((raises hands in the air)) The SAT II God had mercy! (Thanks to SanMirLover for making me laugh at that!) Mwah, they were easy. ((smiles))

I apologize for the wait; not only was this chapter extremely difficult to write, but I actually got inspiration for Day Seven, and we all know what happens when Lucinda gets inspired to write something… sorry 'bout that. ((scratches back of head sheepishly)) But, hey, that means that the next part will come out even faster, ne? Ne? ((nudges))

But enough of my ramblings. You guys really are awesome. Considering that I'm fairly new to this site, I wasn't quite expecting so many reviews. But the overall response I've had with this fic… I couldn't be happier. Thanks to you all! ((bows)) Enjoy this chapter!

Day Six

A trumpeter blew his instrument as a purple carriage rolled onto the palace grounds. Sango knew that sitting inside of that chariot was Prince Naraku, her betrothed, as well as her greatest fear. The girl sat restlessly on her throne, adjusting the uncomfortable tiara perched upon her head, half angry at the irksome crown she had been forced to wear, half frightened of what would happen when she met her fiancée. Would he try to force himself on her again? Would he threaten her? Questions plagued the princess like flies do a horse in the summer, and, no matter how much she tried to swat them away, they never stopped bugging her, even for an instant.

After a few more tense minutes, the double doors at the opposite end of the throne room opened, first revealing scores of guards and nobles who had accompanied the young prince on his trip to King Ouji's monarchy before Naraku himself. The soon-to-be-sovereign looked nearly the same as he had three years ago; his long, black tresses fell messily out from his jeweled crown, framing his nauseatingly pale face, hanging down to just below his waist. He wore an exquisite purple cape similar to Sango's father's as a symbol of his wealth and social power, and the other dark clothes that he was dressed in hung on his body perfectly. In brief, for someone who had assaulted her a few years back, Sango thought he looked fairly good.

However, she hadn't taken into consideration one—or, rather, two—details; his eyes. They were an unnatural shade of red and pupil-less, glistening with a menacing, evil sheen. Those eyes made him look more demonic than human, made him look more vile than benevolent, made him look less satisfied and more… hungry. Yes. He was hungry, though the princess didn't know whether it was more power, land, or even Sango herself that he desired. Still, there was one thing she was aware of; those eyes scared the soul out of her.

The prince bowed before the throne in Sango's direction, smiling in a way that struck even more fear into her heart. "Greetings, King Ouji, Sango-san." He said her name in a similar way Miroku had yesterday, but, unlike the guard's gentle, good-humored voice, Naraku's was laced with an invisible venom, one that could easily kill a weak-willed human being, and that voice that made Sango fear him all the more. "It's so nice to see you both again after all of this time."

At this point, Naraku lifted his gaze to Sango's, and he smiled evilly, almost as though, at this moment, he was already considering what he was going to do with his new bride. Under the careful watch of her father, who, after yesterday's events, obviously distrusted her, the girl said, "Hello, Naraku-sama. I'm… glad that I've gotten the opportunity to see you again."

"Please, Sango-san," said the prince, "By the end of this week, we shall be married. You'll be seeing more than enough of me then." Sango winced at this reminder. "And you may call me 'Naraku'. I don't particularly care for honorifics."

The princess considered delving into her "I'm-the-princess-and-I-say-that-you're-Naraku-sama" speech, but she knew better than to do that, especially under the close vigilance of her father. "Alright, then. But, if that's the case, you're going to have to call me 'Sango'."

Naraku smiled again, causing chills to run down her spine. Bad ones. "But of course… Sango." The shivers only intensified after this. Perhaps he should call her something different instead…

"King Ouji?" Naraku prompted, sending Sango back to the real world.

The ruler smiled down at his future son-in-law. "Yes, Naraku?"

The prince looked keenly at Sango, that horrible leer still present on his visage. "If you don't mind, I'd like some alone time with your daughter. I require no more than, say, ten minutes of her time."

Sango opened her mouth to protest, but any argument she'd had time to formulate was immediately cut off by her father's voice. "Yes, please, spend as much time with her as you want! I don't mind in the least!"

He smirked again and walked up to Sango's throne, extending his hand, clearly trying to help her down from her seat. "Excellent." The princess, ignoring the hand, rose on her own and, unable to fight back under the expectant gaze of her father, followed Naraku out of the throne room and into an adjacent hallway. The prince shut the door to the room tightly, ensuring that not even a person with their ear against the door would be able to hear their conversation. Sango's soon-to-be-husband turned to her, still smiling dangerously. "So, Sango… how have you been in my absence?"

Sango resisted the urge to quirk an eyebrow. She certainly hadn't seen that coming. "Uh… fine, I suppose."

