InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Shocking New Love ❯ A Tragic Death ( Chapter 14 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Kagome screamed again.

“Sesshomaru, help me!” she shrieked. Naraku growled and tightened his grip on Kagome's wrists. Kagome gasped in pain, glaring up at Naraku with teary eyes.

“I'm warning you… When Sesshomaru and the others come, you'll be sorry,” she said coldly. Naraku laughed, this time with amusement.

“Ha, don't make me laugh. Do you really think those fools can slay me? They have tried several times already and each time, they have failed.” Kagome was more angry than scared now.

“They WILL succeed this time! We have grown stronger since the last time we fought you!” she snapped, struggling. Naraku chuckled.

“Well, I'm not sure about them, but you seem pretty weak right now to me.”

“The only reason I seem weak right now is because you used a dirty trick to lure me into a trap!” countered Kagome. Naraku smirked.

“That's true. Well, with both of your hands in my grasp, how do you expect to use your arrows against me? You're completely helpless.” Although Kagome hated to admit it, Naraku was right. Or was he? Kagome grinned, clenching her hands into fists. Naraku narrowed his eyes at her. What's she smiling about? He wondered.

“Naraku, just because I can't reach my arrows or bow doesn't mean I can't use my power,” said Kagome. Naraku's eyes widened a bit with surprise at the determination in the girl's voice.

“What do you mean by that?” He finally understood when a pale pink aura surrounded Kagome. He cried out in pain when he felt the spiritual powers burning his hands where he was holding Kagome's wrists, letting go of her. He glared at her.

“I see now… Very clever, Kagome,” he said coldly. The pink aura around Kagome disappeared and she grabbed her bow from around her quiver and held it at the ready. She pulled an arrow out of the quiver and put it into the string, aiming it at Naraku.

“I told you I wasn't bluffing. Now, are you ready to die, Naraku?” asked Kagome determinedly, pulling the string of the bow tight. Naraku laughed.

“A mere arrow, surrounded by sacred powers or not, will have no effect on me as long as I possess the Sacred Jewel shards,” he said confidently. Kagome had forgotten about that, but she was still determined to bring Naraku down.

Just then, Sesshomaru burst into the small clearing, leaping into the air, zooming towards Naraku. His eyes were glowing red from his rage.

“NARAKU!!!!!” he roared, pulling out the Tokijin and taking a powerful slash at Naraku. Naraku looked up abruptly, but didn't have time to dodge Sesshomaru's blow. The sword sliced through his stomach, cutting him in half. Kagome smiled and cheered.

“Sesshomaru, you came for me!” she cried happily. Sesshomaru landed in a kneeling position behind Naraku, who fell to the ground in two halves. Sesshomaru put the Tokijin back at his belt and his eyes turned back to normal. He turned to face Kagome, a serious expression on his face. Kagome burst into happy tears and ran up to him, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly.

“I just knew you would come for me!” she sobbed. Sesshomaru wasted no time in hugging her back. He held the girl close to him, relieved that she was okay.

“Did he harm you?” he asked. Kagome pulled away from the hug and held up one of her wrists, which was bruised from Naraku's grip on her. She also had a few puncture marks on them from where Naraku's claws sunk into her skin.

“A little bruised, but I'm okay.” Then Naraku's laugh resounded through the clearing. Sesshomaru whipped out the Tokijin and looked around, eyes narrowed.

“How touching. The great Lord Sesshomaru and the priestess, back together at last,” mocked Naraku. Kagome nocked her arrow in her bow again and held it at the ready, looking all around her, back to back with Sesshomaru.

“Where are you, Naraku? Show yourself!” demanded Sesshomaru. That creepy laugh… Kagome heard something and looked into the direction it came from. To her horror, the two halves of Naraku were melding themselves back to together! She screamed.

“Sesshomaru, look!” Sesshomaru looked at Naraku's body and got into his battle stance, ready to fight. Naraku, fully regenerated, stood up and looked at him evilly, chuckling in his throat. Kagome aimed her arrow at him, ready to shoot if necessary.

“You should know better, Sesshomaru. I don't die easily,” Naraku pointed out. Sesshomaru growled.

“Sesshomaru, Naraku possesses almost all of the Sacred Jewel. That's why he can regenerate himself,” whispered Kagome. Sesshomaru nodded. Well then, I'll just have to part him from the Sacred Jewel shards, thought Sesshomaru.

