Hurting Hands

Some sort of normality.


Miroku stirred. Opening his eyes, he tried to focus them on the white ceiling above him. He sighed out of relief. Every time he regained consciousness, he'd felt the familiar grating feeling in the back of his throat, and the sickness. He still felt the crushing weight of the wooden beam trapping him. He had to remind himself, though, he'd only fallen asleep, and now, he was okay. He sat up, his legs numb, trying to move his toes. He'd done the same thing every hour since he'd reached the hospital. Keep his legs moving, in fear that they may never work again. His eyes suddenly caught the sight of a figure slumped beside him, and upon turning he saw InuYasha, asleep in the chair next to his bed. He smirked. Just like him to fall asleep when I need his company most. He glanced at the little clock on the wall in front of him.11:00. He blinked. He thought it'd been longer than that. He couldn't make out the time when he was dragged from the rubble, but he knew it had been early morning. The rest was a haze. He didn't remember the ambulance, but he'd heard it's siren. He'd slipped in and out on consciousness ever since. He hadn't seen Kagome since. Perhaps she was staying with Christine. He vaguely remembered Sango peering down at him through the jumble of nurses that surrounded him earlier. He hadn't seen Hachi. He wondered what had happened to him. Next to him, InuYasha stirred and Miroku reached over to grab a polystyrene cup. Grinning, he threw it at him. InuYasha's eyes shot open as it bounced of his head with a clank.

"I saw that jerk." He mumbled, and sat up straight, legs stretched out in front of him.

"Your taking liberties, you know I can't hit you while your all tucked up in there." He added, and offered a smile. Miroku grinned.

"Exactly. I'm loving this." He said, patting the bed next to him.

"How you feeling?" InuYasha asked, his hands folded behind his head.

"I'm fine. My legs on the other hand..." Miroku leaned forward, and tried to bend his legs again. He frowned as they refused to move.

"Dammit." He whispered. InuYasha leaned forward.

"Miroku, about that..." Miroku turned to his friend, a look of worry on his face.

"Your going to wheelchair bound for about six weeks. If not longer. I'm sorry about that, but the doctors say your real lucky." InuYasha said. Miroku fell back in the pillow behind him and he closed his eyes.

"I don't care how long I'm gong to be in a wheelchair, just as long as it's not forever." He muttered. InuYasha nodded.

"Sango was worried about that too. You know, if you ended up paralysed or something." Miroku nodded slowly.

"Where is Sango?" He asked. His friend stood, and pulled his jeans up around his waist.

"She's with Kohaku. Apparently he took a turn for the worse." He said. Miroku frowned.

"You mean her brother?" He asked.

"Yeah." Miroku suddenly sat up.

"Oh my God."

"I know."

"How much does she have to take before she snaps?" Miroku said. InuYasha looked at him.

"She's...handling it. I think. In her own way." Miroku didn't look convinced, so he leaned in closer.

"If you just get better, and live up to that stupid promise you made earlier, it'll be a great help to her. So stop worrying." He said. Miroku blushed.

"You heard that? How-" InuYasha grinned.

"Sango told me." Miroku nodded and leaned back against the pillows. InuYasha walked towards the bathroom and stepped in to wash his hands.

"Is Christine okay?" Miroku asked. InuYasha looked round for a towel to dry his hands.

"Yeah. She's in a ward now. No serious harm done. Thanks to you, that is." He said. Miroku found himself smiling.

"So she's okay." He told himself. InuYasha suddenly stepped out of the bathroom and slowly made his way over to the chair again. Sitting, he clasped his hands together.

"Hachi, wont be coming to see you. Not for a while, anyway." He said, his voice rough. Miroku looked over at him, and saw the guilt in his eyes.

"Why?" He asked. InuYasha looked away from him and sighed.

"He was arrested. It's all my fault, I shouldn't have even asked him to come-" Miroku reached out and grabbed InuYasha's arm.

"Whoa, calm down, I can't keep up." He said. InuYasha sat, head in hands. He took a breath.

"A while back, I noticed Nathan had been beating you up frequently, and I was...worried. You seemed to have a new bruise, every day. Kagome was worried too. She said you weren't eating properly, and you hardly came out with us any more." He said.

"So, I tried to cheer you up. I though, why not ask Hachi to come over?" Miroku frowned.

