The True Holder of Shikon

Disclaimer - Don't own Inuyasha.

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Chapter 12 - Restored

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He made me weak... He gave me another weakness that he could use against me. I never would have hurt Houshi-sama if not for this fear.

Sango closed her eyes and sighed, taking her eyes from the item in her lap.

My emotions are a mess. If not for Sesshoumaru, no one would understand. Other than Kagome or Kaede-san...

She was locked in the shed, looking through old books for something. Her eyes caught one and she read the passage.

Yes! This is it!

She studied it for a while before taking her dagger and making a large gash on her arm. Then, wincing, she placed her other hand over the wound and closed her eyes. The shards in her forehead glittered in the dim light emitting from her hand. She normally was not a hasty person but she had to learn how to do this. When she looked down, she wiped away the blood and was pleased to see that no scar remained. But she still needed more practice before she could do anything as big as she wanted to do.

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Miroku had watched the door like a hawk ever since Sesshoumaru left. The Taiyoukai had come back but Sango had not. He was aware of a glare boring a hole into the back of his head.

I was not aware that simply touching her...would cause that reaction.

Inuyasha walked in and blinked, looking at his brother.

"How is she?"

"She is fine now. Let her have some time to herself." The sounds of cheerful playing broke the silence. Rin's giggles and Jaken's crying pleas for help sort of soothed everyone. Suddenly, a figure charged in. Sango fixed her eyes on her target and walked over to him, kneeling down in front of him.

"I think I have enough power left." Sesshoumaru stared at her. He had no idea what she was talking about. She took a look at him first then went to his left arm...or what was left of it. He just sat there, wondering what she was doing. He did not feel the need to question her. She could not harm him. With a determined look, she put one hand on each side of it.

I hope this works. Please, let this work...

Her hands emitted the same glow as before and her eyes closed. She bit her lip, trying to give out as much energy as she could. She did feel a little dizzy but she had to do this.

He was the only one to understand what I needed... He got there just in time...

The image flashed in her mind and the shards on her forehead burned with white fire. Suddenly, she fell forward, all of her powers spent. Gasps, both soft and audible, filled the room. She opened her eyes and stared up the Taiyoukai, blinking at the look of awe on his face. She then looked at his arm. He was flexing his fingers. He had his arm back.

"Sango..." Inuyasha breathed. She looked back at them and smiled faintly.

"He understood me. He did not say a word and kept me company. He did not touch me but was there. I had to repay my debt." She looked at Sesshoumaru one last time before falling unconscious.

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Sango opened her eyes and sat up, groaning and putting a hand to her forehead. She looked around the room to see a shadowed figure in the corner. He turned to her.

"Thank you." She smiled.

"You do not need to thank me. I had to do it." He then turned and left the room, informing the others that she had woken up. Miroku was the first one through the door.

"Sango!" He cried in relief. She smiled at him and lay back down, closing her eyes. "I am sorry for what I did. I meant nothing by it-"

"I know, Houshi-sama. It is just that I...felt that fear when you..." He sat down beside the futon she was laying on. "It is not that I do not trust you. It is just that...that feeling will not fade."

"I promise not to do it again, Sango. I swear I will never." She could see the panic in his eyes. She could see the fear. She felt guilt build up inside of her.

"Houshi-sama, calm down. I still just need time. Those images may never fade but I need time to sort my feelings out. Until then, just...be close."

"I will." He kissed the tips of his fingers and brushed them against her forehead. "See you when you are strong enough to get up." He left with a small smile on his face. She sighed.

He never acted that way toward me before...

She gently touched the spot on her forehead. Her mind drifted back to every single moment she had with the houshi.

Do I still love him? Have my feelings changed at all?

Suddenly, a ball of brown fluff mixed with cream-color fur slammed into her arms. She laughed lightly when she noticed little Shippou and Kirara. The two looked relieved and happy. Kirara's twin tails waved with excitement and her ruby eyes blinked in curiosity.

"Sango-chan! We were so worried!" She ruffled his hair.

"I just used all of my power. All I needed to do was rest." He gazed up at her in curiosity.

"How could you know how to restore his arm?"

