InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Methods of the Heart ❯ Whether You Say It or Not ( Chapter 11 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Fanfic Connoisseur 
Sango's where? Where's Miroku going? Where are we?!
Wait... Is that? Oh no.. RUN!
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 12.21.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 274 | Status: Completed
Sango's where? Where's Miroku going? Where are we?!
Wait... Is that? Oh no.. RUN!
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 12.21.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 274 | Status: Completed
Finally. FINALLY! I’ve redone this chapter TWICE and it’s finally come out the way I wanted it to. I debated going longer but thought, ‘Nah. Then I won’t have room for any lemon-y goodness.’ Who’s hungry? I’m still working it out a bit though. I’m going to need a lot of time. Why? Because I’m two teachers’ slaves - running around doing jobs such as book research and lecture help for free - and in my other class, I have to be a genius/saint. Why? Because I should have already had that stupid degree in my hands. (CRIES)
But I’m sure you’re all very bored with my life and probably don’t care. Basically I’m just saying I’m working as fast as my fingers can fly. I also would like to remind you that I don’t get paid for entertaining you...so if you kindly review, good or bad, it spurs me on, and so I chain myself to my computer to get that next chapter out faster. But I digress. On with the fic!
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Chapter Eleven: Whether You Say It or Not
---
After fleeing from Miroku, Sango managed to stay on unsteady feet long enough to get out of anyone’s sight before collapsing. She didn’t cry, exactly. Tears were for the weak and shouldn’t be wasted on men like him. Still, her body shook violently with the held emotions that desperately wanted to escape. A soft sob escaped her lips. She quickly covered her mouth but it was too late... The damage was done. So caught up in her troubles, she didn’t even notice the flash of red and white and soft feet landing with inhuman grace in front of her.
“Wait. What do you mean, gone?” Miroku demanded.
The half demon asked her what was wrong, if he should get Kagome. Sango merely shook her head. “I–I’m all right.” The sentence lacked certainty as she sniffled.
“I mean as in she ain’t anywhere ‘round here.” Inu-Yasha’s glare spoke of his disgust at a man he usually considered a friend.
“Bull. What happened?”
“Just tell me. Do you know where Sango is?” Miroku frowned. What was going on here?
She sighed. “You won’t like it.”
“Maybe I do. So what?” In one swift movement Inu-Yasha was on his feet, arms crossed, and looking as superior as he could.
“Will ya just tell me what’s going on already?” Tears were usually Kagome’s area, not his. A girl’s tears especially. So his patience was wearing a little thin.
“Can you just tell me, please? I have to correct a mistake I made and time is of great importance.” Miroku’s eyes fell to the side with guilt and shame.
“It was Miroku. He-“ She went on to explain.
Inu-Yasha’s shrug made Miroku’s mood degenerate. “Fine. Then just tell me this: yes or no, has Sango been by to see Kagome today?”
Inu-Yasha frowned. “Geez. Ya letch... Ya went too far this time.” It wasn’t like Miroku was there to hear him. But Sango was. And she needed someone to look out for her, someone to be her big brother. And Inu-Yasha was sure if he had a sister, he wouldn’t let her anywhere NEAR Miroku. ‘Especially not when he pulls shit like this.’
“I know Kagome ain’t seen her before she left.” Inu-Yasha turned away from the monk, pretending to find his fingers more interesting.
“I-I... I need to get AWAY from him. Away from here. I know the area’s trapped. Can you help me?” Sango had calmed since telling him, but her eyes still held unspeakable pain.
“Huh? What do you mean left?” Panic seized him. Was he too late? Had she been so mad she ran away? What about the traps–the wrong path–she could be hurt! “We should look for her immediately. It’s not safe.”
Inu-Yasha knew the feeling. They were alike that way. Two strong warrior souls, and she felt betrayed and abandoned. More than that, he just knew the feeling of needing to get away when you’re hurt, to lick your wounds. “You sure?”
“She’ll be fine. I told her the right way ta get ta town from here.” Inu-Yasha sneered. Yes. He had sent her away. He had sent her far away from his lecherous friend. And while the half-demon had done it for her sake, he felt a slight twinge of revenge for all the comments Miroku had made to Kagome about what a bad person Inu-Yasha was to fall in love with.
