Today was my last day of scrubbing bathroom floors to pay for textbooks! Woohoo! I mean, the newspaper job was fine, but come on, I don't do toilets. Yeah, okay, so enough of the glamorous lifestyle of Teresa, let's try to get this baby finished up. Not in this chapter, but man...we're getting soooo close. Oh boy! And Kaze-chan, I agree that they must be a joint package.

*****

Fate's Reversal

Part 18

*****

"Come on, Sango." Miroku nuzzled at his wife's neck, planting wet kisses on her pale skin.

"Miroku, it's too early." she sighed, pushing him away slightly.

"It's never too early for me to love you." he offered, smiling his lecherous smile.

"It's never too early for me to make you sleep outside." she shot back, causing his hands to freeze immediately, the blood draining from his face.

"Fair enough." he sighed overdramatically, cuddling against her and placing a light kiss on her forehead. "I only wanted to--"

"Miroku! Sango! Get up right now!" Kaede cut them off, her voice an urgent hiss as she barged into their room, Shippo right with her.

"Naraku, I can smell him." Shippo elaborated. "He's coming this way, and he's not alone."

"Can you sense it, Miroku?" Kaede asked the man still holding his wife as they lay together.

"It...it's him..." Miroku gasped, practically leaping out of his covers as Sango and himself rushed to get dressed. "We'll be right there."

"That's fine." Kaede made a face, closing the door sharply to let them finish.

"I will gather the children and keep them safe." Shippo offered.

"No, you underestimate your usefulness Shippo." Kaede patted his shoulder. "I am too old to be any use in the battle, and so I will take that responsibility. It's all I'm good for these days."

"Kaede, you aren't--" Shippo argued, but she cut him off with a firm shake of her head.

"No. I may be a miko, but I am weak and enfeebled." Kaede assured him. "You needn't lie to me, as I know the truth better than most. I will help to rally the villagers. Let's go." she raised her voice just as Miroku and Sango exited their room, outfitted and ready for battle. "I only wish that we could depend on Kagome and Inuyasha to help us this time."

"Like the old days." Shippo sighed wistfully. "Is she still with him?"

"Do you need to ask?" Kaede smiled at the door just as it opened, a bedraggled and surprised looking Kagome exiting the room and running up to grab at Miroku's robe while exclaiming wildly.

"She's coming! She's alive! I feel her! And the baby too...I feel it! I dreamed of her last night and she told me it would all be alright!" Kagome went on, much to the confusion of her friends.

"She's delusional..." Shippo sounded shocked, and Kaede smacked him in the back of the head, earning a yelp.

"She may be, but don't say such things while she's right there, boy." Kaede scolded him. "Kagome, dear, why don't we go back to Inuyasha now?" Kaede suggested, her tone entirely different, full of gentle sympathy.

"But...she's coming..." Kagome looked confused, giving the room she'd left a longing glance.

"Yes, I know she is, dear." Kaede ushered her back into the room, exiting moments later, her face and tone all seriousness once more. "We must move quickly. There is no time to waste, and this enemy is not one to be taken lightly."

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"We'd have gotten here by now if you didn't need to rest!" Tsuyo growled at Haruka as they all walked toward edge of the darkened village. "I swear, if they're all dead..."

"Don't start up with her again." Yuki glared viciously at the other boy. "You have family here, but so does she. Don't be so selfish."

"I was...what's that noise?" Tsuyo raced ahead until he emerged in the village, which for some reason, seemed to be much more awake than it should be at that early hour. "What's going on?" he called out as Fuyu, Yuki, and Haruka joined him.

"They must know he's coming." Fuyu offered. "Very good. This will make things easier, since we know this must be the target now." For some reason, he looked insanely happy.

"Fuyu...are you okay?" Tsuyo narrowed his eyes at the other boy.

"He's excited about the fight." Yuki offered, forgetting his earlier anger. "It's a youkai thing, you wouldn't really understand."

"Whatever." Tsuyo gasped as he spotted a familiar head of red hair in the bustle. "Shippo!"

"I'm busy right now but..." Shippo stopped as he saw exactly who had addressed him, and who was standing with the missing boy. "Oh gods, is it really...Tsuyo? Haruka? We didn't know where you were! We thought...we didn't know what to think." Shippo rushed over, smothering the pair in hugs as he checked them quickly for obvious injury. "Where's Sekatsu? Is he alright? Is he with you? Who are these two people? Or wait...they're youkai, aren't they?"

