Bloody Roses
The Picture
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha. This was originally another story with original characters of my creation, but worked very well with InuYasha.
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"I'm sorry," really doesn't heal. He should have learned that a long time ago, along with the lesson that happiness could never really last. And the most haunting thing, he supposes, was the knowledge that it was all his fault.
The door is unlocked. Her family always leaves it open for him, even now, after she's gone. The house is deathly silent, reminding him that she will never return. Kagome just wasn't a quiet person by nature. She had always had that bursting, enthusiastic tone to her personality. There was always music blaring, or someone shouting, or even just her singing. Silence didn't sit well with her.
She could never live in a place this quiet.
InuYasha sets his gift – wrapped in plain brown paper – on the couch and slowly begins to pace the room, knowing full well it was likely to be the last time he will set foot in the house. He walks up to the island counter, running his hand over the layer of dust on top of the small red television. He smirks. It was so like her to do that, and so rare to see an inch of dust on any TV.
His eyes travel slowly onto the pictures beside it. Skiing…he remembers her telling him about that…how often she'd fallen! And then an old black, white, and grey one ("Try not to see the world in black, white, and shades of grey," she so often said, "but notice the bright vividness of life."). He doesn't know the people in that photo.
More family. His fingers trace the birthday card Kikyo had so carefully crafted for her not a week before. It is a bright, vivid blue and shimmering silver – the colors of her heart, he realizes. Why? Why did she have to go?
And, as if by magic, the last picture is of them. All six of them. Kagome is standing the center, short and tanned, smiling boldly at the camera. She is dressed brightly, all purples and blues. Sesshomaru is on one side of her, his silver hair seeming to tickle her cheek, with his arm slung lazily over her shoulders. On her other side is Sango, smiling her gentle smile, leaning into Kagome. Miroku is, naturally, behind her, a bright red handprint on his face. Kikyo is beside his brother and him, laughing at something he might have said.
They were all so happy. Why? Why did he have to survive?
A necklace spills across Kagome's throat; a crystal heart, sparkling with vibrant colors. He remembers that necklace. Kikyo and Sango wore theirs, too, but they were beneath the soft cotton of their shirts.
InuYasha fingers the bandanna on his wrist; there is a similar iridescent heart sewn into the fabric by the clasp. He frowns, wishing that he had something more of the memory. But no, everyone perished in that terrible fire – everyone except him, because he had run out to get pizza.
Only Kikyo's small heart necklace had survived. She had thrown it out the window, desperate to keep it pure and uncovered by ash.
InuYasha sighs.
Loss. It is nothing new to him, nothing he hasn't been forced to endure in the past. But that does not ease the pain of knowing they are lost to him forever.
Kagome, so full of life.
Kikyo, so gentle and sweet.
Sango, so strong and loving.
Miroku, wise and foolish all at once.
Sesshomaru, fierce and cocky.
All gone.
Forever.
And that's when he knows. He must follow. There isn't really a choice, no conscious decision. It simply must be. He opens his own gift, staring at it. There, nestled in the plain wrappings, is a small box. He lifts the lid. Five separate locks of hair curl together in a silky pile. He remembers that day; it was Kagome's idea, and he refused to let them near him with scissors.
Now, he takes his pocket knife, sawing off a jagged silver strip and dropping it in.
Then he leaves, the box still on the couch.
Bang.
He is gone.
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A/N: Yes, that was quite awful. It hasn't undergone much editing, and I know full well it is very poorly done. Still, I'm curious to see what people think. I'm fairly bad at writing tragedies, hmm? All the same, I've written a fair few of them. I may add some more to this story later, but they will be disconnected one-shots, updated when an idea strikes me. Opinions?
REVIEW!!
-MadeNew