((Gee. ^^;; I haven't been updating my stories in forever. *sighs* What are you guys still reading my stupid little fic for? It can't be THAT good...? *blink blink*))

~Chapter 9~
Towards the Light of a New Beginning

"Inu-Yasha!" a voice appeared to be shouting from the periphery of the field. A moment later, Kaede emerged from her cloaked priestess position with Shippou lying closely next to her. Kaede may have been old- and now indeed she was, but what the elderly lady lacked in true physical strength, she made up with her extraordinary cleverness. She had created a shielded barrier around both of their bodies so that she could be permitted to continue to watch the fight without the risk of harm and to not further distract InuYasha.

After recovering the kitsune back into her arms, she stood and ran up to meet him with a relieved, wrinkled smile. However, when she was close enough and the crackling fires along the field finally showed his face, her velocity dwindled and eventually came to a complete stop altogether. "Inu-. Yasha?"

He had fallen hard to his knees (subsequently to his brother's release) half in sorrow, half from sheer lack of strength to endure even the simplest task of upholding his own body. He found himself too weak now to produce the tears he so desperately wanted and deserved to cry.. so he continued to sit there, wishing that he could simply remain in that one corner till' the end of his lonely days.

Kaede opened her mouth to try to say comforting words, yet nothing seemed to be enough to pacify the pains he was going through. She had seen it in him before- on the day he had learned of Kikyo's fall; however, this time she knew that it was a larger knife that pierced into his left side. There wasn't a single thing that could be done, she knew this well. He would forever be in mourning; no other woman would ever be able to feel the lashing flames and wrath of his outspoken lips.. feel their gratifying sweetness wrapped tightly in a kiss. Kaede let him have his moment as an awkward stillness filled the burnt air around them.

It was Shippou who first broke the hushed silence. His eyes slowly fluttered open from the darkness only for him to only gaze at the black dust and smoke. "Wha- what happened?" his memory eventually came back to him along with the awareness of Sesshomaru's disappearance and InuYasha's wounds. "Ah! InuYasha!" He jumped out of Kaede's arms. As he tugged on the bottom of one of the red, blood covered kimono sleeves, he whimpered sentence after sentence and plea after plea in concern. Veils of black, dirty hair covered the hanyou's face and all the more worrying Shippou of his condition.

"InuYasha?" he had started to cry slightly while continuing to pull, "InuYasha, stop being so stubborn! ..Please say something! ..How long have I been asleep? Where did Sesshomaru go? Answer me!" Kaede sighed. She knew that the hanyou wasn't capable nor had he the desire to converse in the least. She would have to be the one to tell of the night's happenings.

"Stay ye hand, child," she called in a soft tune, "and your worries as well." Shippou turned and looked at her as she continued, "Our nightmare of the foul demon monster has ended for now. That is all ye need to know. InuYasha has been through a lot this evening. Show him the respect he deserves. He has suffered so much.. and gained so little for the profit of our safety.." After her words, she moved to look in the opposite direction and hung her head low.

Shippou was mesmerized. He averted his eyes with a look of guilt. "She's right.." then slowly let go of the sleeve. "InuYasha.. I'm sorry."

At that time, an old familiar jumping noise was heard as a tiny flea landed on a rock at InuYasha's left knee. The small being began to speak up for attention. "Lord InuYasha?" Miyoga smiled when he turned his head. "Mi. Miyoga?"

"Yes, me Lord! It is I, and might I say very happy to see that you are all right! I watched the entire battle from the sidelines. You really showed your brother what for this time Lord-"

InuYasha cut Miyoga off as he yelled loudly and slammed his fist hard into the ground. The gravel-like surface cracked and crumbled at his force. All words were oppressed, and all were silent, save for Miyoga who fell back in fear. Shippou continued to stay at the hanyou's side incase he needed support. "InuYasha?"

InuYasha lifted his head to glare hatefully at Miyoga's shaking body. "I'm 'all right' you say?... I'm 'all right'! How can I be all right when the one I love is dead!!? Dead! There she lies- upon that cold asphalt. s-she reeks of blood and death!!" A dreadful silence came over them all before he spoke again. The hanyou's voice was uncanny and different from his normal tone. "Do you fools not understand? The other half of my very soul is.. is.. gone. Gone. Forever." ~The soul that I gained back.. after Kikyo's destruction.. the one that took me over fifty years to recover, I've lost it all over again.~

And with that last thought, he finally found enough heartache and barrenness inside of himself to substitute as his strength. He began to cry. The melody of his tears chimed a sad tune into the dirt; it threatened to make him collapse. Shippou caught him just as he began to fall forward. "Ah! InuYasha!"

But the hanyou continued to weep, and weep wholly without holding anything back. If the entire world had been watching and mocking him for his weakness and emotions towards a woman, he wouldn't have cared. The others could only stare and show their sympathy and compassion for him, but even still; with their comfort and support, InuYasha's tears flowed. The scenario continued like that for what seemed like days. Pages upon pages could be written about how much he grieved for Kagome; however, this story does have an end. We have yet to see that while in total loss, the world can change for a single person.. if they want it badly enough.

Miyoga gave a sad sigh, "I'm very sorry, Master, that you must suffer through this bereavement.. I was.. probably too hasty in my actions to consider what it cost you. Though, I suppose the major factor of my eagerness lies in the fact that the Lady Kagome is not fully gone."

