Unstable
Lady of Our Way
"The light that shines upon us in our time of need is not something we should take lightly. The Lady of our Way smiles upon us with her sweet song and blesses the few gifted children. They will be the ones to lead this world to peace. Each child seated before the thrown of the Holy Lady of our Way has a separate task that they all must accomplish. And you, my child, have the hardest task of all…"
Kagome awoke with a start and sat up just as quickly. She rubbed her forehead in an attempt to make the pounding headache dissipate. With no luck, she sighed and turned to the lump of warm flesh to her right.
Inuyasha was sleeping peacefully for a change. He was turned away from her, but Kagome saw the steady rise and fall of his chest as he took in air and released it. The sun was still far from rising and the night air chilled Kagome through the blanket and her thin nightgown.
Kagome carefully crawled over the slumbering Inuyasha and towards the heater below the window. The cold wood floor stung her legs as she sat in front of it. She searched for a knob in the orange light from the street outside.
"It's no use." Kagome whispered to herself. "I can't see a thing. It's too dark." She stood and her gown twirled in the night air before falling peacefully against her skin. Kagome flipped the switch on and the room was flooded with light. Kagome stared at Inuyasha and he gave no indication that the light was a problem for his sleep.
She returned to the old heater and found the controls with no problem. She turned it on and set the level of heat to medium. She turned the light back off and stood for a moment till her eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness. She crawled quietly over Inuyasha but the hard mattress gave way under one of her feet and she fell on top of him.
Inuyasha mumbled and rolled over pinning Kagome between him and the mattress. Kagome attempted to pry herself loose but her strength was no match for Inuyasha's weight. Her arms were pinned under her own body and she couldn't even roll him off her.
"What luck." She whispered. "Inuyasha, wake up."
No response.
"Inuyasha." Kagome spoke louder and shook under his weight. His head was directly beside her own and she could hear his breathing in her ear. "Idiot, wake up!"
Inuyasha pulled his head back and looked into her eyes. Kagome blinked when he continued to stare at her and didn't move. His eyes were partially closed and his mouth slightly open.
"Inuyasha?" She questioned. He titled his head to the side in a cute puppy type of manor. "Could you please get off me?"
He titled his head more to the side and Kagome realized that he was still asleep. She sighed in frustration and stared past his head at the ceiling.
"But I don't wanna!" Inuyasha said in a child like way. "You're so warm and comfy!" he argued.
"But you're squashing me!" Kagome wiggled against his weight once again.
She looked at him and stopped her squirming. His face was mere inches from hers and he was staring at her with great intensity.
"Kagome," he said in a more manly fashion. "You have pretty eyes." And with that he slumped against her shoulder back into his peaceful sleep.
"Uh, Inuyasha? Inuyasha? Inuyasha! Get your fat ass off of me!"
When Miroku finally found Sango she was sitting in the outside playroom. He hid behind a tree to watch her sit. The outside playroom was a thing of beauty. Trees and flowers surrounded a beautiful pond that was home too many varieties of carp. Sango was sitting on a marble bench in front of the pond. The light that came from the moon produced a soft and elegant light across Sango's facial features.
Miroku crouched lower to the ground and watched as Sango stood. She removed her hospital jacket to reveal a beautiful purple dress.
Fringe lined the bottom and the short sleeves. The dress was short but long enough so that when Sango moved it waved in the night air. She walked forward and stepped into the lake. She pulled her foot back when it had touched the water as if it had burned her.
Miroku guessed the water must have been cold, but Sango trudged on till she was waist deep in the water.
'What is she doing?' Miroku thought.
"Oh," Sango spoke and Miroku snapped out of his train of thought. "Oh, how I wish I were a fish." Sango traced the surface of the water with one of her fingers. "Fish are so lucky. Their minds are incapable of sorrow and grief like human's minds. They are lucky to be spared these terrible emotions. How I wish I could swim beside you, good carp. You, with you're lovely golden scales that shine in the moonlight. You, with you're giant tail that can propel you anywhere you desire."
"Sango…" Miroku whispered.
