Chapter Two: The Marriage "Proposal"
Inuyasha looked over at Sango's fuming face and released an exasperated sighed. Though Kagome said it was wrong for him to think so, he had imagined that by now Sango would be immune to Miroku's "habits". She knew Miroku as well as the rest of them did; in fact, she probably knew him better. And yet somehow she was always enraged or surprised when he ran off with a new set of village women. Seeing Sango so devastated totally killed his mood, which made him want to fight Miroku. But he realized that that wouldn't really solve anything. He had been bashed on the head with Hiraikotsu many times to no avail. Okay, Sango, I'll go find him. Inuyasha thought to himself. He stood up and went off in search of Miroku. They needed to get a move-on anyway.
"Try not to let it upset you, Sango." Kagome tried. "You know Miroku loves you, don't you?"
"Sometimes I wonder." Sango snarled. Kagome bit her lip. This would be a trying afternoon.
Inuyasha had a slightly harder time sifting through all the smells to pick out Miroku's. There were meats roasting on spits, their delicate juices dripping onto the coals, sweet buns baking, fragrant oils being mixed, olives being crushed, fresh bread cooling on racks, and fish being unloaded off of carts. Mixed within were sweat, blood, salty tears, and other less pleasant human smells masking the notoriously sour lecher-stench. At last Inuyasha isolated a cloud of perfume, within which he found the monk he was looking for. Five or six beautiful women surrounded him and he was reading palms, another one of his "special skills." Inuyasha stood over Miroku and his play-posse, casting a dark shadow over their joy.
"Monk," Inuyasha muttered, disgusted at the sight. Miroku panicked suddenly, then relaxed. He had been anticipating Sango's arrival, so this was a nice break for him.
"Ah, Inuyasha! What a pleasant surprise!" Miroku exclaimed. The women were still a little shaken up from Inuyasha's sudden appearance, but they were also very much intrigued by Inuyasha.
"Look at his ears!" one whispered.
"Oh, he's like a puppy!" another one said. A few of them jumped up and grabbed him. Inuyasha tried to step away, but they ambushed him all at once. They began stroking his ears, pulling his hair, examining his teeth and claws, and marveling over his yellow eyes.
"He's so handsome!" they screamed.
"See, Inuyasha? Aren't they open-minded?" Miroku teased.
"Open-minded? More like obse-" Inuyasha suddenly understood the dirty connotation attached to Miroku's statement. "Oh, gross!" he shouted, pushing the girls away with more force than he had intended. The women, stunned, looked up at him with puzzled faces.
"Look, your fiancee is going to kill you if you do return. And she'll definitely kill you if you don't. Make your choice." Inuyasha warned. The women all turned to Miroku.
"Fiancee?" they asked.
"Hehehe," Miroku laughed nervously. "Just a jealous lover." Inuyasha rolled his eyes.
"Time to go, Miroku." he said. Miroku jumped up at and raced after him before the village women could react.
"Let's try to stop somewhere with a relaxing hot spring nearby, okay?" Kagome whispered to Inuyasha later that afternoon. They were on a dark path winding through a dense forest and Sango was still highly agitated from the earlier afternoon's events. "Sango deserves a nice bath, hmm?"
"As long as we find one soon, okay?" Inuyasha agreed.
Luckily, they managed to find a nice resting location with a secluded hot spring not too far off from the clearing they would call camp. At first, Sango wasn't even in the mood. She refused each and every one of Kagome's pleas until the very last second. Shippo even relinquished his hot spring rights so that they could have some girl time. Sango was finally motivated after Inuyasha nearly pushed her in himself.
"I'm sorry I've been such terrible company, Kagome." Sango said apologetically. "He just makes me so angry!" She tore off her kimono and threw it in the grass. Kagome sighed. Sango truly loved Miroku. Why was monogamy so impossible for him?
"I know he loves you, Sango." Kagome said sadly. "But for right now, try to put it out of your head. Just enjoy the spring." Kagome climbed into the hot spring and seemed to melt from the sensation.
"The water is amazing!" Sango followed suit.
"If we had some demons to fight that might help me relax." she said. "The intensity of battle usually puts me in a better place."
