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Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. >.<

"Sunset" by ~*!fireblaze~*!

Sango leaned against the bark of the tree, cuddling Kirara next to her. For what had to be at least the thousandth time, she had slapped that perverted houshi into oblivion. God, what was it about that damn monk?

Monk? Like he's even a real monk.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he goaded Inuyasha and Kagome. Something about "growing old" and "having kids at an early age" drifted to her ear. Kagome, with a face red as tomatoes, was covering Shippou's ears. Inuyasha was ready to slice Miroku in half with the Tetsusaiga.

They're like a family.

One that you're not part of, Sango told herself bitterly. Sure, she had joined up with their group, but they weren't just a group. They were more than that. They were like a family, Kagome, Inuyasha, Shippou, and Miroku. She wasn't part of their family.

The only family you ever had is gone.

She scowled at her thoughts. Lately she had been thinking about the family she had lost more and more. Memories of the times when they were so happy assaulted her. The times that she would never see again.

"Ane-ue," Kohaku tugged at her arm slightly. "Let's go wading in the river!"

Sango shook her head apologetically at her little brother. "Gomen, Kohaku, but I have to go train with Father."

Kohaku pouted, giving his sister pathetically sad looks. "You never play with me anymore, Ane-ue. All you do is train with Father."

Sango ruffled Kohaku's hair affectionately. "Baka," she said playfully, "I'd never do that. I'll always play with you. I'll tell you a story later before we go to bed, if you like."

Kohaku's face lit up. "Yay!" he cheered, jumping up and down. "I'll see you later, Ane-ue!"

Sango smiled sadly. She remembered that day. She also remembered the story she had promised Kohaku.

It was nighttime, and just about time for bed. Kohaku once again tugged at his older sister's left arm, reminding her of the promise she had made earlier.

"Ane-ue," he whispered. "My story."

Sango smiled. "Of course." She took his hand and led him back to their room, where she waited for him to get into bed. As soon as he was ready, he grinned broadly, and waited for Sango to start the story.

"Once upon a time, there was a young man, and he was constantly traveling around. On one of his travels, he met a beautiful young woman. As soon as he set eyes on her, he immediately harbored feelings for her. The first time he talked to her, he knew he was in love."

Kohaku wrinkled his nose. "Ane-ue . ." he complained. "This isn't -- this isn't a love story, is it?"

Sango smiled secretively. "You'll see."

"But I don't like love stories," Kohaku whined.

Sango put her hands on her hips in mock anger. "Do you want me to finish the story or not?"

Kohaku took her mock anger for real. "Y -- Yes!"

Sango grinned. "All right. The young man was about to leave again, even though it pained him to do so. He had just received word that his elderly mother was dying, and so he needed to go back to his village. When he was about to leave, he met that beautiful woman once more. The man decided he was going to tell her how he felt, once and for all. He led her to a beautiful spot on a hill where they could watch the sunset. He waited for just the right moment. And so, on the hill overlooking the sunset, he told her that he loved her."

Kohaku shivered in disgust, but didn't say anything.

"It was a very beautiful sunset," Sango went on. "The skies were pink and orange, and the sun was shooting all these brilliant rays of light across the sky. After the man had declared his feelings, the woman was very silent. The man was so sure that she didn't feel the same way, and he started to walk off. But the woman told him that she felt the same way. She loved him back."

Kohaku's face was of pure horror.

"But the man couldn't stay. No matter how much he wanted to stay and marry her and be with her forever, he knew that he had a duty back at home. He knew that he needed to go back and visit his dying mother. He told her this, and she understood, even though both of their hearts were breaking. Before he left to go back, he promised her that he would come back for her as soon as he could. She believed in him with all her heart, and she only lived in the hope that he would come back for her."

Kohaku blinked.

"Days passed. Weeks passed. Months passed. Finally, years passed. Those who knew her story believed that he would never come back, that he had probably found another woman. But the woman didn't listen. She knew in her heart that he would come back for her. She waited and waited, but nothing ever happened. Until one day . ."

Kohaku sat up, slightly intrigued.

"One day, as she was going to the well to get some water, she saw him. He had come back. She ran up to him, and threw his arms around him. But as she did, she felt something wet and sticky. When she pulled back, she saw that her arms were covered with blood. She finally got a good look at her beloved. He was injured and bleeding. Behind him, she saw the guards of their village, armed with spears. They had tried to kill him."

