Rated M for bad language and poor fight scenes.

Chapter 3 :: Shades

Sango grabbed the small stairway on the side and slid down into the hole. It was well lit, and she was met by a bunch of smiling female faces. They all seemed to be looking her over in wonder, commenting on her wardrobe, her face, her hair—and then Raina came down, her blonde locks bouncing with happiness.

Raina clapped her hands together, whisking her arm across Sango's shoulder and pulling her in close. "We have a show to do, ladies! Let's get into costume!" She shoved her hands in the air as the other girls squealed in delight.

Sango's head was spinning. There were gunshots downstairs, she was sure of it. People came into her room and told her so, but they were preparing for a show. The young girl sat down on a chair out of the way as the women began to strip, getting into their show outfits and doing their makeup and hair.

One of the girls, a dark skinned lady with gorgeous hazel eyes walked over, pointing in Sango's direction. "And that one?"

Raina glanced over, sending a pout in the seventeen-year-old's direction. "Get her some clothes. She's coming with us."

Her words sparked a massive wave in the group. Tons of the other girls clomped over in their heels and tight fitting… work clothes to be able to pick and prod at the homely girl in the chair.

"I wanna do her hair!"

"I wanna to do her makeup!"

"Me! I want to do it!"

They fussed and tossed and grabbed the brunette, picking out clothes and doing her hair and painting her face. Sango, despite her pleas, was not listened to and was forced to participate in their show.

She was dressed up in a way similar to all the rest. They were all wearing a baby blue color; her hair was curled and dropped around her face, as a peacock type crown sat on her head. It was small but it was odd. Her clothing attire consisted of something that reminded her of a bikini, except with more dangles and the bottom looked more like a skirt, at her request. The rest of the girls wore what looked more like a bikini bottom and bounced around giddily.

At Sango's apprehension of the moment, some of the girls came up, giving her a hug and a glass of some juice to calm her nerves. She took it, willing to try and use anything to help her feel better. In fact, she took a few more glasses, feeling the sting of this juice a little eye opening.

The blonde bounced over to Sango's side, twining her arm inside hers before leading the young girl out to the stage. "Come on, girls! Let's give them a show to remember!" The others began to string their arms together and lined up, beginning to file out into the open light after a few short twists and turns.

As the lights of the stage pooled out over the girls, Sango strained to see, blinking a few times as she noticed a crowd full of men staring forward. All the girls around her smiled brightly, and Raina even moved her hand in such a way to pinch the young girl into smiling along with the rest of them.

The seventeen-year-old's eyes stared out, noticing the men who took her sheets in the crowd… and sitting on the covers they took. She also took note of the loud popping sounds, which came from a few people in the front holding little objects that they pulled. A large popping sound came out of them. Before she could continue her slow glance around, music started.

The sound was upbeat and all the girls began to sway their hips, Sango moved in sync just in case she was pinched again.

Their legs shot up as the music picked up beat, and they alternated their kicks. Soon enough, the girls broke apart and began to do more intricate dances. Sango was left behind in the back with two other girls who started to spin. It was hard for her to notice anything that was really going on, as whenever she turned to look, something new was happening or she was pulled into a new area.

Very soon, though, her worries seemed to disappear and were replaced by a complete an utter feeling that she could conquer the world—or this stage as the case may have been. Her smile grew larger and her eyes a little brighter as the girls met up one more time in the end to dance in a line, forming a circle with their backs facing the center, to which they dipped their heads back and kicked their feet up from.

As their musical dance number ended, all the women walked up to the front of the stage and waved out to the men, Sango included. Her smile was so bright and her skin just seemed to glow with the sweat that started to cover her body. Being the only skirt wearer was eye catching, and it certainly did catch someone's eye at the bar.

The black haired man that brought her here has his back against the counter, his eyes never once leaving her form as she moved, danced, and waved at the crowd.

"She's quite the lil' cutie, eh?" His orange bearded friend said with a wink.

Miroku sighed, "Yea. She's just so radiant all the time, whenever I see her."

The man chuckled, "You already seem attached."

Right after the larger man spoke, the dancers started to move off the stage, some even being plucked down from their perch by the men in the crowd. Miroku quickly rushed from his position to push his way towards the stage where Sango stood. There were quite a lot of men there, shoving back and making it nearly impossible to reach her. She waved at the end of the stage looking out into the crowd with a simple smile and a giggle. One of the closer men reached out to try and grab her arm, Miroku used a bit of force to push through and slide between some men before getting to the stage. Her eyes immediately lit up ten times brighter than before as she saw him.

