Sango's Suffering
Hanajima Sato had had enough. Inuyasha had missed school Friday, and again on Monday. When she'd called his home to find out where he was, his mother had once again insisted that he'd contracted the flu.
Flu, hah! As if!
It was time, Hanajima had decided, to confront the one she believed most likely to be responsible for this mess. This was what found Hanajima outside of the dojo Inuyasha attended on that Monday afternoon. From the sounds inside, there was a class already in session, so Hanajima resisted any urges to barge in. Instead, she slipped inside the building quietly, and, glancing around, saw that she had been correct in assuming that class had begun already. A group of teenagers, about Inuyasha's age it looked like. Possibly this was the class he normally attended after school, but she didn't see him among the students.
Spotting an area that seemed to be set aside for waiting parents or other visitors, Hanajima settled herself out of the way, prepared to wait however long necessary to speak with the sensei, whatever his name was. She didn't think Inuyasha had ever mentioned it.
While she waited, Hanajima took the time to study Inuyasha's sensei. It wasn't hard to figure out which of the teachers was in charge. It had to be the one that was practically prowling around the teens, speaking a word here, adjusting someone's form there. Then there was his presence, giving off a clear sense of ownership and confidence. He simply didn't give off the vibe of someone who would work for another person.
He's a good teacher, Hanajima grudgingly admitted to herself. True, what he taught was drastically different from what she taught, but whatever was being taught the characteristics of a good teacher were always the same, and Hanajima had taught long enough that she knew a good teacher when she saw one. It was clear from the interactions between him and his students that they respected him and were eager to learn, and he showed them a measure of respect in return.
It was enough to make Hanajima doubt her initial assumptions that this man was at the root of whatever was going on with Inuyasha. Would a good teacher who respected his students and was respected by them in turn really do something to put their student in danger? If asked that question previously, Hanajima's answer would have been a vehement no.
Maybe he's just good at faking it.
The class lasted longer than Hanajima would have preferred to wait; she had homework to grade tonight. Aside from the work she putting off for this, she wasn't all that comfortable watching their training, because it brought to mind those frightening few seconds when Inuyasha had…lost control of himself. But eventually it did end, and when it did Inuyasha's sensei immediately approached her, which came as a surprise.
I didn't think he'd noticed me.
Well, apparently he had, though what he might think of her presence was impossible to tell from his neutral expression. "Can I help you?" he asked.
"I would like to speak to you privately, about a student of mine that you train," Hanajima said. "Inuyasha Higurashi."
The man's expression didn't even flicker. In fact, it was such a careful non-reaction that Hanajima was certain this man knew exactly why she wanted to talk about Inuyasha. "I don't discuss my students with anyone who isn't a parent or guardian. It's policy. If there is nothing else you wanted to discuss, Mrs…"
"Ms. Sato," she corrected him crisply, and did she really look old enough that marriage should just be assumed? Well, okay, she was plenty old enough to be married by now, as her mother seemed to enjoy pointing out nearly every time they talked, but she didn't need complete strangers reminding her that she was twenty eight and single. "And I happen to think it is very important that you discuss Inuyasha's absences with me."
"I would think absences from school should be discussed with his mother," he replied, and then turned his back in a clear dismissal.
Hanajima's spine stiffened at the insulting treatment. Rather than turning back as he clearly wished her to do, she followed him. "I have spoken to Mrs. Higurashi, and I know she's lying about him having the flu."
Again, zero reaction, and there should have been something with Hanajima making a statement like that. This man might not be a block of ice, but he could impersonate one very well. "If you statement is true, which I doubt, I fail to see how it has anything to do with me."
"It has to do with you, because I believe whatever dangerous mess Inuyasha is involved in has you at the heart of it," Hanajima said, and that statement finally got a reaction out of him.
He whirled about with startling speed, taking full advantage of the near foot height difference between them to loom over her in an exceedingly intimidating manner. His black eyes burned with a quiet fury, and it suddenly occurred to her that she'd left her purse, and the pepper spray she kept in it, back in the waiting area, so she was now a good fifteen feet away from any sort of protection from his man, and that was fifteen feet too far.
