Chapter 10 – Card Games of The Heart: Part 2
Quickly, Miroku blew out the candles and stashed the cards and crystals back in the pouch before his mom caught notice of what he was doing with the lights dimmed. Stuffing the pouch and blown out candles under his bed, he made his way to the light switch and turned the overhead light up to full brightness.
"Something wrong, Miroku?" Sango asked, puzzled why he was acting so frantic.
"It's nothing to worry about, Sango. Just my mom at the door." he spoke while answering the door. Chieko stood in the doorway with a huge paper bag of groceries clasped in her hand.
"Go, help Rin and Inuyasha put up groceries, I have ice cream that needs to go in the freezer." she barked in a haughty tone.
"Son, who's your friend? I don't think I've met her before." Miroku's mom asked, taking notice of the pretty schoolgirl sitting in the middle of his bedroom.
Miroku introduced Sango to his mother. "Mom, this is Sango Sato, she's a girl from the neighborhood that I happened to run into last week, Sango, this is my mother, Chieko." Miroku introduced her.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Hoshino-san." Sango said as she greeted Miroku's mother in a respectful bow. "What your son said is true, he absolutely ran into me, my bike that is, on my way home from school. I stopped by to get reimbursement for the damages."
"Miroku, what have I told you about ignoring that school zone by the church?!" Chieko scolded. "You're lucky the young lady wasn't seriously hurt!"
"I am so sorry for my son's erratic driving! It's nice to meet you, Sango-chan! If you're hungry would you like to stay for dinner? That is after my children get done with the groceries."
"Dinner would be lovely." Sango responded. "And if you wouldn't mind, I can help put up the groceries."
"That's very kind of you to offer Sango-chan, but I think my children can manage the task just fine on their own."
With saying that last bit, Chieko left the room, not before handing her son the heavy sack of vegetables.
"You sure it's okay with your dad if you can stay for dinner?" Miroku asked.
"Dad's at the station until late so by the time I get home, it'll probably be just me and my brother at home until at least 9pm. But I should give Kohaku a call just to make sure that he's okay by himself until then."
"Excellent!" Miroku responded. "You'll love my mother's cooking. If I'm not mistaken she's making steak tips and vegetables for dinner. The phone is on the wall if you need to call your brother. I'll be back upstairs in a couple of minutes, okay."
Sango sat back down on the floor. "No problem."
After calling Kohaku to make sure he was okay by himself. Sango nervously grabbed her backpack to take out the envelope that held her prom tickets in it. Removing both tickets from the envelope, she rehearsed the best way to ask Miroku to be her date. "Miroku. I was wondering if you'd go to prom with me." she shook her head, no that approach was too blunt. "Miroku, if you're not busy Saturday night at 7pm, would you like to accompany me to prom." She shook her head again. That response was too formal. "Yo, Miroku! I got a prom ticket with your name on it, homie." Sango covered her face with her hands, letting out a frustrated groan. This was getting her nowhere. She then heard Miroku's voice just outside the room. Panicking, she shoved the tickets into her backpack.
"Are you okay, Sango?" Miroku asked; Concerned because he could have sworn he heard her calling his name.
"I'm fine! Let's go eat!" She replied, kicking the backpack out of the way.
At the dinner table Sango realized it had been quite sometime since she had a decent home-cooked meal like the one Miroku's mother had prepared for that evening. His mom was obviously a fantastic cook as every morsel on Sango's plate was seasoned to perfection. Usually when Sango herself tried to cook a lot of food at once, she would panic and screw up the recipe in some minor way, her guests would never know that she probably added too much salt or she overcooked the rice by just a small bit but Sango would know. It was different when she cooked for her dad and Kohaku, those two had iron stomachs and would eat anything she cooked with no complaints whatsoever. Hell, they'd probably eat dirt if someone sprinkled sugar on it.
Miroku's mom carefully set her chopsticks down next to her plate. "So, Sango-chan my son tells me you are about to graduate, correct?"
Sango nodded. "Yes ma'am in about two weeks"
"Actually mom, Sango will be graduating top of her class as valedictorian." Miroku interjected.
Unsurprisingly, Chieko took the bait: hook, line, and sinker. Her eyes widened with surprise at her son's statement. She had to know if it was true. Not that she didn't trust the pretty girl sitting across from her but her son had a tendency to lie whenever it was convenient, much to her chagrin.
