READ: Before I start off this chapter, I'd like to point this out: no, I don't hate Kikyo. As for the evil clay pot walking around impersonating Kikyo, yes, I hate her. People seem to overlook the fact that the clay doll does not Kikyo's complete soul- just the part that hates everything and everyone. Think of it as being Kikyo's evil twin, Yin and Yang. And as much as we all hate the face that "it" keeps trying to kill Inuyasha, we all know we'd probably try our beau under the same circumstances (I'd kill mine if he forgot my birthday, much less try to kill me).
In most fanfiction, Kikyo is depicted as the prep, bitch, slut, etc. They turn her into something she's the complete opposite of everything she is. In reality, Kikyo is really smart, strong, brave, and pretty much everything the average girl wants to be. I'm not trying to convince you to like Kikyo, I'm just going to tell you flat that I am NOT going to turn her into the bitch a lot of people in the fandom world turn her into. You're entitled to your opinion, I'm entitled to mine.
So without further ado, here's the next to last chapter of That's the Way Love Goes.
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"In my eyes
You will always be the lucky one
Cause you know you'll always have my love
For all time until I die
Through the end I gave to you my best
You gave, you gave me loneliness..."
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In the Late of Night by Toni Braxton
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Chapter 20- Truth
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'I promised I wouldn't be strung along by him...' Kagura said to herself as she emptied the bottle, 'and I won't.'
She turned on the faucet, watching the poison travel down the drain and disappeared. Forever.
'So this is the price of being a good person, huh? I refuse to kill a person, so now I'm gonna die...'
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Kikyo held the small set of photos in her hand for the eighth time, her eyes scanning over the photo on top. Should she look at the rest? Her other hand touching the corner of the top picture as if to remove it, letting out a frustrated sigh as the hand moved back to her side.
She subconsciously looked up at the ceiling- or more like, through it. There, her husband slept. Her eyes went to the clock. 4:30 AM. She hadn't had a wink of sleep all night. She had went to put the jacket in the wash, that was all.
She reached for the cup of coffee, realizing that her hand was shaking as she took a sip. She set down the mug, accidentally knocking the set of pictures off of the counter. She cursed at herself, then bent down, picking them up one by one until her deep brown eyes caught one picture in particular.
Dammit, they were kissing.
Her footsteps were light as she went upstairs. She quietly entered the room, gently closing the door behind her, her eyes never leaving his sleeping form.
"K'gume..."
She stopped.
"K'gome..."
'He's calling for her...'
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"Kagome?"
"Huh?"
"Kagome, is something wrong?"
"No, everything's fine."
Her stomach lurched as the plane started for takeoff. The music producer watched her jump, giving a softhearted smile. "Homesick already?"
"How could you tell?"
"You keep looking out the window."
Kagome gave a half-hearted smile. "Don't worry about me, sensei-"
"Please, call me Midoriko. Sensei makes me sould like some old teacher. Anyway, is there anyone you're going to miss in particular?"
"Yeah, I'm going to miss him."
"Him? Was it serious?"
"Not serious enough... or maybe too serious, depending on how you look at it."
She glanced out the window again. They were in the air now, not yet above clouds, just low enough to see the city in the night glow. She could barely make out the nightclub she had learned to love, the people she made friends, even family with. And then there was Inuyasha...
She wasn't going to regret ever loving him, she wasn't going to resent it. She knew the rush of bliss she felt in his presence, the comfort she felt in his arms, the relief of his kiss, the feeling that it would always be better, even if she felt she was the happiest person in existence. She was happy- because he was there. She was foolish to love him, even after all the lies he told, but she'd be even more foolish to try to forget the feelings that would stay instill in her memory for the rest of her life. It was him that got her here, it was him that had given her that life on stage, as if she were singing to him. Because of it, her career would be grand. She wouldn't become a media whore, she wouldn't become greedy, or shallow. No matter what, she swore to herself that through the trials and tribulations, she would alwasy be herself, be Kagome, and she would always have him to thank for it, because he loved her for it.
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It slammed against the wall. Hard.
It slid down the side of the room, shards of glass sprinkling to the ground
She heard his footsteps as he came down the stairs. He was always a light sleeper, his demon senses still in tact, even as he slept, the slightest noise rousing him awake. She could feel his eyes on her, confused by her slightly dessheveled appearance. It was the first time he had actually seen her in a less that orderley state, and it baffled him.
He studied her surroundings. Their wedding picture lay in shambles in the corner. A set of photos were spread across the coffee table. The photos.
'She knows.'
"I had wondered why she turned down the job after she got it. Now I know why."
He set foot into the living room. "Kikyo..."
"Adultery. That's what they call it- when you're married," she whispered.
Before she knew it he was holding her, clutching her dear life. She tired fruitlessly to pull away from him, but his hold was too strong, like a child holding a rag doll during times of pain. That's exactly what she felt like. A rag doll. Because lie all rag dolls, the child eventually becomes tired of it, and tosses it aside for a better one. Even if it isn't thrown away, even if it is picked up every once and a while, it isn't the same glow in the child's eyes, the one that reassured you that you were the one that made it happy, the only one who could.
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He kneeled down before her. "Kikyo, will you marry me?"
She took a step back, her back hitting against the table of the restaurant, her hands covering her mouth. He stared back at her, his face revealing a mixture of shock, hope, and worry. His eyes held some form of comfort to her, a comfort that only he could give her, the comfort she learned to love.
"Inuyasha, if this is your idea of a sick joke I'll kill you..."
He chuckled. "No joke."
"Oh my God, Inuyasha... yes."
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The tears slid down her face. She hated herself for letting him munipulate her emotions. She had promised herself she wouldn't cry, she woulnd't give him the satisfaction. The thought just made her hate him more. The wasted years, the empty "I Love You's", the lost dreams...
She shook with each breath. Her small fists beating weakly against his chest. "You bastard," she whispered, "what did I ever do to you...?"
"No, no, don't talk like that," he replied, "I love you. I love you, Kagome..."
Kikyo pushed him away with all her might, her hand hitting his face in all her frustration, all her pain. With one last look at him, she said:
"You betrayed me."
And with that, she packed her things, and left.
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"He called you, didn't he?"
Sesshomaru watched her. She sat on the other end of the balcony, hugging her legs, like a child would do when they were upset. She didn't look at him, she didn't speak, her blood red eyes looking straight out into the city. She seemed almost... lost.
"Kagura?"
"You know what it's like to move from foster home to foster home?" she asked, her eyes still staring out into nowhere, "the people who adopt you expect you to be "trained", to be perfect. They treat you like a pet, or a new toy. If I couldn't be what they wanted me to be, they'd send me back. I tried to be perfect, but if I spilled my juice or get dirty when playing outside, they'd shame me like I was the most digusting thing on the planet, despite their own faults. They never wanted to help me learn, they just wanted to point out my faults."
"Kagura..."
"But you don't treat her like that, Rin that is. You... didn't degrade her for being wrong sometimes, and I respect you for that. But mostly it's because... sometimes I wish... that I would've had someone like you when I was younger. You're her savior, you know."
She looked up, and for the first time, red met amber, with the one thing they'd grown together: an understanding.
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Phew! Six Pages! It's good to have just the right song to get your insipiration going! Next chapter is the last and final chapter and will resolve everything and everyone: Three years later.
-Lil'Lyn713