Ld: ELLO! Its Ld, and I am here. Yes, here is where I am. Um... I've been working on this fic for countless months, and I am soo glad to have finally finished it. Other than that, there isn't much more I can say.

All standard disclaimers apply.

Enjoy.

Nevermore

She felt the fear coursing through her bones. She lay there, helpless to his touch-- his torturous, brutal, painful touch. So many times he had hurt her, be it mentally or physically.

Once, she had befriended him. No longer, he had changed.

The well was broken, she was sealed here. She had no family, they were left in the future. Her family here, in the Feudal era may have existed at one point, but not any longer. He had killed them, had killed everyone. Sango --her sister--, Miroku --her brother--, Shippo --her son--, Kaede... Anyone that she had ever grown attached to. Their deaths were still mourned, it had been three months since all of her family had fully disappeared.

Many a time he had brandished a sword or his claws at her, threatening to take her life. She wished he would, though he wouldn't let it be. He would leave her as a bloodied heap on the forest floor. He would watch her as she cried in pain, and laugh. He would laugh at her misery. She would be hurt, though he always made it so she wouldn't die. Oh, how she wanted him back to normal.

She had a broken spirit, was -is- a broken spirit. Recently, when he came to continue his assaults, she would submit instantly. Fighting against him would only result in more pain.

At one point, she thought she loved him.

Nevermore.

He had been her friend.

Nevermore.

They had been there for each other, laughed with each other, cried for one another.

Nevermore.

Now, her stood over her trembling form as she looked up into those once caring eyes. Those eyes that had showed concern.

Nevermore.

Showed passion.

Nevermore.

Showed love.

Nevermore.

Gone.

He was gone. There was someone that stole his soul and was taking over his body. She was sure of it now. It couldn't be the man she had once cared for. There was no way.

Hope. One of the many things her spirit now lacked.

Love, happiness –missing, stolen, and destroyed, they were never to be returned. Were too far lost to find their way back to her.

He had hurt her.

Nevermore.

"What do you think your doing?!"

He grabbed the hair in the back of her head and yanked, forcing her to look up at him. She had been trying to avoid his gaze, she always does now.

He had hurt her, was going to hurt her again.

Nevermore.

"Sit," She said weakly, using the subduing spell for the first time in what seemed like an eternity.

I gotta make him stop, she thought, I wont let him do this to me anymore. She expected the usual, for him to go plummeting into the ground. He stood there, his hold on her as firm as ever. He didn't even budge. He pushed her to the ground and hovered over her frail body.

"Thinking about that, take these damned things off," he demanded coldly, addressing the supposedly useless prayer beads that lay around his neck, while a smirk lie slyly across his lips.

She whimpered mentally, scared at what he could do to her if she didn't obey. She knew what he was capable of, and was sure he wouldn't hesitate to use that power on her.

"Now," He slowly commanded, putting a hand to her throat.

Crimson droplets dripped down her neck as he lifted her off the ground, leaving her inches off the solid earth. Her windpipe was crushed and she wasn't able to choke out a response. A shaking hand fumbled over to where the beads around his neck had always sat lazily. He took this as a sign that she would remove them and allowed her feet to grace the forest floor. She let her hands fumble with the beads until she had her once silk fingers clamped securely around them.

A single thought passed through her mind, Maybe, if I push him enough... maybe he'll finally kill me. I've gotten to the point where I was actually listening to what he told me to do... just like he wants. But I don't want to do what he wants. I want to do what I want, and I want to be with everyone else. I cant take this anymore. If I just... disobey, maybe he'll snap... maybe he'll finally do it... maybe I'll be happy...

"No," She breathed out, freeing the prayer beads from her meek touch.

"What do you mean no," He spat back angrily, slamming her into a nearby tree. Her head slammed into the wooden weapon and the familiar crimson started to come out of a reopened cut. She didn't bother complaining that it hurt, for it didn't. With the constant abuse she received, this was like getting a cut you cant see. It doesn't hurt until its noticed, and her mind was blocking her off from noticing it very well indeed.

"You know what I mean," A hoarse voice answered his statement, even though he hadn't set out on it being a question.

He looked at her, dumbfounded, before she rose her hands and pushed him, causing him to stumble backwards and loose his grip on her neck.

"I don't want to take this anymore. I want you to stop hurting me, I want you to sit, but it apparently wont work... and I want you to leave me alone," she spat out, pushing his anger further. She slammed her shoulder harshly into his before he had been able to gain his balance and he fell to the ground, with her looking down on him this time.

He snorted at her, flashing one of his trademark smirks. She slowly backed up again, almost wishing she hadn't angered him, even if it had been her plan. He closed the space between them, grabbing her shoulder harshly with one hand. The other raised to strike her face. No words were said and she fought the urge to cover her face from being hit once more. She wanted to show him that she wasn't afraid of him, that she was strong, like in the past. Her reddened clothes were barely recognizable, with a few cuts and tears. Along her body, many wounds bled freely. But she didn't care.