"I didn't." He blinked. "I had to read about it and practice." She pointed to her arm. "I did it and that is all that matters." Then Inuyasha entered and shooed the two out. She smiled at him. He smiled back and sat down next to her. She knew almost instantly what he wanted to ask. "The reason I did it was because I am grateful to him for understanding my condition without question. I know not how or why he understands but he does." The hanyou nodded, appearing thoughtful.

"I wish I could understand. I know about your fear now. I know what Naraku did to you. I regret never having killed him. I wanted to. Maybe now more than ever. Sango, as soon as I saw you like that in Sesshoumaru's arm..." He trailed off, getting angry just thinking about it.

"It's all right, Inuyasha." She said calmly. "I will try my best to rid myself of this fear and also that unsanitary feeling. I told Houshi-sama not to be concerned by my actions. It is not that I do not trust any of you but..."

"The touches bring those memories to the surface." She nodded when he finished it for her.

"I know, deep down, that you would never harm me." He smiled slightly and lightly punched her arm.

"That's all that matters. Now, get yourself rested. Tomorrow is the only day left waiting for Kagome." She sat up and looked down, a small smile on her face.

"Do you think that you could give her an extra two days? I mean, she had to come home early last time, after only one night. It was because of me so...I want her to have them. That includes beating you senseless if you refuse." He sighed.

"I was thinkin' about it. It is nice and peaceful right now so I guess she can. I'll talk to her later." He waved over his shoulder as he left the room. She sighed and fell back, only to fall back into the swirling void of unconsciousness.

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Sango sat up, gasping for breath and looking around, startled. The only one in the room was Kaede, who was next to her and checking on the wound on her throat and the small puncture on her chest.

"Ye be awake now." The priestess smiled kindly. "Ye be havin' nightmares?" The taiji-ya nodded. "All be well now, child. Rest easy." She lifted her hand and brushed away the beads of perspiration pouring down her face. Kaede's words did not ease her mind but her body obeyed the command.

"Do not worry about these, Kaede-san. I will heal them." She lifted her hand to her throat and the white glow outlined her slender hand. When she pulled away, it was gone.

"Oh!" Then she did the same for the one on her chest.

"See? I am well. Really, Kaede-san." The dark suspicion in the priestess's eye did not fade away until Sango's sincerity for her words rang clear on her face.

"So, ye be well. Sesshoumaru be wishin' a word with ye soon."

"A word? Sesshoumaru?"

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One thing was, Sango was not expecting the words he threw at her. Upon entering the room and seeing her leaning against the wall, Sesshoumaru had lost his train of thought.

"I did not expect you to be up so soon." She glared at him.

"I am not that weak." He heard the edge of anger to her words and his lips twisted into a smirk. This only added insult to injury. "What is that face for?"

"Hmph, foolish mortal wench." She felt her resolve and previous feelings of neutrality for him slipping fast. "It should have taken you longer to restore your powers to yourself."

"Longer than a day in bed? Hardly!" She snapped; crossing her arms. He almost snorted but kept it back. All he needed was to hear a lecture about pissing the girl off. "What are you here for, anyway?"

"Humans need patience." He gracefully sat down against the wall on the other side of her.

"Youkai need impatience...then again, you seem to have a lot of that." Their previous relationship, unstable thought it was, was beginning to fade in the intense anger that they were spewing from their minds. He rolled his eyes.

"I am here to ask where you got the idea of helping my arm heal." He stated coldly. She blinked and her anger was forgotten. She pushed the blanket back and crawled over, lifting his sleeve and gazing at it.

"Look at that! Not a single scar." He noticed how proud she looked of her work. Then he noticed the mark on her throat from Naraku's dagger was no longer there. He made a gesture at it.

"When did you do that?"

"Last time I woke up." She replied; leaning back and sitting on her feet. "Kaede-san was inspecting them. Now that they are gone, hopefully it can help me forget."

"Doubtful." She nodded at his response.

"I doubt if I will ever truly forget." He let out a soft sigh.

"You never answered my inquiry." He stated. She frowned at him before remembering the question.

