Sango groaned as she slowly swam back into consciousness, her body still aching in pain from her earlier activity and the world still a blurry haze as memories of the day's events started coming back in bits and pieces. The fight with Zanshin, stabbing him through the shoulder, getting thrown against the ceiling, watching Miroku pummel him, being surrounded by fire, being thrown over Kirara...and then nothing. Just a brief conversation with Miroku she could hardly recall.

As her eyes fluttered open and the world came into focus, Sango started to take in her surroundings. She was apparently lying on a bed roll and covered with a large blanket. A quick look in both directions revealed she was once again in the middle of the woodlands, most likely the very same forest where she had spent so much time tracking and fighting Zanshin and his minions. It appeared to be very late in the evening, as the sun had set and darkness was starting to creep over the land

"I swear once this journey is over, I never want to see another tree for as long as..."

Sango's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a familiar voice nearby. "See Kirara, I told you not to worry. Not even the beating of a lifetime could keep Sango down for too long."

"M-Miroku?" Sango asked as she heard approaching footsteps. Sure enough, she soon found herself looking up at Miroku's familiar figure, though he was somewhat different then usual. His outer robe layer was gone, revealing his arms and chest that had been scorched and corroded by Malth's acidic attacks. Some of his worst wounds were covered by medical tape from Kagome's first aid box. Kirara was perched on his shoulder with a concerned look on her face, clearly worried as to the state of her mistress' condition.

"The one and only. Welcome back Sango," said Miroku as he knelt down beside her. "I hope you had a good rest and some pleasant dreams, as I'm afraid you'll find your current status in the real world to be far more painful."

Miroku was not exaggerating. As Sango regained full control of her senses, she found herself suffering from the lingering effects of her battle with Zanshin. She had a splitting migraine headache, while her body felt like it had been repeatedly trampled by a horse. Doing her best to ignore her current ailments, Sango immediately started assessing the situation.

"What happened? Where's Zanshin?"

Miroku chuckled to himself before responding. "You just woke up and the first thing you want is a debriefing? Somehow I'm not surprised. Zanshin's lab is gone, burned to the ground by impressive, if somewhat overzealous, attack by Kirara. My final blow on Zanshin sent him plunging out of the lab to the earth, where he managed to escape on his dragon mount and fly away. I didn't see where, or even which direction he was going. And before you chide me for that, I should point out at the time I was somewhat preoccupied with trying to get us out of a burning building, which thanks to some timely intervention by Kirara, I succeeded."

"Fair enough," replied Sango. "So how long has it been since we made it out? And where are we?"

"I believe it's been about six hours, but I can't be sure. I'm afraid I've been rather busy during that time with setting up camp and treating injuries, both yours and my own," said Miroku, while showing off a few exposed burn marks on his body to make his point. "As for our location, I'm afraid I haven't the slightest idea. I just told Kirara to find us a good place to set down and make camp. Some place with a good source of water. But I can tell you she succeeded fully in this task. There's a stream running nearby, and the whole area contains plentiful supplies of healing herbs. It's really the best I could have hoped for under the circumstances."

Miroku finished his explanation and rubbed Kirara's head to show his gratitude, and she replied with a pleasant meow.

Suddenly Sango though of something. "What about my weapons? They were scattered all over the place during my fight with Zanshin. My sword, the Hiraikotsu! Miroku, please tell me you-"

"Have no fear Sango, I took care of everything," Miroku cut in with a great deal of pride and satisfaction in his voice. Then he pointed to a spot a few feet away. "See for yourself."

Sango turned her head in the direction he was pointing and felt an instant sense of relief. Just a few feet away, her weapons she had lost in the fight with Zanshin were laid out on a picnic blanket. All of them. Her sword, Hiraikotsu, and even her broken arm blade, were neatly laid out side by side. She was just about to thank Miroku when she noticed there were far more objects on the blanket as well. Her sword sheath, her vast assortment of poisons, and...her Slayer's uniform.

