Inutakai
Episode 4
The rain continues to pour on Inuyasha�s small fire and he has become soaked. To shelter Konpon, he has hewn several braches and pulled them over her as a kind of shelter. Having done everything he can think of to do, he comes to sit by the old woman. �Little one,� she says, �I still can not feel or move my legs. If I were going to recover, it would have begun by now. The time has come to face what is and what must be.� The boy rises and begins to walk forward to tend the fire. Konpon calls after him, �Inuyasha! I will die on this spot. The time has come for you to go.� He turns back to her. It is imposible to tell whether his face is streaked with tears or rain; but his voice gives away the fact that he is crying, �I won�t leave you! I can�t.� Sighing, the old woman says, �Little one, you have known that this was coming. There is no need for you to see this. You will see death far too often in this world. You don�t need to add mine to that.� He says, �But I can�t just leave you.� She sighs again, �I chose a hermitage because I did not want people watching and fussing over me as I died. That was true of the people I had served for years; and it is even more true for you. You must�� her fragile frame is wracked by coughing. Inuyasha rushes to her side. When the coughing subsides, she does not move. He can see that she is still breathing; but she has lost consciousness.