Manipulated – Part Thirteen:  Keep Living

French!Corisu: *wanders in, wearing a beret* Inuyasha ne m’appartient pas... Je suis triste... ;_;

Corisu: -.-;;; I’m not even going to translate...

(Back in the normal authoress world. Inu is sulking in a corner, his head bandaged. Kagome and Shippou are laughing uncontrollably at him while Corisu, Kunoichi, and Aamalie watch.)

Kagome and Shippou: BWAHAHAHAH!

Inu: Shut up. v.v;;;;

Corisu: *sighs* Well, I’m glad THAT’s over...

Aamalie: You said it.

Kuno: Ditto... Now what are we going to do with her? *points to Ketsu, who’s bound in a corner*

Corisu: Uhhh... *shrugs*

Aamalie: Why don’t we just send her back to where she came from?

Kuno: ...

Corisu: I don’t know where she came from...

Ketsu: *giggles*

Aamalie: -.-; Mou....

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Sango lay on her side, fully awake. The very first rays of the rising sun had roused her from a fitful sleep, but she was making no effort to reenter the land of dreams.

Once more, she was deep in thought. She had now resigned herself to the fact that she would have to talk to Miroku; she had to find out how much he remembered. She knew for a fact how painful it was to keep your feelings inside. The desperation caused when she had tried that tactic had culminated in drastic action... she had been on the verge of slaying Kohaku and herself.

Sango glanced over at the dozing monk, who was propped against a tree, his staff leaning over his shoulder. His chest was rising and falling gently, indicating the depth of his slumber.

‘I don’t understand. How can he be sleeping so peacefully? I don’t think I could-’

Her thoughts trailed off as the object of her speculations opened on eye, then the other. He glanced over at the others, and Sango closed her eyes quickly, hoping that he hadn’t noticed that she was awake.

Apparently, he hadn’t. The only sounds in the camp were those of birds and rustling leaves... then there was the distinctive sound of footsteps.

Sango’s eyes snapped open once more. ‘Where is he going?’

When she had registered his direction, she pushed the blanket off her body and stood. ‘If I have to talk to him,’ she reasoned, ‘it would be best to do it when no one else is present...’

Making up her mind, she followed the path that the monk had taken.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kagome came awake all at once, blinking the sleep from her eyes and glancing around the small clearing at her friends - or rather, where her friends were supposed to be. Inuyasha was lounging in a tree, Shippou was lying beside her with Kirara curled up next to him... but her other two companions were missing.

‘Sango probably just went for a bath or something... and Miroku probably followed.’ Kagome stretched, then looked down at her light blue moon-studded pajamas. "Maybe I need to change," she muttered aloud.

It was as if the kit hadn’t been asleep. Shippou sat up, resting his small hands on Kagome’s knee. "Well, you’d better get away from here, then. Inuyasha might peek!"

Kagome ruffled his soft hair. "I think he knows better than that, Shippou..." She glanced up at the seemingly sleeping hanyou, then stood and slung her yellow pack over her shoulder. "Of course, better safe than sorry, huh?"

Shippou grinned. "And I’ll come to keep you company... and to protect you from any youkai out there!" At that moment, the tip of Kirara’s tail twitched in her sleep, brushing the kitsune’s leg.

"WAH! Kagome!" He leapt into her arms, shaking, then sighing as he realized what had happened.

Kagome laughed. "Come on, Shippou. Let’s go."

The two began to wander away from the site, not pausing until they reached an area that was out of sight, even with Inuyasha’s eyes.

"This is perfect." The girl dropped her bag at her feet and unzipped it. Shippou stood facing the camp, his arms crossed like a lilliputian bodyguard.

Kagome reached for the hem of her shirt, then paused, glancing up at a streak of red on a high branch. "Inuyasha!"

"What?" The reply dropped down, slightly irritated. Seconds later, the hanyou did the same.

"What do you think this is, a strip tease? Make yourself scarce!" The blush was definitely not helping the situation.

"Feh! I was just wondering where you went, that’s all. I woke up to an empty camp back there!" Kagome just huffed and knelt to retrieve her bag, preparing to retreat further from the area. "Oi, Kagome!"

"What is it, Inuyasha?"

"What’s a strip tease?*"

Kagome blinked, turned a deeper red, and whirled around to tell him off. Shippou beat her to it, however.

"I’ll tell you when you’re older, Inuyasha."

Kagome just stared down at the kitsune for a few seconds before bursting into helpless giggles. Inuyasha fumed.

"C’mere and say that, runt!" As per his natural defense mechanism, the hanyou took to chasing Shippou deep into the woods.

With her privacy restored, Kagome resumed changing. ‘At least that’s back to normal...’

