The Mayu Flower
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from InuYasha.
Chapter 11: Healing of Souls
He barely paid attention to the time as it slipped by. Throughout the whole day he wandered to where ever his feet decided to carry him. The only thing on his mind was the constant battle to try and forget Kagome and Kikyou and everything that had happened. But it was a poor battle and his desire was losing. The sky turned from orange and navy to a light blue until the afternoon was left far behind. By the time InuYasha finally stopped and looked up to his surroundings, he found himself at the base of the Goshinboku once again. He cursed himself for letting his feet carry him to the one place he wanted to avoid. Despite this, he found no desire to leave the place at all. Perhaps it was the sight of the scar and dent on the trunk, both inflicted by him, or the natural indescribable connection of this tree and Kagome that caused a faint sense of peace on the hanyou's troubled mind. Whatever it was, he found himself jumping up onto one of the higher branches.
Sitting himself in a comfortable position, his golden eyes directed themselves to the distant sky. It was approximately five hours since noon, but it did not matter. The sun still shone with a mocking warmth and a few birds chirped songs in the distance. Grimacing, InuYasha continued to fight his thoughts, but eventually he fell subject to them.
'If I knew it would hurt this much to let go...I wish I had never seen Kagome's face. I wish I was still pinned to this tree with Kikyou's arrow. At least then I didn't have to dream or think or remember...' he thought sadly. Directing his eyes to another spot, he sighed. 'It's all my fault, but I was too much of an idiot to be more careful. I shouldn't have gone to see Kikyou that night. Then Kagome wouldn't have heard me wrong and thought that I thought she meant nothing to me. She wouldn't have run home and met that...kid...and she would be sitting here beside me right now...' He looked with sorrow at a bare spot on the branch as if wishing Kagome really was here sitting with him. Her scent calming his mind and her laughter bringing joy into his life. He even missed their bickering and fights. A clawed hand reached up and absent-mindedly touched the necklace of purple beads and white fangs still around his neck. Even the memory of being forced to collide into the ground made InuYasha crave the sound of Kagome's voice yelling the command. He sighed heavily. 'Kagome, I hope you're happy with that friend of yours. Even if it means I'll never see you again, at least you're happy.'
Lowering his hand, he continued to stare into the sky. 'I don't think I'll ever be able to forget her scent. It's almost as if she was still here...' After a moment, the scent still filled his noise. Suddenly a chill ran through his spine and he found himself darting his eyes towards the ground.
He felt his heart stop and his breath catch. Surely he was seeing things. Perhaps he had been running for too long and he was so tired that his mind had conjured up this image. Far below him at the base of the Goshinboku, a figure he thought he would never see again stood there, looking up at him with the brightest and most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. Her long black hair fell over her shoulders and onto her back and she still wore the white sweater and green skirt as she had the first time he had met her.
"Kagome..." he whispered. His entire body felt cold and suddenly he couldn't even feel the jewel shards in his hand.
She smiled up at him with warmth and love. "InuYasha..." she whispered back, but his sharp ears catch the words as they drifted up to him. Part of him wanted to run away, but part of him also wanted to rush down to her and embrace her so she would never leave him again. The wish tasted bitter to him and he revolted against the notion. Still, his mind remained silent as he got up from his seat and leaped down the tree. Landing without the slightest grunt, he stood not a meter away from the girl that had stolen his cold heart. She looked as beautiful as she ever did, in both his dreams and in reality. Her eyes shined with tears, but her expression said that they were tears of joy.
"K-Kagome?" he muttered and suddenly he forced himself to show an angry expression. "Kagome! I told you to go back to your time and never come back! How did you get back here?" he scolded loudly.
Still the miko's expression did not change from its warm smile. "InuYasha...I'm sorry I did it, but I had to," she said softly before opening her closed palm and revealing the jewel shard she had kept. InuYasha stared at it but then returned his gaze to her face. It was like he never wanted to look away, but then again he wanted to so much. She closed her hand again, cutting off the pink glow that radiated from the fragment.
