Chapter Two

It had been two years since the day.

Sango wiped the sweat from her forehead and sighed with satisfaction at her clean hut. Two long, hard years.

"Sango."

She glanced up with a smile, "Yes, Kohaku?"

"When will Inuyasha and Shippo come back?" Her brother's gaze was on the trees and not on her.

Very hard two years.

"They'll be back soon Kohaku," she reached over and ruffled his hair affectionately, pleased when he didn't flinch away from her touch.

"Okay," he sat on ground and held his knees.

Sango sighed softly and let him have his space.

Her brother had been broken, which wasn't a surprise to anyone who knew his situation, and was finally starting to heal. Her first instinct was to smother him with love and affection, thinking only the purest of love could erase the purest of hate.

But then he started to run away.

He had been unable to handle the onslaught of affection when he felt he didn't deserve it and said as much when he got caught again and again.

It was Inuyasha would had shed some light on the situation.

"Look, Sango, I know he's your brother-"

"Don't tell me how to treat my brother, Inuyasha," she cut him off viciously, "I will give him all he needs-"

"That's the problem!" Inuyasha snarled, "He ain't a kid, anymore! He couldn't be after what that bastard did to him and treating him like one won't help!"

She frowned and set her jaw mutinously.

"He's been through some shit-"

"I know what he's been through, Inuyasha-"

"No. You don't. The only one who knows what he went through was him," his intensity made her eyes widen, "Assuming you know, is the worst thing you can do to him."

"Then what should I do, Inuyasha. How do I help him?"

"Leave him alone." Inuyasha's eyes grew dark and brooding, "He needs to learn to deal with most of it himself."

"But I promised-" She protested.

"I'm not saying he doesn't need you," Inuyasha cut her off and folded his arms, "Be there for him. Smile for him. Love him but give him some damn space."

He moved away then, out of Kaede's hut and paused by Kohaku who sat with Shippo.

"And you," he struck the boy across the head, "Run away like that again and you're gonna really piss me off."

"Inuyasha!" Shippo launched himself at the half-demon, furious at the treatment and was swatted down.

"Don't start with me, Shippo. I-"

They were all moved with silence when Kohaku reached out and took Shippo into his lap.

"It's all right, Shippo," he murmured and then raised sad eyes to the half-demon, "You can hit me if you want."

Inuyasha snorted, "Keep talking like that and I will."

Those sad eyes drifted off to the side and broke Sango's heart, "I deserve it."

"Maybe you do and maybe you don't," Inuyasha squatted to meet the boy's eyes, "I'm gonna teach Shippo how to track."

"You are?!" Shippo was elated.

"Do you want to come?"

"I know how to track demons." Kohaku stated blandly.

"Who said anything about demons?" Inuyasha's eyes narrowed, "I can teach you everything but how to smell. Humans can't smell for shit."

A hint of a frown crossed his forehead.

Inuyasha pretended not to see it, "Shippo."

Shippo leaped and perched himself on the half-demon's shoulder.

"Are you really going to teach me how to track?"

"Yes. Him, too, if he can handle it," Inuyasha's tone deliberately became derisive, "He is only human."

Kohaku stiffened and his hands fisted.

Shippo glanced at Kohaku and then Inuyasha impatiently, "Can we go now?"

Inuyasha held the boy's gaze for a moment more and sneered a bit.

"Yeah, let's go. I don't think he'scomin'."

They turned and walked off without a word of farewell.

Sango watched them go and was struck with a strong sense of déjà vu. Inuyasha had done this before with her . . .

"I could do it."

Her brother's voice brought her attention back to him.

"Kohaku?"

"I could track better then he can," he wasn't addressing her. Just speaking aloud. "They rely on their noses. Clog them and they're lost."

"Why don't you prove them wrong then?" she knelt next to him.

Startled, Kohaku turned his eyes to her.

"You don't know Inuyasha very well," she smiled, "He'll think you're weak until you show him otherwise."

He blinked and then looked onto his lap.

"I couldn't impose."

"Then he's just going to believe you're weak," she got back to her feet and entered Kaede's hut. She stayed close to the door and listened intently.

Kohaku got to his feet and shuffled as if unsure of what to do. Then he walked away in the same direction as her friends.

Sango smiled and sat next to her brother in companionable silence. Slowly and surely he had come around. Strange that one half-demon would destroy him and another would slowly bring him back to life.

Over the years, Inuyasha had taken both boys under his wing. He taught them everything from tracking, to hunting, to honor, and the importance of being a man.

Shippo, on the other hand, had also been instrumental in Kohaku's development. For while, Inuyasha treated her brother like a grown man, Shippo reminded him that he was still young and could have fun. The little fox demon was no longer so little and despite being accepted in the village, he still desired a playmate who wasn't afraid of him or accidental injuries.

"Sango?"

"Hmm?" She turned to watch him from the corner of her eye.

"How did you met them?" He turned to her, his expression guarded. "How did you meet Inuyasha and Shippo?"

Sango picked at her kimono and was careful to keep her tone casual. He had never asked that particular question before and she wasn't sure how to answer it.

"The same way you did, I guess."

Kohaku frowned and his eyes darkened, "I first met Inuyasha while under the influence of Naraku."

"So did I," she got to her feet and ignored her brother's shocked face, "I need to start making dinner."

He was silent and she left him to his silence.

She went about cooking as her thoughts wandered. He had mentioned Naraku. They had never talked about Naraku or what he had made her brother do. She had stopped asking after Inuyasha had told her to back off.

Was he finally ready?

"Hey, Kohaku. Where's your sister?" Inuyasha's gruff voice made her smile as she turned for the door.

"She's inside," her brother was quiet for a moment, "Was she really under Naraku's influence when you met her?"

