Sango coughed, the smoke familiarly acrid in her nostrils... a smell she remembered from childhood.
FLASHBACK
Father!" Small nimble feet thumped across the wooden floor, making their way to the room in the corner of the home.
That's where father had his quiet time. At least, that's what mommy told her.
Slowing down, she inched into the doorway. Black hair hanging to her shoulders, Sango was a cute little 5 yr old. Her soft brown eyes took in the sight of her father kneeling before the family shrine in silence.
Her father was in his fanciest robes. Sango liked them especially for the bright green and blue lizards stitched into the light silk cloth. Mommy hadn't readied her yet for the celebration.
She had to make her outfit, was working on it at that moment. And then she would need rest before the celebration.
Sango frowned, looking at her father, so still before the shrine, his lips moving in silent prayer. A prayer for healing, for she recognized it when the priestess chanted it over the ill
Mommy was tired a lot lately. Her tummy so big with her little brother or sister. And mommy was pale too...
Her father shifted in his spot before standing. Giving one more gracious bow to the shrine, thanking the spirits for listening, he turned towards the doorway. He took a few steps before he noticed her there, silently watching him. He smiled down at her, eyes tight with worry, though such a detail went unnoticed by little Sango.
"Hello, little daughter."
Sango suddenly remembered why she had come. "Father Father! The wagon has come!" She practically jumped up and down in excitement.
Her father's hands came down on her thin shoulders, stilling her. Looking up into her fathers smiling face, Sango grinned happily back and waited.
"Shall we go and greet it then?"
Nodding eagerly, Sango took her father's large hand, which engulfed her own.
Sango led her father out into the sunlit village. People were all streaming in one direction, the main gates. That's where the trade wagon was coming in. Sango could hear the large wheels squealing forward into the village, holding up the heavy weight of the trading goods.
As they neared the gates, Sango was pleased to see that the tall walls around the village did not cast a shadow upon the brightly colored wagon.
"It must be full noon. Almost lunch time! She smiled. Mommy made such good lunches. Finally, she and her father had to slow down, the crowd being thickest nearest the wagon."Let my daughter and I pass, please! Her father's deep voice called out. "I must greet the wagon!
The villagers reluctantly but respectively parted enough to let her father and her pass through, and Sango got a clear view of the wagon.
Four horses led it, their sturdy legs rippling with the muscles that pulled the heavy wagon up and down hills and valleys. And obviously sure footed, otherwise the whole wagon would have been lost coming around those steep mountains and the lacking in width trails etched into the stone over time.
All the horses were white, reminding her of the stories the wagon traders told during their stay. Tales of beautiful creatures...¦
"Unicorns... She murmured, her imagination taking off in what it would be like to ride such a creature.
Her daydreaming was cut short when her father dropped her hand with a slight squeeze and walked forward. The trade leader came off his wagon, grunting assent to something another had asked beside him. The man's bright red hair shone almost golden copper in the direct sunlight as he met her father and both bowed.
Both spoke words o the formal greeting, but Sango paid little attention. She leaned a bit forward, cocking her head and squinting towards the wagon. Something was moving in the back of that wagon.
A flickering of sparks and a high-pitched whistle happened in quick succession. Eyes widening, everything around her seemed to have a delayed reaction, even herself. Shouts from the wagon reached her and she saw movement in the corner of her eye.
She turned her head towards it just a moment before another small body rammed into her, knocking her down. Both rolled, a blur of bodies moving across the ground.
A spilt second later, a rocket zoomed through the space she had just been standing in, exploding into a thousand searing sparks with a boom so loud that her ears popped for an hour afterwards.
She saw all this over the shoulder of her rescuer, whom lay upon her. Turning her head, she came face to face with him.
Red hair hung down to his ears and into his face as his light blue eyes stared back at her, full of concern. The young boy seemed to look her over, before an impish grin came over his face. Rolling off of her, he stood up, before offering a grubby hand towards her to help her up.
