AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am so, so unbelievably sorry for how late this is. I don't even have much an excuse… I just neglected my fanfictions for a while. But I'm back now, so no worries. I will not abandon this fic again! (Hopefully).

So without much ado, back to the story…

ABOVE AND BEYOND

Chapter Five: Kohaku's Discovery


Sango was more than a little relieved to exit school that day. She felt as though each day she entered that hellhole became a little worse, as if she was purposefully being tortured or something. Her calculus teacher was a complete prick, the food sucked, and it seemed that Kagome was the only person willing to actually talk to her within the whole school.

Barring Miroku, of course.

Speaking of which…

The monk in question was not beside her, as he had been only a minute ago.

Sango stopped abruptly, feeling uneasiness in the pit of her stomach. What was he doing now?

It took only a minute to find him. His hand was clasped tightly around another girl's—another woman's really, as she looked to be at least twenty-five. Her eyebrows were raised in confusion.

Shit, Sango thought in slight panic. Can she see him?

Miroku's next words answered her question. "Hello, beautiful maiden," he said, his voice becoming deeper. "Would you be so kind as to bear my child?"

"Eh—what?"

People had stopped and were staring at him. Sango had no doubt now: Miroku was definitely visible to the rest of the world.

"Bear my child," Miroku repeated, without missing a beat. "You see—"

She couldn't take any more of this. Jostling through the crowd, she grabbed his hand and tore it from the woman's. "Miroku!" she hissed disapprovingly. "What do you think you're doing!"

"Sango!" Miroku brightened, looking generally pleased to see her. Sango held back a snort. As if. He had just been with her a second ago, before he'd gone and harassed that poor woman.

She dragged him away from the woman and the rest of the onlookers, until they were nearly a block away. Then she took him down a deserted alleyway. She didn't want the same thing to happen as yesterday… him disappearing like that in front of everyone…

When they were deeper in, so that she was positive no one could see them, she stopped, fighting the urge to slam him against the wall. As it was, she didn't manage to stop the slight shove that her hands had seemingly done of their own accord.

Miroku grinned. "Alone in an alleyway, Sango? I didn't know you were like that." He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"You—you're so—pervert!" she exclaimed, so shocked that her sentence came out jerky and garbled. She took a deep, soothing breath, trying not to lose her temper with him again. "I came down here because I don't want anyone seeing you disappear," she said shortly.

"Disappear?"

"Yes." She fixed him with a glare. "I don't want you doing that anymore."

"What do you mean?" he asked innocently.

She smacked his arm. "What I mean is I don't want you showing yourself off to people just so you can hit on some pretty girl in the street!"

"Oh," he said, giving a short laugh. "Is that what this is about? Oh, Sango, don't worry, it's perfectly normal to be jealous!"

Silence.

Then…

"Jealous?" she growled menacingly. "Jealous! Oh, please, do you really think I would be jealous of you hitting on some random girl? I don't even know you!" Her hands were balled into fists and she was glaring at him. "I'm mad because you said you would be invisible to everyone but me!"

"I was!" he said quickly, the first threads of alarm on his face. Good; he could sense her anger. "No one saw me at all during school…"

"But that girl saw you!" she shouted. "And all those other people looking on, too!"

"Yeah, but now we're out of school," he pointed out. "So it's not like it matters if people can see me now or not."

"It does matter," she sighed, feeling her anger deflate into, once again, exasperation. "I mean, you don't exactly blend in, what with the outfit and the whole monk thing…"

He shrugged. "I could just change, then," he pointed out. "If I wore different clothes, would it be all right if people saw me?"

Sango considered the prospect. Miroku certainly looked human enough; it was the monk's outfit and the weird staff that she was worried about. If he changed… well, he would blend in perfectly fine. But how would she get clothes for him? Well, she thought, I guess I could take something from my dad's closet…

"Okay," she relented. "But not in school, okay? I think people would wonder why I had a guy trailing me."

Miroku nodded and smiled. "That works for me." He paused. "Do you want me to become invisible now?"

