Splintered Coral – Part Thirteen

Important: Okay. Large chunks of text in italics are Kagura-flashbacks. And I don't think Miroku was OOC last chapter. I'll explain why at some point in this chapter. This is the LAST INSTALLMENT by the way... :D And Kinami is the chick from the beginning of this fic. You know, the one who split Sango? Yeah. BTW- This chapter is long enough to be two in one!

Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, you wouldn't recognize it. There'd be too much Mir/San fluff going on.

xxxxx

The constant dodging and blocking was beginning to wear Ansho down. There was no way that she could bring herself to attack Kohaku, although he looked to have no qualms against attacking her. But, she couldn't bring herself to force him to a stop, even though she knew that he wasn't himself. She was prepared to hold her own as long as she had to. She couldn't hurt her brother, especially when she was in this particular situation...

As Kohaku moved to let loose his scythe once more, and Ansho prepared to defend accordingly, a flash of silver caught the elder taijiya's eye. As she instinctively took a step backwards, Kohaku's weapon intercepted the object's path, shattering it, whatever it was.

"Houshi-sama!"

When she heard Sango's cry, Ansho knew something had gone wrong. Very wrong. Casting a brief glance over her shoulder, she saw Naraku standing over a black and purple robed body, and Sango stumbling out from where she had been watching. Returning her attention to Kohaku as her mind raced, she made her decision in a split second.

Throwing Hiraikotsu aside and leaping over what she now understood to be the fragments of the second orb, Ansho somehow managed to reach her brother, wrenching the chain sickle from his grip. Ignoring his alarmed attempt to struggle, she twisted his arms behind his back and looped the chain around the boy's body. Yanking her blade from its sheath, she plunged it between the chains, effectively tethering Kohaku to the ground.

Giving her sibling an anguished and apologetic glance, Ansho ran to catch Sango.

xxx

Kagura leaned forwards thoughtfully, her attention still trained on the events below. A slight smirk was apparent in her expression.

"So... Naraku broke both of them, eh? Fool."

"Kagura?"

The wind witch paused, examining the childlike demon. Finally, she shook her head. "Nothing Kanna. Let's continue watching. Naraku might... need us..." Kanna said nothing in return, merely doing as Kagura had suggested. Kagura, in turn, also turned away, but a satisfied glint was in her eyes as her mind wandered back to when Naraku had ordered her to visit the ocean sorceress...

Kagura pursed her lips unhappily as she peered into the opening of the seaside grotto. The lapping of moving water echoed in the cave, drowning out the sound of the youkai woman's footsteps as she entered. Otherwise, all was silent.

"What are you doing here?" The quiet was abruptly shattered. Kagura slowly turned to face the way she had come. In the wide crevice that served as a doorway to the darkness stood the feminine form of the speaker, her features shrouded by a shroud-like mist

"You are Kinami?" Kagura returned, unconcerned by the danger underlining the other's tone. There was a pause.

"Who are you?"

"My master-"the word was uttered in heavy disdain- "is in need of your services."

"I serve no one, and you are trespassing. Leave." Kagura resisted the urge to express her annoyance with a roll of her eyes, instead drawing a small pouch from where it had been hidden within her sleeve. Upending it, a small object fell into her palm. Extending her arm so that the pink fragment could catch the faint light, she spoke again.

"Surely you've heard of the Shikon no Tama? Naraku pays well."

The offer hung in the air as it was considered. Note much later, a pale blue light flooded the cavern, emanating from the walls and changing the jewel shard's hue to a glinting violet. The mist around Kinami faded as she neared Kagura.

"I'm interested."

xxx

Sango dropped to her knees beside the prone Miroku, reaching a hand to his neck in search of a pulse. After a strained moment, she found the steady beat she wanted. Her eyes closed in relief and she sat back on her heels.

Those eyes snapped back open again when there was a whoosh above her head, and she ducked out of pure reflex. Peeking up again, she saw the severed end of one of Naraku's tentacles on her right, and Ansho standing on her left with Hiraikotsu in hand. The stomach turning stench of miasma was beginning to manifest itself in the air as the tentacle writhed on the ground.

"How is he?" Ansho demanded, swiftly tying her filter mask over her nose and mouth.

"Alive," Sango replied, covering her own face with the neck of her yukata as a precaution of her own.

"Well, try and keep him that way!" With that said, the taijiya leapt forwards, intent on giving Naraku a piece of her mind.

