InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Miroku's Lyric ❯ Session Fourteen ( Chapter 14 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Note: If you have given me your e-mail address asking to see the character sketches, the sketches are now on deviantART under the name "Lyn713". Don't forget to comment!

Disclaimer: Right, like the richest woman in Japan is going to leave her anime to a fourteen-year-old half-way across the earth...

Memoir of Miroku,

And then sometimes I think to myself, the world isn't so bad...

Session Fourteen- Universal Dance

"I saw your face
and then I knew
we would be friends
I was so afraid but your arms they'd say: "Come to me"

So I'd say to you
"Can we talk for a while?"
You'd say "alright:"
When you love me, I smile
I feel your hands and you feel mine...
You bring me joy."

-You Bring Me Joy- Anita Baker

She looked around. Breathing in the air, familar scents filling her nose, scents she had missed soon much. Closing her eyes, she listen to the sound of the crowds around her, the loud joyful music, and the sounds of laughter. Oh yes, the laughter. How long had it been? Three years? Four?

He had to practically drag her here, having to go through repeating coaxing to change her mind, it was almost as if she was afraid to go. He watched in his silent awe as she took everything in. She had clothed herself in the common garbs for events such as those, an intricately patterned kimono that glowed a pale blue in the soft moonlight, her dark tresses tied into a long braid that fell down her back. It was only proper for the winter festivities.

Sango smiled at him. "Thank you," she whispered.

He returned her smile. "Shall we go, then?"

"Yes, but..." she looked around, "where is Kohaku?"

"I'm not sure, he said something about meeting a friend."

"Oh, you mean Rin? I'm not suprised," she gave a wry grin.

Miroku looked at her curiously. "Is this Rin... special?"

Her smile grew as they continued to walk together. "Rin is Kohaku's girlfriend."

*****

"Come on, Kohaku! Hurry up!"

"The young girl pulled him along, darting in and out of the crowds, the boy dragging behind her barely keeping up.

"Rin, wait! Wh-Where are we going?" he asked.

Rin smiled at him. "It's a suprise. There's someone I want you to see."

They stopped abruptly. "We're here," she said, motioning towards a crowd of people. She grabbed his hand again, pushing through the crowd as they made their way to the front.

"There she is," she whispered.

She pointed to the woman in the center of the crowd. She was shrouded in a deep blue loose-fitting kimono, her hair intricately twisted, her eyes gleaming a deep red, something that made her stand out of above the rest. She danced in the center of the crowd, unafraid and unashamed, her body lithe to the music the music that played in the background.

"That," said Rin, "is Kagura."

*****

"Miroku!"

She cursed under her breath, traveling through the crowds in the marketplace. "Miroku!"

"Miss me?"

She turned around. "Where the hell have you been?"

"For you." He gave no response, placing a small package into her hand. She eyed it curiously.

"Come on, it won't hurt you..."

She eyed him, then the package. It looked like it had just been tied together, its wrappings made of nothing put a piece of newspaper and a piece of loose thread that appeared to have come off of his trenchcoat. Had it been any other girl, they would've probably commented on it.

Hesitantly, she pulled the string, the newspaper loosening. Pushing the sides of paper, she opened it, revealing a bright red ribbon.

"For you," Miroku repeated softly, taking her hand in his, kissing it lightly.

*****

"So, Kagura likes Sesshoumaru?"

"Yup."

"So... why hasn't Sesshoumaru reacted to her advances. He's being difficult again?"

"Sesshoumaru-san is not difficult," Rin replied sternly, "he's just shy. Just like somebody I know..."

"Yes, well..." Kohaku trailed off, looking down at the ground, "you know I want to, but... friends..."

"Yes, I know..." she said softly, "dating someone four years younger than you isn't really excepted in middle and high school."

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I'm more concerned about you..." She took his wrist in her hand, pushing up the sleeves, revealing the red marks across his forearm.

"Rin, you know I haven't been cutting in over a year..."

She let go his wrist, smiling softly. "Anyway..."

She took a step foreward, until her face was mere inches from his. He backed up, a blush forming on his freckled cheeks. "R-Rin, I-"

It was in that moment she had chosen to kiss him.

*****

"Miroku... it sounds fitting..."

"Hn?"

"Your name, Next Buddha. You wander, searching for enlightenment, just like Buddha did."

"Do you think I'm crazy?"

"Hn, this is the real world, everyone's crazy. It comes with being human."

"True, I am a wanderer. You never know when I'll run off again."

"You, know, one can only wander for so long..." she said softly, "And what you said about the world. It's not always so malevolent. Sometimes, it's nice."

