I give Naraku a kiss on his forehead, I then run outside. The moon is out and night has arrived, but I have to search for Inuyasha and the others. I have to tell them about what happened. I run through the village, the lanterns guiding my way as my sandals clicked clacked on the ground. It’s just passed dinner, so I think they are still in the hut. After a minute or two I finally arrived outside of the hut, I stop and catch my breath from all the running, I then rush inside.

“Inuyasha! Kagome! Miroku! Sango!” I shout as I step in.

They have just finished eating. They all look at me with a start, I’m really eager to tell them the possibility of bringing Naraku back to life.

“______________, slow down. Come sit down, we saved you food.” Lady Kaede says.

“Thank you Lady Kaede, but I have something important to tell you all.” I say dropping onto my knees.

“______________, what happened?” Sango asks me.

“Ok, I was just visited by someone and she told me a possibility of bringing Naraku back to life.” I tell them.

All of their eyes widen in shock, and they become speechless.

“Who? Who told you that?” Miroku asks me.

The woman that stopped Lei Gong that day, she’s a deity, the Chinese Goddess of Mercy, GuanYin. She told me that Naraku’s soul isn’t complete, when he was revived, he only had half of his soul, the other half is still out there. She told me that if we can get the other soul back in time before his aura completely fades, there’s a possibility that Naraku can come back to life.” I throw out words after another.

“Such thing is possible?” Sango asks still surprised.

“A goddess herself told me, I believe in her. She even told me how I can revive him, she said that a Chinese goddess that created mortals can help me. But first, I have to know her name, then travel 3 days towards east till I see the tallest mountain. A golden gate with snakes will await me and the creator goddess resides inside. I have to do this.” I say.

“But do you even know where to begin?” Kagome asks me.

I sit there for a bit in silence.

“No.... where am I going to find the name of this Chinese goddess...” I say quietly.

The whole room falls silent for a while, no one knows what to say.

“There’s a neighbouring village about half a day away, it’s more well off, if I remember, there’s a library on ancient histories and myths. Japan was influenced by China, perhaps the library will contain Chinese history and myths as well.” Lady Kaede suddenly says.

I feel hope fills me and I smile.

“That’s wonderful! Thank you Lady Kaede!” I say with a bow.

I then turn to all of them, and I bow to them.

“Thank you all for everything that you have done for me till now. But this is a trial that I have to take in order to show just how much Naraku means to me. I’ll leave tomorrow morning, please do not worry.” I say to them.

Kagome comes over to me and helps me up. She looks at me with a smile, her big brown eyes reflecting the candlelight.

“You’re our little sister, we’re not going to let you go alone. We all know how important Naraku is to you, and we will help you get his soul back.” She says.

I look at her surprised, they are going to help me...

“Kagome...” I say dazed.

“We are practically family___________. Don’t carry the burden yourself, we all know the feeling of losing a loved one. We will help you find this goddess and bring Naraku back to life.” Miroku says kindly.

“Thank you....” I reply with a smile.

Tears start to well up in my eyes from all the support.

“Stop getting all mushy, you’re losing your beauty.” Inuyasha says with a huff.

“Inuyasha!” Kagome yells at him.

“It’s good to see the fighting side of you again_____________. We’d feared that you will never return to your old self.” Sango says with a gentle smile.

“I know. And I’m sorry. But I will be persistent and I will be strong, that way I can go after this goal. But I’ve decided, if it doesn’t work out... I’ll tell myself that I tried my hardest. I’ll let Naraku go, but I will always love him and only him.” I tell them with confidence.

They all nod with renewed smiles. I ate a little, it feels nice to be filled with hope once again. I bid all of them goodnight and I head back to my hut, I change into my nightwear and I lay down onto the futon. I look up at the wooden ceiling, the moonlight filling the room with a serene dim wash of grey. I want to sleep but my mind is filled with Naraku and the fact that I can save him, adrenaline runs through me.

“If everything works out, I hope that the new you will still be the you that I know. I hope that you will still remember me and still love me.” I say quietly.

