He had reached her and never before had he felt such relief flood through him. They would not at least perish alone. "Lady Kagome," he said "is it really you."
"It is," she quietly replied.
"I am so glad to have found you," he earnestly told her.
"Me too," she said. Miroku set beside before she went on. "Can I ask a favor," she asked him?
"Of course," he replied ready to give her whatever she wanted. After all it was his fault that she was now in this eternal hell. What she requested though while simple took him completely by surprise.
"Would you mind please holding me?" Was her simple request.
With more tenderness than he had ever displayed before Miroku took her into his arms with nothing but pure intentions in mind. There in the safety of his arms Kagome began to reflect on the events that had brought them to this point.
Inuyasha a month ago in a completely uncharacteristic moment had declared his love for her. And from that moment on he had began to show it all be it in his unconventional way. Even though she had known that it would never be a story book romance Kagome had been happy. Happier in fact than she had ever been in her life. And the imminent defeat of Naraku had finally been within sight. So Kagome had wanted to return home one final time before their last stand against the evil force. Surprisingly enough Inuyasha had agreed that she should go reasoning that they needed more supplies, namely ramen, before they started on what would hopefully be their final quest. Her friends had also been doing great Shippo was quickly becoming a master of his fox magic, and Sango and Miroku had finally voiced their plans to wed once Naraku was destroyed. It was all so perfect. She should have seen that it was too perfect. They had all known that Miroku's wind tunnel was becoming more volatile, but with Narku's destruction in sight none of them thought that it would be a real problem.
After three days travel they had finally reached the clearing of the bone eaters well. None of them felt the malevolent presence that was concealing itself there. It would seem that Naraku had also sensed that things were coming to a head and decided that a surprise attack was his best chance of survival. As soon as they stepped into the clearing a thick miasma began to form making it almost impossible to breathe. Naturally Naraku had not come alone and the shear number of mindless demons he had brought with him was enough to darken the skies. The one thing that was different was the fact that this was no mere puppet. The being before them was the real deal. Having finally come to the situation that they had prepared for they all took their places; automatically doing what they had trained hard to do. Sango had began to unleash her huge weapon taking out countless demons with it's every swipe. Kagome had staid back from the action and was using her sacred arrows where needed to offer support to her friends. Inuyasha was relentlessly hacking away at Naraku determined that this would be the monster's last stand. Miroku however was at a disadvantage. The weapon that had been his greatest asset now a threat to his life. He was reduced to throwing his sutras and lashing out with his staff.
For a while it seemed that they could not be beat. But with the arrival of the wind witch, Kaugra, the tides had changed. She had begun raising the demons that they had already destroyed and sending them to attack anew. Not to mention the dance of blades that she was throwing at Inuyasha not allowing him to put all of his efforts into Naraku. From her place on the side Kagome continued to do what she could lending help to her slayer friend who had received an injury to her shoulder making it more difficult to properly wield her weapon. And in horror she looked on as a tentacle managed to pierce Inuyasha sending a pain through Kagome as she saw him falter. She obliterated the tentacle but was now worried that a victory that had once felt so sure was quickly slipping from their grasp.
Miroku had seen enough. It would not be long before his friends would begin to fall one by one before his eyes. That was something he would not allow. He stepped forward feeling in his heart that his next move would be his last. But, for his friends he did not hesitate. He allowed himself one final look at them all. Lady Kagome was valiantly fighting. A very brave thing since the monk knew that violence did not come naturally to the kind hearted woman. Inuyasha seemed to be slowing and he hurried a little knowing the brash half breed would not last long. He posed the biggest problem as he was engaged directly with Naraku, but Miroku knew that when he signaled him he would be quick to act. Then for one wonderful moment time slowed as he looked at Sango, the love of his life. She was a warrior and even with the blood of those she had fallen covering her; she was radiant. He felt sadness and almost lost his will. He had hoped to live a life with this woman grow old and be slapped at least every other day. His resolve strengthened though as he saw another enemy land a blow on her, it was not fatal, but she would not be able to hold out for long. He would be sure that even if he didn't get to have her that she would still live on to grow old. He smiled as he realized that she was far enough away to be in no danger from what he was about to do.
Quickly he made his way to Naraku and signaled to Inuyasha. His friend surprised him by hesitating for a moment, but a scream from Kagome made him rush away from where the monk and Naraku now stood. Without thinking about it Miroku ripped the prayer beads from his hand and yelled "wind tunnel" one final time. As soon as it was released his suspicions were confirmed. This time it would claim him too, but he was relieved to see that Naraku would not escape it either. He looked and saw that Inuyasha had grabbed Sango and was holding her back. What he didn't see coming was Kagome "Miroku," she frantically cried as she ran towards him and right into the path of the wind tunnel that was now beyond his control. The rest was over in seconds as they had both wound up here. Tears gathered in Kagome's eyes as she recalled the final words that she had heard Inuyasha yell "Kagome, I love you."