Sango knelt down a few more steps back, sitting on her hands and knees as she smiled over at him with a familiar smell radiating from her body. Most of the men seemed to dwindle off and away as they realized she was already 'claimed.'

"Raina!" The blonde popped her head around from her seat on a table with two other men. She hopped off and skittered towards Miroku with a pout.

"What?" Her hands flew to her hips in defense.

"You gave her alcohol?" Sango stared on at the two in confusion, her position exposing her cleavage a little more than she would have wanted in any other situation.

The young girl fell back on her haunches, her legs spreading out to the sides of her as she sat. Her arms were placed in front, with one reaching out to grab onto Miroku's shoulder.

Raina looked shocked, "What else was I supposed to give her to calm her nerves?"

Sango's hands finally reached their destination as she retorted with Raina, "Yeah."

Miroku quickly, pressed his hands against her waist and slid her forward, pulling her of the stage in a twirl as she giddily squealed in pleasure like a little girl. "She's not even legal."

Raina looked down, pointing her high heeled toes inward with the same pout as before. She moved her hands up Miroku's chest in a playful manner, shaking her head back to toss the blonde curls behind her shoulder, "It's ok. Now she's more fun. Besides, it was only two or three… or five drinks or so."

Miroku rolled his eyes and Sango squished herself against him when Raina walked off, his hands absentmindedly grabbed her waist again. She was so soft. He never realized how soft she was before. She was also very friendly with him, which was nice and made him forget slightly as his hands moved down along her waist and to her bottom. He quickly removed his hands from their spot, half pushing her away at the same time.

Her face took on a look of surprise before falling back into the perpetually happy, drunken smile. He leaned in and pulled the feathery crown off her head, she tilted her head back to look, pressing her back in an arch against the stage's rim. She looked to be teasing him, but despite the alcohol, she did seem happy. His plan did look to have worked out for the best.

Miroku took her small hand in his, slightly pulling her up and off the stage. "You should get some sleep." She pulled her hand once, then twice, then a third time before slipping it out of his grasp.

"No." Her reply was simple as she hopped back up onto the stage, scooting back with a grin.

Hr grumbled and walked off, flinging his hand in the air as he conceded, "Fine! Stay up longer in your state!" He made his way back over to the bar. More girls had gotten up on the stage to play with Sango, doing little dances, pulling on each other's clothes, and various other things.

His bartender friend grinned at him as she sat down away from the growing group around the stage, "What's different about her?" He waved off his question, adding a few more things to it, "Not how she looks, either."

Slumped over the bar, sitting his head in his crossed arms. "She asked me something similar before coming here and I wasn't really sure then. She's one of the first people I just want to protect. No ulterior motives, without even really knowing her I just knew I wanted to protect her. I want to see her happy. I want to see her grow up, grow old…"

"Find love?" The scruffy man leaned in, nodding his head. "It's written all over yer face."

Miroku sat in silence, staring ahead, past the man before him, past the wall behind him, just into space as he thought. "I've barely known her." He pushed himself up, staring back over his shoulder as the few men that stayed began to whistle as four girls kicked their legs up high on stage.

As the day wound on into night, the little pub had small busy peaks in the center and Sango began to fizzle out. Miroku let it happen and decided that it might be best for her to come to her own realized that she needed some rest.

The lovely girl sat on the stage, her legs dangling off its edge and her hands poised to the side, holding up her tilted body. She looked weary and tired and this is when Miroku started walking towards her position. At that moment, someone else got up from a table and trekked towards the drowsy girl, grabbing her arm and lightly tilting her face forward to look at him. He wore a cap and fairly baggy clothes, he looked harmless with his black ponytail popping out from the back, but the girl's new protector took no chances.

"Hey!" the man leaned in, as if he was about to kiss Sango and stopped, she struggled a little with no real recognition before sliding or falling off the stage at his feet from her abrupt movements. The man let any hold he had on her go and quickly stalked out the bar, into the street. Miroku got to her just in time, raising her face and looking her arms over. "It's time for you to sleep," he gruffly said and she had no qualms as he hoisted her up in his arms, her head lolling back on his chest.