"WHAT?!" InuYasha's eyes grew. In an instant Miyoga's head was between his thumb and index finger. "Explain yourself! Oh, if this is some sort of sick lie, I swear your head'll be-"

"No, no! I speak only the truth! The young beauty still remains in this world, if only by the grace of a hair. If indeed you still lack my word, look upon your breast!"

InuYasha glanced down. It was the same kimono, though heavily tainted with blood. "Enough games, you d@mned little infesting pest! I don't see anything."

"Take a closer look, Master... Er, to your neck perhaps this time?"

It was then that the hanyou saw the enchanted necklace around him. The purple and wooden beads only brought back more painful, sweet memories. "So?" he said squeezing the flea tighter, "It's the same old rosary that I've always had.. after Kagome arrived anyway."

"SO-" reiterated Miyoga, "do you not see the connection? Who do you think controls that necklace? Who do you think was the only one who could send you to the ground with a single command? Who do you think controls it even now? If Kagome were truly demised, the necklace's spell would've been removed, and the necklace itself would've vanished."

InuYasha's eyes went wide, and he dropped Miyoga. He wearily got to his feet "Kagome!!"

"InuYasha, you shouldn't move!" both Kaede and Shippou's efforts were useless. The hanyou had already gone to her side. He hovered over her body, but in an instant later paid for his foolish movements. On his knees he came once again; he eventually allowed himself to gaze into her ill-looking face. ~She's so pale~ He thought to himself. ~Could she really be alive?~

While the others were running over to his side, a sudden verse came into the hanyou's mind. It was haphazardly picked, a chanced recollection in a raging sea of other endless thoughts. A verse that had come from one of Kagome's stupid books that she had always lugged around.. in that huge magical backpack of hers.. by William Shakespeare. It was of love and tragedy, much of what he felt as he stared down at the curves of Kagome's gentle face. He had never really appeared to pay much attention when Kagome would read. although, secretly, her words would always pacify his soul as he would sit on top of a tree and listen as her soft voice read to Shippou.

"Death.." he whispered from his lips, "lies on her.. like an untimely frost. Upon the sweetest flower of all the field." InuYasha leaned forward and kissed her forehead, "..and of all the world." He added in his own remorse.

"Me Lord!" Miyoga said, leaping onto the hanyou's shoulder, "Me Lord, quick! Before it's too late!" InuYasha gave him a questioning look. "What are you talking about? Before what's too late?"

Miyoga jumped up and down with wild enthusiasm, his voice rushed. "She's alive but only by the blessing of a sliver from the Shikkon Jewel. I had my doubts, but eventually when I realized that your rosary still held I knew that my suspicions were true! Without knowing it, Kagome was born with the Jewel inside of her body. Without knowing it, a small fraction still remains there. You must give her some of your blood so that the shard will react. It will give her the strength that she needs to live again."

His eyes seemed to only look more confused. "And what does my blood have to do with anything?"

"Tell me, how do you feel right now?" InuYasha let out a low growl from his throat. "I feel like a regular spring daisy, how the he!l am I supposed to feel?" The half dog demon quickly snatched Miyoga and squeezed. "I'm not in the mood to play some stupid games. I want answers, and I want them now. This is Kagome's life or death we're calmly talking about here!"

"C-calmly?!" Miyoga choked, only to be squashed even more. "Alright, alright! I'll tell you." InuYasha's hold softened just enough for the flea to breathe. "Lord InuYasha, the point I was trying to make earlier. You are a half breed and yet, look at yourself now, on this night of the new moon." InuYasha slowly looked himself over. "I believe that you are now experiencing something that has always been thought impossible. With the exception of most of your physical hanyou characteristics, you have regained your hanyou strength. I believe that, because you care so deeply for Kagome, your blood has now been tested to well over its limits. Your ultimate, inner strength has come forward.. your love for Kagome. Yet, there is more to this than meets the eye."

"Lord InuYasha, your hanyou blood has many, many unimaginable qualities; above all else, it can heal your body at an extremely rapid rate. I have asked you for your blood to spare Kagome's life. This is how it all fits in to plan. The jewel shard deep inside her will absorb your blood, and use its power to combine with your hanyou abilities. Kagome's body will.. change for the better."

"Change?"

"Yes. I know that this is hard to swallow, but in order to save her, Kagome must have some of your blood to" Miyoga paused, "alter hers. Once the jewel shard begins to take effect, Kagome's body will become a hanyou. And, as with all hanyous, her body will begin to repair and heal itself."

"Are you out of your tiny, little f*cking flea mind?!" InuYasha squeezed tighter once more. "I won't do it! I won't allow Kagome to go through the rest of her life the same way that I have had to live mine.." he closed his eyes as rage mixed in with tears.

"Then, what are you suggesting? That you let her die?" Miyoga broke free. He landed on a rock, looking back.

".No.." InuYasha took a deep breath. His salty tears of frustration soon subsided as he gazed back at the lifelessness of Kagome's face. It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago their lips had met for the first time.. He didn't want that to be their last.

"..I suppose I have no other choice then?"

Eventually his arms enfolded around the maiden's cold and stiffened body. His dark bands of hair created a deep veil across his face, concealing only part of the tears that were streaming down his cheeks. His voice gently revealed the quivering sounds emitting from deep in his throat as a result of his shaken mind and body.

"For you.. K-Kagome."

A quivering, uncertain hand reached across to one of his open wounds, became drenched in his deep crimson blood, and slowly moved downward towards Kagome's chest. His breath failed him while his heartbeat rested as a lump in the back of his throat. Could this really work?