Whisky Lullaby
While listening to this song, Whisky Lullaby, sung by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss, I was inspired to write this story. I know it's kind of a tragic song, but really, I think it depicts just how far a person in love is willing to go when those feelings drive you to this point. Enjoy everyone.
She put him out We watched him drink
his pain away He
put the bottle to his head and pulled the trigger We found him with
his face down in the pillow La, la, la, la, la, la, la, The rumors flew She finally drank her pain away She put the bottle to her
head and pulled the trigger We found her with
her face down in the pillow La, la, la, la, la, la, la, La, la, la, la, la, la, la, La, la, la, la, la, la, la, La, la, la, la, la, la, la,
Like
the burning end of a midnight cigarette
She broke his heart
He
spent his whole life trying to forget
A little bit at a time
But he never could get
drunk enough
To get her off his mind
Until the night
He finally drank
away her memory
Life is short
But this time it was bigger
Than
the strength he had to get up off his knees
With a note that says I’ll
love her till I die
And when we buried him beneath the willow
The
angels sang a whiskey lullaby
La,
la, la, la, la, la, la,
La, la, la, la, la, la, la,
La, la,
la, la, la, la, la,
But nobody knew
How
much she blamed herself
For years and years
She tried to hide
the whisky on her breath
A
little at a time
But she never could get drunk enough
To get
him off her mind
Until the night
And finally drank away his
memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the
strength she had to get up off her knees
Clinging to his picture for dear
life
We laid her next to him beneath the willow
While the
angels sang a whisky lullaby
La,
la, la, la, la, la, la,
La,
la, la, la, la, la, la,
La,
la, la, la, la, la, la,
La,
la, la, la, la, la, la,
Slowly walking along, a staggering figure in a red flowing kimono with a sword in a black sheath on his side, long flowing silver hair, clawed hands and feet, and silver dog ears moved towards another bar. He had been thrown out of five already this night, but it was early, and he yearned to drink more.
"Just a bit more, then maybe I won't be able to feel it anymore." he thought as he came upon the bar.
Licking his lips in anticipation, he ran his tongue over his fangs. The taste of sake was still extremely strong on them.
"Maybe, just maybe I'll forget."
That thought triggered a memory from deep within his drunken mind, one he strongly didn't want to remember.
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It was a beautiful spring day, and a small group was taking a break. The group consisted of a three humans, a small fox demon, a little neko demon, and a half dog demon.
The first human was a young female demon exterminator. She had long brown hair and deep brown eyes. Her choice of clothing was a long green skirt with a light and dark mixture of pink kimono top. Underneath of the long sleeves were a set of black skin tight sleeves that flexed around one finger. She wore simple sandals, and had black skin tight pants legs coming out of her skirt. Near the young slayer was a large bone boomerang which she used in combat.
On the demon slayer's shoulder, asleep, was the small blonde with some black mixed in neko demon. The small cat demon had red eyes with small black slits for irises. The black on her body was mostly on her ears, feet, and the tip of it's tail. When transformed, the small neko would become a much larger neko demon, capable of carrying humans on it's back. It usually carried the demon slayer and one other companion, sometimes even the small fox demon.
Among the group was another human, a black haired monk, who had a small pony tail and soft violet colored eyes. He wore an outer purple kimono, with an inner black one and sandals. On his right hand was a purple glove like cloth that was wrapped with prayer beads. Near him, a golden staff with a circle at the top with six jingling rings, three on each side of the circle.
Close to the monk was a young fox demon child. He had orange hair pulled up into a pony tail, which was held by a green ribbon, and sparkling emerald eyes. The child had a puffy crème colored tail, and fur covered legs. He wore a blue kimono with green leaf print, and an orange vest.
Leaning up against the tree was a young human, whom was a miko. She had mid-back length black ebony hair and dark chocolate colored eyes. She wore a strange set of clothes to the period, which made her stand out even more. A white long sleeved shirt with a green collar and a red ascot covered the top half of her body, while a short green skirt covered her bottom. Most of her legs were bare till right below her knees where long white socks were. On her feet were brown loafers. Leaning against the tree on the opposite side was a bow and a quiver full of arrows, which belonged to her.
