A/N: Thank you to my amazing beta Evervescent for helping me revamp this story. She is absolutely amazing, so check her out!

For Brittany.

Keeping Strong
Chapter 4: It's Your Place, Too

Sango and Miroku pulled into the parking lot of their apartment complex just in time to see a woman walking briskly out of the building. "Oh, no," Miroku groaned as she stormed toward him.

"What's wrong?" the brunette asked, looking between the two.

"Hurry, get down," he hissed, shutting off the car and attempting to duck. Unfortunately, he was too late.

"Miroku!" The woman's voice had an air of confidence in it that would stop even the strongest men in their tracks.

Sango glanced out the window to see the woman only a few feet away. Her hands were clenched into fists tightly at her side and her lips were pressed in a thin line. It dawned on Sango that this was the same woman from the picture in Inuyasha's room.

Her companion sighed. "Well, there's no avoiding her now. I suppose we should get this over with." He shot Sango an apologetic look for what was about to occur before swiftly exiting the car. She quickly followed suit, although she was a bit apprehensive, and stood by his side.

Anger emitted off of the woman in waves. She wore a simple red and white sundress, and her long black hair was flowing freely down her back. With every step she took toward them, Sango could feel Miroku tense up beside her. "Who is she?" she whispered.

"Good morning, Kikyo," he replied smoothly. "What brings you here?"

"You know very well what brings me here," she responded coolly, finally stopping in front of them. Sango immediately took a disliking to her, simply by the aura she gave off. "Where is Inuyasha?" she demanded.

"He had class this morning," he replied matter-of-factly, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "That's where he should be, right?"

"If that is the truth, then he is a liar," she bit back. "He was supposed to skip class in order to accompany me to meet my father at the airport. We planned this weeks ago."

Sango pursed her lips. She didn't know their relationship, or what they had supposedly fought about, but she was a bit annoyed with her attitude. Why would she believe Inuyasha would want to accompany her after a fight, especially with the mood she was in?

"I'm sure it simply slipped his mind," Miroku replied sheepishly and rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.

"I don't think it's your right to decide what Inuyasha should be doing," Sango snapped fiercely, ignoring Miroku's surprised expression.

Kikyo turned smoldering brown eyes on her. "And who are you?"

"That's none of your concern," she said. "Maybe you should leave before you cause a scene." She crossed her arms over her chest.

Placing the back of her hand over her mouth, Kikyo laughed. "And what will you do if I don't?"

Sango searched for a threat, but knew she couldn't physically harm the girl due to her pregnancy. However, she had taken some kickboxing lessons a few years back and wasn't afraid to use some of the more tactical skills she had learned.

Thankfully, Miroku intercepted their little spat. "All right, everyone just calm down. Kikyo, this is Sango," he spoke, gesturing with his hand between the two. "She's a friend that will be staying with us for a while. Sango, this is Kikyo, Inuyasha's girlfriend."

Kikyo glared at the brunette. "I'm just going to forewarn you now. I'm not pleased with the idea of another woman living under the same roof as Inuyasha. Do not think you can overpower what Inuyasha and I have or you will regret it."

Her mouth hung open and she was speechless at the accusation Kikyo threw at her. "Me? And Inuyasha? You have got to be joking."

Miroku once again intervened. "Well, Kikyo, seeing as how Inuyasha isn't here, you should be going. Sango and I have much to do to get her settled into her new living arrangements." He gave her a disarming smile.

Kikyo narrowed her eyes. "Make sure Inuyasha knows I stopped by and that he is not in good standing with me." She tore her gaze away from the seventeen-year-old and turned on her heel toward the parking lot.

When she was out of earshot, Miroku exhaled deeply. "That's Inuyasha's girlfriend?" Sango asked, bewildered by what had just occurred. "No wonder he was in such a bad mood this morning."

He grinned. "Well, let's just say Kikyo is a little possessive of her boyfriends."

"I think that is an understatement," she grumbled, pushing passed Miroku and toward her new home.

