Splintered Coral – Part Three
Important Notes: I wrote most of this at 3 in the
morning after waking up feeling sick. Therefore, some parts might seem a bit
odd, merely due to lack of sleep on the author's part. ^^;
Disclaimer: Well, I own none of Inuyasha,
including the cast. That point would be emphasized to you if you ever saw one
of my drawings of Miroku... But at least soon I'll be able to watch some subbed
episodes, including 132! *glomps Sara and Zero27*
---
Sango raised her head,
which was throbbing in protest, to look around. Dancing white mists stared back
at her, as she had mostly expected. Pursing her lips in annoyance, the taijiya
stood, reluctantly noting the lack of the comforts having a Miroku-cushion
provided. But that was, er... Beside the point. Yeah, that was it...
Shrugging off that
thought, Sango struggled to see, keeping her ears tuned for any sound. As much
as she was tempted to call out, she thought better of it. Their opponent was
almost undoubtedly nearby. It wouldn't be necessarily wise to blatantly give
away her position by yelling like an idiot.
Really, for all of the
humiliation it might of meant, why couldn't she have landed with Miroku again?
Growling in annoyance, Sango shook her head furiously.
'Now, really! I need to
get a grip on reality! Kami-sama, what is wrong with me tonight?' she thought,
continuing on. 'Stupid houshi, sneaking his way into my thoughts like
this...'
Almost unnoticeably, the
low clouds that surrounded her were lightening. Finally, after what seemed like
ages, a hazy figure made itself known, their features dim. Wary, Sango let her
fingers stray to her blade, hoping that it was someone she knew.
*
Miroku stumbled along,
using his staff to prevent tripping, cursing the youkai behind this. The fog
around him seemed to be getting ever soupier. It didn't sit well with him that
they'd been split up. Something was wrong.
Abruptly, he switched
directions, hoping he'd be able to find one of his companions.
*
She smiled as the taijiya
came towards her, manipulating the mists to make herself look like one of the
exterminator's companions. From what she'd seen already, and from what she'd
been told, there was no doubt that the girl would hesitate to follow that
houshi. Letting the disguise overtake her, she took slow steps forward, knowing
she was close to her goal.
*
Finally, she could
recognize who it was. A feeling of relief washing over her, Sango sped up her
walk, loosening her grip on the hilt of her katana.
"Houshi-sama!"
Sango called out. He didn't give a hint that he heard her, but kept walking.
She frowned, breaking into a jog. "Houshi-sama!?" He didn't stop.
Confused now, she didn't yell again, but hurried to catch up. As she came up
behind him, Miroku gave a sudden halt, and it felt as if her wrists were
suddenly shackled. "What's going on?!"
"You shouldn't be so
quick to make assumptions of identity based on sight alone," came an
unfamiliar, distinctly feminine, voice as 'Miroku' turned to face her. His
features faded away, revealing that it wasn't the houshi before her. Smirking,
the ocean-eyed sea spirit raised a finger to Sango's forehead, and a sense of
drowsiness overtook the taijiya. "The name is Kinami."
*
Kinami leisurely brushed
her black hair back over her shoulder as the taijiya passed out and she
withdrew her hand. Really, that had been pathetically easy. With a flick of her
hand, tendrils of fog wound around the unconscious girl, solidifying to prevent
her from slumping down. A sense of achievement coursed through her as she
raised a hunk of salmon-colored coral to the air, letting it hover at shoulder
height.
This would be quite more
intriguing than simple death.
Murmuring the words of
activation, Kinami watched as a glow erupted from the coral, surrounding the
girl.
*
Miroku frowned as an odd
feeling pulled at his senses, his worries intensifying. Gritting his teeth in
annoyance, he concentrated on finding wherever that nagging sense was coming
from.
There.
Picking his new direction,
the houshi raced to find Sango.
*
This process worked fast
indeed. The floating coral had reformed into a transparent, shining orb, twice
as large as her fist, and the girl's previously glowing aura had faded.