I then close my eyes as I finally force my heart and mind to calm down, before I know it, I fall asleep. Guess the days of stress finally took its toll on me, to sleep with hope in my heart instead of pain, it feels comforting. When I open my eyes, I can hear the birds chirping outside in the warm Summer morning. I sit up and I rub my eyes, I stretch and I look out the bright window.

“Time to start my search for this goddess.” I say to myself.

I quickly change into my red kimono, I wash up and I head to the big hut. I open up the curtain, the dim room greets me with the warm smell of breakfast. Miroku, Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, and Lady Kaede are all inside.

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

“Morning_____________.” Lady Kaede replies.

They all greet me with a smile. Not long after, Rin, Shippo, and the kids all come running in. We all sit down and enjoy a nice breakfast.

“We better finish up fast or else we won’t have enough time to get to the village.” Kagome says.

“You’re right, let’s hurry.” Miroku says.

“Not all of us need to go. Sango, you can stay here and help out Kaede if she needs anything.” Inuyasha says.

“Sure, I won’t be coming along then___________, I hope you’ll be able to find the answer. I’ll ask around the village and see if anyone knows anything by chance.” Sango says with an apologetic expression.

“Thanks a lot Sango, it means a lot.” I reply with a smile.

“Can I come?” Shippo asks.

“Of course you can come Shippo, I will need all the help I can get.” I say kneeling down to pick him up.

Shippo nods, his emerald eyes glistening in the light.

“If we’re done, then let’s go.” Kagome says getting up.

I bid Lady Kaede, Rin, Sango, and the kids goodbye as Miroku, Shippo, Kagome, Inuyasha, and I departed. I went to retrieve Boshi, Miroku took a horse from the stables as well. Kagome will be on Inuyasha's back, Shippo climbed onto Boshi and places himself in front of me and held onto Boshi’s mane. This way we can travel faster, we go to the exit of the village and head towards the direction of the neighbouring village.

“Let’s get there as soon as we can so that we will have more time to search.” Miroku says.

“Thank you all again for doing this.” I say to them.

“We’re practically family_____________, keeps saying “thank you’s” makes us seem so far away. We’re glad we can help.” Kagome says with a smile.

I nod and smile back at them.

“Oh quit yapping, let’s go before noon rolls in.” Inuyasha grumbles.

Kagome grabs Inuyasha’s left ear and pulls, Inuyasha’s head jerks back.

“Ow! Why you pulling at my ear?!” Inuyasha yells.

“Can’t you be anymore kinder?” Kagome scolds him.

I burst out laughing, it’s been so long since I laughed... Without another word, Inuyasha dashes forward with Kagome on his back, his silver white hair flowing behind him. I give Miroku a nod.

“Hold on tight Shippo.” I say to him.

“I’ll be fine.” Shippo says with a cute smile.

Miroku and I snap the reigns of our horses and we gallop after Inuyasha, we travelled non-stop for hours. The Summer sun follows us as the wind pass us in a rush, my mind filled with endless thoughts and adrenaline. I can’t help but think of the day when I can see Naraku’s eyes again. The morning soon ends and afternoon rolls in to take on its role, we stop on top of a hill after hours.

“Looks like it’s the village, we finally arrived.” Miroku says.

Not too far away, we can see a pretty big village that looks well organized and flourished. It looks like another 10-15 minutes of riding to get there.

“Well, shall we finish to third base?” Kagome asks.

“Stop throwing in your modern terms Kagome sheesh.” Inuyasha grumbles.

“I’m trying to lighten up the mood Inuyasha.” Kagome retorts and tugs his ear again.

Miroku, Shippo, and I all laugh again. With a simultaneous nod, we all gallop down the hill towards the village. Minutes go by and we finally arrive at the entrance of the lively town, people are walking about, people at stalls looking at goods and eating at small restaurants. It’s such a sight, almost like my home village. We don’t have time to lose, we start looking for the library in the village. We asked villagers where their library were and they said it’s on the other side of town, we walk through the town following the directions we were given. 8 minutes later, we finally arrive outside of the library that we were searching for. Turns out it’s located on the more quieter side of town, it looks more spiritual on this side as well. I tie Boshi to a wooden pole and so did Miroku, Shippo jumps down onto the ground and scampers up the stairs to the library entrance.

