Chapter 19:

Sacrificed

"Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you're not really losing it. You're just passing it on to someone else."
― Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven

As the light from the exploding giant in its death throes died down the entire ravine was covered in fine white dust. The bodies of blue and silver Dragons could easily be seen towering above the white, their massive forms unable to be completely covered. The blue Dragon was curled in on itself with its head tucked tightly against its side. The silver Dragon was sprawled out, its lithe body spread out across the length of the ravine.

Slowly the blue dragon uncovered its head, lifting it up to dart its red eyes around the area. It gave a single, powerful thrust of its wings, a massive gale following after it, clearing away the white dust. Bodies of others were revealed slowly. Red, black, blue were the colors of the the clothing these bodies were covered in, and as the wind died down, the one in blue coughed and shot up into a sitting position.

Miroku looked around with blurry eyes and at seeing Sango's still prone position he rushed to her side and felt for her pulse.

"Good," he breathed out with relief. "She's just unconscious."

He next moved over to Inuyasha and repeated the same actions to find that, yet again, his other companion was simply unconscious and, thankfully, not dead. Kirara was next, the fire nekomata harder to find due to her now smaller form, but when Miroku found her, he took her sleeping body and laid it next to Sango.

The blue Dragon nodded to himself then looked down to where his head and previously been. Kagome rested in the crook of one of his great arms, flashing him a bright smile. He returned it with a split of his giant maw, revealing rows of sharp, gleaming fangs.

The silver Dragon began to rise himself, standing on all fours and giving his body a sharp shake to rid himself of the bits of white dust that had gathered on him after the explosion.

"Well," he began. "That wasss interesssting," his words were prolonged by a forked tongue slithering out as he spoke, like a snake scenting the air.

Kagome hopped up from her place against the blue Dragon, Ryura in his true form, and scrambled her way over his large arm. She took a few steps back to look up at the Dragon, admiring the form he was in. He was shaped like what was called in her era a Western Dragon, the Dragons from legends that mostly originated from Europe – which would have surprised her, except the only other Dragon she had seen before now was Ryuukotsusei, and he didn't have wings either, just like Tsuyoshi. Kagome wasn't exactly for sure how Dragons were supposed to look like, after all. They, like youkai, were myths in her era.

"Tsuyoshi," Ryura rumbled, his voice much deeper than it normally would be. Unlike the water Dragon, Ryura was able to speak normally in this form. "How, exactly, am I to revert?"

Tsuyoshi, the wingless silver Dragon, looked at his Lord with a small nod then slowly wove his way around the other Naraku hunters to come to stand beside Ryura. He kept himself standing and with a jerk of his head silently asked for Ryura to rise as well. The blue Dragon carefully nudged Kagome out of the way with his snout, making the Miko giggle loudly, and he huffed hot air at her through his nose.

As he stood his form towered over Tsuyoshi's, his head easily able to see over top the ravine's high cliffs.

"Watch me carefully, Lord Ryura," Tsuyoshi said.

He gathered his youki into his body, his true form not requiring him to keep it pent up within him, and slowly he began to replace the barriers around his power that allowed him to keep his human form. He did this slowly, allowing Ryura to feel with his own aura and youki exactly what his Steward was doing.

Ryura repeated Tsuyoshi's steps, albeit much slower than Tsuyoshi himself had, until with a rush of air he was standing once more in his human form. His hair was unbound and his clothing was in disarray, while Tsuyoshi looked like nothing happened at all.

Tsuyoshi chuckled at Ryura's frown. "Worry not, my Lord. The more you practice, the better your reverting will become."

"It better be!" Ryura said, annoyed. Now he had to screw around with his hair, and he hated doing that.

With a soft grumble Ryura began correcting his appearance, straightening out his clothes and armor, retying the metal plates in the process. He adjusted Fujinga and Raijinga on his back until the swords were in their correct positions, then he began to work on his hair.

Kagome, who had been helping Miroku wake the others, quickly noticed Ryura's actions and excused herself politely. Sango was awake and adjusting to what had just happened, and Inuyasha's eyes were beginning to flutter open. She wasn't needed here at the moment.

