Oh my goodness! Here we are at the end! Thank you for sticking with this story all these years. It means so much to me. I'm blessed with wonderful readers! Y'all have taught me so much, and I can never show enough appreciation.

The epilogue/final installment of Beside You in Time will be posted later this week.

This final oneshot is 1763 words.

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Champion

Flashes shimmered all around him as he walked back through the arena with his agent and his cutman flanking him. The cacophony from the crowd pained his ears and the smell of them filled his nose, but he slowed his steps and watched them as they clamored and yelled and cheered. It was impossible to pick out one scent or one voice though - even one that he knew so well - and so, he entered the tunnel that would lead him back to the dressing rooms.

"Did she come?" he asked, when the din had faded enough to be heard.

"I… I don't know, Sesshoumaru-sama," said his agent. The little demon cast a nervous look at the cutman. "I made sure that I left a ticket at the gate for her. Do you want me to check to see if it was used?"

Yes, he wanted to say. He wanted to tell the imp to search every seat in the house for her. But he knew that a phalanx of reporters waited at the bottom of the gangplank, and facing their inanity without Jaken would not go smoothly. Sesshoumaru had never cared for these interviews, and the imp would fill in for his dismissive silences.

"No," he said aloud. "Later."

"Your leg is still dragging. The one that you got a bullet in. Doctor should look at you," said his cutman. He was frowning, although the old man almost always had a sour look on his face.

"Later," Sesshoumaru said again. "It will give me an excuse to end this quickly."

Jaken huffed. "Sesshoumaru-sama, they'll have many questions. The gate was said to be almost one trillion yen, and given the upcoming trial…"

"You will deal with that."

"They will want to know about the girl," he said.

Sesshoumaru stopped, turning on the imp with a scowl. "She is not to be mentioned."

Jaken quailed under his glare. "I will tell them that it involves your ongoing legal issues, and we have no comment, of course."

"Hn." He began to walk again, hearing the imp scuttle after him. Totosai's skeptical gaze was almost as loud.

More flashbulbs went off as the journalists came into view, hemmed in by a few braided ropes.

"Sesshoumaru-sama! When did you know that you were going to win?" The question came before he reached the small platform where he'd stand for this tedium.

"Before the match began," he replied, crossing his arms. "But if you want specifically when I knew how I would win, it was approximately thirty seconds before I put Kyora into the armbar and twenty-eight seconds before he realized that he had lost."

Laughter rippled through the press members. A young man with brown hair pushed his hand into the air. "They're saying that the ticket sales and pay-per-view orders broke records. Do you think that your recent arrest for murder had anything to do with that?"

"The murder charge was immediately dropped," piped up Jaken, indignation lacing his voice.

"But there were other charges." The journalist looked back at Sesshoumaru.

He shrugged. "Undoubtedly, it had an effect. Scandal draws a crowd."

"You're one of the star witnesses in the trial against Naraku," said another reporter that Sesshoumaru recognized. "One of the others, a woman named Kagura, has gotten a significant amount of money from a top publisher to write a tell-all about her time in Naraku's organization. Can we expect the same from you?"

"Absolutely not," Sesshoumaru said.

"Sesshoumaru-sama is concentrating on his career, not gossip," Jaken said, his chin lifted high.

The young male journalist cleared his throat, drawing some annoyed glances from the others - he had had his chance. "With all due respect, he admits that gossip is what drew so many viewers. The details coming out about the investigation into Naraku may only increase that. Everyone likes a star-crossed romance, after all. We all want to know the nature of your relationship with Detective Higurashi."

He narrowed his eyes, and the press members took a collective step back. "There is nothing to say on that topic. The detective is a professional, and you will not malign her."

The journalist gave him a tight smile. "Ah, well, we're only wondering because we saw her go into your dressing room."

Sesshoumaru went still. "Jaken."

"Y-yes, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"See to their remaining questions," he said, his voice low. "I am going to the dressing room."

Ignoring his agent's sputtering response, Sesshoumaru stepped off the platform and stalked down the hallway, telling himself not to rush. As it was, he could hear the intrigued murmurs of the reporters behind him. But if she was here, let them print their stories laden with innuendo and supposition. They couldn't compare to reality.

He pushed open the door with more force than he intended, and it smacked against the wall. Kagome, standing in the middle of the room, jumped at the sound and turned.

They stared at each other for a long moment until she exhaled. "Sesshoumaru. You look upset," she said, her brow furrowing.

