Finally, finally, finally...I give you guys a lemon chapter...

*applause and various readers exploding*

Sorry again about the last chapter, things got kinda screwy. Thanks to mysterious reviewer who tipped me off that it didn't post on the second try.

Well, it's kind a sweet and sour chapter.

I know someone of you, mainly Aub, are very upset with Kagome for leaving. I hope you all understand why she did it though. As you will see in the last part here, Inu certainly does.

But fear not...

After this...things are gonna start looking up for everyone!

YAY!! NO more ANGST!

Well...maybe a teeny tiny bit more, then YAY!

I'm only posting this one tonight, because I realized I needed to write a new chapter before I can post the next one. I'll be working on that tonight, and if I finish it, I'll put it up too. But I'm talking late here, maybe like between 1am and 3 am. You guys know me by now, I'm a night person. But I can promise you lots more chapters since I have tomorrow off, and this week, I'll have plenty of time to work on the remainder of the story. No, the end is not that close, but I'll give it a projection between ten and fiften more chapters, half of which are already done and edited.

Well, read on!

Ja ne!

~Sabichan~

*both events take place on the day after Kagome leaves*

Rin wiped the few flecks of paint off of her cheek and stepped back, taking a nice long look at her latest work. Not perfect, but more than she had expected out of herself. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she sighed. Almost time for that meeting...

But she made no move to get ready. She just continued to stare at the man in the painting before her. It had been so long since she had actually seen him, but she still remembered every detail of his sweet face, the exact shade of his golden eyes and silver hair. Closing her eyes momentarily, she thought back to the first night they had made love, freely offering up their virginities to each other. And afterwards, when he had held her against him, still trying to catch his breath, his long hair covering her body like a silk blanket.

It was a comfort she had been so long without.

But still, she held no resentment against the unique man she had once called her own. She had been the one to send him away, drove him out of her life. She had been the one to end it. But she had never imagined just how hard it would affect him. She had no idea he would leave town, leave his family behind. It was hard not to think of the whole thing just being her fault. So she had cut herself out of the Shingetsu's lives, tearing herself away from the friendship of Inuyasha, and leaving him alone with the depression on Shiori.

She carried the guilt everyday, and it haunted her dreams for years. Then one day, in a bout of self-pity and anger, she had quit her job and told her boss to shove that goddamned apron up his ass.

After that, she had turned to her life long dream, and went back to school to become the artist she was today. She had sold a few paintings, was commissioned to do a public mural, and had a steadily growing list of patrons.

Her love life was lacking to say the least. She had done her best to get over him, to forget the bond they had once shared, to get over the rape that sometimes still plagued her nightmares. But it had been too many futile attempts, and all half-hearted. He had been the one. What good would it do her to try filling the emptiness of her soul with some random man who would never mean half as much as he had?

A single tear ran down her paint stained cheek and she absently brushed it away.

He had been the main subject of many of her early paintings which had lead her to many jobs. But every portrait of him was her own, and certainly not for sale. Now she kept them in her back supply room, covered and for her eyes alone. And how many times she would go back for a new canvas, only to stop and glance over her collection. Only six paintings of him in all, but still, her greatest works.

This made seven.

Another tear, following the same path, was flicked away like it's peer. She forced herself to take her eyes off of it, and to walk away, and clean herself up before she met with her new patron.

Some man, with a voice that sounded so familiar-What had he said his name was? Bob Jones?

"What a generic name." She muttered as she walked upstairs.

Soon she was fresh and clean, and running late.

"Keys, keys, where the hell are my keys!"

She finally looked in her pocket and let out a groan.

"Figures. Come on Rin, where are you today?" She pulled the keys out of her pocket as she took once last glance at her drying masterpiece.

`it's not where I am....It's where I wish I was....'

Another sigh and she walked out the door, locking it behind her.

Pangs of sadness shot through her when she realized where this new client had asked her to meet him.

The Fukai Mori.

This restaurant was owned by the woman Shiori Shingetsu had been lifelong friends with. They had spent so much time there, and after only a few visits, she felt like she had become family. Needless to say, she had not come back after Sess had left. Now she had to walk in and re experience all that she had had to leave behind, and face the "family" she had never even said goodbye to.

