"Could you could you come back
Come back together
Put yourself on my back
And say it is forever."

-Coldplay 'One I Love'-

Sesshomaru had barely felt the pain of Kagome's miko powers washing over his left side. Her protection ward had been weaved so well, he almost felt as if he could fall asleep. Even in this semi-sleep that he was in, he could start to feel his arm being restored to his shoulder, feeling the skin and bones growing from under the miko's hands. It was a strange sensation, but a curious one to be sure.

Fingers! He could move his fingers, he could feel his muscles twitch under his command. It was a wonderful sensation. Close to opening his eyes and staring at the woman in wonder, he felt a sharp pain to the back of his head, Jaken's presence suddenly offending him. He had only a few seconds to look towards the Miko, who's face was contorted with anger as she tried to keep her power under control, before he felt the explosion.

All had gone dark, and he no longer seemed to care about his arm. He wasn't dreaming, but neither was he awake, somewhere inbetween, content to float where he was. He couldn't even feel his body being moved, he couldn't hear the miko scream for help. Standing? Was that what he was doing? He looked around with golden eyes, looking down to the land below his feet and the cloud below him. Where was he going? Before his thoughts could be answered, he felt something tug at his left hand. Looking down he saw the human girl, Rin. Was she not dead?

"Rin missed Sesshomaru-sama. Why did it take you so long?"

What did she mean, he has always been here? Something was nagging at the back of his mind. Something that he was forgetting. But what could it have been? The girl tugged once again at his arm, and it was then that he noticed he shouldn't have had his arm. 'I lost it to a fight with Inu-yasha... so why do I have it?'

"Rin wonders what Fluffy is thinking of. Is Fluffy not happy to see Rin again?"

He picked the girl up in both of his arms, looking into her doe-brown eyes. Her body was warm, but not as warm as it should have been, just a degree of what it normally was. Her skin wasn't as tanned with youth as it had been. Her scent was different as well, what was it that was wrong?

"Yes Rin, this Sesshomaru is happy to see Rin."

She threw her small arms around his neck, pressing her giggling face against his shoulder, like she had done so many times before. This was right, it must have been. Rin was here, he had both his arms, so why did he still get the nagging sensation that it wasn't alright. His ears twitched from sounds on the distance. Sounds of his name being screamed. He wished to clap his ears from hearing such things, but he didn't wish to let go of Rin.

'SESSHOMARU!! WAKE UP!!!'

A sensastion pulled at his body as he flew, making him grab tighter to Rin. He had to protect her from whatever it was that was pulling at him. He had to fight those hands that were trying to wrap around him and pull him away from Rin. He could smell the salty tears that had started to pour down the girl's cheeks.

"Rin does not want Sesshomaru-sama to leave. Rin was lonely all by herself..."

He wanted to tell her he wasn't going to leave her agian. (Again?) That he was always there beside her. But before he could, she silenced him by placing her small, grubby hands against his lips.

"But Fluffy does not belong here just yet. Fluffy still has many many many years to live, and it would be unfair of Rin to take Fluffy away now."

In panic, Sesshomaru grabbed the girl tighter. He would not be left behind again, he wouldn't let Rin die. Yes, now he knew. Rin had died, and somehow the miko's powers went out of control. He wasn't dead, not just yet, but if he followed Rin, he could stay with her forever. That was what he wanted, and yet the thought of leaving the miko alone hurt just as bad. 'She has her friends to return to... don't think of her.' But if she really did, then why wasn't she with them now? With a voice of wisdom that Sesshomaru had never heard from the girl, and a face just as calm and mature, she spoke once again to him.

"The Miko needs you. You are all that she has left in her world, she will die if you cannot break the seal over her person.... Besides Rin will wait for both you and the miko to join her once again."

A giggle escaped the girls lips as Sesshomaru suddenly found himself pulled away from the girl as she seemed to stand on the sky, waving energetically at his retreating form. He felt breathless, numb and cold all at the same time as he was suddenly slammed back into his body. Jerking up in the bed that he was laying on, he jerked his gaze over to the miko, who had passed out on the side of his bed from all her motions.

He refused the feeling of sleep once again as he stood up, placing both of his hands on her shoulders and shaking her from whatever darkness there was. It was then that he noticed he had used both hands. Looking to his left, he inspected the arm that was once again there. He had expected it to look different, to feel different, something to be wrong, but it was just as it had been. She had restored it completely down to the stripes near his wrist, and the claws that pulled away from his fingertips.

Returning his attention back to Kagome, he shook her once again. He watched as her eyes started to flutter open. Their hue was of a lighter blue, as if she had been drained of her life when she had pulled him from death. Her lips were dry and her skin had paled significantly.

"This Sesshomaru wants to know what has sealed you..... I need to know what has happened to you and your group."

He wanted to add more to his statement, but he could think of nothing else. It was the truth, he needed to know. Her presence and her past was confusing him, and it complicated his emotions. He knelt down in front of her, his hands on her knee's as he stared at her, waiting for her answer.

"I wished upon the Shikon No Tama."

----------

"I'll paint it on the walls
Cuz I'm the one that falls
I'll never fight again
And this is how it ends."

