Title: Survivor
Genre: Angst/Tragedy
Word count: 149
Survivor
It was over, but the victory was empty.
Naraku was vanquished and the shikon no tama purified, but; his companions, slaughtered. He was alone again. Alone, as he had been before he met Kagome, and Miroku, and Sango, and Kirara. Was it Kagome who he'd lost first? Perhaps it was Sango or Miroku; he couldn't remember. It was all a chaotic menagerie of blades, wind, and miasma. And that was the pain, greater than guilt, which cut the deepest.
The rustle of silk, the re-sheathing of a sword, and the echo of departing footsteps, all rang loudly in his ears. There would be no miracles, and no boons from a sword blessed with a dead lord's power.
An unspoken invitation was offered, but Shippou paid it no heed. As a red scrap of cloth fluttered to the broken ground, he drew up his knees, hugged them close, and wept.
