OMG! I know you reviewers must totally hate me, but it's not my fault, honest!! First I moved so I didn't have the internet, then I wrote two revisions of chapter 5 and couldn't decide which to use, and then... man those are bad excuses. Whatever, I'm gonna finish this story! So here's chapter 5, finally.

Inuyasha stabbed his shovel into the earth, taking up another mass of wet soil, and flinging it over his shoulder. It was pointless. There was no way he and Miroku could dig though the mud to make a decent grave plot. After the first time he dug his shovel into the ground, he knew no grave would be made this day, but still he worked for the sake of working. At least it kept his mind temporarily off the doubts and what-if's that haunted him in broad daylight. Inuyasha unconsciously looked over to Kagome, longing for her bright eyes and genuine all around beauty to comfort his desolate soul. There was no such luck. Her pale face was streaked with dried tears and smeared with blood from where she'd rubbed her cheek against Sango's. Her usual long, radiant hair hung sadly down her back in greasy strands. Even worse than her dirtied face, and pathetic hair were her hollow, darkened eyes. The customary bright spirited orbs of gray were replaced with a lifeless, black glass. She hadn't blinked back a tear, instead her eyes were gazed to an empty future that only she could see in her best friend's corpse.

Inuyasha turned away, unable to look at the woman who appeared so much like Kikyo on the day of her death. He brought his shovel back into the ground. Inuyasha worked in silence until he felt a strong presence burning into the back of his skull. He spun around and locked eyes with Miroku. He had never seen so much fire in the monk before, and in a way, it scared him.

"Why Inuyasha?", Miroku asked sternly.

"Why the hell is she dead? Why couldn't you save her? Everyone else we've come across you've help! Why not her? Why did you let her die, huh? Answer me! Why?"

Inuyasha stared in disbelief at the enraged man in front of him. Did he think he'd just let her die? That it was his fault, Sango was gone. Inuyasha quickly overcame his initial shock and replaced it with anger.

"You think I just let her die? She was my friend too monk! I loved her just as much as any of you did! I wish that I could give her my life right now, just to know she'd live! You think I wanted this? You think I let it happen? Well, where were you when she got killed, huh? Why weren't you there for her?"

Inuyasha was surprised at all the acidic remarks that flowed from his mouth. It wasn't something he'd thought out, the words just came. It was weird, like the feelings were there all the time and he'd just never said them. He would have loved to blame Miroku for being so weak and not backing Sango when she needed him. He said the words anyway, even if they weren't true.

Miroku glared cold death at the hanyou, "This is all your fault! She threw the hirakosu to stop that demon from killing you! You weren't worth it! I'd have let you die if I were her, but she was so damned selfless! Why did she save you, huh? Why? You're nothing but a..."

He was abruptly interrupted when a piercing scream filled his ears. It was Kagome. Her body rocked insanely, and her words trembled as she spoke to both men. She pointed a long trembling finger between the two, and enforced her aggression with fiery eyes.

"Don't do this!", she spat. "Don't disrespect Sango's day of death! She wouldn't have wanted this! She wouldn't have wanted you fighting, and you know it! You guys are so selfish and I hate you both! You're nothing but selfish children!", and with that she pushed her self off the ground and from under Sango's body and ran. The forest was a blur in front of her eyes, but she didn't care. She forced herself forward to a place she didn't know. A place where she could be away from the fighting, the pain, and the air of death that threatened to choke her. She didn't know where, but this place felt right, it felt almost good.

Kagome ran until she came to a slight clearing, centered around a small lake. 'Perfect' she thought. If she tried hard enough, she could forget the feelings of hopelessness and guilt, then things could start to feel normal again, like Sango was here. A bath was what she would have wanted when she was normal, so maybe it could help her now. Kagome sat at the lake's mouth, stripped her socks and shoes, and put her feet into the water. The cool water was a welcomed relief on her burning feet. Maybe a bath wasn't what she felt like now, but this was fine. She stayed like this for a few moments, allowing only a small bit of stress to leave her fatigued body. Kagome was considering wading in the shallow water, when she heard a twig snap behind her. Her entire body tensed by reflex, and she slowly reached over to grab her bow and arrow from the surface of a smooth stone. With an almost inhuman swiftness, she was on her feet with a poised bow pointed at the intruder. Rin.

And there's chapter 5 in a nut shell.

grins You know... it seems like a lot of you think you know what's gonna happen, but we'll see.

Think you can figure me out do you? Well, you're in for a rude awakening cause I gotta trump card up my sleeve.

Ja ne