InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ By The River of Shadowed Moments ❯ If Wishes Were Second Chances ( Chapter 13 )

AN: Well this is the end, cats. I want to first personally thank my beta, Risa. Without her, I doubt this story would have ever been completed. I owe you my thanks and much more. And finally, thank you to all my supporters of this work, even the harshest of critics. You all helped me grow as a writer, and your interest fueled this story's end. Peace and Love, Quirkyslayer.

--

"I lost myself to him
and laid my face upon my lover's breast
And care and grief grew dim
as in the morning's mist became the light."

"The Dark Night of the Soul" by Loreena McKennitt


Chapter Thirteen - If Wishes Were Second Chances

Five Hundred and Fifty Years Later...


Mother Nature had been kind by providing a beautiful day that left the birds singing, the sun shining and the day satisfying. But there, on the bench, sat the former Daiyoukai. Sesshoumaru swiped the fallen leaf from his pants. As if bored, he tapped his finger on the dark green box that was rested on his legs.

Frequently, he would look up, setting his eyes on a family as they enjoyed the park. His attention shifted on an old woman's back and he frowned.

The box seemed to hum, encasing a long forgotten energy that had slept through Sesshoumaru's folded sense of time. Today he'd return the contents to its rightful owner; from afar, he watched her grow from a teenager into an adult. It was forever since he last saw her. The painful awareness of spent time worsened as he realized how long it has been since he'd spoken, or even touched her. The faceless women he used throughout the years could never replace her, nor make the lonely nights any more bearable. But the memory of her touch haunted him, chasing him relentlessly down the corridor of time.

Even after the day she recovered from her injuries, he did not search her out in the present. For countless years he'd wrestled with the decision to approach her, even when the Shikon Jewel had pulsed back to life. And when the day came when he was going to see her, she was gone, off somewhere in America and coming back during summers with a new lover on her arm. He had been handsome for a human, Sesshoumaru had guessed, but he couldn't help but hate the man, jealous that this stranger had warmed over Kagome's broken heart and had provided her with a family.

Sesshoumaru could never provide her with children. He wasn't selfish enough to doom her with that fate; and as he watched Kagome's daughter and grandchildren play, Sesshoumaru took comfort in the knowledge that he didn't prevent her from having a family. Instead, he was content to watch her, and even sometimes save her from her klutziness when a bus came for her on the street or a flower pot would fall off a window sill. Sesshoumaru couldn't remember the amount of times he'd returned her wandering daughter back to her, secretly of course, and when the child started to catch on, he told her to keep a secret between her and 'the white dog'. Children were amusingly impressionable like that.

In addition to watching her, he'd taken an interest in tracking her financial records, as well as anyone who tried to scam her family and buy out the ancient shrine. He helped out as a silent contributor in their short list of public financial sponsors. He'd never realized after a short while what a great deal of work was involved in watching the Higurashi family, especially when it came to their roller-coaster like money troubles. Most of the problems, he found, arose from preserving their family treasures, valuable antiques they had refused to sell or donate to a museum. The uptake for taking care of such artifacts was not cheap; and he often sent semi-annual stipends to the Higurashi family should last minute expenses arise. Sesshoumaru had thought it was clever of him to send his checks under the name of a private business called White Dog Antiquities Preservation, for the Higurashi shrine had been his one and only associates.

He had met Kagome's mother several times before Kagome had taken over the shrine, and he supposed that Mrs. Higurashi always had a feeling about him by the peculiar look in her eyes. Several times the woman had even asked him out for coffee, and he had to decline for obvious reasons. Not only did Mrs. Higurashi have a tendency to stare wide eyed at his white hair (for which he explained as premature grey) but she would also ask a lot of questions, and he feared that he'd be getting too close to Kagome's family.