They moved up the stairs, Miroku having gotten a new room to stay in—the middle—which held the same look and feel as the other. His backpack was already in the room with her when he laid her out on the bed. She smiled, moving her hands up above her head in a stretching motion.

Her lips moved, they were still glossy when she licked her them and spoke, "Today was nice."

It was all he could have hoped for.

"Getting drunk was the last thing I wanted to happen to you." He was standing now, looking down at her form for quite a while before looking away at the wall.

She grinned, turning over and shuffling herself around to pull the thin sheet up ad over her body. He closed the door and locked it before going back downstairs.

A few days passed by, and the two lived in the little building with no real problems. Sango had become a little barmaid, serving the customers with a smile. She did say this was about the closest thing to her first real job—though she was met with no pay. She had made a tiny bond with the other girls who stopped giving her alcoholic beverages and instead took to dressing her up at night when their pub got a little busier. Their words being: if you looked good, you'd get paid good.

Sango, Miroku and the bearded man—now known to her as Saburo—were having a good laugh at the bar. All the customers were fed and were either having a good old time near the stage to watch the dancers, or were sitting at their own tables chattering away.

Four men entered the little bar and they all looked to be high class. It was a wonder why they would come to a place like this with the money it looked like they had. They each appeared in black suits, some with two with white shirts, one with a light blue shirt, and the last with a grayish shirt. The blue shirted man was quite the looker. He had long dark brown hair and an odd reddish eye color. His smile was radiant and— one of the white shirts got up and started walking towards the bar.

Saburo pushed Sango from the bar, waving his hand in the direction of the man. "Go make me some money!" He heavily whispered. Miroku gave him a look, which was granted a hefty laugh by the burly fellow.

Sango quickly began to scamper over, the white shirt having walked back to his seat once he realized that there was service. She reached the table with a smile, her hands tucked away behind her as she asked, "What sort of drinks are you interested in?"

The man in the grey shirt seemed to be staring, his bald head not hiding that fact in the least. She looked away from him and down at her feet as the blue shirt started to speak. "A bottle of brandy," he paused, staring into her eyes for a second. The look made her look away to the stage this time, "How come you're not on stage?"

She shrugged before taking a few steps back, "I'll… go get your glasses and bottle, right away!"

Sango back peddled enough before reaching the bar, asking for the appropriate order and being told the amount she was supposed to receive. In one hand she carefully held each of the four glasses, while in the other, she held onto the already opened, corked bottle of brandy they ordered. Placing the bottle down first and then the glasses down in front of each person, her hand was stopped as she finished in front of the blue shirt.

He held onto it like it was a treasure, fondling her soft fingertips in his grasp before pulling it up to his lips and gracing the back of her hand with a kiss. There was a small shock that happened as he kissed her hand, her eyes seemingly stuck to his. The moment felt like it had been forever, the kiss feeling like it was drawn out much longer than it was supposed to—but in reality, it was short. She let him, no tugging, no nothing, all from her half bent position before she opened her mouth, her voice coming out in a small squeak, "Your total for now is—," he cut her off, pulling one bill out of his pocket and sliding into her already captured hand. She gripped onto it as he let go.

"I think that should be enough and then some." She pulled her arm in close exposing the number on the dollar given to her, only to find out that it had not one, but two zeros after it. This was a lot more than what was needed.

Sango quickly bowed in thanks and walked off to the bar, handing Saburo the cash. He and Miroku looked it over, realizing that the money was very much real. The dark haired man, on the other hand, was not quite thrilled with how it came to be.

"What happened back there? Are you okay?" He pulled her in close by the shoulders and she nodded slowly looking up to him with a small smile.

"It was only a small peck on my hand." She tried to assure him. "He's just some rich guy. I'm fine."

His stare made her feel so small and insignificant. He looked her deep in the eyes and gave her a stern, firm look. "Be careful around those types."

She rolled her eyes and teased him lightly, "How can't I be. I was raised around them." She gave him a wink before he could answer and scampered off towards the stage.

She pushed up on her arms, standing on the tips of her toes in an effort to be at more eyelevel with the standing girls a foot or two from the stage's front. They seem to giggle as Sango's head dives down, her eyes close, her mouth opens and her shoulders jostle a bit.