She nodded.
“What?” Miroku quickly grabbed his own arm and dug his nails in. He had to keep control. He had to remain calm. He had to expel all ideas of beating his best friend to a pulp while asking him what the hell he was thinking?!
“How well can you read?”
“Sango’s been here longer then any of yer other little ‘refugees.’ She wanted ta go so I told her how to get out of here.”
Inu-Yasha gave her a map and sent her on her way with some supplies.
“Inu-Yasha. Sango is my charge. It’s for me to decide when she can leave. You made that rule.”
“I know ya wanna find your brother... Wait a while, okay? When you get off the mountain lay low for a bit... We can’t have Naraku catchin ya, got that?”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t think ya’d use it to hold someone hostage till they slept with you!” Inu-Yasha’s words both exasperated and deflated Miroku, making the monk run hot and cold at the same time. Miroku realized Sango must have told him. She had been that upset.
Not good.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful. I wouldn’t put anyone here in danger, no matter what.” She started to walk down the path. “Thanks... Inu-Yasha.”
“It wasn’t like that, Inu-Yasha. I admit I was overzealous. But I realize my error. I need to tell her.” Miroku looked up. “I need to tell Sango that I’m sorry and I will not allow myself to behave like that again, no matter what.”
“Hey. You can come back anytime. We need strong fighters like you ‘round here.”
Kagome appeared at the door. “What did you do, Miroku?”
Sango just smiled. “Good bye.”
And just like that the squabbling stopped.
Kagome had that effect on them both, which was strange considering she was decades younger than Inu-Yasha, and Miroku considered himself far worldlier. “What’s going on here?”
“Sango’s gone, Kagome.” Miroku looked down.
The priestess looked between the two most important men in her life. “Okay, what did both of you do?”
There were shouts and accusations and lots of finger pointing. Kagome should have known better than to ask that. She sighed.
“ALL RIGHT!!!” She lifted her hand in the air and both men shut up. “So let me get this straight. Miroku, your lechery had incredibly bad timing and so Sango’s run off.” Miroku’s head sank, trying to escape Kagome’s ‘mother look’, which still felt like it could burn a hole through his skull, even if they weren’t kids anymore.
“And Inu-Yasha–you just let her take off? Without even getting her checked over or anything?! And you gave her a map! Those are for emergencies! Have you lost your mind?!”
Inu-Yasha had a strong urge to back into the wall and only through sheer force of will managed to stay planted where he was.
Kagome sighed. “Miroku. I think you owe Sango a very BIG apology. IF she’ll even listen.” Miroku open his mouth to speak but Kagome shot him a warning glance and the words died in his throat. “And Inu-Yasha!” A cold shiver ran up the half demon’s back. “Tell Miroku which way Sango went. How else is he supposed to apologize!?”
There was long, tense pause. Neither man was done being angry with the other. Both didn’t want to comply. But Kagome – den mother, sister, lover – her very presence gave them no room to argue with her orders. “I put her on the southwest path that borders Koga’s territory,” Inu-Yasha finally muttered.
“Thank you,” was all Miroku said before running out. He’d find her.
He had to.
---
The path Sango took was mesas and dirt with few trees. It was canyon and desert and caves. The trail went through one of one of the more twisted canyons.
Miroku watched her take a wrong turn down the path, having just caught up to her. He smirked, knowing the way she took would lead her right back to him in a few more minutes. She must have gotten lost a few times since he’d managed to catch up to her, though he had run most of the way. At least she’d avoided the worse traps, but he knew those maps were hard to read. They were full of vague references to natural landmarks without any real detail, making them hard to follow if anyone they didn’t want reading it found one of the maps.
He stood on the path, a little off to the side, and waited. It wasn’t long before she appeared again.
He’d never seen a jaw drop quite that far before.
Sango recovered quickly from her shock, her fists balling at her sides as she stomped past him. “Go away,” she muttered.
He walked behind her. “Sango. We have to go back now. Inu-Yasha should not have allowed you to leave. It was a mistake.” He put his hand on her shoulder, prepared to tell her the rest of it–including how sorry he was–but she twisted around to face him, grabbed his arm and swept his leg out in front of him–and out from under him.
