Chapter 6
"A Tragic Promise Held True"
The clanging of swords filled the night sky as two youkai battled fiercely.
Inuyasha swung his Tetsusaiga at Naraku, and the powerful youkai whizzed away, and out of the path of the sharp fang. He, in turn, slashed at the hanyou with his black sword, and a long bloody gash appeared across Inuyasha's cheek.
And they kept fighting like that. One would miss, the other would strike. It seemed like it could go on forever, untill Naraku saw his chance, and drove his sword into Inuyasha's stomach.
The hanyou gasped and dropped the Tetsusaiga as he clutched his deep wound. He fell to his knees right in front of Naraku.
Naraku laughed. "That's right, half-breed! It's about time you bowed down to me!"
Inuyasha tried to stand, but the pain was unbearable. So, instead, he wet his claws with his own blood and swiped them at Naraku, crying, "Hijinkessou!" (Blades of Blood)
Naraku stumbled back as three distinct slash marks appeared across his chest. He soon regained composure, and growled menacingly at the hanyou. "Hmmm... I shall bear you no grudge for that one." He said, "For you are helpless, and attacking weakly out of desperation. To have a fighting chance of defeating me, you'd have to get the help of that half- breed sister of yours... and she cannot be freed by the likes of you."
Suddenly, an arrow whistled through the air. It hit the shield that surrounded Michiko, and with a bright light, the barrier and the arrow disappeared in a large cloud of sparkles.
Both Inuyasha and Naraku whirled around to see Kagome, bow in hand, standing at the other end of the hot spring. "How's that for fair play?" she challenged.
Inuyasha's heart skipped a beat. "KAGOME!" he cried. "KAGOME GET OUT OF HERE!"
A groan could be heard from somewhere behind them, then. Michiko blinked and opened her eyes, coming out of her strange sleep. "W-what's going on?" she muttered. "Shentuki was here... and..."
Her eyes came to rest on Naraku. "Where... where did he go?" she asked, oblivious of the fierce battle raging on between the two youkai.
Naraku smirked.
Michiko gasped as his face changed into that of Shentuki's. "You... you pretended to be... Shentuki... you deceived me!"
An incredible feeling of malice and hate built up inside of her then, as the scene between her and who she had thought to be Shentuki played through her head over and over again. "You will pay for that." She growled. "How dare you pretend to be Shentuki?! You disgrace yourself and the dead with your actions!"
With that, she leapt at Naraku.
Inuyasha saw this as his chance. He grabbed the Tetsusaiga and raced towards Naraku as well. The youkai was immediately swarmed with strong attacks from the two hanyou.
Watching from the side, Kagome set her bow on the ground and looked on. Things seemed hopeful now.... Naraku was about to be defeated, and things were finally starting to get better.
Suddenly, however, Naraku surprised both hanyou with an incredible wave of electricity that he emitted from his body. They flew backwards onto the ground. Michiko slammed her head hard on a rock and was knocked unconscious for a short while.
Inuyasha scrambled to his feet. "Michiko?!" he cried.
"Don't waste your time on her." Naraku sneered. "She's as good as dead anyway."
Inuyasha growled and lunged at his enemy. "You'll regret that, you bastard!"
Naraku sped to the side and held out an arm so Inuyasha ran into it so fast that he was knocked to the ground. Naraku then went on to stomp on Inuyasha's stomach.
His wounds were open and blood spurted from them as Naraku dug his foot into them deeper and deeper. Inuyasha cried out in pain. He was totally helpless now, as he quickly slipped in and out of consciousness.
Kagome watched on from a distance in shock. She gasped when she saw Inuyasha being beaten so badly. Her heart tore when she saw the pained look on his face as he bravely tried to shake off his enemy, with no avail. She frowned and clenched her small fists. Her quiver was out of arrows, and she couldn't do much with a mere bow, so only one clear plan of action stood out in her mind.
The mortal took out the bottle that held their pieces of the Shikon no Tama that they had gathered after Naraku had taken their other ones, and held it in the air. "Hey Naraku!" she cried. "Leave Inuyasha alone!"
Naraku laughed and turned to the mortal. He was about to mock her actions, when he caught sight of the Shikon no Tama shards that she held. "So she possesses the sacred jewel shards..." he sneered to Inuyasha. "Don't move. I'll be right back. I have to pick up some jewel shards that will soon belong to me! But don't worry- I'll be back soon enough to finish you off!"
