Chapter 8 –The Player and the Played-

Sango sat up in her room when she had gotten home. It had been rather late when they had actually gotten back to the house. Hatchi had taken them out to an Italian restaurant, feeding them up to the brink.

It was at least twelve o'clock by the time they had gotten back. Sango was hoping that Miroku would have gotten back by now. But he hadn't. So she had slowly drifted off to sleep. Grinning as she lay across, not her own bed. But Miroku's. She wanted to give him something tonight. Or at least, show that she loved him tonight. That she...Wait. To show that she loved him?

The thought seemed so normal, such a natural thing to think about the houshi. She grinned.

"Hai. Miroku. I love you." She whispered into the darkness of the room, before falling into a light slumber across his bed.

When Miroku had finally been able to get home, he had thought up an hundred and one other things that he had to take care of. So, he told himself firmly that he wouldn't see Sango. He would wait. Let her wait as well. If she really wanted him, then he would test her tonight.

Yet, he still had some business he needed to deal with. So with reluctance, he managed to keep himself from heading straight for the bed. Picking up the portable phone, he trotted down the stairs, working his way into the living room where he fell sprawl out across the couch.

Tapping in a phone number he sighed as it rang a few times. After about 10 rings it was answered by a gruff voice. "Ello." It was obvious that whoever had answered had been woken up.

"Jesus InuYasha, get an answering machine you cheapskate." Miroku snickered into the receiver. InuYasha on the other end rolled his eyes. "You called me up to tell me that? Because if you did...." He ended with a growl, and Miroku rolled his eyes.

"I needed to talk to you. You know that girl Sasha, she quit...right?"

InuYasha paused, snorting in obvious disgust. "Seriously Miroku, she is your main dance partner. Shouldn't you know this type of shit?" he growled. Miroku frowned. "I'm to fucking busy to remember this shit okay?" Miroku hissed.

InuYasha snorted, "You probably had to think an hour to remember her name for Christ sake." Miroku's eyes narrowed. "Maybe so. What difference does it make?" He snarled angrily, sitting up.

InuYasha sighed. "Miroku. I really don't want to fight with you this late at night." Miroku sighed, leaning into the back of the couch again. "Why did the bitch quit anyways?" Miroku asked.

On the other end, InuYasha's eyebrow twitched. "Miroku..." He snarled. Miroku's voice showed only pure indigence. "I wasn't there! For Christ sake, I was hung up in SEATTLE with Hatchi if you don't remember."

InuYasha sighed. "Oh right!" he added with a small bark. Miroku sighed. "Answer my question."

InuYasha sighed, "Well...before Sasha, and then there was Liz, Rachel, Sakura and Beth.... how am I supposed to remember all their reasons? I think it had something to do with the way you fucked her, left her to go home when you were done, leaving her to pay for the fucking hotel, and then got mad at her when she was late in the morning...Hm.... Does that sound right monk?" InuYasha growled. Miroku rolled his eyes, "Cut the shit out okay. I did what I felt was right at the time."

InuYasha growled standing up on the bed, which he had currently been, sprawled in. "YOU DELINQUENT BASTARD! She was seriously in love with you Miroku. And what did you do. YOU STUPID ASSHOLE!" he screeched into the phone. Miroku held the phone away from his ear; InuYasha's voice much to loud.

The houshi could say nothing to defend himself really. It was, after all, true. "They know what they're getting into." He whispered. InuYasha snorted. "When she was stripping for you, did you tell her that she was the second woman that weekend who had done the exact same?" InuYasha snarled. "Who's sleeping in your suite now, Miroku? Which woman are you going to fuck tonight and send on her way?" InuYasha asked quietly, his voice was dangerously low.

Miroku opened his mouth, and then closed it again. The only sound coming through on the other end was a sigh. "YOU MEAN THAT THERE IS SOMEONE UP THERE WAITING FOR YOU!" InuYasha snarled. Miroku finally lost it.

"NO. She is not waiting for me. She is sleeping in a separate room, I'm not planning on fucking her any time soon either you stupid demon!" Miroku shouted. Instantly regretting his words as InuYasha sneered back.

"What's the matter houshi-sama lost your nerve? Or is she just not getting you on? Or...Is she smart to not accept you?" he taunted. Miroku's nerve twitched, his patience getting dangerously low. "I'm never picked her up to fuck her InuYasha, her family is really screwed up, she's here with her brother, I'm the only one who could help her, They were going to take away her brother InuYasha." He said calmly.

"Since when has that bothered you Miroku?" InuYasha snarled, obviously he hadn't regained his temper. "Their all a bunch of pawns to you anyways, It's all a game to you, you play with their hearts, You play with them until you win, then you throw them out. You stupid nigen, they are human beings, not pawns. It's not a game, It's not 'lets see what we can do to get into their pants'" he snarled, working himself up into an outrage.

