InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Well it's about time ❯ 26 ( Chapter 26 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: FullMetalArm 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 03.09.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 4.1K | Visits: 228 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 03.09.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 4.1K | Visits: 228 | Status: Completed
okay a chapter for Sango and miroku!! Lotsa funny stuff in 28-30 :D!!!! might be a discrepancy with something that happens later but it's important to plot development. 'course I'm going with info given by a reader so *points to reader* blame him. Once again idiotic perverted humor in this chapter.......I think we're used to it.
Chapter 26
Miroku sighed loudly to himself as he sat at the edge of the lake. Normally on a day like this it would be easy travel with the sun shining, melting snow, and the first glimpses of spring showing on the trees that had not felt the warmth of the sun for months. But no, today's travels were as Inuyasha would so crudely put, "A pain in the ass." Laughing quietly to himself, Miroku remembered the day they had first learned of what a donkey was and how Inuyasha had learned about it. According to Kagome, the three non time jumping companions learned of an animal that was like a small horse and was used to carry baggage and goods and sometimes people would breed them with horses to create a mule which according to Kagome was uglier than the donkey.
However once Kagome explained why she punished Inuyasha so much it became an extremely reasonable punishment for the crime he had committed. Apparently saying that phrase was considered extremely offensive to some in Kagome's time as the word "ass" also became synonymous with a persons rear. Although now that he had learned the terminology Miroku couldn't help but think to himself sometimes that Sango had a nice ass. But for now it was all he could do to keep his bride from feeling worse than she already was.
Almost five months into her pregnancy Sango was still going strong. She suffered no morning sickness, and her moods were normally steady although Miroku was still careful about when and how he came home which at this point in their marriage meant, early and often, lest he face the wrath of the Taijiya clan leader. But there were also many fringe benefits that came with Sango's condition, and needless to say Miroku was a bit happier than most married men. According to Kaede, Taki, and Kagome many women experienced pregnancy differently. Some women are extremely active, others lounge about, some are moody, some are stoic and some get sick a lot, but what ever energy that was meant for moods and sickness went straight to the bedroom with his wife.
That's not to say that they're love life was boring, in fact it was far from it, but the pregnancy did keep their night time activities rather eventful, save for the fact that they were now extremely careful in what went on and also how Sango slept out of fear for their child's life. But today was not one of those days, nor was the night before one of their greatest nights since Sango's nose seemed to have become extremely sensitive the day before. The day before Sango was complaining about perfectly ordinary smells being absolutely revolting and making her feel woozy, to her latest pit stop this afternoon as they flew over a village and a whiff of smoke caused for immediate landing as her stomach started clenching.
Miroku felt a deep pang of guilt as he listened to the sounds of his wife's less than attractive retching and as he pretty much blamed himself for her condition he thought that he could at least console her and help her get through this bout of nausea, but as his luck would have it as he soon as he began to comfort her she flashed a vicious look at him and said, "Leave me alone or I'll make this our only child." It goes without saying that he had gotten the hint instantaneously and it was all he could do to stay in his spot staring at the fish swimming in the lake.
Meanwhile about 30 feet away Sango was wiping away the last of her recent stomach problem. She groaned loudly at the annoyance of it and rubbed her abdomen saying, "You better not give me any problems when you're born because letting you grow inside me is a big enough pain as it is." As if the kids understood what she said, Sango felt an extreme feeling of ease pass through her body and she laughed at her child's spiritual attempt to comfort her. Grabbing her boomerang she stood shakily and looked to her cat demon and said, "Come on Kirara, I think Miroku's feeling a bit depressed right now." The cat demon made its twittering meow sound and bounded along side her as the made their way to the lake.
Once there the Taijiya wasn't surprised to find her husband in his usual sitting position with his eyes closed and his hands folded in a prayer position. She smiled at his antics and loved him even more for taking on such a grueling task. Since their marriage Miroku wasn't really a full fledged monk anymore but he still helped with exorcisms and funerals when it was asked of him. Being a member of the party that had defeated Naraku he was paid handsomely by many of the nobles who found him in either Inuyasha's village, the Taijiya village, or as luck would sometimes have it they would find them on the road traveling on foot, and every time a noble's messenger found them he'd be paid in full many times over what was the normal amount which he then gave to Sango to use for the villages reconstruction. Although she knew he had kept some as what Kagome would call a "rainy day" fund and Sango could have cared less as he had their best interests at heart.
