Hello again! 'Tis Lucinda, back with chapter two. It's a bit longer than the first one, though not by so much that it's really noticeable. I tend to write a lot when I get really into a story like this, so just expect subsequent chapters to get lengthier. Oh, and also, thank you guys so much for the reviews! Honestly; they made my day. Keep 'em coming! With that said, enjoy the second installment of Sango and the Tiger!

Day Two

"Sango-sama, why are you hitting your head against that tree?" asked Koharu concernedly. Moments before, the waiting maid had been strolling through one of the castle's courtyards on break, minding her own business… that is, until she saw her mistress deliberately causing herself pain. Never one to ignore the princess when she was in need, the lady-in-waiting made her way over to her, though she did fail to notice that, upon hearing her voice, Sango only began to hit her head harder.

"Thirty suitors…" Sango managed between blows, "…in two hours… it's more than I can bear…"

Koharu nodded, immediately understanding Sango's words. In the days that would follow, unmarried noblemen from all corners of the country would trek to the palace in an attempt to make Sango their bride. The process would have gone smoother if the princess hadn't fallen ill the previous week, preventing the men from coming for a few days. Now, to make up for lost time, Sango had to listen to twice as many suitors everyday, stating why he'd make the best husband and all the wonderful things he'd do for her, and et cetera. It was a straining procedure, one the young princess would have rather not gone through.

Sighing, Koharu succeeded in yanking the girl away from the elm tree, whose bark had worn down considerably in the past few minutes. The lady-in-waiting forced Sango to sit, hugging the girl's waist. "It's alright, I'm sure there will be someone out there for you…"

Sango tried to pull free from her servant's grasp, but Koharu held her way too tightly—and, at that, uncomfortably—for her to get away. Suspiring, Sango looked down. "But that's it; there isn't anyone. Can't father see that I'm not ready to get married?"

Koharu shook her head, letting go of the princess, who sighed in relief. "No, milady, I suppose not. Still, it must be nice to have so many people falling head over heels for you…"

"Well, that's just because I'm the princess," Sango cut her lady-in-waiting off. "Do you think that they really love me? Of course they don't; they're all just after my position."

"Huh?"

Sango sighed again, placing her head in her hands and looking into the distance where the guards were exercising. "Once my father is unable to rule, the man that I marry will take over his role as king. And, just think, Koharu; when you're the king… you call the shots, you control everything…it's a supreme rule… nearly everyone that courted me today seemed honorable on the outside, but inside… they just want my hand for their own selfish reasons… to have that rule…"

Koharu looked away. "I'm sorry, Sango-sama, I had no idea. It's just… I'm fourteen now, so my wedding ceremony won't be for a while. I can't help but wonder if anyone will try to woo me at that time…" Koharu trailed off before speaking again. "Hey, Sango-sama?"

"Hn?"

"Have you ever been in love?"

Sango snorted. "Me? In love? You've got to be kidding me." Sango turned to the girl so that she looked directly into her eyes. "Don't you think that, if I was one of those lovesick, giggly girls, I'd be thrilled to have so many men proposing to me? Hm?"

Koharu shook her head and smiled. "You're right, Sango-sama; you're not like that. What was I thinking?"

Once Sango was certain that Koharu had shut up, she averted her gaze to look at the guards in the distance. Right now, they were running laps on a dirt circle maybe fifty feet away, and, though they were all panting and sweaty, they still did their best to try to outrun each other. Sango immediately recognized Inu-Yasha and his archrival, Koga, in the midst of a footrace against one another. The two guards had always hated each other, but once both had fallen for Kagome a while back, that had taken their loathing to a whole new level. Even though Inu-Yasha was the one that had snagged her in the end, the second guard had never let that huge loss go and, as a result, held an even bigger grudge against him. Behind Koga, who, at the moment, was winning the race, were Ginta and Hakaku, two younger guards who absolutely idolized Koga and were desperately trying to keep up with his inhuman pace.

