The phone rang out in the silence of the lonely New York apartment Miroku had made for himself. He flipped off the television and snuffed out his cigarette. Picking up the cordless phone from its cradle he clicked the talk button and stuffed a piece of bread in his mouth. "M'allow?"
"Miroku?" A female voice sounded over the phone, a familiar one at that.
"Who's this?" He asked, swallowing the bread. "I'm not buying anything."
"It's me, you know, you're sister. The one you never call." Amber Keseki's voice had changed quite considerably since the last time he spoke with her, which was when? A whole two years ago.
"Oh! Amber, hey, what's up?" Miroku said, suppressing the urge to pick up another cigarette. He didn't know why he picked up the disgusting habit but whenever one his family members called it gave him to the urge to pick up another one.
"I just wanted to remind you, it's my graduation in a week! Did you get my invitation I sent out?" Amber asked, and she heard him scramble around his apartment, papers crinkling.
"Uh…yea…I…I did." He stammered, trying to buy time as he shuffled through his papers. He heard his sister sigh from the other end of the phone.
"Are you coming or not?" Amber asked. "I haven't seen you since mom and dad left the states two years ago, I miss you."
Miroku found the envelope, his address written in purple gel pen and a Disney princess sticker held it shut. He hadn't bothered to open it and it had been sitting in a pile on his kitchen table for weeks now. He quickly tore it open. "Of course I'll be there, sis. I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Good. Then I have something to look forward to." She said, and he could hear her smile over the phone. "I have to go to school now, I have an exam." She said, and Miroku glanced up at his clock.
He had forgotten he was nearly 14 hours behind Japan's time and that made it difficult to talk to his family. In fact the only reason he got the call from his sister tonight was because he had left the hospital early.
Miroku had been dealt an excellent hand in life. He finished high school in the united states, went on to college and studied to be a neurosurgeon, and now was very successful in that line of work.
"Alright, well uh…tell mom and dad I said hey and I love them, alright?"
"Alright. Bye Miroku." Amber said, and then she was gone.
Sighing, he placed the phone back on its cradle. He lit up another cigarette and allowed it to calm his nerves. At least that was his excuse, the tiny cancer sticks calmed his nerves when really all they did was make him jittery and his apartment smell like tar.
But he wasn't going to face the issue right now. The Miss American pageant was on and right now he was enjoying the swimsuit competition. He felt like an old pervert with no life whatsoever, but his last girlfriend broke up with him because he was a work-a-holic. He couldn't seem to stay out of the operating room long enough to develop a life.
But really, where did that leave him? When the television went off, the lights went out and the curtains were pulled, he was stuck in a lonely apartment. He was alone with one bad sleeping disorder and a smoking habit he couldn't seem to kick.
When he finally decided he had enough of the pageant he booted up his computer and decided to kill time and book his flight. He looked at the flight times, then realized how completely miserable he was in his apartment, by himself without his family.
He was the head doctor at the hospital, he could leave early if he wanted to. Hell, he could even leave tomorrow if he felt like it. And the truth was he did feel like it, he hadn't talked to his sister in almost two years and speaking with her on the phone suddenly made him feel homesick.
Maybe that's why he never called home, the familiar sound of his mother's voice made him depressed. The sound of his father's voice made him feel ashamed that he wasn't there with his mother or sister. And the sound of his sister's voice made him feel guilty that he hadn't been the best big brother to her over the past couple of years and he never did so much as even email her.
And Sango's voice… Well, the sound of her voice just broke his heart.
He decided that enough procrastinating and examining things was done for the night and he booked his flight for Tokyo, Japan at 8 o'clock in the morning.
Airplanes made Miroku nervous and as soon as he stepped off the giant jet he pulled out another cigarette. He wasn't allowed to smoke in the plane which had pissed him off and he was having a nicotine fit. He had already went through one entire pack of gum on the 18 hour flight and by the time he gathered his bags from the conveyer belt he was already on his second cigarette.
