A/N: Based on a true story.

Last Call

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Ping!

Amber eyes flickered to the top of the screen, taking note of the passenger alert that had popped up on his phone. He pondered for a moment before sighing deeply and hitting Accept. It would be a quick twenty minute ride. It wouldn't really be that much of a bother.

Revving the engine to life and switching gears, Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder before easing his beat-up red Honda Civic out of the mall parking lot and into the flow of traffic. He drummed his thumbs lightly against the leather steering wheel as the soft tunes of rock music drifted through the speakers.

He watched with barely concealed annoyance as people walked across the street, laughing in groups and seeming to have a good time overall. It was ten o'clock on a Friday night at the end of summer, and here he was being a taxi cab driver for all the drunks out there who he currently envied.

Inuyasha had never planned on working tonight. He would much rather be out drinking with his one-and-only friend Miroku, but his girlfriend's parents were in town and, well, it's not like Miroku could have canceled on them. There was the thought he could go back to his apartment where his girlfriend, Kikyou, was spending her evening, but they had just had another fight, which ended with him storming out.

He wasn't quite ready to face the music just yet. At least he was making a little money this way.

A few minutes later, he pulled up next to a dine-in restaurant and flipped on his hazards. In less than a minute, a woman walked out of the building, waving goodbye to someone behind her. Dark hair curled around the middle of her shoulder blades, barely touching the low-cut dress she wore. Her black stiletto heels clicked noisily against the pavement, and Inuyasha bit back a groan at the way her gait swayed.

He could already tell she had had a few too many.

She opened the rear passenger-side door, leaning over to peek at him with a goofy smile and a warm flush to her cheeks. "Inuyasha?"

"Yeah," he greeted, glancing back at her as she slid into his car and haphazardly bucked her seatbelt. "You Kagome?"

She hummed her agreement. He pulled out into traffic and began driving toward the destination she had indicated on the app. "I'm sorry," she finally said after a moment of silence.

He raised a brow and glanced at her through the rearview mirror. "For what?"

Kagome sighed and leaned her head against the window. "I had a few too many, um, glasses of wine. And I think I'm a little drunk."

"S'okay," he grumbled. He never was the chattiest driver with his passengers. Tonight would probably be no different. As long as he got her from point A to point B, that was fine by him. He didn't need to know her life story.

"Um, would it be okay, if, um…" she began, her voice trailing off as she sent him a hesitant glance. "Would it be okay if we just drove around for a little while… with the windows down?"

Oh, great… Inuyasha hadn't been a driver long, but he could pick up on a few things. And drunk girls wanting windows rolled down always spelled disaster for his upholstery. Not that it was anything great to begin with, but he rather enjoyed when his car didn't smell like vomit.

He quickly rolled down the windows for her, bringing a warm summer night breeze, before he began fiddling with his glove compartment where he always kept a spare vomit bag. He had learned his lesson the first time around.

Before he could fish it out, however, he glanced at her in the rearview mirror. She had sat up straighter and held her arm partially out the window, her hand dipping and diving through the wind like an airplane. Her brows had furrowed in thought, her dark eyes distant, but he could detect an underlying sadness that hadn't been there before.

Inuyasha stopped rummaging for the throw up bag, turning his eyes to the road and keeping silent. People thought he could be pretty ignorant most of the time, but he knew how to read the mood.

"Have you ever thought about dying?" she asked, her voice quietly untroubled.

He glanced at her, watching strands of raven hair brush against her cheek. "Yeah, I guess so."

She tilted her head, humming in acknowledgement. Silence stretched between them, interrupted only by the quiet sound of traffic passing by the windows and the soft music drifting through the stereo.

"I have cancer."

Her words caused his heart to drop to his stomach.

She continued to do the airplane thing with her hand - dipping and diving, riding the waves of the wind. "It's in my brain," she continued softly. "And it's too far gone to consider chemo."

Inuyasha's heart pounded in his ears, his throat running dry.

"I'm dying." She smiled a little, her expression remaining collected as she confessed her grim secret to him. "But I'm going to be okay."

He didn't know how to respond. Her story had caught him completely off guard. What do you say to someone who's going to die? Did he say something to try and comfort her?

"Tonight I was celebrating with my work friends who threw me a going-away party," she continued, oblivious to how uncomfortable he was. "Just about everyone came. We had dinner and drinks…"

Inuyasha stayed silent, not knowing what to say, but having a sneaking suspicion that she wasn't looking for conversation. It was almost as if she were talking to herself, saying the words out loud for her own ears.

"I told them I was taking a position abroad." She smiled, the dim lights of passing street lamps shining in her eyes. "I just didn't tell them that abroad meant heaven."

A lump stuck in his throat. He slowed to a stop light, watching as people walked across the street, the crosswalk sign flashing in his peripheral. The low hum of some guitar solo drifted from the stereo and all Inuyasha could think was why?

Why was this girl - this stranger - telling him her life story? He hated car rides like these, because frankly, he wasn't the best when it came to social interaction. But this…?

He drummed his fingers across the steering wheel, eyes searching the street in front of him as if it held the answers to what he should say.

