A/N: Double update, ppl, whoot. I really wanted to get this chapter out during the weekend so I can focus all my brain power on being miserable at school. (Sigh) Anyway I appreciate the people who reviewed my last chapter:

Demondragon: Yup! I have most of it posted on there.

Blackcoat-245: I I I I I I I I I Will will will will will will!!!!!!

Gem Gamgee: Lol, I hate reading cliffies but I love writing them!

Iunyasha'smistress: Totally classic lineâ€:)

Inuyashafreak32: Don't start a riot over it! :) Thx, I try!

Naito-Kage: Aww, don't feel sad, they'll get back together! (Oops, let's just keep that our little secret) (wink) lol

Also thx to: maidenmikokagome, topgal, and Kaylin a.k.a. Inu! Huggles to u people and don't forget to R&R!!!

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Sango couldn't along look any longer. She hadn't known Yume like the two demons did, but she had fought side the wolf-demon. Yume had been Kagome's friend and helper and any friend of Kagome's was a friend of Sango's.

Miroku was still standing next to her, silent. He was probably praying. Without thinking she put her head against his shoulder and burst into tears. Stunned, though not at all shocked or surprised, Miroku put his arm around Sango and held her close. It was the only thing he could do.

No words would make any of what had happened any better.

But something caught Miroku's eye. He had been about to go back to praying when he saw it sparkle. The Shikon no Tama. The jewel they had been searching the last year and a half for. It wasn't complete yet because Kouga still had a few shards and Kagome had the rest, but it was there. I wonder...

"Inuyasha, the Shikon-"

"No!"

Miroku turned his head to see who had gasped. Kagome, leaning against her bow, had entered the clearing and her face was ghostly white. Her eyes were locked on what was Yume and her jaw trembled slightly. Without warning, Kagome collapsed.

Inuyasha was at her side instantly. "K-Kagome! What are you...doing out here?"

Kagome winced slightly. "That was Yume, wasn't it? Oh Kami-sama....it really was Yume...Yume's dead..."

The sound of hysteria, much known since the days of the cave incident, weren't lost by Inuyasha and he clutched her close. "Shhh...Kagome...my Kagome..."

Miroku looked back over at the Shikon no Tama lying innocently on the ground before once again calling Inuyasha's attention. By that time, Sesshoumaru was gently rolling the half-finished tama in his hands.

"Brother, wasn't this what you were fighting for?" Sesshoumaru asked.
Inuyasha snarled. "Yes, give it here!"

Sesshoumaru chuckled lightly. "Don't worry, I have no use for it. As for that girl...Yume was it?"

He walked over nonchalantly towards the crater and looked down. "Do you remember the swords our father gave to us? The Tetsusaiga and the Tetseiga?"

XXXX

Sesshoumaru sighed. He hated weakness and here Inuyasha's group was, showing their weaknesses. Even the alpha Kouga was crying. He could see Kouga shedding a few tears, but not Inuyasha.

Inuyasha wasn't mated to the bitch so why was he crying?

Tetseiga trembled in it's sheath the closer he got to the dead wolf-demon. The sword was almost begging him to use it on the girl. Usually, he listened to his sword. That's how he had found Rin and he had taken quite a liking to the little girl.

She was innocent and carefree...much like Yume had been. Oh yes, he had known Yume years ago. But that...was years ago.

"I could use the Tetseiga to bring Yume back, Inuyasha, but for a price."

Inuyasha stood and tried staring him down. How childish... "What price, yarou?"

"I've heard the stories of this tama, how it grants the holder it's ultimate desire. I have also heard you have taken a human for your mate, correct? Much like our dear father.." Sesshoumaru's eyes thinned.

"The price is this: you forfeit your demon half today and live like the humans you love so much."

The look on Inuyasha's face had been enough to make Sesshoumaru happy for the rest of his life. It was a torn look, a suddenly stunned expression. Comical, almost. But then the expression turned serious and the white head nodded slowly.

"Alright. You bring Yume back and I'll forfeit my demon half. But I also have my terms, brother. You stay away from me and all my friends for as long as their lines survive. You also keep your hands away from the Tetsusaiga."

