Chapter 1:

Back Again

"Hey guys!" Kagome shouted climbing out of the well. Only when she didn't hear an answer did she begin to wonder. She actually came back on time. Where were her friends?

"Oh well." She sighed. Kagome sluggishly slung her pack over the lip of the well & headed toward Kaedes village. However when she got there she was not prepared for the sight she faced.

The village was in ruins. Bloody bodies lie scattered everywhere. She ran to the old priestess's hut hoping with everything she had that the old woman was all right.

She entered the hut almost tentatively, afraid of what might or might not be inside.

"H-Hello? Kaede? Anyone!" Kagome desperately yelled to empty space. Only when she was sure she was alone did she begin to cry. She cried for the friends she couldn't find & everyone that was lost, recently. (She couldn't tell if the massacre was today or yesterday or what.)

She decided to bury the dead villagers.

(A few hours later…)

She was almost halfway finished when she saw her first sight of hope.

"SANGO! MIROKU! SHIPPO, KILALA, IIINUUUUYAAAASHAAAAA!

"KAGOME!" They all shouted. She ran toward them, present project temporarily forgotten. "Oh My Gosh! Where have you guys been?" She cried through tear streaked eyes.

The first one to her was Inuyasha & he looked ready to kill. Taking in a deep breath he yelled, "What the HELL happened here? Kagome, the village is completely destroyed!" He grabbed her by the shoulders. "Are you OK?"

Y-Yeah Inuyasha. I-I mean I j-just got here and well I-I found it like this and, and…" Kagome begins to sob almost uncontrollably, "I COULDN'T FIND YOU GUYS! And Kaedes hut was empty and I WAS SO SCARED!"

"Oh my gosh Kagome are you OK? Oh, you're usually a little late and we didn't think you'd be back for a while and, and, oh this is all our fault!" Sango continued to gush. "Lady Kagome, Sango, calm down! Let us go back to the village and talk about what happened." Said the ever-logical Miroku. "OK." Replied Kagome.

They all headed back to the village each wondering what happened to the other.