"You can't kill Inuyasha!"
Sesshoumaru raised a brow at her shout and she reddened. Kagome raised tear bright eyes to her lifemate.
"Trust me."
Sesshoumaru slowly nodded and Kagome gave his hand a grateful squeeze. She knelt beside the fallen Inuyasha and said his name softly. There was no reaction from the hanyou and Kagome was about to call his name again when she saw a twitch. Inuyasha's ears had twitched and were turned towards her. Kagome felt hope rising within her.
"Inuyasha... I know you are hurting right now. I know how much you loved Kikyo."
A soft, sad laugh escaped her lips.
"I even heard you promise to protect her in the forest that day. Honto ni gomen nasai, Inuyasha. I did not mean to make you break your promise to Kikyo. I," Kagome cleared her throat gently and her voice was teary as she struggled to continue. "I never meant to kill her Inuyasha. I couldn't control the power that was pouring out of me and I couldn't hold onto it any longer. I didn't know that Naraku would drag her to death with him like he did. I know it doesn't matter now that I say I couldn't control it. It doesn't take away your pain. But, I wanted you to know that I wouldn't deliberately hurt you like that."
The hanyou remained motionless and Kagome continued after a short pause.
"I know you can hear me but if you don't want to say anything that's fine. You couldn't answer the question of who I was earlier. I'm guessing that you were confusing me with Kikyo again. I don't know if you recognize this but watashi wa Kagome. I'm not just a reincarnation of Kikyo. I'm not even entirely certain how reincarnation works. But, it is certain that I am not Kikyo. Kagome wa Kagome. Kikyo wa Kikyo. I'm not a replacement for Kikyo in your life but I am your friend no matter what happens."
Kagome rose to her feet and turned to face Sesshoumaru. With a surprised gasp, she found herself caught in Inuyasha's arms. Inuyasha's face was buried in her hair and he whispered her name hoarsely. Kagome's wide eyes took in the arms holding her in place and then raised them to Sesshoumaru's eyes. Her lifemate's face was devoid of emotion. She couldn't see what Sesshoumaru felt seeing her in Inuyasha's arms this way. Kagome tried to catch a glimpse of his feelings through their link but was unable to penetrate the psychic wall that Sesshoumaru had erected. Inuyasha continued to hold her for a long moment. Finally, the hanyou regained control of his emotions. They separated awkwardly and Kagome turned around to face Inuyasha. He looked like a lost puppy. Kagome smiled faintly at the reserved hanyou.
"Arigato, Inuyasha, for forgiving me."
This time Inuyasha did not stop her as she turned away from him. He felt weary. For most of his life he had searched for the Shikon no Tama. At first it was just so that he could become a full youkai so that he would not have to be vulnerable that one day he became human. Then, he had met Kikyo and he had wanted to become human so that they could live their lives together. But Naraku had caused them to betray each other and Kikyo had died while he was sealed to the God Tree. Upon being freed from Kikyo's spell he had wanted only to become a full youkai. At that point, he had no other reason for possessing the Shikon no Tama.
Now, the Shikon no Tama was complete and the only thing left to do was to merge the shards into one entity. He realized he no longer knew what he wanted to do with the Shikon no Tama. Would he lose his sense of self if he were to become a full youkai? He had always thought that if he were to become a full youkai he would be better, stronger. But now, he was no longer sure of that. He would become stronger but wasn't he already strong enough? No matter how strong one was there would always be someone stronger. To be the strongest was to be constantly challenged by those who wanted the title of strongest. Was that what he really wanted?
Inuyasha raised his head and found Kagome walking away from him, towards Sesshoumaru. His heart clenched painfully as she stood at his half brother's side. Did she now prefer Sesshoumaru to him? Inuyasha managed to drag his gaze away from Kagome to study Sesshoumaru. The youkai lord's eyes were blank as they stared back at Inuyasha. Suddenly, Inuyasha remembered a time when he had hung to Sesshoumaru's hem at every chance he got. He had adored his older sibling and hadn't understood when his okaa-san had insisted they leave. He remembered the intense sense of betrayal at seeing Sesshoumaru rip his beloved okaa-san apart. Inuyasha grew angry at the memory of the ancient grudge. As though seeing the direction of Inuyasha's thoughts Sesshoumaru spoke without inflection.
"Inuyasha. Your mother was already dead when I ripped her body apart."
"You lie." Inuyasha growled.
"I have no reason to lie to you. Believe what you will."
With those words Sesshoumaru turned away from Inuyasha. The hanyou stared at the ground, wrestling with the idea that Sesshoumaru had not killed his mother. Meanwhile, the youkai lord proceeded to stare into the night sky and within moments a large shape flew into the clearing. Ignoring the small group that stood in the clearing Sesshoumaru waited for Aun to land. Rin jumped off the two-headed beast's back as soon as it landed and rushed happily towards Sesshoumaru. With a big smile the little girl handed the youkai lord a daisy and immediately turned and leapt into Kagome's arms for a quick hug. Kouga limped into the clearing having seen the final battle from afar.
Miroku cleared his throat, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"Kagome-sama, something needs to be done about the Shikon shards."