A/N: Hey guys, sorry not callouts today, I think it might take away the effect of this chapter. So umm...please no flame. This chapter is really sad. Umm soo...can I get 9 reviews? If it helps the next chapter's name is:Retrieving What Is Lost. At least I think that will be the name.

A body fell on the ground next to Kagome's. She laid there, her reality slowly starting to inch into her mind. She turned to see Naraku's root extracting itself from a small body. She crawled over to the figure, and saw the small eyes of…Hoshiko. Her right shoulder had a huge hole from where the root had hurt her. Hoshiko smiled up at her, it was not the same one that had once been filled with child happiness, now it was filled with pain, and a wise expression that showed knowledge beyond her years. Kagome stared at the man who had impaled Hoshiko.

"What the hell did you do to her!" Kagome demanded her voice rising. He smirked at her.

"The root had poison on the tip, if she does not die from blood loss, than the poison will do her in. Although it was originally meant for you…this may be entertaining," Naraku said chuckling.

"You bastard!" she screamed looking once again down at the small child. Hoshiko's eyes started to dull, the bright light of life hardly in them.

"Hoshiko, you need to hold on, I can heal you. Just hold on a little longer," she said putting her hand over the wound. Two small hands clasped hers, pushing it away.

"No, you need to save your energy for defeating that mean guy. Besides, it doesn't hurt too much." Hoshiko replied. Her whole body felt numb, except for the tingling sensation in her shoulder. The poison slowly started to pull her away from the daze of dulled pain. She clutched her shoulder, her nails digging into the wound making it more painful for her.

"Hoshiko please let me save you!" Kagome pleaded tears now forming in her eyes. Hoshiko's little fingers found their way back to Kagome's hands, grasping them harder than before.

"Kagome there is nothing that can be done. I did what I needed to do in order to help you defeat him. You need to live; you have someone to be with. The love deep in your heart…it is stronger than anything you have for me. The bond of soul mates calls louder than that of a bond of duty. Now you can save the world, and then go to Inuyasha, just do not let Naraku win! Promise me you won't," Hoshiko said her little eyes huge with determination.

"I will make sure that Naraku will die for all the destruction he has caused," Kagome said brushing away a lock of hair that had fallen in Hoshiko's eyes. Hoshiko smiled faintly again…and then she closed her eyes. Her skin started to pale, the blood from her veins no longer flowing. Kagome looked down on her body, seeing her stomach no longer exhale and inhale, she knew that Hoshiko was no longer alive.

"Your death will not be in vain Hoshiko," she said standing up. She looked at Sango, and smiled. Memories of all the times that her friend had comforted her, and aided her when her help was need came to her mind. Her nails glowed blue, causing a paper thin barrier to erect. Sango looked at her confused.

"I will not allow anyone to die because of me. I thought that you all would stay out of this battle between us…I was wrong. I know now that if I am in trouble you will rush to my side to save me. But for this fight, I need to stand on my own. I will kill Naraku," she said. Sango nodded with full understanding. But in her heart she knew that Kagome was desperately calling out for help.

'Kagome how far do you have to go to prove to yourself that you can be independent? Will this quest to kill Naraku end in your death, along with his?' Sango thought.

Kagome felt a new presence enter the battlefield. She glanced towards the new person and saw…silver. Her heart started to thump with happiness, but she quickly suppressed it. He walked towards Sango and whispered in her ear. Her eyes widened with fear and concern. She looked to Inuyasha, trying to determine if he was telling the truth. His stern face told her that what he had said was the truth. She stared at Kagome, but the love within her held stronger against the concern for her friend. Sango jumped onto Kirara's back and flew away. Inuyasha kept his eyes down on the ground in front of Kagome. He saw the girl, dead on the cold gravel ground.

'The girl, she is dead. Kagome risked everything to get Hoshiko back. She will want to get revenge for Hoshiko's death. Oh god Kagome, the only thing that I need to know is if you truly are ready to obtain your revenge?' Inuyasha wondered.

"Inuyasha, you are not needed here. Please go help someone who is in need of your assistance," she said coldly. Her heart pleaded for her to allow him to with her plan of killing Naraku, but her pride held stronger, barring her from screaming her real feelings.

