Disclaimer: I am but a poor college student. I once owned a pizza, but I ate it…
Claimer: More Punisher-Sango Style! madness just for you! Enjoy!
Sango took in a deep breath to fight down an increasing feeling of giddiness; she hugged her magenta mini-backpack to her chest tried to fight down the shivers of excitement coursing down her spine.
'I can't believe it. We did it… We really did it. Inuyasha and I got back the Shikon Jewel – we did something that the government has been trying to accomplish for over a year – and on our first assignment!'
A rueful smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she pranced down the walkway towards the house she shared with her family.
'With my family…' Sango cocked her head slightly to the side, momentarily pausing to stare at her long-time home. 'I could probably get my own place now; I'm sure Inuyasha and I will both be getting rewards for a job well done...' It wasn't like she wanted to get away from her family – she adored her father and brother more than anything – but, well – she was in her twenties now, and she realized that it was probably time to start at least giving the appearance of being independent. Doing such a spectacular job had assured her job security, and now, the future was looking very bright.
'Pah. It's not like getting my own place could keep me from being here most of the time,' she noted wryly to herself.
But, still – maybe –
'Maybe – maybe I could get a place, and Kohaku could stay with me...' She rolled the thought around in her mind, 'tasting' it as delicately as a wine connoisseur might sample a prized draught. Her smile increased just a fraction. 'And – I could help pay for his college, so he can study art.'
The more moments that passed with that thought in her head, the giddier she felt. Father wasn't particularly thrilled about Kohaku's interest in pursuing art – their father had, after all, been in special ops his entire life. When Sango had chosen to pursue the same career he had been overjoyed. It was becoming more apparent by the day, however, that Kohaku wasn't really meant for such a calling. The soft hearted, loving young man spent his days in gentler pursuits – sketching, painting, and practicing all things artistic, much to his gruff father's chagrin. It wasn't that their father didn't support him – but, in typical alpha male fashion, he tended to engross a lot of effort in trying to convince his son that he would much rather pursue something – well – different.
But if she could take her younger brother out of the house, there wouldn't be as much friction between the two while Kohaku pursued his personal dreams. He and Sango could live downtown – hell, they could even live in one of the apartment buildings right down the road! – close enough that they could visit their father on a daily basis, but far enough away that Kohaku could foster his interests without the good-intentioned interventions.
Her smile turned into a full-blown grin, and with giggles spilling from her lips, the slender young woman ran back to her car; she popped the trunk and immediately dove into the mess therein, digging through duffle bags of rumpled gym clothes until she found her quarry. When she finally emerged victoriously from her trunk-hunting, she was holding a brightly wrapped, text-book sized package in one hand. Though Kohaku's birthday wasn't for another week, she simply couldn't contain her excitement – she wanted to tell him her plans, and she could think of no better way…
Sango spun around, looking for something else –
'Ah. Flowers!'
Looking both ways before crossing, the young woman trotted across the suburban street. "Hey! Kagome!" she called, approaching her kneeling neighbor with a grin still on her lips.
The other girl looked up from her careful gardening with a bit of surprise at Sango's chipper voice. "Sango! Hi!" Cocking her head quizzically to one side, she noted cheerfully, "You seem happy."
"I had a really great day at work," Sango replied, all smiles; though her friend still looked mildly curious, the special-ops agent rushed on before any questions could be asked. "Do you mind if I pick a few flowers?"
Kagome's eyes lit up with a mischievous sparkle; with a knowing wink, she teased her long-time friend in a mock-condescending tone. "Only if they're for a boy, Sango!"
A light shade of pink accentuated the older girl's face; she toed the dirt of the garden, her steel toed oxfords leaving small ruts in the earth. With some chagrin, she replied. "For my brother – does that count?"
The black haired young woman shook the garden trowel threateningly at her blushing friend. "Honestly, Sango! I'm going to hook you up with a doctor one of these days, and you aren't going to be able to feed me any 'working odd hours' excuse –"
Quickly selecting a spontaneous little bouquet, the brunette made a quick escape from the ranting Kagome. "Thank you for the flowers, Kagome – I don't know what I'd do without you!" she called back at her well-intentioned best-friend…
" – I mean, I work odd hours too, but I still manage to – you're welcome!" the young girl shouted at her retreating friend. Sango waved the bouquet back at the girl before disappearing into her house, looking for her father or her brother – whichever she found first…
As luck would have it, it was the former.
She knew she wasn't really supposed to tell him everything about work – but the moment she saw him, she knew she couldn't keep it a secret from him. She latched on to him, eagerly confessing everything – about her mission and it's resounding success – about Inuyasha, about Onigumo, about the Shikon Jewel–
Her father stood and listened as calmly as if he had been reading the newspaper; in point of fact, if it weren't for the occasional flashes of pride, love, and concern she saw flicker across his face, she might have been worried that he wasn't listening. But he was listening – and she knew she could trust him. From the bottom of her heart she wanted him to know everything. She loved her father, and to be anything short of truthful to him would break her heart – she had always shared her life with him, and she always wanted to…
And so, without thinking, she blurted…
"I think that now that my job is secure, I could get an apartment, and Kohaku could live with me. We could get it right at that complex down the street, even – we would visit you all the time, father – because… well, I mean, I know that you love Kohaku, but you keep pushing him to be something he's not! And I could help pay for his college, and he could study art like he wants, and –"
The torrent of words stopped dead in her throat when she realized what she had just inadvertently confessed.
