Later that night, after a blazing fire had been built and Rei had finally become too weak to argue and resist any help, Miroku took Kagome's bag and reached in for some clean bandages, disinfectant, a needle and some thread to stich Rei's wound. He paused a moment.
"Inuyasha..."
"Whaddaya want?" Inuyasha growled.
He was still a little peeved that one of the horse demons had managed to escape unharmed. The other two he'd wasted easily and though he would not admit aloud, he was rather grateful for Miroku's aid.
"...You wouldn't happen to have the shards...would you..."
The ignorant dog demon's eyes narrowed, "Why the hell would I have them?!"
Miroku tilted the bag and peered inside, "...They're not here..."
"What?!" Inuyasha cried and leapt to his feet, "What do you mean they're not there?!"
"Shards?" Sango inquired.
Everyone turned their gaze upon her. She hadn't spoken much since the incident in the srhine. Even stranger yet, Kilala seemed to be avoiding her.
"Yeah, y'know, the shards of the shikon no tama! That ring a bell to you?!" Inuyasha barked.
"Please calm yourself, Inuyasha," Miroku hushed.
Inuyasha ignored him. "In fact...I smell the one who took them right now! SHOW YOURSELF DAMNIT!" he yelled, punching his fist into the ground. Pieces of rock flew up from the impact.
"Who? Me?" called a familiar voice from behind a large boulder. She leapt up on top and grinned at all the surprised faces. Kao, the cat demon, tilted her head and held out the bottle teasingly, "I was merely holding onto them for safe keeping while the horse demons were around. They're after the shards too."
"Hand 'em over, runt!"
"Nice to see you again, ass wipe!" Kao taunted and evaded Inuyasha's claws easily.
"Safe keeping?" Miroku repeated, "We're capable of protecting the shards. Your help is not needed."
"Okay...so maybe it wasn't safe keeping. It's more like...black mail!" she cried and dodged another attack Inuyasha aimed at her. "If you do something for me, I'll give you your shards back."
"I'll catch you before I decide to help you! NOW STAY STILL!" Inuyasha cried.
He missed...again...and stood his ground, glaring at the little cat demon who was much too quick for him.
"What is it you want?" Miroku asked.
"This is a difficult task, even for ass wipe. There's a demon that lives near here that is named Naraku. I want his head on a silver platter and his body my new scratching post as soon as possible."
"Naraku!" Miroku exclaimed, "You know where his castle lies?"
Kao nodded, "Yup! Except...I'm not exactly strong enough to take him on myself...so-"
"We're already after his ass," inuyasha said.
Kao's grin grew wider, "Really? So you'll do it?"
"He has a friend of ours captive and we have other unfinished business with him as well..." Miroku explained.
"Okay...well then I'll give you your precious shards back but on one condition..."
"Name it!" Shippou exclaimed.
"You let me come with you."
"Fuck that!" Inuyasha cried and tried to snatch the bottle away.
Kao leapt back and avoided his grasp effortlessly. "You don't want these back very bad, do you?"
Inuyasha hesitated for a moment. What other choice did they have? "Fine then! You can come! But steal from us again and I'll-"
"All right! Then it's settled!" Kao interrupted and handed him the bottle.
"Thank you!" he said before grinning evilly and giving Kao one hard boot in the ass which sent her flying high in the distance, "Sucker!"
"...That wasn't very nice Inuyasha..." Shippou told him, You know, she'll probably be back later while you're sleeping and-"
"I'll smell her before then," he told them and sat back down under the tree he'd currently claimed for his own.
Rei yawned and pulled her cloak over her body, resting her head on her folded arms, and stared off into the flames. Yawning quietly to herself, she rolled onto her good side, and rubbed her eyes before returning her empty stare back to the dancing flames once more. Beside her, Kaemon had curled up into a ball and was fast asleep. Slowly, the world around her faded out into dark oblivion as her senses dulled with sleep, and the last person she saw before her eyes closed was Inuyasha, who sat across the fire from her.
His golden eyes danced in the flickering flames that licked at the night air. Across from him lay the girl who yet remained nameless. The only times he'd heard her speak was to argue with Miroku that she was fine, but even by the end of the evening she had lost so much blood that she'd become too weak to argue anymore and had had no choice but to allow Miroku to help her. He had to give her credit...she was most definitely one hell of a stubborn young woman...much like Kagome.
"Are you...all right, Sango?"
Sango glanced up at Miroku who stood before her where she sat a little distanced from everyone else. Sango smiled at his concern. "Yes, I'm all right..." she replied quietly, pulling her legs towards her chest and watched intently as he descended beside her.
"...Are you-"
"Yes? Is there something wrong?" Sango asked.