Thinking it would be a nice change of pace to make him feel violated Sango set her boomerang down and crept slowly towards her husband. Thinking that he'd probably drifted into one of his trances waiting for her she got to all fours and like a cat slowly crawled the remaining distance towards the monk and just as she was about to reach her hand and grab his butt he said, "Feeling better I see." Sitting up Sango blushed and said, "Yeah, I'm fine sorry for treating you like that but I've never really been sick at all in my life and when I do get sick I tend to get a bit vicious with the people around me." Looking at her husband she saw him turn around with a smile on his face as he said, "Don't worry about it. It's really mostly my fault for getting you like that."
Sango felt her mouth drop at his words and said, "Don't go blaming yourself for me being pregnant. I'm happy that we're going to be parents, it's just that I think it's finally starting to come full swing right now." Miroku reached out and took her hand in his and said, "Don't worry, I'm here for you so don't think you need to do everything on your own, okay?" Sango felt her face burn even more and cursed herself for getting embarrassed at something as trivial as her own husband comforting her. Nodding as he held her hand she asked, "What were you doing when I came out of the woods?"
This time it was the monks turn to blush in embarrassment. Scratching the back of his head with his free hand he said, "Well I was praying for the child." Sango smiled brightly at the thoughtfulness and asked, "Why would you do that? Look who the parents are it's you and me. Two of the people who helped kill Naraku and save the land, why would our child be in any danger?" As she asked the question Sango noticed Miroku's face drop and she asked, "You don't think that the child will....." but before she could finish Miroku said, "I don't know but it's still a fear that grips my heart that one of our children will have that horrid void in their hand and the curse will live. I grew up thinking that if I killed Naraku the curse would leave my blood line and despite it leaving me I can't help but worry for our children."
Sango felt her heart drop and her extra hand immediately grasp her stomach and began to rub it furiously out of worry, but before she could stop herself she felt Miroku's free hand on hers and his eyes looking into hers. She felt her face flush even more as his lips met hers for a brief kiss and he then threw his arms around her and held her close to him. Following suit Sango embraced her husband as well and placed her head on his shoulder. She could feel him shaking and something warm fall down her cheek and she knew that he was crying. It amazed her that this was happening as she had never seen him cry out of pure fear before and it was all she could do to keep herself from crying along with him as the same fear for their children had been buried in the back of her mind as well. They knew even though that he was dead Naraku's conniving ways may still haunt them and Sango hoped that such a terrible curse wouldn't fall on their children.
It seemed to last forever, Miroku's crying, but when he was finally done Sango couldn't help but giggle at his reddened face and she said, "I'd have hated to see you crying as a little kid." Glaring at her Miroku said, "Well it isn't exactly easy getting rid of a burden like that after living with it your whole life and then worrying about the life of your child." Sango's heart was weighted with intense guilt at his words and said, "I didn't mean it like that Miroku. Your burden is now my burden as I've worried about the curse as well so don't think that I'm not feeling the same fear as you. I'm the one carrying this child and if anything I'm worried that if the curse is continued that I'll be sucked in once the baby's ready to be born."
Miroku couldn't contain his laughter at that thought and through stifled laughs said, "Don't....ha ha....worry. You'll.....hehehe...be fin." Sango glared at her husband and smacked him on the top of his head and said, "Oh really. You find it funny that our child might suck me into a black hole!" Miroku's laughter stopped abruptly and he said, "Well....no not really. But it's kind of an odd thing to worry about seeing that I was raised by both parents for a short time before I lost them both." Sango continued to glare at the monk for a moment before saying in a angry voice, "Clean up so we can get going. I'd hate to see what happens if we don't get there by night fall." At those words Miroku immediately ran to the lake and splashed it's cold, clean water on his face and dried himself before smiling and saying, "Ready to go ma'am!" and they continued their journey towards Sango's home.
