Disclaimer~ I don't own Inuyasha, the only characters that are mine are Nayamashii and Kayou

Dialog~ "Meep meep meep."

Thoughts~ 'Meep meep meep.'

Authors note~ I KNOW, I KNOW! I said I would have this chapter up Monday night and it's Friday night. Let me explain, basically I got home late Monday afternoon instead of Sunday night and when I got home Monday I had to do a bunch of chores. Then the rest of the week I was totally tied down with school, and every time I got a good opportunity to write I ended up crashing on my coach. Today, I finally have gotten my ass in gear and have been working on this chapter feverishly. I hope you like this chapter, sorry to have kept you waiting.

Chapter 6

Miroku's heart just about leaped when he laid eyes on Sango. He immediately stood up and took a step towards her. He was so oblivious to everything else, that wasn't Sango.

Sango's eyes widened, her face turned a bright red, like a tomato. She started to form words in her mouth but nothing came out. She was in utter shock. 'Oh my god, I can't believe Miroku just did that. What do I do know? What should I say?' "Uh, Miroku."

Miroku noticed the shocked expression all over Sango's face, he looked down for a moment and back up at Sango, his face turned the brightest shade of red possible. He quickly sank back into the springs. "Sango. I. I. I'm sorry about that, I was just so happy to see you and wasn't thinking clearly."

Sango could only nod her head; she was still in shock of what just happened. 'I can't believe that just happened, or that Miroku would be so exited to see me. What should I say to him? Oh god, he's staring at me now, speak stupid. SPEAK!' "Uh. It's alright Miroku, don't worry about it."

Miroku let out a deep sigh. "Good, I'm glad you're not angry." Miroku's eyes met with Sango's eyes. His voice was tender and caring. "Sango, have you been?" Miroku bit down hard on his lip. "I've been thinking about you constantly." Miroku paused a moment and stole a glance at Sango's expression. He looked deep into her eyes. "The thing is, I can't get you out of my mind."

Sango's mouth began to get dry, her palms were starting to get sweaty, and she had a light blush on her face. "Miroku." Sango stopped herself; she didn't know what to say to him. She was caught completely off guard by his statement. 'I should say something to him, but I just.' Sango took a deep breath. "Miroku, what are you saying?"

Miroku looked down at the water, he had a sad expression on his face. "Sango, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and I've realized something."

Sango's face was totally blank, now she was really interested. "What is it Miroku?" Her voice was almost quivering, she was almost afraid to hear what the monk was going to say.

Miroku licked his lips; he was beginning to get exceedingly nervous. "I've realized how lonely I am without you. I'm always thinking of you, you're always on my mind." Miroku looked up at her, tears were stinging in his eyes. "The truth is Sango I've been hurting ever since the day I left, my heart has been aching to see you."

Sango lost her breath at that moment; she couldn't believe what he just said. She shook her head a moment, brining herself back to reality. "Miroku, do you really mean it, or are you just toying with me?"

Miroku had a hurt expression on his face, a small tear streaked down his face. "I've hurt you in the past, haven't I?"

Sango's heart sank; she didn't know what to tell him. "Miroku." Sango took another step closer to the springs. "If you know that you hurt me, then why do you do it?"

Miroku showed a small frown. "I never had the intention of hurting you Sango, I never even realized I did, that is until." Miroku stared down at the water. "Until I was reminded of the pain of being toyed around with." Miroku looked back up at Sango. "I'm so sorry, Sango. Can you forgive me?"

Sango nodded, a small tear escaped her eye. "Of course I can Miroku, don't get worked up over it. It's nothing, really."

Miroku shook his head. "No Sango, it's not nothing. I really am sorry, I just want to start over, and this time I don't want to hurt you.

"Miroku." Sango held her hand close to her heart. Tears were streaming down her face. A strange feeling had overtaken her. "Do you really mean it? You're not just trying to win me over."

"No, I don't want to win anyone over. I just want to be with you, I just want to make things right. Can you trust me?"

