There was a feeling in the air, a sense of dread almost. No birds were singing and the sky had clouded over. Suddenly a scream broke through the silence.

"Sango," cried a deep saddened voice.

There was so much hurt in that scream that the earth itself wanted to cry.

The dreadful sound was heard by two nearby travelers. They immediately set off to find where it had come from at an impossible speed. The girl jumped on the man's back and he started running. Only he didn't look completely human. In fact, two doglike ears broke through his silver hair. He seemed fairly young but his hair was a silvery white. They quickly covered ground.

Finally they reached a break in the trees. They had reached what was once probably a beautiful village. All that was left now was burnt and smoldering ruins.

At first they did not see anyone. Then they realized there was someone in the middle of the remains. Both of them quickly ran to see who it was. What they saw filled with immense grief. A man was kneeling over a woman's body.

She was a beautiful woman even in death. They could not tell if the man was alive. He just sat there with his head down. The only sign of life were the tears that dripped from his face.

"Miroku?" said the half man, half dog. "What happened?"

"It's my fault. I didn't even get to tell her." Miroku answered as he looked up with mournful eyes. His head lowered again.

Later that evening, the girl and the half dog started a fire nearby. "Inuyasha, what happened? How did Sango die? Will Miroku be alright? He won't answer any questions. He just sits there over her body. What can we do?"

"Calm down, I don't know what to do yet." he replied. "Don't worry Kagome, everything will be ok. We will figure it out somehow."

Without warning, Miroku got up and walked over to them.

"I need help moving her. We can't let Sango get too cold." he said. Inuyasha and Kagome looked at each other surprised.

"Miroku," Kagome started. "Miroku, Sango is dead. There is nothing else we can do for her."

"No, she isn't" the man stated with no emotion.

"Miroku, we will all miss her but eventually you will have to let her go." said Inuyasha.

"No, she isn't dead." And with that, Miroku stood up. He walked over to the body and knelt down. "Come here," he said. When Inuyasha and Kagome came over he bent over her body. He put his ear to her chest. "Listen." Kagome did not hear anything. Even Inuyasha with his sensitive hearing only heard a faint thudding.

"How can you hear that?" Inuyasha asked.

"Never mind," said Miroku. "Can't you see? She is still alive. I know it looks grim, but there is still hope. You have to help me. I don't know what happened. What's wrong with her?" he started shaking his head again.

They finally convinced Miroku to sit by the fire. He would only come if they brought Sango with them. They carefully carried her body next to the warm fire. The fire gave off just enough light to see Miroku's face. He was obviously devastated with grief. He made no noise, but silent tears streamed down Miroku's face. They seemed to cut through his dirt covered face and make little paths to his chin where they dropped to the ground. He did not lift his head. He sat like one with no will to go on. They took the chance to give him some time alone. The two hurried off into a nearby group of trees. As soon as they were out of sight of the fire Kagome sunk to the ground.

"Inuyasha, she's gone. Yes, she is still breathing but there is nothing left What happened? I don't know what to do," and with that she burst into tears

"I don't know. I just don't know." Inuyasha replied. His voice cracked, "Maybe we can get her back. There has to be a way."

When she looked up Inuyasha's eyes were filled with tears too. She realized that he was just as horrified and was trying to appear strong for her and Miroku. She stood up and walked toward him. "It will be ok," she said trying to comfort him. She fell into his arms. For a long time all they did was cry Kagome was slightly amazed that Inuyasha was willing to show such emotion. It felt good to have his support though. She knew that even if they couldn't help, Inuyasha planned to go to the end of the earth and back to get Sango back. She would be right beside him all the way. "We should head back. Maybe Miroku will talk now. We need to find out as much as possible. There has to be something we can do. When I find who did this I'll..." He was getting angry. He had shown his true feelings when he had cried. Now his anger was taking over. She was afraid to add any more pain to the already terrible conditions but she had to ask eventually. "Inuyasha, have you wondered where Shippo is?"

"It is a question that has haunted me ever since we found them. We need answers and we need them now. Come on, let's go face Miroku."

When they reached the fire, Miroku was up and about. He had somehow gathered more firewood. Now he was repositioning Sango's body so that it could get the most heat. When he moved her it was in a tender, loving way. His eyes were no longer dark with sadness. They had a gleam to them that suggested that life had returned to him. "Ok, here is what we need to do. Let's retrace my steps. Something happened, I'm just so confused." Miroku rambled as he paced. Back and forth he paced in front of the burning fire. The light gave him a possessed look.

"Miroku, are you ok?" Kagome asked cautiously. "What are you talking about? Stop pacing!"

He stopped and looked right at them. His crazed stare cut through them. Even though they were standing in front of a fire, a chill went down both of their backs.

"I need Sango back. I will do whatever it takes to get her back. I have to tell her how I feel. Help me." Miroku pleaded with them.

"Of course we will help," Inuyasha said. He walked over to Miroku and looked him dead in the eyes. "We will get her back. I promise."

Kagome rushed over to join them. "I will help too. Anything in my power, I will do."

"That settles it then. I guess I better tell you the whole story then. Let's sit down, this will take a while."

"Ok Miroku but I have to ask before you start, where is Shippo?" asked Inuyasha

"Safe, I hope. You will understand soon."

They all sat down and got comfortable. Miroku sat next to Sango's body "It all started this morning when we split up."