A Little Fall of Rain

By Annabele Lee

Eponine:

Don't you fret, M'sieur Marius
I don't feel any pain
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt me now
You're here, that's all I need to know
And you will keep me safe
And you will keep me close
And rain will make the flowers grow.

Marius:

But you will live, 'Ponine - dear God above,
If I could heal your wounds with words of love

Eponine:

Just hold me now, and let it be.
Shelter me, comfort me

Marius:

You would live a hundred years
If I could show you how
I won't desert you now...

Eponine:

The rain can't hurt me now
This rain will wash away what's past
And you will keep me safe
And you will keep me close
I'll sleep in your embrace at last.
The rain that brings you here
Is Heaven-blessed!
The skies begin to clear
And I'm at rest
A breath away from where you are
I've come home from so far
So don't you fret, M'sieur Marius
I don't feel any pain
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt me now
That's all I need to know
And you will keep me safe
And you will keep me close

Marius:

Hush-a-bye, dear Eponine,
You won't feel any pain
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt you now
I'm here
I will stay with you
Till you are sleeping

He is such an idiot. He was always an idiot! He never thought about himself or what would happen to his body. Sucking Naraku himself into the Kazanaa? Did he honestly think that would work? Still after that, he suffered even after as the poison slowly killed him. He was always in pain. Every time he uncovered that damned curse, the poison spread deeper, closer to his heart.

Now he was paying and all I can do is watch.

His skin is so pale, his lips purple and his hair sticky from the sweat. He had been sick for some time. None of us saw it. He didn't want to worry any of us, even those who wanted to worry.

Dear god, everything is ruined. All of our plans. We were supposed to live together and love each other. I had promised that I would bear him 20 children.

I looked down at his withered body. He was completely skin and bones. The sickness had taken his strength and his appetite. His eyes were sunken and deep circles made them look darker. He has such beautiful eyes. They gave away every feeling he had. They always betrayed him.

I touched his cheek and tenderly circled the areas where my tears fell. My other hand entangled in his. I made sure to never let go.

"Sango" He called, his voice barely a whisper. He looked up at me, into my eyes. "Are you alright?"

God he always had a way to make me feel so guilty. It's destroying me! Even at death's door he cares about me. Why doesn't he care for himself?

"I'm good, Miroku. How are you feeling?" My hands were now running through his hair. It was so soft.

He tried to laugh. "As long as you are here with me, I will always be perfect."

"…are you in pain?" he was trying to bring the mood up, but I couldn't. I'm not that optimistic.

He shook his head. "No. Nothing hurts. Don't worry Sango. I would never go back on my word. I will always be here to protect you." He tried to take his hand out of mine; tried to wipe away my tears. Quickly, I grabbed it again, holding it tighter.

"I…I don't want to let go Houshi-sama." There was real pain in his eyes, deeper then I have ever seen before.

"I am alright with this, Sango. I knew this would happen when I took the poison into my body. I got to make sure you lived another day. I could never ask for anything greater."

We sat in silence for a while, as I held his head in my lap, never letting go of his hand.

"It's raining outside" I noticed, "Rain always makes me sad. It has so many bad memories attached to it." This would be another one of those memories. I don't think I will ever be able to keep a dry eye in the rain. I will always think of you.

"But rain brings life. Rain is beautiful. It makes the flowers grow, and it fills out streams. Rain doesn't hurt, Sango, it gives." Everything he said was poetry. He had such respect for everything. Everything had a life and it was beautiful to him.

"I love you Sango. Did I ever tell you?" The breath caught in Sango's throat. This was just too much.

"Houshi-sama…you didn't have to tell me. I always knew. It was so obvious." I laughed and so did he.

"Do you love me, Sango?" He asked me this with such sincerity in his voice.

"I don't want you to leave me, Miroku! I love you! Of course I love you! How could I not?!" I felt bad about yelling, but I just couldn't take the pain anymore. He was leaving me, alone.

"I don't want you to give up, Sango. I want you to still have children and raise them well. You will love again. Don't stop living because I am not with you,"

'no' I couldn't do that…

"Everything is alright. The rain will wash me away and it will wash away your sorrows. Don't forget me, but don't mourn me forever. I'm always with you."

'dear god no'

"It's alright, as long as you are with me right now." Tears ran down his face too. How much longer could he keep up this peaceful facade?

"I won't! I will never love anybody else as strongly as I love you! So why bother? Hoshi-sama." He moved his hand up and began playing with my hair.

"Don't say that. Don't say never."

"I will hold you close forever."

"Yes. That is all I ever wanted." I could feel my anger boiling inside of me.

Why Hoshi-sama?! He never hurt a soul! He never thought of another human being. He gave everything to me, and god is taking everything away. It just doesn't seem right.

"Sango?"

'I will die without you' I knew that. I would never put that on his conscience though. He just looked at me, his smile unwavering and brilliant.

"I love you" he pulled my head down and kissed me. It was the first kiss we had ever shared. It was the first kiss I had ever received from a man. It was wonderful. Yet, it was our last and that made it bitter.

When he finally pulled away, he was crying even harder as was I. He still held smile though firm.

"Hoshi-sama. I'm here. I love you. I just…" I wasn't sure how to say what I needed to, "…I just don't know how I will be able to fight without you." I had always had him by my side. He always fought with me more so than the others.

"Sango, you aren't going to fight without me, you are going to fight for me. You are going to become stronger then you have ever been in your life. You will have my strength along with yours and the courage to drive off any foe. You will never fall for I AM fighting with you."

There is not much heat left in his hand and his eyes losing their shine. I don't want there to be a time limit on how long I have with him. I am so sick of everything being a countdown for him. He deserves so much more.

He pulled me down and gave me another kiss.

"Sango, I want you to promise me that you won't stop searching for Kohaku. Don't give up." He was so serious. I couldn't stand to look at him. It hurt too much. Yet I never took my eyes off of his.

"I promise you, Miroku" he smiled again. I held him close, his head against my chest. It wasn't for another hour that I realized that his chest wasn't moving in synch with mine any more. His hand was loose in mine and his eyes didn't open again.

At that time, I didn't cry anymore. I just held him.

Fin

A/N: Oh my god I started crying! I'm such a loser! Anyway, that was it and I am so proud of it. Please review.

If you don't know, the song is A Little Fall of Rain from Les Miserables. I cried when I saw the musical on Broadway. I highly recommend it. In the scene, Eponine is dying in Marius' arms. However, Marius does not love Eponine. Still, the emotion sent between the two is so deep. She dies for their cause. She is the first to fall at the Barricade during the French Revolution. Miroku is the first to fall out of the four.