Midoriko's hand moved in complicated patterns, so hypnotizing that the demons were still frozen. Her face tightened in the expression of effort, and she pulled an invisible rope, which knocked all the demons to their butts – Or the closest thing to that, in some cases. She yanked at the rope again and the demons were drawn closer to her. She looked up at InuYasha.

"Be silent." She said without emotion. It wasn't the cold, emotionless drawl similar to that of Sesshoumaru, it was more a lack of bother. It wasn't important to make herself sound angry, or sweet, or anything. She didn't bother. She lifted her hand high above her head. Ten humanoid eyes turned up to watch it, along with the eyes of the Oni. There was another green flash.

"Be gone." She said simply. The demons suddenly seemed to morph, changing from real to unreal and back again. Then part of them flowed out slowly, guided by the same green light, and into Midoriko.

There was a red flash, as if in protest. The souls rushed to Midoriko faster, until they were almost touching.

Then there was a calm, serene, yet cold voice. This voice said, "Stop." It was not a suggestion at all. It was the crystal clear voice of command. A voice that was used to having its orders followed. It was like the voice of Sesshoumaru. The demons paused for a moment, and because of that Midoriko lost her concentration. Her hands began to move again, this time faster in those same intricate blueprints of a spell. Green lines could be seen trailing after her hand. Suddenly InuYasha jumped into action. If all these demons were equal power to Midoriko, then one or two less would let her live.

"Sankontetsuo!" He said as fast as he could get it off. One demon scratched where it'd been hit. InuYasha's face sagged in confusion.

"Tetsusaiga!" He tried desperately. The blade did little against the demon, but this time it seemed to notice.

"You will pay for that, insolent whelp!" It said.

"Kaze No--!"

"Fujin!" Said Kagura, annoyed at being forgotten. The disrupted winds-car fizzled, then seemed to remember something. It whirled, and twirled, and whizzed around until it was near Kagura, who was trying futilely to snatch her feather and escape.

"Ryu no Mae!" She yelled with a wave of her fan. This only made the winds-car – And InuYasha suspected it was actually the forgotten Backlash wave now – bigger, and even more terrifying. The demon, however, had not paused. InuYasha's mind was on repeat now.

"Kaze No Kizu!" He yelled, unleashing the attack. Claw marks imprinted the ground, dragging little rocks and tree roots with it. Plus an evil squirrel(Well, all squirrels are evil...) Slowly the fissures reached the demon, who was not worth describing. And slowly, once the reached it, they climbed, tearing it apart, disemboweling it, and leaving it with it's head over a body of air. The demon had a vague memory of that happening once before, then died.

"Shikon!" Yelled Midoriko, silently naming off the four souls, and towing the demons into herself to dispose of them. There were disapproving red flashes, but the demons cleared.

After what seemed like an eternity the silence, and complete stillness was broken by the small, barely discernible movement of Midoriko's hand to her heart. She took a breath, and seemed shocked that she had to.

"Who was it that called me out?" She asked, her velvety black hair draping across her sweaty face. Sango stepped forward, trying desperately to ignore the urge that tugged at her, the desperate urge to run.

"I'm guilty of that crime." She said, her mouth suddenly going dry. Midoriko looked at her, with her glowing green eyes. They were striking eyes, and Sango wanted to dive into them and swim in their endless radiance, except she also wanted to run and hide. Midoriko seemed to look into another dimension. She was not looking at anything from here, Sango could tell by the way her eyes were focused.

"I am alive…" She said cautiously. "Why?"

"You never truly died…" Said Sango. "And when the demons were freed it was easy to free you as well…"

"Fine then." She said dismissively. She looked to InuYasha and cocked her head to the side. "What name do you go by?" She asked. InuYasha's mouth moved, and after a few false starts he managed to say his name.

"InuYasha." He choked. Midoriko's shoulders relaxed, and her body language suggested she was happy.

"InuYasha." She mused warmly. "Oh, my InuYasha, how you have grown." She said, taking a few steps closer. Sango's arms stiffened. She was unsure what to think, but she stayed silent. "You've become a man in these past years." Said Midoriko. She smiled, ever so slightly. "I did not think you would live for as many years as it has been." She sighed happily, and seemed to calculate something in her mind at the same time. "Somewhere around sixty years since I last saw you." She said. InuYasha looked almost wistful, but also he had a slight glare.

"Sixty-three-and-a-half." He retorted instantly, and snappishly. "And your name isn't Midoriko!" Midoriko's face snapped back into an emotionless stare.

"What's in a name? It can be said, written, forgotten. It is a label, and a handle. Nothing more. It is what people remember you by, and if you want to escape yourself then you do not want to be gripped." She said. "The word my mother used to bind me, or, my name, is Izayoi, but when I wanted to silently make the world a better place," She laughed. "Humph, silently, I say… I became Midoriko." She said. Her voice radiated a clear understanding that wafted into the senses and made you believe you understood as well, whether or not this was truly the case. "Come, we must away to kill this…" She paused, mouthing the word before using it. "'Naraku'." She said.