Who's life was the monk going to ruin now?

"How long is going to take you before you make her fall in love with you. Until you break her into you. So that you can fuck her good and then send her on her way monk, how long?"

Miroku hissed something out. "I was never planning on throwing her out." He sighed, running his hands nervously through his raven strands. InuYasha snorted. "Oh...so you were going to leave her at your house, so that when you come back with some other whore that she finds out for herself eh? Is this a new part of the game? Extra Ball, extra thrill if you break their hearts too?"

Miroku slouched, putting his head into his hands. "I...don't...know." He finally sighed. InuYasha snickered. 'Your losing your touch Miroku. Wha...You gone soft for her or something? What happened to the immoral, unprincipled player here eh? What's the matter houshi-sama, you finally have realized that women have dreams and feelings to? Realized that you are human, that there is more to life then having sex with every girl you see?"

Miroku's mouth opened once again, but nothing came out except a squeak. "How many times have you touched her so far? Told her that she was the most beautiful woman that you have ever seen. Played with her once, then apologize right after, make her so mad at you that she wants to pound you in, and then do just the right thing so that she is falling into your arms. Eh Houshi-sama, How many times?"

Miroku said nothing, simply gazing at the Persian rug beneath his bare feet. Slouching as his head dropped down as he frowned. Was he really that predictable? That InuYasha already knew his every move, what he would do, and what their reactions always were?

"How many times? ANSWER ME!" InuYasha bellowed when Miroku didn't answer. The houshi finally sighed. "Twice." He whispered, his voice hardly above a whisper.

InuYasha's jaw dropped. He had been hitting blindly there, and he just realized, that he had connected. "Does she know houshi-sama?" He asked sadly, his voice suddenly rather kind, although he wasn't being so towards Miroku himself, but to the girl. "Are you going to ruin her life? Are you really heartless enough to fuck her up even more? You said that she had lived a tough life. We all have Miroku, but why would you fuck with it. Why are you going to screw her up more."

Miroku lifted his hands from his face, almost amazed that his fingers were wet, his eye were too. He just realized something. Was he crying?

He took a ragged breath in. "I...I..." Inside he found something. It had all began, just like InuYasha had said. He was just going to win her over. When she hadn't responded the way he liked, he only thought it a challenge. Taking her would be the ultimate; it had taken nearly the biggest set up to get it all done. Hatchimon had been rather hard to bend. But the ol' transformer was always on his side, was he not?

But the way Hatchi had looked at him. It had kind of unnerved him. And now what InuYasha was saying. Was he really that heartless?

But was there anything there? Was she really just another woman that he would eventually blow off and move on to take another one?

He sighed. Would he hurt Sango that bad?

"Miroku...Miroku are you there?" InuYasha was saying. Miroku snapped back to reality. "InuYasha. I...I really don't know what I'm going to do. I could leave her. You understand that don't you. I could block her out if I wanted, and I would never go back, I would never have any compassion no matter how much she hurt."

InuYasha gasped. "Miroku.... you stupid ass. You've had more women than anyone; they've all had dreams. You've been in most of them. This woman.... What's her name?" He finally asked.

"Sango." Miroku whispered quietly.

"Sango. Think about her. Do you think she would have dreams with you in them? You say that she found her; she had nothing. Now that you've given her something, you're going to take that all away from her. Ever last little bit."

Miroku sighed. Finally he stood up, pacing. It was him, or her. "It's not something I can help. She played with me, I'm going to play her, and that's that. When it's all said and done, it's not going to bother me one bit."

Wit that Miroku hung up. Hurling the phone across the room. It connected with the wall behind the fireplace. Bouncing back shattered into a few pieces. Miroku was obvious not satisfied, his fists were shaking. He stomped across the room to stomp the shit out of the phone after. He stormed back off into the kitchen to get something to eat. Leaving a crushed phone.

But also a crushed woman.

The moment she had woken, hearing Miroku's voice in the darkness, she had crept down the stairs, hoping to surprise them, but when she had heard his words. She had stopped.

She had heard every word.

Sango's tears hit the carpet one after the other after the other. Sniffing loudly she ran back up the stairs to the room, grabbing a box of tissues she sat in the middle of the bed.

He was a player. That's all he was doing, playing her. And he said he would keep it up, he would take her, and then leave her there. It didn't matter to him. She as just a bitch anyways. A pawn in his game. Sango snarled, crushing the box of tissues in he fists, crunching it up into the smallest ball that she could make the full box, hurling it across the room. She stood up. "I'm not going to be played by anybody." She hissed.

That morning she would leave.

That was final.

((Ah Hah! You see, the plot grows thicker. And Sango's Luck, starts looking Sicker))