Hey guys! I am soooo sorry for taking so long to post the conclusion of this story. Stuff came up (went away for a week, then started school again, then had internet trouble). Anyway, as an apology, I've written a bonus chapter - basically a fun thing that gives my version of what happens to our characters after the events of the summer.
I've made a conscious effort to answer as many of your questions as possible in this chapter, so hopefully I've caught the most important ones. Or left them for the bonus chapter. I hope this chapter's doesn't disappoint.
Oh, and for those of you who were confused: yes, the snake did kill Remus.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I never cease to be amazed at how many of you there are.
And I'm going to be lazy and not answer anyone's reviews simply because I think I've pretty much answered all your questions in in the last two chapters. Well, I hope I have anyway. That, plus I'm having a bit of internet trouble and am borrowing my roommate's computer in order to upload this.
Disclaimer: I own only the plot. And the multicoloured aliens. No, wait - there are no multicoloured aliens. Nevermind. I guess it's just the plot then.
A Clash of Cultures
Chapter 14 - Introductions and Farewells
"Are you alright, Professor?" Harry asked Dumbledore with a worried look. The old man smiled while leaning on the redhead Kagome hadn't seen since their group had arrived.
"I've certainly been better Harry, but I'll live," he answered softly, his voice hoarse from screaming. "Thank you Bill," he told the redhead and pulled away to stand on his own.
Then he looked down at the body of the English wolf, who was being cradled in the now dark-haired girl's arms. She wasn't alone in her grief either. Even Ron had managed to limp over with Shippo's help (who had recovered enough from the battle that he was able to stand) and was gazing at the man with teary eyes.
"Friends," Dumbledore began softly and everyone turned tired, grief-stricken eyes to look at him, "we have lost loved ones today. They are, however, beyond our help now. There will be a time for grieving, but it is not now. Right now we must help those we can."
There was a general murmur of agreement. The previously green-haired girl wiped her eyes with her sleeve and sniffed one last time before carefully placing the wolf's head on the grass. Then she stood up and left, apparently determined not to look back.
Kagome followed her with her eyes to where a group of people in white robes were rushing about. Dumbledore slowly walked over to them.
"Harry!"
"Ron!"
"Kagome!"
Kagome and the boys turned their heads at the shouts. There were three girls running towards them. Kagome recognized her cousin and the girl who had first appeared with Ron and Harry, but had no idea who the third one was.
"Oh Merlin, you're alive!" the bushy-haired girl cried in relief as she threw herself at Harry. The surprised boy winced as she embraced him tightly.
"Ronald Bilius Weasley!" the girl Kagome didn't recognize shouted as she stormed up to Ron. "What in Merlin's name did you think you were doing! Frightening mum half to death like you did! You'll be lucky if she ever lets you step foot out of the house again!"
'She has to be his sister,' Kagome thought as she watched the girl verbally attack the older boy, who seemed to want nothing more than to disappear into the ground, 'she looks a lot like those twins that were here earlier.'
"Reminds me a bit of Sango and Miroku," Shippo chuckled from beside Kagome. She looked up at him thoughtfully.
"Did those two ever settle down together?" she asked. Shippo looked down at her in surprise before smiling sadly.
"Yeah, they did," he answered. Then he smirked. "And they had lots and lots of children."
Kagome smiled, a special sort of warmth forming in her mind at the thought of her friends finding such happiness.
However, she was not allowed to linger in that feeling, because suddenly someone grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her away from Shippo. Her wide eyes looked into those of her cousin.
"Kagome, are you alright?" Cho asked frantically, her eyes sweeping her body, taking in every single scratch and bruise before widening at the sight of the gashes on her leg. "Oh dear Merlin, you're hurt!"
Kagome rolled her eyes.
"I'm fine Cho, really, it's nothing-" she began.
"Nothing? Nothing! Kagome you've been very sick during the past year and you really shouldn't be doing anything strenuous at all. Merlin, I was supposed to be protecting you and instead I walked you right into a death eater trap. . ."
"Kagome. . . sick. . . can't do anything strenuous. . ." was all Shippo got out before he broke into peels of laughter.
The girls all turned to him, noticing him for the first time.
