Houken-Jidai
Sango's Secret
By Seabreeze
A/N: Ok, so thanks muchly to reviewers and my bouncer buddy ;)
Disclaimer: See third chapter for further details.
*~*~*
"I'd heard from so many people that your whole family was killed, Sango," the man breathed. Sango swallowed fiercely.
"I'm sure you have the wrong Sango," Sango said, trying to lower her voice an octave. She tried to pull her shoulder back to get away somehow, but the man gripped more tightly.
"No, it's you, I'm sure of it," he lowered his face so that he could look into her eyes. "Are your parents and brother alive, too?" he asked. Kagome and Inuyasha exchanged confused and frightened glances, but Miroku watched Sango and the man intently. Sango fidgeted a moment, and then, to everyone's surprise, she burst out of him and his grip, leapt over the table, and ran like she was on fire, and water was just beyond her fingertips.
"Sango!" Kagome, Miroku, and Inuyasha called in unison, but she was too far to hear them. Without a word to the man, all three gathered their things, got in Miroku's car, and took off.
*~*~*
Sango was crazily glad that she never wore anything but sneakers. Her body was quickly tiring; her house wasn't anywhere near the shopping center with the ice cream shop. But the man had frightened her so terribly that she didn't care if her body was exhausted, she was going to keep running until she got home.
Somebody knew now. Somebody KNEW. Gods, what would she do? The only thing she knew to do now was run home and hope that Inuyasha and the others didn't follow. She had some serious thinking to do. A few things were certain: she could never see Inuyasha, Kagome, or Miroku again; she would no longer be attending Houken-Jidai; and she had to move to another town again.
*~*~*
"Where does Sango live?" Miroku's voice was oddly serious and concentrated. Inuyasha moved so that he could see the road ahead of them.
"About 10 minutes this way, and then a left." Inuyasha replied tersely. Something was up with Sango, and he had no clue what. That bothered him. He scowled in annoyance. Kagome turned to him, worry written all over her face.
"Inuyasha. . . do you know ANYTHING that explains what just happened?" she asked, her voice almost quivering. Inuyasha felt himself melt inwardly at the fear in the cheerleader's voice, and his reply was harsh to cover it up.
"Why would I know anything? I'm as confused as anyone." He crossed his arms. "Feh." Though he would never admit it, Inuyasha was severely worried- for both Sango AND Kagome. Miroku, too, was worried, though only for Sango. Something had shaken the sophomore badly, and she was always so composed. He gripped the steering wheel a little too tightly as her face popped up in his mind again- she was terrified. He could only remember seeing that sort of terror once before- and that was a time he didn't want to remember.
*~*~*
"This is it?" Kagome's voice was anxious, and Inuyasha nodded, suppressing a growl.
"Yeah." Miroku parked and turned off the car, and by that time Kagome and Inuyasha were waiting for him. The house- Sango's house- was rather decrepit. The other houses in the area weren't very nice either, but Sango's was by far the worse. It was the smallest house on the block, and the paint was peeling, the window panes hanging by a hinge, and part of the roofing was in the yard. Miroku cringed- he was considerably well off and felt guilty, almost, for being there.
Inuyasha approached the front door and began banging on it. Miroku and Kagome cringed, but Inuyasha didn't notice.
"Come on, Sango! You can't let something like that happen and then not explain it to us! Let us in, baka! You owe it to us!" he continued banging until Miroku pulled him away from the flimsy aluminum door.
"I don't think that was the best way to handle it, Inuyasha." He held his arm out to keep Inuyasha from assaulting the door and let Kagome forward.
"Sango," Kagome called softly. She knocked politely on the door. "Sango, please let us in. We're worried out here." Her voice was gentle and vulnerable, and very slowly the front door cracked. Inuyasha sent Kagome a look mixed of surprise and annoyance.
". . . come in." Sango's voice was reluctant. She stepped away from the door, into the shadows, as Kagome pushed the door further open. Beckoning to the other two, she led the way in. Inuyasha was the last in, but Miroku closed the door and locked it tightly.