As she walked, she fished around the black messenger bag Souta had let her keep, and right as she was reading Ryura, she pulled out her brush and two hair ties.

"Ryura?" she asked. When he looked at her, Kagome could tell he was annoyed by the look on his face.

That was until, at least, he saw the brush and hair ties in her hands. Ryura's face quickly lit up with a grin after and he nodded quickly to her unspoken question. He lowered himself to his knees to give Kagome better access to his head, and the Miko quickly went to work styling his hair how it was supposed to be.

His blue locks spilled through her fingers as she worked with it, placing the mane of hair in a high tail. Instead of his normal ribbon, she used one of the hair ties, then wrapped his white ribbon around it while explaining the hair tie was stronger, and would keep his hair in place longer than only a ribbon would.

Ryura couldn't be grateful enough. He hated – loathed – having this long of hair, but he was required to keep it.

As Kagome's fingers deftly began to braid Ryura's hair, she looked over to the others and frowned slightly. Without stopping her work she asked, "Hey guys, where's Shippou?"

"Oh! We left him in a cave a few yards back. I'll go get him!" Sango said cheerfully.

Kagome smiled after her and went back to finishing off Ryura's braid, leaving the last few inches of it unbraided as he normally would have, and tying it off with the last hair tie she had pulled out earlier.

"I noticed you didn't hesitate or misfire while you were shooting, Kagome." Ryura's voice was filled with humor.

Instead of blushing as she would have before, Kagome simply laughed and lightly patted the top of his head. "Of course not. After what happened before? I don't think it'll ever be possible for me to be such a nervous wreck again."

"Oh really, now?" Ryura said with a smirk. He reached behind him and grabbed her forearm, tugging her down to him until they were almost nose to nose. His smirk only widened at the blush and nervous stutter that began to take her over. "Is that right?" he asked.

"M-maybe not!"

"Oi, whaddya two doing!?" Inuyasha bellowed when he saw their close proximity.

Ryura released Kagome with a sigh and she pulled back to stand straight once more.

"We were joking around, Inuyasha. Don't worry too much or you'll go bald," the Miko said jokingly.

"Feh, whatever!" Inuyasha grumbled.

Kagome grinned widely, "What was that, badly? I don't think I heard you!"

"B-baldy!? Y-you...!" Inuyasha yelled while raising a fist and shaking it at Kagome.

Ryura watched with a soft grin on his face. Inuyasha had begun to chase Kagome around in a wide circle, much like he would Shippou. He meant her no real harm, else he would have already caught her. Inuyasha had a grin rolled into a smirk and Kagome was laughing loudly.

His red eyes took in Shippou come bounding out from the side with a jogging Sango following him. The Kitsune leapt into Kagome's arms as she ran by and with that, Shippou joined in with the Miko and Inuyasha's fun. Shippou honestly had no idea what was going on, but he wasn't going to pass this up.

As they ran, Ryura rose himself from the squatting position and stretched his arms above his head while releasing a loud yawn. If he was this tired, the rest must be on their last legs.

"My Lord," Tsuyoshi mumbled at his side.

"Hm?" Ryura looked to him, running a hand through his hair, and raised a brow.

"There is a large cave nearby. It will fit all of us comfortably. If I may, I suggest we take shelter for the night and rest. There is a storm coming," Tsuyoshi said, turning his eyes towards the sky.

Ryura followed his gaze and gave a quick nod. "Very well. Help me round them up," he said with a grin as he tilted his head over the still running trio.

Tsuyoshi's head bobbed, then snapped back up with a force that sent the tail of his hair flying. With the hand not holding onto his spear he reached up and rubbed at his eyes. How many days was it since he had slept properly? Five?

He shook himself awake and shifted his position. Right now it was his turn to guard the entrance of the cave. Ryura had been forced beyond his limits. He had not slept since he first returned and was weak from the lack of youki. His last true rest had been almost a week ago, if not over a week. Mixed in with his youketsu being cut and his first transformation, the Dragon was dead on his feet by the time everyone had settled down. He was so tired that when he attempted to remove his armor, his hands stopped working like he wanted, and Tsuyoshi had to aid him.

