Epilogue

To this date, Miroku, Sango and Onigumo did not know what transpired that night between Kikyou and Inuyasha. Kikyou had only told Sesshoumaru, who nodded in understanding. And in return, Sesshoumaru told her what he knew and suspected. And it became a secret which bound the two of them, a secret that they are determined to bring to their graves.

Kikyou relinquished her duties as a miko but did not marry Onigumo. She became a wandering healer, helping those in need. Unfortunately, she was sick while helping some villagers affected by a plague breakout and passed away shortly. Kaede took over her duties as the miko of the village.

Miroku and Sango settled down, and had a fruitful marriage with many children and grandchildren. They remained in the Taijiya and trained their descendents in the way of youkai-hunting.

Onigumo left the village eventually, and no one has ever heard of him. Rumors had it that he returned to his old ways, and was killed eventually. Another rumor said he married another lady, and settle down in a remote village. Nobody knew what happened.

And Sesshoumaru returned to his kingdom, bearing Tetsusaiga and his brother's remains. For some strange reason, they had honored Inuyasha's wishes and burnt the jewel with him. And the jewel was never seen since then.

And there was peace for another fifty years. Until a young boy and young girl dressed in strange clothing appeared in the village, claiming they were from another world. But that was another story for another time.

The end

Author's Notes

I'm so sorry I took so long to finish the story. The ending was a bit rush with several details removed but I hope it brought some closure. Some parts of the ending were deliberately made cryptic and which I will endeavour to explain below.

Where did Inuyasha get his injury?

In case it was not clear, Inuyasha's injuries were self-inflicted. In the beginning, the future Shikon no Tama was sealed in his body by Midoriko. However, Inuyasha took a gamble, and he wanted to show Kikyou the jewel to prove his story of being from the future. Hence, before he met Kikyou, he deliberately cut himself to retrieve the jewel. He had some time to heal, but it was not enough. Hence during the skirmish with the mass of youkai, his wound open and his condition deteriorated swiftly. Kikyou did not know that the wound was self-inflicted but Sesshoumaru put the pieces together and figured it out. He also fleshed out Inuyasha's story, and hence provided Kikyou with the closure she needs.

Why did Inuyasha ask not to be revived?

It was meant to mirror Kikyou's last moments in the original timeline. However, Inuyasha's reasons for requesting not to be revived are slightly different. Did he know he would be reincarnated? Was he hoping to meet Kagome again in another lifetime? Did he have some last minute revelation while holding the jewel? Or was he just sick of living in a timeline without Kagome? It is up to the reader's imagination.

Why didn't the purification work?

There was no guarantee right from the beginning that Inuyasha's plan will work. It was a gamble, and he lost. Perhaps there were other factors at work. Perhaps that's the will of the jewel itself. It may be confusing but do note that when Inuyasha went back in time, he replaced his present self physically. However, although Sesshoumaru remembers the previous timeline, his body is that of the present self. Hence, there is a fifty-fifty chance that either the physical or future entity will dominate.

Why did Sesshoumaru choose to honor Inuyasha's request and not revive him?

It may seem OOC but remember in this story, Sesshoumaru is not a fan of reviving people needlessly, especially when they have made their own choice to face death (refer to chapter 22). Given that Inuyasha has made a choice to hurt himself to get the jewel out of his body, and requested not to be revive, I guess it wouldn't be a stretch to say Sesshoumaru honored his wishes in the end (much as he hated it).

Final words

Thanks to everyone who is reading this. I'm really grateful for your support. Perhaps some may feel that Inuyasha's journey in this story has been pretty pointless, with things going back to the beginning anyway. But perhaps it is partly Inuyasha's fault in refusing to let go and allowing himself to merge into this new timeline. One could argue that his stubbornness at clinging to the past resulted in the cycle repeating itself again. But perhaps Inuyasha's sense of duty and loyalty were the chains binding him towards this fate. Who knows, this time round they could make a better ending for themselves. But that's another story for another day.