Breaking Faith by Aurora Antheia Raine

Cruelty

For The Lovely Miko's Weekly Quotes and Prompts Challenge.

Prompt: Heartbreak
Quote: Snowflakes are like kisses sent down from Heaven.

Higurashi Kagome held her fingertips up to her coral stained lips and blew her hot breath upon them as she shivered uncontrollably from the cold. The harsh winter wind lashed her long ebony hair across her dry cheeks while her eyes watered from being outside for so long. Still, she patiently waited for Kouga, her fairly eccentric boyfriend, to show up with the hot coffee he had promised her.

She didn’t understand the necessity. It would have tasted equally as good if he had simply brewed her a cup at home, even if it wasn’t her favorite brand. Then, they could have sat in front of his fireplace and cuddled the entire evening.

A sudden tremor quaked through her and she pulled her red peacoat tighter over her lithe frame. Just as she was covering the lower portion of her face with her plaid scarf, she heard his approaching footsteps. Kagome turned to look at him with her most displeased face, but her angry words died on her lips when she saw the gift box tucked beneath one arm and the cup of coffee in the other.

“What is that?”

“Your Christmas present,” he replied with a grin before handing it to her.

“I thought we agreed we weren’t exchanging presents this year,” Kagome whined with a slight pout, “because I really didn’t get you anything.”

“You did get me something though,” Kouga stated.

Furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, she thought back to the past few days before shaking her head slowly. “No… I didn’t.”

“Oh? I guess we’ll see,” he said mysteriously. “But, in the meantime, open your present.”

Curiously, Kagome weighed the box in her hand and frowned.

“It’s really light…,” she observed before shaking the box gently. Silence met her ears and her frown deepened. Slowly, she pulled the top off of the box and peered inside.

“What?” She exclaimed in surprise, sapphire eyes wide, “it’s empty!”

Her head snapped up to stare at him in confusion, but a gasp escaped her parted lips when a red velvet box revealing a sparkling solitaire engagement ring met her eyes.

Flashing her a lopsided smile, he placed the cup of coffee on the ground, got down on one knee; the cold immediately seeping into his jeans, and held the box up towards her.

“Kagome, we’ve been together for three years and I can’t even imagine a day without you in my life. You’re my woman. You’ll always be my woman and the best gift you could ever give me is you, all of you, forever. Will you marry me?”

Tears gathered in her eyes as she nodded fervently, her hand going limp in her surprise and the empty gift box dropped unceremoniously to the ground - forgotten.

“Yes,” she whispered, her voice cracking with emotion, “yes, I will.”

Releasing a relieved laugh, Kouga slipped the ring onto her finger before standing to embrace her tightly.

“Merry Christmas, baby,” he whispered into her hair.

“I love you,” Kagome answered back, tears of happiness trailing down her cheeks.

In response, Kouga eagerly claimed her lips while he cradled her cold face in the palm of his warm hands. She circled his neck with her arms and responded fervently to the way he plundered her mouth so thoroughly with teeth and tongue. Yet, before their kiss could deepen, Kagome pulled back in slight surprise when something cold and wet landed on the tip of her nose.

She looked up at the night sky in wonder before letting out a squeal of excitement when the first flurries of snow drifted towards the ground.

“It’s snowing!” Kagome exclaimed, tugging on Kouga’s sleeve insistently.

“I was once told that snowflakes are like kisses sent down from Heaven,” Kouga replied, placing his large hand over hers affectionately. “I guess this means we have Heaven’s approval.”

Kagome laughed, but her response was muffled by the abrupt sound of an explosion. Almost in slow motion, she saw Kouga placing a hand over his heart as his smile faded into an expression of utter shock. He was still for a moment before he fell forward onto his knees then crumpled to the ground, a puddle of blood pooling from beneath his motionless body.

Her scream of horror reverberated off the building walls as she collapsed beside him, tears streaking down her cheeks as she repeatedly shouted his name. Frantically, she searched her coat pockets with numb fingers for her phone, but a pair of strong hands grabbed her arms from behind and she was yanked away from Kouga’s deathly pale body.

Kagome struggled against the attacker with every ounce of strength she had, but his grip remained firm and strong. She clawed at his hands desperately with her long nails while she shrieked for him to let her go, but her demands were met with eerie silence. Her eyes locked onto Kouga’s lifeless body, now covered in a light dusting of snow, and a sob tore through her throat.

In that moment, she realized how cruel the world could be. She realized what heartbreak felt like. In an instant, the happiest moment of her life had turned into her worst nightmare. The visions she had held for the future became bleak as she watched the life draining out of the man she loved more than anything. Her entire world was slipping through her fingertips and the sharp stabs of pain in her heart numbed her entire body.

She cried for Kouga and for herself. She cried for her lost future and for the future unknown as the same hand that had dragged her down the street was now holding a piece of cloth tightly over her mouth and nose.

Then, everything went black.