"Where's mama?" Rin cried frantically from her place in front of Kohaku on Ah-Un.

Sesshomaru glanced around with a frown, searching four her through their mating mark. Jaken was sitting in front of Rin, the hanyou and his miko were balanced on the young kitsune's pink floating ball illusion, the monk and taijiya on the back of the two-tailed neko. She had been with them when first entering the massive spider before everyone having been forcefully separated.

At the time, he had not gone to search for her as she had been able to communicate through their mark. She had been safe and had urged him to go after Rin, where he had some how restored his arm in his desire to save the child and now a third blade sat at his waist, the Bakuseiga. Now the large spider was crumbling to pieces, scattered across the land that had lost its color due to the miasma produced. Naraku was before them while within his typical barrier, but his body was in pieces hovering around his head and lowering towards the dead land below.

Feeling a pull thorugh the mark, Sesshomaru's gaze lowered to the ground to see her lying on her side between pieces of the dead spider husk. He growled as he lowered himself to the ground, Naraku having pieced himself back together. The vile spider hanyou landed beside Ivanna, his barrier envelopoing her, but he could hear her struggling to breathe.

"Now who is this child?" Naraku sneered gleefully as a tentacle moved and wrapped around her neck, lifing her off the ground.

"Let go of her...!" Rin screamed before he heard her mumble as if silenced and glanced back to see the young taijiya's hand over her mouth.

Focusing back on their enemy and his mate, he narrowed his eyes as Ivanna wasn't even struggling. Her eyes were half open and each breath she took came as a wheeze. Her violet orbs never looked his way and her end of their bond silent.

"Now who do you belong to?" Naraku grinned. "I would have been notified of you if you had been a part of Inuyasha's pack, but you cannot possibly belong to his elder brother, can you? The feared western dog wouldn't possibly take in another mortal, let alone one who is obviously dying."

"Fuck... you..." he heard her force out and couldn't help but chuckle at the fire behind her words as crimson eyes turned to focus on him.

"Ivanna!" the miko called, panic in her voice and violet eyes finally glanced their way.

"Oh, so you people do know this child..." Naraku trailed off and his crimson eyes glanced back to Ivanna, lifting her higher and Sesshomaru couldn't stop the snarl from escaping as the spider sniffed her body. "Then I do think I will keep her."

"Kill... this... fucker..." He heard Ivanna whisper, wheezing as she gasped for air.

"Forgive me, my mate," he spoke, composing himself as her eyes locked onto his and and she gave him a weak smile.

Launching the first attack, he heard the cries of his allies, but their attacks soon joined in. Seeing surprise on Naraku's face, the spider tossed Ivanna away from him and she was slapped into a piece of the spider husk over twenty yards away. He could hear her still breathing, even if she was struggling worse than before, and increased his attacks as tentacles sprung forth to attack.

Seeing tentacles sprout from the pieces of chunks of flesh, he had to go on the defensive. In his peripherals he could see the others having to dodge these tentacles too as they continued their offensive attacks. Hearing a cry from Rin, he spun around and lunged to destroy the dozen tentacles around Ah-Un before feeling something hit his back.

Seeing violet as he turned, a whimper escaped him as a massive tentacle stuck out of her chest. Seeing her body still on the other side of the battlefield, he felt a weight hit his shoulders as both her physical and transparent form coughed up blood. Time seemed to stand still as everyone stopped, even the tentacles had stilled their attacks.

"Mate..." Sesshomaru whispered.

"I love you," she murmured as he saw her body starting to become transparent.

"Mama...!" he heard Rin scream and tears fell down her cheeks.

"What did you do?!" Naraku suddenly screamed and Sesshomaru looked over to see violet spiderlike veins appearing on the tentacle through her, one of the few connected to Naraku's body directly. "What have you done?!"

"The sickness... within me... was a poison... for him..."

