Disclaimer: You know the drill. They're not mine. No, really. ^_^

A Lady Knight's Tale 2

"We haven't heard from them for so long... do you think something bad happened to them?" Kagome asked as she twirled her arrow with her fingers. She was practicing her archery that morning, although her miko powers made it unecessary to do so, she insisted on doing it anyway.

"Miroku and Sango?" Inuyasha was perched on a nearby tree, watching her progress.

"Yeah. It just isn't like them not to at least send a message." she said "Let's pay them a visit."

Inuyasha looked at her and nodded as the arrow whizzed towards its target. "I guess that can be arranged." he said.

"What do you mean it's to the death?!" Sango exclaimed incredulously. She was in the armory, readying herself for the battle when Kikyo came in to explain the rules of the last match.

Kikyo simply looked at her devoid of emotion, nodded and retreated without another word.

Sango didn't know why she was so upset. It just wasn't right! He saved her life and now she had to take his....or he would take hers. She sheathed her sword and slung Hiraikotsu over her shoulder scowling. This was the life you chose Sango, she told herself. You'd better face the consequences. Sometimes she wondered what would happen if she chose to stay in her own kingdom and watch Miroku marry another...Sango shook her head. She would rather die.

Miroku and Sango stood face to face in the grassy field. It was a windy day, cool and blustery. The crowds of people on the sides were strangely silent, ordinarily, they'd be shouting and making a general ruckus. Because of the wind, Sango was reminded of Kagura. It was an oddly placed thought, and it once more reminded her of Miroku. If she died here...would he even care?

Sesshomaru stood on the stands, his perfect face unreadable, raising his hand, he motioned for them to begin.

Sango frowned and waited for her opponent to attack her, she usually tended to be more aggressive and often drew first blood, but now, Sango wanted to just counter her opponent's blows, so she waited. But he didn't move, apparently thinking the same thing.

So she had no choice then.

Sango flew toward the immobile knight with her sword, slashing away with as much fake enthusiasm as she could muster. This wasn't to her liking at all. If only she was up against someone else in this match.....

And yet all he did was block unceasingly, her sword, if not meeting his own in a parry, met his shield. It was so frustrating. The fight was wearying her...if only...

Her eyes strayed to the crowd, looking for someone. She often did this during fights, hoping, in vain, to see Miroku there. Sango knew it was wishful thinking...but she always dreamed that he'd come after her.

But wait....was that...Kagome? And Inuyasha too? Her momentary distraction caused her to falter a bit, affecting her concentration.

And Miroku's sword struck her on the left shoulder. Sango staggered back a bit, more from surprise than pain, it wasn't a full hit. Even Miroku was surprised.

Kagome tugged at Inuyasha's sleeve. "Looks like she saw us, ne?"

"Yeah. I saw that too. Pretty careless." Inuyasha remarked.

. Then she looked closely at Sango's opponent. Oh no... Kagome suddenly yanked at Inuyasha forcefully

"Watch it!" Inuyasha growled. "Sometimes I swear, you have the strength of an ox!"

"The one Sango's fighting...it's Miroku!" Kagome whispered in panic. "Why are they the ones fighting!?"

Inuyasha blinked, noticing that it was indeed Miroku. "Whaddya know...." he said

"We have to do something! They might kill each other!" she said to the hanyou.

In the meantime, Sango's head was awhirl with thoughts. Kagome? and Inuyasha? Why were they here? Was....was Miroku with them? Surely he was... Facing the Black Knight, she suddenly wanted this fight to be over with and look for Miroku...

"I'm finishing this now!" Sango shouted as she unslung Hiraikotsu and looking like a fiery Valkyrie.

Miroku frowned. She was serious now, but he wasn't going to fight back. He was going through with this...he was, no turning back now.

The bone boomerang flew towards him, but he remained rooted to the spot, unmoving. Sango....I love you. he thought as he raised his helmet. Her weapon struck him with searing pain.

Oh no..."No!" Sango's eyes widened with shock as she ran towards Miroku, nearly sprawling across the field. "You fool!" she sobbed as she collapsed beside him. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow.