She sat in the car for what felt like an eternity, debating on whether or not this patron was really worth facing the past for. Thoughts of the payment for the car she was now sitting in swayed her decision, and with a great deal of effort, she got out.

It was a slow journey to the door, each step filling her with such dread. She wanted to wish that maybe the family no longer owned this place, but the thought of such luck befouling them did not sit well with her. Maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be so bad...Maybe they wouldn't even remember her.

Taking a deep breath, she walked inside and quickly scanned the room for a familiar face. This in turn led her to frown, for the restaurant, amazingly enough, seemed to be completely empty...and quiet....really, really quiet...

She took a step backwards, a feeling of alarm rising in her. Suddenly, the door behind her opened and she spun around in surprise.

That's when the whole damn world came crashing down.

He stood tall and somewhat rigid, adding to the tenseness that now hung in the air. But his eyes, those eyes held something she had never seen in them before-fear.

This man was afraid of her, a woman who barely came up to his shoulders, whom she knew for a fact could hold her over his head. She almost giggled when she thought back about it.

His hair was longer. Not much, but just a few inches. His eyes, still the same dark shade of amber, though now clouded with emotion. His face was expressionless, something she had needed sometime to get used to before she was able to read him.

It had been almost nine years since she had seen him. Nine whole damn years wondering what if, wondering if he still felt the same about her, if he still loved her as much as he had claimed to. As much as she still loved him.

She realized she'd been holding her breath. She let it out slowly, in an effort to calm her racing heart.

This, this very moment was something she'd dreamed about for those nine years, had been her deepest desire for so long. All she had wished for, to just see his face one more time, if only for a fleeting moment. She blinked, once, twice.

He was still there. This was no fleeting moment. This was no dream.

He had come back.

Without a single word she ran to him, and with each step she took, those eyes brightened, that cold expression melted, and his body relaxed.

When she reached him, he wrapped his arms around her petite frame, pulling her up to her ultimate goal, pressing his lips against hers with a passion she had believed she would never feel again.

He spun with the momentum of her run, lifting her off the ground, sweeping her off her feet like he'd done the first time he had ever kissed her.

Perfection was a word she had never liked. She wasn't perfect-she was loud, a bit sardonic at times, and just a bit too short. Her paintings weren't perfect either. They had flaws, things that no amount of talent or white primer paint could cover up. Her life had been far from perfect-her parents were dead, and she had been raised by foster parents until she was no longer a ward of the state.

He had never been perfect either. He was a tad on the jealous side, somewhat possessive in nature. He was too quiet sometimes, and just a bit too tall for her.

Nothing was perfect-it was a reality that all people sooner or later came to accept. It was a rule of life.

This kiss blew all that straight to Hell

The tenderness and emotion that he showed her with each small caress of his lips against hers, the way he held he so tightly against his body, the tears she could feel on her face-ones she knew weren't coming from just her. This was the perfect kiss.

She never wanted it to end, but her desire to look into his eyes, to hear his voice again won over and she pulled away as he set her back down.

They stared at each other for a moment, both still reeling from the intensity they had just experienced, and both in shock that they were in fact looking at each other.

Finally she managed to speak.

"Mr. Jones, I presume?"

He smiled and pulled her close to his body. He buried his face in her hair and whispered into the crook of her neck.

"Rin."

"Sesshie." She whispered in reply as she bit back a sob.

He straightened to look at her face once more, his eyes roving over each feature as if resigning them to his memory. She smiled trying to blink back the tears, lightly caressing his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, a dreamy look overcoming his face.

"I missed you so much..." She said softly. "I'm....I'm so sorry!"

He looked at her in shock.

"For what?"

"For driving you away, Sess...I'm sorry I left yo-" He pressed a finger to her lips as he stared at her incredulously.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, I am to blame. I was the one that left you. Rin, I've been dying since the last time that I saw you...I'm sorry for not being there, for leaving, for waiting so damn long to come back."

Another tear ran down his cheek, proving his words. She leaned up to kiss it away, then met his lips again softly.

"Sess... why...why did you come back..." She ventured, hoping the answer was the one she had waited to hear for so long.

