Inuyasha tore through the forest, his thoughts devoted only to finding Kagome. He could not spare more than a second to think about what he had just done, knowing that if he did his resolve might collapse entirely and leave him running back to Kikyo. No, not this time, maybe not ever again...

He pushed the deceased priestess from his mind and forced himself to run faster. How far ahead could Kagome have gotten? The night air was turning from cold to freezing, and soon Inuyasha had trouble drawing in breath in the stale winter air. She won't last long in this... Suddenly he picked up the pungent scent of her sickness and sped towards it; afraid of what he would find when he reached the end of the trail.

After leaping over one final large white root he spotted her. She was face down in the snow, and she wasn't moving.

"Kagome!" He ran to her side and picked her up. Though her body had been half-buried in the soft snow, he could still feel the fever rage within her. Funny, she didn't seem quite as hot now...

Pushing the small hope aside, he searched for some dry place to lay her down. All he wanted to do was rush her back to Keade's hut, but something warned him that if he didn't break this fever now she would never make it even that short distance. So he swept his worried gaze over the white world, and breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted a large, abandoned burrow underneath a thick raised root.

With a gentle hand he laid her in the close confines. Inuyasha immediately pulled his haori off and wrapped it around his charge. She looked so small and frail in it that for a moment he wondered where she had gotten the strength to survive so much pain. He shook the feeling off and hurriedly began thinking of how he was going to help her. No, I can't be too late!

An idea surfaced in Inuyasha's mind, and in desperation her removed the haori and placed it on the cold ground behind him. He quickly picked Kagome up and crawled back through the small entrance of the burrow. This was the only shot he had, and he prayed with every ounce of his soul that it would work.

With another fast prayer, he laid Kagome in the snow outside their shelter. When he had picked her up earlier, she had seemed a little cooler. Now he hoped that the cold would snap her out of the fevered state that she was in. It wasn't much, but it was the only chance she had.

Inuyasha pushed some of the snow onto her body, drawing back slightly as a thin trail of steam rose from her skin. "Come on, Kagome! Fight, damn it! Fight!"

The minutes drug by, and still there was no response from the girl. Usually she would have moved by now, whether from discomfort or from another dream. But she had not even shivered since he found her collapsed. He furrowed his brow in worry. Why wasn't it working?


Kagome's world was falling apart. After she had fled the God-Tree and the horrors she had seen there, Kagome quickly became lost. Now she was alone, and the world was slowly fading from vibrant green to snowy white. What's happening? she cried. Everything around her was disappearing, and now there was no one left to help her.

Inuyasha...what have I done? she asked herself again as she fell to her knees. Tears streaked her face as the memory played itself over and over again within her tortured mind. Kagome watched as she let her arrow fly, and she watched as the deadly missile found its mark within the hanyou's heart. All Kagome wanted was for the pain to end, and she quickly looked around her for something that would help her stop the memories.

Kagome blinked in surprise as she realized just how much of the world had disappeared. The forest was completely gone, replaced by a blank white that had no beginning or end. The ground had vanished beneath her, and only the bright white light remained. The only thing that Kagome could still see was dark blemish that lay in front of her kneeling form. With a shaking hand she reached for it, and her fingers soon caressed the hilt of the Tetsusiaga. Inuyasha's sword...Kagome doubled over as the memories overtook her, and she fought desperately to control the horrible images. I killed him, she thought, her mind overwhelmed with the knowledge of what she had done. I killed him, and now there's no one left...Tentatively she wrapped her hand around the great sword and drew it from its scabbard. The blade shone dully in the bright light, and suddenly a thought struck Kagome.


Inuyasha watched Kagome with worried amber eyes. Her breath was coming in quick gasps, and his ears could hear her heart pound fiercely within her chest. "Kagome...hang on! Don't leave me!" He grabbed the unconscious girl's shoulders and shook them in despair. "You can't die, Kagome. Come on, wake up! I need you to wake up, Kagome!" Still there was no response. "I don't know if I can live without you, Kagome. I love you!"
The girl raised the sword in front of her. So many memories, both good and bad, reflected in the chipped and dented metal of the blade. The faces of friends and family that had been left behind paraded across the old weapon's surface, and for a moment Kagome could almost see Inuyasha within the depths of the blade, whispering three words that she had longed to hear. She shook her head sadly. No, that was a memory that was never meant to be, like so many others she had wished for with the half-demon. Now, there will be no more memories, she thought as she turned the blade so that the razor sharp tip was pointed at her heart...
Inuyasha shook the girl's shoulders one final time, then let her fall gently back onto her bed of snow. Her breathing had stopped, and her heart had ceased its frantic beating. Despair shone in Inuyasha's bright eyes, and he shook his head in denial. "No...Kagome..." Inuyasha leaned over the girl, burying his face in the space beneath her delicate neck. Her body was cool to the touch, and Inuyasha caressed the pale skin of her cheeks. The fever had broken, but too late...

Inuyasha let the tears fall then, the first he had cried since his mother's death many years before. He had kept them locked away, insisting that there was no one else in the world worth crying over. Now, as Kagome's still form lay beneath him, he realized that he had finally found someone, and that he had let her go.

Grief and anger washed over him in waves as he realized that this was his fault. "Oh Kagome, I'm sorry..." More tears joined the first, and Inuyasha let them come.

"Inuyasha...?" The half-demon sat up with a start at the quiet voice.

"Kagome? Kagome!" He pulled the girl close in a fierce hug. "You're alive!"

"Inuyasha...are you crying, for me?" The question caused Inuyasha to release his hold slightly as he brought one clawed hand to his eyes. "No...it's the cold air. It makes my eyes water, ok?" The smile on his face contradicted his tone, and Kagome smiled at him in return. As Inuyasha committed her beautiful smile to memory, he noticed her shiver slightly.

"Come on, I have to get you warmed up before you get sick again." He gently lifted Kagome and carried her back inside their small shelter.

Kikyo watched the pair from afar, anger marring her porcelain features. The poison should have worked! There was no way that Kagome could have survived! And yet there she was; weak, but alive.

The priestess glared at the small burrow as Inuyasha carried the girl inside. It would not be long before her sleeping powder wore off and the others arrived, so Kikyo prepared to depart the disgusting scene before her.

She will pay! The miko swore silently. That girl has stolen my life, and I will have it back! With that final thought of revenge burning in her mind, Kikyo let her demons wrap themselves about her and carry her into the faint light of the new dawn.