One Last Chance

by

Iris

            "Come on, Inuyasha, let's go. There's nothing here for you."

            The elegant lady gave her slumped and defeated opponent a nasty look, a smug smile gracing her porcelain face for that brief moment their eyes met. She swept effortlessly out of the room, red and white miko robes rustling as she glided out and into the darkened hallway that lay just outside the door. She paused and looked expectantly at one of the two figures still in the lit apartment.

            He followed hesitantly, bare feet shuffling along the polished, hardwood floor as he moved towards the door. The lady smiled inwardly, satisfied that he was following her. Gracefully, she continued to glide through the dark hallway.

            At the door, he paused, amber eyes glancing uncertainly at the immobile figure still in the room. When the figure gave no acknowledgment that he was there, he turned to leave, clawed fingers closing around the tarnished doorknob.

            "Is this really what you want?" chocolate brown eyes finally focused on the departing figure, her voice was barely above that of a whisper but she continued, knowing that the dog-like ears, situated on top of his head, would catch every single word, "Do you really think she'll make you happy?"

            A thick, uneasy silence fell. A silence that should never have been there in the first place, a silence that should never have hung between those two, life-long friends. But it was there. And the cause of it was waiting ever so patiently at the stairs, dark eyes glittering with triumph.

            "Do you?!" her voice was cracking, the pain already filtering into it steadily.

            Inuyasha rested his forehead against the solid, wooden door as his eyes slid close, "Yes." he whispered at last, voice hoarse, "Yes, I think she'll make me happy."

            She turned away from him then as her already bruised heart shattered, "Thank you." she said softly, "That's all I really needed to know."

            Inuyasha started and turned to look questioningly at her back.

            "You should go." she choked out, "I won't stop you from going to...to Kikyo. Not if it's what you really want."

            "Kagome-" Inuyasha started towards her but he never made it past the first step.

            "You know, Inuyasha, someone once told me if you love someone hard enough you could let them go." Kagome turned around and, for the first time, Inuyasha could see the sprinkle of tears streaming down her face, tears that he knew he had caused, he felt a stab of guilt in his heart as she continued, "I didn't understand what they meant back then. Please...don't make this any harder than it has to be."

            Silently, Inuyasha turned to leave, he could already hear Kikyo calling him from the stairs.

            "And, Inuyasha," Kagome whispered, "if you ever really need help, you know how to contact me. But contact me only if it's an emergency and you don't have any other choice."

            "B-But..."

            "Sayoonara, Inuyasha."

            Those two words hung between them with a finality both of them had never thought would occur. Sad, chocolate brown eyes met dark, amber ones for an instant when he turned. And then, he left, ears drooping as he closed the door behind him. The door clicked once and it was all over. Her life gone in that instant the door shut, sealing out the world beyond it.

            Half of her prayed fervently for that door to open once more and for him to come back and tell her how wrong he had been. But the other half, the more sensible half, accepted the fact that she was alone once more, had always been alone, and would always be alone, forever.

            She sank down to the floor, silent sobs wracking her frail frame. First, had been her father. He had left. Walking out with another woman and leaving them behind at the shrine without even a good-bye. Then, the car crash. Ojii-san, Okaa-san, Souta. All announced dead at the scene. 18-year-old Higurashi Kagome, the only survivor. And throughout it all, Inuyasha had stayed by her, comforted her when her father left, visited her in the hospital until she got better, and found her a new apartment, knowing that it would be too painful to return to the shrine. But now, in the end, he had left her too.

--flashback--

"Okaa-chan, where's Otoo-chan? Who was that strange woman he left with?"  ten-year-old Kagome asked, tugging on an older lady's sleeve.

"Kagome, sweetheart, Otoo-chan's left. For good." she murmured bending down to hug the raven-haired girl.

"Okaa-chan, why did you let Otoo-chan leave?" Kagome demanded, stepping out of her mother's embrace.

"Kagome-chan, you have to understand that your Otoo-chan was never happy here. He couldn't handle the responsibility of a marriage and family." Ms. Higurashi said softly, standing up.

"B-But..."

"Sweetie, there's an old saying that if you love someone, really love them, you'll let them go so they can be happy. You'll let them go even if it hurts because you want them to be happy and you want them to have what they really want even if that means leaving you behind."

"That's stupid!" Kagome cried, her eyes welling up with tears, "That's just stupid! You let Otoo-chan go because of some old proverb!"

--end flashback--

            "Not so stupid, ne, Okaa-san?" Kagome whispered, "You knew what you were doing then. And I know what I'm doing now."

Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha.

AN: Please don't send me any review saying how you want this to be Sesshoumaru/Kagome. Frankly, I don't support that couple at all. I really don't see why people put them together. Thank you and PLEASE REVIEW!

Letting go is never easy; but if you love someone enough, you will be happy just because they are.

-source unknown-