Chapter 1
Tears and Tag
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~
Sango was surprised at how much time had passed since her father and brother, Kohaku, were killed. She hadn't even had time to mourn their deaths. She sat up in her futon and looked around at everyone else, quietly and restlessly sleeping. They'd all been so busy. . . fighting for the Shikon no Tama. And now that they'd found it, there was nothing left to do. . . but wait for something to happen.
She often dreamed about them, her father and brother. Kohaku, mostly. And in the dreams, everything re-enacted itself, Naraku bringing Kohaku back to life, Kohaku giving up his fight because that's all he knew how to do after Naraku had tainted his memory with evil and nothingness. . .
Sango wiped a tear away. Would she ever have a family again? A real family? She supposed so. . . right now, she considered her friends, Kaede, Kagome, and Shippou the closest family she had. Except for Kirara, of course! Kirara was all she had left from her old village. . . how could she forget? She blushed, ashamed at her own selfishness. Kirara was probably as lonely as she was. Sango was sure she missed her family just as much as she did.
Then there were the guys. Miroku and InuYasha. Boy, were they a pair! But she loved them. She studied their faces. They looked so innocent when they were sleeping. Sango smiled. After what they'd all been through together, she couldn't help but love them. The countless times they had been there for her, never refusing to help her. Loyalty. All four of them - their friendship was based on Loyalty.
Suddenly, someone stirred. It was Kagome. "Sango? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Kagome. I just had a bad dream. I'll be okay. You can go back to sleep."
"Mmph."
Kagome rolled over and went back to sleep. Sango suddenly felt confined and quietly exited the small hut. She looked around. The sky was clear and the moon was full and bright. She sat down under a leafless tree and looked off into the mountains. The air was cold. A breeze blew and Sango shivered, reminding herself that winter was almost over. The grass was still brown. The moonlight made it look golden as it all waved in the breeze. She heard the sound of shuffling feet behind her.
"Sango?"
It was Miroku. She turned around and looked up at him. He asked, "Are you okay?"
"Yes. I just couldn't sleep."
He joined her on the ground and shivered. "It's still cold out. Do you need a blanket?"
"No, I'm okay."
"I heard you get up."
"I had another bad dream."
"About your brother?"
"No, about my father. I miss him. If it weren't for you guys. . . " she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her arms across them, ". . . I'd feel so alone. And sometimes, I do. When I think about the way things were with them. . ." Sango trailed off in an effort to stop herself. She had never opened up to Miroku like that before. He put a hand on her back - which alarmed her at first, since his hands had been in places they shouldn't have times before - but she relaxed when she looked at him and saw true compassion. He spoke up.
"You know, you're not the only one that has lost a father to Naraku. Mine spent his whole life looking to destroy Naraku, but never could. And the hole in his hand slowly devoured him - like mine almost did." He held up his right hand and looked at the place where his hole had been. He still wore his cloth and prayer beads over the place. Sango asked why. "I'm not sure," he answered sadly, "I guess I don't feel normal without them."
Sango put a hand on his shoulder, and smiled at him. She didn't want him to be sad. Everyone should be happy now that Naraku was gone, and-
She didn't get to finish her thought, for she suddenly felt his hand slip to her lower back. . . then even further. She glared at him. "Don't even-" she started. Miroku held up his hands in self defense and smiled sheepishly. "Hey, I was simply trying to be compassionate. . ."
"You were, but then you switched to wanton! You hentai!"
"Shh! You'll wake everyone!"
Sango blushed at her forgetfulness. She lowered her voice and continued, "Where do you come off, anyway? You're a monk, yet you have no respect when it comes to personal space. Why do you do such things?"
The monk quieted and folded his hands in his lap. He answered.
"I don't know. I'm a guy."
"Don't tell me that's your best excuse!"
Silence.
"Oh, Miroku!"
"Okay, okay! I guess it's just my way of getting a girl's attention." He shrugged.
