6A/N: I know, I know, I already did a pretty decent Cinderella retelling, but this one should be fun too, so give it a chance.
Ah, important note, Naraku and co. in this story are humans.
Thank you for beta, Cstorm86
Satin Slippers
"Stay at home," Kohaku said to his sister before climbing up to the carriage after their stepfather and stepsisters.
Sango couldn't say that she was surprised. Her brother always did what their stepfather wanted him to do. It was like this since two years ago when their mother had wed the man and it only got worse when a year after she got so ill she couldn't leave her bedroom anymore.
Sango had assumed the role of the housekeeper to help her ill mother and soon after everyone somehow got this idea that, despite her noble birth, she was there to serve them all.
And let's be honest, Sango wouldn't mind that much, if her step family and brother treated her with respect. Which they often didn't. Well, Kagura and Kanna were usually rather alright, but Kagura was often bitter because of her controlling father and Kanna was so passive Sango often imagined her as a big doll. The problem was that Kohaku was getting as passive as her and allowing Naraku to treat her poorly. So far it only was giving her unnecessary work and insulting her, but she feared what would happen if he went a step further.
And judging by the looks he was sometimes giving her she was fairly certain she wouldn't have to wait long to use the dagger she was wearing at her hip, hidden under her apron.
She sighed as she watched the carriage disappear behind the gate. Their family was of noble blood, but not very wealthy or powerful, she doubted it would return to power any time soon. Still, when the daimyo of the region called his vassals for a ball, Sango's family was invited as well, for her father had served the daimyo well and had laid his life in battle for him.
The ball was organized to find a bride for one of the daimyo's sons, so all the maidens of age were encouraged to attend. Sango thought that she probably was the only one in the province not going to go to the ball. She wasn't crestfallen about it, since she had expected that from the start. Being told by her brother to stay behind was no surprise, Kohaku had said that almost every time the family had been out of the house for months now. Sometimes she missed the fancy food, music and people socializing.
Today was one of those days, but the reason she was walking back towards her home so forlornly was different. Sh had a crush on the young son of the daimyo, who was going to find his bride and get married soon after. And she, Sango, would never have a chance to talk to him during a party, enjoying his flirtatious nature and easy banter. No, after the wedding he was supposed to leave for the mansion located on the other side of the province, to live there with one lucky girl.
She knew that the feeling was completely one-sided, the young lord was known to be quite a womanizer, flattering all the women in his presence. He often seemed to be searching for her during a party she had attended, smiling especially widely when he approached her, but she guessed it was just her imagination. She was but one of many maidens having a crush on him, even if she usually wasn't changing into a giggling mess when he was around.
Sango checked on her mother, who was sleeping, and finished her chores before going outside to the garden. It was quite big and it took a lot of time to keep it in decent shape, but it had been her mother's pride to take care of it and now Sango was doing it for her. Sometimes her mother would spend some time there and the joy in her eyes made the work worth it.
As she walked through the sunset garden, trying to cheer herself up with the beauty of nature, Sango heard an odd noise. It was most similar to a canine growl, but much louder. Confused and a bit afraid, Sango grabbed her knife and started to sneak closer to the source of the sound. Was it a stray dog? She couldn't allow it to destroy her mother's garden. The young girl leaped out from behind a big bush and froze, staring.
It was a dog, alright. One as big as a horse, white and with two purple streaks on its cheeks, underlying its red eyes. And it lay sprawled across a path of grass, enjoying a nice ear rub, provided by a woman in attire similar in cut to the robes priestesses wore, just with green hakama.
"Um... Excuse me, but what are you doing here?" Sango asked, still holding her knife at the ready. The canine was surely a youkai and the woman was so relaxed around it, she surely wasn't a normal human. At the sound of her voice the female jumped up in surprise and turned around to face her, her cheeks flushed.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said in a kind voice. "We got a tad carried away while waiting for you, Sango."
"You... You were waiting for me? And you know my name?" Sango asked, suspiciously. She didn't recognize this woman and the sight of a youkai was pretty hard to forget. Sango knew Kirara, her cat friend, and there was Hachi, Miroku's companion, but otherwise most youkai stayed away from this province.