Sango ‘hmph’ed and quickly walked away, leaving a slightly dazed monk on his back on the road.
Miroku shook his head and flipped up to stand. “Okay. So, I see you’re still mad.” Her response was to walk away faster. “Hey! Hey, Sango. Come on. Wait!”
She turned around, ready to give him another piece of her mind. That’s when she saw them.
It was impossible. They couldn’t have found her. She’d been so careful. Naraku should think she was dead. It wasn’t POSSIBLE!
Miroku turned to see what had drawn Sango’s gaze. In the sky were a swarm of bees and Naraku’s horde.
He grabbed her arm. “It’s a patrol. We should move.”
She ripped her hand away but kept on moving, running ahead of him. He grabbed her hand again. “Not that way.” She pulled away again. Miroku rolled his eyes. They didn’t have time for this!
They kept running faster, farther. They had to get away. They had to move. They had to find somewhere someplace unseen. He had to get her out of there.
A bee passed overhead. He shoved her against the cliff side, under an outcropping of stone, then pressed himself against the trunk of one of the few trees in the area.
Of the two of them, he was the one who was more exposed. He mouthed at her to get down, and tried to find something to fight with. Why had he left his staff behind?
The bee flew closer. Not to him, but to Sango, who had already covered her face with a cloth. Miroku felt a cold chill run down his spine. On impulse he jumped out. “Over here!”
The bee turned to him. He pulled a stick off the tree and waved it around. Sango shook her head. She didn’t want him to do this. He had to stop doing this! He couldn’t! “NO!”
The bee turned back in her direction and was joined by a second. Sango stared, wide-eyed. “KAZANA!” The two bees were pulled into Miroku’s void before they knew what had happened. “Sango, quickly!” She nodded, running on ahead. The rest of the bees were going in the other direction now. If they kept moving they might be safe.
Miroku followed her, but he started to fall behind. He looked dizzy and he was sweating a lot. And then all of the sudden he fell over, fell down, tumbled from the momentum and slid to a stop. Frightened, Sango skidded on her knees to check up on him. “Keep… keep going.” He licked his lips. “I’ll be fine.” He smiled at her.
“Miroku, don’t say that!” She grabbed his hand. “We have to keep going.”
“Leave me.” He closed his eyes. She had to get away. He wanted her to live and be happy. Besides... This was nothing compared to what he had been through in life.
“NO! I won’t leave you!” Miroku felt something wet on his hand. He looked up. She was crying.
He sighed. “Sango,” was all he could manage before everything went dark.
---
When he came to, he was in a small tunnel in the cliff side. It was dark... No. It was early. He could see– Was that sunset or sunrise? Sango came into view. “You’re awake.” She gave a small smile, adding some twigs to a smokeless fire. “I found your medicine and gave it to you, but you were asleep all night and I thought...” She shook her head. “How do you feel?”
He smiled. So she had been worried. “Where are we?”
“I carried you after you passed out.” She noticed he was staring at her arm. Strips of cloth from her dress had been made into a bandage that wrapped around a wound. He could see the blood soaking through. Self-consciously, she rub the injured spot. “One of the demons came after me. I killed it. But it hit my arm. It’s nothing.”
Miroku frowned. “Did you sleep?” She looked at the ground. “I’ll be alright. You can rest now. I’ll take over watch.”
She shook her head. “You shouldn’t. You’re still not back to full strength yet.” She shrugged. “Besides, it’s almost morning anyway. I couldn’t sleep if I tried.”
“Sango.” He sat up but she pushed him back down.
“Will you just once do what I ask, please!” She growled at him. Honestly. She was trying to be nice and he was throwing it back in her face.
Part of him wanted to argue with her, just to see her cheeks all red and flushed and that fire in her eyes. And she needed rest.
He sighed. He knew he was still tired. If he passed out again it could kill them both. He closed his eyes and went to sleep.
---
He woke again, feeling much better. It was light out and the poison was out of his system. Sango, on the other hand, seemed half asleep. She hid it well. She didn’t look sleepy. No rings under her eyes, no stumbling around or nodding off… But every now and again, she’d trail off in her thoughts like she wasn’t paying attention.
