Demon Slayer Sango

Chapter 25

Dog demon limbs, heads and torsos lay in a bloody pile all around Sesshomaru. He could scent the presence of more traitors, more rebel inu who deserved death. Some were close by, others were far away. 'They will all perish,' he concluded calmly. While the demon lord had the means and certainly the inclination to destroy all of the rebels on his own, he preferred to defer to the efficiency of his army in dispatching the remainder of the hordes. When finished at Mount Koragi he would send Ryuchi and his warriors to finish the job.

'The rebel cur Jitsuo trifled with what is mine. He hurt my bitch and nearly killed her. He must pay.' Sesshomaru quickly flicked Tokijin to clear its gleaming blade of accumulated blood and set off to stalk his prey.

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"Master! It is a slaughter! Lord Sesshomaru has come!" Noguro had managed to slink away back into the mountain at the first sight of Sesshomaru in the rebel encampent. He had witnessed the horrible deaths of several comrades at the demon lord's hands, several of the strongest fighters and it chilled his soul. He needed to warn Jitsuo and urge him to prepare to defend against the taiyoukai's coming direct attack on him.

"Sesshomaru is here? Hmph. We will need to act quickly then." By now Jitsuo's stomach wound had ceased throbbing, but the loss of blood had made the gruff demon feel weak, and he knew he would need all his strength to take on Sesshomaru. "Come, we go to Koto now."

When they found her, she was as she had been before: swathed in a mass of shabby looking blankets. Her wizened, gray visage grimaced in excitement. "The son is here! Inutaisho's blood is near to us!" she cackled as they approached. "Come dog demon...your life is nearing its end." She called to Jitsuo as he rushed forward.

"Witch, you must give us the weapon now," he demanded. "Sesshomaru will kill all of us if he comes here."

Koto began to rock in place. "I am only an old woman...shut away in this horrible mountain by the cur Inutaisho! I am the one who should avenge! Not the demon prince!" She looked around, surveying the air. "I hear him! He is coming....he is near! Tensaiga approaches!"

Jitsuo couldn't help but to search around anxiously. He was unable to pick up Sesshomaru's scent, but it was possible the demon lord was masking it to prevent detection. The rebel leader knew he had to get the weapon, and fast.

"Koto, I will give you anything you want...you want the child? I will get him. You want Tensaiga, do you not? You will have it! Let me defeat Sesshomaru so that you can get what you need. Give me the weapon!" He raised his hands in a pleading gesture. Before anyone had time to respond, he was suddenly suspended over the ground, his feet dangling in the air. Something, or rather someone had a tight grip on his neck.

Sesshomaru spoke in an icy, hard voice. "You dare to touch what is mine, Jitsuo. You dare to attack my bitch, to put my child in danger-- you idiotic, foolish cur. How dare you believe you could defy me and live." Sesshomaru had him firmly by the neck and had plunged his claws into the rebel leader's throat. Blood seeped copiously from the wounds. The sickening smell of sulphur began to rise in the enclosed space-- the poison in his claws had begun to corrode Jitsuo's flesh.

The demon lord seemed not to notice Koto or Noguro who were nearby, and he did not so much as turn his head when the henchman suddenly rushed him in a suicidal attack, screaming wildly. Sesshomaru raised his free arm and struck Noguro down, breaking his neck with the force of the single blow, and heard his lifeless body crumple to the ground. He then threw Jitsuo across the cave, slamming his body against the rock surface.

"You will die now, Jitsuo."

"It is you who deserves to die, Sesshomaru," he spat back. "You are nothing but a bastard tyrant. You have too much power. Our people have suffered greatly under your rule...we are treated as mongrels at court. We are disregarded in society. It is injustice. It is you who deserves to be put down." he managed to sputter out his words while clutching the injured part of his neck where Sesshomaru's claws and poison had damaged him.

The Lord of the West waited, stoic and calm. He spoke only after discerning that his enemy had finished. "You have addressed your grievances in the most unfortunate way possible. You have killed the weak, ransacked villages for their grain, their meagerest belongings. You have orphaned children. You have raped women and stolen property. You are a disease on our people, and you will pay for your transgressions."

