Dedicated to Larry, who inspired this one-shot with his torture on my soul. Now if only I can get rid of all this damn angst!
She stood on the cliff, her wild brown hair whipping around her as she gazed around at the vast expanses in all directions, the mountains blazing as the sun set behind them. The beauty of it all seemed but a small drop compared to the ocean of her own, but the sadness that flowed from her being was enough to cancel out even that, for after all, her love lay now on his deathbed.
Scenes from her life flashed before her eyes, so distant it seemed compared to the tragedy before her, but the pain still lay fresh on her conscious. All the betrayal. All the hurt. All the lies . . .
She closed her stunning gray eyes, breathing deeply as she attempted to clear her head of all the haunting memories, but to no avail. It only seemed to sharpen them, allowing her mind to relive every painful detail, starting with a bloody body on the ground, tattered from a long-fought battle against the death bringer of her kind.
And yet, he survived. All due to her own loving care. Love . . . She opened her eyes to feel the breath of wind pass by her cheek like a baby's breath, a hand gliding over the smooth skin to draw her into a long and passionate kiss. Yes, she remembered that feeling. The feeling known to other fools as love.
And yet she herself had fallen for such a deception, allowing someone to reach out and control her life through a tug of her heartstrings. She snapped her eyes closed, remembering the words that had ended it all. Lied. Used. Loathed. How she wished she had never set eyes on the man, falling into the endless depths of their darkness to never immerge. Even now, she still felt the pull of her chest at his name.
She turned, determined to get him out of her mind, running a hand through her hair as she walked down the rock face, feeling the gentle caress of her claws on her neck that had been his end. The blood reeked from them still, ever present on her mind as she unknowing entangled herself in yet another snare of lust.
A hanyou . . . a hanyou this time . . . who would've thought a half demon would've captured her pure blooded heart? A careless mistake in her plan . . .
A mistake. That was all it was. And yet, why did it feel like so much more?
But no . . . he had never loved her. The miko had ensnared his heart long before she had, reeling him in once she had finally achieved what she would have sworn was bliss. A wasted love . . . a wasted effort . . . a wasted year . . .
And then this one came along . . .
She gazed into the small tent that housed him, pale as snow as he fought for his life against his own impending doom. With a heavy sigh, she walked over to him, laying a careful palm on his head as she took his hand in hers, silently praying for his life.
Only him. That was all she had now. Just him.
It had started out so simply . . . merely stumbling upon him by accident as he wandered aimlessly through the land, hoping for his own revelation.
She had taken care of him, proved to him that his life did indeed have meaning, fed him and given him a home, and now this . . .
With almost spiteful eyes, she turned to face the girl in the corner, the one that dared to call herself his sister. It all happened after she had come along.
She reminded him of his life . . . she told him of his purpose . . . his hate . . .
A tear wandered its way down her cheek as she remembered the repetition in her life, the scars he had given not only on her flesh, everything that had led up to this.
But he remembered her. He remembered her . . . and spared her . . .
More tears fell at the memory. How stupid she had been to drive him away. That's what had caused all of this . . . all her own fault . . .
She breathed a sigh, feeling his own on her cheek as he labored to survive. What she wouldn't give now . . . just to give him a portion of her life . . . so he'd live . . . he'd live and she could tell him . . . tell him 'I love you . . .' just once . . .
But it was not meant to be.
She set her ear lightly to his chest, listening intently for the frail beat of his human heart, but hearing none.
Letting out her baited breath, the dam of her eyes broke, her tears pouring from them as she clutched desperately to him, hoping against hope that he would return.
"No . . ." she breathed, her eyes glazed over with sadness as she began to shake violently, her face buried into his chest. "No . . ."
The lifeless corpse under her made no sound, no whisper of encouragement, no sigh of love. All it did was allow her to cry, no gentle brush of fingers to relieve the burden her cheeks now held.
She took his hand up to her cheek, gazing with blurred vision at his forever closed eyes, knowing that never again would she see their life. "Ohai . . ." She sighed once more, leaning down onto him to rest her shaking limbs, her lips so close to his. ". . . I love you . . ."