He didn't know what to say. Why had she returned? He told her to never come back, he told her that he didn't care about her anymore. She had seemed like she believed him, but then why did she come back?
"InuYasha...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she said in the same calm voice. "I'm sorry for whatever happened between us and I don't care what it was. I'm...I'm just glad to be able to see you again..."
"Kagome..." he paused for a moment. "No! No, you can't stay here, Kagome! You have to go back to your time! Go back to Kinuto and just forget about this place! You don't belong here!" he insisted.
She smiled and sighed lightly. "Kinuto and I are just friends now, InuYasha. I thought I loved him, but something's happened and...and I understand now. He does too, he even told me to come back here...to you." InuYasha continued to stare at her, not comprehending what she was trying to say. "InuYasha..." she whispered before she lifted her hand to her neck. Tugging on a string, she pulled until the Mayu flower InuYasha had once bought came free. Holding it gently in her hands, she showed it to the hanyou while looking at him with shining eyes.
InuYasha stared at it, only then remembering how he had dropped it when Kagome had come back. He had completely forgotten about it, whether it had been his will or not. The flower inside it seemed so fresh and delicate, but in reality it was decades old. In InuYasha's eyes, it was as beautiful as the person who held it.
"InuYasha...I know what this means now..." Kagome said, her heart beginning to race with the affection that began rising to the surface. She took a few steps towards him. "You...you bought this for me didn't you? You wanted to give it to me, but I wouldn't let you...and when I saw you holding it, I didn't understand at first. But now I do..." She clasped the pendant in both hands and brought it to her heart. By this point she stood within arm's reach of the hanyou. "You once thanked me for shedding tears for you. At first I didn't completely understand how much that meant to you, but when you did the same thing for me...everything became clear."
InuYasha's heart felt ready to explode. They stood there for a moment and a warm breeze flowed between them. Finally, InuYasha reached out his arms and circled them around Kagome. She accepted him as the two fell into each other's warmth. Leaning her head on his shoulder and InuYasha laying his cheek on her head, he held her tightly, but gently. The longing he had felt for so many weeks finally came forth as the two shared this embrace.
"Kagome...I'm sorry," he whispered. Kagome's breath caught for a second, but then it melted away into a heart-breaking love that threatened to make her mind drift away in the warmth that surrounded her.
"InuYasha..." she whispered back.
The time had come. Slowly pulling away from one another, the hanyou and miko stared into each others eyes with such a deep affection as was never seen. They leaned closer together and their eyes slowly closed. Finally InuYasha's lips gently touched Kagome's lips in a long-desired kiss. It deepened slightly, but the warmth shared between them couldn't have been stronger. It was a simple kiss, but more precious than any pendant or tear-drop. Both felt as if their hearts were floating away and their spirits soaring higher than the clouds. Soon the two parted and once again stared into each other's eyes. Gold looking into chocolate brown and each wondering how the other's could be so beautiful. They pulled back into another embrace, the warm love between them stronger than ever.
"I love you, Kagome," InuYasha whispered into her hair, gently holding the girl he had loved for longer than he could even remember.
"I love you too, InuYasha," Kagome replied, closing her eyes and letting the warmth of the half-demon she had fallen in love with surround her.
Time slipped by the two without any regard of the affections that had finally been revealed between them. Still the warm breeze held out a little longer, caressing the both of them as the distant sun began to slip into the western horizon, its golden red arms of sunlight reaching out into the slightly darkening velvet blue sky. A single ray of light caught the glass pendant still clutched in Kagome's hand. The Mayu flower within it never looked so delicate and beautiful.
sniff- It's finally over! The last chapter finished and the wait is done. I just want to give a great big thank you to all of my fans as well as the reviews! I hope this story fulfilled my promise of a heart-breaking, but heart-tugging love. Thanks to everyone for being so amazingly supportive and I promise to never stop writing! Thank you once again and I hope you enjoyed reading this. Goodbye for now! D -Love, Stela
