Ok, so this took me FOREVER. You'll figure out why, I'm sure, as you read. Let's just say I'm NEVER doing multiple versions of the same character again. EVER. Even if it works with the plot. I'm not really sure if I'm happy with this. I love you guys. That's why I didn't just trash the whole chapter to start from scratch and force you to wait another week. I might rewrite this when the whole story is over. Dunno. Peace.

Ivy

I do not own Inuyasha. Not mine. Never will be.

Retribution And Undying Pain

(From "Two Angels")

Two angels, one of Life and one of Death,

Passed o'er our village as the morning broke;

The dawn was on their faces, and beneath,

The sombre houses hearsed with plumes of smoke.

Their attitude and aspect were the same,

Alike their features and their robes of white;

But one was crowned with amaranth, as with flame,

And one with asphodels, like flakes of light.

I saw them pause on their celestial way;

Then said I, with deep fear and doubt oppressed,

"Beat not so loud, my heart, lest thou betray

The place where thy beloved are at rest!"

And he who wore the crown of asphodels,

Descending, at my door began to knock,

And my soul sank within me, as in wells

The waters sink before an earthquake's shock.

I recognized the nameless agony,

The terror and the tremor and the pain,

That oft before had filled or haunted me,

And now returned with threefold strength again.

… … … … …

Longfellow

He had felt her break apart. He had felt the gentle pulse of love and apology. He had felt the terror of his son and mate as they were torn from each other. He had felt her power wane and weaken while her soul was still broken into three parts. Sesshomaru was enraged and nothing could console him but the blood of Naraku.

Inuyasha was the only one of the five who followed him who could keep up with the Taiyoukai's pace. Sesshomaru had intentionally kept to the ground in order to give Kouga and Sango time to gather his forces and circle around the castle fort from behind. The hanyou watched his brother cautiously out of the side of his gaze now and again, noting as the bloody light would flash in his eyes and his mouth would form into a snarl. It had to be Kagome. It was moments like those when he so obviously was sensing her turmoil that Inuyasha both envied and did not envy his brother. He was closer to her than anyone else and yet that closeness forced him to share her pain, sorrow, fear and loss. He did not know how Sesshomaru endured it. He wondered if he could have himself if… Many things had been different.

The Taiyoukai stopped dead in his tracks. His breath came in husky draws mingled with growls and pained sounds.

"What is it?" Inuyasha asked with his dark brows furrowed together. Miroku, Kohaku and Shippo, who had not been far behind them, caught up a moment later.

"He… Has my son." He said in a voice far too soft for them to believe that it came from Sesshomaru's lips.

"Kagome… Is she alive? I can't believe she'd allow him to…"

"She did. She had to." He replied simply. "He is safe, I am certain of it… As is she." He looked up to the shadowy silhouette of the castle fort Naraku inhabited that was just coming into view. "But that does not take from the fact that he touched my son."

"What did he do to her? She was months away from giving birth." Miroku said, concern lacing his voice. "Alone, if he accelerated her pregnancy, she would have died."

"I don't know. I don't know how he did it, but she's alive and our son is alive and… Safe." His frown faded faintly as he fell deeply into thought. "She isn't her…"

"What?" Inuyasha asked, his own frown deepening.

"Something Rin said. I feel… Almost as if Kagome has been split into three… I do not know how it is possible, but it feels as if it has happened. Rin said after her vision that you and I should know that she isn't her. There is more to this. More to Naraku's plan. We need to be ready, Inuyasha. Naraku wants to break us. He knows our weaknesses."

"So be ready for anything…"

"No. Particularly be ready for Kagome."

"For Kagome?" Shippo frowned and followed the Taiyoukai's gaze.

Sesshomaru nodded faintly. "She is following her instincts. Everything she has done and will do is to ensure that Rin and our son are safe. Even if it means sacrificing herself."

"Kouga should be coming around with your forces along with my sister, Sesshomaru." Kohaku said softly. "If we approach now, his forces will be split."

