Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, YuYu Hakusho (As much as I'd love to) or any of the anime/manga characters.

Epilogue

A tall, slender woman with raven-black hair entered the large room which had a tall brunette seated.

"Hello," she said sheepishly.

"I see… So you're ready to pass on, then?" Koenma asked.

"I… don't know," the woman admitted. "I really have no clue. I acted kind of without thinking," she admitted with a shrug.

"Yes, well, that woman said you would most likely end up here. So, you're here thinking I can somehow send you back. Is that it?"

"I'm not sure… I mean, I would love to go back, but I think that the suffering was enough for any human being."

"I should say so. But it's your choice, as there are demons stronger than him out there with even more malicious intentions, and other things as powerful and dangerous, if not more so, than the jewel."

"I hate ultimatums," she pouted. Suddenly, a blue-haired woman ran into the office, frantic.

"Koenma! It's horrible! There was a massive spike in energy on the island, and now Lady Kagome's energy is gone!"

"Botan-"

"I couldn't get there fast enough to get her soul! What do I do!?" she asked, cutting him off as she babbled frantically.

"Botan-"

"What if a soul collector got her!?"

"BOTAN!"

The reaper jumped at the sudden outburst.

"Koenma?"

"Look behind you, you blubbering oaf," the teenager grumbled.

The reaper slowly turned to find Kagome eyeing her with amusement clear in her eyes.

"K… Kagome!"

"In the flesh… so to speak," the woman said.

"Why are you here!?"

"Because the magic I used to destroy Naraku, once and for all, required my death…"

"But… You're important to those children! And what about Genkai!?"

"I know," Kagome said sadly. "It was necessary, but I still don't know if passing on is something I can do, since there are probably even more demons like Naraku out there…"

"As I've stated, the choice is yours," Koenma sighed. "Should you decide to go back, though, there's no guarantee you can join with your body again."

"What if we do what we did for Yusuke?" Botan asked cheerfully.

"We can't, Botan. The opportunity to do that will not come around for a few decades…"

Kagome took in their conversation and slowly contemplated her situation. On one hand, she'd finally killed Naraku for good and was due for a long, happy life as a result. On the other hand, she was still a miko and a powerful demon. Demons would swarm to cause her more pain and suffering than she'd already suffered, and she honestly didn't think she could handle it again. After a long debate with herself in silence, she came to a decision.

"Botan, can you take me to the island? The island's going to sink, and I want my body."

Botan nodded and a portal opened. The two quickly ran through to find a very surprising scene.

Hiei knelt down next to Kagome's corpse, staring into her dull, lifeless eyes with sadness. It figured, though. Whenever anything even remotely good happened to him, the result was the death of that happiness.

"Is she really dead?" Yusuke asked, though his voice was strained.

In the background, the group was aware of the rising water that was slowly flooding the island around them, but at the moment, they didn't care. Suddenly, a strong youki appeared and they all spun to find a white-haired girl.

"Oh god," she groaned.

"Who're you?" Yusuke barked out.

"I'm Shiori," she said before slowly walking toward Kagome. "She asked me to hold a barrier so nobody could get hurt… but I didn't think that… she would… oh god," she repeated, incapable of finishing her line of thought.

"She came into the fight fully prepared to end it using her life," Kurama said slowly. "But perhaps she didn't plan to stay in the afterlife…"

"What are you talking about, fox?" Hiei growled, surprising the humans.

"That sword of hers seems to have the power to reverse death," the kitsune sighed before walking over to her body. As soon as he touched the slender blade's handle, a massive spark of power surged to life and he jumped away while smoke rose from the new burn on his hand.

"That sword is the Tenseiga," Shiori sighed. "Kagome told me about it… It was Inuyasha's brother, Sesshomaru's. It has the power to kill the poll-bearers of death and bring someone back to life, but only once…"

"Did she say anything about a barrier?" Kuwabara asked next, sensing the power surrounding the weapons. But not just the weapons. The barrier engulfed Kagome's entire body.

"No, nothing like that," Shiori said quietly. "Even I can't seem to get near the barrier around it."

"It's because the barrier is made of demon magic," Hiei said quietly, eyeing the weapon from Kagome's memory.

"What!? How the hell would you know that, Hiei!?" Yusuke growled.

