Author's note: What? What are you waiting for? You already know what I'm going to write! sigh Alright, alright, pay attention. Pulls down chalkboard and a yardstick. Points to word 'Inuyasha' I do not own Inuyasha, but I wish I did, because then I'd be freaking rich.

The Sound of the Falling Star

Chapter One

This was it. The last fight: the last chance to end this once and for all. Kagome pulled back her arrow, aiming it for Naraku's heart, but as the bowstring was pulled back, and her heart raced, something within her soul snapped…

…And so did her bowstring…

Inuyasha was already downed in the fight, his fang sword held loosely in his limp fingers, crimson running through his hair. His beautiful ebony hair… and he… could not help her now. And with her bowstring broken, she could not help him. For the first time, she found herself frightened. Deadly frightened.

…That was it, the last chance she had and it was gone. Now nothing and no one could help her. She narrowed her eyes on Naraku, who was advancing slowly. If there was one thing she thought she was rid of forever, it was he. But there he was again, resurrected once more, seeking his revenge on the ones who took the jewel away… He took up the rusty sword from the dying Inuyasha and with a swift movement, plunged it through his back and heart. A half-hearted moan of agony resounded from Inuyasha, and then…nothing else.

Kagome's eyes widened, and then she blinked hard through countless tears. "Inuyasha…" she whispered. "Inuyasha!" she shouted. He wasn't moving, but he couldn't be gone. He just couldn't leave her like that. No, she refused. 'Inuyasha'…'Inuyasha, please…'

…This was all her fault, it was her stupid idea! 'Inuyasha, you should use the jewel to become human. Then you can come back with me, and we can be together.' But she had forgotten how the jewel worked. Once Inuyasha became human, the jewel vanished, and without it, they could not reenter her time. And then the worst thing of all happened. Naraku…whose slinking gait now filled her with dread…returned, and Inuyasha was no longer able to fight him…

"Stay away from me!" she warned in her normal defiance. Naraku slipped her a half smile as he neared. Kagome backed away as his haunting eyes narrowed. What a horrible ending to what seemed would be a wonderful fairy tale! So this is what it was like to stare fear full on, and then lose your constitution…

"Now, now, my dear Kagome," he pressed as he reached toward her. "Do not worry, I will spare you providing you give me back the sacred jewel." Kagome made a move back, but Naraku's hand ensnared her shoulder, his fingernails threatening her skin. Kagome struggled against him, kicking and waving her arms around, squirming to free herself. Nothing seemed to be working however, but it did not stop her endeavor.

"I don't have the stupid jewel!" she shouted. "It's gone, okay! You can't have it because it doesn't exist!" Naraku frowned and threw her to the dirt. The dust pulled into Kagome's mouth and eyes, and made mud streams down the paths of her tears.

"Well, then I suppose you will make a new one, now won't you?" Kagome gritted her teeth to keep from sobbing. It was suicide to make a new Shikon jewel, she learned that long ago, and as much as she wanted to die, she wasn't going to go about it doing Naraku any favors.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!" she shouted. By now mud was starting to get into her eyes. She blinked hard several times, but kept her eyes on the graceful figure before her. How she despised him, now more than ever: for everything he'd ever done to her and the ones who came before!.

"Ka-go-me," Inuyasha stammered lowly. The sight of it threw more tears in the girl's eyes. Inuyasha was looking at her, strong and proud, and not in the least bit afraid. "Don't listen…" Naraku frowned again, this time at Inuyasha.

"How does it feel, Inuyasha? To be mortal is quite the nuisance, isn't it?" he paused. "You should never have listened to this girl. But I can see that you care for her." Inuyasha glared at him, however weakly. "Do not worry. I shall see to it that this one is taken care of."

Naraku grabbed Kagome up from the dirt, the girl kicking and squirming in his iron grip. It was still no use to struggle, and Kagome wasn't sure what to do anymore. She was angry and piteous –along with all other negative emotions -knowing that Inuyasha would die slowly.

"Let me go!" Kagome demanded. "Get your hands off me you big jerk! Inuyasha! Inuyasha…!" Naraku grinned, pulling Kagome closer so it would be harder for her to struggle. Worst of all, he toyed with her, allowing her to sometimes think she was making progress before reeling her right back in.

"Let her go," Inuyasha coughed, by now just barely feeling his pain. Naraku shook his head, his grin spreading. By now, every nerve in Inuyasha's body was in flames, and soon, his soul would drift silently on its way.

"Die, Inuyasha," Naraku stated somberly, and carried Kagome off. Surely enough in the long seconds following, Inuyasha was no more, clutching his sword in one hand, and the prayer beads Kagome had so recently removed from him in the other. It was bittersweet to once agin have a life free of someone else's restraints, just to have your life in general taken away immediately after.

"Whadda ya mean, stay in here!" Kagome demanded from behind her cell door, tears still streaming down her face. "Hey, I'm talking to you! Lemme out!" Naraku had already gone, however, feeling sick to the stomach from Kagome's tears.

…That really was it…her last chance…but the way it ended was so much different…so much worse…She would have given anything she could to have died alongside Inuyasha…but she was suffering a fate worse than that…

"Inuyasha…"she sobbed, "Oh, Inuyasha…" Kagome curled into a ball in the straw of her cell and cried in a way she never thought could be genuine. He muscles ached and her heart ached. She was never getting away from Naraku even if the jewel was gone and his power had waned slightly. She was only human, and had no weapons or friends to aid her. "Inuyasha…" she repeated, and once again, tears filled her face.

The stink of the cold cell was devastating, but she didn't notice. She wasn't able to notice anything. She rolled on her back, still sobbing loudly, still repeated Inuyasha's name over and over as though it could bring him back. She knew it couldn't, knew he wasn't there to come to the rescue anymore; wasn't there to hold her tight like he had just after he became human. She had lost the only love she'd ever known, and she couldn't shake the feeling that it was her fault.

"Are you done yet?" Kagura growled from across the room. It had been hours since Kagome started crying and it was getting pretty old. "You're giving me a headache!" Kagome sat up on her knees, sniffling angrily.

"What would you know about it!" she screamed. "You're just like him! A cold-blooded monster! You'll never know love, and you'll never know what it's like to lose it! Who could love someone like you!" Kagura leapt to her feet.

"Shut up you insolent brat, or so help me you will suffer!" Kagura unfurled her fan and had brought the implement behind her to ready a strike on the child when Naraku reappeared.

"Now then, Kagura," Naraku said from wrapping his hand around her wrist. Kagura shuddered. Naraku even creped out sometimes. The half-demon let go of his incarnation and seemed to glide in front of Kagome's cell. "Are you going to stop all of this foolishness, Kagome?" His narrow eyes shot down into her, killing her ability to produce more tears. Still, she put her hands in her face and sobbed.

Naraku frowned…

"I asked you a question, Kagome, and it wouldn't be wise to ignore me."

Kagome looked up at him defiantly, though grief was still burned into her continence. "You creep! Lemme outta here right now!" Naraku bent forward, his face even with hers across the bars.

"And where would you go, Kagome?" he asked wickedly. "If you flee, I can promise you your friends will be slaughtered before you get there. So if you want them to live, you will make another Shikon-no-tama."

"How do you expect me to do that, you moron!" She shouted at him. Naraku grew tired of her arrogance.

"Hmph," Naraku frowned. "You will learn respect!" In that instant he was somehow in her cell with his hand pressing her down against the floor. His free arm molded into a sharp claw that aimed menacingly at her heart. "Now Kagome, you will make that jewel, or as Kagura said, you will suffer, and I will see to it you are kept alive and alert to endure every ounce of the pain."