With that said, Miroku headed towards Kagome with Sango following behind him. Shippo tore his eyes away from the fight and started running towards Kagome as he saw the couple heading towards Kagome. Shouting her name, the kitsune cub leapt into her arms as Kagome turned at her name. Shippo was almost crying as he hugged the teenage girl telling her how he had thought he'd never see her again. Kagome hugged the kitsune comfortingly and smiled as her friends approached her.
"Kagome-chan, daijobu desu ka? We heard what happened with you and Inuyasha." Sango hugged Kagome and watched as her smile became tinged with sadness.
"Daijobu. I've decided that it's about time I smartened up and stop torturing myself over Inuyasha and Kikyo. I don't even know what will happen between Inuyasha and I once the Shikon no Tama is complete." Looking down at her hands, Kagome smiled slightly. "I've been torturing myself for so long, trying to figure out who Inuyasha loves. I finally realized it doesn't matter because I don't belong in this time and Kikyo is a living doll. The way I see it, she has a better chance of staying with Inuyasha than I do. Once the jewel is complete, who knows if I'll still be able to use the well to travel back and forth." Kagome lifted her eyes to Sango's sympathetic eyes. "And so, I've decided to do the smart thing and not go beyond the relationship of friends with Inuyasha."
Suddenly, Kagome heard a croak from the balcony where Rin and Jaken stood. Kagome gasped as she realized the fight had gotten more heated, as Inuyasha became frustrated at not being able to hit Sesshoumaru. The two youkai were also getting very close to the balcony as Inuyasha kept slashing with Tetsusaiga. Kagome watched Inuyasha prepare to use the Wound of the Wind as if the world was suddenly running in slow motion. It was going to hit the balcony and with it Rin. Kagome realized that there was no way to stop Inuyasha in time. There wasn't even enough time to utter "Osuwari". It happened in an instant. If anyone had blinked, they would have missed what happened. Someone was screaming and dimly, Kagome realized that she was the one who was screaming. Inuyasha had released the Wound of the Wind and it had hit the balcony.
Slowly, the smoke cleared and rubble could be seen where the balcony used to be. A hole was blasted in the wall of the palace, baring the room's contents to all. All was quiet as they saw the victims of the blow. There, kneeling on one knee, with his back towards them was Sesshoumaru. There was a golden glow about him that seemed to originate from Tenseiga. A big gash could be seen on the youkai's back, dyeing his white kimono with splatters of blood around the wound.
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