Kohaku's mouth was slightly open.

"She didn't know why, but she didn't care. He was injured, and badly. As he was in her arms, he looked up at her, and told her with his last dying breath, 'I love you.' And then, he died. She wept over his dead body, and a few minutes later, she lay slumped over her beloved, also dead. It is said that she died out of heartache. But they were finally together in the next world." Sango paused, smiling at the expression on Kohaku's face. "They say that if you watch the sunset together with the one you love, you'll also stay together forever with that person, just like it was in the story. Even though they died in the end, they still died together. That's what they say, anyway." Sango shrugged.

Kohaku looked up at her, wide-eyed. Despite his earlier doubts about a "love story," it was obvious that he had enjoyed it.

"Ane-ue . ." he paused, looking up hesitatingly at her. "Will I . . will I find someone too? Someone I can share my sunset with?"

Sango smiled. "Of course you will, Kohaku. Of course you will."

Sango was shaken out of her thoughts as she watched Inuyasha begin to chase Shippou around, swinging his sheathed Tetsusaiga around wildly for one reason or another. Kagome tried in vain to restrain Inuyasha, and Miroku just stood there, laughing his head off at the sight. For some reason, the scene brought a small smile to Sango's lips, and she brought Kirara closer to her, huddling for warmth.

Sango found herself remembering a tender moment she had shared with her mother. She remembered that it was a long time ago, when she was still pregnant with Kohaku. They had been in the kitchen, making some onigiri. That had been the day when Sango's mother had first told her the story about the man and the woman and the sunset. When her mother had finished with the story, Sango had frowned slightly, continuing to mash the sticky rice.

"What's wrong, Sango-chan?" her mother asked her.

"It's -- it's just such a sad ending, that's all," Sango replied. "They died in the end."

"You know what, though?" her mother smiled. "I left out this part. If you watch a special sunset with the one you love, they say that you'll stay together forever."

"Really?" Sango looked up at her mother.

"Yes," her mother smiled. "Because you know . . I had a special sunset with your father, too."

Sango's round, childish eyes grew wide. "Really?"

Her mother nodded. "Yes."

"Do you . . do you think I will be able to find someone to share my sunset with?"

Her mother had hugged her tenderly. "Of course, Sango. Of course."

Just like with Kohaku . .

It was true. After her mother had died, Sango had taken over being both Kohaku's older sister and mother. She had shared with him many moments that were similar to moments she had with her mother.

Now she heard Kagome shouting at Inuyasha. Something about being so insensitive and arrogant. Sango failed to stifle a grin, and she watched the couple bicker endlessly with each other. Her eyes went down to Shippou, who was watching the scene with a confused look, and finally, she watched Miroku, who was watching everything with an amused expression.

Out of all of the people in the group, Miroku was the one who puzzled her most.

What? What's to puzzle me? He's just a perverted monk . .

But deep inside, she knew that wasn't true. He really did puzzle her greatly. He would do the most unexpected things at the most unexpected times. Like the way he would always be perverted with her. Then at other times, he would actually be nice and kind and caring towards her. It didn't make any sense. How could he be so lecherous at one moment, and then so considerate the next?

"Eh . . Sango . ."

Sango looked up. This was the day after she had tried to take on Naraku all by herself, and had failed miserably. Kagome and Inuyasha had gone to fetch herbs for Kirara's wounds, and Miroku and Shippou were with her. Shippou had fallen asleep in a corner, but Miroku was still watching over her. For reasons unknown, she flushed under his gaze.

"Yeah?"

"You shouldn't look so sad, you know . ." Miroku gave her a small grin. "We'll defeat Naraku one day, and we'll get Kohaku back."

Sango's heart fluttered at his words. "I -- I know," she said in a small voice.

"And just to let you know, if you die while fighting . ."

Sango looked up, annoyed. What was he getting at?

"I'll fight Naraku for you, and I'll get Kohaku back."

Would you really do that?

Sango found herself smiling a faint smile. "Th -- thanks. I think."

"So don't look so sad . ."

"I'll try."

"Come on, you can look happy . . after all, I am here now, right?"

Sango raised an eyebrow. "And that's supposed to make me happy?"

"Of course," Miroku replied, grinning innocently. His hand slowly made its way to her rear, but Sango slapped it away, glaring at the monk.

