InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Big Trouble Comes in Small Packages ❯ Change of Heart ( Chapter 25 )

Someone was really kind and nominated this story for the Inuyasha fanguild awards, 2nd quarter best humor. Thank you Kellychan85, I feel so loved! ^_^ And thanks also to slvrstarlight for seconding the nomination! I actually managed to win second place!

Also, this story and 'One Step Forward, Two Steps Back' have both just been nominated for the 3rd quarter best humor! Thanks to Chri and Ms. Congeniality for the nominations. ^_^

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Disclaimer: To be honest with everyone, I really don't own Inuyasha...and have you noticed that being honest never seems to get you anywhere in life? Maybe I should just lie, but then the only place that might get me in life is jail. I just can't win!

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Big Trouble Comes in Small Packages

Chapter Twenty-Five

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Awkward didn't even begin to describe the atmosphere at the small table.

"So, umm..." Sango gave Miroku a perplexed look, her anger long forgotten in the midst of her surprise. "What's going on, and why are all these women here? Aren't they all your customers?"

Miroku gave her a half-hearted smile, still seriously wishing for that gun. "Well, the situation is rather complicated..."

"Complicated how?"

Miroku winced slightly, unsure as to how to tell his date about the events leading up to what was occurring at that moment. How did one tell the girl of his dreams that he'd allowed twelve other women to horn in on their very first (and probably last) date together?

A change of subject sounded like a good idea.

"I just remembered something, Sango. Wasn't that Kagome-sama I saw following you in here a few moments ago?"

It was Sango's turn to squirm, and she forgot for the moment that he was originally the one sitting in the hot seat. Why she thought she couldn't tell him the truth she didn't know, but just felt as if she didn't want him to be upset with her. But why would that matter? It wasn't as if their date meant anything to her. It was only the result of a stupid bet and nothing more.

"I, uh, asked Kagome-chan to walk with me." Sango finally replied, unwittingly using the same excuse that Kagome had given.

Miroku nodded in understanding with a contrite expression on his face. "About that...please forgive me, Sango, for not being able to pick you up like I had originally planned. Some things came up-"

"And what things would those be?" Sango's voice had gone from being almost embarrassed to cold in a matter of moments as she recalled her earlier anger with the man sitting across from her. "I'd REALLY love to know what was so important to you that you couldn't even spare a few minutes to walk to my apartment." She arched an eyebrow at him.

Ah, here it came, the deciding moment of his fate. Would she forgive him, kill him, or merely get angry enough to walk out on their date? Neither of the last two options sounded terribly appealing, so he seriously hoped for the first one.

"Sango, I-"

"Dinner time!" A cheerful voice sang out, interrupting before he could say anything.

Miroku's hand tightened around the edge of the table in reflex as he contemplated how hard it might be to throw it at the woman approaching them. For someone as non-violent as Miroku claimed to be, he was certainly having a high number of homicidal urges that night.

A moment before Miroku could make up his mind to actually do anyone bodily harm, the small woman came to a stop at their table and smiled brightly at the pair. She was wearing an apron (stolen from the supply room) and had a small notebook and a stubby, nearly pointless pencil in her hands. "Good evening to you. My name is Saki-san, and I will be your-" She paused to peer down at her notebook, obviously attempting to recite a pre-written speech. "-honored server tonight. On the menu, we have a homemade meal of traditional dishes that will make your taste buds dance in delight!"

One of the women off to the side giggled and proudly whispered that she had come up with that line.

"Now, to start off your meal tonight, we have a bowl of-"

A high-pitched squeal suddenly echoed around the room, causing the woman to break off her speech just before she could announce the first dish.

"Saki-san!" The much, much younger Kagome squealed again as she came running into the room from the kitchen like an excited little kid. She was holding something clutched tightly in both hands and when she reached the table, she nearly shoved it in the old lady's face. "Look what I found in the back! Shippo and I were bored, so we starting going through the drawers in Miroku's desk-" She had to stop herself from cringing when Miroku started to splutter "-and we found this picture! Could you please tell me the story behind it?"

