Chapter 17: Death of One

Sesshomaru pushed her out of the way as Inuyasha rushed at him. Kagome stared at his hand, engulfed in her blue flames. Guilt assaulted her for it, as he defended himself from his brother.

Why did she feel guilty? She had done nothing wrong. Even knowing that, she still felt so as she watched him fight off Inuyasha with his lone hand.

Nothing felt right, it all felt twisted and knotted like yarn played with by a cat. A part of her wanted to heal him, another wanted to help Inuyasha kill him. At the same time, she wanted to run away.

She hated that. All she had been doing was running away from everything. She knew that she needed to move past what had been done. That didn't change the fact that she wanted to die as well. Everything hurt but she had never been a coward.

At least, she hadn't been before all this began.

Kagome remembered the warrior that she had been. Now she knew that she was just broken.

She watched as Sesshomaru dodged Inuyasha with ease. She took in Inuyasha's injuries; Sesshomaru had given them all to her friend.

He had been her friend for so long. She had wanted more with him once. A future that was long dead in the womb of her hope.

In the darkest of nights when Sesshomaru's arms had been wrapped around her, she thought of him. She had hoped that he would appear and take her away from all the pain. What a child she had been.

Too lost in her misery to think of anything else.

She certainly had never thought of her children on those nights. Only Inuyasha, the man that had lost his mind. The man that wanted all her babies dead. Could she even still call Inuyasha a friend, knowing that? She already knew the answer.

There was nothing to do as she watched them fight. The fires around her continued to burn the world as she did. Sesshomaru was at a disadvantage because of her. With that in her mind, she walked towards them.

Alarm sparked in Sesshomaru's golden gaze as she did. Kagome watched as he thrust his burning hand into Inuyasha's face, stopping him for the moment. Then he appeared directly in her path. "Sesshomaru…"

He was covered in Inuyasha's blood, his hand was turning black from her blue flames. Despite that, he was calm as he stood before her. "Do not get between us right now, Kagome."

"He wants to kill our babies."

"I know…do you want me to spare him?" Sesshomaru questioned her softly.

She laughed at that before she asked him, "would you if I said yes?"

He reached out to touch her but stopped when she flinched. Kagome didn't know what to think at the sad expression that appeared on his face. "I do not want to cause you any pain, Kagome. I have caused enough of it already after all. If you want him to live then I'll spare him, so long as our children are never near him."

"SESSHOMARU!" Inuyasha shouted.

Sesshomaru pushed her out of the way once more before taking the brunt of Inuyasha's sudden charge. She fell upon her butt and watched as Inuyasha slammed a fist into Sesshomaru's face.

Kagome noticed how his face was on fire with her flames, only he didn't burn like his brother.

oOo

It felt so good. He tried to punch Sesshomaru again, only to miss. He hated his brother so much.

Once upon a time, he would have called Sesshomaru his brother. He had even seen him as his ally if not a distant friend. That was all before Sesshomaru took Kagome, before Sesshomaru broke something in him. Everything hurt because of Sesshomaru.

Every moment was filled with pain, sadness and misery. The blue flames that cover his vision gave him some peace. It was cold and numbing, filling him with hope.

A hope that he could take her back because the fire was hers. After all, Sesshomaru was being burned by her as he was being comforted. "She hates you, doesn't she?"

Sesshomaru's eyes flashed red for a moment at his question. A smile filled his face at the answer. "She hates you and those babies of yours…how can she not?"

"Am I to care, Inuyasha? Because I see no point in caring about what a ruined lump of flesh has to say," Sesshomaru informed calmly.

Ruined? He was only ruined because of Sesshomaru. It still burned that Miroku had thought it was a just punishment. There was nothing good about feeling as if your bones were exploding from within. To feel like your flesh was hard, unwilling to move as it crippled you.

He didn't want that pain anymore. Inuyasha knew that only death would make it stop. He couldn't end it all yet.

He needed to save Kagome before he could do that.

Sesshomaru suddenly slammed his boot down on his knee, Inuyasha screamed because of it. He knew that it was destroyed beyond repair. It hurt so much that Inuyasha found himself laughing instead of crying. There was no way he would ever walk with that leg again.

It was then that he turned his head to look at Kagome. The look on her face was worse that his useless leg. Pity, sadness and…acceptance.

What was there for her to accept? His death? He should have died long ago. Only she had kept him alive when he should have been rotting in the ground. "You'll be doing this one day to her."

"What?"

"That little baby of yours. You'll do the same to her," he whispered.

Sesshomaru's eyes turned red and stayed so at Inuyasha's words. He drew Bakusaiga, his face turning more dog as he barely kept control. "SAY THAT AGAIN! I DARE YOU, INUYASHA!"

Inuyasha felt envious at the sight. For so long, he had wanted to be a full demon. To have that power, to be accepted in a society that lived by it. For so long, he hadn't wanted to be hated for being part of two worlds.

Kagome had been the one to show him that he wasn't. Now there was an expression of hate in her eyes at his words. "Your child will suffer and hate you like I do. Like Kagome does. Tell me, Sesshomaru, what happened to your arm? Did someone take it?"

"Shut up, Inuyasha!" Kagome suddenly shouted.

Both he and Sesshomaru instantly turned to her. Her naked beauty filled him with desire that he had long denied himself. He should have watched her with Miroku all those years ago.

"Why? I can't stand anymore…I can barely breathe. I…I want…to…want to…die." His vision blurred with tears. He wanted to be held in that moment, to be embraced with love and warmth.

The hatred disappeared at his words from her. There was only sadness and pity; it reminded him of his mother's last moments. Those emotions had been reflected in her eyes as she had taken him into her arms. She had used the last of her strength to curl around him.

Kagome faded away in the blur of his tears. Then the pain began to fade as warm silk cradled him. He was scared to hope in that moment.

"Mama?"

"Shh, it's alright." He couldn't recognize the voice so he just buried his head in the warmth. It was scary to know that this was the end, he could barely feel his body.

His eyes could no longer see the blurred colour. He had been to the border of the land of the living and death. But this was different, this nothingness was terrifying "I'm scared…I…I don't…I don't want to…to die."

"It's alright, it's alright…I have you."

It was then that he felt himself being picked up. The pain was gone.

oOo

Sesshomaru stared at Kagome as she held Inuyasha. His brother's breathing had stopped when his sword had pierced his heart. His stomach twisted at what he had done. Even knowing it had needed to happen, it had felt wrong.

Almost like he had put down his own child rather than his brother.

What unnerved him was the calm expression upon Kagome's face. Not the fact that the blue fire that had surrounded her had turned into silk. Or that she had held Inuyasha gently like one of their children. It was the calm expression that had fallen in place as Inuyasha passed.

She dropped him abruptly as she stood, her expression never changing.

He sheathed his blade and reached for her, the fire gone and him completely healed. It was like she had never burned him. "Kagome-"

"I don't have the time and I don't want to deal with you, Sesshomaru." She turned then to walk away from him.

He didn't know what to do.