Sango nodded happily. "Yes, I trust you, Miroku." Sango stared down at her feet. "Um Miroku."

"Yes?"

"Would you mind if I joined you in the springs?" Sango's face turned a dark shade of red. She wasn't sure what to expect.

Miroku chuckled. "Sango, I'm very surprised with you. I would have never thought you'd even ask. However, if you want to I don't mind." Miroku turned his back to Sango. "Here, I'm not looking so you can go ahead and change."

Sango nodded. "Ok, no peeking though, or you know what will happen."

"Aye lady Sango, I promise, no peeking."

"Good." Sango smiled and whipped off her clothes quickly. She was extremely anxious to join Miroku in the springs. Sango submerged herself in the springs. The warm water rushed over her body, ever muscle seemed to be relaxed by the soothing feel of the hot water. She sank down deep into the water next to Miroku. "It's ok now, you can turn around."

Miroku turned back around and was speechless. 'She's gorgeous, I can't believe how beautiful she looks.'

Sango titled her head slightly. "Is something wrong, Miroku?"

"No, nothing's wrong, I'm just overtaken by your beauty lady Sango."

Sango turned a shade of red. "Miroku."

There was an unsteady silence between the two of them; both of them were too overwhelmed by the situation to say anything.

Sango sat there letting the warm water relax her. She was unsure of what to say and looked terribly uncomfortable. 'This was a mistake, what was I thinking? I wanted to get close to Miroku but maybe not this close. God, what should I say to him?'

Miroku took a deep breath. 'Come on Miroku, you can do this. Just talk to her, everything will turn out fine. She nervous and you need to calm her down and relax her.' "Sango." Miroku moved a little bit closer to her. "It's ok, I know you're a bit uncomfortable but just relax. I promise, I wont do anything perverted. I just want to talk with you, that's all."

Sango let out a long sigh. "Thank you Miroku, I'm sorry, I guess I'm just a little more uncomfortable than I thought I would be."

"It's alright don't apologize, it's not a big deal." Miroku moved even closer to Sango, now he was sitting right next to her. His body was barely brushing up against Sango's. He turned his head and looked straight into Sango's eyes. "There's something I need to tell you."

Sango's stomach began churning; she had butterflies going through her. "What. What is it, Miroku?" She was starting to shake, just anticipating the moment.

"Sango, I think." Miroku stopped dead in his tracks; he was at a loss of words. He couldn't tell Sango that he was in love with her. His breathing began to get heavy. 'If I don't say it now I may never get the chance, but she may not feel the same way and I may get hurt, again. No, I have to go for it, I have to tell her.' "Sango, I..." Miroku's eyes shot wide open, he heard a noise and turned around quickly. Kayou was standing right at the edge of the springs. Miroku's mouth hung wide open. "Kayou?"

Kayou was literally just stunned. "Mi. Miroku. Gomen, I didn't know you were here, *Kayou's eyes darted to Sango*, with another woman."

Sango turned her head over to the woman standing besides the springs. Sango was blushing madly at this point and was extremely furious with Miroku. "Miroku, who is this woman!?"

"This is Kayou, lady Sango. I've been staying with her for the last couple days. I had passed out on the road and she took me back to her hut."

Sango cocked her eyebrows. "I see, so you've been with her for the last couple of days."

"Sango, don't look at me like that. Nothing happened between us, I can assure you."

Sango was beginning to get extremely annoyed. She clenched a tight fist and the pissed Sango took over. "I don't care what sort of relation ship you two have with each other." *Twitch twitch* "But since It's none of my business I'll leave you two alone." Sango motioned to get up out of the springs.

Miroku quickly grabbed her arm. "No wait Sango, we're not like that. Kayou is just a friend, all we've been doing is spending time together, talking. That's all."

A small tear ran down Sango's cheek. She tried pulling her arm away from Miroku. "Let me go! I don't want to be here anymore, just let me leave!"

