Disclaimer: I do not own Inu Yasha.
Chapter 9
7 years and 7 months ago
Sango lay on her stomach, gazing numbly at the wall of the hut. The old woman sitting next to her hummed soothingly. At the first contact of the salve on her skin, the girl whimpered.
No other sound escaped her throat.
It was too sore from her screams as she was flogged.
"You were lucky, little one..." The child blinked, curling her hand weakly next to her cheek until her thumb barely brushed the warm tears streaming down her cheeks. The old healer brushed her fingertips along another set of lacerations, making spikes of pain run through her body.
"They mostly did not try to brand you." The old woman took a second to brush Sango's now shortened hair tenderly. She sighed, looking at the mess they had made of the young girl. Her back had finally stopped bleeding, but the girl's mind seemed still overcome with the trauma of what she just gone trough.
The healer shook her head with disgust and pity.
The men the daimio had sent to witness and carry out the punishment had been out for blood. Of course, it had made sense that he would want his own men taking care of such matter, for fear that one of their own would stay their hand. Yet, the brutality with which they had carried out the act had been unneeded.
They had shorn her long hair with quick hacks of their blade, under the pretence that her locks were getting in the way. Before anyone had been able to protest, the long strands had fallen to the ground. They had delighted in tearing her clothing off of her upper body, until the village leader, the girl's father, had stepped in, ensuring that her chest stay covered, and only her back be bared. The first lash had been deep, making the girl cry out until saliva dripped down her chin. She had strained against her bonds and sagged as blood immediately welled up. Only the rising anger of the villagers, who had gotten agitated, hands reaching for weapons and lips whispering about revenge, had ensured the normal continuation of things.
The poor girl had been undeserving of such brutality and malevolence.
After the first dozen lashes or so, she had hung limply, nearly unconscious from the pain.
"Your mother will apply the salve for you everyday, at the very least until you are able to reach your back without opening the wounds again." The young girl didn't flinch as the healer applied another layer of salve to her back. Already she could feel the anesthetic mix taking effect, numbing her back gradually. The smell of herb confirmed the second salve had for goal to prevent infection, and speed up the healing process. Her knowledge of herbs was restricted, but she had skinned her knees enough to recognise this particular salve.
Silence.
"The orange clay pot contains the herbs that will help with the pain for now. The blue clay pot contains the healing agent. You will have to continue applying the salve even as the wounds scab over. If you do not, you will scar." The older woman wiped her hands on a rag as she spoke and set the two pots of salve next to Sango's bed. Sango continued staring at the wall. Her mind felt emptied, disconnected from her body.
"Sango, have you heard me?" She blinked and tasted salt as she licked her lips.
"Why should I care about scaring?" The healer stayed silent.
"Beauty will be useless to me..." The girl whispered hoarsely, her throat objecting strongly even to the few sentences. She heard the healer sigh and saw her feet come within her field of vision. The woman crouched in front of her.
"Then you should think about how such massive scarring will impede your movements..." The young girl did not reply, choosing to ignore the older woman. She inched one shoulder upwards and downwards slowly, letting the oba-sama know that she did not care either way.
She didn't know, nor did she understand. The healer had been granted the right to live, to love and to grow. She, Sango, had nothing left. She had dishonoured her family and her village. She was dirty, shamed and unpure. There was nothing left for her now, no possible future.
"Look at me girl!" The harshness with which the words were spoken startled Sango. Her wide eyes flew to that of the woman. The healer reached out and brushed a shortened piece of hair off of her patient's forehead, the touch as light as a whisper. The scratchy fingertips of the healer were warm against her clammy skin.
"You, in your punishment, have been given what no other woman has been granted in centuries!" Sango blinked, and swallowed thickly, confused. The woman crouching in front of her shook her head before clarifying her thoughts.
"You have been given the right to follow the teaching of the tajiya, to wield a katana and to be free from a man's govern over your body and soul!" The words were spoken softly but with forceful passion, ordering the one listening to take heed.
Sango closed her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks at a faster rate.
"Freedom..." She breathed out. Was it freedom to be denied a family, love and children? Was it freedom to lose your place in the order of things? She thought of the warrior leaving to protect others who were too weak to do so, thought of the recognition and relief expressed by those who sought their village and were granted help.
