(A note because I love you:

I, Ivy, am rewriting this story, editing it with the same love it was written, because I simply can't take it any more. You are all right. There are little bits and pieces that need to be fixed and I am finally going to fix them. I plan on working to incorporate the last bit "Everything in Between" into areas where it would make sense for the story as flashbacks. I will be amending some of the things that have bothered me the most about this story and have also been bothering you all. Little things that make all the difference. Some wording will be reworked, but on the whole, what I wrote will remain. I'm just making it better, adding things that I left out the first time and trying to make it just a little bit better. Because I love you guys and I love this story and I'm a perfectionist. So sit back, enjoy and have patience with me as I indulge my inner editing monkey. Oh, and I don't own Inuyasha. Not mine. Never will be. Not even if I beg and plead. Oh well. Peace. Ivy.)

Prologue;

The price we pay

They had been traveling companions for almost five years. The hanyo they hunted was sly and never alone. Now, as they stood near the great well of time, engaged in the final battle for the Shikon no Tama, all knew that if they failed today it would not only be their lives they lost but the future of their world would also be decided by a monster of pure evil.

Kagome had not been home in nearly two years. She had made the decision to suspend her life in the time of her birth until Naraku was dealt with in the past to ensure that her time was safe. Her worst fears had come to life when it was discovered that Naraku's aim was no longer to rule the past with the assistance of the Shikon no Tama, but to journey to the future where youkai were fables and there were no great warriors to thwart him as once there had been. She feared for her family, her friends, and the world she'd left behind. It was uncertain how Naraku had discovered her origin laid in the future, however, it was safe to assume that the dark child, who had once slipped into her soul in order to make her minion to the dark hanyou, had gained knowledge greater than her weakness.

In front of her were her beloved friends. Inuyasha, in true form, had been unable to keep his promise to her and turned back to Kikyo. He could not help himself and, as she was waning and her power was fading, Kagome could see the pain that it caused her beloved friend. Still, Kikyo was strong. Whether or not they won, she knew this would be her last battle and though her heart ached for it, the serene miko had accepted her fate, said her goodbyes and was at peace. Kagome had also made peace with Kikyo. The two had become friends and, just as Kagome had learned how to channel her energies and control her emotions so that she could become as powerful as Kikyo, she had also learned that there are many kinds of love.

She loved Inuyasha now not as a lover, but as her companion, friend and fellow warrior. She had been able to purify her own being and let go of her jealousy, pain and fear. She had learned to float with the tide and accept completely and with her whole heart whatever fate and destiny had decided for her. Now, as she looked at the star-crossed lovers, her heart ached for them. All she wanted was for them to know peace and true happiness once when it could not be spoiled. Miroku and Sango stood tall and together as always. Kagome only wanted the same for them and for Shippo and Kirara. All of them had seen their lives and worlds, their hopes, dreams and happiness vaporized by Naraku. Kagome, fearless in the face of what she knew to be pure evil, understood that he had to be ended here and now. She now believed in pure evil and true darkness because it stood before her in the form of Naraku. However she also believed in the power of light because if Naraku could be so great and formidable, surely there was another who could counter his malevolence with the light of their soul alone.

The battle was fought furiously. A rain of youkai corpses littered the ground and the blood of the vile dead poured upon the whole area. Still, Naraku waited. He was proud. Kagome could see in his eyes that all he wanted was to see Inuyasha and Kikyo die as well as witness the ends of the others. He wanted to see the last hope for the world vanish in agony before he left to destroy the future. He was also waiting for Kagome to make a mistake as she shot bright, pure arrows into more and more youkai so he could take her life and claim the final fragment of the Shikon no Tama. She would not let that happen. She could not. And still, it did. Naraku found his chance as Kagome shifted her attention to a desperate Kikyo. The last of her spiritual energy had been sapped and a litter of small but venomous youkai was assaulting her. Inuyasha was pinned by a large youkai several yards away and could not save her. His impassioned cries filled Kagome's ears. How many times she had heard him call her name with that same fear in his voice? She wouldn't force him to watch Kikyo die again. She turned her energy and focus from Naraku who had been deflecting her arrows one after another and slew the youkai that advanced on Kikyo. Then her world went dark as a great bolt of dark energy ran through her, channeled through the hand of Naraku in the distance.

