InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Heart Within ❯ Chapter Thirty-Four ( Chapter 36 )

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

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, etc., of Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. This story is for entertainment purposes only, and not for profit.THE HEART WITHINSummary: She has carried vengeance in her shadowed heart for 500 years, sacrificing her self for that dream. Now, Sango just might get her chance… (IY/YYH crossover) A/N: This was fun to write, and I couldn’t wait to post it up. Thank you again for all the reviews, they really keep me at the computer way past my bedtime. ^_^
WARNING! SPOILERS FOR YYH CHAPTER BLACK, THE THREE KINGS SAGA

Chapter Thirty-Four

Awaking groggy in a strange bed, Sango lurched to the bathroom and fumbled into the shower, hoping the warm lash of the spray would help wake her up. She felt bruised and battered, but it was just a pseudo-sensation, for her body had already healed from whatever marks had been left by Youko’s attentions. The fact it had disturbed her, for she wondered how long she’d been asleep.

By the light edging through the open window, she must have slept the day away. It was late morning, and she knew she had slept more than just an hour. She shivered, the water dripping from her cold now that she’d turned the spray off. Wrapping a towel about herself, Sango stumbled to the sink. Bracing her palms flat on the counter, she suddenly looked up at the mirror. The cloudy reflection slowly dissipated to reveal wet, bedraggled hair dragging around a pinched face and dark circles under eyes too wide with pain, tears forming even as she stared in bewilderment.

This couldn’t be her. This couldn’t be what she’d become. Why, that girl looked lost and tired, too weary to go on. *How sad,* she thought, somehow separate from the girl staring back at her in the mirror. She glanced down at her hands, which were clenched so tight to the counter the knuckles were white, and suddenly, abruptly, jerked her head back up to glare at the girl in the mirror. Her eyes flashed as anger rose to dry the tears in her eyes and cleanse the despairing heartache from her soul in sudden fury.

“Enough!” she snarled at the mirror like a crazy person. She shook her fist at the girl, who looked defiant now, her dark eyes bleeding with her growing ire. She was tired of the despair, tired of the heartache. Tired of all the fucking self-doubt and question and numb stupidity. She was a taiji-ya, damn it, not some pathetic waif lost in her own sniveling self-pity. She wanted---no, deserved!---better of herself, and she’d been so lost in her own misery she’d almost lost her self to it.

Jaw clenching, Sango whipped the towel off her body and stalked back to the bedroom to yank on her jeans and pull Kurama’s wrinkled blue t-shirt over her head. She growled as her long, wet hair got in the way, and suddenly froze, an idea crystallizing in the fuming turmoil of her seething mind. If she wanted a change, than this was the perfect opportunity to show she was ready to cut all ties to the past and show she was finally free of it!

Elation filled her, and almost giddy with the sudden rush of excitement and purpose, Sango stumbled into her shoes, hopping on one foot in her anxiousness as she pulled the second sneaker on. Pushing the wet tangles impatiently back over her shoulders, she left Jin’s suite with a grim smile of pure determination.

It took forever for the elevator to reach the lobby, but Sango blessed whatever gods had been looking out for her that she was here, at the expensive hotel, which had all the amenities a girl could wish---including a spa right off the main floor. Making a beeline straight for it, she marched right up to the counter, where a bored teenager with green skin and three overly-mascaraed eyes under her curling horns asked lazily, “Can I help you?”

“Yes,“ Sango said, dark eyes resolute. “I would like a hair cut.”

“Really?” A purple octopus with a violently neon-pink bouffant popped around the potted ferns, eyes wide with delight. Her lipstick matched her towering hair, and she raised two tentacles, comb and scissors held up like weapons. She snipped the scissors with relish as she said, “Well, well, m’dear, come on back! I don’t suppose you want a shampoo, hmmm, since your hair’s already wet. Oh, my, but there certainly is a lot of it, isn’t there!”

A third tentacle gently nudged her shoulder, and Sango went, amused as the youkai urged her into a chair, sweeping a cape over her before she could go and change her mind. The beautician cooed and tittered over her, tentacles pulling and parting her long, black hair this way and that as she gently combed the thick length. Sango submitted to the demon’s ministrations, somewhat overwhelmed by the youkai’s sheer personality.

