Heartbeat
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
A/N: This is written a
little differently than my other works... Be forewarned that any run-ons or
missed capitalization is intentional. Enjoy, and don’t kill me afterwards,
okay?
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
It’s
It’s the Sango-induced sort of pain, fortunately, so I can cope.
We have been walking for
hours now, following a hunch of Kagome’s. So far, we’ve found nothing, and I am
unsurprised. Things with Shikon shards move quickly,
especially once they’ve caught wind of us.
Instead of watching where
I’m going, I watch my attacker. The sun catches her brown hair and turns
sections of it a shimmery bronze. I long to touch it,
and I reach out to do so, but Kagome looks at me at that precise moment,
causing me to drop my hand to Sango’s lower back and
place it there instead.
She stiffens and I cringe.
-thump
thump-
When I come to my senses,
we are at a fork in the road. Kagome is pointing adamantly down one path while Inuyasha is certain that he smells a demon in the other
direction. Sango is trying to negotiate, but nothing
does much good once those two get started.
I put the tip of my staff
on the ground and let it fall. It points down Inuyasha’s
path, so I put an arm around Sango’s shoulders and
persuade her to come with me.
There’s an armory there,
if I’m not mistaken, I tell her. You can replenish your poison stores, spend
some time with your favorite monk, and maybe hunt up some new armor. Not
necessarily in that order.
She does not look
impressed with my tact, but she agrees. Inuyasha,
Kagome, and Shippou head down the other path while Sango, Kirara and I head down the
one that fate chose. We walk in comfortable silence.
-thump
thump-
Why are the village heads
always ancient?
This one is practically
belching dust as he tells Sango and I of a massive demon that has been regularly shredding
villagers apart.
I knew there was an
ominous cloud.
It is Sango
who gets us lodging this time. The village head’s son seemed to like her
hands off, my Sango,
my Sango
and he set us up in a marvelous room
that is very secluded from other lodgers. There is one futon. I think he has
the wrong idea. Or maybe the right one.
I shrug and remove my kesa and Sango is already
blushing.
-thump
thump-
How long, I call, are you
going to sit over there?
Sango doesn’t move. She is still sitting
flush to the wall and looking very uncomfortable. I get the odd feeling that I
could prance around the room nude and she wouldn’t look up, but I’m in no hurry
to remove my shorts.
I move as if to stand and
she presses her face into her knees and I can practically feel her
embarrassment.
You’ll catch cold, I try
again. We’ll be tracking that demon tomorrow and you can’t afford to get sick.
This reaches her. She
crawls over to the futon, pointedly looking everywhere but at me. Don’t- she
starts, but I shush her, simply moving over and lying on my side, facing away
from her.
Several minutes later, I
feel the covers lifting slightly and she slides in beside/behind me, trying her
best not to touch.
I won’t break, you know, I
murmur.
To my surprise, she places
one small hand on my back, then leans into me
slightly. She is still fully dressed, of course (she sleeps that way unless she
is injured) but it sends shockwaves through me all the same.
Her soft breath tickles the
back of my neck as she whispers something that could be ‘good night’ or could
be a dozen other things that I want her to say.
-thump
thump-
I wake alone, my back
cold. I sit up and dress quickly, wondering where Sango’s
gone and if I maybe said something in my sleep or if I was too forward or-
Sango comes in, bearing food. I smile
and take it from her, voicing my thanks. She tells me that the village head has
informed her of the demon’s normal haunt.
I frown, remembering why
we’re here, and hide my expression in a teacup.
-thump
thump-
Sango is beautiful. Beautiful
in every sense, no matter what she’s doing. When she fights, she moves
as liquid and I notice the little things, like how the fine hairs at the nape
of her neck become matted with sweat.
I wonder if she notices my
gaze.
I’m not sure how I ended
up as Sango’s backup, but I am.
The demon is hideous, just
a dark, amorphous body with two long arms ending in wickedly sharp claws. As I
watch, Sango launches Hiraikotsu
and the demon rolls away unharmed.
An arm (with flexed,
gleaming claws) stretches toward Sango and the panic
on her face is evident.
-thump
THUMP-
My broken shakujou lies in front of me as I sit with my eyes closed.
Sango has been apologizing since we
returned. I keep telling her that it’s fine, really, but what will I do to
protect her now save warding the place and making her stay put?
She apologizes. I forgive.
-thump
thump-
She’s cradled against my
back again, only this time, her chest bindings and a gown lent to her by the
village head’s son
damnit, my Sango, mine
are all that separate our flesh. She
whispers my name and an apology, though she is supposed to be sleeping. I roll
over and find that she’s looking right back at me, honey-brown eyes desperate.
I reassure her with a
chaste kiss to the forehead and restrain my twitching hands.
-THUMP thump-
The demon’s back and I’m
on backup duty.
It makes sense. I can’t
fight without a weapon, can I?
Sango has given me her katana, but it is
insubstantial, impervious to my houriki and of no use
to me. It’s nothing but a sharp edge to cut myself with. I study it for a
moment, then return my gaze to the fight.
I look up too late.
-thump
thump-
A child,
running past with his fists over his eyes and wailing. I see Sango
and my heart skips.
-th- thump-
She dashes toward the
child, oblivious to the imminent danger of that damned demon. Its claws hurtle
toward her back as the world seems to slow down and happen in segue
fragmented
I’m dimly aware of yelling
her name, aware of her soft warmth in my hands as I shove her aside, aware of
four places where pain blossoms as if flowing from a ruptured
(heart)
-thump
thump-
dimly aware that it wasn’t my
wandering hand that got me into trouble this time
feeling claws inside me as if reaching for
my heart & i wish i had
the energy the breath to say "you idiot, sango
stole it long ago"
a flash of silver & the demon’s
head rolls to a stop beside me
inuyasha, i not-say
then i hear sango screaming to me
miroku!
oh is that my name i wonder faintly
i always thought it was houshi-sama
-thump
thu-