Disclaimer: If only I was creative enough to create them on my own… But I only play with ones that others have thought up. However Nekoyasha is mine.

"Spoken"

Thoughts

A/N: This is a really long chapter. (At least by my standards.) And it gets kinda weird. I hope y'all enjoy it.

Chapter 13: Deus Ex Machina

Everyone stopped what they were doing as power surged in the room. Female screams echoed through the air.

While everyone felt what was happening, Miroku was the only one to see it. There was a triangle that cut through the room. From Kikyo to Kagome there was an aura of white. The aura between Kagome and Nekoyasha was blue, and the aura the hanyou and the dead miko shared was red.

Naraku was the first one to recover. He leaped straight at Inuyasha. The dog hanyou broke from his trance to realize that he would not be able to get his sword up in time and there was nowhere for him to run. He braced himself for a killing blow.

But it never came. When Inuyasha opened his eyes Naraku was… floating. The dark haired hanyou seemed to be as confused as everyone else was. Slowly, he began to spin around. The spinning became faster. There was a maniac laugh.

The group looked toward the source of it. Standing there with her hand raised was Nekoyasha. But she was different. Of course she had burn marks on her wrists from where the miasma held her. However, there markings on her face consisting of two black lines both starting at her nose, one going up under her eye and the other slanting down toward her chin. It was mirrored on the other side of her face. (Think whiskers.) In the middle of her forehead was a simple golden star. Her eyes were red with no pupils.

She was grinning at the distress that Naraku was in. She continued to spin him. She was a cat toying with her prey. In her other hand she held a ball of miasma. She fiddled with it while Naraku was spinning.

"Interesting stuff, this miasma. It hurts others though. For no reason other than your own selfish gain," came a voice richer and deeper than Nekoyasha's own.

She flicked her hand and Naraku started flipping head over heels in the air.

"I don't think it could hurt you in this form. So, I'll have to toy with it." Her youki flared and the black purplish ball became infused with red. She looked ready to throw it at him when soft yet stern voice called out.

"Yasha, no!"

The group turned to look behind them. Inuyasha gaped at the woman. It was Kikyo. But like Nekoyasha her eyes glowed an unearthly color without pupils. Except that Kikyo's eyes were white.

"Put him down, now."

Nekoyasha whined. "Ah, Rei, you never let me have any fun!"

"That's because she trying to teach you restraint, Yasha," an even softer voice said.

Kagome with eyes glowing blue walked up to the group. 'Yasha' looked at her.

"Fine," the cat muttered. With that she flung Naraku against the wall where she and Kagome had been.

Kagome sighed. "And I would try to teach you mercy, Yasha."

"Mercy? Mercy!" She took hold of one of Kagome's hand and brought it up to the miko's face. "Do you call this mercy, Nigen?"

Kagome – Nigen – look away.

"That's what I thought," Yasha retorted. She turned her attention back to the dark haired hanyou. He was push back against the wall. She extended her claws and swiped across the air. Naraku let out a scream as four scratches appeared across his chest.

"Yasha!" both mikos cried. She looked back at them. Her tail swished back and forth.

Kikyo – Rei – cleared her throat. "I think we should introduce ourselves, sisters." She turned to the group.

"I am Rei, this is Nigen," she points to Kagome and then Nekoyasha. "And this is Yasha. We represent…"

Miroku interrupted her. "The entities of Sprit, Human, and Demon. But I thought that you were just a myth."

Nigen smiled at him. "No, we are not."

"I am very confused now," Inuyasha muttered.

Miroku started. "Well, it is somewhat complicated to explain…"

Sango interrupted. "When life came into being, it was decided that there should be those that control what happened with that life. Every living thing: plant, animal, human, and demon, was giving a spirit. But the essence of that spirit does not differ from one being to another. That is where the other two come in. Human and Demon. They counter each other such mortal and immortal."

The men were impressed that Sango knew this information. Miroku cleared his throat.

"While the essence of these three is genderless, they tend to take on Female forms, though I am not sure why."

Sango laughed at the houshi. "Because women are the givers of life."

Miroku blushed. "Of course." He bowed to the three.