Miroku turned from his examination of her to the group of men drinking. They were so out of place it was ridiculous, but they all seemed to be talking about something. At one point, the ringleader, he assumed, looked back at Sango, his eyes holding a longing expression as if it had been so long since he last saw her.

Everything seemed to be going fine, that was until a loud, thundering sound rocked the building and the lights went off just as fast. There were small gasps and screams from the girls until the lights slowly flickered back on. Miroku had been looking in the direction Sango was last seen in and, luckily for him, she was still there.

Looking back to the table, the men seemed a little unraveled, and of course, their assumed leader turned to look back for Sango, "Are you girls okay?" The other girls were in the same direction on the stage.

Sango didn't answer, but that didn't stop the other dancers from chiming in with their brilliant smiles, "We're fine!"

Sango was retiring for the night, though and walked towards the bar, gifting Saburo with a dazzling smile.

Miroku decided to entertain the rich guests and walked over to their table with his award winning smile. "Sorry about that. We don't usually have blackouts here." The blue shirt man looked up with an equally charming grin. Miroku tapped his chin with a finger as he looked down at him. "You look familiar." He pointed to the other man, the bald, grey shirt wearing one, "You too."

The man laughed, taking a long sip of his brandy, "We're the Raigekijin brothers. Hiten and Manten."

Miroku shot his finger out at them, waving it in the air in recognition, "The famous computer company. Now I know."

The blue shirt, now known as Hiten, glanced at Miroku's right hand, "Did you injure it?"

A quizzical look planted itself on his features before he realized what he had been talking about. "Oh, this?" He waved his right hand in the air, "It's nothing. Don't even worry about it." He began to walk away, "It was nice talking with you though."

"Wait," Hiten called out, the grin having never left his face as he made a 'come hither' movement with his finger. Miroku stood his ground, but did look back at the man. "The girl... our waitress, she's a beautiful thing, isn't she?"

The thief never responded, crossing his arms and waiting to hear the rest—if there was more. He started to walk away again before the man continued.

Hiten's voice was low, but easily understood in the slow, bar night. "She's a wonderful kisser, isn't she?"

Miroku's eyes went wide and his stance took on a more rigid look. He knew what they were here for—and then he heard her scream, her lustrous voice was tinged with fear and he looked away towards the stairs only to barely dodge a chair being tossed at his head. That's when the lights flickered again, and a terror filled the tiny little pub—the dancer's screams starting not too far after the party began.

Kagome looked stressed, pissed and angry. She was yelling at Inuyasha the entire time, coming up with why they left and all sorts of things. They were in the car, driving towards Jiro's house in case he had any information, all at Kagome's request.

They stopped in front of the dingy house and Inuyasha rapped on the door three times before shouting at the man's name to come open it. Kagome stood behind him with a frown and a look of worry hidden deep in her eyes.

Slowly but surely, they heard the door opened and showed the brown haired man they all knew. He smelled horrible, and his house was even worse as he beckoned them inside. The man looked terrible. His skin was patchy looking with greyed patches. The two stared for a while as they walked in, Kagome slowly raising her hand to cover her nose as she looked out at the house uncomfortably. It was almost just as he left it when they last saw him.

She took to standing by the now closed door—sadly, because it was their only source of fresh air—and Inuyasha delved further into the little shack, preparing to ask the questions.

Once his mouth opened, he could early taste the foul stench that littered the air, his sense greater than Kagome's, but he pushed through all that. "Have you heard from Miroku lately?"

The man shook his head, scratching his arm as if he had a new habit. He grinned oddly and moved around his house. "I haven't heard from them since you all were here." There was something off about him.

Kagome piped up, moving her hand a little ways from her mouth to be better heard, "I think they might be in danger... or something. It's not like him to just run off like that." She looked to Inuyasha for closure on what she had just said. He nodded in agreement. The raven haired girl walked in further, her eyes almost pleading for the man to give them any small clue.

He frowned and looked around, moving closer to Kagome, "I might have a way of finding them." In that very instant, he reached a lunged forward and grabbed her by the neck, threatening to choke the life out of her. Both her hands instantly moved to counteract his pull, she pinned on the ground.

Inuyasha sprang into action, his hand swiping out in a punch at the man's back before pushing inwards on the shirt he wore. There was a large hole. Jiro harshly tossed Kagome to the side, farther into the house where she gasped and gagged for air.