Stupid. He's not actually going to attack you.
Unless of course he was really involved in something dangerous and illegal, in which case this might be the stupidest thing Hanajima had ever done in her life.
"Ms. Sato," he said, and his voice was far too eerily calm taken in conjunction with those angry eyes. "Are you saying that I would purposely endanger one of my students?"
Hanajima raised her chin in challenge, refusing to let him see any sign of nervousness. "I am saying that, and I'm saying that I'm going to find out how!"
"Get out of my dojo!" The words were more a growl than a roar, but no less of a command for that. He turned his back on her again, the sharpness of his movement causing his long braid to almost hit her in the face.
Hanajima glared at his back, and for one moment considered pursuing the topic further. She quickly discarded the notion, deciding that she'd pushed his temper as far as good sense would allow. Grabbing up her bag and avoiding the gaze of the wide eyed assistant instructor, Hanajima beat a hasty retreat from the dojo.
Well, that could have gone better. Still, it had been enlightening in its own way, even if it hadn't given Hanajima all the details she had wished for. His carefulness to not respond when she mention Inuyasha and Mrs. Higurashi lying about him having the flu led Hanajima to firmly believe that she was right about the lies, and that Inuyasha's sensei was well aware of them. But he was genuinely angry when I said I thought he was putting Inuyasha in danger. And that could mean a lot of things. If he was innocent, it could mean that he was highly insulted that she was leveling such accusations at him. If he wasn't, it could mean he was angry that Hanajima was starting to figure things out.
But when I talked about the things that I know I'm right about, he didn't react at all. So does that mean that him reacting with anger means I'm actually wrong about this?
Maybe, maybe not. Hanajima couldn't decide for certain. What was for certain, was that whatever was going on in Inuyasha's life, his sensei knew what it was.
I'm going to figure out what's going on here. You haven't seen the last of me, Mr.… I still have no idea what his name is.
It was with much relief that Inuyasha and his friends got the news that Miroku's surgery had gone well. But of course by the time his surgery ended, there was no question about whether or not they should try to keep moving on that night. Miroku needed a peaceful rest to recover from his surgery, and everyone else was pretty worn out after everything that had happened that day as well. The evening spent at the temple was surprisingly pleasant, and when morning dawned, it promised fair weather for traveling.
"It was an honor meeting you, Mushin," Kagome said as they prepared to leave.
"The honor is mine," Mushin said. "And thank you again for saving Miroku's life as well as my own. He has found good friends in all of you."
With those parting words they left, Hachi going off on his own way rather than staying with the group. Myoga also went on his own way, saying he'd only stopped in to see how they were doing, and that he had other things to handle for now.
Finally, Inuyasha thought. Hopefully now we can get back to the village without anymore distractions, and I can get home.
He'd already been gone longer than he expected to be when he'd left his home Thursday night. Now it was Tuesday, and he was going to miss school today too, as there was no way they'd make it back this night thanks to Miroku's detour. At best he could go to school late tomorrow, at worst he'd end up missing another day.
Ms. Sato is going to kill me when I get back.
Well, maybe not kill him. Torture in attempt to get answers was definitely a possibility though.
I just hope she hasn't stormed Sensei's dojo. If I can just head that off, maybe things will work out okay.
"You know," Shippo spoke up from where he was easily balanced on Inuyasha's shoulder. "I can't believe we've traveled around so much and haven't come across even one jewel shard."
"It does seem strange," Sango said.
"Well, we don't even know how many shards are out there," Kagome said. "There might not be that many left."
Inuyasha frowned, sort of hoping that wasn't actually the case, because Naraku had way more shards than they did right now. Of course Naraku having the rest would make things simpler in a way; we'd only need to take them from one person.
Right, one person who was proving very hard to track down, not to mention the fact that every jewel shard he gathered only made him more powerful.
On second thought, I really don't want him to have the rest of the jewel shards.
"We'll find them or we won't," Miroku said practically. "There's no need to worry over it."
Something buzzed on the edge of Inuyasha's senses, and he paused. You can't be serious.
"What is it, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.
