Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me.

A/N notes at bottom

Chapter 8 – Teardrops. Raindrops.

The group stayed there, awaiting Kagome's return from the well. Normally, waiting for the woman to come back wasn't such a difficult task. It gave everybody else a chance to sit down and relax, polish up their weapons and just forget about Naraku. However, today proved to be extremely trying. Sango was the first to notice the tension between Inu Yasha and Miroku. How can they be in a fight already? Sango pondered. Miroku had told her about their relationship not long ago. Men. Whether in love or not, they were still ignorant little snobs, unaware of each others feelings. Still, she couldn't help but let her eyes flicker from the hanyou to the monk.

Miroku had thought he was avoiding Inu Yasha in the best way possible. Hell, he was sitting here meditating. It was a monk thing to do, wasn't it? And meditating required focus and concentration, therefore company wasn't wanted. So why did he catch worried glances from Sango every now and then? His lips twitched slightly, trying not to show that he was frowning. He didn't want the hanyou to know that Miroku was faking his meditation. Inuyasha…

The name was like a catalyst, triggering the block, opening it and releasing all the images from last nights incident. The monk had always found himself emotionally strong. If he could accept his fate with the wind tunnel, why the hell couldn't he deal with Inuyasha?

Sango looked up from her spot next to the well and watched the monk again. He tensed slightly, and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Sango, and she saw him tense, before relaxing only a bit. A familiar smile crawled its way back to his lips. But Sango knew. Sango watched Miroku more than she would've liked to admit. Miroku kept everything in his eyes. She would often catch him looking out into the distance with a blank look on his face. The emptiness. It was terrifying. Yet the intensity held in his eyes was even more so.

And somewhere inside Miroku's mind told him that smiling was useless because she could see right through him. Instead of wearing his mask, he dropped his gaze, before abruptly standing up and stalking into the forest. The trail was dimmed by the looming trees, creating shadows that moved swiftly with the wind. The sun was still hidden behind the clouds. As Miroku strolled deeper into the forest, he vaguely wondered why he was heading in this direction.

Snap.

Someone's following him. He sincerely hoped it wasn't Inuyasha, he had no intention of speaking to him today. In fact, perhaps it would be better if he never talked to Inuyasha again. He took a couple of steps and stopped. A quiet shuffle was heard just before whoever the stalker was, had stopped.

Damnit. He cursed silently, while wondering if it was a demon that was following him. Damn it all! All of a sudden, there was a ruffle of leaves and the squawking of birds, before they all took off, flying high into the sky. Miroku hadn't meant to say that last bit out loud, but his emotions took the better of him. Raising his hands towards his head, he rubbed his temples, trying to remove the headache, and pretty much everything else. Miroku slumped on a nearby tree. He let out an audible sigh and dropped his weight to the floor in a sitting position. Images reeled through his mind, but he tried to force them out.

"Monk?" A soft voice broke the returning silence.

He opened his eyes, gazing upwards at the woman in front of him. "Sango?" he asked.

She nodded. Seeing the question in his eyes, she automatically answered. "I follow you here, because I was worried about you." Shrugging a little, she began to feel a little uncomfortable. That feeling had failed to go away when Miroku stood up, his eyes never leaving hers.

"I know this is something you probably don't want to talk about, but did you and Inuyasha have a fight last night?"

He nodded, but said nothing.

"I see. Well, what happened?" The only thing more unnerving than this silence Miroku was offering were his eyes boring into hers. She tried breaking away from the gaze, but couldn't. There was something about looking into his eyes that made her feel immobile, that made her scared.

Miroku disregarded the question and took one of Sango's hands.

Her eyes widened at the sudden movement, and then it was replaced with anger. "I'm trying to ask you a question here! Don't try to lecher your way out of this! I want to hear the damned truth!"

The staring contest began. Sango half expected Miroku to suddenly reach out and grab, well, touch parts of her body that was inappropriate. What she didn't expect was Miroku using his free hand to grab her head and pull her into a kiss. A kiss which didn't involve anything perverted. Obviously, Sango's eyes had widened in shock, trying to find something on Miroku's face that told her he was joking or just being a stupid pervert, ANYTHING like that. His eyes were closed tightly and his whole body was tense.

Despite her inner conflict about whether kissing Miroku was right or wrong, she had to admit, it felt nice. It felt nice to have his lips on hers. The velvety feeling along with the force Miroku pressed on her own lips. But it was a kiss. A simple kiss with emotions that were not meant for someone like him. He was a man who should have a happy life, a happy family, everything for him should be happy.

Miroku poured everything into that kiss. Seeing Inuyasha betray him for someone who died 50 years ago, listening to Inuyasha lie, watching him trying to come up with some excuse; it all hurt too much. Things weren't supposed to be this way. Hadn't he found true love? Hadn't he found his 'mate'? What in God's name happened? Why was he cursed? Not only in his hand, but in everything. Was it supposed to be like this? Was he destined to be like this?

Sango still savoured the kiss, simple as it was. However, the simplicity was erased when she tasted a salty liquid on Miroku's lips. Are those tears? My God, is he crying? Sango was quite sure that she hadn't been tearing, she couldn't think of a good enough reason to do so. Using both her hands, she pushed him away from her, eyes round as hell as she saw the tear stains on his beautiful face, tainting the porcelain beauty in front of her.

"I'm…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have, it was low of me," Miroku whispered, choking on his own words

Sango shook her head and dismissed the kiss as unimportant. "What's wrong?"

His eyes were suddenly blank. "Nothing." Lie.

"Miroku, what's wrong?" She pressed. She wanted to know what the hell made Miroku, out of all people, cry.

"Nothing." Stiff reply. Lie.

Something snapped inside Sango. Why didn't he trust her? "Tell me, before I'm forced to hurt you." She hadn't intended to threaten him into telling her, but she was a woman on a mission.

And then a teardrop fell from the sky, skidding across her cheek. She looked up and saw the gray clouds above her, starting to release the water they accumulated. By the time she returned her gaze to Miroku, his face was already wet, his clothing was dotted with raindrops. Quickly, it became a drenched piece of cloth, hanging heavily on Miroku.

Sango walked back to Miroku and pulled him into a hug. His hands were limp, emotionless…dead. She let out a shaky breath and whispered softly into his ear. "Miroku…I know something's wrong. Tell me…please. Because…" she paused, wondering if there was an easier and not so direct way to say it. However, her brain was failing her, so she was left no choice. "Because…" she continued, "I love you, Miroku. I know I don't belong in your life, that's why I want to put you in my life."

Miroku bit his lip. What about Inuyasha? He knew that the hanyou loved him. But he loves Kikyou too. Miroku had never fallen in love, but he knew he wasn't ready for such complicated things. He wanted absolute love, true love, only love. And he though Inuyasha could give him that. He'll get over it, he thought bitterly, He has Kikyou. Resolved, Miroku wrapped his arms tightly around Sango's waist. For the first time today, Miroku felt peaceful, as peaceful as his tangled heart would let him be. He let his tears fall free, open to the world, but hidden behind the tears that the clouds shed.

But somewhere deep inside his heard told him that tonight was far from peaceful.

A/N: WOAH! Haha, guess what? I'M BACK! Yeah yeah, longest pause ever, but I hope you guys will still read it! I know it's not that good, but it's long, kind of. Well, longer than the last chapter, heh. Please keep reviewing! I'll try to update more, since it's almost the holidays, I'll have time! I hope you guys don't get mad at me for shoving in a little Sango x Miroku. It's all for the sake of Inuyasha and Miroku, remember that. XD. DON'T FLAME ME. Constructive criticism is welcomed.