Wow. I'm updating really quick. I got a sudden burst of inspiration!

Kagome- No you didn't. You just decided to get off your lazy arse and finish the story because you saw that you started it in December of last year and had made all these people wait and didn't want karma to come back and haunt you.

See? Inspiration!

The young miko winced as she placed both hands at the side of her head, desperately trying to left herself up before anyone saw her injured. (I have to get up. I can't go down after just one hit.) A low moan escaped her lips as she finally managed to pull herself up onto her knees. Her body was aching all over, especially her head. (With my luck I probably hit my head on a rock or something. Oh…damn!) She looked down, scowling at the tatters of fabric that had once been her skirt. That blast of fire had been unexpected, making it all that much worse since she hadn't been prepared. Her very bones felt as if they were on fire.

A soft chuckle caused her to look up, her brown eyes filled half with fear and half with determination. When her eyes settled on the man in front of her, she let out a gasp and began scooting away, desperately reaching for her bow and arrow.

"Ah, young Kagome," Naraku said, a twisted smirk on his face. "Have you fallen already? I expected more from the reincarnation of Kikyo. She was after all so powerful. You've become such a great disappointment."

Speaking with more confidence then she felt, the young girl narrowed her eyes, trying to keep her voice as even as she could. "I'm not falling for your taunts Naraku. You know, up close, you're not all that intimidating." She stood up on shaky legs, her body still feeling like it was burning. The demon just smirked at her, easily dodging the arrow that she shot at him and landed behind her.

He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling the young woman against him. "You wound me so," he whispered harshly into her ear. She placed her small hands on his arm, desperately trying to pull away from him. He laughed against her skin, causing her to fight even harder. "Aren't you going to call for you precious Inuyasha?"

Her mouth opened immediately, but she closed it when she saw the hanyou battling the larger demon Daisuke. She knew that it wouldn't take long for Inuyasha to kill him, she had seen that anger glowing in his eyes. (If I call to him now, he'll be distracted. This time, I'm going to be brave.) Expecting the girl to call for the hanyou, his grip on her loosened slightly, giving Kagome just the opportunity she needed.

"No," she whispered. It was spoken so quietly, Naraku barely heard it, giving him little chance to react before the woman had turned around his arms. He met her gaze, her brown eyes burning with anger. "Now get your hands off of me!" Placing her hands on his shoulders, she lifted her knee, smiling inwardly when it made contact with his groin, then pushed him back.

Stunned, angry, and in a surprising amount of pain, Naraku staggered backwards. Taking advantage of his sudden position, Kagome quickly pulled out an arrow and let it go. The young woman prayed that it hit it's mark, at least took him back a little, and promptly pulled it out another, letting at least two more fly after that. (Take that, you bastard.)

Miroku whipped his head to the side, his purple eyes scanning the area, looking for the woman whom he had just attacked. He didn't see her and mumbled a curse underneath his breath. (Kagome!) He saw the young miko in the grasp of Naraku and began moving towards her, but stopped when he saw her knee him, then begin shooting arrows like there was no tomorrow. A tiny, triumphant smile began playing on his lips. Kagome had learned a lot, and was just as brave and powerful as he or Inuyasha. (Naraku thought that he could use her because she was the weakest.) He put one foot in front of the other, prepared to move to help her, or at least get her away from the demon. He stopped, his entire body tensing. He made a quick side-step to the left, wincing as he heard the sound of a weapon flying past his ear.

"Kohaku," he said slowly, turning with his hands up. "Don't do this."

The young boy stared back at him. He caught his weapon easily, his blank eyes never leaving the houshi. Miroku ground his back teeth together, cursing Naraku in every way he knew how. Just looking at the boy made his heart break. He reminded him so much of Sango, especially her eyes, which were now dull and lifeless, just as the demon slayer now was. (All because of Naraku.)

He jumped up, once again dodging the weapon that was thrown at him. "You must stop this now! You did it once, remember? When you were asked to kill Kagome?" He tumbled, barely missing the blade of Kohaku's weapon before hitting his shoulder on a log. He hissed in pain, the aching spreading back to his wound from the dagger that woman had thrown at him. "Just think of Sango. She wouldn't want you to do this!"

