She flexed her arms, marveling at the familiar feel of the fabric against her skin. It was a little snug in a few places, she adjusted the belt to accommodate the pregnancy weight she's accumulated, but overall it still fit. A small smile graced her lips, glad that her old friend had returned.

For the first time in a long while Sango felt like herself.

"Sis," she heard Kohaku's voice from the doorway as he entered, "Do you have everything yet? Kirara and Lady Kaede are waiting for you, but there isn't much time left befo…" He trailed off as she turned to face him.

Two slayers, dressed in the traditional battle armor of their people.

"Sis," Kohaku said slowly, "You're supposed to be evacuating with the others."

Sango remained silent, glancing to the floor of the hut where her two beloved children lay bundled next to one another. A good mother would flee with her children, her only concern should be their safety and nothing else.

Propped against the wall, her Hiraikotsu cast a shadow over the twins.

She closed her eyes.

"Kohaku," Sango spoke after a moment, "You don't have any memories of our mother, do you?"

"I…no," her brother shook his head, his brow lowering in confusion, "I never knew her."

Sango's own memories of the woman were hazy at best, but she could recall a warm embrace and the kind smile of a woman almost too gentle to be a slayer. Barely five years old when she died, the last time Sango saw her mother was when the village midwife came to escort her to the birthing room. Their mother had gone in, but only the infant Kohaku had come out.

"Father was the one who named you," Sango continued, "'Kohaku'. Amber. It was the color of her armor. I think that he wanted to connect the two of you, so that in some way his son would know he was loved by the mother that never met him."

Kohaku's eyes widened, but before he could speak she knelt next to her children and indicated for her bother to do the same.

"I…I wanted Ronuku to be here for this," Sango's voice grew heavy, "But now I know I can't wait any longer. It's too late."

Her mind raced back to the clearing, less than an hour ago where she heard the tale of Sesshomaru's demise. Ronuku and Kohana hadn't recognized him, they were so far under Naraku's control that they'd slain him without hesitation.

"Sis, you don't kno-"

Sango held up a hand and interrupted him.

"Please," she whispered, "Kohaku, I want to do this. I want you to listen."

Her brother closed his mouth and nodded. Sango looked him in the eye before she reached over and gently picked up the smaller of her two babies.

Her son had been growing larger every day, the tough little boy wasn't giving up, but he was still so much smaller than his sister. Sango worried for him, it wasn't uncommon for a baby to grow sick and die, especially weaker children who didn't have the strength to cling to life in the harsh world that awaited them.

The child's large fuzzy eyebrows drew together, almost as though he were annoyed, and Sango thought she could detect the same stubborn determination in his tiny body that ran through his father's veins. She smiled, tears welling in her eyes as her heart swelled with love for the boy.

"Ronuku often spoke of a man," Sango said, "A powerful warrior from his era that many people respect and admire. This man was dedicated to becoming the greatest fighter in the world and was always driven to improve himself; Ronuku said that as a child he often looked up to this fighter and hoped to be like him one day. I believe that he would've wanted the same for our son." She looked up at her brother again.

"Ryu. His name is Ryu."

"It's a good name," Kohaku nodded. Sango hugged her son, holding his tiny warm body against her neck.

Ryu, I want you to become strong. Be strong and live a long life. Sango wiped her tears away and gave a small laugh when Ryu hiccupped. She kissed the child's forehead and handed him to Kohaku.

Her daughter was already squealing when Sango picked her up, the infant girl was waving her arms and gurgling with excitement. She had no idea the amount of danger they were all in.

Just like her father, Sango thought. She loved her firstborn child the moment she saw her, the beautiful little girl that shared her eyes, but she saw Ronuku in this child as well. When she pictured the future she could see her daughter just as fearless and eccentric as the man who sired her.

"I thought that Ai or Aiko might be her name," Sango said, giving a small sad laugh, "But that just doesn't seem fitting for Ronuku's daughter." Kohaku looked at her, seeming in thought for a moment.

"Why not add 'zou'?" he suggested, he used a free hand to draw two kanji in the dust on the floor of the hut.