The Taiyoukai nodded and, without a word, returned to running toward the jagged outcropping of cliffs, jutting peaks and foreboding spires of rock upon which the castle fort was built. He could feel her in three different places. In one place was his son, sheltered by a fraction of her. And yet, it was not her. Nearby was another portion of his beloved. An older part. A part he had believed was long dead. He should stop and warn his brother, but there was not time. Inuyasha would have to be strong for his own self. When did he start to worry for the hanyou who, for so much of his life, had been the bane of his existence? When had he started to care? He would deal with these annoying and troublesome emotions later. For the moment, all his energy was focused on reaching the castle. He raised his eyes to a high cliff. With his keen eyes in the dawning light, he could see the outline of three crosses mounted at a tall vantage. That was where she was. Where his beloved was. The greater part of her that was entirely connected to him. He fought his instincts to race to the cliff first. No. Their son must be saved first. Kagome had sacrificed too much for him to lose control. Their son first. Her words echoed through his mind over and over.

Kikyo and the girl, Kagome, flanked Naraku as they walked to the gate of the castle. Both women could feel the approach of the Taiyoukai as the bond that was so completely forged between them was slackened. Kagome pulled the tiny baby boy tighter to her chest, cooing to him softly to calm him. He was fussing again and had been since Naraku had returned to lead them to the gate. It had caused the dark hanyou to snarl in distaste and mumble something about needing to remedy the child's perceptions in the future. Bile had risen in the girl's throat and she had held the boy even closer to her breast. Even at only an hour old, the baby knew who the bad guy was. Some part of that delighted Kagome, but it also worried her. The child had to survive and, from what Kikyo had told her of Naraku, the baby's perceptions could lead the ebony haired monster to a rather lasting and cruel decision as to the child's fate.

The group of men approached and she felt her heart stop for a moment. Her cobalt eyes fell on the tall, silver haired man with the crescent moon and magenta markings. His sword was drawn and his eyes fierce and bleeding red. She knew him. She trusted him, though she could not remember him. Even more, she loved him. She ached to run to him and be sheltered by him, as if he could defend her against the world with the power of his gaze. She caressed the child in her arm as he began to squall, cooing to him gently. She felt the golden gaze of the inuyoukai on her and she looked up. There was so much warmth in his eyes. So much love. She heard the soft stretch as Kikyo readied an arrow. Her eyes turned and fell on the miko as she aimed her arrow at the other golden-eyed warrior with ears that matched the child in her arms. His eyes looked so pained. So hurt. Haunted. She wanted to tell him it was all right. She wanted to tell him that he had to trust Kikyo and her self. That they meant them no harm. But she kept herself silent. She muted her voice and held her emotions in check as the evil man beside her, Naraku, spoke, tauntingly.

"What did you expect, great Western Taiyoukai? The mother of your son to run to you? Or you, bastard hanyou, that you could escape the vengeance of your lover? I would never leave her cold in the ground. Not when she wishes your death as much as I do. So what is your decision? Kill the women you love as they defend me or let yourself fall for their sake?"

She could hear the clash of swords on the other side of the cliff where she and her daughter were still crucified along side the dead Ayame. She could sense with her divine powers the threads of light connected to Sango, Kirara and Kouga as they approached. Her heart wrenched in her chest as she readied herself for their approach. Kouga… Kouga, I'm so sorry… Her heart ached already with guilt.

He rushed over the crest of the cliff, his blue eyes wide. His nose was filled with the scent of blood. Kagome's blood. Ayame's blood. He couldn't have been prepared for what he saw. Any day before, had he been asked whom he would have run to first, he would have said Kagome. Saying it isn't doing it. Saying something isn't really believing it. There are things the soul wants and there are things the soul needs. It is only when faced with losing what is necessary that a person abandons desire. In a cloud of dust and a howl of rage, he rushed to the auburn haired angel he had saved and promised his heart to long before he had known she was what his heart needed to continue beating. He broke the shackles and pulled her into his arms, cradling her close to him.

"Ayame… Ayame, open your eyes… Look at me, please." He howled as agony ripped through his soul and he pulled her tighter to him, burying his face in her hair and shoulder. He rocked her and shook with tears. "I lied… I lied so many times to you and myself and everyone. I'm sorry. I want you to be mine. I need you. Ayame, please, Love. Please. You have to fight. You can't leave me."

