My favorite chapter that I've written so far.

I would like to reply to everyone's reviews individually, but honestly, I don't have the time. I do a few every now and then, but this is a general thank you to everyone who reads this story and especially those who give me feedback.

Oh and thanks to Karen(MissMollyCoddle); I smiled when I read your review because it sounded like something I would write to another author.

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Her throat was swollen with unshed tears, but Kagome refused to let them fall. She had been foolish to put so much stock into Inuyasha's father. Foolish to hope, to jump to the conclusion that she had found someone so quickly, under such odd circumstances. But some of the things he said...was it her fault that he knew everything she wanted to hear?

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"So you mean to tell this Inutaisho that in the twentieth century to be a leader you must know more about politics than you do about how to handle a sword?"

"Yes."

"Or about which strategies are best to defeat a larger army?"

"Yes."

"Or about how to quell an uprising?"

"How would you quell the uprising?"

"Death, of course."

"That's gruesome. But yes. If you tried to randomly kill off the population, you would be taken down from office more than likely."

"But what if I am the strongest on the battlefield?"

"Unless the battlefield you're fighting on is in the courthouse or among other world leaders or in the boardroom, you don't stand a chance."

"Boardroom? Is that like a bedroom?"

"N...No! Not at all!"

"You are embarassed."

"You think I'm saying you have to be...good in...you know..."

"You are alluding to my sexual prowess."

"Ung..furk..lurg..."

"Pardon?"

"Ok...you know what? New subject. And stop smiling like that."

"Like what?"

"Like an idi...like the cat who caught the canary."

"Alright, a new subject."

"..."

"Why don't we just continue on with the old subject, but with a new focus."

"Good idea."

"So there is no war in the twentieth century."

"What! I didn't say that! Of course there's war!"

"Then why do you not need a strong leader?"

"In the twentieth century, warfare has evolved from what you're used to. There are weapons that humans have invented that could easily wipe out all life on the planet...including demons if there are any left."

"Why then would you need a weak leader?"

"Not a weak leader. A leader whose strength lies in diplomacy. A leader who is able to negotiate with other leaders so that warfare won't be an option at all. So that no one is hurt. He does what is right."

"You mean to say that this Inutaisho is wrong."

"No! Not at all! Its just...this is a different time. You'll see."

"I see you would prefer a weakling who talks his way out of problems to one who faces them head on."

"That's not what I said!"

"Tell me this, Miko Kagome: You are living with your husband and children. It is night and all are asleep. Someone breaks into your home, scaring you and your children. Your husband confronts the man who has invaded your privacy and talks him into leaving. The man does, but every night after that he breaks in again. Your husband tells him to leave every time. Now, do you feel safe knowing that even thought someone threatens you, the man you lie with can talk his way out of it? Or do you think 'I must keep my sword ready, and an ear open every night. I must keep my children close to me, just in case'."

"I..."

"Truthfully."

"The latter."

"And if, on the first night, your husband took his sword and killed the tresspasser, hanging his body so that others could see what their fate would be should they choose to cross over your threshold uninvited, would you not feel safe all of the nights that followed?"

"...Yes."

"A leader should have the political skills to form alliances and compromises, but he must also be able to physically protect those that rely on him."

"That's true. That is a truth. But you're taking my words out of context. That's not what I meant."

"My point is this: Everyone has something they want to protect. To pursue such an endeavor, one must have the power to do so."

With these words, Kagome fell in love with him just a bit more. She knew he was subtly hinting to her of his last moments. He had spoken to her of what he remembered the night on the hill. He told her of his words with Sesshomaru and his fight with Takemaru. He spoke of naming his second son only moments before he was crushed under fiery timber and died breathing in burning ash that filled and scorched his lungs faster than his demon healing could catch up with. She remembered listening to him in mute horror, and then he laughed at her expression, saying that it wasn't as bad as it sounded.

She smacked herself mentally. That was over now. With the end of the quest for the Shikon, she had entered into a new one, harder even perhaps than fighting Naraku. The task of bridging the gap between father and son. And here now was the small gain to the loss of the well: At least she wouldn't have to go home every other weekend. She could now fully concentrate on her goal.