"Well, " Sango replied, "this may come as a surprise to you, but you can get a lot more positive attention by keeping your hands to yourself. Why don't you try it?" Silence. Sango pushed on, "Hmm?" Miroku sighed and gave in. "Allright. Keeping my hands to myself. . . Sango?"
"Hmm?"
"For how long?"
Sango growled. "Forever!"
Miroku whined. "But I don't think I can do it that long!"
Sango sighed and got up. On her way back into the hut she heard him yell, "But, Sango. . !" She turned around at the door and mockingly put her pointer finger to her lips. "Shh!"
Miroku moaned and got up to follow her back inside.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The next day, Sango followed Kagome out into the rice fields. The morning sun was low in the east, but warm anyway, what with the chilly weather. Kagome was quiet, but smiling, and she would hum to herself every now and then. Sango just stared ahead, thinking to herself. Moments later, Kagome was the first to speak.
"It's nice out today. We should do something."
Sango stirred out of her thoughts. "Huh? Like what?"
"Oh. . . I don't know. Maybe there will be a festival somewhere."
"I haven't heard of any festivals near here. It's not a holiday, either."
Kagome's bottom lip pouted. "There must be something exciting we can do. . ."
Sango smiled. She'd been getting bored lately, also. There just wasn't much to do between eat, sleep, and practicing with her Hiraikotsu. "Kagome, do you know of any games we can play? Maybe something we can use our skills with, but not our weapons?"
"Of course! We can play tag!"
"You know the guys won't play unless they win some kind of prize, or something."
Kagome sighed. "You're right. I guess we can figure that out later. But for now, let's go tell them about it!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The boys weren't too keen on playing a child's game. Kagome argued. "It's not a child's game if we don't make it one! We'll play in the woods- you know, two teams start on either side of the woods and work thier way inward. Whichever team gets tagged first loses. And besides- Sango and I have decided that whatever group wins gets a prize of whatever they want."
Miroku took interest in this. "Whatever they want, hmm? I'm in!"
Kagome looked at the dog-demon. "InuYasha?"
He gave her a skeptical look. "Mmm. . . "
"Pleeeeaaaaaase?" She sugar-coated it wish a bat of her eyelashes.
"Mmm. . . oh, okay!" He gave in.
Kagome squealed. "Okay, there'll be two teams- Sango, myself, and Kirara-"
InuYasha interrupted her. "Hey, how come you guys get Kirara?!"
"Because, " Kagome answered matter-of-factly, "you two guys are stonger than us two girls. We should even it out. Therefore, you guys get Shippou. And no using your weapons-, " the guys nodded, "we don't want anyone to get hurt. Use any strategy you like to tag anyone you want. But remember: we have to find each other first! And anyone who's tagged has to go back to the hut and wait until the end of the game. The last person left's team wins!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sango took time to change into her exterminatoer suit- it was the only thing she had that she could run in. Tag wouldn't be too much fun in her yukata.
When everyone was rounded up and ready, the two groups met in front of the hut and went back over the rules of the game. They then broke up, InuYasha, Miroku, and Shippou taking the east end of the woods, and Kagome, Sango, and Kirara taking the west end.They began their game.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Okay," InuYasha told Miroku. "I'll take Sango, you take Kagome."
Miroku argued. "How about, I take Sango, and you take Kagome?"
"No. A: I don't trust you with Sango. B: She'll put up a better fight."
"Oh. . . so, you trust me with Kagome, then?"
There was a silence from InuYasha."Okay, you take Sango, I'll take Kagome. We may even win faster that way. Shippou, you go for Kirara." Shippou nodded, excited to be included in such an intense game of tag.
InuYasha growled."Let's head out!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"What's our strategy?" Sango asked Kagome. "Well!" she replied, "If I know Miroku, he wants to go after you, so, naturally, you should probably go after InuYasha." Sango nodded.
"Kirara, try to tag Shippou. Let's go!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
Hmmmmmm. . . what'd you think?
Don worry. . . the Sango/Naraku action with start soon! C ya next chappie! Let me know how you like it!
