Kohaku felt his mouth go dry. Naraku? Him?

"W – what? Inuyasha-sama?"

The hanyou's eyes narrowed further. "Keh – I don't know if this is another one of your acts, but you seem to be getting possessed most of the time, kid." His grip on Tetsusaiga's hilt tightened. "Drop your weapon or I'll cut your head off." Kagome turned a shade paler at that and clung to his sleeve. Shippou, unnoticed by any of them, clung in turn to Kagome's ankle. "Heck, I knew I should've gotten Kagome to take out that jewel shard earlier – "

"Inuyasha!" Sango was rigid with fury. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The hanyou opened his mouth – and shut it again with a snap, leaping to the side with Kagome in his arms; Hiraikotsu sliced through the air, close enough to have taken the skin off his nose if he had not moved.

"What the – "

The boomerang soared back into her hand as she darted in front of Kohaku, the other arm flung out protectively in front of him. "Naraku is dead!" yelled Sango.

"You were deliberately aiming for me, Sango," Inuyasha snarled. " But I'll let you get away with that just this once." He sheathed his sword, though his eyes remained trained on the pale boy behind her. Sango dropped her gaze, biting her lip."My nose doesn't lie. You know that. Kagome may have purified the jewel shard in Kohaku, but there could be some corruption remaining."

Before Sango could respond to the last remark, a soft jangle of rings signalled Miroku's rapid movement to her side. "Calm down, Inuyasha," he said quietly. "Shouting isn't going to solve anything."

"We killed that bastard!" exploded the hanyou. "But before he died..."

He let the sentence trail away, knowing what they were thinking of.

"I merely granted Kohaku his dearest wish, monk, as his reward for his devoted service," sneered the baboon-suited man, angling the tip of his katana down. "I destroyed all of his memories – a little parting gift." The smirk stretched into a hideous grimace. "To remember me by."

But what really happened? Did Naraku truly destroy Kohaku-kun's memories? Or are they intact, suppressed by the remnants of Naraku's will? Does he... still live on in Kohaku-kun's shard? thought Kagome. She relinquished her hold on Inuyasha's sleeve. "Kohaku-kun," she began hesitantly. "Do you... remember anything at all?"

"Nothing," he answered. "Just bits and pieces so far, but nothing concrete."

Sango turned wild eyes on her friend. "Kagome-chan, do you feel anything evil from him? Do you sense Naraku's taint? Even after you purified the shard?"

The miko bit her lip.

"Kagome-chan..."

"Ane-ue."

Kohaku took a step forward. He was deathly pale – but his face was set with determination. "Let Kagome-sama purify me again – or anything else it takes to rid me of Naraku's taint. Even if I have to die – " Kohaku's expression wavered for an instant, revealing the boy beneath the man: " – to remove it permanently."

"Kohaku!" hissed Sango. "What are you saying?"

Inuyasha eyed him approvingly. "At least you got guts." The hanyou's gaze shifted and landed on Miroku. "Hey, Miroku, didn't you notice anything funny about Kohaku?"

The monk swallowed as the group's attention shifted to him; expectant, waiting, watching.

"Miroku?"

Oh no. He closed his eyes, deliberately not looking at Sango; his mind was already picturing the slightly bemused look on her face as she waited for him to agree with her, tell them there was nothing wrong with Kohaku...

"... I did notice something wasn't right," he began hesitantly, "But I didn't sense anything evil in him."

Everyone was stunned – too stunned to notice the sudden wariness which flitted across Kohaku's features. Unsurprisingly, Inuyasha was the first to recover.

"Keh. You knew something wasn't right with Kohaku all along and you never said a thing?" He glanced at an equally shocked Sango. "Not even to Sango?"

"I..."

"How long since you noticed, bouzu?"

Miroku's jaw clenched.

"... Since you three left for the slayers' village, am I right?" scowled the hanyou. Sango flinched.

"No!" The monk's shoulders shook from his outburst. "Kohaku was fine then. It was only later, when I noticed his behaviour was..." Miroku trailed off.

Sango was as white as he was; she looked as though she had been slapped.

"Strange?" Kagome was the one who spoke this time. Kohaku did his best not to fidget under her scrutiny; even a human like himself could feel her spiritual energy and his sister had told him of the young miko's power.

"On an extermination mission, Kohaku..." he searched for the words to lessen their impact, "didn't kill the youkai instantly. It was as though he was enjoying its death. Like a completely different person..." The monk chose to conceal the fact Kohaku had attacked him.

