Disclaimer: Inuyasha. Kagome. Miroku. Sango. Not. Mine. .^_^.
A Lady Knight's Tale
Miroku looked at the slumbering girl beside the fire with disbelief, still wondering if his senses were playing tricks on him. It was nearly an hour since they had washed onto the riverbank, and Sango was still out cold.
When Miroku regained consciousness after the two of them had fallen a considerable height from the bridge, he had noticed that something on Sango's wrist had caught in his clothes somehow, and prevented her from drifting off into the river.
He gently nudged it off, not noticing the bracelet under her long sleeves. Besides, he was preoccupied with checking if Sango was still alive. Relieved to see signs of breathing, he went to work, building a fire to keep them warm. Dusk was approaching, along with the chilly evening air, so they had to dry their clothes. It was then that he found out Sango's big secret.
The full moon cast a silvery glow over the landscape and an owl hooted in the distance. As he stared at her soft features, Miroku silently scolded himself for not noticing at once that his best friend, the person he trusted for so long, was actually female. She'd been sitting under his nose for so long! This strong, beautiful warrior had outwitted him! He didn't know whether he wanted to throttle her or kiss her.
When he saw the bracelet on her wrist, he'd made up his mind completely.
Sango's eyes fluttered open, still feeling a bit woozy as she sat up and saw Miroku looking at her strangely. His back was against a tree and they were in front of a fire somewhere.
The cloak that had served as her blanket had fallen off and Sango gasped as she realized the state she was in. She snatched the cloak and covered her chest with it. Sango kept her eyes on the ground, now that she had been found out...what was to become of her? She would never be able rescue Kohaku now.
"Miroku-sama...I...I'm so sorry...." Sango said, twisting the cloth with her hands.
"I was...going to tell you...but I never got the chance." Sango continued when he didn't reply. "Are you mad at me?"
"Yes and no." Miroku stood up, sat down beside her and pointed to the bracelet she still wore. "So this did keep you safe after all. It caught on my clothes when we fell into the river." Miroku continued "So I was right! You were that lady at the ball too!" Then he looked at her so intensely that she found herself unable to meet his eyes.
"Miroku...I...betrayed your trust. I should never have kept it from you. I won't resist if you have to turn me over to the Council...for...for.." Sango could not continue, it was getting more and more difficult to speak as the seconds wore on.
"Sango...it doesn't matter now." Miroku said, leaning forward slightly, running his fingers along her smooth cheek, making Sango shudder involuntarily. Suddenly, he let out a suppressed laugh, "You were driving me insane! I thought I was turning gay or something! You can't imagine how relieved I am."
The knight-turned-lady sighed and took his hand from her cheek and kissed it. "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"
"Only if you kiss me." Miroku teased playfully, enjoying Sango's reaction as she blushed beet-red.
"What if I refuse? Besides, you took my clothes off a while ago without my consent, you hentai!" Sango said, frowning in mock horror.
"Then I'll have to wait forever..." Miroku said softly, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Have I ever told you that you're beautiful?"
"No. You thought I was a man." Sango said, her voice lowering to a whisper, liking the feeling of his warm hands on her cold shoulders.
"Oh." Miroku said as he tilted Sango's head toward him and their lips met in a long kiss.
"Gah!" Inuyasha backed off in shock as he saw the two knights from his father's army, engaged in--liplock!
"What is it?" Kagome asked from a few steps behind him.
"It's those two!" Inuyasha pointed toward Miroku and Sango. They heard the hanyou's loud exclamation of surprise, so Sango was, at the moment, blushing and searching for serviceable dry clothes while Miroku just looked plain pissed.
"See! see!" Inuyasha pointed at the couple. "I knew Sango was gay, but Miroku...!"
Kagome sweatdropped "You see...Sango isn't...really..." Kagome dropped the subject and sighed, not knowing exactly how to phrase it without shocking Inuyasha out of his wits.
So she ran toward them instead. "Sango-chan! I'm so glad you're safe." she said, hugging the other girl and draping the cloak she had on Sango.
"Thanks a lot, Your Highness." Miroku said dryly as Inuyasha approached.
Kagome took Sango aside, nearly cackling with glee. "So, he knows now!" Kagome giggled. A few moments later after a sustained, mostly whispered conversation, the two of them exploded with girlish laughter.
"What are they so happy about?" Inuyasha asked, looking at Kagome and Sango's direction.
"Who knows?" Miroku sighed.
"What?!" Inuyasha felt dumbfounded for the second time that evening. Sango told him everything, her reasons for disguising herself as a man, as well as her brother Kohaku.
"My apologies, Your Highness. I just did what I had to do, and I am ready for any punishment." Sango knelt down and bowed low.
"Sango..." Miroku interrupted.
"Please, I will accept any sentence. Just promise me that you will defeat Naraku." Sango continued, not standing nor looking up at Inuyasha's amber gaze.
"That's nonsense!" Inuyasha interjected, his face stern.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome looked ready to jump in in Sango's defense.
"What I mean is..." Inuyasha said, smirking at Kagome. "it's silly that you can't be allowed to fight. It's a stupid ordinance." Kagome smiled at him, relieved.
"Stand, Lady Sango." Inuyasha commanded "You're one of our best damned knights! Who cares if you're a woman!"
Miroku helped Sango up as she blinked away a tear. Of all the possible outcomes, she hadn't imagined this happening, she squeezed Miroku's hand and he squeezed back. She bowed again. "Thank you." she said "I will do my best."
"So let's get going, shall we? We've lost so much time already." Inuyasha said as he turned to leave.
Author's Notes: So how did you like that? All the reviewers who wanted to have Miroku find out Sango's secret, your wishes have been granted. Thanks to those who reviewed despite the brevity of the previous chapter and this one too! Whew! And please bear with me as the story is coming to a close in the next few chapters. Ja ne!