Okay, so I got some pretty good feedback last time!! Let's do it again!!! Yeeee-haaaa!!!

Chapter Eleven: Going Home

Sango trekked slowly behind her two companions, Kirara on her shoulder. Inu Yasha was crankier than ever, and Kagome was keeping a safe distance of a foot away from him. Curious as to why he was so moody, Sango called from behind the pair, "Inu Yasha, what's wrong? Sorikata is dead and we're going back home…so why are you in such a bad mood?"

He was silent, obviously refusing to answer. He was after all, a very stubborn half demon. Kagome let out a 'Hmph', "You wanna know what I think, Sango?"

This got both Inu Yasha's and Sango's attention, "Sure," Sango replied, much to Inu Yasha obvious dismay as he rolled his eyes and just glared.

"I think he's mad because he wasn't the one that got to kill Sorikata," Kagome pointed out in her prissy manner.

Sango smirked laughingly and added her own two cents, "So, Inu Yasha, jealous of you big brother, Sesshoumaru are you?"

"NO! That's not it at all!! I could care less!" …grrrrr…

Both girls stood side by side now and tried to hold in their giggles, but failed in the end. Their laughter started in their stomach, then rose to their throat, and burst from their lips. Each one held their torsos as they doubled over at Inu Yasha's pouting expression.

"SHUT UP!!" he growled.

"Oh, don't get so defensive, Inu Yasha. We're only teasing you," Sango said light heartedly.

"Yah, and besides, you know it's true! You're mad because Sesshoumaru and Sango got to kill the bad guy! Admit it!!"

"Fine, but that's still not the reason I'm in a bad mood!" Inu Yasha growled.

Both girls stopped laughing, "huh?"

"I was just wondering…where are all the Satsubatsu?" Inu Yasha asked in a very serious tone. "We haven't seen one since we left the ashes of their master."

Sango looked around trying to notice anything out of place, "You're right. There's no trace of them anywhere. At least, not here. Let's keep going and check out all the villages we come across to be sure."

Inu Yasha nodded his head, and the four took off toward the North. Sango and Kirara would be leaving the group in a few days and traveling back to her village. She would be going back to Kohaku and her little hut. She would be able to make her weapons and she'd also be spreading the word that there's a demon exterminator for hire.

Sango had given it a lot of thought, and she just couldn't let people fend for themselves. Sure, Naraku and Sorikata were gone, but there were still foul demons around that liked to pillage defenseless villages and snack on human flesh. Sango couldn't allow her skill to go to waste. She would have to take up her weapons and her courage and defend those who needed help. It's what her father would have wanted.

It's what she had decided to do, not only to honor her father, but to honor all the people of her lost village. Sango let out a sigh as walked forward. She had wanted to be free of responsibility, free to live a peaceful life, and free to make her own decisions regarding her life. She just couldn't, though. It would be wrong, and that is why she had made the decision to become the demon exterminator again.

She knew that she could never be free to do all of those things. Not while she was able to fight and harbored all of this skill. Sango had to keep her oath as a demon exterminator. She would defend and fight to the death. Such was the life she was born to live. She would die one of these days, but she would die fighting; she would die doing what's right.

Sango wasn't allowed the privilege of dying of old age. She wasn't allowed the simple pleasures of life, period. Since she was only one of her kind, she would die without a family, without a husband and children. She would die without love. Sango wasn't as sad about that though, because she knew she was needed. She would always be needed. That was enough, wasn't it?

Sango thought back to her belief that it was the right thing to do. It was…right? It wasn't as though she'd be hunting them. Sango let out another sigh. There were so many things that had changed within her, that she wasn't even sure of her own motives. She wanted to honor her dead family and friends, but was exterminating the right way to go about it? Why was she so unsure? Sesshoumaru…

For some reason, Sango decided to blame it on him. After all, he had been the one that had caused her to rethink herself on multiple occasions throughout the hunt for Sorikata. Oh, and it had been a hunt. Sango had actually taken pleasure in hunting him and his Satsubatsu. She had even killed with her bare hands…and enjoyed it. She shuttered at the thought…no, he wasn't to blame. She had been thinking these very notions since her first hunt. Since the first time she had seen another creature die miserably right before her eyes. Sighing, Sango changed the direction of her thoughts and wondered to herself, 'I wonder where he is…'

~~~

Sesshoumaru continued his journey West further into his lands. Ah and Un carried Rin and Jakken as it followed behind it's master. Sesshoumaru had looked back on them multiple times to make sure they were okay. He was actually worried for them, and that caused him to be uneasy. Sesshoumaru knew that he had changed quite a bit during his pursuit of Sorikata, and even during the battle.

Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands had even fought side by side with a human, and actually admired her strength, resolute, and courage. Now, he was even able to admit it to himself without second thought. Unsure of what had spurred the changes in his heart, Sesshoumaru chose to ignore the problem for the moment. He didn't have to say it aloud, at least.

He turned when he heard a little noise come from behind him. Rin was waking up, and unable to stop himself, Sesshoumaru walked over to where she lay on the two-headed dragon. "Rin?"

She blinked a few times before her eyes opened fully, revealing her big, chestnut orbs, "S-Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked confused, then looked around and refocused on her master, "Lord Sesshoumaru!!" Ignoring the pain she felt, and perhaps abandoning her better judgment, Rin leapt up and wrapped her small arms around his neck, squeezing tightly.

It wasn't until a few moments into the hug, did she actually realize what she was doing, and she began to back away, slightly embarrassed. She looked up into the familiar blank face of her master and waited for a response. Rin was surprised, and her eyes widened to emphasize it, when a small smile began to work it's way onto Sesshoumaru's face. Rin, however, eventually overcame her initial surprise and returned his smile before looking down at Jakken, then cradling his head in her arms, "Jakken…" she whispered softly.

When he didn't wake up, tears began to slide down her face, "Lord Sesshoumaru? Is…is he…"

Sesshoumaru didn't respond directly, instead he looked closely at his fallen 'servant.' He let out a contemplative, 'hmm…' before drawing his Tenseiga and cutting through the demons of the underworld that surrounded the small, green demon. By the time Jakken opened his eyes, Sesshoumaru was walking in front again, leading them all through his land.

'Lord Sesshoumaru…you revived me with no reason…' with this thought, Jakken let out a happy laugh before being choked by Rin's bone-crushing embrace.

