✔ | At Least We Have Forever

Chapter 31 - Tears Of The Silver Moon

Riya's screams pierced the stillness of that night as it crushed her heart in the process, followed by a heartbreaking cry.

"Kurama! Please wake up! Kurama..." Riya pleaded through sobs. She gently shook his body but no response came. "Kurama, wake up!"

His eyes were shut and the blood was spreading. She cried harder and brought Kurama's head to hers, burying her face in his bloody chest soon after.

Kurama made a small soft moan as his eyes slowly fluttered open. Riya lifted her head and looked at him with worried eyes.

"Kurama? Kurama, I'm so sorry. A-are you okay?" Riya managed to say as her tears didn't stop from falling.

"I'm glad... you're alright..." he said, his voice barely audible.

"Of course, I'll be alright! You did another stupid thing just to save me!" she yelled. "Just hold on. I'll heal your wounds, okay? Just hang in there!"

She was about to heal him as she placed her hand a little above Kurama's wound when he weakly grabbed it that made her look at him. Kurama weakly shook his head, his eyes closed but managed to show a faint smile.

"D-don't... don't use it..." he whispered. "Y... You need it... more than I do..."

"What are you saying? You need to be healed," Riya said frantically. "Please...? Let me heal your wound..."

Kurama's breath started to become uneven and ragged, making her heart shatter even more. She broke into tears once again with just the thought of Kurama still holding on despite the pain from his wound slowly taking out his strength and his will to live.

Kurama raised his hand slowly with the little strength he had and touched Riya's face, wiping her tears in the process before smiling weakly.

"D... D-don't cry, Riya... You know I hate... to see you cry like this..." Kurama said comfortingly but weakly. "Besides... I did this for you. I can't allow that woman... to kill you in front of me. I'd rather take that risk... for you. That's how I love you... Riya..."

"You can't die now! You promised me!" Riya exclaimed in desperation. "You can't die yet. You can't leave me behind, not like this. You promised, Kurama. You promised me! Please... You have to live..."

The desperate pleading of his beloved had nearly shattered Kurama's heart. But there was nothing he could do now. He took the attack meant to kill the woman he loved. He did it out of his desperation and his own free will.

And though it killed him knowing his death would crush Riya's heart further, he didn't have much of a choice.

A tear fell from his eyes as he closed them. And then he opened them again with his hand still caressing Riya's face.

"Y... You have to smile... Riya. You looked more beautiful... when you smile," Kurama said sincerely. Riya only countered those words with a sob. Words must have been stuck in her throat and it made him continue. "But I have to say... sorry now..."

Riya frowned a bit upon hearing that. "What do you mean by that, Kurama?"

Kurama showed a faint smile. "I'm sorry, Riya... Just this once... I'll break my promise..."

Her eyes widened, full of disbelief as her mind had finally absorbed Kurama's words. She shook her head slowly then fast as tears didn't know how to stop falling. She covered the hand on her cheeks with her own, tilted his head, and kissed it softly.

When she looked at him, she saw those brilliant emerald eyes looking up at her, as they grew duller by the seconds. But the smile—the beautiful, pure, sincere, happy smile was there, carved perfectly on the pale face of her beloved.

Kurama struggled to lean up—and Riya bent down further, trying to close the distance. She felt Kurama breathe an "I love you..." upon her lips rather than heard it, and she closed her eyes, closing in their distance—

But before she could even feel their lips brushing, the body she held went completely limp. His hand that touched her face fell to the ground.

Riya's eyes widened upon a certain realization.

"Kurama...? Kurama...?" she called out as she shook his body gently but no response came out.

Her body was now shaking as she stared at the lifeless body of Kurama with eyes full of horror and disbelief. She was unmindful of the warm, sticky blood still running out from his body and staining her hands and clothes.

"Kurama..." she called out as she started to sob. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for involving you with this, Kurama. I'm sorry. Don't get mad at me. You can't die on me, love. Don't you remember your promise? You told me that you'll take care of me forever, that we'll always be together no matter what happens. You can't leave me like this. Stay with me. Don't leave me, Kurama..." she said in pure emotional pain and torture when she realized that she had lost another important person.

Not just any important person. It was someone whom she chose to spend the rest of her life with. The extension of her soul. The one who made her live her life again for the better.

The silver curse finally took the rose's life...

The silver curse referred to Riya as she was the reason why Kurama died in her arms. He saved her... at the cost of his life...

Consumed with so many emotions piling up because of what happened, she couldn't hold it in any longer. Riya screamed in horror for all of this to stop.

-x-x-

The others arrived where Riya and Kurama were, only to have their heart sink at the sight of the mourning Mistress of the Wielders. They later heard an ear-splitting scream of horror from the said person that made them come up with a sad realization.

"We couldn't stop the prophecy..." Yumi said.

"It can't be... We're too late..." Ayako said disbelievingly.

They all looked around and they saw scattered bodies of demon shinobis plus scattered crystal shards that sparkle as the full moon shone down on the battlefield. But it wasn't a sight so heart-wrenching as Riya mourning over the death of her beloved Kurama.

Despite the injury, Yusuke slowly went to his cousin and attempted to touch her shoulder to console her but something happened. Yusuke backed away when he felt electricity surrounding Riya.

"What's that?" Kuwabara asked.

Riya continued to cry, not minding her surroundings since she couldn't sense their presence for some reason. Yusuke tried to touch Riya again but the same thing happened and the electricity intensified this time.

"What's wrong, Yusuke?" Botan asked.

"I couldn't touch her..." Yusuke murmured. "She wouldn't let me do so..."

"Riya-chan...?" Keiko called out as she slowly approached Riya whose head was still buried in Kurama's bloody chest.

But before Keiko could even touch her, a silver magic circle appeared beneath the lovers that caught everyone surprised. Light flared all around it and almost at once, a blinding light engulfed the vast land, rendering all of them sightless. They all closed their eyes and covered them with their arms.

"Now what's going on?" Hiei asked, distracted by the blinding light.

After a few seconds, the light slowly faded. But what made them surprised and confused at the same time was the fact that both Riya and Kurama were gone. Only the blood that stained the green grass could be seen.

"They vanished..." Yukari muttered.