I open my eyes to a setting sunlight coming through the wooden window, my head is spinning with dizziness, I immediately sit up , the whole room spins for a few seconds. I hold my head and I look around, I’m back in the hut in the village, I look down beside me and I don’t see anyone in the room, Naraku isn’t here. That was when it all hit me at once, the last time that I held Naraku… he was lifeless, his eyes were closed and he wasn’t breathing. He was dead the last time that I held him, I feel my heart drop immediately. I get up and I run outside of the hut, the early evening sun causes my eyes to squint from the lingering migraine. I find the direction of the big hut and I run towards it, when I finally arrive, it was quiet. I lift the curtains aside and I stumble in.

“Inuyasha! Kagome? Are you guys in here?!” I ask as I fall onto the ground.

I see all of them sitting around the wooden table quietly with a solemn expression. Sango looks at me in shock.

“___________? You’re awake?!” She asks.

Kagome hurriedly rushes to me and helps me up, they all looked shocked. I looked around, Miroku, Lady Kaede, Inuyasha, Rin, Shippo, the kids, Sango, and Kagome are all here. They are all here, except for Naraku. He’s really not here. I grab Kagome’s arm as tears starts to well up in my eyes, I have to hold on to her so that I won’t lose my mind.

“Naraku…Kagome, where is Naraku?” I ask her.

Kagome’s already solemn face falls even more, she looks to the side.

“We tried to revive him there and after we all came back, but we were unable to save him, he was hit in the heart indeed. We have placed his body in an empty hut so that he can be a peace.” Miroku tells me.

“I have to go to him…” I say unconsciously.

“__________ you need to stop, you passed out for a day, you can’t add more strain to your emotions and health.” Lady Kaede says.

I shake my head side to side, I get up, Kagome helps me up.

“Please Kagome, take me to him. I need to see him.” I beg her.

Kagome sighs, she looks conflicted. I know they care for me and my feelings, I personally feel that I’m emotionally unstable right now, but I have to see Naraku. Inuyasha then stands up.

“I’ll take you to him__________.” He says.

“Inuyasha…” Sango says quietly.

“Thank you.” I say to him.

Inuyasha walks out. Kagome gives my hand a squeeze. I follow him out of the hut, they all come out as well. Inuyasha’s hair swayed side to side as I watched him walk in front of us. Each step feels so heavy, a part of me don’t want to see him, but a part of me had to see the one person that I truly loved. A few minutes of walking through the village, we finally arrive outside a hut that looks almost like a small shrine. Inside, is Naraku. Inuyasha opens the door and he stand aside, he looks at me with his amber eyes and he gives me a solemn nod. I take a deep breath and with Kagome beside me, I walk inside the dim room. Rin stayed outside with Shippo to look after the children. When my eyes finally adjusts to the room, I see Naraku lying on a wooden platform in the middle of the room. His arms are laid on his side, and his eyes are closed. He is wearing a white kimono. He looks absolutely godly despite being a demon. The white of his attire with his black hair is a beautiful combination, unfortunately, this a corpse, Naraku’s corpse. I feel my legs give way, and I lose my strength to stand. Kagome grabs onto my arm, Sango comes up beside me and helps hold me up. Everything feels so unreal. I couldn’t even cry, or talk.

“________….” Kagome says solemnly.

I find my strength again and walk up beside the platform, I look at Naraku’s flawless face, he doesn’t even look like the Naraku that I loved, I know its him still but without the blue attire that I gave him, he doesn’t even look like him anymore. I wish that it wasn’t him, I wish that there wasn’t a body lying here in front of me. I wished that Naraku stood beside me back in our own hut, I want to feel his hand holding mine again. I collapse onto the ground again and I take Naraku's cold hand in my warm ones. Reality finally hits me when he didn’t respond, my tears finally starts falling. Naraku died once, he got a second chance in life and now he’s gone again. How could this happen? I feel frustrated that I couldn’t save him, I feel that it’s so unfair that I just got him back not too long ago and to lose him again. It pains me. Kagome comes down beside me and holds me as I cry.

“His body won’t decompose for years so he will always be here. We haven’t held a funeral for him yet, would you want to hold a funeral for him?” Kagome asks me.

I open my blurry eyes, I then slowly nod in response.

“Let’s hold the funeral tomorrow then, for _________’s sake.” Inuyasha says.

“Let’s head back____________, staying here too long won’t be good for you.” Miroku tells me.