“Oh, my, but you do have lovely hair, m‘dear. What’s your name? I’m Mya. Mrs. Mya, actually. It would be so rude to call you “m’dear” or “young lady,” though you are. Young, m’dear. At least, when compared to me. Why, I know you wouldn’t think to look at me, but I just passed my eigth century. Isn’t that terrible? How time does fly! Now, m’dear, do you just want me to trim it up some? You’ve gone and let your bangs grow out too long. Why, they’re all in your eyes, and your side locks are right down to your chin! And do you like this part in the center? It’s not really your natural part, you know. You have a little cowlick here,” and a tentacle lightly touched her left temple, “and I daresay I can coax it into a side part. Those are so stylish right now, you know…”

“I want something new, different,” Sango said, determined. “Something short.”

“Short?” The octopus blinked. She picked up the heavy, waist-length hair with a doubtful frown. “Are you sure, m’dear? It must have taken forever to grow this out, and it really is lovely, all silky and smooth. No split ends, healthy roots…”

“I’ve had it forever,” Sango replied grimly, and the octopus slowly nodded, a knowing grin forming as she winked at Sango in the mirror over her head.

“Ah, I understand completely, dear! Time for a change, hmm?”

“Yes,” Sango said, eyes opaque.

The octopus chuckled. “And what better way than for a girl to get a cute new haircut?”


Mya---or Mrs. Mya, as the octopus kept reminding her---insisted on doing the whole shebang: cut, blow and style. Sango submitted with mystified wonder as the eight-armed demon blithely nattered on, amicably gossiping with the other stylists and patrons as the salon slowly filled. Sango listened quietly, her head pulled this way and that as the heavy length of her hair fell away. Her neck felt exposed without the weight of her hair behind it, but she felt lighter, somehow, as if a heavy burden had been removed.

There was a tense excitement to the chatter, as the women tried to talk over one another. Catching a few phrases, Sango stiffened, and Mrs. Mya scolded her, reminding her to stay still and please bend your head forward, thank you, m’dear, that’s it. Now, hold that position and stay still!

So, head bent, Sango listened in stunned amazement as the news slowly washed over her that while she lay sleeping the last twenty-four hours away, Demon World had been tossed right on its head. Raizen dead, Mukuro and Yomi abdicated, their armies and kingdoms dissolved in one fell swoop by Yusuke. Yusuke---gods, only he could have been crazy enough to propose a world-wide demon tournament to decide the next ruler of Makai. It was so simple and elegant a solution, but fraught with potential problems. For what would happen if, say, some rabid maniac like that giant beast they’d fought in the Forest of Fools were to win? But that possibility seemed remote, for the youkai around her seemed to think only two demons---Mukuro and Yomi---would be strong enough contenders in the end. And, of course, since this was his city, the women favored the blind demon over the tyrant, although they mentioned Mukuro’s formidable ability to cut across dimensions with one wave of his---her, really, though no one knew that fact---hand.

What would this mean to Kurama? To Hiei? The uneasy thought penetrated her distraction, and then Sango clenched her teeth. Both demons had made it perfectly clear to her that they neither wanted, nor needed, her concern. So it wasn’t.

Mrs. Mya wielded the hair dryer now, and the babble faded as the hot air hummed loudly in Sango’s ears. It wasn’t until the purple octopus stood in front of her, combing her hair back and fussing too much over it that Sango could hear again. A distinct tenor now threaded the excited soprano voices around her.It was somehow familiar, and Sango’s brow knitted trying to remember where she’d heard that voice before.

“Oh, just a minute more, dear, I’m almost done!” Mrs. Mya reassured her, mistaking her expression. The octopus moved back around, and Sango finally saw the youkai---Lord Tenga, who had discarded his plethora of rings so that the manicurist could work on his smooth hands. The elegant youkai suddenly looked up, and caught her surprise. He smiled.

“Lady Sango! What an unexpected pleaure.” He seemed sincere, his smile warm as he waved his free hand in greeting. Heads turned, and Sango found herself confronted by a bevy of curiosity. She blushed.

“Hello, my lord.” She would have bowed, but Mrs. Mya was tucking a piece of hair back behind her ear. It tickled, and Sango glanced up in distraction. Her bangs now fell completely across her forehead in a strange way.

“Will you fight in the tournament, my lord?” one of the other women asked, and the attention turned from Sango as the lord smiled impishly.

“Me? No.” He chuckled. “It is well known, ladies, that I am a lover, not a fighter.”

There was a ripple of giggles and several knowing grins as the handsome lord finally stood up, his manicure done. Taking the time to draw on his rings and nod at the result, he casually strode over to stand in front of Sango. She looked up, and he studied her with a critical eye, his smile growing as he pronounced, “Quite fetching. You’ve outdone yourself, Mya-san.”

