Author note: This is the end folks.

Disclaimer: Since I need at least one serious disclaimer in this story: I in no way shape of form have never or will ever own Inuyasha.

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When Good Miko Go Bad

Chapter 26 Epilogue: When the Smoke Clears

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When the smoke cleared the only proof that there had ever been a mansion were the bodies and dust covering the grounds in mass quantities and the trees that were stripped of leaves leaving a strange patch of barren land where Naraku's mansion had once stood. With the power of four souls that were part demon and part priestess, the energies had leveled the mansion with one explosion.

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With a great creak a board of wood was raised and tossed to the side, puffing up a large cloud of freshly settled dust to coat the large neko and the two children on her back. A rough cough sounded from the newly exposed figure, "Sango!" Cried Shippou launching himself at the barely recognizable slayer just as Kiara let out a relieved mew.

Violently hacking out dust Sango croaked out, "Shippou, Kirara." She struggled to sit up and that was when she became aware of the heavy weight across her body, a large soft something was lying across her body as if to shield her. Red shown through the dust on the figure. "Miroku!" she yelled in recognition and alarm as the memory of him knocking her to the ground before the plank that had been concealing them had rammed into him from behind.

Without her master's prompting Kiara took the unconscious monk by his robes lifting him as gently as possible and depositing him on her back. Sango was able to stand under her own power albeit a bit shakily.

"Where are…the others?" she wheezed out to the kitsune. His eyes grew into large emeralds of sadness beads of tears forming instantaneously in the corners of his eyes.

"I..I don't," he sniffled back the tears, "know." He wailed breaking down into a fit of crying for his "parents". Sango did her best to sooth the child though she herself was harboring worry over her missing friends and the injured monk, guilt mixed in with the last one substantially.

While Sango and Kiara attempted to quell Shippou the other member of their group wandered away following the tingle of sensitivity that vaguely touched her aura. Absently Shiri wondered what it could mean, but she remembered what Kagome has told her about trusting her instincts and miko senses. The sensation led her across what would have been the courtyard. Halfway to her destination the young miko realized what she was sensing just before a groan met her ears. Carefully picking her way through the wood littering the yard Shiri peered around the large dismantled shoji door, and tried to refrain from giggling, "You appear to be stuck." The woman just glowered at her irritably, "Would you like some assistance?" Shiri let a single giggle escape her lips at the look she received. "Uh Sango-chan," she called over her shoulder, "We could use your help."

Picking her way to the girl's side Sango took in the predicament and nearly laughed; there was Tari seemingly unhurt with her head punched through the mesh of the shouji. "It's not funny," the trapped miko shrilled at Sango's restrained laughter.

"It is a little bit." Shiri disagreed blatantly.

"Just get me out of here please." The miko pleaded trying her best to maintain what dignity her situation allowed.

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Get up damnit. He couldn't move, his body refused to obey his mind as he willed himself forward, toward the source of the stench that kept him from unconsciousness, Kagome needs you damnit this is not the time to pass out. Yelling at himself wasn't working but the sickening metallic tang of blood drove the need for sleep temporarily from his mind. "Kagome." he croaked through the blood in his mouth, reaching painfully for the still figure lying just beyond his reach. His side gave an agonizing throb as he stretched bringing tension to the snapped piece of door frame impaling his torso. With a growl cut off by a hiss of pain Inuyasha retched the offending object out of his body, letting the blood flow free. The pain it brought hazed and sharpened his mind in quick succession.

Kagome lye unmoving where she had fallen after they had been rammed back into the wall crashing through it with enough force to reopen the arrow wound in her chest and break the leg she'd thrown out behind her. Blinking the blood out of his eyes from the gash on his forehead Inuaysaha struggled to lift the woman into his arms, ignoring his own injuries and trying not to inhale the scent of blood permeating the room, both his and Kagome's.