"No." He pushed the door closed again with exaggerated care. "I am… surprised to see you."

"I'm surprised to be here, to be honest," Kagome said. She gave him a self-conscious smile and then pointed vaguely at his waist. "Congratulations."

He looked down to see the gaudy gold championship belt still hugging his hips. He pulled it free and dropped it on the ground. "Thank you." His eyes swept over her, taking in her jeans and the light sheen of sweat that came with standing in a crowd. "You were here to see the fight?"

She nodded.

He felt a pang of indignation. "The ticket I left for you was the front row," he said. "I didn't see you."

"I bought my own ticket. Nosebleeds. Not a bad view, all things considered. I wasn't sure if I should take…" She trailed off and shook her head.

Sesshoumaru had felt surer on his feet in the octagon when facing his two-hundred pound opponent. He'd imagined this meeting several times in the last months, but few of those musings had had Kagome standing this far from him for this long. He had rationalized that something had kept her from him, but she wouldn't even accept his gift so that she could remain ringside during his fight. Now, he didn't know how this would go at all.

He took a few steps deeper into the room, not moving his eyes from her face. Somehow, he had forgotten how beautiful she was, even if he could trace every line of her from memory. "I called." He frowned. "You never returned any of my messages."

"I know. I'm sorry," Kagome said. "I owed you a response, at least."

Sesshoumaru took a breath. "The lack of a call was a message in and of itself."

"I didn't mean it to be, but I should have realized that you would take it as one." She worried at her lower lip.

Another couple of steps toward her. "But you are here now," he said, hearing the caution in his voice.

"I'm here now," she whispered.

His jaw clenched as he watched the emotion dance over her features. "But you are uncertain whether you should be."

"For your sake, yes." She swallowed.

His eyebrow arched. "Why?" Unmistakable guilt crossed her face, and he blinked in realization. He almost showed his amusement, but Kagome might think that he was laughing at her while she twisted her fingers together. Instead, Sesshoumaru softened his voice as he tried to catch her eye. "Are you trying to protect me? From yourself?"

"Of course!" Kagome squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. "I got you shot, Sesshoumaru. My partner arrested you. And that's not even touching on all the lies that we told each other, even if they were necessary. Haven't I hurt you enough?"

"I don't care about any of that," Sesshoumaru said. "My only injury comes from being parted from you, Kagome."

He could hear her heartbeat quicken. "We couldn't be more different though. Cop and criminal. Government worker and infamous sports superstar. Human and demon. Miko and taiyoukai. Most couples couldn't overcome even one of those." She lifted her hand and her fingertips began to glow pink with purification power. "That's why I didn't call, even though I wanted to. I've read this story before. You've seen it happen. This could end so poorly."

Sesshoumaru strode forward and wrapped her hand in his own. She gasped, extinguishing the glow and trying to pull back, but he held fast despite the bite of her power. "You underestimate your strength - our strength - to shape our own ending." His voice was rough even as he gently touched his forehead to hers.

"But…"

"Why are you trying to argue against something that you so clearly desire?" he asked.

Her hands skimmed up his hands, dipping into the creases between his muscles. She touched a still-healing bruise on his ribs with a touch that felt like the brush of a dragonfly wing, just as she'd done in the past. "I'm just trying to protect you," she said.

"Because that worked so well the last time we tried to do that for each other," he noted. She let out a soft laugh as he gathered her against him. "I have made my choice, Kagome. And so, it seems, have you."

Her eyes fluttered closed as she relaxed in his arms. "You aren't actually promising a 'happily ever after', are you?"

"No. I am promising to fight for it with you, and I have been a victor on the battlefield and champion in the ring. You could have no better partner in this, should you want me," he said.

"I think I've wanted you since the first time we met, no matter how bad the odds against us." The uncertainty had shaken loose from her scent, leaving only her anticipation and joy, and Sesshoumaru breathed deep.

"I will point out that you have never lost when betting on me in a fair fight." He pressed a kiss to her brow.

"Oh, are you going to fight fair?" Kagome asked. She smiled up at him, her eyes still half-closed.

The corner of his mouth quirked upward as he kissed the tip of her nose. "I will not."

Her hand swept over the nape of his neck and into his hair, drawing a contented growl from somewhere deep within his chest. "Suddenly, I feel like I've already won," she said.

"To the victor go the spoils," Sesshoumaru replied before he captured her mouth with his.

THE END