The limited moonlight hit the exposed skin of the young Taijiya, causing her skin to give off a soft glow. whispers from the wind swirled around her, the hairs on her arms stood at the sudden chill. Before her stood a tall man, clad in a red outfit. His long silver hair danced in the wind, while is golden eyes seemed to glow. She had the sudden feeling that he was not looking at her, or even in her, but rather, at something a million memories ago.
"I-Inuyasha..." she spoke his name softly, all of a sudden, she became overwhelmed with the urge to cry. She could feel the tears starting to pool just under her lower eyelids, ready to overflow and roll down her cheeks. She bit the inside of her lip, trying so hard to keep them from dripping down. she crouched down to the ground. her knees barely touching the blades of grass. crossing her arms over her chest in a hug, she let her thick ebony hair slide a bit off her back over her shoulder.
Inuyasha snorted, trying to hide his sudden blush before letting himself drop to the ground beside her. letting his eyes fixate on the pale orb above them. the smell of salt and wetness was apparent, he struck a nerve. he would either pay for it with a faceplant or...maybe...
"...Sango." he finally spoke, not taking his eyes away from the soft silvery celestial light. his voice was mellow, calm and eerily at peace.
"Y-yes?" she choked out, still trying to hold back the tears.
"why do you keep fighting?" he finally brought his eyes down, first to the ground, then to her. sadness loomed within the depths of the golden orbs, on the surface, however, was curiosity, strong and pure. the question itself lacked any hint of sarcasm.
For the first time ever, she saw him for his true age. She saw the years in his eyes, as well as the wisdom and sorrow, The fear and regret. But the thing that stuck out the most, out of everything, was how tired he was. Not physically, though it was a known fact that he rarely did sleep deeply, but emotionally and mentally. As if he had been fighting a hundred year war within himself and finally nearing the end of that battle.
At first, she was speechless, taken aback by his forlorn look, but then his very question made her tongue-tied for words. She brought her own eyes away from his and let the fall to the ground. She could still feel the tears in her eyes, ready and waiting.
"well..kohaku...and Miroku, and you as well as Kagome and Shippo...and all those who's lives were destroyed by that monstrosity." she finally spoke, her voice shaky and unsure. mentally tallying all the people she could think of.
"yea.." he looked back at the moon, the sorrow had never left his eyes. But a ghost of a smile was seen, or so Sango would swear she saw.
"what about you?"
one ear swiveled in her direction, his eyes never leaving the moon.
"I don't know...I use to think it was to avenge kikyo...but now..." he sighed deeply "I'm not so sure" he finally admitted to her.
"what do you mean?" she cocked her head to the side, once more the wind crept up, as some lone clouds covered the moon, leaving the land in a cold shadow.
Inuyasha made a silent chuckle and smirked, then meeting her eyes, he shrugged."Never mind, it's stupid. You should head back, though." he teased while giving her a gentle nudge.
For once, she understood the frustration Kagome had felt when dealing with Inuyasha. He was always so privet about his thoughts, and would only give a cryptic explanation once in a while. She couldn't help but sigh at his final response. Why did he care about her reasons to fight after all?
As she stood up and turned on her heel to leave, she felt his hand on her shoulder. She stopped instantly, her heart raced, her mind flew into many different ideas and plans in case something bad were to happen.
"You don't have to be afraid you know" his voice low, close to that of a whisper. She shuttered once more from the look in his eyes rather than the dropping temperature around them.
"..I don-"
with out much warning, she found herself against his chest. The warmth of his body creeping into hers. She felt safe, wanted and warm. taking this rare moment of mental peace between two friends...no they were warriors, both had seen the bloody side of a war on different fronts. she tucked her head under his jaw, letting her own arm encircle under his.
"no one will hurt you again Sango, we will get your brother back, and we will make sure Naraku pay for what he has done to you and your kin. I promise you that." the last bit, he nearly growled.
he smiled, pulling her away to gently taking a clawed figure and brushing away a stray tear that managed to escape. However, by the time he had finished speaking those words, Sango's grip on his Haori tightened, clenching her teeth, she finally lose to her sorrow. She held on to him as if her very life depended on it and sobbed into his chest. His reply was with a soft stroking motion from her head, down her back, then lifting his hand up to repeat the process, every now and again, softly saying how it was going to be alright, and how he would fight away all her nightmares if she wanted him to, occasionally throwing in a playful jab at her beloved monk.
It was mid-Morning by the time Sango awoke from her slumber. She lazily stretched, then looked around the room. Confusion set in, as she slowly rose, and dressed. By the time she was ready to be seen by the public, her confusion had already increased and she was now on a mission to find her half-breed friend and ask him a few questions about last night.
