Kagome continued to walk through the forest; she couldn't remember how she had gotten there but was quite happy that she was. The night had always been a favorite time for her to take a walk. The way that the moon would reflect off of everything always made a place so familiar completely new. The sounds and smells were always so relaxing. But as she walked she couldn't help but feel like she was being watched, that the forest around her was getting thicker and closer. Was there something that she should be doing? Had she told people that she would be back soon? Or was she just imagining things. But something in the back of her head told her that she was forgetting something or someone very important to her.
A wind suddenly picked up around her, she could have sworn she heard it carry a voice. 'Kagome' a shiver ran down her spine as she quickened her pace. But the more forward she went the more the light of the moon began to fade. The stars were beginning to lose their shine. The feeling of being trapped began to consume her. She started to run faster and faster, tears were beginning to spill from her eyes as the wind continued to play around her carrying these voices that seemed to haunt her. Each voice seemed so familiar yet she new none. "Leave me alone!! I don't know who your talking about!" she cried as she tripped and fell over a root of a very old and tall tree. She looked up, tears coming down her face; she blinked them away and took a good look at the tree. "I've been here before…" she said to herself, "But where…when…"
"Of course you've been here before," replied a man that looked about her age with silver hair. She starred at him and yet couldn't put a name to the face, and with the adorable puppy ears on top of his head she would have remembered him.
"Do I know you?" she asked timidly, but just looking at this man made her feel safe. She couldn't explain it but she could feel it.
"You really don't remember me do you?" the man asked with a solemn face. His amber eyes looked defeated. "We met here," he said pointing to the tree behind him with his thumb, yet always keeping his eyes on her.
"I…" she started to say but was interrupted by another male voice that came from behind the tree.
"Hey Mutt, if she doesn't remember you, how do you think that she will remember an old tree?" replied a man with dark raven locks held in a pony tail, he came around the tree with a smirk. He leaned his arm against the large tree, and looked at her with intense sky blue eyes. "I bet she even forgot me."
The woman starred at the two men in front of her. She could feel that she knew these two but she couldn't remember. Their eyes held something, something that cried out to her and yet she just couldn't reach it.
"…How could you forget us….me…yourself" said the man in red. "I promised to protect you, let me protect you."
"How do you know who I am if I don't even know who I am," cried the woman. Even with these people with her she was feeling more and more alone.
"Because I love you, and you always know the person you love," said the man in wolf fur, "That is something you never forget."
The woman stared at both men in shock, they loved her? Suddenly the little light that was left started to fade, as did the men in front of her. She started running towards them as fast as she could. "Don't leave me! Please! I don't want to be alone!" she cried as the tears started to flow once again.
"Please don't leave me" both men whispered in unison as a single tear fell from both of their eyes.
"You're the ones leaving me how am I leaving you! Come back!" They continued to fade in front of her. If only she could remember their names maybe they would come back to her. But what were girl think… she watched as their tears hit the ground….she remembered!
"INUYASHA! KOUGA!" As she yelled these names an immense pain hit her like lightning. She held her neck and screamed in agony as a bright light engulfed her body from every direction. Her eyes shot open as the memories came back to her, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara… and her name…her name was Kagome.
Shippo watched as the two tears fell towards Kagome's body, he expected them to go right through her like everything else. But, they stopped on her. His tear filled eyes grew wider, as he watched Kagome begin to glow. "InuYasha, Kouga, look."
InuYasha couldn't dare look to see someone he cared so deeply about leave him. He shut his eyes tight and clenched his fists; he heard the crack of Kouga's knuckles doing the same
"Kagome is glowing! Your tears touched her, they actually touched her," the excited kit said while running towards the two demons and stopped beside InuYasha. The two older demons eyes shot open at that moment to see the woman they had fought so hard for glowing in front of them.
"What's going on?" asked Kouga confused.
"She's fighting it," replied Koudo with a smile. As the other elements behind her watched with amazement, in all their years they had never seen anything like this.
