Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or anything applying to it
Saying GoodbyePale blue skies reigned overhead. The sun blazed down, showering the earth with it ultraviolet rays. Drifting clouds lagged and hovered in the sky, lazily moving, you could barely see their translations. Birds in the sky, carefree, nothing terrible to worry for. Demons... even the most horrible seemed to be taking this day off... Maybe even them noticed that this day was perfect, and so, knew that their destruction would ruin it all. Thus, decided to take a break, to reside in their own homes and save their chaos for another day. Trees rustled, some of their leaves breaking off and flying with the wind, going wherever destiny would take them. Wind chimes in the trees sang beautifully, their music filling the air. No doubt the chimes had been put out by villagers from Kaede's village. Today was perfect. No chaos... no worries... The ideal day to just kick back and relax.
Near the village, was a forest. In this particular forest, there was a well not to far off, but it could easily be pushed aside. The old well was covered in vines, almost blending in with its forest surroundings. Near the well... Only a few yards off, stood a girl. A young maiden really. Her locks raven hair reached down to her mid back, almost reaching her waist. It was normally very bouncy, lively, and circled the girl's angelic face. But today it seemed... dead... It was dull, and looked so flimsy and wispy in the wind. It seemed to be barely hanging on, though, on most days, it would be bouncing up and down with each step the girl took, giving the girl a happy appearance. But now... the girl was no longer the same... The teen's face... it was so... sad? Indeed, her normally happy face was downcast, and seemed strained. It was a little pale, and drained of its color. The girl's large brown eyes, which normally held a blazing fire, seemed doused... as if no life resided there. They seemed glazed over as they continued to dart their gaze to various places, anywhere but ahead of them. Her eyes seemed to be holding back something... tears perhaps? Yes, that was for sure... They were holding back tears, but not only that. You could tell by her appearance she was not happy, but her eyes... they told you the emotions she kept inside... The pain... suffering... the girl wanted to say something... something important. At least to her anyway... They held such a longing, a hidden desire. Though this youth wouldn't say anything... she couldn't... All this time she'd kept her feelings to herself... she couldn't say it now... She couldn't say it... he'd never understand...
The girl wore a green sailor school uniform. She didn't even feel the clothes on her, making her feel naked.... The long sleeves were just like the wind to her. Her knee long skirt was just dancing in the wind. She felt so... alone... Her gaze which at first was on the ground, slowly looked up, only to see... only to see the hanyou... the hanyou that she had come to... Wait. What was the ending to that sentence? No way... she hadn't... wait... yes... yes she had... she admitted it... Though not to him... he wouldn't understand... He'd just laugh and say how stupid she was... How she was just an idiotic human girl with foolish emotions... And besides... he didn't feel that way... he never would... at least, not to her. She emitted a small sigh, and took in his rather handsome features.
He had a strong solid built, lean and lithe, rippling with unseen muscles, his kimino hid all that well. Under his red baggy kimino you wouldn't guess that he very strong, the kimino was flimsy and thin, though, it was made of a special demon's skin, it wasn't just ordinary cloth. No, it was like a suit of armor... He was... He was like the girl's knight in shining armor... or... the hanyou in a kimino... His golden eyes refused to look at the girl as they darted around, looking at the ground. His rotund dog-ears twitched, listening to the world around him, making sure nothing could sneak up behind them. They were alert, as they always were, moving around listening to even the chimes in the trees. His silvery white hair flew in a graceful dance as the wind blew, twisting and turning, going down a little longer then his waist. His face was tense, alert, the vacant look on his face told you he was thinking, concentrating hard on something. It seemed like he was trying to form something to say, but, it was like his mouth had stopped working. His pale lips were in a tight line, and the fangs that stuck out were almost about to cut him and start a small flow of blood.
A sword was at his side, hanging on his belt securely, it looked old and beaten... but if only you could see its power... His clawed hands were balled into light fists, clenching and unclenching in a steady rhythm. And around his neck... was a necklace. Not an ordinary one... a set of prayer beads... one of the only things that could control this beast... this necklace and that girl... with just one word...
The girl looked up at the boy. Three years... three long years. Together, they had started the journey of finding the scared jewel shards. The Shikon no Tama. And now... after all their hard work... it was finished. The jewel was complete... and Naraku was defeated. But who knew... maybe one day the baboon would come back... only to cause the hanyou more pain... and the girl as well. The girl shivered at the thought of the demon... Naraku... she hated him with a burning passion... she hated him for all he had done to her Inu-... Wait? Her? Since when was he hers? She had no right to call him that... He didn't love her... He wasn't hers to claim... No... he wasn't... and there was nothing she could do about that.
She looked down at a clenched fist, opening it slowly, only to reveal the dreaded jewel... complete. It was complete, not a shard missing. It was in a perfect circular sphere... And that meant... her job was done... she was... she was no longer needed. So, she had best get this over with, and fast... before... before it became too much to bare... it was already hard enough. She gave the jewel one last look, giving a small smile... she gave it a silent farewell and looked to the hanyou, taking a step forward. She could feel tears begging to come out... But no... She wouldn't cry... especially in front of him... she would show she was strong... she would be strong... if not for herself... then for him... For him, she'd be strong. She put on a serious face, and held out the jewel, "Inuyasha... Here, the jewel, it's complete and now... you can use it to become the full demon you wanted to be."
The boy, he just looked at her, what was in his eyes... You couldn't tell... they were indecipherable, too complicated to explain. He looked down at the jewel. He tried to move... but he couldn't... he could move at all... He couldn't say anything... No matter how hard he tried... he was such a coward, he couldn't even meet the girl's gaze...
