"The Price You Pay" - (3 Parts)

[KawaiiKitty]

Title: "The Price You Pay"

Author: KawaiiKitty

Fandom: Inuyasha

Summary: A delightful spring day finds Miroku suffering from allergies...it doesn't help him to be WEARING the flowers in question. Why is he wearing the flowers? To impress Sango, of course!

Okay! This is a bit of an experiment...I usually almost always write about colds so this is my attempt to see if I can pull off an allergy-fic. It's just a mad little oneshot featuring my favourite subject of torture, the lovely Miroku. Although I did leave the ending open so that it could be continued...I've ideas for what could happen next but I'm not sure how well this will be received so figured best to leave it as a oneshot for now.

And the experimental-ness of it extends to me writing about things I don't normally...so I reckon it's only fair to warn everyone that there's a rather...ODD bit in the middle regarding a used tissue, mostly for comic effect, but just in case that grosses anyone out...

AND though it is a fandom-specific fic, as always I've tried to make it as friendly as possible to those not familiar with the fandom, so don't be scared off!

As always I welcome constructive criticism on how to improve my writing...especially in this case, since I SO don't know how to write allergies, I'd like to know if I got it right or wrong!

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The Price You Pay

Spring. A time when the world awakens from the slumber of winter. A time when the vigour of new life blossoming everywhere instils joy and new energy into everyone's hearts. Different people expressed their happiness at the joys of spring in different ways and nowhere was this better illustrated than in the warm sun-kissed field where Inuyasha and friends had stopped for a rest. Shippou the fox-child and Kirara the cat frolicked after butterflies, while Inuyasha and Kagome had disappeared out of sight for a "special" picnic for two that Kagome had prepared. Even Sango had gotten into the spirit of things, kneeling in the grass busying herself winding long-stemmed yellow flowers together to make a chain. She already sported a garland of these in her hair-now she seemed quite intent on making an even longer string.

As for Miroku, he was content to simply lie lazily on his back in the grass and soak up the noonday sun. He had chosen a vantage point that offered him the best view of Sango's activities. And, most importantly, it had the benefit of being very far away from the flowers. Until the occasional cooling breeze swept along the field, teasingly licking across his face, bringing the offending pollen to his nostrils.

He lazily raised his hand to his face to rub his burning eyes. Another gust of wind caught his flowing sleeve, blowing it playfully, and also causing a tickle in the back of his nose.

"Ungkh…hngh…huhh-TCHH!"

An annoyance, but a minor one compared to the beauty of the day. He sniffed and discreetly drew his hand under his nose. The breeze decided to pick up again. He was far too stuffed up to notice, but the wind actually carried a pleasant scent: the warm, sweet fragrance of flowers and grass. He rubbed his eyes again as the breeze hit him square in the face.

"Hnnngkh…hngh-tchHH!"

They were getting closer together-the wind seemed to be changing and decided to start blowing this way. Perhaps it was time to move to a new location. However, before he could put that idea into action he saw a flash of green as Sango's legs passed by his half-closed eyes, as she knelt down near his head.

Or he could stay here. Here was good.

"Hello!" Sango greeted in a sing-song voice. Miroku propped himself up onto his elbows, no small effort since his body was so comfortable it resisted any attempts to move it. Smiling at her, he observed "You're in a good mood."

"It's warm, the flowers are beautiful, and we haven't seen any demons in two days. Who wouldn't be happy?"

I could do without the flowers part, Miroku thought to himself and sniffled. Yes, they were absolutely beautiful. Yes, they brought a splash of colour and vibrance. However…

"Hnnngh…huh-hetTCHH!"

Sango smiled and murmured "I take it you're not having as good a time as the rest of us?"

"No, no. I'm having a very nice time right now," he answered with perfect honesty. He looked at Sango beside him, bedecked in yellow flowers and showing a playful side of herself that she didn't often reveal. And that was worth anything, even worth the irritation of having to sneeze every now and then. He hesitated for a moment, toying with the notion of saying the words that were on the tip of his tongue. Words that came so easy when talking to any simple female he met along the road suddenly became so difficult around her. It wasn't that he feared she'd be offended, far from it. It was only the touching of a certain part of her anatomy that provoked an angry reaction (and it still baffled him as to why it should bother her so that he enjoyed stroking her behind every now and then when she had absolutely no problems with him putting his hands upon, say, her shoulders…)

After playing around with possible words in his mind he finally said "You look…absolutely lovely like that," pointing to the flower garland around her neck.

Sango held back a giggle. "I'm glad you think so because…" she brought a flower garland out from behind her back and placed it gingerly atop his head. "I made you one too!" Miroku paused, not quite sure what to say to that. He couldn't see himself, but he was quite certain he looked foolish. Still, to see Sango so happy…and to have her hands so close to his face without slapping it for a change, it was so very worth it.

"I like it," he said, resolutely.

