A/N-Woo! Last chappie! Sorry it took so long to post. I'm working on three research projects at once right now so I'm really busy. I decided to take a brea kfrom my projects though since I've been working from ten this morning till now, 2:33 PM, only stopping every once in awhile for all the necessities ^.~ So I'm really busy but I decided to not make you all wait another week for this chappie. This is the longest chapter of this story yet. It's 12 pages long. I was thinking about splitting it in half but this has the climax and the resolution and I just didn't like the idea of splitting the two up.
Disclaimer: …
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When Did Things Get Complicated?
Chapter XX
"In love?" Shidosha asked incredulously. "Kagome? With who?" he demanded.
"The demon boy," Naraku told him calmly, though he was grinning triumphantly on the inside. Oh yes, she was in trouble now.
"The demon prince? The king's younger brother?" Shidosha asked, though he already knew the answer.
"Yes, I say we accuse that loose woman of treason," Naraku said, a little more vehemently than he would've liked.
"Now, see here Lord Naraku. That is still my little sister and I will not hear her called loose," Shidosha said coldly.
Naraku cursed under his breath. The effect of the jewel was already beginning to wear off. He didn't expect it to wear off so soon. He needed that jewel back and soon. All his plans depended on having that jewel in his hands. "You are very right your highness. A thousand apologies."
Shidosha stared at the fire in the hearth, deep in thought.
"I have a suggestion, if you will hear it your majesty," Naraku said, a slight smile on his face.
*
Breakfast the next morning was unusually quiet. Kagome noticed that Shidosha kept stealing glances at her when he thought she wasn't looking and she vaguely wondered what was going through his head. She was sure he was thinking something and she was fairly certain that it concerned her.
"I came across a battlefield while I was riding yesterday," Kagome said casually. "Why weren't the dead buried?"
"I sent people out just this morning to bury the human soldiers," Shidosha answered calmly, not looking up at her.
"You're just going to let the demon soldiers rot out there? They were just taking out orders, just as the human soldiers were. It isn't fair that you should deprive them of a proper burial because they were doing just what the human soldiers were," Kagome said, horrified.
"Nothing is stopping them from retrieving the bodies. I won't try to stop them if they wish to," Shidosha answered, still calmly.
Kagome glanced at him suspiciously. Why was he being so calm? Kagome knew he must have been plotting something. "Where's Lord Naraku?" Kagome asked, suddenly glancing around the table.
"He's overlooking the moving of the troops," Shidosha replied.
"You're moving them? Why?"
"The demons moved their troops. We're just following them so that we will be able to intercept them should they move over the border."
Kagome still felt like there was something he wasn't telling her, but she didn't press any further. Kagome was glad to finally leave the stiflingly tense atmosphere of the dining hall and get outside. As she headed towards the Between Forest, Sango came running towards her from the village.
"Kagome! Kagome!" Sango cried excitedly, throwing her arms around Kagome's neck.
Kagome, taken aback, stuttered, "S-S-Sango? Is everything alright?"
Sango pulled back and Kagome saw that she was grinning and her eyes were shining, almost as if filled with tears. "Kagome! I'm getting married!"
Kagome smiled and congratulated her friend extravagantly and finally regained enough senses to ask who the man was.
"His name is Miroku. You remember him, don't you?" Sango asked.
Kagome furrowed her brow in thought, trying to remember. She knew she recognized that name from somewhere. Then she burst into laughter. She remembered Miroku. When she used to come to the village, she used to see him surrounded by girls, even when he was just a tiny child. He had always been popular with the village girls. "Miroku? Perverted Miroku?"
Sango frowned and hit her shoulder gently. "He's not like that anymore. He's really very sweet…" Sango said, sighing, as a far-off, dreamy look entered her eyes.
"Well I'm very happy for you Sango," Kagome told her. "And I'm glad Miroku isn't like that anymore."
