The illusion of the peaceful afternoon was shattered. Cause? The contact between a certain gloved hand of a certain monk, and a certain derriere of a certain demon-slayer.
SMACK
Kagome and Shippo sighed, as the oblivious Inuyasha smirked and muttered something about the monk having it coming.
Unknown to them, Sango was doing the same thing – sighing, not smirking – inwardly. The poor girl was frustrated and unsure; she would never admit that she harbours feelings for Miroku, but they exist, true enough. Beneath her cold exterior, there is a soft spot in her heart that yearns for the care and affection of a man. What girl doesn't? No matter how many battle she has been in, or how many monsters she has slain, she is still a young girl, having seen barely twenty summers and in the prime of her life. Given how much hardships she has endured, can one blame her for feeling lonely and in need of a man?
But what about the man she has her eyes on? At times, it seems as if Miroku treated her as more than just a friend (and eye candy), but she still cannot bring herself to trust him. Miroku's lechery hardly recommends him in her eyes, not to mention Sango was brought up wary of the male species. Can she expect him to be faithful to her? Like today, in the village they stopped at, Miroku once again demonstrated just how addicted to women and flirting he was. In less than the time it took for Inuyasha to hit the ground after Kagome yells "sit", Miroku had asked the first pretty woman he sees to bare his children (yes, Sango was timing). As much as she wanted to believe that he loves her, Sango was afraid – afraid that he rejects her, that he would betray her, that he would break her heart.
The group packed up their luncheon and went on their way, with a handprint mark now added to Miroku's attire. Sango lagged behind with Kirara on her shoulder. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Why should she be so stressed by all this uncertainty and doubt? Why couldn't he just be content with one woman, namely her? Yet perhaps, she mused, she would be less attracted to Miroku without his womanizing aspect. After all, what would be left of him without that characteristic personality flaw? In spite of herself, she smiled, but the smile quickly left her face and was replaced by a frown. Still, Sango thought, he could show more respect to her and stop making her jealous by chasing skirts in the villages.
Following such trains of thought, Sango got more mad and upset. She was not about to show it to her friends though; after all, she can take care of herself, physically and emotionally. Instead of bursting into tears or binging on food, she vents her anger by –
"Demon!"
Ah, perfect timing.
She leapt into battle faster and closer than she usually does, eager to unleash her pent-up feelings. Inuyasha was right alongside her with Tetsaiga in hand. She flung her Hirakotsu at the ape-like demon and knocked it backwards. Inuyasha quickly used Wind Scar on the weakened demon and it was destroyed instantly.
"Feh, that was too easy," said Inuyasha.
Sango agreed – that demon hardly put up a fight. Unseen by either of them, a shadowy figure emerged from the debris left behind by the ape-demon.
Kagome, Miroku and Shippo ran up from behind and saw what Inuyasha and Sango both missed, obscured by the dust raised from the battle.
"Look out!"
The figure hurled, or perhaps exploded, none of them really could tell, numerous fuzzy spheres-shaped objects at the two. Inuyasha and Sango blocked the objects with their weapons, but upon contact the spheres exploded into powder, causing the two to cough uncontrollably. By the time the rest of the group reached them, the two were on the ground and the figure had disappeared.
"Inuyasha! Sango! Are you all right!"
Kagome kneeled down and shook the unconscious dog-demon. He opened his eyes and glanced around at Kagome, Shippo, then Sango, who was now being supported by Miroku on the ground.
"How do you feel? Was it poison?" an anxious Shippo hovered around.
"Yeah, I don't feel that bad actually. I don't think it was poison or anything. Are you guys okay?" asked Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha, are you sure you're all right?" a worried Kagome asked. Maybe it was her priestess powers or woman's intuition, but she could not feel at ease about the entire situation.
"Don't worry about me, Kagome. I'm half-demon remember? Just feel a little groggy that's all. Is Sango all right?"
"I think she's passed out," said Miroku, "but she doesn't seemed to be injured in any way. Sango, wake up! Sango can you hear me?"
"Unnn…" groaned the demon-slayer. A concerned Kirara licked her face. "What's going on? What happened?
"You and Inuyasha were hit by something after you killed the demon, then you fainted," said Miroku gently, "How do you feel?"
"Okay, I guess, just a bit tired," murmured Sango. She made no move to leave the monk's arm surrounding her, which, after a while, prompted Miroku to ask her: "Are you able to walk by yourself?"
A startled look replaced the dreamy glaze on Sango's face. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'll be fine. Can you help me up?"
Perhaps it was his imagination, but as he supported her, Miroku thought that Sango was more clingy than usual. Not that he was one to complain; he loved every opportunity to touch her, even in a non-perverted way, without getting slapped.
The group went on their way, thinking no more of the incident.
Boy, how wrong they were.
A lone figure skulked through the woods until he came across a clearing, where a woman sat on a stump, fanning herself.
"Did you do it?" asked Kagura suspiciously.
"Yes, now where's my payment?" screeched the man.
"Here you are," Kagura flung a bag of gold coins at him, "the job better be done right, or else Naraku won't let you off easy."
With that, she got on her feather and flew to Naraku's castle.
"Well, how did it go?"
"He said he did it, but I don't see what a second-rate faith-healer like him can do anything, or why you'd want to employ his services. Inuyasha and his group don't seem to be affected by his poison at all," answered the wind-witch.
"You will find out in due time, Kagura. Come, watch Kanna's mirror with me and you will understand soon," said Naraku.
The group was walking in a wooded area, when the ordinary happened.
A demon – a weak, ugly snake demon at that – popped out of nowhere and poised to attack the group.
What happened next, however, was anything but ordinary to the group.
As Miroku and Kagome readied to fight back, Inuyasha gave a yell. Not one of his regular battle cries, however, but a yell that signified terror and panic. Then, to the surprise of his friends, he scrambled behind Kagome and crouched low, with his heads over his head. If he was a dog-demon with a tail, that tail would undoubtedly be between his legs at this moment.
And Sango, the strong, fearless slayer who comes from a clan with a reputation that strikes dread into demons' hearts, fell backwards into a swoon on laying eyes on the demon, and collapsed into a dead faint.
