An older woman ducked out of the hut and stood silently as the adult fox demon approached her. She didn't want to tell him, she didn't want this to be happening. For so long she dreaded this day and making this diagnosis.
"Rin how is she?" The red headed adult fox known as Shippo asked as stopped in front of the older woman. He knew what she was going to say, he didn't need to hear her say it, he didn't want her to say it.
"She will be dead within the next day or two," Rin choked out looking down at her old wrinkly hands. These hands that she tried very hard to save her teacher with, the hands that did everything they could to keep this from happening. She looked up at Shippo who had a tear in his eye and he just stared down at his feet. This was all just too much...first was Sango 3 years ago, then Miroku only just a few months ago.
"Should we tell him?" Shippo asked her looking out into the distance at the slowly aging dog demon as he sat perched in a tree. No he didn't need to tell him, he could sense it. She had been his partner for over 70 years now, he could feel what was happening. Inuyasha was the first one to notice that something was wrong in the first place. That first time that Kagome seemed...not herself.
Shippo and Rin just stared out at Inuyasha as they both thought about the time that Inuyasha had come running to them telling them that something was very wrong. That Kagome had deliberately stuck her hand in the fire and then when Inuyasha stopped her she looked up at him like she was lost. As if she didn't really know where she was or who was stopping her from touching the pretty, warm light. Rin remembered rushing over to see what Inuyasha was talking about and sure enough as she reached the hut she saw Kagome walking up the street away from them.
"Where are you going?" Rin remembered shouting out and when Kagome didn't reply she ran to catch up to her. "Kagome whats wrong?" Rin shuttered as she saw that look on Kagome's blank face.
"I don't, I don't know...," Kagome had replied before beginning to cough and cough until she spit up blood.
Shippo shook off the memory as he turned away from Inuyasha and looked at the door to the hut. "I guess I should go and see her," he said with his shoulders hunched and angst in his face. Maybe if he didn't go in there, just maybe he wouldn't feel as if he was saying good-bye to her and then maybe she won't pass on. But no, that would never work, the thought quickly fell out of his mind as he stepped into the hut.
He looked at Kagome laying on the hay futon mattress that she had been laying on for days now. He knelt down and grabbed her hand as she turned her head to him. "Kagome how are you feeling?"
"Your name is Kagome? I thought you were a boy? Though you do look to pretty to be a boy," Kagome said softly as if it hurt to speak.
"No my name is Shippo," he said as he looked down and held back the tears. She just wasn't herself, she couldn't even remember her own name.
"Shippo, oh thats a pretty name," the older woman cooed as she slowly reached her arm up and touched Shippo's cheek.
He lifted his hand up to hers and closed his eyes as he felt her slippery skin against his own elastic skin. This was just so hard, it didn't even seem to matter if he said good-bye or not she would never remember. He wasn't ready, he refused to believe that her memory had completely gone.
"You know I love you very much," he said as he took her hand off his cheek and set it back down on her chest. "I will always remember how you took me in and raised me and how you were always there for me no matter what."
Kagome looked up at him with lost eyes, she felt as if she was missing something. What was he saying and why was he saying it? She knew that she needed to remember something important about this funny looking man in front of her but, she couldn't. She tried to will her self to remember to understand why he was saying all this nice stuff about her and she didn't know who he was. All she knew was that she was missing something but, who knew what it was?
Shippo saw that she was trying very hard to understand but she probably never would before she died. He sighed and bent over and kissed her forehead before getting up and leaving the hut. When he reached outside Rin was sitting against the hut almost in tears. After Kagome died then soon in a few years so would Rin and then eventually Inuyasha and Sesshomaru and then he would be left all alone. Without the people he had been living with for years and years now.
"You know, sometimes I wish that you weren't human," Shippo said as he leaned with his back to the hut and slid down so he was sitting down next to Rin.
"Sometimes I wish that you were human, that way all of us would die around the same time and no one would be left on their own," Rin said through tears as she lifted her hands up and felt her wrinkled face. She was only 10 years younger than Kagome, and who was to say that she would live as long as Kagome has. Rin knew that she could get sick or hurt at any moment and be in the same position Kagome was in right this exact moment.
As the sun set the two watched as Inuyasha jumped out of the tree and stumbled a little before he caught his balance. He may be a demon but with over 120 years under his belt he wouldn't be around much longer either. Everyone could already see that he was getting more tired as the days waned on. They had been seeing it for years now, as if when Kagome was slowly aging his life clock caught itself up to hers. As if since they had been partners then they would grow old together, his demon self was becoming more and more human.
Inuyasha lumbered over to Shippo and Rin who had gotten up off the ground and began to make dinner outside the hut so that the smoke didn't bother the weakening Kagome. Inuyasha stopped and glanced over at the two for a moment before continuing to the hut door, where he stopped again. He just stared at the door trying to prepare for what was inside. But he knew no amount of thinking, wish, wanting, willing, or preparing would do for what he was about to do.