"Of course," the woman giggled. "It is just right to know the name of the girl we're going to send to a ball in the daimyo's palace tonight. By the way I'm Kagome and this is Inuyasha."
The dog twisted his ears Sango's way when the girl gasped in shock. "To the ball? But it's impossible! I don't have the right clothes, or hair done, not mentioning my brother..."
The woman standing in front of the inu youkai, smiling widely at Sango, raised an eyebrow. "You wish you could go."
"Well... Yes, but..." Sango blushed and dropped her eyes to the ground. The huge dog looked a bit intimidating, but the woman seemed so friendly, so kind.
"Keh, for the descendant of Midoriko you're pretty timid," the dog spoke suddenly, his voice grumpy. "
"Oh, hush, you!" Kagome glared at her canine companion before turning to Sango. "So, we have a lot to work on before you can go see your sweetheart. Come closer, I will aid you."
Sango took a few steps towards the pair before she froze, suspicion rising in her again.
"What's the catch?" she asked. When she saw Kagome's puzzled expression she pointed to the dog. "You two are of youkai blood. When you get something from a youkai it means you're giving much more in return."
"Yeah, we need you," Inuyasha grumbled and flickered his tail. "We have to perform three unlikely tasks to lift the curse from me, and getting you to the ball is one of them. So just bring your ass over here so Kagome can work her magic."
"Inuyasha!" Kagome scolded, but then gave a nod. "Well, he is right, even if blunt. We will get closer to freeing him from this dog form when we help you. And I'm not a youkai, I'm a miko."
Hesitantly Sango approached the pair. Kagome took out of her sleeve a small bell and rang it. The knife in Sango's hand changed to be a fan. The girl gasped in awe at the pristine paper with elegant painting of blossoms on it. When she examined her fan the miko asked her youkai to bring a few flowers from around the garden.
Soon in front of Kagome were laid an orchid, a lily and a lotus flower. All were in various shades of pink. As the girl watched in awe the bell rang again and suddenly her plain kimono fell to the ground where the flowers had been. The petals of the flowers fluttered around Sango and in a flash of light a splendid kimono wrapped around her. It had seven layers and the outer one was dark pink, with blossoms scattered across it. A tall blade of grass became her obi and her bare feet were suddenly sporting shoes similar to those Chinese merchants' wives often wore, soft and comfortable. Sango could only gape at the exquisite outfit that replaced her old and not very pretty one.
"Look how pretty you are!" Kagome exclaimed happily. Sango looked at her in wonder.
"It is so beautiful, but..." Kagome touched the top of her head with her bell, Sango felt her hair lifting and wrapping. Inuyasha brought two sticks adorned with wisteria, which slid between the coils of Sango's hair to keep them in place. The girl touched her head carefully. "Oh."
Inuyasha pushed something with his nose and when Sango looked down she saw a mask.
"The ball attendants are to wear masks," he grumbled. "Take this one.
"Thank you," Sango picked it up and wasted a moment to examine the canine features of the face she was going to use to hide her own.
"Now listen," Kagome lifted a finger "The spell will last only for a time. Be sure to leave the party when you hear Inuyasha howl thrice, because afterwards your robe will disappear."
"But, Kagome, how am I to go there and back without anyone noticing?" Sango asked. A shy hope was taking root in her heart. She was dressed like a princess and no one would even imagine that it was her. But the palace was quite a way away.
"Don't worry, there is a friend who will help you. One who was waiting to repay your kindness," Kagome grinned and gestured towards the nearby bush. A little kitten sneaked out from under the leaves, twin tails flickering.
"Nyan!" Kirara greeted them before she burst into flames. When the fire died down a cat almost as big as Inuyasha stood in her place. Sango glanced back at the miko.
"Go and don't do anything I wouldn't," Kagome giggled and waved a hand at her.
"Thank you!" Sango exclaimed and walked to Kirara to sit on her back. The cat purred and leapt towards the sky.
Down in the garden Kagome watched Kirara fly away before she climbed on Inuyasha's back. The dog ran after the cat, but at a more sedate pace.