"Umm. . . who's that?" the red-headed one asked.
"One of Kagome's friends from Japan," Harry answered.
"How can he laugh at a time like this?" demanded Harry and Ron's friend. "People are dead and he's laughing!"
"Well, he did save our lives. . ." Ron said carefully, not wanting the girl to think badly of Shippo, yet not at all being able to explain the fox demon's behaviour.
Kagome was the only one of the group not confused. She glared at the fox demon.
"Well, I had to have some sort of reason for missing so much school," she stated in an even voice. Shippo sobered up almost immediately, although the amusement in his eyes didn't die down in the least.
"What is so funny, Shippo?" a new voice asked English with a very heavy Japanese accent. Everyone turned to look at Kohaku and gasped. Kohaku was covered in blood, some of which, Kagome was sure, was actually his own. There was a deep gash just over his left eye and his clothes were torn in more than one place, exposing the scratches and bruises that covered his body.
"Oh, just that the wizards in their infinite wisdom seem to think that Kagome is a weak, sickly little thing that can't take a few scratches and bruises," Shippo answered with a very, very amused smirk. Kohaku raised an eyebrow and gave Kagome an amused look.
She rolled her eyes again and noticed Draco giving her a calculating look.
"Ron, Harry, there you are!"
Suddenly a plump, red-haired woman ploughed her way into the centre of the group. She wasted no time and quickly began examining Harry and Ron for injuries with her magic stick. As she examined them, she never stopped berating them for being irresponsible, putting themselves in danger and making everyone worry about them. Kagome was actually quite impressed.
Shippo and Kohaku watched with unreadable expressions on their faces and Draco was smirking.
When she was done with her examinations, the woman straightened up and turned around. That was when she spotted Kagome.
"Oh my, you must be Kagome," she exclaimed and hurried over to her, "I'm Ron's mum, Molly; Cho's told me all about you. I can't imagine how exhausted you must be after such an ordeal, as sick as you are. Honestly, muggle medicines are simply horrendous. A young think like you shouldn't be sickly. . ."
Shippo burst out laughing again.
"Alright, I have to know," Draco announced while everyone else was staring at Shippo again, "Kagome, why does everyone seem to think you're sickly? I've spent the last several hours with you and I've seen nothing to indicate that. In fact, I'd say you're in wonderful physical shape, better than most people I know."
"I hate to say this, but Malfoy's right," Harry said a moment of silence later, "you did some pretty amazing things out there, most of which I never even thought were possible. There is no way you are convincing me you're sick. And if you are, then it's certainly the oddest sickness I've ever heard about and could you please tell me how to catch it."
"What are you talking about?" Cho asked, confused.
"What did she do that's so amazing?" Hermione added with a frown.
"Well, let's see. . ." Draco began, counting off on his fingers as he talked, "first she purified my Dark Mark, then she killed off half of the Dark Lord's dementors, then it turns out she's friends with a bunch of Japanese demons who all showed up to help her, then she deflected the killing curse and as her grand finale, she weakened the Dark Lord's power by doing something I can't even begin to understand let alone explain."
Shocked silence. No one even moved as they stared first at Draco, then at Kagome, blinking occasionally.
"Well, I did say she was a remarkable girl," Dumbledore whispered, watching her with curiosity and a twinkle in his eye. Kagome's head snapped to where he was standing.
'I hadn't noticed him come back again,' she thought as silence descended on the group again. She squirmed inwardly, hating all the attention. Especially since they would all want an explanation.
It was Kohaku, who interrupted the silence.
"Kagome," he said softly. Molly took one look at him and gasped.
"Oh my poor dear, you need a healer immediately. I can't believe you're still standing!" She went to take his arm to take him to a healer, or maybe convince him to sit down, but Kohaku tore away from her grasp.
"Leave me alone woman!" he snapped.
"You watch your mouth young man!"
Kohaku chuckled darkly and turned his head so that he was looking at Ron's mother sideways.
"I have not been a young man for quite some time. Not since I killed my entire family with my own hands."
Molly froze, eyes wide. Kohaku's tone left no room for argument. He wasn't lying.
"That was five hundred years ago," he added in a whisper. He ignored everyone's shocked faces and turned back to Kagome.