"The son of Inutaisho presents himself to us!" Koto shouted. He did not respond or look at the old witch who had ceased her rocking and now sat up straight, a sentinel of the mountain. "You have the healing sword, dog prince! You have Tensaiga! I want it!" she wailed.

"Quiet crone."

She laughed eerily again. "That is what your father said when he put me here. That bitch deserved it. That belligerent dog woman deserved her death-- Your mother deserved to suffer!" Sesshomaru shot a hard look at Koto.

"What do you know of Nayame?" The demon lord had heard little about his mother, and what had come to him had been filtered through the lens of his father's memory. Inutaisho told his son that she had been the leader of a band of respected warrior inu, and that she had married him to settle political troubles. Sesshomaru had learned little else, other than the fact that she had died in battle shortly after his birth. The old witch seemed to be telling a different story, however.

"I killed her, the bitch. She destroyed our village. Her warriors ravaged the people, my healing powers were useless..." She shook with the emotion at the memory. "I killed her, she deserved it. And then Inutaisho put me here-- he- he said death was too good for me." Koto's voice became plaintive. "That I deserved to suffer in the darkness, here in this mountain for eternity. And now I cannot escape without Tensaiga. It will free me."

Sesshomaru took a moment to consider the idea that this decrepit old woman, bent over and perhaps insane, had taken the life of his mother.

She spoke again. "He never told you, did he? I guess he wanted to protect you. He didn't want you to know what a vicious cur she was..." Koto's eyes seemed to glaze over with memories long past. "She was beautiful, ah yes. But your mother killed my husband. Ripped him to bits herself. And so I destroyed her. And now I will take what is rightly mine from the son, and I will also take her husband's blood." Sesshomaru assumed he meant himself as 'the son' but wondered what she meant by Inutaisho's blood. Did she mean Inuyasha's whelp? Or his own unborn child by Sango?

Sesshomaru addressed her carefully with a warning. "I suggest you stay out of my way witch if you do not want your life to end now."

Koto began to cackle and rock back and forth again in her blankets. Sesshomaru could not see her reach for something in the pile and bring it to her chest. In the meantime Jitsuo had managed to wriggle away, but not far enough for Sesshomaru to lose track of him. He stopped him with his foot, trapping him on the ground. The rebel leader now felt as if he were being slowly crushed.

"Now Koto! Kill him now!" he managed to yell in a strangled voice.

With quick deftness the demon lord suddenly plunged his entire hand into Jitsuo's chest and ripped his heart out. He held up the still pumping, bloody, fleshy mass for him to see. He then threw it away and prepared to leave the cave. However just as Sesshomaru turned a bright light flooded the cave, obstructing his vision. It was so bright it began to pain his eyes. Koto had released an energy device of some kind, something meant to destroy. What happened next made the demon lord drop to his knees.

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"You are looking better already Sango-chan!" Kagome swept into the taijiya's room smiling brightly. Takeo lay in her arms quietly taking in the surroundings with his large chocolate brown eyes. He was now nearly three months old.

"Well, having a bath can do amazing things for a woman." Sango sat up in bed dressed in a light blue robe. The healers had finally relented and allowed her to wash in hot water. They had feared the poison in her system would spread if her body was exposed to excessive heat, but Sango complained so much that they gave up and let her bathe.

For once she had not complained about servants attending her-- still feeling very weak, Sango welcomed the assistance with getting in and out of the bath. A young servant demoness washed her hair, dried it and brushed it out. On the whole she felt immensely improved but still looked very pale, and felt weak. She had been able to eat little, forcing herself to take a few bites of the meat stew offered at mealtimes for the sake of the child growing inside her. She was frustrated. Laying in bed was not Sango's idea of what she should be doing, but realized her body simply wouldn't allow for anything more for the present time.

"Can I hold him?" she asked, reaching for the snow-haired baby in Kagome's arms.

Kagome passed him to her, pleased to see the look of joy on Sango's face as the taijiya cradled him. 'She has been through so much. It is good to see her smile again,' she thought.

