Single Father InuYasha

by chemicalxrachel

The well sealed up after the final battle with Naraku. InuYasha and Kagome had made love just the day before that battle. Kagome finds out she is pregnant, and can no longer visit Feudal Japan. Kagome dies in childbirth and her mother raises Inu&Kag's baby on her own. One day, 5 years later, InuYasha is able to make the well work! How will he react to all of this?

24. Village of Ghosts

A/n: Sorry this took a bit to put up...longer than usual. I'd hurt myself at work and hurt my right wrist so I could not type for a full day after the injury. Still I'd like to think it didn't take long to get this up.

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Chapter 24: Village of Ghosts

Since their first outing together, Tamako and Inuyasha made it a habit to venture out and vanquish demons plaguing human villages. It gave them good father-daughter time alone. She loved spending that time with her dad, especially since she lived in the den with Kouga now instead of with her father. She missed him terribly sometimes when she was around the den.

They'd gotten back pretty late last night from an extermination job that they'd been gone to for almost four days. Needless to say, Kouga was happy to welcome her home, which also kept her up a lot later than usual. So, she'd decided to sleep in. And by default Kouga had to sleep in, too. They were usually up at the crack of dawn, but it was just a bit after daybreak and both her and Kouga were fast asleep in their bed.

She laid on her side, her head on his chest, cuddled up to him, sleeping quietly. She didn't notice the small flea entering their room. Though, she felt it when Myoga the flea started to drink her blood on her cheek. Whining, one hand went up to smack her cheek, opening her eyes just barely.

"Myogaaa, go away." she whispered to him before moving her arm back around Kouga's waist, settling in against him again.

"But, my business is imperative, Lady Tamako!" Myoga said after he'd gotten himself back up, jumping on the girls shoulder.

"Shhhhh." she said, shooting him a glare. "You'll wake Kouga." she whispered. They'd been up late, she didn't want to be up, and she knew her mate wouldn't want to be up either.

"Too late..." Kouga said with a soft growl. Shifting to bring her closer to him. Moving a little so he laid on his side, bringing his arm around her waist and holding her against him, nuzzling her nose against her hair. "But, it is way too damn early."

Nodding a bit in agreement. "Yeah, it is. Myoga can't this wait? I got home late last night..."

"No my Lady. I must speak with you with urgency."

"Go find my father, wake him up." she said. Intertwining herself with Kouga as much as she could, settling her head on his chest again.

Myoga stayed on her shoulder, though. "But...my lady..." he insisted.

A growl came from Tamako's throat, opening her eyes just barely and glaring at the flea. "What is it? Better be good." she said. Shifting a little and wiping her eyes with a soft yawn. Glancing towards Kouga's face, smiling a bit as she saw he'd already fallen back asleep against her. Deciding she wouldn't move so he wouldn't wake up again, she just glanced to Myoga. "And don't wake Kouga again, idiot."

"My apologies, my Lady." Myoga said, looking up at her face.

"Still not asleep..." Kouga muttered. Finally opening his eyes just a little, glaring down at the flea. "What is it you want thats so important you must wake us?" he asked. Shifting to sit up a little, the sheets falling to pool in his lap. Leaning back on his hands, he let out a yawn.

Looking up at her mate, she smiled a little. "Well, good morning to you too." she said. Shifting to sit up along with him, holding the sheets against her chest, looking at Myoga who had hopped to sit on her knee. "Now that you have our attention, it better be important."

Myoga only nodded quickly. "Aye, it is my Lady. The slayers village has been attacked."

"The slayers village? Like the one Sango's brother lives in? Kohaku I think his name was?" she asked. She'd never really met Kohaku before, he was a slayer and he tended to only travel through once in a blue moon.

Nodding, the flea looked up at her. "The very same."

"Then...why are you telling me? Why don't you go tell Sango?"

Clearing his throat, looking up at her. "Well, my lady...Sango has not been a slayer for a many number of years. No doubt she will rush to her brothers aid..."

Listening to him and thinking for a moment before she nodded. "Yeah she would, wouldn't she. And she's a human, so she's not exactly young anymore..." she said with a soft sigh, looking down at Myoga. "Alright...I suppose I'll go see whats going on. Why didn't you tell my dad?"

It was Kouga's turn to speak as he looked at Tamako. "If you're going, I'm going too. You are not going alone. You just got back though...you should really rest."

