Disclaimer: I disclaim the fact the story and characters from "InuYasha" are not my original creations but are in fact that of the ingenious Rumiko Taskahashi. Go, Takahashi!
PROLOGUE
Everyone was silent, breathing no louder than the whispering breeze twirling about them. Shippou, the youngest of the travelers, looked nervously at the ground, stroking his bushy tail every now and then. His patterned shirt of leaves upon teal relaxed him a small bit as he thought back to better times. Sitting upon a fallen log, Kagome, whose emerald sailor uniform blended in slightly with the thick forest's landscape, watched Sango drumming her fingers nervously upon her lap beside her. For Sango, despite the normal tranquility her simple winter pink and cactus kimono and the looming sweet fragrance of the newly come spring offered, bore an expression nothing but the opposite; anxiety was sketched deeply into her face. Not even her Kirara, her cat demon companion, could soothe her, winding her two pale yellow tails about her ankles. High up in a tree yet made visible because of his brilliant crimson haorai, InuYasha strained his sensitive dog ears to pick up the slightest bit of movement from about a mile radios of the forest terminal. Even the snow fur upon his ears pricked up when there was nothing but a slight shift in the breeze; not exactly much of turbulence, compared to other times, that is. With a minute gust every now and then, the wind toyed casually with InuYasha's long ivory-coated hair. The fresh scent of pine encased them all and carried their own aromas throughout the rest of the forest and the vast valleys stretching farther out. No sound, not a word. Silence.
Grasping a tuft of her skirt, Sango was the first to speak. "Do you think he's coming?" she asked quietly. Her voice sounded a bit croaky, barely a whisper at first from the lack oral communication, but it eventually evened out. Kirara's tails stiffened, and Shippou stopped playing with his own bushy one. The question was not addressed to anyone in particular; possibly it was to everyone, to Sango herself. Not able to bring herself to look up at her despairing friend face to face, Kagome slowly turned her gaze away, to the ground. Flinching slightly, InuYasha did the same. There was no rebellious attitude from him, no laughter from Kagome, no child cockiness from Shippou, no purrs or soft growls from Kirara…no smile from Sango.
Exhaling deeply, Sango felt the silver drops coming. Scooting closer to her, Kagome let Sango fall upon her shoulder, waiting for the tears. Shippou, too, gave way a stifled sniffle or two before letting his own tears blot his tawny straw-colored vest. Wrapping his arms around Kirara's neck, he wept for one of his only friends who could have could have his elder brother, him or InuYasha. Trying his best to keep his cool, InuYasha himself shed a few tears himself for the one whom had become one of his best friends.
The zephyr blew again, carrying away lustrous tears.