Honey Bee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~
Sango was surprised at how much time had passed since her father and brother, Kohaku, were killed. She hadn't even had time to mourn their deaths. She sat up in her futon and looked around at everyone else, quietly and restlessly sleeping. They'd all been so busy. . . fighting for the Shikon no Tama. And now that they'd found it, there was nothing left to do. . . but wait for something to happen.
She often dreamed about them, her father and brother. Kohaku, mostly. And in the dreams, everything re-enacted itself, Naraku bringing Kohaku back to life, Kohaku giving up his fight because that's all he knew how to do after Naraku had tainted his memory with evil and nothingness. . .
Sango wiped a tear away. Would she ever have a family again? A real family? She supposed so. . . right now, she considered her friends, Kaede, Kagome, and Shippou the closest family she had. Except for Kirara, of course! Kirara was all she had left from her old village. . . how could she forget? She blushed, ashamed at her own selfishness. Kirara was probably as lonely as she was. Sango was sure she missed her family just as much as she did.
Then there were the guys. Miroku and InuYasha. Boy, were they a pair! But she loved them. She studied their faces. They looked so innocent when they were sleeping. Sango smiled. After what they'd all been through together, she couldn't help but love them. The countless times they had been there for her, never refusing to help her. Loyalty. All four of them - their friendship was based on Loyalty.
Suddenly, someone stirred. It was Kagome. "Sango? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Kagome. I just had a bad dream. I'll be okay. You can go back to sleep."
"Mmph."
Kagome rolled over and went back to sleep. Sango suddenly felt confined and quietly exited the small hut. She looked around. The sky was clear and the moon was full and bright. She sat down under a leafless tree and looked off into the mountains. The air was cold. A breeze blew and Sango shivered, reminding herself that winter was almost over. The grass was still brown. The moonlight made it look golden as it all waved in the breeze. She heard the sound of shuffling feet behind her.
"Sango?"
It was Miroku. She turned around and looked up at him. He asked, "Are you okay?"
"Yes. I just couldn't sleep."
He joined her on the ground and shivered. "It's still cold out. Do you need a blanket?"
"No, I'm okay."
"I heard you get up."
"I had another bad dream."
"About your brother?"
"No, about my father. I miss him. If it weren't for you guys. . . " she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her arms across them, ". . . I'd feel so alone. And sometimes, I do. When I think about the way things were with them. . ." Sango trailed off in an effort to stop herself. She had never opened up to Miroku like that before. He put a hand on her back - which alarmed her at first, since his hands had been in places they shouldn't have times before - but she relaxed when she looked at him and saw true compassion. He spoke up.
"You know, you're not the only one that has lost a father to Naraku. Mine spent his whole life looking to destroy Naraku, but never could. And the hole in his hand slowly devoured him - like mine almost did." He held up his right hand and looked at the place where his hole had been. He still wore his cloth and prayer beads over the place. Sango asked why. "I'm not sure," he answered sadly, "I guess I don't feel normal without them."
Sango put a hand on his shoulder, and smiled at him. She didn't want him to be sad. Everyone should be happy now that Naraku was gone, and-
She didn't get to finish her thought, for she suddenly felt his hand slip to her lower back. . . then even further. She glared at him. "Don't even-" she started. Miroku held up his hands in self defense and smiled sheepishly. "Hey, I was simply trying to be compassionate. . ."
"You were, but then you switched to wanton! You hentai!"
"Shh! You'll wake everyone!"
Sango blushed at her forgetfulness. She lowered her voice and continued, "Where do you come off, anyway? You're a monk, yet you have no respect when it comes to personal space. Why do you do such things?"
The monk quieted and folded his hands in his lap. He answered.
"I don't know. I'm a guy."
"Don't tell me that's your best excuse!"
Silence.
"Oh, Miroku!"
"Okay, okay! I guess it's just my way of getting a girl's attention." He shrugged.