He grabbed her bag out of the car and jogged after her. "Wait up!"

-KS-

"Well, that's the last of it." Sango sighed as she finished folding her clothes into the old dresser. She had been unpacking for only a few minutes, considering she didn't have many possessions to sort through, but it still left her drained. She guessed it was due to all that had happened the last two days. Not to mention she had already called the school, posing as her mother, to tell them she wouldn't be in that day due to illness.

Miroku leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed. He had been watching her work for the past few minutes. "You ready for lunch?" he asked with a smile.

Startled by the voice, she jumped. When she saw it was only Miroku, she clutched a hand to her chest and relaxed. "Shit, you almost gave me a heart attack."

"My apologies," he replied with a chuckle. "I didn't mean to scare you."

She eyed him warily. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be out in a minute."

He disappeared from the doorway and she heard him whistling down the hallway. She shook her head and took a final look around her new room. It was nothing compared to what she someday dreamed to have, but it was a step up from where she had been living. She had Miroku's little arrangement to thank for that. Now she was able to concentrate on saving money rather than living on her paycheck.

It was such a weight off her shoulders to know she no longer had to stress over scraping together every bit of money for rent and such. Miroku had told her she simply had to earn her keep by caring for their place and having meals ready for them. It was a small price to pay for their generosity and she was happy to oblige.

She realized with a start what was happening to her. As her concerns melted away, a small glimmer of hope burst through. Unbeknownst to her, she had begun to slowly start pushing away the dark thoughts she had dwelled on and began focusing on the future.

With a smile, Sango made her way to the kitchen. The smell of ramen filled the air as she sat down at the table and patiently waited for Miroku to finish preparing the meal.

He filled two bowls with steaming noodles, setting one down in front of her as he took the seat across from her. "Ramen, huh?" she teased, twirling the noodles with her fork.

"Inuyasha doesn't live on much else." He chuckled.

She smiled and took a bite, chewing slowly. "Thank you," she said softly, causing Miroku to pause from eating. "For everything. I don't know how I can repay you."

"Don't concern yourself with it," he replied, shaking his head.

"You don't know what this means to me," she continued, keeping her gaze focused on the ramen in front of her. "As soon as I'm on my feet again, I promise I'll be out of here."

"Sango, don't worry about it. Stay as long as you like. As long as we live here, it's your place, too."

Blushing at his response, she nodded and they continued to eat their meal in peace. When they finished, she took the liberty of cleaning up the dishes.

"Wait, you don't have to do that," Miroku protested as he stood.

She continued to work as she replied, "Yes, I do. That was our deal. I keep the place clean and cook a few meals. In return, you give me a roof over my head. That is more than I can ask for."

Miroku slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans and gave her a bemused smile. "Yes, I suppose that was our deal. Well, I'll leave you to it then." He shook his head with a laugh at the extraordinary girl before him. It was a wonder how she could act so strong after all that she had been through in just the last forty-eight hours. He couldn't imagine what else could have plagued her life, but he was blessed to have met such a woman.

He left her to work as he proceeded to his own room. Closing the door, he sat down at his desk to open his laptop and began working on the homework assignment he had failed to complete the night before.

The quiet clanking of dishes echoed through the apartment as Sango cleaned up the sink from earlier that day as well as dishes from the day before. "Do these guys have any sense of cleanliness?" she grumbled to herself, scrunching up her nose.

When she finished, Sango wiped her hands off on a towel. "Now, where to start?" she questioned aloud as she stood between the living room and the kitchen. Choosing the latter, she busied herself with finding soap, a bucket, and a sponge. Humming quietly, she finally found what she was searching for and began the tedious job ahead of her.

Deep in thought, Miroku pondered the question that was his present pain in the ass. He finally broke concentration and gave up, beginning to proceed to the next one, when a harmonic sound reached his ears.

