InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Guilty Hero ❯ Forgiven ( Chapter 31 )

Thanks so much to those who reviewed! It's so nice to read your comments.

 

Now, before I begin this chapter, I must also give a special shout-out to Sassybratt, who has been so helpful in writing this story. Most of this chapter was brought about by her, for she was so kind in helping me past a writer's block. Thanks so very much—your help is greatly appreciated! ^__^

 

In this chapter: A good thing.

Guilty Hero

Chapter 30: Forgiven

“Hello, Kagome,” Sango said, making Kagome jump in her seat at the sudden noise. Twisting around in the booth, she realized that it was her boss and tried to cover up her anxiety with a smile. She had been a little nervous about this meeting, for her run-ins with Sango often didn't go well, but the woman seemed to be pleased to see her.

“Sango, hi! Thanks for agreeing to meet me on such short notice.”

Once she shrugged out of her snow-covered coat, Sango slid into the booth opposite Kagome, waving the comment away as she did so. “Oh please. I've been dying to get out of that office for days.”

Kagome nodded sympathetically. “I've seen a lot of stuff on the news; you guys must be swamped. Is it true about the murders?”

Pausing before she answered, since the waitress just arrived to take their order, they both asked for coffee, and then she waited until the waitress was out of sight before answering the question; openly talking about the Order's business in a coffee shop in the middle of the day was not a wise thing to do.

“The murders are just the tip of the iceberg,” she said sadly, lowering her voice to keep an air of secrecy. “I mean, there have been five human murders within the past two weeks. But there are also other serious problems. Scouts have confirmed sightings of strangely large numbers of demons in certain areas of the city, which is a sign of growing opposing forces. Also, we have reason to suspect that some of our own lesser demons are starting to be swayed over to the other side. On top of that, the police department is refusing to send over officers for training because that damn chief of police refuses to believe that we are in another war, and Miroku and I are still unable to get anything out of the mayor-elect. Things are not going well at the Order, to say the least.”

“Oh dear…” Looking more than a little worried, Kagome asked, “Do you need to get back to work? I didn't mean to pull you away from more pressing matters…”

“Kagome, I have been there for nine days straight. Meeting you here gave me the excuse to get out for a little while. Besides…” Once again, she paused as the waitress returned to drop off their coffee, and waited until she was out of earshot before continuing. “You said you needed some help with Inu-Yasha. And since Miroku and I… well, need to work on that, I decided that I would make it here come hell or high water. So, enough talk about the Order—what do you need help with?” She fixed Kagome with her strong gaze, giving the girl her full attention.

Kagome allowed a small smile to cross her face; it seemed her request of Sango and Miroku those two weeks ago had indeed been heard, and they really were making an effort to help Inu-Yasha, even on top of the pressures of a building war. It was a relief to know that they had yet to give up on him.

Clearing her throat, she began her explanation. “Well, I'm starting to get just a little worried about Inu-Yasha. I mean, he had been doing so well; the week where we kidnapped you two for a walk in the park, he had spent five nights completely sober. He left his apartment for a trip to the department store, we had a couple breakthroughs, his general mood throughout the day was improving…” She wrapped her fingers around her coffee mug, blowing at the steam rising off it.

“But lately, that's changed. Over the past few days he's become more melancholy than usual; he hardly speaks to me anymore, he spends an awful lot of time in his bedroom with the door closed, and when he isn't back there then he's drinking on the couch or at the kitchen table, looking terribly depressed.” She sighed heavily, absently picking up her spoon and stirring the coffee. “I've tried asking him what's wrong, but for some reason he just clams up, which I don't understand, because it wasn't too long ago when he was fairly willing to start a conversation. He's barely said two sentences to me all week.” Dropping the spoon, she put her head in her hands, clearly upset. “I just don't understand. We were doing so well, and then all of a sudden…”

Sango frowned, not liking to see Kagome so upset. “Kagome… you do know what this is about, don't you?”

Sharply looking up to meet Sango's gaze, Kagome asked, “I take it you do know?”

Sango nodded. “I do. This happens to him every year around Christmastime.”

“What about it? Does he not like Christmas or something?”

Shaking her head, Sango took a sip of coffee. “Not exactly. You see, Christmas is not really a celebratory time of year for him. From the age of five to sixteen he was homeless, just trying to save up enough money to survive, so Christmas was just like any other day, there was nothing special about it. However, once he met Kikyo and she invited him into the Order… Well, those three Christmases they spent together are some of his fondest memories of Kikyo. They were, in a sense, the first time he ever felt the `spirit of Christmas', so to speak.”

