Author's Note: This is a birthday fic for my dearest reader Joanina1992! Though I realize her birthday isn't for a few months, I want the story to be finished closer to her birthday(Plus I will be on vacation during her ACTUAL birthday), so Joanina I hope you like my covert attempts to find your favorite song/ pairing so I could write you this fic! I hope you enjoy it!

Updated: June. 01, 2012


The bright summer day had been filled with a great many things that life had to offer. Gentle breezes blew the skin of the people who greeted the pleasant day with a smile. The blue reflection of a sky was clear, with only a few white fluffy clouds floating through it; each in the shape of imagination's choice. The birds were singing in an almost subtle harmony as they fluttered from branch to branch overhead. As bright as it was, it appeared even more so to a certain few who had summer love swelling in their hearts.

Sango Kikaku had noticed this the years before and had laughed inwardly at the frivolity of such behaviour. More than anything, Sango frowned at hypocrisy; now she had to check herself. This year, she herself was- how had Bambi put it? Twitterpated. Though she had always believed that such things were ridiculous creations of romantic minds- one of which she assuredly was not- she had come to realize that ideas such as 'love at first sight', 'soul mates', or 'destiny', may actually hold some weight.

What had forced this change of opinion? Seeing with her own eyes something of the sort at work.

That year her mother had forced her into a new wardrobe. She had told her seventeen year old daughter that the only way that she would possibly be able to accompany her best friend Kagome and her family on their summer trip out to their cabin this year was if she made some allowances. So, out went most of the black and dark purples that she had accumulated over the years. The dark makeup and- what her mother thought to be- gaudy jewelry of skulls and crosses were also replaced with pinks and flowers. She was allowed to keep two pairs of jeans, one ripped up t-shirt, a sweater and her graffiti Chuck Taylors- only because she had almost started to cry.

She liked her clothes. They were comfortable, rather than being tight and revealing like most of the new styles that she saw in the mall or her best friend's closet.

One thing she had to admit was that she and Kagome had never really matched in any way. Sango was introverted and quiet, while Kagome was peppy and friendly. That's not to say that Sango wasn't friendly- she was, just in a more misunderstood way. People took her silence as dis-interest rather than her hanging on to their every word. They also seemed put off by her style and how she looked directly into their eyes. The one person that had ever seen past things was, of course, Kagome Higurashi- who seemed to get her personality from her sweet and caring mother.

Sango's mother had entrusted Kagome with her daughter's future style, and Sango had to admit that when they were done shopping her and Kagome looked like friends in wardrobe as well as affection. Little silver studs filled the holes that used to hold only crimson ball earrings. Her hair was cut and rearranged so that it no longer covered her eyes. Pinks, blues and reds filled the bags that overflowed from the girls hands. There were even skirts, and dresses- and even Sango had to admit that in the changing room she had looked sort of pretty. She had drawn the line at yellow, though.


The trip out to the cabin was a long one. To Sango's amusement Kagome's grandfather had started telling stories about spirits and demons. Kagome and her younger brother Sota began to call his bluffs. The way their family interacted was always entertaining to Sango, whose father had taken her younger brother to China after her mother divorced him. She never really got to see Kohaku or her father so it may as well have always been just her and her mom.

As they pulled up to the cottage Sango paused with her eyes on it, as she did every year. It was quite beautiful. Gramps had built it with his own two hands forty years back, and he had chosen the prime spot for it. On each side the building was surrounded by trees of many kinds. The driveway led up to the big building and around it to the front that overlooked a sparkling lake. It nearly took her breath away.

As per usual, Sota insisted that they go down to the small town across the lake for a visit to his old friend Daichi. It was about a fifteen minute drive, and when they pulled up Sota jumped out before the car had fully come to a stop. He dashed into a familiar house, to be there for what usually ended up amounting to a majority of the time of the summer. Kagome turned to Sango and shrugged, grinning at her brothers obviousness.

"Let's go down to the beach?" She suggested. Sango was about to agree, but stopped. A blush covered her face when she remembered that her mother's deal had included her bathing suit. Kagome had chosen a bold shade of almost fuscia suit, in the form of a two piece that Sango wouldn't be caught dead in. Sensing her unease, Kagome broke out her secret weapon. "Please?" Her bottom lip drooped and stuck out, while her eyebrows drew upwards and together. Sango sighed.

"Fine... Just stop pouting. I can't handle it."

They retrieved their bathing suits and towels from their luggage, which was still in the trunk, before running off to the bathrooms. Kagome's mother waved to them before driving away.

After changing, Sango stared at herself in the mirror for quite some time. She'd never shown this much skin to anyone but herself. Her cheeks almost matched the hue of her suit as she walked out to see Kagome already being flirted with mercilessly. That was the way it always was. Guys flocked to her and her beautiful face and gorgeous wavy raven tresses. Sango was always left standing to the side and observing, not that it particularly bothered her. Only sometimes. Something about this time was different, though Sango couldn't quite put her finger on it. Then she noticed him.

