When Sango was six, she met a boy.
He was evil. She was sure of it. She just knew he had to be; it was all in his eyes, all in the way he stared at her. They were narrowed and focused solely on her, causing her to squirm uncomfortably. He hadn't even blinked yet. Only an evil person could do that.
She sighed, turning to look out of the window. She'd just have to ignore him. Maybe if she did it long enough, he'd really disappear. After about ten minutes of that, she glanced at him to see he was still glaring at her unwaveringly. She frowned.
"What are you looking at, boy?" she snapped at him. He didn't miss a beat.
"What are you doing here, girl?" he sneered at her. Her brown eyes grew wide with shock. She hadn't expected a response. She composed herself, turning to give him her full attention.
"My mommy brought me here so she could talk to your mommy. And my name is Sango, boy," she told him smartly. He scoffed, crossing tiny arms over his chest.
"I don't care what your name is, girl. I just don't wanna' see your ugly face in my room," he replied. She gasped in an insulted manner.
"I'm not ugly," she said, narrowing her eyes at him. He smirked smugly at her.
"Sure you are. All girls are. And don't touch my stuff. All girls got cooties, too, and I don't wanna' catch them from you. As a matter of fact, get off my bed. I'll probably have to clean it now…" he told her.
She hopped from his bed obediently, smoothing out her skirt before she looked back up at him. She scrunched her face confusedly, the bridge of her button nose wrinkling cutely.
"Cooties? What are those?" she asked dumbly. He looked at her as if she were crazy.
"You don't know what cooties are?" he asked her. She shook her head, her long brown pigtails swaying to and fro. He sighed, rolling his honey-colored eyes into his head.
"I knew you were stupid," he mumbled. She opened her mouth to respond, but he continued.
"Cooties are little germs that all girls have that make them all dumb and weak and stuff," he told her. She looked at him inquisitively for a moment before she spoke.
"If all girls have them, then why are you afraid of them?" she asked him slowly. He frowned at her.
"I ain't afraid of them," he snapped indignantly, "and boys can catch them from girls. But we only get them for a day. Girls got them for the rest of their lives."
"Does your mom have them?" she asked him curiously.
"No!" he replied quickly. Then he grinned mischievously, "But your mom does."
Sango gasped, then shook her head furiously.
"No, she doesn't! My mama's smart and strong!" she protested. The boy shrugged uncaringly, picking up one of his model airplanes from his bedside table and examining it.
"So? When she gets older, her brains are gonna' rot and fall out of her ears," he told her nonchalantly. Sango gasped, raising a hand to her mouth to chew her fingertips worriedly.
"It's true. Have you ever seen her dig in her ears with one of those white sticks?" he said, looking up from his model. She nodded slowly. He went back to his plane.
"Yep. They're already rottin'. She's gonna' die soon. Probably… tomorrow," he said.
The room fell into silence then, save for a few swear words coming from the evil boy when he messed something up on his plane. Then he froze, having smelled the tears before he looked up and saw them filling her large eyes. His ears drooped and his shoulders sagged; he knew what was coming next.
"Oh no…" he mumbled.
And then they started. They began as whimpers, her bottom lip trembling as a small tear rolled down her cheek. Then she began to wail, loud and long. His ears flattened to the top of his head and his shoulders hunched. He dropped his model on his bed as he hopped down and hurried over to her. He shook his hands in front of her frantically, attempting to calm her down.
"Shh! Shh, shut up, girl!" he whispered to her. She hollered even louder, and he began to hop from foot to foot worriedly. If he didn't get the stupid girl to shut up, he was in for it.
"My name is Sango!" she screamed with a stomp of her foot before she began wailing again.
"Okay, okay Sango! Shut up 'cause your mama ain't gonna' die! I was just pickin' atya'!" he said to her. Her screams died down to sniffles as she rubbed her eye with her tiny fist.
"She's not…?" she asked him hesitantly. He huffed, crossing his arms as his ear swiveled atop his head in an annoyed manner.
"I said she ain't, didn't I? Ain't nobody ever died from cooties," he said groggily. Sango stared at him for a moment, then became angry.
"Then why did you say that?" she hollered at him, reaching her tiny fist out to bop him atop his head.
"Ow!" he shrieked, rubbing the growing lump. "Why, you…"
"Inuyasha! What's going on up there?" he heard his mother shout. Then he heard two sets of footsteps. Quickly, he glared at Sango.
"I'm gonna' climb through your window and eat you for that," he told her through clenched teeth.