And then her eyes fell on him. Miroku. Sango gasped as she watched him run, drenching his clothes with perspiration. But even red-in-the-face and wheezing, he was still extremely handsome. Every so often, he'd shake his head to cool himself, swinging the small ponytail at the nape of his neck from side to side, making the girl blush at the attractive sight.

At some point or another, Miroku looked her way, his deep purple eyes meeting her wide brown ones. He stopped running for maybe a second and winked at her, smirking. In that moment, Sango had completely stopped breathing. What was it about him, exactly, that paralyzed her like this?

"Did you see that!" Koharu asked excitedly. Sango, who had since recovered herself, managed to say, "What?"

Koharu, suddenly standing, had begun to clap her hands. "That guard just winked at me! The one with the ponytail, right there! That's the one!"

Sango had never wanted to strangle the girl more. Exactly how stupid was Koharu? Didn't she even notice that the guard wasn't even looking her way, that he was fixated not on her, but on Sango instead? It's completely outrageous! Honestly, I just can't believe her. Despite the fact that, over the course of the past few seconds, Sango had gone from serene to livid, she stopped to wonder; why am I so upset? This is Koharu, after all. Her not being a blithering idiot just isn't in her personality. Sango laughed to herself. Yes, the girl really is a fool. A moronic, ditzy, dim-witted…

The princess, however, couldn't complete her thought, for she suddenly found herself being jerked from her seated position and dragged across the courtyard by the blithering idiot herself. "C'mon, Sango-sama!" cried Koharu, stumbling down the path, "I wanna talk to him!"

Narrowing her eyes at the girl, Sango muttered, "Yes, but did you really have to bring me along?" Inside, though, the older woman was chalking up another point under her mental list of stupid things Koharu had done that day.

Thirty feet and ten seconds of numbness in her right arm later, Sango found herself just outside of the dirt circle, getting an up-close-and-personal look at the hot, heaving, so-called reliable men that had been knighted by her own father and bestowed the enormous responsibility of protecting the princess. Like this group will ever do that…

"Ladies," said a voice from in front of her. Looking up—exactly when had she put her head down?—Sango found herself staring right into Miroku's eyes for the second time that day. Sango vaguely felt her mouth drop open. Kami-sama, he's even better looking this close up! The woman barely managed to retain her composure as she straightened her back and nodded at him. "H-hello, kishi-sama. I've never seen you train here before; would I be correct to assume that you're new to the guard?" Of course you would, moronSango scolded herself; you know he's new here.

Despite this, he nodded. "Yes, you would be. I'm 'the new guy', Miroku…"

"MIROKU!" This comment came from Koharu, who had since leaned forward to look into the guard's surprised—and, quite possibly, frightened—eyes. "Uwaah! It's so nice to meet you! My name is Koharu, and I'm a lady-in-waiting, but I serve the princess Sango, so it's like I'm royalty myself!" At the mention of her name, the older woman groaned and turned to look longingly back to the tree she'd been throwing herself against a few minutes ago, desperately wanting to shove her servant's head into its bark as hard as she could. That's another point for Koharu… she's on a roll today…

Frantically trying to look anywhere but in Koharu's direction, Miroku shifted his gaze to Sango and smiled. "Ah, so you must be the princess I've heard so much about." Finally succeeding in moving Koharu aside, the guard's perceptive gaze swept Sango up and down. Though it may have been her imagination, Sango could have sworn his eyes stopped to linger on her hips for a moment before continuing to travel back up to her face. He smirked, giving him a slightly dangerous look. "You look even lovelier up close…"

Trying to hide the blush creeping up her cheeks, Sango stammered, "I, uh… well… who did you think you were guarding yesterday?"

Miroku nodded. "Good point… how could I have forgotten our encounter?"

Koharu's eyebrows shot up. "You mean you've met him before? Sango-sama, why didn't you tell me?"

