Splintered Coral – Part Five

Important: Gomen nasai for the horribly long wait... The past few weeks being Christmas break, everything has been insanely busy. Add a dash of writer's block... You get the picture. And, for those who were wondering, Ansho means "reef". Get it? ^-^ And this hasn't been beta'ed yet... Just so you know. =P

Disclaimer: Nope... Still don't own him... And no, I'm not hiding Miroku OR Sesshy either under my bed or in my closet... What do you mean, can you check? Of course not!!!

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A while later, the group was settled around the campfire once more. Sango was now comfortably dressed and sitting, the no longer needed kesa neatly folded by its unconscious owner. While she had been away, Miroku had made a particularly lecherous comment, letting his hand wander. Ansho, for her part, hadn't been all too forgiving...

"You did a pretty good job of knocking him out... Even without Hiraikotsu," Kagome mused as she walked past Miroku, laying out the sleeping supplies she had brought with her, although the light of the sun was already lightening the eastern horizon. After their late-night expedition, the girls were ready for some rest, and no amount of complaint would cause their decision to waver, as Inuyasha had recently discovered.

"I suppose... Speaking of which, where are my weapons?" Ansho inquired, frowning slightly. Kagome shrugged.

"Not a clue. Inuyasha was the one that went out and found them after we got here. I suggest you ask him when he decides to stop being such a grump," she said, jerking her head sideways, indicating the direction in which the hanyou had sulked off after being reacquainted with his close friend, dirt.

"I'll do that then..." Ansho replied, watching as her friend tucked a blanket around Shippou, who had recently fallen asleep, the remainder of his lollypop in hand. After a moment, her gaze drifted to Sango, only to observe that her replica had been looking at her as well. Their eyes met, and neither looked away as they considered their situation- not for the first time that night. The duo sat like that for several minutes before Kagome finally looked over, noticing what seemed to be going on. With a sigh, the schoolgirl settled into a sitting position, looking to the two Sangos.

"So..." Kagome said slowly, drawing the attention of the two taijiyas. When she was sure both were looking at her, she continued. "What are we going to do about this... predicament? I mean, you both can't stay like this forever, can you?" Ansho gave a rough shrug in response, and Sango sighed.

"I don't know," she said softly, staring down at her hands, clasped on her lap. "I don't think either of us know quite what happened. We were unconscious..."

"Then, who would know what happened?" Kagome asked, and all eyes slowly turned to the knocked out houshi nearby before gravitating back to one another. A silent question was exchanged, and the miko shook her head forcefully. "Not me! Last time I tried to wake him up, I got groped!"

"Isn't that always the case?" Ansho muttered dryly, an eyebrow raised.

"Which is why I'll let you do the honors," Sango said, inching away from both taijiya and houshi. Ansho gaped, momentarily dumbfounded. Finally, which a grumble of disapproval, she clambered to her feet.

"Fine then," she snapped, snatching a water canister as she marched over. Kagome's eyes went wide.

"What's she going to do?"

"I... Don't know..."

Ansho glanced back at them, a slightly... sadistic smile gracing her lips.

"Payback. No one puts me in an awkward position and gets away with it," she explained sweetly, before looking down at Miroku, her eyes glinting as she opened the container. Sango's eyes went wide as she remembered the conversation Ansho was referring to, and she clapped her hands over her mouth. Whether this was to hide her shock or her laughter, Kagome couldn't tell, but she continued to watch Ansho, vaguely amused.

The said taijiya was feeling extremely smug. She had never before dared to attempt such a prank, and this newfound... Freedom... Was interesting. She didn't feel as shy as she usually did... Shaking off her train of thought, she quickly flicked her wrist, and the clear liquid poured from the container in her hand down towards a certain, unsuspecting monk.

...

A moment later, Miroku gave a yelp as he jumped to his feet, sopping wet and looking around wildly. The sound of laughter met his ears, and he frowned, glancing about to see three young ladies rolling on the ground, quite amused at his expense.

...Eh? Had he missed something? He decided to ask.

"Uh... What's going on?" He only received more insane giggling in response, adding much to his confusion. Sighing, he brushed the water from his eyes. Wait- water? It wasn't raining. Surveying the immediate area around him once again, Miroku's caught sight of the water canister inches from Ansho's hand.

Well, that explained a lot.

