InuYasha stared into the eye of Kaede. He knew something was wrong by the way Kaede smelled. It was terrifying, and his heart was beating quickly, little pulses of blood rushing around as if they were late for work. Kaede sighed.

"InuYasha, they're Bonded." Said Kaede. She must've picked up on his expression of confusion, because she then said, "If the Demon dies, so does Sango, and if Sango dies the Demon does too, as long as they're connected." She said. InuYasha tried to breathe, but he ended up letting all his air out. "Come speak with her, Kagome cleansed her again." InuYasha nodded, and followed.

…

Naraku stared at his… He checked. Yes, his body. Hands. Finally, hands! He was well on the way to being formed. He congratulated himself on the cleverest plan yet. In Sango's moment of despair he had been awakened, and he had managed to get her to nearly kill herself. And when Sango was that close to death, and he that close to life he could put himself inside. The only trouble was that he was being born a human, with little power.

No matter, he assured himself, once I'm out of this womb I can retake my old corporeal form through the demon I will always be, in my soul. Kukuku, would InuYasha truly kill the girl he loves to get rid of a demon he doesn't even know is me? I think not… I think not.

…

InuYasha walked into the hut. Sango leaning against the wall – in the corner, in fact – and was wearing a black Yukata, loosely tied, and very casual. She looked up at him when she entered. She stood up and walked over to him stiffly – Not too close, he noticed – giving him a small smile.

"Hey." She said. Despite her tone InuYasha could smell her fear. InuYasha closed his eyes and sighed.

"Sango, Kaede told me you're Bonded." He said. InuYasha saw Sango bite her lip just to keep it from trembling. She looked away, her eye closing slightly as if it stung.

"I know." She said, this time InuYasha could hear her voice cracking. "As much as I want to stay alive, this demon could do horrible things, and this is a chance to get rid of it before it has the chance." She said. InuYasha grimaced.

"What if it's a minor demon? A…" He grasped for any argument. "…A fluke!" He said. Sango bit down even harder.

"No, it's not. At least it's highly unlikely."

"You're not going to die." He said, growling at her.

…

Sango looked up into InuYasha's face. Not his eyes. She was scared that she'd lose her conviction of she looked into those yellow, molten gold eyes. Her eyes were burning, but she dare not blink. Her heart felt so heavy it took all her strength to keep herself up.

"InuYasha…" She said. "What if this is worse than anything else? What then? What if I die, along with countless others? Will you gamble all that?" She asked. She didn't want an answer. She knew that no matter what he said it would be the wrong answer. Before she could tell him that, though, he answered.

"Yes." He said. "At least then I'll know then it wasn't my fault, and I gave you a chance!" He said. Sango looked up, into his eyes. Big mistake. She mentally reached for any of her reasons, anything! They'd all retreated at InuYasha's gaze. She nodded dumbly. There was a long, slow, painful, yet somehow comfortable silence that passed. It took a good long time before Sango found her tong.

"I'm… I'm gonna go to sleep…" She said, feeling the Darkness in the Demon resume the siege against her mind.

"'Night." Said InuYasha, departing. When she listened she realized it wasn't that far, though.

…

Sango woke up. She tried to sit up, but stopped when she saw InuYasha sleeping in the corner of the room, and Kagome and Miroku sleeping on the floor. She felt Kirara nuzzle her neck, and she smiled. All her friends were back. She tried to sit up again, but she saw the size of her stomach. That couldn't be all her… The 'baby' would have to be out tonight. Shippo came in with some water, and before he could stop himself he said, "Sango-San!" This caused everyone else to wake. Wordlessly InuYasha snatched the water from Shippo, who glared slightly, and InuYasha began to wet the cloth. He pushed her back, his face twisted with frustration. Sango felt the wet, cold cloth be put on her forehead. When InuYasha left Miroku came up and sat down next to her.

"Good morning, Lady Sango." He said. The sun that filtered through when InuYasha's opened the door framed him and made him look holy, unlike Sango knew him to be.

"How long was I asleep?" She asked, yawning at the same time.

"Five days." Said Miroku. Sango felt her face twist into shock. "InuYasha has, undoubtedly, gone to get you some food." Kagome also left the room, dragging Shippo out with her.

"Oh." She said, unable to think of a better response. Miroku leaned over her – And Sango noticed he was carefully avoiding touching her.

"Lady Sango, has your heart shown you a way yet?" He asked. Sango smiled. She'd always known it was Miroku, she knew it. Nothing that happened here made a difference in that…

"I'll tell you tonight." She said mischievously, before she could conclude that train of thought. Miroku smiled, and left the room.

…

Sango looked out her window. Night had fallen. She sighed, sitting there looking into the stars. She wasn't allowed out of this hut, for she was about to be rod of the lump of demonic flesh. She sniffled slightly, wondering how she'd let herself be talked into this. She sighed again, dreadfully bored. InuYasha walked in. She smiled, grateful for the company. InuYasha sat down.

"Sango, Kaede says it's going to happen soon." He said. Sango nodded. She didn't realize it before, but she'd been thinking about it a lot. She didn't know what 'it' was until just this moment.

"InuYasha…" She said. InuYasha looked up, his eyes flooded with sorrow. "InuYasha, do you really love me?" She asked. InuYasha nodded glumly. There was another of the silences. Sango thought she could hear the Demon's separate heartbeat. She took a deep breath, and tried to speak, but found she couldn't. Instead, she did the one thing she knew would get her meaning across. Sango hooked InuYasha's neck in her arms. He looked at her with a small smile, but he couldn't have predicted what happened next. Sango's lips met his.

End Chapter Thirteen.

A/N: Hey there, I decided I couldn't hold out any longer. I had to have them kiss… Well, anyway, how'd you like it? I think it was a pretty slow chapter, but I liked it all the same.Well, anyway, I'm on my way to a hundred reviews, I can't wait! I'll be there soon, and then when I make a new story(I'm thinking an InuYasha Ranma1/2 cross-over, maaaybe...) I'll have to put it up against that amount of reviews. Anyway, what suggestions do you guys have for a new story? I'd be interestsed in finding out.

Michiko.