He snatched a book from his desk then grabbed her hand and sat on the floor, yanking her to sit down next to him. He cracked the book open just as his bedroom door opened. Both his and Sango's mothers peered in suspiciously.
"What's going on in here?" his mother asked him. He looked up from the book he was pretending to read and tossed his long bangs from his face.
"Hm? Oh, hi mommy and Miss Sango's Mom. I was just about to read to Sango," he said, smiling brightly. Sango blinked at him. The mothers exchanged glances.
"What was all that screaming we heard, then…?" his mother asked slowly.
"Sango was doing the part for Little Red Riding Hood. It's the book we're reading," he told them casually.
"Oh," she responded, "Just be careful, okay? We're right downstairs if you need us."
"Actually, it's about time for us to go, Mrs. Taisho," said Sango's mother as she lifted her arm to look down at her wristwatch. Inuyasha frowned. He stood up and walked over to them, straining his neck to look up at them.
"Aw, can't Sango stay just for a little longer, Miss Sango's Mom?" he whined falsely. He didn't really want her to stay; he just didn't want them to be suspicious. She smiled down at him and then kneeled down to his eye level. She reached out and held one of his tiny hands.
"I'll tell you what: You can walk Sango to her bus stop tomorrow morning. Okay?" she told him brightly.
In his position, Inuyasha got a perfect view of her face. Her soft brown eyes were large and round, and inflected with speckles of green. Her hair was long and sandy brown, the sleek, silky strands framing her face angelically. Her teeth were smooth and white, and her rosy, pink lips were full, making for the perfect smile. She was gorgeous.
"Inuyasha?" she inquired, "Is that okay with you?" Inuyasha blushed, having been caught staring at the stupid little girl's mother.
"Y-yeah, it's alright with me," he told her meekly. She nodded then stood, ruffling the top of his silvery mane. Then she looked at her daughter and held her hand out.
"Come, Sango. It's time to go. I have a doctor's appointment to get ready for, remember?" she asked her.
Sango rose and then nodded as she smoothed out her skirt once more. She trotted over to her mother and grasped her hand, smiling cutely at her.
"Yes mama, I remember. You have a baby in your tummy," she replied mirthfully.
"It was very nice having you, Ms. Tsukimoto. Perhaps next time, Inuyasha and I will visit your home, hm?" Mrs. Taisho laughed. His lips pursed as he glanced up at his mother, his stomach twisting in knots at just the thought of being in such a cootie infested place.
"That would be wonderful, Mrs. Taisho! This weekend, perhaps?" she responded excitedly. Mrs. Taisho nodded.
"Of course! I have no plans. Sounds like a date to us, huh, Inu?" she laughed as she looked down at her son. He merely shrugged. If he disagreed with her about company in front of company, he'd surely get a spanking later on.
"Come on. We'll see you to the door, " his mother told Ms. Tsukimoto. The children followed their parents down the stairs diligently, not saying a word as they listened to the idle chat. As they reached the front door, Inuyasha tugged on his mother's hand.
"Can I give Sango a hug, Ma?" he asked her sweetly.
She looked at her son in surprise. Beside herself, he had never been one to give another person physical contact. Catching her gaping jaw, she nodded, watching in wonderment as he let go of her hand and went to embrace Sango, who went deathly still in his arms.
"Aww!" exclaimed Ms. Tsukimoto, clasping her hands together adoringly. "Isn't that cute?"
Sango, on the other hand, didn't quite share the same sentiments. She just knew he was up to something. And she was right. As he leaned over to wrap his arms around her small form, he growled so that only the two of them could hear.
"Sleep with one eye open."
Then he withdrew from her, a devilish smirk on his face. He smirk grew into a fanged grin as he watched her tiny mouth tighten into a thin line, her small, girly hands rounding out to make small, girly fists. He was sure if she were of demon decent her eyes would be shooting fire from the intensity burning in them. But he knew as long as they were in the presence of adults, she would say nothing.
After a few short goodbyes, Sango and her mother left and walked down the street to their home. For the remainder of the day, she thought about what the boy had told her.
Was he really going to eat her? He was half demon; his mother had said so. Would he really come through her window, or would he eat her after school? Would he cook her, or would her eat her raw, like sushi?
By the end of the day, Sango had come up with one sure conclusion: He wouldn't get her without a fight.
That night, she slept with a sharpened pencil beneath her pillow. She stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, and as she finally drifted to sleep, one thought entered her mind.
That stupid boy was evil.