The Prophecy

By: Demonsaya

2

Inuyasha carried Kagome on his back, sprinting forward. They had left Shippou with a family in the village, telling him that it was for his own safety, which, of course, it was. The demon hunter and the monk rode on Kirara, who was looking rather peevish.

Kagome held Inuyasha gently, silently making her decision. Inuyasha was precious to her. She wanted him to live. He had already sacrificed so much for all of them. He would always use himself as a shield between them and harm.

It was her turn to return the favor. She closed her eyes tightly, hugging Inuyasha's neck just a bit tighter.

"Oi, Kagome..." Inuyasha glanced back at her. "Are you scared?" He asked softly. She had insisted on coming along, though he had wanted her to remain with Shippou in the village. She had been quiet the own trip, and he silently wondered what her was.

She smiled, resting her cheek against his. "No." She said honestly. "I'll be okay." She promised, not telling him what her choice was. She wanted to remember these last few moments with him, and she wanted to hold them close to her heart.

He saw her smiling sadly and frowned. "You aren't getting any crazy ideas about jumping into the hell-mouth are you?" His eyes narrowed when he saw her eyes open and then were startlingly clear.

"Don't worry about me, Inuyasha. I'm not the one who gets crazy ideas like that." She rested her head against his, and closed her eyes. She heard his light chuckle and glanced towards him. "Hm?"

"How do you manage to stay like this when we're in danger?" He asked, smiling faintly. This would probably be their last fight. Pity. It looked like Naraku would obtain the jewel after all. He lowered his eyes to the ground. It was certainly his own last fight. If the choice came up, between his friends and himself...screw it. He jumped up the mountain side, and glanced behind him, seeing Miroku and Sango thinking quietly.

Kagome examined Inuyasha's profile and tightened her grip around his neck once more. It wasn't a big deal if she died. Inuyasha could go explain what happened to her parents. Her momma would be so proud of her! She smiled again, glancing towards Inuyasha. "Promise me you wont do anything stupid?"

"You mean besides what we're already doing?" He asked. "I'll try, but Kagome, if someone has to go into the hell-mouth, it has to be me. I owe it to Kikyou." He glanced towards her and saw the slightly sad look on her face and shifted her carefully. "Kagome, it's better this way."

"It could never be better if you're gone." She said softly, her eyes sad.

He looked at her in surprise. "K-kagome?"

She rested her cheek against his shoulder, and clung to him. "I want for us to always be together." She said softly, a tear falling down her face.

He touched her hand lightly. "I want that too..." He said softly.

Kagome looked at him in surprise. Slowly, she turned her face into his neck and hid the faint blush on her face. "Oh, Inuyasha..." She whispered, another tear falling down her face, following the first.

He looked up. They were almost there...just a bit further. He growled, pushing up with his feet, every muscle tightening before he sprang up, landing on the plateau. On the other side, there was a steep cliff, which was the entrance to the hell-mouth. He carefully set Kagome down and looked around. "It's going to open soon." He warned as Kirara set down. He pulled his sword free and glanced towards Kagome, who wore a pensive expression on her face.

"Now..." She whispered.

A huge earthquake shook the earth, and Kagome watched as a crack snaked it's way towards Inuyasha. Her eyes widened and she cried out. "Your feet!"

He looked down, dancing out of the way just as the crack split, leaving him on one side, and Kagome across the ever widening gap. Kagome stood on a small piece of rock all by herself, there was no way he could defend her if the demon's came towards her. "Kagome!"

He watched as Sango guided Kirara towards Kagome, who climbed up onto it's back. He breathed a sigh of relief, then looked down into the crack. The wraiths were scrambling up the sides of the cliff. "Shit..." He cursed, lifting the sword and sending an attack towards them. Several were knocked down and sent back to hell.

Everyone else followed suit with their own attacks. Kagome stood on the edge of the cliff, sending her arrows down into the lesser demons. This went on for what felt like hours. "There's no end to them!" Sango gasped, wiping sweat from her brow. She was getting tired, and from the look on everyone's face, they all were.

The earth shook again, and Kagome, who was standing on the edge of the cliff stumbled, losing her footing and falling.

"KAGOME!" Inuyasha lunged forward, catching her hand. He winced, digging his claws into the rock, trying to keep her from falling the rest of the way in.

The dream filled Kagome's mind. 'That's right...he saved me first...then he fell in afterwards. He said he loved me.' Kagome lifted her eyes to Inuyasha's and she lifted her free hand to the jewel hanging around her neck. Roughly, she broke the chain and she looked up at him. "Inuyasha, give me your other hand!" She cried, tears in her eyes.

He quickly extended it to her and pulled her up. He jumped in shock when her arms went around his neck and her lips pressed against his. He felt her press something into his hand, and then she smiled at him.

"I love you, Inuyasha." She said softly, then slowly unwound her arms from his neck, closing her eyes, letting herself fall into the hell-mouth.

