Update (July 2021): Chapter edited and lengthened!
Chapter 65: The True Value of Strength
"...Hrgh, c'mon yeu guys, push...!"
"Hhhgh...i-if I push any harder, one of these bags is gonna turn into a diamond!"
"Quit complainin', Besa, and shove, harder!"
Barely more than a day has passed since the incident in Togenkyo, and after reporting the fate of the missing soldier, our heroes and heroine would return to the Bone Eater's Well so that the modern-born teens could pop back to their era and restock...Soon enough, four large shopping bags leap out of the ground structure and land on the soft grass, before the trio responsible for procuring them lift themselves up to rest on the lip of the well.
"Haaah, got 'em..."
Shippō, Inuyasha and Miroku look up from their positions nearby before getting to their feet to walk over, curious of the contents in the bags they brought. It would be the half-demon who makes the first comment, sarcastic though it was.
"You guys sure you didn't forget anything?"
Coraline - she currently wearing a green camouflage tank top, a black jean jacket, dark blue straight-cut jeans with a rip in the right knee and her black combat boots - answers with a patient smile,
"Well we can't jus' head back to our era whenever we feel like i' while we're on the ród, and I thought I'd do more than shop f'r the practical."
She reaches into one bag and pulls out something for the young man in red.
"For example, I know how much yeu love these..."
"Yes! Dried potatoes!"
Freeman - sporting a sky blue v-neck tee with a black leather vest, black skinny jeans and forest green converse sneakers - reaches into another bag and pulls out two things for Shippō.
"These are for you, kiddo. First, a lollipop with a little surprise."
"Wow! Thank you, Freeman! (Licks the candy) Mm, this is yummy! (Pushes a button) Oh, look, it's spinning all by itself!"
"Haha, yeah, I thought you'd get a kick out of that...Now for the second item..."
He holds out a medium-large key-chain fob frame.
"It took a while, but I finally found one that should fit the molded snakeskin. I trust you still have it?"
"Yeah! I kept it safe in my trick bag. Can we put it in now?"
"No problem."
As that Brownlee and the fox demon child work on fitting the snakeskin into the fob, Besa - whom we see is wearing a fern green sweater made of light material with a dark purple tank top underneath, slate grey jeans and dark brown converse sneakers - reaches into a third bag to pull out a juice can for the monk.
"Here you are, Miroku. The corner store finally started stocking this flavour again."
"I accept it with pleasure."
Just as the drink is opened for consumption, Coraline notices that two members of their group are still unaccounted for.
"Hm? Sango and Kilala still aren' back ye'?"
Inuyasha replies while munching on the potato chips,
"Nah, they haven't come back from her village yet."
"Huh...Well we're a' the three-day mark, so I would've though' she'd 've arrived here by now."
Miroku ponders between sips of his beverage,
"She hasn't been to her village for a while. She probably had lots to do, you know, besides repairing her weapon."
"Hm, righ', of course..."
Correct though this thought likely is, the half-demon throws out a more blunt theory.
"Maybe she isn't comin' back, (eyes Miroku suspiciously) because of a certain monk who won't leave her alone."
"I am guilty of no such thing!"
"Suuure, whatever..."
Coraline sighs and sits down to lean her back against the well while muttering to herself,
"I suppose as long as she 'n Kilala stick together, they'll be alrigh'. (Weak smile) Still, friends worry for friends."
...
...
(Clang, clang, clang...)
Panning away from the Forest of Inuyasha, we catch up with our faithful demon slayer in her former home hidden within the deep valleys of Edo. During the hours her friends were occupied with the mystery of Ninmenka and Tōkajin's foul play, Sango would've been busy relieving her Hiraikotsu of the cracks in the battle-worn bone material...
She's now in the final stage of hammering and firing, using a mallet to smooth out the surface after letting the giant boomerang sit in the kiln for a short time...