Miroku turned back to Sango, eyes laughing. "Yes, Sango, why didn't you tell Koharu-san?" The princess vaguely heard her companion sigh at the honorific he'd attached to her name. "Was our rendezvous that unimportant to you?"

Sango racked her brain for something witty—or, at the very least, sensible—to say. She hated to be put on the spot, and right now was no exception. "I… I didn't think you'd be interested Koharu-san," said Sango, pausing for a moment to see if she had gotten the same reaction as Miroku from the honorific. Seeing that she hadn't, the girl continued, "You hardly seem the romantic type, and so…"

"Oh, but I am romantic!" interrupted Koharu. "I know I might be young, but, nonetheless, I can't wait to get married and spend my life with my special someone!"

"Is that so?" inquired Miroku, whose eyebrows, Sango noticed, rose ever so slightly. After Koharu gave a vigorous nod that probably shook her brains up even more, her hands became captured by the guard's. Looking surprisingly serious, Miroku said, "Then, Koharu-san, I suppose you'll pay no objection to bearing my child?"

Sango's eyes widened. Did he just say what I thought he did? The princess, however, didn't even need to ask herself this question. She knew what she'd heard and had come to an immediate conclusion; the handsome, seemingly-innocent man was a pervert.

And Sango hated perverts.

That realization made Sango, who had never been good at suppressing her temper to begin with, finally snap. Who the hell does this guy think he is? she asked herself. Does he really think he can just come here and sweep us off our feet, just like that! Looking at the two, the princess saw Koharu's mouth curve upwards into an extremely twisted, but, nonetheless, pleased smile. Though she, of course, didn't like the girl, Sango knew she couldn't just leave her in the hands of a man like him. Sango despised men like him, perverts like him, and if he thought he could win either of them over that easily, he had another thing coming.

Viciously tearing Koharu away from Miroku, she drew back her hand and hit the man. Hard. "HENTAI!" the princess screeched ferociously. If words could truly hurt people, Miroku would have been writing on the ground with a gaping hole through his chest just then. "This girl is only fourteen! She's not some courtesan that will share you bed without any forethought whatsoever! How dare you be so kind to us only to… to ask us something like that! You're despicable, you know that? Des-pic-a-ble!"

Sango stopped fuming for a moment to let her words sink in. Miroku stood there, his eyes winking open and shut the way a stubborn flame that refuses to go out flickers on a wax candle. After a second, when the princess saw that he wasn't going to say anything, she turned to her lady-in-waiting and commanded, "Come on, Koharu. We're going back to the castle."

"But, but, but… Miroku!" The servant girl tried to protest, though, in her heart, she knew it was futile to disobey her master. She looked longingly at Miroku, whose left cheek had reddened considerably from the slap. "Okay, then," she whispered, looking down, "I'll go." Giving Miroku one last look, Koharu followed Sango through one of the palace's many doors and down the hall they'd just entered. As she stalked down the corridor, Sango couldn't help but continue to mentally chastise the guard. He's got some nerve… acting all princely and sweet only to turn around and become a… a philanderer! I can't believe I didn't notice it sooner... 'You're so lovely' and all of that crap… I really am a moron…

"Um… Sango-sama?" Due to the fact that Koharu's voice echoed off the high walls and ceiling of the corridor, the princess could tell that her lady-in-waiting was standing at the opposite end of the hall, unable to keep up with her superior's fast-paced walking. Her voice was laced with both concern and grief, and it was obvious that she was trying not to anger the princess even more. "Shouldn't you be getting back to the throne room now? There are hordes more suitors there waiting for you."

Sango stopped briefly and turned around, her eyes meeting Koharu's. A glint of sadness played across the servant girl's countenance as she stood over forty feet away, hands clasped together, eyes gawping at her superior. Finally, after a short staring contest, Sango crossed her arms and stated, "Actually, Koharu, I wouldn't like to do anything more right now," before heading back in her servant's direction, suddenly ready to face her many possible husbands again.

