A.N: the last stretch, don't worry this one's really short.

***

He ran through the forest feeling the drops of rain sting his eyes as he searched. But he didn't care, he had to find her, he had to fix this.

"Sango!" he called again, remembering Inu-Yasha's warning.

~ "Miroku…" he had called to him when he stepped out of the house. Turning at his name he looked back at Inu-Yasha resting on the porch protected from the rain, he looked to Miroku with serious eyes "If it were that easy to stop loving a person… I would have done it already… she doesn't deserve that kind of pain, especially coming from an ahou like you… if anything happens to her or you hurt her again, I'll make you regret it." ~

Over these past months he had noticed a special bond between Sango and Inu-Yasha, actually since they met, Sango had taken up Inu-Yasha as her younger brother, and Inu-Yasha without noticing, had accepted also with the responsibility of Sango on his shoulders, both cared for each other deeply, and as Miss Kagome was the best friend she never had, she considered Inu-Yasha and Shippou as brothers she should always look after.

As for him, the only word that came to his mind right now was coward, that's what he was to her and himself, she had already let her feelings show to everyone in the group except him, and when she finally had the courage to show him love, he went and did something as stupid as lie to her to reject them. For what? For his own selfish heart. He couldn't do this to her, love her and not let her love him back, after all Miss Kagome had said it, Love isn't just about one person.

Between the darkness of night and the deep rain, he was surprised when he spotted a patch of white and pink among the trees. There she was sitting with her back to an old tree, arms holding her knees to her chest. Cautiously he stepped forward. A few feet away he felt his heart shatter hearing her, she was sobbing silently, her small back shaking and inhaling every once in a while, looking up apparently at nothing, letting her tears fall freely off her smooth cheeks. The rain water wasn't helping much either.

"Stop… onegai…" he begged silently

She gasped looking over at him. He wished she hadn't, pain was etched all over her face. She turned away from him and wiped her eyes with her palm roughly.

"Please Leave Houshi-sama…" she choked out

Miroku swallowed hard and made himself walk towards her, then sat down beside her. It took him a while before he was actually able to get some words out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry…"

She turned away from him somewhat embarrassed at the condition she was in, but spoke her mind anyhow "Those are just two words Houshi-sama."

She had him there, they were only two words, but "They have a meaning Sango…"

"And do you mean it?"

He said nothing, of course he meant it, it was his fault she was here right now, like this. Yet he couldn't bring himself to speak, his throat had shut tight again.

"Why are you here Houshi-sama?" she asked

He looked over at her, her eyes hidden under wet bangs starting to stick to her face. Why was he here? He was worried for her, he needed to explain, and then what? Confess?

He sighed thinking he had better do one thing at a time. He didn't actually know how to start. But finally he decided to tell her everything, including the most strongest reason of his rejection.

Sango heard him give a deep sigh before finally turning away from her and beginning to speak.

"When I was nine… my father died." he started "I watched him get sucked into his own kazaana. Not one of my better memories…" Sango remained quiet and made no intention of interrupting, a bit curios as to where this conversation was going. He continued.

"A few months before that… I found him in his room, meditating, I didn't want to interrupt so I was about to leave, when he called me back."

~~~

"Miroku…"

a nine year old child by the door paused at the sound of his name and turned back

"Nani tou-san?"

"Come here... I would like to talk to you."

Miroku did as he was told and entered the room sitting beside his father, staring ahead at nothing in particular.

"Miroku… you know I don't have much time left."

The small boy frowned and began to fidget with his hands, his father was always talking about death… he didn't like it.

"Un…" was all he answered

"Do you still plan to find a way to eradicate this curse from our bloodline?"

"Un…"

The elder man smiled and looked down at the child beside him "You are a strong boy Miroku, and I believe in your future skills. I know your will to live and courage are the elements that will help you fulfil your goal. It's too late for me to do much, but you are young and determined, I'm sure what you want you will achieve, and I will be by your side every step of the way."

Miroku looked down at his sweating hands and simply nodded. His father continued

"I know Moushin has been filling your head with stupid ideas about an heir. I'm not saying you shouldn't have children… but listen carefully."

His father's large hand landed on his small shoulder and Miroku looked up at the man's ebony eyes.

"This curse that we have, not only affects us, but the people who are closest to us as well. Try not to tie strong bonds with people you care about, or that care about you. And if when you find the woman you love, you still have this curse in your right hand," his father took a pause making sure Miroku was listening carefully to him, the boy looked up at his father and waited for him to continue. He hoped he would understand.

"Don't let her love you back." he finished. Miroku blinked up at his father

"Staying away from that person is the best you will be able to do for her."

Miroku looked up at his father with big curios eyes "But tou-san… I hate girls…"

His father beside him could do nothing but chuckle at his son's innocence. He nodded at the boy and ruffled his hair.

"All right… but in the very unlikely case that you one day will grow to like girls, do you promise to protect the one you like the most from your curse?" he asked the boy

"Sure tou-san, but don't worry, I'll never like anybody. Besides, girls hate me too."

His father lifted an eye brow "We'll see how long that lasts…"

