Never Let Go
A/N: A friend of mine's brother was in a car accident and a 16 year old girl in the car died. Luckily he survived and the others too. So let's pray that we are all safe and that we cherish life no matter how hard it is.
Disclaimer: Don't own it. DUH! Plot is mine.
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She had told me something once…something I didn't need to know. And as I watched her fall the promise I made with her fell too…
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"Inuyasha, if I fall you'll catch me right?" She smiled beautifully. So pure and innocent. I nodded back with a stupid grin on my face. She made me teach her how to rollerblade. She was so scared at first. "Of course I will. She stood up wobbling on her wheely shoes. "You promise?" I grinned and she held out her pinky to me. I beckoned her to come closer to reach my outstretched one. Like a baby learning to walk, she took shaky steps towards me. "Promise." Our pinkies linked up, but she started to fall. I pulled her in, but I was wearing rollerblades too. I fell holding her. "I caught you didn't I?" She blushed and nodded.
That promise only seemed like a childish agreement at the time…as time went on though…
"I'm sorry Inuyasha…I can't make it today either." I could hear her voice cracking. At the time I wondered if she broke up with her boyfriend, but later I realised she didn't even have one. I went out with her step sister, Kikyo. They looked the same. Kagome was like a little sister to me. How stupid I was. I ignored her cracking voice and her brimming eyes. I ignored everything she had to offer…I even ignored…
"Inuyasha…I love you." She stuttered. "I love you too." Her eyes lit up like the stars every night, but it quickly disappeared. All that was left was a black hole devoid of any emotions. The pain in her voice…I didn't notice it. "You're like my little sister…here comes Kikyo." She told me she was going to the bathroom yet she didn't come back…
"Inuyasha do you know what's wrong with Kagome?" Kikyo the love of my life, how could anything be wrong when you're around? "I have no idea, but yesterday she went to the bathroom, but she never came back." Kikyo told me Kagome had stopped eating. She heard sobbing in the night and in the morning….
"KAGOME!"
Kikyo asked me to go talk to her. I busted the door down and she was unconscious sitting in her chair. Her hair covered her tearstained face, so I didn't see that either. Trickling from her wrists to her fingertips and on to the carpet was a mix of fresh and dry blood. I carried her down the stairs and past my crying Kikyo. In the car I heard her mumble something. "I love you" and tears skid down her face like a tap of ever flowing water cutting her face with harsh cold. How could someone be this broken to cry in their sleep? If I ever the person who did this, I'd slit their throats…if only I knew…
"Inuyasha…" She spoke weakly her wrists covered in scarlet bandages. I gave her a weak smile. I began walking to her in the bed when she stopped me, her voice sounding hoarse. "Inuyasha can you get me paper and pen?" Why I wondered. Her wrists, they were hurt. Nevertheless I complied. As I sat and watched her move her hand fluidly across the page, I decided not to interrogate her. When she began writing her nose twitched and she rubbed violently at her eyes. "Does it hurt? I'll go get the nurse..."
"No. Just stay here ok?" She paused, but I noticed her voice quiver. "If it hurts, just cry ok? Inuyasha nii-chan is here." She only cried harder. Her shoulders shook with so much force and she yelled with so much pain. Hahahaha…I was so stupid…
The person who made her cry must have been pretty special. I wish she cried for me. No! Crying only meant pain and pain was the thing I wanted least for her have to. "Inuyasha can you drive me to the cliff…I want to get some fresh air…dad use to take me there…Don't worry! I'm not gonna jump off or anything!"
What I didn't know was…that was where I'd break my promise to her…
So in her hospital attire I drove her, I drove her. Her voice pleaded with such strained tears it was the least I could do. As we arrived at our destination she pulled out the piece of paper she had been writing on at the hospital and handed it to me. And for the first time in a long time she smiled. "Please give this to the one I love. Oh and don't peak -. Promise?" She held out her pinky again and I linked mine with hers without a second thought. At that time I thought she meant Kikyo…her only family.
She asked me to wait in the car while she breathed. She stood at the very edge and I became worried, unconsciously shifting in my seat from side to side. I got out of the car and closed the door as quietly as I could. But she still heard and as if she knew I was about to say something…
"You know that story you told me once? The Ugly Duckling?" She asked out of the blue her back towards me. I answered 'yeah'.
"And the ugly duckling becomes a beautiful swan and everyone loves the swan at the end?" Once again I answered with a simple 'yeah'.
"Well that ugly duckling is me." I stared at her back confused. What was she trying to say? "I'm sorry." What? "What are you sorry for!"
She turned her head to the side slowly. The moonlight bounced off the side of her face and the tears I tried so hard to ignore were once again revealed. Her lips quivered as they curled into a sad smile.
"Not everyone loves the swan…and it's the end of the story." And I watched her fall with my feet paralysed. By the time I reacted it was already…too late. Even when she fell…I couldn't catch her.
"Inuyasha, if I fall you'll catch me right?" She smiled beautifully. I nodded back with a stupid grin on my face. "Of course I will. She stood up wobbling on her wheely shoes. "You promise?" I grinned and she held out her pinky to me. "Promise." Our pinkies linked.
Three years later I'm standing here smoking my cigarette, choking on the smoke as tears roll down my cheeks. She should've been 21 today and I laughed bitterly. This…is the same spot…the same place…I saw her last. Long black hair and tired swollen eyes that burned with agony. I took another long puff from the cigarette and choked on another set of tears. Today my tears are caused by regret and pain like every other year.
With the letter she gave me the day she died I gently opened it. I've read this every year since she's left. Only once a year…on the 24th of July. "How can I read this letter you wrote so cruelly? How can I read something you wrote with so much pain that when I read it, the words play in my head over and over again everyday for another year!" I cried out loudly into oblivion.
I looked at the letter and examined every detail on it. It was a sketch of her and I rollerblading. Though she made me look like a king and her like a beast.
"The Beauty and the Beast."
I laughed. That's what she meant all along….except I was the horrible beast all along who broke her will. I am the horrible beast who stands here waiting for forgiveness I know I'll never receive.
And on the back were three words I had never expected to read…three words she wrote so desperately to force me to notice something…
"I hate you."
"I'm never gonna let go, Kagome. Till maybe one day you can forgive my stupidity. I'll NEVER LET GO! I'll…never…let go…"
THE END!
- I tried writing an Inuyasha one this time. But I don't have time to do a full on story so I just did a one-shot. Written while studying for yearly exams. Thanks for reading!