I Love You
Trees, rocks, and grass flashed past her in a whirl, the sunrise casting shadows upon them, but Kagome didn't notice...
The image of Inuyasha standing there, eyes wide and mouth open in a gasp, his ears bent back was still fresh in her mind...
'I'm doing the right thing...' She tried to convince herself, though she knew it was hopeless...
With a lurch the cloaked miko was jerked from her thoughts, stumbling to her feet when the light blue flames suddenly disappeared, leaving her in the middle of a...
Blinking with shock, Kagome realized she was in the middle of a crater.
At least fifty feet deep, by the looks of it...
But it didn't look new, a river running through the center of it, vegetation plentiful along its steep cliffs...
Something was almost familiar about it.
"Where's your little lap dog, Kagome?"
The cold voice came from just to her right, sounding quite close, so she merely raised her head, spotting the dead bitch immediately.
The ghostly white demons were floating around her, just outside the light blue flames that blazed, but Kagome grinned, holding out her hands innocently with a sarcastic reply, "Sorry, Kikyo... no Inuyasha to drag to hell... you'll have to do with me, sadly."
A snarl quickly replaced the smirk on the dead miko's face, her lips curling the slightest, and without a sound she flung one hand forward, a blast of light blue flames hurtling themselves towards the defenseless Kagome.
Slamming painfully into her body, the cloaked girl was swept off her feet, throwing her backwards a couple feet before she dropped to the ground, rolling a couple times, then finally coming to a complete halt.
A triumphant grin had plastered itself upon Kikyo's cold lips, her eyes sparkling with wicked humor...
Until Kagome started laughing, closing her eyes and throwing her head back with a carefree abandon.
The dead miko stood there, unable to comprehend what the hell the bloody and battered girl before her could possibly be laughing about...
The laughter continued on and on, echoing around the crater endlessly as dark blue flames flared around Kagome's body, roaring with their ferocity.
Slowly standing up, her body shaking with laughter, the cloaked miko captured the shocked Kikyo's eyes with her own as the laughter died down, instead replaced by Kagome's chilly voice, "Miscalculated once again bitch... you can't kill me if I'm immortal..."
A trickle of fear slipped down Kikyo's spine at the tone of the cloaked miko's voice, the predatory glean in her eyes...
Shivering the slightest, the dead miko quickly covered her unease with her own laugh as the light blue flames swirled to life around her, creating a opposing wind to Kagome's, the different shades of blue clashing at a midpoint between them just over the river...
"Tell me, stupid girl, do you really deserve to live? After all the terrible things you've done... all the pain and misery you've caused... do you want to live? With all those memories..." The dead miko chided, her voice scornful, but the cloaked miko's laughter once again filled the crater, sending chills down her spine.
With a wave of her hands, Kagome's flames swirled about her body quicker as she started strolling towards the dead miko in a leisurely pace, a calm smile on her lips while she whispered, "You're right, Kikyo... I don't deserve to live. In fact, I'm going to hell, and I'm dragging you with me. So... if you truly want this power, let me show you how much there really is!"
The flames exploded higher, reaching towards the sky, their dark blue shimmering with a deeper power...
Realizing what the cloaked miko meant, Kikyo took one step back, a slight tinge of panic in her voice when she shouted, "You can't destroy yourself! Then you'll kill Inuyasha... you can't do that!"
"Since when have you cared about him, Kikyo? Ah, this second, is it? Damn, you're one sad bitch... well, just to reassure you, the connection is broken..." Kagome laughed, her black hair thrashing about her in the wild wind, brown eyes shining with tears of grief as a peace settled over her...
This is what she had been waiting for.
Finally, after so long, this nightmare would end...
But, if that was true...
Why did it feel so wrong?
A light tugging, barely perceivable, was coming from deep within her...
She quickly ignored it, though it nagged her without mercy, and with another laugh she watched the dead miko before her pale in fear, the black eyes that had been so triumphant before darkening with panic.
The distance between the two mikos slowly narrowed...
With wide eyes, Kikyo noticed her reincarnation was walking on the river...
Her feet barely touched the water, slight ripples spreading from where they did touch...
The dark blue flames were quickly overtaking the dead miko's lighter ones, a powerful wind brushing the opposing flames away with ease...