When Ryura had fallen asleep sprawled out in one of the corners of the cave, Kagome and Tsuyoshi took the opportunity to check the wounds left over from his battle with Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's healing treatment. Kagome had blushed something fierce when his shirt had been removed, but once the lingering wounds were shown to her, all thoughts of a bare chested Ryura went out the window.

With Miroku's aid, Kagome had been able to push Ryura's slowly recovering youki into a sort of an overdrive, forcing the two wounds to fully heal. Since he had been asleep, Ryura wouldn't notice it, nor would he feel his youki being pushed beyond its limits. He would possibly sleep well into the day after that.

Tsuyoshi took a quick glance over his shoulder, eyes scanning over the sleeping forms of his new-found companions. He had to chuckle at the situation. Never did he think he would be traveling with a group that consisted of three humans, a hanyou, and a kitsune child. It was a humbling experience. Youkai boasted about being the strongest, the smartest, the wisest, and the bravest, and yet...

It was this mixed group that was fighting the evil hanyou, Naraku. Lord Sesshoumaru, and now Ryura and Tsuyoshi, were the only pure-blooded youkai, if you didn't include Shippou and Kirara, who left the comforts of their home to track down the vile spider and slay him. When this was over, would youkai be able to brag about being the best?

Tsuyoshi didn't think so. The actions of Inuyasha's pack would be held over their heads for the rest of their long lives. The only youkai who would come out of this with honor would be Sesshoumaru, Ryura, Shippou, Kirara, Inuyasha, Kouga and his pack, and himself. Perhaps, after this, not all humans and hanyou would be seen as a stain upon the Earth.

The water Dragon lulled his head to the side, resting it on the shaft of his spear. His blue eyes took in the darkness of night, silently watching for any threats that could pose a problem. Outside the cave the remains of the diamond giant still littered the ground, causing Tsuyoshi to run over Kagome's words.

"I think Kanna saved us," she had said when asked her opinion on how none of them were harmed after the explosion. Kanna had sacrificed what was left of her life to save all of them from Naraku. She had finally gained a will of her own. Sadly it had come at such a late point in her short life.

Shuffling from behind him alerted Tsuyoshi to one of his companions being awake and he looked over his shoulder to see Inuyasha rising to his feet. He gave a quick swipe over his eyes with a sleeve of his red haori then meandered over to Tsuyoshi.

"Go sleep. I'll take over," he whispered, not wanting to wake anyone.

Tsuyoshi wasn't about to argue. He gave Inuyasha a grateful bow of his head then stiffly stood up. The hanyou took over guard duty and Tsuyoshi made his way towards the back of the cave where his Lord slept quietly. He stepped gently over the now dead fire and silently finished the trek until he was standing at Ryura's feet.

He flicked a glance to Ryura's side and let out a soft snort of laughter. Kagome was sleeping close to Ryura, rolled up in her sleeping bag with Shippou in her arms. On top of her rested Ryura's shirt, spread out to act as another blanket, just as Tsuyoshi had left it. The woman hadn't moved at all, showing Tsuyoshi just how tired she was. Even her hair was still in the same spread out position behind her as it had been when she fell asleep.

Not that he could blame her. He was just as tired as she, and with that thought in mind he took up a place on Ryura's other side. He kept his back against the wall of the cave and leaned his head against his spear. Before he drifted off, Tsuyoshi thought of Shippou then. Kagome was technically his mother, and considering Kagome was a part of Ryura's House, that meant by default Shippou was, too.

The House of Storms was slowly coming back to life, and Tsuyoshi couldn't of been happier.

Ryura was startled awake, again for the second time since he'd been returned to the living, by Inuyasha's sharp yell.

"Oi! The fuck you want, you mangy wolf!"

The Dragon Daiyoukai attempted to sit up, but found he had a little bit of extra weight added to him. He looked down and almost yelled, letting out a muffled yelp instead. Kagome was half way on his bare chest. She was still inside of her sleeping bag, his shirt a tangled mess around her with it, and Shippou was resting just between his body and Kagome's. His arm was wrapped around Kagome's back, but he couldn't feel it due to the thick material of her sleeping bag.

