Furious winds whipped around me, lashing my hair around my face. I opened one eye and glanced at Miroku, who was holding a barrier up to protect us from the lightening flickering around randomly. I frantically searched for Sango and Shippo, whom I found quickly. Inuyasha was still fiercely fighting Bankotsu. After I allowed myself to relax, I recalled the child who had led us to this Hijiri Island. His name was Shintaro. I panicked when I couldn't find him. Then I heard a child's shout.

Finally, I found him! I didn't have time to think before my motherly instincts reigned over my body, causing me to decide to go to him. Ignoring Miroku's shouts of protest, I dove out of the protection of his barrier and went for the boy.

My arms encircling him protectively, we rolled across the hard dirt ground. I opened my eyes and glance upwards. I had a split second before I registered a blinding light headed my way. Realizing it was the lightening from Bankotsu's halberd, I mustered all the strength I could to shove Shintaro away from my side.

If I had to sacrifice my life for another, then so be it!

I cringed as I felt the heat of the lighting stinging my skin from a slight distance. It was almost here. Time seemed to stop for me. My friend's eyes all widened in horror. They would have rushed towards me, if they weren't frozen with shock. By the time they came to their senses, it was too late. In my last moments, I took advantage of them to gaze into Inuyasha's golden eyes. He was crying. He knew it was too late, yet he rushed towards me with all his might.

"Kag-!"

It was dark, and I was... cold. My limbs were unbearably heavy, so lifting them was out of the question. I couldn't breath! My chest... so... heavy...

Excruciatingly slow, the weight on my body lifted. I could breath! I could think! Millions of questions flitted through my mind.

Who was I? Where was I? Who's voice is this, calling out to me?

I don't know how long I was in this state of consciousness and unconsciousness. Days? Weeks? Months? Possibly even years. When I was conscious, I could hear voices around me. There were so many different voices around me. Sometimes they would cry, or scream. Sometimes to each other, sometimes to me. Whoever I was.

As I listened, I noticed quite a few names that were repeated. "Bankotsu", "Inuyasha", and "Kagome" were the names I heard the most. There were others, but I couldn't seem to recall them, as they were only occasionally mentioned. I wasn't too worried about those people.

Although, out of those three names, I often wondered which of them (if any) were mine. I could have been Bankotsu, though I honestly hoped not. The voices frequently cursed and threatened his name. Though, they often worried about Inuyasha. They'd repeatedly say "how hard this was on him". What was hard on him? I didn't know. I suppose "this" could have been what I was going through now. Though, I wouldn't call it difficult, per say. It wasn't anything. It simply was.

As for Kagome... The voices often blessed and praised her name. Though, when they would cry, they would cry for her. They'd cry out for her to "wake up" or "snap out of it". I suppose the voices around me really loved her. She sounds like a lucky girl to have my voices love her so. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous of Kagome at all, even if there was a chance she could be me. ALthough my voices asked her to wake up, my personal opinion is that she's dead.

I'm not dead, so I can't be Kagome.

Or... was I?

When I was unconscious, the world would cease to exist. There were no voices. Only mine. I would often talk with myself, and if that got boring, I'd aimlessly wander through the dark area I was in. There was no color where I was. Nothing but black, murky nothingness. I like to call this "The Dark Place". When I was in The Dark Place for a while, I could almost always feel my sanity leaving me.

Strangely enough, though, every time I would be on the brink of delirium, I'd become lucid once more by hearing the voices. I'd like to think that my voices have saved me more than a hundred times. To you, that might seem like a hyperbole; that was simply the truth. I'm not exaggerating when I say I lost all sense of space and time. So I assure you, it is no hyperbole. I always looked forward to hearing the voices.

One day, though, I entered a place full of beautiful light. It was alike The Dark Place in the sense that it had no color, but it was different in the atmosphere around it. I felt absolute peace here. Everything was white here. And unlike The Dark Place, it had birds, grand oak trees, and animals. All were white and made no sound, though they were there nonetheless.

I called this "The Light Place". I'd switch between here, The Dark Place, and the voices. There wasn't any pattern to when I would enter any of the three realms. I'd switch randomly until The Dark Place ceased to exist entirely. That pleased me.

I was sitting on white blades of grass, under a magnificent white tree when I saw a white man in the distance. Unlike the faceless people I'd occasionally seen in The Light Place, he had a face. A very nice one, too. He had eyes, a nose, a mouth, hair, etc. None of the other beings in The Light place had those things. He was like me. He wasn't from this place.

He seemed to be walking towards me. The thought had me ecstatic. I could talk to him! Actually talk with someone other than myself! After what seemed like an eternity, he had finally found me. His long hair fanned around him in the breeze, caressing his naked flesh. I almost wept as he sat next to me. Within a few moments, I felt warm streams of tears falling down my face. I looked to him, and found he was weeping as well.

"Wha- Who- How?"

"Shh," He silenced me gently. I nodded, willing myself not to talk, even if it killed me. Anything to keep him here! I hadn't truly realized how lonely I had been all this time. He turned to me, his eyes still filled with tears. "I've been told we have a purpose." I cocked my head.

A purpose? What did that mean?

He shook his head. "We have a destiny together. Our fates are to be forever entwined, they said." They? Who were they? The voices? Had my voices truly said this to him? Did he know them to? These were the questions I burned to ask, but refrained.

He leaned forward, placing a feather light kiss on my brow. I barely felt him tie the ribbon on my ring finger. It too was white. "We'll meet again when we're alive again. I promise." I watched in horror as he stood. By the time I realized he was departing, it was too late. No matter how much I screamed for the man to return to me, he never did. I screamed for days until my hoarse voice could scream no more.

I never saw him again.

With time, The Light Placed gradually faded as well. Everything faded away until all I had were the voices around me. Then, the most amazing thing happened to me!

I saw the color I'd been desperately yearning for all this time. It was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined...