A/N - Thanks for the reviews so far!


Hurting Hands

Meeting Sango: A near death experience.


Miroku blinked, trying to focus his tired eyes on the ceiling above him. He winced as he felt a sharp pain shoot through his head. Lifting his arm, he gingerly touched a small spot above his eye

Miroku sat uncomfortably in his chair. Class was due to finish in five minutes. The teacher tried desperately to calm the class as they talked among themselves, but instead had to resort to shouting. Miroku banged his head on the desk as Mr. Kiechi's voice rang in his ears. His head hurt, he had a splitting headache, and he needed to talk to Shima. As he rested his head down, and let his mind wonder, he spotted InuYasha waiting outside the door, obviously waiting for Kagome, and him to walk home.

He smiled and looked over at Kagome, who sat doodling in the back of her history book. His eyes then trailed over to Shima who sat in front of Kagome, fiddling with her hair. She had beautiful long hair, he thought, suddenly dying to run his hand through it. His mind still whirled at the though of her. After months of stalking her and flirting he'd finally gathered enough courage to ask her out. And she'd accepted. Just in time, too, the school dance is days away. He jumped as the bell suddenly rung and quickly stood up, shoving his books in his bag and pushing his chair underneath his desk. Swinging his bag over his shoulder, he managed to dodge the mass of people trying to get past him, and caught Shima's arm before she disappeared. She smiled when she saw him and they walked into the corridor together. Finally, Shima turned to Miroku, grinning as he fumbled around in his bag.

"What's the surprise then?" She asked playfully. Miroku took out a card and a small box and gave them to her, grinning. She quickly opened the card and laughed at the cheesy message inside, and then opened the small box. She gasped, discovering a beautiful silver necklace.

"Miroku, you're crazy...this is beautiful!" She exclaimed. He turned her around and put on the necklace, before leaning in to kiss her.

"Happy birthday!" He said.

"Thank you Miroku." She kissed him back and grabbed her bag before they walked away, hand in hand. Sango scowled. She'd been watching the two love birds the whole time, and frankly, she thought it was pathetic. Either that, or she was secretly wishing it was her Miroku was kissing. She gasped and tore her eyes away from the two lovers. Just because you got to sit next to the hottest guy in school...doesn't mean you like him. She shook her head and started to walk away, when Kagome stood in her way.

"Where you watching those two?" She asked, a glint in her eyes. Sango snorted and folded her arms defiantly.

"No. I mean, not that I meant to. I was just going to see Mr. Kiechi about some homework and I caught them." She said, then rolled her eyes.

"Not that you could miss them." She muttered. Kagome giggled and caught her friends arm, giving her a wink.

"I'll let you in on a little secret. Everyone likes Miroku! I mean, come on...he's the best looking guy in the school!" She told her. Sango sighed, she'd figured as much. She'd been watching Miroku Houshi ever since the beginning of the year, when she'd first moved into the high school. The annoying this was that she knew he hadn't noticed her until now. Kagome shook her friend lightly and laughed.

"Forget him, he's a player anyway. Come on, I'll walk you home if you'd like." Her friend offered, but Sango shook her head and took out her phone.

"I'm sorry Kagome, I'll have to go to the chemist first. I have to pick up some medication for Kohaku." She said. Kagome nodded and then looked down in sadness. Kohaku had recently been the victim of a brutal gang attack and as a result, ended up in a wheelchair. He'd had problems with his back ever since, and now Sango insisted on looking after him, 24/7. Kagome bit her lip.

"How is your brother?" She asked.

"Worse. He's just gone downhill since the attack." Sango answered, her eyes full of grief.

"Not that I can't blame him." She said. Kagome hugged her friend and sighed.

"Sango...it's to be expected. It's been traumatic for him." Then Kagome grasped her friends hands, with a smile on her face.

"You know what the best thing is though? He has you to look after him."

"Oh stop it, I've hardly been the most helpful of carer's..." Sango said miserably. Kagome swatted her hand in the air.

"Nonsense. You've been great, Sango. I'm sure he understands that you have other priorities, like school." She said. Sango merely nodded.

