In Alignment With Angels

Well, I’ve finally updated! Amazing, huh? As compensation, this chapter is slightly longer than normal. I’m going to be busy all summer, first as a camp counselor and then on a vacation to Colorado. I’m massively excited about both!

As it turns out, In Alignment With Angels will definitely continue on at least one more chapter, possibly two. Or maybe one more chapter after this one and then a short epilogue. I dunno. But I’ve made at least some progress.
This is really slow-going, as I’ve kind of lost interest in this story, and An Entirely Different Kind of Cheating, as well, so it’s hard to get myself to write about it. I have other stories and fanfictions I’m working on, but I know that if I post them, I’ll just lose interest eventually in them as well.

On to reviews!

Jebus: What a great review! I’m amazed that my story has been so effective!!! The end will come soon, and it will hopefully be satisfying! Thanks for the review!

Fallenangel7583: Hmm, that seems to be the common consensus about Kagome’s secret. I’m so glad that I’m making the characters believable (I wasn’t sure whether I really was or not). Hmm…Fluffy intervention…now there’s an idea!

rEd roSe: Me? Update quickly? Eh? Oh wow, I feel so guilty for not updating for so long. Ack. Sorry!!! Oh, and thanks! You’re so complementary! You’re the first reviewer who’s taken my advice about the song. Glad you liked it! Thank you for the review!

Ladyhwk: Man, receiving all these compliments makes me feel like a schmuck for not updating for so long. Thanks so much for the great review!

Kiwichan: Imagining the possible outcomes is a GREAT habit, not a nasty one! Wow, your review really makes me feel like I’m doing my job right! Well, my reviewers do seem to think that Kagome is pregnant again…guess you’ll just have to wait and see! Thank you so much for the review!

Tornadotrail: Hmm…maybe she’s pregnant…and maybe she’s not! The ending will be next chapter or the one after that, so closure is on its way. Thanks for the review!

Frostedglaze: *sigh*. Everybody thinks that Kagome is pregnant. Either I’m really sneaky, or really predictable, but I won’t tell which. Thanks for the review!

Twistedthorn: Wow, thanks, your review was so nice! Hahaha…yeah, I couldn’t resist putting that cliffhanger in there. Thanks so much for the review!

Kari: So sorry I didn’t update! I feel like a schmuck. But hopefully this chapter will make up for it! Thanks for the review!


***KEEP READING THE DATES!!! We’re finally catching up to the present in this chapter, so don’t stop now!!!***

This chapter: Kag & Inu’s first kiss, as you’ll se in just a moment, and the beginning of the end!

PLEASE read, review, and enjoy!!!

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August 6, 2003. 3:05 PM. Kagome.

“This is one of my favorite places,” Kagome told him as she laid out a blanket. They were in a park down the street from one of the many houses where she’d grown up. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?”

Kagome couldn’t believe how nervous she was. She hadn’t been out on a date in a while; school had left no time for such things, but now she had time to do whatever she wanted.

“It is.” He helped her smooth out the corners of the blanket, and settled down on it.

She sat down close to him, but not really touching. This man she’d met the day before absolutely enchanted her. He was sweet, even if he was a little rough around the edges, and something about him was so genuinely…endearing. He was very masculine, but he appealed to her in such a caring way. Something about him was so mysterious. There was also the added bonus that he was drop-dead gorgeous, and seemed to be focused entirely on her. This was their first date, and every nerve in her body was coursing with nervous energy.

They’d gone for a grocery-run and bought a little of everything, to have a picnic in the park, under the clouds. It was clichéd, but Kagome was delighted with the quaintness of actually having a picnic with her boyfriend. If that’s what he was, officially.

Everything tasted better because it was being eaten outside.

“So, do you go to school, Kagome?” Inuyasha asked, after taking a swig from a bottle of water. His voice seemed magical.

She smiled sadly. “Actually, I just dropped out at the end of last semester.”

He cocked his head to one side. “Why is that?”

She shrugged. “I was taking hard courses, but I was also working three jobs. I couldn’t pay for it and I didn’t even qualify for a loan.” She ran her fingertips over the smooth surface of an apple before taking a bite.

“Your parents wouldn’t help you out?” He stretched out on the blanket, propping himself up on his elbows, and crossed his legs at the ankles.

