Changes

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the other characters!

Sango gazed out the plane window with a dazed look on her face. How had she ended up like this? She was still in a state of shock. How could this have happened? Just last night she had laughed with her friends. Just last night she had screamed at her father. Just last night. The unwanted memories came flooding back; she tried to push them away by busying herself with a rough sketch on the provided airline napkin, but she found herself staring at what was unmistakably her father’s eyes. Tears sprang to her reddened eyes as she crumpled the napkin and shoved it harshly into her coat pocket. Once again the memories of the previous night began to unfold in her mind; only this time she did nothing to stop them.


“But Dad!” She huffed “It’s Eri’s Birthday! You have to let me stay out, extend my curfew just once, Eri only turns 19 once in her life and I don’t want to miss it because you have a problem with staying up past 10:30!”

“You know very well why your curfew is when it is!” Her father roared back “you know the number of drunk drivers goes up every hour after 11. I don’t want you to get hurt like…” His voice trailed off but Sango wouldn’t let him get off that easily.

“Like what, Mom? Listen to me Dad, I’m not her! The same thing won’t happen to me just because I’m outside at midnight! Let her go already!”

“That’s it!” he thundered “Go to your room NOW! You can forget going out for the next week!”


Sango froze, her mind not registering what had just happened. Grounded? No, not tonight, of all nights, not tonight. She glared daggers at her father as she turned on heel and dashed up the stairs slamming her bedroom door behind her. She quickly flipped the lock on her door and flopped onto her bed, wrapping her arms around her favorite pillow as her mind filtered through possible means of escape. Finally she decided on a course of action, it was a little cliché, but clearly the best solution. She popped open her CD player and tossed in a Garbage CD, turning up the volume until it effectively muted everything around her. She then yanked her purse off her desk and rummaged around its messy interior until she emerged with her old, battered cell phone.


It had once belonged to her father, but he had given it to her when she first started driving so that she could call in case of an emergency. Idle chatter was strictly forbidden. ‘Well’ she mused ‘this if this isn’t an emergency, I don’t know what is!’ The battery was dangerously low, a flaw she had gotten used to over the years. She proceeded to her closet and shut herself in as she quickly dialed Eri’s number. She plugged her ear against the roar of the music raging outside her closet door, at least her father wouldn’t hear what she was about to say.


“Oh my God, Sango, where are you?” Came Eri’s overly bubbly voice.

“Listen to me, I don’t have much time! I’m grounded so-“

“Why? What did you do?”

“Not now Eri! I promise I’ll get into it later; will you just come pick me up? Its better this way, I won’t have to be in by curfew!”

“The usual then? Blink my headlights once as I drive by and then park a couple houses down?”

“You got it!”

“I’ll be there in ten, later!”


Sango’s phone died before she even had a chance to say goodbye. She flung the ancient phone to the ground and reemerged from her closet. She slowly shut the door and then calmly walked over to shut off the CD player. The silence that followed was almost eerie. The calm before the storm she supposed. She checked to make sure that the door was locked three times before settling by the window to watch for Eri’s silver Focus. She watched in excitement as a silver car tore around the corner of her street, blinking its lights before coming to a gradual halt outside her neighbor’s darkened home.


She gave a smug smile as she lifted her window and crawled out onto the roof. She silently made her way across the slanted surface and then crawled down the fencing that ivy was intended to grow on. Her mother never had been much of a gardener, even weeds refused to grow around the intended spot. Her father had never gotten around to taking it down; it brought back too many painful memories, so he mainly just avoided that side of the house. A little fact that didn’t bother Sango in the least. She dashed over to the car and planted herself in the front seat, slamming the door behind her.


“So,” She said as she turned towards her friend “what’s the game plan?”

“We’re meeting Shinji up at our elementary school parking lot; he’s brought a bottle of vodka.”

“No way!” Squealed Sango. “Where’d he get it?”

“Does it really matter?”


The two laughed as the sped down the empty street towards what they assumed would be a fun evening. They sat in silence listening to the blaring music before Eri reached over and turned down the volume until the band was just barely audible.


“So, what happened?” She asked

“I asked my dad to extend my curfew, and things got out of hand, and one thing led to another and now I’m under house arrest.”

“Harsh.”