"Well..." came a familiar voice from his other side.

Ryura turned his head and gave Tsuyoshi a panicked look, then with his arm that wasn't wrapped around Kagome, he pointed to her and the Kitsune.

"I can come see my woman went I want, dog breath!"

Kouga's yell caused both Dragons to look at him, temporarily forgetting Ryura's awkward position. The wolf Prince was standing at the mouth of the cave with Inuyasha not more than two inches away from him. Neither Dragon could see his face, since Inuyasha was roughly about the same height as Kouga, but they could hear him good enough.

"How many times do I gotta tell you, Kagome ain't your woman!" Inuyasha yelled, not giving two cents if he was going to wake everyone up or not.

Kouga apparently didn't care either, "Yes she is! I claimed her a long time ago!"

"Ain't like that means anything unless she accepts! Which she hasn't, if you forgot!"

Ryura sighed loudly and laid back down while Tsuyoshi kept his eyes on the two men who were ranting and raving at each other. Ryura looked over and down at Kagome and Shippou. The two were sleeping peacefully, and he was starting to get worried the commotion would wake them up. With that thought in mind he growled softly out of annoyance at the situation, and carefully moved Kagome and Shippou away from him.

The Miko whined softly at the loss of Ryura's heat, making the Dragon Daiyoukai still at his movements. When she rolled to face the other way, dragging Shippou along with her, Ryura let out a breath he had been holding, then slowly rose to his feet, grabbing Fujinga as he went. He lifted the sword to rest on his shoulder and gave a quick crack of his slightly stiff neck.

Ryura threw a look at Tsuyoshi, who nodded and chuckled despite the situation. With a small yawn Ryura padded his way over to Inuyasha and Kouga, ruffling a hand through his hair, which oddly enough he found was unbraided and flowing freely down his back. When had that happened? He must have been more tired than he thought.

Ryura shook his head. Coming to a stop behind Inuyasha he put on his best annoyed face and cleared his throat.

"It cannot be any later than just after sunrise. What is the meaning of this?" he asked with a threatening tone. "Are you trying to wake the girls up?"

Inuyasha instantly stilled at hearing Ryura's voice and looked over his shoulder at the pissed off looking Dragon behind him. Ryura bounced his sword on his bare shoulder, waiting for an answer. Kouga, on the other hand, frowned and puffed up, stomping around Inuyasha to stand in front of Ryura.

"Who, exactly, the fuck are you?" the wolf asked as he stuffed his arms over his chest in an arrogant manner.

Kouga gave him a quick look over and if he had been anyone else, he would have paled. This guy, this Dragon, was a Daiyoukai. This wasn't Inuyasha he was standing up to now. But, with the one tracked mind Kouga had, he smelled Kagome's scent layering the Dragon Daiyoukai heavily and growled.

"And why do I smell Kagome all over you!? You bastard, what did you do to my Kagome!"

Ryura rolled his eyes. "I'm guessing this is Kouga, eh Inuyasha?" he asked while completely ignoring Kouga's question.

"Damn right it is. Can never have a goddamn day's peace without this fucker sniffing around," Inuyasha grumbled.

"Hey, answer me, asshole!" Kouga roared.

The wolf Prince had stepped forward and would have been directly in Ryura's face if the Dragon didn't have a height advantage. Ryura's eyes narrowed as he looked down to Kouga, a frown marring his face. His chest was rumbling with an unreleased growl.

"I am Ryura," he said simply, not going too much into who he was. A name would do for now.

Kouga tapped his foot, waiting for his other question to be answered.

Ryura sighed and closed his eyes. It was way too early for this.

"And you smell Kagome on me because she was sleeping against me," Ryura said honestly.

"What's wrong?" Sango's slurred voice interrupted Kouga from blowing his lid.

With blurry eyes the slayer looked over, then sighed heavily. "Oh, Kouga. I'm going back to sleep. Keep it quiet or I'll show you why I'm the only one of my clan still alive!"

Without waiting for an answer, Sango curled back under Kirara's tails. She was serious with her threat, the youkai could tell it.

"Outside. Now," Ryura said with a tilt of his head.