There was an agony she had never felt before pass along the course of all her charkas. Her heart stalled and she fell, hearing her name called out in pure terror as her life ended.

One...

There was still lingering warmth, but it was falling away from her as lightly and fleetingly as a passing touch.

Two...

The light was fading from her view. Darkness was enveloping her and she felt her first twinge of panic.

Three...

She was alone and terrified. She was stripped of everything and utterly naked in the face of eternity. Who she was began to fade away as her soul was reclaimed by the divine powers and she was formed into someone and something new.

She never made it to four. She felt the searing power of light and heaven pull her back into her body. She awoke with a choked cry. Above her knelt Sesshomaru with his sword of heaven held near her wound. He nodded to her and sheathed his sword, then put out his hand to her, helping her stand again. He was defending them with his own shield. Why had he saved her? Over the last few years, he had become more of an ally than nemesis, however he had never shown much more than a desire to destroy Naraku through his icy facade. That had to be it. She was another soldier to him. She was another who could help defeat the vile youkai before them.

"This Sesshomaru will neutralize Naraku's shield." He said simply without so much as a glance from his deep amber eyes. Kagome responded with a subtle nod. She understood and readied her arrow.

Sesshomaru dashed foreword, leaving her vulnerable for an instant before she generated a thin shield of her own. Naraku's attention had turned to killing his adversaries again and was away from Kagome and the quickly advancing Sesshomaru. He thought she was dead, and so she had been. It was not a mistake to turn away from her when he did, however fate was not on his side. Naraku was throwing the world out of balance as he had thrown the Shikon no Tama out of balance and now, just as only a tiny fragment that hung around Kagome's neck in its glass vial remained pure, true, good and filled with life, only this small band of warriors stood between the world of now and the world of the future becoming entirely embraced by evil. She watched as Sesshomaru produced a small pouch from his cloak and thrust it against the wall of Naraku's barrier. It melted away and Naraku cried out in surprise and sudden fear. Kagome aimed, not for Naraku himself, but the Shikon no Tama where he kept it on his person. Shattering it would shatter his power and give the rest of them a chance. She let her arrow fly and it hit its mark. Thousands of dark, corrupted shards flew outward, spearing through the air and up, obscuring the light of the setting sun and the rising moon.

"Now, Inuyasha!" Kagome called out and the hanyo turned to the child near the fray. Naraku's heart. As Naraku's shield had fallen away, so had the boy's. Inuyasha rushed foreword and unleashed the power of his sword. The boy cried out in fear and agony as he was caught up in the sudden rush of destructive force. He was torn asunder, utterly destroyed by Naraku's most hated opponent. Naraku fell, clutching his chest. He let out a low moan of pain. Sesshomaru raised and lowered his sword in one swift motion, destroying Naraku completely.

The battlefield calmed and quieted. All of Naraku's minions had been destroyed and the rest of the youkai had departed. Miroku stood stunned, staring at his hand. The wind tunnel was gone. He turned to Sango and embraced her, kissing her deeply. Shippo danced happily beside Kirara who shifted down and purred, nuzzling Shippo's leg. Then she turned her attention to Kikyo and Inuyasha. He held her so tenderly. Kagome could feel Kikyo's life fade from the clay form she had worn so long. The shards still hung darkly above them. Kagome stood and pulled her shard from the vial and focused her pure energy, drawing them from the sky to join the one she held in her hand. Slowly the Shikon no Tama reformed and was purified utterly. She walked to Inuyasha and Kikyo. The miko was fading fast. She knelt down and felt the eyes of everyone, including the inuyoukai Lord, falling on her. She met Inuyasha's eyes.

