Hey everyone. Yes, I'm updating again! Just to let you know the first part of this chapter will have a few funny moments. This is to prepare yourselves because the second part of this chapter is a lot harsher and you will see what happened to Kagome to make her so unemotional. Anyway, thanks for everyone's reviews so far, only there haven't been as many as I thought there would be. But, oh well, hope you guys like this new edition.

Chapter 4

The Burden of the Shikon no Tama

"So, this is the future, huh?" Kuronue asked as both demons stood on either side of the trembling miko. She was stnding in front of her door and she could just barely make out her mother's laughter, her little brother's complaining and her grandfather's wild stories. Kagome looked shell-shocked and hollow and Kuronue took a curious glance at her after she didn't respond.

"Yes," she barely whispered. Her eyes hardened and she stood ram-rod straight. "Okay, before we begin, just a few pointers. One, we are not really here, merely manifestations of outselves."

"You mean we're-." Yoko started.

"Yes."

"We're dead?!" Yoko freaked out. "Woman, you killed me!"

"No, Yoko, wait-," Kagome tried to explain.

"Woman, you killed Kuronue!" his eyes filled with hot fire.

"No, that's not what-."

"You killed yourself!!"

Kagome looked to Kuronue who had immediately known what she was talking about and was covering his mouth with his hand, holding back the laughter at his friend's expense. Kagome shot him a glare. "Do something!" she hissed.

Kuronue sighed and turned his eyes to his friend who was busy ranting about being killed while he was one of the most skilled and lethal bandits around and how he'd been killed by a miko that carried the Shikon no Tama. "Um, Yoko, I think what she meant to say was that we are merely physical aspects of our bodies. In a sense we are not really here, merely observing."

"...And you...wait! What was that?" Yoko asked of Kuronue.

Kagome and Kuronue looked at Yoko as he calmed himself. Kagome rolled her eyes before stepping past him and merely walking through her screen door, without opening it. Kuronue smirked at his best friend and muttered, "you really are a baka," before following after Kagome in the same manner.

Yoko glared at the closed door, before racing after his partner and the miko.

Once inside Kagome quickly explained the rules again. "Okay, we are in my home and you cannot touch anything. My family will be unable to see, hear, or smell us, so we are pretty safe unless anyone has enough spiritual amount of energy to see us. Any questions?"

Both demons shook their heads and Kagome took a huge breath and walked through a door, immediately appearing before her family eating dinner. Kuronue and Yoko followed next and glanced around with great interest. "This is my family," Kagome pointed out each of her members. "In a minute, I should be coming along."

"But, you're right there," Yoko pointed out.

Kagome rolled her eyes again. "One thing I forgot to mention was, we're in the past; my past. This is where I started out and we will continue to follow my younger self as her journey progresses." Just then Kagome stiffened as a much younger Kagome came barreling through the door and passing right through the spirit Kagome. (From this point on I'll be calling the future Kagome Rei-Kagome, for spirit Kagome because she is in a sense as spirit). Both Kuronue and Yoko watched as the younger Kagome began talking to her family, her animated features much different than Rei-Kagome's. It was amazing to see this much innocence and purity.

Suddenly Yoko began playing with one of the appliances, which turned out to be a microwave. Before Kagome or even Kuronue could stop him he began pressing buttons rapidly. "Kagome what is this marvelous contraption?" Yoko asked in fascination.

"Yoko, stop it!" Rei-Kagome shrieked and raced towards him to get him to stop.

"It's a demon!" her grandfather cried as her family watched the buttons on the microwave clicking seemingly by themselves. In an instant, the trio froze, before Kagome's mother smacked her grandfather on the head with a wooden stirring spoon.

"Oh, stop it, it is not a demon!"

"Okay, so maybe your right.Yep, it's probably just defective," the old man proclaimed.

"Defective?" Yoko cried, momentarily forgetting that they couldn't see him.

Kuronue appeared next to Kagome and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Perhaps bringing him here wasn't the best decision," he murmured.