"I think I'm sensing a jewel shard," Inuyasha said.
"That's coincidental timing," Shippo said.
"Which way is it?" Kagome asked, and Inuyasha pointed. "That way."
The jewel shard Inuyasha sensed led them off the path they had been following and deep into the forest the path had bordered. Kagome was at the head of their group, but suddenly she yelped and stumbled backward as though she'd run into a wall.
"What is it?" Inuyasha asked, quickly stepping up to her to make sure she wasn't hurt.
"There's a barrier," Kagome said, glaring at the area ahead of them. "I can't pass through it."
"A barrier?" Miroku questioned. Carefully, he reached a hand forward, but it met no resistance. "It must be designed to only affect demons then."
"Which means if you go forward, Shippo, Kirara and I can't go with you," Kagome said.
Sango scowled. "I don't like it. It almost feels like this was purposely designed to split us up."
"Or maybe whoever has the jewel shard doesn't expect humans to be any kind of threat," Shippo said.
"So what are we going to do?" Inuyasha asked. "Should the three of us go ahead and try and get the jewel shard, or what?"
"Well, we can't just ignore that it's here," Kagome said.
"Perhaps from the inside we'll find a way to bring the barrier down," Miroku said.
"Be careful," Kagome cautioned.
The three of them proceeded ahead together then, all on high alert for any dangers that might appear. Following the pull of the jewel shard, they eventually left the woods, coming to a clearing with a castle centered on top of a hill. It was, Inuyasha noted, a very defensible position; since the castle had the high ground, whoever lived in it would see enemies coming from far away.
But of more importance than the castle itself was the man who stood in the gate that led to it. Leaning on his spear shaft in a deceptively casual pose that was belied by his grim expression was Hayasaka. Sango let out a strangled gasp at the sight of him. "Father."
This is bad. Really bad.
Hayasaka didn't acknowledge Sango's presence. Instead, he pointed his tsuki nari spear at Inuyasha and Miroku. "Get them," he said.
From behind the wall of the castle came floods of lesser demons who rushed at them. Their first act was to put themselves between Sango and the guys, completely cutting her off from their sight. "Sango!" Inuyasha shouted, but he didn't have time for any more words as demons rushed him and he was kept busy trying to fight off slashing claws and gnashing teeth with his staff.
"Wind tunnel!" Miroku called unleashing the weapon. Winds howled around them, dragging shrieking demons into the black hole at the center of his hand. Within moments the numbers of the demons had been reduced to a more manageable number; still it took time to finish them off, and it was only when the last demon was slain that they were able to realize that Sango and her father had vanished.
"She's got to be in the castle!" Miroku said. "Come on!"
When the flood of demons had swept over them, Sango had been distracted from her father for a moment by her worry for her friends. That was her mistake; those precious few seconds had been all Hayasaka needed to immobilize her with a weighted chain and drag her off into the castle.
"Father, stop this, please!" Sango begged.
He didn't speak to her, didn't even look at her as he dragged her deeper into the castle. His silence hurt almost as much as knowing his will was enslaved to Naraku's.
He pulled her into another room and then stopped short, releasing his hold on her, though he didn't remove the chain. Sitting in the room as though he didn't have a care in the world was another man, one that Sango realized must be Naraku, even though she'd never actually seen him face to face before.
He smiled at her and spoke in a deep voice that was as smooth as silk. "Hello, Sango."
She was stunned for a moment that she was actually in Naraku's presence. Then anger took over, flashing through her like wild fire. "You monster!" she spat, jerking at her chains, desperate to lay hold of a weapon. She had never longed for someone's death before, but she did for this demon, thirsted for his death like a woman who'd been lost in a desert for days on end thirsted for water.
But her anger only seemed to amuse Naraku. "I have a deal to propose, Sango," he said.
"Why would I ever make a deal with you?" she snapped.
"Because it could save your father," Naraku said.
Sango stilled. She hated Naraku, hated him so much, and any deal with him could only be a trap of some kind, she knew that. But as much as she hated Naraku, she loved her father more. So even though she knew it couldn't end well, knew she shouldn't ever do anything for Naraku, she couldn't stop herself from asking, "How?"