Sesshoumaru grinned; a small upturn of his lips. "Fine, you have my word. I'll stay away from your human friends and yourself. I won't try to take the Tetsusaiga any longer. But, I must be here to see the ceremony. As for Yume..."

The Tetseiga throbbed as he pulled the sword out of its sheath.

He looked the sword up and down for a few moments. It was glowing a pale blue color and throbbed like it had it's own heartbeat. This was what it was made for, bringing back the dead. Hopefully all the talking hadn't made bringing Yume back impossible.

Without any hesitation, he slashed her body numerous times. He didn't have to worry about the tentacles or the spider leg sticking out of her body; Naraku's spider body was disappearing. After administrating the life giving slashes, Tetseiga was again resheathed and Sesshoumaru was staring patiently at Inuyasha. He tossed the Shikon no Tama into his hands.

"She'll wake in a couple of minutes. As you can see, she's completely healed."

Sesshoumaru stepped away as Kouga entered the crater and picked up Yume's blood drenched body. "I've kept my end of the bargain and now it's time to keep yours."

XXXX

Kagome came around in time to hear the little conversation between Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha. But she hadn't really heard what was being said, only that Yume was once again alive and well.

For a second there, she really wished she could jump up and hug Sesshoumaru for his act of kindness, but then remembered who he was.

The words slowly seeped back into her mind. Inuyasha...forfeit demon half...so that means he becomes human? Now Kagome understood! Her jaw dropped in amazement.

Inuyasha was going to become human! Full blown human! He was going to give up becoming a demon and become human...!

But she wasn't sure if she should be happy or concerned.

Inuyasha had promised Kikyou he'd become human, but Kikyou was back in her grave. Inuyasha had promised himself he'd become full demon, but was now being forced to become human. Was this what he really wanted? Probably not, but he had to keep one of his promises to someone.

"Inuyasha...?" Kagome breathed, looking up into Inuyasha's serious face. "Are you sure...you want to be human?"

Inuyasha looked back down at her and the serious expression softened considerably. "Yes, Kagome. If I'm going to be with you, I have to be human, right? Your mother wouldn't really want her daughter being married to a half-demon." He flashed her an "everything's-alright" smile. "She'd probably appreciate me being human."

"Inuyasha, my mother doesn't care and neither do I."

Tears threatened Kagome's eyes. "I know it's part of the bargain you and Sesshoumaru now have, but do you really want this?"

Suddenly, Inuyasha shook his head. "Not really, not for me. But it'd be easier to live a life in your world by being human all the time." He sighed heavily.

Kagome's hand reached up and caressed his cheek. "We don't have to live in my world, Inuyasha..."

Sesshoumaru raised a brow. "I'm waiting, brother."

Inuyasha growled back. "I know." He brought his face once more to Kagome. "Please clean the tama, make it whole, and give it to me, Kagome."

"Inuyasha..."

"Please...just do this."

Kagome nodded slowly and reached out to take the jewel. "O-Okay..." She sat up slowly in Inuyasha's arms and looked over at Kouga. "May I have your shards, Kouga? I need them to complete the tama."

Kouga nodded from where he sat clutching Yume's form. Without hesitating, he reached into his own arm and pulled out the shard, then grabbed the two still in his legs. Blood pouring freely from the wounds, he handed the bloodied shards to Kagome.

She took them slowly, not bothered by the sight of his blood or the feel of it on her fingers. She had seen worse only moments earlier.

The tama glowed under her pure touch. She had purified the huge chunk that had been in Naraku himself. This was one of the reasons why Inuyasha hadn't finished marking her; she needed to be a maiden for this part of the journey.

Placing her own shards together with the rest of the tama, she placed her hands around them and concentrated hard. This was something taught to her from Kaede herself. The old, kind woman must have known Kagome would be doing this herself, far away from her.

Focusing all her energy into bringing the shards together was slowly draining her of what was left. She wasn't sure if she passed out during the ritual, but she opened her eyes to see hands touching her shoulders and her back.

She could feel the amount of energy the hands were giving her, enough to finish the ritual and still have enough energy to go through the day. Enough to make the pain in her side die down to a mere throb.

