Next chapter complete. Wow, that was record timing. Anyway, enjoy!

!!!!WARNING!!!! -- Just to be safe, this chapter is rated M for violence.

XxXxX

Previously:

Toji and the kids were huddled together, his arms around them protectively. Bambi stood before a large demon, protecting her children with only a spear. She was shaking so badly, she couldn't hold it upright.

The demon raised its claws, preparing to kill the victims.

Chapter Two

Square One

Kagome screamed as the demon's claws beheaded Bambi in one swipe. Her children cried out in shock and fear as blood spirt from their mother's neck. Distracted by her scream, the demon turned to Kagome. She stood frozen, not in fear, but in sadness. She had only met the woman the day before, but to see her die so horribly before her eyes and the eyes of her children put a cold lump in her throat.

The demon, which resembled the one she'd killed the day before, rushed at her. Her paralysis kept her from moving. The demon's claws penetrated the flesh her shoulder on the same scar as her old wound. The pain snapped Kagome out of her shock. She backed out of the way of his next claw swipe, removing her bow from her back in the process. She felt the flowing from her arm as she pulled back an arrow. For the sake of the children, she ignored it.

Just before Kagome was about to release, she felt her feet fly up from under her. Another snake-like demon lashed at her legs, scratching them and causing her whole body to fly up in the air. Her previous target took the opportunity and attacked her again. Kagome just managed to roll out of the way before his hind legs crushed the earth where she'd just been.

Kagome backed up, setting up her bow and arrow again. The pain was boarder-line overwhelming now, but she managed to summon her miko powers. The light channeled into the arrow's tip before Kagome released the projectile. It disintegrated her first target as well as a couple stray demons.

Kagome's breath came heavy and labored. Suddenly she froze. The kids! Ignoring the blood pouring from her shoulder and legs, Kagome ran to the center of the town. Bambi's body lay where the demon had laid waste to it. The kids where no where to be found.

Kagome panicked. They couldn't die. She'd already watched helplessly as their mother was killed. She couldn't let that happen to them as well.

"Toji!" she called out frantically. The flames continued to burn nearby debris. The grass, trees, and flowers, all prosperous the day before, where now scorched by the fire's fingertips. Every body she uncovered was covered in gore, many missing limbs or torn to shreds. An elder's body lay useless over the corpses of two children. Lovers' bodies lay to rest together eternally.

Tears began to form in her eyes. She tried to shake them away but the more she saw, the more devastated she became. When Toji didn't answer her calls, she began to lose hope. Demons were still scattered about, sniffing at bodies, some contemplating dinner, others looking for toys to play with. Kagome felt a sickness in her stomach that wouldn't go away.

She stopped in the center of town. She'd circled the area three times now. Her legs gave out from her loss of blood. She stared down at her spattered knees, her hand resting on her shoulder in an attempt to ease the pain and stop the flow of blood. Her head turned to the sky. It began to pour down rain, soaking the fires until they disappeared.

A ripping pain suddenly sprang from Kagome's back as a bird demon dug its talons into her. She cried out and fell forward into the now muddy clearing. The demon tore at her back, pulling out flesh and blood drops.

Her eyes struggled to focus on three figures laid against a hut wall close to her. Their eyes were rolled back, their skin was already pale in death, and their clothes were spattered with crimson blood. Just before Kagome blacked out, she recognized them as Toji and Bambi's two toddlers.

xXxXxXx

Kagome wasn't aware of even her own presence until she felt the warm beams of summer sunlight on her skin. She winced in pain and her eyes fluttered open. She nearly screamed when her eyes focused on a tiny girl's head that was only inches away from her own.

"You're awake!" the girl exclaimed with extreme enthusiasm.

Kagome blinked at her. Why did she look so familiar?

She struggled to sit up. "Oh no!" the girl exclaimed. "Lady Kagome must not move or her wounds will hurt more."

Kagome looked at her. Brown hair, orange and cream colored kimono, big brown eyes…

"Rin?" she questioned. Her voice sounded raspy.

The girl smiled from ear to ear. "Lady Kagome remembers Rin! And it has been such a long time!" Kagome smiled. It had been a while. She hadn't seen Sesshomaru or his three followers for at least a year now.

Now she took the time to see where she was. The trees were tall and towering, blocking most of the sunshine. They sat in a small meadow, wildflowers dotting the clearing. She could hear water not too far away.

Suddenly, all the images from her last time of consciousness came swarming back. Blood… bodies… fire… Bambi… the kids… Tears involuntarily sprung to her eyes. "They're all dead…" she sobbed.

Rin's smile disappeared. "The Lady speaks of the village? There wasn't even one survivor…" Sadness clouded her big brown eyes, matching Kagome's almost perfectly. "Kagome was barely alive when Master Jaken and Rin found you. Rin brought you away from danger while Jaken took care of the demons. Rin has taken care of Lady Kagome for the last two days."

Kagome's eyes widened. "Two days? I've been unconscious for that long?"

Rin nodded seriously. "Rin thinks it is because Lady Kagome lost a lot of blood."

Kagome nodded. Only now did she notice the bandages around her torso, legs, and shoulder. So Rin had taken care of her. "Thank you Rin," Kagome said gratefully. "You saved my life."

Rin smiled big again. "Rin is glad she helped."

Kagome now noticed the girl hadn't mentioned something. "Where is Sesshomaru?"

Rin shrugged innocently. "Lord Sesshomaru said he'd be back in a few days. That was the day Rin found Lady Kagome." The girl put a finger thoughtfully to her head. "Rin was separated from Master Jaken when he fought the demons. Ah-Un went with him."

Kagome nodded. So it was just the two of them. The girl must have learned a lot about herbs on her travels to be able to bring her back from near death. "When I feel a little better, I'll help you find them before Sesshomaru finds out."