The miasma was growing thick in the air. Doubtlessly, Naraku was allowing the poisonous vapors to escape his body while other aspects of his villainy distracted them.

Typical.

Trying to breathe as little as possible, even with her face covered, Sango rolled Miroku over onto his back. As she worked at the knot on his shoulder, intending to use his kesa as a makeshift filter as well, her gaze flickered to his face and consequently shifted over his forehead.

Blood.

Dropping both her own collar and the loosened knot of the kesa, Sango hurriedly brushed Miroku's hair away from his forehead. The strands were heavy from absorbing the crimson liquid. Inspecting the wound, Sango found that it was deeper than she had expected, and a flash of anger burned its way through her veins.

Drawing the violet cloth over the houshi's face in case the miasma in the air thickened, Sango turned her head, catching sight of Miroku's staff. Setting her jaw and forcing herself to her feet, she plucked it from the ground. Lifting her gaze, she looked to Ansho, who was struggling in a fight against their most hated enemy.

Without a second thought, Sango ran to join the battle.

In doing so, she completely missed the way Miroku's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly, a sign that he was slowly awakening.

xxx

When the second half of Sango joined the assault against him, Naraku found himself growing highly aggravated.

Why weren't they dead yet?

All had been going according to his original plan. He had arranged for Sango to be put under a spell so that she would be split into two separate, individual persons. And then, eventually, he had acquired both of the orbs that were necessary to continue in his plot, and in doing so led both Sangos and the monk into his trap. Now, the houshi was out of commission, thanks to himself, and both orbs were broken.

But both girls were still very much alive!

He cursed Kagura mentally, damning the day he had decided to send her as a courier instead of making contact with the sea witch himself. Naraku knew that his makeshift offspring had no true loyalty to him, and would mess him up where she could.

Decisively banishing those thoughts to a later time, the hanyou finally turned his full attentions to the two fighting women before him.

"Fools. Do you honestly think that you can destroy me by yourselves? You'll die." Suddenly moving all of his unleashed tentacles in synchrony, the writhing limbs crashed against Ansho and Sango's sides, sending them flying into each other.

However, the awaited sounds of two bodies hitting the earth never came.

Instead, a bright light built around the two women, causing Naraku to recoil in a moment of surprise. It took him only a second more to realize what was happening.

They were rejoining.

When the glare soon faded, he was revealed to be correct. Sango, whole and complete, stood there, appearing a bit frazzled and out of sorts. Hiraikotsu was still clutched in one hand, and Miroku's golden weapon in the other. Her hair was still up in the ponytail she typically wore with her armor, which was still on as well. Over that was the yukata that the 'splintered' Sango had worn, though its tie had come a bit loose, causing a shoulder to slip down over Sango's arm and a good amount of her black suit to be seen.

"I... what?"

Naraku felt his eyes narrow and his mouth twist with rage. This isn't what he had wanted at all. But, he'd have to make do. Deciding to take advantage of the restored taijiya's self-distraction, he let loose a flood of choking miasma as he attacked once again.

His aim was deadly. Or, it might have been, had a blur of black not knocked Sango from where she stood, or had a challenging shout not warned him that enemy reinforcements had arrived.

Cursing his luck, Naraku retreated, the illusionary castle that he had created evaporating into nothing as he did so.

xxx

"There are two important things you must know to keep this spell intact," Kinami instructed Kagura, after a long discussion of what their agreement implied.

"I'm listening."

"Both concern the orbs I mentioned previously. The first rule is, you must not let them touch." She paused, reviewing the scroll in her hands in order to assure herself that she had her facts straight. "If they were to do so, then the spell would be released, and the two derivatives of the original person would be returned to their normal state if even their clothing so much as brushed."

"And the second?" Kagura inquired, only half-interested, but listening nonetheless.

"The same thing would happen if both orbs were broken. If one broke, it wouldn't matter much. But two... However, the orbs can be broken only by one who is dear to both halves of the original person." She shrugged.

Kagura rolled the Shikon shard between her fingers as she committed the two rules to memory. As she did so, a question came to mind. "Why are these orbs so important, and why does it matter if they touch or break?"

"They are like two halves of a key lock, or something of the sort. If they are put together the correct way, the spell will be 'unlocked', if you will. They could also be analogous to a sort of barrier. The two halves lock the spell together, and prevent the soul in question from bonding with its split half. If both barriers are broken, then the halves can reach one another and bond. Understand?"

"Yes..."

