After Naraku was gone, Kohaku wasn't sure what to do. He was alive, actually alive. For the first time in a very long time, his life was his own. He no longer had to fear Naraku possessing him. He no longer had a time limit. He no longer had a goal. He was free. It was a strange and confusing sort of freedom.

He had never considered the possibility that he would survive. He never thought about what would come after. He knew he should be relieved and happy, but for the most part, he just felt disoriented. His heart was still heavy from Hotaru's death, though he tried not to mourn her for too long. She had told him to live well, he wanted to do that for her.

For a little while, he stayed with his sister in Kaede's village. Sango and Miroku kept true to their promise before the battle with Naraku. No sooner had they recovered from the battle, than they were married. Kohaku was so proud of them. He had never seen Sango so happy. She was the most beautiful bride he had ever seen in his life. Kagome had cried during the whole wedding, which Inuyasha was thoroughly confused about ("Whatcha cryin' for? I thought you were happy?" "I am happy! That's why I'm crying!" "I'll never understand you.")

Rin stayed in the village as well, Lady Kaede had told Lord Sesshomaru that Rin had to practice living with people for a while. Kohaku had never seen anyone talk to Lord Sesshomaru in the fearless, matter-of-fact way that Lady Kaede had spoken to him. There probably wasn't another person on Earth who could get away with something like that.

Kagome went home for a while to rest, then she started visiting again, but not nearly as often as she once had.

It had been nice to be part of a village again, but Kohaku soon became restless. He simply wasn't a village boy anymore. After all he had seen, all he had done, all he had lost, knew he would never be content staying so long in one place. It was his sister's home now, but it would never feel like his. After a few months, he started wandering again. Sango had sent Kirara with him.

"She's been a demonslayer longer than either of us. She belongs out there, not here."

So together Kirara and Kohaku set out together to slay demons. He tried to stick to poor villages, places that were easy prey and couldn't afford anyone else. He refused to accept pay for any of his services, though he would occasionally accept small gifts of gratitude. He ended up sharing meals with many families, he quite liked that. But he would never take more than what people insisted on giving. After all the pain he had caused, he wanted to try to help as many people as possible.

He still returned to visit his sister and Rin often.

He and Kirara would always land outside of the village, then Kirara would go on ahead to see Sango, while Kohaku would stop and to visit Hotaru's shrine. He would bring her flowers or other treats, and sit for a while talking to her. He would close his eyes and imagine her sitting next to him. Sometimes, he could even feel her presence.

One visit, he brought her dorayaki, sweet cakes filled with red bean paste.

"Here." He said, as he placed a cloth containing the sweets next to the shrine. Incense was already burning low next to fresh flowers. Kohaku knew that Miroku and Rin both prayed here frequently. The thought comforted him. "I remember you telling me once about how your mothers used to bring you to a place that made these...a bakery, I think you called it. You described it as an inn where you couldn't spend the night. Anyways, you said they were your favorite, and I happened to slay a demon for an innkeeper this morning. She gave me them as a thank you. I thought we could share."

It was fall, now. She had been gone for as long as they had been together. In retrospect, they had only known each other for a very short period of time. Three months, maybe a little less. Yet the impact she left on his life was still so profound.

"You'd have liked the innkeeper. She was a feisty little woman, with half a dozen kids running around. A yanari demon settled in her inn and was scaring all her customers. She beat it with her stirring stick and locked it in the outhouse until I got there." Kohaku laughed as he started eating his cake.

The cool autumn air stirred the leaves around the shrine. Kohaku could almost imagine that it was Hotaru's spirit responding to him. He closed his eyes and pictured her laughing. He tried to remember the exact way her laugh sounded. The way her face would get flushed if she laughed too hard. The way her eyes used to sparkle when she smiled.

A sound of metal bumping against metal alerted Kohaku to a person coming up behind him. He turned to see Miroku, carrying his staff.

"I figured I would find you here." The monk said, sitting down next to his brother-in-law.

"Yeah." replied Kohaku. He became quiet. He had not spoken about Hotaru to anyone since her death. He had spoken to her for hours, but always sitting alone at her shrine. Her memory had become a very private and sacred part of his life.

"You must miss her." Miroku said.

"Of course, I miss her." said Kohaku. "I'll always miss her."

There was a long silence.

"I never did figure out what she was." commented Miroku. "I asked, but she never answered."

"You think she told me?" Kohaku asked.

"I think you knew her better than anyone."

Kohaku was silent for a long time. He thought of everything he knew about her. She had been so many things. She was a princess from the stars, a guardian of the underworld, Sailor Saturn. Those were the titles she had been given. Ultimately, it was because of those titles, those powers, that she lost her life.