Kagome stared at him in shock, before she began to giggle lightly as both she and Kuronue watched Yoko with sweat drops as he attempted to hit the old man. Finally Yoko settled down and watched as first past-Kagome's brother left out the door. Past-Kagome left and returned in her old school uniform, which Yoko immediately began drooling over. He was about to reach over and lift up the back as past-Kagome began to leave, before a hand slapped his away.

He pulled his hand away in time to see Rei-Kagome standing over him her fist raised high in the air to strike away his perverted advances, a small blush rising on her face. "You're lucky, we haven't much time, or else you really would be dead," she warned before sweeping past him and following her past self. Kuronue quickly followed after her once again, shooting a smirking glance at his partner.

Yoko muttered curses and followed after the two.

Over the course of a couple hours, the trio followed past-Kagome on her journey into the past. They'd watched as she'd been pulled into the well, fallen into the past, and discovered Inuyasha. Rei-Kagome's eyes had watered a couple of times as she'd watched Inuyasha and her past-self argue, become friends, and eventually fall in love, fall out of love, and adopt each other as brother and sister. They had also been surprised when Lord Sesshomaru had showed up, at first attempting to steal Inuyasha's sword, and eventually becoming allies with his brother towards the final battle.

Until at last they were standing in the battle field where in a few minutes, Kagome would lose her family.

"So, where are we now?" Kuronue asked, as all three stood overlooking a wide field filled with beautiful flowers of all kind. It was a shame that in a few minutes all those pretty flowers would serve as burial markers.

"This is where I die," Kagome whispered softly.

Both Kuronue and Yoko gaped at her, before she began walking towards the middle of the field. She stood staring over the field for a few minutes, neither demon moved or spoke, as they knew she was remembering. Her hair flowed like a raven's as it tumbled freely down her back, as she tilted her head up to the warm sun letting it fall over her skin. Finally she turned to them, her eyes filled with unshed tears she refused to let fall. "Are you ready?" she asked.

Both demons could only nod as they stared entranced as in the blink of an eye, demons swarmed the field, the sky darkened, the sun left...and evil reigned.

The battle raged on for hours as past-Kagome's friends and allies attempted to beat back the masses. Sango, along with Kirara, were the first to fall. They'd been fighting Sango's brother and Sango refused to kill her brother. Kirara had been guarding Sango to her last breath until she was overcome by exhaustion and too many wounds.

"Sango," Rei-Kagome whispered as she witnessed her adopted sister's fall. She closed her eyes and swayed on her feet, as Kuronue wrapped a gentle arm around her shoulders to hold her steady. Miroku followed next after witnessing his love's death, he'd fought his way to her side and released his wind tunnel, sweeping in the many demons and poisonous bees he could. He fell next to her and in his last breaths whispered that he loved her, before wrapping himself behind her and falling into death with his beloved. "Miroku," Rei-Kagome whispered, her hands reaching out to touch those she could no longer reach.

She began to fall now as Yoko moved to catch her. "Kagome!" he cried, searching into her blank eyes as she continued to watch the scene. "Kagome!" he shook her shoulders, trying to bring her out of her trance. His eyes met Kuronue but both had no idea how to help her; in all their years they'd never witnessed such brutality and evil it was becoming much clearer why she was acted the way she did now.

Rei-Kagome was only remembering and was too lost in her devastating memories as she could barely hear Kuronue and Yoko calling to her. The battle waged on until it came down to Kagome, with Sesshomaru and Inuyasha standing guard over her, as they attempted to take down their last opponent, Naraku.

"Kagome, stay back!" Inuyasha cried as he rushed forward and tried to slash through Naraku's spider body. He was thrown back and crashed into the ground as Sesshomaru launched his attack next, but even he proved fruitless and was knock to the ground with a loud crash. "Mama!" Shippo's little voice cried as his mother was left unguarded and attacked by one of Naraku's arms.

Yoko and Kuronue had given up trying to help Rei-Kagome and were simply staring in horror at the brutal scene. They stared in shock as the little kitsune ran from his safe hiding place and placed himself in front of Kagome who was leaning heavily on her side. "Shippo!" she screamed. "Go, get out of here!" she hissed to him.

