Kagome couldn’t help but to stare at InuYasha. She wondered if he had any idea of just how beautiful he was to her. He was standing up on the cliff that overlooked the calm area of the river where they often bathed. The wind had kicked up, and it lifted his heavy mane so that it flowed behind him. Recent events heavy on her mind, she silently joined him. Turning her face into the wind, she let it flow over her, around her.

“What are you thinking about?” she finally asked quietly.

“The wind,” InuYasha replied simply.

“And?” Kagome prompted.

The hanyou turned to look at her. “Miroku, Kagura, and you.”

“The wind makes you think of all that?” she questioned.

He nodded and turned away from the cliff, walking with Kagome alongside him. “I was thinking of how much destruction it could cause. We knew what Miroku’s kazaana could do under his control, but after he absorbed the poison of Magatsuhi, and it started to rip, I thought the whole village would be destroyed. But then, you managed to break free. You saved us all, you know, again. You broke your seal and purged the poison from Miroku’s system, and halted the tear in his wind tunnel in the process.”

Kagome blushed. “I… I… I had to do something. I felt so… helpless… I couldn’t even purify Kohaku’s shard. And then we come back to find all of that. Magatsuhi is a coward, just like Naraku, isn’t he? I mean, he sealed my powers completely so I’d be useless, and then waited until you were with me in my time, and Sesshomaru was off chasing after him elsewhere to take possession of Kohaku. Sango was hurt, Miroku was going to die, and even little Rin had been injured. I couldn’t remember ever having felt so angry.”

“I can remember at least one other time,” InuYasha offered. “Remember when Naraku tricked Sango into stealing Tessaiga, and promised to give Kohaku back to her in exchange? You saved us all then, too.”

Kagome looked up to meet his eyes. “I was mad, wasn’t I? I mean, at the way he used Sango, and then tried to poison us all with his miasma. At the time, all I could think was that I’d missed him, and he got away. I didn’t really look at what I’d actually done.” They walked in silence before Kagome asked, “What makes you think of Kagura, now?”

“I don’t know. I guess it was a combination of the wind, and thinking about how Naraku uses everyone around him; how they’re all disposable to him. And I was thinking about how when Kagura tricked Kouga into attacking me and he shattered my arm and they thought I was dead; but, when you were threatened, I managed to find the strength to continue to fight. That made me think of the other times I’ve felt stronger because you were near. And then I thought about how Naraku set Kagura free and killed her, and how Sesshomaru found her before she died. That reminded me of the times I was afraid I might die without ever having told you how I felt.”

“InuYasha,” Kagome whispered as she took his hand. “I meant it when I said I’d always be with you.”

“And I said I’d protect you with my life, but did you understand what I was trying to say?” the hanyou asked, squeezing her hand.

Kagome looked up and studied his face. “My brother has the worst timing, doesn’t he? He had to barge in just then.”

The hanyou only nodded as he leaned over to softly kiss her. “I’ve wanted so badly to do that.”

“Me, too,” Kagome responded, wrapping her hands in his forelocks, and pulling his face back to hers.

Their lips slipped and slid around each other until they found a comfortable position. InuYasha folded the miko into his arms, and when they finally had to pull apart for air, she wrapped her arms around him and allowed him to simply hold her. He rested his head on top of hers as they stood together, with him gently rubbing her back.

Kagome’s voice was muffled as she spoke, the side of her face still pressed against his chest, “Were you trying to tell me that you loved me?”

InuYasha was never good with words, so instead of answering verbally, he squeezed her a little more tightly.

“Can I take that as a ‘yes’?”

The hanyou cupped her chin in his hand, and tipped her head up so she could see him. He nodded in response.

“I love you, too,” Kagome whispered, as they heard another voice carried to them on the wind.  “I’ll take it back; Shippou has worse timing than Souta.”

“At least, if anything happens to me…” InuYasha’s voice trailed away.

The miko met his eyes. “Thank you, InuYasha. It means more to me than you can know. And nothing is going to happen to you. Naraku still doesn’t have that last shard. As long as we’re together, I don’t think he has a chance.”

Giving her one last soft kiss, he said, “Come on. We’d better go before the runt finds us.”

Kagome nodded, and they headed back towards the others. As they walked in silence, InuYasha thought, with their combined determination, that maybe they finally had the strength they needed to defeat Naraku. No, now that Kagome had managed to break the seal on her spiritual powers, he was certain that they could do it. He felt the wind pick his hair up again, and Kagome take his hand in hers. He looked at her and allowed a small smile to grace his lips. It was funny how a simple force of nature could bring so many reminders of the past, and what was yet to be done. As they approached the others, he noticed that his brother was there, staring off into the distance. How things had changed, now that they were civil to one another.

“What do you think he’s thinking about?” Kagome asked.

“Dunno,” the hanyou answered, wondering the same thing, himself.

Sesshomaru had closed his eyes as the wind gently caressed him, ruffling the mokomokosama so that it tickled his chin as it lifted his white tresses with its current. ‘As I promised, Kagura, your death will not have been in vain.’

He listened to the whispers that floated on the breeze for a few more minutes before he rejoined the others. It was funny how a few gusts could reunite everyone in a common goal. The destruction of Naraku was written in the winds. Though not in body, Kagura’s spirit would be there to witness it. A windy day had been a good idea to blow everyone in the right direction. As Sesshomaru stopped to speak to his brother and the miko, the currents of air actually smiled.