:Disclaimer:

Akana: Okay, people have been wanting to know why I'm not quite as hyper as in our other stories. The answer would be --
Leiko: No one's even been wanting to know that. In fact, only one person even reads this story.
Akana: Oh... Well, thanks so much, someonewithoutaname! And if we ever own Inuyasha (which we don't), we'll totally give you some money or let you own a character or something!
Leiko: And just so you know, that is her being not-hyper.

:End Disclaimer:

Welcome to another chapter of Dominoes! someonewithoutaname: These three demons are pretty much like Naraku, but they get more done and they aren't after the jewel, they're only after entertainment. Everything in this story that goes wrong was pretty much caused and predicted by them, and they're out to cause SERIOUS trouble. Hope that answers your questions!

NOTE (important): I redid part of this chapter. The second section, to be exact (after the second POV change, with the first POV change being right below). It was in Kouga's point of view, but I decided to change that since he's not really one of the main characters of this story, he shouldn't have a section all to himself. So there. I just sort of felt that the part didn't really fit in.

Chapter 4: Shards and Priestesses

POV CHANGE

They didn't have to run off without me like that! I thought as I lifted my face from the dirt. I quickly got to my feet and growled. Kagome was going to get Kouga's jewel shards, and I wanted to be there to make sure he didn't lay a finger on her. If he tried to flirt with her again like always, I was prepared to teach him a lesson with my Tetsusaiga.

I started to run off after them, but then something caught my eye. Far off in the trees, I saw what looked very much like one of Kikyou's soul collectors. What's she doing here? I wondered briefly. I took a few steps in the direction she was in, but then stopped. What about Kagome? ... She'll be fine. The wolf will protect her from demons, and the others will protect her from the wolf. I ran off through the trees in search of Kikyou.

When I came to her, it looked as though she were bidding her soul collectors good bye. They flew off without her when I entered the clearing she was in, and she turned and smiled at me. "Naraku is finally gone," she said, taking a few steps towards me. "Thank you, Inuyasha..."

"Kikyou..." I whispered. I walked towards her and wrapped my arms around her in a hug. "I've been wanting to hold you like this for a long time now..."

"Now we can finally be together in Hell," she said, hugging me back. She must've felt me stiffen a little, for then she asked, "Is something the matter? You... still want to come with me, right?"

I looked at her. My ears twitched. "O-Of... course..."

I did. I wanted to go with her to Hell. After all, I owed her, and I loved her. She was the first person who looked at me and didn't see only a half breed. She'd even died following me. It was only fair that I be with her. She was my first true love. We would've lived together happily had it not been for Naraku. Now that he was dead, there was nothing standing in the way of our being together for the rest of time.

But... If that was so true, then why did I feel so horrible all of a sudden? It was like I was forgetting something, but what? Something was keeping me back, but for the life of me, I couldn't think of what it could be. I didn't have anything left to do, did I? Naraku was dead, Kagome could collect the rest of the shards ---

Then it struck me. It wasn't a "what" so much as a "who". Kagome... I still needed to protect her. I'd sworn to myself that I always would. And there was more. She accepted me for who I really was. She never tried to make me a human. She even... loved me. She told me that she'd always be by my side, no matter what happened.

Kikyou probably sensed my hesitation. She looked at me curiously. "What's on your mind?"

I was silent for a few minutes. I stared at the ground, unsure really of who I wanted to go with. On the one hand, I had Kikyou, my former love. On the other hand, there was Kagome, my new love. I wanted to stay with Kikyou in Hell, but I wanted to stay alive for Kagome. I wanted things to go back to the way they used to be, but I wanted things to stay the way they were. I wished I could've had more time to think about it, but I knew that Kikyou needed an answer. I looked at her and wanted to say "Yes, I'll go!", but I wanted to say "Sorry, I can't..." Finally, I made up my mind. I looked her in the eye.

"I..." I took a deep breath.

POV CHANGE

He looked around suspiciously. "Where's the mutt?" Kouga growled out, clutching my hands in his own. "Shouldn't he be trying to stop me or something?"

I rolled my eyes. "He's probably still mad about me sitting him before we came here," I muttered. Inuyasha could be so immature sometimes. "Well, it doesn't matter right now. We cam here to ask a little favor, Kouga." I looked at him with hope. He grinned, and I knew that he was expecting me to ask him to take me away from Inuyasha or something like that. I thought of the notion for a split second -- the look on Inuyasha's face would be priceless! But no, I was just here for one thing. "Well, now that Naraku's dead, we're kind of going around collecting the remaining jewel shards, and we need yours."

