Disclaimer: I just realized that I haven't disclaimed any of my Inu fics so far. Consider it disclaimed as of… now!

A/N 1: It was very nice to get such positive reviews. I'm terrible at accepting compliments about my writing, but I thank everyone who responded or even just read and didn't hate it. So:

Sango0803, lodz, and gypsymuse: Thank you for your way too kind words. I hope you keep enjoying it.

Serenedy: How's this for updating soon?

Aamalie: And I thought I was being all original and creative (kind of). I haven't read any of the other blind Miroku fics and probably wouldn't have written this if I had. Oh, well. Too late now! But thank you for your encouragement. And, you'll see very soon how the groping occurs.

HMPrune: Sango wouldn't fall for a one-dimensional clown! And she'll so be helping.

Lily Thorne: Well, Aamalie reviewed and said that it had been done before. So I'm not so clever as I thought. (Sigh.) And as for taking Miroku's POV, well, it's probably because he's the oldest and I can identify with him the best. And the stories that I've written sort of necessarily take his perspective for what I'm trying to do.

And now that I've stopped blushing, let's move on with the story.

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Groping

By Starzki

Chapter 2- Frustration

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"We'll have to walk," announced Sango.

I heard Inuyasha snort disgustedly and I frowned in response, my fear and humiliation giving way to angry frustration for causing us more delay. Kagome jumped in with an idea. "Miroku-sama can use his staff as a cane and have Sango lead him. It'll be a little slower, but I'm sure we'll manage to keep a good pace."

Then, Kagome showed me a way to make my staff into a kind of antennae to avoid large obstacles by tapping it in front of me. Holding onto Sango's elbow we began our way back down the path. Tentatively at first and with great concentration, but eventually gaining speed, I began to adapt to the obscured world around me.

There were new things to pay attention to. I could tell the presence of trees by the rustling of leaves, by the warmth of sun or coolness of shadow on my face, or by the distance of bird songs. The type of ground we tread was either hard or forgiving under foot, rustling or crunching or scraping. Conversations among the others tended to quiet as the path grew trickier or narrower.

My mind was prevented from wandering to nicer things as my main priority became to remain upright and mobile. I felt dizzy and awkward without the horizon or other landmarks to steady me. Luckily, Sango was there to help me.

With slight pressure, Sango was able to steer me around curves or other potential barriers and I didn't stumble once in the two hours of progress we made. She remained steady and patient and I never doubted my trust in her to steer my correctly. But I was more exhausted after those couple hours of walking than I was at the end of most of the battles against demons we fought. It was a weird mental fatigue, like a large weight pressing at my head and shoulders, causing my thoughts to slow and my muscles to tense and bunch.

I didn't want to ask for another break and incur Inuyasha's ire again, but I needed a release of some sort. My temper was very short and I was worried that I would break or snap if jostled in the wrong way. Sango's soft breathing so close to me gave me a wicked idea. I dropped her elbow and my hand found its way to her backside.

Her retribution was quick and expected. "Pervert!" she squealed. Then, I actually saw something other than pure blackness. Bright stars exploded before me and I predictably stumbled to my knees without my guide. I heard her huff away as Kagome, Shippou, and Inuyasha groaned at my behavior. These were not unusual responses. What was unusual was that I didn't feel the slightest bit better.

I belatedly realized that the best part of grabbing Sango was to see her reaction: her red cheeks and spunky anger. I always adored seeing her afterwards, gladly taking the tactile punishment in exchange for the visual reward. But right then, I felt even worse than I had before. Blind, I couldn't experience my favorite part of watching Sango spring to sudden life and passionately act without restraint or propriety. My brows knit together in mounting frustration and confusion. I felt myself regressing toward childhood and the temptation to throw a tantrum was overwhelming. It wasn't fair. Blind and scared, I couldn't even cop a feel to make myself feel better.

I took a few slow breaths to quench my temper and I rubbed my sore cheek. "Walk by yourself, Houshi-sama. See if I care anymore," Sango called from in front of me. She was far away, but I could still make out the hurt in her voice. I opened my mouth to apologize and call her back, but I knew it was hopeless. I had blown it and she would be mad at me until she wasn't any more. Apologies and excuses would be taken as convenient lies and only make matters worse. But I was actually truly sorry this time.

