Disclaimer: Inuyasha is property of its rightful owners. This story, however, belongs to me and will someday be published (if all goes according to my master plan for world domination, that is) with different names for my main characters. So, no stealing!

Author's Note: All I can say is that this was an extremely hard chapter to write. Despite how pointless this chapter may seem to you now, it is in fact very essential to the story line. As things begin to come together, I'm sensing an ending is nearby. But don't worry, it won't be too near.

I hope you guys enjoy the new (kind of) additions! ;-) More about them and what my thought process was on them in the next chapter. (But you'll have to read this chapter to find out what I'm talking about!)

And -by the way- I've finally been able to flesh out a cover for this story. It has yet to be colored and perfected, but email me if you're interested in seeing the artwork.

Thanks always for your wonderful, supportive reviews. They mean the world to me, really-)

Translations:

Damare (dah-mar-ray)- Stop

Haori (hay-or-ree)- A shirt worn over one's gi. Various characters wear them throughout the Inuyasha series. Inuyasha's red shit is one variation. There is also Kagura, though hers is much more elaborate. For the best image, you can look to Himura Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin. It's all he ever wears (along with his gi and hakama, of course)

Ichi, ni, san (ee-chee, nee, sahn)- One, two, three

Kunai (koo-nye)- A small knife used by ninjas. The structure is pretty simple, really. It's like a sharp peg with a finger ring at the end of the handle. I understand they use it in various martial arts as well. If you need an image, you can Google it pretty easily.

Chapter 14, Bandits and Monsters

"Wake up."

The harsh command shot through Sango's body like an electrical current. She jumped up, sweat covering her body. She had only been asleep for a few moments- she had been trying to keep watch for their captor all night- but now all her previous weariness was wiped away.

"Stand."

Immediately, Sango was on her shaking, weak knees.

"Be still."

Sango's legs stopped shaking. She turned to face the speaker, her heart beating wildly in her chest. She couldn't move. Even as she turned, she felt an alien force spinning her around. It was as if her free will had been eliminated.

She now faced a tall man in his late middle ages. His dark hair was pulled into a top knot. His haori was white and his hakama was deep blue with ornate silver dragons embroidered across it. He scrutinized her with golden eyes that she felt could see right through her soul. "State your name," he commanded.

Sango wanted to tell him that it was common courtesy to provide one's own name before asking for another's, but her lips and vocal cords had other plans. "Kawate Sango," she said. Her mahogany eyes widened.

The man smiled hideously. "As I thought."

There was movement behind Sango, and then a small gasp. Though she could not turn herself to see, Sango suspected that Scarlet had awoken. The man cocked an eyebrow and looked past Sango to where Scarlet was bound to the tree.

"You! Let her go!" Scarlet's voice snarled.

"Silence," the man ordered, his eyes narrowing.

Instantly, Sango's jaw snapped shut. She felt the hollowness of her voice box as her voice vanished. Tears welled up in her eyes. What was happening to her?

"You can't control me!" Scarlet said, her voice even louder than before. "You'll release her now, or I'll!"

The man's tongue flickered out and he licked his thin lips. Sango was terrified to discover the man's tongue was purple. "What will you do, Scarlet-sama? You're tied to that tree."

Scarlet squeaked, her voice lost in her rage.

The man turned again to Sango. "Speak," he said.

Sango had her voice back. Her jaw dropped. She couldn't form words quickly enough. Her voice was already coming out of her open mouth. A sound came out, something animalistic. She gasped at the noise. She said speedily, "Are you the one who pulled me out of the river? Where is Miroku? Why is Scarlet-san here? Where are we? Who are you? What are we doing here?"

She ran out of words to say and tried to stop, but her voice kept coming. It came out in garbled speech. Thinking fast, she began to recite a poem, her cheeks red with humiliation.

The man watched her with a smirk. "Silence, " he said at length.

Sango's lips sealed once again, her next word stillborn on her frozen tongue.

"My name is Ezakiya Ryudaisetsu. I am the dragon you saw flying over the mountains yesterday, and the one who caused the river to overflow and separate you from that impertinent houshi. That houshi- what did you call him? Oh yes, Miroku. Well, he's most likely at the bottom of the river bed at this moment."

