A/N: Ducks behind makeshift shields. Ehehe... what can I say... umm... sorry? Ducks as flying tomatoes whiz through the air. I said I was sorry! I'm sorry I left a sadistic cliffhanger. I'm sorry I took so long to update. I'm SORRY!!!

Anyway... I took so long because I had to prepare for a school pageant of sorts that I was unfortunately chosen to be a contestant in. I swear, my batchmates must have been either dumb or blind to choose me to represent them. Then, after the contest, I got the flu. Sigh

So to make up, here's a long, action-packed, third to the last chapter... Lots of things happened in this chapter, I have no idea how that came to be.

And... thanks again to TheWraith for all his help on this chapter. You rock, dude!

On with the chapter! Please read and review. Enjoy!

oooooooooo

SEVEN WEEKS

Rebirth

oooooooooo

"No..."

Kagome shook her head in denial, tears flying from the corners of her eyes and shining like tiny diamonds as they sailed through the thin air. A hand flew to her mouth, the other refusing to leave its place within Inuyasha's cold grasp.

She closed her eyes, trying to stave off the dam of tears that threatened to explode behind her lids, half hoping that when she opened them again, she would see him laughing at her for falling for his prank. Grim truth settled in when she opened her eyes again, only to gaze upon his bloodied face, lips partly open from the last breath he had taken only moments before.

The sounds of fighting behind her seemed to fade away as her world appeared to shrink, narrowing down into her and the corpse of her beloved. Her lips trembled as she lowered her lips to his, giving him a chaste kiss that she hoped he would somehow know she had given him.

She refused to let more tears fall... no... he hated it when she cried, and she would honor that. She picked up the Tetsusaiga that he still held limply in his other hand, placing the blade across his torso, hoping that its barrier will keep his body protected through the fight that she would have to finish without him.

"I'll avenge you, Inuyasha... I'll protect your soul... I won't allow you to have died in vain," she whispered as she slowly let his hand go.

But as she pulled her hand away, Kagome felt something roll out from between their clutched hands. Wiping her tears, she looked towards it, and let out a sharp gasp.

oooooooooo

"Ah!" Sango cried out in pain as one of the vines struck her arm, tearing a huge gash through her flesh. The sound of her friend's screams of agony ripped through her heart, and she knew without looking that Inuyasha had died.

A single tear fell from the corner of her eye, and she narrowed a fierce glare at Naraku. "Hiraikotsu!" she yelled releasing the boomerang at the laughing figure of their enemy before her. Her weapon cut through a lot of the vines, but as it whizzed back to her, Naraku let out a blast of youki that set it off its course, bringing it hurtling back towards her.

Sango gaped. Was it just her, or did that last youki attack look... watered down? She leapt aside to avoid her own weapon crashing into her. Her leap brought her to a few feet away from her previous position, where she had been blocking Kagome and Inuyasha.

"Sango! Kagome-sama is..." Miroku began to shout, but was cut off when Naraku decided to try to skewer him the way he did to the hanyou, releasing a ball of youki towards the monk at the same time. He leapt back, leaving the other pair completely open to Naraku's attacks.

Kagome was kneeling in front of Inuyasha, with her head down, and hands clasped tightly in front of her. Tears were slowly making their way down her cheeks, and it seemed she was completely preoccupied with her sad thoughts.

Naraku turned his glare to Kagome, a wicked smirk twisting its way onto his lips as he gathered a large amount of energy onto the palm of his hand.

Sango watched in horror as the youki concentration grew in size, and she realized with a sinking feeling that Naraku was aiming the ball at her friends. Neither she nor Miroku were close enough to rush over and fend for them... "Kagome!!!"

"No one else can have you, Azalea!" Naraku yelled as he furiously threw the blast at the pair.

"Kagome-sama, look out!" Miroku yelled as the blast zipped through the air towards the grieving princess.

Kagome turned in the direction of the blast at the last moment, meeting the blast head on. Sango screamed, covering her eyes in an effort to keep herself from watching her friends' demise, and Miroku stared, open-mouthed, as the youki reached her.

