KOHAKU

"LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED ANYTHING, DEARS!" RARITY SAID AS SHE LEFT THE bathroom, using her unicorn magic to shut the door. She'd offered Kagome and Sango the chance to freshen up, considering their muddy clothes and the fact that they were covered in dirt and mud. She'd offered everyone else the chance to get cleaned up, but they declined.

So now Inuyasha and Miroku were outside, waiting for Sango and Kagome to get cleaned. Shippo had gone off to play with the fillies, while Kirara was frolicking with Opalescence. Kirara was a weird one – when they saw her during that fight with the hydra, she looked like a giant tiger, but now she had taken on the form of a small white kitten. Whereas the tiger was ferocious, the kitten was just adorable.

Rarity started to make her way downstairs when Inuyasha stormed past.

"Inuyasha? Is something wrong?"

"Yeah," Inuyasha hissed. "We haven't gotten any sign of Jurorenmaru's jewel shard. I'm gonna talk to Kagome and find out just what the hell is going on."

"But Inuyasha, the girls are bathing," Rarity said. "It's very rude to just barge in on them. I really would not recommend it."

"Tell it to someone who gives a damn," Inuyasha growled as he neared the bathroom door. He grabbed the handle and got ready to turn it.

Before he could, he felt his entire body go numb. He tried to move, but he had gone immobile; glancing out the corner of his eye, he saw Rarity's horn glowing.

"What the hell are you doing? Let me go," he said.

"Inuyasha, be a gentlecolt and let the girls bathe in peace," Rarity pleaded. "If you promise to do that, I'll let you go."

"I – You – DAMN IT! Fine! Just turn off your freaky powers, would you!" He felt Rarity's magic release him. "Happy now?"

"I think the girls would be happy, actually."

Maybe it's better that I DO wait, Inuyasha thought. I don't want Kagome making me acquainted with the floor again. He turned to leave. "Just….Just tell Kagome that I want to talk to her when she's done."

Rarity opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by the sound of Sango screaming. She and Inuyasha ran for the bathroom door, Inuyasha's hand going for the handle of his sword. He slammed his shoulder into the door, nearly throwing it off of its hinges.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked.

There was a very quick, yet very awkward, moment of Inuyasha staring at Sango and Kagome, both naked, both dripping with water and bath soap, Kagome trying to cover herself, Sango throwing anything she could get her hands on at Miroku, who was in the branch of the tree outside the boutique, looking in through the open window. She was throwing towels, cloths, sponges, bars and bottles of soap and shampoo, anything she could grab.

"Sango! Wait!" Miroku cried, trying to defend himself. "This isn't what you think!"

"Inuyasha, you idiot! SIT!"

Inuyasha's necklace dragged him face-first into the floor.

Rarity's horn began to glow as she galloped over to the window. She took aim and fired a beam of blue magic at Miroku, hitting him directly in the face and knocking him out of the tree.

"You fiend!" she yelled down at him as she used her magic to hover some towels over to the girls. "Peeking in on the girls while they're bathing! How can you call yourself a gentlecolt?"

Miroku scrambled back and hid behind the nearest pony – Applejack's older brother Big Macintosh. "Hide me, pony."

Big Macintosh trotted away. "Nope," was all that he had to say.

Rarity used her magic to shut the window and close the curtains, before levitating Inuyasha off the floor and heading for the door. "I'm terribly sorry about that. I should have closed that curtain earlier."

"Ka…go…me," Inuyasha growled; the strain of his voice made it sound like he was in pain. "That…was…totally uncalled for."

"Just get him out of here, Rarity!" Kagome yelled, holding the towel closer to her body.

"Sorry!" Rarity called again as she shut the door.

###############

"Now that hardly called for such hostility," Miroku said.

He and Inuyasha were sitting on a bench in the park; Inuyasha's face was still stinging from Kagome's SIT command, and Miroku still had a scorch mark on his forehead from where Rarity's magic had hit him. They watched young fillies and colts run around and play; Shippo and Kirara were among them. Shippo was showing a group of foals how his tops worked, and Kirara was being cuddled by a small group of fillies.