Crouching down, he picked up the empty cylinder, considering the breathlessly laughing taijiya in front of him. If that's how she wanted to play it, then it was his turn. A grin creasing his features, he reached out, his hand just missing her shoulder as he tapped, catching her attention. Ansho froze, eyes going wide as her laughter caught in her throat. She sat up slowly, eye twitching as she glared at the grinning Miroku.

"Something wrong, Ansho?"

"HENTAI!"

Then came the painful sound of hand meeting cheek.

*

It took several attempts to calm Ansho down enough that she'd stop chasing Miroku around the campfire, trying to exact 'proper punishment'. Even after the group was sitting down again, after having to put Shippou back to bed and taming an overprotective hanyou, the taijiya still sent the houshi the occasional glare. He calmly ignored her, instead smiling warmly at Sango every time she did so, causing her to blush and Ansho's glare to intensify. Inuyasha and Kagome watched the entire situation with more than a little exasperation.

Miroku had just opened his mouth, probably to say some comment typical of his personality, when Kagome decided to step in. After all, it was best to stop them before things got dangerous...

...Again...

"Onto business!" she exclaimed cheerfully, causing everyone to look at her oddly.

"Business?" Ansho repeated, confused. Kagome sighed.

"We did wake him up for a reason, remember?"

Another glare was sent the clueless houshi's way.

"Yes, I suppose so..."

"And what reason was that?" Miroku asked, quirking an eyebrow. "And honestly, did it really require you to pour water on me in order to awaken me?"

"Yes," was the unanimous response from his four companions. Miroku laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck in some embarrassment.

"Right. Just checking."

"Hmph. Now, could you tell us what you saw with that youkai? Anything that could help us figure out what happened tonight would be nice to know," Ansho said, crossing her arms defiantly. Miroku paused, thinking back.

"What I saw? I didn't see much at all, to tell the truth." He sighed, considering. "I only saw Sango collapse, and it felt as though the youkai had preformed a spell of some sort. I'd guess it was one that would cause a rift in one's soul, causing it to separate and then embody itself into two different bodies. Those two orbs that the youkai had something to do with it as well. In fact, I believe the verse was speaking of those when it mentioned the coral spheres."

"Verse?" Sango prompted, frowning slightly. Miroku glanced at her.

"Eh? Oh, yes. Neither of you were conscious then. The youkai woman seemed to be giving a hint as to solve this... riddle, before Inuyasha killed her." The hanyou snickered.

"Feh. It's still bull shit, if you ask me." Miroku chuckled.

"Perhaps, but it's all that we have to go by. And, for some reason, I believe that she was telling the truth."

"I don't see what the problem is with this. Hell, we've got two taijiya now, instead of just one. That gives us a better advantage over Naraku!" Inuyasha insisted, glaring. A soft sigh made him glance towards Sango. "What?" She shook her head.

"I'm not taijiya."

"WHAT?!" came the response from the others, save for Ansho, who silently continued to observe. Sango held out her hands.

"Look. No scars. Everything that would be reminiscent of an exterminator's training and lifestyle is gone. I can hardly recall how to fight." She let another sigh, then gestured towards Ansho. "She's probably the one with all of the fighting ability. And me, for some reason, I clearly recall everything I learned before I- or maybe I should say we?- learned to be a taijiya," she explained, her lips twisting into a somewhat bitter smile. "I'm just a normal girl."

The group was silent for a moment, the only sound the crackling fire, accompanied by Shippou's snores.

"So, you mean... It's like the two of you are like, two different halves of Sango?" Kagome asked, her brows drawing downwards in contemplation. The two girls nodded.

"Fine then," Inuyasha stated, rising. "We'll head back to the village and drop off Sango and get back to our search. Now, let's get some-"

"Osuwari!"

With that single word, Inuyasha slammed into the ground with a resounding 'THUD', followed by a jangle and a curse as Miroku whacked the hanyou over the head with his shakujou.

"What was that for?!" he yelled, trying desperately to remove his face from the dirt.

"Simple, Inuyasha. There is no way that that particular course of action will be allowed," Miroku explained, settling back down.

"And what not, bouzo?!"

"Use your head. This is obviously part of one of Naraku's plots. Indeed, that is probably what he wants us to do. Most likely, once we'd leave, he'd attack the village, aiming for Sango's death. Three things could then happen. Either her part of her soul would rebind itself to Ansho's, and we'd have Sango back, or her part of the soul would move on, leaving us with just Ansho..." He trailed off, eyes growing distant as he considered the last option.

"Or what?" Kagome asked, looking nervously at both Sango and Ansho. Miroku laughed humorlessly.

