Sango's boomerang bone precisely sliced through pillars of Naraku's flesh. As the chunks fell, they began to glow and twitch, and it was not long before they had reattached themselves to Naraku's body. Horrified, Sango stepped back from the scene, making as if she might retreat. The other two watched with the same expression.

"He regenerates?" Miroku yelled, more stating than questioning Naraku's ability to do so. "That means no matter how many times we strike him he'll just grow everything back! It's hopeless!"

"It doesn't matter!" Inuyasha snarled at him, not moving his eye's from Naraku's disgusting body. "He still has to have a weakness! Nobody's invincible!" With that, he let his eyes drift to Kiki's limp body. Her swords were still glowing with spiritual power, specifically the one sticking out of her stomach. The reality of her death had yet to sink in fully, and that allowed Inuyasha to tear his eyes away from her. There was a much bigger problem at hand.

"Inuyasha, we have to plan… Inuyasha! What are you doing? Get back here!" Miroku cried, attempting to start some form of organized attack but failing miserably. Inuyasha was hard enough to deal with without the added strain of Kiki's death. With it, he would not listen to reason, and his rage would rule his attacks. The situation looked grim, especially when Sango's boomerang bone did not come back correctly.

Inuyasha had jumped into the air, claws ready to strike at Naraku's oncoming body. He did not bother to reply to Miroku's shouts, concentrating only on the task before him. Sango took his jump as a distraction to retrieve her weapon, which had come back a little too sharply and landed a bit to her right. She craftily dodged Naraku's meager attempts to stop her, yet still got caught on the right shoulder. The light wound barely fazed her, proving that her mind was set on getting to her weapon. Miroku smashed a sutra into the ground in front of him and a small barrier engulfed his body. Assuming a praying stance, he weakly fended off any attack Naraku sent at him.

Inuyasha bounced uselessly off Naraku's shield several times before he decided to look around him. The attacks had done nothing but kept Naraku from devouring Kiki's body. He silently damned his weakness, his hopes scarred by Naraku's invincibility and inevitable victory.

Inuyasha ignored Sango's move for her weapon and scoured the room for something that may help him. Again, his eyes were caught on Kiki's body and swords, specifically the one she had discarded. It lay outside of Naraku's barrier, and almost seemed to call for him.

Naraku watched carefully, but was not quick enough to block Inuyasha from grabbing the sword and then dodging away. It glowed brighter in his hands, and almost seemed to morph into his person. His aura engulfed it as if it had always been a part of him.

"Fool." He sneered, unmoved by Inuyasha's attempts to find a way past his shield. "I am untouchable. You cannot stop me." Inuyasha's gaze drifted back to Kiki, and he felt something break inside of him.

In his hands the sword began to morph and grow longer and wider. Fur began to sprout from the hilt, and the blade began to swirl with an angry red light. Inuyasha watched in awe as the sword began to glow, and then a wind began to encircle it. "What…?" he managed, just as the sword stopped transforming. He felt as if it had been made for him, made for this moment. Moreover, with this feeling came the sense that Kiki was still with him, guiding him forward. He had never felt more powerful or certain of victory in his entire life.

Kiki had been an amazing girl, the perfect union of human and demon. Her power was unbeatable, unstoppable, and unbelievable. It made sens that she had been created as a power source. The only thing she had to fear in the end was her own powers, and even as other foes had risen to meet her, she realized that she could not control them. In one completely unselfish move, she had cut herself down for the sake of her friends and the man she loved. Despite all of her power, she had still died. It was a fitting finish for such a noble woman.

"I don't believe it for a second…" Inuyasha said, staring at the ground. His voice was steady and flat, and the calmness in it chilled Miroku to the bone. "No one is invincible. Kiki proved that much." He ran forward in another attack, and then jumped into the air. "I don't believe it!"

As sword met shield Naraku's eyes went wide with the realization that his barrier was about to be shattered. It glimmered and then exploded as Inuyasha tore through it, and Naraku recoiled from the light. Inuyasha's face was set with unmoving determination as he landed and than jumped at Naraku, sword raised to strike. He dodged Naraku's stabbing legs and used them to launch himself at Naraku's head. With one, clean swipe he chopped it right off, and then stabbed his sword straight through Naraku's chest. The whole body before him pulsed and then began spewing a purple gas. Inuyasha's vision blurred and he fell to the ground, meekly covering his mouth with his kimono sleeve and then blacking out. As Miroku watched the scene unfold, he lowered his shield and raced for Sango, who had also turned to meet him. As the gas spread, both fell to the ground, mere inches from reaching each other.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

When Inuyasha finally woke up it took him a few moments to realize where he was. Then, as if a bomb of memories had gone off in his mind, he bolted upright and looked around. Kiki's body was lying, unscathed, only seven or eight feet from him. Far to his right, Miroku and Sango had collapsed in a way that looked as if they had been running towards each other, hands almost touching, as they lay unconscious on the ground. Inuyasha realized he was holding something and looked at his right hand, still clutched around Kiki's sword. It was transformed back to its original form and had lost its glow, yet Inuyasha still felt the need to hold onto it. In one, simple move he slipped it into his belt.