With great difficulty the hanyou determinedly hoisted Kagome into his arms trying not to jostle his side or her leg any more than he had to. Once the miko had been loaded onto his back he headed out following his nose and the distant scents of his companions. Blood blocking his vision the hanyou followed his nose, leaving behind the bodies of the elders and Marianne; he had no obligations to a demon priestess who had betrayed her comrades by stealing their souls and using their devotion for her own selfish means to the point that she wouldn't allowed to be buried in her former temple. Even if he wished to take the remains back they were far from being transportable or for that matter solid. In fact they appeared to be ashes mixed with slime and disintegrated bone, as if she'd purified herself from the inside and the clashing souls had twisted her internal structure to a gelatinous substance.

With a great huff that was both pain and an attempt to rid himself of the foul odors of the room, Inuyasha turned his back on the scene and carried Kagome away.

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TAri having been freed the warriors still able to move with limited trouble began their search calling out for their missing friends aimlessly having no idea where Inuyasha and Kagome had headed in the midst of battle, only that they had been undoubtedly closer to the blast sight than the court yard had been.

"Kagome! Inuyasha!" Called Tari, Shirir and Shippou from the ground while Kiara soared with Sango and Miroku overhead. A flicker of movement caught he neko's eye she growled a mew in warning before tipping into a steep decline toward the red figure.

There was INuyasha, barely standing on two feet wind Kagome limply hung over his back, upon seeing the various people rushing toward them INuyasha gave a relieved half smile-half smirk, distinctly the taijiya swore she heard him say, "About time ya got here." Before falling forward. Kiara moved instantly to break his fall instead of his face hitting dirt it met soft fur. Sango reached up pulling her two friends up behind her on Kiara. With the monk across her lap and a hand on the pair behind her, Sango and Kiara took to the air and came back down in front of Tari and the others.

"They're hurt badly, we need to find a place to take them." She explained casting worried glances to those unconscious forms surrounding her.

Shiri tugged on lightly on Kiara fur softly and whispered something into the demon cat's ear. Kiara gave a soft mew of agreement nodding slightly, with an almost conspiratorial look KIara nudged Tari up behind INuyasha and Kagome. Once she was secure the demon cat took to the sky heading off to the south east.

Gawking at the twin tails and her many passengers Shippou turned to the little miko opening and closing his mouth in vain before finally managing to form words, "Why do you do that now what are going to do?" Frantic thoughts churned in the kit's head. "I'll never see Kagome again and Inuyasha will never hit me again, and he'll eat all my ninja treats." Tears built up thickly in the boy's eyes, as he ran around in circles crying for his oka and otu.

Sighing heavily Shiri grabbed the fox kit by both shoulders stopping him in his tracks, "Shippou-kun get a hold of yourself." He blinked in response. "I have an idea."

Several hours later Shippou touched down exhausted in front of the miko temple popping out of his flying transformed mode and collapsing next to an equally tired Kiara. Miko bustled about taking the wounded inside under the careful instruction of Tari. Shippou lost consciousness to the sight of Kagome and INuyasha being carried into the temple on a single stretcher both refusing to be separated even in unconsciousness.

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"Ow, Kagome!"

"Oh stop being such a baby."

On the other side of the infirmary Shiri and Shippou shook their heads in unison, simultaneously thinking that Kagome and Inuyasha needed to suck it up and admit they were perfect together, though Shiri's way of saying it was slightly more diplomatic.

Out of all the warriors of who'd been at the mansion Shiri, Shippou and Kirara were, as expected, the least injured having been off the ground at the time of the structure's demise. Sango who had been shielded by Miroku and saved any injuries more severe than some cuts and bruises, most of which had come from the monk pushing to the ground. Miroku however, had taken several hits with debris including a metal support beam to the head, which he took oddly well and recovered from remarkably quickly, and a portion of wall scrapping up his back which had resulted in the blood that had so worried Sango when he's been fished out of the rumble. None the injuries were life-threatening not even terribly serious but Sango felt horribly guilty and Miroku was milking his wounds and heroic action for all they were worth.

Tari credited her lack of injuries to the barrier she had been able to erect, which managed to deflect the worst of the wreckage her worst injury being that of her dignity; to suffer barely a scratch in battle and the explosion only to accidently trip over a piece of debris and get her head caught in a broken shoji door was most humiliating. Despite her wounded pride Tari had taken to being the temple's prime authority surprisingly well, leadership suited her.