"Guess yer alright. Gotta watch out for those boomer rockets. They shoot off to easy.
A moment later, her searching father's eyes caught sight of her and he rushed over, scooping her up.
At the age of eight, Dedrick decided that Sango wasn't all that bad looking for a girl and kept grinning up at her.
At the age of 5, Sango looked down at her grinning rescuer from her father's arms and decided something.
That boy was a weirdo.
END FLASHBACK
Sango shook her head of the memories. That object was a firework. She hadn't seen one in a long time, not since the age of 5. Trade stopped that year. The trader had decided to retire and he was the only one brave enough to come to the village, it being a dangerous route to go on with any regularity.
Thankfully, that firework wasn't a boomer rocket, which her ears were grateful for.
'It sure makes a lot of smoke though', she thought, coughing and waving the fading smoke away from her face.
Standing away from the boulder as the strange girl had done, Sango took a look at what this firework had done to Miroku.
Sango couldn't keep quiet. Every time she glanced at him and was thrown into a fit of giggles at which she tried vainly to suppress.
Miroku grimaced at it. Which he guessed was better than the all out laughter which off and around the trees coming from their newest traveler.
"It's not that funny," he grumbled, which made the girl laugh even louder.
"But it is! She grinned, wiping a laughter tear from the corner of her eye. "Just look at you!"
Miroku's face was completely blackened by the soot from the smoke, causing his teeth to appear overly white. The soot completely covered his robes, his left side the least as he had been turning to run the moment the firework went off. His hair stuck out at all angles and was tangled up in the tie that pulled back his mid length black hair.
"You look like a crazy blown up orc wearing a dress!" She laughed out.
Miroku gritted his teeth, especially when Sango joined in with her badly suppressed giggles. He sighed before stopping, closing his eyes, his staff's rings jingling became silent. Sango stopped as well, looking at him. She frowned.
"Gomen ne, Houshi-sama." She said quietly. "For laughing at you." She neared him enough to place a hand on his shoulder. He sighed again, looking away, upping Sango's guilt.
"It is time for me to bathe and rid myself of this appearance." He stated.
Suddenly Sango and the girl felt a hand caress their bottoms.
"Would you ladies care to join me?"
SMACK
"By the way, my names Daphna." Daphna stood, balancing on the low tree branch she had been sitting on a moment before. "Daphna the poet." She bowed.
Sango's eyes widened at the feat. 'A perfect sense of balance as well.'
"I'm Sango." She responded. "I'm taija."
Sango cocked her head to the side, continuing to look at the girl. Daphna lifted her arms, reached for the branch above her and stepped off. She swung forward, then back, forward, back, gaining momentum. Then forward and with a bend of her body, she was carried up into the upper branches and taken from view. A moment later, Sango heard humming, which next turned into words.
Houshi is a Ku-monkey
He can't fool you or me
Grabbing with his roaming hand
Pretty girls throughout the land
But with a smack
He's in the act
Of exercising
His enterprising
Riding the cart
Of his art
He's robbed you blind!
He's one of a kind
The leaves rustled in the wind and all was silence. Sango sat still on her boulder, giving a weird look at the tree. 'My god, I've seen less odd demons!'
Having found the path and the scorch marks upon the ground, Dedrick stopped to look for clues as to which direction she went. Seeing extra footprints covering and around those of his sister's, Dedrick had a twinge of real worry. Had his vagrant sister finally gotten into some trouble she couldn't handle? Hurrying forward, but as quietly as possible, he made his way further up the path. Eventually he heard his sister's sung poetry, and his heart jumped at the thought of FINNALY capturing his sister and making his way back home. He hadn't been home in more than a year. Going in the direction of where the sound cam from, it carried him off the path.
