Under the Pale Autumn Moon

Miroku walked forward and placed the small jewel in Kagome's hands. He didn't say anything, being a person who's always had everything in his life; he didn't even know what to say.

Kagome smiled weakly and held the jewel in her hand. The pain inside her heart was almost too much, it was unbearable. She just wanted the pain to stop.

She leaned over Inuyasha and placed the Shikon in his battered hand, "There you go Inuyasha."

Miroku and Sango helped hoist the bulky human and drag him away from the castle. Away from Naraku. Away from everything.

Kagome felt tears prickling her eyes as she stared off into the distance at the rising sun, casting shadows across the courtyard. Her heart felt endlessly empty and she felt the wrenching feeling in her heart again. Why wouldn't the pain stop?

The three walked in silence, only with occasional grunt of effort as one of them heaved Inuyasha over a fallen log or an especially bushy shrub.

The silence weighed heavily in Kagome's heart as she leaned her love against a tree and starting digging a hole with Sango and Miroku. They'd picked the burial place in the field where Kagome had first discovered that Inuyasha was a hanyou. She remembered that day as clear as if it happened five minutes ago. The way his silver hair drifted in the wind, the way his golden eyes captured hers for eternity it seemed.

And the way he purred.

She remembered the vibration deep within his throat that came out thick and happily when Kagome had rubbed his ears. No more dog-ears to rub now, though. And no more Inuyasha to purr even if she could.

"Kagome?" Kagome looked up and saw that Miroku and Sango had already placed a stick into a large mound, which was unmistakably Inuyasha. Sango smiled, thought it was forced, and placed a hand on her shoulder, "and are you ok?"

Kagome cringed when her hand touched a particularly large bruise Naraku had inflicted on her, "yeah I'm fine, the bruises will heal soon."

"No, I meant," she averted her eyes towards the mound of dirt and back at her, unable to finish.

Kagome's mouth made a little 'o' in realization and she forced a nod and a smile, "I'm sure it was only a small crush, I'll get over it, promise."

"Kagome, sometimes it's darkest just before dawn." Miroku said, adding his two cents in before falling silent.

Kagome smiled, though it was forced.

Sango sighed, obviously not believing a word Kagome said but nodded nonetheless and headed towards her house, hand and hand with Miroku.

Kagome stayed back, sitting in front of the mound. She prayed silently to her lost beloved and finally let her tears run again. The sunlight reflected off them tenderly, shining silvery light on the mound before they crashed just as silently onto the dirt.

"I love you Inuyasha," Kagome whispered, "if you can hear me, please, try and help me get over you."

And she stood up silently and left.

That had been two weeks and two days ago.

Two weeks without walking into the room and making fun loving comments at each other. How she cherished those moments now that she didn't have them any more.

Kagome sat on the windowsill, looking into the darkened sky. The pale autumn moon shown dully in the sky, and stars responded by twinkling noiselessly.

She watched the shadows on the moon that reminded her so much of her own heart. Two weeks ago she'd been bawling her eyes out over Inuyasha, but now, now she had no more tears she could shed.

Only remorse and sadness remained deep within her, and nothing she did would make the pain go away.

She visited his grave daily, and every time she would say the same thing: "I love you, Inuyasha."

And she did.

She did with all her heart, it wasn't puppy love, it wasn't a crush, and it wasn't a summer fling.

The door creped open and Kagome sighed. Probably Sango checking on her. After the Naraku fight, Sango had welcomed Kagome with open arms and they'd become fast friends. She sighed and looked down into the rose gardens, "Sango, leave me alone."

No answer.

Kagome sighed, why did she always have such stubborn friends?

She waved a hand behind her shoulder, the hand slightly cupped, waiting for her friend to place a glass of water in her hand, just like every night.

Instead, something round and smooth resided her hand. She paused and grasped the object timidly before staring at it in awe.

The Shikon no tama.

"Sango, why'd you give me this?" She asked softly, she'd given it to Inuyasha, it was not her place to dig it out, "now I have to go back to his grave and give it to him."

She turned around and saw no one there.

She was alone.

Sango must have left.

"God damn it Sango," Kagome muttered silently to herself as she treaded towards the door. Opening doors, which was something she had to get use too, no more floating, no more moving through walls.

She missed that almost as much as Inuyasha. But she missed Inuyasha about a thousand times more.

"Where are you going?" asked a voice behind her. Not Sango's, but strangely familiar. She tensed up, no way, it was impossible.

"Who's there?" she asked and whirled around, she gasped and the Shikon no tama dropped from her hand.

Inuyasha smiled softly at her.

"No," she whispered, "I saw you die, you can't be alive, and this has to be a trick."

Inuyasha leaned down and picked up the Shikon no tama from its position on the floor, "The funny thing about this jewel is that it will grant any wish you desire."

He rolled the jewel in-between his fingers casually, "And it gets even stronger when two people want it."

"How do I know you're the real Inuyasha?" Kagome asked suspiciously, it might be Naraku, maybe he wasn't dead at all, and maybe he was taking Inuyasha's form so that he could kill her in her sleep.