Scarlet's heart fell to her toes. Dead? Miroku, dead? No, she screamed in her mind. No, it wasn't true. It couldn't be true. Miroku was alive and any minute now, he would come around the corner, his shakujou ready, his posture kingly, his objectiveto save her, of course.

The manor dragonor Ryudaisetsu was still talking. "Why Scarlet-sama is here does not concern you. At least, not yet. No" And for a moment, his golden eyes darted to where Sango thought Scarlet must be. They quickly found Sango's face again. "We're in the forest, not too far from the river. Right now, we're waiting for Naraku-sama to return."

Sango bristled at the name. Her stomach turned sharply. Behind her, Scarlet made a small sound of struggle and Sango could hear her fighting against the cords that bound her to the tree.

"And no, I am not the one who pulled you out of the river. You will meet them later, if Naraku doesn't have them killed first."

"Doesn't have who killed?" said a cocky voice from above.

Sango lifted her eyes to the speaker. Shock widened her mahogany orbs as she beheld him.

(-)

"Oi, are you going to sleep forever?"

A strong kick connected with Miroku's stomach, waking him and sending him spinning across the floor where he hit a wall. He was up immediately, Kyoden's sword at the ready. He hesitated when he saw the man before him. "You!"

It was the bandit that Miroku had fought when Sango had been captured. His hakama was in considerably worse shape, but this time he wore a dark haori over his gi. His face was still covered by the black shroud. "Me," he responded with a devilish smirk in his voice.

"What do you want? Why are we here?"

The man shrugged. "You tell me. After all, you're the one who collapsed on my sister's doorstep. You're the one who kept her children up all night with her screaming about some princess."

Miroku frowned, his amethyst eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Who are you?"

"Ah," the man said slowly. "Well it's not often that I show people my face. But since the boss said that it was ok" The man reached up, and removed the black shroud.

Miroku gasped. Across the man's eyes there was a huge, nasty-looking scar. Both eyes had been sealed shut, the damage beneath the pierced eyelids irreversible. He sheathed Kyoden's sword; he would not fight a blind man.

The man laughed bitterly. "It's an old wound. I got it when I was a young man during a battle at the Kawate castle. I was lucky that my sight was all I lost; not one of my companions survived."

"You're a samurai?"

"Correction: I was a samurai. But that life is past me now; once I lost my sight, they no longer had any use for me. I was thrown out of the army, and sent to live in shame. Since then, I have continued to sharpen my abilities in sword fighting. No matter what the army says, I lost my sight that day, not my sword."

"But who are you?"

The man smiled and moved over to lean on the back of a large tree. "Ah yes, I did leave out that detail, didn't I?" He crossed his arms over his chest. "Name's Chiba Jou. You can call me Jou."

"I'm Miroku."

Jou cocked an eyebrow. "Got a surname to go with that?"

Now Miroku smirked. "You can call me Miroku."

Jou smiled. "Fair enough, fair enough. Now that we've settled that level of informality, let's go do what we set out to."

"And what's that?" Miroku asked as he rose to his feet.

"Why, to save your princess of course."

(-)

"Ton!" Scarlet shrieked. "Ton, get out of here!"

Sango just kept staring at the boy standing on the tree branch. He looked back at her as though he had just won a great victory. He was wearing a faded blue yukata, his hair pulled in a messy topknot. He had no sandals or any other covering for his feet, but rather stood barefoot in the snow. His two black eyes sparkled laughingly.

The boy, who Sango supposed was named Ton, winked at Sango. Then, he threw himself off the branch. Sango's eyes filled with horror. There was no way he could survive a jump like that! He was at least halfway up the soaring birch.

But, the boy landed effortlessly on the ground. With him closer at hand, Sango could see that he was about twelve. He had a kunai clutched in each hand, and his eyes had changed from jovial to dangerous. He rose to his full height and examined Ryudaisetsu. "Let them go," he commanded.

Ryudaisetsu examined the boy for a moment, then broke out in laughter. "You dare challenge me? If I commanded you, you would stab yourself through the heart this instant."

"Not I," the boy vowed.

"Ton" Scarlet said, her voice faltering. Sango thought she heard tears in the woman's voice.

Ryudaisetsu smirked. "Very well -but only because I'm in such a good mood- I'll let you try and hit me three times. Then I'll kill you with three words."

