Chapter Nine

"Hey Sango!"

Thud. Thud.

She jerked upright, accidentally dislodging Kirara in the process who protested with a mew. She blinked and pushed her hair to the side as she got to her feet.

Thud. Thud.

"Sango!"

She opened her door. And glared blearily at her brother, "Yes?"

"Breakfast!" He grinned and pulled her out of her room.

"Kohaku!" She protested, "I'm not dressed!"

"We're not going outside," he rolled his eyes and gestured for her to sit down.

"You might as well give in," Came Inuyasha's grumpy voice.

She glanced over to see him sprawled over the floor with his chin planted in his hand.

"Did Kohaku disturb you as well?" She sighed with disapproval.

He closed his eyes and shook his head, "Shippo."

She shook her head and took a careful inventory of her clothes to make sure she was decent.

Shippo ran in and placed Kirara in her spot at the table before dashing right back out.

"So what do you think they've got planned?" Inuyasha yawned and blinked at her slowly.

"It could be anything," she shrugged and struggled not to yawn herself. The night before had taken it's toll on her.

"Ta da!"

Inuyasha and Sango glanced up to see the boys enter with plates filled with questionable food.

"Ah, man," the half-demon wrinkled his nose at the smell.

Months passed peaceably with only minor skirmishes.

Truthfully, she had forgotten how childish the demons could get and she never would have guessed her brother's reaction.

"That was my fish!" Shippo was outraged and leaped onto the half-demon's head to chew on his ear.

Usually the half-demon would have just flicked him away with a careless swat but Shippo had a recent growth spurt with put him as tall as her brother's shoulder. The unexpected weight toppled Inuyasha and Shippo was half smashed in the process which only pissed off both of the demons more.

"Fox fire!"

"You little brat!"

"AHH! Kohaku!"

"I'm coming!"

Sango dashed in from her room to see a tangled mass of all three males.

Inuyasha had Kohaku half pinned under him as he was simultaneously trying to pound Shippo and shake him off his hand. Shippo thrashed and dug his teeth ever deeper into the half-demon's hand. Kohaku squirmed desperately, kicking and punching everything within reach as he screamed for release.

"Kohaku! Shippo! Inuyasha!"

They froze comically and glanced up towards her slowly.

She crossed her arms and waited.

"He started it," Inuyasha sat up freeing Kohaku and finally succeeded in dislodging Shippo.

"I did not!" The fox demon righted himself.

"He did not!" Kohaku threw in with a grin.

"Traitor," Inuyasha glared at the boy, "Sango, they're conspiring against me."

She lifted a brow and lowered her head a notch.

Kohaku cringed and lowered his eyes.

Shippo's righteous fire dimmed and he scuttled behind Kohaku.

Inuyasha harrumphed and got to his feet without a seeming care in the world. The boys looked at him with admiration as the half-demon went into the his room.

Sango's gaze swung toward the remaining boys until their nerve broke and they scrambled to their room.

Only then did she shake her head and allow herself to smile.

Other such incidents occurred though, thankfully, they were not all started by Inuyasha.

The rumors, as expected, had started up again.

She sighed as she hung the wash only this time the rumors were set around whether or not she was pregnant and when the baby would be born. There was even one rumor that claimed her brother was really her son.

Honestly, one would think they could at least come up with something credible. Didn't these people have lives-

She kept her motions smooth as she opened her senses to the world around her. The sun was warm on her skin and a gentle breeze played with her hair. Some loose strands tickled her cheek She could smell the laundry and the forest on the wind. She could hear the distant sound of people talking and children playing. No demonic aura to be sensed anywhere.

Everything seemed to be fine but the small hairs along her body were standing on end. Her skin was crawling with the sensation of being watched. . .

Kirara appeared and landed on her shoulder. She curled around her human's neck and hissed softly.

Sango placed a hand on her friend to let her know she knew and glanced at the forest from the corner of her eye.

She had been both grateful for the placement of the house on the far reaches of the village. It granted them a privacy that would have never been possible otherwise. On the other hand it left them open to the forest on three sides. Not usually a problem since the only demon inhabiting the forest was Inuyasha.

A shiver ran up her back as she lifted her now empty basket and made her way to the house.

A demon.

She would bet her life on it.