It wasn't as though he didn't want to; on the contrary, he yearned for some type of interaction after all these years, a noticeable difference of his former views toward any relationships with humans. After the occupation of Japan, he'd start to get rather lonely, and the westerners mixing into the country had made him feel even more alienated. It was hard enough keeping up his human appearance with his uncle's masking spells, and sometimes the potion had left such an unpleasant taste in his mouth that there were days where he didn't venture outside his house at all, which left him feeling even lonelier.

Finding other demons to interact with seemed fruitless since many of the remaining youkai had moved around the world, taking advantage of the technological age of humans and putting away their magic to fly in a simple air plane. The local demons Sesshoumaru knew of were the ignorant, underground variety or the ones who were extremely estranged and kept to themselves. Some demons mixed with humans and had offspring, but most of them had to move north after having grotesque and disfigured hanyou children. The more hanyou Sesshoumaru had come across in the modern era, the more he realized that his brother was actually handsome in comparison.

The moment he thought of Inuyasha, he looked up to see Kagome dozing off on the park bench as her daughter continued to play with the children. Sesshoumaru suspected Kagome was in her sixties by now, and though time seemed faster for him, he could tell that she had not changed much. Of course, she was physically older, but once in awhile he'd watch her look at something, and he could still see the same woman in her eyes that he knew from the Feudal Era.

She was as stubborn as ever, cranky, and prone to bouts of emotional tirades, and though that would have annoyed him in the past, seeing her display such behavior amused him, especially when she had carried on with her children like that. He had seen her lose her temper plenty of times, and given the way her husband cowered under her disposition, Sesshoumaru knew she had been the head of the household. He supposed hanging out with dog demons, lecherous monks, and youkai slayers while fighting against monsters had made her too tough for the common human male.

Kagome's husband had unnerved him, but the day her spouse passed away, Sesshoumaru had been affected by Kagome's sadness. He wouldn't let himself feel joy for her husband's death, since the man had given Kagome so many happy years and wonderful children. Sesshoumaru could have probably made her happy, but he could never give her children and would never take that right away from her.

Yet, Kagome was at a point in her life where she had already accomplished so much: family, love, a long life -and as the Shikon Jewel buzzed at him, Sesshoumaru knew it was time for them to meet again.

Sesshoumaru approached her tentatively in a futile attempt to conceal the anxiety borne from the many years of self-imposed exile. As he took a seat on the bench, she stirred almost imperceptibly, while her wary eyes studied his face.

Sesshoumaru met her gaze, and he kept silent. Kagome blinked repeatedly, second-guessing her old eyes as he sat next to her in the flesh.

"No..." she said, her voice ringing with incredulity. "Is that really you?" She paused and held out a hesitant hand for his face. "Sesshoumaru?"

His eyes closed as he felt her hands cup his face. It had been so long since she'd done that, and he'd missed it, and sometimes at night he'd felt ghostlike hands cover his face as he agonized in his longing.

"Yes, Kagome," he said, opening his eyes and looking into hers. They were still the same, just as he had thought before. The rest of her had changed, but her eyes and touch had remained unchanged. "You appear aged."

Kagome laughed, and tears began to squeeze out her eyes, running down her wrinkled face. She wiped them away, still chuckling as he watched her. She said to him in a choked voice, "Where... where have you been? Have you been here all this time?"

Sesshoumaru didn't answer her right away, but then he sighed while looking at her hands as she fiddled with them in her lap. She appeared nervous, but relief and adoration erupted on her face.

Finally, when the silence was becoming too thick, he said, "I have. I have been waiting to give this back to you." He picked up the box and put it in her hands. Her smile disappeared, and her expression turned to shock.

"This..." She swallowed hard. "Is this what I think it is?"

Sesshoumaru nodded once. "It is the Shikon Jewel. I have kept it for you, and now I am returning it." He paused as she frowned, apparently unsure of his reasons. "You can make a wish on it, Kagome."

Immediately she shook her head. "I'm not ready to make a wish." She clutched her fingers around the box and tightly pressed it to her body. She closed her eyes, and Sesshoumaru watched as she smiled, and he wondered if she was reliving the memories that the jewel represented.

