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Japanese Volcabulary:

Nani: What

hanyou: half demon

Hai: Yes

taijiya: slayer

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Episode 27: The Final Step

After lunch the group continued on, still heading towards their destination of the village where there was a shard, or so the rumor said. They travelled for most of the day until they reached a village and decided to stop there for the night, still having a couple of days journey until they reached their destination.

Sango sighed, with a smile. "It's nice that we arrived at this village before it got dark. There's nothing like a warm bath and bed after a long day's walk."

"Hmph," said Kagome. "We barely walked at ALL today. Geez. You humans really are weak." But despite her words, a teasing glint was in her eyes.

Sango raised an eyebrow and placed her hands on her hips. "Oh. Is that so? Well, without these WEAK humans, you'd be nothing."

"OH really?" said the female hanyou. "Without you WEAK humans, I'd have arrived at that village DAYS ago."

"Sure you would," Inuyasha joined in. "But without THIS weak human, you wouldn't even be awake to GO to the village."

Kirara giggled. "It's true, you know."

Kagome closed her eyes and stuck up her nose. "Hmph. Don't flatter yourself. I would've found a way to be free."

"Suuuurrreee," said the cat demon. "And a human will land on the moon."

"Actually, that's already happened," said Inuyasha.

Sango choked at that before turning wide eyes to him. "Nani?! A human's been to the moon?!"

"Well, yeah," said Inuyasha. "His name was Neil Armstrong."

Three pairs of widened eyes stared in disbelief. Then, Kagome snapped out of it to let out a chuckle. "You're kidding, right? HUMANS, on the moon?"

Kirara shrugged. "I'll believe it, when I see it."

Sango scratched her head. "O-kay then.... So, let's get ourselves a place to stay then, shall we?"

Kirara nodded. "Hai!"

"Now, let's just find an inn..." the female monk trailed, letting her eyes drift around.

As all this was going on, the fifth member of their group trailed in the rear. 'I'm going to have to continue my mission. I should probably take the next step tonight... but I have to be slow about it. I can't scare her off...'

He raised his sad violet orbs to the female hanyou in question.

'Baby steps, Miroku... Baby steps....'

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It was easy enough to follow Kagome on one of her midnight patrols. Miroku had been having trouble sleeping in any case, so he heard the hanyou slide open the door to the room she shared with the other girls and pad out into the hall.

Miroku checked on Inuyasha before he followed. The white haired boy lay curled on his side, one hand tucked under his cheek, face relaxed in sleep.

The taijiya left the room as silently as he could, satisfied that Inuyasha would not awaken to ask what was going on. It did take some time to find Kagome, though. Miroku had a bad moment when he thought she had gone up onto the roof to sit as she sometimes did, for he had no good excuse to climb onto the roof after her. But luck was with him, she was just rounding the far end of the inn, scenting the air carefully.

"Hsst! Kagome!"

The hanyou turned his way and tilted her head. "What? Is there a problem, Miroku?"

"No. Couldn't sleep. Can I... can I join you?"

The half demon blinked in surprise but shrugged. "I've finished out here. I was just going back in."

"Sit with me a moment, will you?"

They sat down together on the porch and gazed up at the stars. Miroku shifted just a tad closer to Kagome, making it look as if he were just getting comfortable.

"So you think Inuyasha was telling the truth about men on the moon?" he said, to get a conversation going.

Kagome shrugged, half paying attention as she continued staring up at the stars. "Maybe. There isn't much we know about his time and I doubt he'd make something like that up."

"I wonder what it's like on the moon?" Miroku mused.

The female hanyou furrowed her brow. "I don't know. Probably pretty rocky."

"Well, how do you think they got all the way up there?"

"How should I know? Go ask Inuyasha." Kagome yawned. "Why don't you keep him up with your questions instead of me? I'm going in."

Kagome got up and went back into the inn. Miroku sat outside a moment more. Well, it wasn't too bad a beginning....

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Over the next few days, Miroku sought Kagome out more often, walking with her when Inuyasha was busy with Kirara (She had grown to turning to Inuyasha for entertainment as of late), helping Kagome hunt for their meals, anything he could do to keep around her without raising any eyebrows.

They had turned back when the shard rumour turned out to be a dead end and Inuyasha began to speak of going home for a visit. This seemed to catch the hanyou by surprise, and althought made no arguements against his going, she seemed sad and disappointed and even seemed to be avoiding Inuyasha. This made it even easier for Miroku to move in closer and closer.

Miroku took things to the next level when by chance, both he and Kagome leaped at the same time for a grazing deer. They collided in mid-air and the deer got away, but Miroku found himself sprawled over Kagome in a very compromising position if Inuyasha should happen upon them at that moment.

Kagome was a little dazed, her head had hit the ground pretty hard, so it didn't occur to her to start pushing at the taijiya right away. She stared up at him, her eyes slightly glazed.

"I never noticed before, but you have real pretty eyes," Miroku said, cringing inside. That sounded a bit forced, but it couldn't be helped.

She didn't seem to have heard him as she came out of it, growling as she shoved him away from her. "Geez! Didn't you see that I had the stupid deer? Now we have to find something else," The half demon pouted almost like a small child as her stomach growled," and I'm hungry."

Miroku scrambled to his feet, rushing to help the half demon up, nearly tripping both of them again. Kagome went off in a huff, stamping her feet in her anger.

