Title: All Together Now
Author: SakuraRyuu
Rating: K
Genre: Canon, Angst, Comfort, Friendship, Romance
Characters: Miroku
Author's Note: Inuyasha and all characters in this fan fiction are the property of Rumiko Takahashi.
Miroku sat; leaning against a tree in the clearing they had made camp in, looked long and hard at his companions. They were all so different and yet they had at least two things in common. One of them was that Naraku had made them allies. The situation with Naraku was what fueled them on their quests. Completing the jewel and defeating him went hand in hand and on the surface it was what they all lived for. Inuyasha needed to destroy the evil hanyou to avenge Kikyou's death, Kagome's honorable nature required his death for all the suffering he caused everyone he came into contact with, Miroku sought to avenge his forefathers and rid his line of the kazaana, and Sango was moved by vengeance for her village and to free her brother.
They had grown into a tight knit group as they traveled together. Each person had something special to offer in battle, and they worked well together. Their personalities complimented each other; they interacted well and had become a family. Smiling to himself, Miroku thought how nice it was none of them had to be alone.
The other commonality was they were all in love and for various reasons wouldn't confess their feelings to the one they wanted. And as it usually went in small groups, everyone knew who each other's love interest was, except the person the interest was directed at. For instance anyone who saw Kagome simply look at Inuyasha could tell she was in love with him. When she spoke to him, how she tended to his wounds or ramen addiction, the way she looked at him spoke volumes on how deeply her emotions for the hanyou ran, however, he was too wrapped up in guilt over Kikyou to notice. On the flip side, the vigilance with which said half-demon protected and defended the miko, provided for her, showed how deeply he cared for her, even if his guilt over the undead priestess prevented him from loving his miko completely. And, of course, his little miko was so torn over his devotion to the priestess she couldn't see the obvious signs of his love for her.
Then there was himself and Sango. Miroku was unable to confess his feelings for her because of his kazaana. Should he never rid himself of it he would die, leaving her alone. He thought she cared for him by the way she reacted when he groped other women but she always kept her distance from him in the long run. She couldn't tell him her true feelings, nor could she tell what his were, because of his womanizing.
In more ways than one they were all in exactly the same situation. Miroku sighed, an ironic chuckle escaping him. At least none of them had to suffer their own emotional constipation alone.