Ch. 7 When I'm Gone
me: long chapter, for once! have fun, and please Read and Review!!!! oh, and i do NOT own the song by 3 Doors Down: When I'm Gone!
There's another world inside of me
That you may never see
There's secrets in this life
That I can't hide
"Hey, Sango-chan? Are you still awake?" Kagome asked, rolling over in her sleeping bag.
"Yeah. What's wrong?"
"Kaede told me that we're going to have Miroku's funeral tomorrow." Kagome said softly. Sango sighed.
"I just don't like to think of him going into the ground. Once we buried my father, it was like we acknowledged that he was really gone forever."
" I know how you feel... I miss my father, too."
"What happened to him, Kagome-chan? If you don't mind my asking."
"I don't mind. He got hit by a car on the way home from work. I was only three when it happened. I don't remember him much. The only thing I do remember was that he used to come in every night and read to me. The night he died, I remember asking my mom where he was, and why he wasn't home. Then she told me he wasn't coming home."
"Oh, Kagome-chan. I'm so sorry..." Sango said quietly. "I was much older when my father died. I remember Kohaku picking up his weapon and just massacring the village. It was horrible to watch. I wanted to run away, so he couldn't kill me as well, but I stayed. I thought maybe if I talked to him, he'd snap out of it. So much for that, ne?" Sango whispered bitterly. Miroku listened intently to their conversation. He'd never heard Sango talk about her father before.
"It's like Kohaku is still my little brother, the shy one who never really wanted to slay demons." Sango continued. "And he's still here, with me, but I just can't see him. Same with Miroku."
Somewhere in this darkness
There's a light that I can't find
Maybe it's too far away...
Maybe I'm just blind...
Maybe I'm just blind....
"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.
"It's like he's still here, I just can't find him. I keep feeling him." Sango replied, staring into the rafters.
"Oh. Well, Sango, you should get some sleep. We're going to have a hard day tomorrow..." Kagome smiled at her friend, then burrowed into her pillow. Sango could tell she was asleep instantly.
"Get some sleep..." The demon slayer moaned, turning in the makeshift bed Kagome had kindly provided. "I can't sleep if I know the man I loved is going into the ground tomorrow..."
"The man...you loved?" Miroku repeated, hovering closer to Sango.
"Well, maybe I didn't love him...maybe I just strongly liked him." She said, apparently talking to herself. Miroku smiled softly and floated even closer to her. He could see every freckle on her face now. He stared at her for a few moments, then sighed.
"You wait 'til I'm dead to admit you love me. You wait 'til I'm dead to kiss me. Why-" Miroku couldn't finish his thought, as he was slammed with another memory.
"InuYasha! You slaughtered my village!" A young woman screamed, her long dark hair tied into a ponytail. She wore traditional demon exterminator clothes, and she carried an oversized boomerang.
"Look, I never slaughtered any village!" The half demon roared, his hand drifting casually to his sword. The schoolgirl behind him glanced anxiously at the demon slayer.
"InuYasha, be careful!" The girl whispered, her eyes alight with worry. Miroku stood slightly farther away from the group, looking intently at the exterminator. She was beautiful.
"You're going to pay for what you did!" Sango yelled, just before heaving the boomerang in the hanyou's direction. He dodged the weapon just in time, and then drew out his lethal sword.
"I didn't want to have to fight you," He growled, raising the Tetsusaiga. "But apparently, you give me no choice!"
"InuYasha..." Miroku said quietly.
"What!!"
"Don't hurt her. She must be under some sort of illusion." The monk said, glancing at the woman.
"She's trying to kill me!" InuYasha yelled. "Miroku, she could hurt you or Kagome any mi-" His words were cut off as the slayer dealt another crushing blow with her weapon.
"Exactly my point, Miroku..." InuYasha muttered, panting heavily. "We've got to finish her off before she finishes us! Now stop thinking those perverted thoughts, and help!"
"She's so beautiful..." Miroku said, gazing at her. She stopped for a fraction of a second, and raised her tragic eyes to meet his. He stared at her for a moment, then she looked away, as though embarrassed to have lost her concentration. A rosy blush covered her face, as she swung the boomerang at InuYasha again, who was barely quick enough to dodge it.
"Miroku! A little help here!" He yelled impatiently. The houshi hurried to his comrade, but he knew that he would never do anything to hurt that woman, no matter what she did.
At that moment, he had fallen in love.
So hold me when I'm here
Right me when I'm wrong
Hold me when I'm scared
And love me when I'm gone
Everything I am
And everything in me
Wants to be the one
You wanted me to be
"Ah, I remember that." Miroku said quietly. He looked down at the slayer, who, despite her best efforts, had fallen into a deep sleep. He watched her, then strode over to the corner he had spent most of the day in. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he felt another memory stride into his head.
"So, Naraku had control of your brother?" Miroku asked, his eyes dark with sorrow. Sango nodded quickly.
"Yes. This Naraku demon commanded my younger brother, Kohaku, to kill his own father and comrades. It was a bloodbath, horrible to watch. I did everything in my power, but I couldn't save him..." She said, her eyes watering.
"It wasn't your fault, Sango." Miroku replied, moving slightly closer to her. She glanced at him, then looked back down at her hands.
"I let everyone in that village down...my father, my brother, and all of our friends. Now they're dead, and never coming back."
"We'll help you. All of us have been cheated by Naraku at one time or another. Now we're going on this journey to avenge ourselves. You could join us, if you'd like..."
"I...thank you for your offer, but I think it would be better if I traveled alone."
"Aw, come on!" InuYasha groaned, earning surprised looks from the rest of the group. "You're pretty strong, and we could use more strength against Naraku."
"Well....when you put it that way..." Sango smiled. "I suppose I'll travel with you for a while. Actually I-"
-SLAP-
"What was that?!" Sango shrieked, inching away from the monk. He smiled secretly, then leaned back against the rock, rubbing the slap mark. Kagome and InuYasha rolled their eyes in unison. Sango turned away from him, so he wouldn't see the secret smile that decorated her face.
I'd never let you down
Even if I could
I'd give up everything
If only for your good
So hold me when I'm here
Love me when I'm wrong
You can hold me when I'm scared
But you won't always be there
So love me when I'm gone...
"Heh, I remember that too..." Miroku smiled. He settled into the dark corner, watching over his friends. InuYasha was talking in his sleep again, and Kagome woke briefly because she was cold. Eventually, Miroku drifted off to sleep.
"InuYasha...you won't mind helping me move the body, will you?" The sun shone in through the crack in the ceiling, and Miroku awoke to the sound of Kaede's voice. He blinked twice, then watched his own body being carried through the door, by Kaede and InuYasha. Sango and Kagome were still asleep, but Sango was stirring.
"Mmm...Kagome-chan, are you awake?" Sango yawned, poking her friend.
"No..." Kagome moaned, burying her head further in the pillow. Sango smiled softly, then walked over to the door. She peered outside, and observed InuYasha and Kaede digging a very deep hole in the soft dirt by the forest.
"What are they doing?" She wondered. Then it hit her. They were digging Miroku's grave.
The funeral was today.
When your education x-ray
Cannot see under my skin
I won't tell you a damn thing
That I could not tell my friends
Now roaming through this darkness
I'm alive but I'm alone
Part of me is fighting this
But part of me is gone.
So hold me when I'm here
Right me when I'm wrong
Hold me when I'm scared
And love me when I'm gone
Love me when I'm gone...