((Rereads previous author's notes)) Am I really that temperamental? I need to relax more…

I don't want to ramble as much as I did last time, so, to be brief, I'll just say that I had a lot of fun with this chapter. Not sure why, though; there's just something about these full-emotional spectrums that are just so entertaining. Or perhaps that's just the sleep-deprived, sugar-high part of me talking. Ah, well. Please enjoy!

Day Five

"I see… so you came to say good-bye, then?"

"Y… yes, kishi-sama, that's correct." The next day, Sango had returned to the courtyards and, after finding Miroku at the same place she had the previous two days, began to walk along the dirt path with him. Normally, just strolling alongside the guard would have set her at ease and made her content. However, no joy could come out of today's encounter; Sango knew this needed to be the last time she saw him.

"Have you found a suitable husband, then?"

"Well… my father has. But, yes, I'm engaged now."

Miroku nodded. "That's what I thought. Everyone on the grounds has been speaking of nothing but a prince from a distant land coming here tomorrow, and your suitors have stopped appearing as well."

Sango involuntarily moved her head up and down and turned away, having nothing to say to that. After all, how could she possibly try to hold a conversation with him when she was so sorrowful? At this moment, walking down the pathway in silence seemed like the only thing she could do that wouldn't result in even more despondency on her part.

"Sango?"

"Huh?"

Miroku's eyes shone with a barely perceptible sadness, one that greatly resembled her own distress. "We're approaching the throne room. Shall I drop you off?"

Sango declined her head. "Yeah… thanks… but…" She trailed off, blushing.

"But…?" Miroku asked expectantly.

"I… I don't want to go."

Miroku smiled in an attempt to please the girl beside him. "It's alright, Sango. I'm sure your husband will be a fine man."

Sango looked up in bemusement before she puzzled out his words. He thinks I'm still talking about getting married. I guess that makes some sense, but… but, in truth I just don't want to leave him… the one person who makes me so happy… "It… it isn't that…"

"Sango…" The princess forced herself to meet the guard's concerned gaze. "Is there something you're trying to tell me?"

Sango felt her face heat up at his question. There was so much she did want him to know, but so little that she could say without feeling so upset. Trying to avoid saying something that she'd regret, Sango decided to play along with his assumption. "Well… I… I don't think I'm really up to the task of being the queen. I mean, when you think of a woman like that, you imagine a dainty, polite, pretty lady, and Kami-sama knows I'm none of those things…"

Miroku's eyes widened. He hadn't really expected that. "Sango… do you really think that you're not pretty?"

Sango stood with her back straight, her self-assurance nearly tangible. "I don't think that; I know it."

The princess followed the guard's mouth with her eyes as his jaw slowly dropped open. "You… you must be joking. After all…" Miroku managed to close his mouth for a second, and he took a step closer to her. "…you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

Sango's arms, which had since been crossed, suddenly dropped to her sides. "W… what?"

Miroku took another step. "How is it that you can't see how lovely you truly are?" he said, his voice barely audible. "That you ignore everything good about yourself and focus only on the imperfect?" As the guard narrowed the space between them, Sango came to a solid realization; he was absolutely right. After all, didn't she subject him to the same small-mindedness that he'd just spoken of when she'd first seen his perverted side? When he had revealed that part of himself to her, she had immediately labeled him as a horrible person, never stopping to consider all of his good qualities, those that she had seen so much of in these past few days. Her illiberality was a personality quirk of hers that she loathed and that wouldn't go away, no matter how much she tried to push it aside. But… somehow, after spending those few days with Miroku, it had disappeared for a time, and, since it was gone, she could finally see how wonderful the guard really was.

Sango stepped back slightly in response to his nearness. "You… you really can't mean that. How can you possibly think I'm beautiful?"

"It's as plain as day, Sango," he susurrated, his voice as soft as his breath on her cheek. The girl blushed at the sensation and looked away, but the knight placed a hand on her chin and tilted it up toward his face, forcing his gaze to meet her own. And, of course, she could tell from the eyes she now looked into that he was being sincere. "But it's not just your outward appearance that makes you so lovely; your inner beauty is involved as well. I've never met a more intelligent, strong-willed, and passionate person. Sango… you are all of those things and much more. And those are what… I love about you."