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"I'm only gonna be two, three days at the most, okay?" Inuyasha was trying to wheedle Kagome into at least a ghost of a smile for him, but none was forthcoming. He knew Kagome had felt jumpy these last few days, but he had put it down to their wasted trip.

He tried to take her hand, but she avoided it, leaving him to grasp nothing but air.

Inuyasha frowned, thinking of her behavior after he mentioned his leaving. Could she really be sad that he was going? "Come on, Kagome. I won't be gone that long. I promised my Mom I'd come back every so often and we're out of peanut butter, remember? We just used up the last jar and I know how much you like those sandwiches."

"I know," the hanyou muttered. "You don't need to remind me of anything. I just..." The hanyou gave a next to unnoticable sigh as her ears drooped just a tiny bit further.

"You just what?" the boy asked.

Kagome shook her head. "It's nothing, nothing at all." 'Liar. You just don't want him to leave...'

Inuyasha let it go as he brushed her dark hair away from her face. This time the hanyou didn't avoid the contact. "Okay then, I'm on my way. Maybe I can bring you and the girls back something special, ne? How's that sound?"

"Okay."

There, finally, was a small smile for him. He wished she would tell him what was really bothering her, but she could be more closed-mouthed than a marble statue at times. Inuyasha bent his head towards hers, hoping to get in a kiss to her cheek, but she was already moving away from him. Inuyasha watched her walk away before he dropped down the Well, shaking his head with a sigh. He made a note to himself to find out what was bothering her when he got back.

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Two weeks had gone by already and Miroku was prepared for the final step. All the work and the preparation, all those in between steps that now seemed like a blur to him would now lead to this. Inuyasha was set to return from his time today, Sango and Kirara were off doing odd jobs for Rin, and Rin herself was off doing something or other. He hadn't thought to ask. So that left only him and Kagome.

Now all he needed to do was make sure he was alone and in position with Kagome when Inuyasha returned.

Miroku took a deep breath and then let it out. He could feel himself becoming uneasy but he couldn't hesitate when the time came. If he didn't do it, all would have been for naught and Kanna would die.

He pushed back any stray emotions, or truthfully any emotions at all (He was getting good at that.), and turned towards Rin's hut, where he knew the female hanyou lay.

The taijiya took another deep breath and released it, before making his way towards the hut. He paused just before the door for a few moments before entering.

As he stepped inside he spotted Kagome sitting against the wall, noticing that she tensed immediately and shot a quick wary look towards him. If he had been anyone else he probably wouldn't have noticed but years as a demon slayer taught him to have a watchful eye on the things around you.

He stood there for a moment, staring as he thought over once again what he was to do.

"What do you want?" Kagome finally said, voice only slightly tremulous.

Miroku observed her for a moment. 'She's nervous.' "Do I need a reason to come to Rin's hut? She did say we are always welcome."

Kagome didn't look at ease as she stood up and started to walk towards the door.

Miroku stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder. "Where are you going? Is there something wrong?"

The female half demon didn't look at him, eyes straight ahead as she spoke. "I'm going outside and yes."

The slayer lifted his eyebrows in surprise. "What is it? Is there a demon attacking?"

"No," the black haired hanyou said, before turning accusing eyes to him. "There's something wrong with you."

Miroku's eyes widened before relaxing again, brows furrowed. 'So she noticed, did she? Well, I guess there really is no reason to go slow anymore. This IS the final step after all. Just need to get it over and done with...'

But the taijiya continued on with his innocent act. "What are you talking about? There's nothing wrong with me."

Kagome quickly turned towards him, dislodging his hand. "Yes, there is! You're acting... You've been..."

"What?" said Miroku, almost emotionlessly. "I'm acting, what? I've been, what? Oh. Did you mean this?"

And with that, he walked steadily forwards until he had backed her against the wall. He braced one arm beside her and placed the other on her shoulder, before lowering his face so it was close to hers.

"Did you mean I was acting like this? Strange?..." Miroku spoke, having no struggle or answer from Kagome who was still frozen in shock, eyes wide like a doe in headlights. "....In a way that frightens you?"

He moved his hand from her shoulder to her cheek as she stared up at him with wide frightened orbs. "Why haven't you gotten angry? Yelled? Punched me?"

The female half demon didn't answer as expected. "I know why," Miroku spoke. "In the past two weeks as I've observed you, waiting for this moment, I realized something. Inside... you are nothing but a frightened little child... I wonder if Inuyasha knows this..."

Kagome continued to stare up at him, still frozen.

'Am I going too far with this? She really seems so scared...' the slayer thought, brushing his thumb across her cheek. 'But I have to keep her like this until Inuyasha arrives and this seems to be the only way...'

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard footsteps coming closer. He listened closely and when he heard the newcomer speak to someone outside, he determined that it was Inuyasha.

'Alright, I have to do this now!' he thought, turning his eyes back to Kagome. The half demon almost seemed relieved at hearing Inuyasha's voice. He smiled sadly. 'You shouldn't be relieved, Kagome. It's what I needed to complete the final step...'

The footsteps were VERY close by now. 'Now!' thought Miroku.

And with that, he did the ultimate betrayal, the one thing that would hurt Inuyasha most, especially coming from him, the cruellest thing he could have ever done, the most painful, the most hurtful. The final step.

Just as Inuyasha stepped through the door....

....Miroku kissed Kagome.