After another half-hour, the brunette sets Hiraikotsu in a large basin of water to cool, before holding it up to examine.
"Hm...Well, it's not as good as father's handiwork was, (smile) but I have to admit, you know, it's, not bad."
Kilala mews in approval, having watched the careful process from start to finish...Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Sango then heads outside to tend to the graves of her slain kin, placing fresh wildflowers on top each one...A tremendous feat long overdue...
"Dear father...my family and friends, we finally come home at last. Please forgive me for taking so long to bring your remains back."
As she closes her eyes in prayer, Sango reminisces over a particular moment when her father was alive.
(Flash)
Calling back the sands of time, we return to a scene where the former headman of the demon slayer village oversees Sango practicing with Hiraikotsu, successfully throwing it around the wooden posts...
"Now, Sango...do you think you can continue as a demon slayer?"
Catching the giant boomerang on the rebound, the young woman lets out a satisfied sigh and muses with a smile,
"Why yes, father. I believe I am suited to this occupation."
"I see..."
As he moves to head back inside the house, Sango's father pauses to say,
"Sango, I have trained you not merely so you can continue our tradition...I want you to live a strong life."
The brunette could only watch her parent's retreating form in confusion...
(Flash)
"Oh, father...what was it you were trying to tell me?"
...Peering over to the entrance of the ruined village, we spot two young female humans wander in with quick steps...Unfortunately for them, the twin-tail easily spots them, her growl signalling her partner.
"Hm?"
(...Shwsh)
Sango would then leap out of the path of an incoming rock thrown by one of the intruders, an act which stirs the ire of Kilala's protective nature. Even so, she reminds herself to avoid using her claws unless absolutely necessary, and merely shifts into her true form before leaping over to pin down the taller of the two females.
"Aaaah!"
Getting a closer look, we see that the young woman is of average height, has mid-back long black hair held in a ponytail and bangs cut to her eyebrows, dark teal eyes and a pale olive complexion. On her body is a cobalt blue kimono with crystal blue flowers pattering the tomoeri area, a tan brown skirt wrap, and plain waraji sandals.
Hearing her companion's cry, the shorter of the two - she sporting the same dark teal irises, pale olive skin and black hair, the latter being all tucked into a shorter ponytail, and wearing a dark goldenrod kimono with a light brown wheat pattern and an orange red sash, white bandage ankle guards and waraji sandals - whirls around and shouts,
"Please stop! Don't hurt her; let her go!"
Realizing these young intruders don't mean any actual harm, Sango quickly calls her demon companion off.
"Kilala!"
The twin-tail obeys and releases the girl, leaping back to the brunette while the younger nameless girl rushes over to shield her friend from any other possible attacks...
"Who are you and what do you want here?"
Just as the two girls stand up...the elder suddenly collapses.
"Sister!"
"What's wrong?!"
"We, we haven't had food or water for three days..."
(...Grwmmph...)
"Uh?"
The shorter stranger claps her stomach with an embarrassed blush, and Sango's expression softens.
Hm...Well, they don't seem to carry a hostile vibe, so the least I can do for these two is make sure they don't starve.
In that event, the brunette brings the girls into the structure she was previously working in, and opens some food provisions to cook up and share. The elder would awake as soon as the rice was done, and she and her younger sister would begin consuming their portions with gusto confirming their ravenous appetites.
"(Munch, munch) Mm, isn't this delicious, Serina?"
"(Munch, nod) Mhm."
Sango watches them for a short moment with amusement in her eyes.
Goodness, they weren't kidding...
"There's more. Do you want another serving?"
"(Both) Yes, please!"
...The sisters pause, realizing their actions up until now have been on the rude side. The elder sister is the first to make up for it, performing the traditional saikeirei bow.
"Pardon my manners. I am Serina."
The shorter girl chimes,
"And I'm her sister, Suzuna! Haha."
Serina looks at her sister in annoyance, and pushes her head down in a saikeirei position as well before explaining their situation.
