Chapter Nine -

Ending of a Lifetime

Fifty years later

He's so strong, Kagome thought as she watched Inuyasha cut a tree down with his claws.  It had bent down towards their house in a storm, so he was disposing of it so it was no longer a threat.  His outfit had changed slightly again, for about ten years earlier a traveler had brought fire rat fur to the village, and he'd bought it from him to have another hinezume no koromo [fire rat robe] made.  He wore black hakama with it, so he didn't look quite as brilliantly red as he'd used to.

So much had happened throughout the years.  Suki was grown and beautiful; she was currently traveling the entire lands as a test of her strength and stamina, unable to stay in one place for too long.  She had a younger brother, Yoshiomaru, who looked entirely human save for fangs and one wisp of silver hair that hung by the right side of his face.  He was much more reserved than his sister, and considered his parents' house his house, though at the moment he too was off on a journey merely to satisfy his great curiosity of the lands.

Miroku and Sango's first son, Hisoka, became a very good monk, and managed to keep his hands off of women for the most part.  Upon hearing the story of his parents' travels and adventures, he'd built a small shrine around the Bone-Eater's well; a shrine Kagome recognized as what would be called the well house in her time.  He was now in the process of building another, and Kagome found it fascinating to see her modern home being constructed before her eyes.

It had been over twenty years since Kagome had stopped visiting the modern times.  She felt so much at home in the feudal era that she never wanted to leave.  At the time of her last visit, Sota had taken jiichan's job as the priest over their shrine, and was doing a rather good job of it.

Feeling her gaze, Inuyasha looked up and smiled at his wife.  She'd aged beautifully, and you could still see her young heart in her eyes.  But no matter how beautiful she was, she'd still aged, and the hanyou never left her side for fear he'd lose her.

He walked up to her, and gently touched one of her cheeks.  She smiled lovingly at him, and then suddenly coughed.

"Kagome, daijoubu [are you ok]?" he asked worriedly.  She gave him a weak smile, and he pulled her into his arms.

"Inuyasha, arigato," she whispered.

"For what?"

"For loving me so much, even though you're still so young and I've grown so old.  I know I probably don't look very pleasing to you anymore."

"Baka," he said quietly.  "I don't care what you look like.  Your soul is still the same.  You're still my Kagome."

Every night, he would stare at her as she slept, feeling so helpless because he couldn't prevent the inevitable.  He never cried, though many times he wanted to.  He knew he had to be strong for her.

It was in autumn that she died, for reasons he did not know.  He buried her at the God Tree, right where they'd first met, and finally let his tears fall as he stood by her grave thinking about their adventures together when she'd been younger.  As the wind blew through the trees, her voice came back to him.

"My name is Kagome!  Ka-Go-Me!"

"Drop the attitude.  You got hurt in that fight."

"Sesshoumaru!  My next arrow hits your left arm!"

"I'm not crying because I'm sad!  I'm crying because you're an idiot!"

"We talked about it before, remember?  How I wanted to stay with you?"

"Osuwari!"

"Kouga, I love Inuyasha!"

Kagome… Inuyasha sat before the grave.  You were so strong.  You never let anything beat you, because you knew there was always a way to win.

"I don't know how long I'm gonna live, Kagome," he said quietly.  "But I promise I'll never let someone else take your place.  No one else could.  You truly changed my world.  You changed me, and I'll never forget you.  I love you."

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You changed my world

When you came to me,

You drove a passion

In my soul down deep

Oh, to follow you in everything

I don't want to go somewhere if I know that you're not there

'Cause I know that me without you is a lie

I don't want to walk that road, be a million miles from home

'Cause my heart needs to be where you are

I don't want to go.

So come whatever,

I'll stick with you

I'll walk, you lead me

Call me crazy, or a fool

For forever, I promise you

That I don't want to go somewhere if I know that you're not there

'Cause I know that me without you is a lie

I don't want to walk that road, be a million miles from home

'Cause my heart needs to be where you are

I don't want to go.

Without your touch, without your love

Filling me like an ocean

Your grace is enough, enough for me

To never want to go somewhere if I know that you're not there…

Oh, I don't want to go.

            ~Avalon, "I Don't Want To Go"

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A/N – This is the end of Part One.  Due to an amazing amount of reviews, I have decided to write another part, which will begin in the next chapter.  Hope you all enjoy the second part as much as the first!