This chapter is dedicated to Ro0tin4Kagome. Congratulations for being the 17th reviewer and making me update. Thanks for your review(s). How about….if I reach 30 reviews, I'll update as soon as I know I have? Deal? Great! Oh! Btw I changed my chapter names, didn't know if you guys noticed or not! But no confusion, same chapters, just different titles.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Chapter 10 Contemplations

As more and more of the conversation became unraveled, the more and more apparent it became of what Kikyo's intentions truly were. And the more and more Inuyasha heard of the said conversation, the more and more infuriated he became. 'She doesn't believe that does she?' These thoughts continued to plague his mind even as his gaze drifted towards Kikyo. It was noted how her eyes were shining with something undecipherable; it was as if she was getting some kind of sadistic enjoyment out of watching Kagome suffer. Why was she doing this? Had she truly turned so evil that she would enjoy torturing someone as innocent as Kagome? She beyond doubt had truly been changed for the worst. As he continued to watch the scene unfold in the mirror, Inuyasha recalled what Naraku had said earlier about Kagome and how she could be "of use to them". His eyes narrowed in barely suppressed rage as he remembered the way Naraku had spoken of Kagome; as though she was his for the taking. 'Mine!' His demon side could barely be contained when Naraku's other declaration came to mind, the declaration of how Kagome would be his mate. 'That bastard! Like that is going to happen. Kagome would never join their side let alone be that baboon's mate.' His vision became hazy as the thought of Kagome with someone else filtered through his mind, he shook his head trying to dispel those thoughts, this was not the time to be thinking like that.

"You stupid little girl, you will never be good enough for him, you know it, I know it, and yes…even he knows it." As the words finally registered through Inuyasha's mind, everything else seemed to not matter. It was as if the world had come to a complete stop. How dare she. Kikyo had absolutely no right to be talking like that to Kagome. It was not her decision to make, nor was it any of her business. Not to mention, if anything it was the other way around, he isn't good enough for Kagome, him being a half-breed and all. He had nothing to offer her; all he had was a sword and the clothes on his back. All he would be able to give to her was his protection, and apparently he could not even do that right seeing the position that they were currently in. His thoughts screeched to an abrupt halt when there was a sudden increase in the lighting. He had to look away from the mirror it was so bright! What was that? His ears flattened to his skull when it seemed that the whole world was coming to an end. So loud. So loud. He could barely hear the cries of Miroku and Sango as the earth itself seemed to shake from the outburst. His eyes squinted open as the glare from the blast had died down. As his eyes became fully open, now adjusting to the atmosphere around him, he noticed that far off in the distance, he could see somewhat of an unearthly pink light; it seemed like that was where the blast had originated from. But hadn't the blast come from inside of the mirror…? All it once it clicked, his eyes widening at the realization, if the blast had come from inside of the mirror and also from outside, somewhere in the distance…than that must mean that the location of Kagome came from both places. He now knew where Kagome was! 'They must be close by! As the knowledge of this new discovery soon ebbed away however, he realized he was still being tied down by Naraku's tentacles, he also came to the realization that there was no way he could actually get to Kagome given the situation he was in…Dammit!

The light had now completely faded from sight, no longer even being in the distance, the mirror once again became the limelight of attention. As the images slowly became focused, Inuyasha looked on in horror, smothering a gasp at what he saw in the mirror, fervently hoping it was not as bad as it portrayed itself to be. Miroku and Sango had no such trouble; gasping and showing just how much of what they saw shocked them. The area where the light had touched had looked as if it had been burned, scorched, everything was demolished. It looked as if it was a battlefield, some of the areas still smoking in the aftermath of the blaze. As comprehension slowly dawned on him, Inuyasha's breath hitched within his chest as he noticed that Kagome was no where to be found. His eyes searched frantically for any sign of life; any clue as to where Kagome might be. Wait…what was that? There! As the smoke cleared a body soon made itself stand out among the rubble. Sango made a sound in the back of her throat when realizing that the body was Kagome's and yet she wasn't moving. She was so still…so very still, one had to wonder if she had ever been alive at all. In shock Inuyasha's breath quickened and he found his mouth to be suddenly dry. 'No…' , the one small word replaying in his mind over and over again. All throughout his life he had been shunned because of what he was; cursed for the being that he had become. And yet, he could barely remember any of that; could barely remember a time when Kagome wasn't with him. She was the constant in his life; she was the thing that made everything automatically better with just one look, one smile, one glance. To picture his life without her, he couldn't…it was just too hard to do. His life would be nothing. She was his weakness, his strength, his love, his life. He prayed to any god above and beyond that she was alright, but she was lying so still, so very still. A sense of foreboding sprang upon him, 'No…no, no, no, no…' Kagome would be fine! Kagome was always fine! Kagome couldn't be…Kagome couldn't be de…she couldn't NOT wake up because, because Kagome was forever. (a/n: Celonhael)

