Behind her crouches a distraught young man with fox legs, a fox tail, and rusty red hair tied up in a high ponytail.
Seeing is believing…
“Sango?”
…and Sango has him pinned to the concave wall in an instant.
-
Sango won’t move from the depression in the earth, angry and sobbing. She tries to push him away if he comes close, but still he stays, usually along the edge somewhere. The middle tends to be her favorite spot. He wonders if maybe it’s because that’s where he was when it happened. The point of consumption. Every few hours he tries to lure her out with food, but she claims she’s not hungry. She shies away from his touch, cringes if he tries to hold her, so he simply sighs and watches over her from afar. She’s only human; she can’t stay in that depression forever.
It’s night when she finally crawls to the edge and whispers in a cracked voice, “Why did you trick me?”
He looks at her, then sends his gaze to the ground. “Remember that parable I told you?” She says nothing, so he goes on: “The rich man lied to his sons because there was no other way to get them from one place to another.”
She coughs and glares at him, a horrified look on her face. “I don’t care about any stupid parables, Shippou.” It almost sounds like she’s spitting when she says his name. “I just, I- I can’t believe I let myself- and I- and you- and, and we-” She stops and looks almost sick, and turns her head away, bringing her knees up to her chest. A light shudder rushes through her frame. He hopes it’s more from the slightly nippy, cool night air, but knows better than that.
When he speaks, his voice is soft. “You and I are the only ones left. I’ve been on my own since Kaede died a few years ago, and she was the last one to see Inuyasha. We think he went north. He’s…” Sango looks at him when he doesn’t continue. “I think he’s going to wait for Kagome, wait for the centuries to pass. The well doesn’t work, and, at the very least, he wants to see her again.” There is a long pause, and then he asks, “Do you hate me too much for this to ever forgive me?”
She’s quiet for a moment, and he wonders if she is even able to answer him anytime soon, or if she’s too broken to decide. He brings a finger up to one pointed ear and scratches a tiny itch, all the while flicking nervous glances between her conflicted expression and the grass along the edge.
She still hasn’t spoken, and she’s started to stare at the ground. “I missed you, Sango. Back when it was all of us together, we were a family. Now, we’re the only ones left. I, I-” But he can barely finish his sentence because of the mistake he’d made. “It just took me a long time to find you. I was lonely, and you were miserable, and I wanted to make you hap-”
Sango’s knocked the wind out of him in mid-word. One quick, swift punch to the gut, and then she’s launching herself forward into his lap, renewing her tears. His face falls when he hears her cry out, in between her sobs, “Houshi-sama.” She draws it out long, then repeats it over and over like a mantra. He tries to hold her, but she only sobs harder.
Seeing is believing, and he doesn’t blame her for wanting to keep her eyes shut.
-
When her tears dry up Sango still doesn’t want to look at him. It’s only when she hears the jangling of rings that she’s willing to open her eyes. Eyes red and itchy, she gives him a sad smile, kisses him, and croaks, “I’m sorry.” She digs her fingers into the familiar robes with a long, despondent sigh.
Seeing is believing, even if it’s all a delusion; she was there when the others were killed, and she only briefly remembers seeing him wander off and never return.
Still, as Sango sits here with the one who looks like him but is not, she holds the hope that no matter what, her sanity can be salvaged…
…so long as his eyes stay the right color.
Because, after all, seeing is believing, and if she keeps believing, she can pretend that he is the real him.
Behind her crouches a distraught young man with fox legs, a fox tail, and rusty red hair tied up in a high ponytail.
Seeing is believing…
“Sango?”
…and Sango has him pinned to the concave wall in an instant.
-
Sango won’t move from the depression in the earth, angry and sobbing. She tries to push him away if he comes close, but still he stays, usually along the edge somewhere. The middle tends to be her favorite spot. He wonders if maybe it’s because that’s where he was when it happened. The point of consumption. Every few hours he tries to lure her out with food, but she claims she’s not hungry. She shies away from his touch, cringes if he tries to hold her, so he simply sighs and watches over her from afar. She’s only human; she can’t stay in that depression forever.
It’s night when she finally crawls to the edge and whispers in a cracked voice, “Why did you trick me?”
He looks at her, then sends his gaze to the ground. “Remember that parable I told you?” She says nothing, so he goes on: “The rich man lied to his sons because there was no other way to get them from one place to another.”
She coughs and glares at him, a horrified look on her face. “I don’t care about any stupid parables, Shippou.” It almost sounds like she’s spitting when she says his name. “I just, I- I can’t believe I let myself- and I- and you- and, and we-” She stops and looks almost sick, and turns her head away, bringing her knees up to her chest. A light shudder rushes through her frame. He hopes it’s more from the slightly nippy, cool night air, but knows better than that.
When he speaks, his voice is soft. “You and I are the only ones left. I’ve been on my own since Kaede died a few years ago, and she was the last one to see Inuyasha. We think he went north. He’s…” Sango looks at him when he doesn’t continue. “I think he’s going to wait for Kagome, wait for the centuries to pass. The well doesn’t work, and, at the very least, he wants to see her again.” There is a long pause, and then he asks, “Do you hate me too much for this to ever forgive me?”
She’s quiet for a moment, and he wonders if she is even able to answer him anytime soon, or if she’s too broken to decide. He brings a finger up to one pointed ear and scratches a tiny itch, all the while flicking nervous glances between her conflicted expression and the grass along the edge.
She still hasn’t spoken, and she’s started to stare at the ground. “I missed you, Sango. Back when it was all of us together, we were a family. Now, we’re the only ones left. I, I-” But he can barely finish his sentence because of the mistake he’d made. “It just took me a long time to find you. I was lonely, and you were miserable, and I wanted to make you hap-”
Sango’s knocked the wind out of him in mid-word. One quick, swift punch to the gut, and then she’s launching herself forward into his lap, renewing her tears. His face falls when he hears her cry out, in between her sobs, “Houshi-sama.” She draws it out long, then repeats it over and over like a mantra. He tries to hold her, but she only sobs harder.
Seeing is believing, and he doesn’t blame her for wanting to keep her eyes shut.
-
When her tears dry up Sango still doesn’t want to look at him. It’s only when she hears the jangling of rings that she’s willing to open her eyes. Eyes red and itchy, she gives him a sad smile, kisses him, and croaks, “I’m sorry.” She digs her fingers into the familiar robes with a long, despondent sigh.
Seeing is believing, even if it’s all a delusion; she was there when the others were killed, and she only briefly remembers seeing him wander off and never return.
Still, as Sango sits here with the one who looks like him but is not, she holds the hope that no matter what, her sanity can be salvaged…
…so long as his eyes stay the right color.
Because, after all, seeing is believing, and if she keeps believing, she can pretend that he is the real him.
-fin-
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