By Scribe of Figaro
SANGO'S SORROW: PART II
"And the sign said,
'Long-haired freaky people
Need not apply.'"
-Five Man Electrical Band, "Signs Signs Everywhere a Sign"
The group of youkai hunters – Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Kirara, and Shippou – kneeled politely in the ancestral hall of the small village. The village chief was before them, eyeing them suspiciously.
Why wouldn't he? Their group consisted of a hanyou, two youkai, a simple village girl, and another girl whose revealing dress could easily cause her to be mistaken for a lady of the evening. It's quite good that in all their travels no one had ever made such a mistake, for the proper insult would surely lead Inuyasha to rip them to shreds.
Perhaps Sango could have had authority if she had worn her taiji-ya outfit, but in villages such as these the fact she was a girl made it too easy for village chiefs to doubt her skill. In her old village it was her father that spoke for her, for rare were men of power willing to make contracts with her or even listen to her. It bothered her, but it was something she could deal with. She could easily challenge the men that doubted her to combat, and she would probably prove herself that way if she were living on her own, but so long as she had these men to speak to her she would rather prove herself on the battlefield.
Even were she a man she would not mind deferring speech to a comrade-in-arms. Though a village chief's daughter, taught a firm but polite way of speaking, and though she thought herself both quick and clever, she was not very good with words. And all too often could someone enrage her – Miroku was best at that – and she would find a ferocity of speech that would quickly end any conversation she was trying to entertain.
Besides, Miroku was the only person in their group whose appearance made sense here. Perhaps that was the reason they let him talk most of the time, even though it took the chance of letting his lecherous behavior come out. There were no girls here, luckily, so Sango wasn't worried.
Sango was startled from her thoughts as the village chief suddenly and loudly began speaking to them. She hoped that she had not flinched or otherwise made a sign of weakness – her father, though always a gentle and forgiving man to her, would have been very disappointed in her losing face to someone already doubting her abilities.
"You want to defeat this youkai," the village elder said. "And yet I see before me three more youkai. It seems to me the best option available would be for me to throw you out. Better to deal with a single youkai then all of you."
Miroku put up his hand defensively. "Now, don't worry about that. These youkai have renounced their human-hating ways. You may be surprised, but in these times they and humans can live together and fight alongside each other."
He turned, gesturing to Inuyasha, Shippou, and Kirara. The absurdity of anyone fearing either the young kitsune or the kitten-sized Kirara on sight would have been more than enough for Sango to scoff, even laugh at the both arrogant and cowardly chief, and she tightened her fists ever so slightly on her lap as she reminded herself that such thoughts were the very reason Miroku spoke for them among strange or difficult audiences.
Then again, perhaps the village chief was more clever than he appeared – could he somehow have known that Kirara was a transforming fire-youkai, and on her mistress's need would transform to a saber-toothed firecat the size of a tiger, mauling and destroying anything that might try to harm Sango or her friends? Could he have known how clever Shippou could be, and how his illusionary magic, though that of a child, was often enough to harm or seal men and youkai far stronger than himself? So far as she heard from Kagome, even Inuyasha was powerless against the tricks he cast when they first met.
Sango's eyes flicked from Kirara's endlessly curious expression to Shippou's mildly annoyed gaze, then back to the village chief, sitting with his arms crossed and his jaw set.
I sincerely doubt it, Sango thought, resisting a smirk.
Miroku continued. "Those three have been our traveling companions for months now, and have proved their friendship and loyalty to us again and again." He turned back to the elder. "I know you haven't traveled the same roads as I have. But if you cannot trust them, I would hope you at least trust me, a servant of Buddha, and let us help you."
He seemed to weigh these words.
"Very well. We'll keep you here for the night if you please, and pay you what is fair. But those youkai must stay outside the village. I can't allow them to stay in this place any longer."
"Teme," Inuyasha muttered under his breath.
Miroku nodded – assumedly at the village chief, who hopefully did not hear Inuyasha – and stood as the village chief got to his feet. The others followed suit.
"That won't be necessary," he said cheerfully. "We'll leave this village immediately to make preparations for the extermination. We'll claim our reward afterward, once the tora youkai is defeated."
As they left the village, Sango realized that nobody wished them good luck.
Chapter posted June 13 2003