AN: Thank you for the feedback on the first story (Surrender). It's nice to see that a lot of you would like to see it continued, and, personally I'd like to see it continued as well, but I haven't the slightest clue as to where to go with it. So, it shall remain a one-shot.. for now, at least. I'll keep it in mind, and if I get an idea as to where to take it, I might just turn it into a full-out story. Might being the keyword there. ; Now, I present you with chapter 2; one that isn't so dark and angsty n.n
Oh, and just a note. Remember: this has nothing to do with the last chapter!
Ain't It Funny - Jennifer Lopez
"Stay out of my way, hanyou, this is my kill!" Sango warned, calling over her shoulder to Inuyasha.
"Keh! And don't be expecting me to save your ass when you screw it up!" Inuyasha replied, crossing his arms and leaning back against a tree in a casual manner.
Sango glared back at him, seriously thinking about "accidentally" letting one of her gas-bombs fall back to the ground next to him. But, in the end, she decided against that. "I don't need saving!" She said, before hopping onto Kirara's back.
Once the slayer was securely on her back, the fire-cat took to the air, chasing after a bat-demon that had chosen to attack them a few moments earlier.
Once the pair was out of sight, Kagome turned to Inuyasha, her hands on her hips, "Inuyasha! Why do you have to be so mean to Sango-chan? Hasn't she been through enough without you always bothering her?"
The hanyou merely snorted, closing his eyes, "She's the one who thinks she's better than the rest of us, just because she's a damn exterminator."
"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted, stomping her foot, "Don't talk about Sango-chan like that! Her family and friends were all killed, can't you be a little nicer to her?!"
"She's the one who won't even let us help her!" He replied, opening his eyes again to look at the miko, "So why should I care if she gets herself killed because she's too damn proud to ask for help?"
Kagome looked down, her hands clutching into fists at her sides. Sometimes, she wondered why she even bothered with Inuyasha.. "Osuwari!!"
He managed to get out a startled, "What?!" Before he was face-down on the ground. And a string of incoherent mumblings followed shortly after. Most of things that were said, it was probably for the best that no one could understand him. If they had, Inuyasha would've most likely found himself in a three foot deep hole by the time Kagome was finished saying the 'sit' command.
"Really, Inuyasha, Sango has only been with us for a couple weeks." Miroku began, glancing down to the still-mumbling hanyou, "Would it be too hard for you to show her a little kindness?"
Inuyasha finally pushed himself into a sitting position, his arms crossed over his chest, "Keh! I don't need you guys telling me what to do. If she doesn't like it, she can stand up for herself!"
"That's not the point!" Kagome stated, becoming angrier with him each second, "Sango-chan lost her father, brother, and friends all in the same night! She doesn't need you to keep pestering her about every little thing! She needs us right now; she needs some friends. And if you don't stop being so mean to her, I'll say 'it' so many times that you won't know which way is up!"
The hanyou snorted; it wasn't the first time Kagome had threatened him with the 'sit' command. And it certainly wouldn't be the last time either. "I'm doing what I want, and there's nothing you guys can do to stop that!" He had his own reasons for doing it anyways; he didn't expect them to understand. The best way to move on from the past, was to set your mind on something else. At least, that's what he assumed. They'd catch on sooner or later.
Besides... it wasn't like he hated Sango. If anything, he admired her. She was strong; stronger than a lot of women, or even humans in general, that he had come across. Of course, when you were involved in a profession like demon slaying, you had to be somewhat strong. But, even more than her physical strength, she was emotionally strong as well. She had been through pure hell; watching her brother and comrades die, then learning that her entire village had been wiped out. And yet, despite all that, she still managed to put on a smile when needed. Or, as was this case, she headed out to fight against a demon as though nothing in her life had changed.
Even more so, Inuyasha knew what she was going through, in a sense. Kohaku had been possessed and used to kill their comrades. And once they were dead, he had turned his blade on his own sister. It was similar to what had happened with him and Kikyou. They had been tricked by Naraku to think that the other had attacked them. In the end, Kikyou died, and he had been sealed to that tree for fifty years. With Sango, Kohaku had been the one to die, and Sango was forced to live with scars from that incident, that would always be with her.
"...so do you think you could, for just a few days?"
Inuyasha blinked and looked up at Kagome, realizing that she had been talking for the past few minutes, and he hadn't heard a thing. 'When the hell did Sango become so important?' He asked himself, frowning. He hadn't realized Kagome had been talking to him. "What are you going on about?" He asked Kagome, huffing slightly. He wasn't sure why nothing around him seemed to matter, when he began to think about their taijiya companion. But he wasn't about to ask Kagome or Miroku about that.