Nakaru moaned behind them. Yasha flicked her wrist to make sure that he still couldn't move.

"So they counter each other. That makes one good and the other evil?" Inuyasha mused.

Yasha growled. "That is human thinking. There really isn't a good and evil. Humans made it up. Sorry, Nigen."

"I'm not sure I understand," Miroku said.

Yasha sighed. She began wandering through the group. "If a demon kills a human, then humans consider it evil. It doesn't matter if it was done for food or self defense. The truth is we are both good and evil. Some demons care for humans," she sent a look towards Sesshomaru, "or other living things. There are some humans who care nothing for living things. Rei gives the spirit, and Nigen and I take turns on who is going to watch over the life."

"And… hanyous?" Inuyasha questioned.

Yasha stopped at his side. She and Nigen looked at each other. They did a silent discussion on who was going to tell him.

Nigen sighed. "Just because we help create and watch over all creatures does not mean that we can control them. For years we kept humans and demons separate. But those living tend to surprise us." She bit her lip trying to figure out how to proceed. Inuyasha noticed that it was something that Kagome would do. But then again this was not his Kagome.

"When a human and demon first mated, we killed the child. But then we wondered about it. The next one we let live. It was out of curiosity and it mostly worked. He never mated so we never knew how mixed blood would work. We never know what is going to happen when a hanyou is born."

Yasha traced Inuyasha's ear. "There are those that have unearthly beauty and some that don't. And while most hanyous have demon strength, there are a few that are more human. But they – you – are a product of nature."

Inuyasha pointed to Naraku. "What about him?"

Yasha frowned. "He was never suppose to happen. My demons should have eaten him alive. I didn't realize that his soul was so corrupted." She shot a glance at Rei, who returned her stare.

Yasha looked down at the miasma in her hand. "This… this is poison." She turned towards Naraku and started stalking him. "You! You have to disrupt the balance of nature around you and in doing so destroy the circle of life that the gods try to create!"

She raised her hands and threw Naraku back against the wall. He moaned. Kagura flinched. Yasha raised her hand to throw the miasma at him.

"Yasha, no!" the other two yelled.

She spun and hissed at them. They just glared at her. She closed her hand and the miasma disintegrated.

Nigen stepped forward. "This is our fault. And we will remedy the situation."

"How?" Miroku questioned.

"By taking away his soul, of course," Rei replied.

Kagura gulped. She slowly edged away from the group. She was a part of Naraku and she didn't want to die. Not now. When she thought she was far enough away she started to run. She only got in three steps before her feet wouldn't move. She looked back to see Yasha shaking her head.

"I control all demons, including you, my dear. Besides I would think that you would like to see this happen."

Rei stepped over to Naraku's body. She lifted her hands.

"No, please," Naraku pleaded. He moaned as his soul was lifted from his body. The center of the ball of light was blue with a red aura surrounding it. His eyes were wide.

Rei held it between her hands and motioned to Nigen. The look-a-like came and took it.

The human girl that now was placing host to the essence of humanity looked at the group. "We can take the soul and contain it, but it is you who must destroy the body."

"Why must the body be destroyed?" Sango asked.

Nigen bit her lip again. "The two are still connected. If for some reason the soul escapes our grasp, it will go straight back to the body."

"So without a body, it would take longer for the soul to find a suitable host and in that time you would be able to contain it," Miroku concluded.

Nigen smiled. "Exactly."

Miroku continued. "So what are you going to do with the soul?"

Yasha's eyes lit up. "Play with it of course!" She went over to where Nigen was standing and exposed one claw. She dragged it down the soul. Naraku's body screamed. Kagura noticed with relief that she did not feel a thing.

Nigen pulled the soul away from her sister. In doing so, the claw raked across it even more, making the body thrash. Sesshomaru allowed a small smirk to pass his lips at the evil creature's displeasure. Yasha noticed that and slinked over to where the demon lord stood.

She rubbed her body up against him. He inhaled sharply. Yasha smiled up at him.

"That's what I thought," she purred. "I did well with you. Purrrfect." She stroked the back of her hand against his cheek. "You find this one very appealing," she whispered.