"Sango, what's going on?" he asked softly. His voice was nothing like it had ever been. She shook her head, but no one saw it because it was so dark.
"Let's go to the basement." Sango led the procession down the stairs, where she finally turned on the light. They noticed that, despite what they all thought, she hadn't been crying. She was pale, though, paler than usual, and her eyes were wide and jumped at small noises. She motioned for them to sit on the small, dirty couch and she herself took the spindly wooden chair.
"No," Miroku, who was sitting between Kagome and Inuyasha on the couch, said. He stood and took Sango by the arms, leading her to his previous spot and sat in the chair himself. Sango seemed in too much of a daze to really argue, so she obediently sat.
"I guess I owe you an explanation." She said quietly after a moment.
"Feh! A FULL one, mind you!" Inuyasha sounded angry, but by now Sango knew this was Inuyasha's version of gentleness, and she smiled slightly.
"I. . .I don't know where to begin." Sango took a deep breath and avoided Miroku's eyes. "My family- my mother and my father- were special agents for the government. Yet sort of not for the government, because they were above the law. Either way, their job was to deal with, track down, or protect things. People, artifacts, whatever. That's what they did. And my brother Kohaku and I were trained to be able to handle the mental and physical strains of being those special agents, because it's assumed the job is hereditary.
"My mother and father were on a specific case, guarding a jewel or something. Shikon, I think it was called. And. . . one day, I came home from school, and. . . they were all dead. Killed. Later I found out that my little brother had done it- my little brother. Kohaku. He killed my parents, and then someone killed him. But I know my brother, and he wouldn't kill anything. . . my parents were beginning to think he wasn't cut out for being a special agent, since he couldn't kill anything. There was one other thing- the jewel was taken as well.
"I had barely been home when a government official showed up. He gave me several thousand dollars and told me to get as far away as I could go. He told me to find a house and live by myself, go to school, get a job. . . basically start a new life by myself in a new town. That was the beginning of this year."
Miroku interjected angrily.
"You're 16!" his voice was raised and his eyes serious and dark. Sango stopped, thankful for a break, and looked at him.
"I'm doing alright. I made it through without too much trouble. My job pays well, and I live by myself so I'm the only one I shop for-"
"Sango, you're 16!" Miroku repeated angrily. "That's no age to be living by yourself! What if someone broke in? And in this neighborhood, with rapists and drug addicts-"
"I'm not completely defenseless!" Sango interjected. "I WAS trained- and am still training for the special agent agenda. You can't sneak up on me, and as you know too well, if your hands are on me and I don't want them there, they're gone within a few seconds." Miroku sat down, his mind apparently full. Inuyasha, who had been wanting to say something since Sango had said "shikon", finally got his chance.
"Did you say 'shikon', Sango?" he demanded. Sango nodded.
"Yes." She said. Inuyasha crossed his arms and said nothing more. Everyone was quiet for a long moment.
"It must've been terrible, Sango," Kagome said quietly. Sango looked away too quickly as her eyes began to sparkle dangerously.
"Yes, but right now that's not important. . ." her voice was near cracking, and Kagome quickly put her arms around the other girl. Sango shook away gently. "No, no," she murmured so only Kagome could hear. "You're going to make me cry."
"I've come to a decision," Miroku said suddenly. They all looked at him in surprise. "Sango, I want you to move in with me." Now they all stared open-mouthed at him, and Sango and Kagome were blushing.
"Now is not the time to think of your sex drive, Miroku," Inuyasha growled, and Miroku shook his head in impatience.
"That's not why I want her to move in," he said, giving Inuyasha a look. He turned to Sango. "You're 16, and it's not a good idea for you to be living by yourself. My home isn't conventional, but I live with someone else so it's not like I'd take advantage of you. You could still work and buy your own food if you liked, but you'd be in a safe place with me and Mushin. You'd have your own room, and an automatic ride to school every day." He watched for Sango's reaction.