"And other times... and other times it hurts to breathe..."

"Life... it seems like a neverending dream. There are times where I can't tell the difference between fantasy or reality. Sango, can I tell you ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Do you believe in... ghosts?"

"Yes, very much," she replied, "not the ghosts that you can see, only those that invisible to mortal eyes. Those who had left the Earth before the gods had seen fit. Maybe, just maybe, ghosts refused to leave this eternal purgatory and they remain here until they see fit, wandering like forgotten memories."

"Are you afraid of death?" he asked.

"I don't know. I've seen death in the face many times. In some ways, he looks human just like us, but he somehow manages to distinguish himself from the rest of us."

"Hn, for some reason, when I was younger, I used to associate death with my mother."

"Why?"

"My father never told me anything about my mother, so I always assumed she was dead. The one moment I remember of my grandfather was of him telling me I looked just like her, except for my father's eyes. When I was dying, I saw her sitting across the room as I lay in bed. Whether I was dreaming or not, I'll never know."

"Do you... ever regret your father giving you his heart?"

"... I used to feel guilty about it, I still do sometimes. He had also said that I needed to live because I had to do great things in my life, I guess I dissappointed him, doing the selfish thing I did, running away from it all like I did. It always hurts, like a missing vertabrae. Hurts me when I stand, hurts me when I used to lie into bed crying. But, eventually, it will go away. There are only two things that are endless. The first is the universe..."

"And the other?"

"Love."

She stopped, remaining silent. Miroku took a few steps forward, looking up at the dark skies, the falling snow touching at his face.

"I'm not even an atom compared to the universe in size. It seems impossible, but it's the only thing that's always been there, even earth is but an infant compared to its age reaching numbers humans have never even dreamed of. I am but a man in this cold, dark universe, I hold no importance to this universe. 'Stick your hand in some water, take it out, and see how much of a hole you've left', that's how I feel."

"Sometimes it's not the leaving hole that's important, but that you've been able to move the water at all," Sango replied softly, "it's something my father used to tell me."

He smiled at her. "And love. Well, other than family love, I don't really know much about."

Sango looked away.

"Did I say something bother you?"

"Huh, oh no, I just don't... smile very much," Sango replied softly.

"You should," he said, giving her a seductive smile. Her cheeks darkened as she turned away.

"You know, you have to stop doing that."

A moment of silence passed between them. It was only broken by a sudden burst of laughter. Miroku stared at her, utterly surprised at her outburst. Sango had practically doubled over in fits of giggles and rich laughter. Whether she was laughing out of humor or relief, neither of them really knew. It was actually the first time he had seen her really laugh before.

"You need a haircut," she said finally, reaching out and pushing away his bangs. She inspected him, her fingers tracing over his forehead, his eyebrows... his cheeks... his lips...

He shivered against her touch, feeling her breath against his skin. Subconsiously, leaning into her hand, he noticed a barely noticable smile tugging at her lips. That, and there was something in her eyes, something couldn't quite place, but it continued to call to him, as he did to her. They were ensnared by each other, and in that one moment, as their lips joined, there was no one else, no past, no future, just the present.

And what a "present" it was.

*****

"Tired?"

"Hm, dancing takes more out of you than you think."

The red-eyed woman sat down next to him, looking up at the snowy night sky. "Where's the kid?"

"Rin," Sesshoumaru corrected sternly, "is with one of her friends."

"That explains the boy I saw her with," she eyed him, "is he a good friend?"

"They're... fond of each other. But he's four years older her, so his friends... talk."

Kagura gave a thoughtful nod. "Peer pressure, huh?"

"While adults rank a person by their wealth, children rate each other by age. They look up to their parents, labeling them by their ages, so they grow into that pattern," the man replied, his eyes, staring focused out into the distance.

A beat of silence passed between them.

"What was that dance you were doing? It was new."

"You like it?" she smiled, "It's called the Uchuu Mai, the Universal Dance. Also known as life..."

end.

Notes: God, that was REALLY hard. I went through the kiss scene about four times until I finally got to this one...

The reason the conversations are all dialogue-ish is because their locations and actions aren't really relevant. I wanted you to actually listen to what they were saying instead of listening for detail.

Other than that, I'm really proud, I just wish it was longer...

Preview of Next Chapter:

Shit is gonna start to hit the fan...

Her heart skipped a beat. Every moment seemed like a year as their stared, face to face. It was the face that plagued her once pleasant dreams, the face that burned into her soul for three years.

"Hello Sango..."

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Posted 11/14/04