"That's not all!" she exclaimed, shrieking with laughter as she further adorned him with a flower necklace. A shiver of pleasure ran up his spine as her soft, feminine fingers grazed his cheek in the action of placing the flowers around his neck, forcing him to wonder yet again how such strong hands that had seen so many battles could still be so soft and delicate. "There," Sango grinned, admiring her handiwork. "So we're the same!"

Now, Miroku was absolutely certain he looked foolish. "Wonderful. I think it…hnnkgh-K'HUH!"

"Oh dear! It's not these flowers that make you sneeze, is it?"

"No, no. It's not these ones that are the problem at all."

*************************************************************

In retrospect, it probably would have been better to have been honest. After wearing the flowers for a few hours, he wasn't sure which was worse: the constant teasing and questions about his masculinity from Inuyasha, or the storm raging within his sinuses. He hoped this was scoring plenty of points with Sango, that after all was his intention. Therefore, if she wanted them to match, with their lovely flower garlands, then match they would. So as they walked along the path in search of their next destination, the peaceful sounds of the countryside surrounding them was occasionally rudely interrupted.

"Hnngh-HEHH!"

Miroku stopped walking and planted his staff firmly into the ground in order to lean on it for support. He uttered a sigh of weary displeasure, followed by a racking "hnnngh-HUH! HNNKGKH-huh! Hnn-TCHH!"

Everyone had tuned him out at this stage. After all, he'd been suffering like this for a few days now and his sneezing had ceased to be news. However, the sudden increase in activity had caught everyone's attention. Even Inuyasha noticed, although his only contribution was to order Miroku, in vain, to "shut the hell up".

Miroku sniffled miserably as he tried to take advantage of the brief reprieve to catch his breath. He smoothed the wadded up "thing" in his hand…Kagome had given it to him as yet another one of those oddities she brought over from her time, and she called it a "tissue". He was suspicious as to how such a fragile looking square of whatever-it-was could possibly be of any use, but given the choice between that or his sleeve, he had to concede that the tissue-thing was by far the better option. Clutching it as if for dear life, he pressed it awkwardly to his face.

"Hettcch-huh! Hnnnkh-tchhh! HAT'chuh!"

The tissue-thing HAD been useful in the beginning. Now, he began to suspect that it was defective. Before, it had done a very good job of absorbing what it needed to. Now, it hung limply and sadly in his hand. And, the last time he pressed it to his face he'd found it'd caused more of a problem than it solved.

Perplexed, Miroku quickened his step to walk beside Kagome. "Kagome?" he said, tapping her on the shoulder. When she turned around, he thrust the sodden article in her face. "I think it's broken," he said forlornly. "It won't work any more…"

"EEEW, Miroku!" Kagome shrieked, recoiling from the offending object. "Get it away! Ugh! Put it in the bin or something!"

She handed him the pack from whence the tissue had come, with the admonition that he mustn't use them all up, for that was all she had. Miroku, not sure what "the bin" was, shrugged and tucked the used tissue into his long sleeve.

It was not long before the sound of "Hnngkh-tchh!" shattered the silence once again. A flock of birds took off in flight from the nearby tree as if fleeing from the dreadful noise, although that could have been just a coincidence. Kagome stole a glance at him. Poor guy, she thought to herself. Here they were, walking through this delightful countryside teeming with the most exquisite display of spring flowers she'd ever seen and he couldn't even enjoy it!

Suddenly, Kagome stopped walking with a delighted exclamation that startled her companions. The flowers! She turned to Miroku, who was in the middle of sniffling morosely.

"Ever since we've been in this field, you've been suffering a lot more," she observed. "It's these white flowers, isn't it? We should find another path to walk through if that would help you. Can't we, Inuyasha?"

Before Inuyasha had a chance to formulate his irritated and coarse reply, Miroku held up his hands. "There's no need," he said. "I can…Hnnngh…huh-hetTCHH…honestly say it wouldn't make any difference."

"Okay, whatever you say. But the next time I go back to my time, I'm certainly going to bring you back some allergy medicine. You can't go on like this!"

"Yeah," chimed in Inuyasha unhelpfully. "You're driving us all crazy."

Miroku folded his arms and scowled at him. He tried his best to look stern but in truth it's rather difficult for anyone to look serious with heavy, half-lidded eyes and reddened nose such as his. He sighed and let his shoulders droop. He wanted to sink down and bury his face in something nice and cool. Or at least stop walking for a while…it was surprising how sneezing one's head off could be so tiring.

He felt the burning tickle rising in the back of his nose again and uttered a sharp sigh. He stopped walking for a moment-for some reason the sneezes selfishly demanded his full attention-and screwed his face in concentration. His shoulders rose and fell he took several anticipatory breaths followed by…nothing.

"Hehh……nevermind," he muttered.