"I. . . it's very kind of you, Miroku, but I'm-"
"I won't take no for an answer." Miroku crossed his arms and stared at Sango until she blushed and looked away.
"It's not necessary," she mumbled lamely.
"Yeah," Inuyasha interjected. "Especially not with you, Miroku." Kagome glared at him.
"I agree with Miroku," she said. Sango stared at her, and Inuyasha just snorted.
"The continental divide. . . notice anything?" he muttered darkly. Sango hit him atop the head, but otherwise they ignored him. Kagome continued.
"It can't be good, living alone like this. At least with Miroku you'd have some company. And I could come over all the time, if Miroku'd let me, so you wouldn't be constantly surrounded by men." Kagome smiled softly at the two of them, and to her surprise Inuyasha stood in disgust.
"Can I talk to you PRIVATELY??" he demanded of Kagome. She frowned at him, but followed him out of the room anyway. Once they had left and closed the door behind them, Inuyasha turned menacingly to Kagome.
"What are you thinking, pushing Sango into moving in with Miroku?? Have you forgotten that he's a lecher?" he glared at the cheerleader, but to his surprise she glared right back.
"At least he OFFERED to let Sango move in! You call her your best friend and you didn't even think to offer her your home!" her hands were on her hips and she was leaning dangerously into his personal space.
"It's my home!" Inuyasha snapped back defensively.
"Maybe it's best she doesn't stay with you, then." Kagome implied nonchalantly. Inuyasha's eye twitched until he nearly exploded.
"What's THAT supposed to mean???" he growled, having trouble keeping the indignation out of his voice.
"Nothing. Just that you're not a very good friend." Kagome couldn't help but grin at Inuyasha's angry face. "And besides, they're cute together."
"Feh. Sango'd never go for that popular lecher," the way he said "popular" hurt Kagome a bit- being popular wasn't bad, as long as you were nice. Shaking her head, she reentered the room with Miroku and Sango. They were in the middle of the "moving in" conversation.
". . .and I really don't want to be a burden in your home-"
"Burden? Nonsense. A pretty girl like you could never be a burden." Miroku's grin was hentai, but Sango flushed at being called pretty. It felt different than being called sexy, more. . . personal. She blushed again at the thought of herself and the senior being "personal." Kagome cleared her throat as she and Inuyasha stepped out of the doorway.
"So are you moving in, Sango?" she asked. Sango glanced at Miroku and sighed.
"I really don't see the need, I'm doing just fine here by myself-"
"Sango." Miroku's voice was serious again. "We're not going to force you, but we'd all feel better if you moved in with me. It will be much safer, not to mention more convenient. And you won't be alone." He smiled slightly.
"But. . . what about your parents?" Sango sounded desperate for an excuse not to move in. "What will they think?" Miroku smiled brightly.
"Don't have 'em!" he said cheerfully. "I'm an orphan." Sango sighed again.
"All right," she said, resigned. "I'll move in."
*~*~*
A/N: Well, well, well. Things should be quite * interesting * in Miroku's household from now on, no? Next chapter: Sango moves in, Inuyasha shares his secret.
RK-128- thanks for being such a good friend/fanfiction buddy! It's so great to get feedback like yours, especially when I actually KNOW you! I'm actually debating illustrating this fic. Just because I'm in an art-y mood. I hope you didn't wait too long for this ^_^ Thanks again.
Icenekohanyou- you sound exactly like me. Well, at least pretty close. Thanks for your review, I like when they're long! Lots of feedback is always good. I hope you enjoy future chapters, and stick with m' story. Merci beaucoup!
Liz- thanks so much! I'm glad you think I have a good grasp of the characters. I hope to continue that grasp. I hope the update didn't take too long * cringe*, but keep reading. Arigato!
Bluefuzzyelf- heh. sorry the update took so long. I hope I haven't lost your attention with the time.