Sure, there was a group surrounding her best friend, but at the back of them a tall, handsome boy with his dark hair pulled back into a small ponytail stood with his ocean blue eyes trained on her. She felt the blush rise again and looked away, only glance up a minute later to see if he was still looking. He was.

"Hey, Sango, these guys invited us to a party tonight!" Kagome exclaimed excitedly, prancing over to her waiting best friend. "Isn't that the coolest?"
Sango frowned slightly at the impulsiveness of the girl in front of her.

"We can't go," she whispered, leaning in so that her friend was the only one to hear. "We don't even know them! Think of all the things that could happen to us? There are two of us and five of them, first of all. Second, who knows what their real intentions are?" Kagome visibly deflated.

"I guess you're right," She admitted just as quietly, "But you're still no fun! Look at how cute they are! They're so much better looking and polite than the guys back at school!" Sango shrugged, not budging an inch and Kagome pouted once again. This time, Sango had backbone enough to turn away. She turned towards the group of guys, who mostly just seemed to have noticed that she was there. Taking a deep breath she adopted a pose that was oh-so humiliating to her. It was one that she'd seen in a manga. She popped her hip to one side like a ditz and rested one hand on it it, bringing the other up to covertly hide her cleavage.

"I'm so sorry boys, we have a prior engagement tonight that my dear friend here seems to have forgotten," She lied very fluently. It was one of her few personal skills. For effect, she tossed in what she hoped was a flirty smile. "I apologize."

"That's too bad, Sango," it was blue eyes who spoke. Hearing his deep voice pronounce her name gave her a peculiar feeling in her stomach. "I was really hoping that we could get acquainted." She didn't know what to say to that, and just stared at him. It was Kagome who rescued her pride.

"Well, who's to say that we can't all get acquainted on the beach?" She suggested, earning approving nods, gestures and words from the group of males.


His name was Miroku. He had told her as they sat on towels, watching the others frolic through the water. He was visiting for just the weekend, then he had to get back home. He had a job lined up for the summer to pay for a college overseas. He had the ambition and drive to want to become a doctor. The schooling would take many years and a lot of money, but he was prepared. As he squinted up at a cloud that passed overhead, he smiled, and her heart pounded. He had a nice smile.

He asked her about herself. She said that there was little to tell. He doubted her, so it became a question game.

"What is your favorite subject in school?"

"Math, dorkily enough," she admitted. "There's just something about how it is universal. Unlike verbal language, numerical language is pretty much the same everywhere."

"That's cute," he said, giving her a look that would melt ice-cream in the middle of winter. "Do you have any pets?"

"I have a snake named Basil," she said slowly, not quite over the fact that he'd called her cute.

The questions went on like that for an hour, until there was the honk of a horn and Sango turned to see the Higurashi's car pulling to a stop. She stood up, but Miroku grabbed her hand. She blushed, glancing down at him.

"May I ask one last question?" He asked. She nodded, sure that she'd tell him just about anything at that point. "Do you have a boyfriend?" She shook her head. "Good to know. Goodbye for now, Sango."

She thought of this as she sat in a hammock which was tied to two pine trees next to the cabin. Sipping the red wine that Gramps had handed to both her and Kagome as an early eighteenth birthday surprise from a glass. She rolling it around on her tongue, trying to reduce the bitter taste, to no avail.

"So, you seemed to be having your own sort of fun today," Kagome commented, sitting next to her in her own hammock. "Miroku seemed pretty nice."

"He was," Sango agreed quietly, gazing up at the stars. It may have just been her imagination, but they seemed brighter than she'd ever seen.

"You like him, don't you?"

"I... don't know."

"Well, no matter if you don't... I got you his e-mail," Kagome announced. Sango turned to her best friend.

"You didn't!" She exclaimed.

"I did!" Kagome grinned proudly. "You know, you deserve to have someone tell you that you're cute and pretty and compliment you sometimes too, Sango. You're gorgeous, and you don't even realize it. Besides, he was totally into you." Sango snorted, secretly touched that her friend had thought of her.

"Maybe, but I'll never see him again," she said, once again turning her eyes skyward. Too bad, she thought. He really was a great guy. If only he wasn't leaving for another continent in the fall, I may have been tempted... But let's face it- long distance relationships really don't work. Still, try as she might, she couldn't get him off her mind. She even let herself wonder for a moment if maybe he was thinking of her too.


As unlikely as it was, after summer when she emailed him, he actually replied.

Miroku,

When Kagome told me that she had got your email, I was kind of shocked. I don't know if you remember me, but we met at the beach this past summer. How're you? -Sango

It was nearly a week and a half before she received an email from him, and she had begun to think he really had forgotten her.

Sango,

Of course I remember you! How could I forget such beauty and still be called a man? I am pretty good. School has started, and is very stressful- nothing like high school. It is also difficult to adjust to the dorms, but it will be well worth it when I am done- however long that will take. I am glad to have heard from you! I almost thought that you may have forgotten about me. How have you been doing? -Miroku

And so, a long- distance friendship was formed.