Sango, who had stopped walking every time Miroku did, giggled. Against what he would normally do in his more usual non-allergy ridden state of mind, he frowned indignantly at her and pouted "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. You…"

"Humph!" Miroku grumbled, turning his head petulantly and looking off into the distance. Which just made Sango laugh even more. Miroku quirked an eyebrow. Was she…entertained by this? Perhaps she knew all along what effect these flowers would have on his sensitive nose and she was just testing him to see how long he'd stick it out. Well two could play at THAT game! He'd wear them and suffer so long that she'd feel so terribly guilty at what she'd done and be extra kind to him and perhaps even allow him to take a few extra liberties with her!

But, no…playing that sort of game wasn’t Sango's style. Ah! Perhaps she was punishing him with the flowers for some transgression he no longer remembered. No, when it came to punishing his actions she preferred the direct approach.

But her slightly wicked smile was unnerving him. He liked it when she was happy, but he'd feel more comfortable once she stopped smiling like that...

***********************************************************

Okay! The end. Or is it...

[Daphine]

That was a really wonderful story

I have always been a hugh fan of allergies and of guys suffering from them so of course I LOVED it!

[VoOs]

Eeeeee! CutecuteCUTE! I'm a BIG allergy fan too, and this story.... MmmMMM! Just YUM!

Okay! The end. Or is it...

No, it isn't. Absolutely not!

I mean... um...

More, please?

[Elle]

Delicious! I'm always on the prowl for more allergy fics. And I've become a Miroku fangirl with the recent splurge of stories about him! Thanks for sharing.

[tma]

This is SO much fun. So much cuteness... and I LOVE the interplay between Sango and Miroku.

I DIED with where she was putting the flowers over his head. Was torn between "AWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!"-mushy sweetness, and MWAHAHAHA -cackling evily to myself.

Words that came so easy when talking to any simple female he met along the road suddenly became so difficult around her. It wasn't that he feared she'd be offended, far from it. It was only the touching of a certain part of her anatomy that provoked an angry reaction (and it still baffled him as to why it should bother her so that he enjoyed stroking her behind every now and then when she had absolutely no problems with him putting his hands upon, say, her shoulders…)

LOVED this. Just seemed SO him!

Perplexed, Miroku quickened his step to walk beside Kagome. "Kagome?" he said, tapping her on the shoulder. When she turned around, he thrust the sodden article in her face. "I think it's broken," he said forlornly. "It won't work any more…"

The whole tissue thing was SO cute and funny and this was just the most funny/adorable part of it.

Was she…entertained by this? Perhaps she knew all along what effect these flowers would have on his sensitive nose and she was just testing him to see how long he'd stick it out. Well two could play at THAT game! He'd wear them and suffer so long that she'd feel so terribly guilty at what she'd done and be extra kind to him and perhaps even allow him to take a few extra liberties with her!

Are you TRYING to kill me?? I SO died when I read that.

But her slightly wicked smile was unnerving him. He liked it when she was happy, but he'd feel more comfortable once she stopped smiling like that...

You MUST continue.... because seriously I'm pondering all sort of yumminess and if I don't find out what happens next- my brain might implode or something. *makes yummy cheesecake to entice muses/IFs/collaborative characters*

[Enkidom]

Beautifully written KK. The bit about the tissue made me laugh out loud, and I love the way you write dialogue, you can almost visualize it in the book format as you are reading it.

[KawaiiKitty]

And I've become a Miroku fangirl with the recent splurge of stories about him! Thanks for sharing.

Then phase 2 of my evil plan is working! BWAHAHAHAHA! Er...I mean...glad you liked it...

Hmm...so my experiment was a success? I'm so glad it made people laugh...I was going for a more lighthearted piece this time! So, due to popular demand I am going to continue it further...I'm typing part 2 right now. But despite my attempts to keep it a "comedy" it seems to have rapidly descended into fluff as all my Sango/Miroku work ALWAYS does...sheesh, I can't keep those two away from each other!

TMA-now I wish I knew what kind of "yumminess" you were pondering to see if it's better than the "yumminess" in MY head.

Enkidom-thanks for the compliment on my "dialogue". I usually tell a story through pictures, and find writing words more difficult so I get ridiculously pleased when people compliment my use of words!

Okay! Part 2 will be coming very very soon!

[KawaiiKitty]

Okay! It's part 2 time...quite possibly this is the most unusual thing I've ever written and it's certainly going off in odd directions! This is actually the closest thing to something "fetishy" I've ever written, but despite the teasing and whatnot I've decided not to make the characters actually HAVE the fetish. Mostly because I want to keep their characterisation as close as possible to the real thing.

So...

PART 2

"Hnngkh…heehh…het'CHHH!"

"Damn it, Miroku. Shut the hell up already!"

"Inuyasha, be nice!"

Miroku sighed. He'd be annoyed too if he were in their shoes. Probably everyone just wanted to enjoy a nice quiet dinner in the house they'd finally managed to stop at without his constant interruptions. He'd even gone to go sit on the steps to the main entrance in an effort to give his companions some peace and quiet. And the ever-helpful Kagome could not seem to refrain from making it a bigger deal than it already was, no matter how much he begged her not to. Convinced that she must have something from her time that could help, she rummaged around in her big yellow rucksack for anything of use while she parroted on with ridiculous banter. Miroku stopped himself there…ridiculous was not a fair word to use. She was only trying to help, it was only due to his current mood that he found it annoying. Still, he wished she'd stop it already.