As they flew Miroku shuddered at the thought of what had happened the last time that they had shown up late and his would start to hurt if he dwelled on it too much. Since they were constantly on the go between Inuyasha's Village and the Taijiya's home they were sometime's held up by weather or a town in need of either an exorcism or a demon that needed slaying. Well last trip they found a village in need of both and needless to say the weather hadn't helped their chances of doing the slaying as it took them two days to track the demon only to find that it was a mother weasel demon who had been taking chickens and eggs to feed it's new born children and was more afraid of them than they would ever be afraid of it and what was shocking was that the villagers had failed to say that it was taking the chickens and not humans and that no body ever got hurt.
Once they got the full story from the villagers Miroku and Sango had told the demon that there was a hanyou named Inuyasha who would help her once spring came and the babies were big enough to travel, but until then she must be careful about where she got her food. Even though it couldn't speak they could tell that she understood and was grateful for their help and the left with only half of their originally promised price. Of course they didn't mind that they hadn't received payment for killing the demon as the demon wasn't harming anyone and they were sure it never harmed anyone in it's life as it's aura was much gentler than most demons.
But that job had set them back and when they reached the village they received an angry reception by the person who was caring for the rebuilt home of Sango's family and Miroku had received a sharp blow to the head that made him not move much for the next couple of days. But, after such a "welcoming" event their host apologized and said that he was just worried about them as the village fortune teller spoke of horrible weather coming towards them and that he was just worried about their safety. Sango was eager to apologize but Miroku got his revenge in full before accepting any apologies and offering his own, but the blow to their host's head made him get the boot to a guest room for the night.
But with clear skies and a warm bright sun they made it to the village just before dusk and were welcomed by many of the villagers. To the ignorant traveler you could never even tell that the village had been demolished but to those who had lived there and helped rebuild it the village was better than before. This was given to the fact that they had expanded the village to allow for more crops and also the clearing of some of the forest for grazing land for live stock and also for training. Many of the villagers were either children or old people but for those who were willing they underwent intense training at the hands of Sango, when she was there, and a few of the other surviving slayers who had left a few days before the attack on the village due to family problems or other slaying jobs.
Yet one of the slayers that was of particular interest to many of the young people was a fifteen year old boy who was second only to Sango due to his time in service of a demon. According to the other villagers the boy had been controlled by a Shikon shard after his death and at Naraku's orders slaying many demons conjured by the former human. Even the slayers who had seen the boy train and had fought against him were shocked at his abilities in a fight as they had easily beaten him many times, but now they were afraid of the once dead boy who was now leading the village at his sister's request.
Sango was glad to see that her brother was doing well, his revival had been a huge relief to her and she was glad that part of her family had lived on even though she still felt guilty that Kohaku was alive against Nature what nature usually intended but she felt that Nature knew that the boy's time had not come and was allowing him to live his life to the fullest. The only problem that the two of them had was that Kohaku had received the memories of the night that Naraku had taken control of him and it took him the better part of a year to come to terms with all he had done and he vowed to make amends by rebuilding the Village of Taijiya.
When she and Miroku had reached the house built for the village leader they could hear a low voice chanting. Sango sighed loudly and quietly slid open the door so that she and Miroku could both see Kohaku on his knees in front of the family altar and a good amount of incense burning as he prayed for the peace of those who had fallen at his hands and for forgiveness for his past discretions. Stepping in as quietly as possible and shutting the door in the same quiet fashion Miroku and Sango sat near the door and silently prayed along with Kohaku.
Once his prayers were finished Kohaku stood and turned and let out a small gasp at the sight of his sister and brother-in-law before saying, "So you're hear early for once? I didn't expect you until at least night fall but it's barely dusk now." Standing himself up and then helping his wife Miroku said, "We didn't want to risk another beating." Kohaku's face flushed and he said, "Well ummmm I guess that's a good point for being early. But how are you two doing? The baby all right?" Sango smiled at her brother's quick glance to her slightly protruding stomach and said, "It's doing extremely well, save for a bout of sickness on our way here, the baby's doing as best as it could be." Nodding at his sister's reply Kohaku said, "Sorry you guys had to see me praying again. I just feel the need to do it every now and then."