"Is this all you came here for, Sesshoumaru?" she asked in a low voice. She was staring at him again, her deep eyes peering into his soul. "I know that I am old and can no longer do anything for you, but I thought maybe... maybe you came her for another reason."

Sesshoumaru opened his mouth, and by her eager smile, he closed his lips and looked away. He didn't know if he should tell her that he'd meant to come to her when she was younger, but he was too late, and he would not deny her the chance at a normal life.

"It's okay," Kagome said, her eyes falling to her lap. "I'm sure you have your reasons."

Sesshoumaru watched her, and he knew that she's always been like that. She always respected him when he was silent, but she too had things on her mind, and she would never digress her feelings either.

As the silence became awkward again, Kagome inhaled a large draught of breath and said, "If you won't tell me that, at least tell me what happened to the others. I always thought you were the most likely one to outlive us all, but I've always wondered what had happened to my friends." She gave him a desperate look. "Please."

Sesshoumaru slowly looked ahead, and the view of the public park bled like watercolors into the past. He remembered the look on Inuyasha's face when the hanyou came back from Kagome's time, and he started from there.

"As you know, Kagome, Inuyasha took you back to your time to heal your injuries. I had guessed, as well as your companions, that he would remain in your era with you until you got better. I was even annoyed that he might try to coerce you into accepting him again when I could not be around. Instead, not too many hours later my brother came back -alone - andlooking dejected. He was absolutely intolerable after that, inconsolable and harsh with your friends. He did not even stick around when the aged miko Kaede put the jewel back together.

"The only thing he said that 'she did not chose me' and it wasn't until several decades later when the stubborn fool was on his deathbed that I learned you said my name while you recovered in the hospital."

Kagome gasped and covered her mouth in shock. Apparently, she had no idea she had done that. Pain and regret swelled up in her eyes, and she looked at her lap, hands shaking as she tried to still them. Her silence indicated that Sesshoumaru should go on, and she would listen until he was done. The truth of the past would sting, but Kagome obviously appeared ready for it.

Sesshoumaru continued, "After that, by your request the aged miko entrusted me with the Shikon no Tama. After she had completed it, the energy within the jewel had frozen, and it had become just another generic gem. Everyone supposed the jewel had gone dormant because it was waiting to be returned to you, the rightful owner. I was only a caretaker, and I took it because the natural spirit barriers at my uncle's castle would be the perfect place to hide it until it was ready to be returned to you.

"After Jaken and Rin and I left your friends, I did not hear from Inuyasha until several years later. He needed me for a problem he was having with his wife."

"Wife?" Kagome inquired, her eyes unreadable, but her expression beamed in relief.

"Yes," Sesshoumaru said. "He married one of the monk's daughters. It took him many years to get over his pain, but he managed to move on. He was so close to the monk and slayer, and I do believe they made his life easier. They fussed over him like they were his parents; I had witnessed it, and sometimes it was unbearable."

Kagome giggled, and Sesshoumaru was pleased that she was finding some joy among the sad memories. She exhaled in relief. "I'm glad he moved on. I was... worried."

Sesshoumaru turned to her, and he took her fragile hand into his. "What happened to you after you recovered?"

Tears welled up in Kagome's eyes, but bravely, she did not look away from him. She said, "I woke up healed, but I felt so very empty -I was alone."

She sniffled, and wiped the tears from her eyes. Sesshoumaru watched her as she composed herself, and she looked off into the distance to her family, who were still unaware she was talking to Sesshoumaru.

"Of course I had my family, but when I got home and the well didn't work anymore, it hit me. My destiny was fulfilled, and my time in the Feudal Era was done. Despite everything I gained there, friendships and love --" She paused and looked up at Sesshoumaru sorrowfully before turning her gaze away. "I realized that I belonged here. I was supposed to be here." She leaned back into her chair and let out a bedraggled sigh. "And then... after giving up hope that one of you would survive those five hundred years, I moved on and I did what only I could do. I went to school, I got a job, and I had a family."  She shook her head and smiled. "Sesshoumaru, tell me what happened to Miroku and Sango. Did they have children? Did their ancestors survive?"

