DISCLAIMER: Same as b'fore~ Iifa-chan ish mine~

Chapter Two~

The Silver Dragon watched on contently, laying comfortably on it's side, as Kikyou and Iifa Tribal took a quick look at the small patch of flowers before returning to the Desert Palace where they lived.

Mother and daughter were finished and just about to mount the reptile when it suddenly stood up on all four legs, long, wrinkled neck stretched to it's full length, beak-like snout turned skywards, making sharp, hawk-like motions with it's head.

Young Iifa was about to ask it what was wrong when the beast wailed, shaking it's head violently, raising up on it's hind legs and bringing itself down with full force.

Kikyou instinctively grabbed her daughter by the shoulders, cursing herself for not bringing her bow and arrows.

"Iifa~! Go to Conde Petie as fast as you can~!"

"M-mommy..."

"Go~! And don't look back~!"

The small, black-haired girl hesitated for a second, and then took off for the large structure not far from where they were.

The Silver Dragon, drool dripping from the sides of it's mouth, however, took this as an offending move, and raised itself into the air with one powerful pump of it's wings, flying as fast as Silver Dragons go.

"IIFA~!"

Kikyou raced after the two, but it was too late.

The dragon made an attempt to pick up the young half-Genome, only succeeding in sharply raking her back, leaving a large gash.

Kikyou found herself screaming, running up to her fallen daughter and quickly scooping up the girl's limp body, pressing it close to her chest.

She never had time to run off to Conde Petie for help, or shed tears, for the dragon had made a u-turn, and bit right into Kikyou's shoulder, exactly where her old injury was.

The ex-priestess gasped in pain, and bent over in agony as the lost souls of maidens and the deceased of Gaia took their chance to exit her body.

Kikyou then fell over on her side, lifeless daughter still in her arms, and closed her blank eyes forever.

As for the dragon, it had landed not far from the canyon Conde Petie had been built on, and in an uncontrollable frenzy, forgot it's feathered wings and threw itself over the edge, crushing it's skull and snapping it's neck when it hit bottom.

Kuja shook his head, trying his hardest to erase the clear memories of the sendings he had received from the dragon's crumbled body, and raised his slender hand up to his head, as if he had a headache.

The full Genome opened his eyes just in time to see the monk, Miroku, bend down in front of the two mounds of dirt in which Kikyou and Iifa were buried, in front of the great Iifa Tree they so loved to visit.

Kuja then took a breath, much like a sigh, unable to take one look at the two mounds that wrenched his heart whenever he looked at them or even thought about them, nor was he able to take even one glance at the Iifa Tree, feeling as if all of Gaia were watching him.

"...Why must I go through this~?"

Zidane, who stood between his beloved Garnet and Kagome, had been watching Kuja the entire time since they had arrived, felt a wrench in his heart as well.

And, as if that weren't enough, Kagome, Kikyou's 'sister', couldn't help but notice how very silent her mate, Inu-Yasha, had been since they received the news. Of course, now that she thought about it a bit, the white-haired halfbreed never seemed to be too happy about his former lover - Who he, sometimes, acted like he still had feelings for - Falling in love with and marrying a man he didn't know one thing about, not to mention having a daughter who looked exactly like her mother, with the exception of a black, silver-tipped tail and two silver feathers, which she had gotten from her father.

"...Which annoys him even more."

The black haired teenager took a look at her mate, who's eyes were pensive and somewhat sorrowful, their golden gaze never leaving the larger mound.

It seemed Miroku was the only one who didn't seem too upset, though he was just as discontent as everyone else.

After the small 'funeral' - The real one had already taken place - Zidane had asked if he could be alone with his older brother for a while.

The blonde Genome closed the door as quietly as he could, and took the few steps he was comfortable taking towards Kuja, who was listlessly gazing out the window in his room in which they both stood.

Zidane was about to say something when Kuja gracefully turned to meet him, silver-white feathers glittering in the sunlight, body language telling his younger sibling that he was awaiting whatever he had to say.

Taken a bit by suprise, and still not sure of what to say, Zidane took a breath.

"Kuja, I... I'm terribly sorry about Kikyou and Iifa..."

The Genome then caught himself, remembering the time before Kuja's ruthless attack on Alexandria with the enslaved Bahamut, when he was to speak to Garnet before her coronation, not being able to say anything without feeling as if he were lying to himself, and found himself in that very same spot again.

Kuja stared him in the eye for a bit, and then turned back towards the cloud-filled blue sky, suddenly feeling very mentally tired.

"I don't want your sympathy, brother. If you've nothing else to say, then I suggest you leave now."

The silver-haired Genome stated, rather coldly, and ended up looking down towards the ground.

"Aw, dammit... I should've known he would act like this."

"...If there was anything I could do, Kuja, I'd do it."

"Well. What a coincidence, my dear brother. I was just contemplating how I could have prevented their deaths by setting my dragon free."

"How could you have known~?"

"..."

"Kuja..."

Kuja started to feel a mixture of sorrow, confusion, and a touch of guilt, one part of him regretting his two earlier statements, the older part of him calling in the back of his mind, the merciless killer he once was, not giving a damn.

"...I'm sorry, Zidane."

Zidane was silent.

"This is all so sudden... Not once have I lost something so dear to me..."

It was then that the taller man felt a hand on his armored shoulder.

"I don't blame you for feeling the way you do."

Kuja turned to Zidane, and collapsed into his younger brother's arms, tears streaming down each side of his heart-shaped face.

"Such irony... I meet this beautiful woman, and start a completely new life with her, even succeeding in having a child... And it's all gone in a flash."

Zidane began to stroke his brother's hair, gently, and didn't even dare bring up a certain night at the beach near the Ancient Tree of Life he was being reminded of.