Sango barely managed to force out, "Love…?", but really couldn't say much else as Miroku had since pressed his mouth against her own. The girl would have gasped if she'd had any air, or a mouth, for that matter. But the fact that he was now kissing her wasn't what surprised Sango the most. In his last sentence, he'd used the world "love". So, did that mean that Kagome had been right? Did he really love her? And, at that, did she really love him?

The girl suddenly became aware of a high amount of pressure building in her lungs—she needed to breathe! Withdrawing, Sango inhaled shaky mouthfuls of air, finally realizing just what Miroku had done. "K… kishi-sama…"

Miroku took his hand away from Sango's chin and looked away, eyes downcast. "Forgive me, Sango… I had completely forgotten that what's happening between us isn't right…"

The guard continued to stand, unmoving, giving Sango time to understand him. Just yesterday, she'd refused to be held by him, saying that their being together was wrong. And what she had said was true, for wasn't it also true that guards weren't allowed to romantically interact with any woman, much less an engaged princess? Sango knew full well that her being near the knight would get them both in trouble, and, seeing as she would soon be leading her country as queen, her frequent rendezvous with him would probably ruin her reputation and make her people mistrust her. But still…

…at the same time, what they had been doing… nothing had felt more right. Just looking at Miroku made the princess' heart turn over, and feeling him kiss her like that literally took her breath away. That's all I've ever really wanted, Sango thought, and he's given it to me. He makes me happy, makes me feel good about myself. And… and just as my so-called beauty is the thing that he loves about me, that feeling he gives me is what I love about him.

And with that, she threw her arms around him and kissed him fiercely.

And, after recovering from the initial shock of having his breath stolen away from him, he kissed her back.

For did it really matter anymore what was right and wrong?

Not now, it didn't, and that thought carried the two through the next few minutes, all throughout which their mouths never parted, and even after pausing for air, neither could tear themselves away from the other.

Finally, after quite some time, Sango's mouth grew numb, and she pulled away, panting. Nothing Naraku had done to her three years ago—or anything any other boy had done to her, for that matter—had ever filled her with the joy Miroku gave her while they had kissed. "K… Kami-sama…"

A quiet chuckle escaped Miroku's lips as they morphed into the shape of his characteristic smile. "Indeed," he whispered, knocking his forehead against hers and pulling her closer. Sango felt her mouth tug upwards too as her eyes closed in contentedness. What was it about him, exactly, that made her so happy? Made her feel so… complete? Before him, there had been something missing inside of her, a void there that just wouldn't fill. But, these past five days, Miroku had gradually added to that space until it was whole, as though he had assembled a stained-glass window in her heart; every piece of colored glass hadn't been special alone, but when together and fitted masterfully inside her hollow frame, their union created something beautiful. Inside of Sango, now, was that beautiful thing. And it was all because of him.

Sango slid her head down to his chest, burying her face in his warmth. The guard's arms shifted to fit her new position and settled just below her waist, his head lying above her own. Nothing felt better than to be with him now. But, somehow, Sango couldn't fully enjoy the moment just yet. "Kishi-sama?"

"Yes, Sango?"

The princess paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "If… perhaps, if I talk to my father, he'll cancel my engagement to Naraku and let me…" She took a deep breath. Once those words were said, there would be no turning back. He would either accept or reject her. Sango desperately hoped for the former. "…let me wed you. We could be together. Just the two of us. We wouldn't have to worry about my suitors or Naraku or anything anymore."

Sango vaguely felt the muscles in his face twitch, signifying that he was grinning. "I'd like that."

Sango stayed still happily for a few moments. He'd accepted her. She'd basically just asked him to marry her and he'd accepted. But, of course, the most difficult part of the agreement was to get her father to allow it. "So… maybe I should go talk to him now."

Miroku removed his arms, the girl still trembling in the places where his skin had lain. "Alright. I'll see you soon, then?"

