Sango stood alone in a sea of swirling mist. She turned once in a full circle, squinting in the distance. Nothing. Just pure white and gray, as far as she could see. Where am I?, she couldn't remember how she got here, or when. Am I Dead?
In the distance, she saw a figure, darker gray against the mist walking toward her. Peering at it until her eyes hurt and her vision began to swim, Sango still couldn't make out it's face. As it strode closer, mist bending and parting like waves of water in it's path, she saw that the leather armour it wore was exactly the same as her own.
Father? Sango gasped as his face was finally revealed. Without a second thought she hurled herself at him like she had as a child. He caught her in his arms and held her tightly while she clutched him and wept. She didn't care if she were dead if she could be with her family again. Looking up into his face, he smiled gently at her and wiped a tear from her cheek.
"Sango?" A familiar voice called to her from a distance, "Sango, can you hear me?"
Pulling away from her father slightly, Sango turned in the direction the voice was calling from. "Miroku?" She said wonderingly. "I'm over here!" She called out to the void.
A moment later Miroku strode out of the fog, the rings on his staff chiming together as he walked. "Sango, are you all right?" His eyes were worried as he looked her up and down for injuries. Sango's cheeks burned as his gaze lingered longer than necessary on her breasts.
"I'm fine," she snapped, crossing one arm over her chest, "My father found me--"
"Your father?" Miroku interupted, confused, "Sango, there is no one else here."
Sango frowned. She could still feel his warmth right behind her. She turned around to look at him, but there was no one there. "But he was just here..."
Miroku put his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her to face him. "Sango, do you know where we are? Or how we got here?" His hands roved a little, unintentionally he was certain. As she felt his hands slipping downward, Sango's eyes narrowed dangerously. Miroku recognised it as a sign that he was going to have a palm shaped welt across his cheek if he didn't behave. He dropped his hands to his sides.
Sango glared at him, then considered his question. "I killed a spider demon," she replied finally, "And I was looking at a beautiful blue orb..." her voice trailed off. She looked thoughtful. "It must have been the orb that killed me."
"Killed you!" Miroku looked suprised, then laughed. "Sango, you aren't dead. You were alive when I found you." He glanced around them, frowning at the mist. "Anyway, if this is Heaven, it's a severe disappointment. Except of course, for the angels," he added, taking Sango's hand and smiling suggestively. She didn't look ammused.
Instead, Sango pulled her hand away and wrapped both arms around herself. The mist wasn't cold exactly, but it wasn't warm either. "How exactly did you get here, Miroku?" she asked, glancing suspiciously at the monk. If her father hadn't been real, how could she be sure he was?
Miroku paused, remembering. "Shippo took me to where you had fallen unconscious. I saw the blue orb in your hand and picked it up--thats the last thing I remember." Sudden comprehension dawned on his face. "The orb has stolen our souls, Sango! Thats why your breath was leaving your body--"
"My what? That blue ball has our souls? Are we inside of it? Sango's mouth opened in shock. She shook her head firmly. "But then why was my father here?"
Miroku shrugged slightly. "The only thing I can think of is that the nature of the orb is to physically manifest things we feel strongly about or desire most."
Sango sat down in the mist. "How do we fight this, Miroku?" She asked softly, "I can battle monsters and demons I can see, but how do I defeat something so--" At a loss for words, Sango sighed.
Miroku knelt beside her, striken by the dispair in her voice. Hesitating momentarily, he stroked Sango's dark hair and lightly caressed her cheek. "We'll fight it together, Sango," He told her encouragingly, "We won't let it take our souls."
Sango raised her head and looked into his eyes searchingly, wiping away the tears that had begun to form in her own. Miroku captured her hand in one of his and held it, stroking his thumb across her fingers. Sango's sad mouth slowly turned into a small smile. Then the look on her face transformed into one of shock. "Miroku, you-- you're touching me without trying to grope me!"
Miroku's eyebrows raised, then he grinned at her wolfishly. "Does that mean that you want me to grope you?"
Sango's face flushed a manic shade of red. "No!" She said forcefully, pulling her hand out of his grasp and scooting herself backward away from him.
"Are you sure about that?" Miroku said pursuasively, "Something like that could take our minds off of our current situation, not to mention the fact that since our physical bodies wouldn't be involved, it wouldn't count back in the real world. Right?" Miroku smiled in what he hoped was his most charming manner. Sango's hand twitched and swung up in the deadly slapping position he had come to fear. "Ok, ok. I get the hint."
Miroku closed his eyes and sighed. Even though she liked to abuse him as much as he liked to fondle her, Miroku still would have done anything to have just one chance with Sango. However, it didn't seem prudent to bring it up at a time like this. Sango was making a strange half-strangled half-gasp noise in the back of her throat and staring into the mist behind Miroku with the widest eyes he had ever seen. Twisting around to see what she was staring at, Miroku nearly fell over from shock.