Sesshoumaru nodded once and replied, "The monk and slayer had many children. Some of them married and had children themselves, and some of them died in the wars. The daughter that Inuyasha married had become the village shrine maiden after Kaede, but after wedding my brother, another sister took over for her. Inuyasha and Mihona had two children, which was the reason they contacted me. I had to help them with my uncle's special potions to make sure Mihona survived carrying a mixed youkai despite her spiritual energy. We had to be very careful not to harm either the child or the mother." Sesshoumaru paused and saw the look of anxiety on Kagome's face. "If I did not help them, Mihona would not have survived the labor. Even though her spiritual power was much lower than yours, she still needed medicine to carry the child with youkai blood to full term. Inuyasha must have heard that my mother's family often specialized in such treatment, so he asked me."

"It must have taken Inuyasha a lot of courage to ask you," Kagome replied.

"He had not spoken to me for so long; needless to say, I was surprised."

"But you helped him," Kagome said, squeezing his hand. "That was enough for him to forgive. I just know it."

"You are right, of course," he replied. Silence wedge between them again, and they both looked forward, delighting in the light breeze as they watched the children play.

"And what happened to Shippou?"

A thin smile appeared on his face. "He is still around somewhere. He took off to look for more of his kin, who moved to China. He did come back to Japan while I was helping Mihona and Inuyasha, and he was taller and more powerful. He said his kin had taught him a lot of new skills, but he was unhappy there, so he decided to come back home. I think he stayed in Japan for several decades before he took off for Central America. The last I heard, he was trying to preserve endangered forests."

Kagome eyes brightened. "I guess I'll have to look him up some time."

"Indeed," Sesshoumaru answered, cocking an eyebrow. "I could help you with that."

Kagome smiled prettily at him, and he saw her aged face blush.

"I... I'm glad that everything turned out alright," Kagome said, her voice choking up with emotion. She sniffled and could not control the tears any longer. "I've missed them so much." And she cried in her hands, and Sesshoumaru longed to pull her into an embrace, but instead he stayed silent and rigid, looking forward and trying to come up with the right words to say.

"Kagome..." His voice was smooth and low and Kagome's cries seemed to fade at the sound of it. "There were many times I wanted so badly to come to you before today." Immediately, she had stopped crying and her attention was on him. He continued, "However, I did not want to be selfish. I had been selfish my whole life, and searching you out --" He pursed his lips, and his tone was laced with regret. "I didn't want to rob you of the chance at having a family."

Kagome was stunned, and she stared in awe at him. "Sesshoumaru..."

He shook his head. "This curse was mine, not yours." He turned to meet her gaze again, finally. "I may be a demon, but I do feel... I want you to know that I did have feelings for you... still, have feelings for you."

And she didn't know what to say, and she grabbed the lapels of his coat and said almost angrily, "How could you decide that? Don't you know how much I missed you? I loved you!" She spoke in a harsh, defeated voice, “I still love you.” And somehow, Sesshoumaru knew his confession would only anger her.

Calmly, he addressed her, "And would you give up the wonderful children you have so readily if you had the chance over again?" He stared at her with a steely gaze. He just wanted her to understand that this selfless act had a logical, thoughtful reason. Sesshoumaru had sacrificed child-less love so Kagome could have the type of life he could never give her.

Kagome slacked her grip on his jacket and looked away dejectedly, and Sesshoumaru watched her reaction carefully. "I... I love my children, of course. I would never give them up." She looked up at him sternly and bit her lip. "But I could have done without them."

