A fierce wind drains the lingering warmth from the air, leaving instead an empty, heartless chill. A translucent finger appears into the void in front of her, shaking as if to a small child.

*Ah, ah. Careful now. You'll hurt yourself.* The finger extends into an arm, then a torso, and soon, a full translucent figure of a woman stands before her, her dress long, black and flowing. The wind picks up her hair, making the flowing strands dance behind, emphasizing her pale face and her opaque, white eyes.

*You only get to watch, dear.* The woman turns her back to Sango, and avidly watches the scene unfolding between her kugutsu and her prey in her looking glass.

Sango aims an angry glare at her captor while she set her focus to unwinding the ropes that set within inches of her hands, slowly and quietly twisting and pulling at the knots. Her face twinges in pain as the ropes are drawn too tight and break into her skin, leaving a thin trail of blood dripping from her bruised wrists.

In a mixture of her growing pain and frustration, Sango shouts, "what the Hell do you want with us?"

A light grins passes over the woman's features. *Haven't you guessed that already? I'm here to see to it that you kill your friend.*

"But that isn't me!"

Turning slightly, she waves a hand in dismissal. *No matter. She'll do the job just the same.* A cruel smile twists her lips. *And there isn't anything you can do about it, dear."

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Black Widow
Kugutsu
Sango-sama

Woohoo! It's time for plot. That's why this baby took so long. Anyways, I got good marks on my tests, a 4-hour nap, and a big old bowl of ice cream. All systems are go for plot advancement!

I would have tried to write Tuesday, but a few people complained about the verb tense, so I went back and fixed up what I could. There are probably still a few errors here and there, but I promise that it is better. I'll have to see if I can get my English Major friend to check that carefully when she decides she has time to read.

Once again, Constructive criticism and other forms of feedback are welcome. Enjoy!

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'Sango' taps her foot impatiently. "Well?"

'Why can't you figure it out, baka!?!'

Eyes wide and gazing at the floor beneath him, Miroku finally finds his voice. "Sango, I…I didn't realize it upset you this much."

'Eh?'

"It's just that I've been doing it to protect myself…and my heart. You aren't the only one who's afraid of getting too close. Everyday, I wake up not knowing if I'll survive on until even tomorrow."

Shaking his head, he glances back up at her, or rather at her back, as she was turned around to avoid his eyes.

"I know it doesn't make it right, but for a long time, I needed to be sure that someone would survive on to avenge my family. If anyone understands that, it should be you. It's just, now I may not need an heir since between you, the others, and I, we may be able to defeat Naraku. I actually have a chance to break this curse."

Getting up off the floor, he moves to stand behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I've only been keeping a distance between us because I don't want you to end up as my mother did--just a vision in my father's mind. I care for you too much to do that."

'Hou—Houshi-sama!'

Hints of shock shine through her features and a light blush begins to highlight her cheeks. Quickly, she turns around.

"That's all I ever needed to hear, Houshi-sama." Smiling, she shakes her head. "No…Miroku."

Slowly, her gaze drifts to his lips and back up to his eyes. His eyes do much the same. Slowly, they both pull forwards, both of their arms linking around the other's back and waist, inching closer and closer.

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'Just a little to the left…and…there.' With a light tug, the rope loosens slack enough for her wrists to come free. Gingerly, she rubs her wrists to momentarily lessen the pain of the rope burns.

The sound of her captor's cackling makes the surrounding air shudder violently. *Ah, Sango. You'd like this. You're going to--*

A rope clamps around her neck, strangling her before she can continue her statement. The captor's translucent form grows a pale bluish color and solidifies under the ropes constraint.

"Give me my body back!"

Her captor stares on in shock.

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Sango pushes herself from his arms and unlinks her own from his shoulders. Her breathing is labored and shallow and her face has quickly become quite pale, as if a mask has just been removed from her face.

A bit weakly, she manages to speak. "O-fuda."

Looking quite a bit confused, he asks, "what?"

"Use your O-fuda….hurry."

"Sango? What in the-"

Her breathing grows more ragged. "Please…No questions…just hurry. I don't know how much longer I can hold her."

"Her?.…alright." Blinking, he pulls the paper strip from his sleeve and pastes it to her forehead, invoking the spell with the word "Houriki!"

Sango collapses onto the floor, her body shaking. The exorcism consumes a good deal effort as evident by her strained breathing and the beads of sweat building up on her forehead. What can be seen of her face grimaces in concentration. A spot of poisoned blood drains from her back over her wound from the spider's bite.

With an arm around her shaking shoulders, he holds her back up straight as she sits. Minutes later, her strength reserves give out and she slumps back against his broad chest.

"Is it gone?"

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Random Vocabulariness: (loose translations)
Kugutsu: a puppet
Houriki: A spell of Miroku's used to invoke Buddhist spiritual powers.
O-fuda: A paper strip with writing on it; it's kind of the medium for delivering Miroku's Buddhist Powers.
Baka: (Well, for those who haven't seen it yet.) Idiot, moron, etc.