Disclaimer: Whee!

Hey everyone! It's me, your favourite Ama, here again with your favourite story (by Ama)! The chapter is new, the plotline's improved and I'm giddy from lack of sleep! Wahoo!

So what will happen today? What of the fight between Sango and Kohaku? Will nothing good ever come to our heros? And what of Naraku, and his early invasion of Tokyo? Is everything just meant to screw up?

If I told you, that's ruin the story, wouldn't it?

Shout outs:

SaiyanPrincess, jenna: . Thanks for your reviews and notes guys. Even the little things count to a girl like me. And how have I made Kagome sit Inu-Yasha too much? Granted I admit it was over-excessive in the beginning but she barely does it now. The last time she's done it in about five chapters is Chap 26 and that was in self defence! And jenna, I update every Monday.

Asha: .Everything gets more interesting. But only MY story can get intermesting. And what's KH 'Final Mix'? Cloud and Sephiroth? In Japanese? Oh, the wondrous possibilities… must search eBay…

Okonomiyaki-chan: .Hate me for my hottub. Feel the hate. You have the entire series of Chobits? Curse you to the farthest reaches from your Jakotsu! Me 'n my pals are going to Anime North this may and we're cosplaying in a stupid skit of a fight between Chocolate from Sorcerer Hunters and Chi. I wrote it, so it's bound to be amusing. And my role? I get to stick a giant paper-mache cat head on my shoulders and be Kuroneko-sama from Trigun. Nyau-u.

Ronagu-chan: .CLAMP is the greatest when it comes to funkalicious funky manga. They have funny stories, their art is beautiful and they have pretty bishes (ah, Uhey and Fuma, I worship the ground on which you walk). And Chobits is one of their best. After seeing the 'Chi Learns' episode I was running around calling everything 'Hideki'. It drove my friends insane, especially the ones who had no clue what I was talking about. It drove them even nuttier when my response to everything was "Chi?" And Angelic Layer isn't CLAMP does Pokemon, it's CLAMP does Medabots. And Sakura's what got me into the biz, dimmit! I must go collect all the CLAMP of the world! Bwahahaha! (and whosa in the whatsit? I'm no good at history. It's not American, is it? I know Abe Lincoln from US history and that's only because of Clone High)

 On with the fic!

Chapter 28:

 Suffer

What had happened to Sango? Kagome looked worriedly at her friend as the older girl sat on the balcony of the hotel, staring blankly into nothing. Ever since she had returned from what had seemed to be a terrible fight, she hadn't said a word. Kirrara was badly wounded and Miroku was unconscious; Sango had looked close to her second death carrying them both back to Kagome and Inu-Yasha, bleeding from her own wounds no less. After being treated she had gone outside and had spoken to no one, not even to ask of Kirrara's condition. Something serious must have happened.

"She's still out there?" Inu-Yasha asked, coming into the room with a bag of food and medicinal herbs he and Shippo had acquired. Kagome nodded, the worry apparent on her face.

"Inu-Yasha, Sango hasn't said anything or moved in the past hour or so. What could have happened?" Kagome looked at him and Shippo in concern. Both angels looked at each other, wondering if they should tell. Both remembered from their father's stories of the past; they had also learned to never affect the future.

"I'm sure once Kirrara and Miroku wake up she'll be fine." Shippo tried to assure Kagome but one look at the girl said that it wasn't going to work. He sighed and fiddled with his tail. "Kagome, I don't know."

Kagome immediately turned her gaze to Inu-Yasha, who looked surprised at first but then annoyed. "What?" He muttered, deciding to hide his guilt in a double cheeseburger.

Kagome frowned pertly at Inu-Yasha's obvious avoiding of the question through food. "Inu-Yasha, you must know what's wrong with Sango. Does it have anything to do with four-hundred years ago?"

Inu-Yasha swallowed his food. "No." He said quickly before taking another bite. Kagome didn't look convinced.

He's a horrible liar, Shippo thought as he watched Inu-Yasha try to deter the conversation somewhere else. The tiny angel kit glanced over at the beds that held the wounded and unconscious Miroku and Kirrara. The wounds were obvious indication if you knew enough; Sango's silence only hinted more. Sighing, Shippo glanced over to where Sango sat silently. This was going to be a hard war.

But then again, there were never any easy ones, were there?

Sango sat on the balcony, knees up to her chest as she curled into a knot, leaning against the rough brick wall of the hotel building. She stared out at the blue sky and gray buildings of Tokyo city, not seeing anything in her line of sight. Her mind wandered elsewhere, to the happenings of a few hours ago. It was all so perfect it was almost like it had been filmed. Perfect enough to make her wonder if it had been planned.