Suddenly Sango became extremely self-aware of her situation. Pulling her arms out from underneath the blanket, she saw they were both bare. Then upon lifting up the blakent covering her, she discovered that she was in nothing but her undergarments.

"Miroku! How dare you undress me? I swear if you did anything I'll-"

Miroku rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I thought you'd overreact when you found that out. Look Sango, you were severely beaten by Zanshin, but since I didn't see your battle, I didn't know where all your injuries were, nor their severity. I couldn't make a proper assessment and treatment of them with you fully clothed, and it's not like I could have had Kirara do it. I assure you my dear, disrobing you was done only for the sake of medical necessity."

Sango shot him a killing look. "Really, just medical necessity? That was only thing on your mind?"

"Well I'm not going to pretend I didn't enjoy the view," Miroku admitted. "But I promise, I didn't do anything inappropriate. I was hardly in a position to do so anyway. Kirara was watching me the whole time...in full sized form...bearing her fangs...with her claws extended."

Sango looked up at her demon cat approvingly upon hearing this. "Is that right, Kirara?"

Kirara immediately jumped off Miroku's shoulder and bounded over to Sango, rubbing up against her and meowing happily to show that it was.

"That's a good girl," Sango told her. "Cause if Miroku's lying, I want you to maul him."

"Well your vote of confidence is certainly most welcome," said Miroku. Then a devious expression shot across his face. "Of course if it makes you feel better, I'll be happy to strip down to my undergarments in return-"

Sango couldn't help but laugh at this retort. "Perhaps I should give him the benefit of the doubt. He's certainly proved his reliability and worth as of late."

"Oh you'd love that, wouldn't you," she replied humorously. "But no, I think I'll just get dressed instead. I really appreciate everything you've done for me...for us, but too much time has passed and we've got to get back on Zanshin's trail."

With that, Sango threw the blanket covering her aside and got up to get dressed, figuring there was no need for modesty when Miroku had already had a long view of her in her present state of undress anyway. However, her thoughts quickly transitioned to her lingering injuries, and getting up off the ground suddenly sent waves of pain jolting through her body. It was as though her limbs were ancient rusty door hinges in badly need of oil, and it took some effort for Sango to pull herself up without collapsing.

"Whoa, slow it down a bit," Miroku cautioned her. "You're in no condition to be tracking small game, much less the greatest demon warrior we've ever faced. The healing herbs in this area and Kagome's special medical supplies were most efficient at treating your wounds, but the effects aren't instantaneous. You'll need a few days to get back up to full strength. We both do."

"We don't have that luxury." Sango replied bluntly as she walked over to her gear and started putting on her slayer's uniform. "Zanshin's got a huge head start on us now, and we've got no idea where he went. We have to resume pursuit at once. The destruction of his lab has given us an advantage that we have to exploit."

"An advantage somewhat negated by our battered condition." Miroku pointed out. "Besides, what are you planning? Just flying over the woods on Kirara at random looking for clues?"

Sango finished throwing on her uniform and began tying her hair into a ponytail as she pondered the question. "Um...well...yeah I guess. I know it's not much of a plan, but we've got nothing else to go on."

Miroku paused for a moment before answering. He had been trying to put off this issue as long as possible, since he had no idea what her reaction would be. It would either win her over to his plan or force him to resort to extreme measures, and he was leaning towards the latter. But there was no way to put it off any longer.

"Actually Sango, we do."

Sango immediately stopped her activity and looked him straight in the eyes. "What? What are you talking about?"

"Zanshin's demonic aura. I detected it two hours ago and its remained constant ever since. I can't be sure of his exact location, but I know he's close by, most likely less then fifteen miles away, and we should be able to pinpoint him with a good search in the general vicinity of where it's coming from."

"But I thought you said you couldn't detect his demonic aura." Sango pointed out. "You couldn't even detect demonic aura from his creations, let alone him."

"That's true, but now I can. Zanshin isn't running or hiding anymore. He's deliberately trying to lure us to him by lighting a figurative signal beacon. He wants us to find him."

Taking in Miroku's statement, Sango suddenly finished tying her hair and began collecting her weapons with haste. "That's wonderful Miroku! Well let's get going then. It would be most rude to keep him waiting."

