Gone
Miroku had slept as soundly and as peacefully as he had in weeks, if not more. Even though he had felt her gently disengage from his possessive embrace some time ago, for most of the night he had been comforted beyond all reason by the warmth of Sango in his arms.
Sango in his arms…
In his arms. Sango. His Sango.
For once, he didn't feel the stab of guilt that usually came with 'those' kinds of thoughts. He had endeared her greatly for some time now; he had coveted her and her special spirit, and yet he had always been unable to do anything about it. He would never dare risk hurting her, especially not after what she had already been though.
He knew his time was drawing to an end. But so did Sango – and she had seemed oddly serene about it. It wasn't necessarily that she had accepted it – but, well, she had acknowledged it. She had acknowledged the dark truth of the situation and then had made it quite clear that it didn't matter; she loved him no matter what.
She had acknowledged what was going to happen, and still she hadn't pulled back from him. She had given him her love in absolute and completely selflessness.
Sango was so brave.
A surge of overwhelming pride and desire rushed through his heart and not for the first time since she had left only a few hours ago, Miroku absently reached to his side, hoping that she had returned without his knowledge.
He wasn't terribly worried; he knew that she could take care of herself. She probably had just had to go and be alone for a short while or something. Or perhaps she had decided to return quietly back to her own futon rather than be so blatant about where she had been in the night…
The corner of his mouth quirked up into an endearing smirk; always so secretive about private things, that Sango! No matter how much she revealed or he discovered it never seemed to even scratch that shroud of mysteriousness about her. Sango was a complex person – a fascinating, complex person.
The fact that she found him fascinating as well was a pleasant surprise. He was but a humble monk with bad habits – he had never expected her to feel taken with him as he was with her. And yet… she did.
'At least I can die happily…'
The morning sun peeked through the windows of the hut, gently bathing his face in light and eventually coaxing him to open his violet eyes. Miroku stretched and basked in the morning warmth (although, admittedly, the sunlight wasn't the only thing making him feel a little warm this morning!). He lounged for sometime before deciding that he definitely was feeling well enough to get up and move about. He was just finishing tying his outer robes when it happened…
"The Jewel Shards!"
Kagome's shriek of terror put the fire under his feet. In a flash Miroku came sprinting from the hut. Inuyasha leapt to the miko's side from his vantage point in a nearby tree.
"What the hell?" the hanyou spat in a supremely irritated tone.
The young girl ignored him, frantically searching the pockets of her strange clothing and digging through her pack. As he came to a skidding halt before his friend, Miroku vaguely noticed that Sango hadn't come running at Kagome's shout. Something was nagging incessantly at the back of his mind…
Kagome, meanwhile, upon exhausting all possible hiding spots, cried again, "The Jewel Shards! They're gone!"
Something…
The hanyou seemed to take the possibility of the shards beyond stolen right out from under his literal nose as a personal insult and immediately shouted his indignant reply. "What the hell! There's no way something could have gotten into here without any of us noticing! Even if I somehow missed it, Kirara would have heard of smelled something funny!"
In seeking validation from the demon cat, the absence of two members of the party suddenly became uncomfortably apparent.
Inuyasha, never one for adding numbers or filling in the blanks, snapped irritably, "Where the hell are Sango and Kirara?"
Miroku felt the blood drain from his face. The nagging feeling in the back of his mind sprung promptly to life, assaulting his consciousness ruthlessly. Memories, unbidden, rose to the surface of his thoughts, bombarding him with an argument he did not want to hear.
'I just needed you to know…' No. Just – no. There must be some mistake… Sango didn't hear Kagome's shout. She would be back any second now. He was just being unduly anxious.
… Bombarding him with a conclusion he did not want to make…
She wouldn't have.
'If ever there were a way for this to end happily, I would have gladly taken it.'
… Bombarding him with a truth he could not deny…
His heart twisted and squeezed in silent agony as it all became painfully clear. A low groan must have escaped from his lips, for he suddenly became aware of three pairs of eyes boring intently into him. It was Kagome who finally spoke, tentatively, her eyes filled with concern. "Where is Sango-chan, Miroku?"
His mouth was dry and he choked out a single word in response. "Gone." Though the word was ambiguous he knew his woeful gaze told a more detailed narrative…
"What the hell! Then she needs to get back here, we have to go after the Jewel Shards!" Inuyasha, opaque as ever, stomped his agitation.
Judging by the stricken expression on her face, Kagome wasn't nearly as clueless as the hanyou.
It was Miroku who finally managed to speak, his voice withdrawn and sullen. "I don't think… she's coming back."
"What do you mean, not coming back?" Inuyasha snarled, his fury quickly turning on the suddenly very distressed looking monk.
"I think… I think she means to challenge Naraku," he whispered numbly, his eyes becoming unfocussed. Horrific scenes flashed through his mind and the true impact of the realization was painfully seeping in. "She is going after him… alone."
"And how the hell would she find him when we haven't been able to all this time?" the hanyou demanded indignantly.
It was Kagome who answered, her eyes and voice as distant and torn as the monks. "She has the Jewel Shards, Inuyasha." A long, pregnant pause stretched as she waited for the hanyou to draw conclusions, as if not finishing the thought might impede her friends impeding doom.
It was Miroku who, unable to bear the awful silence a moment later, mournfully rasped, "He will find her."
'If ever there were a way for this to end happily, I would have gladly taken it.'
He suddenly felt very, very sick.