Prologue

Her heart stopped. Her breath seemed to catch in her throat. Every muscle in her being tensed and twitched at the sight of her friend. Her best friend being pulled through the spirit shield. His body lit up with pink jolts of energy, sending blood splattering throughout the place. His hold to the gigantic fang in the demon's heart never failed to cling. The cursed demon, Naraku, hissed and cried out in pain as the resilient hanyou reached through with his free hand and pulled the nearly completed Shikon No Tama from his forehead. Never in all the conflicts and confrontations had Naraku used the jewel on himself, which led the young, observant miko to one conclusion...he was scared. The group had backed him into a corner, his minions no longer capable of doing his dirty work. The group made up of a hanyou, a miko, a kitsune, a fire cat demon, a monk, and an exterminator. At that moment, all the pain subdued. At that moment, everything was suddenly worth it. The betrayals, the deaths, the love, the hate...it all seemed to intertwine into this one second of triumph. Naraku's body dissipated into what he was truly seen as. Slime. The hanyou fell to his knees in a puddle of his own blood, every breath stinging his tattered, miasmic lungs.

"We did it..." He managed to strangle out as the worn group came together around him. He lifted his hand, revealing the tiny, cracked orb that has caused so much pain...so much grief. In the same instance...so much love. The three shards that were in the possession of the miko were...all that remained. The battle had been won, but the war...was far from over.