“Nah, my parents died a long time ago. I’ve been in foster care for quite a while, always from one house to another, so no one was really willing to pay for my schooling.”

He was staring at her.

Kagome hated that; whenever she told people about her parents, they acted like it was amazing that she was even alive, much less a fairly happy person. They didn’t understand that life had a way of going on.

“What?” she asked irritably.

“Nothing, sorry. I just wouldn’t have guessed it.”

She sighed disappointedly. Maybe he was no different from the rest of the world.

“Sorry about that. I bet you hate it when people freeze up when you tell them that, don’t you?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” She set her apple down on a napkin and lay down, her arms behind her head. She studied him from the corner of her eye.

“My parents died when I was young too, but I never went through foster care.”

That got her attention. “Really?” She turned onto her side and rested her cheek in one hand. He did the same. “Where did you go instead?”

“I just kind of survived on my own, actually.”

“How old were you when they died?”

He shrugged. “Young. I guess that’s why I come off as so unfriendly.” He gave her a heart-stopping grin.

Kagome smiled back and daringly scooted a little closer. “I didn’t think you came off as unfriendly.”

“You didn’t?” There was a certain playfulness in his eyes that made him easy to talk to.

She shook her head. “I think you’re pretty sweet, actually.” She giggled. “And I think your ears are adorable.” She reached up and tweaked one lightly. From the brief touch that she got, the appendages felt wonderfully fuzzy.

He grinned more widely. “I don’t think I’ve ever been described as ‘sweet’ before.”

“I think it’s the truth.”

He shook his head. “I doubt that.”

“Well, I guess we still have a lot to learn about each other. But there’s time.”

Inuyasha sat up a little and moved towards her. “Kagome, I’m going to do something potentially stupid, seeing as it’s our first date and all.”

“What is that?” she asked slowly, a dizzy spell coming over her as he came slowly closer.

His eyes looked like swirling rings of molten gold as he looked straight into her gaze. Kagome found herself closing her eyes, and soon, he answered her question as she felt his lips softly touch hers. A warm, calloused hand touched her cheek and gently slid to rest on the side of her neck. She softly gripped his arm and reciprocated the tender feelings expressed in his kiss.

This felt right.

~~~

June 1, 2004. 1:06 PM. Inuyasha.

It seemed to take a ridiculous amount of effort just to open his eyes as Inuyasha slowly came to the realization that he was awake.

Everything was a blur of white light as he first succeeded in opening his eyes, but, after a moment, objects resigned to appearing as they were.

“Kagome?” he groaned softly.

Hearing the name from his own lips brought him halfway out of his encompassing fog, and he was overcome by the need to see her, to make sure everything was okay. What was going on?

He instantly assessed as much of the situation as he could. He was dressed in a hospital gown, lying in a hospital bed, in an utterly white room. The logical conclusion: he was in a hospital.

Good enough.

He ripped the IV out of his arm and scurried off the bed. He stumbled, feeling unreasonably weak, but pulled himself along, dragging in a deep breath through his nostrils so he could find his mate.

Inuyasha picked up on her scent almost instantly; all the way down the hall and somewhere on the right.

Soon, he’d found her exact location, and barged into the room.

The second he saw her, rational thought came flooding back and almost brought him to his knees.

He was somehow brought to stand by her side, for suddenly he was looking down at her sleeping face. He sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand. His gaze traveled down to her stomach. It didn’t look any different than it had.

Inuyasha’s throat constricted and he felt that now-familiar shaking beginning again in all his limbs. He shook it off and lay a hand gently on her navel. Was his son really gone?

Yes; there was no life there. He could feel the loss radiating from her body.

He’d gotten so used to feeling the slowly-developing aura of his son that suddenly not being able to find it at all felt like dropping off a cliff where he expected there to be a bridge.

“Kagome,” he whispered mournfully, and brushed the bangs from her eyes. Her face blurred, but he growled viciously at himself. He’d die before crying in her presence, whether she was conscious or not.

He’d never seen Kagome look so pale and fragile. She looked like an aged porcelain doll; lying in the same dank storage room for an ageless span of time, slowly losing her coloring and dropping out of memory.

On impulse, Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her and brought her unconscious form up to him, and holding her strongly against his chest. He pulled in trembling breaths and ran proportionally quaking fingers through her hair. He moaned her name in sorrow and pain and rocked her slowly.

He could barely stand to touch her; it didn’t feel right anymore. It felt guilty. Inuyasha knew fully well that he no longer deserved to ever be able to see Kagome again. He’d ruined her life like he’d ruined his own, and now there wasn’t a goddamn thing he could do about it.

He clutched Kagome tighter. “I’m so sorry,” he whimpered, needing to say it without being heard.

A self-hatred was growing inside him, springing into existence with the realization that it was entirely his fault.

Nothing could possibly compare to the feeling of loss and regret coursing through him. He’d ruined everything, and because of it, touching the only person he loved might never be the same.

