AN: I'm alive, i'm really alive. I'm terribly sorry for not having updated recently, and once again it's the reviews that pushed me off my lazy butt to get back to writing. All the updates I had saved for some of my stories were erased ; ; so I have to start over. Devoted being one of them

Anyway, thank you all for the support, and for the corrective criticism (one of the most recent pointed out by nekozuki114, I blame lack of a proof reader!). I might re-visit this when it's complete to change some of the minor spelling errors and other mistakes, but for now, I think it's time I updated this, ne?

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"Please, Inuyasha!"

"Kagome!"

Kouga tackled the startled girl to the ground, feeling the wind against his back as Inuyasha slashed, and missed. He rolled once, before coming to a stop above her on all fours. An ear-piercing howl echoed in the clearing as the hanyou lunged at the two prone figures lying on the ground.

"I-Inuyasha..." Kagome stared up at him in mute horror. If Kouga hadn't pushed her out of the way...She gulped, having only a few seconds to breathe before she found herself closing her eyes as she was once again sent tumbling.

"Kuso!" Kouga threw himself to the right, rolling with Kagome protectively wrapped in his arms. Vaugley, he could hear her soft gasps, and wasn't sure if it was from fear or pain as they evaded the attacks.

"You fuckin' wolf, I'll have your head!"

"Keep thinkin' that, mutt." Kouga quickly pulled himself and Kagome to their feet as Inuyasha dove, claws poised before him.

"That's right, wench, hide behind him. What'll you do when I finish with him?"

"Inuyasha...Please, please stop this!" Kagome's plea fell on deaf ears, her voice partially muffled from being pressed into Kouga's chest. If he heard her, he didn't acknowledge as he reached again for the wolf youkai.

"Kagome...I want you to run."

"W-what?" She craned her head back to look up at her protector, fear evident in her eyes. Keeping his eyes on his opponent, he squeezed her, rewarded with a soft squeak.

"I need you to run. Get out of here. Find your friends, you'll be safe with them."

"K-Kouga, you can't be serious!" Her whisper came out harsher than she expected, and she saw Inuyasha's ears prick forward in interest. Kouga glanced down at her, and in that brief moment, she knew she couldn't argue with him. Fists clenched tightly in the fur of his armor, she nodded slightly. Inuyasha growled, a deep sound from the back of his throat, as Kouga adjusted to keep himself in front of the miko.

"Please do this, for me?"

"...All right. For you." She offered a watery smile, clutching him closer to her, unwilling to relenquish the tight hold she had on him. He smiled, though lopsided, keeping his eyes trained to the movements of Inuyasha as he circled.

"His next move, I want you to run. Don't stop. Don't look back. No matter what happens." Kouga murmured softly in her ear, one hand caressing the small of her back while the other tangled in her hair. Mutely, she nodded, her heart thumping wildly in her chest. Tired of waiting, Inuyasha sprang forward. Kouga pushed her behind him, a little roughly, as he spun around to counter the attack.

"Run, Kagome!"

And she did. Ignoring the pain in her stomach from the two previous wounds and the weariness of her limbs, she pushed herself forward. She could hear yelling behind her, and with an unknown burst of energy, quickened her pace, pushing branches aside and stumbling over roots. One thought ran through her mind.

'Kouga, please be safe...'

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She couldn't move or breathe, the eratic pounding of her heart too loud, too fast. Wide eyed, numb, and in shock, Sango stared at the bleeding body sprawled before her.

"K...Koha...ku..."

Her brother lie on his stomach, eyes wide with both pain and fear. With a trembling hand, Sango reached out to him, hand hovering over the spot where a shikon shard used to reside. She glanced down at the sword lying across her lap. It was covered in blood. His blood. Horrified, Sango could see where her blade pierced all the way through to his back. The shard, no longer glowing, lie forgotten momentarily on the grass.