"It's your own fault, you dumbass," Inuyasha growled. "You just can't NOT peek on them while they're trying to take a bath, huh? I'm surprised Sango hasn't hauled off and killed you yet."

"Really? Well, I'm surprised your body is still intact, as many times as Kagome has said that certain word."

"I'm a demon; my body's more durable than yours. Besides, the only reason I went in there was because I thought they were being attacked."

"Which they weren't."

"Depends on your definition of the word attack. Seriously, you do this every freaking time."

"So do you."

"Not intentionally, damn it!"

"Hey, why are you two arguing?"

Inuyasha and Miroku looked down. The three fillies they had seen at the crystal palace earlier were at their feet, looking up at them with their big, youthful eyes. It was the little white unicorn – Sweetie Belle, I think her name was, Inuyasha thought – was the one who had asked the question.

"Does it have anything to do with why that guy has a mark on his face?" she asked. "Wait a minute, did you make Rarity mad? You shouldn't have done that."

"It was an accident, I assure you," Miroku said.

"Accident my ass, you crooked monk!" Inuyasha yelled.

"You just said a bad word," the little yellow one, Apple Bloom, said. "My sister says that you should never say that word. You shouldn't even call donkeys that word; they don't like it."

Inuyasha just scoffed. He turned away and crossed his arms.

"Don't worry about him, kids," Miroku said. "He's in a bad mood."

"You're damn right I'm in a bad mood," Inuyasha growled. "We haven't seen or heard anything of Jurorenmaru since last night, and Kagome hasn't sensed his jewel shard. And if you people honestly expect me to sit here and wait, you can forget it. I can't just sit here and wait for who knows how long!"

"And what do you intend to do about it, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked. "Go back into that forest? Don't tell me you've already forgotten about that creature in the swamp. And you heard the princess and the others – that forest is full of all sorts of dangerous creatures."

"Then how come we didn't see any of these so-called 'dangerous creatures' on the way to this village?" Inuyasha asked. "You wanna tell me that, Miroku?"

"Maybe because they weren't out?" Miroku guessed. "I don't know."

"Your friend's right, though," Scootaloo – the little Pegasus – said. "You don't want to go into the Everfree Forest. Not even Rainbow Dash is dumb enough to go in there without a good reason."

"I've GOT a good reason, you runt," Inuyasha said.

"Yeah, right," Scootaloo scoffed. "You want to go up against a manticore? A cockatrice? A dragon? An ursa? What if you meet a pack of timber wolves? I've heard stories of wendigoes, too – and I don't mean the wind monsters, either, I'm talking the ponies-turned-carnivore monsters."

"Bring 'em all on," Inuyasha said, his voice dripping with cockiness. "I'll take 'em all out!"

"Or they'll take you out, Two-Legs," Scootaloo said. "Like I said, not even Rainbow Dash will go in there unless she has to. Which being one of the Elements of Harmony, is more often than you'd think."

"Yeah? Can Rainbow Dash kill one hundred enemies in one swing?" Inuyasha asked. "I doubt it."

"Then I guess you haven't seen the kind of damage her Sonic Rainboom can do, have you, Two-Legs?"

"Scootaloo, why are you egging him on like that?" Apple Bloom asked. "It's pretty obvious this fella ain't in a good mood."

"Bloom's right; I'm not," Inuyasha said. "I just want to find Jurorenmaru, get his jewel shard, and get the hell out of this place. Honestly, all these colorful talking horses are starting to get to me."

"Calm down, Inuyasha," Miroku said. "Kagome will sense his jewel shard eventually, and when she does, we can go and get it."

"Who IS this guy you're looking for, anyway?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"His name's Jurorenmaru," Inuyasha explained. "He said he's a bounty hunter, and he was hired by a demon named Naraku to take us all out. And his payment was the Sacred Jewel. That jewel shard he has was just a down payment. Naraku said he'd get the rest when we're all dead."

