Authors Note: Well, I suppose now you're greatly confused. ^_^ Well that's a bit of a nagging problem for a while in this fic, so sit back, relax, and prepare to get more confused.

Chapter Three

A Plan In The Shadows

Sango did awaken eventually. Physically she was unharmed…but mentally… she'd just about taken her last blow… She didn't even receive one blissful moment, before opening her eyes, of ignorance concerning the events that transpired before she fell unconscious. No, she would never be rid of that event… The sight of that beautiful clearing forever blemished by that…crater… she grimaced just at the thought. She felt much like that herself, hollowed out… nothing left at all. Damn that Houshi! Why… why did he have to die!?….and leave her alone….just like everyone else she'd ever cared for… she was the only one left… She didn't want to be this strong anymore… Maybe there was a nurse at her side…offering her food… she cared for none of it… she wanted to fall among the weak… and for Kamie's sake she wanted a reason to live back! Maybe she papered to be in a fine house by some stroke of luck….

No…. no she couldn't think like that… not yet. She had her mission… There was someone out there who had to pay for everything he'd done to her. She would make him pay… for everyone's sake… Slowly, she pushed herself up from the futon and accepted the dinner the Nurse had been pushing on her for the last five minutes. She had to be well rested and strong if she was to leave as soon as morning came…

~~~

Yume silently slid the paneled door to their guests room back into a closed position with a small nod.

"She's awake then?" Kento questioned; Yume only nodded in reply. "Then we must go in there and expl-"

"Bakemo…" Yume said quietly pressing her palm flat against Kento's chest, preventing him from entering the room. "You know we can tell her nothing…"

"Yume… don't you see the pain she'd going through…" Kento said in his characteristic, protective tone, "If we can make all that go away, why are we hesitating for even a second?"

"You forget all that you've learned while protecting me?" Yume asked looking up into his deep green eyes. Exceedingly rare to see such eyes in Japan… but the man was Irish after all… hehehe, and he spoke her tongue with the most adorable accent… No, mustn't get off track. "All things in life exist for a reason…" she glanced to the closed door again, "We can not stop her pain anymore than we can move the stars… It is something that must happen or she will never fulfill her destiny…"

Kento studied her strong, high born, Japanese features, with something like disheartened awe. At last he backed away from the door a step or two, letting her hand fall back to her side. "You are a stronger person than I if you can let her suffer so badly all for the sake of your precious fate!" he hissed at her bitterly, before stalking away. Even if he knew she was right, it didn't mean he had to like accepting it. How could she deal with these situations so calmly?! He would never understand the Japanese… He glanced quickly over his shoulder before turning a corner. She was still staring at the closed door, as though it wasn't there… No doubt about it… he would never understand…

Yume sighed deeply, closing her eyes, "I wish you could understand Kento… I do this because I want her pain to end… and there is no other way… I understand her pain all too well…" She whispered, glancing up in time to see the last of his cloak disappear around the corner. With another sad sigh she turned, pulling on the robes of her Kimono so she wouldn't trip as she made her way down the steps, and walked into the night.

~~~

Sango thanked her hosts once more for their generous hospitality before hopping on a familiar Neko demon that had found her way here in the night. "Ja ne…" she said quietly glancing over her shoulder at the odd pair who claimed to have found her while out riding… One, the less odd one, was a high born Japanese Priestess in charge of the temple. She was mostly normal… except her rare blue eyes and her hair so light it nearly looked brown… she always gave Sango the impression, although she'd only stayed at the temple one night and a morning, that she was hiding something from her… And her friend… bodyguard… he was even stranger… green eyes and sandy brown hair…. He was taller and broader than any Japanese man she'd ever met… but it had been explained to her that he was… Irish? Was that the strange land they'd named? Yes, that was it. But why did he have a Japanese name?

Sango shrugged, unsure of why she even bothered contemplating them… she had to keep her attention entirely focused until she had her revenge… Her left hand strayed over to her right, running over familiarly wrapped rosary beads… They were the only thing she had to hang onto now… "Miroku…" The word was almost painful to utter, but she would not cry… "You will have vengeance…" she looked at the road ahead of her with a lethal determination…, "We all will…"

~~~

Yume and Kento stayed at the temples gates, watching the way Sango had ridden off long after she was gone. It seemed that they would become statues there until Kento finally broke the silence.

"How long Yume?"

"Three years," she said with another sigh in the wind.

"And after that?"

"Two yeas…"

"Five years!" he choked, trying not to scream in shock.

Yume turned towards him with a deadly serious and very sad look reflecting off her eyes. "I know you disagree with my Kento, but you will see in the end that this is all worth it…"

Kento looked away, unable to meet her gaze. He couldn't agree with her, and what did it matter? He was just here to keep her safe, not to meddle in her personal affairs. He was just another tool in the works at the temple, right? Without a word he turned and walked away.

Yume looked down sadly. "Stay safe Sango…" She whispered… "So many lives depend on yours…"

Authors Note: Hm… still confused? ^_^ Good! See you next time!