Sango spent the rest of the night and all of next day traveling to her destination of Tazumi, a prosperous trading town on the outskirts of the great forest where she and her companions had spent the better part of the last week hunting the plant youkai. It wasn't too far away from Kaede's village and she had hoped to make it before nightfall. However, her previous trip there had been on Kirara, along with Miroku and Shippo, while Inuyasha carried Kagome on the ground. As such, their speed had been maximized, forcing Sango to simply make a rough estimate of how long it would take to get there on foot at a normal walking pace.

As the sun started to drop, it became apparent her calculations had been faulty. Sango realized she wasn't going to make it to Tazumi before dark. Carefully considering her options, she decided to get off main road and find a place to make camp for the night. Attacks by bandits and demons had been a persistent problem in this area and she hated the notion of sleeping without someone with her to keep watch. But having gone a full day and night without sleep, she decided that staying on the main road would be even more dangerous. It be a much more likely spot to encounter threats, and the last thing she wanted to do was run into them while alone and heavily fatigued from her long walk and lack of rest.

As the darkness of night crept in, Sango broke away from the main road and found a suitable location near a stream surrounded by a clump of trees. A single person would not be easily visible to outsiders in this area, while the ground was littered with sticks and branches could provide an early warning of approaching people or wild animals. In addition Sango planned to set up a few improvised early warning devices of her own. Still Sango knew even with all her precautions, she was going to be extremely vulnerable once she drifted off to sleep.

It suddenly occurred to her that this was the first time she had ever gone on a significant mission alone. All of her prior expeditions had been with her fellow demon slayers or with Inuyasha's team, and as she walked over to the stream to refill her water canteens, she found herself longing for their unique skills, particularly Inuyasha's heightened senses and Miroku's ability to detect demonic aura.

"Get over it Sango," she told herself while kneeling down next to the water. "The others aren't here and it can't be helped. You're the one who got yourself into this position. Just do what you can and keep going."

But as she started filling her water containers, she couldn't help but think of Miroku and how he was handling her unexplained departure. "I wonder what his reaction was?" Then she smiled as a thought occurred to her. "Knowing Miroku he'll probably be treating my absence like a vacation. After all, now he'll be free to flirt with all the pretty village girls as much as he wants, with no fear of repercussions. In fact, he could do anything he wants with them. Why, he could even..."

Sango's smile immediately disappeared as her mind ran through all the possible ways to finish that thought, none of them sounding the slightest bit appealing. "No, he wouldn't go that far, would he? Sure Miroku's a shameless flirt, but he's never done anything like that, at least not since he asked me to live with him. In fact, I've even seen him pass up a few golden opportunities to do so."

That thought calmed her nerves somewhat as she finished filling her last canteen in the water. But then something else occurred to her. "Why shouldn't he have the right to do what he wants now? After all, I abandoned him without explanation any concern for his feelings. Why should he show any greater concern for mine? Ugh, I need to stop this. Focus on the mission, Sango. This is just like all countless hunts I've been on. Get out there, do the job, and go home. Distractions won't make it any easier."

Sango finished filling her water containers and turned to head back to the spot among the trees where she planned to make camp for the night. And that's when she saw him. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the silhouette of a humanoid figure high on a large branch of a tree roughly 30 yards ahead and to her left. She was unable to make out any details of the person from her brief glimpse in the darkness, but someone was clearly there.

"Dammit! That's what I get for losing focus. There's no way he should have been able to sneak up on me so easily. Who could it be? A robber? A bandit group scout? A hungry demon looking for his next meal? Could it even be...him?" No, Sango told herself, that was foolish. The chances of running into her target out here were infinitesimal. Besides, if it really was him, he'd be killing her, not watching.

Sango's lifetime of training and and experience as a demon slayer instantly kicked in. While most people in her situation would react by immediately responding to their unknown observer, either by retreating or attacking, she knew better. Instead, she made no change in movement whatsoever upon seeing the figure in the tree. Sango simply continued her motion of getting up from the stream and walking to the place she planned to set up camp, giving no indication whatsoever that the person observing her had been "made".

Surprise was to be her advantage in this confrontation, but it presented a problem in that by continuing her original motion, she was forced to take her eyes off her adversary. In order to maintain secrecy, she had to casually walk in a direction that placed him just outside of her peripheral vision. "My timing will have to be perfect." Sango thought as she her hands slowly crept on to the Hiraikotsu strapped to her back. By her estimate, the intruder would be too far away to notice such slight movement of her hands in the dark. "As soon as I turn to face him, I'll have to make an accurate throw within seconds. Well, here it goes. This guy's about find out he messed with the wrong demon slayer!"