He stepped around Inuyasha and Kouga, moving out into the open air. A crunching noise under him signaled Ryura into realizing the dust from the battle the night before had not been completely blown away, and it also made him wonder just where in the hell were his boots, and the rest of his attire? He was only wearing pants, for Kami sake!

"So now you gonna tell me why you were sleeping that close to Kagome?" Kouga asked when they were far enough away to not rile the angry and tired Sango.

Inuyasha folded his arms into his sleeves and gave a snort. "That's 'cause he's her Lord now."

"What!?" Kouga yelped. He spun on his heel and glared at Ryura.

"You heard him, wolf. Kagome is the Miko of my House now," Ryura tilted his head against the blade of Fujinga as he spoke.

"And you just let this happen!? I knew you were stupid, Inuyasha, but come on," Kouga growled as he turned to the hanyou.

"Let what happen? Nothin's wrong with it, ya damn flea bag." Inuyasha said with a grown. "It's just an excuse for her to wear different colored Miko clothing, s'all. He ain't gonna make her do anything weird, he's already said as much."

"You believed him!? If that was the case, why didn't Kagome ask me!?"

Kouga was almost foaming at the mouth now he was so angry. He grabbed at his hair with both hands and gave it a firm tug, ignoring the pain it caused.

"I believe, as she said, it was because you would have gotten the wrong idea," Ryura muttered loud enough for both men to hear.

Inuyasha muttered, "Damn right he would've."

"My Lord," Tsuyoshi announced his arrival by addressing Ryura.

Ryura turned to the side to look at his Steward, who was ignoring the seething glare Kouga was giving him now, too.

"Lady Kagome is awake and asking if you and Inuyasha-sama would care for something to eat." Tsuyoshi completely ignored Kouga's existance for now. He wasn't about to greet the one who had woken him from the first sleep he had in days.

"Good goin', damn wolf. You went and woke Kagome up!" Inuyasha said while stalking past the wolf. "I'm gonna go eat," he said then he was off, heading back towards the cave.

Kouga visibly brightened and chased after Inuyasha yelling, "Kagome!"

Ryura and Tsuyoshi simultaneously sighed and one at a time, followed after the dust trail Kouga left behind.

The wolf Prince whirled into the cave with a brilliant smile on his face. He spotted Kagome instantly, who was putting her hair up. He ignored the others and rushed over to her, grabbing her and spinning her into a tight embrace.

Kagome yelled loudly at the surprise, even if she should have known better. Kouga's strong arms were wrapped around her and she could feel her stomach flip around from the lack of food at Kouga's spinning.

"Kouga!" she yelled. "I'm gonna be sick!"

Kouga let out a deep throated 'eep' and gently set Kagome down on her feet. As she wobbled around he put a hand on her shoulder to steady her as he leaned over slightly to look at her face. His other hand rested on his thigh, his weapon, Goraishi, glinting dangerously in the light of the fire against his dark skin.

"Sorry, Kagome..." Kouga said sheepishly. He didn't mean to spin her that much, but he just couldn't help himself. He lost control of his actions whenever he saw the Miko.

Kouga leaned back slightly, taking a good look at what she was wearing. His eyes fell on the symbol on her right shoulder and quick as lightning, he jumped a foot away from her.

"Y-you... that..." he sputtered out while pointing a finger at the crest.

Kagome blinked quickly and looked to where he was pointing. She was just about to tell him his treatment of her was fine, just to not do it again this early in the morning, but his backpedaling caused her to change her mind.

"This? It's Ryura's crest. The House of Storms," she said with a bright smile. "I'm the House's Miko!"

Kouga paled three shades and shakily ran his left hand through his hair. Ryura was that Lord? Oh no, this was not good.

"Indeed you are," Ryura said with a small smile as he neared them.

Kouga watched as Ryura passed Kagome, settling a hand on her shoulder that held the crest as he went. Kagome followed after him, fussing about going barefooted out into glass dust. Ryura gave her a grin and showed her the bottom of his foot. It was coated in the white dust, but otherwise unharmed. At seeing this, Kagome nodded and collected his shirt, handing it to him. He took it with a quiet murmur of thanks and slipped the white silk-like shirt over his arms.