"Is this true Sango-chan are you really top of your class?"
Sango smiled, trying not to panic that Miroku had pretty much given a mental cue to his mom to quiz her. Small talk was definitely not one of her strong subjects, especially not when being watched by four pairs of eyes like she was a museum exhibit.
"Yes, it's true. I also plan on going to college in the fall, I've already received acceptance letters from most of my top choices."
The word 'college' piqued Miroku's dad's interest. "Oh, and what school are you going to choose?"
Sango continued. "I've already been accepted at UCSD and Krofft as my local options but I really want to get into Brantham, I haven't received a response from them yet but I have my fingers crossed that I'll get in."
"Wow! Krofft and Brantham? Elite schools like those are pretty cutthroat to get into are they not? What do you plan on majoring in if you are accepted?"
Sango pushed her vegetables aside with her chopsticks, nervously trying to keep eye contact with Miroku's dad.
"I plan on majoring in Criminology."
Miroku's dad clasped his hands. "Ah, so you want to be a detective?"
Sango nodded. "Investigative Journalism, I've wanted to do this ever since middle school so I plan on double majoring with English."
He smiled. "Well, Sango-chan, I wish you the best of luck on your future endeavors."
"Thank you, sir." She responded.
Just when Sango thought she was free from her pseudo-interview with Miroku's parents they threw a couple of more questions her way. This time, his parents asked about her family life.
"So, what do your parents do for a living?" Chieko asked.
"Well, dad is the precinct constable for Portillo Beach PD. and my mother unfortunately passed on about six years ago."
"Ah, so you're Officer Sato's daughter, then!" Kyo spoke up. "I had no idea he lived In this neighborhood. I voted for his reelection you know."
Sango nodded. "I'm sure dad appreciates the support!"
Chieko was next to speak. "I'm so sorry to hear about your mother, Sango-chan, It must be hard on you and your family to not have her around."
"Actually, it's not so bad. My dad does his best when he's off the clock. It's probably not easy raising two kids alone but somehow he manages to do so just fine."
Sango glanced at the opposite end of the table where Rin and Inuyasha were fighting over the last square of Chieko's homemade tiramisu. "So, Inuyasha. How are you adjusting to life in the US?" she asked.
Inuyasha shoved the small cake into his mouth. "Alright, I guess. Still need a job so I can afford to build a decent bike."
"What about school?"
"Fuck no. In case you haven't noticed, Sango. I'm not the scholarly type."
"He just won't admit that he got expelled from Buchanan High within the first week because he jumped Coach Carmichael after refusing to take his hat off for gym class." Miroku said as he scooped the last bit of rice from his bowl into his mouth.
"The old fuck started it." Inuyasha grumbled.
Miroku rose from his chair to gather his and Sango's dirty dishes. "Yeah, but did you have to put the guy in a sleeper hold over it? If you explained the need to wear the hat as medically necessary, he would've let you. You're lucky you didn't get arrested for assault, even though Coach Carmichael didn't press charges."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Yeah, lucky. Wasn't like I wanted to go back to Tokyo anyways."
After dinner was over with, Sango offered to help Chieko clean up. Miroku's mom declined her offer yet again so she figured it was time to head back home before it got too dark outside. Miroku decided It was for the best that he would walk her home. Although their neighborhood was fairly safe, Sango was still a teenage girl heading home alone at night. Sango walked beside him with Kohaku's bike at her side. Unusually quiet, Miroku didn't really make much eye contact with her on the walk home as he was busy mentally rehearsing how he was going to ask her out before she walked through her front door. Once he got to her house, he stopped in his tracks. Normally, he wouldn't have any issue asking girls out, A few sweet words here and there and the chick would end up naked under him and gone the next morning. But Sango was different, something about her made him fairly nervous.
Maybe it was the fact that he actually had a legit crush on her? He'd known he wanted her since crashing into her bike the previous Friday but since then that desire to have her as his girlfriend only intensified. It had been ages since Miroku felt this way about a girl, in fact he couldn't even remember the last time he looked at a chick as something more than a few minutes of fun in bed. Somehow his feelings for Sango seemed so pure, regardless of his intention to bed her, that he often found himself dumbfounded on how to respond to them.
"Sango, I apologize about my parents at dinner, I had no idea that they would ask so many questions."