"I can help you!" he yelled at her, his frustration clear.

"No, go to her. She is waiting, I think she might be hurting right now," Kagome said bluffing. He nodded and ran towards the entrance of the castle. She watched as he disappeared through the doors of the castle, her eyes glazing over with un-cried tears. She closed her eyes, brushing off the moment of unhappiness. The veil of darkness was lifted as she opened her eyes, her cold gaze falling upon Naraku. Fury ran through her veins, images of all of the people who'd died by Naraku's hands flashed in her mind. Her face clouded with anger…she is ready. Naraku pulls out the almost completed Shikon no Tama. He tossed it up into the air, taunting her.

"Many lives have been sacrificed to complete this powerful jewel. Isn't it funny that all of those people, who died, died for nothing?" he asked chuckling.

He began to walk over to her, striking her down with one of his roots. The corrupted light of the Shikon no Tama leaked through his clamped fist. Kagome struggled to get up, using her hands to support her body weight. Naraku pushed her down with his foot placed on her back.

"Resisting again Kagome? All I want is the jewel shards, and as luck has it you have the remaining ones that I need. Now give them up," he said. He reached down towards her neck, the string that was attached to the bottle of shards in plain sight. She started to wiggle underneath his foot, somehow turning her self onto her stomach. Her arm turned in an impossible angle, grabbing his outstretched hand with an immense strength. Naraku's eyes widened with fear, he lifted her into the air trying to even the odds. She still held onto his arm with a death lock grip. He smirked, allowing another root appeared. It pulsed with the aura of evil, directing itself towards her stomach. She grimaced with pain, but does not relinquish her hold. Blood started to stain the white color of her shirt. It starts to travel down the edge of her pants, dripping onto the ground below them. A scent of copper began to fill the air around them, but was trapped in by the barrier.

'Hoshiko, this is for you!' her mind screamed. Her eyes fill with light, changing the irises from a cold, hard brown to a distant and deathly ice blue.

"You can't defeat me miko! I am invincible! No one not even that hanyou has been able to stop me. I will live on. More deaths will stain my hands, women, children, and men. I cannot be defeated," he yelled at her. She smiled, the power taking her over. Her eyes grew larger as the power surged through her being. Her nails became a deathly royal purple tipped with blood red, they started to illuminate.

"Naraku all the pain you have caused will come to an end today!" she screamed as the power inside was focused to flow through her hands. An inhuman scream fills the barrier surrounding this death field. His body disintegrated, allowing the jewel to be free from the grasp of evil. Kagome fell to the ground, the impact cracking her right leg bone. She turned onto her stomach, gasping as pain flooded through her. She crawled over to Naraku's ashes and picked the jewel up. Tearing off the container which held the shards of the Shikon no Tama, she opened it. Pouring the pieces into her hands, she held the almost completed jewel in the opposite hand. She joined the two hands together, allowing her abilities to purify the corruption. Her chocolate brown eyes replaced the icy blue; her nails reverted to their original plain state. The completed Shikon no Tama lay in her hands, looking the same as the day it had come from her. Speckles formed throughout her vision, she was losing too much blood. Above the barrier shattered, allowing the scent of her blood to flow into the wind.

"Inuyasha…please," she whispered in a barely audible voice. Her eyes began to show pain, unbearable to even the strongest of people.

---5 Minutes Earlier

Inuyasha ran around the castle, finally gathering his senses he sniffed the air. Finding traces of the scent of clay and bones he ran towards it. He found a hallway, with a door at the end, he opened it. Inside stood a woman dressed in miko robes. Her hair flowed freely reaching down to her mid-back. She turned and looked at him, happiness and wonder flooding into her eyes.

"Inuyasha…you came," she said nonchalantly.

"Kikyou, why would I not?" he asked. She avoided eye contact, irritation clouding her face.

"I thought you had forgotten about me, and went to that wretched reincarnation of mine."

"Kikyou, how could you believe that? We are merely friends nothing more. There will never be anything between us," he said crossing the distance between them. He took her into his arms. She smirked into his red kimono.

"I know…I know," she replied. His ears twitched as he caught what sounded like deception running through her voice.