As Ryura went about getting dressed, Kagome turned to face Kouga again. He was still pale, worrying her.

"Kouga? Are you all right?" she asked as she took a step near him.

Kouga took one step back.

"What...?" Kagome was confused and worried now. She'd never seen Kouga act like this.

"I can't, Kagome. I'm sorry. He's the Lord of the East. He's higher ranking than I am," Kouga admitted.

"But, I'm still your pack sister?" Kagome asked.

Ryura watched on from behind the Miko with a curious look on his face. The wolf Prince seemed to be naïve or air headed, but by his actions he proved he was anything but.

"You may approach my Miko, Kouga. I only ask that you be a little more gentle with her," Ryura rumbled as he slid on a boot.

Kouga gave Ryura a surprised look. "You... aren't going to stop me?"

"Why should I?" Ryura asked with a raised brow.

Kagome looked back and forth between the men. What was going on?

Miroku and Sango, both now awake, watched on with interest. Sango was quietly explaining what was happening to the monk.

"You see," she said in a low voice, "this is another youkai custom. Ryura owns Kagome to a certain degree. If he was an Inu, she would be a direct part of his pack, and considering there are no females in the pack besides Kagome, she would be considered the pack's alpha female."

Miroku nodded slightly, "And that explains Kouga's behavior how...?"

"Kouga's attempting to court Kagome. To do that, he needs her pack alpha's permission along with hers," Sango explained. "He's never seen Inuyasha as an alpha, because they're sort of even when it comes to power. Kouga might not have slew of special abilities like Inuyasha, but makes up for it in brute strength. If it came down to it, I'm not for sure who would win, especially since Kouga has Goraishi now."

Miroku's face lit up in understanding and together, he and Sango went back to watching.

Kouga shifted uncomfortably and scrubbed his face with his hands, mindful of Goraishi's claws.

"She's your Miko. You just said it!" Kouga exclaimed.

Ryura nodded slowly with understanding. "You wish for my permission to court Kagome," it was a statement, not a question.

Kouga blushed hotly and looked away, embarrassed. He nodded once. Kagome, seeing his actions, turned red herself.

"Well, that is truthfully up to her. Her Lord I may be, but who she courts is her choice," Ryura said with a small nod.

Outwardly the Dragon Daiyoukai appeared to be fine, but inwardly his emotions were in an uproar. His stomach was doing flips, and a lump was trying to form in his throat. Thing was, he didn't know why.

"Well, Kagome," he said once he forced the lump to disappear. "Do you want to court Kouga?"

Kagome squeaked and looked from Ryura to Kouga. She was blushing all the way to her ears now. Sure, Kouga had always said she was his woman and announced his intentions to mate with her, but she guessed a part of her never took it seriously until now.

At the fire, Inuyasha watched the three with a small frown on his face. He was wanting so badly to stand up and beat Kouga's head in, but his instincts were oddly keeping him in his place, and a youkai was nothing, even hanyou, if they didn't listen to these types of instincts.

Tsuyoshi watched from his place at the mouth of the cave. If Kagome did decide to court, and perhaps mate with the wolf Prince, it would serve to better their House. The House of Storms would gain the entire Eastern Wolf Tribe as firm and solid allies, and right now, Ryura's house desperately needed that.

But, was that what she wanted? Tsuyoshi knew she wasn't aware of youkai politics, and he wasn't about to say it now. Kagome seemed the type of person to choose others over herself. She would undoubtedly choose to mate with the wolf Prince to help Ryura's House gain more footing in the constantly evolving world of youkai politics.

No one made a noise, not even the groggy Shippou who had woken up in time to catch the tail end of the conversation. All eyes were on Kagome.

"Kouga," Kagome said once she steeled herself. If she could make it through Ryura's training, she could get through this. "I don't think... I could court you. I-mn, I just don't feel for you in that way."

Kouga smiled slightly and chuckled, "Yeah, I know."

"Then why...?" Kagome asked, startled.

"Couldn't hurt to try?" Kouga supplied.

Kagome smiled softly at him, one he returned. That look was soon replaced by one of seriousness, however, as he turned his gaze to Ryura.

