Memories Of A Battle Long Past

Kagome struggled to evoke the memories through the thick haze that was her mind. She recalled the still forms of her friends, blood sobbing from their wounds, as the demon Naraku hovered over them. Inuyasha, clad in his robe of the Fire Rat, growled a threat at the dark half demon who stood before them. He elevated the Tetsusaiga in his hand in preparation to fire the Wind Scar. Kagome stood next to him with an arrow notched in her bow, her aim the heart of Naraku.

Naraku chuckled at the determination that lingered in their eyes. “You really think you can defeat me? I must admit, your attitudes are admirable, but it is wasted on a futile effort.”

“You’ll pay for hurting my friends,” Inuyasha declared, narrowing his golden eyes. He ignored the sensation of pain in his abdomen from where he had been sliced by one of Naraku’s tentacles. Blood smeared his fingertips. “And, more importantly, you’ll pay for hurting me and Kagome.”

Kagome felt heat rise to her cheeks at his mention of her. She had only suffered from a minor injury to her arm from where she had tripped from attempting to help Inuyasha, and Naraku’s tentacle happened to be the culprit of her fall. Inuyasha hadn’t been too happy about that one. But, then again, he hadn’t been too happy when Sango and Miroku had been injured.

Inuyasha smiled at Kagome, nodding his head in encouragement for her to fire her arrow. She knew that he would follow suit with the Wind Scar, and she was convinced that their joint effort would somehow contribute to killing Naraku. Please, Kami, hear my prayer and help us to defeat Naraku, Kagome pleaded mentally as she shot her arrow. Please, let us succeed.

The Wind Scar was released and followed the path that the arrow took. The pink energy that radiated off of the arrow combined with the yellow energy of the wind scar, and the united powers scarred the dirt beneath them as they traveled towards Naraku. Naraku had little time to react before the energies descended upon him and stabbed his body with agony.

“What? No!” he shouted, feeling the pain in his upper torso increase as Kagome’s purification magic settled in. He could feel himself beginning to disintegrate. The jewel slipped from his clutches and fell to the ground as the evil demon disappeared.

“We did it,” Inuyasha whispered, sheathing his Tetsusaiga. There was a hint of excitement in his eyes, but he managed to contain it as surprise flooded through his entire being. “We actually did it, Kagome; Naraku is dead.”

Kagome kneeled in front of the full Sacred Jewel and held it in the palm of her hand. A smile reached her lips. “It’s finally over.”

“But there’s still the jewel to worry about.”

Kagome averted her gaze to her fallen friends. “We’ll worry about that later. Right now, I think we need to help Sango and Miroku.”

Inuyasha aided in lifting Sango and Miroku onto the back of Kilala, who had been coaxing her mistress to wake up after realizing that the demon exterminator was unconscious. As Inuyasha was placing Miroku onto Kilala’s back, Kagome felt her vision go blurry. She stumbled and fell to her knees, her hands drifting to her throbbing temples.

“Kagome? What’s wrong?” Inuyasha’s voice reached her ears, his voice timid at her disposition.

 “I feel a little dizzy,” she said, and her voice slurred with each word.

It was not long before her eyes shut involuntarily and she fell limp into Inuyasha’s waiting arms, her limbs paralyzed. She could hear his anxious voice calling to her, pleading for her to open her eyes, but her body refused to obey her commands to sit up and tell him that she was fine. Soon her ears could not even detect his voice, and she plummeted into the shadows of her own mind without resistance.

The jewel, however, which still resided in the palm of her hand, seemed to disintegrate before Inuyasha’s very eyes. With a shock, he realized that the jewel was being purified. Eventually, it was reduced to nothing but empty air. Kagome had done it; the jewel was gone from the world, never to return. The cursed life that the jewel held was finally over.Or so he thought.

..::OO::.. 

“I don’t understand,” Kagome said quietly, exasperated. “I thought the jewel was finally out of our hair.”

“It was,” Inuyasha argued, grinding his teeth. “I watched it disintegrate with my own eyes. How did it come back? I don’t get it! I finally find some happiness, and that stupid jewel has to come along and ruin it. How long will it be before that stupid thing is out of our lives? I don’t think I could take it any longer!” He released a feral growl and crossed his arms over his chest defiantly, seething with anger.