Sango's Secret
By Seabreeze
A/N: Ok, so thanks muchly to reviewers and my bouncer buddy ;)
Disclaimer: See third chapter for further details.
*~*~*
"I'd heard from so many people that your whole family was killed, Sango," the man breathed. Sango swallowed fiercely.
"I'm sure you have the wrong Sango," Sango said, trying to lower her voice an octave. She tried to pull her shoulder back to get away somehow, but the man gripped more tightly.
"No, it's you, I'm sure of it," he lowered his face so that he could look into her eyes. "Are your parents and brother alive, too?" he asked. Kagome and Inuyasha exchanged confused and frightened glances, but Miroku watched Sango and the man intently. Sango fidgeted a moment, and then, to everyone's surprise, she burst out of him and his grip, leapt over the table, and ran like she was on fire, and water was just beyond her fingertips.
"Sango!" Kagome, Miroku, and Inuyasha called in unison, but she was too far to hear them. Without a word to the man, all three gathered their things, got in Miroku's car, and took off.
*~*~*
Sango was crazily glad that she never wore anything but sneakers. Her body was quickly tiring; her house wasn't anywhere near the shopping center with the ice cream shop. But the man had frightened her so terribly that she didn't care if her body was exhausted, she was going to keep running until she got home.
Somebody knew now. Somebody KNEW. Gods, what would she do? The only thing she knew to do now was run home and hope that Inuyasha and the others didn't follow. She had some serious thinking to do. A few things were certain: she could never see Inuyasha, Kagome, or Miroku again; she would no longer be attending Houken-Jidai; and she had to move to another town again.
*~*~*
"Where does Sango live?" Miroku's voice was oddly serious and concentrated. Inuyasha moved so that he could see the road ahead of them.
"About 10 minutes this way, and then a left." Inuyasha replied tersely. Something was up with Sango, and he had no clue what. That bothered him. He scowled in annoyance. Kagome turned to him, worry written all over her face.
"Inuyasha. . . do you know ANYTHING that explains what just happened?" she asked, her voice almost quivering. Inuyasha felt himself melt inwardly at the fear in the cheerleader's voice, and his reply was harsh to cover it up.
"Why would I know anything? I'm as confused as anyone." He crossed his arms. "Feh." Though he would never admit it, Inuyasha was severely worried- for both Sango AND Kagome. Miroku, too, was worried, though only for Sango. Something had shaken the sophomore badly, and she was always so composed. He gripped the steering wheel a little too tightly as her face popped up in his mind again- she was terrified. He could only remember seeing that sort of terror once before- and that was a time he didn't want to remember.
*~*~*
"This is it?" Kagome's voice was anxious, and Inuyasha nodded, suppressing a growl.
"Yeah." Miroku parked and turned off the car, and by that time Kagome and Inuyasha were waiting for him. The house- Sango's house- was rather decrepit. The other houses in the area weren't very nice either, but Sango's was by far the worse. It was the smallest house on the block, and the paint was peeling, the window panes hanging by a hinge, and part of the roofing was in the yard. Miroku cringed- he was considerably well off and felt guilty, almost, for being there.
Inuyasha approached the front door and began banging on it. Miroku and Kagome cringed, but Inuyasha didn't notice.
"Come on, Sango! You can't let something like that happen and then not explain it to us! Let us in, baka! You owe it to us!" he continued banging until Miroku pulled him away from the flimsy aluminum door.
"I don't think that was the best way to handle it, Inuyasha." He held his arm out to keep Inuyasha from assaulting the door and let Kagome forward.
"Sango," Kagome called softly. She knocked politely on the door. "Sango, please let us in. We're worried out here." Her voice was gentle and vulnerable, and very slowly the front door cracked. Inuyasha sent Kagome a look mixed of surprise and annoyance.
". . . come in." Sango's voice was reluctant. She stepped away from the door, into the shadows, as Kagome pushed the door further open. Beckoning to the other two, she led the way in. Inuyasha was the last in, but Miroku closed the door and locked it tightly.