"The two of us had recently set out from our village, following leads in search of the demon slayer's hidden village."
"So you attacked me despite that you knew I was a slayer?"
Suzuna comments with a smile,
"We just wanted to test your skills. You really are quite good, miss, (wink)."
(Bonk)
"Oh!"
Serina clonks her sibling on her head for her brashness, before pleading to Sango,
"Please take us on as your apprentices!"
"Huh?! Apprentices?!...Uh!"
The sisters suddenly rush over to Sango and began...massaging her as a way to persuade the older young woman into instructing them in the ways of Demon Extermination.
"You look like you could use a good rub-down..."
"Teacher, please accept us."
The brunette's response is blunt:
"No."
But Suzuna isn't discouraged:
"Aw, come on, please teacher!"
"I said, no!"
Sango then makes her way out of the hut with Hiraikotsu...or at least tries to, but the two sisters wind up grasping her shoulders and legs, determined not to give up.
"Pleeease, teacher!"
"I am not your teacher, and no means no! Now would you let me go?! I'm in a hurry!"
Releasing her own hold on the singular slayer, Serina quickly maneuvers herself so she's bowing down low in front of the latter.
"We cannot return to our village until you take us in as your pupils, and train us in the Art of Demon Slaying."
Suzuna begs while hugging Sango's legs,
"Pleeeeeeease!"
"...Haaaah, I suppose I should hear you out."
The older blackette takes charge in explaining the full story...
"You see, my sister Suzuna and I live in a small farming village up in the mountains. We want to expand our farms, so we began clearing the area that belonged to our local deity...That was when the demons began attacking us."
"Whole lots of them! Not just one or two!"
"And sadly, most of the villagers have been slaughtered. Many of the able-bodied people have already moved to another village, but the elderly and children cannot leave, and they spend every waking moment living in terror."
Sango nods,
"I see. The deity's forest had acted as a barrier for you."
"Yes, and it was around that time we had heard of a village of demon slayers."
"Mm, (looks around) well, as you can see, there are no demon slayers left in this village."
Suzuna looks to Serina while grasping her arm, the latter patting the former's sadly...
Feeling sympathetic to their plight, Sango suggests,
"Maybe I can go back to your village with you to help."
"But our village doesn't have any money to pay you. We have come all this way only to learn. We had no intention whatsoever of hiring a demon slayer to bring back home with us."
"Besides, our village is far away..."
Serina performs another saikeirei and adds,
"Even if we did stave them off once or twice, those demons would still return. So please, teach us to defend ourselves! We will train hard for our people!"
She side-glances at her sister and forces her down as well.
"Suzuna..."
"I'll do my best!"
...Sango replies to them gently but seriously,
"You must understand, the Art of Demon Slaying isn't something one learns overnight...but, I suppose I could teach you to deter lesser demons."
The sisters gasp before replying with grateful smiles,
"Thank you!"
The brunette stares at their forms while musing to herself,
Miroku and the others will wait for me even if I come back one or two days late...
With that decided, Sango goes to gather some tools to use for training the sisters in some basic techniques...
She meets them at the village entrance:
"These are the weapons you'll use to ward off demons."
"Right!"
...The other two female humans then form confused expressions when they see two fans and some cloth...Nevertheless, they tie the material around their faces and follow Sango to the thicker grassland, stopping a small distance away from a small cave.
"This is as good a place as any to start..."
After testing the wind flow, the brunette sets her metal filter mask onto her face, before turning to set a pile of herbal leaves ablaze with some special powder...
"Don't just stand there; help me fan!"
All three young women flap their fans at the smoke vigorously, directing it towards the cave...
Kilala cringes a little from the scent, and Suzuna coughs before asking,
"What is this?"
"A powder mixture of herbs and remedies that demons detest."
"So, this will slay a demon?"
"It'd be enough to protect the village."