"It's simple," Naraku said. "All you have to do is bring me the Tetsusaiga. Then I will release your father from my power. I'll even allow him to keep the jewel shard so that he continues to live. What do you say?"
What could she say? What could she do? Naraku was asking her to betray Kagome, to betray all of her friends, and taking the Tetsusaiga would put Kagome at a serious disadvantage in later fights. It might even ensure Naraku's victory in collecting the other jewel shards. Sango couldn't do that to them, she couldn't.
But my father!
She had a chance to save him! To free him from his enslavement! How could she live with herself if she passed such an opportunity up?
Damned if I do, damned if I don't, she thought, because whatever she chose to do, she'd be betraying someone, and the guilt of that thought was almost enough to break her.
What would Father want me to do? But even as she thought the question, Sango already knew the answer. He'd given it to her the last time she'd seen him, when he'd ordered her to kill him if at all possible.
But we didn't think there was any way to save him then.
Now she had a choice, a terrible, poisonous choice, and there was really only one thing she could do. "Okay," she said. "I'll do it."
Naraku's smile deepened. "Good." Then he stood and slipped out a barely noticeable back door. Before Sango could wonder why he was leaving so quickly after she'd agreed, the door that Hayasaka had brought her through burst open, allowing Inuyasha and Miroku inside.
Hayasaka moved to intercept them and they attacked. Tied up as she was, Sango couldn't do anything about the fight, but watching them she realized that Hayasaka was not fighting them at his full ability.
Of course he isn't. He's going to let them rescue me, so that I can… She stopped that thought. She didn't want to think about what she was going to do to them.
Hayasaka left an opening, and Miroku took advantage of it, knocking him unconscious. As soon as he hit the ground Inuyasha rushed over to her and removed her chains. "Sango, are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she answered, and it sounded like a lie even to her. Hopefully they would just assume that her pain was caused by seeing her father again, not anything more.
"Why did he take you?" Miroku asked.
"I don't know," Sango said. "Maybe he was under orders to capture me."
Inuyasha glanced over at him. "What should we do with him now? If I take his jewel shard, he'll…"
"No!" Sango said sharply, startling both of them. "Please, no. Maybe we could just bring him back with us? Maybe we can figure out a way to save him."
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Miroku said. "Bringing him back with us, I mean. He has no choice but to obey Naraku's orders, so bringing him back with us just puts everyone in danger."
"So we just do nothing?" Inuyasha asked.
Miroku sighed. "If we cannot take his jewel shard, then it seems that for now it's our only option."
"Can we just go, please?" Sango asked. She didn't like seeing her father like this, and she wanted to get stealing the Tetsusaiga over with.
"Okay," Inuyasha said. "Let's go."
They didn't talk as they went back to where they had left the others. As soon as they were in sight, Shippo called out, "What happened?"
"Is everyone okay?" Kagome asked.
"We're okay," Inuyasha said, glancing over at her as he spoke. Sango looked away from him. She didn't want him to feel sorry for her pain, not with what she was planning to do.
I have to! If there is any chance I can save him, then I have to take it!
"What happened? Did you get the jewel shard?" Shippo asked again.
"No, we didn't," Miroku sighed. "Perhaps it would be best if we told you what happened while we travel."
As they started walking, Kirara jumped up into Sango's arms. Sango held her close for comfort while Miroku recounted the events of what had happened.
When he finished, Kagome looked at her, eyes brimming with compassion. "I'm so sorry, Sango. I can't even imagine how hard this is for you."
"I'll be fine," Sango said stiffly, not wanting them to see her weakness.
"I know this might not be the best time," Miroku said, "but we're going to need to decide what to do about him at some point. We can't leave him enslaved to Naraku."
"If we kill Naraku, wouldn't that free him?" Inuyasha asked.
"Probably," Miroku said. "But we don't know how long it will take us to kill Naraku, or for that matter if we ever will." He held up a hand to stay any protests. "I don't like thinking about failure either, but it is a possibility. What happens if we do fail? Hayasaka could be left enslaved to Naraku for centuries, doing untold damage against his will. And, I hate to say it, but Hayasaka already made his wishes known."