The dead priestess was frozen with fear, staring at the mirror image of herself, unable to comprehend how things had turned around so quickly...
Why had that damn hanyou gone and played hero?
Damn it! He was supposed to watch in misery as his oh so precious jewel shard detector died at her hands, not reactivate those damn rosary beads...
'That's it!'
The dead miko's mind stumbled to a stop, an image of the damn necklace coming to mind... followed by the words the bitch before her had just said, '...the connection is broken...'
Standing before the oddly silent Kikyo, the cloaked girl prepared to let the power burst from her, and surprisingly, she felt a touch of remorse for all she was giving up...
Even though things had continued on without her, did that mean that it wasn't worth living?
Maybe... just maybe there was something to live for...
What was she thinking?
No one would miss her...
'Don't ever leave again!'
Shippo's words from that fateful day hit her hard, knocking some sense through the grief...
The power was sitting right there, ready to be released...
But something held her back.
'Kagome, don't do this!'
Inuyasha's words from that day...
Damn it, why couldn't she do it?
Blinking, Kagome realized that she was just standing there as the dead miko laughed.
"Do you not recognize this place Kagome? This is where you failed to end your life last time. Not this time, though... oh no, I shall do the honors for you, and enjoy it immensely!" Kikyo shouted, just as she laid one finger on the scar.
But nothing happened.
The blue flames continued to rage around both mikos, their inner depths shining with bridled power; the wind whipped them without mercy, roaring louder and louder...
Then something within Kagome broke...
All the power around them exploded, touching the sky with its intensity, the shockwave destroying everything in its path for miles and miles.
Trees torn out of their roots, grass shredded beyond recognition, dirt thrown into the sky...
Everything was destroyed.
Shaking her buzzing head, the cloaked miko realized she was lying at the edge of the crater, every single nerve in her body screaming in pain...
But worst of all, her power was rushing out of her body, traveling over the expanse of the crater to the other side, where she could just barely see Kikyo standing.
Dirt was falling from the sky like ash, blowing in the brutal wind that swept the area...
Fighting to hold onto her power and managing to slow the flow down to a mere trickle, Kagome slowly got to her feet, a severe gash on her leg and minor cut on her arm two of many injuries scattered about her body.
Why hadn't she ended it all?
Shaking with exhaustion, she blinked, feeling her eyes start to tear from the dust...
Damn it, why hadn't she ended it all?!?
Frustration built up within her chest at the unfairness of it all...
Maniac laughter floated over the scene, coming from the dead miko who stood in the center of light blue flames that were slowly, but surely, getting bigger, and the cloaked miko felt a desperation fill her...
How was Kikyo stealing her power?
'Your protection is gone... you spirit is shattered... you are alone...'
A cold, heartless voice whispered in her head.
So much like Naraku, all those years ago...
With a sinking feeling, she realized the voice right... but...
Why hadn't she ended it?
Had she really hoped that someone would come save her?
In some part of her mind, she had believe that...
She had actually hoped that someone would save her and everything would be perfect again.
A choked laugh escaped her, tears slipping through closed lids to blow away with the wind...
How naïve she was.
She was alone, that was the truth and nothing could change it.
Suddenly it wasn't just the power that was being drug towards the dead miko, her whole body threatened to topple over and swoop over there.........
Then it would be the end, Kagome realized, with a gasp, her closed eyes shooting open.
Could she let it end like this?
Could she?
No... it just couldn't!
But the matter was really out of her hands now.
She had no control over what was happening.
The dead bitch was drawing the power from her body without any resistance except for her desperate attempt to hold it back...
She had no control at all!
"Damn it Kikyo!" The cloaked miko shouted, a burst of power swirling around her, the blue flames signaling her resistance...
The cold chilling laughter filled her head, sweat rolling between her shoulder blades and temples from the exertion she was forced to withstand in order to hold her power from Kikyo.
A scream tore from Kagome's lips when a sharper tug on her power literally tore more from her body, rushing in a river of blue flames towards the dead miko, arcing gracefully over the crater to hit light blue flames.
The pain was unbearable...
With a gasp, Kagome felt her foot slip, sliding until she was inches from the edge of the crater before she finally got her footings again.
Her power was nearly half gone...
Panic soaked in, mingling with the pain and hopelessness.
Damn it!
What could she do?
