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Inuyasha
healed quickly, in only two days, most likely aided by the power of the jewel shard now imbedded in his body. He woke slowly
and stretched languorously. To his surprise, Kagome lay next to him, her face against his shoulder and her arm across his
chest. She was so beautiful. The sun rippled through a crack in the door, dancing across her dark hair, making it shimmer
with blue. Kagome had not left his side while he was healing. She was there each time he woke, and he never felt her leave
his presence. 'She must be exhausted. . .' He thought and slipped away from her, careful not to wake her.
The sunlight hurt his eyes for a few minutes until he got used to it. He made his way along the path
through the village and wandered into the fields. The sun felt good on his skin, and he idly recalled that he'd forgotten
his shirt. He stared down at the white bandages encircling his chest, and curiously began unraveling the linen, and dropped
it in the grass. The wind caught the material and swept it away.
Inuyasha stretched his arms out above him, reveling in the fact that his injuries were healed and he
was no longer trapped inside Kaede's hut. The soft grasses tickled his feet as they danced in the wind. He flopped down to
the ground, and scanned the area around him. Everything was quiet and peaceful, exactly how he felt at this moment.
Soft footsteps approached. It was Miroku. He calmly seated himself beside Inuyasha, saying nothing.
For several minutes, the two of them sat there, serenely watching the landscape. "What are you going to do now?" Miroku asked
softly, not looking at Inuyasha.
"I guess
I'll help Kagome protect the jewel. Maybe I'll go to her time with her. I don't know." Inuyasha replied. He hadn't really
thought about what would happen once the jewel was completed. It had seemed so far away, but now. . .
"Not about that." Miroku said, looking at Inuyasha intensely, "About the shard."
"Shard?"
"The one in your chest. Surely Kagome's told you about it." He remarked, uncharacteristic surprise
filling his face.
"No. What are you talking about?" Inuyasha questioned warily, fear twisting in his stomach like a coiled
serpent.
"It is not my place to tell you, Inuyasha. I assumed that you'd come out here to think about it and
might appreciate the comfort of a friend." Miroku remarked, standing and walking away from him. "You should speak with Kagome."
Inuyasha's peacefulness was shattered. Apprehension and fear rushed over him. Why was the monk being
so evasive? What did he need to talk to Kagome? What jewel shard? He was on his feet quickly, racing through the field to
the village, and storming into Kaede's cabin.
Kagome
yawned and smiled up at him from the sleeping mat. "Hey."
Inuyasha
smiled in spite of his fear, "Hey."
Kagome
stretched like a cat and stood slowly, grinning sleepily. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"I just had to think."
"About
what?"
"Kagome. . .Miroku said something very strange to me a few minutes ago." Inuyasha began.
"He did?" Kagome inquired cautiously.
"He
said to talk to you. Something about a jewel shard." Inuyasha prompted. "He wanted to know what I was going to do. What was
he talking about, Kagome?"
Kagome cleared her throat nervously. "Oh. . .um. . .well. . .you see. . .jewelshardkeepalive. . ."
"What?" Inuyasha asked, squinting at her in confusion.
Kagome sighed, and looked up at him hopelessly. "The jewel shard is keeping you alive."
Inuyasha stared at her for a moment, shock rippling over him. "What!?"
Kagome swallowed, "Well, you should have died, but the jewel shard prevented it, so now. . .if you
take it out. . .you'll. . .uh. . .die. . ." she explained brokenly.
"I'm a walking corpse!?" Inuyasha yelped angrily. He felt sick and angry and frightened.
"No! No! You're not dead!" Kagome argued fervently, laying her hand against his chest. "I can feel
your heart beat."
Inuyasha stared at her a moment before turning and tearing through the door. He considered running
until he collapsed, much like Kagome had done several days before, but decided against it, knowing it would only numb his
thoughts, allowing them to come back again with greater fury.
Instead,
he made his way to his favorite tree, and leapt up into its bows, and remained there all day until night fell, and the moon
revealed itself to him. The moon. . .it was always there watching. Even when the sun hid it, Inuyasha suspected that it had
its eye on him at all times. The moon was funny like that. It was never the same two nights in a row, but it always came back
just the same.
"Tell me," he howled at the moon, his body throbbing with fury, "Tell me what fate has against me!
Tell me why she won't let me be happy! Tell me what I've done!" He demanded hollowly.
There was now a decision to be made. Should he live a false life, one that was bought by fake energy
and not entirely pure magic? Or should he let go, and allow himself to be swept into the afterlife, perhaps for his soul to
be recycled and to start over again, or to no longer exist.
Kagome
filled his mind. Her kind, expressive brown eyes loomed before him beseeching him to never leave her. Her gentle, powerful
soul willed him to fight on to be with her. However, the laws of nature and what was natural were very clear, and nothing
but pain and sorrow could come from breaking those laws. Kikyo's fake existence had stolen countless souls, destroyed innumerable
lives, and caused immeasurable pain and suffering for any she encountered.
Kohaku's re-existence was similarly cursed, shredding Sango's heart over and over again. His zombie
life had slaughtered innocents and plagued Sango, refusing to allow her to accept his death and move on. In the end, his memory
of himself had returned, and he had removed the jewel shard with his own hands instead of taking orders from Naraku.
Inuyasha ground his fingers into the wood of the tree. The decision was made. In all reality there
had only been one choice. But before he moved on, there was something he had to do. He dropped gracefully from the tree, feet
flying as soon as they touched the ground, racing toward Kaede's hut and Kagome.
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