Parting by Nyaliss

Parting

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha; although, I'm thinking about getting a big white

dog and calling it Fluffy-chan.

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. . . war . . .

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I never really understood the heartache of being left behind.

The end did not come on a storm ravaged day. It did not step out of the

shadows to glow in a savage night. There was no thunder except for the

desperate rythm of my heart and the uneven stacatto of my blood rushing

to my head and roaring in my ears. There were no flashy displays of

magic, no bright lights suddenly swallowed by darkness to warn us of what

had already begun.

There was only peace on a beautiful day made in paradise.

The sky gleamed sapphire in the unforgiving radiance of the sun, its

flawless surface marred here and there by tufts of white spun from a

child's dream of cotton candy. The wind blew soft and sweet, whispering

promises of gentle nights and long summer days. The world seemed desperately

determined to make the colors brighter and the cool shades of gray warmer.

In that breathless moment before reality exploded into brutal, calculated

destruction, there existed perfection.

I should have known better. Perfection was only for the gods and they did

not tolerate it well when we mere mortals were exposed to it.

Somehow, I had envisioned this final battle differently. I always thought

I would be standing shoulder to shoulder with those leading the initial charge.

I thought this culmination of years of work, sweat, blood and tears would end

in moments stretched over eternity. In my mind, the warriors standing against

and with our foe were few. I had not expected, I had not dreamed, that I

would be gazing out at an ocean of weapons raised against our enemy and a

fortress of shields raised in my defense.

I thought I would be next to him as we waited for the end to begin. I thought

he would warn me to stay close and to remain out of harm's way. I imagined

his golden eyes would warm and he would raise a clawed hand to tenderly caress

my cheek, a silent promise to protect me.

Reality is very different from imagination.

I felt a butterfly's touch on my cheek and I jerked out of my reverie to gaze

in flustered surprise into a pair of amber eyes. We stared at each other for

several breathless seconds before a rueful smile touched his lips, curving one

corner up higher than the other. There was understanding there, in his face,

that I had not expected. I wanted to grab onto him and bury my face in his

chest and weep, but I didn't. Now wasn't the time. He watched me silently,

his expression unreadable.

"Inuyasha. . ." I began helplessly, only to trail off when I could not find

the words.

He raised a hand and dropped it on top of my head. I realized, in that instant,

how much older he truly was. He acted like any boy from my era of cars and fast

food, but there were decades of death and blood behind the mask.

"Don't worry too much," he told me, his voice gruff.

I blinked at him, uncomprehending. Did he not understand the gravity of the

situation? Did he not know what would happen? Did he not know what was at stake?

"Kagome," he had dropped his hand back to his side and was now directing one of

the most earnest looks I had ever seen on his face at me. "He'll come back to you,"

he said softly. "That bastard's too stubborn to die."

I did not respond. I could not. I nodded, numbly, and again when he said he

needed to go look for Miroku. I watched him go, the bright red of his clothing

disappearing from my line of sight.

We had a plan. It was a bit muddled in my mind, drowned beneath the waves of

emotions roiling through me. I knew there was a reason I had to stay and wait,

why I couldn't be part of the initial charge. I just did not understand.

There was a very big differene between battles involving several people and a

war in which thousands of lives could be lost. I felt myself shudder despite

the warmth of the sun. I wanted to scream. I wanted to tell them to stop.

Was it worth it?

I felt our part of the Shikon no Tama pulse around my neck.

Why did it have to be the lesser of two evils?

I was still pondering that question when the army began to move.

I saw a flutter of white silk in the midst of all the gray armor. It vanished

only to reappear inches from my face, draped around an elegant arm. That arm

was raised now, long graceful fingers ending in deadly claws. I didn't flinch

as those claws came towards me, though I knew it would take a simple, efortless

twist of his fingertips to break my fragile human neck.

He tugged me towards him in one swift, possessive move. I tumbled and fell

into his arms, unresisting.

I had so many things I wished to say.

Please. Please stay. Wrap your arms around me and never let me go. Tell

me that everything's going to be alright even though both you and I know the

world could end in seconds.

"You will stay out of sight," he told me. There was no uncertainty in his

beautiful voice that his command would not be followed.

Be careful

My throat ached with all the things I could not say. My eyes burned with

all the tears I could not shed. I nodded, staring at his chest where my hands

rested grasping fistfuls of silk.

His hand slid to the small of my back.

"I will come for you when it is time," he told me.

I raised my eyes to look at him, my heart stuttering at the emotion in his eyes.

He dipped his head, bringing his lips inches from my own. I felt his breath

whisper against my mouth and felt all thoughts fly out of my head. My world

narrowed to that brief, breathless eternity. No one else existed.

"Kagome." It was an achingly tender promise of what would be.

I offered him a gentle smile of understanding and framed his face between my

hands, amazed at what I was doing. I closed the gap between our lips and felt

the powerful Taiyoukai of the Western Lands sink into the kiss. He gathered

my softness into the hard planes of his chest, cradling me so I would not fall

now that my legs had forgotten it was their job to support me.

He lifted his head, paused when my lashes lifted to reveal the slightly dazed

look in my eyes and then swooped down to place one last sweetly chaste kiss

on my lips.

"Sesshoumaru," I whispered when he slowly released me so I could find my land

legs again.

He watched me, waiting.

I fidgeted, unsure of what to say.

He moved away and I knew he would be gone in the next second.

"I'll be waiting," I finally managed to get out.

He turned to look at me over his shoulder and my breath caught at my throat at

the revelation of how expressive his eyes could be just before he blurred out

of sight.

Please. . . Come for me soon.

-End-

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Author's Notes:

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Me again! *gasp*

I was thinking about the Kagome/Sesshoumaru relationship in the Quagmire timeline and I just, well,

decided I'd write a little blurb about it. I mean, it's nice and all to see how Sesshoumaru interacts with

a a chibi Kagome but it never hurt anyone to have them kiss. Besides, it just might have resucitated

my muse!

*hee's* It was either that or the brownies. . .

Now that I got that out of my system, I should probably go do something productive.

I wonder what. . .

-01 April 2005-