“Let’s go!” Shippo shouts.

“Shhhh, you have to be quiet Shippo.” Kagome says putting a finger to her lips.

Shippo covers both of his hands in front of his mouth, I smile at his cuteness.

“Shall we proceed?” Miroku asks.

“Yea.” I nod in response.

The 5 of us all head inside of the library, the moment that we entered I’m greeted by rows of wooden shelves filled with scrolls and bounded books. The interior looks beautiful and ancient, the sunlight shines through the windows that were built around the large structure. There are quite a few people inside reading and looking through isles of books, although beautiful but I feel slight stress slowly developing inside of me. Kagome noticed and touch my arm.

“What’s wrong___________?” She asks me concerned.

“There’s so many books and scrolls... when will we ever finish?” I ask her.

“Don’t worry, in every library it is sectioned off. We just need to look in the myth section and Chinese section and hopefully we’ll find something. Since Guanyin told you that this said goddess that we are looking for is really important, I’m sure we’ll find her name. Don’t lose faith.” Kagome says.

That’s right, I can’t lose faith. For Naraku, I’ll do whatever I have to do.

“I won’t lose faith. Thanks Kagome.” I say.

“And don’t forget we’re all here to help you search too.” Miroku reminds me.

“Stop talking guys, or else we won’t be able to finish by tomorrow.” Inuyasha says walking into an isle.

“Inuyasha’s right, I’ll ask the librarian for guidance. You guys start searching.” Miroku says.

We all nod. Kagome, Shippo, and I then each take a isle to look through. The shelves were lined with neatly organized books, I don’t even want to touch them because they look sacred. From a space through the shelves, I can see Inuyasha just rummaging through scrolls and books. Miroku comes back soon after and guides us to the isle that contains myths of ancient Asia, both sides of the isle counts. Apparently the librarian is only substituting for the actual owner, he only knows what each isle’s category is but that’s about it.

“I feel like my eyes might pop out of my sockets afterwards.” Inuyasha says.

“ it up Inuyasha, we’re doing this for_________’s sake.” Shippo tells him.

Shippo then hops onto the second shelf from the ground and grabs a book and starts reading.

“Let’s start.” Kagome says with a determined look.

“Yea.” I reply with determination of my own.

We then all start on each end of the isle and grabbed a scroll or book and start reading, the flipping of pages and unwinding of scrolls fills my ears. I focus and keep in mind of this creator goddess and who she might be, so that in case I find anything that can fit her description. We searched and searched, one book after another, one scroll after another. Hours goes by, the afternoon sun has turned into the early evening.

“Any luck you guys?” Inuyasha asks all of us.

“No, I only found Informations on Japanese gods and goddesses so far.” Miroku says.

“Neither did I, I only found some things on China’s history.” Shippo replies with a sigh.

“Same here, guess we just haven’t come upon the right book yet, we still have about half of the isle to go through.” Kagome says.

“If you guys are tired, then you guys should take a break. It’s been hours already, thanks for helping me out. I’ll try my best to get through the rest of the isle as much as I can.” I tell them.

“We can’t let you do that____________, you won’t be able to get far at all.” Kagome says with a frown.

“I’ll be fine, who knows, perhaps it’s could be the next book or scroll. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” I assure them.

“Are you sure?” Miroku asks.

“Yea, I’ll let you know when I find something.” I reply with a nod.

“Alright then, it’s been hours indeed. Let’s go out and buy something to eat, we all had a long day. Do you have anything that you want to eat?” Miroku asks me.

“No, anything will be fine. Thanks.” I say with a smile.

“Good luck__________. We’ll be back soon.” Shippo says.

I nod and ruffles his auburn hair. They all give me a nod, they then go out again to town. I inhale and let out a sigh, for Naraku, I’ll do my best. I grab a book and I start flipping through pages going through every book, in no time, half an hour goes by, and another, and soon, two hours. I feel my mind going numb. I ate a little of the food that Miroku and the others bought and quickly returned to reading, they returned to help me search as well. It’s hard fo find the book that you’re looking for when no titles are written on the outside of such manuscripts, it’s frustrating. The sun has now completely set, there are still a few people in the library including us. The quiet candles flickers in the large room, creating dancing shadows. I hear Shippo flop down onto the floor and lets out a sigh.

