I just had a major revelation!!!

[Hitomi Lei]

Kikyou can't go to hell...

Now before you all start shreeking "Infidel" think about it...

Kagome is Kikyou's reincarnation...and the only reason Kikyou is back in the world of the living is because a creepy witch who had a little extra potting soil handy and a piece of bowwored soul got board and desided to gain more power...

So tell me, can someone go to hell and then be born again to another life time? I don't really think so...

SO KIKYOU CAN'T GO TO HELL!

WHICH MEANS INUYASHA CAN'T FOLLOW HER!

WHICH MEANS KAGOME CAN HAVE INUYASHA AND THEY CAN MAKE LOTS OF LOTS OF BABIES!!!

eh...okay...calming down now...

Okay, so I realise that most everyone probably already had this brainstorm...

But it just hit me you know? So simple...

So ummm...what do you all think?

Fine the flaws and holes in my theory!! I DARE you...

eek! I have to go vacum my room!

::runs off to do horrible household chores::

[Lara Winner]

I agree with you Hitomi. The soul that Kikyo and Kagome share is very much alive and well so she can not go to hell for eternity. I do not believe that she did go to hell at all. Kikyo is only the by product of an evil spell gone wrong. And if you remember she did not want to awaken because she was already alive.

So yes, theoretically (sp?) Kag and Inu can go make plenty of babies now.

Oh happy day!

[Calla Lily]

*dies laughing* Oh joyful bliss, now we can all rejoice and be merry! (really, I'm serious here) *laughs*

But first, dog-boy better confess his love to the girl.

[Little Green Miko]

I agree too. Kikyou cannot go to hell. I believe she has to either be reunited with Kagome's soul...Or-she should just turn into dust with no regrets or unfinished business. Long Live Kikyou tho.

[ice princess]

I wholeheartedly join in the chorus of all here! Yeah for Kikyo! Yeah for Kagome! Yeah for Kagome and Inuyasha's future children!!!

I've thought about the fact that she can't go to hell (you're right...what kind of hell is this? Wait...this brings up another thought...). Actually, what kind of hell are we talking about here? It can't be the same as the Christian hell, and thus may not be seen as an eternal damnation thing. Is it hell, as in, the underworld, as in, simply the place you go when you die? If that's the case, they very well could go to *hell* because it simply means she wants Inuyasha to die with her and go to a place where unpure souls dwell until their next life.

Random side note, I'm obsessed with looking up the meanings of the characters' names, and since I know Japanese as well as I know...Swahili...I use this thingy called Freedict.com (no jokes, please). Now, I know the translations are literal and also that Kanji, Katakana, etc. play a part in the translation, but in looking Kagome's name up, "Kago" has the following meanings:

Mistake, fault
Basket, cage
Divine protection

"Me" means:

Eye
Sprout

So, as a stupid American who knows nothing about the nuances of the Japanese language, I still found these diverse meanings interesting. They elude to the many components of Kagome's spirit, direction and destiny, as well as her soul's burdens and means of shedding those burdens. Her role is quite complex, but it also shows that her spirit is trying to make up for a fault it committed previously. This could be the burden of the jewel, or could it be (duh, duh, DAH!) taking Inuyasha to hell? Having a pretty big grudge against him? It would also explain why she's so inclined to embrace forgiveness instead of hatred. The breakdown of her soul in the past caused her fate to be decided by hatred, so her soul intrinsically knows that forgiveness is the only way to shed her soul's burden. It still hurts, though, but the anger is gone.

Maybe Kagome's destiny lies in breaking down all barriers with Inuyasha's soul, allowing them both to trust and love each other fully without fear of betrayal and rejection. The deep love of pure acceptance is greater than the romantic love of Kikyo and Inuyasha, but their romantic love had no doubt sprung from the need for unconditional acceptance (which they somehow recognized the possibility of gaining in each other). In letting him go and still truly loving him, Kagome's soul, while pained, would truly be free.

Thus said, I don't think the series can end until they both confess to this unconditional acceptance and love of each other. The show would be pointless if they didn't, because the journey of their souls would be moot. But I don't know if they'll end up together...

Of course, with the tip of the Tetsusaiga in my face courtesy of a teenage girl with short black hair and furry dog ears, I might change my tune. Kags, can you call your patience-challenged kid off me now?!?!?!?!

That's just my thoughts...feel free to argue! Just no ancient swords in my face, okay?

~Ice Princess

[ice princess]

Oh, and another side note...notice the "Basket, cage" meaning. That could mean that Kagome must find a way to establish herself as her own person with her own fate (whether others see her that way or not) as another way to overcome the karma of her past. She's pretty much there with this one, but Inu's still having problems, it seems. Baka...

