Denial
A slight breeze rustled the branches overhead as Kagome slowly came to terms with what had just come to pass.
'He's.gone.'
"No!" She slammed her fists sharply against the ground. "He can't be gone.He just can't be!" But even through her tear-obscured vision, the young girl could still make out Inuyasha's lifeless form, mocking her from a distance, telling her that her denial would not change what had happened. Her silent tears soon escalated into sobbing cries of agony that echoed throughout the entire forest, piercing the hearts of her companions as they cautiously approached the distressed young woman. As Sango and Miroku sadly glanced at one another, silently asking the other what they should do, Shippou, noticing his friends' uncertainty, stepped forward and gently climbed into Kagome's lap. The downcast miko embraced the young kitsune in her arms as her endless tear soon began to dampen his soft, red fur.
"Oh, Shippou.He's dead...He's dead and it's all my fault."
The young fox cub snuggled closer to Kagome as he desperately tried to fight back his own grief. 'I can't cry. I have to be strong, for Kagome, for Inuyasha.'
"Oh, Kagome don't blame yourself." Shippou whispered in a slightly cracked voice. "It's not your fault." Sango knelt down beside her friend with tear streaming down her face as she helped the girl to her feet.
"He's right Kagome. Inuyasha died fighting. He died protecting the one he loved. He would have...wanted it this way." The young miko collapsed into the exterminator's arms with a heart-wrenching sob as she was led away from her love's lifeless body with Shippou following closely behind. After watching the two women slowly return to their encampment, Miroku solemnly knelt beside his fallen comrade's motionless body, folding his hand across his chest in traditional style, as he closed his eyes and bowed his head in preparation for performing Inuyasha's last rights.
'No matter how much you tried to deny it,' the young monk thought sadly as he finished his prayer. 'You truly were human.' This realization reined true even in death for even after the first rays of dawn gently fell upon Inuyasha's motionless being, he still retained his human form.
The entire group silently agreed that returning to Kaede's village would probably be the best course of action. Before placing their dead friend's motionless body on Kirara's back, they carefully wrapped him in several blankets so that if by chance a demon saw them as they flew by, they would have no clue of what had happened. Even Miroku began to cry at this action for covering Inuyasha's face seemed to be the final thing that wrote his death in stone, making it an absolute fact. Sango and the others kept a close eye on Kagome throughout their entire trip back to the village. The young girl's gaze never left her lost love's body as she unconsciously clutched the Tetsusaiga closer to her body. Sango sighed sadly and desperately fought back the tears brought forth from the scene before her as Kirara gently touched down outside Kaede's hut. The old miko along with several villagers walked cheerfully up to the group in order to greet them but at seeing the large bundle placed on Kirara's back and the group's diminished numbers they soon realized what had come to pass. Tears fell down Kaede's aged face as she suddenly turned to several of the men around her and whispered several hushed commands, sending them off with mixed looks of confusion and sorrow etched on their faces.
Later that day, after much hard work and hasty preparation, Inuyasha's body was gently placed inside a simple wooden coffin that rested beside a large hole dug directly in front of the Go-Shinboku[1] tree. The red haori he had always worn had been carefully removed from the hanyou's unmoving form and replaced with a simple black kimono. Pictures of the group and other tokens of love and appreciation were placed along side the body by the few people that did attend the funeral. When he approached the coffin, Miroku gently wove the prayer beads that once adorned his left hand in and out of his friend's cold lifeless fingers. After Naraku had been defeated and the young monk could then call upon the Wind Tunnel at will, he had kept the beads as a small memento of all the things the group had been through and it only seemed fitting that the young hanyou received them. As he rose to his feet he cast one last glance into the box that now held the seemingly sleeping youth.
"Good-bye, my friend."
After the young monk had finished paying his respects, Kaede slowly stepped forward, smiling sadly as she reached into the coffin and ran an old gnarled finger across the sacred binding spell beads she had placed around the young man's neck so long ago. "I think 'tis time ye had these removed, my dear Inuyasha." She closed her eyes and lightly muttered several incomprehensible words under her breath. A fierce wind began to blow around the mourners as the small beads slowly took on a soft, golden glow. As the elderly priestess uttered the last of her incantation, the individual jewels suddenly flew into the air where the reattached themselves to form the subduing necklace they had once been. With a shaking hand and tear-obscured vision, Kaede reached up and removed the now useless artifact from its stationary position in the air, letting out a suppressed sigh as she did so. A small, sad smile marred her lips as she looked back into the coffin.
