11Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Rumiko Takahashi does… ::jealous glare at Rumiko Takahashi::
Note to Reader: By the way, this is a continuation of about 10 minutes or so into episode 78, 'Only You, Sango.' So this starts at the part where Sango slaps Miroku.
Reader: Which time in the first 10 minutes?
Other Part of Note to Reader: After arriving at the hut and asking (yet another) women to bare his child.
Reader: Oh…
"Surely you're joking with me, dear monk!"
"No, I assure you, I'm completely serious!"
SMACK
The sound of a monk receiving a well deserved lesson echoed through the wood as the young demon slayer walked stiffly out of the hut, fists to her side. 'Why does he have to flirt with every single women he sees?' she thought roughly. "He'll never change...," she muttered with a sigh. Sango then walked out of the large wooden gate surrounding the village and into the forest nearby, hoping to find some solitude. Walking along the worn path that the villagers had used for riding trails, about ten minutes passed by and she came upon a large oak tree of which she settled herself behind. Leaning against the coarse bark, she contradicted, 'Well, why would I care if he flirts with women? I don't care! Or do I? No, no I do not and I never have...' She sighed at her lies and slouched. Being focused on her thoughts, Sango didn't hear the sound of autumn leaves crunching leaves slowly approaching the oak.
Miroku sighed, stood up and exited the hut. The bright sunlight blinded him as he started off in the direction he heard Sango sulk off to. Rfeflecting on himself, he came upon the large gate previously passed by Sango. After asking the man guarding it if he had seen her, the man answered, "Yeah, she stomped off in that direction," he pointed his finger along the forest path, "I don't think you want ta' be seein' her right now. She looked mighty angry." Miroku let a shudder slip as he imagined Sango and quickly rubbed it off.
"Thank you," he said as he began to enter into the forest. The guard sighed, shook his head, and wished luck to Miroku, figuring he could use as much as he could get.
'I suppose I deserve whatever's coming to me... the way I do that in front of her,' Miroku contemplated silently. After a few moments of arguing this subject, he heard a faint cry in the distance. He approached a large tree off to the side of the trail, cringing every time he stepped because of the sound of leaves giving way under him. With stealth, he slid down the opposite side of the tree without a sound to listen in. He knew who it was, why it was, and that he should be concerned, but most of all, he knew she wouldn't open up her feelings to just anyone, especially him and right now. This was his chance, as wrong as it was, to hear her completely unhidden by the wall she had built to keep him away from her. He simply listened and waited until he couldn't stand another second.
She tried to hold them back, really, she did. But the tears refused to be restricted and felt softly down her cheek and onto the dirt floor of the forest. Sango kept her head at level, not quite concentrating on what was in front of her, but starring off into space while being consumed in deep thought.
He felt horrible; he made her, the only woman he's ever cared about, sob. He hated himself for what he was doing to her. The sound of her tears falling was something he couldn't bear to hear anymore. Miroku silently stood up and walked around the side of the tree until he stood at her side.
Her head jolted to look at him in the eyes for a split second, then, realizing she had streams of tears running down her cheeks and, not really wanting to see him right then, she quickly glanced down again to the apparently interesting patch of dirt in front of her. But, for that instant, his eyes seemed regretful, honestly regretful. She was probably imagining it, she though to herself.
"Sango?" he asked, lementation thick in his voice.
"Yes?" she managed to say between sniffs. She hated it when her emotions were visible.
"I'm sorry," his head hanging slightly to meet her. "I never knew what I was doing to you. Do I really upset you like this when I...?" He left the question in the air, not wanting to say it himself, and waited for her response before continuing. He was sincerely afraid to hear her answer, but he needed to know.
"Why would you care?" she asked a little agitated.
He squinted, knowing that was a 'yes.' He moved in front of her and knelt to meet her sight "Why?" he clarified with concern in his voice. "Because I care about what happens to you, Sango."
She glanced up and starred at him with narrowed eyes. "Oh, really?" Still agitated, "Because I can't seem to see it sometimes!"
"Yes, and I'm sorry for that, Sango. I'm deeply and truly sorry for that." He sighed sadly and continued, "Well, that doesn't matter now, does it?"
Her face relaxed into an expression of confusion. "What do you mean?"
"It doesn't matter. You're obviously going to marry Takeda." Such depression tainted Miroku's voice that it surprised Sango.
"As a matter of fact, I'm not. And how is it 'so obvious'?"
Now he also was confused, "Wait, you aren't going to marry him?"
"No, of course I'm not!"
"Why?" He leaned forward in curiosity.
Her face drained of color for a moment before her cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink. "Well, I- I have to help find the jewel shards! To help Kohaku! And besides, what does it matter to you?"
