Ch. 8: Iris
me: ::rolls eyes:: I DON'T OWN THE GOO GOO DOLLS, OR THEIR SONG IRIS! NOW GET AWAY FROM ME BEFORE I SIC KIKYO-CHAN ON YOU!
Kikyo: ::plays with pointy objects:: you called?
me: Oo...please read and review....oh, and VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! I made this chapter extra long, because I'm not going to be able to update until Friday, August 13th. Please still review this chapter, cause I need to know how it was! Please review!!!
And I'd give up forever to touch you
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now
"Kagome-chan! Hurry up! The service starts in ten minutes, and we can't be late!" Sango yelled, poking her head through the door of the hut.
"I'm coming!" Kagome answered. Sango straightened the white tie on her ponytail and crossed her arms. Seconds later, Kagome emerged from the hut, dressed in a clean school uniform.
"Okay, I'm ready." Kagome announced, looking for InuYasha and Kaede.
"They're by the well....you know, that little space between those three trees? Down in the forest? That's where they're..." Sango's voice cracked and she looked away. Kagome patted her arm, and began walking toward the forest.
"Hey, is Shippo-chan coming to the funeral?" Kagome asked, apparently trying to get Sango's mind away from the idea of Miroku going into the ground.
"Yes, I think so. He's with Kaede right now, though."
"Oh." Kagome stared at the ground as she walked. She had run out of things to say. They were almost to the three trees, when Sango stopped.
"Kagome-chan...go on without me...I think I'd like to pick a flower for....you know..." Sango faltered, looking at her friend.
"No problem, Sango-chan!" Kagome said, smiling encouragingly. She hurried off to join InuYasha, who looked confused, and Kaede and Shippo, who both looked tired.
"What kind of flower should I pick...?" Sango asked herself, biting her lip. There were so many colors; she couldn't pick the wrong one.
"I'd be happy with whichever one, Sango..." Miroku said quietly. He had been following her and Kagome ever since they had left Kaede's hut.
"It has to be just perfect..." Sango muttered.
"No, it doesn't!" Miroku said, laughing. "Sango, you-"
"Hey Sango..." Miroku took the place next to her on the large gray rock she had been sitting on most of the evening.
"What?" Sango asked, her eyes still glued to the starry sky.
"I'm sorry you had to see your brother that way..." He replied, putting his hand on her own. She flinched, but made no move to stop him.
"He would have killed Kagome, if InuYasha hadn't been there to stop him..." She choked, her voice thick.
"It's not him, it's Naraku. Granted, I don't know Kohaku, but he seems like a very nice brother to have." Miroku said, smiling. Sango grinned in spite of herself.
"Yeah...he really was.." She answered. "On clear nights like these, we used to sit on the roof and look up at the stars. Kohaku used to make up silly names for them that would make me laugh. It was just the two of us."
"That sounds nice. I never had that kind of thing going with my family. My mother died two minutes after she gave birth to me, and my father was sucked into his wind tunnel when I was young. I had to spend most of my teenage years with a roaring drunk, and a racoon."
Sango laughed, then stopped, looking horrified. "Oh... I wasn't laughing at your parents, Houshi-sama."
"Don't worry. I didn't think you were. Anyways, I came here to give you this." He held out a dark red flower. "When I saw this, I thought of you. The outside is dark red, and tough, but if you look inside..." He gently opened the flower for Sango to see. "The inside is a light pink. I really like this flower, Sango...it reminds me of you."
"Oh..." Sango took the flower and smiled at it. "Houshi-sama, thank you so much!"
"Anytime!" Miroku grinned, striding away. Sango continued to look at the flower, her eyes shining with happiness. The happiness she hadn't felt since her father died.
And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
'Cause sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight
"Oh...I had almost forgotten about that!" Sango said softly. She sighed, and looked to the ground. "It's weird... I keep getting these odd flashes...it's like they're Houshi-sama's memories... his father dying...the first time I met him..."
"What?!" Miroku exclaimed, his eyes like plates. Sango had been getting the memories too??
"I need to find one of those flowers..." She muttered, searching the many patches of multicolored shrubs. Tears sprang to her eyes as she came across a few of the yellow flowers that had decorated her father's grave. Miroku searched as well, but found nothing.
"There has to be at least one of those flowers around here somewhere!" Sango said desperately. After ten minutes of searching, she sadly gave up. Miroku watched her silently.
"I can't believe I failed him again..." She said, the tears in her eyes more pronounced then ever.
"You didn't fail me, Sango! I don't care if you decorate my grave with weeds! Just the fact that you cared enough to be there...."
"I better get back to Kagome..." Sango murmured, standing. As a last resort, she picked a pretty white flower. Miroku followed her as she rushed to the three trees, where her friends were waiting impatiently.
"Geez, Sango! Didja get lost on your way over here or something?" InuYasha asked. Kagome glared at him.
"InuYasha...Sit!"
The hanyou was slammed into the soft ground. "What the hell was that for?"
"For being so insensitive! Can't you see that Sango's upset??" Kagome shrieked. InuYasha shot an angry look her way, then stood and took his former place by Kaede.
