Author's Note: Since yesterday was Canada Day, I was dragged downtown to partake in celebrations with an obscenely huge crowd. Then this morning I was out looking for a job and La Tour de France was on, so my updating is a tad later that normal. Oh well, what can one do! Sorry for the wait. Please keep reviewing, so I know if this story is ok or not. :P
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.
Bread Crumbs
Chapter 8: The Last Slice of Pie
The rain slammed against his face. He was drench with water as the storm continued on, showing no signs of breaking up soon. He couldn't feel anything though, not until he could get home, and see what was wrong. Shippo's breathless newsflash ran over and over again in his head. He could get it out, all he could do was run faster, and hope that he reached Kikyo on time.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled from somewhere behind him. Inuyasha didn't pay any attention to her. It hadn't quiet registered that she had followed him out of the storm and was struggling to keep up with his fast pace. She continued to scream his name in confusion. He was almost there.
"It's Kikyo… I think she's dying."
Finally he arrived at the shack that for the past five days had been his home. He burst into the cabin, breathless from the energy he had exerted to get here. Kikyo lay in a dry corner, wrapped up tightly with blankets. The fire had been put out, a hole in the roof allowed rain to drip through. He went in closer. More inspection showed him that she was shaking violently. Kikyo was coughing much worse than he remembered. It was a sickly sort of wheezing. He went to her, kneeling down beside her.
"Kikyo…" he whispered. "I'm here." Her head turned toward him. It was possibly the first time he had ever felt true fear. A trickle of blood ran from her mouth, down her chin. In a gesture of comfort he put a hand to her forehead. To his horror, it was covered in sweat and burning with heat.
"What happened?" he asked in confusion. He was so confused. This morning she had only been coughing, and had finally asked him to get her some medicine. She didn't seem any worse. Now Kikyo was staring straight at him. He saw fear in her eyes. After a few moments of searching, he found her hand and held it tightly. Kikyo opened her mouth, attempting to talk, but the talking and the blood made in near impossible. Anger rose within him, answering the confusion he felt.
"I found her outside and hour ago." Shippo explained quietly, taking a seat on the opposite side of Inuyasha. "It had started to rain, so I came back. She wasn't in the cabin, so I went out to look for her. I found her near that stream. She must have collapsed or something because she couldn't pick herself up. I brought her in here and wrapped her up with the blankets before I went to get you. She wasn't this bad when I left though."
Inuyasha digested the words while removing the hair that had fallen in Kikyo's face. She must have fallen or something before it started raining, and then got caught in the storm. What had she been doing outside though?
"We have to get her to a hospital!" Kagome yelled, seeing the chaos that lay before her. She had arrive behind the two guys, and was possibly more perplexed that either of them. She had recoiled in horror at the sight of Kikyo on the floor and stood a few steps back.
At the mention of the word 'hospital' Kikyo's eyes widened in terror. She shook her head, of her own will, and grasped Inuyasha's hand tightly. He understood immediately.
"No!" he yelled. "We can't go to the hospital; we can take care of her ourselves." There was no way he was talking her there. Not after last time. "You have to be strong Kikyo; you can't just leave like this."
"I…" she was trying to speak. Inuyasha put a hand over her mouth, motioning for her to be quiet, to conserve her energy. The shaking was slowing down.
"We have to get her to a doctor!" Kagome was yelling. What was with him? Couldn't he see that she needed professional help? "What do you think you can do for her here?" Shippo had grabbed Kikyo's other hand, trying to be helpful.
"I…I…" More blood, more thunder, more lightening. It was nightmarish; the fear could have physically manifested itself if it had gotten any greater.
"Shh…" Inuyasha soothed, wiping the blood from her chin with his sleeve. He could tell though, that it was too late. The shaking was slowing down, her eyes were unfocused and slightly glazed over. When she wasn't coughing, her breath came heavily and laboured. A wave of emotion rose up in his chest. He couldn't cry. He couldn't show her that he was weak, he need to be strong for her. He tried to smile, but it was harder than he thought.
"It…doe…sn't…hurt" she rasped. "I'm…ju…st…scar…ed." It was evident.
"I love you Kikyo."
"I…lo…ve…you…too…In…uya…sha"
The shaking finally stopped. He realized now that her hand was ice cold. A new was a fear splashed over him. She tried to smile up at him. It was a sorry sight. Kikyo's face was the colour of chalk, save for the thin line of blood trailing down her chin. Her eyes turned milky, and the laboured breathing stopped. He froze. This was too fast! She couldn't be gone!
"Kikyo?" he said in disbelief. No response, only silence. "Kikyo? He said again. Her grip on his hand was slack. He couldn't believe it. After all they had been though together, it was going to end like this? It was so sudden, so unexpected. What the hell ways this anyways?
"Why did I go to work today?" he asked mournfully to no one in particular. "She was so much worse this morning. I should have stayed home." Tears welled up behind his eyes. He would not cry! Crying was weak; she wouldn't have wanted him to cry. "When it started to rain, I told myself I should have gone home, just to check on her. How come I didn't?" he was yelling now. "What just happened!" he berated himself, blaming himself. If only's and what if's danced around in his mind, teasing him.
Suddenly he felt warm hands on his shoulders. It was now that he realized how cold and wet he was himself. His hair and clothes were soaked through fro the downpour they had ran here in.
"Stop blaming yourself." Kagome whispered into his ear. "It couldn't possibly be your fault." It wasn't fair of him to blame himself. She was confused but she understood that whatever had happened wasn't his fault. Silently she wondered who the dead woman was. She had been close to Inuyasha, from his reaction, perhaps she was his girlfriend or something.
He swatted her hands away, not wanting her words of comfort.
Shippo had let go of Kikyo's hand. It was kind of morbid to be touching a dead person in his mind. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, his emotion running freer than Inuyasha's. He stood now, a few feet away. "What are we going to do?" he asked. "What are we going to do?" He paced back and forth, his wet sneakers squishing on the wooden floor. She had been so nice at breakfast this morning. In her eyes, he saw something that he hadn't seen for years; love.
Kagome went to Shippo. She wrapped her arms around him, and was welcomed by him. In his ear she told him comforting words, trying to disguise her own fears and insecurities.
It was like that for a long while.
Finally, Inuyasha closed the eyes of his wife. He used to sleeve of his still wet shirt to clean her face. Then the thunder stopped and the sound of rain grew quieter and quieter until only silence reigned.
Kagome stopped running her hands through Shippo's hair. They were both kneeling on the ground, holding each other, eyes red from tears. She turned to see Inuyasha standing at the door. In his arms lay Kikyo, whom he carried bridal-style.
"Inuyasha…" both she and Shippo stared at him. He turned towards some of the life gone out of his eyes.
"What do we do now Kagome?" he asked, voice dead.
End of Part I
Author's Note: So since this is the end of Part I, the next update will probably be a day or two away. I'm taking a tiny little break of a day. Also, I'm going to summer school starting next week, so update's are going to be a little slower after this week. I apologize now. Hope you enjoyed Part I of 'Bread Crumbs' and stick around for Part II. Please review!
