DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi / the television series are produced by Sunrise.
Heads up: This chapter is in the past, and it begins in Sesshōmaru's point of view, I wanted to try something different with this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy!
The daiyōkai sat in the regal chair behind his desk, it had been a long couple of days since the final battle of Naraku happened on his estate. He lost many good men in that fight and there would need to be several repairs to the buildings, though nothing would compare to the empty feeling he had in his chest ever since she had disappeared. These feelings of his were confusing him, the Lord of the West had never felt this way before. How could a little miko whom traveled with his brother bring these emotions to the surface of the Killing Perfection?
Why do I feel this way? She is just a mere human and yet, her absence is almost deafening. It is as if a candle light was blown out by the wind long before it's time.
Ever since she had been in his company, things seemed lighter, a little more bearable. She was a rare purity in a world full of monsters, desperately trying to help everyone around her. She would put herself in harms way to save someone else without a second thought, without hesitation. He came to realize he admired several of her traits, and reminisced about his father.
Was this what father felt when he would see that ningen onna, Izayoi? Is this why he sacrificed his life for her and the hanyō?
Through all of his adventures, he was content being alone, even if he had been accompanied by the green imp yōkai. When he had come across the young girl Rin, he was curious about her actions. She had not feared him unlike other ningens, as a child she wanted to help him even though he never responded to her actions. He is still unsure why he used tenseiga to revive her, but nevertheless he enjoyed her company.
The young girl was always a bundle of energy, always smiling and wanting to play. She was just as pure of heart as the miko who recently captured his interest. It was a shame that she disappeared just as suddenly as she had appeared. His first impressions of her were misguided, he believed that anyone who sided with the hanyō deserved the same fate as he. That because she was at his side, she was just as pathetic as he was. After their many encounters, he soon realized that the miko was most definitely a force to be reckoned with.
Suddenly, he found himself in the air with his yōkai cloud beneath his feet and the wind blowing his long, silvery tresses cascading behind him. Subconsciously he made the decision to venture back towards the clearing where the well had been. It wasn't the first time he had done this since she had vanished into thin air that day. The miko occupied his thoughts lately, and he had many questions for her that he wanted answers to right now. It wasn't long before his feet touched the blades of grass in the clearing, whispers of her scent still lingered in the area though there was no other sign she had even existed.
He subconsciously found himself here trying to find her, as if she would just reappear again like nothing happened. It was still a wonder to him how she had disappeared in the first place, one moment she was standing there after the battle and the next she was encircled by that bright lilac light and then she was gone. Part of him worried about her safety, and the other half of him battled against it because she was just a human. She should not be invoking these feelings from him, a demon lord who thought humans were pathetic.
It seemed that between the last time he had been there and his arrival now, the well had reappeared. His golden eyes scanned the surrounding area and he tried to feel for her aura, but found nothing other than her scent lingering in the area as faint as it had been since she left. He took a deep breath in, reminiscing in her scent before he picked up on another's coming close. His golden orbs narrowed dangerously as he turned towards the oncoming unwelcome guest. A flash of red and silvery white came popped out of the trees and bushes, daring to pathetically attempt an attack on the Killing Perfection. The attack was dodged with ease, and the daiyōkai perched himself on the outstretched branch of a nearby tree.
"What are you doing here punk? All you ever did was try to kill her you bastard! You don't care about humans, or anyone who is beneath you!" the hanyō sneered, still in battle stance.
The daiyōkai's eyes stayed narrowed, though his face was as stoic as ever, "Hnn. This Sesshōmaru does not have to explain himself to you hanyō. This Sesshōmaru has his own reasons, that is all you need to know. Why would you care about the miko anyways? Are you not still taken with the dead priestess? It is no secret that you still care for her, now that her reincarnation is no longer here why are you not by her side? After all, was it not your own words that the miko was just a shard finder?"
The hanyō's eyes hardened in a glare and he practically seethed with pent up anger. A snarl came out of the hanyō's throat as he lunged himself at the daiyōkai, claws extended from his fingers. His attacked missed, just as his first did, and in moments a golden whip was wrapped around his throat. The daiyōkai looked down upon the hanyō with a brief look of disgust on his face.
