Chapter 2 Mistakes and Reprimands

The next few mornings went by in a general blur. Miroku wouldn't stop fussing over Sango, who felt and insisted she was fine. Finally the ragged band broke through the dense trees into a quaint little village, sometime around noon. Everyone was relieved to have a break from camping out that they didn't care about the early hour to be settling in.

I need a drink. Miroku thought tiredly to himself. He stepped idly into an inn, and sat at one of the many tables, a young and very pretty waitress floated over immediately.

"The strangest sake you have" Miroku sighed, not really looking at the girl.

"Hard day?" she asked, her voice light and airy. Miroku finally turned to look at her. Her hair was short and black, her dark brown eyes staring through him, rather suggestively.

"Hard life," he sighed, he looked away, the girl pouted.

"You know what really helps stress?" she asked coyly. Miroku knew but he shook his head, trying not to flirt with this woman, Sango needed him now more than ever, she should be coming any minute now anyway. "I get off at sunset if you want to find out." She whispered, trailing her hands across Miroku's as she left to continue work.

"I'm such an idiot." Miroku sighed, drinking deeply an entire jar of sake, and another, and another. By the time sunset rolled around, Miroku was drunk as all hell, his arm around the slutty waitress.

Sango watched her lead Miroku to a small hut not far from the inn. They were laughing and flirting shamelessly. Inuyasha and Kagome turned concerned gazes to Sango, just waiting for her to explode and go kill the lecherous monk. But she merely shrugged and walked off. Her face totally expressionless as she haggled a room for the night at the headman's home. Luckily a demon was sniffing around his yard and he repaid her services with housing for the night.

The next morning she walked over to the waitress' hut, where Miroku lay sleeping. She knocked... no answer. She pushed the door open and strode inside. She knew she should be furious with the monk, especially after what she found. Miroku lay on his back, his face calm in his slumber. The waitress lay naked, snuggled up to him, a dreamy smile on her lips. Sango shook Miroku awake.

The sunlight streaming through the window drove iron spikes through Miroku's head. "WE leave in fifteen minutes." Sango said quietly. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to roll over, the motion prevented by the naked girl beside him. He stared at her, then back to Sango, horror plaster across his face.

What have I done?! He internally yelled, cursing his name. Sango is going to kill me!

"Coming?" she called from the door, her face emotionless. He sat in silence, overly confused. He gathered his clothes quickly and followed Sango from the village hut.

"Sango…" He tested, praying she would slit his throat and get it over with as painlessly as possible.

"Hm?" she looked him straight in the eye. Hers not shining as any normal, living beings' would. Her eyes were the same amber color they always were, but they were harder, colder, almost…lifeless.

"Please kill me quickly!!!" he exclaimed, dropping to his knees in front of her.

"Why would I do that?" she looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

"Because I deserve to die for what I've done." He looked on the verge of tears but Sango remained emotionless.

"… Okay then," she walked around Miroku and hopped on the waiting Kirara's back. "Get on or we're leaving you behind." Miroku did so tentivally, he was sure the moment Kirara was high in the air, he was as good as splattered on the mountain side.

The sudden change in Sango frightened the whole group. Even she knew that she should be angry at Miroku, she just…wasn't. Miroku was so scared that any minute his punishment that Sango was undoubtedly planning would fall on him. The anticipation was driving him insane. But Sango didn't react to his mistake in the slightest for a whole week. Finally Miroku couldn't take it anymore.

"If you aren't going to kill me then I'm killing myself!" he shouted in her face after dragging her out to a secluded area of the woods.

"I've got no clue what you are talking about." Sango stated blandly, trying to walk around Miroku and back to camp. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently.

"Why won't you punish me?!?!" his eyes were half crazed.

"Why should I punish you? I'm not your mother," Sango pried his vice-like grip from her now bruised shoulders.

"I betrayed your trust… I'm a horrible person… I-I-I don't deserve you as a wife!" Miroku stuttered.

"… Sure… can I go now?" the only hint of emotion in her voice was boredom.

"What happened to you?" Miroku asked finally, "Ever since you leg started randomly bleeding you've been… distant. It's like you're not even Sango anymore… You're like a rock."

"Thank you?" Sango raised an eyebrow at him.

The image of the two swirled within the crystal ball. He laughed and twirled a small hammer in his hands. "All most time…" he squeaked gleefully.

Sango shrugged and tried to walk away again.

"Please Sango…" Miroku breathed, "It's killing me not knowing when you're planning to do it. Just get it over with."

"Why do you care so much?" Sango asked, sounding a tiny bit annoyed.

"I feel horrible about what I did…"

"Why, you were just being a guy,"

"I betrayed you…"

"…Why would you think that?"

"I-I-I… I love you Sango." He whispered.

He brought the hammer down on the blood soaked stone, shattering it. He laughed as Sango's eyes widened and red shards flew from her chest, all of them scattering across Japan. His laughter was truly evil as he watched Miroku run to her unconscious body.