Naraku laced his fingers together, bringing them to his chin and resting his head on the hand-table he'd just made. "Good. How's the kingdom's economy doing?"

Once again, she had no clue how to respond. "It's good. Um… I think that iron's in high demand, so there's a lot of trade going on for that. And prices on lumber are rising, too…" What's he getting at, exactly? He certainly didn't pull me away from my father and the others for this useless discussion.

"Alright, then…" Naraku's eyes shone differently now. "How's your personal life?"

"I… uh…" Sango stammered before she stopped talking completely. What could she possibly say? While you were gone I met a guy who I made out with yesterday and now has been taken away from me forever, oh, and, by the way, I prefer him to you and never really liked you to begin with? She didn't think so. And, frankly, she didn't think he was expecting that, either. However, those eyes… they wanted her to talk, wanted her to spill everything against her better judgment. Nevertheless, she fought back, murmuring, "Fine."

"Fine?" he inquired, adding more and more poison to his voice. "Sango, we shall be wed soon enough; if we, as husband and wife, want to make our marriage strong, we'll have to be able to speak in sentences containing more than one word, now won't we? Let's start again; how's your personal life?"

Sango felt her arms cross and her head lower defensively. "It… it's going well, Naraku. There's absolutely nothing new to report."

Naraku's left brow raised a barely-measurable amount. "Are you sure? No new friends, acquaintances… lovers?"

Once that last word left his mouth, Sango involuntarily twitched as she relived yesterday's events. "Um… no. No, I don't think so." He can't know about him, not after only being here for so short a time. He just can't…

"Really?" The prince's voice shifted slightly as he dove deeper into Sango, getting ever closer to the secret that she was desperate to keep. "Then what's all this talk I've heard about you romancing a guard?"

Sango bit her lip and stepped back. He knows, she thought frantically. He's heard the rumors, and he knows. Oh, Kami-sama, how could this be happening? "Y… you're mistaken… I… I haven't…"

"Don't deny what you know to be true," the prince commanded sharply, his voice never losing that wicked tone. Sango looked up and saw that his eyes were narrowed, brows pointed downward angrily. At that moment he looked almost… cross. Like her father had last night. It was an expression Naraku barely wore, one that scared Sango nearly as much as his calm one. In the next instant, however, his face reverted back to its normal appearance, and he chuckled once. "You must understand, Sango, I've verified that information. In the past thirty minutes, I've asked seven of your servants whether you'd been caught with that guard. After a bit of prodding, they all told me the same thing, and the info that they've provided me with has led me to a solid conclusion; you, Sango, have been unfaithful to me."

Sango felt her legs move backwards until her back hit the door behind her. She stood, drenched in a cold sweat, that one thought still echoing in her mind; heknowsheknowsheknowsheknowsheknowsheknows… The prince took a few steps toward her until they were face to face. He picked up one of her arms, both of which had been hanging loosely at her sides, and wrapped his hand around her wrist in a painful grip. "Sango…" The girl flinched as he drew a rather sharp nail across the area below her palm, the motion just enough to break the skin. "In two days, you will belong to me, and, from then on, you shall do as I command. So, if I hear one more rumor about you running off with other men, you can be certain that I will demand of you something rather… horrifying."

Sango clenched her jaw as she felt a drop of blood slide down her arm from the wound Naraku had inflicted upon her. Through her gritted teeth, she managed to say, "You monster. You… you demon."

Naraku smiled yet again and tightened his grip on her wrist just a little, squeezing more blood out from the cut. "I may be a demon. But, in forty-eight hours, I'll be your demon." And, after he was sure that the pain that Sango was in had reached its climax, he let go of her, reentering the throne room moments later as though nothing had happened. The princess stood panting in the corridor for a few moments, clutching her wrist, feeling the vein underneath her hold throb in agony. With every beat of her racing heart, another drop of blood made its way out of the narrow slit Naraku had made in her wrist, and she traced every droplet with her eyes, watching the terrible miniature rivers they made. Nothing that had happened three years ago had ever frightened her as much as what he'd done to her now. He'd basically told her that she would be his possession, his to command and control. She'd be his puppet, be soulless, spineless, forced to perform and entertain against her will. She'd be easily manipulated, be punished without complaint, she…

…she'd live a hollow life.

Why, oh, why do I have to wed him? Sango silently lamented, close to tears for the second time in two days. Why can't he be more like Miroku?

In that instant, Sango forgot her pain, and she gasped as thoughts of that man, that wonderful man, wormed their way into her mind.

Miroku…

That was it.

He could very well be the answer…

In a moment of rekindled hope, Sango dashed down the hall, dropping her wrist at long last. There was someone she really needed to see right now.