"Yes. Please," she added, so as not to sound rude. She had, after all, been a little short with him.

Okay. A lot short with him.

They began to walk out of the alley way and, sure enough, no one spared Miroku a second glance. She turned right on the corner, heading for Kohaku's school.

"Hey, Miroku?" she asked suddenly a minute later.

"Yes?"

"How, um…" She blushed a bit. "How exactly would that girl bear your child when you're a… well, a spirit?"

Miroku rubbed his chin, as if considering what she'd said for the first time. "You're right I suppose," he murmured. "She couldn't bear my child, not really."

"So why did you ask?" she inquired, chastising herself for sounding so nosy, but wanting to know all the same.

He shrugged. "Habit. I used to do it all the time in my old life."

Sango's eyes widened. "You mean… you actually used to ask girls that—that vulgar question? And you did it all the time?"

Miroku nodded. "Well, I had to didn't I?" he said, in what sounded like a reasonable tone (though there was certainly nothing reasonable about his way of thinking). "I mean, with the kazaana a looming threat, I had to produce an heir who would kill Naraku if I didn't succeed."

"And did you?" she asked uncertainly.

"What?"

"Produce an heir," she said impatiently. "Did you?"

He sighed. "Unfortunately, the kazaana came a little earlier than I had anticipated, and I didn't manage to leave behind a child. That's why I registered to become a Beyond, you see. I still have to defeat Naraku."

Sango opened her mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say to that, so shut it again. They were making their way to the Middle School now. Sango could see the various kids filing out of the doors, pushing and shoving others on their eager way out.

"Listen," she said quickly. "I can't talk to you when I have Kohaku, or he's going to think I'm insane. He's already suspecting something as it is."

Miroku shrugged. "All right."

Sango sat by the bench and waited for Kohaku to come out. He was taking quite a while… usually he was one of the first to come out…

Now only a few students were exiting, most of them having already done so. Sango shifted nervously, but said nothing. Minutes passed by in silence.

"Where do you think he is?" she asked uncertainly, when there was still no sign of her brother. "D'you think he used a different exit or someth—oh my god, what happened to you!"

Kohaku had just staggered out of the building. He was looking worse for wear; his collar was ripped and he had a large black eye where a purplish bruise was blooming. There was another bruise on the bottom side of his left cheek, though it wasn't quite as bad as the other one.

Sango stood and rushed over to where he was, hovering over him anxiously. "Are you okay?" she asked. "What happened?"

Kohaku scuffed the ground with his foot. "I'm fine," he muttered. "I just… I—I tripped, that's all…"

"Tripped?" she repeated flatly. "Tripped? Kohaku, do you think I'm stupid? Someone beat the hell out of you!"

"No, sis," Kohaku mumbled. His words were so quiet they were barely coherent. "No one did anything. I just fell down."

Sango chanced a glance at Miroku, who was wearing a frown on his face. She turned back to Kohaku, putting her hands on his shoulders and lifting his chin so that he could see her face. "Kohaku. Listen to me. I want to know who did this to you. Was it that boy from yesterday?"

Kohaku hesitated. "It—it wasn't anyone," he said, after a minute. "I told you, I tripped."

Sango raised one shaking hand to her temple, trying to quell the furious headache that had burst upon her. The thought of Kohaku getting hurt—or her little brother being mistreated—made her so angry that she started to tremble.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Miroku. "Don't," he advised quietly. "If he doesn't want you to know, let it go. You'll find out when he's ready."

Sango scowled at him, then looked back at her brother. "Kohaku—"

"Just drop it, okay?" he insisted nervously.

She sighed. "Okay," she said, the word coming out of her mouth grudgingly. "Okay."

And with all her self-preservation she had, she closed her mouth and turned away from Kohaku's bruised and battered face.


"I can't believe this!"

Miroku sighed heavily from his perch on Sango's bed. He had done his best to speak reasonably, so as to calm Sango down; however, she seemed not to have a heard a word he said, instead continuing to pace back and forth, wringing her hands and speaking furiously.