To make the temptation too difficult to resist, Kagome gave Saki-san the most pathetic puppy dog eyes she could muster.

"Oh my...it's been so long since I've seen this picture!" In a daze, the older woman plucked the picture from Kagome's hand and stared at it with fondness. While she was distracted, Kagome sent Miroku an apologetic glance before starting to inch her way back towards the kitchen to dispose of all the food. No one noticed her leaving as all the other women gathered around to take a peek at the picture themselves.

"Oh, it's you and Miroku!" Someone cried. "Wasn't he just a little darling at that age?"

"Oh, he was! How old is he there?"

The woman holding the picture smiled. "Miroku was three years old in that picture. It was taken the day I moved into the apartment above the one he and his father lived in. He was such a cute little boy, and he tried so hard to help me move small boxes and anything else light enough for him to carry. Even back then he was out to impress any female he could."

Sango, not able to resist the pull of her curiosity, stood up and tried to get a look at the picture for herself. She'd never seen a picture of Miroku as a child that she could recall and couldn't help but wonder what he was like, so she dodged his frantic attempts to grab her arm and pull her back into her chair.

Poor Miroku, he knew what was coming and flinched when Sango finally got a good look at the picture and froze.

"So you were even a little pervert back then, huh?" She turned her eyes on the adult Miroku, who made a feeble attempt to keep an innocent and amiable expression on his face.

In the picture, a younger version of Saki-san was cuddling a tiny Miroku in her arms as they posed for a picture, probably taken by Miroku's father. The little boy looked almost blissfully happy as he lay snuggled between the older (but still attractive) lady's breasts, a small hand clinging to each. If it had been any other child the picture might have been perfectly innocent, but anyone who knew Miroku wasn't fooled in the least.

"Yes, he certainly took after his father." Saki-san reminisced in response to Sango's accusation, not giving the topic of their conversation a chance to defend himself. "I had just lost my husband and had to move into a smaller apartment, and the day I arrived all I wanted to do was cry. It was a very difficult time for me." A few murmurs of sympathy drifted around the room. "But then I met Miroku and his father, Mushin, and they did such a good job of making me forget my misery! Why, I don't think even my husband touched me in his entire life as many times as Mushin-san did that afternoon!"

Several of the women laughed out loud at that, many of them having personally known the man being talked about when he was alive.

It was just at that moment that one of the women noticed something odd in the picture.

"Hey, do you see that? There is someone else in the picture, but I can barely make anything out. Who is it?"

Saki-san squinted at the picture, but couldn't remember who the other small figure in the picture was. The person was short, close to the three-year-old Miroku's height, and they were standing at the far right of the picture in the dark shadow of the building's doorway.

Sango suddenly snatched the picture away and gasped. "Hey Miroku, isn't this Inuyasha? I'd know those ears and that sulking posture anywhere!"

"What, you mean that rude little dog-eared boy that spends so much time bothering Miroku?" The woman speaking looked positively scandalized. "I'm surprised Miroku grew up such a gentleman if he spent so much time around that other boy!"

Sango scoffed. "Miroku? A gentleman?"

Miroku's wounded gaze landed on Sango, but before he could defend himself, one of the women spoke up in his defense.

"How dare you say such a rude thing, young lady!" She glared at Sango, obviously angry and ready to defend their little Miroku to the death if need be. "Here he went through all this trouble to set up a lovely date for you, and you still say such hurtful things about him! I really don't understand what he sees in a girl like you."

Sango cringed. She wasn't sure why the woman's accusation hurt her so, but it did.

"I knew this date was a bad idea." One of the few pessimistic women of the group muttered. Though she had participated in the planning and setting up of the date, she'd had reservations about it from the beginning and everyone knew it. "Miroku should find himself a nice girl, one that isn't so cruel and abusive. I knew she'd never be good enough for our Miroku."

Sango, as well as several of the kinder women in the room, stared at the speaker in shock. Though a lot of the women admittedly shared the same sentiments, that was far more blunt than they would have ever considered being.

"Megumi! That was uncalled for! Couldn't you have been a bit nicer?"

