The Final Farewell
By: Sammi-chan/YourOblivion
Disclaimer: I sadly do not own the characters in the story below the plot however is from my own imagination.
She swallowed the thick lump that resided in her throat. It was rather painful combined with the ceasing feelings that clenched up in her chest. It actually blocked most of the pain signals her brain was sending her. All she could feel right now is the burning sensation of the tears she had yet to shed and the overwhelming feeling of guilt, and loneliness. Her gaze had yet to waver from the crater in front of her the charcoaled edges where her palm laid staring down into the still smoking center.
No sobs broke the silence only silent tears streaked down her face leaving clear trails against her ashy and dirtied face. She could smell the burning corpses of fallen demons along with the putrid smell of death. She felt the wind pass over, her stirring ashes and smoke as it tried to erase what had just happened a hour or so ago. Dirt blew into her eyes and she couldn’t help it as her bodies reaction was to close them.
She hated her body how weak she was. She hated that she needed her eyes to close. every time the closed the storm of memories from the recent battle would come and overwhelm her putting her through it all over again. She felt her heart skip as she saw Kirara racing towards Sango as she was fighting again this fire oni to concentrated on using Hirikotsu as a shield from the flames not noticing as a huge tentacle she had previously diced regenerate and aim fir her heart from behind.
Oh kirara made it in time shaking the tentacles in her teeth killing it once more. Sadly however as kagome tried to call out a warning another giant one eyed oni picked her up like a kitten and crushed her against his stone chest. She remembered the sound the fire neko made as every rib snapped untill a loud snap of the spine was heard. Kagome felt horrible and could only imagine the face sango made as she turned to avenge her loyal companion.
She had to concentrate on Naraku and pinpoint the sacred jewel so they could know where to aim. The last moments of Naraku’s pitiful existence ended by Inuyasha’s windscar combined with one well aimed arrow to Naraku’s core. His body had been ripped to peaces but he was relentless in anything his evil chuckling was silenced as giant wind gusts that were caused from Miroku’s wind tunnel had brought him to an end. Nobody had expected what came next.
Inuyasha had ran towards his dying love, Kikyo and failed to notice as Miroku stumbled around before falling to his knees yards away from them. Kagome stood there in the middle usure what to do. Just as she decided to run towards miroku and sango, sango had made her way to him quickly. One of the many demons that littered the battlefield presumably slain, reached out slicing a calf the backs of her calves open. She quickly drew an arrow from her arrow ramming it down into the demons brain successfully letting it fall apart in ashes.
That’s when the screaming began. She turned to see Miroku on his knees arm stretched into the air as his wind tunnel widened. The overwhelming feeling of danger and fear swelled within her as she held tight to a boulder close by. She watched as Miroku hollered in pain while telling Sango to run away. Of course she refused, Sango held tightly onto him hugging him from behind, she couldn’t hear anymore of what was said as the whipping winds and the sound of her soul screaming out towards her friends. Sango had mirokus face in one hand as she kissed him while tears rolled down her face. The Void ate through miroku the blackness swallowing his arm before finaly blinking out as it expanded in a sudden black flash and receded leaving just a huge crater in their path.
Kagome blinked not truly believing what she saw was real. She felt a burning hotness against her left side thinking maybe it was just her body reacting in shock to the emotional trauma she had just witnessed or the shock of the pain in her legs getting to her. That of course was until she saw the orange glow from the corner of her eye. Her head swam with the strange feeling she knew what was happening. She forced herself to look where the glow was coming from.
Inuyasha was sitting on the ground kimono torn and bloody, white hair messy and dirty. His face was also covered in suit from battle, she searched his face heart stopping as she noticed his face held no expression. His eyes were blank as he stared down into his lap as tears leaked from them but there was no other sign of grieving on face. He just stared into his lap at his own first love, no, his only true love. Kikyo lay draped across his lap the miko garb she wore was tarnished and singed but the tell tale sign of her death blow was on the front of her chest for all to see. A big red stain coated the front of her torso. Kagome didn’t have to see her face or check her pulse to see if she was dead, she knew as she saw a small golden glow float gently out of Kikyo’s torso and make its way across the battle field to softly implant itself into kagomes chest.
Kikyo’s body was pale as the moon as a billion blue orbs spurt out of her body floating around as the ground started sinking in. the orange glow she now noticed was coming from the circle of what looked like lava around Kikyo and inuyasha. The ground sunk in on itself the lava spreading inward enveloping them with it. There were no cries of pain as inuyasha was quickly overrun with that same golden orange liquid. The blue orbs finaly departed towards the heavens as the lava pool disappeared as if it never truly existed.
The only proof there was another crater except this one was charred and black, smoke rising from its center. Kagome didn’t feel anything at first, in shock for sure. And when she did a piercing wail broke the air. She screamed for a long ,long time. She screamed until she could not scream anymore her throat was raw and she tasted crimson every time she took a breath or swallowed. That didn’t seem to stop her, nothing could stop her, not even the pain from her legs as she crawled her way towards Inuyasha’s crater.