And another thing (do I ever shut up? NO!)...in looking up Fluffy's name, I found that Sesshou means the following:

Regent
Negotiation
Destruction of life

Now, I know the placement of the word entails its meaning, so Sesshou in front of Maru may negate the top two meanings, but they're still interesting. "Regent circle" and "Negotiation circle" have very different meanings from "Killing circle". (And yes, I know that Maru is also just a suffix...it's still fun to play with its literal meaning!)

~Ice Princess

[wj]

Kikyou has no soul of her own to go to hell. When her physical body is destroyed, whether it be on Earth or in crossing over into hell, the borrowed souls will be released to go where they belong, including the piece of Kagome's soul that will return to Kagome.

In the manga, when Naraku damages Kikyou's clay body, souls escape from the cracks and fly away. There was no blood because she has no heart. Her unnatural body is just a vessel to hold in the souls that she uses to make the body move. Also, Kikyou has been reluctant to be too near Kagome on occasion because Kikyou can feel Kagome's soul trying to be reunited and tugging at the little part of it that Kikyou carries within her.

Knowing that she has no soul of her own to dwell in hell, if Kikyou is successful in dragging Inuyasha to hell, then it is only to trap his soul there alone forever, which is the most cruel thing that could happen to Inuyasha since he has spent his life trying to find a way not to be alone.

The witch that created Kikyou said that hate was driving the body to move (hate was the strongest emotion Kikyou felt at her death) and I don't think the hate will ever go away. At first Kikyou directed the hate towards Inuyasha then she learned that Naraku was really to blame for her death and she re-directed the hate toward him.

I think that the hate will always be there because it was mixed in the magic that brought Kikyou back to begin with. I think that once Naraku dies, Kikyou will have to find a new direction for her hate. Hmmmm...who will it be? Inuyasha again? Kagome? 'Not sure, but I do know that Kikyou has always been a huntress of sorts since she returned from the dead, hunting the object of her hate and plotting ways to kill him/her. I don't see that changing.

"Oh, but Kikyou HAS changed! She's not mean to Inuyasha anymore and has not tried to kill Kagome in ages!" they say. Well that is because she is concentrating on Naraku and busy hunting him down. I still think hate is part of her being and once Naraku is gone she will find another object to hate.

Then again, I just read the most brilliant portrayal of Kikyou I have ever seen in "The Lucky Ones" by Terri Botta (search mediaminer.org) and in that story everything we know about Kikyou comes together and makes perfect sense. I felt sorry for Kikyou in that story and her character kept very true to the manga.

But I still think that she is a creature of hate and hate is her motivation in all her actions (notice that is the opposite of 'love' which is the motivation for all of Kagome's actions?) and I don't think that she can change her nature.

'Just my insane ravings.

[wj]

Ummm...I read an interview with the author of the Inuyasha manga and she said that the name Kagome came from an old Japanese children's song and that it has no meaning. She also said that Kikyou means 'bell flower'.

I don't know Japanese but I do know that you must look up the correct spelling. For instance, the correct spelling is 'Shippou' and it means something different from the Americanized spelling 'Shippo'.

There was a discussion on names and correct spelling a while back on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/InuyashaEcchiFanFics/ if you want to check the archives.

'Just rambling here....

[ice princess]

Ummm...I read an interview with the author of the Inuyasha manga and she said that the name Kagome came from an old Japanese children's song and that it has no meaning. She also said that Kikyou means 'bell flower'.

I don't know Japanese but I do know that you must look up the correct spelling. For instance, the correct spelling is 'Shippou' and it means something different from the Americanized spelling 'Shippo'.

There was a discussion on names and correct spelling a while back on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/InuyashaEcchiFanFics/ if you want to check the archives.

'Just rambling here....

Interesting info!! This is sad, but since I don't know how to quote previous messages...

"Knowing that she has no soul of her own to dwell in hell, if Kikyou is successful in dragging Inuyasha to hell, then it is only to trap his soul there alone forever, which is the most cruel thing that could happen to Inuyasha since he has spent his life trying to find a way not to be alone." - wj

That is a great point that I've completely missed. The crappy things hate can make you do to a person. Man. Do you think Inuyasha realizes he'd be left alone if he left with Kikyo? Do you think he feels such strong loyalty, guilt, and I guess love for her that he doesn't care because his duty is to her? So when Kikyo eventually disintegrates and her little piece of soul returns to Kagome, how will that hatred affect Kagome? Do you think it can?

The names thing intrigues me to no end, so I'll definitely check out that discussion. Another question: are any of the names in Inuyasha there on purpose (as in special, deliberate meanings)?

Hitomi, I thank you for having your brilliant revelation because discussions like this are grrrreat!! Apparently Tony the tiger agrees...

~Ice Princess

[ice princess]

Um...somehow I quoted, but the wrong thing...it's one a.m. here people!!! I blame lack of sleep!!

~Ice Princess