Naraku began laughing, an insane, proud and shrieking laugh as the explosion sent the floor around them rising off the ground as debris and cold ash. Smoke encompassed the place where Kagome had sat, sobbing for Inuyasha only moments before.

Sango had her face still covered with her palms, sobs ripping from her throat at what had just happened. She heard Miroku's staff drop onto the floor as he himself fell to his knees in shock.

"You have rejected me, Azalea," Naraku was saying, "And now you and your incompetent lover pay the price."

"You bastard!" Sango screamed, flinging her hands from her face as she drew a short katana from its place on her hip. "You will pay, Naraku!"

Right as she launched herself at the laughing demon, who was right then preparing to launch another attack, a very strong wave of power rushed through all of them, making them turn their heads towards the unexpected source. Naraku lost his smile.

oooooooooo

Transfixed, Sango, Miroku and Naraku stared as the smoke suddenly cleared from where Kagome and Inuyasha had been, leaving behind a barrier protecting a furious princess and the corpse of her lover. Her hands were fisted in Inuyasha's robes as she fixed a stony glare at Naraku, hatred and anger radiating from her form.

Naraku suddenly smirked. "I knew it would be a lot harder to kill you, Azalea..."

"Naraku..." she seethed. "I will never forgive you..."

"Come now, Azalea! He was about to leave anyway. I just speeded up the process... in all senses of the word," he grinned as Sango raised a shocked glare at him.

"You... you're responsible for the glitch forming in the portal!" she screamed.

"The portal... it is a spiritual gateway," Naraku remarked. "The Garnet Tower controls spirits. It was really easier to manipulate than I thought it would be..."

Kagome's eyes grew wide, before narrowing again in utter loathing at Naraku. "You have given me nothing but misery, Naraku," she said as she began to stand, leaving Inuyasha's side. She had placed both his arms over Tetsusaiga, his hands meeting in the middle of his torn abdomen, cupped over the remaining flesh. She stepped out of the barrier she had erected around his body, her face contorted in rage.

"You are too evil to even walk the earth..." Miroku declared, clutching his right hand to his chest. "You have caused us, and the whole of Crystallia, nothing but pain!"

"What's the matter monk? Didn't you like my gift?" Naraku taunted, floating away from the ground as he looked pointedly at Miroku's right hand.

"Naraku!" Kagome yelled, running towards him to stop his flight. She grabbed her fallen katana from the ground, swinging madly at him as he lifted himself out of her reach.

Naraku lifted his arms, once again laughing manically before bringing his arms down, together with a powerful gust of wind that shook the towers walls and caused large chunks of debris to hurtle towards his three opponents.

Miroku ran in Sango's direction when he saw Naraku begin to gather his youki once again. "Sango!" he yelled as he dove at her, pushing her to the ground and shielding her from the attack. The sharp chunks of material from the walls and ceiling fell upon his back, making him cringe in pain even as Sango shrieked his name in worry.

Kagome raised both her hands, eyes closed as she erected another banner, this time, around herself. The strain of trying to hold up two barriers at the same time was taking a toll on her, and she collapsed onto her knees, tears brimming in her eyes as she gasped in exhaustion.

She glanced back at Inuyasha, the Tetsusaiga and his cupped hands, before letting her eyes linger on his wound. A pained smile crossed her lips as she looked at him, praying, praying to all the gods she knew of that...

A loud crash tore Kagome's eye's from Inuyasha to Miroku, who had yelled in pain when a large block from the ceiling broke off to land on him. "Miroku-sama!" she shouted in worry at the same time as Sango, whose eyes were filling with tears.

She stood, desperately holding on to her barrier, walking determinedly towards the pair. She sank to her knees beside them, making her shield large enough to cover all three of them.

"Sango! Can you roll Miroku-sama onto his back?" she asked.

Sango nodded, pushing Miroku onto his back. He cried out and arched up when his back touched the round, and her eyes filled with tears as she realized how badly hurt he had gotten, trying to protect her. "Miroku... please be ok..." she whispered, placing a kiss on his cheek.

"If it means you will be safe, I don't care what happens to me," he replied.

Kagome's eyes filled again. 'Inuyasha would have said the same thing...'