“No… I would like to stay here for a while longer, I want to be here with Naraku. I promised him a long time ago that I would keep him company when he’s lonely. He has been alone for most of his life, I want to be here and let him know that I’ll be here beside him whether he’s alive or not. Please let me do that…” I say weakly squeezing Naraku’s hand.

Silence fills the room, I feel Sango rubbing my back trying to comfort me.

“Make sure to rest well so you’ll be able to attend the funeral tomorrow.” Kagome says.

I nod. I feel Sango and Kagome stand up and they all sigh, I hear their footsteps walking out of the hut. In no time, the whole room goes quiet again. I rest my chin onto my arm and I stare at Naraku’s profile, my heart ached but I didn’t want to cry anymore. I want to show him the strong and persistent person that I was when we first met up to this day, I wanted to show him that I’m the person that can comfort him instead of the other way around. I made a promise, and I’ll keep it. His beautiful feature fills my vision, but I know I can never see the most beautiful feature on him again, his ruby red eyes. I bring his hand to my face and I kiss it, I hold it with both of my hands and I hold it to my forehead. I close my eyes, my mind is spinning from trying to grasp the reality. Eventually the endless thoughts dragged my consciousness away and I doze off. When I wake up, the bright sunlight hits me once again, my face feels bloated and my eyes are swollen from all the crying and the sleep. The migraine hits me again as I sit up, I’m back in my hut again, how did I get here? Wasn’t I with Naraku? A knock comes from outside and the door opens, Kagome walks in wearing a black kimono attire, it’s a funeral attire. Is it the next day already? Kagome is holding another funeral attire in her hand and a bucket of water as she walks in.

“Good morning________. I hope you had enough rest last night.” Kagome greets me quietly.

She kneels down beside me and I look at her.

“Is it the next day already? I ask surprised.

“Yes, We went back to check on you yesterday and found you asleep beside Naraku. Inuyasha carried you back here and you slept through the whole night. The others are almost done preparing the funeral for Naraku, I’ve came to get you and help you dress up afraid that you’re still distraught.” Kagome says.

I look down at my hands. I am distraught, but I have to get up today, I have to pull myself together so that I can send Naraku off. I take the funeral kimono from Kagome’s hands and I place it in my lap, I glide my hand along the soft silk. I feel my nose becoming slightly clogged and my eyes slowing becoming blurry, I hold back my tears and instead let out a sniffle.

“Will you be able to go through with the funeral?” Kagome asks me softly.

“I have to. He’s the one that I love so dear, I have to send him off. I’ll get dressed. Thanks for getting me Kagome.” I say with a forced smile.

“Of course, don’t push yourself alright?” Kagome say rubbing my back.

She exits out of the hut, I wash my face with the bucket of cool water and I clean my face with a towel. I take a deep breath and I shed my white nightwear kimono. I unfold the black kimono with white designs, I place it on and tie the knots. One knot after another, my fingers tremble once in a while. I smooth out my hair and I finally walk outside, Kagome is waiting for me.

“Let’s go.” I say to her.

She nods, the two of us then head to the shrine like hut that Naraku’s body resided in. As I finally come upon the quiet hut, I see that white paper ornaments were hung on the rims of the roof, Inuyasha, Miroku, Lady Kaede, Sango, Shippo, and Rin were all there. Everyone except for Inuyasha were wearing a black funeral kimono, to see that all of them are here and wearing a funeral attire tells me that they all see Naraku as someone important now. I don’t mind that Inuyasha is not wearing a funeral kimono, he’s here and that’s enough. I give them all a bow as a respect, they all bow to me as well. We then all turn to the hut’s wooden door, I open up the door slowly, the creaking sound sounds so loud in my ears. I see candles lighting the room in different corners of the room, Naraku is still lying in the middle of the room on the wooden platform. 4 flower wreaths are placed on each corner of the platform around him. Everything goes mute for a few seconds as I see him once again, lifeless. I want to run away, but I know that I can’t. I’m not a young child anymore, I can’t run away. I’m an adult now, and although I wish that such things does not exist but Naraku’s death was part of my responsibility because I was thoughtless. I feel regret fill my heart, and I feel slightly congested in my chest. Suddenly, I feel a pair of comforting hands on my back. I lift my head and look beside me, Kagome and Sango stood beside me. My big sisters, yes, I see them as my big sisters. I feel a thin lace of comfort and I nod. I then step forward I kneel down onto the ground and I place a bow in front of Naraku’s. The others all take a bow behind me. I then lift my head up and look at Naraku’s face again, his skin looks so pale, his once silky black hair slightly losing its sheen now. As I looked at him, I quietly say that I’m sorry to him. He has saved me 4 times, 2 times from the cherry tree, once from the cliff, and the last time from a stray attack. The last time ended it all. Such irony that Naraku died from the attack from his past enemy, Inuyasha, but I know it’s not his fault, oh it will never be Inuyasha’s fault. We finish the funeral rituals and we finally close the door to the hut. I stare at the door, I lost the one that I love, I’ll never get him back.