"Oh," he said with disappointment in his voice. "Well..." He hesitated, but I looked at him with big, brown, pleading eyes that he couldn't resist. "Fine. I don't need them to kill the mutt, anyway." He let go of my hands and took out the shards, handing them to me.

I beamed. "Thank you, Kouga!" I said, putting the shards away in my bottle with the rest. As soon as I was done, he grabbed my hands again. I stopped myself from rolling my eyes just in time.

"Anything for you," he told me. Suddenly, a scowl appeared on his face, quickly followed by the sound of someone's fist on a hollow skull. Kouga whirled around the face Inuyasha, glaring at him. "You're gonna pay for that!"

"Oh yeah? Says who?" Inuyasha snarled, leaping back and getting into a fighting stance. "Today's the day you die, stupid wolf!" He drew Tetsusaiga, a cocky smirk on his face. "You don't have the shards anymore to help you! You're just some normal, pathetic wolf now!"

And you're still the same jerk who gets jealous so easily, I thought, rubbing my temples.

Kouga growled, raising his fist. "I don't need any shards to beat you!" he countered. He ran at Inuyasha and tried to kick him. Kouga seemed a lot slower and less powerful than usual, and so I was surprised when he managed to kick Inuyasha. "Same old dumb dog!" Kouga shouted as he quickly jumped back, letting Inuyasha fall.

I sighed again when Inuyasha got back to his feet, sword raised and ready to strike. "Sit boy," I muttered. I would've loved to have such a word for Kouga, but no luck. Unless, of course, Kaede had some more of those prayer beads...

Kouga laughed at him as he fell face-first into the dirt. He then turned his attention back to me, unfortunately, taking my hands yet again in his. "I'll defeat the mutt for you someday," he promised me. "Just you wait until then! Always remember that you're my woman!" He ran off, leaving me to shake my head at how stubborn and persistant he was.

POV CHANGE

I growled after the wolf left, then sat up and looked at Kagome. Should I tell her what happened...? Looking at her, especially right now, I was reminded of Kikyou. "Kagome..."

She had turned and was starting to walk off, but she stopped at my words. The others stopped too, but a look from me told them that they should go on. Sango was walking with Kirara in her arms. Yuriko was walking in between her and Miroku, and Shippou was on Yuriko's shoulder. Kagome knelt beside me. "What?" she asked, curiousity showing plainly on her face.

"I..." I stopped. Should I tell her? my mind asked again.

Flashback

"I..." I took a deep breath. I looked back towards the ground, not wanting to meet her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I can't go with you..." She pulled away, but I didn't look up to see her expression. "I just... I can't die, not yet... I'm sorry, really, I am, but I swore to protect someone. If I leave now, I can't be sure that she'll be safe. I have to be with her and keep her from harm. I know it's asking a lot from you, but... please try to understand." I looked at her again, my ears drooping a little.

She smiled. It was a sad, lonely, forlorn smile. In her smile I saw that she'd predicted this, but that it was too much to bear. "I do understand," she said. The smile never faded. "You're speaking about my reincarnation, Kagome, I know. You don't want anything to happen to her because you love her, as you once loved me." My eyes widened. Did I really... Did I really love Kagome? Was that possible? "I understand also that our relationship faded to almost nothing. You felt obliged to me, since I gave my life for you. By defeating Naraku, you've made it so my soul can be laid to rest. That is good enough to repay the debt that you never really owed in the first place." She took a deep breath. "Good bye, Inuyasha."

I was silent. What could one say to that? I just watched as a bright light came from the ground where Kikyou was standing. I stepped back a bit, feeling depressed to see her go. She stared at me, eyes shining with tears that would never fall, then the light engulfed her. The light was so intense that I had to shield my eyes with my sleeve. When it was over, I looked at the place where Kikyou last stood and saw nothing. "Good bye, Kikyou."

End Flashback

"What?" Kagome asked again, tilting her head to the side a little.

"... Nothing," I answered. She didn't need to know, really, did she? Besides, though I somehow knew that I didn't quite love Kikyou as much anymore, I still thought of her as a close friend, and the memory of her leaving like that still hurt. I still felt guilty for my choice. No, Kagome didn't need to know about it.

Kagome looked at me oddly. "If you're sure," she said after a few minutes. She shrugged her shoulders and followed the path that the others had taken. I stood up and followed as well, the wind whispering through the leaves of trees.