That’s how she was now, laying on the blood soaked battle field the cold air nipping at her body as she was gazing down into that charred crater. Trying with every ounce of her soul that she had left, trying to will Inuyasha to come back to her. For him to rise from those ashes and come back to her. She felt the stinging pain of defeat course through her veins as a dark purple glowing orb rose from the center of the battlefield. She didn’t really think about the jewel when Naraku was finished. But now as a hovered over the battle field she couldn’t think of anything else.
She glared at the dark jewel a feeling of hate for its existence consumed her as she stared at it. It bobbed in the air once then twice before it zipped over to her landing next her hand the gripped the edge of the crater. It seemed to pulse calling out to her, she brought her body up into a sitting position ignoring how the open wounds of her legs lay roughly against the dirty ground making them burn with an intensity she fought hard to ignore.
She lifted her hand reaching for the jewel but just as she was about to close her hand upon it, she stopped. She knew she could not wish upon the jewel, she clenched her fist bringing it to her fist before letting out a dark chuckle. Why was fate so cruel? It was her duty to find the Shikon jewel and now that she did what could she do about it? She couldn’t purify it, kami knows she was far from pure now. She felt the rage and pain circle in her mind wanting to say fuck it and save her friends and lost love. But she knew she couldn’t, she couldn’t make a selfish wish or else, well who knows. But she wouldn’t let anything else bad happen because of her.
It was her fault these people were dead. She should never have came here in the first place. She looked around and wished she had died with them. She knew her tears were falling as she felt them fall onto her bare legs as she hunched over. She really didn’t know when she fell unconscious.
Sesshoumaru felt his chest rumble as he felt the flaring of demonic energy in the distance another flare of holy energy and combined demonic energy pulsed around the west. He knew it had to be Naraku for such a malicious energy that powerful to reach that far. He growled knowing he wouldn’t reach the battle in time. He raced through the forest leaving jaken without an order in his haste. He didn’t worry though the imp knew where his duties lied.
When he arrived on the scene he had to hold his breath for that is the first thing that assaulted him. He never seemed to get used to the stench of battle. He gazed around the battle field which was pretty extensive. When he sniffed the air deliberately serching out specific scents, there was the fading scents of inuyasha and his pathetic pack of humans which covered the place, and the fading scent of Naraku, his brow scrunched. That could mean he fled or was defeated, he surveyed the area looking for his half breed of brother to find 2 craters. One was charred and the other just a giant hole. His mind quickly deduced the information when he saw his brothers miko laying near the charred crater. Upon getting closer he could smell the death of the clay miko and his brothers blood. He knew the dim mutt must have fulfilled his promise and went to hell with the clay miko. The other crater must have been caused by that monk with the wind tunnel.
That still didn’t answer if Naraku was alive or dead however. His scent may have been fading but there weren’t any remains or proof of his demise. “hn” he looked down at the strangely dressed miko he presumed was dead. He nudged the body with his foot, lifting a brow when the girl moved.
Kagome awoke to something that gave her a sharp prod. She looked up through hazy eyes the first thing she noticed were golden eyes and her heart beat just a bit faster only to slow when she realized it wasn’t whom she thought it was. Kagome looked up at her unrequited loves brothers face. His eyes gazing down at her, no not her, she followed his line of sight to the dark jewel beside her. She blinked and a smile came to her face.
She knew exactly what she had to do now. Who would have thought Sesshoumaru of all of them would be the savior, the hero, of their story?
“Miko, has Naraku reached his demise?” he asked without any emotion like always. He was so cold and calculating, why couldn’t he have been there earlier? No use to dwell on what could have been now. She looked up at him and nodded. There eyes held for a moment as if he was making sure she was telling the truth. “hn” that’s all that came before he turned to leave.
“Sesshoumaru, wait.” she croaked out her voice scratchy and rough causing her to cough and curl as blood sprayed forth. He stopped though so, it wasn’t in vain. She didn’t know why but she needed him to look at her. She reached out and gave his pant leg a tug. He turned and locked eyes again with her. “you can still end this” she said her voice low as she tried to make her words actually understandable.
“what nonsense do you speak miko? Naraku is dead” he said looking down his nose at her she smiled softly. Of course he would make this difficult for her.
“I cant purify the jewel im too…. Broken. And I cannot make an unselfish wish because of the emotions I have concerning the jewel. I cannot even wish it out of existence because I would be glad its gone thus making it selfish of me. But you, you can end this. You said yourself you have no want nor need for the jewel, if you wish it out of existence it would be unselfish because it wouldn’t effect you.” she said all of that without choking surprisingly enough. She looked up at him knowing he would do this, he just had too.
