Jakiri woke me up in his room, curled up wearing only one of Kurama's shirts. "I heard what happened," she said, brushing my hair back from my face. "I'm sorry I left you, but the doctor saw you to check and..."

"And what?" I asked in a monotone voice.

"You're carrying his child."

"I'm what?" My voice remained toneless, and I could hear his voice still, telling me he was sorry for cutting our romance short. It hadn't been that terrible. Pictures littered the floor...the ones that we hadn't had time to put up yet. Shiori hadn't come in here after the first night, realizing how deeply I was grieving for her son. Though I knew such a caring mother was sad for her only child, Shiori Minamino hid it well.

Why was Jakiri here, though? Where was Ithryl? All these questions zipped through my head, making me forget my sadness for a short while and replacing it with curiosity. Jakiri's blue eyes stared down at me, and a few strands of beautiful blonde hair brushed against my stomach. Lirra. She had taken away everything I was ever worth, and now everyone was paying for it. The prospect of carrying his child, though, made me think of how I had to deal with the situation. If I had another fight like that, my one remembrance of him would be forgotten.

There would be no more hard-core fights for a while, since I didn't want to have a miscarriage. It would have to be quick and silent, along with being easy to execute. "I can't be," I whispered into thin air. "I...just can't." Jakiri knelt down so that she was gazing into my tear-stained eyes.

"Just take a breath," she whispered. "Please, I know I've been a terrible servant, but there are others who want you to live." Looking up, I found that my hand had been wrapped around the ring he had given me. The grooves in it were so fine and detailed, and I looked at the stone. The diamond was a small rose, even, carved roughly in that shape. It was hard to the touch, and I smiled at the thought of being with him for all eternity.

"The viewing is tonight," she said, and took my hands in both of hers. Jakiri really was so pretty, in a motherly way. Her form changed back to what it originally had been. Snowy white hair fell down to her feet as she knelt, and I saw those icy blue eyes I had once known so well. They were like delicate crystals as tears began to form. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I was so jealous...you were able to live and love...as you chose, but I...I was confined to your service."

Though I wanted to, I couldn't offer Jakiri any words of comfort. When I closed my eyes to think for a moment, I saw those emerald eyes before me. Kurama wanted to be with me, and I loved him for it, but how else could we be together. Death was one option, but then Jakiri would be even guiltier. "Be strong, Katie," his voice said in my mind, and I wanted to so badly. Uncertainty closed in, and I clutched at my head, wishing it all away. There we were, and there I would be, if only he hadn't died. We would have been in a small, plain house together, living with a very tiny baby in our arms.

Her name was Keiryi, and she had been our most precious gift, the only thing that came close to superceding our love for each other. Soon enough, she was crawling, and then we heard her cry out her first words. "Momma!" she screamed giddily, throwing her arms up in the air. Joy flowed through me thick as my own blood, and I smiled, stroking our child's thick head of red hair. She hugged my arm, not wanting to let go of it. Kurama wrapped an arm around my shoulders and looked down at the little girl with his hair and eyes.

"Look what we've created," he mused, and kissed me tenderly, then scooped up the child in his strong, careful arms.

Instead this dream was a lie...raising my child would be so difficult without him there to comfort me. If she really did turn out that much like Kurama, I didn't know how well I would take it. Quivering, I clasped my left hand to my bosom, refusing to let go of the one thing that still tied me to him. The days when we had met were still so vivid in my mind. Picking up the orange jacket he had given me, I stared at it long and hard. How could I ever forget the way he had rescued me from drowning? That jacket had been the only thing that kept me from freezing to death. It was on that night that I had recognized who it was, and it was on that night that we made love for the first time.

Luckily enough, I hadn't had a child earlier, or Yusuke would have been really mad at me. Walking around at the age of eighteen, my belly swollen with a child, I would have been taunted to no end. Standing up, I looked at Jakiri curiously, wondering why she had come back. Surely the urge to repent hadn't been the only thing that brought her back? I realized that I was only wearing a black slip, and it was already getting dark. Using my power to alter my appearance, I gave myself some elegant, high-heeled shoes and a sweater that tied in the front to complement the simple black gown. Jakiri gave the nod of approval and shifted back into her human form.

My hair was pulled back tightly in a bun as we walked out, dressed all in black. Jakiri looked so angelic in the ruffled, strapless dress that she wore. She wore her hair down, letting its stunning golden color contrast her dress. This was only the visitation, but I wanted to go now, before the body was buried forever. The service would be in two days, and I wanted to kill Lirra before then...and give myself closure. How else could I avenge my lost love?