Miroku was starting to get frustrated now. All his worst fears about what Sango would do when she learned of this information were coming true. "Slow down Sango, don't you realize what this means? He must be fully recovered from his injuries, unlike us. It's the only reason he'd be picking a fight with us so soon."

"We can't be sure of that," retorted Sango while she finished collecting her weaponry. "You should have seen how arrogant he was in the lab. He never treated me like a worthy adversary. And now that we sent him fleeing, he must be going crazy with a desire for revenge. He wants to redeem himself here and now, so much that he's made a mistake. A mistake that we have to take advantage of."

"I don't think so. Regardless of how he is in battle, Zanshin has been calm and in control this entire journey. Every step of the way we've met him on his terms, on conditions he found favorable. The man's a demon and he has the ability to create youkai from dead bodies. It's perfectly reasonable to assume he knows how to repair his own body, especially in conjunction with his own demonic healing powers."

"Perhaps, but it's also possible that I'm right and Zanshin isn't fully recovered. If so, this is the opportunity we've been waiting for. If not...well then he'll still have to take on all three of us. It's worth the risk."

"No it isn't," Miroku countered bluntly. "He could have more demons under his control that we don't know about. Either way, the fact remains we're all injured and exhausted. We've been going all-out since we started this trip. It's time to take a step back and approach the situation with prudence. Please Sango, all I'm asking for is to err on the side of caution just once."

Sango remained adamant. "Unacceptable! We can't let up now. Not when the end is in sight. If he leaves this area, he could disappear into the countryside. We might never find him! I'm not going to risk waiting another two or three years till he comes back again, with a new laboratory, new demon creations, and new victims. This is my responsibility and I have to see it through!"

With that, Sango finished collecting her weapons and turned to her companions. "Kirara, transform! We need to get airborne at once. You gather your gear and get on first, Miroku. I need you to steer Kirara in the direction the demonic aura is coming from."

In a burning flash, Kirara instantly extended to her full-size, but Miroku didn't get on. Instead he walked between Kirara and Sango, and stood there firmly with his arms folded. "Well here it goes. There's no turning back now."

"I can't do that, Sango"

Sango stopped in her tracks and stared at him in surprise, as if he had just slapped her in the face. "What did you say?"

"I want to get Zanshin too, especially after seeing what he did to you, but keeping you alive is MY responsibility. That's why I came on this trip. It wasn't for the thrill of a hunt or some noble act of altruism. It was for you, and I'm not about to lead you to your death."

"Miroku!" Sango shouted in rage. "You agreed from the beginning to let me be in command! You said you would follow my lead without question!"

"Well I guess I lied. Really Sango, what did you expect? After all, you've seen me lie to get us free room and board. Is it really so surprising I would go back on my word to save your life? If you want to hate me for it, go ahead. I consider your hatred an acceptable trade-off for keeping you alive."

Sango seemed ready to explode with rage, but she managed to keep her emotions in check. "Enough of this nonsense!" Sango blurted out. "If you won't help me, then I'll use Kirara to find Zanshin myself. You said he wasn't too far away, so a good sweep of the area should reveal his location, especially if he wants to be found. You stay here and guard the camp."

Sango started walking over to Kirara, but Miroku remained in between them, refusing to move.

"That's not going to happen either," Miroku stated calmly. "We're staying here until we recover from our wounds. All of us are, including you."

"You think you can stop me?" Sango shouted in rage as she stormed over to Mioku, attempting to walk past him. But as soon as she got close, Miroku grabbed her by the arms and pushed her away, not hard, but enough to send her back a few steps.

"Miroku! What are you doing?"

"I though I made that clear by now," he replied. "You're not going!"

"Get out of the way, Miroku."

"I won't."

"Get out of my fucking way!" Again, Sango tried to walk past him and again she was pushed back, this time a bit more forcibly, but still not enough to knock her down. Clearly, Miroku was doing his best to prevent her injuries from getting worse.

"No."