The octopus tittered, blushing girlishly at the compliment from so august a lord. “Well, I do try,” she simpered, “Though even I have to admit I’m quite proud of the result.”

Now anxious to see that result, Sango squirmed to look over her shoulder. The octopus neatly spun the chair about to face the mirror, whipping the cape off and fondly brushing stray hairs from a shoulder with one tentacle while patting the other reassuringly.

Sango stared, surprised and pleased by the reflection. Her hair was layered to the chin, where it curled outwards to soften the severity of the short style. Her bangs now feathered across her forehead in shaggy disarray with no discernable part. Her side locks, which had grown so long, still curled in front of her ears, the rest tucked behind. She ran a wondering hand through the short strands, stunned by the lighter feel and almost giddy with the difference. She didn’t even know herself, and it made her wonder what else she could find out, so ready now to learn who she was.

“You’re a new woman, m’dear,” Mrs. Mya fervently assured her, and Sango felt it.

“Well, would this new woman care to take a cup of tea with this old man?” Lord Tenga asked, a twinkle in his warm eyes as the women around him decried his age. Sango laughed, feeling the release of a tension she had not known she’d held for so long, and stood up. Normally his invitation wasn’t something she would even consider, but she decided to throw off her old inhibitions, and accepted with a shy smile.

“I’d like that, thank you.”

Lord Tenga smoothly slipped some money into the octopus’s free tentacle. Sango started to protest, but he only winked and offered his arm with a gallant bow. “Please, allow a gentleman to be a gentleman.”

Bemused, she nodded as the women cooed around her, although they all knew full well that Lord Tenga had no interest in women that way. The reminder reassured Sango, and she accepted the elegant man’s arm. Why the hell not? He was just being nice, and she really did like the kind sincerity in his pink eyes. He smiled, and they walked out of the salon together, strolling across the lobby to the posh restaurant on the other side.

It was too late for the morning rush and too early for the lunch, so they had the place pretty much to themselves. Tenga held a chair out for her, and bemused again by his courtly ways, which were so much a part of him, Sango sat down. He asked if she minded if he ordered, and she shook her head. The waiter soon returned with two cups and a steaming pot, pouring and bowing before leaving them alone.

Delighted with the spicy, orange-flavored tea, Sango took a long sip. Lord Tenga relaxed in the couch of their circular booth, and smiled benignly at her nod of approval. She wondered why he had asked her to join him, but perhaps it was just to talk about the changes in Demon World, for he commented, “Interesting, is it not? All the drastic changes? To be honest, I never would have thought Yomi would agree to it.”

He waved a negligent hand. The sprinkle of jewels across his long fingers flashed. “Ah, but I am not as personally worried as poor Aten. He’s near green with anxiety. Poor man. He doesn’t like change---upsets his ulcer. I think,” he leaned forward conspiratorially, hand cupped over his mouth as he whispered, “he’s a bit stuffy.”

Sango laughed, for that was her estimate of the catfish demon precisely. She relaxed as Lord Tenga continued to chatter on about the court, the city, and the speculations as to what Yomi would do. He had a wicked sense of humor, and thoroughly devastated the reputations of his fellow advisors as he related various anecdotes regarding them. He was negligently unconcerned about the whole tournament, since he personally had no intention in taking part. The day to day governing of Gandara would not change, though it would take time to convince the frightened citizens of that. He and Lord Aten had already agreed to form an interim government with the city mayor---at least until the tournament, when it would be up to the new king of Makai to decide how the city-state should be run.

“I expect your friend Kurama will be kept quite busy, since he has already volunteered to help with the transition,” Tenga said, pretending to study his nails but watching her intently beneath lowered lids.

Sango stiffened, and abruptly set her cup down with a clink.

Dropping his negligent air, Lord Tenga leaned forward with his elbows on the table, chin propped on his folded hands. “Ah, so this,” he waved at her hair, “has something to do with the kitsune?”

Startled, Sango unconsciously feathered a hand through her shorn locks. “What do you mean?”

Tenga smiled, revealing the sharp tips of his fangs. “Well, a girl just doesn’t go out and get her hair done without a damn good reason. And usually that reason involves a man.”

Sango blinked.

The demon laughed, a tinkling melody of sound. “You really are a delight, Sango-sama. Your honesty is so refreshing!”

Sango flinched at the reminder of Youko’s acidic comment.