Tears fell silently from the youkai exterminater's eyes as she watched him fight to remain concious. He was pale now, a pool of blood had already accumulated underneath his broken form. Gingerly, Sango lifted the top of his torso and leaned him against her shoulder. His head, took weak for him to hold up on his own, rested on her shoulder.

"Anee...uee?" His eyes sparked slightly in recognition, though half closed and glazed. Startled, Sango hugged him closer, ignoring the metallic smell of blood invading her lungs.

"Kohaku!" She buried her face in his hair, tears falling steadily down her cheeks as she clung to the boy in her arms. Miroku, who had been silently watching in shock and sympathy, kneeled next to the distraught woman and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Kohaku...Do you...Remember me?" Her eyes lit up with hope, squeezing his shoulders. He nodded slightly, grimacing as he did so. His breaths, Miroku noted silently, were getting shallower.

"Gomen, Sango...I did...Some horrible things, ne?"

"I-Iie, you've done nothing wrong, Kohaku." Her bottom lip trembled as she stroked his sweat-matted hair in a futile effort to sooth him. Leaning over, she pressed a kiss to her brother's forehead. He was cold.

"Daijoubu, Sango." He smiled, though a tear fell from his closed eyes. Sango could feel the overwhelming fear that filled her as she watched him slip away before her eyes.

"A-Aishteru, Kohaku..."

Miroku thought he looked slightly startled at the confession, before the young boy smiled again. His eyes slid closed, the hand Sango held went limp in her grasp.

"K-Kohaku?" Frantically, she shook his shoulders, fumbling with one hand to find a pulse. Hand pressed to his neck, she waited. And waited.

"N-nothing...There's nothing...KOHAKU!" Doubling over in shock, the last remaining taijiya sobbed over the death of her beloved brother. Strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her close, her back pressed against his chest.

"Shhhhh, you did the right thing, Sango. You did the right thing. He's no longer suffering." The houshi murmured in her ear, squeezing her back against him in reassurance.

A rustle in the bushes caught Miroku's attention, although the normally alert woman in his arms appeared not to hear it, understandably so. Holding Sango with one arm, he turned one shoulder towards the sound, hand inching for his staff.

"Who's there!"

"M-Miroku-sama?" A small figure emerged from behind the trees, hunched over and breathing heavily. Miroku's eyes widened in recognition, his posture immediatley becoming more relaxed.

"Kagome-sama!"

"W-What happened?" The miko whispered, voice hoarse as she stared at the scene in front of her. Sango was leaning heavily against the houshi, a steady fall of tears coming from her dull eyes. Kohaku lay half on her lap, covered in blood. Kagome raised a shaking hand to her mouth, tears brimming her eyes.

"Oh Kami-sama..."

Rushing forward, she placed a hand on the distraught girl's arm. Sango, seemingly just seeing the arival of her friend, blinked and looked up. Miroku, Kagome noticed in awe out of the corner of her eye, let a single tear slip down his cheek.

"K-Kagome...I'm a horrible sister..."

"Sango! Don't think like that! You saved him!"

"Saved him? I killed him. I killed my own brother...Kohaku..." She laughed bitterly, her voice flat. Turning, she pressed her face into Miroku's robes, licking the salty tears from her lips.

"Sango...I know this is going to sound completely crazy...But Kagome-sama is right, you did save him. He was a pawn of Naraku's, already one of the dead. The Shikon shard was what kept him alive. You set him free..."

"...Free...?"

"He's right, Sango-chan. He's happy now, you've saved him."

Sango sat silently, letting new tears fall as Kagome too, leaned in to wrap her arms around her friend and Miroku. Together, the three friends stayed, weeping tears of grief for a life lost.

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AN: xX Again...I'm so so sorry for not being here. I have started the next chapter already, and I plan to do major revisions on the existing chapters, because well...I started this story in 2003, and people change. And I'm notcing lots of things I wasn't happy about.

If you're still reading this story, Thank you, and I promise to try and not let school and work overwhelm me again.

Neoshipper