The snow blanketed the area leaving no place unstained in white as the howling wind seemed to be the only noise made in the usually busy village. Sesshomaru hovered just above the small huts, eyeing each building carefully as to inspect his surroundings. This should have been a normal day, a regular routine of visiting his ward, but something had shifted drastically leaving the entire village thick with tension. Perhaps there was an attack on the village that he was unaware of, in which case he would have to reprimand his half brother for his incompetence and inability to protect his ward. He descended to the ground deciding to take matters into his own hands and investigate. He tread quietly past each hut careful not to alert anyone of his presence until he entered the dwellings if his young ward.

Sesshomaru did not announce himself right away as his eyes landed on the scene before him. His ward was quietly crying curling up to her human caretaker Kaede for comfort. "Rin," he finally called to her not yet addressing the reason for her tears. Both women looked up at the great demon in shock, but only Rin has the courage to go forward to him. She slowly walked up to him looking at him with something akin to pity.

"Lord Sesshomaru," her voice was soft and broken. Her bottom lip trembled slightly as her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. She knew he expected her to explain what was going on but did she honestly have the right to tell him such things? She was sure such delicate information should be shared by Kaede or Kagome though it seemed to be her duty now. "I-Inuyasha...your brother is dead," she told him bluntly knowing full well not to drag out her explanation. Her heart was aching for the people around her as she and everyone else was mourning the loss of the half demon, but mostly her heart ached for her lord because of his fallen kin. She knew the brothers had always had a strained relationship but they were family and she knew that this would strike her lord in some way.

He merely stared at her and let the information sink in as if it were truly impossible for such thing to be reality. Without a word the great demon left them, now letting his presence be known as he marched directly to the home where Inuyasha and Kagome resided in with the intent on getting answers. The young priestess soon stepped out upon sensing the familiar demonic aura and her expression was a telling one. Broken, shattered, and utterly defeated would be the words he would use to describe the priestess's face as he neared her. Her once bright vibrant eyes were now dull and absent of any joy that had filled them only days ago.

She said nothing to him only looking at him with all the sadness in the world placed on her shoulders. Once she realized she had zoned out she quickly motioned him to follow as she shuffled back inside the hut. It did not take long for him to join her in the candle lit home as he observed her sitting on her knees next to a covered figure. The smell of death lingered heavy in the air while Sesshomaru tried to hide his disgust almost out of respect for the pair before him. Slowly, Kagome began to move the sheet away from the figures face to reveal a human Inuyasha who's body lay still on the floor allowing him to see his brother once more.

The half demon's face was oddly still and at peace something that seemed quite unnatural on Inuyasha. He was in his normal attire but his skin was far paler than usual as it contrasted greatly with his pitch black hair. It seemed to be that his brother's downfall was caused by his human half, a weakness that would've lead to his death sooner or later. Sesshomaru was only curious on how he managed to avoid such things for so long... Though he would not say so aloud.

"When did he pass?"

"Yesterday," she answered without looking at him. Piercing golden eyes continued to stare at him as if to urge her to speak more but she refused to meet his gaze. She could not bare to look at those bright gold eyes and be reminded of how her dead husband's eyes used to hold the same shine.

It appeared she would not talk unless she was forced to so Sesshomaru continued with his questioning. "How?"

The simple word made her flinch for she did not wish to recall such details so soon, but she would answer him regardless because he deserved as much. "He...he was poisoned during the new moon...he could not recover," she couldn't talk anymore and she shut her eyes to keep any tears from falling. She wasn't able to speak about this so soon, not when he died only a day prior, and most certainly not when her husband's dead body was right in front of her. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the fabric of her pants, willing herself not to break down crying while Sesshomaru was there. Kagome could not deal with his cold remarks today.

"I see. I will leave you to grieve, priestess," to her surprise his words were soft and lacked the cruelty it normally had. He turned with the full intention to leave the woman and allow her to truly acknowledge her mate's passing he only stopped when he heard her speak to him again.

"Inuyasha's funeral will be tomorrow. Buried here in the village and Rin was very concerned if you would arrive or not. I think it would be comforting to her if she knew you were there... Even if you weren't directly apart of the event," she opened her eyes to gaze down at the lifeless face of Inuyasha. Mildly, she wondered if he would throw a fit to know his half brother would be at his funeral but a part of her knew it would just be a dramatic display to annoy Sesshomaru. She couldn't help but smile sadly. "And I know Inuyasha would have also appreciated having you there despite how much you two fought. Will you stay? If only for a day?"

"Hn," he agreed as he finally left the sad hut. A sense of duty seemed to compel him to stay seeing as his young half brother was dead. Indeed they fought but they were family- blood bound -and in a sense they were a pack no matter how much Sesshomaru claimed to want to kill the ignorant pup. In his own harsh and very subtle way he looked out for the half demon, helping him become stronger, more aware, and better for the group he lead and were connect through unfortunate circumstances. He would stay and observe the proceedings and think about his next move and see how his half brother's broken pack would now function. The trip would be most educational.

0o0o0o

Preparations were quickly done and the time came to bury Inuyasha. It seemed everyone was apart of Inuyasha's funeral as they each had grieved greatly for this loss. Sesshomaru was surprised to see how humans had gathered in order to lay a mere half demon to rest. He thought these humans would be glad to be rid of this stain on their holy ground, but in a rare moment he was wrong as these people prayed for a fallen comrade. He found it odd how most humans despised Inuyasha's kind, yet these people openly mourned his death without sign of annoyance or hatred. How curious.

The ceremony went along nicely and was surprisingly beautiful with what little they had to use. They all kneeled down before the grave in a display of respect and gratitude for Inuyasha before Kagome kneeled directly before his final resting place. Her words flowed smoothly out of her mouth as she prayed for peace upon Inuyasha's spirit as well as for peace of those who lived by him. In her prayer was power that easily influenced all those around her to join and Sesshomaru noted she had come far from being that dolt of a girl who could not control her energy, yet now she confidently spoke to those around her even in her time of pain.

Time had passed and soon all but Inuyasha's main pack now stood silently around his grave. Each one paid their respects leaving a token of their own on the grave. First the slayer and her little demon, then the monk followed by the kit before each left Kagome alone to stare at the grave. It was finally silent and Kagome was now the only person to stand out in the cold, soon however, Sesshomaru had joined her.

"Thank you," came the calm polite reply. "I am humbled that you agreed to be present for his burial, Lord Sesshomaru," she spoke in a very formal manner which sounded foreign coming from her mouth but he listen none the less. "Would you like to stay longer? I can prepare a place for you far from-"

"That won't be necessary," he interrupted clearly feeling no need to stay longer. He turned on his heels and began to walk away eager to return to his home. "My business here for today is done. I will return at a later time, priestess."

"I see," she responded in a hushed voice. Truthfully it saddened her to know that someone else would leave her alone again, even if it was just Sesshomaru, Kagome desperately needed to be around people. She needed that closeness that sense of comfort from anyone without her having to tell someone she needed it. She turned around to watch him leave only to catch a glimpse of flowing white hair causing her heart to twist painfully in her chest as she briefly thought it was Inuyasha leaving to hunt. She followed the white hair until it disappeared completely before she closed her eyes to steady herself. "Goodbye...Inuyasha..."

(Welcome to the new angst attention to my achieves! The death of our beloved Inuyasha has taken place and is effecting everyone differently but they all must learn to survive now.

Perview for next chapter: Sesshomaru observes the village from afar as well as the young priestess Kagome, coming the realization of where they stand in his brother's pack.)