You Want Sango...
Third Chapter
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Inu-yasha characters. Rumiko Takahashi does. I also do not own "Manwich"-brand sloppy joe sauce. She's earned it, darn it! Writing and drawing for an original story is tough work!
BEE'S NOTE: This fic, by the way, is dedicated to the hard work and mutually Inu-yasha-obsessive friend of mine, Inu-shounen!
On a different note, in this fan fiction, I am in no way against the traditional Inu-yasha/Kagome pairings. I even wrote one, "The Prayer Beads," and I enjoyed every second writing it. I just wanted to try something new and unexpected. I appreciate all the criticism! Thank you so much!
I love this fic! It's also helping me with my sanity issues. I've been regaining my mental composure; with this, however, I can lose it all finally!
On with the story!
********************
Chapter 3 -
On the Wind
The cold winds from the west blow inward across the land, bringing a frigid front, an icy storm. One single fleck of snow drifts, winding down from the zenith, only to be instantly obliterated on a little fox's tongue.
"Got one! I'm so good at this!" rings Shippou's voice.
Kagome squeals with delight as her form of acknowledgement. "Let me try now!" and with that, she thrusts her tongue out into the frigid air.
She had brought more new things from her time for her friends to try. New flavors of ramen, like Spicy Beef, Chicken Vegetable, and French Onion--the latter of which sounded kind of gross to Shippou; frozen foods, like peas, "tator tots", and something with little, tiny, itty-bitty corn cobs mixed in; and other things which she called "hamburger" and "Manwich sauce."
Shippou and Kagome joyfully prepare to cook the meat, now thawing on a rock near the small fire. The little miko is spreading oleo on the round bread termed "buns." Meanwhile, as his way of helping, the fox kit is looking at the colorful can full of juicy, sweet goodness, trying to figure out how to open it and have a taste.
Elsewhere, the taiji-ya and the hanyou are gathering spare pieces of firewood for after the evening meal's supply is diminished. Inu-yasha was happy--more than happy--to go gather firewood when Kagome asked him to. He needed to get away. He, however, also needed Sango to come along as well, so they can talk more privately.
Inu-yasha keeps his eye on Sango, who has willingly joined him in hopes of learning the truth. As she sweeps down again, swiftly gathering sticks and twigs, he looks down at his one small log, realizing how distracted he must be. Figuring she is bound to notice his pathetic attempts to be helpful, the half demon takes a breath.
"Sango, I... I got to tell you something."
She stops gathering. Being somewhat winded, she figures she could use a break, so she stands up straight. Sango looks him over, assessing the nature of his message through his body language and his facial expression. The quasi-demon is standing tall with a sort of child-like innocence to him, holding that one piece of wood. She smiles when he shrugs and puts the piece of large kindling on the cold, dry ground. "I'm starting a pile," he says matter-of-factly, and she laughs. His face shows signs of practiced humility, skillfully hiding his true intentions. One thing is for sure, however. He knows what happened to Miroku.
After allowing a moderate amount of time to pass, Sango takes a small breath. "What is it, Inu-yasha?" she inquires, breaking the drifting silence.
He jumps slightly, as if he had forgotten she was even there. "Umm... I wanted to tell you how... how Miroku came to... um... to--"
"Inu-yasha! Sango-chan! C'mon! It's time to eat!" a shrill voice sounds through the woods. The voice belonged to Kagome.
Damn, Inu-yasha curses in his mind.
Sango sees his face change and senses that he is angry. No, not angry; disappointed. "So you do know why he disappeared."
"I-- UMPH!!"
Inu-yasha feels himself fall back from some small force plummeting into his stomach.
Shippou leaps away before an angry fist can clap him on the noggin. He leaps out daringly again, and laughs, "Come on, you slow pokes! I'm hungry!" His errand done, he rushes off back to the waiting chef named Kagome.
"Come on, Inu-yasha. Let's go eat." With that, the taiji-ya treks off toward camp. I'll talk to him again later.
********************
Winding through the woods extending for miles and miles lies a worn path. Through trees, around open spaces, under concealing thickets full of black-fledged magpies, and over cavernous drops, it winds continuously. Many scents are found winding along with it--both scents to seek and scents to avoid. Here lay a game trail, an ambiguous buffet line for hungry youkai.