"Quiet, fool. The barrier around it was created so that nobody but she could touch the damned thing," he growled.

"I see… Something you learned from your little excursion earlier?" Kurama inquired. At that, Hiei bore his fangs as he glared at the kitsune.

"As a matter of fact, yes. I learned quite a bit."

"Whoa! Hiei, did you seriously-"

"Shut up, detective," Hiei bit out. "What I do is my own business."

"That's bullshit! If you'd known anything, why the fuck didn't you stop her!?" he barked.

"I didn't know of her plan, fool. Had I known, I would have informed her that better ways to kill that demon were available to her."

Suddenly, Hiei was picked up by the collar of his shirt, and he stared into the snarling face of a very pissed off spirit detective.

"Don't give me that! You could've stopped her! You could've 'informed' her, before she finished her goddamn spell!"

"I was recovering from unconsciousness, if you'll remember, detective," he bit out.

"You were fucking dead! You weren't unconscious! She brought you back to life, you bastard, and you didn't stop her from killing herself!"

Hiei glared at the detective with fury. Just before his sword met the detective's throat, a portal suddenly opened and both men looked at the two women standing there…

"Wow, what'd I miss?" Kagome asked as she saw how close Hiei was to decapitating Yusuke.

The sword dropped to the ground the second Hiei saw her while Yusuke's grip on him vanished.

"What the hell!? You're a spirit now!? Wait, does that mean you're passing on!?" Yusuke asked, thoroughly surprised into rambling.

"I don't know if I'm moving on or not… But this island's going to be at the bottom of the ocean soon, and I would like my body around so I can decide," Kagome said as Botan quickly lifted her body.

"Oh, Shiori, I wanted to thank you for keeping your promise," the miko said to the shaking hanyo, who was staring at her with wide eyes.

"You didn't tell me what you were planning, Kagome! Why would you do that!?"

"Indeed, that is a rather interesting question," Kurama added.

"I wasn't planning on dying," she said defensively. "I just… kind of acted without thinking… That spell was an absolute last resort, but I used it because he would never die without his soul being obliterated.

"Umm… here's a question," Kuwabara started. "How's Botan holding Kagome's body while she has that barrier around her?"

Kagome looked at him with confusion as she walked over to her body. As she neared, she felt both the Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga pulse violently.

"Oh! The swords are protecting my body from anything demonic, but Botan's not demonic, so she can touch my body… I guess that they really do have minds of their own… Listen, do you mind if we talk in Koenma's office? I really don't like my body being this close to a sinking island when the chance of returning to living in it exists."

A portal formed and everybody present vanished through it.

"Alright, Koenma! What the hell's going on?" Yusuke asked in confusion.

"Well… Kagome has a choice. She can return to her life or she can pass on to Heaven…" Koenma trailed off as everyone present stared at Kagome.

"You get a choice!?"

"Well, here's the thing. And I already kind of knew this, because of Midoriko. Strong power like the Shikon no Tama's power never really dies. It just transfers after its vessel is destroyed… And in this case, its power entered me when I destroyed it… Add that with the power of several immensely powerful demons and humans. So, my body, while being technically dead, still has the life of my power in it. So, I can choose to return to life, or I can choose where the power will go before passing on."

"I'm not seeing the problem," Yusuke ground out.

"There are quite a number of things to consider, Yusuke," Kurama stated, understanding the problem.

"Like what!?"

"Right now, Miss Higurashi died willingly to save others. Because of that, her power remained. It's why she can still control it, even while dead. But if she were to return to life and die of old age, then the powers would pass themselves to who or whatever they thought of as best."

"Wait a minute! Her powers think!?"

"Well, not in the literal sense, but they are a form of life in themselves," Kagome supplied.

"Right. So, right now, she can choose to pass on and give her immense power to who or whatever she sees as the best vessel for its safety and harmony. But, if she were to return to life and die again, the choice would be out of her hands and she would most likely be reincarnated into having the powers all over again, without the control."

"Which is why I have to think about it," Kagome finished. "If I return to life, it's not explicitly the result, but I would most likely be reincarnated with devastating power when I die again of old age without my current control or memories."

"You're several different demons! How long would it take you to die of old age!?" Yusuke growled.