"Shippo, Naraku's coming. Do you know that already? Is that what this is all about?" Haruka asked him, her voice urgent, yet calm. Yuki smiled down at her, proud of his mate and her ability to think quickly in this situation.

"Yeah, of course. I woke up a few hours ago and realized that his smell was all around, getting stronger too." Shippo explained, calming down a bit. "We woke up Sango and Miroku, we've got the whole village preparing. You guys should go with Kaede. That's where the rest of the kids are. Here, I can show you."

"No need, Shippo." Tsuyo shook his head. "If he's coming here, we want to help. We've been through a lot, you know."

"He captured us." Haruka added. "And a few others. Sekatsu, and Yuki's younger brother and sister are headed this way right now. They went to make sure Naraku wasn't after Yuki's tribe."

"I'm Yuki." Yuki interjected. "First son of Kouga, leader of the wolf youkai of the Western Mountains."

"Yuki...Kouga's son?" Shippo's emerald eyes bugged out. "Oh gods...I'd forgotten all about you. It's been so long."

"Have...you two met?" Tsuyo asked Shippo.

"We have. In fact, when you were all babies, Kouga came to reconcile his differences with Inuyasha, and that's when I first saw Yuki. I heard that there were a couple visits after that, but with Kouga being so busy..." Shippo shook his head. "And who's this, then?"

"I am Fuyu, first son of Sesshoumaru, Lord of all the Western Lands." Fuyu told him calmly, puffing his chest slightly as he always did when speaking of his father.

"He's my cousin." Haruka added helpfully to the flabbergasted kitsune.

"He...yeah he is...I guess...okay then." Shippo shook his head, letting out a short laugh. "I have no clue what's going on here, but after this is over, we're going to have a long talk, right Haruka?"

"No problem." Haruka promised. "As soon as I get to see my family."

"Your...family. Right." Shippo's face was grim. "Well, let's go then. If you want to fight, you'll have to go back to Sango and Miroku's house. That's where they're preparing the fighters. Most of these people are just trying to get together what things they can and get out of here. I can come with you, I suppose. They should be fine with Kaede."

"I don't know for sure, but when the others arrive, they'll probably have a large number of the wolf tribe with them, ready to fight. I wouldn't depend on it, but it may be useful." Yuki supplied as they all walked hurriedly to the hut set away from the rest. They could see the large crowd of fighters that Sango and Miroku were speaking to.

"That's good. Very good." Shippo looked absently at Haruka, worry in his eyes before he called out over the crowd. "Oi! Sango, Miroku, I got us four more recruits!" he couldn't stop the grin on his face as he saw the pair spot their son as well as Haruka.

"You two! Who are the others?" Miroku spoke first.

"Haruka! Tsuyo? Where's your brother?" Sango cast him a demanding glare.

"He's coming, mom." Tsuyo rolled his eyes slightly. "Sorry to disappoint, but it's just us for now."

"Oh...my baby!" Sango dropped her facade, racing over to squeeze the boy tightly in her arms, kissing him and fussing over him as Miroku joined them.

"Who are these two youkai, Shippo?" Miroku asked, nodding politely at the other two.

"Well, you wouldn't believe me, but that's Kouga's son, Yuki." Shippo told him. "And that other one is Sesshoumaru's son Fuyu. I didn't even know he had kids!"

"I...suspected." Miroku was only stunned for a moment before he shook hands with both of the boys. "Well, it's nice to meet you, though I did know you when you were very young. I should have known, you both look so much like your fathers, it's uncanny. Now then, are we ready for a good battle?"

"Not you!" Sango stopped Tsuyo from agreeing immediately. "I absolutely refuse. You're still a boy."

"Sango, he's older than we were when we fought Naraku. And we didn't have all this help." Miroku told her. Her glare promised he'd pay for his comments later, but she didn't argue with him.

"Where are my parents?" Haruka looked around for the pair unsuccessfully.

"Well, your mother is staying with your father." Miroku didn't elaborate. She nodded sharply.

"When this is over, it will all go back to how it was." she told him. "But I'm not sure I can handle waiting any longer. I need to...ungh..." Haruka fainted in a heap, falling easily into Yuki's arms. He didn't seem extremely shocked, but was obviously worried.

"She does this so often these days...it slowed us down on the way here, she fell off my back once." Yuki explained as he lowered her. He then noticed the terror on Miroku and Sango's faces, as well as Shippo's. "What?"

"It's like the others." Miroku spoke hesitantly. "She's being erased."

