A/N: Sorry for the update delay my fans (and all the typos in this chapter!)-- but my most beloved and very talented beta reader is off on a summer holiday so I decided to focus my attentions away from my computer-- to try and find me a job. That and I switched my computer over to DSL, meaning faster connection and an entirely new e-mail set up. weeps Still, I type out this chapter with love to you, my doting fans! I'll have Cattykit edit this chapter once she gets home, so bear with me until then!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I don't even have a car. All I have are a few homemade cds that are the direct result of internet piracy. Arrr!

Breaking the Rules

Chapter 7: Vindicated

--Kagome's PoV--

When do you come to a place when it's safe to admit to yourself that something you feared for so long has finally happened?

What's more, when is it safe to admit that it wasn't what you thought it would be?

Here I sat, somewhere on the edge of losing my mind over the facts laying out before me. And I didn't care! Amazing as it sounds, as unbelievable as it may seem, I didn't mind in the least that I was going against everything that I had set for myself the past four years of my life. Here I was, coming off of this celibate crusade, living and sleeping with a man I'd known less than two weeks.

It was like some kind of romance novel dream that I was living of a sudden. It was only then, after a long goodbye with my mother and grandfather and a quiet drive back to New York in the backseat of a limo with Inuyasha that I admitted to myself one fact that had me reeling and second-guessing for days.

I was in love. Something so easy to do, so hard to understand, and so frightening to believe.

Despite my reserves, and my doubts, I made myself come to terms that what I was feeling was something like I felt with Hojo and Kouga, only different. Inuyasha didn't try to change me. He didn't try to make me do anything. He didn't expect anything of me other than… to just be me. It was something different, and liberating, and petrifying.

I was being honest when I told him that I had never been with a softy. I had never met a man like Inuyasha, and I doubted that I ever would again. I loved how he could make me laugh, make me blush, and piss me off all in the space of a few minutes. I loved his eyes, and his lazy smirk, and the sound of his voice. I loved how we could hold a conversation about pizza toppings and make it sound like a political debate. Most of all, and selfish as it might sound, I loved how affectionate he was with me as a subconscious action-- as if not even knowing he was doing it.

It scared me, to think how badly this could go once the time was up and we got that annulment. Would I ever see him again? Would he even want to see me again? Could I really just shake his hand, say 'thanks for helping me out' and go back to being lonely?

I tried not to think too much about it-- preferring to enjoy the time we had together in the present rather than dwelling too much on the doom to come. Still it nagged at me.

Though I knew well enough to admit to myself that I was in love with Inuyasha Saishi, it was another thing entirely to admit to him-- or anyone else for that matter.

I couldn't tell this to Sango. She'd get so disgustingly happy that she was right that she'd make a mess of everything by telling Miroku. As much as I wanted to confide in Souta, he was a guy and wouldn't get it. I thought of telling my mother, but that would involve telling her all about the drunken bender and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I would have gone to Kagura, the one person in my life that I knew would never judge me on my feelings, but she was suffering from her own romantic entanglement and I would have felt like a raging bitch to dump my problems on her.

All I could do was keep silent and pray this wistful happiness lasted a little longer.

My luck never held out.

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Kagura Nitao sat in her office, sipping a vanilla chai and reading over a massive file attachment on her e-mail. Her ruby eyes narrowed as they raced across the financial charts, her mind reeling. It had been right in front of her the whole time, but she had been too blind to notice. Too preoccupied with an old fling.

She shook her head in disgust before grabbing the phone from her desk and hitting the speed dial button that would connect her with Yura's desk outside.

"Miss Nitao's office?" the voice said in a conversational manner. It was the kind of tone she used when she was playing cat's cradle under her desk and thought no one could tell.

"Yura," Kagura commented with a flicker of amusement.

"Hey boss lady," the secretary smiled into her headset. "What can I do for you?"

"I need you to call Sango and send her up here," the editor commented, her eyes on the computer monitor in front of her. "Hold my calls and reschedule everything I was planning to do the rest of the afternoon. I'll be in a meeting all day."

"Will do, ma'am," Yura said with a chipper nod. "Anything else?"

"Yes," Kagura said with an edge to her voice. "When the endorsement people get here, send them in."

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Sango walked into Kagura's office, a frown on her face. The room was dark and the blinds were closed over the huge windows. The only light came from the computer monitor, illuminating the woman behind the desk and little else. "Why is it so dark in here?"

"When one is hung-over," Kagura commented, typing on her keyboard and eyes never looking away from the screen, "one is sensitive to the light."

