Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Inuyasha characters. I wish I did, 'cause then I wouldn't be a poor college student. Nor do I own the song "Whiskey Lullaby". That belongs to Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss.
Author's Note: This story was inspired by "Whiskey Lullaby" It's my 1st fanfic and I'm a little nervous.
He stared at the empty glass sitting on the counter in front of him. Without removing his gaze from the glass, he signaled to the bartender who was watching him from a few steps away. He pushed the glass forward towards the black-haired man.
"No more, Inu. You've had enough tonight." The bartender said.
"Gimme another whiskey, Miroku." The bartender sighed and poured his drunken friend another glass of whiskey. Finishing off the potent liquid in two gulps, Inuyasha stood up. He caught himself on the bar as he began to topple over.
"Sango's gonna take you home, Inu. Give me your keys. I'll drive your car to your apartment when I close up." Miroku told his silver-haired friend. When his friend carelessly handed over the keys to his beloved six-speed Porsche, Miroku heaved another sigh. He looked around the dim bar and signaled to a young woman with a long brown ponytail leaning against the back wall.
"Come on Inuyasha. Let's get you home." Struggling under the weight of her inebriated friend, she somehow managed to get him into Miroku's car. As soon as she sat him down and strapped him in, he passed out. As she sat in the driver's seat, she looked over at her unconscious friend. Poor Inu, she thought. What has Kikyo done to you? How much loner can your body take this?
Sango tried to wake up her friend as she parked in his parking spot. She scowled at the thought of dragging her much taller and heavier friend up the stairs to his third level apartment. "Inu! Wake up! I can't drag you any more." She half-yelled at her unconscious friend. She wasn't surprised when he flinched away from the loud sound of her voice. Inuyasha had always had very sensitive hearing.
"Whaa--? Sango? Where are we?" he asked groggily, as he sat up, shaking his head in a futile attempt to clear away the fuzziness.
"You're home, Inu." Come on, Lets get you into bed." she told him, unbuckling his seatbelt and attempting to pull him out of the car. She stumbled back when he climbed out of the car and looked at her with a lecherous grin.
"Sango! What would Miroku say?" Inuyasha winked suggestively and made a move to embrace her. Sango stopped him by putting a hand on his chest and giving him a soft shove away.
"Ugh, men." She snorted, rolling her eyes. She put his arm around her slender shoulders and her arm around his waist. Then she half-dragged, half-walked Inu up the stairs to his door. Sango unlocked the door and went straight for the bedroom. She dumped her drunken friend on his bed and took off his shoes. She wrapped the red blanket over him and turned off the lamp. "Good night, Inuyasha." She whispered softly.
Several weeks later, a very tired Inuyasha stumbled into his apartment. "No more graveyard shifts. Ever." He blindly locked the door and stumbled to his bedroom. He threw himself across his bed and promptly fell asleep.
The sound of loud banging startled him awake. He swept his bloodshot gaze towards the alarm clock. 3:00 AM. "I've been asleep 15 minutes." He groaned. He decided to pretend he wasn't home and lay back down. The knocking became increasingly louder. "It might be Miroku. Maybe he's in trouble. If he's not, he will be." Inuyasha told himself sleepily. He dragged himself reluctantly off the bed and went to the door. Without checking to see who it was, he yanked open the door, preparing to let loose on Miroku. The person on the other side completely stopped him in his tracks. "Kikyo." He whispered her name softly, afraid to say it louder, for fear that she would turn out to be a dream again. He saw her stiffen when he whispered and suddenly, he was no longer afraid she would disappear. He began to wish she would disappear and leave him alone.
"Inuyasha!" she said, sweetness dripping from her voice as she threw her arms around his neck.
"What do you want, Kikyo?" he said angrily, reveling slightly in the feel of her body pressed against his. When he caught himself enjoying the way she felt, the pain and anger she had caused flared to life.
"Don't be mad at me, Inuyasha. I can't believe you are still about that whole cheating thing. Besides, I am so over him." Her blood-red colored lips pouted cutely up at him. Her made-up face, once so beautiful and natural to him, now held no appeal for him. The once innocent dark blue eyes now seemed cold and manipulating.
