The village lay before them. The fields around the village sparkled under the light of the bright sun

The paths between the fields were red with dried blood and bodies floated in the water and smoke clearly rose against the hills from the ruins of the village in the distance.

InuYasha's mouth set, grinding his teeth together slowly as he considered what had become an adopted home for him. The one place he was able to walk around. The one place that everyone knew him and didn't seem to care about his state as a hanyou. It was gone. Splinters where walls were, blood and gore where the mothers did their laundry. Tattered bodies of adult and child in the ruins and streets.

...Naraku...I'll drag your soul with me into hell if I have to

Kagome stepped foreword and InuYasha walked with her. He stopped as she dropped to her knees next to the first body and said a brief prayer for it. The next one and all the others got the same treatment, a prayer and a moment of silence. It took a long time to get up to the village, and there Kagome went to Kaede's hut and was silent.

InuYasha...I need you to help me take revenge for all of this...I need your support. I can't face this much death alone

Kagome, suprised from her thoughts, looked at InuYasha as he stepped foreword and started sifting through the wreckage.

" InuYasha?"

He turned and looked at her, his mouth in a firm set line. " Kaede's in there. Dead, but she was the closest I got to family back then..." he stopped and looked away, his mouth working to find the words. " I owe her...something decent."

He turned back and continued to lift the wreckage slowly. Kagome sat there for a second before heading foreword and helping him lift once solid beams and weighing stones from the pile. Slowly they worked their way down to Kaede's old body. Shattered arrows lay in her hand, showing she'd been out the door to fight when the building and dropped upon her. Blood trickled from the corner of one eye and her mouth but otherwise she appeared to be unmarked.

Kagome looked at InuYasha. " She died almost instantly," she whispered, reaching her hand out to close the now empty eyes that stared at nothing.

" What...how can you tell?"

" There's no bruising," Kagome whispered, gingerly pulling the old hands free from the arrows and upon her chest. " Her body didn't even have time to bruise before her heart stopped. I can only..." she stopped, her breathe coming in faster as her body sought to sob and she fought it off, " I can only hope she didn't feel too much pain before..." she couldn't finish. She closed her eyes tightly and clenched her fists.

InuYasha wrapped his arms around her, bringing her closer to him and held her against his chest.

" We'll kill him Kagome."

" Yes."

Scene change

InuYasha came back from digging the grave hole for Kaede. They'd get other villagers to help dig the many other graves needed later, but Kaede was closer to them all and needed to be put to rest before they could face the challenge ahead.

Both could feel Naraku out there, watching silently from the trees and his evil miasma occasionally wafted in from whichever direction the wind was blowing. Not even bothering to hide himself now, his deep chuckled could be heard between the grunts as InuYasha tossed mounds of dirt over his shoulder.

Kagome wrapped Kaede's hands in soft cloth and straightend the old womans hair.

" Little sister..." She smiled and laughed a bit. Taking a deep breathe she forced the tears back again. " It feels odd to say little sister. Kikyou's memories are mine now. I'm whole again and I know you're my precious baby sister but at the same time when I showed up you were like a mother to me. How lucky I was," she slipped Kaede's arm through the slightly dirty white burial kimono. " I don't know what I did to deserve such a devouted family member. I don't know how I would have gotten along without you. Thank you."

She laid Kaede's old body down slowly, her head resting on a pillow retrieved from the house.

Walking over to InuYasha, she sat at the edge of the hole.

" She's ready InuYasha. I'll watch for him from here, you go say your goodbyes."

InuYasha stood up, his face darker and more unreadable then Kagome had ever seen it. He put down the splintered lumber he'd been using as a shovel and dusted his now bruised and scratched hands on his robe.

InuYasha...

She stared out at the forest. Out there was the creature that had killed three if not four of their loyal friends. Killed because of sick ambition and greed. Twisted desire had led to this creature. A desire for her.

Guilt stabbed her hard and swift in the gut.

If only I hadn't helped him. I could have let him rot. His body would have died. And maybe he would have become youkai anyway, but he'd never have desired with such passion if he'd never met me!

She closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. Thinking that now was pointless. What happened had happened, and as the well showed no inclinations to take her back before the unfortunate encounter, there was no way to change it.

Hearing steps she looked up at InuYasha as he carried Kaede's body to the hole. Kagome stood and stepped aside as InuYasha decended into the ground with Kaede and gently put her body on the dirt floor. Standing up he stepped out of the grave and stepped next to Kagome.

" I know it's not a fancy funeral or anything," he said to the still body, " but it's the best we can do for you right now. I hope you'll be okay with it until we can bring you the proper stuff." He glanced at Kagome and his eyes were wet. She took his hand.

" We love you Kaede. We wish you well in Heaven. Look after...look after Shippo and Sango for us? And Miroku too if he's there. You always were able to keep them in line."

The breeze wafted past them gently as they both sat looking silently at the last member of their group. All the others were gone, the two of them soaked in the vast realization that they were the only thing standing between Naraku and the rest of Japan.

Silently InuYasha started pushing dirt back in. Kaede's hair came undone from it's loose bun as the soil fell on her head and slid to her shoulders.

Kagome picked up the makeshift shovel and started slowly piling more dirt in until they'd filled the space. Taking the shovel and placing it as a makeshift grave marker, Kagome took InuYasha's hand and squeezed it tightly.

" Let's finish this."

VvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVv

So far so good? Well even if it's not I want to finish this sucker.

Still messing around with Word pad (I miss Word) but it seems to be coming together.