Sango sat up with a start at the sound of someone's voice calling her name. She rubbed her sleep filled eyes with the back of her hand and looked around, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. The sun was barely visible above the horizon, and so it was hard for her to tell if she was only seeing shadows or if there was really someone there. The taijiya glanced down beside her, noticing that Rin hadn't moved a bit when she had sat up, and was grateful that the little girl, at least, would be able to get some rest.
She rose to her feet slowly, every fibre of her being aching in protest. The dried blood which caked her body made her feel disgusting, and she half heartedly wondered if there was a hot spring nearby in which she could clean herself up a bit. She also wondered whether Sesshoumaru was going to return or not...Gathering Hirakotsu from the ground, she turned and walked towards the forest. She needed to think, and she didn't want to wake Rin.
Before she had a chance to get very far, she saw them, running towards her. Her heart sank. The last person she wanted to see right now was Inuyasha, but there he was, Kagome clinging to his back and calling out to her in a panic. Sango didn't move, and her eyes lowered to the ground.
"Sango! You're alive!" the miko cried out, dropping from Inuyasha's shoulders and running to her, throwing her arms around the taijiya's neck before pulling back and eyeing her cautiously. The tore taijiya's garb, the dried blood..."Oh my God, Sango...what happened to you?"
She didn't get a chance to answer because right at that moment Inuyasha's hand closed tightly around her arm, causing her to yelp in pain and jerk back. But he didn't let go. "Sango, what the hell is wrong with you? You know we thought you were dead! Why did you run off like that, and why the hell did you end up here with Sesshoumaru instead of coming back to find us?" His eyes flashed with anger, and he stared at her, daring her to give him the wrong answer.
"I...Inuyasha..." she stammered, tears running down her cheeks. "You...you don't understand..." she whispered.
"You're damn right I don't understand! How could you..."
"Inuyasha! Sit!"
He hit the ground hard, nearly dragging the taijiya down with him. She lost her balance, and fell to her knees, sobbing. A low, angry growl escaped from the hanyou's throat. "Kagome! What did you do that for?"
"Inuyasha, stop being ignorant! Can't you see that you were only making things worse for Sango? You need to give her a chance to explain before you go off on her!" Kagome knelt down beside the taijiya, and pulled her into an embrace, whispering soothingly into the other woman's ear. "Shh...Sango, everything is alright now. Just tell us what happened."
Surprisingly, it didn't take long for her to recount the story of what she had been through in the past day. She kept her eyes on the ground the entire time, but gasps and cries of worry coming from Kagome and a shocked silence from Inuyasha told her all she needed to know without looking at their faces. When she was finished, she pulled her knees up to her chest and looked at them both. "I owe Sesshoumaru my life."
Almost as if on cue, the taiyoukai appeared out of nowhere, standing over the three of them and glaring at his half brother in anger. "You have no business here. Her life belongs to me now. Leave."
Inuyasha got to his feet, drawing Tessaiga from it's sheath in one movement. "Idiot! Why would she want to stay with a cold hearted bastard like you when she has friends? She belongs with us, not you!"
Sesshoumaru stood, silent and unmoving. Sango and Kagome quickly moved out from between the two brothers, waiting to see what would happen next. They both expected a fight, and neither was in any condition to do anything about it. They were helpless.
The hanyou didn't move. He was shocked at the fact that the taiyoukai hadn't yet drawn his weapon. "Heh, seems like you've gone soft. Normally, you'd have tried to take my head off more than a few times by now." He turned at looked at the two women who were standing several yards away. "Come on, let's get out of here."
A flash of metal and white silk moved through the air, and Inuyasha barely had a chance to bring Tessaiga up to block the blow before Sesshoumaru was on top of him, growling and snarling. "I will show you soft, foolish hanyou. How dare you challenge this Sesshoumaru?"
Metal clashed against metal loudly, a blur of red and white flashing against the dawn sky. Kagome cried out, her body shaking, clearly worried that this time Inuyasha had gone too far. The look on her friend's face caused Sango to become very angry, and the next thing she knew she was moving forward to stand between the two of them.
"Stop it, both of you, now! Dammit, hasn't there been enough bloodshed, enough pain and loss and death? Just stop fighting!"
Much to her surprise, the fight stopped just as quickly as it had started, and Inuyasha, Kagome and Sesshoumaru were all staring at her. She felt unbelievably uncomfortable, unsure of what to do next. Kagome moved to stand next to the hanyou, leaning her back against his body. Anger flashed over the taiyoukai's face, and Sango felt suddenly afraid. But she had started this, so she would finish it.
"I don't belong to anyone!" she screamed, clenching her fists at her sides. "I am my own person, and I make my own decisions! And I am choosing to stay here, with Sesshoumaru. I owe him that much for saving my life!"
Kagome gasped in shock. Inuyasha growled. A strange, pleased expression formed on Sesshoumaru's face. The taijiya stood tall, as if daring any of them to question her words and her choice.
It was Inuyasha who made the first move. Roughly, he grabbed Kagome by the wrist and threw her onto his back. She yelped, not taking her eyes off of Sango for a moment. "You're a fool, Sango. If you stay with him, you're only throwing your life away. But I'm tired of arguing with you. Don't come crying to me when my dear brother lets you down, because I'm through with you!" He turned suddenly and took off, leaving Sango to stare after them. She hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye to Kagome...
"A wise decision, taijiya," said Sesshoumaru, his golden orbs never once leaving her figure. He moved forward slightly and placed his hand on her arm. "Come. You need to rest. We will leave tonight after the sun has set and it is safe to travel."
She was in shock. Unable to speak. Unable to cry. All she could do was follow him, wondering what had come over her. Maybe Inuyasha was right. Maybe she was throwing her life away. But deep down, she knew she had made the right choice, if for no other reason than that she truly did owe her existence to the taiyoukai. Fighting by his side, serving him as best she could, was the only way she could think of to repay him for what he had done. One day, she hoped, perhaps her friends would understand.