Sango giggled, remembering Miroku when he was a child. "Me too. You're invited to the wedding of course. Miroku will be glad to see you. He hasn't seen you in so long. You will come won't you?"
"I wouldn't miss it for anything," Kagome assured her extremely happy friend.
"Then I'll come to yours too," Sango said, nudging Kagome suggestively.
"Mine?" Kagome asked, slightly confused. Then, "Sango! Who says there'll be one?"
"Alright, whatever you say…" Sango said disbelievingly. (A/N-Alright, Sango getting married doesn't really have anything to do with the main plot of the story, but I just HAD to add some Sango/Miroku goodness in here ^_^ I'm trying to think of a time when Miroku can actually make an appearance but I don't think I'll be able to manage it. Oh wait…*Grins as an idea pops into her head*)
"Sango!"
Kagome and Sango both turned to see a handsome young man hurrying towards them. Sango grinned and blushed furiously as she watched him approach them.
Kagome's mouth fell open. "Miroku?! Is that you?"
The young man grinned. "Nice to see you too, 'Ole One-Shot." (A/N-Grr…Stupid To Kill a Mockingbird…)
Kagome smiled. Miroku had given her that nickname when they were small kids and used to shoot at targets with bows and arrows. Kagome had always been very skilled with a bow and arrow and had won their little tournaments all the time.
Miroku slipped his arm around Sango's waist, pulling her close to him.
"Miroku…you don't still…you know…?" Kagome asked, holding up her hand pointedly.
Miroku blinked, not really understanding her meaning at first but then he grinned. "No, no, I reserve all that for Sango now."
Sango blushed bright scarlet and pushed him lightly on the shoulder.
"Well, you go on and go meet your…friend…" Sango said, turning towards Kagome and smiling while giving Kagome a quick wink. "I'll see you later."
Kagome then headed into the forest. Was marriage really something to be that excited about? Kagome couldn't be excited about it unless it was Inu-Yasha. She couldn't see herself being so happy to marry someone else. She wondered what it'd be like…married to Inu-Yasha. He'd be with her all of the time and they wouldn't have to meet in secret. They could be together, really and not just a couple hours when they could sneak out. Kagome flushed and shook her head. She shouldn't be thinking about marriage! She had a war on her hands right now. She guessed that she should probably deal with that first.
These thoughts were just running around in her head when she bumped into someone and she looked around to find herself in the clearing. Then she looked up to see that she had bumped right into Inu-Yasha.
"A little preoccupied?" Inu-Yasha asked, grinning.
Kagome smiled. "I guess so. Sango's getting married."
Inu-Yasha wrapped his arms around Kagome's waist., gently kissing her forehead. "Really? What would it be like do you think? If we could be like that I mean."
"I swear you must be reading my mind," Kagome murmured into his shoulder.
"So you were thinking about it too then?" Inu-Yasha asked, smiling.
Kagome nodded into his shoulder, blushing slightly so she was thankful her face was in his shoulder so he couldn't see. "It would be nice…" she murmured.
"We wouldn't have to keep everything a secret," Inu-Yasha mused, running his fingers absently through her soft hair. "And we'd get to see each other all the time."
Then he grinned, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "And you'd be all mine."
Kagome's blush deepened and she was again thankful that her head was buried in his haori.
"So-" Inu-Yasha began, but was cut off as he heard the sound of crunching twigs and branches around them.
Kagome turned around and peered into the forest and stood in shock as the human soldiers entered the clearing from one side. She turned around slowly, as if afraid of what she might find, to see the demon army on the other side of them.
"Look! The princess! He's trying to hurt the princess!" Kagome heard a human soldier shout, pulling an arrow from the quiver upon his back and place it on his bow. "Shoot him!"
"No! Don't!" Kagome cried, quickly moving to stand in front of Inu-Yasha. Kagome shut her eyes tightly, expecting the cold, sharp tip of an arrow to pierce her skin any moment. When she didn't feel an arrowhead bite into her flesh, she opened her eyes tentatively to see the arrow stopped in midair. She glanced up at the armies to see that they were frozen as well.