The appearing and disappearing demonic senses in her hometown so that they would go there and she would have nearly been obligated to go and visit her and her brother's graves. Of course the monk would follow them. Of course they would get attacked. Of course the attacker would be her dead brother.

How did he do it? How did Naraku find Kohaku's body, when it had been burned to ashes the first time he had died. Why was he doing this, to torture her until she died? Did he enjoy doing this?

She stared blankly at a wound in her arm, the blood slowly seeping through the cloth in a thin, red line. She could not kill her brother. She would not kill her brother. There was no way she was going to succumb to Naraku's level. She'd die first before she'd let her brother do so. She was the older sister. She was supposed to protect him.

A damn good job she did with that. Now he was dead and gone for good, his body a puppet, a tool for Naraku and his sick schemes. She should have no qualms about killing an empty shell that mocked her brother. She shouldn't. But something about that imitation Kohaku, something in his eyes, something that nearly killed them all, had stopped her.

She remembered it so clearly.

Reliving it over and over again in her mind.

Why was she so foolish?

Was this the way it was meant to be, like in the past?

Was she destined to not only let her brother die, but her angel and her friend as well?

Was she just a means to kill others?

She remembered it so clearly…

~Sango stood there, staring at the boy that looked so much like her brother. His short, cropped hair, loose-clothing and the sickle-shaped weapon attached to a long chain  he had always favoured in games as a child in his hand, blood from Miroku dripping slowly off of it. It was like a horrible nightmare come back to life, as Sango was forced to choose from what she knew were the inevitable choices: Her death or her brother's.

"Kohaku, we don't have to do this." She said quietly, holding her boomerang loosely in one hand. "Kohaku, please."

Kohaku made no response. He didn't even seem to recognize his own sister as he raised the instrument that he would use to kill her. Sango took a step back, holding her Hiraikotsou protectively in front of her. "Kohaku…" She said brokenly. She knew he couldn't hear her, after all he was dead and could not recognize her. But it was still so hard for a sister to kill a brother she loved so much and Naraku was taking advantage of that.

Kohaku whipped the sickle at her, slicing through her shoulder as he took advantage of her hesitation. Kirrara snarled fiercely as she ran up to grab the chain as she had before but Kohaku had learned. Quickly he pulled it in a different direction, causing it to instead imbedded itself in Kirrara's side. The feline angel hissed as the blade sunk deeply into her.

Quickly Sango composed herself and grabbed her boomerang, whipping it to that it caught the sickle's chain and pulled it out of the angel. Seeming to acknowledge his sister's presence again Kohaku turned to her, weapon in hand.

"I won't kill you." Sango said determinedly, forcing back the tears. Kohaku made no movement of recognition or that he even registered her voice or recognized what she said to him. He instead stood there, watching her with his dead, lifeless eyes, empty and emotionless as he threw his weapon at her. Sango avoided it and tried to get closer to her brother, to get the weapon out of his hands but whatever force was controlling him was sharper and faster. Sango received many wounds as she tried to avoid her brother's weapon, refusing to counterattack. Finally they both paused, eyeing each other in the break of the battle. Kohaku seemed almost perplexed that Sango was not fighting back. Sango desperately tried to think of a way to get through to him.

Unable to take it anymore she ran up to her younger brother; the sudden move seemed to catch him off guard as she grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Kohaku, don't you recognize me? Kohaku it's me, your older sister Sango! Wake up, please! Break Naraku's spell! Kohaku!" She shook him vigorously, even though she knew it was futile. Tears running down her face she watched semi-helplessly as Kohaku composed himself raised his weapon to kill her.

Kirrara intervened, pushing through brother and sister as Kohaku swung downwards. Sango was knocked by her guardian and hit a wall pretty badly, knocking her head. She watched through a daze as Kohaku buried his weapon into Kirrara for a second time. Weakened by the pain and loss of blood, the feline angel fell unconscious and shrank to her smaller form. Without thinking Sango grabbed her weapon and threw it at her attacker, the force of doing so knocking her down to the ground.

She watched dimly as the boomerang caught Kohaku off guard, hitting him square in the back of the neck. Kohaku made no sound as he toppled over, unconscious or dead from the blow.

