Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not mine; they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. The following story is for entertainment and not profit.

Chapter 14: Changing the Past

"You're letting it get away!" Kagome looked up to see what had Inu Yasha so excited. The Saimyoushou that had removed the jewel shard from Kohaku had escaped the wind tunnel and was making for the northern horizon. "Shoot it already!" he shouted before taking off after it.

Kagome quickly sprung to her feet, bow in hand and arrow notched, "Please hit the mark." She whispered as she released the bow string. Inu Yasha ran faster, he had to get under the target if he was going to catch the shard when it fell. The miko's aim was true. As the demon wasp disintegrated Inu Yasha prepared to leap up and retrieve the gem. As he coiled his legs to jump, he found himself having to dodge Kagura's 'Dance of Blades.'

The wind witch, accompanied by more of Naraku's insects, swooped and snatched the shard while the hanyou was distracted. "Enjoy the time you have left, Inu Yasha, before Naraku comes for you and your little girlfriend too." Shifting the wind that carried her, Kagura turned back the way she had come and was gone.

Ready to take off after her and the shard she had come for Inu Yasha took a moment to look back and check that the others were out of immediate danger. At once he could see that something was wrong. Why were they all huddled around Miroku? Slowly his mind fit the pieces of what he was seeing and smelling together. Sango's shoulders were shaking and Kagome's features were darkened. What had he missed? Something definitely wasn't right. He found his feet picking up the pace as he got closer.

"Inu Yasha," Kagome's voice wavered as she fought the rising sobs, "Miroku's -"

"NO!" Sango cut her off, "I won't believe it! WAKE UP!" Her voice cracked as she slapped the monk once again, her entire body beginning to shake with suppressed emotions.

Kagome reached forward to comfort the distraught woman. "Sango…"

"Don't touch me!" She no longer had the control to moderate her emotions and the gentle tone of Kagome's voice gave her a new target to lash out at.

Kagome found herself thrown back by the force of the grieving woman's blow. Inu Yasha was at her side instantly, unsure if he should step in. Helping Kagome to her feet he let her see the confusion in his eyes. Still feeling the sting of her friend's hand, Kagome choked down the fresh tears that threatened to take her. "Miroku's dead." She was careful to keep her voice low so that only the hanyou beside her would hear the truth the other woman didn't want to admit.

Inu Yasha's eyes grew wide as he turned in what felt like slow motion. Stepping closer to the monk's body he looked down into the face of his fallen companion and knew what Kagome said was true. Miroku was dead.

Much had happened in the last three days. She had relived and recounted most of her family's darker secrets, but she knew that it had been worth the pain for her honesty had gained her a powerful ally. Up until her abduction into the feudal era, Naosu hadn't know much about the great inu youki Sesshomaru, except for what her great grandfather had known and the few stories that her great grandmother had shared. It had been watching his death over and over that had first inspired in her the desire to change the past; a childish wish that she had never dreamed would have a chance at coming true.

"We should be close enough for you to see them now." Sesshomaru said pointing to the dark figures on the horizon that were quickly growing bigger and more detailed. She looked up from her place astride Ah-Un and felt a wave of fear wash over her.

Noticing the change in her scent, Sesshomaru felt the need to reaffirm their freshly forged alliance, "You need not fear my half-brother. I will not allow him to harm you."

"You could do no less," Naosu heard the smile struggling in her voice, "but it is not that." Her eyes locked onto the small group they were approaching, "I fear that we are too late."

Inu Yasha stood silently replaying the events that had transpired searching for anything that he could have done differently to change what had happened, to stop the love-struck monk from making such a costly sacrifice. Kagome sat with tears streaking her cheeks hugging and rocking the sniffling kitsune. Sango laid across the unmoving chest of the man she had obviously cared for more than she let on, her voice barely a whisper as she pleaded for Kami to return him to her. Kirara was keeping a respectful distance from the mourning woman, waiting for her to be ready to accept the comfort of others.