"Why? How?" Kagome breathed. They weren't even blinking. They were just standing there, motionless. Even the trees stopped blowing in the wind and the birds stopped singing. Everything around them was frozen.
A figure cloaked in a white baboon pelt stepped out from the cover of the trees and chuckled coldly. "Kagome-hime, hello. And Prince Inu-Yasha…Surprise surprise…"
Kagome glanced around her, surprised that he would do something to help them. "You froze everyone? Thank you…"
The man chuckled coldly again. "Oh, you won't be thanking me in a few moments…"
"Who are you?" Inu-Yasha demanded, his hand reaching for his sword.
"I feel rather hurt that you do not know who I am…" the figure said, feigning pain. He then pulled back the hood of his baboon pelt to reveal none other than Lord Naraku.
"Lord Naraku," Kagome muttered, her eyes narrowing.
"Oh no, no, no…" Naraku said, correcting. "That weak little human was gone a long time ago. You see, he became so greedy and power-hungry that demons devoured his soul, thus creating me, Naraku, yet, at the same time, not Naraku. He was a fool. As soon as I came to be, I sensed the Shikon Jewel at your castle, Kagome-hime, so I went over there to find out what I could to discover that your mother was purifying it."
"You killed them!" Kagome shouted, her eyes brimming with tears, though she still glared furiously.
"Kukukuku…" Naraku laughed. "No, no…I didn't kill your parents. The demons killed your father under the influence of the tainted Shikon no Tama. Granted, I told them how to get into the castle, but how exactly did I know how to get into the castle? Why, by watching none other than the little princess.
"I took the jewel from your castle and gave it to the demons, who fed it hate and greed and finally got it into their heads to kill the human king so I told them how to get in. After they killed him, it was only a matter of taking the already-tainted jewel away from them and giving it to Shidosha. He fed even more hate into the jewel because he was furious with the demons for killing his father, and soon, the war began.
"After that, it was only a matter of passing the jewel back and forth between both kingdoms so that the jewel would become filled with hate and greed. But you were constantly trying to foil my plans princess. You convinced your mother to try to stop the war so I had to do something. I gave the jewel to Shidosha and convinced him that the dowager queen needed to die. So what did he do? Kukukuu…" Naraku laughed coldly.
"What?" Kagome breathed, feeling like the air had been knocked from her lungs. "He…didn't…You're lying!!"
"Kukuku…Oh no, I'm surprisingly being very honest right now, something I rarely am," Naraku assured her. "He killed her. He killed his own mother using the tainted jewel. To think…his own mother…"
"You're lying!" Kagome repeated, collapsing to her knees. Her brother? He wouldn't kill his own mother! Tainted jewel or not!
"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha shouted, kneeling down beside her.
"That's right…Your older brother killed her. I just handed him the jewel. The rest was all his doing. He crept into her room in the dead of night, a knife in his hands…" Naraku explained carefully, explaining everything with excruciating
Kagome was choked with sobs.
"Shut up you bastard!" Inu-Yasha shouted, seeing what he was doing to Kagome.
"This is all, of course, true. Oh, and your father, Inuyasha. I seemed to have forgot to explain how he came to end up six feet under. I knew your father was too reasonable, too soft. If ever peace were offered, he would take it, so he had to be killed. And who was the one to kill him? Why your older brother, Inu-Yasha. I gave him the jewel and he did the rest. Kukuku…What a beautiful jewel that can turn sons against their fathers…"
"You're the one who killed them!" Inu-Yasha shouted. "You handed them the jewel! You tricked and deceived them all. If you hadn't given them the jewel to begin with, they would have never done anything so horrible. I'll make sure that you won't be able to do anything like this again!" Inu-Yasha shouted, unsheathing his sword and leaping towards Naraku.