Lord Tenga suddenly dropped his amusement, staring at her intently. “That hurt you. I’m sorry---I did not mean it to.”

Taken aback by the sincerity in his voice, not to mention smarting under his devastating insight, Sango shrugged. She felt out of her depth. This youkai had a skill with words she lacked, and she didn’t understand his true motives. Suddenly suspicious, she demanded, “Why do you care?”

“I like you,” he said candidly, “and I have a great deal of respect for the kitsune.”

She stared at him, again surprised by his sincerity. She could feel the genuine honesty emanating from his aura, which was a mixture of lavendar and blue---soft, soothing colors with a sprinkle of gold here and there, like tiny blinking fireflies. She blinked, caught off guard by how easily she’d engaged her astral senses to examine his motives, and he smiled.

“You are learning quickly,” he commented, startling Sango. He went on to explain offhandedly, “Oh, Yuda has kept me apprised of your progress under old Sen. He’s a dear friend, although I must admit his current penchant for stinky rodents has kept me from visiting the shop too often. Do you know how long it takes to get eau-de-skunk out of good silk?”

Sango burst out laughing, just imagining how Skunk must have reacted to the elegant, perfumed lord. It was no secret the little black-and-white demon---who Master Sen had taken in after he blithely showed up for breakfast one morning---could be quite haughty, and didn’t take too well to outsiders. He was more like a cat in that way than a skunk. It was also true that while he worshipped Master Sen and tolerated Yuda and Guchi for the mole’s sake, he strangely liked Sango. He often followed her around the shop, occasionally letting her pick him up for a quick cuddle or scratch. He was not what one would ever consider affectionate, and while he might be the same size as Kirara, with eyes just as red and a striped tail just as bushy, he was not nearly as tolerant or sweet. Rather stand-offish and irritable, was Skunk. And since he had the distinct ability to spray anyone he disliked with such a foul odor---a demon skunk’s spray being that more potent and nastier than his living world cousin’s---he had little to ever fear, from anyone.

“There, now that I’ve established my credentials,” Tenga gave her a wry look, “I hope you don’t mind an old man sticking his oar in and giving you a word of advice.”

Mirth dying, Sango drew back, dark eyes wary.

“My, you really are chary, aren’t you?” Tenga sighed. “Really, I would like to think we could be friends, you and I. Why, you have such good taste in men. And by that, I mean the foxy Kurama.” The demon lord suddenly looked wicked. “He really is scrumptious, isn’t he?”

Sango stirred uncomfortably. She wasn’t used to such blatant audacity, especially from someone so completely unabashed as Lord Tenga. He chuckled at her expression, saying lightly, “I was just teasing you, lady. Forgive me.”

She shrugged, and Tenga abruptly changed tactics, growing serious once again. “The truth is, my lady, I don’t think you know as much about demons as you think you do. Especially male demons of the arrogant, sexy kind.”

Again haunted by the words Youko had said to her, Sango flushed. She was a little more sharp than she’d intended when she said, “I think I know enough.”

“No, you don’t,” Tenga said gently. “Perhaps as a taiji-ya---”

She gave him a sharp look, and he shrugged. “Your history is not unknown to me. You think a beautiful woman, whose past is a complete mystery, wouldn’t spark some curiosity? Especially when she comes on the arm of a reborn kitsune thief not seen in Makai in several centuries, one whose legendary reputation as a bandit named Youko is only surpassed by the name he made for himself during the Dark Tournament?” He smiled, his fangs appearing. “You really are naïve, child, of the intricacy of Demon World politics. It’s sweet, but that innocence can be dangerous. Especially for a changeling who has just lately accepted her dual heritage.”

Sango straightened. “You’re not just the king’s advisor, are you?”

Tenga smiled lazily. “I’ve always been a curious fellow, and always had a penchant for ferreting out odd bits of information. The king just found a way to put my considerable talents to good use.”

“You’re the king’s Spy Master, aren’t you?” Sango demanded, and Tenga shrugged.

“You might call it that, though I prefer ‘IT Analyst.’ Sounds so much more modern, doesn’t it?”

Sango didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or not, for he looked so hopeful that it did. She didn’t know if he was blatantly trying to disarm her. She didn’t trust him, but she couldn’t help liking the audacious youkai, he was so completely unlike her.

