A/N: Well, thank you to all the reviewers. I am really happy to get them. I am also happy to find you are enjoying the fic. Nothing much is new in my life at the moment, so I will cut straight to the story!
Enjoy Chapter 10!
Quickly regaining his bearing, Miroku swallowed the liquid and tried to not look so surprised. Looking around him, he tried to see if what the man had said was serious or just some drunken mumbling.
"Excuse me?" He asked.
"Well you are Lady Toki's son and all... and well, Sai is only the temporary man in charge. Lady Toki is really the leader of the clan and you are her son." Another, less drunk man explained in a low tone. It was clear that he didn't want someone to hear him.
"That's enough." Sai interjected looking nearly livid at the insinuation that his appointment was nothing more than a temporary one. "He cannot lead the clan, and you know it. I have taken on the role." Sai made sure that Miroku understood this fact as the green eyed man glared at him.
The rest of the meal went by as a haze. Miroku tried to not let the comment about him being the next in line or Sai's open hostility get to him. He had not come back to really take any place in the family. All he wanted was to be accepted by his mother and maybe learn a little more about her, and about himself. He had no intention of assuming any role as a leader of any clan, let alone this one.
However, it felt as if trying to explain that to his power conscious cousin would be difficult.
It was later in the evening that he could sense Kohaku beginning to be uneasy once again. Knowing that it would be best to be at the boy's side, and retire for the night in general, he stood up and took his leave from the feast. Many of the family members had already greeted him warmly and left as well, so Miroku did not feel too bad about leaving the few drinking relatives in the hall.
Meeting up with Sango and Kohaku in the same room as before, he finally let out the sigh he had been holding in for a time.
"Long day?" Sango said as she sat next to him.
"Too long. I still want to see my mother in a little while, but I don't know if I have the strength to get up."
"Let her sleep. I am sure she won't mind waiting a little longer to talk with you." Sango said taking his hand.
"I want you to come with me tomorrow when I talk to her. I want you to meet my mother." Miroku said looking down at their entwined hands.
"I would love to meet her." Sango replied relaxing against his shoulders.
"She will love you. And since I've already met your father and asked him for permission to marry you, I suppose that is the final formality."
"When did you..."
"After I was first able to walk around, I found myself at the grave sight. I talked to him and asked him then if it would be all right for us to marry. That was if it was what you wanted..."
"And what did he say?" She smiled. It was touching to know that he loved her that much to go to her father's grave and do that. A little strange, but then again, she had a feeling that her father never really left and that if anyone could talk to the spirits Miroku could.
"He told me you would be trouble."　Miroku smiled.
"Me? Trouble? I do hope you remember who was being trouble, not to mention stupid and thought I would not love you anymore because of a few scratches and all."
"Point taken."
"I suppose it is time to get this guy moved to a better bed. I am glad he is better now. We will have to be extra diligent tomorrow." Miroku said as he put his hand on the boy's shoulder.
Standing up, and making sure the servants had Kohkau, he was about to follow them to a different room when he stopped. Looking back at Sango, he motioned for her to follow. She was lost in thought. He could tell something was once again on her mind.
Taking her hand, he walked with her till they came to her room. Looking a little sad to leave, he knew that they could not have a continuation of the past few nights, not here...
"I guess this is 'Good Night' then." He smiled giving her a kiss that looked innocent enough. "Not as good as the other nights. But it will have to do for now."
"Are you sure?" It was her turn to smirk at him.
"Well, I guess we could say screw propriety and all... but I don't think the family would enjoy hearing a certain someone screaming in the middle of the night."
"I don't scream. I..." She blushed thinking back to the previous nights. "Ok, so maybe I do..."
"And with that my dear, I will see you in the morning."
Making sure Kohaku was settled in, and close by, Mirkou decided to let himself get some much needed rest.
In the other room, Sango tried to do the same. However, as much as she was exhausted, her mind would not let her sleep. She could see how much the situation of his mother, Kohaku and everything else he learned about today was weighting on him, because it was weighting down on her as well.
Miroku was up rather early the next morning. With Kohaku at his side, the two men made the short walk to the Sanada shrine and began morning meditation with the monks there.
After he was satisfied that Kohaku was better, the two made their way back to the banquet hall after a quick stop to change and bathe. There they met up with Sango, who was once again dressed in very ornate and beautiful clothing. 'She looks so out of place here... not that she doesn't look good in those clothes, but like before... I prefer the simple Sango to any robed maiden. That goes double for me.' He thought as he once again pulled at the semi-uncomfortable clothing he was wearing.
Miroku understood that no matter how much he wanted to stay and be a part of his long lost family, his place was not there. He was not cut out to be a court noble, he could tell that right away. Not only did the lifestyle of being pampered the rest of his life not appeal to him, he could tell that his temperament would not be accepted or understood there. Not to mention the fact that the whole clan was very closed off. He hated people like that... he hated being judgmental... and he hated being judged.