There was nothing she could do.
Everything was becoming hazy again...
Like before, the feeling of not really being there...
Shaking her head roughly, Kagome fought hard to break free of the haze.
But everything was going dark...
With glazed eyes she watched as still more flames tore from her, flying with dazzling agility over the crater to mix with the lighter blue flames, and a cold numbness overtook the cloaked miko's body.
This was the end, after so much pain...
After so much misery...
Another painful scream tore from her cracked and bleeding lips, the sharpest pull on her power yet drawing an alarming amount of power from her.
The pulling on her body became unbearable, she barely noticed her feet slipping towards the edge of the crater against her will as she stood there, the darkness swallowing her completely...
The end...
Suddenly two warm bands of steel wrapped around her from behind, tucking themselves securely just beneath her ribs, and she was pulled back into a protective embrace.
Impulsively stiffening despite the sense of absolute rightness and struggling to shed the darkness that had smothered her, the scream cut off abruptly when warm breath fanned her ear, an all too familiar voice whispering, "Look deep inside of yourself..."
Those words...
Eyes widening in disbelief, the cloaked miko brought her arms down to grip the muscular ones that held her so tightly...
Her haven in the darkness.
Those were the exact words she had used when she asked Inuyasha to complete the connection that she had created out of love.
The tugging deep within her tripled in intensity, a tingling spreading throughout her body and pushing the terrible pain away...
But how could this be?
Inuyasha couldn't love her...
He didn't even need her any longer!
She'd given him the Shikon Jewel...
Power continued to flow from her, a steady stream of blue flames, but she barely noticed, lost in the blackness and enchanted by the masculine voice that sent shivers down her spine, "I don't care what you say, it's not too late to save you... After all those years without you Kagome... I'm not going to lose you again, damn it."
Winds raged around them, destroying everything for miles.
A pang of guilt stabbed through her, a flicker of hope...
With a shake of the head, Kagome attempted to pull from his arms, whispering, "It's too late... just let me go... please, let me rest in peace..."
"No! You're going to listen to me, whether you want to or not..." His voice husky, he tightened his grip, dragging her back until her back was pressed against the wall of his chest.
The darkness hovered at the edge of her vision, unable to creep closer yet not leaving as he continued, "After you died... or, after we thought you died... everyone was devastated. Miroku took your advice... like I told you before, him and Sango are happily married, but tell me... how can they truly be happy when their marriage was only possible at the cost of our most precious jewel shard detector?"
Breath hitching in her chest, the cloaked miko blinked, never having known that perhaps life wasn't so perfect without her...
"Shippo was utterly heartbroken. You don't know how rough he took it, he just stopped living it seemed... never played, never spoke... he's slowly gotten better and we've got a brotherly relationship going on, but he'll never be the same without you..."
Oh Shippo, her poor little kitsune...
She missed him so much, she just wanted to hold him in her arms and never let him go.
"Me? There is no one word to express what I was feeling... grief at losing you, disbelief that you were truly gone, but mostly anger..."
She froze, both at his words and the agonizing pain coming from her cheek...
Jerked from the haven that she had been so peacefully residing in, Kagome screamed, her knees buckling underneath her, leaving only Inuyasha's arms to support her.
"Kagome? Kagome!"
Inuyasha didn't get what was going on.
Of course he understood Kikyo was stealing her power, that's why he was trying to get her to complete the connection, but she had been fine a second ago...
What was happening?
A bone deep desperation filled him, slowing his ability to think, and with little thought to anything except the need to protect his Kagome...
Turning the miko in his arms, he watched in horror as the immortal demons, black ghost-like snakes, slithered from the scar in her cheek, quickly being surrounded by dark blue flames before slowly floating towards the dead miko.
He had to complete the damn connection otherwise...
He didn't know what would happen; he just knew he wouldn't like it.
Her pain glazed eyes stared up at him, tears trickling down her cheeks, and he did the only thing he could think of...
He kissed her.
Pouring all the misery, anxiety, and every other emotion he was feeling into the kiss, Inuyasha tilted his head the slightest and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him, not at all surprised at the perfect fit of her body against his ...
The tugging deep within Kagome expanded, the connection complete as she sighed and wrapping her arms around his neck, melting into him while the pain completely disappeared, their kiss just beginning to deepen when a scream pierced the air, startling them both.
