A Good Memory

Summary: Written for the live journal community mirsan_fics, prompt #48- Memory. Posted January 4, 2011

Miroku always prided himself with having a good memory. It was one of the things he recalled his father telling him when he was young.

"Never forget anything anyone tells you. You'll never know when you may need it." He told him, wearing that carefree grin Miroku had inherited. "After all, life is short." Miroku remembered his father looking at his right hand, and made a tight fist.

From that day on, Miroku promised himself to never forget anything.

He never forgot how much it hurt to see his father sucked into his own kazaana.

Years went by, and Miroku made as many memories as he could. The first day he left the temple and Mushin in search of Naraku, to break his curse. He remembered how frightened he was at the age of fourteen when his kazaana spread a bit, and he had been sure he was going to be sucked into the oblivion.

He kept happy moments in his mind, like his first kiss with a girl named Inari. She was eleven, and her father had caught them. Miroku also learned how to run very fast that day. He remembered the first woman he groped, and his first smack. Oh, such a wonderful pain... And he remembered how scared he really was when he became a man.

A few years passed, and Miroku came across some large hawk-like youkai attacking a helpless tanuki. He stepped in and defended the tanuki, using his mighty kazaana to suck in the evil youkai. The tanuki had been so grateful to his savior, he vowed to be his servant for the rest of his days to repay him. Hachi, he called himself.

Miroku remembered his first encounter with Inuyasha, he recalled agreeing to travel with him, Kagome, and Shippo.

And he could never forget meeting her...

He remembered more about her than anyone else. The first time she hit him, the first time she saved him, the first time she shed tears over him. And he could think back to all those times he wanted to tell her how much he loved her... He remembered the day he asked her to have his child, and she said yes.

Miroku recalled how he shook in releif at the sight of his naked right hand. The curse had been lifted and Naraku was gone. But he wasn't the only one who would remember that...

Now, in the stillness of the night, Miroku sighed in content. He rolled over a bit to better embrace his wife, who was sleeping beside him. His hands drifted down to her belly, swollen with child. He remembered their wedding day, their wedding night, and day she told him she was expecting. His hand made small circles on her stomach.

Suddenly, he felt a small kick. He jolted a little, taken off guard, but smiled. Sango stirred, twisting to look up at him with sleepy eyes. She whispered "She's saying hello, houshi-sama."

Miroku couldn't remember when he had ever been happier.