Chapter 21

Sango gasped as she woke up in complete darkness, shivering in the cold. She blinked several times, before confirming she was in a pitch black room, and that her eyes were indeed open.

She tried to move, to find her entire body emotionless. She could feel a curved stretch of cold rock pressed up against her exposed stomach, crushing her stomach, and aching back to a cold stone wall.

Her ankles were also secured to the floor, while her wrists were hung out and above her head. She couldn't move in the slightest.

Sango remembered the assault on the village, and being caught by Doragon, A dragon, and detachment from Naraku. He had caught her, knocked her unconscious, and brought her to his masters stronghold.

She had awakened the first time, to be dragged into a stone room, maybe the same one she was in now, but she didn't know for sure, and she had been hung up by her wrists, against a wall. She had felt a dagger pierce the back of her kimono, and rip through the fabric, exposing her back to the enemy. And then, suddenly, the torture had begun. For what felt like hours, someone she couldn't see had whipped her back, repeatedly and fiercely. With not the slightest show of remorse.

She'd blacked out at some point during the torture, to wake up here, half her clothes falling off her as she shivered in temperatures that could kill her eventually.

As she sat there, knowing she would die soon, it wasn't Kohaku who immediately jumped to mind, but Miroku. The lecherous monk who couldn't seem to keep his hands to him self, or his suggestive comments. And above all that, she couldn't convince herself anymore that she didn't care for him, or even love him. Because she did. 'And now, I'll never get to tell him. He'll never know' she felt a tear slid down her face, quickly followed by another. How had her life turned like this? Her brother missing, in the hands of the enemy, her best friend a women from the future, and her love a lecherous monk? And now, locked in a dungeon, with no chance of being rescued.

Suddenly, light flooded the room, from a doorway that opened to her left, she closed her eyes against it. 'And this is it, This is how I'll die... But if it has to be here, I'll die staring down my enemy, like a real warrior.' She thought, as she felt the unmistakable aura if Naraku enter the room. She opened her eyes to see the abomination in his human form, the hood of his baboon belt down, showing his smirk.

"Slayer," He called coldly. "Comfortable?" he laughed.

"What do you want from me?" She called out, amazed that her voice didn't shake.

He laughed again. "Do you not assume that I wish only to kill you?"

"If that's what you wanted, I'd be dead already." she replied. "Let me out of these restraints!" She demanded, getting frustrated at the fact that she had to continually look up at this filth.

He smirked, "Very wise, slayer, That's not all I want from you. You're bait, not only for Inuyasha, but the monk too. And, I have a few questions for you."

"What kind of questions?" She spat.

He smirked that evil smirk, that she swore she would hate for all eternity. "When is Inuyasha's human night?"

The exterminator gasped sharply. So that was his game! She laughed bitterly. "I won't tell you anything."

"Where does Kikyou's reincarnation go? There are periods of time where her presence just vanishes. Where is she?"

She again, shook her head, before saying more forcefully, with all the hatred she could muster, "I WON'T tell you anything!"

"What are Inuyasha's feelings for the reincarnation? Has she replaced Kikyou in his heart?"

"I WON'T TELL YOU ANYTHING!" She screeched, lifting her body as far away from the wall as she could, to propel her voice farther.

"Is that so?" He taunted skeptically.

Her response was to spit in his direction. It landed a few feet in front of him.

"Now, now! Is that any way for a woman to behave? What would the monk say if he saw that?" Naraku asked, hoping to gauge a reaction.

"He'd cheer me on." she said defiantly, knowing what he was trying to do.

He looked slightly angry, for the first time since he entered the room. And Sango smirked, seeing she was infact getting to him. Most of his prisoners most cower under his presence, especially after being whipped as she had.

He looked back at her, "I have a surprise for you." he said, then he looked over towards the doorway, before saying, "Come!" someone walked inside the door.

"I believe you two have met."

She gasped at seeing who was next to him. "Kohaku!" She cried.

"Yes, yes, now, I have a deal for you."

she hung her head as tears slid down her face. Her brother, who she had searched for for so long, was right in front of her, looking at her with emotionless eyes. And there was nothing she could do.

"Answer my questions, anything I ask, you tell me, and," She looked up to see him lay a hand over Kohakus shoulder, right where she knew the jewel shard, that was sustaining his life, was implanted in his body. " Your brother lives."

"No! You can't do this!" She cried out, all previous signs of bravery and defiance gone. How could she betray her brother? But then, how could she betray Inuyasha and the others?