“I’m beat, my mind is numb from all the reading.” Shippo whines.

I can’t blame him, I feel my mind going numb as well.

“We still have a section to go through, but at this rate I don’t think we’ll make any progress.” Inuyasha says.

“I guess you guys are right... perhaps tomorrow... let me go through one more book.” I say depleted.

They all nod with tiredness, they sit down at a table and waits for me. I’m grateful to them all for helping, if they weren’t here, I’d only still be 1/4 of the isle. I walk through the shelf and I see a very old book, it has a blue cover and bound together. It looks slightly different than the others, really different. The pages looks old and yellow, it intrigues me. I take it off from the shelf and I glide my hand over the cover, a layer of dust covers the book. I wipe it off, it seems as if no one has touched it in a while. I open the paper cover and onto the first page. It says “The Story of Nüwa.” My eyes goes wide as I read this, it sounds foreign. I flip to the next page and I see an ink drawing, it’s of a woman, well, top body of a woman and bottom half of a snake.

“Guys!” I shout.

I then take the book and I find Kagome and the others. They all look at me surprised like I woke them up from their sleepiness, I sit down between Kagome and Miroku and put the book down.

“Did you find it?” Inuyasha asks me.

“I’m not sure, but I think this could be it. Let’s read through it.” I say to them.

“In Chinese mythology, the world was empty in the beginning, no sun, no moon, no mountains or rivers. That was when the personification of creation itself was born, his name was Pangu. He was born from a cosmic egg, and when he stood, he separated the heaven and earth and thus created ground and sky. When he died, each part of his body turned into an element of earth, his body created rivers, mountains, sun, moon, wind fire, and rain. Among his creations was the goddess and god, Nüwa and Fuxi. They were deemed as creator deities in Chinese mythology. Nüwa is the more prominent figure of the two because it is said that she created humans and living things. Nüwa used mud and created figures and gave them life. Nüwa did not just give life but she also repaired the pillars of heaven when it was damaged by two gods’ quarrelling. Nüwa became a major figure in Chinese mythology and a dominant figure amongst the deities themselves. Nüwa and Fuxi were both born from Pangu’s creation, thus making them siblings, but they also became lovers. Unfortunately, Fuxi was half mortal. Fuxi lived for 197 years and died after teaching hunting, fishing, and domestications among humans. He was the first emperor. With his death, Nüwa was left alone for the rest of her life without her love by her side. Although she can give life to others, but she’s unable to bring back the one she loves...” I read the faded words.

“This is her then... the creator goddess we’re looking for.” Kagome says with smile.

“We did it...” I say quietly.

A rush of happiness fills me, I finally found the name, it’s Nüwa, the creator goddess. As I read it, I realize just how similar we are, we both lost the one we love, yet she’s been alone all this time, and still is. Even a goddess feels heartache. I close my eyes, a silent tear falls.

“We finally found the answer. Let’s get some rest and return back to the village in the morning.” Miroku suggests.

“Good idea, we really need the rest. We have to set off for the 3 day journey as soon as possible so that we can find this Nüwa goddess.” Inuyasha says stretching.

“Indeed, let’s find a inn and turn in for the night.” Miroku says.

I close the book and I place it back on the shelf where I took it from. I quietly say a thank you in my heart, and I follow the others out of the library. We return to the centre of the village and found a inn to stay the night. The moon is silently illuminating the warm night, but my heart still feels empty. Miroku and Inuyasha are sharing a room, while Shippo, Kagome, and I share a room. I finished washing and so did Shippo, Kagome is washing up right now. Shippo literally collapsed and falls asleep right away. I pull the cover over him, and shift his tail to the side so that his back touches the futon. I then walk up to the window and look out, lanterns lights the streets and there are still some people outside. The room is silent but with Shippo’s quiet snoring, my mind begin to go into a spiral of thoughts.

“____________?” I hear Kagome’s voice say from behind me.