Sango looked up at the moon and closed her eyes. "Dear moon, you torment me with your beauty; with you're ability to smile upon this wretched planet." Sango's head fell and her bangs hid her eyes. "I can no longer bear to see your smile. That is why…"
Sango stopped speaking and her body trembled violently. Suddenly ripples escaped from near her as tears fell from her eyes and into the icy pond. "Why? Why, are you so cruel to me Lady of Our Way? Why, could you not smile upon me and bless me?"
Miroku's eyes widened. 'I thought the religion of 'The Lady of Our Way' was long forgotten.'
"How come…" Sango yelled. "You chose to take everything away from me? Why do you hate me?" Sango fell to her knees in the water. Her head rested above the reflective liquid. "I never asked for much, just a peaceful and happy life. But no, you decided to rip everything I love away from me. You chose to take the life of my father and my closest friends. But, you did leave me my brother. You left him to me as a reminder…"
Sango gritted her teeth and raised her head once again to the sky. Her long black hair floated around her in the cool water giving it the appearance of blackness. "Now you have stolen his memory! And that is much worse than for him to be dead. I only wish it could have been me instead. And so I sacrifice myself to you, Holy Lady of Our Way, in hopes you will heal my dear Kohaku."
Sango slowly submerged her head in the water of the pond.
"Sango!" Miroku yelled. He ran into the pond splashing water till he was at the spot Sango had been. He searched around with his hands in the frigid water. "Sango!" He yelled again when his hands only found more water.
He fell to his knees and took a deep breath before diving below the surface in search of her. The moon created a glimmer of light in the dark water for him to see. It wasn't enough and Miroku was unable to find the outline of a human body. He released bubbles from his mouth and surfaced only to take another swig of air before diving below the surface again. He was soon in the deeper water and was forced to swim around.
He shook his head in frustration when he needed air again. He swam to the surface and sucked in a mouthful of air. "Sango!" He yelled, out of breath. "SANGO!" He dived again into the water. He swam near the bottom and looked up as to see better. The light of the moon was shining through the top of the water. Miroku touched the bottom only to discover he needed air again. He broke the surface of the water and floated for a moment. "Sango…"
"My Child…why do you wish to die?"
Sango opened her eyes below the water when she heard the voice. She looked around to discover she was floating in what seemed an endless abyss of water.
"You think that I have not smiled upon you, oh Blessed Child?"
'Who's there?' Sango thought. 'I must be going crazy cause there's less oxygen going to my brain.'
"Don't be silly, Blessed Child, it is I, The Holy Lady of Our Way."
'Have mercy on my tormented soul.' Sango thought
"Child."
Sango turned to find a woman wearing an old fashion Kimono reaching out to her. Her wavy black hair floated away from her body like a fan. The Kimono was solid blue with a white ribbon keeping it in place.
"Now," The mouth of the woman moved. "You don't think that Kohaku would miss you? You are so inconsiderate, Blessed Child. And what will become of Miroku? He may act rude but he only wants you to be strong, my Child."
'Kohaku can not miss what he doesn't know. Why did you take his memory away? Why did you ever make him sick to begin with!' Sango yelled in her mind.
The beautiful woman shook her head. "Was not I that cursed your brother."
Sango's eyes widened, for the Lady of Our Way cannot lie. 'Then who?'
"I cannot say, but he is a man that must be stopped. You must believe me, Blessed Child." The woman pleaded with both her voice and expression. "Your brother can be healed but only when this man stops giving him the illness."
'He's trying to make Kohaku sick?' Sango nearly started to cry below the water.
"Yes, Blessed Child and the only way to stop this man is to find the goddess. Alas, the goddess's soul is no longer among the after life, but is living in a human body: as a reincarnation. Find the priestess who is wise in the ways of healing and she will lead you to the goddess. And one more thing, Blessed Child, before I go…My name is…"
'No you mustn't tell me! I am unworthy!' Sango covered her face with her hands. Her ability to move was sluggish because of the lack of oxygen.
The woman smiled and removed Sango's hands. The Lady of Our Way's expression was calm and peaceful. She leaned forward and whispered in Sango's ear.