Kiki's body looked as peaceful as it had before Naraku had exploded. There was no doubt in Inuyasha's mind that he was finally dead, and that they could finally live in peace. His eyes welled up with tears as he examined her face, and then let his sight drift to her bloodstained stomach and the sword that protruded out of her. Kiki's appearance was back to normal, back to that tan, innocent face and the pure priestess clothes. Her worn brown leather belt was back on her hip, and her black hair was scattered majestically around her sleeping face.

"Kiki…" he croaked softly, and then crawled towards her. When he reached her body he had to hold back a cough of surprise; the jewel of four souls was laying snuggly in the nook of her neck. It was completely purified and glistened at him innocently as he stared. "The shikon no tama…"

He sat as comfortably as he could next to her body and then turned to the sword. With a gentle grab for the hilt and a demanding tug, it immediately came out of her, without a sound. Quickly paling, Inuyasha place the sword next to her unmoving body and then put his face in his hands.

Some minutes later, Sango awoke to the sound of suppressed sobs. Her eyes opened heavily and she found herself face down in the dirt, and aching all over. With a warning groan to Inuyasha that she was awake, she heaved her body off the ground and sat on her feet. As her head started spinning and her stomach tried to settle, she looked at Miroku, sprawled in front of her. His hand was reaching toward her, and the position made Sango blush ferociously. A sharp pain in her right shoulder brought her quickly back to reality and she touched it gently to check if it was still bleeding. The wound was small, and was starting to scab over.

"Where's Naraku?" Sango quietly asked Inuyasha, politely keeping her back turned to him. He had been struggling to stop crying as soon as she had sat up, yet it still took him a moment to reply.

"Dead, and good riddance." He spat, voice tainted with pain and bitterness. "I refuse to touch the jewel as I am, though"

Sango's eyes widened but she asked no more questions and nodded in understanding. As her eyes drifted to the ceiling, she started to realize how bright it was. With the torches, the light had been dismal at best. Now the entire room was lit up. As she tilted her head back a little, she sighted the cause: a huge hole in the ceiling, letting sunlight pour down into the room. Dimly, she wondered if any demons would be coming, attracted by Miroku's injuries and the scent of Kiki's death. With that thought, Sango began to weep as soundlessly as she could manage.

Miroku's consciousness slowly began to come back to him, and he listened intently to Sango's muffled cries. Before allowing himself to wake up, Miroku sensed for demonic presences and then moved his arm back towards him. His whole body was cramped and aching, and he groaned as he tried to sit up. The last thing he remembered was trying to run towards Sango as a gas consumed her, and then smashing a sutra down to protect them. He peered around him for the sutra but it was gone, and he shivered at the thought of what might have happened to it.

As he sat up he found that Inuyasha was sitting by Kiki's body with a grim, hardened look on his face. The sword that had killed her was now laying innocently beside her. "And Naraku?" he quietly asked Inuyasha, turning his head to stare at the wall.

"Dead." Inuyasha flatly stated, his voice almost as icy as his face. "But at what cost?"

Miroku sadly mused this over, but couldn't help feeling some joy that his revenge was now completed. With a half-relieved sigh he frowned and replied. "A cost I had not settled on, and was not willing to pay." He thought once more of what they had come for. "And the jewel?"

"Pure." Inuyasha hissed, hunching his shoulders and fighting back tears again. "Pure, like nothing had ever happened to it."

Sango, touched Miroku gently on the shoulder and motioned towards his hand. The realization of what she was telling him hit him like a ton of bricks. My wind tunnel. He quickly, with hands shaking, pointed his hand at an empty area and then ripped the beads off. Slowly, almost fearfully, he opened it and waited for the storm. It did not come.

"So it is finally over." He whispered, his voice seeped in relief. "He is finally dead." Miroku nodded at the thought and began to stand, wincing at the pain in his shoulder. He wished Kiki were alive to treat his wounds. He gradually made his way to Inuyasha and her body, and sat down on her other side, facing him. Sango followed soon after, sitting on Miroku's good side and barely leaning on his shoulder.

All three warriors wrapped themselves in their own thoughts for a while.

He was finally dead.