Curious, he opened his bedroom door and followed the tune to its source. Peeking around the corner of the kitchen, he saw Sango on her hands and knees, scrubbing the floor. The chairs and table were placed in the living room and he watched her quietly as she continued to hum a sad melody.

His heart leapt in his chest as she began to sing. "Once there was a way to get back homeward, once there was a way to get back home. Sleep pretty darling, do not cry, and I will sing a lullaby." Though her voice ached with pain and sorrow, the brunette wore a soft smile upon her lips. "Golden slumbers fill your eyes; smiles awake you when you rise."

Miroku knew he had heard the lullaby from somewhere before. Then it dawned on him. It was the same words and voice that had called out to him the night before, leading him to find the broken woman in the alleyway.

"Sleep pretty darling, do not cry and I will sing a lullaby. Once there was a way to get back homeward, once there was a way to get back home. Sleep pretty darling, do not cry and I will sing a lullaby."

After Sango had finished singing the final verse, she continued to hum the tune. Miroku leaned against the wall beside the kitchen door, watching her a moment longer, before walking back to his room. He took one last glance at the gorgeous woman that had been bestowed upon him. He left his door open a crack, allowing the sweet sound of her voice to float to his ears.

-KS-

It was three o'clock when Inuyasha finally arrived home from class. He hadn't seen Kikyo all day, meaning she had probably come looking for him. Several missed text messages and phone calls blinked brightly on his phone. Weeks ago he had promised he would go with her to pick up her father that morning, but after the fight they had the day before, he wasn't up to dealing with her during a long car ride. He exhaled deeply, realizing the battle he had to face was far from over. Turning the key in the lock, he swung the door open to reveal his apartment.

But it didn't look like his apartment at all. The walls were still tinged yellow, but the air no longer carried a musty scent and the furniture was free of dust. Lemon fragrance enveloped the air as well as the scent of fresh bloomed daisies. His eyes widened in awe at the transformation some soap and water could do.

He closed the door behind him and shuffled in to see Sango passed out on the couch. The supplies she had used to clean sat on the table and the television was on with the volume low.

"She's been asleep for the past half hour," Miroku spoke, startling his roommate. He leaned up against the wall, sipping a cup of tea, with his eyes fixated on the woman spread out on their couch.

"What's she doing here?" he asked gruffly. "Didn't you drop her off this morning?"

Miroku smiled sheepishly and glanced at Inuyasha, who didn't appear partial, before chuckling nervously. "Well, when we stopped by her apartment, there was a small problem concerning the owner."

Inuyasha pinched his brows together and set a hand on his hip. "What kind of problem?"

"Well, I kind of offered to let her live with us until she's back on her feet."

He balked. "Are you fucking serious?!"

Miroku waved his hand. "Keep it down, Inuyasha. There's no need to over-react."

"Over-react?!" he hissed, his frown deepening. "This ain't a charity, Miroku. We don't know this girl."

Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. "Yes, I understand that. But what was I to do? She had nowhere else to turn to. I couldn't leave her to fend for herself."

"That's exactly what you could've done," he asserted. "She's not our responsibility."

"Look, I know it's a bit unorthodox—"

"Ya think?"

"—But I bellieve this could be good for all of us. We give her a roof over her head and she keeps the place together. I think it's a fair trade."

"So that's why the place smells clean," he replied, wrinkling his nose.

Miroku nodded eagerly. "Exactly. See? She's already paying her dues."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. She can stay. But I don't like it."

"Oh, I didn't expect you to," he confessed. "I just figured it was easier to ask forgiveness than permission."

"You really get on my nerves," he grumbled as he stalked to his room, only to find out it had been cleaned, too. He set down his bag before ventured back into the living room. "She did all this while I was at school?"

Miroku grinned. "I'm glad to see you've had a change of heart. She has done wonders to this place, hasn't she?"

"Keh, whatever," his roommate grumbled in response, twisting a pinky finger in his ear with mild disinterest.

They were amazed by the girl's determination and spirit. It was a small apartment, but they could honestly say that they couldn't remember the last time they had cleaned like this. They must have left her quite the job to do.