Instead, she was greeted by her Beloved monk. She smiled as she caught his attention and made her way to him.
"ah! There is my dear Sango!" he smiled back at her. Embracing her, he let his right hand roam slowly down her back trying to not let her notice his intentions.
"did you sleep well?" just as he finished his question, a nearly blinding speed, her hand made contacted with his cheek, leaving a massively red, welted imprint of her hand.
"houshi-sama!" she snapped, while Miroku retracted both his arms back, then putting them in the air in a submissive gesture.
"Sango you misunderstand my intentions. I was merely checking to see if you were well!" he was unable to keep the smile on his face at bay.
Sango let out an aggravated snort, crossing her arms in front of her chest while pushing her upper half forward, eyeing the monk carefully. The expression she wore was that of great distrust.
"oh? And how was groping my back side going to help you figure out my well-being?" she snapped at him.
He watched her for a moment, trying desperately to pick out the correct words so he would not get hit again. Fortunately for him, the two's spat was interrupted by kagome's return. Miroku gave mental thanks to the kami for giving him this lucky break, before running over to see if Kagome needed any help with anything.
Sango sighed, knowing that he would never change, no matter how much she wished for it too. Finally, she let her arms fall to her sides before joining the group, now with Inuyasha not too far behind Miroku and Kagome.
"Did you bring us anything yummy Kagome?!" the young fox kit chimed in an almost sing-song type of voice. "did'ya?!" he badgered the young miko who merely laughed at the fox kit's pestering. while slinging her bag off her shoulders.
"I did! I have a few new flavors of ramen for you all to try as well as more snacks and some more first aid supplies. OH! And I have something for you Inuyasha" she stopped and turned on her heel in an almost fluid motion. dragging her back in front of her to set it on the ground, then started to dig through its inside contents for a few moments before finding a small rectangle box that had pink colored outside with a cute strawberry design and a few words.
"ah, here it is! Its called 'Pocky'. You seem to like strawberries, so I figured why not let you try some of this? I will admit, it is very addicting" she smiled while opening the box, then handing a stick that had a pink coating on most of it. Inuyasha looked at it, his brow furrowed then looked at the miko with a very questioning look.
She sighed, throwing him a tired 'just try it' look before he finally accepted it. As he took a bite of it, the rest of the group waited, nearly holding their breaths, waiting to see how he would react. After a few moments, he looked wide-eyed at Kagome, who gave a very triumphant smile at him.
"oh..sweet mother of kami..." was the only words he spoke. The rest of the group taking that as his approval, soon began to pester Kagome for some. She smiled at them, feeling very proud at having found something that everyone would like She started to pass out the pocky, which didn't take long for them all to devour the delicious snack. She was happier that she had actually managed to get a lot of boxes, knowing how addicting they were. Even if no one liked them, she would at least have them for herself. Though, sadly, that was no longer the case. With Inuyasha being at the helm of getting more from her.
As they got into the village, they noticed a very heavily armored horse. Most of the armor was a form of feudal leather plated, dyed in a yellow or dull golden color. It wore a helm made of the same color, but it was crafted in hardened leather to resemble a dragon-like creature. Its neck was fully protected by the same type of leather plating and connected to the helm. Its mane was tied in knots under the armor. The beats also adorned with a Gold and Silver-toned lacquered wooden saddle. In all, the most that could be said was that this horse belonged to a very strong samurai or someone with-in a high power.
As the group got closer, they caught sight of Kaede who spotted them at the same moment. She lifted up one of her heavy arms and waved them over where she was speaking with the owner of the horse they had seen. The man stood no taller then Inuyasha with his helmet on. He had a good amount of power from the way his armor was held to on his arms. His shoulders where broad and his chest was something both Inuyasha and Miroku would have dreamed to have. His own armor nearly matched that of his steed with some slight alterations of the dragon design on his own helm. To his side was strapped two long katanas.
As the man looked over, he bowed to the group. As he came back up, he removed his helmet and held it with his left arm.
"are you the group of slayers who took down that bear yōkai a few weeks back in the small village near the sea?" his voice was rough and strong. It was a very good compliment to his body features. Both the girls and maybe even Kaede seemed to swoon over this strong new comer. After a few awkward moments, Miroku was the first of the group to answer his question.
"we are. And you are?" cocking his head to the side, he waited for Inuyasha to make some sort of comment about either who cared about who the guy was, what he wanted, and some other comments about their female companion's actions. Instead, he merely goes the famous snort.
"I am Matsudaira Hiromichi. I have ridden far from the south to seek your assistance." his voice booming. His eyes slowly wandered through the group, then stopped once they came upon the hanyou. His eyes narrowed. Slowly he moved his hand to one of the two swords at his side. Inuyasha returned his glare and fallowed his actions, moving his hand to the hilt of Tessaiga. Low growls could be heard from him as the two men had a silent standoff.
