"Mother, are we almost done here?"

A little girl asked as she stood there with a bundle of wild flowers in her small arms. The child was standing within one of the more beautiful fields the forest had to offer. She watched her mother for a few moments, silence formed between the two since her question was asked. For a while her mother seemed too distracted with her current work to reply. The woman was hard at work gather the last few wild herbs that she could carry. Or at least enough that she deemed would last them for quite some time.

At last the older woman stood up from her kneeling position and wiped the sweat that had collected on her brow. "I believe we have enough medicinal herbs for now. Let’s head for home, Sayori."

The young girl smiled, relieved to hear that they were finally finished with their hard work. "Alright Mother." she replied. She watched as her mother began to leave the field for the forest and quickly joined her. Sayori followed after her mother closely, having been warned not to stray too far for risk of being attacked by demons. Demons who would love to make a meal out of a little girl such as herself.

As they walked together, the girl tried to keep up in her mother's stride, keeping up in the older woman's steps. It seemed that not only did Sayori love her mother dearly, but she also looked to her in adoration. Seeing this put a warm smile on the woman's face and earn the girl a good stroke on the head in affection.

But their little moment of mother and daughter bonding came to an abrupt end. They were about to venture into the very edge of the forest when a familiar voice in the distance stopped them. A voice that put a smile on the woman's face each time she heard him.

"Sister! There you are!"

Kohaku was slowly making his way toward his older sister and niece. He was no longer the young, shy boy he was once upon a time. Time had treated him much more kindly due to a miracle that allowed him to survive and live on without the use of a sacred jewel shard. How such a miracle had come to pass was something Sango was still trying to fully comprehend even now. Nevertheless, she was all the more grateful her brother was here with her now. Living the life he was always meant to live.

Sango gave a warm smile to her approaching brother. "Hello little brother. What brings you out here?"

"Uncle Kohaku!" Sayori cheered and ran to hug him, only to mildly succeed in hugging his leg instead. The teenager patted her head, chuckling all the while at how cute she could be sometimes. "Nice to see you too, Sayori."

"So Kohaku, why are you here? To walk us home, perhaps?" The aged Sango asked, her warm smile turning into a playful one.

Kohaku smirked back. "You could say that, I was sent to find you. I'm afraid he's getting tired of handling the others by himself." He chuckled.

Sango found herself laughing along with her younger brother. "I see. Well, we shouldn't disappoint him now. Lets all head for home."

The young man nodded before he began to take lead of the small group and lead them home. Taking the same route, the same path they have taken countless times in the past. Sango could easily find the way back home herself, in fact she knew her way quite well throughout the forest and country side. Her youth was spent traveling the land fighting demons and gathering jewel shards had paid off, not only in reaching her ultimate goal but also in her navigation skills. Deep down, she was beginning to miss those days. Days when she would get her thrill of excitement from defeating a most difficult enemy or gaining an all important clue to bring her one step closer to her goal.

But, those days had been replaced with more peaceful times. Times of which her only worries were of those of the children and the welfare of her family as a whole. Particularly with her husband, despite his hope for a large family even he was unprepared for all the chaos that came along with it.

Sango chuckled at that amusing thought, but carried on. She had to admire how he was able to take charge of their large family despite the hardships. It was just another trait she had grown to admire and love about her husband.

"Sango, we're almost there." The ex-demon slayer heard her brother speak up suddenly and her attention was soon turned onto the familiar sight of their home over the horizon. The ever familiar sight of the temple.

The temple had been left to Miroku after his long time friend and guardian had finally passed away. Sadly, the monk passed away from both a combination of old age and drunkenness. It was a wonder he even made it to the ripe old age he reached since he constantly stayed in a drunken state. But, the old man was finally at peace. The temple was taken over by Miroku and served as his permanent home, for his wife and their soon-to-be children.

Now, the temple seemed to be over-run with children. Six to be precise minus Sayori who was with her mother. The oldest child was at the adolescent age of fourteen, the younger children ranged in ages from eleven to as young as three. It was needless to say that things had been quite busy in the years after Naraku had been brought to an end.

As the small group reached their temple home, the sounds of young children playing mixed with those of wailing cries of a stressed out raccoon-dog could be heard. "I think Hachi is in need of help." Kohaku amused, snickering slightly.

"Ahhh, get off me! My tail isn't a toy!" Hachi wailed as he ran away from two younger children. Or, he was trying to say the least. One child was already clinging onto his head whilst the other was chasing after him in the pursuit of grabbing his tail for fun.

"Children, we're home!" Sango called out, almost in a sing-song tone. Upon hearing their mother, the two younger children stopped their tormenting on poor Hachi and tottled over to their mother. "Mama, Mama!"

As soon as they left, the raccoon-dog flopped onto the ground with a great sigh of relief. "Oh, finally. You're back Sango.” Hachi said. Sango greeted the children as they came to her before they asked Sayori to play with them. "Mother, can I?"

Their mother nodded. "Alright, but stay close to home."

With a loud cheer the three children raced off to play together, leaving Sango to survey the worn out Hachi. "The children give you a hard time?" she joked with a smile.

"Hard time? I don't understand how you and Master Miroku manage all these children! Just two of them alone are a handful. I'm just a simple servant..." he whimpered.

"Now now Hachi." Sango and Hachi both turned around just as the man himself was emmerging from within the temple. In his arms was the youngest member of their large family; a three year old baby boy. At his side was their oldest child, a fourteen year old girl. "You did better than I expected with Kouji and Aya. Normally, you would give in after five minutes alone with them."

Hachi took it as an insult and crossed his furry arms. "Hmph! I'm not babysitting material here." he repied, earning only laughter as a response. The raccoon-dog simply shrugged it off and bid farewell to his master and his family, leaving as he shook his head and said. "I'll never understand humans..."

Time passed on and soon the sun was beginning to set. Most of the children were already fast asleep and those who were still awake were simply enjoying the sunset. As were their parents, who were off in a different area of the temple themselves.

Standing side by side, Sango and Miroku were enjoying the setting sun in all it's radiance and beauty. Life had changed so much for them over the years, but much of the change was welcomed. However, one thing that had not changed in all that time was their love for one another.

"The sunset is beautiful, isn't it?" Sango smiled at her husband who was also enjoying the sight. "Yes it is." he replied. Suddenly, she felt something against her behind. It was all too familar feeling, one that made the woman blush.

Of course, the action was met by a loud slap. It's sound was heard almost throughout the temple. "Father's at it again..." sighed Miyako as she leaned against one of the pillars of the temple. "I guess Mother was right about Father and his antics all along." Her brother, Momiji replied.

Indeed, some things never really change.