OMG FICTION
Fan fiction, to be sure, so take that with a grain of salt! Inuyasha, gonna set up a bit of a setting/project that I'm not sure how it will go, exactly. Art, fiction, comic, a little of all of it? We'll see.
Warning: character death.
Prologue: The Last Gift
The lantern light flickered in the corner of the small hut. The silver-haired hanyou knelt over a silver-haired woman laid out on a mat on the floor, a woman he'd fought with, even fought alongside. A woman he'd loved, for a very long time.
"You knew this day was coming," she said, voice low and wavering with a slight crackle.
"Don't talk like this, Kagome. You'll be fine."
"You've made me so happy, all these years." She reached a wrinkled hand up weakly, caressing his still-youthful face. Youthful, but slightly aged nonetheless. His jaw was more chiseled, his face slightly longer. She'd lost all sense of age, really - aside from her own - in this world of semi-immortals. "You have so much life left, Inuyasha." The hand pulled away briefly and shook as the aged miko coughed.
Inuyasha put his hand over hers. "And you do too!" He furrowed his brow, forcing the emotion and truth he knew was starting to well up. Sixty years of marriage is impressive by human standards. Hell, Kagome even living this long was impressive. "Don't give up, dammit!"
Kagome smiled weakly and closed her eyes. Dammit, not so quickly! "I'm too old to fight anymore," she said. There was no hint of sadness in her voice. Inuyasha found her confidence unnerving.
"Kagome!" He lowered her hand in front of his chest and clasped both of his around it. It was cold. And she still smelled alive. Her chest still rose and fell under the thick red kimono laid over her and the lighter clothing she wore underneath. He hoped her eyes opened again. That last glimpse couldn't have been the last one he'd ever-
"We talked about this," she began, curling her bony fingers around his hands. "We talked about this so many years ago."
"It's too soon!"
Kagome smiled once more, the twinkle he felt in her smile making up for the light he knew was hidden in her eyes. Tonight couldn’t be the night. It just couldn’t! "For you, maybe. I've lived a life so full and so long, so much more than I could have possibly dreamed of when I was fifteen...” She paused, and her breathing hitched and brow furrowed briefly before she coughed.
She took a couple shallow breaths and opened her eyes, still bright but serious. “Down here, Inuyasha,” she said quietly, motioning for him to come closer. He obeyed, leaning on his hand, she lifted her head, and he briefly kissed her cool lips. In that moment, she lifted the loose yet immovable collar that had been around him for so long.
Inuyasha was not one to often cry. He could count the number of times he’d done it on one hand, but not anymore. Wetness pooled in the corner of his eyes as he felt the constant, familiar, yet negligible weight of the beads removed from his shoulders. “Kagome...”
She set the beads aside and stroked his hair as she gazed into his eyes. He looked into hers, hoping that by doing so they would be kept from closing again. He almost shook her when she blinked slowly. “Inuyasha, you deserve to be loved your whole life, too.”
“Kagome, don’t!”
“Inuyasha, listen to me,” she said, and would have yelled if she could. She lowered her hand to her side, resting it atop Inuyasha’s. His lip started quivering, and she mustered her last bit of strength to finish her plea without losing composure in her voice. “This will keep happening to you, over and over again, if you keep falling in love with humans. First Kikyo, then me. Do this for me - find yourself a good demon, okay?”
“I could never love-”
“Yes, you can. And you will. And I want you to. You’ve got a long way to go, Inuyasha, and I don’t want you to be alone. Our love, for me, has been everything love for a human can be. You were so good to me...” She coughed again, and her eyes delayed once more in opening. “You have every blessing I can give you. You should have a lifelong love. I want you to find someone that can provide that for you, because-” Her voice caught in her throat. “Because I can’t.”
The tears traced over Inuyasha’s cheeks and around his jawline before falling to the kimono below. “Kagome, I love...” She’d already said everything he could. “I wish we could have made us both demons so we could have been together forever.”
She smiled and gave a short laugh. “Silly dog,” she said. “You know we couldn’t have done that. If we had, we couldn’t have had the life we did. We did the right thing. For everyone, for the whole world. It’s a better place without that stupid Jewel.”
“I... I guess.”
“No, you know.”
He smiled, then his countenance fell. “Yeah...”
“Inuyasha, my love,” she began, “I can’t anymore. I’m sorry, I have to...”
He nodded, kissed her once more and rested back on his knees, taking her hand in his and bringing it to his face, nuzzling it. “I’ll never forget you. I won’t stop loving you either.”
She smiled again. “I know. Thank you, so much. I have no regrets.” She coughed again, and he thought he faintly smelled blood though he could see none. He squeezed her hand and held it close, hunching over. She squeezed back. “I was always happy, always. Even when I wasn’t, I was. You took care of me, you stayed with me even as I grayed and wrinkled. Thank you...”
He resigned, and simply held on. Her eyes drifted shut and her breathing became more labored and short. Before long - his best estimate was hours, though it was likely minutes - she took one last deep breath, a mysterious smile crossing her lips, and the corners of her mouth relaxed as it weakly escaped her lungs.