 He didn’t care that he had expressed his emotions; he didn’t care that everyone was staring at him with wide eyes. The only thing that caused such an uproar from both his demon and human sides was the jewel that lay in Kagome’s palm, and he wanted them both to shut up before he completely lost it

.Kagome reached forward to touch his shoulder, smiling grimly. “Inuyasha…”

Miroku cleared his throat, directing all attention to the monk. “The jewel’s reappearance is also baffling to the rest of us, you two; Sango and I don’t understand why, either. So, I’m sure that if we all put our heads together, we can figure out exactly why this thing has come back into our lives. Does anyone have any ideas?”

Sango shook her head. “Not a clue.”

“Nothing,” Kagome concluded, sighing heavily.

Inuyasha simply grumbled under his breath, earning a sympathetic glance from his mate.

Miroku released a frustrated sigh and focused his gaze on the jewel. His expression soured. “I never thought I’d live to see that crappy excuse for a wishing well in a miko’s palm. I suppose I was wrong in my assumption.”

“Miroku…” Sango said slowly, pityingly.

“Inuyasha, I fear that I am with you on where your feelings for the jewel lie; I don’t wish for this…stupid jewel…to take away the happiness I worked so hard to build.

”“Do you think I could purify it?” Kagome asked hopefully.

“Perhaps. But, I fear that if it didn’t work last time, it will not work this time. Kagome, I mean you no insult, but your power may not be strong enough to cleanse the jewel.”

She bowed her head. “I see.”

“So, if Kagome can’t purify the jewel, who’s going to do it, monk?” Inuyasha growled, wrapping an arm around Kagome’s waist and pulling her closer to him.

Miroku looked away to avoid the hanyou’s smoldering glare before delivering his answer. “Kikyo.”

Inuyasha angrily rose to his feet. “You expect me to track her down and beg her to purify the jewel for us? No! She tried to kill Kagome! I specifically told her that if I ever caught her trying to kill Kagome again, I would kill her; no questions asked. I’m not going to get close enough to her so that she could plot the same fiasco again! I happen to love my mate!”

Miroku raised his hands up in surrender. “I never doubted your love towards Kagome, Inuyasha; don’t think that I could ever be so cruel. I was just thinking of the future for our children here. Do you want the jewel to be their main concern growing up? Do you want them to worry about whether a demon will come and destroy the village on any particular day? I do not wish to place such a heavy burden on the shoulders of the next generation.”

“Miroku’s right,” Kagome agreed, pulling on Inuyasha’s arm to get him to sit down again. “We have to find Kikyo.”

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at her. “How could you forgive her for what she did to you?”

“I…don’t know. But, we have to try to make peace with her again, Inuyasha. Please?”

Inuyasha sighed and reluctantly nodded, complying with his mate’s wishes. He returned to her side and sat down. “Fine, I’ll look for her. But I have one condition.”

Sango and Kagome stared at him incredulously while Miroku calmly asked, “And, what is your condition?”

“That I go alone.”

Kagome bit her lip, recalling past events. Inuyasha had schemed to steal the jewel from her grasp on many different occasions before he gradually changed; he and Kikyo had even gotten in a bitter dispute over the cursed jewel, which resulted in Kikyo’s death and Inuyasha’s sealing to a tree. Kagome was hesitant; it wasn’t that she didn’t trust Inuyasha; it was Kikyo she didn’t trust. She worried for Inuyasha’s safety, and she let her concern show when she turned her gaze on Inuyasha.

“No arguments,” Inuyasha told her, refusing to crumble under her intense gaze.

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” she said quietly, taking his hand in hers and giving it a squeeze. “At least let me come along with you.”

“No.”

“Inuyasha-”

“I won’t let you get hurt again, Kagome!” he raged. He squeezed her hand until she was sure that he would cut off her circulation.

“Kagome, he’s right,” Sango said, cutting into their lover’s quarrel. “Kikyo has deep hatred for you; it would be best if you remained here, especially now that you are pregnant. Do you want the baby to get hurt?”

“No, of course not,” Kagome murmured.