"You know," Sango commented, leaning her hip against the large desk and crossing her arms casually. "A woman of your prestige shouldn't be getting hammered lightly."

"Stuff it, Sango," Kagura snapped. "We've got bigger problems than my whiskey fetish."

"Oh?"

"I figured out who has been skimming our money," the editor growled, "and a total of six million has been filtered."

Sango gasped. "That's our entire reserve! Our investments won't pay out in time for the next two issues… we'll have nothing to run on!"

"I am well aware of that, Sango," Kagura replied dryly. "Which is why it's important we confront our embezzlers and get back our money."

"Who did this?" Sango asked, gripping the corner of the desk so hard her knuckles were turning white. Rage blazed in her eyes. Someone was threatening her friends, her work-- that never sat well with Sango.

"It was-- "

"Miss Nitao, the endorsement representative is here," Yura's voice interrupted loudly over the speakerphone. The door behind Sango opened and Naraku entered. Surprisingly, Kanna was not following.

"Miss Nitao, Miss Rae," he said with all the politeness a man of his character could conduct. "You sent for me?"

Kagura rose from behind her desk, a snarl on her pretty features. "Give it back."

Naraku looked startled. "Pardon me?"

"You heard me, you gender confused parasite!" The editor stomped around from behind her desk to come within a few inches of the man standing between her and survival. "You will give back every penny you have stolen from me or so help me God I will beat the living shit out of you before I hand you over the cops."

"And don't think I won't take a few shots!" Sango barked, catching on and cracking her knuckles.

Naraku, who had quickly dropped the dazed and innocent act, only grinned slowly at both women. "Ladies, ladies," he said in a sing-song voice. "You are not in the position to be making threats."

"You're right!" Kagura yelled, her red-painted nails curling around the fabric of his shirt as she pulled back one of her fists. "It's the time for ass-kicking!"

"Kagura!" Sango yelled, grabbing her friend's arm. "Don't give him an excuse for assault charges."

"Always the practical one, aren't you Miss Rae?" Naraku laughed.

"Shut it, you hole," Sango snapped. "I'm not doing it for you." Kagura-- very reluctantly-- released her hold on Naraku and took a step back.

"Talk, worm," she ordered. "Why us?"

Naraku shrugged. "The men whom I represent like scamming independent companies. They are less likely to be missed once they fold-- or sell to bigger conglomerates. The Winds of Change was just another notch in our belt-- an independently run company looking to expand. We just reaped the benefits."

His nonchalant attitude only served to infuriate both women. "Didn't you think we'd catch you?!" Kagura ground out between clenched teeth.

Naraku shrugged. "We expected it, but then again, we have robbed companies who never even noticed until after we were long gone. There are some of the more exceptional, such as yourselves, who do discover our activities. Still, we are never charged."

"You can bet your ass you will be this time!" Sango shouted. "You will give us back what is ours, or you will rot the rest of your worthless life away in a rusting cage."

Naraku sighed, shaking his head sadly as he reached into his jacket. "I had truly hoped it wouldn't come to this." Both women froze, thinking he had some form of a weapon, but relaxed only slightly as he pulled out an envelope. Casually, he tossed it on to Kagura's desk.

"What the hell is this?" the editor asked, lifting the envelope and dumping the contents out across the table. In it were documents, recorded quotes, an old arrest record, mug shots, a marriage certificate, and several other scattered papers that made no sense to either woman.

"That is all the information that my assistant and I have collected on Kagome Higurashi," he said easily, stuffing both his hands into his pockets. "There is enough in there that, if released to the public, it would ruin her of any future career."

Kagura and Sango both stared at him, wide-eyed and silent. "Are you blackmailing us?" Kagura choked.

"Yes," Naraku said with a grin. "Those papers are only copied. Originals can be sent out to the media at any time."

"That's insane!" Sango shouted. "We aren't going to let you get away with six million dollars of our money!"

"Then we'll ruin Miss Higurashi." He shrugged, as if a woman's life meant nothing. "The choice is really up to the pair of you. Which is more important, your hard-won business or the aspiring career of a talented young writer?"

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When Kagome received the message from Kagura telling her to come into the office, she noticed immediately that there was something wrong, just by the tone of her voice. It set Kagome on edge as she readied herself. Inuyasha was already at the hospital, working a double shift to make up for taking off two weekends in a row, so she didn't have to explain to anyone why she was going to work at one in the afternoon on a Monday.