"Humph," Sesshoumaru scoffed. "I knew you would say that. But there is something more to this than us, Kagome." She cocked her head at him curiously. "When I was unlocking the secrets of Tenseiga, my uncle taught me about sacrifice. It was what my father wanted to teach me if he were still alive. Both Inuyasha and I had something to learn from gaining the secrets of our swords. Inuyasha learned about the love of a father he never knew, and he also learned to protect the humans that shunned him. And in my life of solitude and selfishness, I learned about sacrifice - of pride, of ego, and of things that I valued too much over things that were truly important."

"And your swords are?"

"In a museum in France," Sesshoumaru said bluntly. "I have not needed any of them for fighting in centuries. I gave up my swords after Rin died." Sesshoumaru's voice trailed off, and he looked away from Kagome's saddened gaze. "Rin was murdered by bandits when she was with her third child. She and her husband were going to the next village to barter rice, and they were struck for their money. I was..." He let out a sigh and leaned back into the bench with Kagome. "I was in the castle, helping my uncle fortify the defenses with family spells. As humans began to multiply and take over much more of the world, we felt it necessary to get ready for the future. Humans were starting to forget youkai, and the more they forgot us, the more dangerous it was for us to be out in the open... especially when our numbers were dwindling and humans were inventing harmful weaponry."

"You didn't go for revenge after Rin's murder?" Kagome asked, appalled that he would even leave it at that.

"Of course, I did," Sesshoumaru huffed. "But after there were no more bandits to kill, it all seemed pointless. I didn't feel better even after that. Rin still couldn't come back. The victory felt empty." He pushed a strand of his long hair behind his ear. "After that, I put down my sword. Jaken had died years ago, and besides Uncle, who never left the castle not even for women, I had no one." He turned to catch Kagome's eyes again. "And I only had one thing left to do in my life that did not require fighting."

Kagome gaped, and she looked down at the box he had given her. He had waited all this time, tortured and alone that he was the only one left. Kagome thought it must have been really hard for him to not seek her out. Then, she finally understood. He really did make a sacrifice - all for her.

Kagome turned to him with a weak smile, and she reached her hands out to his face again. “Oh, Sesshoumaru…”

“Mom?”

The pair on the bench stirred apart by the sound of an intrusive voice, and they both looked up into the inquiring eyes of Kagome's daughter with children in tow.

“Oh, Sango!” Kagome said with a start. “I didn't see you there. Um...” She outstretched a hand to Sesshoumaru and said, “This is an old friend, Sesshoumaru. I told you about him, remember?”

Sango gaped at him with wide eyes, and suddenly a funny realization came over to her. She gasped. “You're the White Dog!”

Kagome seemed puzzled, but Sango was overjoyed. “I know you!” Sesshoumaru smiled lightly at her, his nose a little higher in the air.

“White Dog?” Kagome asked confused.

“Mom, remember when I was little, and I told you not to worry about me so much because the White Dog would protect me?” Sango gushed.

“Well, yes, but I just thought it was your imagination. I told you many stories about the Feudal Era, especially about Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's family. I just thought -“

“Mom, the White Dog brought me back to you so many times when I'd wandered off, and this is him! Am I right?”

“I'm pleased you would remember me, young Sango-san,” Sesshoumaru said bowing his head.

“Remember you? Humph!” she scoffed at him. “If not for you, I probably wouldn't be here today.” She waggled a finger chidingly at her mother. “You were such a basket case sometimes.”

“I doubt you would have been dead,” Sesshoumaru said, bluntly, which made Sango blush. Kagome giggled. “Your mother was quite capable back in the day.”

“And I still am!” Kagome said, putting her fists on her hips. “Sesshoumaru, you don't know the trouble I had with her! Such an explorer, and stubborn as all get out.”

“Ah,” Sesshoumaru responded, a wicked look in his eyes. “She is your daughter.”

Sango giggled, and the toddler she was toting in her arms pointed a tiny finger at Sesshoumaru and started making gurgling noises, which only made Sango and Kagome laugh louder.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Sesshoumaru-san. Won't you come over for dinner? My husband is out of town, so it's just Mom, me and the girls.”

