(A/N: Well, counting Misled, this'll be my second attempt at a real fanfiction. I want to get back into my writing kick, since I really hate to see it just wither away like that without a reason. So here, I give you, a more thought-out plot. Yes, it's Mir x San... Can't help it. Too obsessive.

Let me start off by saying that yes, this fic is slightly historical, but whether it's correct or not is up to me. In 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. The effects of the radiation harmed those that managed to live, and any diseases contracted by them could easily be passed on by heredity. Sango was not born at the time, but her mother was pregnant with her. We'll say that the present time is 1962. I don't know what the state of Hiroshima was in the 60's, but in this fic, it will be justified as being in bad but improving shape.

The history of Sango's lavender iris will be explained. Bear with me.

I hope this fic becomes successful, because I'm really gonna work on it this time - not just let it roll over and vanish into the debts that is Enjoy your reading!)

Summary: After Sango has mistakingly killed a man, she searches for a place of shelter. Her fate entwines with a young man named Miroku, whom she confides in. Soon enough, Sango's behavior changes, and she contracts a deadly disease tracing back seventeen years. How will her new care-taker deal with a felon and an infected?

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You didn't kill him.

No, I didn't.

He was dead when you got here.

Yes... That's right. Already dead.

No one will ever know he's missing.

Right... He looked homeless anyway.

So then, you did kill him?

No, of course not!

You didn't?

Never...

Are you sure?

...I don't know anymore.

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Defiled Lavender

Prelude; Pouring

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The rain poured, and the city slept. But she was not the city.

Sango drew her knees up to her chest, remaining silent beneath her haven of roof shingles. She was cold; wearing soaked garments made it more difficult, and she stifled a shudder each time the wind tossed the rain about, making it tangle in her lochs. Her feet drew lazily on the damp pavement, and her distant stare traveled over to the body of a man, limp and bloodied. Sango's eyebrows furrowed, and in an attempt to avert her thinking, she rose her hand towards the sky.

"Funny... It didn't used to be this way."

She scowled, which quickly turned into a bitter smile. Even after seventeen years, the country she called home was still in ruins. It had been that long since the atom bomb devoured Japan in a torrent of fire and radiation, but now that there wasn't much to see, Sango could indentify the acid-charred bricks and crumbledavenue from a mile. It would be quite some time before everything returned to the way it had been - time which she couldn't stand to wait for, and that she didn't have the patience to tolerate.

Her eyes wandered to the dead man mere feet away from her, his blood smearing the concrete and then being washed away by the mass of rain. Her heart ached, and she felt pain for this stranger. All she had meant was to ask for directions to the train station... Now the train had surely departed, and she would be stuck in Hiroshima, living off of the remains of dead animals and withered plants.

A loud siren suddenly echoed down the alley-way, and a pang of fear shot into Sango's entire being, causing her to erect her back as high as she could to keep herself subtle. The patrol car whirled by, and she rasped out a curse, trying to calm her heart. She didn't want to be found... All she needed right now was time to reflect, or time to ignore. A little break from working, and a nice opportunity to let her worries soar into an abyss that she didn't care for.

Besides, she would never want to be considered a criminal.

Her hand traced up to her cheek, and for the first time since her accidental killing, Sango felt the tiniest hint of a cut near her left ear. Her mouth formed a pout, as she recalled the events from before. 'He struck at me first,' she murmered, 'the bastard got what he deserved.'

A part of her wanted to believe that, but most of her couldn't be forced to.

Instantly, both of her palms pressed against her eyelids, and Sango sobbed loudly. Her body shook forward from the convulsions, and she could hear the clouds roar with her in desperation. She hoarsly forgave him, and his family, and anyone else that would be hurt because of her decision. She didn't want anyone to suffer for this but herself.

It was too late for that kind of hope.

With herhands still plastered to her face, she whispered soothing words to herself, into her palm. "I'm going to be alright... No one's going to hurt me, I just have to keep running..." All of the guilt drained from her figure, and after her bawling, she became genuinely exhausted. Sango's desires switched from wanting to remain lonely for a while, to wanting a blanket and a loving caress.

She wanted warmth. She already lost that.

"I didn't want this... No one does."

Her body tilted to the side away from the corpse, and her head found the water-laden ground beneath her. Sango's eyes fluttered, focusing her vision on the mildewed wall in front of her. She took a slender hand, and fumbled it inside of her shirt, before withdrawing it and twirling the object she retreived with interest.

A lavender iris. 'And I thought I lost you...'

Sango's body went flaccid, and she lay there in the street, drenched in a puddle of water. The iris was held to her chest, and her free wrist fell to the boulevard.

The city slept, and within she tried to dream, but she was defiled by lavender.

-

Await in the garden, for me.

Let the iris kiss your tears,

And be devoured by the poison of your heart.

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