Naora stepped behind the young monk, her red eyes glowing dangerously. "Foolish man," she said. He winced, knowing that his death must be near if one of Naraku's incarnations was so close to him, but didn't take his eyes away from the boy.

(If not myself, I must at least save Kohaku, for her.) He breathed another sharp intake of air, the pain in his shoulder spreading more quickly throughout his body. "Remember Sango? She was your sister Kohaku. She loved you so much. She was willing to give up everything for you. Are you just going to forget about her?"

"He can't hear you," the woman told him. "Even if he could, it wouldn't matter."

"Please," he said, paying no heed to the sorceress. "All of those times she fought for you, all of those times she…ah…" He groaned in pain, falling over to his side. "The times she stood up for you, when she was going to give up her own life for you? You must remember. You must…"

She laughed softly, holding up her dagger. Naora crouched in front of the monk, letting the blade linger on one of his arms. "You can feel it, can't you? The poison spreading throughout your veins."

"Your dagger…" he said, speaking barely above a whisper. "You put some type of spell on it?"

"Very good monk," she hissed at him. "And soon enough, you will be dead. But don't worry too much, you'll have the chance to see all of your friends killed. Then you will be able to follow them."

He laughed. The sound was raspy and dry, sounding more like he was coughing, but it caused the reincarnation to look at him more sharply. She narrowed her eyes and he laughed again, the sound bittersweet to her ears.

"I may die today, but how long do you think you will survive? If we do lose, then Naraku will take the Shikon jewel and kill you, along with his other incarnations. You are not really stupid enough to believe that you will live past this day?"

She scowled at him, her anger rising. She began leaning forward, prepared to rip him limb from limb. She was unprepared for the swift quick that was delivered to her leg, causing her to fall backwards. Seeing his opportunity, Miroku quickly grabbed her dagger.

"What do you think you are going to do?" she asked, beginning to get up. She was stopped by the feeling of cold metal sliding into her abdomen. Closing her eyes, she let out a scream of pain before opening them again, only to see the monk above her. His face was drenched in sweat, his breathing was heavy, and he was shaking. Using the strength he had left, Miroku put a hand on the ground and pushed himself away from her, taking the dagger with him.

He looked down at the bloodied knife and felt bile rising in his throat. He wrapped his injured arm around himself, trying to make himself calm again. He held the dagger firmly, saying a prayer in his mind, praying to any God that could hear him, asking that this would work. Gritting his teeth together, the monk placed the tip of the blade on one side of his hand. (If I can cut deep enough, it will make the wind tunnel even larger. If I can do that, then maybe I will be able to destroy some of Naraku's incarnations before the poison finishes me off.) His fist tightened around the handle and he pressed the blade as deep as he could into the palm of his hand.

The monk couldn't help the small cry of pain he let out. His other wounds, now added to the new pain and poison that was flowing through him, made him feel as if he would faint. (No. I will be strong…for her.) Closing his eyes, he quickly slashed through the rest of his palm, causing the prayer beads which kept the wind tunnel at bay to fall to the ground. Blood began rushing down his arm, the sickly feeling making him want to scream. With a shaky hand, he grasped his wrist, lifting it up and watching as the torrent of wind began pulling in everything in its path.

"Kagome, are you all right?" Inuyasha questioned worriedly. The raven haired woman nodded, breathing heavily. The hanyou glanced around, his eyes and ears scanning for any traces of Naraku. "Did you see where he went?"

"No…" she answered. "I…he…I remember shooting him with some arrows, and then he came at me…I fell. I'm sorry Inuyasha, I was just trying to help."

The half-demon tried to smile at her, but the scent of her blood was making him cringe. He looked down, gently placing a hand on her right leg. The pale skin was covered with scratches and blood.

"It looks like he was trying to take off your entire leg," he commented, eyeing the long scratches that traveled from her ankle to her skirt. "How bad does it hurt?"

She gave him a soft smile. "Not that bad really. It's kind of numb actually, so I'm not feeling that much pain."

"Kami…" he said. "I should have been with you."

"You were killing that other demon."

"I shouldn't have taken so long!" he yelled angrily. "I let you die once, and I won't do it again."

Kagome reached out for him, trying to grab his shoulders and tell him to remember to be focused. He placed his hand on her arm, gently pushing her back down. Looking at her sternly, he made sure to tell her that she needed to stand down for a little while and let him handle this. She opened her mouth, prepared to tell him that while she may be hurt, she could still find a way to help.

