Prologue

The smell of the place was enough to make her vomit.

With her hat held tight against her head, she slowly snaked her way through the stangnant crowd. Sounds of cries and moans could be heard from various huddled groups, holding on to each other for dear life and sanity. It was a somber event, and the cries of pain were a little more than even she wanted to take.

In the middle of the room lay the one for whom the event was planned. A beautiful dark haired young woman slept enternally in her casket, dressed in a fine, silk kimono decorated with blue and pink flowers. There was a light amount of makeup on her face, enough to make her look like a sleeping princess from a storybook.

She adjusted her hat and stared at the girl. "Kagome, why did you do this?"

It was the only thing she could say once she finally got the chance to see her cousin face to face. They had grown up together in the United States, but when Kagome turned 13 she left for her mother's homeland, Japan, and changed both of their lives forever. Before she came to the gathering she had coached herself not to cry, but seeing her cousin like this proved too much for even her strong soul.

So, tears fell.

They were silent though, and quickly snatched away from sight by a tissue. Her feet would've remained frozen in place beside the casket if she didn't hear someone call her name.

"Marathon! Marathon!"

She turned her head and saw her younger cousin come running up to her. Before she could speak, he pressed his face into her chest and sobbed.

"Souta."

"Marathon its not fair! I thought InuYasha could handle this! He was invicible! He could handle anything! How could this happen?"

InuYasha, she thought. She knew that name well, it was in the subject in the many emails that Kagome had sent to her this past year. At first she didn't beleive her, but soon had faith, and would probably the only person besides her immediate family who would.

"I know Souta. Kagome and InuYasha were attacked and Kagome didn't make it.." Marathon repeated the words that her aunt had spoken to her over the phone, seeing as she didn't have any more details. "That era of his is a dangerous time, isn't it?"

Souta only cried more, and Marathon cursed herself for again saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. She walked Souta over to a chair to sit down, and then noticed someone else in a corner, standing out despite the fact he was trying to hide.

"Its all InuYasha's fault!" Souta gasped inbetween cries, and Marathon instantly noticed the individual in the corner, with long ivory hair and an outfit of pure black, cring even more.

"Souta, its no one's fault. Im sure everything that couldv'e been done, was done. I think he is tearing himself up on the inside, and doesn't need you or anyone else doing it for him."

Souta nodded, what he said was purely out of grief anyway. He wandered back to his mother, and Marathon slowly approached this infamous InuYasha.

He was curled in up a chair, shivering. His amber eyes were flooded with tears, and he was more pale, she was sure, than Kagome was. Cautiously, she put a hand on his shoulder but it was only swatted away, his claws tearing into her hand.

"Ah! Shit!" She held her bleeding hand.

"Get away from me, " InuYasha hissed. "I don't want to be here. They are forcing me to be here."

Normally Marathon would've retaliated big time for the wound inflicted on her, but calmed her anger to approach him, even more cautiously this time. "I'm Marathon Eriance, Kagome's cousin from Maryland."

"So?"

She curled her lip in thought and brushed away a tear. "I know you are InuYasha, I've seen pictures, so all I want to say is that it wasn't your fault and Kagome wouldn't want you blaming yourself."

"You MORON" InuYasha sprang to his feet, battle-ready. "Of course its my fault! Its all my fault! You come here from half way across the world and expect to know it all! You don't know a damn thing!" He swung at her wildy, his eyes fading in and out from shades of red.

Marathon caught his arm and flipped him over. InuYasha paused and stared at her, still breathing heavily. She backed away and looked at her hands, I shouldn't be showing that kind of strength, what am I trying to do, make myself public? she thought as she fell back into a chair.

The crowd that had gathered to see a fight started to thin, and Ms. Higurashi was the first up there. She adjusted the skull cap that InuYasha was wearing to hide his ears, and led him to the back without another word. When she came out, she hugged Marathon tightly, rocking back and forth.

"I wish you didn't have to come at a time like this. I wanted you to look foward to living with Kagome and Souta like they were your own brother and sister. You came to Japan to get a better life, and that is still what I intend to give you."

Marathon nodded and rested her head against her aunt's shoulder. Kagome could be seen out of the corner of her right eye, and that eye cried.