AN: I am aware that many of the "facts" that I have in this fic are not cannon. Kohaku, Miroku, etc. dying, for example. It should be noted that I wrote this fanfiction loooooong before Kohaku's shard was removed as well as the other important events that occurred within the manga.

Sorry. Just... roll with it. ;)

duende

.:patience:.
chapter three

Sango knelt next to the stream that ran through part of her village and dipped her bloodied hands into the cool water. Swirls of red flowed from the tips of her fingers and palms as she rubbed her skin clean and scrubbed away the gore that gathered under her nails. She shook the excess moisture from her hands before retrieving the knife lying next to her and submerging it under the water. The blood was quickly swept away by the current, but the bits of fur that clung to the serration required more effort to dislodge.

Flaying an animal was the aspect of hunting that she hated most. She didn't mind the hunt. In fact, hunting was something she thoroughly enjoyed. It was both physically engaging and mentally challenging to track prey, be it wild game or raging youkai, and it was an activity that Sango naturally gravitated toward. More so than many of the other female taiji-ya of her village. Her hunting skills had been a point of pride for her father and she could remember a few times when he had bragged about how talented his little girl was even though she was no where near old enough to begin hunting youkai. It came as no surprise that when Kohaku was old enough, much of his training was divided between Sango and her father.

Her lips quirked upward as she remembered those years. Kohaku had been so young, barely able to properly wield a Kusarigama made of wood, but yet so determined to do well, to please his father. He never did quite master the weapon when he was still alive, before Naraku revived him and used him to commit murder, but he tried hard and she had always been proud of him.

Looking back on it now, Sango could see that Kohaku really didn't have the heart of a taiji-ya. He wasn't drawn to the profession the way Sango was. When she took him out to teach him how to hunt, he always seemed more interested in enjoying the beauty of the forest over the thrill of tracking prey. She could remember reprimanding him several times that he needed to pay attention, to remember, to observe, to learn because hunting animals isn't that much different than hunting youkai. He had nodded, apologized and turned his focus to the task at hand, but Sango knew his heart wasn't completely in it.

That was until she manged to turn his tracking lessons into nature hikes. That worked far better than she imagined. She taught him to listen to the forest, to feel it and smell it. She taught him to learn it as though it was its own organism with moods, fears and worries. She wanted him to not just hear the sounds of the forest, but to understand it - to be able to tell the difference between the sounds of a forest at peace versus the sounds of a forest that felt anxious as danger approached.

Eventually Kohaku was able to track an animal almost as well as she could, but instead of killing that animal for dinner - he would sit and watch it, marveling at its quiet beauty as it went about its business completely unaware of being observed. It wasn't the scenario that their father wanted, but Sango reasoned that as long as her brother could track an animal and watch it patiently and quietly, he could also hunt.

Sango smiled at the memory as she dried her hands on the hem of her kimono. Perhaps learning patience was the greatest lesson of all. Successful tracking wasn't just about the ability to listen and observe, a large part of it simply required patience. You can't rush to find prey. You have to carefully, quietly and patiently look for it. With the sun shining down on her and two freshly cleaned rabbits ready to be cooked, Sango felt her frustration from the day before ebb away.

Kouga would require patience. Not quite the same kind of patience needed for a successful hunt, but patience none-the-less. First, she would tend his wounds. She cleaned his wound and changed his bandages early that morning, so that part was done. Second, she would make him eat. Hopefully he liked rabbit meat because she didn't have anything else to offer. Perhaps once she felt more secure about leaving him alone for a long period of time she would consider killing something bigger, but for now rabbit would have to do.

Humming to herself she began to remove the meat from the bone for Kouga's meal. She didn't know how long she should allow the meat to cook, or if she should even cook it at all. Kouga was a wolf after all, but it just felt unnatural to her to serve it raw. Her lips pressed together in a tight line of uncertainty as she eyed the meat. Should she offer him vegetables, too? Did he eat vegetables, and if so, what kind? Maybe bread..? He wasn't a pet, she couldn't just dump the food into a bowl, put it on the ground in front of him and expect him to eat like a dog.

