a/n: all right. This is the last chapter. The end. Don't forget to review!!

Chapter 10:Game Over (The End)

Megumi woke up warm. She let out a deep breath and shifted closer to the warmth. Her eyes startled open when she realized the warmth was a person. She opened her mouth to either scream or laugh, she didn't know which, when the memory of last night came flooding back to her. She closed her mouth and smiled. She had enjoyed last night immensely, but she didn't know where they stood anymore. All her confusing thoughts had come rushing out last night. She frowned. What if he didn't really want anything to do with her? What if she had just been available and willing?

And then she shook her head. Sano had not faked the jealousy in his voice last night. The aching need. He couldn't have used her, she refused to entertain the thought any longer. She slid her eyes over to him, letting them wander over the beauty of his sleeping body. His arm was cast around her waist and he was breathing deeply. She wanted so badly to wake him up and thoroughly reacquaint herself with his body, but there was much to do if they wanted to keep out of Kaoru's hands. At the thought she paused. Her whole goal, this entire time had been to get back to where she belonged and now, after one night, she wasn't sure she wanted to go back.

She shook the thought off and sat up. Sano twitched and his arm dropped off of her, but he didn't wake up. She ran a hand through her hair and cast a glance around the room in search of her forgotten yukata. She found it abandoned next to the foot of the futon and stood up to retrieve it. When she got up, Sano shifted and breathed deeply, starting to wake up. She quickly dressed and stared down at him as he shifted towards awareness.

"Good morning, sleepy head," she greeted, with a smirk.

"Why are you out of bed? Don't you think you should come keep me warm?"

She laughed and danced out of his reach as he tried to lean up and grasp her arm. "Uh uh. We need to get moving if you want to stay alive for a little while longer," she reminded him.

"Now that I have a reason to live for," he murmured quietly. So quietly she almost didn't hear it.

"What?" she asked, looking at him curiously, not sure that she heard him right.

"I don't wanna die, Meg," he reiterated.

"Well no one does," she joked.

"Well I'm just saying that you've given me a real reason to live. I used to exist only for my revenge," he confessed. "But now... I feel like maybe I can let that go."

She blinked. "Sano, I think you're discovering this a little too late. Kaoru may not kill you if I beg, but there will be some sort of punishment," she told him sadly. "I wish it weren't so and I'll do my best to plead your case, but I doubt she'll let you go completely free."

He cocked his head and smiled mournfully. "I know that. But I think I'm ready to turn myself in. Forget about my revenge."

"Oh, Sano," she let out as she dropped to her knees on the futon. "I wish you didn't do this. I wish we could just-"

"Sagara, are you ready?" There was a rap at the door.

"Yeah, almost, I'll be out in a minute!!" he called back as he embraced Megumi.

"Hurry," was the only thing Battousai said.

"We have to leave," she said.

"Yes."

"Kiss me," she demanded, pulling his head closer.

He obeyed, tugging her face the last couple of inches to his. His lips brushed softly against hers before he deepened the contact and swept his tongue into her mouth for a wondrous if short voyage. He withdrew with regret, wishing he could spend the day in her arms, but knowing he couldn't. She parted from him with a small frown playing on the lips he had just devoured. She didn't want to stop, but knew they had to.

It was time to face the music.

When they walked out, Kaoru was waiting for them. She smirked when she laid eyes on them. Clearly they'd had a nice little tumble in the sack, but she didn't care. Megumi had obviously formed a new and improved opinion of humans which pleased her greatly, but that didn't mean that Sano was off the hook. Besides, she doubted that he really meant anything to Megumi. She had engaged in sexual acts with men she hadn't particularly cared for before. But never a human.

"Megumi, I'm proud of you," she announced.

"Why?" She sounded perplexed.

"This was a life lesson for you and one you learned well. Humans are not our enemies. Well not all the time," she corrected after thinking about all the horrible things humans had done to her people in the past.

"So does this mean you don't think I'm a bad guy?" Sano asked hopefully.