"GODDAMMIT MIROKU!"

Finally Sango was past her limit. Without warning, she slammed her fist into Miroku's chest as hard as she could. Miroku groaned in pain and doubled over forward, clutching his chest in response. As Miroku coughed and started to recover, Sango stared in horror at the results. It was as if her own blow had struck her in a metaphorical sense, pulling out of her enraged state and snapping her back to reality.

"Miroku! What have I done?"

Up to this point, Sango had always considered all the physical abuse she had dished out on Miroku to be perfectly justified. It was always in response to his own foolish lechery and his infamous wandering hands. But now, for the first time, she had struck him without provocation. He had merely been protect her from her own overzealous behavior, doing all he could to shield her from further harm. And she had decked him for it.

Suddenly Sango felt sick to her stomach, much like Miroku seemed to be now. She felt like a bully, an aggressor, the very thing she had spent her whole life trying to protect others from. And for now, all she could do was watch as Miroku regained his composure, her mind a complete blank as to what would be the proper thing to say. As she watched him rise back up, she could only wonder what his response would be. Would he curse her, tell her their relationship was over, or even hit her back? She would perfectly understand if he did any of those things, or even all three. Sango decided to simply wait with her arms at her sides, willing to receive Miroku's response in whatever form he chose to apply it.

However, as Miroku rose back up, he remained as calm and collected as ever. "Nice shot, Sango. But if you want me to move you better reach deep into that slayer arsenal of yours, because it's going to take a hell of a lot more than that."

"Why are you acting like this?" Sango practically screamed. She could hardly comprehend how he could remain so calm after what she had done.

"Sango my dear, whatever do you mean?" Miroku was actually smiling now, as if he found the situation amusing or comical.

"You don't owe me anything, and you've got no connection with the monster I'm chasing. This entire time I've been driving us onward through the most brutal conditions, with no regard for your personal feelings on the matter, and I've given you nothing tangible in return! All you've gotten from coming along is nearly overwhelmed by a plant youkai's army, shot at by renegade humans, gassed by my own poison, chased through the woodlands by elite demon super-soldiers, charred by Zanshin's creations, and nearly killed in a burning building. And after all that and this just now, you talk to me like you're still as committed to me as you've ever been? How can you do that?"

Looking her straight in the eye, Miroku took Sango's hand in his and held it up tightly. "Because I love you. And while I've made some mistakes on this journey that I wish I could take back, I would't trade the overall experience for anything in the world."

Sango could only stare at him in amazement. This was the first time he had ever said he loved her. Even when he had made his proposal to her by the stream in the village, he had never stated it so explicitly. Sango had always assumed he would do so eventually when the time was right, but could not comprehend how this moment had set up what Miroku considered ideal conditions.

"Miroku...I...don't understand."

Miroku merely smiled as he began his explanation. "This adventure we've been on. It's been our special journey. Our time. And all along the way you've shown me all the reasons why I love you: Your skill and fury in battle, your determination to do what you feel is right, but most of all, your concern for others and commitment to me. Think about it Sango, you single-handedly went through an entire building full of gun-wielding mercenaries just for me. You think just anyone would do that? You even refused to leave me when I felt like I couldn't go on, for the second time! And your determination to complete this hunt at any cost...that's not selfishness or some misguided vendetta. You're doing this because you don't want Zanshin to hurt anyone else. You feel responsible for everything he's done since he survived your encounter the first time, and you want to stop him before he can do anything else. Believe me Sango, I completely understand, and I don't blame you one bit. That determination what's enabled us to accomplish so much. We've already saved an entire town and sent Zanshin fleeing in disgrace, all because your drive kept us going the whole way. But now it's time to rest. We've been pushed to the limit and we need some time to recover. Just enough to get back to full strength. This isn't taking the easy way out or abandoning our responsibility. It's the right thing to do."

Sango continued to stare into his eyes the whole time he gave his statement, seemingly captivated by the strength of Miroku's convictions. Finding herself at a loss for words, she responded in a manner Miroku was rather surprised at, but found far more satisfying. Out of nowhere, she suddenly threw her arms around him and pulled him into a tight embrace. Taken aback at first, Miroku quickly returned her embrace, while fighting all his natural instincts to ensure his hands stayed above waist level.

