Author's Note: Well I'm glad I had a lot of feedback on Ukitake, but there is something that puzzles me. Last time I checked, I never mentioned anything about her dying. Anyways enjoy chapter 27 and please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to or affiliated with Inuyasha, however this particular story is M-I-N-E! :)

Full Moon Rising Part 3

Shippo couldn't believe his grandmother lay limp in his lap. His whole body began to shake, denying the truth that lay before his eyes.

"No…NO! DON'T DIE GRANDOMOTHER—"

"SHUT UP! I'm not dying you fool! Ugh! You're hurting my ears!" Ukitake's eyes opened abruptly as annoyance clouded her face.

"W-what?" Shippo stammered in shock.

Ukitake let out a frustrated sigh before patiently explaining, "I'm completely fine Shippo, but it will take a while for me to recover. I was able to block most of the blow with my youki, so I am not in mortal danger."

"But…but you…"

"Stop dillydallying and go save Kagome! She needs you more than I do right now."

"But Sesshomaru—"

"As of now, that boy is completely useless. Unless a miracle occurs, neither of them will come back alive."

xxx

Sesshomaru was still panting roughly from his wounds against Inuyasha, but the proud hanyou refused to cower before Naraku, even if he was a weak human. A dark chuckle came from the youkai's lips as he stood glaring down at Sesshomaru's hunched form with a wicked smirk plastering his face.

"What a pitiful state you are in, Sesshomaru. I had thought to end this quickly, but then my fun would end too soon."

"What do you want, Naraku?" Sesshomaru growled.

"Quick and to the point as always." Naraku turned and stood before the window, gazing out at the carnage of the battle outside. "Hmm, what a beautiful sight. The sheer hatred and destruction that radiates from a soul is unlike anything in this world. Love is only an illusion; a tool to control emotions. It either brings joy or sorrow, swaying your control and your will. I've found that relinquishing that useless tool and embracing the human nature of destruction gives one a more fulfilling lifestyle." Turning back to the wounded hanyou, Naraku knelt down until the two were face to face as an evil smile spread across his lips. "And my favorite thing to destroy is that pathetic tool when it belongs to someone else." A glimmer lit his dark red eyes, and the evil hanyou lifted his hand as he continued, "And I have your little tool in the palm of my hand, Sesshomaru."

Suddenly, the wounded hanyou launched himself at Naraku, wrapping his hands around the youkai's throat as a vicious snarl erupted from his body. "I WILL NEVER LET YOU HARM HER AGAIN!"

Naraku only laughed at Sesshomaru's threats, his smile growing wider. "You are a fool, Sesshomaru. You wish to protect that woman? Ha! That half-blood of yours will be the end of you both!" The evil hanyou furiously kicked Sesshomaru away, sending him flying into a wall.

Sesshomaru doubled over as he coughed up his life's blood into his hand. The point of a sword suddenly filled his line of vision, and the hanyou looked up to see Naraku leveling the weapon at his throat.

"How I would love for you to endure the suffering I have for the past fifty years, but I'm afraid you're too dangerous to leave alive. Die knowing your lover is mine!"

The sword swooped down as Kagome's smiling face appeared in Sesshomaru's mind. His hand quickly came up and caught the blade as it cut deep into his palm. Naraku's surprised face soon turned to anger as he yanked the sword back.

"I won't die…" Sesshomaru slowly rose to his feet, blood flowing from his palm as he brought it in front of his face and clenched it in a semblance of determination. "I live to protect her smile. I won't die that easily, Naraku."

Sesshomaru's eyes caught a glimpse of his sword in the corner of the room behind him. Thinking quickly, he dashed towards his weapon, wrapped his bloodied palm around its hilt, and brought it up just in time to block Naraku's second attack.

The two parried, each exchanging fierce blows, but the outcome of the battle was inevitable. Sesshomaru was at his weakest, and the injuries he had sustained only made his situation worse. His hand was already beginning to grow numb from the pain and the pressure, and Sesshomaru feared he would soon lose his grip on the sword.

Sensing Sesshomaru's downfall, Naraku launched a mighty strike that sent Tokijin hurtling to the ground once more.

"This is the end Sesshomaru!" Naraku fiercely cried, thrusting the blade towards the heart of the hanyou. Steel pierced flesh as an agonized scream erupted through the room.