"Five hundred years is a long time," he continued in Japanese. "You asked how you defeated Naraku without completing the Shikon Jewel. The answer is: you didn't. You had a complete jewel and this is how you get the last piece."
He walked up to Kagome and went down on one knee before her on the ground.
"Take it. Take the shard from my back."
Kagome looked down at him, horror clearly written all over her face.
"Kohaku. . ." she whispered, ". . .but if I take the shard out, then you-you'll. . ."
"Die?" He looked up at her with a bitter smile and sad eyes. "I should've died five hundred years ago, Kagome. And in fact, ever since then I've wanted nothing more than to die, to forever lie in peace, to forget. But you cursed me. You gave me life. You gave me five hundred years during which to think about what I've done, the people I've killed. Now please, let me join my family. Lift this curse."
It felt like a river was trying to sprout from behind Kagome's eyes and a huge rock from that river had managed to get lodged in her throat. She closed her eyes and steeled herself for what she had to do. She couldn't say no to his request. He was going through hell and she was the only one who could stop it, because only she could see where the Shikon Jewel Shard was.
She nodded and heard his relieved sigh.
Then she opened her eyes and moved behind him. Slowly she reached out to where she could clearly see the Shikon Jewel Shard glowing in between Kohaku's shoulder blades. It was gray, not completely corrupted, but not pure either. It was how she felt at the moment, about to kill the little brother of one of the best friends she'd ever had.
Tears sprang into her eyes and she had to use her left hand to wipe them away, because her right was frozen, hovering two inches above the shard.
Everyone stared at her, but she didn't see them. She didn't see the confusion written on the sorcerer's faces, or the sadness in Shippo's eyes. She didn't notice the wolves approach from behind her. All she could see was Sango's face as she watched her little brother disappear once again into the distance on Kagura's feather. She saw her own brother, Souta.
Kagome gulped and willed her hand to cover the remaining two inches, until she could feel the faint tingle of magic from the shard brushing against her finger.
She stopped and then slowly pulled away, taking a step back.
"I-I can't. . ." she sobbed, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Kohaku, but I can't."
Kohaku's entire body sagged; he closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fists.
"Kagome?" one of the sorcerers asked carefully, but she couldn't tell which one.
Suddenly Kagome was roughly shoved aside as someone strode past her. She looked up through the tears in her eyes and saw Sesshoumaru standing over Kohaku. With one mighty swipe, his green-tipped claws dug into the boy's back at the exact spot where Kagome's hand had been only moments ago. Kohaku screamed in pain and arched his back.
Then Sesshoumaru pulled his hand out and amidst the blood and pieces of flesh in his hand, Kagome could see the Shikon Jewel Shard.
The group surrounding them gasped and stared in horror at the scene. Especially those who hadn't been present for the fight. And then Kohaku did something that shocked them even more. He smiled.
"Arigato," they all heard him whisper, before he closed his eyes and his body plopped lifelessly onto the soft grass. Then they watched as his body began to whiter and decay on the spot, five hundred years of change happening instantaneously until all that remained were his blackened bones.
And that was when Kagome broke down, falling to her knees as sobs racked her body. In an instant, Shippo was by her side and rocking her in a warm embrace.
"Shhh. . . it's alright Kagome," he whispered to her, "it had to be done. But don't worry, you'll be seeing him again soon."
'I know it had to be done,' Kagome thought, 'but that doesn't make it any easier.'
Just then a shadow fell over the two of them. Kagome looked up, knowing instinctively it was Sesshoumaru.
"Thank you," she said quietly. He nodded and she lowered her head against Shippo's shoulder.
"This Sesshoumaru's debt is now repaid," he announced. Kagome's head snapped up. She wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up.
"What do you mean?" she asked. "What debt?"
"You saved Rin and Jaken once," he said, "and then asked this Sesshoumaru to, in return, come here today, because you would need his help. Because there would be something that you wouldn't be able to do." The demon lord cocked his head at her shocked expression. "During the five hundred years since that time, This Sesshoumaru slowly developed a curiosity as to why you would need his help somewhere half-way across the world and what exactly it was that you, a powerful miko, could not do."
He paused and then stretched his hand out to her, palm up.