"I guess I thought that you wanted it back." She shrugged and then looked at his hand. "Even your markings came back..." She traced one of the maroon markings.

"Of course. You helped it along in the process of regenerative healing by lending your healing powers to it." He paused. She stared at him. "What?"

"Were you born with those?" He repressed his sudden urge to roll his eyes.

"Of course I was. Was Inuyasha born with his ears?" She gave him a level gaze.

"Are you mocking me?"

"Never." His voice was not very convincing.

"Sure." He smirked and stood up, leaving the room without a look back at her to see the smile on her face.

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Rin sat outside, waiting for Sango to come out. She had not seen the taiji-ya since she had passed out after giving Sesshoumaru his arm back. The little girl smiled. She was happy. Her lord had seemed whole and complete ever since...which was only yesterday. But she was happy, nonetheless.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" She queried when she noticed him walk out from the old lady, Kaede's, home. "How is Sango-chan? Is she well?"

"Yes, Rin." He said in his usual tone; hinting that she need not question it further. But, being her normal bubbly and inept self, she did it anyway. She knew she was being bold and insolent but she wanted to make certain.

"She is awake?" The girl's squeal nearly made him wince in pain because of the high pitch and loudness echoing in his head due to his sensitive hearing. Her insubordination always gave him an insufferable headache.

"Yes." He watched her leave, wishing he did not want to twitch. The girl gripped the pink and purple wildflowers, roots not included, in her small hands as she rushed in to see her friend.

"Sango-chan!" She cried in glee. "Sango-chan!" The taiji-ya looked up at the girl's calls and smiled when she got plowed into by a small powerful force. The little enigma that was Rin was hugging her legs in a strong yet feeble grip. "I was worried for you!" Sango smiled softly and bent to the little girl's level. She wrapped her arms around the small child in an attempt to ease her own pain of loss and also to assure Rin that she was fine.

"I was merely resting, Rin-chan." The little girl looked up at her with warm chestnut brown eyes, her small mouth stretching into a wide grin. Rin pulled away from her and held out the flowers.

"For you!" She said softly. Sango grinned back and took them.

"Thank you." She embraced Rin once again and tried not to think about her brother. "Thank you."

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Kagome completed her walk up the steps toward the shrine. She looked absolutely tired and miserable.

I can't believe I bombed that exam. Inuyasha will never give me more time to stay for help. I can't understand this in one day. No way.

She trudged into the house; the scent of ramen and tea tempting her senses.

Wait... Ramen?

She shed her shoes and backpack and went into the kitchen.

"Mom?" She questioned aloud; noticing the woman standing over the stove.

"Oh, Kagome! How was your day?" The teen felt absolutely floored. "Dear, are you all right?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I bombed an exam..." Kagome gripped the back of the chair tightly.

"Will you be able to get help?"

"I can't understand it in a day..."

"Well, then, do I have news for you! Come with me." She turned the stove off before putting all of the ramen into a big bowl. She then walked out and into the family room. Kagome saw Inuyasha sitting with Souta, his damp silver hair shimmering in the streams of sunlight that managed to come through the window. They were playing cards. "Inuyasha, your ramen is done." The hanyou tossed his cards down and grabbed the bowl hungrily. He then looked over at Kagome and smirked.

"Sango requested to give you some more time here. She said that it was because of her that you came back last time so she was going to get you those extra days even if she had to beat me senseless or something like that." At the mention of her best friend's name, the girl stared at him anxiously.

"How is she?"

"Oh, she's fine. She gave Sesshoumaru his arm back, y'know. She helped his healing along." He then swallowed his current mouthful of food.

"Is everything all right between her and Miroku?" He shrugged.

"The houshi is a little less...lecherous than he was before. He hasn't touched her since." She sighed. That was partially a good sign.

"I get to stay the rest of the week?" The hanyou nodded and she smiled. "Thank you for being generous." He looked up at her with narrowed eyes and a mouthful of ramen. He swallowed.

"Is that sarcasm?" She held herself back from sighing again.

"No." He gave her a suspicious glance but then got back to eating his ramen.

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That is all for this chapter. Woo! We've made it to 12! YAY!

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