Fallen From the Heavens
By: SlayerSango23
Disclaimer: I do not own Sango, Miroku, or Ayame.
Chapter Two: Angelic Boy
It's been two weeks, and still no REAL prospects... Sango sighed and leaned heavily against the service counter. The roommate situation was looking bleak so far, and practical responsibilities caused a diminish in the time she could devote to her writing.
She now spent that time working for minimum wage at her neighborhood bookstore.
Generally, she enjoyed the environment. It was decent-sized, but not overly large, and she often went there to lounge with paper and pen, or a good book, and a cappuccino.
But now, it had become a painful reminder of her financial state and what she perceived to be failure as a writer.
Life was such a double-edged sword!
She had to devote time to her writing in order to produce a decent product, yet she had to live in the meantime, which meant working... And her late-night writing sessions hadn't proven to be very fruitful.
Noticing her somberness, her young co-worker Ayame approached her.
"Sango, what is it? Is something wrong?" She carried a stack of books she'd been shelving.
The 18 year old was a sweet girl, who still wore her long auburn hair in pigtails. But she could be a fiery thing, and her green eyes always seemed to flash a mischievousness that Sango rather liked.
She'd written them into a story once.
They weren't particularly close, but Sango enjoyed chatting with her and had great respect for her.
And Ayame more than respected Sango. She was a big fan of her work and looked up to her, nearly to the point of idolization.
The girl leaned against the outer side of the counter, frowning slightly.
"Did I make a bad choice?" Sango asked rhetorically.
"Hm? What do you mean, Sango?"
She put on a fake smile. "No, never mind. It's nothing. I was just thinking out loud really."
Ayame frowned. "You can tell me."
"Oh, I'm just...having some financial difficulties. It has me sort of reevaluating my life, I suppose."
Ayame noted that Sango's eyes held that sadness that she occasionally caught a glimpse of. She didn't see it often; Sango was so good at masking it, but now and again those deep chocolate eyes revealed a girl who had endured years of pain and many sleepless nights.
"I had a feeling you were struggling... You've been working a lot of hours... What about the royalties from your last book?"
"Oh, well it wasn't much. I knew what I was getting myself into, though. Writing isn't exactly an occupation that makes you wealthy, at least not most people."
"But you're an amazing writer, Sango!" The girl beamed innocently.
"Thank you, Ayame. Not everyone thinks so." She looked down at the counter and idly traced patterns in it with her fingertip.
"Well, those people just don't know anything!"
Sango smiled.
"I decided to try and find a roommate to share my apartment with."
"Yeah? Any luck?"
She shook her head. "No. It's ridiculous! What few responses I've gotten have just been... Well, let's just say that I wouldn't let those people within 100 feet of my place!"
"That bad, huh?"
"Maybe I'm particular, but it is a big deal... I will be living with this person, after all."
"Yeah..." Ayame set her books down on the counter and rested her head in her hand.
"I don't suppose you are looking for somewhere to live, Ayame?" Sango asked.
"Oh, no. Sorry Sango. I'm still living with my grandfather. I couldn't afford a place yet."
Sango nodded.
"I wish I could help. You don't know anyone else?"
"No one that is in the market for a place." She pulled a folded piece of paper from the pocket of her black dress pants.
"What's that?"
"I made an evaluation form for my potential roommates." Sango chuckled.
"Oh, well let's see it!"
"Wow, this is pretty...thorough," she commented, as she scanned over it.
Sango shrugged. "That's me. Miss Thorough..."
Ayame laughed. "They are really good questions to ask. I wonder if anyone will be able to meet your standards, though."
"They'll have to." she winked at her.
Sango's attention was suddenly diverted to the ringing of the entrance bell, a short distance in front of her.
She wasn't quite sure why she paid it any heed; it rang every single time a customer entered the store, without fail. She generally didn't look over, but this time she did.
And the person who entered was none other than the man she'd bumped into on the street two weeks ago.
He walked in, displaying that casual confidence once again, and he was dressed as though he'd just come from modeling designer clothing. She inadvertently watched as he headed over to the relationship section. She had to admit this made her curious. What was this guy's story?