"Mou Inuyasha, weren't you listening?" Kagome asked, sighing. As she saw Inuyasha only shrug, she sighed once again. But, before she could repeat everything she had said, a scream pierced through the air. The young miko gasped and turned in the direction that Sango and Kirara had gone into, "Sango-chan!"
'Sango?!' Inuyasha thought, instantly jumping up. He felt his heartbeat quicken, and already he could feel the adrenaline begin to run inside him, as the urge to go after Sango began to build up. Was this... fear? But... why? This was Sango! Sango was a demon exterminator; she could handle herself. Still... "Stay here!" He said to the others, before running in the direction of the scream.
When he got to where the battle between Sango and the bat-demon had, apparently, taken place, he came to an abrupt halt. Sango was lying on the ground, unmoving, a few feet from where he stood. In front of her, stood Kirara in her larger form. The fire-cat was panting, with fresh blood around her mouth and on her paws. And, in front of the neko, on the ground as well, was the bat-demon. Or, at least what was left of it. Kirara had, apparently, attacked and killed the demon after Sango fell.
Kirara's ears flicked, and she looked back to Inuyasha, growling. Though, once she realized it was one of her mistress' companions, the growling disappeared, and she made a small whining noise instead. She returned to her normal form and limped over to where Sango was. The neko nudged the taijiya's arm, then looked up to Inuyasha and mewed when Sango made no response.
Inuyasha's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Sango. She was still alive, he could tell that much, but the scent of blood hung thickly in the air, and it was difficult tell how badly Sango was injured because of it. He slowly walked to Sango and kneeled next to her. With a glance at Kirara, he rolled Sango onto her back, since she had been lying on her stomach. The taijiya made a soft, whimpering sound, but otherwise didn't wake up. And Inuyasha was finally able to see just how much she had been injured. Her face had a few scratches on it; nothing really serious though. What were serious, however, were the gashes all along her abdomen area. 'Shit, Sango, what the hell happened to you?' He silently wondered, glancing to Kirara once again, hoping that the neko had some kind of answer for him.
The fire-cat could only look up at the hanyou with large, sad eyes, "Mew..." She let out a pitiful cry, looking back to Sango again.
"Don't worry, Kirara, nothing's going to happen to Sango. I'll make sure of it!" Inuyasha said, picking up the injured taijiya. He winched when he heard Sango make a pained sound, but he knew there was nothing he could do about that at the moment. He clutched the slayer against his chest and looked at her face for a moment, "Nothing at all..." He repeated quietly. And then, he was gone, running back towards the others.
Kagome and Miroku were tensely waiting for Inuyasha or Sango to return. Each were worried about their friends condition, and they could only wait, and hope, for the best. But, unfortunately, instead of an explanation about what happened, they were forced to settle for a red, silver, and black blur running by and Inuyasha calling back, "Wait for Kirara then meet us at Kaede-baba's!"
"Ah, Inuyasha, matte!" Kagome called after him, but the hanyou was already gone. She turned to look at Miroku, her eyes wide with fear and concern, "Miroku-sama?"
The monk looked in the direction Inuyasha had gone, before turning to Kagome, "Kagome-sama.. if Inuyasha left Kirara behind, it'll be for the best if we wait for her. For now, we'll have to trust that he won't let anything happen to Sango..."
Kagome hesitated, but nodded slowly as she turned once again to look after Inuyasha, 'Sango-chan...'
Meanwhile, Inuyasha continued running, glancing down to Sango every once in a while. 'Sango... you have to be okay. You're too stubborn to let yourself get killed by some fucking bat-demon..'
It seemed longer, but it only took a several minutes before he was at Kaede's village. He didn't stop running until he was at her hut, though, "Kaede-baba! Oi, Kaede-baba!"
The coverings in the doorway moved aside, as the elder miko stepped outside, a look of concern on her face, "What is it, Inuyasha?" Then, her good eye fell on the bloodied slayer in his arms, and she couldn't help but gasp, "What happened to her?" She asked, moving aside so he could bring Sango inside her hut, where she would be able to look over her properly.
"A bat-demon attacked us. She insisted on taking care of it on her own. Something went wrong.. I don't know what. Kirara's the only other one who was with her." Inuyasha explained, stepping inside. He gently laid the taijiya down where Kaede indicated him to, before stepping back and looking intently at Sango.
Kaede glanced up at Inuyasha a few times as she went about gathering the necessary items she would need to help Sango. In all the time she had known Inuyasha, she had never seen him look this shaken. True, by all outward appearances, he looked normal. But she had known him from before he had been sealed to the tree, she could almost always tell how he was really feeling. She could see his eyes watching Sango for any and all movements, and she also noticed his dog-like ears flicking at the taijiya's every breath. She had never seen him so focused on someone before. "She's going to be fine." Kaede said, breaking the silence that had built up inside her home. She stood up and put a hand on the hanyou's shoulder, "But right now, I need you to wait outside. Kagome and your other companions should arrive soon, and I'm sure they'll want to know what happened to her."