Meanwhile, back in the forest, Inuyasha was fighting with Kagura and Kanna alone. Kagura leapt into the air as Inuyasha was about to slash her with the Tetsusaiga.

“Dance of Blades!” yelled Kagura. She sent sharp blades of wind at Inuyasha, landing gracefully on the other side of the clearing. Inuyasha growled and parried some of the blades with his sword. But he failed to block one and it sliced him across the shoulder. He cried out in pain and put one hand over his wounded shoulder, glaring at Kagura, fangs bared. Kagura smirked and tapped her fan on her shoulder.

“You're wasting my time. As usual, you're such a mutt,” she mocked. Inuyasha growled and removed his hand from his shoulder, holding up his blood-covered hand. He leapt into the air and slashed his claws through the air.

“Blades of Blood!” he cried, sending red blades of his crystallized blood at Kagura and Kanna. Kagura sent more blades of wind at Inuyasha and cancelled out his attack. Kanna held up her mirror and it began to glow white. The blades of blood heading for her bounced off of the glass and redirected themselves towards Inuyasha! Inuyasha roared in annoyance, knocking his own attack away with the Tetsusaiga. That's right, Kanna can send any attack I throw at her right back at me, remembered Inuyasha.

“Well done, Kanna,” complimented Kagura.

“Thank you,” said Kanna softly. Inuyasha glared at Kagura and smirked.

“If you think you can defeat me, just try it,” he prodded. Kagura grinned and opened her fan again.

“With pleasure. Dance of the Dragon!” Several whirlwinds appeared and circled around Inuyasha.

“I was waiting for you to use that attack. Now you're gonna witness my true power! BACKLASH WAVE!” He sliced the Tetsusaiga through the air and an enormous yellow energy wave absorbed Kagura's attack and sent it flying towards her at great speed. Kagura gasped.

“What?!” she exclaimed. Since the attack had already been a redirection of Kagura's attack, Kanna didn't have the power to redirect it back. But she did have the power to block it. The mirror she was holding glowed white and put a barrier up. When the Backlash Wave collided with the barrier, it vanished! Inuyasha was shocked.

“What happened?!” he exclaimed. Kagura laughed.

“You fool! As long as Kanna is with me, you can't touch me!” she shouted triumphantly. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed angrily. He clenched his hands around the Tetsusaiga's hilt tightly, wracking his brain trying to think of a way to attack Kagura without his attack being sent back or cancelled out.

“Inuyasha!” shouted a voice from within the forest. Inuyasha recognized the voice immediately. His hypothesis was confirmed correct when a large weapon he recognized to be the Hiraikotsu flew out from the trees and hit Kagura. Kagura screamed in pain and surprise and got sent flying into a tree. She crumpled at the base of the trunk, trying to regain her composure. Kirara flew out from the thick expanse of trees with Sango, Miroku, and Shippo on her back. Inuyasha grinned triumphantly.

“Sango! Miroku, Shippo, Kirara!” Sango caught the Hiraikotsu as it flew back to her and shouldered it, landing Kirara on the ground beside Inuyasha.

“Are you all right, Inuyasha?” she asked. He nodded.

“Yeah, I'm fine. My shoulder is bleeding, but oh well. I'll live.” Kanna walked over to Kagura and showed her the image in her mirror: it portrayed Sesshomaru, Kagome, and Naraku battling each other. Kagura stood up weakly and pulled a feather out of her hair.

“You got lucky this time, Inuyasha. But believe me when I say it's not over.” She tossed the feather up into the air and it grew larger. She and Kanna climbed onto it and flew off to help Naraku. Inuyasha growled and sheathed the Tetsusaiga, watching Kagura and Kanna fly off.

“Why'd they fly away?” asked Shippo.

“Probably to help Naraku,” guessed Miroku.

“Well then, if we follow them, we'll find Kagome. Come on,” said Inuyasha. He ran off at full speed after Kagura and Kanna.

“Hey, wait up!” called Shippo. Kirara flew after him.

Naraku leapt at Sesshomaru, an evil look on his face. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and jumped to the side, lashing out at him with the Tokijin. Naraku jumped up into the air, dodging it and landing in front of Kagome. Just what she wanted. She aimed her arrow at Naraku and shot it at him. It hit him head on and the spiritual energy surrounding it left a big hole through his stomach. Sesshomaru ran out of the way before the arrow could hit him (he was right on the other side of Naraku and the arrow would've hit him because the arrow went clean through Naraku's stomach and out the other side). Kagome gave a little victory cheer but her spirits were dampened a moment later when Naraku regenerated himself again.