Not many people could seize the attention of Sango Nakamura, but this man...intrigued her. Yes, he intrigued her, and she couldn't for the life of her understand why.
No, perhaps she did know why. And it wasn't about his looks.
It was...the way he carried himself, the tranquility that surrounded him, as though he'd discovered the answers to life's most perplexing questions. And Sango was dying to share in his enlightenment.
She watched him pull a book off one of the shelves and take up residence in an armchair.
I'm probably just imagining qualities that aren't really there... She chalked her analysis up to her overly vivid imagination and desperation for an interesting character for her latest work in progress.
Having wondered what caused Sango to 'space out' all of a sudden, Ayame followed her gaze, finding the source of her sudden quietness.
"Wow," she uttered.
Sango's lips inadvertently parted to mutter some sort of agreement, but she stopped herself and turned away.
Ayame, however, continued to stare. She briefly looked from Ayame to the man, then back again.
"Hey, Ayame? Earth to Ayame..."
"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry."
Sango shook her head in mild amusement.
"Hey, do you know that guy?" Ayame asked suddenly.
"Uh, why do you ask that?"
"Just looked like you recognized him or something."
"Well, I sort of bumped into him a few weeks ago." Literally...
"Really? What happened?" Ayame asked, almost enthusiastically.
"What generally happens happened. We excused ourselves and went about our business," she sarcastically replied.
"Is that it?"
She seems so disappointed...
"Yes!" Sango replied, rather defensively.
"Oh, ok."
"What did you expect? Some magical moment or something?" She immediately began busying herself, apparently having decided she was finished with that conversation.
Ayame looked at her blankly for a moment or two. "Well, no..."
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"Excuse me, Miss. Could you tell me where the self-help section is?" an older woman asked.
"Certainly. This way." Sango made her way toward the section, with the woman following.
As she headed in that direction she noticed that the handsome stranger was still sitting in the same spot reading. She noted that it'd been an hour and a half since he'd come in.
I can't believe I know how long he's been here... That's so pathetic...
It didn't come as a surprise to her, though. Despite efforts not to, she couldn't help but glance over now and then. She'd noticed that he'd picked up and began reading several books in that time.
She wondered if he simply enjoyed skimming through a number of books and not buying them. Perhaps he was simply looking for one he liked. Or maybe he didn't have any money but still appreciated a good book. She didn't know why she even wanted to know, and she mentally berated herself for being so nosey. Then she decided to push away all thoughts of him entirely.
She had to walk past him to get to the self-help section though, and as she did, he looked up and gave her a smile. She graced him with a quick one in return, then averted her eyes.
"Here we are," she said when they'd come to the self-help section.
"Thank you," the woman replied.
She then scanned around and found the book she was looking for. It was inconveniently located on a higher shelf. "Could you get that book down for me, please?"
Sango smiled. "Of course." She pulled over a nearby step ladder and positioned it. She began climbing. "This one?" she asked from atop, not quite sure where the woman was pointing.
"No, not that one. It's the next shelf up and to the right."
"Oh, ok." She moved up further. "This one?"
"No dear, the third book over from that." Sango stretched herself further and went up on the tips of her toes, attempting to grab the book.
Big mistake.
She was flexible and generally had good balance, but apparently it was lacking this day.
And as she grasped the book, her foot slipped and she fell backward off the ladder.
She anticipated the impending contact with the ground and was prepared to steady herself so as to remain on her feet, but someone managed to beat her to it!
Seconds later, she found herself in a pair of strong arms. Someone had managed to catch her!
Well, sort of. She hadn't been extremely high, but they'd cushioned it somewhat.
And it certainly hadn't been the old woman.
Rather, it was a man who held her. He was gently easing her down, his arms wrapped around her slender waist, and he was whispering a soothing 'careful now' against her hair.
Once on solid ground, she turned to see who held her, as she politely freed herself from his embrace.
It was the dark-haired man from before!