"He did?" Inuyasha asked.
"When Sango and I first confronted him, he did," Miroku said.
Sango glared at him. "You can't expect me to kill my own father!"
"I would never ask that of you, Sango," Miroku said gently. "Never. But as for the rest of us…we may not have a choice in the matter."
After that statement, no one much felt like talking. They were a quiet group while they made camp and settled down for the night. As she lay on the ground, Sango listened as the breathing of the others quieted into the slow, steady rhythm of sleep. She wished she could find oblivion in sleep as well, but rest eluded her.
Rolling onto her side, Sango glanced about their camp. Everyone seemed to be sleeping peacefully, Inuyasha wrapped up in his bag with Shippo, Miroku off to the side with his staff in reach, and Kagome, directly across from her, leaning up against a tree with Tetsusaiga held in her grasp.
How can I even steal it from her? If I take it, she'll certainly wake up.
Sango considered her options; as a slayer she had several ways to deal with the situation, but they were mostly lethal, and Sango certainly didn't want to kill Kagome. Then Sango remembered a particular powder that she had; it was strong smelling, enough that for a demon with a very sensitive nose it could cause them to pass out for several minutes. It wouldn't give her a huge lead, but it might be enough.
Pulling the pouch with the powder out of one of her many hidden pockets, Sango carefully crept over to Kagome. Untying the pouch, Sango blew a decent amount of it into Kagome's face. Kagome's eyes snapped open, and Sango pressed her hand across Kagome's mouth before she could make any noise that might wake the others. It took only seconds for the smell to overwhelm Kagome; her eyes rolled back and she slumped over unconscious.
Sango let out a soft breath of relief and picked up the Tetsusaiga. For something that could transform into such a monstrous weapon, it was surprisingly light. She crept back over to Kirara and picked her up before moving away from the camp as quickly as she could while staying silent. Once she judged she had gone far enough, Sango set Kirara down.
"I need to you fly me," Sango told her.
Kirara blinked up at her once, and then transformed. Sango hoped she had made it far enough from the camp that the others wouldn't be woken up by the flames that accompanied this transformation. As soon as the transformation was over, Sango hopped on her back and Kirara took to the air. It didn't take long for them to make it back to the barrier, but Kirara couldn't go through.
"Just set me down here," Sango told her.
Kirara did as ordered, but her rumble clearly communicated that she didn't approve of Sango continuing on her own.
"I'll be fine," Sango assured her, hoping it was true. I'm bringing Naraku the sword, so he should free Father. She tried not to think about how her friends would react when the woke and discovered her betrayal.
Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Sango moved forward. The walk to the castle this time felt much longer than it had the first time she had come through with Inuyasha and Miroku for company. But eventually she did arrive at the castle, which looked much more ominous by night than it had in the light of day.
This time there was no one at the gate to greet her, so she walked on through the gate and into the castle courtyard. Sitting on the porch that wrapped around the castle was Naraku. When she approached, he smiled at her. "Welcome back, Sango."
Inuyasha started into wakefulness, but unsure what exactly had woken him up. Glancing about for any disturbances, Inuyasha quickly noticed two things; Sango and Kirara were missing, and Kagome was slumped over in a way he'd never seen her sleep before.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha cried, jumping to his feet, his movements somewhat hampered by his sleeping bag. His noise woke Shippo and Miroku as he rushed over to check on Kagome.
He didn't see any injuries on her, but it was hard to see well by the dim light of their dying fire. But when he touched her face, Inuyasha felt something powdery coating her, and it let off a strong smell.
"What's happened?" Miroku demanded.
"Shippo, water bottle!" Inuyasha snapped, ignoring Miroku's question for the moment. Shippo quickly hopped over with a bottle, and snatching it, Inuyasha upended it over Kagome's head.
Sputtering, Kagome woke up. Relief flooded Inuyasha. "Thank goodness," he said.
"What happened?" Miroku asked again. "And where is Sango?"
