Chapter 1
The tombstone had not been weather by the elements, even after a year. The white marble contrasted greatly with its surrounds, like a beacon that the body that lay under the ground here had yet to turn to bones.
Inuyasha sat on his hunches and stared at the name craved into the marble, it had been a year since the funeral. This was the first time since then that he had been back to the cemetery. He had passed it every day, but could not make himself go in. The grave would make all the guilt and blame raise once again, something he had been trying to bury along with her memory.
He should have been with her to take her home like he did every night after she got off work, but they had fought.
"Do not come for me Inuyasha!" She had screamed at him; the very last thing she would ever say to him.
The memory of that fight would follow him forever, but when he thought about that night, all he could remember was how she smelled, like honey and cinnamon, always honey and cinnamon. Her scent was ingrained in his senses, a part of him.
He inhaled deeply, but got only the scent of wet soil. The breeze whipped his long silver hair around his face and in the distance; he could hear the bells of the church chime in rhythm with the wind.
He thought back to last year when he had gotten the worried call from her mother.
"She didn't come home last night, is she with you?" He could hear the strain in her mother's voice; she did not approve of her daughter dating a hanyo, but she knew that Inuyasha had always kept her safe.
"No, we had an argument, she said she would drive herself home." He had slurred his words, still barely awake, the early-morning light fighting to break into his room.
"Oh, well I will check with one of her other friends." She hung up the phone, leaving Inuyasha confused. There were no other people to call, he checked the clock; the red luminous dial read 6:30. She would have gotten off eight hours early, where could she have gone?
The sudden feeling of dread enveloped him, and Inuyasha jumped off his bed and quickly dressed. He practically flew out of his apartment door and ran faster than he ever ran the five blocks to the restaurant where she worked. His worry worked up his throat like bile, his ears twitching to the sounds of the morning.
He could hear the sirens now, and see the yellow police tape stretched across the parking lot. He stopped and could see her car, but worst he could smell her blood. His body went numb; the world slowed, the only thing he could hear was his own ragged breath. Someone was talking to him, but his eyes could not focus on the face. The sounds of the person's voice muffled, the words held no meaning his entire world was gone.
His face suddenly hurt and everything came back into focus, "What the fuck" he yelled looking at the person who had hit him and realized it was his half-brother Sesshomaru.
"What are you doing here Inuyasha? The body was only found 30 minutes ago. No one would have called you" he exclaimed.
"Her mother called me, told me she hadn't come home. This is the only place I could think of her being, so I ran here" Inuyasha's rushed words sounding bitter and cold. "Why the fuck are you here Sesshomaru?" he roared.
"I am a detective Inuyasha, surely you haven't forgotten that" he stated so calmly that Inuyasha wanted to rip his face off.
"Fuck off, tell me what happened" he pleaded, his eyes looking over his half-brother's shoulder watching one of the police write something down the manager was saying.
"I am not at liberty to discuss this investigation with you. Unlike you, I am good at my job", he sneered. "But she is dead Inuyasha, of course your nose probably already told you that. Go home there is nothing you can do."
Sesshomaru walked away then, leaving Inuyasha on the sidewalk, the yellow police tape separating him from the scene. Inuyasha could see the once white sheet laying over what he knew was her body. His brother was right he couldn't stay here. He couldn't let anyone see his pain. He took a deep breath, barely catching her scent of honey and cinnamon; the metallic smell of her blood was too strong.
He turned and started to run; he didn't know where he was heading, but he had to get away. He ran and he ran, not watching where he was going, not stopping even after he left the city behind. He ran until his body gave up. He collapsed in the middle of nowhere, his breath painful in his chest. He let his tears flow then, his mind remembering her.
He squeezed his eyes together pulling himself back from the past. "Remembering her death would not bring her back" he whispered to himself. He placed the single flower he had on her grave and stood, no longer wanting to be there. He left the cemetery quickly wishing he had not found the courage to visit the grave. His emotions spiraled; he needed to get away. The scent of the wet soil invaded his senses, and he gripped his hands tightly, feeling his claws tear into his flesh. He walked without seeing, when he unexpectedly slammed into someone.
His instinctively grasped the person's arms, keeping them from falling, "Sorry" he muttered, his eyes finally meeting with the person he had collided with and his breath hitched.
"Kikyo?" he questioned, knowing it was not her, but wishing all the same.
"My name is Kagome" she stated simply.
Inuyasha looked at this woman closely. He could now see the differences between her and his dead girlfriend. Her hair was far more wavy then Kikyo's had been, this strangers eyes a stormy blue, not a dark brown. Her scent was similar with a base of honey, but instead of cinnamon, it was wildflowers. With a jolt, he realized he was still holding her arms, and let her go noticing as he did that her shirt sleeves had his blood on them.
"I'm sorry I got blood on your shirt" he said.
Looking alarmed, she glanced at her arms, but instead of yelling at him about ruining her shirt, she turned worried eyes to him. "Are you ok, do you need a doctor?" Her sweet question making him feel weak.
"No" he said shaking his head, "I'm fine. I'll pay for your shirt to get cleaned."
"Thank you" she said, pulling a pen and paper out of her purse and handed them to him, "Write your number down, and I will call you with the price once its cleaned." He wrote down his number and his name and handed her the pen and paper back. She took both without looking at them and pushed them into her purse.
"See you later" she whispered with a smile and walked past him.
He stayed where he was and listened to her footsteps fade in the distance. Her scent lingered in the air around him. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and continued on his way home. "I doubt she will call, probably just throw the shirt away" he thought. He reached his apartment and stumbled inside his body tired from the stress of visiting Kikyo's grave. He slumped onto his couch not bothering to take off his clothes or shoes. When he closed his eyes, however, instead of seeing her tombstone or the white sheet that had covered her dead body, he could see the eyes of the new woman he had collided with, he could see Kagome.