InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Wild West and the Gang of Four Souls ❯ Pancakes and the Past ( Chapter 3 )

It was morning, and Sango had gotten up feeling better than she had in months. She had ordered a bath the night before, and then slept deeper than she thought possible. If it wasn't for why she visited the town in the first place, Sango would have felt like she was on the best get away vacation in her life.

She yawned, looked out the window and was amazed to see that it was already pretty late in the morning.

Wow who would have thought I was that tired, or that I could trust this place enough to sleep so deep?

Sango got up, washed her face, and then got dressed in her normal clothes.

She wore a large green skirt and a pink shirt on top. This was a normal outfit of any girl and nothing about it really made her stand out. What was not normal for a girl, was the holster she wore with two pistols, a pouch she carried with various gun powders and explosives, and the dagger she slipped into her boot. Sango was not a woman you wanted to mess with.

The last thing she put on was a locket with a picture of her brother and father together in it. The locket was her prized possession; it held a picture of the two people she had loved most in the world. It was her way of remembering them without having to dwell in the past.

Sango walked out of her room and down the staircase to the front room of the building. She then took a swinging door off to the side that led into the saloon and restaurant part of the inn.

The room had only a few people in it. Most people who were eating there had already left since it was well past breakfast and the saloon only got really busy after the ranches near the town called it a day.

Kagome was finishing clearing off the tables and cleaning up after any messes. When she saw Sango she smiled brightly and waved.

Kagome remembered the first time she had come to the town looking just as worn out and desolate as Sango had looked the night before. It was hell and if someone hadn't helped her out then she didn't know what she would have done. Kagome knew how much a smile and a place to rest could help.

"Did you sleep well?" Kagome asked while balancing some dishes on one of her hips.

Sango was relieved to see the woman that had helped her the night before. Kagome seemed so warm and inviting, the smile that she had on her face made her feel like they were already friends and a friend was something she really needed right then.

Sango couldn't help but smile back, "Yes I slept very well. The rooms are so clean and nice here and you have been so helpful."

Kagome looked pleased by the compliment. "Would you like some food now? The breakfast cook just took off but I can make something for you. And since I don't have to serve anyone else do you mind if I eat with you?"

Sango liked both ideas. She had been traveling for so long alone. She really wanted to be around people again. She was tired thinking about things all on her own and she needed to talk things out with someone who would understand. No matter how much she loved her horse Kirara, traveling was very boring.

"I would love to Miss. Kagome if it wouldn't be too much effort." Sango said with a grateful smile.

"Ack, no need for such formalities. It's just Kagome for you. Now come on back to the kitchen. It isn't too big but I like it fine."

Kagome led the way to a swinging saloon door at the back of the room. She held it opened for Sango to walk through.

"Hey Paul," She called to the bar tender, "I'm going to be in the kitchen if anyone needs me, ok?" He nodded and Kagome followed Sango into the adjacent room.

The kitchen was small, like Kagome said, but it made up for the size in how bright and cheery it was. The kitchen had a screen door and two windows that led out to a back porch. It had a wood burning stove in one corner and a large basin with an indoor pump attached to it. There were a few cabinets and a table with a white and blue checkered table cloth on it, also in the room. The kitchen was beautifully clean and organized.

Sango walked to the screen door to look at the porch just outside of it. It was a fairly large porch that gave great shade and was a few steps off of the ground. The stables and corral for the inn were near but off to one side, as to not block the view.

From the porch you could see for miles. The landscape was a rusty color with high plateaus in the distance that dominated the view and gave you that awe inspiring perspective as to how small you really are.

Added to that there was a small garden with a few bushes and hardy flowers clinging to the shade of the building in an attempt to survive. The garden was clearly well cared for, and was just as beautiful in its quaintness as the landscape was for magnificence. The two together combined to produce a contrast that made both all the more beautiful.

"It's gorgeous Kagome." Sango said as she looked out the back door.

"Ya, the porch is one of the best things about living here on the edge of town. Since the inn's my home I can go sit out there whenever I have time off." They stood there for awhile at the screen door till Sango's stomach reminded both of them that no matter how nice the view was food, at the moment, was better.