"Speaking of which, I noticed that Miss. Takahashi kept you behind again today." She said. Sango made a face.

"Yeah, same old crap she gives me every time; Skipping school, not completing homework, falling behind in class. I don't care. My brother comes first." She said. Kagome patted her friends shoulder.

"He has a carer, Sango. You don't have to pile on so much stress. Rin, she'll look after him as much as she can. She's there so that you can study-" Sango stood back, obviously frustrated. She'd heard this from Kagome too many times before and didn't need to be reminded again.

Kagome opened her mouth to speak when a pair of arms slid around her waist, making Kagome jump.

"InuYasha!" She scolded when she recognised the fair-haired man behind her. InuYasha smiled at Sango and pulled away from Kagome, taking her hand instead. Sango relaxed automatically. Kagome preferred not to have these in-depth conversations around InuYasha, as he could be incredibly insensitive, so Sango was grateful he'd interrupted them.

"Are we going?" Kagome asked cheerfully. InuYasha nodded and turned to Sango.

"You coming Sango?" He asked. Sango bit her lip. Of course she'd love to walk home with them. These people where her best friends. Especially Kagome. They'd been together since primary school. As for InuYasha? He was Kagome's boyfriend, and also Miroku's best friend, she was quick to note. Sango found her heart racing again and she shook her head quickly.

"I really can't today, sorry guys-" They all jumped as InuYasha's phone rang, the theme tune from ghost busters ringing out through the school corridors. A few people looked over at them and Kagome burst out laughing as her boyfriend fumbled for it in his back pocket. Flipping it open, recognising the number, he grinned.

"Hey Miroku." He said. Sango strained to listen to their conversation, as Kagome rambled on about the upcoming school dance.

"Huh?...Oh yeah...I know, I heard. Yeah...okay, whatever, well meet us outside okay?" InuYasha hung up and took Kagome's arm.

"Come on, he's waiting outside." He said. Kagome hugged Sango, and waved goodbye as Sango watched them go. She hated being so distant from her friends, but she'd grown tired of the same old questions they insisted on asking her. How is Kohaku? How are you? That's all anybody ever asked now and if she were to walk home with Kagome...she would most likely get another lecture. She didn't need that now. Kohaku was getting sicker, and if by any chance he made a sudden turn for the worse, he'd been taken away from her. She couldn't let that happen.

. . .

Miroku smiled as he saw Kagome and InuYasha coming towards him, hand in hand. As he moved his leather jacket from one hand to the other, he caught Kagome waving.

"Hey, how did it go with Shima?" She shouted. Miroku winced and looked the school yard, finding nobody he relaxed

"Inform the school why not." He joked, scratching the back of his neck. InuYasha snorted as they both approached him.

"What's the big deal? Everyone knows already. You've been going out for how long...four, five months?" He asked, stopping to think for a minute. Kagome made a face, and Miroku stared at him, annoyed.

"...A day?" He said, watching InuYasha's face drop. He laughed.

"My god InuYasha, your dense. You told me yourself, yesterday remember?" InuYasha looked at him blankly.
"You said, 'ask her out on her birthday, it'll be the sweetest thing ever!'" Miroku said, imitating InuYasha's voice. Kagome looked at InuYasha, horrified.

"You said that! That's so not like you..." She said, bringing the back of her hand up to his forehead.

"Feh, like I'd say that!" He said, earning himself a slap on the back of the head by Miroku.

"Anyway, come on, we'd better get going." He said, pulling his jacket on. As they made their way out of the school gates, Miroku's mind wandered back to Christine and another wave of guilt hit him. He quickly prayed Nathan wasn't drunk again. Just, not tonight. Please. InuYasha coughed, brining him back down to earth.

"Hey. You still with us?" He joked. Miroku grinned.

"Sorry." He apologised. Kagome found herself frowning, and then, she spoke up.

"How is Christine?" A short silence followed and Kagome peered over at him.

"Dunno till I get home." He answered, his eyes fixed on the ground.

