Suzu –(tear tear, rub rub) Thank you, reviewers! I haven't gotten so many reviews for one posting ever since I reposted my story… (Yes, I know, it's very sad) I now have over 110 reviews, if you count the ones I had before. (73)

Congratulations to these people for actually guessing the passage last time! Yes, it was in the second volume of Inuyasha, where he and Sesshomaru- sama were facing off in their father's grave.

1. midnight-wolf-314

2. SacheyoPriestess

SacheyoPriestess, did you get the email that I sent you? Anyway, hug you two! (Glomp) And here's a virtual cookie. (Give). Hmmm… I think you're all female so it should be okay to hug you… midnight-wolf-314, are you female? (Worries in the corner) I'm sorry, but I couldn't get to your email on the profile page…now that I mention it, I should have looked up your gender on the profile page…ulgh.

Suzu- Anyway, the point is, I'm really happy. These reviews motivate me to write, otherwise, I'll go back to the evil SAT books (at my age, very sad).

Reviewers :

(Sorry, I only included the reviews I got for the most recent posting. I really couldn't dig through them all…please forgive me!) - Whew, your pennames are so diverse! Did I make any mistakes?

SacheyoPriestess –Yah, we're a lot alike! I also like my things exact, plus, I'm a female that…ahem…was 13 in January…

hexlex –thank you for being addicted, oops, I didn't mean it that way. I mean, thank you for your kind words! I hope to not disappoint you and do a good job!

doG-GIRL-yep, he stayed at Kagome's. Where else would we Inuyasha fans want him to stay? He he.

midnight-wolf-314-Wow, you think I write fluff well? (shocked, then begins to tear at the corners of her eyes) THANK YOU! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! (Runs off sobbing in ecstasy)

YuniX-2 –Wow, I did that? Well, thank you for keeping my vocabulary in check. You'd be a great editor, you know…and you're a little like some of my own friends.

Jolise-I know, I'm really evil, aren't I? Arigatou, but I guess I like doing that a lot. Cliffies are very good tools for writers.

lilsango-That's so sweet. Thanks, and your username is really cute!

fireyredfairy- Yep, it is sad. In fact, even I get depressed. However, in the author's note I inserted that got my story booted out for a while, I wrote that it would be a happy ending. I'll say the same now (smile).

priestessmikala- Gomen nasai for being cruel. Can I help it? Hmmm…ask Kodaku, she's also on this site.

Anime4Eternity-Expect more fluff to come. This story is probably coming to a fluffy part (sigh). What if I mess up?

lunarcat12 –You sound exactly like me in your review. I hope you're not too sad, though. I work hard to make people happy. (Readers are glare angrily at this point) Okaaay, I work hard to try to make people happy. Heh.

Hellmouth2- I can't wait for the update either! Yup, I definitely need to get off my lazy habits.

MoonKitii- Aaaahhh. Thank you (hug). I hope you bear with me as I keep writing!

Chinese-freak – Wow…thanks. You're actually my first reader that has identified himself as male. I never knew I had male readers. Thank youuuuuuu! And here's your update.

Once again, I apologize for not specifically naming the readers who stuck with me in the stages where I didn't update much, and my fic was, like, 150 pages into the main Inuyasha story 'index'. You guys deserve so much credit! Maybe I should include a special note of thanks at the end of the story for you guys…

Suzu- I know you're all anxious to start reading, so I should stop blabbing. That's part of the reason why I didn't include all my thanks this chapter.

Suzu- Ohhh…why must I write sap?

Kodaku- Your readers want you to… stay strong

Suzu- Oh, right. (Puts on her serious face) Yes! We must stay strong!

Kodaku- You stay strong now…bye bye

Suzu- …. …

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Chapter 20

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"Kagome…I love you."

Kagome stiffened. She bit her lip and tried to pull back from his hug. Inuyasha wouldn't loosen his grasp, only pulled her in tighter. He smelled of pine needles still, after his time in the modern world. "It's alright, Inuyasha. You don't have to preten-"

"No!" Inuyasha switched to a softer tone. 'She thought he was pretending?' He couldn't blame her, but he knew he couldn't comprehend what she'd gone through. "I know I haven't always been there, that I've messed up a lot trying to protect you, but that's not important right now. Even if you don't choose to accept me, I want you to know this." The hanyou's face was staid and somber. "I really do need you with me. I love you, Kagome."

Kagome looked at his striking gold eyes. They were cast downward now, as if in embarrassment or shame. She felt a strange sensation, as if she was floating, and the world was only a mere shadow of its true reality. Was this real?

"L-let me go, please…You know this isn't right…"

Inuyasha's heart broke doubly over those words. He grasped her wrists, then let go. "What isn't right, Kagome? Tell me, I'll make it right!"

I want to change the world for you

"No, Inuyasha, it's not you." Kagome stopped mid-sentence to look at the hanyou. His snowy bangs reached to his amber eyes, his finely chiseled features were solemn and fierce, but desperate at the moment. She smiled a sad smile.

"You're perfect, Inuyasha. It's me that isn't right." She tried to look down, but his hand caught her chin and made her look at him.

"Kagome, you're my all… I'm sure that…none of us are perfect…but in my eyes, you're the one that's perfect, Kagome." Inuyasha's voice was firm. Tears welled into Kagome's chocolate eyes as she looked at his golden ones, filled with depth and age, will and determination.

What would I do without you by me?