He didn't know what he was doing; he didn't even have time to process what he was saying! It just all came out. "Maybe because I love you, Sango!" He placed his hands on her shoulders to make clear of his meaning. "Maybe it is possible that I want our relationship to be more than one of friends even though I know that's out of my reach!" He hung his head at what he let slip, and, figuring he already put his feelings out on a limb, he continued more calmly, "Maybe I guessed that you would like to settle down after Naraku is dead with someone who would be able to take care of you. And maybe because every time I look at you," he slid one of his hands up to her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb, "I realize what I'm missing, and what I will never have because I know you don't feel the same for me. And even if you did, I wouldn't dare put your feelings at stake if we were to fail at killing Naraku and I fell victim to my wind tunnel. And knowing that tares me apart inside." He silently stood up and walked around the tree, back to the village.
Her eyes were held wide with shock. At first she didn't believe what she had heard. Many fantasies like this ran through her head, no matter how many times she denied them, but none of them were as unfeigned as that was. She looked around in confusion as she tried to analyze what just happened. Using the tree for stability, she stood up and ran as fast as her legs could carry her in the direction Miroku took.
She spotted him shortly and yelled, "MIROKU!" across the short distance between them.
His shoulders scrunched practically to his ears as he heard her scream his name. "Yes?" he asked, a bit scared of what he might hear.
"One," she held up a finger, pacing over to him, "I am and was never intending to marry Takeda!"
"Well, that's a bit obvious now," he muttered under his breathe, careful to make sure she couldn't hear him.
"Two," with every step she took, Miroku made sure to take two step backward. They were now a few feet apart, and her voice had grown slightly louder with each statement. "Why didn't you tell me any of your feelings sooner," she was now right in front of him while he was up against a tree he wish he hadn't backed into, "because three," she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head into his shoulder, nuzzling against him, "I love you, too," she whispered into his ear.
He was probably imagining this: the feel of her head in the crook of his neck, the puddles of tears forming on his robe, the truth in her words that rang in his ear, he thought to himself. Had she really said that to him? He shut his eyes and with one hand clasped the back of her head, the other pulling her closer to him, not wanting to let her from his hold.
They reluctantly pulled away to look at each other; their gaze was locked. Simultaneously they leaned toward each other without any thought or hesitation whatsoever, to share in a passionate and incredibly long awaited kiss of total love and devotion to one another.
Her eyes fluttered open to meet his gaze from only a few inches away. Miroku looked so peaceful, so halcyon, and that he was, in simply looking at her.
In an instant her legs gave way from the overwhelming moment between them, but Miroku quickly broke her fall without missing a beat. Sango whipped her head up, cherry red with embarrassment. Miroku smiled sweetly at her. 'She's so cute…,' he thought to himself, still a bit hesitant to say it aloud. He raised her into his arms and shot a friendly look at her, replied to by a shy smile. He started walking back to the village, in total bliss to just hold her against him.
They were silent for a few minutes while they gathered their thoughts together. To break it, he lowered his head. Noticing his movement, Sango raised her head to meet his stare. Still having that sweet smile that just wouldn't seem to leave, he placed a delicate kiss on her lips. Withdrawing to see her reaction, he saw that her blush had grown, but it was one of happiness. Afterwards, he noticed her slowly starting to lean into his shoulder, which could only help his smile spread into a grin of elation.
For the rest of the walk back, they simply relished the feeling of being with each other, until they came upon the edge of the forest. They were both a bit startled at how the walk there went by so much slower than the one back. He gently put her down, first giving her a look asking for reassurance to make sure she could stand. She smiled and nodded. "I would have carried you in, but I figured you wouldn't want Kagome to start assuming."
She smirked and replied, "That won't really matter when we tell them, will it?"
He smiled in return, "No. I guess it won't," he said as he ran his fingers through her russet hair. They both strolled into the village, acting as if nothing had transpired, besides the glances they stole at each other every now and then, and sat them selves on a small hill overlooking a nearby river.
They both checked to make sure no one was there, and then kissed each other joyfully until they heard rustling from some bushes that were further up the hill. They paused and turned around to hear, "HA! I KNEW IT! I so win!" It was Kagome. And sure enough, Inuyasha was with her. They could hear a sigh from Inuyasha and coins rattling against eachother.
Miroku and Sango just laughed and went back to enjoying one another's presence.
Sango was positioned in front of him, his arms wrapped around her, as she rested her head against his chest. She asked serenely, "Miroku?"
"Yes?" he responded, just as mellow.
"We will kill Naraku." She said confidently.
He tightened his hold around her and moved his head to whisper into her ear, "I know, Sango. I know."
YAY! See, I've had this story on my computer forEVER and just added to it every few MONTHS. So it's 6:00 AM and, dang it, I FINISHED IT! Tell me what ya' think! RSVP!