Inuyasha gasped as Naraku raced towards Kagome. "NO!" he cried, struggling to get to his feet. "KAGOME! RUN!!! DON'T LET HIM GET YOU..." A small voice then sounded in his head. You make sure he doesn't get her! The hanyou couldn't argue with that!
Meanwhile, Kagome was running as fast as she could to escape Naraku. She knew that soon she would be a goner, but she was giving Inuyasha the chance to escape from being killed by Naraku... and hopefully now he would have a better chance at killing the youkai while he was so focused on Kagome...
Naraku smirked as he steadily closed in on Kagome. She gasped for breath as she pounded across the ground, running as fast as she had ever run in her entire life.
Suddenly, she stopped running as she saw the edge of a cliff. She gasped and slid to a stop. Turning around, she saw Naraku flying at her with his hand outstretched; ready to shove her off the cliff.
Before he could, there was a blur of red as Inuyasha drove the Tetsusaiga across Naraku's back.
"Don't you EVER think of hurting Kagome!" he cried to Naraku.
The youkai screamed out in pain and surprise as he stumbled backwards, trying to catch his balance. However, the blow had been too hard and fast for even him, and he fell to the ground, and rolled off the side of the cliff. With one arm, he grabbed onto a root that stuck out from the abrupt overhang. And Inuyasha smirked as he looked down to see a rocky gorge so many hundreds of feet below. He could not see Naraku hanging there, out of sight. "So he has fallen." The hanyou murmured to himself. "And my revenge has been satisfied."
Suddenly, a voice rang out from somewhere behind him.
"Inuyasha, look out! He's not dead yet!"
Inuyasha turned around to see Michiko running towards the edge of the cliff. "I can sense he still is alive! He did not fall!"
Michiko and Inuyasha leaned over the edge of the cliff to see Naraku holding on for dear life. There was apparent desperation in his eyes, and he knew that it was impossible for him to survive. However, he smirked up at the two hanyou. "You may defeat me, Inuyasha... But I shall make sure that the two women you care for most pay for your actions with their lives! You made the wrong choice in trying to defeat me... and you have hastened their deaths."
That's what the Goddess had told me! Inuyasha thought to himself frantically. She warned me if I make a wrong choice, it'll hasten the death of the chosen one... but which one of us is the chosen one...?
Suddenly, Naraku's free arm transformed into a large tentacle that stretched away from his body and up the side of the cliff. It shot straight through Michiko's chest, and rocketed out her back.
Her eyes widened as an inexplicable pain tore through her entire body. The tentacle slithered out of her, and she toppled to the ground, landing in a puddle of her own blood.
Inuyasha gasped. "NO!!!" he cried.
The tentacle shot around the both of the hanyou then, and wrapped itself around Kagome. "HELP!" she shrieked. "Inuyasha! Help me!"
The hanyou looked up to see Kagome being dragged to the cliff's edge. "NO!!!" he cried for the second time that day. He grabbed the Tetsusaiga and chopped off the tentacle. It let go of Kagome as Naraku, in great pain, let go of the cliff accidentally. With an outraged roar, the evil youkai plunged to his death.
Kagome, being so close to the edge, flailed her arms around to try and catch herself. Inuyasha saw her about to fall as well, and ran to help her.
Michiko looked up from her bloody puddle to see Inuyasha try to grab Kagome's hand as she tumbled off the cliff... and miss.
"KAAGOOOME!" he called; his cries echoing through the rocky gorge below.
All Kagome could do was look up at the cliff where Inuyasha was, leaning over the edge with an outstretched hand. She knew she was going to die. There was no chance she would survive the fall...
There was a sudden flash beside Inuyasha. He looked up to see Michiko dive over the cliff after Kagome. Her hanyou strength kept her from falling like a dead weight, and she actually slid down the side of the cliff. She caught up with Kagome and grabbed her arm, slinging her onto her back.
"Hold on, Kagome!" she cried. "I'm not going to let you die... I'll save you for your own sake, if not for Inuyasha's as well!" Michiko tried to stop herself from sliding any further, but her intense pain finally caught up with her, and she doubled over in enormous agony.
Inuyasha gasped when he heard a loud thump followed by a large cloud of smoke. He, too, leapt over the side of the ledge and slid down the cliff. Sliding to a safe stop, he jumped to the ground below and waved his hand for the smoke to clear.