"I know it was that Yukio kid, I just know it," she said angrily. "Why doesn't Kohaku just tell me? He knows I'd kill those kids for daring to touch him!"

"I think that's exactly why he doesn't want you knowing," Miroku put in mildly. Sango stopped pacing to direct her glare at him.

"What do you mean?" she demanded. "Why wouldn't he want me knowing?"

"Well," Miroku began. "I think he realizes that if you found out, you would warn those kids or tell on them or something, which would make everyone think he needs his older sister to solve his problems."

"I'm his sister, I have a right to solve his problems!" she said heatedly.

"I know you do," Miroku said placidly. "But maybe… maybe you're going about this the wrong way." Sango opened her mouth to argue, but before she could, he continued, "I mean, think about it. Kohaku's at a stage where it's important to look tough in front of your peers. Complaining to you—or anyone—might, in retrospect, make him seem weak."

"He's not weak, though!" Sango protested.

"Of course he's not," Miroku assured her. "It's just what others might think."

"That's so stupid," she grumbled. Miroku could tell she was angry at the prospect of being unable to help Kohaku. "So what should I do?"

"Did I hear right?" he asked teasingly. "You're asking me for advice? I thought you didn't need a Beyond."

"Oh, shut up," she muttered, but he saw the faintest trace of a smile.

"I think for the moment, you should let Kohaku be," he said. "He'll tell you if he wants to."

Sango still looked unconvinced.

"Okay, how about this?" Miroku suggested. "If any more violence like this continues, then you can talk to him about it. But for now, I wouldn't take any direct action."

She sighed. "I guess so," she muttered. "But it still makes me uneasy."

Miroku couldn't help but smile in pride. He had chosen excellently when he'd spotted Sango; she was pretty, feisty, smart, and loyal. And had a slap that could take just about anyone out.

Genius, he thought, smirking. I could just have Naraku somehow feel up Sango… she'd slap him so hard he'd probably surrender on the spot…

"What are you smirking at?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," he answered, still smirking.

Sango rolled her eyes skyward. "Okay…" she relented. She turned to the door. "I'm going to get something to eat. You want anything?"

"Really?" he asked eagerly. He could have sworn that his stomach grumbled at the prospect of food—he hadn't eaten in five hundred years, after all. "You'd get me something?"

She shrugged. "Sure."

"So I can become visible now?" he asked. "I can't eat unless I'm visible. To everyone."

"That's fine," she replied shortly. "As long as you stay in here. My dad would flip if he saw me hanging out with some guy."

"Okay," Miroku agreed. His mouth was watering at the prospect of food. "What do you have?"

"I think we have some left-over pizza," she said. "I'll go heat some up. Stay here, okay?"

Miroku nodded, watching Sango as she bustled out of the room. He closed his eyes quickly, becoming visible. Instantly, he felt more tangible—and his stomach was definitely growling now. He sighed, imagining what food would taste like. It seemed like such a long time ago that he'd eaten…

His eyes whirled open at the sound of the door opening. Already? That was quick…

He turned eagerly to face his food…

And stopped. It wasn't Sango in the doorway.

It was Kohaku.


Kohaku waited until Sango was in her room when getting home—it didn't take long, she'd run right in there—and then grabbed an ice-pack, holding it up to his bruised face. Relief spread through him at the stinging sensation it caused.

He hadn't exactly been convincing with his sister, he knew that. He knew that she knew he was lying. But he couldn't tell her he'd gotten beaten up by those eighth graders, or he knew for a fact she'd come to his aid, try to protect him—and make him seem weak. As if he needed to hide behind his sister.

Which was at times true. Kohaku had never been someone to solve his own problems easily.

He placed the ice pack back in the refrigerator, walking down the hallway to his room. He could hear the low mutter of a voice in Sango's room.

"…wouldn't he want me knowing?"

He paused; it sounded, from Sango's tone, as if she were talking to someone—but there was no reply.

"I'm his sister, I have a right to solve his problems!" she was saying heatedly.