That was the first problem. The second was that Miroku had no idea where they were. Sango had carried him off in a random direction after they’d both been running away from danger, disregarding location.
The shelter Sango found wasn’t very good, either. It couldn’t hold both of them at the same time and in broad daylight they might as well both be exposed to anyone’s view. So they started walking.
Miroku felt if he could find something familiar he could find the path back home. Sango had argued he could also find the way to the nearest town if that was the case. They’d ended up disputing it on and off again for most of the morning.
“But Inu-Yasha said I could go.” Sango frowned.
“Yeah, well he shouldn’t have done that.” At Sango’s glare he continued. “Without telling Kagome or me. We have rules about these things.”
“Seems rather convenient to me,” she muttered.
“We’ve had spies before, Sango. It’s a rule that someone has to be checked over for spells that can control the mind before we ever let them leave.” He glanced at her over his shoulder when she didn’t say anything back. A single raindrop had hit her square on the nose. She scrunched up her face and wiped it off. Miroku smile. “Cute.”
“What?” She glared her hardest but her cheeks turned slightly pink.
“Uhhh. Nothing nothing!” He scratched the back of his head. “I thought I saw something I recognized.” Actually, the shape of the canyon they were in DID look familiar... And for some reason it bothered him greatly.
“Miroku, what is it? You recognize something?” Another raindrop hit the top of his head. His back went straight. He knew just where they were and it wasn’t good. “We have to move!” He grabbed her arm.
“What? Why?” She looked around, expecting to be attacked or something.
“We’re in Gravel’s Drop! It doesn’t rain often here but when it does it–“ He didn’t finish his sentence. Sango’s eyes were wider than saucers. He didn’t have to turn around to know what it was she saw. There was, by now, a huge wave of muddy water cascading straight for them.
“There’s a safe house. Come on! We have to hurry!” He started pushing her to move. They had to find the shelter that was set up for when it rained in Gravel’s Drop.
Sango was running ahead of him in no time. She was fast but it didn’t matter. The sandy gritty water engulfed them completely.
In the wave of muddy water Miroku lost track of her–as well as which way was up. He soon found the latter, his lungs breathing deeply, gasping for fresh air.
The former was still missing. “SANGO!!!!” He paddled around. “Sango, answer me, PLEASE!” Water started flowing down the walls, filling the canyon. He knew what was ahead. This canyon was just part of a larger one; when it rained it made a waterfall over the side. It was a forty foot drop.
“SANGO!”
A hand shot out of the water a ways from him. He stretched out to reach it, but as soon as he did, the hand slipped from his grip. Water had never felt so cold as at that moment. He felt his heart freeze.
But mercy was still with him. Her head popped up a few minutes later; she was coughing and choking on the muck. She was... alive, anyway. He had to act fast. They were in some real trouble. He looked around frantically. He needed to do something.
That’s when he saw the rail. He didn’t question it, just swam faster toward salvation. This was the entrance to the shelter. This was safety, and not a minute too soon.
Then he remembered why he’d been in such a rush. “SANGO! This way!” He caught a rope that had been tied onto the rail. Ignoring the fact that it cut into his skin, he wrapped the tether around his hand and swam out to her.
Sango was having a bit of trouble swimming. She’d never learned how. Granted, she was strong, but it seemed like the more she resisted in the water, the more she got pulled away, which made her just want to resist more.
Miroku was swimming out to her. She tried to reach him. Instead, a current pulled her right past him. He dove under the surface.
Sango was getting frightened, and she didn’t like it. Miroku was gone and she was being pulled away by the current. She was going to be alone.. This wasn’t safe. This wasn’t right. She was always in control in a situation. She had to know the next step. But everything was out of her hands...
Hands. A hand was grabbing her forearm, pulling her close and in the opposite direction of the water. Miroku was stretched from the rope to his grip on Sango. His arms clenched and bunched, teeth gritted as he tried to hold onto her. “Sango. Give me your hand.”
Sango only vaguely understood his voice. But she knew he’d come to save her. Any other time she’d hate being the damsel in distress.
Her arms shot out and gripped him so tightly it hurt. He didn’t care. He held her just as tightly.
