Chapter 27 The Jewel is Finally Whole Again
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A/N: Hey everyone! How are you? I was happy to hear that you enjoyed that last chapter. I guess I was a little too self-conscious about it. I guess I need to believe in myself more or something. Okay, enough of that. On to the part I look forward to the most, my review replies.
Djl- I am thinking for this story everyone shall get on with their lives. If I do a sequel (there is a strong possibility that I will) of course their will be more evil to fight. I'm glad you liked my version of Naraku's death. I thought it would be a cool and interesting way for him to be destroyed.
Ebayrose- I tend to be a little harsh on myself. I was more referring to the way I wrote it than to the way Naraku was defeated. And yes I will put some marriage things in. Just for you. Although I was thinking about doing some things along those lines anyway.
MiniInu- Yeah, I know when I first started writing this story I wasn't very good and tended to miss things and rush it a long. But I went back and only found one time where Kagome said 'Sit'. Thanks for you help and I hope you continue to read my story.
Heavens lil cherry- Yeah, the great battle if finally over! YAY For the inu group! Sorry if I didn't update as quickly as you would have liked but my teachers have decided to be cruel and pile on the homework so I have been quite busy lately.
Taeniaea- I have updated but I bet not as soon as you would have liked.
ryoko at 13- Not a soon update but an update nonetheless. And your feeling about Naraku may be right…but if it is you won't find out in this story. It will be in a sequel if I chose to do one.
From downunder- I was a little confused by your review but I am glad you like my story.
Hanyou-Dj- Are you serious? I have read lots of stories with Inuyasha and Kagome as mates. Thanks for your review!
Kitten Muto-I'm glad you like my story. As for stories I have read with Kagome as a hanyou or demon the one that comes to mind right away is: For The One She Loves (This one is a really good one! It's one of my favorites!) Sorry right now I can't think of the other ones…
Midnight Melody- I'm glad you like my story. I hope you have caught up and are up to speed! Lol.
HaLfxDeMoNxKiTsUnEx- Thank you! And I know I need an ending. That would be too evil if I ended it like that….
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Kagome awoke to the late afternoon sun shinning in her eyes. Slowly she sat up and looked around. Her friends lay still asleep all around a fire that had been long dead hours and hours ago. 'We finally killed Naraku!' She thought excitedly as memories of the late night they spent partying came flooding back. She smiled as she saw Inuyasha still sleeping soundly beside her. Unconsciously she reached her hand up to her neck where the one small jewel shard in her possession lay. She began to panic as she realized something terrible. 'Oh no! How could I forget! I never gathered the ones Naraku had! I'm such a fool! What if they were sucked into Kanna's mirror when… ?' She didn't allow herself to finish the thought. Anxiously she searched around for Kanna.
Kagome's eyes found the ghost like girl not far from her. Surprisingly Kanna was awake as well. The girl stared back at Kagome and grinned. Without a word she motioned for Kagome to come towards her. Kagome nodded and quietly got to her feet and walked up to Kanna.
"Finally you noticed." Was all Kanna said. There was an air of smartness not well hidden in her voice.
"What?" Kagome whispered as she sat down. "You knew this whole time?"
"Yes. I did." Kanna said simply. "I was waiting for you to realize it yourself."
"Where are Naraku's jewel fragments?" Kagome demanded in a harsh whisper. If Kanna knew why didn't she tell Kagome sooner instead of waiting for her to realize it!
In response Kanna looked to her mirror which now lay beside her. It lay with its back leaning against a log. The lovely creation shimmered beautifully in the afternoon sun. To the untrained eye it looked exactly like a normal mirror. But to those who knew what it could do, it was a weapon. A deadly weapon.
"No. It can't be! You are lying!" Kagome couldn't believe what the girl was telling her. There was no way it was true! "How can we get them out! Is there even a way to get them out? How can I complete the jewel now?" Kagome said a little too loudly. Wincing Kagome glanced around her to see some of her friends stir, but none of them awoke. "Sorry. Can you retrieve the jewels for me? Is there any way you can do that?" She said more quietly.