The minute she stepped through the revolving glass doors at the office, Kagome felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle, the sense of impending doom caving in upon her. She knew that whatever was about to happen would not be a good thing.

Yura admitted her into Kagura's office right away, only making her more suspicious. Kagura always liked to make people stew outside her office for five or ten minutes, just for her own personal amusement. Shaking her head, Kagome entered with her back straight and her head high.

"Whatever made you call me in better be important," she announced. "I'm missing Jerry Springer."

Sango was there, sitting in one of the cushioned chairs in front of Kagura's desk, her head in her hands. Kagura, sitting behind the desk, gave her a weak smile and motioned for Kagome to sit. Just the sight made Kagome blanch. Either somebody died, or something bad was about to happen.

"Thanks for coming in so fast, Kags," Kagura said. "We have something important to talk to you about."

"No small talk," Kagome said as she took the offered seat. Already her throat was closing in fear. "Give it to me straight."

Sango looked up, her eyes haunted and sparkling with tears. "We were robbed," she said quietly. As quickly as she had spoken, Sango put her head back down. She couldn't trust herself to go on.

Kagura took the reigns, always the rock, always in control. "It seems that Naraku was working for a group of backers posing to be endorsement agencies." The simple statement sent a cold chill down Kagome's spine. "They tapped our reserve funds and wiped us out."

"No," Kagome breathed. The full force of the words was like a blow to the stomach, knocking the wind from her lungs.

"They took all of our reserves," Kagura continued, her knuckles white as they gripped the fountain pen in her hands. "There's nothing left to keep the magazine going."

Kagome thought she was having a panic attack. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't move. How could this have happened? Her throat was so dry the first time, her voice rasped so badly that it hurt. She swallowed a few times before trying again. "Did you catch him?"

"Naraku?" Kagura asked. Kagome nodded and the editor visibly winced. "We spoke with him earlier."

"Did you get him arrested?" Kagome asked fiercely. "Can we get our money back?"

Kagura sighed wearily. Kagome was struck by how fragile and tired her boss looked, so unlike the normal Kagura with boundless energy and a wicked sparkle in her ruby eyes. This Kagura looked older than thirty, she looked a hundred. "No."

Kagome surged forward on to her feet, fists slamming down on the desktop. "Why not?!" she demanded. "He stole from us, we ought to beat him into a meat pie!"

"Kagome," Sango softly called. Kagome whirled, blue eyes fiery as they met with her best friend. "We can't."

"Why the hell not?!"

Both women looked at her sadly, almost pityingly. Suddenly she knew, felt it like a rock in the pit of her stomach. Naraku had threatened her and neither of her friends, so fiercely loyal and loving, could never sacrifice her for the world. Kagome fell back into her chair, tears suddenly burning her eyes. "What did he say?"

"He gave us this," Kagura said as compassionately as she could, handing the envelope to Kagome. Forcing her stomach to settle and willing her heart to beat slower, Kagome opened the envelope and pulled out the papers inside with shaking fingers.

After a few minutes, she had to sit back or risk collapsing as every secret in her life, every mistake of her past and every haunting memory was laid out on her lap. Everything from her angry teenage years. Everything from her chaotic college days. Even testimonial about her marriage to Inuyasha. All of it lay out before her like the pieces to a surreal jigsaw puzzle. It had to be someone else's life. This couldn't be hers. This couldn't be happening.

But it was, of course.

"They would have released it," Sango whispered after a long and silent pause. "It would ruin you."

Kagome shook her head, blinking back the angry tears that were threatening again. "So you let them destroy the magazine?"

"Kagome," Kagura said, forcing the young writer to look up at her friend. "It's just money. This is your life we're talking about."

Unable to hold all of them back, a few silent tears made their way down Kagome's face. She didn't sob, nor did she choke. She just cried with quiet dignity. "But what about everyone else?" she rasped. "What about everyone else who works for The Winds? What are you going to tell the rest of the employees when this place goes under? 'Sorry, but we had to protect one woman instead of all of you?'" Anger surged in Kagome now, a familiar emotion to block the guilt and pain gnawing at her stomach like a canker.

"Kagome, do you understand what's happening?" Sango asked, finally rising to her feet. "He would have destroyed you!"

"Better me than the entire magazine," Kagome shot back. How was she supposed to live with herself knowing that she was the cause for failure of the beloved magazine?

"The magazine won't close," Kagura said monotonously. Both Sango and Kagome turned to her in surprise. "I can get a loan to keep us open for the next issue or so, until we're back on our feet."

