Sango sat in the front row of the magic show, pleased to see that Akira and Hitomi were mesmerized by the flashes of light and fire that was on stage. This would keep them occupied for at least a while.
The man on stage, which had called himself Wayne Brady took a bow and removed his hat. "Thank you! Now, the moment you've all been waiting for, please give a round of applause to…Rob El Greato!"
Hitomi pointed up on stage. "Wow, he looks different…"
"Yea…" Akira said, then. "Uh oh…"
Those were two words parents never wanted to hear and Sango glanced down at her. "What's 'uh oh' for?"
"I have to go to the bathroom." She told her, giving Sango her biggest puppy dog eyes under that pitch black hair that was so much like Miroku's.
Sango sighed and picked her up. "Hitomi, stay close to me, I--Miroku!"
Miroku appeared in front of her, and she was so shocked to see him she didn't even sound angry when she said his name. Great, and just when he was about get her off his mind. Well, seeing her wasn't a bad thing, it never was. "I'm just as surprised to see you."
Akira wriggled out of her arms and as soon as her feet hit the ground she ran towards Miroku who lifted her up. "You came to see the magic show?"
"Yea." Sango replied. "I got free tickets from one of the performers."
Miroku raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess, 'Mr. El Greato' gave you tickets, hm?"
"Yes. Miroku, don't start with me tonight. Akira has to use the bathroom and I don't want to miss the show."
He stepped out of her way politely and handed her Akira, then watched as she strolled towards the strip mall.
"You take Hitomi back to the show, alright?" Sango asked, more like a demand, which he was planning to do anyway. The tone of her voice told him she was still angry with him.
He turned back around and took Sango's seat, even though he didn't have a ticket and he looked up at Rob who was doing some elaborate magic trick on stage. The guy was so mundane that he half expected him to pull a rabbit out of a hat, or have doves fly out of his armpits.
Rob looked down off stage and noticed Miroku and got the feeling that must have been her husband she told him about. He looked like the type that would cheat. As far as Rob was concerned, Miroku was an idiot for cheating on Sango and that's when he realized he would like to be with her himself.
But maybe she had forgiven him, though he didn't deserve it and that's why he was sitting where he was now. He wouldn't know anything until he got off stage.
Sango returned with Akira and Rob was grateful to see that Miroku just gave up and left. He couldn't help but wear a smile on his face, though Sango looked a bit distressed by the fact he was gone now.
She was a little disappointed he didn't stay and try to talk to her. Maybe he truly wanted things to be over between them. Which was fine, because after the way he's been acting she wanted that too. Then again, she did miss the stupid lecherous monk.
Apparently, getting shot and almost dying due to some jealous admirer wasn't enough to seal the bond between the two of them and he still found the need to cheat on her. Maybe she had become less desirable after she had children, or maybe he was getting tired of her, like she had always thought he would.
She honestly felt like Miroku Keseki, her companion, her husband and the father of her children, didn't love her anymore. She suddenly felt depressed and the glitzy magic show did nothing to brighten her mood.
There was a loud sound and fire shot up out of the stage, then Rob took a bow and the curtains closed. Sango pushed Miroku from her mind and clapped, then saw him as he ascended off stage with two balloon animals for Akira and Hitomi. "For you."
Akira smiled and took the blue balloon dog, while Hitomi took the pink one. Sango kneeled down next to them. "Say Thank you."
"Thank you." They both said in unison, then proceeded to fight over which colour they wanted. Sango smiled and stood up again, only to have Rob, somehow, magically pull a red rose from his sleeve.
"This is for you." He said, smiling.
Sango blushed and took the rose from his hand and held it to her nose. "Wow. Thank you."
"My pleasure." Rob said. Sango felt awkward, she knew he had seen Miroku and their little squabble they had right in the middle of his show. She probably looked like one of those single parents with the complicated marital problems that no one ever wanted anything to do with.
"I'm really sorry about my husband. I--"
"What about your husband?" A male voice sounded from behind them and Sango didn't even have to turn around to realize it was Miroku who was so confidently leaned against a pole. "You know, it's funny how every time we come to this side of the beach you're always walking around with some guy."
