After Sesshoumaru and Kagome's win, the trio returned to their rooms at the Pokémon Centre to celebrate, leaving Sango and her brother to return to their home behind the gym.

"Kohaku, wait," she started softly, hand reaching out for his. He neatly avoided it, but turned to face her, eyes carefully avoided.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you run away?" She couldn't understand it – she knew that Kohaku and their father where polar opposites, and sometimes disagreed with each other, but that had never stopped them from loving each other. And sure, they had fought before – heck, Sango often butted heads with both her brother and father – but what had happened this time to push Kohaku so far away?

"I'm not sure I know why anymore," Kohaku admitted hesitantly. "I guess part of it was because Dad yelled at my friend."

Sango blinked, startled. She knew all of Kohaku's friends, as did their father – she couldn't imagine their widely accepting and understanding parent yelling at any of them.

"Who was it?" she ventured to ask. "Hojo? Kenta?"

"Ah, no," he admitted, fidgeting slightly. "It was, ah…Kanna." Blushing, he turned away and continued into the house.

Kanna? Sango mouthed, hurrying after him. "Kanna?" she repeated out loud, the question evident.

"Yeah," he confirmed, smiling sheepishly as he leaned against the kitchen counter. "I met her last week."

"How come I'm only hearing about her now?" Sango was happy her brother had found a girl to like, but she wondered that he had kept it a secret.

Kohaku smile became fairly indulgent, and he shook his head. "I'm not the only one that holds secrets, Sango."

"What do you mean?" she gasped.

"Just because I was in the house, doesn't mean I couldn't hear you," he advised her dryly. "You knew Mr. Watanabe from before he brought me home."

Sango swallowed thickly, looking away quickly. "So why did Dad yell at her?"

"Probably because I was showing her the gym pokémon," Kohaku confessed guiltily.

"What?" Sango exclaimed loudly, greatly surprised and appalled. "Kohaku, the gym pokémon are closely guarded secrets! How could you…!"

"I know!" he interrupted briskly, scowling. "I already got that lecture from Dad, and trust me, I won't do it again. I just…Kanna wanted to see," he sighed. "She was so interested, and I thought she was interested in me, but…when I tried to find her after Dad told her to leave, I couldn't – she'd left Taijiya entirely. And I knew that she hadn't been interested in me at all."

"Then why leave?" Sango asked desperately. "You were gone for more than a week – Dad and I were so worried about you."

"I know," Kohaku repeated, and reaching out, tightly clasped his sister's hand. "I'm sorry. I guess realizing that Dad was right about what he said was too much, and then I felt so angry and guilty, I just stayed away."

Sango's lips quivered, and she quickly pulled Kohaku into her arms, hugging him tightly. She exhaled shakily when his arms came up around her in response. "Just don't do something so stupid again," she begged, citing both his risk to the gym, and his later flight.

"I won't," he promised.

When they pulled out of each other's embrace Sango sighed softly, pulling out the pokéballs of the four pokémon she'd used in that day's battles. "I guess I better take them to the Centre for healing before putting them back with the others."

"Why don't you use our machine?" he asked, confused.

Sango blushed slightly, looking away. "It's not working," she muttered.

"Well, let me take them," Kohaku offered, taking them from her. "I'll put them back, too."

"No, that's fine," she said quickly, reaching out to take them back. Kohaku neatly side-stepped her, making his way out of the kitchen.

"I want to," he insisted. "It's the least I could do, after the last week."

"Then why don't we go together?" she asserted, following him back out of the house.

He slanted her a funny look at her persistence, but shrugged and acquiesced, the walk to the Centre silent as each was lost in their own thoughts.

Sango was tense the entire time they were in the Centre, but as their tray came back with fully healed pokémon and it seemed they would leave the building without incident she visibly relaxed.

They were just leaving when a voice called out behind them. "Ahh, Sango! I'm surprised to see you here."

"Miroku," she ground out, turning to face him, false smile painted on her face. "I had to heal my pokémon, as well you know."

