Disclaimer: Maybe if all Inuyasha fanfiction writers chipped in we would have enough to buy the rights. But, until we all collaborate on that, no Inuyasha for me.
A rush of wind across her face was the only confirmation of the punch that had narrowly missed her face; Sango was already twirling away from the errant blow, one leg high in a kick as she put her attacker on the defensive.
"Hah! You're going to have to be faster than that, Inuyasha!" the young agent taunted her partner as he easily deflected the kick. Sango slipped easily back into her fighting stance, keeping her securely balled fists at chest-height, ready for action.
"Ditto," the raven-haired young man replied, his blue eyes narrowing in concentration, though there were traces of amusement in his voice. For several moments the two merely stood, staring each other down, waiting for some sort of a break in the other's defenses.
"What's the matter, Inuyasha? Afraid of me?" she mocked good-naturedly, a playful grin lighting up her face.
"Keh!" he snorted his indignant response, leaping at her with a flurry of lightning-fast blows. Sango backpedaled carefully, efficiently deflecting the well-aimed punches and kicks. The other agent continued driving her back until finally, through some unspoken signal, the two stopped, both panting very slightly from the exertion of their extra-long practice.
Sango glanced at the clock on the far wall with mild surprise. "Oh! Geez, I'm late!"
"Where are you going?" the long-haired young man asked; though the question came out as somewhat snide, Sango had long ago grown used to the abrasive way Inuyasha went about – well – all things social.
"I took the rest of the afternoon off – it's Kohaku's birthday party, a family reunion thing," Sango replied cheerfully; the moment she mentioned her family she felt her smile increase a hare.
"Oh?" Inuyasha asked with seeming boredom; he didn't really have a family, so Sango's obsession with familial closeness had probably always struck him as a bit odd. She didn't mind though – he always seemed to take it in stride when she took time off for family matters, and today seemed to be no exception to the rule. Though he might whine and complain about the time off sometimes, he never actually made any constructive criticisms.
"Yup – should be fun!" she replied, wiping her face off with a towel, the grin still lighting up her features.
"Yeah, well, you should get it out of your system so you're ready to work on Monday, Taijiya," he replied with a bit of a sniff, though she could tell that he didn't mean it as haughtily as he said it.
The young woman couldn't help but to roll her eyes at her workaholic partner. "Whatever, Hanyou," she replied with mock solemnity and a playful 'tisk'. It wasn't that she didn't take work seriously – quite to the contrary, really – but when compared to Inuyasha Hanyou, who had practically nothing outside of his work in special-ops to occupy his time, she was quite the slacker indeed.
As it were, the two had been given something of a respite since they had captured the Jewel earlier this week. Though she found the lack of consumptive work rather relaxing, she knew the young man was simply itching out of his skin to do something. So, when Monday came, she had no doubt that Inuyasha would have somehow gotten them assigned to one case or another, and the agents would once again be haring off after some crime boss or another…
But Sango would worry about Monday when Monday came. Today, it was Kohaku's birthday, and all of her relatives would be there to celebrate it. So, after Sango took a quick shower to wash off the sweat from her workout, she quickly donned comfortable slacks and a light sweater and took off for the afternoon…
It was a brilliant spring day outside; the sun seemed to mirror Sango's mood, as it was bright and sparkling in the clear blue sky. The gentle breeze was slightly cool to one's skin, but it was refreshingly so; the temperature hovered at just the right spot that it was comfortable to wear long or short sleeves, and the warming rays of the sun seemed to perfectly complement the air.
The smile simply wouldn't leave Sango's face as she drove down the winding road through the heavily-forested countryside. She only had to drive a few minutes out of town before she found the road she was looking for; she turned down it and in seemingly no time at all, arrived at a small boat-dock.
"There she is! Sango is here!" screeched an aunt the very moment Sango stepped from her car door. The young agent felt her face flush with pleasant embarrassment as the woman gushingly proceeded to proclaim how wonderful her niece was looking…
"And you look so good! Doesn't she look good? Of course she does! And so fit! You are truly your father's daughter!" the woman continued. "But I can see your mother in your looks, most certainly –"
"Hey, gush on the island! I'm not holding the boat for you all day, woman!" her uncle shouted jestingly from the lakes edge, where he stood, waiting for them to board his fishing boat. Her aunt grumbled a little, but obligingly swept Sango with her to the boat, and in no time, the trio was making its way to the tiny island in the center of the lake, Sango apparently being the final relative to arrive…
Sango grinned happily as her aunt continued to gabber on about this and that; though nothing that she said was of particular importance, the young agent reveled in it anyway. Being surrounded by family was as comforting as the gentle waves that rocked the small boat to and fro while they traveled through the lake.
Finally, they arrived at the island, and Sango took in a deep breath. The air was scented with the gentle fragrance of blossoms.
'Kami, how I love that smell!' she thought with whole-hearted enthusiasm. Of course, while the smell in and of itself was pleasant, she knew that part of the reason she had come to be so fond of it was simply because of what it stood for to her.