Sango glanced over at him. "You don't need to apologize, dinner was fine."
"But you looked so nervous answering their questions, I was worried."
"Small talk is really not my forte." She spoke, softly, while her grip tightened on the bike's handlebars.
Miroku raised an eyebrow. "You talked to me just fine that day I gave you a ride home from school."
"Somehow, I wasn't nervous when it was just us. I can't explain why but I feel so relaxed around you." She said, walking up to the front porch of her house. A faint blush stained her cheeks as she looked at him with a soft, sincere, smile.
Miroku nervously clenched his fists at his side, this was it. He was going to ask the big question.
"Sango, there's something I need to ask..."
Just as he was about to ask her to be his girlfriend, Officer Sato pulled up into the driveway in the squad car. The man stepped out with two brown bag burger specials from Magic Burger in his hand. "Sango, I brought dinner home for you and Kohaku." He said walking up the pathway to the door, pausing when he saw Miroku next to Sango.
"Jesus Hoshino, It's like I can't get rid of you! Sango, tell your friend to get lost, I don't have enough money to feed every stray in the neighborhood." He groaned, unlocking the front door.
"Ok, Dad." Sango responded. "Just give me a minute with him and I'll go inside."
"Now what was it you wanted to ask me, Miroku?" She asked, her large brown eyes focused on his.
Nervously, Miroku's eyes darted to her lips. Those perfectly kissable lips. When that didn't work, his eyes went to her chest, then back up again to her face and then to Officer Sato observing the teens from the window. Miroku Gulped. Shit! She's putting me on the spot right in front of her dad. I can't ask her out now. Gotta make something up quick.
"I wanted to ask if you see any feathers in my hair, Rin slugged me with a pillow before dinner as payback for eating her Mike and Ikes last night." He fibbed, knowing that he absolutely could not ask her out with an unwanted audience.
Sango brushed his bangs aside. "I don't see any."
Miroku scratched the back of his head. "Thanks. Well, I guess I'm off."
"Thanks for dinner and walking me home Miroku."
Miroku smiled a toothy grin. "Anytime. See you later, Sango."
After he said his goodbye, Miroku's head hung low in defeat. Seemed like luck wasn't on his side that night. Officer Sato's return home much sooner than expected really threw a wrench in his plan to go steady with Sango. He'd hoped that he would at least get that kiss that his mom interrupted earlier, maybe even another feel of her fantastic ass if he was even luckier. Perhaps it was a sign that it wasn't the right time to ask her out. But if that was the case then why did the thought of not asking Sango out send a queasy feeling to the pit of his stomach? This platonic shit was really starting to annoy him. The one time he was ready for a girlfriend, the universe had to go and crap all over him. Miroku punched a broken light post with his gloved hand out of defeat. Why was this eating at him so much, it wasn't like he couldn't ask her out some other time. "Clearly, I'm not thinking straight." Miroku muttered under his breath, begrudgingly turning on the corner of his street.
Exhausted, Sango threw the stuff in hand on her bed which made the backpack ricochet onto the floor. She hated wasting food but knowing that Kohaku would have no issue eating both burgers and fries she decided that maybe she should get some much-needed relaxation before showering and heading to bed. It wasn't until Sango sat up from her bed that she noticed the contents of her backpack had fallen out. Sango slumped off the mattress and on to the floor to pick up her belongings. As she put the things back into the backpack, she noticed she only had one prom ticket. Frantically, she dumped the contents of the backpack on the floor again, searching for the missing ticket. Her eyes widened when she screamed a loud, "NO, NO, NO!" Sango crawled onto the bed again. How was she ever going to ask Miroku to the prom now? Her other ticket must have fallen out her open backpack on the walk home somewhere because she was absolutely positive she put both tickets in her backpack before dinner. Sango huffed, sitting up on her bed. It looked like she would have to go to prom solo after all. Which meant that she probably was going to get the third degree from her friends about not having a date to take to the after party.
"I'm so not ready for this." She groaned, burying her head into one of the pillows on her bed.
At home, Miroku's parents waited for him on the couch with wide smiles beamed across their faces. His parents rarely smiled like that, rendering the situation all the more creepy, like a Stepford situation. His dad patted him hard on the shoulder.
"Well done, son. Well done!"