"Yes, I watched both battles today," he agreed, smirking as he came to stand before the Tanaka siblings. "But I was under the impression that you, like most of the gym leaders, had your own Healing Machine."

"It's broken."

His eyebrows rose, lips pressing together to hide a smile. "I see. Then this isn't your way of coming to see me."

"Of course not!" she exclaimed angrily. "I have absolutely nothing to say to you!"

"Sango," Kohaku interrupted, exasperated by his sister's antics. "I'm going to take the pokémon back to the gym now."

"Huh?" the gym leader muttered. "Oh yeah. Sure, fine. I'll be back soon; tell Dad to start dinner without me."

"Sure."

"And another thing," Sango continued, rounding on Miroku again, shaking one finger at him. "What are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be tending your gym? Or did I hear wrong when they told me you were taking over for your father?"

"You heard right," he replied, sliding his hands into his pockets. "But there were extenuating circumstances leading to my leaving Gorintou gym."

"Oh?" she asked, honestly curious.

"My pokémon were stolen," he told her softly, stepping closer.

Her eyes widened, the fact that he had moved closer going unnoticed for now. "What?" she breathed, unable to believe it. "Who would do that?"

"A guy named Naraku took them," Miroku revealed. "I'm travelling to find him and take back what is mine."

"But how do you even know you're going in the right direction?"

He hesitated, debating between arousing her worry or telling the truth. "My companions encountered him before, and saw that he had stolen a starter pokémon from Professor Higurashi. When they reported him, they learned that he had similar charges laid against him in other regions. … I believe he seeks to target all the gym leaders, taking their gym badge and their pokémon."

"If that is true, then you must feel that my gym is next," she realized numbly, heart rate accelerating at his silent nod. "Kohaku…" she breathed, hand lifting to cover her mouth anxiously. "Kohaku's alone right now with the pokémon…!"

"I will go with you to check them," Miroku offered, and her worry was obvious by her lack of argument as they raced from the Pokémon Centre.

"Dad, I'm back!" Kohaku shouted as he entered the sacred room of Taijiya gym. Their father hadn't been home when he and Sango had returned there and talked, and if he wasn't there, Ben Tanaka was most likely to be with the gym pokémon in the hidden room where they were kept within the gym.

When Kohaku walked into that room after returning from the Pokémon Centre, he found everything quiet – he couldn't even hear the telltale muttering that would indicate the eldest Tanaka was strategizing newer and better ways to train the gym pokémon.

"Dad?" he called out. I guess he's not here.

He walked into the room, stepping carefully around the small pool used to train new pokémon for battling challenging trainers. He almost slipped when he heard a slight crash coming from the back of the room, followed by soft cursing.

"Dad, is that you?"

Hurrying forward, he rounded the corner leading back to the shelves that held the many pokémon used by the gym and froze when he saw his father's crumpled form, a slight cut on his forehead quickly bruising and bleeding.

"DAD!"

Kohaku fell to his knees beside his father, pokéballs falling from his grasp to clatter on the ground as he shook the ex-gym leader's shoulder.

"Tsk tsk, now that's no way to treat pokémon, is it?" a low voice asked.

Whirling, Kohaku stared uncomprehendingly at the young teen smirking at him, red eyes glowing maliciously. "How did you get in here?" he croaked, voice tight with dread.

The other teenager shrugged, leaning nonchalantly against the wall. "I had help," he admitted, jerking his head towards the slight figure hiding in the shadows.

"Kanna," Kohaku breathed as the figure stepped into the light. The girl fidgeted under his stare, eyes begging him to understand, but face and tone remaining carefully neutral.

"I had to, Kohaku."

His face twisted in anger and betrayal. "No one ever has to do anything," he affirmed.

"Oh?" the other boy smirked, stepping forward threateningly. "Let's see what I can't make you do."

Sango and Miroku burst into the backroom minutes later, only to find that they were too late – the pokéballs were gone, along with Kohaku and the thieves. The backroom itself was a mess, with shelves knocked over in an obvious struggle.

