Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Author's Note: A glimpse into Kikyo's thoughts during her last moments on Earth. Regardless of how much she'd done and said, I cannot deny how absolutely heartbreaking her final death scene was to watch/read.

Day 21: InuKik

Words: 537

Rated: K+

Enjoy some angsty feels!

Sayonara

The sun's red and gold rays bled across the horizon as Inuyasha carried a broken and bleeding Kikyo across the fields to a quiet place where they could say their final goodbyes. For the first time since before her original death, Kikyo felt so calm, without pain in her heart even as her body was wracked with physical agony.

They remained together, as the sun disappeared and stars replaced its presence. Countless speckled dots of shining light, shimmering so brightly it all but lit up the night sky, as if they were gazing into the heart of heaven itself. During her second time on earth, wandering as a soul dedicated to destroying Naraku, Kikyo never fully appreciated the earth and sky like she once had as a young priestess. But now, with Inuyasha's chin resting atop her weary head, her body of clay and graveyard soil finally spent, she could observe her surroundings as if she was still really, truly alive.

"It's all so beautiful," she whispered, ignoring the pain in her chest each time she spoke.

Inuyasha must have sensed her secret pain, because he squeezed her shoulders slightly. "Don't exert yourself, Kikyo," he said, his voice more tender and delicate than she ever heard.

She chuckled softly. "You make it sound like there's hope for me. You know this is the end."

"I know! But I- I -" His voice hitched.

"Inuyasha, your life is no longer mine. You know this, right?"

"I..." His golden eyes looked torn, as if a small part of him was still impulsive enough to want to die with her.

But she silenced that thought with a sad smile. She went on: "You still need to defeat Naraku. And you must live, Inuyasha."

"B-but why? Why should I live, Kikyo, while you're gone for good?" His voice trembled violently, his hands gripping onto her a little too tightly.

The words of a girl, a special girl who got on her nerves but also secretly envied from afar, rang in her mind.

"Because there's someone we both know who would be devastated if you died too soon."

Inuyasha inhaled sharply and looked away. Kikyo smiled, her eyes moist with unshed tears. She knew he was feeling guilty, but he mustn't be so hard on himself. Matters of the heart were far more complicated than she had once believed.

When he cried at last, she felt her heart soar. Not because he was in pain, but rather because at long last, she saw a glimpse past his walls. At last, their relationship had reached that plateau, even as it drew its last breaths. Inuyasha's voice cracked as he sobbed in agony, wishing aloud so desperately that he had protected her like he always swore he would.

But Kikyo didn't need any promises fulfilled or his life anymore. She looked up at him, contentment and love shining through her last smile, the first tears she'd shed since her first life streaming down her face as she gazed at the only man she had ever loved.

"You came for me," she breathed. "That was enough."

And it was, she thought, as they kissed farewell, and her soul ascended at long last. It really was.