Disclaimer: No Inuyasha for me. Phooey.
One one-shot Miroku/Sango fiction coming up.
~
Sango was sitting around the fire, lost in her cold dreams. The flames flickered, danced, temptingly rearing into the freezing midnight air. She sat mesmerized, her thoughts forever drifting in some unknown place. She blinked, her eyes aching from her lack of doing so. It was obvious she hadn't set foot on Earth for quite a bit.
Not that Kagome, Inuyasha, or the snoring Shippou noticed. Not even Kirara was aware of her conscious mistress. Indeed, nobody seemed to even be awake at this time. After all, they had just battled a tough youkai and really weren't up to much more then sleeping.
Well, except for the wounded taji-ya on the ground and the restless Houshi sitting on a branch.
Miroku himself couldn't sleep. Sleep... it evaded him, dancing just out of his reach. One moment he'd almost have faded off to that dark corner that he liked best: the next he'd be wide awake and two times as frustrated as before. He groaned. This was one of those times. Sango neither heard nor heeded his groan: at the same time she shifted, blocking out the quiet noise he had just made. Miroku, on the other hand, heard Sango. He looked down at her, his indigo orbs seemingly flitting in the firelight. The dark-colored oddities traveled her tossing form: pity flecked them. Of all of her companions, he understood her best. He alone knew what it was like to be up at night, to drift along the black void of a restless soul. He heard her at night, every night, heard her whimpers, her tortured cries, her spoken pleas. Sometimes, when she was dreaming, she talked in her fitful rest. Most the time she was literally dealing with the devil: she would compromise with Naraku- her life for Kohaku's. She would smile, whisper a welcome and then goodbye to her brother... and scream. The involuntary twitches of her fit taji-ya's back let Miroku into her secret. She was tricked in her dreams, time after time, turning them into horrific nightmares. Once again, the memory of Kohaku's cold blade sinking into her back would surface and wreak it's havoc upon her soul. Even now she dropped off... and shot back up, forehead shining with sweat. Miroku could not take her torture anymore: silently he dropped off of the branch and went to her side.
"Sango?" Sango twitched, turning to him. Her dark chocolate eyes traveled his in a wild panic: they flitted to different areas of his face before settling on his own eyes. His eyebrows knitted, showing his intense concern for her. Gently, he put a hand on her back. She stiffened. Miroku winced. Gods... does she really not trust me this much? Sango... I never meant for you to fear my touch... He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. Opening them, he swallowed.
"Lady Sango... please, relax. I will behave. I swear." Sango still eyed him suspiciously, distrust pooling in her dark eyes. She turned back to the fire, briefly lifting a hand in warning. He nodded to himself... and loosened her kimono so that it fell to below her shoulders. Sango, tears collecting, turned toward him. Miroku felt his heart twinge- did his groping really hurt her so? He smiled kindly.
"Lady Sango-sama, please. I will honor my promise. I am merely going to rub out your muscles and bandage that shoulder wound you sustained today. Do not deny the fact that they pain you." Sango shifted, trying to decide whether to believe him... or not. Now that she thought of it, her back hurt her immensely. Miroku, guessing that his idea was a go, moved her kimono down a bit more for access to her back (but at a very appropriate level on her chest.) Slowly, he moved it down... until he touched Kohaku's scar. Sango froze, her breath collecting in her throat. She let out a muffled whimper of torment and moved away, pulling her kimono's top fully on. Miroku sighed, then hung his head. He was completely aware of the fact that he had just stabbed her heart with a blade more sharp and painful then any living one. He glanced at her face, seeing it riddled with misery. Feeling his lip tremble the tiniest bit, he silently sympathized. Whispering in her ear, he apologized.
"Lady Sango... I am so sorry, I did not mean to offend... Please, let me loosen your muscles and clean your cut. I won't go so far down, I promise. You will feel better, I guarantee it." Sango sniffled and moved her yukata down (just a tiny bit...) for him to have access to her back. He silently moved behind her, placing his hands on her back. For a moment he basked in the feel of her lightly scarred yet smooth skin against his hands. Miroku quickly dressed and covered the somewhat deep slash on her left shoulder. Sango let out a small 'mmph' as the medicine stung her wound, and Miroku breathed a 'gomen'. She nodded and swallowed. That finished, he pondered his next move. He began to gently rub her shoulders, working out what knots he could. He felt her stiffen with the pain of smashed knots, then relax as her body flowed blood to the slack areas. She let out a whimper, this time of pleasure, and involuntarily leaned back into his comforting hands.
Miroku studied her back as he rubbed, looking at the thin scars that ran across her topmost shoulder skin. Down a few inches and her skin went smooth, untouched by the rough youkai she was so used to battling. He smiled: this was intensely pleasurable for him. He marveled at the light, evenly colored tan on her back, trying to memorize her every toned muscle. It wasn't often he got to see this, he thought. Might as well enjoy it.
Sango slacked off completely, her body falling into his lap. Her eyes fluttered shut as she dozed off. For a moment Miroku froze, unsure of what to do. Smiling tenderly at her, he wrapped her securely in his arms. Now he could study her face. During the day her trauma-hardened face kept up an unemotional mask: she really never smiled. Not really. She always tweaked her mouth up whenever Shippou cracked a joke or when Kagome got ticked off and sat Inuyasha... but her eyes remained... empty. Those eyes haunted Miroku. They scared him sometimes- sometimes they lacked... life. He stroked a small tress of her dark brown hair away from her face. Her cheek was equally smooth: he ran a finger down her face, tracing it. He smiled again. She looked peaceful- for once the nightmares plagued her not. Leaning down, he tentatively kissed her forehead. For a moment he closed his eyes, lips on her skin, sinking in pleasure at the thought of what he was doing.
