Chapter 5: House and Home

She picked herself up and stormed off. I sprang up and took her trail. She wasn’t fast enough to walk away from me so easily much of the credit could go to the boy she was taking with her. He seemed to be helpless without her firm grip on his wrist. He even stumbled once or twice and had to be held still by Sango.

“Hey, wait up!” I called her from behind, my legs breaking into a jog. Soon I was right in front of her. No, I didn’t block her path or something. I just went ahead of her and turned back to give her a smile.

“C’mon, I said I’m sorry, didn’t I?” I put my hands into my pockets and again put up a smiling face.

She didn’t seem to like my gesture a bit. The frown on her face bore testimony to that.

“Get lost!” she growled.

I just couldn’t do as she had wished me to.

“I’m not leaving unless you accept my apology.” I gave her one of innocent smiles again.

I noticed her frown disappear for a while but it was soon back again. It was an artificial scowl that she wore. I’m positive, I mentally backed my own assumption.

“Why are you sorry?” She asked angrily, still growling like a fierce tigress.

Tigress or whatever, she was my War Goddess, only that. I smiled as a result of that thought.

“You slapped me back then so that must mean I did something to your dislike and for that I am terribly sorry, Sango.”

It felt nice while pronouncing the syllables of her name. I noticed a change in her face. For a moment it seemed as if she smiled or tried hard but failed to hide one.

“Something to my dislike?” Her eyes widened and eye brows raised and the next moment she was yelling at me. “You had your filthy hands at my bum! I. Did not. Like. That. A. Bit.”

My dear Sango, you look so cute when you are angry. The smile on my face seemed permanent at that moment. It took some pain to keep that up though. My cheeks were still burning from that painful hand contact of hers.

I was lost for a moment until her last words snapped me out of my reverie.

“I won’t tolerate the same thing next time!” She warned me but something about her warning was not quite right...it didn’t look like a warning at all. It seemed to be some sort of advice, more of a friendly one than anything else.

“So you’re sure that we’re meeting again?” I teased her, the smile and wink ever present in my face.

That caught her off guard.

“Umm, uhh, it’s nothing like that,” a tinge of pink slowly formed on her cheeks. “I’m certain we won’t be meeting again...” The words didn’t sound too direct. Not to my ears at least.

“Oh yes we will meet again, Sango.” I said, grinning. “You and I go to the same school if I’m not wrong.”

She tried to say something but seeing her fumbling for words, I took over.

“I saw you at the corridor in the 2nd floor the other day. You were staring out of the window.” I began, smiling like I did before. “What were you doing there by the way?”

She looked stunned for a while but soon regained her composure and answered my questions. “Obviously, I was having a look at the cherry blossom tree.”

“But it’s not yet time for that, Sango.”

“I know it isn’t but what’s the harm in staring when you have no better work to do?”

“No harm at all.”

“So if your investigation is over then I’d like to leave.”

“Oh sure, of course, I don’t want you two to be kept waiting when you might have nicer things to do. I’m sorry for holding you back this long.” I looked at the guy, he tried to say something but without paying any heed I turned to my subject of interest: Sango.

I jumped out of her way at the instant my eyes fell on her face. I swear it was scarier than even Ms. Brookes’. (Ms. Brookes was worse than devil himself!)

“He’s my brother, Kohaku, idiot.” She pulled his arm and dragged him all the way to the turning of the road, where she turned right and walked away, disappearing from my line of sight.

At least she doesn’t have a boy friend. I sighed in relief.

“Hey, Houshi, what happened? Why did she run off like that?” Koga inquired as he, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru came running towards me.

“Feh, he must’ve tried to rape her.” Inuyasha said with a shrug.

Their words didn’t affect me a bit. My life sucked and was boring only because I didn’t know what to do. But now I do know what I have to do. Sango, I have to make her mine.

My friends were asking too many questions and were getting annoyed when I wasn’t answering them. I was too busy figuring out what to do the next time I’d meet her...next time...school.

School! I snapped out of my sweet little dream as the sudden realization of school and in turn the exam that was due on Monday dawned upon me.

“Guys, I’m very sorry,” I bowed, lowering my head to almost my knees. “But I have to go home now.”

I hated these. But you ought to be polite and show respect to Sesshomaru. His presence demanded respect. Almost like a demon lord did!

“Houshi, it’s fine. We understand you have exams. You can go.” Sesshomaru gave a gentle pat on my shoulder.

Did the sun rise in the west, or north, or south? East was obviously the correct answer and that’s why it didn’t come to my mind then.

*****

The house – my home – was shrouded by darkness when I reached the front gate. Opening the gate, I entered the garden, no sign of life anywhere. The door leading to the inside of the building opened a while later. I opened it myself.

