Chapter 12

'Hot.' It was the only thought coming into her head, the only thought that she could focus on. The word was stuck in her mind on a continuous loop, threatening to drive her mad. When was the last time she'd ever been so uncomfortable? She could feel the ground trembling under her cheek. Slowly she sat up, bringing herself to her knees. Looking around only flames danced in her vision, engulfing everything they touched. There was a shrill scream and suddenly the sound of ripping flesh filled her ears. A sick thud brought her attention to the ground.

'Father...' She turned to wretch as the lifeless eyes of her father stared back at her. How had this happened? How had it come to this? Wiping her mouth the young woman shakily stood her feet. Her eyes watered at the carnage being wreaked on her village. She had to find her brother.

"Kohaku!" She screamed out into the night. She ran through her village, cutting down demons with the small blade in her sleeve as she went. Eventually she came upon her hut, the roof ablaze but still standing. Rushing inside she called for her brother once more.

"Sango! In here!" The brunette found her brother collecting weapons, herbs, and other valuables from the room that had once belonged to their father. Against the back wall she found her hirakotsu, a giant boomerang fashioned from the bones of slain demons, her most prized weapon.

"Sango what should we do about this? It has to be why the demons have come in droves." In her brother's hand was a shimmering pink shard. A shard of the shikon no tama. Her Father had brought it in a few days ago, after finding it on a demon he dispatched. The presence of the jewel in the village had caused quite the stir. Most people being wary and recommending that they chuck the offending crystal deep into the forest. Their Father decided against it, saying that as demon slayers it was their job to aid in the duty of purging the world of evil demons and those meant to do harm. They would keep the shard and find the priestess who was rumored to be traveling the countryside searching for the pieces in hopes of destroying the jewel once it was finally complete. The sound of splintering wood had Sango clutching her bother's arm and dragging him from their home

'Maybe we should have gotten rid of this when we had the chance.'

"Give me the shard and stay close behind me Kohaku." The entrance had already been blocked in by the falling debris. Sango listened as younger brother began to cough, the smoke filling and irritating his lungs. Bracing Hirakotsu against her shoulder Sango took a running start before throwing her body weight into the door. Over and over again she ran at the door, her brother's labored breathing fueling her. She felt the door give and the cool air of the outside felt good against her heated skin. She turned to look behind her, making sure her brother was alright. He was still coughing, but otherwise unscathed.

"Move fast, we have to get out of here." Sango implored.

"What about Father?" Sango's heart skipped a beat at the memory of her father's decapitated head rolling against her feet. Shaking her head sadly she pulled her brother along as they tried to fight their way through the village. She used her Hirakotsu as a shield, while her brother's bone sythe flew over their heads. Sango had just caught her boomerang after releasing it to dispatch a group of demons when a strangled gasp drew her attention backwards.

She watched as her brother was grabbed by the back of his clothes, sharp talon like claws coming up to his vulnerable neck in warning.

"Take one more step and your brother's blood will be on your hands." Sango gulped and stood frozen in her battle stance.

"If it's the jewel you want you can have it," Sango tossed the damning crystal at the demon's feet, "just let Kohaku go."

"I have no need for the jewel, but I do have a need of you. Follow my instructions and the boy lives."

Sango nodded her head in affirmation, not trusting herself to speak. She made eye contact with her brother. His eyes filled with unshed tears. Slayers didn't consort with demons or stoop so low as to follow their command, but Kohaku was the only person she had in the world. With the village destroyed and their father dead Sango would have no reason to live if something happened to Kohaku.

The demon stared at her with gleaming crimson eyes, and a snide smirk she wished she could wipe from his face.

"First you will collect this shard, then you'll run." Sango opened her mouth to question him, but in a puff of thick smoke he and her brother were gone.

"Kohaku!" She screamed his name into the night until her throat was raw. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks as she fell to her knees. The shard twinkled teasingly at her and before she could let herself think twice about it, she picked it up. The tiny object suddenly weighed a thousand pounds in her hand and she knew she had just sealed a deal with the devil.

Sango felt them before she saw them. Hundreds of demons were coming for her, seeking the power she held in her fist. Getting to her feet the teenager did the only thing she could.

She ran.