"Or... The soul would tear its other half from Ansho, and then it would leave this world for the time being." There was a collective gasp, and an exchanged of highly worried glances. Miroku held up his hand to signal he wasn't done, and silence returned.

"Because of this, I suggest that we split up and search for the two orbs. One went east, and the other west. Once we find them, we'll meet back at Kaede-sama's village, agreed?"

Inuyasha was about to put in his fair share when Kagome cleared her throat to remind him. With a 'feh', he settled into his usual obstinate position. Kagome smiled warmly.

"Okay then! Let's get some rest then. Oh- before that, how will we group up?"

"I think the usual groups would be fine, Kagome-sama," Miroku replied, a sparkle in his eye.

"Great! G'night then!" With a giggle she settled into her makeshift bed, immediately drifting off into sleep. Sango and Ansho exchanged a slightly exasperated look before following suit.

Wasn't this just peachy?

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Aamalie: And, once again, I'm splitting up the group. It never gets old. ^-^

Taena: Yadda yadda yadda... And before you throw rotten food at us, we're sorry that we didn't update sooner. Just be glad that we didn't take longer!

Maela: Indeed... We hope you all had a happy holiday! Let's all be happy because this is the last update for this year!

Aamalie: Yup!

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Wakadori Ramen: ...I pity you... ^^;

Inu-shounen: I believe you got your wish! Either way you look at it... ^_^;

Corisu Li: ^^; Tranq gun vs. WSOD? You'd better make that gun un-whackable! =P

Midoriko-sama: *glomps* Gomen nasai! I didn't mean to ignore you... It's just I usually don't reply to everyone- just the ones I want to say something too. So, sometimes you get a response, sometimes you don't. ^^; And the thing with Ansho will be explained... Once I figure it out... And your guess was one of the options I was considering. ^^; And yes... It will be something of a love triangle... XD

Ghoul King: Well... There goes my ego... *watches as it inflates from your compliments* ^-^; Recently, I've just been staring at the computer screen, and doing random chores. *shruggles* Not to fun, really. =P Well, at least I FINALLY got this chapter out. Blargh... As for the brain damage... *grins and snaps* There! With my Supreme Authoress Powers, all should be restored to its natural state. ^____^

S@n-Ch@n: ^^; I'm glad your happy. Now, if only I could get the next chapter of ST OUT... It's painful, having writer's block. And why would I kick you? You're too fun to hurt! *glomp*

Amber Eyez: Well, for the maiming part, we'll see what happens. After all, they ARE splitting up. And... *points to the Important section* ...Ansho means 'reef'.

Hayzi: ...Patience is a virtue... ^_^; I'm working on the differences. They should be more obvious now, ne?

Blue Glowing Thing: Braces? *shudder* Glad I don't need them. I hear it's painful... oO; As for the world... Who knows where it's going? Who wants to know?

dEeYaN: Ah, well... You know me! I can't write a totally dramatic situation... There have got to be SOME laughs in there. Otherwise, I'd be too bored to write... ^-^ So, how do you like the two personalities so far?

Vampire-Elf: Don't worry! I won't whack you with the DigiHammer. ^____^; Gomen that I posted this before you beta'ed it... But really, these poor readers haven't seen anything new from me for a while now... *shruggles* And a want for new reviews had absolutely NOTHING to do with it. Really... It didn't. *shifty eyes* And as for Miroku and the dark side of pervyness... oO; I don't wanna know what he'd be like if he crossed that line...

Kaylana: Well, I hope I've made the two more obvious in this one. Basically Ansho, the one in uniform, is the "ferocious one", and Sango, who's in Sango's yukata, is the shyer one. O.O Now, that was odd to say...

Sephroth: *blinks* Only a 6? *pouts, then pulls out her Digital Sledgehammer and whacks you with it* Hmph! Payback. ^_^ Anyway, after for making the first four chapters all one chapter... *eye twitch* Do you know how long I would have been sitting at the computer, trying to write before I even posted the chapter? I'd still be writing it... To tell the truth, I'm a lazy bum. ^^; And I wanted to take my time developing this fanfic. But, now, finally, the plot is underway... *whacks you again for the '6'* ^-^

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Review!!! ^_^

And after that, you must go read Corisu Li's Mir/San fic, Manipulated!!! It kicks major ass... It's a bit creepy though... But I won't spoil it.

And don't you dare go read it without review THIS first. *glare*

Ja ne! ^_____~