First thing that I did was to switch the lights on. Once that was done I headed straight for the phone to check if any messages were left or not. No one generally calls but still I checked. It was my hunch that someone would have called.

It turned out to be the truth. Someone did call and it was none other than my dear father, Mushin Houshi.

His message:

Miroku, I won’t be returning home for a few days. I’ve got plenty of office work to do. I’m sure you won’t die. I haven’t foreseen that yet. So don’t worry about it. There is money in the locker. If you need some then get them from there. There’s some beer in the fridge if you want to drink, you can. And Internet’s there for your mirth, so enjoy!

“The old geezer has nothing better to say?” I muttered under my breath and cursing I went to the bath room to have my bath.

After bathing, meditating, fantasizing and cursing, I finally sat down to study but the effect of alcohol still lingered and I dozed off. Too tired to do anything but sleep and I didn’t stop myself.

Tomorrow’s Sunday, enough to study for my exam the day after.

*****

Sango’s POV

Damn that guy! Who does he think himself to be!? Shivering with cold, I cursed and tried to keep myself warm by mentally picturing his face. Although I wanted resentful, hateful feelings to arise at his sight, somehow it didn’t. I turned the knob to stop the cold water from pelting on my bare body and stepped out of the shower. I grabbed a towel and drying my body with it I stood in front of the mirror. Then getting hold of another towel, I wrapped it around my wet hair to soak it dry.

As I brought the towel-wrapped hair on my right shoulder, my finger touched the old, dried up but not completely disappeared gash near my right shoulder. For a while my mind drifted back, breaking my own resolve, it showed me my past forcing me to see things which I didn’t need to...want to.

What I usually saw was a man in his forties, grey-black hair, tall and broad built frame, rough beard on the chin, jaw line and cheeks and blood shot eyes, holding a bottle of alcohol in one hand and a belt in the other and hurling constant abuses.

Then I’d see myself, in my knees, pleading, crying, trembling, and begging in front of him. I could also see my brother Kohaku, lying almost unconscious beside me, half-naked. His back turned upwards, showing red patches all over. I would soon suffer the same fate, only respite that I had was not to get my upper body bared. My father had only that much decency.

“Are you done yet, big sister?”

I was brought back to reality at the call of my little brother.

“Yes Kohaku.” I replied and wrapped the towel around my body and then opened the bath room door.

Kohaku was to have his bath. I quickly realized that he couldn’t do so on his own.

“Go on,” I said. “I’ll help you.”

I wrapped my towel tighter than it was previously and reached for Kohaku’s shirt.

“Big sister...”

I knew what that meant. The little boy was too shy to open his clothes in front of his sister. Even though it was she who had taken care of him since the day he was born.

“I’m your sister, Kohaku. You don’t have to be so shy in front of me.” I unbuttoned his shirt and let it slide along his slim hands and fall on the wet bath room floor.

He did protest but I turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to his timid protests.

After that there wasn’t much of a fuss. I gently rinsed his back with water and soap and had his hair shampooed. After everything was done, I dried him and got him dressed.

“Off you go, little one. It’s late, you must sleep now.” I ran my fingers along his hair.

“Big sister,” He began. “Although I can’t see anything, I know...I know that you don’t sleep in the bed. You sleep on the couch” He blankly stared at his feet. “So I was thinking if I slept in that couch tonight and you on the bed...”

“That’s ridiculous, Kohaku.” I dismissed the idea. “You have to meet Souta tomorrow you know. So you better sleep well tonight and Souta says Shippo will also be there with him. So kido better get sleeping.”

“But...”

“No Kohaku.”

I stopped the discussion and pulled him by his arm to his bed and helped him get up. The poor boy looked very much down and depressed and showed signs of protests through soft mutters but all ceased and he drifted off to a deep, peaceful slumber when I began caressing his forehead with my palm.

Seeing him soundly asleep, I traced back to the door and softly muttered good night and then gently closed the door as I left the room.

It was about time I got dressed in proper clothes and not just a towel. I went towards the dresser and began fumbling for my shorts and a tank top when I found them I quickly undressed and slid into them.

The dresser was giving up and it won’t be long before the entire thing broke down.

This wretched place is no good for us. I thought and then suddenly something from within me shot back. Was your previous place better than this?

I shuddered at the thought of yells, alcohol influenced rambles, beatings, abuses – all that were associated with my previous house – not home.

All I wanted was a family but God wasn’t that grateful to grant me one.

Random thoughts fleeted in and out of my mind. Not once did Miroku’s name come to my mind. Did I want it to? If so, then why?

But I didn’t want to think about it much. Didn’t have the energy to, so I decided it would be best for me to sleep.

Decision made and finalized and I slumped into a dreamless sleep.