I stood and made a half-hearted attempt to follow the rest of the group on my own, to try and reclaim some semblance of the independence that I had had since leaving the temple at age 15. But without Sango, I tripped ungracefully and found myself on the ground again. "Oh, Miroku-sama," sighed Kagome, her voice getting slightly louder as she neared me. "I'll help you. Just watch those hands of yours, okay?"

"No more touching of bottoms," I promised sulkily.

Shippou bounced up onto my shoulder. "I'll help, too," he announced cheerfully.

While my mood did not lighten at their offers of help, I was glad that I wasn't alone. I couldn't feel warm without seeing the sunlight. And without being able to see the lines and colors and contrasts of the world, I felt oddly insubstantial, dissipated and formless as smoke and fog.

As we again made our progress to the nearest village, I was surprised to learn that, even with both Kagome to guide me and Shippou to call out low branches and jutting rocks in the ground, our progress went much slower than before. I hadn't realized it, but Sango had a way of moving, of slowing down, speeding up, and using her body to subtly signal mine to the path before us. Without realizing it, I had been able to use her as an extension of myself, to feel out the path before me through her good-natured help. I felt like the biggest idiot in the world for taking her for granted as I did.

Really, Kagome was doing a good job. But she would become easily distracted by talking to Inuyasha, continuing their favorite tiffs and lectures. It started this time when Kagome suggested trying to find Kouga and asking if he could spare a wolf to act as a "seeing eye dog" to guide me. Inuyasha pouted and retorted angrily. Shippou got in the middle of the argument. Twice, they failed to notice a small imperfection in the ground in front of us. After the second time I fell, Shippou decided that my shoulder was not the safest place to be and retreated back to Kagome.

Kagome apologized profusely and helped me back onto my feet. I nodded and tried to be cheerful but couldn't help but ask, "Is Sango still mad at me?" She had been silent as stone since she slapped me.

"Well," Kagome whispered conspiratorially, "She looked concerned when you fell, but she's now refusing to look at you." I sighed unhappily, wishing I could take back that last errant touch. My resistance to self-pity was one of the things I prided myself on, but I felt myself sinking further and further into it with every hesitant step I took.

A few minutes later, I heard Inuyasha stop walking, becoming still in order to better sense his surroundings. Moments later, I felt it myself. Demons were coming.

"You feel that, Miroku?" asked Inuyasha, still trusting my extra sensory abilities.

"Yes. Demons," I responded, glad that I wasn't completely useless after all.

"Naraku's minions?" asked Sango. "Maybe he's responsible for Miroku's blindness."

"Then why did he wait so long to attack?" asked Shippou sensibly. "And why not strike us all blind?"

"Who cares?" asked Inuyasha. Even blind and distant from him, I could feel him tense, eager for battle. Sango prepared her hiraikotsu and I heard her breathing deepen and become steadier.

I felt the demon auras near, but this sense was off as well. My training and ability to read demon auras and sense the presence of others even far away did somewhat depend on my sight. The movements of nature, of the animals and insects, all helped me to develop and rely on this sixth sense. Now, using this sense was like trying to grip an awkward object in my hand without my index finger. I didn't completely trust myself and I felt completely vulnerable.

Inuyasha recognized that I would be no help in this fight. "Kagome! Take Miroku and Shippou someplace safe where they can't get in the way," he ordered.

Kagome pulled me off of the path into some bushes and under trees with low branches. I grunted angrily as I felt the sting of pain as a sharp twig bit into the skin of my face. Kagome pulled me into a crouch. "Stay down and keep an eye on Shippou," she said to me. The bushes where she had been rustled for a moment, then stood still.

"Um," I responded, slightly confused, waving my hands to where her voice had come from, I felt nothing but sharp branches and air. She had gone back to fight with Inuyasha and Sango.

"Shippou!" I whispered, confused. "Are you here?"

