InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Methods of the Heart ❯ Handle with Care ( Chapter 3 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Author’s Notes: Welcome back! Man this was a quick update. But that was because the second half of chapter two became chapter three. Well it was to long anyway and while they fight together my beloved editor was right. It was just to long at almost twenty pages (wince) Anyway, I promise much more sappy stuff in this one. I’m a total sap fiend. I try not to be. But enough about me! Just because I gave two updates on one week doesn’t mean you should always expect this treatment my readers. I start school in a few more days. (sigh) I hope you like my fic and continue to review. It keeps me writing.

As usual, I’d like to thank my beta reader for keeping me from going off the handle with Inu-Yasha and telling me I need to pull the reigns back on Sango. When you’re right your right man. And of course I thank my darling editor who, once again, had saved me from a fate worse than train-wreck fics. I love you and some day I will find something I’m good enough at to pay you back with or by doing or what ever.

Disclaimers: Standard disclaimers apply. I don’t own Inu-Yasha. Does anyone know if you have to repeat your disclaimers from chapter to chapter? It’s just that I already said it once and all.

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Chapter Three: Handle with Care

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Inu-Yasha had a whole list of his own things to take care of, so he left shortly after the watch began. Besides, he had no patience for such things. Kagome and Miroku both kept careful watch over Sango, waiting for her to wake up.

And every time Miroku's hand would inch closer to Sango's rear, Kagome's fist would collide with the back of Miroku's head.

So when Sango finally moaned and opened her groggy eyes, the sight that greeted her was of a rather black and blue monk and a glaring miko. They still hadn't noticed her yet, as they were too busy arguing.

She felt a little stronger than before and a little calmer. Her back was still killing her, and now it itched as well. But the chains were gone, which gave her the freedom of movement she so craved.

When she tried to roll onto her side in order to get off her chest, Kagome pressed on her shoulder. "You shouldn't do that. You still need more time to heal properly." With an annoyed sigh, Sango lay back down. Kagome smiled in kind as she checked Sango's bandages. The healer's thoughts were confirmed; the bandages needed to be changed.

She placed her supplies down next to her and proceeded. "Your wounds are healing nicely, though I AM surprised at how soon you woke up. It's been about two days."

Sango frowned. Two days? She must be getting old. Normally, she'd at least be able to walk by now. "You said your name is Sango, right? Are you the same fighter from the arena?" Kagome gently dabbed some water onto a piece of bandage stuck to Sango's skin.

Sango nodded her reply. Kagome and Miroku continued to stare at her and she realized they wanted more information–information she wasn't sure she was ready to give yet. So she gave the most minimal explanation she could.

"I've been fighting for about three years. My brother and I were two of the handful of survivors in our entire area. Naraku put me in the fights so I would die. But I'm still alive, so I guess he failed." She gave a weak smile.

Kagome smiled back but Miroku frowned in thought. It seemed to him Naraku hadn't failed at all. A vibrant girl with a lot of life was now completely crushed. Naraku had succeeded by turning Sango into a jaded bitter slave who trusted no one.

"You don't have to fight anymore, Sango." Miroku's face was unreadable, his head down. He didn't realize he'd said it out loud until Sango answered him.

"Yes I do! My little brother is everything important to me." She frowned at the Hoshi. "Won't you let me go? He might still be alive and if I hurry back, Naraku won't hurt him." Sango looked to Kagome, regarding her as the sensible one.

"But he'll hurt YOU, won't he?" Miroku couldn't believe how little concern she had for her own life. The loyalty she had to her brother was touching, but she wouldn't even consider another method. It made no sense to him at all.

"That doesn't matter. He's the only family I have! I haven't spent the last three years of my life fighting for Naraku's amusement and money just to have him die now!" Desperation was setting in again. The only one talking to her was Miroku, who clearly didn't see her side of things. She tensed, making Kagome's work just that much harder.

"Shhh. Try to stay calm, for your own health. Going back right now is impossible. Naraku's soldiers are still tracking us. Besides, our location is kept a secret. You know where it is now." The coddling sound of his voice and the 'oh-so-eager-to-please' look on his face exasperated Sango. She wanted to slap him.

"I won't tell. Blindfold me if you're worried."

This time it was Kagome who piped up, having finished fixing the bandages on Sango's back. "Kanna will search your soul for the location."