When she opened her hands for the second time, the whole Shikon no Tama shone back at her.

This was the end. This was what they had all been fighting for. This was their motivation and now...they had it.

She dropped the small sphere into Inuyasha's hands. "Do with it what you must, Inuyasha, I give it to you."

Kagome had stood up after that and moved a bit away from him, nearer to Sango and Kouga with Yume. All eyes were on Inuyasha and his were on the tama. This was what his whole life had been for, mostly.

This moment. But he didn't want to be demon anymore, nor did he want to be human.

He just wanted to be....himself. Kagome loved him as he was and he wanted to stay that way.

But he had a deal to complete.

Holding the tama out before him, he stood. He could feel the eyes of the others on him, curious, awed, and arrogant. Sesshoumaru, of course, was the arrogant bastard. Of course he'd love to see his brother go full human and give up his demon side. Fine, bastard. You want to see it, then your going to see it.

He made to voice his desire to the tama, but it must have read his mind for it started to glow and shake uncontrollably. He held it for a few moments before his hand closed on nothing and a cold feeling enveloped him.

He shivered harshly and fell to the ground. All sight, all thought, and all hearing left him. He was alone in a world of darkness, but he could feel. Hands were on him, tugging him, helping him lay down, but other than that he was in his own head.

Then the cold was gone and he could see again. It took longer for his hearing to come back, but he could see. Kagome, concerned and looking scared, was looking down at him. Yume was awake, but pale, and her hands were caressing his head. Kouga was behind her, hands on her shoulders and expression overprotective.

"Wha...wha...what happened?" Inuyasha mumbled.

Kagome's eyes filled with tears and she forced a smile. "Your human, Inuyasha. Full blown human."

Okay so he was human, but why was Kagome glowing? "Kagome...? Why are you...glowing?"

"Hmm?" Kagome looked at her arm, blinked, and shook her head. "I...I don't know. What did you wish for?"

"Just to be...human.."

Sesshoumaru appeared above him suddenly, like a bad dream. For once in his life, Inuyasha saw a full-blown smile on his brother's face. "Good bye brother. We've made our bargain and we've kept our promises. I doubt we'll meet again."

"Good," Inuyasha grumbled. He sat up with a bit of help from Yume. "Glad to see you out of my life, yarou."

Sesshoumaru nodded slightly. "The feeling is mutual."

For a second, Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha locked eyes, then both looked away quickly.

Inuyasha watched the back of Sesshoumaru's head as the full demon walked off. He sat back into Kagome's arms, who took the place of Yume's, and smiled.

"Phew, glad that's over. Damn, I'm so fucking tired..."

Yume stood and stretched, turning around to envelop Kouga in a hug before looking back at Inuyasha. "It's not over yet, kid. You make a pretty cute human, Inuyasha." She smiled sweetly when Kouga growled. "Don't worry, I don't intend to leave you again, Kouga."

"Good, because I won't let you go."

Kouga's arms tightened around her body with an almost crushing force. Yume would have given a wise crack about it, or had laughed, if it had been a laughing matter. Instead, she clutched him back.

A second later, she felt warm tears trickle onto her neck. Yume blinked furiously. "You're...you're crying... Kouga, I'm so sorry..."

XXXX

Kagome kissed the tip of Inuyasha's nose and one of her tears dripped onto his forehead. She wiped it away clumsily. Inuyasha's hand came up to wipe her tears away before they could fall, but it was in vain for more tears always took their place.

"Don't cry, Kagome. It's not all that bad. I still have you."

She grabbed onto his hand and nuzzled it against her cheek. "You'll always have me, Inuyasha and I don't think it's all that bad. But...you so badly wanted to be a full demon..."

Inuyasha shook his head. "No, I just wanted to be me. You didn't care if I was human or demon. You loved me for both halves and I wanted to stay the way I was."

Either Kagome didn't have anything to say, or she didn't want to say it because she didn't answer. She just smiled and kissed the tip of his nose again. She couldn't be sad for him; he wasn't sad for himself. They were still together, at least.

