Redemption

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, etc. This story is for entertainment purposes only.

REDEMPTION

Summary: Specters of the past bring forth questions for the future. Can she save his soul, or will he wander forever in darkness?

A/N: Forgot to add a warning. This story contains violence, dark and adult themes and potty mouths. I may raise the rating to ‘M’, not sure if leering at hot tubs is too racy for ‘T’. XP Bambi-Lover, I put '1111' in between scene changes, as my usual stars and wiggly lines don't show up on ff (dot) net. Chigirl, I have not forgotten "The Source of Solace", it's just on hold until I finish this San/Ban idea out. Thank you for asking. Guyute24 and Toast Lover, thank you for your reviews, muchly appreciated! Fate

Additional A/N: Thank you for the great reviews AFF.NET! You have actually fired me up to continue writing. :D

CHAPTER TWO

“A ravaging bear, you say?” Miroku leaned against his ringed staff, trying to ease the frightened villager who shifted nervously from foot to foot, glancing over his shoulder at the impatient half-demon who glared back at him with amber eyes.

“Yes, houshi-sama.” The villager bobbed like a drunken sailor, wary of the hanyou’s scowl. “It has been terrorizing the countryside around here for quite some time…”

“Blah, blah, blah.” Inuyasha snorted belligerently. “C’mon, Miroku. We’ve heard this shit before. Just point us in the direction of the bear, old man, and we’ll be on our way.”

“Inuyasha!” Kagome protested, though it was rather a weak effort. Admitting her love for the rough hanyou had taken all the fire out of her ever being truly angry with him.

Sango simply smiled, while Shippou gave the dog-demon a look of disgust from his perch on her shoulder. Kirara only stared enigmatically out of crimsoned eyes as only a cute kitten-sized neko could, though her creamy tails lashed in amusement.

“Where was the bear last seen?” Miroku asked, ever the arbitrator.

The man’s eyes slid from hanyou to monk before he extended one skinny arm toward the west, where fields branched out beside thick forests over undulating hills that would eventually crest into lower mountains further north. “T-That way, houshi-sama.”

“Fine. Let’s go.” Inuyasha turned abruptly away, the women following with a shrug. Miroku paused long enough to thank the old man before hurrying to catch up with them.

Kagome lengthened her stride so that she could draw level with her rather impatient mate. “You could have been nicer to him, Inuyasha,” she lightly scolded, taking his arm.

“Feh. Whatever.” Inuyasha’s attention was on the surrounding hills, trying to catch any sign of their intended quarry. He pretended to ignore the girl’s presence at his side, but his claws curved over her fingers in a silent caress.

“Do you sense any Jewel shards?” Sango asked, easing the shoulder-strap of her Hiraikotsu where it bit into her flesh. Adjusting the heavy boomerang to a more comfortable position, she idly wondered if she should not step off into the brush and change into her demon-laced armor of black silk.

Kagome paused, pushing out her senses. “I…think so…” She said dubiously, her head turning to the right. Inuyasha stopped, his amber eyes intent on the girl’s confused expression.

“What do you sense, Kagome?” He asked her, his voice gentle as it could only be for those he cared deeply for.

Kagome frowned in concentration. “I could have sworn I felt quite a large number of Jewel shards over that way.” She waved her hand to the right of the group that clustered around her on the shallow ridge between forest and field. Shaking her head, she shrugged. “But now it’s gone, and I can’t sense them any more.”

“Do you think the bear youkai could have more than one shard in him?” Sango asked Miroku.

“It’s possible, but I don’t think so.” Miroku said after a moment’s thought. “From what damage has been done, the bear youkai does not seem all that strong. Remember that with each shard of the Jewel, a demon’s strength grows EXPONENTIALLY.”

Inuyasha scowled. The monk was ever ready to tease him about that damn word.

“Didn’t that bear youkai we fought once before have only one shard?” Shippou piped up, unable to resist adding in his two cents.

“Right, Shippou, it did.” Kagome answered with a warm smile. The little fox beamed at her approval.

“We’re wasting time here.” Inuyasha growled, fed up with their dallying. “Kagome, can you sense a Jewel shard or not?”