Inuyasha landed on the roof, his eyes also on the forest. A frown was prominent as he glanced down at her.

"You feel it," he stated more than asked.

Kirara mewed.

She shaded her eyes as she lifted her face, "There's something in the air."

His frown deepened, "Whatever it is, it's being careful to stay beyond my senses. Be careful for awhile."

He leapt away.

Sango continued into the house and went into her room. She opened her trunk and dug out her slayer outfit solemnly. She would not be caught off guard.

"Sango. . ."

She spun to see her brother trail off awkwardly.

"Yes, Kohaku?" She smiled pleasantly and placed her outfit aside neatly.

"What's going on?" His eyes were dark, "I haven't heard of any jobs."

"It's nothing really-"

"Don't baby me." He snapped, "Why are you getting ready for a fight?"

She sighed, "I'm just being cautious. I feel like . . . there's something watching . . . waiting."

"What does Inuyasha say?" His head lowered until his bangs covered his eyes.

"He agrees," she closed her trunk with a snap and moved to her wall where she hung her weapons for easy access.

Kohaku was silent.

"It might be nothing," she took a mental inventory about what she could and couldn't carry on a daily basis. Well, not without the villagers asking about it.

"What if it is something?"

She stopped and turned to her brother, "Then we'll handle it. We won't let anything happen to our family if we can help it."

His head lifted slowly, "Okay."

She smiled and rustled the hair on his head, "Don't worry so much, Kohaku, or you'll get as gray as Kaede."

He pulled away from her with a small smile.

"Now, go. I have to change," she shooed him away.

He nodded and closed the door after him but not before Kirara made it through.

Sango turned back to her weapons and started to change into her leather outfit. Kirara would keep a careful eye on her brother when she couldn't and, for that, she was grateful.

She loaded her weapons with a careful eye to detail.

If there was a demon then it would have extraordinary senses and knowledge of them to stay out of Inuyasha's range so her poison powder might be useful. Hmm, that meant she would need her poison shielding mask as well.

Herr poison would go in her right shoulder guard and her mask would hook onto her sash on her waist.

If this demon had knowledge of his own senses then he was probably more evolved. A thinking demon. Hmmm, she loaded her weighted chain into her left elbow guard. It wouldn't hurt to have it on hand.

She loaded all possible weapons then, or at least as many as she could fit. She had to replace her sword with a kodachi. The smaller blade, about half the size of a real sword, strapped to her thigh neatly without hindering her stride and would go unnoticed under her skirt.

She was ready.

She stood there in full battle gear and put on her last layer. Her civilian clothes, as Kagome used to say, and opened her door.

Kohaku sat solemnly and petted Kirara who purred her contentment.

"Why don't you go find Shippo, Kohaku? I'm sure you two could find some trouble to get into."

A reluctant smile appeared on his face, "Now I know there's something wrong."

She just smiled and made her way outside which faded as the feeling returned. Someone was watching.

A week passed without incident. Still, Sango went around armed and Inuyasha alternated staying close to home and patrolling his forest. The presence was more annoying than worrisome.

"Fucking coward," Inuyasha spat into the dirt.

She nodded her agreement as she took down her laundry. Thankfully the weather had cooled so her extra layers merely kept her warm instead of overheated.

His nose twitched and a frown of puzzlement crossed his features, "What the hell does he want?"

Sango glanced up, "Who?"

A whirlwind appeared over the horizon and Sango muttered under her breath as she yanked her clean clothes down before the dust reached them.

"Yo," Koga greeted them stiffly.

"Hey," Inuyasha crossed his arms, "What are you doing around here?"

The wolf prince snorted and placed a hand on his hip, "Is that all the hospitality I'm gonna get around here?"

Sango placed her basket on her hip with a sigh, "Hello, Koga."

"Don't waste your breath," Inuyasha turned to her, "He's-"

Koga took spun and smashed his foot against the half-demon's head slamming him into the ground. The wolf demon followed him down and rammed his knee into the back of Inuyasha's skull rendering him unconscious.

Sango threw her basket at the wolf demon and made a mad dash for the house. She had to get her hiraikotsu. She didn't know why Koga had turned on them but she did know with a sudden certainly that he was the one who had been studying them for the past week.

"Ah, ah, ah," he cut her off effortlessly with a dark smile, "You're coming with me."