Seeing as Daphna didn't appear to be showing up anytime soon and that Miroku was otherwise occupied up the river, Sango decided to take a bath of her own, pushing aside her guilt about wasting time on frivolities. The river was hip deep just a few steps in and clear since there hadn't been any rain recently to disturb the sediment at the bottom. The ground beside the river was uneven, smooth in some places, rocky in others, but mostly a mixture of each. Trees were thick all along side it, it's water source always lending it the water it needed. Looking up at the sky again, she noted the darkening clouds.
Taking her clothes off, she placed them in a pile next to her carry sack. Hiraikotsu lay beside them. No sun to warm the water, the river was a bit chilly so she moved deeper and under to get used to it more quickly, the water feeling very cool against her face. Feeling something brush up against her under the water, she opened her eyes. Nothing.
Coming up for air, her long black hair floated out on the surface of the water in a wide circle about her head. Sango aimlessly watched it, the hair moving with the ripples of the river. Her eyes seemed to lose focus and then stung. Tears began to trial down her face to join the water. She didn't know why. Her mind wandered as if separated from her body. Surprisingly, it went back to the memories of earlier.
FLASHBACKSighing, Sango placed her chin on her hand, looking out the
window dejectedly. After that
stupid rocket almost hit her, her father had said not to go near the wagon till
the celebration tonight. Thing was, all the other kids she played with were at
the wagon. And all the fun adults were preparing. Which left her with nothing
to do but stay home until mommy was done resting. She sighed again, not really
looking at anything outside.
"BOO!"
Sango
yelled, before slapping her hands over her mouth and turning her head to see if
she had woke up her mother. Seeing as she hadn't, Sango turned a glare on the
boy who had just popped up in front of her window. Recognizing him as her
weirdo rescuer, she got further annoyed.
"What
are you doing?!" She whispered furiously. "You almost made me wake up Mother!"
The
boy climbed in. "Hey, I'm Dedrick." He said, apparently ignoring what she had
just said. "I've been looking for ya this whole time."
Distracted,
Sango asked, "Why?"
Dedrick
stilled, and then turned around slowly. Getting real close, he looked around
conspiratorially with big eyes added for dramatic effect. Then he looked straight
at her. Sango leaned in and waited.
"Because."
Sango waited for more… The blinked, confused, when it didn't come.
"That's
it?" She asked.
"Thas
it." He confirmed.
Sango
raised her hand up and pinched him. He yelped, backing up and bringing a hand
up to rub the red mark.
"Idiot,
that's no reason." Dedrick turned red and he angrily walked back towards the
window.
"Fine
then! I won't show you." He began to climb out the window.
Dedrick felt a hand on his arm and stopped.
"Wait!
Show me what?"
Dedrick
grinned.
"Follow
me."
Sango
looked back at where her mother was resting before doing so.
"This is where my father is gonna shoot off the fireworks."
"Your daddy?"
"Yeap." Dedrick stated, strutting around the clearing.
"My father owns the wagon and they set up right here. And tonight, I'm going to be right here to see 'em shoot off." He came over and took her hand.
"Wanna see it with me? I'll come and getcha when it starts, k?"
"I… guess." Sango replied uncertainly.
"Great!" He clapped. "Cya later then!" he said, before running off.
Sango stood there, wondering what she was supposed to do now.
"Sango!" She jerked her head around to the sound of her name being called.
Her face broke into smiles and she ran to her father.
"Mother has finished your kimono, little daughter. It is time to prepare."
Sango held tightly to her father's hand in the crowds. She stepped over puddles here and there, careful not to dip the edge of her new kimono into them and ruin the silk. Smoothing a hand down the fabric at a time when daddy was still, Sango admired how soft and silky it was. And very pretty, covered in what appeared to be waves of the ocean interspaced with twinkling stars on the dark blue silk. The sleeves were edged with pale silver crescent moons as well. With Sango's dark black hair framing her face, and purple-blue shaded eyes, she was a very pretty little girl and one could only imagine what a beauty she would become when she became older.
