Wow! It's been a while since I've updated this story. I'm REALLY, REALLY sorry guys, but I was having more than a bit of trouble in my personal life. I was suffering through some major writer's block and I had to deal with moving to another state. Nothing depresses you quicker than leaving all of your friends and your current life behind. -.- Thankfully, everything's okay now, and here is the final chapter to my story! I want to thank everyone that has supported me with this story. You guys rock! Well, remember as always to read, review, and enjoy. ^_^

~*~Chapter 4~*~

As the early rays of light illuminated the earth around her, Sango began to stir and wake from her sleep. It took her a moment for her eyes to adjust and to realize where she was exactly. She was lying on the floor with a blanket wrapped warmly around her. Curled up next to her were Shippou and Kirara, while Kaede was in another corner of the cave with her own blanket. When she looked outside she could see that the ground was still very wet. Tiny drops of water sparkled on the leaves of the trees and everything smelled fresh and new around her. It was still very early. The sun was barely poking up from the horizon.

"Good morning, sunshine." Came a familiar voice. Sango blushed as she caught sight of Miroku walking into the cave with many fruits and berries. He had never addressed her like that before...

"Good morning." Sango replied, hiding her face from him. She didn't want him to know that his small comment had made such a big effect on her.

"Look! I found some breakfast for us out in the woods. The rain made everything really fresh and fragrant, so it was easy to find the food." Miroku said smiling, very proud of his accomplishment.

"Yeah." Sango said smiling back at him. She remembered everything that he had done during the trip so far and decided that some thanks were in order. "Umm...well, I want to say thank you for all you've done for me during this trip. I mean, you've carried me on your back and last night you stayed up and took care of all of us. Thank you." A small tinge of red crept onto Sango's face as she finished her statement. Miroku grinned.

"It was nothing. You know I'd do anything for the group...for you." He added in as a afterthought. "I'm just glad that we're finally going to be able to take you home and treat your injury." Sango smiled widely.

"Thank you Houshi-sama." She whispered.

"Not again with the formality!" Miroku said playfully. "I thought we had made a breakthrough last night." Sango thought for a moment and then vaguely remembered calling him Miroku the night before.

"Well, I was tired, that's all." Sango blushed again. She never meant to call him by his name. Calling him 'Houshi-sama' was always a method Sango used to not get too close to him. She didn't like feeling emotionally vulnerable, although it was becoming harder to keep that fluttery feeling out of her stomach around Miroku lately.

"Oh, I see." Miroku's face fell a little, and Sango immediately wished she hadn't said that. Why did she always drive him away?! She knew she didn't mean what she said half of the time. She took a deep breath and braced herself.

"I don't mean it like that.......Miroku." He looked back at her, his eyes open a little in surprise. "Do you really want me to stop calling you 'Houshi-sama'?" Miroku knelt down next to her and took her hands into his own.

"Nothing would make me happier Sango." The fluttery feeling in Sango's stomach came back stronger than ever as she sat there staring straight into Miroku's eyes. She was so lost in his gaze that she didn't even notice that slowly their heads were inching closer and closer together. She was surprised when she found that her lips were pressed softly against Miroku's, and that instead of his usual antics, he was being very tender. She closed her eyes and let herself enjoy the moment, against all of the protests that had been in her head before. Almost as soon as the moment had come, it had passed. She was left once again staring deeply into Miroku's eyes.

"Okay you two lovebirds, that's enough for today." Sango quickly pulled away from Miroku as Kaede made her way to them. She turned beet red and looked at the ground, embarassed at being caught in such a romantic situation. Miroku, however, looked quite unabashed. In fact, his grin seemed to grow wider than before.

"Are we going to get an early start Kaede-sama?" Miroku asked the old Miko as she gathered her belongings from the floor of the cave.

"Yes, we need to get back and heal Sango. It isn't good to let an injury stay such a long time without proper treatment." She walked over to Kirara and Shippou, nudging them both awake gently. "Come on you two, it's time to get a move on." Miroku helped Kaede rouse the two small demons awake and load everything onto Kirara. He made sure they were safely on their way before he turned back to Sango.

"Ready to go?" He asked, kneeling in front of her. Putting aside the feelings of embarassment from before, she was once again on Miroku's back as they made their way back to the village. They walked in silence for a while. Sango was appreciating the beauty that the storm had left behind. The air was delightfully refreshing and Sango was enjoying everything.

"Hou-Miroku." Sango began. "I want to ask you a serious question, so no perverted answers or laughing at me, understood?"