"Kagome!?" he called out.
"Help!" came a small voice. The hanyou looked above him to see Kagome hanging on a branch by her skirt. It must have gotten caught, he knew, as she was falling. Suddenly, the branch broke, and she shrieked, plummeting towards the ground.
However, she never hit the earth. Instead, she fell into the arms of Inuyasha.
"INUYASHA!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck.
The hanyou set her down and embraced her tightly, not wanting to let go. "Kagome... I thought I was going to lose you..." he whispered. "I was so scared..."
Kagome smiled through the tears that poured down her cheeks. "Inuyasha I was scared too... but Michiko... she saved me..."
At the sound of his sister's name, the hanyou pulled away from Kagome gently. "Where is she?" he asked.
Kagome pointed a shaky finger at a figure laying in a heap on the ground.
"GODS!" Inuyasha cried, racing over to Michiko. "Michiko, no!"
His sister looked up at the sound of his voice. She smiled when he got to her side. Dark blood still poured from her body and layed around her like an evil pool of death.
Inuyasha took his sister's hand. "Michiko?" he whispered.
Michiko smiled lightly at him. "Hey." She squeaked out.
Inuyasha seemed relieved that she was still able to talk. "Come on." He said. "Let's get you out of here... I'm sure your village has some potions and herbs for your wounds, and..."
"No, Inuyasha." Michiko interrupted. "Do you not remember what the Goddess had said to mother before she separated us?"
Inuyasha was silent, so she continued. "She said that our reunion will bring tragedy... that one of us would die... I guess we both know who that is now..."
Inuyasha frowned, remembering the words of the Goddess when she had spoken to him in the dream he had dreamt earlier that night...
"One of you shall die, before the sun rises... one wrong choice shall hasten the fate of the chosen one, so be cautious..."
The words were, indeed, true as he looked into the sky and saw the sun just starting to rise. Turning back to Michiko, he squeezed her hand. "I had a dream before warning me that one of us would die before the sun rises."
Michiko squeezed his hand back lightly, urging him to continue.
"Not only was the Goddess there, but mother too... she said destiny and fate were in control... and that I should do as the Goddess said and go find you. I asked her which one of us was going to die, and she answered me rather sadly, saying the one who has served their purpose on earth shall join her in eternal rest... that one of us shall die a death with honor... and the other shall live on with honor to fulfill their duties in this world."
Michiko could only nod now, as she felt her whole body starting to go numb.
"Inuyasha..." she murmured. "Fate and destiny IS in control. What needed to happen has happened. Naraku was defeated, and you now can get all the shards he had, and you'll have the whole Shikon no Tama... that's great."
Inuyasha frowned a little. "But I don't get it... why were you chosen to die? How have you served your purpose here on earth?"
Michiko smiled. "When I rescued Kagome from certain death, my soul was rendered complete. I saved the life of my brother's loved one. There had been a void in my heart after I couldn't save Shentuki from death so long ago... and that void was satisfied, knowing that I performed what I so desperately wanted to do for him, in saving Kagome's life- stopping an actual mortal from being mercilessly stripped away from the person whose heart longed to love them... Therefore, my greatest desire; my purpose here on earth has been completed... and I look forward to meeting mother again in the heavens."
Inuyasha looked down at his sister, feeling his eyes start to tear. He gripped her hand even harder as she winced, feeling the last waves of pain before her death.
"I'm glad I found you, Michiko." He said. "You saved the life of Kagome... you don't know how grateful I am to you..."
Michiko smiled and closed her eyes, feeling total peace and warmth consume her whole body. "You're welcome." She said. "And remember to tell her how you feel... before it's... too... late."
As the first rays of morning light fell across Michiko's face, her hand went limp and slid from Inuyasha's. It fell to the ground with a soft thud, raising a small cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, there in her open hand layed a Shikon shard; the one that Inuyasha had known she had from earlier that night.
The hanyou remained there, next to his fallen sister after retrieving the shard, untill a soft sniffle could be heard. He turned around to see Kagome standing not too far away. Her cheeks were stained with tears, and her eyes were sad and oppressed. "I'm sorry about your sister." She murmured sadly.
Inuyasha rose to his feet and walked over to Kagome, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Kagome... I'm sorry you had to see all that." He whispered.
Kagome started to cry all over again, so Inuyasha pulled her close, and hugged her tightly. They stayed that way in the morning light, silently wishing for time to stand still so they could stay like that forever.