"Now, I will ask you one more time, " He dug his nails into her brothers shoulder, making him wince slightly. " When is Inuyasha's human night?"

She looked up defiantly, tears streaming down her face, knowing she'd never be able to forgive herself for what she was about to say. "Forgive me."

"What was that?" Naraku asked almost smugly.

"I won't tell you ANYTHING!" She repeated, and then she closed her eyes and hung her head. Expecting to her the sickening sound of flesh being teared apart.

Her expectations where not in vane, suddenly Kohaku screamed out in pain, as she heard a sickening ripe, and slurp. Then the sound of a body landing heavily on the floor.

Tears continued to stream down her face, she knew she'd never forgive herself for what she had just done. She'd killed her brother, but she had saved many others, including her love, and her sister. And her friends.

Then, unexpectedly, she felt someone fiddling with her wrist cuffs, then her arms where dropped to her side, as the same set of hands started yanking at the metal that held her waist to the wall. She looked up at her releaser, and her hope plummeted when she saw the beautiful, yet deadly form of Kagura. The wind sorceress.

With a few more tugs, she was released from the wall, and pulled to her feet. then something large, and heavy was thrust into her arms, and Kagura's voice sounded in her ear. "Take him, and run. Don't come back until one week from tomorrow evening, which is Narakus human night, then you can defeat him."

Then she was pushed out a doorway, into blinding light, and she looked down to see an unscathed, and apparently sleeping Kohaku in her arms. She couldn't believe her eyes.

"Kohaku?" She whispered, as she shook him lightly, he just grumbled something, and rolled over in her arms.

Convinced that he was indeed alive, she turned right towards what looked like a staircase, and started pounding her way up it as fast she could. She was in good shape, but her back was still raw and bleeding from the beating, and her wrists hurt from being suspended, and the weight of Kohaku in her arms wasn't helping much.

When she reached the top of the stairs, she found sunlight streaming in through a drawbridge, that was conveniently down. She ran for it, and suddenly found herself in a meadow, with a large castle looming above her.

She ran into the surrounding forest, panic being the only thing keeping her going.

Finally, after what felt like hours, and probably was as the sun had gone down as she ran, she feel to her knees, and cried herself to sleep, just so grateful that she was alive.

Miroku had been traveling using Kirara for about a day now. The fire cat was very affective in tracing her mistresses scent. And they were going in a northern direction, and Miroku had already decided, that they where also heading for Narakus stronghold. Without Inuyasha! He must be insane.

'Insane, in love, what's the difference?' There was no telling how much longer Inuyasha would be gone. And all the while his Sango was at the mercy of the cold hearted, merciless fiend of Naraku. He couldn't, no, he wouldn't, let her die like that.

' and not without her knowing I love her. How could I have been so stupid as to not tell her after so long?' Yes, Miroku, the lecherous monk, who followed any women who was even remotely attractive, was crazy about the young demon slayer.

He sighed as he fingered the beads that concealed his cursed black-hole. 'you know why you haven't told her, because even if she did feel the same, you'd feel to guilty to tie her to a man who's domed to death.' Yes, that was it. And yet again, it all came back to Naraku. How could one man by responsible for everything bad that had ever happened in his life? Or the lives of the ones he cared about? Sango's life had been extraordinary before Naraku killed her family, and abducted her brother.

He shuddered. Kohaku was still out there. And they needed to find him.

He looked down at Kirara, and asked her a question. "Do you believe she's still alive?"

Kirara purred, and nodded her head vigorously. She had been alive when the trail was made. That was all they knew. Until they found her. If they found her.

Sango felt like she was floating. The sleep she was sleeping was that of severe exhaustion. Someone who had kept going far past what they could usually endure, and had only done so with the help of panic and adrenaline. She felt sick even as she sleep.

Then suddenly she was being shaken awake. And she opened her eyes to find violet eyes staring into her own, And several things happened in quick succession, she jumped back, frightened. Before she saw who they belonged to, and then she threw herself into the mans chest, and felt his arms encircle her back. She yelped and pulled back, as he applied pressure to her searing wound.

"What? What is it?" He cried desperately, Kirara by his side.

"It's nothing" She said, through clenched teeth, as the pain started to fade. "You just touched something delicate."

Miroku looked her over suspiciously. He had not even imagined finding her here, out in the open, and in the middle of the night. Her Kimono practically hanging off her in shreds. "Where?"

She sighed. Then her eyes grew large, "where's Kohaku? Is he alright?" She asked desperately.

"He's fine. He's sleeping. But how did you get away? How'd you get him?" the monk said impatiently. As Kirara transformed, and curled up in Sango's lap.