~~~

June 11, 2004. 11:59 PM. Inuyasha.

Inuyasha jolted awake, sitting straight up. A gasp tore painfully into his lungs as his eyes shot open and his ears pressed flat against his head to escape the sound. His whole body jerked to attention.

As soon as Kagome’s scream had started, it was over, dying off into a guttural, strangled sound.

In an instant, Inuyasha was awake and assessing the situation. Kagome was sitting up next to him, smelling of tears and sweat and clearly trembling. Her breaths were shaken and erratic, her heartbeat massively loud and quick in his ears. Her tensed hands were clutching at her face, and the remnants of her petrified scream hung in the air.

Inuyasha could feel his heart shattering all over again, and he did the only thing he could do. He took her in his arms and held her as she wasted away into huge, wracking sobs.

He could feel her shaking, and he shifted her into his lap. What else could he do?

“I’m here, Kagome.”

“Inuyasha…oh god, his face! His face, his face…” Her weeping overtook her.

“Oh Kagome,” he breathed, and closed his eyes against the pain. How could he have caused the only person he loved so much pain?

“Why, Inuyasha? Why?!”

He shook his head helplessly. “I don’t know.”

Her shaking didn’t subside, and she curled her hand into a fist and pounded it powerlessly into his chest. “You bastard!” she cried. “You fucking bastard.”

Inuyasha clenched his jaw tightly. He wanted his son back, and he wanted Kagome to be happy again, like she used to be. He wondered vaguely if Kagome even felt that he was worthy of her love anymore. Even in the beginning, he had never felt worthy of her love.

Those words became her mantra, and she scorched him with them over and over. “Inuyasha…Inuyasha, I hate you so much,” she whimpered, and wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him as he clung to the hope that one day things would be better for them. She buried her damp face in his neck and whispered the words again into his skin. “I hate us both.”

He held her close, never once disdaining her for her words. No matter how much she hated him, it couldn’t possibly compare to how much he hated himself.

~~~

June 6, 2004. 1:55 PM. Kagome.

Kagome stared out the window of the car. Inuyasha had come to pick her up and drive her home from the hospital. This city, which was once so familiar, was now empty and she felt nothing but hatred for everything she saw. That was why she didn’t turn to Inuyasha. She didn’t know if she could stand hating him too.

Neither of them spoke until they pulled up into the parking space, and Inuyasha was about to get out of the car.

“You liar,” Kagome said, stopping him. He turned to her, expression utterly haunted.

“You were wrong.” She turned back to staring out the window at the dead grass lining the building. “People don’t ever change.”

She could feel his sadness; it was a palpable thing which reached out in waves: roiling masses of grief, regret, and self-hatred. She didn’t know whether or not she cared.

“Kagome, I-”

“Please don’t say anything,” she interrupted. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to say this if you do.”

“What? Kagome, don’t-”

“Inuyasha,” she spat out, and turned to face him, “listen to me.” Her lip trembled as she held in tears. “I’m leaving.”

He winced, as if physically struck. “Kagome…” He paused, his brows drawn together in agonizing regret, and sighed emptily. “I understand.”

She blinked disbelievingly a few times. “You’re just accepting it?”

“How could I blame you? I want to leave myself too, but that’s a little more complicated.”

Kagome stayed silent for a moment, trying not to reconsider. “Inuyasha, I don’t know whether I’ll be back or not.”

Inuyasha sat up straighter. “What?”

She swallowed past the jagged metal spikes in her throat. “I’m not sure if I’ll ever come back.”

He turned to her. “You mean there’s a chance?”

Kagome shrugged. “I just don’t know. But…I can’t be around you anymore. Just for a while, I need to try and see what feels right, and if I find that…” She just couldn’t find the strength to complete the sentence, but Inuyasha came to her aid.

“If you find that hating me feels right, you’ll stay away,” he completed for her.

“Yes,” she uttered, and tears rained down her cheeks.

“I understand,” he said once more.

She shook her head. “No, that’s not it. I know that I don’t hate you. But I despise your life, Inuyasha, and I hate where I fit into it. I loathe it with everything I possess.”

“And that leads to hating me. I understand, Kagome. I just…there are no words for how sorry I am.”

Kagome frowned. “I know that,” she said coldly.

“I’ll always love you, Kagome.”

She smiled wryly at him and touched his cheek. “And I’m afraid that I’ll always love you. But…for a while, I’m going to try not to.”

With that, she was unable to take anymore, and she stepped from the car. She let Inuyasha help her up the stairs. Her things were still packed from when she’d packed them so the two of them could escape the same life which had killed their child. She gathered her bags, called a cab, Inuyasha helped her back down the stairs, and she got in.

A large part of her hoped, as she watched that figure she loved so very dearly decrease in size as she drove away, that she would never see him again. She needed, for her own sake, to relearn how to live without him.