…

They had been walking for a while now, mostly silently. They had concluded that the voice that saved Midoriko was Sesshoumaru, though he was nowhere to be found, and they didn't know why he would. Other than that there was little to talk about. Eventually Sango managed to overcome her dry mouth.

"Midoriko-Sama," She said. "How do you know what's happened over these years?" Sango asked. Midoriko's chest rose in a slightly unfamiliar way, and she waited before answering.

"The demons and I were the jewel." She said simply. Sango's confusion must have shown on her face, because quickly she picked up and explained it more thoroughly. "Our eye was the jewel. We saw, felt, heard, existed through the jewel. We were one, and now I find that I am having trouble adjusting to not having them as part of me." She said quietly, but clear as a bell. "When we were shattered it was not that I was separated from the demons, it was more that the demons and I were split apart, together and apart, seeing through one eye into a thousand places." She gently touched her head. "But I will not speak of this memory." She said. "And you, the love of my son, should not refer to me as Midoriko-Sama. You may call Me Izayoi." She said. Sango blushed, and smiled.

"I-I don't know…" She said. Midoriko's – Or, Izayoi's – rich, green eyes turned on her.

"Sango, is it?" She asked. Sango nodded. "You are very close to being my daughter-in-law, you should not feel so nervous around me." She said warmly.

Ah, Sango thought. She doesn't want something similar to what happened to her to happen to me, or anyone else. I wonder how InuYasha's father died, anyway… She thought. And, almost as if reading her mind, Midoriko, er, Izayoi broke into a rant.

"I am willing to bet that I know what you're wondering." She said with a smirk. So, that's where InuYasha got his smirk. "My husband, InuYasha's father, is not something I wish to talk about right now. InuYasha knows part of the story, and perhaps he knows it all now." She said. Okay, so it wasn't a rant.

…

"There it is." Said Miroku. "Naraku's…" He felt uncomfortable saying it. "…Tree fort…" Kagome had made a quick detour in her time, but no one had dared follow her. When she'd come back they set back off. So now they were here. What the hell were they going to do? Kagome pulled something pick, and brightly colored out of her pack. It was a plastic, cartoon-ized dinosaur. Naraku's insects buzzed at her carelessly, and excitedly. They tried to snatch the toy, but were unsuccessful.

"You meanies!" Yelled Naraku. The entire group sweat-dropped. He popped out of thin air, clad in a diaper, and noting else. Izayoi threw her hand out, silently naming off the four souls. All they had to do was keep the baby-monster busy while Midoriko could do her thing. Naraku sent his golem's arm out to snatch the toy, but Miroku pulled out a little blue squeaking bus(you know, the annoying kind that kids press all the buttons of an constantly have things say 'this letter is 'A''). Naraku's eyes glowed.

"Wannit! Wannit!" Said Naraku, waving his arms in the beginning of a tantrum. He shot his other arm – the one not going for Kagome – out for Miroku's toy. InuYasha felt a little bizarre standing there, holding a toddler-walker, but he set it down next to the already tied up Naraku.

"Gah gah!" He squealed happily, climbing into the little chair. After a moment realization dawned on his pudgy little face. "Oh, sh--"

"Shikon!" And that was the end of the half demon known as 'Naraku'. The group stood there a while, shocked at how easy it was. The stared at Izayoi and she began to glow green and fade.

"Sango." She said. Sango walked towards her.

"Yes, Izayoi?" She asked. Izayoi smiled, touching Sango's forehead lightly.

"I give you what you should always have had, and one wish." She said. Sango knew what she wanted, but she also knew her duty. She wanted courage, but she wished for…

"I want the line of the jewel to end." She said. Midoriko nodded.

"It already has, since the demons and I were freed." She said. She leaned closer to Sango, whispering into her ear. "The womb that was destroyed by Naraku will be healed, and you will have your courage again. That is all I can do." She stood back up again, and spoke clearly.

"InuYasha, how I would love to stay, and watch you grow with your own family, and how I wish I could council you against the mistakes that your father and I made, but this world has forgotten me, and I must go. There is no room here for your mother." She said, then slowly faded, leaving everything around slightly greener. Sango smiled, tears running down her face.

"Good bye." She said.

Kikyo watched from the trees nearby, knowing she should follow suit, and leave. She did, with the knowledge that she'd said 'stop' to save them all, and so she could rest easy, knowing that she was no longer needed. She too faded.

End Chapter Twenty-Five

That's the end of Sango's choice, I'm really sorry about the crappy battle scenes, but I hate writing those, and I did the best I could. Love you all, and I hope you read my next story, 'The Binding Of Ranma Saotome'.