feeling … this intense and overwhelming desire to simply give in. He failed to protect her. He had nothing. He felt hollow.

"You have been on this Earth for over a thousand years and I believe this is the first time I witness such a reaction from you lord of the Western lands."

The bright light was intense, as she stood in the middle of nowhere surrounded by nothing but a blank white canvas. She raised her hand to her face, blocking the brightness as she took a step forward. The overwhelming light quickly dissipated revealing a familiar figure, dressed in milk garbs.

"Hello Aya. We meet again."

Aya spoke softly," it's you Ama."

The miko smiled and nodded. Then she asked her a question.

"Do you know why you are here?"

Aya shook her head. Her eyes glanced down to her attire. She was wearing a plain white yukata. She touched her stomach noticing that there were no signs of her self-inflicted wound.

"You have a choice to make," Ama continued.

"What kind of a choice?" Aya finally asked in return, glancing back to the miko.

"Whether you wish to stay or return."

"I have a choice?"

There behind the broken demon lord stood a woman clad in gold. Her raven locks cascaded down her back while on top of her head rested a golden wreath. She took a step closer, looking towards the human woman cradling the barely alive youkai.

"Are-are you a shinigami?" Nanami asked warily.

As if amused by the mere mortal's question, the regal woman let a soft chuckle escape her golden lips.

"I have been called many things," she replied.

She leaned down, her face coming to closer contact with the human woman, letting her gaze penetrate deep into her soul. Then after a moment she broke the eye contact and glanced down to the youkai.

" I believe you have earned your freedom Ishihara Hayao. You have been tormented long enough," the woman said calmly.

Then she placed her hand onto his chest and pressed down slightly. Hayao's body began to glow, his injuries slowly disappearing as his body healed with the woman's glowing power. As the light subsided, Hayao's hands reached for Nanami's, his strength slowly returning to him. As the woman straightened herself once more, Hayao glanced over to her.

"Amaterasu-sama," Hayao calls out with a weak voice.

The woman smiled at his recognition and replied in turn," ah, at least one of you knows my name."

She took a step forward towards the demon lord. Sesshomaru was cradling his mate in his arms, unable to part from her. As the woman-goddess stopped in front of him and leaned down, he managed to speak.

"Why have you come?"

At his question, Ama simply glanced down to her gold-stained hands as if feigning disinterest and she spoke," My vessel has been destroyed by her own hand and therefore I c ame to collect it personally."

"No, you can't have her," Sesshomaru replied, protecting his beloved from the woman.

"Your mate is already with me. In fact, I was just having quite the interesting conversation with her."

"She belongs with me," Sesshomaru reaffirmed.

"How courageous of you to stand up to a goddess. If I were to bring her back and demanded a payment in return would you accept it? Tell me, if I were to ask of you to sacrifice your yōkai-self and spend the rest of your life as a human, what would you say?" the goddess questioned.

"Take it, without her I'm not long for this world anyway," Sesshōmaru replied.

"Curious answer," she noted as she observed the demon lord.

"And what if I were to tell you that she does not wish to return to this world?"

"I would never assume that a goddess would be open to lying," Sesshomaru retorted.

"Tsk, quite the tongue you have," Amaterasu noted.

She took a step back and glanced from the demon lord to the youkai-human pair.

"Let me be very clear. As of today, all connection to me is severed. There is no vessel for gods or as you prefered to call it for light. It is time for the myths to stay in the past so that no one is tempted to play god once more," Ama declared.

She looked towards the prideful lord, still holding his mate in his arms. She took a step forward and kneeled down. Her gold hand gently caressed the female youkai's lavender hair. It seemed like a touch of a mother. She leaned down closer.

"You will live," Amaterasu whispered against Aya's forehead, her lips imprinting her golden kiss upon her forehead.

Then the goddess simply faded before their eyes in her piercing golden glow. Sesshomaru's arms burned as he cradled Aya in his arms, the heat spreading through her body wildly. Then as the heat and the light disappeared, Aya's once vacant eyes became alive once more. She gasped for breath, lurching forward. Her eyes wandered, meeting the golden gaze of her inu youkai mate.

"Sesshōmaru!" she said weakly.

He placed his clawed hand onto her cheek, cupping it ever so softly as he gazed into her eyes.

"I love you," he confessed and with sudden a movement he wrapped his arms around her, bringing her into a tight embrace.

"My Aya!" Nanami exclaimed, as she and Hayao watched their child come back to life.

With Nanami's help, Hayao stood and the parents rushed as quickly as they could to the reunited pair. Aya loosened her hold on Sesshomaru, only to embrace both of her parents who dropped to their knees to hold their child.

"You're ok? Nothing hurts?" Nanami asked worriedly as she looked over her daughters injuries the moment they parted from the hug.

"My wrist and my leg are still mending but other than that I feel ok," Aya said.

"Let's get you home," Sesshomaru said suddenly and he gently lifted her up in his arms as gently as he could, and then he looked over to her parents," Hayao, you're good to walk?"

"Yes, we'll follow behind you," Hayao confirmed, and he took Nanami's hand and they followed behind the demon lord.

Aya smiled at her silver-haired mate, feeling completely safe in his arms as they made their way towards the pier.

"Aya, don't ever put me through something like this again. If there's something I learned today, it's that I can't lose you," Sesshomaru muttered only for her to hear.

Aya met his gaze, seeing the hidden emotion behind them, the tears that wished to fall and yet they firmly remained hidden by the prideful lord.

"I acted on impulse. I'm sorry I stole your phone, your car. I just was tired of waiting and for having my mother go through hell that was intended for me. I'm sorry. I promise, I will never do something so reckless again. I love you. I love you so much. Forgive me," Aya replied as tears slid down her cheeks.

He came to a halt for a moment as they reached the dilapidated pier. He glanced down at his crying mate in his arms and the urge comfort her overwhelmed him.

"Shhh! Don't cry. It's alright. You're back in my arms. There's nothing to forgive. It's alright. I love you too," Sesshomaru replied.

He lowered his head down only to meet her lips in a soft kiss which she happily reciprocated. The feel of her soft lips against his soothed him. Then as he gently broke the gentle liplock, he looked over to the boat that brought him over.

"Now, let's go home," he added.

A/N: Two more chapters to go... Until next time.