A/N: Gosh, summer is going by so fast. It is insane. I never have enough hours in day. I mean, what if there were like 25 hours in a day instead of 24… we would have more time in our lives. So that is why it took me two weeks to write this ending chapter. I wanted to get it out sooner. I have a goal to finish before the end of the summer. So I hope to make it.

I wanted to make this chapter sweet and touching and just plain loving. Everyone has already gotten hurt, so this is the time where they all love each other. Everyone needs love. Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Nine

I Love You

Kagome stood unmoving in Inuyasha's arms. She had longed to hear those words come out of his mouth. 'I'm sorry…' They rang in her ears.

Inuyasha looked at Kagome affectionately. He touched her face with his fingertips. Kagome's face was smudged with dirt and her eyes looked twinkled with tears that glistened in them.

"I didn't mean any of those things that I told you in the jail," he continued. "I had wanted to hear the truth from you. I didn't want to believe that you had killed Kikyo. I wanted… I wanted to tell you that I wanted you out of that place… that …that I love you," he ended.

This was everything that Kagome needed to forgive him. She had acted rashly and said the things that she didn't want… "I love you too Inuyasha," she whispered to him and rested her head on his chest as he kissed her warmly on the top of her head. She instantly felt a surge of warmness flow through her body; she felt loved and all the hatred instantly vanished from within her heart.

Kagome started to cry in happiness. "There were so many things that I had planned to tell you that day. I wanted to tell you that I was innocent. I wanted you to know that I hadn't killed her, that it wasn't me. But that look on your face after the guard had told you that I had killed Kikyo. You hadn't believed me…" her voice trailed off.

"I shouldn't have listened to the guard," Inyasha admitted, she lifted Kagome's head so she would look directly at him, "I should not have even suspected you- that's why I came back… to ask for the truth. I hadn't meant it to come out that way. Kagome… I'm sorry. I should have known better."

He wanted her forgiveness. Everything that she had gone through because he decided to not listen, to not understand, and to believe that she had even killed Kikyo. He wanted so hard for things to go back to how they were. He wanted Kagome to trust him again. Kagome was his other half. He would no longer be able to live without her.

"I would have never killed anyone… not for your money… not for this empire. I had never thought of such a thing. I had come back to the palace to tell you that I couldn't be with you. I didn't want to be in the way. I didn't want you to be underestimated by you. I was going to leave you… even if it was going to shatter my heart. I was going to do that all for you. It was because I didn't want to hurt you and your position as emperor," Kagome looked at him, her eyes were filled with hurt.

"Just stop, Kagome." Inuyasha said softly. He couldn't take it anymore. He had been so wrong.

Yet, Kagome continued, "I forgive you for everything."

That was all Inuyasha needed to hear. "Thank you…"

They stood silent for awhile in each others' arms in the empty room. Kagome felt protected with Inuyasha beside her. He fingered her wounds on her armsm and she winced in pain. He looked at the cuts- the slashes that had pained her from the whip.

"Who did this to you?" he asked her finally.

Kagome hesitated to respond. "It was the queen," she said at last.

"My mother?" Then something hit Inuyasha. "Your mother," he said, his voice almost echoed in the room.

"Yeah… she is my mother. A mother whipping her very own daughter this way…" Kagome had pulled away from Inuyasha. She touched her wounds. No medicine had been applied, and she had not changed her torn blood-stained clothes yet either.

"I'm not the emperor. You're the princess- you should be the one on that throne, Kagome. I don't deserve this. You do."

Inuyasha finally pieced everything together. All the shock before had now swept over him and he was coming back to reality. The real reality.

"Inuyasha, do you know what would happen if this information got out? You have to still be emperor. What the queen had done breaks so many laws that I probably wouldn't be able to live to rule the empire. And I wouldn't be able to do it like you." Kagome spun around looking at the entire meeting room- spreading out her arms representing the place that she could never govern. "We can't tell anyone."

"But… I don't even have royal blood… this throne doesn't belong to me," for the first time, Inuyasha sounded weak and unsure of things. His world had been turned upside down. Nothing worked anymore. Nothing made sense. Everything felt so wrong, yet they were so right.

Kagome shook her head at him. "It doesn't matter about blood. Now that I have royal blood I'll be able to marry you," she said amusingly.

Inuyasha got to his knee once more. "So, will you take my hand now, princess?" He smiled at her.

"Yes, I will take your hand," she told him seriously. And Inuyasha got up and grabbed her by the waist and lifted her into the air, spinning her around. Kagome laughed for the first time in a couple of days. She laughed with her heart and her soul. Everything was right and nothing could be wrong any longer.