Gasping as a whirlwind of blue flames slammed into her back, Kagome burrowed into the hanyou's embrace, eyes squeezed shut as the breath was forced from her body.
Growling in frustration, his ears flickering with unease, Inuyasha tightened his hold on the miko in his arms, noting the blue flames that were disappearing into her back.
Following the path of blue flames, his gaze landed on Kikyo, realizing the dead priestess was screaming in pain, and his eyes narrowed when he caught sight of the immortal demons that shredded her apart from the inside out.
The dead miko's hate filled eyes landed on Kagome, their black depths shining with pain as she continued to scream, and with the her last bit of breath and strength, shot a ball of light blue flames towards the cloaked miko, shouting, "DIE BITCH!"
With one final scream, her body turned to dust, blowing away in the wind without a sound.
The ball of light blue flames shot towards them, so fast the hanyou didn't have time to even blink an eye, slamming into Kagome's back, but instead of pain, she merely felt a slight tingling as the power soaked into her.
The last of it, she noted...
She once again had all her power, tightly coiled inside of her...
It felt right.
Blinking, Inuyasha tightened his arms around the cloaked miko, holding her to his chest, her face buried in the soft red cloth, breathing his scent...
The smell of forest, so wild and untamed.
They stood there in silence for minutes on end, holding onto each other, one unable to believe what had just happened, the other trying to figure out what happened.
"Inu... Inuyasha?" Kagome's shaky voice broke the resolute silence, breaking him from his trance, and with a shout of joy, he pulled her back, gazing into her eyes while shouting, "She's gone! Destroyed, it's all over! After so long, it's finally over! Oh god, Kagome..."
"She......... what? Wait! How the hell... what did you do? What... INUYAHSA!!!"
Screaming at the top of her lungs as the dog demon tossed her twenty feet into the air, she flailed, the scream becoming louder and louder the whole way down to the hard ground below...
But he caught her with ease, twirling her about and continuing with joy, "She's dead Kagome! Back to hell! She's dead!"
"You already said that... put me do-AHHHH!"
Thirty feet into the air this time, the ground rushing up at her with pee- in-pants kind of fright, but he once again caught her, landing a quick kiss on her lips, continuing, "No, the immortal demons! Someone dead can't become immortal, can they? No! So, as soon as they touched her skin, bam! She's dead! Gone forever! History!"
"She's... oh my god, she's really go-Damn it InuyashaaaAAAA!!!"
Fifty feet into the air, she could see for miles, and when he caught her again, she truly wished he still had the rosary beads on...
Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt.
Feeling the tension in her, Inuyasha set her down, the grin on his face melting away when she asked, "Why? You have the Shikon Jewel... why did you come after me?"
Her brown eyes, though still slightly dark, once again sparkled with life...
Damn, had he missed her.
Yet, she still thought he cared for the Shikon Jewel more than her...
Well, it was about time he showed her his true feelings.
Reaching up to where the Shikon Jewel lay, he gave it one swift tug, his eyes watching hers as they followed his every movement...
"When I thought you had died Kagome, I had felt grief and misery... but I had also felt anger..." He whispered, letting the Shikon Jewel shard dangle from his hand as he held it between them, about eye level and continued, "Anger at having taken you granted for so very long... for believing the Shikon Jewel was more important to you... but mostly anger at not being able to tell you how I really felt..."
Dropping the Shikon Jewel onto the dirty ground below, he reached forward and wrapped her in his embrace, tracing the scar on her cheek with a finger, gazing into her beautiful brown eyes as his own golden depths shone with his feelings.
Then, standing scant inches from a fifty-foot crater, dirtied and windblown, he whispered three wonderful words before giving her a kiss that not only stole her breath away, but also reassured her she would never be taken for granted again...
"I love you."
********* ********** ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* *********
Well, the end! Oh yeah, I'm a ditz... accidentally deleted this chapter so I had to totally repost! * major sigh * Wut a blonde eh? Hope you enjoyed! Check out 'Lechers Reunited'!
Thanks to those who reviewed!!!
~Miztikal-Dragon, jammies200, Hekele Masuyo, Mustard Yellow Sunshine, PeachesDani, j.b Raven, Aina Himura, Lady Mayhem~
Hugz N Kissez, Ali
Trees, rocks, and grass flashed past her in a whirl, the sunrise casting shadows upon them, but Kagome didn't notice...