~~~

March 4, 2005. 4:34 AM. Inuyasha.

“This time, if you say that you can’t leave, I’m going without you. And this time, I won’t come back.”

Inuyasha felt like he’d been punched in the stomach. He hesitated. “Kagome?” Oh god, she wasn’t leaving him again, was she? It was one of his worst fears.

“Inuyasha, I have to ask you to do something for me.”

The city was still chilly, and a bitter wind whipped around them, wailing as it blew through crappy apartment complex after crappy apartment complex. The wind was biting in its chilliness, and, in combination with the foreboding feeling developing in the pit of Inuyasha’s stomach, it sent miniscule spikes and pricks into his skin.

He nodded. “Let’s talk more inside. It’s bitter out here.”

“No, Inuyasha, now; right now. I want you to promise me something, and this has to be one promise that you’ll keep. For once, I want you to keep one of your promises.”

Guilt pounced on him like an angry giant; it took control and emotionally pushed him to his knees and held him by the throat, demanding that he comply without question. Guilt slapped him around a little for good measure. “Anything.” Guilt slugged him on the head for answering like a pansy, but gave a nod approving of the overall effect.

“Inuyasha,” She took his hands in her infinitely soft ones. “You have to promise to leave with me, tonight.”

Inuyasha exhaled sharply and closed his eyes, rolling his head back in the pent up frustration from all the times they’d had this conversation and he’d told her exactly why he couldn’t do that. “Kagome, you know that I can’t-”

“Dammit, listen to me!” she screamed, suddenly extremely angry, and wrenched her hands out of his. Those tears he’d seen moments before were threatening to spill over.

He sighed. “Alright, I’m listening.”

“Things are different now. Before I go on, I want you to promise me that we’ll leave tonight.”

He shook his head sadly. “Kagome, if I could do this for you, I would. Believe me, I would do it in a heartbeat. But I can’t. They will find us if we leave.”

“Inuyasha, I’m leaving tonight, and I’m never coming back to this fucking city! Whether you’re coming or not is entirely up to you, but I swear to you that I am leaving in just a few hours, and, unlike you, I don’t break my promises!”

That one stung. “Kagome, what is this about?”

She took a few calming breaths. “I tried to tell you earlier, before you left, and I tried to tell you before that a couple days ago, but I wasn’t sure. I bought a test earlier today. It’s been more than the waiting period, and…I honestly think that this is a second chance for us, Inuyasha.”

His eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“Inuyasha…” She took his hand again. “I took the test while you were gone. It was positive.” The world stopped spinning as she placed his hand delicately over her stomach and looked into his eyes meaningfully.

He felt like he’d been dumped three stories straight onto his head. His stomach gave a vicious lurch, trying to displace his reeling brain. “Are you serious?” he breathed, horror in his eyes. She was…?

She nodded. “Just over two months.”

Inuyasha pulled in a shuttering breath. “Are you sure?”

“I haven’t gone to the doctor yet, but the test I took is supposed to be reliable.”

