Sango's red-rimmed eyes looked at the ground, her finger tracing a pattern into the dirt. Miroku sat next to her, for once not concentrating on groping Sango's bottom.

"What happened?" Sango whispered hoarsely. "How did she die?"

"I have no answers," Miroku said sadly. He gazed at the picture Sango had drawn. It was a striking likeness of Kagome. Roughly Miroku brushed the dirt over it to erase the picture.

"We can do nothing," he said. "I have never felt so hopeless."

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Inuyasha stared at Kagome's body. He couldn't rip his eyes from her still corpse. This was worse than Kikyo. He'd known Kagome, come to treasure her, love her, and if she'd only lived...

It was all his fault and he knew it. It had been his job to protect her and he'd failed. He was weak. He'd needed Sango and Miroku but he had turned them down. Maybe if he hadn't, Kagome would be alive, breathing, laughing, tweaking his furry ears.

It was all his fault.

Suddenly a sliver of hope cut through the darkness of pain. Tenseiga had the power to restore lives, didn't it? He would hunt down Sessomaru if it killed him, and make him bring Kagome back to life.

With a new fervor in his path, he stood, finally looking away from Kagome, and strode outside.

"Kaede!" he yelled. The old woman turned. She looked older and more helpless than ever, suddenly, and Inuyasha was forced to wonder why she was still alive.

"Watch over Kagome." Inuyasha refused to say "Kagome's body". It was too final.

"I'm going to get Tenseiga."

"WHAT?!" Sango screeched. Miroku jumped several feet at her high-pitched sound.

"It's the only way to save Kagome." Inuyasha turned and said, not facing them, "Coming?"

"Of course!" Sango cried.

Off the group went, determined to undo the pain that wracked their hearts.

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Kagome stared at the reflection of her new body. She opened her shirt roughly.

"These aren't mine!" she cried, staring at unfamiliar body parts. How did I get in this mess?

Suddenly she remembered. She remembered looking at Inuyasha, admiring how courageously he fought, when suddenly an unbearable pain ripped through her torso as Naraku's cold hand severed her life.

She gasped, a sheen of cold sweat covering her face. She swallowed several times, trying to wet her dry mouth. She felt ill.

No! You have to be strong and go back to Inuyasha! she told herself firmly.

And then what? Say, "Oh, hey Inuyasha, I've just found out I'm in your lost lover's body!" Nope. She'd figure that out later. Right now she was going to find Inuyasha.

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After traveling non-stop for several hours, Inuyasha stopped suddenly.

"He's over there," he said, gesturing at a small hut. "I can smell his scent."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Sango said grimly.

Inuyasha didn't reply, just ran forward and burst open the door. Sessomaru sat calmly on the floor, gazing indifferently at his younger brother.

"Hello brother," Sessomaru said. "Something I can help you with? Your death, maybe?"

"I need you to use Tenseiga to bring Kagome back to life," Inuyasha said calmly.

Sessomaru's eyebrows rose. "Oh, really. Your human wench dead already? And what's in it for me?"

"Anything," Inuyasha proclaimed. "You want it, name it."

Despite Sessomaru's usually calm demeanor, a shiver of surprise seemed to pass though his body. "Anything?"

"You heard me."

Sessomaru stroked his chin. "How about...your life?"

"Fine," Inuyasha barked. "Now, come with me." As if he'd just been bargaining over a small thing, he turned and exited the hut.

"So what's going on?" Sango asked when Inuyasha came out.

"I'm giving him my life in exchange for Kagome's." Inuyasha gestured at his brother. "Hurry up!" he yelled.

"Coming, brother." Sessomaru matched Inuyasha's quick and steady pace evenly.

Sango's mouth was gaping, and her eyes were wide. Shippo and Miroku looked like they weren't sure what they were hearing.

"You-you're going to die for Kagome?" Sango asked, running to keep up with Inuyasha.

"Yes."

"But – Inuyasha –"

Inuyasha whirled around. "I can't let people die because of me," he snapped. "If I can get her back, I don't care what happens to me. If I die, maybe people around me will stop dying. I'm a threat to all who know me." With that, he resumed his high speed.

Sango dropped back with Miroku and Shippo.

"He's going to die," Sango said, fear gripping her heart.

"I can't believe all this is happening," Shippo said. "K-K-Kagome's dead, and Inuyasha's going to die...what did we do to get ourselves into this?"

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Kagome hurried along, nearly tripping on Kikyo's long robes. She turned her head to the right and saw – to her great surprise and shock – Inuyasha! She was hidden in the forest, while he was running in the open meadow, so he probably wouldn't see her. But – what? Sessomaru was following him, then came Sango and Miroku, along with Shippo. What was Sessomaru doing? Usually he was trying to kill Inuyasha, not follow him.

Kagome decided to follow them while staying hidden in the forest. But what will I tell him?

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A/N: Sorry if I spelled Tenseiga wrong, and I apologize for this being such a short chapter! I've got ::groan:: a whole lot of homework and two other fics I gotta update. Thanks for your review, Dragon, and I'm glad you liked the Inuyasha's emotion bit. I worked pretty hard on that.

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