A/N: Omg it’s been so long since I updated that it’s not even funny! I don’t blame you guys if you hate me, which I doubt any of you will though because no one reads this anymore… . But for those of you who still do, this is the very last chapter, and thank you all who reviewed, favorited, or even simply took the time to read this story! I hope you like the ending!

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha.

Chapter 22: Riddle Solved; Rebirth

Intense pain, it was the only feeling she knew. As the glinting blue shards were pulled to the Earth by gravity, Aowin could make out Naraku’s smirking face and her friends’ horrified and tearful expressions. Their mouths were moving, but she couldn’t hear their words. Soon, the pain even blocked out their faces.

She felt as if her skin was being peeled off and her organs shredded to bits before being cruelly yanked out.

God, please, make the pain stop! I can’t take it…but I don’t want to leave Mizu…

A flash of shocking blue was the last color that shone through her eyelids before darkness engulfed her. It was strange…she didn’t feel as if she was dead…just floating in a dark void, with a lot of time to think, and thinking was just what she did.

The riddle…she recalled suddenly. “How do you know who’s friend or foe? Hear their screams and you will know.” That must explain the tension between Inuyasha and my friends and Sesshomaru. They tried to attack Sesshomaru to save me, even though I didn’t want to be saved. They were my friends, but Sesshomaru was my love, and I didn’t know who to attack to stop them from fighting! But when I heard my friends and Sesshomaru scream, I understood…

A strange sensation flooded Aowin and the blistering pain she experienced vanished, but she paid no mind.

“When all is lost and all is gained, you must face immortal pain.” I definitely understand that. When all is lost, meaning when my necklace shattered and my soul escaped, but what did I gain?

She felt like all of the burdens and stress had been lifted from her life. She felt…free.

“But do not feel any shame, for sacrifice will play its game.” What could that possibly mean? No shame? Shameful of what will happen to Sesshomaru and my friends, now that I died and left them? Shameful of what will happen to Mizu, growing up without her mother? And what’s “sacrifice’s game”? I was never that good at riddles…

Softness encased her body and blinding white light shone through her eyelids. What? I thought I died…

“Open your eyes, child,” a kind and gentle voice commanded.

Aowin’s eyes fluttered open in surprise. She sat up, surprise creasing her features at her surroundings. She was lying in a golden-barred daybed, covered in soft white blankets. She also donned an equally comfortable white nightgown. The young midnight priestess rested in a room with walls so white they almost glowed. There was no roof, and above her was a gorgeous baby blue sky with fluffy clouds so close she wanted to reach out and brush them with her fingers.

“The sky is beautiful today,” the voice commented again.

Blinking, Aowin swiveled her head around to look at the man. He sat at the foot of the bed, and she had never seen such an amazing man in her life. His skin was slightly tan and completely unblemished, and pure white robes flowed down his tall body. He donned soft-looking, long brown hair and a matching beard. But his deep brown eyes were what caught her eye. They held the look of someone very wise who had seen everything there is to see, and while they also told he was very powerful, they showed extreme love, kindness, and understanding.

“God,” she whispered, eyes widening in surprise and admiration. “You’re the lord!” Aowin, on instinct, immediately dove down into a bowing position.

God chuckled, and it was the most beautiful thing Aowin had ever heard. “Get up, Aowin,” he said gently, placing his hand on her head.

She did as she was told and could not help but to stare at him. “But why am I here with you? Is this Heaven? I really did die, didn’t I?”

“Yes, this is Heaven, and yes you did die, but you aren’t going to stay that way.”

“What do you mean?” Aowin asked, still attempting to overcome the shock of who the main in front of her was.

“The rest of the riddle,” the Lord said simply. “‘But do not feel any shame, for sacrifice will play its game.’”

“I can’t figure out what it means though,” Aowin mumbled, lowering her head.

“Yes you can. Look deep inside you,” God urged in understanding.