Kanna nodded. "Yes. But I can only do it once. If I fail…." She trailed off. But she needn't finish the sentence. Kagome knew what she meant. If Kanna failed, Naraku would be released. "Do you still want me to try?"
Kagome sighed deeply. "Yes." She nodded. "There is no other option." If she left the shard inside the mirror Naraku could use it to recover his power and escape anyway. She could not let this happen knowing she may have been able to prevent if from happening.
Kanna unblinkingly turned towards her mirror. Slowly her hand reached forward. Kagome watched as the mirror's center began to swirl and blur. She took in a sharp intake of breath as Kanna stuck her hand into that part of the mirror. Kanna's face contorted in pain as she moved her hand around in side her mirror, searching. Kagome dared not say a word for fear of disrupting Kanna and ruining her concentration. It seemed like hours before Kanna's hand stopped moving and began coming back.
Once her hand was free she held her fist out towards Kagome. At first Kagome did nothing but stare back at Kanna. It was minutes before she had the courage to see if Kanna held in her hand the most important artifact ever created. She placed her hands over Kanna's cold one and slowly opened it. Her heart beat returned to its normal pace as she felt the familiar smoothness of the Shikon no Tama resting in her palm.
She brought her hand to her chest and opened it. To no surprise the jewel was not its normal pink but a dark black color. The feeling it gave off was making Kagome nauseous. The evil that emanated from it was almost unbearable. She knew was going to be slightly harder to purify than normal. Usually all she had to do was touch a jewel fragment to purify it. Simple as that, she didn't even have to think about it. But because this piece was so big and had been in the presence of evil for so long, it was going to take some energy. And she still was feeling weak from her battle with Naraku. You would think almost a whole day of sleep would revive her, but it didn't.
Kanna watched as Kagome concentrated on cleansing the jewel her master had tainted with his lust and want for great power. The jewel had been tainted for years with the merciless deaths of innocent humans, the destruction of villages, the killing of many demons for their power, Kanna could go on forever. She watched as Kagome closed her eyes in concentration. Slowly the blackness of the jewel began to recede and the jewel took on its rightful pink luster. It reflected the sun and caused Kanna to look away.
She continued to watch as Kagome sighed with relief. And for the first time ever in her life Kanna smiled, a small but happy smile. But her smile didn't last long. Kanna noticed how pale Kagome's face now seemed. Purifying that large and terribly tainted jewel had taken a lot out of her. And the fact that she still hadn't fully recovered from the battle with Naraku didn't help any. It only made things worse.
"Kagome, are you all right?" Kanna asked. The others were beginning to stir. They would be awake soon. "Why don't you rest before you make the jewel whole again? You don't look so good."
"No. I have to do it now. I won't be able to rest unless I do this now." Kagome lifted her small Shikon no Tama piece from her neck and placed in her palm with the other larger piece. She then closed her free hand over the other and closed her eyes in prayer.
An eerie silence enveloped the group. It was so sudden it startled them awake. No one dared to speak. Instead they watched Kagome. Not completely understanding what was going on, but knowing now was not the time to talk. Of course Inuyasha didn't seem to understand this. (When does he ever understand anything?) He never took his eyes off Kagome as he took a few small steps towards her. Her back was to him, her head bowed slightly.
"Kagome?" He whispered earnestly. He didn't like this feeling that was coming from her, not one bit.
"SHH!" Several voices said at once.
Inuyasha glared at them but sat back down and remained silent.
Suddenly Kagome gasped and fell back on her butt. "Kagome!" Inuyasha wasted no time in running to her side. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. Just a little dizzy." She still had one hand closed over the jewel. She was afraid to open it, afraid of what she might see.
"Open your hand." She heard someone say behind her. It was Kagura.
Kagome nodded and did just that. What she saw caused her heart to beat at a faster rate. The Shikon no Tama was indeed whole but it was also beating. It was as if it had a life of its own. And it was so warm. As warm as human flesh. Kagome couldn't take her eyes off of it.