"Kukuku…" Naraku laughed, and soon Inu-Yasha was frozen in the air. "Such a short-tempered one…"
"Why…?" Kagome asked, her teeth clenched.
"Why?" Naraku repeated. "Very simple of course. I wanted the jewel to be tainted with hate and greed. The more hate that is fed into the jewel, the more powerful it becomes. As soon as it was powerful enough, if they hadn't killed each other, I was going to take the jewel and kill both kings, taking both kingdoms for myself. That is still my plan, so give me the jewel."
Kagome pulled the jewel out of a fold in her kimono and held it in the palm of her hands for a moment.
Naraku looked surprised. "You…purified the jewel. No wonder I couldn't sense it…" He sighed. "Now you've just made it harder for me. I'll have to feed hate into it all over again now."
"You're not getting this!" Kagome shouted, standing now. "You won't ever have this again! You won't be able to kill anyone else or make someone kill another, not so long as I still breathe! Right now I am still alive so I won't let you take it!"
Naraku chuckled. "A simple problem to rectify, I assure you." He easily leapt forward, a sword held before him.
'Shit…' Inuyasha thought to himself, his jaw clenched together. He could still hear and see everything that passed between Naraku and Kagome and he could only assume that both armies could hear and see as well. He wondered what was running through their heads at this moment as they watched all of this. He didn't have much time to think about this though, since right now Kagome was in danger but he was stuck!
Kagome clutched the jewel to her chest. "NO!!" she shouted and suddenly, bright light surrounded her. The light quickly gathered around her and then shot at Naraku in a long, bright beam.
The beam hit Naraku in the chest and he was blown backwards. Landing easily on his feet, he chuckled. "I should've known that you'd have miko powers. I admit that I underestimated you, but be assured that it won't happen again."
With that said, a huge dark purple aura surrounded him. Kagome coughed as she breathed in the purplish, wispy smoke.
"I will have that jewel and I will have both kingdoms," Naraku said, leaping forward again.
'Move, dammit!' Inu-Yasha willed his body. 'Move! She's in danger! Move!'
'Yes!' he thought as he felt he fingers on his left hand started to move. 'Damn it! This isn't enough! Move!'
Inu-Yasha saw Naraku rushing towards Kagome and pushed himself even harder to move.
'MOVE DAMMIT!' Inu-Yasha thought to himself and before he knew what was happening, he fell out of the air to land with a thump on the ground.
"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha shouted as soon as he was on his feet. Then he leapt towards Naraku and slashed at his back with his sword. "You bastard! Don't you dare touch her!"
Naraku turned to face Inu-Yasha and chuckled coldly. "I see you've broken my little spell. I'm almost impressed. It takes a very strong will to break my spells."
Inu-Yasha stepped back slightly as small wisps of purple smoke snaked from Naraku's fingers towards him. Then Inu-Yasha glared and leapt forward, deciding that he wasn't afraid of some smoke. As he came nearer to Naraku, his sensitive nose picked up the vile scent of the smoke and Inu-Yasha began to feel dizzy. His footsteps became clumsy and uncertain as he stumbled towards the blurry shape of Naraku, his vision clouded and his mind foggy.
Then Inu-Yasha swayed slightly before falling to the ground, intoxicated with the purple miasma.
Kagome was beginning to feel dizzy and was having trouble breathing. 'What is this stuff?' Kagome asked herself groggily. Her vision soon became unfocused and she could just barely make out the fuzzy outline of Naraku coming towards her. She tried to move away to dodge his attack but found that she couldn't move. 'No…I have to move!' Kagome told herself determinedly, trying to move again. She could make out Naraku's form getting closer and closer. 'Move!' she told herself over and over again. 'You can't let him get the jewel! He can't win! I won't let him!' Just as Naraku was about to swipe at her with his sword, a bright light flashed out of the jewel, surrounding Kagome in a protective bubble of glowing white light. And she could suddenly breath again and her head cleared. The light tore through Naraku's purplish miasma. She held her hands up to shield her eyes from the bright glow and a beam of brilliant light shot out from her hands, striking Naraku in the chest. Naraku was blown back and landed on the ground with a loud thump. The miasma slowly thinned and as the bubble of light spread to engulf him, he disintegrated and all that was left of him was his white baboon pelt, which fluttered to land in a heap on the ground.