She knew all of it. She knew the reasons, and the how. And it wasn't her fault that Naraku hadn't known as well. He had insisted on being his bastard-self when she had been trying to reiterate what Kinami had told her to him.

It wasn't her fault that he'd sent her off on some ridiculous errand halfway though her explanation. An errand she didn't even recall, at that!

Yet, she'd be blamed.

Kagura sighed, as she freed Kohaku from where he had been bound. She pulled the boy onto her feather, unwillingly following her master.

xxx

Miroku stared down at Sango, not quite believing his eyes. Sango- she was alive! And... whole? But, that couldn't be possible, could it? He had inadvertently broken one of the orbs, hadn't he? Also, he could remember how the second had arched into the path of Kohaku's chained blade.

He had seen Sango fallen on the ground after his initial mistake. He had been sure that he had killed her. That it had been his fault. That he had lost her. He had been so overwhelmingly furious with Naraku for putting the blame on him; so furious with himself for taking the bait. He had been so distracted by his concern for Sango's well being... But she was here in front of him, still in his arms from when he had tackled her out of Naraku's way. Slowly, he lifted a hand to touch the side of her face incredulously.

"Sango...?"

Her brown eyes were unfocused, as though she were dizzy, but they met his anyway. He could see her disoriented confusion, and even some curiosity, and he hurriedly removed the hand that rested against her face. He sat up, pulling her up with him.

"Houshi-sama? What...?"

"It's all right. Are you feeling well, Sango? Are you..." Miroku paused, searching for the right word, "yourself?" She was quiet for a minute, the space between her eyebrows bunched as she struggled to focus her thoughts.

"Yes, I'm... back, I suppose. But I have the worst headache. An aftereffect, I guess... How did it happen?" The monk gave her a small smile, shrugging a shoulder slightly.

"Not a clue. Come on, I don't want you walking just yet. On my back." Miroku recognized the skeptical stare that was so characteristic of the demon huntress that he knew. "I'm not taking no for an answer, even if you have a phobia concerning gropes." After holding the stare for a short time longer, Sango finally conceded with a nod.

"Fine, fine. But if my 'phobia', as you put it, turns out to be legitimate..." Sango let the light threat hang in the air as Miroku adjusted her onto his back. Once he had risen to his feet and was beginning to walk towards their recently-arrived friends, Sango allowed herself to rest her head against the back of his shoulder, remembering when she had been considering the merits of such a position back on that night before everything had happened... And she had been right too. Miroku did make a nice, warm, moving pillow.

A small sigh escaped her when she felt his hands shifting themselves discreetly up her thigh.

She had been right about the perverted pillow part too.

Sango let her eyes drift shut as she spoke, saying, "You know, Houshi-sama, I still remember those tallies."

Miraculously, the hands stopped shifting.

xxx

It was daytime when Sango next opened her eyes. It was the first thing she noticed- after she had gratefully noted that her pounding headache had dissipated. Yawning, she shifted into a sitting position and stretched, twisting her neck to work out the various kinks. She had just pulled the blankets off of herself when a familiar face made its way into the room.

"Ah! Sango-chan, you're up!" The futuristic miko dropped the basket she had been carrying beside the doorway, rushing over to give her friend a happy hug.

"Hello, Kagome-chan," Sango greeted with a smile. Kagome returned the expression, dropping back onto her heels.

"You woke up at the perfect time. I was just about to head on off to the well and all. Well, actually, to argue my way to the well, knowing Inuyasha. You should lie down some more, Kaede-baachan wants to talk to you before you do much anyway. You know, ask you questions and check up on you and all of that. I'll get her on my way home, so you just stay here, okay?"

"All right," Sango replied, adding a nod for good measure.

"Great!" Kagome leaned forwards again to give her another hug. "It's great to have you back to normal Sango-chan! I'll see you later!" With that said, Kagome popped back onto her feet and left with a wave.

Sango remained where she was until she was sure Kagome was a good distance. Then, she got up, located her sandals, and made her way out of the familiar hut. Making sure none of her friends were in eyesight, she stepped into the road and began walking. She set a leisurely pace, simply taking the time to relax a little and recover from the past few days in her own way.

It was only fitting that she would come across a very certain someone, who happened to be whiling away their time by flirting. She unconsciously crossed her arms over her chest and sending Miroku a rather baleful look. Almost immediately, he looked her way, and surprise flitted across his features, followed soon by a cheerful grin. It was Sango's turn to be a tad shocked when he bid the young woman farewell and came face-to-face with the taijiya.