"Go ahead Sango." Miroku's voice held no hint of sarcasm or dishonesty. "Ask me anything you want." Sango took a deep breath. Miroku had flirted with her before, but never the way that he had during this trip. He awoke a lot of emotions in her that she had tried to keep hidden, and now she wanted to know what was really happening. She couldn't leave things as they stood...

"Miroku, do you really love me, or am I just someone you're using to make the time pass?" Miroku stopped in his tracks, surprised at the inquiry. He didn't think that she would be so direct in her approach and he was caught off-guard. He went over to a near-by rock and set Sango down on it cautiously. When she was securely seated, he got down on his knees and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Contrary to whatever I may do Sango, I do love you. I know that some of the things that I do are not always proper..." Sango gave him a questionable look. "Okay, okay. Most of the things that I do are not always proper, BUT I only love you Sango. Shortly after I first met you, I knew you were the only one for me."

"Well then, why do you act the way you do?" Asked Sango, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. Miroku quickly wiped one away that was threatening to stream down her cheek.

"In case you hadn't noticed." Miroku said, smiling coyly. "You've never reacted positively to any of my advances. I would sometimes doubt if I wasn't wasting my time." Sango laughed.

"Your advances? Is that what you call rubbing my legs or my butt any chance you get?" Miroku turned a shade of red, embarassment creeping over his face.

"Well...I never said that I was very traditional in my ways of showing affection." He said, the shade of red slowly draining from his face. "So, do you believe me?" Sango looked at Miroku's face, and for the first time since she had met him, there was complete honesty and sincerity in his face. He looked very different, and Sango thought she could even see some hope, hope of not being turned down or rejected at his most vulnerable moment.

"Yes. Yes, I do believe you." She reached across and embraced Miroku. "I believe you with all my heart." Miroku closed his eyes, and returned the embrace. He sighed in relief, and when they parted, he gave her a slight kiss on the cheek.

"Well then, come on. We better hurry up before they start worrying about us." Miroku placed Sango on his back once more, and the two walked away, Sango with her head on Miroku's shoulder, and Miroku holding her tighter than ever.

~*~Back in the Village~*~

Kagome rolled over to her side in her sleep, searching for something that was missing with her hand. Her eyes still closed, she sat up from her position on the floor. She rubbed her eyes and opened them. It was still very early in the morning, the sun was barely coming up over the horizon. It took her a while to remember that she was back in Kaede's hut, and that she was no longer in her world. She looked to her side and realized what was missing. Inuyasha was nowhere in sight.

"Where could he have gone?" She asked herself, trying to stifle a yawn, to no avail. She shivered a little. It ws no longer raining, but the dampness from the night before lingered in the house, making it very cold. She found her slippers and went over to the door, looking out all around her. "Inuyasha!" She was shivering from the cold, and her voice didn't come out as strong as she would have wanted it to. "Inu......ah-choo!" Kagome sniffled and looked around once again.

"You really are quite unreasonable Kagome." A voice came from near-by. Inuyasha was walking towards her, a bundle of wood carried neatly under one arm. You're gonna catch cold coming out like that." Kagome realized that she was wearing shorts and no jacket or sweater to keep her warm.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay." Kagome said, still sniffling. "I got worried when I woke up and you weren't next to me." Inuyasha put the bundle of wood down near the hut and went over to her. He put his arms around her and held her in a tight embrace.

"You know I can take care of myself Kagome." He said, stroking her hair lovingly. "I think I would be more worried if I came back and found you were gone."

"I know, it's just that this still feels like it's too good to be true." Kagome said, clutching Inuyasha tighter to her. "I don't want to wake up and find this happy feeling was all false. I don't ever want this feeling to go away."

"It won't." Inuyasha said, now holding her at arms length. She stared into his amber eyes, now full of determination. "I won't ever leave your side, no matter what Kagome. I swear to you upon my life that this isn't false, and that this isn't all some dream." Kagome could have melted at his words. She found she was no longer cold at all, and that instead a warm ansd fuzzy feeling had come over her.

"I know. I won't ever leave you either." Kagome finally managed to reply. They walked back into the hut and Kagome yawned loudly. "I guess I'm still tired." She said, chuckling to herself.