Her powers were waning... Kagome felt weaker and weaker the longer she tried to hold the barrier up. 'Please...' she thought, wishing that Naraku would stop the wind attack so she could let her shield down. It would have been much easier had she not been trying to maintain two shields, but she would not leave Inuyasha exposed to Naraku's, or her, attacks. 'I can't hold the barrier up much longer...'

Naraku ceased the wind attack at the exact same time that Kagome fell onto her hands and knees in exhaustion, unable to hold up the barrier. 'Inuyasha...' she thought. 'Onegai... I need you, koishii.'

She struggled back onto her feet, Miroku trying to sit up behind her. Kagome tried to walk over to the other side of the room, distancing herself from her friends so they could attack from two angles. She stood only a few meters away from Inuyasha's body. Lifting a hand to her quiver, she let her fingertips dance over the tips of her arrows, imbuing them with a little of her powers.

Naraku regarded Kagome, gathering dark flames in the palm of his hand. She notched up an arrow unto her bow in response, aiming for Naraku's heart as he prepared to throw the flames at her.

Sharp winds pulling Naraku back made the ball dissipate from his hands as a shout of "Kazaana" reached his ears. Miroku held his right hand tightly with his left, Sango holding tightly onto him as he tried to suck the demon in.

"Bakero," Naraku laughed, stretching a hand out into a sharp vine, embedding it into a wall. "I gave you that curse. You think you can destroy me with it?"

Kagome put her arrow back into the quiver, holding onto the nearest wall fixture to avoid getting sucked in. She turned her head to Sango and Miroku's direction, trying to decide if he was strong enough to use the Kazaana without causing himself further injury.

"Bastards," Naraku yelled, gathering another ball of youki in his hand. He turned his head to see Kagome distracted, and he smirked as the opportunity presented itself.

Sango had her arms tightly around Miroku's waist, holding on. She turned her head against the strong winds that made her eyes burn, making her gaze fall on the body of her fallen hanyou friend.

Naraku raised his hand, aimed, and with a sharp cry, fired at Kagome.

Miroku saw the youki aimed straight for Kagome and panicked, retracting his Kazaana.

Sango's eyes widened as she continued to stare.

Kagome looked up just as the ball of youki flew at her, right when Miroku suddenly wrapped up the Kazaana.

"KAGOME!"

Kagome felt herself falling to the floor, as someone had pushed her down and out of harm's way, dark hair blocking her vision for a moment.

Just as she realized that her name, called out in shock and worry, was shouted out by three voices.

oooooooooo

Pain was the first thing he registered. Agonizing pain that seemed to burn a path from his heart down to every last nerve in his body.

Then he felt the heat... soothing heat, emanating from somewhere close to his body. The heat was slowly driving away the pain, but he couldn't open his eyes to see where it was coming from.

Then he heard the noises... a crash, shouts of panic and fear...

Then he smelled the scents... death... a suffocating scent of malice... a scent of sandalwood and incense mixed with pain and anxiety... roses and freshwater combined with worry and anger... the intoxicating scent of jasmine and plum, laced with sorrow, rage and fear...

'Jasmines... Kagome!' he realized. Confusion at the nagging thought that he was supposed to be dead faded as her scent of fear spiked at the same time as a strong wind began to rush through, seemingly sucking everything into a vacuum.

He opened his eyes and raised his hands off his abdomen, only to find himself holding onto a cracked piece of smoky pink jewelry. He clenched it into a palm as he sat up, grabbing Tetsusaiga with the same hand as he pushed himself up to a standing position with the other.

Raising his head, he locked gazes with a shocked Sango, before he turned his head and saw Kagome holding onto a pillar, fighting the winds that were pulling her towards Miroku. Naraku had embedded his hand into a wall, and was gathering youki into his other, preparing to throw it at...

"KAGOME!" he yelled at the same time as Sango and Miroku who had pulled his Kazaana back. He threw himself at her, still tightly holding the jewel and his Tetsusaiga. He knocked her down with his weight, pushing them both to the floor, protectively pulling her head onto his chest.

Kagome closed her eyes against the unexpected impact that threw her to the floor. She opened her eyes to find herself clutched tightly to someone's chest... someone who was wearing a red haori.

