Peace in the Void
AUTHOR: Angelhart
GENRE: angst
STORY: one shot
STATUS: complete
RATING: T
DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi / the television series are produced by Sunrise.
I was in the mood to write some MirSan angst fiction for Halloween and came up with this 'what if' scenario. Only I wasn't able to finish it in time before Halloween and decided to post it as Inuvember day2 challenge: MirSan. It gave some time to edit it more and make it a full fanfic.
Naraku is acting out his evil plans. Setting his traps to split the party up inside his body. Each alone would easily become a victim of despair in their desperate searches for each other as he sets out his illusions and becomes a spectator. But love is strong and Sango is not ready to give up yet.
Warning: character death
(In my opinion the T-rating for this fic is appropriate. There is plenty blood and gore and death in InuYasha and the anime and manga are both T-rating. However if you all think the rating is too low, please let me know and I'll up it a notch to M)
She didn't know where she was going. Human instinct telling her to follow the light in the distance even though the rational part of her told her the probability rate that she would be walking towards a trap was high.
It was the feel of Hiraikotsu on her back, the feel of the melted bone structure against the fingers of her right hand, that brought her comfort. The adrenaline inside her blood pumping her heart to a fast beat. Ready to fight.
Flight was never an option. Not to her.
She did miss the reassurance of her companion by her side. She took comfort however in the thought that perhaps the nekomata was heading towards a safer path. Do not look for me, my friend, she thought. Where I'm going there will be only death.
Even with her mask the foul stench of Naraku's body penetrated her nose. It's corrosive effects slightly nullified, yet still deadly. It would only buy her time and she accepted every second it would give her.
Each step took her further inside Naraku's body. She didn't share Kagome's optimism of getting out of here alive. Maybe it was because she never expected that out of any battle she fought. Being a slayer was a hard life with no guarantees of success rating. And it was a lonely life. The ones that did find love would often see it teared apart. A demon slayers life was never peaceful. Demons always spying for a quick kill. And death was lurking equally so when a taijiya entered a battle. Eager to take action the moment the slayer would falter. In battling demons there were no second chances. If you made a wrong move, you were already dead.
And Sango had already died once.
And now the hand of death was already beckoning to her in the light. Death better be patient, for she was not ready to take her leave just yet.
The weight of Hiraikotsu was slowly wearing her down. Her right hand not forming that solid hold on it as she was used to. How long had she been walking? Was time part of this place or had the Shikon Jewel already engulfed them into an eternity suffering? Was this Hell?
Maybe she was already dead.
Now that would be truly ironic.
A chuckle left her lips and although it was barely audible the echo resonated around her frightfully. Even her own humor was trying to play mind tricks on her, because for a moment she thought she could hear the sound of her own voice transforming into the demon's bitter laughter.
According to Kagome she was still young. And her thoughts wondered off to that world her friend had so often described. Thinking about it she realized she would not feel at home in that world. It sounded all too perfect. It was still pleasant though to get caught up in those fantasies of a world where demons didn't threaten your life from the moment you took your first breath until the last air left your lungs. It would be the ideal place to start a family. And thinking of that she thought about her reason for being here.
Thoughts about him filled her heart with hope and loving warmth. In dreams she had envisioned a place of her with him. A family. She would bare his children, become a mother, a wife. Her father would have laughed at her domestic thinking. He had mocked her more than once that no man would win her heart unless he could knock her to the ground. The irony did not get lost on her that in fact the monk had knocked her to the ground once. It was that time when she had been possessed by a demon parasite.
But I had fallen for him long before that moment. He had now become her reason for living. Without him life held no significant meaning. And that is why she knew she was going in the right direction. For Naraku would use him against her. Like a spider in a web he would try to lure her in. And with Kohaku now safe far out of his reach the only thing the demon could use against her was Miroku. Sadly it also meant that she would be used as a pawn against the one she loved as well.
So she wasn't surprised to find him. His body cringing in pain, his left hand clutching onto the beads that closed the windtunnel in his right hand. She had felt the surge of wind just before she noticed him. And she saw a new horde of demons coming his way.
Before he could raise himself and open up the vortex once again she beat him to it. Letting her boomerang fly to tear to flesh and bones of the demonic creatures that attacked him. Her right arm stretched to capture Hiraikotsu on its return.