The two stood side-by-side and watched Sango's chest rise and fall, her breathing even and slow. After a few minutes, Miroku placed his cup in the kitchen sink and walked over to the linen closet. He pulled out a light blanket and draped it over the brunette. She released a soft sigh at the touch and burrowed into the warmth the blanket offered. Miroku smiled before making his way back to his companion.

"Kikyo came by earlier," he whispered.

Inuyasha sighed. "I was afraid of that. What happened?"

"Well, long story short, she was upset over you blowing off your plans with her today, and then she told Sango to leave you alone," he replied with a smirk.

"Are you serious?" he scoffed, his eyes wide. When Miroku nodded, Inuyasha closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "When will she get it through her head that I wouldn't do that to her?"

"She's really possessive, that's for sure," Miroku said, his eyes alight with laughter. "Can't get enough of you, 'ey Inuyasha?" He elbowed him playfully.

"You lecher! We're not going there again," Inuyasha warned, crossing his arms over his chest.

Miroku held up his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay. I'm just saying…" His sentence drifted off, knowing that if he finished his train of thought, he would have hell to pay.

Inuyasha frowned and stormed toward his room, immediately closing the door behind him. As his friend disappeared, Miroku turned his attention back to Sango once last time before he quietly left, allowing her some much needed rest.

-KS-

It was silent. Sango opened her eyes and found that it was already dark out. The only light was emitted by a soft lamp in the kitchen. She sat up blearily and took note of the blanket someone must have given her while she slept. The lemon fragrance from her earlier cleaning frenzy still lingered in the air.

"I must have fallen asleep," she mumbled. Stiffening a yawn, she let her feet drape over the edge of the couch and stretched her arms over her head. She stood up and slowly made her way to the kitchen. Miroku sat at the table working on some papers. He still wore his clothes from earlier that day.

There were dishes in the sink, indicating the boys had eaten dinner without her, and the clock on the stove showed it was seven o'clock in the evening. Miroku glanced up to greet her.

He grinned when he saw she was awake. "Enjoy your nap, Dear?"

A blush crept into her cheeks. "Y-yeah. It was nice."

"I didn't want to wake you, so I made dinner. There are leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry."

She nodded and surveyed the room. "Where's Inuyasha?" she asked hesitantly, recalling their earlier encounter with Kikyo.

"He's still at work. He won't be home until after nine."

"I see," she said. "Did you go to work as well?"

"No, I called in sick. I didn't want to leave you home alone."

Her eyes widened and she held up her hands. "Oh, no! You didn't have to do that!"

He only waved her words aside. "Please, don't be concerned. I needed to catch up on some homework anyways."

She bit her lip apprehensively. "Still, I am already enough trouble as it is. You shouldn't be missing work because of me. That is not at all my intention."

"Sango, you're not a burden, trust me," Miroku replied, rising from his chair. "You are a blessing if anything."

The adoration in his tone caused her heart to flutter in her chest as he came to stand in front of her. He stood so close she could feel his warm breath tickle her skin. They gazed at one another, as if stuck in some sort of trance.

His eyes were unusual and striking. At first, she thought they looked extremely deep blue, but then she noticed that his eyes were in fact violet. Not the ordinary violet, or the color of a plum, or even the little viola flowers. His eyes were violet like the deep sea; clear and vivid. Looking into his eyes, she could almost hear the waves falling against the shore. His eyes were violet like the sky right before the sun disappeared – dark, rich, purplish-blue, with specks of wild colors here and there. His eyes were violet like a warm wool sweater that she put on when the air got a chill – comfortable, warm, familiar. His eyes were that kind of violet.

Sango's breath hitched in her throat as time seemed to slow for them. There was something about him that made her feel safe. She didn't know how or why, but the feeling was there.

The ringing of the telephone startled them from their stupor. She jumped and her face turned crimson as she noticed she had basically been staring at him like an idiot for a full minute. Miroku blinked a few times, as if just realizing it himself, and smiled sheepishly before reaching passed her to where the phone resided on the counter.