She gasped, hope making her heart beat three times faster. She slowly raised her head, and tears filled her eyes as she looked into familiar violet eyes.

"I... Inuyasha?" she whispered hesitantly, lifting a hand to touch his cheek, trying to see if he was really there, holding her, looking at her with those piercing eyes...

"Kagome... daijobu? Are you... ok?" he asked, placing a palm over her hand.

"Oh gods... oh gods, it worked," she sobbed, linking her hands around his neck to pull him down for a short hug. "You're alive... oh gods, Inuyasha!"

"What the hell?!" Naraku yelled from above them, pulling his hand off the wall in anger. "I thought I had killed you!"

Inuyasha slowly stood, pulling Kagome up with him... neither looking away from the other's eyes. "So did I..." Inuyasha murmured in astonishment. They both looked down to his abdomen, but where Inuyasha's wound had been, was just a rather small gash, the torn haori the only testament to the deathblow.

Kagome pushed a lock of his hair behind his ear, smiling softly. "Open your hand, Inuyasha," she said softly.

Inuyasha looked at her skeptically, half keeping a wary eye on Naraku, before pulling away from Kagome. He put Tetsusaiga into his other hand, before regarding the small cracked jewel in his palm.

Naraku let out a snarl of rage as the object was revealed, pulling the tainted half of the Shikon no Tama from within his robes as he refused to believe his own eyes. "How did you..."

Inuyasha turned around to face him fully, remembering what had happened before he was killed. "I tried to pull the Shikon no Tama away from Naraku. I didn't get all of it."

Miroku's head reeled with the information. 'Maybe… when Inuyasha tried to lunge for the Shikon no Tama, he was unable to grab it. But the polluted Jewel sensed his purifying powers, and between him and Naraku, the jewel had gotten partly polluted and partly purified. The part that was pure couldn't stand Naraku's aura, so it pushed itself into Inuyasha's.'

Kagome stepped up. "It doesn't matter. The wound Inuyasha got was made by youki, and with half of the Shikon, I managed to make a prayer strong enough to purify his wound."

Naraku seethed. 'Kuso... we both now have half of the jewel,' he thought angrily. "You may have half of the jewel... but I still have the tainted part. You can't defeat me!"

"Yes, we can..." Miroku pointed out, his eyes looking dark and dazed from the strain of using his Kazaana.

"Your evil intentions will never flourish, Naraku!" Sango cried, pulling Hiraikotsu back from where it had been thrown on the floor.

"I can still win!" Naraku yelled, laying his half of the Shikon no Tama onto a palm, drawing a vicious red light from the depths of the gem, even as a dark red barrier appeared around him. Malicious laughter tumbled out of his lips as powerful winds began to swirl in the air within the tower, blades of youki slicing through their skin.

Sango and Miroku hurriedly ran over to where Kagome and Inuyasha stood, weapons slung over their shoulders. "What will we do?" Sango yelled over the din of the howling wind.

Inuyasha looked to Kagome, holding out the jewel. "Take it, Kagome."

Kagome stopped him from pushing the jewel straight into her hands, so they both held the jewel in cupped hands. "I need your help, Inuyasha."

"I'm human today, Kagome! I have no youki! I can't do anything!"

"No," Kagome shook her head. "Remember what Kagura said? Even without your youki, we can defeat Naraku. We give each other strength," Kagome replied, before looking over at Sango and Miroku who were trying to listen to her and stave off the blades of youki at the same time. "We all give each other strength."

Inuyasha nodded. "Let's do it, then. I trust you, Kag."

She nodded, lifting their joined hands above their heads, closing her eyes as she murmured a soft incantation under her breath. With her prayers, and the addition of Inuyasha's power, Kagome drew out the powers within the jewel. The four fighters' star marks began to glow as their half of the jewel began to glow an iridescent pink light.

Sango and Miroku began to feel their powers return to them as Kagome slowly countered Naraku's curse. Each blow from their weapons caused a beam of reiryoku and houriki to whip out, each ray diligently hitting Naraku's barrier.