Societal norms won out and Sango decided to try to offer Kouga the best of both worlds. She carefully threaded a sharpened stick through Kouga's share of the bounty and held it over the fire until it browned on the outside, leaving the core mostly raw but warm. Satisfied, she piled the meat on a clay plate and added an apple and some bread for good measure, then quickly took the meal and a fresh pitcher of water to the cabin where Kouga was recuperating. She knocked politely before entering and wasn't surprised to hear silence answer her. Kouga was lying on his side with his back to the door when Sango entered the darkened room.

She hesitated before speaking, unsure if the wolf was sleeping or ignoring her. Sango suspected the latter, but she still kept her voice low when she spoke.

"I didn't know if you wanted this raw or not, so I cooked it for a little while," she said, noting the way Kouga's tail twitched ever so slightly at the sound of her voice. "It's still pretty raw on the inside, but I can cook it longer if you like."

Sango frowned as the wolf continued to ignore her and she lowered the plate to the floor next to his bedding. It had been two days since she brought Kouga to her home and she had yet to be successful in getting him to eat more than a few scraps of food. She hoped that fresh meat would whet his appetite enough that he would be unable to resist consuming it. Getting him to eat a full meal was her primary goal.

The taiji-ya was confident that much of Kouga's depression and self-loathing was fueled by his physical ailments. If he started eating again and allowed his body to recover, he would begin to feel better and think much more clearly. The sooner his body recovered the sooner his heart could begin its own healing process.

"Kouga?" she asked one last time, still hopeful she could elicit a response.

Several seconds ticked by as the taiji-ya waited for Kouga to acknowledge her but to no avail. Sighing heavily, Sango simply turned and walked out without another word.

Kirara met her just outside the door and mewed happily when Sango appeared.

"Ready to train?" Sango asked the cat-youkai, who eagerly flipped her tails before bounding ahead toward the small clearing of trees they used to keep their skills sharp each day. As they made their way toward the far side of the village, Sango noticed that wind had picked up and dark clouds were looming on the horizon. A storm was coming, but she guessed she could get at least an hour's worth of training done before the rain started.

• • •

Wet hair and clothing clung to her, causing her to shiver from the cold. The weather didn't catch her by surprise as much as how easily she lost track of time. Her plan to train for only an hour turned into two hours and before she knew it the sky opened up and she was drenched. Jogging up the path toward her family home with Kirara at her side, she paused when she heard the cat make a queer mewing sound. Years of working with Kirara had taught her to listen to the cat-youkai when it sensed something odd, so Sango peered down at the feline curiously as she strained to hear. A sudden flash of lightning illuminated a familiar clay plate, now broken in half, an apple and a chunk of discarded meat that laid haphazardly beside it.

Sango clenched her jaw tightly at the sight and considered what she should say to the petulant wolf-prince. There was no doubt in Sango's mind that Kouga was purposefully trying her patience by returning her kindness with an insult. If there was one thing he excelled at it was being a complete jerk.

Pushing her damp hair over her shoulder, Sango made the decision to confront Kouga in the morning. Approaching him now would only result in another fight and the wolf needed rest to heal. With a tired sigh, Sango quickly retrieved a hoe, scooped the meat up, and left it where she knew some animals would take it before picking up the pieces of the broken plate. As she did so she realized that only about half the meal had been dumped, which suggested that Kouga must have eaten at least some of it.

'At least he ate something,' she thought as she tossed the apple toward the woods. Discarding the plate, she rubbed her arms for warmth and turned to resume her jog back toward her cabin. A sudden loud crack of thunder overhead caused her to jump in surprise and she almost lost her footing. Quickly righting herself, she caught Kouga watching her from the doorway of his cabin in her peripheral vision, his eye-shine sending a slight chill down her spine. When she turned to look at him fully, he disappeared inside without a word.

• • •

"This would be a whole lot easier if you cooperated," Sango said. For two days she had been attempting to get him to eat and for the last few days he had rewarded her efforts by tossing most of the food away. It was a blow to his pride to accept even a little of her hospitality, but he knew he needed to eat something in order to regain enough strength to leave. He'd pick at the food she'd bring him, eating just enough to sustain himself, but never enough to satisfy her need to help him.

It was difficult to resist the food she brought him, but eating would only encourage her and that was the last thing he wanted. He didn't need her pity or her kindness. He just needed her and her stupid cat to leave him alone long enough so he could figure out a way to leave. It seemed that every time Kouga worked up the strength to stand and limp toward the door, Sango or Kirara would be there.

It was beyond aggravating.