He didn’t say anything for a while just continued staring into her blue orbs. She felt like he was picking through her mind seeking out and exploiting her emotions. She felt anger swell slightly withing her not wanting him to see her so,so alone ,afraid , angry , and raw. She looked away from him not being able to take his cool gaze anymore.
“very well miko” he kneeled down beside her and outstretch his clawed palm to her. Looking from her to the jewel to his palm. She swallowed the lump in her throat as freash tears built in her eyes. She looked at the jewel afraid to touch it. She clenched her eyes shut as she snatched it up and put it in his palm as quickly as she could shocked when his hand closed around the jewel and her hand. Their hands sandwiching the jewel. She looked into his face confused his eyes were closed for a brief second before a bright light erupted from there hands power forcing them apart actually throwing them back a few feet.
The dark purple jewel swirled and then pulsed floating in mid air as it pulsed it seemed the dark energy was being forced out with each pulse the light pink center growing as it expelled the darkness. With the final expulsion of the dark mist a blinding white light engulfed everything within the battlefield. They shielded there eyes from the light rivaling the light of the sun. when the could finaly look upon the jewel it was still there bright pink but instead of the bloody battlefield there was vibrant green grass under them with white flowers peddling the entire area dipping into the craters where in the centers there were now 10foot saplings. Cherry blossoms on there beautiful new branches.
The rest of the area was just a gorgeous field of tall green grass.
Her breath caught as she saw her friends sleeping under there saplings. Miroku and sango had peaceful looks on there faces as they were curled side by side with kirara sleeping softly on sango’s lap. Kagome stepped infront of them gazing upon them with unshed tears. She had to sniffle because her nose was starting to run and she choked when she saw kiraras ear twitch then red eyes open to look at her. She mewed waking up sango and miroku. They looked at her and she just smiled.
Did the Shikon bring them back? She felt her heart flutter with hope. “oh kagome, I wish it were that simple” sango spoke moving to get up helping miroku up noticing he had no wind tunnel. “when Sesshoumaru made the selfless wish it overpowered the darkness in the jewel because he was a demon making a pure wish. We arent allowed to tell you his wish, but maybe someday you can ask him yourself.” sango smiled as miroku smoother her hair instead of her butt.
“Kagome you are here to say goodbye” miroku said his violet eyes held a warmth in them. And her heart clenched again with the knowledge she would remain alone. “Kagome, you will never be alone we will always watch over you, and we will see you again, we just hope it will not be before a long while.” miroku said warmly encircling sango.
“think about Shippo, he will need you now” sango said and she wished she could hug her sister like friend. “we will miss you very much but know that we are happy and you will be too” she said lifting kirara into her arms, kirara agreeing with a mew. She giggled at the sight.
“I know, you guys look so happy. I miss you so much I don’t know how I will go on without you” she said noticing her throat no longer hurt. “I love you guys, Im so glad to have known you” she cried as tears fell from her face. Sango landmark nodded before fading out. She sniffled knowing she wouldn’t see them again. She turned when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She looked to see Sesshoumaru pointing towards the other tree. She saw Inuyasha standing there looking gruff as always tapping his foot impatiently waiting for her. She noticed that Kikyo wasn’t there.
“she thought it would be best for us to have our own goodbye” he said with a grin on his handsome face. He would always make her heart melt. “oh kagome, what are you going to do without me?” he said as his arms unfolded to hang at his sides his eyes softening and his ears twitched to the sides. “im sorry I left you like that, great friend I was huh?” he said eyes asking for forgiveness. He didn’t have to ask she forgave him the minute he appeared. He smiled softly knowing her thoughts. She smiled at him everything about him was great to her. he was her first love. “ya know, I did love you kagome.” she felt her heart race at those words looking up at his face seeing the blush spread upon his cheeks.“I just couldn’t show you because well no matter how I felt I made a promise to her. Just as you made a promise to me.” he said warmth and love radiating towards her.
“I know, I love you too inuyasha” she said more tears running down her face as she reached towards him there hands passing through each others. She giggled and he snorted. “I miss you, inuyasha please don’t forget me” she said smiling as his apparition started to shimmer as he was fading.
“never” was the last thing he said before vanishing. Kagome turned back towards Sesshoumaru as she looked at his face. She could have sworn for a second she saw something but he had looked away quickly. They heard a small poof sound and looked to see the pink jewel glisten before turning into soft powder falling to the ground as the light vanished. It was still dark but the battle field was still changed. now they stood under a starry night sky the cold wind slightly warmer and not as harsh as it blew through the now grassy clearing.
The moon was high in the sky as they both turned away from each other. Heading in opposite directions as she had now said her final farewell. She walked towards the trail wondering what exactly everything meant and what she was supposed to do now. She was still sad but she no longer felt alone knowing her friends were watching over her and one day she would be with them again. This was her final farewell because the next time she wouldn’t have to say goodbye.