Chapter 43: Bring Me to Life

Kyoko winced in pain as she dropped to her knees, Tetsusaiga still firmly in her chest. Inu Yasha shuddered as he pulled the great sword out of her chest. He dropped Tetsusaiga when he saw that it was still dripping with Kyoko's blood.

Sesshoumaru's eyes flickered with rage and agony as he rushed to Kyoko's side. [Inu Yasha… that clumsy son of a bitch!!! He cannot even to control his sword well enough to… to…]

Kyoko gasped for breath as she reached for Sesshoumaru. "S-Sesshoumaru… I—I'm sorry… I had no choice…"

Sesshoumaru's eyes burned with tears as he shook his head. "Inu Yasha… I swear… I'll make you pay…"

Kyoko tightened her grip on Sesshoumaru's arm and shook her head. "It's okay, Sesshoumaru… It wasn't his fault… you see, sometimes people get hurt and people hurt other people… but… sometimes… accidents happen, and the person who is hurt doesn't hold their pain against the other… I want you to promise not to fight with Inu Yasha… it wasn't his fault, I knew what was going to happen… if I didn't do this, you would have… been the one to go…"

Sesshoumaru hugged Kyoko. "But…Kyoko… I love you… please… don't…"

Kyoko nodded and, though her breathing was still heavily labored, replied, "I know... I'm sorry… for not being… strong enough…"

Kyoko used her last ounces of strength to wrap her arms around Sesshoumaru. A solitary tear rolled down her cheek as she took in her last breath and passed on.

Sesshoumaru shook his head and then screamed in emotional agony. [No… this cannot be happening… this can't be real…especially not… those words… Father… those were your final words…]

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Kagome felt tears stinging in her eyes as she ran across the village to Inu Yasha. She and the others had followed Inu Yasha and Sesshoumaru down to the village and had seen what happened.

"Inu Yasha…" Tears rolled freely down Kagome's cheeks as she wrapped her arms around Inu Yasha and hid her face on his shoulder.

~

Miroku's face fell as the scene of his sister's death replayed over and over in his mind. Soon, other memories intertwined with it. He recalled when his father was sucked into his own Kazaana, when Kyoko first took him on a journey, and when he first met Sango, injured still from her fight with Kohaku; all of the memories, good and bad, were more than enough to bring tears to his eyes. His bangs shadowed his eyes and his lip trembled as tears began to fall from his eyes. "Kyoko-onésama…"

Sango knelt down next to Miroku and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "Houshi-sama…"

~

Inu Yasha slowly pushed Kagome away from himself and stepped nearer to Sesshoumaru. "You know… maybe you could use—"

Sesshoumaru trembled in rage as he turned to Inu Yasha. "How dare you??? The one and only person dear to me… you bastard, you killed her! Because of you… she's… she's gone."

Inu Yasha stared at Sesshoumaru in shock. [He—He's crying! After all these years, as long as I've known him… I've never seen or even heard of him crying or doing so much as looking remorseful of anything… he… He truly loved Kyoko…]

Sesshoumaru turned away from Inu Yasha before his anger consumed him to the point that he would break his promise to Kyoko. [She… she's gone… She died to protect me… if I would have seen Inu Yasha there… perhaps she wouldn't have done that… perhaps neither of us would have been hurt… but now… she's gone… She was everything to me… Those weeks that she was gone—seemed like years… I have never—never loved anyone so much, not even Naoko. I wish… I wish that I could turn back the time and make it so she wasn't hurt… maybe if I was here sooner… or if I hadn't have left her here at all…]

Sesshoumaru gasped as he felt an electrical pulse from his left side. He shifted his gaze down to his sword, Tenseiga. It had been Tenseiga that pulsed, as though to remind Sesshoumaru of its existence, its purpose. [That's it…] Sesshoumaru unsheathed the Tenseiga, his expression now void of emotion. [Please… Kyoko… come back to me!!!]

Sesshoumaru swung the sword over Kyoko's body, slicing through the otherworld messengers. He quickly sheathed the sword as he picked Kyoko up, as though to wake her. "Kyoko! Kyoko, please…"

Everyone else stared onward, not sure what to expect. All was silent until finally, they saw Kyoko move yet again.

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Kyoko slowly opened her eyes, blinking in the brightness of the morning light. [But… didn't I die?] She focused her gaze on Sesshoumaru, who was holding her. "Sesshoumaru? What's the matter?"

Tears now openly flowed from Sesshoumaru's eyes as he held Kyoko tightly to himself, feeling as though he'd never be able to release her. "Kyoko… I thought… I thought that I lost you… I've never been… so scared…"

"Sesshoumaru… you brought me back… I was dead."

Sesshoumaru held Kyoko away from himself, confused. "Did you know wish it so?"

[I guess that means…] Kyoko grinned as her gaze shifted to Sesshoumaru. "Then, you do want me to stay with you?"

"Of course I do…"

Kyoko smiled as she wrapped her arms around Sesshoumaru. "It's okay… I'm glad…"

Sesshoumaru shuddered, tears still dripping down his cheeks. "Kyoko… I—I was so—"

Kyoko nodded. "I know…" Kyoko's eyes sparkled in the early morning light as she pulled Sesshoumaru's face to hers. "It'll be okay, Sesshoumaru-sama," she said soothingly as she pulled Sesshoumaru into a kiss.

Sesshoumaru slowly broke away from the kiss, confusion in his eyes. "But… Kyoko… why is it that you were so quick to give your life for mine?"

Kyoko giggled as she answered, "Because… of all of the things that I learned while I was gone… I learned that I cannot live without you. I felt like a prisoner while I was there, I was barely able to bring myself to eat or sleep… but… Everything is okay now, right?"

Sesshoumaru nodded.

"As long as we are together, everything will always be okay."