As for the other strange behaviour... no. It must be my imagination. I'm seeing things, because that can't be right...

Inuyasha snorted. "Stop mincing your words, Miroku. I've known you too long for that." Folding his arms, he addressed Sango. "You see? There definitely is something wrong with the kid."

She, however, was paying no attention to the hanyou; directing her next words to the monk, her voice was oddly devoid of inflection. "Miroku? You never told me you felt something strange about Kohaku?"

"I... didn't want to worry you." He winced internally, knowing how pathetic he sounded. "You were so happy to have him back..."

Sango strode over to him, her face set – and the air rang with a sharp crack. Miroku stumbled back a step; his fingers touched his rapidly reddening cheek.

"Ane-ue!"

"Sango-chan!"

"Sango!" squeaked Shippou.

The slayer's hand remained suspended in midair, hanging at the end of the arc it had travelled. "You couldn't even tell me you felt something was wrong." Unshed tears welled up in her eyes. "There isn't anything wrong with Kohaku!"

Miroku's head snapped up. "Sango – ?"

Her eyes were wild; somehow, the ribbon of her hair had slipped loose and Sango's hair fell over her face. "I would know if there was anything wrong with my own brother!"

"... What are you saying, Sango..."

"There. Is. Nothing. Wrong. With. Kohaku," she gritted out.

"Damnit, Sango, how much proof do you need – "

" – shut up, Inuyasha!" His ears twitched but he fell silent.

Kagome stretched out a placating hand to her friend. "Sango-chan... we know there's nothing wrong with Kohaku, it's probably just Naraku's lingering effect which I neglected to purify... he was possessed for a long time..."

Her words had a soothing effect on the enraged slayer; slowly, Hiraikotsu was lowered to the dirt. "I trusted you, Houshi-sama," said Sango quietly and he flinched. "Never would I have guessed you would be this kind of man."

She dropped Hiraikotsu, turned and fled. Dumbly, Miroku watched her go, her words hurting him far more than any slap ever had.

"Ane-ue!" Kohaku ran after her without a backward glance.

"Miroku-sama..."

He kept his face turned away from Kagome and Inuyasha. "Kagome-sama, Inuyasha. Maybe you can come back another day to purify Kohaku."

"O – of course." The young miko tugged on Inuyasha's sleeve, cutting off the beginnings of a protest. Shippou, who had been silent throughout, hopped into her arms.

"Are Sango and Kohaku going to be alright?" he asked.

She patted his head absently, her thoughts clearly elsewhere. "Certainly, Shippou-chan," Kagome reassured him. "They've gone through much worse; they're too strong to let something like this defeat them."

The little kitsune would not be easily placated. "And Miroku?"

"Miroku-sama will be fine too." Her voice slipped a few notches.

"Feh," interjected Inuyasha. But apparently that was all he had to say. He knelt down and let Kagome and Shippou clamber onto his back.

"You're sure you don't want to stay with Sango?" he asked abruptly.

He felt her shake her head against his shoulder. "No. I'm not the person Sango needs right now."

Inuyasha silently noted her lack of elaboration.

Sango had never felt such pain before. She felt utterly alone, more so than when she learned that when everyone she knew was dead; her home lay in burned and bloody ruins.

Betrayed by someone she loved more than life itself; how it stung.

Anger coursed through her veins; Sango kept on running. Miroku said he knew – Miroku saw something wrong with Kohaku, as did her friends. She had not. She saw only her little brother, scarred-but-mostly-healed-over from his time under Naraku's control; still very much the delicate, shy boy he was. He was her kid brother, the only person left in the world who adored her completely.

And Miroku had lied to her, to their friends, telling them Kohaku was not quite right.

I know my own brother; Miroku does not!

She stopped suddenly; her legs gave way and Sango fell splay-legged to the ground. Too hurt to cry, yet not strong enough to keep the tears from pooling in her eyes. She settled for drawing her knees to her chin, gripping them tightly enough to hurt.

Sango had spent time with him. They had ate together, fought together, tried to remember the past together. He had bandaged her wounds.

The slaying of the bear youkai... was a job well done. Father would have been proud of him, taking down a fearsome bear youkai even bigger than the ones she had faced at his age. Miroku had simply gotten too close while Kohaku was swinging his kusari-gama and gotten cut.