"Miroku." Sango finally responded with tears welling up in her eyes. "Your presence on this journey, it's meant the world to me. You've been the voice of reason, even when you were wrong, you've kept me on track...kept me from losing my head. I never would have gotten to this point if it wasn't for you. I, I...love you Miroku, and while I miss all the others...right now..in this moment, I'm glad it's just you and me."

This was all that needed to be said. Soon they looked upon each other and quickly came together with a deep passionate kiss. As they broke apart, Sang was the first to start the conversation back up again.

"Miroku...you know we can't go any further. Not until everything is finished. Not until Zanshin and Naraku are defeated once and for all."

Sango expected Miroku to be disappointed by this, but if he was he did an excellent job of hiding it. "Sango, I don't care about that now. All I want to hear is that you'll agree to stay here and recover. That you won't go to confront Zanshin until you are back at your prime. Can you just agree to that?"

"Yes...but I don't like it," replied Sango. "I just want this be over so we can go back to Kagome and the others. Who knows what they've had to endure from Naraku while we've been gone?"

"I feel the same way, but it's for the best," Miroku assured her. "Our friends can protect themselves just fine. You made that clear enough yourself. This is what has to be done."

Sango still wasn't entirely convinced. "And what if Zanshin gets tired of waiting for us? What if he leaves and we lose track of him?"

"Then we'll do whatever we need to do to find him again, as long as it takes." Miroku calmly replied. "We've already proven we can accomplish whatever is needed, and quite frankly I don't care if I we have to chase that demon to the ends of the earth. I'll track him anywhere...anywhere as long as I'm with you."

This seemed to be the answer Sango was looking for. Finally she appeared calm and assured, with no more doubt in her mind. "Fine, Miroku. We'll do it your way this time. So...what do we do until then?"

"We can do anything we want," Miroku pointed out, overjoyed that he had finally won her over. "But for now, how about we simply sit down and enjoy the beauty of the moon?"

Finding this answer perfectly acceptable, Sango found a good spot on the ground under the moonlight and settled down with Miroku, leaning on his shoulder as Kirara shrank back to normal size and bounded into Miroku's lap, quickly curling up into a ball upon arrival.

"Say Miroku," Sango suddenly spoke up. "You know...that was pretty damn impressive how you charged into battle when you came up to find me. I bet Zanshin never got so dominated in his entire life. That was one beating he'll never forget...at least not until we kill him."

"Think nothing of it my dear," Miroku happily replied while stroking Kirara with one hand and wrapping his other arm around Sango. "After all, I was only finishing the job you started. And you said it yourself before...it really makes a difference when you are 'fighting to protect what you can't bear to lose'. That's why we're going to win this upcoming battle, because we'll be fighting together."

As Miroku and Sango continued to converse under the moonlight, a sudden thought entered Sango's head.

"Zanshin, you devil, just wait. We're coming for you. But this is our time! And no matter what you do to us the next time we meet, you can't ever take this away!

Author's note: Wow...did I just write this? I still can hardly believe it. Well this is it, my first ever attempt at a romantic scene. I honestly had a hard time forcing myself to do this, seeing as this really isn't the type of thing I'm good at, but I felt it was necessary. After all I've put Sango and Miroku through, I had to give them something in return, right? Anyway, reviews would be especially appreciated here. I've never been this nervous about posting a chapter before, so I want to know if I pulled this off successfully.

If anyone wanted Sango and Miroku to go past first base, I'm sorry. You have to remember this takes place before the final act, and at that time in the series, Sango and Miroku had already agreed not to get too intimate before they defeated Naraku, which makes sense seeing as they wouldn't want to risk pregnancy while they still have to deal with Naraku and Miroku still has the curse of the wind tunnel he could pass on to his children. So I feel I have a legitimate excuse for them not to go any farther then they did here, and by golly, I'm going to take advantage of it!