I was happy to finally see the girl open her eyes.

She looked up at me blankly. I saw her legs move underneath the blanket and stop suddenly. Her eyes widening, she must have realized that her legs were entirely bare, save for a bandage. Gasping and sitting up, she clutched the blanket about her waist and tried to stutter out some sort of order for me to leave.

"Do not fear me, Sango-chan."

She blinked in surprise. "H-…how did you…?" Gently pushing down on her shoulder to get her to lie down once again, I stated, "Your father told me. You did not fully expect me to stay here a number of days and not learn it, did you?" Sango-chan looked around, ignoring the small smile that crept on my face. "A number of days? How long has it been since the attack?"

I affirmed that it had been five days hence, and her eyes shot back to meet mine in disbelief.

I went on to explain what had happened. The snake had somehow managed to bite her at the junction between her hip and left leg. Either it had wanted to toy with her or she had managed to escape its grip; I had not been able to ascertain. Whatever the case, he weapon was knocked away and she ended up wounded on the ground. This snake bite did not release venom, as the snake was but a spirit. It could not physically wound another. However, it preyed upon the souls of innocent young girls. As long as it was on this earth, Sango-chan's soul was being used as a food source. Perhaps this was why it did not do away with her right away. Whatever the case, I was glad that I had destroyed the carrier and buried it properly, lest Sango-chan be plagued by this demon encounter in the future.

It took many days of prayers and nursing to get her to awaken after she had fallen unconscious on Kirara's back.

She listened to the story in shock. I suppose that she had taken the time it took for me to tell my rather long-winded tale to inspect my face. I had slept little since that day, and ate even less. After a long moment, she placed her hand over mine, a look of gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you, Houshi-sama." I shook my head at her. "Please, call me Miroku."

Sango-chan shook her head right back at me.

"I owe my life to you. I never thought that I would be indebted to a man in such a way. Calling you by anything other than your revered title would be minimizing this deed you have done for me." She did not look me in the eye as she spoke, and I noticed a slight tint of red in her cheeks. I was about to ask her about this when I heard the sound of creaking wood and realized that someone was at the door.

"Sister!"

I turned back and pulled my hand away just in time for an excited Kohaku to throw himself at his sister, hugging her fiercely. "I'm so glad! Father and Houshi-sama and I have been so worried." I saw Sango-chan's startled eyes turn to look at me and quickly looked away, seeing Gaanetto-sama at the door. With a gentle smile, he walked into the room.

I stood, smiled at him, and left the room quietly.

What was that feeling that went through me when Sango-chan willingly touched my hand? Why did my heart feel greatly at ease to see her awaken? And why had I willingly stayed up for hours on end, meditating more than I ever had in my life? Folding my arms over my chest and hiding my hands in the sleeves of my robes, I looked down at I walked through the expansive hallway. I was merely repaying a debt. That is all. If not, then I was probably just hoping that this would grant me more time with which to win her over. I knew that these thoughts were false when I stopped outside the room that contained the shrine to Miroku Bosatsu.

Without knowing why, I entered the room.

Someone had just laid down incense. I walked over to the large statue and knelt down in front of it, bowing my head. I know little of you, I told the Bosatsu, and so I have never paid homage to you. I scarcely believe that you exist. Does this make me a traitor to my robes? Though I knew that I was still speaking to myself within my own mind, I was almost certain that the voice changed slightly and did not… did not belong to me. No. You called upon me when you needed me most. You called upon me when you needed to save a life. I shook my head as though in disagreement. I called upon the Enlightened One.

And what do you think I am?

I looked up at the statue. As characteristic of many depictions of Miroku Bosatsu, he was sitting cross-legged, a finger on his cheek as though in contemplation. In this case, however, it seemed as though he was keeping a secret. I do not know. But perhaps I should endeavor to find out.

"I've never heard of a monk who questions his faith religiously."

I spun around to see Gaanetto-sama walking quietly into the room, slowly making his way towards me. I looked down, as though in shame. "Is it really faith if I question it?" The man stood besides me and placed a hand on the top of my head. "A Greek philosopher by the name of Socrates once said, 'The wise always question themselves. Only a fool is certain.'" With a half smile, I questioned, "Are you certain of that, Gaanetto-sama?"

Laughing good-naturedly, he knelt besides me.

"I do hope I was not interrupting your meditation, houshi-sama." I shook my head. "Just an inner conflict that will straighten itself over time. It will not leave anytime soon." He nodded, as though understanding completely. Looking back up at the Bosatsu, Gaanetto-sama quietly said, "Those are the only wounds that really heal that way. And if you play your cards right, you might just escape without any scars."

He let a contemplative moment of silence pass before speaking again.

"I'd like to thank you for rescuing my daughter." I nodded. Over the past few days, I had heard his side of the encounter numerous times. He and his son were not too far away from where I had been, but had seen and heard nothing. No one but Sango-chan knew what had carried her out so far into the woods on her own and so quickly, and so that can only be speculated on until she was questioned. And no one at all knew how I was able to see both captor and captive through what others had decided was a powerful barrier if even Kirara could not get through it. Most attributed it to my holy powers, but Gaanetto-sama thought otherwise.

"You are a miracle," he kept telling me.

I nodded again as he repeated this statement, saying nothing. It was uncomfortable enough dealing with my own spiritual confusion; having someone who worships a Bosatsu who shares my name claim that I am a miracle made me feel wrong about even questioning my beliefs.

Placing a hand on my shoulder, Gaanetto-sama told me, "She told me why she ran off."

I looked at him questioningly. "She said she felt the need to ride on Kirara- though she didn't elaborate as to why." His eyes sparkled for but a brief moment. I remembered that I had caught Sango-chan looking at me and then turn away moments before this occurred. "She encountered the demon and was stubborn enough to try and take it down without assessing the situation. That has happened once or twice before, but never with ill consequences. Something must have bothered her."

Looking down, I replied, "Yes, indeed."

Another moment of silence enveloped us. Then I was asked, "Do you still plan on leaving?" I nodded. I had told him that I had meant to leave days ago, and would only stay until the day that Sango-chan was healed. "Yes."

"Where will you go?"

I remembered Kohaku asking me the same question. Though it was only a few days before, I now had an answer for him. "Home." Gaanetto-sama looked at me. "Oh? And where's that?" I looked back up, into the eyes of the stone Miroku before me. "At the temple of my foster father, Mushin. I feel that there is still much for me to learn before I can go on with my quest." Seeming to already know the answer before he even asked the question, he asked, "And why is that, houshi-sama? You were strong enough to defeat that evil spirit."

It took me a moment to formulate the words, possibly because they were the bare truth.

"Yes. And I had believed that I was strong enough. There is no reason why I cannot be that sure of myself during all of my waking hours." I looked at the village headmaster and saw him smiling. I offered him a smile back. I wanted to tell him more, so much more, but I was never one to know what sort of words to offer men. Instead, I only said, "Give your daughter my regards. May she and the rest of your family be blessed."

Gaanetto-sama nodded as I stood to leave.