Sesshoumaru and Kagome both looked at each other, and Kagome's eyes beamed with delight.

“Of course,” Sesshoumaru replied politely.

Sango smiled with a toothy grin and said, “Great! Mom, I'm taking Kikyou and Izayoi home. Kikyou's been fussing for a nap, and Izayoi won't stop kicking her.” She sighed harshly, “My goodness, get your finger out of your nose, Kikyou!” Sango turned to her mother and her friend again. “You can stay behind and chat. I'll start the food.”

“Okay, dear. We won't be long.”

Sango gave Sesshoumaru one more scrutinized look and then whistled. “Gees, Mom. If Dad were around and saw you with Sesshoumaru-san, he probably would have given up right then and there.”

Sesshoumaru's eyes lit with amusement, and Kagome gave her daughter a stern look. “Sango! Don't even say that.” And Sango giggled at her mother's obvious embarrassment.

She turned around and said in a sing-song voice, “See you at home, and don't stay out too late, you kids.” Sango laughed at herself before starting to yell her Kikyou again. Kagome smiled with mirth, watching her daughter leave.

“Unbelievable. I don't know where she gets that attitude,” Kagome said absently.

Sesshoumaru continued to stare at Kagome's children as they faded into the distance, and suddenly, he felt Kagome watching him. He looked to his side, and saw her eyes fall to her lap again.

“I can't believe you came back to me. I feel like this day is only a dream.”

“Kagome…”

Kagome shook her head vigorously, halting his words. She lightly traced her hands over the box, finally opening the lid. Inside, the Shikon no Tama glowed and pulsed radiantly in her grasp. She smiled, and the tears came back again.

“Oh, it's been so long. I feel like it's not even mine anymore.”

“Yet it is,” Sesshoumaru said.

“I know,” Kagome replied, taking the jewel into her hands. She stared at it intently. “It's hard to believe this little trinket caused so much death and destruction - so much heartache.”

“And now it is active again,” Sesshoumaru stated. “Knowing how greed fuels people in this era, the jewel needs to disappear once and for all.” He paused. “After all we have fought for; we can not waste that now.”

“You're right,” Kagome answered, pursing her lips as she glared at the jewel. “I have to make a wish.”

After a bout of silence, Sesshoumaru felt his ears drown out from the song of a bluebird as Kagome thought in silence. Suddenly, she got up from the bench and looked down at him. She appeared determined, and she held out her hand to him.

“Come walk with me toward my house?”

Sesshoumaru nodded, and she took his hand.

“Are you going to make a wish now?” he asked while they were walking. She smiled beside him, a resolute expression on her face.

“What is it? World Peace? For the Middle Eastern War to end? For all sicknesses to be cured?”

Kagome paused, and she pouted slightly, yet her mind was made up. “Those are all nice wishes, but this one's much more personal.”

Tears dampened her eyes again, and she spoke with a sad smile. “This wish is payment for a good friend.”

Sesshoumaru stared intently as she looked at the jewel and chanted, “I wish that Sesshoumaru's curse was gone, so he can be happy again. Please Shikon no Tama, give Sesshoumaru what he truly desires.”

He looked back at her with surprise, and he felt her grip on his hand tighten.

Suddenly, they were encased in a cocoon of light pink, and the modern world faded away into oblivion. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes, and he felt warm.

--

When Sesshoumaru woke, he felt a warm body next to him. As he stirred, the body produced a feminine noise and began chuckling lightly against his skin.

He looked to his side, and he saw her - the one thing he truly desired in the world.

“Kagome…”

And she was young and beautiful again, and she lay at his side in the bed inside the castle, snuggling with a pile of his heirloom pelts. She blushed at him and gave him a seductive smile.

He let out a stunned breath. “Your… your wish…”

“It worked!” Kagome held out her hands in front of her, and she sighed in contentment. “I look seventeen again! Wow, I've never missed my youth so much until now.”