Chinese lanterns, courtesy of the trade wagon, illuminated the night. They would be put out shortly before the fireworks started for best effect. But for right now, Sango just looked high above her daddy's head, and between people for brief views of the delicate paper covered in light artwork. Maybe later she could get daddy to buy her one…
Children ran around and around, narrowly missing people, as they waved their sparklers here and there, making shapes of light in the air before them. Sango pursed her lips. By now, all will have been sold. She had missed her chance at getting one earlier today when she had been sentenced to time at home. Which reminded her, was Dedrick already at their meeting place?
Having slowed down to look at everything, she felt a tug on her hand. Daddy's eyes looked down at her, then back at mommy.
Mommy was looking paler then ever tonight. In a beautiful kimono of her own, though created to hide what was readily apparent, she outshone most of the women there despite her condition and weakness. Long black hair, usually in a braid and pinned tightly to her skull, flowed in long tresses down her back, some held in an ornate bun atop her head.
She was leaning against her father's shoulder, though one would only notice if they were up close. To all others, her head was held high and her back was straight as she walked beside the village's leader. One hand rested on her tummy, fingers moving in small circles as if to rub away a pain.
Sango skipped up, and looked around her father.
"Thank you, mommy. I very mush like the kimono you made for me."
Her mother's face broke into a heartwarming smile as she looked at her only daughter. "Your welcome, Sango." Her mother glanced around. "Why don't you go and show your playmates?" She suggested, knowing that her little daughter would love to show to all her friends just how much her mommy loved her.
Sango grinned. "Ok! Thanks mommy!" Little Sango said, before running ahead into the crowd, leaving her parents with only a wave goodbye.
Hurrying to where the fireworks were set up, she skirted the clearing where all the people were placing fireworks in rows, to the place where Dedrick had shown her.
"Boo!" Dedrick popped out from behind a barrel. Sango rolled her eyes and reached over and pinched him again.
"Ow! Stop that, you pinch hard." Sango grinned.
"Look!" She said, stepping back a bit and showing herself in the kimono. "Mommy made it for me." Smiling she looked herself up and down before meeting his eyes.
"Hey… your really pretty." Dedrick said, before he realized he said it. He turned red. Boys weren't 'posed to say that!
Sango's smile widened. "Thank you." She bowed politely, just like mommy had shown her.
Dedrick just turned towards the clearing, shoving his fingers thru his hair to get them out of his eyes.
"When is it starting?" Sango asked. Right about then, everything went dark.
Attendants by each lantern had extinguished them all at the same exact moment, creating an exciting as well as a quieting effect on the crowd. A sharp whistle signaled the beginning of the show, followed by a burst high in the air of multicolored sparks, which lit up the people's rapt faces.
About ten minutes in, Sango noticed some agitated movement in the crowd in the corner of her eye. Then darkness as the light from the fireworks shaped like a willow tree faded away. Looking directly at what she thought was the same spot; she waited for another burst to light up the scene.
Whistle BOOM!
Bright light again lit up the area and Sango saw people gathering around a person lying upon the ground. Then darkness. Annoyed, Sango took a few steps forwards, further into the clearing, waiting for another firework to go off.
An even louder whistle than before, just a few feet away caused her to jump and clap her hands over her ears. But she still saw what was happening over there.
"Mommy!!" She cried out, as she recognized her fathers face. He was holding up her mother, as if to help her up again to her feet. Sango started running as fast as her little feet could carry her across the clearing, ignoring the yells from Dedrick behind her.
The high pitched whistles and blasts from above kept all sound from reaching her as she dodged between the firework attendants and the fireworks themselves. She was narrowly missed by one rocket, which swerved and zoomed right before her. One man tried to block her path from going further into the clearing, but she ducked beneath him, almost tripping on the edge of her kimono, and instead ripping it when her foot caught.
Nearing the other side of the clearing finally, she threw herself into the crowd.
