Chapter 1
The light of the fire seemed to take life as it inhaled and exhaled with the cold breeze dancing around it.
Sparks flew disappearing into the nothingness of the night, probably escaping towards the moon.
She wished she could disappear like that too.
She admired the moon with blissful blue eyes and wondered.
How it could be, how it can be and how would it be.
To break out from her fire and eventually become nothing.
She envied the tiny glowing dots that flew around her and she closed her eyes.
She turned to admire the night sky as she reached her hands to grab the stars.
She closed them both and opened her fists in front of her face, admiring the pink orb that glowed in between her fingers.
Her own star.
She took the pearl to her lips and turned around to look at Shippo, sleeping soundly by her side.
His hair was untied and he had changed his usual blue hakama with a white one.
Kagome laid the small pearl between them and reached her hand to his head to brush it over his head.
Waving her fingers through his orange hair circling the small pointy ends of his ears.
He opened his eyes slowly as he felt Kagome's fingers tracing his head.
-"You have to sleep sometimes" he said in between sleep reaching his tiny hand to her fingers, circling them.
She did this every single night.
Around the middle of it, he would feel her move around until she placed her hand over his head and stroke his hair.
She simply pulled her hand away and laid on her side.
The blanket covered them and she pulled Shippo closer to her, hugging him tightly.
She kissed his head and she saw the fire extinguishing minute by minute.
How the logs turned into twigs disintegrating into ashes.
How the fire ran over them, consuming them as it rushed it's way to reach the air.
To reach for the thing that would give life to it again.
It could be the grass, a dried bug, a rotten flower.
But it would still hang on to it, for as long as it could last.
Then keep consuming itself again until it died and left nothing behind it.
Empty cases of it's time alive.
She closed her eyes hoping the tiredness would wash over her and put her to sleep.
But that never happened.
She kept having vivid dreams and nightmares whenever she felt herself get carried away by its stinging waves.
It felt like drowning every time she woke up.
She would see his face and cup her habd around his cheek.
He would stare at her and a tear would pool on his eye until it broke free rushing down Kagomes hand.
Only one.
He would embrace her touch and grab her hand on his own.
But he was cold.
Death cold.
Then the red thread would form around their fingers, intertwining as he crossed his hand on hers, creating a web that dripped blood.
She would feel her hand trying to let go of his, but the blood would thicken, gluing their hands together.
She would turn around to meet his face again, but she would find raging crimson eyes lost in her face.
Then she would open her mouth, and scream his name.
But as she felt the sound forming she'd wake up drenched in cold sweat and a racing heart.
She opened her eyes to the consumed fire, surviving by the twig it hadn't devoured yet.
The twig cracked in half and the fire disappeared.
The tear silently dropped to her ear.
She closed her eyes again and held the pearl to her chest.
Almost breaking it.
Maybe if she tried she could shove it back into her heart.
Make it alive again.
Make it her grass, her dried bug or even her rotten flower.
Hold on to them and disappear.
Make her heart glow again.
Make it beat again.
Make it feel again.
Take her back.
She thought of her family too.
Mostly every nights.
She thought of her mother coming from work, patting her head as she walked into the kitchen to open the fridge and pour her and Kagome a glass of barley tea.
She thought of Sota and how much he had grown these past five years.
She thought of her grandfather teaching her how to harvest their backyard, how it was filled with perfect lines of plants and flowers.
She thought of his old hands holding hers and laughing at the jokes he made to make her smile.
She thought of Buyo snuggling with her at nights and when he got lost and later found on top of the tree of Ages.
She closed her eyes and hoped that when she opened them, the night had gone by.
Darkness had always been harder for her.
At least the orange brushing over the mountains saved her endlessly.
She waited until the sun peeked out and bathed the meadow in gold.
Shippo moved a little when the light reached his face and turned around placing his palms under his cheek.
He opened his eyes and and blinked before he was able to open them completely.
-"I know you're not sleeping" he said to Kagome.
Her hair fell over her neck and her sunken eyes greeted him good morning.
-"I couldn't sleep"
-"Why didn't you wake me?"
-"I wanted you to sleep more"
He sighed and sat up.
He reached for the blue ribbon and created a high ponytail.
She watched him do it and smiled remembering how short his hair was when she found him.
Or he found her.
But now he had grown since then and now he was reaching her hips.
She got up too and fished the brittle hairbrush out of her backpack and brushed through her dry hair.
She braided it and folded the blanket laying in the lifeless grass.
-"Ready?" She asked Shippo.
He got up and grabbed her hand, she threw her backpack over her shoulder and they started to walk leaving the meadow behind, heading west.
/
He reached his palm to cover his face, the sun almost blinding him.
He turned around to find a meadow covered in flowers.
Dahlias.
Bathing the meadow with pink and purple.
They danced with the waves of wind brushing over them, creating a rainbow he could touch.
He sat and admired the blue sky, with a few birds flying around their friend the sun.
His steps crushed the flowers turning them into grey mush.
He was looking for something.
Someone.
He saw her small figure running a few meters away from him, with arms open like wings.
As he approached her, the sky turned grey, with menacing clouds covering the sun.
The closer he thought he was to her, the faster she ran away from him.
-"Rin!" He called out.
She stopped giving her back to him.
He hurried his steps almost running towards her.
But she stood there, like a statue.
He finally reached her and kneeled so he could be face to face to her.
He grabbed her hand and called out her name again.
She turned her head slowly, giving him a faceless girl.
A quick blink and the rainbow was gone.
The birds struck the ground breaking their bones, tainting it with blood.
The flowers died and he was floating in the darkness again.
He let go of her arm and she cupped her small hands over his cheeks leaving a trail of blood behind them.
He reached out to grab her but as his fingers touched her, she would pulverize into the thin air.
And then her laugh would bounce over the space.
Leaving him kneeled, crying blood.
Sesshomaru woke up drenched in cold sweat, with his chest furiously going in an up and down motion.
He took his hands to his face and quickly woke himself up.
When did he even fell asleep?
He reached for another log and threw it in the fire, breaking the consumed ones under it.
He sighed and turned around to find Jaken on top of A-un, staring at the sky.
Sesshomaru stood up and walked towards them, admiring the full moon gracefully posing in front of them, bragging her freedom.
They didn't say anything for a moment.
-"Get some sleep Jaken"
Jaken chuckled a little and crossed his arms under his sleeves.
-"You should be the one trying to rest Sesshomaru-sama"
Sesshomaru turned away and sat in front of the fire.
He admired the flames and the sparkling dots flying around it.
Then he thought of Rin disappearing like them.
He closed his eyes and crossed his legs, taking position, and he waited for the sun to appear over the mountains, to save him again.