The Rape of Sango, Chap 1

Warning: This is a story about a brutal assault on a beloved character, and the repercussions for her and the group. I don't describe the assault itself, but if I've done my job, you will be able to imagine what happened. I hope you give it a chance, but if you'd just rather not read about something like that, believe me, I understand (this was a hard story to write, for that exact reason.)

Inuyasha was walking through the forest back to where the group had camped. Miroku was with him, carrying a fat money bag. Inuyasha looked over at his friend weighing the bag in his hand, and turned away in disgust. "Feh."

Miroku looked at Inuyasha. "What?"

"Do you have to perform a fake exorcism every time we stop somewhere?"

"This was not an exorcism. It was a blessing and a prayer for luck in their coming battle."

"Heh! About as useful. Samurai. Idiots! And why'd you have to drag me along?"

"These were not simple villagers, they were warriors. Bringing you gave me a certain status. You saw how they treated me when you brought me my staff."

"Wait a minute! You mean you made it seem like I was your servant?!"

Miroku put his hands up. "Calm down, Inuyasha. It's salesmanship, that's all."

But Inuyasha wasn't listening anymore. He had caught a scent, and was sniffing the air. Miroku gripped his staff tighter. "What is it, Inuyasha?"

"Blood. Human," Inuyasha sniffed again, "and demon." He suddenly took off in the direction of their camp.

Miroku ran after him. "Is it coming from our camp?"

"Yes, I'm certain of it!"

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They burst into the clearing where they, Sango, Kagome, Shippo, and Kilala had spent the night. There was a small, abandoned hut where they had slept. Three male human bodies were strewn about the clearing. Neither Inuyasha nor Miroku recognized them, but from the looks of their clothing, all of them had been bandits. Two of them showed vicious claw and bite marks from a large animal, and one of them had a sword in his chest. Miroku examined it. "This is Sango's sword."

Inuyasha sniffed at one the corpses. "This happened a couple of hours ago. They must have attacked soon after we left." He started walking around the clearing, looking for clues and calling out. "Kagome!"

"Sango? Shippo?" Miroku saw something in the grass. "Inuyasha, wait." Miroku went over to the patch of yellow and black and heard it mewing pitifully. Kilala was in her small cat form and trying to stand up only to keep falling down. She had blood on her claws, and was badly wounded by sword slashes on her shoulders and belly. Miroku picked her up gently. "Let's get her into the hut," said Inuyasha.

They turned back to the clearing to find Shippo coming out of the hut, holding his head in pain. "Shippo!" Inuyasha ran up to him and knelt down. "Shippo, are you all right?"

Shippo moaned and saw Inuyasha for the first time. "Inuyasha? Inuyasha! They took them! They took them away!"

"Take it easy, Shippo. Who? Where's Kagome?"

"Bandits. About a dozen. After you left, they attacked us. Kagome told me to get inside the hut. Then a bandit came in and knocked me out."

"Was Kagome with you?"

"No, she went outside to help Sango. I heard fighting for a few minutes, then I heard Sango screaming and struggling. Kagome tried to run back in here, but hands grabbed her and pulled her away. Then the bandit came in. I transformed into a statue to hide. He picked me up and examined me, but I guess he didn't think I was valuable, because he throw me away."

Inuyasha examined Shippo's head. "You've got a nasty lump on the head. I'll get one of Kagome's potions for it."

"Inuyasha, no." Shippo pushed him away. "You have to rescue Kagome and Sango! You have to go now!"

Miroku had put Kilala down. "Shippo, can you take care of Kilala?"

"Of course. Inuyasha, do you think they were after the sacred jewel shards?"

"Let's hope so," said Miroku.

Inuyasha looked at him quizzically, and turned to Shippo. "You stay with Kilala. We'll be back soon. With Kagome and Sango."

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At least one of the bandits had been wounded. With Inuyasha's nose, the blood trail was easy to follow. "There's a small village a few miles in this direction. Maybe that's their base of operations?"

Miroku nodded. "We saw some villagers yesterday that might have been refugees. Maybe the bandits cleared them out and settled in."

"Miroku, what did you mean when said you were hoping that they were after the sacred jewel shards?"

"Because the alternative is one I don't like to think about." They ran on.