Focusing her mind carefully, Kinami took several calming breaths. In a sudden,
unforeseen movement, she quickly raised and brought her hand down over the orb,
a victorious smile coming over her face as it split into two fragments, and her
gaze turned to the taijiya. Sango, wasn't it?
Her blank eyes had snapped
open as her soul returned to her, and slowly shut again. Nodding her approval,
the spirit loosened the constraints that had held Sango up, letting her drop
easily to the ground. That done, her thoughts returned to the two spheres still
hovering. As she was about to take them into her hands, a small rustle changed
her mind, and she spun out of the way as a gold flash slashed the air where she
had been before, losing her control over the fog in her confusion. Both pieces
of coral fell to the ground, rolling apart, much to her relief.
She couldn't let them
touch. She had to get them back. If that meant killing, then so be it. Having
to dodge once more, Kinami glared at the attacking houshi. She'd kill him if
she had to, even though she didn't want to.
*
Miroku had arrived in time
to see Sango fall to the ground, and, needless to say, it had pissed him off a
great deal. Hoping that she wasn't in mortal danger, and hoping to prevent
anything else from happening to her, he had charged the youkai, or whatever she
was, looming over her. To be honest, he didn't care.
Charging the demon, which,
much to his annoyance, taken the form of a young woman, he muttered a curse
when she dodged again. But he was getting her away from Sango, and all that
mattered was that she was safe. Speaking of Sango...
"What did you do to
her?" Miroku snapped, angling his shakujou as he lunged. Once again, the
demonic woman leapt out of the way.
"The girl? She isn't
dead you know." She smirked. "It isn't my job to wound." In an
unexpected move, she snapped, and mists swirled around her, whisking her over
him, and towards Sango. He ran after, glaring at her as she floated a few feet
over the ground, two strange balls flying up to meet her. As he was about to
charge again, a light arched through the mists, and the youkai dodged again,
almost dropping one of the orbs, but catching it with her fog.
"Damn!"
"Just what do you
think you're doing?!" cried a defiant Kagome, aiming another arrow as
Inuyasha appeared behind her, Tetsusaiga in hand.
*
This was bad.
Kinami looked at the three
drawing nearer, and she held up a hand, desperate now. Eyes narrowed.
"If you're going to
talk, talk. We're on a short schedule," growled the houshi, his glare
dangerous as he moved forwards, making her retreat. In truth, she feared him
more than she feared the hanyou, understanding his now murderous motives. Even
so, she donned a superior expression, holding up one of the spheres for all to
see.
"Your friend is
physically and mentally unharmed, I'll assure you that, though you may think
otherwise."
"What did you
do?!" the miko said, with some alarm, the hanyou shooting her an irritated
look. It was obvious he wanted to finish with all of this. Kinami hesitated.
Should she...? It wasn't part of the agreement, but it would be so much fun...
She would.
"I'm sure you'll see
soon enough, and you'll be wanting to know how to... Correct what you may view
as a problem." No one spoke, and she took that as a hint to continue. She
cleared her throat in an almost mocking way.
"When one is two
What to do?
Opposites in voice,
Yet oddly the same.
Confusion plays,
In life's good game.
Join the coral sphere,
Join the other two.
End this charade,
And start a new."
"What bull shit are
you spouting now, witch? Kaze no Kizu!" the hanyou snarled, jumping
forward and swinging his blade. She'd been warned of this. She had hoped to
avoid contact with this sword, but she couldn't deny what was happening now. In
a final act of desperation, she threw both orbs to the sky, hissing the
necessary words. The last syllable had barely left her lips when she was torn
apart by the hanyou's attack.
Even so, her work was
done. Both balls were soaring apart in opposite directions.
*
The moment it became
apparent the youkai would bother them no more, Kagome had broken away from the
group, running to Sango, and Inuyasha had gone to retrieve the Shikon Shard
among their enemies scant remains. Miroku stared up at where the demon woman
had been hovering, his face grim. He knew that those orbs were
important, for some reason he didn't know yet, and they had disappeared.
