Miroku stared at Sango thoughtfully, plucking at his lower lip. Sango ignored him, eating her soup in silence. Kagome and Inuyasha were off somewhere...making out most likely. And he was here with a beautiful woman who had been ignoring him for a week.
"Sango?"
Sango spared him a glare tha clearly said keep-your-mouth-shut-or-it's-going-to-be-shut-permanently. Miroku sighed and resumed his quiet musings. He really had no clue what he had done this time. He was certain she didn't know about the barmaid. Or the mayor's daughter in the last village. Or the fishmonger for that matter. So, what could be the reason for her ire this time? Or maybe it was from that misunderstanding a week ago...
"Sango, if I did something to offend you-," he began.
Sango slammed her palms on the table, teeth gritted. "You know damn well what you did," she snarled.
Miroku very casually pushed his chair further from her. The last thing he needed was a broken jaw. "Unfortunately I don't. I bath regularly, so it can't be that. I haven't been flirting with women." Technically, they weren't women. Women implied older than twenty. He flirted with girls between sixteen and twenty. "I don't snore, I haven't taken to stealing your clothing and wearing it at random." Good, a smile, even if it was quickly hidden.
"I'm not mentioning it, and if you were smart you would drop it," she answered.
Sighing, he resumed his brooding. No, it couldn't be those three. And he'd managed to convince her the one girl was simply confessing her sins to him...even thought half of them involved him. Yes, it had to be that little incident. He decided to take a different approach to getting her to talk, one that he knew very well. "You know, I couldn't help admiring that lovely fragrance you were wearing a week ago."
Sango dropped her spoon and gaped at him. "You...what?"
He smiled, pleased that he'd ruffled her feathers a little. She was so lovely when she was angry. He truly was shameless. "What was that, freesia? I enjoyed it a lot."
"You...you pervert! Do you always go around sniffing women?" she snapped.
"How could I not notice when you were leaning all over me?"
"I was not leaning all over you!"
"You kissed my cheek, therefore you had to lean on me," he replied, very proud of the fact that he wasn't betraying his amusement. There was the angry blush he found so attractive on her!
Her fists were balled tightly. "I wouldn't have done it if I'd known you were going to be such a pig about the whole thing!"
Miroku shrugged. "I still have no clue what you're talking about."
She leaned in, eyes snapping fiercely. "You do so," she hissed, keeping her voice low. "You were there, too!"
"I was?" Did she think...
"You certainly howled loud enough!"
Ahh...Now he understood. Miroku chuckled. "I see. So, you're upset over a fantasy? If you ever want to experience the real deal-,"
"WHAT! That was no fantasy!"
"Sango, don't you think if it were real I would have come back for round two? Or three, or four?"
Sango froze and she sat back, suddenly very still. "You mean...I dreamed the whole thing? The date and everything? But, Kagome...she knew about it!"
"You might have told her about your dream, but it couldn't have been real." She looked completely dumbfounded.
"It was so real!"
"Some sex dreams can be. Why, just the other night-,"
"SHUT UP!"
Miroku blinked in surprise. She was genuinely upset! "Sango?"
She stood up and left him sitting in the common room, now puzzled as to why she was so sad.
Sango rubbed her eyes, covering her mouth. A dream? That whole thing? It couldn't have been! But Miroku had a good point. He WOULD have wanted to keep their relations going. And besides, he wouldn't have bothered to hide the fact they had slept together in front of Inuyasha. If anything, he would have been bragging about it. Maybe it really WAS just a dream...
She lay down on her bed roll on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. And frowned at the crinkling noise from under her pillow. Sitting up, she pulled out a folded slip of paper. Another note? What the...She unfolded it and read what was written.
To my beloved goddess,
That night of magic has changed me. I can think of nothing but your beauty and it fills me with a longing to be near you again. Please, don't deny my heart it's desire and meet me in the shade of the forest outside the inn at midnight. I will be awaiting you in hope that you will be there.
Your Eternal Slave In Love,
Miroku
WHAT! What was he playing at? It was like two different people. Maybe that was hi problem! She'd always known he was crazy, but split personalities...She reread the note, her cheeks burning hot. And with it came a flashback of that night...his mouth...his HANDS, lord, those hands...Maybe he was just doing this whole double act to see how serious she was about this.
Biting her lower lip thoughtfully, she slipped the note in her pocket and decided to meet him there.