Sango nodded. "Mhm. Um… good-bye." She turned to go, but was stopped by a kiss planted on her cheek. She blushed instinctively, but then remembered that she needn't worry about his ardent tendencies anymore. Just as he'd accepted her proposal, she'd accepted all of him, including his more romantically-inclined side. And with this acceptance came many kisses on her part. Of course, to Sango, kisses from Miroku were like the pastries she'd enjoyed as a child—she could never have just one. She wanted another and another and another, and pretty soon, the good-bye dragged on longer and longer, turning into a heart-warming hello instead. But Sango didn't care. Now that she had him, nothing could take him away from her now; nothing…

"KISHI-SAMA!" A voice, gruff, surly, and possibly even enraged, sounded from perhaps twenty feet away. The couple pulled apart, though they still clung to each other's waists or necks, and, turning, saw three guards, who pointed their spears straight at them, ready to plunge their tips into the lovers' skins if necessary. The three of them formed a V, the one in the middle standing closest to the pair. Of all of them, it was he who seemed to most infuriated, although his current mood contradicted his otherwise playful personality.

"Koga-sama…" whispered Sango, still short of breath. Standing behind him were Ginta and Hakaku, whose gazes darted back and forth between the twosome and their idol.

Koga lowered his spear for a moment, crossing his arms and chuckling. "Well, well, well," he murmured as though he was mocking them, which, knowing him, he probably was, "What do we have here? An amorous guard romancing an affianced princess, hm?" He laughed warmly to himself at his discovery, prompting Sango to say, "He… he wasn't 'romancing' me, per se…"

"I know what I saw, Sango-sama," cut off the guard, holding up a hand. Ginta and Hakaku immediately made the same motion, muttering, "Yeah, yeah, we saw, princess, don't lie to us guards…"

Koga stopped his followers from saying anymore with a wave of his hand, and, turning back to his colleague and employer, flippantly said, "Well, seeing as guards aren't allowed to be with women, and engaged females shouldn't be committing infidelity, I'm afraid I'll have to report the two of you to the king…"

Miroku cried, "Report!" at the same time Sango said, "Infidelity?" Both tried to argue different things at once, but stopped once they realized that just stepping all over each other's words wouldn't get them anywhere. Koga smirked dangerously, knowing he had the upper hand in this situation. "Sango-sama, you are an engaged woman," he explained. "Technically, you've already promised yourself to another. Don't tell me making out with that guard over there doesn't qualify as cheating." Sango opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Koga's piercing blue eyes. The guard next turned to Miroku. "And you!" A pause ensued, after which Koga laughed sardonically. "As you might say, Miroku, reporting the two of you… it's all a part of a guard's duty!" And, in the blink of an eye, Koga dashed away to the palace entrance, followed closely by Ginta and Hakaku. Miroku and Sango stood, frozen to the spot, until, a few minutes later, ten more guards arrived, half leading Sango toward the throne room and half wrapping chains around Miroku's arms, prodding him in the opposite direction. It was only after Sango turned around and met a pleading glance sent her way by her lover did she realize how hopeless their situation seemed.

Sango strode down the hallway, her footsteps reverberating off of the lofty walls and high ceiling that surrounded her. She bit her lip, drawing forth a single drop of blood, and closed her eyes, trying to repress the nervousness playing in her eyes. After an hour of waiting around like an idiot in the throne room, she'd been called to dinner by her father. Not wishing to see him slip into his crueler half due to a refusal on her part, she'd left her temporary prison at once. However, nothing she did or told herself now could quell the apprehension building inside of her. At the evening meal, she'd hear Miroku's—and, consequentially, her own—fate directly from the lips of the most powerful man in the kingdom.

The princess pulled open a large wooden door on her left, almost expecting a tiger like the one used in "the system" to leap out at her. Instead, she met the icy gaze of her father, who had obviously already turned callous and cold, and the awed stare coming from Kohaku. The look on the younger of the two's face spelled his emotions out fairly easily; it was almost as though he was screaming, "You did WHAT with a guard!" at the top of his voice.