The injured warrior felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. They didn't know the harm they were doing. They thought they were saving her. She didn't know what to do about their cruel kindness.

"Don't worry about it. Focus on getting better, then we'll see about your little brother." Miroku smiled, taking her stillness as acceptance.

The monk and miko stood up. "I'll be back to change your bandages soon," Kagome promised. Miroku gave her once last glance over her shoulder.

Sango was glad they were gone; it gave her time to think. They didn't understand. By the time she was well, Kohaku would be gone. No. She didn't know that for a fact. After all, it was Naraku's fault she had been out cold. Really, she couldn't have done anything to stop her capture. For all Naraku knew she was dead.

Yes. Maybe this was a good thing. She would have time this way. But not much.
She needed to get better and get back to Naraku soon. Next time she tried to escape, she would be healed enough to handle herself. She sighed and flopped down on the mat, determined to get a little rest.

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"Here. Take Sango her dinner." Kagome handed a bowl full of stew with a piece of bread floating in the middle to Inu-Yasha.

"Why do I have to do it?" the demon growled, setting the food in question on the table in front of him and pushing it back at Kagome, who refused to take it.

"Because I've still got three small mouths to feed." She indicated the three children behind her, sitting at a small table of their own. They were all whining about being hungry and wanting dinner. On top of that Kagome was in charge of food distribution and the line was getting longer. She slid the plate back to her mate.

"Well then, go and give the woman her food yourself and then feed 'em." He pushed the bowl back, turning around. As far as he was concerned the matter was closed.

"Sango can't feed herself. She can't even sit up!" Kagome frowned, picking up the bowl again and holding it out at the side of Inu-Yasha's head. Just because he was older than she didn't mean he could get out of helping just like everybody else. He was in charge. That didn't give him immunity to work; it gave him the lion's share.

"Man, you humans have frail bodies. Glad my kids and Shippou ain't that pathetic." He smirked.

Kagome glared, setting the bowl down calmly. "SIT!"

WHAM! The beads around his neck glowed and pulled him face first into the dirt. He twitched slightly.

Miroku's face popped into view, world's biggest grin in place. "Inu-Yasha has no sympathy for Sango's plight. I, on the other hand, am more than sympathetic. I would be happy to bring her the nourishment she requires."

"I'm sure you would." Kagome looked around. The only people who were not in line for food by then and not busy were Inu-Yasha, lying face first on the ground, and Miroku. She sighed, handing him the bowl. Miroku's happy grin grew impossibly bigger. He turned around, bowl joyfully in hand - and immediately encountered Sango. He was face to face with the woman, actually.

"I can feed myself." Sango leaned on the sheath of a sword she had found, using it as a walking stick. She knew it was a bad way to treat such a weapon but she didn't really have a choice. Even with it, it was hard to move. She had to hunch over it.

She snatched the bowl away from Miroku. She had her pride after all and being fed like a two-year-old was not something she wanted to experience at her age.

The monk frowned, his fun for the evening drained away. Beyond that she was still hurt and needed to rest. He took the bowl back from her; then, with his other hand, grabbed her arm. "You should be resting."

"I'm fine!" She pulled her arm back quickly. Too quickly. The sheath slipped out from under her and with all her aches it was hard to stay upright. The ground loomed closer, but a pair of clawed hands grabbed her shoulders.

"Cheh. You got guts. But even really tough humans are still human. So stop doing something stupid." Apparently she'd finally been forgiven for almost running over Kagome. Or maybe it was just because she refused to see herself as a 'frail human.'

Sango stared at the half demon. He was hard to figure out. Whether he hated her or wanted her to stay, or whether he thought she was weak or just injured, she couldn't figure out what went through his brain. While she attempted to figure it out, Miroku picked her up, bridal style, somehow managing to hold onto the bowl and not spill a drop.

Sango was not amused. "Put me DOWN!" She squirmed and wiggled, attempting to regain a vertical position. When such did not seem possible, she chose to hit Miroku on the chest several times, while using the most 'colorful' names she could think of.

Inu-Yasha smirked. "What's the matter, Miroku? You newlyweds fightin' already?" The reply he received for his crude teasing was two venomous glares.

