He'd once told me that he'd liked black roses, so I'd placed them on his grave. It was the least I could do for him; it was a secret that he told no one but me, and it was actually pretty heartfelt. I didn't expect him to come to me, of all people, with such an intimate thought. He told me to promise him that I would tell no one, not even that human wife of his.
I still keep that promise, though it is pretty pointless. There's no one here but me, no one to overhear those words as I let them escape my lips ever-so-nonchalantly. I could scream them to the whole damn world, and no one will hear nor care, because I'm the only the remains, and I've forced myself into voluntary isolation.
But I can't bring myself to break that promise. I cannot comprehend why – I just can't. I just keep my mouth shut, roaming this land, thinking about her, thinking about him. Thinking about everyone.
It's funny, because once the respective humans dearest to us finally breathed that last breath, we should have went our separate ways. There was no need for us to stay together like that all those years, amicably keeping each other's company. But we did it anyway, and that stubborn half-breed wouldn't take no for an answer. I guess our relationship had tenderly grown to a point where, if we were to break everything off so quickly, it would ruin all that work and effort we put into being semi-normal brothers. It wasn't that we just tolerated each other; it was that we had finally learned to love and care for one another, though it would take us many more years to actually verbally express it.
But it seemed futile in the end, because once again, I was all alone. This time, I wasn't okay with it. I was okay with him just abruptly leaving me behind, just like Rin. Just like everyone I somehow grew attached to. It didn't matter that he lived longer than the mere mortals; he didn't live long enough for me to rid myself of the pain and grief I still felt. The years he lived were short, not enough time to actually build and maintain the bond we should have had long ago. He was given the privilege of having demon blood, yet was reduced to the same fate all other mortals face. This is what happens to half-demons: they are just in the middle of things, able to surpass the humans, but can't quite live up to or experience the qualities of full demons.
It was so damn unfair.
There's not much to do now but to wander and keep that promise safe and sound. Maybe I'll go looking for more black roses.
Based off the headcanon of mine that, due to Inuyasha being part-human, he has a shorter lifespan than most demons.