Sango's eyes widened. 'Yes, My Lady Midoriko, I will do as you ask."
"Sango!" Miroku screamed in one final attempt.
"Miroku…" The voice was a whisper that seemed to float to him on the moonlight breeze.
"Hello?" Miroku looked around and saw the outline of a woman in the light of the glowing moon. She was standing on the top of the water. Her face was hidden from him by darkness. Her long wavy black hair seemed to swim around her in the night breeze.
"Miroku…" She said again. She pointed down to the water below her. "Miroku…"
"Hey!" Miroku began to swim towards her. He dove below the water and swam as fast as his arms and legs would allow. He surfaced near where the strange woman had been standing on the water. "She's gone."
Miroku treaded water and his hand hit something that felt like string. He pulled his hand out of the water to reveal a strange black substance covering it. Miroku stared at it a moment before he realized what it was. "Oh my god." He reached into the water and pulled Sango's motionless body towards him. He held her head above water as he made his way towards land as quickly as possible.
He pulled her onto the muddy bank and laid her on her back. He then set to work reviving her, the only way he knew how. He gently covered her nose and opened her mouth. He took a deep breath and pressed his open mouth to hers and breathed out. He then pulled back and cupped his hands before pressing on her chest one time…two times…three times…
Sango spit up water and Miroku immediately rolled her on her side. She coughed for a few moments before opening her eyes. Miroku lifted her head up so she was in a sitting position. Her once flowing purple dress was now plastered to her skin. Sango's long black hair was becoming matted from the dirt she had laid in and was slumped shaggily over her shoulders.
"Miroku." She whispered when she saw him.
"Shhh…" Miroku put a finger to her lips. He shook his head in an almost sad way. He looked down, hiding his expression from Sango. "What…were you thinking?" He nearly whispered.
Sango said nothing.
"…diving below the water like that." Miroku looked up and immense feeling radiating in his eyes. He put both his hands on Sango's cheeks. "Tell me." He said desperately. "Why you want to leave me behind?"
Sango was at a loss for words. What was she supposed to say? Sorry? It just didn't seem good enough right now.
"I…" Sango began but Miroku covered her mouth with one of his hands.
"No…I heard you earlier. I suppose you do not need to explain yourself." His eyes softened and he rested his forehead on her chin. "I'm just glad I found you in time."
Sango stared with surprise over the top of Miroku's head. The tips of the trees glimmered in the setting light of the moon. To the east a glimmer of red peaked over the horizon. She closed her eyes and smiled.
"Yes…" She whispered as she wrapped her arms around Miroku. "I'm glad you found me in time, too."
The bright light of the sun nailed Inuyasha in the face causing him to whimper and reach for the blanket to pull over his head. He found it was no where in his immediate area and he moaned in frustration.
"I should be the one complaining." He heard Kagome say into his furry ear.
That is when Inuyasha realized he was laying on the poor trapped Kagome. He stared at her cross expression for a moment before jumping up in complete horror.
"What are you trying to do to me?" he yelled.
"Me, trying to do, to you?" She sat up and stretched her arms above her head. "Ah…" She said when she lowered them to her side. "Shouldn't I be asking you, that question? You were the one who pinned me down for more than half the night."
"What?" Inuyasha said acidly. "I did no such thing."
"Sure you didn't. I just decided in the middle of the night, 'Hey, I wonder what it would be like to be trapped under a lump of stone.' Ha, yeah right." Kagome stood up and tore the blanket off the end of the bed. "And stop looking at me like I'm a piece of meat." She wrapped the blanket around her body and covered the revealing gown.
Inuyasha shook his head to break the trance she had put on him and glared at her. "Yeah, like anyone would want to see 'that' anyway."
Kagome's bottom lip stuck out slightly. "What are you saying?" She pouted. "Are you saying this…" She dropped the blanket to the floor and stepped away from it. "Isn't sexy?"
Inuyasha took a step away from her towards the television. He gulped down the imaginary lump in his throat.
