Hello all, yes, this is a brand new story. It will be 18 chapters in length and I have the first 9 prewritten. Updates will be weekly so there should never be a time you have to wait more than a week for a chapter. Fair warning: This story is NOT a happy one. Everyone got that? This is no Mind Reader. But I have greatly enjoyed writing it and hope you guys give it a chance. Trying something different as well-I'm using the song lyrics to an Avenged Sevenfold song as the chapter titles. I saw someone else do that, thought it was a really cool concept, and so found a song I wanted to use. Hope it works as well as I hope it does!

Story is rated R for violence and violence only. It may only be Pg-13, but I don't really want to chance it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. If I did own Inuyasha all the characters would be displeased with what I did to them. The song lyrics from "Strength of the World" are owned by Avenged Sevenfold. I also do not own Avenged Sevenfold. If I did I would be really happy and probably too distracted to sit down and write a story.

Well, now that all that stuff is out of way let's get on to the story. I bring you:

Absolute Vengeance

Chapter One: My Story Starts the Day They Said She Can't be Found

It was a peaceful day in Feudal Japan. It could be best compared to a day in the modern world when you could go to the park and simply relax and have fun the entire day. Children happily played in the village, the musical ring of their laughter could be heard all throughout the tiny establishment. The men worked contentedly in their fields. Not even their sweaty backs could end their peacefulness as the steady breeze alleviated the penetrating warmness of the sun. Women gathered outside the huts to converse as they worked on the odds and ends of living in the feudal age.

The villagers had not a care in the world besides preparing their stores of food for the winter to come. It was what they were used to, it was how they lived, they did not think on the darkness that was waiting in other parts of the country.

After all, the miko from the future, Inuyasha, and their friends protected this village. They housed and aided the hanyou and his companions when they needed it, and in return they were protected from the harshness of the outside world. It was a peaceful existence, one they quickly grew accustomed to and thoroughly enjoyed.

Which is why it would be an incredible shame when this peacefulness would be shattered.

Cautiously opening one eye, the young child looked around the hut he was currently lying in. Recognition immediately became apparent in his eyes. After all, he spent many days lying in this hut while waiting for his friends to heal or decide where to go next. He spent what felt like an equally number of days avoiding a seething hanyou when the miko went off to the future.

Slowly sitting up, Shippo couldn't stop the slight grimace from crossing his features when just that negligible movement caused pain to lash down his small body. Looking down, he was shocked to see bandages encircling his body, even more shocking to see was that these bandages were tinted with red; blood, he was injured. Placing his hands on his chest he groaned in pain when that minor pressure caused his body to throb with tenderness.

He was sorely tempted to undo his bandaging to allow him to see how badly injured he was. He was curious to know what could cause such pain. On the other hand, he was scared. Never had he been so wounded that just the slightest touch would cause pain to lance through him like sharp knives.

Deciding on the logical course of keeping the bandages on, Shippo finally got around to eyeing the rest of the hut. The only other occupant was Kirara and the firecat was also bandaged. She was lying curled up by the small fire. Shippo was satisfied to see she was breathing calmly and simply appeared to be sleeping.

Who Shippo really wanted to see was Kagome. Miroku and Sango would be almost as wanted. Even Inuyasha would suffice. Where were his friends? How could it be he was the only injured one? After all, that never happened. He was never one to feel at ease with the heavy fighting, his friends tended to fight. Yes, he would help when he was able to but he would be the first to admit his attacks were useless compared to the sheer power of Inuyasha, the purity of Kagome, the wind tunnel of Miroku, and the litheness of Sango. Even the firecat, when transformed, could unleash so much more strength then the kitsune child could ever dream of.

Sometimes Shippo wondered why they kept him as part of the group. He didn't exactly bring any strength to the ragtag bunch of heroes. And the one unique power he did exhibit, the ability of transform, was so underdeveloped it was practically useless. True, he was naught but a child and no one expected to be as strong as the other fighters. But that didn't stop Shippo from feeling so incredibly useless.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, Shippo was brought back to the present question at hand. Where was everyone else? He desperately wanted to know they were all right, but his body didn't want to move.

Finally, his curiousity beat out the pain. Perhaps his friends were outside, planning the next move, and were simply waiting for him to wake up. After all, Kagome would not allow them to leave without him. She treated Shippo as a mother would and Shippo loved her for it.