Please, Sango pleaded mentally. Please, don't fight him. Because of his words, my body won't even move.

"Very well," Ton said. "Let's begin."

And then, he was gone. Sango gasped, her heart skipping a beat. He had just been there! Then, there was a blur of motion at Ryudaisetsu's left. The dragonthing lifted his left hand.

It closed around Ton's face. He thrust the boy away, and Ton hit a tree hard.

Ryudaisetsu turned to the boy, his face stoic. "Ichi."

Ton rose to his feet, determination carved on his youthful face. Her raised his kunai, fell into a half crouch, and disappeared again.

Ryudaisetsu's right arm flew out, catching Ton's blur of noise and color. The boy went flying into the bushes. When he reemerged a second later, there was a thin trickle of blood coming from his mouth.

"Ni," Ryudaisetsu informed him. Ton had one more chance.

Ton moved again, his speed unmatched. Sango caught sight of a sapling's branches bending, and then snow fell from the heights. The trees! she realized. He's in the trees!

A moment later, Ryudaisetsu took a step to his right, and Ton appeared in the spot he had been standing. Sango saw the streak of the kunai as it slashed the air, but she didn't see Ryudaisetsu's hand until Ton screamed in pain. Then, she saw that Ryudaisetsu's fingers were wrapped around Ton's wrist. The limb was twisted out of a shape.

Ryudaisetsu leaned in until his face was a hairbreadth's away from Ton's. A maniacal smile spread slowly across his face and his golden eyes brightened with bloodlust. "San."

He threw Ton away, and the boy landed heavily in the snow.

"NO!" Scarlet screamed. Sango could hear the wailing of the cords as she struggled against their hold. "No, he's only a boy! Take me instead! PLEASE!"

But Ryudaisetsu ignored her. He crossed to the boy, looking hungrily down at his still frame. "Cut," he commanded.

Immediately, Ton raised his good hand and brought the kunai he clutched within it across his chest. A deep wound formed, and the boy wailed, tears forming in his eyes.

Tears were already pouring down Sango's face. Stop him, she whispered mentally. Someone, please. Make him stop! She wanted to look away, but somehow, she couldn't.

"Break."

Ton reached down with shaking hands and pulled his leg to his chest. There, he gripped the skin until it turned white. There was a pause, and then a sickening crack sliced through the air. Sango's swallowed her vomit.

"DAMARE!" Scarlet screamed.

"Sta-"

Something whisked through the air, brushing past Sango's cheek, and landed in front of Ryudaisetsu. The dragon hissed and shrank away from it. Sango's heart leapt into her throat. It was Miroku's shakujou.

"Monster," accused a familiar yet venomous voice from behind Sango. She longed to whirl around, to run into Miroku's arms, to hold him, and hug him, and-

She stopped herself. What kinds of things was she thinking?

"Jou!" Miroku shouted. "Jou, they're here!"

A man exploded from the brush and darted across the clearing, as swift as a shadow retreating from the sun's rays. He was at Ton's side in a heartbeat, his arms collecting the whimpering child against his chest. "Ton" he whispered over and over. "It's alright, I'm here." Strangely enough, Sango could see that a black cloth covered the man's whole face.

Sango felt it as Miroku brushed past her. Her heart skipped a beat. She closed her eyes. She couldn't see him now; she was ashamed. Once again, she had failed to protect an important person.

"Houshi" Sango heard Scarlet whisper in disbelief. "Jou"

Miroku crossed the clearing, and Sango heard as he unsheathed Kyoden's sword. "Leave," he hissed.

Ryudaisetsu hissed, and then everything was silent.

Sango felt her free will come back in a rush, and she crumbled to her knees, exhaustion bubbling up inside of her. There were fast footfalls, and then she felt someone kneel in front of her.

"Sango"

The princess frowned. She wouldn't look at him, she told herself. But her heart was arguing otherwise. It told her she wanted nothing more than to see his face. She needed to know that he was truly alive

"Sango, won't you look at me?"

Later she would tell herself that it was the question that made her do it. After all, she had been following commands for a whole day. But for whatever reason, her heart won over her humiliation, and her eyes fluttered open.

As their eyes met and Sango once again beheld the stunning amethysts of Miroku's eyes, she knew that everything was going to be all right.

Please review! (I swear it makes me type faster)

Ichimu