"Yes, Miroku. Kagome's got her bow and arrows and is going to help fight," he replied cheerfully, scaling my robes to reach my shoulder. "Do you want me to tell you what's going on?"

"Yes," I said. I indulged in a few seconds of indignation at being designated the babysitter. I wanted to fight. I felt like I needed to in order to channel some of this intense frustration I had been feeling. But I swallowed it down, hoping that I would find a way to make myself useful despite my blindness.

As the demons neared, the wind picked up and rustled the leaves and branches of the forest around us. I tensed in anticipation. Shippou said, "The demons are coming."

Then, the darkness around me seemed a jumble of discordant noises as the fighting began. The air crackled with electricity and I was beginning to feel warm for the first time since I went blind. Branches broke and the stench of demon blood, accompanied by the sweet scent of perspiration, wafted on the quickening breeze. I felt the beats and breeze of Sango's boomerang as it took flight again and again. Noises of Inuyasha's gleeful roars and Sango's battle cries were jubilant enough for me to realize that each was doing what they were born to do. It was exhilarating.

Shippou proved completely useless in describing the fight, often starting a thought without finishing it in any detail. "Oh! And Inuyasha's got one… Hey! Sango's going to throw… Kagome's got… Oh no! The demon's turning around and…" said Shippou, his attention span proving to me that he needed less candy from Kagome's time.

I tried a different tactic. "How many are there?" I asked.

"Just a few," replied Shippou. "Not very evolved, if you ask me. Just your everyday forest demons. There's like four or five, but it's hard to tell because there are a lot of trees and hiding spots."

Longer pauses began to be incorporated into the boisterous sounds of fighting. "How are we doing?" I wondered aloud.

"Pretty good. Sango took out one demon with her boomerang and Inuyasha gotten two and is working on one more." Then, Shippou gasped loudly and bounded off of my shoulder toward the menacing sounds. "Kagome!" he cried.

I tried to reach out, snatching at the air where I assumed him to be but felt nothing. From in front of me, I felt a larger demon presence bearing down on our location fast. Acting on instinct and temporarily forgetting my blindness, I jumped from my leafy lair to both fetch Shippou and to hopefully ward off the demon that I guessed was attacking Kagome.

When I had cleared the bushes and stepped onto the path, the sound of breaking trees and what I could only describe as the tearing open of the sky froze me in mid step. Sango shouted at me, "Houshi-sama! Get down!"

I dived to the ground, taking in a mouthful of dirt and grass, and covered my head and neck with my hands. An odd whoosh above me signaled that Inuyasha had come to my rescue and deflected whatever attack was happening. The ground shuddered with the falling demon body parts seconds after Inuyasha announced that he was using the wind scar.

A nearby Kagome grabbed my shoulder and coaxed me to my feet. Inuyasha shouted at me, "Damn it, Miroku! Stay out from under foot! We've got things under control!"

But he didn't. There was definitely another demon presence. It was coming from behind me and directing itself at Inuyasha who either did not feel or see it coming. I could tell that he was relaxed, thinking that the battle was over, gloating over another victory. The air around him no longer trembled and was warmed by his rushing blood. There was more fight ahead and, whatever it was, it was barreling straight at an unsuspecting Inuyasha.

"Watch out!" I cried as I jumped into its pathway. It felt small, but it was moving fast and my body absorbed its whole impact. The air rushed out of my lungs and I landed hard, smacking my head against the ground. And then I discovered that, in my dreams, I could still see.

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A/N 2: Ok, people, I'm posting this instead of cramming for tonight's super-hard statistics final like the good student I am. So, if you are reading this tonight, send positive and happy vibes my way. I'll probably be needing them. And I blame all typos, OOC-ness, and other problems in this chapter on the fact that I'm probably driven myself into a premature heart attack or aneurysm from all the studying. Also, the next chapter might not be updated quite so fast because of all of the post-final jubilation I plan on indulging in.

And just a warning (or tease, if you're into that sort of thing): The next chapters are shaping up to be very WAFFy. I really am trying to put some plot and development in them. We'll have to see how it goes. Let me know what you think.