Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha.

The Most:

Second Love

The change was an odd thing. His ears shifted in their parallel positions, daggers of pupils slit his eyes, the lustrous black of his hair was transformed into a mane of pure snow. He studied a clawed hand as the dormant blood within him rushed through his veins and he was himself again. Wild as the forest that bore his name and untamed as the creatures that called it their home. Or he was once.

A clawed thumb swept across his index finger. The skin split in a wide, red grin and even as the cut closed before his eyes a drop of perfect scarlet trailed down his wrist and stopped where it sank into his sleeve, leaving a blot like water. The wound sealed over without leaving a mark, and he knew the change was complete.

          It was odd. He didn't feel a thing, but for the thrilling heightening of his senses and a rush like a sudden chill as his suppressed blood broke free and sped throughout his being. The world came into focus around him as if he had only ever seen it through frosted glass. He became aware of the sounds of the waking house and the smells of people and the lazy house-cat and food cooking. But most of all he became aware of her: her steady heartbeat rising in his ears and the scent that she gave off surrounding him like a haze of paradise; pure and refreshing and sweet. These things washed over him in brilliant harmony, sweeter then the cries of the morning birds and softer than the rosy morning light bathing the room.

          He shifted and cast his re-born senses as far as they would reach, feeling the life around him and soaking it up. The room glowed with dawn's colors, the walls awash in yellows and light pinks. A sense of peace stirred within him, rose on wings of gentle warmth, whispered to him that this was the way he ought to spend the rest of his life. By her side in the light of early morning.

And he let it. Drifting in the wake of a night of terrible, beautiful humanity, he let that feeling whisper in his ear, believing every hushed word. Because he knew, had known, that he could never survive in an eternal, moonless night. And that he shared that knowledge with her, and still he could sense her near him.

          There was a time, he reminded himself, when I would have stayed human forever. That was long ago, another time, another life. It hadn't been him that made those decisions, it had been the person he used to be. A different man than he was this day, on this morning. A shadow of his present self: weaker than he had known and more vulnerable than he had wanted to believe. It was that weakness, that vulnerability, that led him to the village of a young priestess and to the decision that made him into what he was now.

          "Good Morning, Inu-Yasha."

          He started, head snapping rapidly in her direction as he realized he had stopped listening to his senses while her breathing sped up and she awoke. Even so, her voice rang as a melody of tones and hidden undercurrents in his ears, a thing he had missed.

          He nodded at her silently, resisting the alien urge to smile fondly. Her gaze swept across him for a moment, and then she caught his eye and cocked her head the way she often did. A familiar… something… passed between them, and he shifted to the side, wordlessly making room on the floor for her. The smile that crossed her face as she crawled off the side of her bed was soft, and gentle, and content. And when she sat leaning against the wall beside him – pink night clothes rumpled, slightly tousled hair dark and silken, lids dragged down by the lead of sleep – she had never looked lovelier to him.

          Her hands settled in her lap and he watched her in the corner of his eye as her moment of stillness came to an end and she began to fidget, watching her hands twist in her lap and shyly stealing glances at him. He could nearly feel the yearn in her, the ache to ask that stupid question, to snatch it from the air where it hung like an invisible barrier between them. Where it had been for so long... and where he had never noticed it before. But it was easy to see now, with her sitting so closely beside him.

            Her hands had begun an elaborate dance, fingertips alighting on one another and leaping away to bestow their feather-light touches elsewhere and eventually come back together again. If she was even aware she was doing this, she gave no sign. She was nervous, apprehensive, and a little bit scared. It was a bitter combination, but unable to mar the scent that was uniquely hers.

          He reached out before he could stop himself and snatched one of her delicate hands. She looked up at him suddenly.

          "Can I ask you a question?"

          He studied her for a moment, then answered.

          "Go ahead."

          She barely paused before repeating the words she had said to him but hours earlier, as if she were saying them for the first time, as if she weren't as nervous as he had ever seen her, as if it were all that mattered. And maybe, between only them on that peaceable morning, it was.

          "Who do you…" he watched her carefully as she wet her lips and continued, "who do you love? The most?"

          And there it was; the question that had echoed through the caverns of his mind since first it had passed her lips, the words that had haunted him since he had heard them, only ceasing as her sweet voice gave them form again. The embodiment of his fears, the incarnation of his hopes, the question he always and never wanted to answer had fled her lips and it would not after an eternity return to that haven.

          There it was. Both terrible and beautiful like the throes of humanity he had so recently escaped and could escape forever merely by watching her and by forgetting all else.

          "Love is…" he frowned in thought.  "It's a double-edged sword. I think… it hurts, sometimes, more than it helps. But… there are times… moments… when that doesn't matter."

          She was watching him intensely, as if his words gave her breath, as if her life depended on his ultimate answer. He blinked and realized that in a way it did. And he could never, would never, threaten her life.

          "A long time ago I… I thought I was in love. Maybe I was, but looking back on it now, it seems more like… companionship. Whatever it was, it… hurt me more than it helped me. I think.

