Characters of Inuyasha (manga and anime) belong to Takahashi-san
Happiness
In all his life as a man who led a spiritual life, Miroku could not remember the last time he truly felt happiness. That overriding emotion that was described by the most notable of scholars as being the ultimate in a human's existence was something he never really bothered to comprehend. From the untimely death of his father, his mother whom he never knew or perhaps even remembered, his somewhat questionable teachings from his master, Mushin, and his previous lonely travels searching for a bed and some poor folk who required his services, Miroku had no time to question what happiness was, or find the meaning for it. What was the point when there were other things to worry about?
Yet looking back to that day, Miroku wondered if this was what happiness was supposed to feel like.
He remembered walking with the rest of his companions on the edges of the cliffs, a particularly windy day. Inuyasha and Kagome were at the front, walking side by side, closer than usual. Upon seeing this new development in their otherwise...awkward relationship, Miroku was even more surprised when he caught a tiny glimpse of their hands, purposely brushing against each other. They turned a corner, and the houshi leaned sideways to get a better view to see if he was correct. However, he lost his footing and tripped over a rock, causing him to fall over the edge of the cliff.
In that same instant, he had heard it, his own name, from the last person he expected to say it. Miroku stared at her with puzzlement in his eyes as she held fast onto his arm with all of her strength, refusing to let go.
"Sango!" he cried out, too stunned to notice that he was dangling precariously over the edge.
"What?!" she replied, starting to strain from his weight.
"You said my name. This is the first time you didn't call me 'houshi-sama'. To hear you say my name...oh Sango...I—"
"Will you just shut-up and climb up, houshi-sama!" Sango said angrily while trying not to blush at the same time. "You are heavy, you know."
Miroku looked down, and his eyes widened in realisation. Quickly, he climbed up and over the edge, until his feet were firmly on the ground, and not hundreds of metres in midair. He sighed in relief and thanked Sango for her heroic rescue, to which her face turned the brightest shade of red from his over flirtatious praise.
Since that day, Miroku could not stop the smile from appearing on his face every time he thought of his woman slayer, the woman who had captured his heart. Even though he never heard her say it again, Miroku would always remember that moment, the way she had said his name without title or respectable distance, just his name:
"Miroku, you idiot!!"
Yes, this truly was happiness.