"I only stated the truth." She shrugged, unconcerned.

"But still, you could have-"

"Apologize."

The room fell quiet as everyone turned towards Miroku, who had nearly been forgotten in the midst of the drama going on because he'd been so quiet and unobtrusive. He was staring intently at the table in front of him and refusing to look at anyone, yet his voice still held determination as he repeated his command. "Apologize to Sango. Now."

Again the room was quiet as Miroku's words sunk in. No one had ever heard him speak like that before, and it was disturbing to say the least. He was normally so kind and considerate to all of them no matter what, but now...

"M-Miroku, dear, I-" The woman known as Megumi stuttered. "-I was only defending you!"

It was then that the man in front of them finally looked up, and they were startled at the expression in his eyes. He looked resigned and determined all at once, as if he'd decided something and wasn't planning to back down now that he'd gotten the ball rolling. "I know all of you mean well and that you have only tried to be helpful, but none of you have the right to say such things to Sango. I won't allow it."

The girl standing across the table from Miroku could only blink, stunned into complete silence at his defense of her.

"Ever since I first met Sango, I realize that I have done nothing at all to earn her good opinion. She has every right to hit me, and accuse me of not being a gentleman." He smiled slightly, though it was rather sad. "She has done nothing to be criticized for, and I won't stand for any one of you being rude to her no matter what the circumstances may be." He met each woman's eyes one by one, hoping to drive home the seriousness of what he was saying. "All of you are like mothers to me, but as important as all of you are, none of you mean as much to me as my Sango does."

"Miroku..." Sango whispered, unable to believe what she was seeing and hearing. He was so serious, and sounded far more sincere than she'd ever believed him capable of being. Could he really be telling the truth about how strong his feelings were for her? Just the thought made her head start to spin.

"Now," Miroku suddenly wiped the depressed, sad expression off his face, though he remained unusually serious. "I want all of you to apologize to Sango, and then I'd like for you all to leave. I appreciate your good intentions in trying to help me, but I should have put a stop to all of this from the beginning and done things my own way."

One by one, the shame-faced women went up to Sango and made their apologizes. They all seemed very abject and sincere, and Sango found it very easy to forgive all of them. In a way, she even understood why all of them acted the way that they had. It was only natural for a mother to want to defend her son. And to all of them, Miroku was like a son.

Saki-san was the last one to approach Sango, and she leaned in to give the tall girl in front of her a hug. While Sango was bent over, she whispered in her ear "I've never seen Miroku stand up to all those interfering old bats before. No matter what they said, I knew you'd be good for him!"

Sango didn't know whether to laugh or be embarrassed.

While all of this was going on, Shippo and Kagome had come in with a couple of plates of food and a promise to see all of the women home safely. Even Kagura was quick to help, steering some of the more reluctant women out of the room with her infamous intimidation tactics. But before they left, Miroku gave each of them a hug, hoping to show them that he really wasn't angry with them. Most of them left smiling.

Soon, Miroku and Sango were left alone for the first time that night.

"Shippo brought us some food from a place down the street." Miroku looked nervous, and was attempting to steer the conversation to safe ground with hopes of dispelling the awkward atmosphere. "He said the food that was originally made for us met an unfortunate end, though he did not say how."

He got no response for his efforts, so he tried again.

"I'm surprised that Kagura was being so helpful. She normally treats me as if she hates me and laughs at my misfortune."

Again he was met with silence, nearly driving Miroku over the edge with his nervousness. Was she upset with him still? Did he handle things badly? Perhaps she thought that he had been too harsh, or that he hadn't been hard enough-

"You were wrong, you know."

Miroku's frantic thoughts came to a screeching halt at the quietly spoken sentence, and he could only stare at Sango in surprise. What did she mean, he was wrong?

Sango was staring back at him now, but her expression was unreadable while his practically spelled out his anxiousness. She seemed to be waiting for him to say something in response, but when he didn't, she decided to continue.

"When you were defending me, you said something that wasn't true."

