3. Miroku
The old monk was mildly drunk this afternoon, sitting under a plum tree and admiring the beauty of the temple ground and meditating about the miracles and troubles of life itself. He had a bottle of sake and a cup on the ground beside himself. Miroku approached his master slowly and sat beside him, his legs crossed. The boy eyed the bottle and cup, crinkling his nose at the smell of alcohol. He was pretty sure that the older man was going to fall asleep before even starting his lesson.
In the silence the boy could hear the soft rustling of the leaves dancing on the wind. None spoke for a long time as they were sitting in the warm sunlught.
"The bald men are truly blesed by the gods," Mushin stated, seemingly out of blue, but Miroko wasn't surprised, he got used to this kind of random statements. He was just wondering if there would be any explanation from the old man or if he was again too lost in his drunken 'meditation' to even notice his ward and student sitting patiently beside him.
"Please, master, tell me why you think so," the eleven year old boy said, his patience finally going out. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to his question, but hoped Mushin would let him go after answering. Sitting motionlessly wasn't fun.
"They don't need to tie their hair and struggle to keep them tidy after a night of heavy drinking," the old monk said, his expression serious and serene. Miroku eyed his still a little damp hair. Mushin smiled at the puzzled expression on Miroku's face. "Believe me, boy, when the time comes for you to drink sake you will understand the true value of a razor, a hair tie or a friend who would lend you a helpful hand in your time of need. You must find a good friend, a good tie or a good razor to achive great joy in life."
Miroku just sighed, his master was obviously too drunk to give any lecture of value today.
.
Inuyasha peered at the monk kneeling beside a bush and leaning over its green branches. A glimpse of concern appeared in his yellow eyes, quickly replaced by annoyance.
"I told ya, stupid monk, you shouldn't drink that sweet milky-juicy stuff after eating beef ramen," Inuyasha grumbled and reached a hand to pull Miroku's head up by his tiny ponytail. He looked in Miroku's twisted, pale face, noticing sweat running down his temples.
"Wait here, I'll bring you some water," the hanyou said after his inspection and let go of Miroku's hair to go and fetch one of Kagome's famcy futuristic transparent water bottles. As Miroku hovered over his bush and returned to emptying his stomach he thanked the gods that he had a friend who would lend him a helpful hand in his hour of need, even if in a different way that his master had had in mind that afternoon many years ago.