"I believe you will be needing this."
He was handing her the jewel shard. Kagome stared at it for a moment before slowly reaching out to take it.
"No, Kagome, don't touch it!" Harry yelled at her. "I can feel the dark magic from here."
"Kagome, Harry's right, it's dangerous!" Molly added and Kagome could've sworn she felt Sesshoumaru restraining himself from rolling his eyes.
She picked up the shard and closed her hand around it, feeling her magic wrapping itself around the shard, inching its way into the crystal. When she opened her hand, the jewel was pure again.
More gasps followed.
"Wow," someone said, Kagome wasn't quite sure who. She looked at the sorcerers. Even the old man looked impressed.
"Kagome here's the only person in the entire world who can do that," Shippo said, beaming with pride.
"What is it?" the bushy-haired girl asked.
"It's a shard from the Shikon no Tama," Kagome answered.
"That's the Shikon Jewel, otherwise known as the Jewel of Four Souls," Shippo clarified.
"But that's impossible," Draco blurted out, "only two people in all of history ever possessed the power to purify the Shikon Jewel: the priestess Kikyo and. . . and her reincarnation. . ."
Draco looked from Kagome to Shippo, to Lord Sesshoumaru, to where Kohaku's bones still lay on the ground. His eyes widened as a look of realization spread across his face. He looked directly at Kagome.
"How?" he asked. "That all happened five hundred years ago. . ."
"The Bone Eater's Well," Shippo answered for her, "her grandfather cares for the shrine where it's located."
Draco stared at her. "Bloody hell," was all he said.
Harry and Ron exchanged a look and then looked at their friend.
"Hermione?" Ron asked. The girl shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.
"Haven't a clue," she said. Harry turned to Kagome.
"Ok, Malfoy's speechless," he said, "and believe me, that's quite the accomplishment. What's this jewel? How did you get rid of the dark magic on it? And what's this about a priestess and a well?"
Kagome shifted nervously from foot to foot. She took a deep breath.
"I'm a miko," she said, "and I travel to the . . . uhh. . . past because of the Shikon Jewel. It's broken and I have to help put it back together so that Naraku can't get it."
"A miko!" Dumbledore looked astonished. Then his expression turned thoughtful. "Yes, yes, that does make sense. Fascinating! That kind of magic hasn't been practiced since the Wizarding World spread to Japan about four hundred years ago."
"That was a truly tragic occurrence," Sesshoumaru noted in disgust. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.
"I apologize, where are my manners? I am Albus Dumbledore and-"
"I am aware of who you are, human."
The sorcerers looked outraged.
"He's like Malfoy," Ginny whispered to her brother.
"Only much, much worse," Ron whispered back, a knowing look on his face.
"Then I'm afraid you have me at an advantage," the old sorcerer didn't seem fazed by Sesshoumaru's rudeness, "may I ask who you are?"
There was a pause during which the demon lord looked at the old man with cold, hard eyes. He seemed to be deliberating whether or not to tell him his name.
"I am Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands and eldest son of Inu Tashio," he finally stated.
"Oh. . . I see."
Dumbledore looked Sesshoumaru over, as if seeing him for the first time, a mixture of amazement, respect and even a bit of fear in his eyes.
"So are you good or evil?" Harry asked with scepticism in his eyes. Sesshoumaru inclined his head to look at Harry.
"I am a daiyoukai," he said, "I am above your silly human philosophies."
Harry's eyes lit up with anger as he took a step towards Sesshoumaru. Hermione was the only one who noticed the horrified look on Kagome's face. She quickly grabbed her friend's arm.
"Harry, no," she said. There was a spark of recognition in the demon lord's eyes.
"So, you are Harry Potter: the boy who is supposed to save the Wizarding World?" Sesshoumaru asked with a raised eyebrow.
Harry nodded with a frown.
"You are nothing but a weak human boy. You will obviously require a lot of help if you are to accomplish this feat."
Before anyone could protest, he turned his back on them. He unsheathed one of his swords and took several steps towards the English wolf's body.
The sorcerers around him all took out their wands and pointed them at him. He ignored them and before anyone could so much as mutter a spell, Shesshoumaru swung the sword across the dead body.
