Shippo's Plan
Rating: Still PG (I'm so boring)
Disclaimer: Yeah, I own Inuyasha… in that opposite day kind of way.
Summary: At last I let you know how our precious Sango has been doing.
Apologies: I've gotten quite a few reviews that mention how short my chapters are, and I'm really, really sorry. I swear I have a good reason to keep them short, but I'll try to make them longer.
Warnings: Well, counting this chapter, there are only three more plus an epilogue left….
Chapter 8: Hello, I Love You, Won't You Tell Me Your Name?
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Truth to be told, she really needed a vacation, and this little journey was perfect for that. Dealing with Miroku was getting to be painful, oh no, she wasn't blind. She saw the looks of longing that he cast in Kagome's direction. Yeah, she liked him, maybe loved him, but it wasn't meant to be. Inuyasha was being – well, he was being Inuyasha, and she'd had enough of that for now. And poor Kagome was dimming every single day she spent with them. Inuyasha was sucking the life out of her every time he went to go see Kikyo. That was painful to watch too.
Most people would assume that Sango would be angry at the girl for stealing the heart of the man she loved. Sango guessed that it was a natural reaction, but this was not a natural situation. Kagome was Kagome… it was impossible to not like her – well Kikyo didn't like her all that much, but she'd dead, so she doesn't count. Anyway, with her easy smile and kind words, everyone she met liked her. Look at Kouga for an example. Here's this hard-headed masculine macho boy (in fur) who, after meeting Kagome, runs around declaring undying love for Kagome after like, two days. It was only natural. Infuriating, but natural. Sango couldn't be angry at her; she was like a sister to the girl.
Thus the vacation – er, demon hunting expedition. Some guy named Nobunaga came to the village early one morning with a head filled with tales of her village and its accomplishments… but after searching the village out, he found that it was empty. Upon hearing of the survival of one demon slayer surviving the incident, he in turn searched for her. So in the wee hours of the morning, Nobunaga finally completed his quest to find the demon huntress.
Seizing the opportunity to get the hell out of dodge for a few days, Sango left a note and followed the young man to his home, a good three day's walk from Kaede's village. She spent most of those three days wondering why the hell she ever left. This Nobunaga was a fool… an idiot. With a bright smiling face and a high pony tail, and a silly, innocent demeanor, he'd been a pleasant traveling companion for a few hours, but then, his true nature revealed itself.
The first instance was at the river.
Stopping for a noon time meal, they rested under a tree when his white pet… thing – some sort of weird monkey thing named Hiyoshimaru, stole her lunch and ate it. Politely, Nobunaga grinned and blushed. Scratching the back of his neck, he explained that not so long ago he and his – thing – had to steal food to survive. He'd said it wasn't pleasant, but they'd been on a rather dangerous mission involving a demon lord who was feeding off of the souls of all the girls in a nearby kingdom. Ironically, it was that situation that led to him hiring her. The Demon Lord had used a shard of the Shikon Jewel to possess the body of a human Prince, and now the recovered prince was very nervous about the demons in the area. Sango was hired to gauge the threat to the kingdom. Anyway--- he was beginning to ramble and Sango was beginning to get annoyed.
He then stood and entered the nearby river, promising her that he was going to catch a fish to make up for her meal. Idly, she wondered why he stole food if he could catch fish with his bare hands, but that question was soon answered.
He tried lunging after a fish and wound up face first in the river. He then proceeded to panic about not being able to swim. It took about fifteen minutes to drag him out of the river and calm him down. The water had only been knee high!
Later, while he'd been rambling on about one thing or another, he'd looked in her direction and ran into a tree, knocking himself out cold. She held a cool rag to his head to help curb the headache he was sure to have when he woke up and wondered with quite a bit of frustration if cute, dark haired men with ponytails were going to be the death of her. Wait a minute… cute? She shook her head to get rid of the thought.
Then, the piece de la resistance came early this, the third evening. Nobunaga demonstrated his stunning walk right off a cliff. Not a very high one, mind you, but high enough so that he sprained his ankle badly and they had to camp out that evening, rather than walking the few miles that were left in their journey. And that brings us to where we are now with a glowering Sango wrapping a surprisingly quiet Nobunaga's ankle.
Well, not quiet for long, "Sango..?"
She raised her eyes to him and tried really hard not to glare, "Yes, Nobunaga?"