"What are you doing here, Kikyo? Don't tell me you want me back." He said bitterly. He couldn't control the slight jump his heart made as the thought of her wanting him back, entered his brain.
Kikyo frowned and disentangled her arms from around his neck. She stepped away from her, smoothing her blood-red top down before flipping her long black ponytail over her shoulder. "No." She narrowed her cold, blue eyes at him before smiling cruelly. "I'd never want a working-class boy back when I have a rich, sophisticated man waiting for me downstairs." She looked down her nose at him before adding, "He buys me everything I deserve. I merely came for the rest of my stuff." She pushed past him and walked into the small apartment they had once shared.
Inuyasha was still standing in the doorway when Kikyo past by him, her arms full of stuff. She said nothing as she walked by him. A soft whisper followed her as she disappeared down the brightly lit hall. Numbly, he closed the door, not remembering to lock it. He walked over to the worn-in couch and sat down. He put his silver head in his hand as memories flooded his mind.
He saw the day he first met Kikyo. He'd been struck by her innocent beauty and grace. His mind flashed forward to their first kiss. Then the memory of the first time he'd shown her their new apartment. As more memories of the happy times paraded across his mind, the pain and anger came rushing back.
He jumped up and went to the kitchen. He grabbed a glass and his open bottle of whiskey. He filled the glass to the brim and drank it down. He immediately chased the first drink with a second, just as full. Figuring that filling the glass took too much time, he bypassed the glass and drank straight from the bottle. He finished off the bottle and found an unopened bottle of whiskey in the cupboard. He roughly twisted it open and began to drown himself in that one as well. I'll just drink her away, he thought. He moved back to the living room and dropped back down on the couch. He was good and drunk by now.
"Damn you, Kikyo!" he yelled. He took another shot. He began to notice that the whiskey was numbing the pain in his heart. "I can't live without you." He forced down another shot. On the heels of his heart-broken confession, he came to a decision. He searched around for a pen and paper. When he saw the black sharpie on the coffee table, he figured it was an omen. He grabbed the pen and shakily scrawled a message on the back of an envelope. He clutched the note and leaned back against the arm of the couch. He took another drink, barely noticing how his body tried to reject it. He took another, barely getting the bottle to his lips. The edges of his vision were starting to blur and his thoughts were slowing down. His stomach began to protest as he took another long drink. His vision became even more blurry and he barely managed to choke down his next drink. As the blessed darkness began to close in around him, his numb lips lifted up into a slight smile. As he passed into the darkness, his numb fingers let the now empty bottle of whiskey drop to the floor.
Minutes later, Miroku ran up the steps. He'd had a bad feeling all night and wanted to check on his friend. He stopped in front of the door and knocked. When no sound came from the other side, Miroku's anxiousness increased. He reached his hand down to test the door knob. When the knob turned, Miroku began to panic. He rushed inside and fumbled around for the light. "Inuyasha?" he called, and edge of hysteria in his voice.
He looked around the room when the light flipped on. He saw a booted foot hanging off the end of the couch. "Inu?" He went to the couch and felt all the blood drain from his face. His friend was leaning against the arm of the couch, an empty bottle of whiskey on the ground, just out of reach. Miroku moved closer and reached out to check his pulse. Miroku whipped out his cell phone when he didn't find one and dialed 911 with shaking fingers.
When the dispatcher started speaking, Miroku cut her off. "My name is Miroku. My friend has no pulse, isn't breathing, and has an empty bottle of whiskey near him. I'm at 636 Hoshi Lane, Apt # 316. I'm starting CPR. My cell number is..." When he was done giving her information, he ended the call and turned back to his friend. He carefully put Inuyasha on the floor and got ready to start CPR.
As Miroku moved Inuyasha's arm, he noticed a slip of paper in one of his hands. Miroku grabbed the paper and quickly read it.
"I'll love her 'til I die." Was all it said.
"Don't give up, Inuyasha Taisho!" Miroku yelled at his friend. He began CPR, desperately urging his friend to fight death and listening for the wail of the ambulance.