She could help protect the weak.
Unbidden the face of Kohaku flashed behind her eyes, wide brown eyes staring curiously at a butterfly she held in her hand.
Protect.
"I don't know if I am strong enough, Oba-sama." She admitted hushedly.
"Tch..." The healer said with a kind smile. "Are you not a descendant of Midoriko?"
.
.
.
Sango blinked, looking at the wall on the other side of her cell. For the hundredth time, it seemed, she counted the iron bars separating her from her freedom, detailing them to the best of her abilities from her prone form. Her cell door cut the room in two. On one side was a visitor area for people to come in and talk to her, with a small bench pushed against the wall. On the other side was her current "room", made with a small cot, a chamber pot and a small window allowing air to drift in. The bed was uncomfortable, and the stink enough to make one's eyes water, but such things were irrelevant in light of the current situation.
She was jailed, having broken the terms of her probation, and now faced a similar punishment, if not death. She flinched as she recalled the feeling of the whip hitting her back and then wrapping around her side, making a welt rise to the surface. The first hit had been the worst, making stars explode behind her eyes. Such pain...
She shuddered.
The sound of a commotion touched her ears, making her sit up. Through the wooden door, she heard muffled voices shouting until, suddenly, the wooden door banged on the wall and Miroku, Kagome and Inu Yasha filled in the small "visitor space" in front of her cell.
"Sango!" Kagome cried out, running towards the slayer. "We were so worried about you! Are you okay?" She gripped the bars with one hand and reached out towards her with the other. Sango sat up and made her way closer to her friend, intending to assuage her fears. A sudden ruckus stopped her in her tracks. Both women turned towards Inu Yasha at his growl. The hanyou continued bickering with the pompous man which had been their go-between with the daimio.
"I don't care what the fucking daimio said!" Inu Yasha ground out, standing nose to nose with his current opponent.
"She is a criminal and will be judged according to our laws for her crimes!" The irate man shouted back. The slayer bit her lower lip, becoming agitated. She had hoped to avoid this conversation.
Forever.
It had been naive of her to think she would escape notice by hiding among soldiers and servants, and utterly stupid of her to hope that she would not be recognized by the daimio, or by Rikuto. Inu Yasha's shouted reply startled her out of her thoughts.
"What the hell did she do?" She opened her mouth to stop the half-demon from saying anything else but he threw her a glare before she had a chance to let out a sound. The strength of his gaze drew her up short. His vehemence in defending her shocked and humbled her.
"She tried to kill the heir!" The other man shouted back, becoming red in the face. Inu Yasha snorted, crossing his arms across his chest as he gazed at the man in disbelief.
"That's bull..." He started saying.
"InuYasha!" Sango interrupted. She clenched her fists along her thighs, and caught his eyes, fighting not to flinch as she met his strong amber gaze.
"He's saying the truth." The slayer breathed out. She slumped, suddenly feeling very tired. The daimio's attendant threw her a look of contempt and victory as her friends broke out into cried questions, Inu Yasha jabbing at the man's chest with a clawed finger while Kagome gripped the bars and pleaded with her to explain. The slayer pulled a hand through her hair, messing up her ponytail. She ignored everyone and sought out the gaze of the pompous man.
"Sir, may I have a moment with my friends?" The daimio's personal servant looked at her distrustfully but left the room nonetheless, making sure to leave the door ajar in order to hear everything.
"Please, everyone..." She intoned quietly. Under their bewildered gazes, she went to sit on her lumpy bed. Inu Yasha stalked forward, intending to get the truth out of the slayer. She waited until the daimio's servant disappeared before turning to her friends and waiting patiently for them to quiet down.
"Inu Yasha..." Kagome said quietly, reaching out to tug on his haori sleeve. The half demon gritted his teeth but nodded, crossing his arms over his chest in his typical defensive pose.
"Sango?" The miko whispered, turning wide questioning eyes towards her friend. Sango took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
"I had been promised to the heir." Kagome's hand tightened around Inu Yasha's haori sleeve. The dog demon took a look at her from the corner of his eyes.
"As his wife, or his concubine?" Miroku asked quietly from his place leaning against the wall, startling everyone. He had stayed quiet through most of the events, watching silently. Sango searched his eyes, trying to decipher his thoughts, yet his purple-blue orbs gave nothing away.
