Matters of the Heart

Chapter 2

Somewhere from within the forest there was the screech of a demon. Sango turned and ran in the direction of the screech. She was wearing her exterminator gear and had her boomerang firmly in her grip. The demon she was after was a chameleon so he could easily blend in with the environment. As she came into a clearing she stopped, she could sense he was near but his exact location was hidden. 'If Inuyasha were here he would be able to tell me where he was by his scent.' She listened for any movement but all was still.

Swift and silent the chameleon moved behind the taija prepared to strike, but he had underestimated her. Sango turned quickly grabbing her sword and jamming it into the chameleon's gut. It let out a high pitched scream and lashed out with a clawed hand slicing Sango's arm. Letting out a yelp she fell backwards her sword still stuck firmly in the chameleon. The fact that he had a sword protruding from his abdomen didn't seem to bother the demon as he attacked Sango again. Just before he reached her, Kirara sank her fangs into the demons arm stopping his attack. Sango used this time to get back on her feet taking the boomerang off her shoulder. In spite of the pain in her arm, she threw the boomerang with all her might toward the chameleon. It sliced through the air with great speed and completely tore apart the demon.

Sango caught the boomerang as it came back to her and stood waiting to make sure it was dead. After a few moments of no movement she slung her boomerang on her shoulder. Walking over to the remains of the demon she grabbed her sword and jumping onto Kirara's back, made her way out of the forest. When she finally reached the edge of the forest a small village came into view. In front of it stood a large group of people who began to cheer when they saw her. Sango smiled slightly, another village was safe thanks to her and Kirara. But somehow no matter how many villages she helped and how many times she heard the thanks and praise of the villagers, she just could never fill that hole in her heart.

Sango stayed in the village until dusk more or less against her will. "Are you sure you will not stay the night here? You are welcome to stay with my family and I." said the head of the village.

"No I really must be getting home." Sango replied.

"Very well," said the man sadly "Thank you so much for taking care of that Demon."

"It was nothing really." And with that said Sango turned and walked away from the village. She was now wearing her kimono and all her things were rolled up and on her back. Letting out a sigh, she looked up at the blazing sky with its vibrant reds and oranges. Kirara looked at her master solemnly and mewed nudging her with her soft head. Looking down Sango gave a small smile. "I'm ok Kirara, I guess I just miss Kohaku, and Kagome, Inuyasha and Shippo. I even miss that perverted monk." Before she knew what was happening tears were streaming down her face. The young girl stopped surprised at her reaction. She would have thought all her tears had been used the day she buried her younger brother.

That was a horrific day, and one that she would never forget. She had tried so desperately to save her brother, but in the end Naraku took the shard from him and he died from his injuries. Thinking about it hurt so much and made her cry harder. She knew that, that wound would never fully heal nor go away. She would carry that scar with her forever, but some how Sango had thought that leaving her companions would ease the pain. In the end she found it had only increased it. She had not realized what a large role they had played in her life.

Now more then anything she wished that Kagome was here with her, she always knew what to say to make things easier. Even if she could not think of something to say it helped just to have her there to share some of the burden. Sango glanced down at Kirara "What should we do?" she asked. Kirara only nuzzled her owner again and mewed softly. "Yeah I know, you miss them too don't you. She patted the demons head, "Well we might meet again some day you never know." Kirara purred in agreement and Sango chuckled softly. She dried her tears and was once again on her way.

She had not gotten but a few feet, when she heard someone screaming. Sango turned to see one of the boys from the village running up to her. "Miss Sango! Miss Sango!" the boy frantically cried. He finally caught up to her but was breathing so heavily he could not speak.

"What!What is it?" Sango urged.

"It's…the monster…He's….back!" the boy managed to blurt out between gasps for air.

Sango's eyes grew wide; how could that be? She had stood there and made sure that it had been just a dead carcass. "Alright, let's go check it out Kirara!" with that command Kirara transformed into her true form as Sango hoisted herself and the boy onto Kirara's back. Then they sped off back to the village.

Sure enough, as the village became more distinct, a large dark shadow appeared against the fading sky. 'Damn!' thought Sango. "Kirara land right before the village!" she shouted. Kirara immediately did as she had been told. As soon as her feet touched the ground Sango jumped off her and grasped her boomerang firmly in her hand. Her shoulder still felt a little weak but she pushed it out of her mind. After telling the small boy to stay where he was, she took off running toward the demon. 'If he's still alive that can only mean one thing.'

In seconds Sango had reached the scene of the disaster. It was pure chaos, there were villagers running away in every direction. Some were trampling over those who were to slow or trying to help the injured get away. There was blood everywhere and there in the middle of it all stood the demon. As Sango surveyed the situation she noticed that the demon had a villager firmly within his grasp. She did not waste another moment, and taking her boomerang and threw it aiming at the creatures arms. As usual it hit its mark and the man fell away from the monster then was caught by Kirara.

Sango again heard the familiar scream of the chameleon. He looked down at what were now useless stubs. Fear crossed his face as he knew he was at a disadvantage now. He glanced at Sango from the corner of his eye and glared at her. Then he used his ability to blend in with his surrounding to disappear. Sango had been expecting this and she knew exactly where he was headed. Reaching into the bundle on her back she grabbed one of he toxic bombs and threw it in the direction of the forest. Her instincts were right as she heard choking and spewing as the demon reappeared. Once more she threw the boomerang and once again it destroyed the demon, leaving nothing but a mangled mess. Only difference was this time Sango searched the dead body until she found what she was looking for. There within the remains, she found quite a few shards of the shikon jewel.

'It must take him a while to regenerate with so few shards, which would explain why I believed he was dead.'

Sango got out a piece of cloth and wrapped the shards in it before tucking it away safely with the rest of her things. Slowly the villagers began to come out from where they had been hiding. Many stood and stared at the destroyed demon with skepticism, before it turned to sand.

"Is it dead now?" asked a Man.

"It should be," replied Sango "It would take a miracle to piece it back together now." Once again the villagers went through the ritual of praising and thanking Sango. They also tried to offer her payments for her services, of which she kindly declined.

For most of the night Sango stayed behind in the village and helped to tend to the wounded. When everyone was asleep, she lay awake with the shards in her lap. They were extremely dark and tainted from being in the possession of the demon. She smiled the first real smile in a while. She knew of only one person who could purify the jewel and it looks like she would have to pay her a visit.

Sango tried to get some sleep but, the thought of seeing Kagome and the others brought too much excitement with it. Eventually she gave up trying, and instead opted to leave. Waking up Kirara she quietly slipped out of the small hut she had been staying in.

"Come on Kirara! Let's go home." She said as she hopped onto Kirara's back and headed towards Keade's village.

A.N.: There the second Chapter. Sorry it is not as good as the first. I am not the best with action scenes. -- and the demon is kinda lame….I might change it. Unless you all like it , let me know what you think. Thank you all for giving me such nice reviews. I appreciate it. And please tell me of any spelling mistakes. I am so bad with Japanese terms. I really depend on you all to tell me if and how I can improve it. Alright well I guess next I will add Miroku. I mean it just wouldn't be an Inuyasha fic without the perverted monk. :grins: I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading. Later.