"But, mother," he whispered his eyes swimming with tears.

"Go!" she cried again, the tears beginning to poor helplessly down her face.

He nodded helplessly. As he ran away the whispered words left her mouth and traveled over to the young kit, sending warmth through his body, despite the harsh surroundings. "I love you, my son....be safe."

Inuyasha fell next, and it was, the most awful thing she'd ever witnessed. How her first real friend in this era had eventually fallen to the one who'd slain his love so many years ago. Rei-Kagome stared as she watched his body fall from a deadly blow to the torso. She watched as her past-self ran up to the fallen hanyou and pulled him desperately into her lap.

Rei-Kagome couldn't stand it anymore and made a move to get up. She had to see him one last time, even if she couldn't touch him or save him. Before Kuronue or Yoko could protest Rei-Kagome was up and running over to her best friend and watching as her past self cried and cried and eventually blamed herself for his and all her friends' deaths.

Yoko and Kuronue appeared slowly behind Kagome as they listened to Inuyasha's final words.

"Please," Inuyasha coughed as past-Kagome placed his head in her lap, the tears streaming like water falls. "Please...don't..cry. You know I hate it when you do."

Past-Kagome smiled a watery smile. "Oh, Inuyasha, please don't leave me, brother!" She cried.

Inuyasha reached a hand up and ran it through her hair and past-Kagome closed her eyes leaning into his gentle touch. "Please, don't be sad," Inuyasha whispered. "This was the way it was supposed to end. Now I can finally...be...free. With Kikyo." Inuyasha closed his eyes and drew his last breath as Kagome uttered her last words to him.

"Goodbye, Inuyasha. Be happy with Kikyo. You deserve it. I love you my brother, my best friend," she whispered. Inuyasha lay still and past-Kagome gave a mourning cry before falling over onto his body hiding her face in his familiar fire-rat kimono.

Rei-Kagome stood still, a silent statue as she remembered his and her final conversation as Kuronue and Yoko and bowed their heads in silence as Kagome mourned. The sound of laughing caused all three to turned to the laughing kuro-hanyou who was rapidly descending on past-Kagome.

At the sight of the cause of all her pain, Rei-Kagome became enraged and went to attack him, falling right through him and collapsing in a heap on the ground. She lay there weeping as neither Kuronue nor Yoko made a move to help her up.

Kagome sat up on her own and watched as her past self had become so enraged she'd managed to seriously damage Naraku, who fled after realizing he was to badly damaged to continue fighting.

And with that Yoko and Kuronue suddenly found themselves back in Kagome's hut. Kagome who was back as well, continued to lie on her back. Suddenly she was screaming in anger, pounding her small fists into the ground.

"Why!" She cried. "Why wasn't I able to save them! They were my family! We were supposed to be happy together! You weren't supposed to...die," she whispered.

Kuronue looked at his friend before slowly approaching her and attempting to help her sit up. He stared into her crying eyes as Yoko kneeled beside them both. Kagome raised her eyes to both of them as she grasped a hold of the Shikon no Tama and held it out in her hands. The jewel glowed harmlessly in her clenched hands.

"Now you see what the Shikon no Tama is," she whispered. "It is a curse...and a cross to bear; my cross to bear, my penance for not saving them."

Neither bandit knew what to say until Kagome collapsed in Kuronue's arms with the strain of using so much of her energy. "Why? Why couldn't I save them?" were the last whispered words she uttered before slipping into unconsciousness.

Okay, so what did you guys think? Was it angsty? Was it not angsty since you guys probably read enough of stories that have fights like this. Anyway, I still don't know what the pairings will be. It could be both, but I'm not sure. We'll have to see how I play this out. I usually just go where my thoughts tell me. Anyway, Sesshomaru will be coming in probably within the next chapter or so with some rather startling news for Kagome. Thanks to those of you who have reviewed so far and I encourage you all to review some more.

Ja ne

Kura-kun's-lovr