Sango curtseyed, murmuring a greeting to her family, before sitting down next to Kohaku. She immediately picked up a silver spoon, busying herself by stirring the soup in a bowl in front of her around absentmindedly. The princess, due to the suffocating tension, groaned, setting her head in a hand as she watched ripples form and fade in her soup bowl. Eventually, she managed the courage to say, "Father? You've heard about my… situation, right?"

The man nodded as he dug into his meal hungrily. "Yes, Sango, I most certainly have, and might I say that I am incredibly disappointed in you. I promise you a fine husband who is sure to take care of you, and what do you do to thank me? You run off and sleep with a guard, that's what!"

A clatter sounded as Sango dropped her spoon in shock. "Sleep with… What! Father, I only kissed him today! And, at that, he was…"

"Don't argue with me, Sango," cut off the king, his voice lacking the warmth and pride he had laced it with the day before. "Though I have no idea exactly how much you've done with that guard or how long this affair has been going on, the point of the matter was that you two were caught in the middle of a romantic act together."

"But… it was only a kiss!" Sango retaliated. "It's not like he was… I don't know, feeling me up, or something!" Though, technically, he has done that, too. But saying that will be like digging my own grave.

"It doesn't matter what it was!" King Ouji boomed, his voice so loud, it made undulations in Sango's soup. Both Sango and Kohaku gasped. They knew that, when their father took on this tone, he was seriously fed up. "The important thing," the ruler continued, "Is that you two were romancing each other. That means that, you, Sango, have committed infidelity."

"No, I haven't!" Sango argued back, standing now. I'm not even married yet! How can that possibly count as perfidy?

The king crossed his arms, eyes narrowing. "Then tell me what went on between you two."

Kohaku looked up at Sango, both fear and fascination evident on his face. He knew that the ping-pong match between father and daughter was still going strong, and, while the older one had just served the ball, Sango now had to return it. The girl looked down at her hands, sitting again. "It… it wasn't like that … he was… I… it was just…" Somehow, she found herself describing what she'd felt during that time than what had actually happened. "I was paralyzed… there was… nothing… nothing I could do…"

Sango realized her mistake right after she'd made it. She'd fumbled while trying to hit the ball, costing her the game. King Ouji, meanwhile, looked at her with new eyes. "Sango… are you saying that… that that man forced himself on you?"

Sango looked up. Now she'd really screwed up. What could she possibly say? What could she do? What should she do? But, then, what would her father do back?

His daughter's silence was all that he needed. King Ouji rose from the table, though he still wasn't satiated yet, and left the dining room. As he exited, he said, "I should have known; that man had a reputation for lechery to begin with… why I even let him near Sango in the first place… he needs to be punished. And, for that, I'll need a… a tiger, yes, as ferocious as I can possibly get, and an extremely beautiful woman, one that will hopefully help to keep his hands off my daughter…"

Sango gasped. A lady? A tiger? Punishment? Was he saying what she thought he was? "Father… what's going to happen to Mir… to the guard?"

The king had since slammed the door to the dining room shut. However, even through the thick wood, Sango could still hear his voice echoing off the corridor's walls. "That guard… in two days' time, he'll be participating in 'the system'."

Kagome walked quickly as she cut through the courtyards, a heap of clean sheets for Sango's bed piled in her arms. Despite the set look on her face, she was actually enjoying her work. Hell, of all the women who held jobs on the palace grounds, she was the one who loved her profession the most. In a time when women rarely left their homes to get jobs and support themselves, she was one of the rare few who had been granted an opportunity to pave her own way, and she planned to take as much advantage of it as she could. And, since at the end of this week, she'd be receiving her paycheck, a job well done on her part could very well earn her a few extra pieces of silver.

The lady-in-waiting, however, was distracted from her beloved job by a group of shadows moving around nearby. There, no more than a few feet away, a man was being led in the direction of the dungeons. His arms were twisted into a painful-looking position, immobilized by tight chains wrapping around his limbs. Two guards held the chains at their loose ends, and they walked behind the convict, scowling. Though the captive's head was declined, thus making a shadow cross his face, a telltale ponytail at the nape of his neck gave his identity away.

One of the guards thrust his knee into Miroku's back, making him wince in agony and stumble forward. Kagome saw his teeth clench as a bead of sweat ran from the top of his head to his chin. Or perhaps this moisture was a tear instead.

