Disclaimer: I still own nothing.

Alright. :takes deep breath: This is the last chapter. I hope you don't hate the ending.

When I wrote this, I tried to extend my writing skills to the best of my ability. Written emotion is hard to capture, to feel among the pages as you read, and I had intended to accomplish that the most.

Although it doesn't seem to be this way, Chapter 16 is originally in Sango's POV.


I sat beside her, worry building up in me as I saw blood spilling from a sudden gash on the upper part of her leg, a few inches above her knee. It was more than just a cut. I could tell by the amount of blood that spilled out that it was considerably deep. Her defences must have started to wear down because I had never seen her injured like this before. Tsuyuki must have found an opening. But what worried me was how pale and tired she looked, even in the trance-like state she sent in to battle this demon. Her face contorted and a whimper of pain escaped her mouth.

I looked at the miko, desperation in my voice. "Kagome-sama, get me a damp cloth. Hurry!" I knew it was no use to keep wiping the blood away, as Kaede had told me it would keep flowing as long as Sango remained in the Dream Realm, but I felt so helpless about the whole situation that I had to help her. I had to do something. I couldn't stand to just sit here and watch.

She nodded, standing up and going over. She picked up a clean white cloth, but before she could wet it, a sudden movement caught both of our attentions. Kagome looked back at her friend. "Sango-chan?" she asked nervously.

The taijiya had sat up, her eyes staring straight ahead while looking unfocused, her movement stiff but still somewhat fluent and graceful.

"Sango?"

Her hand tightened around her blade, and she didn't seem to be struggling in the slightest. No trembling, no visible straining. She seemed to be providing no resistance to Tsuyuki this time, and that was what scared me the most. Even if she hadn't lost, Tsuyuki was probably powerful enough by this point to prevent her from using her willpower to fight back. And I couldn't tell if that was the reason or if Sango had really been defeated.

Had she lost?


"Sango, can you hear me?"

In response she turned and stood up, glaring at me. I backed away, and a good thing I did, because the blade came down, smashing into the wooden floor. Kagome let out a gasp of horror, backing away against the wall and dropping the cloth.

"S - Sango-chan?"

The taijiya kept moving forward to strike against me, and I moved back until I was against the wall. I met her gaze, trying to see past the blank, unfocused hold that Tsuyuki had on her. Her eyes were a dark red and I could see no emotion whatsoever except for determination. Most likely it was determination meant to kill me rather than the willpower to provide resistance to what Tsuyuki wanted her to do.

"Miroku-sama! Move away from her!" Kagome pleaded in warning, slowly making her way to the door. It seemed like she was trying to make an unnoticeable escape, but she didn't need to worry. Sango's gaze was focused directlyon me. Seeing that, Kagome took off, probably to find Inuyasha.

"Sango, fight it!" I pleaded. I had no idea if she really had lost or not, but if she hadn't, there was still a chance.

I grabbed her shoulders and shook her a bit, unable to tell if she was providing any resistance yet. She remained unfocused and the grip on her blade as she pressed it up against my throat tightened. I thought I saw a flicker of fear pass through her eyes. I almost smiled. So the warrior in Sango was still fighting.

Her hand shook very slightly for the first time and the tip of the blade felt cold against my skin. The pressure behind it wasn't much, but all Tsuyuki had to do was twist Sango's wrist and the blade would slit my throat. I knew she must have been putting some sort of struggle against it because if she had not been, I would have been dead already. I've watched her fight enough times to recognize when she is hesitating about whether or not to make the final blow.

I didn't know what to do. If I tried to fight back, she would be able to overpower me. If I let my instinctive defences take over, she would kill me for sure. My defences were weak against her attack power, and I don't deny that if we were to fight one on one, she would win easily.

The only thing I could think of to do was to connect with her. Somehow I had to get through to her, and there was only one way to do that.

I placed my hand against the handle of the blade to prevent it from cutting the skin and going any deeper, and with my other hand, I grabbed her wrist so that Tsuyuki could not force her to attack me, at least for the time being. This was my chance, the one chance I had to help her.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers. It was gentle and sweet, just a chaste kiss. I didn't know exactly why, but I knew it would help her.

Her eyes began to focus a little more after I pulled back, and I could have sworn I saw a faint sign of a smile curve the corners of her mouth. Had it worked?

"Miroku," she whispered, my name barely audible on her lips. I could feel her breath pass over my skin. "Thank you."

Although I sensed that Tsuyuki had relinquished control for the moment, Sango, my Sango, had regained momentary control, and I pulled her to me, inhaling her scent. Even though Tsuyuki could still control her body, could still run the katana through my body if I held her close to me like this, I sensed, that for the time being, it had weakened.

"I love you."

I did not expect her to say those three little words in return. She was not ready. But the smile she gave me and the words she said were not the words I ever thought I would hear.