"Ah! Sango, it's good to see that you're up. Kagome-sama passed by here a moment ago saying so, and I intended to come pay you a visit."

"Mm... Before you got sidetracked, that is?"

A laugh, a slightly nervous one at that, escaped him. "Whatever do you mean by that?"

"Never mind... I'm just going to walk for a little while, so you can go back to whatever you were up to," Sango said with a small sigh, looking away. The movement was quickly reversed when she felt her hand being taken in another, and then lifted to be held softly against the monk's cheek. Miroku's eyes were glimmering with mischief as Sango's cheeks heated up.

"Ah, but Sango! I'd much rather spend my day in your company! Walking beside you is my heart's joy!"

"Houshi-sama, you walk beside me, or at least near me, every day," Sango said dryly.

"I did say it was my heart's joy, didn't I?"

He was impossible to daunt in any way.

"Oh, very well then." He flashed her his warmest smile.

"I knew you'd agree."

Tugging her hand free of his grasp and rolling her eyes, Sango began to stroll again, Miroku now beside her. Sango had intended to keep conversation at a minimum, but somehow, it ended up otherwise.

"Thank you..."

Miroku paused mid-stride before continuing. "For what?"

"I don't know. For putting up with me. The two of me. I mean, it couldn't have been easy putting up with all of what was going on." Miroku didn't immediately respond, watching Sango as she stepped off of the dirt path to take a seat on the rungs of a wooden fence. She didn't look at him, and eventually, he trailed after her, leaning his back against the same fence.

"It was no trouble, really. In fact..." he caught her eye, and gave her an implicative wink. "Some of it was rather enjoyable."

"It figures you'd bring that up."

"Hey! Don't look at me like that, Sango. It's not every day that I get to relish two of you at once."

"You're so predictable..."

Miroku considered the taijiya, the wheels of his mind turning. 'Predictable', she said? He'd show her predictable.

"Say, Sango... I've been thinking. Ever since you told Ansho and I- I mean..." Miroku stopped, realizing that he had managed to confuse himself. So much for being smooth.

"It's all right. I know what you mean. What did I say?"

Not that there wasn't room for recovery.

"Ah, yes. I was just reflecting on that story of sorts you spoke of." He could tell when she remembered what he was speaking of. That predictable blush flooded her face, and she stuttered when she next spoke.

"W-what of it?"

He moved to face her, and for the second time that day, took her hand in his. Only this time, he raised it to his lips. "I was just wondering... Would I be correct in guessing that you've yet to be kissed in the way in which your mother spoke of?"

It was slow in coming, but Miroku eventually got the reluctant nod he had been searching for.

"Then," he said, slower than he usually spoke, "would you give me the honor of being the first to kiss you in such a way?"

It was a fact. He'd never seen Sango's face so flushed.

"...You're joking?" she whispered, as though daring to utter a word was a dangerous thing. Miroku laughed lightly, pulling her down from the fence and slowly sliding his an arm around her waist as he continued to hold her hand with the other.

"Sango, why would I joke about something like this?"

She ducked her head, before letting out a mumbled, "Yes."

"I'm afraid you're going to have to talk to me, not my chest. What was that that you said?" Miroku felt her take a steadying breath before turning her face to his.

"I said... yes."

"Yes, what?"

She grew indignant. "Houshi-sama!"

"Well, very well. If you want me to kiss you that badly..." Letting go of her hand to cup her cheek, Miroku drew Sango to him.

Their lips only brushed at first, but that alone made Sango's breath catch. She felt Miroku's arm tighten around her, and their mouths met again, this time pressing together softly. Warmth ran through her, and a bubbly sort of giddiness fluttered through her stomach, making the urge to wind her arms around Miroku's neck impossible to resist. Her heart felt like it would burst within her chest, yet it wasn't a bad sort of feeling. Nothing about it was bad at all, or disappointing.

It just was, and it was wonderful.

The kiss ended all too soon, and a fuzzy thought along the lines of, 'That's all?' made its way through Sango's mind. She blinked a few times to throw off the daze that had come over her so easily.

"So... What do you think?" Miroku was giving her one of those smiles again. Sango tilted her head to the side, regarding him.

"What do you mean?" He laughed, leaning forward to give her nose a soft peck.

"Well, didn't you say that there were three sorts of first kisses? Care to tell me which one it was?"

