Yumi's Heart

"IRON-REAVER-SOUL-STEALER!" Naraku's claws hit Yumi again and again, slashing her skin and kimono into pieces. Yumi leaned against the wall as she tried to catch her breath, but Naraku only laughed at her. "What's wrong, Yumi?" he said in Inuyasha's form. "I thought you loved me, yet you run away from my tender hands. Why won't you let me scratch your back?"

Yumi faced him again with her claws out, ready to attack. Every time she swung at him, he only dodged her with grace. He was playing with her and she knew it. Suddenly, he came down on her with his Blades of Blood, running her through the stomach. When he landed, he laughed at her again as she struggled to get on her feet.

Kagome couldn't stand it anymore. She wasn't useless. She had to help Yumi somehow. Then she saw a bow and arrow in the corner. She picked it up and aimed it right at Naraku. She had taken him down before. She could end it all right now. She pulled the arrow back and let go. It was right on target until a gust of wind blew it off course. Kagome looked over and saw Kagura with her fan out.

"Stupid girl," she said as she blew Kagome into a wall. "You shouldn't interfere with other's business. It is very rude."

"Kagome!" Yumi whispered as she tried to stop the blood. Naraku laughed again and grabbed Yumi by the neck, pinning her against the wall. "Leave her alone. You got your jewel shards. Now let her go." Naraku squeezed her neck, strangling her as he laughed in Inuyasha's voice.

"You are in now position to tell me what to do. No one can save you now, not even Inuyasha. Don't you see? He doesn't love you anymore. He only used you to get to Kikyo and the jewel. He has a hard enough time picking between Kagome and Kikyo now. He doesn't have any room in his heart to love you." Yumi wouldn't believe his words. She told herself it wasn't true. Inuyasha still loved her. But if that was true, then why was she crying. "Me, on the other hand, I can love you. Would you join me in searching for the jewel shards? Then you could kill that half demon that betrayed you." Yumi clawed the arm that held her off, causing her to fall to the ground and giving her a chance to catch her breath before she said anything.

"I would never join you. I love Inuyasha, and I know he still loves me. I have faith in him. I would never betray him. You could never love anyone. Your heart is so corrupt with evil and greed for the jewel. You could never know how it feels to love, not anymore. You only betray those who would help you just so you could have the jewel. I won't help a soulless demon feed his greed." Naraku smiled and drew the Tetsuaiga.

"Well, if you won't join me," he said in Inuyasha's voice, "then you will die." He was about to swing when he heard a crash and saw a bright light coming at him.

"TETSUAIGA!" When the smoke cleared, Kagome and Yumi were both happy to see it was Inuyasha. Sango, Miroku, Shippou, and Kirara came rushing behind him. "Kirara and Shippou, go guard Kagome. Sango and Miroku, take care of Kagura. I'll handle Naraku." Everyone ran to there spots. Sango and Miroku easily held Kagura off while Shippou and Kirara ran to Kagome.

"Kagome, are you hurt?" Shippou asked.

"I'm fine, but Yumi…" Everyone looked at Yumi sitting against the wall. Her kimono was covered in her blood, but Yumi assured them that she would be alright. Inuyasha saw that Naraku was in his form.

"Naraku, what do you think you are doing?" Naraku laughed at Inuyasha's words.

"You like it? This is the form I took when I told Yumi to steal the jewel…and when I struck down that foolish priestess of yours."

"Damn you, Naraku!" Inuyasha swung at Naraku but missed. He had disappeared again. "Where are you? Come out here so I can cut you open!"

"As you wish." Inuyasha turned around to find Naraku coming at him with a sword. Inuyasha closed his eyes as blood splashed on the floor. When Inuyasha opened his eyes, he realized that he hadn't been cut. Instead, Yumi had jumped in front of him and taken the slash for him. Naraku only laughed and transformed into his usual self. "I think I've done enough here. I'll take the jewels for now. When you find some more, tell me so I can take them." He and Kagura were lifted into the air and disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke. Inuyasha cursed himself for letting Naraku escape once again. Naraku's castle was already disappearing.

"It must have been another phantom castle," Miroku said. That was when he caught Sango looking at Yumi.

"We should help her," she said. "She needs some bandages." Yumi started to move when Sango said this.

"Inu…yasha, are you…" Yumi sat up in pain, only to find that Inuyasha was at Kagome's side.

"Kagome, are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Inuyasha, but Yumi…"

"I can't believe that Naraku would try to pull something like this. I won't ever let you go." Kagome tried to tell him that she was fine, but he kept insisting that she needed care. Kagome tried to get his attention on Yumi, but he just ignored her.