"Pervert."

"It's who I am."

"It's the sad and honest truth."

Miroku didn't say anything. He just smiled down at her, and Sango felt her cheeks heat up.

It wouldn't matter even if you are only a lecherous pervert . . it wouldn't matter to me . .

"You should rest now," Miroku told her. "Your wounds need to heal."

"I'm fine," Sango argued stubbornly.

Miroku shook his head. "And I thought Inuyasha was stubborn."

Sango furrowed her brow. She was about to make a comeback, but she yawned, and failed to cover it up.

"See, you're sleepy," Miroku told her in an 'I told you so' tone of voice. "I'm going to go outside, okay?"

"Mm." Sango nodded, and watched as the houshi stood up and made his way slowly out the door, careful not to wake up Shippou. His movements were sure, gentle, and graceful. Sango didn't know why she was staring . .

Damn.

Sango broke out of her reminiscing to find Kagome storming off, face withdrawn in an angry expression. Inuyasha had an extremely confused look on his face, and was starting to follow her, going, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Sango shook her head. She knew their fighting patterns only too well.

She found herself looking for the monk, and found him shaking his head, rolling his eyes, and praying to the Buddha above in an exaggerated fashion.

It's the way he is . .

"Why are you always asking girls to bear your child?" Sango frowned at the monk, hands on her hips, extremely peeved. "I mean -- come on --"

"Are you jealous?" Miroku flashed her a sly grin, one that made Sango's cheeks redden.

"No!" she answered in a voice just a bit too loud. "It's just -- it's just annoying . ."

"You know . ." he paused for a moment, with a thoughtful look on his face, "I haven't asked you to bear my child yet."

Sango's face was going from bright red to worse. "Well -- well, don't."

Miroku looked at her with a genuinely surprised look on his face. "Why not?"

"Be -- because," Sango was starting to regret ever asking her question. "You just want a child to carry on your mission to defeat Naraku. The woman -- the woman you'll have your child with -- you'll feel no love for her at all! Is that fair to her? You're just going to use her!"

Miroku was silent, contemplating her. Sango, as she usually did, became flustered under his gaze.

"You're right, I'll admit," Miroku finally spoke. "But I really need an heir before -- before --" He jerked his right hand.

Sango looked down. "I know . . but still . ."

"I might actually find someone," Miroku said. "Someone that I love."

"What are the chances of that? Love . . it's not even real. It's like a curse."

"What makes you think that?" Miroku looked at her, brow furrowed.

Sango shrugged. "People I love . . are all dead . ."

"Your family?"

Sango nodded slowly. "And . . someone else . ."

"Oh?" He eyed her curiously.

Once again, Sango could have cut her tongue off. Why did she say that? There was no "someone else," so why did she say that? She never had time to have any feelings for any of the other boys in the village.

That "someone else" is . .

Sango shook her head quickly, signaling that the subject was closed. "Nothing . . there's no someone else . ."

Miroku eyed her unbelievingly, but apparently knew that it wasn't a subject meant for his ears. "All right . ."

It's you . .

Presently Sango's cheeks became flushed. What? What was that?!

Your "someone else" is Miroku.

"No," she whispered. "No."

Yes.

Her eyes drifted to where Miroku was standing. Her heart skipped a beat.

"Yes . ." she found herself saying.

She cringed as soon as the word escaped her lips. All right, all right, she gave in. She did . . she did harbor some sort of feelings for the monk, but she wasn't sure why.

It doesn't matter why, what matters is that you do.

"Look, Inuyasha, it's a shooting star!" Kagome's face was full of delight as she pointed towards the bright, shining light that flew across the sky.

Even Inuyasha seemed to appreciate it as he watched with his mouth slightly parted. Shippou was at his feet, also staring at the star. Sango was a little way off from the group, admiring from a distance.

She didn't even hear as Miroku approached her.

"Hi," he said softly.

Sango forced herself to remain calm. "Hi," she said back, keeping her eyes on the shooting star.

"If you make a wish on the star, it'll come true!" Kagome shouted. She closed her eyes and folded her hands in a praying fashion. Inuyasha let a small "Feh" escape his lips, but he closed his eyes as well. Shippou also closed his eyes. Miroku did the same, a small smile resting on his lips. Sango shrugged, and did the same.

I wish . . I wish . . that I would fall in love . .