Sighing a little, she nodded. "Yeah I should, but I'll be okay." she said, looking up at Kouga and smiling softly. "If you insist on coming with me, then you can."

Seeing him nod, she turned her eyes back to Myoga. "Alright, we'll head out there this afternoon after I take a bath and get some food. Now...please leave us be for a while."

Seemingly happy with the results, the flea nodded and quickly started to jump towards the window in which he'd come in from.

Kouga sighed, moving to lay back and stretching slowly. "Damn flea. I was asleep too..."

Giggling, she glanced at him. "Yeah I was too." she said. Leaning and kissing Kouga's cheek softly, cuddling up to his side a little. "But..we slept in anyway. So, its bath time and then we head out. It must be important if Myoga came. I doubt he'll come with us though."

"Great...so, saddle us with a job and then run off?"

"Yeah, apparently its typical for the flea. My dad said you'd always know where is the safest possible place, because thats where Myoga would be." she said with a giggle.

"Well then...this attack must have been bad. Wasn't the slayers village destroyed years ago though?"

She nodded as she pushed to stand up. Pulling on a yukata robe and starting to grab her bath things. "Mmhm, it was. Sango used to live there. It was destroyed when Naraku was still around. After he distracted the best slayers of the village, hordes of demons were notified that the village's guard would be slack that day, and it was attacked." she said, looking down a bit, recounting the story her father had told her. "Sango was the only one that made it out alive. Then, Naraku brought Kohaku back to use against her. He's alive for good now though, and after Naraku was defeated, he went back to rebuild the village. I just hope he's still alright when we find him..."

Kouga nodded slowly. He'd never really learned the story behind the demon slayer that used to travel with Kagome, he'd been too interested in Kagome herself.

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After they'd bathed and eaten, Tamako and Kouga were off towards the slayers village. It was their first real time out hunting together, she usually went on trips like these with her father. But, since they'd just been out on an extermination job, she knew her dad wanted to spend time with her mom. And she wanted to spend time with Kouga. After all, she had not seen him for four days.

It was at least a days journey on foot for them since they weren't human so they needed to rest less often. And, they'd arrived at the village shortly before midday the next day.

As soon as they got onto the path towards the villages, she could smell the human blood in the air. "Damnit..." she muttered slowly.

Kouga seemed to smell the same thing she did, and he nodded. "Yeah I know...it reeks with human blood around here." he said, his eyes glancing around at the forest around them.

Slowly Tamako let her mates hand go. They'd been holding hands as they walked. But now with the smell of human blood in the air, she let his hand go and moved it to rest on the hilt of her sword. "We're getting close. Theres so much blood in the air though, I can't smell anything else. Thats definitely not a good sign." she said as she walked.

Nodding in agreement, they walked silently. Being able to see the large log gates of the village coming into view. She was definitely on full alert as she walked through the gates of the village. And, she could feel Kouga stiffen as he walked next to her.

The sight that met them beyond the gates made her gasp a little. Moving her left hand up to bring her kimono sleeve against her nose, the smell of blood thicker in the air. Her eyes looked over to the amount of bodies on the ground, blood pooling around them. Some of the buildings had been broken and were starting to fall apart. A few had even been demolished completely. It was almost the exact scene that'd met her father when he'd come to the village for the first time. Pure destruction.

Slowly she moved to take a few steps within the village, looking around, trying to find a sign of life somewhere. Hearing some of the rubble move caught her attention, her ears twitching as she turned her eyes to look in the direction. Seeing Kirara slowly start to crawl out of one of the buildings, hearing her mew, Tamako could only smile a little.

"Kirara!" she said. The neko demon had come back to visit Sango several times, and she'd played with Kirara as a child. Moving to kneel down, gently picking her up and hugging her. "Oh Kirara I'm so glad you're okay." she said. The neko mewed in her arms, nuzzling against her a little. She looked a bit scratched up, but she was alive and would be okay.

"Kirara, do you know where Kohaku is?" Tamako asked.

At the question, the neko jumped from the girls arms and started to run over towards one area of the village.

"Well...guess we follow her." Kouga said, taking off with Tamako after the cat.

Kirara led them to one of the broken down huts, mewing a little and nudging her nose against the wood. Understanding her signal, Tamako kneeled to start pulling up the pieces of wood. It was hard to determine if there were someone underneath the wood or not, the smell of human blood was everywhere, not in just one place, thus making it hard to tell if there was any source beneath the wood.

