Can Inuyasha and Sango rise from the ashes of a devastating battle with Naraku? Will they ever find solace, most importantly with each other?

When Sango waded back into consciousness she knew she had to be dying. She had never felt such severe pain. She couldn't control her own body just blink her eyes. Whatever had happened to her body this time made Naraku's wounds before a cake walk. Her eyes fluttered rapidly in distress. Was she the only injured? What about everyone else? Kagome? Inuyasha? Shippo? Miroku. The monk. Her husband to be. The thought of him sent fear ricocheting through her heart. A true reason to survive. With all the courage and strength she had left she began attempting to sit up. Her back was slick with sweat and her whole body trembled from the minimal effort. She let out a small sob before trying again.

It seemed like no part of her body escaped unscathed from... whatever. Tears leaking from her eyes involuntarily she managed to separate her back from the thin cot. Her teeth gritting and grunting from the strain she pushed herself hard, determined to find and confirm Miroku's well being. She didn't even see Inuyasha at first until he was frantically ushering back on the mat. Sango attempted to protest but her tongue was thick and her throat dry. "N-No.. Do-"

"Relax. Please." Inuyasha's voice was strained.

She struggled to turn to him and focus her brown eyes. He was a ghost himself. He was heavily bandaged like she was and more distressed than she had ever seen him. After looking around for a moment she didn't see anyone else bandaged or resting. That had to mean they were okay, right? "Nnnn..." Sango groaned, her eyes fixated on the hanyou.

"Shh. Try not to talk." He urged, dipping a rag in a bowl of water. He placed it on her sweaty forehead and burned under her gaze. He swallowed and she tried to speak once more.

"Miroku. Everyone... W-Where..." She watched Inuyasha wince visibly at her words.

Sango began to feel strangely confined in the hut. With just those two in it there was plenty of room, yet she felt constricted. The expanse of brown and dim lighting made her nervous. Certainly they had narrowly escaped some catastrophe. Where was everybody else? A determined look in her eyes she tried to sit up again. "Inuyasha-"

"You're not ready." He half whispered, his amber eyes holding an unreadable emotion.

A tired frown on her face, Sango sat all the way up. She was panting with exhaustion but determined. She was clambering to her feet when Inuyasha threw a strong arm in her way. His eyes were shut tight in frustration. "Listen to me!" He bit out, his whole body trembling. "Look-" Sango began, mustering the strength to assert dominance to a particularly stubborn Inuyasha. "I appreciate your concern but I can look after my damn self! Kagome appreciates it more when you're overbearing but I'm capable of taking a short walk! I just want to see Miroku and everyone..." Inuyasha's behavior was starting to alarm Sango more than annoy her. He seemed to be struggling against his words.

"Sango... Your injuries are worse than you realize. You-You've been out for over a week... I really think-"

"How is Miroku? Naraku didn't poison his Kazaana did he? Inuyasha, tell me!"

"..." Inuyasha inhaled sharply as he felt his throat close. "Try to remember. We had almost done it. Kagome was so close to purifying Naraku... And-" Sango's brow furrowed in concern.

"Did we? Kagome-chan isn't hurt is she? I-"

"S-Sango... Naraku sort of self destructed out of desperation. We had almost purified him and the jewel... He... He's gone but the blast... I..." Inuyasha wasn't speaking in coherent sentences. He was trembling fiercely and almost facing the other way now.

"Inuyasha. What are you telling me..."

"He tried to take us with him. I-I was able to survive the explosion but everyone else... S-Sango... Can you hear me? You almost died yourself." It felt like Sango was plummeting down a dark whole. This couldn't be reality. Kagome, Miroku, Shippo... All dead. Sango could feel her insides constrict and a rage well up inside her. She had long tuned out Inuyasha's pained babbling. With a shaking hand Sango grabbed Inuyasha's haori and slammed him against the wall.

"You're wrong! They-They're alive and we're not... We're not looking for them! You traitor!" She screeched, forcing her face into Inuyasha chest. She wailed with sobs, feebly hitting Inuyasha's chest in defiance. "He was all I had left. After everything, he was my new beginning..." Inuyasha forced the wall of emotion away, awkwardly wrapping his arms around Sango in a comforting embrace.

"You have to rest. And get better. Because... Because I'm not gonna let anything happen to you now, damn it!" Inuyasha's frustration was streaming out in short bursts. How did he lose almost everyone that mattered to him at all, including the most important. He couldn't stand to hear Sango cry. He couldn't cry anymore. Wordlessly, he hoisted Sango up. He was gentle, minding her many bandages and extensive injuries. As she was lifted her sobbing subsided. She had nothing left to give. In silence, Inuyasha carried her out of the hut and up a short hill.

Sango squinted in the sun, the experience of leaving the hut simultaneously refreshing and draining. She felt her blood run cold as she saw two freshly overturned mounds of dirt and one smaller one. Blessed and decorated with modest headstones. It was like a swift punch to the gut. Inuyasha set Sango down gently and just stood. "They were recognizable. And I don't think there was too much pain. K-Kagome-" Inuyasha looked away from the sites. "She died holding Shippo. And smiling. Miroku... He was on top of you. You have to be alive because of him and your rotten tenacity."

Sango was silent for a long moment, just running her finger tips over Miroku's grave. "He didn't deserve it..." She mumbled. Inuyasha looked to her, slightly confused. "To take himself out. A coward's death is too good for him. So much better than what I could do to him..." Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. He kept the fearful thought to himself that Naraku could possibly be alive. It would do Sango no good to entertain the thought. He stood with her for a long while. Saying nothing. Just existing with her in front of three solemn graves. When the sun began to set and a quiet breeze began to rustle between them he wordlessly picked the wounded woman up. Sango didn't protest.

"It's getting cooler. You're susceptible right now and will catch cold. Come on. We can come back tomorrow." The silence hung between them like a thick fog. Inuyasha carefully entered the hut and set her down. Without a word Sango turned over and fell into a dreamless sleep. Hours later she awoke to the aroma of food. Her body, however, was still in the grips of the worse pain she'd ever experienced. Her eyes blinked open, bleary and unfocused. A small whimper caught Inuyasha's attention.

He set a steaming bowl of soup before her and gently eased her up. It was humiliating to be so weak in both body and spirit. Inuyasha had had a week to deal, seethe, and compose himself. Sango had just woken up in this new hell. Her hands shaking, she attempted to lift a spoonful of the broth to her lips. She failed, however. Wordlessly, Inuyasha shifted and took the spoon into his own clawed hand. He tipped the broth into Sango's lips, who grudgingly swallowed. "Sorry to be so weak, Inuyasha.." Was all she uttered, sienna eyes avoiding amber at all costs. He just snorted.

"Sango, you're about one of the strongest humans I've ever met." Another spoonful. Sango took the hearty broth into her body, feeling the warmth radiate throughout her.

Her eyes flicked around the hut as she slowly sipped, landing on Inuyasha's freshly busted knuckles. She watched them for a long moment before looking up into the hanyou's eyes. "Your-"

"Must've happened in that battle." Was his solid response. He was tensed. Sango could tell he wasn't going to talk anymore, but also that he didn't speak the truth. She inhaled sharply through her nose before taking another sip of soup.