Disclaimer: Inuyasha & co. do not belong to me. Neither do any Inuyasha manga. However, if anyone would like to remedy that last part.... ^_____^

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Explanation
Julia Scribe

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"I choose Kagome."

Kikyou gasped. I didn't care. She was only a concoction of graveyard dirt and bodily remains after all. She didn't have feelings. Only an all-consuming hate. But before she could put her hate into words, I stopped her.

"Our two souls are intertwined in destiny forever, Kikyou. I once loved you because you posessed that soul. Now Kagome has it. My own soul yearns to be with her, because she has the other part of my soul. You are only a shell that that soul once occupied. Now the only thing that occupies you is your everlasting hate for something that did not happen. I cannot love a shell Kikyou, nor can I follow it into hell.

"Besides being my soulmate, Kagome is something that you have never been. Understanding. She's been with me through all of my adventures looking for the Shikon no Tama. She knows my entire life history. She knows that I am a hanyou, a half-demon. And she understands that that is WHAT I am, and not WHO I am. You could never grasp that fact Kikyou. I do not blame you for it. Your upbringing had taught you to believe that all demons were evil, whether they be full-blooded or not. If we had indeed somehow found a way to be together without me turning into a human, you would have eventually driven yourself insane. Insane with the thought that you had betrayed your heritage, and your family, by being with a hanyou instead of a human.

"I cannot say that I am happy with the way things have turned out for you. But maybe it was for the best. I will still find Naraku and avenge him for your death, as well as the deaths of so many others. Once I have finished that though, I am going to live out the rest of my life with Higurashi Kagome, my soulmate."

"But what of the difference in times? Truly you cannot believe that she would desert her family and entire way of life to be with you?" Kikyou asked, her voice sounding almost desperate.

"Who says that she has to stay in this time with me? I would follow her anywhere, and anywhen. That means leaving this world for her own, if it will make her happy. I love her, and will do anything for her."

Kikyou remained silent for a moment, letting all of this sink in I suppose. Then her face contorted into an ugly image of hate and contempt. "It doesn't matter how much you love her, even if you will cross space and time to be with her. YOU ARE JOINING ME IN HELL!!!" Kikyou lunged at me, latching on to my arm. A portal had opened behind her, and I could see flames and molten rock through it, as well as smell the putrid stench of rotting corpses. Agonized screams tore at my ears. Kikyou began dragging me toward it, using the strength of what seemed to be four full-blooded youkai.

"Not so fast Kikyou!" I craned my neck around to see Kagome standing her, bow and arrow in hand and aimed straight for her previous self.

"There's nothing you can do bitch! Inuyasha will pay for his betrayal to me!" Kikyou screamed, all the while dragging me closer to the portal.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Kagome muttered. I watched her as she pulled back her arrow, as that same arrow came whizzing past my head to bury itself deep in Kikyou's chest. The force of impact was enough to make Kikyou let go of my arm and send her hurtling into her own portal to hell. The last thing we heard from her was her scream of defeat before the portal closed.

I stared for a second at where the portal had once been, not noticing when Kagome ran up to me. Only when she had put her arms around me and was sobbing into my robe did I finally take notice of my surroundings. I put my arms around her, trying to comfort her. I hated seeing her cry. After a few minutes Kagome's sobbing finally began to stop. "Kagome?" I asked. "Are you all right?"

She looked up at me, a small smile on her lips. "What are you talking about, am I okay? You're the one who just got almost pulled into hell by a hate-filled zombie," she told me.

"Yeah, but you're the one who's crying," I pointed out.

"That's because I thought I had almost lost you." After a few more minutes of silence, Kagome spoke up. "Inuyasha? Did you really mean what you said. About us being soulmates?"

I looked at her for a second. She was looking at me with such hope in her eyes, it was almost painful. "Yes, Kagome. I meant every word of it. I love you." I whispered the last part, lowering my head to hers. Our noses were touching, and our lips were only millimeters apart....

Correction. They were joined. Kagome had closed the gap between us, tilting her head to the side so that she could further kiss me. And I, of course, was enjoying every blissful moment. Heaven could never compare to what that kiss was like.

When we finally pulled away, Kagome looked in my eyes, chest heaving for air. "I love you too, Inuyasha. And I'll always choose you."

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Notes: I was reading all these Inuyasha fics, and I finally decided to write my own. How do ya like it? It's called 'Explanation' because it explains the reason why I believe Inuyasha chose Kagome over Kikyou. I wrote it in one sitting, while fending off my @%#^%&% of a brother. Also, this was set in my own little world-scene-place, so whatever's in here that doesn't exactly mesh well with the real series DOESN'T MAKE ONE BIT OF DIFFERENCE. Oh yeah, and sorry that it's so short. I don't know enough of the series to make a really long one yet. And I'm afraid of making an AU (I KNOW I'll make everyone OOC, especially Inuyasha).