EDIT 6/11/10: Caps happy much? Lol. See below for previous commentary.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I don't want it to end! But here it is, the last chapter...read the notes at the bottom for a big, HAPPY SURPRISE! Enjoy the last of it!

Tranquility

Chapter 9: The Outcome

Kikyou launched her bow, and everything happened at once. Inuyasha was turned away from the scene, walking past Miroku and refusing his friend's support, shrugging off touches and other such comforting gestures in exchange for a moment of clarity that had cost him his beloved's life. He had to let it happen. He had to let her die. He would never admit that Sesshoumaru was right about anything, but Kagome had also spoken the truth; and it wasn't fair to her, to boot. Kagome had been there for him from the beginning. In fact, he would still be stuck to that tree if it weren't for her. Kagome didn't deserve a half-life. Nobody did if he could be helped. If his life force had suddenly been cut in two he would kill everything in his path until it could be undone… if his life force had been cut in half, he'd be dead already. But he still loved Kikyou. That's not Kikyou, a voice in his head said. Her soul, yea…but not her body. He closed his eyes in anguish.

The arrow sailed through the air, Kikyou smiling maliciously. Her aim was true, and unless Sesshoumaru wanted to be skewered she would soon have her body. Her breaths heaved as she felt herself weakening more and more.

Cling!

That was the sound everyone heard as the mighty Lord Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands unsheathed the equally mighty Tetsusaiga—the first time that he had been able to do so—and used its massive blade to throw the miko's arrow to the ground as if it were a toy.

Kagome opened her eyes. She saw the look of horror as it came upon Kikyou's face. "Demon! How is it that you, a creature that despises all of mankind, is able to wield the legendary Tetsusaiga?"

Sesshoumaru surveyed the group with his golden eyes, and even Inuyasha listened for his response. "I will protect my Lady Kagome. And no filth such as yourself will harm her!" In the next moment he was upon her, and with one swift movement he thrust the sword into Kikyou's abdomen. Inuyasha held back from gasping, and Kagome closed her eyes out of courtesy. She could imagine the pain that Inuyasha was going through at that moment. But she had warned all of them, and Kikyou wouldn't listen. She hated knowing that her actions had caused her death; in fact, she felt more than a little responsible. The guilt was already beginning to grate at her, but there were more things to worry about at that moment.

Sesshoumaru waited before pulling the Tetsusaiga from Kikyou, leaving a clean wound in her stomach. Blood seemed to be gathering at her feet, and the youkai watched every drop as it fell. Still the miko clung to life, but Sesshoumaru knew it wouldn't be for long.

"So…you escape death again…wench," Kikyou said spitefully. "Do…you really think I can be so easily defeated? That…I would die, by a simple wound?"

Sesshoumaru glanced at Kagome, and their eyes met before the Lady of the Western Lands spoke. He wanted to kill her, badly, and she could see it in his eyes. Yet he hadn't. Kikyou was still breathing, with some difficulty and could even speak. Had he been merciful just for her sake? "Kikyou," Kagome said, trying to sound as calm and as much like Sesshoumaru as possible. "My Lord Sesshoumaru has spared you, and you would do well to appreciate it. You should have been killed. My Lord spared you on my behalf."

"Your-your behalf? You've done nothing but cause me misery. You stole my soul; you even tried to take my Inuyasha from me!" She looked toward the hanyou, who was reluctant to meet her eyes. "Inuyasha…by doing nothing to stop this…if I die again, it will be your fault. Perhaps Naraku did—" she sputtered more blood. "Perhaps he did kill me last time…but my anger was well placed—you, in the end, have killed me! I loved you, hanyou—I was even willing to sacrifice the Shikon no Tama for you! And this—this is how you repay me? I gave you all I had…I put every ounce of soul I possessed into our love! We were to find the jewel shards together, so you could finally be Human! And this…is what I deserve?"

Inuyasha looked at Sesshoumaru, didn't like what he saw, and shifted his gaze to Kagome. How dare Kikyou, after admitting to the purpose of trying to kill Kagome, attempt to win him over with memories that, technically, weren't even her own? "Kill her," he said, and those were the two most difficult words that he had ever spoken in his life.

Sesshoumaru looked to Kagome for approval of that request. Truth be told, he would never do Inuyasha a favor without first being told to by Kagome—he hated his brother so very much. This entire scenario could have been avoided had he not been so ignorant in the first place.

"Dammit, Sesshoumaru! Kill her!"