“You need to take care of yourself_________, we’re sorry that we don’t have any ways to bring him back. The Shikon Jewel is gone, and there are no other spiritual items that can revive a person. Forgive us.” Miroku says.

“No, I’m grateful to you all for trying, for giving all that you have. I can’t thank you all for what you have done for me for all this time. In time, I’ll be alright, but for now…I don’t know what to do.” I reply.

“We understand, we will place Naraku’s body in a coffin three days from now. We hope that it will help ease your pain and heartache a bit till then.” Sango says.

“Thank you.” I bow to them all.

Shippo comes up to me and opens up his arms.

“I want to give you a hug, I hope that it can comfort you.” He says with his beautiful emerald green eyes.

I smile at the compassion, I kneel down and I pick him up, Shippo wraps his arm around me, his auburn hair tickles my face and his furry fox tail feel so soft and comforting.

“Thank you Shippo.” I say quietly next to him.

“Take care of yourself, especially your health___________.” Rin says.

“Let’s all eat lunch, we all need energy, especially you_________, child don’t do this to yourself.” Lady Kaede says holding my hand.

I nod. I do feel weak, I haven’t ate in two days. We all head back to the big hut, Sango, Kagome, and Lady Kaede all made some food for everyone. I couldn’t eat much, they all notice but I don’t want them to worry about me anymore. I’m in a deep hole of depression of lost, but I know I have to get out of it as soon as a can. After eating, I tell them that I’ll be going back to my hut. They all know that I want to be alone. I drag myself back to the hut that I once shared with my loved one, without doing anything I sit down onto the futon. I sit against the wall and pull my legs to my chest. The room seem so big and empty, even though the afternoon sunlight is shining through the window. I don’t feel happiness even though I can see the sun, I feel empty. I want to have Naraku here with me, I want to feel him beside me. I miss the warmth, his red eyes. I just got him back a month ago, and I’ve lost him again, I’ve lost him forever now. I just sit there for the rest of the day, lost in my thoughts of Naraku. The sunlight eventually fades, and the night arrives. I sat against the wall for hours, I feel numb. I don’t want this day to end, but I also want it to end so that this day long heartache can stop. I close my eyes, my mind feels numb. Eventually I fall asleep still in my funeral kimono. I open my eyes, and I feel my back feeling sore, I realize that I have fallen over onto the futon in an awkward twisted position. I push myself off of the ground, I hold my head in my hand. Reality hits me again and the heartache shoots through my very being, I let out a depleted exhale. Frustration fills me and I want to pound my hands onto the floor. I want to carry on this day, I want to bounce back. Having never experienced such thing, it hits you quite hard when you finally lose someone and something. I find the strength to get myself off of the ground and I change out of my funeral kimono, I hang it on the kimono rack and I put on my red kimono once again. As I slide my left arm through the kimono sleeve, my eyes fall on the red bamboo bracelet. I touch the bracelet and I remembered the promises that Naraku and I made to each other, they will never come true now. I close my eyes and inhale. I wash my tired face and I head to the big hut, my body feels tired and heavy. When I arrive outside of the hut I see Inuyasha heading there as well, he notices me and waits for me to approach the hut.

“Morning Inuyasha.” I greet him quietly with a forced smile.

“Don’t force it___________, if you want to cry then cry, don’t hold it in.” Inuyasha tells me sternly.

“You’re right, but I’ll run out of tears eventually, I might as well save them for future uses.” I say with a smile.

Inuyasha looks at me and his dog ears twitches slightly as he frowns. He inhales and exhales. He then takes my hand in his.

“Let’s go in, you must be hungry.” He says dragging me inside without waiting for my response.

I go in, and I see everyone inside setting up the table.

“_____________.” Miroku says seeing me.

