Review Replies:

Sleepinghanyou: (blank look) Why are you upset that it's not over? Don't you like me anymore? (sniffs, then pouts) This makes me feel so loved…( /sarcasm) lols. (damn i cant do those cool square brackets)

SesshyBabie: I also grieve the loss of the Kukuku. But KIKYOU AND NARAKU ARE GONE! Ladidadida! I'm not sure exactly when the story will end, as I am deviating from the story line slightly as of this chapter. Oh, well. Cruel plot twists are fun, and it'll all turn out good in the end. At least some people want me to keep writing…hmph. Lol.

TwistedBlackAndRedRose: Glad I'm not the only one.

Sakrua: Oh, don't worry about it…I'm just bugging all of you…although you may be missing important hints…:P

Kitsunesangelofflames: Thank you very much!

Phalon22: Heehee here you are!

LB: SIXTY REVIEWS! ALMOST SEVENTY! MUCH, MUCH HAPPYFULNESS! YAY! Hope you like the chapter! Hints: Kazaana go buh-bye! (waves cheerily) and…Tetsuka gets angry…ooh, aah…oh, and what is going on with Kagura? Muahahaha…

Chapter Fifteen. Running from the Inevitable

Miroku stared at his hand once again. "Sango, I can't believe it." She smiled, creeping towards him, and tentatively tracing her finger along the tiny scar. "The kazaana is gone. You are free of the fate it would have inflicted." He nodded. "Yes. Free." He stared up at her. "I am free to…to live without curse, and to know that I will not be…well, you know. Sango. Will you…do me the honor…of joining with me, and bearing my- our children?" Tears welled up in Sango's eyes. "I- I…" She threw her arms around his neck. "I will," she murmured, kissing him sweetly. Miroku brushed tears from her cheek, then… "HENTAI!"

"But, Sango, dearest…"

"You are not given permission to grope me. Maybe I'll let you after we'll joined. Maybe being the operative word," she intercepted, eyes sparkling, as she playfully thwacked him on the head. He grinned. "Sango, dear…think of it this way. You are the first woman to have been groped by this non-cursed hand!" Sango snorted. "And the last." She eyed him cautiously. "I'd better not see that hand on anybody else." He nodded. "You have my word."

Kagome stared at the jewel in her hand. It was completed. She leaned against Sesshoumaru, letting him support her weight. "We did it," she murmured. "We did it. C-can I go to sleep, now?" she muttered dazedly. She was already half-way there. Her body went limp against the taiyoukai, who lifted her into his arms. (A/N: Bridal style! Kawaii!) Inuyasha's stare took on a slight jealous shadow, but it flickered and disappeared. "You…you and her," he muttered. Sesshoumaru gazed down at Kagome, silent. He knew how he felt about her, and he was sure she felt the same way. What confused him were the words she'd spoken to Inuyasha, "We still have some stuff to work out." He'd been prepared to ask Kagome to be his mate, but if Kagome still wished to think things over, he couldn't push her.

Sesshoumaru turned toward Inuyasha. "You and your friends are…welcome…to reside at the castle until this has ended." Inuyasha stared at him quizzically. "What are you talking about? It is ended! Naraku is dead." Sesshoumaru stared. "It is not yet over."

:-

Kagura watched them all depart. She was amazed. She was free. She was also troubled. She owed all of them a debt, even the humans. She knew how to repay the taiji. She stared at Kohaku. He was no longer corrupted by Naraku's evil, and could be sent back to her. The hanyou was more difficult, and she would have to think on that. The kitsune…well, he would be happy with something affordable, hopefully. She had not much to give, but common courtesy demanded that all debts be paid, and how would it be if she paid debt to one and not another? She would have to think on the houshi, miko and taiyoukai.

:-

Kagome opened her eyes. "Tetsuka. I was wondering where you'd gone." The old miko smiled. "I came back here to await your return. You must know, Kagome, that I cannot remain in this form forever." Kagome nodded, swallowing. "I know." Tetsuka frowned. "I cannot, however, even think of leaving without saying goodbye, and catching up on that talk we started." Kagome buried her head in her hands. "Of course. The talk." Tetsuka brightened. "Yes, the long awaited talk." At Kagome's look, she added, "You hentai…not that talk! And you said I was impure? Hmph. You knew exactly what I meant." Kagome grinned. "Yeah, okay. Get on with it. It isn't like there's much to talk about." Tetsuka met her eyes sadly. "Oh, but there is. Firstly, we have established that you love Sesshoumaru. It is as plain as the blush tinting your face." Kagome reddened further, and Tetsuka continued. "But something else is also plain to see. You still harbor doubt." Kagome winced. "I love him. I'm willing to leave my time for him. But…will he accept me? I am a human, and he is a demon. We are from completely different worlds." She adopted a far-away look, then snapped back to attention. "Tetsuka. Can I ask a favor of you?" Tetsuka nodded curiously. Kagome took a deep breath. "You know that, as a demon, Sesshoumaru will outlive me by hundreds of years. I…Is there any way at all that I could…become a demon?" Tetsuka was silent. "You would give up yourself for him, for your mortality is a part of you. Alas, Kagome, even I do not know a way. The only thing I can think of would result in tainting the shikon jewel, and I strongly warn against that." Kagome bent her head. "There is no other way?" Tetsuka shook her head. "Not that I know of, Kagome." Kagome stiffened painfully. "If there is no way for me to stay with him, then I will return to my time. I will die in another forty or fifty years. I will not put him through pain of losing me to old age and death." Tetsuka stood angrily. This was the first time Kagome had experienced this emotion from her. "Kagome, you are being foolish. You would cause him pain by leaving!"