"Dad!" she gasped when she saw his unconscious form. She mirrored her brother's earlier actions, falling to her knees beside the elder Tanaka and lightly lifting his head into her lap. Miroku was quickly on the other side, lightly fanning her father with his hand.

"Dad, wake up," she murmured desperately, her hand hovering over the cut on his forehead. She lightly prodded it, and Ben immediately groaned, eyelids fluttering.

"Ngh…Sango…?" he croaked, eyes squinting open.

Her lips pulled up into a weak smiling, grateful tears gathering and falling slowly from her eyes. "Yeah, Dad, I'm here."

"I was…attacked," Tanaka groaned, struggling to sit up.

Miroku gently urged the older man to lay down again, while Sango grabbed a cloth and dipped it in the training pool, lightly cleaning his forehead of blood. "Who attacked you, Dad?"

"It was that girl, Kanna, and…a boy with horrible red eyes," he answered between deep breaths of air.

Miroku's eyes caught Sango's, and he nodded at the clear question in her gaze. "That sounds like Naraku," he whispered to her.

"Dad, just relax," she whispered in turn to her father. "We're gonna go get Nurse Koharu, and she'll fix you right up. Just don't move while we're gone."

"Okay," Ben sighed, closing his eyes again. Sango blanched, panicking slightly and lightly slapping his cheek.

"No Dad, you can't sleep. You have to keep your eyes open."

"I'll go get the nurse, Sango," Miroku offered. "You stay with you father."

Her watery gaze met his, and she nodded quickly. "Thank you. And hurry."

After Miroku returned with a nurse, he called the local police, who came to investigate the scene. Thorough looks through the backroom found that not only were the gym pokémon gone, but a gym badge was missing from the stores as well, confirming to Miroku their theory that Naraku's true goal was the pokémon of the Elite Four. Also left behind was a note with an ultimatum – if the police didn't stop their search for him, Naraku would harm Kohaku, whom he had taken with him.

The next day, after everything had calmed down at the Tanaka house behind the gym and the local police had finished taking the statement from Sango's father, Sesshoumaru, Kagome, and Miroku visited the current Taijiya gym leader.

"Naraku will pay for what he has done," Sango swore angrily, throwing herself into one of the love seats in the living room of her home.

"If only I'd spoken to you sooner," Miroku said regretfully, gingerly resting his hand on her shoulder. "We could have been prepared for Naraku's attack."

"It's not your fault, Miroku," Kagome consoled from her seat with Sesshoumaru on the opposite couch. "You couldn't have known when Naraku would attack, or that Miss Sango would believe you."

"Just Sango, please," the older girl corrected. "And you're right," she added, cutting an unreadable look to Miroku. "He couldn't have been sure that I would believe him."

"But you did," Miroku reminded her. "It surprised me, I thought—"

"Not here," she whispered guardedly, noting Kagome and Sesshoumaru's curious gazes. "Not now."

"Alright."

"And now we have five reasons to find Naraku," Kagome said thoughtfully, looking at Sango sympathetically.

"Oh?" Sesshoumaru asked, canting his head towards her.

Kagome ticked them off on her fingers. "He stole Bulbasaur from Grandpa, took Miroku and Sango's pokémon, injured Mr. Tanaka, and kidnapped Kohaku."

"Can we be sure that is what happened?" Sesshoumaru wondered.

"There is no other possibility," Miroku said firmly, making Sango look at him, the surprise in her gaze slowly being replaced by ire as he continued. "Kohaku returned to his family – he would not willingly leave them a second time. He must have been taken too. For what purpose, though, I cannot say."

"It is as the note says, is it not?" Kagome asked uncertainly. "He's being used to keep the police at bay."

"Perhaps," Miroku hedged, frowning.

"Whatever his purpose, I will get my brother back," Sango vowed with gritted teeth, eyes growing hard.

"What?" Kagome gasped.

Their eyes met across from each other, one concerned and the other slowly filling with anger. "I will journey with you to get my brother back."

"Are you sure? What about your father?"