Now his only concern was how to tell that to his mother. She had survived all this time only to see him, and now he was going to break her heart when he left.
Life truly wasn't simple. Or at least for him things were especially complicated.
Taking a seat next to her instead of where he was last night, Miroku enjoyed a quiet breakfast. It seemed that not too many from the Sanada Clan were early morning people.
As the three were about to get up and leave the doors opened and Sai entered the room, followed by several other family members he had met the night before.
"Ah, Miroku. It is good to see you. I was meaning to have a talk with you later today, if that is ok with you." Sai said looking at him with the same cold stare.
"It will have to be after I talk with my mother. I promised I would be with her for a time today." Miroku replied still finding his cousin's attitude rather annoying.
"That is acceptable." And with that Sai and the others sat at the head table as they had the previous night.
"What's that guy's problem?" Kohaku asked as the three left the room shortly after.
"He seems to think I will cause some trouble for him. Thus he doesn't like me." Miroku shrugged his shoulders as they left the room.
"And why would you cause trouble?" Kohaku asked looking at the worried expressions on both Miroku's and Sango's faces. "You guys aren't telling me something."
"Don't worry about it Kohaku. I don't want to put any more troubles on you. You need to concentrate and get better at your spirit balance." Miroku said patting the boy on the back.
"I know that... yesterday was an accident." The boy said looking down because he knew why the two were being extra cautious with him.
"Don't worry about yesterday, it was partly my fault. All this family talk must be hard on you. But remember that you still do have a family. And we will get through everything as a family." Miroku said looking at the boy and then to Sango.
"Then if we are a family, why can't I help you?" Kohaku said still not feeling too proud of the fact he wasn't able to help them.
"But you do help. Just knowing that you will be there for me helps. Also, wasn't it you who helped me figure out a few things before? If you hadn't been there to help both Sango and me, well, I think I would still be moping around at the Demon Slayer's Village." Miroku smiled knowing the boy felt a little better after hearing this. "Besides, you are still young. You don't need to be dealing with all this boring adult stuff. To tell you the truth, I don't even want to deal with it either."
Before the three could finish their talk, Takahashi came from another room and informed Miroku that his mother was awake now.
Nodding to the man, he looked over at Kohaku.
"I am going to see her now, but once I am done talking with her and my cousin, I will come and we will do some meditation together. Until then, you should relax and maybe see if one of the monks are willing to help you with your training. I am sure with such a rich place like this they must have at least one decent monk in there."
And with that the trio split up. Takahashi escorted Kohaku to the shrine and Miroku and Sango made their way to his mother's chambers.
Entering the lavish room for the second time, Miroku found his mother sitting on the porch on the other side.
Silently telling Sango to wait for a minute, he approached his mother.
"Good morning mother," he smiled taking a seat next to her and giving her a hug. The hug was warmly returned. He could tell that his mother didn't want to let him go... she really did love him. He realized that as she started crying once again.
"They are happy tears." She told him as she held tightly to his hand. "I woke up and thought yesterday was a dream... but it wasn't and I am so glad."
"So am I. Though I am not sure I like all this special attention from servants and such. I have been raised as a simple country monk. Well, maybe not simple... but I don't think these robes really suit me too well."
"That is exactly what your father said. But you do look good in them. And I am sure you will get use to this place. It is your home."
"Mother, I know we have much to talk about and catch up on, but there is someone I want you to meet." Miroku looked back into the room and motioned for Sango to approach.
She was taken back a little by the beauty of his mother, and the love she had for her son, that she hardly realized Miroku wanted her to join them.
"Mother, this is Sango. She's been at my side for a long time now, and I love her with everything I am. Sango, this is my mother."
Miroku stood and took Sango's hand as the two women smiled at each other. Before Lady Toki could stand up, Sango moved from Miroku's side and knelt down and hugged her.
"It is nice to finally meet you." Sango said as she pulled away and held his mother's hand in her own.
"And it is good to meet you. I was told my son brought a woman of great beauty with him, and another young boy."
"Kohaku is my brother." Sango explained.
"And you two are married then?" Toki asked with a bright smile.
"Not yet. But we will be soon." Miroku said with a smile and sat down next to his mother and Sango. "I wanted to see you first and find out who I really was before we would officially start our own family."
"That's wonderful. I am so happy that you have found someone you love." She said wiping another tear away. "And there is more than enough room here for you and a family."
"We actually have not decided on anything permanent just yet. Sango has a village that needs her a day or so journey from here."
"Oh," his mother sounded saddened by the news.
"But we still haven't decided, so until then, I thank you for your hospitality." Sango said quickly not wanting the woman to be sad.
"Besides, I don't think Sai would be too happy if I stuck around for too long." Miroku added. "But we will talk about our options and you will be the first to know. And it won't be as if I am gone forever. I know where you are and I can visit whenever you need me."