Inu-Yasha opened his eyes slowly, finding that he could breathe again and he could see and think clearly once more.
Kagome collapsed to her knees, the jewel still clutched in her hands.
"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha shouted, hurriedly making his way towards her. Just as she was about to fall to the ground, Inu-Yasha caught her. "Kagome? Are you alright?"
"The…jewel…He can't have it…I won't let him…" she murmured, her eyes closed as she tossed her head from side to side.
"He doesn't have it, Kagome. You did it, he's gone," Inu-Yasha told her.
Her eyes flickered open and she sat up, looking over at the white baboon pelt on the ground.
"Get your filthy hands off the princess!" one of the human soldiers shouted, reminding Kagome and Inu-Yasha that they still had a problem on their hands.
" 'Filthy?'" one of the demon soldiers repeated. "You're the filthy ones!"
Kagome shakily stood up and looked around at them. They all looked ready to fight again. She glanced over at Shidosha, who had his head hung in shame. 'He must have been able to hear Naraku…He knows that he…' she told herself, finding it hard to swallow as she thought about all Naraku had told her. The soldiers all got ready to fight and the demons followed suit.
"No!" Kagome shouted. "Listen to me! Naraku started all this! He's gone now. We can't be tricked by him anymore. Why do you still wish to fight? Bloodshed will only lead to more bloodshed and nothing can be solved through it. Do you realize what you put your loved ones through? Everyday that you march out to battle, your children and your wives and your families pray and hope that you will come home alive. They fear that when the troops march back home, you won't be with them! I passed a battlefield the other day with dozens of bodies, human and demon alike, all covered in blood, their eyes staring lifelessly back at me. I never want to have to see so many dead bodies in one place ever again. Is that the kind of sights you like to see? Rotting corpses filling fields?"
"Don't listen to that demon lover!" one of the human soldiers shouted to his fellow soldiers.
"Demon lover, human lover; what's the difference?" Kagome asked. "They are one and the same to me. Look at the demons! They are only different because we see them as different. We only see them as different because they don't look like us. But, as much as you don't want to admit it, they are just like us."
"Demons are greedy!" a human soldier shouted, receiving growls from the demon troops.
"Demons are greedy?" Kagome asked incredulously. "Humans are greedy too. You all heard Naraku, I know that you did. He used to be a human and he was far more greedy than any five demons! Humans are all somewhat greedy, whether we like to admit it or not."
"Humans lie!" a demon soldier shouted.
"Demons lie as well and you know it," Inu-Yasha said. "My mother was given to the demon kingdom to ensure peace. After she died, we promised the human realm that we would uphold that peace, despite the fact that she was gone. We lied. We pretended to keep the peace, but I know that Sesshoumaru and father used to go to his study and plan ways to attack the human realm."
"Demons are filthy cheaters! They used the jewel to win battles!" a soldier shouted, causing a cheer of agreement on the human side.
Kagome laughed bitterly. "Demons cheated using the jewel? Yes, they did, but we did too. They are no different from us. Some humans cheat just as some demons cheat. Some demons are good, just as some humans are good while others are bad. Listen to yourselves. You sound like a bunch of children! You're arguing and killing people just because they aren't like you. I'm different from you," Kagome said, pointing to a soldier standing towards the front of the large group. "Are you going to kill me? You're different from him; are you going to kill him too?"
"Why are we listening to some demon-loving wench?" a soldier in general garb asked, though now he was much more hesitant.
"General, watch yourself," Shidosha warned lightly. "She is still my sister."