Not abut him, not about the pain, not about the thought that she was going to die. Only one thing mattered to her, she was going to see her family again.

Slowly, one of her frail hands reached into the sleeve of her shirt. How she had been able to keep the dagger hidden from him for so long was surprising, even to her. She yanked the weapon from its sheath and raised her hand, preparing to strike the hanyou who still had a grip on her shoulder. Her wrist was crushed brutally by the hand that had caught it as she attempted to fight back. The dagger was torn from her grasp and put through her stomach.

Clutching the wound, she fell onto her knees. She pulled the blade out and dropped it thoughtlessly, gaping at the pain caused. A harsh kick landed on her side and she slammed into yet another tree. She stood warily, one arm covering the bleeding gash as best it could, the other supporting her whilst she tried to get the world to stop spinning. He strolled over to her and pushed her backwards into a thorn bush effortlessly. The miko's shirt Kaede had given her was ruined, which saddened her slightly, for she wished to salvage the few reminders of her late family.

The world seemed to swirl before her as she stared at him blankly, not sure if she would be able to make the next move. He fixed that problem by walking up to her, kicking the fallen dagger onto the hard earth right next to her. She looked up at him, now frightened beyond belief.

I didn't think it would hurt this much. Why does he always have do drag it out!? Cant he let me just die finally!? she blinked, for she had felt tears welling up in her eyes. I just wanted him to kill me... To end this all. Why does he have to keep stalling!? Thoughtlessly, she tightened her grip around her stomach as he took a teasing step towards her.

"What's wrong? You decided to play with fire. Did you think you wouldn't get burnt?" he sneered out at her. She shook her head weakly and dropped her gaze to the ground. He rushed up to her and grabbed her chin harshly, forcing her to look up at him. His look softened as he saw her face lined with glimmering tears. Pulling out of his grasp, she flinched back and expected another punishment for fighting back, or just because it would be amusing now that he knew she was in so much pain.

Though, none of that was done. He stood there, blankly staring at her, as if he just snapped out of a trance of a sort. She covered her face with her hands and slunk along the tree she had backed up into, curling up into a ball as best she could, the hole in her stomach temporarily forgotten. Slowly she heard his the tap of his footsteps approaching her, and pressed her hands closer to her face. She felt a hand on her shoulder and opened her eyes enough to see two feet near her head through the veil of raven hair. He leaned down onto his knees and put his other hand onto her other shoulder, and had to bit his tongue when he saw her flinch because he was touching one of her many wounds.

"What... what have I done to you?"

She heard the gentle voice and looked up into eyes full of concern. A small smile appeared on her lips, the first in ages. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Her throat seemed to of closed. Her mind chanted only one thing, He's... he's back to normal!

All of the times he had hurt her were forgotten, along with the wounds found on her body, as she launched herself at the hanyou kneeling in front of her. He fell backwards and she tightened her grip around his stomach, heart wrenching sobs finally making their way past her lips. He put an arm around her, careful to evade the still bleeding gashes. His other hand, though, was set on a different course. One by one, his fingers clenched around the handle of the dagger not too far away from they were. He slowly lifted it up, but the girl was oblivious.

He broke the silence, his tone dark and malicious. "You know, it was fun, toying with you. Though, I think you've outlived your usefulness."

Her eyes widened. No it was all just a trick! Though, it seemed they were going to pop out of their sockets when she felt her own dagger plunge into her back. He stood without a second thought, looking down at the frail girl he had just pushed onto her back, which had forced the dagger to go fully through her, the blood stained tip poking out. She was left to gape up at the man hovered over her. Her vision blurred into red and she closed her eyes. All she could do now is wait, her death was assured, and she was happy with the thought.

"I may have had fun with your death, though you weren't my favorite. I cant decide who was my favorite, Kikyou, or Inuyasha," he slithered out teasingly.

The words seemed slightly blurry, and she could hardly make them out, but it was clear enough to make her open her eyes to try and look at him. If she heard right, this wasn't Inuyasha, but someone else. Her vision was swirling and slowly turning from a red haze to black. An incredible numbness overtook her body, and she closed her eyes once more, never to open them again.

"Yes, it was Inuyasha I had more fun killing for certain."

And, for the first time in three months, Naraku transformed back into his true form, leaving Kagome behind as he walked off without another glance back.

Someone else could find her rotting corpse one day, that was fine. Though, her troubles were over. She was happy, was with the people she loved. She was up, far above the earth and clouds, with her friends, her family.

And she would always be with them, forevermore.

Owari

Ld: in shock I... I finally finished it. Sugoi! So, review/flame/criticize, especially the flame/criticize bit! Flames are fun!