Recap:
A few minutes later, Inuyasha came back in, and before they could ask, Inuyasha said "Her family is on vacation at some place called Osaka. They'll be back in a month." "Well, at least that buys us some time." Shippou said. "Yeah, I guess…" Inuyasha looked up at the night sky. 'I'm sorry, Kagome…' Inuyasha thought.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Kagome was being dragged deeper and deeper into hell. Her chains were feeling tighter by the minute. "Hey, can't anyone get a drink of water around here?!" Kagome shouted at the messengers of hell. The messengers just laughed. "Apparently not…" Kagome grumbled. Finally, they stopped descending. And what Kagome saw made her jaw drop.
Thousands of people were being whipped or burned at the stake. Since all these people were already dead, they can't die again. So this was plain torture. Screams and laughter filled Kagome's ears. Flames were licking the ground everywhere. If these people weren't being tortured physically, they were being hurt emotionally. Kagome can tell. She figured that horrible mental images were being placed inside their heads, for their eyes were blank, lifeless.
"Come on!" One of the messengers tugged at her chains. "What is this place?" Kagome whispered. The messenger heard her. "This? This is hell." He replied. Kagome can't stop turning her head around to look at the people being tortured. 'So this is hell…' Kagome thought grimly. 'No wonder Kikyou wanted to leave this place so badly.' Suddenly Kagome felt sorry for the older girl.
Then, a girl with long black hair caught her eye. "Kikyou!" Kagome cried. The dead priestess was being tortured mentally. At the mention of her name, some of the life was restored into her eyes. But as soon as she saw Kagome, the light suddenly filled her eyes. Kikyou smiled sadly. "Hello Kagome," She said. Kagome gaped. Kikyou was actually being nice to her?!
Kikyou must have read her mind, because she said, "I'm afraid the Kikyou that the witch Urasue resurrected wasn't me. Forgive me, Kagome, for I know that my impostor has said things to you that I would not have imagined it would say. And I know all about Naraku now." Kikyou saw the look on Kagome's face. "Do you know what the first thing they show you here is?" Kagome shook her head. "It's how you died." Kikyou said quietly. "I thank you, because you were one of the ones that avenged my death. Not only that, but you have managed to overcome Inuyasha's cold barrier, and has taught him how to trust and love others once again."
"I also want you to know that I would have never wanted Inuyasha to choose between you and I. Now that I'm trapped here for all eternity, I only wish for Inuyasha to move on, not to grieve over me. But----Aah!" Kikyou's sentence was cut short when another mental image pierced through her mind. "Kikyou!" Kagome gasped. Never has she seen such cruelty! "Move it, girl!" The messenger snarled.
Finally, they came to a halt. The messenger seemed to be waiting for something. Then, what he was waiting for became apparent at once. Flames shot up around Kagome, and she gasped. The pain was unbearable! Then, flashbacks shot through her mind. The last few days of her life. How Sesshoumaru kidnapped her. How she had decided to sacrifice her life. And how Sesshoumaru had summoned the messengers of hell and brought her here.
Then, an image crossed her mind. Inuyasha was sitting against the God tree, breathing heavily. And she, Kagome, was stringing an arrow onto a bow she was holding. Kagome realized that she was aiming for Inuyasha! 'I remember this,' Kagome thought, 'This was when we faced Menomaru!' Only one thing was different. Instead of a white-silver colour, Inuyasha's hair was black!
With a start, Kagome realized that Inuyasha's dog-ears were gone! 'No!' Kagome thought, 'If he's human he'll have no chance of surviving! Inuyasha! Onegai! Run!' Kagome thought desperately. Then, the other Kagome let the arrow fly. Inuyasha screamed in pain, then he stopped moving at all. But the replica of Kagome didn't regain control like she was supposed to. She seemed to have no emotion whatsoever. While Kagome looked on, unable to do anything, she watched as her replica killed each of her friends, one by one.
Kagome was helpless. Her spirit was trapped in a world of never-ending torture. She couldn't bear it much longer. So she gave up all hope of returning to the living. And like all the others, the life was sucked right out of her eyes. Forever.
-Back on Earth-
Inuyasha stared at the sky. 'Kagome…' He thought. 'There's nothing to live for now. Naraku's dead. The Shikon no Tama is complete. I avenged Kikyou. And the people I love most are dead. All of them. Mother, Father, Kikyou and Kagome.' "So if you have nothing to live for, why live?" A voice inside Inuyasha's head spoke. "What are you talking about?" Inuyasha asked. "I mean, why live with no one who cares, when you can die with the people who loves you?" The voice said.
"You mean kill myself." Inuyasha said back. As crazy as this idea may seem, he actually considered it. Tonight would be the perfect night to do it. It'll be easier, because tonight was the night of the new moon. His human body will have less chance of surviving than his normal body would (he has one drop of human blood, he'd still change into a human). So he would die quicker. For once, he was thankful for the night of the new moon.
Inuyasha stared at the dagger in his hand. If he was going to do it, it has to be now. The sun would be up in a few hours, and so would the rest of the gang. But does he want to die?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A/N: Ooooh, cliffie! I was going to continue, but I'm not exactly in a good mood right now, so I decided to be evil. Mwa ha ha ha! Anyway, please review! Hehe. And I can't decide if I should give chapters a proper name, or leave them the way they are. So if you have any suggestions, put them in your reviews or email me! Ja ne!