There was something different about her. Her eyes. They were...changed somehow but he couldn't quite place it.
"Ah, it's nothing!" he assured her and peered down at the ground, "...Shippou told me what happened earlier in the shrine. Do you feel anything abnormal?"
She shook her head, "No. I'm fine...Inuyasha..."
"Sango...my name is Miroku..."
"Oh! I'm sorry." And then the unthinkable occurred. A slight blush reddened her cheeks. And she giggled.
"Are you sure you're all right?"
"Yes. Do not concern yourself with my welfare. Now...kiss me..."
"I beg your pardon-"
Inuyasha's eyes not only widened with disgust but horror and disbelief as well. "I can't believe what I'm seeing!" Shippou couldn't either. "Close your eyes! Kids aren't supposed to see this kind of shit!" he cried and covered the fox demon's eyes with his hands. "Hey! You two! Get a room!" Inuyasha cried at the two of them embracing in a deep long kiss, "There are children here you know!"
Kilala even cowered behind him. This was too good to be true. But once Sango had poked her tongue into his mouth, Miroku knew this either had to be a dream or this was not the real Sango. Either way, he was enjoying it perhaps a little too much, but he needed to catch his breath. He tried to pull his mouth away. He couldn't. It was as if his lips were locked onto hers. He tried to breath through his nose. His eyes widened in shock when the air did not enter his lungs. He was slowly suffocating! Not only that but his entire body was paralyzed. There was only one way he could think of. Her tongue was still in his mouth and luckily he still had control of his jaw. He bit it HARD! She cried out and threw herself back. The spell was broken. Miroku leapt up and jumped away from her.
"What the fuck are you two doing?!" Inuyasha barked. Rei and her brother had both woken up and backed away from the stranger who appeared to be Sango as well.
"...Fuck it..." the imposter growled, "...I almost sucked you into death, boy..."
"Who are you! What did you do with Sango?!" Miroku cried.
"T-this is so strange! This must have happened in the shrine!"
"That is correct, Shippou..."
"Myoga?" Shippou inquired and looked onto his shoulder where the little flea stood, "When did you get here?"
"Oh I don't know. I've been here long enough to have a little taste of Inuyasha's blood without him noticing."
"So that was the itch I felt earlier," Inuyasha growled. Myoga smiled sheepishly.
"What's happening to her Myoga? What did that light that Shippou saw do to Sango?"
"You don't know the tale that goes along with this village, do you?"
"Village? Umm...I don't see a village anywhere near here," Shippou replied.
"That's because it's not in plain sight. In fact, it is below."
"Below?"
"Yes...below the surface of the lake," Myoga explained, "The village here had once been very beautiful and prosperous. However, one day two infants had been found on the far side of the lakeshore. A boy and a girl. Though unnamed, the village soon began to call the boy Chiko and the girl Fuuko because as they grew older, so did their powers to control the weather."
"Control the weather?" Miroku inquired, "What do you mean? Were they demons?"
"Not at all. They were simple human beings but had the ability to control the weather due to their emotions and moods. Say for example if they were sad, it would rain. If they were angry, a storm would rage. If they were happy, then the sun would shine. They believed that the two children had been a gift from the gods. However...as they grew much older...there was a fierce war brewing and a young man from each family was required to go out and fight. The girl, Fuuko, found it very hard to believe hat both her brother and the chief of the village's son would have to fight in the war and might lose their lives."
"So...what happened then?" Miroku asked.
"Fuuko was very much in love with the chief's son. She waited on the lakeshore each day where she'd first met him for hopes that he would return to her. Once the war was over, it was only her brother that had returned and not the chief's some, however, Fuuko refused to believe that he'd passed on. She continued to wait there until her brother confronted her and tried to make her believe that he was never coming back. The two of them began to fight and a fierce storm began to rage. It had been one of the worst that the villagers had ever seen. The whole village became flooded, which created the lake. The storm became so terrible and killed so many people that they ultimately had to seal her soul, with the help of a special monk, inside a mirror. That is the same mirror that is kept in the shrine. As a result, her body turned into stone and she has been there ever since."
"Oh how awful..." Kaemon murmured from over near the tree.
From the corner of her eye, Rei glanced down at her brother and nodded her agreement to his statement before getting up from her spot. She knew the tale well...and had no need to hear it any more. In silence, she left the group and walked out into the forest, leaveing them alone to talk and her brother so he wouldn't be a hindrance to her.
"Poor Sango..." Rei murmured to herself, hopping up onto a rock and sitting on it where the moon shone down through the trees.