"No! Sango, you're not listening to me." Miroku pulled her arm towards him. "Just wait, listen to me. I want to be here with you. Don't just leave."

"I don't care Miroku, just let me go!"

Miroku gritted his teeth. His anger was rising inside of him. "Just shut up and listen to me!" Miroku was quite taken by what he just said. He let go of Sango's arm immediately.

Sango was speechless, she couldn't believe what just happened. "Miroku. I."

Miroku hung his head down. "Just go Sango, I don't care anymore. Go ahead and leave."

Sango had a hurt expression on her face. She was going to say something but she instead got up and walked out of the springs. She quickly put on her clothes and ran off. Tears were falling from her cheeks. 'Damn you, Miroku! Why do things always have to turn out this way?'

Miroku watched as Sango ran off, his heart seemed to sink a little. A strong sensation of pain, regret, and sorrow overtook him. Tears slid down his face, he was crying. All those emotions he had been holding in came poring out. "Sango, I love you."

Kayou was still just standing there. She didn't know what to say or do, she just stood there. "Miroku, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble for you. Maybe you should catch up to your friend, she seemed very upset."

"No." Miroku shook his head, his tears were still escaping from his eyes. "There is nothing I could say to her that she would care to hear."

"What about, I love you?"

Miroku bit down hard on his lips, to the point of bleeding. "I should tell her, but I don't think I'm ready yet. It's funny, I'm actually terrified of telling her."

Kayou was starting to get very annoyed with Miroku's shyness problem. "Why? I just don't get it, Miroku."

"If you let me get my clothes on, I'll tell you. It's sort of a long story."

Kayou nodded. "Ok, that's fine." Kayou turned around and waited patiently for Miroku to put on his clothes.

Miroku quickly got of the springs and put on his clothes. He was shaking slightly, he was still upset over what just happened with Sango. He wiped away his tears and finished dressing. "Okay kayou, I'm ready." Kayou turned back around and walked up next Miroku and grabbed his hand. She dragged him away from the springs and started leading him back to the hut. "Miroku, we can talk once we get back to the hut. Okay?"

Miroku was beginning to get annoyed by Kayou's behavior. "Fine, but you can let go of me. I'm not a child."

Kayou broke her grip on Miroku's arm. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to get back to the hut quickly, so we could talk."

Miroku sighed. "I know, it's fine." Miroku walked slowly with Kayou beside him. The two of them walked silently all the way to the hut. Neither of them knew what to say to one another. They finally reached Kayou's hut and went inside.

Miroku collapsed unto the futon. He was emotionally and physically exhausted. His body was terribly strained with everything that had happened to him. 'Great, how do I explain myself to Kayou, now?'

Kayou sat beside Miroku on the futon. She touched him on the shoulder briefly. "Are you okay, Miroku? You seem very tired, you should get some rest. We don't have to talk now, we can wait till tomorrow."

Miroku sighed slightly and sat up. "No it's okay, I don't mind. Besides, I really need to get this off my chest."

Kayou nodded. "Ok fine. So what did happen to you? Why do you seem to be so uncomfortable when you're alone with women?"

"It was a while back, I was about fourteen years old. I had gotten into a fight and was badly injured, I passed out on the street and a young woman, *Miroku turned to Kayou*, such as yourself took me back to her home."

"Uh huh." Kayou was starting to get very interested. "So what happened?"

"When I woke up, she was on top of me. I didn't realize it immediately but the woman had raped me. She took advantage of my disoriented state and did awful things to me." Tears were beginning to swell in Miroku's eyes. His voice seemed to have quieted. "I couldn't fight back, I couldn't do anything at all. I was paralyzed in fear, I was so scared and nobody was there to help me."

Kayou shook her head. A tear fell to the ground. She moved closer to Miroku and wiped away his tears. "No child should ever have to go through something like that." Kayou wrapped her arms around Miroku in a tight embrace. "No one."