"I'm sure she will be fine, Miroku." She said, trying to cheer him up. Miroku nodded, knowing there was a good chance she wouldn't. Still he appreciated that Kagome was trying. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Kagome squeezed InuYasha's hand, making him turn his head to steal a quick kiss as they walked. He smiled. They were defiantly a good couple. He knew, because he'd gotten them together, even though InuYasha wouldn't admit it. Miroku watched the two and nodded to himself. He had made a good match.

"So...InuYasha, I'm guessing you're taking Kagome to the dance right?" He asked.

"Yeah, what about you?" He asked. Miroku shrugged.

"Hopefully, Shima." He answered, showing him his fingers, crossed.

"You mean, you haven't even asked her?" InuYasha asked. Miroku thought for a second.

"Hey, I don't even know whether I'm going yet. I mean, Nathan doesn't like it when I'm out late, not that it's any of his business." He said, bitterly. Kagome bit her lip, and then looked at InuYasha. Gathering the courage, she met Miroku's gaze.

"Miroku, did he give you that bruise?" She asked. Miroku tensed his jaw and looked away.

"No," he said stiffly.

"I can't remember where that came from." He answered. Kagome shot a nervous glance at InuYasha.

"Well, can't you just ask Christine about the dance and tell her not to mention it to Nathan?" Kagome suggested. Miroku took out his house keys as they approached his street.

"To be honest, I don't want to cause any trouble for Christine. Knowing Nathan, he'd probably find out sooner or later anyway." He took a quick glance across the street, saw children playing outside his house and a few women huddled together, talking at the end of the street. He turned back to his two friends, smiling.

"Anyway, I'll see you guys later." Kagome and InuYasha watched as he made his way up the street, his bag swinging at his side. He suddenly heard InuYasha shouting down the street and turned to look back over his shoulder.

"Hey, Miroku!"

"Yeah?"

"Ask her. Shima, I mean." InuYasha said. Kagome grinned and waved.

"If you insist!" Miroku joked, shoving a set of keys into his front door.

"See ya!" InuYasha called out, nodding in Miroku's direction. Miroku waved, and then waited until they had gone further up the road, until opening the door, and stepping in slowly.

. . .

[ Later that night... ]

"This is really good, Sango!" The brown haired boy exclaimed, from one side of the table. Sango sat down opposite her brother and smiled, taking a sip of her home made soup herself.

"You know, Kohaku, I must say, my cooking has got a lot better lately." She said, smiling to herself as she watched him eat as fast as he could. Kohaku laughed.

"Yeah. Thanks sis." He said, not looking up from his bowl. Sango nodded and swirled the spoon around in the soup. She suddenly sighed as she realised she wasn't hungry, and instead tried to focus on the pile of school work she had to do. As if reading her mind, Kohaku spoke up.

"Hey, maybe you should get some work done-if you're not going to eat that." He suggested. Sango fidgeted in her seat.

"No, that's fine. I'll wait till your finished so we can watch some T.V. Sound good?" She asked, standing up. Kohaku grinned and began to eat again, so Sango slipped her bowl onto the counter and walked out of the kitchen. It was so quiet lately, without Kohaku bounding up and down the hallway, getting into all sorts of trouble. Now, he was much more refined, preferring to watch T.V, or draw. She couldn't imagine how he must feel. A thirteen year old boy, wheelchair bound. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and flipped on the T.V, switching through the various channels, as her mind suddenly drifted back to Miroku.
If only I could get another chance to see him again,
she thought. I'd do anything just to talk to him. It had taken all this time for him to notice me, and I'm still not sure he knows my name... She bit her lip and blushed. If I could somehow gather the courage to walk home with him, by tagging along with Kagome, that'd be great. Then she sighed. Still...I can't abandon Kohaku. Besides, my last boyfriend had taken up too much of my time and now that I have Kohaku to worry about, I'm wasn't sure another relationship would be that great. She quickly stopped herself. Who said anything about a relationship?
Kohaku suddenly called her from the kitchen and she placed the remote on the couch in a daze. Mabey if I could just...happen to come across him tomorrow morning, just as I did this morning, he might, just might, ask to walk to school with me! Sango smiled to herself. Even if he doesn't ask, at least I'll get to see him again.