"Sango, what's going on?" he asked softly. His voice was nothing like it had ever been. She shook her head, but no one saw it because it was so dark.
"Let's go to the basement." Sango led the procession down the stairs, where she finally turned on the light. They noticed that, despite what they all thought, she hadn't been crying. She was pale, though, paler than usual, and her eyes were wide and jumped at small noises. She motioned for them to sit on the small, dirty couch and she herself took the spindly wooden chair.
"No," Miroku, who was sitting between Kagome and Inuyasha on the couch, said. He stood and took Sango by the arms, leading her to his previous spot and sat in the chair himself. Sango seemed in too much of a daze to really argue, so she obediently sat.
"I guess I owe you an explanation." She said quietly after a moment.
"Feh! A FULL one, mind you!" Inuyasha sounded angry, but by now Sango knew this was Inuyasha's version of gentleness, and she smiled slightly.
"I. . .I don't know where to begin." Sango took a deep breath and avoided Miroku's eyes. "My family- my mother and my father- were special agents for the government. Yet sort of not for the government, because they were above the law. Either way, their job was to deal with, track down, or protect things. People, artifacts, whatever. That's what they did. And my brother Kohaku and I were trained to be able to handle the mental and physical strains of being those special agents, because it's assumed the job is hereditary.
"My mother and father were on a specific case, guarding a jewel or something. Shikon, I think it was called. And. . . one day, I came home from school, and. . . they were all dead. Killed. Later I found out that my little brother had done it- my little brother. Kohaku. He killed my parents, and then someone killed him. But I know my brother, and he wouldn't kill anything. . . my parents were beginning to think he wasn't cut out for being a special agent, since he couldn't kill anything. There was one other thing- the jewel was taken as well.
"I had barely been home when a government official showed up. He gave me several thousand dollars and told me to get as far away as I could go. He told me to find a house and live by myself, go to school, get a job. . . basically start a new life by myself in a new town. That was the beginning of this year."
Miroku interjected angrily.
"You're 16!" his voice was raised and his eyes serious and dark. Sango stopped, thankful for a break, and looked at him.
"I'm doing alright. I made it through without too much trouble. My job pays well, and I live by myself so I'm the only one I shop for-"
"Sango, you're 16!" Miroku repeated angrily. "That's no age to be living by yourself! What if someone broke in? And in this neighborhood, with rapists and drug addicts-"
"I'm not completely defenseless!" Sango interjected. "I WAS trained- and am still training for the special agent agenda. You can't sneak up on me, and as you know too well, if your hands are on me and I don't want them there, they're gone within a few seconds." Miroku sat down, his mind apparently full. Inuyasha, who had been wanting to say something since Sango had said "shikon", finally got his chance.
"Did you say 'shikon', Sango?" he demanded. Sango nodded.
"Yes." She said. Inuyasha crossed his arms and said nothing more. Everyone was quiet for a long moment.
"It must've been terrible, Sango," Kagome said quietly. Sango looked away too quickly as her eyes began to sparkle dangerously.
"Yes, but right now that's not important. . ." her voice was near cracking, and Kagome quickly put her arms around the other girl. Sango shook away gently. "No, no," she murmured so only Kagome could hear. "You're going to make me cry."
"I've come to a decision," Miroku said suddenly. They all looked at him in surprise. "Sango, I want you to move in with me." Now they all stared open-mouthed at him, and Sango and Kagome were blushing.
"Now is not the time to think of your sex drive, Miroku," Inuyasha growled, and Miroku shook his head in impatience.
"That's not why I want her to move in," he said, giving Inuyasha a look. He turned to Sango. "You're 16, and it's not a good idea for you to be living by yourself. My home isn't conventional, but I live with someone else so it's not like I'd take advantage of you. You could still work and buy your own food if you liked, but you'd be in a safe place with me and Mushin. You'd have your own room, and an automatic ride to school every day." He watched for Sango's reaction.