The three sat and talked for a long time. Stories of how the two first met, to how they finally dealt with the defeat of Naraku, and everything in between... well not everything. Miroku seemed to gloss over the fact of being a crooked monk from time to time, and the womanizing issue was also bypassed. But Sango didn't mind. There were things in her past that she too didn't want to be brought up; things she wasn't proud of...
After a time Sango decided that mother and son needed more time alone to talk, so she excused herself promising to come back and chat later.
Leaving them she walked back towards the room provided for her. She was nearly to her room, when she bumped into an unfriendly figure.
"Miss Sango, may I have a word with you?" Sai asked trying to be friendly. It was a forced act, she could tell.
"I suppose, Miroku is still with his mother, but he should be out shortly."
"That's fine, I just thought I would officially welcome you to the family first. You know, if you do marry my cousin, some many things will change."
"If?" Sango looked at the man and mirrored the look of anger she was given.
"Well, you see if Miroku wants to take his spot back in the family, he has to do a few simple things. Long story short, there is no way the elders will accept you as the wife of the clan's leader. So you see my dear, you are actually helping me out by marrying my cousin." He smirked and came closer to Sango.
Feeling like punching the man before her, she decided against it and held her temper. Although punching him was something that he deserved and she felt like doing, it would make things harder on Miroku. And now was not the time to deal with more stress.
"Are you finished?" She asked moving away from the approaching man.
"I suppose. I can see you might also prove to be trouble. Just let me tell you one thing. Don't get to comfortable with things here. You are here temporarily, same with that half breed monk of yours."
"You know, you are a rotten human being. And for your information, we don't get pushed around so easily." With that Sango walked off.
'The nerve of that man... who the hell does he think he is to talk like that? Even if Miroku is only half Sanada, he sure as hell is a better person than that...' She couldn't finish her thought when the weight of Miroku's decision would be. She was sure he was not going to stay there with his newfound family, but still, would that mean cutting off ties once again? If Miroku's cousin had any say, that would be exactly what the man would try to do.
'Miroku was right, life is quite complicated.' She sighed and went off towards the temple to check up on Kohaku instead of retiring to her room.
Miroku and his mother had discussed many things after Sango left.
He was a bit relieved when his mother said that Sango would make a perfect wife. And that she wanted them to be happy above all. Miroku couldn't quite explain it, but his mother had sensed his worries about living at the Sanada house, and she had told him to do what his heart told him was best.
A great weight was lifted off his shoulders and he realized that he would always have a place with his mother, but his life was not there. It never was... and it never would be. Sure visits would be frequent; he still had a lot to catch up with her. He wanted to know more about her, and his father. Growing up at the temple, even with his father there from time to time, Miroku knew next to nothing about the man. And she could always come to the village. He was surprised to hear that she had been feeling better that day. Maybe him just being there helped make her better. He hoped that was the case. Miroku prayed that she would live a long life, long enough to see her grandchildren he hoped to have.
He could tell it pained his mother to think of him leaving her side, especially now... but she was a mother after all- she wanted his happiness.
Leaving his mother to rest, Miroku smiled as he walked towards the shrine. He knew he needed to talk to his cousin, but that could wait. He wanted to see Sango and Kohaku. He didn't get far when a couple of servants approached him and asked him to follow them to go see his cousin.
'Damn it, he's going to ruin my good mood.' Miroku cursed to himself. Figuring that it was best to get this out of the way, he followed and was taken to the main hall. This room was very formal looking, and stuffy. Miroku didn't let the glitz of the room get to him, instead he found the man sitting at the head of the room the focus of his gaze.
'It is time to deal with my dear cousin.' Miroku thought as he approached and waited for the other man to speak first.
"Ah, Miroku, I am glad I found you. Please sit." Sai said noticing that Miroku didn't bow or show any form of respect for him. This made the man angry, Miroku could tell as he took a seat in front of the slightly raised stage where Sai sat.
"I assume you wish to discuss several matters pertaining to my future plans, correct?" Miroku began before letting Sai say anything more.
"Quite bright aren't we?" Sai smiled. "So, I will cut to the chase. I am not going to give up my place at head of the Sanada Clan for a mere half breed."
'Half breed,' Miroku wanted to laugh. How many times had Inuyasha been called that, and he didn't understand how hateful that term was.
"Your mother has no son that can claim the throne, thus it is my right to have it. Besides, be both know you are not cut out of the same cloth as the rest of the Sanada's. You don't belong here."
A/N: Ah, family. Isn't it wonderful at times? Sarcasm, anyone? Sorry, I love my family and all, but there are always a few 'winners' on each side. And it seems that Miroku also has at least one favorite cousin now too.
So- It looks as if Sango and Miroku are a step closer to getting hitched, but what about Sai? Will his little tiff with Miroku change the monk's mind?
I guess you will just have to wait and see.