You feel it break down

Miroku blamed a possible head injury for the sight of Sango cradling one of the soul collectors in her arms much like she did Kilala. The other remaining soul collectors too were now hovering around her although they seemed rather nervous or perhaps he was merely trying to project logic onto the bizarre situation.

"You'll need to release the soul into her, okay?" he heard Sango coo as she slowly made her way towards Kagome, "Can you do that?"

Yes, it was most certainly a head injury. Especially considering he could've sworn he heard a faint almost endearing meep from the creature. He wasn't aware they made sounds other than their bizarre swooshing hum. It made him increasingly nervous that the little demons were now following Sango as well. Had she managed to get herself killed? Was this her spirit guiding Kagome's soul back to where it belonged? He couldn't lose her. He couldn't. No matter how upset with her he had gotten recently this...this was the last thing he had ever wanted. Something he had dreaded and feared.

"Sango?" he croaked hoarsely, almost desperately, as he tried to get up but the slayer met his gaze and gave him a reassuring smile.

"It's okay," she replied softly, "It was just frightened."

As she walked, Miroku's eyes widened in shock as more and more soul collectors began hesitantly coming out from wherever they had been hiding. Swirling casually around the slayer, flinching whenever Sango made too sudden a movement, and occasionally making small noises to each other as though seeking reassurance that this was indeed okay. When Sango muttered something softly to the soul collector in her arms it lolled its little head back and made a strange sound before one of the others glided towards the small orb still bouncing gently where Kikyo had once stood. Picking it up in its tiny arms, it waited patiently for Sango to arrive before moving to curl around her shoulders - nuzzling her as it went.

A head injury. Definitely a head injury. There was no other logical way to explain what he was seeing.

"Okay now, let it go," Sango whispered as she gently ran her hand over the smooth serpent-like creature and it nodded once before sliding from her arms and depositing Kagome's soul back into her body. Turning her head towards the other patiently waiting, she smiled gently and gestured towards Kagome. It too moved at her command and did the same.

Miroku sighed and nodded to himself. Ah yes, he needed medical attention. Sooner rather than later. Kagome began to stir and Miroku wrinkled his nose. Perhaps he too had died and this was the afterlife. All of his friends reunited in death. He just wished the pulsing pain in his ribs would subside if that was the case.

"S-sango?" Miroku tried hoarsely and she gave him an apologetic smile.

"Let me make sure Kagome is alright first and then I'll come help you," she offered before startling when several of the soul collectors began shooting forward and wrapping around the monk who looked more terrified than he did when his wind tunnel cracked.

"Or, uh, they can help," Sango trailed off uncertainly as it began to dawn on her that the kindness she had shown the poor abused creatures might have maybe made them deem her their new leader. This...this was unfortunate. Had Kikyo subdued them so completely that they had forgotten their independence? Their original purpose and lives prior to their apparent enslavement long since wiped from their minds?

The soul collectors gently carried Miroku to the slayer. Their small black eyes seeming to shine with hope and an obvious desire for approval. Miroku on the other hand looked like he was about to pass out from shock and was trying to squirm out of their vice grip.

"I guess, um, carry him back to the village? Please," Sango ordered with a strained smile and the little soul collectors nodded once before turning about and the monk straight up panicked.

"What do you mean carry me back?! Sango?! Sango?!" Miroku called out as they began drifting away with him struggling pointlessly in tow. Sango raised one hand and cringed in silent apology.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Inuyasha breathed a slightly disappointed sigh of relief as the well accepted him and he arrived on the other side. Kagome's natural scent surrounding him immediately breaking his heart a little more. It still smelled fresh. Like she was still there with him. He furrowed his brow as he effortlessly jumped out of the well with Jiro in his arms. It was more than that. It smelled...it smelled like she was here. As strong as it ever was whenever she was in her bedroom and he came to fetch her. That...that couldn't be right. Kagome was gone.

"Can...can you call my sister?" Jiro managed to rasp out as he cringed in pain and tried to maneuver himself to get better access to his dirt crusted pocket. It would be a miracle if his iphone wasn't cracked and damaged all to hell but maybe if he was very lucky, it would at least work for one call, "It...oh god...it might not work but...but if it does...will...will you tell her which...which hospital you're taking me to? I...I want her to...to...my...my phone is in my..."

"What makes you think I know how to do that? Stop moving so much," Inuyasha ordered firmly as he tried to stay somewhat calm and not just knock the kid out. He didn't have time to stop and figure out some modern shit.

"Just...just find Izzy then. You know, with your powers or whatever," he whispered hoarsely as his shaky hand fumbled with his jeans. Phone in hand he held the obviously mangled thing out to Inuyasha with trembling fingers, "Or you know, call her. You seem smart...smart enough to figure it out."

Inuyasha gave the boy a patient, irritated, extremely tired look.

"There's not way that thing'll work and stop moving so much. I'm sure..." Inuyasha trailed off as he readjusted his hold and furrowed his brow. Shaking his head, the half-demon sighed dejectedly and began making his way up the stairs - taking his time despite knowing he probably shouldn't as he tried to come to grips with this latest terrible thing in a long, long life filled with nothing but terrible things.