"Hello?" he answered, keeping his gaze trained on her.

Flustered, she averted her eyes and placed a hand to her chest, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. How stupid could she be, staring at him like that? He must think there was something wrong with her.

"Wait, calm down, Inuyasha." Miroku finally looked away, distracted by whatever his friend was saying. He frowned and a worried crease appeared on his forehead. Sango watched with concern, wondering what could have him looking so alarmed. "She did what?…Yeah, of course…I'm on my way…No…Fine…Bye." He hung up the phone and exhaled deeply, running a hand down his face with frustration.

"Is everything all right?" Sango ventured cautiously.

He shook his head. "Inuyasha had a run in with Kikyo at work and needs me to pick him up. I'll be back in a few minutes." His mouth puckered as he realized something while slipping on his shoes. "Oh, I almost forgot. I called in to work for you. I assumed you didn't feel up to going in today."

"Oh, um, thank you," she acknowledged, her eyes widening. She was surprised by his actions, but also very grateful. Not showing up to work was one thing, but she didn't want to hang Ayame out to dry, especially after everything her and her grandfather had done for Sango.

Miroku took his leave, throwing a quick farewell over his shoulder. After a moment of silence, she shuffled into the living room, shut off the television, and began to prepare a bath. She slipped into the tub and let a sigh of enjoyment escape her lips. "This is wonderful," she voiced aloud, an imperceptible smile flitting across her lips. She had missed this simple pleasure.

Her mind began to wander to various things that had occurred in her life recently. The boys had been so kind to her, she felt as if she didn't deserve it. Not to mention Miroku. He was a bit flirtatious, she would give him that, but the way he made her feel, scared her. It had been so long since her heart fluttered in her chest and she would blush from simple praise. It was strange.

Shaking her head, she steered her thoughts in another direction. Her best friend, Kagome, still had no idea what was going on in her life. She didn't even know she had been kicked out of her mother's home two months ago. Sango mentally made a point to speak to her tomorrow about it. She was probably wondering where she had been at school that day anyways.

After soaking in the warm water for a while longer, Sango finished her bath and drained the tub. She wrapped a towel around her body while stepping over to the mirror. Wiping away the steam, she took another look at her reflection.

Her skin was sickly pale, but color was beginning to return. Hollow spaces beneath her cheek bones told of a poor appetite, and she knew she needed to work on that, especially for the baby's sake.

When she finished, the pregnant teen wrapped a towel around her hair and grabbed her dirty work uniform. Opening the door, her ears were greeted with the sounds of someone yelling.

"Well, what did you expect, Inuyasha? She feels the need to be in control," Miroku was saying.

"Shut it, Miroku! I don't need your shit," his companion replied rather harshly.

Before Sango made her appearance to her roommates, she walked to her bedroom and set her clothes in her bag to wash later. She took the towel off of her hair, squeezed out some moisture, and ambled barefoot to the kitchen where the commotion was coming from.

Miroku opened his mouth to retaliate to what Inuyasha had said, but took notice of Sango standing in the doorway awkwardly. She was dressed in an over-sized tee-shirt and a pair of shorts just barely visible.

He grinned as his eyes glanced over her long, slender legs. "Hello, my dear Sango. Did you enjoy your bath?" he asked.

Inuyasha clenched his hands into fists. "You damn lecher. Can you ever keep your mind out of the gutter?!" With that, he let loose a growl of frustration before storming out of the room.

"It was wonderful," she replied to Miroku's question, her cheeks turning pink. Her eyes glanced toward the door Inuyasha had exited. She bit her lip nervously. "Is he okay? What happened?"

Miroku sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, it's kind of a long story."

"I've got time," Sango replied, sitting down at the kitchen table.

He slipped his hands into his pockets, his lips turning upward as her big doe eyes stared up at him, waiting for an explanation. "Well, Inuyasha was at work," he began, running a hand through his dark hair. "He works with this girl, Ayumi, and they talk all the time. They're kind of friends and always joke around while they work."