Sesshoumaru stared at her in silence as she inspected herself, giggling as she looked over every portion of her newly restored body.

“You knew that I would wish for this…”

Kagome's eyes twinkled, and she appeared sheepish. “I had hoped.”

Sesshoumaru crawled over to her, his nose inches from her face. Kagome began running her fingers idly through his hair before getting trapped in his gaze. He whispered, “Maybe the jewel was listening to your desires as well?”

“Do you think?” And she abandoned her fingers from his hair and cupped his cheeks. He closed his eyes to her touch.

He groaned and told her in a gruff mutter, “It has been too long.”

Kagome's eyes sparkled as she looked at him. “It has.”

Slowly, Sesshoumaru leaned in and captured her lips fervently with his. He heard her moan in his mouth as he took in her taste and teased her tongue. She slid her hands into his hair, and he felt fire rise in his belly. Instinctively, he bucked against her, pushing her down onto her back as he loomed above her.

He ripped away the thin silk yukata and opened her up for him to see. He left her mouth momentarily to inspect her, and he delighted in the subtle contrast her tanned skin made against the white material. It felt as though it was yesterday, and they were back in the Feudal Era, stealing away moments beside a river while they hunted down Naraku.

“Sesshoumaru,” she moaned, as his hands roamed her body. She cooed in response as his fingers traced her curves, taking in proof that she was actually real.

It wasn't an illusion - she was here, and she was heady and ready just for him. There were no more secrets, nor more rivals, and no quests to get in their way. There was no more pride to get in the way of his desires - of the love he was denied when he realized it was too late.

“Kagome…” And he kissed her again, needy and impatient, and she tasted him in turn, just as fast.

Quickly, he had opened her delicate legs, settling in between as he undid his sash. Kagome watched him in wonder as he removed his clothing, revealing his lean chest and his hardened excitement. Sesshoumaru felt her thighs quaver against him.

Dipping his hand below, he teased her, tracing her nether lips and dipping a single finger inside her. She whimpered when he entered two, and he moved them in and out heatedly, and Kagome started to rock her hips to his rhythm. She crowed in delight as he bent his head down and started licking her breasts, tasting and nipping them playfully.

“Please,” she begged, and he sat up and grinned with mischief. She was so ready, but they had all the time in the world for this. To Sesshoumaru, something was different now than the other times before.

She squealed in protest as he removed his fingers from her, drawing them to his lips and licking up her scent. He closed his eyes, and suddenly, his castle bedroom felt like they had shifted into the spirit world. He looked down at Kagome, and her face beamed up at him with desire and more importantly - love.

And when she looked at him, it had made all his sacrifices worthwhile. Finally, he understood what his father meant to teach him. Also, he understood his mother's sacrifice, and her weaknesses. And when loving a human was his mother's weakness, for Sesshoumaru it would be his strength.

Kagome waited for him, and she smiled as he bent down and crawled on top of her, capturing her lips lightly and rubbing his arousal against her entrance.

“Oh…” she cried, and he has pushed softly inside of her, moving very slowly as he locked his gaze with her eyes.

There was a time where he would have been too scared to do this. In the past, it would have been far too intimate to open himself up to Kagome - a human, and his younger past self would have scoffed at the notion of letting a human female past his defenses.

But everything was different now. Through war and endless time, he waited for her. And despite their frivolous contract in the beginning, it had ultimately led him down the most important path of his life.

When he had Kagome, he had nothing to lose and everything to live for.

He pushed faster inside her, and Kagome flexed her thighs around him, moving with his pace and trying to draw him inside as much as she could. Sesshoumaru grunted as he fit within her tightly, trapped and challenged by her muscles and restored form. He growled and pushed, reveling in her slickness, her vitality, her love - her sacrifice.

And in her, he could finally say a demon was capable of love.

`Is this how you felt, Father?' he thought, hoping his father would somehow hear it. He'd never understood how a great dog demon would dishonor himself by indulging in emotions such as love; however, now he understood it more than ever. Feelings and love did not make a man weak.

