AN: I own Maki, a few nameless victoms, some named victoms, a random minion or two, and a really cute picture of Almight Tallest Red and Purple eating icing out of icecream cones and Red has is smeared all around his mouth! I love that picture. Anyway, I don't own Miroku or anyone else from the comic. This basicly takes place after Miroku goes off by himself in search of someone to bear his child. I don't like Sango so um...she died or something. I don't know. If you want, pretend she did something. It's not like anyone is going to talk about her anyway. Maki is a Mary Sue, though she will not be as tastless as some. I hope

Lord Farnor smiled slyly as he walked toward the bridge. The canyon was to wide for man to throw a spear across so the thin rope bridge was the safest way across. A cloaked woman stood guard. "Answer me these questions three, then the other side you'll see!" rang her voice. "Who shall answer?"

Lord Farnor stepped up. "I will, wench. Ask me your questions and let us pass."

In a voice so soft that only Lord Farnor could hear, she asked the first question. Lord Farnor laughed. "Simple! Yura."

"Wrong." A small hand let go of the staff she held and before any could react, the woman had ripped the heart right from Lord Farnor's chest. For a moment, it still beat before it began to go cold. The woman lifted her head and watched the body fall. From under her hood, all that Farnor's men could see was a set of glowing red eyes. "Next?"

~

Miroku, a very handsome, young monk, stood at the cliffs edge and sighed sadly. He couldn't even see the other side, but he knew it was there beyond the fog. It was half a day's walk to the tiny rope bridge that crossed the bottomless valley, and from there, a day's walk to the next villiage, but Miroku had two weeks between himself and any villige on his side of the cannon and he was low on food.

There were rumors of a demon that guarded the bridge. Any who failed to answer its three questions would be killed and thrown into the cannon.

With a silent prayer, Miroku asked to be able to answer the questions. He had a bitter sweet 'gift' in his hand; an air rip that was his most powerful weapon, but if he used the air rip, he'd lose the bridge.

~

It did not take long before he reached the bridge. Miroku hid himself behind a bush and peered through the leaves to watch the hooded figure guarding the rope bridge he so needed to cross.

A group of three men stopped before the cloaked figure. "Answer me these questions three, then the other side you'll see. Who shall answer?" a very female voice demanded.

Miroku couldn't help but smile. Once, his friend Kagome had taken he and the others that had once traveled with them to her time in the future where she had introduced them to many strange things, one of them being a movie she had called Monty Python. A slight pang of longing struck his heart at the memory of his friends.

"It's for their own good," he whispered to himself. "It won't help anyone if they all get sucked into my hand with me when I die."

The man must have answered a question wrong because when the monk looked back to the bridge, all three of the men had holes through their chests. The woman pushed them one by one over the edge of the cliff.

Miroku went forward. "Answer me these questions three, then the other side you'll see. Who shall answer?" She paused and sniffed. "You are a monk."

"Aye, that I am," he told her, both hands gripped his holy staff tighter.

A fanged grin reflected just enough light to let Miroku know she was smiling. He loosened his grip ever so slightly. "A demon named Naraku has cursed me, good monk. Will you heal me?" she pleaded softly.

Miroku gave her a sad smile. "I would if I could, my lady. I too am cursed by the demon you speak of. The only way to remove the curse is to kill Naraku. My friends and I are on a quest to defeat him."

"I see no friends!" Though her voice was laced with venom, the young monk could tell she was greatly saddened.

"It's for their own good," he told himself again. "My curse is going to kill me. I do not wish for my friends to join me in my fate." The hooded woman sat on a log next to bridge and Miroku joined her, knowing she wanted details. "My grandfather was cursed by Naraku long ago. It's something like a hole in the hand; called an Air Rip. Grandfather knew he wouldn't live to see the end of the curse so he and my grandmother had my father..." He trailed off.

"And your father had you," she finished for him. "Have you no children?"

Miroku shook his head. "It's not because a lack of trying," he told her with a bitter chuckle. "When ever I ask a woman to bear my child, she slaps me. If not for lack of time, I would court a woman properly. I have so little time left, even my old methods are to slow." His eyes looked sadly at his hand. "I had to part from my friends."

"For many years, my family has guarded this bridge. We kept bad people away. Even flying demons found the distance to much so all had to cross the bridge. Naraku came and I would not let him pass. He cursed me so that I could never leave my post until someone answers my three questions! No one can ever answer me. They never get any question correct."

The monk smiled at the now quietly sobbing woman. "Have you tried simple questions?"

"Yes!" she shreiked. "I have asked men where they come from and they still answer wrong."

"Ask their name, their quest, and their favorite color." He paused, "Ask me."

The woman smiled. "What is your name?"

"Miroku."

"What is your quest?"

"To kill Naraku."

"What is your favorite color?"

"Blue viloet."