...A few animals suddenly scamper out of the cave to escape the smoky fumes, and Suzuna stops her own flapping to stare in amazement from the effectiveness.
"This smoke is incredible...but are you sure it'll ward off the demons, though?"
...
The sun soon sets after another hour of training and one more to trek back to the hidden village...
"Um, sister-I mean, teacher, isn't there a more exciting technique you could show us?"
Sango replies to Suzuna over her shoulder,
"Learning techniques without fully understanding them can be dangerous. The day is almost over, so I'll show you how to make this powder tomorrow."
The latter and her elder sibling look to one another in disappointment, but choose to refrain from complaining...
Meanwhile, back at the Bone Eater's Well, everyone else in our main group was still hanging about by the structure as they wait on their missing comrades...Coraline sighs out from her sitting position against the well's outer wall,
"Sango an' Kilala still aren' back. I hope they're no' in trouble..."
With all the uncertainty hangin' over these lands, anything c'n happen.
Sensing his partner's distant disquiet, Lumos glides over to hover by her head and emit a few calming moans, causing her to smile a bit...
"I'm sure they're fine."
She then turns to meet eyes with her brother Besa, he sitting against the outer wall on her adjoining left.
"Sango's probably just tying a few loose ends and it's taking a bit longer then she wants it to."
"Mm, perhaps..."
Freeman - who's lazing on the grass with Shippō propped against his side while continuing to enjoy the lollipop - adds with a crooked smile,
"Plus we all know from experience that it takes a special kind of nuisance demon to slow those two down."
"Heh, right...Mm?"
Just then, Miroku wanders over from his standing position near an oak to squat down on the taller redhead's right.
"Uum, I'd like to ask you a question, Coraline."
"(Nod) Fire away."
"...Do you believe stroking a woman's bottom could destroy the mutual trust between two people?"
As he asks this, he places a hand around her shoulder...
Coraline sighs with a somewhat irritated smile, and lightly pushes the hand off before replying,
"I can see y'r tryin' ta be serious, so reply in kind I will. Trust is not jus' about bein' comfortable in eachother's personal spaces, but also respectin' when one needs privacy or simple breathin' room."
"Is that really how it is?"
The Brownlee with plainly cropped hair calls from the ground,
"Right on the dot. It's cool to be close to one another, but there's boundaries you gotta watch out for and not push too far depending on the relationship levels. I've learned that one hard way."
Besa gives his brother a teasing smile:
"You mean like when we went to that teen gathering in the park and you got slapped by that one guy's boyfriend?"
"Oi! He didn't give me any clue he was in a committed relationship! If anything, his boyfriend should'a got mad at him for not telling me to quit my flirting!"
"Suuure, whatever you need to tell yourself, brother..."
Coraline giggles in amusement at their commentary, before Inuyasha pops out of the well and says to Miroku,
"If Sango doesn't come back, it's you I'm gonna be pointin' the finger at."
"She'll come back alright..."
The monk stands up again and starts pacing back and forth as the half-demon settles himself beside the young Croft, both noticing signs of nervousness in their friend's steps...These subtle hints don't go unnoticed by Shippō either.
"He sounds confident, but he sure doesn't look it."
Small Time Skip
Night falls, and we return to the ruined village of the Yōkai Taijiya not long after Sango and Kilala settle into dreamland...
Serina and Suzuna, however, were wide awake, awaiting the moment when the surviving slayer and her demon partner were deep in sleep, before stealing their way to the weapon depository. The older sister attempts to force the door open, but with no success...
"Serina, let me do it!"
She steps aside so Suzuna could take over, breaking the lock with a karate chop.
(Clank, thmp...)
"That was easy enough to break off! Can't beat a shinobi's skills."
"Thanks. I couldn't have done it without you."
Once inside, Serina lights a candle for them so they can get a gander at the various demon bones and body parts yet to be made into armour and weaponry...