Sango turned around praying that her best friend would be alright, she held onto a speechless Miroku and watched as light poured out of Kagome. She continued to become brighter to the point that everyone had to look away. Once the light had gone their eyes returned to Kagome. She wasn't transparent any more, but she wasn't moving either. The room was silent, waiting and hoping to see any amount of movement coming from the girl.
"Ka…Kagome?" squeaked Shippo, she just had to answer him. But nothing but silence answered him. She continued to stay still. Kirara walked over to Shippo and rested her head on his shoulder for comfort.
"Maybe…Maybe the fight was too much for her," Kaen stated.
"She wouldn't give up…" InuYasha said, "She's too strong for that…"
"InuYasha, Kouga…" a small whisper that would have been missed by normal ears. The two demons shot up and were over top of the girl. "Did you?" asked InuYasha
"Sure did," smiled Kouga. They looked to Kagome's face and saw tears running down her cheeks. Each demon took a cheek and whipped away the tears, shocked that they didn't faze through her. "We were able to touch her," an amazed wolf replied. InuYasha just stared at his fingers like he had never seen them before.
Kagome opened her eyes and saw the two men that were around the tree in front of her. "You came back!" she said pouncing them both.
"What are you talking about? You were the one that left us!" grumbled InuYasha, yet was very relieved and happy to hear her voice again. Kagome laughed and let go of the two bewildered men.
Shippo, following Kagome's lead jumped and hugged her. "I thought that I would never see you again!" he whaled clutching on to her for dear life. Kagome smiled and hugged the little fox demon tightly.
Sango and Miroku ran over and hugged Kagome and then looked at her. "How?" Miroku asked her, he couldn't believe that she was alright, grateful completely but still confused.
"You never forget the ones that you love," Kagome said with a smile while winking at Kouga. A blush crawled up Kouga's face, he didn't know why she winked at him but he knew he liked it!
"Oh Kagome, I thought that we lost you," Sango said while whipping away tears of joy.
"I'm sorry to have scared all of you," Kagome said, "but I have to admit I was scared myself." Kagome let go of her friends and looked down at her hands. "All I remember was Kouga and InuYasha starting to fade, I started to run towards them and called out their names. My neck began to hurt and then I was surrounded by light." She brought her hand up towards her neck where she was bitten, the mark that was there before had vanished like a bad dream.
Lumius who was quite content with watching the group perked up at light and smiled, "Everyone has an inner light that will guide them in the darkness, looks like you just needed help to find it…or should I say they found you." Lumius gestured towards Kouga and InuYasha, the now blushing demons.
"Keh," InuYasha said folding his arms in front of him, "I said that I would protect her, and I keep my word."
Kagome looked up at the beautiful man that had just spoke, and then her eyes went to the four most gorgeous people she had ever seen before. "Umm…I'm sorry but…who are you?"
"We my dear are the Elements," stated Kaiyou gracefully sweeping her hand in the direction of the other three gods standing beside her. "And your friends love you very much; it was their love and determination that saved you. The love that was in those tears that fell on you was enough for you to find your light to fight the darkness taking over you."
"Did you help those tears?" asked Miroku, "being water and all?"
Kaiyou laughed, "Not at all, in those tears was enough love to make her heart beat again and air to fill her lungs from the many adventures that she has been on with her friends. It was Kouga and InuYasha who kept their promise to save her, I did nothing but watch."
Kagome was shocked, she didn't realize how truly blessed she was. She turned around at the two demons who were completely astonished that they had saved her with the last thing they ever thought possible. Their feelings. InuYasha's hand went to his cheek, where the tear once was. Kagome walked over and gently removed his hand and kissed him. "Thank you," she whispered. InuYasha instantly blushed and looked at a very interesting pattern on the floor. Kagome giggled at the hanyou and went towards Kouga who was still deep within his own thoughts. "Thank you Kouga" she said and kissed his cheek as well, the same one that the tear had fallen from.
Kouga's cheeks flushed but instead of turning away a smile grew and said "I would do anything to see you smile."