Holy shit, he thought, stunned, I am in big trouble now.
From out of the swirling gray mist behind him came a figure, definetly female and identical to Sango. Clad in nothing but her long hair, she swayed gracefully toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Pressing her nude torso against his, she smiled up at him angelically.
"Oh Miroku," the astonishingly firm aparition breathed in Sango's voice, "I have been wanting you for so long..."
As sorely tempted as Miroku was, he was not stupid. As much as he would like to do what his lecherous ways bade him do, Miroku knew he would be killed. Utterly. Instead, he put his hands to the shoulders of the false Sango and pushed her--it away from him. Still, after his great feat of willpower, Miroku was unable to keep himself from staring at the assets she had so prominently on display.
Almost too late he saw Sango's fist of death sailing his way. It connected squarely, flinging him off his feet and making his eyes blur. His head pounding, he looked upward at a murderous-looking Sango who's florid face had almost turned purple with anger.
"Physical manifestation of the thing you desire most?" Sango nearly choked on the words. Raising her hand to slap him again, she instead let it drop and turned her back on him. Walking several yards away, she once again flopped down into the mist.
Stupid Miroku, Sango seethed, teeth clenched so tightly in anger that she could feel her pulse beating in her temples,That was me! He imagined me naked in his arms, kissing him--How dare he! I would never-- But in her mind at least, Sango had to be honest with herself. Wouldn't you though? a sneaky part of her brain interjected, You have thought about what it would be like. And anyone with eyes and half a brain can tell how you feel about him...
Sango drew her black and red clad knees into her chest and rested her stinging cheeks against them. She was beginning to think that her face would never return to it's normal colour. True, she did have some feelings for Miroku, but like Kagome, she would never be able to tell him. Not unless he said something first. Besides, she still had that unresolved problem with Kohaku and Naraku, and she wouldn't go dragging anyone else into that. It was her burden alone to bear.
Miroku looked at Sango's bowed back and sighed. At her blow, whatever fantasy had caused the psudo-Sango to appear had been dislodged, and the apparition had dissapeared. He would have liked to hold her like that, the real Sango. Or just her soul, as it were. Resting his staff across his knees, he watched her shiver in the not-quite-cold fog. He wondered what she was thinking.
It's all my fault, I should have killed both of us when I had the chance, Sango's heart always returned to the same place when she let her thoughts wander. With Kagome, Inuyasha and Miroku, it was easy to close her heart off for a time and allow herself to laugh or be happy. But the thoughts always found her again, clutching her heart in an icy grip. Somehow, I will free Kohaku. And then I will die too.
The mist in front of her feet had begun to seethe and boil as she had thought of her slain family. With this last affirmation of her impending death, the ground had exploded upward, sending her flying back into Miroku. The mist had darkened, swirling ominously higher in a giant black cloud that at once began to consolidate itself. It formed a body, black and gleaming like a beetle, in the shape of a huge scaled lizard. It stood upright on it's hind legs and grasped a weapon exactly like Kohaku's, a sort of scythe blade on the end of a chain. It glared at Sango, it's eyes glowing a poisonous green.
"What is it?" Sango gasped, scrambling to her feet. Behind her, she could feel Miroku doing the same thing.
"Stupid girl child," the Demon said, advancing on her, "everything is all your fault. Your entire family is dead because of you."
Sango felt her knees tremble. Out of habit, she reached for Hiraikotsu and found it by feel in the mist beside her, though it hadn't been there before she reached for it. The Demon's gaze still bore into her, and she found that she couldn't lift her arm to throw her weapon.
"You weren't careful enough or watchful enough, you didn't see the trap before it was too late. They all counted on you, and you failed them. You don't deserve to live." The Demon flung his weapon at her. It whistled as it flew and hooked cruelly into the her shoulder. With a tug on the chain, the Demon tore a hole in Sango's flesh.
Sango fell to her knees. Tears streamed down her face. How could she fight against it? Everything it said was true, the same thing her heart had been telling her for all this time. Blood flowed thickly from the wound, coating her hands in sticky redness. She could feel her strength leaving her.
"Stupid, worthless, child. You don't even have the strength to free your brother who needs you." The Demon licked his reptillian lips and smiled horrifically. He was going to kill her. Sango closed her eyes.
Miroku furiously tore the wrapping from his hand and aimed his Windtunnel at the Demon. But nothing happened. Examining his palm, Miroku saw that it was whole and seamless. Cursing, he instead grasped his staff and tried to wade into the fray to save Sango. But he couldn't. His feet were mired in the mist, and wouldn't budge.
This was Sango's Demon. It was her fight. And she was losing. Miroku thought desperately. Maybe she had to fight this thing on her own, but he would at least be here to support her. "Sango!" He yelled to her. She glanced at him, broken out of the trancelike state she had fallen into. "It's your Internal Demon, it's words are nothing but your own doubts!" She cocked her head and looked anew at the Demon.