Kagome and Inuyasha approached Sango quietly. "We were too late." Kagome said sadly. "Sango..." Inuyasha looked away uncomfortably, unsure of what to say. Had...Sango just killed the man she loved?

Miroku just lay there, so still. And it was all her fault, Sango cursed silently, how could she have been so blind not to notice. Now she was going to lose him permanently. Right now she wanted to kill herself.

"Sango..." Kagome put a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "You should at least eat something. Lady Kaede's doing her best, you know."

Absently holding Miroku's hand, she looked up at Kagome. "No, thank you...I-- haven't any appetite." she said with an odd voice that wasn't hers.

Inuyasha stepped in the room quietly. After taking Miroku to a healer, Inuyasha had spoken with his half-brother. Things did not turn well, it seemed. He pulled Kagome aside.

"So how did it go?" Kagome asked.

"The bastard had the nerve to demand that the winner of the match be his Captain! I told him she was one of ours. Stupid bleep. We got three days to get packing." he said, annoyance in his voice.

Kagome seemed relieved. "Well, it went better than I thought it would. But..." her voice lowered in a whisper "Miroku's in bad shape. Lady Kaede said that the chances of survival were pretty slim."

Inuyasha looked at Miroku and Sango. The latter still had a vacant look in her eyes. "Let's just hope that she can take it." he said

Kagome approached Sango again. "Hey...if you won't eat, then at least take a soak? You'll feel much better, I think." The miko knelt down beside the lady knight. "I'll watch him until you come back."

The brown-haired girl nodded mutely. Sango stood up and made her way to where Kagome had a bath prepared for her.

The water was nicely warm, and for a moment, Sango was far, far away. In better days, so it seemed now...remembering.

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Under the large fir trees in the forest, a young girl with a large boomerang on her back and a sword strapped to her waist walked briskly. She was following the river, hoping it led to the nearest town. It was late afternoon and the peaceful river gleamed as the sun struck the water, clear and crystal blue. But the girl took no notice of the beauty of the landscape, so engrossed was she in her thoughts.

That Naraku will pay! I swear it! Sango thought as she walked through the forest glade almost furiously. Her little brother, Kohaku had been taken captive. At first, she hadn't intended to join the army of knights, but after battling a few youkai by herself, it was starting to look like a good idea. After all, they were going after Naraku too.

She sighed, she wanted to rescue her brother as soon as possible. There was no telling what they might do to him. But she had to become a knight first. Please hang on, Kohaku...she thought. First up...she had to find a certain...Captain Miroku...of the Imperial Guard...yes...it was him alright. He was the one she had to look for.

She stopped right on her tracks.

"Huh? What's this?" Sango ran quickly to what appeared to be a body washed up on the riverbank. It even looked like it would be pulled by the current again if it wasn't pulled out. She threw down her weapons and dragged the half-drowned person to dry land, without wasting time, she checked for a pulse. Sure enough there was one, only it was so faint, she could hardly feel it.

Turning him over, she hesitated for a moment. It turned out to be a young man, about her age...very handsome, it seemed, with jet-black hair and the lean, muscular build of someone trained in fighting. Wait a minute. Was she really going to do mouth-to-mouth to a complete stranger? Just how did this become any of her business anyway? Oh what the heck.

Blushing fiercely, for some unknown reason, she took a deep breath and lowered her mouth to his.

After a few moments, he was breathing steadily after coughing out some water, his eyes still closed. What the...! Sango felt a hand on her rear. For a moment, she was too shocked to even react.

Then SLAP!

"Sukebe!!!" Sango practically roared. No one! No one insulted her like this and lived to see another day!

And that was how they had met.

Author's Notes: Hello minna! I just want to thank everyone for their patience and for bothering to review! ^_^ Waii! I didn't know you guys cared so much. sob ^_^ Hope you liked this chapter! Special thanks to Nightswift 'cause she gave me the suggestion to write about how Miroku and Sango met, hey thanks! It's a flashbcak of sorts. By the way, there's more in the next chapter about their first meeting....hope you guys stick around and read...cause this fic is about to end already. So until then! Ja ne! ^_^