Maybe Someday: A Miroku x Sango Love Story
*Disclaimer: * Feh. As if I could ever author an incredibly popular manga, which has been running for seven years and running, has had two movies made of it besides an animated series, and has 14-18% of the population of Japan watching it.
A/N: Thanks a lot to all who reviewed. For those of you who are coming back to this story, I need to tell you that I did edit chapters one and two so that Sango addresses him as "Houshi-sama" and also that I changed the fortune-teller's fortune so that Miroku's death is not limited solely to be consumed by his air rip.
Xing@fanfiction.net: I appreciate your reviews, but I want to request something of you: please do not send so many multiple reviews per chapter. I would like to know that the amount of reviews I receive is by diverse people, and not just a single entity. Again, I wanted to say I do appreciate the time you take out of your day to read and review my story, yet I wish that you would review each chapter just once, unless it is truly impossible to do so. If you have so many comments to say about my story, please either email me or IM me.
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"A-hahahahahaha!" came an all-too-familiar, mocking laugh. Sango leapt up, eyes still bright with the glimmer of tears.
"Why are you still here?" she demanded angrily. "I swear, this time I will waste no efforts in killing you!"
The wood-spirit once more materialized in front of Sango. "It's a pity," said the spirit gleefully, "but he's dead. Gone. He will not come back."
"Why not?" asked Sango. "We reached the Lake of Crystal Waters. He drank the water prescribed to him…why is not Houshi-sama alive?!"
The spirit laughed again. "You ran out of time," he said simply. "That old hag fortune-teller said he had a fortnight. By-" he glanced up at the brightening sky; dawn had come- "sunset yesterday, his fortnight was done."
"No, it cannot be!" Sango exclaimed. She reviewed their journey quickly in her mind. True, they had cut it a little close, but by the time they had reached the Lake at yesterday's sunset, they still had a couple days's surplus. No, she was positive that they had made it in time. "You lie!" she accused the wood-spirit.
"No, I tell the truth," said the wood-spirit. He gave an exaggerated sigh. "Pity, too…such a nice monk."
"How do you know Houshi-sama?" asked Sango.
"I've met him before," replied the wood-spirit evasively.
"What do you mean…?" Sango enquired, but even as she spoke, the spirit was changing form in front of her eyes, his outline blurring and his body flickering before he re-materialized, but looking completely different than what he looked like before. The main difference was that he…was now a…she?
The wood-spirit had transformed into the old fortune-teller from what seemed so long ago to Sango. He-she?- spoke again, but in the wood-spirit's young voice. "Yes, I am that fortune-teller," the spirit said.
"But… I do not understand!" cried Sango. "First, you try to help Houshi-sama by telling him when he was going to die and then telling him about the Lake of Crystal Waters. Then you come here and say that he is dead anyway?"
"You misunderstand me," said the wood-spirit. "I am truly a wood-spirit-" it transformed into Kourin Auntie- "who has a vendetta against Naraku."
"Naraku?" breathed Sango. "What does he have to do with you?"
"That lump of evil, Naraku, took my kin and forced them into slavery," said the wood-spirit, reverting back to its original form. "I wanted revenge against him…as all my wood-spirit- brothers and -sisters are dead."
"Why not chase after him yourself?" Sango challenged. "Why go through all this trouble of disguising yourself and following us?"
"I am not strong enough to give even chase to Naraku," said the wood-spirit.
"You had no Shikon shards?" asked Sango. The wood-spirit shook his head. "Why not drink the water, which seems to be equivalent to having a Shikon shard?"
The wood-spirit smiled ironically. "The guardian of the Lake of Crystal Waters is forbidden to ever drink from it."
"I see…but why should you use Houshi-sama as a tool for your vengeance?" asked Sango, still perplexed. 'None of this is making sense!' she thought in frustration.
The wood-spirit shrugged. "I need someone strong to fight for me against Naraku. I saw your monk: strong physically and mentally, with great powers, and that hellhole in his hand had proven useful more than once."