"What did I do?" Miroku asked, dumbfounded at his father's out of the blue praise. Something was up; his father never praised him. The man was practically a robot when it came to showing his son any signs of affection or praise.
"Just so you know, your mother and I approve."
"Approve of what?"
"Of Sango, our future daughter-in-law."
"Dad, she's not my girlfriend, she's just a friend." Miroku reiterated, letting out a defeated groan.
"Oh but she will be soon enough, lay that charm on her thick, but not too thick you hear me, otherwise you'll scare her off. I know you can do it! Just wait until my coworkers find out my son is going to marry an absolute fox like Sango Sato!"
"Dad, I'm not going to marry anyone anytime soon."
Miroku's mom stood up from the couch to speak. "You better marry her! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find decent Japanese girls this side of San Diego? I want pretty grandchildren out of you. That stuck-up Irma Adachi-Ling is always going on and on about how her son Xavier, gave her perfect grandchildren. I want to rub it in her smug face because mine will be prettier if Sango-chan is the mother! What do you think Kyo? Do you want them to have a church wedding or a traditional wedding? Yes, I got it! We can dress Sango-chan in one of my heirloom kimonos! Wouldn't she just look absolutely lovely?!"
Miroku could only sigh and groan some more as his parents planned his future, they really knew how to make the situation of not being able to date Sango even worse.
"I'm going to bed!" Miroku declared in a whiny tone, dragging his feet up the stairs.
Miroku plunked face down on his bed. He was about to doze off when he was woken up by the phone going ballistic on the ringer. He answered the phone, half expecting it to be some random chick that he had a one night stand with asking why he never called back. Great, that's all I need; He sarcastically groaned in his head.
"Hello?"
"Hey Miroku, It's Jimmy. Just calling in to check up on you. How did your dinner date go, you going steady with your chick yet?"
Miroku sighed into his pillow. "It wasn't even a date; and no, she's off limits."
"What the hell happened man? You had this in the bag."
"Her dad arrived home early before I could ask her to go out with me, and the man still hates my guts. So no, I wasn't able to ask her out and I probably won't be able to any time soon."
"Fuck, you really have it bad for this girl dontcha? I still say you should just cut to the nitty gritty and ask her out already. She may be innocent now but you and I both know what happens to girls once they get into college. Daddy can't stop her there."
Miroku scowled at his friend's remark. "I'm aware of that, Jimmy. Why do you think I'm on edge right now."
"Sorry I got a little side tracked there, I don't want to see one of my bros all mopey and shit, makes me depressed just listening to it. But I do have good news!"
"What's the news?" Miroku asked.
"I got a phone call from Big Frank at Meridian, we got in. The red stage is ours, another Battle of the Bands finalist dropped out, leaving us and two other bands. Our gig is scheduled for Friday, June 13th's Metal Mayhem lineup, which also happens to be the 1st qualifier for battle of the bands, West-Coast. We gotta kick our practice sessions into overdrive if we want to make it to finalists in December, Word has it there will be a primo talent scout for one of the big record companies that will be attending the final match, winner is guaranteed a contract. Think about it man, Gladius could finally break out of the local scene."
"That's amazing that we got in! I think I'm feeling better already."
"Hey, what are friends for, right? Anyways I gotta go I have a girl waiting in the other room that's in need of some serious lovin'. Catch you later Hoshino!"
With saying that, Jimmy hung up the phone on his end. Miroku crawled back into bed. Messing around with his tarot deck, he pulled the lovers card out from the top of it. He stuck the card back into the pouch. Frustrated, he threw the pouch at the wall where it landed on a small piece of paper lying by his amp. He picked up the card, although on closer inspection it wasn't just a piece of paper, it was a ticket with a shiny silver filigree border around some matching script writing. The ticket read: 'St. Catherine's Catholic High School Senior Prom 1986 – Admit One.' Miroku grinned as he put two and two together. "So that's why Sango was so nervous while I was downstairs, she wanted to ask me to her prom." He stared at the ticket for a while longer. Maybe there was a chance for him after all. Sitting the ticket on his clock radio, Miroku shut his eyes, imagining himself slow dancing with Sango while she wore a sexy cocktail dress. Perhaps on prom night, he'd finally get that kiss without any interruptions.
80's Mix Tape: Track 10
Queensrÿche – I Don't Believe In Love