"It's been so long since we left the field with all the flowers," she mused. "I thought you would have been improved by now. Are you sure you don't just have a cold or something?" She held her hand to his forehead. "Nope, no fever…that's a pity! I have some stuff you could have taken for a cold but nothing else…" She shrugged.

The garland of flowers around his neck, though it had been a source of so much amusement earlier in the day, had become so much of a fixture that she had forgotten to notice it. So too, had Miroku, in fact. And, having exhausted all her ideas to help Miroku, Kagome gave up and retreated off to entertain herself in other ways.

"Hehhh…henggkt-SSHH!"

He rubbed at his eyes once again, their normally sparkling and lively orbs now dulled from the irritation of constant rubbing, and weighed down by weariness. Sango, spotting an opening now that Kagome had left, sat down gingerly next to him. Although Miroku was focusing with so much concentration on trying to force an inhalation through his stubborn nose, that he didn't notice her until she sighed.

"Kagome stopped looking for a way to fix you?" she asked.

"I think she got bored. Perhaps constant sneezing just isn't a source of entertainment…"

Sango laughed. "Well, she doesn't know what she's missing. I'm highly entertained!" When Miroku responded with a hurt expression, she patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said. "I don't mean to laugh at you so much, I really don't."

She smiled and removed the flower necklace from her own neck. "It's time to get rid of these," she said. "The petals are starting to drop off and we don't want the rudeness of messing up this kind person's house after they allowed us to sleep here. Now give me yours…" She plucked the crown of flowers from Miroku's head, then leant in towards him and attempted to untie one of the knots between the flowers so the garland could simply be slipped off. But she found that she'd tied the flowers rather tight and it was difficult to undo the knots.

"Ah, Sango?" Miroku said with trepidation.

"Sssh! I've almost got it, don't move!"

Miroku held his breath, trying to stop the hitching inhalations that had decided now was a good moment to begin their torment. Of course, that’s never a solution that actually works, and Miroku was forced to think of a plan B rather quickly. The next best option seemed to be to leap backwards to ensure Sango was out of the line of fire. Unfortunately, Sango was still clinging to the flower necklace with both hands and when he leapt back, she came along for the ride.

The unexpected addition of her weight threw Miroku off balance and he landed firmly on his back. Sango, with a startled yelp, fell awkwardly on top of him. Miroku stopped for a moment, seemingly looking up towards the sky with his face frozen in an unusual expression: with his eyes looking slightly pained and his mouth slightly open. Sango, wondering if he was in pain, peered closer at his face.

"Hett-TCCCHU!"

Sango yelped again, this time in response to Miroku unleashing a sneeze upon her neck. She nimbly hopped feline-like off his body, landing in a crouching position nearby-a move easily executed by a trained demon slayer, but even her demon slayer reflexes were no match for the speed of a sneeze. She fixed him with a steely glare as she dried her neck with her sleeve.

"I did try to warn you," Miroku said glumly, by way of an apology.

"Just give me the necklace," she ordered, opting for the straightforward approach this time and lifting the flowers up over his head, leaving an orange trail of pollen on his cheek as they grazed his face. She flung the hapless flowers into distant bushes, clapping her hands together when finished as if to celebrate a job well done.

"I think now you should be able to rejoin everyone without inflaming Inuyasha's wrath," she said with a wry smile.

Miroku breathed a sigh of relief. As he rose to his feet, he brushed at the orange stain that had been left on his robes by the flowers. It seemed not to want to budge. Such a nuisance, the bright orange stain showed up rather obviously on his black and purple robes and he felt it made him look rather careless and messy.

Inuyasha groaned audibly as Miroku entered the room. In truth, his keen sense of hearing due to his half dog-demon heritage meant that sounds that were just a minor annoyance to everyone else, exploded like fireworks to his sensitive ears. But far from being sympathetic to Inuyasha's plight, Kagome fixed him with a stare that plainly said that she'd "sit" him if he dared open his mouth to insult Miroku.

"Don't worry," assured Sango. "He should be fine now."

Miroku wondered for a moment how she could be so sure. It seemed to support his earlier theory that she KNEW the effect of the flowers and was doing this on purpose. Pushing that idea out of his head, he made one more unsuccessful attempt to inhale through his nose. No luck, perhaps it would take some time.

For some time he sat quietly, sipping from a cup of tea while taking in the conversation around him. He looked down at the stain on his robes again, and scrubbed at them with his hand when he was sure nobody could see him do such an undignified thing. He blinked his eyes, suddenly he could feel them prickling and tearing up again.

Followed, inevitably, by the tickling in his nose which twitched in response to the irritation.

"Hah…hat'TCHH!"

"Damn it Miroku, you better shut UP!" howled Inuyasha, brandishing his fist. This was closely followed by the half-demon's head crashing into the floorboards as Kagome calmly issued the word "sit".