She laughed. "I don't think you're truly evil, but nor do I think you are an angel. There will still be a fitting punishment for you."

Sano sighed and Megumi cast him a glance. "Leader, if I may..." she started. Kaoru waved her hand, urging her on. "I don't think that Sano should be punished. Surely his plan was heinous, but no harm came from it and so I think he should-"

Kaoru raise her hand to stop her. "That's enough. I have thought long and hard about this."

"And?" Megumi asked in anticipation.

"I'm simply going to banish him from our world and forbade him to associate with demons of any kind," she responded.

"I-" Megumi didn't know what to say. She was happy that his life would be spared, but she couldn't help thinking that this may be a worse punishment than death. "I thank you for your kindness," she finally said.

"Meg-"

"She is being generous, Sano," she told him, refusing to look at him.

"I don't think-"

"Please," she urged. "Drop it. You are going to live. That is more than I thought she was going to give you."

He fell silent, understanding that she was hurting also. She didn't want to never see him again, but she would rather he was alive and well. He shook his head and looked to Kaoru, who was smiling as if she'd come up with the perfect solution. If she only knew.

"Do you accept this punishment as just and fair?" she asked him.

He hesitated and cast one final glance at Megumi. She nodded shortly. "I do," he finally conceded, sealing his fate. He would never see his precious kitsune again. He would never love another.

Kaoru grinned. "Excellent! I shall leave you to say your good-byes and expect you to return within the hour. If not, I may have to change my mind about his punishment."

"I will be there, leader," Megumi promised.

With that said, Kaoru departed and let them have a last few moments alone. Megumi turned towards Sano. She had unshed tears in her eyes. There was so much she had wanted to say to him. So much she would never be able to say.

"Meg," he whispered, drawing her into his arms to hold. "I'll never forget you."

"Me neither. Sano, listen, I-I have to tell you something-"

"I love you, Kit," he beat her to the punch. "The time we've spent together has been the best of my life. I'll never love another, I swear. You'll be with me always."

Her tears broke through. "Oh, God, Sano, I love you, too. I always will," she vowed.

He kissed her then. Soft and sweet. So different from the demanding kisses they'd shared the night before, this one was filled with love. He pulled back after a moment and stared at her face, memorizing every detail.

"I will always love you," He promised as he dragged himself away from her, their fingers entwined.

"And I will always love you," she repeated to him, holding onto him as long as she possibly could. "Always..."

Kaoru sighed sadly. It had been a long day. When Megumi had returned she had endured the hugs and love, but there was an air of misery about her. She had played it off brilliantly, but Kaoru saw through it. She wanted to approach her about it, but knew better. She let the woman retire to her room without question.

Now she was sitting in the computer room with Aoshi and Misao.

"Do we know what happened to the Battousai when we arrived?" she asked.

"No. He disappeared the second we got there. Even Katsura doesn't know where he is now," Misao replied.

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised," Kaoru said, standing up. "By the way, did you ever figure out what happened to those files?"

Aoshi blushed. She did a double take. Shinomori Aoshi did not blush. It just didn't happen. "Aoshi?"

"Urm, well, Kaoru-sama-" Now she knew something was wrong. He always referred to her as leader. And he never stuttered.

"That's easy, Kaoru. Aoshi misplaced them." Misao smirked.

"I did not!"

"He just doesn’t' want to admit that he is capable of something so... human," Misao finished off with a laugh. "I thought it was funny. Especially since they didn't turn out to be pertinent to the investigation."

"Thank goodness," Kaoru said. "It's a relief to know that it wasn't a plot by someone in our own realm, at least."

"True story!" Misao nodded.

Battousai was sick of it. Every where he went, everyone he associated with ended up being targeted by that realm. It might take him time, surely, but he would have his revenge someday. They would pay and they would pay dearly.

In the form of an exchange.

Owari

a/n: I know you're all disappointed, but everyone who read Exchange knew this was going to end, well, not happily. And it does set Exchange up for anyone who hasn't read it. Don't forget to review!!