IT had been three days since SHiri had suggested they relocate to the shrine, SHippou and Kiara , understandably, both slept most of that first day. After being brought hurriedly to the temple for treatment INuyasha and Kagome were both accessed instantly to be the most seriously wounded having been so near the blast sight. Inuyasha had been bleeding profusely from multiple wounds he couldn't account for in addition to the ones he could. He and Kagome had been thrown roughly against the wall, the impact not only breaking said wall but ripping open Kagome's already injured chest, breaking her leg and tearing apart Inuyasha's shoulder on the doorframe in the process of reaching for the miko. There was a large and fairly deep gash running over Inuyasha's shoulder blade where the door struck, not to mention the debris he'd ripped out of his side, which had made the damage worse than it had already been. Both had woken up some time during the second day, and both refused to acknowledge the fact they'd woken in each other's arms.

Shippou had teased relentlessly that had the wound been just a bit more to the right he and Kagome would have matching battle scars, the lump SHippou got in return knocked him out for nearly half an hour, during which time the hanyou had yet to stop grumbling and Kagome could have sworn his face was pinker than it usually was.

Though Kagome's worst wound was still the gaping hole in her chest which finally got some proper medical attention, her broken leg bothered her more, not because of the pain which was minor but the leg severely limited her mobility which made her nearly as irritable as Inuyasha.

Despite all the injuries they all knew they'd gotten off easy, the bodies of the elders and Marianne had been recovered and at Kagome and TAri's insistence brought back to the temple to be laid to rext all except for Deichi's. Whose gelatinous remains couldn't have been transported if they tried.

To top it all off, Naraku had vanished again, along with all his surviving servants, incarnations and minions. Kagome and Inuyasha both took a small piece of satisfaction that the incarnation that had caused Kagome's near death and the long separation hadn't been among the survivors. "His little vanishing act is quite irritating." Tari observed after hearing that this was not the first time NAraku had used such a tactic.

"He always turns up eventually," Miroku sighed.

"And when he does he is always stronger than when he disappeared." Sango added glumly.

"Yes instead this Naraku is quite the foe." The monk nodded gravely, arms crossed over his bare chest. The three reflected in silence the magnitude of their circumstances. The tense atmosphere was abruptly broken as Miroku let out a yelp of pain. "Sango be gentle."

Pulling the wet cloth she'd been harshly applying to Miroku's wounds away she stuttered an apology trying to hide her smirk.

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"Stay still will you, I have a limited range of motion." Instantly Inuyasha stopped squirming at the reminder of Kagome's wounds though the scent of her blood was still present on her veiled by the scent of alcohol and that antiseptic stuff Kagome had in her bag, which had turned into their go to source of medical supplies in the infirmary.

"Sorry." He whispered guiltily, lowering his eyes, unfortunately bringing Kagome's bandaged and stiff leg into his line of sight.

"Honestly I don't know how you can keep healing yourself when you never take care of your injuries. You've always been like that you know." Kagome babbled absently as she stitched up the hole in Inuyasha's torso, infusing the slightest amount of healing energy into it. "Even when we first met and fought Yura you wouldn't let me near your wounds, and you didn't even bother telling me that you could heal from a major stab wound in under a week."

At the mention of their past encounter Inuyasha snapped his eyes to the miko kneeling just behind him, a slight blush staining his checks as he mentally continued the memory, "Kagome did you,…WHEN THE HELL DID YOU GET YOUR MEMORY BACK?"

Kagome blinked in confusion at his sudden outburst, putting a finger to her chin in thought Kagome muddled through her memories of the last few days trying to pinpoint when her past had reentered her mind. "Uh…no idea." She smiled brightly. Inuyasha fell over comically as if he'd been sat, reopening his freshly stitched wound. "INuyasha!" She threw her hands up in exasperation, "Now I have to start all over." She winced as her movements tugged on her own stitches. Inuyasha noticed instantly as the scent of her blood became clearer.