A mist moved away from the woman and for a moment Miroku feared her soul had left her, until she laughed. "I AM FREE!" she cried, her voice echoing all around them. The ground trembled. The echo faded and the earth calmmed. The woman stood there frozen in delight.

Miroku stared at her. Would there be earthquakes when his curse was lifted? There was little chance that would be an echo, and a smaller chance still that his curse would be lifted at all.

"My name in Maki. I wish to repay you."

The monk shook his head. "I could not ask you to do anything."

"Then ask of me nothing and I will do everything on my own accord."

Miroku grinned.

~

As time went on, Miroku became glad he hadn't been more insisitent on Maki staying away. The air rip widened more and more so he was fearful of using it in case a vistom widened it even more. Maki herself was more then happy to help; she being skilled in many forms of battle.

It was a year after their meeting and though Maki still had yet to remove the hood from her cloak, Miroku felt he knew everything about her. He could read her like a book.

She was quickly becoming his best friend.

"Tell me another story, Miroku. About your friends."

The monk looked over the campfire at his companion. Maki was spraweled on the ground, propped on one elbow. In the fire light, he could see her chin, jaw set. "Where did I last leave off, my sweet?"

"You were at the remains of a villiage where the Shikon Jewel was born, or at least, rumored to have been born."

"Ah, yes." Miroku settled himself down for what whould no doubt be a very self gratifing story. "I remember. The whole villiage had been slautered. After all had been buried, we ventured into the cave where the Shikon Jewel was born..."

Maki listened with great interest to the monk's tale, voicung her doubts when he glorified himself too much. After the story was finished, Maki smiled and rested her head on Miroku's shoulder. "I love when you tell me stories, Miroku. It's so nice spending time with you."

"I feel the same, my sweet." Carefully, Miroku wrapped his arms around Maki's waist. "Will you grant me the honor of bareing my child?"

Maki giggle and curled up against the monk. "The honor would be mine, but we are unwed,"

"Then marry me."

The laugher left her voice. "You have never seen my face. What if you don't like what you see? Would your offer still stand?"

Miroku needed no time to ponder Maki's question. He held her tighter and nuzzled her neck through her cloak. "Tomorrow we will have known each other one year. I've had one to to fall in love with you. I don't care what you look like, you will always be beautiful to me."

"When do you wish to marry?"

~

Two hours later, the young couple had settled themself down for the night in Maki's own home. He had not seen the temple through the fog when they had met a year before. The fog had cleared shortly after the curse binding Maki had been lifted. The monk amitted silently that he might have prefered if they had not traveled, if they had stayed in the beautiful country.

Miroku smiled uneasily. Maki now kneeled before him, her hands in his. From memory he recited the ceromony that would bind them as husband and wife. Maki herself seemed to find it funny that he the one marrying them.

After the vows had been spoken by both, Miroku reached up and lowered the hood of his new bride's cloak. Like many women, she had dark black hair. Half of it fell down her back while the rest was braided and twisting into a small bun with a looping braid on either side. Her ears were pointed, but it was her eyes that held Miroku. The young bride's eyes were gold.

"Miroku?"

The monk leaned in and kissed Maki, "You're beautiful, sweet. Why did you cover your face all this time?"

"I thought you would hate me if you knew I was a demon."

Miroku lifted her from the floor and cradled her in his arms. "Never." He grinned evilly. "Now, where is the bedroom?"

~

They had been married at noon, but is was sunrise the next morning before Miroku finally let his new bride sleep. The demon had been through a very interesting day and night's activity.

Miroku was curling agensit his demon mate when a pain ripped through his hand. "Not now! Not so soon." The retired monk looked at his hand as he began to rise, knowing he would have to run quick to get away when he noticed something. Under the prayer beads the shut the Air Rip, his hand was smooth. Confused, Miroku took the risk of peeling back the fabric and looked his palm dead on. A perfectly normal, though very pale palm was there on Miroku's hand. The skin looking as though the only thing wrong with it since his birth was that he had always covered it and not let it see sun. "Maki..."

A sleepy demon opens one eye.

"Maki!" Miroku holds his hand out to his bride.

Conserned, the dog demon sat up and stared at the formar monk's hand. "You curse is lifted!"

"He's dead," Miroku told her bluntly. "Narraku is dead. Kagome has won."

"How can you be sure?"

"My curse is gone. Only Naraku's death could have brought about this."

Smiling, Maki threw her arms around her love's neck, a cry of delight for him on her lips. "Oh darling! You sweet jewel." Calling upon her demon strengh, the gold eyed dog took her mate again.

NEXT TIME: "Come on guys, we've won; it's over. We'll use Naraku's shards to finish the jewel and this will all finally be over for good! Can't you pretend to be happy?"
Kouga tried to smile, although it turned out terrible; looking like something a psycho would do right before they killed you. Your blood splashing over their face. Drip. Drip. Drip.