"What are you talking about?" Sango asked.
"Howard." Miroku replied matter-of-factly. "At the fair 7 years ago."
Sango sighed dramatically. "Miroku, that was 7 long years ago. We weren't even together then. That was before we knew he was completely psycho."
Rob watched the two argue for a good 10 minutes along with Akira and Hitomi, the three didn't have a clue what they were talking about
"Maybe we weren't together than. But I still liked you, and you completely dismissed me that night for Howard. That was the night we first kissed though, remember?" He looked at her hands. "Where did that rose come from?"
Sango folded her arms. "Yea, and it was a mistake. A big, fat, huge mistake! And Rob gave me the rose."
Miroku scowled. "How do you always manage to piss me off?" He wasn't quite yelling, but his voice was raised.
"You're causing a scene." She said. "And you're upsetting the girls."
"You're the one who's hanging out with Mr. 'El Greato' over here." Miroku said, not liking the way he was looking at Sango. "If he's the next Howard Bailey, I'm going to fucking scream."
"Ok, wait, wait, wait…" Rob stopped the both of them and Miroku was surprised he had the nerve to butt into their argument. He was clearly sticking his nose where it didn't belong, but he had to know what they were talking about it, it was absolutely killing him. "Who's Howard?"
Sango and Miroku exchanged glances, for once not arguing. Akira and Hitomi seemed to have gotten bored and were now trying to pop each other's balloon animals.
"Well," Sango began. "he's kind of, sort of, an ex-boyfriend of mine. He's kind of evil, but he's a saint compared to him" She said, pointing to Miroku.
Miroku glared at her. "Yea, well Raven's a saint compared to you. At least she's not jealous all the time!"
Rob glanced at them. "Who's Raven?"
If look could kill, the monk could have killed the magician with the look he was giving him by now. "My ex, from a long, long, long time ago."
"Oh." Rob said. "OK, I think I got everything straightened out. Now, if you don't mind I would like to continue my walk with Sango-chan?"
Miroku glanced at him. "Hey, she's my wife!"
"I don't want to go home with you, Miroku." Sango cut him short, she could tell he was about to slip back in 'Macho Monk Mode', and she didn't feel like putting up with it. "You're wasting your time!"
The houshi's mouth fell open as she practically dragged Rob along, not once glancing back at him. His girls fallowed closely behind her and Miroku considered twice jumping Rob and pounding his face into the ground. "Fine, go on without me! I'll be at home, if you start to miss me."
Sango felt something in her heart for a quick instant. She did miss Miroku and if she was completely honest with herself, she did want to go home and be with him again. She wanted to have the feeling of a complete family again like she had missed when her family had been killed. Sango hadn't felt complete again until the day she found out she was pregnant, and with twins at that.
She remembered how excited she was just because she was going to start a family of her own with the one and only man she truly loved. And she still loved him. Which is exactly why she couldn't go back. She loved him to much for him to hurt her again.
"Do you miss him?" Rob asked, bringing Sango back to reality as they walked along the beach.
She looked a bit lost for a moment then looked down at her feet in the darkness. "Yes, but I'm not going back. I'm not going allow myself to be hurt again. He thinks I'll come back and that's his whole problem. I've taken him back so many times before he thinks he can do whatever he wants and I'll just allow him to do it."
"You deserve better than that." Rob said. "You're too beautiful and too sweet to be hurt like that."
Sango smiled bashfully. "Thank you."
"No problem." He said, taking the rose from her hands and tearing the long stem from it, then placed the flowery bud in her hair. Sango froze. That's exactly what Miroku used to do, back when he was still fascinated by her. Kami, she missed those days. "You look beautiful like that."
"Thank you…" Sango said, as she held onto both her girls hands. Akira was still looking for that jellyfish. "But…I know you don't mean it."
"Why wouldn't I mean it?" Rob asked. "If I didn't think you were beautiful I wouldn't have given you free tickets to my show. Maybe half price, but not free." He chuckled.