He gave his mother a call and told her he had arrived. It was 4:00 in the afternoon in Japan, yet Miroku felt like it was two in the morning. He was drowsy and knew tonight would be an early night for him.
He settled down on the couch, one leg slung over the arm and the other one falling off the side. His suitcase was beside him. Miroku leaned his head back on the arm of the chair and closed his eyes.
He wasn't sure how long he was asleep for but the next thing he knew, he felt a small tap on his leg. Miroku had forgotten where he was for a moment and then he got his bearings. That's right. He was in Tokyo National Airport and a very pretty girl was looking at him.
Miroku sat up and gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry, miss. I fell asleep I'm waiting on my family to--" he wiped his eyes.
The brunette girl giggled at him and playfully slapped him on the knee. "Don't you recognize me, silly?"
"Uh…I…I don't know. Did we sit together on the plane or something?"
The woman sighed. "I didn't think you would recognize me." She said, and by this time Miroku had sat up to peer at her quite interested. He watched her as she pulled out a very withered, fake red rose. "Remember this?"
Miroku searched through the recesses in his mind. He glanced at the flower, than up at her. "No way…" He stood to his feet. "Sango, is that really you?"
"Of course it's me!" Sango exclaimed, grinning. "Do I really look that different?"
"Well, yea, I mean…" He scratched the back of his head. "You've changed." He said, his eyes scanned her body.
"It's been 7 years. Of course I've changed. I'm not 14 anymore." Sango reminded him. "You never came to visit. Not even for my graduation."
"I know…I had my freshman year of college and I didn't want to make a bad impression on the dean." He paused and he knew that wasn't a good excuse. "I'm sorry about that."
"It's alright. That was 3 years ago for me." Sango smiled. "Amber was going to come with us, but she had to do something for graduation rehearsals. I wanted to come and get you."
"Oh?" Miroku asked, rolling his suitcase down the long corridor fallowing her. "And why's that?"
"Like I said, I've missed the living hell out of you." She said as she walked beside him steadily. "You stopped emailing me 3 years ago and I haven't heard one word from you."
"I know." Miroku said, sighing. His craving for another cigarette was starting to mount but he tried his best to ignore it. "I'm sorry, I guess I just got busy with my job and all."
Sango looked at him. "What do you do again?"
"I'm a neurosurgeon." He replied, realizing just how long it had been since he talked to her. Yet, they were talking like old friends as if they had never left each other's side. So, this is what true friendship felt like. This is what home meant.
He was such an idiot.
"Ah, rolling in the big bucks, huh?" Sango asked. "I always thought you'd be a plastic surgeon."
Miroku laughed. "You crack your jokes and you laugh, but you should see the newly restored corvette I have at home. Girls can't keep their hands off of me."
Sango rolled her eyes as they exited the door. "Your mother pulled the car around the front. And I hope you don't mind being cramped."
"Sango, I live in New York city. Of course I don't mind being cramped." He said, as his suitcase bounced across the cracks of the sidewalk. The summer heat was pretty bad, yet there was a nice island breeze. Something he missed about Tokyo. He regretted wearing a suit. Why did he always feel the need to dress in a shirt and tie, couldn't he just loosen up a bit every once in a while?
He spotted the large black BMW that apparently his mother drove. "Wow, mom's got a nice car."
"Yep." Sango replied. Miroku tossed his luggage in the trunk and peered over at Sango as he situated his bags.
"So who else came to pick me up? Amber's in school. Is it dad?"
"No." Sango replied.
Miroku hoisted his second back into the trunk. "Hideko? Man, I miss cousin Hideko, she was fun."
"No." Sango said.
Miroku made a face of disgust. "It's not Hayden is it? That girl had the biggest crush on me in 9th grade."
Sango shook her head with a small smile as she watched him open the passenger seat. His face twisted into an expression of confusion as he laid eyes on the man in the middle seat. "Miroku, this is my fiancé, Howard Bailey."