She was taking a small break, sitting on the edge of the engawa and watching the gardens lit by lanterns. It was a bit hard to move around in the robe, the slick silk sleeves were threatening to slide off of her shoulders if she didn't maintain the proper posture and she was more than a bit out of practice.
Sango was enjoying herself. She ate some really fancy food, drank a little sake, listened to music and talked to other people. In her clothing everyone assumed she was a daughter of a neighboring daimyo or other wealthy lord that wanted to keep her identity a secret. Since many girls were trying to use the mystery card to entice the males - not only Miroku could find his future wife, after all = Sango didn't stick out with her refusal of giving her name to anyone.
It was a lot of fun and Sango was eternally thankful that for an evening she could once more be a young girl without any worry Tomorrow she was going to be Sango again, the plain girl with no prospects of finding joy in life with the man she loved. Tomorrow she was going to worry about her ill mother, her distant brother and her step family.
Actually she had seen her step sisters among other girls, but she had no courage to approach them, they could recognize her voice. But there were so many more maidens, that it wasn't a problem to avoid them. Miroku probably had the time of his life, flirting with all those girls, hidden behind intricate masks. Sango snapped her fan open and waved it in front of her face to cool herself down. It was not her place to get annoyed with him, they weren't a pair or anything. And it was his engagement party, a last chance to flirt with maidens.
She was unsure if it'd be wise to approach him. She wanted to, but... at the same time every time she thought about it a block of ice formed in her gut. What if...
Something brushed against her behind. Something that cupped her and gently squeezed.
Before she even thought about it she spun where she sat, her hand flying to hit the pervert that thought he could grope her without any consequences
"You...!" she caught a glimpse of dark blue eyes before her fist made contact with a jaw. There was no time to pull the punch or for the startled man to dodge.
"Hello to you too, lovely lady," he said, smiling and looking straight into her eyes from behind a tanuki mask. "I must confess, it took me a while to find you. I would never think that you'd wear an inu youkai mask, you always were a cat person."
He had his black hair tied on the nape of his neck instead of a topknot and wore a bit less splendid attire than usual, but there was no mistake - this was the young son of the feudal lord sitting there next to her, She glanced around, but there were no guards and no maidens following him.
"You seem to know a lot about me, my tanuki lord," she said after swallowing. Was he just bluffing or did he knew who she was?
He chuckled. and flashed her a grin, one of those cursed smiles that made all girls swoon.
"Of course I know. There are many girls like flowers at this party but only one carries the beauty of the coral and the right hook of a ronin."
She blushed. There was no way he didn't know who she was. There was no need to continue pretending
"How is it that the most sought after man at the party managed to sneak out from the flock of maidens surrounding him?" she asked.
"Oh you mean Lord Miroku?" he pointed a finger towards the center of the garden from where they could hear laughter. "He's entertaining his lovey guests. I'm merely his friend Hachi, pretending to be his cousin, so no one glares at an actual youkai among all those pretty girls."
She glanced at him and smirked when she saw his mischievous grin She glanced back to where she could see a man looking exactly like him, but with a topknot and beautiful robes on. He wasn't wearing a mask, but a leaf was stuck to his forehead. Sango wasn't a reiki user, but her father had once taught her to find and see the signs of an illusion - a wise thing since her family house was near a kitsune inn and often foxes tried to play tricks on her or her brother in the past. Nowadays the kitsune were avoiding her family grounds.
It became pretty plain for her to see that it wasn't the real Lord Miroku entertaining the maidens, but his shape-shifting friend. The real Lord Miroku was sitting next to her, talking to her and smiling at her. And apparently he had been looking for her... She felt her heartbeat speed up. She had never expected to talk to him tonight, just to soak in the merry atmosphere since there was no way she could approach him with all the girls - Kagura and Kanna included - swarming him.
And yet, here he was, winking mischievously at her.
"Um... Lord M-" she stopped when she saw him shaking his head, a playful glint in his eye. "Lord Hachi. Why were you looking for me?"
"Why, to spend the evening with the most beautiful of ladies," he gave her a charming smile.