“You’re…you’re…Kagome, tell me. Say the words; I want you to say it.”

She was so diffident, so unsure of herself. “I think I’m pregnant again, Inuyasha.”

Things clicked into place. “A second chance,” he repeated, and dropped to his knees, kneecaps grinding into the pavement. A second chance for them. All that hoping that somehow the impossible would occur and things would be right again now seemed to be coming true.

Kagome joined him on her knees. “What are you thinking?” she asked softly.

He stared at her, overwhelmed. There were no words. He pulled her into his arms and realized his hands were shaking as he wove them through her hair. He pressed his lips to her temple and pressed her against himself. “I love you,” he whispered on a rush of quiet breath, emotion clogging his mind and throat.

She lifted her face from where it was pressed to his chest. “Inuyasha, nothing will ever bring our son back,” she told him morosely, “but we can start all over. I’m not going to let anything happen to this child. If you’re going to stay under Naraku’s control, then you’re going to be dangerous, and I swear to god, I will leave you. But…” She hesitated and touched his cheek so softly. “I want you to come with me.”

Inuyasha stood abruptly and lifted her easily into his arms. “We’ll leave tonight. We can be packed by-”

“No, let’s not spend time packing,” she interrupted, and laid her arms around his neck as he walked back to the apartment. “Let’s just leave. We’ll gather what we absolutely have to, we’ll buy plane tickets, and we’ll just leave.”

He nodded. This was it. The adrenaline was building in his veins, coursing through him. This was really it.

Once in the apartment, they raced around gathering the bare essentials, only what they could carry in a few small bags, and all the money they had.

With one quick stop, they pulled all their money from the bank and he swept Kagome carefully onto his back and ran to the airport.

“Where are we going?” Kagome laughed as they ran down the vast airport halls. They were pulling each other along by their joined hands.

“I don’t know, we’ll just get whatever ticket sounds good!” He genuinely smiled at her for the first time in a very long time, and she smiled back, that familiar heartfelt warmth once again in her eyes.

Inuyasha set her down inside the front door, and cupped her face in his hands gently. He took deep breaths. Everything in him was telling him to just go, that there was a small chance that they could be safe if they moved every few months. However, the part of him that loved Kagome more than he wanted to have that hope told him to do what he had to in order to protect his apparently growing family.

It hurt to have to have stopped. He wanted to keep running until they found where they could stop and buy a ticket. He wanted to board the first plane that sounded good. He wanted to live his life without any regret, any danger. But that wasn’t what would happen if he just ran away.

“What is it?” The tone in Kagome’s voice said that she already knew what was happening. She sounded careful, ready to delve back into helpless regret within a moment’s notice.

“Kagome, this is the last time I will ever ask you to put your blind faith in me in a situation this dangerous.”

His mate’s eyes widened, and she took a few stumbling steps away from him. “What is it?” she spat. “What fucking stupid new idea have you come up with to ruin my life this time, Inuyasha? I won’t stand for it! How could you fucking do this when all I want is just to get the hell away?!” She was screaming now, clenching her fists and tears gracing her reddening cheeks. Her face contracted in anger, and she glared at him in raw fury.

“This will never be over and we will never be safe so long as Naraku is alive,” he told her truthfully.

She caught on immediately. “Oh no, no way! Not fucking happening! Make the decision right now, Inuyasha! Either you’re staying with me and getting on plane in the next hour, or you’re going off to try to take out Naraku, and I’ll leave without you, and never see you again. Take your pick.”

Inuyasha gritted his teeth and took Kagome by the shoulders, softly pressing her against the wall behind her. “Kagome, in our entire relationship, I’ve never asked a thing of you. I know you’ve always blamed me for what happened, and I know that I deserve all the blame you could-”

“Is that what you think?” she interrupted quietly. She was staring at him in disbelief, then averted her eyes, frowning. “Inuyasha, I’ve never blamed you for that. Ever. I know fully well that I’ve always made it seem that way, but I was just…so completely angry. I always expressed that anger for you, but I never blamed you. I’ve always been fully aware that it’s my fault more than yours.”

He staggered mentally, and blinked a few times. She’d never…? “What?” He could barely whisper the word.