"Sango, you have to live. You can't let it kill your soul, there are people who need you!" Miroku was frantic now.
The Demon scoffed. "No one needs you. You are useless, helpless and a burden. You couldn't even save poor Kohaku."
"We need you Sango!" Miroku's voice was desperate. "Kagome, Inuyasha and I need you to help us kill Naraku." He hesitated, but he knew if he didn't say it the Demon would have her. "I need you Sango. I need you to slap me around and keep me in line. I need you to keep me company when I think everything is hopeless." He took a deep breath. "Without you around, I couldn't make myself go on anymore, Sango. Please."
"Lies!" the Demon spat. Sango hadn't moved from her kneeling position, and the Demon lifted it's arm to deliver the killing blow. "Worthless girl, betrayer of family and home, burden to your friends. You deserve death."
The blade once again cut through the air toward Sango. Miroku's breath stopped. Without raising her head, she brought her sword up to block it. She twisted the blade expertly, tangling the chain around the sword and pulling the weapon out of the Demon's grasp. Flinging both weapons out of the Demon's reach, Sango finally was able to face it. Eyes still streaming and chin covered in blood from her chest, Sango nevertheless looked defiant. No, she looked angry.
"I have listened to you long enough, Demon," she said flatly. "My friends are counting on me. Kohaku is counting on me too. I wont be able help anyone if I keep you in my heart." She rose slowly and unsteadily to her feet as she spoke.
"You can't defy me, you know I speak truth," the Demon said, fixing her again with it's glowing green eyes.
This time Sango wasn't effected by them. "No," she said simply and swung Hiraikotsu into flight. It arced through the mist and neatly hooked the Demon's neck. Slicing through scales, flesh and bone, Hiraikotsu returned to Sango as a spurt of black blood bubbled from the wound. Already, the Demon form was fading back into mist.
Panting, Sango turned. Though her armour was black and didn't show bloodstains, her hands and face were smeared with it. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes red from the tears that still dripped from her chin. She reached one hand toward him pleadingly. "Miroku..."
Then Sango crumpled and fell to the ground.
Miroku had been watching Sango sleep for the last several hours. At least, he was fairly certain it was hours, there was no real way to tell time here. Her sleep was fitful, but at least she already looked healthier. After she had fallen, he had rushed to her side to discover that the blood had vanished and her wound had disappeared. He had been suprised, but then remembered that it was her soul that had sustained the injury, not her body.
If the Demon had killed her though, Miroku was certain that Sango's body would have died as well. Soul death was just as fatal as physical death. Gently, he caressed Sango's face with a finger, trying to will her awake.
She was so beautiful, he had thought so since the first time he saw her. Of course, she had been in a very bad way, what with Naraku's jewel shard in her back barely keeping her alive. Her face had been clouded by rage, but Miroku had still been struck by the intensity and passion of that face. And by the way her tight black armour had clung to every curve. She had been the epitome of beauty and danger, and had moved with deadly gracefulness. She embodied a combination Miroku hadn't been able to resist. And she was strong. She had endured more than should be humanly possible, and still managed to be the backbone of support in their little group.
Sango's eyelids began to flutter, and Miroku quickly pulled his hand back before she could focus on him. In a situation like this one, he knew from experience that Sango would slap first and ask questions later.
"Miroku," Sango murmered as she fought her way back into consciousness, "you saved me."
Miroku shook his head and risked her wrath to push a stray hair out of her face. "No, you saved yourself. Not many people could confront their self recriminations and win." Sango's mouth softened into a smile. Instead of belting him for touching her, she caught his hand and held it tightly.
"It was you who made me realize what a fool I'd been. You all depend on me, and I was too busy blaming myself for things..." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Things that were not my fault. I tried to stop Kohaku when Naraku controlled him, I didn't run away. And that's what matters."
Her eyes, when she opened them, were calmer than Miroku had ever seen them. The lingering storm clouds of fear and self-doubt had been chased away. "And," She added, her voice soft with disbelief,"you need me." She hesitantly reached up with her free hand to flickeringly touch his face.
Miroku took a deep breath and leaned into her touch. "I do need you. Sango, if something were to happen to you..." He swallowed hard and clasped her hand tighter,"It would kill me." One of her fingertips lightly brushed his lip in passing, and Miroku caught it with a light kiss. Sango's heart was pounding in her chest like it wanted to break free. Miroku's eyes were fixed to Sango's face, dark with an unfamiliar emotion. "Sango, I've never been able to tell you this. I--I'm in love with you. I don't expect you to feel the same way about me, I just thought you should know--"
Sango flung her arms around his neck and buried her face in the purple robe he wore. Her shoulders shook and Miroku could feel the moisture of her tears against his neck. Pulling away only slightly to look up at him, Sango smiled through her tears. Miroku's heart lept in his chest as he realized that her tears were of joy, not because she was distressed by his declaration. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly to him, molding her body against his.
