Purity is dedicated to Claire, Liz, ‘Baby’, and Ben … I’ll never forget you guys! Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Purity): I do not claim any rights to InuYasha or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize. ~Sue~ 1-1 ~~~~~Purity~~~~~ ~~Chapter 1~~ ~Midoriko~ Kagome stared in incredulous silence at the newly-restored Shikon no Tama in her hands. It was finished. The ordeal that had carried her through time again and again . was over. Where was the sense of peace, the feeling of accomplishment, that she had believed would come with this? Kagome wiped away a tear that slid down her cheek. Sango, leaning over Kohaku’s lifeless body, wailing in despair as his soul slowly faded from the world. Another tear slipped. Miroku, staring in astonished disbelief as his kazaana—the Wind Tunnel—sealed itself, as though he expected it to reopen and draw them all into the vortex. Another tear slipped. Shippou’s distress, trying his best to hold back the little girl, Rin, while she struggled against his grip. Rin, cringing and crying silently when Sesshoumaru unleashed a piercing howl, cradling the broken form of Kagura in his one arm. Another tear slipped. 1-2 Kouga, gouging the jewel fragments out of his legs. Kouga, touching her cheek and telling her that she was better off with ‘dog-shit’, after all. Kouga, closing his eyes one last time as she begged him not to die. Another tear slipped. Kikyou’s expression as she realized, to her own horror, that she could not take the Shikon no Tama with her again, as she had the first time she’d died. Kikyou, handing the sparkling jewel to Kagome with an enigmatic smile on her face. “It’s your task now, Kagome. Let no one take it from you. The Jewel of Four Souls has chosen you to protect it.” Kikyou, offering Kagome the quiver of arrows she carried on her back. “These are yours now, too. Take care of . everything.” Another tear slipped. InuYasha . InuYasha screaming for Kikyou not to go, even as she faded out of his sight, out of his grasp—even as he broke Kagome’s heart . again. Another tear slipped. Kagome sighed and stood. She’d fretted over her decision for the last four days while they journeyed back to Kaede’s village. She’d agonized over what she should do with the jewel. It had occurred to her that she alone could banish the jewel forever—the beautiful stone that had caused so much pain to so many for so long. She knew now what to do with it. Staring at InuYasha on that cliff as he looked so insanely broken while Kikyou faded from sight, what else could Kagome do? She stared at the edge of the Bone Eater’s Well with a thoughtful frown as she fastened the chain that held the jewel around her neck. Curiously, InuYasha hadn’t tried to take it from her even once. Then again, he’d been so quiet, so oblivious to everyone and everything since that day, that Kagome didn’t think he even sensed it when she had slipped away as the sun rose this morning. She had only stopped long enough to do one last thing after brushing her lips through the air over each of her friends’ cheeks as they slept. Kagome stopped beside InuYasha. Normally the half-demon would wake at the slightest noise. Oddly, he was deeper into his slumber than anyone. Then again, he hadn’t really slept in days . possibly weeks. So intent he had been, on tracking down Naraku, that many nights Kagome had stirred in the wee hours to see him sitting alone—either staring into the campfire with a marked frown or reclining high in a tree above, his back straight and proud, as though he was meditating. InuYasha hadn’t stirred as she had carefully lifted the prayer beads from around his neck. She held her breath, hoping that he wouldn’t wake as she painstakingly removed the last remaining symbol of the bond between them that she had foolishly thought they had. After finally pulling the strand of beads and fangs free, she stared at it for a long time before slipping it into her backpack. Was it so selfish of her to want to keep something—anything—that had been his? 1-3 She sighed again and let herself drop into the well. More tears fell as the light engulfed her, the gentle warmth that was so familiar. It was the last time she’d use this portal. Her friends that had come to mean as much as family to her . she knew she’d never see them again. Why hadn’t she roused them, told them how much each of them meant to her, how she would never forget their times together? Kagome wiped away a bitter tear and drew a ragged breath. ‘Because,’ she thought with an inward sigh, ‘they would have tried to stop me.’ She winced. At least, everyone but InuYasha. She had been so naïve. For two years she’d convinced herself that she could help him, that she could make him see his way past Kikyou. In the end . In the end, she hadn’t been able to do that. The image flashed through her mind again, just as painful now as it had been the first time. InuYasha holding onto Kikyou’s outstretched hand while the soul collectors wrapped around her and pulled her away from him. His voice cracking as he roared her name time and again as she floated away out of sight. Her words had been no more than a whisper on the breeze. Kagome had heard Kikyou’s voice, but hadn’t been able to discern her words. InuYasha probably hadn’t, either. He screamed so loudly she doubted he even realized that Kikyou had spoken. Kagome gasped as her feet gently hit the bottom of the well. The sight of the ladder was an all- too-shocking reminder that she was back in the place where it had all begun. She stifled a sob with the back of her hand before forcing herself to climb out of the well. One last time . When she stood, looking down in the well, Kagome strengthened her faltering resolve. She had to stop crying. It wouldn’t do, for her to go inside the shrine and to let her mother see her so red- faced and puffy-eyed. Slowly, deliberately, Kagome let her bag drop from her fingers, grasping the warm jewel in her palm before giving one quick tug. The chain broke with a snap, leaving the winking stone staring at her in the wan light of the well-house. ‘Don’t be hasty!’ her mind demanded. ‘What if you’re mistaken?’ Kagome shook her head furiously. She knew she wasn’t mistaken, and she didn’t dare wait a moment longer. If she was going to do this, then it had to be now—now before her heart made her falter. Now, before InuYasha came looking for her . ‘Would he? Would he really?’ she couldn’t help but ask herself. Sighing and rubbing her head, her grip on the Shikon no Tama tightened. “He would. If nothing else, I’m his ‘responsibility’,” she mumbled, her voice oddly missing any irritation, any traces of regret. No, she had made that remark in a very matter-of-fact tone. Why wasn’t she still angry? Why didn’t she want to curse him, to condemn him? ‘Because . .’ her mind muttered softly. “Because I love him,” she whispered. 1-4 With that realization, Kagome rasped out an incredulous sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. She clamped her hand over her lips, as though she could hold back her grief with the action. The time was now. A strange calm ebbed over Kagome’s body and soothed the ragged edges of her heart. Determination alone had carried her through so much, and it would see her through this as well. Slowly, her hand curiously steady, Kagome brought the Shikon no Tama up to her chest. With both hands she cradled it against her heart as her eyes closed and her mind cleared. She must have looked like a little girl kneeling beside her bed to offer her prayers. That thought was especially poignant, and Kagome squeezed her eyes closed tighter still, until the pain had waned. “I want to use this Gift to restore her . the woman who InuYasha loves. I want them— Kikyou and InuYasha—to have what they lost so long ago,” she whispered. “Please, Midoriko . please grant this and be freed . .” A comforting warmth washed over her like a summer breeze. Kagome felt her hair being swept off her face, and she smiled, even though a torrent of tears, hot and furious, began to course down her cheeks once more. The Shikon no Tama grew almost too hot to hold in her hands. Her grip instinctively tightened. Kagome yelped in surprise and raised her hands to shield her eyes. It was good thing her eyes had been closed. If she had been looking, the light probably would have blinded her. “‘Twas you, gentle woman,” a kind voice said as the wind died down. It came unexpectedly from right beside her, but it didn’t startle Kagome at all.