I don't own Inuyasha.
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Lonely No Longer
Sango sat cross legged atop a grassy knoll. She looked up.
She saw the swirl of clouds against the blue wash of the sky, and yet, she didn't quite see it. A heavy sheen of tears glistened in her eyes and with each shuddering breath she took, it just seemed to get harder to blink them away.
Her shoulders trembled slightly and she dropped her gaze suddenly.
She stroked Hiraikotsu, willing herself to remember the calloused, roughened feel of her father's firm hands on her own, guiding her and teaching her the intricacies of battle; the startling boom of his laugh; the strong sense of security she drew from his very presence...
Chest heaving with the effort it took to breathe, she fisted her hands in the grass on either side, getting the dirt under her fingernails. She grit her teeth, trying to make herself remember the boyish, unique scent of her brother, perpetually dominated by the grass and wet earth he wrestled with the other boys in, and the way it surrounded her as he barrelled into her with a spirited "Nee-chan!"
She bit the inside of her cheek and struggled to remember the exact texture of her mother's skin; the lines that were just starting to form around her eyes; the way her favourite kimono hugged the contours of her body; the timbre of her voice, mellifluous and soft one minute, and sharp as a blade the next...
Swallowing the lump in her throat that felt like a rock, Sango struggled to remember.
It was a year to That Day, and the finer details of all that she lost, her family, her village, her old life, escaped Sango. It felt like the harder she tried to hold on to it all, the more it evaded her.
And in that moment, Sango felt more alone that she ever had.
Crushing loneliness stole her breath from her, and that made her head spin.
Heart pounding, tears spilling over, she looked back in a sudden, desperate move, expecting nothing.
The sight that met her eyes enveloped her, breathed life back into her being.
Miroku stood a small distance away from her, his feet very firm on the ground. His robes fluttered ever so slightly in the breeze that gently swept the place, and his violet eyes met hers with a fire that told her that he was right there, and would always be there.
Behind Miroku stood Inuyasha and Kagome, their eyes burning with the same promise.
Not making any more efforts to stop her tears, Sango looked up again and let the rays of the sun warm her face.