&

Miroku opened the door for Mr. Matsuo and Sango to enter. They had returned to Suga's place, and he had given them a room to stay in until they were well rested up enough to make the journey home.

Yang sat slowly down on a chair in the middle of the room. At the very end of the room were two small beds, and there was a small window that let the sun rays pour in.

His hand rested on the table. He looked tired and, but for once, relived. Sango took the seat across from him and Miroku sat down beside her. Mr. Matsuo took his daughter's hands. "I thought that I had lost you, Sango," he spoke into their hands. "Sesshomaru had told me that you had died. My world had died at the very moment, Sango. I'm so glad that you aren't hurt..." he was trying hard to fight back the tears. "You're my only daughter, and I can't be prouder of you. You believed that I was innocent, and you are the reason that I'm sitting here free today. Thank you." His last two words came from the bottom of his heart. He couldn't put all his feelings into words and those were the closest words that he could come up with.

"Father, I would always stand by your side," Sango said in confidence, a smile was one her face and tears of joy ran down her face. "I had to get you out. It's my duty as your daughter to believe in you and I always knew that you were never guilty."

"Yes, Mr. Matsuo," Miroku spoke for the first time, "Sango's faith in you never wavered."

Yang let go of Sango's hands and patted Miroku on the back. "Thank you for everything that you have done for her, being there for her and helping me."

"It was my responsibility," Miroku responded. Sango looked at him and smiled. He had been there for her this entire time. He was her shoulder to lean on and protected her when she was in danger.

Miroku took a deep breath before continuing, "Mr. Matsuo…" he hesitated. He didn't know if it was the appropriate time to ask, but in the end he decided that there would be no better time. "I would like to ask you permission to marry your daughter, Sango." At the moment, he took Sango's hand and she didn't push it away. The hate that had been present the first few days that they had met had evaporated.

"It was always the plan that you two get married and I'm glad that the both of you are happy about the arrangement," Yang couldn't have been happier any other day. He was released and his daughter was willing to marry the man that he had arranged for her.

Miroku pulled Sango into his arms. "I love you, Sango," he said this into her ear and she kissed him on the check.

"I love you too," she whispered back.

&

On the other side of the wall, Suga and Michiko were sitting in silence. Suga had told everyone everything. He knew what he had done was for the best, but the truth rocked everyone's world, including his.

"Michiko…" he began, not knowing what to say to his wife.

She looked up at him wearily. "Are you happy now? You told everyone that Kikyo wasn't our daughter and Kagome was the princess and Inuyasha was not the real emperor. What were you thinking? What good does any of that do?" She shook her head and fury and frustration.

Suga didn't know if the person he was facing was his wife anymore. She knew exactly why he had done it. After Kikyo's death, she hadn't been herself. It was as if a part of her left her with Kikyo.

"If you hadn't almost had the queen kill her own daughter, none of this would have ever happened. The secret would have gone with us to the grave. Michiko, you had to understand why I did it. It wasn't to hurt you; it was for the best for the empire."

His wife was silent. The rage within her had not been able to burn out, yet it was flaming harder than ever. How she wished her son to be by her side and how she wanted Kikyo to still be alive. "Suga, there are things that you will never understand about being a mother and never having your son look at you," she said, her voice echoed and sounded faint.

With that she walked out of the room. She couldn't take it anymore. How the world had just crumbled beneath her. She wanted so much for her own life to end. What would be the point of living on any further. She didn't have Kikyo or Inuyasha and her husband just told the queen of the crime that she had committed- a crime that she was going to have to pay with her life. There was no point in living… all the things that she wanted to get right in her life had done her wrong in the end. The things that she wanted to get back in life were taken away from her yet again. Michiko didn't understand and she was never going to.

&

The queen lay on her bed with a maid beside her. "I can't believe it," she spoke to herself holding her forehead. The things that she had just found out were still processing her mind. All the words were swirled together and her head throbbed just trying to understand it. All these years she had been fooled into thinking that Kikyo was her daughter… and she had almost killed her own daughter… How could it all be true?

Suddenly, she sat up. "I have to pull myself together," she said to the room. She was going to have to remain calm and act like nothing had happened. No one was going to find out that Inuyasha was not the real emperor. The empire was far more important than her personal life.

She put on her outer robe and walked to find Inuyasha. They were going to have a long talk.

&

Inuyasha and Kagome were still in a state of pure happiness when the queen found them. Inuyasha held Kagome and he didn't want to ever let her go, but the broke apart quickly once they saw the queen.

"Your highness," Kagome said as she bowed, still used to her regular greeting.

