InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Shadow's Warrior ❯ A Place to Stay ( Chapter 3 )

Torn in two a warrior wanders. The path to take becomes unclear. For darkness, that friend to the lonesome wanderer covers her eyes and mind to see.

A vagrant, a fighter to those who love her; a traitor, a spy to those who don't; a shadow to all the world she wanders, a home and peace is all she wants.

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A loud thump sounded against the door of a lonely cottage that lay on the edge of Agnus near the military fort. It was a quaint and plain little building built for use and not beauty. Near it lay several more twin plain white and thatched houses.

This was the fort's version of military officials' quarters. Soldiers of high rank, who had families or felt stifled by life in the fort, could put in a petition to get allotted one of the small and plain houses.

Standing there in the cool early morning mist Sango shivered, not from the dew, as much of as a strong sense of déjà vu. She used to live in such a house as she was now requesting entry.

Knocking one last time she stepped back. Miroku had told her of where he now lived incase she needed any help before she departed from the town. Whether Miroku actually expected her to ever track him down Sango didn't know, but as he slowly opened the door a smile crossed his groggy and half awake face.

"Sango," Miroku said looking instantly more awake. "So you decided you couldn't part so soon from me, haven't you milady?"

Sango rolled her eyes, "There was a change of plans. My cousins went on without me. They assumed I could find a place to stay till they passed by on their return journey in a few weeks."

She then looked up at Miroku trying to thread desperation and awkwardness into her voice. "I know it is a lot to ask for on such short notice, but you are the only one I could think of asking."

Miroku gave a brilliant smile, the one which made him notorious among women, and stepping aside he swept his hand through the door way.

"I could never say no to a beautiful woman who is begging to stay the night with me."

Sango punched him lightly on the shoulder as she walked past, "I'm going to ignore what you just said for peace of mind."

Miroku's cottage was smaller than the one her family had lived in, but stepping into the quaint main living area shook Sango with a strong wave of nostalgia. It was a far more pleasant one than those she had experienced recently, so she didn't fight it and instead smiled a little as took small steps into the house.

The main room spoke of obvious masculine habitation and lack of a woman's touch. The plain wooden planking of the floor was left uncovered, as were the white washed walls of the interior. A single wooden table with three chairs and one food cabinet were the only pieces of furniture that filled the room. A smoldering log lit the fireplace near the cabinet. It gave off a slight glow to light up the area around it, but did little to the room as a whole.

"You can tell you live alone Miroku." Sango said as she stepped over to the area that should have been used for cooking. Opening the cabinet she started to examine the contents. "You have one loaf of moldy bread in here and a couple of pints of ale, gin, whisky, wine… Is this a pub or your house?"

Miroku walked over and shut the cabinet while smoothly steering Sango over to the doorways that led to the sleeping quarters of the house. "I'm sure, my lovely Sango that you'll find your room much more interesting than the food I keep in the house."

"Food?" she scoffed, "I would hardly call that food. All you have in this house is liquor."

Miroku chuckled, "I can see how that doesn't look too kindly on my eating habits but really I hardly eat here as it is. I may finally have a house outside the barracks, but my life is still in them. Almost all my meals I eat with the other officers and soldiers."

A sad smile escaped Miroku's notice as Sango voiced a fact that she had already been turning over in her mind. "You have the same dedication and love of the empire as always Miroku. What would you do with your life if you didn't have that?"

"I would live in a far off land with thousands of beautiful wives. I would spend my days surrounded by splendor while pondering the meaning of life." Miroku grinned back. "But of course, no one could compare to your beauty."

Sango shook her head at her friend. He was always the same, answering questions that dove too deep with light and mindless responses. Miroku didn't realize how important Sango's question really was to her. She didn't know if she should be happy that he didn't catch onto the ulterior motives behind her words, or sad that she would never find out what he was ever really thinking.

He led her to a small, sparsely furnished room on one side of the house. It held a bed, a table, and an overturned barrel that Sango guessed was used as a chair. The room held no colors or pictures of any kind, but despite its lack of comforts, it felt perfectly comfortable and homey.

Miroku left and quickly came back caringly a few worn, but clean blankets. Handing them to Sango he made a hurried apology for the conditions of his accommodations.

"I know my house isn't anywhere near what a house should be for a lady such as yourself," Sango scoffed a little at that comment but Miroku continued, "I would perfectly understand if you stayed with someone else in the town, but I am honored as an old friend to have you stay with me."

Sango was sadly touched by the devotion to an old friendship, but as always she answered lightly to it, "Miroku don't be a fool. I am the one who should be thanking you for your kindness. If there is anything that I can do for you just ask."