Kagome leaned her head against the window, holding her hand up against the bright lights of the city. She didn't seem to mind his silence, rather enjoying the quiet company he offered. She bit her lip, eyes growing distant.

"I'm leaving town tomorrow," she murmured, just loud enough for him to hear. "I'm going to go back home to where I grew up to be with my family."

He stepped on the gas as the light turned green, clearing his throat. "Um… where's, uh, where's home at?"

She met his gaze in the rearview mirror, a smile tugging at her lips. "Outside the city. My grandfather runs a shrine that's been in our family for generations."

"It is nice there?"

"It's perfect. It sits on top of a hill, almost completely secluded from the outside world. You can hear the birds chirping and feel the wind on your face. And there's a Sacred Tree that's as tall as the sky, that's watched over our family for centuries."

Inuyasha felt his heart warm as he listened to her talk, her voice tender with memories. "It does sound perfect."

Kagome let her hand glide through the wind again. "My mom and younger brother will be there, too." She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, tilting her head thoughtfully. "I think that's the best part about knowing when you're going to die. You can plan how to leave this world behind."

The car ride was silent for a while after that. Kagome drew quiet, simply breathing in the warm summer air. Her words had left Inuyasha shaken, questioning his own existence. Kagome was young, around his age - twenty-seven - and yet, she had already been given a death sentence.

But in spite of it all, she sat in the backseat of his car with a serene smile on her face, her expression lulled into acceptance. She didn't even tell the world she would soon no longer be a part of it. Quietly, she had decided to slip away in the still comfort of home.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Her gaze met his at his question, curious yet knowing. "Telling people you're going to die isn't exactly the best conversation starter," she said with a hint of amusement to her voice. "Besides." She turned her eyes back to the window, listening to the laughter of people as they walked by. "I didn't want to be treated any differently. I didn't want to spend my last moments of my life with people crying with me."

He frowned as he turned down a street. "Don't they have a right to know? Aren't they going to be angry with you when you're gone?"

Kagome shrugged. "Perhaps. They'll have every right to be. But when they hear the news, and they begin to grieve my absence, what will help them heal is the memories we shared. All the laughter, the good times, the adventures… That's what I want to leave them with. Not crying and grief and anger. I want them to smile when they think of me, or laugh about one of my stupid jokes."

Brave. Instead of using her friends as shoulders to lean on while she dealt with the news of her impending death, Kagome did everything she could to make sure they would be able to deal with her death long after she was gone. She was attempting to comfort them without them even realizing it. He wasn't sure if, given the same situation, he would have been as courageous.

"Do you have any regrets?" he asked her after a moment of quiet.

She pursed her lips, pondering a moment, and then, "Regrets? No… I don't think so. Wishes that'll never be fulfilled?" She smiled humorlessly. "Guess at twenty-six I can say I have a lot of those."

Inuyasha drove through downtown, the neon lights flickering in tune with the upbeat music that poured out of club doors. He guessed asking someone so young if she had any regrets was a silly notion. She had barely even begun to live. He tightened his hold on the steering wheel as he slowed to a stop light, the laughter of a group of drunk girls on the corner drifting through the window.

Dark eyes watching from afar, Kagome studied a couple that had their heads bent together as they held hands and strolled down the street. Her heart ached not for the first time that evening.

"Have you ever been in love, Inuyasha?" she asked quietly. Gone was the strong and determined expression, replaced by a grieved voice and afflicted eyes.

He turned to her, watching her bite her lip apprehensively, forehead wrinkling in thought. "Not sure," he admitted honestly. "I don't really know what love is."

She laughed. "Yeah, I guess I don't either. The closest I ever got was my college boyfriend who was a health nut."

He raised a brow, amused. "Health nut?"

Kagome nodded. "Yeah, he always had all these stranger remedies for whatever illness I had when I had overexerted myself with work and school. We barely made it a year before I broke it off."

"His loss."

She smiled, eyes curious. "Do you have someone in your life?"

He exhaled deeply, pausing, and then, "Her name's Kikyou."

"Pretty name."

"Yeah."

Kagome sat forward, head tilted in his direction. "Why is it then that you're driving around with me on a Friday night?"

Inuyasha couldn't say what exactly possessed him to open up to Kagome when he could barely confide in his best friend since childhood. Maybe it was her warm personality, how damaged she was, or how short her life had become. Perhaps it was simply because she was a stranger, someone he would undoubtedly never see again. But he found words spilling from his lips before he could stop them.

"We had a fight."

She clucked her tongue. "What about?"

He shook his head. "I don't even remember."

"Must've been some fight." He could hear the sarcasm in her voice.

He ran a hand through his short-cropped silver hair. "I feel like we always fight about the little things."

Kagome nodded, sitting back in the seat and folding her hands on her lap. She became suspiciously quiet, and he briefly wondered if he had touched a nerve. After all, it was stupid of him to confide in a dying girl about his petty relationship problems.

"Inuyasha, can you do me a favor?" she finally said after he had driven a few more blocks.

"Hm?"