He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. Pulling away, he rested his forehead against hers and whispered the words he knew would not disappoint her.

"Because I love you."

It proved to be too much for her as she burst into tears, wanting so badly to be able to tell him she loved him too. But she just couldn't stop crying. She just barely managed to nod.

He seemed to understand as he tried to shush her, comforting her with light kisses all over her face.

A few minutes passed and she calmed enough to speak.

"Oh Sess...I love you too. Oh Gods...I've missed you so much, I've never stopped thinking about

you!"

"And you have forever been on my mind...Rin...how..how can you still love me? After I abandoned you like that, after everything I've done?" His eyes were dark again, showing a remorse she knew all too well.

"You didn't abandon me. I pushed you away! I told you to leave. All you did was what I told you to. ...You always were a little puppy, you know that..." She teased. His face set into a glare, but his eyes smiled.

"Don't call me that..." She kissed him, then laid her head against his chest.

"I can do whatever I want to...you're back....you're mine again..." She heard him chuckle lightly at her words.

"And you used to say I was possessive..." She giggled and squeezed him tight.

"I mean it Sesshomaru. I'm not letting you go ever again. In fact, you'll be lucky if I ever even let you out of my sight. You're mine forever."

"I would not have things any other way." He said softly as he pulled away. She looked in his eyes and did not miss the hint of smug satisfaction. He took her hand in his.

"But I am sure you realize that if I am to be yours, you must also be mine. And since you are mine, I must comment on the fact that you are lacking something."

"And what might that be?" She said, amused at the coy tone of his voice. He reached into his pocket and smiled.

"Close your eyes, and I will show you."

She gave him a look, but complied. The moment the warm metal touched her finger, she gasped, but did not open her eyes. Not even when she felt the ring sliding on her finger slowly, not even when it was comfortably on and he told her to open them.

Finally, she swallowed hard and looked. Yet another gasp slipped out when she actually saw the gold band, not to mention the huge diamond it sported. She looked up into his eyes and saw the smugness was gone, and replaced by that warm loving look she had waited so long to see again.

She nodded and pressed her lips against his softly.

As they kissed, she thought about the twenty minutes that had just passed, the small amount of time it had taken to change the course of her entire life. She had believed she was going to end up like Shiori, forever pining away for the man who didn't return, broken and sad.

Now, here he was, her Sesshie, her love, holding her, kissing her so passionately. He had come back, he said, because he loved her. And he had wasted no time clearing any doubts from her head by then telling her he was going to marry her. `He didn't even ask...what a jerk....' She smiled against his lips as he lifted her off the ground again, so effortlessly. `Then again, he just knew he didn't have to ....'

One her hands went to tangle in his hair, the other still wrapped around his neck to keep her up. She reveled in his strength, it was one of the things that had always made her weak in the knees. She brushed her fingers through his silver hair, another of her favorite features, drawing a soft moan from him.

She felt him deepening the kiss, his tongue delving deep into her mouth for a taste of her.

If there was one thing Sess had been good at, it was kissing. Something about the way he moved his lips, how he was gentle and rough at the same time, just made her melt inside. He hadn't changed a bit....

He still tasted as sweetly as she remembered, and she begged wordlessly for more of him. She thought about how his kisses had comforted her the first time they'd slept together.

She had been so nervous when he had first talked about it, but he had been so kind, so sweet. He didn't rush her at all, just patiently waited until she felt she was ready. Finally, on the night of their two year anniversary, she had decided it was time. They stayed at a hotel, and after a nice romantic dinner, had retired. Once in the room, she grew nervous again, but he had been so good about it.

He had done everything to put her at ease, kissing her, touching her, then kissing her elsewhere....

Just the thought of that night sent a rush of warmth pooling in her stomach, and that coupled with his kissing expertise...well...it made for one very aroused woman.

She thought still about how passionate they had become after that. They seemed like they just couldn't get enough of each other, and he had awoken desires in her she'd never known she had. They started to become a little more adventurous...like that time after school in the girl's bathroom, or when he'd borrowed Mushin Houshi's car to take her home one night...or in the break room of this very restaurant.