“Ah, but I digress.” Tenga immediately discarded his hopeful look for a more somber one. His pink eyes were intent. “Sango-sama, this is a subject perhaps too intimate for one of our limited acquaintance, but I don’t want to see you get hurt. For my own reasons. And I feel certain things must be explained to you that others would conceivably find too embarrassing to say.”

He suddenly grinned. “I rarely find anything embarrassing any more. But, again, I digress. This conversation is supposed to be about you, not me.”

“What about me?” she asked coolly, uncertain where this was going.

“You are a changeling, a wind-hanyou if I read your elemental energies right.”

Picking up her tea, she waited for him to continue.

“If you were born a hanyou, than this wouldn’t be as important. Your reactions would be instinctive, and you would have grown up in demon society, where certain things are taken for granted. But being made a hanyou, certain natural…ah…tendencies, especially among male youkai, wouldn’t be quite as obvious.”

“What do you mean?”

“This is proving more difficult than I imagined.” Chagrinned, Tenga frowned. His fingers drummed on the tabletop, as if trying to find a polite way to express what he wanted. Finally, he shrugged, and said bluntly, “Sex, Sango. I’m talking about sex.”

Sango nearly dropped her tea cup.

“Forgive me,” he said, but seemed to relax as she tensed, his voice growing amused. “Male youkai can be quite aggressive.”

“I know that,” Sango said sharply, for her slayer training hadn’t been that lacking. She remembered the old woman in the village who’d taken her aside in her thirteenth year, when her womanhood had come upon her, and told her in blunt terms the facts of life and the dangers of rape for a human woman in her line of work. Sango had always been careful to keep that distance between herself and the demons she’d hunted, carefully keeping any signals that might be mistaken as invitation or challenge from going beyond just fighting.

Though she had managed to throw all that away when she’d somehow challenged Youko last night. She still didn’t quite know what she had done to incite the more bestial side of his youkai nature. She shivered, acutely aware of how she had reacted to that, like some mewling bitch in heat.

Noticing it, Tenga gentled his words. “There are certain…natural instincts…accepted among youkai. By our very nature, we are more primal in our…desires…than humans. In Freudian terms, we are closer to our id than our superego. Especially those of a lower class of power---as you have probably seen among the rabid D class demons in Mukuro’s lands. Rather primitive specimens, but quite apt as an example.”

Turning the idea over, Sango slowly nodded. It was close to something her father had once said about demons, though he had said the most dangerous were the ones who could control their inner drives, using their immense power to their advantage with ruthlessly precise intelligence. Lord Sesshoumaru had been a prime example of that opposite side of Tenga’s statement.

“What has this to do with me?” she asked, still confused.

Tenga sighed, and cut right to the chase. “Your demonic heart will have a subtle influence over your natural reserve, Sango, submitting to a youkai’s dominance as natural---”

“I am not weak---” Sango bristled.

“It has nothing to do with weakness,” Tenga smoothly interrupted. “You are not like one of Yomi’s concubines. Sweet flowers, all, but there is a reason why the king has never taken any of them as mate. It is often the strongest female that a demon will seek to claim as his mate, not the weakest. For a female strong enough to challenge him, it works almost as an aphrodisiac.”

Sango stilled. Thinking hard, she bit her thumbnail, missing Tenga’s reflexive wince as she worried it. “Are you warning me that as a hanyou warrior, I will have to be strong enough not only to defeat my opponents but to keep any unwelcome suitors at bay?”

Tenga frowned. “Well, that’s not precisely what I had in mind, but---”

But there was no time for him to finish his sentence, for startled screams, punctuated by piercing shrieks, abruptly erupted outside the restaurant. Jumping to her feet, Sango dashed outside, the lord not a step behind her, a wickedly sharp, bejeweled dagger in hand. The lobby was chaos as people literally climbed over one another to get out of the way of whatever was frightening the daylights out of them. They pressed against the walls, eyes red with fright. Sango tried to elbow her way through, being too short to see around the ten-foot ogre currently trying to run over her to get away from the dire menace behind him.

She finally managed to dive past him, her sword out now that she had room to draw, but stumbled to a stop as a small, dark form toddled into view, striped tail flagging lazily. Spotting Sango, he chittered, and made a beeline straight for the slayer that had the people around her scrambling back in fright.

“Darn it, Skunk! Where have you gotten to now? Don’t go so fast, my old bones can’t keep up…” Master Sen tottered into sight, a grumpy Guchi and clearly delighted Yuda following.