“Really?” Kagome asked, fascinated by the story. Inu-Yasha didn't like to talk about his past, so hearing so much about it was an odd feeling for her. “What happened?”

Sango smiled at Kagome's interest. “Well, let's see… The first year they had known each other long enough that it was fairly obvious of their relationship. So, in order to surprise him, Kaede sent him and Miroku on a mission on Christmas Eve so Kikyo and I could decorate a tree in the dining hall at HQ without him knowing about it. Then, on Christmas morning when he came down for breakfast, he was greeted by the three of us in front of the tree. We all had gifts for him, and he hardly knew what to do with himself. He tried to cover up his feelings, but it was obvious how happy he was.”

“The year after that, he helped us decorate the building, which he took great joy in, and he even gave us all gifts that year. And then the next year he spent Christmas with Kikyo at her apartment, so I'm not sure what happened. But I do know that the next day he was in a strangely good mood, and it wasn't too long after that when he asked Kikyo to marry him.”

It was a little difficult for Kagome to digest the story, for it was hard to imagine him happy or joyful, but from the far-away look in Sango's eyes and her wistful smile, she knew it had to be true. However, that smile quickly vanished as Sango continued with her story.

“However, the final battled happened the next year, and of course that ruined everything. He was still unconscious in the hospital for Christmas, but then next year…” She sighed and shook her head. “I guess you could say he felt robbed of his joy for that time of year. I mean, until he met Kikyo, he had spent Christmas scrounging around in trash cans picking through the remains of Christmas Eve dinner for a meal. So he saw Kikyo as the one who made the holiday special to him, and with her gone…”

“…He couldn't celebrate,” Kagome finished, for this was the Inu-Yasha that she knew.

“Exactly,” Sango agreed, nodding. “Miroku and I were concerned about him, because he had been terribly depressed the whole year long, and had turned to alcohol for a while. However, we had an altercation a few weeks prior to Christmas, and after that he made it a point to quit drinking.”

It was Kagome's turn to nod; she recalled Inu-Yasha's tale on top of the roof at the gala, when he had mentioned quitting for a bit.

“We hoped that, because he had stopped with the booze he would be a little more willing to spend Christmas with Miroku and I, and that way we could attempt to pull him out of his depression. So we invited him to come over to my apartment Christmas morning to celebrate, and he agreed. However, when Christmas morning came around, he never showed. We were concerned, but since my little brother was there and was so excited about opening presents that we did it without him. In fact, it wasn't until the next day were we able to get over to his apartment.”

Her tone of voice made Kagome cringe slightly, for she had a good guess as to the next part of the story, and it turned out her guess was far from incorrect.

“We found him passed out in the bathroom,” Sango continued, focusing more on her coffee cup than on Kagome. “He had a photograph in one hand and a whiskey bottle in the other, while there were a couple more scattered about the apartment; it was pretty bad. But, while Miroku and I were attempting to get him into bed, he woke up a little and kept asking for Kikyo, over and over.”

“A photograph?” Kagome asked curiously, for she had never seen any pictures in his apartment. “What was it of?”

A small grin graced Sango's features as she thought back. “During Inu-Yasha's `first Christmas', as we like to call it, Kikyo had given him a Santa hat as a gift, and we were able to procure some reindeer antlers for her. Miroku happened to have his camera on him, and he snapped a picture of the two of them together. It was awfully sweet, so he made sure to give Inu-Yasha a copy, which he kept for a long, long time. He may even still have it, for all I know. I know he still has the hat, too, somewhere.”

“Hm… She really had an effect on him, didn't she?” Kagome murmured, absently toying with a sugar packet on the table. Sango nodded.

“Yeah… Well, they did make a good couple, that's for certain.”

Focusing her attention on Sango, Kagome suddenly asked, “What was she like? So far, it seems like everything in Inu-Yasha's past revolves around this woman, and yet I know nothing about her.”

Sango appeared to be a bit surprised by the question, but she sat back for a moment to think about it. “Well… She was tall, with dark hair and brown eyes; I know for a fact that Inu-Yasha once told Miroku that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He probably never worked up the courage to tell her that, though, as he was often very skittish concerning her. She was fairly melancholy, but Inu-Yasha never seemed to mind, for some reason. He, of course, was always loud and brash, but she was there to keep him under control, and, while the rest of us would yell at him for being obnoxious in front of guests, a few words from her would have him quiet in no time. We always wondered why he submitted so easily to her, but she had no explanation for us.”