"You asked him?" He asked. InuYasha nodded.

"He was in Hawaii at the time, dong some sort of building work for a hotel he was buying. When I rung, I just told him everything that had happened lately, and he was worried, more than all of us." InuYasha looked up at Miroku.

"So he did. His passport had expired, and he stole his dad's. It would have taken him nearly six weeks to get a new one, and he told me he didn't have the time. So he used it, and he got caught, at the airport, but made a run for it." Miroku stared as InuYasha stood up, leaning on the wall.

"After a few days he thought he'd gotten away with it, and then the police turned up , just after he found you." He stopped speaking, obviously finished, and Miroku blinked.

"You mean he did all that, just to bring some booze over?" He asked.

"To get you out of the house for a while. Make you feel better. Remember Kagura? He was just trying to brighten you up a bit. You were slipping Miroku, even the teachers noticed." Miroku closed his eyes and breathed.

"He didn't have to..."

"But he did." InuYasha said.

"Is he going to court?" Miroku asked. InuYasha nodded.

"Yeah. He's guaranteed a place in the cages. I.D theft, it's...not taken too lightly around here." He said.

"But, can't they take him back to Hawaii, surely he'll be sent back over?" He said. InuYasha laughed.

"In Hawaii? His dad would practically hand him over, and tell them to throw away the key." He said. Miroku nodded.

"I heard, I'm the not the only one who gets beaten." He said. InuYasha nodded.

"Thankfully, not as often as you though." Miroku leaned back into the pillows. A few minutes of silence passed between them, before InuYasha finally spoke.

"Tired?"

"Yeah." Miroku sighed. InuYasha picked up his coat off the floor and patted Miroku's shoulder.

"Get some sleep. I'm off home to get changed, I'll let Christine know how your doing." He said. Miroku smiled.

"Thanks. And InuYasha?" InuYasha turned.

"If you can, tell Hachi I said thanks." He said. InuYasha smiled.

"Sure." He answered, and let the door shut behind him.

...

"Miroku?" A soft voice made him stir.

"Are you awake?" Miroku's eyes opened slowly, and once again he saw the white ceiling above him. This was driving him insane. Sleeping all day, waking up to the same old nurse tryingto feed him the same old crap he didn't want. He turned.

"What?" He said irritably. He suddenly stopped as he saw Sango sitting beside him, along with Christine and he moved to sit up.

"Sorry, I though you were that damn nurse again..." He trailed off when he caught Christine's smile. She reached out to hold his hand.

"I heard you've not been on your best behaviour down here." She teased. Miroku groaned.

"She's keeps trying to talk to me and all I wanted to do was sleep. And then there was that...stuff...she was trying to feed me..." He broke off as Sango giggled. Miroku smiled. She looked surprisingly well considering her situation.

"How are you Sango? I mean I heard...about Kohaku." He said. Sango shrugged.

"He's okay. Same as you really. His legs don't work either." She said quietly. Miroku once again found himself trying to move his toes, and this time, succeeded with a little twitch. He shook his head.

"You don't have to keep coming to see me. You know I'm okay, so why don't you go back and stay with your brother? He needs you." He said. Sango bit her lip.

"So do you." She whispered. Christine squeezed Miroku's hand.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, her voice had a slight bounce to it, and Miroku had to smile.

"Well, apart from the annoyance of being tucked up like this, I'm fine." He said grinning. Christine slowly got up to give him a hug, and Miroku wearily put his arms around her.

"I'm sorry about Nathan." He whispered in her ear. Christine nodded, and kissed his forehead. She knew he couldn't care less about Nathan's death, but to Christine, Nathan was still her husband. No matter how confusing their relationship got over the years, she still loved him. No matter how many times he hit her, she still mourned over his death. Sango stood.

"I think I'll go and see Kagome. Is that okay Miroku?" She asked.

"Sure." He said. Sango smiled.

"I'll be back in an hour." She said, and walked over to his side, planting a kiss on his lips.

"I love you too." She said softly, and gave him a quick hug, whispering into his ear.

"You and your mother...you can come and stay at my house, until you've found you own." She said. Miroku gasped.

"Sango I couldn't-" Sango put a finger to his lips.

"Kohaku's coming home, he'll need the extra help." She said.

"Kohaku!" He gasped.

"But I thought..." He trailed off and Sango smiled.