“Can’t swim?” She shook her head. He closed his eyes. Thank god. Thank god she was all right.
He felt the rope jerk. His hand clenched tighter. Right. They should get out of here while they still could. “I need help... pulling us in.”
“Huh? Right.” Her finger slid along his arm to their anchor to solid rope and started pulling along it, followed shortly by him.
They both fell into the dry tunnel that lead to the shelter, rested their worn bodies and exhausted minds.
But I’m sure you’re all very bored with my life and probably don’t care. Basically I’m just saying I’m working as fast as my fingers can fly. I also would like to remind you that I don’t get paid for entertaining you...so if you kindly review, good or bad, it spurs me on, and so I chain myself to my computer to get that next chapter out faster. But I digress. On with the fic!
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Chapter Eleven: Whether You Say It or Not
---
After fleeing from Miroku, Sango managed to stay on unsteady feet long enough to get out of anyone’s sight before collapsing. She didn’t cry, exactly. Tears were for the weak and shouldn’t be wasted on men like him. Still, her body shook violently with the held emotions that desperately wanted to escape. A soft sob escaped her lips. She quickly covered her mouth but it was too late... The damage was done. So caught up in her troubles, she didn’t even notice the flash of red and white and soft feet landing with inhuman grace in front of her.
“Wait. What do you mean, gone?” Miroku demanded.
The half demon asked her what was wrong, if he should get Kagome. Sango merely shook her head. “I–I’m all right.” The sentence lacked certainty as she sniffled.
“I mean as in she ain’t anywhere ‘round here.” Inu-Yasha’s glare spoke of his disgust at a man he usually considered a friend.
“Bull. What happened?”
“Just tell me. Do you know where Sango is?” Miroku frowned. What was going on here?
She sighed. “You won’t like it.”
“Maybe I do. So what?” In one swift movement Inu-Yasha was on his feet, arms crossed, and looking as superior as he could.
“Will ya just tell me what’s going on already?” Tears were usually Kagome’s area, not his. A girl’s tears especially. So his patience was wearing a little thin.
“Can you just tell me, please? I have to correct a mistake I made and time is of great importance.” Miroku’s eyes fell to the side with guilt and shame.
“It was Miroku. He-“ She went on to explain.
Inu-Yasha’s shrug made Miroku’s mood degenerate. “Fine. Then just tell me this: yes or no, has Sango been by to see Kagome today?”
Inu-Yasha frowned. “Geez. Ya letch... Ya went too far this time.” It wasn’t like Miroku was there to hear him. But Sango was. And she needed someone to look out for her, someone to be her big brother. And Inu-Yasha was sure if he had a sister, he wouldn’t let her anywhere NEAR Miroku. ‘Especially not when he pulls shit like this.’
“I know Kagome ain’t seen her before she left.” Inu-Yasha turned away from the monk, pretending to find his fingers more interesting.
“I-I... I need to get AWAY from him. Away from here. I know the area’s trapped. Can you help me?” Sango had calmed since telling him, but her eyes still held unspeakable pain.
“Huh? What do you mean left?” Panic seized him. Was he too late? Had she been so mad she ran away? What about the traps–the wrong path–she could be hurt! “We should look for her immediately. It’s not safe.”
Inu-Yasha knew the feeling. They were alike that way. Two strong warrior souls, and she felt betrayed and abandoned. More than that, he just knew the feeling of needing to get away when you’re hurt, to lick your wounds. “You sure?”
“She’ll be fine. I told her the right way ta get ta town from here.” Inu-Yasha sneered. Yes. He had sent her away. He had sent her far away from his lecherous friend. And while the half-demon had done it for her sake, he felt a slight twinge of revenge for all the comments Miroku had made to Kagome about what a bad person Inu-Yasha was to fall in love with.
She nodded.
“What?” Miroku quickly grabbed his own arm and dug his nails in. He had to keep control. He had to remain calm. He had to expel all ideas of beating his best friend to a pulp while asking him what the hell he was thinking?!
“How well can you read?”
“Sango’s been here longer then any of yer other little ‘refugees.’ She wanted ta go so I told her how to get out of here.”
