A bright light blazed around the young woman, radiating from a jewel in her hand, as the last piece was set into place.  The light faded and Kagome shivered.  Her focus lay on the half demon at her feet.  The smoky wind of battle tugged at her hair and skirt, but all she could see was the one below her.  His robes were soaked in his own blood from his last battle.  They had won the last shard, but at what price?  Kagome kneeled beside the broken half demon.  His breaths came in shallow gasps.  “W-why… why the f-face, Kagome?” he managed with some difficulty.

Kagome bit her lip to hold back the tears.  “The jewel is complete, Inu Yasha… We did it.”

“Good,” Inu Yasha grunted, wincing with the effort.

“What do we do with it now?” she asked quietly, carefully brushing the bangs out of his eyes. 

Amber eyes focused on hers for a moment with fierce intensity.  “I can’t… As long as it’s safe,” he closed his eyes.

“Inu Yasha,” Kagome whispered, touching his cheek.

“I’m dying…” he whispered.  “Don’t worry… I’m not afraid…” he smiled faintly.

“No…”

“Maybe… it’s for the best… but, Kagome… you should know that… I l-love… you…” he breathed as he slipped away.

Kagome sat for a moment in shock.  “No,” she whispered.  She touched his robe, slick with blood.  “No…” she moaned.  She pounded him on the chest with both of her clenched fists.  “No!” she screamed.  “No, no!”  She collapsed against him.  “No…” she sobbed against his neck.  “Please no.”  Her lips blushed against his.  Her body shook with sobs as she cradled his head against hers.  “I l-loved you too,” she whispered as tears ran down her cheeks to his.

Something warm in her hand caught her attention.  She sniffled and stared at the completed jewel.  She stared at Inu Yasha's face, peaceful in eternal sleep.

Something snapped inside of her.  She reached down and began to loosen the ties of his many layered robes.  She had to act quickly her mind told her as her fingers struggled with the blood soaked knots.  The closer to the skin, the more blood there was.  The folds of fabric were sickeningly wet.  She found skin and wiped away the blood to find the deep wound in his chest.  It was amazing he even had the power to talk with the wound he had.  She brushed the thought aside as she took one last look at the Sacred Jewel before stuffing it inside of his wound.  She held both hands over the wound and looked longingly at his face.  “Live,” she said.  “Come back to me.”  Her witch’s sight showed her that the jewel was infusing with his flesh.  “Please stay with me,” she begged, staring at his face for any sign of life.

His eyelids fluttered and he let out a long breath as if he had been holding it.  He opened his eyes and focused them on her.  They held a glimmer of recognition.

“Take the jewel to fill your heart’s desire,” she commanded.

The light from inside of him became blinding.  Its power washed over her and she fell back, overwhelmed into unconsciousness.

Bird song woke her.  It was cool, but not too cool.  Light was still dim through her eyelids.  She opened her eyes to a morning blanketed by mist.  A slight breeze played with her hair.  She glanced around herself, trying to get her bearings.  A pink shape caught her eye.  She rose and found that someone had laid a blood soaked white robe over her.  It was Inu Yasha’s.  She hugged it around herself.  Where was he?  She stumbled towards the pink shape.  Parts of it were stained brown, but she recognized the firerat cloak.  It was wrapped around someone who was sitting on the ground facing away from her.  “Hello?” she called.

“You brought me back from the land of the dead, why?” a male voice asked, muffled by the cloak.

“Inu Yasha?” she asked, kneeling beside the man.

“He is… no more,” the man responded quietly.

“Then who are you?” she demanded.

“Why did you bring me back from the dead?” the man repeated a little louder.

“I wanted him back,” Kagome began to cry.  “Please tell me where he is.”

The other sighed.  “He was given up.  I’m no longer him.”

Kagome frowned, reached out and pulled the firerat robe off of the one beside her.  Inu Yasha’s human form blinked back at her in surprise.  “Inu Yasha?” she cried.

“I told you, I’m no longer him.  I’m no longer a half demon,” the former Inu Yasha growled, his soft brown eyes flashing in annoyance.

“But… how?” Kagome asked, leaning forward to get a better look.

“My heart’s desire was to be man… for you,” he said, looking down at his hands.  He covered his face and began to cry.  “Kami-sama, what have I done?” 

Kagome reached for him and wrapped her arms around his naked torso.  He shivered against her so she pulled the cloak over them.  She held him close and let him cry. 

“I’m human… I’m human… What do I do now?” he sobbed.

“What do you want to do?  You are no longer bound to me,” she said with a smile, indicating the prayer beads.

The former demon removed them and stared at them for a long moment.  He focused on Kagome and stared at her intently.  Swiftly his lips were against hers and he held her.  He broke off the kiss and leaned against her.  “I’m no longer yours to command, but I will follow you if you let me.”

“I don’t need a follower, Inu… um… What shall I call you?” she giggled shyly.

He made a face in thought.  “I’m not sure.  What name do you like?”

“I thought Inu Yasha was fine,” she admitted.

“Well, for now you may call me that until I find a new name,” he replied.  His lips smiled, but his eyes held sadness.  He hastily blinked away tears.

“What’s wrong?” Kagome asked, hugging him.

“Don’t you want me with you?” he asked quietly.

“What?”

“I gave up my powers… for you and you don’t want me to follow you,” he cried.

“That’s not what I meant,” she said, helplessly.  “I meant that you are your own person now, you don’t need to follow anyone.”

