A/N: Truly sorry for taking so long! I've got so much homework and projects it's not even funny! But I decided to take some time off and update!

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To Be A Commoner

Chapter 9

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Replies:

VicFan: You'll probably find out everything in this chapter...unless I decide to change it at the last minute! ^_^;

duckie726: Thx!

Skittles1: Sango will be happier in ah...this...ahh...the next chapter! I was going to make her happy in this one, but things got a little out of hand and she turned out to be...the opposite.

Lioness Kea: Ya, the Sango/Miroku plot is more than a little confusing, I'll try to clear things up!

FirexAngel: Updated! XD!

Biganimefan1: What's the point of Kagome's plot if I tell you?! XD you'll find out soon enough!

TeenWitch1: Thx!!! I'm trying to update as fast as I can!!! ...but that's not working well right now...

Burning-Yami-Rain: Thanks!

demon angle: Here ya go!

The-Real-Rosie-Gamgee: I've got to admit, it took several reviewers to get me back on track and keep writing! I was almost done with the chapter and I totally forgot about it! Now I finished the chapter and it seems to have drawn out to more than a few pages!

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She sighed for the hundredth time, time was going by way too slow. Kagome sat sullenly on the edge of the velvet-covered bed. She stared at her hands and blinked ominously. Ah, forget it, I'm going to take a stroll! Anything to get a breath of fresh air! She thought determinedly, knowing very well that she was taking a risk. She got up quietly, heading for the closet and flipping through the guest clothes until she found a cape, then she opened the door to the guestroom. Looking around, she found that nobody was there, hurriedly, she walked down another set of stairs taking some back ways and other deserted halls until she reached a door leading out. Carefully, she eased the door open, wincing at the creaky sounds it made.

The fresh air swept in and Kagome breathed in thankfully. She checked that the cape still covered the dress and that the hood was securely fastened around her face before she walked out. She slipped from tree to tree, careful not to make much noise or give away too much visibility to the large windows in the castle. She headed for the forest and once she was in there, she found her way easily. It was daytime and the chatter of the birds kept Kagome's noise down. There wasn't much to be afraid of, her dress was well protected in the cape and the way she was taking was mostly free of briars and branches.

Soon, she came to a small clearing, it was basically a cliff high above the village. She sat on a stump overlooking the village. It was a pretty sight and she could see the small specks of people busying themselves with the upcoming ball. She made out the Inn and what may be Marie cleaning up the place, next, she saw the stage where she had danced with Inuyasha-

That name brought back memories, the water fight, ridiculous conversations that really weren't conversations, how they had a much-enjoyed pillow fight and pretty much everything she had done with Inuyasha. He was a really nice guy, she knew, and would probably make a pretty good ruler, but what was she thinking? He was a commoner, and people of royal blood were condemned by a rule that they could only marry another of royalty, only rarely has anyone been married to a commoner, but that had happened in a faraway country who's kingdom was very small, or so her father had said.

She looked out across the village again and barely saw the sun setting. Has the time really flown that fast?! She stood up quickly and made for the forest. Being late won't help...

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"Perfect, just perfect! I have some alarming news for Kagome and she sends a message to me that she doesn't want to TALK to me?!" Sango's furious eyes reread the small slip of paper that was handed to her by a maid. "Fine, be that way, I can take care of this myself." She headed for the Grand Hall. "Queen Higurashi! Wait!" Sango cried as she entered the hall and saw the leaving form of the Queen.

"Sango? What are you doing here, you're supposed to be getting ready!"

"I know, but I have some news for you that's very important."

The Queen looked at her for a moment and then said, "Alright, make it quick."

"You won't believe this, but Miroku, is a commoner." She breathed a sigh, happy that she had gotten it off her chest.

"Miroku? A commoner? No darling! He's a great friend and cousin of the Prince of the Western Lands...what's his name...Sess...something or other. I'm not totally sure. Well, he's of royal blood, how can he be a commoner?" The Queen looked sincerely at Sango but Sango felt only pity from her.

Sango gave an exasperated sigh and a pleading face. "Never mind." Sango said quietly and walked back to her room, contemplating about what the Queen just said. She passed a few windows and barely noticed a dark figure darting around in the garden. "Must be another one of his lies." She sighed and straightened herself, aiming for a foolproof plan to get Miroku to confess. She ran through some possibilities and then redirected herself to the main gates. She knew that Miroku asked to leave the castle to get some business done, but she didn't know where, and then there was always the problem of the other guy...

"Guard!" Sango called out before she made it to the gates. She saw a man clad in armor and mail run up to her and salute.

"Yes your highness?"