"I believe you are looking for her in the wrong place," she muttered, looking to her calloused hands cradling her sake cup. She flinched when she heard a distant howl of a dog on the wind. Kagome had told her that she had time until the three such howls, so she decided to take her chance and enjoy her time, especially since the gods gave her the opportunity to spend it with Lord Miroku, even if for a while. Tomorrow she was going to be back to her old plain self, chained to her duty to her ill mother, living with a house where she was losing the feeling of safety and joy. She looked up and saw him gazing at her.
"Sango..." he started, his voice barely a whisper. "I... Can we talk in private?
Something was wrong, she could hear it in his voice, see in the urgent look in his eye. Mutely she nodded and stood up to walk with him in the darkness of the night.
They walked for a while before Miroku found a grassy spot in the garden, far from prying eyes, hidden behind bushes. They sat there and Sango waited for the young lord to speak. It took him a moment, he just watched her before he spoke.
"Naraku wants to divorce your mother. He asked my father for his permission," he said bluntly. Sango gasped and raised a hand to her chest.
"Oh, gods, does that mean that he will l-"
"He wants to marry you instead."
Sango felt as if someone tore the heart out of her chest and squeezed it while dumping the rest of her body in cold water. A gasp of horror tore out from her mouth and she looked at the young lord in front of her with panic and fright. Naraku had enough power to influence the daimyo into allowing this and her mother and brother couldn't object. She shook her head and bit her bottom lip, refusing to even think about marrying that man. She had no time to waste, she had to go back home and leave before Naraku could find out she knew. She was on her feet when she heard Miroku's voice.
"Sango, wait!"
"Oh, Lord Miroku," she turned to the still seated man and bowed to him. "Thank you for telling me, but now I must go. I... I'd rather die than marry him, I'd rather leave my home to avoid being chained to him."
"Dear Sango," he moved forward and caught her hands, so she couldn't flee. "Sango," he whispered softly, looking in her wide eyes. "Maybe I can interest you with a choice different than death or running away?"
"Wh-what?" she breathed out, stunned by the intensity of his gaze.
"Would you consider marrying me?"
Sango wasn't sure how she got where she was, standing beside Miroku, her husband, in front of the shrine.
She glanced back to the young lord - the real one - who was holding her hand in an iron grip and was smiling at her.
He loved her, he loved her enough to plan this whole party and give up his freedom and comfy life in the palace to save her from the terrible fate of being married to Naraku. The roller coaster of feelings she was experiencing was almost too much to handle.
After their talk he had led her to this shrine, where a priest and an old miko had been waiting, calling to other guests to join in the ceremony since he had found his bride. Hachi sneaked out from between the shocked ladies before anyone could notice. And now the wedding ceremony was over, the smell of burned incense heavy in the air.
The daimyo approached the pair, coming from the crowd of cheering people. There were many girls looking at Sango with envy, but a lot of young men looked relieved. Miroku's marriage was going to end his womanizing and they probably hoped that now they could woo girls like he did.
Sango looked at her father-in-law with a shy smile.
"Let's remove the mask and see my new daughter," said the feudal lord, returning her smile. He was almost fifty years old, a bit on the plump side, but graceful and fast as he moved. He reached his hands and removed Sango's mask while Miroku beside her took off his own. There was not even a bit of surprise when the daimyo looked in Sango's face
" Welcome to the family, dear," he said softly. "It's good to see that a woman of your clan will keep my son on a leash from now on. I have no doubt it will be an iron one."
"Father!" Miroku groaned while Sango chuckled behind her sleeve.
"I will do my best, my lord," Sango promised firmly. He gave a nod and glanced at his son.
"If you misbehave it will be your wife who will come after you, not me, son. And if she is anything like her mother was before she got sick... better behave."
"Thank you father," Miroku bowed.
"Friends!" the daimyo turned to face the crowd. "May I introduce you to my newest daughter, Lady Sango!"
With that he smoothly moved to the side, allowing everyone to see the girl still wearing the bridal hood over her head.
