Sango was almost afraid to approach the master swordmaker with her request. Being only human, she knew there was a chance he would turn her down, but she also knew this was her best chance at getting the hiraikotsu repaired—with her village in ruins it would be nearly impossible to get the forge back in working order for a repair. And besides, the hiraikotsu might be wielded by a human, but it was made from the bones of youkai, exactly the type of material from which Toutousai forged his own weapons.

"Toutousai," she began, attempting to sound as reasonable as possible, "could you possibly help me reforge my weapon?"

"Eh? What?" the old man asked.

"It was broken in the fight," she explained. "I… I could forge the two pieces back together myself, but Myouga says humans may not enter your abode, and I have no other source of fire hot enough for the working."

Toutousai made no promises, but he did not outright refuse her request, either. "Bring it here. Let me see."

Trying not to seem too eager, or too hopeful that he might work miracles, she did as he asked. He appraised the pieces silently for a long moment, then declared, "No good with these leather bits here. Can you remove them?"

She did so, and he continued his inspection. "Cut's clean," he observed.

"It was done by the sword made of Goshinki's fangs."

He nodded almost appreciatively. "That would do it." He sat back, looking thoughtful. "Should be an easy repair."

"So you'll fix it?"

"No problem," he told her. There was not the slightest warning in his voice, but he gulped in his next breath and promptly breathed a gout of nearly white-hot fire over the severed edge of the hiraikotsu. She took a step back, surprised at the heat of it, and glanced over her shoulder to where the others waited, further up the riverbank. Inuyasha was shouting, probably at something Myouga or Shippou had said.

Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to Toutousai and the hiraikotsu. Toutousai was indeed a master craftsman, and not just when it came to making swords. With a few well-placed strikes of his hammer and precise application of heat, he soon had her weapon looking as if it had never been broken at all. It would have taken the best craftspeople of her village much longer to accomplish such a feat.

She had felt so hopeless only a short while ago, seeing her strongest weapon destroyed in a single blow. Now she could scarcely express her gratitude or relief to Toutousai for helping restore it to her.

When he had finished with the repair and had begun using the river water to bring it back to a safe temperature, he admonished, "Now you take better care of it this time. This has seen rough use."

She nodded. "It was an heirloom, first forged generations ago."

She wasn't sure how to interpret the look on Toutousai's face. With his narrow features and bulging eyes, every expression looked strange. Still, she thought he might be trying to convey his disapproval of the condition of her weapon. "Take better care of it this time," he repeated.

"I will," she promised.

He finally seemed satisfied. "Good." Just as quickly, he seemed utterly deflated. "And now I suppose I should see to that no good layabout, Inuyasha. Can you believe the way he's been carrying on about that sword?"