Sesshomaru took a step back from the demon. "No, I don't."

She chuckled. "You're just not willing to admit it. But, I'm sure that one day…" She stopped and walked away from him.

It took the dog demon a moment to regain his composure. He motioned toward the shell of Naraku. "How do we dispose of him?"

Inuyasha inhaled deeply. He wanted to do it himself. But he knew that Naraku had hurt others more so than he had the inuhanyou. He glanced at the girl holding the soul.

If not for him, I would never have found Kagome.

He closed his eyes. "I think the honor belongs to Miroku and Sango," he said quietly.

The two humans and his brother looked at him. "He has hurt them the most and has stolen the most from them." Inuyasha looked at his brother. "Our wounds are inconsequential compared to the tortures these two have endured by him."

Sesshomaru thought about it. He was impressed. In a way his brother was right. Naraku hadn't killed anyone that he cared about.

He nodded and took a step back. Miroku and Sango looked at each other.

"Might I see that lovely weapon of yours, my dear Sango," Miroku offered.

She slowly handed over the Hiraikotsu to the monk. Slowly he added various sutras to the entirety of the weapon. He closed his eyes and quickly muttered the prayer.

He handed it back to the woman. "There that should do it."

Sango nodded. She threw it at the creature that had made her life and the life of those she cared about a living hell for the last three years. The large bone boomerang flew true to its target and cleaved Naraku's body in half. The demons that split from the form were taken care by the holy powers of the monk.

After a moment all that was left of the creature was a few ashes.

Kagura stood shock still. There was nothing left now of her master. Instinctively her hands went to her chest. She could feel her heart beating. She had been freed from him. She smiled slightly, but it faded quickly as she remembered that the essence of demons was still there. She glanced back at her sister and the boy that Naraku used as his puppet.

Kohaku's eyes cleared. He looked around wildly, like he didn't know where he was. He looked at Sango. Pain filled his eyes and his breathing became faster as his memories came at him. Sango reached out for her brother, but he backed away.

Nigen went over to the boy. He took a step back from the girl. Holding the soul in one hand, she reached out and touched the boy's forehead with the other. Blue light trailed from her fingertips to his brow.

"Sleep," she whispered.

His eyes slowly closed. He began to fall but Sango rushed forward and caught him. Miroku joined her to help.

"Well, now that Naraku is dead," Inuyasha pointed to the hanyou's offspring, "what do we do with them?"

Yasha sighed. "I guess I get to take care of them."

"Not so fast, sister," Rei said. She walked over to Kanna and knelt before the white haired girl. Rei searched her eyes and then looked at the mirror.

Touching the mirror, the miko hosting an eternal entity softly spoke. "Release."

All the souls that the mirror contained were released to make their way home.

Rei stood up. "This girl has no soul, and therefore is not yours, Yasha. I will take her with us, and we'll see about that mirror of hers."

Yasha nodded. Rei looked up at the other sister. "Time for us to be going, Nigen."

The other miko form shook her head. "We can't leave them like this, Rei!"

Rei closed her eyes. "You're right." She turned to Inuyasha. "These two share a soul. We can not allow it to continue. One the girls must die. It is not up to us to decide. You are their friends and would know the best, so you get to choose."

Inuyasha gulped. How can I choose between them?

Miroku spoke up. "In case you haven't noticed, one of them is made of clay, while the other one is flesh and bone."

Rei's gaze never left Inuyasha. "The one that you choose will be made flesh and bone. Do not worry about the other one. There will be no blood on your hands, as the one to die will just be of clay.

Inuyasha's heart sped up. Kikyo could be alive again? But what about Kagome? All he could do was mutely nod his understanding.

Rei looked at the cat. "Yasha, clean up the rest. We'll see you soon." With that the two mikos closed their eyes. There was a faint shimmer around them with Kanna and Naraku's removed soul fading away.

"What did she mean by clean up?" Sango asked.

Yasha went over to the monk. "This." She lifted Miroku's right hand and removed the prayer beads from around it. Winds picked up in the room. She phased her hand into his and gently lifted the black hole from his palm. Miroku watched with wide eyes as his Air Void hovered above her hand. Slowly she closed her hand until it was condensed into something very small. She mumbled something and it vanished.