"Rest well young warrior. May ye's soul finally find the peace and contentment that life never granted ye."
The old miko slowly made her way over to Kagome, who had remained silent and unmoving throughout the entire ceremony. Her normally cheerful, chocolate brown eyes seemed to be slightly glazed over as she solemnly stared into the space in front of her, unconsciously running her hands over the Tetsusaiga's blood stained hilt. The young girl did not so much as finch as Kaede gently pressed the newly formed necklace into the palm of her hand and carefully closed her fingers around it.
"Child, 'tis time for ye to say good-bye."
A clap of thunder bellowed loudly in the back round as several bolts of lightning flitted through the dark clouds over head. Kagome shivered slightly and unconsciously tightened her grip around the beads as she took several tentative steps forward before collapsing to her knees beside the coffin, tears streaming down her face and her shoulders shaking with uncontrollable sobs.
"I..Inu..yasha..I don't want to...I can't do this..I can't..live.without you..here.with me..." The young girl hesitantly reached into the coffin and cupped her love's pale, cold face in her hands as she slowly lowered her head into the box so that only a few centimeters separated them. Several silvery tears slid down Kagome's cheeks, escaping through tightly shut eyes and falling softly onto Inuyasha's face as she closed the spaces between them and lightly kissed unmoving hanyou upon his lips.
"Good-bye my love...my Inuyasha."
Another flash of lightning lit up the sky, closely followed by a deafening thunder clap, as the young miko solemnly backed away from her ebony haired lover. Torrential rain began to fall upon the small group, droplets of water weaving their way in and out of the tears that they shed, as the coffin's lid was securely nailed into place, carefully lowered into the ground and gently covered with earth. Sango and Miroku were about to make their way back toward the village, but at seeing that Kagome was making no move to follow, they gently took her by the arms and carefully guided her toward their destination. Shippou was about to follow suit, but after seeing that he was the only soul left at the gravesite, he decided to stay a moment longer. Droplets of water fell in a constant dream from the kitsune's soaked red fur as he slowly reached into his worn tan vest and pulled out a small cluster of beautiful orange tiger lilies, which he gently placed on the newly formed burial mound in front of him.
"Inuyasha...after Father died, you and Kagome..were all I had left in the world...But now that you're..gone, I feel like I'm losing part of my family again, like I'm losing my big brother." Shippou paused momentarily as he bowed his head, tilting it slightly away from the grave as he tightly squeezing his eyes shut in a desperate attempt to keep his tears from falling.
"No." He shook his head lightly. "I'm not going to cry. I've gotta be strong..like you were."
Lightning once again flashed through the sky, seemingly signaling the rain to fall harder upon the morose youth as he finally regained his composure, lifting his head to gaze once more upon the grave in front of him with a new found determination burning in his eyes.
"I promise you that I will do everything I can to keep Kagome and the others safe. It's the least I can do after everything that you have done for me." The young kitsune took a step forward, placing a small furred hand on the grave marker, as he softly whispered, " Rest well, Aniki[2]."
Later that night, as the storm raged outside, the melancholy young group sat in complete silence within the confines of Kaede's hut. The small fire located in the center of the room crackled merrily in the back round, seemingly mocking the mourning people that it provided warmth for. Surprisingly it was Sango who decided to destroy the silent barrier erected around them.
"From being a slayer, I have killed many a demon with out thought or remorse...But today...was the first time that.." She let the statement hang in the air as she lowered her gaze to her lap where Kirara was resting peacefully. Miroku nodded sadly as he let out a small, cracked sigh. "Inuyasha...was one of the most honorable people I have ever had the privilege of meeting. Even after all the torment he was subjected to he still remained hope full and strong." The young monk paused slightly as he cast a depressing glance toward the middle of his left hand. The only sign that the Wind Tunnel still remained was a small, circular scar on his palm. "Though defeating Naraku did not rid me of my curse completely, it did stop it from spreading and allowed me to open and close it at will. Thanks to Inuyasha I now have a hope for my future, something I never thought was possible. I only wish that I had had the chance to repay him."