"Go back to sleep." Inuyasha said as he led her back over to her bed. "You need more rest after all of that stuff you did at school." She was soon resting peacefully once again amid her blankets and bedding. Inuyasha walked away and sat against the wall. He closed his eyes and thought about everything that had happened. It was almost too much at once to think about. He smiled inwardly as he thought about the days he had spent alone with Kagome. He was startled when he felt something brush up against him and a blanket wrap over him as well.

"Much better." Came Kagome's voice. She was sitting next to him against the wall, her head now resting on his shoulder. The blanket was wrapped comfortably around them both and Kagome was once again drifting off to sleep. For a split second, Inuyasha turned red. He looked at Kagome and remembered all of the awkward moments they had had before all of this happened. He put his arm around her and promptly fell asleep too.

~*~Back to Sango and Miroku...~*~

"Miroku, aren't you tired? I must be getting heavy by now!" Sango asked in a worried tone as the two made their way back to the village. A long time had passed since they first set out on their journey and they were near the village.

"Nonsense! Why, you're as light as a feather!" Miroku replied, trying hard to keep the strain out of his voice. His statement was true, but after crossing so much land and going uphill most of the time, he was more than just a little tired.

"Are you sure? Just stop for a minute and lets rest. I think my arm is starting to cramp up." Sango lied. She was feeling fine, but she wanted Miroku to stop and take a breather. Her lie had worked like a charm. Miroku stopped at the next clearing and put her down gently, as if she were made of glass. Sango wasn't used to such gentle treatment, especially from Miroku, but she wasn't going to complain.

"Here, let me see your arm Sango." Miroku said as he sat down next to her. Sango offered him one of her arms, and he began to massage it tenderly, relaxing her completely. She was glad she had lied. Her arm felt great, and she closed her eyes enjoying the rub-down. She felt Miroku's hands make their way up to her shoulders, and soon she was getting the best back rub she had ever had in her life.

"Mmmmm..." Sango exhaled as she felt every muscle in her body relax further. Miroku had pulled her hair out of the way and was delicately rubbing her neck. She tensed up a little when she felt him place a soft kiss on her neck, but she soon relaxed as he continued to massage her. She still had her eyes closed when he stopped abruptly. She opened her eyes to find herself almost nose to nose with Miroku. She gasped, startled by his proximity.

"So does your arm feel better now?" He asked, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Much better now, thank you." Sango replied, trying to keep the red out of her face. They remained like this for a while until Sango decided to do something she never would have dreamed of. She held his face in her hands and rubbed his cheek a little with her thumb. His eyes opened a little in amazement, but he didn't have any time to say anything or react before she had placed a long and sensual kiss on his lips. She let herself enjoy every moment of it, finally releasing all of the pent up emotions for Miroku that were inside of her. When they finally parted, Miroku opened his eyes and looked stunned.

"Wow." Was all he could mutter. He was dumbstruck at her sudden show of affection. She had made the first move for the kiss...

"Shouldn't we get going?" Sango asked, as he sat there staring at her.

"Um...yeah, yeah, of course." Miroku answered distractedly as he stood up. "We shouldn't keep Kaede-sama waiting." They were soon on their way again, but circumstances had changed a little bit. Instead of Miroku harassing Sango, it was now the other way around! Sango was doing little things to tease Miroku, and Miroku could feel the blood rising up to his face every time she did something.

'I think I've corrupted her!' Miroku thought as they walked along.

'Now I see what I've been missing all this time...' Thought Sango, as she teased Miroku's ponytail. They were about a mile off from the village, so Miroku decided to pick up the pace. He didn't know how much more blood could cram up to his face before it would explode. It was nice to finally be back to familiar sights and familar people. The local villagers that were awake were greeting them heartliy, and it really gave them a sense of being "home." Finally, the hut was in sight, but Miroku and Sango were confused. Instead of being inside and already getting breakfast started, Kaede was standing at the door of the hut with Shippou and Kirara at her heels. They seemed to be fixed in that position.

"I wonder what's going on?" Miroku commented, as they approached the seemingly frozen trio. "Kaede-sama, wha-"

"Shh!" Came the harsh reply from the old Miko. She merely pointed her finger inside the hut, and they finally knew what held them so transfixed. Inside, Inuyasha and Kagome were still asleep. They had moved from their position sitting against the wall and were now on the floor. Kagome was curled up very tightly against Inuyasha, and Inuyasha had his arms wrapped protectively around her. Both of them had a joyful look on their face and seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.

"Well, well, well..." Miroku whispered. "Leave a few days and look what we come home to." He chuckled as Sango squirmed on his back to get a better look at the whole situation.