Usually, she wasn't into such superstitious beliefs. But for some reason, she found herself wishing that it would come true. She didn't know why. After all, she had only wished that she would fall in love. She hadn't wished that that person would love her back, so if you looked at it in a cynical way, she had really wasted her wish.

Even so, she hadn't expected that her wish would come true so soon.

In fact, that very night, merely a few minutes after she had made her wish . .

"Let's go back now," suggested Miroku. "It's getting late."

"Miroku's right," Kagome agreed, looking at Inuyasha. Shippou yawned, getting sleepy.

"All right," Inuyasha said, starting to walk back to their camp site. Miroku lingered near Sango, waiting for her. She looked up at him, not knowing what to say.

"What?" she finally broke the silence.

"I'm waiting for you." Miroku grinned at her. "Hasn't anyone ever waited for you before?"

Sango was silent with a small scowl on her face. The scowl soon disappeared as Miroku offered her his hand. She eyed him with surprise.

"Come on," he said. "It's getting dark."

Reluctantly, Sango took his hand and followed him as he led her through the dark trees. His hand was covered by cloth and the rosary he always wore to keep his Kazaana from getting out of control. He held a gentle grip on her hand, and she could feel the beads of the rosary pressing against her hand. Even so, it wasn't uncomfortable. It felt . . . nice.

They made it back to the camp site just a few minutes after Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippou did. Kagome was already tucked in her sleeping bag, Shippou cuddled up next to her. Inuyasha, as usual, was sitting his tree, one eye closed, the other open. Miroku let go of Sango's hand, and grinned at her once more.

"We're here," he announced. "And I didn't even try to touch you."

Sango rolled her eyes. "Not yet, anyway."

"I'm not going to," Miroku reassured her. "I'm not going to ruin the moment now."

Sango eyed him warily, but made her way to her own spot. She lied down, and placed a thin blanket on herself. It wasn't enough; she was still cold. She inched closer to the fire, trying to get some warmth. She stiffened as another blanket was placed on her. She opened her eyes.

"Miroku --?"

"You're cold." He stated the obvious.

"But -- what about you? Won't you be cold?"

"I'll be fine," Miroku brushed her worries away with a wave of his hand. "But we would be even warmer if we were to both sleep under there . ."

"Don't even think about it," Sango snapped, giving him one of her looks. He got the hint, and backed off.

"Okay, okay." Miroku laid down about a foot away from Sango, placing another blanket on himself. It was thinner than the one he had given her, but he wasn't shivering, so Sango assumed he was fine.

She tenderly fingered the blanket he had given her. It smelled like him . .

A bright blush came to her cheeks. What? How would she know how he smelled like?

She closed her eyes and groaned inwardly. It couldn't be . . it just couldn't be . .

She found herself turning her head in the direction of the resting monk. She gulped. One word came to mind.

Damn.

Sango smiled wryly. Yes, that had been the night of realizations . . although she had tried to deny it endlessly after that . .

She watched as Kagome stormed back in their direction, Inuyasha hurriedly following after, with a half bewildered and half angered expression on his face. He was repeating the same words over and over: "What the hell did I do?!"

She shook her head. When would they both get a clue?

Inuyasha threw his hands up in exasperation, and turned around. Sango followed his gaze. The sun was beginning to set.

"Hey," he said, in a voice softer and gentler than usual. He tugged on Kagome's arm. Kagome, despite her obvious anger, turned in his direction.

"The sun is setting . ." Kagome whispered. "It's so pretty . ."

They shared a tender moment, Inuyasha still holding onto Kagome's arm, both of them staring as the sun slowly made its descent. Even Miroku and Shippou knew not to disturb the rare moment; both of them had hidden behind trees.

Sango smiled, still leaning against her tree, petting Kirara. The bickering couple had found their sunset, she thought, and not a moment too late.

She shot a sideways glance at Miroku. Thankfully, he didn't notice. She looked back at the sunset.

One day, I'll have a sunset of my own, too.

~ Owari ~ The End ~

A/N~ Yay, I have finally completed a Miroku/Sango fic. I've always loved M/S, but I've never completed a story. "Too Late" has been left hanging, and so has "A Twist of Fate" . . . I've decided I'm not going to continue those stories....gomen nasai!! Really, I'm really sorry, but trust me, you're not missing out on anything.. ^_^

Started on May 15, 2003

Finished on May 17, 2003