InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Shards of Foxfire ❯ Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, but these characters are mine: Amari, Sakura, Youjou, Iroka,

To my reviewers-

Noname - Do you really think that I would kill Sango off? She's my favorite character!

Koinu - Yes, I'll have lots of fluff eventually, I promise. Rin is Sesshy's sister, like Sango is Inu's sister, you know, like he protects her and worries about her, but they're NOT IN LOVE (yet) Besides, she's only 13, what do you expect? Sesshoumaru isn't THAT gross. Yes, san/mir will get marr-oops, I just ruined it for you, so just read on! There's a chance in the epilogue…

Robin - Glad u like it! I updated, finally! Yes, Kikyo dies, FOREVER!!! Yay! I'll tell u abt the play, I promise. Also, I'm trying to space it out, so be patient so I can space the rest out, ok?

Noname - I'm glad you thought that was cute, but Sango just woke up from being asleep for a week, so wouldn't you think she'd be too weak? Don't worry, Inu does it for her

Robin - Here ya go, my next update! Enjoy!

Thanks for reviewing! If someone cough ROBIN cough would let me work on this at my own pace, I promise, I'm trying to get these chapters out as fast as I humanly can, but I have tons of schoolwork right now. Once we start getting into holidays and free weekends, I'll write more. Y'know, I get up an hour and a half early every day to work on this(not the entire time), so here ya go! This is my first time of writing fluff, so be nice, or tell me how to improve please!

Sango awoke, her wounds a dull, throbbing pain. She was leaning against a rock that kept her sitting up. Her wounds were neatly bandaged, and she felt much better. "So, I guess you found help?" Sango asked, staring at Miroku's back. He seemed to jump about three feet in the air, and then turned around. "You're awake! You had us worried!" He went over to her as fast as he could, and kissed her. She blushed, and asked, "How long have I been asleep?" Miroku ignored her; instead, he went further into the cave. "Amari, she's awake!" The mention of that name sparked some memory in her. As Amari entered the cave, Sango realized who she was. "Amari!" "So glad you're awake, Sango onee-sama." She gave her "sister" a hug. "Sisters?" Miroku asked. He had never known Sango had another sister. "I'm actually Sango's older cousin, but when I lived in the village, we were just like sisters. We have a lot to catch up on, so would you mind standing outside, keeping watch for the others?" Miroku nodded, and left them alone.

"So, how did you get here? I thought you had died with the rest of my village. You were visiting at the time." Amari saddened, but answered her question. "I was called away to tend to my husband. He was wounded in battle, and he died that same day. I lost all of my family that day, as well, but then I heard rumors, of how a female demon slayer survived a massacre of her kin, trying to save her brother from the malevolent half-demon Naraku. I also heard about a priestess traveling with you, who wore strange clothes, and was said to be the reincarnation of the priestess Kikyo. All of them agreed that you traveled with her and a perverted monk who, they said, had a `relationship' with you. Some of the more outlandish ones included a hanyou as strong as any demon, and a young kitsune. Of course, I had to find out if these rumors were true. I went to Grandma Kaede, and she told me your story. She noticed unnaturally strong spiritual powers, almost as strong as Kikyo herself, so she began training me to become a priestess."

"So, how long had I been asleep?" Sango asked as Amari began bandaging her wounds again. "Oh, about a week. You really scared us about halfway through, you got really sick. Miroku was really worried. The poor guy hasn't slept all week, he's been worried about you." Sango was surprised. She didn't think that he cared that much. "Where are the others, anyway?" "Oh, a few days ago, when you began to get better, Inuyasha and the others left to go hunting. They're also going to pick up my kids." "Oh, Sakura?" Amari smiled. "I also have twins, Iroka and Yojou. They're five, and looking forward to meeting Aunt Sango." Sango smiled, and then looked around her. She realized that she was in the cave that showed evidence of Priestess Midoriko and her final battle: it was the cave near her village. Ever since the Shikon Jewel was rendered useless to everyone, thanks to Inuyasha, the cave was more accessible, but it welcomed the Inuyasha gang at all times. Her thoughts were interrupted with Miroku's voice. "Welcome back! Sango's awoken!" Inuyasha and the gang were back!