"Kagome…you don't have to do that anymore now. You're my daughter…" the queen tried to say this with as much ease as she could.

Kagome looked at the ground, not knowing how to react. "I think there should be some time in between before I can accept that fact that you are my mother," she said each word slowly and carefully.

"I understand. After what you have gone through… what I had done to you… I think we all need some time. I just want you to forgive me for my actions. That is all I ask from you now."

Kagome didn't say anything. She was not ready to forgive the queen for her actions. She had begged in the jail and said that she was innocent. She had begged and still the queen had whipped her. If she hadn't stopped, Kagome didn't know if she would have been able to make it.

"Don't pressure her. She doesn't need that now," Inuyasha said, defending Kagome.

The queen bit her lip. "I'm sorry." She rubbed her temples. "Inuyasha, I know that the news today came as a shock for you as well."

He nodded. He didn't know how to act anymore. He didn't belong. The queen was no longer his mother… he no longer was in position to be emperor.

"I want you to know that I raised you like my very own child. Your father didn't even know that you weren't his blood. I made a mistake nineteen years ago switching Kagome for you. I regret it deeply every single day from that very day forward. But I want you to understand that you will be still be the emperor as you have always been. Nothing is going to change. No one knows about this except the ones that were in the room today and no one is going to be telling," she stated it as if it was law.

"But I don't belong in the position," Inuyasha began.

"I will have nothing of that nonsense. You are the emperor. You have ruled this empire like your own and now just because you know that you aren't blood-related to your father and me, you think that you have to give up your throne- your empire. Inuyasha, you can't give it up. You have to think of the people of China. You're a good emperor." She smiled at him just as a mother would smile at her son.

"Well, if blood doesn't matter now, why didn't it matter before?" he said, his tone rising.

"I was wrong," the queen knew it now.

"I want to share this empire with Kagome. I'll continue to rule as emperor for her. She will rule with me," he said, this time with compassion.

Kagome looked up into his eyes. They gleamed and a smile formed on his face. He would never forget her. He was always there for her.

"I'm sorry for not allowing you two to marry before. There is nothing I would like better than for the two of you to work together as a couple and run this empire." The queen started to cry. She cried for all the things that she had done wrong and all the things that she had done that had hurt her daughter.

For the first time, Kagome felt forgiveness form in her heart. She stepped closer to her mother and embraced her. "I forgive you," she told her and the queen smiled through all the tears.

&

One Month Later

Kagome sat in an empty room. She was dressed in a gorgeous red robe. A piece of silk hung from her the tiara on her head and covered her face.

Excitement ran all over her body. A maid held Kagome's hand as she led the bride to the carriage to the sight of the ceremony.

When the carriage stopped, Inuyasha opened the carriage door and took Kagome's hand. "You look beautiful."

"You can't even see my face," she rolled her eyes at him from under the silk.

He laughed and walked her toward the building.

Just after Kagome's carriage was Sango's. Miroku opened the door and took Sango's hand. "My lovely wife," he cooed.

"I'm not your wife yet," she teased.

"Gosh, you should really see this place. It's amazing," Miroku said as he looked around.

Sango lifted the silk up a little and took a peak. 'Traditions,' she thought. She hated the tradition of having the brides where the silk over their face. What could be the point?

She gasped silently as she looked ahead. The place was truly amazing. There were flowers and more than a thousand people watching the ceremony. The walls had been decorated with red banners and there was a whole band to the right of the building. Everything looked perfect. She was going to get married with her best friend. No one could ever ask for more.

The two couples each approached a long table with hundreds of dishes of food eloquently prepared. They got to their knees. A monk stood to the right. He said some prayers and the vows that they would be taking. Then he told them to bow to their ancestors and then to one other. They were now going to be linked together for eternity.

The queen, Suga, Kaede, and Mr. and Mrs. Matsuo watched the ceremony with smiles on their faces. Everything had ended just as everyone could ever have dreamed them to.

Inuyasha pulled the silk off of Kagome. "I love you," and he pulled her towards him and kissed her on the lips tenderly. Kagome felt her heart flutter and the crowd clapped as they pulled apart.

"To the king and queen," the crowd said as bowed their head to Kagome and Inuyasha.

Kagome smiled at the crowd. At last, she was going to be accepted. And Inuyasha smiled with her. He had finally surpassed all the obstacles that were placed in front of him.

Nothing could have felt better for the two of them. Inuyasha put his hand around Kagome's waist and the looked out on their empire. Forever they were going to be together. Together they were going to govern China, and together they were going to live happily ever after.

A/N: I should have started out with 'once upon a time…' lol. I hope the ending was good. There is going to one more chapter. Just to give you the definite end.