'It appears as if the little miko is more powerful than expected, this will work to my advantage. I have all the information I need… Soon Kagome, very soon.' As the swarm of poisonous insects surrounded him, he gave one final glance to Inuyasha, and then was gone from sight.

Considering the tentacles were technically apart of Naraku, it seems that when Naraku himself disappeared, the tentacles holding Inuyasha and the rest of the group fell away and turned to nothing but dust. At first, anything anyone was able to do was just stand there in silent awe at everything that had just transpired, not believing it to be true.

"Inuyasha! Did you see the light over there off in the distance? To the right?" Miroku's voice snapped both Inuyasha and Sango back to the present. The sword having been thrown from his side during the confrontation with Naraku was sitting of towards the side in it's original form. Desperately needing to both find Kagome and make sure his demon side didn't become dominate, he lunged for it without second thought; the minute his finger tips touched the sword his demon blood was once again in check and a small relief formed inside of him. That would have just made the day if his demon had been unleashed.

"Yeah, I'm going to go look for Kagome, you and Sango follow, you'll just slow me down." With that being said He turned quickly and bounded off into the forest in order to search for his Kagome. The trees were just a blur of colors as he raced with all the speed he could muster up praying to everything he thought holy that she was alright. His thoughts were consumed by Kagome. Was she alright? Was she hurt? Was she even still there? His pace quickened as his anxiety heightened to a place beyond reach. 'I swear Kagome, you better be alive or I'll never forgive you…' As his thoughts trailed off he noticed that he was close to where he had seen the light coming from, he was almost there, it should be around here some...his mouth dropped open while his ears worked quickly atop his head.

To say that the clearing looked like a battle area that had been mutilated would have been putting things too kindly. There was not an inch of land that was not covered in some sort of debris; smoke and ash were in the air and every time Inuyasha inhaled, his lungs burned. The tress could no longer be called as such and the grass was non-existent. Inuyasha looked on in awe…had Kagome done all of this? Certainly not…

He noted that Kikyo was no longer there, and at that moment considered it, for her, to be a blessing, given the fact that he would not have been responsible for his actions if she had been present. But Kikyo was not what concerned him right now, she was not the person he was trying so desperately to look for, nor was she one who made his breath and heart stop simultaneously when he finally caught a hold of her scent. His head swung towards the direction of the scent just as homed in on her position. She was lying in the middle of the clearing, apparently unharmed, except for that of the previous injuries she had sustained. Her clothes seemed oddly free of ash and other junk that was littering the area, and at that point one could tell she had been the source of "detonation", or where the explosion had first started, considering the outward direction of the scorch marks surrounding her and her dirt-free clothing.

"Kagome! Kagome!" Shaking her shoulder and trying not to panic, Inuyasha silently pleaded with her to open her eyes, to say something that would give any indication as to what she was feeling and if she was alright. After a few seconds, or minutes, he didn't really pay attention to the time; he decided that this method was not working seeming as how she had yet to make any sign or clue as to how her health was. He picked her up easily, one arm under her knees, while the other around her shoulders, and sprinted towards Kaede's hut. She would know what to do. As he continued to run, he would steal glances at her face, noticing how she looked as though she was sleeping. And if he were an ordinary person, that is exactly what he would have thought, but Inuyasha was anything but ordinary, especially when it came to the woman he was currently holding I his arms. When he looked closer he realized there were dirt smears and dry tear tracks upon her face, he could easily tell she had been crying. This pained him more than anything ever could; her tears hurt his soul, even more so when he knew that the reason she had been crying was because of him. To him, it was just a waste of salt, she should never have cried for him; he wasn't worthy. But then again, Kagome always did things he thought unreasonable, such as helping strangers, crying so easily, being friends with Kouga, things he just didn't approve of. And no matter how much he griped about it, he still loved her for it, more than ever. But he could still do without the crying...