“Morning everyone.” I greet them with a bow.

“How are you feeling today?” Sango asks me.

“Well… I’m dealing with it.” I answer her.

“Holding it in isn’t dealing with it you know that right___________? We’re all here for you.” Kagome tells me.

“I know, you have all been there for me 12 years ago and even now. But I know I have to give effort in trying to move on.” I say with a smile.

They all look at each other with a sad look. Lady Kaede guides me to sit down, Rin and Shippo sits beside me. We then all had a quiet breakfast together. Afterwards, I tell them that I’ll be going on a walk to try and clear my mind, I told them to not worry about me, I’ll be back by night. I go back to my hut and I pick up the cherry blossom flower that Naraku placed in my hair that day. I place it inside my kimono and I head out. I walk out of the village and I walk towards the waterfall, The Summer air is warm. When I finally arrive at the waterfall, I realized that I haven’t cleaned myself in a while either. I shed my kimono and I step inside the cool water, shivers sends through my body. I walk through the current and I sit down and lean back against the rocky ledge. My long hair floats around me like black liquid in the clear water. The sunlight feels warm but the water feels cool. I then submerge my head underwater, the warmth disappears and I’m surrounded by the cool water. It was calming, it numbs me. I felt it comforting, it numbs everything, my thoughts, my feelings, my longing to have Naraku here with me. It also blocks out all the sounds of reality, I wanted to escape reality. Although I wish that this moment could last a bit longer, but I remember that I’m human. I surface and I gasp for air, my hair covers my face. I wipe them to the side and lean back agains the ledge again, I look up at the sky and I close my eyes. Without knowing, I doze off again. When I wake up, I assume it’s mid afternoon now. I decided that I want to go to the flower field, I get up and out of the stream. I shake off the water droplets on my body and wait a little bit for the water to dry under the warm sun because I didn’t have my towel with me. I feel slightly refreshed. I put on my kimono again and I head to the flower field. After walking for a few minutes, I finally arrive at the quiet flower field. As I walk through the field, I begin to tell myself that Naraku died for a good reason. Naraku’s life wasn’t forfeited without a good cause, the village is safe and the flower field is still beautiful. He was given a second chance in life and he has used that life and found love and to redeem himself by sacrificing his own life to save others. I smile at the thought, but I can’t think of any excuses to convince myself that losing him was worth it. I feel tears start to well up in my eyes again, I sink down onto the ground and I bring my knees to my chest again as I disappear amongst the tall green grass with beautiful flowers shifting side to side. I inhale and exhale deeply to calm my aching heart, but I don’t know how long I can tolerate it anymore. The tears refused to come out the past day and all day right now, but I want to let it out now that I’m alone. I bury my face in my palms.

“Why do you try to repress your heartache?” A voice asks me from behind.

I lift my head up and I look behind me. His white hair floats softly in the soft breeze, His golden eyes shining brighter than the ambers themselves, his white kimono making him look like a flawless statue. The crescent moon and magenta stripes on his fair face making him look elegant, but his expression is furrowed. Sesshomaru is here again, he’s here at the flower field again where I am. I want to greet him but I don’t even feel like getting up, I just turn back to looking out at the horizon.

“It’s my own heartache, I do not wish to share it with others. I do not want to burden others with everything that I’m going through. How are you feeling? Are you ok now?” I ask him and say with a sigh.

“I’m fine now.” He replies.

I hear him walking up beside me and sits down on my left, I couldn’t really see his face from the nose down because of the big bundle of fur.

“I always thought that being human meant relying on one another is it not?” He asks me.

I turn to look at him, his words surprises me. A demon is reminding me that I have forgotten the meaning of what being a human is all about. He is right. I have everyone in my life who is here for me but I’m bottling everything up.

“I guess that I just wanted to seem strong…” I reply quietly.

“Sometimes, even the strong falls. Being strong doesn’t mean that you have to hold everything in. I learned that being strong is when you have people who cares about you are there beside you through your hardest times.” Sesshomaru says.

“You’re right Sesshomaru, I realized now that trying to accomplish things on your own will be hard. Thanks for reminding me that I have caring people around me.” I say with a smile as I look at him.

He shifts his amber eyes to me, his expression softening slightly.

“Are you ready to let your feelings out now?” He finally asks me.