"And I bet you're not going to let that happen, are you?" Scootaloo asked.

"You got that right, short stuff," Inuyasha said. "I'll chop him to bite sized pieces before he gets the chance." He turned and started walking away.

"Where are you going, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.

"I can't just sit here and do nothing. I've gotta go blow off some steam."

He started running in the direction of town square.

##############

Sango sat on the hill just outside of town. Kirara was curled up beside her, content with letting Sango gently stroke her fur. Her weapon sat on her lap. As a Demon Slayer, she had been trained to never part with her weapon, to always keep it close by in case of an emergency or a job.

And she wanted to be ready. Jurorenmaru was out there somewhere, biding his time, making his plans, and Sango would be damned if he caught her off guard.

Kirara let out a tiny squeal as she opened her mouth to yawn.

"I know how you feel, Kirara," Sango said. "I'm tired too. We haven't had any sleep since before Jurorenmaru attacked us last night." She felt her stomach rumble. "We barely had anything to eat since last night, either." Kirara purred and rubbed her head against Sango's leg. "I know, Kirara, I know," Sango said as she scratched Kirara behind her ears. "But I don't have anything to feed you."

"Um, I might be able to help."

Sango looked over her shoulder, saw Fluttershy descending from the sky. "You're….Fluttershy, right?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to listen in," Fluttershy said, her voice no more than a tiny squeak.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it. Anyway, did you say something?"

"Yes. I said I might have something that you can give to your kitten to eat." Kirara turned to Fluttershy, who in turn lay down on her legs to be at Kirara's level. She rubbed her muzzle against Kirara's face. "She's so cute. Much better than when we saw her earlier." Kirara just purred.

"Thank you, Fluttershy," Sango said as she stood up. "I appreciate it." She slung the Hiraikotsu over her shoulder.

"How can you carry that?" Fluttershy asked. She had her eyes fixated on the massive boomerang. "It looks so heavy."

"It's not heavy to me," Sango replied. "Then again, I've been using it since I was a little kid. Now if someone like Miroku were to try and carry it, he'd have a hard time."

"I guess so. Well, follow me."

Fluttershy led them down the hill and through the town. Sango's eyes began to wander, taking in the sights – the various houses and huts, the small shops, young foals frolicking and playing in the streets; it reminded her so much of her home village.

Before it was destroyed by Naraku.

It happened several months ago. Sango, her father, her younger brother Kohaku, and several of the village's best Demon Slayers had been summoned to the local castle to vanquish a demon. The demon proved to be incredibly weak despite its immense size; even Kohaku could have taken it out by himself, and he was just as kind and gentle as Fluttershy. The whole thing turned out to be a setup, though, as Naraku – who had disguised himself as the castle's young lord – took control of Kohaku's body and made him kill all the Demon Slayers, including Sango and Kohaku's father. Sango and Kohaku were struck down by the castle guards' arrows; Sango survived, but Kohaku did not.

At least, that was what Sango believed, until less than two weeks later, when she saw Kohaku again, brought back to life by a sacred jewel shard imbedded in his back by Naraku. He had no memory of Sango, and as far as she could tell, had no memory of killing their father and all the other Demon Slayers.

It didn't help that while the Demon Slayers were at the castle, one of Naraku's demon puppets led a swarm of demons on an attack against the village, slaughtering everyone. Naraku made Sango believe that Inuyasha was responsible, but Sango soon learned the truth, and vowed to destroy Naraku and rescue her brother. At one point, she even went so far as to attempt to kill him, intending to follow him into the netherworld.

Stop thinking about that, Sango! she mentally told herself. Stop thinking about how you almost killed Kohaku and yourself! Stop thinking about how Kohaku killed Father and the others! Stop thinking about that! It's not going to help!

"Sango? Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked.

Sango shook her head. "I'm fine, Fluttershy. I guess I'm just a little tired, that's all."

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow; she wasn't so sure that Sango was telling the whole truth. But that could wait; right now, she had to get her kitty something to eat.