He glanced down once more, wondering how and why she had been able to believe those things Kikyo had told her when they were so obviously a lie. 'Well you haven't exactly proved to her any different have you?' He sighed inwardly; he was just a great fool. And it didn't help but make matters worse when he realized his conscious had sounded suspiciously like Shippo.

His eyes were drawn once more to her face, she was so innocent, and kind, and caring, the list could just continue. He grimaced when he understood the thought of how He might have just lost her for good this time, which pushed his feet to move faster. Yet, even with all of the uncertainties, and unspoken words, Kagome should have been able to know that none of those said things were true. Hadn't she told him once that actions were noisier than words, or, whatever? He treated her as though she was a mate, he brought her food, sheltered her, protected her, what was there not to get? Was he not being clear enough? He had even tried to tell her he loved her, but had chickened out and said it "I like you" instead, how lame. And even then she hadn't believed him, if he had told her "I love you", would it have been any different? Perhaps he should have enforced it more instead of letting her walk away? There had been too many interruptions and the stupid perverted monk would have inevitably turned up right at that moment, so what was the point?

He growled low in his throat, stupid idiots, he didn't need to deal with that right now. Kagome needed to be tended to. He was already having to battle his demon blood considering it was raging inside of him; telling him to just go and take care of his mate all by his self, he didn't need any help! Everyone else would just get in the way, as they had before. However, he couldn't give into his demon's demands; he couldn't be that selfish, Kagome's life was on the line and he couldn't risk it because he wanted to be heroic. He didn't know what was wrong with her. If he had just gone and taken her some where, what would that solve? He couldn't help her when he didn't know what to cure. His mind settled, tamping down on his demon blood, he rushed ever closer to Kaede's, hoping that it wasn't too late.

'The herbs seem to be very good this year…' Kaede placed another herb in the basket, this one was particularly good for healing the aching throat. She glanced up from her work when she heard her name yelled in the distance. Her calmed expression immediately turned into a frown when she noticed who's call she had responded to. Inuyasha rarely carried Kagome in that manner, yet when he did, the situation more oft' then not turned out to be troublesome.

"Inuyasha what ails ye? What happened to young Kagome?" Already on the way to her hut, Kaede looked toward Kagome, and recognized the signs immediately. She had experienced this many a time in her life. The child had simply used too much of her spiritual energy and had inadvertently purified herself into unconsciousness. One in her expertise could very easily tell the signs: pale complextion, still form, clamy skin...these symptoms could also be linked to common colds, yet a miko such as herself, could clearly see Kagome's aura, that is normally a very vibrant pink, had dimmed to the point of where it was barely visible. That was the symptom that tipped the scale; she could tell the child had used to much of her spiritual power and would be in need of rest. As she was gathering the supplies she would need in order to help heal Kagome's flesh wounds, Inuyasha had retold the events of what took place, and even though hating it, he did not leave out any details for fear of Kaede misdiagnosing Kagome. Now was not the time to be shy about people "minding their own business". Kagome's life was much more important.

"So what's wrong with her?!" The tale had already been told and most of Kagome's fleshly wounds had already been tended to, yet Kaede said nothing as she continued to work silently. It was heavily grating his already frayed nerves. Just as he was about to yell at her once more, she spoke, breaking the silence that had once again become too deafening.

"It appears as though Naraku was indeed right about one thing. Her anger does fuel her power, I have seen things of this nature before, yet not so strong. It is only understandable that when she became angry with Kikyo, she had released that power with out even knowing what had been happening. That in turn caused the damage ye saw at the clearing. As to why Kagome is not yet waking is only due to the fact that it has completely drained her of her energy. Therefore it will be a few days until she wakes up and ye will be able to speak with her." Kaede stood up once finished with Kagome's injuries, which were many, yet not deathly harmful,

"Oi! Does that mean when Kagome gets mad at me- I mean us, us! That now she will try to purify us?" That thought did not sit well with him considering they fought on a daily basis. He knew Kagome would never intentionally hurt any of them, but given how angry he made her, regularly, he figured that that couldn't be good for his health.

"I see no point in being worried about that child. Kagome gets mad at ye all the time and yet she has not purified ye as of yet, has she?" At his nod, she continued, her voice rasping, "It is only when she is truly angered by something great; her enemies are what anger her the most. In all honestly I think her power could rival that of ye sword, or at least be equal in strength. I have witnessed many spiritual powers in my life time and yet none can compete with that of young Kagome's." As if struck suddenly speechless, Inuyasha just awed off into space. How could Kagome be as powerful as his sword? That was simply impossible! There was no way. However, when the memories of what had been witnessed at the clearing surfaced in his mind, doubts did begin to arise. The possibility that Kagome could rival his own strength was just unbelievable. Inuyasha shifted silently towards Kagome, being as close as he possibly could without being intimate or suspicious. Kaede silently chuckled at his antics as she left. The young lad was so in love. He would stand guard over her, making sure that nothing could harm her, for he was her protector. He crossed his arms, his sword lying in the crook of one, and made himself comfortable.