Sango scoffed. "Inuyasha has friends?" At Miroku's bemused smile, she blushed and averted her gaze. "S-sorry. Please, continue."

"Yes, although it may be hard to believe, Inuyasha does have a couple friends." He chuckled at her flustered expression. "Unfortunately, Kikyo chose that time to pay him a visit."

"Uh oh," the brunette groaned, leaning her elbow on the table. She could already tell where this was headed.

"Yeah," he agreed, his face grim. "Kikyo saw him with Ayumi and went a little overboard. Being possessive as she is, she accused him of cheating on her. The boss heard the disturbance and didn't understand what was going on. Kikyo was shouting, and Inuyasha was trying to deny everything. It was a mess." He shook his head. "His boss got tired of the incidents frequently occurring between the two and fired him on the spot."

Sango's eyes went wide. "You're kidding? So you're telling me Kikyo caused Inuyasha to lose his job because he was joking around with a coworker?" Miroku nodded. "Man, what a piece of work." She scowled.

Amusement sparked in his violet eyes at her reaction. It wasn't every day you met a girl with so much spark. "Yeah, but knowing Inuyasha, he's going to go back to her anyways."

She shook her head, disappointed. "Why does he put himself through that?"

He sighed. "I have no idea. Supposedly he loves her, but I'm beginning to think the feeling isn't mutual. Kikyo is just too clingy."

Sango placed a finger to her cheek and nodded her head in agreement. "I could definitely tell by the way she acted this morning."

"She means well," he argued softly with a shrug. "I just think she's a tad bit overbearing."

Miroku turned to walk out of the kitchen when a thought crossed her mind. "Hey, Miroku?"

"Yeah?" he replied, pausing to glance back at her.

"Do you think it would be all right if my friend comes by tomorrow?" she inquired shyly. "I mean, it's okay if it's not. I was just thinking she would like to know I'm okay, since I wasn't at school today, even though she doesn't really know what's going on in the first place…"

Miroku held up his hands before she could continue rambling. "Sango, it's perfectly fine." He chuckled at her timid expression.

"Really? Are you sure?" She was still hesitant, not wanting to overstep her boundaries.

"Of course," he replied. "This is your home now, too. What time should we expect them?"

"Uh, I'm not really sure. Is around three o'clock okay?"

"Sounds perfect." She visibly relaxed at his response. "Well, I'm going to go work on my research paper that's due in a couple of weeks. Why don't you get some sleep? You'll need it for tomorrow." With those words, Miroku slipped away to his room, shutting the door behind him.

Sango worried her bottom lip. It was going to be hard to explain to Kagome what had happened to her over the course of the past two months. Yes, she was her best friend, but that didn't mean she would understand her circumstances or why she did what she did. Not to mention she had voluntarily moved into an apartment with two strange men she never met before. Her decision was based off of some weird emotions that Miroku sparked in her.

"Oh man," she grumbled, placing a hand to her forehead. "If I keep thinking like this, I'm going to go crazy."

Trying to clear her thoughts, she rummaged through the fridge and dug out the leftovers. She quickly ate, cleaned up the dishes in the sink and glanced at the time. It was only nine o'clock and even with her nap, she felt exhausted. She stepped toward her room before noticing Inuyasha sulking on the couch.

His head was bowed and his arms were propped up on his thighs. She wanted to say something, but didn't know how to console him. His girlfriend made him lose his job and yet…he still loved her. She thought maybe she could relate, considering what Kuranosuke had done, but after having no contact with him over the past two months, her feelings didn't burn as bright for him.

Knowing that she had no words to comfort him, she instead decided to resign to her room. Shutting the door behind her, she prepared for a much needed rest. She climbed under the covers and instantly drifted into a deep sleep, allowing her mind to wander to the following day. Nothing but happy dreams met her that night, for the first time in months.

Updated: 7/18/15