Chapter 8: Surrender

Days passed. Weeks passed. Years passed. Forever had passed. It felt like being bounded on a tree, while subjected to an eternal sleep where he could do nothing but wait for the chosen one to free him.

Inuyasha shook his head. He was becoming a sentimental fool since he met this certain someone who had been invading his mind lately. In fact, it had only been a day since he last saw her. That was Friday, the night of the wedding of one of Kagome's friends. He was so sure she was the one who made the flower arrangements.

"Sango…" he whispered. "I have to go see her again!"

There was just something unsettling about her. Her presence was an object of familiarity to him but he could not place her anywhere in his memory. He had to find out or else he would lose his sanity.

Inuyasha grabbed his car keys and headed out in silence. If his mother somehow realized he went out, she would do anything to stop him from leaving. Within minutes he was at the City Plaza. His mother would really kill him if she found out he drove at the fast lane. It was fast approaching six in the evening, and shops would soon close. He raced toward the direction of the flower shop.

"You lookin' for the boss?" someone with a very girlish voice asked. It was Jakotsu, Sango's employee. "She's not here. She doesn't go to work during Saturdays. She teaches kickboxing at this all-female gym somewhere near her place. You might wanna go visit her at her home, cause she's probably home by now," the woman, er, man informed Inuyasha.

"Can I ask for her home address?"

Jakotsu snapped his fingers. "Gladly, my good man. Gladly!"

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Punch here; punch there! Kick here; kick there! It was always invigorating to release one's burdens through some kind of workout. For Sango, it was through kickboxing.

This time, it was not to unleash her life's sorrows into thin air. It was to erase the girlish emotions she had been feeling since Friday night. She thought she would never see him again. But he was there, sitting beside her, praying. She remembered the shocked yet soft gaze he had given her.

Sango touched her flushed cheeks. "Don't think about it, girl!" she muttered. She needed a distraction now!

And the distraction came.

She caught sight of an ambulance backing away from her home's driveway.

Kohaku!

"Miroku! Miroku!" she called out to her best friend as she passed by his house. "Miroku, come out here!" she yelled. Worry clearly written on her face. The ambulance had its sirens on as it drove past her. "Wait!" she called but it didn't adhere to her. Sango nearly tripped from her discarded bicycle as she ran inside the house. She didn't even notice a familiar white Toyota parked along the sidewalk. From the background were the frantic and worried calls of Miroku, whom Sango had summoned.

"Miss Kaede! Miss Kaede, what happened to Kohaku?" she yelled, tears already stinging her eyes.

What she saw completely tied her tongue, and her heart on hold.

"Ane-ue? Are you okay?" Kohaku's weakly voice asked his sister.

Sango snapped back. "An ambulance outside… Oh, Kohaku I thought something happened, and I panicked. So, I called out to Miroku and… You! What are you doing here?" she pointed a finger at the unexpected visitor.

Before Inuyasha could even answer, Miroku ran inside the house, tripped and fell on Sango. Both best friends were on their butts. Sango automatically bonked Miroku on the head.

"Hey!" he protested. "It wasn't my fault you made me nervous. Ow!" Sango hit him once more. "Why the second time?"

"I smell cigarette from your breath," she grumbled under her breath. Sango quickly stood up, and gave Inuyasha a sheepish smile. "Heh. Sorry for being rude. I really thought something happened to Kohaku. So I was panicking and," she was cut off by Miroku.

"Why, hello. I'm Miroku, Sango's best friend. Are you her suitor? Because if you are, then that would make you suitor number," he thought for a minute, counting his fingers. "Oh yes. Suitor number one."

Sango's face flustered. She nudged Miroku on the side. "Go home, monk!"

Miroku smiled shamefacedly. He knew when Sango referred to him as 'monk' it meant she was pissed off. "I didn't even get his name," he protested.

"Inuyasha," the visitor extended his hand to the other man.

"Now you know, go!" Sango gently pushed him out of the door. "Don't come back until you cleared the cigarette smell on your breath!" she told him, but with a smile indicating her appreciation. "Good night, Miroku," she called out.

Sango focused her attention back on Inuyasha. "What can I do for you?" she inquired. Sango could not think of a logical reason why Inuyasha would visit her at home. In the first place, how did he know where she lived?

"Jakotsu gave me your address. Hope that was okay with you?" he asked, as if he read her mind.

"Jakotsu? You came by the shop? Why?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Instinct. Just some sudden urge to visit a newly acquainted friend," he replied.