"Look at all this!"
"This is exactly like our father told us...These materials are the secrets to the slayer's weapons!"
"These things?"
"The fangs, bones and hides of demons...No wonder slayers can ward off their attacks..."
The girls feel grins of anticipation form on their faces.
"We can become just as strong if we take these materials."
"We'll be almost invincible!"
So with that decided, the self-identified shinobi each pack up as many of the demonic materials as they possibly can, creating makeshift racks to carry upon their backs...But as they walk out, Serina suddenly pauses with a small gasp, causing Suzuna to bump into her.
"Mh! What'd ya stop for?"
She looks ahead...and widens her eyes when she sees Sango and Kilala!
"What're you two up to? (Glare) I want the truth: you're no ordinary village girls."
With their cover blown, the sisters switch to the offensive. Suzuna swings out an ono attached to rope against the opposing brunette, then a pair of shuriken, forcing the latter back far enough that the sisters would have enough time to reach the exit.
"...Those moves...!"
They pause, and turn to confirm Sango's suspicions.
"Correct. Both my sister and I come from a village of Shinobi."
(Flash)
Winding back the clock, we witness a group of ninja preparing to attack a large, red mantis-like demon as they charge through the treeline...
And though the agents in black succeed in roping the creature to a stop before bombarding it with several grenades...this was only the start of a greater force of several evils.
"A few weeks before now, the clan lord ordered us to slay a demon, something we've never done before. We were able to use our ninja skills to defeat the one demon...but, others came seeking revenge. Our people only knew the Art of the Shinobi, and nearly all were devoured by these demons."
Every villager - from warrior to farmer - was mercilessly slaughtered by the horde...
However, Serina and Suzuna managed to elude the demons using a large cloth for camouflage.
(...Flap)
"Serina, I think it's safe for us to come out now."
The sisters climb out from their hiding hole, and wander around the devastated grounds to try and find anyone who might still be alive...
They soon find one man barely clinging to life, and recognize him instantly.
"Father!"
"Father, no!"
Serina holds up her father's head and pleads,
"Father, hold on!"
...He weakly blinks his eyes open to see his daughters were still living.
"S-Serina, Suzuna...You need to be strong for me...Both of you...Hrgh-ghhhh..."
He passes away before he could finish his dying wish...
(Flash)
"Those were our father's dying words to us."
"Be strong. He must've wanted us to restore our village to its former glory. (Turns to her sister) I'm certain that's what he was trying to tell us."
Suzuna nods firmly with Serina, and Sango calls out,
"Hold on!"
The shorter ninja girl swings her ono through the air and says to her sister,
"Do it now, Serina."
With a nod, the elder shinobi throws down a smoke bomb.
(Ka-fwooooom)
Sango and Kilala cringe from the musty smog, and the sisters make their escape out of the village...The brunette then runs back to the weapon depository to see what they took, and becomes heavily concerned.
"Oh no...Some of those remains haven't been exorcised of the demon spirits yet, (...glare) meaning they'll summon other demons back here. Kilala!"
The twin-tail wastes no time in shifting to her true form as she rushes to her partner's side, the latter shucking off her outer layers for her slayer gear while grabbing Hiraikotsu. The brunette vaults onto the cat demon's back, and Kilala flies out of the village to follow the scents of the shinobi sisters and the demon weapons...
"Hurry, Kilala! Those girls are in danger!"
...
...
By this time, Serina and Suzuna bounded a good distance down the mountain path with their stolen goods, nearing the treeline of the lower forests...
"Hah, hah, wait for me, Suzuna!"
The younger pauses to call back,
"Hurry up! You're always slowing me down! (Smile) I'll take some of your load from you."
The older sibling catches up with the younger and apologizes between breaths, before they shift some of the former's load onto the latter's share...
"Heh, no wonder father saddled me on as his heir, even though you're the eldest."
