Disclaimer: There are many things I don't own. Billy Boyd is one of them. Dominic Monaghan is another. And Inuyasha is yet one more thing to add to that list. sigh
Author's Note: Sorry!! SORRY!
From now on, I'm going to update regularly. Every other Monday sound good to you guys? That way, I'll have two whole weekends in which to plan for updates.
I know this is really obnoxious and you must hate me for it, but I'm trying really.
On a lighter note, my friends threw me a surprise sweet sixteen this weekend! . Yay me! lol.
This chapter is short but I still like it. More soon, I PROMISE!
You know, I never thought this story would be more than five chapters. Hahaha.
Translations:
Konbanwa (kohn-bahn-wah): Good Evening
Chapter 10, Curtained Conclusions
Sango did not dare draw breath.
The snow fell heavily now, blanketing the surrounding world like a gauzy curtain. It was tossed and turned like a rodeo rider by the fierce winds. The air must have been bitingly cold, but Sango took no notice of it; her awe-filled eyes were trained to the battle unfolding before her. It had been going on for far too long now. In the back of her mind, Sango was beginning to realize that she might freeze to death before a conclusion was reached, but for the moment, anxiety allowed her to remain ignorant of her welfare.
Despite the obvious hindrance the weather created for her, Sango had tuned herself in to the battle. Every one of her senses was on edge, waiting, listening, and watching for anything that moved through the milky white haze. Now and again, a wraith-like figure would emerge from the curtain of snow, but it would soon disappear again. The clash of steel upon steel ripped through the air at often yet irregular intervals. Sango could assume that both combatants were having trouble finding one another, and that the battle was beginning to take a toll on each.
"Please" she whispered. "Please stop soon." The wind rushed past her, and mercilessly swallowed her plea.
--
Somewhere within the onslaught of white, Miroku stood tense and waiting. The hand that encompassed his shakujou twitched anxiously as his amethyst eyes studied his surroundings. "Where are you?!" he roared over the greedy wind, whirling around and raising his shakujou. The silver youkai had disappeared again, and Miroku was far too weary to seek him out.
"No need to shout, houshi," cooed a voice from behind, "I'm right here."
Miroku pivoted, but when he looked, there was no one there. He frowned and brought his shakujou into a defensive position.
Just then, Ginmaru burst from the curtain of snow, raising his steel arm over his head. Miroku leapt up to meet him, and as they converged, a shower of sparks exploded from their weapons. Miroku leapt away, and made a desperate swipe for Ginmaru's mid-drift. The youkai sniggered and twisted his body out of the way. Then, he lashed out with his clawed foot. Miroku saw the attack too late, and was sent hurtling back into the white haze.
His back hit the frozen road hard and all the air rushed from his lungs. He was momentarily stunned.
Before he could compose himself, Ginmaru slithered into his field of vision, smirking hideously. "Konbanwa, houshi," he said mockingly. Then, he prepared his blade arm, ready to bring the weapon down through Miroku's stomach.
The prince gasped and, just before the blade struck him, rolled out of the way. He cringed visibly as his strength had not yet fully returned. In that instant, Ginmaru changed the course of his arm, and sent the blade ripping through the vulnerable flesh of Miroku's back.
--
The scream that reached her ears caused her blood to run cold.
"Houshi-sama!" Sango cried, despair clutching her heart. Without a thought of her safety, Sango struggled to her feet and raced off in the direction of the scream.
--
Ginmaru looked up as a shadowy figure emerged through the snow. "Ah, Sango-san," he in a gentlemanly tone, "so good of you to join us. I was worried about having to find you in all this snow."
Deep satisfaction bubbled up inside him as the princess grew nearer and spotted the fallen prince. Horror filled her delicate face. "Houshi-sama," she breathed. Her tone was imploring. There was no answer from the stricken man. "Houshi-sama?"
"He won't answer you," Ginmaru said decisively, rubbing his bloodstained arm in the snow. "Can't you tell a dead man when you see one?" 'Certainly,' he thought, 'let her believe he is dead. It will make my business here so much easier. Indeed, I myself have yet to check if the man is truly deceased.'
He looked on with a gloating smile as Sango crumbled to her knees and extended her shaking hand to brush across Miroku's face. Somehow, seeing her in such a state of woe, he almost felt sorry for her.
'On second thought, maybe not,' he decided with a grin.
--
There was blackness all around him and it was bitterly cold. He knew where he was --he knew he was still in the road-- but he could not find the strength to open his eyes. He heard Ginmaru's gleeful laughter, but the wound on his back kept him from punching the bastard's head off. He could feel the shakujou, resting limply in his palm, but he couldn't wrap his fingers around it. It was like his mind was alive, yet his body had died.
Sango's approach came somewhat of a surprise to him, but he didn't need to hear Ginmaru's greeting to know it was she who had come. He heard her calling his name, and wanted so badly to answer, to assure her that everything would be all right, but he could not. He could only lie in the snow like a corpse, listening and feeling life go on around him.
Rage bite coldly at his innards as Ginmaru boasted of killing him. He most certainly was not dead, he decided. Or maybehe was? How could he be sure? Maybe this was what it was like to die. Maybe in death, your spirit inhabited an empty husk until it rotted away. He shivered mentally. Such a thought was too gruesome and pessimistic to bear.
Something heavy landed in the snow beside him. He struggled to open his eyes, to see what it was. And then, he heard a stifled sob.
'Sango?' he whispered into the blackness around him.
A gentle touch traced along his jawbone. It was warm, so warm. He wished so badly that it would stay just where it was.
--
Sango gasped as a strong hand encompassed hers. She blinked, clearing her eyes of tears, and looked down. It wasMiroku's hand! She gasped again and looked once more into the man's face. Two smiling amethyst orbs greeted her dark eyes. "Houshi-sama," she breathed, this time, her tone was filled with wonder and delight. "You're alive!"
"What?!" Ginmaru exploded, stepping closer, which he would later come to acknowledge as his single mistake.
Now fully awake, Miroku tightened his hold on the shakujou and twisted his body around. With the help of the weapon, he knocked Ginmaru clear of his feet. The lizard youkai hissed and hit the ground with a loud thud. With a little help from Sango, Miroku struggled to his feet. He stepped over to Ginmaru, and then crouched down beside him. He pressed the shakujou threateningly against his windpipe.
"Now," he said, devilishly. "You have some explaining to do."
Ginmaru smiled. "Well then, what would you like to know?"
"Who are you working for?!" Miroku demanded.
"Easy: Naraku," Ginmaru said with a shrug.
Sango gasped. "Naraku?!" she echoed, horror wracking her frame.
Miroku turned and looked at the girl in confusion. She had been unconscious when Naraku had announced his name; how could she identify with it? "The monster who attacked us in the ruins," he prompted her.
Sango focused on him now, her face pale with bewilderment. "What?! He was the one who attacked us?"
" Yare, yare!" Ginmaru laughed wickedly. "You know him, Sango-san?"
Sango bit her lip and said nothing.
Miroku shook his head and turned back to Ginmaru. There was a look of deep satisfaction on the lizard youkai's face. Out of the corner of his eye, Miroku spotted Kyoden's sword. It still anchored Ginmaru's tail to the road. "Why couldn't you take the sword out?" he asked, more to himself.
The smile that tugged at the corners of Ginmaru's lips was devilish and cool. "Another time, houshi, another time." With that, he vanished. Miroku, who had been leaning on the youkai, toppled forward and received a mouthful of snow.