Miroku rubbed at his nose as he stood up, sighing glumly.

"It's okay," he said quietly. "You won't have to put up with me any longer tonight. I'm only in the mood for going to bed anyway."

Sango bit her lip as she watched Miroku stride from the room with a defeated air.

Kagome leant towards Inuyasha to demand an apology from him. When Inuyasha failed to understand the reason for the "sit", it instigated a minor argument between the two. As they argued back and forth, completely absorbed in their own little situation, Sango saw the opportunity to steal away unnoticed and follow after Miroku.

"I wonder which room he's-" she began to say to herself, before a resounding "Hahn…hat'TCHH!" gave away Miroku's whereabouts and answered her question for her. She poked her head around the corner to see Miroku leaning on the wall, looking forlornly out the window at the darkening evening sky. He turned his head to acknowledge her presence, but uttered no sound more than a quiet sigh.

"Take off your clothes," she commanded.

Miroku choked. He looked at her with an expression made of equal measures of surprise and wickedness.

"Why, Sango…you're awfully forward tonight!"

Sango fixed him with a steely glare. "Don't get your hopes up, pervert. I want you to give me your robes so I can wash them." She turned her back on him. "So hurry and give them to me so I can go down to the river. Once that pollen stain is off, you should be fine. Okay?"

"You know, there's no need for you to leave the room while I undress. I am but a simple monk and have no intention of-"

"Don't give me any of your fake holy-man talk. Just be quiet and give me your clothes or I'm not going to do it."

Miroku sighed. He suspected her fiery talk was simply to cover up the fact that she was quite shy in these circumstances. Even without seeing her face, he could tell she was blushing. And she was in fact blushing quite fiercely as she listened to the rustling of Miroku disrobing behind her as he stripped down to his white under-kimono. Why did the simple act of taking off his clothes have to cause so much noise?

"Here you are," he said with an audible grin as he draped his recently-shed clothing over her shoulder. To his disappointment, she didn't steal a glance at him before she left.

****************************************************

Sango dipped the black robe in the flowing water of the river once more time and scrubbed the fabric together in an effort to shift the pollen stain.

"It's really stubborn..." she complained out loud to no one but her cat Kirara, who mewed in response. Sango felt compelled to finish the thought by adding: "Just like HE is." Even in the moonlight she could still make out the orange mark. She dipped it in the water again and continued to scrub.

Perhaps being alone in the dark near a river would have been a dangerous prospect for most girls, but not for a skilled fighter like Sango. And she was intelligent enough to bring her weapon along with her wherever she went. So when she heard a rustling in the bushes behind her, she reached for her large boomerang that rested on the tree behind her.

"Hold your attack, I only came to help!" came a pleasant voice.

"Ah, Miroku! What are you doing out here?"

Miroku sat down on a log, revealing a view of his legs that made Sango blush. "I came because I suddenly felt very guilty that you were washing MY clothes all on your own."

"It's fine, really. I want to do it. It's my fault and I want to fix it."

Miroku fixed Sango with an intent stare. "What's your fault? Do you somehow believe that those flowers were responsible for my condition today?"

"What? No, I was talking about the stain. It's my fault that your clothes are ruined. Besides, you told me you had no problem with those flowers. You weren't lying to me, were you?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

Sango refrained from answering such a loaded question. She looked down at her handiwork, and deciding that the robes were cleaned to her satisfaction, she wrung out the last drops of excess water with her strong yet delicate hands and slung the dripping cloth over her shoulder.

Standing tantalisingly close to Miroku, she stroked her hair with a frown. "I think I'm going to have to wash my hair too. Look," she said, showing him the top of her head. "The pollen's gotten all in my hair and everything."

Miroku blinked as Sango illustrated her point by combing through her hair with her long fingers, having the effect of disturbing the pollen in question. Why? Miroku thought to himself. Why did she have to choose to do this so close to his face? And why was it the only time she actually got this close to him, was a time when he wouldn't be able to enjoy her proximity without spoiling the moment as he was so clearly about to do…

"Hehhh…henggkt-SSHH!"

"Oh dear," said Sango, not sounding as if she was very sorry at all. "I wonder where that came from?"

"Yes," Miroku said vaguely. "I wonder."

Sango shook her head at him. "Shall we go inside? It would be very bad luck on your part if you were to catch a cold on top of everything from standing out here half dressed."

The two walked back to the house in silence. Even Kirara the cat could sense the growing tension in the air. Despite the words unspoken, both were actually thinking the same thoughts but for different reasons. And those thoughts were: "This isn't over".

[tma]

O.... M.... G.... the Cuteness.... GAH... TOO many quotable parts.

First off- the ENTIRE scene with Sango taking off the lei- *Must re-re-re-read* That was so funny and yummy and written to where I could Totally see it, and it was funny and adorable and made me SQUEE! muchly!!

And some other parts...

"Take off your clothes," she commanded.

