Disclaimer: I own this story... nothing more.
Nothing much to say. I wish that I would have had more reviews... oh well, maybe I'll live. There is no inspiration where I live, but I'm going out to my grandparent's and they live on a lake, so maybe I'll come back with another chapter written. Enjoy this one for now!
Chapter 10:
From a Dream to Reality
As I ran into the town, her footsteps stood out from everything else. I couldn't hear the laughter of the children, the chatter amongst the villagers, anything besides the steady foot-falls. I tried keeping calm as I knew what she was going to do. I knew Sango all to well to not notice that look in her eye. She was determined to slay that demon who foolishly saw her as another helpless woman. She was determined to do it alone too, despite the fact that the demon seemed to hold her life in her hands.
The thought struck me as quickly and fiercely as any attack could: if Sango didn't do as the demon wanted her to, she could easily die. At the thought I came to a stop, feeling the pain of loss already. 'Sango... do you plan on killing yourself on this mission?!' I saw her turn a corner and fall to her knees, sadly smiling down at someone, most likely Kirara.
As I began walking after her once again, a flame formed and Kirara appeared in her larger form, looking a bit as if she were desperate. The fire cat turned her head to me, staring at me as if asking something. 'What does she want?' I asked myself, now at another stop. Sango turned to me, her whole expression sad, angry, and determined. She turned away, spared me another look, and swiftly jumped onto Kirara's back, urging the demon to leave.
Kirara didn't seem to have the same intentions. Demon or not, she knew that something like this was suicidal, and she cared for her master. "Kirara, we must go." At the sound of the tajiya's voice, she slowly lifted from the ground and stared into the sky.
Before I knew it, I was running after them again, grabbing a hold of Sango's leg. "Sango! Don't go; we can figure this out together!" I yelled to the tajiya, almost rising off of the ground myself.
"I don't need you or the others!" Her voice had risen in pitch but dropped once more. "I can take care of myself." She looked to the ground opposite of me, showing no intention of forcing me off.
"Kirara, down." I ordered, and the fire cat obeyed graciously. "Sango," I said once Kirara was grounded once more. I reached for the woman's hand but she pulled it away. "You may be able to fend for yourself but you have to face it, this demon can kill you easily."
"I'm not defenseless, Miroku!" She shot, staring at me with complete fury in her gaze.
"I know that!" I shot, recollecting myself once more. "You are obviously capable of protecting yourself, but you know just as well as I that this demon has done something to you." I pulled her sleeve up to reveal the proof. "Sango, these marks were bleeding mere moments ago and now they're fine. She has obviously done more than place markings on your skin. She..."
"I know." She said, pulling her arm away and covering it once more. "She... she said that there is poison in my body. She somehow controls it, and can put it into affect at will."
"See, more the reason to let us go with you." I tried hiding the sudden fear that entered my thoughts but she saw through it.
"Either way this goes, I'm most likely going to die. I'd rather die defending myself, rather than having my friends fight for more time."
"It's senseless to talk like that! There is a way to save you, and we're going to figure it out."
"Miroku," She got off of Kirara and stood in front of me. "you just think that I'm blindly going to fight her, don't you?" She waited for no answer. "I've been thinking about this ever since I first found out about what this was... I've found that the only way is for me to go alone so you..." She stopped, pulling her fist to her pouted lips.
"So I... what?"
She sighed, turning to stroke Kirara's head. "Nothing. I just don't want you... any of you... to get hurt." Kirara began purring as Sango looked over to me. "I'm not worth it."
"Not worth it? What makes you think that?" Silence.
Kagome's voice came from behind me. "You're well worth it, Sango-chan. Whether you think so or not, even Inuyasha will risk his own life to save yours." I turned to the miko and found Inuyasha walking up behind her.
"Feh. She can die for all I care if she's so stubborn to think that she can handle this on her own."
"Inuyasha," She nudged him and smiled warmly at Sango. "Don't mind him. But either way, we're going to help you and we're going to destroy that demon, so you can rid yourself of this "curse." Besides, I doubt Miroku here would let you go very far without following too far behind." She winked, turning to me. "Isn't that right?"
Sango decided to make a joke out of the situation. "As if I'd let him follow me."
Inuyasha smirked. "I think I'd have to agree with her. We don't want a repeat of the hot springs." Kagome turned to him.