Kagome felt a little better now, but looking at the envelope in her hands and the papers on her lap, she knew what she had to do. It had all been a scam anyway… what did it matter now? Gathering up the articles, she tossed them on Kagura's desk. "Consider this my resignation," she said with a sniff. "I quit."

The room lapsed into silence once more. "Kagome, don't do this," Kagura said at last.

"You don't have to," Sango said in desperation, grabbing Kagome's hand. "It's over, we'll get through this. It's not your fault!"

Kagome pulled her hand free of Sango and took a step back. "It could always happen again." The writer ran a hand through her hair with a strained sigh. "I have too many skeletons in my closet for this business. And what about the next Naraku? Or the one after that? How many times will you have to be punished because of me?"

"We're not being punished because of you," Kagura insisted. "We love you and we want to protect you, that's all."

Kagome smiled, eyes brimming. "I don't want to be protected." She looked lost for a moment, looking back and forth between Sango and Kagura. "I'm done with this." And with that, she turned and ran from the room.

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When Inuyasha came home from the hospital that night, he had been in good spirits. There hadn't been any fatalities on his shift. It was looking to be a beautiful night. He was looking forward to seeing his wife. It still felt a little strange to him, going home and having someone waiting for him who wasn't four-legged and furry. But it was strange in a good way. Strange in a way he found comforting.

His hopes for the evening were dashed however, when he saw Souta carrying the last of several cardboard boxes out of his apartment. The boy gave him a saddened look as he walked past, and Inuyasha knew something was happening. And it couldn't be good.

He found Kagome in his study, fixing the lamp and the chair and the computer to the exact way she had found it. There was a slow movement in her, some kind of weight on her shoulders that made her movements sluggish and tired.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha spoke quietly, not wanting to spook her.

"I'm moving back to my apartment," she said, not facing him. Her shoulders slumped and he heard the high pitch to her voice, as if she was trying not to cry.

"Why?" he asked, feeling something in his chest tighten already. She was leaving. Something in that statement made him feel hollow inside, like a part of himself was leaving rather than another person. In the short time they had been together, Inuyasha couldn't begin to count the ways in which Kagome had grown on him. He thought he was used to living alone, but when Kagome came into his life, with her fast tongue and her beautiful smile… how could he go back to silent nights and TV dinners?

"I quit my job at the magazine," she said, turning to face him so that he could see her now. Her blue eyes were rimmed in red, sparkling as if there were more tears to come. Still, she was smiling. It was small and tired, but it was there, and it made him feel as if his heart had just been ripped out. "There's no reason for me to stay here anymore. We can go back to our lives before this mess happened."

"Do we have to?" he asked quietly, a plea from the boy in him.

She looked at him for a long moment. Then she stepped forward and brought his mouth to hers in a searing kiss. Kagome poured herself into him, all the lingering sadness that seemed to seep into her very being and all the guilt, the doubt, and the resignation. She didn't believe she could ever be happy, so she never expected it.

This was a kiss of goodbye, and Inuyasha knew it.

When she pulled back, she rested her forehead against his, regaining herself. "I left my key on the kitchen table." Inuyasha's grip on her waist tightened, but she still pulled back.

Kagome paused in the hallway to scratch Jewel on the head. The white dog whined softly, knowing that her cat companion and her mistress were both leaving. Inuyasha followed, not knowing what to do or say, just knowing that if he didn't do or say something, Kagome would walk out the door and never come back.

Buyo's crate was sitting by the door, waiting for her to take him and leave. That would be it. She could curl back up in her little world and wait for it to explode, because it always did. She did a mental sweep, thinking of anything that she left behind. Kagome could feel Inuyasha lingering in the hallway behind her and knew that if she turned and looked at him, she'd never have the strength to leave. He couldn't know how much pain she was in.

"Kagome," he called haltingly as she grasped the doorknob. Still, she didn't turn. After a few seconds' silence, she turned the knob and opened the door, ready to walk out and leave the apartment. "Don't go," he whispered from behind her. Kagome felt her hands shake as she held Buyo's crate. She tried to force herself forward; to leave before her heart broke into another million pieces.

"Why not?" she asked, not being able to help herself.

Swallowing pride and fear and his own self-doubt, Inuyasha Saishi, a man who had healed and saved hundreds of people, who held the lives of people in his hands every day, did the bravest thing he had ever done in his life. "I think I'm in love with you."

