Goodbye
By: FierChild
Ours is not to wonder why
I'll not listen if you scream or cry
As the days pass us by
One day closer to the day we die
Kagome pressed her hands against her head to block out the sounds of his screaming. Her child was dying. Little by little, day by day, he faded with each breath he took. Each day that went by took him further away from her.
And each day a little more of her died with him.
Whisper softly in my ear
Tell me what it is you fear
Don't you cry one single tear
You'll always be my little dear
His screams eventually faded to sobs, and the sobs died down to sniffles. The room grew quiet and Kagome took her hands from her ears. She'd adopted Kado soon after the well sealed. The boy reminded her so much of the hanyou she'd been forced to leave behind. The death of Naraku and the restoration of the jewel had forced her back into the timeline she belonged in, but she left her heart in the past.
Kado's determination to succeed no matter the odds was so reminiscent of the man she left behind that she fell in love with the child immediately. She'd adopted him despite being told the child would not live to adulthood. She believed that was a pathetic reason for denying a child a home.
"Mother?" Kado's quiet voice pulled her from her thoughts.
She turned her eyes to her beloved child. "What is it, Kado?"
The boy looked up with frightened emerald eyes. "I'm scared."
Concern puckered her brow, and she moved to his side. She pushed aside his chocolate colored hair as she smoothed his fevered brow. "What are you scared of, honey?"
His voice softened to a ghost-like whisper in the still hospital room. "I don't want to die."
The room grew still, like the freshly dug site of a grave. Kagome's eyes burned with tears she refused to shed. "I'll be right here beside you, little one. I won't leave your side."
A tiny, ivory hand slipped out from beneath the sterile white sheets, and grasped her hand. "Thank you, Mother." The thin thread of sound was the last he ever made.
Now we say goodbye, my sun
My light, my joy, my little one
Once said goodbye in playful fun
Now our time together is done
Kagome squeezed his hand, despite knowing he no longer needed the comfort. It was comfort for her. She smoothed out his hair as sobs threatened to choke her. She bit her lip to hold them back as she kissed him goodbye.
"You're welcome." She whispered. Her voice was ragged and thick as she spoke, a harsh sound to in the stillness of the tomb. That's what it was now, Kado's tomb. Her son had died. A single sob broke from her throat as she touched his cooling forehead. Tears ran unchecked down her face. She gently pulled the covers over her son's body, and slowly stood to leave. The doctors would need to know.
As she mechanically told them the news, her mind drifted back over the years. Kado had been three years old when he had been diagnosed with an inoperatable brain tumor, and Kagome had met him two years later. He was five.
A small child stood staring at the ground. Beside him, a woman argued with another. "I don't care! I'll take care of him."
The other woman nodded warily. It had been a long day for her. "As you wish, Miss Higarashi, I was just concerned that without a husband–"
Kagome cut her off. "I'll be fine."
The woman nodded again and went to get the paperwork. Kagome grinned at her victory and turned to the boy. "I'll see you in a bit, okay."
He nodded to her, still watching the ground. As she walked away however, he raised his head to her retreating form. "Bye-bye."
Kagome turned back to him grinning. She arched an eyebrow. "For now," She responded, and turned back to follow the other woman.
Now we part in painful sorrow
And say goodbye to the time we borrowed
Deep within my heart is hollow
I await the day when it's my time to follow
She stood beside the grave of her son. It had been three days since his burial, and almost a week after his death. Her life had been empty without his laughter in her home. Every place she turned seem to mock her with her son's infectious joy. Her once merry home had become a mausoleum, a never-ending reminder of what she had lost. She placed a dark crimson rose at the foot of his grave marker after she'd cleaned it, and then lit the incense for quiet reflection.
A few moments later, she sensed a familiar presence behind her. Her shock stilled her body completely. Standing up on shaky legs, she turned slowly, not daring to believe her senses. Long silver hair blew in the gentle breeze as he smiled softly at her, his eyes filled with sorrow at her pain. A jangle of rings called attention to the dark-haired man behind him, and the soft meow of a two-tailed cat made a woman softly shush the creature in her arms.
"Hello, Kagome."
Tears streamed from her eyes once more, but this time in nothing but the purest of elation. "Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango . . . How did you all get here?"
Inuyasha smiled gently as he spoke again. "We were following a boy's voice. He was crying help over and over."
Miroku nodded. "And when we found the child, he was sitting at the foot of the well, your well, as we had begun to call it. Inuyasha was a bit upset with the child for calling help for no reason, but he spoke to us."
Sango continued the story. "He told us his name was Kado, and he wanted us to save his mother. He stood on the edge of the well and held out his hand. 'She needs you most of all, Inuyasha,' he said. 'Just take my hand and I'll lead you through.' The next thing all of us know, we're heading down the well, and the child was gone. He told us to go the graveyard."
Inuyasha smiled bitterly. "I wasn't here to help you through this. We realized who the kid had been when we saw you at the grave."
Inuyasha couldn't say anymore as Kagome had thrown her arms around his neck. "I'm just so glad you're here." As his arms embraced her she broke down against his chest. Her life was finally coming back together, all because her angel had returned from heaven to lead the rest of her family to her side.
The Shikon crew walked back to Kagome's home together, with Inuyasha and Kagome hand-in-hand. A certain kitsune leapt upon his surrogate mother as she walked into view and she clung to him with the same fervor she had clung to Inuyasha. As everyone walked inside, Kagome paused to look up at the sky.
"Thank you, my angel. I'll wait until I can see you again. Please save everyone a place beside you. I love you."
"Goodbye."