Upon request, I fluffed up this chapter some more. Last chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 18: Never Forget, but Keep on Fighting

When the wind blew over the once barren mountain, the sound that echoed back was not one of peace or absolution. Rather it was that of rebirth, of both good and of bad throughout the world. The trouble didn't stop with the demise of Naraku. They knew it would have been foolish to think so. There would always be more enemies to fight, more battles to be won. They knew enough about the real world to know that they would continue to suffer and cry, and it was a burden they grew to except, along with a generous compensation of hope to aid in their decision.

A week had passed since their final battle with their arch enemy, and they had been bombarded with youkai ever since, who were now untamed due to the absence of a greater evil. The demons were out of control now that Naraku had no control over what they attacked or when. Naturally, such trivial creatures were of no great consequence to the group of heroes. The hanyou and miko didn't even need to bring back their new-found power to defeat them. Sometimes they wondered if they would ever be able to use such power again. Most people didn't even believe them when they said what they had done and how. Such unbelievers, but perhaps someday they would understand when they felt what our heroes felt.

Kagome stepped out of Kaede's hut to the sound of Sango's angry yells in the distance. The miko had come to expect by now that such a sound could only be an indication of the lecherous monk up to no good. That angry tone in Sango's voice always had a special twist when it concerned Miroku. She shook her head in reflective disappointment. 'He'll never learn, will he.'

Moments later, an infuriated looking Sango came stomping back to the hut. When she saw Kagome, she let loose some of her steam. "Argh, Kagome. You think you could somehow make some of those rosary beads for Miroku so I don't have to deal with him."

Her arm was still broken, and she grimaced a bit as she turned it the wrong way. The pain was enough of an annoyance without Miroku around to cop a feel, and now she couldn't even hit back in her condition. Kagome sighed and shrugged, "I would if I could. Believe me."

The exterminator sat on the ground, or rather collapsed onto it, in frustration. "That pervert. And I thought we were having a tender moment too. Sometimes I think I'll never get through to him."

Next moment, she heard Miroku's voice coming over the hill. "Sango. What did I do? I thought… you know it isn't my fault."

"Not your fault?.!" Sango yelled, "How is this not your fault?.!"

"You know I can't control my hands when I'm around you," Miroku explained, forgetting that he would do similar things to just about any female he came across.

As Miroku finally approached them, Kagome's eyes narrowed, but a smirk came upon her face, 'Perhaps you can't get through to him, Sango. But maybe I can.'

Miroku cradled his still damaged shoulder as he approached Sango, who immediately threatened to break the wounded bone if he came any closer. He stepped backwards a bit, "Honestly, Sango, it doesn't mean anything. I mean, my goodness. Do you really think its easy being around you all the time and not be able to do something that is totally natural. Why can't you just let me be me?"

Sango rolled her eyes, "Oh, please. You're not trapping me with that 'I'm-being-myself' crap. I have no problem with you being yourself, as long as you keep your filthy hands to yourself."

Miroku rolled his eyes in return, "Women."

"What?.!" Sango countered.

Kagome took this as her cue. Before she began, she turned around to make sure the coast was clear. She then stepped towards Miroku. "You know, Miroku, this fetish of yours is really getting out of hand. How do we even know if we can trust you? Perhaps… I should bring this matter to Inuyasha's attention?"

Miroku's face became pale as he remembered Kagome's earlier threat. "No, no! Kagome, you can't possibly… I never did… It's a dirty lie."

Kagome played innocent with her look, enjoying the paniced look on the monk's face, "Is that so? Perhaps my memory is failing me. Oh, and what would Inuyasha do to you if he found out? Tsk, tsk… Such a pity…"

Miroku's bit his lip hard in nervousness. The miko shook her head in her fake mourning of Miroku's future passing, "… We will certainly all miss you, Miroku. I should have hoped that you would die a better death than this… But I guess we all have to go sometime."

Miroku took a few steps backwards. This was not going at all like he hoped. "Wha-what did I ever do to you?"