"Any chance you know where Miroku was headed?" Sango asked.

"No ma'am, I wasn't aware that he left through these gates, perhaps he used one of the other gates?" He asked politely, and then hastily added a "Your highness".

Sango raised an eyebrow and waved the guard aside. "Thank you." He didn't use the main gates? Well, why not? There must be something else going on...what about that INN we were staying at...maybe he was headed there to meet Inuyasha or something...yes, that might be it, I'll send a guard, no better yet, I'll go in person and figure out this whole ordeal, hm, better bring a tape recorder. She thought this out as she walked back to her bedroom. "O, Yumi! I'm glad I found you, could you perhaps take note if Miroku comes back, follow him around, but don't let him see you, and spy about in his bedroom? You could? Thank you so much! Don't tell anyone about this ok? I'll reward you for your efforts!" Sango gushed and rushed into her room to get ready.

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Miroku had just spent the last half hour organizing everything in the INN, Inuyasha was nowhere to be seen. This just agitated Miroku even more. When he had asked Marie where Inuyasha had gone off to, she just replied with a shrug and a roll of her brown eyes. "You're looking in the wrong place." She had said with a slight sardonic tone. He was just about to ask what she meant by that when he remembered that he was on limited time and thanked her offhandedly as he had headed towards their temporary room.

Now, he was currently throwing out some garbage from the closet and giving a once over of the room. Sighing, he got up and stretched. "That takes care of that problem." He headed downstairs, skipping a squeaky one as he "hopped" to the floor. "K' Marie, leaving today, I'll pay for the rent."

Marie eyed him suspiciously. "Ok, let me run a check in your room." She turned to a half concealed table and leafed through some papers. "130 gold coins."

"130?!" Miroku gasped. "That much?!"

"Yup, you owe me a pillow and a light." Marie nodded with a vengeful smile.

Miroku glared at her. "Fine, 130 gold coins." He dug around in his pockets and came up with a purse, he started to count out 130. "Stupid Inuyasha, stupid stupid stupid!" He muttered under his breath.

Marie cocked an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Nothing." Miroku grumbled.

"Thought so."

"Thought so." Miroku mimicked in a high voice, just quiet enough so Marie couldn't make out the words.


She scrunched up her nose and asked for another 10 coins.

"WHAT?!"

"Insulting the manager, 10 coins." Marie said calmly to the enraged Miroku. He slammed another 10 coins on the table and stomped out.

"You know WHAT? I'm HAPPY I'm leaving!" Miroku yelled back, slamming the door shut and shaking some vases from their perch.

"ANOTHER 30 COINS MIROKU!" Marie shouted as he heard the crash of glass. Miroku winced and shouted back.

"NO WAY YOU OLD HAG!"

"ANOTHER 10 MIROKU!" Marie countered, coming out of the INN with a jar.

Miroku snickered, "What are you planning to do with that jar?"

"Well, let's see, this one's filled with an invisible gas, once inhaled, you'll break out into spots, then chills, and then feel as if you're burning up, then you'll stop that and your hair will start falling out, but best of all, you'll break out into wrinkles." Marie said sarcastically. Miroku's eyes had narrowed considerably, he counted out 40 coins.

"I'm never returning to this inn, you guys are cheap."

"Another 10 coins." Marie coaxed, earning a grumble from Miroku.

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Sango never made it out, she was recognized by the same guard and he had come rushing to talk/ask something of her or whatever, Sango couldn't remember, but he had started to babble on about something...and then some other guards noticed her weird garb and had closed in on her. But now, she was in her room, two guards posted at her doors. The Queen had sent a letter to her saying that it was too close to the ball to send out a search party and that she knew Sango would understand, and then she put in a bunch of other sympathetic stuff.

Sango grumbled. She was sitting on the bed, arms crossed and a defiant frown on her face. A maid with a worried expression hurried over and begged Sango not to keep on fidgeting or she'll get the dress all wrinkled and that same maid had just spent an hour trying to iron out all the wrinkles before Sango had to get dressed. Sango just 'hmphed' and turned her head away.

