Frantic Three

A flock of blackbirds flew overhead squawking chaotically as another tree met its fate. Sango did not know how long she had been on the move but her knee did nothing to contribute to her safety. Hiraikotsu’s weight was a huge factor in her ordeal. Nonetheless, she pushed forward evading huge fallen branches and uproots on her path, maintaining herself under the protection of foliage.

The forest was aware of the impending danger that threatened to level it down. Sango could hear the frantic cries of the creatures, like the crows making circles in the sky. Their warning caws reminded the tajiya to stay alert and push further. She did not know if it was mainly from exhaustion or possible blood loss that Sango could have sworn that she could hear them screeching, Don’t stop! Don’t stop! He’s coming! Don’t stop!

All this running rendered her dizzy from short-windedness. But whatever it was, may it be illusion or whatever else one could call it, she could not stop.

The deeper she moved into the forest, the less sure she was about finding her way back. She was beginning to lose her perception. That she would have to figure out later once she found shelter to wait the danger out. If Sango knew she would not need Hiraikotsu, she would have tossed it aside if it meant a better chance of surviving. Like any friend, nevertheless, she could never throw Hiraikotsu away like useless trash. To her exasperation, she would take her chances even if Hiraikotsu weighed her down.

Better to have it than to need it later.

Padding her way through thick vegetation, Sango trekked with great effort. It had rained and everything was damp, including Sango—just a light shower, but everything was drenched making the earth slippery. Suddenly without warning, the ground under her gave way and Sango went mud sliding down the side of the hill, careening fast down the slope. In her effort to stop the procession, she instinctively brought Hiraikotsu in front of her to use as a shield. To her misfortune, her miscalculation caused her entire body to be catapulted off the ground, sending her rolling the rest of the way down, getting banged up pretty bad by the boomerang during her descent.

It was a huge rock that broke her fall—practically breaking her back when she crashed against the huge boulder—followed by a loud thud. Pain coursed up her spine. Her vision went blurry. The next thing she knew, all went black.

It was awhile before Sango regained consciousness. When she woke up, a river of pain gushed up her spine. She had hit herself hard. And before she was able to make sense of anything, she found herself sandwiched between the boulder and Hiraikotsu; it was securely half-buried in the ground. A terrible thought came to mind—a little more and that could have been her pinned- split in half- by Hiraikotsu.

She had no idea how long she blacked-out. There was not much light where she lay. The ambience itself was dim with a wash of gray. Practically, there was no sunshine to pierce through the thick foliage of the canopy.

The quietness was deathly, nothing moved. She wished she could say it was serene but it was not. It was dark and eerie…and Sango was in a world of hurt. She tried to move but was met with more pain when she did. This was bad. She stilled for a moment to listen to the forest.

She heard nothing… only her breathing following the pace of her own heart. There was flapping overhead, which startled her a little. It had to be a crow, she assumed. She had seen a lot of them earlier. Moving was out of the question, she had to rest.

The aching in her knee seemed to have numbed a bit. That did not look too promising. With her face against the soil, she began thinking and realized how much she missed her friends. Sango would have given anything to have them with her right now; telling her everything was going to be all right.

None of this should have happened.

She closed her eyes to rest them. At the same time, she hoped all this was an awful dream. Logic, however, assured her that this was real.

Screw logic, it was the pain she felt in her body that assured her that all this was real!

Keeping her eyes closed, she thought in her friends, hoping that by thinking in them her thoughts would lead them to her. Hoping that they would come. Hoping that Kirara went for help.

Miroku, she thought. She should not have yelled at him before leaving. She clamped her eyes tighter to see his face.

He had fondled her and she got angry with him. Said things to him before flying off to her village. She should not have gotten angry.

They did not capture the scorpion demon, it was still on the loose, threatening to level the village. The situation had become complicated—it possessed a shard. InuYasha and Kagome had recovered from their ordeal with minor bruises. Of course, once Miroku told them everything that happened, InuYasha was the first to react.

Sango opened her eyes and thought how mad InuYasha was for the committed negligence. He had yelled at Miroku for using Kazaana to pull the demon away from Kagome, risking getting Kagome pulled into the vortex in the process. Sango was the next one to get yelled at for letting Miroku go with his plan in the first place. And, not wanting to make her feel left out, InuYasha also yelled at Kagome for not leaving the shard back at the shrine in Kaede’s care.

Kagome tried coming up with an excusable defense as to why the shard was in her pocket instead of in the vile where she kept the others. InuYasha would have none of that. As a result to his ankle biting, InuYasha’s face met dirt.

All this occurred at supper.

Sango swallowed hard on bile. She had to get up off the ground and move to safety. She stirred a little to her right, her hand inching to touch Hiraikotsu. It was wet and plastered with mud. It was going to take some time to dig out. Sango sighed. She placed her palm against it and ran her hand along the dorsal. The sash on the jutting end was filthy. She then ran her fingers on the area that was recently repaired. The scorpion managed to damage Hiraikotsu during their last battle.