Inu-Yasha gave her a map and sent her on her way with some supplies.
“Inu-Yasha. Sango is my charge. It’s for me to decide when she can leave. You made that rule.”
“I know ya wanna find your brother... Wait a while, okay? When you get off the mountain lay low for a bit... We can’t have Naraku catchin ya, got that?”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t think ya’d use it to hold someone hostage till they slept with you!” Inu-Yasha’s words both exasperated and deflated Miroku, making the monk run hot and cold at the same time. Miroku realized Sango must have told him. She had been that upset.
Not good.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful. I wouldn’t put anyone here in danger, no matter what.” She started to walk down the path. “Thanks... Inu-Yasha.”
“It wasn’t like that, Inu-Yasha. I admit I was overzealous. But I realize my error. I need to tell her.” Miroku looked up. “I need to tell Sango that I’m sorry and I will not allow myself to behave like that again, no matter what.”
“Hey. You can come back anytime. We need strong fighters like you ‘round here.”
Kagome appeared at the door. “What did you do, Miroku?”
Sango just smiled. “Good bye.”
And just like that the squabbling stopped.
Kagome had that effect on them both, which was strange considering she was decades younger than Inu-Yasha, and Miroku considered himself far worldlier. “What’s going on here?”
“Sango’s gone, Kagome.” Miroku looked down.
The priestess looked between the two most important men in her life. “Okay, what did both of you do?”
There were shouts and accusations and lots of finger pointing. Kagome should have known better than to ask that. She sighed.
“ALL RIGHT!!!” She lifted her hand in the air and both men shut up. “So let me get this straight. Miroku, your lechery had incredibly bad timing and so Sango’s run off.” Miroku’s head sank, trying to escape Kagome’s ‘mother look’, which still felt like it could burn a hole through his skull, even if they weren’t kids anymore.
“And Inu-Yasha–you just let her take off? Without even getting her checked over or anything?! And you gave her a map! Those are for emergencies! Have you lost your mind?!”
Inu-Yasha had a strong urge to back into the wall and only through sheer force of will managed to stay planted where he was.
Kagome sighed. “Miroku. I think you owe Sango a very BIG apology. IF she’ll even listen.” Miroku open his mouth to speak but Kagome shot him a warning glance and the words died in his throat. “And Inu-Yasha!” A cold shiver ran up the half demon’s back. “Tell Miroku which way Sango went. How else is he supposed to apologize!?”
There was long, tense pause. Neither man was done being angry with the other. Both didn’t want to comply. But Kagome – den mother, sister, lover – her very presence gave them no room to argue with her orders. “I put her on the southwest path that borders Koga’s territory,” Inu-Yasha finally muttered.
“Thank you,” was all Miroku said before running out. He’d find her.
He had to.
---
The path Sango took was mesas and dirt with few trees. It was canyon and desert and caves. The trail went through one of one of the more twisted canyons.
Miroku watched her take a wrong turn down the path, having just caught up to her. He smirked, knowing the way she took would lead her right back to him in a few more minutes. She must have gotten lost a few times since he’d managed to catch up to her, though he had run most of the way. At least she’d avoided the worse traps, but he knew those maps were hard to read. They were full of vague references to natural landmarks without any real detail, making them hard to follow if anyone they didn’t want reading it found one of the maps.
He stood on the path, a little off to the side, and waited. It wasn’t long before she appeared again.
He’d never seen a jaw drop quite that far before.
Sango recovered quickly from her shock, her fists balling at her sides as she stomped past him. “Go away,” she muttered.
He walked behind her. “Sango. We have to go back now. Inu-Yasha should not have allowed you to leave. It was a mistake.” He put his hand on her shoulder, prepared to tell her the rest of it–including how sorry he was–but she twisted around to face him, grabbed his arm and swept his leg out in front of him–and out from under him.
Sango ‘hmph’ed and quickly walked away, leaving a slightly dazed monk on his back on the road.
Miroku shook his head and flipped up to stand. “Okay. So, I see you’re still mad.” Her response was to walk away faster. “Hey! Hey, Sango. Come on. Wait!”
She turned around, ready to give him another piece of her mind. That’s when she saw them.