Kagome sighed in relief as they neared the cave. For one thing, she wanted to actually sleep in a cave, protected by stone, instead of on the muddy ground of the outdoors that they had been sleeping on for the last two nights! She was also worried about Sango. They left right after she seemed to be improving, but she could have gotten worse. Inuyasha was most likely worried about Sango, too, as he was growling menacingly, although that may have been because Koga was as close as possible without running into them. "What's wrong, Inuyasha?" Kagome said before playing with his ears for the millionth time that day. The half-demon growled a little louder before replying. "With our luck, Sango'll wake up with Amari gone, and just Miroku. If he does anything like himself, I'll kill him." Kagome laughed, and replied quickly. "Inuyasha, just because you treat Sango like a younger sister doesn't mean you can keep a hawk's eye on her. She can take care of herself."

Inuyasha mumbled something unintelligible as they got in sight of the cave's entrance. Kagome saw Miroku at the opening, waving and yelling, "Welcome back! Sango's awoken!" Kagome pulled on Inuyasha's ears, slowing him down so she could jump off and run the rest of the way. As she ran through the barrier, she felt a warm tingling that she always felt whenever she went into the cave. She smiled at Amari, who was almost identical to Sango, even wearing the same outfit though hers was blue. Kagome smiled back, and then ran to the middle of the cave, where she thought that Sango would be. Everyone had been really worried about her, especially Miroku and Kohaku. "Sango?" Kagome called her name as she ran, and noticed that Inuyasha was behind her. "Come in." Sango said weakly as the two of them went to talk to Sango.

Sango was leaning against Miroku, her eyes closed. Miroku looked like he was about to fall asleep himself, his arms around her waist. Kagome said, almost silently, "Aww, how cute!" Inuyasha's ears twitched as he came nearer. "Feh. Sango?" The demon exterminator had opened her eyes and was looking at Inuyasha. "What?" She mumbled as she woke up a little more. "Could ya move over just a little? Yeah, that works." After Sango had complied, Inuyasha slapped Miroku across the face, hard. Miroku jolted awake and stared at Inuyasha in disbelief. "What did I do?" Miroku asked accusingly. Inuyasha shrugged. "I dunno, you just looked like you deserved it." Kagome was about to kill Inuyasha, but then she heard Sango. She was laughing uncontrollably, rolling on the floor, tears streaming out of her face. When she finally got her laughter under control, she told a startled Inuyasha, "Sorry, I've imagined you slapping Miroku for something or other, and it just struck me as funny."

"So, it sounds like you're feeling pretty good, considering you've been asleep for a week!" Kagome said once everything was relatively normal again. Sango took a while to reply. "It's been crazy, since I just found out that I have a cousin, and I'm still kinda confused about what happened that night, after Miroku took me and ran into the woods. I lost consciousness soon after that." Inuyasha and Kagome looked at each other. "You sure you want to hear it, Sango?" Inuyasha said. Sango nodded, and Kagome and Inuyasha sighed in unison as they began their tale.

*~*~*~*~*FLASHBACK SEQUENCE*~*~*~*~*

After Miroku ran off with Sango, the leader of the demons chuckled, a rasping laugh. "If you're that easy to defeat, this should be easy." Inuyasha was shaking with rage. "DAMN YOU!!!" he yelled, scaring everyone in the clearing, including the leader demon. "IF YOU KILL SANGO, I'LL…" The lead demon interrupted him. "What, this `Sango' your girlfriend?" Inuyasha said nothing, but charged at the demons full speed, yelling, his Tetsusaiga blazing red. He managed to kill three of the demons, slicing them through with his sword. Everyone else stood still, amazed by his ferocity and rage. The demons finally came to their senses, and began to form balls of white-hot lightning with their staffs, like the one that hit Sango. Inuyasha ignored this, going for a fourth demon. As he killed it, he was hit with lightning in a dozen places.

Inuyasha's defeat spurred everyone to action. Kagome shot an arrow, aiming straight for the main demon, and hit. She quickly pulled Rin behind the rock formation they were standing on to avoid the lightning. Sesshoumaru was slashing demons right and left, killing them with his poison claws. Kohaku was in a rage, attacking everything that came within range with deadly accuracy. Koga and Ayame charged, using only their claws to kill the demons. Lightning flew through the clearing like deadly rain, being avoided by everyone. Soon, there was only the main demon left, and he looked visibly shaken. "No matter, I'll kill you all, starting with that little girl. He pointed to Rin, who had left the safety of Kagome. As the lightning began forming on the staff, she screamed in terror. Sesshoumaru, losing all composure, screamed "RIN!" as he ran towards the demon, killing it before it even finished the lightning.