Taking her sword from its sheath, she traced the flames that had been burned into it, and sighed softly. The tale had been one that her father had told her often whenever she had felt her difference with a hurt...it had been meant to tell her that things could be worse, but it had never worked. In the end, she had always felt sorry for Fuuko and the pain she mustt have felt, and also for the fate that she had recieved of having her soul sealed into the shattered mirror. Hell, she still felt sorry for Fukko when it all boiled down to it.
"What the hell?!" Inuyasha thought aloud, "so her soul has possessed Sango?"
"That is correct, Lord Inuyasha. Since she has no bodily form, she must use another being as her host. But...that's enough questions for now. She doesn't look too happy after her awakening so watch out!" Myoga exclaimed before scooting off. Inuyasha turned his gaze back to the possessed Sango.
"I must perform an exorcism immediately," Miroku said.
"You'll do no such thing, monk!" came a voice from within Sango that was not her own. At that moment, the clouds rumbled and cracked. Thunder and lightning shook and lit up the land. It was as if the heavens were splitting in half.
"Shippou, Kilala, get Rei and Kaemon to safety."
Kilala was already in her transformed state and as soon as the others were loaded onto her back they flew into the distance. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and braced himself against the howling wind that seemed to get stronger. He pulled the Tetsusaiga from its sheath.
"Here goes nothing!" he cried, about to strike.
"No stop!" Miroku cried.
"Huh?"
"If you attack her in Sango's body, then Sango will bear those wounds."
"Okay...so how the hell are we going to stop her?!"
"An exorcism is in order, but first we must weaken her."
"And how do we do that without harming Sango?"
"You boys talk too much. Here, maybe these will entertain you for a while," Fuuko screeched, casting a couple of lightning bolts which struck the ground where they stood. Luckily, Inuyasha and Miroku were able to escape the blast.
"I'm listening, Miroku," Inuyasha growled in frustration.
"Whatever we decide, we've got to make haste because if this place becomes flooded the water is going to conduct the lightning and there will be no escaping it then," Miroku stated.
"Well, how did that 'special monk' stop her the last time?"
"Myoga did not make that clear."
"Fuck him! He always leaves out the important things!"
"We do know that he used a mirror to contain her soul."
"Obviously it didn't contain it very well."
"Perhaps if we try giuding Sango, she'll be able to overpower Fuuko. No doubt, she's fighting for control."
"Okay," Inuyasha nodded.
"Sango! If you can hear me, you've got to gather all your strength and resist Fuuko! She is still human. Her anger is what drives her and maintains her existence here. You can do it!" Miroku cried, "Inuyasha and I will both lend you our strength."
"You can pull through this," Inuyasha said, "You can't give up now. Look how far we've come! Think of how close we are to getting revenge for Kohaku, your family and village, Miroku and his family, Kagome and Kikyo and anyone else's life that Naraku has destroyed and corrupted.
"Ugh! Nooooo!" screamed Fuuko. At that moment, the rain began to slow. Slowly but surely, the winds began to cease. The rain began a gentle sprinkle until the clouds departed, allowing in a stream of silver moonlight. Sango's body fell to its knees. "No...this can't be happening..." Sango's voice cried, "...All I ever wanted was...a chance to...my revenge...I..." Her eyes, not Sango's, but Fuuko's looked up to the heavens as Miroku began the exorcism, chanting words that Inuyasha did not even understand. "Wait for me in heaven, my love. I hope to be with you soon!"
Suddenly a bright light surrounded her body. Inuyasha and Miroku watched in awe as a mystical form erupted from Sango. It was the form of a beautiful woman with long, flowing hair. She looked exactly like the statue by the shrine. It turned its gaze upon them and the Tetsusaiga sliced her through. She diminished and a single piece of her fell to the ground where a tiny flower rose. When her eyes opened, Sango's eyes peered out once again and she ascended weakly to her feet.
"Thank you...Miroku...Inuyasha..." she said gratefully, "without you I wouldn't have defeated her. She was...too strong...the hate and anger locked away was so overwhelming. My guess is that the seal was destroyed due to her powerful energy derived of her undying hatred and sorrow."
Inuyasha shook off the compliment, "No problem."
"It is good to see you are all right," Miroku said.
"And you as well," Sango said and smiled, then she whispered, "...she loved him..."
"I beg your pardon?" Miroku inquired.
"...She loved him more than anything in the world...yet they tried to make her forget him. She'd even go as far as to resurrect him with the help of the shikon no tama..."
"Who Fuuko? Don't bother feeling sorry for the enemy. It's over now so let's get going!" Inuyasha spat and disappeared into the trees.
"He expresses gratitude for others safety in such peculiar ways," Miroku mused, "...by the way..."
"Yes Miroku?"
"About that kiss-" WHACK! She struck him hard over the head with her boomerang and sped ahead. "Hey! Wait up!" Miroku cried.