"Inuyasha, would like some dinner?" Rin asked as she picked up a bowl ready to pour some rice into it.
"No thank you," he said softly, almost to softly. Never in his life had he ever used such a tone with anyone or anything. Though this was different then anything he had ever faced in his entire long life. He took a deep breath in through the nose and a deep breath out through the mouth. He reached his hand forward and blinked a couple of times before entering.
As he walked in he looked first at the bed and it took him a second to realize that Kagome was no longer laying in it. He took a double take before he began to search the room and found her huddled in a corner on the other side of the hut. He took another deep breath as he headed over to her and gently grabbed her shoulder.
"What am I missing?" Kagome's voice came from behind her slumped body.
"You aren't missing anything," Inuyasha said as he bent down next to her and tried to pull her away from the wall. As she turned to look at him he could see the tears just streaming down her face, and he couldn't help but frown at her.
"Then why can't I remember who all of you are? All of you people who keep saying you love me and that I've helped you all become the person they are today," she said as she slouched against Inuyasha's chest and he was force to sit on the dirt and hold her in his arms. She felt so fragile, so much like a twig, he thought to himself. He better be careful not to break her.
"Would you like me to tell you our story?" He asked as he began to wipe her tears away. He saw her look up at him and smile, the first smile he had seen in a very long time. He couldn't help but smile back, it was genuine, she was still the innocent girl he had met that day. "Okay then," he said as he cuddled her and began to tell her the story.
Half way through the story he looked down at her to see if she was tired, but she was still wide eyed. He helped her get up and decided she would be more comfortable back in her bed so he helped her lay down and get settled. She didn't say anything just looked at him, something about her eyes, the shine in them it was still alive somewhere.
As he finished up their story he looked at her hoping that maybe she could remember any part of it. "Do you remember anything now?" He even asked her as he held her hand and stroked it.
She began to cry again, "That was such a lovely story, I wish I could remember it happening."
Inuyasha quickly let go of her hand and turn with his back to her as he laid his head in his lap and resisted the urge to scream. How could she not even remember a little bit? She didn't know herself anymore, and he doubted she even remembered that she was dying! This was putting too much strain on his heart. He could feel it, it just ached, ached for her, for her to be normal. For them to be together again the way they used to be for over 70 years.
He grasped his chest as he knew that that would never happen. She would never remember, would she remember once she had passed on? He hoped so, he hoped that after she died that everything would be okay, but he had a hard time feeling comforted by the thought.
"Inuaysha," Kagome whispered and Inuyasha turned to face her his eyes wide in surprise. "That story, was it true?"
"All of it," he said as he slowly turned back around.
"You told it so nicely, it sounds as if I was such a wonderful person. I hope that it really is true," she said looking up and out the open window. She looked out at the stars and wondered what they were and wanting to get up and see if she could grab them and collect them.
"You are more than wonderful, you are the most," he stopped, he used to say this same thing to her every night before they went to bed. Was she hinting at something or was it just a coincidence. "Kagome, you are the most beautiful thing I have ever laid my eyes on and the most amazing person I have ever known. Never in a million years would I imagine such a wonderful life with someone like you," he said knowing that it would be the last time he would ever say it directly to her. Of course he would tell everyone he met the same thing about her, he had for years.
"Inuyasha," she turned to look at him. "I'm dying aren't I?"
All he could do was nod as he felt a pit in his throat, it burned so bad and he tried to swallow it but it wouldn't go down. Nothing he did made it go away, the pain just throbbed and it seemed to move up higher and higher until it reached the top of his throat and he began to sob. Sob like he had never cried ever in his entire life. It just seemed to burst out of him, after him sitting telling himself all day that day that he wouldn't cry no matter what. That promise seemed to fly out the window as he just fell forwards and rested his head lightly on her weak shoulder.
"Inuyasha please don't cry, I don't think I would of wanted that, I think I would of wanted you to stay strong," she said wishing that she could comfort the man that she knew was suppose to be her lover that she couldn't remember.
Inuyasha let out a wail as he cursed himself in his head for falling into pieces in front of her. "Kagome, I just want you to remember me when your gone. I hope this heaven place that all these people have been talking about recently is real. I hope that you go to that god that you were always talking about, that god that is so merciful. I hope he lets you in with open arms and then you remember, you remember everything and when I get there we can be together again," he said as he slowly lifted his head up from her arm. He damned hoped those stupid Christians were right.
"I think no, I know I love you," she said as she closed her eyes and began to feel the heaviness fall down.
Surprised he looked directly at her, "And I love you too."
With that he knew that she was gone, she had said what she had needed to say and even though he was extremely sad he knew that it would be alright. He finally felt comforted like something warm swept over him and he wiped the tears off his face and took in a deep breath.
"Wait for me."
The end