"You hit him!" Kagome cried disbelievingly a few hours later. While the waiting maid had been dressing Sango that evening, the princess had let slip a few words of her encounter with Miroku earlier. Never one to miss one of Sango's "romantic endeavors"—which, by the way, typically ended painfully for the males in that situation—Kagome had stayed behind with her master for a few minutes to talk it out.

"Yeah, I hit him," Sango replied half-heartedly. It was often in Kagome's nature to force herself into situations that didn't necessarily concern her and, though it was apparent Sango didn't want to talk about the guard at the moment, this instance was no exception. "I mean, he was clearly hitting on Koharu; who was to say he wouldn't turn around and go after me next?"

"But you don't like Koharu," Kagome pointed out.

"But I don't like perverts more," Sango responded deftly.

Kagome cocked her head confusedly. "Why not?"

"Huh?"

"Why don't you like perverts?"

Sango shuddered. "Bad experience."

Kagome understood immediately. "Naraku?"

"Naraku," Sango replied, referring to the young prince she'd met three years ago who had attempted to make the girl do things that were rather unholy for someone her age. Recalling these memories, Sango looked away, hugging her chest. "It's just… yesterday, when I spoke with him, he seemed so nice and intelligent…"

"Wait a second," Kagome interrupted, waving her hands ridiculously as though that would shut Sango up. "I thought you told me yesterday that you didn't know him!"

"I lied," Sango stated passively, shrugging.

Kagome clapped her hands, a squeal escaping her upturned lips. "I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" After a brief victory dance, Kagome went on. "So you did meet him! And you liked him enough to ask me about him!"

Sango shook her head. "Not anymore, I don't. Not after what he did."

Kagome stopped bouncing to look at her friend. She just looked so… so lost. So helpless and hopeless at the same time. Kagome really didn't want to relay this information to her now, while she was in this condition, but… "Sango-sama?"

"What?"

"I… I asked Inu-Yasha today about Miroku, considering that they're both on the guard and all… turns out Miroku… well, apparently, every so often, he goes into a random village, drinks a pub dry, and flirts with every remotely good-looking woman he comes across."

Sango felt her head lower slowly to her knees, thus folding her entire body in half. "So he has a reputation," she said, her voice muffled against her nightgown.

Kagome nodded, though Sango couldn't see her. "Yup. But that's just what Inu-Yasha says…"

"He's probably right," Sango cut off, sitting back up again. She attempted a smile, though the end result was more than a little misshapen. "I'm going to bed, now." In response to the strange looks Kagome was giving her, Sango waved her hands in front of her face and said, "No, really, I am! I'm just tired, that's all! Tired!"

Kagome arched a brow as if to say, "Whatever you say" and wished her friend a good night as she made her way out of Sango's room. Sango herself crawled under her red sheets and closed her eyes. However, sleep did not claim her just yet. Instead, thoughts of that guard, that Miroku, washed over her for the second night in a row, leaving Sango with mixed feelings. Moments before, she had professed her hatred of him to Kagome, a hatred that was pure, and irritation that was true. Even still, the day before, when they'd spoken about 'the system'… his eyes were just so… so sincere. Sango could tell that he'd meant everything he had said simply by looking at them. So why the sudden turn around today? Sango wondered, clutching a pillow to her chest. She buried her face in it, trying to coax herself to sleep and ease all thoughts of him out of her head. Why do you care, anyway? So what if he didn't turn out as expected? You'll be married by this time next week; no need to worry about lecherous guards then. And with this reassurance, the princess fell into a dreamless sleep. Little did she know, however, that, somewhere on the palace grounds, a man was lying awake in bed, too, thinking about the princess just then and formulating a plan on how to run into her again.

End chapter.

Do I even need to say it? Se revisa, por favor! Bwhahahahaha! Spanish rules!