She was dressed in a pink dress. A simple red sash sparkling with diamonds was tied around her waist and a similar headband held up her hair in an intricate pattern of braids and curls. Small white prints of Sakura blossoms fringed the bottom of her dress and the rim of her sleeves. The sleeves were pink, dimming to a darker red at the fringes, they covered all of her hand, ending in a diamond cut. The dress had a deep cut in the front and a red shirt underneath, it was edged with complicated swirls of white lines and a few diamonds. The outer pink dress was gathered up in the center, touching her waist, where ruffles of red could be seen cascading down underneath. The pink dress was held up by the red sash and pinned in place by a ruby and emerald encrusted rose. Two rubies circled in gold hung from her ears, and a beautifully designed gold necklace graced her neck, another ruby was embedded in a golden tiara that sat on her head, it was just for decoration and wasn't nearly as big as Kagome's. The makeup artists had put just enough red eye shadow to enhance her eyes, and just enough pinkish red lipstick on her lips, even Sango agreed that they had done a better job then the last time she had come to a ball, at that time, they had made her look like a circus clown rather than a princess. All in all, she had liked the dress. She had rejected a previous dress for being overly decorative and had made sure that her dress was simple, rather than stunning, and this dress wasn't all too bad, although pink wasn't really her color.

A mask lay on her dresser; it only had room to cover her eyes and spaces around them. It was red and fringed with sparkling red jewels; a few red feathers were on either side of it. Two striking roses were attached to its sides as well, one pink and the other a deep dark red. A golden pole was connected to the right side of the mask for her to hold. It was impressive, but the matter that the ball was changed into a masquerade still bothered Sango, why in the world would Kagome even bother to change the ball? She was still going to end up marrying someone. The thought bugged her until she heard the knock at her door. She looked out her window and saw the sun almost setting, but it still wasn't time to go to the ball...

"Come in." Sango voiced curiously. The door opened and in came Yumi. Sango's thoughts were immediately erased, as new ones came in. She had gotten overly curious to what Miroku was up to, and this was the chance to get some information. "So what did you find out?"

"Um...his bedroom was empty except for a strange pole like instrument, I think it was a monk's staff, although I've never actually seen one and only have heard it from other's describing-"

"Go on." Sango said with impatience.

Yumi immediately changed the subject. "On the other hand, I asked the guards around the gates and a pair of them from the smaller southeast gate said that he had headed off towards the direction of the village." Yumi paused and took a breath. "He just arrived back here a few minutes ago and was in a huff about someone called Marie?" Yumi paused again and looked at Sango's face for any jealously or other. Finding none, she continued. "I followed him to the Grand Hall and overheard him talking about the ball and wedding with the Queen, then he went to a messenger and asked him to carry a message to the Western Kingdom, I didn't get to read the message because the messenger was off already. Then he retreated to his room and a few servants went in to dress him up for the ball."

Sango applauded. "Thank you! You've helped so much, ok, how would you like to go to the ball?" She asked in her rush of excitement.

Yumi's face lightened to excitement. "Really?!"

"Of course, as payment for your information." Sango said hurriedly. "There's a spare dress in my wardrobe, you can even keep it, I'll send in some servants to put on makeup and everything, Sango had gotten up in the process and made for the door in a flurry of fabric. Yumi barely caught a glimpse of Sango's ruby pink heels as she disappeared into the hall. But her mind was off somewhere, picturing herself dancing at the ball, it was glorious! She headed over to the wardrobe where a maid had started to press some wrinkles out of a beautiful bluish green dress. It was stunning! And to think she was to where such a gown and even get to keep it!

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"Is this necessary?" Sango asked, twirling herself for the umpteenth time.

"Yes my dear. Absolutely necessary." The old lady replied and shook her head. "Don't wobble so much, you're going to look like a demented snake if you do such a thing. A lady must be poised and confident in every step when she is to introduce herself." The lady demonstrated and the ruffles on her burgundy dress fanned out and twisted before it settled.

"All I'm going to do is enter onto the stage and get introduced by the Queen, so is Kagome and I don't see her here." Sango grumbled and twirled again. "Besides, I've got Miroku don't I?" She said it with exaggeration and a roll of her eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes and always respect your husband."

"He's not my husband!" Sango cried in frustration. "We haven't wed and if I have any say in it, we'll never be wed, now leave!" Sango flashed a furious glance at the pale instructor and scowled. "I said GO!" The scared lady ran from the ballroom tripping and sometimes slipping on the smooth marble floor. "So very unladylike." Sango mimicked in the instructor's high voice and sighed in exasperation, her frustration and anger cooled off into a tired and exhausted feeling. She turned to leave and was surprised to see Miroku standing there. Sango blinked in surprise and felt the edge of her anger returning.

"What was that all about?" Miroku said in a falsely happy voice.

Sango could tell he had heard the whole ordeal and was only pretending. "You don't have to pretend commoner. I c-can't believe you would lie to the Queen as well as me!" Her anger seeped into her thoughts and she no longer had full control of her words. "If you only wanted a child, there's a bunch of girls out there that would suit your needs!" Sango said, fueled by her rage. She could only watch as the words sunk in, she immediately regretted it, but she knew that what she said was true, it was high time she realized it.

