A/N: Ugh. I'm amazed I actually GOT this chapter out this week, considering I have been swamped with an edit of an older story that needs to be done ASAP, NaNoWriMo, this story, Replacement, an outline for a new original fiction, AND the outline for Heart of the Sea.

Yes, I am crazy. But you already knew that.

Oh, and how funny that I decided to add the bit with Naraku in the end on the 5th of November. XD I should have added something about bombs underneath the emperor's palace or something.

Chapter 21: A Time for Change

Fall had come, with the orange and red leaves falling from the trees that lined the streets of Shinbashi, falling down on to the dirt streets, awaiting to be crushed under the zori of countless geisha.

The cold chills of fall came sweeping between the wooden okiya, causing geisha, who were wrapped in so many layers of kimono, to chill to the bone. The teahouses were places that many geisha gathered, waiting near the fires in the kitchen for warmth.

The warmer, heavier lined kimonos were brought out from the kimono stores, and now, wearing heavier silks, geisha walked slower, carrying the heavy weight of the clothes that kept them warm. For geisha, winter was a time to stay indoors, entertaining or practicing the shamisen and their dance, in preparation for when the weather would be warmer, and the outdoor festivities around the Shinbashi district would begin again.

For maiko and girls hoping to be maiko, winter was the time to prove themselves, as the most prominent students in the geisha school during the winter were picked early on in the spring for solos in dances, or to be apprenticed to the best older sisters they could get.

Kagome saw Rin around the okiya, trying to balance her chores along with her shamisen and dance practice. Once, she even caught her in the kimono storeroom, having opened up one of the boxes she was supposed to be putting away, and holding the elegant kimono up to herself in pretend.

Yes, once spring came, Rin would be a maiko, and one of the older geisha in the okiya would be chosen as her older sister. Once, Kagome wished with all her might that she could be Rin's older sister, but now, her heart ached, knowing that it was a wish that could never be.

The news that she was pregnant, with Inuyasha's child no less, completely shattered any hopes she might have had as her future as a geisha. Kouga was expected back in two days. And when he learned of this, he wouldn't want to keep her any longer.

Tsubaki would throw her out of the okiya. And the geisha that once could have been the most famous of all, would be ruined. Destroyed because of her own selfishness for something she could not have; love.

And yes, Kagome regretted that; she regretted that because she would leave behind Sango, and Rin to this world of manipulation and lies, while she tried to live out her life to what she had made of it. But the action; she didn't regret it one bit.

Even if this was how it was to end, with Inuyasha, she had happiness, she had love. And no matter what happened now, those fond memories could get her through anything. She didn't care how low this brought her…not when she could sit back, and close her eyes, and relive the time on the bridge with the falling sakura, or the time they went to the Douglas Fairbanks movie, or even the time Toutousai captured that picture where she was sure her true feelings had been revealed.

Her true feelings…Leaning back against her wall, lost in thought, she remembered one thing. Something that, oddly, had not bothered her until now. Even though I love him…I never told him before, did I?

And…he never has either… This odd thought now bothered her, wondering why Inuyasha had never gotten up the courage to tell her he loved her. He obviously had feelings for her, but love…he had never said.

It was odd. Kouga told her he loved her, quite frequently. But she never…felt anything when he said those words. And when forced to repeat them, she felt heartless; empty inside. Like a shell of a woman, unable to feel any emotions.

But with Inuyasha, even if he never said those words to her, she felt warm, and happy inside, whenever she was with him. Somehow, even without him telling her, when she was in his arms, she felt loved.

She wondered though, why had she never told him? Perhaps it was because she was she was waiting for him to say the words first. Hugging herself across her chest, she knew that even though she freely showed her love for him, telling him was something entirely different. Especially when he had never said anything himself.

And there was more. Now what was she supposed to do, with the baby? If she told him about it after her geisha life was ruined, Inuyasha would think that she only said she loved him so he would help her take care of it. And she didn't want that.

Kagome knew the only job she could get as a disgraced geisha with a child. If she asked Inuyasha to take her in to avoid that, it would be harder on him. He already had a hard enough time paying the rent to Toutousai. She couldn't ask him to shelter her when her career was shattering due to her own misdeeds.

Closing her eyes, she leaned against the wall, her hand on the belly that she knew would soon expand in a few months with the new baby. I know what I must do…she told herself, though it hurt her.

I will accept my punishment. I will let them throw me out of the okiya. I won't object or complain. I deserve it.

And Inuyasha…I will let you go. It will be easier…on both of us, if you never know of this baby.

Tears clouded her eyes as she made her decision. Yes, that is what I must do. I will leave you Inuyasha, but I will raise our child in memory of you.

A tear escaped her, rolling down her cheek. Funny, isn't' it? She thought, giving a small laugh mixed with a trapped sob. I wanted my career, or love. Now, I will lose both.

But little did the geisha know, that while her world was crashing down, things were looking up for her lover, the simple delivery boy.

