Beseech

The forest nothing more than a blur as she sprinted; she tried not to make too much noise, but when it came down to it, she'd rather get where she was going in quickness over stealth. It was dangerous to be still for any length of time when carrying what she did, especially when she was a mere human traveling alone in the forest…

Well, mostly alone. Closely at her heels, the ever-faithful Kirara mewed as she tried to keep up with her mistress. The pair had flown for a long while, but once they had neared their destination Sango had known they'd have better chances of finding it while on foot in this heavy mist.

"I know it's here somewhere," she panted aloud, straining all her senses. She prayed that a demon didn't sense her and attack through the early morning mists; in this thick forest her hiraikotsu wouldn't be of a great use, especially with the damned fog shrouding everything. If she were attacked, she could only pray that she heard it coming…

The hairs on the back of her neck prickled, and the slayer was all-too-aware of the fact that if she were attacked, it was she and Kirara – and that was it. No one else was there watching her back; she was alone. Sango had never traveled and fought entirely alone, before – not since that single time she had gone after Inuyasha. Her entire life she had trained and fought with her taijiya companions; and then, she had joined the hanyou and his group…

The thought of the others caused her heart to stab with guilt and regret. Her mind flitted back to her companions, and Sango felt tears brimming in her eyes.


You don't need to bother
I don't need to be
I'll keep slipping farther
But once I'm gone
I'll never live down my deceit

"I'm sorry," she whispered, as if they could hear it; as if her apology made any difference. Even as she felt regret, she refused to change her course.

'It must be done.'

A sudden change in atmosphere and a low growl from Kirara was all the warning she had; abruptly, a lone priestess materialized from the shrouding mist directly in front of her, an arrow drawn taught to her bow, aimed precisely at Sango's heart. Though Kirara leapt between her mistress and her would-be assailant quickly, Sango barked at the creature to stand down. Confused, the small creature tentative looked from one woman to the other; the silence as the two stared at one another was tense.

"You," the priestess finally stated, mild surprise registering in her calm voice. Neither her expression nor her aim wavered; Kirara growled warningly.

Sango had skidded to a halt before the other woman, chagrined and surprised that she had happened upon the priestess so recklessly. "Kikyo," Sango replied breathlessly, feeling a rush of relief in spite of herself. She had been looking for Kikyo's shrine, but it seemed Kikyo had found her first.

The priestess's expression remained guarded and suspicious; her raven brows furrowed as she regarded the black-clad demon exterminator, pale brown eyes thoughtful. "You are the taijiya that travels with Inuyasha, are you not?" Kikyo finally queried.

"Hai, I am," the slayer nodded solemnly, forcing herself not to flinch as Kikyo's aim still did not waver from her heart.

The priestess was silent for a while, seemingly contemplating the simple reply; her gaze shifted until she was staring intently at something beneath Sango's slayer uniform. "I see you now carry jewel shards," she stated finally, answering Sango's earlier silent question.

Belatedly, the slayer remembered that the miko, like her reincarnation from the future, had the ability to see the shards of the jewel. Tentatively, the slayer nodded her affirmation, though she knew no such affirmation was necessary. It hadn't been a question, but rather an observation.

'So that's how she found me first; she probably has sensed the jewel shards coming for a while, just like Kagome would have…'

Another flush of guilt stabbed at Sango's heart at the thought of her best friend. Kagome had been so good to her, and yet here she was wearing the jewel shards she had stolen from her while she slept, seeking counsel from an icy woman who had once tried to kill her…

Sango had always prided herself in her fierce loyalty, and so this betrayal, no matter how good-intentioned it was, made her stomach churn bitterly.

'I'm sorry Kagome. I had no other choice,' she pleaded silently with her absent friend, hoping the young miko could understand and forgive eventually.

Slowly – very slowly – Kikyo's tight grip on the bow slackened. With agonizing deliberateness the dead woman lowered the aim of her weapon, pointing the tip harmless towards the ground; as if in subtle warning, Kikyo kept the arrow notched and at the ready. Sango breathed a tiny sigh of relief.

"What business do you have with me, taijiya?" the priestess before her demanded icily, though there was a hint of bemused curiosity in her voice.

At one time, Sango never would have knelt before this undead apparition of clay, this tragic priestess who had been brought back to life by the very man she despised more than any in this world, this woman who hated Kagome for taking her place in Inuyasha's life. But that time had passed, and so, swallowing her pride, Sango dropped to one knee on the forest floor. She bowed her head and spoke with quiet confidence, though there was a hint of something desperate in her tone.