~~~

Sango listened carefully to his story while watching drops of rain fall over his face. She knew his reasons, wanting to protect her, but he could only go so far before she thought he started being selfish. In a way he still was, and she understood as she wouldn't like to loose him either, yet even knowing she could, had accepted her feelings. Only up until now did she know there was more to all of this than just his reasons. His father had suffered for a loved one as well, and had warned Miroku simply wanting the best for his son and the woman he would one day love. Somehow she felt honored, even though it had been in very indirect way, but Miroku's father cared for her.

"So you see… I really don't know what to do anymore." Continued Miroku "On one side I have my father's promise, knowing it's true, not wanting to hurt you, and on the other are my emotions that won't stay locked inside me, your need to be loved and current anguish because of my stupid lack of decision on a choice as big as this one."

Sango looked up at him and all he did was sigh "I only wanted the best for you…  to be happy… and I couldn't even do that…"

Sango wiped a few remaining tears mixed with rain from her face then scooted over to Miroku.

"Tell me what he was like… your father…"

Miroku looked down at her not really expecting this reaction from her, but at least she wasn't crying anymore.

"He was a wonderful person. A bit quiet but always smiling. He had a very deep sense of righteousness and raised me the same way he was raised, as he never had a mother either. He was the one who told me everything about the kazaana, explaining it so that I could understand. Sometimes he would even apologise for it, but I told him I never blamed him. Always on my birthday I would stay up at night, every year the curse grows along with my hand, but since it's only once a year, it hurts quite a bit. He would always accompany me when this happened, telling my stories about kaa-san till the pain died down.

He told me he had known her since they were children, and that he had known she had feelings for him, but frankly didn't think much of them. He took her for granted. Until one day she told him she was leaving the village were they had grown up in. The thought scared my father to no end, but because of his pride, he didn't stop her or even say goodbye, that was before he got some sense knocked into him by Moushin. So se went after her finally realising he also had deep feelings for her. They got married and then had me…"

Finally looking up from the constant drip of the rain water from her sleeve, she focused on Miroku's face. He looked like he was trying to decide whether to continue or not. Liking the moment they were sharing she didn't know whether to encourage him to go on, or just wait and not push him to do anything he didn't want to. He didn't give her enough time to decide as he finally continued with a smile.    

"Tou-san would stare at me sometimes, look at me for hours, saying that I looked just like her. He says she had the most beautiful lavender eyes, since my father had them black, I came out with something like deep violet... When she was pregnant, she told my father to take good care of me… it was as if, she knew she was going to…"

Sango watched him pause trying to continue, his eyes hidden under wet bangs, he smiled, but didn't continue. She looked down at the forest floor, he had never talked about his past before, since hers had been such a happy one she assumed every one else's had as well. But his history was so deep and marked, by many things that explained a lot of who he was now. Everything was starting to clear up. And she was very thankful for the trust he had shown her by having have told her all of this. She smiled to herself.

"Indigo…" she spoke

"Hmm?" he looked over at her to find her fiddling with a damp leaf in her fingers.

She let it fall to the muddy floor before looking up to him with a smile. "Your eyes are indigo."