Sango giggled. "No one could possibly think I'm beautiful. Not if my own husband decided to cheat on me." Her voice was low and shaky and Rob was afraid she might have been ready to cry.
He allowed a smile to come to his face and Sango could see the expression in his eyes underneath the moonlight. "How about we go out to dinner tomorrow night and I show you?"
Her steps faltered, along with her voice. "Uhm, well…"
"I'm not asking for anything romantic. Just dinner, maybe a movie." He said. "I understand, you know, because of the girls and all."
"Maybe just dinner…" Sango said, smiling. "The girls are actually staying with…their father…" She laced the word with heavy disdain. "I'll be happy too."
"Great!" Rob exclaimed. " 6:30, OK?"
"Yes."
"Alright! Well, uhm…mind if I walk you to your car? I would hate to leave you three out here on the beach alone at night."
Sango smiled and realized that Miroku hadn't even cared how they had gotten home. Stupid jerk! "I would like that." She responded.
Miroku walked into the main entrance of the building only to hear loud cackling from inside the main living room. Then Amber burst into the kitchen, hoping to see Sango, but as soon as she saw it was Miroku her face fell. "Oh, sorry I thought you were Sango-chan…"
The monk raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, sorry to disappoint you. What's all the commotion about."
"Well," Amber said, not really wanting to talk to him. "I guess I have to tell you since you're going to be the best man…Me and Nelly are getting engaged and we set a date a 2 weeks from now."
"Wow." Miroku said. "Congratulations."
"Thanks." She said politely. "Where's Sango? I want to tell her."
"Buddha only knows…" The houshi said bitterly. "She's talking to some guy named Rob."
Hayden bounded into the kitchen behind Amber. "The completely, dreamy magician guy that works down the beach?"
Miroku folded his arms and looked at her. Oh, so what? She didn't find him "dreamy" anymore. That was always the word she used to describe him and only him.
"Yea, he's a magician, a crappy one." He replied.
"Oh! Someone's jealous!" Amber teased the monk. "Jealousy is unflattering for you, houshi-sama."
Miroku forced himself to chuckle. "I'm not jealous! She can have him if she wants him, it doesn't bother me." He turned from them. "I'm going up to my room, if Sango comes in looking for me I'm up there."
"Alright, houshi-sama." Amber said, watching him walk slowly towards the elevator. "Poor guy, he looks miserable."
Miroku's phone rang out, piercing the silence of the apartment and he didn't even open his eyes to see if the sun had risen yet. He groped blindly for his cell phone which he had laid on the coffee table the night before when he dozed off on the couch.
After a few seconds of searching for it, he picked it up and punched the talk button. "Hello?"
"Hey, Miroku, it's me."
He sat up straight. "Sango!" Thank Buddha! She called maybe she's coming back home.
"Listen, I need you to take the girls to school. My car won't start."
Miroku's heart sank. "Is that all?"
"Well, it has a funny smell to it, too and--"
"Sango, is that all you called me for?"
There was a pause on the other end. "Yes."
"Alright." He said, sighing. "I'll be over there, give me 20 minutes."
"OK, bye." And she hung up.
Miroku stared down at the screen at the cell ended message for a moment. "She could have at least said I love you…" He slipped his phone into his pocket. "Or maybe she doesn't."
He grabbed his keys off the coffee table and realized that his dishes were piling up in the sink. Well, there's one thing he didn't know how to do and that was wash dishes. Maybe Hayden, or Raven who was still in love with him, would be kind enough to do it for him. He'd ask later.
Miroku exited the apartment and waited for the elevator to reach his floor, which took forever. Once the doors opened his stepped inside and rode down until he was in the main living room of the building. Time to play it cool, Miroku.
"Good morning, all."
"Good morning!" Nelly said excitedly as Amber brought him his breakfast. "How's it going?"
"Never been better." Miroku replied.
"You want anything to eat, man?" Nelly asked.
"Maybe when I come back. I have to take Akira and Hitomi to school." Miroku said. "Sango's car isn't working…"
Nelly raised an eyebrow. "Is that the only reason she called you?"
