The ebony haired youth clutched the nearby banister for support as the disease that had haunted him for so long seemed to reach out a clawed hand and crush his heart. His breath seemed to come in rasps, low and hollow in his throat. He raised his head to face the light that poured in from the window above the stairs, his eyes narrowing at the intruding intensity.

"I… I think I'll have a bath now…" he whispered to the familiar figure in the shadows behind him. He felt a warm arm take hold of him under his shoulders, and begin to help him up the stairs.

Why does she force herself to stay here with me in this house, force herself to stay by my side…?

"You just sit down here and relax while I run the hot water." Came the voice of Kagome next to him. She gave his upper arm a reassuring squeeze before rushing off to prepare. Her yellow summer dress danced after her as she walked and he saw her glance backwards over her shoulder at him down the hall.

His face… what is that look? He looks so utterly sad, so alone, almost. Don't be afraid, InuYasha… you will never be alone, I will always be here… The sound of the water splashing against the bottom of the bathtub returned her to reality. She watched the clear, pure water slowly fill the tub nearly to the brim before she turned the taps off. She sighed, and got off her stool to fetch InuYasha. He was still sitting patiently in the chair where she had left him ten minutes ago.

"The bath's ready for you now, just get in when you're ready, I'm just going to get a drink. I won't be long, I promise."

InuYasha looked up, his eyes barely having time to focus on her form before she left him again. He slowly pushed himself off the chair, one hand pressed against the wall for support, and he set off towards the open bathroom door.

Kagome took a sip from her glass, and sank deeper onto the stool that stood before the bathtub. She was used to watching over him while he bathed, it was something she had to become accustomed to these days; she had to be there incase anything happened to him.

She looked at his face, that look still present as he stared out of the window positioned high up the wall. He blinked, once, very slowly. As if it took him every ounce of his remaining strength to do so.

"Ka… Kagome, what… what do you see, when you look at me now?" He shifted his head round to look up at her where she sat.

Kagome looked into her drink, thinking. "I see… everything that has made my life complete. I see all the missing jigsaw pieces that I ever needed." She looked up from her drink to meet his gaze before she continued. "I see my best friend, I see my lover. I see," she paused. "I see the most wonderful person I have ever met. I see you." His face broke into a weak smile at these words.

"Knowing that, Kagome, gives me the strength to keep trying, to keep fighting. Even though I… Even though I know the end is near." He turned his face away from her.

Kagome reached out and slid her arm into the already cold water and retrieved his hand. She placed a kiss on his knuckles, "I love you."

Please don't, Kagome… I will only break your heart…

"I think I've had enough… I think I'm ready to get out now." He lifted his hands and pushed himself up with Kagome's help.

It's times like these… I see just how weak he has become… Not just physically but emotionally too… Thought Kagome as she dried him where he sat on their bed. He silently contemplated as he listened to the rhythmic timing of her breathing. She helped into a pair of jeans before InuYasha interrupted the silence.

"Tell me, Kagome. Tell me the story of how you met me, tell me that story… just once more…" asked InuYasha in a barely audible whisper as she pulled a crisp white shirt across his bare chest and began to button it up. A reminiscent smile played around her lips as she remembered that blessed day.

"I was in the car, on the way home. It was raining, and hardly anybody was out driving because it was so late." She paused momentarily. "And that's when I saw you. By the roadside, in a brown jacket and scruffy jeans. You were holding an old newspaper over your head for shelter from the wet. I felt so sorry for you, whoever you were, standing there alone and cold. So I offered you a lift." A glow had appeared in InuYasha's eyes that Kagome hadn't seen for so long.

"I remember that well," he interrupted, "this little old banger chugging up to me in the rain, and you wound down the window, with this wonderful smile on your face. And you asked me if I wanted a ride."

Kagome nodded in agreement, "And as it turned out, we were both heading to the same town, my town." Kagome had treasured that day deep in her heart, he had seemed an unlikely candidate at the time, with his unruly black locks and insolent eyes. But she couldn't help falling in love with him, it was just fate. That's why it was so horrible, just waiting for him to die.

"Lie here with me… Kagome," he said, with sorrowful eyes. She sat infront of him, lifted his arms over her head so they rested behind her back. He slowly lay down on the bed, sinking into the soft duvet, with Kagome resting on his chest. She closed her eyes and listened to his heart beating against the side of her face, she could almost feel his life ebbing away with every beat. She felt her eyes filling with tears and she tightened her grip on his shirt.

"I love you, Kagome. Don't ever forget that." He said, gently.

She looked up, only to see his eyelids close over his hazel eyes for the last time.

He was gone.