I look at his eyes that is burning into mine, they were almost gauging out everything that I have buried deep down and enlightening them with the gold of his eyes. I remembered that he is like a big brother to me, and that I feel more comfortable telling him everything. I take out the cherry blossom flower from my kimono and I look at it and my bracelet, I feel tears finally starting to fall through my blurry vision.

“Naraku has finally been given a second chance at life to right the wrongs of his past life, he learned love, he found someone who loves him, he has finally found people who has finally come to accept him as him. Then to have his life taken away by such events, I just got him back. He saved my life by pushing me out of the way, and it caused him his own life. I didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye, I didn’t even have a chance to tell him how much I needed him and loved him.” I say finally crying.

Sesshomaru doesn’t say anything he just listens.

“I feel so frustrated and unfair. He’s a demon, he’s not human. How can he die so easily? I may be naive but I just wish that he can come back again. I want him back here, I want to see his red eyes again.” I say crying hard.

I feel congested to my chest, I’m crying so hard that I find it hard to almost breathe. I bury my face in my palms. I cry like that for a few seconds. I finally expressed my feelings, but I never thought it was this intense. I cried and cried, then I feel a gentle hold on my hand. I realize that it’s a hand, I feel the long claws at the end of the fingers. I know it’s Sesshomaru’s hand, he pulls my hand away from my face, I lift my face up and look at him, his body has shifted slightly to face me, His ambers eyes holding my gaze.

“Come here.” He says gently.

I’m confused by this, but I feel compelled by his soft words. He gently pulls me to him, I follow his guiding and I move closer to Sesshomaru. The next thing I know my arms go around his neck, his white hair brushing against my skin. He then pulls me gently into him and I am now sitting slighting in his lap, he holds my face next to his as he holds me to him. His body feels warm and comforting. He’s comforting me I realized, I can hear his quiet breathing beside my ear.

“You can cry on my shoulder.” He says beside me.

His words were like a spell, I close my eyes and the heartache comes back. Tears start to fall again from my eyes and I bury my face into his neck. Sesshomaru holds me close to him as he glides his hand gently through my hair. Just having him here with me is enough, I finally released all of my bottled up feelings, my heart feels lighter now. I stayed in his arms for minutes till my heart finally calmed down. Feeling him here beside me and having his warmth next time to me eases everything, I feel like a child again, how grateful I am to have him in my life. I lift my face away from his neck and I look at him. His face just a few centimetres away from mine.

“Thank you Sesshomaru, thank you for allowing me to break the chains and release my feelings. Thank you for always being here to drag me out of my own pain. I wish I could do something to repay you.” I say to him with a smile.

Sesshomaru nods, he looks slightly sad. He lifts his right hand’s index finger and wipes away the remaining tears on my face.

“Good to see you’re at ease now. Your smile is enough. Be cheerful like how I’ve come to know you that night.” He says.

He takes the cherry blossom from my hand and puts it in my hair. He shows me a subtle smile. I return it with my own. I bid Sesshomaru goodbye after about an hour with him, I then watch him leave. I close my eyes and inhale the sweet flower scents, I feel slightly at ease now. I decide to head back, I want to see Naraku one more time before I finally close this chapter in my life. The evening is slowly rolling in, I finally arrive back at the village, the stars are dazzling in the sky now one by one. I head to the hut that Naraku is in, I take a deep breath and I head inside. I close the door behind me and I look back at him. The flower wreaths still lay around him, he will be buried tomorrow. I walk up beside him and I sit down next to him. I gaze at his face. The quietness feels deafening. The candlelight flickers and crackles, the whole room having an orange wash. I take his hand in mine, I know I shouldn’t disturb the passed, but Naraku’s different, he’s not human. I’ll break the rules this time because I want to feel him again, his hand is cold, he lost his warmth along with his life. I kiss his hand and hold it against my cheek. I return to gazing at his face, his facial feature so define and pale.

“Our promises, I hope you’ll take it with you wherever you’ll go. I promise I won’t find another to love, You’ll always be the one Naraku. But the ones left behind will always suffer, I’m in so much pain right now, but Sesshomaru managed to help me release some of that pain. I have all these people beside me to help me, I’m grateful, but I want you back. You’re a demon… how can you die so easily? How can you die again? You’ve redeemed yourself, you found love, you understood life, and what is important. A long life was waiting for us, a potential family. But it’s gone forever now. It’s my fault that you’re lying here… I should have died, if fate existed then perhaps I was to die that day. I mean, a god has made a judgement on our life. You shouldn’t have intervened. I’m a human, I will die eventually. I just wish you didn’t jump in to save me, I did it for you but you didn’t have to. I have broken my promise to not put my life in danger for you, but you shouldn’t have broken yours. I wish I can see your eyes again, I want to remember those red irises that shone brightly in the sunlight, you’ll never show me those crystals again will you?” I say quietly.