Sighing, she tapped her fingers against her chin as she thought a little more. “I guess you could say that the two had a lot in common. Yes, they were polar opposites in personality, but they shared similar traits. Both were orphaned at a young age, and both felt like they were out of place in society. I mean, Kikyo, with her astonishing spiritual powers, was avoided by other members of the Order and viewed as a freak by the rest of the city. While Inu-Yasha, being a homeless half-breed, was labeled as the scum of society; not even the other homeless people would spend time with him unless they had to. I suppose that was what Kikyo saw in him when they first met—a lonely outcast, just like herself.”

“…It sounds to me like Kikyo was a little controlling of Inu-Yasha,” Kagome finally said, unable to keep the comment from slipping out. There was a strange feeling welling up in her breast, one that she could hardly recognize—jealousy. But why was she jealous of Kikyo? Kikyo was long gone, it wouldn't do to get in a competition with the girl.

“Oh, not at all,” Sango disagreed, frowning a little at Kagome. “Kikyo was the best thing to happen to him. She was the first person to accept him for what he was; not even Miroku and I were willing to speak to him at first, but due to her constant requests for us to meet him, we finally did, and we have been his friends ever since. She did everything she could to make him happy, she just did it very quietly, very subtle so he wouldn't notice. His pride and ego would have been sorely bruised had he known how hard she had worked to get him in with good standing for Kaede, but it was because of her that Kaede offered him a position at the Order. It wasn't until after her death did he realize all that she had done for him.”

“So why, then, did she betray him and run off to join the demon's side during the war? She seemed to be the perfect person for the Order, not the demons.”

Sango shrugged. “That's a grey area in her life, and it was something that we were never quite able to figure out. My guess is that Naraku played to her weaknesses. He probably told her that, while her strange powers labeled her as a freak by the Order, demons tend to value power, and the more power you have, the more authority you have. Since Kikyo's voice was often ignored during war meetings at the Order, being given authority would have been a very tempting offer for her. Plus, I'm guessing Naraku promised Inu-Yasha a place among his army should Kikyo join with him, for Inu-Yasha told us that she begged him to go with her, on more than one occasion. It was heartbreaking for him to say no, but his conscience wouldn't allow him to switch sides, not even for her.” She sighed heavily. “And I assume you know the rest from there. Betrayal, murder, etc., etc.”

Kagome was oddly quiet at the end of her tale, staring hard at the table, while Sango could practically see the gears in her head turning as she thought. Suddenly, she climbed to her feet and grabbed her coat and purse, looking quite determined. “Thank you for your help, Sango,” she said distractedly, hurriedly shoving her arms into her coat sleeves. “We need to do this again. I'll call you sometime later.” And then she was out the door, leaving Sango to stare after her in surprise.

During the trip back to Inu-Yasha's apartment, she couldn't help but marvel at how so many things made sense to her now. It was no wonder Inu-Yasha was acting so strangely lately; some of her fondest memories were from celebrating Christmas with her family, so for Inu-Yasha to experience that joy, only to have it taken away from him, helped her understand his current behavior.

And then there was Kikyo. She had always assumed that the crushing guilt that he forced himself to live under was due to his deep, ever-faithful love for the woman. Often she had wondered why Inu-Yasha constantly punished himself over the murder of a woman who had betrayed the entire human population, who had been willing to give the city up for her own selfish desires. But when Sango told her that Inu-Yasha had been orphaned and homeless at such a young age, and forced to live that way for so many years, everything began to make sense. Because Kikyo was the one who saw in him his potential, and was able to look past the fact that he was a half-demon and provide for him a job and a home, it was small wonder that he viewed her as his own savior. She could easily see why he was still so conflicted; how do you turn on the one who rescued you in the first place?

Pulling up to the sidewalk in front of his apartment building, she turned her car off and sat still for a moment. She couldn't help but mentally thank Sango for the story. Part of Inu-Yasha's mental block that wouldn't allow him to quit drinking was caused by the guilt he felt over Kikyo's death, and up until now, Kagome felt that she hadn't enough information to broach the subject.