“But what if I choose to follow?” he asked, gazing in her eyes.

“Then that is your choice.”

“What if I wanted more?” he asked, not taking his eyes from her.

“Like what?”

“You.”

“Me?”

“I want to be with you always,” he whispered.  He leaned forward and caught her lips with his.  “Please let me be with you,” he mumbled between kisses.

She wrapped her arms around him and ran her fingers through his long, silken hair.  “Inu Yasha,” she murmured softly, pulling away from his kiss.  “When shall we live?”

“I don’t care,” he smiled.

“In my time you might have to go to school.”

“You mean I’ll have to study for tests?” he asked, a little worried.

“Probably,” Kagome giggled.

“Then I think we should stay here,” he decided.

“But, I have a family back home who has been waiting for me to finish my quest.”

“Then I guess I will have to come with you and take tests,” he shivered.

“What a beautiful sight,” someone remarked snidely.  “If it isn’t my good for nothing, bastard brother and his little witch girlfriend.”

Inu Yasha stiffened.  “Sesshoumaru,” he breathed, turning to stare at his brother.  “What do you want?”

Sesshoumaru paled.  “What have you done?” he demanded.  “Where is the jewel?  I know your witch completed it.”

“It’s gone,” Inu Yasha said simply.

In a blink of an eye Sesshoumaru was at the two’s side.  He grabbed his brother and began to throttle him.  “How could you waste it on becoming… blech… mortal?” he demanded as he squeezed.

Kagome could not sit idle.  She touched Sesshoumaru and screamed, “Stop it!” as her powers made him flinch.

“You witch!” he turned on her.  “This is all your fault.  You will be his death, just as his mother killed our father.”  He tossed Inu Yasha to the ground.

Inu Yasha gasped for air, clutching the purple bruise on his throat.  “She did not kill him… you asshole,” he managed to wheeze.

“It was her love that made him soft in the end.  It was mercy that he died,” Sesshoumaru replied.

“Jackass!” Inu Yasha screamed as he threw himself at his brother.  “You take that back.”

“I won’t take back the truth, bastard.  Your mother killed our father and now you’ve thrown his blood away!” Sesshoumaru yelled as he wrestled against the other.

“Stop it, both of you!  I won’t have you dying on me again!” Kagome rose and stamped her foot in agitation.

Sesshoumaru took a step back from Inu Yasha.  “You have already died for her…?” 

“Yes and she brought me back,” Inu Yasha snorted.

“You truly are no longer my brother,” Sesshoumaru whispered.  “He’s dead.  So… You die too!” he reached out to attack with his claws.  Something deflected it.  He looked down to see a crumbled Kagome.

She looked up at the former brothers in shock as her hands moved to cover the wound.  “You murdered me,” she whispered, gurgling on blood.

“No!” Inu Yasha screamed, crumbling beside her.  “Dear Gods, no!”  He held her, frantic to find some way to help her. 

“Inu Yasha…” she whispered, as her eyes grew dim.  “I love you.”

The world went silent holding its breath as a former demon came to terms with reality.  “No!” he finally wailed.  His voice, full of agony, echoed through the mist.  “No…” he whimpered, crouching over his lost love.

“How… horrible,” Sesshoumaru commented dryly.  “That’s gotta hurt.”

“Hurry up and kill me too,” Inu Yasha whispered miserably from his place on the ground.

“Hmm… no.  I’ve changed my mind.  You live.  Have a nice life, all alone,” the demon said as he kicked dirt at the groveling man.

“Damn you,” Inu Yasha cursed.  “Damn you!” he screamed, but the demon was already gone.

He sat up a little bit and gathered Kagome in his arms so he could carry her.  “Come on, Kagome.  I’ll take you home,” he said softly as he began his heavy journey to the Bone Eater’s Well.

Epilogue

A half-naked young man pulled himself out of the well.  In his arms lay a young woman, curled against his chest.  At first glance she appeared to be sleeping.  The young man stumbled to a set of buildings and knocked on the door.  A woman and an old man answered it.

“I’ve brought home Kagome.  She completed her quest.  She… gave her life for mine… and I… I must repay my debt to her,” he cried.  Tears welled up in his eyes as he fought to keep control.

“My baby,” the woman cried, taking her daughter from the young man’s arms.  He kissed Kagome’s hand as her body was pulled away.

“Son…” the old man said, placing a heavy hand on the young man’s shoulder.  “Thank you.”

The young man collapsed on the floor, unable to hold back his pain.

Five years later a man in shrine robes approached the family altar.  He replaced the flowers and the bowl of rice with ritualized dignity.  When he was through he lazily lounged on the floor before the shrine.  “So,” he began conversationally to picture of a young woman that resided on the shrine.  “I’ve finally decided what I’m going to do with my life.  I’m going to stay here and take care of your well, my tree and you.  I hope you don’t mind.”

The wind blew, making the bells sing.  He cocked his head to one side as if listening. 

“I’ve changed, love,” he said quietly.

The bells tinkled.

The man made a face and for a moment his eyes flashed amber.  “OK, maybe not that much,” he grunted.  “I still miss you, though.”

The bells danced on the breeze.

“But I don’t want to marry… You know that.”

The bells chimed softly.

“Yes, I promise to be happy.  As long as you stay with me I’ll be all right.”

The breeze rustled the man’s robes, blowing his long black hair around him.  He closed his eyes, lifted his chin and leaned into the gentle coolness.

“I love you too,” he whispered.  “See you in my dreams.”

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