It was a struggle to make any order of their impromptu camp, but they were left with little choice. Scouts had been sent back to look, and returned with the grim news: Kaede's village was completely destroyed. Only two structures remained, a shrine to a deceased priestess and an old wooden well some distance from the village proper. Nothing else remained, the villagers and Kaede were now homeless until the village could be rebuilt.

Fortunately it was still spring, they had time before the chill of autumn or the cold snows of winter would hinder their progress. Unfortunately, all the wood within a day's walk was utterly useless. Risu and his family scouted the area to look for any signs of life. The forest had been decimated, miasma had rotted and scorched everything to the point that it seemed a single touch would cause the burned logs to crumble.

They would have to travel far for resources. Kaida sent word to her husband that the samurai would be needed for an extended period of time until restoration of the village could be complete. He granted his wife's request and offered to send another garrison through to drop off supplies.

For the time being the entire lot of them would be sleeping in make-shift tents and living as soldiers did. Those who had been revived from the dead were assessed on their health; to the shock of Kaida's troops and many of the villagers it was as though none of them had ever died. Tenseiga's healing powers were a wonder to behold, they had all returned to perfect health and showed no signs of exhaustion.

This did not mean that they had come out completely unscathed.

Alongside massive confusion and disorientation, they all bore physical scars as evidence of their suffering. Miroku's wind tunnel had vanished, his right palm looking like nothing more than an ordinary hand, but now he had a thick scar across his throat. There was a matching mark on the back of his neck, showing where the sword had completely punctured through. On top of this, the hoarseness of his voice didn't seem to fade, his vocal cords were permanently damaged.

Once Naoe was revived, he did not stay in sight for long. Kaida had hurriedly rushed him to a tent and away from the prying eyes of others, only two other samurai were permitted to assist him. When asked about his condition, the noblewoman assured everyone that he was fine but needed time to come to terms with what he suffered. She refused to say anymore.

Those who had not been revived from the dead took much longer to heal.

Inuyasha awoke from his slumber a day after the battle; Kagome hadn't moved an inch from his side, her fingers still entwined with his. The hanyou felt weaker than he'd ever had in his entire life. His limbs seemed to weigh ten times more than usual, his chest hurt, his heart hurt, his lungs felt like they were full of water. Kagome explained through tear-laden eyes that he was still suffering from the effects of Naraku's miasma, and that it would take a bit of time before he was back to full strength. He clung to the miko's hand, angrily insisting that his demon blood would take over and speed up his recovery, and he was sure that every breath he took was just a bit lighter than the last.

Kagome herself had her own injuries that she had been ignoring. On the rare occasion that she did have to briefly leave Inuyasha's side after he woke in order to grab more blankets, food, or water, she couldn't make it far without needing assistance. Her ankle had been badly damaged by Naraku, her leg buckled under her weight and she stumbled more times than she could count. There was worried talk amongst the samurai who had seen similar wounds that she might suffer a permanent limp even after the wound had properly healed.

Sango had been on the worried minds of many: the taijiya had to be cut out of her blood soaked armor, she'd lost so much of it that the garment stuck to her skin and refused to come off. Countless wounds covered her body, most notably the hideous gash across her face that threatened to permanently damage her vision. The samurai had hurriedly done their best to patch her up, fortunately one of them had experience in stitching wounds, though they were skeptical that she would survive the night. Many were shocked that she was still breathing the next morning, and even more so when she still retained a pulse that second night.

In the afternoon, two days after the battle, Sango woke briefly to find Kohaku, Aizou, and Ryu by her side. That her brother and children had survived brought her comfort, there was a small smile on her lips before she fell asleep again.

Rin had fortunately been spared more damage than others had suffered, though she still sported bandages that covered her legs. She wandered about the camp and helped where she could, but most of her time was spent waiting with Sesshomaru, waiting to see who would wake first.

It was Futeki who opened his eyes on the second day. Gold eyes, the eyes of the little hanyou with boundless curiosity and quiet energy, not the red gaze of the frightened beast who had gone rampant in a desperate attempt to stay alive. The boy was clearly disoriented and confused when he woke, until he noticed that he was in the arms of his father. Shocked, joyful beyond belief, the child didn't know how to react to the knowledge that Sesshomaru was very much alive and with him. He clung to his father and wept.

Nearly a week passed like this, everyone's conditions slowly but steadily improving. Everyone, except Kohana and Ronuku.

The fact that they still continued to take shallow breaths shocked everyone, but neither of them woke. They'd been bandaged to the best of the abilities of those around them, but their skin still retained that gray hue, without the rise and fall of their chests there was little in appearance that separated them from corpses.

No one had any idea how to wake them, they didn't respond to voices, smell, or touch. Kagome had recounted the tale of how their souls had helped her inside the jewel and gave her the strength to defeat their enemies, but she confessed that she couldn't recall what happened to them after the jewel was destroyed.

Had their souls been destroyed in the attack? Had they sacrificed themselves and left behind these empty shells that stubbornly clung to the smallest amount of life? These thoughts plagued the hearts of their family and friends, but no one could think of an answer or solution, not even Kaida or the hidden Naoe.

When the entire week had at last passed, one of Kaida's samurai suggested that it might be wise to do the kind thing and put Kohana and Ronuku out of their misery. While this man barely escaped that suggestion unscathed, his words weighed on everyone's hearts and stuck in their minds more than they liked to admit.

The situation was clear: Unless their souls had miraculously survived, it was very likely that Ronuku and Kohana wouldn't last much longer. Without souls, not even the Tenseiga could revive them, nothing would reincarnate.

Their deaths would be permanent.