Kohaku frowned. Who was she even talking to? No one was responding to her.

She's probably on the phone, you idiot, he told himself. He wondered who she was on the phone with, and hoped sincerely it wasn't his dad. He would probably get a long pep talk about being a man and how he should stick up for himself.

Disheartened at the thought, he trudged toward his room. He didn't want to hear any more of what Sango was telling his father. Maybe I should just tell her, he considered. That way, I wouldn't have to deal with Dad…

He thought about telling his sister. She would freak out, he just knew it. Heck, she already was freaking out, and he hadn't even confirmed her suspicions. She would probably march to school with him the next day and threaten all of the boys. He cringed at the thought. Sango meant well, of course; but she wouldn't understand why he would find it so embarrassing.

I'm just looking out for you, Kohaku, she would say. And he would feel guilty for not being appreciative, and tell her thank you.

Okay, so telling Sango was out of the picture…

Although from the sound of it, she'd already told his dad. Maybe Kohaku would call him right now, find up some excuse for his injuries… after all, the longer his father believed Sango, the harder it would be to convince him otherwise.

He turned, heading back to Sango's room. He craned his ear at the closed door, but he couldn't hear Sango speaking. He let out a sigh of relief. Well, that was good, anyway. The phone was in there, though… he would have to face his sister…

He turned the doorknob, tentatively opening the door.

Kohaku usually wasn't lost for words. Sure, he was quiet often enough, but he was never actively unable to speak. But for the first time, he found himself floundering for something to say.

This was probably due to the fact that, instead of Sango sitting on the small single bed, there was a boy there instead. An older boy; a lot older. And he was staring at Kohaku unblinkingly.

"Um…" Kohaku continued to flounder helplessly. "I—I, um—"

Oh, no, he thought desperately. She has a boyfriend! She has a boyfriend that she's hiding in her room!

"I—I was just, um, looking for the phone…"

How did the boyfriend get in here, anyway? Had he come in during the few minutes that Kohaku had been in his room? Had he been here before they'd even gotten back? Was this who Sango was really talking to?

"Can you close that door?"

Kohaku looked up at the boyfriend, who was watching him innocently. "W-what?" he squeaked.

"The door," the boyfriend said, motioning. "Can you close it?"

It seemed like an odd request, but Kohaku did as asked, shutting the door and turning back to the boyfriend, who was sighing. "Guess you're a bit confused, huh?"

"A little," Kohaku admitted. He blushed, then said quickly, "Are you my sister's boyfriend?"

The boyfriend—was he the boyfriend?—chuckled. "You think I'm her boyfriend?"

"Yes," Kohaku muttered. "Er—you are, aren't you?"

"No," the boyfriend—okay, not the boyfriend—sighed. "I'm just… a friend, I guess you could say. I'm sort of helping Sango out… you know, because you guys just moved here and all."

"Oh…" Kohaku continued to stare. "But—but why didn't she tell me about you?"

The boy shrugged. "She's shy." He looked up at Kohaku, surveying him with dark blue eyes. "So you're Kohaku, huh?"

"Um, yes."

"She's been pretty worried about you, you know," the boy said conversationally. "Thinks you've been beat up. Which is clearly true, but I managed to dissuade her from taking any action. I knew you wouldn't like that."

"So you were the one she was talking to!" Kohaku realized.

The boy grinned. "Eavesdropping, are you?"

Kohaku blushed. "No, I just… overheard, that's all…"

The boy laughed. "It's okay. I won't tell Sango." He stood up and held out his hand. "Miroku."

"What?"

"My name," he explained, laughing. "Miroku."

"Oh!" Kohaku shook Miroku's outstretched hand. "I'm Kohaku."

"Nice to meet you, Kohaku."

"Er…" Kohaku glanced back at the closed door. "D'you know where Sango even went?"

"She went to get us something to eat," he said with a shrug. "I'm starving."

Kohaku could barely contain his confusion. This Miroku certainly seemed nice (although he was certainly dressed a little odd) and everything, but why was Sango keeping him secret? Was he actually her boyfriend?