But, as she pulled up the boards with Kouga's help, she was able to see a mass of dark brown hair. Hastening her movements in moving the wood until she uncovered the body of a human man. He was an adult, in his mid-twenties, a little over 6feet tall. She helped him out, pulling him up and moving him to lay on his back. "Is this Kohaku?" she asked Kirara.

Seeing the neko nod and whine as she nuzzled against Kohaku's hand. Tamako held him, looking down at the man. Leaning down and listening carefully, she could still hear a barely there heartbeat. "He's still alive.." she said. Looking up at Kouga slowly. "Koi, can you go get some firewood or something? We'll take him into a hut thats still standing and tend to his wounds. I can carry him there." she instructed.

Slowly she shifted to pick Kohaku up bridal style against her chest. Standing up, lifting the man with ease as she started to walk towards one of the huts nearby that was still standing. Moving inside, she walked to the area where the fire pit was and laid Kohaku out against the floor. Looking around, finding a futon and spreading it out.

Looking over Kohaku, he was a bloody mess. He wasn't even in his slayers outfit, telling her that the attack had been random and unexpected. She'd have to get his wounds cleaned up first.

When Kouga came in with the firewood, she looked up at him. "Okay, we need some water, herbs, bandages and new clothes. I've got to get the wounds cleaned up before they get worse. No clue how long he's been laying here..." she said.

Kouga nodded a bit. "Yeah, I'm shocked he's still alive. The humans got spirit I know that. Alright, I'll get the water, bandages and clothes. You go find the herbs. You might know what herbs work best on humans better than me." he suggested.

It sounded like a good idea, so she nodded and looked at Kirara. "Kirara, you stay here with Kohaku, okay?" she asked.

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Once they'd gathered everything they needed, Tamako had to undress Kohaku to dress his wounds. She couldn't help but blush at the whole action. After all, the only real man she'd seen naked was Kouga. She'd seen her father when she was little, too...but that was her father. She'd never seen a human male naked before. In her miko training she did have to dress wounds...but it was a pretty peaceful human village and never involved her actually having to undress the man.

And, Kohaku was definitely a good looking men. The years of being a demon slayer developed finely tuned strong muscles. He was in phenomenal shape. Of course, so was her mate. She might be mated, but that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate a good looking guy. Over the years Kohaku had lost his boyish face, maturing into a more mature and manly one. His brown hair had grown, and he still held it in a pony tail at the top of his head. Though right now it wasn't held in its pony tail. And it wasn't nearly as long as Kouga's.

She'd dressed his wounds carefully, making sure to try and stay professional looking, especially with her mate sitting in the same room, and also making sure she got the herbs on every wound and injury, cleaning up the drying blood from his skin. Once she was done, he was nicely cleaned and wrapped. His wounds weren't good, but they weren't life threatening now that they were changed. And then he'd been moved into the futon she'd found earlier.

Now, it was the waiting game.

Kouga had gone and caught them some dinner, and she'd been tending to the dead amongst the village. They would have to be buried, she knew that. And, tending to the dead, she saw the graves of the previous village inhabitants that had died when Naraku was alive. She figured burying them near each other would be a good idea. They would bury them the next day, she'd decided that. It was almost sad though. For the second time, everyone in this village was brutally killed. It almost seemed like a curse.

And once the sun went down, both her and Kouga retired to the hut they'd put Kohaku in to sleep. He was still fast asleep, his body trying to recover from his injuries. And after they'd eaten, Tamako settled down to sit in-between Kouga's legs off to one side of the hut. Feeling his arms move around her waist, she smiled a little. If they didn't have a bed to sleep in, she'd be content sleeping against him like this. Laying her head back on his shoulder, glancing at Kohaku.

"I wonder if he'll wake up..." she wondered out loud.

Kouga shrugged slowly, looking at the human laying before them. "Who knows. It'd be good to know what happened here, thats for sure. This was just...brutal. Even a village of slayers couldn't stop whatever it was."

Nodding in agreement, sighing a little. "Yeah true. If the demon, or demons that did this are that powerful...they might end up to be a problem."

"If that happens, we'll take care of it." Kouga declared, rubbing her arms a little.

They sat there for a while. She was almost about to fall asleep before she saw Kohaku stir a little for the first time. Blinking slowly, she sat up from her mates arms and crawled over to where the sleeping man was, looking at him. Was he finally waking up? She hoped so.