"Well, " Sango replied, "this may come as a surprise to you, but you can get a lot more positive attention by keeping your hands to yourself. Why don't you try it?" Silence. Sango pushed on, "Hmm?" Miroku sighed and gave in. "Allright. Keeping my hands to myself. . . Sango?"
"Hmm?"
"For how long?"
Sango growled. "Forever!"
Miroku whined. "But I don't think I can do it that long!"
Sango sighed and got up. On her way back into the hut she heard him yell, "But, Sango. . !" She turned around at the door and mockingly put her pointer finger to her lips. "Shh!"
Miroku moaned and got up to follow her back inside.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The next day, Sango followed Kagome out into the rice fields. The morning sun was low in the east, but warm anyway, what with the chilly weather. Kagome was quiet, but smiling, and she would hum to herself every now and then. Sango just stared ahead, thinking to herself. Moments later, Kagome was the first to speak.
"It's nice out today. We should do something."
Sango stirred out of her thoughts. "Huh? Like what?"
"Oh. . . I don't know. Maybe there will be a festival somewhere."
"I haven't heard of any festivals near here. It's not a holiday, either."
Kagome's bottom lip pouted. "There must be something exciting we can do. . ."
Sango smiled. She'd been getting bored lately, also. There just wasn't much to do between eat, sleep, and practicing with her Hiraikotsu. "Kagome, do you know of any games we can play? Maybe something we can use our skills with, but not our weapons?"
"Of course! We can play tag!"
"You know the guys won't play unless they win some kind of prize, or something."
Kagome sighed. "You're right. I guess we can figure that out later. But for now, let's go tell them about it!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The boys weren't too keen on playing a child's game. Kagome argued. "It's not a child's game if we don't make it one! We'll play in the woods- you know, two teams start on either side of the woods and work thier way inward. Whichever team gets tagged first loses. And besides- Sango and I have decided that whatever group wins gets a prize of whatever they want."
Miroku took interest in this. "Whatever they want, hmm? I'm in!"
Kagome looked at the dog-demon. "InuYasha?"
He gave her a skeptical look. "Mmm. . . "
"Pleeeeaaaaaase?" She sugar-coated it wish a bat of her eyelashes.
"Mmm. . . oh, okay!" He gave in.
Kagome squealed. "Okay, there'll be two teams- Sango, myself, and Kirara-"
InuYasha interrupted her. "Hey, how come you guys get Kirara?!"
"Because, " Kagome answered matter-of-factly, "you two guys are stonger than us two girls. We should even it out. Therefore, you guys get Shippou. And no using your weapons-, " the guys nodded, "we don't want anyone to get hurt. Use any strategy you like to tag anyone you want. But remember: we have to find each other first! And anyone who's tagged has to go back to the hut and wait until the end of the game. The last person left's team wins!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sango took time to change into her exterminatoer suit- it was the only thing she had that she could run in. Tag wouldn't be too much fun in her yukata.
When everyone was rounded up and ready, the two groups met in front of the hut and went back over the rules of the game. They then broke up, InuYasha, Miroku, and Shippou taking the east end of the woods, and Kagome, Sango, and Kirara taking the west end.They began their game.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Okay," InuYasha told Miroku. "I'll take Sango, you take Kagome."
Miroku argued. "How about, I take Sango, and you take Kagome?"
"No. A: I don't trust you with Sango. B: She'll put up a better fight."
"Oh. . . so, you trust me with Kagome, then?"
There was a silence from InuYasha."Okay, you take Sango, I'll take Kagome. We may even win faster that way. Shippou, you go for Kirara." Shippou nodded, excited to be included in such an intense game of tag.
InuYasha growled."Let's head out!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"What's our strategy?" Sango asked Kagome. "Well!" she replied, "If I know Miroku, he wants to go after you, so, naturally, you should probably go after InuYasha." Sango nodded.
"Kirara, try to tag Shippou. Let's go!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
Hmmmmmm. . . what'd you think?
Don worry. . . the Sango/Naraku action with start soon! C ya next chappie! Let me know how you like it!
Honey Bee