"Lord Ryura," he started. "Kagome is a member of the Eastern Wolf Tribe. We adopted her a long time ago, and my pack adores her. She is our sister. She also has strong ties to the Princess of the Northern Yoro tribe."

Ryura nodded as he listened. He was leaning against a wall of the cave with his arms folded over his chest. What, exactly, was Kouga getting at?

"Because of that, I want to form an alliance with your House," Kouga finished.

Tsuyoshi coughed, almost choking at the surprise he felt. That normally didn't happen unless it was for true blood related members of another noble family or pack, like Kouga's. He quickly pushed himself from his position and moved over to stand at Ryura's side. Ryura had been out of practice as acting a Lord for a long time. It couldn't hurt for him to be closer to Ryura in case he needed help. This was serious business, after all.

"I will accept your proposal, Prince Kouga," Ryura said as he shifted to stand his full height.

Turns out Ryura didn't need Tsuyoshi's help, after all.

"Great!" Kouga said with a broad grin. "When I see Ayame next, I'll talk to her about this and see if we can convince her grandfather of the same thing."

"Truly?" Tsuyoshi asked this time, shocked yet again.

Kouga nodded in response once he took a good look at Tsuyoshi. He saw the same crest in the same place Kagome wore hers, and knew who this man must be.

"Ayame is my rightful intended. I promised her a long time ago I would marry her, and since Kagome has refused me, I intend to keep my promise." Kouga paused for a moment, "You see, Naraku wiped out most of my tribe. I'll rebuild it by joining with Ayame's along with a wild pack of ookami youkai who are looking to join a tribe."

"I see. I am sorry to hear that," Ryura said. "Seems we are in much the same position. You tribe allying with my House will only benefit the both of us in the future. Once Naraku is gone, I will retake my lands, and then we can work out something more solid, eh?"

Tsuyoshi looked between his Lord and Kouga, not saying anything. After a moment he slid his eyes over to Kagome and inwardly smiled. She was indeed a boon to the House of Storms, and she had done nothing except be herself, no political matings or marriages required. Tsuyoshi began wondering what else the little Miko would bring them in the future.

The group of shard hunters leisurely walked at their own pace with Inuyasha at the front. Sango and Kagome walked side by side, speaking quietly, Kirara sitting atop Sango's shoulder. Shippou was resting on Miroku's shoulder. Taking up the rear were Ryura and Tsuyoshi.

Kouga had left, saying he wanted to find his tribe and tell them the news, as well as seek out Ayame and ask for her assistance, and inform her that once Naraku was dead, he would take her for his mate.

Inuyasha couldn't of been happier that the wolf was gone, too.

The atmosphere between the group was calm and peaceful for once, and no one seemed bothered to try and interrupt it. It wouldn't last long, however.

Kagome felt a pang in her chest that hurt to the point she found it hard to breathe. She stopped walking and clutched at her haori, bunching the silky material between her fingers hard enough her knuckles turned white.

"Kagome!?" Sango exclaimed. She was instantly at her sister's side, placing her hands on Kagome's shoulders gently. "Kagome, what's wrong!?"

Sango's cries had the rest of the group's attention. Ryura was quickly pushing his way through the small throng of people that had formed around Kagome. When he knelt to look into her eyes, he found she wasn't looking at him, but at Inuyasha instead.

"K-k... Kikyou..." she gasped out. "Inu...we... Naraku.."

Ryura looked up to the hanyou and saw his face was a shade of white. He looked back to Kagome, then to the others. They all, aside from Tsuyoshi, held looks of shock on their face, and were staring at Inuyasha. He looked back at them for a few moments before spinning on the ball of his foot and leaping away with a power thrust that slightly cracked the ground.

Picking Kagome up in his arms, Ryura barked out, "Move! Tsuyoshi, keep up with him, go!"

The water Dragon was quickly in the air, taking after Inuyasha with fervor. Sango and Miroku hopped on the now transformed Kirara's back and followed after, with Ryura, Kagome and Shippou trailing behind them.

As they traveled, Kagome seemed to calm down and began to explain to Ryura and Shippou what she felt.