"He would agree with me that getting Kohaku back is our top priority," Taijiya's gym leader said coldly. "And there is nothing I can do for my Dad here. He will be watched carefully at the Centre until he is better, then he will return home and fulfill my duties as gym leader. It would be peace in his mind, to know that I am trying to do something to return my brother to our home."

"Then we will not stop you," Miroku interceded, easily accepting the addition to their group. Sesshoumaru huffed softly.

"If what you say is true, Naraku will surely be heading next to the Raimei Valley," Sango advised. "Most likely he will walk there, to avoid public places where he could be recognized before he has a chance to steal more pokémon."

"Then we should inform the police of that," Sesshoumaru suggested. Kagome nodded in agreement.

"They did say that if we had any leads, we should tell them right away," she added.

Sango frowned, eyes narrowing slightly. Do they forget so quickly? "Let me do that," she requested. "Then we will leave for the Raimei Valley."

"What, tonight?" Kagome gasped. "Surely it isn't smart to leave so late. Better to wait until the morning, and walk by day as far as we can."

The older girl smirked, amusement flickering into her eyes to replace the newfound hatred. "Who said anything about walking?

Between Taijiya and the Raimei Valley was a large tunnel, dug by the Diglett and Dugtrio of the area. It had been discovered long ago, and was frequently used as an alternate means of travel, considering the large quantity of lakes and rivers that surrounded the water gym of Taijiya.

With advances in technology, there was built machines that could carry people and pokémon from destination to destination, the first and well-known of these being the cruise liner S.S. Anne. Since then numerous others had come and gone, and the most prominent and used form of such transportation in Shikon was the Diglett Train.

Following the routes of old and abandoned tunnels, the Diglett Train ran all over the region, from the northernmost cities in the Raimei Valley, to the southernmost caves of Doukutsu, where ships could be charted to take trainers to the gym islands of Seki and Kazan.

"I can't believe we're going to ride on the Diglett Train!" Kagome enthused as they stood in line to buy their tickets.

As they approached the booths Kagome and Sesshoumaru both handed over their trainer cards, while Miroku and Sango gave their gym leader cards. They were scanned by the booth attendant, a kind of check-in like that at the beginning of Route 1.

"You weren't planning to use it on your journey at all?" Sango asked, surprised. "It would take you months to walk around all of Shikon."

Sesshoumaru shrugged minutely. "While tickets are relatively inexpensive, we are on a budget – food and lodgings are priority over fast transportation."

"Then you're in for a treat," Sango promised them, pocketing the four tickets the cashier handed to her. "There is of course no view to speak of, being in the old tunnels, but the inside of the train is beautiful, and it's amazing how quickly it can take you places."

"How long will it take to get to the Raimei Valley?" Kagome asked.

"A few hours," Sango assured her. "We should be in the Raimei Valley before nightfall."

"That's amazing!" Kagome gushed. "We'll be able to challenge Raimei's gym leader by tomorrow, then!"

"I believe you mean gym leaders," Miroku corrected teasingly, smirking.

"I was aware that Raimei's gym required a double battle, but this is done with two gym leaders?" Sesshoumaru asked, surprised.

"Yes. They're brothers in fact," was the reply. "They specialize in electric pokémon."

As they walked through the station, they came upon the entrance to the tunnels. It loomed above them, a large opening in the side of the surrounding hillside. It travelled deep into the earth, accessible by a set of staircases moulded from the ground. The walls were lined with Magnemite and Magneton powered lights.

They walked down the stairs, and the deeper they went the cooler the temperatures got. Kagome lightly wrapped her arms around herself. Noticing her discomfort, Sesshoumaru put his arm around her, drawing her in close.

"Thanks," she murmured, smiling up at him.

When they saw the train, Kagome could barely stifle her gasp. Two lanes were open for trains to dock in – one of them currently occupied. It was huge, nearly filling the tunnel from wall to wall, stretching back with fifteen train cars.

The train was heading down towards Doukutsu, and was currently being filled, people filing onto train cars and finding rooms. The quartet watched as the doors closed and the train bulleted off. Across the platform the train heading north arrived, stopping with a low hiss.