It first came to Inu Yasha on a quick shift of the breeze causing him to dismiss it as nothing more than a stray thought, but still he felt his senses go on alert. Looking up into the fading light he noticed a familiar shape approaching. He hadn't imaged it. Sesshomaru was head right for them and he wasn't alone. A low growl rose in Inu Yasha's throat, drawing Kagome's attention. She looked up to see a new shadow stretching across the field towards them and immediately recognized the distinctive two-headed dragon youki.

Ready to finish the fight he had started earlier, Inu Yasha had Tetsusaiga unsheathed and ready before Naosu had a change to dismount. Kagome felt a small surge of joy when she noticed the woman slipping off the dragon, but it was to be short-lived. She felt the wave of energy that signaled Tetsusaiga's transformation and caught the subtle shifting of Lord Sesshomaru's hand towards the hilt of his own sword, Toukijin. 'I will not allow anymore fighting tonight,' she thought resolutely, the soft sobs of Sango still fresh in her ears.

"Sit boy." Her voice was level and emotionless knowing that she was breaking a promise that she had once made to herself never to use the subjugation spell in front of Inu Yasha's older brother, but she was doing it for his own good. Struggling to lift himself from the ground, Inu Yasha opened his mouth to yell at Kagome only to find his chest being pushed back down into the grass. Sesshomaru dug his heel in just a little harder than was needed, "Stay." With the hanyou subdued and out of the way, Naosu ran to check on the unmoving monk. She needed to be sure and she hoped with everything she was that she was wrong. 'Please let him be alive,' she pleaded as she fell to her knees beside Sango. 'Please let him live.'

Taking a quick appraisal of the demon that held her friend pinned to the ground with a single boot, Kagome satisfied herself that there was no real harm to the hanyou and turned her attention towards the pulsing energy that seemed to reach out to her from the returned Naosu. As her eyes fell on the other woman she noticed that Naosu had been able to remove Sango from her place atop the deceased monk. She also noticed strong, steady pulsing of the Shikon shard within Naosu. The light from the jewel shard began to move down Naosu's arms and into her hands as she placed them on Miroku's chest. The pulsing energy of the shard grew more rapid as it moved, the light it gave off becoming brighter and brighter until Kagome felt the urge to look away from the intensity. Curious to see what was about to happen though, she fought the urge, squinting past the overwhelming light. The glow that had been accumulating in Naosu's hands suddenly flowed out to flood the body of the monk, seeping into his limbs and torso before it slowly began to fade.

With a final flash the sun finally sunk beneath the horizon and Kagome find herself blinking to force her eyes to adjust to the to the lost of both sources of light so quickly. As the evening come back into focus, Kagome fought to believe what she saw. Miroku was breathing. He was alive.

Unable to see the brilliant light of the Shikon no Tama, Sango had instead found herself staring in confusion at the slack, trace-like look on the face of the woman that had removed her from Miroku's body. Her well honed demon hunting senses screamed at her that the person before her was not completely human, and she fought to keep her hands by her sides as she watched Naosu placed her hands on the chest of her fallen companion. Her first hint that something more than what she could see had happened was the sharp intake of air as Miroku's chest resumed its rise and fall that had ceased only moments before. Fresh tears sprang to Sango's eyes as she slipped forward to touch the man she had thought she had lost. Feeling the need to thank Naosu for whatever it was that she had done, Sango suffered a momentary wave of concern when she noticed that crumpled form of the other woman lying in the grass before being reassured by her peaceful expression and steady breathing.

Turning her attention back to the resurrected monk, she gently called his name to encourage him to wake, "Mirok-" Her voice cut short as an unscrupulous and unseen hand raise to caress her backside in a familiar gesture. "HENTAI!" Her scream rang out, as did the loud smack that accompanied it, startling the others in the field. Kagome and Shippo ran to the monk's side as Sesshomaru removed his boot from its place at the top of Inu Yasha's spine and took a step back. Taking the time to cast a quick glare at his half-brother, Inu Yasha jumped to his feet and moved quickly to join the others.