"Are you hiding something from me Kikyou?" he questioned pulling her off of him. She avoided contact with his eyes.

"Never my love," she said brushing away his bangs. The deception ran thicker through her voice stronger than before. He ignored it because there was something else that had caught his attention…blood.

'Wait that smell…Kagome! No…' He threw Kikyou to the ground and ran out the door towards Kagome. His feet padded against the wooden floors of the castle. The sound echoed eerily off of the empty castle's walls. He emerged from the castle to see…Kagome on the ground…bleeding. Her body lay in a puddle…of her own blood. He ran to her side and sat down next to her. He picked her up in his arms, ignoring the red liquid below them. She looked at him, her love shining clear as day through her beautiful chocolate brown eyes.

"Kagome…what happened to you?" he asked tilting her head upward to look at him more.

"Inuyasha, I killed him," she replied in a weakened whisper.

"Yeah…yeah you did," he said smiling.

"But now, I have to return what was taken. I'm sorry," she said. She reached up and grabbed his head. Her dry lips met his soft moist ones. She opened his mouth further with her lips. A blue orb floated in between them, but Inuyasha did not notice it for he was too caught up in the heavenly kiss. The blue orb flew into his brain and restored the memories he had once lost. She pulled away and lay back down on the ground, her whole being tired. He looked down at her, tears forming in her eyes.

"Kagome," he whispered. He brought her to his chest, grasping her for dear life.

"Why…why did you fight him on your own?" he demanded.

"I didn't want you to die again. Inuyasha my heart could not bear to live on if you died," she said tears flowing down her cheeks. She wiped the tears away with her hand.

"Kagome, I can't live with out you either. You'll get through this. Remember you can heal yourself," he said smiling. She pulled away from him, and looked into his eyes to find what she'd been searching for…love.

"I can't this time, I've used too much of my energy. In order to give you back your memories, I had to tap into my life force. And I had to get this for you," she said putting her fist in front of him. He looked at it and put his hand under it. The Shikon no Tama fell into his hand. He looked at her, emotions flooding his face. Her face started to become pale. Inuyasha closed his eyes and listened to her heartbeat, it was starting to fade.

"Kagome…no, you can't die! Please all you have to do is hold on," he said whispering in her ear.

"Inuyasha, I can't it hurts," she said wincing with pain.

"Please Kagome, for me hold on."

"You know that I would do anything for you Inuyasha…but this is too hard."

"No, I just got you back! I will not lose you again!" he yelled. She winced again, his loud rage hurting her ears.

"Inuyasha, you will never lose me, I will find a way to come back. But for right now, I need to go to sleep. When I wake up we'll find a way…okay?" she asked. He nodded his throat constricting with tears. He leaned in, touching their foreheads together.

"It's getting harder," she said.

"What is?" he asked lifting his head from hers.

"It's getting harder to breath," she said. She started to cough, trying to obtain more oxygen. Her breath hitched as she tried again.

"I love you, Inu…yasha," she said her voice hoarse. Her eyes began to water again, flowing down her cheeks.

"I love you too Kagome, I always will," he whispered. She lifted her hand and allowed it to caress his cheek. He shivered as it touched his skin, it felt so cold. She closed her eyes, wincing one last time. She exhaled her last breath. Inuyasha gathered her closer to him, his own tears falling down to collide with hers. He got up and walked a few paces away, placing her on ground that was not filled with her blood. He looked down at her face, her angelic features magnified. Her face was serene, even though she had died with pain. On her face there was a trail of dried tears, both of hers and his. Her hair lay fanned out, creating a raven colored halo ring.

"Kagome," he whispered.

Death is an eerie thing, usually having a collision effect on people and their lives. When a friend dies, you the grieving period may be two days or longer. But when your soul-mate dies…it is a different thing entirely. For the other half of your heart goes into the spiritual plane with them. Most people die only a few days after their love does, unable to live with the pain and heartache. But there are fighters out there, ones who will stop at nothing to bring back what they've lost. Whatever the cost…they will bring back their other half.

A/N: Okay so remember...9 reviews. No flames please! I'm really sorry too. This is not the last chapter either! I've got 2-3 more to go!