And this was how it stayed for three days, Kagome was still unconscious. Inuyasha was as valiant as ever, just sitting and pondering over things, either involving Kagome or how he was going to rip Naraku to shreds, those thoughts often left him feeling better, thinking of all the ways he could maim him. By the first day at sundown Miroku and Sango had arrived at Kaede's. Upon their arrival Kaede explained to them what she had explained to Inuyasha.

Inuyasha in the meantime, had done what he had the first time she had used too much energy. He didn't leave her side except for small intervals, nor did he get any rest, there was too much of a risk of her waking up and him not being the first one she laid eyes on. The others tried to coax him into sleeping, rarely they had managed to get him to eat something, but it had been very minimal. He had not explained to them his reasons, it was none of their business. No one else could take care of her, or watch over her, because he simply would not allow it. He did not say why, it was none of their business. What was different this time than all of the others? He did not give them an answer; it was none of their business. What did they not get about it being none of their business?! Kami knows he had yelled it enough times. They didn't need to know that he thought if he wasn't there Kagome would fade away. They didn't need to know that he worried about her every second she took another breath, fearing that she wouldn't inhale the next. Kaede had said she just needed rest, yet, he was…he was…scared. He was terrified even. She hadn't woken up in such a long time. He was scared at the thought of losing her, of never getting the chance to tell her he loved her. He was just scared. But…um…they didn't need to now that…

A split second, a flutter of movement, a soft sigh, things of such inconsistency but couldn't have been anything short of heavenly to the poor hanyou who was valiantly trying to control his raging emotions and the sudden, annoying stinging in his eyes as he saw Kagome's subtle movement.

"Kagome?!" Not wanting to scare her, but just too excited to keep his emotions in check, Inuyasha got right in her face, as close as he could without actually touching her.

"Ow…my head hurts." A hand rose to massage the temples of her head, her skin looking deathly pale from the light filtering in from window, said light was also giving said woman an irritable headache. Inuyasha, apparently taking notice to this, quickly moved from his position near her and pulled the covering over the opening. As he moved back towards her he decided to try and not act too excited to see her, wouldn't want her getting the wrong impression. He was satisfied with just kneeling next to her, knowing she was alive and well.

"Kagome…." The name was uttered so softly that Kagome could have sworn it was just a figment of her imagination. She tried to fight back the ugly feeling of detest when hearing her name from his lips, knowing that he was probably only feeling guilty. Wait…guilty? For what? All she remembered was the darkness while looking at Kik…As suddenly as the statement popped into her mind, so did the memories that accompanied it. The pain, the fear, the anguish, the darkness it all engulfed her so suddenly it was hard to breathe.

"Kagome! W-Wait! Don't cry!" Tears streamed down her face as her breathing was coming in short gasps. She couldn't stop. For the life of her she couldn't stop. And oh, how she wanted to. It hurt. Everything hurt. She couldn't breath, didn't want to, the pain in her heart rivaled anything else. All she could do was cry, weep, gasp, and wish for the darkness once more…

Inuyasha didn't know what to do, so did the only thing he thought of. He took her into his arms and cradled her as one would a lost child. His instinct told him what to do next, a feeling of what you would do for someone you care about, for a mate. While rocking her back and forth, he started to growl softly in her ear. It was a comforting sound, soothing and easing away her fears. The anxiety died down a little, realizing that Inuyasha would protect her from the evils of her mind. The crying did not stop entirely, however the majority of the flow certainly minimized.

Not wanting to say anything that might disrupt the moment again, or worse, Inuyasha kept silent except for the continuous growling. There was so much that needed to be said, He need to let her know that what had Kikyo said wasn't true, to tell her that he loved her and wanted her as a mate. But he supposed all of that could wait, she was not in the right state of mind to answer his questions or think clearly. Unless she asked, he wasn't going to tell her anything. (a/n: very stupid logic)

Kagome had been thinking along the same lines when Kaede came walking through the door, sparing her the embarrassment of having to find a way out of Inuyasha's lap and onto the futon, Kaede had, of course, noticed the position but did not say anything in regards to it, knowing both children were shy and she might do some serious damage if she did. A small smile graced her features and she moved forward.