"I think I'll make some pancakes, if that's all rights with you. I hate to brag but my pancakes are amazing."

Sango sat on a stool and watched Kagome cook the pancakes. She was at awe. Having grown up with only her brother, her dad, and a bunch of rangers it wasn't amazing that Sango hadn't been taught to be an amazing cook.

Sango had tried to cook for all the men once when she was about 12. The night ended badly with half the people trying to put out the fire that gotten started and the other half were sick from food poisoning.

From then on she cooked for herself alone, and it usually was simple stuff that didn't taste very good. You really can't be too picky about what you'll eat when you're in the middle of the desert trying to track down criminals.

When Kagome finished cooking, they took the plates out onto the back porch to eat.

The day was already boiling and since there was both shade and a slight breeze out on the porch, it was the best they could get.

"Ugg. When is this heat going to let up? I know we live in a desert but honestly I feel like I'm in the middle of a fire." Kagome grumbled as she shoved half a pancake in her mouth.

Sango made a noise in agreement having her mouth completely stuffed with pancakes. Damn these are good. Kagome wasn't lying.

"So Sango, what brings you to the town of Mercy in the middle of hell?"

"O that" Sango said as she swallowed her last mouthful with a little difficulty. She was almost hoping that she wouldn't have to tell this woman, with such a happy façade, that she was here to kill someone, but she didn't want to lie to Kagome either.

"I'm here to find the man that murdered my family and the other rangers that we lived with." Sango said this while looking off into the distance and then back at Kagome to see her reaction.

Kagome answered different than Sango thought she would have. Looking off into the distance also and then back at Sango she said in a perfectly normal voice, "Well I bet you've come to the right place to find a murderer. There are a lot of sick bastards in this town."

Sango could feel that behind Kagome's normal appearance of innocents and goodness was a person who had gone through a lot of stuff in her life.

Sorrow and despair always recognize each other and both women on the porch felt the connection that had been formed between two people who have gone through a lot and kept going on with their lives.

After a few minutes of blankly staring at the view with Kagome, Sango figured she could ask a few questions too.

"Do your parents own this inn Kagome?"

Kagome's face fell for a second as if thinking about something painful and then returned to its normal appearance, "Umm no. I'm actually not related to Kaede, she's the person who owns and runs the inn. Kaede gave me a job here when I came into town about three months ago. I was pretty desperate for work but I still had my pride and that won't get you food. So a friend helped me find Kaede and she offered me a job. I've worked here ever since doing pretty much anything that needs to be done including the cooking at lunch."

Sango wondered about Kagome's family and how she ended up in this town of all places, but there was a tone in her voice and that fall in her face that told her to not satisfy her curiosity.

Kagome got up to take both of the plates in to wash but Sango insisted on helping also. "Aren't we friends enough to have you let me do this?"

"Yes, but I feel bad you being a guest in all to do all the work but if you must at least let me help you?"

Together the girls worked on their dishes and then moved to some left over from the morning.

When they were about done Kagome's curiosity got the best of her. "So who is the man you're after? I know everyone around here better than just about anyone else. If it isn't prying too much, I might be able to help you if you tell me who you are after."

"I don't mind telling you at all, and your help would be very welcomed."

Sango put down the last dish she had to dry and hung up the cloth she was using. She then turned her attention back to Kagome's question.

"The man that murdered my family and my world and the man who is going to die very soon, is the Dog Demon Bandit, Inuyasha."

Kagome dropped the plate she had been washing and looked up with a look of shock and confusion on her face, but before she could utter a word to contradict what Sango had just said, two men came walking into the kitchen.

One of the men was a very wet and had black hair. The other had long white hair and had a very smug look on his face.

"Hello Lovely Kagome," said the one with black hair. "I'm sorry about the water that I'm tracking into your beautiful kitchen." "Was it really necessary to push me into that damn watering trough Inuyasha?" He said turning back to Inuyasha who was still wearing that damn smug look on his face.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to reply, but before he could he felt the unmistakable touch of a cold barrel of a gun against the side of his head. This was a position he liked just about as much as he liked the look of pure hatred coming from the woman holding the gun.

How the hell was he going to get out of this one and what the fuck did he do this time?

Thank you for reading. Please reply it would be very helpful.