The Winds of Change

jodyle1

Chapter 1

A single tear slid down Kagome's cheek, raking a path through the dirt and dried blood smeared across her cheeks as it went. She felt as though her heart was being ripped clear of her chest by cruel, unforgiving fingers as she watched the indecision cross Inuyasha's features in his moment of hesitancy. Despair quickly overwhelmed her senses and deadened the terrible agony in her chest, replacing it with a dull ache as she realized, for the last time, that he would not choose her.

She had always known that Inuyasha's love for the woman who had first showed him the divinity of tenderness and warmth, Kikyou, had never faded, yet she could do nothing to prevent the hope that blossomed within her every time he had exhibited the faintest hint of affection towards her. That very same hope faded and abandoned her as she watched Inuyasha's uncertain eyes flicker with anguish, before setting into stony depths of determination. He lithely jumped from his battle crouch, Tessaiga poised above his head, and swiftly swung his sword to cut the slimy, tentacle-like appendage which was slowly crushing the clay doll that was currently housing the spirit of Kikyou.

Though she had expected Inuyasha's final choice, it still brought on a wave of fresh misery and desolation, so powerful she could taste it's musky sweetness on the back of her tongue. She cast one last, wistful smile towards Inuyasha, her mind filling with the non-existent possibilities of the future they could have shared had things been different, before turning to face her unavoidable end. Staring into the heartless, unemotional, glowing vermillion eyes of her soon to be murderer, Kagome's mind was fleetingly overcome by an image she had longed for since she had first began her journey here in the Feudal era; her fragile form cradled in the safe, protective arms of Inuyasha, nestled comfortably into his velvety soft, Fire-Rat Fur garments, with her body pressed against his strong, powerful chest.

A peaceful expression came over Kagome's features as she immersed herself in this image, before her world went blank, and the bright, optimistic light of Kagome's essence was no more.