Her lips quirked. Yes, her little brother never had fully mastered his weapon. She could see him now, smashing clay pots as part of his training with his kusari-gama. The weapon was supposed to be one of the easiest to handle, according to Yoichi-sensei, the village's most skilled wielder. Kohaku sometimes mistimed the catch and it would gash his palm on its return. More often than not, his reflexes allowed to escape serious injury.

She had bound it for him. She always did. All the little scars which crisscrossed their bodies, marks of their lifestyle; he knew nearly all those on her, as she did on his. Patching each other after a long hard day, sharing news; she of her missions, he of his training progress. The nights were theirs to while away.

Never had Sango gotten more solid proof Kohaku was back, as though he had never been gone.

The slayer pushed herself to her feet, brushing away the tears roughly. Yes. That was it. It was all so simple. He cared so much about her, his big sister and mother in one.

"Ane-ue! Ane-ue!"

Sango laughed and ran faster; the wind rushing in her ears easily drowned out the whines of her little brother. It was a beautiful day, not long after the harvest; both siblings, even young Sango who was showing so much promise in the art of demon slaying, had escaped their training with their father's blessing.

"Make the best of it; such days might never come again," he had said, his weather-beaten face crinkling into a smile. "Now run along, the both of you. And come back before sunset."

She felt like a child again; there simply had not been many opportunities for it since their mother had passed away giving birth to Kohaku. Sango had no regrets. Life was hard but not cruel, and it only demanded they be strong to survive – and she was well on her way. Father had said so.

"Ane-ue! A – aaah!"

She stopped. "Kohaku?"

He was sprawled on the ground, sniffling and clutching his knee. She and Kirara ran back to him.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he mumbled. His lower lip was trembling mightily from the effort of suppressing tears. She examined the cut solemnly – a small one, more of a scrape – and bound it with a piece of fabric torn from her kimono.

"All better," Sango pronounced. She helped him to his feet. "Can you walk?"

Kohaku's face was screwed up as he gingerly tested his leg. "Yes. Ane-ue..."

"Hmm?"

He gazed up into her eyes; she was startled by the frankness in them. "Please don't ever leave me behind?"

The girl bit her lip. How true – it had been selfish of her to run ahead, thinking only of her own pleasure. Sango thought guiltily of her mother, and the promise she had made by her mother's side that day to always take care of her family. "... I'm sorry, Kohaku. I won't do that again. I promised Mother I'd always take care of you and Father."

The corners of his mouth lifted in a shy smile; his filthy, gritty hand fisted in the sleeve of her kimono.

It all made sense now. The way he was always touching her in ways siblings should never do, making her feel things siblings did not for each other; Kohaku was simply unable to express his love in other ways. Her beloved only brother who was shy and gentle and caring and loving and –

Stop it. Sango squeezed her eyes shut. She could not merely be Kohaku's big sister now; she was also Miroku's love – his fiancee. His betrothed. She had other duties besides that which she had been entrusted with.

Miroku would just have to understand; she had duties. Responsibilities.

Kohaku picked his way through the forest – not entirely sure Sango had come through this way, but still trudging on nonetheless.

A secret smile played at the corner of his mouth. His sister had came through for him; she had denied anything was wrong before her friends, before her fiancé.

So she remembered that old loyalty. It had always been just the two of them before, and it looked like it was well on its way to staying that way.

He was genuinely puzzled about Inuyasha's claim that Naraku's taint lurked within him. Kagome's reasoning also had been entirely plausible; she was certainly the astute miko he had sensed. But even then, there were some things they were unaware of; even his sister and the monk remained in the dark.

Kohaku had not spent his time solely as Naraku's mindless slave, emotional blackmail hostage and occasional plaything. The evil hanyou had barely enough power to reanimate Kohaku at the time, let alone obtain full and complete control.

Sometime around Sango's theft of Tetsusaiga and Naraku's defeat, he had gained some awareness. The corrupted jewel shard controlled his actions, undoubtedly, but Kohaku was alive and feeling.

The young man remembered feeling... strong.

The jewel shard was a sizable one; it not only restored life, it also enhanced Kohaku's speed and natural agility. He no longer felt clumsy and awkward handling the kusari-gama. He tired less easily – somehow he remembered – and could carry greater burdens. Kohaku only began to hate when innocent humans fell before his gleaming blade – and his mind was powerless to stop it. Every screaming woman, every shouting man, they had his father's and sister's faces. The young slayer did not know it was them, of course.

