Chapter 8

Relief flooded through Inuyasha's body. This could mean anything. Would she get the foolish idea of staying with Seshomaru out of her mind? Somehow by Inuyasha's touch, her memory had come back. "You remember everything?" Inuyasha whispered.

Pulling back enough to see his face, Kagome couldn't believe how much she had forgotten and what a terrible mistake she had almost made. "Down to the detail, Inuyasha."

Kagome melted into his arms; she couldn't believe that she had ever considered seriously staying with Seshomaru after remembering everything that had come back to her. How would she tell him that it was a mistake to stay with him? They had spent so much time together and he had done so much, but he could never take Inuyasha's place in her heart. She felt terrible remembering how cold he once was and how warm he had become in the short time she had stumbled into his life. It was like she would be saying, 'Hey this is what it feels like to be happy,' and then turn around and leave. The light that had touched his heart would slowly go out and who knew if it would ever be lit again when she had barely achieved to do so. Rin would have to make up for the loss of Kagome, which was unfair, but there was nothing else she could do. Kagome would be lying to herself if she stayed with him. She would forever wonder what her life would have or could have been like with Inuyasha.

Inuyasha was the man that she had fawned over for so long. How many times had she put her life on the line for him? It would almost be impossible to count. He probably really didn't need her to find the jewel shards, she could sense them, but there were other ways to find them. Kagome just couldn't leave the past alone; there was no way that she could sit around in the present time and let him put himself in danger finding the Shikon jewel that she had broken. Kagome never really thought that she had given her whole heart to him without knowing, but now it was as clear as day, living without him would be no life at all.

Scared to let go of her, Inuyasha tightened his grip and refused to take his eyes away from her fragile form. It was almost as if he was afraid she would disappear if he blinked. It was a long and heart wrenching journey to get to this point. It took so much effort to piece his heart back together after he thought he had murdered her with his own hands. Now that she was alive, if she willingly left him, his heart would surely bleed until there was nothing to look forward to except death.

"Do you still wish to leave me?" Inuyasha's heart was balancing at the end of a cliff, ready to topple over with a single word. The tornado in his stomach was on the verge of throwing everything he had eaten in the past week back into his throat. This was the question that his very life dangled on and it was up to Kagome to save him from himself.

"How could I, Inuyasha?" Kagome's throat knotted and her eyes began to sting. It seemed that all she did lately was cry. She was happy that she remembered and now her past concern was finally confirmed. He did love her. Everything she did for him was not in vain; he saw her. Really saw her.

Tensing from the sudden smell of salty water, Inuyasha could barely old himself together. Out of everything that he had ever faced; blood thirsty demons, Naraku, being sealed to a tree for fifty years, this by far would be the most important moment of his life. This would decide if he would live happy or die tragically.

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha could barely raise his voice above a whisper.

"I remember. Inuyasha, could you not tell that I loved you? Everything I did, I did for you." Noticing a tiny sparkle of gold shining from his neckline, she delicately plucked a chain out from underneath his haori. Dangling from the chain was the gold heart-shaped locket that contained their pictures from what seemed like so long ago. "You kept this?"

An over-whelming warmth crept through Kagome's body. He really did love her. He refused to wear this when she had given it to him. But yet, he was only trying to hide his true feelings.

"You love me?" Ignoring the question about his locket, Inuyasha was trying to keep his heart from exploding from his chest. His heart no longer hurt but instead soared. He would never let her out of his sight again.

"I love you." Catching her breath, Kagome tried to keep her voice from shaking. She had been scared for so long to tell him how she really felt because she knew that he loved Kikyo. It would be like placing a vulnerable heart in front of a truck and waiting for the person to slightly swerve and crush it without notice.

They may have only been inches away from one another, but to Inuyasha it was miles. He wove his fingers through her hair and gently pulled her face to his own. Delicately he placed his lips over hers and kissed her as though he would never again get to feel the softness of her skin. Time could have stopped and in that moment both individuals would have been in bliss for eternity.

Kagome's arms tightened around Inuyasha's neck unwilling to be torn away from this embrace. His lips sent shocks throughout her entire body. This is what she had been waiting for the entire time she had been traveling with Inuyasha and now that it had come it was more than she could have ever imagined.

"What will we do now?" Kagome whispered through multiple kisses.

"Now that I have you back, we can do anything. I couldn't have handled it if you would have left me. The thought of you forgetting me ripped my heart from my chest. You have changed my life Kagome. You have given me a reason to live." Inuyasha searched Kagome's eyes for a reaction from his statements. He meant every word he said; this woman was one of the most amazing people he had ever met. She continued to stand by his side through everything. He tried to kill her when he was a full demon and yet, here she was, melted into his arms.