The longer she stared the more she felt like she was being sucked in. The jewel continued to beat but Kagome became less aware of it and her surroundings. She watched as a scene began to take place on the surface of the jewel. The scene was of a dark haired woman. She had a sword and was fighting desperately with about 4 demons. Without warning she looked to Kagome. The woman's eyes seemed to call to her as if they were begging for Kagome's help. The strange woman was so beautiful. Kagome had never in her life seen such an enticing beauty. She so desperately wanted to help this woman, to free her. The pain Kagome saw in the woman's eyes looked as if it were ages deep. As if she had been going through such pain that had lasted forever.
"Kagome!" A voice called. It seemed so far off. Whose voice was it? Why was it so familiar? She couldn't think. The only thing she was registering was that she had to save this woman. "KAGOME!" The voice called again, more urgent this time. She knew that voice. She loved that voice. She wanted to go back to that voice.
(I thought about being really evil and ending this chapter here... So you better love me because I decided not to. Lol.)
"Inuyasha." She breathed. She shook her head and gazed into his golden orbs.
"What happened? It was as if you were in some sort of trance. You scared us for a second there."
Kagome looked around her. On the faces of her friends she saw worry and relief. Even Sesshomaru, for a brief second. "Sorry." Kagome looked back to the jewel. It was still beating but it looked more normal and she didn't feel like it was calling to her anymore. For not she was free. "It was the Jewel. I saw something."
"You saw what?" Sango asked.
"I can't really remember… I saw a woman. She was fighting some demons…. And then she looked at me, like she was calling me. Like she needed me. She was soooo beautiful. And I wanted to help her so bad…"
"Do you think it could be…?" Miroku started but didn't finish. He didn't have to. They all knew who he was refereeing to.
"It has to be. Who else could it be?" Kagome said. She hadn't thought of that before. It made so much sense now that she thought about it.
"What are you going to do?" Shippo asked.
"What else? Help her." Kagome said not missing a beat. "I can't leave her like that. But before I do anything I want to get back to Kaede. I need to talk to her." Kagome tried to stand but stumbled.
"Looks like I'll have to carry you." Inuyasha grinned.
"Looks like it." Kagome shook her head. He was so funny.
Inuyasha helped her to her feet and onto his back. Soon everyone else was on their feet and ready as well.
"You guys coming?" Kagome asked referring to Kanna, Kagura, and Sesshomaru.
"No. I need to get back to Rin and Jaken." Sesshomaru said coldly. He then turned and was gone.
"I think I'm going to go as well. Now that I'm free I'd like to do what I want." Kagura grinned.
"And I'll go with her." Kanna said. This was a new life for her. She knew it would be hard but her sister would always be there for her, this Kanna was sure of.
"Looks like this is where we separate. I'll miss you and hope to see you again someday." Kagome smiled warmly.
"Me too." Kagura nodded as she and Kanna hopped on her flying feather.
"Bye!" Everyone said at once.
And just like that Kagura and Kanna were gone.
"We are going to go to." Ayame said, holding Koga's hand.
"Yeah. My pack is probably wondering where I am." Koga agreed.
"Okay. "We'll see you soon?" Kagome asked.
"Yeah. Bye!" Ayame waved before she and Koga sped off in a whirl wind.
Shippo, Miroku, and Sango climbed on Kirira and followed Inuyasha as he ran to Kaede's village. Takashi, since he was so fast carried Tessa. Kagome rested her head on his back and sighed with contentment. It was just like old times. She never felt safer than when she was with Inuyasha. She knew with all her heart that he would do anything and everything he could to keep her safe.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hours later the village finally came into view. It was nightfall before they reached Kaede's hut. But when they did Kaede was there to greet them warmly. She already had a meal prepared and everything. She didn't ask them anything about Naraku or whether he had been defeated. Kagome got the feeling she already knew and was waiting for them to tell her in their own time.
After eating Kaede ordered them to get some rest and said they would talk in the morning. Everyone was glad to hear this and quickly settled in for the night. When sleep finally arrived Kagome only dreamed of that beautiful woman she had seen inside the jewel.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Yeah I know it's short. But I am aloud short chapters once in a while. You should be happy I didn't end it when I wanted to! Sorry for the late update! I hope you liked! I just realized that this story has quite a few more chapters than I had anticipated before it ends! Thank you and Please R and R!
Clouds of the Sky