"This Sesshōmaru can smell the clay of the dead priestess all over you. The miko deserved more than you could ever be, half breed. Perhaps it is for the best that she is gone, perhaps she is in a better company than yours." with that, the daiyōkai called upon his yōkai cloud beneath his feet, allowing the golden whip to disappear from his hand as he took off.
The hanyō grumbled profanities, cursing the daiyōkai, even though a small part of him knew that what the daiyōkai said was true. He did not deserve the miko's love, though she gave it to him anyways, she had given him her everything when all he did was crawl back to the dead priestess. His heart had always been torn between the two, though the dead priestess was his first love. He had always known that the miko would be there for him, and maybe that is why it hurt so much to have her gone when he couldn't go back through the well. When he saw it reappear he had tried to jump through it to go see her, but he didn't go through it like he had before. He had still been in his time, in the middle of the field at the bottom of the well.
~~~~Miroku and Sango at Kaede's Village~~~~
The oni taiji, the monk and the oni taiji's brother stayed in the small hut that was the groups place to stay whenever they were in Kaede's village, where the oni taiji wept for the loss of her closest friend for months. The miko had become like a sister to her, and now she was gone. The oni taiji didn't know what to do anymore, their purpose of finding the jewel shards and disposing of Naraku was complete. She had avenged her family's deaths, helped make the lands a bit safer. But the feeling in her chest she couldn't explain was suffocating her, like she had lost a piece of herself.
The monk would hold the oni taiji, prepare food for her, and feed her, hoping to comfort her even in the slightest. He ceased his lecherous tendencies for the time being because he had never seen the oni taiji this distraught. It pained him to see the strong woman so vulnerable, and his heart ached every time she let out a body racking sob. Not even her two-tailed demon fox could help ease her pain, all the demon fox could do was curl up and let them rest on her fur in her enlarged form.
The younger brother of the oni taiji hated to see his sister in such a way, she had always been the stronger one between the two. She was always trying to protect him and make sure he was okay, and it seemed that no matter what he did he couldn't reciprocate even half of what she had done for him. He helped the monk with whatever was asked of him, trying to help make things easier for the trio so they could focus on his sister and her well being.
A few more months had passed, and slowly the oni taiji got better though she would never be whole again. She needed something to occupy her mind, so she would take her brother out to train him to become stronger. When they weren't training, she was helping Kaede with anything she needed around the village. She was starting to become herself again, though a part of her was still resigned.
One day she was sitting in the clearing where the well was, she would come out from time to time and sit and talk out loud as if the miko were there having a conversation with her. She was unaware that she had company, that the monk had followed her out there to see where she was going. She didn't hear him walk up behind her, didn't notice his presence one bit as she lost herself in a one sided conversation.
He placed a hand on her shoulder gently, taking a seat next to her before taking her hands in his, "Sango, I want you to hear my feelings. You don't need to say anything, so please just hear me out. You're not like the others Sango. You're a very special woman to me. Somehow..it's different with us. You see, Sango, I've never had such strong feelings for a woman as I do for you."
Her breath hitched in her throat, her chocolate brown eyes looking into his indigo blue ones as her cheeks flushed a bright cherry red. She was unsure how to respond, but it looked like he had more to say so she kept her mouth shut.
He continued, "Sango. Will you...will you do me the honor of becoming my wife and bearing my children?"
"Yes! Of course I will!" she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, her cheeks still a bright red from blushing.
His arms wrapped around her, one hand tangling in her hair as he tilted her head back and pressed his lips against hers in a fiery kiss. Part of him thought she would say no because of how he had acted in the past towards other women, but every fiber of his being was ecstatic that she said yes. He could not wait to settle in a home with her by his side and start their own little family. She was the only one he ever truly wanted to be with, and he hoped that this meant she felt the same way about him.
Their kiss was short lived as the monk pulled away, pressing his forehead against hers as he looked into her eyes. He had never been happier in his life than he was at this given moment, and he couldn't wait to make even more memories with the beautiful oni taiji. Pulling her to her feet, he interlaced his fingers with hers and they strolled out of the clearing and back through the woods towards Kaede's village to tell her brother of their engagement.
A/N: Woot! Chapter finished(: I know it's a bit of a weird chapter since it's mainly in the past, but I wanted to do something different and kind of show a bit of their lives in her absence. If you guys like it, let me know and I will do more chapters that focus a bit more on their lives in the past. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Thank you for being very patient with me guys! It does mean a lot to me. I love you guys!