Across it blows the easterly wind, continuously gliding across the land, importing more and more scents. Among these traces are the immediate scents of cooking meat and of two female humans, an adolescent youkai, and a male hanyou.
Something has found these specific essences. Something hungry. Something big.
A black nose sniffs the air, followed by a hot, steamy breath. A wedge-shaped ear turns back, inquiring the sound of other possible near-by pursuers of raw flesh. Glistening, black-green eyes scan the landscape and follow their way down the trail ahead, for victims of the hunt are nearby. A lolling tongue exudes with anticipation of obtaining a cold-weather rarity: hot, fresh blood mixed with the intoxicating scent of fear chasing the wind.
The waning moon, silently creeping across the sky, blanketed silenty by fleshless clouds, lights her way. She pursues her target on massive, clawed paws, each leaving the perfect imprint of a wolf's--rounded and clawed. Faster and faster she soundlessly treks through her forest. Her heart begins to thud harder, but the sound does not inhibit this creature in any way. A howl fights its way up--life hunger, deep emotion, a wailing song--and bursts into the snow-drift night.
In the freshly-fallen virgin snow, she hides between the trees, waiting, tasting, lusting. Here waits a white she-wolf youkai. She has found them and she is waiting.
********************
Sango is cleaning her hands from the evening meal, wiping them in the sparkling snow. She listens to the quiet voices of the night: a winter owl, a scurrying rabbit, a lone wild cat. Her heart suddenly skips a beat and she feels her body tense up. Her eyes become more attuned to the night's darkness; her ears begin to pick up anything potentially dangerous. She sits up and looks around.
"I feel..." she utters to no one. ...like when I am facing a dangerous youkai, she finishes in her head.
The feelings and alertness fade suddenly. She gets up quickly, and rushes to the campsite.
Everyone is huddled around the fire, which is now healthily dancing, mocking the darkness. The sudden snow flurry from earlier in the day had caught them off-guard. The day has now been taken from them and they must try to compensate via the friendly fire.
The only one not snuggling closely to the fire is Inu-yasha. Up high in a tree, his grasp around his father's legacy, his Tetsusaiga, the guardian is drowsily watching the clouds slip across the moon. The sleepy wind plays in his silver-washed locks.
A twig snaps soundly; he breaks his stare from the orb of dark light. He sees Sango looking at the base of his tree, seemingly deep in thought. He watches her for a time, to see if she knows he even is up here.
"Inu-yasha."
His left ear twitches involuntarily upon hearing his name. Watching her face, he discovers she knows he is there. Her eyes are moving upward, her glance regarding the branches of his post. Leaping down silently, he stays in his crouch, and looks up at her.
"Inu-yasha, there's something watching us. I can feel it."
He can feel her fear.
"Could it be Miroku?" he suggests etherially. Scenting the air, Inu-yasha perceives nothing as a threat. His golden-glowing eyes scan around him, into the rough bushes and the stretching trees around the area. With the light of glowing fire, he attempts to see any reflecting eyes surrounding them; but, alas, there is nothing but the dark and familiar nothingness between the branching arms of the forest.
"It's okay, Sango. There's nothing out there. Just silence. It is the night of first snow. It is enough to make even me a little edgy; otherwise, I would be asleep by now. Go rest, all right? I'll keep a vigil over the area... um... for you."
After a heart-felt yawn, she mumbles out an "Okay. Good night," and shuffles off to bed.
Making sure Lady Sango has safely gotten to her bed, Inu-yasha scans the area. He studies the area thoroughly, hand on his blade, ready for any danger, any threat. He quietly, calmly, does a quick perimeter check, satisfied there is indeed nothing malicious out there. He slides by the fire, passes the sleeping Kagome and snoring Shippou. After glancing finally at the now-slumbering Sango, he leaps up to his branch. To the singing of the wind in the rustling leaves, the hanyou falls asleep alone.
********************
The "rustling wind" is still watching her prey from a nearby impression in the ground. She is ready; they are asleep.
She can now attack at her leisure.
********************
End Third Chapter
BEE'S COMMENTS: None this time; too tired. Thanks so much for the rapid reviews.