Sesshomaru felt no pain, and the scream he had heard was not his own. His eyes slowly opened, and in an instant, Sesshomaru's world turned to darkness. He reached his hand forward, not trusting his eyes; hoping and praying that what lay before him was an illusion. But the nightmare was all too real.

Kagome stood before him, facing Naraku as the tip of his blade cut deeper and deeper into her heart. With a mighty jerk, Naraku pulled the sword out of the young woman's body. Kagome fell to the ground, blood pouring from her chest. Her breathing grew fainter and fainter, and her eyes began to turn glassy.

Sesshomaru crawled towards her and cradled her fragile body in his arms. His eyes sought hers, and she gave him a faint smile.

"Se..sho..." she barely breathed as blood began to pool in her mouth.

"Why…why did you come here?!"

"Can't…die…I…pro…te…ct…"

"No…my life is meaningless without you! I won't let you die!"

Kagome's weak hand shakily moved forward to cup his cheek. "Lo…ve…you…" Her hand fell to the ground as her breathing stilled and her heart fainted away to nothing. The woman that lay in his arms was dead. He had lost her again. A single tear trailed its way down Sesshomaru's cheek and landed on the pale face of his lover.

Without warning, Sesshomaru's deepest emotions erupted in a cacophony of pure rage. Throwing his head back, he roared long and loud, causing the ground to tremble as his body began to grow and change.

"KAAAGGGOOOOMMMMMEEEE!"

His eyes glowed blood red, his hair returned to its original pure color, his markings resurfaced, his fangs and claws appeared, but his transformation didn't stop there. Sesshomaru felt his body become larger as fur began to grow from head to toe.

Naraku glanced around him fearfully as smoke began to pool around the body of the angered hanyou. "Impossible! The moon is still out! You're only a hanyou!"

As the smoke cleared, a giant white Inu stood glaring down at Naraku, fangs barred for the kill. Its eyes glowed crimson, and on its forehead rested the mark of the moon. The giant Inu launched itself at Naraku, jaws clamping the space where the evil hanyou had stood mere seconds ago.

Naraku soon asserted that he was outmatched by Sesshomaru's current form, so he quickly vaulted out the window to make his escape, but the Inu was close on his heels.

Another roar erupted from Sesshomaru's throat just as Naraku launched himself far off into the sky.

xxx

Miroku and Sango instantly came to attention when they heard it. No one but Sesshomaru could roar that loudly, but what worried them were the consequences to follow.

"What's goin on?!" Koga frantically jumped off Kirara's back and dashed into Sango's arms

"What indeed. The full moon is still shinning, so how was Sesshomaru able to…" Sango looked quizzically at Miroku.

"It's a reverse-transformation," the smart man said thoughtfully.

"Explain, taijya." Sango grunted impatiently.

"Well, I've only heard about it in theory, but a hanyou is both human and youkai, so it is possible for a hanyou to inherit the true form of its youkai parent, as well. It is said that on the night of each month when the hanyou transforms into a human, it is more susceptible to transforming into its youkai form if intense emotions overcome it."

"What you say is true my wise friend, and Sesshomaru has undergone that very theory tonight." Ukitake said calmly as she floated down in Shippo's arms.

"Ukitake-sama?! What happened to you?!" Sango dashed towards the Kitsune elder, whose side had already been bandaged.

"Thunder spears are nasty things don't you agree? But more importantly, Sesshomaru must be stopped immediately. His body is not used to undergoing the transformation of his Inu form, and if this continues any longer, he will either die from the physical stress, or remain in that form for the rest of his life."

"But what coulda happened to that baka?!" Koga whined.

"Something tells me the answer lies with the young priestess."

"Kagome?! No…she couldn't—" Tears began to roll down Sango's cheeks, and Ukitake could only shake her head sadly.

"I'm afraid that is the most logical explanation. I believe it would be best if you retrieved her body," she said softly. "Shippo, rally all the Kitsune warriors that are not too injured. You will have to hold Sesshomaru down while I transform him back. I will need your assistance taijya as well as the fire Neko. I wish I could explain everything, but time is of the essence and the longer we tarry here, the closer we are to loosing Sesshomaru!"

xxx

(Back in Kagome's World Part 3! Yes, yes I did just do that.)

Finally! I've found you witch!

Sesshomaru was barely a blur as he raced through the trees at top speed, his senses focused on the nearby wind sorceress whom he was desperate to confront.

A few days had passed since he had first seen the mirror work its magic, and the visions were only getting worse. One moment he found his alter-ego kissing her, the next she lay dead in his arms. And for some strange reason, that agitated him beyond his comprehension.

