All That's Left of Yesterday

All That's Left of Yesterday

(Introduction, Theme, and Variations)

by Lady Mac

Author's Note:

This is a product of a lovesick teenage girl's imagination and worst fears combining. I'm
writing it to help me ease the pain of the impending day when I leave v2k3 (if you read the
reviews for "Hitori" you'll see his name) and possibly never see him again. Making my favorite
anime couple experience the same pain is sort of cathartic, but it also has a tendency to make the
bittersweet-ness even more poignant. I've cried a lot over this. A lot. Only thing is that I don't
know if this is affecting v2k3 like it's affecting me. So I made Inu and Kagome react sort of as I
am, since that's fluffier and I'll do some chapters from each perspective.

So that's just some background. A warning for fans of my other work: this will not have a
happy, lovey-dovey ending like my other work (excepting the Macbeth stuff, but that's a tragedy
anyways). It will be sad at the end, and it will be sad in the middle. If I do a good enough job,
you will cry.

Please review - though this was started to help me, I always like critiques of my work. There
will be as many chapters as I feel like writing, which will depend on how often I have "episodes"
and how severe they are.

Thank you, and please try to enjoy.. or something. Hah.

Disclaimer: This fic was inspired by a true situation, but I don't own Inuyasha.

Chapter One

Introduction

Inuyasha landed hard on the ground and sheathed Tetsusaiga. The battle is over, he thought
wearily and looked up at the falling bit of pink. He reached out and plucked it from the air. We
won.

He relaxed suddenly, and with the adrenaline rush gone his senses were assaulted by the stench
of blood and death. Oh no. "Kagome!"

He jumped up and his head spun. Human corpses littered the ground, and fresh human and
demon blood was spattered everywhere. He tried to sniff out Kagome, but he couldn't find her
scent among all the others. He stumbled in circles, sniffing and searching.

"Inuyasha."

He spun and saw Miroku standing up from among the carnage, clutching his right wrist with the
opposite hand. "Kagome!" the hanyou begged. "Where is Kagome?"

"I don't know," said the monk. "She was off somewhere else fighting."

Something off behind Inuyasha made a soft sound, and he spun. "Kagome?"

A slight gasping sound came in response, and he knew it was her. He struggled across the
battlefield towards her, trying to ignore the blood that was still leaking from his wounds and
soaking his clothing. He hated to think what injuries she may have suffered ...

He reached the crest of a small hill and there she was below him, halfway covered by the body of
a large demon. She was covered in blood, most of it her own, and she appeared barely
conscious. He stumbled down to her. "Kagome..."

"In ... yash ..."

With the last of his strength he pushed the corpse off her, then fell to the ground at her side.
"Kagome, oh, Kagome, you're alive!"

She coughed and closed her eyes, unable to speak. A small amount of blood escaped the corner
of her mouth.

Sudden tears fell from his eyes, and he pressed his bloody cheek to hers. "Hold on, Kagome!
Please! Don't ... don't let go. I need you, Kagome. Please, I need you so much." He pulled
back and looked at her pained face. She had lost a lot of blood, and without help would surely
die. He had to think of some way to help her. He racked his brain, trying desperately to think of
something.

Then he remembered the jewel shard. Taking it between his fingers, he pressed it firmly into the
large piece around Kagome's neck. "Please," he begged, "Midoriko, onegai. Use your power to
save her. Don't let Kagome die. I know you have the power, even without the whole jewel." He
focused his whole will on the girl lying before him and the jewel between them. "Please," he
whispered. "I ... I love her."

Light exploded form the unfinished jewel, and a voice rang in Inuyasha's sensitive ears. "I will
grant your request."

Kagome's eyes opened slowly. "Mi ... Midoriko ..."

"It is I," the miko said. "But Inuyasha, though I will heal Kagome, I must warn you that she
cannot always be with you. The time will come when you can no longer be together."

Inuyasha could barely comprehend what she said. "I ... what? Why?"

"When the jewel is completed and purified, the magic that brought Kagome to you will cease to
be and she will return to her own world. It is an unavoidable part of the magic and cannot be
changed."

"B-but, Midoriko..."

"I will grant you this request, Inuyasha, but there is nothing more I can do."

With that, the light vanished. Inuyasha set his head on Kagome's chest, and suddenly,
unexpectedly, began to cry.