Rin shook. She could not open her eyes. She could see the scene well enough. The strong warrior wolf was broken. He had lost his mate. Kagome watched and wept, trembling softly. She didn't want to leave them. She wanted to be there to comfort him. She wanted to help him, but she couldn't. Her eyes turned to Sango as she and Kirara landed on the cliff, her eyes also lost on the scene.

"Sango." Her voice was so soft. She began to draw light to herself so she could transport herself to where her son was. The slayer looked up and met her friend's gaze. "Free Rin. Tend Kouga. Protect them and bring me the shards when the battle has ended. I need to go to my son."

Sango nodded and watched as her friend drew more light into her form. Her mind fell back to the first time she'd seen Kagome. To the time when they were learning each other and becoming friends. She'd seemed so weak. So vulnerable. So innocent. She needed to be protected. And now… Now she was a goddess.

Sesshomaru snarled as the howl of Kouga ripped down from the cliff. Naraku laughed and sighed. "Looks like the wolf has found the gift I left for him."

"What did you do, Naraku?" Inuyasha asked through gritted teeth.

"I left him a gift, Inuyasha." Naraku said, feigning innocence. "I cannot help if he did not appreciate the thought. At least now he knows where his true heart laid."

"Naraku, you bastard…" Miroku choked out. "You bring nothing but pain and death and evil wherever you go."

"Compliments will get you nowhere, Miroku." Naraku chuckled and looked to Kikyo tenderly. Her arrow was still pointed at Inuyasha's heart. "You know, if you are going to kill him, you should kill him."

Kikyo smirked faintly. "Forgive me if I take my time. You see, I have to savor this. You tore me from Kagome's soul, rebirthed me in this living flesh and gave me a chance to end what was begun so long ago. Even before I was first resurrected. I want him to know that that part of me that was her, that was always her had guided her heart up until that moment. I used the last of my energy to ensure that one day, far in the future, I could come back and remedy the harm that had been done. And then I was there. Carried within a new form with a new spirit and I saw him and I knew… I knew that I had to finish what I'd began."

"Kikyo…" His voice wavered as he processed her words. She had ensured that she returned to him. She had wanted to finish. She had wanted an end. She had guided Kagome to that point.

"No, Inuyasha. Not Kikyo. Kikyo died ensuring you would live. She gave the last ounce of her energy so that the future she saw… The future where you were happy and safe would come true. I am not Kikyo. I am Kagome." The woman turned as the chocolate of her eyes flashed to pure azure. The arrow was released into an unprepared Naraku and the girl, Kagome, jumped back and toward Sesshomaru who stepped in front of her protectively.

A flash of pure white light blinded the now howling dark hanyou as he fought to draw his barrier around him and escape. He could not draw the power he needed. Something was stopping him. Then he realized it. The jewel was being purified within him. He turned and saw the bloodied, infuriated form of a woman approaching him. White light still clung to her in a halo of light. Her hand was outstretched, pouring white energy into his chest where he had placed the jewel. He snarled. "It is not possible!"

"You should know by now, Naraku, that there is not such a thing as impossibilities. Not where we are concerned." She said with venom in her voice. She formed her hand into a fist and pulled, ripping the large chunk of the Shikon no Tama from his chest and drew its pure form into her reach. It hovered in her open palms and shimmered with sparkling white and pink light. "In fact, the only thing we can't do is destroying each other. You murdered Ayame. You devoured her power and soul. I can't bring her back, no matter how much I want to, but I can do the next best thing. I can neutralize you so you may die."

Sesshomaru snarled and rushed forward with Inuyasha at his side. Seeing Kagome not only split in three but the greater part of her bloodied and harmed was enough to spur the brothers into a frenzy that Naraku was not and could never have been prepared for. Kohaku and Shippo took up protective stances near Kagome who held her son while Miroku took up attacking any golems who might come from behind. Into his view came the small form of a girl in white. In front of her she held her mirror. The black of it was the vast expanse of nothing that lived in her eyes.

"Kanna! Surrender! Naraku will fall. You will be free." The monk called out to her.