Walking towards the young slayer Miroku clasped the young mans shoulder and said, "Don't apologize for your prayers. At fifteen anyone who experienced the horrors you have would feel some sort of need to ask for help and forgiveness, and even though you were under the control of Naraku and weren't really responsible for your actions, it is admirable that you wish well the souls taken by that demon through his manipulation of you." Kohaku smiled at the monk and said, "Thanks." before thinking to himself, Was that supposed to be advice or something? Once Miroku had let go of him Kohaku looked to his sister and asked, "Are you two feeling up to some dinner?" Kohaku didn't need to ask twice as Sango immediately started to salivate before Kohaku ran to the kitchen to ask their cook to prepare a nice meal that was safe for his sister to eat.
In an hours time they were sitting at the table enjoying their cooks food and yelling thanks to her as she set the meal on the table and looked to Kohaku and asked, "Will you be requiring anything else today?" Shaking his head Kohaku said, "You can go, and take some food with you for your family if you like. It's only me here usually and we can't have that food going to waste." Smiling and bowing deeply she said a small thank you to which Kohaku said, "Don't mention it. It's the least I can do for all you've done around here and for teaching me how to cook a little." Bowing to Kohaku and then to Miroku and Sango the woman left them to enjoy the meal.
When they finished their food Kohaku left for a few moments and came back with tea and set the set down before serving it much to the surprise of his sister and Miroku. After serving them Kohaku immediately went to drinking his tea while Sango and Miroku watched him curiously for a moment before he set down his cup and asked, "What?" Coughing nervously Miroku said, "Since when was it customary for men to learn to cook and serve tea when they are the lord of their home?" Snorting into his tea Kohaku said, "Well I just thought it might be nice to learn skills besides killing demons. And since I'm alone a lot of the time I might as well learn to fend for myself. Besides didn't you at least learn to cook over a camp fire on your journeys?" Miroku smirked and sipped his tea before saying, "How right you are Kohaku. I guess with the change in times men must learn how to care for themselves instead of relying on servants and women."
Not sure of what to say to that Sango looked at her brother and said, "I heard from some of the girls in the village that a young slayer has captured their hearts. Might I ask what you plan on gaining by acting like the old Miroku?" At the question both men choked on their tea and asked, "What's that supposed to mean?!" Laughing loudly Sango said, "I meant nothing by it. But honestly Kohaku, you aren't playing with those girls hearts, are you?" Shaking his head Kohaku said, "No, I'm just nice to them and told them that if they need help I'd be glad to give it. But there is one girl I've been thinking about a lot lately." Raising their eyebrows Miroku and Sango asked, "Really?" while Kirara gave an inquisitive "Mew?"
Draining his cup Kohaku poured himself another while saying, "It's that girl who traveled with Sesshomaru. Rin was her name I think, and for some reason she's been in my head a lot lately." Looking up and smiling he was about to ask about her when he saw a grim look on the faces of his sister and her husband. Staring at them confused he said, "She's all right isn't she?" Stirring from their grimace Sango said, "She's doing well seeing as she was adopted by Sesshomaru and his mate, an Inu-youkai named Taki who also gave birth to his son Koji, Rin is well cared for and loved." Smiling at the news Kohaku asked, "So why the long faces, so she's from nobility and we're the head of a demon slaying village, I think her parents know that we only go after those that wish the death of all things like Naraku and they'd be glad to see that she's well protected and loved by a strong human."
Looking at his brother-in-law Miroku said, "We don't doubt your feelings for her but it's just that Rin has been promised to someone else." Kohaku raised his eyebrow and asked, "It wasn't an arranged marriage by her parents was it?" Shaking his head Miroku said, "No, she's actually chosen her own husband at the age of 13 and you know the boy to." Kohaku raised his eyebrow and said, "Really, I have a rival? Who is it?" Letting out a long sigh Sango said, "Rin has chosen Shippou, Kohaku." Feeling his jaw clench Kohaku asked, "Shippou the kitsune?" The two nodded and Kohaku asked, "Which means that in order to get Rin I have to defeat Shippou?" Again they nodded at Kohaku's question and were reluctant to hear him say, "Although I don't want to do it, I guess for the woman I love I must duel him. And knowing how he survived against Naraku it won't be easy."
And before they could say anything Miroku and Sango watched Kohaku leave the table and head for his room. Making them both look at each other and without saying a word both agreed that Shippou deserved a fair warning about what to expect and that he should train a bit harder now that he had a known rival. And so they sent Kirara back to Inuyasha village with a note tied to her paw and both hoping that Shippou wouldn't despair at fighting someone he counted as a friend.