She felt like her body was on fire. All the memories of their sexual exploits, the way he seemed to be addicted to her, and she to him; their frenzied lust when they were in danger of being caught, and the sweet slow lovemaking when they had all the time in the world.

Suddenly she pulled away. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Sess...please...come home with me." She begged, her voice husky with need. He elegantly arched an eyebrow, but the look in his eyes told her he'd been wanting to ask her the same thing. He pressed his hips against hers, and she felt the hardness pressing against her stomach.

"I don't want to wait that long." He set her down on her feet and languidly dragged his tongue along her neck. She shivered at the feeling, surprised that he still remembered her special "spot".

Shakily she tried to reply.

"B...But what about...who's here?"

He stood tall and looked down at her, smirking obnoxiously.

"There's no one here Rin. I asked them for an hour. It's only been half."

They both reacted immediately. She jumped up as he cupped her bottom in his hands and lifted her, wrapping her legs around his slim waist. She began to kiss his neck as he walked over the door to the break room. He fumbled to open it, trying to concentrate under Rin's ministrations as her nimble fingers unbuttoned his shirt. Finally he succeeded, and kicked it closed behind him.

He walked over to the table and abruptly brushed aside the papers that laid there. Setting her down, he fought to regain some sense of self control.. He looked at her, his hand closing over her hand that was fumbling with his tie.

"Rin...are... we moving too fast?" She grinned mischievously and pulled on his tie to bring his face to hers.

"We've been waiting for nine years Sess....If I wait any longer I'm gonna explode."

They wasted no time then. They didn't even bother to completely undress, just moved clothing aside to be able to feel each others skin, to feel the bodies they had desired for so many years.

He lifted her shirt, deftly unhooking her bra behind her, and pushed that up as well. He sighed nostalgically as he took in the sight of her small, but nonetheless beautiful mounds. He cupped them in his hands as she weaved her fingers through out his hair. He stooped over and took a pert nipple into his mouth, a silver curtain cascading over his shoulder around them.

She arched up against him, moaning aloud as he teased her, running her small hands over his firm chest. He continued, switching to the other breast as one of his hands traveled a long familiar path down her stomach, between her legs. He flipped up her skirt and massaged her, feeling her become more and more wet with each stroke of his expert fingers. She bucked up against him calling his name, begging him to stop teasing her.

"Please...Sess....please...."

He raised his head from her breast and spoke low and husky. His other hand moved down out of her sight, but she shivered when she heard the sound of his zipper being pulled down. He smirked again, having never stopped his caresses over her womanhood.

"Tell me...Rin...tell me you want me..."

He suddenly pushed aside her thin cotton panties, revealing her to the cool air. His fingers went right back to their previous actions, only this time on her bare flesh. She squirmed beneath him, mewling as he touched her.

"Sess...Please...Take me! I want you inside me!"

Before she could even take another breath, he'd crushed his lips against hers and entered her with one swift thrust. She moaned against his lips as she felt him fill her, her body stretching to fit his length, having been deprived of it for so long. He didn't waste a moment and began to move, grinding his hips against hers, thrusting into her recklessly. She did her best to meet him, but soon was too overcome with pleasure to even do that.

He was so good, so passionate. Every thrust shook her to the very core, sending tremors through her entire body. It was even better than she remembered it, and he was even bigger than she had once been so used to. But time had passed, they both had grown, and their passion had accumulated.

Now after all these years, they were letting out all these frustrations as he pounded into her again and again.

It wasn't long before she felt that tight coiling in her abdomen, and she begged him to go faster, harder.

He complied, his hands squeezing her hips, his mouth busy with every inch of her body he could reach.

Finally it hit her, and the pure force of her orgasm made her back arch right up off the table. She

screamed aloud, some broken form of her lover's name as he continued to thrust into her.

A moment later he followed, spilling himself deep inside of her as he let out his own chocked cries of ecstasy.

In the hazy moment of the afterglow, her still trying to catch her breath, him still trembling against her, they realized it.

This was the culmination of their heartache, their pain. The years apart had only made their love stronger, their passion greater, and well...the sex even better.