Kagura and Kanna arrived and landed a few feet from the three of them. They climbed off of the feather and Kagura put the feather back in her hair, holding her fan tightly.

“Naraku, do you need some assistance?” she asked. Naraku didn't answer, but kept attacking Sesshomaru and Kagome on his own with any method he could think of. “I take that as a yes. Dance of Blades!” Kagura sent blades of wind at Sesshomaru and Kagome. Kagome screamed and tried to dodge most of them, but got slashed by a few. She cried out in agony as the blades sliced through her clothes, leaving semi-serious wounds on her. Sesshomaru knocked the blades aimed at him away with his sword and looked at Kagome.

“Kagome!” shouted Sesshomaru. Seeing Kagome get injured right before his eyes was enough to get him angry enough to lash out ferociously at Kagura. Kagura jumped back away from Sesshomaru's sword and kept sending wind blades at him. But Sesshomaru was running and leaping around so quickly and gracefully that he dodged almost all of them, getting slashed by only a couple of them. The wounds weren't more than a quarter inch deep either. Kagura gasped, realizing that she could do no more than dodge. Kagome dropped to her knees, losing blood, fast. She was starting to get dizzy, but her wounds weren't serious enough to kill her quickly. But she thought it would be wise not to move. Naraku laughed menacingly and loomed over her, his arm transforming into that of a big demon's with sharp claws.

“Allow me to put you out of your misery!” he said harshly, raising his clawed hand up, about to slice Kagome into pieces.

“BLADES OF BLOOD!!!!!” Numerous red blades of crystallized blood flew out of the forest and slashed at Naraku's flesh, cutting his demonic arm off. Naraku roared with rage and agony. Kagome looked up with relief.

“I-Inuyasha…” she said weakly. Inuyasha ran up to her and knelt down beside her.

“Kagome, what happened to you?!” he demanded.

“K-Kagura did this…” said Kagome softly. Inuyasha growled dangerously at Kagura.

“You WENCH!” he shouted. He whipped out the Tetsusaiga and lunged at Kagura, roaring his battle cry. Kagura was so busy dodging and blocking Sesshomaru's vicious attacks that she hadn't noticed Inuyasha heading right for her.

“WIND SCAR!” roared Inuyasha, slamming the Tetsusaiga's blade onto the ground. A yellow energy wave headed for Kagura. Kanna ran in front of Kagura and her mirror glowed white. To everyone's surprise, the Wind Scar got absorbed into the mirror! Inuyasha stood his ground, waiting for something to happen. The mirror glowed bright yellow and the Wind Scar shot out of it, directed at Inuyasha and Sesshomaru! Kirara and the others appeared, just in time to see what would happen next.

“Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, look out!” screamed Shippo, jumping up and down on Kirara's back. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru leapt up into the air, trying to dodge the attack, but it was no good. The Wind Scar hit the two of them head on. The two screamed in agony as their kimonos got shredded in several places and very deep wounds were left all over their bodies. Kagome was watching the whole thing and was devastated with shock.

“INUYASHA!!!!!!!!!!! SESSHOMARU!!!!!!!!!” she shrieked, wincing when her wounds started bleeding more after she spoke. The attack slammed Inuyasha into a thick tree trunk and he fell to the ground, badly wounded. Sesshomaru collided with the tree on the opposite side of the clearing. His numerous wounds were gushing with blood, and he felt the life slipping from him, but he was holding on, not willing to die until Naraku was dead. The Tenseiga pulsed and his wounds began healing. He felt himself getting his strength back and smiled.

“Thank you, Tenseiga,” he whispered softly so no one would hear him. He stood up, his kimono torn open in places and picked the Tokijin up off of the ground. He looked over at Inuyasha to see how he was doing. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo were at his side, trying to save his life. Sesshomaru walked over to Kagome to heal her, but she held her hand up and stopped him from going any further. She looked up at him, a pleading look in her eyes.

“Please, Sesshomaru… Please help Inuyasha…” she begged. Sesshomaru was shocked. Why did she want him to heal Inuyasha and not her?

