(( Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain.

Other notes: I love Blue, and I LOVE Blue and Hige. So I decided, against my better judgement, to create this one shot of Blue's death, told in Blue's perspective. Please rate and comment! I would love it! ))


Pain!

How could I hurt so much when the end, when Paradise was near? It pulsed through me, yet I made myself continue, made myself fight for what I knew was right. He wanted Cheza, he wanted her but he couldn't have her. We would not let him have the Lunar Flower! Dimly, I heard Hige land in the snow some paces where I lay, and I cringed in pain. But I dare not open my eyes, could not open my eyes. I could not see him in as much pain as I was in.

Pressure pushed down on my throat, and I struggled to breathe as I felt the claws attached to his paw dig into my skin. I whimpered, feeling the pain ebb through my body. Faintly, I heard Kiba yell something… what was it?

PAIN!

Teeth tore into my throat; his teeth tore into my throat. I could feel them crushing me, stealing away my life. He released me, what was his name…? I could feel nothing, I was cold. Pain coursed through me, pain.

My eyes were open. When did my eyes open? Faint, blurry shapes flashed before my eyes. I heard growling, was that Kiba? I heard snarling, I heard death. I heard music. Brilliant music, like one might hear during a play.

I don't know how long I lay there, listening to my music. Was it a day? Was it an hour? It could have been only a few moments. Then I felt him move toward me. I couldn't see him, couldn't see much of anything anymore. But I knew it was him. I always knew it was him.

"Hige… is that you…Hige?" I asked, forcing my mouth to move. It was the only thing that still worked. I could feel nothing else. I didn't even have the strength to close my eyes.

I felt him sit beside me. It is strange that, in my last moments, I could no longer feel my own body, but I could feel the body of the one I loved. No, I could no longer feel the pain my body suffered, and I could no longer feel myself breathing. It was as if I were already dead. Already dead.

"Yeah, I'm here." He whispered back. He was sitting now, but I could not see him. I could not move, my body would not respond to my brain. I saw white, the blur of the snow, shapes of a time lost.

"Everything's all blurry… will you stay… with me?" I whispered. I could feel my voice fading. I could feel myself fading. How ironic that I could no longer feel my body but I could feel my soul. My very self was fading, my entirety.

"Don't worry, Blue. I'm not going anywhere." Hige whispered back, and his voice sounded almost as sweet, melodic, as the music in my brain. Only… only the music had long since stopped. All that was left in there was a tiny spark of me, hoping, holding onto life. "I promised, remember?" Hige continued, but his voice was an echo. An echo! I could not respond, could not tell him how much I loved him.

"I'll never leave you…" Hige continued still, and I could feel, feel, faintly, his hand whispering across my face. No, I must have been envisioning his touch, for I could not even feel myself anymore.

I closed my eyes. No more blurry shapes, no more snow. Only the cold of death wrapped around me. Only his hand on my head kept me from falling into Death's grip. "That feels so… nice…" I whispered, not even sure if I said it out loud. Then, then I could hear nothing.

I could say nothing.

I could feel nothing.


When I awoke, I was in a field, a lush, grassy field. The blue sky above me spun with birdsong and the sun shone down on my fur, warming even my bones. I staggered upright and felt the ground firmly beneath my feet. The air was tantalizing, and I felt that if I were to breathe it too much, I might become too intoxicated to look for him. I knew he was here, somewhere. I could feel him just like I could feel the dirt or hear the chirping birds. My ears caught only that song, and my eyes saw only blue and green for as long as I looked. I don't know how long I stood there, rooted to the spot, muscles tense, waiting for something to happen. For what to happen?

"Blue…?" The noise was barely more than an echo, but my sharp ears caught it and held onto it like a starved wolf might catch a rabbit. But, no matter how much I strained to hear my name waft gently through the grass stalks again, it would not come. I searched the endless prairie for him, but did not dare move, did not dare move lest I wake from this dream.

But it wasn't a dream, was it?

"Hige?" I cried finally, lifting my muzzle into the air and letting out a song more wondrous than that the birds could ever sing, but it was infinitely sadder, a lonely cry.

I stopped, clamping shut my mouth, feeling the tension in my jaw, in my legs, in my body, as I waited for an answer. For a while only birdsong and the gentle swish of grass met my ears. Then, closer than it was before, and no longer a figment of my imagination, I heard it again. "Bluuuue!"

I spun around, stood as tall as I could, and found him. His powerful body surged through the grass, his ears pressed forward, his tail held high. I let out a bark, "Hige! Hige!" I called, and found myself no longer rooted to my place. This was no dream. There was no pain. No suffering. Only happiness. Only life.

Paradise.