InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Exploring the Sengoku Jidai ❯ Payback ( Chapter 8 )

 

Slap!

 

Miroku's head had already snapped to the side by the time Sango realized she'd done it again. And once again, she was perplexed. Why did she hit him so hard? It was automatic, deeper than instinct, for her hand to seek his cheek with such force.

 

And he was the only one that could elicit such a strong reaction from her hand. Other men had tried it, and she'd just pushed them away. They got the message and it all stopped. But not Miroku. He never got the message. And she never stopped slapping him silly. It was like a ritual, an integral part of their relationship since the day they had met.

 

And the irony was that she wanted him to touch her.

 

She wanted him to want to touch her, to want her. But she couldn't seem to control her hand any more than he could control his.

 

++++++++++++

 

The ancient fortuneteller sat on the side of the road and looked for all the world asleep - or dead.

 

“Baba-chan!” Kagome called.

 

“Eh?” she roused.

 

“Do you need help?” Kagome's concern was evident.

 

“No, they do.” She pointed a withered finger at Miroku and Sango.

 

At her beckon, they approached and did not resist when she grasped their hands, tracing her thumbs lightly over their wrists.

 

She laughed, taking Miroku's hand in hers to give him a comforting pat.

 

“I'm sorry, son,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “For you, this lifetime is nothing but payback.”