'Uh. I probably shouldn't have said… that…'
Funny, that she could tell him 'vital' secrets, and she could tell him about her near-death experience, she could tell him about everything – and yet the single moment the confessions went too far was when she had so nonchalantly spoke about breaking up their family. 'I should have talked to him about it first. I shouldn't have just blurted it out like that…'
The young woman blanched as her father stared, silently regarding her with a curious expression on his face. He seemed to be just digesting her words – at first, she expected him to shout at her, or frown disapprovingly, or deny what she had said…
But instead, he said the very last thing she could have possibly expected; in a quiet, thoughtful tone, he made his reply. "I think that is a good idea, Sango."
'He – thinks – it's – wait? What?' She had misheard him. She must have misheard him…
With some embarrassment, she realized that her jaw was hanging open; as it were, she felt as if someone had hit her in the back of the head with a board. "You mean – we – we really can?" Sango whispered, feeling tears of joy prickling behind her eyes. Of course, she hadn't exactly expected her father to say that they couldn't –
But nor had she expected him to so readily accept the idea.
"You're a responsible young woman, Sango – you're wise beyond your years." Now, he smiled broadly and stepped forward to take his daughter into his arms. The young woman was easily enveloped in her father's strong embrace, and she felt the tears trickling down her cheeks. "What you say is true. I am pushing him towards something I want for him – not something he wants for himself. You are very mature to see this." He squeezed her again, warmly. "And you have proposed a mutually satisfying agreement."
"You mean – you mean you wouldn't be too lonely? That you'd be ok being here – alone?"
Strong hands pushed her back to arms length, and her father ruffled her bangs lovingly; Sango blushed fiercely at the rare display of affection. "I don't believe the two of you would ever leave me alone." He smiled fondly at her, patting her on the head. "And besides, with this arrangement, you two won't be keeping me up late at night with that horrible rock music!"
For moments on end, Sango merely stood rooted in place, staring at her father. 'He trusts us. He loves us. He said it's ok.' Unbridled excitement fluttered in her chest. 'Kohaku and I… we're…'
"You just make sure to each come back at least once a day, do you understand?" She nodded eagerly, and her father just smiled. The silence between them stretched, until finally, he laughed, making a shooing motion at her. "Well don't just stand there, Sango! Aren't you going to go tell your brother the good news?"
Not needing any further encouragement, the brunette spun on her heel and took off at a sprint up the stairs – she didn't slow her pace until she came to a skidding halt at his doorframe. "Kohaku!" she called, breathless with excitement.
Her brother looked up with distress from where he had been lounging across his bed, reading a book. "Sango – is something wrong? –"
"I have an early birthday gift for you!" she said by way of explanation; the boy looked even more confused as she shoved the brightly-wrapped package into his hands.
"Um –"
"Open it!" Sango demanded, her expressive brown eyes sparkling with excitement. If he noticed her holding one hand behind her back, he didn't say anything. Instead, he shrugged a little, and tore the paper off the early gift…
His eyes widened as he withheld what had been contained within - a beautiful set of prismacolored pencils with a large, leather bound sketchbook. The young boy's brown eyes shifted from the gifts, to his sister, and back again. "Thank you, Sango…" he whispered, stroking the binding of the leather portfolio with awe. "They're just like what the professionals use…"
"I also brought you these!" Sango continued brightly, now revealing the makeshift little bouquet of flowers that she had been keeping behind her back. Though nothing spectacular, they were pretty in a charming 'home garden' kind of way, and the bright colors seemed to fit the occasion just perfectly. She jutted the flowers at him until he he numbly took them from her fingers.
"But – why?" he managed, now thoroughly confused.
"I was hoping that maybe you could sketch them," Sango offered slyly; a self-satisfied smile lit up her face. When he only continued to look confused, she finished... "You know – so we can put it up in our apartment."
Kohaku blinked very carefully at his older sister. "Our… apartment?" he whispered unbelievingly.
Sango grinned and nodded so emphatically she was afraid she might hurt her neck. "We could start looking tomorrow, if you'd like?" she offered, her voice uneven from the exuberant emotions dancing gaily through her insides.
"Our – our apartment…?" And finally, the words seemed to sink in; a torrent of emotions flickered across his dark brown eyes – and with no further warning, the teenager flung himself against his older sister, capturing her in an embrace so tight she was afraid he might crack a rib. "OUR APARTMENT!" he shrieked in joy. The two skipped and giggled insanely for what seemed like a small eternity; when the teenage boy had finally calmed himself, Sango pushed him away to arms length and gave him as serious a look as she could muster…
"I think you should get to work on those sketches, Kohaku. I want you to be the best when college starts next fall." Though she was pretty sure she had managed to keep her face in the semblance of a rigorous task-master, her sparkling eyes undoubtedly gave away the true levity of the situation.
"College – for – art?" His voice cracked; his face was lit with inexplicable hope, as if he couldn't quite bring himself to believe this waking dream. "Father is – he's really going to let me – do art?"
Sango's heart fluttered so wildly that she was afraid she might die of happiness. "Yes, Kohaku. Yes!"
In that moment, nothing could have stolen her bliss. The world was going her way, and life was looking up – way up. The future was a bright one, indeed, and Sango couldn't wait for tomorrow…
Oh my. I'm tearing up. Are you? Wait, I can't hear you – maybe you should click on that submit review button… If you want more, you would! pokes you with a stick