InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Absolution: The Collected Chronicles of Miroku and Sango ❯ Solstice ( Chapter 5 )

Sango had never felt exhaustion wrap itself so thoroughly around her before. Every bone in her body ached from the weariness. She had spent a stressful Saturday with Miroku, trying to help him cope with his pain. After receiving a devastating call from his ex-girlfriend, Miroku had called Sango. Arriving at Miroku's place in record time, Sango couldn't believe the man she had come to somewhat care about was on the verge of tears. Holding him in her arms was the only thing Sango had known to do. The phone continued to ring that afternoon but neither she nor Miroku would answer it. Sango knew she had choice words for the errant couple but it was neither the time nor the place. When she finally crawled back into her own bed late Saturday night, Sango could have cried with relief. As she drifted off the sleep, a disturbing thought crossed her mind,

 

“Just who am I to Miroku?”

 

Before she could process the thought further, Sango fell into the deep blackness of sleep.

 

 

“Riiing”

 

Sango groaned in her sleep. Looking at the clock on the nightstand, Sango saw it was 11:45 a.m. She had slept most of the morning away.

 

“Riiing.”

 

Reluctantly, Sango grabbed the phone off the nightstand despite the stronger urge to bury herself back under the covers and sleep the remainder of the day away.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Sango, baby! How are you? Get up! You're coming to lunch with me and I won't take no for an answer!” Kouga cheerily pronounced.

 

Sango was set to decline him but the same thought crossed her mind.

 

“Just who am I to Miroku? I mean he calls me when he needs me but am I just the rebound girl? Should I continue to explore my options and date until I find out? Do I wait on him to get his head together?”

 

Sango was quiet for so long that when Kouga started calling her name, it startled her.

 

“I'm sorry, Kouga. I got distracted. I tell you what, give me thirty minutes to shower and change.”

 

 

 

Sango had to admit she was impressed with the restaurant Kouga chose. It was an American-style café and she was always curious about new things. Lunch was amicable with Kouga piling on complements and hints about maybe taking their relationship beyond the friend stage. Looking into Kouga's blue eyes, Sango had to acknowledge to herself it just wasn't the same. She found herself wistfully comparing their eyes. Kouga's eyes were cornflower blue, the blue of a cold winter's sky. Sango thought about Miroku's midnight blue eyes when he was happy, the stormy blue they took on when he was angry or the muddled gray blue they became when he was hurt.

 

“This has to stop. I can't keep comparing the two of them. It's not fair to either.”

 

Kouga finally decided to press the issue. Sango had been distracted the entire time they were at lunch and had barely reacted to the idea of them moving into the next stage of their relationship.

 

“Sango, what's on your mind? You haven't really been here the whole time.”

 

Lurching her mind back into the here and now, Sango debated on how much to tell Kouga. Finally, she figured the truth was the best thing to do.

 

“Well, you know we haven't been exclusive. I've been out a couple of times with another guy…it just started really. I don't think I'd be doing either of you a favor by making any type of commitment just yet.”

 

Kouga sat back in his chair. Sango expected him to be angry or try to persuade her to reconsider but his silent contemplation tap-danced on her nerves. After a few minutes, Kouga broke the silence.

 

“What's his name?”

 

Sango gave a ghost of a smile. “Miroku.”

 

Kouga noted the smile but kept his face blank. He realized he would have true competition for Sango's affections.

 

“Hopefully, this Miroku is a worthy opponent. I won't be cast aside so easily.”

 

Sango blushed but before she could reply, they were interrupted.

 

“Kouga! What are you doing here?”

 

Kouga stood up and vigorously shook the man's hand. “Inuyasha! Didn't expect to see you in the big city. What brings you in?”

 

Inuyasha glanced at Sango. “Just came to take care of some business. I didn't mean to interrupt your romantic lunch.”

 

Shaking his head, Kouga pulled over a chair from another table. “Not at all. If anything, we were laying some ground rules.”