Sango sat there limply for a moment or so, catching her breath as her weapon crashed uselessly to the ground. Then slowly she stood up, wiping the blood from the cut on her forehead. She walked past the unconscious form of Miroku. She walked pasted the limp form of her angel Kirrara. She walked past her Hiraikotsou. Instead she walked up to the body of her brother, staring non-coherently at it, unbelieving that it was who her eyes told her. She conjured a sword with the last of her energy and held it in the air, it's sharp tip aiming down.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.~

She had blacked out or had been attacked sometime after that, as she could remember nothing. She had woken up in the hotel room, as a relieved and worried-looking Kagome greeted her and told her what they had found. Shippo had been distraught over the state of Miroku and Inu-Yasha had been missing but was undoubtedly close by. As soon as she had regained her balance Sango had left to sit outside; she didn't want to see everyone like that.

Kagome stepped through the door, rapping lightly on the wood to tell Sango she was coming. The older girl made no indication that she knew Kagome was there, so Kagome took the opportunity to sit down. "Want to talk about it now?" She asked.

Sango said nothing as she started out into the sky. Her brother was back from the dead and from her own foolishness she had nearly killed herself and her friends, leaving them who knows how. Compulsively, most likely due to Kagome's gentle questioning, Sango broke down and began crying. She didn't shy away from Kagome as the girl pulled her into an understanding hug but she didn't respond either. What would be the point? Kagome didn't understand; none of them did nor would they ever. It was Sango's burden and she would always have to face it alone.

Sesshoumaru was not pleased. He had been close to pacing in his office as he looked stonily at his computer, his eyes hard and icy. Only the barest wiggling of the tips of his fingers gave any indication of his impatience. He read and reread the information on his screen, studying and calculating it over in his mind until he understood it thoroughly.

A sharp rap on the door alerted him and the demon Lord turned sharply towards it, knowing exactly who was behind that door. "Enter." He said crisply and the door opened almost immediately. First officer and general of the Fourth Lord's armies stood there, his signature staff held in his nimble fingers. The kappa bowed low before entering.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, I came as soon as I was requested. What bothers my Lord?" He asked formally. Though Mizuki fooled around often he knew better than to cross Sesshoumaru at a dire time like this.

The Fourth Lord certainly did seem cross. "I've been receiving reports daily and I have just finished reading yours. Mizuki, are you been selective with your words to deceive this Sesshoumaru or is this news true?"

"Sesshoumaru-sama, I know better than to attempt to deceive you, especially with the Third Strike so near." Mizuki said with another short bow but this time his eyes glinted with anticipation and he was grinning with excitement. Sesshoumaru's land was the realm of power and it occupants enjoyed nothing more than war. "Reports from all over the ninth realm of mortal keys indicate that Naraku has begun the invasion ahead of schedule and thus broken the final statement. Because of this action all laws indicate that we may now begin war unconditionally. Sesshoumaru-sama, it has begun!"

Sesshoumaru didn't share Mizuki's happiness as he frowned. "I was not prepared for this so quickly; Naraku must be very wise indeed. Mizuki," His officer snapped into full attention. "Gather troops Alpha and distribute them throughout the mortal city of Tokyo on full defensive maneuvers and alter Beta through Gamma to split into their two branches for assault on any movement in the mortal plane and this fourth realm. The rest must be prepared for anything and everything. I will further my orders once I have gathered enough information. Dismissed."

Mizuki bowed. "Yessir." He nodded, turning around to leave when Sesshoumaru held up a hand.

"Wait. I, Sesshoumaru, am the Fourth Lord, ruler of the realm of power and leader of the greatest armies in the three planes of existence. However there are some things even this Lord cannot do. Send messengers to my castle to bring Jaken and Rin here. And send the trespasser to fetch my nephew and make some use of herself. I'll need the threeblood in Hell after all." The Lord turned around, indicating that he was finished and Mizuki should leave. Now.

Mizuki took the hint and left, turning down the corridor to the tactics and officer's room, where he would distribute the news immediately and send the messenger Sesshoumaru had ordered. It wasn't long before a shadowy figure wrapped in a dark cloak appeared behind him. Mizuki smiled.

"I expected you earlier. What's wrong, something didn't go as you planned? Someone make their own decision for once?" He asked, slowing his pace but not stopping.

The trespasser didn't seem pleased. "I don't force anyone to do anything I just make circumstances so that they make the best choice." It said curtly.

"We're touchy than usual, aren't we?" Mizuki grinned, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "So something did go wrong.

The shadow seemed ruffled but said nothing for a moment. "It's none of your business, kappa. Now, Sesshoumaru wanted me for something?"