The funeral home was only a few blocks away, and the inside was shocking. All around was soft carpeting, colored a deep red. Roses were strewn across the pathway that people walked, and there was one at each entrance to a pew. Just as it had been in the Plane of Luminescence. Such thoughts reminded me of Lirra and her treachery. When she had first appeared, she had pretended to be a friend, an ally who would help me achieve my goals. Now, she was a traitorous wench. She had killed Kurama mercilessly, and I could never forgive her for that.

Yusuke and Kuwabara were there too, along with Shiori, of course. So many people were offering their condolences to Shiori, but not one walked up to me or Jakiri. The two of us stood in the line to view his body, to see for the last time the one who had changed both of our lives so drastically. "I wondered where Ithryl had gone," Jakiri told me in a hushed whisper as we waited. "I traced her spirit to the place where he died, and then you were there, too, but nobody else was. The only possible explanation is..."

I gasped, and thought over how this could benefit me. If Ithryl really was...then Jakiri could take care of the problem for me. The line moved, and I realized that we were almost there. Now I could catch a glimpse of his body, and it had been cleaned up. There was no more blood staining his perfect features. Eventually, they moved out of my way, and Jakiri slipped out for a while, talking with other people. Then I was alone to gaze upon him.

If only his eyes had been open so that I could see them one last time. Collapsing to my knees, I took the icy-cold hand in mine, stroking it as I wept. Hope had disappeared, and now I was alone until the child came around. "Why did you have to do it?" I asked him. "Couldn't there been a way we both would have lived...a way we both could have died?" Tears ran down my face more violently than ever, and I was bent over the corpse, staring at those arms that had caught me when I fell, the lips that I had kissed so often...the hands that took care of me so well.

It was too much to take. I looked down, feeling as though I were staring into a hopeless, empty, lonely abyss. "I searched so long...and you were it. WHY?" I slammed one fist against the side of the coffin, crying desperately. "You were always there," I sobbed, choking on my words. "I don't know what to do without you!"

Desperate as could be, I scooped up his heavy, dead body in my arms and embraced it. He had died under my watch...he had died while I only thought of my selfish desires to stay with him. Why didn't I go to get help? Couldn't he have been saved? People behind me backed away, frightened for my sanity. Tighter and tighter I hugged him, feeling the softness of his pale skin, gazing at his vibrant red hair, his closed emerald eyes. They would have been so enchanting, but now they were eternally shut, closed to all. "It can't be," I said. "It just can't!"

Jakiri came forward and let me cry into her, wrapping her arms around me. Tears stained her beautiful eyes too, and she looked sidelong at the coffin, filled with so much sadness. "Wh-where will we go?" I asked. "I can't raise a child here."

"Yes, you can," said Jakiri. "Do you want your baby to have a future filled with killing...do you want her to have what you used to?"

"Yes," I replied. "I want her to be loved. I want her to live a happy life without cares. She will be a full-blooded demon, I know, but I don't want her to grow up like a demon would." Tears still ran down my cheeks, but they were so empty now. I knew he was gone, so why couldn't I stop crying long enough to take what was mine...my vengeance?

Icy blue eyes focused on me and me only, Jakiri amiled and bent down to wipe the tears from my face. It was painful to admit my weaknesses to my own slave. She had been good to me, but few would have done that for me. Shiori came to me, looking down at the intricate diamond ring that was on my left hand. "Shuiichi told me," she said. "He told me that since it was legal, he couldn't wait. I'm so sorry, Katie...so sorry that it had to end like this." She gave me a hug, and for the first time, I felt the concrete love of a mother...a show of affection.

"Thank you," I said after wiping my tears away. "I loved him just as much as he did me, and I only wish that we could have gone or stayed together." Shiori nodded and then announced that the visitation was over. Only two days left before my love was buried forever.

Alone, I walked home in silence. Visions of Keiryi flashed through my mind, and visions of the many days we had spent. There were so many pictures on the floor, so many moments captured that were now so precious to me. My revenge would be sweet, and I knew that Jakiri would willingly help me to carry it out. For now, though, I was caught up in the whirlwind of Kurama's death. He seemed to be gazing down at me, the one who had made a fool of herself at his funeral.

More lost than I had ever been, I dashed off toward the lake where I had found him before. First, though, I stopped by the house to get his orange jacket. It fit loosely still, but I didn't care. Running off toward the edge of the city, I wrapped it closer around me. The lake was gorgeous in its own gray, gloomy way when I got there. Sitting down on the cliff overlooking it, I set my shoes beside me and let my bare feet dangle off the edge. The skirt of my dress, which was meant to be form-fitting, fell graciously down over my legs, providing some kind of warmth.