"I'll hold you to that."

Did she mean what I thought she meant?


When I had realized what Tsuyuki was planning to make me do, I struggled against it as much as I could. Unfortunately my attempts were futile; I had felt my hand reaching for the katana. I was just too tired to fight back, at least in an obvious effort. And I had been fighting for a considerable amount of time before it took control of my body, so I was already worn out.

I could still sense the fear surrounding Miroku, and when I turned, I saw his face. His expression was more of apprehension than anything else, but I could feel his fear. I felt my body stand up and advance towards him. I drew the blade and aimed it at his neck, my wrist shaking with the effort of not letting it slide against his neck.

No.

The tip pressed harder, and I struggled not to let it cut through his skin. By this time, his left hand had grabbed the handle of the blade in an attempt to prevent it from killing him, and his other hand had grabbed my wrist and was trying to aim it elsewhere.

Stop it!

Then Miroku did something that I could have slapped him for at a time like this. He kissed me. Normally I wouldn't have minded such an action because I actually did enjoy when we kissed, but not in this case. I was slightly shocked he would do such a thing, especially when I was struggling resisting Tsuyuki's hold on my body, but it was sweet and gentle, and for that, I liked it.

It was enough to weaken the hold that Tsuyuki had on me. Maybe I could get through this.

As he pulled back, I gave him a faint smile.

"I love you," he said.

I didn't tell him I loved him back. It wasn't the right time, and besides, I wasn't sure if he was saying it because he really did love me, or if he was happy just because I had let him kiss and hold me. And in a way, I was still a little uncertain as to whether or not I loved him. I mean, I knew I cared about him immensely, more than any other in the group, but that still didn't mean that I loved him. Caring immensely about someone as a friend and knowing that you are in love with this person are two different things. There was, however, one way I could assure him things would be okay.

"I'll hold you to that," I told him. Then I felt the 'tunnel vision' fade as Tsuyuki drew back in defence. I felt my surroundings begin to whirl together in a blend of colours, and I knew I was heading back into the Realm to finish the fight.


I was back in the Dream Realm. It took me a minute to shake off the dizziness, but I kept my body tense, ready for any attacks that might come my way. Tsuyuki stood a few feet away from me, glaring and breathing hard in its rage. Something as simple as a show of affection, whether it be a hug or a kiss, had weakened the demon. Love was something it could not understand, and it could not fight what it refused to comprehend.

"You think something like that will defeat me?" it snarled, its eyes glowing with rage. I didn't answer and it charged at me.

I calmly side-stepped out of the way just inches before it passed me, keeping my blade up in defence in case it turned in my direction at the last minute to try and catch me off-guard. "You may be a demon, able to control me and force me to do things that I don't want to do, but you can never understand the feelings I have for Miroku. As powerful as you think you are, your ability to understand why humans keep going despite what they're put through is something you can't understand, and that's why you can't destroy me. Not physically, and not emotionally."

It was about to turn around, to snarl some retort at me, but I didn't give it the chance to. I stabbed the blade straight through its back and stomach, black blood spilling over the blade.

Normally I wouldn't give the warm, sticky substance another glance, but the sight of it brought back memories of the people I had killed, and it was almost too much for me to handle.

The nausea built up, but before I had a chance to do anything else, I could feel my consciousness returning. The fog disappeared, as did the landscape, and the wall of the hut started to appear back into my vision. Miroku was still holding me; he had slid down the wall, supporting my back, and I collapsed against him.

"Sango?"

To be honest, I never thought I would have been able to hear my name come off his lips again. From the moment Kaede had given me the mixture for the first fight, I assumed that I would never see him again. I didn't want to tell him how much I cared about him, or how grateful I felt when he remained with me because I didn't want to leave him in pain. But now… now I knew. I had another chance, and Miroku had helped give it to me.

I rested against him, closing my eyes. I felt so tired that I could have fallen asleep in his arms, surrounded by his warmth and reassurance that I really had made it, that I wouldn't have to face Tsuyuki ever again or try to regain control over my own body. My words were barely audible, and I could feel a warm, sticky substance on my skin. It was the slash Tsuyuki had cut in my leg, still bleeding. Right now, though, I didn't care.

I just wanted to be with Miroku. At this particular moment in time, nothing else mattered except for me and him, and we were together. That was all.

"I… I made it."


To be continued in the Epilogue…

Finished typing - shortly after May 21st, 2005

Posted - August 20th, 2005

I have really enjoyed typing the storyline for this. The main thing I kept myself focused on during the conflict was not the background or Tsuyuki. Although Tsuyuki is the main reason for the angst in this story and the reason for the plotline, the emotions were what I really planned on getting across the page, and it is my hope that the final chapters were expressive enough to do so.