Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, only this plot, so don't sue and don't steal. Thanks.
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The crickets chirped continously as a lone figure, with hair as black as the night and eyes of cool azure, lay among the dewy green grass, hands behind his head as he watched the fireflies hovering over him. Its light was flickering, but it still held the human's mesmerizing gaze. It was a nice, warm summer night out, he thought, despite it being the night of the New Moon, or as a certain priestess joked, his 'time of the month'. He still wasn't sure what his friend meant by that.
The stars glimmered beautifully against its raven background, eliciting a memory of a certain dark-haired woman he had grown to respect. A fleeting image of her crossed his mind and faded just as quickly. Even so, it was enough to bring forth those damn emotions he had long harbored for the woman. It always intensified on this night, and he didn't know why. Perhaps it was her absense that made him feel this way, being that she was gone for more than a month.
'Feh, she'll be back,' was his reassuring thought, but then it was slayed with doubt. What if she didn't return to her rightful place--by his side? He blinked, his mind registering his recent thought. 'By my side? What the Hell?'--he mentally shouted.
"This is stupid; I hate being human," he muttered, silently seething.
His mood, worsening by the second, did not cease the feeling in his gut at the thought of his comrade--no, his friend--leaving his--no, their group's side, forever. Had she given up? No, she would never give up, he thought, she vowed to find Naraku and kill him for aiding the death of her family and comrades.
Then an alarming thought popped up in his mind: What if something happened to her?
"Grr...she said she'd take a nine-week break, you idiot!" he muttered under his breath as he sat up. The village where his other companions resided was the first thing that was in his line of sight. It sat in the distance, as if asking for his presence. He scoffed and stood, his mind on a certain village once occupied by strong demon slayers. With her and the village in mind, he set off to return to HIS rightful place.
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Red eyes blinked, eliciting curiosity, and wandered to a very distressed figure that stared into the giant campfire before her. The owner of the red eyes blinked, wondering what was ammiss with her mistress. She was acting different ever since she departed a month ago. As to why her mistress left was unknown to Red-Eyes.
"Mew,"
Cinnamon brown irises met red ones. Her mistress's lips curled into a small smile, but her eyes held no joy or warmth. Only emptiness; eyes that would make the wandering, soulless preistess jealous.
"What is it, Kirara?"
Even the sound of her voice was devoid of warmth, and this discovery made the fire-cat's ear droop in sadness. How she wished for her mistress to get better, and soon. What happened that month ago to make her so melancholy and empty?
Her eyes glanced back at the blaze before her, watching the flames toss flickering shadows of her fir-cat across the dusty ground. A sigh flitted from her slightly chapped lips, relasing some of the pent-up sadness deep within herself, and she smiled again in spite of herself.
A coward; she was a coward for running away from the deep feelings that plunged deep inside her soul. A fool, was what she also was, for running made her heart grow fonder of what she missed. She made up reasons, all lies, but only one held some truth to it.
She was scared of her deep feelings. Hell, Naraku was a childish nightmare compared to this, and that was saying something. These feelings were a sin, like Taboo, and to commit would only bring pain to those close to her as well as herself. The only reasonable option was to hide, at least until these feelings dispersed. Albeit, they only intensified every moment she was absent.
She let her gaze drift upward to the star scattered sky before her and a reassuring fact came to mind. No matter where she may run, he would always be under the same sky she was under. That thought alone was enough to bring peace to her wounded mind.
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His journey was aided by the star's illuminating light, that of which he was thankful, for his animalistic senses were delayed until sunrise. It was only several hours away, but for some reason, he didn't want to see her again as a half-demon, but as a human with feelings to be acknowledged and realized.
Perhaps she could decipher these feelings for him while he was there. There was no other woman he knew with a deeper intuition, well, besides his past significant.
Significant. Was SHE significant to him? His brows furrowed, an action that explains he was in deep contemplation, and his eyes hazed.
What was so special about her? Why was he drawn to such an imperfect soul and body? This woman was average, like any other woman in this world. Her plain brown hair wasn't that pretty since it cascaded down her back, but it was well-kempt and groomed. Her eyes were the same brown color like most women had, but it held her own warmth that was uniquely hers. Her body wasn't heavily curved, but she was strong enough to overwhelm the strongest of demons, like Naraku and Sesshoumaru.
'Why do I feel the need to be close to her?' His eyes clouded over with intense emotions. 'Why?'
His heart pouded relentlessly like drums at the thought of being close to her again and being engulfed in her signature scent he so craved. He felt his cheeks burn and he mentally cursed at his damn human emotions.
"What the hell are you doing to me?"