" Thank you everyone for all that you have done," she said looking at everyone in the room, she didn't know how they had done it or what exactly happened but she knew that everyone here had played some role in helping her. She watched her friends smiles beam at her and then remembered how she had gotten there in the first place. "I'm sorry to bring this up but…what happened to Lunius."
Kaze replied, "We…took away his authority I guess you could say." The other gods chuckled at the statement and the confused look on the young girls face.
"What my friend here is trying to say is that he's dead," Kaen stated with a smile.
"Oh…Then who will rule over the darkness?" Kagome questioned.
"Good question," Koudo thought for a moment, "Lumius please stand."
Lumius did as he was told still shaking from helping Kagome. Each element looked Lumius in the eyes then beams of darkness shot out of their eyes and into his emerald ones. Lumius's knees buckled and he fell to them.
Sango was about to run to his aid when Miroku stopped her, "Look," he said. Sango looked at him in disbelief but understood when she looked back. Lumius was changing; his golden hair was now white. His armor was now a dark shade of silver and the sun on his chest was joined by a crescent moon.
The elements had finished, as Lumius dropped to his hands breathing deep. He got up and stood strong before the Elements and bowed deep to them, "I will not disappoint you." then turned to the group starring at him in amazement. "Thank you my friends if you are ever in need of anything, I will always help you."
Kaze walked up beside Lumius looking at the group of warriors before him, "You have shown us love, loyalty and commitment. Thank you for all you have done for us."
Kaiyou walked up beside Kaze squeezing his arm and looking at him with love in her eyes then returned to the group. "Because of you we also got back what we love most. We are forever in your debt."
With that all five gods bowed low before them. Everyone was in complete awe. A couple of demons and humans were being praised by gods.
"Thank you all so much for everything," Kagome said walking in the middle of the group, "but right now I would really just like to go home and be with those I love most."
"Alright," Koudo smiled, "but if you ever need us, we will be there to help you just as you helped us. Take care my friends."
Before they new it the group was in the meadow where they had began. "Did that really happen," asked Shippo looking at Miroku.
"I can still feel the Earth's god gift flowing through me." He said looking at his staff, "What we went through was very real."
"Now we will be able to give Naraku a real challenge," smirked InuYasha looking to the sky.
"But first could we just relax here," Kagome asked, "just for tonight…Please?"
"Anything for my woman!" Kouga ran up behind Kagome and hugged her around her waist causing the girl to laugh.
"Get your hands off her you filthy wolf!" cried InuYasha.
"Got a problem with it Dog Turd?" shot back Kouga.
"Damn straight I do!" InuYasha bellowed at him and Kouga glared at each other about an arms length away ready to take the first swing.
"Aren't you going to stop them Kagome?" Sango asked.
"Not this time," Kagome sighed looking at her best friend, "Right now I'm just thankful to have things back the way that they use to be.
That night Kagome laid by the fire with Kouga on one side and InuYasha on the other. She looked around at her friends. Sango and Miroku were sleeping closer then normal, Kagome chuckled to herself. She looked at Kirara and Shippo snuggled up to one another, she wished that she had her camera. Her eyes then drifted to the hanyou and the wolf demon lying beside her. She felt completely safe at that moment surrounded by the ones that she loved.
Kagome looked up at the moon feeling the warmth of the night. A gust of wind gently blew by her causing the trees to rustle. She listened to the crackling fire and the bubbling spring near by. "Good night my friends," she said lying down between her demons. As they each put an arm around her waist unconsciously. She smiled to herself and started to wonder if her Grandfather's story would change the next time that she asked about the weather.
AN: Hey guys! so as you can see this is the final chapter:P Sad i knwo but i thought that I should finish it up. Many thanks to those who have reviewed and read my story. Thank you very much for everything! I'm debating on doing a sequel but that will depend on the reviews I get for this one..ahaha. Thank you all again and I hope that you enjoyed my story :) Miss you all! Please review and tell me what you think :D