Mizuki smiled knowingly. "Yeah, wanted ya to go get the threeblood and 'make the circumstances' so that he gets here ASAP."

"I should change the circumstances so that you fall into a pit of lava." The demon grumbled.

"Same to you, love." Mizuki tapped his spear with a claw. "Say, completely out of context, why you always wearing those robes anyway? Makes you look like some kind of corrupt monk or sommit."

The demon shrugged. "Trespassers have always worn the black robes as a symbol of who they were and what they could do. I'm not proud of my past but we've always sold our talents to the highest bidder, unless we had some other plans."

"Well what do ya look like underneath?" Mizuki said, taking one last drag at his cigarette and tossing it to the ground, eyeing the other demon curiously. "Frogs?"

The shadow's green eyes smiled. "Whatever we want."

Kohaku bowed, his sickle weapon strapped to his back as he stood on one knee, his head to the floor. Kagura watched the boy with indifferent boredom, wondering why she had bothered to save the boy's life but knowing that Naraku would not have been pleased and they would have lost a piece of the Shikon jewel if she hadn't. Kagura had yet to figure out the potential or even the purpose of the jewel that Naraku had been trying to obtain for over two hundred years and now that he had it was wasting it on simple mortals.

Naraku now was wearing his baboon pelt, sitting in front of them on a raised flooring that could serve easily enough as a simple throne. His head was uncovered at the moment but his face was still a perfect mask. He eyed Kohaku coldly and then shifted his gaze over to Kagura.

"Tell me Kagura, why is the mortal still breathing?" He said simply.

Kagura was shocked to say the least, completely not expecting the question that had just been asked. She racked her brains for an answer and gave it almost too quickly.

"Because you wanted her to die by her brother's hands." She said in an almost snapping tone. Naraku showed no expression at her response but nodded.

"Correct answer Kagura." He said coolly. "Already the invasion to the mortal plane has begun. I, Naraku, did not expect the boy to fail but luck seems to be on the mortal's side today." The outcast demon regarded Kohaku, who was still kneeling obediently, and then turned his gaze to the shadows. "The Fourth Lord knows of our attack and has sent his forces against us. I happen to know exactly which forces they are."

Kagura followed his gaze and met the red eyes of Kuro-michi. The trespasser demon smiled and bowed.

"Five hours, m'Lord, and then threeblood and the Reborn will be here, in our domain of Hell. Sesshoumaru-sama has called for his nephew, perhaps for help. He obviously fears you, Master." There was the nose of cloth swishing as the trespasser bowed again.

Brownnosing little snot, Kagura thought miserably. Naraku, on the other hand, seemed pleased and nodded, turning back to Kohaku.

"With this information I know now who to break the girl. I will wait for her here, in Hell when the Faults of the twelve Keys are at their peak in a mortal heart." He continued to watch Kohaku as he spoke. "Trespasser, go tell the Shichinin-tai that they may go to the mortal plane for exactly one hour and then they must return here. Kagura, I have more urgent business for you."

"Yes m'Lord." Kuro-michi bowed, blending in with the darkness, the faintest hint of a smile on it's hidden features.

Miroku stared at the ceiling for a long time, counting the dots tiles until he had a basic idea of the number of dots on the entire ceiling, including the halved ones. He was on his to figuring out just how many dots there might be on the entire top floor but as he was trying to calculate it all in his head a noise distracted him.

The ghostly monk sighed and sat up, propping himself on the palm of his hands to avoid the glancing pains in his shoulder, chest and back. Finally getting up he looked around and grabbed his staff; unlike everything else that belonged to a ghost, Miroku's staff was a part of him and would remain with him through everything and was not something he could replicate.

Leaning on his staff as he shifted to make himself more comfortable, Miroku glanced around the room. It was dark and took a moment or two to adjust. Kirrara was cut up and wrapped tightly in bandages, resting on a small stack of pillows to make a bed for her. Shippo was asleep on the other bed, beside Kagome, his tail twitching a bit with every snore. Kagome was also fast asleep, but that concerned look on her face all the same. Miroku smiled somewhat as he glanced around again.

"Oi." Inu-Yasha's grunt turned the monk's attention to the angel. Inu-Yasha was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, one finger on the hilt of Tetsusaiga. One eye was open and one ear was trained forward on him, as the half-angel tried to look formidable enough to be a frightening bodyguard. Miroku politely held his laughter; now was not the time.