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Stars started to dim against the lightening dawn sky. The sun would rise to bathe the horizon with its light soon, and that would signal another day of lonliness and despair. Her lips curved into a frown as she doused the dying flames of the fire with water. Placing the empty buckey aside, she walked out of the village and though the path she traveled by the most. Her feet did the work, releasing her mind the burden of concentrating. Instead, it focused on re-surfacing memories of being with her friends.
The degenerate, but sweet-hearted monk. Awhile ago, she used to have deep feelings for him, but a month ago today, they were replaced permanently. Guilt washed over her in waves at the inability of returning his feelings. It would crush him, she assumed, but her mind told her he would go back to that Ryomi, or whatever her name was.
"Hey,"
Her angry gaze drifted from the monk all cuddled up with what's-her-face to the utterly oblivious half-demon that stared at her with question in his eyes. She stared back, awaiting his question.
"It may be my imagination, but you look upset over something," he said with curiousity leaking from his lips.
She glared coldy at him as flames erupted around her. "It IS your imagination!"
The poor half-demon, sensing the intent to kill , shook with fear and cowered behind the kistune as he locked eyes with her deadly glare.
"Wow, she can sure strike the fear in the hearts of even the most egosistical demons," Shippou commented as the half-demon nudged closer to the kitsune.
"So maybe there's still hope?" the reincarnated priestess questioned, watching the dealy interaction that unfolded before her.
Hope? It was more like hopeless to the melancholy woman. Nothing would rekindle the feelings of the monk now that they were captured by the last person she would expect to be drawn to. What was this feeling and why won't it go away? Why did her heart yearn for him so?
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Dawn was slowly approaching. He was running out of time and for once, he wished he could stay in this form, just a little while longer. Hell appeared to have frozen over by the mere desire of him wanting to stay human, which was comical for the temporary mortal. He remembered wanting to become human for another past significant other, but that all changed and possibly for the better. He met her, didn't he? For once he didn't regret being bound by a spell of hatred for half a century.
He smiled in spite of that and quickened his pace to a sprint. He felt his old speed returning to him and doubt coursed its way into his mind. He wouldn't make it in time. He could see the hues of pink, orange and red gathering beyond the horizon. He wished time could stop right then and there.
"C'mon, damnit!" he cursed under his breath as he pushed aside a low branch and leapt over a fallen log. He then, passed the cave of Midoriko and knew he was nearby. 'Yes,finally!'
He called out her name, startling the birds from their perches and they flapped frantically up into the sky away from the source of danger. Feathers fluttered down and some had gotten caught in his raven hair as he zoomed by.
'Please, wait for me,'
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Her name being shouted to the heavens alarmed her and she looked around for the source of the sound. Her eyes caught a swarm of frantic bird taking flight from the tress and deducted that's where it came from. Taking grip of Hiraikostu's handle, she started towards the entry of the forest.
Suddenly, her eyes connected to azure and her mind numbed with shock by that fleeting moment. Her body was collided by something red and firm. Its draped sleeves wove around her waist securely as they tumbled down the hill. Grunts sounded through the air, one being female and the other male.
Soon, they landed, none too gracefully, in a small stream located on the bottom of the hill. She felt water seep into her kimono and hair, but she took no mind of it. All she could do is stare incredously at the stranger that rested on top of her.
His raven hair veiled them from the rest of the world and formed a world of their own. Thier eyes--hazel and azure--connected like a puzzle piece connecting to another. Emotions passed through their eyes; from shock, numbness, relief, happiness and one that they could not decipher.
"Y-you, why? I-I...how...you here?"
His lips curled into that characteristic smirk and descended to her forehead. They felt soft, if not a little chapped, against her skin and she wanted more. Her heart and soul craved for it. She craved him and no matter what, she vowed, she'd never leave his side again.
She felt herself being lifted in his arms, giving her the sensation of floating on thin air and his smirk widened into a smile. Feeling contagious, she returned the smile and wove her arms around his neck.
"G'morning, Sango,"
Rays of the sun splashed their surroundings and danced among the stream, giving the illusion that sparks glittered around them as raven black turned dove white and azure turned amber.
"G-good morning, Inuyasha,"
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A/N: Whew! I did it! I finally overcame writer's block! Yay! You guys don't know how much this has been bothering me. After the first chapter--originally intended to be a one-shot--I felt like it wasn't a good ending, so I added this. I hope it wasn't too bad. It's been awhile since I've been on here. Maybe sometime, I'll get my other stories updated. Thanks to Priestess Reiko for reminding me of my lack for updating fics! I needed that. Heh heh, I'll get to 'What's My Name Again' in case you're wondering.
Oh, and if any of you are confused, Sango ran away from the group because she was afraid of her developing feelings for Inuyasha. She told them she was taking a break, but it was a lie. After a month, on the night of the New Moon, Inuyasha went to the village to find her because he wanted to be close to her.