Inuyasha sat grumbling in the corner of the hut. He looked towards Kagome and couldn't help the look of concern that flashed through his eyes. She looked far too pale and fragile. It was like if you touched her that she would break.
Kaede sat by Kagome's head and was looking her over as if trying to find some sort of problem with her. She could see Kagome looking up towards the ceiling with a blank look on her face. She didn't have any signs of any sort of sickness that she knew of. It was a complete mystery as to what actually happened to Kagome. "I fear for Kagome. I cannot find out what is wrong with her," Kaede said standing up with a tired look on her face.
"What do you mean that you can't find out what is wrong with her? Something has to be wrong with her if she is in this sort of condition!" Inuyasha yelled at the elderly lady after standing up and getting into her face.
"She doesn't have any of the signs of any illness that I have ever seen. Unless I see some symptoms of what it is I can't do anything to help her get better. So the best we can do is hope that she will get better," Kaede said before walking out of the hut with a sad face.
"You should just keep trying old hag!" Inuyasha yelled but growled when he saw that he was just being ignored the entire time. He grumbled and sat back down next to where Kagome was.
He looked towards her and saw how much pain she looked like she was in. Her breathing was very shallow and her hands were trembling. There was a lot of sweat coming down her face and she seemed to be shifting between consciousnesses at that moment.
He couldn't figure out why he was worrying so much. At one time he wouldn't have cared less if anything was to happen to anyone. Yet he worried so much for Kagome right then. 'When is it that she became someone closer to me than anyone else?' Inuyasha asked himself as he saw her looked towards him. "Kagome?" Inuyasha asked worriedly.
Kagome stared out for a moment before one of her hands carefully reached out and grabbed one of Inuyasha's own hands. "Why does it hurt Inuyasha? Why is it that I feel so much pain?" Kagome asked as she cringed at her previous movements.
"Kaede doesn't know. Where does it hurt Kagome?" Inuyasha asked but she gave an unsure look towards him. "How can you not know where it hurts? Does it hurt on your arms, your legs, where?" Inuyasha asked growing more and more frustrated that she wasn't giving any answers.
"I-I can't explain it. My body doesn't hurt but the pain is still there. I don't know what it is that is doing this," Kagome said taking to staring up at the ceiling once again. "Am I going to die Inuyasha?" she asked all of a sudden.
"Of course not stupid. Don't talk like that!" Inuyasha growled clutching her hand in his own. Inuyasha may not know what was happening or what was going to happen but he knew that Naraku was bound to be behind whatever was happening to Kagome. Now that he was gone, they wouldn't be able to get any answers from him.
Inuyasha was both happy and sad at the same time. He had finally gotten his revenge and killed Naraku but as a result, he could end up losing another person that was very close to her.
The rest of the result of the battle was that Miroku's wind tunnel was gone but his arm was also broken in the process. Inuyasha had to guess that he would be groping women in only a few days.
Sango had a bit of a concussion after the battle and was still resting at that moment. Kirara was standing faithfully by her side as usual without anything more than scratches on her feline body and a bump on its head.
Shippo somehow managed to summon up some courage during the battle and attacked Naraku only to be thrown into a tree a second afterwards. He was still lying unconscious in the hut next to the one that Inuyasha was in at that moment. He was sleeping like a baby.
Kaede came back into the hut a few moments later after she was done tending to the others wounds as well. "Ye should get some rest child. Inuyasha, can you please leave the hut for a bit. I heard some of what Kagome said and I have some suspicions about something," Kaede said taking a seat next to Kagome.
Inuyasha just sat on the floor refusing to leave the room. "Forget it old hag! I'm not going to leave!" he growled out crossing his hands over his chest and staring at the two ladies that were before him.
"Please Inuyasha, I will be alright as long as Kaede is here," Kagome said and smiled when she saw he grumble as he got up and left the hut but she knew that he was standing right outside the door ready to burst in at the first sound of something happening to her.
"Please Kagome, I want you to lie back and close your eyes," Kaede said and she saw Kagome weakly follow her instructions. Kaede lifted Kagome's shirt up and she placed her hands over Kagome's stomach and a blue light seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Kagome suddenly screamed out loud causing Kaede to stumble backwards in fright and Inuyasha to burst back into the hut. The pain she felt was just too horrible to describe and she wasn't even sure what it was that Kaede had done to her with that glowing light.