"Looks like you two weren't the only ones up to something these past few days." Kaede said. She laughed quietly as the pair turned a deep shade of red. "Must be spring fever..." Shippou looked at Kaede in confusion.

"Fever? Isn't that dangerous Kaede-baba?" He asked innocently.

"I'll explain it all to you when you get older." Kaede answered, shaking her head slightly. Kirara was very uninterested in the whole affair and mewed loudly to let everyone know that she was hungry. At this, Inuyasha's ears twitched and he opened his eyes.

"Good morning Inuyasha." Miroku began, a sly tone in his voice. "Did you have a good night?" Inuyasha looked around groggily, taking in all of his surroundings. Miroku was carrying Sango on his back. Kaede, Shippou, and Kirara were standing at the doorway looking at him, an odd expression on their faces. He was lying on the floor. He had just woken up, and in his arms he was holding...

"Good *yawn* morning!" Kagome said to Inuyasha, stretching. She saw a look of horror on Inuyasha's face and wondered what was wrong. She turned to where he was looking. It took her a second to interpret what she was seeing. As soon as she realized that they were all staring at her, and that she was in a blanket with Inuyasha, all of the color drained from her face and she sank back down to the floor slowly.

"Kagome!" Shippou yelled running over to her. "What's wrong Kagome?! I don't get it!!"

~*~An Hour Later, With Kagome Revived and Healthy~*~

"I can't believe you guys saw us like that..." Kagome said, trailing off. "I'm so embarassed."

"It's okay Kagome-chan! There's nothing to be embarassed about. You told us what happened and we believe you." Sango said. Her ankle was now in a splint and a strong smell of herbs came from a bandage wrapped around it.

"Yeah. Besides, it's about time you two got together." Miroku added, taking a sip from a cup of tea Kaede had made for him. "I was beginning to wonder what was taking you so long."

"Well, they're not the only ones that took a long time to get together, eh?" Kaede remarked, calmly sipping a cup of tea as well.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha asked, eyeing Sango and Miroku questionably.

"Well, er..." Was all Miroku managed to get out.

"Did something happen between you two?!!!" Kagome practically yelled, little stars in her eyes. She took their embarassed silence as confirmation. "Wow! That is so amazing!! I can't believe it! How did it all happen?"

"We-we'll talk later." Sango finally managed to get out. "You have a lot to tell me too." She said looking at her and Inuyasha, who was sitting next to Kagome and looking away, trying to hide the red hue that was now spreading across his face.

"Agreed." Kagome answered, smiling at her friend. It was close to lunch time now and everyone was really hungry. Thankfully, Kagome had food, as usual. Soon, everyone except Kaede, who was busy tending to some of the villagers, was sitting outside and having a very nice picnic.

"Would you pass me some ramen, Miroku?" Sango asked, as they were eating. Kagome almost choked on her food.

"'Miroku?!'" She said between gasps. "Oh, that's right. Well, that's going to take some getting used to. No more Houshi-sama, right Sango?"

"That's right." Miroku answered when Sango couldn't bring herself to. He put his arm around her and smiled when she leaned into him.

"Hey Kagome! How did your tests go anyway?" Shippou asked, drawing the attention away from Miroku and Sango, much to their relief.

"Oh yeah! I got top marks in all of my classes." Kagome said beaming widely at everyone.

"That's great Kagome!" Shippou answered, although he really didn't know what that meant too much.

"Well what else would you expect from my woman?" Inuyasha stated simply. "I-uh mean, from Kagome." Inuyasha corrected himself quickly after seeing the expression on Kagome's face. He tried to get Kagome's hand, but she promptly pulled it away.

"Of course, I probably would have done a lot better if someone hadn't gone to distract me." Kagome said, a playful smile on her lips.

"Hey!" Inuyasha said, and indignant look on his face.

"I never said that was a bad thing, did I?" She smiled and put her hand on top of his. Everyone laughed, and even Inuyasha formed something that looked like a smile. One thing was for sure: Everyone still had a long way to go before Naraku was defeated and no one really knew what was going to happen after that, but they were going to enjoy everything in the present and not think too far ahead into future. They would face any problems as they came, one day at a time.

~*~The End~*~

Well guys, once again I want to thank you for reading my story. I want to apologize again for taking so long with the final chapter. It took a while to get me motivated and finally finish working on this. Sorry guys. Well, I think that's it for this story. 4 chapters is the longest I've ever made any story! Thanks again everyone! You guys are the best.