From This Moment On
Disclaimer: Miroku and Sango do not belong to me. They belong to each other and the wonderfully talented Rumiko Takahachi. "From this moment on" was originally by Robert John Lange and sung by Shania Twain and Bryan White. I am not making any money off this story, just hope you enjoy (and review!).
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The sun was just beginning to set. Its
crimson rays moved slowly across the landscape and fell onto a field of even
darker red; a battle had been raging earlier that day, but no more.
Everything was
still, well almost everything. Across
the bloodstained landscape, four figures silently made there way across the
dead terrain, but the fifth was still. From atop a hill Miroku stood unmoving, as he
appeared to be watching the sun make its way tiredly beyond the horizon, to
rest for what seemed just an instant before beginning its endless cycle once
again tomorrow. That is how his life was
as well. It was an eternal chase from
light to darkness, never slowing, never stopping, until now... He sighed as he looked down at his cursed hand
and knew that his destiny and Death drew ever closer.
I do swear that I will always be there.
I would give anything and everything and I will always
care.
Through weakness and strength, happiness and sorrow, for better or for worse, I will love you with every beat of my heart.
Sango sensed something was not right, when she turned around it was to find
that Miroku was not behind her. Fear
seized her heart for an instant as she frantically searched for his
whereabouts. Seeing him atop the hill
she was able to relax, but only for a moment, as she pondered his sudden
halting.
The others,
finally realizing their dilemma, looked up at him as well, confusion apparent
in their eyes. She caught Kagome's with
her own and nodded in reassurance that she would catch up later. Kagome promptly tugged on Inuyasha's kimono
and indicated that they should go on. With
a moment's hesitation, and a word of caution, he and the others made their way
on through the valley while Sango proceeded the way she had come. She hated returning to a battle already fought
but this time she would make an exception, perhaps the struggle was not over
with after all.
From this moment life has begun
From this moment you are the one
Right beside you is where I belong
From this moment on
She reached his side rather quickly but he did not take notice. Indeed, he never acknowledged her presence at
all, just stood rooted to the spot, looking at the sun as if it alone was his
only reality in life.
"Houshi-sama?"
she asked uncertainly, her voice barely above a whisper and yet in the
unearthly silence of death that was surrounding them, she knew he could hear her
perfectly. He turned to her and she let
out an audible gasp, nearly taking a step back.
His dark brown orbs, usually light and full of laughter, now emitted a
different set of emotions entirely… sadness, regret, longing, sorrow, despair,
and perhaps the most frightening of all... acceptance. It was as though a shadow had covered his
entire soul. Had he given up hope? She forced herself to move closer, to reach up and touch his shoulder lightly. He was trembling.
From this moment I have been blessed
I live only for you happiness
And for your love I'd give my last breath
From this moment on
Her touch seemed to trigger something within him and he gave her a shaky
smile, the emotion in his eyes now becoming unreadable. "I am sorry Sango-san, am I holding you and
the others back?" His voice was unsteady
when he voiced the second question. That
simple statement could be taken two ways and, to his surprise,
she took it as the second, the concern she felt now evident. "Houshi-sama?" she said again, her voice no
longer wavering as her courage gathered within her.
He could not
let this go on this way. He had to make
things right and do so now despite consequences. With a last desperate attempt, he reached for
the untouchable in order to throw her off, but he never made it. Her hand caught his halfway and squeezed
lightly, fingers intertwining with his.
She did not let go.
I give my hand to you with all my heart
Can't wait to live my life with you, can't wait to start
You and I will never be apart
My dreams came true because of you
He met her gentle gaze and tried to conceal his cursed palm behind his back
without her noticing. In the end, she
did though and used the strength of her will to bring him around and show her
the source of his pain. He cringed as
she felt more than saw just how much larger his Wind Tunnel had become.
He had one maybe two years left at most to live, more likely sooner rather than later.
She looked up and he expected to see sympathy, expected to see pity, perhaps even a touch of sadness, but what he saw was not what he expected. Shining in the depths of her eyes was a mixture of radiance, serenity, and adoration that made his heart flutter. It was not a look of mourning, but one with hopes of life, a new beginning. He was confused at this; he could leave her forever, so where did she find joy? She sensed his growing fear and showed him in the only way she knew how.
She kissed
him. She kissed him with all the passion
and life she possessed and not one ounce of grief. She showed him strength.
You're the reason I believe in love
And you're the answer to my prayers from up above
All we need is just the two of us
My dreams came true because of you
"Sango" he whispered still baffled. "How
can this be?" She leaned against his
chest as he tentatively wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. "You are not the only one who bears these
pains," she whispered softly in his ear. "You are not alone Houshi-sama. We will
defeat Naraku, together, all of us. Death
and sadness, they have no hold over us any longer, we are stronger than that
now. Our scars are memories of the
battles we fought and reminders of the power we now hold, nothing more, they do
not haunt us. Do not let go Miroku,
never give in or we will lose."
His breath caught at her words and at the mention of his name. "But..." he tried to protest but she hushed him with another swift brush of her lips on his and this time he took over, feeding all he had, every emotion he possessed into her in turn. He caressed her bottom lip with care, all the while enjoying the sensations of just being with her.
He gave to her everything in that one decisive
moment.
From this moment,
As long as I live, I will love you,
I promise you this,
There is nothing I wouldn't give
From this moment
"Why?"
he managed as he broke away from her, nearly swamped with longing. "Why would you go through with this? You have so much to give now and if I do not
survive… why would you go through with this and risk that again?"
She did not delay with her reply. "If you will have me, for you I can live, for you I can die and for you I can wait. I… I love you Houshi-sama and together we can be stronger than that curse could ever be." She waited a moment for that to sink in, a small smile playing at her lips. "Besides what would I do without you?" She had done it, she had finally admitted to him, and herself, what she had been foolishly denying for so long. It was what they both needed to hear in that moment. "I love you too Sango and to this I will hold… now, forever, and always."
"Are you sure
you can swear off other women for that long?"
He chuckled lightly before starting to reply. "Now that you mention it, you would not mind
would you if…" Once more she captured
his lips, rather forcefully, and once more they kissed passionately, holding on
to each other tight.
I will love you as long as I live…
They were unaware of their surroundings for the moment, and the
contradiction their love made to the already forgotten souls of the deceased. Yet the souls rose into the night in peace and
even though the night itself was a haunting darkness, through it showed light
from the stars and the certainty that love would once again see things through
to the ending, whatever that may be.
From this moment on...
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Author's Note:
Please understand I had to change some things to make this scene work. It is rather hard after all to portray love and death in the same instance and that was what I was trying to go for. I know love is never that quick in coming so just assume for the time being that they have known about their feelings for each other for a while now. Different things could happen quite suddenly under certain circumstances and this was just one of those instances where it worked out. As always, I hope this benefited someone in someway. (Final Draft)