"She was my friend." Kohaku finally replied. "That's all that mattered."

Miroku nodded, accepting Kohaku's answer.

"Something happened the other night that you should know about." Miroku said. "A group of bandits came to attack the village."

"What?!" Kohaku bolted up. "Is Rin okay? What about my sister?"

"No one was hurt." Miroku assured him. "By the time we heard them coming, it was too late to get everyone to safety. Inuyasha, Sango, and I went to fight them off, but when we got to the edge of the village there was a barrier."

"What?"

"A violet barrier surrounded the entire village, it looked exactly like the one that Hotaru used to produce. Inuyasha drove the bandits off easily after that."

She was still protecting them, even now. Kohaku felt overwhelmed.

"Thank you for telling me this." he finally said.

Autumn turned into winter, which faded into spring. Soon a year had passed since Hotaru's death. Then two. Then three.

Life moved on. Somehow, miraculously, life moved on. Until, suddenly, one day it didn't.

The fight itself had been a blur.

Kohaku had been with his sister and Kirara. Every year, they traveled to their home village to pay their respects to their fallen family members. Kohaku was fifteen now, though he didn't look it. His growth must have been stunted from his time under the control of the sacred jewel shard. As such he still had a small statue and childlike face.

A young woman and a kid traveling alone must have seemed like easy prey for bandits. They were caught off guard by a surprise attack. Of course, bandits were no match for Sango. She dispatched them with little effort, but Kohaku had been careless, or maybe a bandit had just been lucky. Either way, the world froze when Kohaku felt something piece his chest. He looked down to see the shaft of an arrow protruding from right below his heart. For a moment, he felt more shocked than injured.

"Kohaku!" He heard his sister scream. The world spun around him. He realised he had fallen to his knees. Sango caught him before he hit the ground.

"Kohaku? Kohaku, stay with me!"

He was struggling to breathe. His lungs couldn't expand. He could see his sister's eyes fill up with tears.

Kohaku felt cold, so cold, but then...A gentle warmth filled his body. He looked over, someone was walking towards him, shrouded in a bright light. He could hardly believe it.

"Hotaru..."

Hotaru smiled and knelt next to him. She gently caressed his cheek. At her touch, the pain began to fade away.

"Didn't I promise I would come back to guide you?" She whispered.

"Kohaku?" Sango's voice was confused and desperate. Her voice seemed further away now. Her outline blurred, as if she were the phantom and Hotaru was the solid one. "Kohaku, stay with me!"

Hotaru looked up. Suddenly the focus in Sango's eyes changed; she could see the spirit, too.

"Hotaru?"

"I never got the chance to thank you, Sango." Hotaru's voice was calm and comforting, "I know it couldn't have been easy for you, but because of you, I died with my soul still intact. My mother was able to find me, and bring me to peace. Now it's my job to do the same for Kohaku."

Sango's eyes were drowning in tears, she shook her head.

"Please, don't take him. He's my brother. He's my little brother."

"You are a good sister. You have done everything for him that a big sister should do for her little brother. But his time has ended. He belongs with us now."

"No! Please…"

"Sister..." Kohaku managed to say. "Let me go..." Words were so difficult to get out. His chest was tight. His mind was barely able to focus. "Hotaru...you came back...you came back for me...you kept your promise..."

"I'll take care of him." Hotaru promised Sango. "He'll be safe now."

With that, Hotaru took Kohaku's hand. He felt his strength return to him as he clasped her hand tight. His pain melted away as she pulled him towards her. Then they were standing, face to face. She beamed up at him, her eyes sparkling. She looked just like she always had, yet, different. There was no hidden darkness in her eyes like there had once been. No hint of secret pain that she held deep inside. All of her fears had been destroyed with her body.

"I was listening." She told him. "All those days you sat by my grave, all the stories you told me, all of the prayers...I heard every last one. I am so proud of you."

Kohaku felt tears come to his eyes. She had been listening. He held her hand now. It was real. It was solid. They were together again at last. He looked back at his sister. She was fading away now, but he could still make out her shape cradling his body.

"Will my sister be okay?" He asked.

"She'll mourn." Hotaru said. "Some days will be harder than others, but she has her friends and her family. Her heart will heal, all hearts do. She'll never forget you. She'll carry you with her for the rest of her life. Then, one day, many years from now, we will return for her."

Kohaku walked over and hugged the quickly fading shape of his sister.

"Goodbye, Sister." He whispered. Then she was gone. Hotaru held out her hand again. Kohaku took it. Together they walked forward into the light.