Miroku's expression quickly turned baffled. "Sango, if I said something wrong, I didn't mean to-"

His near babbling was stopped by Sango reaching across the table and placing a hand over his mouth.

"Miroku, you said that ever since you first met me, you've done nothing that would earn yourself my good opinion." She suddenly smiled slightly, her hand still firmly planted over his mouth. "But that isn't true, at least not anymore. What you said tonight did the trick I think."

Miroku's eyes widened in shock, not sure that he could really believe what he was hearing. Did she really just say what he thought she said?

When Sango made no move to release his mouth, he grabbed her hand and pulled it away, but didn't let go of it. Instead, his hand clung to hers tightly as he gazed into her eyes beseechingly. "Please, Sango, explain to me what you just said..."

She suddenly blushed and looked down at the table in front of her.

"Miroku, I...I'd always been attracted to you, but I never allowed myself to admit it, or believe that I might mean anything more to you than every other woman you would grope. I'd never seen you really serious before, so I assumed that you were just incapable of having sincere feelings for any one woman." His eyes flashed with hurt at her words, so she hastily continued. "Or at least, that was what I had convinced myself. I think I realized that there was more to it than that, but I didn't want to take the chance in case I found out that I was only seeing things that weren't there."

A hopeful light was shining in Miroku's eyes at Sango's confession, and he opened his mouth to speak.

"Wait! Before you say anything, I'm not done yet." She waited for him to nod, and then continued. "When you defended me tonight and said those things, I think that was the first time I really saw you, Miroku, and not just the pervert with the wandering hands. I know how much those women mean to you, how important they are to you since you lost your mother at such an early age. Yet you told them that I mean more to you than they do." She squeezed his hand and smiled. "That, I think, is the sweetest thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth, because you sounded like you truly meant it. Not like all those rehearsed lines you try to use on me all the time. If you can manage to act like that more often, you might actually survive a relationship with me."

"Really? You really mean that?" Miroku sounded like a little kid, his voice filled with hope and awe at the things he had just been told. In his wildest dreams, he'd never imagined that such words could ever come out of the mouth of the woman he loved so much.

Instead of answering him, Sango leaned over the table and kissed Miroku, leaving the man so stunned that he couldn't form a complete thought to save his life.

But thankfully, he didn't have to.

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"Oh my God, they kissed!"

Outside the restaurant, a small, muffled cheer erupted as the exiled group spied on the couple inside through one of the front windows. Passing pedestrians were sure to give the strange little group a wide berth.

"I won the bet, so pay up." Kagura held out her hand, while Shippo and three of the older women grudgingly handed the smug women 1,000 yen apiece.

"I can't believe Sango was the one who kissed Miroku!" Kagome shook her head, still trying to grasp the concept of her best friend actually having physical contact with Miroku that wasn't violent. But really, what shocked her more was that Kagura had been the one to bet that Sango would be the one to make the first move. "Why do I get the feeling that something isn't right here...?"

Shippo giggled. "Because something ISN'T right! Do you really think all these sweet little old ladies could have come up with such an evil plan on their own without help?"

Kagome gasped. "You mean-"

"Kagura was the mastermind." Shippo pointed a clawed finger at the woman greedily counting her money before leaning in to whisper "But just so you know, the bad cooking wasn't part of the plan."

Leaning against the wall in shock, Kagome stared at the female youkai across from her and ignored Shippo's crack about the women's cooking skills. "Why in the world would you..."

Kagura sniffed. "That wimp really needed to grow a backbone and be honest for once in order for someone like Sango to have some respect for him. But he's so helpless that I had to do it for him, as usual."

Shaking her head, Kagome just barely managed to get over her surprise in time to follow the group as they headed off down the street, finally leaving the new (and completely oblivious) couple in the café to themselves for real this time.

If they only knew.

But then, ignorance is bliss, as they always say...

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Done! I hope it turned out well, because that was the first time I've ever put so much time and effort into writing something serious regarding Sango and Miroku's relationship. More than anything, though, I have a hard time writing Miroku being serious. Anyway, drop me a review and let me know what you think! Oh, and as a random bit of info, I got the name Saki from my cat, lol...