Miroku turned, heading into the very hut Sango had come out of and had been sleeping in on and off again for the last two days, Sango still kicking. "Enough already. Do you want to be set down or dropped on your back?" He wouldn't really drop her. They both knew that. But Sango calmed down, allowing her to be carried. He was trying to help her... in a weird, twisted way.

Happy that the woman was capable of compromise at last, Miroku brought her to the mat and gently set her down... then gently set his hand down on her ass.

"JERK!" she screamed, slapping him across the face.

Miroku sighed, putting the bowl down He supposed he deserved that. Still! "Honestly, lady Sango, if you react in such a manner every time I show my affections, we're going to have a very strained relationship."

"If that's how you show your affection, I'd rather not have a relationship, you-" Her hot-tempered words were cut off by a spoonful of broth being shoved in her mouth.

"You have not eaten in several days, I'm sure. Instead of getting into an argument, how about you regain your strength?" His look was passive, showing no propensity one way or the other. He didn't want to fight with a wounded woman, but he was in no mood to take her insults either, no matter how deserved. He got enough from Kagome and Inu-Yasha.

With one last glare she swallowed the bite. Reflexively, her stomach reached to the first food it had received in days and Sango became aware of exactly how hungry she really was. The next bite was eaten without hesitation.

Miroku was good about feeding his patient. Behind a mask of tranquility, however, he was enjoying himself more than any living creature could comprehend. She made the cutest little sounds when she liked how something tasted. A very simple feat, considering both the power required to recuperate and the lack of sustenance she had received for some time now.

It was the fact that she was injured that kept him back. If she was a fighter or just a woman, if she was innocent or had seen more life than even the elderly, it didn't matter because she was hurt. She didn't need seducing right now. He would wait until she was well first.

At the last bite, Miroku scraped the bowl. The spoon was dangled in front of Sango's lips. She opened her mouth, waiting to be fed. Miroku grinned at her charming face. She looked just like a baby bird. But baby birds were much nicer. The spoon changed course, instead landing in Miroku's mouth.

"Hey! I was eating that!" She frowned.

"Would you like to come get it?" His words were slightly slurred. He smiled sweetly, closed mouthed. This was an obvious signal to Sango that the last of her dinner was still within reach... at the price of a kiss.

Sango half pouted, half glared. "Not in your wildest dreams!"

The stew was swallowed in a big show. "Believe me. You don't want to know about my wildest dreams... though lately you HAVE been there." Despite all his promises to himself that he just made, he couldn't resist a little mild teasing. Ah well. The best intentions, he supposed.

"I'm sure she has. With about half a dozen other women." Kagome entered with her herbs, causing Sango to look up. She must have just gotten done with the food line and come straight here.

"Kagome. You wound me. How could you think such of one who is kin to you?"

Kagome sat down next to the mat, prepared to change the dressing on Sango's wounds again. It was either change them often or have them get absorbed into the skin. "It's because you are so close to me, Miroku, that I know you just that well."

"So he treats women this way often?" Sango craned her neck to look at Kagome, who was pulling the bandages off with poised hands. Sango was getting use to the tugging sensation at this point as well as the mild shock from air exposure. She didn't get her wounds treated often.

"Yep. I'm sorry to say it, but you shouldn't feel that special just because he hits on you."

"I see."

"Kagome, stop being so cruel, I beg of you." Miroku did his best to appear wounded. More than anything else he was just worried; many women were put off when they learned of his past history. Or maybe it was his current trend... Whatever it was, certain women developed a distaste for him when they discovered such things... Especially if they learned too much too soon.

Kagome sighed. "He's a good guy though. You're in luck that he volunteered to be your vigilantinel."

"Vigilantinel?" Sango did not like the sound of that.

"Someone to watch you and make sure you don't run. But more than that, someone to help you get settled and make sure you are and feel safe. Miroku helps many women put their lives together in no time."

"I bet he does." Nope. Not going to like this at all.

Kagome finished applying the fresh bandage without another comment about Miroku. It would only be mean. She made Sango promise to get some sleep and told her she'd be back in the morning.

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Sango lay in silence, across from Miroku for a while. He didn't seem interested in talking and she had nothing really to say. She liked quiet times. It let her think.

Ah, but she was really getting sleepy. It had been a long hard day filled with far too many complications and thoughts and new things learned. She decided it was a good time to sleep, save for one small matter - Miroku refused to leave.