"I need you to feel something."

He raised a brow, confused, and looked at her through the rearview mirror. She wouldn't meet his gaze.

"I need you to take whatever it is you have and make something beautiful out of it. To take every moment of your life, no matter how tragic you think it is, and appreciate it for what it is." She frowned, eyes glazed with tears. "Time is so short. So, so fleeting. Most people don't value a sunrise, when some aren't even aware it'll be their last. Don't be one of those people, okay?"

She finally looked at him with a haunted gaze that burned straight through his soul. He felt sick, his heart locked firmly in his throat. And she finally looked like she was dying, like her soul was dying a slow death, her vibrancy shattered into fragments no longer salvageable. It broke his heart.

Inuyasha drove her around the city for a while in silence. He had turned off his app, not even bothering to let the minutes charge her. He became lost in his thoughts, trying to remember what exactly he and Kikyou had been fighting about earlier. But he couldn't. It had been such a trivial matter, that he couldn't even remember why he had stormed out.

And suddenly, he felt foolish and embarrassed for how stupid he had been. How silly their fight had been. He was lucky he was still breathing, still alive. He was lucky that Kikyou was still here. They were both here today.

Tomorrow wasn't promised.

"I'm ready to go, now." Kagome's voice startled him out of his musings, and he glanced at the dash, noting he had already been driving her around for over an hour.

He flipped on his app again to read the directions to her address. And she did the hand thing again, holding it out the window like an airplane, the warm summer breeze brushing through her hair like it was guiding her home.

Inuyasha finally pulled up in front of an apartment complex, putting the car in park, and simply stared out the window. Kagome didn't budge for a few minutes, her slow breathing echoing in the quietness of the car, eyes trained on the dark windows towering over them.

She sighed. "Well, Inuyasha," she said with a smile, her eyes lighting up as if their heartbreaking conversation had never taken place, as if she wasn't dying. "I appreciate your time. Thank you for taking me home."

When she tried to hand him a bill, he simply waved her off. "No need. This one's free of charge."

Kagome nodded, slipping the money back in her purse, and opening the door. She stepped out onto the sidewalk and moved to walk into the apartment, but paused. Turning, she bent down to peek her head into the passenger window to look at him.

He watched her carefully.

She smiled brilliantly. "Do one more thing for me, okay?"

He stayed silent, waiting patiently, which she took as confirmation.

"I want you to be happy," she said, tucking stray pieces of hair behind her ear. "I want you to laugh a lot."

He felt his eyes well with tears.

"And maybe," she continued, tilting her head with amusement. "I'll peek in on you from time to time. Make sure you're doing all right."

She sighed, eyes turning to the street ahead of him, watching the lights change in an array of colors - green and yellow and red; the glow of street lamps shying away the darkness; the laughter of people as they strolled the city streets; the music from bars that were far from closing for the night; the summer evening breeze tousling her hair.

"Inuyasha," she said again, this time her voice more somber, but she still smiled as she looked at him again. "Live for me, okay?"

Emotion closed his throat for a moment, before he was finally able to nod and reply with, "You take care of yourself, Kagome."

She smiled again, her dark eyes meeting his, before she turned and entered her apartment building.

Inuyasha sat in his car for a long time, the low instruments of rock music drifting from his stereo, the repetitive ding of his hazard lights. So many emotions had spiraled through him in such a short time, he wasn't sure how to process it all.

But the more he sat there, the more he was able to hone onto the emotion that overwhelmed them all: Grief.

He silently grieved for Kagome, for already missing her even though she was only a few steps away, for the life she would never be able to live, for her friends who didn't even know, for the stranger he would never have the pleasure of seeing again.

Ping!

Amber eyes slowly turned to the notification that popped up on his phone related to another passenger needing a ride. He stared at it for a long time before he finally flipped the screen and logged off. He wouldn't be taking any more fares tonight.

He drove with his mind in a fog all the way home. He parked his car in the parking lot and entered his apartment complex. He ventured to the door of his apartment, the number 27 mocking him as he slid the key in and unlocked the door.

He dropped his keys into the bowl by the front door and shuffled to the living room. Kikyou was curled up on the couch, legs bent with a throw over them, hair in a messy bun fixed with a pencil, and glasses on the bridge of her nose, absorbed in whichever novel had her attention that week. He stared at her beauty, at a woman who showed him kindness and love far beyond what he deserved.

She didn't look up at first, too engrossed in her story, but as he continued to stand and stare at her, she finally glanced up with question. She knitted her brows with concern, trying to decipher the expression on his face. "Are you all right, Inuyasha?"

He swallowed passed the hard lump in his throat, unsure of how to respond. And then he went to her, crawling onto the couch beside her, wrapping his arms around her waist and forcing her to put her book to the side. He buried his head into her stomach as she cradled him in her arms, soothing fingers working through his hair, eyes questioning.

"Shh," she murmured. "It's okay."

"I'm sorry," he choked out, arms tightening. "I'm so sorry."

And as she tried to comfort whatever tormented his ravaged heart, he wept in her embrace.

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Live for me, okay?