"What the hell?" Inuyasha mused, quickly rushing towards his lover's side before Jiro—the creature lashed out and threw a punch at the silver haired man's side. Inuyasha crumpled inwards, reaching out to grab the man's shirt and pull him down in a gruff move. Little did he know, he also pulled on what was inside the hole. A few long strands of black hair fell out from beneath his shirt as he stumbled forward, but this did not stop him in the least.

Jiro reached in his pocket, pulling out a small knife, he carefully discarded the small, plastic covering it sat in and moved to stab his adversary. It worked, as he got him right in the side from their scuffle. The face on the silver man contorted to one of brief pain before he grabbed the brown haired man by the neck and squeezed with all his might. It elicited nothing more than an open mouth, his tongue flailing out as a large bundle of hair seeped out of his mouth and around Inuyasha's hand.

Kagome, who had gotten back to her feet yelled out her lover's name, grabbing the wall beside her as they continued their fight.

Inuyasha quickly threw the man to the ground, the large trail of hair keeping its hold the entire time. His foot swiftly landed on the man's upper torso, part of it able to feel the gap in his body. Getting a good enough grip on the hair, he pulled the man's head forward and shoved his other foot forward into Jiro's face. A large, sickening crack surrounds the room before the man on the ground goes limp, his neck bent at an awkward angle. The hair lost its grip and slid off, landing on the man's body.

Inuyasha was breathing heavily, forgetting about the small knife in his side as Kagome walked up and briefly touched its hilt.

She whispered, even though they were the only two there, staring down at his body in shock, "He was dead before we even came here." Without a second thought, she jerked the knife out, Inuyasha wincing from the act.

"Shit, woman! A little warning next time!" The knife clattered to the ground as she stared back in the hallway.

"It smells worse back there." She didn't even have to say it, because he walked closer to it, the wound on his side already healing itself at inhuman speeds.

He walked towards a door, holding onto the little round knob before twisting. Inside there were stairs that led to what looked to be a cement floor, but once it was opened, Kagome gagged, perhaps because of the putrid decaying smell or because of the man dead bodies in various states of decomposition strewn all over the place.

The bodies were strung up by black strands of what looked to be hair, and most, if not all of them, were nude and bald.

Kagome obviously couldn't take much more of this and ran outside, puking at the side of the house.

What the hell happened here?

The human, inhuman man stared back at her with a frown, his hand rubbing against his side. The wound was already gone.

Sango was up in the room. Pulling out the backpack, she looked for some clothes, picking out a large shirt and some jeans. The door was locked and closed as she started to change, pulling off the skirt and shirt she wore to work. Once she finally got the top off from over her head, she noticed a box on the pillow.

Was it there earlier?

It was a little brown box, the same one she threw out a few days earlier.

Had Miroku placed it there?

She eyed it in her underwear, frowning as if he saved it just to toy with her. She tossed the box against the wall and it opened, a small marble fell out and spun on the ground, it stopped and small thin needle like objects struck out of it, shooting along the ground away from her before it beeped once, then twice. Quickly, she started to change, standing p as she pulled the large shirt over her head. In that instant, she heard a familiar voice.

"Boo." She turned to see green eyes with a hint of red. She remembered them changing. It was her ponytailed captor from the mall. He was on the opposite side of the bed with a grin.

Had he always been there?

She didn't stare for too long, Sango bolted for the door which wasn't too far away. Her hands quickly unlatched the door, the long, boyish shirt covering a bit of her legs to give her some privacy. Sango slammed the door behind her, hitting the wall and staring forwards down the stairs as she started to escape.

And then she felt it. Strong arms wrapped around her waist and she screamed at the top of her lungs, tossing her hands against his chest. She scratched and clawed from her position before he grabbed her arms and forcefully pressed her against the wall.

"You looked nice yesterday." She screamed again and yelled for help, he pressed her a little harder against the wall—it was cool, as was the floor in her barefoot appearance. "You messed up our present, too." There was a struggle just beyond the stairs, she could hear it. "Why not just come back home calmly?"

She cried out again, struggling against his hold. Her feet gave out beneath her, but he still held her hands pinned to her back, "You're hurting me." He loosened his grip and she swung her body with all her might towards the stairs.

He held his ground as she slipped out from his grasp, "Shit." The brown haired beauty tumbled down the short steps, feeling a little dazed and out of it before skittering off in just a shirt.