She didn’t breathe back in, and Inuyasha fell forward, kissing her forehead and resting his on her chest. He’d already stopped crying.
After hours more, hunched and still, thoughtless, there was a soft knock on the door, followed by Shippo’s shrill and cracking voice. “Inuyasha?” And it felt to the hanyou like he’d woken up. Suddenly, Kagome felt lifeless. Suddenly, it was the afternoon. Suddenly, other people existed.
“Yeah?” he asked in response.
“Is... Is everything...?”
“It’s done.”
The door slid open slowly. “C-can I come in?”
“Yeah.”
The soft steps of the fox demon’s paws padded across the floor. His face was distraught. “Kagome...”
“Yeah.”
“We should get... I mean, we need to have-”
“Yeah.”
“Miroku will know what to do.”
Inuyasha nodded.
“I... I’m so sorry, Inuyasha. I know she meant so much to you, to me, to all of us.”
“Yeah.” He quickly caught the polite apology. “Thank you, Shippo.” Inuyasha looked down and finally realized he was still holding her hand. It was cold before, but it was a lively cold. It just didn’t feel like her anymore. He wanted to let the hand go, but he couldn’t. He knew it would be the last time he would be able to. Like the beads, it had always been there; such a pleasant weight, such closeness, such comfort.
While lost in thought, his body decided to act on impulse and he released it, resting it quickly on her chest. Shippo had backed out of the hut and left. He’d be back with Miroku soon. He stood somehow - it felt like he simply floated to his feet - and he walked out into the village. It just wasn’t the same anymore.
------
So I mourned her.
Over the next few years I mourned other friends.
I couldn’t take the village anymore and I wandered alone. I cleansed my heart so as to enshrine her there. As with Kikyo, I acknowledged my love for her, giving her the fond place in my past she deserved. I found peace, free to love again and honor her with that love, as the person she honed me, as a blade, to become.
She was right. And to not obey her, remaining alone, would dishonor her. But as she also told me several times; as you get older, you stop making new friends, so you have to keep the ones you have.
Well, they’ve grown fewer no matter what I do. Only Shippo and Kouga are left, if I can even consider the brat and the mangy bastard my friends. What’s more, if I wished to seek out my own kind - or half-kinds, both of them - I will only be pushed aside.
My options seem few. I feel trapped, paralyzed, like I am once again pinned to that tree. It’s as though she never freed me in the first place.
But her eternal happiness will only be secured when I find mine. It is her last gift to me. I can’t give up, for her sake.
It’s time.
Warning: character death.
Prologue: The Last Gift
The lantern light flickered in the corner of the small hut. The silver-haired hanyou knelt over a silver-haired woman laid out on a mat on the floor, a woman he'd fought with, even fought alongside. A woman he'd loved, for a very long time.
"You knew this day was coming," she said, voice low and wavering with a slight crackle.
"Don't talk like this, Kagome. You'll be fine."
"You've made me so happy, all these years." She reached a wrinkled hand up weakly, caressing his still-youthful face. Youthful, but slightly aged nonetheless. His jaw was more chiseled, his face slightly longer. She'd lost all sense of age, really - aside from her own - in this world of semi-immortals. "You have so much life left, Inuyasha." The hand pulled away briefly and shook as the aged miko coughed.
Inuyasha put his hand over hers. "And you do too!" He furrowed his brow, forcing the emotion and truth he knew was starting to well up. Sixty years of marriage is impressive by human standards. Hell, Kagome even living this long was impressive. "Don't give up, dammit!"
Kagome smiled weakly and closed her eyes. Dammit, not so quickly! "I'm too old to fight anymore," she said. There was no hint of sadness in her voice. Inuyasha found her confidence unnerving.
"Kagome!" He lowered her hand in front of his chest and clasped both of his around it. It was cold. And she still smelled alive. Her chest still rose and fell under the thick red kimono laid over her and the lighter clothing she wore underneath. He hoped her eyes opened again. That last glimpse couldn't have been the last one he'd ever-
"We talked about this," she began, curling her bony fingers around his hands. "We talked about this so many years ago."
"It's too soon!"
Kagome smiled once more, the twinkle he felt in her smile making up for the light he knew was hidden in her eyes. Tonight couldn’t be the night. It just couldn’t! "For you, maybe. I've lived a life so full and so long, so much more than I could have possibly dreamed of when I was fifteen...” She paused, and her breathing hitched and brow furrowed briefly before she coughed.
She took a couple shallow breaths and opened her eyes, still bright but serious. “Down here, Inuyasha,” she said quietly, motioning for him to come closer. He obeyed, leaning on his hand, she lifted her head, and he briefly kissed her cool lips. In that moment, she lifted the loose yet immovable collar that had been around him for so long.
Inuyasha was not one to often cry. He could count the number of times he’d done it on one hand, but not anymore. Wetness pooled in the corner of his eyes as he felt the constant, familiar, yet negligible weight of the beads removed from his shoulders. “Kagome...”
