Oblivion

Chapter Ten

PUNISHMENTS

Sango sat up on the bedroll she'd been occupying for who-knew-how-long, hissing in pain as her arm was jostled slightly. She gave a tentative wiggle of her right fingers, and was nearly bowled over with pain, but she could move them. One less thing to worry about.

My father…

She had to get up and see if he was alright. Surely he was among the wounded; he would have defended as many people as possible. At least until his loyal retainers, men Sango had known her entire life, had finally bodily dragged him out of the village. She felt the swelling of confident pride in her chest even as her scorched arm was making her want to pass out again.

Kicking the blanket off her lap, she tried to roll onto her knees to stand up, and nearly pitched forward onto her face. The milk of the poppy was still coursing through her system (and thank the gods for it; it was the only reason she wasn't screaming right now), that had to be it.

Also, having a completely dead and useless arm is probably throwing off my center of balance. The thought was bitter and angry, and she closed her eyes for a moment, trying to calm herself.

The tent flap opened. Sango looked up, expecting to see the boy about her age she'd been speaking to earlier, the one with such beautiful, kind eyes, but instead she was staring into the face of a man five to ten years older, with dark hair pulled into a low ponytail at the base of his skull. He wore tattered monk's robes, and the look he was giving her was half-bewildered, half-impressed.

"Who are you?" she muttered hazily, still struggling to get to her feet.

He just sighed, seemingly a little exasperated. "Of course you don't remember me," he said, with a humorless chuckle as he approached her, dropping to his knee in front of her so they were eye-level, "We did meet, Lady Sango. Only briefly, but still."

Sango narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "I don't remember you," she said dismissively, struggling to summon strength into her thigh muscles so she could stand up, just stand up.

"Of course you don't. I'm of next to no importance. But I do know one thing," the monk said, gently taking her by the shoulders and attempting to lay her back down, "You're in absolutely no condition to try walking around right now."

Sango winced at the gentle pressure on her right shoulder and would have slapped at him if her arm had been willing to cooperate. "Let go of me!" she snarled, pushing at him with her left hand and trying to bat him backward, "How dare you touch me!"

"As much as I'm enjoying this," the monk smirked, "I really do have other patients to tend to. Am I going to have to knock you out, or will you lay still and rest?"

Sango growled in outrage, but the gentle push downward was too much for her to overpower in this state she was in. "My father," she said finally, turning her head to stare at the canvas wall, "The village leader. Is he among the wounded?"

She heard him shift his weight behind her, and when she glanced back towards him he was standing again. "I can't say for sure," he said, his tone grave and respectful, "but if you promise to stay put, I'll ask around for you, alright?"

"Alright."

"I need your promise, Lady Sango."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. The monk gave her a distant, friendly smile and shrugged. "...I promise," she said, her voice a creaky whisper as she sank back into her pillow, ignoring the way her entire body seemed to cry out in thanks at the reclining position once more.

The monk nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait," Sango called, shoving herself upright on her good elbow, "Who changed my clothes?"

He halted, giving her a pained smile that threatened to make her turn bright red with embarrassment.

"Y-You?" she mumbled.

"No," he said with a smirk, "Not me. That would be Sota. You may remember him. That would be just my luck."

She wasn't quite sure what he meant by that, but her thoughts went to the young, clear-faced boy that had so gently cleaned her wounds and eased her pain these last several hours. Sota, she thought.

Suddenly, the tent flap opened again, and in strode a tall, handsome man with long black hair. At the sight of him, the monk's jaw dropped open in alarm. "Captain Okada?" he stammered, "You're alive!"

"Of course I am," the newcomer grumbled, "Why is everyone so surprised at that fact?" He leveled his eyes on Sango and raised an irritated eyebrow. "And who the hell is this?"

The monk seemed to take a small, halting step between Sango and this Captain Okada, as if he were protecting her from something. "This is Sango, Captain," the monk said quickly, "Daughter of the village leader. She was the one who opened the gates to even allow us to defend the village in the first place. All the survivors among the citizens owe their lives to her."

"Doesn't explain why she's in my tent," Okada snapped, "I'm a little exhausted, if you must know."

"Sir," the monk stepped closer to the young captain, lowering his voice a little, as if Sango couldn't already hear everything that was going on, "With the men in the camp, you have to see the necessity of keeping a girl like this away from the rest of the unit. Especially people like that Sanada character."

"Put her with the other women and children." Okada folded his arms impatiently.

"None of them are wounded, sir. The surviving women and children, I mean. She'd have to go into the medical tent with the rest of the men."