Kohaku stirred slowly, his eyes closing tighter as he shifted in his sleep. And within a few moments, his brown eyes slowly started to open. The first thing he saw were Tamako's golden brown eyes looking at him curiously. His eyes were barely open as he looked up at her eyes. A small blush moved over his cheeks as he realized it was a girl he was looking at. His eyes looked at her for a moment...seeing her long dark silvery hair spilling over her shoulders as she sat on her hands and knees by him, her eyes looking at him with what seemed like worry. "Am I...dead?" he asked in a hoarse voice. He hadn't been awake in a while, and therefore he hadn't eaten or drank anything in just as long.

She giggled softly, shaking her head. "No silly. You're not dead. Here." she said. Moving to the bucket of water they still had, Tamako started to get a cup. Spilling water into the cup carefully before she moved next to him again. Reaching to rest one hand on the back of his head, she helped him lean up and take a long drink of the water.

Kohaku accepted her help, letting his eyes close again as the fresh liquid moved over his dry lips and down his throat. Finishing the cup, he leaned his head back again, taking in a soft breath and opening his eyes again, looking up at her.

"Don't try to move too much. It'll take a while for you to regain your strength." she instructed.

Kohaku nodded a little to her. "Okay..." he said slowly. "But...but who are you?"

Smiling to him as she sat the cup to one side, sitting on her knees by him again. "My name is Tamako. Myoga came and told me about the rumors of an attack on this village. I'm Inuyasha's daughter. I know your sister Sango. We've never met before, but I've heard good things about you." she said.

Listening to her words, thinking for a moment, he nodded. "Oh...oh yes, I heard Inuyasha had a daughter...its...nice to meet you, Tamako." he said softly.

"Nice to see you're still alive, kid." Kouga chimed in. He wasn't liking how the human was looking at his mate, and felt like he had to make his presence known. Somewhere in his brain he knew that Kohaku had just woken up and probably was still drowsy and didn't mean it. But, he couldn't fight the urge to say something.

Looking up towards Kouga, Kohaku nodded. "Oh...hi Kouga. Yeah...I'm still alive. I must be hard to kill..." he said with a small smile. "What...what are you doing here anyway? I didn't...think you'd come help a human village..."

"Eh, the concerns of my mate are the concerns of me." he said.

Seeing the confusion in Kohaku's eyes, Tamako just smiled. "Kouga is my mate. I don't go out on exterminations by myself, and my dad and I had just gotten back from one when Myoga told us about this. So, Kouga came with me instead." she explained.

Oh, she has a mate...figures. Kohaku thought. Nodding a bit, he sighed and closed his eyes. "How...how is everyone else in the village? Is everyone else okay?" he asked.

Tamako pouted, her ears drooping a little and shaking her head. "Uh...no, we didn't find any other survivors. We did gather everyone to bury them tomorrow. The entire village reeks of blood. I barely could find you. Good thing Kirara was here and helped me find you when I did, or else you'd probably be one of those bodies out there." she said, looking at his face. "What...happened here, Kohaku?"

Hearing her voice, his eyes shot open wide. Oh no...not again... he thought slowly. Closing his eyes halfway, he looked away a little.

Her ears drooped even more at his reaction. She could smell the utter despair that wept over him when she told him. Reaching out and resting one hand on his shoulder. "Hey...hey its okay. We'll get whomever did this. You just gotta tell us."

Keeping his eyes off to one side, Kohaku heard her voice, and he closed his eyes halfway. "A demon attacked...we didn't see it coming. I heard the village guard call, and I went running. But...but I was too late. I tried to get the people out while some of the slayers tried to hold him off..." he remembered, looking down a bit. "I saw him...I'll never forget him, those eyes. They were red...pure red. And he had this long red hair. It almost looked like a womans hair, but it was a man..."

"Wait, it was just one demon that did all this?" Tamako asked.

Kohaku only nodded slowly. "Yes. He called himself Kyora. Heh, he called himself a god. Yeah right." he said. Slowly attempting to push himself up to sit.

Seeing his move, Tamako quickly rested her hands on his shoulders, bringing him back down to lay, looking at his face. "Hey, you're not healed yet. At least wait until tomorrow to try and walk..."

Looking up at the half demon holding him there, Kohaku nodded again. "Fine...but tomorrow I will walk."

Nodding in agreement. "Sure. I'll help you. Promise. Now...what about this demon? Kyora?"