The image of Inuyasha standing there, eyes wide and mouth open in a gasp, his ears bent back was still fresh in her mind...
'I'm doing the right thing...' She tried to convince herself, though she knew it was hopeless...
With a lurch the cloaked miko was jerked from her thoughts, stumbling to her feet when the light blue flames suddenly disappeared, leaving her in the middle of a...
Blinking with shock, Kagome realized she was in the middle of a crater.
At least fifty feet deep, by the looks of it...
But it didn't look new, a river running through the center of it, vegetation plentiful along its steep cliffs...
Something was almost familiar about it.
"Where's your little lap dog, Kagome?"
The cold voice came from just to her right, sounding quite close, so she merely raised her head, spotting the dead bitch immediately.
The ghostly white demons were floating around her, just outside the light blue flames that blazed, but Kagome grinned, holding out her hands innocently with a sarcastic reply, "Sorry, Kikyo... no Inuyasha to drag to hell... you'll have to do with me, sadly."
A snarl quickly replaced the smirk on the dead miko's face, her lips curling the slightest, and without a sound she flung one hand forward, a blast of light blue flames hurtling themselves towards the defenseless Kagome.
Slamming painfully into her body, the cloaked girl was swept off her feet, throwing her backwards a couple feet before she dropped to the ground, rolling a couple times, then finally coming to a complete halt.
A triumphant grin had plastered itself upon Kikyo's cold lips, her eyes sparkling with wicked humor...
Until Kagome started laughing, closing her eyes and throwing her head back with a carefree abandon.
The dead miko stood there, unable to comprehend what the hell the bloody and battered girl before her could possibly be laughing about...
The laughter continued on and on, echoing around the crater endlessly as dark blue flames flared around Kagome's body, roaring with their ferocity.
Slowly standing up, her body shaking with laughter, the cloaked miko captured the shocked Kikyo's eyes with her own as the laughter died down, instead replaced by Kagome's chilly voice, "Miscalculated once again bitch... you can't kill me if I'm immortal..."
A trickle of fear slipped down Kikyo's spine at the tone of the cloaked miko's voice, the predatory glean in her eyes...
Shivering the slightest, the dead miko quickly covered her unease with her own laugh as the light blue flames swirled to life around her, creating a opposing wind to Kagome's, the different shades of blue clashing at a midpoint between them just over the river...
"Tell me, stupid girl, do you really deserve to live? After all the terrible things you've done... all the pain and misery you've caused... do you want to live? With all those memories..." The dead miko chided, her voice scornful, but the cloaked miko's laughter once again filled the crater, sending chills down her spine.
With a wave of her hands, Kagome's flames swirled about her body quicker as she started strolling towards the dead miko in a leisurely pace, a calm smile on her lips while she whispered, "You're right, Kikyo... I don't deserve to live. In fact, I'm going to hell, and I'm dragging you with me. So... if you truly want this power, let me show you how much there really is!"
The flames exploded higher, reaching towards the sky, their dark blue shimmering with a deeper power...
Realizing what the cloaked miko meant, Kikyo took one step back, a slight tinge of panic in her voice when she shouted, "You can't destroy yourself! Then you'll kill Inuyasha... you can't do that!"
"Since when have you cared about him, Kikyo? Ah, this second, is it? Damn, you're one sad bitch... well, just to reassure you, the connection is broken..." Kagome laughed, her black hair thrashing about her in the wild wind, brown eyes shining with tears of grief as a peace settled over her...
This is what she had been waiting for.
Finally, after so long, this nightmare would end...
But, if that was true...
Why did it feel so wrong?
A light tugging, barely perceivable, was coming from deep within her...
She quickly ignored it, though it nagged her without mercy, and with another laugh she watched the dead miko before her pale in fear, the black eyes that had been so triumphant before darkening with panic.
The distance between the two mikos slowly narrowed...
With wide eyes, Kikyo noticed her reincarnation was walking on the river...
Her feet barely touched the water, slight ripples spreading from where they did touch...
The dark blue flames were quickly overtaking the dead miko's lighter ones, a powerful wind brushing the opposing flames away with ease...