Sango fancied herself a very perceptive girl, and she certainly didn't miss the way Okada seemed to flinch back at the idea of a lone, attractive female in the camp. Suddenly she was a little more grateful for how that Sota boy had seemed to ensure her wellbeing.

She jumped in surprise at the mention of the very name in her thoughts.

"Have you seen Sota?" The monk glanced warily over his shoulder at Sango, who felt herself blush slightly. "He'll be glad to know you're back. Poor kid was beside himself. Guess he hero-worships you."

"Sota's going to be a little busy for the next twenty-four hours," Okada growled, "A day in isolation. Punishment for defying a direct order."

"What?" The monk looked shocked and not a little outraged. Sango furrowed her brow.

"Any objections?" Okada seemed to be looking for a challenge. Sango knew this man's type well. Seemingly always spoiling for a fight. She gave a small, irritated sigh.

The monk hesitated, then shook his head, still looking stern. "No, sir."

"Good," Okada said dismissively, waving a hand at Sango, "Now take her wounded ass out of here. And get me a new bedroll."

"But sir," the monk started to protest, and Okada held up a hand to cut him off.

"If you're so worried about her chastity, you take charge of her, monk. Tell the men to move supplies out of a corner of one of the storage tents. You can put her there and guard her to your heart's content."

"Can you guys loosen these up, just a little?" Kagome knew she sounded whiny, but the bindings around her wrists were starting to cut off the blood flow to her hands. She sat tied around a post in the center of the isolation tent, arms behind her back, hair hanging wildly around her shoulders with nothing she could do about it.

"Quit your crying," a very unsympathetic voice sounded through the tent flap, "It won't hurt if you don't move. Or talk."

Kagome fell silent, clenching her jaw and staring into her own lap.

Guess I should be careful the way I word things from now on, she thought bitterly, I asked him for no special treatment, didn't I? I just was foolish enough to think that meant that after kissing me in the woods, after holding me like he never wanted to let go, he might not actually just throw me into military prison to save face. Stupid me.

The kiss came flooding back into her mind all at once, and she leaned her head back against the post, closing her eyes. Were kisses always like that, she wondered, feeling her heart start to pound again at just the thought of it. Did they always make one want to just...collapse? To fall into the other person and forget all sense of self and just melt into a single wild soul?

She gave a small, silent shiver. Her skin was already flushed, but now she was starting to burn up.

This was going to be a long twenty-four hours, wasn't it?

"I have to pee," she shouted petulantly through the tent flap.

There was no answer.

She sighed, rolling her eyes and leaning back again.

Damn you, Okada. You could have just given me more laps and been done with it.

Inuyasha was finally alone at last in his tent, free to basically peel his armor off himself and revel in what little cool air there was on his skin. He unceremoniously collapsed backward onto his bedroll, his black hair sticking to his face and collarbone, and closed his eyes.

Kagome had been very surprised at his actions just a few moments ago, that was certain. And the look she'd given him...she was angry. Very angry.

But what choice did he have? It was either raise suspicion by having her casting lovesick glances in his direction all the day long, or let her know in no uncertain terms that he'd meant what he'd said - that nothing had changed with that kiss in the woods.

Liar. Everything's changed and you know it. And it's all your fault.

Good, then. Let her hate him for this. Let her be so angry that she gave him a wide berth from now on. That would solve all the problems Inuyasha had just made for himself. For both of them.

He sighed, covering his eyes with the back of his forearm, as he pictured her beautiful blue eyes, narrowed at him in hurt and confusion as she was taken away.

It was with this unsettling image in his mind that he finally let himself drift off to sleep.

"Sorry about all this," Miroku said sheepishly as he knelt to lay Sango back onto her bedroll. They were now safely in the storage tent, and he'd taken pains to ensure that she was hidden behind a large pile of blankets and storage chests. Better safe than sorry, especially if he couldn't always be there to protect her.

Sango only nodded mutely, sliding her good arm from around his shoulders so as to brace herself on the ground. Miroku fought back a pout. It had been nice to be once again embraced by a woman this beautiful, even under such dire circumstances. And she smelled wonderful, even though by all reasoning she shouldn't.

"I - I have to go now, Lady Sango," he found himself stuttering like a foolish boy, "Will you be alright for a few hours while I go help some of the men?"

"Will you look for my father?" she asked, finally looking him square in the face. Her eyes were large and brown and so very sincere, so very hopeful.

"Of course I will," he promised, though in the back of his mind he felt a nagging feeling of dread. Surely if the village leader had been among the wounded, he would have heard by now. This situation kept getting worse all the time.