She tilted her head slightly and, in a voice completely void of emotion, she replied. "When Naraku falls, I will fall. Kagura and the others did not understand as I understand. I am nothing but his will. They were nothing but his will. Puppets. I have always accepted my fate. My purpose. I will no more surrender than Naraku will surrender." She passed her small hand over the black surface of her mirror. It began to seethe darkness and nothingness, drawing light and space in much in the same way Miroku did through his palm.

"No!" He cried out and opened his palm against the darkness that drew in, like black tentacles, everything around into nothingness. Miroku, in an instinctual reaction, attempted to draw in the blackness.

The elder miko turned from where her gaze had fallen onto Naraku, her arrow still jutting from his chest as he prepared for the next barrage from the warrior brothers. His shield was failing quickly and soon the dark hanyou would be ended, surely. It was the monk who needed her assistance now. She drew her arrow and focused all of her miko powers on an arrow of absorption at Kanna's mirror. The arrow released and struck, causing a fissure in the mirror, then another. Kanna trembled and looked as her mirror shattered in her hands, leaving her completely vulnerable to Miroku's attack. She looked up and, for the first time in her existence, the pale, black-eyed girl smiled as she was drawn into the vast blackness held in Miroku's palm.

The last vestiges of Naraku's barrier fell with the fierce blows of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. The evil, dark hanyou stepped back and snarled, meeting the gazes of the brothers. "How could it have come to this? I had everything I needed…"

"Except a reason to fight." Inuyasha snarled as he readied his sword. The killing blow would come from the brothers simultaneously. Naraku was both the living hanyou sustained by thousands of youkai as well as the undead Onigumo whose tainted soul had begun the turmoil long before.

Naraku looked in disbelief as Sesshomaru's eyes softened. Still, it felt as if his power was growing. "You made a mistake, Naraku. You never should have threatened her. Neither Rin nor Kagome. It is your downfall."

The brothers raised their swords in tandem and released the powers of life and death onto the dark hanyou, rending him utterly from the earth. A pulse resonated from his vaporizing form and spread out, hitting everyone within range. It was not a pulse of malice or wrath. It was a release. It was the final severing of the dark hanyou's hold over the powers he had stolen, bartered for and cursed upon others in hatred and cruelty.

Miroku shuddered and opened his hand. His eyes widened and found the kazana was gone, leaving the smooth skin of his palm, his life line again long, deep and intact as it had been before his father's death. He looked back toward where the brothers had slaughtered the dark hanyou. Kagome, still covered in blood and fluids from giving birth, stood shakily several yards away. Sango was rushing to her and caught her before she fell. Rin was also approaching beside Kouga who carried the broken body of the dead Ayame tightly to his chest. His ice blue eyes were far away and broken as was certainly his heart.

Sesshomaru approached the fallen miko, his mate, sheathing Tesseiga, and knelt beside her, caressing her cheek. His eyes were full of concern.

"I'm alright… Weak, but alright."

"From what I see, you have reason to be." He murmured and leaned to kiss her brow where Sango cradled her. "You are split into three and have birthed our son."

She smiled faintly as she sensed the other two fractures of herself approached. The innocent girl smiled at her, holding her son tightly and protectively. Her eyes turned toward the elder miko as she approached and reached out gently to touch the baby boy, smoothing his face.

"We are ready, Kagome." She murmured, turning toward where the woman lay in her friend's arms. She took the baby from the innocent girl and returned him to his mother. She sighed and their mirrored eyes met. "We're ready to find our peace again."

"I'm sorry…" She whispered, feeling tears pool in her eyes. Both of the women began to glow with white as she started to reclaim the fractures of her soul.

"For what?" The girl asked and smiled warmly. "We're a part of you. We will always be a part of you."

The elder miko smiled and turned her gaze from Kagome to Inuyasha. He met her gaze with sadness and a kind of pain she wished she could erase. "You won't be alone forever, Inuyasha. I am not her, but you will find her in time. I knew that. I loved you enough to let you go. Love me enough to live and endure and to finally find happiness."

"How can you know this?" He asked softly, his heart breaking again. How many times could he see her die or fade away? He understood that she wasn't really gone, but he wondered if he could endure another parting from the first person who ever showed him love after his mother.