“Alright,” she agreed hesitantly, but when God smiled warmly at her, she was filled with confidence. “I suspected that the first verse meant to not feel bad about not being able to protect my loved ones from Naraku.”

“Why is the riddle telling you not to feel ashamed about dying and leaving them behind?”

Aowin blinked, confused. “What?”

“You’ll discover what I mean soon enough.” The Lord’s warm smile became brighter. “Go on.”

“Ok…I suppose the second verse means that…” Aowin trailed off, not sure what to say.

“When you sacrifice yourself for people you love, is that a good thing?” God assisted.

“Yes.”

“And what do people usually get in return for doing good deeds?”

“Rewards…”

“Exactly, and what is the reward a person who has passed away can receive?”

“Life…” the midnight priestess’s eyes widened in realization. “Resurrection! ‘And sacrifice will play its game’ means rebirth for the one who sacrificed themselves!”

God smiled kindly. “You’ve figured it out. You’re going to be reborn, Aowin. You deserve another chance at life; after all you’ve done to help others. You’ve risked your life multiple times to assist those in need. I’m very proud of you, my child.”

Aowin grinned shyly, pride bubbling up inside her. But her smile slowly faded away. “But…”

“You have many questions to ask me; how did I create the world? How do I watch over everything all at once? How do I maintain the balance of the world?” Aowin’s eyes widened when he spoke her exact thoughts. “Do not worry, child; you will come here again and will have the chance to ask me those things, but hopefully that won’t be for a very long time.”

The red haired girl’s happy smile returned. She felt as if she should say something in farewell…

“My dear Aowin, farewell? This isn’t goodbye; I’m with you wherever you are. Talk to me anytime you want, I’ll hear you.”

“Thank you,” she finally said, wearing the biggest, most cheerful grin she’d ever worn in her life. “Thank you so much for everything.”

The Lord placed a soft, calming hand on her head, and before being surrounded by blinding white light, she saw a beautiful smile spread on God’s face.

Renewed. The feeling filled her from head to toe, rejuvenating her mind, soul, and body. Hands brushed across her face and the sound of sobbing reached her ears. Aowin slowly opened her emerald green eyes, peering up at the familiar faces around her.

“Oh my God, Aowin!” Fear and relief were threaded into Sesshomaru’s voice, much different from how stoic he usually sounded. He pulled her up quickly into his arms, silent tears pouring down his cheeks.

“Sesshomaru…” Aowin whispered, hugging him back tightly. She missed his face and his voice so much; she thought she would never see it again. He finally pulled away from her and held her at arm’s length, kissing her lips, cheeks, and forehead repeatedly.

“I thought you died!” he choked out, embracing her again.

“I did…” she whispered. “But the Lord gave me another chance at life. The part in the riddle: ‘for sacrifice will play its game’, means that I was reborn.”

When Sesshomaru finally let go of her, Aowin embraced her friends and cried with them as he pulled himself together. All but one friend, that is; Inuyasha.

He stood there nervously, avoiding her eyes. His golden ones were slightly red; he’d been crying.

“Look, I’m sorry for everything…all that stuff goin’ on with Sesshomaru, I shouldn’t have stepped in. It was none of my business,” he admitted quietly.

“No, it’s ok,” Aowin replied back softly. “You were only looking after me, like any friend would. I appreciate it.”

The two reunited friends smiled small, cheerful grins, glad that the tears in their friendship were mended.

“Just hug already!” Shippo piped in impatiently.

Their grins widened and the half demon and the red haired priestess held each other tightly for a brief moment.

“What happened to Naraku, anyways?” Aowin asked suddenly. She almost forgot about him.

“Oh yeah,” Kagome spoke up, “we were going to ask you about that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, when you…died,” Koga said awkwardly, “you released a huge beam of blue light that shot right through Naraku’s chest, and then the light morphed to green and you started sucking it back in.”

“Yeah, and he started aging really quickly until he turned to bones, which crumbled to ash,” Shippo put in.

Aowin couldn’t help it; a scene from Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade flashed through her mind.

