InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hangin' 'round the Mistletoe ❯ The Monk and the Mistletoe ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimers: I do not own InuYasha or any of the manga/anime characters. They belong to the wonderful genius Rumiko Takahashi.

 

Okay, so I had no intention of writing a follow-up piece for “Hangin' `round the Mistletoe” but once I had this idea, it just wouldn't go away. After all, Miroku and Sango need to see the demonic plant for themselves.

 

 

 

 

The Monk and the Mistletoe

 

“Well, what do you know - they were telling the truth,” Miroku commented as he and Sango made their way through the snow.

 

They were still holed up in the hut that InuYasha had managed to find for them before the blizzard hit. It had been a couple of days and if they stayed much longer, they would run out of firewood. The monk and demon slayer had volunteered to go and search for some more wood to bring back. They knew it would be cold and damp, but if they brought it back before they ran completely out, then maybe it would have a chance to dry out before they actually had to use it. If nothing else, they'd let Shippou practice his foxfire on it and hopefully speed up the process that way.

 

The pair had finally managed to get Kagome and InuYasha to tell the truth about her entrapment and rescue - especially once he made it clear she wasn't going back out in it again. They really didn't know how long she'd been chilled, and she was in danger of becoming ill. So far she was holding up fairly well, but the hanyou wasn't taking any chances. So, in exchange for sending Miroku and Sango out in the cold, they had agreed to tell them about the demonic mistletoe.

 

While Sango had heard of the plant and even seen it once or twice, Miroku never had. He wanted to go and see the mystery youkai for himself and figured getting the firewood was as good an excuse as any. Once they found out how Kagome was trapped, they would have gone out in the snow, anyway. Sango wanted to make certain the innocent-looking but dangerous parasite was not where humans could easily come in contact with it as well as to see if she could destroy it. The monk just wanted to see the miracle that forced the two to kiss, and in return, finally admit their feelings for one another. They may not have done so openly, but their interaction since returning to the hut together that fateful snowy evening confirmed a world of change in their relationship. No, they had not kissed again in front of them like they had when they first returned and seemed to have forgotten the others were even there, but their gentle touches and whispers demonstrated their affection for one another. An average person might never really notice, but to Miroku and Sango, it was like someone had put up a billboard.

 

Fortunately, Shippou was still completely oblivious. So while he was out playing in the snow, Miroku and Sango had decided it was time to make Kagome and InuYasha fess up. After all, it wasn't the first time the hanyou had rescued the miko, so something had clearly been different this time.

 

“I don't understand what would attract people to it close enough to ensnare them,” Miroku commented as he approached the tree that hosted the plant. He stopped when he was almost close enough to touch it and cocked his head as he visually went over it.

 

Sango moved up just behind him. “See those berries?”

 

The monk nodded.

 

The slayer continued, “Birds like them a lot and can sit in the plant and eat them with no problem. Most humans will consider that if it is safe for a common bird to eat, then it is probably safe for them to consume, too. However, when a person reaches up to pick the berries, they invariably find themselves trapped.”

 

“But why not just cut the vines to free the victim?” Miroku asked.

 

Sango responded, “InuYasha was wise not to do that. If the vine is cut it releases a toxin that effectively paralyzes the one trying to escape. So, if the plant doesn't get you, some other creature probably will before you can recover. Not to mention, it really stinks. InuYasha with his sensitive nose wouldn't have had a chance.

 

“No, don't!” the demon slayer yelled - too late.

 

Miroku had reached up to touch the rounded mass of vines and yelped when they immediately wrapped around his fingers. “I didn't think it would be so fast!”

 

Sango huffed in irritation. “You probably did that on purpose. What would you do if I just left you here to rot?”

 

“Sango… I really didn't mean to become trapped. “Let me—”

 

“NO!” But she was too late. Just like Kagome, he now had both hands trapped by the plant.

 

“I seem to have managed to get myself into a predicament,” the monk commented.

 

“Well, I could back up far enough and see if I can cut you free with Hiraikotsu,” Sango contemplated out loud. “That way we both wouldn't be incapacitated by the miasma from the plant.”

 

“But how long would I be out for?” he anxiously asked.

 

The slayer shrugged. “I don't know. It has been known to be fatal. I guess you're just stuck there, Houshi.”

 

Panic and despair started to creep its way through the Buddhist monk - feelings that he was mostly unaccustomed to. “Sango, please… don't leave me here like this. After everything… you know I'd do anything for you… I may have bad habits, and I still occasionally proposition a girl—”

 

That only made Sango glare at him.

 

“But I have truly wanted no other than you for… well, I don't know for how long,” he admitted. “Please, free me from this and I'll do whatever you want.”

 

“Like resist groping me for at least the next moon cycle?” she questioned.

 

“If that is what you want,” he responded.

 

“And it's not like you can grope me now,” she observed. His hands were tied up over his head after all.

 

“All right - don't make me regret this. And don't you dare tell the others,” Sango commanded.

 

Miroku only nodded.

 

The youkai exterminator leaned her large weapon against the nearest tree that wasn't the one hosting the pesky plant. She then moved in front of Miroku and hesitantly cupped his face in her hands to pull it to hers. Her lids fluttered shut and her hands dropped as their lips moved gently together. She didn't even know when she allowed him to deepen the kiss or when her hands moved from her sides where she was determined to keep them to his back, where they roamed up and down. Sango actually grinned to herself as her fingers made their way down his backside and unexpectedly and really unintentionally firmly gripped his buttocks through his robes and squeezed.

 

Miroku moaned as he relished the feel of her wandering hands and suddenly found his own free once again. He wasted no time in going straight for the slayer's butt and cupping a cheek in each hand. The monk gently kneaded her buttocks until she suddenly pulled away and hit him - hard.

 

“Hey! You promised not to grope me!” Sango said indignantly.

 

The monk grinned and rubbed his cheek. “I said I would promise if that was what you wanted. You did not tell me one way or the other so said promise was not clarified and made. And it only seemed fair since you were groping me.”

 

“I… I… I was not! I was just trying to get the plant to turn you lose!” she insisted.

 

“If you say so,” he commented offhandedly. “Though I must say, you are an outstanding kisser.”

 

“Really?” she said softly. “No! You're just trying to trick me.”

 

“Am I, now?” he asked quietly.

 

Sango huffed.“I… Let's just destroy this thing, gather our firewood, and get back.”

 

“And how do you propose we destroy it? It is too frozen to burn, and we can't just cut it out of the tree,” the monk observed.

 

“No, maybe we can,” she wondered out loud. “If I can cut it out of its host with Hiraikotsu, it'll fall to the ground. It can't survive without a tree since it's a parasite, and the earth under it is frozen. It should go dormant and then shrivel up and die.”

 

“I could just suck it up in my kazaana,” he offered.

 

Sango shook her head. “The vines really are filled with a miasma that's pretty poisonous. It's not worth taking a chance for. It's not like it can go out and hunt down its on prey - the prey has to come to it. In this weather, without its host tree, I don't think it will live for very long.”

 

“All right, Sango. Let us move back and give you a clear shot then.” Miroku stepped back, giving the taijiya room to work.

 

“Hiraikotsu!” The bone boomerang flew gracefully through the air, sliced off the branch that the youkai Mistletoe was attached to, and returned. “That should take care of it,” Sango commented.

 

“Thank you, Sango,” the monk said solemnly as she brushed the particles of ice off of her weapon. “And I want you to know that I meant what I said.”

 

She furrowed her brow. “Which part?”

 

Miroku just grinned.