There ya go....next chapter I have two ideas and I think one is better than the other but I can't give it away.
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Chapter 26
Miroku sighed loudly to himself as he sat at the edge of the lake. Normally on a day like this it would be easy travel with the sun shining, melting snow, and the first glimpses of spring showing on the trees that had not felt the warmth of the sun for months. But no, today's travels were as Inuyasha would so crudely put, "A pain in the ass." Laughing quietly to himself, Miroku remembered the day they had first learned of what a donkey was and how Inuyasha had learned about it. According to Kagome, the three non time jumping companions learned of an animal that was like a small horse and was used to carry baggage and goods and sometimes people would breed them with horses to create a mule which according to Kagome was uglier than the donkey.
However once Kagome explained why she punished Inuyasha so much it became an extremely reasonable punishment for the crime he had committed. Apparently saying that phrase was considered extremely offensive to some in Kagome's time as the word "ass" also became synonymous with a persons rear. Although now that he had learned the terminology Miroku couldn't help but think to himself sometimes that Sango had a nice ass. But for now it was all he could do to keep his bride from feeling worse than she already was.
Almost five months into her pregnancy Sango was still going strong. She suffered no morning sickness, and her moods were normally steady although Miroku was still careful about when and how he came home which at this point in their marriage meant, early and often, lest he face the wrath of the Taijiya clan leader. But there were also many fringe benefits that came with Sango's condition, and needless to say Miroku was a bit happier than most married men. According to Kaede, Taki, and Kagome many women experienced pregnancy differently. Some women are extremely active, others lounge about, some are moody, some are stoic and some get sick a lot, but what ever energy that was meant for moods and sickness went straight to the bedroom with his wife.
That's not to say that they're love life was boring, in fact it was far from it, but the pregnancy did keep their night time activities rather eventful, save for the fact that they were now extremely careful in what went on and also how Sango slept out of fear for their child's life. But today was not one of those days, nor was the night before one of their greatest nights since Sango's nose seemed to have become extremely sensitive the day before. The day before Sango was complaining about perfectly ordinary smells being absolutely revolting and making her feel woozy, to her latest pit stop this afternoon as they flew over a village and a whiff of smoke caused for immediate landing as her stomach started clenching.
Miroku felt a deep pang of guilt as he listened to the sounds of his wife's less than attractive retching and as he pretty much blamed himself for her condition he thought that he could at least console her and help her get through this bout of nausea, but as his luck would have it as he soon as he began to comfort her she flashed a vicious look at him and said, "Leave me alone or I'll make this our only child." It goes without saying that he had gotten the hint instantaneously and it was all he could do to stay in his spot staring at the fish swimming in the lake.
Meanwhile about 30 feet away Sango was wiping away the last of her recent stomach problem. She groaned loudly at the annoyance of it and rubbed her abdomen saying, "You better not give me any problems when you're born because letting you grow inside me is a big enough pain as it is." As if the kids understood what she said, Sango felt an extreme feeling of ease pass through her body and she laughed at her child's spiritual attempt to comfort her. Grabbing her boomerang she stood shakily and looked to her cat demon and said, "Come on Kirara, I think Miroku's feeling a bit depressed right now." The cat demon made its twittering meow sound and bounded along side her as the made their way to the lake.
Once there the Taijiya wasn't surprised to find her husband in his usual sitting position with his eyes closed and his hands folded in a prayer position. She smiled at his antics and loved him even more for taking on such a grueling task. Since their marriage Miroku wasn't really a full fledged monk anymore but he still helped with exorcisms and funerals when it was asked of him. Being a member of the party that had defeated Naraku he was paid handsomely by many of the nobles who found him in either Inuyasha's village, the Taijiya village, or as luck would sometimes have it they would find them on the road traveling on foot, and every time a noble's messenger found them he'd be paid in full many times over what was the normal amount which he then gave to Sango to use for the villages reconstruction. Although she knew he had kept some as what Kagome would call a "rainy day" fund and Sango could have cared less as he had their best interests at heart.