It was impossible. They couldn’t have found her. She’d been so careful. Naraku should think she was dead. It wasn’t POSSIBLE!
Miroku turned to see what had drawn Sango’s gaze. In the sky were a swarm of bees and Naraku’s horde.
He grabbed her arm. “It’s a patrol. We should move.”
She ripped her hand away but kept on moving, running ahead of him. He grabbed her hand again. “Not that way.” She pulled away again. Miroku rolled his eyes. They didn’t have time for this!
They kept running faster, farther. They had to get away. They had to move. They had to find somewhere someplace unseen. He had to get her out of there.
A bee passed overhead. He shoved her against the cliff side, under an outcropping of stone, then pressed himself against the trunk of one of the few trees in the area.
Of the two of them, he was the one who was more exposed. He mouthed at her to get down, and tried to find something to fight with. Why had he left his staff behind?
The bee flew closer. Not to him, but to Sango, who had already covered her face with a cloth. Miroku felt a cold chill run down his spine. On impulse he jumped out. “Over here!”
The bee turned to him. He pulled a stick off the tree and waved it around. Sango shook her head. She didn’t want him to do this. He had to stop doing this! He couldn’t! “NO!”
The bee turned back in her direction and was joined by a second. Sango stared, wide-eyed. “KAZANA!” The two bees were pulled into Miroku’s void before they knew what had happened. “Sango, quickly!” She nodded, running on ahead. The rest of the bees were going in the other direction now. If they kept moving they might be safe.
Miroku followed her, but he started to fall behind. He looked dizzy and he was sweating a lot. And then all of the sudden he fell over, fell down, tumbled from the momentum and slid to a stop. Frightened, Sango skidded on her knees to check up on him. “Keep… keep going.” He licked his lips. “I’ll be fine.” He smiled at her.
“Miroku, don’t say that!” She grabbed his hand. “We have to keep going.”
“Leave me.” He closed his eyes. She had to get away. He wanted her to live and be happy. Besides... This was nothing compared to what he had been through in life.
“NO! I won’t leave you!” Miroku felt something wet on his hand. He looked up. She was crying.
He sighed. “Sango,” was all he could manage before everything went dark.
---
When he came to, he was in a small tunnel in the cliff side. It was dark... No. It was early. He could see– Was that sunset or sunrise? Sango came into view. “You’re awake.” She gave a small smile, adding some twigs to a smokeless fire. “I found your medicine and gave it to you, but you were asleep all night and I thought...” She shook her head. “How do you feel?”
He smiled. So she had been worried. “Where are we?”
“I carried you after you passed out.” She noticed he was staring at her arm. Strips of cloth from her dress had been made into a bandage that wrapped around a wound. He could see the blood soaking through. Self-consciously, she rub the injured spot. “One of the demons came after me. I killed it. But it hit my arm. It’s nothing.”
Miroku frowned. “Did you sleep?” She looked at the ground. “I’ll be alright. You can rest now. I’ll take over watch.”
She shook her head. “You shouldn’t. You’re still not back to full strength yet.” She shrugged. “Besides, it’s almost morning anyway. I couldn’t sleep if I tried.”
“Sango.” He sat up but she pushed him back down.
“Will you just once do what I ask, please!” She growled at him. Honestly. She was trying to be nice and he was throwing it back in her face.
Part of him wanted to argue with her, just to see her cheeks all red and flushed and that fire in her eyes. And she needed rest.
He sighed. He knew he was still tired. If he passed out again it could kill them both. He closed his eyes and went to sleep.
---
He woke again, feeling much better. It was light out and the poison was out of his system. Sango, on the other hand, seemed half asleep. She hid it well. She didn’t look sleepy. No rings under her eyes, no stumbling around or nodding off… But every now and again, she’d trail off in her thoughts like she wasn’t paying attention.
That was the first problem. The second was that Miroku had no idea where they were. Sango had carried him off in a random direction after they’d both been running away from danger, disregarding location.
The shelter Sango found wasn’t very good, either. It couldn’t hold both of them at the same time and in broad daylight they might as well both be exposed to anyone’s view. So they started walking.
Miroku felt if he could find something familiar he could find the path back home. Sango had argued he could also find the way to the nearest town if that was the case. They’d ended up disputing it on and off again for most of the morning.