And now Inuyasha could live in her time, if he still wanted to. That reminded her....she still had a lot of explaining to do with her mother.

But all that could wait another day. They had just defeated Naraku, the greatest enemy they had. The least the group could do was celebrate at Kaede's. Maybe the whole village would celebrate with them.

Someone tumbled into the clearing and all heads turned to see the visitor. It was a demon, a smiling human looking snake demon. Behind that demon came more and with those demons came humans.

The little boy Kagome had been talking to before all seven hells had broken loose was with them. A girl who looked like his sister had an arm draped on his shoulder.

"Rahari!" Kagome gasped joyfully. "Thank goodness your alive!"

The boy nodded. "Yup. Our village survived and so did many of our neighbours and friends and it's all thanks to you people. Rahari bowed and his sister followed. "Thank you, very much."

From behind him, one by one, the rest of the group bowed deeply as well. Shocked, the group looked on, then looked at each other. Finally, the village people stood straight and smiled happily.

A rather old man, who Inuyasha recognised as a priest, made his way forward. "Your names will go down in history and your deeds, in legend. On this spring day for years to come, our village will mark your accomplishments with a festival in your honour." The man smiled and spread his arms widely, as if to embrace them. "Please, tell us your names warriors."

"Inuyasha."

"Kagome."

"Sango and this is Kirara."

"Shippo!"

"Where did you come from Shippo?"

"Ehehee..."

"Miroku."

"Kouga."

"Yume."

"Myoga."

Inuyasha swatted the flea furiously. "Coming at the most convenient of times, eh Myoga? Right after the danger is over!"

"Eck...Lord Inuyasha...I..."

swat!

The old man chuckled softly. "Ah, Inuyasha the half-breed turned human, Kagome the priestess, Sango the Taiyojin and her cat-demon Kirara, Shippo the young kitsune, Miroku the priest, Kouga the alpha of the Brown Wolves, Yume the Outcast of the White Mountain Wolves, and Myoga the Coward."

He chuckled again, harder. "Such a group to be heroes, and yet your bonds outlasted all obstacles, even the mental ones. Come, my friends. Come rest at our village. We celebrate this most memorable of nights."

Kagome looked at Inuyasha, who's head still rested in her lap. "Inuyasha...I really need to get home and explain everything to my family."

Inuyasha rose uncertainly, but found his footing a moment later. "I'll take you home in the morning. Tonight we party and rest." He helped her stand and smiled

lopsidedly. "Your mother is going to have my head when she sees your wound." His hand cupped over her wound very gently.

She winced despite his gentle actions. "I know, but I can't keep her waiting. Besides, I'm going to need future medical attention. Kaede is good at what she does...but I still need my home world for a wound like this..."

Inuyasha nodded. "Tomorrow, Kagome. Too many demons will be out tonight and with me like this..." He sighed. "Tomorrow, please."

Kagome swallowed, but nodded. "Alright. We'll head out tomorrow."

Miroku walked up to the two with a huge smile on his face. He held up his hand and the smile grew even wider. Kagome looked at him curiously, then her own smile erupted onto her face. Without warning, she threw herself into Miroku's arms and hugged him close.

"Your Kazaan! Miroku, your cured!" she cried happily.

Miroku laughed wholeheartedly before hugging her back and letting her go. "Ah yes, proof Naraku is finally dead and gone."

Kagome couldn't stop grinning now. "Did you show Sango yet?"

Miroku shook his head. "Not yet. She's been talking with Shippo."

"Go show her! This is a moment to be celebrated to, Miroku!"

Miroku smiled and affectionately touched the top of her head with his right hand. "You're right, I should celebrate this. I'll meet you guys back at the village!"

Kagome waved before heading back to Inuyasha. He had a jealous look on his face, but at least he didn't try to fight Miroku. Maybe having him human wasn't all that bad, no not at all. With a smile, she reached up and tweaked his invisible ears.

"I'm going to miss those," she whispered.

Inuyasha smirked. "Not for long you won't."

She stared at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

He pressed his lips close to her ear. "I didn't wish to become human."

Her eyes widened. "Then what did you wish for?"

XXXX