Kagome shivered as she broke the surface of the water she was bathing in. "So cold!" Quickly she began rubbing at her skin and scrubbing her scalp. The sooner she got out of this frozen tundra of a river the better. The water was cold, but the sun heated her skin. Spring was rearing it's head and the young priestess was damn glad for it. Trudging and camping in the snow had only made their already difficult journey even more so. Meat was scarce and any edible vegetation had died with year's first snow.

Deciding to revel in the sun's rays Kagome floated gently on her back. Her hair fanned around her and she closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of the water and the world around her. Her thoughts began to race as she began to realize that the end of the journey she'd embarked on with her two hanyou was quickly coming to a close. They nearly had the entire jewel completed minus the chunk Akumu had taken from them awhile back, and whatever stray shards lingered about.

The more shards they collected the more nervous Kagome became. Not because she feared her final battle with Naraku, but because she feared what would come after. The possibilities were endless and they were unknown. Inuyasha wanted to be a full demon, Miroku wanted to break his curse, but what did she want for herself? If she killed Naraku her life of duty and responsibility would come to an end. Inuyasha and Miroku had spoiled her and given her a glimpse of a life with genuine friendship and connection. How could she go back to her empty village after spending so much time with them?

"I know what would make me happy. What my heart desires." Her cheeks began to heat and she knew it wasn't from the sun. She took a deep breathe and slowly let a smile creep to her face as she exhaled. Sometimes she didn't even dare to let herself dream. What if she died? Then all her thoughts and wants would be for not. At times death didn't seem so bad. In death there was no pain, no sorrow, no fighting. Maybe she'd be reunited with Lady Midoriko, maybe she'd find her parents.

"Or maybe Hojo will capture my spirit and I'll live out eternity in his arms, as we had planned so long ago." The idea seemed to get less and less appealing to her everyday, but she was trapped between a rock and a hard place with Hojo. He had sacrificed his life and soul for her, did she not owe him the same in return?

A shrill scream broke through her thoughts and Kagome was on her feet in an instant. Looking down river she watched as a girl was bulldozed off the small cliff by a snake like demon. The girl hit the water with a sickening thud. The demon flew into the sky, but it looked ready to come back for round two. Acting fast Kagome made her way to the shore. The foul creature's head had already dove into the river, searching for the girl it had pushed in. One arrow ended it all, but the girl was still coursing down the river in the water's current.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha came bursting through the underbrush with Miroku hot on his heels. Kagome stood up and Inuyasha could see her mouth was moving, but he heard nothing. Too enamored he was by the bouncing of her round breasts and the water droplets that traveled down the contours of her body to a place he never thought he'd see.

"Inuyasha listen to me!" They didn't have time for this. He was staring at her as if seeing her for the first time. His face, getting redder and redder by the second. Now that she thought about it Miroku was staring too, like a starving man would a four course meal. Looking down at herself she realized that in her hast to dispatch the demon she hadn't put on her clothes.

Inuyasha watched as Kagome realized her state of undress and covered herself with her white kosode. Her nude form once again hidden from his gaze. He didn't think he'd ever been more disappointed in his life, more so at the fact that he'd probably never see her like that again. Though there was no way that image would be leaving his head anytime soon.

"Inuyasha go save the damn girl before she drowns!" Finally the dog demon leapt into action.

Sango woke up suddenly, sputtering and coughing. The first thing she noticed was how wet she was, and how her clothes clung uncomfortably to her skin. Though she was wet, she was warm. Undoubtedly the fire off to her right keeping the chill away. The sky was dark, the moon and stars shining brightly above her.

"You finally awake?" Turning at the sound of the gruff voice, Sango came to face a demon with long silver hair and molten colored eyes. Besides the eyes and animal ears he could almost pass for human...almost. She crouched low, the hidden blade in her sleeve ready to be drawn with a flick of her wrist.

Inuyasha was taken aback by her battle stance, but he too crouched and prepared himself. He wouldn't let himself be taken unaware. They stared at each other for a few moments, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Slowly the girl's face changed, her glare softening until she was frantically searching her robes for something she'd lost.

"Looking for this?" Sango looked up, the shard she'd been given glistening between the demon's clawed fingers.

"Give it back half-breed." She seethed. Her ire was only stoked when Inuyasha laughed.

"Try and take it from me bitch." Inuyasha flexed his claws, ready to teach the stupid girl a lesson, when a voice his ears had become highly atuned to called out to him.