"Wha?" Inuyasha sounded surprised, "Yeah, tried to kill me, too."

She could almost see both of them frowning.

"But you're friends."

"We weren't then," Inuyasha huffed, "Here."

A thud.

"This is for your sister. I'll send Shippo over later."

"Thank you, Inuyasha."

Kohaku's voice seemed just a bit wistful there, Sango noted as she went through the door to see the half-demon already out of shouting distance.

"What do you have there?" She inquired curiously.

"He brought you some rabbits," Kohaku was about to hand them to her and then held on to them, "I'll clean them."

She frowned as she noticed for the first time that the rabbits still had all their fur. Strange, usually Inuyasha would clean them before dropping off meat like this . . . A long standing habit left over from when Kagome was here.

Kagome was, at once, one of the brightest people Sango knew and the most sheltered. The girl's brightness was all from books and not life. She didn't even know how to light a fire without her matches things. So while she knew meat came from an animals, she was often squeamish about being present when it came to gutting said animal.

Kohaku took out a knife and systematically cleaned the animal.

Sango hummed to herself and didn't say a word. To acknowledge that this was the first time Kohaku had held a knife for any reason was to voice doubt on both her brother's well-being and her trust in Inuyasha.

"What do you feel like eating, Kohaku?" She asked as she chopped some vegetables, "I was thinking a stew would be nice."

Quietly, he diced the meat into neat little squares before moving on to the next rabbit.

She nodded to herself and tested the water. Yep, hot enough. She added the vegetables and some salt she had bargained for earlier that week.

Kohaku quietly poured the meat into the pot and resumed his seat.

"Why doesn't Inuyasha live with us?"

She almost tipped the pot over into the fire.

"What?"

"Inuyasha built this hut." Kohaku pointed out, "Shippo already stays with us so how come Inuyasha-"

"Kohaku," she cut him off gently, "It . . .it isn't proper. I am a single woman and he is-"

"A demon?" His eyes hardened.

"No, that's not it at all, Kohaku," Sango was startled at having to defend herself, "He's a man not of our family."

"Shippo isn't family."

"Shippo isn't a grown man," Sango sighed, "I wouldn't mind if Inuyasha stayed but-"

"Really?" Excitement bloomed in his eyes, "I'll ask him first thing in the morning!"

"But-" She tried only to be interrupted by the door opening.

"Is that stew I smell?" Shippo dashed towards them.

"Yes, though it's going to need some more time to simmer-"

"Shippo, Inuyasha's going to stay with us from now on," Kohaku told him happily.

"Really?!" Shippo caught the other boy's excitement. "Let's go get him!"

"NO!" Sango bit her lip. She hadn't mean to be so vehement. "Listen to me. I don't think he wants to stay here."

"Why wouldn't he?" Kohaku's voice was a tad bit on the resentful side.

" 'Cause then people would think he had the hots for Sango," Shippo announced slyly, "Don't you remember the commotion they made when he made the hut to begin with? Half the village was in a scandal as they accused each other about being chosen."

Kohaku frowned, "That's when all those men kept asking my sister to marry them."

"Exactly," Shippo nodded, "Yep, she had her pick of the village and then Inuyasha turned around and announced the hut was for Sango."

Kohaku wilted, "Then everyone thought he was proposing."

Shippo laughed gleefully, "I don't think the thought ever entered his head but that didn't stop the villagers from talking. I never thought I'd see Inuyasha get so red!"

"I'd forgotten."

"It was a year ago," the fox reminded him, "You were still kind a out of it."

Kohaku nodded.

"He threw an absolute fit and ranted about how we needed our own space."

A vein throbbed in Sango's forehead as the two continued to gossip like she wasn't there. Honestly, they didn't know the half of it.

"Looks like you're about done," Sango held out a water flask.

Inuyasha reached for it gratefully as he wiped the sweat off his forehead, "Yeah, you guys should be able to move in by tomorrow."

"What?" Sango was confused, "Move in?"

"Yeah," he took a long drink of water, "I built this hut for you."

"You did what?" Her mouth dropped open.

"Kaede's a priestess. Her hut is an open to anyone who needs help and I'm tired of it. I thought you would be to."

"Inuyasha," Sango hesitated, "What do you expect?"

"Huh?" His ears quirked, "What are you talking about?"

"What do you want? In payment?"

Inuyasha frowned and scratched his head, "What the hell are you talking about? Payment? Why would I make you pay to live in your hut?"

A pot broke.

They turned to see a pale villager.

"You've chosen the demon slayer?!" He exclaimed in horror, "The demon chose a demon slayer for wife?!"

"What?!" Inuyasha bellowed, "Why do you say that?!"

The man fled in terror.

"What the fuck is his problem?" He turned to Sango only to see her red cheeks. "Oh, come on, Sango. Not you, too."

"Forgive me, Inuyasha, but when a man builds a hut for a woman it's usually for-"

"You know what? Spare me." Inuyasha stuck his nose in the air though he face was a bit redder than usual. "Live in it or leave it empty. I don't give a damn. Try to do something nice and it always bits you in the ass. I don't know why I try anymore-"

Sango bowed, "Thank you for your kindness."

He uttered a, "Keh," and then he had bounded away.

The villagers had turned a nice, thoughtful gesture into the scandal of a lifetime. To this day they still expected to see Inuyasha sneak into the hut at night to claim his payment. Oh well, at least the suitors had stopped harassing her.

"I'm going to go ask him, anyway," Kohaku confided, "Maybe he'll change his mind since Sango doesn't mind."

"I don't know," Shippo turned the thought over in his head, "Inuyasha can be pretty stubborn."

Sango sighed, a very long two years.

End Chapter