Inuyasha opened his eyes to see that the sun had gone down. His heart was startled when he felt the princess go limp in his arms. He let go and laid her down. He listened to her heart and any sign of life, but there was nothing. "Princess?" He shook her, "Princess Chihiro?" He shakily put a hand to her cheek. He whispered, "She's gone…"
Kagome came in, "Inuyasha." She slowly approached, "Is she…"
"Yeah," he picked her up and walked out of the cave.
"Inuyasha, where are you going?"
"Kagome, I need to go alone." She nodded. He carried her all the way back to the Sacred Tree and laid her down in front of it. He stroked her cheek shakily. He withdrew it, making a fist. "What the hell…" He was fighting with every inch of himself not to lose control, but to no avail. He held her in his arms as he shivered. "You idiot… you… I never… I didn't…" I finally got a grip, "I never got to say goodbye. You couldn't have waited a little longer to die!" He groaned, "No, I'm the idiot… I had my chance and I never took it. I care about you… so much, Chihiro and I never let on. Forgive me for leading you to your death. Please forgive me!"
He screamed so loud that the world would have heard him. He fought it off as long as he could, but it was no use. His throat tightened as water welded up in his eyes. "No… I can't…" He shut his eyes and a few tears fell on the ground. "I only wanted to protect you… you are… you're just too much like me." He found himself unable to say anything else; Inuyasha was lost for words as his emotions slowly spilled out one tear at a time.
He wiped his eyes and held the princess's bracelet tightly in his right hand. He slipped it into a pocket in his pants and slowly walked away. He turned around one last time. "I wish that you could be reincarnated so you can live your life and not have me keep you from reaching your full potential. I want you to live your life to its fullest. It is all I ask." From there, he sprinted back to the caves.
Back there, Kagome was talking with the others. "Do you think Inuyasha will be all right, Kagome?" Shippo asked.
"I'm sure he'll be, Shippo. He just needs some time… I think that whether he wants to admit it, he did love her. I have to respect that and he just wants to give her a proper burial." That's when Inuyasha hopped back to the rocks, his arms crossed.
"Inuyasha." Kagome approached him, "are you…"
"I'm fine, Kagome." He looked at her, his eyes full of confidence. "I will be. It's what she would have wanted and I need to respect that." He made a fist, "All the more reason to go after Naraku and Sesshomaru… I won't rest until I teach the both of them not to mess with me!" He shouted, "Say your prayers, you bastards!"
Kagome put a hand on his shoulder and he acknowledged it. "Kagome, let's go. We need to continue our journey, but first…" He reached into his pocket. "Hold onto this…"
"Her jewel shard…"
"Make sure that Naraku doesn't get it." She nodded. Everyone looked at him and he looked back.
Sango pointed, "Look, another star just appeared in the sky." Everyone saw it and Inuyasha looked on curiously. He repeated his wish to himself.
He turned to face everyone with a look of pure confidence. "It's time to leave the past and head onto the future."