She eyed her fingernails. "Well, why shouldn't I tell him that you couldn't keep your perverted hands off me?"

"WHAT?.!.?.!" A thunderous roar was heard behind him.

Miroku's heart stopped and Sango and Kagome turned pale when they turned to see that Inuyasha had just landed in a nearby tree, and had just caught the last few sentences of their conversation. The look on his face was such to be expected considering the situation. His nose was wrinkled into a mad dog's snarl and the muscles on his neck were pulsing red. He flexed his claws sharply. "You're dead, monk!.!.!"

Miroku let out a scream and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, and Inuyasha was right on his tail. "Bastard! I'll break your neck!.!.!"

Kagome and Sango ran after them. Kagome shouted, "Inuyasha, no!.! It was just a joke!.! None of it's true!.!.!"

Sango looked on in fear for the monk she secretly had feelings for, "Inuyasha's gonna kill him."

Inuyasha didn't hear them and continued to give chase. His animal nature brought him right up to Miroku's side in his speed. He reached his claw into the air for a strike.

Now or never. Kagome yelled out, "Osuwari!.!.!"

Inuyasha landed with a thud.

Not so long after, Kagome sat in the grass with Inuyasha as she dabbed his chest wounds with peroxide. At the stinging on his flesh, he jumped back, "Stop that!"

"It'll help prevent infection," Kagome explained.

"Keh! I wouldn't have fallen on that sharp rock if you hadn't said that word you love so much," Inuyasha pouted as he crossed his arms to prevent her from continuing.

"Well, I wouldn't have said it if you hadn't tried to kill Miroku because of a simple joke. Honestly, don't you have the slightest faith in our friends' loyalty to us?" she argued.

Inuyasha turned his body and face away from her. "You act as if I should thank you for manipulating me like that. How dare you use me!"

Kagome sighed. Love or no love, this was just like old times. Inuyasha was always such a baby, but she knew that it was wrong of her to blackmail Miroku, even if he did deserve it. And playing upon Inuyasha's sensitivity to her safety was just as bad. Her head was bowed; there was only one way to change his mind now. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I didn't think you would actually be there to here it. It was supposed to be just a joke to stop Miroku-sama from torturing poor Sango-chan. I'm sorry if it upsets you."

She slowly got up to make her way back to the cabin and tried in earnest to restrain the smile that was slowly coming to her face. If she knew Inuyasha, she knew that it was not one to let her get away this easily, which was just what she wanted. Sure enough, half stance, she felt his hand clamp over her wrist and pull her down. She giggled sweetly as she landed directly into his lap, unable to constrain the joy that came with his touch, or his predictability. Without giving her a second to recover, he wrapped his arms around her and began to kiss her in earnest. She returned his affections just as passionately. 'Works every time,' she thought.

He growled against her lips, but continued to kiss her deeper. Kagome's hands gently massaged the small of his back as his fingers were intertwining with her hair. The massage she knew caused his heart to speed up just a little more. It caused her to giggle more. She lay back onto the grass with him on top of her as he took command of the kisses completely.

One hand now cupped her cheek, forcing her lips to stay locked with his as if they were his lifeline. The tickle of the grass beneath her added to her pleasure in this moment. A few blades poked at the hanyou's ears, causing them to twitch a bit. With no song of the forest to accompany their romance, there was sweet and beautiful silence, which they wouldn't trade for anything in the world. There was silence in which they could experience only each other, discover each other and claim each other. Overtime, he finally pulled away, but still had that childish pout on his face and a disgruntled look in his eyes. Still he was unable to let go of her, and pecked her lips occasionally between his sentences. "I'm still angry with you, wench. I don't know if I'll ever forgive you for this one."

She nodded with a deep smile. "I know."

Again he replied between kisses, "I mean it. That was entirely unacceptable."

"Well it's hard for me to think that when you're kissing me so much," she replied with a wide smile.

But he only kissed her again, "Shut up."