Then he replaced the sword and strode away.
The sorcerers ran to their comrade's body.
"What did he do?" Harry asked no one in particular.
"I was sure the sword went through him. . ." Hermione added with an equally flabbergasted expression on her face.
"The Tenseiga doesn't cut anything," Kagome pointed out. They all turned to her.
"Tenseiga. . .? Oh, is that the name of the sword?" Harry asked.
Kagome nodded. Harry and Ron frowned.
"What's the point of having a sword that doesn't cut anything?" Ron asked.
"Oh, don't tell me that the Gryffindor Know-it-All has never heard of the Tenseiga!" Draco sneered. Hermione glared at him and was about to retort when Ron gasped.
"Oh, well, why don't you see for yourself what the sword does," Draco added, gesturing to the ground.
They all looked to where the English wolf was laying. . . and groaning.
"Re-Remus?" Harry fell to his knees beside his friend.
"Amazing. . ." Dumbledore whispered.
"Merlin's beard!" whispered Molly.
"But, that's impossible. . ." Hermione said with a stunned expression on her face.
"Clearly not," Draco sneered. Harry's head shot up to look at him, a look of realization in his eyes.
"You. . . this is how you were revived, isn't it?"
Draco nodded. Harry looked down at the man, whose head he was cradling in his arms. The wolf, Remus, was looking around with a bewildered expression.
"H-Harry? What happened?" he asked softly. "I remember the snake. It bit me and then. . . I can't remember what happened afterwards."
"You died," Draco stated simply, "and then Lord Sesshoumaru brought you back to life."
Remus's eyes widened. He looked to Harry and then to Dumbledore, who confirmed what Draco had just told him.
"Wow, I don't believe it!" came Kouga's voice from just behind Kagome. "Sesshoumaru used Tenseiga and there was no pleading or grovelling required to get him to do it!"
Everyone turned to him. The wolf demon seemed truly bewildered by this new development.
"Actually, that's the second person he's revived today," Ginta pointed out and the other three wolves came up behind their leader.
"Second? Who was the first?" Ron's sister asked.
"Me," Draco answered.
"Oh."
Ayame smiled and shook her head.
"I swear he does things like this just to throw us off," she said in English, "purely for shock value. . .and to always keep us guessing as to what he'll do next."
"Wouldn't surprise me," Kouga snorted.
"You know, a sword like that would be very helpful. . ." Hermione began thoughtfully.
"Forget it," Shippo interrupted, "the Tenseiga is the only such sword in the world. You'd have to fight Sesshoumaru for it. Besides, only a full demon can use it anyway."
"Well, maybe we could convince. . ."
"Like I said, forget it."
"Sesshoumaru doesn't like humans very much; he'd never agree to help you," Kouga agreed.
"Doesn't like them very much?" Shippo asked sarcastically. "Try: barely tolerates them."
"Why doesn't he like humans?" Harry asked. The demons all looked at him coldly with 'you have got to be kidding me' looks on their faces.
"Because he's a very powerful demon lord," Kouga finally supplied, "and humans are weak, pathetic creatures that are therefore beneath him and, for the most part, unworthy of his attention."
"What! How could be possibly think that!" Hermione yelled in outrage.
Shippo rolled his eyes.
"You're talking about someone who's been known to single-handedly slaughter entire human armies for getting in his way," he said.
"Listen," Ayame cut in before any of the sorcerers could say anything else, "Sesshoumaru is Sesshoumaru and nothing you do or say will ever change how he thinks. Just be grateful that he brought your friend back and leave it at that."
"Besides, Lord Sesshoumaru thinks that most demons are beneath him too," Ginta added. The rest of the demons chuckled and Kirara meowed in her little kitty form.
"Oh Merlin, what a sweet cat!" Cho exclaimed.
"And it's hurt, the poor thing," the red-headed girl added, a look of sympathy on her face. She walked over to Kirara and scratched her behind the ear.
"That's odd," Hermione said, "I've never heard of a cat with two tails before."
"Neither have I," said Molly, eyeing the cat suspiciously, "I wonder who she belongs to."
"She's mine," Draco said, moving towards the two-tailed cat. He stopped several paces later and said thoughtfully: "At least she's here with me anyway. I'm not really sure she 'belongs' to anyone."
