Disclaimer: Nope. Inyasha and the other characters in this fic don't belong to me.^_^.
A Lady Knight's Tale
Sango woke up to see a pair of blue eyes looking intently at her. Apparently, she had fallen asleep on a chair across Miroku while staring at him all night. She jumped up and blushed, noting the odd look on his face.
"How long have you been awake?!" she demanded, slamming her hand on the table.
"Good morning, Sango." he said calmly, as if her outburst was nothing.
She scowled as a vein popped on her forehead and dropped the subject.
"So why'd you come here last night?" she asked.
Miroku suddenly brought his face close to hers and Sango nearly stopped breathing as his eyes took in every detail of her face, stopping at Sango's mouth, it was as though he was trying to analyze it.
"What are you doing?!" she asked as she turned an interesting shade of red and took a step back.
It...couldn't be. Miroku thought suddenly to himself. But the girl last night, could she have been Sango? But now that he had seen him..Miroku realized that it was a foolish thought to begin with and he immediately berated himself for thinking such a thing.
"Oh nothing." he almost sounded disappointed. "I just thought you looked like someone I met last night."
"Don't be silly. I wasn't even there last night. Went to a friend's house." Sango said as blithely as she could.
"Oh. Well then, I shall see you at the grounds later." Miroku said as he walked to the door.
Sango ducked as Miroku lunged at her. He seemed even more focused than he usually was and Sango was having a difficult time avoiding the unusually accurate hits. It was probably because she was distracted, darn it. It was a hot afternoon and Miroku had taken his shirt off, his lean muscular torso fanned by the breeze once in a while. Of course it was distracting, Sango thought, almost annoyed at herself for thinking so.
"Why don't you take your shirt off too? It's hot, you know." Miroku said in between strikes
Sango narrowed her eyes. "I think not. I'll get a sunburn." she added. "And I'm not showing off." Sango motioned toward the coterie of women who were watching them.
A group of ladies-in-waiting were otherwise ogling them from the nearby stands. Miroku sweatdropped then waved. A few of the ladies fainted. That was too much, Sango thought dryly.
"Ok. Cut it out, you're stalling. Let's spar now." Sango said as she raised her wooden practice sword.
Unfortunately they were interrupted again.
A young girl came running up to them, it was Lady Koharu, one of Kagome's attendants.
"Waii! I'm so fortunate! Sir Miroku and Sir Sango, the two handsomest knights! And I'm heere!" Koharu looked like she was going to pass out.
"Looks like you're just as popular with the ladies as I am, Sango. Too bad you're-- ooomph!" Miroku stopped as Sango elbowed him hard in the ribs.
"What is it, Koharu?" Sango said sternly.
"Oh.oh. I'm sorry!" Koharu curtsied and said "The King wants to see the two of you this evening, there will be a meeting with the Council." She bowed again and left.
Miroku and Sango exchanged looks and picked up their things. The Council meeting would be held in an hour or so.
"So soon?" Sango said as they walked back to their quarters. They both knew that they would soon set out for Naraku again but they hadn't counted on planning for it the day after the treaty was ratified.
Inuyasha crossed his arms around his chest impatiently. The sooner they left, the better. They had been sitting around for three hours already and Inuyasha wasn't listening anymore, it just wasn't his forte. He stole a glance at Kagome who was trying to yawn discreetly. Looked like she wasn't interested much either.
Finally, the Chief Councilor rose "So everything is agreed upon?"
Inuyasha stood up, grateful that this boring meeting with the boring old men was finally over, he would just have to get the important details from Miroku later.
"So?" Inuyasha asked Miroku as they walked own of the meeting chambers. It was already deep into the night.
"We leave at dawn. The council has agreed on a smaller party instead of the whole army. That would be, You, Lady Kagome, Sango and myself. The rest of the knights weren't so happy about the arrangement though." Miroku said. Inyasha nodded, he had still been listening up to that part.
"What else?" Inuyasha said.
"We're going by boat. Naraku's forces haven't been able to establish themselves near the River. If we are lucky, we might pass undetected."
"Hm..ok, what else?" Inuyasha asked
"That's all." Miroku sweatdropped, Inuyasha never was one for planning, he just jumped headlong into battle all the time. Thank goodness he did it well. "Of course we had to talk about the routes..."
