Disclaimer: InuYasha & Final Act are all owned by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Viz Media & Madmen Entertainment.

SessKag Week 2023 Day 5 – Sadness

Word prompt: Rain

Scenario 1: Bonding over shared grief

Scenario 2: Character A stumbles on character B while they're crying

Chapter Five

Light flashed moments before thunder rumbled across the sky. Cold raindrops soaked into her hair as she ran as fast and as far as she could away from the village. Hot tears pooled in her eyes as she tripped over a root. Cursing, she shut her eyes, hands out as the ground came swiftly toward her.

Silk brushed against her fingers, hands wrapped around her waist, saving her from a painful landing. Pine filled her senses, forcing out the bite of ozone and mud. Tears slipped past her closed lids, fingers gripping the damp silk, anchoring her to reality.

"I couldn't help him." The devastation in her voice summoning more tears. "I only made things worse." Clawed hands slipped around her waist and up her back, pulling her closer to his heated chest. A hiccup escaped her parted lips as her knees threatened to give out.

"You saved his life." His whispered words comforted her little.

"Would you be grateful in his shoes?" She scoffed. His silence was answer enough. They both knew how Inuyasha would react, now that he was fully human. All his life he had only wanted to be full youkai. When he had given up on using the Shikon no Tama to reach that end, Kagome had been eternally relieved. Seeing him happy in his own skin was better than any wish. And she'd ruined it.

When she forced her way to Miroku and Sango's hut, Inuyasha was at death's door. There was little any of them could do, but she refused to sit back and watch her best friend die. Her reiki had fought off her curse on its own, so she assumed she could direct it to do the same for him.

She never expected her reiki to purify his youkai blood.

She had hoped that it was temporary, just as his human night was temporary. But Miroku could find no youki within him. During the new moon, when his youki lay dormant, there was still a trace of it. There was still hope he would return to his silver-haired glory. Their hope shattered just like their friendship would upon his waking.

"Once the anger subsides…" Startled, she looked up, faces a hair's breath away from each other. "I would be grateful for the continued existence." Her breath caught, eyes searching for any lie within his golden depths. She knew better; lying was beneath him.

"But…" Her heart clenched, the full consequence of what she had condemned their group to suffer rearing its ugly head. Now human, Inuyasha would die in a few short decades, like any human, unless illness claimed him first. He would die, just like she would, like Sango, Miroku, and… like Rin.

They would leave him and Shippou all alone.

Gripping his arms tighter, Kagome didn't bother to fight the fresh round of tears that spilled down her cheeks. She had taken the last of Sesshoumaru's family from him, yet here he was, consoling her.

"Why?" she croaked out, a claw tipped thumb brushing away the bulk of her tears.

"Because I know the pain you're feeling." She hadn't expected him to answer. Hadn't expected him to share something so personal with her. She knew he cared for Rin, but she never expected him to be preparing for the inevitable. Preparing himself for the eventual pain of her loss.

"I've only made things worse." He shifted, resting his chin atop her head. Surrounded by his scent, his heat as she was… At any other time would have been a dream come true. "I took…" Breath hitched as her body quaked with sobs. "The only one who…" Hands gripped the silk tighter, pushing past the anguish in her heart. "Wouldn't leave you alone."

That was the heart of her pain. Shippou was young. By the time he graduated from his kitsune school, he would be old enough to want to venture on his own. Even if she had lived long enough to see the man he would become, he would still leave her side. It was the way of children. Sesshoumaru was different.

He might very well have a family she didn't know about. It was entirely possible with how little they saw each other. His life beyond his visits to the village and their shared past was a mystery to her. Even Rin kept her lips sealed when it came to the secrets of the daiyoukai. Yet, Kagome couldn't shake the fear she had doomed him to a lonely existence.

She didn't expect Inuyasha ever to be his best friend; not with their volatile past. They may have gotten more understanding over the years and even gotten to the point they could stay in the village together, but there would always be the underlying hurt between them. She did hope that when Inuyasha's small human pack succumbed to the passing of time, he would turn to his brother for aid.

Now that hope was shattered.

The chest beneath her face rumbled, a growl she could only feel soothing her. She should be the one to comfort him, but she couldn't bring herself to pull away. Perhaps she could pretend that caring for another, as he did so frequently with Rin, soothed him just as his embrace soothed her.