"He even brought two boxes of donuts," Kohaku interjected with glee. The boy was simply obsessed with the particular food. "I had the Maple Dip and the Chocolate Glaze for dinner," his bubbled with excitement.

Sango blinked as she listened to her brother. "For dinner, huh?"

"Oh, you're home late," Kaede appeared from the kitchen carrying a tray of food. "This young man had been waiting for you for an hour now," she handed Inuyasha a glass of iced tea. "Here, have another one. Kohaku, let's leave this two alone." Kohaku obediently followed Kaede.

"Bye Inuyasha. Hope to see you soon!"

"See ya, kid!" Inuyasha waved a hand. They watched Kohaku went upstairs along with Miss Kaede.

Sango turned her attention to the visitor, yet not knowing what to say to him. She was not the type to feel shy around the male gender, though she never really had any experience with them. There were only two males in Sango's life, Miroku and Kohaku; three if one considered Jakotsu as one!

"Have a seat," she offered upon noticing he was still standing. She sat down on the sofa across from where Inuyasha was seated. They remained silent for a few minutes with Inuyasha sipping slowly the iced tea, and Sango simply staring blankly into space.

But silence was never Inuyasha's forte. "Kohaku's one fine young man," he commented.

"He is," she nodded with pride. "How'd you know he simply adored donuts?"

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders. "Hunch. I love them so I figured I just bring what I love to eat."

Then, silence once more.

The rectangular centre table had become the object of attention for both. If looking at one thing for a long time could scar an object, the said table would have been torn to pieces by now.

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What was he thinking when he rang the bell at the Meiyo's residence?

Oh, right. He was thinking of her. He took a quick glance at the woman sitting about three feet away from him on the front porch. After a few minutes of silence inside the house, followed by more minutes of silence, Sango had suggested they go out for some fresh air.

It was a welcoming suggestion as the two silently gazed at setting summer sun.

"Okay, I surrender!" the young woman suddenly exclaimed out of nowhere. "It was me! I was the one who pulled your plug. It was an accident. I did not mean it. Who woulda thunk you'd wake up that instant! There. Happy now? You can call the police and turn me in."

Her hysterics were confusing him. Surrender? Pulled his plug? Accident? The police? "What the fuck are you talking about?" Inuyasha didn't even filter the words coming out of his mouth. When he was confused, he reverted to his rude, un-gentleman self.

Sango eyed him. "Isn't it why you're here? To make me feel guilty from what happened at the hospital?"

"Hospital? Is that where we first met? I don't remember," Inuyasha mused to himself.

From the looks of it, Inuyasha was as clueless as a bag of peas on what Sango was talking about.

In a way, it was really no big a deal. If one thought about it deeply, what had Sango done wrong? Yes, she 'accidentally' pulled his life plug off and his oxygen connection. He survived, didn't he? So what was she so guilty and worried about?

The truth was Sango was embarrassed to expose what she did at the hospital – the daily visits to his room. Think about it, what self-respecting woman would spend time alone with man, a stranger for that matter. Granted at the time Inuyasha was unconscious. But that was beside the point. Sango still did things she was embarrassed about.

"Yes, we met at the hospital," she admitted to him but left it at that. If he really wanted to know, he should find it out for himself.

Inuyasha snapped his fingers. "I knew it! That was why you were so familiar. There, I will sleep peacefully now. I always get so restless when some things boggle my mind."

"So, I'm mind-boggling?"

Inuyasha chose not to answer her question. He just gave her a smile, which prompted one on her lips as well. The two stayed there gazing at the sky, talking about random subjects as if they were old friends catching up on each other. If it wasn't for the phone call from Inuyasha's mother, he might have forgotten about going home.

"I guess… I gotta go. My mom's bugging me now," he said sheepishly as the two of them walked toward his car.

Sango extended her hand stiffly. "Good night," she said. Inuyasha shook her hands, and kissed her on the cheek with hesitation and a touch of awkwardness. Sango felt her cheeks reddened. "Uh… Take care. Drive safely," she almost whispered.

Funny how easy it was to form a friendship with a stranger.

A/N: thanks to those who kindly took the time to leave a review. Ch9 will be 'soon' uploaded. It also depends on the feedbacks I get. I may not be a 'review-addict' but it really helps if u just tell me what you think of the chapter and how the story was going.

Reviews help me write the story faster.

Also on a very faraway-note: is it just me or does Tezuka Kunimitsu (Prince of Tennis) is the spitting personality-image of Sesshoumaru? Hmm. I guess, it's just me.

next chapter: more Inuyasha-Sango interactions - a friendship forms