"How are ye child?" Kagome started, realizing she was the one being spoken to. She quickly got out of Inuyasha's lap, not wanting to talk whilst sitting there, it was just a tad bit…awkward. Inuyasha on the other hand was disappointed that she moved considering he liked having her there. His face turned scarlet when he realized what it must have looked like. At least Miroku hadn't come in…

"I'm fine I guess, a little sore…and tired." The yawn she gave out proving her point. "What exactly happened to me?"

Realizing that this would be a lengthy conversation, Kaede came and, slowly, sat down in front of Kagome. Noticing where the others were, and that he was no longer part of it, Inuyasha moved to sit next to Kagome, his thigh brushing up against hers, she blushed.

"Ye just over exerted yerself when using ye power child." In reality, Kagome had been expecting this, noting how drained she still felt. Perhaps that was the burning sensation she had felt? Her power wanting to be let out…

Prior to Kagome's waking up, the gang had come together and had decided that when Kagome became conscious once more, they would leave out a few parts of what they had discovered. It was so much to take in, and with Kagome just recovering it would more than likely shock her. There were many questions still unanswered that they themselves did not even know. They were not going to burden her with any more worry than she already carried. What had been learned, about her anger connecting to her power and such things, would be told to her at a later time, when she was more stable as to take it all in.

"Unfortunately Naraku and my sister now know that you have much more spiritual power than first believed." At the mention of Kikyo Inuyasha had started growling. It still in a way, seemed so surreal that He couldn't believe what she had put Kagome through. It was hard to change your perspective about someone in such a short time, but he supposed that he had known all along about Kikyo's personality, he had just never wanted to believe it before this.

"I think that Kikyo wanted to awaken the power that resides in ye in order for it to serve her and Naraku's later purposes."

"…well if I hadn't been so weak then maybe Kikyo wouldn't have been able to get the reaction out of me that she did." Inuyasha's gaze snapped back to Kagome, not fully comprehending what he had just heard. There was an underlying anger to her voice, like she was mad at herself for letting it happen. Her anger, in an odd way, just fueled Inuyasha's, she was not to blame! What an idiot! 'Stupid girl! It wasn't her fault how can she…' Apparently not realizing Inuyasha was glaring at her, either that or ignoring him, Kagome abruptly rose from her position, a little wobbly at first, considering she hadn't used her legs in almost a week, but then once regaining her balance, disappeared outside of the hut. He was about to go after her and give her a piece of his mind when Kaede stopped him.

"Inuyasha maybe ye can help her feel less guilty, I could not. She truly believes it was her fault. Maybe she will believe ye." Before Kaede had even finished speaking he had already nodded and had walked out of the hut in search for her. Not making him self known just yet, he followed her for some distance wondering where she might be headed. His anger had some what cooled, realizing that in a way, even admitting only to himself, it was a little unjustified, but only a little! As she continued to walk, he studied her form, just watching how she moved, how graceful her movements were.

'She is so beautiful' Without even noticing it, he realized that she had stopped. He took note of his surroundings, they were near a small river on the outskirts of the village, she kneeled over and sat down with her feet under her, knees bent. He watched her while she watched her reflection. As he was about to make himself known, she let out a poorly suppressed scream of frustration and slapped the water, making the surface ripple uncontrollably while getting her wet from the spray of the water.

"Ugh! I hate looking like this, I hate being like this, I hate having her face, her body, her soul! I hate being her!" Before he was even aware of what he was doing, he had burst through the trees, shocking himself almost as much as he had shocked her.

"Don't you dare say you're her, because you're not!" He praised himself inwardly, he had just told her what he wanted to, without messing it up! She wasn't Kikyo. Kikyo was cold, unemotional, and Kagome was the exact opposite, the woman he loved. It was a compliment actually.

"You're right, I will never be as good as her will I?" It became apparent that she had obviously taken it the wrong way, well of course she had, it was Kagome... she was so difficult! Growling, he jumped at her at an attempt to make her believe him, to listen and not think the wrong things. It ended up to where she was on her back, barely missing the water, while he was straddling her hips. She blushed at the compromising position but said nothing and looked away intending to give him the silent treatment, if he wanted to be a jerk about it, fine! She could be just as jerk-ish if not more... She was holding out pretty well until he grabbed her chin roughly, startling her. His hold was strong, not enough to hurt her, but enough to prove that he was very serious. His eyes were darkened to crisp amber and she fought the battle to not become lost in them.