“It was frightening…” Sango recalled with a shudder. Miroku placed a comforting arm around her shoulders, and she actually didn’t seem to mind.

“I absorbed Naraku’s life,” Aowin gasped, realization dawning on her. “God was able to resurrect me by switching our places; although I doubt that Naraku is in Heaven.”

As her friends chuckled, Aowin allowed herself to become lost in her thoughts for a moment. So that’s what God meant…the riddle told me not to be ashamed of leaving my friends at Naraku’s mercy, because when I died, I would take Naraku’s life in the process.

“So does that mean you solved the riddle and the mark is gone?” Inuyasha asked curiously.

Aowin, equally curious, lifted the collar of the white gown she had returned with out a little to peer down it. She released a sigh of relief; the mark was gone, and the curse was broken.

“That’s not the only mark that’s gone!” Shippo exclaimed suddenly, pointing to her forehead.

“What are you-” Aowin froze, the rest of her sentence dying on her lips. “Kagome, I need a mirror now!”

The black haired schoolgirl quickly shuffled through her big yellow backpack and emerged with a small handheld mirror. She handed it to Aowin without a word.

The long haired girl quickly flicked it open and held it in front of her, brushing stray bangs out of the way. “…looks like my necklace shattering had one more consequence,” she said with a bitter smile.

The mirror she held reflected a pale forehead, perfectly clear and unmarked, missing the purple crescent moon that usually resided there.

“I’ve lost my powers; I’m not a midnight priestess anymore.”

Her companions’ eyes widened, and they could not utter a word.

“…I’m really sorry about that, Aowin,” Koga broke the silence, feeling truly sorry for his friend.

“…thanks, but I’ll be ok,” she replied after awhile. “I’ve carried the gift of being a midnight priestess for awhile now; it’s someone else’s turn now.” The former midnight priestess smiled happily. “And I know just who received those powers.”

10 Years Later….

Ten-year-old Mizu ran around the forest cheerfully, crimson hair bouncing behind her and golden eyes scanning the grass. She slowed to a stop at a small meadow, where at her feet lay a dead baby bird, which barely got a chance at life. She frowned sadly and her dog ears drooped, then she gently picked up the fragile body and cradled it in her hands. She closed her eyes in concentration and allowed glowing green waves to flow down her arms and surround the bird.

A bright smile replaced her frown as the baby bird’s eyes flashed open and it staggered to its feet. She giggled as it took flight, leaving blue feathers in its wake.

“Did you see that, mommy?” she asked in excitement, bouncing over to her smiling mother.

Aowin, twenty-five-years-old now, still looked roughly the same except her eyes were narrowed and more mature, and her body was more curvy. Also, her once naturally straight hair changed to be naturally curly, and she donned beautiful long crimson spirals.

“Yes, I saw. You did very well, better than I did on my first attempt!” She grinned proudly as she ruffled her daughter’s hair, exposing the dark purple crescent moon marking her forehead.

“Where’s daddy?” the bubbly child asked.

“He’s with Uncle Inu-kun and Aunt Kagome-chan,” Aowin explained. “We’re going to go say bye to everyone before we go visit grandma and grandpa, ok?”

“Ok!” Mizu agreed cheerfully. “Will I be able to see Sakura-chan and Kohaku-kun?”

“Of course! Now, let’s get going!” Aowin lifted her giggling child onto her back and made her way back to Kaede’s Village.

“Welcome back, Aowin and Mizu-chan!” Miroku greeted happily.

“Hey!” Aowin waved as they entered Miroku and Sango’s shared hut. The two had gotten married soon after Naraku was killed, and Sango was five months pregnant.

“Mizu-chan, how are you?” Kohaku asked politely as he joined Miroku. After much debating, everyone agreed it was best to use the complete Shikon Jewel to restore Kohaku’s life completely, and he was currently living with his older sister and her husband.

“Kohaku-kun!” Mizu leaped off her mother’s back and enveloped the twenty-one-year-old in a bear hug. He smiled and hugged her back.

