I do not own Inuyasha, or Goblin: the Lonely and Great God
~Obon~
Look for the Sakura
Sesshomaru fell to his knees, the hard and jarring against his sore bones. He gasped in pain as he dropped Bakusaiga, watching as Narkau melted into a pile of sizzling tar. The poltergeist had put up more of a fight dead, than when he had back during the search for the Jewel in the Feudal Era. Coughing, he spat up blood that made its way past his lips. This was it.
The sword had been pulled from his chest. Now he was to die here. Broken and undignified.
If it didn't hurt to make noises, he would have scoffed.
"Sesshomaru!"
The goblin looked up to see Kagome rush toward her, panic set in her face. Inuyasha, the grim reaper version of his brother, followed closely behind. His ears were flattened against the top of his head and his gold eyes widened in disbelief. One hand hid in the leather of his coat pockets, while the other held the baseball cap for his other-worldly duties.
"Sesshomaru, look at me, we have to get you to a hospital," the girl supported his shoulders as he slumped forward.
"Woman," he shook his head, bangs scratching against his eyes. "You know what this means. No hospital can help this Sesshomaru now."
"No, there has to be some way," she insisted, her hands flying to his cheeks. Her fingers almost recoiled at how frozen he was to the touch. "Just because I pulled that stupid sword…you can't…it's not fair…"
His brow lifted, and he shook his head weakly. "Woman, several hundred years from the past has not changed how I dislike idle chatter." A growl escaped from his mouth as his hand flew to his chest where the gaping hole pulsed. "You've pulled my curse from me. This is my end."
"No, no it's not fair," Kagome whispered, her hands shaking.
"Hey Sesshomaru, what happens when I pull the sword from your chest?"
Hn. This one will transform into a broom, hehe.
"Jeez, old man. Had I known that one little beer would've gotten drunk, I would have told Mr. Grim Reaper to not take you out tonight."
This Sesshomaru is hardly inebriated.
"Hm…if you turn into a broom, why don't I pull the sword from your chest at first snowfall? We'll need one then."
…that is acceptable.
"I thought you would turn into a broom," she muttered weakly, the pad of her thumb sweeping gently over his cheekbone.
The goblin shook his head. "This one will become a beautiful broom."
"This isn't funny," she whispered. "I can't bring you back. I can't stop this. I'm just the Shikon Miko who can't stop you from dying."
"Hn…" his vision was blurring and his thoughts slurred together. "The Shikon Miko…was destined to be the goblin's bride. You gave him much happiness in this life of his."
"You didn't grant my three wishes, you have to stay."
"You know very well woman, this Sesshomaru takes orders from no one."
"Please, old man," her endearment died on her tongue and a sob came out instead. "I didn't think I could but I lo…I love…"
He rested his forehead on hers, his white hair mixing with the black locks of her bangs. Ragged breaths came from him as he inhaled and exhaled. She held his face closer, trying to bring him as close as she could to him. Reiki brushed up against the fragile remains of his youki and he found it almost comforting. The small sizzles of the two contradicting powers soothed and relaxed him.
"You, have never been one to fall short of words," he whispered. "Do not do so now."
A firework, the first of many, shot into the sky. It blared out the words that moved when her lips did. But he allowed his generally solemn expression to melt into a small quirk of the corners of his mouth. His right hand found hers, and stroked the arch between her pointer finger and her palm. She trembled as his golden eyes found hers. "So do I," he murmured, responding to the words hidden by the fire cracker's boom.
More began to shoot into the sky, festive music heard from down below the roof top of their building. The world seemed so indifferent to his passing. Then again it always had been, since the moment he had become cursed.
"You should partake in the obon festival," he inhaled, "such sorrow does not befit you."
"How can you talk about me going to the celebration when you're here, bleeding out and dying?" she demanded, her voice cracking with disbelief.
"I would hardly say I'm bleeding out. When you pulled the sword out there was hardly any blood."
She squeaked in protest. In her mind, she could not believe that this was the last thing he would be talking about.