"Look at me. I meant that she will never compare to you, that she can never be as good as you." Desperately wanting to believe him, yet not wanting to be fooled by his antics she tried to hold out. She had been fooled for so long.

"You don't mean that, you're just saying it!" It was unclear to Inuyasha whether or not Kagome was trying to tell him this, or if she was just trying to convince herself of this.

"UGH! Kagome! How can you believe that?! Are you stupid? After all that we have been through how can you still believe that?!" His anger was a palpable thing; she was frustrated and yet so was he. It was infuriating to make someone understand your feelings towards them when they never wanted to believe them!

"Oh yeah…you given me so much reason to believe you."

Ouch. Her tone had been sarcastic and dry and completely unpleasant.

"No, and I regret that, but now I am and you won't believe me!" Inuyasha had to hold himself back from just strangling the stupid wench! Was her head really that thick?

"I'm sorry but it's a little hard to believe that after this long of you telling me one thing, that I am supposed to just go and believe another? I can't do that!"

"Well try to because we can't be together until you do!" Time froze. And breaths stopped. She was looking up at him with some undecipherable emotion flashing behind her eyes, was it hope? Wonder? He couldn't tell. But suddenly he found the tree behind her to be the most interesting thing in the world.'He can't mean that, he can't mean that, he can't mean that…' She just kept chanting that one sentence in her head over and over, like a sacred mantra that she couldn't let go of. But just saying something and feeling something are completely two different things. She wanted to jump, to run around, she wanted to sing! She had long ago realized that when Inuyasha became angry, he would most likely say something he didn't mean to; something more true than he would like to admit. And he had just done it, again. Did he really want to be with her? He couldn't right? He wanted to be with Kikyo didn't he? For these past years, he had only ever wanted Kikyo…what could have changed that in just a few short days, the answer was…nothing. No one could change how they felt about some one for 50 plus years in just a few days, that was not possible. His caring about her and wanting to be with her…they weren't possible either.

"You don't want to be with me, Inuyasha." She looked away from him, not wanting to see his face, but when the silence became too heavy she had to glance at him, to see what his reaction was. When their eyes met, that was the moment he had been waiting for, He finally let down the shield that had been up for so long, the barrier that he had hid behind for fear of being rejected for all of these years. He finally let his eyes show what he felt inside, begging with her to see just how much he cared about her. Her sudden intake of breath was exactly the reaction he had been waiting for. Maybe she understood now? Was it possible?

'Could he…could he really?' She didn't want to hope…he probably….no! There would not be any more jumping to conclusions for her! No more! That only led to trouble and more frustration than she was ready for at the moment. She wanted to know; to have an answer of finality.

"Do you really care about me, Inuyasha?" Hoping she didn't sound to eager, praying that she got the answer she deserved , and wishing that he would just tell her and quit staring!

"I…I care about you so much Kagome. So much…" He still couldn't say the dreaded "L" word, but in time, maybe he would. His barriers and shields and defenses had been up for so long that he just couldn't get past that last hurdle. Slowly but surely Kagome had broken down them all, and slowly, in time, he would tell her how he truly felt, but not right now. He just was too…scared to do it. He broke out of his reverie as he noticed the scent of salt in the air, his eyes widened in horror when he came the realization of Kagome sniffling.

"Oi! Don't cry, c'mon I hate it when you cry!" What had he done now? Did she still not believe him? When she opened her eyes, he was so relieved to see their old shine to them back. She had turned back to the old Kagome she once was. Her eyes shined with a new light as well, it was love. He gasped slightly at the realization. Just seeing how she looked at him he wondered how he could have ever been so blind, she loved him. She truly loved him, a hanyou. The way she looked, with her hair disarrayed and spread out behind her, her eyes sparkling with the love that shone only for him. This moment would forever be engraved in his memory. This was the most precious moment of his entire life, and right now they were no longer a hanyou or a priestess or an outcast or a schoolgirl, they were just a boy and a girl who were madly in love with one another. His breath died as his mouth bent nearer to her own, and Kagome silently pleaded that her breath was not as smelly as she thought it was. Their eyes drifted closed at the exact same time, and Inuyasha could practically taste her already, just a little closer and the moment would be perfect…

"INUYASHA!!!!KAGOME!!!!" …Shippo.

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