"Hah-hh...forgive me. I'll train hard, and one day I'll become a strong shinobi like father would've wanted me to be."
...Unbeknownst to the pair, a large shadow begins passing overhead...
"Come on, let's hurry."
...And just as they begin entering the tree cover...
"Uh!"
"What's that?!"
They're stopped by the appearance of Kilala with Sango, who land in front of the sisters and subsequently stop them in their tracks.
"Both of you, get on Kilala! We're going back to the village!"
The sisters brandish their weapons on the defense, Suzuna barking back,
"We're not returning these!"
"You must discard them at once! Hundreds of demons are coming to seek the demonic aura those weapons exude!"
The sisters gasp, and the atmosphere grows heavy...
"It's true, now hurry!"
Unfortunately, they weren't quick enough to react: the clouds darken and the wind howls louder, before hundreds of demonic spirits come barreling from the sky!
"We're too late...I'll have to destroy those demons, then we'll try to escape!"
But Suzuna had other ideas:
"Mph! Sister, be strong; the time has come to finally show father our courage!"
Serina nods, holding her yari spear up at the ready.
"We'll do our shinobi ancestors proud! We can do this, as long as we have these weapons!"
Sango is taken aback by their fierce determination...but then remembers what they said regarding their father's dying wish, as well as her own father...
That's when the gears click.
"Ih!...Oh, father..."
She then hurries off of Kilala and tries to talk the sisters out of undergoing a suicide battle.
"No...you're mistaken!"
"Huh?"
"This is not how your father wanted you to be! You have to believe me, please!"
Suzuna grits out,
"What would you know about him?!"
"There isn't a father in the world who doesn't wish for his daughter's happiness! Your father wasn't telling you to continue the shinobi tradition; he wanted you to be strong inside! He, wanted you to be happy. That's what he meant!"
...The younger sister turns to her elder with uncertainty.
"What do you think?"
Serina doesn't say anything, she lost in thought...
"Now climb on top of Kilala, and make sure you stay close to me."
The demons make their charge, and the brunette looks back urgently at the ninja sisters...We zoom in on the older blackette, who thinks back to her parent's words, and Sango's message of what fathers truly want for their children...
She then forms a determined look, and drops her rack before turning to remove her sister's.
"Suzuna."
"Uh! What're you doing?!"
Serina then hoists her younger sister over her shoulder, replying as she runs to board the twin-tail,
"Sango is right, I'm sure of it!...Sango!"
The slayer nods, before focusing back on the charging demons...
"Hiraikotsu!"
(Toss, za-za-za-za-za-za-THWASH)
A few demons are cut down while others retreat from the boomerang's path...
"Let's go!"
With Sango leading, she and Kilala begin running for the forest exit, the cat demon going on ahead to get the sisters to safety while the slayer clubs every demon that dared to drift onto in her path...
"Stay out of my way!"
...Even so, with every one she took down, another would take its place...Kilala maintains her speed from the main force, but then one demon succeeds in snatching Suzuna into the air.
"Aaaaaahhh!"
"Suzuna!"
Using her ono, the shorter blackette cuts at the demon's arm.
"Take, that!"
(SLICE)
The demon releases her, and Suzuna falls to the ground hard, losing grip on her weapon. Serina calls out her sister's name, and Kilala rushes over to the fallen ninja girl, allowing the taller ninja girl to come to her sister's aid.
"Suzuna?"
"Serina..."
...She grabs the ono and prepares to use offense as defense.
"Stay back!"
Kilala provides backup with her claws and fangs, taking out several demons just as Sango releases Hiraikotsu again.
(Toss, za-za-za-za-za-za-za-za...)
But while the slayer took down another good number, it hardly changed the overwhelming situation. She hurries to stand in front of Serina as the twin-tail shifts to cover the rear, just as the rest of the large demonic horde readies to make another collective charge.
Mh...If this keeps up, Kilala and I will never get back to the others.