“I‘m looking, I‘m looking!” Kagome glared back at him before closing her eyes so she could concentrate. Everyone stared at her, wondering if she felt anything.

“Inuyasha…” Shippou suddenly tensed on Sango’s shoulder, and Kirara hissed in unison, her creamy fur standing on end.

Kagome’s eyes flew open. “Inuyasha! It’s right behind us---”

Everyone scattered as a huge shadow abruptly loomed over them, blocking out the weak light of the day’s sun. A giant paw, claws extended, racked deep furrows in the ground where they had been standing just moments before. The beast bellowed its rage and fury over having missed such easy prey, and turned its head to snarl as Kirara rose on fiery paws, Sango perched astride the transformed kitten.

“Damn it all!” Inuyasha leapt into the sheltering forest, Kagome held safe in his arms. He needed to find a place to dump her out of harm’s way, then he could draw Tetsusaiga and take care of the stupid youkai with one sweep of the Wind Scar.

Shippou bounced to Kirara’s shoulders as Sango freed her weapon. “Miroku!” She called, worried that he was only a few feet from the raging bear, crouching under the scant cover of a few bushes, where he had rolled out of the way.

Even without the use of his Kazaana, the monk was hardly defenseless, however. Jumping to his feet, he whirled his staff in a spinning arc. Using the force of the staff’s spin, he dove for the distracted bear’s back, bringing his holy staff down with a jangling clang of its rings on the youkai’s spine.

The bear yowled in agony at the touch of the staff’s purity. Turning its head, its beady eyes, reddened with rage, focused on the monk, who tried to spring free off the bear’s back. The bear twisted on itself with surprising agility, a huge paw swiping at the blue-robed form of its tormentor.

There wasn’t enough time for Sango to release her weapon and still be able to save Miroku before the bear’s claws intercepted the retreating monk. With sudden clarity, Sango knew what she needed to do. Sliding off Kirara’s back, she used the neko’s sturdy length to leap off far enough that her fall would take her right in front of the youkai’s descending paw. Swinging Hiraikotsu around like a shield, she blocked the blow meant to disembowel the houshi from shoulder to thigh.

The bear roared furiously at the successful block of its attack. The daring move had cost her, though---Sango could feel her wrist wrenched back into an awkward angle as the weight of the bear’s paw crashed down on the boomerang. Claws curled over the boomerang’s broad surface as Sango tried to wrest it from the youkai’s grip, to no avail. Gritting her teeth against the pain, Sango used her hold on Hiraikotsu’s strap to kick out at the furry arm of the raging beast.

“Damn it, Sango! Get clear of that thing so I can take it out with the Wind Scar!” Inuyasha bellowed from somewhere beneath her.

“I’m trying!” She snarled against the pain in her abused wrist as she used it once more to aim a second vicious kick at the beast. This time, she felt the impact jarring up her calf and thigh with the impetus of her kick. The bear yowled in anger, shaking loose the boomerang as its claws convulsively opened with the pain that shuddered down its arm.

Sango’s tumble through the air was less than graceful as she curled around her Hiraikotsu, hoping it would break her fall. She plowed into a thorny bush and got a face full of dirt before her legs hurled over her head and she landed on her back with a dull thud of impact that sent the air streaming out of her lungs in a choking gasp. She blinked back the tears of pain as Hiraikotsu thudded to the earth mere inches from her outstretched hand.

“Kaze no Kizu!”

Spots danced before her eyes as yellow fire flared in her wake. The bear’s anguished howl was abruptly cut short as the Wind Scar incinerated the demon to ash.

“It’s gone!” Inuyasha yelled with smug triumph as Kirara reowled in agreement, sweeping back down to the earth in a blossoming trail of flickering flames.

Sango didn’t feel at all like moving. Every nerve was screaming at her from the abuse she had just put on her body in that fight.

“I found the Jewel shard!” Kagome called out, gaily waving her purified prize.

Sango heard rustling in the bushes beside her, and Miroku suddenly loomed over her, his blue eyes concerned. “Sango, are you all right?”

Sango blinked up at him, the edges of her vision blurring. She managed a half-hearted smile to reassure him, even trying to move, but the houshi laid a gentle hand on her shoulder to stay the motion.