She backed away carefully, "What do you want, Koga? Why are you doing this?"

His blue eyes darkened as he matched her step for step, "Just think of it as a little vendetta."

"Vendetta?" She maneuvered around her dropped basket. He would be on her in an instant if she fell. She knew it in her bones. The real question was whether she should reveal if she was armed or not. Her outer layer made it difficult to see she had weapons and it also made it harder for her to reach them without giving it away.

Koga may be without his jewel shards and be drastically reduced in speed but he could still outrun her on a his sickest day. She would need all the advantages she could get and the more time she got him to waste the more likely Inuyasha was going to wake up.

"He took my woman so now I'll take his," he lunged for her.

She sidestepped him and turned to face him.

"Too slow," he reached out to grab her.

Only for her to grab his wrist and used his momentum against him to flip him onto the ground. Good, just a little more and she could dive into the door for her hiraikotsu.

He stared at her from the ground incredulously, "How the hell did you do that?"

She inched closer to the house, "We've never fought, Koga."

"No, we haven't," he grinned and got to his feet. "This might be more fun that I thought."

"So happy to amuse you," she wrapped her fingers around the pole she used to hold up her laundry.

He laughed and lowered into a crouch.

She pulled the pole out of the ground with a grunt and brought it in front of her.

"You think that twig is enough to stop me?" He scoffed and charged her.

She swung with all her might. She wasn't surprised when he blocked it with his forearm and it broke. She had planned on it.

When he smiled at her triumphantly, she took her now jagged edge and drove it into his belly. He slapped the stick away with a pained grunt and grabbed her. She swung her fist and contacted with his left cheek.

"You drew first blood, impressive," he knocked her out, as gently as possible. He picked her up bridal style and took off into the woods.

Kohaku came running in with Shippo on his heels.

"Kohaku, what's . . . Inuyasha!" The fox demon ran to the downed half-demon, "Inuyasha!"

The former demon slayer studied the ground. His sister's footprints along with another who was barefoot. They struggled. He picked up part of the broken pole and spotted the blood on it. He glanced down and saw where his sister's footprints disappeared.

He ran into the house.

Shippo was swatting at Inuyasha's face, "Wake up, Inuyasha! What happened?!"

Kohaku reappeared, "Shippo, stay with Inuyasha. Tell him to track me when he wakes up."

Shippo glanced up and gasped. Kohaku was in full exterminator gear complete with weapon.

He had found his weapon in the bottom of Sango's trunks along with his outfit. She had even adjusted to fit his new taller body. It fit him perfectly in a way that was both comforting and disturbing.

"Kohaku . . ."

"Whoever attacked Inuyasha took my sister," he put on his poison shielding mask, "I'm going after them. Kirara."

She instantly transformed with a roar.

The demon slayer climbed aboard Kirara's back.

"Be careful!" Shippo called after him and turned back to the half-demon. "Come on, Inuyasha. Sango needs you."

Koga placed the unconscious woman down carefully on the ground and went to take a drink at the river. He forgot sometimes that he didn't have the shards anymore. A little rest and he would be as good as new.

He sat next to the woman he had stolen.

Sango, he thought her name was and studied her face. She wasn't Kagome. Her hands were calloused where Kagome's had been soft, her skin was tan where Kagome's was pale, and she was a lot more cautious when it came to handling demon. Kagome kinda just walked up and said hello. She was attractive in her own way, plus, she could throw a mean punch.

He inspected his stomach wound, she hadn't gotten more than in inch deep. It would heal in a couple of hours at the most. Very impressive for human with a mere stick. Who was this woman?

Now that he thought about it, beyond Kagome and mutt-face, he really didn't really know anything about the other members of his pack.

Koga could recall her wearing some leather outfit and sporting a huge boomerang but he couldn't recall if she had ever used it in his presence. He sniffed at her, he could smell leather on her right now.

Curious, he leaned closer to her and eyed her ankles which were rimmed with black. He reached out and took a dainty ankle in his hand. He lifted her ankle and her skirt slid back revealing more black leather.

He smiled. He'd thought that she had sensed him though he wasn't quite sure how. There had been a certain stiffness about her shoulders, and a careful carelessness about her motions.

The muscles in her leg stiffened in his hand and her other leg swung around to strike him.

