Things That Could Never Be

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha nor do I make any profit from this story.

(A/N: This chapter has two purposes, one is to tell you of the Sequel to this story that I have just posted the first chapter of, called Love's Consequences. It can be found easily by clicking my name and going to my author's page.

And two, to compile all of the alternate scenes and endings that I thought good enough to write, but that would not have fit into the story. It's like a bunch of one-shots that sprout off the original but will go nowhere. Enjoy, and be sure to fav/follow the sequel when you are done here.)

Soothing Rage

(A/N: This was my original idea of how to deal with the loose end that is Sesshomaru, but I found a better idea that I'll write in the sequel. So, this is NOT how the story goes, it is just a sidetracked one-shot.)

Not long after taking Kagome as his mate did the glaring reality of the danger she was now in hit Naraku full force. Sesshomaru had been just biding his time until he could land a devastating blow; a blow that would render her dead and him alone. After having nearly lost her before, it was not a fate he thought he could survive a second time around. Something must be done, and quickly, before the demon lord learned of this change.

He could fight him, and no doubt, even in the midst of their confusion over Kagome's choice, her friends would defend her life from Sesshomaru. The outcome of such a battle, however, was uncertain, and he was not willing to put her in such a risky situation. One wrong move, one second of lapsed reactions… No, he would find a better solution, one that had no chance of losing Kagome in the process. After all, this was his specialty, deriving circumstances that turned in his favor, no matter the odds.

He thought it over long and hard, in between other activities that could be described with similar adjectives, and eventually came up with a most obvious solution. It was so simple, a joke really that he hadn't come up with it immediately, but his mind was overanalyzing every possible outcome and had overlooked his current plan. In the unlikelihood that it would not pan out as planned, he had more manipulative schemes thought up than would probably ever be able to be set into action. It was up to Sesshomaru which route to take.

The demon lord was not so complex, he was ruled by his honor and traditions, so all Naraku had to do was utilize this weakness. With his heart elsewhere, it was still impossible for him to die simply from physical or demonic attacks. Even if Sesshomaru did strike at him, it would simply be a flesh wound that would heal in mere seconds.

Naraku found Sesshomaru and his entourage with ease, using Kanna's mirror, and placed himself at the side of their path. At the first whiff of Naraku's scent, Sesshomaru had Tokijin drawn and prepared for whatever trap this may be.

"Naraku," Sesshomaru addressed the figure with distaste, noting how he was kneeling with his head down. Something was off about this. "How foolish of you showing yourself before me."

"Lord Sesshomaru," Naraku began, the same confidence in his voice as always, "This one lays down his life at your feet, upon your mercy in apology, and accepts you as superior in exchange for invoking the right of pardon." Naraku's voice held no sincerity, but the words were recited perfectly. "Upon your honor, I submit."

Sesshomaru couldn't keep the shock out of his expression, but concealed it just as quick as it appeared. Naraku was submitting? Why?

Kneeling in front of Sesshomaru, appearing to surrender properly, but with tentacles snaked through the ground and poised to capture the child in a moments notice should this turn sour, Naraku cockily awaited Sesshomaru's decision. 'What will you do now, Sesshomaru? Will you attempt to kill me, forcing my hand to return the attack, or let your honor dictate your sword and accept a formal apology?' The smirk never left Naraku's covered face; it was a good thing he opted to wear the baboon pelt and mask to hide his amusement.

Sesshomaru fully understood the implications, and as much as he wanted to see this filth's blood stain the earth, he was bound by his very title to abide by his traditions. His honor depended on it. He narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Such ceremony can only be honored once, Naraku," Sesshomaru warned, sheathing Tokijin and walking off without even looking at the white clad figure. If Naraku so much as looked at his ward or lands again, he would find his head severed.

(A/N: As I said, this is NOT how the story will go. It felt far too anti-climactic to include in the main story, but it was still worth writing.)

Depression

(A/N: I played with the idea of Kagome's friends finding out at different intervals, and what their reactions would be, but it didn't fit with the final scene that I had already decided on. This is one such scene, taking place while Kagome is depressed at Naraku's rejection.)

Kagome had not been recovering, only going off on her own each night. Seeking an answer and to console the poor girl, Miroku followed her, only to find her clutching a piece of parchment, something from her era. Not even realizing he was there, Miroku walked right up and pulled the object from her weakened hands, but froze at the image. It was a picture of Naraku! Kagome instantly went frantic, begging, pleading, and pawing at his robes from her grounded position, "Give it back!"

"Why do you have this, Lady Kagome?" Miroku tried to ask between her sobs.

Brokenly, her voice cracked, "Just please, give it back. It's all I have to remind me. Please, please." She collapsed from the effort required and he handed it back, even though he didn't quite understand why. She pulled the picture in close to her chest and curled back up in the dirt, continuing to cry and mumble to herself.

