If you guys were waiting for this chapter I am so super sorry, Its just been a lot of stuff. If you are just now reading this story you are in luck. I think this chapter turned out really well and you guys are going to think that someone else wrote it. But that is so not the truth. Well please review so that I know what you guys think. Many Many thanks.

Disclaimer: The characters in this chapter are not mine

The Next Step

Chapter Two: At Long Last

InuYasha slept for nearly a week and a half, all the while Kagome stayed by his side. She stared at him for hours, brushing his hair from his face whenever a breeze blew. She cleaned and redressed his wounds everyday. Sango would bring her food, and had too practically drag Kagome to wash up in the nearby river.

Each day she became more distraught. Kaede had told her that he would be out for a week, but he had still not come to. Her heart broke a little more with every passing hour that she could not see his golden eyes looking into hers. But she refused to falter. She knew that he would not leave her now, after everything that they had been through and somehow survived. After he told her that he loved her.

"Why is it taking you so long InuYasha?" She whispered, tightening her grip on his hand. "I know that you are stronger than this."

She brushed a few strands of hair from his face. She became transfixed. His features were so strong but so beautiful at the same time. His brows were thin and arched at a gentle angle. His skin was tan and smooth, and his lips were slightly parted but completely relaxed. Thoughts began to buzz through her mind so quickly that she was unable to straighten them out. She stared at him lying there so peacefully and with his guard completely down. She closed her eyes and she seemed to have lost complete control of her body. She found herself hovering less than half an inch from his face. The decent continued until her lips met his, and she kissed him as passionately as she could.

A small orb of blue light formed in between the two of them and grew larger. In the next moment the blue light had engulfed both of them. InuYaha's eyes opened and he saw Kagome before him, surrounded by a heavenly blue light, and he returned the kiss. Kagome's head had begun to spin and she felt like she was going to pass out. She gently pulled away and broke the kiss. She kept her eyes closed as her mind began to settle for fear of fainting.

"Ka..gome," InuYasha mumbled as he tightened his grip on her hand.

She snapped her eyes open and stared in to his face and saw his golden eyes staring back up at her. "InuYasha?" she said not sure if this was real or if she had actually passed out and was dreaming. " Oh gods, InuYasha, are you okay? I thought you…..your wounds do they hurt?"

"What wounds, Kagome? I don't feel any."

"They're right," Kagome touched the bandage on his chest and couldn't feel the blood that had refused to stop flowing. "…here. They, they've healed."

InuYasha sat up and looked at the stained bandages that were wrapped around his stomach and chest. He touched them with a little pressure behind his finger tips. Kagome was right, they had healed completely without even the smallest trace of a bruise or a scar.

"Kagome," He lifted his face to meet her auburn eyes. "it was you. I was surrounded by darkness and I heard your voice like blue waves, and I followed them. When I opened my eyes, I was here, with you." Her eyes began to well up and a tear escaped, slowly traveling down the side of her face. InuYasha put his hand to the side of her face and slid his fingers into her hair, with his thumb he brushed the droplet away. He swiftly moved to where his lips would be mere centimeters from her ear.

"Kagome," he whispered, sending chills down her spine. "I've been waiting to do this for ages." He turned her head to face his, and touched her lips with his own, starting a slow and agonizing kiss. His hand slid to the back of her neck, while the other slipped around her waist pulling her closer. Kagome grabbed his side with the tightest grip that she could manage, with her with her mind swimming.

InuYasha pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. Panting, InuYasha was the first to speak. "I missed you Kagome. I can hardly bare it when you are not with me. I came back Kagome. I came back for you, and I want you to be mine, always."

'What could I possibly say that would not sound stupid?' Kagome sat up and looked into his eyes. For once she was completely speechless and had nothing to respond with. Every thought that came to mind sounded ridiculous. How could she respond to such a loaded statement? She had wanted to be with him for as long as she could remember, but he was always chasing after Kikyo. She had never thought that he would say these things to her, but he did. Now, he wanted her and only her for the rest of his life.

"Kagome," InuYasha said snapping Kagome out of her thoughts, his face had turned a little red. "I've been thinking about this for a while now, and it won't hurt anything if you want to think about it too." He stood and walked to the door.

'He's changed a lot.' Kagome thought watching him walk to the door. 'The old InuYasha would have yelled at her for taking so long to answer.'

"InuYasha wait," he stopped and turned to face her. "Yes, I mean, I want to be with you too."

InuYasha stood in the doorway for a moment. Then he walked toward her as fast as he could without breaking into a run and grabbed her. Kagome let out a yelp of surprise, and InuYasha planted kisses on her mouth and neck before he looked into her eyes. Kagome looked into his face and saw a genuine smile that she had never seen before.

"Kagome are you okay?" The two of them jumped and turned to see Sango and the others standing in the doorway.

"Yes, why?

"We heard you scream so ..." Miroko lost his train of thought when he saw InuYasha standing without a single sign of pain.

"Scream? Oh that must have been when, umm, oh never mind," Kagome pitifully explained.

"InuYasha, your completely healed? That miraculous, even for a half demon such as yourself." Kaede walked to InuYasha and studied the places that had once housed his wounds. "How did it happen?"

"I was dressing his wounds and this strange blue light surrounded us, an the next thing I know InuYasha is awake and his wounds are completely healed." Kagome explained.

"That's very strange. Well at any rate, I believe that this belongs to you Kagome." Kaede pulled out a cloth that protected her from the touch of the tainted jewel shard. Kagome reached out and took the large shard from Kaede. Instantly the jewel turned to its natural pale pink color. Kagome untied the necklace that held the last three shards. She held the four of them in her fist and when she opened it the Shikon no Tama had become whole once more.