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Miroku gazed thoughtfully across the open area that he had just entered. He stood at the line where the trees halted and a rolling, hilly landscape took their place. With no clear idea of where he was going, he resumed walking, his footfalls and the clinking of the rings on his shakujou breaking the serenity of the clearing.

He found himself thinking that Sango would be sure to follow. He had spent enough times watching her sleep that he could detect the difference between true and feigned slumber.

‘Why do I want her to follow? If she does, I’ll just-’ He paused, having made it to the crest of a hill. ‘I’ll just what? I’ll...’ He sighed, then sat down on the hilltop, letting the fresh morning wind caress his face.

He hadn’t been sitting there for long when he heard the crunch of the crisp grass behind him.

"Houshi-sama?"

Miroku turned and looked down at the taijiya who was ascending the hill. When she neared his perch, she knelt beside him, her eyes searching.

"Ah... Yes, Lady Sango?"

Sango leaned forward, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Why won’t you talk to me?"

Miroku froze. Just having her in such close proximity made him want to tell her everything... but how would she react? Would she push him away? Would she deny her words?

"Houshi-sama?"

"Sango-san... do you know what frightens me the most about my... experience?" He inwardly winced. ‘Why am I going to tell her this?’

Sango lifted her head and peered into his face. His eyes were fixed on some point in the distance, almost as if he was trying to imagine himself somewhere else. "No."

"I... I felt his enjoyment in what he did. With every drop of blood spilled, I felt his excitement as if it was mine, his satiation was my own. It disgusts me to think of it now, but then..." He lifted his hands and stared at them, an emotionless half-smile on his lips. "It makes me wonder if I would get the same results if I were to kill now."

Sango reached forward and put her hand over his. "Of course not. You are not the Phoenix; you are just a monk. I know that you find no pleasure in killing, because I know you."

Miroku let out a short laugh and dropped his hands, causing Sango to withdraw her own. "You don’t understand. You couldn’t."

"Damn you, listen to me!" Sango burst out. She couldn’t stand to see him like that; she could tell that underneath his words, he was numb with shock and drowning in self-pity. "I can’t say that this has ever happened to me, but I’ve seen this before! Every time I see Kohaku, every time I look into the dead eyes that are a product of Naraku’s manipulation, I see the boy who was clutching his head, wailing about what he’d done! I see his anguish... I see the same look that’s on your face now!"

Miroku watched her quietly during this outburst, but her words were finally reaching him. ‘She’d understand... Even though Kohaku slew her fellow hunters... her father... she still loves him. She offers me the same forgiveness...’ He blinked suddenly, and his eyes softened, their normal purple returning.

He lifted his hands and covered his face, drawing in a deep breath. "My very soul is tainted, Sango. My hands... they’ve shed innocent blood! I can’t go on living this way!"

Sango pulled his hands down, revealing a tear-stained face. "You’re wrong. All you can do is live. None of their deaths were your fault, and I’ll never hold you responsible."

When his disbelieving look didn’t vanish, she moved so that she was in front of him and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his chest. "As far as I’m concerned, nothing has changed," she whispered.

Miroku tensed, then relaxed in degrees, irritably wiping tears from his cheeks. When he had outwardly composed himself, he rested one hand on her back, pulling her closer.

The two sat like that for a while, until Miroku murmured one phrase. "Thank you."

"For what?" came the soft reply.

"If you hadn’t come to me, I would have done something foolish. As you followed me, I had steeled myself to leave. I wasn’t planning on returning. I don’t think I would have lasted five minutes in my state..." He fell silent again. Sango was on the verge of suggesting that they return to camp when he continued. "Did you mean what you said?"

Sango pulled away slowly so that she could look into his face. "What are you talking about?"

"If my memory serves, to free me, you told me that..." he let the sentence hang, but Sango knew what he was referring to.

"Ano..." A light pink flush decorated her face. Her lap suddenly became very interesting. "I- I did," she admitted haltingly, fully preparing to hear him scoff or something of that nature... but at the same time, she knew that he would do no such thing.

What she wasn’t expecting was for him to lift her chin and press his lips to hers in a tender kiss.

Her eyes widened, then fluttered closed as she relaxed into the kiss. All too soon, it seemed, he was pulling back. "Sango?"

She pressed her fingertips to her lips as she looked up at him, still in a state of mild shock.

"Could you tell me again? This time, to me? Just... me?" Miroku’s eyes seemed to plead with her, and she knew that he needed to hear those words from her mouth once more.

"I... I love you, Hou-" Sango paused, seeing the involuntary flinch of his eyes. She began again, her voice gaining strength and assurance. "I love you, Miroku." She leaned forward and kissed him, just a light peck.

