Echo
-- Please note that the underlined text is the song, italic text is thoughts, and bold is...well, you'll figure that out.
I do not own any of theses characters.
--
Sango tread pack to her village slowly, dreading the moment that she step foot in the town. 'Will it be destroyed? What if someone else has settled there?' she wondered. Part of her didn't want to go back, a part of her that she regretted, but she agreed with herself...she was tired of the pain.
Looking up, she realized that she was at the gate, blocking the opening to the village. She hoped that the spell Miroku had placed to keep out anyone but a true demon exterminator that had been born in the village still held true. She stared at the gate for a moment, realizing that if she passed through it she was subjecting herself to the pain that had haunted her from the moment that she herd of the village's slaughter. Her legs wanted to run away, but she pushed against the gate, using her remaining strength to open it. As soon as it gave way to her force, she collapsed on the ground, completely exhausted. After a few moments of hard, almost painful breathing, she pulled herself up. She pulled the gate shut again, then wobbled into the nearest hut, knowing that she'd be safe there. Once in the hut, she collapsed again, completely drained of strength and the will to move. It was there that she drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.
--
Close my eyes, Let the whole thing pass me by,
There is no time to waste asking why.
--
She woke up the next morning, a bright sunbeam in her face. She groaned a bit, realizing that she lay on the hard floor of the hut. Looking back at the door, she spotted her footprints in the dust that had settled, along with the outline of where she had fallen. It took her a moment to remember that she was in the village. Once she did, she stood up, dusted herself off, and proceeded outside.
Walking among the graves, she looked at them sadly. Theses were her friends lying here in the ground. She found herself looking for her father's grave, even though she knew it was not here among her friends and extended family. She stumbled through the graveyard until she came upon a tree with her mother's grave under it. Looking at the marker of the grave, she felt tears burning behind her eyes. She sat down next to the grave- the movement completely without grace or coordination- with her back leaning on the tree.
--
I'll run away with you by my side,
I'll run away with you by my side,
(Close my eyes; let the whole thing pass me by)
I need to let go, let go, let go, let go of this pride (Asking why)
--
"Why Mom? Why me? Why am I the only one left? Was it some odd stroke of luck that I'm the only one left?" She asked quietly, looking down at the old grave that held her mother's remains. She remembered the day she died vividly- she died giving birth to Kohaku. Who knew Mom? Who knew that one day you'd die giving life to the son you were so proud of, who wasn't even born at the time? Who knew that Father would be dead, along with the rest of the village, and Kohaku would be controlled by hell himself? She wondered. Who knew that I would be the only one left truly living?
Can you call wallowing in pain and sorrow truly living? A voice asked in her mind. She shook her head slowly, knowing it was true. I was time she moved on, she knew it was, but doing so was so hard. Searching for the Shinkon Shards and battling Naraku kept her mind off the pain, but still there were times that it stabbed her heart like a knife.
Oh yeah, only when I was hurt physically did I forget... she remembered. She stood up.
"Thanks Mom." She whispered, and then set off to her chores.
--
She patrolled the village, made sure that the graves were kept up and replaced the long dead flowers that rested on them. She cleaned up the huts of her friends and neighbors, all the while humming a song that Kagome had been singing before she had left to come here.
--
I think about your face, and how I fall into your eyes,
The outline that I trace, around the one that I call mine,
A time that called for space, unclear to where you drew the line,
I don't need to solve this case, and I don't need to look behind,
-- Miroku sat underneath a tree, thinking about Sango. Nothing he did could take his mind off the girl, not matter what he did. He didn't want her to go to the village alone, not only because he didn't want her to leave the group, well actually leave him, but also he didn't want her to face her emotional scars alone. He had offered to go with her, but she had just given him a glance that said 'no way'. He sighed.
"What the hell do you keep sighing about monk?" came drifting down from the tree. Miroku sighed again, and looked up at the hanyou.
"I was just thinking about your foolishness, Inuyasha," He lied. "I can't believe you managed to anger Lady Kagome again so much that she's gone home. What exactly did you do again? All I herd was a mumble from you, and a few sits coming from Lady Kagome who then passed me and jumped down the well."
"None of your damn business." Miroku snorted, knowing that the hanyou would be silent for a while. He stared at the moon for a second until his thoughts drifted back to Sango. I wonder what she's doing now, he wondered, I do hope she's okay. I can't believe she went alone. He pictured her face in his mind, the last time he saw her before she left. Something had been missing from her usually distant eyes, something that worried him. His thoughts were interrupted when Shippo bounded up to him.
"Hey Miroku! Where's Kagome?" He asked, carrying a basket full of berries. Miroku herd Inuyasha snort up in the tree, but ignore him, smirking.
"Inuyasha has somehow managed to anger Lady Kagome again. She has gone home for now." He said, rubbing it into Inuyasha. He herd a faint growl coming from up in the tree before Shippo started yelling at Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha! Why did you make Kagome leave? I bet you saw Kikyo again, didn't you?" he yelled, bounding up into the tree to get a better look at Inuyasha, who was draped over a large limb in the tree.
"Why you little-" Miroku sighed again, hearing Shippo's cry.
"I'm telling Kagome you big Meenie!" The kitsune cried, flying back down the tree and towards the village.
"Now Inuyasha was that really necessary?" Miroku asked, staring at the moon again. All he heard in reply was a low, threatening growl.
Sango what were you thinking going by yourself? He thought.
--
Close my eyes, let the whole thing pass me by,
There is no time to waste asking why (asking why)
I'll run away with you by my side, (by my side)
I'll run away with you by my side, (I'll run away with you)
(Close my eyes, let the whole thing pass me by)
I need to let go, let go, let go, let go of this pride
Until this echo, echo, echo, echo in my mind
Until this echo, echo, echo, echo can subside
--
Sango lay in her bed awake. All the feelings she hid from Kagome and the others were now swimming though her mind, mixing together and confusing her. Two thoughts stood out- One, to keep going and defeat Naraku, avenging her family, while the other was to give up completely. Give up searching for Naraku, give up hunting demons, and basically give up her will to live.
I can't handle it...I can't handle the pain anymore. First it was mom, then Dad and Kohaku, then the rest of the village! I'm alone now, and I can't stand it. There's no one I can share this pain with, no one else is the sole survivor of her village.
What about your friends? What about Kagome, Inuyasha, and Miroku?
What about them?
They can help you.
No they can't. They're not going through the same thing I am.
No, they're not. But they can still help. That monk Miroku the most out of all of them.
No he can't. He's just a perverted monk.
Think about it. He's facing his own death in the eye every day, by his own hand nevertheless. His father was also killed by Naraku. He's going through the same thing you are, only he's had longer to deal with his pain.
Are you comparing me to that stupid monk? All he does it hit on girls all the time, asking them if they'll have his child. He never once considered that some girls like him, even if they crowd around him and beg for him.
So you do like him.
--
Sorry everyone, I felt like being mean and leaving that bad cliffhanger. So what do you think of my new story? I'm so glad to get this one out, its been an idea I've had ever since I've moved, and yet, I've never had the chance to type it, and I could never find a song that I thought could fit perfectly with this story. Hope you liked!
Dark Nightmares