"Are you saying that…" Kagome walked forward and twirled in a circle. The gown followed her and continued to flow when she had stopped till it bounced lightly off the side of her body and returned to its original position. "This doesn't turn you on?"
Inuyasha shook his head and took another step away from her. He bumped into the television knocking the mold haven cup onto the wooden floor. "Kagome…" he said. "Stop right there."
"It seems to me that my appearance bothers you…huh…well I'll stop if you just answer one question for me."
"Okay." Inuyasha looked at her quizzically.
"How did I come to where this? I mean, did the other hookers dress me?" Kagome asked nicely.
"No." Inuyasha shook his head. This would not end happily.
"The pimp?" Kagome inched closer to Inuyasha who tried to back further into the T. V.
"No…" Inuyasha whimpered.
"Then it must've been." Kagome paused and glared at Inuyasha. "YOU!" an almost demonic voice escaped her mouth. "You pervert!" she slapped him across the face. "You are so inconsiderate!" She jabbed him in the stomach. "You could have woke me up!" She kneed him in the crotch causing him to fall to his knees. "I would have dressed myself!" She high kicked him in the face before turning her back to the fallen Inuyasha. "That's what you get." She huffed.
Inuyasha shakily tried to stand up but failed. He crashed onto the ground with a satisfying thud. Kagome reached over him and switched the T. V. on.
"I wonder if anything good is on."
"There." Naraku pointed to a five-story building. He and the patient known as Kagura were seated on the roof of the building across the street.
Kagura's feet were dangling over the edge of the roof whilst Naraku stood, safely away from the edge, behind her. She closed her fan and placed it inside the top of her Kimono. It was Naraku who had retrieved the old Kimono for her. It was white with large red rectangles arranged across the fabric. Below that was another layer that was dark blue. Holding everything in place was a yellow ribbon around Kagura's waist. Her short hair was tied into a high ponytail that bounced every time she moved her head.
"Naraku…" She began. "What are you instructions on the girl."
Naraku stared at the back of Kagura's head for a moment and then as if he had already decided long before the conversation had even started he said: "Kill her."
Kagura nodded. She reached into her shirt and removed her ordinary white fan. She covered the lower half of her face with it. She closed her brown eyes and then opened them quickly to reveal they had changed into bright pupiless pink orbs. "As you wish." She said behind the fan before pushing off the side of the building and landing gracefully on the street below; startling a young boy.
She ignored his whimpers of distress and calmly walked across the busy street. A huge truck came bounding by and blocked the boy's view of her for a split second. When the truck had passed the strange woman had vanished.
The boy whimpered louder. "Sh-She's gone!"
Naraku smirked at the boy's distress before turning away and walking to the other end of the building where a man with long silver hair was standing with a very angry expression.
"Ah, Sesshomaru, what a pleasant surprise!" Naraku greeted kindly.
"Why have you released Kagura," Sesshomaru cut to the chase.
"You were always one to get straight to the point."
Sesshomaru's expression hardened.
"Very well, these clumsy buffoons couldn't catch a fly let alone a half demon. And who better for the job than my own sister." Naraku spoke.
"Kagura is hardly the next best choice." Sesshomaru's facial features contorted with anger.
"I shall admit that with out the proper…medication." Naraku reached into his pocket to reveal a vile of purple liquid. "She can be quite rebellious."
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and turned his head to the side. "What if she is unable to capture my brother and the girl."
"The girl," Naraku almost laughed. "Will be killed if she gets in Kagura's way. And as for Inuyasha, lets just say Kagura has a few new tricks up her sleeve."
"I see." Sesshomaru said. "And what do you plan to do to Inuyasha once you have him?"
"The thing I've been wanting to do all these long years and couldn't even dream of doing until now."
Sesshomaru looked at Naraku who smiled in return. "And that would be?"
"To kill him, of course." Naraku's grin widened and he waved his hand in the air below his waist. "I must be going now." A purple mist appeared below his hand and violently blew around his body; concealing him from view. "Bye."
The mist died away and left Sesshomaru alone on the roof top. "The girl…" he muttered.