"Not in the long run! He will find someone else and be happy."

"You are merely trying to spare yourself pain! You are being selfish. You do not wish to stand next to the immortal Lord, while you have matured into old age, and you do not wish to spend your life knowing that it will not last, instead of enjoying every moment that you have with him."

"Is that so terrible a wish? Is it so awful that I want to age at the same rate?" Her voice broke. "Is it so sickening that I would rather die than leave? I would rather leave myself time to heal from a broken heart, than to die with one filled with cracks." Tetsuka sat down, placing a hand on Kagome's shoulder. "Don't do this. Work it out." Kagome shook her head. "No." She went to the corner of the room, fiddling with her backpack. "What are you doing, Kagome?" She whirled to face Tetsuka. "I'm leaving before it gets worse. I'm sorry, Tetsuka. I have to go." She ran off. Tetsuka stared after her. As soon as Kagome fled the front door, she wasted no more time.

"Sesshoumaru. You must stop her."

"This Sesshoumaru will not force the miko into something she does not desire." Tetsuka glared at him. "Well, then, this Sesshoumaru is making a terrible error in judgement."

"You dare to criticize me?" She shrugged. "I'm dead. There isn't much more you can do to me." He flexed his claws instinctively, irate with her. "I will not go after her."

"YOU BASTARD!" He stared. "What?"

"You complete idiot! Can't you even see what she's doing?" He was at a loss for words.

:-

Kagome raced through the forest, and stumbled. "So…the little miko is running away. Why? Anyone would kill to be in your shoes." Kagome stared up. "Kagura." The wind witch nodded. "Yes. I cannot allow you to disappear to wherever you go without repaying you, miko."

"Repaying me?"

"You set me free. I owe you. I cannot think of anything. What do you wish?" Kagome gaped. "Huh?" Kagura repeated herself patiently. "What do you wish? If you do not want to tell me because of some foolish human embarrassment, I am willing to simply give you a trinket or some such bother…"

"Wait!" Kagura smiled. "There we go. Every human desires something. What is it?" Kagome took a deep breath, sure and yet unsure. "I wish…to become a demon."

:-

"You see what this is, don't you?" Sesshoumaru frowned. He was very annoyed with this dead soul. She was getting on his nerves, which was very difficult to do. "What is it that I must do? There is no solution. If she wishes to go, she must. Why must you create disorder in this simplification?"

"Disorder? Kami, you are blind." Sesshoumaru twitched, but she wasn't finished. "She's running off to her time because she doesn't want to go through the pain of losing you, and she doesn't want you to feel pain losing her." His stare shot daggers. "What do you mean?" Tetsuka sighed in exasperation. "Let me spell this out for you. You: Demon. Her: Human. You: Live many hundreds of years. Her: Die eighty or so years from now. She's upset and she doesn't want to be old and wrinkled and dying and put you both through that. She wants to become a demon, and I explained to her that it is nearly impossible." He clenched his jaw. He resented being spoken to like a child, but this information startled him. Kagome wished to give that up…for them?

:-

Kagome was still kneeling, covered in dirt. Kagura stared at her in surprise, then chuckled slightly. "You…a miko…wish to become a demon? Why…? Oh…" She smiled. "Sesshoumaru." Kagome nodded shamefacedly. Kagura eyed her thoughtfully. She should do the girl a favor, and turn her away, but she should also teach her a valuable lesson, that love should be able to break through barriers like this. The lesson was more important. "Very well. Give me one week's time. Where shall I meet you at that time?" Kagome replied immediately, "The bone-eater's well, in Inuyasha's forest." Kagura nodded, mounting her feather, shaking her head slightly at the girl's odd choice in location. "So it shall be. I will meet you there in seven days."

:-

Kagome heaved her backpack up the ladder. She was home. She straightened her fresh, feudal-style kimono, and stepped through the door, nearly running into Souta. "Kagome!" he shouted. "You're back!" He peeked behind her. "Where's that Lord guy?" Kagome winced. "Sesshoumaru did not come with me." She pulled the backpack along with her silently, following Souta up to the house.

LB: No tomatoes, please. I promise it'll all work out. You haven't got anything to worry about. Now, I'm taking votes. Kagome: Demon or Human? (much later of course, like at the end of the story almost it would just make it longer.) I may not go with the vote, but I may also. Reviewers hold a lot of leverage over the decision. Make sure you think out your answer before voting. Reasoning and suggestions are also welcome. I gave you a nice long chapter, you might have notice. (grins) Cyber-cookie? Please? At least press the purplish button…:P