"What are you waiting for?" Sesshoumaru barked to his troops. "Attack them! They won't die because you look at them!"
All of his troops hesitated, shifting uncertainly on their feet.
"You fools," Sesshoumaru said quietly. "You're going to listen to the crack-pot philosophy of some human girl?"
Kagome glanced over at him and saw a purplish-red aura surrounding him. "Oh no…" she breathed. The jewel's effect on him wasn't wearing off. What had her aunt said? 'If his soul is too consumed by hate and evil, he won't ever return to the way he was. If the evil is not purged from his body, the evil will slowly consume him until he is no more.'
"Sesshoumaru, listen to me," Kagome said, stepping towards him cautiously. "You need to let me purge the evil from your soul."
"Wench! Do you think I'm going to listen to you?" Sesshoumaru snapped.
"If I don't do this, you'll be consumed by the evil from the jewel just like Naraku was," Kagome told him, pleading for him to believe her.
"Stay back. I will not hesitate to kill you," Sesshoumaru warned, cracking his knuckles.
Kagome hesitated uncertainly for a moment, torn between moving forward and staying where she was. It was his life or hers. She really didn't want to sacrifice herself for this demon after all the things he had done but she glanced at Inu-Yasha. Sesshoumaru was still his brother. Even after her own brother had done all of those horrible things, she still loved him. He was still her brother after all and it was all because of the jewel.
"Kagome! Stay back!" Inu-Yasha called, seeing her eyes harden determinedly. He saw the human army tense, ready to strike to protect their princess if necessary.
She ignored him and took another tentative step forward and as she took step after step, her steps became more determined and resolute. She had to try to save him and only she had the power to do it at the moment.
Before she could see what was about to happen, Sesshoumaru lunged forward, claws outstretched towards her.
"Kagome!" she heard Inu-Yasha shout behind her as he hurried forward.
Inu-Yasha wouldn't make it, Kagome realized. She had tried to save his brother the best she could but she wasn't able to. She squeezed her eyes shut, preparing herself for the painful blow his claws would give her, but when she felt no claws pierce her skin, she opened her eyes in time to see Sesshoumaru's purplish aura grow to entirely engulf him in purplish miasma. When the miasma cleared, he was gone.
Kagome collapsed to her knees and Inu-Yasha knelt by her.
"I'm sorry…I tried…" Kagome whispered, staring at the place where Sesshoumaru had been standing.
"I know you did and I thank you for it. That wasn't my brother anyway. My brother was gone," Inu-Yasha told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. They both stood to see the demon army shifting even more uncertainly. They didn't know what to do since their leader had just died.
Then the demon general turned to Inu-Yasha. "Awaiting your orders, your majesty," the general said, standing in attention.
"W-what?" Inu-Yasha stuttered, looking around to see all of the other demon soldiers looking at him expectantly. "No, no…"
"Your older brother has died so the throne is passed down to you, your highness," the general told him, smiling kindly.
Inu-Yasha looked around him indecisively, not really sure of what to do now. Then, Shidosha stepped forward and held out his hand. Inu-Yasha glanced at both armies to see all of the soldiers looking relieved, so he shook Shidosha's hand.
Inu-Yasha pulled Kagome off to the side as the demon army and the human army moved forward to shake hands and greet each other as friends.
"What'll happen to the jewel now?" Inu-Yasha asked, looking out over the armies and watching them apologize and introduce each other. He smiled as he watched it. Kagome's dream had come true and now the kingdoms would be at peace.
Kagome shrugged. "I suppose I'll just have to keep it."
"Until you have a daughter to pass it down to?" Inu-Yasha asked, grinning.
Kagome blushed. "I suppose so. But you know, Aunt Kaede said that the safest place for it would be inside me and to do that I'd have to make a wish, one that won't harm anyone else of course."
"Well, what'll you wish for then?" Inu-Yasha asked. Her wish for peace had already been granted so what more could she want?