"Father! Father!" She called out, trying to seek both him and her mother in the crowd. "Father!" she shouted, tears of fear and confusion filling her eyes and coursing down her cheeks. A hand on her shoulder, pulling on the cloth of her kimono, startled her. Blue eyes met her brown ones.
"Over here, Sango!" Dedrick yelled, as he pulled her to the side. Sango reached over and clutched at his hand tightly. Dedrick held on just as tightly as his small 7 yr old frame led her thru the crowds and to her parents. " Their right here!"
Sango dropped his hand and ran to her father, who was assisting gin carrying her momma in a blanket. Mother looked completely white and she had deep lines furrowing her face as she bit down on her lip. Sango's heart jumped in fear.
"Father! What is wrong with mommy?"
Her father looked down at her, worry having taken over his face, making it appear frightening to the small girl. Where were Daddy's smiles? What was wrong??!
The grand finale boomed loud into the sky, and the sparks lit up the night in the shape of a spider.
Sango didn't remember much of that night after the fireworks. She was eventually led by her neighbors to their house to stay. For some reason, no one would allow the girl to come inside with her mommy and daddy. SO she waited outside, huddled down just beneath the window. Tears escaped her now and then, as she sniffled and waited. She heard awful noises from inside, frightening moans that made her want to hide. But she didn't hide. And that is where her neighbors found her, and brought her to their home, wrapped her in a blanket and let her lay on their pallet. Narada, the lady of the house, slept near her, keeping her company, and stroking her hair in the effort to calm her down enough to make her fall into sleep.
Wrapping herself tightly with the blanket, she rolled over onto her side. Whispering to herself that everything would be ok, she fell asleep a few hours before dawn.
She stayed at her neighbors for two more days. Everything was strange to her, as her routine was disrupted and her parents gone inside the home she was not allowed to enter. Dedrick came over at one point and said goodbye, but Sango was silent, hardly noticing he was there at all. Brief warmth wrapped around her shoulders and was gone.
Dawn of the second day, little Sango was awakened by Narada.
"Come, you must go back home." Something on the lady's face seeped into her child's mind and an uneasiness filled her, as she, still in the torn kimono she had refused to take off, returned home.
Her father was inside, face in his hands, hunched over himself and small looking. The image frightened her and she rushed forward. However, Narada took a firm hold on her hand. Sango struggled.
"Father!" her father's face jerked up and Sango stilled at the sight. Father was…crying?
Narada led her inside to the back room. Mother was there, lying still on the bed. Sango did not move from her spot in the doorway. Something told her that mommy wouldn't be getting up. Mommy would never be getting up.
Sango's face was turned down to the floor as hot tears once again filled her eyes. A tug on her hand caused her to look up into Narada's sympathetic pained eyes. Again, Sango was led, but to the side of the room, where there sat a small basket full of blankets.
Wait, no… not blankets. There' swaddled in several blankets to keep it warm, was her new little brother. Narada kneeled down beside her.
"Sango," she said quietly. "This is your brother, Kohaku. Your mother named him before…" She trailed off.
Sango ignored her after that, reaching in carefully and picking up the child. Time passed, as the baby gurgled hungrily in her arms.
Later, at the funeral, little Sango had the responsibility of holding the child. Or rather, had taken on that responsibility, allowing no one else to do so. As the flames were lit beneath her mother's body, Sango looked into her little brother's face. The dry wood cracked and sparked, the flames shining bright on her pale determined face.
"Neither of us have a mother now…" Sango hugged him tight to her. "I'll take care of you, Kohaku."
END FLASHBACK
Eyes half closed and unfocused, Sango's lips moved silently with the words.
"I'll take care of you, Kohaku." She didn't notice the vines wrapped around her arms and legs, nor the one wrapped snuggly around her neck, keeping her above the water.
The vines pulled her towards the opposite back of the river from which she had entered, body limp with the poison that the earlier brush by one of the vines had caused her to absorb. The vines had lain beneath the water, searching, waiting for a victim to come along.