Taking a deep breath, she climbed out of her car and stared up at the apartment building; this was it. Perhaps today was the day where he was going to work past his guilt, and even… Well, she could hardly dare to hope that he might proclaim his desire to quit drinking, but the thought was still there. Squaring her shoulders, she strode towards the building and started her trek up the stairs, using the time to figure out just how she should approach him with her new information.

Once at the seventh floor, she let herself into Inu-Yasha's apartment and paused in the foyer to shed her coat and purse. As she did so, she looked around in search of the demon, but he was nowhere to be found. She spotted a smoldering cigarette stub in the ashtray on the coffee table, so she knew he had at least risen for the day; when she had left his apartment to meet Sango, he was still sleeping off the extra liquor he'd imbibed the night before. Poking her head into the kitchen and seeing that it was just as empty as the living room, she knew then that he must be in his bedroom, where he had frequented more and more the past few weeks.

Walking down the hall to the closed door, she spotted a light underneath it and knew her assumption was correct. So, bracing herself for what was to come, she rapped her knuckles lightly on the paneled wood.

“Inu-Yasha?” she said softly, for she knew his hearing would be sensitive. “Are you up?”

The slight rustling of fabric first greeted her words, and then the creak of the mattress springs. A couple seconds later, the door slowly opened and Inu-Yasha scowled at her with strangely bloodshot eyes, looking rather displeased.

“Where the hell have you been?” he grumbled, scratching his head and tousling his hair even more. “You weren't here when I got up.”

Kagome felt a light blush stain her cheeks; for some reason, the thought of him looking for her as soon as he woke up gave her a warm feeling. “I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you that I was going to have coffee with Sango this morning.”

He blinked slowly at her for a moment, then brushed past her down the hallway. “Coffee… I forgot to make some…”

Taking hold of his arm before he got too far, she gently steered him to the couch and made him sit down. “Don't worry, I made some for you before I left. I'll go fix you a cup.” Making sure he was settled, she quickly bustled into the kitchen and poured a cup for him, checking to see that it was still plenty warm before taking it back out to the living room. “Here you go.”

Accepting it with a mumbled, “Thank you,” he took a sip and started to feel around for the television remote, but paused and stared at her warily when she sat down next to him.

“Inu-Yasha,” she said slowly, and her tone made him cringe. “We need to talk.”

Inwardly, he groaned for being caught in this position; Miroku had warned him long ago that when a woman says, “We need to talk,” nothing good would come of it. He found this to be true with Kikyo, for their conversation in which she revealed her loyalty to Naraku began with, “We need to talk.” Miroku had also informed him that there was no escape from such a conversation either, and eventually, you would be forced to have it. But despite knowing this, Inu-Yasha couldn't help but try to get out of it.

“Not now…” he grumbled, rubbing his forehead. “My head hurts. We'll talk later.”

“No, Inu-Yasha, we'll talk now,” and the seriousness of her tone surprised him. Blinking at her, more than a little displeased, he finally set his coffee cup aside and crossed his arms, looking expectantly at her.

“Fine. What do you want to talk about?”

Holding back a sigh, for she knew he was not going to make this easy for her, she took a deep breath to begin. “Well… I've noticed that you've been fairly depressed lately, and it concerned me. You aren't eating as much as you should, you're drinking more than usual, and you don't seem to want to talk to me about it. So, that's why I asked Sango to meet with me this morning; I thought that she and Miroku would know better than anyone why you were so depressed.” She paused for a moment to glance up at him. He was staring silently at her, tight-lipped and tense—clearly, he was angry about something already, but since he refused to say a word, she went on.

“Sango told me a little about your life before Kikyo came along, and about your first Christmases at the Order. She told me how happy you were because of the things Kikyo did for you, and what the two of you were like together. She talked about how your places in life were similar, and how well you worked together because of it.” She paused, giving him a gentle smile despite the fact that his gaze was now burning into her and there was a muscle throbbing in his temple. “Inu-Yasha, she sounded like a lovely person, at least from what Sango described to me.”

“…She was,” he whispered hoarsely, his expression of anger never changing.

Looking relieved to see that he was not so angry that he was past the point of speech yet, she went on. Turning her attention to her lap, she carefully chose her next words. “You told me on the roof at the gala the reason why you drank so much-- you feel so much guilt over Kikyo's death.”

“H-her murder…” he corrected, his voice wavering.