Miroku was shocked and he extended a hand towards him, and Howard gave him a firm handshake. Fiancé? Was she serious? This guy wasn't near good enough for her, of course, he wasn't either. But still that wasn't the point.
And why was he feeling jealous? These questions and more zipped through his mind as he settled into the BMW. He spent the car ride home, catching up with his mother. He hated the fact his arm brushed Howard's every time they went over a bump in the road. He didn't like the guy, and he was making it obvious by not talking to him.
They arrived back at his mother's house, which wasn't the same one he grew up in as a child, but it still felt like home to him. A small, blue Eclipse sat in the driveway with blue and yellow dice in the window and he knew that car could only belong to his sister Amber.
She was home and he would finally get to see her.
He was more than grateful to get out of the car, any more time spent by Howard's side and he could have screamed. He watched as Sango helped herself into the house and he never thought of Sango to be the type to make herself at home.
Growing up, even though they were constantly over at each other's houses, Sango would always just sit quietly and she never made herself at home in his house. Obviously, his family had gotten close with her even after he left and that made him feel guilty again.
He had missed out on his best friend growing up and blossoming into the beautiful creature she was now. One he was afraid to approach, yet one he felt completely comfortable with. And now she was with this joke of a man who walked around like he owned Japan.
Hell, for all he knew, Howard could have been emperor and he wouldn't know any better because he hadn't spoken to his family or friends in Buddha knows how long! Miroku felt like a horrible person.
He stopped over the threshold of the house and a very happy teenager scampered out from the living room. "Oh my gosh! Miroku!" She attacked him with a hug and he hugged her back, quite surprised.
"Well, hey I missed you, too. But I value my back. Please don't break it." He winked at her as she took a good long look at him.
"Wow. You look tired." Amber told him.
"I am tired." He said, and ruffled her hair with his fingers. "But I'm more than happy to see you."
Amber fixed her hair, giving him an agitated look. "You always do that."
"It's fun." He said grinning. "So, what's been up with you, hm? You didn't get married without me did you? Or…get engaged?" He asked, tossing a glance over at Sango.
It was a cheap shot, but he couldn't resist. He was a little pissed off about it, not at Sango or even at Howard, but at the idea.
"No, just a boyfriend. His name's Nelly. I invited him over for dinner tonight cuz I want him to meet you." Amber said, excitedly.
"Well, I can't wait to meet him, then. As long as he treats you right, big brother won't have to introduce his fists hm?"
"He treats me like a princess." Amber assured him and Miroku smiled.
"Good." He said, patting her on the back. He peered over at Sango. "And you," He said. "you didn't tell me about this guy…"
Howard looked at him and he could sense the jealousy radiating from this guy. Miroku got a weird vibe from him, something about the way he looked out of his eyes didn't settle well with him. Miroku was led into the living room and took a seat in a single-seat recliner and watched as Howard and Sango sat down next to each other.
"I know. I wanted to write to you and tell you, but I figured you wouldn't respond since you never responded to any of our letters or calls." Sango told him, as if to put the blame on him, which it was his fault. He was the one who ignored everyone because he became Mr. hotshot in New York and didn't want to feel the loneliness or become homesick.
"I would have written you. I've just been busy, that's all." Miroku said feeling guilty.
"Well," Sango said, looking over at Howard with a smile. "I just wanted to let you know that me and Howard are getting married in two weeks."
Miroku felt the floor drop out from underneath him. Not in the literal since but more in a shocked, angry, and almost jealous sort of way. He was quiet for a moment as he looked at his best friend and her new fiancé.
Sighing, he ran his fingers through his hair, nervously. He wanted another cigarette, maybe two or three more. "Uh…that's great. Congratulations."
Miroku's mother's voice rang out from the kitchen for Sango to come and help her and she stood up. "You two buys get acquainted, I'm going to go and help with dinner."
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