A Love That Transcends Time: Book I

~*~Hey you guys!!! How have you all been? Sorry to have kept you waiting, but as you know my muse is torn right now because of the two stories I'm writing at the same time. And honestly, this one (ALTTT) really is making it very difficult. I know where the story's going, but it's still not easy finding the words to do this. *sigh* Anyway, on to the reviews!!! ^_^

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AND TO YOU READING THIS: Thanx for still reading my story, even if I don't update it that often anymore. *sobs* I hope you guys will stay around for the closing of this story! Oh by the way, paging my other faithful reviewers out there, I MISS YOU GUYS!!! Where are you all? Drop me a line again some time okay? Again, I hope you enjoy reading this one and the next few chappies left of this story. LOVE YA LOTS!!! MWAAH!!!~*~

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha... I share. ^_^


~*~Chapter 35—Farewells~*~

She let them fuss over her.

Inuyasha continued holding Kagome in his arms while Sango tore off someone’s clothes—probably Miroku’s robes—to use in bandaging her wounds.

But first they had to get the arrow out.

The monk moved in closer to the mates, worriedly looking at the wound and tried not to disclose its’ seriousness to them all.

Inuyasha growled low in his throat.

“Back off, Miroku! You’re not the one who’s going to treat her, and that’s final,”

“But I—“

“I said: BACK OFF!!!”

The last one was emitted in a snarl, and managed to make the monk gulp. He hastily took a step back to allow Sango to take his place.

And still Inuyasha didn’t stop growling.

“Will you stop that, Inuyasha? I’m trying to help Kagome-chan here, not harm her,”

Sango exclaimed, exasperated at the hanyou for not letting her come close.

Kagome managed to raise her hand and laid it on top of her mate’s. Then she gently squeezed to let him know that it was all right.

Inuyasha quit growling and nodded at Sango to begin.

Sango moved forward and inspected the arrow lodged in Kagome’s chest.

‘It’s bad. If something isn’t done soon—‘

She didn’t finish off that thought, and shook her head to erase it. She saw her friend looking back at her with sad and knowing eyes, but she smiled at Kagome to reassure her.

“This is going to hurt a lot, Kagome-chan,”

The taijiya said apologetically. The miko nodded in response.

“I know. I trust you, Sango-chan. Make it quick, onegai,”

Sango poised her hand over the arrow’s edge and met Inuyasha’s eyes with a nod to let him know she was ready. The hanyou nodded back, and gripped his mate more tightly.

Then she grasped the arrow and pulled.

Kagome felt the excruciating pain lance through her, and she bit down on her bottom lip hard to refrain from screaming. The tears that flowed freely down her cheeks and the blood on her lips were the only indication of her pain.

And then it was over.

The arrow was out, and Sango moved to clean the wound quickly and bind it.

Only, blood kept pouring out of Kagome’s chest no matter how hard Sango tried to stem the flow. Miroku almost lost his robes completely, because the blood only saturated the garments the taijiya used so she ripped off more. And more.

“Fuck, what’s taking you so long, Sango? You have to close the wound now!”

The hanyou was in a near-panic state, also drenched in his own mate’s blood. The metallic smell of it made him want to retch, and seeing it gushing profusely from Kagome’s chest hit him like a punch to the stomach.

‘Kagome won’t last long—‘

His panicked eyes met that of Sango’s.

“We have to get her to Kaede, Inuyasha. Now,”

Inuyasha moved to fly back to the village with his mate in his arms, but she held up her hand to stop him.

“No,”

Sango looked at her best friend, aghast.

“You don’t understand, Kagome-chan. Kaede-baachan will know what to do. We have to get you to her so she can treat your wound. It will be okay—“

Sango never finished that sentence as Kagome shook her head resignedly and sadly smiled.

“You cannot fool me, Sango-chan. I have seen and treated all of your wounds all through these years, and my experience tells me one thing about mine: It’s hopeless. It is too close to my heart,”

“No, Kagome-chan! We have to try; we can’t give up. Please,”

“And you still have at least some of Inuyasha’s healing powers, Kagome-sama. That wound will be closed in no time at all,”

Kagome turned her teary eyes to the monk who tried to comfort her.

“The person who shot me is not a normal person, Miroku-sama. And the technique she used wasn’t a normal one too. I think you know this as much as I do,”

“But—“

“Will you fucking stop it! Don’t talk like she’s going to fucking die, because she isn’t!”

Inuyasha looked down to his mate, an enraged and feverish look in his eyes.

“Hear me, Kanai? Don’t you dare try and die on me,”

Inuyasha demanded of Kagome. Sesshomaru just looked on.

At his words, the tears she tried to hold back fell. Because she knew she could not give him that promise.

She was going to die…


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~*~Kagome’s POV~*~


“We’re going back to the village now, Kagome. Just hold on,”

I heard my mate say and felt the balance shift as he poised for flight. A part of me wanted that, so that at least I can be with all of them and say all of my goodbyes, but I cannot.

My time is borrowed, limited. I had to make full use of the time still left to me.

So I gripped his hand more tightly to make him stop.

