I lean against the God Tree. A little rest would be nice...not that I'm exhausted, but those wounds are taking their toll on me. Kagome - no, Menomaru - certainly did a number on me. I refuse to believe for a second that that's Kagome. I know she's under a spell. I know she's fighting it with all her heart and soul. I know she doesn't want this.
And that is why I won't run away. I've had my fill of running away. Myoga keeps telling me to do it, now Kagome is begging me to run away. And leave her behind.
Fat chance. For once in my life I'm gonna do something right. I know she's in there fighting. And I will not let her fight alone. Her whisper carries through the wind..."Please...get away from me, Inu-Yasha." I see unshed tears in her eyes and I can see her soul through the spell. My vision blacks out and for a moment I see Kikyo standing there, bow in hand.
Talk about deja vu. That time, I could only stare in shock. But this time, I know what's going to happen. I know she's going to shoot. That spell is too powerful for her. But still, she's fighting it.
So, can I do any less?
I slowly, carefully rise, bracing myself against the tree's trunk until I'm somewhat standing, and stare straigh at her. It's almost as if I can see her soul from over her, I can see the raw emotion, the hurt that is tormenting her.
But strangely, I'm at peace. I feel no anger, no rant about the injustice of it all comes to me, just regret that it has to end like this. But I'm not willing to turn my back on Kagome, not after I did run away from so many things...
The demons of my childhood. The teasings, the insults. Even Sesshoumaru. Those demons more powerful than me, Naraku. I'm always running.
Not this time. Kagome means too much to me. That thought surprises me, yet at the same time it doesn't. She repeats her plea for me to leave and run away, but I stay. "Not this time. I won't leave you behind, Kagome. I'm not leaving without you."
And it's the truth. I won't leave her behind. Ever. She's become too important to me. Not just because she can sense the shards of the Shikon no Tama, but because of who she is. She made me live again, feel again. I won't turn my back on her.
Even if it means dying.
I stand, forcing every muscle in my body to react and forcing myself to remain upright. I know she's still fighting it,
and I cling to the hope that some miracle will happen, that the spell will break, that she'll win, even though I know that's
not going to happen.
But I refuse to run away from her.
I refuse to give up on her.
I refuse to leave her behind.
So. This is the end. She releases the arrow, and I see it crawling towards me in slow motion. I know she's going to hit her
mark. She has become much better at archery since she first came. Now, she can almost rival Kikyo in her mastery of the bow.
I smile a bit as I realize I'm proud. She has been thrown into another time, a far more dangerous time than her own, one
that is alien to her, where death awaits around every corner.
And yet she refused to leave for home, refused to not take responsibility for her actions. Refused to run away.
In a way, I admired her back then. But now, it's far more.
Then comes the blackness.
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OWARI