Daughter of the Kazaana by Pegelia VonBorrador
Chapter 1 – Lost
A/N Hey guys – I'm back on the fanfiction market! I got so many great reviews for Miracle I wanted to write this one. But – WARNING. If you're in the mood for a light, fluffy and happy fanfic, DON'T READ THIS. It's going to be a lot darker than Miracle was. It'll have a happy ending, but all the in-between's gonna be pretty dark, I imagine. But I can promise I'll be good, and I think I can update it at least once a week. Ok – I'm done talking. Onto the story - !
"HIRAIKOTSU!"
The boomerang sliced through the air, missing Naraku's head by an inch. Sango gritted her teeth and raised her hand to catch it. She couldn't afford to be off, not when she was actually fighting the real Naraku instead of some damn kugutsu – puppet. He was really showing himself, he was really fighting them, and none of the Inu-tachi could afford to be careless.
"WIND SCAR!" Inuyasha was taking his turn now, and the howls and roars of his Wind Scar attack reverberated through the air. Sango shielded her eyes with her hand, but could still see Naraku dodge it easily – not before Inuyasha managed to shout, "Kagome!"
The reincarnated priestess took her turn from her vantage point high in the air on Kirara. "Hit the mark!" She shouted, and her purifying arrow rocketed down. It missed Naraku, but it wasn't supposed to hit him. His shouki – his evil demon spirit – was purified in an instant, and like actors on cue, the entire Inu-tachi leapt forward to get him while he was down. Shippou threw his fox-fire into Naraku's baboon face, Kagome fired another volley of arrows, and Inuyasha gave the Wind Scar another try. Through all the confusion and wind, Sango could still see the white baboon jump out of the way just in time. As she picked up Hiraikotsu for another try, she suddenly felt someone come up from behind her – Miroku.
"This is taking way too long." The houshi muttered. He'd been staying in the background for most of the fight because of the Saimyoushou flying around. Sango looked at him in surprise, but he wouldn't meet her gaze and said, "We're going to lose like this. He's just dodging us."
"Well, what else can we do?" Sango gasped. The wind was making her long brunette hair slap her face and dirt fly into her eyes. "We're doing the best we can."
"I'm not." Miroku muttered. His fingers tightened on the rosary beads around his wrist, and Sango realize what he wanted to do.
"You can't!" She shouted. All notions of the fight were blown out of her mind.
"I've got no other choice, Sango." He said quietly, and before she could do anything, he sprinted out to the middle of the field, where the battle was taking place.
"INUYASHA, KAGOME, SHIPPOU, MOVE!" He thundered.
"What!" Inuyasha barked, but Kirara swooped by and dragged him into the air by his kimono, and Sango could only watch in horror and amazement as Miroku pulled off the beads and held out his hand.
"WIND TUNNEL!"
Naraku definitely wasn't expecting it, that much was certain. The Kazaana was actually sucking him in. The Saimyoushou flew into his hand, but Miroku gritted his teeth and kept his hand up. Sango, standing with the others, suddenly felt hope blossom in her chest. Everybody was out of the way – maybe Miroku could actually suck Naraku in and be done with all their troubles. She was squeezing Kagome's hand tightly as Naraku, without even appearing to put up a fight, was drawn farther and farther into the path of the wind tunnel. The poison was obviously entering Miroku's system – he was starting to sway a little bit, and he looked much weaker, but he wasn't giving in.
Naraku finally came close – within reach of Miroku's hand – when Sango started to celebrate. The winds were too much for Naraku; he wouldn't be able to do anything to stop it! Kagome had a huge smile plastered over her face, and Inuyasha, though it seemed he wanted to defeat Naraku himself, seemed at least content that Miroku was dealing with it. But just when it seemed Naraku would be defeated, just when it seemed he would finally die, he stuck out his hand and wrapped it around Miroku's throat.
Sango screamed.
Naraku wasn't going to be pulled in because he had a firm hold on Miroku. If Miroku kept going, at this rate, both of them would be sucked in. And if Miroku let him go, Naraku could kill him in an instant, he was so weak from the poison. Sango's stomach felt cold and hard, and she suddenly seized the Hiraikotsu and raced forward. There was no way in heaven or hell she was going to stand by any more – she would kill Naraku herself. She could vaguely hear Kagome and Shippou calling her name, but the adrenaline and fear was coursing through her blood now – she couldn't stop even if she wanted to.
They were still there – Naraku was tightening his grip around Miroku's neck, making him splutter and choke, and now half of his baboon suit was in the wind tunnel. Tears started to form in Sango's eyes as she sprinted, her legs pounding the ground, as she wondered if Miroku was actually going to die before she got close. She was wrong – it was much, much worse.
She'd gotten within range of the two struggling men, and she raised her boomerang above her head. She was just about to scream, "Hiraikotsu!" but what came out of her mouth wasn't a recognizable word. It was just one long scream. Miroku and Naraku were almost levitating above the ground, and rising higher and higher. Their bodies were faintly glowing, and dark clouds started to gather and rumble, as if it was a storm. Lightning cracked through the sky, and Sango's scream finally took the form of a word that she shrieked to the world –
"MIROKU!"
Their bodies glowed even harder, and finally Miroku managed to look down at her. Fear was in his soft violet eyes. Inuyasha, Kagome and Kirara were running up behind her, but Sango only had eyes for the houshi. Tears poured down her face as she stared up, helpless to do anything.