Hitting him like a ton of bricks, understanding dawned on the monk, 'I was mistaken in my assumptions. Its not Sesshomaru she fell for, but Naraku.' Her mumbling continued as Miroku sat next to her, watching her fall apart. 'It made sense, Naraku could have assumed any form, but it had seemed too impossible; I never gave it any thought. Its obvious that she truly loved him, and something broke her completely. He, broke her completely.'

(A/N: I think it's pretty obvious why this one was not included.)

Anything For You

(A/N: Getting even more OOC, my mind wandered even further into the darkness. Below is what if they never reconciled and the jewel continued to take control of Naraku. Cannon episodes continue and Kagome has no choice but to fight to free him. Even though he hurt her, she still does, and always will, love him.)

Warning: Character Death in this one shot, tears incoming, but it is NOT how the main story goes.

Naraku finally attained the last shard; finally he could make his wish, but the jewel wasn't responding! Why wasn't it working, what else was needed? Silence; not a word. 'I see. I will never have her, the jewel will not grant my wish. I will forever be alone,' with sad recognition, this is when Naraku ultimately gave up. The whole purpose to his life, it was unattainable; there was no point.

The jewel had its own wish, and there was nothing he could do about it. Conceding to the entity within, he began blindly going through the movements. If he couldn't have her, life had no point; he didn't care what happened to him. Death would be welcome.

Transforming once more, he hovered in the blackened sky in the form of a giant, black spider. They took his "invitation" readily, rushing inside his body as a last attempt to destroy him. Through all their trials, they all eventually ended up congregated face to face, only yards away from Naraku's true body. It was at this time, that Kagome could see just how much the jewel was destroying Naraku. His eyes were becoming hollow, and his face was cracking under the strain. "The Shikon Jewel will never disappear from this world. Even if I am destroyed, it will live on."

"Naraku, what were you even trying to accomplish?" Kagome asked. He never charged into a fight blindly, but this one... "This whole time, you've focused on tearing love and friendship apart. You can't stand seeing people happy, so you devote your life to breaking relationships apart. But why? Is that all you really wanted?" 'You even broke us apart,' she added to herself.

"Why ask me now?" he responded numbly. 'Why ask me after you betrayed me for him; it is too late,' he thought; the answer should be obvious.

"You couldn't have done all those things if you didn't understand the human heart; if you didn't understand what it felt like to be loved, and to be hurt," she explained, trying to remind him that he really had felt before, before the jewel locked his heart away. "Nothing will satisfy you because the Shikon jewel didn't grant your real wish, did it?"

'It didn't, and it never will,' he thought over the truth of the matter. 'The tainted jewel that I hold, cannot gift the love of someone pure; it cannot make you love me, Kagome.'

"You were hesitating, weren't you, because you know the Shikon jewel turns every body that it absorbs into a true monster. But you don't have to do this!" she tried to get through to him. 'Please stop, let me help you get free from the jewel.'

"Are you so naive to think you can purify my heart with your empty words? Well you are sadly mistaken!" he had heard enough, and the fighting resumed. Her last attempt had failed. The rest of her companions made it, everyone was now gathered in one place. "So you're all here. You and your worthless group of so called friends," he directed at Kagome.

With attacks coming at him from all angles, Kagome finally had the opportunity she needed, "The Shikon Jewel? If I can just pierce it." 'Then he will be free,' she added. Her aim was true, banishing the darkness from the jewel and severing its control over Naraku. It was in this moment, the second between regaining his senses and being struck with Bakusaiga, that he realized her purpose. He realized that all he had to do was trust her; she had never turned on him, but was trying to free him. If he had trusted her, he would have been granted all he really wanted. She had been the only woman to ever care about him in any true capacity.

His realization came too late, for Bakusaiga's damage was spreading, tearing him apart without the possibility of regenerating. His body was cracking open, crumbling, even as she ran to him and tried to hold him together and keep him from crumbling any further, "No. Please don't die, please, stay with me, don't go." She hadn't expected him to be attacked so soon and not even attempt to avoid Sesshomaru's swing. It was as if he wanted to die.

"Kagome, thank you," he let out a barely audible whisper before turning to dust. The sudden separation, just when he finally saw her again, made her cry harder. Bawling over his remains, pain-wracked sobs shook her small frame as she gasped for breath in between screaming out her sorrow. She didn't even seem to see her bewildered audience, but the jewel, lying at his side, caught her tear-blurred eyes. She knew if she wished on it, she would be cursed, but in her desperate state, decided it was worth it. She snatched it up and without preamble, before anyone could stop her, made her silent wish, "let us be together."

The jewel would either kill her, sending her to the afterlife with him, ending her pain in the waking world, or bring him back, either one worked, she didn't care where they were, as long as they were together. If she needed to die for that to happen, she would; if she had to live in hell, so be it. He would be her heaven.

"Your wish shall be granted…" she heard it speak into her mind.

'Naraku, I'm coming,' she thought as she let the magic work.

