Until it's Gone
Summary: "Wha- what? What do you mean he's dead?! He was fine- fine just last month!"
"You know, Inuyasha, if you need tips on women- especially Kagome, I will most certainly be glad to he-" Miroku started, watching as Kagome stormed off to the well and left Inuyasha behind, sitting in a two foot crater. 'A typical day,' he thought, stroking his chin.
"Shut it, monk," Inuyasha barked, getting up out of his hole and brushing the dirt off of his clothes and out of his hair.
"Fine, fine," he said, holding out a placating hand, "But you should cherish the good things you have today, otherwise you'll never know what you have 'til it's gone."
Inuyasha shoved Miroku as he walked past, grumbling a short, "Whatever."
However, walking back to the village, he thought about it and found the monk's words to be true. Not, of course, that he would ever admit that aloud.
As Kagome walked out of the well house, the first thing she noticed was the weather. She didn't realize it before, but it was absolutely pouring out. It was such a great contrast with the weather on the other side of the well, in which it was sunny, warm, and there was a nice breeze. Despite the rain, she didn't plan to go back to the Feudal Era until tomorrow afternoon. She'd had enough of Inuyasha's childish behavior for a month. It was a very, very long month in which they faced many opponents and gained only two jewel fragments for all of their hard work.
Once inside, she noticed that no one was in the living room, which was somewhat strange. Gramps, at least, was usually downstairs watching the television on rainy days.
"I'm home!" She called out, leaving her yellow backpack on the floor, kicking off her shoes, and walking into the kitchen. In the kitchen, she found her family gathered around a rectangular box. She frowned, confused, what could possibly be in the box?
"Ka- Kagome," her mother said, her voice cracking, as she stood up and walked to the other side of the table in order to embrace her daughter.
"Mama... What's going on?" Kagome asked, hugging her mother back. Now, she was getting nervous- she didn't know what was going on and didn't know what could be making her family look so sad. Everyone was there- did someone die?
"Well, honey," her mother started, stepping away from her, but still gripping her shoulder, "It's Buyo. Last night- we don't know how it happened- he had a seizure. We took him to the vet's, but they weren't able to do anything... So..." she let her sentence trail off, watching as Kagome's face went from a nervous expression to an absolutely tragic one.
"Wha- what? What do you mean he's dead?! He was fine- fine just last month!" Kagome couldn't believe it- she didn't want to. Buyo had been in the family since she was young... Why wasn't she there for him? Even before she began to go to the Feudal Era he'd always been there for her. But she couldn't do the same for him. Goodness, what did she even do with him the last time she'd seen him? She couldn't remember- did she tell him she loved him? Did she hug him? She felt like it had been her fault- she knew she wasn't really to blame, but it felt like it was. She hadn't payed much attention to him for a while.
Kagome cried herself to sleep that night. She still didn't want to believe that there was never going to be anymore Buyo. Buyo, the cat that had cuddled up to her every night she'd come back from the past after a fight with Inuyasha. He'd been such a great pet, a great friend... And now? She was the lousy friend. As she didn't get to sleep until twelve, she slept in until ten. After that, she just lay in bed and sulked. Her mother came in twice to check on her and bring her food and tea. She made sure to tell her mother that she loved her each time.
When one o'clock creeped around, so did Inuyasha. He came in through her window and was immediately confronted by the salty smell of tears. What the fuck was she crying about now?
"Oi," he said gruffly, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He really didn't want her to cry again... He was nearly sure he wasn't the cause of it this time.
"Oh... Inuyasha!" Kagome cried, sitting up and looking at him. She grabbed a tissue and blew her nose. "It's Buyo!"
He tilted his head, waiting for her to continue and clearly confused. What was up with her stupid, biting cat now?
"He died two nights ago. Can you- can you..." she trailed off, looking down at her bedspread.
Inuyasha immediately thought of what Miroku had said the other day. In fact, it had been repeating in his head ever since... Now, he really didn't know what to do. He never had to comfort someone whose pet had just died, so he awkwardly stroked her shoulder and asked, "Can I- what?"
"Can you stay here with me?" She looked up from her bedspread, staring at him with puffy, red eyes. Now all she wanted to do was make sure that he didn't leave her, too. She could never tell him how she felt about him, so she just had to make sure that he never left her sight again. Though she knew it was unreasonable, it didn't matter. It was the only way that she could surely know he was safe.
"Yeah, yeah, I will," he said as she leaned against him. He sat back further on the bed and put an arm around her shoulders. "The monk... He said somethin' yesterday."
"What was that?" She asked, her voice muffled for she had put her face directly onto his shoulder.
"He said somethin' like 'cherish the shit you have today, 'cause it could go and you wouldn't know how good the shit is until it's fucking gone'."
Kagome gave a weak giggle. She was sure that hadn't been how Miroku said it, but she got the meaning.
"Thank you," she said as she kissed his arm and moved closer to him.
"Whatever, Kagome," he said as he rest his head on top of hers.
Author's Note: This is dedicated to all pets, former, current, and future, and their owners who love them. :)