"Inuyasha!!"
"What? I'm just saying that the two can't really be trusted alone." Sango blushed as Shippou stood next to the now-small Kirara.
"Inuyasha, how could you say that? I, for one trust Sango-chan!"
"Yeah but she's not really herself right now, is she?"
"Well..." Kagome was recalling the events that occurred only recently. She gave up fighting with him and crossed her arms with closed eyes. "Osuwari." She mumbled under her breath, signaling his face-plant.
"Sango," I turned to her, trying to ignore the two. "can I talk to you?" Sango, on the other hand was still watching the fight.
"Can't it wait?"
Kagome noticed and pulled Inuyasha's ear, whispering something to him. When the effect of the beads wore off, he sat up and stared at her. "When will you make up your mind?"
"About what?" She asked, dumbfounded as the two walked off with Shippou and Kirara at their heels.
"Well, I guess not." Sango turned to me and crossed her arms. "Okay, so what do you want to talk about?"
"I wanted to tell you about what happened at the hot springs." She blushed at the thought and looked toward the ground. "Sango, you don't have to worry about anything. We-"
"I know." She said, still looking at her feet.
"You... know? What?"
"Well, Miroku. You see... I know what happens when the demon controls me. I can see, I just can't... well, control my body."
I looked at her with relief. "Oh, well I suppose that's good."
"Good?! How is that good?" She looked up at me.
"It's good," I calmly said, raising a finger. "Because for one, you probably wouldn't believe me if you didn't see for yourself." I grinned and raised another finger with closed eyes. "And two, if you're aware of what's going on, you can probably gain control easier."
She turned away from me and placed a finger on her chin. "That actually makes sense." She thought aloud, unknowingly leaving an opening for me.
I hadn't really thought, but my hand seemed to find its way onto her bottom without my control. As I braced myself for her regular slap, I found that nothing was heading toward my head. "It's been a while." She said, causing me to automatically retract my hand.
"What?!" I yelled, looking to her hand for the blue marks. Red.
She seemed to have realized what she said and brought her hands to her cheeks. "I mean... I mean... you haven't groped me in a while!" Her face was blood red as she closed her eyes in embarrassment. "I mean... you lecher!" Finally getting it right, she emphasized her "anger" and slapped my face, walking away.
Sure, it was always worth each slap she gave me. But this time, it was well worth it.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"So are we all agreed?" Inuyasha asked as Shippou jumped onto my shoulder.
"Well, obviously. We can't necessarily let this demon control Sango."
"Well, no, but there's always the chance that once she's dead, the poison can still kill her." Kagome's face nearly lost all of it's color.
"Inuyasha!" She punched the top of his head. "Don't say things like that!"
Half expecting another bout between the two, I turned to Sango. "So you're okay with us going with you?" I asked.
"I suppose I have no choice."
"True." I grinned at her disapproving frown.
"Do you find joy in making me angry?"
"No, but I find joy in seeing you angry," I grabbed her hand. "because your anger makes you all the more beautiful."
Turning her head away, she still stared at me through the corner of her eyes. "I see." She said in a flat voice.
We turned our heads at the sound of Kagome's voice. "I suppose we're ready then." She said, standing with Shippou in her arms.
"I suppose." Sango said, obviously still upset with us for following. Kirara circled her feet, glad to finally be moving after such a long break. Mewing at Sango's attention, the cat transformed and allowed her and me on.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Landing on a branch, Inuyasha stopped and sniffed at the air.
"What is it?" Kagome asked, getting off of his back. The forest was silent around us as no animals made noise and there was no body of water near.
Kirara dove toward the branch. "I sense a demonic aura, but it's weak and I can't pinpoint it." Sango nodded and Kagome tried focusing on the aura.
"It doesn't seem like something that we should worry about." Kagome finally said. "I mean, the demon that we're after has to have a stronger aura than that one, right?"
"But her scent is all over the place." Inuyasha crossed his arms and leaned against the tree. "She's got to be here."
"Do you think it's possible that she's underground?" Sango asked, looking below her as we all followed her stare.
Inuyasha shrugged, jumping out of the tree. He put his ear to the ground and frowned. After a bit of moving around, he stood and dusted himself off. "From what I can tell, the ground's pretty solid here. I doubt she's underground."