Doing her best to remember the intruder's exact location from her brief glance at him, Sango made her move. Acting with lighting speed, she suddenly turned in his direction and hurled her Hiraikotsu at the large tree branch he was perched on as soon as she had a good enough view to acquire it as a target. At the exact moment the giant boomerang left her hands, Sango took off behind it at a full sprint, preparing to follow through if everything went according to plan.

And it did! Before the intruder had any time to react, the Hiraikotsu sliced through the giant branch, cleanly cutting it off from the tree and sending him plummeting to the earth. As soon as he hit the ground, the adversary rolled on to his back and tried to sit up, but the charging Sango didn't give him any chance. She threw herself on top of him, pinned his body to the ground underneath hers, extended her arm blade, and pressed it against his throat.

"Who are you? Why have you been spying on me?" Sango gave her impromptu interrogation with loud demanding questions, but got no response. She considered the possibility that her swift attack had left him dazed and speechless, but wasn't about to let up all the same.

"Talk, damn you!" Sango shouted while pressing her blade even tighter against the intruder's neck, roughly as close as it could come to drawing blood without actually doing so. "You're not going anywhere until I get some answers! So start talking! Otherwise we'll stay like this as long as it takes!"

After what seemed like an eternity, but was really just a few seconds, the intruder finally spoke in what Sango immediately identified as a human male voice. "That would be perfectly acceptable."

"WHAT?" Sango was so surprised by this answer that she actually found herself at a loss for words. However, the stranger continued.

"Sango my dear, I'd be happy to stay like this all night. The blade at my throat is an acceptable constraint."

At this point Sango realized two things. One was that the man's voice was strikingly familiar. The other was the location of his hands. The man had his left arm wrapped around her back, practically hugging her, while his right hand was groping her in an all-too familiar manner.

"MIROKU!"

From his position underneath Sango, Miroku wasn't sure which was louder: Sango's enraged shout of his name, or the following impact from her right hand slapping him in the face. Both sounds boomed through the darkness, sending wildlife scurrying away and birds flying from the surrounding trees.

Sango quickly got up off him and retracted her arm blade. "Are you out of your mind? Groping me before I've identified you and while I've got a blade at your throat? Almost any woman on the planet would have killed you!"

"Perhaps, but I was fairly certain you wouldn't," Miroku explained as he stood up and rubbed the routine red hand imprint on his face. "Besides, for a chance to touch your magnificent body, I was willing to take the risk."

"Oh how flattering." Sango grumbled sarcastically. "Anyway I see Kagome broke her promise to me right after she made it. She must have woke you as soon as I left the village and you've been following me the whole time. I can't believe I never noticed you until now. My skills must really be growing lax."

"You should have more faith in your friends, Sango. And in your own abilities. You've already proven your skills are as sharp as ever. Rest assured falling from a tree and having your blade against my throat was not something I would have allowed if I were able avoid it. As for Kagome, she followed your instructions to the letter. I was not informed of your departure until early this morning, and I didn't set out to find you until a few hours later."

"But that doesn't add up," Sango pointed out as she picked up her Hiraikotsu from where it had hit the ground. "That would give me a huge head start. I've been traveling almost constantly the whole time. There is no way you could have caught up with me so fast."

"Under normal conditions that would certainly be true. Fortunately I had access to more expedient means of travel," Miroku explained. Then he turned his head to the side and talked in a different direction. "Oh Kirara. You can come out now."

Something resembling a small yellow blur shot out from some nearby bushes and made a run for Sango. She was caught by surprise at first, but quickly identified her faithful two-tailed servant. "Kirara!", Sango shouted as the cat demon leaped into her arms where she curled up and started purring while Sango stroked her soft fur.

"You did say I was supposed to take care of Kirara, so naturally I had to bring her along," Miroku pointed out. "Her flying ability is what enabled me to catch up. However, it was already dark by the time I found you. Knowing how hyper-vigilant you would be while traveling alone at night, I decided it would be safer to stay out of your way and avoid making contact until morning. Considering your recent actions, I think we can both agree I was right."

Sango wanted to argue that her reaction was a perfectly logical response to spying by an unknown assailant, but decided to drop the matter. There were more important issues to discuss. "I also told Kagome not to tell you where I was going. Miroku, I'm glad to see you, but you need to take Kirara and go back to Kaede's village at once. It has to be protected until Inuyasha recovers from his battle wounds. Kaede, Shippo, and Kagome can't do that by themselves"

"Actually you said no such thing. According to Kagome, you said she could tell me where you were going if I understood I had responsibilities in the village that needed to be fulfilled. Fear not, for I do understand such responsibilities, and before I left I did see to it they were fulfilled. The task of protecting Inuyasha and the village has been delegated to capable hands."

"Really? Who are you talking about?" Asked Sango as she set Kirara down. She couldn't imagine anyone else available who was qualified for the task.