"what sort of assistance?" Kagome finally spoke, trying to avoid a full out war between the two men. She patted the hanyou's arm as a way to try and portray that this was not the place nor the time to be fighting.
Matsudaira looked back at the young miko, noting that she was Wearing the very odd type of clothing for her occupation. Though he though it maybe better not to bring it up. From the stories that he had been told and heard from others. This group was not one to be taken lightly, their legendary demon killing record was one to be admired as well as a few had a very unorthodox fighting style that was hard to predict. In all, this group was formed of very formidable foes that would probably best him easily. Still, he did not allow them to throw him off guard.
"My lord has sent me to seek your aid in vanquishing an in yōkai that has not only taken out most of our most skilled warriors but also slaughtered 2 other warlords in the area. My lord fears he may possibly next to fall."
the group exchanged looks, but just as the mental vote was approved by all, Inuyasha spoke which startled everyone.
"No. we do not care about you, your warlords or even your lord." he snapped, eyes never leaving Matsudaira's. a growl was still reverberating within his throat, a snarl plastered on his face, and fist clenched.
"My lord has stated that he would not mind paying a high price IF you were to eliminate this threat." the samurai countered. Once more the staring standoff started between the two of them.
"I said no!" Inuyasha snapped again. Turning on his heel, he walked into the shelter of Kaede's hut, out of the few from everyone. But on his way in, just before the flap fell, he shot the man a very dangerous look.
Miroku and Kagome looked at one another and shared a sigh. Sango stared at the entrance that Inuyasha had just gone through.
"You must forgive him. He is not too keen on both the idea of other inu yōkai and high ranked lords and warlords." Kaede spoke. Her voice was filled with so much wisdom and a hint of sorrow as if she had seen first hand, all of Inuyasha's past problems.
Matsudaira snorted before going back to try and get the rest to agree to his lord's wishes. Sango tried to understand what was wrong with Inuyasha, finally making up her mind to talk to him while Kagome, Miroku, and Matsudaira worked out the plan and payments. She slowly made her way inside the building to find Inuyasha resting against one of the far corners of the hut, furthest away from the entrance. His ears were lowered to his head, his knee shook in irritation, arms crossed over his chest. He opened his eyes to meet Sango's. Even in the dimly lit space, his eyes seemed to have a light source all their own by the way the seemed to stand out against the darkness.
"I don't give a damn what you have to say, I am NOT GOING!" he snarled at her. As she walked over to the edge of the lifted wooden floor of the hut. Sitting down, and having her back facing Inuyasha, she spoke softly.
"Ok, ok. But, you know we need you, right? Inuyasha you're the best fighter among us. Even I wish I had your skill. Can you not put what had happened in the past behind you, and assist us?"
she tried to keep herself calm, but the tension in the small space was hard to ignore. It was very clear that he was annoyed, but what had set him off aside from his distrust of high ranked nobilities and inu yōkai? Typically he would have just left with the normal insults to the lord and his men for not being able to take on a weak form of demons. Sango had to even admit, that inu yōkai were more of a pain in the ass to rid of than any other, with the exception of much older fox and maybe monkey demons. She then thought of maybe Inuyasha's half-brother may have been the one causing issues. However, it was clear that he was not the one doing it since Sesshomaru would have eradicated all humans in the area if he truly wanted to rid the warlords and claim the lands of the west. Not only that but as far as yokai territories went, he already claimed dominance over that land. She tried to think of anything else that would cause her hanyou companion to feel so much hatred.
After a couple of moments, she believed that he may not actually open up to her as she would have hoped. Taking a deep breath, then a sharp exhale. She rose to a standing position and dusted herself off.
"tch, It's not because I have any past grievances with their kind..." he spoke low, in almost a whisper. The way he spoke sounded so sad, like a child who was overlooked or forgotten, abandoned in such a harsh way.
She turned around to look at him, only to find his head was facing out the small window to the opposite wall from where he was sitting. she sighed heavily, this was normally not a problem, she believed he would be more than thrilled to kill yōkai, regardless of what species it was. though her guess between a wolf or spider were his favorite to go after if he had the choice and say in the matter.
"it's too close.." he finally muttered in a half growl. sango glanced at him confused, furrowing her brow and standing firmly she waited for him to elaborate on his words.
"the moon's cycle," he said very harshly, flat and cold. almost as if he was offended that she had not noticed. as if she did not care. still, confused, she pondered on the meaning before her eyes widened. his eyebrow arched as if to say "how could you really forget such an important detail".
"Forgive me..Inuyasha" she spoke low, turning to leave the hut.