“But Inu-Yasha said I could go.” Sango frowned.
“Yeah, well he shouldn’t have done that.” At Sango’s glare he continued. “Without telling Kagome or me. We have rules about these things.”
“Seems rather convenient to me,” she muttered.
“We’ve had spies before, Sango. It’s a rule that someone has to be checked over for spells that can control the mind before we ever let them leave.” He glanced at her over his shoulder when she didn’t say anything back. A single raindrop had hit her square on the nose. She scrunched up her face and wiped it off. Miroku smile. “Cute.”
“What?” She glared her hardest but her cheeks turned slightly pink.
“Uhhh. Nothing nothing!” He scratched the back of his head. “I thought I saw something I recognized.” Actually, the shape of the canyon they were in DID look familiar... And for some reason it bothered him greatly.
“Miroku, what is it? You recognize something?” Another raindrop hit the top of his head. His back went straight. He knew just where they were and it wasn’t good. “We have to move!” He grabbed her arm.
“What? Why?” She looked around, expecting to be attacked or something.
“We’re in Gravel’s Drop! It doesn’t rain often here but when it does it–“ He didn’t finish his sentence. Sango’s eyes were wider than saucers. He didn’t have to turn around to know what it was she saw. There was, by now, a huge wave of muddy water cascading straight for them.
“There’s a safe house. Come on! We have to hurry!” He started pushing her to move. They had to find the shelter that was set up for when it rained in Gravel’s Drop.
Sango was running ahead of him in no time. She was fast but it didn’t matter. The sandy gritty water engulfed them completely.
In the wave of muddy water Miroku lost track of her–as well as which way was up. He soon found the latter, his lungs breathing deeply, gasping for fresh air.
The former was still missing. “SANGO!!!!” He paddled around. “Sango, answer me, PLEASE!” Water started flowing down the walls, filling the canyon. He knew what was ahead. This canyon was just part of a larger one; when it rained it made a waterfall over the side. It was a forty foot drop.
“SANGO!”
A hand shot out of the water a ways from him. He stretched out to reach it, but as soon as he did, the hand slipped from his grip. Water had never felt so cold as at that moment. He felt his heart freeze.
But mercy was still with him. Her head popped up a few minutes later; she was coughing and choking on the muck. She was... alive, anyway. He had to act fast. They were in some real trouble. He looked around frantically. He needed to do something.
That’s when he saw the rail. He didn’t question it, just swam faster toward salvation. This was the entrance to the shelter. This was safety, and not a minute too soon.
Then he remembered why he’d been in such a rush. “SANGO! This way!” He caught a rope that had been tied onto the rail. Ignoring the fact that it cut into his skin, he wrapped the tether around his hand and swam out to her.
Sango was having a bit of trouble swimming. She’d never learned how. Granted, she was strong, but it seemed like the more she resisted in the water, the more she got pulled away, which made her just want to resist more.
Miroku was swimming out to her. She tried to reach him. Instead, a current pulled her right past him. He dove under the surface.
Sango was getting frightened, and she didn’t like it. Miroku was gone and she was being pulled away by the current. She was going to be alone.. This wasn’t safe. This wasn’t right. She was always in control in a situation. She had to know the next step. But everything was out of her hands...
Hands. A hand was grabbing her forearm, pulling her close and in the opposite direction of the water. Miroku was stretched from the rope to his grip on Sango. His arms clenched and bunched, teeth gritted as he tried to hold onto her. “Sango. Give me your hand.”
Sango only vaguely understood his voice. But she knew he’d come to save her. Any other time she’d hate being the damsel in distress.
Her arms shot out and gripped him so tightly it hurt. He didn’t care. He held her just as tightly.
“Can’t swim?” She shook her head. He closed his eyes. Thank god. Thank god she was all right.
He felt the rope jerk. His hand clenched tighter. Right. They should get out of here while they still could. “I need help... pulling us in.”
“Huh? Right.” Her finger slid along his arm to their anchor to solid rope and started pulling along it, followed shortly by him.
They both fell into the dry tunnel that lead to the shelter, rested their worn bodies and exhausted minds.