A/N: I didn't update yesterday, because I had a lot of editing to do for my manuscript. Yes, I AM working on a novel, and I have to submit it this week. Deadlines are going to be the death of me.
Anyway, here you go:
Chapter 11: A Soul Redeemed
"Inuyasha?" Kagome yawned, looking up at the dark sky. "Can we stop? It seems like we've been walking for hours."
An annoyed snort came from the hanyou. "Why?"
"Because I'm tired, baka!" She protested, grabbing his red haori to keep him from walking off and leaving her. "It's late, and I just want to go to bed!"
"Keh." He folded his arms inside of his haori. "You're the one that insisted we hurry up so you could go home." His amber eyes twinkled in mischief while he smirked.
Glaring at him, Kagome stated, "I didn't mean exhaust me to death! I can't keep up with your hanyou strength all the time! I have to sleep!"
Rolling his eyes, he shrugged. "Fine. Climb on my back if you want, you can sleep while I keep going."
"I'm not going to do that!" she snapped. "If you go as fast as you usually do, I'll fall off!"
Inuyasha's smirk grew wider. "You don't have to worry, with your weight on my back, I can't go nearly as fast as I usually do."
The hanyou took great satisfaction in seeing Kagome stare at him at his statement, and slowly grow madder and madder as flames seemed to sprout from the miko's eyes. Giving him a glare that could shatter glass, she said, in a low voice that was laced with the threat of the word, "Inuyasha…"
He only had a second to prepare himself before Kagome yelled, "Sit!"
And down Inuyasha went, falling flat on his face in the dirt, the wind being knocked out of him temporarily. Kagome stood above him, still fuming, expecting any second for Inuyasha's dirt streaked face to pop up, shouting a profanities at the top of his lungs for being sat, but she was disappointed. Inuyasha did look up, but instead of being furious, his eyes still held that mocking quality to them, and a smirk was once again in place.
Truthfully, Inuyasha had been aiming to get her this mad since the beginning of their fight. It would be the only way to get her to sit him. For the first time in his life, he actually wanted to kiss the dirt. Because if Kagome would get angry at him and sit him…that meant that she would actually start coming back.
Inuyasha had dared to hope, after what she said the day before, about why she had tried to kill herself. Was it possible that she still loved him? He had to find out. It would seem odd, trying to find this out by getting her to sit him, but knowing their relationship, it seemed just right.
And now, he looked up with her, his eyes softening as he smiled at this wonderful woman, who he loved with all his heart. Kagome…
She, however, didn't know what lay behind his smile. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she yelled. "What is so funny?"
Inuyasha said nothing, but kept smiling though her ravings, knowing one thing in his heart. She's going to come back…soon.
Soon, she'll be mine again.
Kohaku walked through the woods, his sickle in hand. He had come a long way, and had to keep going, not stopping for anything. It wasn't an option, not when he was this close.
Pushing aside a bush, he glimpsed through the trees and saw a sight that made his heart rise with joy at the end of the journey, but also plummet, feeling guilt he had known for so long. He was looking upon the village of youkai exterminators, close enough that he could see it, but still far enough away.
"Ane-ue…" murmured Kohaku, letting loose all the emotions in his heart.
The snap of a twig told him that someone was watching. He whirled around, grabbing his weapon, to face the unknown enemy. "Who are you?"
Several snake youkai floated from the woods. The largest, a green one that was obviously their leader, flicked his tongue. "Give us the shikon no tama, brat."
Kohaku's shikon fragment glowed for a second, responding to the one in the largest of the snake youkai. "The shikon shard…" He gasped as he realized, "Is it Naraku?"
"It doesn't matter who we're working for, you will give us the shikon fragment!" the snake snapped, lunging while Kohaku rolled to the side.
Throwing his chain-sickle, he yelled, "Never!" It only grazed the surface as he yanked it back, jumping once more when the other youkai lunged. He was led into a dance of attacking and then escaping a moment later, but the speed of the youkai was too much for him. He cried out in pain when their fangs grazed his arm, instantly digging a deep gash.
The green snake laughed. "Can't keep up with us, can you, boy? We'll be merciful and finish you off quickly!"
Kohaku threw his chain-sickle, one last time, but missed by inches, blinded by the blood flowing from his head into his eyes. He barely had any time to turn when the snakes attacked, sending him deep into pain as their fangs ripped through his skin.
He felt himself falling…falling…and his last thought was, Ane-ue…
"You come back here, Houshi-sama!" Sango yelled in fury, chasing the lecherous monk out of the gate of the exterminators village.
"But Sango, dearest, it was an accident!" he yelled back, amused.
Growling as she caught up, she shot back, "It's no accident when you touch me in the same place, twice!"
His lecherous grin wide on his face, Miroku began, "Sango, you were sitting there, so beautifully, that I couldn't help myself. I cannot deny how much your form compels me—"
He wasn't allowed to finish as Sango had caught up with him, and knocked him to the ground with a blow to the head. When the monk turned around, he was staring up at a furious youkai exterminator, who had enough of his lecherous antics.
Miroku couldn't have been happier.
Kneeling down, Sango began to start in. "I've told you a hundred times that it makes me uncomfortable, so stop it!"