Tentatively, she put a hand to Inuyasha's arm, and lifted his clawed hand to her cheek, holding it there. Both of her small pale hands supported his for a while, and a single tear trickled down that side of her face. Her eyes closed in pain for a moment. Words stuck to her throat, and when she tried to speak, all that came out was a barely recognizable rasp.

"I…I think I love you… too."

Kagome bit her lip, and more tears came. "Shoot… I love you, too." Sobs came out of her, no matter how she tried to suppress them. Between sobs, she hiccupped and flung herself at the floor. 'I must look really horrible right now'. Arms wrapped around her and rocked her gently.

And I can't stop loving you…

"Heh, I guess we both really messed up. Though, that's okay, Kagome. If you forgive me for my mistakes, you know I won't hold anything against you. You know I would never…"

"But why? Why did it have to turn out this way?" Kagome buried her damp face in her hands. "How can we ever really be together?"

Because to stop loving you…would be harder than trying to get you to love me back…

His voice muffled as he gathered her up in his arms into another hug. "Kagome, I'm sorry…really…"

Slowly, the wall that enclosed Kagome's soul opened up.

I'd never wanted my heart to get hurt again, but if it does hurt once more…I want you to be the one that does it. I trust you, and I give my heart to you because of that…

……………………………………

I don't know how I'll ever be able to be with Inuyasha, but I do know I want him to stand by me always. I do know that I want to know the real him, and I'll follow him wherever he leads me.

I'm sure that, in the end… that will be our strength…

……………………………………

Gradually, her sobs were reduced to sniffles. She wrapped her arms around him, too. Even if they couldn't be together, this is all that mattered right now…to be with him…to be with Inuyasha. Her heart eased and she felt her senses come back to her, little by little.

The world felt real again, and even if it hurts, at least I know you'll be with me, and then the pain loses its sting. Kagome smiled a little. It hurt to smile, and the open window blew frigid breezes into the little room. Sitting on the floor made her toes tingle. "Cold…" she whispered.

Inuyasha snapped awake. He had almost fallen asleep, lulled by her scent. "Oh…here, then." He carefully dumped her into his lap. Kagome blushed, and her smile got a little wider. She turned her head to look at Inuyasha, their foreheads touching. His amber eyes got large at this and a blush crept onto his features. Slowly, a shy grin started forming on his face too.

Kagome leaned in and whispered "Now I know I love you, Inuyasha." Their faces were mere millimeters apart, and their noses were touching too, now. Inuyasha's vision zoned in on her eyes. They were shining now. There was still sadness in them, but the hanyou saw something else.

Hope

This was Kagome now, the true Kagome. Kind and sweet, and always trying her best to be cheerful. It was her who had given him a second chance for happiness.

Slowly, Inuyasha turned his head a little to cover her lips in a light, feathery kiss. The sensation was a pleasing and pleasurable one, and Kagome felt as if her heart had grown wings. 'His lips are so soft' she realized, and felt her spine slacken as it betrayed her. It felt good to be loved, to be needed, to love back…

When they broke apart, Kagome was crimson, and Inuyasha was 'fehing' under his breath. The schoolgirl smiled sweetly at the hanyou, the one she wanted to be with, forever and ever. "Hey," she started.

Inuyasha looked up tentatively. "Yeah?"

"You have no idea how foolish I was." Her eyes glistened sadly.

Inuyasha shrugged. "Well…" He was at a loss for words.

"Yeah, well…" she flushed heatedly. "I just want to say 'thank you'. Um… I couldn't have done it without you, Inuyasha. I feel like the feelings I have for you are the real thing, and that you're the most important thing to me." Kagome looked up and met his eyes squarely. "Maybe we were meant for each other after all."

Inuyasha looked back at her. Her black, ebony hair hung at her shoulders, a pair of pajamas hung loosely on her figure and her eyes…they conveyed a meaning that was both subtle and physically powerful. "No, Kagome. I don't think there's such a thing as being meant for each other. My mother and father were very different, but they loved each other, didn't they? Maybe the ending of their love wasn't so great, but…" Inuyasha paused and grimaced. "Ulgh, what I'm trying to say is, love forms at the most astonishing places."

Kagome stared. "You have no idea how astonishing. I used to think my ideal guy was, in short, the exact opposite of you." She put a hand to his ears. "But now, I guess my ideal just wasn't for me." A tingle rose at the place where they touched.

Inuyasha smiled reassuringly at her, and pressed her figure to his. His hand brushed her hair, and the warmth of them both flooded through him.

Kagome, the one who would always enter with a smile, whose sadness pained him as well, whose scent captivated him eternally… I was lost, but now, I am found.

I really, really do still want you by my side.

…………………………………………

Kagome settled herself into his lap and put her face to his chest. Through the red hoari, she could feel the beating of his heart. She smiled, and blessed that rhythm over and over. 'Inuyasha, you're always there for me. Thank you.' Closing her eyes, she fell asleep in his warm lap, lulled by the steady beat of the one she loved.

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Suzu- And so, this chapter was just a bunch of mushy sap. Really not much happened this chapter, but confessions were made, and the problem is half resolved. Ulgh, writing fluff is definitely not my strong point.

Kodaku- Suzu was very worried over this chapter.

Suzu- (sniff sniff) (cry cry)… maaaaaaaan… why me?

Suzu- Oh well, I hope it at least ranked a6 on your 1 to 10 meter. This chapter was almost like a catalyst chapter, I hope that's alright. Moods should brighten now, and if anyone has any last requests on what they want to see in this fiction, ask now. Reviews and requests…I'll be waiting. Ta ta!