The struggle to stand up took more effort then Shippo would ever admit, at least to Inuyasha. By the time he was back on his feet he was gasping for breath, practically keeling back over. It was a neverending cycle of pain. Being in such immense pain caused his breathing to rapidly increase. But the ever increasing rate of his breathing caused his chest to move with such force more pain was wrought upon his body. Unless if he could get his breathing under control he would be frozen in place until his body finally collapsed.

Once again, his curiousity beat out the pain. As he stood still he regained control of his breathing. Soon he was breathing softly and the pain slowly receded until it was back to a manageable level. Taking a single step towards the door, Shippo gasped in pain. Never had he been privy to such pain in his life. One thing he could testify for sure—it would not break his heart if he never felt this way again.

Thinking of Inuyasha taunting him for being weak, Shippo braced his shoulders and began the slow and tedious trek to the door. Finally after what felt like an eternity, but in actuality was only five minutes, Shippo reached the door. His body was screaming at him, begging him to sit down and let it rest. Shippo studiously ignored his body's wants and desires and pushed the door open.

He blinked in surprise as the cheerful sun hit him full in the face. From his pain he would have expected it to be cold, dreary, and rainy outside. It somehow felt…wrong…for nature to be in such an endearing mood when he was internally screaming and sobbing. He was bleeding, and yet nature saw it fit to tempt him with the sounds of children's laughter. It taunted him when a pair of girls ran by the hut, chasing each other in the happiness only young kids can be full of. He played with those very girls in the past yet now he could only stand by the hut as his body cringed with the thought of running with the energy those two girls portrayed.

Yet as he looked around the village his body visibly relaxed. It was good to see such happiness in the villagers. In the travels with his friends he saw too well the horror and pain demons can unleash upon a helpless village. It was good to see this one still relatively untouched by the terrors of malevolence.

He expected at any moment for a frantic Kagome to come bearing down on him to reprimand him for standing up with such injuries. However, when she didn't appear before him he figured she must have gone through the well. She'll be back in a bit, probably with some of her modern stuff to help me, he thought happily. He could always count on Kagome to be there for him.

As the minutes slowly ticked by, Shippo grew puzzled. There was not a sign of his friends and companions. But then the villagers didn't look worried so nothing bad could have happened to them. Inuyasha probably grew tired of waiting for Shippo to heal so he forced the others to search for shards with him. Changing his mind, Shippo decided to start searching for Kaede. Surely the elderly healer could solve the mystery of his missing friends for him.

Walking gingerly through the village a slight degree of worry kept picking at the edges of his mind. It was trying to warn him of something, but what that something could be Shippo could not say.

Finally it hit him as he continued walking through the village. The villagers were diligently ignoring him. As he crossed their paths some would smile encouragingly at him, but then they would almost immediately turn back to their task at hand. Not one spoke to him. Now that he recognized it, Shippo could tell they were obviously avoiding him.

Why though? Never had he done anything to anger them. Back tracking, Shippo knew it wasn't anger. After all, some did smile at him. They couldn't be angry, and they definitely weren't fearful of him. As he thought on it harder it hit him. They were acting afraid for him. Some acted like they wanted to comfort him, but then at the last minute they would turn away almost as if they didn't know what they could do.

Growing more worried by the second, Shippo finally caught sight of Kaede. Desperately wanting to quicken his pace, but unable to, Shippo called out for the healer.

"Kaede!" he shouted, wincing when the raised volume grated harshly on his throat.

Looking away from the villager she was talking to, Kaede's eye widened considerably. "Shippo! You should not be up! The injuries you sustained were grievous, you ought to be resting."

Shaking his head frantically, Shippo stared at Kaede, his eyes plainly showing his worry. "Kaede, where's Kagome? Where's everyone else? Where are my friends?"

Her face filling with pity, Kaede stooped down to pick up the kitsune child. "Shippo, you are weak. You must not stress over the others until you are stronger."

Becoming almost hysterical, Shippo could tell Kaede was hiding something from him. Struggling within her arms to be let down, he gave up when his chest protested horribly. "Are…are…are they dead?" he asked fearfully. If they were dead his life would end. He could not continue on without Kagome. He couldn't continue on without Inuyasha, Sango, or Miroku. They were his family. The only family he had left. He could not lose them!

Hugging the kitsune gently, Kaede alleviated the kitsune's worse fears. "Calm yourself child," she hushed. "Do not fear for the worse."

"Kaede! What happened to them?" asked Shippo nervously. If they weren't dead, then where were they? Did they abandon him? Was that why the villagers acted as if they wanted to comfort him? Was he once again an orphan?