She tried moving again; it felt like a dagger going into her back.

Three days before now, they were standing ready with their weapons at hand.

It had been three days they first engaged the enemy in battle. Sango and Miroku had driven the demon out of its hiding place. It had been a fastidious chase but well worth the effort and energy for the sake of retrieving the Shikon Shard embedded in its head. Since last time, the demon had grown bigger and continued to grow bigger, stronger, and uglier by the day. Now, it was only the five of them. Kagome had to return home the night before to attend to personal business. Without her spiritual powers to help them out, the gang found themselves at a disadvantage.

They surrounded the beast in a grassy plain, which made it more difficult for them to maneuver through the tall grass. But, there was an added advantage; the scorpion had difficulty in turning its body quickly. So, it resorted to staying put and using its claws and tail to fight.

Earlier, Shippou and Kirara almost met their end if it were not for Sango attacking the monster with Hiraikotsu. The Scorpion, in its haste to deflect the weapon, had let both cat and kitsune make their escape. Unfortunately, Hiraikotsu took damage from the monster’s tail to render it inservible.

The battle had grown intense. Sango was not sure she would leave it unscathed. Everybody else, to her judgment, were losing their stamina—but so was the scorpion. Regrettably for them, the demon still had more left in him to give. Sweaty and fatigued, the gang searched for an opening to defeat it.

As the perfect defense, the creature kept close to the ground keeping its eyes, ears, and sense of touch in optimum acuity. It was still but its eyes flared red. Sango knew it was getting ready to attack, so she readied Hiraikotsu, despite the damage done to it earlier, keeping her body steady and her mind focused.

The fighting had gone longer than expected but when all had finally ended with InuYasha’s Kaze no Kizu, the creature was destroyed. But before that occurred, Miroku had used his Kazaana to take the thing off kilter giving Sango the chance to throw her Hiraikotsu. However, instead of inflicting damage, the Scorpion deflected her attack by whacking the boomerang with the business end of its tail, piercing it. At that moment, Sango’s heart almost dropped to the pit of her stomach as Hiraikotsu was flung aside.

What before was a mighty foe, was now a festering corpse. Since Kagome was not there to purify the shard, Sango took it upon herself to retrieve it from the creature’s head using a piece of cloth to avoid direct contact. She immediately offered the shard to Miroku to purify but he told her that he could not. His holy powers were not as pure as Kagome’s. He told Sango to hang on to it until they returned to the shrine.

To their relief, the villagers were saved. The left over demon carcass was minced to pieces, and then buried. Miroku sealed the remains with his ofudas. By the time the sun set, they were exhausted.

By nightfall, they were back at the shrine. While the others rested, Sango examined Hiraikotsu to see the full extent of its damage. The Scorpion youkai had pierced it through, in the center. And when it threw the boomerang aside; that was when the true damage was done. Sango realized that if she did not repair it right away, it would surely split in two the next time she used it.

“Is everything alright, Sango?” Kaede asked, Shippou fast asleep on her lap.

“I must return to my village tomorrow.”

“It looks very bad.”

Sango nodded in agreement.

“Will you tell the others of your decision?”

“First thing tomorrow.”

The very next day, Miroku insisted that she stay until Kagome returned from the other side. But, the Taijiya refused to wait. Not even Shippou’s puppy-eyed look could sway her. In that, InuYasha just shrugged his shoulders like he did not care but she knew he was very annoyed. Miroku had no other choice but to stop insisting.

As they said their good-byes, Sango felt his hand creeping down her back and settling on her rear end.

Thwack!

Without a word, she left on Kirara’s back rather annoyed. She heard Miroku’s voice begging her to come back but she did not listen. Instead, she ignored him and ignored InuYasha’s yelling. She could not quite make out his words—something having to do with Kagome.

When she finally arrived at her village by noon, she wasted no time and headed to the forge where Hiraikotsu would be repaired. With Kirara sniffing the air for potential enemy youkai, she followed her mistress as this one place the weapon against the east wall. Sensing no danger, Kirara morphed back into her basic cat form.

As Sango began removing her gear and placing it on the tatami mat, a little piece of cloth rolled out from her belongings. She gasped, in surprise, to realize that it was the Shikon Shard from the Scorpion. She then remembered when InuYasha was yelling for her to come back. In her haste to fix Hiraikotsu, and the added fact that she was angry with Miroku, she had forgotten to leave Kaede the shard so then Kagome could purify it once she got back.

“I have to go back.”

But, if she returned to the shrine she would lose the entire day she needed to repair her weapon. It was then that she looked at Kirara, who stared back at her.

“If I go back, then Hiraikotsu can’t be mended until tomorrow.”

Kirara mewed her reply.

“Don’t worry, we’ll tend to Hiraikotsu, now. You can be at ease,” she assured the fire-cat. At those words, Kirara hopped onto the tatami and pulled out a ball within Sango’s possessions and started playing.