"What in the hell?"

Blinking, the young woman looked to where Inuyasha was staring. She gasped at what she saw. Miroku was huddled up against a tree, clutching his arm, as the wind tunnel spread across the are.

"What does that stupid pervert think he's doing?" the half demon questioned, hoping his angered tone of voice would cover up the worry he was feeling over his friend. "Great. Now I have to go save him!"

Taking a hand full of his kimono, Kagome pulled him back to her. He looked at her in confusion. "Look at the wind," she told him softly. Doing as she told him, he looked towards Miroku. "It's more powerful. Somehow, it's larger. It must be spreading."

"Baka! If it's spreading then he shouldn't be using it. I mean, if he does he'll die. Opening it now is just…suicide…" He looked at the young miko, who now had tears streaming down her face. "No…" he said, shaking his head. "I won't let him! I let him die once! I won't let any of you be hurt anymore!" He jumped up, ready to retrieve the monk and bring him back.

"Fool," Naraku said, ramming his sword through Inuyasha's gut.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed as the hanyou fell onto his knees, clutching his stomach. She turned her attention back to the demon, who only smirked cruelly.

"That monk is sacrificing himself," he said chuckling. "Even though it's not going to do any good. Hasn't he already figured it out? I created the wind tunnel, it will not destroy me."

This time, the hanyou laughed. "Well…it doesn't look like he's trying to destroy you, now does it?"

Red eyes stared impassively as Naraku watched Naora being sucked into the wind tunnel. Kagura held Kanna in her arms, each of them trying desperately to use their attacks against the monk, but neither of them being powerful enough as the wind surrounded them, pulling them both in. He watched the display of emotions on the houshi's face, smirking inwardly as a few tears rolled down his cheeks as his powers devoured the young boy Kohaku.

Hearing the yells, Shippo could contain himself no longer. The young demon ran outside, fully prepared to do whatever he could to help his friends. (I've got to do something! Without Sango, they need an extra person.) He jumped out the door and scanned the area, looking for anywhere he could be needed. Kagome was sitting down, and even he could smell her blood. He balled his small hands into fists. Inuyasha was kneeling by her, holding his stomach. Squinting his eyes, the young kit could see the blood on his kimono. To his utter astonishment, Shippo then saw Naraku standing only a few feet in front of him. He opened his mouth, ready to yell out to them if they didn't realize he was there. He then stopped, seeing that they were all staring at something.

Not really wanting to take his eyes off of the demon, Shippo tilted his head, looking for whatever it was that seemed to captivate the others' attentions. He nearly fell backwards when he saw Miroku, surrounded by a whipping wind, one even bigger then he had seen the last time the houshi had used his power. (What's going on? What happened to him?) The young fox demon reached for a beam, but he was already to far away.

Blinking his purple eyes, the monk was unprepared for what he saw. (Is that…no…it couldn't be.) He gasped, quickly trying to pull his hand away. "Shippo! Go back!"

At hearing the fox demon's name, Kagome quickly pushed herself up. Her eyes widened as she saw her friend being pulled closer to Miroku. Inuyasha stood up and pulled out his Tetsusiga. He didn't really know what he could do, but he would not just stand by and watch another one of his friends be killed.

"Miroku!" Shippo cried, desperately trying to grab onto something to keep himself from being pulled into the violent winds. "Stop! Please!"

"You have to grab onto something!"

Choking back a few sobs, the young demon tried to wrap his hands around anything, but found only a hand full of dirt and grass. "I can't!" he yelled back. "Please Miroku, stop it!"

Naraku laughed at the sight in front of him. (How fitting. I don't even have to waste my time with those two.) Before Inuyasha could reach the demon, both Shippo and Miroku had been claimed by the wind tunnel.

Kagome starred, wide eyed. (No…no…this can not be happening. It just can't. No!) Sensing the distress of both the miko and the hanyou, Naraku turned back to them, smirking cruelly and chuckling.

"Let me be the first to tell you both how truly sorry I am for your misfortune," he said, his voice laced with a stinging sarcasm.

"Bastard!" Inuyasha screamed and jumped up to face the demon. "I will kill you. I will rip you limb from limb and make you sorry you ever came into this world!"

