A/N: Well, ShadowHeart, that's what happens when you update in a hurry. I forgot I hadn't put in the reviewer replies before I posted. I just didn't want to leave you guys waiting for longer than I had to. Check out the replies later for Ch17 and 18 together. Again – sorry!

Disclaimer: May lightning strike me if I tell a lie. I own Inuyasha.

*Kaboom*

See? It was a lie. Owww...

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Tempting Fate

Chapter 19 – Make a Wish

Kagura landed her feather and quickly tucked it away. She was barely sensible of what she was doing – her mind was enthralled by a very new sensation.

She could feel her heart beating.

With one hand placed lightly over her chest, she looked cautiously over at the group of people who had given her her freedom. In particular, her keen gaze fell upon the unmoving form of the miko-girl. The wind youkai could see blood oozing sluggishly from numerous wounds (some of which she was responsible for, she knew) and her breathing was erratic. From experience she recognised the signs of serious injury. If the girl was jostled around too much, her wounds would only worsen.

Kagura was quite surprised to feel a sense of sorrow at the thought of the miko's death. 'This is new...'

Before she entirely realised what she was doing, she found herself walking over to her one-time enemies with a fair amount of trepidation. She was somewhat aware of the demon exterminator defensively picking up the strange weapon she carried, and of the houshi bringing his shakujou up in a guard position – but she only had eyes for Kagome.

"I mean no harm," she ventured quietly. "I'm not who you remember." The exterminator raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"Forgive me if I don't believe you." Kagura swallowed her pride and bowed her head deferentially.

"I don't blame you. As a sign of goodwill, take this." She stretched out one hand; her fan resting in her grip. Sango hesitated, then darted forward to grab the peace offering. Almost immediately she rushed back to her place, eyeing Kagura distrustfully.

Kagura waited. And waited. Finally she snapped, "Well? Are you going to let me pass? Or will we just stand here all day?" The houshi looked a trifle undecided, but his partner was stubborn.

"You never asked permission before," she remarked snidely. The wind youkai straightened, stung. Some of her old fire flashed in her red eyes at the insult.

"Hmpf," she snorted contemptuously, "I thought as much. The only one with forgiveness in them is the mik-Kagome." Sango's eyes softened at the thought of her injured friend. Kagura saw it and pounced. "I can help her, you know. I told you, I'm not who I was! You'll just have to trust me." At Sango's still-worried look, she rolled her eyes. "Oh, give it up, woman! Besides, you have my fan. What more do you want?"

Kagura watched as Miroku grasped Sango by the arm and pulled her aside, talking quietly but animatedly. During the interlude she looked at a very familiar face. "Kohaku – you look very... different... these days." Kohaku ignored the comment and walked over to her, looking her straight in the eye as though searching for something deep inside. To her annoyance she found herself growing a little nervous under his unwavering stare. Finally, he spoke.

"He's gone from your head, isn't he." It was more of a statement than a question, she reflected.

"You can't hear his voice any more." Unexpectedly he smiled at her, causing her to narrow her eyes in confusion.

"It feels like you've been reborn, doesn't it?"

'Ah. If anyone would understand, it would be Kohaku. Who knew better what it was like to serve Naraku? And then to be suddenly free...?'

"Yes," she answered simply. He nodded and turned around, leading her past his sister and the houshi. Shippo looked on, dumbfounded. Sango looked as though she might protest, but a look from Kohaku and she subsided, albeit reluctantly. Kagura was awestruck. Nobody had ever defended her like that before.

***

Miroku watched the unlikely pair walk past with slightly wide eyes. All of this was rather bemusing, but in a way it made a weird kind of sense. But then, no one had ever said that the universe was sensible!

He kept one restraining arm around Sango as their former enemy drew nearer to Inuyasha and Kagome. Sango 'hffed' at him, but to his relief she didn't press the issue. They both listened as Kagura began to speak.

"I know you don't trust me, so let's just get this out of the way. Bring the girl, and I'll fly you back to your little village. She won't be hurt more that way. What do you say?" Inuyasha was silent for a moment, then looked up.

"You saved her." It wasn't a question.

"Mm," she hummed non-committally. He looked down at the girl in his arms and reached a decision.

"Try anything and you're dead. Let's go." He rose awkwardly to his feet and waited. Kagura scowled at the unnecessary threat, but she pulled out a feather and enlarged it. She was amused when the hanyou didn't seem to trust the flimsy-looking thing. "It's quite safe – and there won't be even one bump, I assure you." Wordlessly he glared at her...but he got on. As soon as they were settled, she took off as smoothly as possible.