 

Inuyasha sat down, looking quizzically at Sango. After introductions, Kouga explained what he meant. Sango was surprised by the hard stare given to her by Inuyasha after Kouga mentioned Miroku's name. She tried to meet his gaze but it felt as if his amber eyes were trying to read her thoughts. Sango couldn't help but frown at the sudden interest Inuyasha was taking in her. She half listened as they talked about trivial things, her thoughts drifting back to Miroku. She couldn't help but wonder how Miroku would feel about being in a competition he knew nothing about or even asked to be in.

 

“For all I know, he just sees me as a friend and hadn't even considered me as anything else. Maybe he's hoping his old girlfriend will dump the guy and come crawling back to him.”

 

The idea of possibly being relegated to only friend status with Miroku caused a twinge in her heart and suddenly Sango felt tears well up in her eyes. Hurriedly she grabbed a napkin to blot her face, as both demons looked her, noticing the smell of her tears. Kouga gently touched her hand.

 

“Are you ok?”

 

Sango gave a smile to dissuade them from thinking anything was wrong. “My lash fell in my eye. Let me go to the ladies room and take care of it.” Sango left the table, feeling both pairs of eyes burning holes in her back.

 

Once in the relative safety of the ladies room, Sango washed her face and stared in the mirror. “Have you lost your mind? Crying around demons? What is with the tears?” The ring of her cell phone startled Sango. Looking at the caller ID, she was relieved to see it was Miroku.

 

“Hi!”

 

“You sound glad to hear from me. I would have called earlier but I wanted to let you sleep in.” She could hear Miroku smile through the phone. For some reason, the thought of him with a smile on his face made her heart sing.

 

Sango found herself smiling at the phone. “Well, a friend woke me up and dragged me to lunch, so you could have called anyway.”

 

Miroku chuckled. “Well, I want to thank you for last night. I was thinking of coming over with takeout and some movies. I know it's a cheap date but I figure a nice quiet night in maybe just what the doctor ordered.”

 

Sango readily agreed and after a few moments, ended the call. Returning to the table, Koga gave her a bright smile but Inuyasha still gave her penetrating stares. Unnerved by his intensity, Sango was ready for this afternoon to be over.

 

Later that night, Sango and Miroku laughed over takeout udon and a comedy rental. As the credits rolled on the movie, Sango moved to clean up the boxes. Miroku grabbed her hand and pulled her back down to the couch.

 

“Can I just thank you again for yesterday?”

 

Sango found herself drowning in the midnight pools of his eyes. Speechless, she could only nod her approval. Miroku leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss. Sango looked at Miroku and smiled. He began to kiss her again, this time deeply. Finally, breathless, the two broke apart. Sango took a deep breath. Now was the time to come clean before things went to far.

 

“I need to let you know something.” Sango looked at Miroku. He watched her with patient eyes. Sango got the distinct impression her revelation was not going to be one to him. “You know I'm still dating Kouga, the guy you saw me out with?”

 

Miroku gave a slow smile. “I know. I would expect no less. Does he know about his competition?”

 

Sango tilted her head, surprise evident on her face. “You know?”

 

Miroku's eyes danced with the merriment caused by Sango's look of surprise. “Of course.” He leaned closer to her, his voice low and enthralling. “You are a beautiful woman. I would expect you to have many suitors.” He placed his hand on her cheek. “Let Kouga know I will not go down without a fight.”

 

Sango felt herself beginning to lose her train of thought as she held Miroku's gaze. Those calm midnight pools had changed into something totally different. Sango could see the beginnings of desire creeping into his eyes. A blush quickly burned across her face as she thought about herself in a compromising position with Miroku.

 

A totally male gleam came across Miroku's face when Sango picked up on Miroku's thoughts. Leaning into her ear, he planted a gentle kiss and whispered.

 

“I won't go down without a fight”