"So did I. The nurses were surprised with how quickly he'd recovered. He's allowed to move back in. Provided I have the extra help." She said. Miroku gazed at her for a while, and then looked over at his mother, who nodded, a small smile coating her lips.

"This is his last chance. He's made it all this way, I don't want any more slip-ups." She whispered. He nodded, understanding how much it'd hurt her to be alone again.

"Okay. Thank you..." He said. Sango nodded, and squeezed his hand.

"I'll be back before you know it." She said softly, before disappearing through the door.

...

"She's good for you." Christine said softly. Miroku grinned.

"I know. That's why I like her." He said.

"Well I'm happy she's here for you." She said, and rested into the chair beside him.

"She can come and see you more often when I find some place to live again." Miroku nodded.

"I might get an apartment. It depends. I need to clean up all this crap at school, and-"

"Miroku, this years your last year in sixth-form isn't it?" She asked. Miroku nodded.

"Start again. Go to university and study what you do best. We'll start fresh from there." She said. Miroku looked at her.

"Can we mum? I mean, with everything that's happened...I don't know if I can-" Christine cut him off with the simple wave of her hand.

"Maybe not on your own. We'll do it together. Everything, we'll re-build our life, and...somehow, we'll come through okay. Do you trust me?" She said. Miroku nodded his head slowly, and he took his mother's hand.

"Of course I trust you. I love you." He said softly. She gazed at him and smiled.

"I love you too." She replied. A moment of silence hung around them. Not one of embarassment or awkwardness, but a mere moment to think upon everything. We're starting again, Miroku reminded himself.

"Are you tired?" She asked suddenly. Miroku noticed his slowed breathing and he settled back into his pillow, twiching his toes once more. A smile pricked his lips.

"Yeah."

"Rest now." She told him, settling herself into the seat next to his bed.

"Yeah. Okay." Christine sighed and curled up in the chair, Miroku watching her out of half-shut eyes.

"Get some sleep, mum." Miroku muttered. Christine nodded, and smile pricking at her lips.

"I will. Thank you Miroku. For everything." She whispered.

...

A sort of epilogue...

Something about her hand changed now that Nathan had disappeared. Not just Nathan, but the house, and every haunting memory that had once lingered there. As time passed, Miroku was allowed to leave the hospital, and was eager to get out again, accompanied by his wheelchair. Four more weeks, the doctor told him. Four weeks until your walking again, and even then they couldn't know for sure whether his legs would be strong enough to support his athletic body. He could walk. Hell, he'd make sure of that, but sport on the other hand would take years to get back into. Just like everything else. Life was somewhat normal now, and nothing could have been better. Christine had placed her past behind her. Years had passed, and Miroku realised he couldn't live without Sango. He'd come to realise she was made for him. As he was made for her. They'd been drawn to each other in a frenzy of fear, pain, and lies, and come out as one. A mix of brilliance, and romance. Sango had finally confronted her fears, and decided to ask Miroku to marry her, herself. He'd practically fallen over laughing when she got on one knee, but ended up accepting anyway, happiness over whelming him. From there, everything happened naturally.

Miroku smiled to himself, looking over the garden he'd helped build. Christine sat, her arms buried into the patches of damp soil, determined to uproot the troublesome weeds. A smile pricked at his lips as he heard his wife humming in the kitchen, and the high pitched wail of the newest addition to the family.

"Oh Kiechi! You've only slept two hours!" He heard Sango say, and he fondly imagined her flustered face, her nose scrunched up, her jaw clenched. Just the way he liked it. He shook his head and looked back down at his newspaper. Ah yes, we came through with nothing, and somehow, we've managed to build a life. A home, and some sort of normality. He chuckled to himself. He was suddenly aware of his two older girls running at him, their tiny plastic swords pointed straight at him, screaming their battle cries, and beaming at the look of terror on their father's face. Mm, he mused, leaping out of his chair, some sort of normality.


F i n i . That's it. F i n i s h e d .

OMG. I still can't believe I've just written all of that. Wow.

I'm happy I've finally reached the end. And by God this was the hardest chapter! I didn't want to be too mushy, but I didn't want to leave it on a sad note either. I just HAD to bring Miroku's new family into it. Well...Tell me what you think :)

Thanks:

Once again, thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far. Gods, you kept me going! x Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!