“Is that you, Sango?” Master Sen squinted over his thick bifocals as Sango opened her arms for Skunk to jump into. He nagged at her, rubbing his furry cheek against hers and then impatiently squirming to be let down. She released him, and Skunk promptly went back to Master Sen’s side.

“We’ve been worried about you, young lady!” Guchi growled around his broken tusks as the trio converged on them.

“Lord Tenga, how precipitous.” Yuda bowed, fairly oozing with delight over the scene they were making as the youkai around them looked on in appalled fascination.

“Lord Yuda.” The graceful youkai offered an elegant leg, clearly basking in the attention as he bowed in a courtly Western fashion.

“Sango-san, we’ve been very worried about you.” Master Sen pawed at his glasses, trying to push them back up his long nose as he stared up at her. “Are you all right, my dear? You left so suddenly last night---”

“I’m sorry, Master Sen,” Sango apologized, warmed by their concern and regretting she was the cause.

“Why, it took Skunk most of the morning to track you down.” Master Sen stooped to pat the smug demon, who preened under the praise.

“I---” Sango was abruptly cut off as a whirlwind swirled their hair into wild disarray, a loud shout from the balcony above making them all look up in surprise. A rainbow burst from the upper walkway, two youkai running down it as a boy in a red baseball cap used it like a slide and scooted down on his butt. They were quickly followed by a golden blond in bright yellow spandex. He was clearly the one who had generated the rainbow, for he rode it like a surfboard, the colorful display dissipating behind him.“Don’t worry, citizens, the Beautiful Suzuka is here to save you from the evil menace!”

“Here, now, what’s all the commotion? We missing a fight? Well, don’t worry, Chuu’s here to save the day! Soon as I get me a little pick me up---” The giant youkai perched on the banister waved a bottle and took a healthy swig. Tossing it over his shoulder, he jumped off the balcony, swan-diving down into the lobby as the watching youkai shrieked in fear, trying to get out of his way. Just before impact, he started glowing, a fuchsia aura flickering around him, and he landed gracefully on his feet, grinning from ear to ear as he put his fists on his hips.

“What’s the to do?” Jin suddenly swooped down in a more elegant version of Chuu’s swan-dive, surprising Sango, who had crossed her arms over her head as the powerful winds surrounding the red-haired youkai buffeted everyone about.

“Are you a simpleton?” Yuda snapped at the impetuous Wind Master. “Cut off your winds, airhead, before you blow all of us over with it!”

“Oh, well, sorry it is I am, Your Snobship.” Jin waved his hand, and the winds died as the crowd around them heaved a collective sigh of relief.

“Well? Where is it?” The beefy youkai with the neon-blue mohawk and strange, Australian accent looked around him.

“Where’s what?” Guchi demanded testily, checking to see that his clothes were still on.

“The bloody bad guy!” the youkai---Chuu?---replied just as testily. “Where’s he gone off to, eh? Crikey, we couldn’t have scared him off that easily---not with all the screaming going on!”

“Perhaps, we were mistaken?” a short, blue-haired youkai with four spiked, aqua bangs and ice-blue eyes suggested wryly.

“I never make mistakes,” pronounced the other blue-haired demon, an imp if Sango read his jyaki right.

“Yeah, tell that to Genkai.” The tall blond---Suzuka?---elbowed the imp with a toothy grin.

“Isn’t that you, Lily?” Jin peered past Lord Tenga, whose taller frame had hidden her slighter one from where he stood. He gave her a quizzical look, taking in her short hairstyle, and suddenly grinned in approval.

“Lily? Isn’t that your own sheila, Jin?” Chuu grinned in delight. “Why, you’re a tiny little thing, aren’t you?”

Tiny? Well, maybe, considering the tower of a youkai stood over seven feet tall, including that mile-high mohawk. Several eyes suddenly regarded her with frank interest, and Sango blushed.

Jin didn’t help the situation by propping an arm around her shoulders and giving her a squeeze. “Well, it be a little late for introducing, ’tis my thinking, but hey, guys, this be Lily, and Lily, this be the guys.”

“Hey.” The boy in the baseball cap waved.

“Hello.”

“Hmph.”

“It is nice to finally meet you,” the shorter, blue-haired demon said formally, his ice-blue eyes flickering to Jin and back to her.

“Ah, hello,” Sango said awkwardly, too conscious of the way Jin had casually draped himself across her.

“Hello, yourself.” Chuu drawled the word out too long, grimacing at her in a bad attempt at a leer.

Guchi snorted as Yuda shook his head in disgust and Master Sen frowned.