"Based on the calculations we did, about three centuries," Koenma stated calmly.

Suddenly, Yusuke growled.

"That's a long time! How the hell is this even a concern!? You're really thinking of leaving your kids without a family?"

At that, Kagome's eyes widened as though she'd been punched in the gut.

"No, I'm not! I will never hurt them like that! At least, not intentionally," she said with a blush as she saw her body on a nearby couch. "Look, I get that you went through a lot while you were a ghost, Yusuke, but I honestly don't know if I could go back to my life. All of the suffering I've dealt with had driven me to a lot of stupidity. Like killing myself instead of just asking Hiei to use the Dragon to eat the bastard," she growled, surprising them all.

"What?"

"Yeah, I figured that out right after I was dead," she growled out. "It was the same stupid, reckless thing as last time. But I don't know if I could honestly go back to the world of the living with all of the suffering I've dealt with."

"The choice is simple, Kagome. Do you want peace or the happiness of your children?" Hiei stated simply, making everyone gape at him. He simply shrugged, though his face was a light shade of red as he stared at nothing.

"When you put it like that, it is simple. I love my children more than anything in this… er… you know what I mean," she said, realizing they technically weren't in this world in the respect to Earth.

She walked over to her body and gently touched her skin. As she did, a slight electrical sensation rose to her fingertips.

"So how do I do it?" she asked.

"Have you ever seen any ghost movies?" Koenma asked seriously.

"Umm… yeah," she said nervously.

"It's nothing like that. Simply put your forehead to your body's and concentrate on the sense of touch," he sighed.

As she did so, a feeling of cold and warmth mingled on her forehead. She felt the feeling course through her ethereal body and then, the sensation was suddenly gone.

"Kagome?"

The sound was foreign to her ears, and she slowly opened her eyes. They immediately shut at the painfully bright lights that assaulted her.

"Ouch," she groaned.

A warm hand rested on her forehead and she once again tried to open her eyes. She found herself staring into blood-red eyes in a now-darkened room that she somehow knew was otherwise empty. The face around the eyes slowly came into focus and she found herself staring into a familiar face.

"Hi, Hiei," she said with a smile. "I feel funny…"

"Yes, well being dead will do that to you," he said before gently brushing the hair that had fallen over her eyes off of her face.

They stared at each other for several moments before they kissed. Passionately. And it was at that point that Kagome realized she was on a bed in an unfamiliar place, and quickly got up, despite Hiei's disapproving growl.

"Sorry. I need to get back to my kids and take them out for ice cream… Though, if you want to, you can come to the shrine tonight," she finished hesitantly.

"Yes, I think I will do that," Hiei said with a smirk before they were gone. Their movement stopped at Genkai's temple, and Kagome was immediately tackled by four happily yelling children.

"Momma!"

She hugged them all and smiled sweetly at them.

"I'm back. So, were you good for Genkai?" she asked. They all nodded vigorously and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright then. I'll take you out for ice cream now," she said before bowing respectfully to Genkai, who was watching the scene with amusement, and watched as Hiei vanished.

"You know, I didn't know what to say when I was dying, but there's something I want to tell you, Hiei," Kagome sighed as his warm arms gently molded to her.

"Hm?"

"I… I think I may be in love with you," she said with a blush. His arms gently enclosed around her further and he kissed her forehead.

"Good things don't happen to me," Hiei admitted. "But, you seem to be different. Taking a chance on you seems to be something I can do, as long as you don't kill yourself again, Kagome," he said before she slowly slid to sleep in his arms.

Just before she fell asleep, her mental barriers fell and her happiness at the moment, as well as her hope that it would continue for her long, long life reached Hiei, bringing a smile to his lips.

A/N:

And that's the end of Darkness. I LOVED writing this story. I got to incorporate a LOT of ideas that I'd head in my head for a while, and that's always a good thing. The people reviewing my story had a lot of good things to say, which makes me very happy. But, if you didn't like something, please tell me. As much as I love writing, I also love the critiques that come with it, as they are what make me a better writer more often than not.

I really liked this story, and am considering creating a sequel with Kagome being a spirit detective. On the other hand, I also think I finished things up pretty well. Alas, it's hard for me to decide. But I want to know what you, the readers, think. I'd love some input!