Grinning, the monk replied, "But Sango, its only normal for a husband to touch his wife like this."
A fierce blush worked up her face as she stared at her fiancé, sputtering, "We're not married yet! We have to wait until—"
Miroku suddenly took her hand, pulling her close. "We don't have to wait that long Sango."
Knowing she was turning redder and redder, Sango stared, "But—"
He wouldn't let her cut in. "Sango, if you said yes, then I'd marry you right now, and I promise, you'd be the happiest bride in the world."
Sango felt herself blushing even deeper, trying to keep herself from trembling as her heart raced. "Houshi-sama…we…"
"The hard times with Inuyasha and Kagome had me thinking, Sango." Miroku continued. "Sango, we might die tomorrow. We both may never live to see the day we've always dreamed of with ourselves. What if I don't get to see us both live in our own little hut, raising babies and growing old together, happy? Maybe it would be best to give in, even an inch, just to know I've lived some of that dream, before I die."
The youkai exterminator didn't know what to say as Miroku said these things to her, though she knew what she wanted to reply. Her heart wanted her to throw herself in his arms, cry "Yes!" and be able to live with him, happily until the time came to fight Naraku. But she knew what was best, and she knew that what she wanted at that very moment.
She was about to reply when Miroku brushed some of her windswept brown hair out of her face, coming closer than he had ever dared before. Sango's heart raced as she noticed that his lips were so close to hers…and showing no sign of pulling away until they met with hers. "Sango…"
"Miroku! Sango!" Shippou cried, causing the couple to snap apart. The kitsune ran towards them, looking afraid.
Trying to calm her beating heart, Sango asked, "What is it, Shippou?"
He pointed towards the forest in the distance. "I was out looking for food and then I heard noises and—It's Kohaku!"
Forgetting about the previous scene, Sango gasped, "Kohaku!" and dashed off towards where Shippou was pointing, worried about her younger brother.
Kohaku's first coherent thought was that he ached all over. Stirring a little, he opened his eyes, to find himself in a rundown hut, bandaged, with his sister looking over him. "Ane-ue?" he asked, in a disbelieving voice.
Sango smiled down at her younger brother. "Kohaku, are you all right? We found you in the woods and took you here, to our village."
A small smile found his face. "Thank you, Ane-ue." He turned his head, and saw the monk he had met before and the kitsune sitting by the entrance, the light of sundown shining through. "Where's everyone else?" he asked.
"They're gone." Sango replied. "We're the only ones here." Nodding, Kohaku tried to sit up, aided by his sister. "Kohaku," she asked, when she saw how it pained him to sit up, "What happened?"
Clutching himself across the chest, where he had a particularly bad wound, he replied, "Ane-ue…it was Naraku. He sent youkai me for my shard."
"What did they look like, Kohaku?" This time it wasn't Sango that asked, but Miroku, who came and kneeled by his pallet.
Closing his eyes, as if he tried to remember, Kohaku answered, "They were like snakes…and they had a shikon fragment…They chased after me, but I can't remember what happened after they…"
"They aren't around anymore." Sango told him. "We didn't feel any youki around where we found you. Naraku may have given up."
His eyes turning suddenly hard, Kohaku yelled, "But what if he finds me here, Ane-ue! Naraku will do anything to get my shard! I don't want you getting hurt too!"
Sighing, Sango hugged her brother. "Kohaku, you have to stay here until you're better. We can't travel with you as weak as you are. And the village will keep us safe." She pulled away, smiling at him. "Remember when we were little, and that one centipede youkai attacked the village? We hid in Midoriko's cave. She'll keep us safe, if anything happens. And I'll keep you safe too, Kohaku. Nothing will happen to you again, I promise."
Looking away, he clenched his fists. "I can't stay here, Ane-ue…I can't stay in the same village where father is buried, not after what I—"
"Kohaku," She said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "It wasn't your fault for what happened. Father would want you happy and alive rather than feeling guilty for what happened. No one blames you, Kohaku. We just want to keep you safe."
Tears filled the twelve year old's eyes as he whimpered, "But I blame myself…"
Sango hugged him again, a tear of her own forming in her eye. "Kohaku…" Silently, she added, At least we know you're safe…
Miroku turned away from the tearful reunion of brother and sister, and back to Shippou. "Shippou, you're going to have to tell Inuyasha that we're going to have to stay in the village longer, because of Kohaku."
The kitsune stiffened. "Huh? Why me?"
Glancing back at Sango and Kohaku, the monk replied, "Because I need to stay here for Sango. You can take Kirara with you, in case anything should happen. Once you tell him, you can stay with them until we meet back up again."
"But…"
"Shippou, please just do it." Miroku sighed, not wanting to argue. "Just tell the impatient hanyou that we're sorry, but we're going to have to stay longer, and not to worry, all right?"
The kitsune knew the conversation was ended. Nodding, he turned and left the hut, leaving the three humans inside.
"Soon…" Naraku grinned as he watched the scene through Kanna's mirror. "So very soon…"
A/N: Well, I did say fluff was coming. Does it count if it was this little bit of Sango/Miroku fluff?
I might have to skip another day or two, so don't freak out if the edits are every two days for a week instead of the normal every other day.