Inuyasha was silent and unmoving for a moment, before slowly nodding, though his eyes remained focused on Sango, "Okay... But... you'll let me know the minute she wakes up..?"
She nodded, and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "Of course I will, Inuyasha."
Again, the hanyou was silent, before finally turning and leaving the hut. Once outside, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "She'll be okay..." He whispered to himself, trying, and failing, to reassure himself that nothing would happen to Sango. He glanced back at the doorway and frowned. He could still smell her scent, mixed with blood... Still hear her occasional sounds of pain... And, truthful, it was hurting him, though he didn't quite understand why. So, with a sigh, he walked a little ways away before sitting down in front of a tree. He could still see Kaede's hut, but hopefully, he wouldn't hear what was going on so much.
Glancing back in the direction he had come from for a moment, he then leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes. Miroku, Kagome, Shippou, and Kirara wouldn't be there for a while longer. Since Kirara had been limping when he saw her, he knew she wouldn't be able to carry any humans, so they would be walking. Or, most likely, running. But still, it would take them a while to catch up to him.
'And don't be expecting me to save your ass when you screw it up!'
His last statement to Sango flashed in his mind, and he shut his eyes tighter; as though trying to shut out the words. 'Is that really the last thing she'll ever hear from me?' He wondered. Though, almost as soon as he had thought about that, he shook his head violently, 'Shit, what am I thinking?! She's going to be fine! Nothing is going to happen to her! Nothing!!' He opened his eyes to stare blankly ahead, though his mind continued to wander, "I barely know her and I'm getting all worked up about her... What the hell is wrong with me..?" His only answer to his question, was the breeze blowing gently against his face. In other circumstances, it would've been refreshing, but the hanyou wasn't even paying attention to that.
'You told her you wouldn't save her. You told her she was going to screw it up. Now look what happened.' His conscience screamed, telling him that it was his fault she was injured.
'I'd never let anything bad happen to her. I know she can take care of herself. If I had known, I wouldn't have let her go alone...' His mind replied, trying to reassure himself.
"Sango.. are you going to remember me that way?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper, as he looked towards Kaede's hut once again.
"Inuyasha!"
The hanyou looked up, then slowly rose to his feet as he saw Kagome and Miroku, carrying Shippou and Kirara, come into view.
"How's Sango-chan doing?" Kagome asked frantically, stopping in front of the hanyou as she struggled to catch her breath.
"Kaede-baba told me she'd be fine." Inuyasha replied, motioning towards Kaede's hut, "She said she'd let me know the moment Sango wakes up."
The young miko looked towards Kaede's hut and hugged Kirara to her chest, "I'm going to go in there, and I'll let you guys know what happens." And then, she was off, disappearing into Kaede's hut.
Once she was gone, Shippou looked to Inuyasha from his perch on Miroku's shoulder, "Inuyasha, Kirara told me what happened on the way here. So, I could tell you if you want." When Inuyasha remained quiet, the kitsune took that as a sign that he was waiting for him to tell him, so he began, "Kirara said that--"
"Urusai!" Inuyasha yelled suddenly, causing the kit to make an 'eep' noise and hide his face in Miroku's robes. "I don't... want to know." He added, a little more quietly.
"That's quite understandable, Inuyasha." Miroku said, trying his best to shush the kitsune, though he was looking at Inuyasha, "We'll just wait until Kaede-sama or Kagome-sama tells us how she's doing."
It seemed like hours, but was only a matter of minutes when Kagome came outside again.
Inuyasha instantly ran over to her, nearly running over Miroku in the process, "Kagome, how's Sango?"
The miko blinked, slightly surprised by Inuyasha's actions, "Eh, she's going to be fine. Kaede-obasan said you got her here before she lost too much blood, but she's still going to have to rest for a couple days. I'm going to go home and see if mom can get some medicine that will, hopefully, help with the pain. So, I'll be back later tonight." She turned her attention to Miroku, then added, "Miroku-sama, can you come with me please?"
The monk was a bit taken back by Kagome's request, but never-the-less, he nodded slowly, "If you want me to, Kagome-sama.." He glanced towards Kaede's hut, then walked over to Kagome.
Once he was beside her, Kagome hooked her arms around his and leaned closer to him, "I think Inuyasha wants to apologize to Sango-chan... he seems to be taking this pretty hard..." She whispered, as she led him towards the well.