She giggled again and he pressed his forehead against hers and nuzzled her skin affectionately, and smile begging to emerge on his face, "Baka! What am I going to do with you?"

She didn't respond, but kissed him instead. This time she took control of their moment and rolled on top of him, which he gladly accepted. His ears felt the itch of the grass, and although hard for him to ignore, he managed. In this moment, he never ever wanted to leave her kiss again. He had memorized her kisses over the many months they had been together, just as he had memorized the sensation of her skin and her stare. Nothing knew her better than a kiss. It was the key to what he loved most about her: that soul that continued to enchant him throughout the fabric of time. He inhaled deeply against her kisses, trying to take in as much of her sweet scent as possible, and could still feel the scent of her kiss, a hard task indeed, but one which could always be accomplished when it concerned Kagome. When she pulled away, his grimace had faded, and he had forgotten the whole incident. Just as she had suspected, a big baby. Her head blocked the rays of the sun from invading his face. From where he looked at her as she straddled him, her hair was haloed by sunlight. She looked like an angel… his angel. That smile of hers set his heart on fire time and time again. If she had wanted it, he would have given her the moon, one way or another. No matter how pointless it might be, if it made her happy, there was no question to be asked. He still couldn't help but wonder, though… was she really okay? After all the suffering she had gone through in the past half year, he doubted she could ever put it fully behind her, no matter how much he wished it so. Despite her strength, he wondered if she could carry on like this, and if there was something he could do to further ease the pain. She caught his curious gaze, "What?"

He reached up and touched her chin lightly. "Are you…"

He paused and looked away from her as he tried to find the right words so to not bring up bad memories. It was hard enough bringing to attention something which he himself struggled to forget without upsetting the one he loved. "Are you happy? I mean… is there something I can do? I don't want you to be sad anymore, but I don't know what I can do to help you."

Kagome sighed. He was right to assume that the pain would never be completely gone. There would always be a piece of memory that would haunt her. Such was the curse of memory. However, to assume that she would never be happy again was foolish. Memory would still serve her well, for it was there that her moments with Inuyasha would never die. In that since, her life… her happiness was immortal. She leaned over to kiss him once more and then looked deeply into his eyes. She could see there was still doubt behind them. Even after unleashing the power of love to destroy Naraku, he still doubted, and she couldn't blame him. As a silent prayer, she hoped that someday the message would be clear, even if not today.

Her gaze pierced his deeply in an attempt to combine their souls once again, so that he would know what was truly there in her heart. There would always be small moments of doubt, or worry, and the truth often stayed hidden behind such things. If it took a lifetime of convincing, she would show to him that she was happy. She smiled as she cupped his cheeks with her hands, "I promise, Inuyasha, I will be okay."

Even though the pain would linger on forever, it had been cushioned by the love of her friends, and of Inuyasha. Nothing was a better healer than being with the ones she loved. All she could do now was keep on fighting, despite the memory. She would battle with that memory for the rest of her life, and she was sure that in the end, along with Inuyasha, she would win. Just as in every battle they had faced, their love would win. Kagome would win. Sealing this promise, she kissed him again. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her and let her kisses consume him.

She was both his love and his burden. But a burden he was more then willing to bear. In a love as strong as theirs, there could be no harm in getting passed such troubles. Never had he imagined how much she had needed him to heal from such a tragedy. Maybe it would still take a while for him to fully accept that she could get through this. And yet, in her eyes was her purpose. What was there for her to do but carry on and be happy? She might have crawled away and given up on life, but she didn't. That was what he admired most about her. That she was willing to conquer the fear, and that he was able to help her do it. He would always worry about it. It was part of his nature. However, perhaps for a moment, he believed her.

THE END

Okay… there you have it. The end of my fic. And the moral should be clear: that there is always hope. Awww. Thanks to each and every one of you for your support and attention. They really mean so much to me. The next fic should be up soon so keep an eye out for it.

I LOVE YOU ALL UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER UBER MUCH!.!.!.!.!

Oh, and vote for the title of the next fanfic on the next page…