“So Kohaku, how are things with Rin going?” Aowin asked with a wink.

The demon slayer blushed heavily. “I-It’s good. Sesshomaru-sama still doesn’t approve, though.”

“Nah, he trusts you. He knows you’re a good young man; he’s just very protective of Rin,” the curly haired woman explained. “She’s like a daughter to him.”

Yelling echoed from outside the hut and Kagome entered looking stressed. She hadn’t changed much physically except her hair was a little longer, and like Aowin, she was curvier. She also was a little more patient with Inuyasha; heck, she had to be, being married to him.

“What’s going on out there?” An irritated Sango asked who had been woken up by all the ruckus.

“Inuyasha and Sesshomaru are arguing again, over something stupid. I really don’t want to get into it,” Kagome said, sighing in frustration.

“When do they ever argue over something not stupid?” Aowin pointed out.

“Good point.”

“ARGH! I can’t stand him!” Inuyasha barged into the hut huffing in anger.

“I’m sure he feels the same way about you.”

“Shut up, monk,” the still immature half demon growled.

“Aowin, come on,” Sesshomaru called from outside the hut, sounding as irritated as Inuyasha. “Let’s go.”

“Coming!” she shouted back to him. “He’s so impatient these days…”

“Tell me about it,” Inuaysha grumbled.

Aowin ignored him as she bade farewell to her friends. “Where’s Shippo?”

“Probably hitting on some girl…” Inuyasha muttered. “He’s such a player.”

“He is eighteen,” Miroku pointed out. “I remember when I was his age; I was the same way.”

“Was? You haven’t changed!” Inuyasha muttered.

“Well, tell Shippo I say bye. Oh, and Miroku? Try not to be too perverted to Sango; it triggers her mood swings,” Aowin suggested.

“I’ve learned that,” Miroku said, shuddering at the painful memory.

“I heard that, monk!” Sango shouted from the other room.

“Wait, I have to say bye to Sakura-chan!” Mizu insisted.

“Sakura, come here please sweetie!” Kagome called to her kid.

Said girl scurried out of the room Sango was in and tackled Mizu in a hug. “I’ll miss you, don’t go!” the eight-year-old sobbed into her best friend’s shoulder.

“I’ll only be gone for a few days,” Mizu reassured the fellow half demon, patting her short midnight black hair. “You do this every time I go to visit my grandma and grandpa.”

“O-ok,” Sakura sniffed, looking up at her friend through big, watery golden eyes. (Kagome and Aowin couldn’t get over how adorable it was that their children had matching eye colors and dog ears.)

Mother and daughter finished their farewells and left the hut, joining Sesshomaru.

“Took you long enough,” he grumbled, but he could not hide the smile on his face. He grew softer in the past ten years and expressed his emotions more around others. He hadn’t completely melted, but Aowin was working on it.

The three person family reached the abandoned mine that lead to present-day America, to Aowin’s home.

“Are you happy to go see grandma and grandpa?” Aowin asked her grinning daughter.

“Yup!” she replied cheerfully. “And can we get some food from that one place, Mickey Ds?”

Sesshomaru groaned and Aowin smiled. Both parents clutched one of their daughter’s hands and leapt down the mine shaft, sparkling blue light engulfing them. Even when they reached the bottom in present-day America, Aowin did not release her daughter’s hand. It scared her to think that ten years ago, on this day, she could’ve lost them both, the two most important people in her life. But she didn’t and she wasn’t going to; she would hold on to them forever, and make sure she never let go.

She would keep moving forward.

A/N: Phew, this is finally completed. It took a long time because I wasn’t very dedicated to updating, but for those of you who have stuck with it, I thank you! I just got back from Washington D.C. on a school field trip, and I had a lot of fun! However, I got the flu on the last day and I can’t go to school tomorrow, which sucks because I’ll have a ton of make up work. . I really hope I get some reviews this time; I got none on the last chapter. I’m actually happy with this chapter though; I thought I did a good job. Thank you guys again!