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Floating, falling, nothingness, black inky darkness. And then a light. Small, but Haruka strived toward it, though she wasn't sure if her body was moving. The light seemed at least to be warmer than where she was, and so it was the light that she wanted to reach. As she moved closer, she realized that it wasn't a light, but a jewel set in a woman's forehead. She was beautiful and timeless, her hair streaming around the samurai armor she wore proudly. She looked at Haruka, and a smile lit up her strangely familiar features.

"It is you, my child." she spoke, her voice soft and calm, refreshing like the sound of a gentle stream on a summer day. "I have waited long for you, and I have seen the battles fought to bring you here to me now. Was it worth it? If it could happen thus, would you forget all that has occured here in this world and leave it at that? I can see what will happen, and I want you to know that I will spare the child. I have seen it inside you, and I know that it's body shall carry my soul when at last I am reborn. I still have the power. Would you remember the events of this cold winter's holiday, or forget them and go on unknowing of his evil?"

"You...do you mean all the things that happened to me...how I met Yuki and the others? I want to remember that, of course! But why would I forget? And what do you mean, you'll spare the child? My child? Is it in danger?" Haruka overflowed with questions, and the woman leaned forward, embracing her in all her armored gear, pulling the confused girl into a warm and relaxing state of peacefulness.

"You will understand when the fate's reversal has occurred. Once already it has happened, and now again time shall unwind, the events remodeling themselves to fit the will of the jewel, to fit the will of the wish it grants. For only one wish at a time may it grant. Only one soul may hold it. It is full of my heart and all my great powers, but it has become something separate from me, and I can only manipulate bits of it now. I alone did not create it, and I alone cannot wield such powers as it grants the wielder. Child, I have waited long for one of my line to be born who was strong enough to bear my power. I have found that one, and I won't let her be stolen from me. Rest now, and in time, remember that good must always triumph, no matter the cost. That was the lesson of my life." the woman told her, kissing her forehead and letting her go. The woman began to fade.

"Wait! At least tell me your name!" Haruka called out, wanting to know more of this strange woman, and knowing that she'd at least understand the answer to that question.

"My name," she smiled softly, the world turning white around Haruka as she began to wake from her daze, "is..."

"Midoriko." Haruka mumbled, her eyes blinking open to meet the eyes of her mate.

"Who? What're you talking about?" Yuki asked her, confused and worried as he noted she still seemed unable to stand.

"Uh oh..." Haruka offered an apologetic smile as she nodded toward her transparent arm. "That can't be good..."

"It's happening." Miroku confirmed. "Just like with Yoru and Mottomo."

"You mean she's gonna disappear?" Tsuyo sounded panicky. "That's bullshit!"

"Watch your mouth!" Sango shot back. "And yes, it is." she agreed after a moment. "Oh shit..." she spotted a youkai entering the perimeter they'd set up. "It's started." The others raced off to help, but Yuki could only see Haruka.

"Haruka...oh gods...you can't leave me now." Yuki's eyes were misty with tears. "I need you...I love you!" he protested.

"I know you do." Haruka smiled softly, touching his lips with some effort. "I love you too, Yuki...always."

"Don't talk like that...I'm sure there's something...something we can do?" Yuki was desperate, and Haruka smiled at him again, motioning him to her for a soft kiss.

"She said...she'd spare the baby...I think...It'll be okay." Haruka told him. "But...if not...remember to be happy...even without me..." Haruka's form wavered, disappearing right in Yuki's grasp.

"Who? What do you mean? Haruka? Haruka, come back!" he cried out, his vision blurred as he stood, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"She's gone?" a woman spoke, and Yuki turned. She looked so much like Haruka that he knew it for her mother at once, and the telltale bow she held confirmed his suspicions. "You tried to keep her here, but she's gone, isn't she?"

"I'm sorry." he answered, anger and grief thick in his voice. This had to be Naraku's fault. It had to be!

"It's not your fault." Kagome assured him, her voice icy calm as she nocked an arrow. Yuki watched her, not bothering to see who the target could be. "You're her mate?"

"Yes." he didn't question how she knew. This woman had a sense of knowledge about her. He wondered if it was because Haruka said she was a miko. He'd never met a powerful miko before. "You're her mother?"

"Yes." she answered just a easily, releasing the arrow. "I'll win it all back now. You watch me. I've sat useless too long."

"You'll do what?" Yuki just then looked toward where she shot and saw something he didn't expect. Kanna stood in the line of target, her mirror whirling and glowing madly as she babbled about it oveflowing before Kagome shot another glowing arrow into the enchanted glass, causing it to explode in a thousand pieces.