Multiple people cried out in horror as they started to realize what was happening, but he couldn't separate the noises. The violet spiderveins had reached Naraku and was spreading across his body and even to the barrier. The barrier shattered and he saw a holy arrow fly past him and hit the center of Naraku's chest.

"Mate..." Sesshomaru focused back on Ivanna as her body was now fully transparent. "Take... my body... to... the old wood..."

Molten eyes widened as she disappeared as Naraku was purified, the chunks of flesh around them being disingegrated from the strength of the shikon miko's purifying power. He saw the sacred jewel fall to the ground, pink once more and watched as the remains of their enemy disappear. The smell of Ivanna's blood overwhelmed his senses and he looked over at where Ivanna laid in a pool of blood with a hole in her chest.

Dashing over to her as he sheathed his blade, he couldn't stop the whine as he felt nothing from their bond. Drawing her gently into his arms, not caring for the blood that was quickly soaking his clothing. Relisihing what little warmth was in her body as he held her with both arms as everyone landed and surrounded him.

"Our lady has completed her duties given to her by the fates," Jaken spoke solemnly and Sesshomaru glanced down at the kappa who was the only one not crying, even the two headed dragon and twin tailed neko had tears falling down their faces.

"What do you mean, Master Jaken?" Rin whimpered, but sesshomaru could hear how hard she was fighting from letting herself actually cry as he walked over to Ah-Un and pulled a cloak from the bag to wrap it around Ivanna's body.

"She was brought to our lands to protect the rule of the west. Had she not expelled her spirit and taken that attack that would have killed Lord Sesshomaru, the entire western lands would have fallen into ruin," Jaken spoke simply. "She knew her duties."

"She knew that she was going to die like this?" Kagome gasped and Sesshomaru hummed in answer, seeing her hand gripping the purified whole jewel. "You knew?"

"There were no secrets between my mate and myself," Sesshomaru spoke solemnly. "This one needs to take her body to Bokuseno."

"Are you not going to give a funeral?" the female taijiya asked.

"It was her request to be taken to the Old Wood," he spoke as he formed his jaki cloud under his feet.

"May we come with you?" Kagome asked and he nodded, accending into the air as the others all followed.

Not stopping even as the cold sun had set, leaving the lands below in a luminesent white as the full moon lit up the snowcovered landscape. No one spoke as they flew through the night before reaching the massive forest as the moon reached its highest point in the clear sky. Descending down to land before Bokuseno, he felt another prescence that he had not sensed in centuries. Seeing the transparent form of his sire, he felt something wet hit his cheek, as Touga stood besides the face set into the tall tree.

"Father," Sesshomaru bowed his head to the elder inuyoukai.

"Oh, how you have both grown," Touga smiled as he stepped forward.

"Dad...?" Inuyasha frowned and Sesshomaru saw him in his peripherals as he allowed Ivanna to be pulled out of his arms.

"I am proud of you, my pups."

"What are you going to do with my mama?" Rin asked sadly, but pride filled him at how strong her voice was.

"I'm here to take her home," Touga spoke solemnly.

"Father?" Sesshomaru frowned as Touga backed away.

"Shikon Miko, end this world's suffering from that jewel. You will not have to fear choosing one world over the other," Touga spoke, his voice serious.

"Can't the tensaiga...?"

"Unfortunately by having her body spirited from the miko's world, the blade is useless and it would not have healed the sickness she carried. It is time for us to part ways," Touga spoke as he adjusted his arms around his mate's body as she was becoming transparent. "Farewell, for now."

"Depart from these woods," Bokuseno barked as Touga and Ivanna disappeared.

"Bokuseno," Sesshomaru growled.

"A great battle that has oppressed Japan has finally ended. His poison has been purified from every corner of the land," The tree spoke. "There is no answer I can give in regards of the spirit walker you had mated. It's time to move forward."

"Very well," Sesshomaru spoke, his voice empty as he wiped the stray tears that had escaped him. "Come, you all may rest and recover at the Western Citadel."