The Tetsusaiga was at the half dog's throat before he could say 'Lord of the Western Lands.' "The opinion of my Lady Kagome comes first." It brought him a certain satisfaction, to see the blade that had been used against him so many times now threatening his brother. He could feel Kagome's eyes burning on his back, but she said nothing; he hadn't hurt Inuyasha…yet.

The hanyou looked at Sesshoumaru, the hatred in his eyes stirring once more, but he said nothing. The might of Sesshoumaru meant nothing to him, but he was at a disadvantage, both in principle and physically. He wouldn't win this fight if he started it, and without the Tetsusaiga he didn't feel confident enough.

Sesshoumaru glanced back at Kagome again.

Sango and Miroku, having watched the entire exchanged between all four of them, were taken back. Although they could have rushed Kikyou now that she was weakened, there was no point; everyone else seemed to have things under control. If anything, Sango was more impressed by how highly Sesshoumaru seemed to regard Kagome's opinion three times, she had counted at least, he had waited for Kagome to voice what she wanted before acting. "He has…such reserve…" Sango whispered, trailing off. It was something that she had never seen from Sesshoumaru before in that capacity and it was difficult for her to wrap her head around it. What exactly had happened in the last three days? What had happened between them?

The blank expression in Kagome's eyes did not falter, although underneath, she wanted to frown. Despite him being a jerk, Kagome still cared about Inuyasha's feelings, and it made her upset knowing that he had not only lost Kikyou but Sesshoumaru was adding insult to injury. But, she guessed, they were brothers and how their relationship functioned was not up to her. "Yes, my Lord. Do what you will."

It was over in less than a second, the blade cutting through flesh and bone; the sting of steel in the air. Then Kikyou's corpse lay on the ground. A deep gash wound its way from her shoulder to her waist. "So…" the miko still managed to say, "…you never did love me, did you…Inuyasha?" Then her eyes closed, and they did not open again.

Kagome blinked slowly, then bowed slightly to Inuyasha, stepping closer and in between him and Sesshoumaru. "I'm sorry," she said, looking into Inuyasha's golden eyes, so much like his brother's. "I did all I could." And that much was true; she really had tried.

"…I know, Kagome…but…" Inuyasha all but broke into tears. "It hurts…" he whispered to her. Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. Things were not nearly as grave as they appeared.

Now that the fight was over, now that Kikyou had been slain, Miroku and Sango took the opportunity to speak to Kagome—there were still a lot of questions, and they hadn't seen her for three days. Each glanced at Inuyasha as they approached her, knowing how he was when he was depressed and also knowing that it was better to not speak to him.

Kagome, seeing them coming, turned to her Lord Sesshoumaru. "My Lord, may I…give an informal greeting to our guests?"

Sesshoumaru paused. "Why…informal?" he questioned. He was a bit baffled; as far as he was concerned, most of Kagome's behavior was informal in any case. But she was trying, and he appreciated the effort.

Even Kagome felt some of her old self shine through when she replied, " 'Cause they're my friends!" Sesshoumaru looked as though he did not quite understand the request, but nodded, and she went to them.

"Jakken," he called suddenly, and the small demon appeared out of thin air beside his master. Kagome jumped, but she was hoping that no one noticed it since she was walking. Could Jakken always appear like that? Had he been watching the whole time? Sesshoumaru stepped back a bit, not wanting to be so close to Inuyasha. He might accidentally murder his brother.

"Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru?" the demon servant answered immediately.

"Get this…filth from the grounds of my castle."

"Of course, my Lord Sesshoumaru."

A few feet away, Kagome was hugging Sango, who was trying not to cry. "We were so worried about you…" Sango suddenly pulled back from the embrace. "Why did you leave? You could have talked to me, or Miroku or Inuyasha. Anyone!"

"I…" Kagome began. "I had a few issues to work out. My Lord Sesshoumaru—"

"Kagome. Drop the lingo." Miroku elbowed his companion, and Inuyasha just stood there, where they had left him, expressionless and trying to cope with what had just happened and what he was hearing. "It's weird and creepy."

Kagome shook her head. "I cannot. He is my Lord Sessshoumaru; therefore I must address him as such. I don't mind, Sango. Don't worry." Kagome looked at Inuyasha; his eyes were full of pain. Some of it was his pride, she knew, but she still felt terrible. Without a word, she hugged him, too, pulling him closer to the group. "Inuyasha. I know that was hard for you. I tried; I really wouldn't have minded sharing a soul with Kikyou. I'm sorry."