Even though there was much still to talk about, so many things to sort out and to learn, not to mention a wedding to plan, this was the start-the beginning of their life together

*I POV*

I was speechless. Absolutely dumbfounded. I just stared at Sango as I sunk down the floor on my knees. She was crying, but I hardly heard her over the voice in my head saying the same thing over and over and over again.

`She's Gone...'

The day hadn't started so badly. The sunlight that peeked through my window seemed a little less obtrusive than it had been so recently. The sounds of my mother humming lightly from her room drawing a smile from me in my sleepy state. Then the knowledge that my brother had returned after his long disappearance, and the closure of now knowing that my father was indeed deceased.

Everything seemed like it was falling into place.

That is until that incessant knocking started. Some asshole at the front door was shouting, banging away, breaking me out of my dreamlike comfort. I knew it wasn't Sess, he was never that much of a brat to be so annoying so early.

That's when I Sango call my name. I jumped up immediately and ran to the door. The moment I opened it, my heart fell.

There she stood, her eyes red and face tearstained. She threw herself into my arms and continued to bawl. I did my best to get her to talk, but she just kept on crying.

A thousand horrible thoughts raced through my mind. I wondered if Kagome had had similar intentions to mine yesterday and had had no one to save her. I wondered if Kouga had taken his revenge. I was so afraid.....

She finally managed to choke a single sentence that seemed both confirm and dismiss my fears.

"She's gone!"

"Wh- What..? "

I waited, bracing myself for the pain that I feared would come, expecting the very worst.

Sango sniffled and took the tissues my mother had handed her.

"She left! She just picked up and left! She's been gone for a whole day!"

Now here I am, slouched on the floor in a complete state of shock.

She had done it.

I thought back to our day in the park, just the two of us sitting by the fountain, watching the birds flapping their way to freedom. Kagome had gone after them, had left all of her responsibilities and worries behind her. She had packed up that new car with just a few things, and never looked back. Not even a note to her family, only a message conveyed by Kikyo, who turned out to have some hand in helping her.

She had wanted so badly to just be able to be free of everything and everyone, and her anger had given her the strength to go.

I looked down at my hands, so recently graced by her touch, so recently ready to take my life for the grace of her.

Once again, for the third time in my life, I had been left behind by someone I loved. I wanted so badly to be angry with her, to hate her for it...

But this....this was Kagome...

I could feel Sango and my mother staring at me, both waiting for some kind of response. Slowly I

raised my head to meet their eyes...

And smiled.

I couldn't blame them for the way they winced in shock. I was pretty surprised myself. But I couldn't deny what I was feeling. I was so proud of her, so content just knowing that now, she was doing what she had always wanted to, living how she'd always wanted to live-Kagome was Free and I couldn't be more happy for her.

I thought right then, I would probably never see her again. Those chocolate brown depths might not ever look into my eyes, I might not ever run my fingers through her hair, or take in her sweet scent. I would probably never kiss those soft lips again.

Instead I would live my life with the memory of those things, fiercely hanging on to each until my very last breath. My life would never be complete without Kagome by my side, but I knew I could be content with it just knowing she was happy.

And in all truth, making her happy was the only thing I had wanted to do in the first place.

In the end, I won.

Finally, I spoke, soft and low, barely above a whisper.

"She's not gone...She's happy."

okay, I don't buy it either. I know it seems a little hard to believe that he's happy for her, but this is the way I wrote it, and if ya don't like it, sorry.

But you have to understand just how much he really loves her. We've all heard the whole "if you love someone, set them free, if they don't come back, they were never really yours to begin with..."

Crap, huh?

Well, this is Inu trying to make sense of what she's done. He's doing his damnedest to understand, and I felt like with all he's been through, that he should be able to.

Kagome has changed his entire life, and in some ways, he feels indebted to her. Where would he be without her ever coming into his life? Probably not as heartbroken, but for God's sake, at least now he realizes that he's alive!!

His thoughts will change a little in a few chapters (very sweet!), and hopefully then, you'll understand why this had to be this way. Remember...I don't write things a certain way without a reason. I always have a reason to be revealed later.

A paintings not a work of art until it's finished!

Not that this is, but I...oh whatever...XP