"Houshi-sama." She let her weapon fall to the floor as she knelt beside him. He looked tired, worn out. Defeated. And it wasn't until she moved her hand over his right and squeezed softly that he even noticed her.
"Sango…" He looked surprised to actually see her. Had he believed she was an illusion?
"Houshi-sama," she repeated again to get his attention. His eyes moved up to her own and a smile crept upon his lips in response. Underneath her fingers she could feel the cold draft of the wind. The tunnel was getting bigger each time. Not only could she hear it, she could also feel it. A gentle pulling. Not enough to be dangerous yet, but enough to alert her of the danger.
Time was running out.
And as if he read her thoughts he spoke to inform her of the same risk. "You should not have come, Sango."
She ignored his words and helped him up to his feet. "More are coming. We need to leave." Her voice was stern. Her battle voice. Harsh, almost unfriendly. The one that was used to shouting orders. But that was a long time ago.
And he was no slayer.
The way he leaned onto his staff told her he would be a burden. In another time, another world almost, he would already be a lost cause. Death was breathing down his neck so loud she could practically hear it. Then again, such same spirit was already lurking to take her as well.
"Sango…," a voice spoke.
She turned her head towards the darkness. A face emerged from it eyes, a mouth, mocking her. "Leave him, Sango. He is already dead. Be selfish. Safe yourself."
"Sango you should leave."
She averted her eyes from the face of their enemy to look at the monk behind her. He wasn't following. He had sat himself down again. His left hand clutching the beads that were wrapped around his right arm and hand. From the corners of her eyes she noticed the face – her illusion disappearing. A chuckle filling the space they occupied.
She wanted to kill Naraku more than anything. She didn't care for her life. But she did care for his. And as she lowered herself onto her knees in front of him she knew their battle was over.
Whirling wind. A sound that had been inside her nightmares as well when she had come to learn about his fate and when her heart had bound her fate to his. A hand pushed against her shoulder, urging her to leave.
"Sango, you need to-" He stopped midsentence when he noticed her sagging shoulders and how her hand released the large boomerang.
"Take me with you, houshi-sama." She was tired. Naraku's body was a maze of traps and illusions. She was sick of the mind games. Sick of the air she breathed. Sick to be the strong one. The last survivor. Her hands reached behind her to undo the band that held her hair. When it fell loose over her shoulders his left hand reached out to it. A gentle stroke through the ebony strands.
"Take me with you," she repeated and she held his gaze. "Let us end this."
His embrace was fast. His left arm surrounding her and holding her and she relaxed to the soothing warmth of his strong body. And it did seem silly that she had refused this act of tenderness before. In his arms she realized she had needed this. This comfort, this feel of intimacy. She moved her arms to hold him as well.
What a fool she had been. Too be that stubborn woman that would refuse herself this love. What an idiot he had been for being such a flirt and lecherous man to ruin it for them both each time she had anticipated this.
She thought of her friends and how they were anxious to see them together.
Only not like this, she humorously mused.
Her friends, their friends, they were here too. Kagome, Inuyasha. Even Inuyasha's brother who was searching for the girl child Rin. Despite the knowledge of their fate she could not cry for their sacrifice. She was a taijiya. She wouldn't mourn over the loss of youkai. Or hanyou. And the loss of innocent life – Kagome, Rin, only two – was a small price to pay for the safety of the rest of the world.
She was far from innocent. And her life was borrowed anyway. She had already been buried once. Her driven motivation to kill the one responsible for the massacre of her family, her people, the one main thing that had kept her heart going. That had pushed to her to crawl out of her own grave like a vengeful spirit.
And the man who held her was no innocent either. During his childhood he had sucked in innocent life multiple times. Although accidently. He had confessed it to her once. A quiet evening when they had found the rare privacy of lovers.
She smiled at the thought. Lovers. Somewhere inside her there had been that little spark of hope that one day they could become just that. And when she looked in his eyes, that warmhearted gaze, she knew he had hoped for it too. Two doomed souls brought to each other by fate. Both cursed in their own way. They had not shared the intimacy of actually lovers the phrase referred to. It pained her a little bit that they never would.