Kagome thought for a moment and then smiled. "Do you remember about seven years ago when we lay right there," she said, nodding towards a spot in the center of the clearing, "in the grass and we were looking up at a bright blue sky and we asked each other what we'd wish for if we were given just one wish?"
Inu-Yasha smiled. "Of course I remember it. You said you would wish to become a half demon just so I wouldn't be alone anymore. That's why I always loved you so much. You were always thinking of others before yourself."
Kagome nodded and held up the Shikon no Tama. She smiled and leaned forward, whispering softly in his ear, "Never alone…" and then she stepped back. She closed her eyes and held the jewel out before her. Within moments, it began to glow, casting bright light upon her that grew to encompass her entirely. The glow began to slowly die down as the jewel was drawn into her chest, right where her heart was. After the light dissipated completely, Kagome was still standing there, looking the same as always, but with two dog ears on the top of her head. (A/N-I was thinking about making her hair turn white and her eyes turn gold too but I decided not to. I don't know why…)
Inu-Yasha just stood there and gaped at her for a moment before smiling and wrapping his arms around her. Now he really wasn't the only person in "his place." He wouldn't be alone again, although, ever since he had met Kagome so long ago, he hadn't been alone. So long as she was there, he wasn't alone. Never alone…
The next day, peace negotiations were opened between the two kingdoms and King Inu-Yasha and other demon lords came to the mortal realm for meetings with Shidosha and the human lords. They agreed to have peace between the kingdoms and the lands celebrated. The war was over and some of the more fortunate wives and children got their husbands and sons and brothers and fathers back. Others mourned for their losses but were happy for peace for they knew that peace was what the ones they lost had wanted and had fought for.
Yes, life was good again, Kagome decided, as she walked down the hall while Inu-Yasha and all of the lords were in the meeting chamber, discussing future plans, etc.
Kagome stopped short when she saw her brother sitting on the main staircase, just staring off into space. Kagome sat down on the stairs beside him and neither of them said anything for long moments.
"I really did," Shidosha said finally.
Kagome glanced at him and knew what he was talking about when she saw the pained look in his eyes. "I know," she said quietly.
"I really did," Shidosha repeated bitterly, shaking his head. "How could I? How could I do something so horrible? I don't deserve to be living now for all the sins I've committed."
"Don't think that," Kagome said kindly. "You did some bad things, I agree but that was because of Naraku and the jewel."
"That's no excuse," Shidosha said between clenched teeth.
Kagome nodded. "It isn't really but at the same time, it is. While you shouldn't have used the jewel in the first place, you didn't know what it would do to you at the time and by the time you figured out what it did, it was just too late. The jewel is a good and, at the same time, a horrible thing. Something so small as a drop of greed or hate in the purpose for using the jewel can change the entire outcome of how the jewel affects the person. It's a strange thing. But you didn't realize any of this so I forgive you and I think the gods will forgive you too."
Shidosha smiled at his little sister and draped an arm over her shoulders. "Thank you, little sister. You have made me feel worlds better. Mind you, not entirely better, but better nonetheless. And thank you for arguing with me all of those times about what I did. It began to make me doubt some things and I apologize for getting so angry with you. I should've realized you were trying to help, and, in the end, you really did. You saved both kingdoms from making terrible mistakes."
Kagome sighed, leaning towards him to rest her head on his shoulder. "I'm just glad it's all over."
Shidosha smiled. "Me too." Then he looked down at Kagome. "You've grown so much. But I still get to call you little sister of course. Even after you're married I get to call you little sister. It's my special privilege as a big brother."
Kagome blushed and then glanced up at him. "I-we have your blessing then?" she asked.
"Of course you do," Shidosha assured her.
Kagome grinned and kissed her brother on the cheek. Then she stood and ran down the stairs excitedly. At the bottom of the stairs, Kagome began to run off down the hall at top speed until she ran into an advisor turning the corner carrying a large stack of paperwork. The pieces of rice paper went flying everywhere and the advisor clutched his head in agony.
