Disclaimer: The characters within this story all belong to Takahashi-san.
Warnings: There is character death in this fanfic. Lots of it. If it bothers you, please don't read it.
Summary: It only took a few minutes of careless play and relaxation for them to doom themselves to a venomous death.

Survival
by: Kagome-reincarnation

The dark air they breathed in was as disgusting and as foul as it looked. Clouds of miasma and tainted oxygen were inhaled, no matter how willingly, as they ventured further into the forest. Only the two women of the group were unaffected by it; one was guarded by her purifying powers and the other by the mask she wore to purify poisonous vapors before they were taken into her body. Their companions, however, were not so fortunate.

Although each carried his or her varying method of prevention and protection, few were of any use against such invasive clouds of miasma when tendrils of the venomous air itself seemed to reach for their bodies, each impossible to cut or dissipate with houriki or fight off with kitsune-bi.

Kagome cried out; Shippo-chan was the first to fall to his knees. The tiny fox demon's body couldn't handle the powerful taint of the air he was breathing in, and his own energetic movements only circulated the poisonous agents more quickly within his already small body. Weakly, he tried to put up a brave front. He told himself he needed to be strong repeatedly, but the words simply were not enough. He looked up at the girl he'd tried to mug so long ago and smiled at her despite her tears. Though trembling with fear and pain, he only sighed as his life silently expired, exhaled from his body along with his final breathe. His soul slipped out of his slowly cooling corpse. The body was being held and carried and loved and that girl was crying all over him, begging him to come back.

The tiny fox demon's soul frowned at such a sight. He was dead and he was saddened by the fact, but he was more concerned than anything. Death was a calming touch, and he'd been carried into the wraith's arms peacefully. He watched, his calm slowly being replaced by worry as Kirara suddenly started to mew in pain, reverting back to her smaller form.

His partner in crime was even smaller than he in this form, and the already hazardous toxins would only move through her body more quickly. Not even the fires of her body were able to quell them. Sango cried, of course, but not in the way Kagome had. Sango had lost more than a member of the group and fighter in the valiant effort to destroy Naraku. Sango had lost one of the few remaining memories and supporters that she had of her former, happier life.

Inuyasha cursed at the skies and the multitude of trees, demanding that the culprit reveal himself. It was to no avail, and at last, Kagome, tears still spilling from reddened eyes, placed a hand on his arm. Angry and afraid, he tugged her into his arms. What if they all died? What if they truly died here and were unable to continue on their quest? What of their grand ambition? So many things had gone wrong and each time they tried to make it right, even greater wrongs occurred.

"I'm sorry, Kagome," he says resignedly, defeat slowly filling his eyes. "I'm sorry."

She shakes her head, hugging him as close as she can. "No," she says to him. "It's not your fault."

Frustrated, he holds her silently, wishing her words were true. If only he hadn't led them there… If only he hadn't been so foolish...! If only he'd scented the damning clouds of air before they'd fallen upon them, unable to escape. He coughed, distorting the few puffs of tainted oxygen before they whirled back into place.

"I'm sorry," he says, this time his voice is less confident and more of a whimper. His shoulders are trembling as he holds the woman he loves close to him. "I killed us."

Kagome pulls her face away from his chest to look into his eyes, releasing his torso to cup his face. "That's not true," she says brokenheartedly. He knows she's thinking of her family and friends and the era that she'll never see again if she dies here. "You didn't know."

"They're dead," he says, his voice hoarse as he looks into her eyes. She flinches. Shippo. Kirara. Fresh deaths that had occurred not even ten minutes away from each other. Not even an hour past.

"They know it isn't your fault, Inuyasha," she whispers to him as she rests her forehead against his shoulder. "We all do. No one blames you. We're all equally responsible for this."

The hear a thud and a cry and Inuyasha's eyes widen at the sight, even as he locks Kagome into his embrace so she can't turn to see the sight behind her.

Miroku has fallen and he's breathing roughly, his eyes on Sango even as hers are on his. She holds his hand and cries as though the world is ending. She wishes it were ending so she wouldn't have to worry about living on and thinking about all that comes after.

"Houshi-sama!" Sango calls to him, her tear-filled eyes earnestly searching for signs of life. He coughs and she releases her cruel grip on him, but he pulls her towards him. Inuyasha looks away so he doesn't see their exchange, but his ears are unable to avoid hearing their words.

All the while, Kagome is against his chest, her tears wetting his clothes and informing him that she is just as afraid as he.