“You’re telling me. He’s really going to flip when he sees my grades. I can picture it now. ‘What happened? You’re grades always used to be so good, is this because your mother died?’ I don’t understand why he always tries to push my problems off on mom. It’s like he can’t take that he’s just a bad parent, or that I’m a bad student.”

“Well, your grades were really good, you had strait A’s.”

“Oh God, Eri, not you too!”

“I’m just saying-“

“Well stop! I get this talk enough at home; do you honestly think I want to hear it from you too? That’s supposedly why I’m going to this damn shrink, remember? To sort out my fucking problems!”

“I’m sorry.” Eri gulped.

“Whatever, let’s just concentrate on your Birthday. This is supposed to be fun remember? I’m sorry I put a damper on everything.”

“Listen to us; we really need a drink huh?”

“Speaking of, what have you and Shinji been up to?”

“Nothing.” Eri said with a blush.

“You dirty whore!” Sango laughed “How far did you go this time?”

“Third.”

“Birthday present?”

“Yeah.” She giggled.


The car came to a halt in the poorly lit parking lot, and Sango could see Shinji leaning up against his car with a bottle in hand. Eri giggled in excitement as she flung her door open and launched herself into his arms for a quick kiss. She then wrenched the bottle from his hands and brought it to her lips. Sango slowly got out of the car and over towards her friends. They handed her the bottle, which she took without hesitation. She swallowed a few gulps before handing it off once again. She reflected upon herself as she watched her new friends greedily suck down the intoxicating liquid. It was true, she used to be a good student, and before the accident she had never resorted to drinking. But, what could a few drinks possibly do that would make her life any worse than it was now?


“Sssshit.” Sango slurred as she looked at her watch “Isss it really one?”

“Yeah.” Laughed Shinji drunkenly.

“I need to go home.” She said to Eri.

“Why?” Eri whined dislodged her lips from Shinji’s neck.

“If my dad finds out…”

“Fine!” snapped Eri “I’ll be back.” She promised as she pulled her boyfriend’s hand from her pants.

“Maybe I should drive.” Sango suggested as she watched Eri pull the keys from her purse. “I didn’t drink half as much as you after all.” She may have started hanging out with a worse crowd, but it didn’t mean that she was stupid.

“Just shut up and get in the car, it’ll be fine, no one is on the street at this hour.”

Sango glanced worriedly over her shoulder at Shinji. However, she found no comfort or reassurance in his face, only cold drunken hate. She gulped as she slid into the front seat, quickly fastening her seatbelt. The engine started with a roar and they were speeding down the road. She clung to her seat as the speedometer read 68 mph. Fear gripped her and a scream tore from her throat as a pair of twin lights appeared over the hill. She braced herself as they collided. Her body flung forward against the belt and then smashed backwards into the seat.


“Eri?” Sango asked, fear seeping into her voice “ERI!” She repeated.


She reached over and grabbed her friend’s purse, digging around until she felt the cool metal of her cell phone. She yanked it out and dialed 911. After a very panicked phone call she disentangled herself from the belt and pried herself out of the car. She staggered over towards the other car tapping on the window before pulling the door open, what she saw astonished her. Her father’s bloodied form was slumped over the wheel. Time seemed to stop as she looked upon him shocked. The rest was a rush. She remembered falling to the ground screaming and sobbing hysterically. A neighbor heard her and rushed out to help. She was wrapped in a blanket as an ambulance arrived.


She watched in horror as her best friend and father were placed on stretchers and carried away. She remembered sobbing into the mysterious woman’s arms in the waiting room of the hospital as they told her that her father had passed. Passed, surly that wasn’t the right term. What she felt couldn’t possibly be explained with such a simple word. She remembered the horror she felt when she was informed that her father had gone out looking for her, to bring her home. Eri was fine, and she? She was leaving with a little cut on her upper arm from the shattered glass. That was it. Her aunt in New York had been called, and the next thing she knew she was being shoved onto a plane.


Her head throbbed as she looked back out the window.

I know it’s a bad start, but it’s a start. If you hate Sango’s character right now, that’s fine, so do I, but she’ll get better, I promise. I guess that’s just how I think I would react if my mum died. Anywho, I promise I’ll update soon! Just stick with me on this one and keep reading. Reviews are always appreciated.