The goblin almost laughed and smile at her reaction, she had always been one for drama. But a surge of again sent rails of agony into his system. He grunted, his left arm burning as it began to turn to his telltale wisps of lavender power. Except this time, he was not controlling it. His clock was ticking.
"The sakura blossoms," Sesshomaru said, his voice low and rumbling.
Kagome clung to his hand tighter, eyes watering as she tried to understand his statement. "What?"
He gave an amused chuckle and sat back on his heels with the last bits of his remaining strength. His still tangible hand tightened its grip on hers, trying to remember the feeling of her warmth. This last little bit of peace, he wanted to remember it through his punishment.
"This Sesshomaru will return as the sakura blossoms," he sighed, the pain lacing from his arms up into his shoulders. "After the storms have rained and scattered the petals. This Sesshomaru will come as the winds that makes the sakura dance in the sky."
Tears slid down the girl's cheeks.
"I will command and demand the deity until it is so."
"You can't just leave," she pressed, his grip was failing and she brought his clawed fingers to her lips, kissing the knuckles. "I'd just discovered that you weren't such a horrible jerk. And that you're selective about when you use your royal 'we'. Please I want to spend more time with you learning those things."
His eyes softened while his lips remained drawn in their almost straight line. "Wait for the sakura to bloom, and you will find those times with this one."
Sesshomaru could feel his heart squeezing, he had only a few moments left.
She continued to talk to him, her words flying faster than he could catch. As a daiyokai, he had always prided himself on his keen senses. Even more so when he became the cursed goblin. However, now as his hearing and his sensation of touch died away, he felt more than content to watch her. The way the fireworks seemed to dye her hair and skin in radiant colors, and he tried to recall why his younger self had despised humanity. In front of him, the human woman dazzled—her teardrops in the colorful light looked like opals while her bloodstained hands looked as if they had been dipped in liquid ruby and amber.
"Kagome."
Her attention snapped to him, and her eyes widened. "You…you said my name. But you promised you would ne—"
The goblin smiled, taking in a deep breath, scenting her and the night around her. "Look for the sakura."
Kagome watched in horror as his body disappeared, leaving only thin tendrils of lilac and lavender smoke. She had only blinked. It hadn't even been a second's worth of time she passed. One moment, the proud goblin had been there, sitting in pain before her, the sword of his own on the ground beside him. Now, the only proof that he had been there was his blood on her hands that had come from when she had pulled the sword from her chest. A wail escaped as her throat felt raw—she didn't even remember processing that she wanted to make the sound. She cried out, turning this way and that, trying to look for him.
"You jerk! I had just started to care for you! You can't leave!"
Inuyasha stepped forward, placing the baseball cap on his head. Black streams of his powers surged around in the air as he went and rested his hand on her shoulder. She shook and sobbed, her body not in control. Helping her up, he gripped her despite the way she struggled.
"Oi, wench," he insisted, embracing her. "I think tonight is the perfect night for him to go."
Her eyes looked up at him in betrayal.
"It's obon, so he won't get lost. Other's will be able to guide him," he said, he patted the top of her head slowly. "Come on."
Without waiting for her, he transported them to the street below. He guided her through the traffic of colorful kimonos and yukatas, his golden gaze determined. Not a single noise came from her as she followed him numbly.
They stopped at the small stream that ran behind Sesshomaru's and his home. She collapsed at the bank, her eyes watching the moving water helplessly. He left her there for a moment before returning with the lanterns they had all been making that morning. By now the city's fireworks were a dull throbbing in the night sky, the bright colors no longer vibrant—just far away.
The three lanterns seemed hugged in the tiny brook. But they began to float anyways, their little wooden platforms bobbing up and down. He gave Kagome a small smile, and she looked up at him weakly.
Together they released the lanterns and watched them sail away out of their reach.
A/N: so this story set of drabbles are modular, meaning they don't happen in a linear timeline. I thought that would be kinda fun for this sort of project.
For those of you who have seen Goblin, you know what scene this is *ugly sobbing*
Takk fyrir lovelies, and happy day two of Sesskag week!