Trying to keep from tearing up, Kagome held her breath in fear that if she let it out tears would follow. Did people really have moments like this? This was definitely a moment to live for; if only there would have been a video camera set up to record everything that had just happened. Kagome had always known that he had cared for her, but she always thought it was as a friend. To know that he felt the same way as her was almost too good to be true.

"Well I guess I have to start with telling Seshomaru that I remember everything. I hope he doesn't expect me to stay now that I remember you. Did you know that I felt so lost without my memories? I would have forgotten my family; they would have never known what happened to me. And I would have never known."

"Kagome, I will never let anything happen to you again. We don't have to fight anymore, Naraku is dead. If Seshomaru doesn't want to give you up, I will just have to make him." Jealousy flared through Inuyasha's senses when he thought about his asshole brother almost having Kagome and her almost letting him. Regardless of his jealousy, he also felt relief from finding her in one piece. It was a miracle that his touch even brought her memories back.

"How long before Seshomaru gets back I wonder?" Kagome was no longer sitting in Inuyasha's lap, but she was still close enough where her knees were touching him. She was dreading having to tell Sesomaru that she couldn't stay and the longer they waited for him to get back, the more her stomach twisted into knots.

"Well, Kagome, I never really left." Seshomaru walked into the clearing where Inuyasha and Kagome could see him. He had merely concealed his demonic aura so that they would not have been able to sense him. There was no way he was going to leave Kagome completely alone with that mutt. But apparently he shouldn't have left them alone at all.

Seshomaru had been so close to having her; his heart nearly exploded when he heard her tell Inuyasha that her place was with him and Rin. He had done so much for her, and as much as he would like to deny it, he had changed a little himself. It was becoming harder to conceal his feelings behind a mask like he was so used to doing in the past. He had come to understand why Inuyasha had come to protect this Miko so fiercely. She had this way of dragging your emotions to the surface and then she would feed off of them making it difficult to cover them up.

It took immense control for Seshomaru not to reveal himself when Inuyasha and Kagome embraced. His gut instinct was to rip Inuyasha apart and ask her to forget him once again. Seshomaru should have known that his touch would bring her memories from hibernation; he kicked himself for not thinking the situation over more carefully. The day that she had been knocked unconscious, she had done so by the touch of the barrier. The Shikon powers must have left an imprint on her mind when she purified the seal over Rin. While purifying the barrier, the Shikon no tama must have tried to purify the painful thoughts in her mind at the same time. Instead of taking the most immediate issues, it took everything and merely pressed it to the back of her mind. Because Inuyasha was the main issue on her heart, it would have taken him to bring her back to reality. And that's exactly what happened; why else would she allow herself to be held by Inuyasha?

How could he have been there the whole time? Kagome was shocked that she didn't sense his presence. His demonic aura was massive; it would be near to impossible to hide it without a little leaking out. But Kagome was rather busy at the moment so she probably wouldn't have noticed if he did leak a small amount of demonic aura.

"So, you're not angry? You know that I remember everything Seshomaru." Kagome's knees were still touching Inuyasha and she moved slightly to keep a small amount of distance. She really didn't want the two brothers to fight like they did before. She was still injured, and who knows what could happen if they decided to demolish the forest again.

"You choose him over me Kagome?" Seshomaru walked towards her with a sad glint in his eyes. His face continued to hold the likeness of stone, but his eyes gave away his true emotion.

"Duh you blockhead!" Inuyasha rose to his feet and placed himself in between Seshomaru and Kagome.

"Was I talking to you?" Effortlessly Seshomaru swept Inuyasha to the side. "I am talking to Kagome. Stay out of it mutt."

Clenching his fists, Inuyasha would pummel Seshomaru before he ever thought he could treat him with such disrespect. It was Inuyasha that cut his arm off and Seshomaru should be wary of that fact.

"Inuyasha, please just stay out of it long enough for me to talk with Seshomaru." Kagome pushed herself to her knees so that she didn't feel like she looked like a pitiful lump on the ground. She didn't want to look or feel helpless right now. She needed Seshomaru to see that everything that had happened between them had merely been a mistake do to loss of memory. It almost seemed wrong to call it mistake though because she had grown close to Seshomaru; he did more for her than she would have ever expected. Kagome didn't want to kick him out of her life by no means, but with Inuyasha, there might not be enough room for them both. And it would get rather tiring having to deal with two demon brothers constantly fighting for her attention.

Seshomaru smirked at Inuyasha at the thought of him obeying a human woman. But come to think of it, he would probably do what she said if it came to her leaving with him. Frowning to himself, Seshomaru could not get over the effect two human women had over him. Since when did he even contemplate doing what anybody said?

"So you choose him?" Seshomaru had made his way to Kagome and he stood right before her. Kagome seemed small beside someone so strong and tall; she hadn't managed to make it to her feet because her wounds were constantly sending sharp pains through her mid section.