"It does?" Kagome asked.
"Yes." Sango replied. "Fighting alongside you all reminds me of the times I shared with my family and village." Kagome gasped. She hadn't thought of that.
"I'm glad we can share your happy memories." Kagome said with a bright smile. Sango smiled back.
The two girls finished bathing, wrapped themselves in cloths and started to comb their hair. They were silently enjoying the peaceful moment before they had to return to their princes of chaos. Everything seemed better when they had some time to themselves, especially since Miroku had managed to control his wandering eyes for a change.
Suddenly, Sango detected a presence; a shadow had erased the moon's glow upon her back. Kagome let out a scream as she dove behind a boulder to shield herself. Sango spun around, shocked to find that that ominous presence had been from none other than Sesshomaru. Sango snatched up Hiraikotsu, but she tried not to overreact. Sesshomaru normally never wanted anything from anyone.
"What are you doing here?" Kagome screamed. But the outburst hadn't seemed to reach Sesshomaru's ears. Time appeared to have slowed down completely, and neither of the girls could move. Sango, be careful! Was she losing her nerve?
Sango backed away from Sesshomaru carefully, brandishing her weapon. She hoped that Sesshomaru didn't really want anything from either of them. He had never approached her before. Sango was confused beyond all reason. Sesshomaru appeared to be eyeing her body, even scrutinizing it, as though it was up for auction. Kagome watched as Sango started to tremble; she had been intimidated into silence.
Sesshomaru took another step forward, and Sango jumped back and threw Hiraikotsu with all of her might. Sesshomaru caught it and slung it over his back. Then he continued towards her, Sango all the while backing away.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome called helplessly. She reached for her bow, then recalled the time Sesshomaru had melted her sacred arrow before her very eyes. She was powerless alone. "Sesshomaru, leave her alone!"
Kagome suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs. Sesshomaru glared back at her, clearly angered by her outburst. Then he zoomed forward and was upon Sango before she could blink. He grabbed her and held her close, and Kagome watched in horror as they rose into the sky and disappeared behind the clouds.
"Kagome!" Sango shouted, fighting against Sesshomaru's grasp.
"Sango!" Kagome shouted back. She quickly got dressed and dashed off back toward their camp. Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippo looked up at Kagome's distraught face and frowned.
"Where's Sango?" Miroku asked. "Don't tell me she's still mad at me."
"And what's with all the noise?" Inuyasha asked, irritated.
"Why didn't you come when I called you?" Kagome demanded.
"Because usually when you girls start screaming nothing's happening and then we get clonked on the head for caring." Inuyasha replied.
"Yeah, well thanks to your faulty reasoning Sango was kidnapped by your brother!" Kagome shouted. "She has Hiraikotsu, but she's no match for him!" Inuyasha and Miroku sat up abruptly, astonished.
"What?" Shippo asked, panicking.
"Inuyasha, we have to go after her!" Miroku shouted as Kirara transformed. He climbed atop her back.
"You don't have to tell me." Inuyasha agreed, picking up Shippo.
"Poor Sango!" Shippo cried miserably. Kirara let out a sorrowful meow.
"Where are you taking me?" Sango demanded. She had at last regained her speech. She wasn't going to fight him, though, not from their current height in the sky. She knew that she was no match for his demonic power; without her weapons and armor was beyond powerless to him.
"Answer me!"
"Silence, wench." Sesshomaru commanded. His voice was surprisingly fear inspiring, despite how emotionless it sounded. Sango realized that she was a in a lot of trouble. But why was Sesshomaru doing this? What were his intentions? Kagome would normally have been the likely target for a kidnapping because of her spiritual power. Yet Sesshomaru, of all demons, had selected her as his victim. What could this all-powerful demon gain from this endeavor?
They had been flying for an awfully long time. Clearly the goal was to get her as far away from Inuyasha and the others as possible. And where was Jaken?...or that human-girl, Rin?
"Lord Sesshomaru," Sango muttered. "Please tell me what is going on." Sesshomaru remained silent. Sango was now sure that none of his intentions involved sharing. Sango would just have to wait and see what Sesshomaru had in store for her.