...Curse these beasts. Curse them to hell!
Thankfully, this small band of fighters would get the help they needed.
"(Leap) SANGO!"
Lunging outward from the thicker green, our favourite young monk cracks down on some of the demons with his shakujō staff, much to Sango's shock.
"Miroku!"
"...Watch it, dude!"
The Brownlee twins come jumping into the battle next, with Besa slashing away some demons that nearly got the drop on Miroku with his kama, while Freeman swung sideways at another with his ōtsuchi.
"Hrrrah!"
(Thwomp)
The force of impact sends the creature crashing into a few others, taking them out flat...
"Yes!"
"Nice one, brother!"
"Good timing, you two!"
Sango mutters in further surprise,
"Freeman...Besa..."
She then turns to see several other demons closing in behind her...just as our next warrior comes leaping in with his weapon.
"Wind Scar!"
(SLASH)
The demons are annihilated almost instantaneously, causing the remaining to freeze midair...
Inuyasha hoists Tessaiga over his shoulder and says to the demon slayer casually,
"Hey, Sango. It's not like you to have your departure delayed by the likes of demons."
"...Inuaysha...!"
Miroku then says,
"I'll take over now! (Rattle) Wind Tunnel!"
(Whoooooooossssssshhhhhhhhh...)
The accursed black hole is unleashed, and Serina falls to her knees by Suzuna in matching shock as they watch the monk effortlessly suck back the remaining bulk of the demon horde!...Once they were gone, Miroku contains his power with his prayer beads...
However, there would be one demon - one with the likeness of a sandworm - still alive, and it slips out of a tree trunk to try and attack Sango...
"Oh no y' don't! Claw Spiorad!"
(SLASH, POW)
A talon of ice blue energy obliterates the demon, and Sango turns to see Coraline as the latter who lowers her own blade with a smile.
"Hai, Sango! How's it hanging?"
Shippō hops up on her shoulder:
"We came back to get you!"
The last to greet the slayer is Lumos, he floating over the brunette's head and chirping happily before releasing a small burst of energy to heal Sango, then doing the same for Kilala.
(Twinkle...)
"Ah. (...Touched smile) Thank you, all of you."
Everyone in our main group comes together in a circle around the slayer, while the ninja sisters continue to stare in wonder...
"Hm?"
They then focus upward as the dark clouds dissipate, and the sun streams in with the blue horizon as morning graces these lands...
Serina holds up Suzuna, and the latter turns to say to the former,
"Let's be on our way, sister."
"Hm, (nod)."
They say their goodbyes to Sango while also thanking the others for their help, before turning to walk hand in hand down the dirt road towards a new chapter in their lives...Our slayer watches them go while sending the following message through her eyes.
...Be strong...both of you.
Inuyasha then explains what brought the rest of them here.
"Well, Miroku was worried, so we decided to come. It's a good thing we did too."
Coraline smiles a bit and adds,
"Aye, no kidding. I' looked like things were abou' to head for the bog...Mm?"
She then watches Sango direct her gaze towards Miroku, a small blush dusting her cheeks as she approaches the monk.
"Miroku...were you, actually that worried about me?"
"Oh, call it a premonition, if you will...I kept seeing your face, Sango, no matter what I did. I simply could not get you out of my head. It's the truth..."
On that last line, his hand wanders to stroke Sango's rear...
(SLAP)
"(Deadpan) Thank you for your concern."
Miroku scratches the area of his cheek where he was backhanded and replies with a nervous smile,
"Ah-heh, don't mention it."
Besa facepalms while Freeman shrugs,
"Eh, it's all a work in progress for guys like him to be less physical," and Shippō sighs exasperatedly,
"When is he ever going to learn? (Shakes his head) Please don't let me grow up to be like him."
The other redhead and silverette half-demon nod, also sighing at the monk and slayer's interactions, knowing that until everything is actually laid on the table, this would continue to be the norm...