Rather than resurrected, the young slayer considered himself reborn once full identity returned. Stronger, faster, better.

Purified, the jewel shard was more powerful than ever; Kohaku touched the skin of his neck over where it resided. He was a little surprised that Inuyasha had not cut out the shard – but remembered his dear sister.

She would never let anyone touch her little brother.

He needed a rest. Kohaku leaned against a tree and tossed his head back, enjoying the cool breeze that filtered through the trees.

So things were going his way; Sango and Miroku had been driven apart, and they in turn split from Inuyasha and Kagome. The best part was Miroku had dug his own grave. Kohaku frowned. The monk was cleverer than expected.

But then again, the young man's tactics were hardly the most subtle – especially when done blatantly, under the nose of the monk.

People in love were so easy to manipulate and play off; Naraku had taught him a valuable lesson.

The slayer stood upright and brushed off his clothing. "Time to find Ane-ue," he said aloud. "I hope Miroku didn't get there first..."

A surge of anger welled up; he wheeled and punched a hole right through the tree he had been leaning against. Kohaku did not even give it a second glance as it creaked ominously, focusing his senses...

There. Not far. He took off at an inhuman speed, careful to slow it down as he approached.

"Ane-ue!"

Her legs were sprawled in the grass, her long brown hair curtaining her face and back; Kohaku had never thought her more beautiful.

He skidded to a halt before her. "Ane-ue, are you alright?" he asked breathlessly. At least the concern in his voice was real.

"Kohaku," she said in mild surprise. His sister's eyes seemed unfocused; he remembered it was the way she looked when deep in thought. "Did you hurt yourself?" he asked, resting a hand on her shoulder.

Sango shook her head. "I'm fine."

His fingers tightened momentarily – and Kohaku nodded. "I'm glad," he whispered, putting his other arm around her, completing the hug. "Ane-ue... about earlier..."

Her eyes flashed fire as she absently returned his embrace. "They don't understand, Kohaku – they can't. Naraku is long dead, there's no way he could have lived on in you..." Sango's voice wavered a fraction. "There's... nothing you wanted to tell me? Kohaku – are you really fine?"

The younger slayer saw the shimmering uncertainty in her beautiful eyes. "Of course not, Ane-ue." He patted the back of her head and smiled. "You and Houshi-sama and the others killed Naraku and broke his control over me. I'm back, Ane-ue."

She bit her lip. "The jewel shard... sooner or later the jewel will be complete. If we take out your shard..."

Kohaku looked away. "I'll... have no regrets then, Ane-ue. I already died, those years ago in the lord's castle. My death will atone for the atrocities I committed..."

"No, Kohaku!" Sango seized his arms and shook. "I won't let you leave me again! I – promised Mother I'd take care of you and Father always... now that Father is gone, I only have you..." The tears finally began to fall. "Remember that day – when I promised you I'd never leave you behind? You wouldn't leave me behind either, won't you?"

In that instant, he saw not the strong, powerful warrior she was and he longed to be, but the tear-stained little girl determined to shoulder the too-heavy burden life had saddled her with, even if it killed her. Tears of his own formed in his eyes.

"I... I killed Father and our comrades, Ane-ue, and as good as killed our village and way of life. It isn't right for me to go on living while they are dead by my hand – "

" – please." Sango rested her head on his shoulder. "I don't think I can handle being alone again."

"You won't be alone. You'll have Houshi-sama."

"He isn't you!" she burst out, and then bit her lip as though regretting her words. "Miroku isn't you, Kohaku," Sango repeated in a quieter voice. "It – isn't the same... I can't love him the way I love you; you're my only little brother, the last family I have left..."

Kohaku spoke in even, level tones, as though speaking to a very small child. "You'll marry Houshi-sama, and start a family of your own with him. You'll bear him many children, sons and daughters, and you'll rebuild the slayers' village and carry on our family's legacy together."

Sango's hair flew about as she shook her head furiously. "Kohaku, stop! I can't do it without you, don't you understand?" Her hands fisted almost painfully in the short cloth of his kimono. "I need you. I won't let them take the shard from you."

He choked out a laugh. "Ane-ue – you realise Inuyasha-sama and Kagome-sama won't be happy – "

"They'll understand. They need to see that I need you, Kohaku."

Kohaku smiled a secret smile over the top of Sango's head.