Entering her hut, Kaede gently placed Shippo by the fire. "I must change your bandages," she said. "You opened up the healing cuts when you foolishly walked around."

"I don't care!" Shippo practically shouted. "I want to know where the others are! Quit hiding the truth, I can take it. They left me, didn't they?" he said bitterly. "They realized I'm weak after this happened," he continued, gesturing with disgust to his battered chest.

"Oh child," whispered Kaede, "You are too hard on yourself. Erase your fears, they did not abandon you."

"Then WHERE ARE THEY?" yelled Shippo as he struggled to regain his feet. It failed when Kaede pressed him back to the ground. "Why won't you tell me?" he cried in a pleading voice. Why was she hiding from him? What could be worse than death or abandonment? This unknowing was tearing him up on the inside. He had to know what happened to his surrogate family.

"Child, I will tell you," began Kaede. "But you must promise not to do anything until you are fully healed." Kneeling down by the young kitsune, Kaede waited for his response. She had fresh rolls of bandages as well as some salve, but she did not move.

With tears of fright glistening in his eyes, Shippo hesitantly nodded. "Who has them?" he finally asked when Kaede started to unravel his bloodied bandages.

Pausing in her administrations, Kaede watched as the young child struggled to keep his fears under control. Rubbing the nape of his neck, she waited until he finally relaxed. "I do not know if someone has them," she finally said as she peeled off the last bandage.

Peering at his chest, Shippo was shaken to see a series of deep cuts crisscrossing across his body. They were seeping blood and he could finally see why it hurt so much to move and why Kaede was so agitated at him for walking. They were not life threatening injuries by any stretch of the imagination. They could have been as they were numerous and some deep, but Kaede had skillfully healed him. Shippo could see the scarring he had destroyed upon moving around. He had been recovering but his latest endeavor pushed him back a few paces.

"Then where are they?" he finally asked, raising his head to look at Kaede.

The healer rubbed some more healing salve on his cuts before replying. "I do not know."

"How can you not know?" asked Shippo. "How did I get here if you don't know where everyone else is?"

Gesturing towards the still sleeping Kirara, Kaede said, "She flew in a few days back with you held in her mouth. I feared for the worse, but you were still alive. As soon as I took you from her, Kirara transformed back to her small state and fainted. She had the same cuts on her body as you have on yours."

Gasping when Kaede began to wrap the new bandages tightly around his chest, Shippo asked, "So there has been no sign of the others? How long have they been gone for?"

Looking oddly at the kitsune, Kaede tied off the last bandage. "You do not remember anything?"

Shrugging, Shippo waited for the elderly healer to continue.

"You and everyone else went off about a week ago. A shard rumor had come in and you went off to investigate." Gathering her healing supplies, Kaede stood back up. "And then you and Kirara came back a few days ago. That is all I know."

Deep in thought, Shippo paid no heed when Kaede opened the door and left the hut. He silently stared into the mesmerizing fire before him. He had expected a bigger revelation to come from Kaede. She told him nothing of importance, just they left, then Kirara and himself came back, both injured in the same way.

Almost as if knowing the kitsune child was thinking of her, Kirara opened her eyes. Mewing softly, she walked to where Shippo sat. Laying back down beside him she rested her head in his lap.

Patting her head aimlessly, Shippo gazed thoughtfully at the cat demon. "You know what's going on, don't you girl?"

Raising her head, Kirara eyed the kitsune before pushing her head against his hands. She mewed pitifully, so Shippo rubbed behind her ears to comfort her.

"What do you know?" he asked dejectedly. "You're sad. Do you know who took them? Do you know where they are?"

Kirara did not move this time. She closed her eyes contentedly under Shippo's gentle ministrations.

Sighing softly, Shippo removed Kirara's head from his lap. Seeking comfort, he laid down besides the cat demon. Kirara quickly obliged by curling into the curved body of the kitsune. Flicking her tail, she laid it across Shippo's legs.

Shippo rested one hand on Kirara's back. Snuggling his head into her soft coat, he murmured, "We'll find them Kirara, we'll find them," before drifting off to sleep with the cat demon.

So...do you like it? I know you don't much of what's going on yet, but all will be explained in due time, that is if you can't already guess where this story is heading. Please review and tell me what you thought of this first chapter! I really enjoy writing this story so it would be great if there were people who enjoy reading it.

Coming in one week:

The News so Dark, Heart Stopped, I Stood Silent Without a Sound