Miroku got a sly look in his eye and kneeling before Sango he used his sweetest and most deceptive voice, "We'll now if you insist on repaying my kindness to you, I have a question that I'm almost forced to ask. Sango, would…"

Feeling one of his hands move to her backside, Sango took a step back and hit him in the head. "I take my offer back. I will do a very few things to repay you."

Standing up Miroku sighed, "O well, I just wanted to see how far that offer would go." Walking back into the main room Sango followed a few steps behind.

He stooped and picked up his jacket and swords that we're laying on the table. "I hate to leave you alone, but duty calls and I am due to a meeting in a few minutes. Feel free to do whatever you want till I return."

Nodding, Sango followed Miroku to the door. After waving him away and making sure he was a safe distance away, she went to work.

The first task was surprisingly enough, to clean. Since a young age Sango had always liked things to be in perfect order. She had also, since a young age found an ulterior motive that cleaning could be used to cover. Cleaning, in Sango's opinion, was one of the most harmlessly deceptive things that men left for women to do.

Besides the obvious, completely tearing apart a house from top to bottom and rebuilding it had gave you innumerable opportunities for searching the house without arousing suspicion. It also worked in a flip way by giving you a chance to hide things around the house that might be needed on latter occasions. Since the restrictions on women fighting and engaging in activities that would "unsex" them had come about, those in lines of work in which Sango specialized in needed to become more deceptive in their activities.

Overall, Sango's turned up nothing that helped her on the mission. Miroku was not one of the higher officers for nothing; he was smart enough not to leave anything that was important unsecured in his house.

She did find, however, the usual and expected array of hidden weapons that someone, whose life was war, would keep. Re-hiding the remote ones to new locations but leaving the ones that he would notice gone, Sango fortified her position if she was attacked in the house.

On top of the newly hidden weapons she hid a few of her own basic and more advanced weapons around the house. Of course she would need to keep an extra close eye on Miroku to make sure he found none of the newly hidden weaponry, but taking in the earlier condition of the house, Sango doubted Miroku ever really spent much time in his residence.

Throughout the entire time, Sango tried to keep her mind on what she was doing, not on the person whom would most likely be the recipient of her weapons. Though the chances of having to directly attack Miroku were small, Sango couldn't hide from the reason she was laying things around the house, to protect herself from him.

After the cleaning, Sango decided to get some food for the house. She was starving and didn't feel much like drinking. Going to town would also give her a chance to stop by and see someone that she had been meaning to stop by since arriving in Agnus the day before, Kaede.

Skirting the town, Sango followed an old and sparsely used path on which her and Miroku used to practically live. The day was pleasant and the peaceful walk gave her more than a welcome break from needing to think about everything that complicated her life just then.

Approaching the small hut on the far side of the village Sango froze, staring blankly at the house that was always so welcoming and familiar. It hadn't changed at all in the years she had been gone.

The same flowers bloomed in the front of the house while the same curtains hung in the windows. It had always stood out from the rest of the village do to the different style that it held. It was not one of Empire architecture but one, that until two years ago, Sango had not seen another of that kind.

Looking now at the last house she had come to one horrible night brought back to less pleasant circumstances.

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Her eyesight was dim and she could hardly make out where she was going. The smoke filled sky and the bright fire that still burned in the back of her eyes, made her nearly blind as she stumbled down well known paths in search of shelter.

With lungs were filled with smoke and her head aching from some hit she must have taken her body felt oddly surreal. Most conscious feeling had faded from her, and she felt like more of a bodiless ghost than a substantial being.

`What's wrong with me? I shouldn't have lost my head; I should go back and save them. I need to save my family.'

But even as her mind brought to light these thoughts, she already knew the answers; her family was gone and she had to get away. Her common sense and her desire to live another day, had compelled her to do the only thing within reason, run.

Sango's legs worked mindlessly running as fast as they could carry her even though she couldn't tell anymore if she was actually moving at all. Everything seemed so blurred and hazy; reality was already swiftly slipping through her fingers.

The house, her safety, loomed in the distance. It was so close and so distinct that if only she could make the last few steps, she knew she could rest.

As Sango came down the path, unconsciousness started to claim her at last. With one last effort, she thrust her hand forward to briefly be rewarded the feel of a hard oak door, just as darkness surrounded her.

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Now standing in front of the same door, feeling the same reassuring hardness, Sango felt as if she was reliving another life.

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PLEASE REVIEW!!!!

I love to hear all comments and criticisms so please review about anything.

Also curious- Would putting a chapter from Miroku's point of view, be a good idea?

Thank you for reading.

- Eef aka FeFe