"Terror. It was from Kikyou. Since she has a piece of my soul I can feel strong emotions from her, which is rare. We have to hurry. She's still weak from Naraku's attack on her," she managed to pant out.

Ryura nodded and with a burst of his youki, he empowered everyone with a speed boost from the winds surrounding them. He held a grim look on his face as he moved to fly in front of Kirara. He could feel Tsuyoshi's aura ahead of them and used that as a guide to show the others the way.

What they came across, however, was enough to have even Miroku's teeth clenching as he tried not to let the tears fall that he felt gathering in his eyes.

Kikyou was walking across a large open field covered in lush green grass. Miasma seeped from her chest from an open wound. Her movements were stiff and jerky as she made her way for the stunned Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha..." she bit out, her voice rough and deep from the pain she was feeling.

That was enough for Inuyasha. He ran forward and caught her just before she fell and hit the ground. Lowering himself and Kikyou to the ground he began to rock them back and forth.

"Kikyou? What happened?" he asked loudly. He could hear his heart rushing in his ears and nearly had to shout to hear himself over the noise.

The two began to quietly talk with the rest of the group looking on with sadness. Kagome was crying now and had her face buried into Ryura's chest. The Dragon Daiyoukai held her tightly to him, knowing exactly why she was crying so hard, for she had whispered it to him.

"I-I can't save her... I'm not... I'm not strong enough."

Ryura grit his teeth and held her even tighter. If it was painful to Kagome, she didn't say anything.

Tsuyoshi moved closer to Ryura and Kagome. He too had heard the whisper and felt a shock. Kagome was this pure? Inuyasha was the person she loved, and Kikyou was the one he loved, the one who he would always compare Kagome to. Most women would have wanted this to happen, at least most youkai women. Kagome, on the other hand, was grieving that she couldn't save Kikyou. Did she truly love Inuyasha that much, or had she finally let go?

He sighed and placed his hand on Kagome's head, gently stroking her hair with his clawed fingers. Tsuyoshi didn't know what to make of the situation, but he, along with his Lord, would try to calm her as much as they could.

Day fell into night and before Kikyou passed on, she looked to Kagome and gave her a smile.

"You save my soul, Kagome. Thank you," she said with a weak voice. "Now you... you must find Kohaku."

Kikyou went on to explain the best she could about the light she left within Kohaku's shard of the Shikon no Tama, and that should it fall into Naraku's hands, it would purify him instantly because of the trap she laid within the Shikon no Tama itself.

When she was finished, Kikyou turned her gaze back to Inuyasha and smiled as best she could.

"I love you, Inuyasha," she whispered.

Inuyasha's body shook with a silent sob. He couldn't get the words out of his mouth over the choked feeling in his throat, so instead he leaned down and kissed her with as much emotion as he could, letting his actions speak for themselves. Kikyou's body began to glow blue shortly after that, and with a burst of light, dozens of souls escaped her body and flew off in random directions. A beautiful, bittersweet moment in time none of them would forget.

Finally a slightly larger soul excited her body and flew off into the air, disappearing amongst the stars. It was the shadow of the piece of a soul that had been keeping Kikyou alive all this time; it was the shadow of Kagome's soul.

As Kikyou's body faded from Inuyasha's arms, leaving him feeling hollow and empty, the rest could do nothing but silently grieve for Inuyasha and Kikyou. Sango was in Miroku's arms, crying as quietly as she could and the monk was staring off with glistening eyes at the spot that the final soul had disappeared. He was silently thanking Kikyou for her sacrifice.

Kagome was still pressed against Ryura with Tsuyoshi's hand on her head, except now between the Dragon Daiyoukai and her was Shippou, clinging to Kagome's haori and crying as well. Each and every single one of them felt Inuyasha's pain to varying degrees, and none of them thought it was fair.

But deep within them, they felt the fire of anger flair to life once again and silently they all agreed Naraku was going to die, and soon.

A.N.: I'm hoping to make the chapters longer as I go along! It's taking me a bit to get used to writing again, sadly. So far I'm in love with you guys who have reviewed! Hope you continue to enjoy it as much as I have writing it!