More tears came streaming down Miroku's face. He attempted to hold back his tears but he just couldn't anymore. It all came flowing out of him. "The way she used me, it was sickening, I don't ever want to be hurt that way again. That's why.. That's why I'm so afraid, I was hurt once and I don't want to feel that hurt again."

Kayou tightened her embrace on Miroku. She rubbed his back gently. "I understand now, it'll be alright. I promise, I wont hurt you that way." Kayou broke the embrace and looked at Miroku with sad eyes. "However, you need to tell the person you love, you need to tell Sango this. She doesn't know any of this, you need to make her understand."

Miroku started to shake. His voice was starting to break up. "I know. I know that, but I'm just so afraid. Afraid of what she might say, I just don't want to get hurt."

"Miroku, if you don't tell her you'll only be hurting yourself and Sango. You have to tell her. Holding back your emotions is wrong, you need to get these things off your chest."

"Kayou." Miroku sat quietly for a moment. Absorbing everything Kayou had just said to him. "Kayou, would it be wrong to still wait a while? Would it be cowardly of me?"

"Miroku, I don't understand. What are you waiting for?"

"I need to mend old wounds, before I re-open them again. I need to fight one battle at a time. I'm not over this incident yet and I don't want to get myself caught in another with Sango."

"I understand Miroku, but you shouldn't wait too long. You might change your mind about telling her that you love her."

"I don't even know if I love her, I think I do but sometimes she hurts me so terribly I wonder if I really do love her. I'm just all messed up, everything hurts, and nothing makes sense."

"Miroku." Kayou stroked her hand through his bangs. "You'll be alright, everything will eventually make sense. You're welcome to stay with me as long as you like." Kayou got up off the futon. "Now, you need to get some rest, everything will seem clearer after a good night sleep."

"You're probably right." A large yawn escaped Miroku's mouth. "I' am pretty tired, I guess." Miroku laid his head down and let sleep fill his eyes. In no time his exhaustion had taken over, he was sound to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End of chapter~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Man, that was a long chapter. That's for making up the long time without an update. With school starting now I'll probably just be updated my story once a week. That is unless I get a few nights without homework. Any way I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I can't wait to get some good reviews. Thanks a whole lot to all my reviewers so far! You're great! ^_^

Inu-shounen~ BAH! For once I didn't leave it at a cliffhanger, I could have been evil and left it when Kayou found Miroku and Sango at the springs, but it was just too short to leave it there. Hope you like this chapter, and don't you dare hack into my comp, or I'll kill you.

Rissi-Sama~ Thanks, I'm glad you think that I'm improving. And no, I wont put Kayou and Miroku together, I'm not that crazy.

Rain 61~ Glad you still think the story is great, please keep the good reviews coming.

StarryEyedChick~ Glad you like the whole confrontations with Sango and Inuyasha, I'm glad you didn't think it was too much. And yes, Kayou should have hit Miroku, but she's too nice to do that. Maybe another time though.

Kyosnekozukigirl~ Man, your name is long and fun to type. Glad you really like the fic and sorry about the long wait for an update.

No1~ Hey! A new reviewer! YAY! Glad you think the story is awesome, and sorry again about the long wait for an update.

Chris-Redfield26~ No, it's okay, I really do enjoy the advice. Yes, it is a bit much to keep repeating paper heart, gomen, I'll try not to do that so much. Please review for this chapter, I really want to hear your opinion of it.

Missy-Bee~ Just for you I had Sango get to see Miroku naked, now no complaining, and this chapter was nice and long too.

Sango-Chan~ Yes, Kayou isn't in a good position but that's what makes stories so interesting, what people do in odd situations.

Sweet Chaos~ Glad you decided to review for this story, I'm glad that you're enjoying it enough to review. Thanks a lot!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU ALL! I LOVE GETTING YOUR REVIEWS! YOU'RE ALL GREAT! THANKS SO MUCH!

Next chapter~ Things between Kayou and Miroku begin to heat up, Sango is left feeling jealous and Miroku is just caught in the middle. Update expected possibly Sunday night. depending on the number of reviews. Enjoy!

Zero