Sango rested peacefully on Miroku's bed in his room. It was a small twin-size bed that was pushed into the far back corner. Miroku was seated at the foot of the bed with a sad almost pitiful look on his face. His room was nothing special. A few posters of super models and a curtained shower in the opposite corner of the bed were all that littered his room.
Miroku sighed and stared down at Sango. She opened her eyes and gave him a weak smile. The bed's dull brown blankets concealed her body.
"How you feeling?" Miroku asked.
"Better." Sango replied.
"Good…"
"I've actually never seen inside your room before. It's nice." Sango tried to brighten the mood.
"Nicer than the room I had outside of this place." Miroku commented.
"What do you mean?" Sango attempted to sit up but Miroku was on her like a hawk.
"Rest." He said as he grabbed her shoulders and pressed her down. "I'm sure your head hurts."
"Yeah, it does. How did you know-"
"I like it here, though." Miroku interrupted her. He released her shoulders and walked towards the closed door. "Nice people."
"Miroku…" Sango sat up and leaned her back against the wall with much effort. "Come, sit." She patted the bed.
"You sure you can trust me?" He asked.
Sango rolled her eyes, "Get your butt over here."
Miroku carefully climbed next to Sango on the bed. He turned to her with a curious expression.
"Miroku, I am your doctor."
Miroku frowned and turned his head away from her.
"You know you can tell me anything."
"Sango, you have to see it from the patients point of view."
"I don't understand…" Sango tried to look at Miroku's face but he turned his head away.
"Most of the patients came from bad families or lived in a bad neighborhood before they came here. Most want to stay. They don't want to get better. They like it here. Some are actually faking sick." Miroku looked up and stared at the wall opposite the bed.
"What about you? There's not much about your home in the report." Sango continued to stare at him. "What was your home like?"
"What home?" Miroku asked darkly. He leapt off the bed and fumbled with the shower curtain. "Don't you remember when you found me?"
"You were trying to suck a business man into your 'wind tunnel'." Sango nearly giggled.
"Yeah." Miroku laughed slightly. "And you thought it was the most hilarious thing you ever saw. You were rolling on the ground laughing, if I recall correctly." Miroku turned and looked at Sango.
"I sure was!" Sango laughed. "And you were so dumbfounded that anyone found this funny, you had this look of pure and total shock on your face."
"What can I say?" Miroku asked with a chuckle. "When a pretty girl starts laughing at me I just have to stop and stare." He winked.
Sango laughed a little harder. "You were so fussy when the men tried to get you to take off your robes and wear the hospital uniform. I remember you throwing a piece of shrine paper at the man and taping it to his forehead."
"He wasn't a demon so it didn't work." Miroku defended himself.
"I also remember how you asked Kikyo to bear your child as soon as we walked in."
"Memories, memories." Miroku walked towards Sango and the bed.
"I also recall her punching you."
"Yeah…" Miroku rubbed his cheek. "I remember that it hurt."
Sango giggled and leaned forward slightly. "Awe, does baby have a boo-boo?"
Miroku leaned in front of Sango and stared into her eyes. "Do you wanna kiss it and make it better?"
Sango didn't respond, she just continued to stare at Miroku. For some reason she couldn't tare her eyes away from his gaze. Her smiled faded into a more serious expression. Miroku smiled slightly and moved closer to her. His nose was nearly touching hers.
He put his hand on her cheek and Sango nearly melted from the feeling in her stomach. Miroku's smile widened slightly. He asked again. "Do you want to kiss it and make it better?"
Sango closed her eyes. She felt something squeeze her butt. Her eyebrow twitched, "Miroku…"
"Yes…" Miroku said softly.
Sango pulled her hand back and slapped Miroku across the face. He stumbled back a few feet and held his injured cheek.
"Ouch…" He said.
"You ruin everything, Miroku." Sango whispered.
"What?" He asked as he rubbed his face.
"Nothing, nothing."
Another Chapter completed.
And in record time.
All hail Dr. Pepper and its caffeine, that helped me stay up late and finish this chapter.
Well…
Review?