"He will be a cousin to your baby," remarked Kagome. Sango smiled and nodded. After a pause, the miko spoke again. "Sango, I know we haven't had much time to talk...I know why you've stayed away from the palace until now, at least I think I do. It is because Sesshomaru is planning to marry a demoness, isn't it?"

The demonslayer felt a pang of sadness. She didn't want to upset Kagome or hurt her feelings, but the thought of her lover mating someone else still stung her to the core and frankly she did not want to discuss it. She looked away and nodded faintly.

"Are you in love with him, Sango?"

Her words came softly but without hesitation. "Yes. Very much." Kagome could see the resolution in her eyes.

"He loves you as well. I just know he does."

"He says he does."

"You are good for him, I think..." Kagome didn't want to pry, but felt her friend might benefit from opening up about the situation. "He wants a full-fledged demon son, is that it?"

Sango nodded again. "I can't give him that. My baby will be a hanyou. You know how Sesshomaru is when it comes to human blood. It is so strange, though. I still can't really fathom why he chose me..." A wistful look came over her face. "He says he likes me because I'm a fighter. But I am human, so he can't marry me." Sango could see Kagome's mind begin to work. "Trust me, I've tried to think of ways to get around it and I can't."

"If he loves you and you love him, there is a way. There must be." A long pause. Kagome watched as Sango cuddled Takeo and tickled his chin.

"He is so darling, Kagome. You and Inuyasha are lucky."

Kagome smiled. "We are. He's a good baby. Inuyasha can't wait until he's old enough to go out in the forest so he can teach him to hunt...but you will be lucky as well, Sango. Your baby with Sesshomaru will be beautiful!"

"Perhaps." Sango nodded and smiled sadly. "I suppose I will have to raise him or her on my own."

"No you won't. You will never be alone, Sango. You have us!"

"You are so sweet, Kagome. What good friends you and Inuyasha have been to me..." She paused to gaze out of the window near her bed. "I hope they can find Miroku...I'm worried about him. He looked so thin and tired when I saw him at the mountain. And he's little match for those youkai-- I've seen them, fought them. They are very fierce, very dangerous."

Kagome rubbed her arm. "Don't worry. Between Inuyasha and Sesshomaru they will find him and bring him back safely, I'm sure."

"I still care about that monk, even if we aren't 'that way' anymore. He is still my friend. Before I was stabbed..." she took a breath. "Before I was stabbed, Jitsuo was about to strike me down. Miroku prevented it. I owe him my life."

"Of course he came to your rescue. He cares about you a lot Sango... But I think he understands your feelings for Sesshomaru. He told us."

Sighing, Sango continued. "I don't want to hurt him. He is a dear person...I almost married him." Thoughts of the demon lord came to the fore. She shook her head. "But there is no comparison with what I feel for Sesshomaru. As odd as it sounds, when I am with him it is...just...right. Do you know what I mean? The way you must feel with Inuyasha..."

"Yes. I understand...I don't understand Sesshomaru but I am coming to believe he is capable of more than destruction, which is what Inuyasha still seems to think he is all about." Another long pause. "Do you want to marry him, Sango?"

"Marry Sesshomaru?" She considered it for a few moments. "Yes. Yes I do."

Kagome smiled, and resolved in her mind to help Sango any way she could.

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Miroku sat in front of his small campfire in a daze. Covered in bruises from an encounter the previous day with one of the rebel demons, he had barely managed to escape with his life. Now nearly despondent, he wanted to return to the palace to be near Sango. He prayed she had survived Jitsuo's attack. 'But is my place really with her?' he asked himself. 'She isn't my woman anymore...maybe Sesshomaru was right-- I have no claim on any part of her life anymore...' A sound of crunching of twigs made him look up into the trees. He feared another encounter with the demons, and braced himself for a fight. Instead of scary rebel inu, Miroku was relieved to see red firerat fir and white hair approaching. Inuyasha.

"You dumb monk. Don't you know people are looking for you? What are you doing out here anyway? You're going to get yourself killed-- there is a war going on... You look horrible."

"Gee thanks, Inuyasha." He waved him off. "Just go away and leave me alone."