"Miroku!" She yelled, her balance was off as she ran towards him, everyone was yelling and her protector, the man she called out to turned to look at his friend who came out to help in the fight.

"Get her out of here, now!" Before she could even tell what was happening, she was whisked off her feet and a ball of light shot past Saburo as he grabbed her hand and pulled. She was hazy and confused, her head pounding from the fall.

He got her up on the stage, the squealing girls helping as they all went behind the curtains.

Soon, her captor rushed down the stairs with a frown. He was yelled at by name from Hiten, "Get the girl, Kouga!" The speedy man made off in the direction the man pointed, on the stage and to the back.

Miroku did his best to prevent him from getting close by releasing his wind tunnel in a public area. The man called Kouga was drawn back, as were a few other things.

The only business men able to fight now were Manten and Hiten, the other two having already been knocked out by Miroku and Saburo.

The area was empty, everyone had already gotten away and Miroku was now left to his own devices and three men who could probably kill him without a second thought.

The ugly, younger brother, Manten continued the fight, rushing at Miroku with great speed as Kouga got back to his feet to retrieve the girl. His bald head glimmered in the low light, which constantly flickered ever so often. The bald brother opened his mouth as he got close and spat out a fan of fire, that of which Miroku barely dodged. The thief was not up to supernatural battles, but he never left home unprepared. He reached the bottom of his show as he rolled away, and whisked out a small dagger. As he came back up out of the roll, he tossed it at the pudgy man and it hit him directly in his right shoulder. He never saw it coming.

Hiten took this as his opportunity, a large rain began pouring outside as the lights fizzled out and popped above him, leaving patches of darkness in the bar. A small steam of lightning came from the broken light fixture and aimed itself right at Miroku, it moved and snaked around as he did, finally nicking him on his side and leaving a gash.

The fight dwelled on and on, and fire was already burning the area down from the inside out. Miroku seemed to be the only person who grew weaker as the time wore on. In a fit of rage, he opened his vortex again with the thought of hitting the charging, younger sibling. In fact, the wind tunnel never opened, his hand was normal again—but that didn't stop the barrage of air wisps that soon formed and cut through the air. He was unaware of this attack, as was the man who created it, and like his previous dagger, they landed on Manten. The air whirls pierced his flesh, in numerous places, causing stains to appear on his once clean clothes. The man even fell to the ground as one hit his eye, causing him to double over in pain, both hands covering the wounded socket as blood dripped from between his fingers.

Hiten looked less surprised than Miroku, taking his time to send more bolts of electricity down from the bulbs above. In the violet eyed man's state of disbelief, he's struck rather heavily on his left shoulder, his arm falling limp to his side as a trickle of smoke billows up from the clothes.

"Foolish." He looked to his brother, "Get up, Manten." A squeal and a cry were heard from him as he wobbled to stand.

Miroku, ever the opportunist, took the time to try out his newfound skill again, concentrating harder and this time in Hiten's direction. It was a success as they shoot out, and as he ran off and out the door.

Hiten was partially caught off guard, the thunderstorm growing in the background as he was cut. A small line of blood appeared on his cheek as he growled the thunder outside mirroring his yell.

Sango was whisked towards the back and through a door where she was instructed to quickly strip and change. She did as she was ordered and changed into a dark tank top, shorts, and flats. Ellie, one of the more busty dancers donned the shirt she wore as Raina came in carrying Miroku's things.

They were early shoved into her hands as a blonde wig was smooshed on her head. "You're Winnie if anyone asks." Raina gave her a careful smile, her eyes telling how worried she was about her newfound friend.

Ellie waved bye and put on a wig that was very reminiscent of Sango's hair, but a little shorter. She backtracked a little from the way they went before Hina, a dark skinned, straight haired girl took her hand and walked her farther back, opening weird doors that led down into dark twisted corners. Sango knew Ellie was bait as they left, and she soon came up on the outside world.

There were bright lights and street signs. They made it back to the surface. Hina took out a few supplied from her chest area, some dark red lipstick that she glammed on and some eye shadow that she painted on all over to give her a darker look. The darker woman smiled and took off her black cap, placing it on the younger girl's head.

"We're gonna miss you, sweetie." Hina gave her one last hug.