Could Kohaku trust him?

He glanced over at Miroku. He was sitting on the bed, legs spread out lazily, his lips twisted into a small smile. Kohaku was good at judging people—and this guy seemed to be trustworthy.

"Can I ask you something?" he said quietly.

"You just did," Miroku pointed out.

"Oh, well, I mean… besides that."

"Sure," he said breezily. "Shoot."

"Well…" Kohaku began hesitantly. "There's this guy in my school. Yukio. Well, it's not just him, there's a couple, but he's the main one. They, um, don't like me too much, I guess because I'm new, or because I'm, well, I'm kind of poor…" He blushed, but continued on. "Anyway, they threatened to beat me up yesterday, and I wasn't sure if they were serious. But today, right after school, a couple of them did beat me up…"

"So you're wondering what to do about them?" Miroku asked.

Kohaku nodded vigorously. "Exactly. I don't want my sister to know, because, well…"

"She's kind of anal and would kick those kids' asses?" Miroku finished for him, grinning.

"Er, yeah, actually," Kohaku admitted, smiling in spite of himself. "And I know she's trying to stick up for me, but… I don't want to have to hide behind my sister."

"I'll tell you what," Miroku murmured. "These kids sound like a bunch of idiots to me. Strong, but they have no brains. You intimidate them and they'll leave you alone."

"Intimidate?" Kohaku repeated. "But—but I'm not very intimidating."

Miroku grinned, looking positively evil. "Oh, don't worry, we can work on that."

Kohaku couldn't help it; his face split into an identical grin. "Okay."

"But for now, you get back to your room and put some ice on that eye," Miroku said, suddenly sounding business-like. "Sango will be back soon."

Kohaku nodded and turned to go. On his way out, he turned back to Miroku and said quickly, "Hey, um… thanks."

He closed the door behind him, but still heard Miroku's reply.

"No problem."


Review Responses…

Irusato: Haha, yes, Miroku and Sango both aren't the most sophisticated liars… and yeah, I wish I could blow up chalk in teacher's faces, too.

Nessa03: Well, I'm still writing! Of course, I am a bit late… (ducks)

Fantastical Queen Ebony Black: Okay, now I'm really feeling guilty… I didn't update very soon… but at least I updated! That's something, right? Right?

Shamanic Destiny: Hmm… Ayame? I don't know, right now she's not planned in, but I might be able to squeeze her and Kouga in somewhere.

Sarcasm Girl8: Haha, love the name! And thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying.

Ennarial: Yes, Miroku is great, isn't he? I love that boy.

Heart of Flame: Wow, I'm really glad you like it! I'm trying to make it funny, but I've never actually found myself too humorous… so I'm glad some people do at least!

Lady-Sango77: Yes, Miroku is kind of her imaginary friend, isn't he? Lol. I used to have an imaginary friend too. Her name was Sally and she died in a jet-skiing accident. (Don't ask).

LilyThorne: Yep, Sango's definitely in for a few headaches…

SapphireWhiteTigress: I'm glad you like it! I'm going to try to update more often, now that I've gone through my whole neglectful stage…

SemisonicConfusion888: Sorry for the long wait! And… well, I'm sorry for another long wait! blushes I'll try to update a lot sooner this time to keep you happy.

FlamingRedFox: Haha, thank you very much! I'm glad this a good read for anyone who's sick. I'll try keeping up the wonderful work, but I don't really think it's that wonderful myself…

Ladysango-abc: Well, I updated! Probably not as soon as you liked, but at least it's here… (finally)

Veglma: I'm glad you like! Yes, Miroku's very protective of Sango, and no fat calculus teacher is going to stop him…

Aamalie: Thanks for your review! It was actually your comment that made me update. I felt so awful! I'm glad you like the interaction between Sango and Miroku… I'm trying to keep it on the fluffier side. Lol, can you tell?

SetsuntaMew: Aww, thanks a lot! I'm really glad you like it. And that you find it funny! That's what I was really worried about.