The Luck of a Monk
Note: This is an entry for Forthrightly's Fortune Cookie Challenge. My first entry, I may add.
The Luck of a Monk
By SpiritReaper13
Good Luck is the result of good planning.
"Kagome," Miroku asked. "Why is there a tiny slip of paper in my food?"
Kagome sighed. "It's a fortune cookie," she attempted to explain. "You break them open and inside is a slip of paper that tells you your fortune."
"So this paper is like a prophecy?" Sango asked, looking at her own cookie.
"Uh," Kagome began, "... well... sort of, I guess." Her face contorted in thought as she searched for a better way to explain the snack she'd brought for them.
Miroku stared down at his own 'prophecy', wonderingly. "Good luck is the result of good planning," he muttered to himself. "What kind of prophecy is that? What kind of luck do I need that is possible to plan for?"
"Here," said the half demon, who was sitting across the way from the monk. He tossed his own cookie at Miroku. "You take mine."
"Are you sure?" Miroku asked, picking up the fallen fortune cookie.
"Yeah," Inuyasha said, leaning back against a tree. "Prophecies in my food - no thanks. It's too weird for me. You can take it."
As the usual fight between Kagome and Inuyasha began, over the hanyou's lack of courtesy or gratefulness at the miko's trouble to get food, and the command of "Sit!" was rather expectedly given, Miroku paid no attention. He cracked open his new cookie, forgetting to eat his old one. He was simply looking for the little slip of paper that lay inside.
Love is for the lucky and the brave.
Miroku felt instantly gratified. This was obviously the second half of his prophecy. It could be no mistake. Both of his slips of paper had referenced luck, and this new prophecy explained what kind of luck he was needing. How clear, how obviously clear it was to him now! He needed luck in love.
He glanced at Sango out of the corner of his eye. She was talking pleasantly with Kagome, the fallen half demon crumpled on the ground a few feet behind them. She was so beautiful in the light of the mid-afternoon sun. He sighed, glancing back down at his prophecy. There was no doubt in his mind that she was the love they were pointing him to, but it would take luck, and luck would require planning.
The monk gave a sly smile to himself. Planning he could do. He was not a foolish man, he could easily make a plan to seduce Sango - it had just never occurred to him before. He had always acted on his instincts - most of which included groping the Slayer and being rewarded with a harsh slap on his cheek. Now it was clear to him that he'd been going about it the wrong way entirely.
"Why are you smiling like that, Miroku?" came the suspicious voice of Shippo.
Miroku looked down at the kitsune. "When you're older, I'll explain," the monk said, still grinning.
"I don't like the sound of that," the little fox said.
Later that day, after entering a nearby village, Miroku was able to obtain lodgings in an inn. He thought he had planned this perfectly. He was only able, or at least so he told the others, to secure two rooms. He knew, however, that there were ways around him and Sango sharing a room, so his goal was to ensure that Inuyasha would insist on staying with Kagome, forcing Sango to stay with him.
"I am concerned," he said to Inuyasha that night at dinner. He was certain no one near them could hear what he said. "The inn keeper has mentioned to me that there have been a few disturbances lately."
"What kind of disturbances?" Inuyasha asked, taking a large bite of chicken.
"Bandits," the monk said, bluntly. "Breaking into local inns and huts, killing the occupants and stealing gold." He paused to let the words sink into the half demon's head, then added, "...but I'm sure that won't happen tonight. We aren't so misfortunate. The girls will be fine on their own."
It had worked. It had worked just as Miroku had devised. To Kagome's irritation, and Sango's utter disbelief, Inuyasha had insisted on staying in the room Kagome was in, though he didn't elaborate on why. The monk had persuaded him against this so as not to scare the girls too badly. This development forced the Demon Slayer to stay in the same room as Miroku, though she was not entirely pleased about it.
"Don't try anything funny, Miroku," she warned.
"Sango," the monk said, innocently, "do you really think me so lecherous as to take advantage of such a situation as this?"
"Yes," Sango said, bluntly.
Miroku sighed. "Come," he said. "Let us try to make the best of this situation. You have agreed to marry me, after all. You'll have to get used to being in the same room with me."