At hearing this, Kagome suddenly rose to her feet and walked unsteadily toward the pair on the other side of the hut. She quickly took hold of their hands and forced them together, gently entwining their fingers, making both the monk and the exterminator blush violently. Seeing that her work was done, Kagome grinned half heartedly at her comrades before rising to her feet and quickly heading towards the door. Miroku quickly snapped out of his embarrassment and called out to the young miko, making her stop hesitantly at the door frame. "Lady Kagome, wait!" He cast an uncertain glance at Sango before continuing. "Why?"
Kagome did not turn around to answer but let out a small, cracked sigh as she answered back in a tear filled voice. "It's what he told me to do...just before he died." Her shoulders began to shake slightly as she made another move to leave, but Miroku called out once more, stopping her in her tracks.
"But wait! Where are you going?"
She didn't answer right away, but then suddenly turned back around with a smile on her face that held only sorrow as tears began to well up in her eyes and slowly stream down her cheeks.
"Home."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NOTES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [1]Go-Shinboku AKA: the god tree, the only Inu. Was originally pinned to.
[2] Aniki means something like "older brother" in Japanese
Also just FYI Naraku has been defeated. Miroku can still use his Wind Tunnel but there's no longer the threat of it sucking him up and it will no longer be passed on. He can also open and close it by will. Just thought u'd like 2 know.
Hey I just wanted 2 give a special thanx 2 all those who reviewed:
K8 (thanx 4 pointing out my time priorities) Sakura(introduced me 2 a new saying) STARFIRE01 (gave me a new idea 4 another fic) Naomi, Reina Lee, Ofelia, Jessica, animegirl, shiina147, darkangel, Ayumi Alice (AKA: the spell check chick) Velvetblood (also gave me another great idea)
Thanx again 4 all ur encouraging words and stuff like that and ill try 2 get the next chappie up as soon as possible. If u have any questions/comments email me at bubblegirlbob43@hotmail.com than again.
Ja Ne!
A slight breeze rustled the branches overhead as Kagome slowly came to terms with what had just come to pass.
'He's.gone.'
"No!" She slammed her fists sharply against the ground. "He can't be gone.He just can't be!" But even through her tear-obscured vision, the young girl could still make out Inuyasha's lifeless form, mocking her from a distance, telling her that her denial would not change what had happened. Her silent tears soon escalated into sobbing cries of agony that echoed throughout the entire forest, piercing the hearts of her companions as they cautiously approached the distressed young woman. As Sango and Miroku sadly glanced at one another, silently asking the other what they should do, Shippou, noticing his friends' uncertainty, stepped forward and gently climbed into Kagome's lap. The downcast miko embraced the young kitsune in her arms as her endless tear soon began to dampen his soft, red fur.
"Oh, Shippou.He's dead...He's dead and it's all my fault."
The young fox cub snuggled closer to Kagome as he desperately tried to fight back his own grief. 'I can't cry. I have to be strong, for Kagome, for Inuyasha.'
"Oh, Kagome don't blame yourself." Shippou whispered in a slightly cracked voice. "It's not your fault." Sango knelt down beside her friend with tear streaming down her face as she helped the girl to her feet.
"He's right Kagome. Inuyasha died fighting. He died protecting the one he loved. He would have...wanted it this way." The young miko collapsed into the exterminator's arms with a heart-wrenching sob as she was led away from her love's lifeless body with Shippou following closely behind. After watching the two women slowly return to their encampment, Miroku solemnly knelt beside his fallen comrade's motionless body, folding his hand across his chest in traditional style, as he closed his eyes and bowed his head in preparation for performing Inuyasha's last rights.
'No matter how much you tried to deny it,' the young monk thought sadly as he finished his prayer. 'You truly were human.' This realization reined true even in death for even after the first rays of dawn gently fell upon Inuyasha's motionless being, he still retained his human form.