So as to coincide with most of Sango's cousins birthdays, the spring reunion was typically held in early April, and as such, the trees were always exploding with blossoms at that time. The Taijiya clan was a close one, indeed, and they took every opportunity they could to get together. Since they all lived within about a 50 mile radius, they had get-togethers at least once per season – and, during the spring and summer seasons, and sometimes even in the autumn, they typically held the reunions here, on a quaint little island one of her uncles owned…
Apparently the little island in the center of the lake had come to hold significance to Sango's father and his many siblings, as they always stoutly insisted – even when the weather was less than permitting – to hold the reunions here. The island wasn't very big; it was probably scarcely a half mile in diameter at any given point. Half of it was roughly wooded with thick terrain, while the other half was open, complete with a comfy cabin with running water and all the other necessities.
Right on the corner of the wooded and cleared terrain, right at the edge of the pier where they docked the boats, there was a neat little patch of cherry trees. Oh, how Sango loved those cherry trees!
'How many memories are rooted there, in that little orchard?' she mused idly, her brown eyes latching on to the beckoning blossoms as she carefully stepped from the now-docked boat.
'Too many to count,' she finally decided. She remember when her mother had been alive, holding hands with her father as they walked through the trees, laughing as Sango and Kohaku had rough-housed in the shade. She remembered racing her brother among the bases, and climbing skillfully to the top to pluck a few of the ripe fruits as sweet trophies for her efforts, and then eagerly shimmying back down to triumphantly present them to her parents. She remembered cuddling idly with her mother and father beneath these trees while she watched the sun make its lazy path across the sky…
And, in later years, after her mother had died, she remembered gazing at the flower pedals strewn across the soft grass, trying to imagine the times when the family had been whole and happy beneath their shade. But, those melancholy years had passed, and once again, Sango felt happy and content here. There were no sad memories on this island; no, this was a place where she could always remember the good times.
And so, as she slowly worked her way through the maze of talkative and loving relatives, it was with a deliberate method and direction. Sango scarcely even stopped to talk to her father, who had apparently arrived earlier; instead, she resolutely made her way to the orchard…
With a content sigh, Sango drifted to the ground beneath one of the trees. She lounged against the narrow trunk, and with half-hooded brown eyes, she happily watched the busily-interacting Taijiya clan from a distance. 'This is how life is meant to be,' she nodded to herself. There wasn't a single thing in the entire world that could make this moment better –
"Hey, Sango."
Well, almost nothing.
Sango smiled fondly at her younger brother as he sank to the ground next to her. His chocolate eyes were filled with a kind of dreamy haze; 'I probably have the exact same look in my eyes,' she admittedly silently with a smirk. The two sat in companionable silence for a long while, both staring silently at there entire extended family. 'Yes… this is definitely how life is meant to be,' the young woman decided.
"What are you working on?" she asked curiously, taking note of the sketchbook and pencils she had given him earlier this week clutched tightly to his chest.
After a moment of hesitation, he haltingly replied, "Just – just something for the apartment." His freckled cheeks flushed slightly, and he averted his eyes.
"Might I see?" Sango prodded, a merry twinkle lighting her eyes as she took note of his blush.
"Well…" he shifted a little. "It's not finished. And it's not that great –"
"I'll give you your other birthday gift after you show me!" Sango encouraged, that wicked twinkle still dancing behind her gaze.
That seemed to do the trick. Kohaku smiled shyly at her. "Well – I guess there's no way I could possibly resist that!" Very carefully, he opened the portfolio and handed it to her…
She almost dropped it in shock.
"Kohaku –" the words escaped her, and the boy blushed even harder.
"It's not finished –" he tried to explain –
"Kohaku – no. It's – it's beautiful." Sango couldn't bring herself to look away at the stunning picture she held in her hands. Though it was true, the pencil marks were rough and sketchy, they only seemed to add to the character of the piece. The picture was from the point of view of lying beneath and looking up through the branches of one of the cherry trees, its branches alighted with flowering buds. The way the trunk and the size of the blossom clusters tapered with distance was beautiful, and the way the color was made to fade away with distance only made the piece even more suggestive of the real thing…
"Do you really like it?" Kohaku prompted shyly at her silence.
"I – love – it!" Sango whispered, shaking herself from the reminiscent reverie. "When father sees this – well – there's no question what your calling is, Kohaku. No question."
She didn't even realize she had grabbed him into an impromptu embrace until she felt the young boy pulling embarrassedly away. "It's not that good, Sango!" he defended, still blushing from the praise.
"Yes, it is!" the older girl insisted doggedly. "Come on, let's go show father –"
"Hey!" Before she had made her way completely to her feet, the younger boy grabbed her wrist, laughingly halting her. "Aren't you forgetting something?" When she only looked at him confusedly, he prompted, "My other birthday present?"
"Oh!" She grinned impishly. "Well, I know that you liked the fourth floor apartment that overlooked the park – the one that's just like a mile from home –" she explained in an apologetic tone, as if she were about to say why she wasn't able to make it happen…
But instead, she pulled a key from her pants pocket, the numbers '426' engraved clearly upon it. She dangled it triumphantly –
The only thing that eclipsed Sango's huge, cat-in-the-cream smile was the mirrored one on her brother's face. For one fleeting moment, everything in the universe was perfect – everything moved in beautiful, symphonious harmony –
But such things, it seems, are never permitted to last, and so that single moment of bliss was promptly shattered with the horrified shriek of a woman…
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