Pact

"HIR –" Swirling, living darkness, everywhere…

"AI –" Permeated only by flashes of speed-obscured claws and teeth…

"KOT –" Even as her swing connected with flesh, it didn't seem to even begin to stave off their ranks…

"SU!" She was surrounded by an army of demons, and there was no escaping the whirlwind of scale and hide and all things unnatural that engulfed her…

It was, perhaps, the most terrifying and unnatural thing she had ever witnessed in her life. She had barely had any warning before they had been upon her; one moment, she had been entirely alone, frozen as she heard a distant but ominous rumbling like thunder – the next, the very sun had been blacked out from the sky.

For the first time in her entire life, Sango was battling completely alone. Without Kirara to guard her back, and without any trees close enough to put her back to, she was only too aware of her vulnerability.

Vaguely, she was aware of the fact that they were only taunting her. Though she felt her skin being raked by the occasional claw, she logically knew that she should have been dead the moment they had descended. Even so, the imminent assault left her battling instinctively for her life.

Demons materialized from the whirling vortex and came at her individually; repeatedly, Sango felt herself being bodily slammed into the ground time and again. Most of the blows she didn't even see coming – one moment she was trying to battle with one demon in front of her, the next she was struggling frantically to get her feet back under her…

Her mouth was filled with the coppery taste of blood and every muscle in her body seemed to scream its protest, yet still she struggled to fight her innumerable opponents…

'Not like this! Not now!'

Again, she slammed face first into the dirt; from the corner of her eyes she could see the shadow that had engulfed her dissipating as quickly as it had come upon her. Even as she saw it happening she realized something greater was coming into play – something wasn't quite right…

"Sango. It has been some time," a bemused voice greeted silkily from directly in front of her.

Slowly – very slowly – she looked up from her prone position in the dirt, and she found herself looking at a pair of feet barely an arm's length away. "Too long, Naraku!" she spat angrily in reply, leaping to her feet with renewed energy; the slayer crouched, hiraikotsu poised at the ready behind her.

The young lord merely chuckled in amusement. "Imagine my surprise, finding you here all alone, slayer. Everyone knows your kind is useless except in packs."

Sango bristled, a cold rage stirring deep within her, but she refused to let him play her so easily. It took all her will to keep from leaping at him in that very heartbeat… She wanted nothing more than to rip his heart from his body with her bare hands…

Instead, she spoke very carefully. "And still you refuse to face me alone until after the demons have driven me into the ground? Even though I am but one useless slayer?"

Naraku chuckled darkly. "I was merely letting my minions toy with you until I could get here myself, taijiya." His mahogany eyes were filled with glee. "Surely you didn't think you staved them off yourself?"

'His minions…' Slowly, the true impact of his words sank in; cold realization drained the color from her face… 'Dear gods…'

'When did he become this powerful?'

The insight was like a blow to the gut; whether it was from the shock or from the injuries she had sustained, Sango suddenly felt nauseous…

The arrogant lord was already continuing. "And to believe, I was certain it was a trap! But if it is, I think you should know your friends left you for dead beneath that wave of foes."

"There is no one here but me, Naraku!" Sango snarled angrily, her dark eyes glittering dangerously at her much-loathed enemy.

"Then you are a fool, taijiya. I grow weary of this conversation, however; now, I believe, I will take what I came for…"

The slayer leapt back from the sudden tendril that shot without warning from Naraku's extended hand. She managed to avoid being impaled by the root-like projection by mere inches; while still in the air, another whirred through the air at her – with a heavy arc of the hiraikotsu both extensions were severed.

Sango landed lithely on the ground and dropped into an immediate crouch, clutching her boomerang-bone and raising it in warning behind her back. "I wish to make a deal."

The words made her stomach churn. To make a deal with this unforgivable monster was unfathomable to her; and yet, she had to…

"Why would I make a deal with you when I can simply take what I want?" Naraku asked, his mahogany eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"You can try to take them from me, but I won't hesitate to jam the shards into my chest – and then, I imagine, I won't be so easy to kill," the slayer hissed in warning, hiraikotsu still held at the ready.

The demon frowned. "You were sworn to protect the jewel – you would never dare do such a thing," he concluded with his usual arrogant certainty.

Sango smiled, but the expression was lacking both mirth and sanity. "Thanks to you, my oaths mean nothing now. I have nothing left to lose, Naraku. Nothing."

"Why would I trust you, then?"

The taijiya took a deep breath.

'Speak only the truth – Naraku is the personification of dishonesty and lies. He will smell them upon you,' Kikyo's voice echoed warningly through her memories. What had been less than two days ago seemed like ages ago – she had been alive then, but now she was about to complete the betrayal, she knew she was already dead.

'Make it count, Sango,' she coached herself silently.

"You took everything from me – I am the walking dead, neither part of this world nor the next. The days blend into one another, no more purpose left. I have no reason left for which to wake up in the morning… Save for one…" Her voice dropped to a hoarse whisper; the tears in her eyes were not faked. "Kohaku."

Now, she met the eyes of her hated-enemy – the demon who had killed her entire family. The demon who had destroyed everything she had held dear; the demon who had taken her life. Her eyes seethed with hatred, and yet still pleading managed to find its way into her voice – and for that, she hated herself. "I wish to be with my brother. That is all I wish."

"To let a viper into my nest?" Naraku retorted coolly. "You still wish me dead; you cannot deceive me."

"You know I cannot kill you!" Her voice cracked as she shouted her angry accusation; her entire body shook with uncontainable loathing at finally having to admit the truth.

Sango couldn't kill Naraku. She might be able to combat him, to hurt him – but she did not have the power to kill him.

It was a bitter irony, really; that no matter what, she did not possess the spiritual powers necessary to scourge him from the world; that no matter what, she could never do the one thing that would validate her existence.

Naraku smiled.

Sango wanted nothing more than to dig her itching fingers into his flesh and tear that smile – and everything else – from his body, and she didn't hide it. She wore her hatred for him like a cape flagging in the wind.

'You cannot hide your burning desire to destroy him,' Kikyo had warned. 'Use it. If you try to hide it he will know your lie. Use it, taijiya! Use the truth to weave your deception.'

"So let us make a pact. Take me to my brother and I will give you the shards," Sango hissed through clenched teeth. "I am ready for this to end."

Naraku seemed only too pleased to oblige. With a flippant wave of his hand, she saw the shimmering of his falling shield, revealing his great castle in the distance…

I wish I had a reason
My flaws are open season
For this I gave up trying
One good time deserves my dying