Another loud thud brought Sango back to reality. Another tree had been sacrificed to the forest gods. Her heart was thumping rapidly as a second tree met its doom. Despite the distance, she could hear the commotion in the forest, followed by a huge explosion.

Sango carefully rolled closer to the boulder for protection. Whatever that was, a tree did not produce it. The sound was harder—like a hammer striking stone. Glimpsing upwards, through the foliage, flocks of birds zipped frantically overhead in escape. Their cries was so deafening that Sango had to plug her ears with her fingers.

He was close. She could sense it.

She was afraid.

She scanned the forest grounds for leaves or fallen branches with leaves in an effort to conceal herself from sight. There was nothing she could use within her reach.

What’s the use? she remembered, He can still smell me.

The air suddenly picked up and the trees rustled violently with a strong wind. Sango, feeling terror, felt a sudden jolt of jyaki precipitating around her. It was horribly strong. Little animals were seen scurrying past her for a more suitable hiding place.

He was here—and here for HER.

Sango’s heart skipped a beat as her breathing became short.

Breathe! she closed her eyes tight, forcing herself to hold back crying. Just breathe!

Thoughts of her friends coming to her rescue came to mind. But she knew they weren’t coming. Not now. They were too far and ignorant of her present ordeal. Suddenly, she shivered with uncertainty of the outcome.

She and Kirara had separated forcibly. If the fire-cat was all right, Sango did not know. She had an inkling that he had done something awful to her. And if Kirara was not dead, she might be wounded somewhere.

Breathe! she demanded herself.

The jyaki grew stronger.

Breathe. She closed her eyes, hearing her own heart beat. He was getting closer.

It has been three days since Sango left the shrine. Her hard work during these days truly paid off. In the forge, she admired the excellent job she did on Hiraikotsu; the large crack was non-existent and she was terribly proud of herself. Kirara lied under the window taking in the sunlight that shined through. To Sango’s satisfaction, she looked up the moment the cat mewed in delight. She smiled when Kirara twitched into a ball.

Satisfied with Hiraikotsu, Sango unfolded and carried it to the wall in front of her, resting it against it.

Whew! She let out, using her haori to wipe the sweat off her brow.

She looked at it and admired her work. And when she thought she had enough, she decided to go for a walk. The crisp, clean air was enough to set her in a good mood. Today, she was heading back; Kagome would be there. Finally, Sango could give her the shard.

Having it with her for the past three days was nerve wrecking. In that period, she killed three youkai with Kirara. Obviously, they had come to claim it. With Hiraikotsu still in the forge, Sango resorted to using her wakazashi as defense and left over weapons. Luckily, these youkai were not very strong.

Breathe; she commanded her mind as she took in a lungful of air. Then slowly letting it back out. Today, she thought, was a very beautiful day. By the sun’s position, she could tell it was noon.

“It’s time for lunch,” she said to no one in particular.

She turned to the forge and making sure her voice was heard, she called the cat to come, “Kirara!”

Quickly, the fire-cat prattled out the entranceway, running to Sango’s side. Sango bent down and gathered the feline in her hand, bringing her gently to her chest. Kirara mewed in delight as her mistress took them to the hut.

Lunch proved very satisfying; she made white rice, steamed vegetables, and steamed fish smothered in bits of green onion and soy sauce. It was not much but the meal settled well in her stomach. When she finished eating, she decided it was time to start packing for the long trip back to the shrine. She gathered her black attire and personal affects, which she washed the day before and neatly folded it into the carrying cloth.

She swept the forge before leaving.

Then she remembered. She walked over to a small shrine that she herself had set for Buddha. In a worn out red platter was the Shikon Shard. She had placed the crystal under Buddha’s care. The bronze statuette was placed to guard it. Sango brought her hands together in prayer, kneeling before the idol.

Her prayer was silent. She asked for good fortune on her way back. Once that was done, she bowed short and then reached over to claim the crystal. The moment she touched it, she felt the dark energy spark at her fingertips. It must have been left over by the scorpion. Sango sighed as she kept her hand hovering over the relic.

She looked about and found some parchment lying haphazardly on the floor. She took it and folds it, and quickly took the crystal and deposits it into her makeshift envelope.

When she was about to place it in her satchel, she heard a voice call outside. Promptly, she shoved the envelope into her haori, directly over her heart, and ran outside to attend the unexpected visitor.

“Taijiya!” the voice called.

“I am coming!” Sango exclaimed.

Once outside, Sango stood face to face with a young woman who appeared to be of her same age. The woman was trembling in fear and desperation. Her face was covered in sweat and her clothes…in blood.

“Are you the demon slayer?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Good.” With that, the woman fainted

Thank you all for waiting patiently! I want to thank all of you for reading this fic and leaving wonderful reviews! Real life can often get in the way of things but finally, I've posted! God Willing, I will post the next chapter soon.

BTW...I'm thinking of hosting a fanart contest for this story. So, if anyone wants to send me any artwork you can do so!

Next chapter: Kaori was her name. When she arrived, she was covered in blood.