I feel my tears forming again and my chest feeling congested and tight, the heartache is returning. I close my eyes and lay my head agains the edge of the wooden platform. I don’t know how long time has passed, but I didn’t care, he is to be buried tomorrow so I want to stay with him for his remaining time.

“It’s so rare to see such thing.” An echoing voice suddenly says.

I open my eyes at the sudden surprise, I lift my head up and I look around. No one is here, the voice seemed to echo throughout the room, it was a feminine voice, so soft and beautiful. It sounded heavenly. Suddenly, a sphere of bright light forms in front of the door, my eyes goes wide as I comprehend what I’m seeing. Eventually the light slowly has a human form it looks familiar, I remember seeing it. A beautiful woman steps out of the light wearing a beautiful flowing white dress, she has the familiar white cloth draped over her head, and in her hands is a willow branch and a jade vase. It’s her, it’s that woman that stopped Lei Gong from preventing anymore harm. I stand up and look at her, she has a gentle expression on her face as she looks at me. She looks so kind and filled with compassion, I feel no fear as I see her, I’m captivated by her presence.

“Who are you?”I ask her quietly.

“I’m the Chinese deity of Mercy and Compassion, GuanYin.” She replies, her soft voice resonating throughout the room.

She’s a goddess of mercy.. that explains why. I just wished that she could have appeared sooner that day, but I understand that it’s difficult for a deity outside of one’s culture to enter into another. I’m just glad that she appeared before anymore casualties occurred, but Naraku’s life wasn’t able to to be saved. I’m grateful nonetheless It must've been difficult for her to be here as well.

“Why are you here?” I ask her again.

She smiles. She doesn’t answer me, she walks towards the other side of Naraku, she almost seem as if she’s gliding across the room, but the flowing of her dress tells me otherwise. Her facial appearance is beautiful, as expected as a goddess.

“It’s my first time to see such relationship between a demon and a human, such love is evident that day when I saw you and this demon named Naraku. It intrigued me, demons are evil and were to be banished in the Chinese culture. But you, you have fallen in love with a demon. I have seen how distraught you were child, I wanted to give you my compassion.” She says.

She came here to make sure that I’m alright, a foreign goddess has personally come here to show her sympathy for me. Such thing exists…it’s unbelievable. I thought that all Chinese deities were like Lei Gong, but knowing GuanYin, I realized that I have judged too quickly. Even Lei Gong was ruthless, but I understand that he was given a task and it was his job. Every culture is different, we just have to understand bit by bit of one another. I bow to her.

“Thank you for coming here, and yes, Naraku is the love of my life. I don’t see him as a demon, I just see him as the person that I love. I miss him, He had the most beautiful and unique eyes that I know, he was so human despite being a demon. I just wish that things didn’t turn out this way.” I say with a sigh.

She walks over to me and guides me to look at her.

“Every life is important, an ant, a dog, a bird. A flower. If Naraku did not love you, he would not have jumped in to save you.” She reminds me.

Guanyin is right… I told him that a long time ago. True love is about protecting the ones you love dear, even if it means sacrificing oneself.

“He had such a long life ahead of him… I just wish that that he could live it out with me. Every day and every minute.” I quietly say.

GuanYin then takes my hand, her hand is soft and smooth, slightly cool to the touch almost making you think if you’re touching air or a smooth statue. She then guides me to sit down, a rotating pink lotus flower then forms underneath her and she sits down on it with her legs crossed as she sits in front of me.

“Child, tell me your story with this demon that you love so dear. Perhaps it can help ease your heart and relive the beautiful memories. Memories may be painful, but they are also beautiful, especially for a mortal.” She says softly.

She’s right. I nod, and I proceed to tell her everything from the first day that I met Naraku 12 years ago till now. By the time that I finished, an hour has gone by. As I told GuanYin the fond memories, I didn’t realize how much I was smiling, it almost seem as if I was reliving through them again. Guanyin listened to every word that I said, her facial expression soft and calm.