The clanging of swords filled the night sky as two youkai battled fiercely.
Inuyasha swung his Tetsusaiga at Naraku, and the powerful youkai whizzed away, and out of the path of the sharp fang. He, in turn, slashed at the hanyou with his black sword, and a long bloody gash appeared across Inuyasha's cheek.
And they kept fighting like that. One would miss, the other would strike. It seemed like it could go on forever, untill Naraku saw his chance, and drove his sword into Inuyasha's stomach.
The hanyou gasped and dropped the Tetsusaiga as he clutched his deep wound. He fell to his knees right in front of Naraku.
Naraku laughed. "That's right, half-breed! It's about time you bowed down to me!"
Inuyasha tried to stand, but the pain was unbearable. So, instead, he wet his claws with his own blood and swiped them at Naraku, crying, "Hijinkessou!" (Blades of Blood)
Naraku stumbled back as three distinct slash marks appeared across his chest. He soon regained composure, and growled menacingly at the hanyou. "Hmmm... I shall bear you no grudge for that one." He said, "For you are helpless, and attacking weakly out of desperation. To have a fighting chance of defeating me, you'd have to get the help of that half- breed sister of yours... and she cannot be freed by the likes of you."
Suddenly, an arrow whistled through the air. It hit the shield that surrounded Michiko, and with a bright light, the barrier and the arrow disappeared in a large cloud of sparkles.
Both Inuyasha and Naraku whirled around to see Kagome, bow in hand, standing at the other end of the hot spring. "How's that for fair play?" she challenged.
Inuyasha's heart skipped a beat. "KAGOME!" he cried. "KAGOME GET OUT OF HERE!"
A groan could be heard from somewhere behind them, then. Michiko blinked and opened her eyes, coming out of her strange sleep. "W-what's going on?" she muttered. "Shentuki was here... and..."
Her eyes came to rest on Naraku. "Where... where did he go?" she asked, oblivious of the fierce battle raging on between the two youkai.
Naraku smirked.
Michiko gasped as his face changed into that of Shentuki's. "You... you pretended to be... Shentuki... you deceived me!"
An incredible feeling of malice and hate built up inside of her then, as the scene between her and who she had thought to be Shentuki played through her head over and over again. "You will pay for that." She growled. "How dare you pretend to be Shentuki?! You disgrace yourself and the dead with your actions!"
With that, she leapt at Naraku.
Inuyasha saw this as his chance. He grabbed the Tetsusaiga and raced towards Naraku as well. The youkai was immediately swarmed with strong attacks from the two hanyou.
Watching from the side, Kagome set her bow on the ground and looked on. Things seemed hopeful now.... Naraku was about to be defeated, and things were finally starting to get better.
Suddenly, however, Naraku surprised both hanyou with an incredible wave of electricity that he emitted from his body. They flew backwards onto the ground. Michiko slammed her head hard on a rock and was knocked unconscious for a short while.
Inuyasha scrambled to his feet. "Michiko?!" he cried.
"Don't waste your time on her." Naraku sneered. "She's as good as dead anyway."
Inuyasha growled and lunged at his enemy. "You'll regret that, you bastard!"
Naraku sped to the side and held out an arm so Inuyasha ran into it so fast that he was knocked to the ground. Naraku then went on to stomp on Inuyasha's stomach.
His wounds were open and blood spurted from them as Naraku dug his foot into them deeper and deeper. Inuyasha cried out in pain. He was totally helpless now, as he quickly slipped in and out of consciousness.
Kagome watched on from a distance in shock. She gasped when she saw Inuyasha being beaten so badly. Her heart tore when she saw the pained look on his face as he bravely tried to shake off his enemy, with no avail. She frowned and clenched her small fists. Her quiver was out of arrows, and she couldn't do much with a mere bow, so only one clear plan of action stood out in her mind.
The mortal took out the bottle that held their pieces of the Shikon no Tama that they had gathered after Naraku had taken their other ones, and held it in the air. "Hey Naraku!" she cried. "Leave Inuyasha alone!"
Naraku laughed and turned to the mortal. He was about to mock her actions, when he caught sight of the Shikon no Tama shards that she held. "So she possesses the sacred jewel shards..." he sneered to Inuyasha. "Don't move. I'll be right back. I have to pick up some jewel shards that will soon belong to me! But don't worry- I'll be back soon enough to finish you off!"
