It occurs to me that I should mention that I don't own any of these characters. A brilliant manga writer who's name escapes me does. So don't give me credit for them, and don't try to sue me!

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Sango ran straight for the village, with Hojo close on her heals, pulling her hair back as she ran, and loosened hirakosu's strap so she could throw it at a moment's notice. She heard screaming ahead of her.

Hold on, Miroku! She thought, running faster, and wishing that she had Kirara, Stay alive until I get there! Hojo was yelling something at her.

"What?" She called back, only paying half attention. The rest of her mind was on getting to Miroku.

"I said why is that lady so worried about a couple of spiders?" Hojo said, sounding annoyed. "I mean, they're just bugs!" Sango nearly stopped in her tracks.

"They're not bugs, they're demons. You know, big, vicious, power creatures who in this case would love to eat us all?" Sango said flatly as she continued to run. Hojo laughed.

"Awww, come on, everyone knows demons don't really exist!" Sango turned to face him, performing the impressive feat of running backwards without tripping over anything. Not the first time, she thanked the gods for her training.

"Then enlighten me: How did an entire village make their living as demon slayers?" She asked. Hojo rolled his eyes.

"Where did you hear that? Someone was probably just making it up." Sango glared, still running, now resisting the urge to use hirakosu on this idiot. Only the fact that he was Kagome's boyfriend was keeping him safe. She hoped he realized that.

"No one made it up." She said flatly. "That village was my home. I am the last of the demon slayers." Hojo stared at her for a moment, then just nodded with a blank look.

He probably thinks I'm crazy...

She would be a good candidate for that new asylum...

Then Sango bumped into someone, and would have fallen over, if he had not caught her.

"Sango! It's about time you got here! I could use a little help..." Miroku said, relieved, as he set her back on her feet. Sango nodded briskly, and held her hirakosu, ready to throw. She heard the movement of many jointed legs behind her. The demons had closed in around them.



"HIRAKOSU!" She yelled, and threw it with all her might. It flew, taking the front legs out from under nearly all the demons, who struggled to recover their balance. The few who had not lost limbs approached, pincers clicking eagerly, only to be met by Miroku's staff. Hojo ducked, narrowly missing a blow from hirakosu as it flew back to Sango's outstretched hand. She joined Miroku in fighting the closer spider demons.

Suddenly, she recognized them. These were the same type of demon as those she had fought with her father and Kohaku. She froze for a moment, then yelled.

"If anyone, and I mean ANYONE feels something bite at their neck, tell me! That's how they control people!" Miroku nodded briskly, a little absorbed with fighting one of the demons. Hojo did not pay any attention. He was still relatively unconcerned about this, although he was a bit startled by the huge stature of these spiders.

Then he felt something sting on the back of his neck. He shrugged it off. Probably just a leg or something hitting me before it got to the ground. He told himself. Then, he picked up a villager's discarded knife, and went for Sango's unprotected back.

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For once, this chapter was short, not because I didn't have a clue where it was going, but because I really liked the cliff hanger available here!

Hirakosu gets used a lot. I know. I did that on purpose. I LOVE the hirakosu! If I could have any of their weapons, I'd pick hirakosu, purely because it's a huge boomerang shaped from a demon bone! (Am I gushing here or what?)
If anyone has a problem with that, too bad. It's my story, and I can use my favorite weapon as much as I want!