The Taijiya Village - where Byaku was born, where she was raised, where she was trained, where she once lived with her mother, and father - it hadn't changed at all.
It was a battle-oriented village: all the residents, both men and women, were taijiya, demon exterminators, who were hired by clients to protect villages and fight the monsters others spent their days fearing. It was a battle-oriented village, but she found it peaceful, a place where she could live comfortably.
She had left the village, only the day after she received her most important mission from her mother. She had excelled at her training, and became a certified taijiya very young. She had been travelling for a few years already, with Kiara as her only companion, and had found only one lead on Kohaku. She never thought she would return to her peaceful home, without killing the one she was sent to kill, as she had promised her mother, but she was here, here at her home.
She was greeted excitedly by the others, who were eager to hear of her travels. Some asked who the boy sitting on Kiara was. She tried to avoid their questions, looking through the crowd for the one she wanted to speak to most.
"Is my mother here?" she asked, worriedly.
"Sango-sama is currently on a mission," one of them informed her." She should be home soon. Until then, why don't you rest? Your boyfriend isn't looking well. You want him at your best before you introduce him to your mother or she might not approve. No wonder why you came back, right?"
"He's not my boyfriend!" She was blushing profusely. She was lucky as he had already fallen asleep on Kiara's back. The others were right; he was looking ill and could use proper treatment and a long rest. She wasn't tired, but she decided to rest as well.
It was late in the night, when Shihai opened his eyelids and saw groggily a beautiful woman tending him. She had bandaged his wounds and was wetting a cloth to lay on his forehead. She had a gentle, calming touch. It was impossible to tell that the same hands were capable of slaying demons, and that the same hands had once held weapons and were once stained with bloodshed.
"Byaku?" he said with a weak voice. She laughed freely. When his vision started to clear, he saw that it was a woman that looked almost exactly like her, but was taller and her uniform was slightly varied. She too, used hiraikotsu, he noticed, but hers was for more worn.
"You are Sango-chan," he realized softly. "Byaku hates talking with me, but she loves talking about you. She's a good person, so I believe all the things she says about you. I don't know a lot about what's going on, but I wanted to ask you a favour, if you could give up on Kohaku."
"I treated your wounds," she said carefully. "You'll be fine by morning. Until then, don't move. I noticed a strange cut on your left leg; it looks suspicious."
"It's nothing. Don't tell her... I don't want her to worry."
"I think she would want to know." But she didn't press the matter any further.
Shut she the door quietly, as he had fallen asleep again. She changed into the clothes she wore when wasn't fighting. It had been a long time since she had worn them, but her daughter preferred them. She met her daughter, outdoors gazing calmly at the moon. They were the only two awake.
"Still awake? I'm sorry I took so long," she said casually.
"It's all right," she replied naturally. "I'm fine. But, why do you still have to fight so much? You're exhausting your body, and exposing yourself to so much poison is making you sick. You still cough every now and then, don't you. I'm worried."
"What are you suggesting? Why should a cute little daughter worry about her mother?" Sango grabbed her daughter's hair from behind and began to punish her, demonically.
"I'm sorry! You're young! You're strong! You're pretty!"
"That's much better."
"You're intelligent! You're sexy! You're heavenly! You smell nice! You have lustrous hair! Your eyes sparkle!"
"That's quite enough now."
"Men faint when they gaze upon your beauty! Women faint when they gaze upon your beauty! Deities faint when they gaze upon your beauty! I faint when I gaze upon your beauty!" She faints, with overdramatic stagecraft.
"That's quite enough now."
"You're my role-model! You're my idol! I have a wooden statue replication that I spent years of meticulous craftsmanship and painting, skipping meals - ah, you're cooking is wonderful! - and I worship that statue every morning, although my skills could never to dare to proclaim to replicate your unrivalled attractiveness!"
"Really, that's quite enough now (though I did enjoy it)."
"I missed you, mother."
"I did too."
They spent the quiet, peaceful night together, talking about everything from adventures to gossip to stories to useless pieces of information until they had caught up on twice the amount of time that they were apart for, and then they talked about boys.
While they resided near a hearth for warmth, as Byaku was taking care of her weapons, Sango, taking care of Kiara, began, "So... I noticed you brought a boy home."
Byaku was so surprised that she began to juggle her weapons dangerously before letting them drop and clatter loudly on the floor. She answered, very nervously, "He's just an acquaintance."
"He's very handsome, and charming."
"I said he's just an acquaintance. He's good with Kiara, that's all. We just happened to meet. I keep telling him to go away but he just following me."
"That's because you're just so enchanting. I wonder where you learned to snare the boys like that, so professionally."
"Just an acquaintance."
"I was in his room. He thought it was you. He must have been disappointed. Did you two have a special arrangement? How did I let such a pure young virgin mind become tainted so? I have failed as a mother! But I do believe you, if you say he's just an acquaintance."
"He's... a little more."
"Take good care of him."
"I will."
Later, they were silent, as they prayed in front of Miroku's grave. It was a large depression, with a priest's staff driven into its centre. The staff's rings, played gently music as a soft breeze passed through the night air.
Despite everything they had talked about, neither had approached Kohaku.
"I met him, Kohaku." Byaku broke the silence, still praying with her eyes closed. "I didn't kill him. Sorry."
"I see. How is he?"
"He's young. He looks normal. He's very talented, but he has a blank expression that looks like someone who doesn't mind dying."
"It seems we find that kind of face the hardest to kill."
"Mother, why must I kill him? He looks so... innocent."
She paused for a suspended moment before answering. "He has committed too many sins. He can't be forgiven anymore. That's all it is."
"He called you sister."
"He's lying. We're not related. You don't have to hold back against someone like him."
"He said he wanted to visit the graves with you."
"He's lying. He has no remorse. He's trying to trick you."
"He wears the same uniform as us."
"He stole it. That's another one of his sins, stealing. The only thing you have to worry about is how to kill him."
"Yes, I'm sorry. Next time I won't fail. If I kill him, I think I want to come back here, and live with you. Then you won't have to fight so much. I could use the kazanna and-"
"You're father wouldn't want you to be using it too much." Father, the moment she heard that word she abruptly ceased her prayers and left. Sango prayed a little longer before following. "We should talk," she started seriously, but her daughter wouldn't listen, and seemed frantic. Shihai was missing.
He was walking, with a still greatly fatigued body, toward a man that could not be seen clearly in the dark cover of the night. "The wind is calling me," he moaned softly as he slumbered onward, up a steep hill, with pained legs and red strained eyes. The peaceful night was ending, and its moon was sadly setting.