Kirara had been laying on Fluttershy's back since they made their way down the hill and into the town. Looking at her now, it was hard for Fluttershy to imagine that she could turn into that saber-toothed monster that was fighting the hydra. She was so small and cute, no more than a little kitten.

"Where did you find Kirara?" Fluttershy asked as they neared her cottage in the meadow.

"She was a gift from my father when I was a little girl," Sango replied. "He said that nekomatas are one of the few kinds of demons that get along well with humans. There's a story that Kirara also once belonged to Midoriko, the priestess who created the Shikon Jewel, but I really don't believe it."

Fluttershy lived in a small cottage built into the side of a hill. A small creek ran beneath the bridge connecting the two banks. There was a chicken coop, a beehive, several birdhouses, and all sorts of creatures that Sango didn't recognize. She knew the dogs and cats and some of the birds, including the chicken, but there were also tall birds with long necks, weird sheep-looking creatures, and several types of weasels she couldn't identify.

"You take care of all these animals?" Sango asked.

"Of course," Fluttershy said. You just missed the animals I was taking care of from Fillydelphia while they were renovating their zoo."

"What's a zoo?"

"It's a place where animals can live in peace while ponies take care of them."

Fluttershy pushed the door open. Inside, it looked quite cozy – there was a small fireplace on the wall; a staircase leading to the upper level of the cottage; a small bench – no, a sofa, that was what Kagome called these things – against the wall under a window; several birdhouses hanging from the roof, some with birds flying in and out; and a small white bunny rabbit hopping around.

"Hello Angel. Did you miss me?" The bunny kept hopping around, almost like it was ignoring Fluttershy. "Okay, Kirara," she said, looking over her shoulder to Kirara, who was still curled up on her back. "Let's see if we can't find you some cat food. What kind of cat food does she like to eat, Sango?"

"What do you mean?" Sango asked. "I didn't know they made certain food for cats. Kirara would normally hunt for her food, unless we cook some fish on a fire."

"Well, that won't do," Fluttershy said. "Okay, hold on." She headed for the kitchen and started looking through the cabinets. "I know I've got some cat food around here somewhere. Rarity just gave me some last week."

"Rarity has a cat?"

"Of course," Fluttershy said. "Her name is Opalescence, and she's just the sweetest kitty cat I know."

Sango thought for a moment. "Rarity….She's Sweetie Belle's older sister, isn't she?"

"Uh huh." She reached into the cabinet and pulled out a small circular object – a can of cat food. "I knew I had at least one."

Should I even question how she can hold that thing with no fingers? Sango wondered.

Fluttershy put the can on a strange device, one of the strangest Sango had ever seen. Somehow, just by spinning the can, the device was able to open it up.

"Oh, that must be a can opener," Sango guessed.

"You've never seen one?" Fluttershy asked, confused.

"They don't have things like that in my world," Sango said. "I guess they have them in Kagome's world, but that's a different world than mine."

Fluttershy put the can on the floor, before placing Kirara next to it. Kirara sniffed the contents, not sure of what to make of it. She had never seen this stuff before; it was totally alien to her. She sniffed it for another minute, before licking it with her tongue. Sango figured she liked it well enough, because Kirara began to eat, hungrily.

"Wow. I guess you were hungry. You poor thing," Fluttershy said.

"Thanks for feeding her, Fluttershy," Sango said. "I didn't have anything for her to eat."

"It's okay, I'm glad I was able to help. Anyway, you mentioned Rarity and Sweetie Belle. Do you have a younger brother or sister too, Sango?"

"Well, I, um…."

Should I tell her about Kohaku?

"Sango?" Fluttershy was staring up at her, her baby blue eyes filled with worry. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Sango said. She was trying to hide the tears she felt forming in her eyes. "I had a little brother. But….But he died, a long time ago."

"Oh my. I'm so sorry."

Sango wiped her eyes. "It's okay, Fluttershy."