"That's the only reason she speaks to me now, it seems like." He said, feeling a little depressed. "She only talks to me if it has to do with the kids." He sighed and glanced at the clock. "I better hurry…I told her I'd be there in 20 minutes. I'll be back."
Sango stood outside, fastening a ribbon in Hitomi's hair. Akira had already pulled hers out and looked up at Sango with a look of pure aggravation.
"I wish you would wear pretty bows in your hair…" Sango said, sighing. "I suppose you get that from me. I never liked it either." She said, smoothing out her dark hair just as Miroku's camero pulled to the curb. Her heart started to race as he stepped out of the car.
He pulled off his sunglasses and tucked them in his shirt. "What's wrong with the car?"
"It just won't start." Sango said, wanting him to just take the girls and leave. Having him around was quite nerve-wracking as it was.
"You want me to take a look at it?" Miroku offered, but she quickly shook her head.
"No. I'll get someone else to look at it."
The monk felt slightly offended. "Maybe Mr. El Greato can fix it up with his magical powers…'
"Miroku…"
"Sorry." He apologized. OK, So Amber was right. He was jealous. And because he was jealous he was being an asshole, which Sango really didn't deserve that. Acting this way wasn't going to get her back.
"It was acting funny the other night and yes, Rob did look at it, but it wasn't anything serious. I think it's just low on gas."
"You need money to fill it up?"
"No."
He sighed. "Alright."
Sango handed the girls their lunchboxes. "Go with daddy and be good today, alright?"
"Alright." Akira said, rushing off towards his car and yanking open the door. She attempted to crawl in the backseat by herself and of course, Miroku had let her do it.
"Miroku, she could hurt herself doing that."
He chuckled and helped her along, then lifted Hitomi in the backseat. "Don't be such a worry-wart. You killed demons when you were her age." He smiled at her and it took everything in her not to smile back into those wintry blue eyes.
"Just be careful. Make sure they're buckled into their car seat. And you better wear your seatbelt too!" Sango warned him.
"Don't worry. I'm responsible…" The monk called out the window, slipping his sunglasses back over his eyes, then he drove away playing "I like big butts" which was his self-proclaimed theme song.
He was so immature and yet, for some reason, she missed the way he was. It had only been two days since they had been split up. Why did he have to be such a womanizer?
"Idiot…" Sango muttered and stepped back into the house.
Miroku walked through the double doors of the preschool building and led his girls to the classroom. Hitomi clutched onto his jeans while Akira skipped right in and started talking to her friends.
A young woman stood up from behind a desk and walked over to him. Miroku once again pulled off his sunglasses and a smile came to her face. "Hi."
"Hi…uhm are the substitute?" He asked.
"I'm an intern." She said, leaning against the wall. She handed him a clipboard. "Just sign them in here, and then put her signature over here." The woman explained, straightening her hair, her brown eyes never left his face.
"Alright." Miroku said, doing as she said, then looked up at her. "I've only dropped them off here a few times before, but I don't believe I've seen you."
She giggled shyly and held out her hand. "I'm Alyssa."
He gave her a charming, crooked smile and shook her hand. "Miroku Keseki. I'm Hitomi and Akira's father."
"They're adorable little girls. I just started here yesterday." She said shyly. "I'm kind of nervous about working with children though."
"You'll do fine. Don't worry, they won't break." Miroku said, propping one shoulder against the wall, then he realized he had probably overstayed his welcome. "Well, I suppose I'll be by to pick them up this afternoon."
"I thought I saw a brunette woman come and pick them up yesterday. Was that your wife?" Alyssa asked.
"Uh…yea. Well, sort of." He said, stammering. "We're kind of…separated. Not legally or anything, as of yet, anyway. But, I'm taking them home for the weekend."
"Oh." Alyssa said. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"No, it's alright." Miroku said, waving her apology off. There was an awkward silence and then he tossed his keys in the air nervously. "Well, I better be off. Bye for now."
"Bye, Mr. Keseki." Alyssa said, watching him walk out of the room and into the hallway. Her heart was racing and she was very happy to hear that he was separated. Maybe, with a little luck, she could get to know him better.
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