At midnight, Sango snuck out her window and down the side of the inn, quieter than even the alley cats. She certainly didn't want Kagome or Inuyasha to hear her. Judging from the sound of voices...and other things...in their room as she snuck under the window to Kagome's room, they wouldn't have noticed anyway. She ran the rest of the way to the tree line, where she saw a familiar shadow.
Miroku's arms went around her and his lips pressed against hers hungrily. "I'm so glad you came," he whispered against her mouth.
She pushed him and he fell with her riding him to the ground. "Shut up," she said, one hand pressing his chest to hold him still. Sango leaned over and kissed him hard. It wasn't long before he got over his shock and was kissing her back, though.
Miroku lay awake, listening to the room next to his. Yes, he did hear the window open. He thought he did. Getting up, he grabbed his staff and took the more conventional method of exiting a room by using the door. He paused outside Kagome's room and pressed his ear to it briefly. Poor girl! It didn't sound like things were going very smoothly there. Oh, well! He moved on, waving the barmaid away when she looked up at him eagerly. No, tonight he was solving a mystery.
He pushed himself against the wall of the inn when Sango went racing by quietly, disappearing into the forest. Miroku waited only a few more second before he followed her, keeping to the shadows. He moved carefully, trying not to step on anyt twigs or bracken.
"I'm so glad you came."
He froze, eyes wide. That was his voice! His voice...but it wasn't him. Miroku's eyes narrowed. If it was who he thought... He pressed himself behind a tree and peeked around.
"Shut up," Sango practically snarled, right before- WHOA! Miroku quickly clamped a hand to his mouth in shock. He truly had not thought her THAT flexible! Still...tilting his head for a better view, he had to admire her skill and technique. And the one impersonating him was at least doing a tolerable job of it...of course he was MUCH better. He knew that most people would have qualms involving voyeurism, but as it was himself he was watching, he didn't think it counted. Oh...oh, that was something new! Yes, he'd have to remember that little trick.
An idea was forming in his head as he waited for them to finish up. A truly evil, wicked plan, but if it meant getting Sango at long last...Yes, if she ever found out she would probably castrate him and leave him chained up in a brothel, but it wouldn't be that hard a thing to conceal. Hmm...was a human back supposed to arch that far? Well, Sango certainly was full of surprises.
Miroku sank lower to the ground, back pressed to the tree when they were done and Sango got dressed and left. He waited, listening. A sigh, not at all like his. He stepped from behind the tree, smiling pleasantly. "Hello, Hadji."
The badger demon's eyes widened fearfully nad he abased himself, pressing his nose to the ground. "Miroku," he squealed. "I-I..."
"I'm perfectly aware you have been parading as me. What exactly have you said to Sango?"
"I-I..."
"Hadji, please be quick about it." He flexed the fingers on his left hand. Not that he would actually cast Hadji into that abyss. Hadji may be a nuisance at the best of times and competition at the worst, but he didn't deserve to die.
Hadji let out a startled little scream, eyes now focused on his hand. "I...I told her she was beautiful and that I loved her and that she made me happy..."
"Is that all?"
"Yes, I swear it!"
Miroku nodded once, a pleasant smile on his lips. "Very well, Hadji, I forgive you this time. But stay away from Sango from now on or I will expose your secret. And you know how angry she can get."
Hadji screamed at the thought, shivering. "NONONONONO! That won't be necessary! I promise, Miroku, I promise!"
Miroku nodded once. "Good. Now go back home and don't come here again."
Once Hadji had scampered out of sight, Miroku headed back to the inn and to his room where he fell asleep.
The next morning at breakfast, Miroku glanced up when Sango came downstairs, eying him warily. He smiled and motioned for the chair next to him. They were alone for now, so he could speak freely. "Did you sleep well?"
"None of your business," she answer automatically.
"I didn't. I thought about you all night." And he truly did. The female body never ceased to amaze him with its creativity.
Sango's eyes widened. "You mean...you mean you actually remembered this time?"
"I remembered before, too. But I wished to keep it private from Inuyasha. You know how he can be at times."
"Really, you remember?"
Miroku leaned in and whispered something low so that no one else could hear. But the vibrant red on her cheeks was very apparent.
"I guess you DO remember," she muttered. "So?"
Smiling, he leaned back in his chair. "So, shall we keep this relationship to ourselves?"
Sango actually managed to turn even redder and she couldn't look at him. "My room, in ten minutes." She got up and left.
Miroku sat there a while longer. Yes, this worked very, very well indeed!