"Damn it old woman. What the hell is it that you did to her?" Inuyasha yelled as he stared at Kagome who had fallen unconscious. "Well?" he yelled again turning around to face Kaede who was straightening her clothes out.
"Inuyasha, I am afraid that things are far worse than we have thought. Kagome has had some sort of curse placed upon her by Naraku. This curse that Kagome has isn't something that is affecting her body but rather her soul," Kaede explained although she had trouble not shaking in fear of the news.
Inuyasha stared in disbelief. He wasn't aware that there was any sort of curse around that has the power to attack a persons soul directly. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he yelled and Kaede motioned him to walk outside since the rest of them were out there already.
When Sango saw Kaede coming out of the hut, she stood up using the Hiraikotsu as support since she was still feeling very weak from the battle and that she had really just regained consciousness from it. "How is Kagome doing Kaede?" Sango asked but sat down at Kaede's request.
"As I have told Inuyasha, Kagome has had a curse placed upon her by Naraku that is attacking her soul. Normally this is something that shouldn't affect a normal human," Kaede explained taking a seat across from Sango and Miroku. She didn't want to talk about the rest of it but she knew that she had to.
"Then why should it affect Kagome? She should be perfectly fine. So what is it that is causing her to be hurt some damn much?" Inuyasha growled out standing up instead of sitting down like the rest of them.
"Have you forgotten Inuyasha? You of all people should know the answer to this since you were there when this all started. Have you forgotten the fact that Kagome and Kikyo are sharing a soul right now?" Kaede asked and saw understanding flash through Inuyasha's eyes. "A soul is much weaker separated than it is as a whole. That is why it affects Kagome," Kaede said letting out a sigh.
"Lady Kaede, since you are saying that Kagome is affected by this curse because she only has a part of her soul. Does that mean that Lady Kikyo is also being affected by the curse as well?" Miroku asked nursing his still hurting arm although it was placed in some bandages that Kagome had brought from her time.
"I'm afraid so Miroku? My sister is somewhere out there suffering from Naraku's final acts against Inuyasha. I am not sure that there is any way to help them either. We may have the completed jewel but only they have enough spiritual energy to harness its power properly so we can't help them that way," Kaede said feeling too old to have enough power to do such a thing.
Sango looked like she was in a deep thought before she sudden had an idea. "I know this sounds crazy but what if we were to combine the soul back. If separated it is weakened, does that mean that the curse will disappear if it is reunited?" Sango asked and she saw Inuyasha stand up quickly.
Inuyasha stood up quickly without even think after he heard that. He didn't even realize what Sango had truly meant by this. "Then what are we waiting for?" he said preparing to leave but Miroku stopped him.
"Inuyasha wait!" Miroku yelled towards the hanyou. "There is a price for that though and I know Sango realized that. A person can't live without its soul. If you want Kagome to live, then you will have to kill Kikyo. Or possibly the other way around. If Inuyasha can't choose, then both will die," he said in a calm voice as he sat down again.
Inuyasha was stunned. In order to save the life of someone that he really cared for, he would have to take the life of someone else that he cared for greatly. He was positive now that Naraku had that in mind when he came up with the curse. He would have to live with the knowledge that he was the cause of the death of someone close to him. "Are you sure that there isn't any other way?" Inuyasha asked a bit timidly.
"I'm afraid not," Kaede said with a glum look on her face. She was taken from her thoughts when she heard a noise and saw Kagome standing in the doorframe of the hut. Much paler than she was before. Needless to say, she heard the whole thing.
"Kagome!" Sango yelled standing up and rushing to her friend. "You shouldn't be up. Please get back to bed and rest up," Sango pleaded with her friend and helped her back to her futon.
"Is what I heard true Sango?" Kagome asked very weakly. She continuously felt herself grow weaker by the minute and wondered how much time she would have left before she died of this. "Does my life really have to come at the cost of Kikyo's?" Kagome asked coughing afterwards.
"It will be ok Kagome. Please just get some rest," Sango said avoiding the subject as she stood up and turned towards the door just as Inuyasha walked into the hut. He motioned her out and she just did it because she didn't feel like arguing with him at that moment.
It was silent in there for a while until Inuyasha spoke. Did you hear all that was said out there Kagome?" Inuyasha asked fearful of what her answer and reaction to it would be. He wanted to help her get better but he really didn't know what he was going to do about it.