Sango settled down against the mat, even letting out a small forced yawn, hoping he would take the hint and go.

But he didn't. In fact, he leaned back against a box that served as a small table in the tiny room, hunched over and closed his eyes as if preparing to sleep himself. Sango was bewildered. He was ready to stay here. Was this part of the "Vigilantinel" thing Kagome had said? "Um... What are you doing?"

"Going to bed of course. It's rather late, you see." Miroku grinned ever so slightly as he sat cross-legged and arms folded. It was uncomfortable, but had slept in worse places.
"But I'm sleeping here now." Sango pointed to the ground.

"So?"

"So should you leave?" To her that was just plain common sense. Men and women didn't share sleeping spaces unless they were family.

"I fail to see why I should vacate my own house. That's my mat you're sleeping on, by the way." Miroku smirked. The punchline of a joke was always the best.

Sango shifted uncomfortably. The thought of all the things this monk would be able to do to her while she slept, still injured, made her feel very uneasy. She looked at Miroku, trying to decide how to handle the situation. The only answer seemed that there must be a better place to sleep. "Um. I think I'd like to move to Kagome and Inu-Yasha's place."

"Really? Okay. Would you prefer to share a room with their two screaming demon-blooded children and adopted son, or with Kagome and Inu-Yasha, who behave like newlyweds even though they're expecting their third child?" Miroku wasn't sure if he should be angered that she was so afraid of him or amused that she really had no way out.

Sango gnashed her teeth together. She was trapped on her stomach with this man! The man that thought her behind was some sort of pillow. Who Kagome had stated was a notorious womanizer.

On the other hand, the prospect of sharing a room with a very happily married couple or three screaming, rambunctious children was not appealing either.

Miroku was finally getting mad at the lack of trust they had built. He shook his head. "Sango, you need sleep. Now you've been here a full night unharmed. Can't you have just a little faith in me?"

Sango grunted, finding him quite funny. But she was too tired to argue about it. If it was his home, then he was right. He shouldn't have to leave. Hoping for the best was all she could do as she closed her eyes, allowing sleep to overtake her, Miroku doing the same.


Over the next few days, Sango recovered from her wounds. She was up and walking around in no time at all. After that her only problem was that she was stuck going everywhere Miroku went. She had found him to indeed be a good person to talk with and relate to, when he wasn't trying to feel her up.

That wasn't the problem. The problem was wherever he walked, he gravitated towards the largest group of pretty girls, all of whom seemed to know him and didn't hesitate to flirt back with him. It irked Sango more then she was willing to admit. She wasn't really sure why. Probably just because they shared a hut... for the moment, she reminded herself constantly.

After about a week of being trapped and desperately worried about Kohaku, Sango decided that even though she wasn't completely healed, now was as good a time to leave as any.

When the sun rose on the next day and Miroku got up, she pretended to still be sleeping. He tried to wake her just once before leaving to get both of them breakfast. Once alone, she waited a moment longer before changing into a black suit of leather armor and slipping out the door. She checked to make sure no was watching her, then took off.

They were in a small mountain range, as she had learned from Miroku. For some reason the location kept them safe from Naraku's prying eyes. Miroku hadn't really had the chance to explain in detail. And he wouldn't get the chance, at least for a while. She might come back here, though, when she had her brother.

Sango made her way to the bottom of the mountain and started down a path she had been told led out of the range. She was sure she could get back to Naraku's lands before nightfall.

She walked for about an hour along the path. It was actually lovely scenery, but she wasn't really paying attention. She was focused on getting back. Then she would sneak in and save her brother.

A streak of red and white appeared before her eyes and knocked her to her feet. "Where do ya think yer goin', eh?" Inu-Yasha glared at her. Behind her and some distance up the path, Miroku was heading her way.

Sango frowned. "I'm sorry. You've all been very good to me but I honestly have to leave!" She ran at Inu-Yasha like she was going to barrel into him. Instead, she jumped up into a back flip and over him. She then ran as fast as she could.

She didn't get far, however. Inu-Yasha was close behind her in no time and grabbed her from behind by the neck. He then pushed her to the ground onto her stomach.

"Inu-Yasha! Don't be so brutal. She's in a confused place at the moment." Miroku frowned, moving to try and extract Sango. He managed to get her out from under Inu-Yasha, but she began to struggle so he held her tightly, trying to calm her.

