Title: Nothing Compares to You
Author: Dark Paine
Pairing: Kagome/Youko Kurama
Type: Multi-chapter
Genre: Melodrama/Romance
Rating: T for Teen
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Inuyahsa or Yuu Yuu Hakusho.
Summary: AU Kagome has grown old with age and suffers from a sickness. Desperate, Youko tries to find a cure before it's too late in order to save his mate. When a mysterious figure appears, will Youko find the cure he is looking for? Sequel to First Love.

Nothing Compares to You

"Love is... when you hold it, your arms hurt.
But when you put it down, your heart hurts."
-Loveholic

Chapter One

"I'm not young like I used to be, Youko."

A woman in her late fifties turned to look at her mate just as the wind swept through the open field, blowing her now salt and pepper hair wildly behind her. Her wise eyes crinkled with a forced smile, the skin on her face wrinkling as she clutched the fur blanket closer to her form.

Eyes softened as she looked at the man that stood beside her. If he were only human, a passerby might have mistaken him to be the older woman's son.

"Don't say such things, Kagome." Youko said sternly, trying not to reveal how fast his mind was racing. Her words rattled him even before her disapproving eyes met his. "You will be fine."

Kagome lightly laughed but immediately regretted it when a fit of coughs forced its way from her mouth, rattling her body. Almost instantly she felt strong hands wrap around her shoulders before she could drop to her knees. They steadied her until the coughing stopped and Kagome waved Youko away from her. Although his arms fell from her body, he made no move.

It was Kagome who had to step away from him, causing Youko's eyes to narrow slightly. "I'm fine, really." She said quickly. "And you shouldn't come too close to me anyway! What if you also get sick?"

Youko stopped his advance. There was no mistaking the fear in Kagome's voice or the equally worried gaze that now rested upon him. He clenched his fist.

"I'm a demon, Kagome. The chances of me 'catching' you're sickness are impossible since it only runs in humans," he said, reciting the healers words verbatim.

"But-"

Her words were cut off when Youko moved forward again to engulf her in his arms. "And even if I could catch your disease it wouldn't stop me from holding you."

Feeling the tears burning at the corners of her eyes, Kagome buried her face in her lovers shoulder. This scenario had played out many times before when they had diagnosed Kagome's illness many months ago.

"You have to let me go, Youko."

When she had spoken these words to Youko for the first time, it had him faltering. Rarely anything had caught him off guard and this had him stumbling to find his feet.

Now, however, it had him holding her even closer to his form.

"No, I will find a cure for you Kagome. Kuronue will be back soon with more information about a healer who specializes in illnesses." His fingers ran through her hair in a soothing manner while his other arm acted like a manacle, keeping her firmly planted against him even when she tried to move away again.

She was too weak to try and force her way out of his grasp, but when it relaxed she was able to lead away from him and look at his face.

"Youko, there won't be a cure."

Her words were not part of this usual scenario and now had his eyes narrowing sharply. In the times before this, Kagome would cry for hours while he held her, supporting her and comforting her as best he could in reassurance. Her tone now had his fingers stop their soothing caress, a strong pain spreading through his chest seeming to clench his heart.

She continued, exasperated. "We've tried countless of remedies and nothing has worked."

"We haven't tried everything yet," he insisted, voice ever so slightly cracking.

This time, it was Kagome who raised her hand to move those silver bangs she adored out of his eyes. Her frail hand moved to rest on his cheek and his eyes searched hers.

Achieving the mental state that Kagome now possessed had taken her quite a while to accomplish. Accepting that there would be no cure for what was happening to her body had not been a small feat and Kagome subtly wondered how she could be so calm now while looking into Youko's tumultuous gaze.

While Youko would be out searching for a cure, Kagome would be left home alone where she would stay up crying for days on end. Releasing the emotions she tried so hard to conceal from her lover would come out in a rush the moment she knew he was too far away to hear her sobs.

Looking deeply into Youko's crimson eyes had Kagome remembering when she would ask her darkened home why such a painful thing was happening to her, why a cure had yet to be found.

As her sickness only worsened and Kagome had become a shell of her former self, it was her children who had helped her reach a resolution.

Their first and second born boys, Etsuo and Jiro looked so much like their mother. Each of them shared the same pitch black hair and had some of the soft facial features Kagome possessed with the perfect masculinity Youko had passed down to them along with two fuzzy ears that sat atop of their heads. Both of her boys were tall and lean like their father and also possessed his inhuman strength.

Kagome knew that in time they would surly surpass their father's power and possibly his good looks as well.