'Aizou'. Treasured one.

"I know it sounds masculine, but that's more Ronuku's style isn't it?"

"Aizou," Sango tested the sound of the name, the little girl giggling happily in her arms. She nodded "Aizou, I think your father would have liked your name." The infant's arm stretched out, Aizou resting her palm against her mother's cheek. Sango's larger hand came up and held it there, more tears beginning to roll down.

Ryu and Aizou. Ronuku, these are our children. You would have loved them, Sango struggled to keep her tears back as she beheld her two precious children and knew that she could never love anyone more. They, along with Kohaku, were the three most important people she had to protect.

"Kohaku, I want you to take Ryu and Aizou. Go with the others and flee the village, Kaede will help you take care of them."

"Sis, I can't do that," Kohaku protested, "You're their mother, they need you."

Guilt washed over Sango, she remembered how she put them at risk to try and rescue Kohaku, selfishly trying to save everyone. Fate had spared them all that time, but would it grant her another selfish wish? Her mind was made up though, after consoling Risu's mate and seeing everyone ready to fight she knew that she couldn't run away.

Sango was a taijiya. As long as there was some strength in her, she had to stand and fight.

"Kohaku," Sango began, "You were under Naraku's control for a long time. I didn't know what to do, I thought I'd lost you forever. But then we started to see signs, you seemed to recognize me and hesitated to attack. Ronuku encouraged me not to give up, he believed that you were still in there, and here you are now. You're still alive, you're free from Naraku; you survived."

"It's because of you that I can't give up on him," Sango's face was completely serious, "I can't stop thinking that no matter what hold Naraku has on him, Ronuku is still in there."

Kohaku looked at her, fear for his sister written on his face, but he sighed and nodded.

"I understand, Sango. Are you going to save him?"

"I have to try," Sango said, "But it's likely…It's likely that anyone who fights won't survive. Kohaku, I can't let you stay here, I won't let Naraku use my husband to kill my little brother."

Kohaku, forgive me, Sango thought as she saw her brother wince, she hadn't meant to remind him of the terrible sins Naraku had used him to commit. There was a knock at the entrance, they both looked up to see Shippo and Kirara waiting at the door.

"We can hear the demons coming," Shippo said, his tail twitcing fearfully, "Kaede says that they can't wait any longer, anyone who is escaping has to leave now." Shifting Aizou to her left, Sango leaned forward and gripped Kohaku's shoulder.

"Please, I'm begging you," She pleaded, "I need you to protect Ryu and Aizou and escape, the three of you have to survive."

Kohaku looked as though he might try to argue, but the desperation in her voice finally seemed to sway him. He nodded, as Sango leaned forward and hugged her family.

"Thank you. I love you Kohaku, please let my children know just how much I loved them," Sango helped him stand and gave Aizou to him. There were tears in Kohaku's eyes but he seemed determined not to let them spill.

"Please sister," Kohaku said, "You have to come back."

"Come on, we have to go!" Shippo urged. Kohaku turned and nodded. Together, he and Shippo took off to escape with the fleeing villagers. Sango walked to the door and watched them go, her heart crumbling with each further step they took. Something brushed her feet and she looked down at her faithful two-tailed companion.

"Kirara, aren't you going with them?" Sango asked. In an instant the cat transformed, fire lighting her feet and fangs protruding from her lips. She butted her head against Sango's arm and turned to face the clouds, a low growl sounding in her throat as the roar of approaching demons grew louder.

"You want to fight then," Sango was touched by the demon cat's courage, "As much as I want to tell you to run, I could really use your strength. Thank you." The slayer turned around and grabbed her weapon, the massive Hiraikotsu in tow as she jumped on her friend's back, just as the two had done over a hundred times before.

"All right Kirara. Let's go slay those demons."

Side note for anyone who's wondering: The Ryu Sango is talking about is Ryu from the Street Fighter games. Ronuku, nerd that he is, was a huge fan of the series, though I'm not quite sure Sango entirely understood the concept of 'video games'.