Reaching her hand out to clasp Seshomaru's, Kagome used his strength to pull her to her feet. Leaning against him for support she braced herself for one of the hardest conversations in her life.

"Seshomaru, thank you for everything you have done for me. You saved my life and for that I am forever grateful. There for a small amount of time, I wished that I would have just died because I had no memories and nothing that I knew was worth living for. But you brought me to the light. Now that I know my past, I find it hard to believe that you would have ever helped me. Thank you." Adjusting her position to be able to look at his face, she hoped more than anything that he would understand.

"You didn't answer my question." Seshomaru knew that she wouldn't stay with him, but he needed to hear it from her mouth. He really had become soft. If this would have happened in the past, he would merely have ripped Inuyasha to pieces and made the Miko stay with him against her will. But somehow her staying here because her heart told her to would mean much more than keeping her by force.

"You know I can't stay. I remember Inuyasha and I remember my love for Inuyasha and my friends. Everything I have done, I have done with them. Seshomaru, I love you. But as a friend." Kagome's heart seemed to never stop breaking for one reason or another. Telling him that she didn't love him the way she loved Inuyasha was beyond painful. How do you tell someone who thinks that he was done an injustice by merely having a hanyou as a brother who got the Testaiga that he would also get the girl?

It was a rather cruel world at times.

Without another word, Seshomaru glanced one last time over the face that had managed to break his heart. His face continued to display stone, but his eyes locked with Kagome's one last time showing the pain of her words. He delicately plucked his hand from hers and turned to leave. Rin would be waiting in the next clearing for him and it seemed his welcome had run out. He also didn't want either one of them to see the single tear that rolled down his cheek in his moment of weakness. People should not be allowed to see him as anything but indifferent. Seshomaru disappeared into the forest and the only thing left behind was his impression on Kagome's heart.

Even though she didn't love him the way she loved Inuyasha didn't mean that she didn't care for him. It was hard for Kagome to see such a strong person hurt.

Kagome fell back to her knees clutching her side. "It seems I will never stop hurting. It's either my heart or my wounds. Sometimes fairy tales can be sad it seems."

Inuyasha had already made his way back to her; he had never seen Seshomaru act like that before. He must have recently decided to gain a few emotions, much to his dismay.

"Everything will be okay now. I will never let anything happen to you again Kagome. So you will stay with me? I want you to be mine and nobody else's." Inuyasha was a little ashamed to admit that he was in fact a very jealous person. Just seeing Kagome leaning against Seshomaru for support sent a stab of anger through him. Who knows what he would have done if she would have actually chosen him. It would have been very bloody.

"I have always wanted to stay with you, Inuyasha. We only have to figure out the details. I don't really feel like the present day is my home. I know that's where my family is, but I feel more comfortable in this time. Maybe we can find a way to stay here and just go home to visit."

"Let's leave those decisions for later. I have waited a long time to see you again. I want to spend some time with you before Sango and Miroku catch up."

Sweeping Kagome into his lap, Inuyasha wrapped his fingers back into her hair. Pulling her into his embrace, he once again covered her lips with his own. He wanted to soak her into his very being. Nothing in this world mattered except making Kagome feel pleasure. She had experienced far too much pain and this was Inuyasha's chance to make up for a little of it.

Massaging her tongue with his own, he could barely contain the warmth that slid over his body. His breathing became a little faster and the only thing he wanted to do was feel Kagome's skin against his own. Her vanilla scent became contagious and he could think of nothing he would ever want to do again except breathe her in.

He had to be careful when caressing her body to keep from hurting her wounds. Slowly sliding her pullover over her head he made sure to keep from touching anything that would hurt her. Gently laying her on the ground he leaned over her half naked body and planted soft kisses from her belly button to the nape of her neck.

"I love you Kagome. I love your personality. I love your body. And I love the soft feel of your skin." Inuyasha whispered over her lips in between kisses.

Kagome's heart was racing a million miles a minute. She had to concentrate to even breathe. This was a chance to let herself go and enjoy every part of the man she had loved for quite some time now. Reaching to his haori, Kagome slid it off his shoulders exposing his muscular arms and his smooth chest.

"I love you Inuyasha."

Untying the side of her pants, Inuyasha pulled them off giving him full access to her entire body. Kagome couldn't keep the warm sensation from creeping back in between her legs. She wanted Inuyasha to do many things to her and all of them included a pleasurable ending. Smiling to herself, Kagome ran her hands down Inuyasha's back feeling him shudder under her touch.

This was going to be a very good day. Relaxing into his arms, she let her body move freely with his own and for a few hours, she actually forgot what it felt like to feel pain.

I'm sorry it took me so long to update! Please tell me what you think! Do yall want more chapters or do you think this was a good ending? I can think of a few more things that could be added to the story, but I would like yall's opinion! So please review and tell me what you think!