The slayer looked down and shrugged dejectedly. No one spoke.
"I had been training for some time, to be a proper lady I mean. I must have been... I was nine and a half. I would have been married in a few years, at the most." Kagome gasped with horror, letting go of Inu Yasha's haori sleeve to cover her mouth with her hands. She could not understand how such a thing was possible, how they could give away a nine year old to be groomed, and how they could intend to marry her at the age of twelve.
So young.
She knew of the negative effects of such things on young girls, knew that, while some parts of the world still had this practice, many, if not most countries frowned upon it for such reasons. To think that one of her friends had been destined to this fate blew her mind. Had she been abused? Had the lord taken liberties with her? How much older than her had he been? From what she had seen, the daimio's son looked to be in his mid thirties, making him about fifteen years older than her friend.
"Sango..." The miko whispered, stepping closer to the bars in order to offer comfort. The slayer smiled slightly.
"Rikuto...Takeda-sama had always been affectionate." She intoned, clasping her hands in front of her belly. The miko noticed the slayer's knuckles turning white and bit on her lower lip, pushing herself to keep silent when countless of questions went through her mind.
Sango glanced at her friend, knowing that the girl, with her different ways, would not understand, but praying that once she knew the truth she would not look upon her differently. Already she could feel the assessing looks of Miroku and Inu Yasha on her. At the very least, young Shippou had been left elsewhere, and would not hear about this. She breathed in deeply to steady her nerves, and felt her face flush with shame and guilt. Her gaze strayed to the floor.
"He was my husband to be and I...I wounded him when he reached out to me..." She finished quietly. The taijiya felt her heart beating wildly in her chest. Kagome reached between the bars, stretching her hands towards her friend's until she grasped her clenched fingers.
"Sango... you were a child. It was wrong of him..." The slayer shook her head, her eyes rising to meet her friends. She smiled slightly at the other girl, always ready to excuse others for their sins, always eager to offer forgiveness for their mistakes. Yet, Kagome could offer no forgiveness, for she didn't understand the implications of what she had done, and how it had impacted on everyone else around her.
"I dishonoured myself, my family and my village that day, Kagome." The priestess opened her mouth to protest, but Inu Yasha put his hand on her shoulder, silencing her. No matter how knowledgeable the miko was from her time in the future, there were things she couldn't understand. She had been raised differently, and couldn't see Sango's pain. He knew of dishonour and rejection, and he understood her grief. The slayer nodded to him in recognition and gathered the strength to finish. A part of her felt relieved that they knew the truth, as if a burden had been lifted from her shoulders, but another part took over the relief, filling it with fears.
Your daughter... She's an animal!
She's a danger to others!
She flinched, but forced herself to continue, turning a weak smile towards her friends.
"The Takeda were lenient to me though. I was punished, of course, but..." Sango stopped speaking as Miroku stalked out of the room in a swoosh of robes, not saying a word. She watched him go, stupefied and hurt. Was he so disgusted with her he could not bear to be in the same room as her? Did he hate her now or despised her for her weakness and dishonour?
Filthy animal!
Tears prickled at her eyes.
"Keh!" The long-haired girl turned wide eyes to the man standing next to the priestess, fighting not to blink because it would cause the tears to roll down her cheeks.
"Don't be stupid..." The hanyou said with sudden insight. He stared at her hard for a minute, eyes roving over her face, searching for something she couldn't figure out, before stomping out himself. She blinked dazedly, and felt warm tears trail down her cheeks.
"Sango..." Kagome whispered. The slayer looked at her unseeingly, shaken.
"Come here, Sango...We'll find a solution..." She said soothingly, reaching out for her friend. The older girl shuffled closer to the iron door until she moved into her embrace. Yet, comfort did not come, the cold iron bars separating her from her friend a harsh reminder of her own personal jail.
End chapter.
Hello everyone! So I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's shorter than usual, but my brain is ready to ooze out of my ears from finishing the correction of all the exams & papers of the class I was TA-ing. I'll try to make the next one longer.
Big thanks to my reviewers, Chibi-sango16, Otaku-Sig, BlueWolfAngel2, Death101 - Fox Version & Kaerfemina.