"I've seen your past. I've seen into both of your hearts and I want nothing but for you both to be happy. You've neither known anything but pain and hatred for so long. Now I will give you both a gift... The only gift left to give. I will grant your wishes. To be a mortal woman and a human man living together in union."

Inuyasha looked at her in both fear and joy and yet, still, there was apprehension. "You would do this... For us? After everything that has passed between us?"

"Because of everything that has passed between us, Inuyasha. I love you. Not as my lover. It surpasses that. I love you for your faults and your perfections. I love you, who you are. I love you enough to let you go. I love you enough to give you the happiness you deserve, even if I am not the one who joins you in happiness." She presented the completed, purified Shikon no Tama to them and closed her eyes. She prayed and began to channel the energy of the Shikon no Tama into the both of them. She severed her soul from Kikyo, reclaiming it as her own, but replaced it with a new, full soul and rebuilt her human body. Inuyasha shifted slowly, gradually becoming his human self. He watched Kagome in wonder and with slight regret. He had never known or understood until now what he had missed. He had never been able to grasp that Kagome, not Kikyo, was the woman he had been seeking to share eternity with. Though Kikyo was beautiful, strong and serene, she was not capable of what Kagome had just proven herself to be. Kagome was selfless and always true to herself. The Shikon no Tama faded and turned to silky sand in her palms. A pale but pure light emanated from it and rose. The soul that had been embattled within so long was free. As it faded into the ether, Kagome let out a soft sigh and let the sand pass through her fingers. She stood and looked to the well.

"Goodbye." She whispered to it, then turned toward the setting sun and began to walk away. She paused and turned back to them, giving each a meaningful look. "Please. Don't follow me." Then she turned again and entered the forest without further word.

"Kagome, where are you going? We've won! We've finally defeated Naraku!" Shippo cried out, beginning to run to her. Then he stopped, the realization of her sacrifice falling over him as suddenly as it did the rest of them. She paused only briefly, and then continued to walk away.

"She can never go home now..." Sango whispered, tears falling down her face. "She can never return to her own time now that the Shikon no Tama has been destroyed..."

Inuyasha held Kikyo close. His fully human heart broke for his beloved friend. His brother walked past him, and then paused before returning to his own camp and to Rin and Jaken. "You are a fool, Inuyasha." He said simply without looking back. Inuyasha could tell he was watching as Kagome began to vanish into the forest. "You have everything you've ever said you wanted and still you ache as if you have lost everything you ever had." He dropped the pouch he had used to disperse Naraku's shield. The ashes of Naraku's once mortal body spilled out into the grass. "That is the price we pay when we try to direct our destiny rather than allowing ourselves to be pulled and moved by fate to our true rewards."

"What do you know about it, Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha asked callously. His eyes had grown hard and hateful, though it was hard to tell if it was his brother he hated or himself at the moment.

"I know what I have witnessed here today, Inuyasha. The war was won today, but the casualty of every battle up until this point has not been you or the miko you hold. Not even the priest and youkai slayer who stand behind me. She who is now completely alone in this world, this time not even her own, has been made the martyr of each skirmish. She has borne with grace what would have toppled gods and has given of her self over and over again when she did not have to and without any expectation of gain. Now she has given everything she held dearest to her for something so minute as the knowledge that she has done well and those she loves best will be happy. I cannot fathom how a heart so fragile and pure could ever withstand such things." He turned slightly so he could see Inuyasha out of the corner of his eye. "And so you are a fool because you could not see even remotely what has been so clear for so long to everyone else. You are a fool because you chose death over life and the past over the future. Yet, now, it would seem it no longer matters. You have what you've always wanted. I only grieve for the girl... I grieve for the pure miko who saved us all today."

Inuyasha watched as his brother continued away. His heart hurt from the chiding of Sesshomaru not because he cared what his brother thought, but because he was right, as painful as it was to admit. He'd made the wrong choice... And he couldn't ever take it back.