"If you're looking for Sango, she's out there." The angel said quietly, jerking his head towards the balcony. Miroku followed the direction he indicated saw the young girl sitting outside, knees up to her chest and arms crossed around them as if she was trying to curl up into as small a person as possible. Miroku wasn't able to tell if Sango was sleeping or not from this distance. Only one way to find out; he began to stand up, leaning on his staff for support.

Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow, both eyes opened now. "I wouldn't if I were you." He said wisely. "You grope her and poor Shippo's gonna be one of the few to fail on their first task."

Miroku raised an eyebrow in response. It was perfectly impossible to see whatever Kagome sees in the selfish, arrogant and down-right clueless half-angel who had just spoken what he thought was sound advice. Instead of getting in a tirade, Miroku nodded and promptly ignored Inu-Yasha has he walked, painfully but determinedly, towards the balcony door.

Inu-Yasha shrugged, closing his eyes again. The monk's funeral, not his.

Miroku stepped through the glass down into the cool air outside. In late July the weather was slightly uncomfortable in the day but the nights, Miroku didn't know but suspected it was some time around four-'o'-clock am, the nights were beautifully warm. He sat down beside Sango and stared out at the sky, not looking at the girl until he was perfectly certain she was awake.

"Sango, if there is anything I can do…" He began but drifted off. Just what could he say to her? He was an only child, knew nothing of what it felt like to lose a brother. His father had died, had been murdered under suspicious circumstances when Miroku was a child, but then Miroku had barely known his father, except that he was determined to follow in his footsteps. He shook his head, feeling completely at loss for words. "Sango, I-"

"Don't apologize." Sango muttered. "I don't want you apologizing for something beyond your power. It's not your fault Naraku resurrected Kohaku to attack us and it's not your fault you or Kirrara got so badly hurt."

Miroku frowned. "Are you saying it's yours?"

"Not just mine, but Naraku's as well." Sango didn't look at the monk but her eyes hardened. "Naraku's the one who started this all. And if it hadn't been for me distracting you, Houshi-sama, you would have never…"

"Sango, don't start blaming yourself. You did what any protective sister would have done." Miroku said quietly and smiled. "It's that kind of determined personality that makes you such an endearing woman."

Sango blushed. "Houshi-sama, I don't think…"

Miroku smiled more broadly and put his arm around the girl's shoulder, hugging her tightly. "Don't worry, Sango-chan. We'll get Naraku and fix all of these problems that he's started. Then we can finally settle down and start a family once he's gone."

Sango blinked. "Houshi-sama, I don-" She paused. "A what?"

Miroku feigned innocence. "Pardon Sango?" He asked, then decided that while he was on a role he might as well do the one thing he did best that he knew would cheer Sango up.

Inu-Yasha heard the slap well from inside the hotel room. The half-angel shook his head, sighing at the monk's tenacity. Shippo was going to be so disappointed when he woke up.

End chapter 27

More shout-outs!

Ditto: .Is that a challenge to draw Sesshoumaru in a business suit? Doubt it, since this blasted website will never go up. Grr, darn you geocities, why must you torment me so? When will I ever get the love I deserve? When? And nobody seems to like my cliffhanger, why? Because of the suspense? Because of the drama? Because I had to post this thing up so I cut halfway into the last section of the last page?

Fate: .Die of cliffhangers? Don't say such a thing! I refuse to let anyone die of anything but a large thumping object. Hammers are the way to go. (inside joke. I have a comic called 'Death by Hammer', which you'll see if I ever, again with the complaining, get my site up)

link no miko:  You knew what, you knew what? Larmie Project is done? Have you been into the 'sugar' again? Tsk, tsk. Yes, we love lil' Kohaku, don't we? He's just so cute and lovable. I want his toy. I love his toy. It's pretty and sharp… And Watase manga… classical. I read the first volume and a half of Ayashi no Ceres and I read/saw the first two volumes/ten eps of Fushigi Yugi. Other then that, that's all I've got of her. And I have no idea who Yuuhi-kun is, but I'll take the plushie anyway? ^_^ Oh, and guess what I found out that's game related? There's an IY game for the PSone and it's coming over here! Hurrah! It's a fighting-style/storyline game and what's really great is you can make the characters fight each other in the 'fight mode'. You can have Inu-Yasha fight Shippo… and LOSE! Horribly! While Shippo's in balloon form no less! Hah! What better when then to punish him? And you can play with Sesshoumaru too (grin)

That's everything all together in one neat little package! I hope you all liked it and I'll see you again next Monday!

~Ama

Quote of the week: "Spoon. Brought to you by the makers of fork." My friend's little brother. Who never was in 'nam.