Thinking it would be a nice change of pace to make him feel violated Sango set her boomerang down and crept slowly towards her husband. Thinking that he'd probably drifted into one of his trances waiting for her she got to all fours and like a cat slowly crawled the remaining distance towards the monk and just as she was about to reach her hand and grab his butt he said, "Feeling better I see." Sitting up Sango blushed and said, "Yeah, I'm fine sorry for treating you like that but I've never really been sick at all in my life and when I do get sick I tend to get a bit vicious with the people around me." Looking at her husband she saw him turn around with a smile on his face as he said, "Don't worry about it. It's really mostly my fault for getting you like that."
Sango felt her mouth drop at his words and said, "Don't go blaming yourself for me being pregnant. I'm happy that we're going to be parents, it's just that I think it's finally starting to come full swing right now." Miroku reached out and took her hand in his and said, "Don't worry, I'm here for you so don't think you need to do everything on your own, okay?" Sango felt her face burn even more and cursed herself for getting embarrassed at something as trivial as her own husband comforting her. Nodding as he held her hand she asked, "What were you doing when I came out of the woods?"
This time it was the monks turn to blush in embarrassment. Scratching the back of his head with his free hand he said, "Well I was praying for the child." Sango smiled brightly at the thoughtfulness and asked, "Why would you do that? Look who the parents are it's you and me. Two of the people who helped kill Naraku and save the land, why would our child be in any danger?" As she asked the question Sango noticed Miroku's face drop and she asked, "You don't think that the child will....." but before she could finish Miroku said, "I don't know but it's still a fear that grips my heart that one of our children will have that horrid void in their hand and the curse will live. I grew up thinking that if I killed Naraku the curse would leave my blood line and despite it leaving me I can't help but worry for our children."
Sango felt her heart drop and her extra hand immediately grasp her stomach and began to rub it furiously out of worry, but before she could stop herself she felt Miroku's free hand on hers and his eyes looking into hers. She felt her face flush even more as his lips met hers for a brief kiss and he then threw his arms around her and held her close to him. Following suit Sango embraced her husband as well and placed her head on his shoulder. She could feel him shaking and something warm fall down her cheek and she knew that he was crying. It amazed her that this was happening as she had never seen him cry out of pure fear before and it was all she could do to keep herself from crying along with him as the same fear for their children had been buried in the back of her mind as well. They knew even though that he was dead Naraku's conniving ways may still haunt them and Sango hoped that such a terrible curse wouldn't fall on their children.
It seemed to last forever, Miroku's crying, but when he was finally done Sango couldn't help but giggle at his reddened face and she said, "I'd have hated to see you crying as a little kid." Glaring at her Miroku said, "Well it isn't exactly easy getting rid of a burden like that after living with it your whole life and then worrying about the life of your child." Sango's heart was weighted with intense guilt at his words and said, "I didn't mean it like that Miroku. Your burden is now my burden as I've worried about the curse as well so don't think that I'm not feeling the same fear as you. I'm the one carrying this child and if anything I'm worried that if the curse is continued that I'll be sucked in once the baby's ready to be born."
Miroku couldn't contain his laughter at that thought and through stifled laughs said, "Don't....ha ha....worry. You'll.....hehehe...be fin." Sango glared at her husband and smacked him on the top of his head and said, "Oh really. You find it funny that our child might suck me into a black hole!" Miroku's laughter stopped abruptly and he said, "Well....no not really. But it's kind of an odd thing to worry about seeing that I was raised by both parents for a short time before I lost them both." Sango continued to glare at the monk for a moment before saying in a angry voice, "Clean up so we can get going. I'd hate to see what happens if we don't get there by night fall." At those words Miroku immediately ran to the lake and splashed it's cold, clean water on his face and dried himself before smiling and saying, "Ready to go ma'am!" and they continued their journey towards Sango's home.
As they flew Miroku shuddered at the thought of what had happened the last time that they had shown up late and his would start to hurt if he dwelled on it too much. Since they were constantly on the go between Inuyasha's Village and the Taijiya's home they were sometime's held up by weather or a town in need of either an exorcism or a demon that needed slaying. Well last trip they found a village in need of both and needless to say the weather hadn't helped their chances of doing the slaying as it took them two days to track the demon only to find that it was a mother weasel demon who had been taking chickens and eggs to feed it's new born children and was more afraid of them than they would ever be afraid of it and what was shocking was that the villagers had failed to say that it was taking the chickens and not humans and that no body ever got hurt.