Third Chapter
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Inu-yasha characters. Rumiko Takahashi does. I also do not own "Manwich"-brand sloppy joe sauce. She's earned it, darn it! Writing and drawing for an original story is tough work!
BEE'S NOTE: This fic, by the way, is dedicated to the hard work and mutually Inu-yasha-obsessive friend of mine, Inu-shounen!
On a different note, in this fan fiction, I am in no way against the traditional Inu-yasha/Kagome pairings. I even wrote one, "The Prayer Beads," and I enjoyed every second writing it. I just wanted to try something new and unexpected. I appreciate all the criticism! Thank you so much!
I love this fic! It's also helping me with my sanity issues. I've been regaining my mental composure; with this, however, I can lose it all finally!
On with the story!
********************
Chapter 3 -
On the Wind
The cold winds from the west blow inward across the land, bringing a frigid front, an icy storm. One single fleck of snow drifts, winding down from the zenith, only to be instantly obliterated on a little fox's tongue.
"Got one! I'm so good at this!" rings Shippou's voice.
Kagome squeals with delight as her form of acknowledgement. "Let me try now!" and with that, she thrusts her tongue out into the frigid air.
She had brought more new things from her time for her friends to try. New flavors of ramen, like Spicy Beef, Chicken Vegetable, and French Onion--the latter of which sounded kind of gross to Shippou; frozen foods, like peas, "tator tots", and something with little, tiny, itty-bitty corn cobs mixed in; and other things which she called "hamburger" and "Manwich sauce."
Shippou and Kagome joyfully prepare to cook the meat, now thawing on a rock near the small fire. The little miko is spreading oleo on the round bread termed "buns." Meanwhile, as his way of helping, the fox kit is looking at the colorful can full of juicy, sweet goodness, trying to figure out how to open it and have a taste.
Elsewhere, the taiji-ya and the hanyou are gathering spare pieces of firewood for after the evening meal's supply is diminished. Inu-yasha was happy--more than happy--to go gather firewood when Kagome asked him to. He needed to get away. He, however, also needed Sango to come along as well, so they can talk more privately.
Inu-yasha keeps his eye on Sango, who has willingly joined him in hopes of learning the truth. As she sweeps down again, swiftly gathering sticks and twigs, he looks down at his one small log, realizing how distracted he must be. Figuring she is bound to notice his pathetic attempts to be helpful, the half demon takes a breath.
"Sango, I... I got to tell you something."
She stops gathering. Being somewhat winded, she figures she could use a break, so she stands up straight. Sango looks him over, assessing the nature of his message through his body language and his facial expression. The quasi-demon is standing tall with a sort of child-like innocence to him, holding that one piece of wood. She smiles when he shrugs and puts the piece of large kindling on the cold, dry ground. "I'm starting a pile," he says matter-of-factly, and she laughs. His face shows signs of practiced humility, skillfully hiding his true intentions. One thing is for sure, however. He knows what happened to Miroku.
After allowing a moderate amount of time to pass, Sango takes a small breath. "What is it, Inu-yasha?" she inquires, breaking the drifting silence.
He jumps slightly, as if he had forgotten she was even there. "Umm... I wanted to tell you how... how Miroku came to... um... to--"
"Inu-yasha! Sango-chan! C'mon! It's time to eat!" a shrill voice sounds through the woods. The voice belonged to Kagome.
Damn, Inu-yasha curses in his mind.
Sango sees his face change and senses that he is angry. No, not angry; disappointed. "So you do know why he disappeared."
"I-- UMPH!!"
Inu-yasha feels himself fall back from some small force plummeting into his stomach.
Shippou leaps away before an angry fist can clap him on the noggin. He leaps out daringly again, and laughs, "Come on, you slow pokes! I'm hungry!" His errand done, he rushes off back to the waiting chef named Kagome.
"Come on, Inu-yasha. Let's go eat." With that, the taiji-ya treks off toward camp. I'll talk to him again later.
********************
Winding through the woods extending for miles and miles lies a worn path. Through trees, around open spaces, under concealing thickets full of black-fledged magpies, and over cavernous drops, it winds continuously. Many scents are found winding along with it--both scents to seek and scents to avoid. Here lay a game trail, an ambiguous buffet line for hungry youkai.