The entire group silently agreed that returning to Kaede's village would probably be the best course of action. Before placing their dead friend's motionless body on Kirara's back, they carefully wrapped him in several blankets so that if by chance a demon saw them as they flew by, they would have no clue of what had happened. Even Miroku began to cry at this action for covering Inuyasha's face seemed to be the final thing that wrote his death in stone, making it an absolute fact. Sango and the others kept a close eye on Kagome throughout their entire trip back to the village. The young girl's gaze never left her lost love's body as she unconsciously clutched the Tetsusaiga closer to her body. Sango sighed sadly and desperately fought back the tears brought forth from the scene before her as Kirara gently touched down outside Kaede's hut. The old miko along with several villagers walked cheerfully up to the group in order to greet them but at seeing the large bundle placed on Kirara's back and the group's diminished numbers they soon realized what had come to pass. Tears fell down Kaede's aged face as she suddenly turned to several of the men around her and whispered several hushed commands, sending them off with mixed looks of confusion and sorrow etched on their faces.
Later that day, after much hard work and hasty preparation, Inuyasha's body was gently placed inside a simple wooden coffin that rested beside a large hole dug directly in front of the Go-Shinboku[1] tree. The red haori he had always worn had been carefully removed from the hanyou's unmoving form and replaced with a simple black kimono. Pictures of the group and other tokens of love and appreciation were placed along side the body by the few people that did attend the funeral. When he approached the coffin, Miroku gently wove the prayer beads that once adorned his left hand in and out of his friend's cold lifeless fingers. After Naraku had been defeated and the young monk could then call upon the Wind Tunnel at will, he had kept the beads as a small memento of all the things the group had been through and it only seemed fitting that the young hanyou received them. As he rose to his feet he cast one last glance into the box that now held the seemingly sleeping youth.
"Good-bye, my friend."
After the young monk had finished paying his respects, Kaede slowly stepped forward, smiling sadly as she reached into the coffin and ran an old gnarled finger across the sacred binding spell beads she had placed around the young man's neck so long ago. "I think 'tis time ye had these removed, my dear Inuyasha." She closed her eyes and lightly muttered several incomprehensible words under her breath. A fierce wind began to blow around the mourners as the small beads slowly took on a soft, golden glow. As the elderly priestess uttered the last of her incantation, the individual jewels suddenly flew into the air where the reattached themselves to form the subduing necklace they had once been. With a shaking hand and tear-obscured vision, Kaede reached up and removed the now useless artifact from its stationary position in the air, letting out a suppressed sigh as she did so. A small, sad smile marred her lips as she looked back into the coffin.
"Rest well young warrior. May ye's soul finally find the peace and contentment that life never granted ye."
The old miko slowly made her way over to Kagome, who had remained silent and unmoving throughout the entire ceremony. Her normally cheerful, chocolate brown eyes seemed to be slightly glazed over as she solemnly stared into the space in front of her, unconsciously running her hands over the Tetsusaiga's blood stained hilt. The young girl did not so much as finch as Kaede gently pressed the newly formed necklace into the palm of her hand and carefully closed her fingers around it.
"Child, 'tis time for ye to say good-bye."
A clap of thunder bellowed loudly in the back round as several bolts of lightning flitted through the dark clouds over head. Kagome shivered slightly and unconsciously tightened her grip around the beads as she took several tentative steps forward before collapsing to her knees beside the coffin, tears streaming down her face and her shoulders shaking with uncontrollable sobs.
"I..Inu..yasha..I don't want to...I can't do this..I can't..live.without you..here.with me..." The young girl hesitantly reached into the coffin and cupped her love's pale, cold face in her hands as she slowly lowered her head into the box so that only a few centimeters separated them. Several silvery tears slid down Kagome's cheeks, escaping through tightly shut eyes and falling softly onto Inuyasha's face as she closed the spaces between them and lightly kissed unmoving hanyou upon his lips.
"Good-bye my love...my Inuyasha."
Another flash of lightning lit up the sky, closely followed by a deafening thunder clap, as the young miko solemnly backed away from her ebony haired lover. Torrential rain began to fall upon the small group, droplets of water weaving their way in and out of the tears that they shed, as the coffin's lid was securely nailed into place, carefully lowered into the ground and gently covered with earth. Sango and Miroku were about to make their way back toward the village, but at seeing that Kagome was making no move to follow, they gently took her by the arms and carefully guided her toward their destination. Shippou was about to follow suit, but after seeing that he was the only soul left at the gravesite, he decided to stay a moment longer. Droplets of water fell in a constant dream from the kitsune's soaked red fur as he slowly reached into his worn tan vest and pulled out a small cluster of beautiful orange tiger lilies, which he gently placed on the newly formed burial mound in front of him.