“Now, lass, who be your friends, eh?” Jin nudged her, and Sango colored again for having forgotten them.

“Ah, sorry. Master Sen, Guchi-san, this is my friend, Jin. Jin, this my lord Yuda---”

“I’m sorry to say we’ve already met.” Yuda’s voice fairly dripped with scorn, and Lord Tenga hid a smile behind his be-ringed hand. There was a gasp, and Suzuka all but gushed as he scooted up next to the elegant youkai.

“What a perfect rainbow of rings!” He clasped his hands in awe, and the handsome imp covered his face with his palm in disgust. Ignoring him, the blond demanded fervently, “Where did you get them? May I look at them? Oh, but they’re so beautiful.”

Lord Tenga graciously let the youkai ooh and aah over his hand, a faint smirk on his lips.

“What the hell is that?” The boy suddenly pointed at Skunk, whose whiskers twitched.

“God Almighty!” Chuu roared, quickly pushing the curious boy behind him. “Get away from that thing, bledger!”

“Is that what I think it is?” The imp stared down at the innocent skunk in horror.

The striped tail slowly rose.

The crowd surrounding their group collectively held their breath, eyes rounding in fear.

“Oh, Skunk, please be nice,” Master Sen said worriedly, hurrying to pick his pet up as Guchi groaned and Yuda rubbed his temples. Skunk tilted his head, considering.

Sango giggled. It was just too much. Hearing her, the others suddenly laughed, the tension breaking as they all exchanged relieved grins as Skunk lowered his stiff tail. The crowd muttered, shaking their heads but carefully staying put in case the skunk changed his mind.

“Well, ah, I think we should return home.” Master Sen peered around, distinctly uneasy with all the attention. “You are coming, aren’t you, my dear? Old Jenji has put on a kettle of oden, knowing it’s one of your favorites…”

Home. It sounded so nice, though she would never have guessed that that was what the rundown shop would come to mean to her. Glancing around her at all the anxious wrinkled faces, Sango’s heart warmed. She wasn’t alone. She had friends. She had people who cared about her, and people she cared about.

“Did you say, oden?” Chuu asked, rubbing a thick finger along his nose as his belly growled. The boy behind him grinned, showing sharp teeth.

“Well, of course, you are all invited,” Master Sen said generously, though Sango wondered where the hell they would all fit in the cramped confines of the shop. Guchi looked startled, but Lord Yuda smirked as Lord Tenga graciously intervened to solve the problem.

“Not to worry, I can have my servants fetch a few tables from home.” Eying the towering Chuu, he said, “And perhaps a few other vittles. I don’t know if one kettle will be enough to go around…”

Laughing, the group turned to leave, the nervous crowd heaving a collective sigh of relief as they finally trickled out.


Dinner turned into an impromptu block party as Lord Tenga’s servants showed up with extra tables and chairs and Lord Yuda arranged to have the street cordoned off as word spread throughout the neighborhood and Master Sen’s many “acquaintances” showed up unannounced, friends and family in tow. Sango couldn’t believe the number of people who waved or stopped by to greet her. Many she knew from tending Master Sen’s shop. The elderly mole had a tendency to attract all sorts of people to his side, from academics to antique collectors to the occasional merchant looking for something unique or the weapons master seeking something in particular.

She could finally put names to all of Jin’s friends. She realized that these were the six demons Kurama had recruited for King Yomi, and was amazed by the different personalities who had become such fast friends. Besides Chuu and the Beautiful Suzuka---as the blond insisted on being called---there was a boy named Rinku who told her he was the fastest yoyo in the west, which earned him a knock upside the head from Chuu for being boastful. Chuu than immediately boasted he could drink any other youkai under the table, and some workmen took him up on his challenge. The handsome imp, Shishiwakamaru, had already collected a knot of adoring fangirls from where he held sway in his chosen corner, and the last was the quiet, blue-and-aqua-haired demon, Touya. He was an ice apparition, and Jin’s best friend since “afore we were that high,” as the wind youkai so blithely put it.

She found Touya an intelligent youkai, a foil to Jin’s boisterous boasts as he and Guchi argued over tactics. Master Sen and Touya would add a comment or two that would toss their claim right on its head, and the conversation would turn to a new subject. Lord Yuda and Lord Tenga talked quietly in another corner. Lord Tenga’s handsome mate, Jueru, lay against the elegant youkai’s side, arms wrapped jealously around his mate as he finally gave off glaring at anyone who stared at them to lay his head on the tall demon’s shoulder and close his eyes. Sango watched as Lord Tenga casually combed his fingers through the shorter youkai’s blond curls, never missing a beat in his quiet conversation with Yuda, who didn’t even notice the tenderness in the gesture, or how the tall youkai shifted so that his sleeping lover would be more comfortable.