Kagome was...she was beyond his reach. She was gone. This scent was still fresh because only a few hours had passed. Not even that long. Inhaling deeply, he had to fight to hold back tears. The last thing he wanted to do was carry this...this reincarnation around despite knowing Kagome probably would want to make sure the bastard got back to the right time. All Inuyasha wanted, though, was to curl up next to Kagome's body and die himself. Every muscle still ached, it was still hard to breathe and his vision kept blurring at random. It wouldn't take all that much. Maybe he could even goad a demon into fighting him and at least go out with some honor.

But why did her scent have to smell so fresh? Were the gods that be just playing with him? It was cruel. Unnecessarily cruel. What had he done to be tortured like this all his damn life? Was it because of what he was? Was he so damned that...that Kagome had to suffer for it too? Kikyo had...Kikyo had...if she'd done all that to him, he didn't even want to think of what she'd done to Kagome. She'd done worse to Kagome. She'd killed her.

The scent grew in strength and Inuyasha willed his body to give out. Maybe he'd finally lost his sanity after the events that had unfolded. Wishing for things that could never be and his mind willingly going along with his hopeless longing. There had been so much time utterly wasted. So many opportunities where he could have enjoyed being with her. Truly being with her as they should have been. He...he hadn't even gotten to kiss her. Not really. Each time their lips had met in the past had been in the middle of some new horrible thing that had befallen him. The most reassuring, truly heart-wrenching memory had been mere days ago. When he had woken up and she had found him and for a moment he had forgotten that he was injured. He believed...even if just for a moment...

Despite how terrifying that experience had been, he wanted to crawl into that exact memory and stay there forever. He crinkled his nose as he opened the well-house door and adjusted his hold on the semi-conscious boy who seemed perfectly content to be carried around like a bag of meal.

"There you are asshole. What the hell did you do to your hair?!" he heard an angry female voice and he whipped his head in that direction before his eyes widened in shock. That face might be unfamiliar. Her entire body language promised nothing but death. And yet...he sniffed once tentatively as hope bloomed in his chest. And yet there was no denying that scent. A hesitant smile played with his lips. That was why the scent was fresh. He sniffed again and his smile widened. There were undertones too that distinguished her from Kagome. Her looks drastically different. But that scent came from her. His nose went into overtime as he tried to dissect the subtleties and hope flooded his system. Deep, deep down he could smell other scents underlying the one he normally associated with Kagome. Scents of people that were familiar to him and those that were not. The one that began to heal his heart, however, was the muted but undeniable undertone that was his own.

"Are you looking for him?" Inuyasha asked as he gently lifted Jiro for her to see and the woman's eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she rushed to his side.

"What on earth happened?!" the strange woman breathed as she glanced up into Inuyasha's face and flinched back, "And who are you?!"

"Just a friend," he muttered in a much more polite tone than he'd used in some time, "So he needs to get his leg set. He, uh, fell into the well."

Jiro wasn't a reincarnation.

"Do you work here?" the woman muttered suspiciously and Inuyasha shook his head as he fought back a grin that was fighting to bloom, "I just come here sometimes."

Her eyes raised to the ears above his head and her eyes widened in panic before darting back down to his face.

"Can you handle taking him to a healer?" he asked quietly and the woman seemed to fight a battle within herself as she continued staring at him with wide, terrified eyes. Finally, after several long agonizing minutes, she nodded and moved to collect her brother.

Jiro wasn't a reincarnation.

Kagome wasn't actually dead.

Kagome was alive.

He hadn't lost her.

"I'll...I'll call an ambulance," she whispered hoarsely as she cradled the young man against her and instinctively curled around him while staring up at the strange, obviously not human boy standing over them. Inuyasha nodded once, not really knowing what an ambulance was but not wanting to get more involved in...in their lives as they clearly had no idea who or what they were, before turning and heading back towards the well-house.

Kagome and he would be together.

They'd have children together.

They might even grow old together if they were lucky.

"W-Wait," the girl called out before flinching when he did indeed stop and glance over his shoulder, "Who are you?"

The underlying question, of course, was also what are you but Inuyasha forced himself to ignore the slight hurt. For whatever reason, he and Kagome weren't involved in their lives. He prayed to whatever holy was up there that there was a good reason for it and that they hadn't changed that much in the five hundred years between then and now. It was obvious, to him at least, who and what these two were. What Jiro actually was. It was almost laughable, in retrospect, that he had actually gotten himself worked up over the boy in the first place. Well, okay, nothing about this situation was funny. Not one minute of it. Still, it was a tremendous relief that the boy was, in fact, not his reincarnation. It was even more of a relief that the two's continued existence meant...

He needed to go back.

He needed to go back now.

"Nobody," he replied in barely more than a whisper, "Just a friend."

He hurried back to the well leaving the terrified, worried girl and the semi-conscious boy behind him.