He tried his best to catch the meaning of her sentence and observation, but obviously she wasn't waiting for an answer as she edged her way over to the monk so that her hips were against his side. Giving a quiet sigh she set her head over his shoulder.

"I owe you an apology…" she spoke suddenly

Now by this he was surprised, wasn't it the other way around?

"You were afraid to love…" she continued

Miroku looked down at her head resting over his shoulder and felt his skin vibrate every time he heard her voice.

"And I wanted to pull you into it in one giant leap…" her hand found it's way over to his and she began to toy with his fingers

"Gomen nasai Miroku… I didn't consider your feelings."

"Sango…" Miroku began shaking his head

"Demo…" she continued, smiling fondly intertwining her fingers in his, the last traces of her tears being washed away by the warm summer rain.  

"I'll be willing to wait for eternity … for the day when you are ready to give me your heart…"

~*°*~

A.N: *sigh* too much fluff *pulls some out of her ear* … gotta write something funny before it gets to me! Anywho, about Miroku's father I have no idea how the man really was, but since in one ep. of the series Miroku says he got all his bad habits from Moushin I'd like to assume his father was all nice and kawaii and sweet and… stuff. ¬¬ Oi! Let me dream!!

Well minna, that's it for now, I really hope you enjoyed reading this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you so much for hanging in there!

PS: here are some jap terms I used in the fic so you won't get confused

Demo: but

Kaa-san/haha-ue: mother

Tou-san/chichi-ue: father

Gomen nasai: I'm sorry

Mou/Feh: geez

Sou ka?/Hontou: really? Or is that so?

Kazaana: the curse Miroku has in his hand 'Air Rip'

Nani: what?

Un/Aa/Hai: yes

Ahou/baka: idiot

Houshi: priest

Dame/Yamete: stop

Kami-sama: God

Koishii: dear one, darling, loved one or something like that

Arigatou: thank you

Onegai: please

Matte: wait (not sure I used these last two, but oh well!)

Chibi: small (although the correct term is chisai)

Daijoubu: It's ok.

Doushite: why

Konbanwa: good evening

Iya: no

Chi-kuso: dammit

Sumi-masen: sorry, excuse me.

Tatami: a mat made of straw

Oyasumi-nasai: Good night

Youkai: ghost or monster

Hentai: pervert

Yukata: a robe like Sango's pink one or um… well she's the only one.

Abunai: danger, watch it.

Ja: bye!

Ano: um… uh.

That's all I could find, maybe I missed some, but oh well, don't forget to review!!!

¬¬ hmmmmmmmmm well Oki, since this one was a little short and I desperately need something comical running trough my system here's a mini epilogue…

~~°*°~~

Of course they had seen everything. For one, Inu-Yasha really was worried about what this baka could do to Sango, and besides. Kagome wanted to go.  A few minutes after Miroku left Kagome came out of the cabin with that pink round thing she called umbrella. She stepped down off the porch and then stopped, looking back at Inu-Yasha.

"Well?! What are you waiting for?" she called back to him.

A tiny bead of sweat appeared on his forehead. He was about to feign innocence but that would only get him a knowing glare.  So instead he followed her through the forest as always lifting her on his back and following their scent. Even though he would never admit it, he was always very comfortable with Kagome on his back, because he knew that with him, she was safe. But like hell he would ever tell that to anybody.

It wasn't long before they caught up to them. Both were sitting with their backs to an old tree. Inu-Yasha pounced up to one of it's branches for better hearing. Miroku was of course talking, but he wasn't exactly apologising.

"I can't hear anything!" complained Kagome from his back.

"Feh! Don't be so loud, they'll hear us!"

"Get closer! He's gotta be saying something cute! Look Sango just scooted over to him!"

"Calm down woman!"

"Look at that branch down there jump there!"

"Dammit you're gonna throw us off the tree!"

"But I can't hear anything!"

"He said something about his dad protecting Sango and she said something about indigo eyes and the apologised."

"What?! That doesn't make any sense!"

"Shh!" said Inu-Yasha twitching his ears

"What's Sango saying? Look!!! They're holding hands!"

