Here it is: the long awaited reunion between Inuyasha and Kagome! What will happen? As I stated earlier, I doubt it's the conflict you have all been expecting, but then again I like to throw out of whack things in here and there. Some of you may hate me and be all like, 'If that was me, I'd… blah, blah, blah.' But the point is… this isn't you, this is Kagome and this is my story, so suck it up!

Don't worry she's not all like 'Oh how I've missed you!' or any b/s like that but, well, you'll just have to read and see!

By the way, I had a request for a Czechoslovakian Disclaimer. Here you go!

Disclaimer: JÁ činit ne drahý Inuyasha.

Completion

"K-Kagome?"

The rough, hushed voice of Inuyasha made her take a disbelieving step back. Not far behind him, Kikyo stood silently, staring at her with bitter contempt. Tightening her expression, she steadied herself and asked politely, "Will you give them to me, or will I have to take them?"

Unable to believe his eyes, he fell forward onto his knees and stared in shock at what he had first believed was a ghost. "How…? I thought you died."

"I did die," she bit out coldly, "but I was reborn again, as something better. Now, Inuyasha, I don't have time for this. I need the shards you carry."

Disregarding her demand, he asked quietly, "How did you survive?"

"It was with sheer determination that I survived. The will to live drove me, and unlocked a part of me that I never even knew I had."

"Where have you been?" he pressed on.

Frowning, Kagome answered in a clipped voice, "I have been honing my new found miko abilities in a monastery to the west. Lately I've been traveling with Lord Sesshomaru."

"Sesshomaru?!" Inuyasha asked bitterly.

Frown deepening, Kagome nodded tersely and reminded him, "I need the shards Inuyasha. If you refuse to give them to me I will take them. I'm not the weak little girl you once knew and betrayed."

Shaking his head in denial, Inuyasha pleaded, "You have every right to hate me, Kagome, but please believe me when I tell you that after that day… after the mistake I made, I wished that I could have gone back and saved you instead."

Kikyo grunted in anger from her pace behind him, angry that Inuyasha had discovered that the bitch was alive before she had a chance to kill the little whore. He had begun to accept it and show her attention again. For the past few years he had been distant. It was obvious that he cared for the bitch, and that he regretted his decision. Over time, he had learned to live with it. Now, Kagome had ruined her chance once again.

"Well," the younger miko quipped, "it's a little too late for that. You've dug your own grave, Inuyasha."

Tear sliding down his cheek, he admitted, "I know. That's why I stayed with Kikyo, as a constant reminder of the mistake I made."

Kagome was left speechless. His eyes, that were once twin pools of energetic amber, were dull. They had lost their usual sheen, leaving nothing but hollow depths that reflected hurt and sorrow in shades of gold. He truly did regret his decision, she could sense it, but what was done was done.

Hissing in mortification, Kikyo stared wide eyed at the hanyou. Had he just said what she thought he did? Did he only stay by her as a punishment? Snarling, she lifted her bow and brought an arrow to it, point aimed at Kagome.

What she had not expected was for Inuyasha to leap in between them. "Inuyasha," she seethed, "get out of the way!"

"No," he beseeched, "I won't let you! I made that mistake once already and I will never let it happen again! I know she might hate me, but I love her!"

Two startled gasps followed his bold proclamation, one in anger and the other in shock.

Lowering her weapon, Kagome stepped forward and placed a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "I don't hate you," she admitted.

"Enough!" Kikyo bellowed, nocking her arrow, "This foolishness ends now!"

"No," Kagome urged, "I'll leave. First, I need the shards."

"Please, Kagome," Inuyasha begged her, "come back to me. It can be just like old times."

Shaking her head sadly, the younger woman declined, "I can't. Things will never be the same between us Inuyasha. I could never pick up where we left off… I care for someone else."

Heart sinking, he stammered, "You… you love someone else? Who?"