Miroku stared in awe at his hand for a moment. He turned to Sango.

"Sango…"

She put a finger to his lips. "We will talk about it later, Miroku-sama."

Yasha went over to Kagura. The wind mistress looked at her.

"You are free now. I have two choices of what to do with you. One: I can take you back with me to spirit world. But I think that you would feel trapped there as well. My other option is to let you stay here."

Kagura nodded her head. Yasha raised her finger.

"My condition is that you stay away from this group. If I hear of you bothering them in any way, you will have my wrath to deal with."

Kagura bit her lip. "I'll stay away from them. If I could have made my own choices, I wouldn't have bothered them anyway."

Yasha stared straight into her eyes. "Good." She snapped her fingers. "Now leave."

Kagura did not have to be told twice. She left the room quickly. The group stood there in shock. Yasha shrugged. She stood back from them.

"What have you not done yet?" Miroku queried when it looked like the entity wasn't leaving.

She sighed. "I have to wait until there is only one body to make sure that the soul is whole and complete. Neither Nigen or Rei could do that while inhabiting the bodies." She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow to Inuyasha.

The hanyou looked to his friends.

Sango shook her head. "We can't advise you, because we are partial to one of them."

Inuyasha's glance flitted to his brother.

"I have no say either way," was the reply.

Inuyasha turned back to the two mikos.

They look so much alike. How can I choose? If I choose Kagome, I am killing Kikyo all over again. However, Kagome won't have a chance to live out her life if I give Kikyo a second shot. They both love me, right?

Kagome wants you to be happy. Kikyo only wants to drag you to hell with her.

But if the soul is whole, will Kikyo still want that?

You never trusted Kikyo, and she never really trusted you. She was in love with the thought of loving you. She wanted you to change. To become human.

Kagome never asked that of you. She loves you.

Inuyasha blinked at his own internal dialogue. He closed his eyes as he came to a startling realization (at least mentally as his heart had already made its decision two years prior).

I love Kagome.

Inhaling deeply he faced the older of the two mikos.

"Be at peace, Kikyo," he whispered.

He plunged his hand straight through her chest. He half expected to feel soft skin, warm blood, her heart. Instead all he felt was the cold dirt that collapse around his hand as the body crumbled to the earth that it had been made of.

Inuyasha stared at it for a moment until a soft voice broke his reverie.

"Inuyasha?"

He turned to face the other girl. Kagome didn't look so well. She had a blue aura around her. She looked lost and confused.

"Inuyasha, I feel –"

She fainted. Inuyasha caught her before she hit the ground.

"Kagome?"

He repositioned the girl in his arms. He could hear her heart beating and felt the steady rise and fall of her breathing. She was still alive and had no injuries that he could see.

Yasha looked at the couple. She sauntered over to Sesshomaru. Her tail flicked against his legs. She stood on her tiptoes to rub her head against his chin. Her cheek brushed his as she whispered, "Just remember, there will come a day when you won't fight it."

Sesshomaru growled at her. She laughed airily as she took a step back.

Addressing the group, "Well, my work here is done. Sayonara!" She waved as she glowed red for a moment. When the light had faded, blue eyes gazed over the group coming to rest on Sesshomaru.

She inhaled sharply. "Oh, gods!" was all she could mutter before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed.

Nekoyasha never hit the ground. With lightening quick reflexes, the demon lord caught his cousin.

Lifting her up he said, "I think it best that we leave here."

The others mutely nodded.

xxxxx

A/N: Um … yeah. Review, please? Tell me what you thought of this chapter. I was kinda nervous about posting it because it takes such an odd direction.

The chapter title "Deus Ex Machina" is taken from Greek theatre. It refers to the end of most Greek plays when the gods come in and clean up the mess. I thought it was appropriate for this chapter.

Well, Narku's gone. But now we have three people in comas. And the jewel is not complete yet. So more story to come.

Arkynox: Can you read my mind or something? Either that or we were separated at birth. You seem to know how my story is going to run. Most of your guesses have been right. Go you!