“What about you?” he asked. Kagome shook her head, smiling slightly.

“Don't worry about me… I'll be all right… Just please help him.” Sesshomaru nodded and walked over to Inuyasha. Naraku, Kanna, and Kagura watched him, then they turned their attention to Kagome. Kagome held onto her bow firmly, ready to fight.

Miroku and Sango turned Inuyasha onto his back. Shippo had tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Please, Inuyasha, don't die on us!” he pleaded, hoping Inuyasha could hear him. Inuyasha didn't budge. Miroku put his hand on Inuyasha's chest to see if he still had a heartbeat.

“He has a heartbeat, but just barely,” he said. Kirara loomed over Inuyasha and began licking his cheek gently, trying to rouse him into consciousness. Sango looked up when she heard Sesshomaru's footsteps. Sesshomaru put the Tokijin back at his belt and pulled the Tenseiga out of its sheath.

“All of you, stand back,” he ordered. The four friends obeyed and backed away from Inuyasha. The blade of the Tenseiga pulsated and glowed light blue. Sesshomaru slashed Inuyasha across the stomach, and pink energy from the blade went into his body. Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kirara watched intently. Inuyasha's wounds healed and his heartrate sped up to its normal pace. His eyelids quivered and he opened his eyes, looking around at everyone. Shippo and the others smiled. Inuyasha sat up, rubbing his head.

“Ugh, what happened…?” he asked.

“You and Sesshomaru got attacked by the Wind Scar and got badly injured. But Sesshomaru saved you with the Tenseiga,” said Miroku. Inuyasha couldn't believe his ears.

“He saved me?” asked Inuyasha, looking up at Sesshomaru with disbelief. Sesshomaru nodded.

“Yes. Kagome asked me to, and I granted her request.” Inuyasha's eyes narrowed for a moment, trying to pick out any hint of a lie in Sesshomaru's words, but found none. He sighed.

“Thanks, Sesshomaru.” Sesshomaru held his hand out to Inuyasha. Everyone held their breath, waiting to see what would happen. Inuyasha grinned and took hold of Sesshomaru's hand, getting to his feet with his brother's help. Inuyasha picked up the Tetsusaiga and held it firmly. He looked at Sesshomaru, a small smile on my face.

“We'll have to work together on this one. But don't get me wrong, after this is over, we're rivals,” he said. Sesshomaru nodded. Inuyasha stepped forward and got into battle stance. Sesshomaru sheathed the Tenseiga and pulled out the Tokijin, standing next to Inuyasha.

“Lets do this, Sesshomaru,” said Inuyasha confidently. Sesshomaru smirked.

“Indeed.”

Naraku couldn't believe his eyes. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were actually working together! He laughed.

“Well, well, well, what's this? The sibling rivals are now working together to save the mortal woman they love. How pathetic,” he mocked. Inuyasha stepped forward more, now directly beside Kagome. He held the Tetsusaiga up threateningly, growling.

“Wanna say that again, Naraku?” he asked, a menacing tone in his voice. Kagome stood up, stumbling a bit, but she recovered from her little blunder and stood up straight, wincing as her wounds bled.

“Stop it, Inuyasha… This is my fight,” she said. Everyone looked at her with disbelief.

“Kagome, are you insane?! They'll kill you!” said Inuyasha, exasperated. Kagome held her bow up and took an arrow out of her quiver.

“No, Inuyasha. I'm not insane. But you and Sesshomaru already got hurt on my account, and I don't want any of you to die because of me. Now let me handle this.” Inuyasha looked at Kagome, a worried look in his eyes. He glimpsed some tears in Kagome's eyes and sighed, nodding.

“Okay, Kagome… Give it your best,” he said. “But I'm standing by in case I'm needed.” Kagome smiled and nodded. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru backed away from Kagome, standing to the side with their swords out in case something went wrong. Naraku smirked and stepped forward, standing about 9 feet away from Kagome. Kagome nocked her arrow into her bowstring and aimed it at the sky. She put her purification powers into the tip of the arrow and began silently praying. Please work, please work, please work, she thought. She aimed her arrow up at the sky and let it fly. Naraku looked up, then back at Kagome. He laughed.

“Excuse me, but what were you aiming at?” he asked, a horribly sarcastic tone in his voice. Kagome smirked and looked up. The arrow was diving point first towards the ground, a bright pink aura surrounding it. Miroku looked up at the arrow and smiled.