As he burst through the forest, he caught a glimpse of Kagura riding her giant feather as her hair and clothes flapped lazily in the wind. He immediately took to the sky and quickly caught up to her. His sudden appearance must have surprised her, for she instantly brought out her fan in self-defense. When she realized it was Sesshomaru, the tension in her features relaxed, and she slowly brought her fan up to cover her calculating smirk.

"Well, if it isn't Sesshomaru-sama. What do I owe the honor of such an important youkai's visit?"

"Kagura, tell me what you know of this mirror," he said icily as he proceeded to take the mirror out of his haori.

"Oh? Did you see something interesting, perhaps?" she said with a sly look.

His steely glare was answer enough as she silently nodded and spoke. "What you have there is an object that can connect two different worlds. From what Naraku has told me, if one is unsatisfied with their current life here, they can trade places with their alternate in that world, but activating it is tricky. One must be in a powerful place that is surrounded with spiritual energy."

"You are telling me that this hanyou is me?" he seethed.

"Oh, so that is your alternate? What an ironic twist of fate. For some reason the mirror wouldn't reveal mine."

"Why did you give this to me?"

"…I'm sure you know the girl that follows Inuyasha. She's a bit of an annoyance, but not much of a threat in my opinion. Naraku decided to take revenge on Inuyasha by disposing of that girl in a place he will never find; in other words, the mirror. By forcing her to enter that world, her connection to this one has been completely severed, and now she is a permanent resident in that one, unless she finds some other way to get back home."

"You did not answer my question, Kagura."

"Hmm, well I was originally supposed to destroy it, but if that girl remains stuck there, then Inuyasha will have a hard time destroying Naraku, and the chances of my freedom will all but disappear. So to keep Naraku from destroying it, I gave it to you."

"…The woman is dead Kagura."

"What?! Check the mirror again! You must be mistaken!"

Sesshomaru took the mirror out of his haori and studied it carefully as the surface shifted to reveal Sesshomaru's true form surrounded by Kitsune. For a moment, the taiyoukai was taken aback at this revelation.

Impossible. A hanyou could never achieve the true form of a youkai. Even I wouldn't be able to escape that fate…unless…

Sesshomaru glanced at the moon in the sky and narrowed his eyes. From what he remembered, Inuyasha became human the night of the new moon, and yet his alternate was transformed into his true form during the full moon. Was there some connection between the two?

"What do you see Sesshomaru?"

He cast a quick glance at the wind sorceress before returning his attention back to the mirror. "I see a nine-tails elder confronting my alternate."

Sesshomaru continued to watch as the Kitsune attempted to calm the great Inu youkai that stood before her. From what he could see, the elder was accompanied by the monk and the fire Neko that traveled with his half-brother. The Inu snapped at her, but a strong barrier protected the Kitsune and her companions. The monk kept a firm hold on the woman, supporting her as the fire Neko flew out of the range of his alternate's jaws. The old fox then proceeded to take out a small, round object, which instantly made Sesshomaru do a double-take. Upon closer inspection the object the Kitsune was holding was indeed his mother's necklace; the very one that was given to her by his father.

The Kitsune appeared to shout something at the Inu before the necklace began to glow a deep blue. The glow then began to surround his alternate's body, twisting and turning as his form began to shift until it returned to its original state.

The group returned to the hanyou's side just as the taijya came running towards them carrying the body of the dead young girl. Something twisted inside of him upon seeing the corpse, but he remained focused as his alternate took the girl into his arms, cradling her close.

"Well Sesshomaru? What about the girl?" Kagura suddenly spoke again.

"She is dead, but the Kitsune seems to be doing something with her body."

"Could you explain a bit better."

"…I see a portal to the underworld opening and my alternate—" Sesshomaru froze, his eyes transfixed on the scene in front of him. Kagura noticed Sesshomaru's sudden start and immediately began to scan the area for danger. A soft whisper came from Sesshomaru's lips as the vision in front of him began to fade away. "Impossible…"

Author's Note: By now I'm sure you're all extremely pissed at me, but before you come breaking down my door with your axes and pitchforks, you should know that I'm not home right now :P I'm hiding from someone a LOT scarier than you guys and I'm sure you know who I'm talking about, so if you want to find me tough luck. If you've got questions don't hesitate to message me, but whether I'll answer them or not depends on if I'm still alive!