"Do you know why we are reincarnated, Inuyasha?" He shook his head and she smiled sadly. "So we will have the chance to learn the lessons we didn't in the previous lifetime. You have centuries of lifetime and I only had little less than two decades before I was given another life. Learn what took me two lifetimes to understand. Letting go doesn't mean that we lose. It means that we have been given the chance to hold something even better in our hearts. Even more true. Let me go, Inuyasha. Let Kagome go. We will always be with you, near you, next to your heart. And once you let us go, really allow yourself to release us, you will have another to hold even closer and she will be yours for eternity."

She looked back to the woman who held her child so protectively. A look of understanding passed between them as she felt herself drawn back into the protective embrace of Kagome's soul along with the innocent girl who stood nearby. Their once living forms became spinning pillars of glowing dust that quickly dispersed, leaving nothing in their wake but the flowing black fabric fluttering to the ground. Kagome trembled and stood with her beloved's help. He steadied her with his arm around her waist while her eyes fell on Kouga. His legs were bleeding where he now knelt with Ayame.

"I can't bring her back, Kouga. Naraku… He devoured her soul and spirit. Not even the complete jewel could bring her back from where he sent her."

"I know, Kagome." He whispered and met her eyes slowly. "She was mine. Mine to protect and I never did."

"She loved you until the end, Kouga. Had faith in you until the end. I wish I could give you more comfort than that."

He nodded faintly and looked back down onto the corpse in his arms. Rin stepped to his side and held out her hand, opening her palm to reveal Kouga's shards. Miroku approached and held out the shard still held in the vial they had protected so fiercely. Kagome trembled and turned, slipping the hanyou child into his father's arm. Sesshomaru tensed slightly, afraid he might drop the fragile child. His fear summoned his beast to wrap around him as well, supporting the baby further. Kagome smiled and watched his gaze soften when it fell on his son. When he opened his azure eyes, the unmovable Taiyoukai smiled gently and leaned to kiss his brow tenderly.

"My son. You have your mother's eyes." He breathed and leaned gently into his mate's touch. He turned his gaze from azure to azure. "I have him, Kagome. End your quest."

She nodded and turned, pulling the still fractured Shikon no Tama from the folds of her clothing. She put out her other hand for the final shards, which Rin and Miroku gave to her. Carefully she pieced the jewel together and closed her hands, praying to fuse its power entirely.

A sudden, staggering burst of power resonated from Kagome. She gasped and fell to her knees, opening her hands to release the energy the jewel had built as it was being purified. In the jewel's light, the form of a beautiful woman began to take shape. Kagome recognized her instantly and smiled as tears streamed down her face. She shuddered as she heard her beloved's voice whispered behind her.

"Miyoko… How… You are human…" He breathed in disbelief.

"Would it matter if I was, Sesshomaru?" She asked softly. Her voice was like music and entranced all around them. "I need you to find me. I need you to save me. You and Kagome. There isn't much time."

"How are you here, Miyoko?" Kagome asked softly in awe. "How are you connected to the jewel?"

"There are so many things I can't tell you. Things that will happen. Things that must happen. All I can tell you is that you must find me. The power that has been preserving me, protecting me, is waning and has been waning. Mother does not know. She will try to fight you back. She thinks she is doing what is right. Do not hate her, Sesshomaru. She has only ever done what she that was right for her children even if her heart was misguided. Father's betrayal turned her and twisted her so greatly she hardly knows true north any longer."

"Mother… She knows where you are?"

"Forgive her. You must. If I can, surely you will find a way… Please hurry. Find me. There is not much time." Her transparent form began to fade before them. He shuddered and pressed his eyes closed before she could completely vanish.

Kagome stood and turned to look at her love. His eyes were still pressed closed and, for a moment, she thought he looked more like the boy who had sacrificed himself for his sister than he ever had. She reached out and caressed his cheek, tracing his markings tenderly. His eyes opened slowly and met hers sadly. She smiled a sad smile in response. "We'll find her, Love. I promise you, we'll find her and save her."

He nodded and leaned to press his brow to hers, closing his eyes. "We will."