Author's Note: Okay this is really demeaning but….::falls to her knees:: Many many apologies for long period of no postage. Your dear author has been swamped with school, internet problems, writers block, and running around doing odd jobs to get money to buy her no good friends Christmas presents! So this is my present to all you readers. UPDATES!! Yay!! I will strive to update all my stories within this week so bear with me. And now? On to the chapter!!

Inuyasha snarled and turned away as her remember, the whole congregation going deathly silent as they all thought the same thing. Kikyou had no soul to return to her body…because Kagome had her soul. Kagome's cheeks burned with embaressment as she kept her gaze from straying to Inuyasha or Kikyou. How could she have forgotten? But now that she knew…what could she do?

"My soul." Eyes snapped towards her. "Take my soul and give it to Kikyou." She heard Inuyasha suck in a sharp breath and felt the weight of Kikyou's eyes on her. But her gaze was on Sesshomaru's face as his eyes darkened with anger.

"No."

"It's my choice!" Kagome argued, curling her fingers in and lifting a hand to her lips. "It's my choice."

"You belong to me Kagome. You're request is denied."

Kagome fumed with anger suddenly. "I'm not property! And I'm not a child either so stop treating me like one."

"Stop acting like one." He countered coolly but Kagome could sense the turmoil beneath the façade.

"Sesshomaru." She murmured softly and stepped over to lay her hand against his arms, the simple touch making her feel comforted, feel safe and loved. She rested her head against his shoulder seeking more of the feeling. "I made a promise. I made a promise."

"It will not be kept." Sesshomaru whiled "I will see my half breed brother and his wench both dead before I let you do this." Despite the harshness of the words Kagome couldn't help but feel a swell of warmth at his concern and she stepped into the circle of his arms and laid her head against his chest.

"What other choice do I have?"

"There's always other choices." A voice seemed to swirl around them with quiet laughter. "There's no such thing as one path. Not even only two paths. All decisions are webbed netting of roads but some are over grown and hard to see." A woman stepped from that shadows of the trees as if the willow itself had given birth to her, at her side walked a small girl clothed in pink. "Because few have ever walked that road before."

"Mother." Inuyasha's whisper was soft as he stated at the woman.

She turned and smiled at him gently. "My little boy. That's not right though now is it though? You're a man now." Her gaze moved to Sesshomaru. "You're both men. But here we're having a dilemma of women. Akuai." The little girl stepped forward, lifting her head and her strawberry eyes flashed softly.

Kagome's eyes widened. "You! You're the demon who-"

"Why are you here?" Sesshomaru cut Kagome of as he questioned the woman who was apparently Inuyasha's mother. Inuyasha growled at him.

"Watch your tone Sesshomaru." Inuyasha voice holding a threat in it.

"Children, children." The woman said with amusement. She looked towards Kikyou then. "You've had many chances at life, child."

"Half lives." Kikyou replied calmly, seeming not at all affected by the strange going ons.

"Don't be dramatic." This got Kikyou's attention because her dark eyes flashed. "You didn't really think it was your fate to die did you?"

"Does that mean that Kagome really does have to give Kikyou her soul?" Inuyasha asked quietly.

"Yes…and no. It all centers around Kagome's unborn child."

Kagome laced her fingers across her stomach protectively. "My child?"

"When a child is born the soul that composes it always hold a fragment of the child's parents. The phrase 'sins of the father' is well known. The reason for it is part of this as well." She looked away and smiled, lifting a lovely hand and laid it on the head of the strawberry eyed girl. "Akuai was never given a real life and in her I feel the sadness of watching the world without being able to touch it. Death is only peaceful for those who have lived."

"Your elusive speech is solving nothing." Sesshomaru said coldly, and Kagome would have rebuked him but took grateful notice that he emitted woman or wench so held her tongue.

"Are you lost Sesshomaru? Very well." Inuaysha's mother looked towards Kagome. "If you so choose you can give Kikyou the soul of your child."

Kagome gasped and she felt the low rumble of a growl against Sesshomaru's chest. "Kill…kill my baby."

"If you were to give Kikyou your soul the child would have died. But no, I don't mean kill it. Your baby will not be harmed."

"But she'll have no soul." Kagome said in a choked voice.

Inuyasha mother gave her a disapproving look. "Do you truly believe I'd do that to a child? Your baby will have a soul, simply not the same one she would have had." She allowed a moment for a pause. "It is your choice."

Kagome, bit her bottom lip, tipping her head forward so her hair fell over her face for a long moment before looking up at her husband, seeking help. "Sesshomaru?"

"It's your choice." He replied mirroring the words of Inuyasha's mother.

How could she refuse? How could she break the promise she'd made? Kagome nodded slowly after a long moment. "Alright. I choose to save her. I choose to save Kikyou."

Inuyasha's mother smiled then nodded towards Akuai. The young girl stepped forward and lfited a hand, laying it on Kagome's stomach. Kagome watched her, lips parting in a gasp as she felt a light tugging just behind her heart. A soft silver mist slipped from her mouth condensing in a glowing gold ball of light as it swelled in the air. The light circled as if lost before it hovered over Kikyou. Kikyou's eyes registered surprise and something else, something deeper that Kagome couldn't identify at the moment. After a moment the gold light sunk into Kikyou's chest.