Inuyasha gasped as Naraku raced towards Kagome. "NO!" he cried, struggling to get to his feet. "KAGOME! RUN!!! DON'T LET HIM GET YOU..." A small voice then sounded in his head. You make sure he doesn't get her! The hanyou couldn't argue with that!
Meanwhile, Kagome was running as fast as she could to escape Naraku. She knew that soon she would be a goner, but she was giving Inuyasha the chance to escape from being killed by Naraku... and hopefully now he would have a better chance at killing the youkai while he was so focused on Kagome...
Naraku smirked as he steadily closed in on Kagome. She gasped for breath as she pounded across the ground, running as fast as she had ever run in her entire life.
Suddenly, she stopped running as she saw the edge of a cliff. She gasped and slid to a stop. Turning around, she saw Naraku flying at her with his hand outstretched; ready to shove her off the cliff.
Before he could, there was a blur of red as Inuyasha drove the Tetsusaiga across Naraku's back.
"Don't you EVER think of hurting Kagome!" he cried to Naraku.
The youkai screamed out in pain and surprise as he stumbled backwards, trying to catch his balance. However, the blow had been too hard and fast for even him, and he fell to the ground, and rolled off the side of the cliff. With one arm, he grabbed onto a root that stuck out from the abrupt overhang. And Inuyasha smirked as he looked down to see a rocky gorge so many hundreds of feet below. He could not see Naraku hanging there, out of sight. "So he has fallen." The hanyou murmured to himself. "And my revenge has been satisfied."
Suddenly, a voice rang out from somewhere behind him.
"Inuyasha, look out! He's not dead yet!"
Inuyasha turned around to see Michiko running towards the edge of the cliff. "I can sense he still is alive! He did not fall!"
Michiko and Inuyasha leaned over the edge of the cliff to see Naraku holding on for dear life. There was apparent desperation in his eyes, and he knew that it was impossible for him to survive. However, he smirked up at the two hanyou. "You may defeat me, Inuyasha... But I shall make sure that the two women you care for most pay for your actions with their lives! You made the wrong choice in trying to defeat me... and you have hastened their deaths."
That's what the Goddess had told me! Inuyasha thought to himself frantically. She warned me if I make a wrong choice, it'll hasten the death of the chosen one... but which one of us is the chosen one...?
Suddenly, Naraku's free arm transformed into a large tentacle that stretched away from his body and up the side of the cliff. It shot straight through Michiko's chest, and rocketed out her back.
Her eyes widened as an inexplicable pain tore through her entire body. The tentacle slithered out of her, and she toppled to the ground, landing in a puddle of her own blood.
Inuyasha gasped. "NO!!!" he cried.
The tentacle shot around the both of the hanyou then, and wrapped itself around Kagome. "HELP!" she shrieked. "Inuyasha! Help me!"
The hanyou looked up to see Kagome being dragged to the cliff's edge. "NO!!!" he cried for the second time that day. He grabbed the Tetsusaiga and chopped off the tentacle. It let go of Kagome as Naraku, in great pain, let go of the cliff accidentally. With an outraged roar, the evil youkai plunged to his death.
Kagome, being so close to the edge, flailed her arms around to try and catch herself. Inuyasha saw her about to fall as well, and ran to help her.
Michiko looked up from her bloody puddle to see Inuyasha try to grab Kagome's hand as she tumbled off the cliff... and miss.
"KAAGOOOME!" he called; his cries echoing through the rocky gorge below.
All Kagome could do was look up at the cliff where Inuyasha was, leaning over the edge with an outstretched hand. She knew she was going to die. There was no chance she would survive the fall...
There was a sudden flash beside Inuyasha. He looked up to see Michiko dive over the cliff after Kagome. Her hanyou strength kept her from falling like a dead weight, and she actually slid down the side of the cliff. She caught up with Kagome and grabbed her arm, slinging her onto her back.
"Hold on, Kagome!" she cried. "I'm not going to let you die... I'll save you for your own sake, if not for Inuyasha's as well!" Michiko tried to stop herself from sliding any further, but her intense pain finally caught up with her, and she doubled over in enormous agony.
Inuyasha gasped when he heard a loud thump followed by a large cloud of smoke. He, too, leapt over the side of the ledge and slid down the cliff. Sliding to a safe stop, he jumped to the ground below and waved his hand for the smoke to clear.
"Kagome!?" he called out.
