Disclaimer: Me? Own Inuyasha? No, sorry, but I have some salt and vinegar chips that I can share! :D
*Sobs hysterically* You're all going to hate me for this… but I just had to do it! I was listening to my Evanescence CD that my friend gave me and "Hello" came on… and since that was the first time that I actually paid attention to the lyrics, it hit me pretty hard… and it also gave me the idea for this. There isn't much happiness in it— actually, there isn't any at all, unless you count the ending… which has just about as much closure as the last episode of Cowboy Bebop.
But don't kill me for it! The ending was REALLY hard to write, and not just because I was practically sobbing when the time to finish it came. I couldn't decide whether to leave the ending as sad with a hint of acceptance, or to make it sad, touching, and with a lot of hope. I figured that the first choice would affect people more, but then I decided to cut you all a break and go with the second choice. It's still open-ended, though…
But anyway, please R&R.
~*~
Playground school bell rings again. After a few hours of Kaede giving me lectures on battle, now that I'm old enough to actually help, I was finally free to show Kagome what I had learned! She'd be so proud of me! ^_^
Rain clouds come to play again. Not far from the well, the final battle with Naraku is coming to a close… dark clouds rumble through the sky, and rain drops hit the ground to mingle with the blood staining the earth. Naraku had just appeared out of nowhere, taking them by surprise, and so they had a disadvantage… Everyone but Inuyasha was down and no longer able to battle…
A little village girl told me where everyone went without me, so I thanked her and started looking for them…
When I got there, Naraku was defeated and everyone looked like they had a tough time. I didn't see Kagome though, so I thought she went home, and Sango and Miroku must have gone somewhere isolated to see if Miroku's kazaana was really closed up for good.
I went up to dog-boy. "Did Kagome go home for her injuries?"
He looked at me with a pained expression, and I couldn't tell if it was rain or tears on his face. He answered me in an angry voice, "Has no one told you she's not breathing?!"
He was kind of grumpy from battle I guess, so I just left him alone after that. But was Kagome holding her breath? What does that have to do with anything? I would have been holding my breath during the battle, too.
"Hello."
I looked to my right as I walked to the hut, and there was a girl walking along-side me. She looked like a really nice person, but I can't really describe her… it was like she didn't have an appearance of her own. But she had black hair, and her clothes were always green or white.
"I am your mind, giving you someone to talk to."
I smiled to my new friend. "Hello."
For the next week, me and my new friend played together all the time. She always gave me things, too! She reminded me a lot of Kagome, and I thought about naming her that, but then it would get confusing when I tried to talk to my mommy Kagome. But then I realized that she didn't need a name after all, since for some reason she only ever talked to me, and she would know when I wanted her.
I once heard Miroku talking to the others about me… and he said something about finding me carry around acorns wrapped in leaves like they were prized possessions… I mean, I carry them around to cast illusions and stuff, but the only things I guard with my life are the candies that *she* gives me.
Kagome sure was taking her time to come back… she never usually stayed for this long. Almost two weeks had passed. I started thinking that maybe she wasn't going to come back now that Naraku was defeated, but I can't think that way! My Kagome would never leave me! If I smile and don't believe, soon I know I'll wake from this dream.
Then one day Kaede asked me to talk to her. She was really sad about it and seemed worried about me. I didn't mean to, but since I think I might have been stressed that Kagome was gone for the time being, I snapped at her. "Don't try to fix me— I'm not broken!" Then I left the hut before she could say anything more.
When I was outside, I saw *her*. I needed a hug, so I headed towards her. She smiled and said, "Hello. I am the lie living for you so you can hide."
Seeing her just reminded me of Kagome again. I really missed her, but I still had to believe that she would come back from her time! I started shaking when I tried not to cry.
"Don't cry," she said.
That night I decided to go wait by the well. And maybe, if I called to Kagome, she would hear me! I never tried it before, so it never had a chance to fail yet, right?
I got to the well and was about to peek over the edge, when I caught Kagome's scent. She must have come back! I followed it, happy that I would see her again, towards the God-Tree.
When I got there, the only person I saw was Inuyasha. He was crying! That dog-boy was crying! He was just making it easier to tease him every day.
But then I saw what he was crying over… in front of him, at the base of the God-Tree, was what I was smelling Kagome from. It was her grave.
I had understood all along, but I just didn't want to believe it. I knew she died when they fought Naraku. I knew she wasn't coming back.
I really needed *her* now… and so she was there, standing on my right, just like the first time I met her. I knew she wasn't real, though. I knew she was a lie, just like she told me before. But there was no use in hiding anymore.
I looked at her, tears pouring out of my eyes, and said, "Suddenly, I know I'm not sleeping…"
She looked really sad to see me crying. "Hello… I'm still here."
That was true, but she was only there when I imagined her.
She knelt down next to me and, as if she could convince me that she was real, said, "All that's left of yesterday."
It didn't work, though.
Inuyasha gave a sniff, and I figured that maybe he would need a hug, too. Surprisingly, he took me up on my offer and held me so I could rest me head on his shoulder.
*She* watched us, and when I caught her eye, she smiled.
That was when I noticed that her face wasn't so vague anymore; she had somehow gotten a definite appearance to look exactly like Kagome.
She stood up and walked over in front of Inuyasha, and I turned around in his arms so I could see her. If his face wasn't right next to mine, I would have missed noticing that Inuyasha could see her, too.
She kneeled down in front of us and kissed me on the cheek, and did the same to Inuyasha. Then she hugged us both with one arm each, and vanished.
"Just like all the other times..." I looked at Inuyasha and saw that he hadn't stopped crying, or even started to calm down. If anything, he had only gotten worse. He looked disappointed, too, as if what just happened was the same as 'all the other times'.
But then he and I were both shocked when the Shikon Jewel hanging on his neck started to glow.