Miroku choked. He looked at her with an expression made of equal measures of surprise and wickedness.

"Why, Sango…you're awfully forward tonight!"

Sango fixed him with a steely glare. "Don't get your hopes up, pervert. I want you to give me your robes so I can wash them." She turned her back on him. "So hurry and give them to me so I can go down to the river. Once that pollen stain is off, you should be fine. Okay?"

"You know, there's no need for you to leave the room while I undress. I am but a simple monk and have no intention of-"

"Don't give me any of your fake holy-man talk. Just be quiet and give me your clothes or I'm not going to do it."

omg!!! That Slayed me. I could Totally envision the conversation and it cracked me up to no end.

Miroku fixed Sango with an intent stare. "What's your fault? Do you somehow believe that those flowers were responsible for my condition today?"

"What? No, I was talking about the stain. It's my fault that your clothes are ruined. Besides, you told me you had no problem with those flowers. You weren't lying to me, were you?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

LOVED that... Totally cracked me up.

"

Oh dear," said Sango, not sounding as if she was very sorry at all. "I wonder where that came from?"

"Yes," Miroku said vaguely. "I wonder."

Sango shook her head at him. "Shall we go inside? It would be very bad luck on your part if you were to catch a cold on top of everything from standing out here half dressed."

Yes... Very bad luck...

[VoOs]

Gnhhhh...so...much...CUTENESS...!

Totally awesome story, KK! Thank you so much for sharing it

[Bongo]

I've never seen this show, but I absolutely loved this story. In fact, this may be the best one I have read in a while. Thank you for posting it.

[KawaiiKitty]

Er...I forgot I was posting this story! So, I thought I'd put up the next bit in case anyone hasn't lost interest due to the fact that I kindof left it unceremoniously two whole months ago! And I even forgot to check it for comments which I wish I didn't forget that because I should have said thank you to people for saying nice things...symphonyflute, that is one of the nicest possible things to say! I still think this is one of the weirdest stories I ever wrote!

I did say a while back that this rapidly descended into fluff and this chapter is the proof. I can't keep Miroku and Sango away from the fluffiness no matter how much I try! Blame them, not me!

So yes. Chapter 3. Which is probably the end unless I start writing more to this. If you're wondering where all the sneezing is hiding, it's at the end.

*******************************************************************

Chapter 3

Miroku awoke later than usual in the morning, stirred from his slumber by the insistent rays of late morning sunshine. He stretched first and then began the obvious next step which was to test just how functional his nose had decided to be today.

The answer was: not very. Still, it wasn't tickling and seemed to be inclined to keep quiet for now. He considered the inability to breathe a pretty fair trade for relief from the constant sneezing. Perhaps the worst of it was over, this village seemed to be far enough away from the offending flowers. He almost wished he could hole up here until spring was over.

Lethargically, he dressed himself-even though his robe was still slightly damp from the night before. The dampness made the fabric slightly itchy and uncomfortable but he figured that once he got moving around it would dry out.

He wondered if he had missed breakfast.

Miroku wandered idly into the main part of the house. Everyone seemed to have already gone to go conduct their daily business. There wasn't a soul around. Of course not-it was such a lovely day-why would they be inside? He felt a little hurt that nobody had woken him and asked him to join in. But with all the disturbance and commotion his nose had been causing the past few days, they probably just wanted some peace and quiet away from him. And he didn't exactly blame them.

Stepping outside into the bright sunlight, he wondered momentarily if he should look for someone, or just leave everyone alone. Scanning his surroundings, he could immediately see the reason for his inability to breathe- a field of brilliant yellow in the not-so-distant distance. Far enough away not to cause too much trouble, but close enough to still affect him. Ah well, as long as the flowers stayed over there in the distance, he'd be spared the worst of their effects.

While he was wondering whether or not he could get away with taking a deep breath, he was suddenly accosted from behind by a breathless and frantic Sango.

"Miroku! Oh, I'm so glad…I need your help. A dog chased Shippo and he ran off and now I can't find him."

"A demon?"

"No, just a regular dog."

Strange, thought Miroku. Surely Shippo, a fox demon child yes but a demon nonetheless, could defend himself against an ordinary dog?

"Shall we get Inuyasha?" he asked.

"There's no time and besides, the dog is gone, I just need your help searching. I can only cover so much ground on my own. And Kagome borrowed Kirara so we can't search from the air so I'm stuck to walking."

Kirara of course was Sango's companion, a large white demon cat that had the advantage of being able to fly-which would have been invaluable in this situation.

"Okay," Miroku sighed. "Which way did he go."

Sango pointed in the direction of the field of yellow flowers. "That way."

"Of course," he grumbled. It would have to be there, wouldn't it?

"Why? Is there a problem?"

"No. No problem at all."

He couldn't help but feel that what had begun as a simple innocent fib in order to keep Sango happy was going to come back and kick him in the face more times than he could ever imagine.