“Nice move, Kagome. Nice move indeed,” he whispered to himself. Sango heard him and looked at him.

“What did she just do, Miroku?” she asked.

“She put the power of purification in the arrow. That's very effective against demons like Naraku,” explained Miroku in no more than a whisper. Sango nodded, understanding, and smiled. Naraku looked up at the arrow, his eyes widening. Now he understood. He glared at Kagome, a slight smirk on his face. He threw a barrier up around himself, hoping it would protect him from the arrow. Inuyasha's eyes widened with surprise.

“A barrier! How can she break a barrier with a little arrow?” he asked Miroku. Miroku smiled.

“Just watch,” he said. The arrow plunged through Naraku's barrier, tearing a hole through it. It collided with the ground directly in front of Naraku and a large pink aura erupted from it. Kagome grinned when she heard Naraku's scream of pain. Inuyasha smiled, a triumphant look on his face.

“You did it! You did it, Kagome!” he congratulated. Kagome looked over her shoulder at him, a bright smile on her face. Shippo let out a cry of surprise and pointed at the spot where the three demons were.

“Look, he's not dead!” he exclaimed. Everyone whipped their attention to Naraku. When the spiritual energy completely cleared, there he was, standing there, completely unharmed.

“But how? Nothing could've lived through that!” she gasped, not believing what she was seeing. Naraku chuckled.

“You fool. As long as I have the Sacred Jewel shards in my possession, no spiritual powers will cause great damage to me,” he said. Everyone gasped.

“Oh no! What do I do?” asked Kagome desperately. Inuyasha growled and ran forward, his sword raised. Miroku gasped, realizing that any attack Inuyasha used would be useless.

“Inuyasha, no! Don't be rash!” he shouted. But it was too late.

“WIND SCAR!” hollered Inuyasha. With one sweep of the Tetsusaiga's blade, a large energy wave headed straight for the three villains. Naraku smirked and held his hand up to Kanna.

“Now, Kanna,” he said. Kanna nodded and her mirror glowed. Kagome cried out in surprise and realization. No! He was waiting for Inuyasha to jump in so Naraku could send his attack back again! I can't let Inuyasha get killed! She thought. The Wind Scar got absorbed again, and within a few seconds, it got sent back by Kanna's mirror with ten times the force. Inuyasha growled angrily but stood his ground, holding the Tetsusaiga's blade up in front of him as a means of protection.

“Run, Inuyasha! Run!” cried Shippo.

“I'm not running, Shippo! I'm tired of running!” snarled Inuyasha. Kagome screamed and ran towards Inuyasha, wanting to help him. But Sango ran forward and wrapped her arms around the girl, stopping her.

“Inuyasha!” shrieked Kagome. Inuyasha closed his eyes and braced himself for the Wind Scar's impact, but it never came. Everyone gasped, even Naraku and his incarnations did. Inuyasha opened his eyes, and…

Sesshomaru was standing in front of Inuyasha, the Tokijin's blade raised in front of him. Inuyasha was shocked. The Tokijin's blade was repelling the Wind Scar! Sesshomaru growled, using all of his strength to keep the attack from killing Inuyasha instantly.

“What's happening?!” exclaimed Naraku. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes with concentration, and with one sweep of the Tokijin's blade, negated the Wind Scar. Everyone's eyes were wide with amazement. Sesshomaru panted, hands clenched tightly around the Tokijin's hilt. Kagura backed away, shocked.

“How did he cancel that out?” she wondered out loud. Kagome sighed with relief, running up to Sesshomaru and Inuyasha.

“Are you okay?” she asked, concerned. The two dog brothers nodded. Kagome stepped forward, aiming another arrow at Naraku, a furious expression on her face.

“How dare you try to kill him! You'll pay!” she screamed. She let the arrow fly and it zoomed towards Naraku. Naraku laughed.

“Do you honestly think that the only way Kanna can reflect an attack back at you is if it hits her mirror?” he asked. Kagome stepped back.

“What?!” exclaimed everyone. Right when the arrow was about to penetrate Naraku's heart (where the Sacred Jewel shards were), it stopped in midair. Kagome gasped.

