Raven Hair and Crimson Blood
---Flickering Soul

Raven hair and crimson blood....
That is all I can remember from that day. All the blood that left a trail leading to her... She
was dying and I knew it. I had yet to see her... but to leave a trail so long and not be close to
death.... Impossible. She was going to see her gods. We both knew it, I could smell it in her scent.
That scent... Yes, I also remember that so clearly... She was unique, she was pure... She
was.... her.... That's the only thing that scent could ever be described as. Despite the scent-
maskers she wore, her scent was still evident. Even when the scent of demons coated her thickly,
I could still smell her. She was still unique. I'll never smell it again... But why should I care? I
would always make such a point of telling her I was a demon and demons never became attached
to humans... They died too easily... I watched my mother die as well. She would always smile
sadly and ask me if half-demons cared about humans. I never answered her.
I know that if humans lose too much blood, they were lost. She had lost too much. The trail
went on for what seemed like miles. Maybe it was only a few feet.
Some way into my search I found her arrows and bow. Along with a large puddle. A
crimson puddle. Her blood. She had paused here, evidently. I smelled no fear, only resolve. Only
acceptance. She knew it. That was how she was, though. She was always that strong. She never
gave up - even if I did. She would never let me quit. Never. I'm glad, though... If it hadn't been
for her, I would have lost it so long ago. I would have given into madness. Into death. I wouldn't
have cared. Because of her, though, I had to stay sane. I had to live. I had to protect her.
I suppose I've failed her this time, haven't I? My own injuries have healed long ago, that's
a great thing about demons. But as I've said in the past - Humans are too weak. They die too
easily... They live too short of lives... It hurts too badly when you love them and they die and you
know that you still will live for at least a century. When you know that you're too hard to kill.
I can remember stepping into a clearing and finding that the trail ended. I didn't know if I
was relieved or horrified. I believe I was little of both. She lay in the middle of the tall grass and
flowers that grew here. Her raven hair spilled about her and her clothing torn and all but none-
existent. A pool of blood had gathered, making her pale skin appear to glow. The flowers nearby
had once been white, I'm sure, but now were either pink or red or crimson. Her chest rose slowly,
laboriously. Her eyes were half closed, as if she wanted to sleep but knew that if she did she
wouldn't wake up.
I didn't see any of that, though. All I saw was her raven hair drenched in blood. I
remembered how she had cared so greatly about her hair. It was one of her favorite things about
herself... And now it was covered in dirt and blood. Who was going to wash it for her?
It's hard. I thought I was prepared to see what I had. To see her dying. I thought I had
already acknowledged her mortality - distanced her enough from myself that it wouldn't hurt this
badly. I guess I was wrong. I realized then that I would never heal from this pain. Physical
wounds heal quickly for demons, but emotional wounds take a long time to heal for any breed...
no matter what...
She tried to speak, and if it wasn't for my sensitive ears I would never have caught what she
said...
"Inu..... Inu-Yas.... Inu-Yasha.... Must find him...."
I felt my chest tighten for some reason as I kneeled down beside her. Softly I gather her
hair in my hands and kept it from the blood as best I could. I whispered words with a voice
shaking - I did not recognize it as my own. I know not what I said, or why I said it. Only that her
hair was getting soiled. One sentence is all I can clearly remember saying: I'm here.
She seemed relieved and smiled a bit - not much, though, she was too weak. I smiled in
return and stroked her cheek with my clawed hands.
"I'm sorry.... knew better...." She mumbled. I shook my head. She tried to get up, but
barely managed to move a finger. She was dying quickly. I wasn't going to see her again, was I?
Of course not. I thought I had accepted that long ago. She was mortal. She would die before I did
no matter what. I was going to outlive her and therefore could not become close to her... But I
had... I had come to care for her...
Her breath caught painfully in her throat and she whispered one last thing before it left her
for good. "I love you."
That was it. I know I stayed with her for hours after that. Holding her hair away from the
cooling blood and playing with it slightly. I know I talked to her - What about I cannot recall. I
know they had pry her away from me... I also know that at some point I told her I loved her too. I
told her I wanted to die too. I told her I finally realized she was her incarnate and yet not. I
remember the last thing they said to me before I ran....
"She's gone, Inu-Yasha. Kagome's dead."
---

AN: Yes, It sucked. I know. This is my first attempt at an Inu-Yasha fic. I am aware that I sucked
greatly. I'm sorry... I was originally going to do an Inu-Yasha x Kikyou fic - Since I supposed
Inu-Yasha had followed Kikyou in order for her to shoot him. I like that idea, anyway. But then
going on, I realized it seemed more like Kagome... So, there you go. Another Kagome death fic to
add to the ridiculously long list already in existence... Sorry I wasn't original... I may try again
some day... Maybe...