"Get your wounds treated, Kagome. Like you said I'll be fine in a few more days anyway." HE gave her a cocky smirk to mask his concern, but Kagome caught the flicker of his golden eyes to the bandages cover her chest and most of her stomach.

Under his scrutiny the miko couldn't help the light dusting of pick at appeared on the bridge of her nose. Intensely aware of his wounds Kagome gently rested her head against his uninjured shoulder. "Thanks, for worrying Inuyasha." She spoke so softly the words were almost inaudible, but he heard her. Equally as gently and highly cautious of her wounds Inuyasha leaned into the contact, both relishing in the presence of the other, their auras taking comfort from one another.

Anytime Kagome he thought silently, not daring to speak aloud.

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For the next three weeks the group recuperated at the temple Kagome and Inuyasha easily remained the hardest patients to deal with, as one insisted she was fine and should be helping resulting in her failing all over herself while trying to maneuver the brace on her leg, and the other alternating between insisting he was fine and ready to leave and urging his miko companion to 'get some rest damnit.' All and all things had pretty much returned to normal, or at least as normal as a defensive hanyou, a miko from the future, a prevented houshi, a temperamental tiajyia and her neko, and an orphaned kitsune could get. They still had to defeat NAraku and avenge those who had fallen to him, but for now they were all together and safe from all threats save each other, and they had Kagome back; not one among them would change a thing.

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That's it *sniff sniff* I'm going to miss this story I really am I've been working on this story for nearly a year and a half and there are still some parts I'm not entirely happy with but for now this is it When Good Miko Go Bad. I'd like to thank all my reviewers and readers especially those who have been with me from the beginning, and since you all are just so awesome here's a little present:

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Omake:

Walking along contented the newly recuperated group set out on the next leg of the journey, in search of the Shikon no tama. Kagome strolled along just behind Inuyasha, practically bouncing with elation at being back with the people she loved more than anything. "What's gotten into you, wench?" the red clad hanyou raised a brow at her abnormal perkiness.

"Oh nothing its just good to be back on the road again, all together." She flashed him a brilliant smile.

"And we all are eternally grateful that you have rejoined us Kagome-sama." Miroku said from behind her. Sango nodding in stolid agreement.

"Yeah," Shippou piped up from his place on Kagome's shoulder, "without you around Inuyasha's even more annoying."

Said hanyou plucked the kitsune into the air by his tail, "What did you say runt?" he growled menacingly.

"Kagome," SHippou cried reaching for his mother figure, eyes wide and pleading.

Sighing the miko pulled harshly on one of Inuyasha's fuzzy triangular ears, "Ouch wench that hurt." He complained rubbing at the abused appendage once she'd released it.

Kagome nor Shippou paid him any mind as the miko was busy lightly chastising the kit for teasing Inuyasha. "Are you even listening to me." The hanyou yelled. SHippou sent him a smug looked from the safety of Kagome's arms, snuggling into the warmth of her chest to put emphasis on his untouchable position. "Why you little-" childishly Shippou stuck out his tongue at the hanyou.

"I can't wait to get back to get back home."

This effectively distracted Inuyasha from his glaring contest with SHippou, "Whadda mean home?"

"Through the well of course." Kagome raised an eyebrow at Inuyasha's pouting face. "I haven't been home in ages Mama's probably really worried and I don't know how I'll catch up on all the school I've missed." AS she continued to think about her life on in the present Kagome slowly developed depression lines. "What am I going to do?"

INuyasha 'fehed' stuffing his hands into his haori sleeves, "Don't go back its not like you're there often anyway you should stay here full time."

From behind them Miroku and Sango exchanged knowingly tolerate glances, Kiara mewed her agreement. They all knew what was coming this had after all been a reoccurring agreement for as long as they'd known Inuyasha and Kagome and it always ended the same way, raising voices signaled the end was near, here came the:

SIT BOY!

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I couldn't resist going out in true Inuyasha fashion with a giant dent in the ground(; Once again I thank all my readers and ask for the last time in When Good Miko Go Bad for you to leave your final thoughts in a REVIEW.

JA ne(;