"Inuyasha...after Father died, you and Kagome..were all I had left in the world...But now that you're..gone, I feel like I'm losing part of my family again, like I'm losing my big brother." Shippou paused momentarily as he bowed his head, tilting it slightly away from the grave as he tightly squeezing his eyes shut in a desperate attempt to keep his tears from falling.
"No." He shook his head lightly. "I'm not going to cry. I've gotta be strong..like you were."
Lightning once again flashed through the sky, seemingly signaling the rain to fall harder upon the morose youth as he finally regained his composure, lifting his head to gaze once more upon the grave in front of him with a new found determination burning in his eyes.
"I promise you that I will do everything I can to keep Kagome and the others safe. It's the least I can do after everything that you have done for me." The young kitsune took a step forward, placing a small furred hand on the grave marker, as he softly whispered, " Rest well, Aniki[2]."
Later that night, as the storm raged outside, the melancholy young group sat in complete silence within the confines of Kaede's hut. The small fire located in the center of the room crackled merrily in the back round, seemingly mocking the mourning people that it provided warmth for. Surprisingly it was Sango who decided to destroy the silent barrier erected around them.
"From being a slayer, I have killed many a demon with out thought or remorse...But today...was the first time that.." She let the statement hang in the air as she lowered her gaze to her lap where Kirara was resting peacefully. Miroku nodded sadly as he let out a small, cracked sigh. "Inuyasha...was one of the most honorable people I have ever had the privilege of meeting. Even after all the torment he was subjected to he still remained hope full and strong." The young monk paused slightly as he cast a depressing glance toward the middle of his left hand. The only sign that the Wind Tunnel still remained was a small, circular scar on his palm. "Though defeating Naraku did not rid me of my curse completely, it did stop it from spreading and allowed me to open and close it at will. Thanks to Inuyasha I now have a hope for my future, something I never thought was possible. I only wish that I had had the chance to repay him."
At hearing this, Kagome suddenly rose to her feet and walked unsteadily toward the pair on the other side of the hut. She quickly took hold of their hands and forced them together, gently entwining their fingers, making both the monk and the exterminator blush violently. Seeing that her work was done, Kagome grinned half heartedly at her comrades before rising to her feet and quickly heading towards the door. Miroku quickly snapped out of his embarrassment and called out to the young miko, making her stop hesitantly at the door frame. "Lady Kagome, wait!" He cast an uncertain glance at Sango before continuing. "Why?"
Kagome did not turn around to answer but let out a small, cracked sigh as she answered back in a tear filled voice. "It's what he told me to do...just before he died." Her shoulders began to shake slightly as she made another move to leave, but Miroku called out once more, stopping her in her tracks.
"But wait! Where are you going?"
She didn't answer right away, but then suddenly turned back around with a smile on her face that held only sorrow as tears began to well up in her eyes and slowly stream down her cheeks.
"Home."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NOTES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [1]Go-Shinboku AKA: the god tree, the only Inu. Was originally pinned to.
[2] Aniki means something like "older brother" in Japanese
Also just FYI Naraku has been defeated. Miroku can still use his Wind Tunnel but there's no longer the threat of it sucking him up and it will no longer be passed on. He can also open and close it by will. Just thought u'd like 2 know.
Hey I just wanted 2 give a special thanx 2 all those who reviewed:
K8 (thanx 4 pointing out my time priorities) Sakura(introduced me 2 a new saying) STARFIRE01 (gave me a new idea 4 another fic) Naomi, Reina Lee, Ofelia, Jessica, animegirl, shiina147, darkangel, Ayumi Alice (AKA: the spell check chick) Velvetblood (also gave me another great idea)
Thanx again 4 all ur encouraging words and stuff like that and ill try 2 get the next chappie up as soon as possible. If u have any questions/comments email me at bubblegirlbob43@hotmail.com than again.
Ja Ne!