"What?" Inuyasha asked, staring at the fat, yet nicely dressed man in front of him, hardly daring to believe what he just said. When the man had walked up to him in the street as he finished his rounds, at first he thought it had something to do with a missed delivery or something to that effect. But instead, the man had invited him for some sake in the nearest restaurant, and then surprised him again.

"I just told you, boy," the prosperous businessman, called Myouga said matter of factly. "I'm impressed with your work. You're one of the fastest delivery men we have; and far more efficient than most of them. So, I want you to come to Osaka and work directly for me, in charge of the whole delivery network from there."

The hanyou was stunned still; what the man had just said to him was unthinkable. He, a hanyou, was being offered a job at a higher position? Even though he had dreamed, and wanted this opportunity, he never thought it would actually come to him. This made him doubtful. "You, a full youkai, are offering this position to me, when there are others out there…?"

Myouga looked exasperated. "Yes, haven't I already told you? I don't care, human, or youkai, or what! You're the most efficient we have, and the position is something I think only you can qualify for! Unless you don't want to take it—"

"And why would you think that?" Inuyasha cut in, banging his fist upon the small table. "I want to take this damn job!" he began, but then paused. "But…I don't think I can. It's in Osaka and I…Fuck, I couldn't pay for a one way ticket to Osaka, much less enough to move there from—"

"Don't you think we haven't thought of that?" Myouga began. "I told you, Takahashi, we want you. We need you, and believe me, we're about ready not to take no for an answer. Half our deliveries missing, late, and who knows what…So, we're prepared to do anything it takes."

Myouga pulled something out of his large coat pocket, a long, white piece of paper, and slid it across the table towards Inuyasha while taking a long drink of sake. The hanyou picked it up, staring at it with skepticism. "A train ticket?"

Myouga nodded. "We'll pay for the ticket, and once you arrive in Osaka, we can get you somewhere to live while you handle the head of the deliveries for a while. It's the best offer you'll ever get, so perhaps you know now how much we need of your services, Takahashi."

The hanyou's golden eyes widened at this. Myouga was right; this was the best offer he could ever get. Perhaps the one chance in a lifetime that would help him up to achieve his goal. Finally, he would be out of drab Tokyo, making deliveries of cosmetics to arrogant geisha, and would be running an entire department in Osaka, the heart of business! It was perfect, it was incredible, it was…

Pretending to think long and hard about it, Inuyasha said, "Make it two tickets, and then it's a deal."

The youkai stared for a moment, and then laughed. "Thinking of taking a wife, Takahashi?"

The hanyou gave a small, soft smile to himself as he pocketed the train ticket and picked up his cup of sake. "Perhaps…"

"Osaka?" Kagome gasped, amazed when Inuyasha told her the news, back in his small room above the photography studio that night. They sat near the window, one of their favorite spots, and talked of their day until it was brought up. "You're getting a job in Osaka, Inuyasha, that's wonderful!"

The hanyou couldn't help but smile, knowing she would be delighted. "Isn't it? Now, finally, I can be somewhere else besides the bottom of the ladder!"

In truth, Kagome was happy for him, but as for herself, she couldn't help the constant ache in her heart. So…when all of this comes to an end…he'll be gone forever… At least it comforted her that he would no longer be in Tokyo when things came to an end, so he wouldn't have to see the lows she would have to go to keep herself and the baby alive.

"So, you're really going?" she asked, a bit more cautious with her words this time, to hide her true thoughts on the matter. Inuyasha was happy, and that was all that mattered in this moment. She wasn't going to ruin his happiness at this just because of her upset.

Inuyasha gave a sigh, with a satisfied smile on his face. "Yeah…I mean, it sounds much better than here, don't you think? Wouldn't it be great to get out of Tokyo and go to a place like Osaka to live? Away from everything left behind here?" He hoped that his egging her on would work so he would find the perfect time to tell her he also had one more ticket put away just for her.

Kagome couldn't help but smile in agreement. "Yes…that would be nice, to get away from all the bad memories here…but it won't ever happen. For me, anyway. I am tied to Tokyo forever, through my life-long contract in Shinbashi." Though, that won't remain for long…

The hanyou had to stop himself short, annoyed that she continued where she could have stopped, and it would have been the perfect place to tell her of what he had asked for as well. Trying another tactic, he began, "But…if you weren't tied down to Shinbashi…if you could make your own choice about this…then wouldn't it be nice to choose to leave Tokyo forever to live somewhere else."

She nodded. "But you forget, Inuyasha, I am a geisha. I have no right to choose."

He gave an internal growl, upset that she was thwarting him every time he tried to bring in the right words to say that would lead up to it. But little did he know that she was trying to thwart him, in hopes that he wouldn't continue this conversation any further. Just drop it, Inuyasha, I don't want to hear it…

Bluntly, Inuyasha asked, "What I'm saying is, if there was a chance that perhaps…perhaps we could leave Tokyo and go to Osaka together…would you come with me?"