She set the beads aside and stroked his hair as she gazed into his eyes. He looked into hers, hoping that by doing so they would be kept from closing again. He almost shook her when she blinked slowly. “Inuyasha, you deserve to be loved your whole life, too.”
“Kagome, don’t!”
“Inuyasha, listen to me,” she said, and would have yelled if she could. She lowered her hand to her side, resting it atop Inuyasha’s. His lip started quivering, and she mustered her last bit of strength to finish her plea without losing composure in her voice. “This will keep happening to you, over and over again, if you keep falling in love with humans. First Kikyo, then me. Do this for me - find yourself a good demon, okay?”
“I could never love-”
“Yes, you can. And you will. And I want you to. You’ve got a long way to go, Inuyasha, and I don’t want you to be alone. Our love, for me, has been everything love for a human can be. You were so good to me...” She coughed again, and her eyes delayed once more in opening. “You have every blessing I can give you. You should have a lifelong love. I want you to find someone that can provide that for you, because-” Her voice caught in her throat. “Because I can’t.”
The tears traced over Inuyasha’s cheeks and around his jawline before falling to the kimono below. “Kagome, I love...” She’d already said everything he could. “I wish we could have made us both demons so we could have been together forever.”
She smiled and gave a short laugh. “Silly dog,” she said. “You know we couldn’t have done that. If we had, we couldn’t have had the life we did. We did the right thing. For everyone, for the whole world. It’s a better place without that stupid Jewel.”
“I... I guess.”
“No, you know.”
He smiled, then his countenance fell. “Yeah...”
“Inuyasha, my love,” she began, “I can’t anymore. I’m sorry, I have to...”
He nodded, kissed her once more and rested back on his knees, taking her hand in his and bringing it to his face, nuzzling it. “I’ll never forget you. I won’t stop loving you either.”
She smiled again. “I know. Thank you, so much. I have no regrets.” She coughed again, and he thought he faintly smelled blood though he could see none. He squeezed her hand and held it close, hunching over. She squeezed back. “I was always happy, always. Even when I wasn’t, I was. You took care of me, you stayed with me even as I grayed and wrinkled. Thank you...”
He resigned, and simply held on. Her eyes drifted shut and her breathing became more labored and short. Before long - his best estimate was hours, though it was likely minutes - she took one last deep breath, a mysterious smile crossing her lips, and the corners of her mouth relaxed as it weakly escaped her lungs.
She didn’t breathe back in, and Inuyasha fell forward, kissing her forehead and resting his on her chest. He’d already stopped crying.
After hours more, hunched and still, thoughtless, there was a soft knock on the door, followed by Shippo’s shrill and cracking voice. “Inuyasha?” And it felt to the hanyou like he’d woken up. Suddenly, Kagome felt lifeless. Suddenly, it was the afternoon. Suddenly, other people existed.
“Yeah?” he asked in response.
“Is... Is everything...?”
“It’s done.”
The door slid open slowly. “C-can I come in?”
“Yeah.”
The soft steps of the fox demon’s paws padded across the floor. His face was distraught. “Kagome...”
“Yeah.”
“We should get... I mean, we need to have-”
“Yeah.”
“Miroku will know what to do.”
Inuyasha nodded.
“I... I’m so sorry, Inuyasha. I know she meant so much to you, to me, to all of us.”
“Yeah.” He quickly caught the polite apology. “Thank you, Shippo.” Inuyasha looked down and finally realized he was still holding her hand. It was cold before, but it was a lively cold. It just didn’t feel like her anymore. He wanted to let the hand go, but he couldn’t. He knew it would be the last time he would be able to. Like the beads, it had always been there; such a pleasant weight, such closeness, such comfort.
While lost in thought, his body decided to act on impulse and he released it, resting it quickly on her chest. Shippo had backed out of the hut and left. He’d be back with Miroku soon. He stood somehow - it felt like he simply floated to his feet - and he walked out into the village. It just wasn’t the same anymore.
------
So I mourned her.
Over the next few years I mourned other friends.
I couldn’t take the village anymore and I wandered alone. I cleansed my heart so as to enshrine her there. As with Kikyo, I acknowledged my love for her, giving her the fond place in my past she deserved. I found peace, free to love again and honor her with that love, as the person she honed me, as a blade, to become.
She was right. And to not obey her, remaining alone, would dishonor her. But as she also told me several times; as you get older, you stop making new friends, so you have to keep the ones you have.
Well, they’ve grown fewer no matter what I do. Only Shippo and Kouga are left, if I can even consider the brat and the mangy bastard my friends. What’s more, if I wished to seek out my own kind - or half-kinds, both of them - I will only be pushed aside.
My options seem few. I feel trapped, paralyzed, like I am once again pinned to that tree. It’s as though she never freed me in the first place.
But her eternal happiness will only be secured when I find mine. It is her last gift to me. I can’t give up, for her sake.
It’s time.