Sango glared at him. "I don't know what you did or said to make Inuyasha insist on taking my place in the room with Kagome," she said, "but I know you're behind it, and I'll also inform you right now that trickery is not the way to a girl's heart.... or bed, for that matter."
Miroku sighed. Sango knew him too well, that was the problem. "Stupid prophecy," he muttered to himself. All his planning was for nothing. He sat down on his bed with a sigh. "I apologize, dear Sango," he said. "I had no intentions of offending you."
Sango said nothing. She turned away and laid down on her own bed, falling asleep without a word to the monk. Miroku watched her for a moment before following suit.
The monk was awakened in the middle of the night, however, by the sound of breaking glass. He jolted up with a start at the sound of his beloved's startled yelp. He looked about, and it didn't take his eyes long to locate the source of the disturbance.
Two bandits had broken into their room, and one of them had a dagger placed threateningly at Sango's throat. It seemed they had not noticed the monk, who was in a far corner of the room, hidden by darkness.
"You're a pretty one," the bandit with the dagger snarled at his prey.
"We could have some fun with her," said the second bandit, who was standing near the door, grinning.
Sango was not in a good position. Her weapons were not within reach, and Kirara was out hunting at the moment. There was nothing she could do without having her throat slit by the scary man.
Miroku's mind raced, but he had no time to think. Within seconds, he was on his feet. He lunged at the man with the dagger, knowing it was foolish. He was smaller than the bulky attackers, and he could not use his Wind Tunnel in such a tightly closed space without risking Sango's safety. This, plus the fact that there were two bandits and one of him, made his actions very idiotic and unplanned - but who has time to be calculating when the person you care most for is in danger?
He knocked the surprised knife holder to the ground, jerking the weapon from his grasp, and allowing Sango to move again. While this bandit was on the ground, his companion acted quickly in jumping atop the monk, his own dagger in hand.
"Foolish houshi!" the second bandit snarled. "This was not the battle you should have entered!" But just as the man raised his knife to slit Miroku's throat, the dagger was knocked clean out of his hand by Sango, who had gotten hold of her weapons.
Miroku jerked free of the man's grasp and hurried to Sango's side. With their enemies now weaponless, it was easy to tie them up. Once this task was done, they were set outside the inn, fully bound and gagged, and ready to be taken away.
The monk and the slayer returned to their room. Miroku sighed and closed the door behind him, only to be quickly embraced by Sango. "Huh?" The monk looked down at Sango, who had wrapped her arms tightly around him, lodging her head under his chin. "Sango," he muttered.
"That was so brave of you," she said, quietly, not loosening her tight grip. "I was worried about you, MIroku. Those men were so much larger, and you couldn't use your Wind Tunnel, I know. They could have killed you."
Miroku patted her gently on the back. "I'm fine," he said. "And I couldn't allow them to hurt you. I know you could have taken care of yourself, but you were in a delicate position."
"It was still very brave," the slayer assured him.
Brave.
Something registered in the monk's head. Brave.
Love is for the lucky and the brave.
He'd been so caught up in the idea of "luck" that the bravery part had completely slipped his mind. Now as Sango looked up at him, with large, loving eyes, he couldn't help but smile.
~~*~~
The monk was in a greatly cheerful mood the next morning, while his Demon Slayer companion seemed nervous and highly embarrassed for some unknown reason. This was a mystery to their fellows, who were fully aware of the attacks placed on them the previous night.
Miroku smiled all day. He was still in shock from it all. He'd been lying to Inuyasha about the reported bandit attacks, but it just so happened that one occurred. He was so pleased with himself, and with it all, that it was impossible for the others not to wonder.
"Miroku," Shippo asked. "Why do you look so happy?"
"Because, Shippo," the monk explained. "I am a lucky man."
Shippo was a bit surprised by this answer. "Lucky? How can you say that? You were attacked by bandits last night. I'd say that's a pretty unlucky thing to happen."
Miroku smiled down at the kitsune. "It's more of the feelings and actions invoked by such an attack," he explained.
"Huh?"
Miroku sighed and glanced over at Sango, who quickly looked away, turning very, very red in the face. "I'll explain when you're older," he said, grinning. "But take my word for it. Last night, I was a lucky man."
The End.