"I'm not leaving until you eat," she continued. "And this time I want you to eat everything."

"You're as stupid as you look," Kouga bit out."You brought me here, bitch. I didn't ask to come."

Sango pushed the plate toward him and crossed her arms over her chest. Kouga's eyes moved from the plate of food, to Sango and back again. It did look good, though it was still a meal designed for a human. Kouga was not human. With a pained grunt, he pushed himself up into a seated position as his injury sent bolts of pain through him. With great effort he pulled the plate toward him and nearly snarled when he heard Sango's self-satisfied sigh of relief.

"Are you thirsty?" she asked politely, the kindness in her voice causing Kouga's skin to crawl.

He propped himself up on one hand and hefted the plate with the other. Taking careful aim, Kouga threw the plate at Sango as hard as he could and felt a twinge of disappointment when she managed to avoid being hit.

She glared at him for several seconds before picking up the largest piece of the broken plate and piling the food on it once more. With a righteous determination that would not be detoured, she dumped the food onto Kouga's lap. The two stared at each other for several seconds before Sango broke the icy silence.

"You want me to leave you alone?" she asked with contempt, her voice rising. Kouga held her gaze with narrowed eyes as Sango continued, her frustration quickly mounting into rage. "The quickest way out of here is for you to walk out. If you took some time to think, you might realize that in order to do that you have to eat something and allow your damn wounds to heal! The quickest way to leave is stop acting like a damn juvenile, you stubborn idiot!"

His eyes narrowed into slits and his lips pulled back into a snarl, "Juvenile?"

"Even a child has more common sense than you!" Sango yelled as she shook the broken plate at him, "It's not that hard to figure out, Kouga! I can't let you leave when you're trying to starve yourself! You'll just end up falling back on your instincts and you'll kill again. You would understand that if you pulled your damn head out of your ass for once!"

She didn't wait for him to reply before she turned on her heel and headed for the door, incoherent curses dripping from her lips as she went. Anger drove Kouga to his feet and he stumbled after her, intent on reminding her to whom she spoke.

He was the Yourouzoku prince!

Kouga felt his legs grow weak, forcing him to reach for the door-frame to steady himself. Still anemic from the massive blood loss, the argument and sudden movements only made the wolf feel even more exhausted. He cursed himself for allowing her to treat him like that and thought of how different things would be if he didn't feel so feeble. That thought sparked the realization that what the bitch said was right. The sooner his body recovered, the sooner he could get the hell away from her.

Sharp claws dug into the wood as the full ramifications of his concession flooded through his mind. He would have to accept her help. He would have to eat the food she gave him, no matter how obnoxious it was. His pride immediately protested the prospect. Yourouzoku did not accept charity from aliens. Regardless of the number of battles Kouga fought along side Sango, she was still an alien.

Kouga limped back to his bed and carefully lowered himself down and wondered why he hadn't thought of such a strategy before. He'd been so busy being angry at himself and at her that he didn't bother to consider anything else. As much as the idea of cooperating with her efforts to heal him grated on him, he knew it was the right course of action to take. Once he regained his strength, all of his strength, she wouldn't be able to stop him from leaving.

Still, Sango was a persistent and nosy human. Would she really just let him take off once his body was healed? Somehow, that possibility didn't feel quite right. Sango was too stubborn for that. Even if she did allow him to leave, she would probably monitor him somehow. As far as Kouga could tell, she was remarkably loyal for a human. As long as she believed he required her help and friendship, she would stand by him.

The only way to be assured that she would leave him alone for good was to accept her help until he was fully healed and end their friendship entirely. One was easier than the other. She was eager to help him and all he had to do was let her, but ending their friendship? The two of them had never been particularly close, but they did share a bond that would not be easily destroyed. He had saved her life and she had risked her life to save his people. Truthfully, he didn't want to break their friendship, but the weight of his guilt demanded his death.

Besides, how much worse could he be? He was already lower than scum.

Yes, this would work. He could do this. Ideas of how to turn her against him quickly filled his mind with one scenario in particular shining the brightest. His stomach churned with guilt at the thought of actually resorting to that tactic, but Kouga knew he had to be willing to try anything in order to gain success. Bound by honor, the Yourouzoku prince had to atone for his sins and nothing could stand in the way of that. Not even Sango's grief.

With that strategy in mind, Kouga vowed to make the taiji-ya hate him, no matter what.