Disclaimer: I own…
*cops glare*
I mean, err… I don't own "Inu Yasha" or "Time of Your Life"! Heh…heh…heh… ^^'
A/N: WHEE! MEH SECOND SONG FIC! I think I'm gonna make a series of these; they're so fun to write! R + R! PWEEZE!
Warning: Very sad and angsty!
*
'Over… It's all over… Naraku's gone, and I… I have to go home…'
A stray tear escaped Kagome's midnight blue eyes. The light that was normally seen in them had all but vanished—leaving tears behind. She wanted to cry into Inu Yasha's strong arms, to break down into sobs, but she couldn't. Not in front of Shippou, who would need to be strong. Not in front of Sango, who was concentrating all of her will power on not sobbing. Not in front of Miroku, who didn't want to see her go… She couldn't cry in front of Kaede; or in front of Kohaku, whom she just met. She couldn't. She didn't want to hurt them more than necessary. She had to go home… Her time in the Feudal Era was coming to an end.
*Another
turning point
A fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist
Directs you where to go*
Biting her lip, Kagome saw something glimmering on the edge of Inu Yasha's vision… Was it tears? Could the great Lord Inu Yasha be crying?
'He held back his whole life… To protect me. To keep me safe. And now I'm leaving him! How could I?'
Her question was answered by the ache in her heart. The part that was missing from before was what was tugging her home.
'Souta, Mama, Jii-chan… I haven't seen you in so long… You are what keep me from staying here. I will come back to you… But oh, Inu Yasha, I don't want to leave you here!'
Kagome hugged Shippou tight.
"Kagome? Will I ever see you again?"
Kagome choked back tears as she tried to answer the little kitsune.
"I don't know, Shippou… I—I'm leaving. And this time, I'm not coming back. If I see you, it will not be in this time…"
Another stray tear escaped her eye—it killed her to say that…
"Mama!"
Shippou sobbed into her shirt, his large eyes watering and pained.
"How can you, mama!? How can you leave us? How can you leave me?! YOU'RE ALL I HAVE LEFT!"
Kagome started to lose control of her feelings, but still she choked back sobs. She was lingering too long, her resolve was wavering.
"Shippou, don't ask why… I have no answer. I have to go back! There is no question… Just hope, Shippou, hope… Please, pray to see me again. I wish to see you, too."
*So make the best of this test
And don't ask why
It's not a question
But a lesson learned in time*
Kagome turned, placing the sobbing Shippou into Kaede's arms. She lightly kissed his cheek. Wiping away his tears with her thumb, she whispered into his ear.
"Shippou, if you want to see me again, time will make it so."
With a small, wavering smile, Kagome turned to Sango and Miroku. She stared at them for a minute, before wrapping Sango into a quick hug. Her best friend was going to be left behind—the girl who had shared all of her secrets, all of her dreams, all of her hopes… And all of her fears. Now that she faced her worst one, she wished she could rewind all time. Just stop it, so she could stay with them forever and ever. A slight smile appeared on Sango's tearstained face, now drained of all color.
"You can do it, Kagome."
Kagome squeezed her friend tight, and replied with one of the modern sayings she had taught her friend.
"See you on the flip side, Sango. I'll find you somehow. Don't let Miroku get the best of you, alright? I know you like him. It'll work out."
It took nearly everything Kagome had to turn away from Sango. She turned to Miroku, who was grinding his teeth to keep from letting tears escape him, too. Kagome walked up to her friend, and took his right hand into her own, and lightly ran her finger's over the scar on the monk's palm.
"I hope you live a good life, Miroku."
She quickly hugged her friend, knowing it was the last time she would ever see him.
"Goodbye, Lady Kagome. You have a good life, too."
She smiled feebly.
"This part will always be the best…"
*It's something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life*
Kagome let go of Miroku, who, too, fingered his scarred palm. She turned to Kaede. Kaede was the grandmother she never knew, the nurse who healed her wounds, her mother in her home-away-from-home. She loved her: the old woman had a place in Kagome's heart. She walked up to her, and wrapped her arms around the old woman. Another tear escaped her eye as Kaede stroked the girl's raven black hair, much like a mother would do for a grieving daughter. Kagome pulled away slightly, and looked at Kaede's aged, wrinkled face, as if memorizing it to keep forever.
*So take the photographs
And still frames in your mind*
"Remember us, Kagome. Ye are not finished with us, though your life has taken a different path. Ye will do what fate had set for thou, but I have a feeling that ye will also do what your heart desires, come hell or chaos. Ye will do what ye knows is right in ye's heart."
Kagome smiled, her lips quivering.
"Thank you for everything, Kaede-baba. You are family to me, and I wish that I didn't have to leave. I will never forget you, or what you have done for me."
She placed a light kiss on Kaede's cheek, and gave the woman's arm a squeeze.
*Hang it on a shelf of
Good health and good time*
Turning, Kagome saw only one figure. Inu Yasha. Memories of all of the times they had shared, of all the times he had protected her, and of all the times he had come out from behind his façade, just for her. Her vision clouded with all times his sword cut her enemy, her nose with the feint smell of his blood, her ears with all of the things he had everything he had ever said. Everything he had ever meant to her was tattooed onto her eyes, and she couldn't escape it. The glimmer of tears on the edges of his eyes matched her own as she whispered something only he could catch.
*Tattoos
of memories
And dead skin on trial*
"Will you walk me to the well?"
Inu Yasha just tenderly grabbed her hand, and led her to the well that had connected them. Kagome turned to the hanyou, and suddenly all of the times she had yelled at him flashed past. All the times she had 'sat' him came back, sending her on a forlorn guilt trip. She choked on her words.
"I-I'm sor-rry… I should have treated you better, Inu Yasha… If I had just—"
Inu Yasha just shook his head slightly, placing a rough finger on Kagome's rosy lips.
"It was worth it."
*For
what it's worth
It was worth all the while*
His voice.
His warm skin.
His haori.
Kagome broke down, throwing herself into Inu Yasha's arms.
"Oh… Inu Yasha… I wish I didn't have to go…"
Her body was racked with sobs, all her words choked on.
"Shhh…"
Inu Yasha tilted her face up with a hand cupping her chin. Kagome looked into his amber eyes, and the tears that were threatening to fall. She knew she was the one that had to be strong, now. She couldn't depend on the dog hanyou to get her out of this one. She raised a wavering thumb, wiping the tears from his eye.
"Oh, Inu Yasha. You've always been there. Thank you."
With that, Kagome claimed Inu Yasha's lips in a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and pressed her shivering body against his warm one.
*It's something unpredictable*
Kagome reached to her heart, and the skin glowed light pink. The Shikon no Tama fell into her waiting palm, and then she pressed it into Inu Yasha's.
"Make the wish, Inu Yasha. You deserve it."
*But in the end is right*
Inu Yasha's words were choked out, his voice hoarse in Kagome's ears.
"But…"
Kagome smiled shakily.
"You made everything I did worth it, Inu Yasha."
The girl stepped onto the rim of the well, and raised her hand to Inu Yasha's face in a final farewell. Then, backpack slung over her shoulder, raven hair fluttering, and midnight eyes glistening, Kagome fell backwards into the well. Her voice floated back up to a sobbing Inu Yasha in her last words.
"I had the time of my life."
*I hope you had the time of your life*
