Some would say that they were the heroes of the Feudal Era; the boy with silver hair and furry ears, the girl with a boomerang, the boy with a cursed hand, the boy with wild dreams, and a girl who was long gone.
Some would say that they were the chess pieces of the devil himself; the boys with strategies that rival the greatest war generals, the girls with brains that do calculations millions of miles per hour, and all of them who cheated death but one with their sheer willpower.
Others would say that they were missing an element; the boy with red-rimmed eyes, the girl with scratches on her arms, the boy with a missing hand, the boy with broken crayons, and the girl buried deep in the ground, truly remembered by four.
The only thing they were was cursed; cursed by life, cursed by the devil, and cursed by separation.
If there was one thing Inuyasha Tashio would never let go of- It was his camera. A girl had captured moments throughout her stay in the Feudal Era from all five of them laughing together, and until their last breaths (there were now four left; if the last one was missing, how were they alive anymore?)
But then her camera became his, and he took it upon himself to continue her legacy.
So it was a surprise when the monk and the slayer, asked him to be their photographer. Their smiles radiated shyness but their eyes passed over him like a ghost like they were looking for someone.
During their photo shoot, the couple insisted to stay an arm's length away.
"Please Inuyasha, you know why we're doing this," the groom said with a sad voice.
Inuyasha let his camera do the talking and snapped away. It was like someone was in between them, someone missing, someone important.
(twenty years later, as people walked down his own photo gallery amongst the crowd, they'd criticize the photo for the missing space and not realize that it was missing the lost girl. the girl who gave everything she had to her friends and expected nothing back, only to be swept away by Death himself.)
Shippo Higurashi had changed after the war. He became quiet and emotionally attached to people. He had a routine every day, wake up, goes to work, and then go to the Monk and Slayer to drink tea with Inuyasha.
Every time he'd go to talk, and the extra cups would be set out. They would sit there, flipping through family albums, with a quiet look and eyes full of regrets. Inuyasha would mumble and leave halfway with his camera around his neck, and memories playing vibrantly in his head.
Shippo would stare after him, silent, as his voice had been last used on the last day he had seen the woman who had raised him like her own.
He's already lost his family twice and swore to himself to never start another one.
Sango had given up her last name the day she swore to become a Demon Slayer. She thought last names were weak, as they could be used to trace back to her ancestry roots. Her last name was a weakness, and she needed to get rid of it.
But as she grew older, she found other weaknesses, and she wanted to get rid of them too.
First, it was her family and village(but they crashed and burned).
Then, it was her life(but how was she living)?
During her lonely travels through the country to avenge her family, she realized that her weaknesses were her strengths. Her brother made her worry and do worse in battle, but without him, she would've been long gone.
So one day, when she found a new family of oddballs, she decided that this was going to be her strength to get better, so she could protect them. She never thought that one of them would die under her watch.
And her strength?
Became her regrets.
Miroku had planned out his entire life since his birth. He was going to eat, sleep with women, and hopefully get rid of the hole in his hand. He never anticipated or looked forward to anything. He was probably a dishonorable monk, but he lived life without regrets.
Until her.
A girl so pure, that could attract thousands of demons just to ravage her soul.
He didn't know his life would change that moment, however, he had thought that she would just be another pretty face he could travel with. But he was so, so delightfully wrong and he was thankful.
If he hadn't run into her, then he wouldn't have met the love of his life, his new family, and motivation.
And once she disappeared, the feeling grew weaker as the years passed.
He should've jumped in front of that tentacle instead.
That was, until one day, Kagome Higurashi was born into the world with a jewel that burned brightly at the side of her body.