"Thank you…" she said softly, wincing as she picked up her ruined right arm and physically set it atop her own body.

"Miroku," he said, "My name is Miroku, Lady Sango. Do you promise to remember me now?" His smile was kind, and it spoke of comfort she wasn't used to.

She gave a small, pained chuckle and nodded as her eyes closed again.

"Two hundred and five, two hundred and six…"

The tent flap opened after what must have been hours, and a nameless grunt hunched inside, holding a plate of that same old watery stew.

"Damn!" Kagome swore, sending him a fiery glare as he kicked up the blades of straw on the floor in front of her, "I lost count!" She would have to start all over, she thought glumly as she watched the straw settle to the earth again.

The man just rolled his eyes at her and slid the stew toward her lap.

"Um," Kagome raised an eyebrow, gesturing with her head toward her bound hands, "How am I supposed to - "

The man wordlessly loosened her bindings and left the tent, but not without a stern warning that if she tried anything funny she'd get another day added to her sentence, no questions asked.

Sighing with relief as she flexed her freed wrists, Kagome picked up the stew and slurped it hungrily, straight from the dish. As used as she was to actual good food, with her oh-so-comfortable upbringing and all, she had realized over the last few months that hunger, true hunger, always won out over any finicky habits she might have had before. She felt the watery broth slop down her chin, and wiped it away with her sleeve as she finished the food off.

"Finished," she called out to no one in particular, sending the dish sliding back along the ground toward the tent opening.

The gruff soldier came back inside to collect the bowl, and she gave him her best friendly smile.

"Listen," she tried, holding her hands up in mock surrender, "I'm not going anywhere. I'm taking my punishment on the chin here. So can you give me a break on the whole bound-hands thing?"

Her answer was a backhanded slap to the face that made her vision go fuzzy for a moment. The soldier re-tied her arms, even tighter this time. Her shoulders ached in protest.

As he exited the tent without a word, Kagome sent a fierce glare to his retreating back, sticking her lip out in a childish pout.

Well, it was worth a try, anyway.

She wiggled in her seated position to ease the pressure on her arms as much as possible, blew a lock of stray hair out of her face, and set her eyes to the straw-covered ground once more.

"One...two...three…"

"Captain," Naito acknowledged Inuyasha with a brief nod as he entered the map tent, "Glad to see you back amongst us."

"Glad to be back," Inuyasha said with a smirk.

Naito returned his attention to the rest of the officers as they all leaned over the large table, covered with a detailed map of the region.

"We have to take the Taijiya survivors somewhere they can be safe," Naito said, pointing to a small settlement further up the mountain pass. "I think here, yes?"

Inuyasha, as usual, was taking careful mental notes as he nodded. Way up in high altitudes, he thought, less air for the humans to breathe. Less energy to fight back.

Normally the news would have been exciting. But every time he blinked he kept seeing a flash of angry blue eyes, and it was ruining his good mood.

"We'll pause there," Naito continued, "and send word to the daimyo. He's been wanting to pay a visit to the troops, and after this travesty of a battle, they could use some reminders of what they're fighting for."

"Sir," another officer said, looking a little worried, "That could be weeks of us just waiting in that mountain village for him to arrive. What can we do to track the wolf youkai in the meantime?"

"I tried," Inuyasha muttered, "They were heading back east. Back to their stronghold, no doubt. I don't think following them would be worth it right now."

Naito gave Inuyasha a warm, grateful smile. "Thank you for trying, anyhow. I can always count on you to take on the dangerous tasks yourself. Don't think we all aren't grateful."

Please stop thanking me. Inuyasha could only nod in acknowledgment and return his attention to the business at hand.

Ayame was delighted to be home.

Well, not that this was exactly home. This wasn't her place of birth, wasn't where her clan had raised families for generations. That place was one she'd dreamed of, that they'd all been promised would be returned to them at the end of all this.

But this was close enough for now. A cave in a mountainside, with warm fires, comfortable furs everywhere, and the company of the one man she'd go to hell and back for.

Almost as if he'd read her thoughts, Kouga reached out and ruffled her hair with a friendly smile. She fought the urge to grab hold of his arm and hug him close as she returned the grin.

"I'm starving," she said brightly, "Should I go hunt some dinner?"

"You go ahead," Kouga said, as Ginta and Hakkaku rushed past them into the cave entrance, no doubt seeking out their females for a happy reunion.