Waving it aside, Kagome insisted, "That isn't important. What is important is collecting all of the shards so that Naraku can be stopped."

Eyes shining with regret and sadness, Inuyasha reached into a small bag the dangled around his obi. Hand shaking, he offered the two shards he carried to the beautiful priestess before him. "No matter what happens, Kagome," he admitted, "you will always be in my heart. I hope that someday you can forgive me for my crimes against you."

Accepting the shards, she turned to Kikyo, sapphire pools narrowing as she announced, "I'll be back for my soul some day soon. Be prepared."

Dusty brown eyes burned a hole into Kagome's retreating back as she turned to leave. Lips upturning in a cruel smile, Kikyo mused to her self, 'Not if I get you first.' Pulling her bow string taut, she took aim at Kagome's left shoulder, where the heart rested below a layer of flesh and muscle. "Never turn your back on an enemy," the beautiful, dark miko hissed as she let loose her arrow.

Sensing the projectile long before it hit her, Kagome spat out, "Fool!" Removing her bow from its resting place as she whirled around, the blue eyed priestess caught the arrow just as it neared her and, nocking it to her own longbow, fired.

Kikyo screeched in pain as the tip plunged deep into her side, pain searing through her. Falling to the ground in an ungraceful fashion, she clutched the shaft of the object that was lodged deep in her flesh. Grunting in pain as her breathe grew short, she tried in vein to tug the thing out.

Kagome came to stand above the wounded woman, shaking her head in disappointment. The gargled sound that accompanied every labored breathe Kikyo took alerted her that the arrow had hit true to its mark, puncturing a lung. Soon the organ would fill with crimson life fluid and drown the victim in her own blood.

Not being one to stand by and watch something die slowly, Kagome unsheathed the Faia Enko and brought it to Kikyo's throat.

"What are you doing?" the fallen priestess garbled.

Lifting her chin, Kagome explained, "What any good miko would do. I am ending your suffering, and righting a wrong that should have been corrected long ago."

Gnashing her teeth in disdain, the bloodied woman screeched, "I refuse to die!"

Shaking her head, Kagome bit back, "It is not your decision to make, Kikyo! The spirits of the otherworld have decided, and they want you dead. Such was proven years ago when you were murdered by Naraku! It was by unholy and unnatural power that you came back to life, and so I will undo that mistake. As a miko, you of all people should know that is the way things must be! Every birth, every death is a part of the plan of life!"

Refusing to let go, the dark priestess shook her head and whispered in a struggling manner, "No… you bitch."

"Let it all go," Kagome eased, "let go of the hate and bitter contempt you have welled up inside of you. Be free, priestess Kikyo."

Inuyasha cringed as he watched Kagome end the life of his past lover, a tear sliding down his cheek as the woman he had loved fifty years prior was put to rest for the last time. The sickening sound of blade being torn from flesh signaled his isolation. Kikyo was dead, and Kagome would leave him. Now, he was truly alone.

Watching as small, blue motes of what looked like smoke spiraled up from the deceased priestess' body; Kagome uttered a quiet prayer of passing. Slowly the puffs of what she guessed were pieces of her soul clustered together into a single, glowing orb. Other souls, the ones that the undead miko had consumed in order to retain life, shot out in different directions, floating into the heavens as they were finally allowed passage into the next world.

For a moment, her own soul simply hovered there before her, bobbing in mid air like a miniature, blue sun. Then, in an abrupt and rapid movement, it shot forward, slamming into her and pushing her back several feet before sinking into her being and becoming one with her.

Righting herself, Kagome steadied her breathing, feeling rather awkward. It felt as though she had grown, and for a moment, she became somewhat dizzy. Her senses, all of them, doubled, and it was exceedingly overwhelming. It would take some time and serious meditation to grasp this new extent of her power.

Sending one last forlorn look at Inuyasha, she nodded and turned, making her way back to Sesshomaru. A loud, pitiful howl resounded around her, one of loss and anguish. A single, salty diamond slid down her cheek as she left the man who she had once loved behind.