Kirara meowed in approval and then nimbly leaped onto Draco's shoulder. Draco smiled at her and scratched her behind her ears.
"Funny, I never would've thought that you'd have a pet, Malfoy," the red-headed girl said as she stood up, "especially not anything that cute."
Ron snorted and Harry looked at the exchange with amusement. Draco smirked.
"She may seem cute and cuddly, but she did manage to subdue and capture Bellatrix LeStrange."
"She what!"
Kagome smiled and winked at Kirara, before turning to the other demons. They were whispering amongst themselves and looking as if they were ready to leave. She walked over to them.
"Are you leaving?" she asked.
"Yeah," Shippo answered, "it's about time we were going. You're safe now and we don't really want to be around when the wizards realize just how dangerous we are, despite the fact that we just helped them."
"Wizards are stupid that way," agreed Kouga, "they know about magic and what they call 'magical creatures' such as demons and werewolves, but they look at us as something dark, something that needs to be contained."
"Not that they could contain us if they tried," Ayame added, "but, well, Sesshoumaru isn't exactly known for his tolerance and I wouldn't put it past him to take out Tokijin if they got too annoying."
"This Sesshoumaru would never waste a powerful sword like the Tokijin on mere humans," a cold voice stated. Kouga jumped in surprise and looked behind him, frowning.
"I thought you left already," he snarled. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow.
"Where are you going to go?" Kagome asked Shippo, who was standing nearest to her.
"Why, home of course," Shippo said, as if were the most obvious thing in the world, "we've done what we came here to do."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh Kagome," Ayame smiled and rolled her eyes, "you're a smart girl, surely you didn't think we all just happened to show up at exactly the right time and right place by accident did you?"
Kagome didn't answer. She honestly hadn't given much thought to why they were all here. She had been too happy to see them. Ayame chuckled.
"You told us to come, told us you'd be in danger and need our help."
"You even gave us precise instructions," Shippo added, taking a small slip of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her. Kagome recognized her own handwriting immediately. She even recognized the piece of paper as belonging to the small, "Hello Kitty" notebook her brother had given to her for her last birthday, although it was faded and starting to fall apart around the edges.
On it was written today's date, the approximate time she and Cho had arrived and then simply: "Hyde Park, London, England, Europe - don't worry, you'll understand one day".
She smiled and handed the note back to Shippo.
"So, I basically asked you all to come too?" she said.
"Well, really you just asked me to be there," Shippo explained, "but Kouga at the time was still convinced you'd become his mate and so immediately swore he'd go to protect you as well. Everyone else just sorta tagged along."
"And arrived before you did," Hakkaku pointed out with a smirk. Shippo mock glared at him. Kagome looked around and when her eyes landed on the silver-haired demon lord who was now standing on the other side of the park with Jaken and his dragon, she suddenly realized something.
"Where's Inu Yasha?" she asked. "Why didn't he come?"
The demons looked at each other uncertainly. It was Ayame who finally broke the silence.
"I'm sorry Kagome, but we can't tell you what happened to him."
"It's not that he didn't want to come, but he couldn't. He-he's not really around. . ." Kouga looked as if he was choosing his words carefully, not wanting to give anything away.
Kagome's eyes filled with tears.
"He's dead, isn't he?" she whispered.
"Kagome," Shippo said with honest regret in his eyes, "we really can't tell you anything. It could change the way things turn out and Naraku has to be defeated, no matter what." He paused. "But if it makes you feel any better, in the end, he chose you."
"Me?" Kagome looked at him with confusion.
"Yes, he chose you over Kikyo."
Kagome smiled sadly.
"Don't worry, Kagome-neesan," Ginta said kindly, "it'll all be over soon."
"Just remember that things are never as bad as they seem," Ayame added.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Shippo suddenly exclaimed. He unbuttoned his front jacket pocket and took out a ball-point pen. He then grabbed Kagome's hand and wrote something on it. When he was done, he put the pen back in his pocket while Kagome inspected her hand. There was a phone number written on it.
"It's my cell number. Call, after you destroy Naraku. I have a feeling you might be needing some help afterwards."