Sango blushed when she saw all those people looking straight at her, surprised, but mostly not angry. Her clan was old and right now wasn't too strong, so there wasn't a chance they could hold much sway over the feudal lord. And she was going to be away from the capitol of the province anyway. Most was just happy to see the married couple, since they didn't really pose a threat to their positions in the court.
"What? No! She was going to be mine!" roared someone and Naraku pushed through the nobles to stand in front of the crowd pointing a finger at them. "You were to marry me after I get rid of the sick woman!"
"I guess you won't be getting me," Sango replied coolly. Now he had no authority over her, since she was wed to the son of the feudal lord.
"About that" the daimyo said calmly. "Your request for ending the marriage between you and Lady Akina was accepted."
"Does that mean that he has no power over our house now?" asked Kohaku as he emerged from the shadow of the shrine. He was smiling the smile Sango knew so well from the days before Naraku
"Yes. You are now the head of the clan, Lord Kohaku," the daimyo smirked. The boy bowed deeply, obviously relieved to hear that. Sango wished she could talk to him and step over the gap that had formed between them. She loved her brother.
"No! I was going to be the head of the house!" Naraku exclaimed. "And the girl, she belongs to me!"
"I don't think so," Miroku's voice never sounded so cold, so firm. "Lady Sango is mine, I wed her in front of my ancestors and with witnesses."
"She won't be yours if you are dead!" Naraku screamed. A howl of a dog was drowned in this scream and exclamations of the crowd as the man whipped out of his sleeve a throwing star and hauled it at the young lord.
Miroku never had a chance to step out of the way of the projectile. But he didn't need to since it never reached him. Sango exclaimed in anger and disbelief when she saw her brother jumping in front of her husband. When Kohaku sank to his knees, blood pouring from his wound, she acted without thinking.
Sango stepped in front of them both and threw what she was gripping in her hand - a fan that was not a fan anymore. With the howl of the inu youkai it returned to its original shape of a sharp, sturdy knife. but still looked like a fan. Still, Sango knew what she held and threw.
The knife buried itself in Naraku's eye before the samurai reached the man with the intent of killing the would be murderer of their lord. Naraku screamed and fell back in the frightened and confused crowd. People stepped to the side as if touching him would bring bad luck.
"Kohaku?" Sango turned around to find Miroku kneeling beside her brother.
"I'm fine, he got my shoulder," the boy hissed in pain when Miroku was trying to stop the bleeding of his wound.
"Let the guards take the boy to the healers," the feudal lord said. "Lord Kohaku, thank you for saving my son."
"It's what... what family do, my lord," Kohaku muttered. Sango and Miroku stepped away to allow two samurai with grim faces to lift him and take him away. Behind her back she could hear the warriors checking on Naraku.
"...Killed... ...With a fan... Women of this house are fierce..." the whispers were drifting on the air. The girl looked up to the daimyo.
"You did well, daughter," he said. "Don't worry about the... fan...? As a member of my family I will overlook you carrying to the party a dangerous weapon."
"I'm starting to believe she could use chopsticks as a weapon," Miroku teased her with a soft voice. Sango blushed.
"Well, now you know what will happen if you anger her," the daimyo smirked smugly. "Go now, the night isn't over yet. I will handle the party."
Miroku's face lit up. Sango's got tomato red.
"Oh... I..." she tried to say something, but Miroku was already pulling her towards the palace.
"Come, wife," he said lovingly. "We need to go now, we're leaving the first thing in the morning."
"Lord Miroku," she gasped when he pulled her out from the light of the lamps and into his embrace. Behind them was the palace, the sliding door of a room opened to let in the fresh night air.
"Oh, beloved Sango, don't call me by my title when we're alone," he whispered. She glanced up at the man she just married and without thinking rose to her tiptoes to kiss his mouth.
And as they did, that was when an inu youkai howled the third time.
The flower petals fell to the ground and the silence of the night filled with a startled squeal of an embarrassed girl and awed laughter of a very lucky man, who immediately picked her up and carried to his chamber.
As he slid the panel closed to enjoy his time with his bride he didn't notice a white shadow on the top of the roof of the nearest building.
"I guess our work here is done," Kagome giggled.
"Keh."