"We should not be so disrespectful. We are, of course, in the presence of the dead." Kaede said quietly. Sango felt her eyes fill with tears again.
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
Kaede began talking about how Miroku was a good man. Sango zoned it all out; she didn't like to hear how Miroku was a good man.
"He still is..." She muttered, glaring at Kaede.
"Now, Kagome...you wanted to say a few things about him?" Kaede asked, turning to the young miko.
"Ah...yes. Um, in my era, during funerals, sometimes the people that were close to the deceased person say a few nice-" She glared at InuYasha "things about them. Um...so..."
"Can I go, Kagome?" Shippo implored, staring up into her eyes. She smiled and nodded. Shippo took his place by the covered body, looking very important.
"You're letting the fox set an example for the rest of us?" InuYasha asked. Kagome glared at him some more.
"Go on, Shippo-chan.." Sango said, ignoring InuYasha and Kagome. She wanted to hear what he had to say.
"Okay! Miroku was a really nice guy. He used to protect me from InuYasha sometimes, and he was also really strong! I'm sorry that he's gone now..." Shippo's voice cracked. "I'm going to miss him a lot." The little kitsune walked unsteadily back to Kagome, who took him up in her arms.
"I'll go." InuYasha decided. Miroku watched him with amusement.
"He'd better not be rude!" Kagome whispered angrily.
"Uh...Miroku was nice. Kinda perverted, but okay all the same. He was a very strong fighter, and a good person to have on our side. Um...I'll miss him, I guess? Oh, and also, I'd like to thank him for fighting so well in his last battle-"
Battle...battle...its coming back to me....
"Houshi-sama! Get out of the hut now!" Sango screamed, hurling her boomerang at the red-eyed Kagura, who blocked with a gigantic wave of wind. The wave crashed into the hut, smashing it to pieces. Kagura's eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Dance of the Dragon!" Her powerful attack shot out at Sango, who deflected it fairly easily with her boomerang.
"Kagura! What are you doing here??" InuYasha roared, his eyes blazing. He lifted his sword and sent the Wind Scar streaming toward the youkai. She laughed and took control of his wind, immobilizing it.
"Haven't you learned, InuYasha?" She smiled. She was about to send another wave toward the hanyou, when she felt a heavy object crash into her back. Kagura's eyes glazed, and she whipped around, angry. The young demon slayer stood defiantly, raising a delicate hand to catch the boomerang.
"You'll pay for that!" Kagura shrieked. She flipped open her fan, but before she could attack, she saw the monk reach for his Kazaana.
And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything feels like the movies
Yeah you bleed just to know you're alive
"Miroku, no!" Kagome screamed. She was still searching for her purifying arrows, amidst the wreckage that was once the hut. They were the only way to take care of Kagura.
"You mortals forget so easily!" Kagura laughed, her voice filled with mirth. "Open that Air Rip, and the wasps will easily consume your body! Better to let me do my work, ne?" She aimed her fan at Sango again, who held her boomerang ready.
"Dance of the Dragon!" Kagura sent the powerful waves straight for Sango, who held up her boomerang as a block.
"Sango, the waves are too powerful!" InuYasha yelled. "Run, you idiot!"
"Sango!!!!"
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
Miroku tore the cloth from his hand, diverting the sharp blades of air away from Sango. Kagura scowled and unleashed the poisonous wasps. These wasps were a slightly different shade. They appeared deadlier and they were heading straight towards him. He pathetically attempted to close the tunnel, but the wasps were already being consumed. He winced, and fell to his knees, shaking.
"Houshi-sama!" Sango screamed, her voice shaking. She resisted the strong urge to drop everything and rush to Miroku's side. This was a battle after all...
"You'll pay for that one, Kagura!" InuYasha yelled. Kagome picked up an arrow. It was chipped and bent, but it would do. She fit it into the bow and aimed.
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
"Hit the mark..." Kagome muttered to herself, aiming directly for Kagura, who was using all her energy to deflect the Wind Scar. The miko let the arrow fly. As usual, it was quite a bit off target, but it still separated the wind, as it was meant to.
"Damn!" Kagura murmured. InuYasha raised his sword one last time, but she, sensing defeat, conjured her usual retreat: the large white feather.
"Coward!" InuYasha yelled after her, watching the feather drift slowly away. She did not look back.
"Houshi-sama!!" Sango screamed again, abandoning her weapon and rushing to her injured friend's side.
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
"God Miroku...please be all right..." Sango took his hand. Kagome watched the two sadly, while InuYasha looked on.
"Why are you two just standing there?" Sango yelled, startling the two. "We've got to get him to Kaede's, now! Hurry!" She was frantic; the monk seemed to be dying in front of them.
"Please Miroku...hold on..."
I just want you to know who I am...
"I need you...you can't die..." The thoughts in her head swirled around; she felt sick to her stomach.
I just want you to know who I am...
"I can't...no I won't...let another special person in my life die....again...I love him...I need to be with him...I've got to tell him now..."
I just want you to know who I am...