I wrote this to sort of vent my melancholy, as it were, after watching episode 163 again the other day. This ficlet is from Miroku's point-of-view, and it takes place some time around the end of that episode. If you haven't seen 163 yet, there's a nice little summary/review here: http : www . ear-tweak2 . com / 6angelus / 163 (remove the spaces). Don't expect much from this vignette, it's not my best work. But I'm strangely fond of it, so what the heck.
Disclaimer: Yeah, right. If I owned Miroku and Sango, there would already be dozens of adorable mini-monks running around with their toy boomerangs, pretending to slay demons while Mommy and Daddy have a cuddle.
But enough of that. On with the story!
Silent Understanding
- - -
I want to ask what happened, but I suppose I don't really need to. I've seen that look on your face far too many times to not know who you are thinking of, and for that reason I will keep my silence. If there is one subject that I will not press upon you, it is that of your brother.
I am not so ignorant as to be blind to the effect my actions can sometimes have upon you; but I am well aware that there is only one thing in this world that truly shakes you, that has the potential to break you. And oh, how close you have come to breaking.
You stole the Tetsusaiga and confronted Naraku. You were prepared to take your little brother's life and then end your own. We all know that you would travel to the ends of the earth and into the depths of hell to save Kohaku.
That knowledge in itself does not bother me. No, it is the ever-present anguish underlying your gaze that makes my blood run cold.
The things I would do for you if I were given the power.
I would snatch your brother from Naraku's grasp if I could. I would take you both far away, where grief would never touch you. I would return to Kohaku the childhood that was stolen from him, and I would give you the peace I know you long for.
I want to protect you. I want to take you in my arms and chase away that weary, heartbroken look that so often dulls the gleam of your eyes. I want to absorb all of your sorrows so that you never have to have an unhappy thought. I want to feel that pain for you, so that you can live a normal, tranquil life.
But even if I could, I know you would never let me.
My sad, sweet Sango. I know you don't need to be protected, and I know you would never want me or anyone else to experience pain on your behalf. That great heart of yours is the center of your strength, and I am not being humble when I say I am undeserving of it.
You don't have to tell me what happened with Kohaku, and I don't have to hold you and tell you that everything will be all right. But we will all stay here beside you, and see to it that you never have to face anything alone.