Sesshouamru heard that comment, and smiled slightly. His Lady was so giving. He stood patiently, watching Jakken as he went about the bloody task of being rid of the body.

"It wasn't your fault." Inuyasha said, his voice suddenly cold. "I wouldn't have let you share a soul with the likes of her if I had known she was such a bitch."

The sun had fallen quite some minutes before, and the light had almost completely disappeared. "Kagome," Sesshoumaru called.

She turned from her friends without hesitation, facing the youkai. "Yes, my Lord Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru completely ignored the presence of all others but Kagome. "Come, my Lady."

"May I have a moment more?"

Sesshoumaru seemed to pause in thought. "Yes," he said finally. "But hurry along." Then he departed from the scene, turning to venture back into his castle. He couldn't bear the idea of standing there idly any time longer; he felt restless and awkward—he had nothing in common with any of the people here, and despite his new outlook concerning humans, there were some bridges that couldn't be repaired after they burned, or could only be repaired to a certain degree.

Miroku looked at her. "Are you sure he doesn't beat you?" he and Sango laughed.

Kagome folded her arms, gasping. Miroku could be so extreme sometimes. "There was no reason to say that. My Lord Sesshoumaru—"

"Look," Inuyasha said, interrupting her. "If he ever hurts you in any way—don't hesitate to come to call. No one will treat you like crap or be unkind or whatever and get away with it. Besides, I need the exercise; haven't fought in a while. I need an excuse to win my sword back." Covering up his sadness with the usual aggressiveness, like always, he turned to leave.

But at the word 'unkind', Kagome was reminded of only a few days ago, when she had only just moved into the castle, and had asked Rin if Sesshoumaru was unkind. The reply that she had gotten that she had never understood until then. She decided to give them the same insight Rin had given her, in hopes that they would one day understand her decision to remain with her Lord.

"My Lord Sesshoumaru? He cannot be unkind. He is impartial; merely a neutral figure in the turmoil of this world. He is that way by choice." She smiled as she delivered the line, but she still felt that she'd done it justice.

Inuyasha scoffed. "Impartial my ass!" he continued walking, knowing that his next words would not be appropriate for Kagome's ears. He muttered to himself angrily to keep himself from bursting out. Miroku and Sango followed the Inu hanyou as he left, and Sango wondered to herself if Kagome would truly be happy with Sesshoumaru. Would she ever regret it?

It was then, in the darkness of the evening that Kagome went back into the castle. As she entered the castle door, large and wide and vast, she saw Sesshoumaru waiting for her in the doorway. Even he looked small compared to it. "Kagome," he called.

"Yes, my Lord Sesshoumaru?"

He hesitated, and Kagome knew what sort of question he was going to ask. "Why are you…so considerate towards these 'feelings' that others have…" he paused, "you never did tell the mongrel why you left with me that day."

Kagome shook her head. "I didn't want to hurt him."

Sesshoumaru cupped her face in his hands. "He hurt you." That much he had known was true. There had been so many tears.

Kagome smiled gratefully. "It still hurts, sometimes. But you've been helping me heal, my Lord. When there is the potential for something so good in my life, there's not a single reason for me to hurt another person."

Sesshoumaru kissed her, regardless to whether Jakken and Rin were watching or not. "You are a good woman, Lady Kagome."

"Only the best for my Lord Sesshoumaru." Kagome glanced back to where Kikyou had been slain. She sighed. If only the other miko could have purified herself, taken away the hatred from her heart, she and Inuyasha could've been happy…She shook her head slightly. Inuyasha had done the right thing, and decided to get over her. Now she would have to do the same thing. She had forgiven Inuyasha because he was a child at heart, and because she did not want to end up like Kikyou; hateful and vengeful towards Inuyasha for something that he couldn't help. He had really loved Kikyou, and that wasn't his fault at looked to Sesshoumaru. The youkai had truly saved her.

Sesshoumaru, still looking down at Kagome's beautiful face, asked, " Is something wrong, my Lady?"

"No, my Lord. I was just…" Kagome couldn't think of any words to express how she felt, so instead pulled Sesshoumaru to her for another kiss. "I love you so very much, Sesshoumaru." She said.

Sesshoumaru smiled, a real, genuine smile that Kagome absolutely loved. "I love you as well, my Lady Kagome."