He cleared his throat and shifted nervously a bit, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I know I'm a bit clumsy and I get into a lot of trouble, and for that I'm really sorry. And… er – thanks."
She cocked her head to the side in question, "Thanks?"
He blushed a bit and tipped his head toward his foot, "Well, for wrapping that and – uh, not calling me an idiot. I know I've done some pretty dumb things over the last few days, but you've never once called me 'moron' or 'idiot'. I just wanted to thank you."
Her eyes softened a bit as well as her voice, "People actually call you such things?"
"Yeah, quite a bit actually. And I am a fool. I mean, the only reason the only girl I have ever fallen in love with remembers my name is because I have so many accidents… anyway, thanks."
Now that she looked at him, his smiling face lit by the campfire, looking a bit sad and blushing lightly, he kind of looked like Kohaku, 1 and it kind of felt like home to her. She couldn't help but return his smile.
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It turned out that the kingdom really didn't have a use for her, there weren't any demons lurking about, which wasn't really all that surprising. Toad demons, like the one that had threatened this place before, were very territorial, and therefore, if there were any demons around, they were really weak and not to be worried about. 2 The Prince thanked Sango for her time and skills, offering her lodging in the palace so that she could rest for her journey home. After being led to her room, she collapsed onto the futon in the corner, fully ready to enjoy her vacation.
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Nobunaga's 3 head was spinning, and it felt damn good. When he'd set out on his quest, he'd imagined a big, smelly guy as the demon exterminator that he'd have to bring home. But it was a girl - a very beautiful girl. Sure, she was quiet and aloof, but she was kind and didn't say nasty things to him. No matter how dumb the situation he found himself around, she helped him out… like when he nearly drowned, or woke up from the tree incident with a cool rag on his head and her beautiful brown eyes looking down at him. The worst of it though, or maybe the best of it, was her gentle touch on his ankle while she wrapped it.
Yes, Sango was beautiful, understanding, and most importantly patient, and for the first time since he realized that Princess Tsuyu would never love him in return, his heart gave a little flutter. He was secretly grateful to the Prince for letting Sango stay in the palace for three whole days before returning to her village… it was going to be a good three days. 4
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1 When I re-read this, I got a little concerned that this statement might go misunderstood. No, I'm not implying that Sango's in love with her brother, or attracted to him – my thought is that for a girl whose lost all of her family except for her little brother who's used as a puppet, she'd be comforted by their similarities.
2 I love just making random shit up.
3 I chose Nobunaga for a couple of reasons… the most important being that Brad Swaile, who voices Nobunaga in the English version also voices Quatre from Gundam Wing, whom I love very much, thus undue attachment to Nobunaga. Add also the fact that he looks like Kohaku might when he's grown up, and that he's very different from Miroku, and you've got all my reasons for choosing him.
4 Grr – still short, but now each chapter will have an update on Sango's story as well as the progress between Miroku and Kagome. It's part of my plan to make my chapters longer.
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Review Responses:
Myst Lady – Yeah… that Eva/GW story is starting to haunt me again. I think I'll give it another go once this one is done. I got my copies of Love Hina off Kazaa sometime ago, like April 2003… they should be still there.
Denise D – I'm glad you like the humor… my teachers back in high school really didn't appreciate it on my papers, but it seems to have found a home here. Yay, I feel so loved.
Samanda Hime-sama – LOL, I don't know if he actually considered Kagome's side of things, more like he knew he wasn't going to win. And oh yes, many cold things needed when thinking about a naked Miroku. -drool-
Kitsune Kinu – You got it!
Puffin – Thank you, thank you, thank you. Like I said above, I'm going to try to make them longer…
CrimsonMoonInTheSky – Poor Inuyasha! I feel kinda bad for crucifying Inuyasha like this… despite all the names I call him, I still like his character in the show… particularly the doggie ears –want to rub, want to rub- Personally, I really like Kagome… I think she's a great character and it's very, very easy to write her. So naturally, I read about anyone who gets paired up with her… except Naraku, those kinda creep me out (no offense to anyone intended.)
The Dark Angel Girls - -Bows- Thank you, I'm happy you like it.
Addanc TSC – I dunno, the sun and the moon thing kinda happened on accident, but when I re-read it, I really liked it – I have a run away corniness problem. Ah well, I'm glad you thought it was cute. And in this chapter I finally answer everyone's questions about Sango. Like I said before, I promise not to hurt her, kill her, make her cry, or leave her alone. J
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Thank you ever so much for reviewing!!! J