Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

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Inuyasha and the others picked themselves up with some difficulty. Sango was still bleeding heavily and Hikari had only managed to pull out the most lethal of the poison from Miroku before Inuyasha had taken back his control. Inuyasha had been the closest to the barrier and he had been hit with the full impact of it.

Kagome was still in agony. The glow had not left her body and the sword was still glowing. The sword had lifted by itself and had turned straight down above Kagome's heart, ready to pierce it. Inuyasha could say nothing, as could the others. A voice came; it seemed to emanate from the sword. The same voice that had come before, during the ritual, the same haunting and ghastly voice. It spoke, "You will not ruin my plans youkai. I will return and take my rightful place as the protector from the youkai whom wish to take control over this world."

The sword tip lowered slowly, "I will take my revenge for my imprisonment."

"That is quite enough miko," the voice that tore from Inuyasha's throat was not his but he knew it all the same, "Your vengeance stops here."

Inuyasha found, with some alarm, that he was moving towards the sword and its holder.

"Take not one more step hanyou or you will be the next to face my wrath."

"Use your head Midoriko and you will know who I am."

"Mi . . . Midoriko?" Miroku's voice was just a whisper, "but . . . but how is that possible?"

Sango said nothing but was just staring in disbelief.

Things were clicking into place in Inuyasha's mind. 'Midoriko' the name repeated over and over in his mind. (If you didn't know, Midoriko was the most powerful human miko who possessed the power to take out the spirits of a youkai and purify it. After a battle of seven days and seven nights, the youkai captured her and with her final power, Midoriko pulled out their spirits and sealed them inside her heart but her heart was sent from her body in an attack. The Shikon no Tama came out. Inside the Shikon no Tama, are the spirits of the youkai and Midoriko, still battling. Sango explains this to the group in episode 26 or right after she learns the truth about Naraku and is healing.)

"How do you know who I am youkai?"

The voice laughed, "Do you not remember me Midoriko? I was the one who trained you, Child of Light."

"Child of . . . Child of Light . . . But I lost the final event. The Prophecy of Light is no more." A shadowy outline of a person holding the sword began to appear.

"You did not lose Midoriko. The battle is still going. The one you stand over is my new chosen. You will serve her and guide her as one."

"This child is a weak fool. She does not deserve my assistance. You are lying. The Light would not choose such a weak vessel," the voice scoffed. The shadow figure was clear now and the tip of the sword rose to point straight at his chest. The sword shot forwards, "DIE youkai!"

The voice sighed and Inuyasha heard in his mind, 'She is still the same after all these years. Do not worry Demon Lord. I will not let anything happen to you . . . or Kagome.'

Inuyasha saw himself raise a hand and make a brief flicking motion with it. The sword froze, as did the bearer, "Stop this Midoriko. Your task is to reside and assist the new chosen, not to destroy them or take control of their minds. Now release the new Chosen from the torment that you inflict on her."

"I . . . I must submit. I apologize spirit. I will perform my task." The glow slowly retreated from Kagome's skin. Until the only light left was on her forehead and on the scar on her neck.

"Very good Midoriko. You to will have a task on this journey. Luck to you." The shadow figure vanished and the sword came to rest beside Kagome once again.

Inuyasha felt himself turning to the others and sighing, "I know that you now have many questions, speak them now."

Sango spoke first, "How is . . . is . . . Midoriko still . . . still in a form and mind?"

"Midoriko and the spirits of the youkai were battling with the youkai inside the Shikon no Tama, as you told them, Sango, when the Shikon no Tama was broken, the spirits were released."

"But . . . you said that she was Child of Light before . . . "

"Once again you are correct Sango. She was Child of Light, as the youkai were Child of Dark. The final event did not decide the outcome of this world, so another prophecy was made."

Miroku swallowed a few times before he was able to voice his questions, "If Midoriko-san is the spirit in Kagome-sama's sword, then does the Child of Light have a sword that contains the spirits of the youkai that she was fighting?"

"Very clever monk, it is true. That is why the blades make such a display when they are against each other."

"How is it that you speak through Inuyasha now?"

"Kagome's body was healing and Inuyasha was conveniently in the flux zone with Kagome's soul. You were in trouble and I could not have two of my chosen killed."

"Two? But how is-"

"I thought that you were more intelligent than that monk, or rather, The Forsaken One. You have faced the trouble of your past once again and have shown yourself as the Forsaken one and as you have possibly already known, you," he gestured to Sango, "are the Huntress."

"But I-"

"I don't care to hear and buts, you are my chosen. When Kagome is awake, she will take care of your cuts Sango and the poison is already out of your system monk. Oh all right Inuyasha. Will someone take care of Kagome before Inuyasha kills himself trying to take back his control."