“Don’t worry. You’re hurt. Just lie still so we can tend you.”

Sango closed her eyes with a wince.

Gods, she hurt.

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Leaning heavily on Kirara, Sango gingerly lowered herself to the pool’s edge. The rocky surface felt slickly chilled to her bare skin. The air was cool enough that her arms were goose-pimpled with the bite, but the steamy heat of the hot spring beckoned her with drowsy warmth. Kirara nudged her with a slight purr, urging her into the soothing depths. Sango patted the neko, grateful that the cat would come even this close to the water she would normally disdain.

“Do you need any help, Sango-chan?” Kagome asked her, already neck-deep in the pool with her hair carefully tied up out of the way.

“No.” Sango replied, edging forward so that she could dangle her legs in the heated water. Her muscles tensed at the first touch of the near boiling temperature, but then relaxed as the heat flushed up her white skin. With a faint smile, she added, “Thank you.”

Kirara took that as dismissal, and left with alacrity, hissing as the damp steam ruffled through her fur.

If there was one feeling Sango hated the most, it was feeling helpless. Independent to a fault, it was still difficult for her to rely on others, even when she needed it. Cradling her sprained wrist against her chest, she slithered forward until she could use her good arm to lever herself down into the gently lapping water. The various cuts and scrapes she had picked up earlier that afternoon smarted at first, but then they numbed beneath the pool’s steamy influence as she eased back against the convenient ledge that served as rather a nice seat.

“You don’t have to be careful about getting your wrist wet.” Kagome said helpfully as she sunk further into the water, causing lazy eddies to spring in widening circles around her languid movements beneath the pool’s glassy surface. “I have more bandages in my pack.”

“The heat might help.” Sango admitted, wiggling the toes of her left foot. She had a bruise on her ankle that had caused her to limp slightly, as well as the bone sprain on her wrist that would take longer to heal. She was lucky she hadn’t snapped the bones in her wrist with the force of the impact that had twisted it under Hiraikotsu.

Gingerly lowering her right arm to the water, she hissed as the hot water splashed over the tightly-wrapped bandage. But then the heat enveloped her tensed muscles, and she sighed as the sharp pain slowly left her for blessed numbness. “Kagome, thank you. This is just what I needed.”

“I thought so.” Kagome smiled, glad that she had insisted they come to the hot springs. It was some distance from their impromptu camp, but it had been worth the effort. Inuyasha had protested, of course, but that was nothing new.

Both girls relaxed into the silence, allowing the misty vapors to envelop them. Sango sank lower into the water, careless of how wet her hair became. It undulated around her in lazy spirals as she closed her eyes and thought of nothing much at all. She felt lazily safe, for once. Strange how the normal sounds of the forest at night were muffled here…

“What was that?” Kagome shot up, sending waves cresting over Sango’s shoulders.

Sango’s eyes flew open, her body swiftly tensed in the thick silence that suddenly seemed so menacing. “What is it, Kagome?” She asked, warily scanning the shadowy trees that surrounded the isolated pool. She had left her weapons behind her, back at the camp, and the small poniard she always kept on her was left with her abandoned clothing back on the rocks. Sango made an abortive move to get up, but Kagome laughed, dispelling her tension, as a bird fluttered in the leafy branches over head, keyawing its discontent.

“It was nothing more than a bird.” Kagome giggled as the bird cried its displeasure at them before taking wing, leaving the night-wrapped woods to settle into silent stillness once more. “Sorry, Sango-chan. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s all right, Kagome.” Sango ruefully settled back into the water, deliberately releasing stiffened muscles. But she could not relax now, and neither could Kagome, who was reaching for her tube of flower-scented soap.

“Might as well wash my hair.” Kagome spurted lotion into her palm before releasing the inky black tresses of her hair and ducking under the water long enough to get them wet. Using her fingers, she combed the sudsy cream through her wet locks, ducking several times to get every trace of it off before finally being satisfied.

Sango thought longingly of washing her own hair, but with only one arm it could prove awkward. She felt too shy to ask Kagome’s help, for so paltry a reason…

But Kagome had known the slayer too long to not understand her reticence about asking for help of any kind. Taking matters into her own hands, the young miko picked up the bottle of shampoo and waggled it in Sango’s direction. “Now it’s your turn!”