"Hey!" Sango exclaimed as they disappeared. "What about us?"

"Er...Kirara," Miroku reminded her.

"Oh. Yes," she remembered, embarrassed. "Come on, boys, let's go."

"Quickly," Shippo insisted. "Kagome needs help, now. Or else-"

"No," Sango cut him off as Kirara transformed. "She won't die."

"How do you know?"

"She just won't."

'She can't.'

***

Inuyasha only looked up when the huge feather slid to a halt in Kaede's village. True to her word, Kagura had brought them safely with nary a jolt – and in very good time, too. He eased off carefully; he hadn't let Kagome out of his arms the whole time. Kaede was already on her way over, concern written all over her face. Unexpectedly, he turned around to face the youkai. "Thank you."

Taken aback slightly – 'He has manners? Who would have thought?' - she flushed uncomfortably. "Ah, no problem. I mean, you're welcome. I hope she recovers." To her amazement, Inuyasha looked...awkward?

"Uh...where will you go now?" She smiled – her first genuine smile.

"Anywhere I want to."

Inuyasha smirked in understanding, then spun and hurried towards Kaede and her hut. Unnoticed, Kagura rose up on her feather and drifted out of sight. She had a freedom to discover.

***

A few days later the entire group was gathered outside of Kaede's hut, waiting anxiously for Kagome's recovery. The wait had told on Inuyasha in particular. Once again he was sleep-deprived. But this time it was for a much better cause.

When the hanyou started pacing for the hundredth time (that day) Miroku felt that he had to say something. "Inuyasha, this isn't helping."

"Feh!"

"She won't get better any faster if you wear a groove in the dirt, my friend." Inuyasha whirled on him fiercely.

"Shut your damn mouth, bouzu!"

Miroku rather wisely shut his *ahem* mouth. There are certain times when you just shouldn't push your luck, and this was definitely one of them. Silence fell once more – and boredom reigned. But a call from Kaede perked everyone's ears up. "Inuyasha, would you come in for a moment?"

He very nearly slammed into a startled Sango in his haste to get there. She huffed and straightened her clothes fussily. "Well, someone's in a hurry."

The males couldn't help it – they laughed.

***

Inuyasha burst into the hut and was in front of the the old woman in an instant. "She's awake?"

"No." He grew angry.

"Well, why call me then? All I want to know is when she wakes up, got it?" Kaede started to say something, then gave up and just pointed at Kagome's neckline.

Her glowing neckline.

"Where are the shards Kouga gave you, Inuyasha?" Wordlessly he pulled out the two long sought-after pieces and handed them to her. To his shock they were emitting a faint glow as well.

"What's going on?"

"I'm not sure, but I think that the shards are calling to each other. I'm going to try putting them in the same container – we'll see what that does."

Inuyasha would later deny it vehemently, but he held his breath nervously as Kaede dropped the shards into the bottle that hung on the chain around Kagome's neck. When the light from the jewel suddenly increased, both he and Kaede shielded their eyes protectively. As soon as they were able to look again, they saw a whole Shikon no tama resting in the container. Stiffly, Kaede grasped the bottle and shook the Shikon no tama loose, handing it to the stunned hanyou. At his unasked question, she shrugged. "She would have given it to you, in any case."

Inuyasha stared at the bright sphere in his palm, slowly sitting on the floor without realising it. For so long...they'd been hunting for so long...but were his reasons still the same? Kaede watched him close his eyes, deep in thought. 'Come on, boy – surely it's not that hard...'

'I wanted to be a full youkai – but how long is it since I've actually thought about that?' he asked himself. 'Since I met Kagome, it hasn't seemed that important.' He opened his eyes and got up, shuffling over to where the miko from the future lay in recovery. Uncurling her fingers, Inuyasha pressed the perfectly-formed jewel into her palm and closed her hand around it.

"If the Shikon no tama belongs to anyone, it belongs to her." Without another word, he left the hut. Kaede smiled.

'I knew you had it in you...'

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Oh, the sappiness! But hey, Kagura's going to be okay! Aren't you happy? I am.

Writer's block has struck (noooo!) but it's only mild. Expect the next and last chapter within a week. I have lots of ideas – it's just trying to get them all to work properly that's hard...

Right-o, my reviewer replies...for both chapters....