Kagome looked away slightly with pain in her eyes. "Yes, I did," she said simply before looking towards Inuyasha with a smile on her face. "I just want you to know Inuyasha, that if it will make you happy. Then you can just take my life so that you can have Kikyo back," Kagome said although it hurt her to do so. She was so scared but she wanted Inuyasha happy above all.
That was all that Inuyasha really heard before he rushed out of the hut. He didn't understand why it is that she said that to him. 'Doesn't she care about her own life?' he asked himself before sprinting to the forest.
"I fear that maybe we shouldn't have left this choice in the hands of Inuyasha," Miroku said watching his friend dash into the forest. He was worried that Inuyasha would choose Kikyo and that he would lose the closest thing to a sister than he ever had. They would all lose her.
"We will just have to hope and pray that he will make the best decision in the matter. Maybe not just what is best for him anyways," Sango said sadly while thinking over what she had just said. 'Kagome's doomed,' she thought because she knew how selfish Inuyasha really was.
"He isn't like he used to be at least. He has changed since the time that I first met him and Kagome. I can only hope that I am not putting any false faith on him," Miroku said leaning against a stump and closing his eyes.
Sango looked at him while he tried to get his rest. He too seemed different since the battle. He had yet to grope her since he woke up. She hasn't seen any lechery in him. She guessed that now that the hole in his hand was gone, that he wasn't in as much of a hurry. She guessed that it wouldn't last much longer though. 'I really hope that you are right Miroku,' Sango thought worriedly as she did the same as Miroku.
What neither of them noticed was a fragile figure stumbling out of the hut and following in the direction that Inuyasha had rushed off to only a few moments before. It was a slow pace benefiting her current condition but she was going as fast as she could.
Inuyasha sat up in the god tree in what looked to be deep thought. He had been that way for what had to be a few hours. Night had long since fallen and he had barely even twitched from his position.
'Choose one or lose both. Naraku sure gave me one hell of a decision,' Inuyasha thought angrily staring up at the stars. It was a decision that he didn't know how to decide. Yet he knew he would lose everyone close to him if he didn't decide as quickly as possible.
He looked towards the sky and saw one of Kikyo's soul stealers flying by but for once he didn't follow it. He just wanted to stay there and think of what was going to happen to him after all of this was over with.
A sudden rustling sound from below him caught his ears and he looked down just in time to see Kikyo come stumbling into the clearing in just as worse a shape as Kagome was. Her normally pale skin looked ghostly pale now and he could see souls being pushed out of her more than her soul stealers could give her.
Inuyasha got up and jumped down from the tree to face Kikyo. He saw her look up at him with dull eyes as she cringed in pain. "Inuyasha," he heard her say to him as she leaned against the tree for some support.
"I see that it is true that you are suffering from what Kagome is suffering from," Inuyasha said trying to keep himself as calm as possible. He wished he just couldn't care like he was once able to do before he met Kikyo or Kagome.
"I need help Inuyasha," Kikyo said weakly as she stumbled forward and fell into Inuyasha's embrace. "What can you do to help me?" she asked not knowing what it was that she needed to get better.
"I can only help you if I kill Kagome and I am not sure if I have it in me to do that Kikyo," Inuyasha said as his bangs covered his eyes preventing her from seeing any sort of emotions that could possible be running through them. You can usually read Inuyasha like an open book just by looking into those eyes.
"Have you forgotten what I have said Inuyasha? We could be together again with the wish on the jewel. You have them all now don't you?" Kikyo asked and Inuyasha just nodded his head. "In my current state I can't use it though. My soul needs to be whole again before I can do that," Kikyo said wrapping her arms around Inuyasha.
Inuyasha just stared down at Kikyo through his bags. She was saying that they could be together. All he has to do is give her back her soul and give her the Shikon jewel.
Kikyo cringed in pain and fell to her knees trying hard not to scream out in pain at the feelings of pain rushing through her body. "Please Inuyasha, restore my soul to where it rightfully belongs," Kikyo begged since she knew that she wouldn't survive to see the next morning if Inuyasha didn't make a choice.
Inuyasha turned around but his bangs were still covering his eyes. 'If I do this then I can have what I once wanted. Kagome also said that…' Inuyasha thought finally making his decision. "You're right Kikyo."