Shaking his head, he hurried in pursuit of Kagome, wanting to make sure Sango
was all right.
When he caught up, she was
standing as though she were a statue, mouth hanging open.
"Kagome-sama? What is
it?" She remained silent, but pointed to the ground. Miroku looked, and felt
his own jaw drop in disbelief. All thoughts in his head came to a screeching
halt.
There was Sango. The only
problem was, there was two of Sango.
---
Aamalie: Well, that took three hours to
write. And it's still before 6 A.M. in the morning. But then again, I was
jumping up and running to different areas to the house every half hour, so
probably less... But I finished... And I still don't feel well, though I feel
better.
Taena: ...Can we go back to... *yawn*
...bed now?
Maela: *in a stupor*
Aamalie: You know, I really like that
idea... Review responses first though... *zzzz...*
---
Samster the Hamster: Well, that's okay then. I've read
both of those, and they're both really good. ^^; I'm glad I'm right up there
though. Have a cookie! *gives you a whole tin-full*
Sweet Chaos: Hmmmn... You haven't seen anything
yet. At least next chapter I get to develop the two Sango's. ^.^; It'll be a
fun chapter...
Sarcasm 397: You know, I've recently become
glad that I don't get to watch the dubbed version. Sango calls Miroku by his name.
She's supposed to call him 'Houshi-sama'! Gagh... Damn Viz... =P They're gonna
dig themselves into a whole one of these episodes. I know it...
Zero27: Well, considering Sara is burning
me my episodes, I hope to see it soon. *glomp* Anyway, I updated, so where's
your update? *poke*
Chou Nuriko: Ah... So you're part of the reason
I didn't get 400 by my last chapter, eh?! *evil glare* ^^; Just kidding... I
read plenty of stories and don't review... Usually that's 'cause they stink,
but never mind that... *cough*
Wakadori Ramen: Oooooooh... I suddenly wanna see
those too. But I'm gonna see 132 soon... My friend is burning it for me, so
technically, I'm not doing anything illegal... =P And hopefully Zero didn't get
it illegally, since she was the one who gave Sara the episode over AIM... oO;
Oh well... But I wouldn't mind seeing the reruns... Even though I'd prefer to
see the subs. ^^; That way Sango would actually call Miroku 'Houshi-sama', like
she's supposed to... *kills the dub*
dEeYaN: Well, I had to include that. ^^; I
say that all of the time, when people say 'well'... It started with my mom
saying, 'that's a deep subject'... And then I was reading Inuyasha when she
said it, and I had to add on... And yeah. I'm not making sense. =P
S@n-Ch@n: Excuse me while I go find Corisu's
tranquilizer gun... I think it could be put to good use in this circumstance.
^^;
Inu-Shounen: Early? Try waking up at 3 in the
morning and being too sick to go back to bed...
LiLphYchOwaRRioR: That's what dictionary . com is
for... As for your question... *fidgets, looks around, and finally bonks you
over the head with her Digital Sledgehammer* NEXT!
Sango-chan94549: Don't we all love him in general?
*glomps Miroku*
LadyJynjr: Actually, I never read Animorphs.
I considered myself above such material in third grade... ^^; Then again, I was
at a sixth grade reading level at that time, so maybe I'm just weird.
The-Real-Rose-Gamgee: ... *thwacks you with the
DigiHammer*
Blu Glowing Thing: Yes... That's too true... Sango
just needs to beat him over the head until he swears to never grope or cheat on
her again... *blinks as the plot bunnies come alive* Damn it!
Corisu Li: *smiles and glomps Sesshoumaru*
Anyway, we got the wedding date set up! ^_________^ January 6th! Can't wait...
=P
---
Aamalie: Well, next chapter, we'll be
meeting the two derivatives of Sango... Myah... I hope that's the word I'm
looking for. ^^; We'll just meet her two personalities, okay?
Dot...
Dot..
Dot...
What are you waiting for?
REVIEW!
I want... *thinks* 80, at
the very least. =P More would be nice...