The guard who had just hurt Miroku turned to the other one. "So," he grunted from behind his moustache, "This guy here is the princess' lover."

"So I've heard," said the second. "Wouldn't blame him much for choosing her, either; that's Sango's a pretty one."

"That indeed. If I ever got a spare moment with her, I wouldn't care much what would happen to me; they could force me to do 'the system', for all I care." He looked back at Miroku and, this time, kicked his thigh. "Like this bloke over here."

Kagome gasped. Miroku has to go through "the system"? Kagome thought. Exactly what did he do? And…

Oh, no. She gasped, her eyes widening. Sango…

Strangely drawn to the guards' conversation, the lady-in-waiting stood still as they passed by her, listening in. "You know," said the mustached one thoughtfully, "There's an interesting rumor about the two of them going around."

"Do tell."

"Apparently, he forced himself on her."

The clean-shaven guard snorted. "That's ridiculous. Who'd you hear that from?"

"Supposedly, the princess said it herself. Passed through her very lips." Kagome drew in her breath at this new discovery. Sango would never have told on Miroku; it just wasn't like her. But, if she'd been under that much pressure to think of an excuse, she may have had no choice…

Peering past the darkness covering Miroku's face, Kagome finally got a good look at his eyes. They were spread wide, pupils dilated, his raised eyebrows helping the waiting maid to identify the surprise playing in his orbs. However, his skin, ghostly pale save a few red, sweaty patches here and there, told a completely different story.

He was afraid.

He was trapped.

He had seen that there was nothing he could do to help neither Sango nor himself.

As the guards shoved Miroku forward again, this time, into the dark hallway that led to the dungeons, Kagome bolted toward the castle, her destination being Sango's room. If what those men had said was true, if Miroku really would have to go through "the system" because of her, the princess would, without question, need condolence. And fast.

In the place where Kagome had stood eavesdropping moments before, five crimson sheets fluttered to the ground like bleeding shadows, foretelling the blood that could potentially be spilt in the old stone arena in two short days.

When Kagome reached Sango's bedroom, she found that her master was already there. The princess stood with her back to the door, breathing heavy, erratic breaths, trembling hands raised to her moist eyes. Throughout the day, Sango had done a good job at holding back her tears of both joy and sadness. However, once she heard Kagome pull the door open to her room, whispering her name and saying that she'd found out what had happened, she completely lost any control over herself that she had had left.

Kagome saw her friend fall to her knees, her body and face crumpling like a wad of paper, and crawl forward, her hysterical sobs making her body shake, until she reached her bed. At this point, the girl lowered her head onto the pressed sheets, crying loudly, letting her tears spill and splatter onto the soft blankets. Its gentle texture did nothing to calm her. Nothing, not a sheet, not a friend, not anything could quell her tears. Not anything anymore.

The waiting maid in the doorway ran to her side, lifting her friend's head onto her thighs. "There, there, Sango, it'll be okay," she soothed like a mother would to her child, stroking the princess' hair comfortingly. However, that touch just reminded Sango of how Miroku had patted her head earlier in that exact spot, only making her cry harder. The heartbroken woman held loosely onto her friend's knees like she had her lover's shoulders, sniveling between her irrepressible sobs. After a few minutes, she regained enough of herself to speak again. In spite of that, Kagome, what with the tears and loud moans of sorrow, couldn't make out most of her mumbles, save only three distinct syllables repeated over and over again: "I've lost him…"

End chapter! Only three more to go! Wow, my baby is almost all grown up... it goes by so fast! ((sobs))

Five minutes and a box of Kleenex later...

Better now! I'm starting to sense a pattern in my Miroku/Sango works; there's some sort of kiss involved, Miroku goes away at some point, the mood completely shifts from hopeful to sad, and Sango winds up sobbing in the end. Never fails. But, hey, now the action's really started! Do you think you know what's going to happen? I'd like to hear your thoughts!

The SAT II's for Bio are this Saturday. Wish me luck, 'kay? You can do so in you REVIEW!

((ahem))

If that didn't clue you in to review, I don't know what will.