"Sango!" Kagome said, shoving wet hair back from her face. "Sango tossed some kind of powder on me, and the smell was so strong it knocked me out!"
"But that doesn't make sense," Shippo said. "Why would Sango do something like that?"
Kagome looked to the side and gasped. "The Tetsusaiga! It's gone!"
"You don't think Sango took it, do you?" Inuyasha asked.
"I think," Miroku said quietly, "more happened when Hayasaka separated us from Sango than she admitted."
"If this does have something to do with what happened back at that castle, at least we know where to start looking for her," Kagome said standing up. "Let's go."
As they retraced their earlier path, Inuyasha mulled over the situation, trying to figure out what Sango's motives for stealing the Tetsusaiga could have been.
It's got to have something to do with her father and Naraku, but I just don't see how.
Well, he could see how Naraku could benefit by getting the Tetsusaiga away from Kagome. As she had just recently proved, her sword was a powerful weapon, and losing it would certainly damage Kagome's ability to fight powerful foes or large numbers of enemies. But how could Naraku have possibly convinced Sango to steal it?
They made it back to the barrier to find Kirara pacing back and forth in front of it. "Well, Sango definitely came this way," Miroku observed.
"No!" Kagome said. "If the barrier is still up, then I can't help you!"
"We'll be fine," Inuyasha said. "Miroku and I will get the sword back; and then we'll make Sango apologize for doing this to us."
Determined, the two of them continued on alone. You hear that, Sango? We're coming for you!
"Where's my father?" Sango demanded. "I want to see him before I give you the sword."
Naraku inclined his head. "Very well. Hayasaka."
A door behind Naraku slid open and her father stepped out onto the porch, his face expressionless. Naraku held out one hand. "Now, Sango. Hand over the Tetsusaiga."
Behind Naraku, Hayasaka gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head, but the movement was enough to keep Sango frozen in place.
He doesn't want me to do this. But I have to! I have to save him!
But Hayasaka did not wish to be saved like this, and suddenly it occurred to Sango that she had no reason to believe that Naraku would even hold up his end of the deal. Once she handed over Kagome's sword, what was to stop him from just leaving and keeping Hayasaka his slave? Then she would have betrayed her friends for nothing, and potentially handed Naraku his key to victory in the bargain.
I can't do this. We have to defeat Naraku, whatever it takes. Even if…even if it means I never get my father back.
It felt like losing him all over again, giving up the hope that he could be saved by anything other than death. But it made her choices a little easier to make.
Walking towards Naraku, Sango raised the sword as though she were going to hand it over to him. But as he reached for the weapon, Sango yanked it out of its sheath and swung it at him in one smooth motion. Before it could connect, Hayaska pinned the blade under his curved tsuki nari spear. Naraku only seemed amused by her attempt at betrayal. "I see you wish to go back on our deal," he said. "Hayasaka, finish her."
Hayasaka kicked at her, and Sango was forced to let go of the Tetsusaiga in order to jumped back out of the way.
No! Now Naraku has the sword!
Then she didn't have any time left to think as she defended herself from her father's blows.
Inuyasha and Miroku arrived on the scene to find Sango and Hayasaka fighting; though fighting might not be the right word, as it implied Sango was trying to attack Hayasaka in return, which she wasn't. She was using her hiraikotsu as a shield to try and fend off his blows, but her strategy wasn't working well, as evidenced by the cuts she had suffered, and the fact that she was clearly tiring at a faster rate than Hayasaka was.
Beyond them, watching the fight with a cruel smile on his face was a man that could only be Naraku. In one of his hands he held the Tetsusaiga in its untransformed state.
Save Sango first, get Naraku next.
Inuyasha and Miroku rushed in to attack Hayasaka, taking some of the pressure off of Sango. To his dismay, Hayasaka managed to hold them off with much more ease than he had previously. It soon became clear that they had defeated him earlier only because he had allowed them to. Now that Hayasaka was fighting them full out, it was all they could do to keep things at a stalemate.
We can't keep going like this! Sooner or later he'll get in a good hit, or Naraku will get tired of just watching and join in the fight, Inuyasha thought. If that happens, I don't think we can hold both of them off on our own.