Once they got the full story from the villagers Miroku and Sango had told the demon that there was a hanyou named Inuyasha who would help her once spring came and the babies were big enough to travel, but until then she must be careful about where she got her food. Even though it couldn't speak they could tell that she understood and was grateful for their help and the left with only half of their originally promised price. Of course they didn't mind that they hadn't received payment for killing the demon as the demon wasn't harming anyone and they were sure it never harmed anyone in it's life as it's aura was much gentler than most demons.
But that job had set them back and when they reached the village they received an angry reception by the person who was caring for the rebuilt home of Sango's family and Miroku had received a sharp blow to the head that made him not move much for the next couple of days. But, after such a "welcoming" event their host apologized and said that he was just worried about them as the village fortune teller spoke of horrible weather coming towards them and that he was just worried about their safety. Sango was eager to apologize but Miroku got his revenge in full before accepting any apologies and offering his own, but the blow to their host's head made him get the boot to a guest room for the night.
But with clear skies and a warm bright sun they made it to the village just before dusk and were welcomed by many of the villagers. To the ignorant traveler you could never even tell that the village had been demolished but to those who had lived there and helped rebuild it the village was better than before. This was given to the fact that they had expanded the village to allow for more crops and also the clearing of some of the forest for grazing land for live stock and also for training. Many of the villagers were either children or old people but for those who were willing they underwent intense training at the hands of Sango, when she was there, and a few of the other surviving slayers who had left a few days before the attack on the village due to family problems or other slaying jobs.
Yet one of the slayers that was of particular interest to many of the young people was a fifteen year old boy who was second only to Sango due to his time in service of a demon. According to the other villagers the boy had been controlled by a Shikon shard after his death and at Naraku's orders slaying many demons conjured by the former human. Even the slayers who had seen the boy train and had fought against him were shocked at his abilities in a fight as they had easily beaten him many times, but now they were afraid of the once dead boy who was now leading the village at his sister's request.
Sango was glad to see that her brother was doing well, his revival had been a huge relief to her and she was glad that part of her family had lived on even though she still felt guilty that Kohaku was alive against Nature what nature usually intended but she felt that Nature knew that the boy's time had not come and was allowing him to live his life to the fullest. The only problem that the two of them had was that Kohaku had received the memories of the night that Naraku had taken control of him and it took him the better part of a year to come to terms with all he had done and he vowed to make amends by rebuilding the Village of Taijiya.
When she and Miroku had reached the house built for the village leader they could hear a low voice chanting. Sango sighed loudly and quietly slid open the door so that she and Miroku could both see Kohaku on his knees in front of the family altar and a good amount of incense burning as he prayed for the peace of those who had fallen at his hands and for forgiveness for his past discretions. Stepping in as quietly as possible and shutting the door in the same quiet fashion Miroku and Sango sat near the door and silently prayed along with Kohaku.
Once his prayers were finished Kohaku stood and turned and let out a small gasp at the sight of his sister and brother-in-law before saying, "So you're hear early for once? I didn't expect you until at least night fall but it's barely dusk now." Standing himself up and then helping his wife Miroku said, "We didn't want to risk another beating." Kohaku's face flushed and he said, "Well ummmm I guess that's a good point for being early. But how are you two doing? The baby all right?" Sango smiled at her brother's quick glance to her slightly protruding stomach and said, "It's doing extremely well, save for a bout of sickness on our way here, the baby's doing as best as it could be." Nodding at his sister's reply Kohaku said, "Sorry you guys had to see me praying again. I just feel the need to do it every now and then."
Walking towards the young slayer Miroku clasped the young mans shoulder and said, "Don't apologize for your prayers. At fifteen anyone who experienced the horrors you have would feel some sort of need to ask for help and forgiveness, and even though you were under the control of Naraku and weren't really responsible for your actions, it is admirable that you wish well the souls taken by that demon through his manipulation of you." Kohaku smiled at the monk and said, "Thanks." before thinking to himself, Was that supposed to be advice or something? Once Miroku had let go of him Kohaku looked to his sister and asked, "Are you two feeling up to some dinner?" Kohaku didn't need to ask twice as Sango immediately started to salivate before Kohaku ran to the kitchen to ask their cook to prepare a nice meal that was safe for his sister to eat.