Even though she had been previously upset, Kagome's heart nearly jumped in her chest at that direct question. Go with him? To Osaka? Of course she would go with him? How could he think otherwise? If she had the choice, then she would follow him to the ends of the earth, if not life, and all the problems that came with it weren't weighting her down at the moment. Still, what he was proposing was almost…almost…like he wanted them to stay together and that this meant much more to him than the small fling that it had originally been intended as.

"Inuyasha…" she said, choosing her words carefully. "I…I don't know what to say…It sounds nice, but…"

"Yes?" he asked eagerly, hanging on to every word. "If you could…"

Kagome sighed, looking away, her hand absent-mindedly resting upon her stomach, where the baby they both had created lay. "Inuyasha, if I could, then you know I would, but…I can't…we can't…"

His hand had been resting upon the ticket in his grey pants pocket, but he suddenly let it go. "Why?" he asked, feeling his heart sink.

"Because…my life, everything that I have known, keeps me here, in Shinbashi. I do not like my career, but it is the only place I have to go." She tightened her resolve, continuing, "I have Sango-chan here, and…the shrine…" Absentmindedly, her arms tightened across her chest, as if she was trying to hide something. "And…I can't think of anything else, but…that is what I have here. And more than that, you were given this chance. And you know I can't come with you."

Inuyasha realized what was going on. Kagome thought he only had one ticket. And she was trying to convince herself that everything had to be this way. Oh, how much he wanted to prove her wrong and wipe that upset look off her face. "But Kagome, I—"

He looked back at her. She was crying, or at least, tears were forming in her eyes. "Kagome!"

"It's nothing, Inuyasha!" she cut him off, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes, but they just kept coming.

"It's not nothing," he sighed, pulling her closer, feeling concerned. "Come on, what is it?"

Kagome was back in his arms once again, the place where she felt she belonged. The place where she felt safe. And yet, in this place of safety and security, she couldn't tell him the truth. She couldn't tell him that she was upset because she was pregnant with his child, that Kouga was coming back and once he learned the truth it would be all over for them, and that now he was leaving her alone when she wished with all her heart she could go with him.

She never wanted to show her tears around him, but now, with all that weighing down around her, she didn't care as she curled her hands in his shirt, and let her ravaged feelings and crazed pregnant hormones fly. "It's everything! It's Shinbashi district and Sango trying to tell me that this is wrong, and not feeling it's wrong, and then Tsubaki-kaa-san watching my back and this feeling that perhaps this is wrong…and then the fall chill and the worries that he might come back and when it happens everything will fall apart, and—" She stopped short. Though she could tell him in a vague way about Kouga, she couldn't tell him about the baby. It would be too much.

He knew something was wrong. His fingers came under her chin, to tilt her face to look up towards him. "And…?"

Choking back a sob, she spoke something that wasn't entirely false. "You're leaving."

He looked away… "Kagome…" How could he tell her when she was acting so…so…so upset!

Burying her face into his clean white shirt, she cried, never noticing how good it felt to let things out, even if most were half truths. "How can you expect me to be totally okay with this, Inuyasha! You're going to leave me and never come back!"

He should have told her. He knew, in that moment, he should whip out the second ticket, tell her that he hoped she would come to, and watch her tears dry, but…somehow, that seemed insensitive of him to tell her of this when she had so many other problems she was worried about. He knew he was going to regret it, but he decided that perhaps he should wait for another moment; a happy moment, so the moment he asked her to come with him would be the happiest moment of their lives.

His arms tightened around her, to hold her as if to never let go. "Kagome, I know…I know this will be hard, but…I promise you, it won't be as hard as you think."

"What do you mean?" she asked, still buried in to his chest as he comforted her.

"I'll tell you later," he said. "But I promise…you won't be crying when I tell you."

She didn't believe him. He probably was going to tell her he would write once a week or something. Either way, it still didn't help that he was leaving and she was to be left behind in her ruin. At least, however, she had avoided telling him of that secret that was sure to make the entire situation worse. "Just hold me, Inuyasha…"

Hold me until it all ends…

The train whizzed across the landscape, its loud horn sounding across green fields like a siren. Most of the passengers slept, since this was the night train and it was nearing midnight, but a few were still awake, reading the Tokyo newspaper to catch up on the latest news from the capital.

Most seemed angry, or upset that they were being dragged back to Tokyo, most likely on business, since most of the passengers looked to be rich men in business suits. Some muttered how stock was going poor, or about errant workers that they needed to set in their place.

But one man on the train looked happier than ever to be returning to Tokyo.

He sat in a seat in the far back, reading a day old newspaper from Tokyo, reading how a man called Naraku had been caught in a plot to overthrow the emperor due to accusations from Houshi Miroku, who apparently, heard of him from "an anonymous source". That was most definitely the most interesting piece of news because, after all, you didn't hear about thwarted coups every day.

"Next stop, Tokyo station." a voice rang out as the conductor stepped in to their car. The man looked up, and pointed ears stood out from under his fedora hat, marking him as a youkai.

Glancing out of the window to see the approaching lights of Tokyo, Kouga smiled and said, "I'm finally back, Kagome."