The vile in her words stung Miroku like a hundred bees and he straightened slightly, letting his bangs shield his eyes and swallowed. "If you think that way your highness." He said in a low monotone, he walked past her without another word. She could hear his footsteps well after he shut the doors.

The silence that greeted her was ominous. She felt like dropping to her knees and dwell in her own self-pity. She didn't mean her words to come out that harshly, but the stress and the anger in her was just too much not to let go... but what excuse was that to begin with?!

"You baka! Why do you always have to push people away?!" Sango whispered, sighing and dragging her feet as she made for the peaceful serenity of the garden. "I deserve to be walled in on top of a tall tower where no one can reach me." She bit her lip until she tasted the coppery tang of blood. "The world can do without me right now..." The false cheerfulness of her voice disgusted Sango and she stopped talking to thin air.

A fleeting image of Miroku's torn, pain-ridden face appeared suddenly in her mind, and no matter how hard she tried to think of something else, it stayed, slowly breaking down her defenses until she couldn't hold in her tears. She ran the last few steps towards the door and opened it to the crisp morning air and the scent of flowers in bloom. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry!" She breathed out in a whisper as she kneeled in front of a stone bench, in a secluded area surrounded by scarlet roses in late bloom and let out her anger, guilt, regret, all in a long bout of tears. "Why me? Why now? Why..."

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"Sango." A soft but firm female voice spoke from behind. At first, the voice had been so quiet and soft that Sango dismissed it as a trick of the wind, but then it came in louder tones until Sango was forced to answer or risk being rude.

"Yes?" She said, fighting to keep her sobs from her voice. She wiped away her tears with her sleeves and looked across at the small waterfall.

"Sango." The voice repeated again and then a short pause as if the speaker was hesitant to voice her thoughts, "Sango, you are such a beautiful young lady and to say sorry to thin air isn't going to heal broken hearts, should it not be for love that you are together?"

Sango swiftly turned around in surprise, but the speaker was already gone. She sat quietly for a few minutes to digest the words Kagome's mom had said and how much wisdom had come from such a simple piece of advice. She didn't need to guess that it was about Miroku, that was the most likely reason to why she must be out here, crying into her soiled dress and surrounded by hundreds of roses. Sango snorted at the thought. Why would I be in such a beautiful place crying? It's silly Sango! Queen Higurashi's right. She stood, walking towards the doors and reminded herself that it was stupid to cry over such nonsense. You overreacted, you voiced your anger and hatred at the next available person, and that was Miroku. Ah, but I do have a reason for being mad at him, he lied to the Queen and to me! But have you ever stopped to think that he might just be saying the truth? Her thoughts swayed to the point that Sango wanted nothing more to do with her mind. All those classes and what have I got to show for it? A mind that can fight against me! For it's own purpose! Sango gained more confidence as she psyched herself up. She was at Miroku's door and ready to knock when it opened.

"A-aa-ah-ah Miroku!" Sango stammered, all her confidence gone. Miroku regarded her coldly with his eyes and there was no cheerful smile, he made to close the door but Sango stepped in and he was forced to stop.

"What is it?" He said in a level voice, eyeing her with careful suspicion.

Sango felt hurt and abnormally chilly from his stare. "I just came to apologize for...f-for-"

He cast his eyes to the floor. "Don't waste your breath, I know I'm not wanted here."

Sango jerked her head up and caught a glint of sadness in his eyes. "Miroku, please understand, I came to apologize! Is it so hard for you to accept my apology?"

Miroku gazed at her for a moment and raised one hand, caressing her cheek. He gave a soft smile and took a step forwards, Sango automatically took one step back. "You're hesitant Sango, what's the matter?" Miroku said, a hint of laughter in his voice. He took one more step forward and this time Sango stayed her ground. He lifted her chin up as Sango tightened her jaw. "Don't you see? You don't love me." He let go of her chin and withdrew into the room and shut the door.

Sango stood outside his room, astonished that her words had resulted in a reaction like this. His act just now aroused new questions and doubts she had never thought of before. "Do I really love him?" She asked herself and for once, she doubted that her love was true. "Do I really love...Miroku?"

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A/N: Wow...so much writing! I was gonna continue but I just didn't want to write and write all through the night. (finished the chapter around 1:23 AM!) But if you're wondering *looks around* Sango's feelings are a little rash due to the fact that I was listening to "Ai no Uta" (2nd Inuyasha movie ending song - "The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass") It's a really pretty song!!! Even though it's more of a happy one than sad... *hugs CD* Mine! Mine! Mine! XD

Thankies for all you're encouraging reviews! And plz review for this chapter too!