Disclaimer: Inuyasha ain't mine. But feel free to send Miroku to me for Christmas ~.^ LoL

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"Zutto suki da shinu hodo…"

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"I love you so much that I could die…"

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IronyChapter 10…

…Confusion…

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"There it is!" Kagome called out, pointing at the red wall of miasma ahead of them.

"How the hell are we supposed to go through that?" Inuyasha grumbled, looking annoyed.

"Like this" Kagome drew an arrow from her quiver, grabbing her bow, "I'll purify the miasma"

Miroku stood a few feet back in his solemn silence.

This is it…

He could feel Naraku's evil presence nearby.

Sango was here too…

He sighed, his eyes locked with the ground. He was scared.

Scared of facing her. Scared of losing her…

"Hurry up, wench!" The harsh comment snapped Miroku out of it, he looked up and watched as hanyou and miko continued quarreling.

"I'm trying to concentrate!" Kagome yelled back, a determined look on her face.

"Just shoot, Dammit!"

Kagome flinched angrily, yet ignored the comment, trying to focus.

Miroku watched as the miko took aim carefully, her body surrounded by a bright blue glow. She took a deep breath, letting her arrow fly.

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Naraku chuckled, his eyes fixed on the sight before him. The fools…

They had done exactly what he expected. They had come to save the taijiya. He had left her to wait, slightly past the barrier.

In the end, someone has to die…

Either the taijiya would kill her comrades, or they her. There was no other option.

Surely, they would try resisting; they would dodge her attacks and try to reason. But how long would they hold up?

In the end, removing the shard was their only option. But… it's lodged into her stomach too deeply. Removing it would undoubtedly end her life.

A sinister smirk was plastered on Naraku's face, long waves of his thick black hair draped over his shoulders, his baboon pelt covering it. He enjoyed torturing them. It brought him pleasure to watch their pain and suffering. This would be the houshi's time to suffer. His love for the taijiya was obvious, even to Naraku. He watched solemnly as the miko penetrated through his barrier of miasma, the hanyou and houshi behind her.

This will be fun…

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"Yatta!" Kagome exclaimed cheerfully, she had accomplished her goal. The miasma had been purified.

The fog cleared up slowly as Inuyasha hefted the miko onto his back.

"Inuyasha…" she said quietly. His ears twitched slightly.

"What is it?"

"I sense shards, lots of them. It must be Naraku…" she explained.

"Then let's go!" he cried, starting to run forward before…

"Itai! Bitch, what the hell was that for?!" he shouted angrily as she released her grip on his hair.

"What about Sango-chan?" she prodded, turning to look at Miroku, who was currently ignoring them.

He gazed intently into the clearing fog, his attention on the slick black figure in the distance. It couldn't be… could it?

"Sango…?" he whispered out loud, taking a few steps forward.

Inuyasha continued…

"We'll save Sango too! I can smell here around here somewhere…" he sniffed the air.

Kagome gazed at him hopefully, "Well?"

"San--" Miroku interrupted the hanyou.

"She's here" he said, pointing towards the hazy, yet unmistakable form of the taijiya in the distance. She didn't move. She just stood, as if she was… waiting for something. Or someone.

"Inuyasha, you and Kagome-sama go after Naraku and the Shikon no Kakera" Miroku said, turning away from the pair.

"But, what about you, Miroku-sama?" Kagome questioned worriedly.

"Stupid bouzo, want to try get yourself killed again?" Inuyasha added dryly "This time, you might actually pull it off", Kagome gave him an evil glare. He quickly noted it, shutting up instantly.

Miroku ignored the hanyou, turning to Kagome.

"I will take care of Sango" he finished before promptly turning around. He sighed exasperatedly before running towards the castle gates. Where Sango was…

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He stood, facing her. He was too afraid to move. For the past few weeks that she had been gone, all he had wanted to do was to hold her in his arms. Looking at her now, she was as beautiful as ever. But… how could he save her? Now that he thought about it, he had absolutely no plan. Not even the slightest idea of what to do. What would he do if he was forced to fight her? He could never hurt her…

As if on queue, Sango charged at him, clutching her katana. She slashed at the poor houshi mercilessly as he desperately tried to block her strikes with his shakujou. Slash after slash, the houshi was slowly getting exhausted.

"Sango, I won't fight you!" he cried, hoping to snap her out of the trance she was in, even though he knew deep inside that it was pointless.

She brought her sword down again, full strength as he brought his staff up to block. He felt himself being pushed back…

She grit her teeth, throwing her weight at him. With a cry, he stumbled backwards, quickly getting to his feet and back into his defensive stance.

She was getting this power from the Shikon no Kakera. And after all, he was only human. Miroku flinched as the sharp metal edge just barely missed his neck as he dodged another swing. Frantically, he scampered away from the taijiya, catching his breath.

Damn she was fast…

The fight had just started and he was already growing tired. 

He glanced at her, catching a glimpse of her face.

"Sango?…" he whispered, confused at her expression. He could see the tears brimming, really to fall. Her hands were shaking as she struggled to keep the katana stable.

It hurt him so much to see her like this, but he couldn't do anything. After all, knowing Naraku, this was just another one of his tricks.

"Ho…houshi-sama…" his breath caught in his throat as he froze, staring at the woman before him. Did she just…

A single tear ran down her cheek.

"Sango…" he could feel her struggling, trying so hard to stay still, to keep her katana steady. She was trying so hard not to fight him…

"Houshi-sama… you…" she cut off, her eyes dilated as she gave a pained cry.

                Kill him…

She gasped as he took a few steps forward, towards her. Her head was throbbing and she felt as if she was repeatedly getting stabbed in the stomach with daggers. She clenched her teeth together to keep herself from crying out. Was… was this what Kohaku had felt? Was this why he refused to remember? Was this the pain he felt everyday? But guilt tripping herself obviously wasn't helping the situation…

                Kill the houshi…

Miroku stood, confused at her actions. What the hell was he supposed to do?…

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A/N: OMG im sooo sorry I took so long to update! I'm trying so hard to not forget about this story along with getting good grades and managing school… please bear with me, the next chapter won't take another 3 weeks to post, I promise! ~.^

Ja ne!  ~Sango_to_Miroku~

12-13-03… ¬.¬;;