"I'm sorry for ruining—" Sango almost started to cry

"Don't apologize. I had a great time. We'll be back in no time, ready to dance and everything, I promise." She winked and pointed down the street. They were still under the cover of some building—she was so unsure where they were. "Just keep walking down this street; you'll come up on a building with a bright yellow sign. Go in the alley behind it, you'll meet him there."

Before Sango could protest about walking in the rain or anything, Hina waved goodbye and went back in the door they came from.

Sango sighed, holding onto the backpack as she began her trek down the road, at least her shoes were comfortable.
She received many looks from her attire. It was hard not to stare when you looked like a dancer outside of your club. She was offered a ride many times, but declined, almost finding it safer to walk down the road and get soaked by the rain than enter the car of some male stranger. She shivered a little until finally reaching the destination.

The large yellow sign spelled out Bowling in large letter. She was unsure of where to go before a hand grabbed he shoulder. She spun around and raised a hand, smacking the man on the face. As she looked, she smiled.

Here he was, her protector looked wet and miffed with a large red hand print on the side of his cheek. She hugged him, smearing her face into his shirt, as she started to cry. It was the first time he heard it and it made his heart stop for a moment. He slowly went to hug her back, moving her away from the alley she was supposed to go down and down another street to another building entirely.

The place was closed, but that meant nothing to a professional thief as he broke in the back door. It was small and the windows were all boarded shut. He had taken the backpack from her when he got the chance and set it down on the cool, tile floor. He had no idea what this building had been, but it was good enough. Once she got in, she nearly collapsed on her knees. Her face hid the fact that she cried, except her eyes which were slightly puffy with dark smears all around them from rubbing. Even though that, she was alluring.

Miroku shook his head out, taking his shoes off as he closed the door behind him. The place was medium sized with a counter and a small patch of carpet near it. He picked her up and she didn't fight it as he carried her deeper still into the building, setting her on the carpet.

She looked miffed, tired, and cold. "What's wrong?" Miroku crouched down beside her small frame, leaning on the wooden counter's insides.

"I create monsters that ruin the lives of everyone I care about and I've had no choice in any of this." Miroku stayed silent as she pulled her knees in close, trying to stop her shivering somehow. "And apparently I've kissed tons of people, but really... I don't remember any of them. I can't name anyone, point them out... nothing." Her bottom, ruby red, lipstick colored lip trembled and he stared before wrapping his arm around her, pulling her into his body for warmth.

Her hair stuck to her face and body. He tried to pry it away and set it to the side as he held her close. It was a nice feeling, something he knew he was hooked on—but she was still young.

After a few moments, her eyes drooped but she had one more question to ask. "Why are you doing this?"

He knew why now, but it wasn't okay to say it aloud. "I'll tell you later..."

Whether later would come, no one knew at that moment, but she fell asleep so fast there were no other qualms about it.

He woke up early the next morning, Sango still in his arms. He grinned a little before slowly placing her down on the carpet to rest. He got up and checked his phone, skipping over the many missed calls from Inuyasha and going straight to another contact known as Akito.

He walked away, moving towards the door so Sango wouldn't wake up from the call.

"Hey. What do you know?" His voice was low and he hung his head down with the tiny contraption next to his ear, the words from the other person already pouring out.

There are those people with gifts and those people who are experiments. Experiments are unable to receive these powers—at least normally.

Sango falls into neither category. She is, in fact, a giver, and they are prized and rare, a once in a lifetime thing—and she can give without the cost of death. Ahh, and what a prize she is.

Naraku stared out from his desk, looking out the large oval window, down at the city below him. They were all pathetic, each and every one of them. His fingers drummed against the table wearily, without her, he couldn't get any more money from the other rich and powerful men. He couldn't create his line of followers without his Sango.

He knew she had to be okay, she was just huddled up with that selfish poor man—Miroku, his name was. He was beginning to be a nuisance, letting her run around the way she was.

She would be found and brought back to her rightful place.

There was a knock on the door, "Come in." His voice was dark, uninterested in the world around him thus far.

"The other two are searching for them now as we speak. They may know where he's going, but they found Miss Yura's stash and... burnt it." It was a young woman with glasses and shoulder length black hair.

"Do you know where they are now?" He asked dryly.

"No... but they couldn't have gone too far. I—"

He cut her off, "I need her back soon. I have preparations made and the deadline is coming up soon."

She bowed to his back and quickly scampered off to relay the news.

The people, the business, the town and the city... they were all so close.