InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Small Moments ❯ Consigned to Memory ( Chapter 4 )

There was a row of fresh graves at the edge of the village. Small wonder it had seemed so quiet and empty; there was no one left.

Sango approached slowly, mindful of her weakened condition, but drawn inexorably closer. The graves told their story even from a distance. They were arranged neatly, one beside the other, and each with its owner's weapon laid lovingly on top. She could name them all: family, friends, comrades-in-arms.

She needed to see them, the final resting places of everyone she had ever known.

With slow, careful steps, she came to stand beside the fallen ones. Memories of her own grave flashed through her head, and a fleeting question: why did I survive?

Shaking from the effort of holding her weary, injured body upright, she sank gratefully to the ground. Kirara, her ever present companion, chirr-ed mournfully. There was no helping it. They were all that was left.

She heaved a shuddering sigh, borne of loneliness that went all the way to her core. She had never been alone before. It was an eerie, unsettling feeling, half expecting Father or Kohaku or one of the others to come by at any moment and ask what was wrong, knowing that they never would.

She tried to imagine the village as it had been, as it should have been: lively, happy, filled with people. But the memory skittered away, just out of reach, leaving her alone in the empty ruins of her home.

There was no one left. It was the simple truth, or as close to it as she could get without wanting to curl in on herself and die beside her fallen comrades. And yet she found she had no tears to shed.

Nothing would ever be the same. Everything was gone, irretrievable. Her past was consigned to memory... and her future had become merely a might have been. But she had to carry on, for those that could not. There was just one question.

Where do I go from here?

There came the sound of footsteps, soft and faltering, behind her. Sango did not turn to look; she knew who it would be.

"Sango-san..." The voice confirmed her guess. It was Kagome. "Sango-san, you shouldn't be up and about just yet..."

Sango had not been able to stay in that ruined hut one more moment. She had needed to get out. It did not matter that she was still healing and weak, only that she needed to see the damage with her own eyes. It was not entirely unexpected to see the village so destroyed, but this... "You made graves for everyone."

"Yeah," Kagome murmured. "About that... Since there's nobody left, what do you think of coming along with us?"

Sango turned, then. She needed to see the other girl's face. Uncertainty and hope were reflected in equal parts in Kagome's eyes; Shippo peered eagerly over her shoulder. They were serious. Even after everything she had done, after she had tried to kill them all, they wanted her to join them. And how could she refuse? They had helped her. They had held funeral rites for the dead. They shared her objective - they wanted to destroy Naraku as much as she did. And... she wouldn't have to be alone anymore.

"You're gathering pieces of the Shikon jewel, right?" Kagome nodded. "And Naraku is after them as well?" Another nod. "Then that means he will come after you again at some point."

"Yes," Kagome agreed.

"Then I'll go with you."

Excitement flashed across the other girl's face, but faded quickly. "You want to avenge everyone, don't you?"

Sango sighed. "I have to."