“Oh, Inu-Yasha…” Kagome sighed, resting her head in her hands. “You can't keep doing this to yourself, you can't! It was her choice to switch sides! It was her choice to turn her back on the entire human population of the city so that she could have more power! Why do you still take all the blame for that?!”

“Because she wasn't evil!!” Inu-Yasha roared back, making Kagome jump in surprise. “Everybody always blames her for doing what she did, but dammit, they forget what kind of person she was!! She was a beautiful person, Kagome! She cared for everyone, she wanted to do good! She saw, some filthy, homeless, half-breed scum diggin' through a trash can, and reached out a hand to help! She gave me a home and a job when nobody else would even consider it! She didn't even see me as a homeless half-demon, she saw me as me! She wasn't evil, Kagome, she wasn't! That damn bastard Naraku just wormed his way into her, playing on her fears and desires, but he never changed her soul! She only did what she did because she thought it was the right path! She was a good person, up until her last day!”

When he stopped his tirade, panting heavily and staring wildly at Kagome, red-faced and angry, she looked him straight in the eye.

“And if you truly believe that, Inu-Yasha…” she began slowly, making certain he heard every word, “then don't you think she would forgive you?”

He seemed to deflate at the statement, shrinking down into simply a very confused man. “…W…what?”

“If she is so good of a person, don't you think she would forgive you for what you did?”

He remained silent, his eyes growing wide and his breathing ragged. Seeing how clearly the simple statement affected him, Kagome went on.

“I never knew Kikyo, Inu-Yasha. But from what I heard from Sango… She wouldn't want you to be this way, to beat yourself up at every opportunity because you hate what you had to do to her. She loved you, and I would like to think that she understands why you had to do it. Haven't you ever thought about why you didn't die from the bullet she shot you with?”

He slowly shook his head, his expression blank.

Kagome carefully took hold of his hand before she went on. “I know that Kikyo had spiritual powers similar to mine. During my training, I learned how to put some of that power into a ranged weapon, like my crossbow, or a gun, and use it to obliterate whatever you hit. So… Why, if Kikyo was so proficient with her powers, did she not do the same to you?”

Inu-Yasha froze.

“…I don't think she ever wanted to kill you, Inu-Yasha. She wanted you to save the city, and undo her work. She doesn't blame you at all. I think, by punishing yourself so badly, you're not just hurting you, you're hurting her as well.”

Suddenly, Inu-Yasha surged to his feet, wrenching his hand out of her grasp as he did so. “What the hell do you know?” he hissed, snarling down at her as he started to shake with anger. “You never knew Kikyo, you don't know what the hell you're talking about! Stop acting like you know her so well!”

Kagome calmly looked up at him, unafraid. “Inu-Yasha, I'm not saying that I did know her—“

“Then shut the hell up!” he shouted, his limbs beginning to tremble as his temper rose. “How dare you talk like you knew exactly what Kikyo was doing! This isn't any of your business!! Now get out! Get out of here! I don't wanna see your damn face anymore!”

Still utterly composed, Kagome stood and silently walked around the couch. But, rather than heading for the front door, she instead slowly started down the hallway, much to Inu-Yasha's fury.

“Out of the apartment, dammit, not out of the room! Get out of my damn apartment!!”

Pausing once with her hand on the bedroom door, Kagome turned around once to smile sadly at him before disappearing into the room.

Glaring furiously after her as the door creaked shut, he finally let out a bellow of frustration and turned on his heel, rushing into the kitchen and banging open the cabinet doors. Pulling out a glass and a liquor bottle with some difficulty, for he was badly shaking, he poured a glass, the bottleneck rattling against the rim as he did so. However, when he set the bottle down and made to take a drink, he paused with the tumbler halfway to his mouth. For some reason, despite the fact that he was furious, despite the fact that his brain was screaming at him to down the glass in a gulp and forget the whole conversation ever happened, his hand would not move any further.

By punishing yourself so badly, you're not just hurting you, you're hurting her as well.

Staring hard at the amber liquid inside, he finally could bear it no more. With a fierce snarl he threw the glass, drink and all, into the sink and then turned and barreled out of his apartment, slamming the door shut and making the walls shake from the force.