Inuyasha felt a surge of power travel from his mark down his arms, culminating in the fang weapon resting in his other hand. Slowly, the battered katana began to transform as it did when he was hanyou, leaving a golden glow in the wake of the transformation.

Naraku's eyes widened in disbelief as he felt their auras begin to flare in power. He screamed in rage, drawing out as much power as he could from his jewel, making it twist around beyond his barrier to the four people below.

Inuyasha watched, transfixed, as the golden star mark on Kagome's wrist disappeared, only to reappear on her chest. Her eyes opened, and she pulled her hands back, tucking the jewel into her shirt.

"We need to break that barrier before we can attack," Inuyasha whispered as he watched all debris bounce back from the shield around Naraku. A dark cloud of youki was forming on the palm of the evil demon's hand, as if he were readying it to throw at them. "You think you can break it with your arrows?"

Kagome reached behind her, pulling one of her last two arrows out of her quiver. "Miroku, Sango-chan... get your weapons ready."

"Hai, Azalea-sama," Miroku replied, pulling out two ofuda from his robes. Sango made a firmer hold on her Hiraikotsu as Kagome took aim. Inuyasha held the Tetsusaiga up with both hands, getting ready to counter the attack he suspected Naraku would launch once his barrier was broken.

Kagome notched up her bow, aiming at the center of the barrier. Closing her eyes, she let her reiryoku travel through the weapon, engulfing the arrow in brilliant pink light. 'For everyone that died during all this chaos...' she thought, before she let her arrow fly.

Naraku's eyes widened at the approaching arrow. He tried to strengthen the barrier, but the sacred arrow pierced through it, the ripped point beginning to expand even as the arrow dissolved upon the impact. In moments the barrier was gone, leaving Naraku unprotected.

"I will kill you all!" he yelled, the ball of garnet-hued youki on his palm growing as his eyes blazed in fury. He raised his hand, poised to throw it at the group.

Inuyasha stepped forward, an unknown inner wisdom guiding his movements. He raised the Tetsusaiga, concentrating all his powers into the katana as Naraku let the ball loose.

Winds gathered around the blade as Inuyasha glared at the oncoming blast of youki. He concentrated on the swirling masses of power in the attack, pointing his weapon at the furious youki flames.

He stepped one foot back to brace himself as he swung his sword back, aiming the gathering youki around his blade at Naraku's own. Fire blazed in his eyes as he shouted out, not knowing how he knew... "BAKURYUUHA!" He sliced down, unleashing a shaft of holy power that headed for the center of the swirling throng of evil youki.

The two streams of youki seemed to blend into a convoluted pattern of garnet and golden aura, before the golden beam pushed the garnet back, taking it with itself to attack the evil youkai from where the red stream came from.

Naraku gasped, eyes wide, as he watched the two streams of youki twist into one, heading for him, before he could even act, the youki crashed into him dead on, a scream of utter pain ripped from his throat as he felt his skin begin to burn and the polluted Shikon no Tama fell from his hand.

Inuyasha dropped his sword, lunging at the other half of the Shikon no Tama as it fell to the floor. He ran back to Kagome, who aimed he arrow at Naraku, and nodded to Sango, who was poised to throw her boomerang, and to Miroku, who had slapped the ofuda onto his shakujou.

Kagome took the half that Inuyasha held out to her, instantly purifying it as Naraku fell to his knees on the ground before them. She took the other half out from within her robes and fitted them together. The jewel merged back into one.

Kagome glowed, warm reiryoku surrounding her and lifting her off the ground momentarily as she absorbed the power back into herself, hands clasped around the jewel in prayer with her eyes closed. All at once she opened her hands, the Shikon no Tama no more as the Shikon went back into her.

Inuyasha gave Kagome a smile as she looked at him, holding out her hand, confident that the Shikon would not repel him. Sparks flew off them as their hands touched, their skin tingling in response to the contact.

"We have to purify this tower... and Naraku," Kagome whispered.

Kagura's words came back to Inuyasha. Had he been hanyou, they would not be able to purify the tower without purifying him at the same time. "Let's do it," he replied. Both closed their eyes, Inuyasha concentrating on the thought of letting his purification powers flow into Kagome.