Inuyasha watched them leave, before turning towards Kaede's hut once again. "Kaede-baba?" He asked quietly, wanting to know if it was okay for him to go inside again.
"It's okay, Inuyasha, you can come in." Kaede called from inside.
"How is she doing?" He asked, walking inside the hut and sitting himself beside Sango.
Kaede glanced to the hanyou before putting her things up and replying, "She appears to be sleeping right now, but she's going to be fine. It's a good thing you got her here so quickly. If you hadn't been there, I don't know if she would have made it."
Inuyasha was quiet for a moment, his attention turned to the taijiya, "I shouldn't have let her go alone."
"Inuyasha, you don't need to blame yourself for what happened." Kaede said, looking to Inuyasha, "No one could have foreseen this."
The hanyou's eyebrows furrowed together, though he didn't say anything more.
The elder miko didn't push him into talking. Instead, she grabbed a small bowl and stood up, "Inuyasha, I have to go visit another villager for a few minutes, do you think you could watch Sango until Kagome gets back?"
He looked up to Kaede and nodded slowly, "Sure.. It shouldn't take Kagome much longer to get back anyways."
"Thank you." Kaede said, nodding slightly. And then, she left.
Inuyasha watched her leave, then turned back to Sango, and sighed, 'I guess... I should let her get some sleep.' He thought, as he started to get up. He could keep watch outside. That way, he wouldn't be bothering her. But he stopped abruptly when he felt a hand over his own.
"M.. matte... Don't.. leave."
Inuyasha nearly choked when he heard Sango speak. He looked down to their hands, then looked to her face again, only to see that her eyes were still closed, 'She... she probably thinks I'm Kagome. Kagome's always the one to take care of wounds, so... that's it. It doesn't mean anything, she just thinks I'm Kagome.'
Sango was quiet for a moment, before speaking again, "You said... you weren't going t-to save me."
'Okay... so she knows it's me.' He thought, blinking slightly. "D-don't be stupid, you idiot! Do you think I'd let you get killed by some fucking bat-demon?"
"You said you would.." She replied, slowly opening her eyes to look at him, "I'm... sorry."
"What the hell are you apologizing for?!" He asked, wincing slightly as his tone came out much sharper than he had intended it to, "I mean-- keh, you don't have anything to be sorry about."
She closed her eyes again for a moment, before reopening them and looking around a bit, "Where's Kagome-chan and Houshi-sama?"
The hanyou glanced at her, at the sudden change of subject, but decided to answer her, "Kagome went back to her home to get some stuff for you. Miroku's waiting for her by the well, I guess. And, I think Shippou went with them."
She nodded as best she could and turned to stare up at the roof of the hut. But it wasn't long before her eyes widened suddenly, "Kirara?!" The taijiya sat up, but instantly regretted the fast movement. A short, cry of pain escaped her lips as pain shot through her body.
"Whoa, take it easy, will you?" Inuyasha said, putting his hands on her shoulders and gently pushing her back down so she was lying down once again, "Kirara's fine. She's sleeping in the corner over there." He said, motioning to where the fire-cat was sleeping, "She killed that demon, but it looks like that wore her out. She's fine though, Sango."
She took a few quick breaths, before slowly relaxing again, "Inu... yasha, why didn't you go with Kagome-chan?"
"She... wanted Miroku to go with her." He replied slowly, wondering what brought that question. Did she not want him there? But she had been the one to tell him to stay...
"You're usually the one that goes with her though.." She said. She then turned to look at him again before adding, "Why did you stay with me? I thought... I thought you hated me."
Inuyasha crossed his arms, looking off to the side, "Well, it's not like you can do anything for yourself right now. And I can protect you better than the others can, so that's why I'm here." He paused for a moment, and ducked his head slightly, "And... and I don't hate you, Sango."
She frowned slightly at his comment about her not being able to do anything at the moment, even though she knew that was true. But, she wasn't in any position to start arguing with him, so she let it drop. Though as he went on to say he didn't hate her, she couldn't help but smile a little. "Thank you... Inuyasha." She said quietly, closing her eyes once again.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, "For... what?"
"For... everything." She replied. And then, she fell asleep once again.
The hanyou blinked, then let a small smile cross his lips, "Sleep well, Sango... I'll protect you."
AN: Well, that certainly turned out much longer than I had intended it to. Oh well, that's fine, right? n.n For those curious few, this story takes place someone after she had joined the group, but before Kohaku was brought back. Just thought I'd let you know. And, also, I'm not going to post the song lyrics with the stories right now. I'll just name the song and singer for now.
On another note... I have a really bad urge to turn this into a regular story... I don't know why though...