The monk’s eyes glazed slightly, then he smiled. "And I you, my lovely Sango."

As he drew her back into his arms, he let out a small sigh. He had done deplorable things... but she loved him anyway. She had loved him even when he was housing the killer’s spirit.

There had been a time where he had wondered how he would go on, what he could possibly do next.

As he looked down at the dark-haired beauty in his arms, he realized that he had a pretty good idea.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Corisu: DONE! FINITO! THE END! *bursts into tears*

Kunoichi and Aamalie: O_O;;;

Corisu: My bebe is finished! x.x

Ketsu: *laughs maniacally*

Corisu: *pauses in her wailing and wiggles nose*

Ketsu: *vanishes*

Aamalie: Dare I ask where you sent her?

Corisu: ;___________;

Aamalie: -.-;; Well, I guess that’s a wrap! Miroku and Sango have each other - ^_____^ - and Inu has his ears back!

Kuno: Yup! That solves everything! Ja! Until our next fic!

Ketsu: *falls from the sky and lands on Inu* @.@;;;

Inu: @.@;;;

Everyone else: >.<;;;

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Review Responses:

Tetsusaiga Wielder: Eheh. Many reviews! ^____^ Cool! I forgot the other name, though... I know it started with a M... *shifty eyes* Still, I’m glad you like this fic as well as you liked the others! ^^

Xenia: *cha-chas* I found the analogy! Whoohoo! Yah. Thanks for the accolades about the quote. That was rather hard. I think she did that on purpose because if I CAN’T fit it in, I have to write the next chapter in 2 days... @.@; I’m sad to see it end tooooo!! *bawls*

The-Great-Monk-Grl: Interesting name... XD I’m glad you like my fic!

Queenizzay: XD Yeeeah... I don’t even know where that line came from. *tomato time* XD And for ‘hydrophobic’, you can thank the beta... v.v; You don’t know how hard it was to meet that challenge...

Lyra Pelgina: O_O; That was short? Oh, wait. For your tastes... that means that it could be 10 pages and you still wouldn’t be satisfied... XD *returns Soujiro smile* I do hope you’ll review again...

Kin103: I know it was weird. Don’t blame me! Blame the Beta! It’s HER fault! Eheh. ^^ Glad you liked!

Aprill May: O___O;;; Riiiiiight. *laughs at stupidity* Well, you asked for it. A good tip for fiction addicts: When a chapter won’t show up, just type something random after the chapter’s web address. I typed "flyingpurpleplotbunniesareeatingmybrain!!!!" once and it worked. O.o;

Kyoko: o.O;;; I get a feeling that I should know what’s goin’ on... *backs away slowly* Do I even WANNA know... *especially vicious poke* GN 3! Forget and DIE! *evil leer*

fireandflames: ^_^ Yup. Earless Inu-chan! I’m glad you like One Month... It was my bebe at one time, but now I’m starting to kinda hate it... Dunno why. I’m glad you like my disclaimers! I remember that one... *laughs* Oh, bishies is a shortened form of ‘bishounen’, which pretty much means ‘CUUUUTE (or sexah *snickers*) boy’.

WindMistress: ^^;;; Eh, s’okay. I would never kill my houshi unless I had a VERY good reason... *shifty eyes* Heh. You like the number 13! Yay! *parties* There are so many triskadekaphobes out there that always yell "Arg! Friday the 13th!" and such. I’m glad I’m on your faves! *radiates flattered-ness*

Stripe: XD I know. That was a really random line... that was right up there with the hydrophobic one... --;

Lily Thorne: ^^;;; "Kill him off"? *suspicious look* Ahem... *pokes* Eheh. Anyway, I’m very glad you liked the last chapter! Hope this one lived up to expectations.

Aamalie: ^_^;;; Oh, yeah... ;_; Yeessss.... you see how long it took me to finally post it. I kept staring at it on my computer and going "*sigh* Not yeeet..." WAFF ish cool! *dances* But it’s over! *bursts into tears* WHAAA!

GinHasa: ^___^ Glad I got it right, then! And yes, yes, I know I rock. *bows (im)modestly* ^_^ I hope this chapter was to your liking!

Wakadori Ramen: XD Don’t like Reika either huh? Meh, nor do I... *rolls eyes just to follow suit* Yes, angst is yummy. ^___^ Like Miroku... Mmm... *obsession myumyu* XD That was the only time I’ll steal that (odd) phrase... ^^

LiL psYch0: I know... Reika turned out to be a real awful character... and I didn’t even mean for her to be! -.-; I’m glad you liked that scene though!

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Thank you so much for your kind reviews, everyone! Once more for old times’ sake?