A/N: This whole chapter is in third person!

Sesshoumaru caught the falling Kaori and held her gingerly. "Kaori…?" He murmured. The young leader didn't stir; she just lay there in his arms unmoving. Sesshoumaru's body shook as he held her against him, debating whether or not he should bring her back once again.

Once he had composed himself he gently lifted Kaori into his arms and carried her back into the village.

The villagers gathered in the square by the first entrance to their home. People spoke only in whispers as they tried to find out what had happened to their red headed leader and one of the daughters of the village. Then they saw one of the suitor's returned from the forest edge; he was carrying the little girl.

"NAMI-CHAN!!" One of the women screamed as she ran over to the man and her daughter.

"Mamma!!" The little girl cried as she reached for her mother.

"Oh thank you…" The woman whispered as she took her daughter from the man. "Thank you… Thank you so much…"

The man shook his head. "I didn't save your daughter… Kaori-sama did…" He answered sadly.

"Where is she?" Someone asked from the gathering crowd.

Just then the silver haired suitor came out of the woods looking solemn. He had himself turned away from the villagers, shielding them from what he seemed to be carrying; a hand hung limply over his arm.

Whispers spread quickly through the villagers as they tried to figure out what was going on.

The man walked over to Makoto and Suzuki looking grim.

Suzuki took one look at what was in his arms and fainted.

Makoto caught her and the villagers quickly tried to converge onto the scene only to be held back by very grim looking guards.

The man spoke in low tones to Makoto who just shook his head.

"I cannot make that decision…" He answered. "Let everyone decide…"

The man nodded and the royal guards moved away from the villagers to clear an area in the center of the gathered crowd. He walked to the center of the cleared area and knelt down, gently placing what he had been carrying onto the ground.

As he stood back the villagers were finally able to see what he had been carrying so gently; it was their young leader.

There were startled gasps and cries as the villagers realized what they were seeing. Women fainted while men looked on grimly, trying to keep from turning and fainting themselves.

"Kaori-sama!!" one of the children cried as they tried to run over to their beloved friend; a firm hand stopped him.

"I know what you see before you is probably one of the worst things to have to see…" Makoto started as he walked up next to the man who had been carrying Kaori. "Kaori-san was our friend and leader and she saved the lives of all of us at least once…" He stopped as he bit his lip to keep him from loosing it. "She gave her life today to save one of the children even though she knew how dangerous it was to leave through the back gate… That was how Lord Sesshoumaru found her…"

Fervent whispers ran through the crowd as they considered the fact that one of their own had left through the back gate…

"I know many think that the gate cannot be opened any longer but that's not the case… From what I have heard the wood has rotted away leaving an opening for anyone or anything to get through… But right now that's not what we have to deal with…" Makoto spared a glance for his motionless sister. "Right now we have to deal with Kaori-san…"

"What else is there to do but bury her?!?" Someone shouted.

"I thought the same thing until Lord Sesshoumaru told me something different…"

"What else can there possibly be?!?" A woman cried.

"Lord Sesshoumaru has told me he can save Kaori's life…"

"That's not possible!!" A man shouted.

"It's true!" a boy replied.

"Seiko…?" Makoto asked.

"I've seen it." Seiko said as he worked his way through the crowd. "I've seen him save her life. He even saved mine! Kaori-san and I should both be dead now if it weren't for Lord Sesshoumaru."

Makoto smiled slightly. "Lord Sesshoumaru has offered to save her life again… he gave me the decision to save her or not… but I don't feel I have the right to choose for all of us. I felt that I should leave it up to everyone to decide."

Suddenly everyone was in an uproar, trying to say that they felt they should do for their fallen leader.

"QUIET!!" Seiko finally yelled; when everyone was quiet he continued. "This isn't working…" He strode to one side of the clearing and scratched a long line in the dirt then proceeded to the other side and scratched another line. When he stepped in the center next to Makoto he looked at all the villagers. "This is how we're going to do it…" He started. "Stand behind the left line if you do not wish to try and save Kaori-san and stand behind the right one if you do want to save her."

The villagers shuffled around, bumping into each other as they past. All the children ran to the right line when they found a way to escape their parents grasp.

"Washi-kun, get back here this moment!" Washi's mother called.

"No! I want Kaori-sama to come back!!" He protested, a chorus of children answered him.

"I think it's only fair to let the children decide for themselves." Makoto answered the protesting parents. "They spend many hours playing with Kaori-san, they have a right to decide for themselves if they want her back or not.

Cheers broke out from all the children that had been dragged to the left side as they took off over to their friends on the right.

Once everyone seemed to be more or less settled on which side they were on Makoto and Seiko counted heads.

"It looks like it's just about evenly split…" Makoto mulled.

"Well you didn't count you or Suzuki or me." Seiko answered.

Makoto laughed then. "Yes I suppose you're right. I know I want Kaori-san back…"

"So do I…" Suzuki answered as she came out of their house.

"I do too!" Seiko cheered.

"Well then…" Makoto turned to Sesshoumaru. "I guess that means you can save her life."

Sesshoumaru drew one of the two swords and held it out. He squinted slightly, as if he were looking at something that others could not see, and then he swiped his sword twice, cutting the air within inches of Kaori's face; he sheathed the sword.

Everyone waited until they saw that the hole in their leader's body healed itself in seconds. Cries broke out from the women and children as the men tried to keep from turning green.

And then she started breathing… weakly at first, but soon her chest rose and fell in a normal rhythm.

"She'll need rest…" Sesshoumaru murmured as he knelt down and lifted the frail girl.

"We have a place for her in our house." Suzuki answered. "She can rest there without disturbance.

With that Sesshoumaru turned and followed Suzuki, Makoto, Seiko, and even Amane to the house so that the young leader could rest and hopefully regain consciousness.