The dead priestess was frozen with fear, staring at the mirror image of herself, unable to comprehend how things had turned around so quickly...
Why had that damn hanyou gone and played hero?
Damn it! He was supposed to watch in misery as his oh so precious jewel shard detector died at her hands, not reactivate those damn rosary beads...
'That's it!'
The dead miko's mind stumbled to a stop, an image of the damn necklace coming to mind... followed by the words the bitch before her had just said, '...the connection is broken...'
Standing before the oddly silent Kikyo, the cloaked girl prepared to let the power burst from her, and surprisingly, she felt a touch of remorse for all she was giving up...
Even though things had continued on without her, did that mean that it wasn't worth living?
Maybe... just maybe there was something to live for...
What was she thinking?
No one would miss her...
'Don't ever leave again!'
Shippo's words from that fateful day hit her hard, knocking some sense through the grief...
The power was sitting right there, ready to be released...
But something held her back.
'Kagome, don't do this!'
Inuyasha's words from that day...
Damn it, why couldn't she do it?
Blinking, Kagome realized that she was just standing there as the dead miko laughed.
"Do you not recognize this place Kagome? This is where you failed to end your life last time. Not this time, though... oh no, I shall do the honors for you, and enjoy it immensely!" Kikyo shouted, just as she laid one finger on the scar.
But nothing happened.
The blue flames continued to rage around both mikos, their inner depths shining with bridled power; the wind whipped them without mercy, roaring louder and louder...
Then something within Kagome broke...
All the power around them exploded, touching the sky with its intensity, the shockwave destroying everything in its path for miles and miles.
Trees torn out of their roots, grass shredded beyond recognition, dirt thrown into the sky...
Everything was destroyed.
Shaking her buzzing head, the cloaked miko realized she was lying at the edge of the crater, every single nerve in her body screaming in pain...
But worst of all, her power was rushing out of her body, traveling over the expanse of the crater to the other side, where she could just barely see Kikyo standing.
Dirt was falling from the sky like ash, blowing in the brutal wind that swept the area...
Fighting to hold onto her power and managing to slow the flow down to a mere trickle, Kagome slowly got to her feet, a severe gash on her leg and minor cut on her arm two of many injuries scattered about her body.
Why hadn't she ended it all?
Shaking with exhaustion, she blinked, feeling her eyes start to tear from the dust...
Damn it, why hadn't she ended it all?!?
Frustration built up within her chest at the unfairness of it all...
Maniac laughter floated over the scene, coming from the dead miko who stood in the center of light blue flames that were slowly, but surely, getting bigger, and the cloaked miko felt a desperation fill her...
How was Kikyo stealing her power?
'Your protection is gone... you spirit is shattered... you are alone...'
A cold, heartless voice whispered in her head.
So much like Naraku, all those years ago...
With a sinking feeling, she realized the voice right... but...
Why hadn't she ended it?
Had she really hoped that someone would come save her?
In some part of her mind, she had believe that...
She had actually hoped that someone would save her and everything would be perfect again.
A choked laugh escaped her, tears slipping through closed lids to blow away with the wind...
How naïve she was.
She was alone, that was the truth and nothing could change it.
Suddenly it wasn't just the power that was being drug towards the dead miko, her whole body threatened to topple over and swoop over there.........
Then it would be the end, Kagome realized, with a gasp, her closed eyes shooting open.
Could she let it end like this?
Could she?
No... it just couldn't!
But the matter was really out of her hands now.
She had no control over what was happening.
The dead bitch was drawing the power from her body without any resistance except for her desperate attempt to hold it back...
She had no control at all!
"Damn it Kikyo!" The cloaked miko shouted, a burst of power swirling around her, the blue flames signaling her resistance...
The cold chilling laughter filled her head, sweat rolling between her shoulder blades and temples from the exertion she was forced to withstand in order to hold her power from Kikyo.
A scream tore from Kagome's lips when a sharper tug on her power literally tore more from her body, rushing in a river of blue flames towards the dead miko, arcing gracefully over the crater to hit light blue flames.
The pain was unbearable...
With a gasp, Kagome felt her foot slip, sliding until she was inches from the edge of the crater before she finally got her footings again.
Her power was nearly half gone...
Panic soaked in, mingling with the pain and hopelessness.
Damn it!
What could she do?