"KAGOME! NO!" He reached down, trying to catch her hand once again, but their fingers only touched briefly before she was suddenly gone. He stared down into the hell-mouth as it began to seal, tears falling down his face.

ccccccco

Kikyou walked towards the hell-mouth, her eyes narrow. Inuyasha lay on the edge, but the hanyou's face was hidden from her view. The demon hunter and the monk were embracing tightly, and crying. She walked closer to the edge and peered over. Her face darkened. "Where is she?"

Miroku glared at the woman. "She gave herself to the hell-mouth." He snarled at her. "Get the hell away from here."

She turned away from the monk, looking at her lover. "Inuyasha...you were the one supposed to fall into the hell-mouth." She said coldly. "We were supposed to go together!"

Inuyasha didn't speak to her. He didn't even know she was there. "Kagome..." He whispered, heartbroken. Slowly, he sat upright, and buried his face into his hands, crying, unashamed. "You idiot!" He whispered fiercely. "You weren't supposed to fall in...It should have been me! Why'd you do it?" He looked down into the palm of his hand and saw what she'd pressed there.

The shards.

They glittered up at him, mocking him. He shook his head hard. "It's not worth it." He whispered fiercely, his face darkening.

' They've been getting worse the past few days. A few 'Evangelists' are preaching that it's the end of the world.'

Kagome's words from earlier filled his brain and he stood slowly. "Every five hundred years." His eyes widened. "FUCK!" He turned, seeing Kikyou with the angry look on her face. His face hardened. Slowly, he turned to look at their friends. "You guys are going to have to wait for me for a few days."

"Where are you going?"

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. "I'm going to bring Kagome back." He said evenly.

Kikyou's eyes widened. He was going to hell to bring her reincarnation back, but he was hesitating to go to hell with her! Her face darkened. "Inuyasha..." She said evenly.

He turned to glare at her. "I was the one who was supposed to fall in there, she knew it. I dreamed it last night, and I have a distinct feeling she did too." He snarled. "She died to protect me." He had never been so angry in his life. "Kagome loves me. You are obsessed with me."

Everyone stared at him as he faced off against his dead lover. Sango's jaw lowered just a big and Miroku straight gaped at the hanyou. They had never heard him speak so harshly to Kikyou, especially not in Kagome's defense.

"If you loved me, you would have trusted me! At the first test of faith, we both fell! You don't love me, and I don't love you." He paused, taking a deep breath. "So just go to hell." He turned on his heal and began walking down the steep mountain.

Kikyou was so startled by the demon's words, she was rendered unable to move.

Sango and Miroku shrugged, climbing on Kirara's back and followed the demon who was storming down the mountainside. "Inuyasha, what are you going to do?" Miroku asked.

"All the fucking hellmouth wants is the person's power. All it needs is power to shut it down. I am a hanyou. Kagome's world is five hundred years in the future. She fell into the hellmouth for me, I'm going to do the same to find her." He snarled, his hands balled so tightly into fists, his claws were digging into his palms. He didn't even notice that he was bleeding.

"Inuyasha, Kagome gave her life to save you. Do you really think it will make her happy if you kill yourself five hundred years later?"

"Then what should I do, Miroku! She at least deserves to know the truth."

Miroku opened his mouth to object, but Sango just placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. "Inuyasha has made his decision. You can't expect him to change his mind. Even if it is terribly reckless...and insanely suicidal."

Inuyasha glanced back at them. "Kagome always does reckless things for me." He said, idly remembering a time where she'd jumped in front of one of her own arrows, shielding him from danger. It had struck her in the back. His eyes softened a bit and he looked down at his bleeding hands. Now that he thought about it, she had said pretty much the same thing to him, that time.

(AN: That's from Inuyasha the Movie 2; Beyond the Looking Glass)

Miroku sighed, silently agreeing with the hanyou. Sango nodded in agreement. "Too true." She said sadly. This last one had been the final and fatal straw.

How were they going to tell Shippou?

It took them less than a day to reach the village, and they were pretty much silent the whole way back. When they reached it, Shippou came bounding towards them, his eyes wide. "How was the battle! Was it fun! Where's Kagome? Did she go home! I was really hoping to play with her too!"

Inuyasha caught the kit in mid-air, and placed a hand over his mouth. "No, the battle wasn't fun, and NO, Kagome didn't go home." With that, he tossed the kit towards Sango. "I'm going to go see Kouga and Sesshoumaru really quick. I'll be back in a day or two."

"Miroku, Sango, what did Inuyasha no yatsu mean? Where's Kagome!" Shippou asked, beginning to panic. "Kagome!" He desperately looked behind them, hoping she was just unconscious, not dead.

Miroku took a deep breath, glancing towards Sango, who was gently stroaking the kits hair, tears rolling down her face. "She's gone, Shippou." He said softly. "She's gone."

Inuyasha walked away, hearing the child's mourning wails. He clenched his hands into fists, moving away from the village rapidly. He only had a short amount of time to complete his task before the hellmouth opened in Kagome's realm.

He only hoped he moved quickly enough.

ccccccco

AN: Don't kill me. This really isn't meant to be a dark fic. Fluffy and Kouga scenes next chapter. Soon to follow, Inuyasha opening a can of whoop-ass on Naraku's evil butt. Stay tuned.