Up in the tree, the last of the group sat, watching over his friends. He was a young hanyou, or better known as a half demon. His heritage consisted of a dog demon father, and a human mother. He had long flowing silver hair that reached his butt in length, silver dog ears that were covered in soft fur, golden eyes that looked like molten gold, sharp clawed hands and feet, and fangs. He choice of garb was a red kimono made of a cloth called fire rat fur. It fit loosely on his body for the most part, with flowing sleeves, but pulled shut pant legs. Around his neck was a set of purple prayer beads, known as beads of subjugation, which responded only to the young miko's command. In his arms was a sword with a black sheath. The hilt appeared to be a bit tattered, but the sword was truly powerful, despite it's appearance. Once freed from it's sheath, one would see a rusted old sword, but if transformed, it took on the shape of a large demon fang.
Staring down at the humans and the two demons, the half demon lightly smiled, but kept it hidden well. The group had stopped to rest from their travels, and all but himself were lightly napping. Looking upon the young miko, the hanyou slightly smiled even more, watching her chest rise and fall while she was in deep sleep.
Relaxing back against the tree, the half demon took in the scent of the air, catching a familiar one. Looking out, he saw a slight glow in the distance. He also saw a familiar shape of a white snake like creature, letting him know who he was close by.
"Kikyo…" he mumbled.
Getting up, he leapt out of the tree and in the direction of the scent he had caught. Pushing his arms backwards, he began running faster, reaching speeds not many humans could match.
Waking from the sudden rustling of the leaves, the young miko yawned and glanced up the tree to see the silver haired hanyou was gone.
"Now where did he get to?" she pondered.
Standing up, she noticed in the distance the lights and the snake like creatures in the air. Frowning, she sighed with disappointment.
"He went to her, again…" she dejectedly thought.
Picking up her bow and arrows, she slung the quiver over her back and marched off in the direction of the creatures.
"I don't trust him to go alone, so I better catch him."
Quickening her pace, the girl began to jog, hoping to make it before something might happen to the half demon.
Ahead, the hanyou arrived at the area where the snake like creatures was swarming. Slowing his pace, he glanced around, taking a whiff of the air. Soon enough, he found what he was looking for.
Leaning against a tree was a young woman, another miko, with long ebony black hair that fell just below her butt. Her dark brown eyes were staring off into the distance. She wore a white kimono top with a red set of pants. On her back was a quiver of arrows and in her right hand was a bow.
Moving her head to look at the half demon, she softly smiled, saying "Inuyasha, I see you came."
"Kikyo…" he mumbled.
Walking up to her, Inuyasha asked "Why are you here?"
"I came to see how you were, and to ask you something." Kikyo responded calmly with an emotionless voice.
Looking Inuyasha straight in the eye, she calmly asked "Are you in love with that counter-fit version of me?"
"What?!" Inuyasha sputtered in shock.
"That girl, Kagome, do you love her?" Kikyo asked once more.
Unable to look her in the eye, Inuyasha looked down at the ground, lightly saying "I… I don't know." Quickly looking up, he added "But I still care about you! Kagome… she's just helping me find the jewel shards."
"I see." Kikyo nonchalantly responded with a small smirk.
Turning to leave, she flatly said "Very well then, I shall take my leave."
"But Kikyo…" Inuyasha began, but suddenly a new scent invaded his senses. The scent of vanilla and sakura flowers reached his nose, but also the salty scent of tears.
Without even looking back, he knew whose scent it was. It was the scent he had come to realize throughout the last few years that he couldn't live without. The same scent that gave him something to fight for, and something to strive to attain.
"No…" he mumbled. Seeing Kikyo was already walking away, he turned to find Kagome not far away with tears in her eyes and lightly shaking her head.
Tears were streaming down Kagome's face while staring a hole into the half demon, who hung his head in shame. She quickly turned to run, but heard the half demon calling for her. Still, she ran, trying hard to get away.
Rushing after her, Inuyasha called out Kagome's name, trying hard to get her to stop. Finally catching her, he grabbed hold of her, holding her in an embrace from behind.
"LET GO OF ME NOW INUYASHA!" she yelled while struggling to free herself.
"Calm down Kagome, please, let me explain." he pleaded while still holding on.
"I DON'T CARE!" she screamed, struggling even more.
"Please, just stop for a moment."