"Miroku, I love you too," Sango whispered, joy radiating from her face. Miroku's breath caught, looking at her. Beautiful wasn't a strong enough word, Sango was gorgeous. Tears clung to her long lashes, and her eyes sparkled with the first real happiness he had ever seen in them.Tracing the curve of her cheek with his fingertips, Miroku's gaze settled on her lips. They looked achingly soft, and he felt her breath catch as he leaned in to angle his lips across hers in a soft kiss. Their first, though it was something Miroku had thought of doing a hundred times. Sango's body trembled slightly as she let herself get lost in the intensity of his kiss, parting her lips under his and inviting him to kiss more deeply. Without fear of retaliation, Miroku slid his hands over Sango's back and down the soft curves of her hips. Sango's heart was beating so hard that Miroku could feel it racing against him as she pulled the tie from his hair and twined her fingers into the dark locks. Miroku thought he would explode, he wanted desperately to touch every inch of her, to pull away the armour that had fascinated him for so long and memorize every detail of her. But he wouldn't push her too quickly, as much as he wanted to go plunging headlong into a torrid affair. He didn't want to risk frightening her away. Gently, he broke the kiss and cradled her in his arms, trailing his lips lightly down her neck.
Suddenly, Sango stiffened. Pushing him back slightly, she frowned at him. Miroku braced himself for the worst. "Miroku, what about all those other women? The ones you always ask if they will bear your son?"
Miroku felt his face flush. She would have to remember something like that at a time like this. "I knew you would never really let me get near them, Sango. You were always slapping and punching me for asking them. I always asked anyway, because I liked that you would get so jealous. It made me think that you actually had some feelings for me buried inside. Besides," Miroku's voice lowered, "If I had really wanted to sleep with any of those women I would have asked when you weren't around."
Sango's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You didn't, did you?"
"No!" Miroku cried, putting his hands on her shoulders. "I told you Sango, I love you. Not anyone else."
Sango visibly relaxed. "All right. I trust you," she said, comming back into his arms. "But If you even try to flirt with another woman I will kill you myself."
Miroku laughed. Then frowned, staring off at something he might have seen flickering in the distance. "What's that?"
It was Sango's turn to stare hard into the swirling mist. She thought she might have seen something, gleaming white against the dingy white of the mist. As it moved closer, Sango gasped. "It's one of Kikyo's soul stealing demons!"
From all around them came more, perhaps a dozen of them. Sango shrunk back in horror as several of them began winding themselves around Miroku's torso, pulling him away from her and into the air. She could feel several more wrapping their cold bodies around her, pulling her upward as well. Heart beating furiously in fear, Sango once again lost consciousness.
Sango opened her eyes, and squinted at the unfamiliar sky. Trees flickered in the firelight and above them she could see a patch of night sky. Her body felt strangely heavy as she struggled to sit up. Beside her, she could see Miroku trying to push himself upright as well.
A young woman crouched beside Sango, watching her with flat depthless eyes. "They will live," the woman who looked so much like Kagome announced standing. "They were freed before the Orb could completely absorb their souls." The young priestess, resurrected from the grave, turned to look at Inuyasha. "All debts between us have been repaid. I will not come to your aid again. I ask that you do not come to mine either. Now please, take me back."
Miroku had managed to stand and reached out to touch Kikyo's shoulder. "Thank you, Kikyo."
The priestess said nothing, only looked at him. Behind her, Inuyasha scoffed. "I was the one who had to run across Japan and back again, and all she had to do was bring her little soul demons, and she's the one who gets thanked. Typical."
"Inuyasha, where is Kagome?" Sango asked after looking around.
Inuyasha shrugged. "At the Old Hag's hut. I couldn't carry both her and Kikyo on my back. I may be half demon, but I'm not a packhorse."
Sango smiled slightly and shook her head. She knew that Kagome would be livid and absolutely in terror that Inuyasha and Kikyo would have rekindled their romance on the journey. Catching Miroku's gaze, they both shrugged and laughed.
"Take Kikyo home and see to Kagome," Miroku said, catching Sango's hand in his. "We'll catch up."
Looking at their joined hands, Inuyasha felt his jaw drop. Quickly regaining composure, he glanced at Shippo. Shippo blinked in suprise at their entertwined fingers and looked back at Inuyasha.
Before Inuyasha could demand to know what had happened inside the Orb, Kikyo grasped his arm. "Take me back," She repeated. Inuyasha stooped so she could climb onto his back. Then he smiled wickedly.
When I see Kagome I'll tell her all about Sango and Miroku before she can start yelling at me, he thought, racing off through the countryside, That should shut her up.