She chuckled mirthlessly. “I’ve always known perfectly well that it was my own fault; that if I hadn’t gone to Naraku after you’d been shot, you never would have had to confront him.”

“That’s not true!” He placed both hands on the sides of her neck, and dipped his forehead to rest against hers and spoke softly. “It wasn’t even remotely your fault. You did nothing wrong but try to protect me. Kagome…you were begging for my freedom. How could that possibly make you guilty?”

She stared at him wide eyed, and shook her head slightly. “No…I’ve always known that it was my fault. I’ve never blamed you. I…I hated your job, and…and the results of…but I never…I was so, so angry. I’ve said some truly horrible things to you, but I never meant them.” She looked up at him woefully. “I thought you knew that.”

Sighing, Inuyasha leaned down and kissed her forehead tenderly.

She swallowed, collecting herself, and cleared her throat softly. “But go on with what you were saying before.”

Inuyasha drew a deep breath. “Kagome, I’ve fucked up more than I ever knew possible, and I admit that, but you decided to be with me, and when I did fuck up so badly, you decided to come back and stay with me. I don’t deserve you, but I have you, and I’ve never asked anything of you. All I’m asking is that you wait for me for a few hours. If I’m not back by then, get on a plane and go.

“You’re the only good thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’m not about to come with you if it’s going to fuck up your life again. If I don’t find a way to make sure Naraku never bothers us again, then that’s exactly what will happen. Do this for me. I will keep us safe, and I will come back and meet you, in less than an hour. Please, Kagome. As my mate, do this for me.”

Kagome had disintegrated into tears. “God, I can’t do this again! I can’t fucking do this.” She broke from his grasp and slid down the wall to clutch her own legs. “Why can’t we just leave?!”
“Because, Kagome,” he said gently, and knelt down to her, “we will never be safe if I do.”

Sniffling frantically, she angrily wiped away her tears with the heels of her hands. “Think about what happened the last time you tried to stand against Naraku!”

“If something goes wrong, you’ll be safely out of the country, and that will be the end of it. They’ll have no reason to find you, and even if they do, they’ll have no way of finding you. You’ll be safe, with our child.” His eyes seemed to turn up in the corners in an honest smile.

She shook her head hopelessly. “And what if I can’t do that; just leave never knowing whether or not you’re even alive?”

“I don’t expect you to have to.” He kissed her softly, briefly, and when he withdrew, he took her firmly into his arms, rising to his knees.

She took hold of the backs of his shoulders and hid her face in the corner of his neck. She fell into his embrace to mold against him curve for curve. “Alright, Inuyasha, I’ll trust you. It’s a stupid thing to do, but I’m doing it, as your mate, like you said. I’m going to buy two plane tickets for a flight that boards in just over three hours, and I’m getting on it.”

Inuyasha nodded. “Get a flight out of the country, to a small, safe city. If I fail, they don’t know your name, so they couldn’t track you through your passport even if they wanted to.” He kept her safely in his arms and stood, raising her off her feet, gripping her tightly in what he was terrified might be the last hug he ever gave her. She wrapped her arms around him again in the same desperation.

“Inuyasha,” Kagome sobbed into his shoulder. “Promise me that you’ll come back to me. I don’t care if you’ve broken every other promise you’ve ever made; just say the words and keep them simply because you made that promise, if for no other reason. Tell me that you love me enough to come back to me.”