"Then I guess we should-" There was a clash of thunder as a downpour of rain began. Shippou nearly jumped out of his skin as he clung to Kagome's shirt.
Kagome, still standing in the tree, looked down at Inuyasha angrily with her last thought forgotten. "Come get me before I fall!"
"Fine, fine." After retrieving Kagome, Inuyasha settled against a tree. "We might as well stop for tonight. This spot's just as good as any, right?" Another clash of thunder sounded and a streak of lightning shot across the sky.
"Yeah, I guess." Kagome was already preparing her sleeping bag.
Shippou jumped into the bag and stretched. "So what're we going to do now?"
I settled in front of a tree across from Sango, knowing that she wanted her space from me at the moment. "I don't know, but I suggest we think about that in the morning. Chances are that we're going to have a tough battle with this demon tomorrow. So we better rest up."
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Shippou said within a yawn, falling to sleep along with Kagome.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Deep within the night, I felt myself being wrapped into a nightmare. Inside it, I opened my eyes to a normal looking forest. Before me was a glowing flower. It had red petals resembling those of the flower that brought Sango under control of the demon. "Wait a minute... This is that flower!" I spun around, feeling a deep slice in my back. Looking into the face of the culprit, I fell to the ground. Her hair was undone, wrapping around her. Her eyes stared down at me with remorse, and in her hand was the katana which she carried with her. "Miroku..." She said, her voice holding a low pitch. "I'm sorry." She was now trying to hold back the tears that began seeping from the corners of her eyes. She lifted up the katana and squeezed them shut. "She's going to kill you, just run! Run!!" Her voice traveled higher and higher, and got to the point where it was barely distinguishable. I shot up, pulling her closer to me. "No, Sango! I'm not running from you, I'm not leaving you alone!" I squeezed her tighter. She pulled back and held the katana low with both hands, her eyes squeezed shut. "Miroku!" She yelled in pure anguish, and then all went black.
A raspy gasp was the only sound I could make as I awoke from this nightmare. "Damn it." I muttered at I sat up straight. I looked to where Sango had been before I fell asleep, but the spot was empty. Deciding to ignore the odd feeling in the pit of my stomach, I tried to go back to sleep. That is, until there was a rustling from behind me. "Sango?" I asked, turning to face whoever it was.
As I had suspected, she was standing there in her battle gear, facing away from me. She seemed to have not heard me, and walked forward carefully with Kirara at her heels and her hiraikotsu in hand.
'What is she planning on doing? Leaving us?' I asked myself, deciding on following rather than confronting her.
I had followed her for some time before she stopped, staring at something in front of her. She dropped her weapon to the ground as Kirara sat next to her, staring at the same place. Puzzled, I decided to step from the bushes and make her aware of my presence. "Sango, what are you doing?"
She spun around in surprise, too baffled to speak. Shaking her head, Sango began stepping back and backed into a tree.
"What's going on here?" I asked, looking at her arm. It was covered and there wasn't enough light to see her hand.
She stepped forward with a new look in her eyes, a look of complete blankness. "Look down." She whispered with fear, which sparked my own, her eyes continued to hold the blank stare.
As my eyes fell to the ground, I still heard her move toward me. I didn't look up though; I couldn't take my eyes off of the sight before me. It was the flower that the demon used to control Sango. I heard a shift in Sango's movement and spun around to be greeted a stab in the back. The wind picked up as Sango held her bloody katana in front of her in a battle stance.
'No... it can't be!' I yelled within the confines of my mind, knowing this scene too well.
Her eyes were filled with the remorse as they were in my dreams. "Miroku..."
"No..." I stepped forward, knowing what would come next. But maybe... maybe this time I could change it. Maybe this would be just like the book that Kagome had.
"I'm sorry." She squeezed her eyes shut, yet her voice stayed the same. "She's going to kill you, just run! Run!!" I shot forward, and instead of holding her, I pinned her to the ground. She dropped the katana and I got a look of her hand. As I had suspected, it was blue.
"Sango, where is she?" I asked, knowing that this was meant to be a trap.
Her eyes were wide, filled with horror as she looked past me. "Behind you...!"
Okies, there it is. Sorry for ending at a cliffie. Heh heh, it was kind of unavoidable. I'll try to get another one in sooner. Please review!