"You see?" Kagome's voice was calm, but he could here the relief in it. "I did it. Thank the gods..." another arrow, this one went straight through the pale youkai's heart. She screamed for her dark lover, but he was engaged in battle with Miroku and Sango. That was when Yuki saw red.

"Him." he spoke only that word, feeling bloodlust taking control, his eyes going red as his form changed, growing into a strong and terribly huge wolf, he rushed forward, wanting only to rip, to tear, to destroy. And because of his mindlessness, Naraku might have won.

He might have won, but at that moment that the mirror broke, freeing the two souls trapped within it, Inuyasha's soul pulled back at the jewel it was tied at. After all, the wish had not been entirely erased yet. The children were gone, but Kagome and Inuyasha still wore the rings that spoke of their union, and their minds were still full of the memories of their life together. It was still a part of his soul, and so his soul wanted it back fully, to reinstate that piece of it that had been stolen. Naraku expected his body to be attacked, but he could not guard his soul. And while he fought with Inuyasha, he could not defend himself from the tearing claws and teeth of a rabidly angry youkai wolf prince. Yuki rended the flesh, tearing off huge chunks as Sango and Miroku watched in surprise. Around them, there was still a battle being fought, but this was the only fight that mattered. With Naraku dead, victory would be easy. They didn't see the group of youkai led by four young men and women crest the hill behind them. They were too busy witnessing the second death of Naraku, a thing of terrible gore, insides torn and thrown about, a head rolling away, an arm flung to one side. And as Naraku died, he lost his battle with Inuyasha. His soul was being pulled to Hell, and he could not resist both at once. So he died, and so he lost, as all around his barely recognizable bits of flesh, his army was destroyed more quickly than it was built.

And so they won the day. But those who had escaped Naraku didn't realize the consequences of this victory. They never would, as a bright flash of light enveloped the field and there was a reversal of fate. The wish that had been made, was unmade. And so the children had never been captured. They had never met, they had never been tortured or escaped together. Everything went back to the way it had been, as though Kanna had never taken Inuyahsa's soul, had never made her wish.

In the Western Mountains, Kouga recalled nothing of his grief, spending his time happily with his perfectly healthy mate, discussing names for the child they would soon have. Their other children ran about happily unknowing of anything that had befallen themselves or their family. Amai and Nigai were as close as ever, but neither remembered the boy named Sekatsu who Nigai had allowed to court his sister. Yuki worked hard to be able to lead the tribe after his father, but he still had to listen with irritation to his mother's insistence that he find a mate.

In the castle that watched over all the Western Lands, the Lord Sesshoumaru mourned the loss of his precious mate, his children helping him cope with his loss as he oversaw preparations for her burial and continued his responsibilities as the Lord of all the Western Lands. At least he could always see her face in the face of his two children, but he could not stop from missing the girl he'd known since she was a small child.

In the village of the miko Kaede, Kagome and Inuyasha bid farewell to their friends, taking their three children back home to their modern time. Yoru gave Keshiki a small bouquet before they left, mumbling about how he found the flowers lying around, not daring to speak his feelings to the blushing girl. Tsuyo and Sekatsu tried to grab at Haruka, and she batted them away, letting her father deal with them. She was distracted by the memories that only she had of the past few months spent in Naraku's dungeon. Shippo and Miroku and Sango planned to look more carefully for the surviving castle of Naraku, determined to make sure it was empty.

Besides the fact that Haruka could remember what had happened while no one else seemed to know where the last few months had gone, there was one difference from before when Kanna made her wish. Haruka was pregnant.

*****

The End (Of Part 18, That Is)

Oh! That was such a mean place to end it, but you'll live. Okay, here we go...Will Jade do a happy dance at the cameo made in this chapter? Will Agent Kodama kill Teresa for killing Rin? Will she ever learn that not everything ends happily? Will Inuyasha get mad when he figures out that his daughter is pregnant? Will he suspect Miroku's twins? Will he beat them to within an inch of their lives, or just kill them? Will Haruka tell anyone about her memories? Will they all be drawn together again by the destiny that holds them together or is the next chapter just going to be Yuki raising her mysteriously conceived child alone? Wouldn't that be sad? Who thinks it's cool that Miroku and Shippo and Sango are going to go kill Kanna again? Who else thought that Naraku was showed mercy with that whole being ripped to shreds death? Who is jealous of Yuki? How long before people send Teresa death threats if she doesn't wrap this thing up?

Until next time, remember that when you mix it all together and melt it, rainbow sherbert looks a lot like creamy, smooth puke, but tastes a lot better.