"Hmm..." With a shrug, she suddenly pulled herself out of his pleasant embrace. "No."

Miroku blinked.

"...Why not?"

"Because... It's only my first kiss. I have to go find out what other kisses feel like before I can be totally sure." She turned and began back the way they had come. Offhandedly, she called over her shoulder, "Do you think that Inuyasha might be willing to help me out?"

The initial look on Miroku's face was priceless.

Even so, it didn't take him very long to recover, and he caught Sango before she could go very far.

"No. I don't think so at all. Besides, I'm not letting you go just yet."

"Oh? Just what are you implying?"

"This."

And, with that, he pulled her into another kiss, this one even sweeter than the first.

'Hn... Houshi-sama, you're so predictable.'

After all, somewhere along the line, his hand had managed to find its way to a very specific place on Sango's body.

Predictable, indeed.

xxxxx

The End.

xxxxx

Aamalie: Okay! Long end of fic AN... (It's customary!) I'm in shock that I wrote most of this in one night. 7 pages out of 10 in one night... -.-; Why am I telling you what I'm capable of? You'll take it to heart, and expect longer chapters and faster updates. Eww... :P I think the reason this came so easily was that, well... I've wanted to write that last LONG scene for ages. xD This fic didn't have nearly enough romance. Hence my slowness... shrugs

Anyway, I'll be posting a few new fics in the near future... Who knows how soon though? School's taking top priority this year. (It sucks for me as much as it sucks for all of you, but its necessary.) My next MirSan chapter fic will definitely be AU. I'll try and get it out sometime this month... D We'll see. It'll be a bit more... interesting than my previous stories. "Dressing Wounds" has made its mark on me. Shame on PoF for writing it. (Not really though. ))

Anyway! Time for the last review responses of Splintered Coral!

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Demon Exterminator Barbie- xD Sorry it took so long! School's like... the uber-suckiest distraction.

Dora- Was this short, I mean, long, enough for you? Too bad you weren't on when I was looking for someone to beta. You'd have been a proud beta. :)

Lady Netiri- Eww. Manure. x.x Sorry for the wait. Does the length make up for it?

Taishoku Kurayami- Sailor Jupie means you. After all, she's YOUR plushie!

Kar the Everblazing- xD Camp... Was camp. -shrugs- It was only a weeklong, and I was trying to end this fic before school started. (You see how well that worked out.)

Aprill May- ...I'm going to kill you one of these days for that stupid "Mother Daughter" thing. I really am. Grr. Fear me. I am the AWESOME ONE. Booyah.

Gamja the Wolf's Fang- x.x Believe me. I wish I could update more. But... there's this little thing called LIFE that keeps bugging me. -annoyance-

Lily Thorne- I think that we've established that "update soon" for me equates to a month. Maybe it should be, "update soonER"?

Monika-chan- :D Yay! I'm glad you support Ansho. She was awesome. But I think normal Sango suits Miroku so much better, don't you think?

FlamingRedFox- Yes... but guilt and grief can cause anyone to lose their cool. Especially when there's love mixed in there... Somewhere... D They're still avoiding the actual admittance part. Like they always are.

Corisu Li- D Okay! Now, its your turn to write your next chapter! Cliffie relief! (Somehow, I don't think we should torture Lonnie any longer. -shrugs-)

Amber Eyez- Two types of shards? x.x NO! This would be the fic that never ended! xD I'm moving on to better plots, my friend.

Iron Raven- I know you didn't. No one did. Not even me. But hey... D Just means you shouldn't try and predict what I have up my sleeve.

Sorceress Kirara- Eww. No. Pre-calc can wait another year. Thanks.

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Aamalie: And to everyone else, thanks for your reviews! I'd respond to you all if I could... But hey. I just spent my entire night cranking out this chapter. I deserve to be lazy. It's tomorrow already! xD (Though, by the time I post this, it'll be far enough into tomorrow to qualify as Saturday morning...)

Anyway. If anyone has any questions, leave your email in your review, and I'll try and explain myself. oO Promise. But as I have a feeling that people will want to know why the whole deal with the orbs in this chapter can conflict with what was presented in chapter 5... (Is it just me, or did that sound like it came outta a textbook?)

Chapter 5 was Miroku taking a shot in the dark guess. Well, more than one shot. But, you know...

Kinami, on the other hand... Actually knew what she was talking about.

Okay. I'm done. For now.

Leave a review! It might speed me up with my next fic!

Until next time!