It was such a sweet moment that Sango felt her heart tighten. Blushing, she looked down at her hands, which had unconsciously tightened around her glass. She probably shouldn’t have indulged in that wine; it was making her all morose, wondering if she could ever find that same tenderness with anyone. Red eyes suddenly glared across her mind, and verdant green turned into molten gold. Sango flinched, and resolutely pushed the glass away, resolving to enjoy what she did have: Friends.

Good friends, for Jin, having spotted her troubled expression, leaned over and nudged her arm with his shoulder. “What’s to do, eh?”

“Oh, nothing.” Sango smiled. “Just a little too much wine, I think.”

“Well, if ye need to be clearing your head for a bit, I wouldn’t mind a walk me’self,” the youkai admitted. “Bit of a crowd, it is.”

“Sure, why not?” Sango slid out of her seat as Jin stood up and stretched. Touya glanced up, but Jin only waved his hand dismissively. The ice apparition looked at Sango thoughtfully before turning back to his quiet conversation with Master Sen, old Guchi having finally fallen asleep with his hairy head on the table.

“I don’t know if we can manage a walk,” Sango said, eying the crowded block with chagrin.

“Nary a problem,” Jin said agreeably. “Isn’t there a wee yard in back? That’s where you’ve been to training, no? Should be quiet and deserted now, I‘m thinking.”

“It should.” Sango nodded, and led him through the crowded shop to the weed-choked yard beyond. It was quiet, the noise dulled to a murmur by the thick metal walls. The air was clear of the smoking lanterns that had been hung along the street once the sun set, and a light wind played with the short hair along her cheeks. She took a deep breath, letting the air fill her, and let it back out with a sigh.

Looking down at her, Jin smiled. “’Tis clean, no? You can finally be taking a deep breath of it inside ye.” Spreading his arms out, he inhaled deeply, holding his breath for a second, and then exhaled with a dramatic whoosh that made Sango laugh as he rose a good two feet in the air to wiggle his bare toes.

“I envy you that skill,” she said, grinning. “No matter how I try, I still can’t fly.”

“Ah, well, it’s in your hanyou nature.” Jin scratched the back of his unruly head. “A particular limitation, yes. Though there be things you can do, lass, to make up for it.”

“I know,” Sango said, smiling for Jin’s rush to reassure her. “Master Sen has spent some time with me, as have some of his friends, expanding on what you first taught me.” She turned to fully face him. “Jin, I never really thanked you for that.”

“Aye, well.” Jin actually blushed. “It wasna anything any youkai wouldn’t a’done, given similar circumstances.”

Sango snorted.

Taken aback by the sound, Jin blinked. And then, throwing his head back, laughed, long and hard. Tossing an arm across her narrow shoulders, he hauled her over and hugged her hard. “Ah, lass, how you do surprise a lad! Never the expected, are you, me Lily?”

“Well, I do try,” Sango teased, and Jin burst into delighted peals, hugging her tighter. She grinned into his bare chest, feeling relaxed for the first time in so long, and all because Jin was so very Jin. Like Yusuke, he was able to push her troubled thoughts aside just by making her laugh. Wrapping her arms loosely around his waist, she hugged him back, grateful for that.

A calloused hand brushed her short hair back behind her ear, and Sango looked up at him in surprise. The demon’s expression was quizzical, his smile tender. “Ah, lass, you do wound me so.”

“Jin?” she questioned, and then his lips were on hers, the lightest brush, a gentle query. And then again, more confident this time, but still so soft and gentle as his hands twined around her neck, his thumbs pulling her chin up to meet his mouth.Her heart sped up, and Sango slowly closed her eyes.


The reflection in the window was blurred, the red flame of his hair surrounding the pale shape of his face and the dark hollows where his eyes would be if there was enough light to reflect them. The apartment was empty and dark; he had never bothered to turn on the lights. He stared out the window onto the night, the clouds blanketing a skyline of glittering lights. Thousands of lights, gleaming all over the city. A city where thousands of youkai sat with their friends and family around them, and a city where he sat quiet and alone.

Always so alone.

Pressing his forehead against the cool glass, Kurama closed his tired eyes.