          "But it put me where I am now." Next to you, Kagome. "It made me who I am today – I'm here, right now, because I couldn't trust Kikyo, and because I would never tell her what I'm telling you now, and what I've told you before."

          "Inu-Yasha…" her eyes had turned compassionate, but she hadn't come any closer to him. Not yet.

          "When I first loved so long ago… it was a different sort of feeling. It was calm and tranquil, like Kikyo was. And very unlike you. You are… compassionate to everything around you, you have a… a drive that's just unstoppable, you're stubborn and lively and beautiful. But to me… you're just Kagome. And I love you for that."

          She sniffled, and his nose stung with the scent of her unshed tears, but also with the pure contentment she was feeling.

          "So, who do you love the most?" she asked him, almost shyly.

          He met her gaze evenly, and, knowing there could be no lies between them, he spoke one word.

          "You."

          And she threw her arms around his waste and shook with tears and laughter, while his hand finally wound itself in her hair. It was so much softer than he'd imagined. He watched her where she sat, halfway in his lap, and as he did the secret part of him, of both of them, that had predicted this so long ago was released. It rushed from its cage in the deepest confines of his heart, filled him to near bursting, flowed through his veins like the demonic blood within him had done that very morning. The feeling of contentment that washed over him then was absolute.

          So lost was he in reverence of the moment that he almost missed the muffled words that stemmed from her mouth and teasingly rang in his ears.

          "I love you."

          The words were so quiet, he wondered at first if he had heard them at all, but she removed her face from where it had been buried in the folds of his haori and looked up at him imploringly.

          "The most?" he asked, with a softness his words had never known before. 

          "The most."

          Their lips met softly in a kiss that promised many more and they sat that way for a moment longer before he stood and reached out a hand to help her up, forgetting to let go after they were both on their feet. They left the sunlit room and went down to breakfast.

          Together.

A/N: And that is that. Whew! Completed at last! Hope that was sappy enough for you – I almost wasn't sure I could make it through the chapter (truthfully, I'm not that great at writing fluff) But I did it! Did it make you feel all happy and fuzzy inside? I hope so – review and tell me, Please!

For this chapter, it being the last, I've decided to answer my reviews. Here goes:

ActingRogue: Aww, thank you! Glad you liked the chapter – sometimes it takes that _extra_ bit of begging to get me working ^^

Arella: I hope I kept them in character this chapter – I'm not so sure I did, but if not I'm glad I was able to for most of the story. This chapter probably has some OOC-ness; I couldn't help it! Apologies if it disappoints,

Foureyedbookworm: You thought it would be boring? What can I say, I couldn't write a decent summary to save my life -.-… You think I should get more reviews, too? Well so do I!! Ah, J/K – I can be happy with my reviews as long as I get at least one ^_~ I still want you to review, though!

DreamoftheHeart: Oh… you were touched by my story? *Sniffs* I feel so appreciated… Well I hope you like this chappie – 'cuz I'm not so sure about it… I don't know if it was deep enough…^_^;;

Socchan: Don't want to wait for the answers, eh? Well, considering how much of an Inu/Kag fan I am, I don't think it was too hard to guess – Probably why the cliffhanger was un-suspenseful u.u… does that still make it a cliffhanger? Sort of defeats the purpose, I think… @.@ reminds me of that clone-suicide thing…

Ice Dagger: Hey! Didn't think I'd leave that stuff out, did you? *Shakes head* Shame on you for doubting me… Well, here it is! Hope you like ^^!

Crystal Delphina: Wow, such a nice, long review! But you put such pressure on me to keep writing well – I feel like I can't keep it up (I have no self-esteem, forgive me) Ah, well, I hope I did ^^! I _have_ noticed that people do write Inu as being hopelessly in love with Kagome, and he is, but he certainly doesn't worship the ground she walks on – It sort of irks me when Inu is written all depressed because Kagome could never love a 'worthless hanyou like himself' (Though, like you, I love those stories anyway, I just don't think they wrote Inu well… that didn't make sense, did it?-.-) I think they both sort of know how they feel… maybe… I dunno. But I enjoy focusing on Inu more than Kagome – he's more fun ^^! Hope you liked this chapter!

Silverstarlight: I'm glad you like my story! Though truly I have no idea what I'm doing with the imagery – whatever sounds good works for me ^_^; Well, Ok, I put more effort into it than that, but I have to wonder sometimes if what I've written makes sense….

Merith: *Sighs* A part of me wanted to have the last chapter be the end, but… this is how it turned out. I hope you liked it… But Argh! Where are you finding these spelling errors – I go through and I don't find any. Well, I found one, but… (I've said 'but' three times already haven't I? I need to stop, but… -.-) Ah, well, thanks for sticking with my story, even through the spelling errors ^_^

Sweety64: My story moved you? Wow… I feel so warm and fuzzy inside – I've affected someone! j/k, j/k, but I'm glad you liked it. Hopefully this you'll like this chapter too…