"No." He shook his head. "Sango sent me."

"Sango?" His head snapped up at the mention of her name. "Is she alright? She has survived?"

"Yes, but she's very weak. She is worried about you. My asshole brother should have brought you back when he found her...I'm sure that wench still has some choice words for the bastard about the whole thing."

Miroku shook his head. "Sango shouldn't worry about me. I'm just happy she is alive."

"Yes, she and her pup look like they will pull through."

Miroku's eyes grew wide. "Pup? Sango is pregnant?"

Inuyasha nodded. "I guess she and the bastard really did get pretty close."

"But she isn't his mate, is she?"

"No."

A long pause. Miroku looked off into the forest. "Is she in love with him?"

"I don't know. I guess. Fuck, do I look like Sango's conscience?"

"Does he love her?"

Inuyasha hesitated. He seemed to consider the question. Until now he had believed his brother incapable of feeling for anyone or anything. But after witnessing Sesshomaru's interaction with the taijiya back at the infirmary he had been surprised at the gentleness his brother had shown her. "I don't know. I used to think he was just using her. That may still be the case, but it seems like he really does have some kind of feelings for the wench. Its all pretty fucked up to me, though."

"Why?"

"Sesshomaru is going to mate a demoness. That means Sango is left out in the cold. I tried to warn the stupid girl."

"Sango won't ever be left behind. She has us."

Inuyasha sighed and gestured for Miroku to stand up. "Come on, lets go. I don't want Sango kicking my ass for not bringing you back."

He got up and the pair prepared to leave the vicinity of Mount Koragi. A sudden rumbling of the ground beneath their feet stopped them in their tracks, however. "What is that?" asked the monk.

"I don't know." The ground shook harder, and a huge bright burst of light shot out of the mountain. "What the hell is going on?" Inuyasha grabbed Miroku to take him out of the path of some falling rocks dislodged from the mountain by the disturbance, whatever it was.

"Last night I heard a lot of trouble in the forest-- screaming and howling. There was a huge battle of some kind. Either Sesshomaru's army got to the rebels or they got to them."

"Or Sesshomaru killed them himself." Inuyasha looked around. The beam of light seemed to pulse, and the ground still rumbled beneath their feet. "I have a bad feeling...something is wrong." Inuyasha sniffed the air and began moving toward the tumult inside the mountain.

"Where are you going?"

"My brother is nearby. This must have something to do with him." He began rushing away and called over his shoulder. "Come on, monk. I need to know what is going on."

Miroku did the best he could to keep up with Inuyasha. He eventually saw the hanyou slip into an opening at the base of the great rock face and followed him inside. "Wait, Inuyasha! I can't keep up!"

The hanyou growled. Something was definitely up. His senses alerted, he searched the closed-in air of the deep cave with his hearing and sensitive nose. 'Sesshomaru is here somewhere...and there is blood...death...' "Come on, Miroku." He grabbed the monk by the sleeve of his robe and half-dragged him along the deep darkness of the cave.

Eventually the pair came upon a part of the cave that was lit up with an odd, bright light. "This is the way to go." Moving in deeper, Inuyasha began to growl. Something evil lay in the distance, something very dangerous.

"What the hell?!" cried Miroku. He and Inuyasha had stumbled upon a frightening scene. The bodies of Noguro and Jitsuo lay in a pool of blood, barely recognizable. In the middle of the space lay a wild-looking old woman with a spherical object raised over her head. She directed from it a beam of vicious, bright light toward something that Miroku and Inuyasha could barely comprehend-- Sesshomaru on the ground, seemingly fighting for his life.

"The mighty Lord of the West is great no more," cried the witch. She did not notice the entry of the newcomers, focused as she was on Sesshomaru. "My celestial sphere will cut down any living creature, demon or human!" They heard her cackle. "You will die, son of Inutaisho! Tensaiga will be mine!"

"Let him go, witch!" cried Inuyasha. He drew Tetsusaiga and prepared to fight. Inuyasha had no idea whether or not he could save his brother's life but he was resolved to try. Sango would kill him if he didn't do something.

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