And he was giving her the most angelic of smiles. It almost seemed too angelic to be genuine, and she imagined he was actually hiding some inner devilishness.
"We meet again," he whispered.
Still a bit stunned, it took her a moment to register what he said.
"Uh, yeah it would seem so," she was finally able to retort. She adjusted her light blue collared shirt, which had ruffled slightly when his hands had slid against it.
Then she recalled her reason for getting up on the ladder.
"Uh, here you go." She handed the book to the woman.
"Oh...thank you dear. Are you alright?"
She gave an embarrassed laugh. "Oh, yes perfectly fine."
The woman nodded, then left with her book.
Sango turned to her chivalrous knight.
"Um, how did you...?"
"I'm quick on my feet," he answered briefly before she finished the question.
"Oh. Well, um, thanks, but you didn't have to do that."
She was trying to hide her hurt pride, but her reddened cheeks and noticeable fidgeting belied that. She felt extremely foolish about slipping. And of all people to see it!
He must think I'm such a clumsy idiot!
"Well, I didn't want you to hurt yourself."
"Oh, well thank you for your concern..." She shoved her hands into the pockets of her pants.
They shared another slightly awkward moment of silence before the man decided to break the ice.
"So, don't you think it's about time we finally introduce ourselves...?" He tilted his head and leaned in toward her, as if what he was about to say was some big secret. He grinned, as he lowered his voice... All of a sudden she was feeling a little weak in the knees.
"You know, I am perfectly content with 'bumping' into you again or being on the lookout for you in some precarious situation...but surely, there must be an easier way."
She couldn't help but laugh at that, in spite of herself. "I agree. ...I'm Sango Nakamura." She held out a hand to shake.
"Miroku Kami."
Hm, strange last name...
He took her offered hand, but rather than shaking...he caressed it, chastely, with his lips.
Sango wasn't quite sure why she'd allowed that, but she blushed just the same.
"Do you get a break?" he asked.
"Uh, sure. I guess I could take a break. Why?"
"Well, I just thought we could get some coffee and chat."
She hesitated momentarily then nodded.
End of Chapter
A/N:
Kami God, of god, divine... (Japanese, of course)
K, hope it was enjoyable and not too cheesy! I had SUCH difficulty with the falling off the ladder scene...I had to examine how a person would fall off a ladder, how someone would go about catching them, etc... For some reason, I was having trouble picturing in my head how it would be. So, given that, the description of it was super tricky. I hope I pulled it off alright. Hope to hear from you!
Review Responses:
drake220: Thanks for the heads-up on the errors. Can you let me know specific examples next time? Glad you liked it anyway. And to answer your question, I WAS showcasing Miroku's character, but Inuyasha and Kagome WILL be in the story, as well. So, I was setting that up also.
tinemelk: Glad you liked it and glad you're gonna keep reading! Thanks! In response to your question about how Naraku feels about Sango, I'm not really saying either way. Knowing Naraku's character, one might say that Naraku is incapable of loving someone. But then again, people express 'love' in different ways. But to give you an answer, I would have to say that at this point I am not writing him as being 'in love' with her, but he does have interest. Hence, he wouldn't mind a little fling with her, but it's not gonna be like he's trying to romance her... Oh, and keep in mind that he is very bitter and angry about being rejected before...
alchemistgirl09: I always feel good when I 'hook' people, hehe. Thanks! Hope you liked this chapter, too. ;)
Demon Exterminator Barbie: My my, making assumptions, are we? Well, I'm not going to really say...but, nice detective work. ;)
sexyvampirebitch69: Thank you! Yes, I plan to continue. I'm having fun with it, and I hope you continue to read. :)
Tera McCaslin: I'm not actually an evil cliffhanger person...I mean...sometimes I mean to do it, but sometimes it just happens that way. I just kinda end a chapter when I feel like I have accomplished what I wanted to for that chapter. Also, I try to make most of my chapters similar in length/not too short and not too long.
Eternal-Shade: Thank you. I'm doing my best to update in good time, but it isn't always easy. Hang with me. :)