There it was; the one sentence Kagome had been dreading. Half of her rejoiced. She had finally found a man who could love her in return. But the other half of her cried because she was going to leave regardless. Now it would only be harder. It was because she loved him that she couldn't stay, couldn't link herself to him. He had so much to give to the world. She would never forgive herself if she somehow harmed him, in reputation or standing.

Kagome Higurashi was the kind of woman that attracted bad men. It was just her luck that the only one to love her was a good man. To a normal woman, this would be a good thing, but like in most things, for Kagome, it was wrong.

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha," Kagome said as the tears welled in her eyes, her back to him so he couldn't see how badly she wanted to stay, how much she loved him. With nothing more to say, she walked out the door.

Inuyasha stood in the same spot for an unknown amount of time. Be it minutes or hours, he couldn't tell. All he could feel was empty. For the first time in his life, he told a woman that he loved her, and she threw it back in his face.

Finally, movement returning to his arms and legs, Inuyasha walked into the kitchen. As expected, dinner was on the stove waiting for him. She even took time out to cook for him when she was leaving. His hands were shaking when he collapsed at the kitchen table. He stared hard at the key to the apartment that he had given to Kagome. The key sat on top of a small stack of papers. Taking a deep breath, he looked at them and felt the bottom fall out of his stomach. The annulment papers stared back at him.

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When Sesshomaru stepped out of the elevator on the floor of his apartment, he thought he was walking in some kind of a daydream.

Kagura stood a few feet down the hall from him, her back resting against the door of his apartment, her head resting in her hands so that he couldn't see her face. Without looking up, he knew she knew it was him, because she began speaking softly when he drew closer.

"I wasn't smart enough," she said barely above a whisper. "Or I was too preoccupied with something else. Or I just wasn't meant to be an editor. That had to be it. I'm just not good enough."

"Kagura," Sesshomaru spoke, bringing her out of her reverie. "What's the matter?"

"I should have known he was evil," she said, her voice clouding over with emotion. "You would have known it, but I just couldn't see it until after. I just couldn't see it."

"See what? What happened?" His concern was mounting with her distress. Something had happened to her and it had to have been bad to make her second-guess herself. Kagura was one of the most confident people he knew.

She scoffed a little, in a self-loathing way. "My representative stole money from me," she said, tears now evident in her voice. "All my reserves, everything I had in my business… and I had to let him go because he would have destroyed Kagome." Kagura looked up at him then, her ruby eyes misting over and her face full of pain. "You would have seen it, wouldn't you? You would have known."

Sesshomaru did the only thing he could do. He enfolded her in his arms and held her while she cried against his shoulder. His heart constricted, feeling her pain as if it were his own. This is what it meant to be in love, to feel what the other person felt, be it happiness or sadness. This was what he felt when he was with Kagura, and was why he felt empty whenever she wasn't with him.

She quieted after a while, enough for him to unlock the door and lead them both inside. Once he had her seated on the couch with a box of Kleenex by her side, he was able to get the entire story from her. Kagura told him about the fake interviews, the secret money scamming, and blackmail about Kagome. Even about Kagome quitting.

"If Kagome is gone, then you can go after this Naraku person, can't you?" Sesshomaru asked, wiping a stray tear from her cheek in a gentle action that made Kagura feel like crying all over again.

"I tried, but he's gone. I don't have any idea how to track him down or where to even begin looking." She felt defeated, and worthless. "My reserves are gone with him."

"I would offer you my help," he said quietly. "If I thought you would take it."

Kagura looked at him with bright ruby eyes, eyes that said pride meant nothing in the face of destruction. "If you still offer it, then I would gladly take it."

Sesshomaru's face betrayed a ghost of a smile. "I would willingly make a contribution to The Winds of Change."

Playing off a reckless note, Kagura looked him in the eye. "What about a contribution to me?"

A little taken back, Sesshomaru studied her for a silent moment. "Will you disappear again?"

"Will it be like it was before?" she countered.

There was a moment of silence between them before Sesshomaru shook his head. "No."

"No," she echoed in answer to his question. There was hope in her eyes now.

"I can't offer you much, Kagura," Sesshomaru said with unease.

"All I want is you," she replied. "The rest I can get for myself."

"Deal," he agreed. They shook hands all the way to his bedroom.

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Kagome sat in her apartment, an open bag of Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers next to her mouse as she searched Monster.com. It had been a slow few weeks, mostly consisting of her staying at home, dodging phone calls from worried friends and family. She talked when she had to, went out as little as possible, and tried as much as possible to lay low. A few reporters had even come by, trying to interview her, but she had had enough of interviews.