"MIROKU!"
They rose higher and higher, and the clouds rumbled and the lightning snapped. Miroku and Naraku were still struggling, and were almost at the height of the clouds. The lightning began to come closer to them, illuminating their bodies for seconds at a time, the wind still howling. Miroku was still looking down at her, his eyes huge, and one word floated back to her, broken by the wind –
"San – go!"
And then, in one swift second, the lightning came down upon their bodies, throwing light upon Miroku and Naraku, locked in a never-ending battle, until they vanished. The storm still rumbled and the lightning still cracked, and beneath them, the Inu-tachi stood, astounded. Sango's face was streaming with tears as she stared up at the sky, one arm raised, and one last scream came from her mouth.
"MIROKU – PLEASE COME BACK! MIROKU!"
And she collapsed on the ground, covering her face with her hands and feeling as if her whole world had just come crashing down on her.
Late that night, Kagome sat, stoking the fire with Shippou and Kirara by her side, when Inuyasha walked into the light of the campfire. She looked up hopefully, but the hanyou's eyes were averted. Kagome could almost see tears sparkling at their corners when he sat down.
"It's not good." He said softly. "I can't find his scent anywhere. It just vanishes on the plain. It's lost in the wind. I don't know how to tell Sango, but he's not in any of the surrounding forests either. Where is she, anyway, the stupid wench?" He said, reverting back to his old habits and peering around the campsite.
"She went off on her own." Kagome said, wiping her eyes. "I don't blame her, it's a lot to take in." Kirara and Shippou sat on her lap, and Shippou looked up with wet eyes and whispered, "Are we gonna see Miroku again, Kagome?"
Kagome wanted to say, "Of course!" but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Her throat hadn't been dry since Miroku vanished. "Shippou…I don't know." She managed. "We're going to keep looking."
Shippou wiped his tiny eyes dry and snuggled deep into Kirara's fur, but suddenly he felt Inuyasha's hand pull him out. Kagome was astonished – Inuyasha looked almost fatherly as he put Shippou on his shoulder and – was that a smile?
"Come on, runt," He said, "let's go look one more time. Maybe we'll find him, and you want to be the one to give Sango the good news, right?"
Shippou nodded, and Kagome grinned as they walked out of the campsite. She'd never seen Inuyasha be so nice to Shippou – usually it was Miroku who was his father figure. But as soon as she thought it, she blinked the tears back, petted Kirara absentmindedly and stoked the fire a little more. And then a figure came into the light – it was Sango. Her hair was mussed and her eyes were bloodshot. She hadn't stopped crying since Miroku vanished, but this was something different. Her body slumped and when she reached Kagome, she fairly collapsed.
"Sango, what's the matter?" Kagome whispered, pulling her friend close. Sango was trembling, and she muttered something inconceivable. When Kagome put her face next to Sango, her lip was quivering, and tears were pouring out of her closed eyes.
"You have to tell me, Sango, what's wrong?"
"Kagome…" She whispered, "I'm pregnant."
Kagome's whole body went numb. Her mouth dropped open and she went limp. Even Kirara sat up in her lap. The sheer improbability of it astounded her – today, of all days!
"Are…you serious?" She stammered. She felt Sango nod against her breast. And then it hit her – today, of all days. The reason why Sango was crying.
"Is the baby…Miroku's?" She almost hoped it wasn't. Even if Sango had an affair with another man, it was better than dealing with the pain of bearing Miroku's child. But there was no such luck today. Sango nodded again and her body started shuddering as she gasped and sobbed. Kagome pulled her close and the two girls cried together, both of their hands on Sango's stomach. Inuyasha and Shippou walked cautiously into the clearing, and Inuyasha guessed in a second what had happened. His eyes widened, his mouth dropped, and he seized Shippou by the tail and raced out of the clearing again. When their cries stopped, Kagome sat up and dried Sango's tears with the edge of her sleeve.
"Sango, are you really going to raise this child?" She finally asked.
Again, Sango nodded. "It was…the only thing he ever wanted. A child." She said, her voice choked.
"No, you've got to be kidding me!" Kagome said. "Sango, you're only sixteen, and you've been a Taijiya your whole life! You don't know a thing about raising a child! And alone, no less, without Miroku! You can't seriously want to raise this baby by yourself!"
"I don't have a choice." She whispered miserably. "I can't give up the baby."
"But you'd give up being a Taijiya to raise the child?" Kagome whispered slowly. "You love the heat of battle, and you love being a Taijiya and a fighter! It's all you've ever known! You're really going to give it up, when you're not even in the prime of your life? You love being a Taijiya."
Sango looked down at her stomach, and her shoulders started shaking. Kagome leaned close to hear her whisper, "But I loved Miroku more."
Kagome's mouth opened, as if she was about to say something, but she finally sighed and said, "Then I'll help you any way I can. You're not completely alone yet."
Sango looked up at her, gratitude in her brown eyes, and mouthed "Thank you" before falling back against her sleeping bag. Kirara cuddled up close to her, and fell asleep curled against her mistress' stomach. Kagome watched the scene and thought sadly that that stomach would soon be swollen, and there was no way Sango was ready for it.
Okay, so, what'd ya think? Next chapter – the baby's born. I think this one's going to be very long, drawn-out and emotional – I like that kind of crap. I hope you all liked it, and now review!