Sango strained to remember. "Naraku was going to kill him, right in front of me, and I looked away. I thought he had killed him, it sounded like it. And then suddenly, Kagura shows up, sets me free, and gives me Kohaku. Telling me to run, and to return on Naraku's human night. So I ran."

"Are you hurt?"

She looked up at him, and her eyes locked with his. The genuine concern in them melted her, she didn't really want to tell him. To hear the pity in his voice, or worst the disappointment that she hadn't been able to protect herself. But she felt herself turn none the less, and expose the raw flesh of her back, that was throbbing even more painfully after laying on it for hours. She heard his sharp intake of breath.

"Who did this?" He demanded. She for once heard actual anger in his voice, instead of the usual smugness she heard in battles.

"I didn't see," She replied, her back still to him. " I was held up against a wall, and they didn't say a word to me."

A tear escaped Mirokus eye, but he made no move to brush it away. The flesh on his loves back was horribly mangled, and he was surprised she was even able to hold onto consciousness. It must hurt like hell! And yet here she was, acting like it was no big deal. She suddenly turned around, and saw him crying.

"Miroku." She breathed quietly. Not daring to believe he was crying for her. He suddenly pulled her to his chest, being careful to not touch her back. For once he had no ulterior motive to hug her, but to comfort her.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you. I would have willingly gone through that if it meant that you didn't have too." He whispered in her ear.

Sango again felt her breath catch in her throat. She couldn't believe this! She pushed him back. "Don't do that!" She said.

"Do what?" He asked, slightly hurt by her actions.

"Say things you don't mean." She said sharply, staring up at the stars, as her brother and Kirara slept curled up beside her, and pulled her knees against her chest. Wincing slightly at the pain it shot through her back.

"What makes you think I don't mean it?" He asked softly. She rounded on him, fury evident in her facial features.

"Because! You don't do something like that for another person unless you love...that..." She trailed off, searching his shining violet eyes, for any hint of untruth.

He smiled, as he leaned forward to whisper softly in her ear, making chills go painfully through her body, "So?"

"Yo-you l-lo-love me?" She stuttered.

He nodded. She stared at him like he'd just told her everything she'd ever wanted was hers. Before she flung herself in his arms. then cried out in pain, as the movement jarred her back. "You swear?" She asked. Scarred this was just some painful hallucination.

"Forever."

She smiled, as she buried her face in his chest, feeling sleep desperately trying to claim her. "Me two."

He didn't quit know what that meant. But frankly, he didn't care. As he feel asleep with the one thing he'd dreamed of for what felt like eternity, wrapped up in his arms.

Chapter 21 guys and gals! And a freakin long one two! I hope you liked it, I know it's sad, but some things have to be done! This was just something I wanted to put in here. And I'm sorry, But I may venture a lot from the central topic. I'll try not too, but there's no guarantee. I think I might just tie up the entire series. I just love doing that with my long fics! Anyway, see you all next week! I can't promise another post before next weekend, but I'll try!

I got my first flame. At least, I think it's a flame. This person I found extremely rude, This particular person, I won't say who, because you know who you are, commented on chapter 9. And what I had Mrs.Higurashi say to her son. And If I may, I'd like to argue my point. Just because someone makes a lot of bad decisions, and I mean a lot, like Lue did, doesn't mean there incapable of love. He still loved Souta, but he hated Kagome for what she represented. So he treated her like shit, using her to satisfy his own lust. But Souta didn't know this, and he loved him. But now he says he changed his mind. The man is still his father, he was still there for Souta when he was born. Nothing will change that. I feel this way because of life experiences. I hated my dad after he beat up his girlfriend, but I forgave him eventually, because I already loved him. And I'd like for this particular person, who didn't log in, so I couldn't find it, to give there e-mail addressee, and to stop posting flames. It's rude, and that kind of thing can really ruin a writers reputation. I would appreciate an apology, but I don't believe I'll receive it. Thanx!

And for those of you who wished me luck, thank you! He's all mine now! We've been going out since Monday, and I couldn't be happier!

This chapter is also dedicated to those who lost there lives in Katrina's fury. And to those who lost there homes, there whole lives in fact, in a matter of days. God bless, and good luck to all those who did survive. (Note: All my chapters, and even this whole story, is dedicated to the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. )

I'm the all powerful Fu Fu!
Mwahahahaha!
(Sry, had the urge)

Disclaimer:
Why aren't they mine?
I wish they were
But I'll settle for terrorizing them
(Grin)