With a small disappointed huff of breath, Ayame continued into the cave, finding her bedroll just where she'd left it and leaving her weapons and travel gear on top of it in a heap. She'd made sure her place was right near where Kouga slept (it wasn't too difficult, since he'd taken charge of her in his early teens and so had always slept in the same room with him without much fuss or discussion), and so when she heard him moving behind her she wasn't surprised.

Glancing over her shoulder, she watched him toss his own pack down the same way she had. The muscles in his arms rippled as he heaved a great sigh and stretched before crouching to sort through all his belongings.

Ayame felt her heart swell with longing, and she bit her lip silently, knowing she was staring but unable to help it.

Someday, he would know. He would realize. And she'd be there, waiting.

Right?

"Lord Kouga, you're back!" He was enveloped from behind with hugs to the sound of thrilled laughter.

Females. Older females, technically higher in the pecking order than she was. Ayame didn't care. She growled low in her throat and sank to a guarded crouch on her bedroll.

Kouga was clearly enjoying the attention. Of course he was. As pack leader, he was the prime target for the females, especially since it was rare for an alpha to stay unmated for long.

One of the females, a silvery-haired, curvaceous one, suddenly noticed Ayame, sitting there with her back against the stone cave wall and glaring daggers at all of them. Her mouth twisted in a cruel smile, and she leaned in to Kouga's ear and whispered, "How cute. Your little pup is jealous, Lord Kouga."

At that, Kouga craned his head from between the attentive females and his eyes met Ayame's. For a second, his brow furrowed with what almost looked like concern, or pity, or something else, but then he just gave her a small shrug and that same familial smile he'd always given her.

Ayame felt her face start to burn with embarrassment as the trio of female wolf youkai tittered with laughter and settled themselves around Kouga's bedroll, all saying how eager they were to hear about his mission to the human village, and was he hurt, and how many humans had he killed…

I'm not a child anymore, Ayame thought bitterly, I haven't been for a while. And you know that, Kouga. Otherwise you wouldn't ask me to come along on missions; you'd leave me with the old mothers like you did when I was little.

With a haughty sniff, she immediately stood from her crouch and turned to her pack, fishing out her spare furs. The ones she was wearing were smoke-tinged and bloodstained, and not at all suitable to start a hunt with, not if she wanted to catch anything off guard.

With a single, fierce glance back at Kouga sitting there with his stupid harem of women, she stripped her old furs from her body right then and there. Humming to herself, she took her sweet time pulling on the new fur skirt and top, and without turning around, she knew they were all staring.

See you later, Kouga. I've got some hunting to do.

With her head held high and a mischievous smile on her face, she all but skipped back to the cave entrance.

And nearly collided with a male youkai about two feet taller than she was. She opened her mouth to apologize, but found that words were failing her. She sniffed. Not a wolf. Not a dog. Something unfamiliar. Dark hair, darker eyes, and a smile that she knew was probably intended to be friendly but just came off as terrifying.

"My apologies, miss," the stranger said, reaching out a hand to caress her cheek.

Immediately, all of her fears, all of her hesitation, washed away, and she felt herself lean into his touch, eyes fluttering closed for a brief moment.

"Is Lord Kouga here?" His voice was soft and comforting now, like the whispered stories Kouga had told her when they were both younger and he'd let her sleep beside him. Ayame just placed a clawed hand over the stranger's hand to hold it to her face and nodded dreamily.

At her actions, the strange youkai smiled again, almost lovingly.

"Will you tell him that Naraku is here to speak to him?"

UH OH. UH OH.

I just LOVE that all three couples (so far) have such different vibes going.

InuKag are like "Wahhhh I love you so much but we shouldn't OH YES WE SHOULD no we shouldn't OH GOD MY FEELINGS HALP".

MirSan are like "Hey, sup. I'm Miroku and I'm crushing on you but also you've just been through a crazy traumatic experience plus you also might kinda like my friend instead of me. Hmph".

And Ayame's just here to strip naked and strut around like a badass. YOU SHOW THOSE OTHER LADIES, AYAME. GETCHA BOI. There's a lot of wolf pack mentality written into their interactions, obviously. ;)

WELCOME TO THE STORY NARAKU YOU EVIL BASTARD. This version will be somewhat different than his manga/anime counterparts for story reasons, but I hope you guys enjoy him. He's kinda fun because I'm super twisted, like.

ALSO, my baby sister and I have compiled an Oblivion YouTube playlist if you guys are interested! I'll post the link in my profile if you wanna check it out. Expect angsty pop songs and moody instrumentals. I have a vibe to stick to, dammit! More songs will be added as we think of them. :)

Thanks again for reading all my randomness! Love you guys! - meggz0rz