“No more, Inuyasha. Onegai. Let me say my goodbyes here,”

I pleaded with him, and looked deep into his eyes. The anguish I saw in Inuyasha’s eyes almost undid me.

“But you promised! Doesn’t that mean anything?”

I lowered my gaze, and cried silently. If only I could keep that promise. If only I could control my fatality. If only—

“Let her have her wish, Inuyasha,”

My head snapped back and met Sesshomaru’s eyes. I bowed my head in gratitude.

“Stay out of this, asshole!”

“Yamete kudasai! Please, Inuyasha. I will not last long,”

That seemed to convince him. He moved back to our original position, and he held me in front of him to make me able to see everyone.

“Thank you,”

I whispered to him and he nodded back, and stared straight ahead of him, not looking down at me. I could see he was fighting back his tears…

And that would always remain in my memory… even after death.

My ‘sister’ is now inconsolable. Miroku-sama held her close to him as he tried to keep his composure.

“Sango-chan, Miroku-sama,”

I held my hand out to them both, and Sango rushed to cover my hand with hers. Miroku-sama held back to give us some sort of privacy.

“Oh Kagome-chan,”

I heard her voice break. More tears appeared on my eyes, but I still smiled at her.

“We’ve come a long way haven’t we, sister?”

She cried harder as I called her that. She nodded her head and tried to smile back at me, but she failed miserably.

“I want you to know how grateful I am that I have you as my true friend. And more. You are the sister that I never had, Sango-chan. I hope you know that,”

Tears spilled down our joined hands faster.

“As you are mine, Kagome-chan. I could never imagine what my life would be now without you and the others with me,”

“Then promise me something. Promise me that you’ll never be afraid anymore to grasp whatever happiness comes your way, and take without guilt whatever you need, Sango-chan. You have sacrificed enough, suffered enough. It’s now time to make yourself happy,”

“But without you?”

“Yes, without me. And don’t doubt that you will be happy, Sango-chan. Even if I have to make the work myself from wherever I will be, you will be happy,”

I smiled a little, and then turned my gaze to the houshi who waited.

“Miroku-sama?”

He stepped forward, proud and composed in bearing. Then he put his hand on top of ours, and I felt the sadness he was feeling.

“I have never met a finer man than you, Miroku-sama. I am so glad to have had you in my life. Not just as a friend, but also as the oniisan I never had. Together with Shippo and Inuyasha, you have become my second family,”

“And I have never met, nor will ever meet, a true miko inside and out other than you, Kagome-sama. You make us proud,”

“Arigato. Will you… promise me a few things?”

He nodded at me, his eyes bright with telltale wetness.

“Please take care of Sango-chan for me. Find happiness in each other. You both deserve it, more than anyone else,”

He placed his other hand upon his heart.

“I will, Kagome-sama,”

“And Shippo-chan too, onegai. He is still too young, and without me…”

My voice broke as I remembered the still small kitsune-cub waiting for us—waiting for me to come back.

‘Hontou ni, gomen nasai, Shippo-chan,’

“We will, Kagome-chan. Shippo’s our family too,”

I smiled at them one last time.

“I’m glad. Please tell him I love him okay? And that I wished for him,”

Sango kept nodding her head at me, unable to speak anymore through her tears. Miroku-sama clasped all of our hands more tightly, some of the tears he held back going down his cheeks.

It would be their last time to see me alive…

I turned my head to look at my brother-in-law. Still as cool and composed as ever, he stared back at me… but do I detect a trace of sadness in his eyes?

“Sesshomaru-sama,”

I began.

“Arigato gozaimasu. For everything,”

He inclined his head at me, and then smiled that small smile of his.

“Do not thank me now, miko. Thank me after,”

His words puzzled me. Thank him after what?

But I cannot dwell on that thought anymore. It would be useless.

My time is drawing close.

Now I have to say goodbye to Inuyasha…


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~*~Inuyasha’s POV~*~


I heard her say her goodbyes, right then and there at Goshinboku. I felt numb; the pain in my heart paralyzed me as I sat there, holding her.

It seemed she would be the one to leave me first, after all…

I wanted to knock my fist into something hard at the moment. I failed her. Again.

I started as I felt her gaze at me. I looked down and saw Kagome’s tear-streaked face.

“Will you… take me up Goshinboku? I want to watch the sunrise with you,”

And there she’d tell me goodbye too…

I swallowed to stop my fear from showing, and nodded before I gathered her firmly against me and jumped to Goshinboku’s branches.

The sunrise was majestic, breathtaking.

If only my heart wasn’t breaking into a thousand pieces. Maybe I would’ve appreciated it long enough to enjoy it.

I felt Kagome’s hand touch the side of my face. I nuzzled against it, as the tears dammed up inside me broke free of my restraint.

I smelled the salt of her tears even before they fell down in torrents. Her hand continued to cup my face as she tried to raise herself up the same time she tugged my head down to meet her.

Our tears joined as our lips sealed into a kiss.

Every emotion, every feeling and all the love we felt for each other merged into that one kiss.

As our lips parted, I cradled her against me and spoke softly in her ear.

“I love you… Ka—go—me…”