Finally, she relented and he released her. Turning towards him, Kagome yelled "You have one minute!"
Flattening his ears to his head, Inuyasha sighed, saying "Kagome, I'm sorry. But I do care about you."
"You care so much about me, huh? Well, then quit going off to Kikyo! You know how much it hurts me when you go to her!" she yelled.
"I can't forget her though. Even though I care about her, I don't love her." Inuyasha said with a loud sigh.
Crossing her arms, Kagome snapped back with "I don't care Inuyasha! If you care about me so much, then tell me now and promise me you won't go back to her!"
Lowering his eyes, Inuyasha slowly said "I can't promise that."
Taking a deep breath, Kagome stared into Inuyasha's eyes and with a serious tone said "Then I can't be with you. So long as you won't stay true to only me, then I don't want to be with you."
"Kagome… You can't mean that." Inuyasha said, somewhat in shock.
Still serious, Kagome remarked "I'm serious Inuyasha. I don't want to be with you unless you can stay true to me!"
"I don't care for Kikyo like I do for you, but I still care about her. It can't be helped." he dejectedly said.
"I see." she harshly said. Turning around, she began walking away, saying "I'm leaving Inuyasha. Until you can learn to care about me, then don't come after me."
"Kagome!" he said, lunging forward to catch her.
"SIT!" she called out with anger.
The prayer beads around his neck immediately glowed in response, pulling the poor half demon to the ground, slamming his face into it.
Quickly, after the spell wore off, he leapt to his feet, rushing after the young woman. She once again yelled out the command, slamming him again to the ground.
The girl soon went to an old dried up well and stepped to the side of it. Seeing the half demon coming, she yelled out "SIT!"
Like always, the half demon went slamming into the ground face first. Seeing this, Kagome slowly said "Inuyasha, I love you, but until you learn that, stay here and leave me alone! I won't be with you ever, because you are too conceded to give up on someone who doesn't really love you! Kikyo only wants to take you to Hell, but you don't care! Know that I truly loved you Inuyasha, but you'll never have me because of your stubbornness. Goodbye."
That said, she leapt within the well. A flash of blue light appeared once she had jumped in.
"KAGOME, NO!" Inuyasha cried out, arriving momentarily too late to catch the girl.
Growling with frustration, he leapt into the well, only to find no flash of blue light like usual. "What the hell!?" he questioned.
Leaping out of the well, he leapt back in again, trying to go through, but again only met the hard ground at the bottom.
"No, Kagome, let me through, please!" he screamed as he frantically began to dig into the ground of the well.
Tears fell from his eyes as he dug, screaming "Kagome, I love you too! Please, let me through!"
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After nearly a month of trying to go through the well and digging into it, the half demon gave up and tried to drown his grief the only way he had known humans to. This was to simply drown himself in sake, but no matter how much he drank, it never took away the painful memories of the girl's final words to him.
The monk had tried to talk the half demon into giving up drinking, but he only ignored him. The demon slayer had tried the same thing, as did the fox kit, but none got through to him. No, the half demon didn't want any of it and did nothing but plunge himself even deeper into drinking.
The drinking helped him forget a bit, but still, the memories of the girl haunted him. He never could fully shake the feelings he had felt for the young miko, and even though he swore off seeing the woman Kikyo, it didn't bring Kagome back.
Finally, nearly three months after Kagome had left, Inuyasha found the sweat release he had desired. The sake he had been served was laced with poison by the bartender. The half demon didn't even know, but soon found out that night as he lay down for the last time in the hut he had been staying in so frequently alone.
With labored breaths, the half demon stared up at the ceiling and chuckled with difficulty. "I'm… I'm dying." he panted out.
Hearing something at the doorway, he glanced at it to see the one he had been trying so hard to rid of his mind. There she stood, with the monk and demon slayer behind him.
"OH MY GOD, SANGO, MIROKU, SOMETHINGS WRONG!" she screamed while rushing to his side.
Rubbing his face, she said "He's been poisoned! Quick, get me my med kit!"
The monk nodded, quickly rushing out of the hut. "Sango, go get me a bucket of water, please!" Kagome ordered.
"Right." the slayer said, rushing quickly out of the hut, leaving on the hanyou and miko alone.
"Inuyasha, why, why did you do this to yourself!?" the miko pleaded with tears flowing down her face.