“Don’t worry about it, Kagome-chan…” Sango hesitated, but Kagome left no room for argument. Splashing across the pool with bottle in hand, she deftly turned Sango around so that she could squirt a handful on top of her head. With brisk motions, she lathered the scented soap through Sango’s long tresses, surprised at how heavy and thick the taijiya’s hair was when wet.

“You have a lot of hair.” Kagome said nonchalantly. Sango flushed, feeling guilty. Kagome pressed lightly on her shoulder. “Now lean back, so I can wash all of it out.”

Biting her lip, Sango mutely did as she was told.

“Done.” Kagome said with relish, combing the silky tangles of Sango’s bangs back from her forehead. Sango murmured her thanks, blushing in embarrassment at how useless she must seem.

Kagome was having none of it. “Now, do you need help washing, or can you manage on your own?”

Sango’s eyes widened in shock. “Wha…what?”

Kagome giggled. “Thought so. You’re not as independent as you like to think, Sango.” Her brown eyes grew serious, her voice almost wistful. “And you know, I don’t mind being asked to help you out once in awhile. That’s what friends are for, you know. To be there when you need them. Especially for the little things.”

Sango flushed for a totally different reason now. Kagome was right. She was often way too extreme in her determination to rely only on herself. Time and again, her friends had been there for her, to help her through good times and bad. She should learn to let them help her out once in awhile. But she had guarded herself too long to be able to easily break the barriers of her independent nature, even for her dearest friend.

“Thank you, Kagome-chan. I will try and remember that.”

And perhaps she would…eventually.

But for right now, she could manage to wash herself---without help. With a faint smile, Sango reached for the soap Kagome held out to her.

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He sat in the crook of a nearby tree, negligently watching them. Idly smoothing the silken wrap that covered his Banryuu, he tried to remember just where he had seen those two women before. Their names tugged on his memory, stirring up painful whispers of the past. They seemed normal enough women, though prettier than most. He had been attracted to the sound of splashing and feminine voices caught on the faint breeze, and gone to investigate.

What healthy man wouldn’t?

Stealthily climbing into his current perch, he had watched with interest as the two young women relaxed in the gently steaming pool, had even toyed with the notion of going down and joining them. He liked a good tumble now and then with a willing woman, and the opportunity was there, right in front of him. He was confident of his ability to charm women to his side, had he not proved it often enough in the past?

He had almost decided to make his presence known, when that damn bird had thrashed in the tree beside him, annoyed by his proximity.

He had froze as the two women tensed beneath him, scarcely breathing until the damn bird finally went away and the pair below had relaxed enough to wash each other’s hair. He had spent another enjoyable half-hour, catching a glimpse of flushing white skin and slow movement. It was almost worth not joining them to see such a sight…

He frowned as the curvier one got out, helping the other up out of the water and handing her a thick cloth to dry off with. The first girl rummaged through their clothing, coming up with a strange kimono of white and green. But his attention was caught by the strange markings on the second, slender girl’s back, just where her spine curved up to meet her shoulders. There, in the center, was a nasty looking scar, almost star-shaped in outline.

*That must’ve hurt.*

She also seemed to be sporting a bandaged wrist, and he wondered what had gotten to her. A demon? They weren’t as thick in these parts, but the story was an old one. Could have been anything, really. The daimyos’ wars had made strange victims---and stranger heroes.

“Do you need help with your yukata?” The curvier one, already dressed, held out a simple, rose-splashed robe.

“No, thank you, Kagome-chan.” The other replied, taking the loose wrap from her friend, who was dressed in the most outlandish outfit, her kimono covering her arms to the wrists, but her hem almost obscenely short, giving a good long glimpse of creamy thigh.

And that was when he put two and two together, and froze with a sudden glare out of glittering blue eyes, his right hand white-knuckled over the long, half-mooned hilt of his sword.

For those two had traveled with the Inu-gumi, and were part of the hanyou’s pack. They had been the ones who slaughtered his brothers, and slayed the dark oni who had bought his loyalty twice over with his resurrection back into life.

With a snarl of fury, Bankotsu leapt from his perch.