"Lady Kikyo. I have come to beseech your assistance…" She took a deep breath, and her voice lowered, as if afraid the subject of her visit could be lurking in any shadow – which he very well could be. "… in destroying Naraku."

Kikyo stared incredulously at Sango, the pieces of the puzzle not quite fitting. "Why did you come to me, taijiya? Did you not say that you are a member of Inuyasha's travel party?"

"Hai, priestess. I am," Sango affirmed, ducking her head slightly in shame at the sudden realization that shone in Kikyo's eyes. "Or – I was…"

"You stole the jewels from her, didn't you?" She didn't say which 'her' she was referring to – she didn't have to.

"Hai. I did," the young warrior alleged guiltily, her hand instinctively covering the jewels she now wore around her neck, as if to hide her betrayal.

"Did you believe you could use them against him?" Kikyo asked, her voice dripping with mockery and scorn. "He already has most of the jewel – and if you believe that small collection will make any difference –"

"No. I had no intent to use them as a weapon," Sango interrupted hoarsely. "I intended to use them as bait."

Tense silence filled the air between them once again, but this time the miko looked thoughtfully at her unexpected visitor. Sango could only guess what she was thinking.

"Why did you come to me?" Kikyo finally drawled, expression still unreadable.

"Because I cannot defeat him alone," was her immediate contention.

"You have your comrades."

"Naraku is no fool; you and I both know this. He would never let us near him so long as we posed any threat to him. He is too cunning to allow Inuyasha near him."

"How does this concern me?" Kikyo drawled again, indifference reigning supreme over her composure.

"I cannot do it alone. I know that spiritual powers are needed to defeat him –"

"You have my reincarnation," the priestess retorted bitterly. Anger briefly lit her features but quickly was replaced with that mask of apathy.

"Kagome wouldn't help me." As if in declaration of her guilty feelings for the betrayal, Sango broke the challenging eye contact between them. Her voice dropped low as she concluded, "Not this time."

"And why would I?"

Now, Sango's deep brown eyes swirled with an inner flame as she re-captured the priestess's frothy ones. "Because you are just like me," she whispered earnestly, her voice electric with conviction. "He took everything from you, and then left you to linger just so your suffering might be prolonged."

To her dark pleasure, the words seemed to crack through Kikyo's impenetrable calm. Though she couldn't be entirely sure, Sango thought she saw emotions flickering across the priestess's features from across the shrouding mist. When the woman made no immediate response, the slayer mercilessly drove on.

"He didn't even let you rest in peace; he didn't even have the mercy to leave you dead." Sango's eyes narrowed in bitterness; she paused for a moment to let the impact of her words truly register before dropping her voice even lower. Her finale vibrated with conviction and rage. "Naraku is a monster. And the only way to stop him is to kill him."

Faint traces of emotion were still dancing in her eyes for several moments after the demon exterminator finished. For a few brief moments, the young slayer was certain that she had finally cracked through the dead woman's shell –

But, as always, that aloof cloak that made Kikyo like an observer to the world around her returned. She made a faint hissing sound of distaste and retorted, "And you think you can destroy him?"

Sango bowed her head; the darkest of brunette locks spilled over her shoulders and face from their tight constraint at the top of her head, shrouding her features so that the priestess might not see the tears of desperation and sadness in her eyes. "No, lady Kikyo. I know I cannot, not alone. But I believe that you can…" Sango's voice shrank to a certain if regret filled whisper. "And I will do anything."

Kikyo seemed to digest those words with care; slowly, a new dawning realization shone in her eyes as she came to her own conclusions. "And thus your comrades would not help you in this endeavor."

"I will do anything," Sango emphasized by way of reply.

Apparently not one to hold back her cynical observations, the priestess quickly made her snide retort. "Are you so eager to die, slayer?"

Sango's entire aura glittered with livid warning as she glared at the other woman. "My life is not too hefty a price to pay for those that will be saved. If I might be able rip him forever from this world through my forfeited life, I beg of you to help me make it so, priestess. I beseech you."

Once again, a tense and uncomfortable silence filled the void between them. The heavy mists wisped, obscuring one from the other as both contemplated the fervored speech.

Another heavy strand of fog drifted lazily by; once it had passed Sango saw the priestess had turned her back begun to pace away. The slayers heart surged with despair as her only chance at defeating Naraku nonchalantly dismissed her–

- until she heard Kikyo's quiet words. "I have something for you within the temple, and then you must go - quickly. You must be far away from here by the time he comes for you."