There was nothing she could do.
Everything was becoming hazy again...
Like before, the feeling of not really being there...
Shaking her head roughly, Kagome fought hard to break free of the haze.
But everything was going dark...
With glazed eyes she watched as still more flames tore from her, flying with dazzling agility over the crater to mix with the lighter blue flames, and a cold numbness overtook the cloaked miko's body.
This was the end, after so much pain...
After so much misery...
Another painful scream tore from her cracked and bleeding lips, the sharpest pull on her power yet drawing an alarming amount of power from her.
The pulling on her body became unbearable, she barely noticed her feet slipping towards the edge of the crater against her will as she stood there, the darkness swallowing her completely...
The end...
Suddenly two warm bands of steel wrapped around her from behind, tucking themselves securely just beneath her ribs, and she was pulled back into a protective embrace.
Impulsively stiffening despite the sense of absolute rightness and struggling to shed the darkness that had smothered her, the scream cut off abruptly when warm breath fanned her ear, an all too familiar voice whispering, "Look deep inside of yourself..."
Those words...
Eyes widening in disbelief, the cloaked miko brought her arms down to grip the muscular ones that held her so tightly...
Her haven in the darkness.
Those were the exact words she had used when she asked Inuyasha to complete the connection that she had created out of love.
The tugging deep within her tripled in intensity, a tingling spreading throughout her body and pushing the terrible pain away...
But how could this be?
Inuyasha couldn't love her...
He didn't even need her any longer!
She'd given him the Shikon Jewel...
Power continued to flow from her, a steady stream of blue flames, but she barely noticed, lost in the blackness and enchanted by the masculine voice that sent shivers down her spine, "I don't care what you say, it's not too late to save you... After all those years without you Kagome... I'm not going to lose you again, damn it."
Winds raged around them, destroying everything for miles.
A pang of guilt stabbed through her, a flicker of hope...
With a shake of the head, Kagome attempted to pull from his arms, whispering, "It's too late... just let me go... please, let me rest in peace..."
"No! You're going to listen to me, whether you want to or not..." His voice husky, he tightened his grip, dragging her back until her back was pressed against the wall of his chest.
The darkness hovered at the edge of her vision, unable to creep closer yet not leaving as he continued, "After you died... or, after we thought you died... everyone was devastated. Miroku took your advice... like I told you before, him and Sango are happily married, but tell me... how can they truly be happy when their marriage was only possible at the cost of our most precious jewel shard detector?"
Breath hitching in her chest, the cloaked miko blinked, never having known that perhaps life wasn't so perfect without her...
"Shippo was utterly heartbroken. You don't know how rough he took it, he just stopped living it seemed... never played, never spoke... he's slowly gotten better and we've got a brotherly relationship going on, but he'll never be the same without you..."
Oh Shippo, her poor little kitsune...
She missed him so much, she just wanted to hold him in her arms and never let him go.
"Me? There is no one word to express what I was feeling... grief at losing you, disbelief that you were truly gone, but mostly anger..."
She froze, both at his words and the agonizing pain coming from her cheek...
Jerked from the haven that she had been so peacefully residing in, Kagome screamed, her knees buckling underneath her, leaving only Inuyasha's arms to support her.
"Kagome? Kagome!"
Inuyasha didn't get what was going on.
Of course he understood Kikyo was stealing her power, that's why he was trying to get her to complete the connection, but she had been fine a second ago...
What was happening?
A bone deep desperation filled him, slowing his ability to think, and with little thought to anything except the need to protect his Kagome...
Turning the miko in his arms, he watched in horror as the immortal demons, black ghost-like snakes, slithered from the scar in her cheek, quickly being surrounded by dark blue flames before slowly floating towards the dead miko.
He had to complete the damn connection otherwise...
He didn't know what would happen; he just knew he wouldn't like it.
Her pain glazed eyes stared up at him, tears trickling down her cheeks, and he did the only thing he could think of...
He kissed her.
Pouring all the misery, anxiety, and every other emotion he was feeling into the kiss, Inuyasha tilted his head the slightest and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him, not at all surprised at the perfect fit of her body against his ...
The tugging deep within Kagome expanded, the connection complete as she sighed and wrapping her arms around his neck, melting into him while the pain completely disappeared, their kiss just beginning to deepen when a scream pierced the air, startling them both.