I turn around and see her sliding close the door, she’s dressed in her nightwear. She comes up to me and looks outside with me. I let out a tired sigh.

“I worry, I worry so much about everything. I worry that by the time we find this goddess, Naraku’s remaining aura would have completely faded by then. I also worry that when we do find her, she won’t be able to bring him back, because she was unable to bring back her own lover.” I say feeling stressed out.

I place both of my palms over my face and rub my eyes, trying to hold back tears of frustration. Kagome’s kind and gentle hand my back and hugs me.

“Everything will be alright_________, have faith remember? For Naraku, and for your future happiness. If this Guanyin goddess didn’t think that Naraku could’ve been saved, she wouldn’t have told you about this Nuwa goddess. We’ll set out as soon as we can, I’m sure Naraku’s remaining aura will hold out until we get there. Get some rest alright?” Kagome says with a comforting smile.

“Yeah… I’ll hold onto that faith. Guess the fear just finally took its toll on me. I say that I’ll move on if things won’t work out…but I don’t think I can… I don’t think I can move on from losing Naraku.” I say finally confessing.

“You won’t lose him, I’ll make sure of that. We’ll get his remaining soul back and we’ll revive him. But we won’t be able to if we don’t have your persistence and confidence. Alright?” She says.

“Absolutely, I’ll stay strong. Thanks Kagome for the pep talk.” I reply with a smile.

‘Good, now, let’s get some rest.” Kagome says.

I nod and follow her back to our futon, we both smile as we see Shippo snoring away. We both lay down and eventually fall asleep. When I open my eyes again, the morning sun is already up and the warmth of the sun hits my face. It’s soothing, I look to my side and Kagome is not in the room, I think she went to get Miroku and Inuyasha. I sit up and stretch, Shippo is still snoring away but we have to get up now so that we can head back home. His auburn hair is a mess, and his fox tail is all fluffed. I gently pick his small body up and hold him in my lap, he’s slightly drooling and I laugh at his childlike appearance. After 12 years, he still looks the same as he did when I first met him. Demons and their immortality, wish I was young again, back to when none of these heartaches, pain, and lost filled me. But then again, if I was young again, I might not have met Naraku, because fate would have changed. I need to take responsibility, and I need to find myself in this life event. I gently Shippo’s hair down and smooth out his tail, I tickle his fox feet and then his cheek.

“It’s time to wake up Shippo, we’re going home.” I say to him as I gently shake him.

Shippo groaned and opened his slightly swollen eyes, his bright emerald eyes are gorgeous in the bright sunlight.

“Enghhhh… Good Morning__________.” Shippo mumbles.

“Morning Shippo, let’s get ready.” I say to him with a smile.

All of us washed up and ate breakfast, we then retrieve the horses and we head back to Lady Kaede’s village. Another half day of travel but it’s for something important. It also reminds me of those days that I would travel half a day just to see Naraku at the Cherry Blossom Tree, how I wish I can do that at least. Even if Naraku loses his memories again, I just want him back and alive. That’s all that I want, I know that the memories would come back again if we can find that spark of love between us. If only... The wind moves with us, and the sun guides us, the grass rustles beneath us, and the sky accompanies us. The morning slowly changes to the afternoon, Inuyasha’s white hair and red kimono flutters in the breeze as he runs across the plains, Miroku’s staff clinks together in rhythm of the horse’s gallop. Afternoon soon shifts to the early evening, the once bright blue sky has transitioned in fiery orange and cool purple. We can see Lady Kaede’s village not too far away.

“We’re finally back.” Miroku says.

After a long day of travel, we finally reached our destination. Another few minutes and we finally arrive back into the village, after placing Boshi and the other horse back into the stable, we head to the big hut. Rin, Sango, Lady Kaede, and the children are all there.

“You guys are back.” Sango says with a start.

“Yes, we’re back. And we did make progress.” Miroku replies.

He picks up his twin girls as Sango hold their son. Inuyasha flops down onto the mat and starts eating the food on the table.

“Yea we finally found the goddess’s name.” Inuyasha says between mouthfuls.

“Oh? That’s great news, tell us about this goddess.” Lady Kaede says pouring tea for everyone.