Everyone was in shock. Had Sesshoumaru really done that? Rin ran to Sesshoumaru, sobbing with fear. He picked her up and carried her out of the clearing, calming her down. Inuyasha, recovering quickly, followed, Koga and Ayame right behind him. Kohaku, Kagome, and Shippo, who had been hiding in the bushes, rode Kirara back to the exterminator's village, where they hoped that Sango and Miroku were.

*~*~*~*~*END FLASHBACK SEQUENCE*~*~*~*~*

There was silence in the cavern for a few minutes. Sango spoke first. "Wow. Inuyasha, you were worried about me?" Inuyasha turned bright red, mumbled something along the lines of "Keh, stupid wench could've left that part out", glaring daggers at Kagome. She pretended to ignore him, and await an answer. He sighed as he finally turned a shade lighter than his robe, and replied to Sango, "Well, um, I was worried about you, and, um, ItreatyouliketheyoungersisterIneverhad." finishing his sentence as fast as he could. Sango stared at him for a minute, and then broke into a big smile, and hugged Inuyasha. He didn't expect this from Sango (Kagome, on the other hand…), and he blushed even brighter red. He hugged her back, thinking how weird it felt not to be hugging Kikyo or Kagome. Miroku stared, and Kagome was smiling, going into one of those `Aw, how sweet!' modes. Sango stopped hugging Inuyasha, apparently embarrassed, and left the cavern, three very confused people behind her.

As Sango entered the main cavern, she was nearly bowled over by a happy Kohaku. She hugged him tightly, and then said, "Kohaku, I'm going to go visit Father's grave. Would you like to come with me?" Kohaku's smile vanished, and he shook his head violently. Sango nodded sadly. "Anyone else want to go with me?" "We'll go!" Kagome said, dragging Inuyasha and Miroku with her. Amari agreed to go, too, and the five of them set off towards the demon-exterminator village. All that was heard from the cave was, "PERVERT!" and an echoing slap that was Sango's trademark.

All five of them arrived at the village safely, though half of Miroku's face was bright red, and Sango was walking way ahead of him. As they reached the village, they noticed that it was a mess, animal nests everywhere, plants growing over everything, and the homes falling down. Everyone was stunned that that much could happen in five years, but Sango was unperturbed. "Well, let's get started!" Sango said cheerfully as she began peeling the vines off of her family's graves. Everyone else began to follow her example, Miroku and Inuyasha telling themselves that if Sango, who had been asleep for a week, could do it, then they could, too.

By that afternoon, the village looked completely different. The vines on the graves had been cleared away, and fresh flowers were put in their place. The houses were rebuilt, and made much stronger so that they would last. The nests were cleared out, and the village looked like it had just been created. Sango, Miroku, Amari, Inuyasha, and Kagome sat at the edge of the lake nearby, enjoying the view. Sango tried to stand up and get Kirara, but she fell back down, dizzy. Miroku went over to her, worried, but Sango brushed him off. "I'm fine." She said, in great pain. "It's just that my wound's reopened." Amari smiled at Miroku, who looked like he thought that Sango was about to die. "Don't worry about it, Miroku, she'll be fine. She's just tired. It's been a long day. Why don't we head back now? I'm sure you all want to get back and rest for a while."

Inuyasha and Kagome agreed with Amari, but Sango wanted to stay behind. Miroku offered to stay with her, worried about her safety. Amari went back to the cave, but Inuyasha and Kagome decided to hide behind a bush and spy on Miroku and Sango, to see what Miroku would do.

Sango walked back towards the village, but she was walking as slowly as possible, to be in the least pain. Miroku noticed this, and caught up with her, worried. "Are you okay? Why don't I rebandage your wounds for you?" Sango wanted to refuse, but she just nodded weakly. Miroku picked her up, and carried her to the lake again. As Miroku went back to the village to get their things, Sango got into the water, shivering with cold. As she got warmer, the water was relaxing, and it eased the pain. She quickly got dressed in her normal kimono, and waited for Miroku to come back.

Kagome and Inuyasha were still in the bushes, spying on Sango. Since Inuyasha had really good hearing, Kagome whispered into his ear as soft as she could. "Maybe we should go, Inuyasha. What if we get caught?" Inuyasha shook his head, and whispered back, "Feh. What can they do to us? I'm not afraid of them. Besides, I don't want to go back to the cave. I can smell that wimpy wolf and my brother, and I don't wanna be there!" Kagome nodded, and the two of them continued watching.