Kagome's eyebrows went up in amusement. Shippo frowned in annoyance.
"What! It's the 21st century, not the Feudal Era!"
Kagome blushed.
"I know, it's just. . . well. . . strange talking to you about cell phones and such," she said and the others chuckled.
"Kagome, dear, we'd better take care of those wounds of yours," came Molly's voice from beside her as the woman touched her shoulder. There was confusion and a touch of concern in her voice.
"Yeah, you get yourself healed up Kagome," Kouga agreed with Molly in English, "we have to go anyway."
"Take care of yourself, Kagome," Ayame added.
"Bye Kagome-neesan!"
"See you later, Kagome-neesan!"
Kagome waved to the wolves as they turned and began to walk towards Lord Sesshoumaru. She then turned to Shippo, who enveloped her in a hug.
"Good-bye Kagome," he said and then let go, taking a step back, "and good luck."
He smiled and then was gone, running after the others. Kagome smiled, but could feel tears threatening to fall. She knew she'd be crying herself to sleep tonight.
"Where are they going?" Harry asked, coming up beside her to watch the demons congregate around Sesshoumaru.
"Home," Kagome answered.
"Well, it's just as well," said a very angry Cho, "because you, cousin, have a lot of explaining to do. Starting with that boy. Sesshoumaru, or whatever his name was, killed him right in front of your eyes and you didn't do anything to stop him. You actually thanked him!"
Kagome groaned inwardly. She felt sorely tempted to run after the demons and ask them to take her home rather than face everyone's questions. She looked off and saw Draco standing over his father's body, his head bowed and Kirara sitting on his left shoulder.
Ignoring the questions and protests around her, Kagome walked over to the blonde boy.
"Why didn't you ask Sesshoumaru to revive him?" she asked. Draco shrugged.
"I didn't think of it," he said quietly. There was a moment of silence. "Besides, I think that maybe it's better this way."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be, it wasn't your fault." Draco looked at her and smiled. "If anything, I should be thanking you. You saved my life."
Kagome smiled and nodded to him, tactfully ignoring the tears she saw in his eyes.
A little further away, the demons had gathered around Lord Sesshoumaru. Shippo took one last look at Kagome as she walked over to the blonde boy Kirara had befriended.
"Don't worry, Shippo," Ayame said gently, "she'll do just fine, you know that."
"Yeah, I know," Shippo answered, "and there's only about a month to go before she comes through the well for the last time before it seals up again."
"Here that, Sesshoumaru-sama," Kouga grinned, "less than a month to go before the well seals up."
Sesshoumaru glanced at Kouga with a slight frown.
"This Sesshoumaru is not looking forward to seeing his younger brother again," he announced before leaping into the air and flying off.
"Wait for me, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken cried hysterically from atop the dragon Ahun. "Wait for me!"
He grabbed the reins and Ahun was suddenly in the air, following behind her master. Shippo and the wolf demons laughed and followed on the ground, heading for Shippo's convertable.
The next time Kagome turned around, they were all gone.
THE END
Author's notes: Anyone still confused about the characters who aren't named, because Kagome doesn't find out their names? I'm hoping I made it clear throughout the story, but just in case I haven't:
1. The red-head who was essentially paired with Remus for most of the action scenes was Charlie (hence his interest in the dragons, that were popping up).
2. The green-haired girl who's hair was later black when she cradled Remus's head in her arms is Tonks. If you've read HBP, then I think you know why she was so upset about Remus.
3. And yes, the third girl, who showed up with Hermione and Cho, was Ginny.
And aaahh, yes, Bellatrix LeStrange. . . I noticed she kinda got lost in the shuffle of events. Needless to say, she didn't apparate away with the other death eaters, not with Kirara sitting on her. She was arrested and taken away to wherever it is they're taking death eaters now that Azkaban's closed down. Just thought I should mention that.
As for Kohaku: yes, I do realize that any of them could've killed him. But Kagome had to get the jewel shard in order to take it back with her and use it to defeat Naraku. And seriously, who the hell wants to walk around for several hundred years with a Shikon Jewel shard in their pocket? I think it was something the demons all collectively recognized had to be done by Kagome.
And now onward to the Bonus Chapter!