The two guards on duty in the dungeon building were Ginta and Hakaku, both of whom were lying asleep just outside the edifice's entryway. Sango sighed as she sidestepped them and opened the door, letting a sliver of light into the dark room before her. She had no idea why those two were on the guard to begin with, seeing as they were lazy, had short attention spans, and were far too blithe for a job where seriousness was a requirement. Nonetheless, had they been more vigilant, they certainly wouldn't have allowed the princess to pass into the dungeons, and it was for their oblivion that Sango was, at that moment, thankful for.

Shutting the door behind her, Sango carefully made her way down the steps that led to the cells that housed prisoners, convicts, and wrong-doers alike. Seeing as this building was poorly-lighted, she walked slowly so she wouldn't fall and make a racket, one that just might awaken the two guards outside. However, the girl's trip down the stairs proved uneventful, and, grateful that there hadn't been any slip-ups on her part on the way, she traveled down the rest of the hallway, passing various cells on her journey.

Finally, after a few short minutes, Sango found herself outside of the cell she'd been seeking. Peering inside, she found a man leaning against a wall, his head lowered to his knees, which were drawn up to his chest. A tiny window lighted the room, making the man's purple eyes shimmer, even in the semi-darkness. "Kishi-sama!" she whispered as loudly as she could without drawing attention to herself.

The man looked up and smiled when he saw her face. "Sango…" Miroku stood and made his way toward the girl. Despite the fact that a door made of iron bars welded together separated the two, he was within touching distance, and Sango, as soon as he was close enough, interlaced her fingers with his, squeezing his hand tightly. Looking closer at his face, she saw that it was covered in a layer of dust, just like the walls of his cell, and that there were prominent red marks across the skin on his bare arms. He suddenly prompted, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you, of course!" she said, not even trying to hold back the smile that had been threatening to grace her lips since the moment she'd first decided to visit him. Finally, after the tumultuous events of that morning, she could seek solace in him. "Here, I brought you something…" Sango searched about a small bag she had brought along with her before producing something from its depths; an orange. Her gift to him made perfect sense; men such as him who were waiting to participate in "the system" were deprived of food and water until their chosen date. That explained why the days of their appointments in the stone arena were usually only two or three days after their accusation; if they were forced to wait a week or more to decide their fate, death of dehydration would claim them before a tiger could.

The guard's eyes widened subtly. "Sango, are you certain? If its peels are discovered in my cell, I could be in even deeper water…"

"It's alright, I promise," the princess said, thrusting the fruit into her lover's hands. "Besides, you're already going to participate in 'the system'; they can't make you go through that whole process again just because of a few orange peels."

Miroku nodded, seeing truth in Sango's words, and quickly began to unpeel the rough skin from the orange. "In that case, thank you." A brief paused ensued. "But, really, Sango, you shouldn't be here. I can only imagine how enraged your father must be as of now; if he were to have found out that you've seen me… that you've even fed me… I wouldn't want to be the reason for your troubles…"

"It's alright, kishi-sama," Sango assured, smiling faintly. However, that smile was soon replaced by a look of sorrow as she realized something. "Besides, why should I worry about getting in trouble when I'm the reason you're here to begin with?"

"Pardon?"

Sango shied away from his expectant gaze, unwilling to see his reaction to her confession. "I… yesterday, I told my father what happened between us, and… well, my words came out the wrong way, and he assumed that you forced yourself on me because of them… and that's when he decided that you…" She stopped talking. He knew the rest.

"Sango."

The girl looked up at her name and met with Miroku's smiling face. "You're forgiven. The reason I'm here… it's not your fault in the least." He stopped for a moment to shove an orange slice into his mouth. After swallowing, he continued, "What happened between us yesterday… nobody could put the responsibility of that onto either one of us. It's impossible to think that falling for another is a condemnable act, one that deserves punishment."

"But… I'm engaged!" Sango exclaimed, her voice rising both in pitch and volume.

Miroku nodded. "That may be true. However, because you didn't love him, one must consider if it was so wrong for you defy him."

Sango opened her mouth, shut it, and then opened it again. Once again, she was under his spell. His words were enough to make her see things his way, believe the things that he believed. However… "That doesn't make it any less wrong."

"Sango…" Once again, the girl looked up. Somehow, she felt compelled to behold him whenever he said her name like that. It sent a wonderful feeling through her, that voice, one that neither Naraku nor anybody else could. "Love is never wrong."

There was that word again. "Love". It was so powerful in its simplicity, and it gave its power to those deserving of it. But that brought up a frightening question; were Sango and Miroku worthy of it? "We're not."

