A/N: Thank you to all of you who reviewed and favorited this story! I really appreciate it! I'm excited to continue with it and I hope you guys continue to enjoy it!

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This was not what she expected in death. It stood to reason, in her opinion, that she would simply cease to exist. After all she had given her soul away and she no longer had a body, brain, or heart. But instead of shrinking into non-existence, Kagome found that she was floating in a black void. She could see nothing, hear nothing, and feel nothing. However, she found herself fully capable of thought and remembering where she had come from and how she had gotten there.

As she floated in the nothingness, she felt no remorse over her decision. She smiled as she thought about how much happier Inuyasha would be now. She was also glad to realize that the final battle with Naraku would probably be much easier for her friends now. Kikyo, she knew, would be even more powerful with her entire soul intact. Kikyo would know exactly what to do in the upcoming battle. Kikyo would succeed in killing the man that had caused her friends so much heart-ache and pain. She knew, deep in her non-existent heart, that Kikyo would do a much better job than she ever could have.

Suddenly the darkness around Kagome brightened a bit.

'That's odd,' she mused silently 'maybe I'm heading to the afterlife...'

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Miroku was finally finished chanting and scribbling on his sutras. He now sat holding a sutra in each hand with one above Inuyasha's neck and the other above Koga's.

"These charms will extract your demon blood. The dark power connected to that blood will then be transferred to me and, in combination with Lady Kikyo's purifying powers, I will be able to create a connection with the Kagome."

Shippo spoke for the first time since Kagome had collapsed and said, "Use my blood instead! Inuyasha is only a half demon! My blood will work better, right?!"

Kikyo laid a gentle hand on his head. "No, little fox. You will surely die under the stress of the extraction." She said calmly. Shippo put a soft paw on top of hers, and with tear filled eyes whispered,

"You're acting more like her now. Your hand feels so much like hers."

Kikyo let a small smile touch her lips. "Although we are not and have never been the same person, Kagome and I have always been connected. It is much easier for me to understand her now that this soul has returned to my body. I feel love and warmth like I had not felt even before I died. Kagome was filled with life in a way that I have never been, and this soul now reflects that."

None of the group members could hold back their torment after that. Even Miroku, who had yet to acknowledge any sort of shock or sadness, choked on a sob. No one had been even close to prepared to hear Kagome spoken of in the past tense. No one was expecting Shippo to open up to Kikyo that way. And certainly no one was expecting it when Inuyasha grabbed Miroku's wrist and slammed the monk's hand into his own jugular. He didn't bother proclaiming that he wanted- or more accurately NEEDED- to get started. Miroku let out a small screech but was too late to warn Inuyasha that the charm needed to be applied gently. The flimsy paper was immediately covered in blood and within moments it ran down the entire length of his body.

"Damn it, Inuyasha!" Miroku screamed as he hastily applied the other charm to Koga's tense neck. Sango and Shippo were tempted to run to Inuyasha's side and stop the blood flow, but when they realized that even Kikyo had not made a move to help him they decided it was best to stay where they were.

Once Koga's charm had become saturated with blood Miroku began to chant. The blood from the two demons began to glow red and slithered toward the monk like a pair of sickening snakes. Once the two streams made contact with him he took on the same malicious glow. Simultaneously, Kikyo held her hands together and said some sort of prayer. She sported a blue glow that rivaled the brightness of Miroku's when suddenly their auras met in between them. A tornado of ghastly purple light spun in the air forming what looked like a small black hole. The group watched in awe as the hole expanded to show an expanse of black filled with tiny sparkling lights. It was like looking up into the sky on a clear evening.

"Kagome is close by. The connection is nearly com-" Kikyo was cut off by a loud thump on the ground. Everyone turned to find Inuyasha, hair black as night, unconscious.

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Ah, it was dark again. Kagome found herself slightly disappointed that she hadn't been whisked away to some sort of heaven where she could be surrounded by chocolate and oden and kittens… or something like that.

'But heaven wouldn't be heaven without Inuyasha,' she noted.

Suddenly she felt something. It was a deep, cavernous sensation that stemmed from her innermost being. She recognized it as sadness, but it seemed so far away. In fact, everything suddenly felt far away. Was she moving? Was she losing herself to the void? Abruptly Kagome was confronted with the single thing she least expected to see.

"What are you doing here?"

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A/N: This was a little shorter than I had planned but I think that was the best place to stop. What do you guys think?! Chapter 3: A Glimpse of the Soul is already in the works and will be posted soon!