Across it blows the easterly wind, continuously gliding across the land, importing more and more scents. Among these traces are the immediate scents of cooking meat and of two female humans, an adolescent youkai, and a male hanyou.
Something has found these specific essences. Something hungry. Something big.
A black nose sniffs the air, followed by a hot, steamy breath. A wedge-shaped ear turns back, inquiring the sound of other possible near-by pursuers of raw flesh. Glistening, black-green eyes scan the landscape and follow their way down the trail ahead, for victims of the hunt are nearby. A lolling tongue exudes with anticipation of obtaining a cold-weather rarity: hot, fresh blood mixed with the intoxicating scent of fear chasing the wind.
The waning moon, silently creeping across the sky, blanketed silenty by fleshless clouds, lights her way. She pursues her target on massive, clawed paws, each leaving the perfect imprint of a wolf's--rounded and clawed. Faster and faster she soundlessly treks through her forest. Her heart begins to thud harder, but the sound does not inhibit this creature in any way. A howl fights its way up--life hunger, deep emotion, a wailing song--and bursts into the snow-drift night.
In the freshly-fallen virgin snow, she hides between the trees, waiting, tasting, lusting. Here waits a white she-wolf youkai. She has found them and she is waiting.
********************
Sango is cleaning her hands from the evening meal, wiping them in the sparkling snow. She listens to the quiet voices of the night: a winter owl, a scurrying rabbit, a lone wild cat. Her heart suddenly skips a beat and she feels her body tense up. Her eyes become more attuned to the night's darkness; her ears begin to pick up anything potentially dangerous. She sits up and looks around.
"I feel..." she utters to no one. ...like when I am facing a dangerous youkai, she finishes in her head.
The feelings and alertness fade suddenly. She gets up quickly, and rushes to the campsite.
Everyone is huddled around the fire, which is now healthily dancing, mocking the darkness. The sudden snow flurry from earlier in the day had caught them off-guard. The day has now been taken from them and they must try to compensate via the friendly fire.
The only one not snuggling closely to the fire is Inu-yasha. Up high in a tree, his grasp around his father's legacy, his Tetsusaiga, the guardian is drowsily watching the clouds slip across the moon. The sleepy wind plays in his silver-washed locks.
A twig snaps soundly; he breaks his stare from the orb of dark light. He sees Sango looking at the base of his tree, seemingly deep in thought. He watches her for a time, to see if she knows he even is up here.
"Inu-yasha."
His left ear twitches involuntarily upon hearing his name. Watching her face, he discovers she knows he is there. Her eyes are moving upward, her glance regarding the branches of his post. Leaping down silently, he stays in his crouch, and looks up at her.
"Inu-yasha, there's something watching us. I can feel it."
He can feel her fear.
"Could it be Miroku?" he suggests etherially. Scenting the air, Inu-yasha perceives nothing as a threat. His golden-glowing eyes scan around him, into the rough bushes and the stretching trees around the area. With the light of glowing fire, he attempts to see any reflecting eyes surrounding them; but, alas, there is nothing but the dark and familiar nothingness between the branching arms of the forest.
"It's okay, Sango. There's nothing out there. Just silence. It is the night of first snow. It is enough to make even me a little edgy; otherwise, I would be asleep by now. Go rest, all right? I'll keep a vigil over the area... um... for you."
After a heart-felt yawn, she mumbles out an "Okay. Good night," and shuffles off to bed.
Making sure Lady Sango has safely gotten to her bed, Inu-yasha scans the area. He studies the area thoroughly, hand on his blade, ready for any danger, any threat. He quietly, calmly, does a quick perimeter check, satisfied there is indeed nothing malicious out there. He slides by the fire, passes the sleeping Kagome and snoring Shippou. After glancing finally at the now-slumbering Sango, he leaps up to his branch. To the singing of the wind in the rustling leaves, the hanyou falls asleep alone.
********************
The "rustling wind" is still watching her prey from a nearby impression in the ground. She is ready; they are asleep.
She can now attack at her leisure.
********************
End Third Chapter
BEE'S COMMENTS: None this time; too tired. Thanks so much for the rapid reviews.