"What?" he asked around another piece of orange.

For some reason, tears stung at her eyes yet again. "No… I'm not… I… Miroku…"

Sango gasped.

What had she just done?

Why did she do that?

Why, after six days, did she say his name for the first time now?

This thought just brought her tears out, and they spilled forth much like a warrior's blood from a battle wound. Sango let go of the guard's hand, and she ran back down the hall from whence she'd come. "I… I just don't deserve you!"

The girl continued to jog, despite the fact that Miroku called for her to come back. However, she couldn't go back; not now, not ever. Eventually, she reached the stairs and bolted up them in complete disregard of the amount of noise she was making. By now, Ginta and Hakaku were wide awake, but she ran by them so quickly, their weary eyes didn't have time to place a name to the mass of pink and brown dashing by them.

Sango ran in circles in the courtyard, trying to clear her head, before growing tired and slumping down by a tree, exhausted and out of breath. Why did I have to say his name? she wondered, letting the shade of the tree cool her off. I'm such an idiot; I know I'm never going to speak with him again, and yet I call him by his name anyway. Clutching her knees to her chest, Sango lay her head on them, finding herself in the same position Miroku had been in just a few minutes ago, letting her tears fall onto the pastel-colored fabric that was her dress. She sat in silence before realizing that the tree she was sitting under was the same one that she had spent so much time with Miroku at, and promptly scrambled away from it, trying to quell the memories of him that were resurfacing. However, they wouldn't stop coming. She couldn't forget them. He'd become such a big part of her in such a short time, she just couldn't let them go. But I have to, she thought. I know that, either way the system goes, there's no way I can have him. He'll belong to the tiger or the lady, not to me, not to the least deserving of all people…

But deserving or not, Sango knew, somewhere inside, that she just couldn't sit idling by while her lover was taken away from her forever. No. She needed to do something before his "system" tomorrow.

She needed to help Miroku.

Night fell soon enough, and Sango found herself in her bedroom that evening. Kagome had just finished undressing her superior and was about to leave until the princess called for her. "Kagome-chan, could I ask you something?"

The lesser of the two women smiled a little in order to help to brighten her friend's mood, which, recently, had been quite somber. "Of course. Ask away."

Sango hesitated before saying what she had to. "When is Inu-Yasha on duty tomorrow?"

Kagome put a thoughtful finger to her chin and tapped it for a moment, forehead wrinkling in deliberation. Eventually, though, her face brightened, seeing as she had found an answer. "Well, he'll be patrolling the tallest tower from sun-up to sunset. Immediately following that, he'll be guarding the arena right up until the end of Miroku's system…"

Sango gasped. That had been exactly what she'd wanted to hear. "Uh, tomorrow evening… where in the arena, exactly, will he be guarding?"

"There's a secret room somewhere inside of it," Kagome informed her. "In there are the openings to the two doorways; you know, the ones that hold the lady and the tiger?"

Sango nodded. "Can he take me there?"

"What?"

"Tomorrow. Can he take me to the secret room?"

Kagome paused for a moment. "I don't see why not… but, why? No one who isn't a guard or the lady or tiger is allowed there."

Sango stood, her face set with a determined look that was common to her father during a time of war. "He'll have to sneak me there," she said. Turning to Kagome, she declared, "Tomorrow, I'm finding out which door holds the lady and which the tiger… and I'll tell Miroku where they are… I don't know how, but… but I do know… I'm doing it for him!"

…and there you have it! End chapter. So, now that Sango's decided to help Miroku out, which door will she lead him to? Seeing as I use a LOT of foreshadowing in my work, let's see if you guys can't figure it out, hm?

I received a few questions this time around about my story so I'll try my best to answer them. To Brickwall847, no I won't leave you hanging like in the short story; the ending that I'll include is the one that the foreshadow points to the most. Once more, I'd love to see if you guys can guess the ending. There is, however, one clue that most of you seem to have missed that I thought should be rather apparent, especially if you've read Frank R. Stockton's piece before. But I've probably said too much! And as for your question, psquare… the title was conceived due to two factors; one, I wanted to do a play on the title of the work I drew my fic off of, and two… utter lack of inspiration. In that sense, you're over-analyzing things… but, at the same time, you have some really interesting ideas about what's going to occur at Miroku's "system"… and I should shut up now lest I let slip even more details about what's to come. ((buttons yap))

After reading my previous author's notes, I get the sense that it appears that I'm begging for reviews. Please don't take this the wrong way; I'd just love to hear you opinions on the chapter. Did you like it? Hate it? Think it strange? Please let me know, if you could. Wow, I'm talking a lot today, so, at long last… ((shuts up))