ShadowHeart – First on the list, don't you feel special? Thanks for congrats on the job, yes, I'm very lucky. An awful lot of 21 year olds don't have full time work. And it's the easiest work I've ever done! Yes, this should stretch to three stories – but the next one won't be for a while. I'm planning to write something completely different first, have a break. Get some weird ideas out of my system. YES, Naraku is gone. Dead. Outta here. No more bad guy. Once I kill someone, they're dead. I hope this chapter answers your question about Kagura. She and Kanna will be back in No. 3, trust me.

Bikutoria – Well, no way of dying is nice, but that one sounded bad... I'm evil, I know. But look, she didn't die! Aren't you proud? Inu's redemption is just around the corner. And about your comments for Ch 18 – well. Thank you very much. I've liked writing this fic just as much as you guys have liked reading it, I think. Been lots of fun! But this next chapter is giving me a headache – how do you wrap up such a long story in one chapter???? Argh!

Inudemoness247 – Sorry, it's an Inu/Kag ending, like I said all along. But Kouga won't be unhappy for long, believe me. Just keep an eye out for Ch 20. Thanks for the idea you sent, it was a good one! I'll keep something similar in mind for Fic#3.

Stripe – The fight did last for a long time, didn't it *sweatdrops*. Oh well, it was necessary. And no mains are dying this time.

Murasaki Kitsune – Well, the update was a bit later than planned, but when your comp dies, your comp dies. Sorry.

Badgerwolf – Yes, he was evil. Was. Yeah, take that, Naraku! Wheee!

C-dog – I try not to let updates hang for too long. You like my battle scenes? Yeek, they're the hardest things to write! I keep forgetting who is where, and how things should go – who hits who, etc. Quite tricky. I'm glad you like it!

Saiyan Princess – I'm amazed at how quickly reviews come in for this fic – do you guys live in front of the computer or something? Well, at least if you're home schooled, you're not skipping class to read this (eh, Bik?).

Miztikal-Dragon – Well, Kagome kicked his ass good, didn't she? Unfortunately, she kicked her own in the process. Oops. I was quite proud of not writing a cliffie. Very unusual for me! Hope this update isn't too late.

Bbhm – Oh, yes. I am evil. Mwha ha ha ha. Relax, Kagome's gonna be fine. You'll see.

Candace – It was always going to be I/K – the trick was making it work. So many people have begged for K/K *sweatdrops* they're just gonna have to be disappointed. Maybe in another fic.

Ashley (InuMad) – Don't go into withdrawal just yet. One chapter to go. If all my reviewers were like you, my dear, my ego wouldn't fit inside my house! I write my stories on my lunchbreaks, generally. A bit rushed, but it works. Where's my review for Ch 18?????

Arisu-the-pink – You've been reading my stuff? Wow. I've read some of yours (I think I left some reviews, not sure) and I love it! Ch 20 = fluff. Lots of it. But first we have to get the angst all over and done with.

KawaiiChica – Where on earth did you get the idea for Bacchanalia? Whatever, it's turning out well. I/K fluff ahead, and the chicken is on it's way. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll ask for your money back...j/k. Should be interesting. Job's going great, thanks.

Mvdiva – Yeah, Kouga gave up. Perhaps a little OOC, but hey, he's tired. Aren't they all? And he would do anything to make Kagome happy. So sweet it's sappy.

Rushyuo – Yep, it's I/K. I toyed with the idea of making it K/K, but that didn't seem quite right for the series.

Tsuki-miko – Is this update soon enough? Didn't want to leave you hanging...

Rae-orri – There, there – look, she's fine. No Kagome-death, I promise. Next chapter – she wakes up! No, really. She does.

ArtificialRed – Eek! Sorry about leaving it on a cliffy like that for Ch 17 – it was out of my hands, really. I'm glad you like it. Have you been reading from the start? I don't remember seeing a review from you before...

Lady Tiger Lily – Ah ha! And there you have the meaning of the title. Nifty, huh?

Darkinuyasha – Too fluffy? Hm. The angst is almost gone, so fluff is mostly what you'll see from now on. Sorry. I had to do it, the plot told me to! I don't email because my updates are more frequent these days. I'll email for the final chapter.

Dancing-by-moonlight – Aw, don't cry. The fluffy bit isn't even here yet! I'm glad you like it.

A/N: Whoa, I think that's everyone. Tell you what, I'm not skipping review replies ever again! So many....took a very long time. My fingers hurt, seriously. Next chapter – when I finally figure out how I'm going to do it, I'll let you know. For those on my mailing list, I'll be mailing notification for the final Chapter, just so no one misses out. If you want to get the email, tell me so specifically in your review for this chapter. Toodles!