Etsuo, being the eldest, took on the responsibility of protecting his younger siblings at an early age. It was instilled into him by his father once Jiro was born and Etsuo took his new title of protector seriously ever since. He was kind, generous and always kept his cool even in the most dismal situations reminding Kagome so much of Youko.

Jiro on the other hand was very playful and adventurous, never afraid to get into trouble that Etsuo would have to clean up later. He was also a jokester and always kept people entertained even at the cost of his own expense. His humor even make Kagome laugh in her darkest times.

Their youngest and third child, Kohana, was most certainly a replica and female version of her father. She had the same luxurious long silver hair with two ears that sat atop her head. Kohana's only resemblances to her mother were her eyes, which Kagome considered to be the most beautiful in the entire world, and her slight stature. Everything else was a spitting image of Youko.

Kohana was shy and calm like her elder brother, but once put into a compromising position, Kohana's personality would change. She'd become more determined and straight forward, even being able to predict her opponents moves before they knew what they would do.

Although Youko was sure to pass down his manipulation of plants to all of his children, only Etsuo and Jiro had taken it on. Etsuo was able to learn with ease while Jiro had to put in more effort. Kohana on the other hand, had chosen a different path to pursue, having no interesting in manipulating plant life. Instead she wanted to focus on weaponry.

All of her children would visit her quite often when Youko was away looking for a cure. At first Kagome had been reluctant to see them, afraid her disease would somehow transfer to her children since they were not fully fledged demons like their father. However all of the healers that had been escorted to her home had reassured her that there had never been a case in their lifetime where a hanyou had been infected. Kagome could not express her gratitude that her children also inherited Youko's immunity. If they had not been born so, Kagome wasn't sure how she would handle not seeing her children.

Seeing them now as what they would be considered adult to humans but almost infants to demons had reinforced how proud she was and what she had accomplished in her lifetime.

Even before meeting Youko, Kagome knew she wanted to be a mother. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, many girls even at a young age, would dream of meeting prince charming and produce another generation. Since they couldn't pass on the family name, the least they could do was birth a son in order to carry on her new family's name.

She had not only born one son, but two which was considered a great feat for a woman in her time. Not only that, she was able to produce a beautiful girl that would definitely have many suitors. Most importantly, her lover who seemed to be more reserved in front of others was open with Kagome and loved her very much.

All of her children cherished her and she them, and grew to be respectable citizens with proper manners and of course did not follow in their father's footsteps in being a thief. Thinking of them growing up to be the people they were today brought tears to Kagome's eyes again not in sadness, but with happiness.

"Youko, you have given me everything I had ever wanted in my lifetime," Kagome's fingers moved slowly over Youko's youthful face. "Our three beautiful children and a life I could only dream of as a child. I have lived a wonderfully fulfilling life, much longer than what is expected and I could not ask for more."

Youko's gaze hardened and his mouth fell into a flat line. "I won't let you die."

Kagome paused before her mouth fell into a small frown. Sometimes she almost wished Youko would not visit her on some days when it felt like the outcome she had so painstakingly accepted could be shattered quickly by his determination. It was times like these where she knew she would falter if he finally agreed to leave her even with all the mental preparation she gave herself.

But she pulled herself together to deliver another blow of reality to him before she could be shaken any further.

"Even if I wasn't sick or you did find a cure, time would eventually kill me long before it would take you."

Time seemed to freeze as her words sank in for both of them. Kagome had never thought of herself dying before Youko when she was younger but that had changed as time passed. All she would have to do was look in a mirror and then subtly look to her lover for the reality of just how fast she was aging set in.

He broke away and turned from her first, leaving Kagome to look at his back. He took a few steps away from her, widening their gap before stopping. He turned his head to the side but avoided looking back at her.

"I will find a cure, Kagome."

Hello everyone and welcome to the Sequel to First Love. I am going to tell you now (if you have not noticed) that this chapter will not be light. I do enjoy writing lighter stories but I also like writing stories like this one as well.

Just in case you were wondering, you do NOT need to read Sempiternal Redolence in order to follow this story. Although for some lighter and fluffier stuff in between First Love and this story you might want to check it out. I believe I will be making SR into a multi- one shot story instead of uploading many one-shots as single stories. I like to keep things organized.

I wanted to thank all of the fans who continuously read First Love and favorite it, message me about it and continue to inspire me. Without your encouragement I would have stopped writing a long time again and although I am not the best writer to grace this site, I am glad people enjoy my imagination that I sometimes successfully convey through words.

Thank you all so much, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! I am definitely open to constructive criticism and welcome your thoughts!

Until Next Time!