The girl, noticing that he wasn't going to do anything, gave the smallest sigh... not one of relief, but one of remorse... of pain... of... of all the things that she kept inside of her... the small sigh let out a bit of the pain inside, and with that, released, she felt some new reborn courage... She took another step closer, and slowly, took his hand, opening it gently and placed the jewel inside of it. She closed his palm gently and gave it a small squeeze, slowly she took two steps back. After giving a small bow she looked back up at him... 'Well... this is it... C'mon Kagome, you can do this! Leave with a bang... well... at least a smile...' She thought to herself. And indeed, she couldn't leave with a 'bang', but a smile... she could manage. Straining her tense and sad muscles, she gave the boy a smile, using her best grin... Though, she still looked so sad... not even the girl's bright smile could fix her depressed apparel.
She blinked, and her smile faltered. Slowly taking another step forward, she outstretched her arms, as if to hug the boy in front of her, but no. Instead she simply placed her hands on the necklace that bound him. Raising it above his head, she released him. She set him free. She looked down at the prayer beads and gave a small and sad smile. She walked off a little, placing the necklace on a tree, blinking slowly she said in a tired and quiet tone, caring and soothing, "Kaede said prayer beads like this have a protective power... so I think it's okay if we leave this here, this tree will be protected that way..."
The girl, Kagome, turned around again to look at the hanyou with a serious expression, "Inuyasha..." She said, her voice low but held a sweet melody, "You are now free, so... let me be free too, okay?" With that... she took off, running towards the well... running towards home... her friends... her family... her normal life... the one she always wanted... but running away... from Inuyasha...
The wind rustled his silver hair as his golden eyes watched Kagome leave. The half-demon stood, slightly shocked. All this... it happened so fast... With his palm open he looked down at the Shikon no Tama. It was complete, with it, he could become the full demon he had waited to be for three years... and longer... how he had waited for this sweet and bliss moment... Now, it had finally come... Not only that, but, he was free. No longer did he have the cursed necklace around his neck, it was gone! He was free!... No more would he have to listen to Kagome's shouts... No longer would he have to deal with the human girl... No longer would he have to live with Kagome... No longer would he be able to hear her voice... Her rants, complaints, her "Sit Boy!"... No longer... She was gone... She wouldn't come back now.... She couldn't....
His hand holding the jewel securely, he whispered harshly, "Damn." He just let her walk away. Well, it wasn't like he cared for her, heck, he didn't need her. He was glad she was gone... Or was he? A pain tinged at his heart, a pain he had never felt before... Or had he? He had felt that same feeling when Kouga took Kagome away... The same feeling that he got when she was in trouble... He had also felt this when their feuds ended with Kagome going back to her own time... ended with him... wanting to see her again... just to make sure she was okay... to make sure... she was safe... This same feeling... he even got when... when she had almost died when Sesshomaru attacked them, and every time that Naraku had attacked them, trying to end both their lives... he had even felt this when she saved him... saved him when he had almost turned into a full demon... she had saved him from himself... She had saved him... Yes, he had felt this before. This pain in his heart, the ache he felt, it was because of her, it was because, she had taken over a part of his heart... She had restored his heart... Made him whole again. Given him back something he never thought he could feel again. Now, part of his heart belonged to her, and all this time, all these three years, she had taken over more and more space inside of him.
And as much as he wouldn't admit it... he enjoyed her company... their rants, their fights... And also... maybe he'd never say it... but... he felt like he had to protect her... she was his responsibility... It was his duty... no, his privilege to protect her. Something that he did... someone... he could protect... care for, watch over... She was that person... he always had to make sure she was okay... that she was safe, so he could sleep... so he could feel relaxed and at peace... only when he knew she was okay was he able to be happy... He needed to know... He needed to know she was okay... at all times. But now she wanted to be free... not tied down to him... she didn't want him... she didn't want him to watch over her... She wanted to be free to roam where she will... Without him... Without InuYasha...
He bit his lip, drawing blood. He denied it for so long... denied how he felt... But was it possible? For him, InuYasha, a hanyou, to love a human? He had loved a human once, the praised priestess, Kikyo, but she had loved him, knowing he was a half demon. But Kagome? She saw past that, she looked past the fact that he was a half-breed, and looked deeper. She loved him, for him, not as the half-demon or the half-human. But for him. As InuYasha, she loved him the way he was. She didn't try to change him into a full human like Kikyo, she liked him the way he was. Kagome had even... even said that she would let him become a full demon... as long as he never forgot her... As long as he kept her in his mind... Did she even have to ask?... She was always on his mind... Always... She didn't care what form he had... as long... as he remembered her... Her... Kagome...
His face to the ground, the hanyou blinked, what was he thinking? Kagome? Love him? Yeah right. Licking the blood away from his lips, InuYasha looked up, just in time to see Kagome nearing the well. There was still time. He could still keep her from leaving. As he tried to take a step forward he stopped, his feet reacting to his thoughts... Why should he try to stop her? It was obvious to him that she just wanted to live her life like a normal teenage girl. She didn't want anything to do with him... She didn't want to be here... She had never wanted to... Especially because of him, he had ruin everything... She just wanted to live a normal life. And if he stopped her now, she'd never get that wish... InuYasha sighed, what reason did he have that was good enough for her to stay? Raising his head he began to run at full speed, trying to reach Kagome before it was to late... only she was on his mind... Nothing else... to everything else... he was oblivious... and he didn't care... Inuyasha had now realized something... He had a reason, and that reason was good enough for him... even if the rest of the world didn't think so, because their opinion didn't matter... to hell with them all... He held his reason in his heart... Contradicting himself for not seeing it before... For being so blind... His reason... His reason was because...
...He loved her...The End
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