Disclaimer: I don't own Inu Yasha and Co. I never will.

Summary: The battle is over and Kagome is dead. Inu Yasha is heartbroken beyond mending. What if the Jewel never existed? Would this have happened? He finally makes one, last drastic attempt to save her. Will it work?

~ Edited Version ~

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One Wish

Chapter One One Last Attempt

Inu Yasha's POV

'Well, here it is,' I thought wryly to myself, staring at the little glass marble in my hand. Tossing it gently up and down, I watched the glowing white sphere fly through the air, then fall again into my waiting palm, where it contrasted sharply against my bloodstained, dirt-incrusted hand. 'The Jewel of the Four Souls. The miniscule marble-shaped thing that caused so many deaths, tore apart so many families, broken so many valued friendships. It's inflicted so much pain, both physical and emotional upon us all. The cursed thing...'

I fought the urge to just throw it away, hurl it far into the distant forest, to rid my hands of its vile power. But what good would that do? It would just mean everyone suffered for nothing.

'Well, now I have it. The thing I wanted most, that would end my unhappiness. Yet it just added more didn't it? It came at such a great price. Was it worth it?'

'No,' I answered myself, 'it wasn't' I glanced down from my perch amongst the highest branches of this tree. Shippo cried grievously over Kagome's dead body, trying to get her to 'wake up' again. The poor, little brat. Kagome's never going to wake up again. 'All because of me' Sango was trying to tend the dying monk and Kaede's many wounds at the same time. 'Stupid old lady. Why did she have to come? Yet without her miko powers, we would never have gotten the jewel from Naraku. Of course, I would never admit that,' I mused to myself. I looked down again and Sango was still running back and forth. 'I should go help her,' I realized. 'But I'm not going tot. I don't want to face them yet. This is still too much to absorb in too little time. I don't want to see Kagome again and not have her running toward me, or issuing a barrage of 'Sits', or listening to her criticizing me for moping. Or kissing me. She might have kissed me now if she wasn't lying dead on the ground, a casualty of war.'

Kagome. Her name still sends warm shivers throughout my body. I finally focus my attention on her. Her eyes are closed, and her hair covers most of the giant gash on her head, the dried blood causing it to stick. Her cheeks are still flushed from the previous battle, and she was still smiling slightly, a determined smile. One that showed she would get the jewel or die trying. It almost looked like she was sleeping. If only she was.

If only Kagome hadn't died. If only she had never gotten involved, never fallen through the well. I would never have met her, but she would be alive. Alive and happy in that insane world of hers. Not dead in the Warring-States Era. That's what counts, her being alive.

If only I had let some other demon deal with Naraku. Perhaps none of this would have happened. Kikyo, the sweet, caring Kikyo, from 50 years back, she would be alive. Not some flimsy reincarnated Kikyo that only knows how to hate and seek revenge. The Kikyo that knew how to love, the Kikyo that taught me how to care. But then again, even that Kikyo has now been destroyed.

If only, if only, if only. So many if only's, only one wish. This one wish has to solve all my problems. Just one wish. It's impossible.

If only Naraku had never been born. Maybe then Kagome wouldn't have died trying to kill him. If only my mother was still alive. She might have stopped me from going after the Jewel in the first place. If only I had never heard of the Jewel. I would not have gone searching for it. If only the Jewel had never existed.

I glanced downward at them again. Kaede-baba was staring gravely at me, her wounds having received all the tending they would receive under the current conditions. I had a creepy feeling that she knew what I was thinking. Sango was crouched over Miroku, probably spilling her guts out and begging him not to die; to die and leave her. How ironic that the when the two of them finally admit that they love each other, it had to be in the face of death. Miroku was smiling gently, lovingly, almost sadly at the girl bending over him, for once not feeling the urge to grope. He wouldn't last much longer. Shippo had been cried out of tears, and was now a bit calmer than before and was fiddling with Kagome's hair, as usual.

Kagome. Her name still sends a jolt through my heart. Once again, my eyes stray to her and are then held captive. Her blouse was ripped in several places, revealing deep gashes underneath. Her skirt lay in tatters, the original green almost non-existent; it was covered with so much blood. Some was Naraku's, some had previously belonged to random demons she had fought, but most of it was hers. Yet even covered in dirt and grime, even in death, she was still an angel. She always will be.

I finally jerk my eyes away from her and glanced again at the jewel in my hands and made one, final decision. I knew I should probably consult the others first, I knew I should at the very least tell the, but I no longer cared. I just wanted it to be all over.

I closed my fist around the tiny glass marble, thought of Kagome one last time; thought of all the things we did together. The fights, the battles, the 'Sits'. The laughter in her eyes and her never-faltering hope. Her intoxicating scent. Her Ramen. Then I made my wish. In a flash of pinkish light, it would all be over. I would be with Kikyo again, she where she belongs.

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So, what do you think will happen and how'd you like it? It was going to be a one-shot, but I'll probably change my mind. In fact, I'm pretty sure I already have. I kinda have a hazy plot in mind, but it'll need some serious fine-tuning. Keep checking back, I may update later today or tomorrow, maybe. If I have enough time and don't forget.

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Any comments, suggestions, or flames are greatly appreciated. Hmmm, let's say that if I get ten I won't conveniently 'forget' and make a honest effort to update by this weekend. 10's my ransom. Take it or leave it. Now go review!

.please?