Kagome, Miroku, Shippo and I all take a seat around the table.

“Her name is Nuwa, she is the Chinese creator goddess. She had a lover named FuXi who was half immortal. He died and Nuwa was forever alone without her love. I think Goddess Guanyin wants me to find her may be because, we both lost someone that we loved.” I tell them all.

“Perhaps. Now that you found her name and her history, when are you leaving for the journey to find this Nuwa goddess?” Lady Kaede asks.

“As soon as possible, most likely tomorrow morning, that way, we can find her before Naraku’s remaining aura will completely fade away.

“In that case, then you need to rest up. Are all of you going?” Rin asks us.

“Well, I am, I’m sure Inuyasha will have to too.” Kagome says.

“I will as well, how about you Sango?” Miroku asks.

“I’ll come too, looks like I’ll have to leave the children in your care Lady Kaede.” Sango says turning to her.

“Don’t worry, Rin and Shippo are here.” Lady Kaede nods.

“I want to come too.” Shippo mumbles.

“I wish I can bring you along, but it might be dangerous. It’s best if you stay here.” I say crouching down to look at him.

“There’s also something else.” Inuyasha suddenly adds.

We all turn to him. Inuyasha puts down his empty bowl and his ears twitches. He then looks at us with his blazing amber eyes.

“What is it?” I ask him.

“We’re going to have to bring Naraku with us.” Inuyasha says.

My eyes goes wide, we have to take Naraku with us? Would that even be possible? I suppose it may be necessary to bring Naraku’s body with us, that way when we find Nuwa, she can see the situation.

“How? How are we going to take his body with us?” I ask him.

“Putting him on a horse may be a bit much, we’re going to have to place his body in a way that won’t cause too much disturbance to his body.” Miroku says.

“But with what? Putting him in a coffin may be much, putting the coffin on a cart will just drag us down and could damage the body with all the movements.” Sango says.

“For now, let’s get some rest, we can figure it out first thing in the morning. I’m sure we will find a way.” Kagome says.

We all nod. I let out a tired sigh, I bid all of them goodnight and I head out. I look up at the quiet round moon, it’s so bright and round, beautiful but lonely. Instead of heading back to my hut, I want to visit Naraku. I carry myself quietly through the town and head to the lonely shrine, my sandals creating silent crunches on the dirt road. I stop in front of the shrine and I inhale and exhale, I open up the wooden door and my eyes land on Naraku’s quiet and motionless on the wooden platform. He still looks the same, at least from a distance. I close the door quietly and I walk up to him. As I got closer, I can see just how pale his face his, he is slowly losing his essence of his beauty and aura. It pains me to see that, he looks older, and so weak. We have to hurry and find the other half of his soul before it’s too late, I glide my right index finger gently down his face. How I hope that I can feel a jolt or a subtle reaction from him…but nothing. I close my eyes and I feel my chest feeling congested and painful, perhaps I shouldn’t have visited him tonight.

“Have faith in me Naraku… Hold on just a little bit longer. Believe in me, I’ll bring you back, my love. I quietly say.

I then lean my forehead against his, his skin feels cold. It’s not the soothing coolness that I felt before, it’s cold, like ice cold, dead cold. I pull my head away from his and I whisper a goodnight. I then head out, I quietly walk back to my hut. I open the door, the creaking sound fills my senses. I look inside, it’s dark since no candles are lit. It feels empty, lonely, I sigh again in attempt to release that congested feeling deep down in my chest. I step inside and I close the door, with the help of the dim moonlight I change into my nightwear. I lay out my futon and slide under the covers, I look up at the dark ceiling. As I looked, I feel my mind going blank, almost as if all of my consciousness is being into an abyss. Since there’s nothing for me to focus on as I look up above me, I unknowingly fall asleep. When I wake up, I can see the rising sunlight. What time is it? I sit up and rub my eyes, the room is still slightly dim, it must be 5 or 6 in the morning. Why did I wake up at this time? I fell asleep right? I usually wake up at 9 or 10, but today I woke up at 5-6. Was it because of the upcoming journey? Perhaps. I yawn and I know that I can’t fall asleep again, I get up and change into my red kimono. I fold up my futon and I head out, the sun is still rising itself. The village is quiet with only the chirping of crickets breaking the dead silence, I head to wash up and wait for the others to wake up at their usual time, after washing up, I don’t know what else to to do as I look out at the horizon, the golden orange and red of the rising fiery sun in the summer is beautiful. Perhaps a visit to the flower field will be nice, I then proceed to head out of the village. The rising sun is beautiful to look at as I walk through the serene road, not long afterwards I finally arrive at the field, the warm summer air is pleasant and comforting in these lonely days. I walk into the field that I haven’t been to in such a long time, as I walked, a gentle wind blows across the field. I stop and I look around, my eyes sees something walking across the field not too far away. I smile as I see his graceful figure, his white hair swaying behind him.