"What was your brother's name?" Sango didn't answer. "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"It's fine. His name was Kohaku. He was a sweet, kind, gentle boy. Looking at him, you would never guess he was from a clan of Demon Slayers. He was a lot like you, actually. And then one night we went to slay a demon for the local lord, and my brother was murdered, along with the rest of my family and fellow Demon Slayers."

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Fluttershy said. She put a hoof on Sango's arm. "You poor thing."

Kirara suddenly stopped eating. The hair on her back stood up straight, and she let out a small growl.

"What's the matter, Kirara?" Sango asked.

Kirara ran out the door, turning to run in the direction of the town, changing into her giant saber-toothed tiger form as she went.

"She must sense something in the town," Sango guessed.

"Is that bad?" Fluttershy asked.

"It usually is," Sango replied. She slung the Hiraikotsu over her shoulder. "Come on!"

###############

Fluttershy couldn't believe what she was seeing – Inuyasha was fighting with a human, a young boy, who was wearing armor similar to the kind Sango was wearing when she was fighting the hydra. Inuyasha and the boy both had their swords out and were hacking away at each other, their swords constantly clashing, sometimes shooting off sparks.

"Rainbow Dash, what's going on?" Fluttershy asked her fellow Pegasus.

"How in the hoof should I know?" Rainbow Dash asked. "This kid just showed up and started picking a fight with Inuyasha."

Inuyasha and the boy crossed weapons again. "Jurorenmaru sent you, didn't he?"

"He did," the boy said. He kicked Inuyasha back. "He asked me to deliver a message to you. And to the former bearers of the Elements of Harmony."

"How does he know about that?" Twilight asked.

"Jurorenmaru has made a pact with Carapace, the Prince of the Changelings, and he wishes to meet your group as well as the Elements of Harmony in this land's largest city." He pointed to the city built onto the side of a nearby mountain – Canterlot, the capital city of Equestria. "That city."

"Why? These guys too scared to come meet us themselves?"

"Hold on," Twilight said. "Did you just say the Prince of the Changelings?"

"Yes I did," the boy replied. "And he's seeking the one named Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"What does he want with me?"

"I don't know," the boy said. "I'm just the messenger. You'll have to ask him yourself." He turned to Sango, who was just staring at him, her eyes wide with shock. "You're looking at me like you know me."

"Do you know this boy, Sango?" Applejack asked.

Sango's voice was caught in her throat. She could barely breathe, and she wasn't sure she could even speak.

"Sango! SANGO!" Pinkie Pie yelled. "Say something, will ya!"

"Kohaku."

"What the hay does that mean?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"He's….He's my little brother."

"He is?" Rainbow Dash asked. She looked back at the boy. "Now that you mention it, he does sort of resemble you in the face."

"But Sango, you told me that your brother was dead," Fluttershy said.

There was a collective gasp from every pony in the area. Sango felt several sets of eyes on her, but she didn't care. All that mattered was that Kohaku was here, bringing a message from Jurorenmaru.

"Look, I did what I was told to do," Kohaku said. "Whether you meet Jurorenmaru and the Prince is up to you, but if you want my advice, you'd better listen. If not, a lot of innocent…ponies…might die." With that, he turned and ran off.

"Why you little – Get back here, damn it!" Inuyasha yelled after him. "I ain't finished with you!"

"Let him go, Inuyasha," Kagome said. "Twilight, what's the fastest way to that city up there?"

"That would be the train, but…." Twilight's voice trailed off. She turned to Sango. "That boy was your brother?"

"Did I hear Fluttershy right?" Rarity asked. "That boy was your brother, but you said that your brother was dead? How did that happen?"

"It's hard to explain," Sango said.

"We don't have time for this," Inuyasha said. "Let's get up to that city, now!"

"Now you hold your horses there, partner," Applejack snapped. "I really want to know what this whole thing 'bout Sango's little brother is all about."

"We can discuss it on the way, now let's go! If Jurorenmaru is in that city, then I want another shot at him. And this Prince fellow seems to have some sort of grudge against Twilight here. And the longer we stand around here talking, the more people get hurt! Let's go!"