Hey y'all. I'm really sorry you guys had to wait another month for me to update again, but I actually have a good excuse this time! I was at Davidson Collage in North Carolina for the Duke TIP summer program and every minute of my day was packed! So I had no time to finish the story up there. But this will be the third to last chapter, if I decide to include the crummy epilogue I wrote. If not, the next chapter shall conclude this story! Enjoy!

'Kagome!' he cried out in his mind. 'Kagome, please don't be gone! Please don't let them have done something to you! Dammit, I was such a-' his train of thought disappeared as that oh-so-familiar scent wafted through the air around him, growing stronger by the second. He dug his heels into the dirt, not wanting to meet this particular person at a time like this.

He turned quickly and tried to curve around, but too late. She was suddenly there, emerging from the shadows of his forest. She gracefully strode out to meet him, and his gaze was drawn to her deep, tragic eyes as they had been so many times before; though now, they no longer held the glowing warmth they had when he had first fallen for her fifty years ago.

"It's been a while, Inuyasha." As she spoke, his stare shifted to her cold, creamy lips, and he suddenly had an overwhelming urge to kiss her, to hold her in his arms and tell her how much he cared- 'No!' his mind screamed. 'What about Kagome?'

'Damn, I can't believe I've forgotten her! How could I forget her! She could be dead and I'm standing here staring at Kikyo! I'm such a dumb-ass!' he virtually slapped himself, then turned his attention back to Kikyo.

"Kikyo, I'm sorry, but I have to go now. Kagome's-"

"More important to you than me?" she asked, trying the ploy again despite the fact that she did not wish to gain advantage over him and completely ignoring that it hadn't worked before.

"Yes," Inuyasha replied, shocking her with his bluntness but not at all surprising her.

"Very well," she said coolly. "Besides, I only came to return this," she sighed, holding out her hand to reveal the last of the jewel shards. [1] "And to tell you I am leaving this world forever. I have been avenged and I may now rest, but," she trailed off and hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Promise me, no matter what, you won't forget me."

"I promise, Kikyo. I could never forget you," he sighed, surcuming to his desires and taking her into his arms for an instant before dashing off towards the village beyond his woods. The gentle breeze his speed created blew the locks of the dead woman across her face, hiding her small but genuine smile from the world. She took one last look after the streak of red, then closed her eyes in peace as she allowed the trapped souls to escape her body and the shell dissipated into the wind...

------------------Dream Sequence----------------------(don't ya love these?)

"Inuyasha! No!" she sobbed. "Why? Why does it have to be like this?"

"I don't know, Kagome," he whispered softly, taking her into his arms. "But I promise you this, I will return. I will find you again, even if it takes me an eternity, I'll find a way to be with you." He held her close, doing his best to sooth her. He placed a hand under her chin, gently titling her head so he could stare into her deep, brown eyes. "I love you," he whispered, kissing her passionately as the light engulfed him.

-----------------End Sequence-----------------------

"Inuyasha," Kagome groaned in her sleep. "Inuyasha."

"Should we wake her?" Sango questioned the monk for the fourth time since they had returned to the hut.

"No," Miroku sighed for the, once again, fourth time. "She needs her rest, and besides, she'll only be in pain while awake, not being able to escape. In her dreams, she can escape from that, even if only for an instant."

Shippou apparently hadn't listened to Miroku's speech though, because he had begun shaking Kagome gently, desprate to hear his surrogate mother's voice. Kirara stirred from her perch on Sango's lap to pull Shippou away from Kagome, who was now half-awake.

"Inuyasha," whispered the part of her still asleep. "Don't leave me."

"Who said I was going anywhere?" Kagome's eyes shot open at the sound of his voice. Kagome quickly hopped off the floor and threw herself into Inuyasha's open arms. She didn't even notice the trace of his old cockiness in that statement because, for a moment, everything was right again. Everything was perfect again. Everything was normal.

Ah, the Kikyo nonsense was inevitable when dealing with a Kikyo hater such as me. Though now for some reason I pity her more than hate. . . . I think I have grown a heart. . . J.K.!

Mille M. Banshee: I feel really bad for leading you to believe I had given up on this story! I promise the next chapter will be posted within a week after this one! I think I'm starting school again the 6th! They've steadily been moving the dates up every year because they want to change every school in my county to year-round! NOOOOO!!! And yes! I'm now an eighth grader! Wahoo! One more year of middle school to go!! Whoopee!! Fear my wrath, you pathetic sixth graders! Bwahaha!

Jaden Blythe: Thank you for being honest! It feels good to know there are still people who don't cheat!

DarknessVasion: Thank you very much for your words of advice and compliments! I read one of your stories, and I loved it! And I liked the way you wrote it so it would fit anywhere into the anime! Really neat! I've never seen that done before! I really wanted to read your other one, but my aunt dropped by, then the next day my cousin did, then I left for North Carolina. I hope to read it by the time I post the end of this story!

Ice Miko: Thank you for taking the time to read my story!

Randomunit02: Yeah! Good fan you are! Be better fan and review again? Please? puppy face

Sesshomaru'sElement: I updated! No need to send Sesshie-kun. . . . Unless of course he were delivering your review. . . hint-hint review-review

kitsunedemon: Aw! Poor you! You have to wait til the 17th to get out of school! And I thought I had it bad!

Dark-Spirit-Kitsune: Wonderful to hear from another person my age! Everyone here seems to be older or younger. Wonder why that is. . . . . Anyway, I promise you that I will update in the next week! Seventh – uh. . . . Eighth grader to eighth grader! lol.

[1] I'm very sorry! I forgot completely to mention in the beginning of the story that this takes place one year after the end of Naraku and when it starts they are only missing a few pieces of the jewel, which Kikyo gives Inuyasha in this cha[ter. Oh, and those of you who know about episode 124, was it?, I'm just gonna pretend Kikyo never fell into that liquidy stuff.
D

Ja ne!