Inuyasha looked puzzled for a second, "Who else would I be?"

"Don't play innocent with me!" Kagome pointed a finger accusingly at him.

Inuyasha smiled again, "Define innocence."

Kagome felt tears run down her face, "That doesn't prove anything."

Inuyasha shrugged softly, "Whenever something's wrong you avert your eyes and your always silent. When you're happy, you're bubbly and talkative, floating around all the time, though you can't really float now I suppose. Whenever your angry, you always take our your anger by ramming yourself through walls."

"How do you know all of this? Are you a stalker?"

"Nah, it's just my hobby to memorize whenever you're depressed, happy, excited and so on."

Kagome's eyes widened.

"Plus, kindred spirits always know what the other's thinking," Kagome had no more doubts in her mind; she flung herself forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Inuyasha. At least, that was the theory.

Instead she went right through him.

She blinked in surprise.

Inuyasha smiled forlornly, "This isn't the real me, Kagome, I'm still buried in the field, take this." He placed the Shikon in her hand, "and go to my 'grave' and wish for me to come to life, before its too late. If you don't I'll..."

And then he faded away.

Kagome didn't need to be told twice, she ran out the door (after running into it, forgetting she couldn't go through it) and ran through the rose garden, the pastel autumn moon hung in the sky, casting a pathway of moonlight through the trees.

Reaching the mound she flung herself near the mound and grasped the Shikon tightly, "I wish Inuyasha could be with me."

The Shikon swoon a soft pink light as it surrounded her and Inuyasha's grave.

She closed her eyes tightly, praying and wishing for all she was worth.

A sudden warmth wrapped around her and she felt everything melt away from her. A burning sensation was beginning to take place inside her cupped hands, but she didn't dare let go, she didn't dare scurry her thoughts else wear.

And then she was in a place that was pure white. Almost like she was nowhere. It wasn't a blindly light, nor was it a darkened room like thing. It was just white, white spreading on for miles and miles.

She blinked open her eyes and looked around.

She tried to stand, but there was no floor. The place was warm yet cold at the same time, like she was sitting by a fire while pleating snow hit her backside.

She closed her eyes, "I wish Inuyasha could be with me." She repeated over and over again, clasping the Shikon in her hand, trying her hardest to ignore the smell of burning skin.

And then the Shikon no tama disappeared from her hand, its only evidence of ever being there were two burn marks on each hand in the shape of circles.

She looked at her hand puzzlingly as the whiteness melted away again and she was back in the field.

She blinked and looked around.

And then Inuyasha's mound shook. The corners of her lips upturned slightly in hope as she sat, waiting, waiting for it to be true, or for her to wake up from this dream.

A hand escaped the mound and grasped around for something to hold on to. The hand found Kagome's. Kagome felt her heart swelling as the person beneath the dirt pushed himself out of the ground, and violet eyes met blue- gray ones.

"Geez, I kick the bucket and the first thing you do is put me in a hole," Inuyasha smiled playfully as he pulled his trapped legs out of the dirt. Even if he was dead for two weeks, he still looked like he had been alive, and had only been sleeping for a few hours.

Dirt was smeared all over his face, his hair, and his clothes, but neither seemed to mind.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered hopefully as she reached out her other hand, Inuyasha instantly grasped it and intertwined his fingers with hers.

"Yeah, I'm here," he whispered into her ear, even though he had been dead, he still smelled like he always did, the distant smell of Inuyasha which she'd come to love.

"Oh Inuyasha," she rasped out as tears of joy fell down her cheeks, "I was so sure you were dead!"

Inuyasha smiled so softly it almost seemed like he wasn't smiling, his eyes held the caring look in his eyes that he reserved just for her, "Did you miss me?"

"Damn you and your heroic instincts," Kagome smiled and pressed her chest against his, wrapping her arms around him. "If you ever do that again, I'll hate you forever."

"No you won't," he said softly, and Kagome knew he was right, "but I promise I won't die again."

Kagome let more tears fall as he pulled away from her; kissing her tears away he inhaled her scent. It no longer smelled like roses. He wondered briefly if roses really were her natural scent or was it because she hung around them so much? But her scent was different, she seemed more alive, and she smelled faintly of strawberries instead of roses.

Not that he minded, she always smelled nice to him. Kagome blinked her eyes open after Inuyasha finished kissing her tears away, she smiled up at him, "Is this a dream?"

"If it is, I never want to wake up," he whispered to her and leaned down to kiss her.

As they both pulled away for breath, Kagome fiddled with some of his black hair that hung loosely around his face, framing his beautiful features, "I miss your ears."

Inuyasha chuckled, "ah well, I guess you'll have to get over it, because this is all your getting."

Kagome smiled and kissed him again, "I think I'll live."

Inuyasha hugged her tightly, "I love you."

Kagome smiled and sighed in pure bliss, "I love you too."

"I know," he said plainly as he leaned down and passionately kissed her.

They stayed out there for hours, neither wanting to leave.

Two lovers under the pale autumn moon.