"Confused place or not, she's putting all of us in danger. We can't fight Naraku in our own home. She's gonna lead him right here. Ya shoulda just left her to get fucked by that miserable demon!"

The words were callous, even for Inu-Yasha, but his family was here living in the feeling of total safety. They were young and untrained and defenseless. Sango was willing to endanger all that over one boy.

Sango looked up at Miroku. He had saved her from Seiryuu? "She's only worried about her brother," Miroku was quick to defend her. He understood her feelings.

"Oh, yeah?" Inu-Yasha grabbed Sango's chin and growled at her. "Listen up. If your brother's dead there ain't nothing you can do about it. And if Naraku wanted to kill him he would have by now. Honestly! You don't even know if he's been alive this whole time."

Sango stiffened. She had been thinking it for a few years now. After all, she hadn't seen her brother since they were separated. But to hear someone else say it...

Miroku held her tight against him. All three of them, Kagome, Inu-Yasha, and himself, had discussed the likelihood of this brother still being alive. Never around her, of course, but they all thought that Naraku was not the type to keep someone alive - and able to run - just to keep someone else from doing the same. But to say such to her so cruelly... It was killing her hope.

"No matter what, you shouldn't die with him, Sango." It was all he had to offer. She nodded, face fallen.

She didn't even argue when he picked her up and carried her back. At the village, she ate alone in silence.

Her brother was gone. All gone. She had no one and nothing. When she died there wouldn't be anything left of her family. Everything they'd worked for, all the promises and the death and blood... He'd probably been dead for years. Maybe even that first night. She had done everything and it was no good. She had tried so hard and so long and the things she had done... Why wasn't her will enough?

She refused to cry, which deeply worried Miroku. Granted, she hadn't been big on tears the last couple of days if ever in her life, even in pain. But certainly a death in the family was a cry-worthy offense. Still, he didn't say anything and let her have her space.

Even when she wandered off to be alone at dinner. Even when she went to bed without saying a word at him, not even the words she uttered the most before sleeping as part of some nightly ritual she'd had for years; "Stay away, deviant, good night."

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People were yelling and shouting. The air reeked of blood and smoke. Swords and other weapons could be heard clanging and clashing.

"Sango!" her mother yelled, frantic. "There you are!" Behind her, dust and metal flew. Men were carrying Naraku's banners, but Sango hadn't known that when she was twelve.

Her mother grabbed her by the arm, almost wrenching the young lady off the ground. Hauling Sango into their home, she threw her into a small dresser where ten-year-old Kohaku huddled already. "Get in there with your brother. HURRY!" Their mother quickly locked them in, safe for the moment.

Sango banged on the door, reaching through the small holes in the dresser. She tried to stop her mother from shutting her inside. "But I want to help fight!"

"No, Sango! You have to take care of Kohaku." A man in full armor charged through the door. Sango's mother turned around to face him, covering the dresser as best she could with her own flesh. Kohaku started to whimper, so Sango pulled him to her, keeping his young eyes from such terrible sights.

"I saw the young woman and the brat you brought in here. All of your men are dead. Surrender the pair over and you'll be well treated."

With the sweetest whisper, perceivable over so much death, their mother said good-bye to her children. "No matter what, take care of your little brother."

Without the slightest hesitation, their brave mother pulled a sickle knife out from the folds of her dress. "You can have my babies over my dead body." At that moment the woman who had always been demure became as fierce as a tigress protecting her young to the death. She lunged at him, aiming for his throat.

There was fear in his eyes as he looked at the woman had become feral. It was the fear that saved his pitiful life. He took a step back, and the knife cut into his cheek in a long gash instead.

The soldier tossed her down quickly once she was off balance from missing, something neither had expected to happen. Once pinned, he stabbed her through the heart, shaking. He didn't want her to get back up. He knew he would die if she did.

Sango didn't let her brother watch. It was hard enough for her. She felt something pass away at that moment. Felt it drape itself over the corpse and cry so hard it had to rip out its own heart.

But it wasn't over, not by far. The man inspected the house, finally stopping at the dresser. His hand went through the weak, thin oak, splintering it to pieces. Both children screamed from shock and also the hand that sought them out through the wood. Once they were confirmed to be inside, he opened the door and dragged them out, Sango by her hair, Kohaku by the back of his shirt.

