Disclaimer: This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied.
You Can't Leave
Grandpa tottered towards his room, leaning heavily on his daughter-in-law. Anxiously, Souta glanced at Inuyasha. The hanyo looked crushed: ears flat, shamed, horrified, despairing. He whipped his head away. "I—shouldn't have come," he mumbled, releasing the chair back and taking an uncertain step away. "I'll go." He swayed a little.
Eyes wide, appalled, at how fragile his once-hero suddenly seemed, Souta hurried to Inuyasha's side. "You can't go!" Daringly, he touched the gnarled hand not clinging to Tessaiga. "Sit back down! It's not your fault!"
"But, I—I should have known. Didn't think—to you, she's—gone. Only days. Didn't mean, to make it worse. I—I should go."
"You can't!" Sota felt horrified at the very idea. "Yes, it hurts to know Sis is gone, but it's been hurting since she left—Grandpa's just been trying to deny it, Mama said that just last week! You haven't seen him! Even though it hurts, to think she's dead, we still want to know! You said she was happy! Well, you have to tell us why she was happy! What she did, what her kids—if she had them—were like. What you and she did together. You have to tell us about her friends, and the people she knew, and helped—you can't leave us, Inu-no-ji-chan, you just can't!"
Inuyasha stared at him, trembling ears slowly rising. And then, with Souta's help, he sat down, tears leaking down his face.
He accepted Souta's hug.
Author's Note: This was written for the LiveJournal community Issekiwa, for the prompt 'Crush.' It was originally published on May 12, 2011. It took first place.