(Into this world…that's it…) Kagome thought.

"Come on," Naraku said, pulling his own sword out. "I wish to test your power before I kill you."

The hanyou scoffed and raised his sword. Closing his eyes briefly, he channeled every single drop of power, anger, hate, love and all of his emotions, making sure that this blast would be powerful enough to destroy the demon. (I see it. I can see the wind scar.) Smirking, he lifted his sword.

"Tetsusiga!" he cried out and rammed his blade into the wind scar, watching in satisfaction as the blow sent out waves of power. (I know I'll kill him. Even he won't be able to fight the wind scar.)

"How disappointing," Naraku laughed. "You didn't even hit me."

Inuyasha turned around, looking for the source of the voice, but found nothing but air. A sudden pain of metal being slashed across his shoulder alerted him to where the demon was. (I'll kill him. I swear it, for Sango, Miroku, Shippo…even for Kikyo. I will destroy him.)

Kagome struggled to her knees. She bit her lips until they bled to keep herself from crying out in pain as she dragged what was left of her bloodied leg over the ground, wincing as bits of rock and sticks and jagged materials hit her scratches. She pulled out her section of the Shikon jewel, looking at it. The whole world was becoming blurry, and she felt as if she may pass out.

Narrowing his golden eyes, the hanyou once again unleashed the wind scar directly at his opponent. Naraku jumped up and landed near Kagome. He smirked and bent down, wrapping a clawed hand in her hair and pulled her up onto her knees. She cried out as her knee was slammed against a rock.

"Come now Inuyasha," he said. "Are you going to attempt to strike me again? You would kill her too. I don't think you wish to do that. She is such a lovely creature after all." He smirked, enjoying the small shudder that went down Kagome's spine as he tenderly stroked her chin. With a small smile, the claws which had rested idly on her cheek went around her throat, squeezing until she could barely breath and lifting her up until she stood fully with her weight against him. "What will you do now, Inuyasha?"

He growled low in his throat. "If you hurt her…"

"What? What do you think you can do? Have you not already threatened to kill me? What else could you possibly threaten?"

Desperately trying to breath, Kagome took in deep gasps. She lifted her arm and using as much force as she could, slammed her elbow into the demon's neck. Growling, the hanyou grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back, smiling a bit when he heard the sound of her bones cracking. Letting go of her now broken arm, his hand began traveling. The young miko whimpered as the hanyou grasped her jewel shards. Smirking, he threw her down onto the ground.

"Arigato," he said. "You know, you are a lot like Kikyo. Not only do you look like her, but you take the same lover, and you also give me your jewel fragment. How very kind." He turned away from her and back to the hanyou. He pulled out his own, nearly completed shard of the Shikon jewel. "And now, it is almost over. Prepare to die, Inuyasha-"

"I am not like Kikyo," Kagome said as she let loose her last arrows, watching as they pierced through Naraku's back. Running as quickly as she could with her injured leg, she pulled the jewel shards out of his hand. Inuyasha jumped up and ran to her side, picking her up in his arms and trying to take her to safety. "Inuyasha…" she whispered against the fabric of his kimono.

"Shh," he told her softly as he jumped up again. "It will be all right. You wait here and I'll finish Naraku off."

"I love you," she said. He looked at her, meeting her gaze. He blinked in confusion, not understanding what she was going to do. She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him away. "I'm sorry…" she said, her eyes filling with tears. "I don't want to leave you Inuyasha."

"Then don't!" he yelled, pushing himself back up.

She shook her head, a few more tears spilling from her cheek. She placed both of her hands over the jewel, crying out as a fiery hot ache went through her entire body. She pulled away then, seeing the completed form of the Shikon no Tama. Looking over at the hanyou, she whispered her love to him yet again, then looked down at the jewel.

"I wish Naraku had never been brought into this world."

Naraku- Kagome…kneed me…

Sesshomaru- Ha ha!

Miroku- I died.

Shippo- You are really mean!

Inuyasha- Cliff hanger.

Koga- You guy's! Shut up, tell the people to review and then go home!

All- REVIEW!

Next chapter is the last. tear By the way, I have a few new Inuyasha stories up. And a Miroku/Sango story. Whoo! You can check out my bio for information on this story and others. Bye and review please!