Tears filled his eyes, as he slowly said "I'm so sorry Kagome that I couldn't be the man you wanted me to be. Maybe, without me around, you'll finally be able to move on."
"No, I'm sorry for my words! I didn't mean them! I was mad, and jealous of you going off to Kikyo! I'm so sorry! Please, don't leave me!" she pleaded.
Lightly coughing, Inuyasha softly smiled at her, saying "I tried so hard to forget, but I can't. The feelings I felt for you, they were real. Kikyo was nothing to me. It was you Kagome, you that I truly loved. I only went to her to make sure she was alright, not for anything else. That's due that I cared for her as a friend, not like I care for you. I'm sorry…"
"Inuyasha, no, it's alright! I don't care about that now. I love you, please, don't go!"
Closing his eyes, he coughed, saying "Sorry, but I don't have much of a choice."
In a low whisper, he said "I love you Kagome."
That said, the half demon's chest stopped rising, and his breathing ceased. Seeing this, Kagome flung her arms around the half demon, crying harder than ever.
"No, please, I'm begging you, don't leave me! I need you too much Inuyasha! I love you!" she sobbed out.
Her words though were in vain. The half demon never drew breath again. In the end, the man who had poisoned him was found poisoning other people within the bar, and was murdered that night by other people.
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The next day, Inuyasha's body was taken back to Kaede's Village and soon prepared for a funeral pyre. Prior to the funeral, the young miko asked to have a short time alone with the body.
Standing beside of Inuyasha's body, the miko wiped the tears out of her eyes. "I'm so stupid Inuyasha. You suffered due to my stubbornness and stupidity. I should have forgave you and accepted things, but instead I stayed home and pushed you farther away. When I finally came back, it was too late."
More tears came ushering out of the girl's eyes, flowing freely onto her lap. "It's my fault you died. You tried so hard to forget what I said, but you couldn't. Like me, you couldn't forget the love we shared. I'm so sorry Inuyasha. I should have never done that to you. You should never have had to try and forget what meant the most to you."
Standing up, she moved closer and kissed the cheek of the half demon, saying "I'm truly sorry."
Within the hour, the funeral pyre was lit. The body of the half demon was burned up, leaving only a small pot of ashes. The young miko was presented it, in which she asked for it to be buried next to the Sacred Tree. She then left without a word, with no one asking or stopping her.
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Within the year, the Sacred Jewel was once more whole thanks to the efforts of the miko, monk, demon slayer, young fox kit, and neko demon. They had been helped mostly by allies, including the half brother of the half demon, Sesshomaru, who volunteered his services after his brother's death. Along with Sesshomaru, the wolf prince, Kouga, helped out as well. Together, the group destroyed the powerful hanyou Naraku.
Upon completion, Kagome gave the Sacred Jewel to Kaede for safe keeping. She then disappeared from everyone, leaving them looking everywhere for her.
Nearly a month later, Sango and Miroku came upon Kagome. She was drunk beyond belief and stumbled out of a bar in front of the pair. Upon finding her, they took her back to Kaede's Village, where Kaede made a startling discovery.
"She has drunk too much. Ye drink has poisoned her." the old woman with grey hair and an eye patch declared.
"No, Kagome…" Sango said with great sadness.
Kagome only softly smiled, saying "It's alright. I'm going to Inuyasha."
"Kagome…" Miroku began, but was cut off by Kaede.
"Let the child go." Kaede said with sadness in her voice.
Staring up at the ceiling, tears began to slide out of Kagome's eyes. "Inuyasha, I'm so sorry. I only hope you can forgive me." she mumbled as her heart rate began to slow.
Soon, her breathing became much shallower, till finally it stopped completely. Before taking her last breath, she mumbled "Inuyasha, I love you…"
Within the next few days, a funeral pyre was lit and Kagome's body was burned up, along with the Sacred Jewel. Her remains were buried beside of Inuyasha's at the Sacred Tree, allowing the two to be together.
In spirit form, Inuyasha sat under the tree. Soon enough, he saw the spirit version of Kagome approach him. Softly smiling at him, she said "Inuyasha…"
"Kagome…" he mumbled back.
The two soon embraced and shared a passionate kiss. Breaking apart at long last, the two walked into the afterlife, hand in hand.