Naraku, who lay broken on the floor, looked up as he felt the immense heat of the purification overwhelm him. He screeched in agony as he felt the spirits on the Garnet Tower free themselves from his body, leaving him to be only the human he had been before he gained control of the Tower.

The Tower shook with the force of the purification, the malicious spirits clamoring to get back to their confinement. As the last waves of the intense purification faded away, the sun began to rise from the horizon, bathing everything in a golden glow. Inuyasha felt the pulse of his returning youki, a grin working its way onto his lips as his hair turned silver.

Kagome and Inuyasha broke apart, both readying their weapons as they saw Naraku lift a hand from the ground, gathering the last of his powers into a ball of tainted spiritual aura.

The four friends, as if reading each others minds, raised their weapons to the evil man. Kagome pulled back her arrow, and Inuyasha awaited the oncoming attack.

"You bastards!" Naraku yelled as he let loose his last attempt at an attack.

Inuyasha once again aimed his youki at the ball of energy, before unleashing his own attack. "Bakuryuuha!" he shouted, twisting the evil power into itself as his own attack pushed it towards Naraku.

"Go!" Kagome shouted as she let her arrow fly.

"Hiraikotsu!"

"Seibai!"

Kagome, Sango and Miroku all released their own weapons to join the Bakuryuuha at the same time. As the weapons approached the mass of energy, The material bludgeons began to melt away, leaving three streams of power to blend in with the Bakuryuuha.

Inuyasha's red energy pulsed with Kagome's pink light, and Miroku's indigo, together with Sango's magenta, swirled together with them, hitting Naraku. They covered their eyes as a bright light resonated upon contact, the villain's screams echoing off the shaking tower as his body seemed to melt into thin air, the scent on his death filling Inuyasha's nostrils.

Naraku was gone...

When the light died down, all four slowly put their hands off their eyes, Sango and Kagome teary-eyed, as if not wanting to believe that it was all over. Miroku turned to his right hand, slowly unwrapping the rosary from his fingers.

"Oh, gods..." he whispered, staring at his once more whole hand.

Sango suddenly lunged herself at Miroku, hugging him in joy as they reveled in the fact that the Kazaana was gone... "It's over!" she cried. Naraku was gone.

Kagome turned to Inuyasha, tears in her eyes. "Inuyasha..."

"Kagome..." he breathed, running to her and wrapping his arms around her in happiness at Naraku's demise... and sorrow as he realized his impending departure. 'I only have a few hours left.'

Kagome pulled away slightly, only to lean up and give him a passionate kiss. The sweetness of their victory seemed overshadowed by their imminent parting as they kissed each other slowly, desperately.

They pulled apart, Kagome's tears still falling steadily down her cheeks.

"Kagome, don't cry," Inuyasha pleaded, even as his own eyes felt the weight of unexpected moisture.

"Azalea-sama," Miroku called softly, making Inuyasha and Kagome wince... the name just solidified the fact that their time together was drawing to an end. "Let's go back to the palace."

Kagome nodded, instructing them to hang on to her while she teleported them back. Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku held on as Kagome chanted the words that would bring them back to the Crystal Palace.

oooooooooo

A/N: A few notes before anybody decides to flame me:

Human Inuyasha did the Bakuryuuha not with demon energy but with the powers given to him by the star mark – holy powers, so to speak. Hanyou Inuyasha did the Barkuryuuha with youki. Naraku's last ditch effort at an attack was also from his innate powers as a blue star.

Also, the scents Inuyasha referred to as he woke up were of Naraku (malice), Miroku (sandalwood, etc.), Sango (roses, etc.) and Kagome (jasmines, etc.).

That's all for this chapter... I hope you all enjoyed it. It is gonna be one of the last chapters. I still can't believe my first fic is about to end.

Please review. I desperately want to know what you guys think about this. Drop me a line, but please don't flame.

Anywho... Thanks to all those who reviewed my previous chapters. You guys are the greatest! Hands cookies to everyone Sorry I can't give reader responses today... most of the questions can't be answered without giving out too much on the next chapter.

I hope you all enjoyed. I reiterate... please review. Until next time! Ja!

ScarletRaven1001