“I do,” he swore. “I love you more than anything, and I will come back to you.” He pulled back and kissed her with everything he had to offer, savoring the feel of her kiss and the warmth of her body against his own.

~~~

“Miroku, open up! Come on, I know you’re in there.” Inuyasha pounded violently on Miroku’s front door.

He listened carefully as Miroku cursed softly and told Sango to stay in bed and he stumbled a few steps, before his footsteps disappeared in the expert fashion in which they’d been trained.

Soon, the door swung open and then there was Miroku standing there in nothing but a pair of sweatpants, and there was a gun leveled at Inuyasha’s forehead.

Inuyasha’s heartbeat picked up immensely. Did he know? Was he assigned to take him out? How could Naraku possibly have found out so quickly?

“Sorry, Inuyasha,” Miroku said softly, the look in his eyes grave. He clicked off the safety on his gun.
Inuyasha closed his eyes.
So this was it.
He was going to die at the hand of his best friend, leaving his mate and his unborn child in an airport downtown, with no protection. If they died because of him, it would be official: he would have never done a single good thing with his life.
Miroku continued. “I never wanted it to come to this, but I’m not going to let you kill me.”

Inuyasha’s eyes sprang open. “What?” he gasped.

“What do you mean ‘what’?” Miroku gritted out, and his grip on his gun tightened. He hardly looked like the man Inuyasha knew so well; his face was colored with harsh bruises and his usually strong stance was slightly lopsided. He’d obviously taken quite a beating recently. Occupational hazard, no doubt. “It really sucks that it has to be this way, but I’m not going to be Naraku’s victim.”

Inuyasha shook his head. “Wait…what?!”

Miroku raised an eyebrow. “You’re not here to kill me?”

“Kill you?” Inuyasha glanced around. “Let me in; we can’t talk out here.”

His friend narrowed his eyes. “How do I know that I can trust you?”

“Look, you can hold me at gunpoint in your living room if you’d like, but we have to talk and we can’t do it out here.”

Miroku studied him for a moment longer before nodding and lowering his gun. “Come in.”

Inuyasha followed him into the small apartment and took a seat while Miroku went to tell Sango that everything was alright.

Soon, Miroku reemerged. “So what’s going on?” He sat, unarmed, in a seat across from Inuyasha.

He sighed, not sure where to start. “I’m leaving.” He looked into Miroku’s eyes pleadingly. “I’m taking Kagome and going, but I know that we’ll never be safe if we don’t take down Naraku first.”

Miroku’s eyes widened. “What exactly are you suggesting?”

“It’s time, my friend. We’re going to take down Naraku.”

“You’re insane. Truly, certifiably insane. We can’t just…take down Naraku!”

“Well, I have a plan. It has a few holes, but together, I think we can figure something out.”

Miroku shook his head. “It’d be a suicide mission.”

“Not the way I see it.”

He turned back, looking curiously at Inuyasha. He leaned forward and narrowed his eyes intently. “Tell me.”

“First tell me why you thought I was here to kill you.”

With a sigh, Miroku sat back in his chair and brushed a hand through his hair. “Well…I fucked up last night. Naraku gave me an assignment, and it was one assignment too many. You remember how we were talking just last week about what we would say to Naraku if we were free to say whatever we wanted?”

Inuyasha nodded with a wince.

“Basically…I did just that. I told him where to shove it and put up quite a fight when they tried to beat me into submission. On my way out, I made the mistake of attempting to bring down the whole goddamn facility with Kazaana. I’m amazed that they haven’t killed me yet.” He shook his head. “Sango and I were considering just running, but I have no goddamn idea what will happen if we do.”

“Well, here’s what’s going to happen,” Inuyasha began. “We’re going to need to get Kouga in on this in order to make it work. You think we can trust him?”

“Sure we can. All of us are sick of this life enough to try anything once.”

He nodded. “Are you alright to fight? You look pretty beaten up.”

Miroku shook it off. “I’m fine. Those bastards aren’t nearly as tough as they think they are.”

“Good. Let’s call Kouga, and then get Sango over to the airport, with Kagome. If something goes wrong, they’ll just get on a plane and go.”

Miroku nodded. “Tell me the rest of the plan.”

~~
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Once again, ending on a cliffhanger!


Please, please, please review! I love the reviews. They make my head swell.

Next chapter: what may or may not be the end! Wow, that kind of ruins the drama, doesn’t it? Well, it’ll either be the last or next-to-last chapter!

I hope you enjoyed chapter six!

~Schrodinger’s Cat

A little useless sidenote: For anyone who gets the reference (though it’s obscure, and probably pointless to everyone but me), when Kagome told Inuyasha that she hated him, after having her nightmare, I pictured her voice to be like…*sigh*…this will take some explaining.
For anyone who has seen End of Evangelion dubbed in English: I pictured her voice to be just like Misato’s when Shinji is kind of inside his own head and the three girls are telling him over and over what a crappy guy he is, and Misato just whispers, “Oh, Shinji, I hate you.”
Wow, I’m such a dork, but I think that’s a really powerfully delivered line, so I thought that if anyone gets the reference, they would appreciate it. Alright, sorry for wasting your time! Now go review, please!