"Houshi-sama?" The good feeling kind of went away. Miroku's eyes snapped open, and he blinked as a hot blush covered his cheeks. His blush, however, was nothing compared to Sango's. If hers was red, Miroku's face was as pale as a vampire's. He stuttered and tried to regain a sense of balance.
"Uh, uh, uhhhh... So sorry, Lady Sango, please, forgive me... Gomen, gomen, gomen!" Sango looked up from his lap, shook her head, and sat up. Miroku couldn't help but let out a small dejected whine. He wanted her to go back to the original position. Sango turned around and kissed the monk on the cheek, her cheeks still flaming. She rubbed the back of her neck, embarrassed. He fell over.
"Arigato, Houshi-sama, for the soothing time. Good-night." With that, she lay down, bringing her thin warrior's covers about her face snuggly. She sighed and her back slackened, her body completely relaxing. Miroku, who was having quite the time trying to recover, eventually got his body to work right and sat up. He smiled tenderly at the girl's softly breathing figure, then lay down himself and went to sleep.
~
The taji-ya silently opened her eyes and sat up. Laying across the fire from her was a certain monk. Miroku. Houshi-sama, Sango scolded herself. HOUSHI-SAMA. He's a traveling monk. He deserves a title. I cannot call him by name- since when are we one a first-name basis? But he calls you Sango... Lady Sango. LADY Sango!! As in respectfully so. Respect. Yep. That's definitely Miroku's... excuse ME, HOUSHI-SAMA'S... game. Sango gave up on the war waging inside of her head. There was no point. She couldn't very well win against herself, now could she?
Once again her eyes strayed blankly, unseeing. Flashbacks pounded her mind's eye as Sango drifted off to sleep.
"Kohaku?" That... that was our FATHER you killed... "Kohaku?" My mind spun as I spoke.
"Oh god... SANGO!" Kohaku? Was he still insane?
"Let the exterminators play..." The damn lord that made it all happen...
"YOU! This is your doing! Youkai!" My enraged cry and dashing...
"She has gone mad. Take her down... What are you waiting for?" He told them to kill me...
THUNK THUNK SLICE SPURT Two spears in my back... One through my arm... my blood...
"Sango, I'm so scared..." My brother... my little innocent brother who loved life...
"Shhh... I'm here... Don't be frightened..." Oh, but he should have been. My Kohaku... no!
"What has happened to the exterminators is regrettable. Bury them in the corner of the garden... It is the least we can do..." Regrettable? Since when did Naraku find death regrettable?
"Madame Exterminator! You still live?..." No, Naraku. I've just decided to shift a bit. My GRAVE was a little UNCOMFORTABLE!
"Curse... it... all..." Argh... such unearthly pain filling my body... "I... will... not... die!..."
"Give me my weapons... my boomerang bone... I'm going to kill... Inuyasha!" One of the biggest mistakes I ever made in my life- trusting Naraku. Went away from him. Away from Kohaku...
SLUNK SLICCCCCEEEE.... Kohaku's blade into my back, thrusting deep into my muscles, shredding my skin and spilling my crimson life on the ground...
"AHHH!" Sango jerked awake, a sheet of cold sweat covering her yukata-clad body. She was trembling... Why wouldn't the memories go away? Tears unshed crowded her eyes. Why couldn't she sleep at night? She shuddered and furiously wiped her eyes. She gave a last sniffle and looked into the fire yet again. Beside it lay Miroku. The pain in her eyes softened for once as she allowed herself to crawl over to him. Sitting quietly, she studied his face. The smooth, tan skin, the strong (but not annoyingly so) jawline, the delicate eyelashes. She smiled, then frowned.
"Houshi-sama..."
"Hai?" He whispered, not opening his eyes. Sango jerked, not really thinking he was awake. "Yes, Sango?"
"Um... do you think we can do it? Beat Naraku, I mean?" Now his eyes opened. Sitting up, he smiled kindly.
"Yes, Sango. We can. We will. And then we'll save Kohaku, and then you can smile again." His voice dropped off by the end. Unable to look into her eyes, he instead concentrated on the ground. Sango cocked her head.
"Houshi-sama, I can smile... see?" She flashed him what would have been an insanely attractive smile, but it was dead like usual. He shook his head.
"But there is no LIFE in your smile, Sango. Here," he said suddenly, pulling a struggling Sango into his lap. "Now try..." He murmured into her neck, sending wild shivers down her spine.
"N-nani, Houshi-sama? No! Let go!" She bucked her hips, pulling away from him. "Don't touch me!"
"Gomen, Sango. I was just trying to-"
"Cope a feel?" Sango asked, angry tears forming.
"No, no! Iie! I was trying to get a true smile out of you. It hurts me that you cannot smile." He said gently. Stretching out his hand, he grasped Sango's. "Someday, Sango. Someday you will smile at me and I will see it in you eyes. I will." Sango smiled nervously, shocked.
"H-hai."
"Until then, my fair lady Sango- let the world try our strength. If you ever need me-"
"Or you I," Sango threw in, blushing. Miroku's mind stopped, but then he continued.
"-Just call for me. Come what may, Sango."
"Hai, Miroku." With that, a furiously blushing Sango tucked herself delicately into a certain monk's arms. Comforted by each other's warmth, they soon fell asleep. Miroku drifted off, joy vibrating in his body. She said my name...
"Come what may," He whispered one last time before burying his head into his love's neck and falling off the edge of awareness to sleep. No nightmares haunted either's scarred footsteps for quite a while.
../*\.. Owari ../*\..
^Aww! So kawaii! *giggles* Did you know that 'kawai' means 'scary', but 'kawaii' means 'sweet'? Jeez. That'd be so bad if you messed that up! *sweatdrops* Gomen! Got carried away!
~FluffyLemonn!