Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and friends.

Chapter 29

Kagome watched as Hiro staggered backwards. She knew he wouldn't last a minute against Sesshoumaru and Tokijin. Why, just the blade's aura itself would destroy him. "Iie, Sesshoumaru! Don't hurt him!" Kagome cried out, still trying to get out.

Sesshoumaru growled and leapt forward, straight at Hiro. "NO!" Kagome screamed. Urgently, she tried to find the connection to Hiro. When she found it, she lent him her powers.

Hiro's dark head shot up, fury on his youthful face, eyes glowing pink. He threw his hands up, forcing the wind to submit to his power. A massive gust blew past him and pushed Sesshoumaru back, flinging the taiyoukai on his back.

Sesshoumaru was so startled to see the pink glow on the elf, that he didn't realize he had been thrown backwards.

Hiro still stood there with his hands in the air, his entire body glowing with Shikon's light.

Sesshoumaru got to his feet and stood stock still. No sounds of nature reached his powerful hearing. No birds singing, no crickets chirping. The night air was completely still.

Then it came...the sound of a coming train.

Sesshoumaru did not move a muscle. Every instinct told him that he was now on dangerous ground. He would not be able to fly, for the elf before him could keep him grounded. He certainly would not leave; deserting Kagome was not going to happen.

The train got louder...and louder.

Kagome stared up into the night sky. She knew what that sound meant. She had learnt about it in one of her science classes.

"TORNADO!" she shrieked and pounded on the barrier. "Sesshoumaru! Get out of here! Please!"

Sesshoumaru whirled around and saw something he had never seen before in his life. An enormous twirling mass of cloud was barrelling down on him, sucking up and destroying everything in its path.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Kagome pleaded. She was terrified for him. He may have been a pompous asshole, but she had put him through a lot. He had to watch as his mate gave birth to another man's children. He cared for her and loved her and wanted her as his mate. She didn't want him to die. She didn't want to lose him, now that she had him again.

She looked over at Hiro, whose normally kind face held no emotion as he commanded that mass of swirling death to go after Sesshoumaru.

'Hiro! Hiro, stop this! Please stop this!' she cried into his mind.

But Hiro's mind would not answer. He did not wish to stop the tornado.

"RUN!" she yelled to her mate over the roaring winds.

Sesshoumaru rushed over to her and knelt before the shrine. "I won't leave you, Kagome. I won't."

Kagome felt hot tears spill down her cheeks. "You must leave. NOW! He'll kill you!"

He shook his head. "I won't leave you," he said again.

"No...please..." she whimpered as he rose and turned to face Hiro.

Tokijin swung upwards and flashed down, sending a red blast in the elf's direction. It bounced off Hiro as if nothing had hit him.

"You will not have her," Hiro intoned. It sounded as if other voices were entwined with his own. "We are her protector, as she is ours. You have treated her with disrespect and so shall we disrespect you."

Sesshoumaru, his silver hair blowing wildly about him, glared at Hiro. "I love Kagome. It was YOU who are making me do what I have forced myself not to do."

"But it is still a part of your psyche. You are who you are. You will not change. What we have seen is enough to deem you unworthy of this holiest of mikos."

Sesshoumaru swung Tokijin angrily. "I love this woman. Do you not understand this? What does it matter that I am not worthy of her. I love her. You have a problem with that?"

The tornado got closer. Sesshoumaru could feel debris smash into his body from the tornado's powerful winds. "You won't separate us!" he roared as the winds claimed him.

Kagome was on her feet, horrified. "SESSHOUMARU!"

Hiro's blank face turned in her direction. "He has failed the test, Kagome. What do you wish from us?"

Without hesitation, she cried out, tears streaming down her face, "I want him back! I want Sesshoumaru back! This is all wrong! This...is all wrong!" She sank to her knees, turning her pleading eyes to the elf. "Please! I want to fix this. I want anything, as long as he doesn't die! Please!" She covered her face and sobbed into her hands.

Hiro stood silent. Kagome looked up when she felt the connection between herself and Sesshoumaru sever.

The rage in her flared up. The shrine was filled with her furious energy and it exploded around her.

With her black hair whipping madly around her, she stood up and made her wish as the tornado swirled dangerously close to her. "I won't live without him!" she cried as she ran towards the deadly winds.

The tornado picked her up into its whirling funnel just as Hiro came to himself.

"Kagome, NO!" he cried, trying to stop the gigantic whirlwind.

Kagome felt herself being whipped around. The wish she had made resounded in her head. It was the last thing she knew...

Sesshoumaru's youkai was unconscious. He couldn't tell if Kagome was dead or alive.

He felt himself being swirled around in the giant vaccuum, but he couldn't do much about it. Until...

He saw something white being whipped around just beneath him. It was dressed in white and had black hair.

"Kagome!" he cried and struggled to get to her.

When he finally caught her, he realized that she was dead. Despite the fact that she had her youkai, she was still a ningen.

"No...no, this isn't right. It wasn't supposed to be like this!" he roared into the winds. He pulled her into his arms and held her.

The voices he heard earlier spoke into his ear. "What is it you wish of us?" the voices asked him.

"Bring her back. Bring her back to life. I want to start all over. I swear I'd never hurt her ever again. Please...I want to start over...please..."

He felt Kagome's body vibrate in his arms, but he wouldn't let go. He would never let her go again.

There was a bright light...