Rin smiled gratefully. "Thank you!"

Kagome grinned. The next couple days would be interesting.

Companionship. It felt good.

xXxXxXx

"Slow down, Rin," Kagome called to the running girl. She was in good spirits in her regular attire. Her body was healing well after three days. The memory of the unfortunate village lingered in her thoughts, but Rin kept her company. She was so adorable; it was hard to be in a bad mood around her.

"Come on Lady Kagome! Catch up!" Rin panted as she trudged through the tall grass. "I want to pick some flowers for Master Jaken and Lord Sesshomaru!"

Kagome smiled as she quickened her pace. The cuts on her legs were well healed, so she could walk around easily. Her back was less fortunate, however, as well as her shoulder. They were sore and tender, but they'd stopped bleeding. It would probably take at least two weeks before she could start using her arm again. That meant berries and traps again. Oh joy.

Rin stopped in a clearing where she bent down to pick a few purple flowers. She ran to another batch to gather pink ones. As she ran from patch to patch, her bouquet grew.

Kagome watched with a smile.

"Help me Lady Kagome!" Rin shouted excitedly. Kagome grinned and did so.

She turned her back for a moment when Rin fell, her knee scrapping a jagged rock. She whimpered, but refused to cry. Kagome tore part of the bandages off her own and wrapped Rin's leg with a smile. She liked taking care of others. She'd missed that, being alone.

As soon as Kagome was finished, Rin took off to collect more flowers. She was distracted several times by butterflies and ladybugs, only some of spring's many wonders. Kagome observed in amusement.

Suddenly, she felt the familiar prick that told her a demon was nearby. It was closing in at lightening fast speeds. Kagome panicked, but before she could run to Rin's protection, the demon was looking her in the face with a steel blade pressed up to her neck.

His eyes were narrowed in a cold glare and his pale skin was as beautiful as ever. The silver hair that sprouted from his head flowed to an unnatural length. His grace, speed, and swordsmanship were all still unparallel.

"Miko," he growled, pressing his sword closer into her flesh, creating a thin line of blood.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin shouted in joy. She tackled his leg and buried her face into his fluffy white pants.

"Rin," he said offhandedly, almost in surprise. "I smell your blood. Are you harmed?"

"Rin fell and hurt her knee, but she is better now." Rin enthusiastically thrust the bundle of flowers towards him. "Look, we picked some flowers for you!"

Sesshomaru looked past the flowers at her, observing to see if her first statement was true. Seeing it was, in fact, he calmed down and returned his sword to its sheath.

Kagome stared at him as she wiped the line of blood from her neck. He was definitely protective of the girl. He must have smelled her blood and got all the wrong conclusions, attacking the first thing on site that wasn't his ward.

Sesshomaru turned to walk away. "Come Rin," he ordered.

Rin followed hesitantly. "But Lady Kagome helped Rin and kept her safe for the last—"

"A human in that condition could do no such thing," the superior youkai growled. "Besides, she's still that pathetic wench my half-brother had dragging him down." Sesshomaru glared at her.

"I've gotten stronger!" Kagome yelled before she thought about it.

Sesshomaru turned towards her. "Your wounds suggest otherwise, miko."

Kagome silenced. He was right now that she thought about it. She hadn't been strong enough to save the village. Bambi, Toji… They all died because of her lack of expertise and control.

"Self-pity won't help either," the demon growled seeing her downcast eyes. "All that does is suggest more weakness. Maybe it is a good thing you're not with my half-brother anymore."

The Lord of the Western Lands began walking away again. "Rin. We leave now." The girl followed him reluctantly, looking back at Kagome frequently.

So he knew she wasn't with Inuyasha anymore. Did that mean he'd seen him in the last few months? Did he know what Inuyasha was doing? Did Sesshomaru know if he was looking for her? If the Lord Fluffiness was still the same as she remembered, he probably didn't care enough to remember or ask.

When the two finally disappeared completely, Kagome sighed. The last three and a half months had basically done nothing to improve her skills. All she taught herself was how to survive in the wild. That didn't help her at all with the village.

But Sesshomaru was right, as much as she hated to admit it. Self-pity would only worsen the situation. She'd really have to start training now. But she was back at square one. Her shoulder was hurt yet again, so until it healed, she'd have to mainly survive without her bow and arrow.

Kagome trudged off in any random direction. The beauty of being alone was that she had no particular destination and she could go at her own pace.

After all that had happened within the last few days, she'd learned a lot. After the destruction of the village, she now knew that she wasn't ready to protect others. That was why she had to stay alone and be by herself. Rin was a nice companion, but Kagome hadn't even detected Sesshomaru's presence until it would have been too late. She'd never be able to match Sesshomaru's skill, and she didn't plan to. But she did plan on improving her senses so that she can at least detect a danger that great before it was too late.

In his few words, Sesshomaru made good points. Wounds as serious as hers definitely suggested that she wasn't strong enough to evade, parry, or reflect them. And if she wallowed in self-pity or any emotion at all, it would distract her from what was important.

Training would be her main objective now. She knew how to be independent. Now she had to learn how to really fend for herself, be able to survive an attack from strong demons, and such. After that, then she'd work on being able to protect others.

Then she'd be ready.

XxXxX

So what'd you think? I know, this chapter was sad to write. I really didn't want to kill the family off, but I had to for the purpose of the plot. Anyway, tell me if this story is going too slow. I kinda feel like it is, although I also don't want to go too fast either... Anyway, tell me whatcha think!

P.S. I sorta kinda didn't really review this for errors. I mean, I looked for plot line issues, but grammatically, I didn't really look hard. Anyone who's read my previous stories knows I do this a lot... Lol!