“W-What happened?” Kanna's eyes widened a bit and the arrow turned around, aiming at Kagome's heart instead of Naraku's! It zoomed quickly towards Kagome. It was so fast that no one saw it coming. It wasn't until Kagome let out an earsplitting shriek of agony that everyone realized what had happened. Naraku chuckled in his throat, a triumphant look on his face. Inuyasha and the others all had devastated looks on their faces and ran towards Kagome. Kagome had her own arrow stuck deep into her heart, blood oozing out of the wound and soaking her school uniform. Sesshomaru ran up to Kagome, nudging past Inuyasha and Miroku. He knelt down, holding Kagome in his arms. Kagome looked up at him weakly.

“Ses… sho… ma… ru…” she whispered. Sesshomaru looked into Kagome's eyes, a troubled expression on his face.

“Hang in there, Kagome,” he demanded. Kagome held one of Sesshomaru's hands in hers. Inuyasha had an angry and devastated look in his eyes, as did everyone else. The spark of life disappeared from Kagome's eyes, and then her body went limp. At that moment, Sesshomaru's heart became filled with grief and rage. Shippo looked up at his face and thought he saw the demon lord's eyes flash a bright red color for a split second. The little fox demon started crying uncontrollably over his lost friend, holding one of Kagome's hands in his. Sango cried into Miroku's shoulder. Miroku wrapped his arms around the demon slayer, tears dripping slowly down his cheeks. Kirara roared mournfully, nuzzling Kagome's body with her nose, hoping that she would open her eyes again. She didn't.

“Kagome…” muttered Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru clenched his hands into fists, his eyes starting to glow red with vengeful rage. Inuyasha knelt down and held Kagome close to his chest, a grieving expression on his face. Sesshomaru picked up the Tokijin and stood up, glaring furiously at Naraku. Deep growls rumbled out of his throat.

“You… accursed… WRETCH!” he roared, the markings on his cheeks getting jagged edges to them, his claws getting sharper. Naraku laughed.

“Lord Sesshomaru, you broke your promise. You broke your promise that you wouldn't let anything happen to Kagome,” he said smugly. Sesshomaru was about to transform into a humongous dog demon out of his pure hatred for Naraku at that moment. But the Tenseiga was stopping him from doing so, and he didn't know why. Sango walked up next to Sesshomaru, her hands clenched into fists.

“Naraku, how DARE YOU! First you killed my family, then you took Kohaku from me, and now you kill my best friend! You MONSTER!” she shouted hatefully. Naraku smirked.

“Demon slayer, how would you feel if Kohaku wasn't the only one of your loved ones that I took from you?” he asked.

“You already took Kagome from me!” screamed Sango. Naraku chuckled. He filled the clearing with his miasma, leaving everyone blind to where he was or what he was doing. Everyone coughed from the toxic gas. A minute later, it all disappeared. Inuyasha looked down at where Kagome was in his arms a moment before, and to his surprise, she was gone! He stood up, looking around. Naraku, Kagura, and Kanna were gone too! He growled angrily. Sesshomaru's eyes changed back to normal and he put the Tokijin back at his belt. He looked back at the others, a furious look on his face.

“They're gone. And they've taken Kagome's body,” he said angrily. Inuyasha growled, putting the Tetsusaiga back into its sheath. Sango looked at the ground. She understood what Naraku had meant now.

“He's going to use her for something, I just know it,” she grumbled, looking up at Inuyasha. Kirara growled, fur bristling with fury.

“We have to find Naraku's castle. That's where he's most likely taken her,” said Miroku. Apparently, Sesshomaru had figured that out moments before, because he was gone.

“He's really upset,” said Shippo. “But why? He never cared for Kagome this much before.” Inuyasha sighed.

“I suppose I should tell you the truth… He wasn't taking Kagome to find jewel shards… They're together…” he explained. Everyone blinked, surprised.

“`Together' in what sense?” asked Miroku.

“In the same way you and Kikyo were?” guessed Sango. Inuyasha nodded, acknowledging Sango that she was indeed correct. Everyone gasped.

“Why didn't she tell us?” asked Shippo, a little hurt that Kagome would keep a secret from him. Inuyasha shrugged.

“I guess she just wasn't ready,” he mumbled. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo climbed onto Kirara's back.

“Lead the way, Inuyasha. Just keep following Sesshomaru's scent,” said Miroku. Inuyasha nodded and ran off into the forest, following Sesshomaru's scent trail. Everyone else followed, determined to find Naraku and kill him for all of the despicable, evil things he had put them through.