Disclaimer: The voices did it ta me again!!! Thought I had this thing shelved, but nooo. Anneke-chan had ta go and put a bug in my ear and this is what came out. Actually, the first part of the next story came first, then the third story and then this came out. *Sigh* Whatever! Have fun!

Finale Pt.II -The Deal

By Icka! M. Chif

The ascent to conscious was slow and unwelcome. Slow because he didn't quite want to wake up yet, and unwelcome because it bloody well hurt.

A lot.

He tried fight it for a while, but something kept nagging him to wake up. Something was wrong. Something familiar.

Trouble?

No... there weren't any loud noises that usually accompanied that. Just the hssh of wind through the trees and the sounds of some people talking nearby.

He soon identified them as Sango and Miroku talking quietly between them selves.

That was good, that meant that they were still alive.

But there were others... where was Shippou? And Kagome?

Kagome...

Waking a bit further, he became aware of the scents around him as well. The stench of miasma and blood was heavy in the air, nearly drowning out all other smells.

He fought his way past that, he already knew that. What he needed to know was-

There, there was Kagome's scent. He could smell the fear in it, along with something else.

The scent of a youkai.

Anger rose, bringing him out of the fog of unconsciousness. He was going to find who dared to touch her and rip their yiffin' hands off...

He opened his eyes a slit, his eyelids feeling like boulders despite the energy the rage that powered him at the moment. It was dim out, around sunset, but the low light level gave him very little difficulty. Carefully looking around, he spotted Shippou first, hiding under fold of fabric.

It took a second for his brain to register what the fabric was, then where he was.

He was half sitting up against a tree, his head resting on Kagome's shoulder. Shippou was asleep in her lap, looking tired. No one else was around.

He blinked. Something was not right here. Where was the other youkai?

A gentle breeze drifted some strands of white hair across his nose, tickling it.

It was Kagome's scent, but it was also a youkai's scent.

Kagome was the youkai.

The previous hours events poured into his memory like water smashing through a dam.

Naraku.

The Shikon no Tama.

Kagome.

Oh, dear Kami-sama... He could feel the anger drain out of him, replaced by something else.

"Feel better?" Kagome's gentle voice inquired, her breath tickling the hairs on his ears. She sounded tired.

"I'm alive." He managed to get out, trying to sit up. He felt as weak as a human, his limbs were like rocks and didn't want to move. How the heck had he ended up leaning against her? Not that it was a bad place, just highly unusual. "You?"

"I've been thinking." She commented, turning her head to look at something in the distance.

Inuyasha swallowed. This couldn't be good. "About?" He inquired.

"School."

He had been right, this wasn't good. But at the moment, he really was too tired to feel more than disturbed by it.

She looked down her hands, no, her claws and sighed. "I've got to finish school. I promised my family that as soon as we collected the Shikon no Tama I'd go back and concentrate on school again."

"You can't." He tried to growl. This was similar to the fight that they always had whenever she tried to go home. Only this time she was talking about going back, permanently.

To his muted surprise, she didn't get angry with him about it. "I know. They're no way to explain... this." She motioned toward herself, causing her shoulder and thus him to bob a bit. He tried to sit up again, and this time succeeded, so he could look at her.

She looked scared. He could see the tears standing in her eyes, but they hadn't fallen yet. "So stay here." He commented, shifting to a more comfortable position. The healing injuries protested the movement and he noticed for the first time that someone had bandaged him up.

She shook her head. "I can't, Inuyasha." Kagome said sadly. "You know that. I have a life in my time. Responsibilities. My family is there."

"We're your family too!" He snapped.

He regretted the words the second they were out of his mouth. Dammit. He snorted and resting his chin on a fist, looking off in the distance. He was getting weak, hanging around humans too much. Damn girl. If not for her, he'd be a full youkai by now and wouldn't be worrying about this.

"Thanks." She smiled at him. It was strange, seeing such a cheerful expression on a youkai face. Her expression turned thoughtful and she reached up to play with the shard that was no longer around her neck, an old unconscious gesture.

"Inuyasha?

"Hn?" He didn't bother turning to face her, merely flicking an ear in her general direction.

"I'll make you a deal."

"Like what?" She was going back to her time, and he knew by now that nothing he said was going to change her mind. And there was that damn cursed necklace to back her up too.

"If... if I find a way to go to school, and I pass, I'll stay here in the Warring States." Her voice was hesitant, like she wasn't sure if he'd agree to it.

He couldn't help it, he glanced over. Was she serious?

She shrugged, pressing her hands into her lap. "After I finish school, my obligations are over. And I don't think there are many job openings for a half youkai." She looked away. "It's not like I was sure what I was going to do after I finished school anyway."

"You are serious." He muttered, surprised. She nodded, blushing a bit. He raised an eyebrow. "And just what where you thinking of doing if you do come here to stay?"

Her small smile crept back. "Well... maybe we could go on another quest... to find a way to turn you into a full youkai. Or a human." She added the last part mischievously, just to tease him.

He snorted, covering up the urge to smile back. "Unlikely. Alright. Deal."

She grinned and stuck out her hand. He looked at it warily. "What's that for?"

"We shake. You know, to seal an agreement."

"A custom from your time?" He inquired, tentatively reaching out a hand as well.

"Sort of." She clasped his hand and shook it. Her grip was stronger than he'd expected, and probably much, much stronger she was aware of. Either that or he was that weak from the battle.

Kagome appeared to notice this and let go, blushing slightly. "Gomen. I-I'm still not used to this."

He waved it off. "I can teach you. It's not like I'm unfamiliar with being half-youkai."

She nodded. "Right. Thank you, Inuyasha."

He snorted, feeling tired again. Damn, he hated being injured. It never lasted long, but it was still a pain in the butt.

"Go to sleep, Inuyasha." Kagome instructed, motioning for him to lean back up against the tree. "We'll be on guard."

"Don't need anybody to guard me." He grumbled, laying back.

"I know." She smiled at him, leaning against him slightly as he shut his eyes again.

Hmph. Silly twit. Unless someone could pull a miracle out of their pants, there was little to no chance that there'd be a way for her to go to school.

But she was right. What were they going to do if she did stay here? Heh. Maybe a quest to try to return her to human.

A mixed pang of guilt and unexpected happiness shot through him.

In a way, it was his fault she was now cursed to be a half-breed. Outcast from human and youkai alike.

But he was no longer alone.

And that was enough to send him into a pleasant slumber, protected for once, instead of protector.

Fin.