Chapter 21: The Final Entry

Inuyasha, if you are now reading this I have died and hopefully taken Naraku with me.

Do not be hard on Koneko if it was by her actions that I have died. She will have a hard time dealing with what she had to do, what I forced her to do. Of everyone I knew she would not disobey me and I am ashamed to say I manipulated her into doing what she did. She is so much like me, do not allow her to close herself off and hide from her emotions. Let her know I love her for what she did for me.

If I have died by your hand, know that I do not blame you and that I am glad you have rid the world of a great evil such as Naraku. I cannot express myself to you properly in person so I will tell you here what I have never been able to say.

I thank you for being my brother these last few weeks. I should not have been so stubborn; perhaps things could have been different between us much earlier. I have gained much peace from being with you and your strange group. You have given me something that I have missed my whole life, a sense of belonging, a sense of family.

You are now father to my children, bring them up well. You were correct in that I do love them; that was why I went after Naraku the way I did. I could not stand the thought of him ever tormenting them again or gaining control of you. Please understand why I did what had to be done. My life is meaningless without them and you, to know that you, my family, will survive is enough for me. My life has been too long; it will be a release for me to go. No one, not even I, should live forever.

You are now the Lord of the Western Lands; they are yours to do with as you wish. I hope that you will take your place as lord and rule wisely and well. If you decide such I will give you a word of advice. Trust no one. Know that it will not be an easy task for there are those that will try anything to prevent you from taking your place as lord. Ferret out the ones that would do you harm, you are father's son and a prince. Let no one take what is rightfully yours. I am sure with your companions by your side that you will be victorious in claiming your birth right and with your great determination and your kind heart, will be a great ruler. You may not believe it but I do have faith in you, Inuyasha. I have seen with my own eyes your strength and power and I feel you are ready for this challenge now. I am proud to have you as my successor.

How long your reign will last I cannot say. I have noticed a great increase in the human population but a decrease in our demon one. Many are already seeking more desolate places to get away from them but even there I see human encroachment. I see a day where demons and hanyous will be relegated to fairy tales, that we will no longer walk the earth with the humans. Who would have thought such insignificant creatures would be able to conquer us. I find it peculiar. We have not given them enough credit.

Another word of advice from your older brother, hang on to your miko. Kagome is a kind and gentle girl and she loves you. This I am sure you know. Do not be foolish and lose the one great treasure you have. She is a good match for you and you both have my blessings.

Know this as well, I have always loved you, otouto. I am ashamed that I have never been able to say that to you. I have wasted so much time between us in my anger and arrogance, for this I am deeply sorry. Take care of yourself and all in your care. We will meet again on the other side.

Inuyasha closed the book with tears in his eyes. He tucked it into his haori and wiped his eyes. He looked at the other items Koneko had given him that had been left behind by his brother, his fluffy wrap, a sign of his heritage from his mother and the Tenseiga. He tucked Tenseiga into his belt beside the Tetsusaiga and felt them almost hum in appreciation of being together once more. He didn't know if the sword of his brother would work for him but he would try to practice with it. He dropped out of the tree he had been reading in and headed back to the camp everyone was waiting for him at.

"Are you okay?" Kagome asked as she came up and hugged him.

"Yeah," the hanyou sighed. He released her and put his brother's boa over his shoulder as he had seen Sesshoumaru do. Inuyasha looked at the almost complete jewel hanging around Kagome's neck. Only three more shards remained to bring it back to its former state.

Maybe, when we complete the jewel I can bring you back, but until that day I will do what you have asked of me, brother. I will be a good lord and a good father. I will make both you and Chui-hue proud.

THE END

Thank you everyone who wrote to me and reviewed this story, I hope you were not too disappointed in the ending and although it was sad, I think it still leaves us with a bit of hope. This bit of hope was thanks to Princess of Gun Blades who suggested an alternate ending. I liked her idea so much more than mine that I had to change my story. Thank you and I believe others thank you as well kiss kiss

I especially want to thank Kirarapurr for doing fan art for this story, it's a great picture and I hope you guys will take a peek at it and let her know how wonderful of an artist she is.

I will be posting another story soon called "Curse of the Wolf" It is a yaoi fic with InuXKouga pairing. I should be starting to post it within a few days. I hope to hear from everyone again soon and I will definitely write back to you all. If you've sent me links to your stories I will definitely read them, I love to read others people's stories and hear different ideas. Also anytime you want to make a suggestion such as Princess of Gun Blades did I will certainly take it into consideration and I may use your idea. Again tons of hugs and kisses to everyone, you guys are why I love writing so much.  hearts