I do not own Inuyasha, nor do I own any of the characters associated with Inuyasha.
Stretched out underneath the midday sun, Miroku sat studying the palm of his right hand. He had felt his Wind Tunnel widen that morning, and his mind couldn't help but wander to the fears that he had spent his entire life trying to overcome.
His father's Wind Tunnel wasn't much larger than his was now, and with each passing day he could feel the nothingness grow a little bit faster. Miroku was running out of time, and with him would die Naraku's curse; the journey to produce an heir being still unsuccessful.
Carefully passing the fingers of his left hand over the covered palm of his right, Miroku gently sighed; he expected to die within the year.
But only with the power of his curse could he hope to defeat Naraku and save himself, and only by opening the darkness within himself to the outside world, could he hope to protect those he had become so very close to. By no other means than letting the nothingness within consume his very being, could he save the only woman he had ever felt anything for, only by giving up his own life could Sango live – and he had no regrets for it.
Perhaps life is not to be measured in the number of moments spent, but in the quality of those moments, Miroku thought. If I were to live a hundred years, I would not have lived but one if Sango were not here by my side, as she is here now. Why can't Inuyasha seem to understand how precious each and every moment really is? Instead of bringing Kagome back to our era, he has given in to the arrogance of his own pride, Miroku thought as he watched Sango lay on the grass beside him
Feeling Miroku's eyes on her, Sango casually moved her head to pierce into his enticing gaze, and Miroku couldn't help but to enjoy the quiet and relaxed feeling that flowed between them. He was glad that he had lived long enough to experience this one, precious moment; if nothing else.
In the distance Miroku could see Inuyasha starring towards the direction of the Bone Eater's Well, and no matter how at peace he may have felt lying next to Sango underneath the soft rays of the sun, he couldn't overlook the fact that he knew Inuyasha was in pain without Kagome.
"I won't be long," Miroku said as he lifted himself off the ground and walked through the village towards Inuyasha.
As if protecting himself from some kind of danger that was unseen to human eyes, the Hanyou sat high up in the thick branches of an Alder tree, his legs casually curled up underneath his body.
"You miss Kagome, don't you?" Miroku gently spoke towards Inuyasha as he stood next to the base of the tree. "She is probably as scared to come back as you are to go after her. So why don't you be the courageous one and ask her to return to our era. The more time you two spend apart, the more you hurt yourselves."
"And what would you know of it Monk?" Inuyasha barked. "What would you know of anything?"
Glaring first at Sango, and then at his right hand, Miroku answered Inuyasha. "I know that time is precious; far too precious to waste a single moment."
"Miroku…?" Inuyasha said as he slowly began to understand the connections underlying his friend's words. Unable to put his thoughts into an accurate structure, Inuyasha fought through ever syllable, "I'm not like you," he quietly said.
"I wish you were like me. Then perhaps you would be able to understand what it means to know that time is not infinite," and with those last words left hanging in Inuyasha's ear, Miroku returned to Sango.
I wish you could see the hand that destiny has dealt you, Miroku thought as he looked towards Sango. Only through nightmares, can one appreciate what they are given in life.