That it had, Sango admitted to herself. Except, of course, when Naraku's saimyoushou were around but that was besides the point. "And exactly what was your point in leading Houshi-sama around on this goose-chase?" Sango asked, borrowing one of Kagome's modern-day phrases.
"I needed to make sure he was strong," said the wood-spirit. "I needed to affirm that he would be my champion, that he would be the one that could defeat Naraku."
"I see," breathed Sango. "So this entire time, this entire quest to salvage Houshi-sama's life was a test to you, to make sure he was strong?"
The wood-spirit nodded. "When I was the fortune-teller, I was starting him on his quest. Later, when he was injured and you were also, I took pity on the monk and became Kourin Auntie and helped him. I thought that would be enough. And yet…and yet he couldn't even survive this little battle at the end."
"No, that is not true!" reiterated Sango hotly. "What is your point in lying to me about how Houshi-sama is dead? I though you wanted him to defeat Naraku! What good would letting him die do?"
The wood-spirit smiled sadly. "I have plenty of time to find a suitable champion," he said softly. "I am not cursed-or blessed- with mortality."
"So…you are simply dispensing of Houshi-sama?" demanded Sango angrily. "Not even giving him a chance to live?"
The wood-spirit became a little angry also. "Mortal wench, I do not understand why you do not understand!" he burst out. "He has failed his test. Had his emotions for you not been so strong he would have partook of the Lake's waters of his own free will and well on his way to defeating Naraku."
Sango was nonplussed for a moment, taken aback by the wood-spirit's words. "What do you mean…'his emotion for me?'" she asked.
"It's that simple," said the spirit. "He left the barrier and the Lake for ever by coming to your rescue. And then again, you broke through the barrier by the strength of your emotion for the monk."
'Emotion…emotion!' thought Sango. 'What emotion could he mean…?' But the wood-spirit was disappearing, melting into the air like butter in the sun. "Wait-!" she called after it. But it was too late. The wood-spirit was gone.
Sango went back to stay next to Miroku. "Houshi-sama…that wood-spirit said something about your emotion for me. What did he mean?" Miroku was silent, his face ashen and his breathing coming slow and labored. Quick, disjointed memories flashed in the back of her eyelids: every time Miroku had groped her, every time he had opened his Air Rip, every time he was near her.
"Houshi-sama, please stay alive, even if only for me," she whispered, the tears coming back. She blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of the burning behind her eyes. Once more, clear, large tears beaded down her face and spattered Miroku's robes and face.
"I want you to be with me…Houshi-sama," she whispered. There- was Miroku stirring?! She repeated herself a little louder, "Stay alive so we can be together…Miroku."
For the first time, Sango spoke aloud the name of the man she had often thought about. Surprising even herself, she admired the way the monk's name rolled off her tongue, the way the syllables hung in the air for a moment before disappearing.
This time there was no doubt- Miroku was stirring. His breathing became more regular, his face slowly regaining a healthy flush. He blinked his eyes rapidly before opening them finally to see Sango, tears rolling down her face, knelt next to him.
"S-Sango?" said the monk, his voice a bare whisper. He coughed and tried again. "Sango…"
"Houshi-sama, you are alive!" Sango said with less enthusiam than she felt.
"Barely," replied Miroku, struggling to pull himself into a sitting postion. He succeeded. He glanced at Sango intently, seemingly searching her face. "Just now…what did you call me, Sango?"
"Houshi-sama," replied Sango, knowing as she did that it was not what the monk had meant.
"No, I meant before that," prodded Miroku gently. "You…said my name, didn't you."
"I-I…"
"Sango, it is that belief that you said my name…that gave me the will to live and so I pulled myself out from the clutches of Death, to return back to life, that I could see you once more," Miroku admitted. "Say it again, Sango, say my name again!"