EDIT 6/11/10: I was hoping that I would impress myself more with the last chapter, but I didn't really. XD It was a decent chapter for its time, and I definitely fleshed it out a bit more, added something things to it and fixed a lot of errors, but there are other chapters of this story that I definitely like more because it's more complete. In any case, I hope that my changes have made things more easily readable. Regardless of how I feel about it, I hope that you were able to enjoy this chapter, and the story over all. Now I'm off to correct Calm, the sequel ^^

OLD COMMENTARY:

Well, in honor of the last chapter, I will respond to every single reviewer of chapter eight. Thanks for hanging in there with me. Thanks.

WindmageLita: I know that it's sad, but Shippou doesn't even know that all this stuff happened. I like leaving my stories kinda opened though, so you can imagine him finding out...half nervous smile...don't kill me...

Vi3t Babii: Wasn't trying to single you out, but I just wanted to make sure that all of my readers are happy. I thank you for your opinion. I mentioned Rin's name in the last few paragraph *point finger like a child* didya see? didya see?

darkkitty109: Glad you liked it.

Seishi Sairensuno: I hope that I didn't keep you in anticipation for too long...and I wouldn't say that my fic's incredible, but thanks!

Anonymous bluesilver: No, I don't plan on deleting this anytime soon, and I'm glad that my story's keeping you alive.

inlovewithsesshomaru: glad you liked it.

FaErIexFaItH: Since this is the last chap, I don't think that they'll be any more cliffhangers, but I'm glad you like it so much.

kitkatthekandybar: Thank you, and yes, I put that in there for comedy...

Evil Toilet Paper: Yes, I did have to end it there. It just seemed...perfect. And I'm glad you love it.

Anigen: ...thanks.

Theblackdemoness: Yeah, I do. All of my friends say that I need to take more credit, too. Thanks.

Inukamisashi : Yep, a cliffie. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Botan Jaganshi- Hiei's Girl: Ah, a newcomer. I appreciate that you're reading my story. And I'm sorry I made you cry.

penguinlover7: Thanks, and don't worry as my friends tell me: if it's that good, read it again. Sorry I made you cry, too.

Aiyami Sakura: Thanks for the compliment on my writing.

Lady Emerald Black: I'm glad you liked the chapter. Yes, Inuyasha has grudgingly accepted her death...and I know that Shippou was left out. He just didn't...fit. He would've made the story more complicated. You've read the story before I put it up; why didn't you say anything before now? I could've put Shippou in! I could've made it better...*starts crying*

XsangoX: Long time no see. I was wondering where you were. I take it as a compliment that I seem like I've seen the Inuyasha series up to date. By the way, has anyone heard of Jakotsu? He's supposed to make an appearance on Inuyasha before the end of next month.

Tiny Snow Fairy999: Yes, I'm serious. She loved it so much that she wants to read the whole thing from the beginning. And no, you're not a stalker yet. Waiting is good. It's when you start to memorize schedules that I get scared...

blu-babe: Thanks.

pure-undead-pyra: I'm glad its so good.

Sea Maiden1215: I'm glad you liked it so you're my reader 4 ever, tell me what your fav fandoms are; I might have some stories to put up for you. As you can see from my story list, I major in Yu-gi-oh! and Harry Potter, but I am occasionally struck for Inuyasha and Wolf's Rain. I love a lot of other things which I just haven't written stories for, so let me know, and I'll cook something up!

TwistedBlackAndRedRose: Everyone keeps saying that my story is kick-ass. Is it really that good? Thank you very much.

Anomanyous (innocenthalfbreed4): Glad you like it. I would prefer that you email me first, because if you don't, I might forget. I'm a klutz like that. If you email me, I could easily email you back. I would be delighted if you could use my ideas. Just give me the name of the story (so I can read it when you're done!)!

treelovr: Don't joke like that! I was genuinely worried about you. And I figured you loved trees from your name, which I thought was cool from the start. I know that it's bad that the story is done, but please, don't hate me.

LadyAkina: I don't like her either. This entire story came from my want to kill Kikyou (no offense to Kikyou lovers). She's cool m but irritating to me at the same time.

LunaML: Does it? I'll check *scrambles to other page* It does. It looks so much more cute!

There you have it. Everyone who reviewed chapter eight. Now, I'm going to stop stalling and get to the point. And the huge announcement is...drumroll... DON'T BE SAD! THIS STORY MAY BE GONE, BUT THERE IS INDEED...

A SEQUEL!

It may take a small while to start, but I will right after I finish VR. I promise. It's almost done, too! I know you've enjoyed it, and I hope that you'll enjoy the sequel, Calm, as much as this one. I guarantee you, it's longer!

tootles! Any questions, email me!

"I will return, for I am the darkness..."