He blocked it and pinned it to the ground.

She flexed her stomach muscles and she came up swinging.

She managed to get one good hit in before he could restrain her by grabbing her wrists and pinning them to the ground. This only made her kick him.

"Let go of me!"

He straddled her and she froze.

"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you." He ordered her.

"Could have fooled me," she glared at him, "What do you want?"

"To take something away from mutt-face so he'll know how it feels." He bared his canines at her.

"So what does that have to do with me?" She turned her head away from his face as he swooped in and sniffed her.

"Huh, you don't smell pregnant," he leaned back and studied her.

"Pregnant?" She blinked and went limp, "Why would I be pregnant?"

Koga laughed and got off her.

Surprised at her sudden release, she quickly righted herself and put her legs under her in case she had to move.

"So dog-boy can't get it up, huh, that's too bad," he squatted by her side, "This revenge won't be as good as I thought."

She didn't flinch away from him, "You've been listening to the rumors. That's why you thought I was pregnant, isn't it?"

He just watched her with a stillness of a predator.

"They aren't true. Inuyasha is not my husband," she did flinch when he placed a hand on her shoulder and thumbed her collar bone, "I am no one's woman."

"Good," he grinned, "Then you can be mine."

Her face went blank, "Pardon?"

"You are my woman," he stated with absolute confidence.

She placed her hands on his chest to stop him from coming any closer. "Why would you mate with a human?"

"No females in my pack," he glanced at her hands with amusement, "We have to bring in outsiders to repopulate. Now, that I don't have to kill you for breaking demon law, I can claim you."

"Demon law?" She inched backwards away from only to have him follow.

"You were both mourning your mates. To remate before the mourning period is death." Koga watched her scramble to her feet and followed.

"What happened to your vendetta?" She tried to keep the distance between them.

He was determined to close it, "If I mate you then it's the same thing, isn't it? Don't know how I missed you before."

"I'll not be your mate," she jerked backwards to avoid a swipe of his claws. Her outer layer fell away, revealing her demon slayer outfit. She shielded her left leg so he wouldn't see her kodachi.

"I thought so," he examined her form and then locked eyes with her, "Why not? You have feelings for mutt-face?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business," she replied and only tensed further when he smiled at her. She settled her hand near the hilt of her Kodachi, ready to draw it in an instant.

"I was serious when I said he took my woman," Koga paused and gazed deeply into her eyes, "Her heart was his, I knew that but you . . ." His hand went out to touch her face and she pulled away.

"Koga, keep your distance," she ordered, "I am not one who is swayed by pretty words."

"Demon slayer," he recognized her outfit suddenly with a laugh, "No, you're a warrior born from a warrior tribe. Your kind recognize strength."

She wrapped her fingers around the hilt, not giving a damn whether he saw her or not. Wolf demon were notoriously thick once they made up their minds about something and she didn't like the way his mind was turning.

"A strong warrior is what you need," he puffed out his chest, "You've seen me battle. You should be all over me."

She arched her brows sharply, "Not that easy I'm afraid."

"No, it wouldn't be," he opened his hands and lowered into a fighting position. "Come on, then, I'll show you I'm worthy enough to be your mate."

Her hand tightened on her hilt. "Your fight is with Inuyasha. Leave me out of it."

"I don't think I can," a dark smile lit his features, "I get you and hurt the mutt. It's perfect."

"There's only one problem," she returned his dark smile.

"And what's that?" his blue eyes flashed at the challenge.

"I will never submit."

"Good, I wouldn't have it any other way."

He charged and she drew her kodachi.

Kohaku bent low on Kirara to reduce wind resistance. Both boy and animal were of one thought and body;

We're coming Sango.

"Inuyasha!" Shippo was overjoyed at the half-demon's groan.

Inuyasha rolled over and clutched at his head, "What hit me?"

"I don't know but whoever did took Sango," Shippo pulled at him desperately, "Kohaku went after him! He said to track him!"

"What?" His head cleared and his nose twitched, "Koga." He snarled and got to his feet, "Come on, Shippo, we have wolves to hunt."

End of Chapter

AN: I just wanted to thank everybody for their response to the last chapter! I can only hope you guys enjoy this one as well. Thank you so much, you really made my day. Michelle