"Sorry!" Kagome called over her shoulder as she continued to dash down the hall.
Shidosha chuckled. Some thing just didn't change.
There a huge celebration to commemorate the peace between the two realms. Although, the truth was, it was a joint celebration. It was partially to celebrate the peace and to celebrate Inu-Yasha and Kagome's engagement.
"There…That wasn't too complicated, now was it?" Inu-Yasha asked her at the banquet, grinning.
Kagome snorted. "Not at all," she agreed sarcastically. Then she smiled. "But it all turned out alright in the end, I suppose. Things were so much simpler when we were little kids. Do you ever wish we could go back to that?"
"All the time," Inu-Yasha told her. "But who says we can't go back sometimes?" he whispered, grinning as he stood up and held out his hand to her.
Kagome smiled and took his hand and they hurried out of the banquet hall. Some lords and ladies glanced up and smiled, watching the couple run out of the banquet hall. Kagome and Inu-Yasha ran out of the castle and into the Between Forest heading towards the clearing; the clearing they would forever call their own.
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A/N-Good
gods…*Blinks* It's over! My story's over! *Sobs* But
I don't want it to be over! I'll miss it! Oh, but turns out, I actually like
Shidosha in this chapter. He was nice. For a change…Sorry, I didn't have time
to read this chapter for grammatical or spelling errors so if there are any, my
bad! I just really need to hurry so I can finish my project. They're worth a
bunch of points so my grade kinda depends on these projects ^.^; What a
reassuring thought ne?
Review Responses:
I don't really have time to do these but I'll do them anyway since it's the last chapter.
Special thank yous:
Slycat: I didn't actually look through all the pages of reviews but I think you reviewed every chapter of this fic so thanks ^.^ I'm glad you stuck with me here.
youkai chick supreme: I think you reviewed every chapter of this fic as well. I didn't look through all of the pages but you reviewed chapter 19 and chapter 1 so I'm going by that ^.^ At least I know you've been here since the beginning. Thanks for that. It must mean I've done something right in this story ^.^ And thanks for all the death threats *Sniff* They made me feel so loved ^.^
It was great that I could always look forward to both of your reviews whenever I posted a new chapter ^.^
Now the other, though no less important, review responses:
Kagome15-Thank you ^.^
Cute But Psycho-Wow! You do? This is the first time I've talked to someone who wasn't one of my friends that lives in Washington on ff.net! Cool ^.^ So where in Washington? Oh, and thank you for complimenting my fluff ^.^ I tried real hard to get that in there. There was some in this chapter, didya see it?
Lylli Riddle-You have very good English. Did you see the fluffiness in this chapter? Didya? ^.^
AoiTsuki-I'm glad you love it. I hope you still love it after the ending. I thought it was a very good ending myself ^.^
Tamababymiko-chan-Yes, Nuriko is very cool ^.^ I liked when s/he said that he had the spirit of a woman. ^.^ Hehe…No, not doomed, just in deep trouble.
midnightpheniox-Wow, thanks! I feel so honored to receive one of your rare reviews ^.^ I'm glad you like it.
DragonGlare-Yup, the last chapter right here. A long one too ^.^ Oh and no worries, I'm working to think up a sequel right now and I think I've got a pretty good idea.
Paul Powell-Yup, working on an idea right now as we speak…err…type…
Ame Tenshi-Well now you know ^.^
reynamangga-Here is your answer: Yes, I will/did kill Naraku ^.~
Geminidragon-And here is the answer to your question: Both! ^.^
Thanks to all the reviewers. You guys were great ^.^ I'm working on coming up with a sequel right now and I've got a pretty good idea I think but I'm still open to other suggestions. If I like one enough I might use it. So IM me or email me if you have any suggestions at all.
Fare Thee Well,
YoukaiTaiji-ya