"Why Kouga and his wolf demon tribe, of course. I had Kagome summon Kouga immediately after she told me what happened to you."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Sango couldn't help but laugh at this claim. "Kouga protect Inuyasha? That's ridiculous. They both hate each other. Why would Kouga ever agree to such a thing?"

"Isn't it obvious? Surely you must have realized by now that Kouga has become hopelessly infatuated with our lovely young Miko, to the point where he would do anything she asks him to do, especially when it means getting spend more time around her and feel superior to Inuyasha. The fact that Kagome clearly does not feel the same way about him has never been a deterrent in the past, so I correctly figured it would not be so now."

"So you just manipulated his unhealthy obsession to get some free labor?" Sango asked while rolling her eyes. "It figures you woudn't have any moral qualms about that."

"Really Sango, where is your pragmatism? The fact that Kouga refuses to face reality is his own problem, not ours. He must learn to deal with it his own way. Until he does, I see nothing wrong with using his services to fill such a vitally important role like protecting Inuyasha. In fact, it appears he has even aided in the hanyou's recovery. You should have seen Inuyasha's reaction when he found out Kouga would be keeping watch on the village. He instantly leapt out of bed and tried to beat Kouga to a bloody pulp before Kagome intervened. It was the most active I've seen him since him since he suffered his injuries in the woods."

Again Sango laughed as she pictured the event playing out. "Yep that sounds like Inuyasha all right. He'd do all he could to fight Kouga even if that plant youkai had stabbed him through his head. I'll bet his desire to get rid of Kouga will accelerate his convalecense better then any medecine or healing technique ever could."

"Precisely. So as you can see, everything has been taken care of on the home front. As such, there is no longer any strategic or tactical reason for me not to accompany you on your journey, wouldn't you agree?"

With that remark, Sango's laughter instantly came to a halt. "Maybe not, but there are personal reasons. Miroku, I'm touched you would take all those steps and put all that effort into coming after me, but this is my demon hunt. My issue to be solved. Did Kagome explain what I'm going after?"

"To be honest, I don't remember too much of that part," admitted Miroku. "As soon as she told me you left, I put all my effort into coming up with a way get everything taken care of and find you. But it matters not, because I'm now making this MY issue. Whatever mountain you have to climb, whatever army you have to fight, whatever dragon you have to slay, I am with you. And I'm afraid there is nothing on earth you could say to keep me from my proper place at your side."

Sango was moved by his devotion, but remained adamant in her stance. "You don't get it. This is something I've had to deal with for years now, and Inuyasha was only the most recent casualty. People have already died following me in pursuit of this thing. I can't bear to lose anyone else to him, especially not you. Don't you understand how I feel?"

Suddenly Miroku became equally serious. "And what of my feelings? Did you honestly expect me to just sit around the village hoping for your safe return? How could I? You're the most important woman in my life, and you even agreed to bear my children. That's not a commitment I take lightly, and if you thought there was even the slightest chance I would be content with letting you go face a possible death without me being present, then I must say you are sorely mistaken."

Sango tried to think of a rebuttal, but found herself totally disarmed. There was simply nothing to argue. "Miroku, you..."

Seeing he was on the verge of victory, Miroku continued. "Consider it this way. What if our roles had been reversed? What if after being evasive and on edge for days, I suddenly left you in the middle of the night with no explanation of where I was going or why. Would you calmly follow the vague instructions I left behind? I suspect not."

"If you had done what I did? Well I suppose...I'd...do whatever it took to find you and follow you on whatever quest you-Dammit Miroku! Sometimes I really hate it when you make perfect sense."

At last Sango gave in. There was simply no way she could counter Miroku's points. "I was so focused on keeping my friends safe from the task I'm dealing with that I didn't consider the suffering they would go through if I didn't return. Doing nothing while Miroku goes off to his likely death would be simply unthinkable. I can't expect him to feel any different about me."

"My apologies dear Sango. But this matter simply is not open for debate. So, now that it's settled, how about you explain to me the finer details of this expedition?"

"I guess you feel the same way about this, huh Kirara?" Sango asked while looking down at her demon cat. Kirara simply responded by rubbing against Sango's leg and letting out an affirmative meow. "Alright, I already found a good spot to make camp. Let's head there and pick up some firewood on the way. This is going to take a while."

"Fair enough," responded Miroku. "As I said, do not be afraid to tell me everything. No matter what trials face us ahead, I promise we'll face them together."

Sango smilled as she led him back to the camping spot she had selected. "Good old Miroku. Tonight I may have defeated him physically, but in the battle of logic and reason, he earned a descisive win." Despite her concerns, she couldn't help but think this was how her mission was destined to be.