"Yeah...he called himself Kyora, a war god. He was looking for a jewel...a jewel from some priestess. We've never heard of it before. I think he assumed since the shikon no tama was created here, all other jewels were too..." he said. Looking up at Tamako slowly. "He said it was a jewel that held the power to destroy the world. He said...something about wiping out the human race..."

Her eyes widened a little at the mention of another jewel. "Oh no...another jewel? Like the shikon no tama? Thats not good...not good. Did he say what it was called?"

Thinking for a moment, Kohaku nodded. "Y-yeah...yeah he called it the Kanju..."

At the mention of the name of the jewel, Kouga growled loudly. "No. We're going home. Tomorrow morning." he announced. The Kanju jewel had been the one that laid within Tamako. And, without it, she would die. It was the jewel of her very soul.

Though, that had been years ago, and Tamako did not remember much of it since she'd been passed out for the entire thing. And instead of telling her, since she was still young, everyone decided that she didn't need to know.

Hearing her mate, Tamako looked up at Kouga, blinking a bit. "Whats the matter?" she asked, confused by his sudden anger.

"We're going home tomorrow once we bury the villagers. We will have nothing to do with this jewel, Tamako." he said, looking at her.

"But that Kyora guy is killing people for it! Shouldn't we find out about it?"

"NO!" Kouga demanded, gripping his hands into tight fists. "My word is final, Tamako. We are going home. Do not argue with me, woman."

Kouga didn't usually assert dominance over her like that. At least, not in front of other people. She was his equal in just about every way. But, when they were alone, in their bedroom, his youkai liked to take control. That was the one area in their relationship he was pretty much the boss of. And, her youkai side submitted to him willingly, which was surprising. But, he never actively told her she couldn't do something. It usually was a discussion.

So, she growled slowly. "What do you mean no? And I am not just your woman! What in the hell is wrong with you Kouga? Did you bump your head or something?"

Glaring at her dangerously, he growled back. "No, I did not. You are my woman, and therefore you will do as you're told. No questions. I will not be challenged."

Sitting back a little, a small pout forming over her lips. "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing. I've made up my mind."

She sighed, rolling her eyes and looking away from him. "Oh we are so not done talking about this..."

Kohaku watched the two, he shook his head. "You know what the kanju is...don't you, Kouga?" he asked, seeming to be able to tell because of his reaction. And, his next reaction told him the answer to his question. Kouga just looked away with a soft growl. "So...thats a yes. What is it?"

Tamako blinked and looked up at her mate. "You do know what it is! Spill!" she insisted. Moving to crawl back to him, sitting on her hands and knees in front of him, looking up at him closely. "Spill. I'll get my answer, you forget I know how to get what I want from you, koi."

Growling slowly, Kouga looked at her. "Yeah, I know what the Kanju is. Well, sort of. I saw it once. In a way..." he said.

"Then tell me! What is it? Where is it? How can we protect it?" she asked.

"I AM protecting it!" he said. Looking up at her face. Moving his hands to grab her shoulders roughly, pulling her up to him, making her gasp a little. He'd never grabbed her like that, and the utter determination and anger in his eyes amazed her.

"Wh-what do you mean? Kouga..." she said slowly, more worried than curious now.

"You are the jewel, Tamako. Your soul is the jewel. You cannot live without it. Your youkai will come out, and kill everything. You'll go crazy." he explained to her.

Listening to him, she blinked a little. Looking into his eyes, she could almost see the pain he held at the idea. "Me...? How...?"

"Your soul is powerful. When a priestess pulls it from you, it'll manifest in a jewel. A powerful jewel. Because of who your parents are. It happened once before...when your mother came back. I will not see you like that again. I would rather die. No, I will die before I allow that to happen. So, I'm protecting the jewel by taking you home. You will do as I say and not question me, woman."

His words made her speechless, looking into his eyes. Sitting there for a moment, her fingers slowly moved up to rest on his arms. "Relax, koi...its okay. I'm fine. We'll discuss this when we get home with my parents, okay?"

Her answer seemed to calm him down a little, slowly his fingers loosening their grips on her arms. "Fine. But, I will put my foot down in this. I will not lose you again. Not like that. I can not, and will not, watch you like that again..."

Nodding slowly, she leaned to kiss him softly. "Its okay, koi. Relax. It'll all be okay."

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Kohaku had fallen back asleep shortly after their conversation. And Tamako settled down in her mates arms. He seemed to hold her tighter than before, almost refusing to let her go.