“Such long history, demons and mortals co-exist in Japan, it’s enlightening. Demons and demons love exists in Chinese culture, deities and deities, and occasionally demons and deities, but never a mortal and demon. You also said that Naraku was evil, then he became reborn. He learned about life and redeemed himself, but unfortunately lost his life again. Such shame.” She says with a slight sad expression.

“Yes, but I’m happy that he was able to feel true happiness in his second life.”

“Indeed, never thought that a demon could change, he is a demon I believe, deserve redemption.” She adds.

She then turns her head slightly to look at Naraku, she gazes at him then stands up. What is she doing? What is she sensing. She then walks over to him, I stand up and stop behind her. She then hovers her hand over Naraku’s body with the willow branch. She then turns back to me, her expression slightly furrowed.

“What is wrong?” I ask her curious.

“The slowly fading aura that I just felt from his body, is incomplete.” She says.

“Incomplete? What do you mean?” I ask her confused.

“He may have came back to life despite having died once, but his soul was incomplete upon his rebirth.” She says.

What? What does this mean? Naraku’s soul was never fully intact? Then how could he live by having an incomplete soul?

“But how is he able to live till now?” I ask her.

“He’s not a mortal, he’s a demon, perhaps his immortality was the aspect the kept him alive.” She tells me.

I start to feel a slight hope in my heart as I hear that. I can’t help but wonder if he’s able to come back to life if we find the other half of his soul.

“Guanyin, please, is it possible to revive him again if we complete his soul?” I ask her falling onto my knees bowing to her.

“Perhaps, But his aura is fading by the day, it may be impossible but I think if effort is put in, it may become possible.” She says with a gentle nod.

“But how? My friends tried to revive him with all they know, a powerful object called the Shikon Jewel may have been possible but it’s gone. How will we ever find that second half…” I say suddenly feeling depleted.

“When a road is blocked or when a path ends, giving up may seem like the only thing left, but if it’s possible, you create your own path. I will lend you my help.” She says taking my hand and helping me stand up again.

“How?” I ask her searching her eyes.

“I can’t straight-out help you, but I will tell you something that can help you find the help that you might require.” She says.

I nod right away, I will listen, I will follow all of her instruction.

“Your deities may not appear to mortals, but we do. All your deities have their own counterpart in the Chinese culture, and this is the story of one goddess in the Chinese culture. When the world was created, mortals did not exist. A goddess born from the personification of creation itself, created little figures one by one with mud. She gave life to each figure and these figure transformed into mortals. She was given the title as the creator goddess, she even repaired heaven itself. Thus making her one of the most important deity in Chinese culture.” Guanyin tells me this story.

I seem slightly confused, but I listened carefully.

“Are you telling me to go find this creator goddess?” I ask her finally catching on after reading between the lines.

GuanYin slowly nods.

“But who is she and why this goddess specifically?” I ask her.

“She is the creator goddess herself, life is important to her, every life. The reason why this goddess may be your only answer, is because she has gone through the same thing that you are right now. The name I will not tell you, it is up to you to know her name.” She says.

I nod, she has helped me more than I could ask for. She’s given me a trial, she wants me to go on a mission to see something through, she wants to see just how much I love Naraku. If I truly love him, I will do anything to get him back, figure every riddle, get every answer, and travel as far as I have to and reach my goal before his aura completely fades away.

“But what happens when I finally figure out her name?” I ask her.

She then walks to the door and turns around to face me with a smile.

“When you finally know the name of this goddess, Travel east for 3 days until you see the highest mountain, You’ll come upon a cave wth a golden snake door, your answer resides within. You must know her name first or you will never be able to proceed.” She finally tells me and warns me.

I nod, I then drop to my knees and I bow to her.

“Thank you Goddess, Guanyin, thank you for everything that you have done for me. Thank you.” I bow to her continuously.

“You seem to be a child filled with compassion and possesses such strong emotions for others regardless if they are a demon or not. Keep hold of those aspects, so that you won’t lose yourself. Be happy child.” She says with a nod.

“I will. Thank you Guanyin.” I bow to her again.

I then see a bright light again and I close my eyes, the light illuminates the whole room with such divine power I can almost feel the light. Then a few seconds later, it vanishes, I lift my head up and Guanyin’s gone. I bow one more time in gratefulness and respect. A divine intervention has given me hope, and it’s a foreign intervention as well. I turn my body and I look at Naraku.

“I’ll save you Naraku, wait for me.” I whisper to him.