"I. . . it's very kind of you, Miroku, but I'm-"
"I won't take no for an answer." Miroku crossed his arms and stared at Sango until she blushed and looked away.
"It's not necessary," she mumbled lamely.
"Yeah," Inuyasha interjected. "Especially not with you, Miroku." Kagome glared at him.
"I agree with Miroku," she said. Sango stared at her, and Inuyasha just snorted.
"The continental divide. . . notice anything?" he muttered darkly. Sango hit him atop the head, but otherwise they ignored him. Kagome continued.
"It can't be good, living alone like this. At least with Miroku you'd have some company. And I could come over all the time, if Miroku'd let me, so you wouldn't be constantly surrounded by men." Kagome smiled softly at the two of them, and to her surprise Inuyasha stood in disgust.
"Can I talk to you PRIVATELY??" he demanded of Kagome. She frowned at him, but followed him out of the room anyway. Once they had left and closed the door behind them, Inuyasha turned menacingly to Kagome.
"What are you thinking, pushing Sango into moving in with Miroku?? Have you forgotten that he's a lecher?" he glared at the cheerleader, but to his surprise she glared right back.
"At least he OFFERED to let Sango move in! You call her your best friend and you didn't even think to offer her your home!" her hands were on her hips and she was leaning dangerously into his personal space.
"It's my home!" Inuyasha snapped back defensively.
"Maybe it's best she doesn't stay with you, then." Kagome implied nonchalantly. Inuyasha's eye twitched until he nearly exploded.
"What's THAT supposed to mean???" he growled, having trouble keeping the indignation out of his voice.
"Nothing. Just that you're not a very good friend." Kagome couldn't help but grin at Inuyasha's angry face. "And besides, they're cute together."
"Feh. Sango'd never go for that popular lecher," the way he said "popular" hurt Kagome a bit- being popular wasn't bad, as long as you were nice. Shaking her head, she reentered the room with Miroku and Sango. They were in the middle of the "moving in" conversation.
". . .and I really don't want to be a burden in your home-"
"Burden? Nonsense. A pretty girl like you could never be a burden." Miroku's grin was hentai, but Sango flushed at being called pretty. It felt different than being called sexy, more. . . personal. She blushed again at the thought of herself and the senior being "personal." Kagome cleared her throat as she and Inuyasha stepped out of the doorway.
"So are you moving in, Sango?" she asked. Sango glanced at Miroku and sighed.
"I really don't see the need, I'm doing just fine here by myself-"
"Sango." Miroku's voice was serious again. "We're not going to force you, but we'd all feel better if you moved in with me. It will be much safer, not to mention more convenient. And you won't be alone." He smiled slightly.
"But. . . what about your parents?" Sango sounded desperate for an excuse not to move in. "What will they think?" Miroku smiled brightly.
"Don't have 'em!" he said cheerfully. "I'm an orphan." Sango sighed again.
"All right," she said, resigned. "I'll move in."
*~*~*
A/N: Well, well, well. Things should be quite * interesting * in Miroku's household from now on, no? Next chapter: Sango moves in, Inuyasha shares his secret.
RK-128- thanks for being such a good friend/fanfiction buddy! It's so great to get feedback like yours, especially when I actually KNOW you! I'm actually debating illustrating this fic. Just because I'm in an art-y mood. I hope you didn't wait too long for this ^_^ Thanks again.
Icenekohanyou- you sound exactly like me. Well, at least pretty close. Thanks for your review, I like when they're long! Lots of feedback is always good. I hope you enjoy future chapters, and stick with m' story. Merci beaucoup!
Liz- thanks so much! I'm glad you think I have a good grasp of the characters. I hope to continue that grasp. I hope the update didn't take too long * cringe*, but keep reading. Arigato!
Bluefuzzyelf- heh. sorry the update took so long. I hope I haven't lost your attention with the time.