He rammed into her faster, and Kagome cried louder, and she pulled his hair and dug her nails into his skin - and he loved it, and he wanted to hear her scream. Scream for him because it'd been so long, and her sounds belonged to him, and it would drown out his past - kill all the memories of women he had used to replace her in his darkest days.

“Oh, Sessh…” And she was cut off, her mouth gaping as she throw her head back and felt her peak, opening her eyes to the blinding cosmos just within her reach.

Sesshoumaru shuddered and emptied inside her, exhaling heavily and delighting in the aftershocks her body made around his, thighs quivering as they combined in their release. Sesshoumaru pulled out, bending his head down to taste her and kissing his way back up to her chest. Kagome pulled her arms around him, and he rested against her breasts, nuzzling against the pert nipples. He heard her heart beating rapidly inside her chest, and he closed his eyes and soaked up her warmth.

“Love you,” she said amidst ragged breaths, and her hands were in his hair again, smoothing out the tendrils that had become sticky and wild with sweat.

Her words were beautiful, and he did not readily respond. He wondered if Kagome understood because it was odd for him to hear it aloud, and it was even stranger for him to express it.

But he could feel it and he could feel her - unconditionally - and that was love to him.

Kagome sighed, and he felt the motion of her chest against his head. She said lightly, “I always had dreams like this, even when I was married.”

He broke away slowly from her embrace, and she sat up with him. They stared at each other, hands finding places to keep busy as they gelled themselves within the static moment.

“My wish…”

“I'm here to stay with you until you pass away, isn't that right?” she guessed, and when she said it out loud, the wish took a newer, more solid meaning.

Sesshoumaru pulled her against his chest, and she traced her hand down his fine muscles. “What I wished for was for you to be with me, always.” He looked down and saw that she was smiling.

“Good,” Kagome said, but frowned on an errant thought. “I hope that Sango and the girls will be all right.”

Sesshoumaru's expression changed subtly, and he squeezed her closer. “I imagine they will be well enough on their own.” He pulled her up so she could see his face. “You had already lived your life; it is time for them to live theirs.”

“And I get to live my life over again,” Kagome said, their faces nearing. His lips tasted hers again for a second, and he let her loose as she rested her forehead against his.

“It is the wish I earned for all my sacrifices.”

Kagome beamed at him, and she entwined her fingers with his. They fell together onto the bed again, creating that lost warmth they had missed through all those centuries. They held each other tightly, fearful to let go, letting the world slow around them. Kagome was renewed and his, and time granted by the Shikon no Tama was entirely theirs.

Sesshoumaru's lips fell upon hers again, and he could feel her smile. They closed their eyes, and eternity swelled between them - their final happiness suspended in forever.

--

Sango Ikezawa looked out her front window, peering through the curtains when she thought she heard her mother coming up the stoop. When she realized it was her imagination and no one was there, she wandered outside and stared at the empty sidewalk in disappointment.

“Wow, Mom, I didn't think you'd take this long,” she spoke under her breath, and she bemoaned that dinner was now cold and night was soon falling.

A heavy breeze lifted a scatter of leaves toward her, and Sango made a noise of surprise as she closed her eyes and threw her hands up to ward off the offending debris. She felt an object strike the palm of her hand, and she opened her eyes. Looking to her feet, she saw a thin scroll wrapped with blue ribbon rolling around in front of her.

Hesitantly, she stared at it a few seconds before picking it up. The material was natural and delicate, and she unraveled the ribbon cautiously, pushing open the small curled paper.

Her eyes quickly scanned the writing, opening wide and welling with tears. A smile erupted on her face, and she brought a hand to her lips.

`I have gone away to live with the White Dog. I'll always love you, ~Mom.'

“Oh, Mother…”

She quickly looked to the sky, watching the puffy white clouds as they danced over the vast cerulean heavens. Tears soon dried away and warmth stirred within her.

It was a beautiful day.

THE END