In reality, she was worried. How was she the jewel? And then she worried about a big bad demon that could destroy a village of slayers coming after her. She'd wanted to start a family with Kouga soon...but how could she do that, knowing that a demon was after her?

The thoughts made her worry half the night, but she did get some kind of sleep. And the next morning, they'd all woken up. After breakfast Kouga went to start digging the holes for the graves, while Tamako tended to Kohaku.

About midday, Kohaku sat up a little, wincing.

"Be careful Kohaku. You don't want to hurt yourself more." Tamako urged.

Looking up at her, he smiled a little. "I'll be fine. Besides, you promised me a walk today..."

Giggling a little and nodding. "That I did. Come then, if you insist." she said. Moving by him and letting him bring her arm around her shoulder. Gently bringing him up onto his feet, she moved one arm around his waist, her other hand holding onto his that was around her shoulder for support.

Slowly she walked with him outside the hut, taking it one step at a time. "There you go, take it slow. I'm right here, I won't let you fall." she said.

She felt so tiny under Kohaku's frame. She was a small girl to begin with, and she'd stopped growing a while ago, being seventeen now. She was about 5'3", while Kohaku was about 6'2". Kouga was taller than her, but Kohaku was even taller than Kouga.

Walking outside the hut slowly, Kohaku winced his eyes at the light of the sun beating down on him. He hadn't seen the sun in days, and his eyes were sensitive. "Okay...I've got it." he said. Leaning against her carefully as he walked. His whole body hurt. It felt like...well, it felt like a house had fallen on him. Which, it had.

As they walked, Tamako smiled. "See, you're getting good at this. Maybe you won't be bed ridden as long as I'd thought." she said with a smile.

Kohaku blushed a little, chuckling. "Yeah...us slayer men are tough so we can protect our women." he said, the sentence spilling out of his mouth before he could stop it. He was twenty-seven years old after all, and he was still unmarried without a family. And now, his choice in women were pretty slim. Tamako was pretty, but she was mated. He was starting to wonder if he'd ever get to have a family of his own.

She laughed at this, not seeming to notice his blush. "Oh really? Gosh, you sound like any demon man talking about protecting their women and pups. Kouga pulls that all the time." she said, glancing up at him. "Its a good thing though. Well, for me it is. I can't stand a weak man."

"Is that so?" Kohaku asked, glancing at her a little. "I hope all women think that way."

Shrugging slowly. "I think a lot of them do. Of course, I can't speak for all women. Most of my girl friends back in my village always talked of liking strong men. All the wolf women do too. Its a big thing in the choice of mates in demon society...to have the strongest male. But, ya know, the right kind of guy for a woman needs to be both strong and sensitive at the same time. Have that sensitive side, even if its just their mate they show it to." she said, glancing at him. "Why? Don't you have a wife?"

Blushing, he sheepishly shook his head. "No..." he muttered.

Giggling a little as she walked. "I don't believe you. You're too cute to be single."

"Well, 'tis true, I am without a wife. Times are too dangerous..."

"Times are always dangerous. Thats only more the reason to find a mate and be with them. You only live once, you know? And, for humans their time on this planet is so short...its a blink of an eye. You might as well have something to live for if you're going to live. You can't be afraid of living your life because its a little dangerous." she explained.

Listening to her as he walked with her slowly. They were walking towards where Kouga was burying the dead. "Is that so? Well...maybe I will think on it. You are wise way beyond your years, young Tamako."

Chuckling a little. "Hey, you're not that much older than me. Besides, the woman I trained under was very wise herself." she said, thinking about Kaede. She missed Kaede terribly.

"True, you are not..." he said, glancing down at her a little. He obviously did not harbor bad feelings towards all demons. In his years he had learned that some were not bad, and Tamako was one of the good ones.

Slowly walking with him until she could see Kouga digging the graves, stopping with him and holding onto him.

Kohaku looked up over the graves that sat there, sighing a little. "I...cannot ask you to help me, Tamako-chan. Not in this quest. But...I will get Kyora back for this."

"Well...you have my help, at least until you're healed. And I insist you come back by the village I grew up in and see your sister...she must be worried sick. And then we can speak of this mission."

Kohaku only nodded in silent agreement as his eyes glanced over the graves, closing his eyes halfway. He wished things had not ended this way. Again. And now, he was again living in a village of ghosts.