Gasping as a whirlwind of blue flames slammed into her back, Kagome burrowed into the hanyou's embrace, eyes squeezed shut as the breath was forced from her body.
Growling in frustration, his ears flickering with unease, Inuyasha tightened his hold on the miko in his arms, noting the blue flames that were disappearing into her back.
Following the path of blue flames, his gaze landed on Kikyo, realizing the dead priestess was screaming in pain, and his eyes narrowed when he caught sight of the immortal demons that shredded her apart from the inside out.
The dead miko's hate filled eyes landed on Kagome, their black depths shining with pain as she continued to scream, and with the her last bit of breath and strength, shot a ball of light blue flames towards the cloaked miko, shouting, "DIE BITCH!"
With one final scream, her body turned to dust, blowing away in the wind without a sound.
The ball of light blue flames shot towards them, so fast the hanyou didn't have time to even blink an eye, slamming into Kagome's back, but instead of pain, she merely felt a slight tingling as the power soaked into her.
The last of it, she noted...
She once again had all her power, tightly coiled inside of her...
It felt right.
Blinking, Inuyasha tightened his arms around the cloaked miko, holding her to his chest, her face buried in the soft red cloth, breathing his scent...
The smell of forest, so wild and untamed.
They stood there in silence for minutes on end, holding onto each other, one unable to believe what had just happened, the other trying to figure out what happened.
"Inu... Inuyasha?" Kagome's shaky voice broke the resolute silence, breaking him from his trance, and with a shout of joy, he pulled her back, gazing into her eyes while shouting, "She's gone! Destroyed, it's all over! After so long, it's finally over! Oh god, Kagome..."
"She......... what? Wait! How the hell... what did you do? What... INUYAHSA!!!"
Screaming at the top of her lungs as the dog demon tossed her twenty feet into the air, she flailed, the scream becoming louder and louder the whole way down to the hard ground below...
But he caught her with ease, twirling her about and continuing with joy, "She's dead Kagome! Back to hell! She's dead!"
"You already said that... put me do-AHHHH!"
Thirty feet into the air this time, the ground rushing up at her with pee- in-pants kind of fright, but he once again caught her, landing a quick kiss on her lips, continuing, "No, the immortal demons! Someone dead can't become immortal, can they? No! So, as soon as they touched her skin, bam! She's dead! Gone forever! History!"
"She's... oh my god, she's really go-Damn it InuyashaaaAAAA!!!"
Fifty feet into the air, she could see for miles, and when he caught her again, she truly wished he still had the rosary beads on...
Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt.
Feeling the tension in her, Inuyasha set her down, the grin on his face melting away when she asked, "Why? You have the Shikon Jewel... why did you come after me?"
Her brown eyes, though still slightly dark, once again sparkled with life...
Damn, had he missed her.
Yet, she still thought he cared for the Shikon Jewel more than her...
Well, it was about time he showed her his true feelings.
Reaching up to where the Shikon Jewel lay, he gave it one swift tug, his eyes watching hers as they followed his every movement...
"When I thought you had died Kagome, I had felt grief and misery... but I had also felt anger..." He whispered, letting the Shikon Jewel shard dangle from his hand as he held it between them, about eye level and continued, "Anger at having taken you granted for so very long... for believing the Shikon Jewel was more important to you... but mostly anger at not being able to tell you how I really felt..."
Dropping the Shikon Jewel onto the dirty ground below, he reached forward and wrapped her in his embrace, tracing the scar on her cheek with a finger, gazing into her beautiful brown eyes as his own golden depths shone with his feelings.
Then, standing scant inches from a fifty-foot crater, dirtied and windblown, he whispered three wonderful words before giving her a kiss that not only stole her breath away, but also reassured her she would never be taken for granted again...
"I love you."
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Well, the end! Oh yeah, I'm a ditz... accidentally deleted this chapter so I had to totally repost! * major sigh * Wut a blonde eh? Hope you enjoyed! Check out 'Lechers Reunited'!
Thanks to those who reviewed!!!
~Miztikal-Dragon, jammies200, Hekele Masuyo, Mustard Yellow Sunshine, PeachesDani, j.b Raven, Aina Himura, Lady Mayhem~
Hugz N Kissez, Ali