"Inuyasha, you are not going to fight her." Kagome gingerly stepped out of the woods, her arms full with bundles of firewood and Miroku not far behind.

"Why not? She's clearly begging for an ass whopping," Inuyasha's eyes narrowed as he peered across the fire at his prey, "who am I to deny her?"

"You wanna fight me dog, then bring it. I will not be scared by the likes of you."

Inuyasha growled at her, his eyes turning to slits as his fangs poked out between his lips. A hand on his shoulder stilled him. He didn't need to turn around to know who the appendage belonged to. The slayer's eyes widened a fraction and Inuyasha turned away from her with a loud "keh!"

"You must be tired and hungry." Kagome said as she began to roast the fish Miroku had caught and gutted. "Please come join us, no harm will come to you here."

The young girl stared suspiciously for a fleeting moment, before making her way over to Kagome to have a seat. Her stomach growled as the smell of roasting trout wafted to her nose. She blushed and Kagome giggled, giving her a warm smile and a fish. The girl practically ate her fish in one bite, even Inuyasha stared aghast at her appetite.

Sango looked up to three sets of eyes watching her closely. Their expressions ranged from amused to horrified and she blushed.

"Pardon my manners. I haven't eaten in a few days. Thank you for the fish."

"Think nothing of it, would you like another piece?" Kagome offered.

"No I couldn't eat another bite." The girl politely declined, though the growling of her stomach gave her away. She was handed another fish and she nodded her head in thanks, taking her time to actually enjoy her meal this time around.

"Are we done beating around the bush and pretending to enjoy each other's company?" Inuyasha voiced loudly. His knee bouncing in irritation as he sat crossed legged.

"While I apologize for my friend's rude demeanor I, too, would like to ask you some questions." Miroku piped up, "mainly how a young girl such as you came to possess a shard of the jewel."

Sango swallowed the last bit of food in her throat, "I come from a village of demon slayers. My father found the shard after dispatching a demon we'd been commissioned to take down. Word of a priestess and her demonic companions collecting shards has spread far and wide. It was my father's intention to seek you lot out and put the jewel into more capable hands. We never got the chance."

"Our village was attacked several days after the jewel came into our possession. We are strong, but we were severely outnumbered. Everyone I know is gone and my home has been reduced to ashes. I left with nothing but the clothes on my back, the jewel and the all the weapons I could carry. I ran from my village, though the jewel only attracted more demons. I've been running and hiding ever since."

Kagome stared at the young woman across from her. Her eyes looked so sad and lonely. Sango reminded her a lot of herself. Damn the jewel, damned the cursed thing to hell. How could something so tiny ruin so many lives? She had to destroy it once and for all. She reached out her hand toward Inuyasha and without hesitation he handed her the shard he'd collected from Sango.

Instantly the dull shard brightened, shining with a purity that Sango had never seen before. She stared wide eyed as Kagome combined shard with the rest of their collection. A quarter of the jewel they had in their possession.

"Come Sango, there is a hot spring not too far from here. Why don't we go bathe and relax awhile?" Nodding quickly Sango got to her feet, following the girl who couldn't be too much older than her. They left the boys behind without much of a glance.

"How did you come to hunt for the shards, with demons no less?" Sango asked suddenly, "as a child I heard stories, but everyone believed the jewel to be no more than a myth."

"I too thought the jewel was a myth. Until it resurfaced and all the horrors this object brought was bestowed upon me." Kagome gave a long sigh as she tucked the jewel away. "It is my duty to rid the world of it's taint. Naraku, an evil demon born of hatred and greed, keeps the other shards in his possession. If he is able to complete and harness the power of the jewel, the world as we know it will cease to exist. I exist solely to destroy him and prevent that from happening. Inuyasha and Miroku I met along the way. We have a common goal, to destroy Naraku. They have become my closest friends."

"Killing this Naraku creature is the only thing you have to live for? The only reason you were born?" Sango asked. Both girls began to remove their clothes once the spring was in sight. Kagome sighed as she entered. It was just the right temperature, hot without boiling her alive.

"It is. It has to be." Kagome looked up toward the stars, a sad smile gracing her lips. "All my life I've fought against this, my fate, and it only served to hurt everyone around me. Death and destruction follow me because I am tied to the jewel. I will more than likely be dead when the final battle for the jewel is over. The dead do not have hopes and dreams."