Mid-afternoon, it nevertheless darkened even further with the incoming clouds from the west. Sensing something wrong, Dedrick stopped abruptly. Searching for what he had sensed, his ears strained for any sounds that were out of the ordinary. His eyes found nothing, and the only sounds were a twitter here and there from birds finding roosts in which to stay dry from the approaching storm. Glancing up, Dedrick decided it was beginning to look like a pretty serious storm.
'The spirits aren't happy.' An unwanted superstitious thought, he ignored it. Deciding that all this was just his imagination, he turned to go back to the path he had just left. A flicker to the left had him in fighting stance.
"Who's there?" he demanded. A small boy of 14 stood there, still and expectant, as if just waiting and wanting for him to find him. His clothes were roughed up, as if he had been in battle recently, his brown hair escaping from where he had pulled it back. He carried no weapons as far as he could see, though.
Surprised, Dedrick straightened. "What do you want? The boy suddenly looked off to the side. Dedrick's reflexes caused him to do the same. Nothing.
"Well—" he turned back to the boy. Nothing.
"What the hell—" Another flicker to the side. He turned quickly and saw the boy again. Then the boy suddenly took off.
Needless to say, Dedrick followed.
Branches slapped him in the face as he tried to keep his sights on the young boy. Just when he had a clear sight on him, he turned around a tree and seemed to fade from view, only to appear a few moments later, as if to encourage him on.
Suddenly, the trees ended, sending him unbalanced over a loose ledge of mud, which collapsed beneath him. Standing up quickly from where he had fallen on his hands and knees, Dedrick looked around. Seeing the placid river, greenish water almost slate gray from the reflected storm clouds, Dedrick was slightly confused. Why was he even HERE?
A splash, as if from a thrown rock caught his attention. His body tensed at what he saw. A young woman was being drawn ever closer to what appeared to be a green blob of a plant with no eyes as far as he could see. All it was was vines and teeth.
It had stopped using it's camouflage for hiding within the trees, having given in to the hunger and greed for the kill. And it's meal.
"Damn!" he cursed, having realized something. 'I forgot my weapon back at the village!' He thought, annoyed with himself and frantic for an idea on how to save this person.
A clattering of metal against the pebbled mud turned him around. And his eyes met those of the boy's again. Dark brown meeting bright blue. Dedrick frowned at both the action in confusion as well as at the sudden sense of familiarity he had from seeing those eyes.
Now, at Dedrick's feet, lay a curved silver blade attached to a balled chain. Looking back up at the boy he—
"He's gone…" No sound. Another splash came to him from the river, reminding him of the monster and his lunch.
Grabbing the weapon tightly around the pommel, he ran and cut one of the vines pulling the female in. the monster screamed, it's cut vine shooting out from beneath the water and bleeding green across mud, rocks, and water.
The creature was out of its element, meant to be in the trees to hide and travel. It had no feet to speak of; instead using it's vines for transportation. It had come out only to eat its victim who had appeared to be alone. It tried to keep hold of the woman while also trying to escape. That was it's first and last mistake.
Hacking away at each vine that came near him, the green blood made the rocks slick as he dodged vines, the stupid creatures enraged pained screams becoming more and more muted as its life blood pooled around and behind it as it tried to move towards the trees. Dedrick managed to keep at least one hand free to cut himself loose. Anytime a vine managed to wrap around him. Finally, it had no vies to attack and, just a few feet away from the trees that would have meant freedom, it died.
Panting heavily, Dedrick hurried over to the female's body, dropping the weapon, and wondered if he had come in time, remorse and guilt filling him if he had not. Dropping to his knees, he dragged her the rest of the way out of the water, worried about the fact that she could have drowned while he was fighting the monster for her life. He pulled the girl's sodden hair away from her pale face and placed her head on his knee. He placed one hand over her mouth, waiting for a breath that would signal life.