**********************************************

As they raced along the dirt road, Sango looked over her shoulder at Miroku trailing along behind her. He could tell that every now and then she slowed down for his benefit. It was more than a little embarrassing, normally his physical prowess was second only to the half demon Inuyasha. If he could breathe right now he would certainly be giving a far more impressive performance.

In addition, the closer they got to the field the worse he felt, and it was difficult to concentrate on running and rubbing his watering eyes at the same time. He blinked, focussing all of his concentration on begging his nose to please, please hold off just a little while longer. He offered a promise to any deities that happened to be listening that if he could just do this, if he could help Sango find Shippo without breaking into an explosive fit of sneezing then he would show his gratitude by performing 100 good deeds.

Then he amended that to "many good deeds".

Then he amended that to "good deeds".

Whatever deities were in fact listening to his promise apparently didn't mind for he made it to the edge of the field without any protest from his nasal passages. He held his breath, perhaps believing it would stall the onset of the misery. Although he must have cut an unusual figure as he stood there blinking furiously in an attempt to stop his streaming eyes without actually rubbing them, for rubbing them might rouse Sango's suspicions and he didn't want to do that.

"Well, I don't see him," Miroku said in an exaggerated attempt at a loud and clear voice which came out neither loud nor clear. "Perhaps he's turned back already."

"No, he went in there," Sango answered, pointing to the carpet of yellow flowers intermingled with tall grass. They were of such a height that they came nearly up to his hips and could have easily concealed the young fox-child. It was an obvious place to look, he had to admit, no matter how much he wished it wasn't.

"Right," he said with a sharp, determined inhalation that he immediately regretted as it brought a fresh wave of prickling, itching heat to his eyes. "Lets do this!"

He strode resolutely into the sunshine-coloured field of torment, still holding his breath, followed by a slightly astonished Sango who couldn't help but whisper "He actually did it!"

Miroku looked around. How it would be possible to locate anything under this grass and flowers, he had no idea. He was certain that this was a rather large exercise in futility. There was absolutely no way he would say that to Sango though. She'd probably tell him to stick his head under the flowers to get a better view and there was no way he'd be able to do that and not suffer the consequences and lose the heroic levels of self control he was exerting over his already itching and throbbing nose.

Although…he'd probably have more luck finding Shippo if he was actually thinking about finding Shippo and not about how to get himself out of this situation.

Then, his self control began to fail. He struggled to control his breathing but the familiar desperate inhalations overtook him. His hand hovered expectantly in front of his face but after his lungs filled themselves a number of times it came to nothing at all-and an additional downside was that in the absence of a good hearty sneeze, his nose had to find another way of cleaning itself out and he had absolutely no way of taking care of that. Despite Kagome's warning not to, he had already used up all of those paper squares she'd given him for that purpose.

Then it began all over again.

"Hehh…hehh..heeehhh…." Followed by a sigh of displeasure as it once again came to nothing.

"Are the flowers bothering you?" Sango asked in an almost accusing tone.

"No, I'm fine," he answered in a voice that betrayed that he was anything BUT fine.

And then, the flowers exploded.

Or rather, they seemed to. With a sudden gleeful cry of delight, followed by a cacophony of giggles, Shippo burst forth from the brushy grass, bounding straight up into Miroku's face. Sango had only a brief moment to glimpse the astonishment in his expression as, with a startled yell, the young monk lost his footing and was swallowed up into a sea of yellow.

The following seconds felt like an eternity as the scene was bathed in silence save the twittering of some birds in the distance. Then, a mound of black and purple staggered up from the flowers.

Miroku wheezed as he stood there uncertainly, not bothering to brush off the flowers that now dusted his shoulders, or to pick out the flowers now bedecking his glossy black hair.

When he finally spoke it was simply to say breathlessly "I…found…Shippo." Followed by a plaintive "het'CHUH!"

Shippo, who had taken up a perch on Sango's shoulder since his dramatic appearance, piped up "Did I do it right? Just like you asked?" Sango tried to shush him, but Miroku had already heard.

"What does he mean…hnnnkh'TCHH!…'just like you asked'?" Miroku demanded, punctuated by a sniff.

Sango folded her arms. "What's wrong Miroku? Flowers getting to you?"

"Did you…hehh-SHH!…plan this just so you could say that?" he answered, equally determined to avoid questions.

"It shouldn't matter. Didn't you say these yellow flowers don't bother you?"

"Why do you…het'CHUH! Hnnkh-sssh!…care?"

"Did you lie to me?"

Miroku groaned in frustration, perhaps more than the situation called for but all the irritations of the past few days just seemed to pour out of himself at that moment.

"What if I did?" he said in a tone that was halfway between annoyance and pleading. "Why would it matter so much? Why is it so important?"

"Because if you find it so easy to lie to me over something so small, how will I know you won't lie to me over something bigger?"