He had thought he lost her, doomed to constant loneliness, to never feel again, nothing but torturous sorrow and crippling regret. His very soul wept, uncontrolled, unhindered, unrestrained, at the loss of his love. Death took him, and she would not follow. He was alone, and she was happily living with her friends. Maybe that was not so bad, knowing she was well. But she wasn't, she was just as tortured, desperate to get him back, frenzied as she gave the jewel what it wanted, her soul. Anything to have him back, ANYTHING!

The light was intense, blinding as she either died and lit up hell, or he returned from the darkness, blinded by the light of life. Neither could tell which it was. His eyes met hers and his shock was visible, she was completely tainted, her soul blackened darker than his had ever been. What had she done to cause such a transformation? What had she done to reunite them? Did she get the jewel to work? He knew what it needed, and if she had heeded its requests… she did that, for him? He could not believe his eyes. She cared more for him than anyone else, even more than herself. His feelings really were returned.

"Naraku," she brought him out of his shock.

"Kagome…" she was so beautiful in the darkness.

"Anything for you."

(A/N: I know, major OOC in this one. Its better than I originally wrote it; the first version had Kagome killing them to fill the jewel with darkness so it would work. I opted to tone it down from that, since Kagome would never actually kill everyone. But despair and desperation can drive a person to madness. Take it how you will.)

Opportunity Missed

(A/N: This was another ending to potentially extend the original story and could easily be bridged between chapters 44 and 45. Reader's decision whether you want it added in or not.)

Damn that accursed jewel, it was making his trek across the land to win back Kagome a losing battle. He had no choice. He had to get to her before she left forever; jumping into the depths of that time traveling well and slipping through his fingers. He could not allow that to happen, not when he had finally come back to his senses and realized that it was his fault, his weakness to the very jewel he now hated, that she had broken so bad as to leave for good.

As fate would have it, his luck ran out, and he arrived long after she had gone. Claws digging into the ancient wood of the bone eater's well, he lamented his failure before screaming out a fierce roar to the winds. He did not care who heard, for it would inevitably call those who resided in the nearby village; those that hunted him relentlessly. He began pacing back and forth, frantically, his mind reeling in regret. There had to be a way around this, there was always a way, a plan. He just had to find it. How could he get her back without waiting hundreds of years?

"Naraku," Inuyasha came barreling out of the forest, sword already drawn. "What the hell are you doing here?" He didn't answer, only looked right through him, his mind a whirl. "Fine by me, saves me the trouble of hunting you down."

Naraku was unfazed, Inuyasha could do nothing to him. Kikyo and Kagome were the only ones capable of harming him. One was hiding from him, easy enough to dispatch, and the other, his Kagome, was reachable only by Inuyasha through the well. 'Inuyasha! That's it!' Naraku regained his senses just before being struck by Tessaiga. With his usual smirk back in place, he dodged the attack easily. He now knew how to get her back, but first, he had to nullify the one who was already dead.

It only took a few days to have his plans come to fruition, Kikyo, ever predictable, could not resist coming out of hiding to help a human child, and in doing so, was caught up in his corrupted spider-webs. Inuyasha found her soon after, but her powers were now useless. It was time to bait his trap, "There is no land I can't reach." 'Except the future.' "And no one strong enough to harm me now that Kikyo is corrupted." 'Except for Kagome.' He was laying it on thick, but not so obvious that they would catch on to his real purpose. He was giving them hints that told how only Kagome could defeat him and urging them to fetch her. 'Come on; figure it out. Take the bait and bring her back to me!' "You have no hope left," he mocked with a cackling laugh as he vanished before their eyes, cloaking himself in the shadows to watch and see it they understood his meaning.

"Damn it, he got away," Inuyasha grunted out through his injuries.

"I hate to admit it, but Naraku is right," Miroku pieced it together, at least the part about Kagome being their only chance. He hated to admit the weakness, but calculating their strengths, they could not complete with Naraku now that Kikyo was powerless.

"What are you talking about, Miroku?" Inuyasha growled, but the effort pained him and he was ushered to lie back down.

"What I mean, is that without a priestess, we stand no chance," Miroku clarified.

"Kikyo's a priestess, you idiot," Inuyasha defended.

"Yes, but her powers no longer work against Naraku," he reminded. "We need Kagome, and you are the only one who can bring her back to us, Inuyasha."

It took some convincing, but Inuyasha finally relented. Once in Kagome's era, he explained the situation. She still refused to come back, until it was mentioned that Naraku was getting even more warped then before. Inuyasha thought it was the threat Naraku held towards them that finally changed her mind, but in actuality, it was the realization that even though Naraku hurt her, she still loved him, and he needed her help to be free from the jewel's corruption. Determined, she returned to free them all.

(A/N: At this point you can have Naraku confront her, and play that whole scene out where he gives her the jewel and lets her see inside his heart, if you were so inclined as to place this scene in the already completed story. If not, then it's a deleted scene.

Anyways, now head on over to the Sequel, Love's Consequences. I already have several chapters ready to post, so it will be updated weekly. See you over there.)