They had to put Hayasaka down somehow, but Inuyasha wasn't sure how they'd manage that. If only he could remove the tainted jewel shard from Hayasaka's chest, but doing that would kill him.
Or maybe, maybe I don't need to remove it at all.
Acting on a desperate gamble and knowing he'd only get one shot at this, Inuyasha dropped his staff so that he could have room to maneuver and dove under Hayaska's guard, springing up behind him to press a hand on Hayasaka's back. He felt a pulse of power, and Hayasaka shuddered. Then Hayasaka whirled around and threw his spear at Naraku, who just barely managed to deflect the throw with the Tetsusaiga. But Sango followed up her father's attack with a throw of her hiraikotsu, and that attack Naraku didn't have time to dodge or block. The weapon slammed into him, knocking him back inside the castle.
Inuyasha sprinted forward. Somehow Naraku was still in one piece, but he seemed dazed after the hit. Inuyasha grabbed the Tetsusaiga by the hilt, but Naraku's grip tightened reflexively on it.
"Let go, you bastard!" Inuyasha snarled as he tried to yank the weapon away from him. Power flowed down Inuyasha's arms, suddenly consuming Naraku with a wreath of light. Naraku's eyes widened with pain and shock as his arm disintegrated, followed by the rest of his body until all that was left was a dismembered head. Then it was Inuyasha's turn to be shocked as a dark, foul smelling miasma spewed from his destroyed body.
Coughing, Inuyasha stumbled away from the castle back toward Sango and Miroku. Shaking his head to clear it, Inuyasha looked up at his friends as they rushed to him.
"Inuyasha, are you alright?" Miroku asked.
"I think so," Inuyasha said. "That stuff smells awful, but I don't feel bad." He glanced around. "Where's Hayasaka?"
"He's gone," Sango said softly. "Your power freed him from Naraku's control, but only for a few seconds."
Disappointment washed over him. For a moment he'd thought he might have broken Naraku's hold on the older man permanently.
Then Kagome, Shippo, and Kirara ran through the gates of the castle. "Sango! Inuyasha! Miroku!" Kagome called. "Are you all okay?"
"Sango's hurt," Miroku replied. "Inuyasha breathed in some of Naraku's miasma, but he doesn't appear to be harmed."
Kagome went to Sango's side, her face creased with worry. "We'd better get those injuries tended to quickly," she said.
Sango stared at her for a moment, and then glanced at the rest of them. "Why?" she asked. "Why are you being so nice to me? I betrayed all of you."
"Naraku used your father against you somehow, didn't he?" Miroku asked.
Sango nodded. "He said he would free him, if I brought Naraku the Tetsusaiga."
"I don't think you could trust Naraku to keep his promises," Inuyasha said. "But if I were in your shoes…I might have done the same thing."
Tears filled Sango's brown eyes. "But," she protested, "you can't trust me! If Naraku threatens my father, I might betray you again!"
"You're our friend, Sango," Kagome said. "We're not going to turn you away."
The tears spilled over, and throwing her arms around Kagome, Sango sobbed. Inuyasha glanced away, uncomfortable watching her distress. Shippo hopped up on his shoulder. "You're really okay?" he asked softly. Inuyasha reached up and patted his head.
"Yeah, I'm okay," he said. "Not sure how that miasma didn't poison me, but I'm okay."
When Sango finally stopped crying a few minutes later, the Tetsusaiga was returned to Kagome and they made their way back to camp where Kagome bandaged Sango's injuries. As he settled down in his sleeping bag again, Inuyasha finally realized just how exhausted he was after all the day's events. Closing his eyes, he quickly fell asleep.
AN: I'm back! So, this story isn't quite complete; I've got about five chapters left, which are outlined. But I'm feeling impatient about posting, and confident that I can finish those chapters before it's time to post. So then, here we are! I hope the wait hasn't been too long, and that you'll all continue to enjoy Changed!
If you'd like to keep an eye on my writing status for my different projects, follow me on tumblr where I go by the same pen name. I try to keep it updated with where I'm at on different stories.