"What?! Bleeping 3 hours and that's all?" the hanyou looked annoyed. "Those bleep sure took their time! Anyway, see you at dawn" he said as he left.
The party whisked off long before daybreak through the castle moat. They used just a small ship for its speed and so that they would not call attention to themselves. If all went well, they'd be at Naraku's kingdom within two days.
It was still very dark and the air was chilly, they'd been afloat for nearly two hours and were presently passing the woods. Hardly anything could be seen because they had been advised to not use torches, it was said river youkai were attracted to light.
Kagome scooted over to Sango who was squinting at the shadows in the trees nervously. Miroku sat down calmly but his features were alert while Inuyasha stood at the prow of the little ship and was watchfully silent. The fireflies that hovered over the river bend were strangely nowhere to be seen now.
"Hey, Sango...why are we so quiet?" Kagome whispered.
"Cause something might hear us." Sango put a finger to her lips.
"Ha! I'm not afraid of them. Let 'em come out if they want to. Besides, they've been watching us for about an hour now." Inuyasha said scowling. "Come out you chickens!"
As if to mock them, the woods remained perfectly still.
"Hmph!" Inuyasha said as he sat down. Sango clutched her weapon tightly, she thought she was the only one who had noticed. They had better be careful.
Bloosh! suddenly there were nearly a dozen toad youkai jumping at them from the water--from the trees! Kagome stared at them in shock and revulsion. They had to be the ugliest creatures she had ever seen. The one she was looking at had red, bleedy eyes, its skin dripping with yellowish, mouldy-looking membranes.
"Kyaa!" Kagome shreiked, before she knew it, she had drawn her bow and let loose a flurry of arrows. Nearly all of the toads who had boarded the boat fell from her arrows.
Sango, Miroku and Inyasha looked at her with surprise. Sango got her voice back first, "Ne. Kagome-chan! That was good!"
"Eheh...The wonders of motivation..." Kagome said, scratching her head.
"You foolish mortals! You will pay for this outrage!" another toad came out of nowhere and grabbed her by the waist. It splashed through the water, with amazing speed, the other youkai behind it.
"Inuyashaaa!!" Kagome screamed.
"Kagome!!" Inuyasha dove into the water, and called out "Miroku dock the ship! Stay there! I'll be back!"
"Yes!" Miroku shouted back, as the ship touched the river bank.
"Lady Kagome! We have to help him!" Sango said, ready to dive in after Inuyasha.
Miroku put a restraining hand on Sango's shoulder, "No. He can take care of them, its best we wait here. If the youkai somehow get hold of this ship, we're all done for. No man has ever come out of these woods alive. Besides, those toad youkai are pretty weak." Miroku said.
Sango reluctantly stepped down. "If you say so, Captain."
It was nearly dawn and Inuyasha still hadn't come back. Sango was getting worried about the two of them.
"Miroku-sama, we ought to go after them, you know. There might be a way by land to where they went to." Sango said as she stood up, she slung her weapon over her shoulder and stepped off the boat onto the bank.
Miroku likewise disembarked. It was against his better judgement but he guessed that he had no choice this time. "Wait, Sango, I'm coming with you."
It was still early morning but already the rays of the sun had come out, making the woods seem less treacherous than before. Sango was a bit tired already, after all they had been walking for hours, crossing the river at a bridge and following toad youkai tracks, that seemed to go nowhere. Finally they reached a clearing.
Sango caught her breath. "It's so beautiful..." she murmured. Before her lay a meadow full of roses, radiantly blooming in the open field. She was so mesmerized by the sight she was speechless.
"Roses..." Sango muttered "Roses in a field..." Her eyes suddenly widened with shock, she remembered the stories she heard about them. They were enchanted plants that looked like beautiful maidens, an illusion that worked only on men. So that when they were sufficiently beguiled, they would be eaten alive!
"Miroku!"
Author's Notes: Here we are again, minna! Thanks for the splendid reviews. ^_^! I love you all! Anyhow, hope you liked this chapter. Btw, WarriorGL? You'll draw Sango for me? That would be so sweet! And, yes, Araki-chan, she's wearing it under her armor. Hope to hear from all of you soon. Ja ne!