The forest she was walking in ended abruptly in a broad field that radiated sunlight. It was so violently bright her eyes watered and she could hardly open them to see where she was going. She was wiping the tears away when she bumped into something that clanked. And was pointy. And was silken. And felt suspiciously how Inutaisho looked.

Kagome was livid.

"You have no right to follow me Inutaisho-sama," she hissed.

"I have no right not to follow you, Kagome-sama," he answered. This puzzled her for a brief moment before she turned away from him. He came after her, of course.

"Inuyasha is a demon. He needs no coddling." She stopped in her tracks.

"Inuyasha has been a demon for about three days, he was a hanyou his entire life."

He looked at her blankly and she sighed wearily, flopping down on boulder half buried in the grassy meadow and resting her chin in one cupped hand.

"You don't have any idea, do you? You don't know about what Inuyasha's life was like after you died." Kagome straightened. "Well here's the run-down. Inuyasha lived with his mother for a while, being scorned and ignored or ridiculed by everyone he met except her. She died and then Sesshomaru threw him out on his own to live in the wild. Time passes and he hears about the Shikon Jewel. He goes to steal it, but falls in love with the priestess and changes his wish from being full demon, to full human. Naraku, who had been taken care of by Kikyo when he was injured and still a man named Onigumo, lets himself be devoured by demons in exchange for power. He disguises himself as Inuyasha, gives Kikyo a fatal wound whence she crawls back to the village just in time to seal your son to a tree. With me so far?"

Inutaisho frowned at her tone and seeming nonchalance, but he nodded.

"Alright, some of this you heard earlier, but for the sake of progression, you'll hear it again. I come into the picture fifty years later as the reincarnation of Kikyo by falling through a well four to five hundred years earlier. I wake Inuyasha up, unseal him from the tree so he can save me from Mistress Centipede, throw a subduing necklace on him when he threatens to kill me, and manage to break the Shikon into tiny shards in a matter of hours. So now we have to work together to collect all the shards and suddenly, Sesshomaru shows up! But this is no family reunion; he tries to find the Tetsusaiga and is convinced Inuyasha knows where it is and almost kills him. We all find your final resting place, I pull the sword out of the rock, Sesshomaru tries to kill me then turns into a giant dog and tries to kill me and your son, Inuyasha ends up transforming the blade and whacks off his brother's arm. From then on we periodically encounter Sesshomaru, who is still trying to kill us and get the Tetsusaiga because he's unsatisfied with the Tenseiga. But I suppose that came in handy when he saved that little girl."

Kagome paused for a breath.

"The little girl? A human?" Inutaisho asked.

"Yes, she's traveled with him for a while now."

A small smile formed on his lips. "So he knows now. She was with him when Takemaru was defeated?"

There was another stretch of silence before Kagome realized that he was asking her a question.

"Yes. I was there too."

"I remember now. They made me proud that day."

"Good, you should go ask Inuyasha how the battle actually went."

Any human would have looked at her with either an expression of confusion or one of anger and asked her what she meant. Inutaisho, instead, cocked his head.

"You wish me to spend more time with him. You want us to have a human father and son relationship."

She could have been abashed at his words, because that was what she had been thinking, but a little lie wouldn't hurt.

"No, I think you should help him assimilate into demonic culture. He doesn't have the faintest clue and it would be a tarnish on your honor for him to act like he was still a hanyou."

He snorted, a sort of repressed laughter, and she folded her arms and looked away.

"That is why you are here," she said softly. "For him."

He became serious then, and took a step toward her. His hand twitched like it wanted to reach out to the dark-haired girl, but it stayed by his side. She didn't see it though; she was still turned away from him.

"Kagome." She turned to look up at him. "Do you truly think that is really why I am living now?"

Even the animals had stopped their chirping and scuffling to hear what she had to say to that. She stood up.

"Why else would you be here?"

And then he was left with her retreating back. This time he did not follow.

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I'm in a very 'conversation only' writing mode. Did I mention this is my favorite chapter so far?