“Then you should stay here, with us.” She turned to Inuyasha. “Kagome can stay at our hut while you’re gone; that way we can keep an eye on her. Good idea?”

“The best one I’ve heard all day,” Inuyasha grumbled. “I’ll leave early tomorrow morning.”

“It’s settled, then.”

..::OO::..

Her fear became apparent when Inuyasha was about to walk out the door.

It was early. The birds hadn’t even begun their morning songs when Inuyasha laid a chaste kiss on Kagome’s forehead, admiring her sleeping form through sad eyes. He sighed irritably and grabbed the jewel, concealing it in a pocket in his robe of the fire rat. Just as he was about to exit the hut, he felt a pair of arms wrapping themselves around his middle.

“Please, don’t leave,” Kagome begged. He could feel her tears dampening the fabric of his robe.

“I have to go, koi,” he told her gently. “I don’t want this burden to be placed on our pup’s shoulders, or any other kid’s shoulders; I don’t want anyone around here to grow up too quickly, like I did, and I didn’t even have the jewel’s influence. I don’t want to leave you, but I have to go now.”

“Promise you’ll come back?”

“I promise.”

She retracted her hold on him and moved away. Inuyasha cast one longing glance at her before heading out into the morning air.

He followed his nose, and travelled for what seemed like days. He already missed Kagome severely, and the warm breakfasts she would always make him. The sun seemed to climb higher into the sky each time he looked, and before he knew it, night was settling on the rolling hills. He refused to rest, though, and traveled through the night, his muse the mate he loved most. The shorter time I take to find Kikyo, the longer time I’ll have with Kagome, he told himself. Thus was the drive that drove him forward.

It took him two days. At last he cornered the dead priestess near the mountains, where she awaited him near the bank of a river. Her soul collectors shielded her like a blanket, their hums annoying the crap out of the hanyou that watched them. Kikyo dipped her cupped hands into the river and drank heartily before turning her attention to him, shock numbing her features.

“Inuyasha,” she said, surprise lacing her voice. “I did not expect you to seek me out so soon.”

“Don’t get excited,” he replied roughly. “I came to ask for your help.”

“I see.” She scrutinized his demeanor with narrowed eyes. “And, what exactly do you need my help with?”

He revealed the Shikon no Tama from the pocket of his robe. Kikyo recoiled from it as if it was a poisonous snake. “I need you to purify this,” Inuyasha snapped.

“I thought that accursed thing was purified by my reincarnation!”

“For a time, it was; Sango found it in the meadow beyond the village just a few days ago.”

“And, Kagome could not purify it because….?”

Inuyasha averted his eyes. “Because she isn’t strong enough to do it.”

Kikyo seemed pleased by this statement. “I see. I will purify it…under one condition.”

Jeez. Is everyone giving out conditions lately, even me? Inuyasha thought irritably, rolling his eyes. “What do you want, Kikyo?”

“Bliss.”

“And, how am I supposed to give that to you?”

She grinned slyly. “A kiss.”

“I would never betray Kagome like that!” he snarled, hiding the Shikon no Tama once more. “Forget your help! I knew that this was a bad idea from the start…”

“It’s just a kiss, Inuyasha; nothing more, nothing less. And, Kagome will never know; it’s not like she can spy on us now.” He could hear the lust in her voice, knowing that she enjoyed making him feel uncomfortable. He heard her move closer to him. “Just one kiss, Inuyasha, and the jewel will be purified; I give you my word.”

“Your word means nothing to me!”

“But, what does it mean to your pup? Would you like the jewel to destroy your child’s life like it did to yours?” She smiled, knowing that she caught his attention. “I could easily save your child’s life from the impending doom that befalls upon the jewel; I could save your family as well as others. All you have to do is simply share one simple kiss with me, and I will purify the jewel. Do you want happiness, Inuyasha? Do you want Kagome and your pups to live without the fear of a demon on their tails in search of the Shikon no Tama? I can surely quell your worries.”

He hated to admit that he saw the truth in her words, but he simply complied and once again took out the jewel, defeated. Kikyo, seeing the look of defeat flicker in his unwavering gaze, risked a step forward so that she was upon him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she lowered her lips to his.

Inuyasha squeezed his eyes shut. I’m so sorry, Kagome…