"Inuyasha, what about…" Then Inuyasha pulled the jewel shards out. "How did you get those?" Then she remembered. When Yumi ran in front of Kagome to shield her from the poisonous dart, she felt Yumi's hand in her pocket. That was when it hit Kagome. Yumi must have taken the jewel shards out so Naraku wouldn't have taken them. Then the ones I gave him were fake.

"Kagome, let's go. We should get you some help." Inuyasha was about to leave when he finally noticed Yumi. He couldn't believe that he didn't see her before. It broke his heart, not to see her so injured, but to see those tears in her eyes. That was the same look that she had over fifty years ago. "Yumi."

"Inu…yasha," Yumi couldn't believe that he had chosen Kagome. She had saved both of their lives and he still refused to show his feelings towards her. It was just like before fifty years ago.

"How could he do this to her?" Sango asked Miroku. "He remembered her, yet Inuyasha still chose to ignore her completely. They loved each other so much, and yet he didn't give her so much as a glance. It's so sad."

"I know," Miroku said. "There isn't much we can do. We should go." They both walked away, leaving Yumi, Inuyasha, and Kagome alone. Inuyasha didn't know what to say to Yumi. There really wasn't much he could do. He walked over to help her, but she just rolled over in pain.

"Just leave," she whispered. Inuyasha sighed and walked away. There was nothing he could do now. He loved her so much before, but now he loved Kagome and Kikyo. Yumi knew that now. Kagome gave Yumi a final sympathetic look before following Inuyasha and leaving Yumi to herself so she could think about the past years that she wasted looking for her one true love.

"Naraku was right. I even saved his life and Kagome's, and he doesn't even care that I exist. I loved him so much, but he could never love me. There is no room in his heart for me. How could have I been so stupid? At least I can die knowing the truth. But…it still hurts so much." She started to slip into unconsciousness when she saw a lady approach her. She thought she was imagining it. "Kikyo, have you come to mock me before I die?"

Kikyo stood over Yumi and sighed. "So, you have come back. It isn't your time to die yet, Yumi. You still have a lesson to learn."

Inuyasha came back to the sight where Naraku's castle once was. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten about Yumi. He thought that he would give Yumi a proper burial. It was the least he could do. But when he returned, all that was left was Yumi's blood. Inuyasha sighed as he reminisced about all the good times they had together.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked. He turned around with a smile and started walking away. The group soon followed him as Kagome thought to herself. He still loves her. I can tell. Even if he wants to be with me or Kikyo, he will always remember Yumi.

Yumi woke up the next day in a small shack. At first, she thought she was in heaven. Then she felt the sharp pain in her chest. She looked around and realized that all of her wounds had been cleaned and wrapped with cloth. Then she spotted Kikyo sitting next to her. "I see you are awake, Yumi. How are you feeling?" Yumi smiled when she saw the priestess.

"I thought I was in heaven, but I must have died and went to hell." Kikyo smiled at the joke. She tried to wipe the sweat off of Yumi's head, but Yumi turned away so Kikyo wouldn't see her eyes. "Why did you save me? You were the one that banished me because you wanted to be with Inuyasha. Why didn't you let me bleed to death?" Kikyo knelt down beside Yumi and addressed her.

"I wanted to punish you because you stole the jewel, but I sent you away because I did indeed want to be with Inuyasha. You had something with Inuyasha that I will never have. I was envious of that, I admit. I can't have him in this world anymore and neither can you. We have to go on in this time without him, or we have to die and hope to love him in death. You can find happiness somewhere else. I hope to take Inuyasha to hell with me one day so I can love him there, but I have to suffer just like you. I hope that you can understand that we can never love him. Otherwise, you will suffer more than you have to." Kikyo left Yumi to herself. Yumi guessed that Kikyo had better things to do than take care of a half demon. Yumi had heard what Kikyo said, but, like Naraku's words, she wouldn't believe her.

"No, I won't do it. I will find Inuyasha and prove my love to him. I will show him how much I love him. Whether he loves me back or not will be up to him, but I will not go on with life without knowing how he feels about me. I will never give up on him. What I have for Inuyasha is timeless love, and I will make sure he knows it." Yumi got dressed, picked up her sword, and headed down the road with a smile, hoping that she and Inuyasha's paths would soon cross.

And that is the final chapter of this story. There should be another story connecting to this one, so watch out. Thanks for all the reviews. Cya.