Silent tears streaked my face, leaving wet trails in their wake. How could I live on here and raise Keiryi in the place of her father's death? How could I wake up every day seeing his child? She was the one thing that would stay with me to hold me over until my own death. "You died...so young," I whispered, as if he were right next to me. For a moment, I could have sworn I saw his face, and a flash of his red hair. Emerald eyes gazed at me, transfixing my dark pools as they always had. "I'll miss you," I whispered, touching his cheek gently. Hallucination or no, this was my last chance to see him in this life.

"I know you will," he said quietly. "Be happy...raise Keiryi well and be happy that you have her. We'll see each other again someday." He kissed me, but as minutes passed, he slowly faded away. The solid shoulders that I felt beneath my arms dissipated, and lastly, those eyes that I had always loved. "Goodbye," he whispered to me, then his image was no more.

"Goodbye," I replied, kneeling and watching his spirit leave me alone on this earth.

For hours on end, I let tears roll down my cheeks unhindered. They fell down into the lake, and for a short while I considered trying to drown myself. However, there was the child to consider...I had to survive for the sake of his child, the child that would carry on our legacy. I didn't know how I was going to do this, but there had to be a way. The one thing I did know was that I would never be ready to be in love all over again. I had gotten so attached, only to have my heart ripped wide open when he sacrificed his life for mine. It was a heroic effort, but I wished I could have gone with him.

Night fell, and I still sat there alone. Suddenly, I heard footsteps and turned around, gazing at the figure behind me. "Didn't think you'd wanna come back here," a slick-talking voice commented.

"Why are you here?" I demanded acidly. "Isn't once enough?"

"I know you've been avoiding me," he said. "I just came to apologize. After seeing how you reacted to his funeral, I understood how you two felt about each other."

"That doesn't mean much coming from you, Yusuke," I shot back, and curled up into a little ball.

He sat down beside me, looking up at the full moon. "Legends always say those with the wolf's blood turn into monsters during the full moon," Yusuke joked. "I see that's still true."

"They have good right to," I muttered sourly. His eyes locked with mine, and I could see that he was sorry to see Kurama go too.

"Never knew much about the guy," he said. "Sometimes he even scared me, but his heart was always in the right place."

"Maybe," I said quietly. "He should have saved his own life instead of risking his own."

"Yeah," Yusuke said sarcastically. "Then you would have put him through this entire ordeal."

"You don't understand!" I shouted, springing to my feet. "He's stronger than I am...he would have made it better on his own without me!"

"That doesn't change the fact that you've got a kid to raise!" Yusuke shouted back, getting to his feet in turn. "I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I know you can't just leave a kid to die!"

That was the last straw. After he criticized me about my plans for Keiryi, I lunged forward and threw a punch at his face. Taken aback, he flew into a tree, but composed himself quickly. I flew at him again, but this time he seized my fist and looked into my eyes with determination. "You don't really want to do this," he said. "You don't want to hurt me again, do you?"

"I want to hurt the asshole who won't leave me alone!" I shouted, and vines leapt up about him.

Almost choking because of the vines, he grunted, writhing to try and get free. "You're just a stupid ningen," I spat. "You'll live out your eighty years and be done with life. I have to live on for thousands of years, and so does my child. There is no reprieve for me." Yusuke glared down at me, and I could see his face paling. Slowly, ever so slowly, the breath was draining out of him.

"You already have a girlfriend," I said. "Kayko would be pretty hurt if she'd seen you cheating with me."

"There's this aura about you," he replied, gasping for breath as he finished his sentence. "Once you were with us, you were so comfortable, and I saw this side that I'd never seen before. You were so...tempting." Even more furious than before, I stalked away, dispelling the vines.

"You're not even worth my time," I muttered.

Ever so slowly, I walked back to the Minamino household, since I didn't have anywhere else to go. As I went, I plotted my revenge against Lirra, and decided that there would be two funerals in one day: that of a respected and loving young man, and that of a wretched traitor...

A/N: Well, how'd you all like it? Yuki, I'm sure you were referring to Lirra when you wanted to kill that person, but Lirra is a she, not a he...heh heh. Yup, this story's almost done(wah), and I'm so happy to have had such a great fanbase(even if it was kinda small :P) I love you guys for reading and reviewing my story, and even to those who just pop in for a second, I'm glad that you find this fic to be so worthy of your interest as opposed to the hundreds of thousands of other fics on this site!

Peace Out,

Miari