“Sesshomaru…” I say quietly with a smile.

I follow his graceful movements until we come to the converging point, he stops just a bit off to the side of me. His amber eyes glistening in the rising sun.

“Morning Sesshomaru, what are you doing here at this time?” I ask him softly.

“The rising sun is calming when you see it just at its peak.” He replies.

“It is, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the sun rising so early before. It just seems that today I woke up at the right time, and in the right place to see this beauty.” I say with a smile.

“It seems that you are to set out today to find this goddess.” Sesshomaru suddenly says.

I look at him surprised, but then nod.

“Yes, Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, Kagome, and I are all going together. How did you know?” I ask him.

I haven’t seen him since that day that he comforted me, to be honest I kind of missed talking to him. Sesshomaru looks back at the rising sun. His magenta facial markings defining his flawless appearance beautifully.

“Rin told me. Also, it’s a bit hard when you’re all discussing it so loudly together, you don’t know who can hear it, and for demons with acute senses, it’s quiet easy.” Sesshomaru says as a matter of factly.

I let out a small laugh.

“I suppose you’re right.” I say with a sigh.

“What seems to be bothering you?” He asks me after a few seconds of silence.

“We’re taking Naraku with us because we think that way, the goddess can see the situation and understand it better. But, we’re stuck on how we’re going to take his body with us. A horse won’t work because it can disturb his body, a coffin and a cart won’t make much difference and damage his body more and slow down the travel. It’s stressing me out.” I tell him.

I hold my right arm with my left and I look out at the bright sun, I want to lose myself in the ring of light, but I know it’s not possible. I squint my eyes as I look at it.

“Put him on A-un.” Sesshomaru says out of the blue.

I look at him, A-Un? My eyes suddenly go wide in realization.

“You mean the flying dragon-horse demon that accompanies you and Master Jaken?” I ask him.

“Precisely. Flying in the air will prevent extra movements that can disturb the body. I’ll accompany you along this journey, and I will bring A-Un and Jaken with me.” Sesshomaru says.

I look at him dumbstruck. He has done so much for me up to this point, how could I ever thank him. He's like a spark of light in a dark tunnel.

“Why are you doing so much for me Sesshomaru? I never gave you anything in return but yet…” I ask him gazing into his fiery eyes.

He turns his face to look at me, the crescent moon standing perfectly in the middle of his forehead.

“I said that as long as you smile, it is enough.” He replies.

I feel so grateful to him. I close the distance between us and I wrap my arms gently around his strong body, the large bundle of fur around his arm tickles my skin. I rest my forehead against his broad chest, just below the metal guard around his upper chest.

“Thank you for everything, I promise, I’ll repay you one day. I promise.” I tell him quietly.

I feel Sesshomaru's right hand touch my hair and glide down and my head.

“Now go, Prepare yourself, I’ll retrieve A-Un and Jaken.” He tells me.

I let go of him, and step back. His eyes following me as I pull myself away from him.

“See you soon.” I tell him.

Sesshomaru gives the most subtle nod and then gestures me with his head for me to go. I give him a smile, I then turn around and run back to the village. My hair flies behind me as I run through the tall grass. A new confidence has bloomed within me, along with my missing strength both in my heart and determination, and it’s because of Sesshomaru. We can finally set off today, but before that, I’ll watch the morning sun take its spotlight on the stage which is the sky itself.