They were brought into a circle with the few other survivors. A man, obviously the leader because he wore the best armor, approached and looked over each of them. "Hmmm. The woman will be fine... But the boy is too young to work well."

Someone shoved Kohaku to his knees and then elbows. The leader raised his sword. Sango screamed when she realized what was happening. She pulled away from the others and jumped over her brother's body, covering him with herself. They had taken her mother, father, and all her friends. Her brother was the only part of her world left. Her brother was everything.

"My brother is a hard worker. Please spare him!" The leader started to lower his sword but kept it just above her neck. He was considering it. Then someone tried to pull her away from her sibling.

'No! That isn't right! That's not how it happened.'

The man wrenched her free completely. He had no face. It didn't matter who he was. Because the leader didn't care. "Do you want to die too?" the faceless man asked.

'YES! No... But I can't...! I have to... WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITHOUT A FAMILY?'

The leader changed in appearance and size, suddenly warped. He became Naraku. "I warned you, Sango. It doesn't matter what happened. You're not here now." He raised the sword higher.

'Not him. You've taken everything else. Not him! PLEASE!!!'

The blade was brought down in a beautiful, deadly arc. Kohaku's head rolled free of his body, landing at her feet.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

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She sat up screaming, covered in a cold sweat. She wasn't completely asleep or completely awake. Being trapped in the world between dream and reality left her dazed and disoriented.

"Sango? Sango, please! Wake up. You're having a nightmare." Miroku held her tightly, trying to be an anchor to reality for her. Frankly, he felt as scared as she seemed to be. It showed in his voice. He didn't know what was happening to her or what she was so afraid of; moreover, he had no clue how to stop it.

"Sango, please wake up." He shook her gently.

She blinked several times in succession, hunching over, clutching her head. She was trembling from a combination of cold sweat and terror.

"Shhhhh. It's all right. It's all right." Miroku's words of concern were soothing, the deepness of his voice caressing her. He held her tightly, like he was trying to absorb the bad dream from her mind through his skin. For the moment she forgot this man grabbed her rear repeatedly and hugged him back.

Gently, he ran his fingers through her hair. Sango got drowsier with every dark tress that he stroked. Miroku then whispered to her velvety words of solace. He calmed her without much effort and the dream and its contents seemed a million miles away.

Sango mellowed completely, wrapped up in his kindness and concern. She relaxed so much, in fact, that she didn't feel her own emotion creeping up on her and the flood of tears began before she could dam them.

Miroku suppressed the urge to stare at this new sight. He had not seen her cry once in the last few days. Still, he held her close, looking away. He gave her both dignity and compassion. No one had seen her this way in a long, long time. Quietly, he was glad she was finally mourning.

The tears raged on like a floodgate that had been broken. Her baby brother, her only tie to this world, the only part of her parents she had left, the one she shared so much life with, was most likely dead.

Sango's tears became horrible wails for a few moments. Then, at last, they slowed. She sniffled a couple times.

Miroku wanted to do more to help her but he couldn't. It would destroy her further for him to interfere so. As she calmed, still clinging to him, he finally looked at her. Even like this she was beautiful, but that was at the back of his mind at the moment. Now he was much more affected by the nervous breakdown she was having.

"I should have died first." It seemed like a month before she spoke up, even if it was just a whisper.

"Do you really believe that, Sango?" His voice rumbled so deeply, Sango could feel the vibrations in her body. It warmed her cold, lonely soul.

She sighed. "No." She turned to look straight at him. "But I promised! He's all I have."
"Sango, between you and me, I'm glad you're alive." He smiled at her sadly.

"But I... I have no family." She berated herself, feeling the tears return. She didn't want to cry right now. She'd just finished crying and had had enough of it!

Seeing her sadness return unwanted, he smiled at her, soft and kind. "Then we are both orphans." He wiped away a single tear from her cheek.

She blinked at him. Miroku had no family? But the way he was with Kagome, she had thought for sure...

"Let's go back to sleep, Sango. You'll feel better in the morning." He leaned back, guiding her to bed, still holding her close. For once his hands were good, despite urges from his body to make her his. He was tired and she had a lot on her mind. This situation called for discretion.

Sango was too tired to even notice he was holding her. She fell asleep in his arms and slept through the night with no more bad dreams.

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