Sesshomaru was in the exact same spot he had been in before when she found him again, only this time, his eyes were trained upon her.

"You knew?" she inquired softly.

He nodded and held a hand out to her, cloud forming beneath his feet.

Smiling lopsidedly, she wiped away the remnants of her tear and jogged up beside him. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she hugged him tightly and whispered, "Thank you. That was something I needed to do, and I'm glad you had enough faith to let me go alone."

Resting his palm to the small of her back, he pressed her to him and nodded once more, his claws tickling her flesh through her garment as he rubbed in a steady, circular motion.

Arms falling from their place around his middle, she concentrated and was surprised when she was able to pinpoint the location of the next shard in mere seconds. She hadn't been able to get even a flicker before, but now it stood out amongst all the other energies as clear as day. "Wow," she mumbled.

"Hn," Sesshomaru inquired in a monotone voice.

"I can sense it. It's so far away, but I can sense it without any trouble at all," she exclaimed excitedly.

"You are whole, Kagome, your senses will improve vastly."

"How did you-"

"I can feel your aura, it has doubled in size. I can only assume that you have obtained the other half of your soul since I can no longer sense Kikyo's life force."

Noticing the light twinkle in his eyes, Kagome smacked him on the stomach and mumbled, "Smartass."

Smiling crookedly, in that charming way of his, Sesshomaru bent down and chuckled in her ear. "What's the matter, little miko, can't you handle a bit of teasing?"

Growling playfully, she pouted at him and exclaimed in a dramatic fashion, "You big bully. Leave me alone."

Finding her childish act quite charming, he turned her around and purred, "Now, now, little girl, that's enough pouting from you."

Crossing her arms, she protested in a quiet mumble, "I'm not a little girl."

"Oh?" he inquired smartly.

Brows lifting, she stood up a little straighter and affirmed, "That's right, I'm a big girl, Mister Grouchy Pants."

Silver brow lifting in a dubious and mocking gesture, he bent down and kissed her on the nose.

Blushing prettily, she smiled and stared down at her feet. He was being so very sweet to her. Inside, a flurry of butterflies danced, tickling her all over and igniting a giddy happiness she had not felt since she was a child.

Sesshomaru swallowed as he forced down the beginnings of an erection. Just kissing the woman on the nose turned him on. Being so close to her and catching a whiff of her delightful scent made him tingle with need. This seduction was going to take more care than he had first imagined. How could he seduce her if he found it impossible to even be near her without wanting to bang her like a madman? This endeavor would undoubtedly be one of the hardest things he would ever do.

Clearing his throat, he inquired seriously, "In which direction do you sense the fragment?"

"To the east. It is the only one that remains."

Nodding, the western Lord informed her, "We will only be able to travel in this manner for so long." He didn't bother to explain to her why they couldn't. That it was because he doubted he would be able to travel that close to her without doing something, or that her scent was giving him the most painful hard on he had ever experienced.

Knowing not to question his decisions, Kagome kept quiet and prepared her self for their journey. If they had to travel by foot, it would take about five days to reach their destination, assuming the possessor of the jewel splinter didn't move too far from their current location.

Poor Inuyasha, all alone in a world that has damned him. I know you're all like, 'He deserves it!' but come on people. How could he not be messed up in the head? The boy was left without parents at an early age, his brother loathing and ridiculing him constantly. And, to top it all off, he is considered an abomination. Not human, not demon… cast aside by almost all living beings for something completely beyond his control. It makes me sad to think about what his childhood must have been like.

Oh well… at least Kikyo died! Ahahahahaha I enjoyed writing that part so much! Yet, it was still fair and believable, in my opinion. Not all like, 'Die you whore!' Kagome did it in a respectful, merciful way. She is, after all, a miko. It's only fair that she have pity on the golem.

Review… dance, puppets, dance!