"She says she'll be waiting for his heart." Repeated Inu-Yasha

Kagome looked down at Sango's head resting on Miroku's chest and at the Houshi's face of mild surprise.

"Kawaii!" squealed Kagome as Miroku set his chin over Sango's hair. "What's he saying now Inu-Yasha?"

"Arigatou Sango." He repeated the monk's words.

He heard Kagome do something like squeal over him and then pound her small fists against his back "Kyaaaaaa!!!"

"And why the hell are you hitting me for?!"

"Ohhhhh! Does that mean they've finally settled this mess?"

"It was about damn time if you ask me."

Kagome sighed into his damp hair and set her chin lazily over his shoulder. Inu-Yasha stiffened, she didn't need to know that this movement sent shivers up his back and made his face go red. She was too busy watching Miroku set his arm over Sango's shoulders.

Inu-Yasha coughed "Um… maybe we should go, it's late and you're getting wet.

Kagome barely nodded and then shot up "Wait! What about Sango and Miroku? They're drenched."

"I don't really think they give a damn."

"But they'll get sick."

"They won't get sick, it's warm outside."

"Yeah but do they plan to stay here all night?"

"Who cares?! Let's just go! I think Miroku already knows we're here." Said Inu-Yasha nervously looking down.

"We should leave them the umbrella up here so that it covers them without them knowing!"

between the bickering and the dumb suggestions, neither realized the drenched branch they were on begin to creak.

"Fine, just put it up there and let's leave."

"But you'll have to come back in the morning, and what if they decide to go back to the cabin? Then maybe a bird might take it away and it the last one I have left! Or what if---"

"What's that?" interrupted Inu-Yasha a tad bit late

the branch snapped in half. Either the rain made him slower, or Kagome's never ending rantings had gotten to him, but he didn't quite have time to react. Kagome screamed falling through the air. A bead of sweat appeared on Miroku's forehead as Sango looked up.

"You might want to tuck your feet in." he said to Sango.

She obeyed glad that she had listened without asking questions when a blob of red, green and white came crashing to the ground where her toes had just been.

Inu-Yasha groaned painfully as his face was buried in the mud by Kagome's ass. She opened her eyes after the impact and looked up to a glaring Miroku and a very confused Sango still in each other's arms. A big bead of sweat could be seen on Kagome's face.

"A-ano…" she stuttered looking from side to side trying to make up a good lie, er, reason for them being her.

"We brought you an umbrella!" she yelled suddenly seeing the pink plastic float down to them. "So you wouldn't get wet." She smiled insecurely.

The soaked couple simply stared at her, eyebrows lifted.

"No?" she tried "Oki, then." She searched her mind for something else. Nothing came.

"Ja!" she jumped up and grabbed Inu-Yasha by the hair speeding away in the horizon leaving behind a cloud of dust.

Sango and Miroku stared with beads of sweat running down their faces.

"How… can she pick up a cloud of dust if it's all mud?" asked Sango truly intrigued

"I don't know…" said Miroku shaking his head.

Sango's back snapped up strait and her brows furrowed "You know…" she started closing her eyes with a small vein already appearing on her forehead.

"I'm still not to fond of that…" she glared at him  "wandering hand of yours."

"It has a mind of it's own!" he shrugged then smiled and looked up to her with puppy eyes "Onegai… this one for old times sake?" he said, hand still roaming around her ass

Sango smiled.

Miroku with a sweat drop over his head, which was now buried a foot in the mud with Sango's elbow over it still smiling pleasantly.

"Ok…" she continued to smile.

Miroku smiled nervously and pulled his head out of the floor "You do know of course… I was just talking about the groping part."

Her smirk turned into a genuine smile as she pulled out the white piece of cloth she used on her arm guard and set it over his face, wiping off the mud.

"My sweet baka Houshi…"

~~~*°*~~~

Ok… NOW I'm done! Tee hee!

Was it a good ending? Sucky ending? Not an ending at all?? Either way… Thank you so much every one!! For reading, especially my reviewers! Till next time minna…… because there damn well will be a friggin next time!!

I'll be bak… (¬¬' ok I'll go before I get even more lame……)