The two went over to Kagome's side immediately. Inuyasha felt the other presence fading, 'Like I said before Inuyasha, you had better tell her before it's to late.'

'What the fuck do you mean by that?!'

'Oh I think you know Inuyasha.'

And the voice was gone.

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Kagome didn't know what was happening outside of the little bubble that made as a thin resistance that lessened the pain to some degree. She huddled safe within that ball, scared to leave the security that it gave, even when the pain suddenly vanished.

She heard the voices calling to her from far away but didn't hear them. All that she could make out was muttered sounds that could be coming from anyone.

'Leave me alone.' she thought, couldn't they see that she was afraid? Or that she was in too much pain from what had just occurred. She knew that she had screamed. The need to vocalize the strength of the sensations had been extreme and even though she didn't know what was happening, or where she was, she knew that she had screamed and she knew that her body was trembling.

She barely remembered who she was and that's what scared her the most. What if she went back and forgot? What if she hurt . . . hurt . . . that boy . . . She tucked herself in closer, trying to go through her shredded thoughts to try and remember what was going on and who was the boy that she struggled to remember. Golden eyes flashed through her memory, as well as a sense of comfort and a huge amount of loyalty but beyond that, nothing came to mind.

'Why can't I remember?' she asked herself, an immense feeling of déjà vu coming to her.

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Sango and Miroku had drifted into a deep slumber against the wall. They had been trying for hours to wake the girl that lay sprawled on the floor where she had been put when their attempts to wake her outside had failed.

Inuyasha sat next to her still form. She had not moved at all. Her body had not made the least bit of resistance when he had picked her up and moved her inside.

After a long pause, and Inuyasha checking if the monk and exterminator were sleeping soundly enough that they would not waken for a while at least, Inuyasha allowed himself to stare freely at her seemingly peaceful face. Seemingly of its own accord, his hand reached out towards her. He didn't know what he was doing when the back of his hand began to softly stroke her cheek nor did he realize that his face had relaxed from the frown that had been present almost the whole day. He didn't know that his eyes were shining with compassion, care, and worry as he looked down at the girl that his hands had somehow maneuvered into his lap without his knowing. And he didn't know that Miroku had woken up sometime while all his attention was focused on Kagome.

The monk was silent as he watched the pair. He watched without giving any implication that he was awake. He saw one of the very rare moments where Inuyasha showed tenderness to the young miko. He nearly jumped up when he heard Inuyasha break the silence that had settled, until he realized that Inuyasha was not speaking to him, or even noticing him.

"Please come back Kagome," Inuyasha was whispering so lightly that Miroku almost didn't catch the soft words, or the soft, sad tone that told him much more that Inuyasha wanted him, or anyone else, to know, "Please come back.We need you . . . I . . . I need you. Please . . . please come back to us . . . to me."

Inuyasha didn't hear the soft rustling of cloth that would have warned him that the monk was coming. He turned when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Too surprised to conceal the evidence that he was indeed worried and that he had been, and was still, holing Kagome closely to him. Too surprised to conceal the fact that his eyes had filled with liquid. Too surprised to hide the droplets that had managed to escape and had splashed onto Kagome's face. Too surprised to do anything but stare at the monk that was staring at him, just as surprised.

Inuyasha closed his eyes and sat back, letting the last of the drops trail down his face. He wiped them off his face slowly, wracking his brain for an excuse, any excuse to give to Miroku.

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Kagome's eyes snapped open, still enclosed in her protective bubble; she heard something pierce the silence.

"Please come back Kagome."

Whose voice was that?

"Please come back."

She almost had it.

"We need you."

Who was it?!

"I . . . I need you."

Inu . . . Dog? . . .

"Please come back to us."

Inu . . . Inu-what?!

She felt her face, she could have sworn that there was something there, there was something still there. She pulled her hand away and stared at the liquid that covered her fingertips.

'Tears. But who would cry for me?'

" . . . to me."

'Inuyasha,' she repeated the name in her mind over and over. Images came, 'Inuyasha.'

She broke the bubble.

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"Inu . . . yasha . . . "

Inuyasha's eyes snapped open at the raspy whisper. He looked down at the girl in his lap. His eyes widened when she raised a hand and cupped his face, lightly stroking his cheek with her thumb, "Inuyasha . . . I'll always . . . always come back for you. That's a promise."

A gentle smile crossed her lips and she let her hand fall. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep, much more natural sleep.

Inuyasha didn't, couldn't, move. He stared at the now sleeping girl for a long while before the same gentle smile flickered across his face briefly. He sighed and picked Kagome up. She didn't stir. He settled her against his chest and leaned back against the wall, his arms wrapped around her. All thoughts of Miroku or anything else forgotten.

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Author's Note: I'm sorry. I just thought that this chapter was too sweet to leave out.