He looked at her for a moment looking somewhat hurt, his eyes wide though still retaining some of their weary, watery qualities which somehow made his appearance all the more pathetic. Shippo, sensing that this was well on it's way to becoming a "grown up moment", hopped down from Sango's shoulder and slunk away in the grass, also slightly eager to get away lest his small part in Sango's little deception get called into question. Miroku sighed for a moment before hesitantly beginning his explanation.

"It wasn't intended as a lie. I just saw how happy and carefree you looked when you were making the flower necklaces, and it is so rare that I get to see you look so truly carefree. And you laughed when you were giving mine to me and I didn't want to spoil your fun by telling you that I didn't want to wear it. You look so lovely when you smile and I sure didn't want to be the one to ruin it."

Sango looked at her feet, not quite knowing what to say. What had begun in anger and suspicion seemed to be ending up in guilt.

Miroku held his long black sleeve up to his face to muffle a sudden "Hnnnkgh'TCHH! Hehh'ssh! Het'TCHH!"

"Miroku, I'm so sorry. I really don't know what I was thinking…"

"It's okay, really. Although next time can you please pick a different method of testing my honesty?" he said, with a smile although really the only smile he could manage was weak at best. He was rewarded by Sango's hand brushing his arm as she tried to brush some of the stubbornly clinging yellow dust from the flowers off his robes. Even through all his clothing the feeling of her touch sent a shiver of pleasure up his spine.

But if he thought that was pleasant, she then put her hand lightly on the small of his back as they left the sunshine yellow field and made their way back to the village. She rested her hand there in such a nonchalant way that surprised him and pacified him at the same time, and she spoke as she walked.

"I'll wash your robes again for you, don't worry. And anything I can do to help you feel better, just ask. No, you dirty monk, not that! And I should slap you for even thinking that, let alone saying it."

Yet she, almost strangely Miroku thought, didn't slap him. He seemed to be able to get away with more since she felt sorry for him. He thought of testing this theory out and see just how much he could get away with, then decided it may be best not to spoil the moment.

Every now and then he would stop walking, cover his face with his sleeve and utter a miserable sounding "het'TCHH!" into it. And every time he did so, Sango would pat his back soothingly and utter kind words. As unpleasant as he felt right now, Miroku had to admit he enjoyed this attention. Spring still couldn't end quickly enough in his eyes (that wasn't strictly true, he adored the beauty of spring-it was just this particular month that these particular flowers were in bloom that he disliked) , but this was a welcome consolation while it was still here.

[tma]

AWWWWWW!!!!!! SO absolutely adorable. I just adore Miroku. Now to find Most favourite parts of this section. btw- I have such fun picking out the absolute Best parts- though it is really difficult when I love the whole thing.

He blinked, focussing all of his concentration on begging his nose to please, please hold off just a little while longer. He offered a promise to any deities that happened to be listening that if he could just do this, if he could help Sango find Shippo without breaking into an explosive fit of sneezing then he would show his gratitude by performing 100 good deeds.

Then he amended that to "many good deeds".

Then he amended that to "good deeds

BRILLIANT!!

Shippo, who had taken up a perch on Sango's shoulder since his dramatic appearance, piped up "Did I do it right? Just like you asked?" Sango tried to shush him, but Miroku had already heard.

"What does he mean…hnnnkh'TCHH!…'just like you asked'?" Miroku demanded, punctuated by a sniff.

Sango folded her arms. "What's wrong Miroku? Flowers getting to you?"

"Did you…hehh-SHH!…plan this just so you could say that?" he answered, equally determined to avoid questions.

"It shouldn't matter. Didn't you say these yellow flowers don't bother you?"

"Why do you…het'CHUH! Hnnkh-sssh!…care?"

"Did you lie to me?"

Miroku groaned in frustration, perhaps more than the situation called for but all the irritations of the past few days just seemed to pour out of himself at that moment.

"What if I did?" he said in a tone that was halfway between annoyance and pleading. "Why would it matter so much? Why is it so important?"

Cuteness x 973184683745813749!! I :wub: especially the phrase "in a tone that was halfway between annoyance and pleading" - don't ask me why that phrase is just SO yummy to me- but it is.

Thank you Very, Very, Very much for continuing it and if you are so inspired to write more of this or something else- I'll be a happy camper.

[Enkidom]

Or rather, they seemed to. With a sudden gleeful cry of delight, followed by a cacophony of giggles, Shippo burst forth from the brushy grass, bounding straight up into Miroku's face. Sango had only a brief moment to glimpse the astonishment in his expression as, with a startled yell, the young monk lost his footing and was swallowed up into a sea of yellow.

Beautiful. I have the entire scene playing in my head in anime format!

Shippo, who had taken up a perch on Sango's shoulder since his dramatic appearance, piped up "Did I do it right? Just like you asked?" Sango tried to shush him, but Miroku had already heard.

And this is why Shippo is NOT the best conspirator in the entire world. Silly Sango. Still, he's the only viable option.

Ahhhh, let Sango and Miroku have their fluffiness, they deserve the obvious happiness!

[Elle]

Yay! There's more! God I love Miroku with allergies. Thanks so much for posting this bit!