Kagome yelped when Sango pinched her arm. "You seem pretty alive to me," the girl stated matter of factly. "You've never thought about living? About marriage? Children? Any of it? Is there no one you've found worth living for?" Sango finished sadly.

Kagome blushed as a man with flowing silver hair and topaz eyes flashed in her mind. She'd imagined a life with him many times. A hut somewhere quiet, private. A son with his father's coloring and strength.

"Who is it?" Kagome almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of Sango's voice, so entrapped she'd been in her own thoughts.

"W-what do you mean?" Kagome stuttered.

"The man you've considered living for, who is he?" The raven haired priestess blushed hotly and it wasn't from the spring.

"He's...someone I haven't known for very long. He came into my life quite suddenly. He knows things about me I've never dared to share and I think it's because in a lot of ways we are the same."

"Does he know how you feel? Does he feel the same?" Sango asked excitedly, her mind conjuring up images of who this mystery man could be. She clasped her hands together over her heart. How romantic; a warrior hardened by battle and duty, softened by the love of another.

"No he doesn't and I don't think so." Kagome hugged her knees to her chest. "He loved another once and it did not end well. I have also loved another and that too ended in tragedy. My past still haunts me. I cannot move on. My future is so uncertain, there are so many things in our way at the moment, I don't want to make promises I can't keep."

"Fight for him Kagome." Sango smiled when the girl turned to face her. "Fight to live so you may live with him. Once you accept that love into your heart, there will be no enemy strong enough to cut you down."

Kagome's eyes watered at Sango's heartfelt words. She took the girl's hand in her own, hoping to absorb even a fraction of the girl's strength and wisdom.

"Thank you." Kagome said sincerely. Looking up towards the moon she suggested that they leave the spring. Traveling with half demons, who didn't need much sleep, had turned her into an early riser. After Sango's ordeal, the girl deserved as much sleep as she could get before it was time head out.

The girls returned to camp to find a dozing Miroku and an irritated Inuyasha.

"Is his face set into a permanent scowl?" Sango whispered to her companion.

"He gets antsy around strangers," Kagome explained. "He also gets quite nervous when I'm not in hearing or smelling range." The girls laughed quietly as Inuyasha's low growling turned audible.

"How lovely to have found your very own guard dog." The two females laughed at the hanyou's expense as his growls continued to rise in volume. Walking over to her agitated friend, Kagome placed a soft hand on his shoulder. The growls lowered, but didn't cease. Turning her body obscure Sango's view, Kagome's hand quickly found a fuzzy ear. Rubbing Inuyasha's ears was a past time that she hand only recently come to enjoy. It is a rare occasion when her hanyou falls into a sleep deeper than a light snooze. After being bitten by a snake demon during a fight to protect the shards, Inuyasha had needed all the sleep he could get after being pumped full of venom.

His slumber had been fitful and poisoned induced nightmares kept him from making a full recovery. After exhausting all other options to make him comfortable, Kagome's attention had landed on the soft triangles perched on his head. She blushed at the thought of touching them, the act seeming very personal, but her friend was in dire need of rest and she'd been wanting to touch them since she first laid eyes on them. It seemed like a win-win. Her gentle ministration had calmed the hanyou almost instantly and lulled him into a place of rest and relaxation.

Now a good ear rub was her trump card. He couldn't stay mad at her once she got her hands on those appendages, and they both knew it. Although privacy was key. Miroku's jokes the morning after had embarrassed him so much, it was a miracle Inuyasha allowed her close to his ears ever again.

"I'm sorry we were gone so long," she whispered, "Sango's a lovely girl. If you could find it in your heart to trust me, I know you can do the same for her."

"Keh, I wasn't worried." Kagome would've been saddened at him smacking her hand away, if she didn't know him so well. She smiled at him and wished him a good nights rest. The young priestess made sure Sango was comfortable, before letting sleep overcome her.

This chapter is very short and I'm very sorry for that, but it's the best I can do at the moment. It's been almost 4 years since I last updated this, that's crazy to me. I'd like to see this story get finished. Mostly for myself as I can't imagine anyone is out there reading or looking for updates on this thing. I'm sure this a/n is just me talking to myself, but that's okay.

Review if you'd like, feel free to tell me how much I suck.