Her mother had offered to come spend a few days with her, but Kagome turned her down. Right now, the unemployed writer was seriously giving thought to moving back home. New York was becoming to unwelcome for her. In fact, she had become so intensely miserable, she had even caught some kind of a virus a week or so before.

Buyo was curled up at the feet of her computer chair, and every so often Kagome would bend over to scratch his ears. The obese feline had been feeling extremely neglected since they had left Inuyasha's apartment a little less than a month ago, so Kagome tried her best to keep him happy and well loved. It was also helping her cope as well.

A knock at the door made her jump a little in her chair, despite the fact that she was expecting whom it was. "Come in, Sango," she called. The door opened, admitting her best friend without much dramatic fanfare.

"You really shouldn't leave the door unlocked," Sango cautioned as she walked into the living room.

"I know," Kagome replied, getting to her feet. "Ready?"

"I guess," her friend replied. "I'm still wondering why you asked me to come with you."

"I don't want to go alone," Kagome admitted with a frown. "I get nervous when I go alone, even when it's nothing." Sango nodded and retrieved Kagome's coat for her. Locking the door behind them, the two women exited the apartment building and hailed a cab.

"How's the magazine doing?" Kagome asked once they had given the address to the cab driver.

"Very good. Sesshomaru's 'contribution' has been helping pick up the slack. He also gave us a few ideas to help fill the gap left behind when you left." Sango cracked her knuckles as she spoke-- an increasingly bad habit she picked up from Miroku now that they were living together. He almost burned the apartment down from a grilled cheese accident, and she almost threw him out a window because of it, but other than that, they were the perfect couple.

"It seems like he's been helping Kagura a lot," Kagome said with a smile, looking out the window.

"Yeah," Sango agreed. "He really makes her happy, and it's all the time now. She keeps talking about trying to get you to come back to us."

Kagome shook her head. "I'm done with The Winds, maybe not for good, but for now. I just want to concentrate on getting my life together."

Sango nodded. "I take it the annulment went through?"

"My lawyer called a few days ago. It's official. I'm single again." She didn't sound entirely happy about that, and Sango didn't blame her. It was then that the cab pulled up next to the address they desired. Sango paid the fare, saying Kagome could get the payment home, and they entered the building. The two women took the elevator to the sixth floor and walked down to the office at the very end of the hall.

A waiting room graced them, sterile and quiet and empty. The only life was the woman behind the desk, to which Kagome walked over. "Kagome Higurashi, I have an appointment," she said. The woman checked a clipboard and nodded.

"Have a seat, doll," she drawled. "The doctor will be with you in a minute."

She and Sango sat in silence for a few tense minutes before Kagome was called into the office. Sango waited in the quiet, sterile room. She hated doctor's offices, so she fidgeted unbearably for the entire twenty minutes it took Kagome to see the doctor and come back.

Kagome immerged a while later, looking decidedly ill. She was pale and trembling and muttered that she had puked while with the doctor. Sango worriedly paid the bill for her and helped her friend to a cab. "Don't worry, Kags," Sango said with a reassuring smile. "I'll get you home." Her friend nodded, but was still shaking badly all the way. "Did the doctor give you a prescription that we can get on the way back?"

Kagome shook her head.

Sango found this odd, but didn't comment. Instead, she paid the fare and walked Kagome up to her apartment. Only once they were inside did Kagome burst into tears. Sango, who was increasingly frightened, sat Kagome down on the couch and faced her.

"Kagome, what's wrong? What did the doctor say? Is the virus that bad?"

Kagome shook her head, sobbed again, then sniffed deeply to get herself under control. "I'm not sick," she said brokenly. "I'm pregnant." Sango was utterly silenced. Kagome continued talking, just because the silence was killing her. "It must've happened in Atlantic City. The doctor said I was six weeks along." Suddenly a fresh wave of tears broke on her. "Oh God!"

Sango, roused from her shocked state, gathered her friend in her arms and held her. "It's going to be okay, Kagome," she assured her friend. Truth coursed through her. Kagome was like a sister to Sango; she would make sure it was okay.

Her first step of making sure everything would be okay would be killing Inuyasha.

A/N: Haven't done a bottom Author's note in a while. I just want to announce that there is one--and only one--more chapter to this story. Then it's done. Caput. Over. No sequel, no tie-ins. Over, forever! No begging for sequels. No wishing for more. I'm washing my hands of this. I have bigger and better plans, my beloved readers. You'll see!