~~~

~Three Days Later~

Sango, Kagome, Inu Yasha, and Kirara all stood in front of what was becoming a very familiar sight. It was the fourth village they had come upon that was covered in ashes. There were signs of a battle and everyone's story was the same. Apparently the Satsubatsu had been there three days ago, attacking the village when, suddenly, they all just burst into ashes.

They were offered a place to stay for the night, but they had all decided to decline. They wanted to spend their last night together and it just seemed more appropriate that they camp out. So, a few miles outside the village, they stopped to make camp and built a fire.

Tomorrow, Sango and Kirara would be parting ways from Kagome and Inu Yasha. After dinner, they all sat around the fire and talked about their past adventures and what they all planned to do next. Kagome vowed that she was going to start going to school, and only come to the feudal era after school and on the weekends, and she'd be bringing her homework. Inu Yasha's plans were basically to follow Kagome around, although he didn't exactly word it that way, Sango knew.

"What about you, Sango? What do you plan to do when you get back home?" Kagome asked curiously.

Sango gave a small smile, "I'm going to work on some more weapons, and I'm going take up exterminating again."

"Huh?" Kagome and Inu Yasha both looked up with their mouths open. Then Kagome spoke up again, "I thought you were done exterminating. I thought you wanted to put it behind you."

Sango looked around, unable to meet the faces of her friends, "Well…I had, but…" She broke off then shrugged, "It's what my father would have wanted. I don't want to die without honoring the memory of my family and people. We were once a great village; a strong people. Now, I'm the only one left, and I've decided that I can't ignore those in need."

"But Sango, there aren't a lot of attacks going on now that Naraku has been defeated. Sorikata was just a rarity. It's doubtful that there will be any more serious demon attacks. It'd be a waste of time," Inu Yasha pointed out.

"There may not be a lot of serious attacks, but they still occur. Not all the evil is gone from this land."

Kagome chimed in, "Well, maybe not, but from what I've heard, when faced with the average demon, the people can fend for themselves. They may not have the weaponry or the skill that you possess, but they've learned to rely on their instincts and their environments, and they've done well so far."

"I know that, but…" Sango trailed off, but realized she had no defense for herself. She had thought this through, but Inu Yasha and Kagome had done more traveling and adventuring than she had during this past year. Sango just figured it was still as bad as it was before any of them even knew about Naraku. Was it true that her skills weren't needed after all? That she wasn't needed to help protect the people as she had thought not three days earlier?

"Sango?" Kagome looked at her friend who looked as though she had just been struck with a deadly weapon.

"Kagome…" she looked up at her friends, "I just don't know what to do with myself if I can't exterminate. This year has been very difficult, and I become restless and depressed when I'm surrounded by nothing but my thoughts and my weapons. It's as though I no longer have a purpose." There, the truth was out.

"Don't be so stupid," Inu Yasha was the first to respond, "you have a purpose. It just isn't exterminating anymore. Hell, maybe it never was. Have you ever considered that everything that's happened to you and all that you've lost has been for a reason? Maybe it was to force you to do something else."

"Inu Yasha's right, Sango. How do you know that your purpose it exterminating? Maybe your destiny is different from what you once thought it would be," Kagome suggested.

"I don't know," Sango admitted, "but this is all I know. How am I supposed to change? How do I know that it isn't what I'm supposed to be doing? I'm just lost…I guess I have been for quite some time now," she gave a weak, reflective smile.

"Maybe when you get back home you should try to find yourself. You know, do some soul searching," Kagome added cheerfully.

Sango chuckled under her breath, "I suppose that would be the wise thing to do."

Exchanging smiles with her friends, Sango got up and walked over to her blanket, "I'm gonna go to sleep now. I'll see you two in the morning."

"Okay. We're going to go to sleep too! It's getting pretty late, huh?" Kagome turned to Inu Yasha who just shrugged in response.

With that, the group turned in for the night and gave into their body's pleas for rest. It had been a taxing journey after all, and they were all still very tired from the entire ordeal. So there they were, together for the last night, in what would no doubt be a long while, all sleeping soundly…well…almost.

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Okay, I for one, am not happy with this chapter. Yah, I know it's really frigging boring, but I wanted to show everyone's plans and yada yada yada, before Sango goes back to her village, and I start some more drama. So there you have it.

REVIEW NOW DAMN IT!!

Pammi