In an hours time they were sitting at the table enjoying their cooks food and yelling thanks to her as she set the meal on the table and looked to Kohaku and asked, "Will you be requiring anything else today?" Shaking his head Kohaku said, "You can go, and take some food with you for your family if you like. It's only me here usually and we can't have that food going to waste." Smiling and bowing deeply she said a small thank you to which Kohaku said, "Don't mention it. It's the least I can do for all you've done around here and for teaching me how to cook a little." Bowing to Kohaku and then to Miroku and Sango the woman left them to enjoy the meal.
When they finished their food Kohaku left for a few moments and came back with tea and set the set down before serving it much to the surprise of his sister and Miroku. After serving them Kohaku immediately went to drinking his tea while Sango and Miroku watched him curiously for a moment before he set down his cup and asked, "What?" Coughing nervously Miroku said, "Since when was it customary for men to learn to cook and serve tea when they are the lord of their home?" Snorting into his tea Kohaku said, "Well I just thought it might be nice to learn skills besides killing demons. And since I'm alone a lot of the time I might as well learn to fend for myself. Besides didn't you at least learn to cook over a camp fire on your journeys?" Miroku smirked and sipped his tea before saying, "How right you are Kohaku. I guess with the change in times men must learn how to care for themselves instead of relying on servants and women."
Not sure of what to say to that Sango looked at her brother and said, "I heard from some of the girls in the village that a young slayer has captured their hearts. Might I ask what you plan on gaining by acting like the old Miroku?" At the question both men choked on their tea and asked, "What's that supposed to mean?!" Laughing loudly Sango said, "I meant nothing by it. But honestly Kohaku, you aren't playing with those girls hearts, are you?" Shaking his head Kohaku said, "No, I'm just nice to them and told them that if they need help I'd be glad to give it. But there is one girl I've been thinking about a lot lately." Raising their eyebrows Miroku and Sango asked, "Really?" while Kirara gave an inquisitive "Mew?"
Draining his cup Kohaku poured himself another while saying, "It's that girl who traveled with Sesshomaru. Rin was her name I think, and for some reason she's been in my head a lot lately." Looking up and smiling he was about to ask about her when he saw a grim look on the faces of his sister and her husband. Staring at them confused he said, "She's all right isn't she?" Stirring from their grimace Sango said, "She's doing well seeing as she was adopted by Sesshomaru and his mate, an Inu-youkai named Taki who also gave birth to his son Koji, Rin is well cared for and loved." Smiling at the news Kohaku asked, "So why the long faces, so she's from nobility and we're the head of a demon slaying village, I think her parents know that we only go after those that wish the death of all things like Naraku and they'd be glad to see that she's well protected and loved by a strong human."
Looking at his brother-in-law Miroku said, "We don't doubt your feelings for her but it's just that Rin has been promised to someone else." Kohaku raised his eyebrow and asked, "It wasn't an arranged marriage by her parents was it?" Shaking his head Miroku said, "No, she's actually chosen her own husband at the age of 13 and you know the boy to." Kohaku raised his eyebrow and said, "Really, I have a rival? Who is it?" Letting out a long sigh Sango said, "Rin has chosen Shippou, Kohaku." Feeling his jaw clench Kohaku asked, "Shippou the kitsune?" The two nodded and Kohaku asked, "Which means that in order to get Rin I have to defeat Shippou?" Again they nodded at Kohaku's question and were reluctant to hear him say, "Although I don't want to do it, I guess for the woman I love I must duel him. And knowing how he survived against Naraku it won't be easy."
And before they could say anything Miroku and Sango watched Kohaku leave the table and head for his room. Making them both look at each other and without saying a word both agreed that Shippou deserved a fair warning about what to expect and that he should train a bit harder now that he had a known rival. And so they sent Kirara back to Inuyasha village with a note tied to her paw and both hoping that Shippou wouldn't despair at fighting someone he counted as a friend.
There ya go....next chapter I have two ideas and I think one is better than the other but I can't give it away.
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