Sango was silent for a long moment, Miroku's gaze on her face never wavering. She heard the gentle ripple of the Lake's water as a slight breeze blew over them. Now was the time, she told herself. Once more, Sango formed the name in her mind, then slowly transferred it to her tongue.
"Miroku," she said softly. The joy in Miroku's face was unbounded, his dark eyes alight with happiness. She said it again, louder. "Miroku!" she cried, once more hugging him, burying her face in his chest.
After a while, the two pulled away from each other. "Sango," said Miroku, "what happened after I fell unconscious?"
"I broke through the barrier guarding the Lake," said Sango. "And then, I got some water and gave it to you. But- but you didn't respond, and I was so afraid you'd died, once and for all." She paused, then continued. "Then that wood-spirit came and told me this entire quest was a test, to see if you were worthy of avenging Naraku for him. He was the fortune-teller and Kourin Auntie also."
Miroku nodded. "I see. Sango, how did you break through the barrier? It shouldn't have been enterable. The wood-spirit told me it was a one-way barrier: once a person was on the outside who came from the inside, they couldn't get back inside."
Sango blushed slightly. "The spirit said something along the lines of, my emotion for you was so strong it overcame the magic of the barrier." Then the full import of Miroku's words hit her. "One-way barrier…you mean to say, Houshi-sama, that you gave up your chance at drinking from the Lake just to come outside and fight demons?"
Miroku shook his head softly, a small smile playing on his lips. "No. I came outside…to help you."
"Miroku…why?" Sango asked. "Why would you do something like that, just for me?"
"It's not 'just you,'" Miroku replied, taking her face in his hands. "You, Sango, are the most amazing, wonderful girl I have ever had the honor to meet."
"Miroku, what are you saying?" she asked, as she had so many times before. But this time, there was nothing to stop him from declaring his heart to her.
"All I'm saying is that, I want to live my entire life with you by my side, Sango." With that, Miroku brought his face closer to hers and kissed her softly, tenderly.
"Miroku, I…would be happy to spend all of my life and more with you," Sango replied with a smile.
"You, and only you, Sango," promised Miroku. His serious face broke into a grin, and once more he kissed Sango passionately.
When the two were done, morning had come. Sango and Miroku sat in contented silence for a while. Sango noticed the hand with the rosary was the one resting on her hand.
"Miroku, what about the curse?" she asked.
"To hell with the curse," he replied. "I have you now. We can still go on fighting Naraku, Sango, but that's not my first priority anymore." He reached up and tweaked her nose. "You are."
Sango sighed contentedly. This was her new life: a life that would be full of happiness and love. A life where she and Miroku lived together forever, a life where time had no meaning, a life where both would stay youthful in love as they were now.
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A/N: This looks like the end of the story, but it's not. Chapter 10 is the last one and it will be more like the epilogue, but read anyway. About this chapter: Yes, my poor attmepts at angst were unrealistic and overdone, so overdramatized, that they probably looked hilarious rather than serious. I also know that the whole thing about the wood-spirit being the fortune teller and also Kourin Auntie was unrealistic to the series and completely sudden and random. I needed something to tie everything in together, plus a way to get rid of the wood-spirit, so this was the way I hit upon. It's terrible, I know, but I had a plothole there. So I filled it. And I probabaly could have put more feeling into the admittance-of-love scene. But I couldn't really describe the feelings, which I know is the sign of a bad author.
For those of you who think that my self-deprecation is a way to get people to review positively, it's not. I admit my own weaknesses so that the dear reader knows that the author knows she is not perfect and know her own weaknesses.
Thank you to all my reviewers. I appreciate all the positive feedback I have received. I am honored to think that all of you have thought this was an excellent S/M story. I am currently working on Chapter 1 of my new S/M story, Pyaar: Love. It will, as I said, be strictly S/M and I think it looks pretty okay. Look for it soon!Again, if hikari is reading this, I wanted to say I am especially honored that you have reviewed.