As silence permeated the air, Kagome, who had been listening intently at the door of the bedroom, slowly opened it and peered down the hallway, making certain he was gone. Letting out a soft sigh of relief, she stepped back in the room and went over to the bed to sit down, feeling a little shaky despite her calm exterior. She still worried for him, for she would not put it past him to escape to the Tap as he always did in an attempt to drown out thoughts that she had dragged up to the surface, but the hope that he would do the right thing kept her calm.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly glanced down at the bed and realized that it needed to made. Deciding that chores would be a good pastime to distract herself with until he returned, she got and started to pull the pillows off so she could properly lay the blankets out. However, as she did so something fluttered to the ground that had been hastily tucked underneath a pillow.

Curious, she bent down to pick it up, and recognized it as a photograph. The sight of a much younger Inu-Yasha, his ears covered up by a red Santa hat greeted her, and next to him was the face of a lovely young woman, two reindeer antlers adorning her head. Both had shy smiles on, but it was easy to tell the level of joy they were experiencing when the picture was taken. Kagome was a little taken aback by Inu-Yasha's eyes—they were such a vibrant, rich amber color, clear and bright. She was so used to seeing only a dull gold that was glassy and hazy from alcohol that for a moment, she was unsure if it was him. But there was no doubt.

Smiling gently, she laid the picture on his nightstand; clearly the fact that he still had it and looked at it meant that the photograph was important to him, and it comforted her to know that he wasn't so callous as he appeared to be. The fact that he had been gazing at this picture gave her hope that he would pass his own, personal test that he was undergoing right now. She could do nothing more but pray that he would succeed.

oOoOo

Inu-Yasha flew from rooftop to rooftop, his shoes thundering a rhythm every time he landed. He ran desperately, as though speed would wash away the flurry of emotions inside him. Every snowflake felt like a bullet of ice, and the wind bit into his skin like a knife but he never slowed. Though he hadn't visited his destination in years, his feet knew exactly where to take him, and he didn't resist. For some reason, he knew he had to go.

At last he finally slowed, jumping down from the last building and landing with a soft thud on the snow-covered ground. Ahead of him stretched a sea of stone mounds, covered in snow, but he paid them little attention, plodding straight for one particular stone underneath the only tree in the graveyard. Stopping directly in front of it, he slowly knelt down to stare at name carved out of the rock, shivering in the wind that still blew about him.

“Kikyo…” he murmured, his voice nearly gone from his rush. Carefully, he reached out and brushed the snow off the top of the tombstone, leaving his hand resting on it once it was clear. For a few moments, he sat as still as the stone before him, memories coming forth in a rush. Kagome's words kept coming back to him, over and over.

She wouldn't want you to be this way…

You're hurting her as well…

She doesn't blame you at all…

She loved you…

Suddenly, it seemed his angry defense came crumbling down in seconds. Tears started to spill over his cheeks as he leaned forward and rested his head against her grave, his shoulders shaking as he began to sob. He hated hearing those words. Every one cut into him, twisting his guilt, making it unbearable. It had never been his intent to hurt Kikyo, from the second he met her to the second he killed her, he had never wanted to hurt her. He gripped the stone in his claws, his grasp so hard that his nail scratched the rock as his weeping grew more desperate.

“I'm so sorry…” his whispered between sobs, holding onto the stone like it was a lifeline, the only keeping him from dragging himself down to hell. “I never meant to hurt you… I loved you, Kikyo…” As his throat began to close up from emotion, he whispered one last phrase before he could speak no more.

“Please… please forgive me…”

For a few moments longer he continued to weep, unable to move, unable to think of anything else. However, after a little while, he slowly realized that the wind that had been accompanying him was nowhere near as cold as it had been a few minutes prior. His sobs beginning to slow, he carefully sat back and glanced around him, though his vision was still blurry from tears.

Sighing, he swiped roughly at his eyes, and slowly made to stand, his whole body feeling leaden and heavy as he pushed off the ground. He felt tired and exhausted, and was considering sitting back down for a little while before making the trip home. However, as soon as he was fully upright, and sudden, powerful gust of warm wind came out of nowhere, smothering him in a strangely comforting sensation before it left once more.

Gasping for breath as he stood there, he carefully stood straight once more for the wind had nearly knocked him over, wondering why he felt quite so odd, so…light. He realized that it was a though an enormous weight, a huge part of him was gone, taken away by that warm wind and leaving him with something he had never felt in years—joy. Confused for but a moment, he looked back down at Kikyo's tombstone, hardly able to believe what had just happened.

“…Thank you…”

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There you have it, I hope you enjoyed the read. Please, leave a review and let me know what you think.