Doing his best to get by, he holds her and he holds her as tightly as he can, no longer worried about appearances or demonic strength. No, he holds her and wants to protect her. Even as he can feel his own defenses falling against the demonic mist, he realizes that he doesn't want her to die. He knows he's as good as dead. The only other two youkai had already died, and though Sango had tried to take off her mask to even the score – to die right along with them – Miroku had prevented her from doing such a thing.

Inuyasha realized that his failure was his own and hates himself for getting them all killed. His whispers his apologies into Kagome's ear even as the tears finally slip from his own eyes.

"I'm sorry," he says, "I'm sorry. I love you. I killed us. I'm so sorry."

Through it all, he holds her and she holds him and she whispers back to him as quickly as she can. "I love you. It's not your fault. I love you. I love you. Don't leave me," her voice breaks as she breaks into a fresh wave of sobs. "Let me die with you."

He shakes his head at her, hugging her. "I'm sorry," he says, coughing some more. He can already feel his body failing, being destroyed by the miasma that now coated his nose, eyes, throat and lungs. He can feel the poison being pumped through his body, but he knows he can't do anything about it.

"I'll never leave you," he says finally. "Take Tetsusaiga and the Robe of the Fire-Rat. The barrier Tetsusaiga has should keep you safe and the Robe of the Fire-Rat will—"

He falls silent as her cries grow louder, but as she begins to wail, so, too, does Sango. He looks to her and realizes that Miroku has died. He's saddened by the death; Miroku had been their second companion and had always been the voice of reason in times of chaos and the hand of perversion in times of quiet. He had been a good man.

Inuyasha coughs before finally falling backwards, pulling Kagome with him. Sango mourns over Miroku and Inuyasha knows they should support her, but he wants to spend his last moments with Kagome, even if she hates him for the rest of his short life and for her own existence.

"Kagome," he calls to her gently. "Do as I say. Take the sword and clothes. You'll need them."

"No!" she shakes her head violently as she latches onto him. "I'll follow you! I'll die with you. Inuyasha, I can't live without you!"

Alarmed, he runs his clawed fingers through her hair, wincing when he realizes how difficult even so simple a movement has become.

"You can and you will," he says firmly. "I'll wait for you for however long I have to, but I don't want you to follow me too soon at all. Live your life, Kagome. I'll be waiting."

His breathing slows and Kagome cries more loudly. "I can't live without you, dammit, I can't!" He only smiles at her as he reaches up to touch her cheek.

"You can do it, Kagome," he says, his voice weakening. "I know you can. You're the woman I love, after all."

She doesn't say anything for fear she'll break him and she doesn't move for fear she'll kill him. It doesn't matter, though, and within moments of his final words, his hand falls from her face and his eyes close.

For a moment, she doesn't understand. How can he have gone so still? His body was always warm and firm to her touch, but it was always thriving with energy. How can it have disappeared so easily?

"No…" she says unknowingly, horrified. "No…! No! Come back! No!"

Kagome cries and cries and hours later, when Sango recovers enough to move towards her, Kagome latches onto her with all her strength and cries.

The reality of the situation was cruel and heartless, but neither of the two females could do anything about it because of the simple fact that they were still trapped within the damning miasmic barrier, alone, and without their companions.

Even Inuyasha's Barrier Slash had been unable to affect it. Miroku's houriki and kazaana, Shippo's kitsune-bi, and even Kagome's sacred arrow had given them no results.

And so, one by one, they fell. Shippo-chan. Kirara. Miroku-sama. Inuyasha. All because they'd been too foolish to see the signs – too damn preoccupied with taking a break to realize that they'd wandered into a barrier which had all too quickly filled up with miasma.

When their tears finally dried out, Kagome and Sango incinerated each of their fallen, carefully wrapping their ashes in the garments they'd worn. Then, they gathered the weapons. Shippo-chan's many useful toys and tools, Miroku-sama's Shakujo, and Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga and the Robe of the Fire-Rat.

They cried as they burned their companions and the men that they'd loved. Leaning on each other for support, they made it through the next few days within the confines of the barrier.

Then, quite suddenly, the barrier disappeared and they were free to walk the lands once more.

But that didn't change the fact that four of their companions were dead.

AN: Here are the alternate terms for several of the words that I used.

kitsune-bi: foxfire
houriki: spiritual power
kazaana: wind tunnel

Yes, I know I should be updating Safe and whatnot. -sweatdrop- But this is just a little scene that hit me out of friggin' nowhere and it wouldn't leave me alone no matter how many times I tried to ignore it. D: I'm not even sure I like how it came out. Comments, criticisms - much appreciated. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a happy new year~!