"Help!" came a small voice. The hanyou looked above him to see Kagome hanging on a branch by her skirt. It must have gotten caught, he knew, as she was falling. Suddenly, the branch broke, and she shrieked, plummeting towards the ground.
However, she never hit the earth. Instead, she fell into the arms of Inuyasha.
"INUYASHA!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck.
The hanyou set her down and embraced her tightly, not wanting to let go. "Kagome... I thought I was going to lose you..." he whispered. "I was so scared..."
Kagome smiled through the tears that poured down her cheeks. "Inuyasha I was scared too... but Michiko... she saved me..."
At the sound of his sister's name, the hanyou pulled away from Kagome gently. "Where is she?" he asked.
Kagome pointed a shaky finger at a figure laying in a heap on the ground.
"GODS!" Inuyasha cried, racing over to Michiko. "Michiko, no!"
His sister looked up at the sound of his voice. She smiled when he got to her side. Dark blood still poured from her body and layed around her like an evil pool of death.
Inuyasha took his sister's hand. "Michiko?" he whispered.
Michiko smiled lightly at him. "Hey." She squeaked out.
Inuyasha seemed relieved that she was still able to talk. "Come on." He said. "Let's get you out of here... I'm sure your village has some potions and herbs for your wounds, and..."
"No, Inuyasha." Michiko interrupted. "Do you not remember what the Goddess had said to mother before she separated us?"
Inuyasha was silent, so she continued. "She said that our reunion will bring tragedy... that one of us would die... I guess we both know who that is now..."
Inuyasha frowned, remembering the words of the Goddess when she had spoken to him in the dream he had dreamt earlier that night...
"One of you shall die, before the sun rises... one wrong choice shall hasten the fate of the chosen one, so be cautious..."
The words were, indeed, true as he looked into the sky and saw the sun just starting to rise. Turning back to Michiko, he squeezed her hand. "I had a dream before warning me that one of us would die before the sun rises."
Michiko squeezed his hand back lightly, urging him to continue.
"Not only was the Goddess there, but mother too... she said destiny and fate were in control... and that I should do as the Goddess said and go find you. I asked her which one of us was going to die, and she answered me rather sadly, saying the one who has served their purpose on earth shall join her in eternal rest... that one of us shall die a death with honor... and the other shall live on with honor to fulfill their duties in this world."
Michiko could only nod now, as she felt her whole body starting to go numb.
"Inuyasha..." she murmured. "Fate and destiny IS in control. What needed to happen has happened. Naraku was defeated, and you now can get all the shards he had, and you'll have the whole Shikon no Tama... that's great."
Inuyasha frowned a little. "But I don't get it... why were you chosen to die? How have you served your purpose here on earth?"
Michiko smiled. "When I rescued Kagome from certain death, my soul was rendered complete. I saved the life of my brother's loved one. There had been a void in my heart after I couldn't save Shentuki from death so long ago... and that void was satisfied, knowing that I performed what I so desperately wanted to do for him, in saving Kagome's life- stopping an actual mortal from being mercilessly stripped away from the person whose heart longed to love them... Therefore, my greatest desire; my purpose here on earth has been completed... and I look forward to meeting mother again in the heavens."
Inuyasha looked down at his sister, feeling his eyes start to tear. He gripped her hand even harder as she winced, feeling the last waves of pain before her death.
"I'm glad I found you, Michiko." He said. "You saved the life of Kagome... you don't know how grateful I am to you..."
Michiko smiled and closed her eyes, feeling total peace and warmth consume her whole body. "You're welcome." She said. "And remember to tell her how you feel... before it's... too... late."
As the first rays of morning light fell across Michiko's face, her hand went limp and slid from Inuyasha's. It fell to the ground with a soft thud, raising a small cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, there in her open hand layed a Shikon shard; the one that Inuyasha had known she had from earlier that night.
The hanyou remained there, next to his fallen sister after retrieving the shard, untill a soft sniffle could be heard. He turned around to see Kagome standing not too far away. Her cheeks were stained with tears, and her eyes were sad and oppressed. "I'm sorry about your sister." She murmured sadly.
Inuyasha rose to his feet and walked over to Kagome, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Kagome... I'm sorry you had to see all that." He whispered.
Kagome started to cry all over again, so Inuyasha pulled her close, and hugged her tightly. They stayed that way in the morning light, silently wishing for time to stand still so they could stay like that forever.