She moved her right hand, he tried to stop her – his fingers surrounding her wrist – but the touch was weak. Even he realized it wouldn't matter. And when she undid the strap he even aided her and grabbed the mask that would give her some protection from the poisonous miasma in this realm. He let it fall and his hand was on her face. Her lungs taking in a deep breath of poisonous fumes and her chest tightened. Only she didn't really know if it was due to toxic or the anticipation of the kiss they were about to share.
Time was being wasted. The wind was already howling. Poison like acid was the air they breathed. Sango grabbed the back of his head and pulled his face forward and the next thing she tasted was not the sour taste of Naraku's miasma but the taste of his mouth. The kiss was hard and perhaps a little clumsy due to her inexperience, but that didn't matter. He answered it just as fierce and in the moment she paused for breath the dominant role switched. His gentle fingers angling her face for a deeper intense kiss. One that had her body souring, her spine tingling and her heart dancing.
She felt him grinning smugly against her lips when his other hand moved from her back downwards. A palm cupping the curves of her behind and this time it didn't evoke that usual slap. A moan left her lips and for a moment their personal hell had become a little piece of heaven.
Damn this, she thought. Her only conciliation that at least they would drag Naraku with them. And another conciliated thought was that Kohaku would be spared. Her brother would live. He was safe in the village. That thought would give her, her peaceful passing. He would be given a second chance. Grow old. Have a family of his own.
She didn't know how long the kiss had lasted, how much time had passed when he pulled away slightly. She turned to watch his hand. He was holding it up, fingers clenched into a fist. The sound of howling wind, the rattling of the beads that sealed it. They would shatter soon.
His other arm around her tightened. She was relieved that at least he didn't make another effort to push her away. She was exactly where she wanted to be. Although she couldn't stop her eyes from tearing up, her heart pounding a little faster due to instinct fear while every fiber in her being told her to run, run fast, when she felt the slight pull of wind, she held on to him.
His right arm was stretched to the max to postpone the inevitable as long as possible. "Sango, I'm so sorry." He whispered close to her ear and she cried. Silent sobs as she clung to his body. She couldn't voice it, but it was okay. It's okay…
The beads fell. They clattered on the ground and there was an immediate pull of air that tugged on her.
"I love you, Sango."
She whispered the same love proclamation back to him, not caring that the words died in the strong howling wind. His body tensing up as he sucked in the miasma that surrounded them. Ironically the tensing in her body eased up when her lungs were given that short moment of fresh air. She pressed herself against him tightly, maybe even hurting him due to her strong hold. She cried for him. His suffering seemed so unfair. She had seen the purple coloration spreading on his skin before she had closed her eyes.
"It's okay," she whispered when she noticed he was holding back his own cries of pain as he endured the effects of the miasma on his body. It would be a short torment. It would all end soon. And she bared with him, held onto him.
Damn you to Hell, Naraku. Damn you. It were her thoughts as much as his. She could swear she could hear the demon's maniacal laughter echoing. Was the man insane? Did he not know what the result would be when Miroku's windtunnel would be fully unleashed? That it would mean his downfall? Or was he just arrogant by thinking he could escape it.
A fear stronger than the one of the dead that awaited her grabbed hold on her. What if he would survive?
No. They had not come that far to let him win. Not now. Not ever. The wind would suck them all in. She had seen the effect of its power. The deep crater that signaled the end of the cursed life. The demon would not escape his fate. By accepting the monk's entry in his body he had sealed his doom.
It would not be the happy ending they had hoped for. Nevertheless it would be an ending all the same.
It happened. She could tell by the feel of the jolt of his arm. The pulling so close to her. His hand was gone.
"I love you," she spoke as she looked at him. Staring in his eyes in those last seconds she knew that the suffering for both them would be over. There would be peace in the void.
Then the darkness closed around them as the wind pulled them in the black vortex.
In the end there would be peace for the whole world.
* * The End * *
I'm sorry for this hurt and angst :(
I blame it on Halloween. I am more of a fluffy kind of person when it comes to this pairing. I don't know what came over me that made me write this. I hope you all enjoyed it still.
This my first try on a real angsty fic. It still keeps gnawing on me it could be better. But I myself am not feeling at my best, so for my first try and due to circumstances I would like to think I did all right.
Reviews are most welcome.
Arigato Gozaimashita