Miroku returned with their stuff, and got out the bandages. Sango leaned against a rock, so that she could see what Miroku was doing. He lifted her top enough to see her wound, and instantly winced. Sango looked down, and saw why. The middle of her stomach was covered in dried blood, and was still bleeding in some areas. Purple and yellow bruises encircled it like some arcane tattoo. The bandages had fallen off in the water, making it look worse than ever. She looked up at him, his pained expression misinterpreted by her. "Oh, it's not as bad as it looks, I promise." Miroku shook his head. "No, that's not it. It's all my fault, isn't it?" Sango wanted to say that it wasn't, that it was only her fault for being inattentive, but she couldn't say anything. Miroku sighed as he began bandaging her wound. He was being remarkably gentle, apologizing whenever she winced with pain. "You know, you were talking in your sleep."

"Huh?" Sango wasn't paying attention to anything when Miroku asked. "Oh. What was I saying?" She hoped that it wasn't anything she would regret.

"Well, things like `Stop it!' and `Leave me alone!' Do you know what you were talking about?"

Sango groaned inwardly. `Great, did I have to be saying that?' "Oh, that. Back at the village, Father trained all of the kids to be successful. My cousin, Amari's brother, was older than I was, and he was Father's best student. Then, I began training. Even at a young age, I was faster, stronger, and better than he was. Father soon forgot about my cousin, and I was his best student. He and his friends started picking on me. Stuff like teasing me, not a very big deal. However, it got worse. They started tripping me in class, hitting me and pretending it was an accident, stabbing me hard enough to penetrate the armor in mock battles. When my cousin became a demon slayer, it started getting worse. They would ask me to go on an errand with them and then gang up on me and attack me in the middle of the woods. They would attack me until I was crying for them to stop, and then keep attacking until I was nearly unconscious. Then, they would drag me back to the village, saying that I was attacked. They told me that if I told anyone, they would kill my brother, and they would, too. My mother started suspecting foul play, and she followed them. She saw what they were doing, and told Father. They were banished. In the middle of the night, they took my brother and I, to fulfill his promise. I refused to let them kill him, and saved his life. Instead, they attacked me until I was almost dead. Kohaku brought Father, and they saved me. It happened only a few years before I met you and the others, so I guess I remember it vividly."

Kagome stared at Sango, pity on her face. Sango had been through a lot more than they thought. Inuyasha was staring at Sango, a look of understanding on his face. With a sudden rush of understanding, she realized, `He knows what Sango's talking about! That's what he's been through!' Kagome turned her attention back to where Sango and Miroku were, wanting to see Miroku's reaction.

Miroku stared at Sango. He hadn't realized all that she had been through. He hugged her close to him, and she didn't seem to mind. Silent tears were running down her face, but her voice was so steady that Miroku was sure that he had been imagining it. "You know, sometimes, I wish that nothing bad ever happened to me, but then I think about what happened because of it. For example, the only reason I met Amari is because she followed her brother that night. She saved Kohaku's life, and we've been best friends ever since. Also, if Naraku hadn't taken my brother, I wouldn't have met Inuyasha, Kagome or you. So, I guess it all depends on how you look at it."

Miroku mulled over what Sango had just said silently. Why was she being so positive? He was confused. Then, a voice in his head answered his question. `That's just Sango's way of dealing with her pain, by being positive. It's easier for her to act like nothing's wrong, that she's fine. Just comfort her.' Miroku thought to himself as he looked at her beautiful, smiling face. She leaned against him, and kissed him softly. "Thanks for listening, Miroku, as always." He kissed her back, and she fell asleep in his arms, smiling slightly.

Inuyasha and Kagome stared at each other in disbelief. That was definitely unexpected. They thought that they were there to make sure that Miroku wouldn't do anything stupid, but in reality, they were ruining a perfect moment. Inuyasha had the remnants of a blush on his face, and Kagome was a brilliant scarlet. They were stuck, because if they left, they would be in more trouble. They tried to ignore what was happening in front of them, hoping that they could go soon.

Miroku sighed with contentment. It had been a good day. Sango finally got over her wounds, he had been able to work all day beside the one he loved, and now he knew more about Sango. Her lying in his arms and giving him a kiss put him in a state of Nirvana. He looked at her sleeping face, and knew that Sango was his true love. He picked her up gently, and began to carry her back, when he noticed something. He saw two white ears sticking out of the nearest bush.

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