"Right, let's go before we miss it," Sango said briskly, hurrying down the steps as the doors opened.

They followed Taijiya's gym leader, skipping down the stairs and racing across the bridge that rose from the ground in the absence of trains in the lane-way. They entered the train at the end of one of the cars, showing their tickets to the conductor before making their way to one of the empty compartments.

Sango cast Miroku a look as Kagome and Sesshoumaru settled into the seats on one side of the room. "I'm going to go get some food," she informed them.

"I'll come with you," Miroku offered. "Why don't you two release your pokémon? Let them stretch their legs a bit while we're gone."

"Okay," Kagome agreed, though her words were only heard by Sesshoumaru, for Sango and Miroku were already gone.

She frowned slightly, staring at the closed door. "Something isn't right with those two."

"Hn."

Kagome looked Sesshoumaru, surprised. "You could tell?"

Sesshoumaru huffed, rather amused. "Of course I could. I am not dense."

She giggled. "I know, but guys aren't known for noticing such things, right?"

"I suppose," he shrugged. "Perhaps that is because they do not care."

"Do you?"

"Not particularly," he admitted, leaning back into the seat.

His statement made her laugh and relax into her seat, casually throwing her legs over his. "I guess it is their business."

"Hn."

The minute they were out of earshot Sango pulled Miroku into another compartment, slamming the door closed behind them.

"I just want to make one thing clear," she began harshly, glaring. "Just because I'm travelling with you, doesn't mean I'm ready to forgive you for what you did."

"Sango, please believe me when I say that I regret what I did to you more than anything else in my life," he pleaded. Miroku reached out to touch her arm but she quickly pulled away, stepping further into the room. He smiled sadly. "You used to crave my touch."

"Yeah, well that was before you betrayed me," she growled.

Miroku sighed softly. "Is there nothing I can do to make you forgive me?"

"No," Sango answered firmly. She pushed passed him, reaching for the door, when he spoke again.

"I haven't been with anyone since you broke my heart," he told her.

Sango gasped, outraged by his claim. "Since I broke your heart?" She whirled to face him, features slack with honest awe and his audacity. "You cheated on me! I was entirely justified in breaking up with you!"

"That doesn't mean I wasn't as hurt as you by it all," he answered.

She shook her head, lips pressing tightly together. "Maybe you should have thought about that before you kissed that girl."

"She didn't mean anything to me," Miroku said desperately. "I don't even know her name!"

"Then why on Earth would you kiss her?" Tears were lining her eyes, the resurrection of the old pain too much for her to handle. "We were happy! So why…"

"I don't know." His voice was soft, laced with the same pain. "Maybe I was scared of that – maybe I was frightened that I'd have my father's wandering ways, and I wanted to see if I really could be like him, before you cared about me too much."

"I guess your fears were right, then," she sneered.

"No," he denied roughly, grabbing her arm and lightly shaking her, making her gasp. "I already told you – I haven't been with anyone since then. When I kissed that girl? It was awful! She was beautiful, to be sure, but I didn't feel anything for her, and I realized that I would only ever feel anything for you! But you saw me, and wouldn't let me explain…"

"That's not good enough, Miroku," she hissed, snatching her arm from his hand. "Whether or not you realized you couldn't cheat on me, the fact is you did! Instead of just reflecting on your feelings, you chose to commit the very act you hoped you couldn't do!"

"And I wish I hadn't, but Sango…I love you. I love you so much."

His passionate declaration made her hesitate for a moment, but eventually she shook her head, stepping away from him slowly. "I need more than that, Miroku. I need to know that I can trust you, and that can't return over night."

"At least give me the chance to prove that you can," he begged. "I never thought I'd see you again after the Competition and Father's death, but now we're together again. I need to know that you'll at least give me another chance."

"…It will be a few days until Naraku reaches Raimei Valley," she answered softly. "We're stuck with each other until then." Choosing to end the conversation there, Sango left the compartment, heading back to Kagome and Sesshoumaru, leaving behind a desperately hopeful Miroku.