-Linkin Park 'Breaking the Habit'-

She sat in front of him now, they had once again made their way to the garden. She felt more comfortable explaining all that had happened to Sesshomaru if they were in the open air, surronded by the trees and the flowers. Placing her person back down onto the blanket that she had laid out for Sesshomaru, she did not wait to see if he was listening, before she started to speak.

"The final battle with Naraku was harder than we had all expected. No matter how hard we fought, it always seemed that he deflected it, and hurt us ten times worse. At first we thought we were all done for, that we would die then and there. How we won, I cannot even believe it now. It was the worst day of my life. If you had not known before, Miroku the monk had the wind tunnel, a curse that Naraku had placed on the males of his family. If he did not defeat Naraku swiftly, the hole would eventually suck him up as well, destroying Miroku. We had never noticed it, but Miroku did. The wind tunnel was starting to enlargen right there as we fought."

She took a deep breathe, trying to keep her memories from flashing back to the look of horror on Miroku and Sango's face as the hole started to widen. To think that they had harbored emotions for each other the whole time, and never had the chance to profess them. She breathed in around her tears, trying to keep them at bay.

"We came up with a last ditch effort to defeat Naraku. Miroku would suck him into the wind tunnel, along with his poison swarm, but we had to retreive the last of the Shikon so that it would not be sucked in with him. A made a protective shield around Naraku, that was made to protect the jewel, and not him. Inu-yasha hated what I would have to do, but it had to be done. I cut a hole in my side, and pushed our shards into my side. It was the only way that Naraku would completely merge with me. I remember letting one of his tentacles slide around my waist and pull me up to him. It was horrific, to let the blackness of the demons eat at my flesh as he consumed me. I was still alive, still somewhat whole. I let him take me in till the other half of the Shikon No Tama was in front of me. Not caring of the pain, I reached out with my hands and captured in, pulling it back into my body with the other half."

She had by then dipped her head down, to hide from the pain she had felt. Had that been the pain that every demon which was obsurbed by Naraku felt? She brushed at her eyes, afraid she had let a few tears slip, but her cheeks had remained dry. She shuddered visibly now as she took in another breathe and continued.

"A sent a final flash of my power out from my form, to warn Inu-yasha that the jewel was once again complete. He pulled the Tetseiga and slashed through Naraku. It weakened the demon enough for my body to fall forth, with the Shikon No Tama in my side. Miroku said his final words to the group, and while Naraku thrashed about, trying to capture me once again, he sucked the demon and the swarm into his hand, just as the tunnel took him as well. I had little strength to throw a protection shield around the rest of us, so that we would not suffer that fate. Naraku was gone, and so was the beloved monk. Sango, Inu-yasha, and myself were the only one's left. We had traveled back to Kaede's village, but Sango was never the same. She had loved Miroku, and now she had no one. Her village had been destroyed, her family had been destroyed, and now Miroku was gone. She wanted to join them in death, she felt no need in staying. She told me one night that with the Shikon No Tama complete, we no longer needed to stay. I would be leaving soon to go back to my own time and never come back, Inu-yasha would be a full demon. we were not needed. That night, Kohaku's spirit visited us at the hut, and lead his sister into the woods, where she would join her family. Our group of five was suddenly down to two. Inu-yasha and myself."

The one person of the group that she had not yet spoken of had been Shippou, but she dared not say his name without breaking down into tears. Inu-yasha she could at least speak of and not be in total pain. She had accepted his decision and would no longer be plagued by it.

"Before I left for my time, Inu-yasha confronted me in the forest, Kikyou was behind him. I knew what it was he was going to tell me. He had decided. He wanted to go to hell with Kikyou. We exchanged words, and I finally slayed him with an arrow, as I would not let him be dragged down by Kikyou. I was left alone, and with Shikon No Tama still in my side. I had gone back to my time, but as I looked towards my house, and my family that was in it, I no longer felt as if I belonged there. My heart and soul had been in this era for so long that I felt a stranger in my own home. I couldn't stay there, I couldn't stand to bear all the friends that I had lost. I left a note for my mother, explaining to her why I had to stay in the past. I destroyed the well when I returned and wished upon the Shikon No Tama."

As she spoke, something shimmered around her, her human features disappearing. Her ears were slightly pointed, and her usually raven hair had streaks of snow white hair. One eye had remained the dark blue from before, but her right eye was blazing out with a golden-green hue. Two blue stripes adorned her cheeks, and a black star had been etched on her forehead. Sesshomaru watched as a black tail peeked over her shoulder, waving lazily in the air. Her scent was of rosemary and.... starlight?

"I wished for it to take away my pain, my weakness, so that I wouldn't feel it anymore. I knew that I should word it specifically, or it would take effect years from now. So I only said my immediate pain. My humanness was my weakness. So it turned me youkai. But I feel this emptiness inside, I am not complete and I do not know what it is. Have you ever had the feeling that your soul is missing it's parts. I can't explain it, but I feel as if I'm just a shell of what I used to be..."

----------

Authors Note:

Close, she didn't wish specifically to be demon, she just wished her pain and weakness to be taken away. So the Shikon made her a demon. I know this has been used many times before.... but oh well I suppose.

I'm sure there is still a little bit of confusion over the Shikon No Tama. Like why is it still there if it has been wished on? I haven't talked about it completely yet, because I haven't worked out all the details of the story.

Forgive me.